The Grand Canyon of Arizona | Page 9

was "Bucky" O'Neill, a
prominent Arizona citizen, at one time mayor of Prescott, who became
world-famous by his tragic death during the charge of the Rough
Riders at San Juan Hill.
The First Four Miles. Striking due north, the railway passes over
masses of malapais, or lava float, until, four miles out, it crosses
Havasu (Cataract) Creek. If the rains are just over, the rough rocks will
be entirely covered and hidden by a gorgeous growth of sunflowers and
lupines, the yellows and purples making a carpet that, in the brilliant
sunlight, fairly dazzles the eye. Here and there a band of sheep may be
seen, with straggling herds of cattle and horses. In the winter time it is
not unusual to find snow covering the plateau, for it must not be
forgotten that it has an elevation of nearly seven thousand feet. During
the early summer, before the rains, it is often barren and desolate.
Yet at all seasons the slopes of Williams Mountain are charming and
beautiful. The tender and vivid tones of the evergreen trees that cover it
render it a restful and attractive feature of the landscape.
Havasu Creek. Havasu Creek flows above ground for several miles,
then disappears to make a subterranean stream, which finally emerges
in wonderful volume, in a thousand springs, in the heart of Havasu
Canyon, just above the village of the Indians of the same name.

Crossing it, four miles from Williams, the railway enters a belt of
cedars and junipers, passes Red Lake,--a volcanic sink-hole, which, at
rare intervals, is filled with water.
Deer and Antelope. For a dozen miles the road passes through a series
of charming parks, where deer and antelope are sometimes seen. While
driving his train through one of these parks, early in December, 1907, S.
O. Miller, one of the engineers of the Grand Canyon Railway, saw a
majestic black-tailed deer running a little ahead of his engine. Suddenly
the beautiful creature turned, tried to cross the track, and was instantly
killed. Stopping the train, Miller got help, and it took four men to lift
the dead animal and place it on the engine. The skin and head were
mounted. The animal is so perfect and royal a specimen that the owner
says a thousand dollars could not purchase it from him.
Miller rather enjoys the distinction of being the only known deer hunter
of the West who has chased his game and killed it with a locomotive.
Surrounding Mountains. One should not fail to look back, as the train
journeys along, for fine, full views of the Volcanic Mountains,--the San
Franciscos, Kendricks, Sitgreaves and Williams. The two former are
sharp, pyramidal-shaped masses, towering from nine thousand to
twelve thousand feet into the blue, while the two latter are well wooded
and rounded, though volcanic,--Williams Mountain having seven
distinct crests at different altitudes.
When about ten miles out, Mount Floyd, another volcanic pile, rises
above the plain on the west. Two sharp peaks come in sight, and later,
long ridges of deep blue stretch away to the north. These are the Blue
Ridge, and are formed of lava which has flowed from Mount Floyd.
Ant-Hills. To many it is a novel sight to see the ant-hills that dot the
plain all the way along. These tiny creatures build their homes
underground, carrying out all the small pieces of rock that are in their
way. By and by they build up quite a mound of these stones, and, it is
on these that the Navaho Indians often find the garnets, rubies and
peridots they offer for sale. Around the mounds the ground is stripped
bare by the busy ants, who remove every particle of vegetation in a

radius of two or three feet.
Desert Rains. If it is early summer when you ride over this region, do
not be deceived by the barrenness of the thirsty country (as you leave
the cedars), and the dry, cloudless sky, and imagine that it never rains. I
have been here in the midst of such rain storms as I have rarely
experienced elsewhere. When the showers do fall, they often come with
a fullness that is as distressing as is the want of water during the dry
season.
Red Butte. Twenty-nine miles out, near the station of Valle, is the big
bridge, some fifty feet high and three hundred feet long, over a branch
of the Spring Valley Wash; and here Red Butte becomes a prominent
landmark on the right. This is known to the Havasupai Indians as
Hue-ga-da-wi-za, the Mountain of the Clenched Fist, for this is its
appearance when seen at certain angles. It is a remnant of the Permian
sandstone that once covered the whole Grand Canyon region, and its
brilliant red, when illuminated by the vivid Arizona