Show ANGEL ± TRAIL I BRIGHT Jrll VJl iJL 1 lOIJLy In the very heart of our great wcst most fcrn desert land Her one of the beautiful natural vondcr of tho world lu a lzon1 the Grand canyon oC Arizona o < from the Softy arid plateau remote highways of transcontinental travel la found this mlRhty rift in the world a Ions mile Wild picturesque gorge 217 a wide and over Thirteen mllcB KOIIIC mllo dwp ivJillc at Its ba80 icnrH the eiiJlpn turhulont Hood of the Colorado whole that ihir river ScIentlstK iy region IHH once the bed of an aiTifirnt hhh lifted on Hon hut was subsequently nn the oarth crust cooleil The Colorado IK tin natural drain of n vast mountainous icglon lying toward rihi north and for ngci It I bus been wuv 3n > c Itr vvny Hioadily down to Its prcKcnt feet bII which ir still several thousand nhovo Hiii level H loaila I a i strenuous 3lf 1 throuffluuiL almost tho wh9lc of Its 200 inllen of lonytb Born amid per j > ctual snow and nmnng stormbeaten rcelpltniiK rocks It plunKcn Uoxvinvard in Icnplnj filoract and churning whirlpool through a Merles of < Ieop gorges nnd IPXVOS a prey to t perpetual thlrst the hinds upon Itu lofty banks For luimlrwls oC miles it buries itself fiiillcnly In dark ravines of Its own making and lends itself to no bonutt IpiiL piHT ° se Through all that length it forma no water highway for a boat 3ior turns a single factory wheel There for lIfe tire no farms that look to It and ft wandering licrtismitn may perish anisorably of thirst within sight of its ilnaeccsslble walorn TwIce do railroads span its width and their bridges arc built on massive piers to witlistand the sudden Hoods of this erratic stream Sparer the ocean the river quiets down siml makes up for all its selfish wIth holtlhll by proving itself a verItable iII i I IIo to the surrounding country And thls lit the river that for centuries of yesterdays wherein each yesterday was cm a thousand years has been sawing jts uay fltubbornly down throuKii lava 8edf sandstone und granite until today its handiwork of beautiful canyons is not dupllciitud anywhere else in the I world The Grand canyon lies some sixtyfive iiIJcs oil the main traveled road and Jiercloforc the Infrequent visitor to this 2tllcknown region has been obliged to enako the Journey by stage Within the I Oust few months a branch railroad has I Ojoen built to tho rim and dally trains are run Hotel accommodation arc limited ns yet but the long low buildings build-ings of log and frame uro < o be replaced dn time by more commodious structures struc-tures tilth all the modern improve HicntB J 1 food and supplies Jmvc toe to-e brought in over tho desert by rail tind cvnry rop or water used about the hotel has to be hauled In tank cars for the river Is I Jive miles away us tho row Illcs and over GOOD feet below the level of the hotel and Il would be Impossible Im-possible to carry water up tho steep trail Armed with n stopover check and 3ortilled by the near piospcut of net xliff n coveted sight of the wonderful canyon I loft an overland train one drenIng at the I junction town of Wlll 3ani9 a wild little place of sawmills I smellers and saloons The branch road Wfia new and IH yet unballasted and very rough and my train rattled and stayed and bumped along with now and then a few minutes o smoother rId jag when we were doubtless off the Uraolc FJnally we reached the canyon about 30 nelork at night The porters of the 33rlght Angel hotel met the train with DanteniH and handcarts Along with 1 about SiXty other passengers I followed rv flickering lantern up the hill to the Jotcl I while our luggage followed In the carts Out of the cold windy darkness I i stepped into the hotel sittingroom where u big log fire vi roaring away 3u a wide fireplace The room walls orc covered with In < Jan blankets and Jclns of wild anlmalR and decorated with leers horns and pictures of theCa the-Ca UCJII 1 was toll that owing to the crowded I condition of the hotel iwouM have to jIiip in a lent but I did not mind JL little thing like that with so big a thing as the canyon to be seen on the JIIOITOW After making arrangements for n horai and a guide for the next ilay I followed a porter across the yard to my room I followed him very closely too for the wind blew a gale lule mid 1 knew the canyon wa somewhere only a few feet from me in the dark jicsM nnd to blow over its edge was to blow into the next world S1 My tent stood in a row with Severn I d07au others and was roomy enough and surprisingly I comfortable I had n t wooden tloor with Indian blankets 100 wih IliHun for rugs The rot and the slue walls above the high woolen walnoot were of white canvas and it wrs warmed and lighted 3ml anc Ight by Kerosene J found It already tenanted 1 nd by three other women all Found asleep The cold high wind nsIecf hlth howled like n banshee around tire frail structure fri sl1uctmc I and rattled at the loose door and shook I tine rldpi pole and died awsiy in a sceth I lug hiss among tho echoing rocks Sin t cerely hoping the tent wm anchored I Saul I crept Into a clean llule I I camp bed ann slept the sleep that Is I never so profound anywhere else on earth as in a a tent In tho plno woods At sunrlHe I went up to the hotel to breakfast