F 
 
 826 
 
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 Cummings 
 
 Great Natural Bridges 
 of Utah
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 GIFT OF 
 
 LDJDLEY BMJ1I
 
 BULLETIN OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY of UTAH 
 
 VOL III. SALT LAKE CITY, NOVEMBER, 1910 NO. 3 PART I 
 
 The 
 
 Great Natural Bridges 
 of Utah 
 
 by BYRON CUMMINGS 
 
 First Archaeological Number 
 
 PUBLISHED QUARTERLY BY THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH. ENTERED AS 
 SECOND CLASS MATTER, JUNE 16, 1908, AT THE POSTOFFICE AT SALT 
 LAKE CITY, UNDER ACT OF JULY 16, 1904 :: :: :; ::
 
 School of Arts 
 and Sciences 
 
 "*HE School of Arts and Sciences is 
 * the oldest of the four schools now 
 comprising the University of Utah. 
 
 The founders of the institution and 
 those who, from time to time, have been 
 instrumental in its development, have 
 ever kept in mind that the chief function 
 of state institutions is to produce broad- 
 minded, well-equipped citizens. Real- 
 izing this, the School of Arts and Scien- 
 ces endeavors to provide that true and 
 liberal culture that must ever form the 
 foundation for the best professional and 
 technical education. 
 
 It aims through mutual helpfulness 
 to weld all departments of the institution 
 into a unit for the aid and improvement 
 of the young men and women of Utah.
 
 The Great Natural Bridges 
 of Utah. 
 
 Introduction 
 
 A State University, to fulfill its function in the common- 
 wealth, must know the field of its opportunity. It must seek 
 not only the material development of the State but also set 
 a worthy standard of intelligence and a depth and breadth 
 of culture that insures living citizens. She must send out 
 from her immediate circle a constant supply of men and women 
 who are not merely sufficiently clever and well equipped to 
 provide bread and butter for themselves and those dependent 
 upon them, but who also add to the happiness of the world 
 by increasing respect for honest effort and clean living and 
 by creating a larger interest in nature's beauties and the steps 
 by which man has climbed to his present plane of achievement. 
 A State University is not something apart from and beyond 
 the people, and should continuously seek their welfare in im- 
 proving their conditions and in helping to solve the problems 
 that confront the intelligent world. With these thoughts before 
 us w y e have been at work now for several years, as vacations 
 have given opportunity, endeavoring to make the great natural 
 wonders and beauties of Utah better known and to investigate 
 thoroughly and systematically the life of the ancient people 
 who once inhabited a large portion of our state. 
 
 Our investigations naturally divide themselves into two 
 parts : the natural wonders and the ancient people ; and so 
 we have arranged this report in the form of two bulletins. 
 This first pamphlet aims to set forth briefly the results of the 
 work of exploration; and a second will follow on the life of 
 the early inhabitants. More detailed papers on special features 
 of the archaeological work appear from time to time in the 
 publications of the Archaeological Institute of America, under 
 whose general supervision we have carried on the investiga- 
 
 712428
 
 2 ARCHAEOLOGICAL BULLETIN 
 
 tions. Dr. Edgar L. Hewett, Director of American Archaeology 
 of the Institute, has shown himself deeply interested in the 
 Utah Society, the State University, and the development of a 
 State Museum, and has been exceedingly helpful in his wise 
 suggestion and direction. 
 
 Colonel E. A. Wall ever shows a deep interest in the ad- 
 vancement and upbuilding of Utah. He has taken a lively 
 interest in the University's work of exploration and investiga- 
 tion, and generously contributed the expenses of the expedi- 
 tions of 1907 and 1908, and the work done in Arizona in 1909. 
 The State Legislature at its last session appropriated the sum 
 of $2,000 to aid in this work a part of which fund was used 
 in the summer and fall of 1909. No one connected with any 
 of the expeditions has received any pecuniary remuneration 
 therefor except a few white men and Indians who have been 
 employed as guides and helpers when it was impossible other- 
 wise to pursue the work profitably. 
 
