Road Projects Under Construction

This particular cave, named the "Cave of the Bells" by its original explorers, is located about 60 miles southeast of Tucson, just to the east and within the shadow of the beck-oning Mount Baldy. Traveling south from Tucson on the Patagonia highway, you turn off the road to the right just this side of Sonoita. Then, passing through the Parker ranch, you continue on about five miles going through three washes until the bumpy little trail tires itself out. The "Cave of the Bells" is about a mile and a half beyond the old Onyx cave, well known to all in that vicinity. Although its presence was known by a few, it was never explored until a few months ago. Then it was Lynn Hodgson, an employe at the U. S. Veterans' hospital at Tucson whose principal hobby is cave exploring, who was the first to view its many wonders. The entrance was located by Hodgson on information given by a mining prospector.

Fear of mine gas had kept others who knew of the cave from entering. Hodgson says it was possible others had gone into the cave for a short distance but that none had ventured very far. Proof of this was that many of the passageways he made his way through were blocked by limestone and had to be chipped away before permitting entrance.

Only vaguely aware of the many nature-made hazards that I was to encounter, I entered the cave one Saturday last month with Hodgson as my guide. Armed with carbide lamps, ropes, flashlights, matches, candles, cameras, flashbulbs and a prayer, we stepped off the earth's surface and into the mouth of the cave just as the sun was beginning its daily dance on the peak of the lime-crested mountain.

Tiers of limestone go to make up this strange looking formation. At the left is a wedding-cake formation, so called because of its pyramided structure.

To look at the mountain which shelters the cave, one would never suspect any such strange world lay under its rocky surface. It appears the same as any other rather jagged Southern Arizona mountain. The opening is barely visible and might easily be mistaken for some man-made hole.

The entrance is about three feet in diameter and about six feet deep. Descending into the hole is like lowering yourself into a shallow well.

But once inside, it is a veritable Shangri La-a virgin forest of stalactites and stalagmites in a labyrinth of honeycombed passageways. Behind a fairly large anteroom, which accustoms the eye to the total darkness and gives an insight into what you are about to see, is another chamber.

Entrance into this room is possible only by lowering yourself by rope through a steep tunnel just large enough for a human form. The hole can't be any more than about 36 inches in diameter. Going down wasn't the tough part. You just grab the rope, using it for balance, and lower yourself by slipping your feet along the sides of the opening. With a pack on your back, a lamp in your hand and your heart in your mouth this is difficult enough. But the return trip is even worse. It was elevating myself on the way back, or rather trying to, that I envisioned myself permanently entombed. It's situations like this that bring sympathy and understanding for those who suffer from claustrophobia.

The floor of the room into which you descend, however, is rough and slanting. The footing, too, like that in most of the cave is slippery and uncertain. The entire floor was covered with a tenuous mud and the going here was like trying to walk on a cake of wet soap. I would put my foot forward cautiously only to have it slip away from under me without warning.

One misstep was certain catastrophe. No matter where you look or where you walk, on either side of you is always a vast abyss. Up the same side from which we had emerged, however, almost against what might be called the ceiling, was a wide but extremely low opening about 18 inches high. I shall always vividly remem-ber that passage. We called it "Fat Man's Nemesis."

It looked impassable but Hodgson led the way. So low was the opening that we had to press flatly against the ground, pushing our packs ahead of us while our stomachs oozed over the slimy surface and our backs were pricked by small but sharp stalactites.

Willing but frightened, I followed Lynn out of this passage and in and around several slick ledges until we came το α formation my companion pointed out to me as the "Celestial Harp." A hole near the base string was the only flaw in this magnificent work of nature. The harp was perfectly shaped, with a knob at the tall end facing us and the "strings" or flutes in diminishing size. At its tallest point, the harp rises nearly 15 feet from the floor of an opening about 125 feet long. No stretch of the imagination is necessary, either, to identify its resemblance.

After stopping long enough to take pictures, we continued on to another room which Lynn had called the "Grand Passage." It extended for some distance with side openings that recalled grottos from which the seven dwarfs had secured their diamonds. From this passage, flanked by many exotic formations, we entered a circular room.

In one corner of the room was a pond of water, beyond which was a niche resembling a fire place with a tunnel-like entrance only a few feet wide. There Lynn bade me wait while he climbed into the fire place opening, ascended the gap and was lost in the darkness. The light of my dim carbide lamp cast weird shadows on my grotesque surroundings while I sat there and looked about. Presently I heard a noise that made everything seem more unnatural and eerie. From directly above me through the thick wall of limestone was coming the sound of chimes. They were clear and distinct but had a hollow note. They were really quite beautiful, I suppose, but to me, sitting alone there in the half light, they were cold and awesome. When the chimes ceased I stepped across the water and hoisted myself up through the chimney opening and into the "Cathedral Dome." It was a small room, just large enough for the two of us standing pre cariously on two ledges separated by the hole through which I had come. Lined up on a ledge on my left, as I entered, were a series of stalactites in organ pipe forma tion which Lynn had been striking with a stone to produce the musical notes. They were whiter than other stalactites I'd seen and were more cup-shaped. Although they varied only a little in shape from stalactites in other parts of the cave, the others gave These might be just any stalactites in the "Cave of the Bells," but these happen to be those that produce the chimelike sounds when struck with the hand or with a rock.

