Arizona Sketches
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Joseph A. Munk >> Arizona Sketches
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The palo verde is a tree without leaves and is a true child of
the desert. No matter how hot and dry the weather the palo verde
is always green and flourishing. At a distance it resembles a
weeping willow tree stripped of its leaves. Its numerous long,
slender, drooping branches gracefully criss-cross and interlace
in an intricate figure of filigree work. It has no commercial
value, but if it could be successfully transplanted and
transported it would make a desirable addition to green-house
collections in the higher latitudes.
The romantic mistletoe that is world renowned for its magic
influence in love affairs, grows to perfection in southern
Arizona. There are several varieties of this parasitic plant
that are very unlike in appearance. Each kind partakes more or
less of the characteristics of the tree upon which it grows, but
all have the glossy leaf and waxen berry.
CHAPTER IX
HOOKER'S HOT SPRINGS
Arizona has several hot springs within her borders but, perhaps,
none are more valuable nor picturesquely located than Hooker's
hot springs. These springs are located in the foothills on the
western slope of the Galiura mountains in southeastern Arizona,
thirty-five miles west of Willcox on the Southern Pacific
Railroad. The spot is beautifully situated, commanding an
extended view of valley and mountain scenery.
There are a dozen springs, big and little, in the group and
are scattered over several acres of hillside. The temperature
of the water is 130 degrees Fahrenheit and too hot to drink but,
if sipped slowly, it makes an admirable hot-water draught. The
springs evidently have their source deep down in the earth and
the flow of water never varies. When the water from the
different springs is all united it forms a good sized brook. The
water is conducted through pipes into the bath house, where it
supplies a row of bath-tubs with water of any desired
temperature. The surplus water flows into a large earthern tank
or artificial lake and is used for irrigating a small farm that
produces grain, fruits and vegetables.
The water from these springs is in great demand and is not only
sought by the human biped, but is also in favor with the equine
quadruped. Every morning after the stable doors are thrown open
and the horses turned loose they invariably, of their own accord,
proceed to the lake, wade out into shallow water and take a bath.
They lie down and splash the water about like a lot of schoolboys
taking a swim.
The water from all the springs is perfectly soft and pure. It
cannot be called a mineral water, as an analysis shows that it
contains only a trace of any kind of mineral matter. This
peculiarity of the water is no damage to the springs, since
purity is the best recommendation that any water can have. Water
that is heavily mineralized may be medicinal, but is not
necessarily remedial, or even wholesome, notwithstanding the
popular belief to the contrary. Water that is charged with much
mineral is spoiled for drinking. Moderately hard water need not
be injurious to anybody, but is especially beneficial to
children. The assimilative function in the child appropriates
mineral water tardily and sometimes absorbs it altogether too
slowly for the child's good. Its absence in the system causes a
disease called rickets, in which, from all lack of lime, the
bones of the child become soft and yielding. The bones of a
rickety child will bend rather than break. It is slow to walk
and inclines to become bow-legged.
It is entirely different in old age. As the years multiply the
system absorbs an abnormal and ever increasing amount of
calcareous matter. The bones become unduly hard and brittle and
are easily broken. Bony matter is liable to be deposited in and
about the joints, when they become stiff and painful. It also
lodges in the various soft tissues of the body, and ossification
of the valves of the heart and walls of the arteries sometimes
happens. It weakens the blood vessels so that they easily
rupture, which causes apoplexy, paralysis and death. Calcareous
concretions in the kidneys and bladder, also, come from the same
cause, and are called gravel. Such deposits are not only
annoying and painful to the patient, but in time may prove fatal
if not removed by surgery.
Middle-aged and elderly people should never drink anything but
soft water. If a natural supply of soft water cannot be obtained
distilled water should be substituted. If neither natural soft
water nor distilled water are available, and there is doubt as to
the purity of the water that is being used, it should be boiled
and then let stand to cool and settle. Boiling not only destroys
and renders harmless any organic germs that may be present, but
also precipitates and eliminates much of its inorganic salts.
A few drops of a weak solution of nitrate of silver added to a
glass of water will quickly determine its quality. If the water
that is being tested is free from mineral matter no change is
produced, but if it contains mineral it turns the water opaque or
milky.
