Host to the World

The dim Indian trail followed by the Spaniard Cardenas in 1540 to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon has now become a wide, well-marked thoroughfare.

Over the modern highway, State Highway 64, cars from every state in the union and the Territories come every month. It is not unusual to find cars bearing license plates of four or more foreign countries parked near the hotels any summer day. This dim trail has become the widening way bringing people from all over the world to behold this giant spectacle, the Grand Canyon of Arizona.

The more than half million visitors to the Canyon each year belie the statement recorded of a young U.S. lieutenant, Joseph Ives, who explored the region in 1857, “Ours has been the first and will doubtless be the last party of whites to visit this profitless locality.” Last year 688,673 persons arrived at both Rims to view the awesome chasm. They came by train, plane, bus and automobile. Altogether 204,497 private cars checked through the Park entrances, from all of the forty-eight states, seven territories and thirty-one foreign countries.

OPPOSITE PAGE, a view of Grand Canyon looking north from a spot near Point Imperial, North Rim, by Alfred Bond. Busch Pressman camera, 4x5, Model D. 135mm Wollensak lens, daylight Ektachrome film, 1/5th second at F.16, pola-screen filter, 5 P.M. in June. CENTER PANELS: “THE WATCHER,” BY PAUL ZERRAHN. This once-in-a-lifetime photo was reproduced from a 35mm transparency. Lithographed reproduction was enlarged 12½ times. Lithographed positives were made through a 7½-inch Ektanon lens. Distortions and fuzziness occurring because of unusual enlargement were manually corrected by highly skilled technicians. Photographer was standing on South Rim near Maripoca Point at sundown with camera on tripod in shooting position for sunset study when interested visitor came along from left and stopped to view the scenery. Presto! Photo was taken. Click of camera 10 feet away startled visitor. He bounded away before a second photograph could be taken, but before he did he served to model as striking a Grand Canyon study as was ever taken. Mr. Zerrahn describes such a scene as an adventure for a photographer.

Even before State Highway 64 was paved in 1930, automobile traffic was heavy. Since the surfacing of State Highway 67 to the North Rim later in the '30s, additional thousands of cars have traveled in ease to the nation's won-der gorge.

The people who came are the notables and the no-bodies, the royalty and the roughnecks, the rich and the poor, the scientists and the sightseers. Whoever they are or why they came they are almost universally deeply impressed. In all probability they will never see anything else that so awes them and inspires them for its magnitude as the rich, changing panorama of hues, of canyons and sub-merged mountains.

It was George Wharton James in his book In and Around the Grand Canyon who recorded the words of a great organist at the turn of the century, Clarence Eddy. After a mule ride up a Canyon trail during a storm, Eddy remarked, “This forms an epoch in my life. I shall play bet-ter for this experience so long as I live.” To one who now beholds the Canyon's vast and royal beauty it is hard to imagine that anyone could not under-stand that man's soul in search of beauty and greatness would not beat a wide pathway to its Rims. So it is today. The Grand Canyon of Arizona is host to the world, and the “profitless locality” has become a mecca for hundreds of thousands of pilgrims annually seeking beauty, knowledge and inspiration. For it is as John Burroughs, the eminent American naturalist, exclaimed, “The world's most wonder-ful spectacle, ever-changing, alive with a million moodsthat is the Grand Canyon.” Within thirty years after the doleful prediction of Lieu-tenant Ives the future of the Canyon was already looking toward its now recognized importance. In 1884 John Hance had taken a homestead on the South Rim, reworked an old Indian trail into the Canyon, and advertised a guide service for visitors.

Exactly fifty years after the visit of Ives, a bill was introduced in the United States Senate to create “a national park of the lands on the southern border of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado.” The area was already attracting acclaim in 1892 when Charles F. Lummis of Century magazine, W. F. Clark of St.

Nicholas magazine, and Thomas Moran, the artist who was to win fame for his Grand Canyon paintings and etchings, arrived at the Rim. The trail followed by Cardenas and Ives was beginning to widen and by 1899 the Coconino Sun reported over 900 visitors for the season.

Much development was now underway. New trails were being built, railroads projected and accommodations for visitors expanding. Santa Fe brought its first train to the South Rim in September of 1901, and the following January, just fifty years ago, the first automobile “steamed” to the Canyon.

