The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-02-04

I
The individual who has an idea that
Arizona is all desert is destined to be
enjoyably disappointed If he selects
daylight schedule for the center OF the
territory and darkness for each END.
Both the eastern and western sections
are barren to a great extent, but the
great plateau of central Arizona is
covered with great forest OF CEDAR
and pine.
morning the desert becomes more
pronounced In places there IS excel
lent grazing land, but soon great
boulderS become prominent IN the
landscape. Then much of the Vegeta-
ton ceases and sometimes the surface
of the ground is only great, nat
rock Here and there the fence posts
along the right of way are held up
by stones piled around them, because
it is impossible to dig post holes IN
the solid rock Along here the train
plunges over Canyon Diablo a great
arroyo running through the desert.
The traveller has no intimation of 1t
until the train rushes on to the steel
bridge a hundred feet above the dry
bed below.
For an hour the train has been
steadily climbing and in the sixty
miles west of WinsIow it goes to an
altitude of over seven thousand feet.
Across Canyon DiablO bushes begin to
appear in the distance scattered over
the desert. They increase in size and
pie orchard. They are bush cedars.
Outside the Pullman the cold in
creases as the train mounts higher
and snow again covers the ground.
The cedars increase in size and long
before the summit of the plateau is
reached most of the trees are from
fifty to one hundred feet high and
sometimes two feet or more in diane
ter. They are straight as an arrow
and furnish the material for a big
lumber industry at Flagstaff.
For fifty miles or more the Santa
Fe winds in and out through the hills
and up the slopes that are covered by
these trees. They are not thick and
there is no underground Snow COW
cred the ground from one to three feet
deep, and hanging from the green
foliage of the big trees, it gave the
forest the appearance of fairy land
At Flagstaff. which seemed to be the
heart of this lumber region, men made
their way through the deep snow with
difficulty. The lumber yard there
looked as though it covered forty or
fifty acres of ground. The lumber is
piled two stories high and every street
in the yard is lighted by a multitude
of arc lights. The company which
owns the industry misses a great op-
pOrtunity to advertise it. Six trans
continental trains pass it each day. to
whom a great blank wall is presented
by one of the buildings, but not a let
ter anywhere to indicate what the in
dustry is.
West of Flagstaff a few miles the
Santa Fe crosses the Arizona divide
at an altitude of 1885 feet, and the
route drops to Williams. The snow
continues, but there is less timber
than at Flagstaff. Here a branch line
runs north to the Grand Canyon, and
many transcOntinentaI travellers stop
off for forty-eight hours to make the
trip. An immense hotel has lust been
a r Of
under the same management as the
Harvey eating houses and hotels ali
along the Santa Fe. 1t takes three
hours to run over to the canyon from
does not look inviting those who are
looking forward to a land of summer
do not stop off for the trip.
The descent continues to Ash Fork.
when IS IN the midst of great plain,
where both snow and forest have again
disappeared, but a few miles west of
Ash Fork there is a steep ascent 10
climb which the track winds and dou-
bles on itself repeatedly. In the dis
tance in all directions are isolated
peaks around which clouds float laziIv
IN the sunlight, but these are shut off
from view as the train dashes down
Johnson's canon and into another bar
rem region. Shortly before dark Selie-
man IS reached. Seligman is noted for
Two thlngS- Time is turned back. an
hour and the Santa Fe has division
at Seligman and the yards were full of
cars of California fruit eastbound. The
run from Seligman to the Colorado
river Is made in the dusk and dark
ness, and less than 48 hours after the
train has left Topeka it crosses the
Arizona line into California.
There is some real desert in northern
Arlzona-and lots of it-but one does
not see much of it from the windows of
NO. on the Santa Fe- At Kingman
west OF Seligman, a young man who
had been at mining camp in the
boarded the train. From Kingman
mining railroad runs up to Chloride
but 1t has not been used for some time
owing to the fact that it was badly
washed out in places a few months ago.
1t is one Of the paradoxes of this land
OF mystery that q desert railroad is
sometimes put entirely out of business
by great Washouts. For this reason the
young man had come in from the min
ing region beyond Chloride by stage. In
the locality where he had been the
miners paid ten cents a gallon for wa
ter, Which had to be hauled nine miles
1t was used only for drinking. cooking
and washing dishes. The coffee leavings
were saved for washing the owners
hands and face at rare intervals. but an
entire bath was unheard of unless one
went to the Colorado river nine miles
away. That is the real desert. Yet the
storm which swept over Kansas and
the rest OF the west on January 10 act
ually reached the desert above Chloride
to the great establishment of every liv-
ing thing in that region. The men look
ed at the mud in great curiosity and
the horses SHE'D at the puddles of wa
ter and refused to step in them.
The Great Southwest is truly a land
Of mystery, and its story has never
been really told Centuries ago it was
the home of a great race, probably the |
successors to the mound builders of !