Off only a dull, knocking sound when sim ilarly struck. After leaving here, we made our way to a yawning chasm only about four feet in diameter. Lynn suggested we go at least part way down. Frankly, the very looks of it frightened me and I ungraciously declined. I was content to shine my light down the hole and view it from the top. This deep drop, which Lynn estimated to be 200 feet deep, was one of the few totally un explored regions of the cave. He intended then, at least, to return and explore this cavity with Gilbert E. Gable, Port Oreford, Ore., adventure seeker and explorer who had already prowled through most of the cave with him. Unlike Colossal Cave, nearer Tucson, even after thousands of years this cave is still forming. Beads of water stick out from the walls and ceilings everywhere and the metallic drip as it falls to the floor can be heard almost constantly. This sound made me uneasy at first although later I became accustomed to it. In fact, the water was extremely welcome on one occasion when my carbide lamp became extinguished for lack of the fluid. Most of the formations in the cave are a reddish-brown color although certain cham bers are crystal white. Walls are solidly formed of the lime and water composition, but not all of them. In some rooms, the limestone walls have disintegrated leaving a grey clay that appears firm but which tumbles loosely if grasped for support. The clay is very slick and moist, its surface appearing to have been cut with a sharp pointed knife. Acquiring knowledge of this substance almost cost me a couple of nasty falls. Fear may be responsible for having dulled my senses but at least I didn't particularly notice the dampness. I'll admit, though, I was pretty preoccupied trying to stay on my feet most of the time. It is also quite warm in the cave. I have no way of tell ing exactly but I imagine the cave main tains a constant temperature of about 78 degrees. One thing I do know for certain, however, is that for a feeling of isolation and alone ness, there is no equal to cave exploring. The outside world seems a far removed entity. And when you expunge your light, leaving yourself veiled in that heavy black curtain, you can't help but imagine all the horrible fates that might be yours if your light should fail permanently. There isn't a chance in a thousand you'd ever find your way out of the cave in this event. Even with the aid of lights, getting lost is simpler than it sounds. Because of the circuitous route you must travel, direc tions are easily confused and would-be landmarks take on an entirely different shape from just a slightly different angle. Lynn had been in the cave before and had marked many of the ways either by scorch ing the walls with his carbide lamp or by piling up chipped stalagmites. I made my way perilously over the same spot twice without knowing or believing it. It was when I began marveling at the same things and Lynn told me "we came this way before" that I wondered which of us was deceived. Fortunately, he didn't heed my protest or I'd probably never have emerged alive. Offhand, I wouldn't be able to give a very good account of the route we traveled to get through the 1300 feet of the cave. It was up and down, backward, forward and sideways and distances seemed much further than they actually were. Entirely coating myself almost beyond recognition with dirt and mud was nasty enough but I believe also that no one has ever attempted a stab at photography under more serious handicaps than we. If we came upon a formation we thought would make a good picture we would unload our packs and go to work. First we would find a firm resting place for the camera. Then we would set the camera's exposure on "time" and laboriously get the focus by playing a light over the subject. Extinguishing all lights, one of us would then open the camera's shutter while the other set off the flash bulb. Then we would close the shutter again and scramble for our lights. It was a tedious and risky job. Altogether, I suffered no more than a couple of minor spills and tired muscles and today I have an experience that will linger long in my memory. It might have been worse though. Anything can happen while you're making your way around, through and over the many oddly shaped formations. For this reason, let me warn you, don't ever try it alone. It won't be successful. And when you do go through a cave, this one or any other, be prepared to be as tired and exhausted as you've ever been when you get out. You'll see then, too, just how dear life can seem.

Navajo National Monument

(Continued from Page 17) But one question the ranger never hears is "Why did they live here at Betatakin?" The reasons are manifold and obvious: abundant water supply within the cave, excellent farm lands on the canyon floors and on the mesas, firewood and building material in the canyon, sunshine and warmth in the cave, and unmatched beauty without and the site is only three-fourths of a mile from Segi Canyon, the focal point of a prehistoric culture. Let's take a look at the Segi: forty years ago it was called Laguna because the broad floor of the canyon was spotted with lakes; today the lakes are gone and the alluvial floor is being fast decimated-in many places the stream channel reaches a depth of sixty to eighty feet. This secondary cutting adds interest to the horseback journey to Keet Seel the "trail" is almost never in the same location because of the changing stream channel and on each trip up the canyon one gets the feeling that "no one has ever been here before."

Do you want to go to Keet Seel ("Deserted House" or "Broken Pottery")? Our horses are saddled and our lunch is packed and we're off-down that switch-back trail we took to get to Betatakin, a left turn and down another switch-back to the floor of the Segi (just one thousand feet from where we began the descent); down here we are very conscious of an immense quietness; our horses' hoofs thud quietly in the sand, we smell the sun-warmed piñon trees, and two ravens glide across the sky. We cross the Segi, go up Dogozhobiko a short way, and

Page Thirty-Six

turn into Keet Seel Canyon, six miles up this canyon is Keet Seel. We pass water falls, cross the stream bed many times, and leave even the faint Navajo horse trails behind-because there are no hogans far up Keet Seel Canyon. The spirit of the Anasazi, the Ancient Enemies, the builders of Keet Seel, is still too much in this canyon. This is a trip for the robust, and a cry for help along the way would return no more than its echo. Eleven miles in all and every one of them takes you farther from civilization as we know it, but closer to the heart of a great untrampled country where the total number of white visitors for all time could be added in three columns.

Keet Seel is another village within a cave -reached by climbing a forty-foot ladder, you notice that things weren't done in quite the same way here as at Betatakin: there is a difference in the masonry (although both could be called "random"). To the student, there is a difference in the pottery; and to everyone, there is a difference in the shape of some of the rooms, since circular rooms are found here and are absent at Betatakin. These rooms are the kivas or ceremonial rooms and their absence at Betatakin doesn't mean that those folks didn't go to church, but that they built their churches rectangular. From this we might suspect that these two villages were built by people of different cultures; American Indians both, only eight miles apart, perhaps speaking different languages.

The third cliff-dwelling of Navajo National Monument, Inscription House, lies almost 20 miles, airline, west of Betatakin. The "jumping off" place for a visit to Inscription House is Inscription House Trading Post on the Rainbow Bridge road; from the Post, a road, quite often passable, goes two miles to the rim of Nit Sin Canyon and the head of a trail descending into the canyon, three miles to the Inscription House dwelling. The floor of the canyon is hot in summer and the climb back to the rim is steep and long but the canyon itself and high-perched Inscription House are beautiful.

This ruin was so named because of an inscription found scratched into the plastered wall in one of the rooms. Weatherbeaten, little remains of the original inscription; it is generally believed to be of Spanish origin, but the exact wording has been variously reported. John Wetherill, from his second trip to Inscription House Archeologists are particularly interested in the wattle and daub, and mud-brick construction in this ruin. We all like its exaggerated T-shaped doors with tiny T shaped windows to match, the numerous symbols the prehistorie inhabitants pecked and painted on the cave walls, and the lofty view of the Navajo fields and hogans on the canyon floor below.