 Our grateful thanks are due to the students who have so 
 cheerfully endured the hardships of many a severe march and 
 privation and who have so heartily turned their hands to 
 every form of toil confronting investigators in a rough, dry 
 country, far from white man's habitation. Mr. Neil Judd of 
 Salt Lake has been an indispensable co-worker in the expedi- 
 tions into San Juan during the summers of 1907, 1908, and 
 1909. Mr. Fred. Scranton of Salt Lake, Mr. Joseph Driggs of 
 Sandy, and Mr. John C. Brown of Ogden took part in the 
 expedition of 1907, while Mr. Burl Armstrong and Rev. F. F. 
 Eddy accompanied the same expedition as representatives of 
 the Salt Lake Republican and the Tribune, respectively. 
 Mr. Clifton Lockhart of Park City was a member of the expedi- 
 tion of 1908 and helped to make the first trip into northern 
 Arizona. Mr. Stuart Young of Salt Lake and Mr. Donald 
 Beauregard of Ogden were the artists of our party in the 
 summer of 1909 and produced results with the camera and 
 brush that speak for themselves. Dr. William Blum, now of 
 Washington, D. C., also spent a month with us studying the 
 geology of the region. 
 
 In the summer of 1908, Mr. A. V. Kidder of Harvard Uni- 
 versity had charge of the excavations on Alkali Ridge and Mr.
 
 UNIVERSITY OF UTAH 3 
 
 De Fritz and Mr. Parsons, two Harvard students, spent two 
 weeks assisting in the work at that place. 
 
 In the work of November and December, 1909, very effi- 
 cient help under exceedingly trying conditions of rain, snow, 
 and extreme cold, was rendered by Mr. George Barton. Mr. J. 
 M. Redd, Jr., and Mr. John Redd, three young men of 
 Monticello. 
 
 We wish to express here our hearty appreciation of the 
 valuable and untiring assistance given by Mr. and Mrs. John 
 Wetherill of Oljato, Mr. Kumen Jones and Mr. Francis Nielson 
 of Bluff, Mr. J. Munroe Redd of Monticello, and Dr. John 
 Williams of Moab. To the many others who have given us 
 helpful good cheer and assistance, we would also express our 
 gratitude. 
 
 Berlin, August, 1910.
 
 M#r OF- 
 
 (Nor/n^Toshla. I 
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 P.kyabo'' 3 
 
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 7 
 
 -32" 
 
 Sketch Map of Utah.
 
 Utah's Great Natural Bridges. 
 
 In speaking of the resources of a country we no longer 
 think merely of the fertility and depth of its soil, the amount 
 of mineral hidden beneath its surface, or the wealth of timber 
 growing on its mountain slopes. Alaska, has aJl of these and 
 yet its climatic conditions are such that the highly developed 
 animal man cannot make a comfortable habitation in the 
 greater part of its territory. Health and homes in which a 
 good degree of comfort may be maintained, are essential fac- 
 tors in the development and progress of any people ; and when 
 you add to these, surroundings that are beautiful and uplifting, 
 you have the most necessary external conditions for human 
 happiness and manly growth. The great deposits of gold, 
 silver, copper, iron, and oil found beneath the rugged summits 
 of Utah's mountains have long been known; and since her 
 rich bottom lands and sunny slopes first felt the courageous 
 touch of the pioneer, they have poured forth nearly every 
 variety of fruit, grain, and vegetable helpful to the life of 
 man and beast. But the citizens of this commonwealth, so 
 rich in its natural possibilities, are only beginning to realize 
 the great advantage they have in making their homes in these 
 valleys. To breathe the pure air that sweeps down through 
 these rugged canyons, to live and grow in the sunshine that 
 is forever giving to their battlemented cliffs a warmth and 
 glow and an ever changing color that rests and inspires, to 
 be able to see how nature is molding and shaping this earth's 
 crust, is no mean inheritance. 
 
