Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1912-12-19
NATURAL BRIDGES.
The Biggest In the World Are In
the Utah Desert.
WONDERS OF WHITE CANYON.
Three Massive Towering Arches. Ma.
jestie In Their Rugged Grandeur,
Span the Lonely. Picturesque Gorge.


iestie In Their Rugged Grandeur,
Span the Lonely, Picturesque Gorge.
Far From the Beaten Paths OF Man.
Among the wonders of the west
which the government has taken I'm
ger its care are the remur kahIe natural
Sritlges Of Utah. which are. w far as
- k'mwn. without peer In l!N,S
these three bridges. the Caroline. IN
gusta and Edwin. were set aside us IA
tionni monuments. and later certain
caves and springs near by We're added
Do the reserved area
II IN difficult to give an adequate
hem Ut these stul~nd0,is arches. aud
10 far they have been seen 10y few
persons. for II is triI, of days across
the desert to reach them, but accurate
measurements have been taken and
convey some notion Of their size and
shape The popular way of reaching
where one can obtain II guide and out
IT. Thence yOw proceed through dry
washes. old stream beds and sage GOV
cred mesas to the great bridges which
loom up In White canyon far from the
beaten path Of man.
The White canyon itself Is many
miles long. ana the bridges spring
from its steep. light buzz wallis. the
three being within q distance Of five
miles. They seem carved by Titanic
forces. for the largest II 2!.22 feet high
and Is feet thick ut the top of the
arch. The arch In q feet wide. the
span II POI feet. and the height Of the
span h IS7 feet
The Natural bridge OF Virginia IN n
baby 10 comparison with any Ut the
three Utah formations. It Is to bp re-
gretted that these wonderful bridges
ase not easier of access Figures give
1ttle idea ~ their immensely. and
words but suggest their beauty.
The first account NJ them given to
the world was that Uf Horace J Long
who visited the bridges In 1909 Long
was an engineer and prospecting In
Utah. One day he fell In with a cattle
man named ScOrup. who was familiar
with Utah and In particular with the
region lying around the San Juan river
ScOrup. after some preliminary con
versati0n, said that he had seen some
remarkable bridges so immense and
wonderful that he disliked to talk about
them for fear he would be accused Of
manufacturing the story. He added
that though he had seen them In 1898
he had always desired to 60 back and
II Long would accompany him and take
photographs he would guarantee to
guide the engineer to the place.
Accordingly the two men set out with
pack horses and provisions. and after
= lonely trip through deserts and
canyons and wide stretches where no
animal was to be seen they descended
into the gorge of the White canyon. the
sides Of which are filed with deserted
clin dwellings, Two days later they
came to the wonderful bridges. the first
Of which. of pink sandstone. ScOrup
called Caroline in honor of his mother.
Long was fairly dazed at the beauty
and size OF this natural wonder. The
pink walls were streaked with delicate
eOlOred lichens and stood out In bold
relief against Il sky Of blue. More than
this. both men felt that they were gaz'
ing on one OF the wonders OF the world.
They pushed rapidly down the can