and as I turned the corner of ilt house suddenly the unspeakable wonder of the canyon was at my feet With my eyes ui > on It I and my heart In m mouth I i my crept softly to the rim and loaned upon the railing The wind hid died away and the warm clear sun light foil Into that vast hn valley and lilled it from rim to rim stI as ale a tldelcss sea Against the farther wall ole twelve mile away hung a soft luminous ruo that was neither mist nor smoke but visible atmosphere and up out of the mighty y gulf between IIJhl bllWl n rose mountain ulIfi and headland and tower 10 and cathedral spire as of some ancient t < ruined city all cut from solid anccn The voKlness of tire sunken world ap pealed to me first Then came the api predation of the soft blending 01 ev cry I color known to nature which over laid the whole and redeemed It from the I appearance oC desolation Then there grew upon me the sense of the antiquity of it all Countless ages hoary hail worked their slow will cr wi upon the rocks gnawing away tho softer parts while the shapes harder parts assumed strange r forgot that I imd come there to go down Into that lowlying world over the 10w1lnl wOllL perilous Bright Angel trail until 011 a guide lusked suddenly MDo you prefer a mule IIc1c1 or a horse Jn a dazed way I said dU1el Y > y Indeed and into I lullecJ rHI 11Lo my hand was lnced the bridle of a JongcurcO blllc a IIHgIIeI pa tienteyed 1 mule tlentc cr bearing a tightly cinched mans saddle and the name of Forlorn Hope Him 1 gave n friendly clap that raIsed file dust from his motheaten hide then ted him seeiIrel Hcenrely In bin place plains fashion by l moroly m1th dropping the reins over his head to the ground I picked out my riding habit which I rented for the occasion ns one rents a bathing suit at the seaside Tt included n blue denim divided I for a mans saddle Is tho only Hlcrt lowed IOl the sleep trail and a wlde brjiniiicd stniw hit to wan off th wlce sun In the fastness of my tent I got Into my voluminous blue jeans overalls and si blouso resembling 1 jumper and uld ty sing the hat down over I my ears I climb ed Tiboarcl Forlorn Hopo eImb wns ready to hit the trail The different parties presented an Interesting I appear ance as they lined up for the descent lt Sraid elderly gentlemen of pompous o mien wero forced to lay aside their r pomposity a they climbed fearlessly Into the saddle Stout elderly I ladles gave over feeling dlgniilcd since it was impossible to look so when Kitting llttng nstrfilo I trllo H lopeared mule resembling an lc elhlng animated hair hnl trunk Each guide takes a parly of seven or eight who fall Into line behind him single tile lie carrie X1 behlnc fe 1IC > Ims a can cal teen of water and a cupVfnio bag holds ho lunches for his party 1 bat lunch 1 II IB Inclosnfl In a smaller paper hog and each nrtlolc Is IW ally wrapped in oiled paper Tho trail begins lo descend Immediately 1 Im-mediately and the sheer descent of nearly near-ly I a mile In accomplished close In against the face of the precipice The puth Ixag > back iind forlh over the debris r the cliff formed through cro hlon by rain and rot Tin I horses and mule are used to tit work as they go down every day durlntr the iieaxon and arc surefooted and gentle The guides Instruction are to make no effort to guide the rnlmals but to give them 1 In0ie rein and to hold firmly to the saddle at the stetS places Then thf excitement begins Some timid people Insist upon walking and this iho I guides readily allow as It I la I the I surest way to e cure contented ildcru Others want their horses led 1 and tide vlth dangling ulltTUpu M O ns to gel off quick Sllll otbfis quickly acquire thC trail face tvlnleir bespeaks entire elfdlstrii3t a doubtful trust t In Piovldrncu and unbounded un-bounded 1 trust in the trail mule My Forlorn Hope put bis nose to the ground and with short arid careful I care-ful steps picked him way over the path At the sharpest turns his note west out over I thousandfoot precipice I preci-pice then halting and gallicilng his four feet together he made a sharp turn whereupon 11 I I was my time to hang out over space them he went steadIly on to the next bend At ono sharp descent the path IB cut Into regular reg-ular steps and hero nil dismount nnd walk down sending I the t horses on alone after the guide Accidents rarely happen hap-pen The trail is made very narrow not possibly so Hint the horses can 110s pass each oilier and hence they 10 not try It is claimed that most mountain moun-tain accidents have 1 happened on paths wide enough for passing and then the animals have crowded each olher oCr Is only after I C close acquaintance with the canyon walls that you can gain any Idea of their depth You aro told that a certain gorge Is llfty times f and you as deep ns that of Niagara can believe it only after I you havo spent hours climbing down Its sides and have looked back to see It tutlined asa the sky From n mighty will against tE FIol the rim of n certain ted Vnll may Perm only a mere Inddont In the great whole but you are 1 hour In passing its down to It length when you once get cown The usual standards of measurement desert you utterly L In the face of such stupendous cliffs and the addition of