The value of mineral water as a healthful or necessary drink has
been greatly exaggerated. While it may do good in some
instances, it is not nearly as beneficial as is commonly
supposed. Instead of it always doing good the contrary is often
true.
If a mineral water is desired there is no necessity of visiting a
mineral spring to obtain it, as it can be made artificially at
home or at the nearest pharmacy in any quantity or of any quality
desired, with the additional advantage of having it contain
exactly the ingredients wanted. There are nearly as many mineral
waters on the market as there are patent medicines, and both are
about equally misrepresented and deceiving. All classes of
people would undoubtedly be greatly benefited in health, strength
and longevity if more attention was given to the quality of our
domestic water supply. Any one who needs a change, other things
being equal, should seek a resort that furnishes pure, soft water
rather than choose a spring that only boasts of its mineral
properties. Not all of the benefit that is derived from a course
at watering place is due to the virtues of the water, be it ever
so potent. The change of environment, climate, diet, bathing,
etc., are each factors that contribute something towards a cure.
Next to using pure water as a beverage it is important to know
how to bathe properly, such knowledge being simple and plain
enough if only common sense is used. Usually the more simply a
bath is administered the better are the results. Some people
seem to think that in order to derive any benefit from a bath it
is necessary to employ some unusual or complicated process.
Nothing is further from the truth. The plain, tepid bath is the
best for general use. It thoroughly cleanses the body and
produces no unpleasant shock. A hot bath is rarely needed but,
if it is used, enough time should be given after it to rest and
cool off before going out into the open air in order to avoid
taking cold. The good or harm of a bath must be judged by its
effects.
A bath is only beneficial when it is followed by a healthy
reaction, which is indicated by an agreeable feeling of warmth
and comfort, and is injurious if the subject feels cold, weak or
depressed. A bath does not affect all people alike; what will do
one person good may injure another. It is never wise to
prescribe a stereotyped treatment for every patient. The
disease, temperament and constitution of each individual must be
taken into account and the temperature and frequency of the bath
must be determined and regulated by the necessity and
idiosyncrasies of each case. The amount of bathing that a
strong, full-blooded person could endure would mop out the life
of a thin, bloodless weakling.
Locally, these springs have become famous because of the
remarkable cures they have effected, and are sought by many sick
people who have failed to find relief by other means. Before the
white man came the Indians used the water for curing their sick.
The water is curative in rheumatism, neuralgia, dyspepsia, blood
and skin disorders and kidney complaint. The water cure is all
right even if it does not always fulfill every expectation.
Hooker's hot springs is a pleasant place to visit for people who
are not invalids. It is off the beaten path of travel and is an
ideal spot for the tired man who needs a rest. It has not yet
been overrun by the crowd, but retains all of the natural charm
of freshness which the old resorts have lost. Here nature riots
in all of her wild beauty and has not yet been perceptibly marred
by the despoiling hand of man.
Aside from the luxury of the baths which the place affords the
visitor can find a great deal to please him. The climate is
healthful and the weather pleasant during most of the year. In
the near vicinity much can be found in nature that is
interesting. Never-failing mountain streams, deep canons and
dark forests wait to be visited and explored, while curiosities
in animal and vegetable life abound. Not far off is a place here
perfect geodes of chalcedony are found.
Mining and ranching are the leading industries of the country and
a visit to some neighboring mine or cattle ranch is not without
interest to the novice. But, if he starts out on such a trip he
must decide to make a day of it, as the country is sparsely
settled and the distances long between camps. If the
accommodations where he stops are not always luxurious the
welcome is cordial and the entertainment comfortable. The new
experience is also delightfully romantic.
CHAPTER X
CANON ECHOES
The Colorado Plateau, in northern Arizona, is the union of the
Rocky and Sierra Nevada mountains in their southward trend, and
forms the southern rim of the Great Basin. This depression was
once a vast inland sea, of which nothing remains but the Salt
Lake of Utah, and is drained by the Colorado river. The entire
plateau region is remarkable for its grand scenery--abysmal
chasms, sculptured buttes and towering cliffs, which are
"brightly colored as if painted by artist Gods, not stained and
daubed by inharmonious hues but beautiful as flowers and gorgeous
as the clouds." The plateau is an immense woodland of pines
known as the Coconino Forest.
