Show MOONLIGHT AND MONUMENTAL MONUMENT AL V VALLEY ALLEY N. N M M. MUDD BY JUDD UDD I After completing tho the excavation on Alkali ridge the lio party lart spent a n. week fitting and anel packing pottery potter Without trying one cannot r realize how hard hardit it U Is to put a A. Jar together from several hundred With Ith tho the boxes safely on their way toward Monticello the party parly left for Cor City By following to Indian trails traUs and eo cow path wo reached the Cortez- Cortez Bluff Bluit road roul early In the afternoon The Tho road led over a a. sandy y moss mosa void of or vegetation and dr dry us as a a. dusl dusty street For miles tho ro road ui boro straight as an arrow to tho southwest From tho the higher ridges one could see the thc ribbon of ot hoof beaten sand stretch owa away into the deep blue of ot the lower canyons Our morning start had hall been lato late so wo Intended ll to spend the tho night at Recapture can canyon on but upon reach reach- lii lug that place we found 1 that the grass had all nU been destroyed by Indian sheep and the river water was as thick as corn syrup The hor horses cs were given I cn n two hours' hours rest and the remaining fifteen miles to Blur Bluff were covered alter after dark Little Grain Obtainable Grain had been a scarce article at atthe atthe atthe the the Alkali c camp mp consequently tho the horses well us used d up and were allowed a days day's rest at Bluff The morning of or August 11 the party left leCt the river city for Cor tho the Moonlight l po post port t. t Jerome dc do Jerald a prospector on tho the lower San Juan river overtook overlook the party part al at the river Ater crossing and wo we o of COUl course e. e joined forces with him The continued hot weather had lessened the tho water In the river so that no difficulty culty cully was encountered In tho the fording Immediately after crossing tho San Sai SanJuan Juan the thc party part forded the tho creek creel a stream so muddy that 1 It merely merel slid alon along The hardest bit o of trail yet ct encountered wa was vas found at tho Mule Iule Ear Em Dl Dl- Dl vide hIe Rain and Navaho 1 sheep had almost destroyed estro what was once known knO as a r road At t six o'clock in the evening we wo filled our water bags bass at Moses Rock a areat great reat bluff from which trickles a small alkali stream In Tn the shadow of this rock a company compan of United States States' soldiers were encamped The Thelen then men len In charge charae of or Captain ls were returning from Crom City the they had been In conference with sew sev several C eral of the bad Indians About four miles front from Moses roses stock Hock the trail led lcd acro across the fa fatuous famous ous garnet be beds s. s a frequent resting place for passing In In- In At thirty nine camp was wl made at ai Gypsum Springs One would Judge that the person who named this pond of water was very thirsty tune thirsty the word Spring Is chosen Ill as a human being be- be ing Ingis gJ is almost almo t unable to 10 drink It It ilor Hor Hordes Stra Stray In In the morning morning- all of tho the horses w wore were re missing Except with 01 old campIng campIng camp camp- Ing horses one Is not afe in crossing the lime deserts as an animal not I findIng find find- In lag Ing grass ss mR may travel trl with hoh hobbles les on Oil fifteen or twenty miles in a single night Four hours were spent before eforo all aU of the horses were found Hur Hur- Hurriedly saddling wo we rc resumed mme 1 the journey jour jour- jour jour-I ney nc at ten From Irom Gypsum Springs to Moonlight ht is one of the hardest rides to be found toun 1 in southern Utah Ulah For thirty miles over a treeless Jess desert there thero Is not a drop of or water The sun beats down unmercifully an and 1 Is Js thrown back with double force by the deep white while sand Despite the lack o of moisture one ono sees some of the most moat beautiful scenery scenery er ery In the tho world The r road ad leads through Monumental valley vaHey a a. sandy andy plain crowned with tall san sandstone 1 f spires It Il I a n truo true de description of or the real natural beauty of or this little valley Great columns of red sandstone rise for a n distance of or eight Ight or nine fife hundred feet feel from tho the level Jewel Ean sand 1 Nature has with red STa gray and green pro produced a most pleasing harmony of or color throughout hout tho entire As usual one ono finds tho the most beautiful beau beau- things in tho most disagreeable places The peat Meat was terrific Ones One's thirst increased with the knowledge that he had no water to drink hen When very er thirsty our guide would hand 1 out outa n n. lemon the Juice of oC which is quite falis One of or the tho horses was overcome 1 by the heat and left Jert on tho the trail to recover reco and return to camp at al will J Knows of or i Forgotten Fua n Races as the the In Indians Indiana cull call the Moonlight post lost oat was reached shortly after t G The Tho only building is the h store home me of John and und ram family 11 Mr has spent pent the greater part hit or-hit life lire in the southwest south south- west vest therefore possesses poe a knowledge of oC In Indians lans Possibly no other man in tho the world Is so familiar with kith the tho remains of or