A Canyon Voyage The Narrative of the Second Powell Expedition down the Green-Colorado River from Wyoming, and the Explorations on Land, in the Years 1871 and 1872

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Title: A Canyon Voyage

The Narrative of the Second Powell Expedition down the

Green-Colorado River from Wyoming, and the Explorations

on Land, in the Years 1871 and 1872

Author: Frederick S. Dellenbaugh

Release Date: February 25, 2007 [EBook #20667]

Language: English

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By F. S. DELLENBAUGH

The North-Americans of Yesterday

A Comparative Study of North-American Indian Life, Customs, and Products, on the Theory of the Ethnic Unity of the Race. 8º. Fully illustrated. net, $4.00

The Romance of the Colorado River

A Complete Account of the Discovery and of the Explorations from 1540 to the Present Time, with Particular Reference to the Two Voyages of Powell through the Line of the Great Canyons.

8º. Fully illustrated. net, $3.50

Breaking the Wilderness

The Story of the Conquest of the Far West, from the Wanderings of Cabeza de Vaca to the First Descent of the Colorado by Powell, and the Completion of the Union Pacific Railway, with Particular Account of the Exploits of Trappers and Traders.

8º. Fully illustrated. net, $3.50

A Canyon Voyage

The Narrative of the Second Powell Expedition down the Green-Colorado River from Wyoming, and the Explorations on Land in the Years 1871 and 1872.

8º. Fully illustrated. net, $3.50

G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS

NEW YORK     LONDON

The Grand Canyon

Looking south from the Kaibab Plateau, North Rim, near the head of Bright Angel Creek, the canyon of which is seen in the foreground. The San Francisco Mountains are in the distance. On the South Rim to the right, out of the picture, is the location of the Hotel Tovar. The width of the canyon at the top in this region is about twelve miles, with a depth of near 6000 feet on the north side, and over 5000 on the south. Total length, including Marble Canyon division, 283 miles.

Sketch made in colour on the spot by F. S. Dellenbaugh, June 4, 1903.

A Canyon Voyage

The Narrative of the Second Powell Expedition down the Green-Colorado

River from Wyoming, and the Explorations on

Land, in the Years 1871 and 1872

By

Frederick S. Dellenbaugh

Artist and Assistant Topographer of the Expedition

"Come on, sir; here's the place. Stand still. How fearful

And dizzy 't is to cast one's eyes so low!"

King Lear.

With Fifty Illustrations

G. P. Putnam's Sons

New York and London

The Knickerbocker Press

1908

Copyright, 1908

by

FREDERICK S. DELLENBAUGH

The Knickerbocker Press, New York

TO

H. O. D.

MY COMPANION

ON THE

VOYAGE OF LIFE.

PREFACE

This volume presents the narrative, from my point of view, of an important government expedition of nearly forty years ago: an expedition which, strangely enough, never before has been fully treated. In fact in all these years it never has been written about by any one besides myself, barring a few letters in 1871 from Clement Powell, through his brother, to the Chicago Tribune, and an extremely brief mention by Major Powell, its organiser and leader, in a pamphlet entitled Report of Explorations in 1873 of the Colorado of the West and its Tributaries (Government Printing Office, 1874). In my history, The Romance of the Colorado River, of which this is practically volume two, I gave a synopsis, and in several other places I have written in condensed form concerning it; but the present work for the first time gives the full story.

In 1869, Major Powell made his famous first descent of the Green-Colorado River from the Union Pacific Railway in Wyoming to the mouth of the Virgin River in Nevada, a feat of exploration unsurpassed, perhaps unequalled, on this continent. Several of the upper canyons had been before penetrated, but a vague mystery hung over even these, and there was no recorded, or even oral, knowledge on the subject when Powell turned his attention to it. There was a tale that a man named James White had previously descended through the great canyons, but Mr. Robert Brewster Stanton has thoroughly investigated this and definitely proven it to be incorrect. Powell's first expedition was designed as an exploration to cover ten months, part of which was to be in winter quarters; circumstances reduced the time to three. It was also more or less of a private venture with which the Government of the United States had nothing to do. It became necessary to supplement it then by a second expedition, herein described, which Congress supported, with, of course, Major Powell in charge, and nominally under the direction of the Smithsonian Institution, of which Professor Henry was then Secretary and Professor Baird his able coadjutor, the latter taking the deeper interest in this venture. Powell reported through the Smithsonian; that was about all there was in the way of control.