 We cross the continent and then the Atlantic to climb 
 the Swiss mountains and gaze into the clear waters of their 
 lakes and mountain torrents when grander mountains, more 
 beautiful lakes, and glancing waterfalls are found here at our 
 doors with a welcome invitation to come and enjoy their beauty 
 and coolness. We spend our thousands to see sunny Italy and 
 the orange groves of Florida and southern California, for- 
 getting that Utah's "Dixie" in the southwestern part of the 
 state, and the realm of the San Juan and the Grand in the 
 southeastern section, furnish just as sunny skies, a more in-
 
 6 ARCHAEOLOGICAL BULLETIN 
 
 vigorating atmosphere, and more delicious fruit than any of 
 the former far famed regions. Why do we yearly pour our 
 money into the laps of other less favored sections and why do
 
 UNIVERSITY OF UTAH 7 
 
 we each winter give a "God speed" to the multitudes on their 
 way to southern California and say nothing about the life-- 
 giving resources kind nature has showered upon us? You 
 answer, ' ' There is no way to get to Dixie, and Moab and Bluff 
 are so far from the railroad. ' ' Yes, it is true ; but is it to be 
 always thus? 
 
 Utah has some of the most attractive scenery found any- 
 where on the globe. The grandeur of her rugged mountains 
 on the east and the picturesque beauty of their clear lakes and 
 dashing torrents and the wonderful coloring of the great Inland 
 Sea and the western desert at sunset have been enjoyed by 
 many. But in the far southeastern part of the State, nature 
 has molded the earth's crust into forms so strange and fantastic 
 and dyed them in a coloring so richly warm and varied, and 
 spreads over all such bright sunshine and such clear, whole- 
 some atmosphere that the few who have penetrated this more 
 
 The Navajo Twins. 
 
 remote section realize much more fully how favored Utah is 
 in its great natural resources. 
 
 Grand and San Juan counties cover 11,784 square miles, or 
 one-seventh of the entire state. The greater part of their sur-
 
 8 ARCHAEOLOGICAL BULLETIN 
 
 face is a high plateau of from 5,000 to 6,000 feet elevation, 
 formed of the massive red sandstone beds that have been 
 spread out over all this region. From this plateau rises the 
 remnants of a still more lofty mesa that in places cover large 
 areas, but for the most part stand out as isolated cliffs. All 
 the -softer portions have been washed down and used to help 
 form the plains below, while the harder parts still remain, worn 
 into mighty monuments, castles, domes, and spires that lift 
 their heads far above the lower mesa upon which they stand. 
 In some places these cliffs are quite alone, as for instance 
 "organ rock," while in others they are grouped near together. 
 An illustration of the latter is " Monumental Park." situated 
 in Utah and along the Utah-Arizona line fifty miles southwest 
 
 Monument Park. 
 
 of Bluff. Here within a radius of three miles from monu- 
 mental divide are nine cliffs varying in size from slender spires 
 to mighty bluffs a thousand feet across, and all lift their per- 
 pendicular sides five, six, seven and eight hundred feet above 
 the high plateau upon which they rest. "Within a radius of 
 twenty miles are many strange shapes that can be seen wholly 
 or in part from this divide. Among this number are "train 
 cliff" and "organ rock." Avhile among the first nine are found 
 the buttes where Mitchell and Myrick, seekers of famed rich 
 mines, lost their lives at the hands of Navajos. Their rich, 
 red sandstone sides standing out against the clear sky, make
 
 u picture that one is willing to travel many miles to behold. 
 In comparison with this handiwork of time, the celebrated 
 "Garden of the Gods" pales into mediocrity. 
 
