Gainesville daily sun. (Gainesville, Fla.) 190?-1938, 1907-01-24
THE GRAND CANYON
,eoME or THE WONDERS or THIS
VAST WILD FREAK or NATURE.


raea OF It's Enermous Proportions.
The Are OF the Terrible Trough n
Mystery Co the scientists.
Grand canyon guides are oftentimes
{ ,ns much startled as was Mark Twain's
ronductor who showed him the statue
OF Christopher Columbus. After the
American humOrlst had heard his guide
dilste on the greatness Of the man who
ascovered the new world he calmly
asked IL Columbus was dead.
A Philadelphia man after his first
xIlmpse Of the canyon put this question
10 bis guide:
III our city hall was put down there.
how high would the top reach above
ground"
What is the height OF your city
haiif" asked the guide. The Philadel-
phian grew red In the face. He was
& 1lsgusied with the guides Ignorance.
He stamped his foot aud shouted:
why, man alive. don't you know?
That wonderful building! Listen! The
hat Of the great statue OF William
xscnn on Its top Is 5iT feet from tile
street. Think OF that. SIR"
do you see that crack In the rocks
down there?" asked the guide. pointing
10 a distant crsvice which looked no
bigger than an open sewer ditch.
swell. you could drop three Of your
city halls one gu top of another into
that crack aud not know where they
went"
Some New Workers unfamiliar with
she bigness OF western thugs cause
the guides equal amusement. One of
them. who afterward admitted he had
never been above Fourteenth street
before he Inherited the fortune he bad
elnce been blowing In" on travel.
asked. II the Grand canyon was ~
long rs the Bowery.
In self defense. therefore the canyon
guides formulated u number Of com
Farisons between the biggest hole la
she world and other objects with
which visitors from the east and else
where are more familiar. The guides
spring these facts rs soon as they
can. Ia has the effect, they say. OF
heading OF lot OF idle questions and
thus saving tremendous amount Of
breath. OF which the average tourist
who tries 90 see the canyon on foot
soon finds himself sadly In need
The guides say. for example. that u
the Eiffel tower, which, with height
of ga feet. Is the tallest structure in
the world. were placed at the bottom
of the canyon In its deepest part five
more towers just like the first would
have TO I've piled on top Of one another
10 reach the rim OF the plateau. Elev
en- Washington monuments superin
posed would just about equal the depth
OF the gorge
IL u were possible 90 build four ST
Peters. four Strassburg cathe'irals and
four pyramids Of CheOps. all OF them
would be needed. piled one on the 9th
-er, 90 reach from the canyons bottom
90 its top. The skyscraPers OF New
York would fairly be lost In the 'biE
hole" The Singer building, with lis
tower reaching 20 the height OF 80
feet, would reach one-tenth the distanc,
the edge Of the Arizona plateau. The
depth OF the canyon about equals six
teen Park Row buildings or seventeen
such structures as the one known rs ~
Wall street
In length the canyon, II transferre,
90 the Atlantic coast, would extend
from New York city 10 Washington
II tight rope performer tried TO eros
n at its widest point he would have q
walk a distance equal 10 that from tn
Battery to the northernmOst limit o.
the Bronx. or about fifteen miles. COul'
the canyon be filled In for building
site Il would furnish room enough 70
city New York cities. Indeed, !
would have an area of idOOO. SQUARE
miles. equal To the whole OF Switzer
land or the states Of Massachusetts
Connecticut. Delaware and Rhode j.
land combined.
Were canal Of the size Of Me Pan
ANA canal 60 be dug In the GranS
canyon Il would appear hardly large
than a baby ribbon to "a spectator oil
the rim. It Is estimated that 10 oh
tain enough earth to nil the Gram
canyon Il would be necessary 60 exca
vate 10000 Panama canals.
Vet when Il comes 20 the age Of tn
canyon the guides admit they have N
way of satisfying the questioning tour
ist II II not enough to say that tn
= Coloraa. rfva, oris.tnafel In the earl