the so called Cliff Dwellers Mr r. r hay had h ma made mado numerous collections for or Eastern mu mu- scum In his excavation of or dwellings Mr lr has ha 1 ered ored facts which when published are alC destined to startle the scientific world For the thc lust last I t six years ho ht hay ban confined confined con con- fined his into to the tho Navahos ustah- ustah trading posts ts In different party parts of tho reservation Through h his Ills honest honest honest hon hon- est but strict dealing with them Mr 11 has won tho the friendship of or ortho tho lie entire Navaho nation Mrs Wetherell Is oven even a greater f favorito fa- fa orHo with the Navahos tr tn n her hel husband She has spent her hel entire life amon among them and speaks 5 their language un c even moro more correctly than Utan the Indians themselves cs Her excellent excel lent knowle knowledge so of their ton longue gives her a deel decided advantage e with her herI I children She arbitrates their theil troubles advises and doctors them she sho teaches them thorn the tho better methods s of ot farming I and sheep raising raisins she gains their re respect respect re- re I speet by treating them as brothers an and 1 sis sisters tons There is an nn old Navaho 1 story which makes Mrs s an In Indian According According Ac e cording to tho the Navahos Mrs was stolen as a n child by whito people peo peo- plc No person pelson the they say could speak our language so 50 well As a result of or this belief Mrs Irs Woth- Woth has been formally a adopted opte 1 b by the Navahos and given a namo name Every Ever Indian whether he ho has seen her or not will address ss her upon meeting Both of the Wetherill children speak I the language fluently Tho The position of the post miles mlle from the tho nearest railroad an and 1 70 0 miles from the nearest settlement Is I c evidence enough enouch of tho the esteem In which the Navahos hold hohl Mr Ir and his family On account of the dryness of or the soil son few Indians were near the post haing havIns having hav hav- ing Ins retired with their sheep to the he high mesas The Tho red men wander wand r from Crom place to place as the gra grass s 's s devoured or trampled out by their goat herds herd Tilt Their Ir J possessions osse are arc rc transported on the bony backs of ot a af afew afew f few w burros Indians Prepare for War nr During the tho part party's s sojourn at six companies of United ll Suites States cavalry I were Olle d at nt th the spring The I I I troll trouble lL i Ith the Indians was heralded her her- I aided throughout tho East Last with many I stories The Thc only apparent object of tin the cavalry visit was to gain i military maps mugs of or the reservation and to give th the mien men a a. taste of or mountain work It was also necessary to sti show sh-nv w th the settlers that an arm army could traverse traverse tra tra- er verse c the most of or Indian I trails Tho In Indians lans In an and 1 about Moonlight Moonlight Moon Moon- light lIht know of or the soldiers soldiers' coming oven C before tho the traders and tJ them themselves for lor trouble believing that thata a n battle battlo was Inevitable It was vas hard for thorn thom to believe c that soldiers would invade their territory without some plain purpose All AU of tho the guns In ha pawn at tho the store storo were wore tal taken en out Men Ien were sent to Bluff for ammunition All Ali of or tho the preparations preparations lions for fOI a conflict were made and to o quietly that not oven even the tra traders themselves themselves them them- selves know knew of the thc affair One morning a Navaho In Inthe Inthe inthe the employ of the post announced 1 that all nil of the thc In Indians Indiana had hall moved Tho unusual affair quickly Interested Mr 11 Wetherell who upon Investigation found the tho Navahos In their entire possessions hl hidden don in the tho rocks s overlooking overlooking over over- looking the wagon roa road 1 Believing that tho the soldiers were coming to take talio some of or their members to prison the tho Indians prepared 1 for tor war Mr 11 and Mrs spent tho entire day on the mesa tops talking with the theIn In Indians and trying to mako nako them belleve beHove bell be be- Hove ll evo that the cavalry y invasion was peaceful ul Toward evening the sr greater ater I part of or the red men withdrew not tl to their homes in the valley but far back Into the tho reservation to places Impossible Impossible Im Im- Im- Im possible of or access without the good goodwill goodwill will of or the In Indians Indans With tho exception exceR- exceR tion of or those leaders called culled in hl b by the army officials no In Indians came to the store to trade unless driven by ne necessity ne- ne during the whole hoJe period 1 of Jt tho encampment In order to gain knowledge e of or the I r region Iono to t. th the of the tho po poi i t ithe r the party parly ace accompanied l by hy hyll M Mers ll r- r II ib Jerald and Wc inside a l tour tour- I day excursion lon Into the drain drain- i age The country I is exceedingly rough being entirely composed of Jf f high bare baro mesas and nn 1 deep canyon canyons I Un Under cr the guidance of or Mr tho party part followed 1 Indian trails rarely rarely rare rare- I ly If ever before traversed by 0 white whito men Up