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 Spanisli caravans, 

 traveling from Santa Fe, N. Mex., to Los Angeles, Calif. The old Spanish trail, 

 vphich these caravans followed, entered Utah on the east near Dolores River, 

 crossed the Grand [Colorado] near the Sierra La Sal and the Green at the 

 present crossing of the Rio Grande Western Railway. It reached the valley 

 of Sevier River near its bend and, turning south, followed its valley to the 

 head and down the Virgin to a point near its mouth, whence it turned west- 

 ward, running out of the State near its southwest corner. This traffic, which 

 at one time was great, left, however, no trace behind in the form of a settle- 

 ment. * * * 



The earliest recorded exploration of any part of Utah was a journey by two 

 Franciscan fathers, Escalante and Dominguez, from Santa Fe, N. Mex., to the 

 shores of Great Salt Lake in 1776-77. So far as can be learned, their route 

 followed in the main that of the old Spanish trail, and it is not at all Improbable 

 that they were the pioneers in laying out the western part of this route to' 

 southern California. So far as known, they were the first white men to visit 

 the eastern part of the Great Basin of Utah. This journey was not, however, 

 fruitful in geographic discovery, except in the fact that it may have determined 

 the route of travel between the Spanish settlements of New Mexico and those 

 of California. 



Thus it 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 Kiver at or near the same point where 

 the traA'elers of to-day cross it on the trains of the Denver & Rio 

 Grande Western Eailroad. 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 Eiver 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 Eiver 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 PI. LXXXIII), and a mile farther west is 



" Gannett, Henry, A gazetteer of Utah : U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 166, pp. 10- 

 11, 1900. 