When President Theodore Roosevelt made his first visit to the magnificent chasm on May 6, 1903, he declared: “The Grand Canyon fills me with awe. It is beyond comparison-beyond description; absolutely unparalleled throughout the world. Let this great wonder of nature remain as it now is. Do nothing to mar its grandeur, sublimity and loveliness. You cannot improve on it. But what you can do is to keep it for your children, your children's children, and all who come after you, as the one great sight which every American should see.” Five years later, on January 11, 1908, President Roosevelt issued the proclamation creating Grand Canyon National Monument. It was not until 1919 that, by Act of Congress, the area was made a National Park-to become the seventeenth in the plan of setting aside a part of the priceless heritage of the United States to be preserved for the benefit and enjo enjoyment of the people in the National Park System.

Though often saying that words could not describe the beauty and grandeur of the Canyon, many who came in the early days, nevertheless, did just that. Charles Lummis, upon his visit in 1892, called it “the greatest thing in the world.” Professor John C. Van Dyke, author of books about the Canyon and other natural wonders, said, “it is not the eighth but the first wonder of the world. There is nothing like it.” Hamlin Garland described it in terms of “a thousand differing moods.” Thus the marvels of Grand Canyon had already been described when President William Howard Taft arrived on October 14, 1909. Much preparation was made for him. Not only was there concern as to his assistance in further developing the status of the Canyon by having it made a National Park, but also the question of statehood for both Arizona and New Mexico was of greatest importance in this region.

Captain John Hance's great mule, the best of all the trail mules, was for Taft, and upon him the President made the trip into the Canyon. The press of that day was much given over to the visit of Taft. One of the best reports is from the National Hotel Reporter, which said in part: “William Howard Taft, President of the United States, paid his first visit to the Grand Canyon of Arizona on October 14, 1909. Like all visitors to this remarkable region, the Presi-

Indent

Indent was greatly impressed with the wonderful canyon, and he was also much impressed with the excellence of Hotel El Tovar of the Harvey System. On the evening of October 14 Governor Sloan of Arizona gave a dinner for President Taft and his party, for which a very striking menu was prepared."

The menu as given was as follows:

All of this must have had the desired effect upon President Taft, for some three years later, still during his admin-istration, Arizona gained statehood. The importance of the Grand Canyon of Arizona and the dinner at the El Tovar in the matter of gaining statehood has never been evaluated but it may have been a matter of destiny.

istration, Arizona gained statehood. The importance of the Grand Canyon of Arizona and the dinner at the El Tovar in the matter of gaining statehood has never been evaluated but it may have been a matter of destiny.

Over the past half century the annual travel to the Canyon has increased from the 900 in 1899 to approach the three-fourths million mark, and the register at the Rim lists many notables out of the passing parade of the yearsrenowned scientists, statesmen, churchmen, poets, painters, publishers and potentates who have come to know the spell of its greatness. We can note but a few, mainly those recorded on film and in words, and whose presence and thoughts will register in importance to those familiar with the great of the past years. After World War I, the great French Marshal Foch visited the Canyon on his tour of the United States sponsored by the American Legion. Astride the famed mule, T.N.T., and puffing his World War pipe of victory, he descended into the Canyon depths. The Marshal called it “the most gorgeous sight.” Some wiseacre has credited him also with the doubtful distinction of saying,

"What a grand place to throw one's mother-in-law." Following Marshal Foch came General Gouraud, "Lion of the Argonne," in 1923, and still later the Italian General Bodoglio.

In November of 1922 Lord and Lady Mountbatten (the Lord is the uncle of Prince Philip, consort of Queen Elizabeth) included the Grand Canyon in the itinerary of the royal honeymoon, and joined with other pilgrims on the journey of Bright Angel Trail.

More recent visits of nobility and royalty have been Lord and Lady Halifax of England, during the Lord's service as ambassador to the United States; Prince Jaisinh and Princess Premila of India; the Crown Prince and Princess of Norway, who are remembered by Park personnel for their gracious, warm-hearted gentility; the Crown Prince and Princess of Denmark in 1939; the King and Crown Prince of Belgium; His Highness Tengku Yaacob Ibni, Sultan Abdul Hamid of the Malay States; two Princes from Saudi Arabia; and His Imperial Majesty Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi, Shahinshah of Iran in 1949.

Throughout the young Shah of Iran's stay at the Canyon he constantly sought moments alone to meditate on the splendor of nature's creation before him. However, a prior attempt on his life in Iran kept him under the close surveillance of not only his own accompanying generals, but United States secret service men and Park rangers.

The Shah did maneuver one early morning walk when his protectors thought him safely asleep. Accompanied by a single ranger who was on duty in the hotel lobby, he viewed the Canyon in the peaceful solitude of the dawn hours.

Ferdinand Grofe's deep inspiration is one that can be forever heard in his magnificent symphonic composition, "Grand Canyon Suite." Incidentally, one portion of "On the Trail" provided an innocent complication when Park officials were entertaining the two Princes from Sauli Arabia.

