life abound. Not far off is
a place here perfect geodes of chalcedony are found.

Mining and ranching are the leading industries of the country and a
visit to some neighboring mine or cattle ranch is not without interest
to the novice. But, if he starts out on such a trip he must decide to
make a day of it, as the country is sparsely settled and the distances
long between camps. If the accommodations where he stops are not
always luxurious the welcome is cordial and the entertainment
comfortable. The new experience is also delightfully romantic.

CHAPTER X

CANON ECHOES

The Colorado Plateau, in northern Arizona, is the union of the Rocky
and Sierra Nevada mountains in their southward trend, and forms the
southern rim of the Great Basin. This depression was once a vast
inland sea, of which nothing remains but the Salt Lake of Utah, and is
drained by the Colorado river. The entire plateau region is remarkable
for its grand scenery--abysmal chasms, sculptured buttes and towering
cliffs, which are "brightly colored as if painted by artist Gods, not
stained and daubed by inharmonious hues but beautiful as flowers and
gorgeous as the clouds." The plateau is an immense woodland of pines
known as the Coconino Forest.

The San Francisco mountains, nearly thirteen thousand feet high, stand
in the middle of the plateau which is, also, the center of an extensive
extinct volcanic field. The whole country is covered with cinders
which were thrown from active volcanoes centuries ago. The track of
the Santa Fe Pacific railroad, clear across Arizona, is ballasted with
cinders instead of gravel that were dug from pits on its own right of
way.

Near the southern base of the San Francisco mountains is the town of
Flagstaff built in a natural forest of pine trees. It is sometimes
called the Skylight City because of its high altitude, rarefied
atmosphere and brilliant sky. It is said to have been named by a
company of soldiers who camped on the spot while out hunting Indians,
when the country was new. It happened to be on the Fourth of July and
they celebrated the day by unfurling Old Glory from the top of a pine
tree, which was stripped of its branches and converted into a
flagstaff. Here is located the Lowell Observatory, which has made many
valuable discoveries in astronomy. It is a delightful spot and offers
many attractions to the scientist, tourist and health seeker.

One of the many interesting objects of