The Terraces cut in the Western territory. Note buggy on trail at base of cliff. _Photograph by U.S.G.S._] "But of all the work in the Survey," suggested Roger, thinking of the apparent inaccessibility of the Canyon as he had seen it, "I should think this Grand Canyon work the most difficult and dangerous of all." The older man shook his head. "It is not dangerous," he said, "unless carelessness is shown, because the most lofty buttes, simply being cut down from the level plateau, have their crests just that height, so that they can be fairly well mapped by a determination of their bases. But, though you can't see it from the top here, those bases are fearfully irregular and a cliff forty feet high may take miles to go round. You have noticed that there are plenty of terraces, so that in many places you can walk up or down the Canyon as on a made road, but that would help you not a whit in getting across." "Well, it is difficult, anyway," said the boy. "Extremely so. The intense color, the glowing rays of the sun seldom shielded by any clouds, the lack of vegetation and the absence of landmarks all help to confuse the idea of distance, so that you cannot trust to your eyes to map a point until you have been there." "And how do you get there?" queried the boy in wonderment. "Climbing. There is an Indian trail on this side that helps a little, and there are three roads down to the river on this side and one on the north. This one through trail, called the Cameron or Tourist trail, has been partly rendered passable, so that by herculean effort and with trusted and well-trained animals it is possible to cross. Usually, however, the trail is left in loneliness, for there is absolutely no traffic between Utah and Arizona. Except for a little corner in each, these States are more widely separated than if an ocean rolled between them." "And how about these corners?" "Well, Utah can get to hers by taking a little trouble, but the northwest corner of Arizona is No Man's Land, so far as any jurisdiction goes." "But you say animals can be made to tackle those trails. I should have thought that kind of work would kill any animal that tried it." "It's pretty hard to kill a burro," answered Masseth, "and I've never lost one. Indeed, in all the Survey work I've done in the Grand Canyon, I've only had one accident, and that was a case absolutely unavoidable. I lost one of my favorite horses that time." "How did it happen, Mr. Masseth?" asked Roger.