To prove the truth of his statement he never misses an
opportunity to point out to the tourist the spot where his horse
fell, and shows the white bones of his defunct steed bleaching in
the sun.
At Moran's Point there is a narrow cleft in the rocks which he
calls the Fat Woman's Misery. It received its name several years
ago from a circumstance that happened while he was conducting a
party of tourists along the rim trail. To obtain a better view
the party essayed to squeeze through the opening, in which
attempt all succeeded except one fat women who stuck fast. After
vainly trying to extricate her from her uncomfortable position he
finally told her that there was but one of two things to do,
either remain where she was and starve to death or take one
chance in a thousand of being blown out alive by dynamite. After
thinking a moment she decided to try the one chance in a
thousand" experiment.
A charge of dynamite was procured and the fuse lighted. After
the explosion he returned to the spot and found the result
satisfactory. The blast had released the woman, who was alive
and sitting upon a rock. He approached her cheerfully and said:
"Madam, how do you feel?" She looked up shocked, but evidently
very much relieved, and replied "Why, sir, I feel first rate, but
the jolt gave me a little toothache."
He tells another story of how he once took a drink from the
Colorado river. The water is never very clear in the muddy
stream but at that particular time it was unusually murky. He
had nothing with which to dip the water and lay down on the bank
to take a drink. Being very thirsty he paid no attention to the
quality of the water, but only knew that it tasted wet. The
water, however, grew thicker as he drank until it became balled
up in his mouth, and stuck fast in his throat and threatened to
choke him. He tried to bite it off but failed because his teeth
were poor. At last becoming desperate, he pulled his hunting
knife from his belt and cut himself loose from his drink.
Different theories have been advanced to account for the origin
of the Grand Canon, but it is a question whether it is altogether
due to any one cause. Scientists say that it is the work of
water erosion, but to the layman it seems impossible. If an
ocean of water should flow over rocks during eons of ages it does
not seem possible that it could cut such a channel.
Water sometimes does queer things, but it has never been known to
reverse nature. By a fundamental law of hydrostatics water
always seeks its level and flows in the direction of least
resistance.