Now you have seen Navajo National Monument. You have spent at least two and a half days on the Monument. If you came in from the south, and were lucky, you spent two or three hours driving over unpaved but passable roads, seeing four trading posts, many Navajos, and an unusual variety of scenery if you were unlucky you may have spent a day on the same road, digging laboriously out of a sand dune and overheating your car on Shonto hill if the road was too dry; or digging laboriously out of a mud hole at Red Lake and waiting for White Mesa Wash to run down if the road was too wet. If you came from the north and were lucky the magnificence of Monument Valley and the mouth of the Segi at Marsh Pass sustained you through the last fifteen rough miles to the Monument; if you were unlucky the sand of Monument Valley and the mud of Marsh Pass may have occupied more of your attention than the scenery. However -nothing ventured, nothing gained to be forewarned is to be forearmed and to the victor belongs the spoils! And it is a rare visitor who doesn't agree that the spoils in this case are well worth the venture.

to see whose tribe can present the most beautiful dances.

The Jemez Buffalo Dance of New Mexico; the strange Dog Dance of the Lagunas; the lively Feather Dance of the Shawnees; the famous Devil Dance of the Apache; the Sun Dance of the Picarus, will lead to the climax that comes every year the dramatic Snake Dance of the Hopi.

Madly whipping bodies of the frenzied snakes swish through the air around the wigged heads of the Snake and Antelope Priests. Lithe, slippery, reptilian bodies swing from the mouths of the dancers, their weaving heads striking against the swaying bodies of the men, hanging on leech-like while fangs sink into browned flesh.

Not even the Hopi, who handle deadly rattlers with uncanny dexterity, taught the Smoki what to do when a disgruntled bull snake goes berserk and starts burying fangs in the coppery shoulders of the Snake Priests.

No Persian snake charmer with crossed legs and luring flute taught them how to catch and manipulate the slimy chicken snakes, coach whip snakes, bull snakes, gopher snakes and king snakes of the Smoki Snake Dance.

Over the years they have had to learn the "hard way" how to reproduce the snake dances with which the ancient Oraibi and the Hopi prayed for rain. Of necessity, their ritual was shortened from the ten-day rites of the Hopi. They have condensed it into its most meaningful, picturesque form.

They receive no gold or glory for their participation. None expects or would be permitted to have any personal recognition as a reward for his or her part in the rites of the Smoki Clan. To each and all of them membership is its own reward, accepted as one of the highest, most cherished social honors their city has to offer.

Between the repetitions of these beautiful Ceremonials each year, the Smoki Clan continues its painstaking and thorough efforts to perpetuate the fruits of their research and study.

This is why the Smoki Museum, built by the hands of the Smoki People, was created. In this building, constructed of native stone and rough-hewn logs they have stored the artcraft, handiwork, legends-all the treasures of a passing culture for the world of a coming day.

And significantly, this museum is in a setting thick with pines, which to the native Indian and to his white Smoki Brother, symbolize life everlasting.

The Smoki People

Together the widely-scattered tribes, is also greatly responsible for fusing their cultures to the extent that many of their dances, chants and legends are closely intermingled. This year's Ceremonials, based on this theme, bring together the Navajo, Apache, Fox, Sac, Pottawatomie, Laguna, Hopi and Jemez for a grand fiesta and days of dancing, vying, as it happened in the reality of

Magic of the Navajo Medicine Man

Each detail is carefully watched by the silent group of Indians, and any deviation or omission from the traditional "ee-kah'" (colored figures) is quickly called to the attention of the workers who erase the mistake by spreading on the yellow background sand. The Navajo believe that any deviation from the conventional figures, colors, or lines, will offend the Yei (gods) and thwart the cure, for the painting represents an altar to the Gods.

The Navajo live close to nature, so the pattern elements of the painting represent natural phenomena and mystic elements, each detail symbolic even to the tiniest feather tip. The pencil of sand slipping from the hatali's fingers traces on the earthen canvas the myths flowing between generations of Navajo, and the watchers within the silent hogan see without being told a story the origin of which has been long forgotten.

Thus, glowing in the pastel hues of the Painted Desert, lies the completed painting -finest fruit of a mystical religion soon to die.

Preliminary prayers, emetics and sweat baths completed, the patient silently inches close to the painting, and the healing rites begin. Touching the feet of the patient with his eagle plume, Noki Yozzi then applies the feather wand to the feet of the deity represented in the painting, and so on up the patient's body, wiping out each corresponding part in the painting as he goes until the devils are driven out of the patient's mouth.

The officiating medicine man lights a cigarette, inhales deeply, blows a puff first to the east, direction from which all good comes, then to the south and west, and finally to the north as offering to the gods.

The voice of Noki Yozzi rises from the silence in a chanting prayer. The chant is a song to the gods repeating over and over again with slight variation poetic words of good and beauty, prayer for "The People On the Earth" as the Navajo call themselves.

Noki Yozzi hands the patient an abalone half-shell filled with medicinal brew on which sacred fragrant corn pollen has been sprinkled. (The Navajo value highly the shells of abalone or tortoise believing that magical properties are imparted to any brew mixed within them.) Concluding the ceremony, the sand of the painting is hastily gathered up, taken outside the hogan, and scattered towards the north, direction from which all evil influence comes, the Gods taking the evil back from whence it came. Destroying the sand painting removes the sickness and its cause.

July, 1941

Disaster in de Chelly

By D. CLIFFORD BOND Five minutes after bogging slightly in the treacherous sands of Canyon de Chelly, I had a sudden flash flood sweep down on me without warning. The car was completely overwhelmed by the torrent, equipment worth $800.00 (cameras and supplies) washed away, and I was forced to swim away from the rapidly sinking roadster. Made the bank, sans personal effects, climbed the 700-foot cliffs opposite First Ruins, via an ancient cliff-dweller trail of niches cut in the sandstone, and eventually arrived at the Thunderbird Ranch at the mouth of the canyon.

Next day I returned to the site of the completely buried car, located it by the top of the windshield above the still draining water, and with the help of Navajos and white friends created a small diversion dam so we could excavate the car partly to get a portable typewriter still in the turtle back all that remained. The car was left where it was, since the bog was too deep to effect an excavation.

You may be interested to know that the reason for the motor-trip into de Chelly was to secure a photograph in color of the Monuments at the head of the canyon. This picture was subsequently purchased by the Standard Oil Company and was one of the give-away-prints at Standard stations in Arizona in 1939. One other Standard print I made was the one of the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, used in the same series.

