DENVER & RIO GRANDE WESTERN ROUTE. 203 
not more than 300 or 400 feet high. Very few published reports re- 
garding the early exploration of this part of the country are avail- 
able. Gannett °° refers to the early history as follows: 
From a very early time this region was traversed by Spanish caravans, 
traveling from Santa Fe, N. Mex., to Los Angeles, Calif. The old Spanish trail, 
ed h R 
which these caravans followed, bee Uta hi st near Do er, 
crossed the Grand [Colorado] near the Sierra La Sal and the Green at the 
present crossing o e Rio nde Western il It d the valley 
ward, ranene out of the State near its southwest , corner. This traffic, which 
The Sasihtedl recorded exploration of any part of Utah was a journey by two 
Franciscan fathers, Escalante and Dominguez, from Santa Fe, N. Mex., to the 
the route of bless between the Spanish settlements of New Mexico and those 
of Californ 
Thus its seems probable that while the original colonies on the At- 
lantic seaboard were waging their war for independence, Fathers 
Escalante and Dominguez were marking out the old Spanish trail 
and even crossing Colorado River at or near the same point where 
the travelers of to-day cross it on the trains of the Denver & Rio 
Grande Western Railroad. The next notable journey of explora- 
tion in this part of the country, at least by English-speaking people, 
was that of Capt. Gunnison in 1853. He likewise crossed the river 
at this point, but after reaching the west bank he veered off to the 
south and followed the Spanish trail instead of the route now fol- 
lowed by the railroad. 
In its descent from the east the railroad runs into a shallow val- 
ley, which conceals the view of the surrounding country, and finally 
comes out on the east bank of Green River at a little village called 
Elgin. The change from the barren slopes of shale to the beautiful 
green of the cottonwood trees and the brilliant fields of alfalfa is very 
grateful to the traveler, and he welcomes the sight of running water. 
It is true that Green River is generally muddy, but even if it is he 
looks upon it with pleasure and almost with reverence, because a 
stream of this size that can persist through so many miles of semi- 
arid land excites curiosity and admiration. The river is spanned by 
a fine steel bridge (see Pl. LX XXIII), and a mile farther west is 
“Gannett, Henry, A gazetteer of Utah: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 166, pp. 10- 
11, 1900. 
