The Coconino sun., 1927-07-01


If feller only had all the money
that has been spent in this county on
preliminary work on projects that
have never come through!
Most of us have been here long
enough to remember the thousands OF
dollars spent on Crater Lake, north of
Fort Valley, building tunnel spill
way out of it and tunnel into it, the
latter to take into the lake water from
miles of trenches dug up to the base
of the Peaks.
Pipeline was hauled cat there to
distribute the water from this lake
and two other of Spencer's similar
projects on which great deal of work
also was DONE That water was to
make Dead Mans Flat and great
area surrounding grow fruits and
vegetables under intensive cultivation;
also for thousands of cattle.
The pipeline still lies out there.
The tunnel into Crater Lake is mostly
caved in, and the trenches are filling
up.
Charlie Spencer, the man who con-
ceived this great plan and later tried
to interest Flagstaff in buying the
right to use the water here, also previ-
Gus to that decided that there was
wealth to be acquired in dredging
sand from the bottom of the Colorado
river and extracting the gold. He put
a steamboat dredge into the river near
Lees Ferry. 1t is still there.
The foregoing instances of wealth
squandered lavishly on projects that
never realized returns or even part of
the expense involved are only two of
many.
Very few here remember or ever
heard of the gigantic project II. j.
Beamer, a rich Englishman, worked
on previous to and during 1904 to
build an electric railroad from FL
Tovar hotel, Grand Canyon, along the
rim of the Canyon to Cataract Can
yon and by means of spiral down to
the foot of Cataract Canyon, some 40
miles west of FL Tovar.
Frank Goodman, now city engineer
of Flagstaff, ran the survey for
Beamer.
Beamer also had supposedly rich
platinum and lead mining claims in
Cataract Canyon. Altogether, Mr..
Goodman says, he spent S300,000
Chc1 Z, OI1flilS lu1lllS4S, UullllllS q IOdu-
bed across above Bridal Veil falls, etc.
All of his supplies were freighted In
by wagon from Seligman.
Beamer expected to develop hydro
electric power in Cataract Canyon to
to put an extra million of his own into
the enterprise and raised four millions
more among his London friends. But
nf oil Ho do
Teddy Roosevelt, then president, and
Clifford Pinchot, chief u. S. forester,
said he wouldn't be allowed to mar the
scenery there with an electric rail
road.
So, even to this day, there is no
such railroad there.
Though there may be some day,
even as some day someone else may
happen along and make a success of
the ideas Charlie Spencer tried to
realize on.
Driving over the Western Navajo
Indian reservation during the week
end, DR.. Felix Manning and Frank
Goodman reminisced about the days
when they were with government sur
vey corps in that country, running out
township and section lines and parti-
tioning some of the land more sus-
ceptible to cropping into two-acre
plats on which the Indian department
expected the Indians to move from
their mesas.
The Indians didn't.
Both worked-though not at the
same time-for Blout, chief of sur
vey, who recently died in California
and who for years was well known
here.
Felix was going to medical school !
in Mobile, Ala. One Of the summers
he was spending his vacation working
for Bout, he decided in July to come
to town for better job. They were
then at Keams Canyon. Blout said he
couldn't provide transportation for T
Felix into town. OF course automo-
biles weren't coursing through that +
country then and it was a three-day
wagon trip. Felix paid S. for burro
on which he packed his outfit, and in