No one medicine man has mastered all the ceremonies. Now, as our white civilization presses close in upon the tribe, the younger Navajo is forced out of his historic setting and no longer has opportunity nor time for the long period of religious preparation, and some of the most marvelous rites are doomed to die soon with the man now able to conduct them.

In 60 years, the Navajo tribe has in-creased 600 per cent. There now are more than 50,000 Indians on the reservation, constituting the largest American tribe. The Indian Service points to modern medicine, government aid, and the healthy lives led by the Navajo, living in small family groups scattered about their vast domain.

But the old "hatali" bends over his sand painting, works his "magic" and cares not for the white man's cold logic.

Page Thirty-Nine

Hymnals in Stone

(Continued from Page 13) Their vision soar into the eternal. No one ever came to see them except the Church Authorities. Once or twice the Prophet Brigham came and they spent days fixing together the best foods in the villages, washing and ironing the ginghams and the homespuns. On the great day the kids' faces were scrubbed, their stockings neatly darned and they stood with beating hearts to await the sight they would treasure for the rest of their days the sight of the Prophet's face. The girls carried armfuls of flowers from the gardens and the hills, and when the sleek black horses and bright new carriage appeared around the point of the ridge they scattered the blooms with trembling fingers along the way.

These people had eternities to live for and they were not to be rushed into ecstacies over a few high canyon walls. Now their children sell gas and fix flats and go away to learn chemistry in the colleges and the quaint dialect they spoke is fast blending with your own Americanese.

Before you enter the tunnel that takes you into Zion from the East your expectations are aroused by huge, rounded, mosaic-crusted buttes of white Navajo sandstone. You will notice particularly Checkerboard Mountain and you will see many of his brethren, each different from the others. Then you plunge into the tunnel's darkness and for a minute or two it is like the emptiness between dreams. A block of light shows up ahead and through large apertures widely spaced in the darkness you get glimpses that hold you breathless, as if you were something suspended, dangling.

Out of the bottomless somewhere rise walls of streaming color that rise and rise and rise until it is as though the earth were stretching apart; then finally at their summits you catch sight of clouds or a sky of dark blue tinsel.

Then the road coils down the hillsides in a series of loops and you find yourself gliding over the canyon floor where there is a twisted little Virgin River muttering over its work of canyon-making. Its banks are billowy with cottonwoods and willow, and there are stretches of meadow where the mule deer graze indifferent to your stare. There are desert rose gardens of red and yellow blossomed cactus, the hillsides are daubed with Indian paint brushes, dotted with piñon pine and juniper and chapparal. Further up the canyon in the moist shadows of the high walls you will find hanging gardens draped with mimula and columbine and venus-hair ferns, and at night the pale primroses worshipping the moon.

The names of the various walls and towers as you go along will sound like something from the hymnals of the Mormons whose farms and villages are a few miles down the canyon. These are names by which some the the loftiest peaks are identified but not described: West Temple of the Virgin, Altar of Sacrifice. Mt. Moroni, Three Patriarchs, Great White Throne, Angel's Landing, Great Organ. In all of these parts of the immense canvas of Zion the colors run from deep mahogany through all the shades of red to be finally and gloriously crowned with bluish white. You will recognize the Great White Throne, for its image has been spread across America in magazine and calendar, but you will still think it is the grandest thing in stone; but then, you can't say that, for there is the West Temple.

To get the full impact of the West Temple you must come at it from the west. Before you are within fifty miles of it you will see its bold outlines against the eastern sky. You may stop in St. George to admire a temple man has made, shimmering white at the outskirts of the town, like a frosted cake at a banquet table; but as the road winds up through the fragrant gardens of the Virgin toward the Hurricane Fault your eyes will be held more and more by the West Temple far ahead. As you glide by easy curves up the Hurricane Fault and come into the land of the Crinoline Cliffs, the Moencopi ledges that spread like flowing skirts about the feet of the Zion Cliffs, you will begin to feel the full power of the West Temple. Rising above the little gardens of Rockville, the Crinoline, the Shinorump, the Chinle formations, the main facade of Navajo red sandstone, flashing endless hues and patterns, goes up fifteen hundred feet to be crested with the white that froths all over these cloud-brushed summits. As you go up the floor of Zion you will

As you go up the floor of Zion you will

pass by the Lodge, sitting in quiet dignity under the cliffs, waiting with its retinue of lesser lodges to administer rest and comfort, delightful food and friendliness and entertainment to the traveler weary of grandeur. And when you have stopped and been refreshed with hospitality and sleep, and gotten the subtle liqueur of the canyon air in your blood and listened to the warmth of the voices around you and dipped into the cups of friendship that sprout like wildflowers on the rambling trails, you will not want to go. When finally you do leave and go down through the Virgin Valleys toward Lake Mead, or up through the tunnels again and out through the Vermilion Cliffs gateway and down to the quaint Mormon towns of Kanab and Fredonia, you soon find yourself in the eager arms of Arizona and in the lap of the gods (not such an acrobatic fete as you may believe). You have yet to see the Grand Canyon and all the rest of Arizona. What you have already seen has been but a beginning, a dramatic opening to the rich and colorful pageant of the Great Southwest. And that, amigo mio, is another story. Adios, y buen viaje (or something.)

The Miracle of Lake Mead

(Continued from Page 7) red rock. We stopped to explore the basin beneath this one hundred and fifty foot water fall. It was a secluded spot of tinkling water and dripping cliffs hung with mosses and ferns, festooned with wild grape vines -a vertical oasis against a barren wall of stone. Mile after mile we sped into the heart of the canyon; by grim ravines curving back to an unknown wilderness; under lacy curtains of travertine rock; and past caves of prehistoric men appearing like swallows' nests in the canyon walls; until muddy water and floating debris warned us that the river was near. The lake still stretched ahead, smooth and tempting, but we had reached the head of navigation. How we longed to know what mystery lay concealed around the next bend! The explorers' fever had gotten into our blood. It was with reluctance that we turned around and chugged the twenty miles back to Pierce Ferry. That night, seated around a roaring campfire under the stars, we still felt the spell of Lake Mead and we were thankful that it can never be spoiled by private exploitation. The lake and its unique desert setting has been set aside by the government as Boulder Dam National Recreation Park for the enjoyment of all the people forever. Boulder City, Overton and Pierce Ferry are centers where hotels, museums and recreational facilities will be developed. Already airports and roads have been built

July, 1941

Bryce, Zion and Cedar Breaks

U. S. Highway 89, meandering along from Nogales to Fredonia enjoying the scenery and the weather, hops into Utah just south of Kanab and finds itself knee-deep in beautiful landscape.

