Journeys in the Canyon Lands of Utah and Arizona, 1914-1916
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George Corning Fraser was a Wall Street attorney with an unusual thirst for adventure. Beginning in 1914, Fraser made a series of ambitious journeys on horseback and by wagon into the country lying between Flagstaff, Arizona and the Mormon towns of central Utah. Several qualities set Fraser apart from most travelers: he seemed ready for almost any adventure, no matter how difficult; he had a gift for careful observation, both of the landscape and of the people who lived and worked there; and (most important for us) he could relate his adventures in elegant and descriptive prose.
Fraser conveys an engaging picture of life in the remote corners of the Colorado Plateau in the years before the automobile made its inroads. He spoke at length with sheepherders and forest rangers, townspeople and ranchers, community leaders and eccentric prospectors. His firsthand accounts will transport you to a time when explorers relied on their horses and their wits to take them into a fascinating and little-known backcountry.
Reviews
“Fraser enlightens on multiple levels, with the first being his effort to document and inform . . . . The quality of Fraser’s accounts transforms him from average citizen trekking through the sandstone backcountry, into a larger than life icon of Progressive intellectualism.”
Sondra Cosgrove, Journal of the West, October 2005
“Mr. Fraser’s observations are brutally honest, often tender and compassionate, and frequently hilarious.”
Hank Hassell, Utah Historical Quarterly, Fall 2005