diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'old/8082-8.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | old/8082-8.txt | 8294 |
1 files changed, 8294 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/old/8082-8.txt b/old/8082-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a66b8bf --- /dev/null +++ b/old/8082-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8294 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Canyons of the Colorado, by J. W. Powell + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Canyons of the Colorado + +Author: J. W. Powell + +Release Date: May, 2005 [EBook #8082] +Posting Date: August 4, 2009 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CANYONS OF THE COLORADO *** + + + + +Produced by Eric Eldred + + + + + +CANYONS OF THE COLORADO + +BY + +J. W. POWELL, PH.D., LL.D., + +Formerly Director of the United States Geological Survey. Member of the +National Academy of Sciences, etc., etc. + +WITH MANY ILLUSTRATIONS. + +First published 1895 + + + +PREFACE. + +On my return from the first exploration of the canyons of the Colorado, +I found that our journey had been the theme of much newspaper writing. A +story of disaster had been circulated, with many particulars of hardship +and tragedy, so that it was currently believed throughout the United +States that all the members of the party were lost save one. A good +friend of mine had gathered a great number of obituary notices, and it +was interesting and rather flattering to me to discover the high esteem +in which I had been held by the people of the United States. In my +supposed death I had attained to a glory which I fear my continued life +has not fully vindicated. + +The exploration was not made for adventure, but purely for scientific +purposes, geographic and geologic, and I had no intention of writing an +account of it, but only of recording the scientific results. Immediately +on my return I was interviewed a number of times, and these interviews +were published in the daily press; and here I supposed all interest in +the exploration ended. But in 1874 the editors of Scribner's Monthly +requested me to publish a popular account of the Colorado exploration in +that journal. To this I acceded and prepared four short articles, which +were elaborately illustrated from photographs in my possession. + +In the same year--1874--at the instance of Professor Henry of the +Smithsonian Institution, I was called before an appropriations committee +of the House of Representatives to explain certain estimates made by the +Professor for funds to continue scientific work which had been in +progress from the date of the original exploration. Mr. Garfield was +chairman of the committee, and after listening to my account of the +progress of the geographic and geologic work, he asked me why no history +of the original exploration of the canyons had been published. I +informed him that I had no interest in that work as an adventure, but +was interested only in the scientific results, and that these results +had in part been published and in part were in course of publication. +Thereupon Mr. Garfield, in a pleasant manner, insisted that the history +of the exploration should be published by the government, and that I +must understand that my scientific work would be continued by additional +appropriations only upon my promise that I would publish an account of +the exploration. I made the promise, and the task was immediately +undertaken. + +My daily journal had been kept on long and narrow strips of brown paper, +which were gathered into little volumes that were bound in sole leather +in camp as they were completed. After some deliberation I decided to +publish this journal, with only such emendations and corrections as its +hasty writing in camp necessitated. It chanced that the journal was +written in the present tense, so that the first account of my trip +appeared in that tense. The journal thus published was not a lengthy +paper, constituting but a part of a report entitled "Exploration of the +Colorado River of the West and its Tributaries. Explored in 1869, 1870, +1871, and 1872, under the direction of the Secretary of the Smithsonian +Institution." The other papers published with it relate to the +geography, geology, and natural history of the country. And here again I +supposed all account of the exploration ended. But from that time until +the present I have received many letters urging that a popular account +of the exploration and a description of that wonderful land should be +published by me. This call has been voiced occasionally in the daily +press and sometimes in the magazines, until at last I have concluded to +publish a fuller account in popular form. In doing this I have revised +and enlarged the original journal of exploration, and have added several +new chapters descriptive of the region and of the people who inhabit it. +Realizing the difficulty of painting in word colors a land so strange, +so wonderful, and so vast in its features, in the weakness of my +descriptive powers I have sought refuge in graphic illustration, and for +this purpose have gathered from the magazines and from various +scientific reports an abundance of material. All of this illustrative +material originated in my work, but it has already been used elsewhere. + +Many years have passed since the exploration, and those who were boys +with me in the enterprise are--ah, most of them are dead, and the living +are gray with age. Their bronzed, hardy, brave faces come before me as +they appeared in the vigor of life; their lithe but powerful forms seem +to move around me; and the memory of the men and their heroic deeds, the +men and their generous acts, overwhelms me with a joy that seems almost +a grief, for it starts a fountain of tears. I was a maimed man; my right +arm was gone; and these brave men, these good men, never forgot it. In +every danger my safety was their first care, and in every waking hour +some kind service was rendered me, and they transfigured my misfortune +into a boon. + +To you--J. C. Sumner, William H. Dunn, W. H. Powell, G. Y. Bradley, O. +G. Howland, Seneca Howland, Prank Goodman, W. E. Hawkins, and Andrew +Hall--my noble and generous companions, dead and alive, I dedicate this +book. + + + +CONTENTS. + +CHAPTER PAGE + +I. The Valley of the Colorado + +II. Mesas and, Buttes + +III. Mountains and Plateaus + +IV. Cliffs and Terraces + +V. From Green River City to Flaming Gorge + +VI. From Flaming Gorge to the Gate of Lodore + +VII. The Canyon of Lodore + +VIII. From Echo Park to the Mouth of the Uinta River + +IX. From the Mouth of the Uinta River to the Junction of the Grand and +Green + +X. From the Junction of the Grand and Green to the Mouth of the Little +Colorado + +XI. From the Little Colorado to the Foot of the Grand Canyon + +XII. The Rio Virgen and the Uinkaret Mountains + +XIII. Over the River + +XIV. To Zuni + +XV. The Grand Canyon + +Index + + + + +CANYONS OF THE COLORADO. + +CHAPTER I. + +THE VALLEY OF THE COLORADO. + + +The Colorado River is formed by the junction of the Grand and Green. + +The Grand River has its source in the Rocky Mountains, five or six miles +west of Long's Peak. A group of little alpine lakes, that receive their +waters directly from perpetual snowbanks, discharge into a common +reservoir known as Grand Lake, a beautiful sheet of water. Its quiet +surface reflects towering cliffs and crags of granite on its eastern +shore, and stately pines and firs stand on its western margin. + +The Green River heads near Fremont's Peak, in the Wind River Mountains. +This river, like the Grand, has its sources in alpine lakes fed by +everlasting snows. Thousands of these little lakes, with deep, cold, +emerald waters, are embosomed among the crags of the Rocky Mountains. +These streams, born in the cold, gloomy solitudes of the upper mountain +region, have a strange, eventful history as they pass down through +gorges, tumbling in cascades and cataracts, until they reach the hot, +arid plains of the Lower Colorado, where the waters that were so clear +above empty as turbid floods into the Gulf of California. + +The mouth of the Colorado is in latitude 31 degrees 53 minutes and +longitude 115 degrees. The source of the Grand River is in latitude 40 +degrees 17' and longitude 105 degrees 43' approximately. The source of +the Green River is in latitude 43 degrees 15' and longitude 109 degrees +54' approximately. + +The Green River is larger than the Grand and is the upper continuation +of the Colorado. Including this river, the whole length of the stream is +about 2,000 miles. The region of country drained by the Colorado and its +tributaries is about 800 miles in length and varies from 300 to 500 +miles in width, containing about 300,000 square miles, an area larger +than all the New England and Middle States with Maryland, Virginia and +West Virginia added, or nearly as large as Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, +Illinois, and Missouri combined. + +There are two distinct portions of the basin of the Colorado, a desert +portion below and a plateau portion above. The lower third, or desert +portion of the basin, is but little above the level of the sea, though +here and there ranges of mountains rise to an altitude of from 2,000 to +6,000 feet. This part of the valley is bounded on the northeast by a +line of cliffs, which present a bold, often vertical step, hundreds or +thousands of feet to the table-lands above. On the California side a +vast desert stretches westward, past the head of the Gulf of California, +nearly to the shore of the Pacific. Between the desert and the sea a +narrow belt of valley, hill, and mountain of wonderful beauty is found. +Over this coastal zone there falls a balm distilled from the great +ocean, as gentle showers and refreshing dews bathe the land. When rains +come the emerald hills laugh with delight as bourgeoning bloom is spread +in the sunlight. When the rains have ceased all the verdure turns to +gold. Then slowly the hills are brinded until the rains come again, when +verdure and bloom again peer through the tawny wreck of the last year's +greenery. North of the Gulf of California the desert is known as +"Coahuila Valley," the most desolate region on the continent. At one +time in the geologic history of this country the Gulf of California +extended a long distance farther to the northwest, above the point where +the Colorado River now enters it; but this stream brought its mud from +the mountains and the hills above and poured it into the gulf and +gradually erected a vast dam across it, until the waters above were +separated from the waters below; then the Colorado cut a channel into +the lower gulf. The upper waters, being cut off from the sea, gradually +evaporated, and what is known as Coahuila Valley was the bottom of this +ancient upper gulf, and thus the land is now below the level of the sea. +Between Coahuila Valley and the river there are many low, ashen-gray +mountains standing in short ranges. The rainfall is so little that no +perennial streams are formed. When a great rain comes it washes the +mountain sides and gathers on its way a deluge of sand, which it spreads +over the plain below, for the streams do not carry the sediment to the +sea. So the mountains are washed down and the valleys are filled. On the +Arizona side of the river desert plains are interrupted by desert +mountains. Far to the eastward the country rises until the Sierra Madre +are reached in New Mexico, where these mountains divide the waters of +the Colorado from the Rio Grande del Norte. Here in New Mexico the Gila +River has its source. Some of its tributaries rise in the mountains to +the south, in the territory belonging to the republic of Mexico, but the +Gila gathers the greater part of its waters from a great plateau on the +northeast. Its sources are everywhere in pine-clad mountains and +plateaus, but all of the affluents quickly descend into the desert +valley below, through which the Gila winds its way westward to the +Colorado. In times of continued drought the bed of the Gila is dry, but +the region is subject to great and violent storms, and floods roll down +from the heights with marvelous precipitation, carrying devastation on +their way. Where the Colorado River forms the boundary between +California and Arizona it cuts through a number of volcanic rocks by +black, yawning canyons. Between these canyons the river has a low but +rather narrow flood plain, with cottonwood groves scattered here and +there, and a chaparral of mesquite bearing beans and thorns. Four +hundred miles above its mouth and more than two hundred miles above the +Gila, the Colorado has a second tributary--"Bill Williams' River" it is +called by excessive courtesy. It is but a muddy creek. Two hundred miles +above this the Rio Virgen joins the Colorado. This river heads in the +Markagunt Plateau and the Pine Valley Mountains of Utah. Its sources are +7,000 or 8,000 feet above the sea, but from the beautiful course of the +upper region it soon drops into a great sandy valley below and becomes a +river of flowing sand. At ordinary stages it is very wide but very +shallow, rippling over the quicksands in tawny waves. On its way it cuts +through the Beaver Mountains by a weird canyon. On either side +grease-wood plains stretch far away, interrupted here and there by +bad-land hills. + +The region of country lying on either side of the Colorado for six +hundred miles of its course above the gulf, stretching to Coahuila +Valley below on the west and to the highlands where the Gila heads on +the east, is one of singular characteristics. The plains and valleys are +low, arid, hot, and naked, and the volcanic mountains scattered here and +there are lone and desolate. During the long months the sun pours its +heat upon the rocks and sands, untempered by clouds above or forest +shades beneath. The springs are so few in number that their names are +household words in every Indian rancheria and every settler's home; and +there are no brooks, no creeks, and no rivers but the trunk of the +Colorado and the trunk of the Gila. The few plants are strangers to the +dwellers in the temperate zone. On the mountains a few junipers and +pinons are found, and cactuses, agave, and yuccas, low, fleshy plants +with bayonets and thorns. The landscape of vegetal life is weird--no +forests, no meadows, no green hills, no foliage, but clublike stems of +plants armed with stilettos. Many of the plants bear gorgeous flowers. +The birds are few, but often of rich plumage. Hooded rattlesnakes, +horned toads, and lizards crawl in the dust and among the rocks. One of +these lizards, the "Gila monster," is poisonous. Rarely antelopes are +seen, but wolves, rabbits, and sundry ground squirrels abound. + +The desert valley of the Colorado, which has been described as distinct +from the plateau region above, is the home of many Indian tribes. Away +up at the sources of the Gila, where the pines and cedars stand and +where creeks and valleys are found, is a part of the Apache land. These +tribes extend far south into the republic of Mexico. The Apaches are +intruders in this country, having at some time, perhaps many centuries +ago, migrated from British America. They speak an Athapascan language. +The Apaches and Navajos are the American Bedouins. On their way from the +far North they left several colonies in Washington, Oregon, and +California. They came to the country on foot, but since the Spanish +invasion they have become skilled horsemen. They are wily warriors and +implacable enemies, feared by all other tribes. They are hunters, +warriors, and priests, these professions not yet being differentiated. +The cliffs of the region have many caves, in which these people perform +their religious rites. The Sierra Madre formerly supported abundant +game, and the little Sonora deer was common. Bears and mountain lions +were once found in great numbers, and they put the courage and prowess +of the Apaches to a severe test. Huge rattlesnakes are common, and the +rattlesnake god is one of the deities of the tribes. + +In the valley of the Gila and on its tributaries from the northeast are +the Pimas, Maricopas, and Papagos. They are skilled agriculturists, +cultivating lands by irrigation. In the same region many ruined villages +are found. The dwellings of these towns in the valley were built chiefly +of grout, and the fragments of the ancient pueblos still remaining have +stood through centuries of storm. Other pueblos near the cliffs on the +northeast were built of stone. The people who occupied them cultivated +the soil by irrigation, and their hydraulic works were on an extensive +scale. They built canals scores of miles in length and built reservoirs +to store water. They were skilled workers in pottery. From the fibers of +some of the desert plants they made fabrics with which to clothe +themselves, and they cultivated cotton. They were deft artists in +picture-writings, which they etched on the rocks. Many interesting +vestiges of their ancient art remain, testifying to their skill as +savage artisans. It seems probable that the Pimas, Maricopas, and +Papagos are the same people who built the pueblos and constructed the +irrigation works; so their traditions state. It is also handed down that +the pueblos were destroyed in wars with the Apaches. In these groves of +the flood plain of the Colorado the Mojave and Yuma Indians once had +their homes. They caught fish from the river and snared a few rabbits in +the desert, but lived mainly on mesquite beans, the hearts of yucca +plants, and the fruits of the cactus. They also gathered a harvest from +the river reeds. To some slight extent they cultivated the soil by rude +irrigation and raised corn and squashes. They lived almost naked, for +the climate is warm and dry. Sometimes a year passes without a drop of +rain. Still farther to the north the Chemehuevas lived, partly along the +river and partly in the mountains to the west, where a few springs are +found. They belong to the great Shoshonian family. On the Rio Virgen and +in the mountains round about, a confederacy of tribes speaking the Ute +language and belonging to the Shoshonian family have their homes. These +people built their sheltering homes of boughs and the bast of the +juniper. In such shelters, they lived in winter, but in summer they +erected extensive booths of poles and willows, sometimes large enough +for the accommodation of a tribe of 100 or 200 persons. A wide gap in +culture separates the Pimas, Maricopas, and Papagos from the +Chemehuevas. The first were among the most advanced tribes found in the +United States; the last were among the very lowest; they are the +original "Digger" Indians, called so by all the other tribes, but the +name has gradually spread beyond its original denotation to many tribes +of Utah, Nevada, and California. + +The low desert, with its desolate mountains, which has thus been +described is plainly separated from the upper region of plateau by the +Mogollon Escarpment, which, beginning in the Sierra Madre of New Mexico, +extends northwestward across the Colorado far into Utah, where it ends +on the margin of the Great Basin. The rise by this escarpment varies +from 3,000 to more than 4,000 feet. The step from the lowlands to the +highlands which is here called the Mogollon Escarpment is not a simple +line of cliffs, but is a complicated and irregular facade presented to +the southwest. Its different portions have been named by the people +living below as distinct mountains, as Shiwits Mountains, Mogollon +Mountains, Pinal Mountains, Sierra Calitro, etc., but they all rise to +the summit of the same great plateau region. + +The upper region, extending to the headwaters of the Grand and Green +Rivers, constitutes the great Plateau Province. These plateaus are +drained by the Colorado River and its tributaries; the eastern and +southern margin by the Rio Grande and its tributaries, and the western +by streams that flow into the Great Basin and are lost in the Great Salt +Lake and other bodies of water that have no drainage to the sea. The +general surface of this upper region is from 5,000 to 8,000 feet above +sea level, though the channels of the streams are cut much lower. + +This high region, on the east, north, and west, is set with ranges of +snow-clad mountains attaining an altitude above the sea varying from +8,000 to 14,000 feet. All winter long snow falls on its mountain-crested +rim, filling the