The material collected by this expedition was utilised in preparing the well-known report by Major Powell, Exploration of the Colorado River of the West, 1869-1872, the second party having continued the work inaugurated by the first and enlarged upon it, but receiving no credit in that or any other government publication.

As pointed out in the text of this work, a vast portion of the basin of the Colorado was a complete blank on the maps until our party accomplished its end; even some of the most general features were before that not understood. No canyon above the Virgin had been recorded topographically, and the physiography was unknown. The record of the first expedition is one of heroic daring, and it demonstrated that the river could be descended throughout in boats, but unforeseen obstacles prevented the acquisition of scientific data which ours was specially planned to secure in the light of the former developments. The map, the hypsometric and hydrographic data, the geologic sections and geologic data, the photographs, ethnography, and indeed about all the first information concerning the drainage area in question were the results of the labours of the second expedition. Owing, perhaps, to Major Powell's considering our work merely in the line of routine survey, no special record, as mentioned above, was ever made of the second expedition. We inherited from the first a plat of the river itself down to the mouth of the Paria, which, according to Professor Thompson, was fairly good, but we did not rely on it; from the mouth of the Paria to Catastrophe Rapid, the point below Diamond Creek where the Howlands and Dunn separated from the boat party, a plat that was broken in places. This was approximately correct as far as Kanab Canyon, though not so good as above the Paria. From the Kanab Canyon, where we ended our work with the boats, to the mouth of the Virgin we received fragments of the course owing to the mistake made in dividing the notes at the time of the separation; a division decided on because each group thought the other doomed to destruction. Thus Howland took out with him parts of both copies which were destroyed by the Shewits when they killed the men. After Howland's departure, the Major ran in the course to the mouth of the Virgin. Professor Thompson was confident that our plat of the course, which is the basis of all maps to-day, is accurate from the Union Pacific Railway in Wyoming to Catastrophe Rapid, for though we left the river at the Kanab Canyon, we were able by our previous and subsequent work on land to verify the data of the first party and to fill in the blanks, but he felt ready to accept corrections below Catastrophe Rapid to the Virgin.

For a list of the canyons, height of walls, etc., I must refer to the appendix in my previous volume. While two names cover the canyon from the Paria to the Grand Wash, the gorge is practically one with a total length of 283 miles. I have not tried to give geological data for these are easily obtainable in the reports of Powell, Dutton, Gilbert, Walcott, and others, and I lacked space to introduce them properly. In fact I have endeavored to avoid a mere perfunctory record, full of data well stated elsewhere. While trying to give our daily experiences and actual camp life in a readable way, I have adhered to accuracy of statement. I believe that any one who wishes to do so can use this book as a guide for navigating the river as far as Kanab Canyon. I have not relied on memory but have kept for continual reference at my elbow not only my own careful diary of the journey, but also the manuscript diary of Professor Thompson, and a typewritten copy of the diary of John F. Steward as far as the day of his departure from our camp. I have also consulted letters that I wrote home at the time and to the Buffalo Express, and a detailed draft of events up to the autumn of 1871 which I prepared in 1877 when all was still vividly fresh in mind. In addition, I possess a great many letters which Professor Thompson wrote me up to within a few weeks of his death (July, 1906), often in reply to questions I raised on various points that were not clear to me. Each member of the party I have called by the name familiarly used on the expedition, for naturally there was no Mistering on a trip of this kind. Powell was known throughout the length and breadth of the Rocky Mountain Region as the Major, while Thompson was quite as widely known as Prof. Some of the geographic terms, like Dirty Devil River, Unknown Mountains, etc., were those employed before permanent names were adopted. In my other books I have used the term Amerind for American Indian, and I intend to continue its use, but in the pages of this volume, being a narrative, and the word not having been used or known to us at that time, it did not seem exactly appropriate.

