Evening star., 1905-08-14
In THE GRAND CANYON
Accessibility Accomplished
by Means Of a Railway.
INCREASE IN VISITORS
PROVISION FOR THE COMFORT OF
TOURISTS.
Food and Water Brought Many Miles
-Magnifcence Of the Scenery
Amunsements Unsatisfactory.
INCREASE IN VISITORS
BY WILLIAM f. CURTIS.
cial Correspondence of The Star and the

BY WILLIAM f. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence of The Star and the Chicago
Record Herald
GRAND CANYON, Ariz., August g. 1906.
There is a peculiar railway down here. 1t
Is the only one 1 know Of In this country
over which no passes are issued. Every
body except the conductor and the train
crew-even the president himsef-has to
pay fare, and round-trip ticket over the
entire system costs $3.50 The railroad Is
ninety miles long 1t has stations ex-
cept the terminals at Williams, where 1t
connects with the Santa Fe, and at the
Grand Canyon of the Colorado. 1t has no
side tracks except one to allow the trains
to pass There are four passenger trains
day, two In each direction, made up of a
baggage car and two coaches and through
Pullmans from Kansas City and Los Ange-
les twice a week. There are freight
trains, and no freight is carried except
water and other supplies for the hotels at
:he Grand Canyon. The road depends upon
passenger traffic alone That is the reason
why passes are not given. There no
switchmcn in the employ of the company,
and the pay roll carries only twelve names,
including conductors, engineers. firemen,
ticket agents and all concerned, and the
track is kept in order by five section gangs
of ten men each, who are now rebuilding 1t
from the bottom with new ties, new rails
Among other curiosities of Arizona are
natural cinder pts-vast deposits of ashes
and half-burned fuel which were elected
from the volvanoes which made things
lively down here ages ago. Nothing will
grow on these deposits. They bar
rem as the shell of an ostrich egg, but the
cinders make good ballast for railway
tracks. and the railroad people tried to
buy for that purpose a cinder pit which
lies only a few miles out of Williams. The
owner got 1t for nothing from the govern
ment as part of desert land claim. and
for years tried to give it away. but no one
would take it off his hands. When he dis
covered that the railway company wanted
the cinders for ballast he demanded $1,000
an acre, but finally came down to $4,000
for the entire tract of about forty acres.
He owns 1T yet. There Is a moral to this
story. The railway company would have
paid him SO or even $50 an acre, which
would have been clear gain If he had not
been so greedy about 1t, but they soon
found another cinder pit only seven miles
distant, which they got for nothing.
Why the Road Was Built.
This peculiar railroad was originally
built by a local corporation called the
Tusayan Development Company in order to
haul ore from the Santa Anita copper
mine, fifty-two miles from Williams. The
money furnished by the Lombard
Goode Company Of Boston. When the
mine played out, in 1901, receiver was
appointed and the track was extended to
the Grand Canyon, giving the public easy
access to the greatest spectacle In all the
world. There are mountains that reach al
most to the moon. there are oceans which
spread over nearly half of the universe;
there are stars which sparkle in the
heavens, there are pyramids palaces,
monuments and cathedrals which excite
awe and admiration; there are mighty
rivers and cataracts; but there is only one
Grand Canyon of the Colorado, and those
who have placed 1t within the reach of
ordinary travellers have done the world an
important service. Formerly all people
who wanted to see the Canyon were COM
PEELED to ride ninety miles in a stage coach.
l made the journey once in snow storm,
and when the wagon trail was covered with
snow we lost our way and wandered
through the forest until 1:3O in the morn
ing, wrapped in blankets to keep from
freezing to death, and when We finally
reached the little tavern at the edge of the
chasm we could not wash our hands and
faces because the water in the pitchers
was frozen solid; and yet many people
think Arizona is a tropical country.
Nowadays one can ride TO the Canyon in
a parlor a Pullman sleeper and step
off the train into one of the most pic
turesque and comfortable hotels in the
world. You can come all the year round.
February and March are the least pleas
ant months because there are apt to be
rain and snow storms. From September
Is to February the weather is most agree
able, but these summer days are almost
perfect, neither too cool nor too hot. The
thermometer ranges between TO and 10
Fahrenheit. There are several advantages
in coming down here in the summer, and
good many people are beginning to find
them out. The altitude is 1000 feet above
the sea, and that tnsures one cool nights,
no matter how warm the days may be.
But the days are not too warm for com
fort; the thermometer seldom goes above
so; there is no humidity in the atmosphere,
and If the sun is too hot all you nave 10 40
Is to raise your umbrella
Snow Storms in May.
There is occasionally freak of weather.
The snow storm in which were lost oc-
Cured the 20th of May, 1899, and 1t Is
singular coincidence that a similar squall
should arrive on the very same date this
year, with snow enough to hide the road
way through the forest. But there is no
danger of getting lost now. The trees have
been blaZed on both sides of the trail, and
If you stick to the railway cars you tire
sure 10 bring up before Ell TOVar Hotel
three hours or so after you leave the Santa
Fe line al Williams. The snow never lasts
more than few hours. 1t may fall to a
depth of two or three inches during the
night two or three times year, but as
soon the sun comes out In the morning
ii disappears almost instantly.
People beginning to :ind their way
here. Last year, which was the first since
the railroad was opened, about 12,0OO people
came This year, If the present average
keeps up there will be from twenty to
l predict they Will number fifty thousand.
The arrivals at Ell Toyar now average
about forty a day, and every one who
comes here goes home walking advertise
ment for the place. There is nothing to
compare with it anywhere in the world. 1t
l.