The San Francisco mountains, nearly thirteen thousand feet high,
stand in the middle of the plateau which is, also, the center of
an extensive extinct volcanic field. The whole country is
covered with cinders which were thrown from active volcanoes
centuries ago. The track of the Santa Fe Pacific railroad, clear
across Arizona, is ballasted with cinders instead of gravel that
were dug from pits on its own right of way.
Near the southern base of the San Francisco mountains is the town
of Flagstaff built in a natural forest of pine trees. It is
sometimes called the Skylight City because of its high altitude,
rarefied atmosphere and brilliant sky. It is said to have been
named by a company of soldiers who camped on the spot while out
hunting Indians, when the country was new. It happened to be on
the Fourth of July and they celebrated the day by unfurling Old
Glory from the top of a pine tree, which was stripped of its
branches and converted into a flagstaff. Here is located the
Lowell Observatory, which has made many valuable discoveries in
astronomy. It is a delightful spot and offers many attractions
to the scientist, tourist and health seeker.
One of the many interesting objects of this locality is the Ice
Cave situated eight miles southwest of the town. It not only
attracts the curious, but its congealed stores are also drawn on
by the people who live in the vicinity when the domestic ice
supply runs short. The cave is entered from the side of a ravine
and its opening is arched by lava rock. How the ice ever got
there is a mystery unless it is, as Mr. Volz claims, glacial ice
that was covered and preserved by a thick coat of cinders which
fell when the San Francisco Peaks were in active eruption. As
far as observed the ice never becomes more nor ever gets less,
except what is removed by mining.
The region is unusually attractive to the naturalist. It is the
best field for the study of entomology that is known. But all
nature riots here. Dr. C. Hart Merriam, in his report of a
biological survey of the San Francisco mountains and Painted
Desert, states that there are seven distinct life zones in a
radius of twenty-five miles running the entire gamut from the
Arctic to the Tropic.[2] The variety of life which he found and
describes cannot be duplicated in the same space anywhere else
upon the globe.
[2] Results of a Biological Survey of the San Francisco Mountain
Region and Painted Desert of the Little Colorado, Arizona. 1890.
But the greatest natural wonder of this region and, it is claimed
by competent judges of the whole world, is the Grand Canon of
Arizona, which is seventy-two miles north of Flagstaff.
Thurber's stage line, when it was running, carried passengers
through in one day, but after the railroad was built from
Williams to Bright Angel the stage was abandoned. However it is
an interesting trip and many people make it every summer by
private conveyance who go for an outing and can travel leisurely.
It is a good natural road and runs nearly the entire distance
through an open pine forest.
Two roads leave Flagstaff for the Canon called respectively the
summer and winter roads. The former goes west of the San
Francisco mountains and intersects with the winter road that runs
east of the peaks at Cedar Ranch, which was the midway station of
the old stage line. The summer road is the one usually
travelled, as the winter road is almost destitute of water.
The road ascends rapidly from an elevation of seven thousand feet
at Flagstaff to eleven thousand feet at the summit, and descends
more gradually to Cedar Ranch, where the elevation is less than
five thousand feet and in distance is about halfway to the Canon.
Here cedar and pinon trees take the place of the taller pines.
Cedar Ranch is on an arm of the Painted Desert, which stretches
away towards the east over a wide level plain to the horizon.
From this point the road ascends again on an easy grade until it
reaches an elevation of eight thousand feet at the Canon.
During the long drive through the pine woods the appearance of
the country gives no hint of a desert, but beautiful scenery
greets the eye on every hand. The air is filled with the
fragrance of pine and ozone that is as exhilarating as wine. No
signs of severe windstorms are seen in broken branches and fallen
trees. If an occasional tree is found lying prostrate it was
felled either by the woodman's ax or one of nature's destructive
forces, fire or decay, or both. But the large number of
shattered trees which are encountered during the day give
evidence that the lightning is frequently very destructive in its
work. The bark of the pine trees is of a reddish gray color,
which contrasts brightly with the green foliage.
