Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1912-12-26
NATURAL BRIDGES,
Inc Biggest In the World Are In
the Utah Desert.
WONDERS OF WHITE CANYON.

jestio In Their Rugged Grandeur,
span the Lonely. Picturesque Gorge,
rar From the Beaten Paths Of Man.
Among the wonders of the west
winch the government has taken un.
der Its care are the remarka bic natural
bridges of Utah, which are. SO far rs
is known. without a peer In 1908
these three bridges, the Caroline. An
gusta and Edwin, were set aside as ma.
tlohai monuments, and later certain
caves and springs near by were added
to the reserved urea.
1t Is difficult to give an adequate
idea OF these stupendous arches. and
so far they have been seen by few
persons. for 1t is trip 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
these curi0sities Is from Bluff. Utah.
where one can obtain guide and out
ut Thence you proceed through dry
washes. old stream beds and sage GOV
~'>N .A'N''ss'' w thC 81 luScS. W UICu
loom up In White canyon far from the
beaten path Of man.
The White canyon itself is many
miles long. and the bridges spring
from its steep. light bun walls, the
three being within distance Of Eve
miles. They seem carved by Titanic
forces. for the largest Is 222 feet high
and Is feet thick at the top of the
arch. The arch Is Is feet wide, the
span Is 261 feet. and the height of the
span ia l57 feet
The Natural bridge of Virginia is a
baby in comparison with any Of the
three Utah formations 1t Is to be re-
GREETED that these wonderful bridges
are not easier Of access. Figures give
little idea Of their immensely. and
words but suggest their beauty.
The first account Of them given to
the world was that of Horace J. Long.
who visited the bridges in 1903. 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
versation. said that he had seen some
remarkable bridges so immense and
wonderful that he disliked to talk about
them for fear he would he accused of
manufacturing the story. He added
that though he had seen them in 1899
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
cliff dwellings Two days later they
came to the wonderful bridges. the first
Of which. ot 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
colored lichens and stood out in bold
relief against a 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
yon and came to another arch. more
symmetrical and more beautiful than
the first. with 4 ightness and grace and
charm of coloring that made it splen
did work OF nature Long named this
the Augusta after his wife and man
aged to get a fair photograph. The
arch was so nigh that the trees of Cal
ifornia would seem dwarfed beside it
and the men took what measurements
they could by climbing and clinging to
the canyons sides
They found the Edwin. or Little
bridge. several miles down the canyon.
the arch in reality of immense dimen
sions, but small In comparison with
those that they had measured All
around these bridges are crags and
strange nations, cave dwellings.
springs and other objects OF interest,
but the center of attraction is and will
always be these three lowering arcHes
which span the White canyon
Undoubtedly these bridges are OF
great scientific interest not alone be
cause they are so far as known the
largest natural bridges In the world
but because they are extraordinary ex
amples Of stream erosion An ancient
river probably carved these great
arches. which may have been known to
prehistoric dwellers of the desert west
New York Sun
The Crowded Way.