gorges, half burying the forests, and covering the +crags and peaks with a mantle woven by the winds from the waves of the +sea. When the summer sun comes this snow melts and tumbles down the +mountain sides in millions of cascades. A million cascade brooks unite +to form a thousand torrent creeks; a thousand torrent creeks unite to +form half a hundred rivers beset with cataracts; half a hundred roaring +rivers unite to form the Colorado, which rolls, a mad, turbid stream, +into the Gulf of California. + +Consider the action of one of these streams. Its source is in the +mountains, where the snows fall; its course, through the arid plains. +Now, if at the river's flood storms were falling on the plains, its +channel would be cut but little faster than the adjacent country would +be washed, and the general level would thus be preserved; but under the +conditions here mentioned, the river continually deepens its beds; so +all the streams cut deeper and still deeper, until their banks are +towering cliffs of solid rock. These deep, narrow gorges are called +canyons. + +For more than a thousand miles along its course the Colorado has cut for +itself such a canyon; but at some few points where lateral streams join +it the canyon is broken, and these narrow, transverse valleys divide it +into a series of canyons. + +The Virgen, Kanab, Paria, Escalante, Fremont, San Rafael, Price, and +Uinta on the west, the Grand, White, Yampa, San Juan, and Colorado +Chiquito on the east, have also cut for themselves such narrow winding +gorges, or deep canyons. Every river entering these has cut another +canyon; every lateral creek has cut a canyon; every brook runs in a +canyon; every rill born of a shower and born again of a shower and +living only during these showers has cut for itself a canyon; so that +the whole upper portion of the basin of the Colorado is traversed by a +labyrinth of these deep gorges. + +Owing to a great variety of geological conditions, these canyons differ +much in general aspect. The Rio Virgen, between Long Valley and the +Mormon town of Rockville, runs through Parunuweap Canyon, which is often +not more than 20 or 30 feet in width and is from 600 to 1,500 feet deep. +Away to the north the Yampa empties into the Green by a canyon that I +essayed to cross in the fall of 1868, but was baffled from day to day, +and the fourth day had nearly passed before I could find my way down to +the river. But thirty miles above its mouth this canyon ends, and a +narrow valley with a flood plain is found. Still farther up the stream +the river comes down through another canyon, and beyond that a narrow +valley is found, and its upper course is now through a canyon and now +through a valley. All these canyons are alike changeable in their +topographic characteristics. + +The longest canyon through which the Colorado runs is that between the +mouth of the Colorado Chiquito and the Grand Wash, a distance of 217 1/2 +miles. But this is separated from another above, 65 1/2 miles in length, +only by the narrow canyon valley of the Colorado Chiquito. + +All the scenic features of this canyon land are on a giant scale, +strange and weird. The streams run at depths almost inaccessible, +lashing the rocks which beset their channels, rolling in rapids and +plunging in falls, and making a wild music which but adds to the gloom +of the solitude. The little valleys nestling along the streams are +diversified by bordering willows, clumps of box elder, and small groves +of cottonwood. + +Low mesas, dry, treeless, stretch back from the brink of the canyon, +often showing smooth surfaces of naked, solid rock. In some places the +country rock is composed of marls, and here the surface is a bed of +loose, disintegrated material through which one walks as in a bed of +ashes. Often these marls are richly colored and variegated. In other +places the country rock is a loose sandstone, the disintegration of +which has left broad stretches of drifting sand, white, golden, and +vermilion. Where this sandstone is a conglomerate, a paving of pebbles +has been left,--a mosaic of many colors, polished by the drifting sands +and glistening in the sunlight. + +After the canyons, the most remarkable features of the country are the +long lines of cliffs. These are bold escarpments scores or hundreds of +miles in length,--great geographic steps, often hundreds or thousands of +feet in altitude, presenting steep faces of rock, often vertical. Having +climbed one of these steps, you may descend by a gentle, sometimes +imperceptible, slope to the foot of another. They thus present a series +of terraces, the steps of which are well-defined escarpments of rock. +The lateral extension of such a line of cliffs is usually very +irregular; sharp salients are projected on the plains below, and deep +recesses are cut into the terraces above. Intermittent streams coming +down the cliffs have cut many canyons or canyon valleys, by which the +traveler may pass from the plain below to the terrace above. By these +gigantic stairways he may ascend to high plateaus, covered with forests +of pine and fir. + +The region is further diversified by short ranges of eruptive mountains. +A vast system of fissures--huge cracks in the rocks to the depths +below--extends across the country. From these crevices floods of lava +have poured, covering mesas and table-lands with sheets of black basalt. +The expiring energies of these volcanic agencies have piled up huge +cinder cones that stand along the fissures, red, brown, and black, naked +of vegetation, and conspicuous landmarks, set as they are in contrast to +the bright, variegated rocks of sedimentary origin. + +These canyon gorges, obstructing cliffs, and desert wastes have +prevented the traveler from penetrating the country, so that until the +Colorado River Exploring Expedition was organized it was almost unknown. +In the early history of the country Spanish adventurers penetrated the +region and told marvelous stories of its wonders. It was also traversed +by priests who sought to convert the Indian tribes to Christianity. In +later days, since the region has been under the control of the United +States, various government expeditions have penetrated the land. Yet +enough had been seen in the earlier days to foment rumor, and many +wonderful stories were told in the hunter's cabin and the prospector's +camp--stories of parties entering the gorge in boats and being carried +down with fearful velocity into whirlpools where all were overwhelmed in +the abyss of waters, and stories of underground passages for the great +river into which boats had passed never to be seen again. It was +currently believed that the river was lost under the rocks for several +hundred miles. There were other accounts of great falls whose roaring +music could be heard on the distant mountain summits; and there were +stories current of parties wandering on the brink of the canyon and +vainly endeavoring to reach the waters below, and perishing with thirst +at last in sight of the river which was roaring its mockery into their +dying ears. + +The Indians, too, have woven the mysteries of the canyons into the myths +of their religion. Long ago there was a great and wise chief who mourned +the death of his wife and would not be comforted, until Tavwoats, one of +the Indian gods, came to him and told him his wife was in a happier +land, and offered to take him there that he might see for himself, if, +upon his return, he would cease to mourn. The great chief promised. Then +Tavwoats made a trail through the mountains that intervene between that +beautiful land, the balmy region of the great west, and this, the desert +home of the poor Numa. This trail was the canyon gorge of the Colorado. +Through it he led him; and when they had returned the deity exacted from +the chief a promise that he would tell no one of the trail. Then he +rolled a river into the gorge, a mad, raging stream, that should engulf +any that might attempt to enter thereby. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +MESAS AND BUTTES. + + +From the Grand Canyon of the Colorado a great plateau extends +southeastward through Arizona nearly to the line of New Mexico, where +this elevated land merges into the Sierra Madre. The general surface of +this plateau is from 6,000 to 8,000 feet above the level of the sea. It +is sharply defined from the lowlands of Arizona by the Mogollon +Escarpment. On the northeast it gradually falls off into the valley of +the Little Colorado, and on the north it terminates abruptly in the +Grand Canyon. + +Various tributaries of the Gila have their sources in this escarpment, +and before entering the desolate valley below they run in beautiful +canyons which they have carved for themselves in the margin of the +plateau. Sometimes these canyons are in the sandstones and limestones +which constitute the platform of the great elevated region called the +San Francisco Plateau. The escarpment is caused by a fault, the great +block of the upper side being lifted several thousand feet above the +valley region. Through the fissure lavas poured out, and in many places +the escarpment is concealed by sheets of lava. The canyons in these lava +beds are often of great interest. + +On the plateau a number of volcanic mountains are found, and black +cinder cones are scattered in profusion. Through the forest lands are +many beautiful prairies and glades that in midsummer are decked with +gorgeous wild flowers. The rains of the region give source to few +perennial streams, but intermittent streams have carved deep gorges in +the plateau, so that it is divided into many blocks. The upper surface, +although forest-clad and covered with beautiful grasses, is almost +destitute of water. A few springs are found, but they are far apart, and +some of the volcanic craters hold lakelets. The limestone and basaltic +rocks sometimes hold pools of water; and where the basins are deep the +waters are perennial. Such pools are known as "water pockets." + +This is the great timber region of Arizona. Not many years ago it was a +vast park for elk, deer, and antelope, and bears and mountain lions were +abundant. This is the last home of the wild turkey in the United States, +for they are still found here in great numbers. San Francisco Peak is +the highest of these volcanic mountains, and about it are grouped in an +irregular way many volcanic cones, one of which presents some remarkable +characteristics. A portion of the cone is of bright reddish cinders, +while the adjacent rocks are of black basalt. The contrast in the +colors is so great that on viewing the mountain from a distance the red +cinders seem to be on fire. From this circumstance the cone has been +named Sunset Peak. When distant from it ten or twenty miles it is hard +to believe that the effect is produced by contrasting colors, for the +peak seems to glow with a light of its own. + +In centuries past the San Francisco Plateau was the home of +pueblo-building tribes, and the ruins of their habitations are widely +scattered over this elevated region. Thousands of little dwellings are +found, usually built of blocks of basalt. In some cases they were +clustered in little towns, and three of these deserve further mention. + +A few miles south of San Francisco Peak there is an intermittent stream +known as Walnut Creek. This stream runs in a deep gorge 600 to 800 feet +below the general surface. The stream has cut its way through the +limestone and through series of sandstones, and bold walls of rock are +presented on either side. In some places the softer sandstones lying +between the harder limestones and sandstones have yielded to weathering +agencies, so that there are caves running along the face of the wall, +sometimes for hundreds or thousands of feet, but not very deep. These +natural shelves in the rock were utilized by an ancient tribe of Indians +for their homes. They built stairways to the waters below and to the +hunting grounds above, and lived in the caves. They walled the fronts of +the caves with rock, which they covered with plaster, and divided them +into compartments or rooms; and now many hundreds of these dwellings are +found. Such is the cliff village of Walnut Canyon. In the ruins of these +cliff houses mortars and pestles are found in great profusion, and when +first discovered many articles of pottery were found, and still many +potsherds are seen. The people were very skillful in the manufacture of +stone implements, especially spears, knives, and arrows. + +East of San Francisco Peak there is another low volcanic cone, composed +of ashes which have been slightly cemented by the processes of time, but +which can be worked with great ease. On this cone another tribe of +Indians made its village, and for the purpose they sunk shafts into the +easily worked but partially consolidated ashes, and after penetrating +from the surface three or four feet they enlarged the chambers so as to +make them ten or twelve feet in diameter. In such a chamber they made a +little fireplace, its chimney running up on one side of the wellhole by +which the chamber was entered. Often they excavated smaller chambers +connected with the larger, so that sometimes two, three, four, or even +five smaller connecting chambers are grouped about a large central room. +The arts of these people resembled those of the people who dwelt in +Walnut Canyon. One thing more is worthy of special notice. On the very +top of the cone they cleared off a space for a courtyard, or assembly +square, and about it they erected booths, and within the square a space +of ground was prepared with a smooth floor, on which they performed the +ceremonies of their religion and danced to the gods in prayer and +praise. + +Some twelve or fifteen miles farther east, in another volcanic cone, a +rough crater is found, surrounded by piles of cinders and angular +fragments of lava. In the walls of this crater many caves are found, and +here again a village was established, the caves in the scoria being +utilized as habitations of men. These little caves were fashioned into +rooms of more symmetry and convenience than originally found, and the +openings to the caves were walled. Nor did these people neglect the +gods, for in this crater town, as in the cinder-cone town, a place of +worship was prepared. + +Many other caves opening into the canyon and craters of this plateau +were utilized in like manner as homes for tribal people, and in one cave +far to the south a fine collection of several hundred pieces of pottery +has been made. + +On the northeast of the San Francisco Plateau is the valley of the +Little Colorado, a tributary of the Colorado River. This river is formed +by streams that head chiefly on the San Francisco Plateau, but in part +on the Zuni Plateau. The Little Colorado is a marvelous river. In +seasons of great rains it is a broad but shallow torrent of mud; in +seasons of drought it dwindles and sometimes entirely disappears along +portions of its course. The upper tributaries usually run in beautiful +box canyons. Then the river flows through a low, desolate, bad-land +valley, and the river of mud is broad but shallow, except in seasons of +great floods. But fifty miles or more above the junction of this stream +with the Colorado River proper, it plunges into a canyon with limestone +walls, and steadily this canyon increases in depth, until at the mouth +of the stream it has walls more than 4,000 feet in height. The contrast +between this canyon portion and the upper valley portion is very great. +Above, the river ripples in a broad sheet of mud; below, it plunges with +violence over great cataracts and rapids. Above, the bad lands stretch +on either hand. This is the region of the Painted Desert, for the marls +and soft rocks of which the hills are composed are of many +colors--chocolate, red, vermilion, pink, buff, and gray; and the naked +hills are carved in fantastic forms. Passing to the region below, +suddenly the channel is narrowed and tumbles down into a deep, solemn +gorge with towering limestone cliffs. + +All round the margin of the valley of the Little Colorado, on the side +next to the Zuni Plateau and on the side next to the San Francisco +Plateau, every creek and every brook runs in a beautiful canyon. Then +down in the valley there are stretches of desert covered with sage and +grease wood. Still farther down we come to the bad lands of the Painted +Desert; and scattered through the entire region low mesas or smaller +plateaus are everywhere found. + +On the northeast side of the Little Colorado a great mesa country +stretches far to the northward. These mesas are but minor plateaus that +are separated by canyons and canyon valleys, and sometimes by low sage +plains. They rise from a few hundred to 2,000 or 3,000 feet above the +lowlands on which they are founded. The distinction between plateaus and +mesas is vague; in fact, in local usage the term mesa is usually applied +to all of these tables which do not carry volcanic mountains. The mesas +are carved out of platforms of horizontal or nearly horizontal rocks by +perennial or intermittent streams, and as the climate is exceedingly +arid most of the streams flow only during seasons of rain, and for the +greater part of the year they are dry arroyos. Many of the longer +channels are dry for long periods. Some of them are opened only by +floods that come ten or twenty years apart. + +The region is also characterized by many buttes. These are plateaus or +mesas of still smaller dimensions in horizontal distance, though their +altitude may be hundreds or thousands of feet. Like the mesas and +plateaus, they sometimes form very conspicuous features of a landscape +and are of marvelous beauty by reason of their sculptured escarpments. +Below they are often buttressed on a magnificent scale. Softer beds give +rise to a vertical structure of buttresses and columns, while the harder +strata appear in great horizontal lines, suggesting architectural +entablature. Then the strata of which these buttes are composed are of +many vivid colors; so color and form unite in producing architectural +effects, and the buttes often appear like Cyclopean temples. + +There is yet one other peculiarity of this landscape deserving mention +here. Before the present valleys and canyons were carved and the mesas +lifted in relief, the region was one of great volcanic activity. In +various places vents were formed and floods of lava poured in sheets +over the land. Then for a time volcanic action ceased, and rains and +rivers carved out the valleys and left the mesas and mountains standing. +These same agencies carried away the lava beds that spread over the +lands. But wherever there was a lava vent it was filled with molten +matter, which on cooling was harder than the sandstones and marls +through which it penetrated. The chimney to the region of fire below was +thus filled with a black rock which yielded more slowly to the +disintegrating agencies of weather, and so black rocks rise up from +mesas on every hand. These are known as volcanic necks, and, being of a +somber color, in great contrast with the vividly colored rocks from +which they rise and by which they are surrounded, they lend a strange +aspect to the landscape. Besides these necks, there are a few volcanic +mountains that tower over all the landscape and gather about themselves +the clouds of heaven. Mount Taylor, which stands over the divide on the +drainage of the Rio Grande del Norte, is one of the most imposing of the +dead volcanoes of this region. Still later eruptions of lava are found +here and there, and in the present valleys and canyons sheets of black +basalt are often found. These are known as coulees, and sometimes from +these coulees cinder cones arise. + +This valley of the Little Colorado is also the site of many ruins, and +the villages or towns found in such profusion were of mueh larger size +than those on the San Francisco Plateau. Some of the pueblo-building +peoples yet remain. The Zuni Indians still occupy their homes, and they +prove to be a most interesting people. They have cultivated the soil +from time immemorial. They build their houses of stone and line them +with plaster; and they have many interesting arts, being skilled potters +and deft weavers. The seasons are about equally divided between labor, +worship, and play. + +A hundred miles to the northwest of the Zuni pueblo are the seven +pueblos of Tusayan: Oraibi, Shumopavi, Shupaulovi, Mashongnavi, +Sichumovi, Walpi, and