Some readers may wish to provide themselves with full maps of the course of the river, and I will state that the U. S. Geological Survey has published map-sheets each 20 by 16-1/2 inches, of the whole course of the Green-Colorado. These sheets are sent to any person desiring them who remits the price, five cents the sheet, by post-office money order addressed: Director U. S. Geological Survey, Washington, D. C., with the names of the sheets wanted. The names of the seventeen sheets covering the canyoned part are: Green River(?), Ashley, Yampa,(?) Price River, East Tavaputs, San Rafael, La Sal, Henry Mountains, Escalante, Echo Cliffs, San Francisco Mountains, Kaibab, Mount Trumbull, Chino, Diamond Creek, St. Thomas, and Camp Mohave.

Several parties have tried the descent through the canyons since our voyage. Some have been successful, some sadly disastrous. The river is always a new problem in its details, though the general conditions remain the same.

Major Powell was a man of prompt decision, with a cool, comprehensive, far-reaching mind. He was genial, kind, never despondent, always resolute, resourceful, masterful, determined to overcome every obstacle. To him alone belongs the credit for solving the problem of the great canyons, and to Professor Thompson that for conducting most successfully the geographic side of the work under difficulties that can hardly be appreciated in these days when survey work is an accepted item of government expenditure and Congress treats it with an open hand.

I am indebted to Mr. Robert Brewster Stanton, who completed the Brown Expedition triumphantly, for valuable information and photographs and for many interesting conversations comparing his experiences with ours; to the Geological Survey for maps and for the privilege of using photographs from negatives in the possession of the Survey; and to Mr. John K. Hillers for making most of the prints used in illustrating this book. My thanks are due to Brigadier-General Mackenzie, U. S. Engineers, for copies of rare early maps of the region embraced in our operations, now nearly impossible to obtain.

In 1902 when I informed Major Powell that I was preparing my history of the Colorado River, he said he hoped that I would put on record the second trip and the men who were members of that expedition, which I accordingly did. He never ceased to take a lively interest in my affairs, and the year before he wrote me: I always delight in your successes and your prosperity, and I ever cherish the memory of those days when we were on the great river together. Professor Thompson only a month before he died sent me a letter in which he said: You are heir to all the Colorado material and I am getting what I have together. These sentiments cause me to feel like an authorised and rightful historian of the expedition with which I was so intimately connected, and I sincerely hope that I have performed my task in a way that would meet the approval of my old leader and his colleague, as well as of my other comrades. One learns microscopically the inner nature of his companions on a trip of this kind, and I am happy to avow that a finer set of men could not have been selected for the trying work which they accomplished with unremitting good-nature and devotion, without pecuniary reward. Professor Thompson possessed invaluable qualities for this expedition: rare balance of mind, great cheerfulness, and a sunny way of looking on difficulties and obstacles as if they were mere problems in chess. His foresight and resourcefulness were phenomenal, and no threatening situation found him without some good remedy.

Some of the illustrations in Powell's Report are misleading, and I feel it my duty to specially note three of them. The one opposite page 8 shows boats of the type we used on the second voyage with a middle cabin. The boats of the first expedition had cabins only at the bow and stern. The picture of the wreck at Disaster Falls, opposite page 27, is nothing like the place, and the one opposite page 82 gives boats in impossible positions, steered by rudders. A rudder is useless on such a river. Long steering sweeps were used.

