Durango semi-weekly herald., 1905-08-31

BILE hotels in the world. You can CONT
III the year around. February an'
| March are the least pleasant MONTH
because there are apt to be rain AM
snow storms. From September 10 tt
February l the weather Is most agree
able, but these summer days are al
most perfect-neither too cool nor to,
not. The thermometer ranges between
90 and 75 Fahrenheit There are sev
eral advantages in coming down here
IN the summer, and a good many peo
pie are beginning to find them out
Inc altitude is 1000 feet above the
| sea and that insures 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 to do is to raise
your umbrella. There is occasionally
freak of weather. The snow storm
in which we were lost occurred on the
10th of May, 1899, and it is singular
coincidence that similar suuall
| should arrive on the very same date
ms year. with snow enough to hide
the roadway through the forest. But
mere Is no danger of getting lost now.
Inc trees have been blazed on both
sides of he trail, and If you stick
to the railway cars you are sure to
| bring up before El Tovar hotel. three
| hours OF so after you leave the Santa
Fe line at Williams. The snow never
Il hu e.,
'all To depth of two or three inches
turing the night two or three times
year, but as soon as the sun comes
out in the morning II disappears al.
most instantly.
People are beginning to find their
way here. Last year. which was the
first since the railroad was opened.
about 1000 people came. This year.
If the present average keeps up, there
VIII be from 10000 to $4,000 visitors.
md in 1906 | predict they will number
$4,000. The arrivals at Ell Tovar now
average about forty day, and every,
one who comes here goes nome a
walking advertisement for the place.
mere is nothing to compare with IL |
anywhere In the world IL is impossi
Die to exaggerate the grandeur. the
sublimity, the impressiveness of the |
scenery; and its fascination can not |
be accurately described. 1t is impossi. |
pie Tor one man to express his emo
tons to another. Those who nave
been here once are almost certain to |
come again The geological features
are peculiarly attractive to scientific |
men. and every European savant /
comes here just as he goes to Mag
ara Falls.
There is choice of five hotels along |
lhe rim OF the canyon, stretching a
distance OF sixty miles or SO and GOV
ering the grandest part of the scenery |
All OF tnem may be reached from the
raiiroad by stages, which meet every |
tralp, and while there Is no style or
ostentation. there is plenty of com
Tort The beds are good, the food is
pam but plentiful, and you can get /
a bath for dollar, which means a
great deal where the water has to be
hauled $50 miles by trains or carried
2,560 or 5000 feet up the precipitous
sides OF canyon on the back of a |
mule II costs the Hotel Ell Toyar |
SSI IA day for water alone Every drop
That Is used for cooking, drinking and |
bathing is brought in steel tanks
distance of l21 miles from Mountain
Springs, near the city OF Prescott. 1t
is transported in stee, tanks made ex
pressly for the purpose. holding g,4OO
gallons each. There is a train every
day. operated by four men who do
nothing else. Upon arrival the water
is distilled, filtered, aerated and dis
tributed by pressure. There is al
spring down In the canyon about four
miles, from which sufficient supply
might be pumped. but it is on a min
ing claim neld by man who wants
the modest sum of $50, 900 for it, New
ertheless, there are forty bath rooms
In El Tovar and the regular rate for
room with bath is only IS day.
The supply Of drinking water for
The Grand View hotel is brought from
Cottonwood Springs. three and one
half miles down the canyon, $500 feet
below the hotel. II Is transported
in casks of ten gallons, made to ft
the backs OF burros, two casks to each
burro. 1t is pure. cool, hard water
The water for bathing. cooking and
laundry purposes at the Grand View
is caught on the roof during the occa
7ional rains and stored In cisterns
Last season was dry and the supply
cave out, so that every drop of water
hat was used for three months was
brought up from the Cottonwood
: Springs. There is no water on the
surface of the earth within ninety
miles OF the hotel, which accounts for
the high laundry charges.
| Considering the extra expense of
maintaining hotel under such cir
cumstances, the rates are very reas.
enable and are less than those cbarg
ed at the ordinary hotels at eastern
watering places. while the accommo-
dations will average a great deal bet.
ter You can get good, plain, neat
quarters. with excellent meals, at the
cheaper hotels for 81 day, and bet.
ter accommodations at the new hotel
| for auy amount Won want tn nav The