Not far over the state line, and not far from U. S. 89, is Zion Canyon National Park, a traveler's eyeful any day in the week. Turning off at Mt. Carmel Junction on U. S. 89, a drive of 24 miles westward takes the motorist to Zion.

Continuing northward on U. S. 89, 23 miles from Mt. Carmel Junction, the motorist arrives at Long Valley Junction. Twenty-seven miles westward is the Cedar Breaks National Monument, another memorable scenic experience.

Returning to U. S. 89 again and proceeding north for 20 miles the traveler comes to the Bryce Junction not far from Hillsdale. Eastward on this junction road for 14 miles will usher the motorist into that colorful corner called Bryce Canyon National Park, another thrill to pack in your bag of travel memories.

When old Ebenezer Bryce back in 1870 wandered into what is now Bryce Canyon National Park, he was one of the first white folks to see the area, Old Ebenezer exclaimed, "It's a hell of a place to lose a cow!" That remark may or may not be used as a yardstick of the poetry in his soul. Anyway, old Ebenezer was looking for a cow, not scenery.

The Indians were the first travelers of all to see the scenic areas of Bryce, Zion and Cedar Breaks. In truth they were the first to see all that spectacular scenery flowing through Southern Utah and Northern Arizona and while they were looking for buffalos or enemies, that they were sufficiently impressed by the scenery goes without saying. They couldn't comprehend the magnificence of all they saw; nor could they glibly pass it off in terms of geology. They attributed it all to their gods and let it go at that. Which is about as good an explanation as you could find... R. C.

so that Pierce Ferry is but three hours by car from Boulder City, the last forty-five miles through a magnificent Joshua Tree forest. we say? Well, not quite forever.

Although these improvements at Lake Mead are much to be desired, the hotels and resorts along the shore will put an end to the feeling of discovery and pioneering in remote places which thrills the traveler today.

We asked an engineer at the dam how long it would take for Lake Mead to become silted up and disappear.

"Two hundred years," he answered. "But we can stretch it out four hundred by building silt dams on the side streams."

"What then?" we asked.

He smiled.

Enjoyment of all the people forever, did "I guess we'll let somebody else worry about that."

Page Forty-One

Road Projects under construction DISTRICT NO. 1

Joe DeArozena, District Engineer Lee Moor Contracting Co., has a contract for grading and draining the roadway, furnishing and placing aggregate base course, and Portland cement concrete pavement 22 feet wide with salvaged oil mix shoulders 7 feet wide. The contract begins at the junction of the Flagstaff-Williams and the Flagstaff-Lake Mary highway in Flagstaff, and extends westerly toward Williams for a distance of approximately 2.6 miles. The work to be completed by May 30, 1941, work resumed May 7, 1941, after winter shut-down. F. A. Project 24-A 7 (1941). A. F. E. 6623. H. B. Wright, resident engineer.

Lee Moor Contracting Company, El Paso, Texas, has a contract for grading, draining the roadway, furnishing and placing aggregate base course and a Portland cement concrete pavement 22 feet wide, with salvaged oil mix shoulders 7 feet wide. The contract begins about 8 miles west of Flagstaff and extends northwesterly toward Williams for a distance of approximately 1.5 miles on the Ashfork-Flagstaff highway. The work, to be completed by May 27, 1941, work resumed May 15, after winter shut-down. F. A. Project 24-A (6) (1941), A. F. E. 6624. H. B. Wright, resident engineer.

Lee Moor Contracting Co., has a contract for the surfacing and placing of aggregate base course and the furnishing and placing of a mixed bituminous surface, using SC-6 road oil plant mix, and other miscellaneous work incidental to the paving of approximately 6.4 miles of the Prescott-Flagstaff highway, beginning at the north rim of Oak Creek. To be completed April 19, 1941, work resumed May 9, after winter shutdown. Federal Aid Project 96-G (3) 1940 and 96-H 1940. A. F. E. 7901. H. B. Wright, resident engineer. Skousen Brothers have a contract for grading and draining the roadway; the conGreat highways of modern travel. U. S. 66 and 93 carry thousands of tourists each month through Mohave County.

As Of June 1st, 1941

struction of four small concrete structures and three multiple span concrete box structures over 20 feet clear span and other work incidental to the realignment of approximately six miles of the Ashfork-Flagstaff highway, beginning at Parks and extending easterly to the present highway near Bellemont. This is to be completed by August 3, 1941. Federal Aid Project 89-G (1) (1941) A. F. E. 6622. H. B. Wright, resident engineer.

Phoenix Tempe Stone Co. has a contract for grading and draining the roadway. The construction of 4 small concrete structures and one 3 span 10'x12'x135.0' concrete box structures and other work incidental to the construction of 1.1 miles of the PrescottFlagstaff highway beginning at Cottonwood and extending northwesterly toward Clarkdale. The work is to be completed by August 1, 1941. Federal Aid Project No. FA 96-1 (1) (1941) A. F. E. 1908. C. S. Benson, resident engineer.

Oswald Brothers have a contract for reshaping the roadway; furnishing and placing of shoulder material and a road mixed bituminous surface using SC-4 road oil on three projects totaling 10.6 miles. F. A. S. 5-B (1) (1941) A. F. E. 671 Prescott-Kirkland highway beginning over Willow Creek about 3½ miles northwest of Prescott and extending westerly toward Iron Springs about 3% miles. F. A. S. 11-A (1) (1941) A. F. E. 659 Prescott-Groom Creek beginning at the south end of the pavement on South Mount Vernon Avenue and extending southeasterly to Groom Creek a distance of approximately 5.2 miles; Non-FA 11-A (1941). West Prescott School Bus Route, beginning at the west city limits of Prescott on Butte Street and extends westerly for about % of a mile, thence northerly and easterly past the Fairgrounds to the intersection of Miller Street and Fair Street, a total length of approximately 1.8 miles. The work is to be completed by August 31, 1941. C. S. Benson, resident engineerith Portland State Forces are paving cement concrete, U. S. Highway 66, Williams. WPA participating. A. F. E. 6626. C. S. Benson, resident engineer.