Time's changes have come to pass. You may now go by a luxurious Santa Fé train direct to the south rim of the greatest chasm of the series, the Grand Canyon, and stop there in a beautiful hotel surrounded by every comfort, yet when we were making the first map no railway short of Denver existed and there was but one line across the Rocky Mountains. Perhaps before many more years are gone we will see Mr. Stanton's Denver, Colorado Canyon, and Pacific Railway accomplished through the canyons, and if I then have not crossed to Killiloo I will surely claim a free pass over the entire length in defiance of all commerce-regulating laws.

Frederick S. Dellenbaugh.

Cragsmoor,

August, 1908

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I1

A River Entrapped—Acquaintance not Desired—Ives Explores the Lower Reaches—Powell the Conqueror—Reason for a Second Descent—Congressional Appropriation—Preparation—The Three Boats—The Mighty Wilderness—Ready for the Start

CHAPTER II9

Into the Wilderness—The Order of Sailing—Tobacco for the Indians Comes Handy—A Lone Fisherman and Some Trappers—Jack Catches Strange Fish—The Snow-clad Uintas in View—A Larder Full of Venison—Entrance into Flaming Gorge

CHAPTER III19

The First Rapid—Horseshoe and Kingfisher Canyons—A Rough Entrance into Red Canyon—Capsize of the Nell—The Grave of a Bold Navigator—Discovery of a White Man's Camp—Good-bye to Frank—At the Gate of Lodore

CHAPTER IV34

Locked in the Chasm of Lodore—Rapids with Railway Speed—A Treacherous Approach to Falls of Disaster—Numerous Loadings and Unloadings—Over the Rocks with Cargoes—Library Increased by Putnam's Magazine—Triplet Falls and Hell's Half Mile—Fire in Camp—Exit from Turmoil to Peace

CHAPTER V49

A Remarkable Echo—Up the Canyon of the Yampa—Steward and Clem Try a Moonlight Swim—Whirlpool Canyon and Mountain Sheep—A Grand Fourth-of-July Dinner—A Rainbow-Coloured Valley—The Major Proceeds in Advance—A Split Mountain with Rapids a Plenty—Enter a Big Valley at Last

CHAPTER VI61

A Lookout for Redskins—The River a Sluggard—A Gunshot!—Someone Comes!—The Tale of a Mysterious Light—How, How! from Douglas Boy—At the Mouth of the Uinta—A Tramp to Goblin City and a Trip down White River on a Raft—A Waggon-load of Supplies from Salt Lake by Way of Uinta Agency—The Major Goes Out to Find a Way In

CHAPTER VII72

On to Battle—A Concert Repertory—Good-bye to Douglas Boy—The Busy, Busy Beaver—In the Embrace of the Rocks Once More—A Relic of the Cliff-Dwellers—Low Water and Hard Work—A Canyon of Desolation—Log-cabin Cliff—Rapids and Rapids and Rapids—A Horse, whose Horse?—Through Gray Canyon to the Rendezvous

CHAPTER VIII94

Return of the Major—Some Mormon Friends—No Rations at the Elusive Dirty Devil—Captain Gunnison's Crossing—An All-night Vigil for Cap. and Clem—The Land of a Thousand Cascades—A Bend Like a Bow-knot and a Canyon Labyrinthian—Cleaving an Unknown World—Signs of the Oldest Inhabitant—Through the Canyon of Stillwater to the Jaws of the Colorado

CHAPTER IX115

A Wonderland of Crags and Pinnacles—Poverty Rations—Fast and Furious Plunging Waters—Boulders Boom along the Bottom—Chilly Days and Shivering—A Wild Tumultuous Chasm—A Bad Passage by Twilight and a Tornado With a Picture Moonrise—Out of One Canyon into Another—At the Mouth of the Dirty Devil at Last

CHAPTER X135

The Cañonita Left Behind—Shinumo Ruins—Troublesome Ledges in the River—Alcoves and Amphitheatres—The Mouth of the San Juan—Starvation Days and a Lookout for Rations—El Vado de Los Padres—White Men Again—Given up for Lost—Navajo Visitors—Peaks with a Great Echo—At the Mouth of the Paria

