Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1904-06-30
N. /. General CONFERENCE.
1ouR TO THE PACIFIC COAST.

Mr.. EDITOR Again we are at the Grand
Canyon, and before leaving, few facts con-
cerning it may not be amiss. The railroad
terminus is within square of Bright
Angel hotel and trail. AT this point the
Canyon is twelve or thirteen miles in
width, and is broken into cathedral-like
formations more massive and imposing
than man ever dreamed Of. These temples
are exquisitely tinted in natdre's creams,
and blues and purples and reds. The
Canyon is two hundred and seventeen miles
long and is,said to be a series of gorges and
temples, such as we beheld. throughout its
entire length.
One cannot grasp distance in the clear
atmosphere While looking down from
the rim one shudders at the awful depths
below, but it seems impossible that it is
nearly six thousand feet 'sSolomn's Tenn
ple'' is several miles away, but if asked to
conjecture the distance one would be apt
to place it at a half mile. On the floor of
the canyon at the foot of Bright Angel trail
are several large sleeping tents and one
used as restaurant From the rim these
look like blocks of white marble about six
by eight inches, and trees forty feet high
look like grass One with good eyesight
can make out, without the aid Of glass,
tiny moving objects that look like bugs
crawling. In reality it is people and dom
keys on the trail We took carriages to
Rowe Point and had still finer view than
that at Bright Angel. One here gets
glimpse Of the Colorado which looks like
little stream about six or eight feet wide.
It is really turbulent river three hundred
and fifty feet in width. At this point is
seen well-defned figure which looks as
though it were painted on the rocks. It is.
two long, deep gorges which meet and
rake the peculiar formation.
We had all sorts of weather while at the
Canyon, we were told the worst experienced
there is during the Winter and Spring. This
was simply one of a number of instances
in which the weather seemed determined
upon upsetting our preconceiyed notions of
it. On the Sunday afternoon of our arrival
very high wind filed the air with SO
much dust that the greater part of the
gorge was hidden from our sight. We
were later treated to thunder, lightning
rain, hail, and snow, and the mercury
dropped to twenty-five degrees. But there
is never day at the Canyon without sun
shine and the lifting clouds and mantle of
snew served 80 giye variety, and added
beauty to the enhancing scene.
There is no water at Bright Angel. The
thousands of feet Of solid rocks preclude
that. The Cameron>hotel and camps bring
all the water they use on pack mules from
the Colorado river by way of the trail and
plateau a distance of eight miles.
The Santa Fe brings all the water for
their engines and Bright Angel hotel in
tank cars from Williams, sixty or seventy
miles away. The water train followed us
on Sunday afternoon and became derailed.
The nearest wrecker was hundred and
sixty miles away, and by the time the road
was repaired and the water brought in the
engines had all "died.n
The road was completed only last year,
and the facilities were inadequate to the
unexpected demands. The result was that
our section, the last, did not leave until
Tuesday evening. This unavoidable delay
was the only one we suffered during
journey of more than seven Thousand miles
On Wednesday morning we crossed the
Colorado river and entered the great State
Of California The temperature on the
Mojaye desert was lowering around the cen
tury mark, but a number Of us indus
trously played s'fiinch'' that we might
have no time to dwell upon the heat
Arrived at Los Angeles Thursday, May
5, about 3 p. m. The desert heat had
given place to greatful GOODNESS, and in
stead of the sage-bush before us, was a
very paradise Of vegetation. Los Angeles
is a thriving city Of two hundred and fifty
thousand people, and has many beautiful
residences.
In the business centres the hurry and
hustle almost equal that Of Market street,
Philadelphia. It is well called the s'Con-
vention City, " and is unusually well equip
ped for handling large gatherings. There
are many exceIlent hotels and restaurants,
and furnished rooms are everywhere.
Double trolley lines are on nearly every
street in the city. The cars are Of fine con-
struction, and the service excellent. In
fact, the trolley service and equipment in
all the large cities of the West is much bet
ter than that Of Philadelphia.
In portion Of the city oil was discovered
few years ago, and the wells are 50 close
together that there are two thousand der
ricks within distance Of one mile. Pos