Weekly journal-miner., 1911-11-15

lca, who recently passed IhIOugh IHls city logging a transeontinental route through northern Arizona, relates many interesting experiences between here and Holbrook and was so favor ably impressed with the scenic gran deurs of Arizona that he left the new state for the east wishing its people every success Gin throwing open Gods country to the waiting world. y
 Holbrook, Ariz.. Nov. ,. MT. Grand, Territorial Engineer,
 Capitol, Phoenix, Arizona.
 My dear sir: You may have seen by the Prescott papers that it took me three days to reach that city from Phoenix, along the present un- satisfactory route. We certainly missed the territorial highway, since, owing to the recent period of bad weather. we could not make more than Congress Junction the first day, and Kirkland the second. MT. Tom Norris was just as you described him an enthusiastic good roads man and a fine fellow, who took us into his good graces and regretted keenly that circumstances did not permit him to accompany us to Flagstaff, or even further.
 I am glad for his own personal comforts sake that he kept "snug" in Prescott. We had three days more. after leaving Prescott, of ex- tremely difficult travel before we reached Flagstaff. Camp Verde was our first stop, and thanks to an in troduction to Mr Hance, whose house we reached after dark, we were able to avoid sleeping out in the car-the hotel being reserved for the itinerant politicians. If the roads had been bad hitherto. they were now to all most prove our Waterloo. It was pleasure to meet your MT. F. k. Goodwin. five miles out of Verde. That gentleman escorted us on horse back to his camp near Montezuma' 's Well. and after luncheon our courte- ous host insisted upon accompanying us still further to his advance camp which we all finally reached about half past eight, 9 miles further on. MT. Goodwin took us over the practi- cally completed part of the territorial highway along the Mogollon Preeipice -about six miles on excellent sur face and easy travel. I think that as a piece of good engineering with its easy grades, its overhead ditching and its fine system of eatch-basins and culverts, this highway is as good as any work I have seen in the Alps. The rest of the unfinished Cor un- touehed) highway to Flagstaff was the worst road we have met any where on our transeontinental tour. Where the road was not quagmire, it was rendered almost impossible by huge boulders and loose stones, which threatened to tear the engines out of the ear. Over the worst parts of this road I think our progress was about a mile an hour. It certainly is no road for automobiles.
 MT. Goodwin fully realized our danger, and when we left the road camp, where he had kindly arranged that we spend the night, he rode on ahead with the foreman, a mule team, and the "road gang in a wagon, to prepare our way. The ruts were thus filled up around boulders and on one occasion the men pried us off a rock with crOwbars. Except for this kindly aid of MT. Goodwin $, we should never have reached Flag staff with the car. His cheery good nature was conspicuous throughout his fifty odd miles of horseback ride, and we feel deeply indebted to him TOT HIS hluuueSS. l ne ldSJ ten UllleS into Flagstaff was good and easy road.
 At Flagstaff the Rabbits and Prof. Lowell gave us a cordial re- ception, and thanks to MT. Norris, we were given a ear and driver for a two days trip to the Grand Canyon. It was really hard to break away from Flagstaff, its enthusiastic good roads men, and its scenic and his torical charms.
 We went to Winslow in one day over a good road, via Tolchaco and Leupp. We nearly got drowned in the Tucker Flats, because we did not take a left fork over a good weather road into Winslow.
 We found MT. W. H. Clark of Hol- brook, on hand early the next morn