CHAPTER XI152

More Navajos Arrive with Old Jacob—The Lost Pack-train and a Famished Guide—From Boat to Broncho—On to Kanab—Winter Arrives—Wolf Neighbours too Intimate—Preparing for Geodetic Work—Over the Kaibab to Eight-mile Spring—A Frontier Town—Camp below Kanab—A Mormon Christmas Dance

CHAPTER XII174

Reconnoitring and Triangulating—A Pai Ute New Year's Dance—The Major Goes to Salt Lake—Snowy Days on the Kaibab—At Pipe Spring—Gold Hunters to the Colorado—Visits to the Uinkaret County—Craters and Lava—Finding the Hurricane Ledge—An Interview with a Cougar—Back to Kanab

CHAPTER XIII195

Off for the Unknown Country—A Lonely Grave—Climbing a Hog-back to a Green Grassy Valley—Surprising a Ute Camp—Towich-a-tick-a-boo—Following a Blind Trail—The Unknown Mountains Become Known—Down a Deep Canyon—To the Paria with the Cañonita—John D. Lee and Lonely Dell

CHAPTER XIV215

A Company of Seven—The Nellie Powell Abandoned—Into Marble Canyon—Vasey's Paradise—A Furious Descent to the Little Colorado—A Mighty Fall in the Dismal Granite Gorge—Caught in a Trap—Upside Down—A Deep Plunge and a Predicament—At the Mouth of the Kanab

CHAPTER XV242

A New Departure—Farewell to the Boats—Out to the World Through Kanab Canyon—A Midnight Ride—At the Innupin Picavu—Prof. Reconnoitres the Shewits Country—Winter Quarters in Kanab—Making the Preliminary Map—Another New Year—Across a High Divide in a Snow-storm—Down the Sevier in Winter—The Last Summons

Index269

ILLUSTRATIONS

Facing Page

The Grand CanyonFrontispiece

Looking south from the Kaibab Plateau, North Rim, near the head of Bright Angel Creek, the canyon of which is seen in the foreground. The San Francisco Mountains are in the distance. On the South Rim to the right, out of the picture, is the location of the Hotel Tovar. The width of the canyon at top in this region is about twelve miles, with a depth of near 6000 feet on the north side, and over 5000 on the south. Total length, including Marble Canyon division, 283 miles.

Sketch made in colour on the spot by F. S. Dellenbaugh, June 4, 1903.

The Toll1

Unidentified skeleton found April, 1906, by C. C. Spaulding in the Grand Canyon 300 feet above the river, some miles below Bright Angel trail. There were daily papers in the pocket of the clothes of the early spring of 1900.

Photograph by Kolb Bros. 1906, Grand Canyon, Arizona.

Red Canyon6

Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.

Before the Start at Green River City, Wyoming9

The dark box open. Andy, Clem, Beaman, Prof. Steward, Cap., Frank, Jones, Jack, the Major, Fred, Cañonita, Emma Dean, Nellie Powell.

Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.

Flaming Gorge17

The beginning of the Colorado River Canyons, N. E. Utah.

Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.

Horseshoe Canyon21

Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.

Red Canyon25

Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.

Red Canyon28

Ashley Falls from below.

Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.

In Red Canyon Park29

Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.

The Head of the Canyon of Lodore34

Just inside the gate.

Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.

Canyon of Lodore37

Low water.

Photograph by J. K. Hillers, 1874.

The Heart of Lodore40

F. S. Dellenbaugh.

Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.

Canyon of Lodore—Dunn's Cliff43

2800 feet above river.

Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.

Canyon of Lodore44

Jones, Hillers, Dellenbaugh.

Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.

Echo Park49

Mouth of Yampa River in foreground, Green River on right.

Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.

Whirlpool Canyon54

Mouth of Bishop Creek—Fourth of July camp.

Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.

Split Mountain Canyon59

Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.

Canyon of Desolation81

Steward.

Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.

Colorado River White Salmon98

Photograph by the Denver, Colorado Canyon and Pacific Railway Survey under Robert Brewster Stanton, 1889.