llano. These towns are built on high cliffs. The +people speak a language radically different from that of the Zuni, but, +with the exception of that of the inhabitants of Hano, closely allied to +that of the Utes. The people of Hano are Tewans, whose ancestors moved +from the Rio Grande to Tusayan during the great Pueblo revolt against +Spanish authority in 1680-96. + +Between the Little Colorado and the Rio San Juan there is a vast system +of plateaus, mesas, and buttes, volcanic mountains, volcanic cones, and +volcanic cinder cones. Some of the plateaus are forest-clad and have +perennial waters and are gemmed with lakelets. The mesas are sometimes +treeless, but are often covered with low, straggling, gnarled cedars and +pifions, trees that are intermediate in size between the bushes of sage +in the desert and the forest trees of the elevated regions. On the +western margin of this district the great Navajo Mountain stands, on the +brink of Glen Canyon, and from its summit many of the stupendous gorges +of the Colorado River can be seen. Central in the region stand the +Carrizo Mountains, the Lukachukai Mountains, the Tunitcha Mountains, and +the Chusca Mountains, which in fact constitute one system, extending +from north to south in the order named. These are really plateaus +crowned with volcanic peaks. + +But the district we are now describing, which stretches from the Little +Colorado to the San Juan, is best characterized by its canyons. The +whole region is a labyrinth of gorges. On the west the Navajo Creek and +its tributaries run in profound chasms. Farther south the Moencopie with +its tributaries is a labyrinth of gorges; and all the streams that run +west into the Colorado, south into the Little Colorado, or north into +the San Juan have carved deep, wild, and romantic gorges. Immediately +west of the Chusca Plateau the Canyon del Muerta and the Canyon de +Chelly are especially noticeable. Many of these canyons are carved in a +homogeneous red sandstone, and their walls are often vertical for +hundreds of feet. Sometimes the canyons widen into narrow valleys, which +are thus walled by impassable cliffs, except where lateral canyons cut +their way through the battlements. + +In these mountains, plateaus, mesas, and canyons the Navajo Indians have +their home. The Navajos are intruders in this country. They belong to +the Athapascan stock of British America and speak an Athapascan +language, like the Apaches of the Sierra Madre country. They are a +stately, athletic, and bold people. While yet this country was a part of +Mexico they acquired great herds of horses and flocks of sheep, and +lived in opulence compared with many of the other tribes of North +America. After the acquisition of this territory by the United States +they became disaffected by reason of encroaching civilization, and the +petty wars between United States troops and the Navajos were in the main +disastrous to our forces, due in part to the courage, skill, and +superior numbers of the Navajos and in part to the character of the +country, which is easily defended, as the routes of travel along the +canyons present excellent opportunities for defense and ambuscade. But +under the leadership and by the advice of Kit Carson these Indians were +ultimately conquered. This wily but brave frontiersman recommended a new +method of warfare, which was to destroy the herds and flocks of the +Navajos; and this course was pursued. Regular troops with volunteers +from California and New Mexico went into the Navajo country and shot +down their herds of half-wild horses, killed hundreds of thousands of +sheep, cut down their peach orchards which were scattered about the +springs and little streams, destroyed their irrigating works, and +devastated their little patches of corn, squashes, and melons; and +entirely neglected the Navajos themselves, who were concealed among the +rocks of the canyons. Seeing the destruction wrought upon their means of +livelihood, the Navajos at once yielded. More than 8,000 of them +surrendered at one time, coming in in straggling bands. They were then +removed far to the east, near to the Texas line, and established on a +reservation at the Bosque Redondo. Here they engaged in civilized +farming. A great system of irrigation was developed; but the +appropriations necessary for the maintenance of so large a body of +people in the course of their passage from savagery to civilization +seemed too great to those responsible for making grants from the +national treasury, and just before 1870 the Navajos were permitted to +break up their homes at the Bosque Redondo and return to the canyons and +cliffs of their ancient land. Millions were spent in conquering them +where thousands were used to civilize them, so that they were conquered +but not civilized. Still, they are making good progress, and have once +more acquired large flocks and herds. It is estimated that they now have +more than a million sheep. Their experience in irrigation at the Bosque +Redondo has not been wholly wasted, for they now cultivate the soil by +methods of irrigation greatly improved over those used in the earlier +time. Originally they dwelt in hogans, or houses made of poles arranged +with much skill in conical form, the poles being covered with reeds and +the reeds with earth; now they are copying the dwelling places of +civilized men. They have also acquired great skill in the manufacture of +silver ornaments, with which they decorate themselves and the trappings +of their steeds. + +Perhaps the most interesting ruins of America are found in this region. +The ancient pueblos found here are of superior structure, but they were +all built by a people whom the Navajos displaced when they migrated from +the far North. Wherever there is water, near by an ancient ruin may be +found; and these ruins are gathered about centers, the centers being +larger pueblos and the scattered ruins representing single houses. The +ancient people lived in villages, or pueblos, but during the growing +season they scattered about by the springs and streams to cultivate the +soil by irrigation, and wherever there was a little farm or garden +patch, there was built a summer house of stone. When times of war came, +especially when they were invaded by the Navajos, these ancient people +left their homes in the pueblos and by the streams and constructed +temporary homes in the cliffs and canyon walls. Such cliff ruins are +abundant throughout the region, intimately the ancient pueblo peoples +succumbed to the prowess of the Navajos and were driven out. A part +joined related tribes in the valley of the Bio Grande; others joined the +Zuni and the people of Tusayan; and stall others pushed on beyond the +Little Colorado to the San Francisco Plateau and far down into the +valley of the Gila. + +Farther to the east, on the border of the region which we have +described, beyond the drainage of the Little Colorado and San Juan and +within the drainage of the Rio Grande, there lies an interesting plateau +region, which forms a part of the Plateau Province and which is worthy +of description. This is the great Tewan Plateau, which carries several +groups of mountains. The western edge of this plateau is known as the +Nacimiento Mountain, a long north-and-south range of granite, which +presents a bold facade to the valley of the Puerco on the west. +Ascending to the summit of this granite range, there is presented to the +eastward a plateau of vast proportions, which stretches far toward Santa +Fe and is terminated by the canyon of the Rio Grande del Norte. The +eastern flank of this range as it slowly rose was a gentle slope, but as +it came up fissures were formed and volcanoes burst forth and poured out +their floods of lava, and now many extinct volcanoes can be seen. The +plateau was built by these volcanoes--sheets of lava piled on sheets of +lava hundreds and even thousands of feet in thickness. But with the +floods of lava came great explosions, like that of Krakatoa, by which +the heavens were filled with volcanic dust. These explosions came at +different times and at different places, but they were of enormous +magnitude, and when the dust fell again from the clouds it piled up in +beds scores and hundreds of feet in thickness. So the Tewan Plateau has +a foundation of red sandstone; upon this are piled sheets of lava and +sheets of dust in many alternating layers. It is estimated that there +still remain more than two hundred cubic miles of this dust, now +compacted into somewhat coherent rocks and interpolated between sheets +of lava. Everywhere this dust-formed rock is exceedingly light. Much of +it has a specific gravity so low that it will float on water. Above the +sheets of lava and above the beds of volcanic dust great volcanic cones +rise, and the whole upper region is covered with forests interspersed +with beautiful prairies. The plateau itself is intersected with many +deep, narrow canyons, having walls of lava, volcanic dust, or tufa, and +red sandstone. It is a beautiful region. The low mesas on every side are +almost treeless and are everywhere deserts, but the great Tewan Plateau +is booned with abundant rains, and it is thus a region of forests and +meadows, divided into blocks by deep, precipitous canyons and crowned +with cones that rise to an altitude of from 10,000 to 12,000 feet. + +For many centuries the Tewan Plateau, with its canyons below and its +meadows and forests above, has been the home of tribes of Tewan Indians, +who built pueblos, sometimes of the red sandstones in the canyons, but +oftener of blocks of tufa, or volcanic dust. This light material can be +worked with great ease, and with crude tools of the harder lavas they +cut out blocks of the tufa and with them built pueblos two or three +stories high. The blocks are usually about twenty inches in length, +eight inches in width, and six inches in thickness, though they vary +somewhat in size. On the volcanic cones which dominate the country these +people built shrines and worshiped their gods with offerings of meal and +water and with prayer symbols made of the plumage of the birds of the +air. When the Navajo invasion came, by which kindred tribes were +displaced from the district farther west, these Tewan Indians left their +pueblos on the plateau and their dwellings by the rivers below in the +depths of the canyon and constructed cavate homes for themselves; that +is, they excavated chambers in the cliffs where these cliffs were +composed of soft, friable tufa. On the face of the cliff, hundreds of +feet high and thousands of feet or even miles in length, they dug out +chambers with stone tools, these chambers being little rooms eight or +ten feet in diameter. Sometimes two or more such chambers connected. +Then they constructed stairways in the soft rock, by which their cavate +houses were reached; and in these rock shelters they lived during times +of war. When the Navajo invasion was long past, civilized men as Spanish +adventurers entered this country from Mexico, and again the Tewan +peoples left their homes on the mesas and by the canyons to find safety +in the cavate dwellings of the cliffs; and now the archaeologist in the +study of this country discovers these two periods of construction and +occupation of the cavate dwellings of the Tewan Indians. + +North of the Rio San Juan another vast plateau region is found, +stretching to the Grand River. The mountains of this region are the La +Plata Mountains, Bear River Mountains, and San Miguel Mountains on the +east, and the Sierra El Late, the Sierra Abajo, and the Sierra La Sal on +the west, the latter standing near the brink of Cataract Canyon, through +which the Colorado flows immediately below the junction of the Grand and +Green. Throughout the region mountains, volcanic cones, volcanic necks, +and coulees are found, while the mountains themselves rise to great +altitudes and are forest-clad. Some of the plateaus attain huge +proportions, and between the plateaus labyrinthian mesas are found. +Buttes, as stupendous cameos, are scattered everywhere, and the whole +region is carved with canyons. + +Grand River heads on the back of Long's Peak, in the Front Range of the +Rocky Mountains of central Colorado. At the foot of the mountain lies +Grand Lake, a sheet of emerald water that duplicates the forest standing +on its brink. Out of the lake flows Grand River, gathering on its way +the many mountain streams whose waters fill the solitude with perennial +music--a symphony of cascades. In Middle Park boiling springs issue from +depths below and gather in pools covered with con-fervae. Leaving +Middle Park the river goes through a great range known as the Gore's +Pass Mountains; and still it flows on toward the Colorado, now through +canyon and now through valley, until the last forty miles of its course +it finds its way through a beautiful gorge known as Grand River Canyon. +In its principal course this canyon is a bright red homogeneous +sandstone, and the walls are often vertical and of great symmetry. +Farther down, its walls are rugged and angular, being composed of +limestones. + +The principal tributaries from the south are the Blue, which heads in +Mt. Lincoln, and the Gunnison, which heads in the Wasatch Mountains. +These streams are also characterized by deep canyons and plateaus, and +mesas abound on every hand. Between the Grand River and the White River, +farther to the east, the Tavaputs Plateau is found. It begins at the +foot of Gore's Pass Range and extends down between the rivers last +mentioned to the very brink of Green River, which is in fact the upper +Colorado. Between the Grand River and the foot of this plateau there is +a low, narrow valley with mesas and buttes. Then the country suddenly +rises by a stupendous line of cliffs 2,000 or 3,000 feet high. These +cliffs are composed of sand stones, limestones, and shales, of many +colors. The stratification in many places is minute, so that they have +been called the Book Cliffs. + +From the cliffs many salients are projected into the valleys, and within +deep re-entering angles vast amphitheaters appear. About the projected +salients many towering buttes, with pinnacles and minarets, are found. +The long, narrow plateau is covered with a forest along its summit, and, +though it rises abruptly on the south side from Grand River Valley, it +descends more gently toward the White River, and on this slope many +canyons of rare beauty are seen. Plateaus and mesas and canyons and +buttes characterize the region north of White River and stretch out to +the Yampa. The Yampa itself has an important tributary from the +northwest, known as Snake River. Just below the affluence of the Snake +with the Yampa a strange phenomenon is observed. Right athwart the +course of the river rises a great dome-shaped mountain, with valley +stretches on every side, and through this mountain the river runs, +dividing it by a beautiful canyon, through which it flows to its +junction with the Green. This canyon is in soft, white sandstone, +usually with vertical walls varying from 500 to 2,000 feet in height, +and the river flows in a gentle winding way through all this stretch. To +the east of this plateau region, with its mesas and buttes and its +volcanic mountains, stand the southern Rocky Mountains, or Park +Mountains, a system of north-and-south ranges. These ranges are huge +billows in the crust of the earth out of which mountains have been +carved. The parks of Colorado are great valley basins enclosed by these +ranges, and over their surfaces moss agates are scattered. The mountains +are covered with dense forests and are rugged and wild. The higher peaks +rise above the timber line and are naked gorges of rocks. In them the +Platte and Arkansas rivers head and flow eastward to join the Missouri +River. Here also heads the Rio Grande del Norte, which flows southward +into the Gulf of Mexico, and still to the west head many streams which +pour into the Colorado waters destined for the Gulf of California. +Throughout all of this region drained by the Grand, White, and Yampa +rivers, there are many beautiful parks. The great mountain slopes are +still covered with primeval forests. Springs, brooks, rivers, and lakes +abound, and the waters are filled with trout. Not many years ago the +hills were covered with game--elk on the mountains, deer on the +plateaus, antelope in the valleys, and beavers building their cities on +the streams. The plateaus are covered with low, dwarf oaks and many +shrubs bearing berries, and in the chaparral of this region cinnamon +bears are still abundant. + +From time immemorial the region drained by the Grand, White, and Yampa +rivers has been the home of Ute tribes of the Shoshonean family of +Indians. These people built their shelters of boughs and bark, and to +some extent lived in tents made of the skins of animals. They never +cultivated the soil, but gathered wild seeds and roots and were famous +hunters and fishermen. As the region abounds in game, these tribes have +always been well clad in skins and furs. The men wore blouse, loincloth +leggins, and moccasins, and the women dressed in short kilts. It is +curious to notice the effect which the contact of civilization has had +upon these women's dress. Even twenty years ago they had lengthened +their skirts; and dresses, made of buckskin, fringed with furs, and +beaded with elk teeth, were worn so long that they trailed on the +ground. Neither men nor women wore any headdress except on festival +occasions for decoration; then the women wore little basket bonnets +decorated with feathers, and the men wore headdresses made of the skins +of ducks, geese, eagles, and other large birds. Sometimes they would +prepare the skin of the head of the elk or deer, or of a bear or +mountain lion or wolf, for a headdress. For very cold weather both men +and women were provided with togas for their protection. Sometimes the +men would have a bearskin or elkskin for a toga; more often they made +their togas by piecing together the skins of wolves, mountain lions, +wolverines, wild cats, beavers, and otters. The women sometimes made +theirs of fawnskins, but rabbitskin robes were far more common. These +rabbitskins were tanned with the fur on, and cut into strips; then cords +were made of the fiber of wild flax or yucca plants, and round these +cords the strips of rabbitskin were rolled, so that they made long ropes +of rabbitskin coils with a central cord of vegetal fiber; then these +coils were woven in parallel strings with cross strands of fiber. The +robe when finished was usually about five or six feet square, and it +made a good toga for a cold day and a warm blanket for the night. + +The Ute Indians, like all the Indians of North America, have a wealth of +mythic stories. The heroes of these stories are the beasts, birds, and +reptiles of the region, and the themes of the stories are the doings of +these mythic beasts--the ancients from whom the present animals have +descended and degenerated. The primeval animals were wonderful beings, +as related in the lore of the Utes. They were the creators and +controllers of all the phenomena of nature known to these simple-minded +people. The Utes are zootheists. Each little tribe has its Shaman, or +medicine man, who is historian, priest, and doctor. The lore of this +Shaman is composed of mythic tales of ancient animals. The Indians are +very skillful actors, and they represent the parts of beasts or +reptiles, wearing masks and imitating the ancient zoic gods. In temples +walled with gloom of night and illumed by torch fires the people gather +about their Shaman, who tells and acts the stories of creation recorded +in their traditional bible. When fever prostrates one of the tribe the +Shaman gathers the actors about the stricken man, and with weird +dancing, wild ululation, and ecstatic exhortation the evil spirit is +driven from the body. Then they have their ceremonies to pray for the +forest fruits, for abundant game, for successful hunting, and for +prosperity in war. