Show Meet Capt C pt Early nEarly Canyon Canon Country Boater one Fifty years ago today Captain F F. C C. Roff II n. E E. Blake II B Johnson and Leonard Gooch arrived in Moab by boat They had been 23 hours coming from Green River Utah and the object of the trip was to determine the feasibility of the rivers for navigation and the possibilities of ff this section in way of ot freight and passenger fic tic Capt Roff was the owner and manager of a line of steamers on lake at Iowa He lie was raised on the Mississippi and anet had I spent pent several years yean In Alaska along the Klondyke Forty Forty Forty For For- ty Mile and Copper rivers Tire The party travelers jail sU proclaimed pro plO claimed the beauty and grandeur grand eur of ot the 23 hour trip and aU all agreed that it tt could rot riot be du duplicated duo du Mr Blake lakE at that time a Denver Pen Den ver business man remarked t that should boats be put on the tourist tour tour- bt 1st and passenger traffic would be enormous It required 36 hours and for tor- ty five minutes on the return to Green River where they found the townspeople coping with the highest water in five ty-five years Having already lost several orchards and with fear of at losing the community ice house the whole towns town's citizens citi zens zees Including hobos recruited by bythe bythe bythe the She Sheriff rift turned to building levier along the river banks Mr Roff and Mr Blake left Immediately for Denver where they hoped to find sufficient capital to finance a good line Une of boats to navigate the rivers Included in their prospectus were such dreams as the establishment of lodging houses al along al ong the route Meanwhile back at Moab the cable line Une on the Moab ferry had snapped while Mr Will Young of Grayson was crossing with four horses and two wagons With a plank taken from the tho boat he managed to reach shore at Court House wash It took one week for tor the new cable to come from Denver andas and andas andas as recorded the whole town turned out to witness the stretching of the new line fine Would that Captain Roff Bolt and party could know that In the summer of t 1960 approximately 1500 people will have viewed the scenic irenic wonders that he M Intended to open to the world They would uld marvel at the fact that speed boats are shooting at the tho three hour mark over the same 23 hour route of 1909 |