Show Pioneers Found T Trails rails m No Highway Old Dugway Started by Billings Party An entry from the official Journal of or W W. C C. C Huntington a 1 member o othe of the Elk Mountain Mission which came to th the Moab valley in June Juno 1855 Sunday June 10 1855 Road Roa extremely sandy traveled tra eight elgh miles mlles the day most excessively hot Most of the teams were near giving out when they came to the canyon descent leading to Grand Gram 1 river They reached the jumping off oft place Just at sunset which is Is nearly three miles from the head of the canyon The cattle had not had a drop of water or feed Iced 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 follow ing the bed 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 previous pre pre- let five wagons with their loads oads by ropes taking their wa wa- gons to pieces I The knowledge of 01 this induced President Billings to lake a company company com com- pany of 12 horsemen in the morning morning morning morn morn- ing and move rapidly to the canyon canyon can can- yon all the way down these men fixed the road and at the jumpoff jumpoff jumpoff jump off they worked a road over a point of the mountain covered with very large rocks in half a day they completed a very passable i road where in the he morning it had seemed Impossible to pass with wagons I By doubling teams up and all the men that could be spared to steady the wagons down we got all our wagons down safely I about nine o'clock at night three miles more took us to Grand rand river river riv riv- er er the first firs water our stock got since morning II The very passable road to which the the journal refers still can be seen today Its It's the old Moab dugway or Mormon dugway west of the Arches National Mon Mon Monument 1 lum nt headquarters building |