Show Pioneers Found T Trails rails No Highway Old Dugway Started by Billings Party An entry from Crom the official Journal of oC W W. C. C C a member ol of the Elk Mountain Mission which came to the Moab valley In June 1855 Sunday June 10 1855 Road extremely sandy traveled eight miles the flay day most excessively hot Most of the teams were near giving out when they came to the canyon descent leading to Grand river They reached the jumping off oU place Just at sunset which Is nearly three miles from the head of the canyon The cattle had not had a drop of oC water or feed since morning and labored hard in a heat that was nearly equal to a torrid zone This canyon is narrow crooked and rough with rocks the road following following follow follow- ing the bed bid of the canyon where It is either sand or rock The off jumping place is a perpendicular ledge 25 feet high down which William Huntington and Jackson Stewart the year previous previous pre pre- rep let five wagons with their their loads by ropes taking their wa wa- cons to nieces The knowledge of this induced President Billings to take lake a company com corn pany of 12 horsemen In the mornIng mornIng morn mom Ing and move rapidly to the canyon canyon canyon can can- yon all the way down these men fixed the road a and do doat at thes the jumpoff jumpoff jump off oU they worked a road over a point of the mountain covered with very large rocks in half haU a day they completed a very passable road where in the morning it had seemed Impossible to pass with wagons By doubling teams up and all the men that could be spared to steady the wagons down we got all our wagons down safely about nine o'clock at night three miles more took us to Grand rand river riv riv- er er the first water our stock got since morning The very passable road to which the journal refers still can be seen today Its It's the old Moab dugway or Mormon dugway west of the Arches Arches' National MOn Mon Maa Monument um nt headquarters building |