Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1923-07-27
REV. NORTON Tells
PLEASURE OF LIVING
IN SADDLE IN WEST

increasing experience OF kew. George
+. Norton, Hallowell man now in the
West:
The last two weeks I have been out
on the range" and living in the sad
Ole. mad never been on horseback
before and it was some experience. l
dld not have to eat off the mantclpiece,
Dut J certainly sympathized with the
fellow who did. This friend of mine
who invited me to so on this trim was
Eugene McAuliffe. one of the high Of
ficials of the Union Pacific Railroad. He
had to go cut to southwestern Utah to
look at some coal which Mad been
turned up there. He got me a pass
ana paid all expenses. which made it
pretty soft for me. McAuliffe was born
ana raised til the age of three in Eng
land. His father was an engineer in
the British army. When he came to
TINS country lie got a job as construc-
ton engineer with the Northern Pa
cihc and was guarded by Gen. Custer
While running the railroad through the
Sioux country in South Dakota. As a
boy, therefore. Mr.. McAuliffe knew the
west as it was. Played with the cow
boys and "Injuns." lie began work at
the age of 20. firing locomotive out of
salt Lake City. Utah. Then lie became
locomotive engineer and gradually
worked up. So YOU see he was an in.
tcresting man to travel with and one
who would take punishment and expect
those with him to do the same.
We got into Lund in southwestern
Titan at o'clock Friday morning and
started on 35-milc auto ride across
n beautiful road that came together
in a white point where the desert met
10 eli
ing but parched desert with scattering
sage brush. You have seen it and you
know. The land that Cor forgot" ]
nearly froze as we sped along at 40
miles an hour. We arrived at Cedar
City, typical desert town. and there
got luncheon and hired another auto
mobile and at started for Zion Can
yon 90 miles over mesaS and desert
Believe me, / didn't freeze on that ride.
We arrived at the camp in the canyon
at 6.1o and after wash launched into
supper that went to the spot. Next
morning the head forest ranger came
with three horses He was a fine-lool-
ing cowboy. a Mormon and six feet of
bone and hard muscle. with the most
pleasing kind of smile. His name
was Jolly. / mounted my beast as
though L had been riding a horse all
my life. AS n matter of fact 1 had
never been on horse but twice in my
life and not more than Is minutes all
told. We rode up teh bed of the cam
Non and at the upper end started for
blank cliff towering up 5000 feet above
the floor of the canyon. I could not
for the life of me see where we were
going. but little trail opened up be-
fore use and gradually we zigzagged
back and forth half way up that sheer
rock. then over a narrow pass into a
canyon higher up. with cliffs towering
still hisher above us.
The trail was so narrow that we
could not ride but had to lead our
horses. The horses had to pivot on
the turns and when they came to the
end of straight ascent and were to
turn onto the next one above their
heads We're sticking out over a pre-
cipice a thousand or fftesS hundred
feet straight down. We left the bot
tom of the trail on the way up at
9:15 and arrived at the rim above
at 1905. From there we rode to
saw mill four miles beyond. had
and started on to the side of noun
coal. That was a killing ride. 1t
was over the trails of the mesa with
alkali dust kicked up by the horses.
The sun blazing down and the sad
dies getting harder and harder. At
ter we had located the coal, in which
l lad lost all interest by that time,
VIC turned back. Here T must tell
YOU about splendid bit of work done
by Jolly. He and l were following
leisurly along when we crossed the
bed of dry creek saw the other
two men over rise to our left and
rear. I told Jolly. He said it couldn't
be so but finally turned back. He did
not try to follow their trail but took
a general course in their direction
and missed them altogether. Final
ly he said let's go back to the creek
and pick up their trail. This we
did. Jolly from his pony's back fol-
lowed their trail up the beaten track
for mile or so when it suddenly
turned off into the thick under
growth. sage. scrub oak and pines.
He never got off his pony but never