 Virginia has long been known for its great natural bridge. 
 As youths we were fascinated by the description of it in our 
 school readers and the illustrations of its massive proportions 
 found in our geographies. Yet Utah, can boast of four great 
 
 One of the Monuments. 
 
 natural arches, any one of which is larger than Virginia's 
 wonder. They are the "Nonnezoshie," northwest of Navajo 
 mountain, the "Carolyn" and the "Augusta" in White Can- 
 yon, and the "Edwin" in Armstrong Canyon, the last three 
 are near the Orejas del Oso (Bears' Ears) in the central part 
 of San Juan county. Under Nonnezoshie, the greatest of 
 Utah's arches, could be placed two of the Virginia bridge, and 
 yet have some room to spare. Underneath its mighty span, 
 the eastern towers of the Salt Lake Temple could stand with 
 ease. The supporting columns of the "Augusta," the largest 
 of the White Canyon bridges, could stand, one at the corner 
 of the Templeton Building and the other in the corner of Tcm-
 
 10 
 
 ARCHAEOLOGICAL BULLETIN 
 
 pie Block, Avhile its mighty arch would rise 222 feet into the 
 air and look down upon the Deseret News Building; and yet 
 the Nonnezoshie could rest on the other diagonal corners of 
 
 The Nonnezoshie Bridge. 
 
 the square and its arch would completely clear the top of the 
 "Augusta." 
 
 These great natural wonders were well known to tho 
 ancient cliff and pueblo dwellers, as is evidenced by the ruins 
 of their houses and altars found near them; and the modern 
 tribes of Utes, Pahutes, and Navajos have been familiar with 
 them for generations. The White Canyon bridges were first 
 visited by white men in September, 1883, when Mr. Cass Hite, 
 accompanied by Indian Joe, Edward Randolph, and Scotty 
 Ross, made a trip into that region. Mr. Hite gave these bridges 
 the names of the President, the Senator, and the Congressman. 
 Several cattlemen from Bluff frequently saw them when riding 
 for cattle in that region; but they were unknown to the out- 
 side world until Mr. Scorup of Bluff led Mr. Long to them 
 in 1903. The result of that trip was an article in the Century 
 Magazine of August, 1904, which did a great deal to awaken
 
 UNIVERSITY OF UTAH 
 
 11 
 
 interest in these natural bridges and direct attention to the 
 scenery of Utah ; but no careful measurements were made, their 
 size was overestimated, and the comparisons with the United 
 States Capitol and other buildings erroneous and misleading. 
 
 The Salt Lake Commercial Club expediton, sent out under 
 the direction of artist H. L. A. Calmer, visited these structures 
 in April, 1905, and secured photographs and sketches of them 
 from which the famous paintings of the bridges by Mr. Culmer 
 have been made. Besides Mr. Culmer. the party consisted of 
 
 The Augusta Bridge. 
 
 Mr. Carleton Holmes, together with Mr. S. T. Whitaker as 
 photographer and Mr. Scorup and Mr. Adams as guides and 
 helpers. 
 
 In the summer of 1907, an expedition went out from the 
 University of Utah under the direction of the Archaeological 
 Institute of America to explore as much as possible of that 
 part of San Juan county lying north of the San Juan river. 
 
 The party visited the "White Canyon bridges and made a 
 study of them and their surroundings. Mr. Scranton and Mr. 
 Brown made a survey of the bridges and the land in their 
 immediate vicinity. Mr. Scranton prepared a topographical, 
 and Mr. Judd and Mr. Driggs a geographical map. designating
 
 12 ARCHAEOLOGICAL BULLETIN 
 
 also the most important ruins in the locality about the bridges. 
 These were forwarded to Dr. Hewett at Washington and were 
 used by him in his report to the Land Board from which 
 President Roosevelt issued a proclamation April 16, 1908, 
 creating the "Natural Bridges National Monument." 
 
 There are three of these large bridges in the monument, 
 generally known as the "Augusta," the "Carolyn" and the 
 "Edwin," while high up in the cliffs between the "Augusta" 
 and the "Carolyn" are found two other small arches. The 
 names of Augusta and Carolyn were given by Mr. Long and 
 Mr. Scorup in honor of Mr. Long's wife and Mr. Scorup's 
 mother, respectively, while the "Edwin" was christened by 
 the Salt Lake Commercial Club expedition in honor of Colonel 
 Edwin P. Holmes. An additional survey was made in 1908 
 by Mr. W. B. Douglass, Examiner of Surveys for the United 
 States government. In September, 1909, President Taft issued 
 a second proclamation on the Natural Bridges National Monu- 
 ment by which the former boundaries were changed somewhat, 
 two large cave springs a few miles away included, and the 
 names changed to the Owachomo, the Kachina, and the Sipapu. 
 The earlier names, however, have been so long associated with 
 the structures by the people of the region and through the 
 various magazine articles that have appeared that it will be 
 very difficult to secure a general recognition of the Hopi names 
 now applied by the government. 
 