Dellenbaugh Butte102

Near mouth of San Rafael.

Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.

Labyrinth Canyon—Bowknot Bend108

The great loop is behind the spectator.

Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.

Stillwater Canyon110

Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.

Cataract Canyon119

Clement Powell.

Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.

Cataract Canyon128

Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.

Narrow Canyon133

Photograph by Best Expedition, 1891.

Mouth of the Fremont River (Dirty Devil)135

Photograph by the Brown Expedition, 1889.

Glen Canyon140

Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.

Looking Down Upon Glen Canyon142

Cut through homogeneous sandstone.

Photograph by J. K. Hillers, U. S. Colo. Riv. Exp.

Tom147

A typical Navajo. Tom became educated and no longer looked like an Indian.

Photograph by Wittick.

Glen Canyon149

Sentinel Rock—about 300 feet high.

Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.

The Grand Canyon162

From Havasupai Point, South Rim, showing Inner Gorge.

From a sketch in colour by F. S. Dellenbaugh, 1907.

The Grand Canyon168

From South Rim near Bright Angel Creek.

The Grand Canyon174

From part way down south side above Bright Angel Creek.

Winsor Castle, the Defensive House at

Pipe Springs186

Photograph by H. Arthur Pomroy, 1903.

Little Zion Valley, or the Mookoontoweap,

Upper Virgin River186

Photograph by H. Arthur Pomroy, 1903.

In the Unknown Country195

Photograph by J. K. Hillers, 1872.

Navajo Mountain From Near Kaiparowits

Peak201

Photograph by J. K. Hillers, 1872.

Tantalus Creek206

Tributary of Fremont River.

Photograph by J. K. Hillers.

Example of Lakes on the Aquarius Plateau211

Photograph by J. K. Hillers.

The Grand Canyon215

Near mouth of Shinumo Creek. The river is in flood and the water is colorado.

Sketch made in colour on the spot by F. S. Dellenbaugh, July 26, 1907.

Marble Canyon219

Thompson.

Photograph by J. K. Hillers, 1872.

Canyon of the Little Colorado222

Photograph by C. Barthelmess.

The Grand Canyon224

From just below the Little Colorado.

Photograph by J. K. Hillers, 1872.

The Grand Canyon227

Running the Sockdologer.

From a sketch afterwards by F. S. Dellenbaugh.

The Grand Canyon232

From top of Granite, south side near Bright Angel Creek.

The Grand Canyon238

Character of river in rapids.

Photograph by F. S. Dellenbaugh, 1907.

The Grand Canyon242

At a rapid—low water.

The Grand Canyon254

At the bottom near foot of Bass Trail.

The Grand Canyon254

From north side near foot of Toroweap Valley, Uinkaret District.

Photograph by J. K. Hillers.

The Grand Canyon258

Storm effect from South Rim.

MAPS

A.95

Map by the U. S. War Department, 1868. Supplied by the courtesy of General Mackenzie, U. S. A., showing the knowledge of the Colorado River basin just before Major Powell began operations. The topography above the junction of the Green and Grand is largely pictorial and approximate. The white space from the San Rafael to the mouth of the Virgin is the unknown country referred to in this volume which was investigated in 1871-72-73. Preliminary maps B, C, and D at pages 244-46, and 207 respectively, partly give the results of the work which filled in this area.

B.244

Preliminary map of a portion of the southern part of the unknown country indicated by blank space on Map A, at page 95, showing the Hurricane Ledge, Uinkaret and Shewits Mountains and the course of the Grand Canyon from the mouth of Kanab Canyon to the Grand Wash. The Howlands and Dunn left the first expedition at Catastrophe Rapid at the sharp bend a few miles below the intersection of the river and longitude 113° 30', climbed out to the north and were killed near Mt. Dellenbaugh.

