Mary Richardson Mcbee

A Deep Map of Western Grand Canyon and Upper Lake Mead Country: History and Memories of the Land of Long Shadows Mary Richardson Mcbee

This author embarked on a ten-year journey exploring and collecting vast amounts of information and fascinating stories about this extraordinary landscape, and in so doing, uncovered many little-known gems of history. She reveals how the Spanish captured Paiute Indian children, brought them across the Old Ute Trail around the western end of Grand Canyon and sold them as slaves, and how Mormons purchased Native children, then claimed to simply indenture and raise them to become ?a white and delightsome people.? There are stories of rebellious Indian souls, along with tales of moon-shining in Grand Wash and of hilarious colorful pioneer characters. She includes intriguing reports of historic dam surveys and expeditions, river crossings both successful and not, daily lives of families at the old ferry crossings, important archeological surveys, discoveries of mystery mines, the struggles of first settlers. This is truly a collection of great stories. Yet, most of all, the work vividly illustrates how the land ultimately has the sheer power to dictate history, and that the land will continue to do so. This is an important work of almost 400 pages containing nearly 200 fascinating photos. And it?s a page-turner! From Prologue ---?The focus of this book is an area of land covering a mere one hundred miles. A settlement called Meadview is nestled therein, resting atop Grapevine Mesa, with a view extending far north into the Virgin Mountains of Nevada and deep into Arizona Strip Country beyond the Grand Canyon ? a spectacular panorama of great vast spaces and distant horizons. Two thousand feet of sheer rock face, the picturesque Grand Wash Cliffs, form the eastern backdrop of this community, displaying constant changing patterns of deep earthen reds and golden yellow hues amidst the silence of magnificent glowing sunsets?.. Visible from Meadview, one can make out an indistinct break in the Grand Wash Cliffs; therein lies the entrance to the seductive Lower Granite Gorge of the Grand Canyon. The Colorado River lives there, flowing with deceptive gentleness from within and winding out into the long open expanse of Lake Mead.?