Show A grand canyon marvel where the grand can TOS yon 1 Grande ct worlds premier scenic region suddenly produces a new development of the greatest economic interest to the entire nass ion u by JUDSON C WELLIVER HE grand canyon of the colot rado alter widely regarded as the worlds most ass gsg natural wonder has suddenly taken on a new and startling interest A few years ago when it was u inaccessible as the north pole john wesley powell won tame by makeni the first trip through it A little later mother adventurer conceived opening a trail from the canyons rim down to the river a mile below it seemed grotesque ero tesque but the impossible was ac and its accomplishment las made the canyons innermost won ders accessible to thousands of tour ista each year they come all nu artera 0 the world every season in numbers to traverse the bright angel trall that trail la truly a monument to the daring and devotion 0 its builder he worked at it tor ten years almost without help cr financial backing at one period pending almost half a year alone in tte vast gorge but today ralph cameron builder of the bright angel trail occupying a seat in the united states senate voted to him by the people ot arizona has his reward greatest artificial lake but the conquest of the canyon bad eardly been realized when the engl aaers discovered a new use tor it at canyon arizona the greatest aam in the world a third ot a mile hilgh should impound a lake which over a great area in arizona and utah would be next to lake michigan the largest fresh water body entirely within the united states harnessed to mighty turbines the wa ler falling hundreds of feet would produce a power greater than niagara and irrigate an area several times that ot the nile basin which served tor uncounted in counted centuries as granary ot the ancient world the boulder canyon dam has not yet been built but the people ot the southwest are as confident of if con as that the colorado will continue to flow between its giant walls now comes a new chapter in the romance ot the colorado the in trepid wildcatters wildcat 0 the oil indus try scouting or new sources of petro j have brought in an oil well right tn the canyon drilling from a narrow shelf at the gorge s bottom they have overcome unbelievable obstacles perpendicular walls ot rock grimly tor bade construction of road or trail to transport machinery and supplies from ahe river a of rock walla rise in gargantuan terraces to a height of 3 feel the great american desert pi the attle mormon town of moab miles ap stream la the near est supply base but moab Is not a railroad town a drive of forty miles Is till required to reach the denver buo grande railroad salt lake city fa miles away to the northwest standing at the toot of the derrick which marks the site of the new oil well ones back Is fairly against an toot cliff which Is matched by an other immediately across the river looking up one imagines that it be donld climb one of these walls he would be outside but trying this lie finds himself on a plateau or terrace with another cliff a little way ahead to this in turn would only bring him face to face with still mother cliff and so on till he bad mounted full 3 teet from the river not only must abla succession of buffa be mounted but to traverse the aock terraces gashed and torn Is only less and finally tha ascent the outer rim accomplished one confronts a waste of ridged seamed t and boulder strewn desert endless ate for dystant mountain peaks r djs f manifestly ahe oll t could not mako road oo they built W k just room for the derrick y a sat bottomed boat nd floated down I 1 from moab it was a daring perform ance tor the twists constantly unseen rocks and shilling bars add to I 1 its difficulties and the canyons per colar walls threaten instant wreck but it was done materials were brought a derrick reared machinery placed a camp built and drilling begun now with oil flowing from a depth of 2035 feet the crane creek well Is suddenly the wonder ot the whole intermountain country A maze of difficulties just about a year from the begin nang ot drilling the well began to flow with every indication that when the drill goes somewhat deeper into the producing sand it will be an am producer for the present drilling has been suspended awaiting provision for taking the oil away it Is doubtful it in all the history 0 the wells that have been drilled in this country largely in regions dim cult of access any one has ever presented such a category of obstacles as this canyon well in utah how the oil will be transported to a refinery is still sheer guess work but a way will be found tor the ingenuity and resources of the oil engineers have never tailed the bringing in ot this well illus the difficulty ot petroleum development convinced that the geological structure was particularly favorable the projectors determined to gamble 75 on drilling before they got oil they bad spent more than twice that for years wells have been drilling in various parts ot the state fully in all at a cost ot probably 5 and this canyon well Is the first real producer it Is only by dint of such persistence in coping with natural obstacles and financial hazards that the count rys supply of oil js maintained the first oil well in western pennsylvania became a producer at the depth ot 69 feet nowadays wells a mile deep are not buncom mon and they have gone down as tar as a mile and a halt every well la a gamble A large proportion of wells produce nothing whatever and represent total loss it was recently estimated that in the last twelve and a halt years was sunk in wells which were failures despite every effort of science engineering and long experience and notwithstanding the stupendous depths now reached 25 per cent of wells last year were dry the wildcatter Is the columbus ot oil lie Is to petroleum to gasoline to the fuel supply of the count rys 20 automobiles what the old time gold prospector was to building the empire of the tar west he Is essentially senti ally a gambler good loser or good winner the lure of enormous winnings keeps him tirelessly search ing and sometimes be finds his reward but in the aggregate offsetting all winnings against the total cost of this engrossing gamble it Is not am probable that all the oil that has been taken from the soil ot this country from tho beginning cost more than its producers got or it A world in the big game but their huge gamble Is the basis on which the whole industry rests the icebound ice bound arctic and the fever festering tropic jungles alike attract the hardy wildcatter to them the world owes its newest nd best in transport by land sea and air they help light its homes and streets provide an astonishing share of its power furnish an endless list ot necessaries which are products byproducts by of petroleum the catter la well nigh fhe atlas ot athla modern world alb |