Durango semi-weekly herald., 1905-09-04

Cameron will make big claim for -
demnity, and he may be able to coileee
something for the work he has doa0
in keeping the trail In condition. Il
may be that he will make = aSht n
court, He has located mining claina
upon the trail In fve different pisces.
including the camp at the spring. He
| contends that he built the trail in or
der to pack his ore to the top of
| the canyon.
There are many mining claims down
here, several of more or less vSlue are
now being worked and promise pro0t.
but most of them are manifsstly
worthless and are purely speculative.
The owners hope to be able to get
some indemnity out of the govern
ment. One mine at the bottom OF the
canyon has produced considerable
quantity of copper, 10 per cent pure,
which was brought up the trail ln
sacks and shipped to smelter at n
Paso. There are large deposits Of
asbestos of very high grade on the
west side OF the river The samples
were the best exhibited at the st.
Louis exposition. II is not worked,
however, because there is SO little de-
mand Platinum has also been dia-
covered and other rare minerals, down
in the bottom. and John Hauce. the
oldest OF the guides. who claims that
he dug the canyon. has a theory that
the washings from the gold mines Of
Colorado for 1000 years are hidden
In the crevlces and lodged along the
walls of the gorge. where he would ne
cover them If any one would furnish
the capital
Hancc Is q curious character. He
claims to be the biggest liar In Arr
IONA, He amuses tourists with fan.
iHsuc yarns about his adventures and
the strange things he has seen In the.
canyon, and rivals Baron Munchaussp
in he size of his stories. He has q
good deal of competition from other
liars down in this part of the coun-
try however. People explain the DIFF.
ference by saying that Hance would
get mad If people believed him. while
the others get mad II they do not.
tIance has lived alone In n cabin here
for nearly quarter of a century, with
n few cattle and horses to occupy his
time He lives on the rim OF the can.
Won during the summer months and
when IT gets cold he drives his stock
down the trail and stays at toe bot
tom until spring. A year ngo he sold
out and decided to go to Honolulu,
where he has brother. to spend the
rest OF his days. He bought q through
ticket, but used II only as far as Los
Angeles, where he turned around ana
came back. He said 1t made him dissy
to see so many houses and people. and
has decided to die here.
There are several other curious
about the place. The csn-
yon seems to have a peculiar attrac-
tion for men of queer ideas. Scatter.
cd along the rim for a hundred miles
are all sorts OF hermits and idealists.
who prefer the society of nature to
that of man. Some OF them have a
eye for an honest dollar. also. Al
Peach Springs, near the southern end
of the canyon, man has located .
desert land claim Immediately acroa0
the approach to the gorge. inclosed Il
with barbed wire fence and charge6
everybody three dollars for paasino
through. When the secretary Of ~
interior heard OF this enterprise ~
Cancelled the claim.
1t is singular fact that TIRES
fonrths OF the people who come to The
canyon are women. A large number
of them are well along in yeara. and
the endurance and the nerve they
show is extraordinary. Nearly evsry
woman who comes here insists upon
going down to the bottom Of the can.
yon. while only half Of the men show
that amount OF energy. Two New
York women have been here for
months, They have visited all he
places Of interest within 100 milas.
including the Moki end Supai indians.
and have followed all of the trails 70
the river. Every one OF these sxcar-
sions is enough to use up the stroAe-
est men.
One would not naturally expect to
go shopping at the Grand Canyon. but
an enormous amount OF money 10 az
pended here at a curio house near ths
hotel. II occupies a novel building
n reproduction of an Indian pueblo at
Moki, which was built under the d.
rection OF Mr.. Voth. who lived among
the Mokis for many years. Most Df
the work was done by Indians. ana
the upper part of the house is Occu-
pied by two or three families Of Pu-
bios, VINO live Just as they do at home.
and the tourists are saved long. fAr
tlguing journey to see the living pic
tures. During the day most Of their
time Is occupied posing for photo
graphs, for OF course every tourist
has a camera with him.