The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1905-08-19

Ell TovAR HOTEL, GRAND CANYON,
ARIzoNA.-There is a peculiar railway
down here. 1t is the only one that l
know of in this country oyer which no
passes are issued. Everybody except
the conductor and the train crew even
the president himself-has to pay fare
fare, and a round-trip ticket over the
entire system costs $3.50. The railroad
is ninety miles long. It has no stations
except the terminal at Williams, where
it connects with the Santa Fe, and at
the Grand Canyon Of the Colorado. 1t
has no sidetracks except one TO allow
the trains to pass. There are four pas
senger trains day, two in each dlrec-
ton, made up OF a baggage car and two
coaches and through Pullmans from
Kansas city and Los Angeles twice a
week. There are no freight trains and
no freight is carried except water ana
other supplies for the hotels at the
Grand Canyon. The road depends up
on passenger traffic alone. That IS the
reason why passes are not given. Ihere
are no switchmen in the employ OF the
company and the pay roll only carries
pineers. firemen, ticket agents and all
concerned, and the track IS kept in order
bv five section gangs Of ten men each,
who are now rebuilding it from the bot
tom with new ties, new rails and bal
last of volcanic cinder.
Among other curiosities OF Arizona
are natural cinder pits-vast deposits OF
ashes and burned fuel which were
elected from volcanoes which made
things lively down here ages ago. Moth
ing will grow on these deposits. They
are as barren as the she'll Of an ostrich
egg. but the cinders make good ballast
for railway tracks, and the railroad peO-
ple tried to buy a cinder pit which lies
only a few miles out OF Williams for
that purpose. The owner got 1T Tor
nothing from the government as part
of a desert land claims and Tor years
tried to give it away, but no one would
take it off his hands. When he dIsc0V-
cred that the railway company wanted
the cinders for ballast, he demanded
$4,000 an acre, but finally came down
to S5O. 900 for the entire uact OF about
fortv acres. He owns it vet. There is
a moral to this story. The railway com
panv would have paid him $23 or even
500 an acre, which would have been
clear gain il he had not been so greedy
about it, but they soon found another
cinder pit only seven miles distant,
which they got for nothing.
This peculiar railroad was originally
built by local corporation called The
Tusavan Development Company, in or
der to haul ore from Inc Santa Anita
conner mine. fifty-twO miles from VIII
hams. The money was furnished by
the Lombard -Goode Company OF Bos-
ton. When the mine played out in 1901,
n receiver was appointed and the track
was extended to the Grand Canyon, CIV
ing the public easy access to the great
est spectacle in all the world. There
are mountains that reach almost to the
moon; there are oceans which spread
over nearly half Of the unlTorse; there
are stars which sparkle in the heavens,
there are pyramids, palaces, monuments,
cathedrals, which excite awe and adnl-
ration: there are mighty rivers and
cataracts, but there is only one Grand
CanvOn Of the Colorado, and those who
have placed it within the reach Of 2rdl-
nary travellers have done the world an
important service. Formerly all people
who wanted to sec the canyon were COM
pelled to ride ninety miles IN stage
coach. | made the journey once IN a
snow storm, and when the wagon tran
through the forest was covered with
snow, we lost our way and wandered
until half-past one O'Clock IN the morn
ino wrapped in blankets to keep from
freezing to death; and when we nnaIIy
reached the little tavern at the edge OF
the ch5Sm we could not wash our hands
and faces because the water IN the
pitchers was frozen solid; and yet many
people think Arizona is tropical
country.
Nowadays one can ride to the canyon
in a parlor ear or Il Pullman sleeper and
step off the train into one Of the most
picturesque and comfortable hotels III
the world. You can come all The year
round. February and March are the
least pleasant months, because there are
ant to be rain and snow storms. From
September 15 to February l the weather
is most agreeable, but these summer
davs are almost perfect-neither too
cool nor too hot. The thermometer
ranges between 65 and 80 Fahrenheit
There are several advantages in coming
down here in the summer, and good
many people are beginning to find then
out. The altitude Is 1000 feet above
the sea, and that lnsures cool nights, nc
matter how warm the days may be. But
the DAYS are not too warm for comfort;
the thermometer seldom goes above So
there is no humidity in the atmosphere
and if the sun is too hot, all you have tc
do is to raise your umbrella. There Is
occasionally freak of weather. The
snowstorm in which we were lost oc~
CURED on the 10Th of May, 1879, and il
is singular coincidence that a similar
souaIl should arrive on the very same
date this year, with snow enough to
hide the roadway through the forest
But there Is no danger OF getting lost
now. The treas have been blazed or
both sides OF the trail and IT you stick
to the railway cars, you are sure TO BRING
up before the Ell Tovar Hotel, thret
hours or so after you leave the SAINT;
Fe Line at Williams. The snow neve
lasts more than a few hours. 1t ma,
fall to a depth of two or three inche:
during the night two or three times
wear. but as soon as the sun comes ou
in the morning it disappears almost IN
stantly.
People are beginning TO ind theI
way here. Last year, which was tn
first since the railroad was opened, abou
$4,000 people came. This year, il th
present average keeps up, there viii
from 10000 to 25 900 visitors, and i
1906 predict they will number 80 ,00l
The arrivals at El Tovar now averag