The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1905-12-21
GRAND CANYON.
A Woman's Impressions and Description
of that Natural Wonder.
Correspondence of The Journal. !

Correspondence of The Journal
FORT APACHE, ARIZONA, October
1905. The next morning after a shower
/ saw most wonderful effect produced
AS the mist rose and formed in little
cloudlets drifting and wandering in and
out among the turrets and pinnacles,
each as though it possessed a will of it's
own, and on some errand intent. Many
were the cameras in evidence attempt
ing to catch some small portion of the
unusual sight.
A drive of two and half miles along
the rim took us to RoWe'S Point,
where the most advantageous view can
be obtained. 1t is a huge peninsula
iutting out half mile into the canyon,
and some places but few feet beyond
the carriage wheels at each side was a
sheer declivity which made cold chill
run up my spine as | anxiously watched
every movement of the we'll trained
horses. From this point one has an
uninterrupted view of 10 miles up and
down the canyon. Lying below at the
right was the battleship Iowa, stone
formation of striking resemblance
Then there is Vishme's Temple, Senti-
mel Point, Point Havi Supai, Powell's
Plateau and many promontOries, named
and unnamed.
Standing on the rim in front of the
hotels, and looking across, it is almost
fourteen miles, and over a mile straight
to the bottom, along which the great
colorado. resembling a tiny, yellow rib
Don. Zigzagged on its course, where it
aa as flowed and roared for ageS-the
echo of that roar reaching us in dull
murmur where we Stood-a body of
water ten times the size of the Nile
and with power enough if it could be
Utilized, to feed manufactures without
number This is the mesa country
he Land of Tables Nowhere else
~ the-fOotStOOl is there such an eX-
ample of deep gnaWing water, or water
Aigh-carying.
The air is so clear in this region that
everything is magniied until it appears
but a short distance away, and one cam
not fully realize distances until one de
sends the wall to the plateau and from
the plateau down to the river When
= day is spent in once making that de
scent then the mind more fully graSps
the immensely OF it alI-the multitude
ot winding canyons in the depths of the
lfrand Canyon itself. Why, twenty Yo-
Semltes might be unperceived anywhere
below; a dozen Niagaras be but trout
streams: the whole mass of the Alps
might be scattered through the 300
miles Of this chaSm in Arizona without
Hing 1t up.
| made the descent one day i'll com
pany with party of young people
from IIolbrook. We started early in
The morning on strong, sleek mules and
ltthar ri 1IauI of
us. and pack train of tiny burros
brought up the rear, loaded with pro-
visions for the camp below. Just over
The rim is a Photographic studio, where
the euterprising artist stands and takes
a shot" at each descending party
When we came up the trail at night he
presented the finished pictures and
naturally all parties are glad to pur-
chase-Whlch must make that tiny
studio small gold mine to its owner,
these pictures selling at 80 cents each.
Bright Angel Trail was built in 1890
and 81, and reaches from the hotels
three and half miles to the camp at
Bright Angel creek. across the plateau,
and droopS 1900 feet to the river below.
4 strong person accustomed to walk
nag can easily make the round trip on
foot but women rarely undertake it.
On foot one can loiter and drink in all
the beauties of the place at length and,
too one cannot be as weary at the foot
OF the trail as from the steady strain
of standing i'll the Stirrups, braclng
ones self all the long distance. Were
! to 60 over it again | am sure | would
much prefer the walk down; a horse for
Jhe upward climb is almost a necessity.
The trip from the mesa to the river
-.,i,, 70 Ir1 ,flp., 81 +l,>
earth. The trail winds down the side
If an immense amphitheatre. past
wonderful strata of every known geo.
.ogical age, all glorihed by rainbow
beauty of color. 1t is six or more hours
III a realm of wondrously tinted fres-
Going. the contrasting green of the
shrubs and dainty wild flowers rest
here and there-doWn trail something
less steep than a sheer precipice. but
not much less. In places the path seems
cut out from the solid rock and so mar
row one lnvOluntarily closes the eyes,
as the little hoofs of the ponies patter
along within foot of the shelving
brink: but the ponies and guides are
thoroughly reliable, and no accident has
ever yet happened on Bright Angel
Trail, J was told. At Jacobs Ladder"
which is a flight of steps cut in the
stone, we dismounted, leading the ami
mails down. In three hours we made
Indian Gardens" where Bright An
gel creek ripples and sparkles over the
stones, and little camp is situated for
the accommodation of the travellers,
consisting of good sized room and
several tent houses, furnished with
Navajo rugs and little white cots Here
tourists may rest over night before re-
Stunning the upward journey. Resting
a few PIGMENTS and RECALLING ourselves
on the root beer which was packed
down the long trail-ice and all-on the
backs of the patient burros, we started
onward to the river. This portion of
the trail is much sleeper and more diff
ficult. In places one scrambles and
slides down an almost perpendicular
wall the animals being abandoned at a
zgzag place called the 'Devirs Cork
screw and it is the most exciting part
of the days journey. The river itself
at the foot of Bright Angel Trail was
something of a disappointment to me-
as | hoped to see specimen of the
raging ferceness of its rapids or water
falls; here instead it is as turbid as a
sea of frothy mud and uninteresting.
llurridly retracing our steps we arrived
hot and painting at the camp, faint
with hunger, as it was then O'Clock.
A fine dinner was furnished us by JAP