out of ot a can canyon on over a great groat eXl expanse of or smooth steno lu tu wind around 1 the tho edge of oC tho the hun ban hundreds of feet from rom tho canyon bottom and then across a n scantily a-scantily covered mesa the trail led On It wont went a faint ribbon of hoot hoof prints untraceable ablo able In tn places until the tho next can canyon was reached when it dropped almost straight down for several hundreds of r feet then winding slowly down th the sage covered bottom of oC an uninhabited canyon Possibly tho trail stops at the hogan hosan of or an Indian possibly it leads on and 1 on on finally ending whore it apparently began begun Wo We passed corn fields s In which In Indians In- In Hans halts were hoeing some dressed 1 In cotton colton cloth some somo dressed as os they might have dressed a hundred years s ago that Is entirely nude Wo We o pass passed 1 Hocks flocks A of or goats and anti sheep tended 1 by 11 little girls who flattened themselves In earth depressions upon our ap up- We Ve passe passed 1 ru rude rudo ho hogans of brush blush and wood grease-wood from tho the depths s of or which gleamed the sharp oyes COS of one or moro more squaws Never No Xe r Saw a tint Man The inhabitants of or this region are extraordinarily wild some of or tho the younger oun er ones having never seen a whito man The Indians havo have a keen dislike for prospectors anI and have in late years mur murdered several Despite the narrowness of ot these Indians the party was vas treated 1 with exceptional ci civility civility ct- ct vUlt a fact no doubt duo to tho Ito presence pres pres- enco ence of Mr l In th the party At two different times wo furnished corn for tor our om horses when the grain gave out At another time after aCtor we had consumed the last of or our flour I till the Navahos readily furnished us with I part patt of or u tI mutton Pox Possibly no wilder r I II I Indian are arc to be found In n the United States tu today a yet these barbarians on nn tho the Interior of or the tho Navaho aho reservation were willing to share their food with total strangers when they found that our 11 mission was teas peaceful During the last two days of ot the trip tripa a steady sti-ady downpour of or rain fell swellIng swelling swell swell- Ing the streams to such an extent that I It vaS waa dangerous to cross crOES them All AU I of the tho streams of the San Sun Juan drainage drain drain- ago age are arc full Cull o ol of quicksand tulek an 1 After ACter two days of rest tho party parly In company with Mr 11 Wetherell an and 1 family family fam Cam 11 ily an and 1 Ed King a 0 prospector from Crom tho the San Sun Juan began tho the Journey to Bluff CIl City Clifton Lochart who has been beon a n member of or tho the party during durin the summer remained at He will Instruct tho the two children of tho the Wetherills an and 1 Incidentally make maIm a study of tho ho Navahos their habits an and 1 language Tho Tito first nl night ht of tho the return trip hip was spent at a n dry camp between Gypsum springs' springs and Mosos Moses rock P Part rl of the tho horses started for i during tho the night sO to that a late start was ma made mado in tho morning The Tho river I crossing was reached shortly after noon Heavy rains had swollen the stream to such an extent that crossing cross ing was most dangerous erous While tho the party part was eating Its Ils lunch Charles Spencer a colleague of or Mr Ir King hailed it from Crom tho the other side of the river Mr Spencer ha had 1 found a small boat sunk in the san sand 1 and antI mu mud 1 and ami wanted help in raising it Swims S River on nn Horse C Mr promptly mounted his the river tU most trusted horse and swam The iho great mud waves dashed 1 against ag the lie rider entirely covering the horse at times Tho The river at tho the crossing I Is 50 GO yards wide and flows with such strength that Mr and his horse were carried a like distance down stream before they gained 1 the tho opposite hh hore I-hor rc Aft After r r three hours of uC I II hard Id I'd labor l the h bout oat was brought lo to lothe the surface and after aUt r some m mending landed on tit the near hear bank hanle Eating a n. hurried flu supper pr the party part crawled 1 In for tOI the tho night Early the next morning tho tiro men began begun boating the sad saddles les and packs across the river The buggy bugg which Mrs Irs Wetherell was driving hn had 1 to tobe tobe tobe be taken apart an and 1 taken to tho lino opposite op op- op hand bank In sections With tho the outfit safely on the other othol 81 side nothing nothing noth noth- in ing remained but tho the horses All An ur of I Ithe the animals were led 1 to tho edge edgo of the water Quickly ly slipping their I ropes th the tho men gave ave vent to such hideous cries that the horses plunged I head foremost Into the torrent Tho The poor Joor creatures creature were compelled to swim nearly the tho entire distance and some had never been In water before beCore Five rive crossed 1 safely but tho the other six carried below the landing and oncI stopped stopped stop stop- pe ped 1 In midstream on a sand bar They were finally driven back to tho the startIng startIng start- start Ing lag point for Cor another trial Just as we were ready to slip the halters a small white mule |