The winter road furnishes even more attractions than the summer
road on which line a railroad should be built through to the
Canon. Soon after leaving town a side road leads to the cliff
dwellings in Walnut Canon. Along the wayside a signboard points
the direction to the Bottomless Pit, which is a deep hole in the
ground that is only one of many such fissures in the earth found
on the Colorado Plateau. Four miles east of Canon Diablo a
narrow fissure from a few inches to several feet wide and
hundreds of feet deep has been traced in a continuous line over
one hundred miles.
Further on a group of cave dwellings can be seen among the rocks
upon a distant bill. A turn in the road next brings the Sunset
Mountain into view. Its crest glows with the colors of sunset,
which unusual effect is produced by colored rocks that are of
volcanic origin. Black cinders cover its steep sides and its
brow is the rim of a deep crater. Between Sunset Peak and
O'Leary Peak is the Black Crater from which flowed at one time
thick streams of black lava that hardened into rock and are known
as the lava beds. Scores of crater cones and miles of black
cinders can be seen from Sunset Mountain, and lava and cinders of
this region look as fresh as if an eruption had occurred but
yesterday.
A peculiarity of the pine trees which grow in the cinders is that
their roots do not go down but spread out upon the surface. Some
of the roots are entirely bare while others are half buried in
cinders. They are from an inch to a foot thick and from ten to
fifty feet long, according to the size of the tree which they
support. The cause of the queer root formation is not apparent.
The whole plateau country is scarce of water. The Grand Canon
drains the ground dry to an unusual depth. The nearest spring of
water to the Canon at Grand View is Cedar Spring, forty miles
distant. Until recently all the water used at the canon was
either packed upon burros from springs down in the canon or
caught in ponds or reservoirs from rains or melted snow. Since
the completion of the railroad the water is hauled in on cars
constructed for that purpose.
The watershed of the canon slopes away from the rim and instead
of the storm water running directly into the river it flows in
the opposite direction. Only after a long detour of many miles
does it finally reach the river by the Little Colorado or
Cataract Creek.
Now that the Grand Canon is made accessible by rail over a branch
road of the Santa Fe from Williams on the main line, it is
reached in comparative ease and comfort. But to stop at the
Bright Angel Hotel and look over the guard rail on the cliff down
into the canon gives merely a glimpse of what there is to see. A
brief stay of one day is better than not stopping at all, but to
get even an inkling of its greatness and grandeur days and weeks
must be spent in making trips up and down and into the canon.
After having seen the canon at Bright Angel the next move should
be to go to Grand View fourteen miles up the canon. An all day's
stage ride from Flagstaff to the canon was tiresome, but the two
hours' drive through the pine woods from Bright Angel to Grand
View is only pleasant recreation.
Seeing the Grand Canon for the first time does not necessarily
produce the startling and lachrymose effects that have been
described by some emotional writers, but the first sight never
disappoints and always leaves a deep and lasting impression.
As immense as is the great chasm it is formed in such harmonious
proportions that it does not shock the senses. But as everything
about the canon is built on such a grand scale and the eyes not
being accustomed to such sights it is impossible to comprehend
it--to measure its dimensions correctly or note every detail of
form and color at the first glance. As the guide remarked, "God
made it so d-- big that you can't lie about it."
To comprehend it at all requires time to re-educate the senses
and make them accustomed to the new order of things. But even a
cursory view will always remain in the memory as the event of a
lifetime in the experience of the average mortal.
Distance in the canon cannot be measured by the usual standards.
There are sheer walls of rocks that are thousands of feet high
and as many more feet deep, but where the bottom seems to be is
only the beginning of other chasms which lie in the dark shadows
and descend into yet deeper depths below. The canon is not a
single empty chasm, which is the universal conception of a canon,
but consists of a complex system of sub and side canons that is
bewildering. Out of its depths rise an infinite number and
variety of castellated cliffs and sculptured buttes that
represent every conceivable variety of architecture. They have
the appearance of a resurrected city of great size and beauty
which might have been built by an army of Titans then buried and
forgotten.
