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~ I I <br />~= <br />The national financial panic of 1873.prompted Brigham Young to <br />10 <br />establish the United Order, a communistic order initiated to~ameliorate <br />the effects of the panic, in 1874. Nearly all of the settlements of <br />Dixie joined. 8y 1875 most had abandoned the Order due to a general <br />dissatisfaction with the communal scheme abetted by the discovery of <br />silver near Leeds and polygamy troubles. It was during this time <br />that the herding of cattle increased and contributed substantially <br />to the economy of the area. By ]880 Mormons held most of the land <br />in the Virgin River basin (Crampton ]-972, Fowler and Fowler 1971, <br />Leigh 1961, Woodbury 1950). <br />The arrival of the 20th century saw southwestern Utah become <br />a popular tourist attraction. By the early 1900's roads Criss-crossed <br />Oixie creating access to recreational areas; spurs from the Salt Lake <br />City-Los Angeles railroad reached the Virgin basin. Zion Canyon was <br />created into Mukuntuweap National tlonument in 1909; in 19]9 it became <br />Zion National Park". President Warren G. Harding visited Zion National <br />Park in 1923 and brought national attention to the area. By 1928 <br />resort hotels were in operation at Zion, Cedar Breaks, Bryce Canyon <br />and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon; a system of roads serviced the <br />parks and carried thousands of tourists intent on viewing spectacular <br />country (Crampton 1972, Woodbury 1950). <br />In less than 100 years a land that was wild and largely unknown. <br />had been settled, tamed and converted into a tourist attraction. <br />During this period man's relationship to the canyon country had come <br />full circle from a land viewed as inhospitable by the early. pioneers <br />to a land whose natural beauty inspired those who looked upon it. <br />