several I thousand f feel more In height or depth falls to impress you especially espe-cially Vftcr we bad sidled and slid and zlb iggcd down for near 000 feet wo came to n path of comparatively easy grade and had a chance to look about us In the hot sunshine the cactus blossoms blos-soms glomcd in tlery colors and tho ground wns covered with strange flowers flow-ers thai I would have set a botanists heart aflame while over us lowered skyward a wall lor brilliantly colored roe that woud have made 1 sped menhunting geologist wild to get at with a hammer Nowhere else In all the world Is I tire earths crust rent loa lo-a sheer depth of UOOO feet and its I sine cesslvc strata exposed to view and lire the scientist might spend a lifetime life-time In study In the lower levels of the canyon we came upon a spring of clear cold wa tel and stopped to rest under the wil low trees that grew about and to wl re llll the canteens for water is found nowhere else upon the trail t I Then on across a stony plateau t wo traveled until we came to the high shoie of the Colorado river down upon its roaring muddy and looked flood hemmed in by mUdL food mlec granite wells gInnllc a sheer 1100 wels u 100 feet below us sllll It is impos stink to descend to the leSel river at this tt point PCinL There with the subdued roar of the water in our ears we ate our lunches and climbed about I tho rock 011 and chasccl the nimble lizards s There Is I very little animal I lfe Izar the can yon A few birds CI 01 llu tiered Ju Lclcd among the trees mnOtb lio about the subdued awestricken spring and pang in a1 uwcstrlclcn Kind of o a while butterflies t of fnmllnr way color tt UClteH among o fnmll I flowers 1 shape mid and I of blundering the bumblebees blossoms fell In and out Then began the upward climb and tho clm again patch seemed nnt it new to us for was afternoon now ami the 10W shadows fcl differently and we camo upon tho cliffs clfs from a different direction The threadlike trail ahead was Invisible and the 111511Ic seemingly straight wall of tho canyon rose against the deep I blue sky but despaired of ever getting out again happily Forlorn 3 1 ope with nose to the giound asked onl only to see one stop at a time and climbed nimbly and patiently upward The beautiful coloring of the rocks came oul more clcrnly as the sun left lliom and every hieie the t redbrown shades of lion i ruM prevailed oral where the rain had WaSiidl wasluyl the color down across a stratum of while snnd s one there bloomed faint a I I pink and yellow tones An l so lolling upward we came al last to I the canyons rim again after an eight hours tm trip he low lowAfter After dinner Ibo guests of the hotel galhend In a wide circle about the big tire ui phil lojjs and there listened lo Ihe i thrilling iMos I of the region is I told by the old guides who almost believed 1 I htormr t h lll pl ves I went out and stood In the I moon liht to take a last farewell of the Hublimcst sight my eyes had ever be held The clear I bin air hraiiirhl Inlo view millions of new stars The bril liant dead moon looked down upon the I shadowy doad valley the llres of action and nchlevomcnt cooled In each and I wondered If I they communed to gether of the days when the world was young The foil whisper of the bivcze In the I pines seemed the Cnnyon Spirit which mid Ask me Then somc wlwo t Forlorn Jr lope brayed ills ron ola leI > and the I evening train puffed III bringing eighty more guests for whom theje were tent accommo dations only Three now women were put In my elcctrh h tell Ktcambeal ed flat and they sprnt the nlghl vow ing they I would go to another hoc in the morning so they would But next morning I found the I maddest one of the three sitting on the edge oC the canyon and crying softly I over the beautiful sight It was interesting to watch the way the view appealed to the different poo pie Homo looked at It casually at first as though they had a hole like that in their I buck yard at homo Then the canyon got J In Its fasrlnallnc1 work and they could neither slucp nor eat for I looking III It Some gazed at It awc iitricken and went away nnd sat down I tilone to study It Some stepped soft ly I at though listening to grand organ music In dim cathedral aisles Among others were baseminded utilitarians i who mentally surveyed an electric car I line along tine canyon rim or llgured on a water motor for some Rrlght Angel laundry Ono ioimh miner turned away from the scone with tears in Ms eyes and said It comes up to Us brat Possibly as time goes on tho wild unturned river will be harnessed to a dynamo antI electric motors will haul observation cars for two hundred miles along the canyons crest and Rtranse new echoes will answer the rieukhib cable or chattering cog on some cllffside incline but nothing can mar the beauty i of that rcmotu region for the I government maintains forest runners who protect the Um ber nnd do not allow fires built on the reservation Every year an increasing hut I of travel 1 I turns a511V from the desert path to tine high plateau of open range and forestcrowned knoll and PUUMW on the brink of that myslcr lous underworld unto which drops beautiful Bright Angel trail Geneva Lane in St Louis GlobeDemocrat |