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +MOUNTAINS AND PLATEAUS. + + +Green River has its source in Fremont's Peak, high up in the Wind River +Mountains among glacial lakes and mountain cascades. This is the real +source of the Colorado River, and it stands in strange contrast with the +mouth of that stream where it pours into the Gulf of California. The +general course of the river is from north to south and from great +altitudes to the level of the sea. Thus it runs "from land of snow to +land of sun." The Wind River Mountains constitute one of the most +imposing ranges of the United States. Fremont's Peak, the culminating +point, is 13,790 feet above the level of the sea. It stands in a +wilderness of crags. Here at Fremont's Peak three great rivers have +their sources: Wind River flows eastward into the Mississippi; Green +River flows southward into the Colorado; and Gros Ventre River flows +northwestward into the Columbia. From this dominating height many ranges +can be seen on every hand. About the sources of the Platte and the Big +Horn, that flow ultimately into the Gulf of Mexico, great ranges stand +with their culminating peaks among the clouds; and the mountains that +extend into Yellowstone Park, the land of geyser wonders, are seen. The +Yellowstone Park is at the southern extremity of a great system of +mountain ranges, the northern Rocky Mountains, sometimes called the +Geyser Ranges. This geological province extends into British America, +but its most wonderful scenery is in the upper Yellowstone basin, where +geysers bombard the heavens with vapor distilled in subterranean depths. +The springs which pour out their boiling waters are loaded with quartz, +and the waters of the springs, flowing away over the rocks, slowly +discharge their fluid magma, which crystallizes in beautiful forms and +builds jeweled basins that hold pellucid waters. + +To the north and west of Fremont's Peak are mountain ranges that give +birth to rivers flowing into the great Columbia. Conspicuous among these +from this point of view is the great Teton Range, with its towering +facade of storm-carved rocks; then the Gros Ventre Mountains, the Snake +River Range, the Wyoming Range, and, still beyond the latter, the Bear +River Range, are seen. Far in the distant south, scarcely to be +distinguished from the blue clouds on the horizon, stand the Uinta +Mountains. On every hand are deep mountain gorges where snows accumulate +to form glaciers. Below the glaciers throughout the entire Wind River +Range great numbers of morainal lakes are found. These lakes are +gems--deep sapphire waters fringed with emerald zones. From these lakes +creeks and rivers flow, by cataracts and rapids, to form the Green. The +mountain slopes below are covered with dense forests of pines and firs. +The lakes are often fringed with beautiful aspens, and when the autumn +winds come their golden leaves are carried over the landscape in clouds +of resplendent sheen. The creeks descend from the mountains in wild +rocky gorges, until they flow out into the valley. On the west side of +the valley stand the Gros Ventre and the Wyoming mountains, low ranges +of peaks, but picturesque in form and forest stretch. Leaving the +mountain, the river meanders through the Green River Plains, a cold +elevated district much like that of northern Norway, except that the +humidity of Norway is replaced by the aridity of Wyoming. South of the +plains the Big Sandy joins the Green from the east. South of the Big +Sandy a long zone of sand-dunes stretches eastward. The western winds +blowing up the valley drift these sands from hill to hill, so that the +hills themselves are slowly journeying eastward on the wings of arid +gales, and sand tempests may be encountered more terrible than storms of +snow or hail. Here the northern boundary of the Plateau Province is +found, for mesas and high table-lands are found on either side of the +river. + +On the east side of the Green, mesas and plateaus have irregular +escarpments with points extending into the valleys, and between these +points canyons come down that head in the highlands. Everywhere the +escarpments are fringed with outlying buttes. Many portions of the +region are characterized by bad lands. These are hills carved out of +sandstone, shales, and easily disintegrated rocks, which present many +fantastic forms and are highly colored in a great variety of tint and +tone, and everywhere they are naked of vegetation. Now and then low +mountains crown the plateaus. Altogether it is a region of desolation. +Through the midst of the country, from east to west, flows an +intermittent stream known as Bitter Creek. In seasons of rain it carries +floods; in seasons of drought it disappears in the sands, and its waters +are alkaline and often poisonous. Stretches of bad-land desert are +interrupted by other stretches of sage plain, and on the high lands +gnarled and picturesque forests of juniper and pinon are found. On the +west side of the river the mesas rise by grassy slopes to the westward +into high plateaus that are forest-clad, first with juniper and pinon, +and still higher with pines and firs. Some of the streams run in canyons +and others have elevated valleys along their courses. On the south +border of this mesa and plateau country are the Bridger Bad Lands, lying +at the foot of the Uinta Mountains. These bad lands are of gray, green, +and brown shales that are carved in picturesque forms--domes, towers, +pinnacles, and minarets, and bold cliffs with deep alcoves; and all are +naked rock, the sediments of an ancient lake. These lake beds are filled +with fossils,--the preserved bones of fishes, reptiles, and mammals, of +strange and often gigantic forms, no longer found living on the globe. +It is a desert to the agriculturist, a mine to the paleontologist, and a +paradise to the artist. + +The region thus described, from Fremont's Peak to the Uinta Mountains, +has been the home of tribes of Indians of the Shoshonean family from +time immemorial. It is a great hunting and fishing region, and the +vigorous Shoshones still obtain a part of their livelihood from mesa and +plain and river and lake. The flesh of the animals killed in fall and +winter was dried in the arid winds for summer use; the trout abounding +in the streams and lakes were caught at all seasons of the year; and the +seeds and fruits of harvest time were gathered and preserved for winter +use. When the seeds were gathered they were winnowed by tossing them in +trays so that the winds might carry away the chaff. Then they were +roasted in the same trays. Burning coals and seeds were mixed in the +basket trays and kept in motion by a tossing process which fanned the +coals until the seeds were done; then they were separated from the coals +by dexterous manipulation. Afterwards the seeds were ground on +mealing-stones and molded into cakes, often huge loaves, that were +stored away for use in time of need. Raspberries, chokecherries, and +buffalo berries are abundant, and these fruits were gathered and mixed +with the bread. Such fruit cakes were great dainties among these people. + +In this Shoshone land the long winter night is dedicated to worship and +festival. About their camp fires scattered in forest glades by brooks +and lakes, they assemble to dance and sing in honor of their +gods--wonderful mythic animals, for they hold as divine the ancient of +bears, the eagle of the lost centuries, the rattlesnake of primeval +times, and a host of other zoic deities. + +The Uinta Range stands across the course of Green River, which finds its +way through it by series of stupendous canyons. The range has an +east-and-west trend. The Wasatch Mountains, a long north-and-south +range, here divide the Plateau Province from what is known among +geologists as the Basin Range Province, on the west. The latter is the +great interior basin whose waters run into salt lakes and sinks, there +being no drainage to the sea. The Great Salt Lake is the most important +of these interior bodies of water. + +The Great Basin, which lies to the west of the Plateau Province, forms a +part of the Basin Range Province. In past geological times it was the +site of a vast system of lakes, but the climate has since changed and +the water of most of these lakes has evaporated and the sediments of the +old lake beds are now desert sands. The ancient lake shores are often +represented by conspicuous terraces, each one marking a stage in the +height of a dead lake. While these lakes existed the region was one of +great volcanic activity and many eruptive mountains were formed. Some +burst out beneath the waters; others were piled up on the dry land. + +From the desert valleys below, the Wasatch Mountains rise abruptly and +are crowned with craggy peaks. But on the east side of the mountains the +descent to the plateau is comparatively slight. The Uinta Mountains are +carved out of the great plateau which extends more than two hundred +miles to the eastward of the summit of the Wasatch Range. Its mountain +peaks are cameos, its upper valleys are meadows, its higher slopes are +forest groves, and its streams run in deep, solemn, and majestic +canyons. The snows never melt from its crowning heights, and an undying +anthem is sung by its falling waters. + +The Owiyukuts Plateau is situated at the northeastern end of the Uinta +Mountains. It is a great integral block of the Uinta system. A beautiful +creek heads in this plateau, near its center, and descends northward +into the bad lands of Vermilion Creek, to which stream it is tributary. +"Once upon a time" this creek, after descending from the plateau, turned +east and then southward and found its way by a beautiful canyon into +Brown's Park, where it joined the Green; but a great bend of the +Vermilion, near the foot of the plateau, was gradually enlarged--the +stream cutting away its banks--until it encroached upon the little +valley of the creek born on the Owiyukuts Plateau. This encroachment +continued until at last Vermilion Creek stole the Owiyukuts Creek and +carried its waters away by its own channel. Then the canyon channel +through which Owiyukuts Creek had previously run, no longer having a +stream to flow through its deep gorge, gathered the waters of brooks +flowing along its course into little lakelets, which are connected by a +running stream only through seasons of great rainfall. These lakelets in +the gorge of the dead creek are now favorite resorts of Ute Indians. + +South of the Uinta Mountains is the Uinta River, a stream with many +mountain tributaries, some heading in the Uinta Mountains, others in the +Wasatch Mountains on the west, and still others in the western Tavaputs +Plateau. + +The Uinta Valley is the ancient and present home of the Uinta Indians, a +tribe speaking the Uinta language of the Shoshonean family. Their +habits, customs, institutions, and mythology are essentially the same as +those of the Ute Indians of the Grand River country, already described. +In this valley there are also found many ruins of ancient +pueblo-building peoples--of what stock is not known. + +The Tavaputs Plateau is one of the stupendous features of this country. +On the west it merges into the Wasatch Mountains; on the north it +descends by wooded slopes into the Uinta Valley. Its summit is +forest-clad and among the forests are many beautiful parks. On the south +it ends in a great escarpment which descends into Castle Valley. This +southern escarpment presents one of the most wonderful facades of the +world. It is from 2,000 to 4,000 feet high. The descent is not made by +one bold step, for it is cut by canyons and cliffs. It is a zone several +miles in width which is a vast labyrinth of canyons, cliffs, buttes, +pinnacles, minarets, and detached rocks of Cyclopean magnitude, the +whole destitute of soil and vegetation, colored in many brilliant tones +and tints, and carved in many weird forms,--a land of desolation, +dedicated forever to the geologist and the artist, where civilization +can find no resting-place. + +Then comes Castle Valley, to describe which is to beggar language and +pall imagination. On the north is the Tavaputs; on the west is the +Wasatch Plateau, which lies to the south of the Wasatch Mountains and is +here the west boundary of the Plateau Province; on the south are +indescribable mesas and mountains; on the east is Grand River, a placid +stream meandering through a valley of meadows. Within these boundaries +there is a landscape of gigantic rock forms, interrupted here and there +by bad-land hills, dominated with the towering cliffs of Tavaputs, the +bold escarpment of the Wasatch Plateau, and the volcanic peaks of the +Henry Mountains on the south. It is a vast forest of rock forms, and in +its midst is San Rafael Swell, an elevation crowned with still more +gigantic rock forms. Among the rocks pools and lakelets are found, and +little streams run in canyons that seem like chasms cleft to nadir hell. +San Rafael River and Fremont River drain this Castle land, heading in +the Wasatch Plateau and flowing into the Grand River. Along these +streams a few narrow canyon valleys are found, and in them Ute Indians +make their winter homes. The bad lands are filled with agates, jaspers, +and carnelians, which are gathered by the Indians and fashioned into +arrowheads and knives; along the foot of the canyon cliffs workshops can +be discovered that have been occupied by generations from a time in the +long past, and the chips of these workshops pave the valleys. South of +the Wasatch Plateau we have the Fish Lake Plateau, the Awapa Plateau, +and the Aquarius Plateau, which separate the waters flowing into the +Great Basin from the waters of the Colorado, which here constitute the +boundary of the Plateau Province. Awapa is a Ute name signifying "Many +waters." + +All three of these plateaus are remarkable for the many lakelets found +on them. To the east are the Henry Mountains, a group of volcanic domes +that rise above the region. The rocks of the country are limestones, +sandstones, and shales, originally lying in horizontal altitudes; but +volcanic forces were generated under them and lavas boiled up. These +lavas did not, however, come to the surface, but as they rose they +lifted the sandstones, shales, and limestones, to a thickness of 2,000 +or 3,000 feet or more, into great domes. Then the molten lavas cooled in +great lenses of mountain magnitude, with the sedimentary rocks domed +above them. Then the clouds gathered over these domes and wept, and +their tears were gathered in brooks, and the brooks carved canyons down +the sides of the domes; and now in these deep clefts the structure of +the mountains is revealed. The lenses of volcanic rocks by which the +domes were upheaved are known as "laccolites," _i. e.,_ rock lakes. + +Looking southwestward from the Henry Mountains the Circle Cliffs are +seen. A great escarpment, several thousand feet in height and 70 or 80 +miles in length, faces the mountain. It is the step to the long, narrow +plateau. The streams that come down across these cliffs head in great +symmetric amphitheaters, and when first seen from above they present a +vast alignment of walled circles. The front of the cliffs, seen from +below, is everywhere imposing. On the southwest the Escalante River +holds its course. It heads in the Aquarius Plateau and flows into the +Colorado. Its course, as well as that of all its many tributaries, is in +deep box-canyons of homogeneous red sandstone, often with vertical walls +that are broken by many beautiful alcoves and glens. Much of the region +is of naked, smooth, red rock, but the alcoves and glens that break the +canyon walls are the sites of perennial springs, about which patches of +luxuriant verdure gather. + +The Kaiparowits Plateau is an elevated table-land on the southwestern +side of the Escalante River. It is long and narrow, extending from the +northwest to the southeast approximately parallel with the Escalante. It +rises above the red sandstone of the Escalante region from 2,000 to +4,000 feet by a front of storm-carved cliffs. From the southeastern +extremity of this plateau, at an altitude of 7,500 feet, an instructive +view is obtained. One of the great canyons of the Colorado River can be +seen meandering its way through the red-rock landscape. In the distance, +and to the north, the Henry Mountains are in view, and below, the +canyons of the Escalante and the red-rock land are in sight. Across the +Colorado are the canyons of the San Juan, and below the mouth of the San +Juan is the great Navajo Mountain. Still to the south the Grand Canyon +of the Colorado is in view, and in the west a vast mesa landscape is +presented with its buttes and pinnacles. Still to the southward Paria +River is seen heading in a plateau on the margin of the province and +having a course a little east of south into the Colorado. + +The region of country which has been thus described, from the Tava-puts +Plateau to the Paria River, was the home of a few scattered Ute Indians, +who lived in very small groups, and who hunted on the plateau, fished in +the waters, and dwelt in the canyons. There was nominally but one tribe, +but as the members of this tribe were in very small parties and +separated by wide distances the tribal bonds were very weak and often +unrecognized. The chief integrating agency was religion, for they +worshiped the same gods and periodically joined in the same religious +ceremonies and festivals. A country so destitute of animal and vegetal +life would not support large numbers, and the few who dwelt here gained +but a precarious and scant subsistence. To a large extent they lived on +seeds and roots. The low, warm canyons furnished admirable shelter for +the people, and their habitual costumes were loincloths, paints, and +necklaces of tiny arrowheads made of the bright-colored agates and +carnelians strung on snakeskins. + +When the Mormon people encroached on this country from the west, and +when the Navajos on the east surrendered to the United States, a few +recalcitrant Navajos and the Utes of this region combined. They had long +been more or less intimately associated, and a jargon speech had grown +up by which they could communicate. Finally, the greater number of these +Utes and renegade Navajos took up their homes permanently on the eastern +bank of the Colorado River between the Grand and the San Juan rivers. +The Navajos are the dominant race, yet they live on terms of practical +equality and affiliate without feuds. These are the great Freebooters of +the Plateau Province--the enemies of other tribes and of the white men. +In their canyon fortresses they have been able to hold their ground in +spite of their enemies on every hand. + +Throughout the region and the plateaus by which it is surrounded and the +mountains by which it is interrupted, everywhere ruins of pueblos and +many cliff dwellings are found. None of these ancient pueblos are on a +large scale. The houses were usually one or two stories high and the +hamlets rarely provided shelter for more than two dozen people. Some of +the houses are of rather superior architecture, having well-constructed +walls with good geometric proportions. Their houses were plastered on +the inside, and sometimes on the outside, and covered with flat roofs of +sun-dried mud. The real home of the people in their waking hours was on +their housetops. + +The rocks of the mountain are etched with many picture-writings +attesting the artistic skill of this people. The predominant form is the +rattlesnake, which is found in the crevices of the rocks on every hand. +It is inferred that the people worshiped the rattlesnake as one of their +chief deities, a god who carried the spirit of death in his mouth. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +CLIFFS AND TERRACES. + + +There is a great group of table-lands constituting a geographic unit +which have been named the Terrace Plateaus. They ex-tend from the Paria +and Colorado on the east to the Grand Wash and Pine Mountains on the +west, and they are bounded on the south by the Grand Canyon of the +Colorado, and on the north they divide the waters of the Colorado from +the waters of the Sevier, which flows northward and then westward until +it is lost in the sands of the Great Desert. It is an irregular system +of great plateaus with subordinate mesas and buttes separated by lines +of cliffs and dissected by canyons. + +In this region all of the features which have been described as found in +other portions of the province are grouped except only the cliffs of +volcanic ashes, the volcanic cones, and the volcanic domes. The volcanic +mountains, cinder cones, and coulees, the majestic plateaus and +elaborate mesas, the sculptured buttes and canyon gorges, are all found +here, but on a more stupendous scale. The volcanic mountains are higher, +the cinder cones are larger, the coulees are more extensive and are +often sheets of naked, black rock, the plateaus are more lofty, the +cliffs are on a grander scale, the canyons are of profounder depth; and +the Grand Canyon of the Colorado, the most stupendous gorge known on the +globe, with a great river surging through it, bounds it on the south. + +The east-and-west cliffs are escarpments of degradation, the +north-and-south cliffs are, in the main, though not always, escarpments +of displacement. Let us understand what this means. Over the entire +region limestones, shales, and sandstones were deposited through long +periods of geologic time to the thickness of many thousands of feet; +then the country was upheaved and tilted toward the north; but the +Colorado River was flowing when the tilting commenced, and the upheaval +was very slow, so that the river cleared away the obstruction to its +channel as fast as it was presented, and this is the Grand Canyon. The +rocks above were carried away by rains and rivers, but not evenly all +over the country; nor by washing out valleys and leaving hills, but by +carving the country into terraces. The upper and later-formed rocks are +found far to the north, their edges standing in cliffs; then still +earlier rocks are found rising to the southward, until they terminate in +cliffs; and then a third series rises to the southward and ends in +cliffs, and finally a fourth series, the oldest rocks, terminating in +the Grand Canyon wall, which is a line of cliffs. There are in a general +way four great lines of cliffs extending from east to west across the +district and presenting their faces, or escarpments, southward. If these +cliffs are climbed it is found that each plateau or terrace dips gently +to the northward until it meets with another line of cliffs, which must +be ascended to reach the summit of another plateau. Place a book before +you on a table with its front edge toward you, rest another book on the +back of this, place a third on the back of the second, and in like +manner a fourth on the third. Now the leaves of the books dip from you +and the cut edges stand in tiny escarpments facing you. So the +rock-formed leaves of these books of geology have the escarpment edges +turned southward, while each book itself dips northward, and the crest +of each plateau book is the summit of a line of cliffs. These cliffs of +erosion have been described as running from east to west, but they +diverge from that course in many ways. First, canyons run from north to +south through them, and where these canyons are found deep angles occur; +then sharp salients extend from the cliffs on the backs of the lower +plateaus. Each great escarpment is made up more or less of minor +terraces, or steps; and at the foot of each grand escarpment there is +always a great talus, or sloping pile of rocks, and many marvelous +buttes stand in front of the cliffs. + +But these east-and-west cliffs and the plateaus which they form are +divided by north-and-south lines in another manner. The country has been +faulted along north-and-south lines or planes. These faults are breaks +in the strata varying from 1,000 or 2,000 to 4,000 or 5,000 feet in +verticality. On the very eastern margin the rocks are dropped down +several thousand feet, or, which means the same thing, the rocks are +upheaved on the west side; that is, the beds that were originally +horizontal have been differentially displaced, so that on the west side +of the fracture the strata are several thousand feet higher than they +are on the east side of the fracture. The line of displacement is known +as the Echo Cliff Fault. West of this about twenty-five miles, there is +another fault with its throw to the east, the upheaved rocks being on +the west. This fault varies from 1,500 to 2,500 feet in throw, and +extends far to the northward. It is known as the East Kaibab Fault. +Still going westward, another fault is found, known as the West Kaibab +Fault. Here the throw is on the west side,--that is, the rocks are +dropped down to the westward from 1,000 to 2,000 feet. This fault +gradually becomes less to the northward and is flexed toward the east +until it joins with the East Kaibab Fault. The block between the two +faults is the Kaibab Plateau. Going westward from 60 to 70 miles, still +another fault is found, known as the Hurricane Ledge Fault. The throw is +again on the west side of the fracture and the rocks fall down some +thousands of feet. This fault extends far northward into central Utah. +To the west 25 or 30 miles is found a fault with the throw still on the +west. It has a drop of several thousand feet and extends across the Rio +Colorado far to the southwest, probably beyond the Arizona-New Mexico +line. It also extends far to the north, until it is buried and lost +under the Pine Valley Mountains, which are of volcanic origin. + +Now let us see what all this means. In order clearly to understand this +explanation the reader is referred to the illustration designated +"Section and Bird's-Eye View of the Plateaus North of the Grand Canyon." +Starting at the Grand Wash on the west, the Grand Wash Cliffs, formed by +the Grand Wash Fault, are scaled; and if we are but a few miles north of +the Grand Canyon we are on the Shiwits Plateau. Its western boundary is +the Grand Wash Cliffs, its southern boundary is the Grand Canyon, and +its northern boundary is a line of cliffs of degradation, which will be +described hereafter. Going eastward across the Shiwits Plateau the +Hurricane Cliffs are reached, and climbing them we are on the Uinkaret +Plateau, which is bounded on the south by the Grand Canyon and on the +north by the Vermilion Cliffs, that rise above its northern foot. Still +going eastward 30 or 40 miles to the brink of the Kanab Canyon, the West +Kanab Plateau is crossed, which is bounded by the Toroweap Fault on the +west, separating it from the Uinkaret Plateau, and by the Kanab Canyon +on the east, with the Grand Canyon on the south and the Vermilion Cliffs +on the north. Crossing the Kanab, we are on the East Kanab Plateau, +which extends about 30 miles to the foot of the West Kaibab Cliffs, or +the escarpment of the West Kaibab Fault. This canyon also has the Grand +Canyon on the south and the Vermilion Cliffs on the north. Climbing the +West Kaibab Fault, we are on the Kaibab Plateau. Now we have been +climbing from west to east, and each ascent has been made at a line of +cliffs. Crossing the Kaibab Plateau to the East Kaibab Cliffs; the +country falls down once more to the top of Marble Canyon Plateau. +Crossing this plateau to the eastward, we at last reach the Echo Cliff +Fault, where the rocks fall down on the eastern side once more; but the +surface of the country itself does not fall down--the later rocks still +remain, and the general level of the country is preserved except in one +feature of singular interest and beauty, to describe which a little +further explanation is necessary. + +I have spoken of these north-and-south faults as if they were fractures; +and usually they are fractures, but in some places they are flexures. +The Echo Cliffs displacement is a flexure. Just over the zone of flexure +a long ridge extends from north to south, known as the Echo Cliffs. It +is composed of a comparatively hard and homogeneous sandstone of a later +age than the limestones of the Marble Canyon Plateau west of it; but the +flexure dips down so as to carry this sandstone which forms the face of +the cliff (presented westward) far under the surface, so that on the +east side rocks of still later age are found, the drop being several +thousand feet. The inclined red sandstone stands in a ridge more than 75 +miles in length, with an escarped face presented to the west and a face +of inclined rock to the east. The western side is carved into beautiful +alcoves and is buttressed with a magnificent talus, and the red +sandstone stands in fractured columns of giant size and marvelous +beauty. On the east side the declining beds are carved into pockets, +which often hold water. This is the region of the Thousand Wells. The +foot of the cliffs on the east side is several hundred feet above the +foot of the cliffs on the west side. On the west there is a vast +limestone stretch, the top of the Marble Canyon Plateau; on the east +there are drifting sand-dunes. + +The terraced land described has three sets of terraces: one set on the +east, great steps to the Kaibab Plateau; another set on the west, from +the Great Basin region to the Kaibab Plateau; and a third set from the +Grand Canyon northward. There are thus three sets of cliffs: cliffs +facing the east, cliffs facing the west, and cliffs facing the south. +The north-and-south cliffs are made by faults; the east-and-west cliffs +are made by differential degradation. + +The stupendous cliffs by which the plateaus are bounded are of +indescribable grandeur and beauty. The cliffs bounding the Kaibab +Plateau descend on either side, and this is the culminating portion of +the region. All the other plateaus are terraces, with cliffs ascending +on the one side and descending on the other. Some of the tables carry +dead volcanoes on their backs that are towering mountains, and all of +them are dissected by canyons that are gorges of profound depth. But +every one of these plateaus has characteristics peculiar to itself and +is worthy of its own chapter. On the north there is a pair of plateaus, +twins in age, but very distinct in development, the Paunsagunt and +Markagunt. They are separated by the Sevier River, which flows +northward. Their southern margins constitute the highest steps of the +great system of terraces of erosion. This escarpment is known as the +Pink Cliffs. Above, pine forests are found; below the cliffs are hills +and sand-dunes. The cliffs themselves are bold and often vertical walls +of a delicate pink color. + +In one of the earlier years of exploration I stood on the summit of the +Pink Cliffs of the Paunsagunt Plateau, 9,000 feet above the level of the +sea. Below me, to the southwest, I could look off into the canyons of +the Virgen River, down into the canyon of the Kanab, and far away into +the Grand Canyon of the Colorado. From the lowlands of the Great Basin +and from the depths of the Grand Canyon clouds crept up over the cliffs +and floated over the landscape below me, concealing the canyons and +mantling the mountains and mesas and buttes; still on toward me the +clouds rolled, burying the landscape in their progress, until at last +the region below was covered by a mantle of storm--a tumultuous sea of +rolling clouds, black and angry in parts, white as the foam of cataracts +here and there, and everywhere flecked with resplendent sheen. Below me +spread a vast ocean of vapor, for I was above the clouds. On descending +to the plateau, I found that a great storm had swept the land, and the +dry arroyos of the day before were the channels of a thousand streams of +tawny water, born of the ocean of vapor which had invaded the land +before my vision. + +Below the Pink Cliffs another irregular zone of plateaus is found, +stretching out to the margin of the Gray Cliffs. The Gray Cliffs are +composed of a homogeneous sandstone which in some places weathers gray, +but in others is as white as virgin snow. On the top of these cliffs +hills and sand-dunes are found, but everywhere on the Gray Cliff margin +the rocks are carved in fantastic forms; not in buttes and towers and +pinnacles, but in great rounded bosses of rock. + +The Virgen River heads back in the Pink Cliffs of the Markagunt Plateau +and with its tributaries crosses one of these plateaus above the Gray +Cliffs, carving a labyrinth of deep gorges. This is known as the Colob +Plateau. Above, there is a vast landscape of naked, white and gray +sandstone, billowing in fantastic bosses. On the margins of the canyons +these are rounded off into great vertical walls, and at the bottom of +every winding canyon a beautiful stream of water is found running over +quicksands. Sometimes the streams in their curving have cut under the +rocks, and overhanging cliffs of towering altitudes are seen; and somber +chambers are found between buttresses that uphold the walls. Among the +Indians this is known as the "Rock Rovers' Land," and is peopled by +mythic beings of uncanny traits. + +Below the Gray Cliffs another zone of plateaus is found, separated by +the north-and-south faults and divided from the Colob series by the Gray +Cliffs and demarcated from the plateaus to the south by the Vermilion +Cliffs. The Vermilion Cliffs that face the south are of surpassing +beauty. The rocks are of orange and red above and of chocolate, +lavender, gray, and brown tints below. The canyons that cut through the +cliffs from north to south are of great diversity and all are of +profound interest. In these canyon walls many caves are found, and often +the caves contain lakelets and pools of clear water. Canyons and +re-entrant angles abound. The faces of the cliffs are terraced and +salients project onto the floors below. The outlying buttes are many. +Standing away to the south and facing these cliffs when the sun is going +down beyond the desert of the Great Basin, shadows are seen to creep +into the deep recesses, while the projecting forms are illumined, so +that the lights and shadows are in great and sharp contrast; then a +million lights seem to glow from a background of black gloom, and a +great bank of Tartarean fire stretches across the landscape. + +At the foot of the Vermilion Cliffs there is everywhere a zone of +vigorous junipers and pinons, for the belt of country is favored with +comparatively abundant rain. When the clouds drift over the plateaus +below from the south and west and strike the Vermilion Cliffs, they are +abruptly lifted 2,000 feet, and to make the climb they must unload their +burdens; so that here copious rains are discharged, and by such storms +the cliffs are carved and ever from age to age carried back farther to +the north. In the Pink Cliffs above and the Gray Cliffs and the +Vermilion Cliffs, there are many notches that mark channels running +northward which had their sources on these plateaus when they extended +farther to the south. The Rio Virgen is the only stream heading in the +Pink Cliffs and running into the Colorado which is perennial. The other +rivers and creeks carry streams of water in rainy seasons only. When a +succession of dry years occurs the canyons coming through the cliffs are +choked below, as vast bodies of sand are deposited. But now and then, +ten or twenty years apart, great storms or successions of storms come, +and the channels are flooded and cut their way again through the +drifting sands to solid rock below. Thus the streams below are +alternately choked and cleared from period to period. + +To the south of the Vermilion Cliffs the last series or zone of plateaus +north of the Grand Canyon is found. The summits of these plateaus are of +cherty limestone. In the far west we have the Shiwits Plateau covered +with sheets of lava and volcanic cones; then climbing the Hurricane +Ledge we have the Kanab Plateau, on the southwest portion of which the +Uinkaret Mountains stand--a group of dead volcanoes with many black +cinder cones scattered about. It is interesting to know how these +mountains are formed. The first eruptions of lava were long ago, and +they were poured out upon a surface 2,000 feet or more higher than the +general surface now found. After the first eruptions of coulees the +lands round about were degraded by rains and rivers. Then new eruptions +occurred and additional sheets of lava were poured out; but these came +not through the first channels, but through later ones formed about the +flanks of the elder beds of lava, so that the new sheets are imbricated +or shingled over the old sheets. But the overlap is from below upward. +Then the land was further degraded, and a third set of coulees was +spread still lower down on the flanks, and on these last coulees the +black cinder cones stand. So the foundations of the Uinkaret Mountains +are of limestones, and these foundations are covered with sheets of lava +overlapping from below upward, and the last coulees are decked with +cones. + +Still farther east is the Kaibab Plateau, the culminating table-land of +the region. It is covered with a beautiful forest, and in the forest +charming parks are found. Its southern extremity is a portion of the +wall of the Grand Canyon; its western margin is the wall of the West +Kaibab Fault; its eastern edge is the wall of the East Kaibab Fault; and +its northern point is found where the two faults join. Here antelope +feed and many a deer goes bounding over the fallen timber. In winter +deep snows lie here, but the plateau has four months of the sweetest +summer man has ever known. + +On the terraced plateaus three tribes of Indians are found: the Shiwits +("people of the springs"), the Uinkarets ("people of the pine +mountains"), and the Unkakaniguts ("people of the red lands," who dwell +along the Vermilion Cliffs). They are all Utes and belong to a +confederacy with other tribes living farther to the north, in Utah. +These people live in shelters made of boughs piled up in circles and +covered with juniper bark supported by poles. These little houses are +only large enough for half a dozen persons huddling together in sleep. +Their aboriginal clothing was very scant, the most important being +wildcatskin and wolfskin robes for the men, and rabbitskin robes for the +women, though for occasions of festival they had clothing of tanned deer +and antelope skins, often decorated with fantastic ornaments of snake +skins, feathers, and the tails of squirrels and chipmunks. A great +variety of seeds and roots furnish their food, and on the higher +plateaus there is much game, especially deer and antelope. But the whole +country abounds with rabbits, which are often killed with arrows and +caught in snares. Every year they have great hunts, when scores of +rabbits are killed in a single day. It is managed in this way: They make +nets of the fiber of the wild flax and of some other plant, the meshes +of which are about an inch across. These nets are about three and a half +feet in width and hundreds of yards in length. They arrange such a net +in a circle, not quite closed, supporting it by stakes and pinning the +bottom firmly to the ground. From the opening of the circle they extend +net wings, expanding in a broad angle several hundred yards from either +side. Then the entire tribe will beat up a great district of country and +drive the rabbits toward the nets, and finally into the circular snare, +which is quickly closed, when the rabbits are killed with arrows. + +A great variety of desert plants furnish them food, as seeds, roots, and +stalks. More than fifty varieties of such seed-bearing plants have been +collected. The seeds themselves are roasted, ground, and preserved in +cakes. The most abundant food of this nature is derived from the +sunflower and the nuts of the pinon. They still make stone arrowheads, +stone knives, and stone hammers, and kindle fire with the drill. Their +medicine men are famous sorcerers. Coughs are caused by invisible winged +insects, rheumatism by flesh-eating bugs too small to be seen, and the +toothache by invisible worms. Their healing art consists in searing and +scarifying. Their medicine men take the medicine themselves to produce a +state of ecstasy, in which the disease pests are discovered. They also +practice dancing about their patients to drive away the evil beings or +to avert the effects of sorcery. When a child is bitten by a rattlesnake +the snake is caught and brought near to the suffering urchin, and +ceremonies are performed, all for the purpose of prevailing upon the +snake to take back the evil spirit. They have quite a variety of mythic +personages. The chief of these are the Enupits, who are pigmies dwelling +about the springs, and the Rock Rovers, who live in the cliffs. Their +gods are zoic, and the chief among them are the wolf, the rabbit, the +eagle, the jay, the rattlesnake, and the spider. They have no knowledge +of the ambient air, but the winds are the breath of beasts living in the +four quarters of the earth. Whirlwinds that often blow among the +sand-dunes are caused by the dancing of Enupits. The sky is ice, and the +rain is caused by the Rainbow God; he abraids the ice of the sky with +his scales and the snow falls, and if the weather be warm the ice melts +and it is rain. The sun is a poor slave compelled to make the