C.246

Preliminary map of a portion of the central part of the unknown country indicated by the blank space on Map A, at page 95, showing the Kaibab Plateau, mouth of the Paria, Echo Peaks, House Rock Valley and the course of part of Glen Canyon and of Marble Canyon and the Grand Canyon to the mouth of the Kanab Canyon. El Vado is at the western intersection of the 37th parallel and the Colorado River, and Kanab is in the upper left-hand corner of the map—just above the 37th parallel which is the boundary between Utah and Arizona. The words Old Spanish Trail from Santa Fé to Los Angeles near El Vado were added in Washington and are incorrect. The old Spanish trail crossed at Gunnison Crossing far north of this point which was barely known before 1858.

D.207

Preliminary map of a portion of the northern part of the unknown country indicated by the blank space on Map A, at page 95, showing the course of part of Glen Canyon, the mouth of the Fremont (Dirty Devil) River, the Henry (Unknown) Mountains, and the trail of the first known party of white men to cross this area. The Escalante River which was mistaken for the Dirty Devil enters the Colorado just above the first letter o of Colorado at the bottom of the map. The Dirty Devil enters from the north at the upper right-hand side.

E.250

Showing results of recent re-survey of part of the Grand Canyon near Bright Angel Creek by the Geological Survey with ample time for detail. Compare with Map C at page 246—the south end of Kaibab Plateau.

A CANYON VOYAGE

CHAPTER I

A River Entrapped—Acquaintance not Desired—Ives Explores the Lower Reaches—Powell the Conqueror—Reason for a Second Descent—Congressional Appropriation—Preparation—The Three Boats—The Mighty Wilderness—Ready for the Start.

The upper continuation of the Colorado River of the West is Green River which heads in the Wind River Mountains at Frémont Peak. From this range southward to the Uinta Mountains, on the southern boundary of Wyoming, the river flows through an open country celebrated in the early days of Western exploration and fur trading as Green River Valley, and at that period the meeting ground and rendezvous of the various companies and organisations, and of free trappers. By the year 1840 the vast region west of the Missouri had been completely investigated by the trappers and fur-hunters in the pursuit of trade, with the exception of the Green-and-Colorado River from the foot of Green River Valley to the termination of the now famous Grand Canyon of Arizona. The reason for this exception was that at the southern extremity of Green River Valley the solid obstacle of the Uinta Range was thrown in an easterly and westerly trend directly across the course of the river, which, finding no alternative, had carved its way, in the course of a long geological epoch, through the foundations of the mountains in a series of gorges with extremely precipitous sides; continuous parallel cliffs between whose forbidding precipices dashed the torrent towards the sea. Having thus entrapped itself, the turbulent stream, by the configuration of the succeeding region, was forced to continue its assault on the rocks, to reach the Gulf, and ground its fierce progress through canyon after canyon, with scarcely an intermission of open country, for a full thousand miles from the beginning of its entombment, the entrance of Flaming Gorge, at the foot of the historical Green River Valley. Some few attempts had been made to fathom the mystery of this long series of chasms, but with such small success that the exploration of the river was given up as too difficult and too dangerous. Ashley had gone through Red Canyon in 1825 and in one of the succeeding winters of that period a party had passed through Lodore on the ice. These trips proved that the canyons were not the haunt of beaver, that the navigation of them was vastly difficult, and that no man could tell what might befall in those gorges further down, that were deeper, longer, and still more remote from any touch with the outer world. Indeed it was even reported that there were places where the whole river disappeared underground. The Indians, as a rule, kept away from the canyons, for there was little to attract them. One bold Ute who attempted to shorten his trail by means of the river, shortened it to the Happy Hunting Grounds immediately, and there was nothing in his fate to inspire emulation.