State Forces are improving by widening and backsloping U. S. Highway 89, PrescottWilhoit. WPA participating. A. F. E. 8934. C. S. Benson, resident engineer.

DISTRICT NO. 2

R. C. Perkins, District Engineer Tiffany Construction Co., has a contract for the furnishing and placing of aggregate base course, and a plant mixed bituminous surface on 10 miles of the Showlow-Springerville highway, beginning about 16½ miles east of Showlow and extending toward Springerville. The work is to be completed by June 15, 1941. F. A. Project 105-B (2) (1941) Α. F. E. 6010. E. H. West, resident engineer. Work resumed May 12 after winter shut-down.

Allison Steel Manufacturing Co. has been awarded a contract for the furnishing and delivery of reinforcing and structural steel for the future construction of Cottonwood Wash bridge located about one mile north of the town of Snowflake. Delivery to be made Aug. 1 and Sept. 1, 1941. Non-F. A. Project 131-B AFE 7713 (1941).

H. L. Royden has been awarded a contract for the furnishing and delivery of steel Hcolumn piles and steel sheet piling for the future construction of the Cottonwood Wash bridge located about one mile north of the town of Snowflake. Delivery to be made by Nov. 15 and July 15, 1941. Non-F. A. Project 131-В (1941) AFE 7713.

Using base course. Subgrading the roadway and refinishing slopes and furnishing and placing a plant mixed bituminous surface, (open grading) using SC-road oil on 9.4 miles of the Showlow-Springerville highway beginning about 7.1 miles east of Showlow and extending toward Springerville. The work is to be completed by July 19, 1941. F. A. Project 105-A and H (2) (1941) A. F. E. 6009 and 6014. E. H. West, resident engineer. Work resumed May 10 after winter shut-down.

Geo. W. Orr has a contract for grading and draining the roadway; furnishing and placing coarse and fine aggregate base course and a plant mixed bituminous surface, using SC-6 read oil and the placing of a type B seal coat; the construction of seven small concrete structures, one 6 span 10'x8' concrete box, one 7 span concrete slab deck on concrete piles, one 4 span concrete and steel viaduct, one 5 span concrete viaduct and other work incidental to the construction of 4½ miles of the DuncanClifton highway, beginning 17 miles northwest of Duncan, and extending northerly toward Clifton. The work is to be completed by September 15, 1941. Federal Aid Project 138-A (1) (1941) and Federal Lands Project F. L. 15-A. (1) (1941) A. F. E. 7509. R. J. Holland, resident engineer.

W. E. Orr Contractor has a contract for the grading and draining the roadway over a relocated line; the furnishing and placing of coarse and fine aggregate base course and a road mixed bituminous surface using SC-4 road oil and type B seal coat. The construction of two multiple span 14 foot reinforced concrete bridges and one single span rigid frame reinforced concrete structure and other work incidental to the construction of 1.7 miles of the Superior-Miami highway beginning about five miles northeast of Superior and extending through the region known as Devils Canyon. The work is to be completed by September 30, 1941. Federal Aid Project No. F. A. 16 (3) (1941) A. F. E. 7006. R. D. Canfield, resident engineerH. L. Royden has a contract for the construction of Rattlesnake Canyon Bridge located approximately 6% miles southeast of Clifton on the Duncan-Clifton highway. The structure is a four span concrete deck on steel girder supported by concrete piers and abutments. The work is to be completed by September 30, 1941. Non-F. A. project 138 (1941). R. J. Holland, resident engineer. Martin Construction Co. has been awarded a contract for grading and draining the roadway; furnishing and placing aggregate base course and a road mixed bituminous surface; the construction of four small concrete boxes and one six span 10'x8'x37'6" concrete structure and other work incidental to the the construction of 3.5 miles of the Safford-Bowie Junction highway beginning 15.5 miles north of Bowie Junction and extending toward Safford. The work is to be completed by September 30, 1941. Federal Lands Project No. FL 14-A (1) (1941) A. F. E. 6665. R. J. Holland, resident engineer.

Daley Corporation has a contract for grading and draining the roadway; widening the existing concrete pavement with a Portland cement, concrete pavement and other work incidental to the widening of the present pavement on .75 miles of the Mesa-Casa Grande Ruins highway begin ning at the junction of U. S. 80 in Mesa and extending southerly toward Chandler. The work is to be completed by August 15, 1941. Non-Federal Aid Project No. No. 97-J (1941) A. F. E. 8707. J. A. Parker, resident engineer.

All bids for the construction of 7 miles of the Phoenix-Prescott Highway beginning about 4 miles northwest of the town of Marinette, received on June 5, 1941, were rejected and a new call for Bid will be issued.

The work consists of grading and draining the roadway; furnishing and placing of coarse and fine aggregate base course and a plant mixed bituminous surface using SC-6 road oil and type B Seal. An alternate consists of the construction of 2 miles of cement mixed base, 6 and 7½ inch depth, with plant mixed bituminous surface over the 6 inch section. SN FA Project 84-A (31) (1941) AFE 8938.

State Forces are grading and draining 1.206 miles of Superior-Miami highway on U. S. 60-70; F. A. P. 16; WPA forces participating, A. F. E. 7001. R. D. Canfield, resident engineer.

State Forces are paving with concrete U. S. Highway 70, Superior Streets, WPA participating, A. F. E. 7007. R. D. Canfield, resident engineer.

State Forces are resetting highway guard, U. S. 60. WPA participating. A. F. E. 6012. С. В. Browning, resident engineer.

State Forces are changing alignment and constructing curve west of Buckeye on U. S. 80. WPA participating. A. F. E. 8010. J. A. Parker, resident engineer.

State Forces are changing alignment, widening and surfacing on U. S. 60, east of the town of Springerville. WPA participating. A. F. E. 6011. E. H. West, resident engineer.

State Forces are widening with oil and constructing concrete curbs, gutters and sidewalks on State Route Washington Boulevard, 32nd St., to Delano Ave. WPA participating. A. F. E. 8017. Jas. A. Parker, resident engineer.

State Forces are widening to 48 feet the bridge across Pinal Creek near the south city limits of Globe. WPA participating. R. D. Canfield, resident engineer. A. F. E. 2201.