 Ages ago the great sandstone beds overlying this entire 
 region must have been pushed upwards by the internal forces 
 of the earth until in the places of their greatest elevation the 
 various strata separated, mountains were formed, and large 
 cracks opened up that extended in zigzag lines away through 
 the slopes of this vast tableland. This process of elevation 
 was undoubtedly a gradual one; and, as the waters of the 
 mountains sought a lower level, they took their courses through 
 these irregular crevices, searching for the ocean which was 
 then not far away. Their rushing currents and surging eddies 
 wore off the sharp corners, sought out the soft places in the 
 yielding sandstone, dug out deep caverns and recesses in the 
 cliffs, and left behind them a series of graceful curves and 
 fantastic forms that amaze and delight the traveler at every
 
 UNIVERSITY OF UTAH 13 
 
 turn. As the formation was pushed upward from time to 
 time, these rushing torrents and surging estuaries kept on with 
 their work of cutting, smoothing, and filling until they have 
 produced the deep box canyons so prevalent in this section, 
 which sometimes widen out into small valleys of rich alluvial 
 deposit and again narrow down to mere slits between huge 
 masses of cliffs. 
 
 This elevation and opening of the formation often left a 
 narrow section of the cliff extending out into the gorge for 
 rods, around which the stream had to make its way as it 
 rushed onward in its course. The constant surging of the 
 waters against this barrier revealed a soft place in the sand- 
 stone, where it gradually ate out a half-dome-shaped cave. In 
 a few instances as the water swirled around the other side of 
 this barrier, they reached the corresponding soft place on the 
 opposite side and ground out a similar half-dome there. When, 
 in the course of time, the backs of these two semi-circular 
 caves came together, the waters found a shorter course through 
 that opening, enlarged the archway and smoothed off and 
 rounded into graceful curves the sides of its massive but- 
 tresses. Thus a bridge was formed and became a mighty span 
 of enduring rock, whose foundations and graceful superstruc- 
 ture were laid by the ages. All of the White Canyon bridges 
 and the great arch of Nonnezoshie evidently have been formed 
 in this manner. 
 
 The "Edwin" (Owachomo) is located in Armstrong Can- 
 yon about three miles above where it opens out into White 
 Canyon. It is a graceful structure, as seen in the accompanying 
 illustration, having a span of 194 feet and an elevation of 108 
 feet. This long arch of sandstone is only ten feet thick in the 
 center; and thus one sees how these proportions give an im- 
 pression of lightness that is most pleasing to the eye. Near 
 it are domes and turrets fashioned by the same hands that pro- 
 duced the bridge; and nestling in a cave worn in the sunny 
 side of the cliff near one end are the deserted homes of a 
 "cliff dwellers" village. 
 
 Three miles below, near the junction of Armstrong Canyon 
 with White Canyon, one finds his way almost blocked by a 
 cliff that rises before him in amazing proportions. On the
 
 UNIVERSITY OF UTAH 
 
 15 
 
 right and on the left similar cliffs seem to be endeavornig to 
 elbow the visitor out of the way. However, seventy-five feet 
 above, at the right, one notices that the barrier has been worn 
 away and sees plainly the course of the mighty stream that 
 once pursued its winding current among these cliffs. A little 
 farther on. to the left, the end of the Armstrong Canyon is 
 reached; and one stands in the shadow of a great archway 
 which the waters of White Canyon have cut through this bar- 
 rier that just now seemed to block the course of the Armstrong. 
 This is the "Carolyn" (Kachina), with a span of 186 feet from 
 
 The Carolyn Bridge. 
 
