The Great Natural Bridges of Utah 



199 



These have retired to the northern prov- 

 inces of New Zealand, where certain 

 "reservations" have been set apart as 

 their exchisive property. Schools have 

 been established which the Maori children 

 attend regularly. It is said that such of 

 them as continue into the higher branches 

 of learning are worthy rivals of white 

 students. Some of the Maoris have be- 

 come large landed proprietors ; they are 



proud of their right to vote, and espe- 

 cially of the fact that their women were 

 given this privilege at the same time that 

 it was given to the white women of New 

 Zealand, in 1893. 



The preceding illustrations of the 

 Maori of New Zealand were taken by Mr 

 J. Martin, of Auckland, and were sent to 

 this magazine by M. Maurice Loir, editor- 

 in-chief of Le Tour du Mond, of Paris. 



THE GREAT NATURAL BRIDGES OF UTAH 



IN the summer of 1904 the first public 

 announcement was made in the 

 Century Magazine and the Na- 



TIONAI, GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE by Mr 



W. W. Dyar of the discovery in Utah 

 of three great natural bridges, far sur- 

 passing in size the great Natural Bridge 

 of Virginia and all other similar bridges 

 known in the world. The article was 

 illustrated from small photographs, and 

 was based on a hurried view of the 

 bridges. Last year a member of the 

 National Geographic Society, Mr 

 Edwin F. Holmes, equipped an expedi- 

 tion with surveyors and artists and sent 

 it out to make a careful study of the 

 bridges. Mr Holmes' report of the work 

 done is printed below. 



The three great natural bridges are 

 located in an almost inaccessible portion 

 of southeastern Utah, in San Juan 

 County, lying south of the Colorado and 

 Grande rivers. 



The country is uninhabited and unin- 

 habitable for the greater part, the only 

 settlement of any account being the small 

 town called Bluff, on the San Juan River, 

 and the nearest railroad being Dolores, in 

 Colorado, some 105 miles eastward, on a 

 narrow-gauge branch of the Denver and 

 Rio Grande and Rio Grande Southern, 

 extending from Grand Junction to Du- 

 rango, in the silver San Juan country. 

 There is another small settlement, called 

 Monticello, to the north of Bluff, with 

 which it is connected by a wagon road, 



and on to Moab on the Grand and to 

 Thompson's Spring on the main line of 

 the Denver and Rio Grande Railway. 



The country of the natural bridges can 

 be reached via Bluff by either of these 

 routes, going by wagons to the latter 

 place, then by horses with pack train, 

 taking a northwesterly direction from 

 Bluff for a distance of about 65 miles, 

 going south of the Blue Mountains and 

 Elk Ridge, crossing Cottonwood Creek, 

 and going up Comb Wash. 



There might be a way of reaching this 

 section by crossing the Colorado at 

 Dandy Crossing, near Hite, in Garfield 

 County, striking the White River Canyon 

 some 60 miles below the Caroline Bridge, 

 which, with the Augusta, is situated on 

 the main canyon of the White River, 

 while the Edwin Bridge is situated on 

 Armstrong Creek at its confluence with a 

 small stream coming in from the north. 

 Armstrong Creek itself discharges in 

 White River a few miles lower down. 

 All three bridges are within a radius of 

 about 20 miles. 



A few miles above the Edwin Bridge, 

 on Armstrong Creek, are the remains of 

 ancient ruins, and about here are hiero- 

 glyphics cut into the rocks. No person 

 should think of going into this region 

 without having thoroughly studied all 

 the conditions. The few guides that 

 have been there have a very limited 

 knowledge of the country, and the main 

 and side canyons so cut up the country 