DISTRICT NO. 3

J. R. Van Horn, District Engineer James S. Maffeo has a contract for subgrading the roadway and refinishing the slopes, furnishing and placing of select materials, aggregate base course; and a road mixed bituminous surface using SC-4 road oil and an SC-4 road oil seal coat on 6.5 miles of the Nogales-Fort Huachuca highway beginning about 14½ miles northeast of Nogales and extending to Patagonia. The work is to be completed by August 31, 1941. Non-F. A. Project 139-A (1941) A. F. E. 8224. S. R. Dysart, resident engineer. James S. Maffeo has a contract for the reconstruction of the existing underpass in the town of Lowell. The work consists of constructing new concrete backwalls, pedestrian tunnels and wingwalls; removing portions of the old concrete walls and facing of existing concrete piers; removing existing steel span; furnish and place new steel superstructure; apply gunite to old and new concrete faces and install electric lighting system.

The clouds and the mountains blend poetically to enhance the distant horizon for the traveler following the highroads of Northern Arizona.

The changes necessary in connection with the Southern Pacific Railroad will be done by that company.

The work is to be completed by June 20, 1941. SN-FAGH Project 79-1 (4) (1941), Benson - Douglas Highway, A. F. E 8008. A. J. Gilbert, resident engineer.

Pearson and Dickerson Contractors, Inc., have a contract for the construction of an underpass and approach roadway totaling approximately 5 miles on the Benson-Steins Pass Highway in and adjacent to the city of Benson.

The underpass consists of a four-lane divided highway structure. The work to be done by the contractor consists of grading and draining the roadway; furnishing and placing select material; aggregate base course and a plant mixed bituminous surface with a type "B" seal coat; the constructionof one structure over 20 foot clear span; and the underpass structure; new railroad grades necessitated by the relocation of railroad tracks; and the placing of select material.

The project is known as the Benson Steins Pass highway, SN-FAGH 137-E (1) (1939-40-41), AFE 8619., and is to be completed by December 31, 1941. P. F. Glendenning, resident engineer.

Pearson and Dickerson Contractors, Inc., have a contract for reconstruction and relocating of the junction of three highways in and adjacent to the city of Benson. The work consists of grading and draining the roadway; furnishing base course and a plant mixed bituminous surface and a type "B"

seal coat on .3 miles of divided highway and .85 miles of undivided roadway; the construction of a highway separation structure and four structures over 20 foot clear span. The projects are known as SN-FA 18-A, B. E and F (5) (1940), Benson-Vail high-way, AFE 8002, and SN-FA 79-D (3) (1941), Benson Douglas highway, A. F. E. 8002.

way, AFE 8002, and SN-FA 79-D (3) (1941), Benson Douglas highway, A. F. E. 8002.

The work is to be completed by December 31, 1941. P. F. Glendenning, resident en-gineer.

Wallace and Wallace Contractors have a contract for grading and draining the road way; furnishing and placing imported bor row; select material and aggregate base course; the construction of five concrete boxes under 20 feet and one concrete Structure over 20 feet clear span on 4.55 miles of the Douglas-Safford Highway, beginning with the Benson-Steins Pass highway. The work is to be completed by June 30, 1941. FAS 114-H (1) (1941), AFE 6662. A. J. Gilbert, resident engineer.

Lee Moor Contracting Co. has a contract for the grading and draining the roadway; furnishing and placing of imported borrow, imported borrow base course, aggregate base course and the construction of twelve multiple span concrete culverts and other work incidental to the construction of 8.8 miles of the Benson-Steins Pass highway beginning in the city of Willcox and extending toward Benson. The contract is divided into two projects, S. N. F. A. 137-D, (1) (1941) and Non-F. A. 137-F (1941) A. F. E. 8617. The work is to be completed by November 15, 1941. A. J. Gilbert, resident engineer.

Tanner Construction Co. has a contract for the reconstruction of 8 separate sections totaling about 4 miles of a 9 mile length of road, beginning about 3% miles west of Mohawk and extending westerly. The work consists of grading and draining the roadwav, furnishing and placing imported borrow, aggregate base course and a road mixed bituminous surface using SC-4 road oil, a SC-6 seal coat and bituminous surface treatment on the shoulders. The construction of seven small concrete boxes and four conthe roadwav, furnishing and placing imported borrow, aggregate base course and a road mixed bituminous surface using SC-4 road oil, a SC-6 seal coat and bituminous surface treatment on the shoulders. The construction of seven small concrete boxes and four con-

crete structures over 20 foot span all re-

placing existing dips. Non-FA Project 55 (1941) AFE 8015. The work is to be completed by October 15, 1941. C. C. Huskison, resident engineer.

State highway engineering forces are planning and supervising the construction of 6.2 miles on State Route 92 from the north boundary of the Ft. Huachuca Military Reservation to the junction with State Route 82 (Military Access Project). Work accomplishment by WPA. A. F. E. 9202. S. R. Dysart, resident engineer.

State Forces are grading, draining, surfacing and fencing State Route 82, NogalesPatagonia-Sonoita highway. WPA participating. A. F. E. 8223. S. R. Dysart, resident engineer.

State Forces are grading, draining and surfacing 13.5 miles of U. S. Highway 80, Florence-Junction highway, Oracle Junction north, WPA participating. A. F. E. 8019. D. J. Lyons, resident engineer.

State Forces are widening and surfacing shoulders and filling borrow pits on the Bisbee-Douglas highways, U. S. Route 80, between Forest Ranch and Douglas, A.F.E. 8007. A. J. Gilbert, resident engineer.

FEDERAL WORKS AGENCY PUBLIC ROADS ADMINISTRATION

New Post Office Building

Phoenix, Arizona, May 31, 1941 G. L. McLane, Senior Highway Engineer.

W. R. F. Wallace, Highway Engineer.

W. P. Wesch, Highway Bridge Engineer, Bridge Engineer.

W. J. Ward, Associate Highway Engineer, Locating Engineer.

R. Thirion, Associate Highway Engineer, Highway Planning Engineer.

J. H. Brannan, Associate Highway En-gineer, Supervising Engineer.

E. F. Strickler, Associate Highway En-gineer, Supervising Engineer.

R. M. Rutledge, Assistant Highway Engineergineer, Acting Supervising Engineer.

V. E. Carson, Junior Highway Engineer, Acting Materials Engineer.

PUBLIC ROADS ADMINISTRATION PROJECTS IN ARIZONA PROJECTS UNDER CONSTRUCTIONRoute 33, Catalina Mountain Highway,

Coronado National Forest

Project consists of grading and draining of a highway with prison labor on the south side of the Catalina Mountains, between a point approximately 17 miles northeast of Tucson, Arizona, and Soldier Camp Ranger Station near the summit. Grading has been partially completed from the foot of the mountain to a point 13.3 miles toward the summit. W. J. Ward, resident engineer.