same +journey every day since he was conquered by the rabbit. These tribes +have a great body of romance, in which the actors are animals, and the +knowledge of these stories is the lore of their sages. + +Scattered over the plateaus are the ruins of many ancient stone pueblos, +not unlike those previously described. + +The Kanab River heading in the Pink Cliffs runs directly southward and +joins the Colorado in the heart of the Grand Canyon. Its way is through +a series of canyons. From one of these it emerges at the foot of the +Vermilion Cliffs, and here stood an extensive ruin not many years ago. +Some portions of the pueblo were three stories high. The structure was +one of the best found in this land of ruins. The Mormon people settling +here have used the stones of the old pueblo in building their homes, and +now no vestiges of the ancient structure remain. A few miles below the +town other ruins were found. They were scattered to Pipe's Springs, a +point twenty miles to the westward. Ruins were also discovered up the +stream as far as the Pink Cliffs, and eastward along the Vermilion +Cliffs nearly to the Colorado River, and out on the margin of the Kanab +Plateau. These were all ruins of outlying habitations be-longing to the +Kanab pueblo. From the study of the existing pueblos found elsewhere and +from extensive study of the ruins, it seems that everywhere tribal +pueblos were built of considerable dimensions, usually to give shelter +to several hundred people. Then the people cultivated the soil by +irrigation, and had their gardens and little fields scattered at wide +distances about the central pueblo, by little springs and streams and +wherever they could control the water with little labor to bring it on +the land. At such points stone houses were erected sufficient to +accommodate from one to two thousand people, and these were occupied +during the season of cultivation and are known as rancherias. So one +great tribe had its central pueblo and its outlying rancherias. +Sometimes the rancherias were occupied from year to year, especially in +time of peace, but usually they were occupied only during seasons of +cultivation. Such groups of ruins and pueblos with accessory rancherias +are still inhabited, and have been described as found throughout the +Plateau Province except far to the north beyond the Uinta Mountains. A +great pueblo once existed in the Uinta Valley on the south side of the +mountains. This is the most northern pueblo which has yet been +discovered. But the pueblo-building tribes extended beyond the area +drained by the Colorado. On the west there was a pueblo in the Great +Basin at the site now occupied by Salt Lake City, and several more to +the southward, all on waters flowing into the desert. On the east such +pueblos were found among mountains at the headwaters of the Arkansas, +Platte, and Canadian rivers. The entire area drained by the Rio Grande +del Norte was occupied by pueblo tribes, and a number are still +inhabited. To the south they extended far beyond the territory of the +United States, and the so-called Aztec cities were rather superior +pueblos of this character. The known pueblo tribes of the United States +belong to several different linguistic stocks. They are far from being +one homogeneous people, for they have not only different languages but +different religions and worship different gods. These pueblo peoples are +in a higher grade of culture than most Indian tribes of the United +States. This is exhibited in the slight superiority of their arts, +especially in their architecture. It is also noticeable in their +mythology and religion. Their gods, the heroes of their myths, are more +often personifications of the powers and phenomena of nature, and their +religious ceremonies are more elaborate, and their cult societies are +highly organized. As they had begun to domesticate animals and to +cultivate the soil, so as to obtain a part of their subsistence by +agriculture, they had almost accomplished the ascent from savagery to +barbarism when first discovered by the invading European. All the +Indians of North America were in this state of transition, but the +pueblo tribes had more nearly reached the higher goal. + +The great number of ruins found throughout the land has often been +interpreted as evidence of a much larger pueblo population than has been +found in post-Columbian time. But a careful study of the facts does not +warrant this conclusion. It would seem that for various reasons tribes +abandoned old pueblos and built new, thus changing their permanent +residence from time to time; but more frequent changes were made in +their rancherias. These were but ephemeral, being moved from place to +place by the varying conditions of water supply. Most of the streams of +the arid land are not perennial, but very many of the smaller streams of +the pueblo region discharge their waters into the larger streams in +times of great flood. Such floods occur now here, now there, and at +varying periods, sometimes fifty years apart. When dry years follow one +another for a long series, the channels of these intermittent streams +are choked with sand until the streams are buried and lost. Under such +circumstances the rancherias were moved from dead stream to living +stream. In rare instances pueblos themselves were removed for this +cause. Other pueblos, and the rancherias generally, were abandoned in +time of war; this seems to have been a potent cause for moving. When +pestilence attacked a pueblo the people would sometimes leave in a body +and never return. The cliff pueblos and dwellings, the cavate dwellings, +and the cinder-cone towns were all built and occupied for defensive +purposes when powerful enemies threatened. The history of some of the +old ruins has been obtained and we know the existing tribes who once +occupied them; others still remain enshrouded in obscurity. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +FROM GREEN RIVER CITY TO FLAMING GORGE. + + +In the summer of 1867, with a small party of naturalists, students, and +amateurs like myself, I visited the mountain region of Colorado +Territory. While in Middle Park I explored a little canyon through which +the Grand River runs, immediately below the now well-known watering +place, Middle Park Hot Springs. Later in the fall I passed through Cedar +Canyon, the gorge by which the Grand leaves the park. A result of the +summer's study was to kindle a desire to explore the canyons of the +Grand, Green, and Colorado rivers, and the next summer I organized an +expedition with the intention of penetrating still farther into that +canyon country. + +As soon as the snows were melted, so that the main range could be +crossed, I went over into Middle Park, and proceeded thence down the +Grand to the head of Cedar Canyon, then across the Park Range by Gore's +Pass, and in October found myself and party encamped on the White River, +about 120 miles above its mouth. At that point I built cabins and +established winter quarters, intending to occupy the cold season, as far +as possible, in exploring the adjacent country. The winter of 1868-69 +proved favorable to my purposes, and several excursions were made, +southward to the Grand, down the White to the Green, northward to the +Yampa, and around the Uinta Mountains. During these several excursions +I seized every opportunity to study the canyons through which these +upper streams run, and while thus engaged formed plans for the +exploration of the canyons of the Colorado. Since that time I have been +engaged in executing these plans, sometimes employed in the field, +sometimes in the office. Begun originally as an exploration, the work +was finally developed into a survey, embracing the geography, geology, +ethnography, and natural history of the country, and a number of +gentlemen have, from time to time, assisted me in the work. + +Early in the spring of 1869 a party was organized for the exploration of +the canyons. Boats were built in Chicago and transported by rail to the +point where the Union Pacific Railroad crosses the Green River. With +these we were to descend the Green to the Colorado, and the Colorado +down to the foot of the Grand Canyon. + +_May 24, 1869.--_The good people of Green River City turn out to see us +start. We raise our little flag, push the boats from shore, and the +swift current carries us down. + +Our boats are four in number. Three are built of oak; stanch and firm; +double-ribbed, with double stem and stern posts, and further +strengthened by bulkheads, dividing each into three compartments. Two of +these, the fore and aft, are decked, forming water-tight cabins. It is +expected these will buoy the boats should the waves roll over them in +rough water. The fourth boat is made of pine, very light, but 16 feet in +length, with a sharp cutwater, and every way built for fast rowing, and +divided into compartments as the others. The little vessels are 21 feet +long, and, taking out the cargoes, can be carried by four men. + +We take with us rations deemed sufficient to last ten months, for we +expect, when winter comes on and the river is filled with ice, to lie +over at some point until spring arrives; and so we take with us abundant +supplies of clothing, likewise. We have also a large quantity of +ammunition and two or three dozen traps. For the purpose of building +cabins, repairing boats, and meeting other exigencies, we are supplied +with axes, hammers, saws, augers, and other tools, and a quantity of +nails and screws. For scientific work, we have two sextants, four +chronometers, a number of barometers, thermometers, compasses, and other +instruments. + +The flour is divided into three equal parts; the meat, and all other +articles of our rations, in the same way. Each of the larger boats has +an axe, hammer, saw, auger, and other tools, so that all are loaded +alike. We distribute the cargoes in this way that we may not be entirely +destitute of some important article should any one of the boats be lost. +In the small boat we pack a part of the scientific instruments, three +guns, and three small bundles of clothing, only; and in this I proceed +in advance to explore the channel. + +J. C. Sumner and William H. Dunn are my boatmen in the "Emma Dean"; then +follows "Kitty Clyde's Sister," manned by W. H. Powell and G. Y. +Bradley; next, the "No Name," with O. G. Howland, Seneca Howland, and +Frank Goodman; and last comes the "Maid of the Canyon," with W. E. +Hawkins and Andrew Hall. + +Sumner was a soldier during the late war, and before and since that time +has been a great traveler in the wilds of the Mississippi Valley and the +Rocky Mountains as an amateur hunter. He is a fair-haired, +delicate-looking man, but a veteran in experience, and has performed the +feat of crossing the Rocky Mountains in midwinter on snowshoes. He spent +the winter of 1886-87 in Middle Park, Colorado, for the purpose of +making some natural history collections for me, and succeeded in killing +three grizzlies, two mountain lions, and a large number of elk, deer, +sheep, wolves, beavers, and many other animals. When Bayard Taylor +traveled through the parks of Colorado, Sumner was his guide, and he +speaks in glowing terms of Mr. Taylor's genial qualities in camp, but he +was mortally offended when the great traveler requested him to act as +doorkeeper at Breckenridge to receive the admission fee from those who +attended his lectures. + +Dunn was a hunter, trapper, and mule-packer in Colorado for many years. +He dresses in buckskin with a dark oleaginous luster, doubtless due to +the fact that he has lived on fat venison and killed many beavers since +he first donned his uniform years ago. His raven hair falls down to his +back, for he has a sublime contempt of shears and razors. + +Captain Powell was an officer of artillery during the late war and was +captured on the 22d day of July, 1864, at Atlanta and served a ten +months' term in prison at Charleston, where he was placed with other +officers under fire. He is silent, moody, and sarcastic, though +sometimes he enlivens the camp at night with a song. He is never +surprised at anything, his coolness never deserts him, and he would +choke the belching throat of a volcano if he thought the spitfire meant +anything but fun. We call him _"_Old Shady." + +Bradley, a lieutenant during the late war, and since orderly sergeant in +the regular army, was, a few weeks previous to our start, discharged, by +order of the Secretary of War, that he might go on this trip. He is +scrupulously careful, and a little mishap works him into a passion, but +when labor is needed he has a ready hand and powerful arm, and in +danger, rapid judgment and unerring skill. A great difficulty or peril +changes the petulant spirit into a brave, generous soul. + +O. G. Howland is a printer by trade, an editor by profession, and a +hunter by choice. When busily employed he usually puts his hat in his +pocket, and his thin hair and long beard stream in the wind, giving him +a wild look, much like that of King Lear in an illustrated copy of +Shakespeare which tumbles around the camp. + +Seneca Howland is a quiet, pensive young man, and a great favorite with +all. + +Goodman is a stranger to us--a stout, willing Englishman, with florid +face and more florid anticipations of a glorious trip. + +Billy Hawkins, the cook, was a soldier in the Union Army during the war, +and when discharged at its close went West, and since then has been +engaged as teamster on the plains or hunter in the mountains. He is an +athlete and a jovial good fellow, who hardly seems to know his own +strength. + +Hall is a Scotch boy, nineteen years old, with what seems to us a +"secondhand head," which doubtless came down to him from some knight who +wore it during the Border Wars. It looks a very old head indeed, with +deep-set blue eyes and beaked nose. Young as he is, Hall has had +experience in hunting, trapping, and fighting Indians, and he makes the +most of it, for he can tell a good story, and is never encumbered by +unnecessary scruples in giving to his narratives those embellishments +which help to make a story complete. He is always ready for work or play +and is a good hand at either. + +Our boats are heavily loaded, and only with the utmost care is it +possible to float in the rough river without shipping water. A mile or +two below town we run on a sandbar. The men jump into the stream and +thus lighten the vessels, so that they drift over, and on we go. + +In trying to avoid a rock an oar is broken on one of the boats, and, +thus crippled, she strikes. The current is swift and she is sent reeling +and rocking into the eddy. In the confusion two other oars are lost +overboard, and the men seem quite discomfited, much to the amusement of +the other members of the party. Catching the oars and starting again, +the boats are once more borne down the stream, until we land at a small +cottonwood grove on the bank and camp for noon. + +During the afternoon we run down to a point where the river sweeps the +foot of an overhanging cliff, and here we camp for the night. The sun is +yet two hours high, so I climb the cliffs and walk back among the +strangely carved rocks of the Green River bad lands. These are +sandstones and shales, gray and buff, red and brown, blue and black +strata in many alternations, lying nearly horizontal, and almost without +soil and vegetation. They are very friable, and the rain and streams +have carved them into quaint shapes. Barren desolation is stretched +before me; and yet there is a beauty in the scene. The fantastic +carvings, imitating architectural forms and suggesting rude but weird +statuary, with the bright and varied colors of the rocks, conspire to +make a scene such as the dweller in verdure-clad hills can scarcely +appreciate. + +Standing on a high point, I can look off in every direction over a vast +landscape, with salient rocks and cliffs glittering in the evening sun. +Dark shadows are settling in the valleys and gulches, and the heights +are made higher and the depths deeper by the glamour and witchery of +light and shade. Away to the south the Uinta Mountains stretch in a long +line,--high peaks thrust into the sky, and snow fields glittering like +lakes of molten silver, and pine forests in somber green, and rosy +clouds playing around the borders of huge, black masses; and heights and +clouds and mountains and snow fields and forests and rock-lands are +blended into one grand view. Now the sun goes down, and I return to +camp. + +_May 25._--We start early this morning and run along at a good rate +until about nine o'clock, when we are brought up on a gravelly bar. All +jump out and help the boats over by main strength. Then a rain comes on, +and river and clouds conspire to give us a thorough drenching. Wet, +chilled, and tired to exhaustion, we stop at a cottonwood grove on the +bank, build a huge fire, make a cup of coffee, and are soon refreshed +and quite merry. When the clouds "get out of our sunshine" we start +again. A few miles farther down a flock of mountain sheep are seen on a +cliff to the right. The boats are quietly tied up and three or four men +go after them. In the course of two or three hours they return. The cook +has been successful in bringing down a fat lamb. The unsuccessful +hunters taunt him with finding it dead; but it is soon dressed, cooked, +and eaten, and makes a fine four o'clock dinner. + +"All aboard," and down the river for another dozen miles. On the way we +pass the mouth of Black's Fork, a dirty little stream that seems +somewhat swollen. Just below its mouth we land and camp. + +_May 26.--_To-day we pass several curiously shaped buttes, standing +between the west bank of the river and the high bluffs beyond. These +buttes are outliers of the same beds of rocks as are exposed on the +faces of the bluffs,--thinly laminated shales and sandstones of many +colors, standing above in vertical cliffs and buttressed below with a +water-carved talus; some of them attain an altitude of nearly a thousand +feet above the level of the river. + +We glide quietly down the placid stream past the carved cliffs of the +_mauvaises terres,_ now and then obtaining glimpses of distant +mountains. Occasionally, deer are started from the glades among the +willows; and several wild geese, after a chase through the water, are +shot. After dinner we pass through a short and narrow canyon into a +broad valley; from this, long, lateral valleys stretch back on either +side as far as the eye can reach. + +Two or three miles below, Henry's Fork enters from the right. We land a +short distance above the junction, where a _cache_ of instruments and +rations was made several months ago in a cave at the foot of the cliff, +a distance back from the river. Here they were safe from the elements +and wild beasts, but not from man. Some anxiety is felt, as we have +learned that a party of Indians have been camped near the place for +several weeks. Our fears are soon allayed, for we find the _cache_ +undisturbed. Our chronometer wheels have not been taken for hair +ornaments, our barometer tubes for beads, or the sextant thrown into the +river as "bad medicine," as had been predicted. Taking up our _cache,_ +we pass down to the foot of the Uinta Mountains and in a cold storm go +into camp. + +The river is running to the south; the mountains have an easterly and +westerly trend directly athwart its course, yet it glides on in a quiet +way as if it thought a mountain range no formidable obstruction. It +enters the range by a flaring, brilliant red gorge, that may be seen +from the north a score of miles away. The great mass of the mountain +ridge through which the gorge is cut is composed of bright vermilion +rocks; but they are surmounted by broad bands of mottled buff and gray, +and these bands come down with a gentle curve to the water's edge on the +nearer slope of the mountain. + +This is the head of the first of the canyons we are about to explore--an +introductory one to a series made by the river through this range. We +name it Flaming Gorge. The cliffs, or walls, we find on measurement to +be about 1,200 feet high. + +_May 27.--_To-day it rains, and we employ the time in repairing one of +our barometers, which was broken on the way from New York. A new tube +has to be put in; that is, a long glass tube has to be filled with +mercury, four or five inches at a time, and each installment boiled over +a spirit lamp. It is a delicate task to do this without breaking the +glass; but we have success, and are ready to measure mountains once +more. + +_May 28.