Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-10-05

III reputation Tor scenic grandeur IL
~ was inevitable that wealth of
fictional lore should spring up
Some of the truly great liars OF
America have fiourished there and the cur
rent crop Of yarns is no worse than yesterdays
harvest.
Many of the stories entertaining be-
cause Of the cdd individual who tells them,
rather than because of any immediate literary
content. All of them better If they can
be heard-in extempo; aneous dialect, maybe
I'm the canyons strange and bizarre setting
At times the awesome depths and colors of
the canyon have inspired the old cowpunchers
and trappers and woodsmen of the Colorado
River country to unexpected literary heights
Gathered here is some of the cream. of the
crop-a collection of "whoppers" that would do
credit to Mark Twain:
Bill Nugget, one-time chief guide at the
Grand Canyon, relates extraordinary ex-
perence of a man who fell over the canyon
rim.
HE was tourist with rubber boots on, ac-
count of the rains" Bill said. HE got to
projeckin" around the edge there and slipped
over.
"He fell down 1000 feet to that next rock
ledge, hit his feet and the rubber boots
bounced him right back up. He fell down
again and bounced back again. Just kept
bouncing.
Sometimes he wouldn't bounce very high.
An of us there climbed down there and tried
about every fourth bounce he'd hit just right
on his rubbers and they'd bounce him plum up
to the level OF the rim and he'd start all over.
"He kept that up two days without stopping,
and we couldn't do nothing to ketch him.
FINALLY, we had to shoot him to keep him
from starving to death"
MEMBERS MISUNDERSTANDING of the
Grand Canyon Chamber of Commerce do
not as a rule stick to the exact truth in de-
scrfbing the climate of their homeland There
II the story of the Grand Canyon guide who
departed this life and went to his just re-
wards.
Upon arrival there the devil was escorting
him about Hades, showing him his new home
and all the works" there. During the course
Of the stroll the newcomer remarked that sit
certainly is hot"
well, yes" the hospitable devil agreed. But
it's clean sort Of heat. You see lis degrees
here IS no verse than 80 in New York City,
because it's so much drier here"
yeah, I've heard that old gam before" the
canyon guide sneered
"Oh yes" the devil agreed again. you've
heard it, In fact, you told it. That's why
you're here"
THE joke-of-tae- month in the West answers
a question that scientists have never an
Swered to their own satisfaction. One Scotch
man, aiCer some hOurS OF maneuVer1ng, bOrs r
rOwed dime from another The coin acct
dentally d;oppcd during the transfer and rolled
into gopher hole, whereupon the Grand Can
yOn originated.
A NIMAL life of exceptional intelligence
is known by scientists and others to in
habit the Grand Canyon. One Oscar M.
Pound, the cowpuncher and canyon guide,
relates true story about his pet rattlesnake,
Grover. which he captured while prospecting
for gold.
MIR. Pound raised the snake from a young
ster, trained him one would watchdog
In due course, prospecting resulted in Mr..
Pounds collecting bag of gold dust where
put up at local hotel for the night leaving
supper
"I stayed out later'n I'd meant to-" Mr..
Pound tells. Il always do when I get to
town after spell in the bitches and hills.
And long about midnight guess some fool
and was huntin' my sack of gold. He must
have heard me Dragging about it when first
got TO town.
Grover woke up, and let the burglar get
in. It was plumb dark in the room so Grover
decided to rattle. He ratified sharp and loud
That burglar knowed right now what it was
he knowed q deadly rattlesnake rattle for a
fact. and got plumb stampeded. He started
Tor the winder. but Grover darted over that
way and ratified and headed him or He