At a tea Dr. H. C. Bryant, Park superintendent, arranged in their honor, he started a recording of that music for background atmosphere. A government agricultural official, one familiar with the Princes' own country, quickly informed him that the Saudi Arabians thought genies existed in all phonograph records. To break the spell they always smashed them. In his haste to turn off the phonograph, Dr. Bryant himself dropped the record. To be sure it broke the spell, but Dr. Bryant had some difficulty in again completing his Grofe album.

Eminent scientists to come under the natural spell of the Canyon included Marconi and Einstein, who were photographed at the Rim accompanied by their wives. More recently Dwight Eisenhower was a visitor.

The deep humanitarian nature of the General was indelibly imprinted on the minds of all who saw him during his July sojourn in 1950. While his luncheon party anxiously awaited his presence, General Eisenhower graciously posed on the terrace for several hundred amateur photographers, then after one small boy asked for his autograph, continued for another half an hour to sign the envelopes and scraps of paper thrust to him. Parents of servicemen who had been under his European command proudly mentioned their boys, and the General expressed genuine interest in each of his former soldiers.

We know from their books either about the Canyon or in using it for descriptive background how deeply impressed have been many writers. John C. Van Dyke, Edwin Corle, and J. B. Priestley are a few who have penned words about it. Zane Grey was only one of many who made the colorful gorge the locale for several of his stories. George Bernard Shaw, Henrik Van Loon, Irving Cobb, Henry Van Dyke are others who shared the Canyon's inspiration with a writer's perception.

The history of wit, no doubt, is the loser in not having Shaw's voiced expressions of the Canyon when he arrived at the South Rim. In Priestley's work, "Midnight on the Desert," the reader is aware of the writer's profound impression of the chasm wherewith he begins to delve deeply into philosophical matters including his discussion of the fourth dimension.

Arturo Toscanini is another of the musical notables to have absorbed with his artist's soul the grandeur of the Canyon. Painters throughout the world have brought away with them their canvasses brilliant with color to portray for them their love of its natural grandeur.

Groups are also important in the Canyon's cavalcades. Every year welcomes one or more gatherings from the American Youth Hostels, including students from Europe, who come on the trains with their bicycles to "do" the Canyon. Three such groups visited during the one month of August in 1947.

One unique group was the Kitty Kat Klub of Canton, Ohio. Comprised of six couples, the members had saved systematically for eleven years to have money for a vacation trip to the West. By V-J day they had saved nearly $2,000, and were offered another $1,000 for a New York appearance on the radio program, "We, the People." The couples arrived at the Canyon in June, 1946, on their memorable Western trek.

Arizona and its natural wonder have been host to conventions and delegations throughout the years. One of the most renowned gatherings was that of the Rough Riders, on the occasion of their 50th and last reunion in 1948. How fitting for this group of old soldiers to gather at the great chasm-first given national distinction by their commander, Teddy Roosevelt, and the former stamping ground of two of their famed members, Bucky O'Neil and Dan Hogan.

The group most closely associated with the Canyon is probably the Shrine of the Ages Choir from Arizona State College at Flagstaff. For these young singers, under the direction of Dr. Eldon Audrey, each year present the musical setting for the Easter sunrise service held at the South Rim.

From its inception the service has been directed and narrated by Arizona's present governor, J. Howard Pyle. Churchmen from throughout the country have journeyed to the Canyon to speak, including Dr. Daniel Poling, Dr. Albert W. Palmer, Dr. Ronald Bridges, Bishop William Scarlett and Bishop Arthur B. Kinsolving. Their messages from the Rim, delivered against a background of such magnificent splendor, have instilled the deep spirit of Easter promise. When this writer was honored by being the speaker in 1949, residents from thirty-nine states, from territories and foreign countries were in the worship group there. But in addition to the thousands of people who meet each Easter for this service, other millions around the world are joined with them through the miracle of radio. World fellowship in its highest essence is portrayed as these messages from the Canyon bring all peoples together on this day of eternal hope.

The Grand Canyon is having a very real part in creating and maintaining a fellowship of seekers after the things great, grand and beautiful. A world-wide fellowship that may in time inspire men to build among themselves and their nations something comparably as great and beautiful as this miracle of nature.

Perhaps this titanic spectacle that enthralls and humbles all men still has even a greater role in the destiny of the Creator's plans for a humanitarian and peaceful world. Today millions come from everywhere to catch the eminency of its message of time and space. There it is always changing yet unchangeable; austere yet beautiful; immense yet speaking in a still small voice-the Grand Canyon of Arizona: Host to the World.