--_To-day we go to the summit of the cliff on the left and take +observations for altitude, and are variously employed in topographic and +geologic work. + +_May 29.--_This morning Bradley and I cross the river and climb more +than a thousand feet to a point where we can see the stream sweeping in +a long, beautiful curve through the gorge below. Turning and looking to +the west, we can see the valley of Henry's Fork, through which, for many +miles, the little river flows in a tortuous channel. Cottonwood groves +are planted here and there along its course, and between them are +stretches of grass land. The narrow mountain valley is inclosed on +either side by sloping walls of naked rock of many bright colors. To the +south of the valley are the Uintas, and the peaks of the Wasatch +Mountains can be faintly seen in the far west. To the north, desert +plains, dotted here and there with curiously carved hills and buttes, +extend to the limit of vision. + +For many years this valley has been the home of a number of +mountaineers, who were originally hunters and trappers, living with the +Indians. Most of them have one or more Indian wives. They no longer roam +with the nomadic tribes in pursuit of buckskin or beaver, but have +accumulated herds of cattle and horses, and consider themselves quite +well to do. Some of them have built cabins; others still live in lodges. +John Baker is one of the most famous of these men, and from our point of +view we can see his lodge, three or four miles up the river. + +The distance from Green River City to Flaming Gorge is 62 miles. The +river runs between bluffs, in some places standing so close to each +other that no flood plain is seen. At such a point the river might +properly be said to run through a canyon. The bad lands on either side +are interrupted here and there by patches of _Artemisia,_ or sage brush. +Where there is a flood plain along either side of the river, a few +cottonwoods may be seen. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +FROM FLAMING GORGE TO THE GATE OF LODORE. + + +One must not think of a mountain range as a line of peaks standing on a +plain, but as a broad platform many miles wide from which mountains have +been carved by the waters. One must conceive, too, that this plateau is +cut by gulches and canyons in many directions and that beautiful valleys +are scattered about at different altitudes. The first series of canyons +we are about to explore constitutes a river channel through such a range +of mountains. The canyon is cut nearly halfway through the range, then +turns to the east and is cut along the central line, or axis, gradually +crossing it to the south. Keeping this direction for more than 50 miles, +it then turns abruptly to a southwest course, and goes diagonally +through the southern slope of the range. + +This much we know before entering, as we made a partial exploration of +the region last fall, climbing many of its peaks, and in a few places +reaching the brink of the canyon walls and looking over precipices many +hundreds of feet high to the water below. + +Here and there the walls are broken by lateral canyons, the channels of +little streams entering the river. Through two or three of these we +found our way down to the Green in early winter and walked along the low +water-beach at the foot of the cliffs for several miles. Where the river +has this general easterly direction the western part only has cut for +itself a canyon, while the eastern has formed a broad valley, called, in +honor of an old-time trapper, Brown's Park, and long known as a favorite +winter resort for mountain men and Indians. + +_May 30.--_This morning we are ready to enter the mysterious canyon, and +start with some anxiety. The old mountaineers tell us that it cannot be +run; the Indians say, "Water heap catch 'em"; but all are eager for the +trial, and off we go. + +Entering Flaming Gorge, we quickly run through it on a swift current and +emerge into a little park. Half a mile below, the river wheels sharply +to the left and enters another canyon cut into the mountain. We enter +the narrow passage. On either side the walls rapidly increase in +altitude. On the left are overhanging ledges and cliffs,--500, 1,000, +1,500 feet high. + +On the right the rocks are broken and ragged, and the water fills the +channel from cliff to cliff. Now the river turns abruptly around a point +to the right, and the waters plunge swiftly down among great rocks; and +here we have our first experience with canyon rapids. I stand up on the +deck of my boat to seek a way among the wave-beaten rocks. All untried +as we are with such waters, the moments are filled with intense anxiety. +Soon our boats reach the swift current; a stroke or two, now on this. +side, now on that, and we thread the narrow passage with exhilarating +Velocity, mounting the high waves, whose foaming crests dash over us, +and plunging into the troughs, until we reach the quiet water below. +Then comes a feeling of great relief. Our first rapid is run. Another +mile, and we come into the valley again. + +Let me explain this canyon. Where the river turns to the left above, it +takes a course directly into the mountain, penetrating to its very +heart, then wheels back upon itself, and runs out into the valley from +which it started only half a mile below the point at which it entered; +so the canyon is in the form of an elongated letter U, with the apex in +the center of the mountain. We name it Horseshoe Canyon. + +Soon we leave the valley and enter another short canyon, very narrow at +first, but widening below as the canyon walls increase in height. Here +we discover the mouth of a beautiful little creek coming down through +its narrow water-worn cleft. Just at its entrance there is a park of two +or three hundred acres, walled on every side by almost vertical cliffs +hundreds of feet in altitude, with three gateways through the walls--one +up the river, another down, and a third through which the creek comes +in. The river is broad, deep, and quiet, and its waters mirror towering +rocks. + +Kingfishers are playing about the streams, and so we adopt as names +Kingfisher Creek, Kingfisher Park, and Kingfisher Canyon. At night we +camp at the foot of this canyon. + +Our general course this day has been south, but here the river turns to +the east around a point which is rounded to the shape of a dome. On its +sides little cells have been carved by the action of the water, and in +these pits, which cover the face of the dome, hundreds of swallows have +built their nests. As they flit about the cliffs, they look like swarms +of bees, giving to the whole the appearance of a colossal beehive of the +old-time form, and so we name it Beehive Point. + +The opposite wall is a vast amphitheater, rising in a succession of +terraces to a height of 1,200 or 1,500 feet. Each step is built of red +sandstone, with a face of naked red rock and a glacis clothed with +verdure. So the amphitheater seems banded red and green, and the evening +sun is playing with roseate flashes on the rocks, with shimmering green +on the cedars' spray, and with iridescent gleams on the dancing waves. +The landscape revels in the sunshine. + +_May 31.--_We start down another canyon and reach rapids made dangerous +by high rocks lying in the channel; so we run ashore and let our boats +down with lines. In the afternoon we come to more dangerous rapids and +stop to examine them. I find we must do the same work again, but, being +on the wrong side of the river to obtain a foothold, must first cross +over--no very easy matter in such a current, with rapids and rocks +below. We take the pioneer boat, "Emma Dean," over, and unload her on +the bank; then she returns and takes another load. Running back and +forth, she soon has half our cargo over. Then one of the larger boats is +manned and taken across, but is carried down almost to the rocks in +spite of hard rowing. The other boats follow and make the landing, and +we go into camp for the night. + +At the foot of the cliff on this side there is a long slope covered with +pines; under these we make our beds, and soon after sunset are seeking +rest and sleep. The cliffs on either side are of red sandstone and +stretch toward the heavens 2,500 feet. On this side the long, pine-clad +slope is surmounted by perpendicular cliffs, with pines on their +summits. The wall on the other side is bare rock from the water's edge +up 2,000 feet, then slopes back, giving footing to pines and cedars. + +As the twilight deepens, the rocks grow dark and somber; the threatening +roar of the water is loud and constant, and I lie awake with thoughts of +the morrow and the canyons to come, interrupted now and then by +characteristics of the scenery that attract my attention. And here I +make a discovery. On looking at the mountain directly in front, the +steepness of the slope is greatly exaggerated, while the distance to its +summit and its true altitude are correspondingly diminished. I have +heretofore found that to judge properly of the slope of a mountain side, +one must see it in profile. In coming down the river this afternoon, I +observed the slope of a particular part of the wall and made an estimate +of its altitude. While at supper, I noticed the same cliff from a +position facing it, and it seemed steeper, but not half so high. Now +lying on my side and looking at it, the true proportions appear. This +seems a wonder, and I rise to take a view of it standing. It is the same +cliff as at supper time. Lying down again, it is the cliff as seen in +profile, with a long slope and distant summit. Musing on this, I forget +"the morrow and the canyons to come"; I have found a way to estimate the +altitude and slope of an inclination, in like manner as I can judge of +distance along the horizon. The reason is simple. A reference to the +stereoscope will suggest it. The distance between the eyes forms a base +line for optical triangulation. + +_June 1.--_To-day we have an exciting ride. The river rolls down the +canyon at a wonderful rate, and, with no rocks in the way, we make +almost railroad speed. Here and there the water rushes into a narrow +gorge; the rocks on the side roll it into the center in great waves, and +the boats go leaping and bounding over these like things of life, +reminding me of scenes witnessed in Middle Park--herds of startled deer +bounding through forests beset with fallen timber. I mention the +resemblance to some of the hunters, and so striking is it that the +expression, "See the blacktails jumping the logs," comes to be a common +one. At times the waves break and roll over the boats, which +necessitates much bailing and obliges us to stop occasionally for that +purpose. At one time we run twelve miles in an hour, stoppages included. + +Last spring I had a conversation with an old Indian named Pariate, who +told me about one of his tribe attempting to run this canyon. "The +rocks," he said, holding his hands above his head, his arms vertical, +and looking between them to the heavens, "the rocks h-e-a-p, + +OVEN NEAR PESCADO PUEBLO. + +h-e-a-p high; the water go h-oo-woogh, h-oo-woogh; water-pony li-e-a-p +buck; water catch 'em; no see 'em Injun any more! no see 'em squaw any +more! no see 'em papoose any more!" + +Those who have seen these wild Indian ponies rearing alternately before +and behind, or "bucking," as it is called in the vernacular, will +appreciate his description. + +At last we come to calm water, and a threatening roar is heard in the +distance. Slowly approaching the point whence the sound issues, we come +near to falls, and tie up just above them on the left. Here we shall be +compelled to make a portage; so we unload the boats, and fasten a long +line to the bow of the smaller one, and another to the stern, and moor +her close to the brink of the fall. Then the bowline is taken below and +made fast; the stern line is held by five or six men, and the boat let +down as long as they can hold her against the rushing waters; then, +letting go one end of the line, it runs through the ring; the boat leaps +over the fall and is caught by the lower rope. + +Now we rest for the night. + +_June 2.--_This morning we make a trail among the rocks, transport the +cargoes to a point below the fall, let the remaining boats over, and are +ready to start before noon. + +On a high rock by which the trail passes we find the inscription: +"Ashley 18-5." The third figure is obscure--some of the party reading it +1835, some 1855. James Baker, an old-time mountaineer, once told me +about a party of men starting down the river, and Ashley was named as +one. The story runs that the boat was swamped, and some of the party +drowned in one of the canyons below. The word "Ashley" is a warning to +us, and we resolve on great caution. Ashley Falls is the name we give to +the cataract. + +The river is very narrow, the right wall vertical for 200 or 300 feet, +the left towering to a great height, with a vast pile of broken rocks +lying between the foot of the cliff and the water. Some of the rocks +broken down from the ledge above have tumbled into the channel and +caused this fall. One great cubical block, thirty or forty feet high, +stands in the middle of the stream, and the waters, parting to either +side, plunge down about twelve feet, and are broken again by the smaller +rocks into a rapid below. Immediately below the falls the water occupies +the entire channel, there being no talus at the foot of the cliffs. + +We embark and run down a short distance, where we find a landing-place +for dinner. + +On the waves again all the afternoon. Near the lower end of this canyon, +to which we have given the name of Red Canyon, is a little park, where +streams come down from distant mountain summits and enter the river on +either side; and here we camp for the night under two stately pines. + +_June 3.--_This morning we spread our rations, clothes, etc., on the +ground to dry, and several of the party go out for a hunt. I take a walk +of five or six miles up to a pine-grove park, its grassy carpet bedecked +with crimson velvet flowers, set in groups on the stems of pear-shaped +cactus plants; patches of painted cups are seen here and there, with +yellow blossoms protruding through scarlet bracts; little blue-eyed +flowers are peeping through the grass; and the air is filled with +fragrance from the white blossoms of the _Spiraea._ A mountain brook +runs through the midst, ponded below by beaver dams. It is a quiet place +for retirement from the raging waters of the canyon. + +It will be remembered that the course of the river from Flaming Gorge to +Beehive Point is in a southerly direction and at right angles to the +Uinta Mountains, and cuts into the range until it reaches a point within +five miles of the crest, where it turns to the east and pursues a course +not quite parallel to the trend of the range, but crosses the axis +slowly in a direction a little south of east. Thus there is a triangular +tract between the river and the axis of the mountain, with its acute +angle extending eastward. I climb the mountain overlooking this country. +To the east the peaks are not very high, and already most of the snow +has melted, but little patches lie here and there under the lee of +ledges of rock. To the west the peaks grow higher and the snow fields +larger. Between the brink of the canyon and the foot of these peaks, +there is a high bench. A number of creeks have their sources in the +snowbanks to the south and run north into the canyon, tumbling down from +3,000 to 5,000 feet in a distance of five or six miles. Along their +upper courses they run through grassy valleys, but as they approach Red +Canyon they rapidly disappear under the general surface of the country, +and emerge into the canyon below in deep, dark gorges of their own. Each +of these short lateral canyons is marked by a succession of cascades and +a wild confusion of rocks and trees and fallen timber and thick +undergrowth. + +The little valleys above are beautiful parks; between the parks are +stately pine forests, half hiding ledges of red sandstone. Mule deer and +elk abound; grizzly bears, too, are abundant; and here wild cats, +wolverines, and mountain lions are at home. The forest aisles are filled +with the music of birds, and the parks are decked with flowers. Noisy +brooks meander through them; ledges of moss-covered rocks are seen; and +gleaming in the distance are the snow fields, and the mountain tops are +away in the clouds. + +_June 4-_--We start early and run through to Brown's Park. Halfway down +the valley, a spur of a red mountain stretches across the river, which +cuts a canyon through it. Here the walls are comparatively low, but +vertical. A vast number of swallows have built their _adobe_ houses on +the face of the cliffs, on either side of the river. The waters are deep +and quiet, but the swallows are swift and noisy enough, sweeping by in +their curved paths through the air or chattering from the rocks, while +the young ones stretch their little heads on naked necks through the +doorways of their mud houses and clamor for food. They are a noisy +people. We call this Swallow Canyon. + +Still down the river we glide until an early hour in the afternoon, when +we go into camp under a giant cottonwood standing on the right bank a +little way back from the stream. The party has succeeded in killing a +fine lot of wild ducks, and during the afternoon a mess of fish is +taken. + +_June 5._--With one of the men I climb a mountain, off on the right. A +long spur, with broken ledges of rock, puts down to the river, and along +its course, or up the "hogback," as it is called, I make the ascent. +Dunn, who is climbing to the same point, is coming up the gulch. Two +hours' hard work has brought us to the summit. These mountains are all +verdure-clad; pine and cedar forests are set on green terraces; +snow-clad mountains are seen in the distance, to the west; the plains of +the upper Green stretch out before us to the north until they are lost +in the blue heavens; but half of the river-cleft range intervenes, and +the river itself is at our feet. + +This half range, beyond the river, is composed of long ridges nearly +parallel with the valley. On the farther ridge, to the north, four +creeks have their sources. These cut through the intervening ridges, one +of which is much higher than that on which they head, by canyon gorges; +then they run with gentle curves across the valley, their banks set with +willows, box-elders, and cottonwood groves. To the east we look up the +valley of the Vermilion, through which Fremont found his path on his way +to the great parks of Colorado. + +The reading of the barometer taken, we start down in company, and reach +camp tired and hungry, which does not abate one bit our enthusiasm as we +tell of the day's work with its glory of landscape. + +_June 6._--At daybreak I am awakened by a chorus of birds. It seems as +if all the feathered songsters of the region have come to the old tree. +Several species of warblers, woodpeckers, and flickers above, meadow +larks in the grass, and wild geese in the river. I recline on my elbow +and watch a lark near by, and then awaken my bedfellow, to listen to my +Jenny Lind. A real morning concert for _me;_ none of your _"matinees"!_ + +Our cook has been an ox-driver, or "bull-whacker," on the plains, in +one of those long trains now no longer seen, and he hasn't forgotten his +old ways. In the midst of the concert, his voice breaks in: "Roll out! +roll out! bulls in the corral! chain up the gaps! Roll out! roll out! +roll out!" And this is our breakfast bell. + +To-day we pass through, the park, and camp at the head of another +canyon. + +_June 7.