The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1907-11-01

The marvellous architectural ability
of the forces of nature is strikingly IL
Illustrated in southern Utah, where
three great natural bridges, one the
largest in the world, span the canyon
of the White river. At the present
time this magnificent, romantic, wild
scenery is almost inaccessible, being
hundreds of miles from the nearest
railroad line, but the government pro-
poses to create two new national
parks so as to include these natural
wonders, and as a result they will be
made more accessible, as the new
reservations become popular with the
tourists.
Expanding a cliff-dwelling hunt into
a search for new natural wonders,
party of biologists, archaeologists and
engineers spent six weeks last sum-
mer in San Juan county, Utah. The
party carried commissions from the
government to map the uncharted ter
ritory where the natural bridges are
found and to make survey of the
country. Incidentally the party made
an archaeological map of the cliff
dwellings found profusely in the
canyon caves and the ruined pueblos
that dot the mesas.
San Juan county has an area of H.
600 square miles, and, according to
the Utah state board of statistics,
there are less than 500 persons in the
whole county. Not more than few
score of these citizens live outside the
towns of Monticello and Bliff City,
frontier settlements, whose popula-
ton consists of cattle and sheep own
ers.
The exploring party, led by Prof.
Byron Cummings, of the University OF
Utah, and Prof. Edgar l.. Hewett, of
the department of the interior, left
Thompson's Springs, Utah, on the Rio
Grande railroad, went by stage 80
miles south of Moad, gathered an
outfit of horses and pack mules and
crossed IS miles of desert to Month
mountains. From Monticello the
party struck off to the east and then
took southerly course through
Montezuma canyon, tributary of the
San Juan river. After spending ten
days among the cliff dwellings and
ruined villages of the canyon the party
reached the San Juan, Is miles east
of Bluff and close to the Colorado
line Bluff is SO miles south of Month
cello and Y miles west of Mancos,
Col, the nearest railroad point.
Supplies were taken on at Bluff, and
the caravan of nine persons moved
westward toward the Colorado river,
across country that is seldom trav-
ersed by a white man. Utes and Pal
Utes leave their summer wicky-ups
near the San Juan and Colorado
rivers for cooler places high up on
the Elk Ridge or the Blue mountains;
trails are almost unknown and water
is as scarce as trails. The guide led
the party over broken country,
through waterless canyons and across
desert, rocky wastes toward White
canyon, which writhes and twists
down from the Elk Ridge to the Colo
RADIO river.
Near Bears Ears peaks, at the sum-
NIT of the ridge, White canyon springs
out of the pine forest, winds through
tumbled rocks and deepens into an
impossible split in the earth. In its
course toward the Colorado river
White canyon covers over 100 miles,
and there is only one place in the
whole distance where entrance can
be effected without the greatest dan
ger. This is through Armstrong
canyon, small tributary, reached
after days ride north of the general
course through forest of scrub pinon.
Following this canyon down few
miles, the first camp was struck in
the shadow of the Edwin Natural
Bridge, the smallest of the three nat
ural wonders.
The entire formation of the splendid
there streak of gray and the brown
stain of water lend weird effect to
the picture. Towering 1000 feet
above the canyon on either side is
solid background of dark red rock,
with dashes of crimson. The red
beds were originally part of the Elk
Ridge, and dip to the south and west
toward the Colorado. The water of
another age cut through the upper
formation into the white sandstone,
which slants from an elevation of
1000 feet into oblivion at the river
level at Dandy crossing.
The Edwin bridge spans a small
branch of Armstrong canyon, and the
abutments are set upon natural rise
far above the general level. The gov
ernm, ut measurements, taken this |
SUNNI r, show it to be 104 feet from
the bed of the creek to the top of the |
arch. The floor of the bridge is 80 |
feet wide, ten feet thick and ia feet |
long. 1t, like the others in the group,
was formed solely by the water that |