Notes and Correspondence 



339 



— one flowing from the east and the other from the north. From the 

 tribes of the Piutes that then inhabited the country, the Mormons 

 learned that the creek flowing from the east was called Paranuweap, 

 and the one flowing from the north was known in Indian lore as Muk- 

 oontuweap. They were likewise told that where this northerly creek 

 cut down through the mountains was a most beautiful canon, embla- 

 zoned in many colors. 



Later the great leader of the Mormon church, President Brigham 

 Young, in one of his frequent visits to Utah's "Dixie," was told of the 

 canon's wonders and made what was then a most strenuous journey 

 that he might view them. Standing at the southern portal of this geo- 

 logical marvel, between the two towering domes that mark its southern 

 entrance, this religious enthusiast stood spellbound before the scenic 

 splendor that faced him. With uncovered head, gazing far northward 

 into the depths of the canon proper, he declared to those accompanying 

 the expedition, "This is Little Zion." To the Mormon zealots the 

 christening by their leader was to them the final word, and from that 

 time down through the years this great cleft on the southern spur of the 

 Wasatch range has been known as Zion Canon. 



Located in this most remote section of Utah, far from the point where 

 it might be reached by railroad travel, this American scenic marvel has 

 remained practically unknown, only visited from time to time by some 

 extreme enthusiast who had heard a faraway murmur of its grandeur. 

 In 1913, Governor Spry's official attention was directed to the marvels 

 of Zion Canon, and after a personal visit, he decided that the highway 

 division of his administration should accomplish the construction of a 

 highway to the border of the National Monument, that had been set aside 

 by President Taft to include Zion Canon and its closely adjacent terri- 

 tory. In 1916, the United States Government, under the influence of Senator 

 Reed Smoot, appropriated $15,000.00 for the construction of a highway 

 connecting the heart of Zion Canon with the southern boundary of the 

 National Monument, to which point the State planned to carry its own 

 highway. An east and west county road, from the station of Lund on 

 the Salt Lake Route, had already been constructed, connecting with the 

 State highway. With these connecting highways, the completion of the 

 Government road into the canon gave uninterrupted passage for auto- 

 mobile travel between the Salt Lake Route and Zion Canon. 



Even before the completion of the highway, a well organized trans- 

 portation service between Lund and the canon proper was arranged for, 

 and in the very heart of the canon itself there was a "Wylie Way" camp 

 well under construction, founded upon the same plan for the entertain- 

 ment of tourists and visitors that rendered the "Wylie Way" camps in 

 the Yellowstone among the most successful enterprises of their kind in 

 America. Thus was the opening of Zion Canon brought about, and now 

 the visitor may reach its wonders by a most interesting automobile ride 

 of an even one hundred miles, starting at the station of Lund, on the 

 Salt Lake Route, and proceeding over a splendid highway. 



