Like many who came to Glen Canyon in the 1880s, Cass Hite was a prospector. He had been looking for silver around Navajo Mountain when Navajo Chief Hoskininni suggested that he look for gold in Glen Canyon instead. It may have been a ploy to get Hite away from sacred Navajo Mountain, but Hoskininni was right. There was gold in upper Glen Canyon near where White Canyon descended to the Colorado.
Arriving in September 1883, Hite found a good place to cross the river and named it Dandy Crossing. Hite didnΓÇÖt set out to become a ferryman, but he did boast that Dandy Crossing was the best route across the Colorado between Lees Ferry and Moab, something few would argue with.