The years then wore on and the Colorado remained unknown through its canyon division. Ives had come up to near the mouth of the Virgin from the Gulf of California in 1858, and the portion above Flaming Gorge, from the foot of Green River Valley, was fairly well known, with the Union Pacific Railway finally bridging it in Wyoming. One James White was picked up (1867) at a point below the mouth of the Virgin in an exhausted state, and it was assumed that he had made a large part of the terrible voyage on a raft, but this was not the case, and the Colorado River Canyons still waited for a conqueror. He came in 1869 in the person of John Wesley Powell, a late Major[1] in the Civil War, whose scientific studies had led him to the then territory of Colorado where his mind became fired with the intention of exploring the canyons. The idea was carried out, and the river was descended from the Union Pacific Railway crossing to the mouth of the Virgin, and two of the men went on to the sea. Thus the great feat was accomplished—one of the greatest feats of exploration ever executed on this continent.[2]

The Toll

Unidentified skeleton found April 1906 by C. C. Spaulding in the Grand Canyon 300 feet above the river, some miles below Bright Angel trail. There were daily papers of the early spring of 1900 in the pocket of the clothes.

Photograph 1906 by Kolb Bros.

Circumstances had rendered the data collected both insufficient and incomplete. A second expedition was projected to supply deficiencies and to extend the work; an expedition so well equipped and planned that time could be taken for the purely scientific side of the venture. This expedition was the first one under the government, the former expedition having been a more or less private enterprise. Congress made appropriations and the party were to start in 1870. This was found to be inexpedient for several reasons, among which was the necessity of exploring a route by which rations could be brought in to them at the mouth of what we called Dirty Devil River—a euphonious title applied by the men of the first expedition. This stream entered the Colorado at the foot of what is now known as Narrow Canyon, a little below the 38th parallel,—the Frémont River of the present geographies. Arrangements for supplies to be brought in to the second expedition at this place were made by the Major during a special visit to southern Utah for the purpose.

By great good fortune I became a member of the second expedition. Scores of men were turned away, disappointed. The party was a small one, and it was full. We were to begin our voyage through the chain of great canyons, at the same point where the first expedition started, the point where the recently completed Union Pacific Railway crossed Green River in Wyoming, and we arrived there from the East early on the morning of April 29, 1871. We were all ravenous after the long night on the train and breakfast was the first consideration, but when this had re-established our energy we went to look for the flat car with our boats which had been sent ahead from Chicago. The car was soon found on a siding and with the help of some railroad employés we pushed it along to the eastern end of the bridge over Green River and there, on the down side, put the boats into the waters against whose onslaughts they were to be our salvation. It was lucky perhaps that we did not pause to ponder on the importance of these little craft; on how much depended on their staunchness and stability; and on our possible success in preventing their destruction. The river was high from melting snows and the current was swift though ordinarily it is not a large river at this point. This season had been selected for the start because of the high water, which would tide us over the rocks till tributary streams should swell the normal volume; for our boats were to be well loaded, there being no chance to get supplies after leaving. We had some trouble in making a landing where we wanted to, in a little cove on the east side about half a mile down, which had been selected as a good place for our preparatory operations. Here the three boats were hauled out to receive the final touches. They were named Emma Dean, Nellie Powell, and Cañonita. A space was cleared in the thick willows for our general camp over which Andy was to be master of ceremonies, at least so far as the banqueting division was concerned, and here he became initiated into the chemistry necessary to transform raw materials into comparatively edible food. But it was not so hard a task, for our supplies were flour, beans, bacon, dried apples, and dried peaches, tea and coffee, with, of course, plenty of sugar. Canned goods at that time were not common, and besides, would have been too heavy. Bread must be baked three times a day in the Dutch oven, a sort of skillet of cast iron, about three inches deep, ten or twelve inches in diameter, with short legs, and a cast-iron cover with a turned-up rim that would hold hot coals. We had no other bread than was made in this oven, or in a frying-pan, with saleratus and cream of tartar to raise it. It was Andy's first experience as a cook, though he had been a soldier in the Civil War, as had almost every member of the party except the youngest three, Clem, Frank, and myself, I being the youngest of all.

For sleeping quarters we were disposed in two vacant wooden shanties about two hundred yards apart and a somewhat greater distance from the cook-camp. These shanties were mansions left over, like a group of roofless adobe ruins