Show Re Rep Burtons Burton's Washington Report Horseshoe Canyon Should be Added to Park By Rep Laurence J. J Burton If you have never been to Horseshoe Canyon you ought to go Last week my nine year old son Laurence Shupe and andI I made the trip and It was a real ture HORSESHOE Canyon Is located Inthe In the area of Utah southeast of Green River City Absolutely do not try to get there unless you have a four wheel drive jeep and an experienced driver Ours was Bates Wilson of Moab who Is superintendent of Natural Bridges and Arches National Park and Monuments Horseshoe Canyon is an area being proposed as an addition to Park and I have always wanted to see for myself all these new areas of extension extension extension exten exten- sion and expansion that remove for single us preservation vast areas of the public domain Horseshoe Canyon In my judgment should be added to the National Park system Its It's a long canyon with extremely extreme extreme- ly sheer walls and descent Into it is made via an old cow and wagon trail blasted out of the sandstone walls and called the Flint Trail The early pioneers referred to the area as The Barrier because the canyon was nearly Impossible to cross and they had to detour detour de de- tour miles around U. U t. t Near there is is Butch Cassiday's Robbers Roost Ranch and hideaway The ranch is pres pres- owned by Art a flinty tanned and colorful talking man of the saddle ONE OF the high points of our trip was the opportunity to sIt sll round the campfire and hear friend Art talk of the country and the personalities that he knows and loves so well It was after midnight before he left the fire and headed headed headed head head- ed home in his four wheel jeep to the Robbers Roost But Laurence Shupe w wasn't int the least bit Interested in his sleeping bag until Art left It was a great experience for him m and me to meet meeta a guy in a white hat like Art The canyon and its environs are like most of our southern Utah scenery very colorful It Is an en area where they are area a number of Indian ruins but the singular singular lar feature is the Pictograph Pictograph Indian writings They are not to be duplicated elsewhere In the world They are not the usual little carved or picked figures of animals and humans that characterize most of this type of native art These are larger than life size pictures pictures pictures pic pic- tures of natives and animals some of which whirls are seven to eight feet in height and all are elaborately picked and painted paint paint- ed THESE DATE from the so called ao-called called Fremont Indian culture and their age Is placed at nearly 1000 years Some of the glyphs had been destroyed destroyed de de- when portions of the cliff fell away and shattered in tiny pieces I picked a portion of one of the broken glyphs that was the size of the palm of my hand There was no way of knowIng knowing know know- ing log of course course what this sherd had been but probably a very small part of a figure like the seven foot tall ones that nature has not crumbled and wiped out I WET my finger and rubbed the ancient little piece of sandstone and was amazed to find that the paint when wet was still viable I us used std d that little chunk to paint some genuine Indian war paint painton on Laurences Laurence's face That pleased him so much I I couldn't get him to wash his face for two days The Indians made their paint by gr grinding grinding grind grind- nd ing flowers and shrubs and herbs for coloring and then mixing it with bear bearor or porcupine grease HORSESHOE Canyon is not an e easy place to get to but once there it is a rewarding experience We spent four days exploring Horseshoe Horseshoe Horse Horse- shoe and the Maze The Maze Is also a proposed addition addition add add- to and will be the subject of next weeks week's column |