 side to side and 98 feet high in the center, while the total 
 height of the bridge is 205 feet with a width on top of 49 feet. 
 Sharp corners and broken lines here and there in the arch 
 and buttresses show the unfinished work of the artisan. Na- 
 ture has not yet given the final touches; but wind and storm 
 and driving sand will continue to chisel and polish until the 
 lines are all graceful curves, adding greater beauty to the most 
 massive of the bridges. Beneath its broad arch, a spring of 
 cold water invites one to "bide a wie and dinna fret." It is 
 a veritable "fountain of youth"; and by its side, inspired by
 
 16 ARCHAEOLOGICAL BULLETIN 
 
 its life giving elixir, surrounded by the rich greens of cotton- 
 wood and oak and the warm reds and buffs of the cliffs, while 
 the strange homes and mysterious writings of a long forgotten 
 people peer down from the ledges, one indeed imagines that 
 the world is young again and he is part and parcel of its 
 simplicity. 
 
 Passing to the right up the main fork of White Canyon, 
 winding in and out between lofty cliffs that send out their 
 towers and battlements and in the hollows of whose seamed 
 and scarred sides are seen the homes the fortifications, and 
 the granaries of an ancient population, after a walk of about 
 two miles, one stands under the arch of another of nature's 
 wonders, the "Augusta" (Sipapu) bridge. This span is 157 
 feet high and 261 feet long at the bottom. It is 222 feet from 
 the creek bed to the top of the bridge, and the road bed is 28 
 feet wide. The Augusta, therefore, is the crowning glory of 
 the three bridges. It combines massiveness with gracefulness 
 of proportions that give an altogether pleasing and satisfying 
 effect. One sits within its shadow and gazes up at its mighty 
 arch curving above him and wonders how many ages it has 
 taken to complete such a magnificent piece of work. One 
 climbs to the cliff above and watches the play of sunshine and 
 shadow upon the warm coloring of the rich reds and browns 
 of the enduring sandstone that forms its arch and buttresses 
 and comprehends the gracefulness of its outlines and propor- 
 tions as a whole, and he seems unable to tear himself away 
 from the spell its might and beauty throw about him. He feels 
 inclined to take up his abode in one of the numerous cliff 
 dwellings near by and become a child of nature again live 
 near to God and let Him speak to b.im through the majestj- 
 and beauty of His handiwork, unmarred by the careless, 
 thoughtless hand of man. 
 
 The greatest and the most recently known specimen of 
 Nature's bridge building, however, is the Nonnezoshie arch, 
 situated northwest of Navajo mountain in the extreme southern 
 part of Utah near the Colorado river. This was probably first 
 visited by white men when the Utah Archaeological Expedition 
 party and the government surveying party under Mr. W. B. 
 Douglass of Washington, D. C.. found the structure August
 
 UNIVERSITY OF UTAH 
 
 17 
 
 14th, 1909. Mr. Cass Hite of Hite, Utah, who has traversed 
 this region more extensively, probably, than any other living 
 white man, says, ''The bridge found near Navajo mountain is 
 located in about the only spot in that region that I did not 
 
 o> 
 o 
 
 m 
 
 u
 
 18 ARCHAEOLOGICAL BULLETIN 
 
 explore or prospect. No, I did not sec the bridge you sent 
 me the picture of, and I don't think any white man ever saw 
 it until your party did." 
 
