Garces Came Into The Canyon By Another Trail,
Entirely Distinct From This, Commonly Known As The Wallapai Trail.
He left
Havasu Canyon by still another trail, known as the Moki Trail, which leads
directly from this canyon to the home of the Hopis.
In 1857, Lieutenant Joseph C. Ives made the descent into Havasu Canyon down
the Wallapai Trail. His account of the journey reads like a novel, and
people who are unfamiliar with the wonderful engineering feats of the
Havasu Indians can scarcely believe that Ives did not allow his imagination
to run away with him, in his descriptions of the Havasupais' trails.
Later, Lieutenant Cushing, guided by his Indian friends, rode across
country to the Hopis, and then secured a Hopi guide who took him to see the
Havasupais over the Moki Trail. He confirms all that Ives and Coues have
written of the astonishing character of these trails. Having been up and
down these trails many times during the last dozen years, I can say without
hesitation that there are no more startling trails to be found in our
Southwest.
Trip from El Tovar. One of the most enjoyable of the more arduous trips
taken by visitors to El Tovar is this trip to Havasu (Cataract) Canyon.
Only those who enjoy a strenuous outing should arrange for this trip, and
then plenty of time should be allowed to do it without too great rushing.
The first portion, to the head of the Topocobya Trail, is generally done in
a buckboard. The distance is thirty-five to forty miles, over a varying
road, - good in places, fair in others, and wretchedly poor now and again.
Arrived at the "hill-top," as the Indians call this point, the conveyance
must be abandoned, and all the outfit for sleeping, cooking, and eating is
transferred to the backs of pack animals, which have been sent on ahead.
The visitors take saddle animals. There are those who make this drive, and
then ride to the village, fifteen miles further down the trail, in one day.
A better plan is either to make "dry camp" at the head of the Topocobya
Trail; or, if time permits, descend to the Topocobya Spring, which flows
out of the base of the immense cliff down which one fork of the trail
descends. For there are now two ways of descending at Topocobya, - to the
right or the left of a mountain which overlooks the Canyon. The trail by
which I first entered Havasu Canyon is the one to the left, looking into
the Canyon.
Topocobya Spring. Arrived at the spring, the stock can be watered, packs
removed, beds unrolled, and camp made for the night. The water, however, is
not of the best for drinking purposes, though the Indians habitually use
it.
Pictographs. The following morning an early start may be made, and the
winding course of Topocobya Canyon followed to its entrance into the main
Havasu Canyon. Here a number of interesting pictographs may be seen on the
wall to the left, reminding one somewhat of those found in Mallery Grotto
at El Tovar.
Havasupai Gardens.* Except in the rainy season, the upper portions of the
main Havasu Canyon and all its tributaries are dry and sandy. Just before
one reaches the village, however, the barrenness disappears. A thousand
springs appear, and unite to form a stream which, in less than a hundred
yards, will measure from four to six feet deep and fully eight feet across.
It is this stream that renders life possible for the Indians. For the
distance of about two miles, the bed of the Canyon, which is here filled
with sandy earth, is irrigated from this rapidly flowing stream. The result
is that with comparatively little labor the Havasupais are able to produce
excellent crops of corn, beans, chillis, onions, melons, squash and other
vegetables. After the advent of the Spaniards, they obtained peach trees,
and they now grow far more peaches than they can eat, drying large
quantities, some of which they sell to ranchers, miners and other
outsiders. They also have fine figs.
* Since this chapter was put into type, the Havasupai village has been
swept nearly out of existence by a flood. The winter of agog-igto saw a
large fall of snow on the plateau, which, melting suddenly during a hot
spell in January, rushed down the Canyon in a body, destroyed the school,
agent's house, and took away nearly all the hawas, fields, and orchards of
the Indians. This catastrophe has several times occurred to them (according
to their traditions), so there is little doubt but that they will ere long
replant their cornfields and reestablish their homes in the spot they love
so well.
The Havasupai "Hawa." The house of a Havasupai is called a "hawa." It is a
primitive structure, generally built of cottonwood poles, willows and
earth. Occasionally one of the leading men will put up a more pretentious
home, whose sides will be of matted willows, plastered inside and out with
mud, and with a mud-covered roof which will turn the rain.
A Basket-maker's Paradise. There are about thirty basket-makers among the
Havasupais, and specimens of their work may be found in the Hopi House. As
Havasu Creek is lined with willows that are admirably adapted for
basket-making, and as an abundant supply of martynia, or cat's-claw, is
found on the plateaus above, this Canyon is a veritable basket-makers'
paradise. Their best work is done in the coiled stitch. The esuwas, or
water-bottles, are made out of the twined weave, and then covered with
pinion gum.
Beautiful Waterfalls. Havasu Canyon is interesting, not only on account of
its Indians, but because of its narrow walls reaching up to the very
heavens and shutting out the sun except for the midday hours, and the
beautiful blue water flowing in its willow-fringed bed, which finally
dashes in successive leaps into the lower depths, making several cataracts,
one of which I regard as the most exquisite waterfall in the world.
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