A trip into the canon down one of the trails makes its magnitude
even more impressive than a rim view. The distance across the
chasm is also much greater than what it seems to be, which is
demonstrated by the blue haze that fills the canon. The nearby
buttes are perfectly distinct, but as the distance increases
across the great gorge the haze gradually thickens until the
opposite wall is almost obscured by the mist.
The myriads of horizontal lines which mark the different strata
of rocks have the appearance of a maze of telegraph wires strung
through the canon.
A ride leisurely on horseback along the rim trail from Thurber's
old camp to Bissell's Point, seven miles up the canon, and back
is easily made in a day. It presents a panorama of magnificent
views all along the rim, but Bissell's is conceded to be the best
view point on the canon. From this point about thirty miles of
river can be seen as it winds in and out deep down among the
rocks. The Colorado river is a large stream, but as seen here a
mile below and several miles out, it dwindles into insignificance
and appears no larger than a meadow brook. The river looks
placid in the distance, but is a raging, turbulent torrent in
which an ordinary boat cannot live and the roar of its wild
waters can be distinctly heard as of the rushing of a distant
train of cars.
A second day spent in riding down the canon to Grand View Point
and back is equally delightful. Looking across a bend in the
canon from Grand View Point to Bissell's Point the distance seems
to be scarcely more than a stone's throw, yet it is fully half
the distance of the circuitous route by the rim trail.
There are three trails leading into the canon and down to the
river, the Bright Angel, Grand View and Hance trails, which are
at intervals of eight and twelve miles apart. They are equally
interesting and comparatively safe if the trip is made on the
back of a trained pony or burro with a competent guide.
The Hance trail is a loop and is twenty miles long. It is seven
miles down to the river, six miles up the stream and seven miles
back to the rim. It was built single handed by Captain John
Hance, who has lived many years in the canon. The trail is free
to pedestrians, but yields the captain a snug income from horse
hire and his own services as guide for tourists who go over the
trail.
Captain Hance is an entertaining raconteur and he spins many
interesting yarns for the amusement, if not the edification, of
his guests. The serious manner in which he relates his stories
makes it sometimes hard to tell whether he is in jest or earnest.
His acknowledged skill in mountaineering, and felicity in
romancing has won for him more than a local reputation and the
distinguished title of Grand Canon Guide and Prevaricator.
He relates how "once upon a time" he pursued a band of mountain
sheep on the rim of the canon. Just as he was about to secure
his quarry the sheep suddenly turned a short corner and
disappeared behind some rocks. Before he realized his danger he
found himself on the brink of a yawning abyss and under such a
momentum that he could not turn aside or stop his horse.
Together they went over the cliff in an awful leap. He expected
to meet instant death on the rocks below and braced himself for
the shock. As the fall was greater than usual, being over a mile
deep in a perpendicular line, it required several seconds for the
descending bodies to traverse the intervening space, which gave
him a few moments to think and plan some way of escape. At the
critical moment a happy inspiration seized and saved him. On the
instant that his horse struck the rock and was dashed to pieces,
the captain sprang nimbly from the saddle to his feet unharmed.
To prove the truth of his statement he never misses an
opportunity to point out to the tourist the spot where his horse
fell, and shows the white bones of his defunct steed bleaching in
the sun.
At Moran's Point there is a narrow cleft in the rocks which he
calls the Fat Woman's Misery. It received its name several years
ago from a circumstance that happened while he was conducting a
party of tourists along the rim trail. To obtain a better view
the party essayed to squeeze through the opening, in which
attempt all succeeded except one fat women who stuck fast. After
vainly trying to extricate her from her uncomfortable position he
finally told her that there was but one of two things to do,
either remain where she was and starve to death or take one
chance in a thousand of being blown out alive by dynamite. After
thinking a moment she decided to try the "one chance in a
thousand" experiment.
A charge of dynamite was procured and the fuse lighted. After
the explosion he returned to the spot and found the result
satisfactory. The blast had released the woman, who was alive
and sitting upon a rock. He approached her cheerfully and said:
"Madam, how do you feel?" She looked up shocked, but evidently
very much relieved, and replied "Why, sir, I feel first rate, but
the jolt gave me a little toothache."
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