 President Taft by proclamation May 13th, 1910, set aside 
 this arch with the land about it as the "Rainbow Bridge 
 National Monument." In appearance it is not so much a real 
 bridge as the structures in White Canyon, because the top 
 of the span is not level. It is a graceful arch of magnificent 
 proportions, 308 feet high and 274 feet long, that has been 
 chiseled out of the cliff under conditions similar to those that 
 have produced the "White Canyon bridges. Here, however, the 
 sandstone has been more yielding and the forces at work, 
 perhaps, more constant, so that erosion has progressed much 
 farther and left only a curving arm of the harder rock that 
 still stretches gracefully out across the canyon. This canyon, 
 called by the Indians "Nonnezoshieboko" (Great Arch Can- 
 yon), is a gorge that takes its winding course from the slope 
 of Navajo mountain northwest into the Colorado river. Non- 
 nezoshie spans this deep gulch from the cliff on one side to 
 a bench on the other about six miles above the mouth of the 
 canyon. In places below the arch, the cliffs that tower far 
 above and form practically perpendicular walls on either side, 
 draw so olose together that there is barely room to pass through 
 by wading the small stream in the narrow channel. During 
 the high waters in the spring or after a heavy shower at any 
 time of year it would be impossible to traverse this gorge. 
 Good water is quite abundant in that immediate vicinity ; but 
 grass is scarce and the region so rough that it has been little 
 frequented even by Indians. The setting of wild scenery and 
 interesting physiographic features, however, make it one of 
 the most attractive spots on the globe. On the northern slope 
 of the Navajo mountain are two other smaller arches, each of 
 which would be attractive in itself, were it not overshadowed 
 by the great arch of Nonnezoshie. 
 
 The gorge through which the San Juan flows for miles 
 in that vicinity is a grand canyon of the Colorado on a little 
 smaller scale. Evidently there once has been a white man's 
 camp at the junction of this canyon with the Colorado ; but 
 no traces of the Caucasians were found elsewhere in this or 
 in the other canyons. The ruins of a few very primitive cliff
 
 UNIVERSITY OF UTAH 19 
 
 dwellings are found in the caves of the cliffs that form the 
 walls of these gorges ; and in the shadow of Nonnezoshie stand 
 the remains of what appears to be an ancient stone altar. But 
 the occasional bark of the coyote and the mournful call of the 
 dove are the only sounds that now re-echo among these silent 
 cliffs. 
 
 In the following September, Mr. Wetherill guided Mr. 
 A. K. Townsend of Telluride, Colorado, and his sister to this 
 bridge, and to Miss Townsend undoubtedly belongs the dis- 
 
 The Pikyabo Bridge. 
 
 tinction of having been the first white woman to penetrate 
 this wild region to gaze on nature in all the grand simplicity 
 she there displays. For men and women who enjoy horseback 
 riding and camping-out, a trip to Nonnezoshie from Oljato or 
 to the White Canyon bridges from Bluff is not a terrible under- 
 taking. The outdoor life in such an invigorating atmosphere, 
 the new and interesting scenes continually spread before one, 
 and the very difficulties to be overcome repay one on the 
 capital invested with an interest that compounds itself. 
 
 In November, 1909, under the guidance of Dr. John Wil- 
 liams of Moab, we visited a natural bridge in the edge of 
 Grand county that deserves to be classed with those of San 
 Juan county and counted among the great natural wonders of 
 our continent. This is a graceful arch with a total elevation of 
 62 feet and a span of 122 feet long and 49 feet high. It stands
 
