From Salt Lake to the Grand Canyon

From Salt Lake to the Grand Canyon. BY D. D. RUST.

Fredonia, the nearest settlement to the north rim of the Grand Canyon, exhibited about as much commotion last June upon hearing the exhaust of an automobile as did the early inhabitants

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Photo by D D. Rust

CAMP AT BRIGHT ANGEL — ON THE NORTH RIM OF THE GRAND CANYON.

of the Hudson at the chug, chug of Fulton's Folly. And a month before there was about as much faith in the promise of such an opportunity as Bridger had in the production of corn in the Salt Lake valley. But such are the surprises wrought by the miracles of mechanical improvement and industrial advancement. Since his visit to the Kaibah country with Senator Smoot and

FROM SALT LAKE' TO THE GRAND CANYON. 409

others, in the autumn of 1902, Mr. Gordon Woolley continued to express and cherish a desire again to look into the marvelous Titan of chasms. To satisfy this longing, two motor cars were steered down through the counties, rougher and wilder as you go, towards the Buckskin Mountains, that might as well be a thousand miles away. It is not expected, nor wished, that the Grand Can- yon will ever become as fa- miliar to people of Salt Lake City as is Garfield Beach or Lagoon. The God of the wilderness will see to that. But space will shorten. The actual distance between the two places is four hundred and twenty-five miles. Ox teams went in twenty days; horses in two weeks; a com- bination of railroad, stage and pack outfit, six days; automobiles did it in four days, and may do it in two; Photo by D. D. Rust. Pullman cars may run it from The Forerunner of a Railroad Canyon. to the sun to sun; — and the end is

not yet. There has been a call to the There is now a call to the city.

wilderness. The temples, spires, turrets, monuments, domes,

all the forms of architecture of the mountains— are more inspiring than the works of man. Solitude is as necessary as society. The awful depths, the pinnacles of glory, and the gloomy shadows of the canyon, give the keenest impressions, and would be fitting for a sacred excursion. With Mr. Woolley were his wife and four children Mr. David Affleck, Mrs. Woolley's sister, and "Sandy," the "chauf"

Photo by D. D. Rust

WHERE A MAN FEELS HIS INSIGNIFICANCE.

all of Salt Lake City. They were joined at Kanab by E. D. Woolley and others. The roads were discouraging enough. The people were worse than the roads. All along they were met with that old

FROM SALT LAKE TO THE GRAND CANYON. 411

"You'll never get there," both from those who knew and those who didn't know the requirements of automobiles. There were rocks and slumps and washouts; there were creeks to ford, and deserts of deep sand; there were narrow, crooked dug- ways that would puzzle Ben Hur. Yet they went and re- w° turned with slight need for repairs. The cars deserve spe- cial mention. One was a big ^'B^ffl^'-fspy' £ "Thomas," 60-horse, a type

^^ms } M of the famous car that went around the world. The other was a pattern of the Vander- * bilt cup-winner. They were pioneers —and they looked the

1 jtWk part. The racer took the lead through the forest, with Gor- don Woolley at the wheel. w<? jg^BBr "Uncle Dee" was by his side with his ax and pick, living •* *

up to his promise and proph- ».'*'- * *• esying to the people as he passed that this was forerun- Phoro by D. D. Rust. ner to a railroad. But they Mr. E. G. Woolley at the wheel and kept on doubting. "Uncle Dee'' with the ax. The way they chased along through woods, across ravines, down the slopes to the very drop of the canyon wall, — would have seemed a proper sequence it if

they had kept right on, amid air, till, like a bird, they withered from view, or landed safely on the opposite brink. And this will be done. The most distinguished tour of the next decade will be across the canyon in an airship, a mile above the Colorado. Yet all around are men who squint their eyes and say, "You'll never do it." Who can judge the significance of the automobile trip of a