246 TEXAS NATURE OBSERVATIONS AND REMINISCENCES. 



did not get any grazing at all. 



Flagstaff was our last stop be- 

 fore we reached the Grand Can- 

 yon. "We camped there several 

 days, and rode out to cliff dwell- 

 ings, which are ten miles from 

 town. 



There is a trail leading into the 

 cliffs which are in large triang- 

 ular shaped canyons. The dwell- 

 ings are about halfway up the 

 cliffs. The. soft strata of rock 

 were evidently washed out at some 

 prehistoric time, and between the 

 two stratas of hard rock the 

 dwellings were built. The build- 

 ings consisted of walling in the 

 sides and front with rocks and 

 mud. 



The Grand Canyon was a great 

 sight to witness. We saw it from 

 Grand View Point, which is con- 

 sidered one of the best views of 

 the canyon. At this point, it is 

 several miles wide, and, in places, 

 about a mile deep. The walls of 

 the canyon are very rugged and 

 the formation is of quite a num- 

 ber of different colors. The colors 

 seem to change from time to time 

 during the day, as the sun hits it 

 at different angles, and makes it 

 an ever changing view. 



At the bottom is the Ciolorado 

 river, which looks about as large 

 as the Flores street ditch in San 

 Antonio from the top, but Is really 

 quite a large river. 



I would like to have stayed 

 there several days and gone to the 

 bottom of it, but we were up 

 against the water proposition. 

 All the water tanks along the road 

 were dry, and our stock did with- 

 out water for two days. We got 

 plenty for drinking purposes irom 

 an outo that we met on Ihe way. 

 Water at the hotel at Grandview, 

 which was the only water within 

 miles, cost 25 cents a head for 

 stock and 25 cents aach for our 

 kegs. Coming back to New Mex- 

 ico, we had to fpUow the railroad, 

 on account of water, as all tanks, 

 capyons and streams between 



there and Winslow, Arizona,, 

 were dry. This side of Winslow, 

 there are a number of windmills, 

 but the water is awful full of gyp, 

 Navajos are scattered all along 

 this part of the country, and we 

 passed quite a number of Indian 

 villages. They look about the 

 same as the Mexican settlements. 

 There were a few farms, but most 

 of the Indians in this section 

 make a living raising sheep, cat- 

 tle and horses, also make blank- 

 ets and silver jewelry. 



The first rain we had to con- 

 tend with, was about ten days 

 ago, but it has rained every day 

 since. Had quite a rain and hail 

 storm Friday, which made travel 

 almost impossible. About sundown 

 Friday, we reached a homestead, 

 and the fellow at the place in- 

 sisted we stay with him over night, 

 which we were only too glad to 

 do, for the ground was simply 

 covered with water. , 



We learned there was a Navajo 

 fete going on about three miles 

 from there, so after supper we 

 went over. Several hundred 

 Indians were there, and as many 

 horses, for each Indian has his 

 pony. 



Some twenty-five or thirty 

 campfires were burning, near as 

 many huts, or enclosures, built for 

 the occasion. 



While they have a number of 

 different dances, the only one we 

 saw was where a man with the 

 tom-tom would stand in the center 

 while the rest of the Indians 

 would gather around him and 

 chant, their bodies swaying to 

 the time of the chant. 



When an Indian got sleepy, he 

 went over to one of the campfires ^ 

 and rolled up in his blanket with 

 his feet towards the fire. He kept 

 his horse saddled and tied, or 

 held the lines in his hands. 



We did not get back to the 

 house until midnight, and though 

 I was about played out, was glad 

 I went. The next day we arrived 