 20 ARCHAEOLOGICAL BULLETIN 
 
 beside the cliff on the western edge of Pritchett valley; and 
 has been fashioned under somewhat different conditions from 
 those prevailing during the construction of the natural bridges 
 already described. Here there has been no narrow zigzag- 
 canyon through which waters surged in former times, but 
 quite a large valley, some three miles long and from one-fourth 
 to one-half a mile wide. On the sides of this irregular basin 
 rise rugged cliffs that jut into the valley here and there in 
 sharp points and rounded domes. The upper surfaces of these 
 cliffs stretch back in bare undulating fields of sandstone, much 
 eroded by wind and w r ater. Caves have been hollowed out of 
 these cliffs at various points and numerous natural reservoirs 
 are found scattered on the surface of these bare rocks where 
 soft places have been found in the stone, or whirling eddies 
 in former ages have ground out cisterns. Some of these are 
 mere shallow tanks, while others reach down twenty feet and 
 more through the solid sandstone. Some are irregular and 
 winding in their course, while others look as though they had 
 been sunk by some Titanic drill when the gods were playing 
 with the earth's crust. A few drain considerable areas of the 
 cliff, and in time of storm many a rushing torrent loses itself 
 in their depths. In a few instances such a reservoir has been 
 formed directly behind a cave that was being hollowed out 
 of the side of the cliff. As the walls of the cave gradually 
 extended backward farther and farther into the cliff, the 
 reservoir was sunk deeper and enlarged little by little until 
 its bottom broke through into the back of the cave. Then the 
 waters formerly gathered into the reservoir and held, surged 
 through the cave and lost themselves in tht valley below. 
 Every downpour of rain and every driving wind carried the 
 work a little farther until the former roof of the cave became 
 an arch. When the reservoir held the w r aters until its depth 
 about equalled that of the cave, then the gracefully curving 
 arch of the cave became a real bridge as in the case of the 
 fine arch already mentioned, which we have christened Pikyabo 
 (Pee-kya-bo). the Ute name for water tank. In two others 
 near by, the w r alls gave way when the bottom of the cistern 
 was near the top of the cave, and as a result the arches appear 
 to be only partially hew r n from the cliff. In another, across 
 the narrow r canyon from Pikyabo bridge the bottom of a cis-
 
 UNIVERSITY OF UTAH 
 
 21 
 
 tern 50 feet long and 25 feet wide has broken into the top of 
 a cave 90 feet from front to back and thus formed an immense 
 
 Needle Rock. 
 
 skylight to this large rock-hewn cavern, which we named 
 Wigwam cave. The mouth of the cave is an excellent arch 
 75 feet wide and 40 feet high that looks out over the valley 
 from a shelf of rock 50 feet above the base of the cliff. 
 
 In Dark Canyon, between the western spurs of the Elk 
 mountains, is a fine arch that seems to have been constructed 
 in the manner just described, but severe snowstorms prevented 
 our examining and photographing it when we were there in 
 November. 
 
 A short distance from the arches in Pritchett valley, a
 
 22 
 
 ARCHAEOLOGICAL BULLETIN 
 
 needle, that deserves mention in connection with this interest- 
 ing section, stands beside the bold cliffs. It is a shaft about 
 150 feet high and 10 feet through at the base. It is remark- 
 able that so slender a column has so long withstood the buffet- 
 ings of time. 
 
 The best trail out of Pritchett valley leads one around to 
 the head of Pritchett gulch past a strangely fashioned remnant 
 
 Ostrich Rock. 
 
 of the cliff, christened Ostrich rock, and a point of jutting 
 cliff in which a small bridge has been formed by the breaking 
 and falling of large sections of the strata beneath. The view 
 down Pritchett gorge and the well worn cliffs beyond give one 
 a little idea of the interesting features that appear on every 
 side as one threads his way down this canyon to the Grand, 
 and along that beautiful stream flowing between lofty walls 
 of red sandstone to Moab, the land of "milk and honey" and 
 of real promise. 
 
 Mr. Frank Hall very kindly took the time to show us a
 
 Block Bridge. 
 
 Pritchett Gorge.
 
 24 
 
 ARCHAEOLOGICAL BULLETIN 
 
 Balanced Rock. 
 
 peculiarly balanced rock that stands on the edge of Wilson 
 mesa a.bout 15 miles east of Moab. The formation is greatly 
 eroded along the edges of this mesa a lofty tableland extend- 
 ing along the western slopes of the La Sal mountains. At 
 this particular point a section of the cliff has been worn into 
 the form of a graceful pear that seems to stand poised on its 
 stem. It is impossible to get near enough to the rock to 
 actually measure it; but from the nearest approach it seems 
 to be fully 15 feet from its top to the bottom of the pedestal 
 and about 10 feet in its longest diameter, while the stem or 
 pedestal is not more than eighteen inches to twenty-four inches 
 in diameter. It probably will not stand many years longer. 
 
 As one looks from this mesa out across Little Castle val- 
 ley and then lets his eye make a sweep of this whole region, 
 he can well understand that this, too. as well as ancient Thes- 
 saly, has been a battle ground for the gods and the giants 
 the forces of the earth and the air.
 
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