Route 9, Bridgeport-Roosevelt Dam H. J. Hagen, Globe, Arizona, has contract in the amount of $56,458.70, for construction of Arizona Forest Highway Project 9-D, E, between Payson and Pine. Work consists of grading and construction of drainage structures, including a 56-foot re-inforced concrete bridge over Pine Creek. Length of project 1.7 miles. Work is about 50% complete. F. H. Horton is resident engineer.

Route 3, Flagstaff-Clints Well Packard Contracting Company, Phoenix, Arizona has contract in the amount of $125,809.95, for construction of Arizona Forest Highway Project 3-H, approximately 16 miles south of Flagstaff. Work consists of grading and construction of drainage structures. Length of project 8.3 miles. Work is about 5% complete. F. A. Bonnell is resident engineer.

Boulder Dam National Recreational Area Tanner Construction Company, Phoenix, Arizona has contract in the amount of $349,387 for grading, installation of drainage structures, and placing bituminous treated surfacing on 15.26 miles of roadway within the Boulder Dam National Recreational Area adjacent to Pierce Ferry. Work was started on May 22, 1941. H. H. Wood-man is resident engineer.

HE KNEW HI JOLLY:

For me there is no more appealing part of the world than your beautiful State of Arizona, and the incomparable memories of trips to many of its enchanted spots have brightened many hours for me.

Arizona Highways either the roadways themselves or your indispensable periodical-is a name to conjure with and acquaintance with both has been a boon to me for which I must express deep appreciation.

May I suggest a subject for an early issue of your magazine that should make most interesting reading, provide a source of wonderful scenic views and properly do honor to one of your outstanding pioneer citizens?

Just outside of Kingman lives Mr. Charles Metcalfe, who has resided there some fifty years and in that time has seen and helped that territory develop. He has a magnificent property known as Metcalfe's Monolithic Gardens that contains some most wonderful scenic rock piles that make this garden truly a photographer's paradise.

He has a wealth of early day information, an amazing collection of unusual prehistoric curios, and can discourse in a fashion to hold his listener breathless.

We know you would not be disappointed in the story and pictures a visit with him would afford.

In a recent letter mentioning your article "Hadji Ali" in April Arizona Highways, he writes: "I met Hi Jolly shortly after I came to Kingman and heard his story first hand. Lee Raught, who built my fences, was a teamster here and knew Hi Jolly well. Watkins told me that the camels were running wild here when he came and that the teamsters used to shoot them as they frightened their horses and caused damage to their outfits."

This will give you some idea of the possibilities contained in a visit with this fine old gentleman.

C. H. Smith, Davies Warehouse Co., Los Angeles, Calif.

"KIVER TO KIVER":

Nevertheless, we know you have an abundance of beautiful flowers in Arizona. Nevertheless, we would like you to accept a little belated bouquet from a small Fred Harvey group in Kansas City that reads your publication from "kiver to kiver."

We have easy access to many magazines that are good, but we say unhesitatingly that your Arizona Highways is of the highest rank. Its photographic compositions in color and black and white are most artistic; the paper the best; and its printed matter easily readable.

With us it is the "tops," and we appreciate and look forward with pleasure to each number.

R. J. Raney, Fred Harvey, Kansas City, Mo.

CONVENTION BOUND:

Can't thank you enough for the wonderful and unique magazine you have been sending me. I have made a good use of the mats, advertising in our paper the Grand Canyon, Boulder Dam, and the other beautiful places to be seen out there.

I am most anxious to see the Canyon and many other interesting places in Northern Arizona again in the first part of next July. We have had many inquiries about where to stop to go to see the Canyon, Boulder Dam, Petrified Forest and many other places near the Canyon. We expect that hundreds of Frisco convention visitors will stop over there making side-trips along the Enchanted Circle.

I have a number of friends who promise to take me around in Northern Arizona. They have been writing to me about the grand celebration in Phoenix on account of the abundance of irrigation water in the reservoirs over there. I have published all the information they sent me in our paper to publicize your fair state.

John E. Rantamaki, Editor of Amerikan Suometar, Hancock, Mich.

AMMUNITION FOR MONUMENT VALLEY:

The May issue of Arizona Highways with the Monument Valley story is proving to be a dead shot. Everyone so far I have sent a copy to has written back for reservations and has chosen the Arizona route in. It is certainly a choice piece of ammunition to fire at a prospect. Numerous parties arriving say the May issue of the magazine led them out here. Thanks to a real combination: our friends, Joyce Muench for her rounding up the right bunch of words and putting them together so as to pack the real feeling you enjoy when you visit this magnificent valley, Josef Muench and Jack Breed for drawing a bead on and hitting some mighty choice bull's-eyes that are hidden about the Monument Valley for those who like to shoot a camera.

Harry Goulding, Monument Valley, Utah, P. O. Kayenta, Arizona.

IN TRYING TIMES:

Your beautiful magazines are more than appreciated by the people herenot only in my own family circle but amongst a large number of friends.

During these very trying and difficult times, when each day and night is fraught with great dangers, it is a source of inspiration to us to read about your wonderful country, and what is more important to realize that we can count you all as our staunchest friends.

Thanking you once again and looking forward to your next issue.

Miss Dorothy Smalley, "Glenmaye" Regent St., Oadby, Leicester, England.

"CALIFORNIA FIRST":

Just a few words of appreciation for your well edited and illustrated magazine, Arizona Highways.

I always enjoy your beautiful desert pictures, interesting articles about Indians, the whole setup of your publication.

In business terms of course we always think "California First" but I am not so selfish and I hope that your publication will attract many tourists to your typical desert. After you are through with 'em put 'em on the California trail and we will do the same in your direction if they enter our state first.

I hope to see many more of your Highway numbers.

E. H. Meili, Schloessman & Meili, Inc., Los Angeles, Calif.