--_To-day two or three of us climb to the summit of the cliff on +the left, and find its altitude above camp to be 2,086 feet. The rocks +are split with fissures, deep and narrow, sometimes a hundred feet or +more to the bottom, and these fissures are filled with loose earth and +decayed vegetation in which lofty pines find root. On a rock we find a +pool of clear, cold water, caught from yesterday evening's shower. After +a good drink we walk out to the brink of the canyon and look down to the +water below. I can do this now, but it has taken several years of +mountain climbing to cool my nerves so that I can sit with my feet over +the edge and calmly look down a precipice 2,000 feet. And yet I cannot +look on and see another do the same. I must either bid him come away or +turn my head. The canyon walls are buttressed on a grand scale, with +deep alcoves intervening; columned crags crown the cliffs, and the river +is rolling below. + +When we return to camp at noon the sun shines in splendor on vermilion +walls, shaded into green and gray where the rocks are lichened over; the +river fills the channel from wall to wall, and the canyon opens, like a +beautiful portal, to a region of glory. This evening, as I write, the +sun is going down and the shadows are settling in the canyon. The +vermilion gleams and roseate hues, blending with the green and gray +tints, are slowly changing to somber brown above, and black shadows are +creeping over them below; and now it is a dark portal to a region of +gloom--the gateway through which we are to enter on our voyage of +exploration tomorrow. What shall we find? + +The distance from Flaming Gorge to Beehive Point is 9 2/3 miles. Besides +passing through the gorge, the river runs through Horseshoe and +Kingfisher canyons, separated by short valleys. The highest point on the +walls at Flaming Gorge is 1,300 feet above the river. The east wall at +the apex of Horseshoe Canyon is about 1,600 feet above the water's edge, +and from this point the walls slope both to the head and foot of the +canyon. + +Kingfisher Canyon, starting at the water's edge above, steadily +increases in altitude to 1,200 feet at the foot. + +Red Canyon is 25 2/3 miles long, and the highest walls are about 2,500 +feet. + +Brown's Park is a valley, bounded on either side by a mountain range, +really an expansion of the canyon. The river, through the park, is 35 +1/2 miles long, but passes through two short canyons on its way, where +spurs from the mountains on the south are thrust across its course. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +THE CANYON OF LODORE. + + +_June 8_.--We enter the canyon, and until noon find a succession of +rapids, over which, our boats have to be taken. Here I must explain our +method of proceeding at such places. The "Emma Dean "'goes in advance; +the other boats follow, in obedience to signals. When we approach a +rapid, or what on other rivers would often be called a fall, I stand on +deck to examine it, while the oarsmen back water, and we drift on as +slowly as possible. If I can see a clear chute between the rocks, away +we go; but if the channel is beset entirely across, we signal the other +boats, pull to land, and I walk along the shore for closer examination. +If this reveals no clear channel, hard work begins. We drop the boats to +the very head of the dangerous place and let them over by lines or make +a portage, frequently carrying both boats and cargoes over the rocks. + +The waves caused by such falls in a river differ much from the waves of +the sea. The water of an ocean wave merely rises and falls; the form +only passes on, and form chases form unceasingly. A body floating on +such waves merely rises and sinks--does not progress unless impelled by +wind or some other power. But here the water of the wave passes on while +the form remains. The waters plunge down ten or twenty feet to the foot +of a fall, spring up again in a great wave, then down and up in a series +of billows that gradually disappear in the more quiet waters below; but +these waves are always there, and one can stand above and count them. + +A boat riding such billows leaps and plunges along with great velocity. +Now, the difficulty in riding over these falls, when no rocks are in the +way, is with the first wave at the foot. This will sometimes gather for +a moment, heap up higher and higher, and then break back. + +If the boat strikes it the instant after it breaks, she cuts through, +and the mad breaker dashes its spray over the boat and washes overboard +all who do not cling tightly. If the boat, in going over the falls, +chances to get caught in some side current and is turned from its +course, so as to strike the wave _"_broadside on," and the wave breaks +at the same instant, the boat is capsized; then we must cling to her, +for the water-tight compartments act as buoys and she cannot sink; and +so we go, dragged through the waves, until still waters are reached, +when we right the boat and climb aboard. We have several such +experiences to-day. + +At night we camp on the right bank, on a little shelving rock between +the river and the foot of the cliff; and with night comes gloom into +these great depths. After supper we sit by our camp fire, made of +driftwood caught by the rocks, and tell stories of wild life; for the +men have seen such in the mountains or on the plains, and on the +battlefields of the South. It is late before we spread our blankets on +the beach. + +Lying down, we look up through the canyon and see that only a little of +the blue heaven appears overhead--a crescent of blue sky, with two or +three constellations peering down upon us. I do not sleep for some time, +as the excitement of the day has not worn off. Soon I see a bright star +that appears to rest on the very verge of the cliff overhead to the +east. Slowly it seems to float from its resting place on the rock over +the canyon. At first it appears like a jewel set on the brink of the +cliff, but as it moves out from the rock _I_ almost wonder that it does +not fall. In fact, it does seem to descend in a gentle curve, as though +the bright sky in which the stars are set were spread across the canyon, +resting on either wall, and swayed down by its own weight. The stars +appear to be in the canyon. I soon discover that it is the bright star +Vega; so it occurs to me to designate this part of the wall as the +"Cliff of the Harp." + +_June 9.--_One of the party suggests that we call this the Canyon of +Lodore, and the name is adopted. Very slowly we make our way, often +climbing on the rocks at the edge of the water for a few hundred yards +to examine the channel before running it. During the afternoon we come +to a place where it is necessary to make a portage. The little boat is +landed and the others are signaled to come up. + +When these rapids or broken falls occur usually the channel is suddenly +narrowed by rocks which have been tumbled from the cliffs or have been +washed in by lateral streams. Immediately above the narrow, rocky +channel, on one or both sides, there is often a bay of quiet water, in +which a landing can be made with ease. Sometimes the water descends with +a smooth, unruffled surface from the broad, quiet spread above into the +narrow, angry channel below by a semicircular sag. Great care must be +taken not to pass over the brink into this deceptive pit, but above it +we can row with safety. I walk along the bank to examine the ground, +leaving one of my men with a flag to guide the other boats to the +landing-place. I soon see one of the boats make shore all right, and +feel no more concern; but a minute after, I hear a shout, and, looking +around, see one of the boats shooting down the center of the sag. It is +the "No Name," with Captain Howland, his brother, and Goodman. I feel +that its going over is inevitable, and run to save the third boat. A +minute more, and she turns the point and heads for the shore. Then I +turn down stream again and scramble along to look for the boat that has +gone over. The first fall is not great, only 10 or 12 feet, and we often +run such; but below, the river tumbles down again for 40 or 50 feet, in +a channel filled with dangerous rocks that break the waves into +whirlpools and beat them into foam. I pass around a great crag just in +time to see the boat strike a rock and, rebounding from the shock, +careen and fill its open compartment with water. Two of the men lose +their oars; she swings around and is carried down at a rapid rate, +broadside on, for a few yards, when, striking amidships on another rock +with great force, she is broken quite in two and the men are thrown into +the river. But the larger part of the boat floats buoyantly, and they +soon seize it, and down the river they drift, past the rocks for a few +hundred yards, to a second rapid filled with huge boulders, where the +boat strikes again and is dashed to pieces, and the men and fragments +are soon carried beyond my sight. Running along, I turn a bend and see a +man's head above the water, washed about in a whirlpool below a great +rock. It is Frank Goodman, clinging to the rock with a grip upon which +life depends. Coming opposite, I see Howland trying to go to his aid +from an island on which he has been washed. Soon he comes near enough to +reach Frank with a pole, which he extends toward him. The latter lets go +the rock, grasps the pole, and is pulled ashore. Seneca Howland is +washed farther down the island and is caught by some rocks, and, though +somewhat bruised, manages to get ashore in safety. This seems a long +time as I tell it, but it is quickly done. + +And now the three men are on an island, with a swift, dangerous river on +either side and a fall below. The "Emma Dean" is soon brought down, and +Sumner, starting above as far as possible, pushes out. Right skillfully +he plies the oars, and a few strokes set him on the island at the proper +point. Then they all pull the boat up stream as far as they are able, +until they stand in water up to their necks. One sits on a rock and +holds the boat until the others are ready to pull, then gives the boat a +push, clings to it with his hands, and climbs in as they pull for +mainland, which they reach in safety. We are as glad to shake hands with +them as though they had been on a voyage around the world and wrecked on +a distant coast. + +Down the river half a mile we find that the after cabin of the +wrecked boat, with a part of the bottom, ragged and splintered, has +floated against a rock and stranded. There are valuable articles in the +cabin; but, on examination, we determine that life should not +be risked to save them. Of course, the cargo of rations, instruments, +and clothing is gone. + +We return to the boats and make camp for the night. No sleep comes to me +in all those dark hours. The rations, instruments, and clothing have +been divided among the boats, anticipating such an accident as this; and +we started with duplicates of everything that was deemed necessary to +success. But, in the distribution, there was one exception to this +precaution--the barometers were all placed in one boat, and they are +lost! There is a possibility that they are in the cabin lodged against +the rock, for that is where they were kept. But, then, how to reach +them? The river is rising. Will they be there to-morrow? Can I go out to +Salt Lake City and obtain barometers from New York? + +_June 10.--_I have determined to get the barometers from the wreck, if +they are there. After breakfast, while the men make the portage, I go +down again for another examination, There the cabin lies, only carried +50 or 60 feet farther on. Carefully looking over the ground, I am +satisfied that it can be reached with safety, and return to tell the men +my conclusion. Sumner and Dunn volunteer to take the little boat and +make the attempt. They start, reach it, and out come the barometers! +The boys set up a shout, and I join them, pleased that they should be as +glad as myself to save the instruments. When the boat lands on our side, +I find that the only things saved from the wreck were the barometers, a +package of thermometers, and a three-gallon keg of whiskey. The last is +what the men were shouting about. They had taken it aboard unknown to +me, and now I am glad they did take it, for it will do them good, as +they are drenched every day by the melting snow which runs down from the +summits of the Rocky Mountains. + +We come back to our work at the portage and find that it is necessary to +carry our rations over the rocks for nearly a mile and to let our boats +down with lines, except at a few points, where they also must be +carried. Between the river and the eastern wall of the canyon there is +an immense talus of broken rocks. These have tumbled down from the +cliffs above and constitute a vast pile of huge angular fragments. On +these we build a path for a quarter of a mile to a small sand-beach +covered with driftwood, through which we clear a way for several +hundred yards, then continue the trail over another pile of rocks nearly +half a mile farther down, to a little bay. The greater part of the day +is spent in this work. Then we carry our cargoes down to the beach and +camp for the night. + +While the men are building the camp fire, we discover an iron bake-oven, +several tin plates, a part of a boat, and many other fragments, which +denote that this is the place where Ashley's party was wrecked. + +_June 11.--_This day is spent in carrying our rations down to the +bay--no small task, climbing over the rocks with sacks of flour and +bacon. We carry them by stages of about 500 yards each, and when night +comes and the last sack is on the beach, we are tired, bruised, and glad +to sleep. + +_June 12.--_To-day we take the boats down to the bay. While at this work +we discover three sacks of flour from the wrecked boat that have lodged +in the rocks. We carry them above high-water mark and leave them, as our +cargoes are already too heavy for the three remaining boats. We also +find two or three oars, which we place with them. + +As Ashley and his party were wrecked here and as we have lost one of our +boats at the same place, we adopt the name Disaster Falls for the scene +of so much peril and loss. + +Though some of his companions were drowned, Ashley and one other +survived the wreck, climbed the canyon wall, and found their way across +the Wasatch Mountains to Salt Lake City, living chiefly on berries, as +they wandered through an unknown and difficult country. When they +arrived at Salt Lake they were almost destitute of clothing and nearly +starved. The Mormon people gave them food and clothing and employed them +to work on the foundation of the Temple until they had earned sufficient +to enable them to leave the country. Of their subsequent history, I have +no knowledge. It is possible they returned to the scene of the disaster, +as a little creek entering the river below is known as Ashley's Creek, +and it is reported that he built a cabin and trapped on this river for +one or two winters; but this may have been before the disaster. + +_June 13._--Rocks, rapids, and portages still. We camp to-night at the +foot of the left fall, on a little patch of flood plain covered with a +dense growth of box-elders, stopping early in order to spread the +clothing and rations to dry. Everything is wet and spoiling. + +_June 14._--Howland and I climb the wall on the west side of the canyon +to an altitude of 2,000 feet. Standing above and looking to the west, we +discover a large park, five or six miles wide and twenty or thirty long. +The cliff we have climbed forms a wall between the canyon and the park, +for it is 800 feet down the western side to the valley. A creek comes +winding down 1,200 feet above the river, and, entering the intervening +wall by a canyon, plunges down more than 1,000 feet, by a broken +cascade, into the river below. + +_June 15._--To-day, while we make another portage, a peak, standing on +the east wall, is climbed by two of the men and found to be 2,700 feet +above the river. On the east side of the canyon a vast amphitheater has +been cut, with massive buttresses and deep, dark alcoves in which +grow beautiful mosses and delicate ferns, while springs burst out from +the farther recesses and wind in silver threads over floors of sand +rock. Here we have three falls in close succession. At the first the +wa$er is compressed into a very narrow channel against the right-hand +cliff, and falls 15 feet in 10 yards. At the second we have a broad +sheet of water tumbling down 20 feet over a group of rocks that thrust +their dark heads through the foam. The third is a broken fall, or short, +abrupt rapid, where the water makes a descent of more than 20 feet among +huge, fallen fragments of the cliff. We name the group Triplet Falls. We +make a portage around the first; past the second and the third we let +down with lines. + +During the afternoon, Dunn and Howland having returned from their climb, +we run down three quarters of a mile on quiet waters and land at the +head of another fall. On examination, we find that there is an abrupt +plunge of a few feet and then the river tumbles for half a mile with a +descent of a hundred feet, in a channel beset with great numbers of huge +boulders. This stretch of the river is named Hell's Half-Mile. The +remaining portion of the day is occupied in making a trail among the +rocks at the foot of the rapid. + +_June 16.--_Our first work this morning is to carry our cargoes to the +foot of the falls. Then we commence letting down the boats. We take two +of them down in safety, but not without great difficulty; for, where +such a vast body of water, rolling down an inclined plane, is broken +into eddies and cross-currents by rocks projecting from the cliffs and +piles of boulders in the channel, it requires excessive labor and much +care to prevent the boats from being dashed against the rocks or +breaking away. Sometimes we are compelled to hold the boat against a +rock above a chute until a second line, attached to the stem, is carried +to some point below, and when all is ready the first line is detached +and the boat given to the current, when she shoots down and the men +below swing her into some eddy. + +At such a place we are letting down the last boat, and as she is set +free a wave turns her broadside down the stream, with the stem, to which +the line is attached, from shore and a little up. They haul on the line +to bring the boat in, but the power of the current, striking obliquely +against her, shoots her out into the middle of the river. The men have +their hands burned with the friction of the passing line; the boat +breaks away and speeds with great velocity down the stream. The "Maid of +the Canyon" is lost! So it seems; but she drifts some distance and +swings into an eddy, in which she spins about until we arrive with the +small boat and rescue her. + +Soon we are on our way again, and stop at the mouth of a little brook on +the right for a late dinner. This brook comes down from the distant +mountains in a deep side canyon. We set out to explore it, but are soon +cut off from farther progress up the gorge by a high rock, over which +the brook glides in a smooth sheet. The rock is not quite vertical, and +the water does not plunge over it in a fall. + +Then we climb up to the left for an hour, and are 1,000 feet above the +river and 600 above the brook. Just before us the canyon divides, a +little stream coming down on the right and another on the left, and we +can look away up either of these canyons, through an ascending vista, to +cliffs and crags and towers a mile back and 2,000 feet overhead. To the +right a dozen gleaming cascades are seen. Pines and firs stand on the +rocks and aspens overhang the brooks. The rocks below are red and brown, +set in deep shadows, but above they are buff and vermilion and stand in +the sunshine. The light above, made more brilliant by the bright-tinted +rocks, and the shadows below, more gloomy by reason of the somber hues +of the brown walls, increase the apparent depths of the canyons, and it +seems a long way up to the world of sunshine and open sky, and a long +way down to the bottom of the canyon glooms. Never before have I +received such an impression of the vast heights of these canyon walls, +not even at the Cliff of the Harp, where the very heavens seemed to rest +on their summits. We sit on some overhanging rocks and enjoy the scene +for a time, listening to the music of the falling waters away up the +canyon. We name this Rippling Brook. + +Late in the afternoon we make a short run to the mouth of another little +creek, coming down from the left into an alcove filled with luxuriant +vegetation. Here camp is made, with a group of cedars on one side and a +dense mass of box-elders and dead willows on the other. + +I go up to explore the alcove. While away a whirlwind comes and scatters +the fire among the dead willows and cedar-spray, and soon there is a +conflagration. The men rush for the boats, leaving all they cannot +readily seize at the moment, and even then they have their clothing +burned and hair singed, and Bradley has his ears scorched. The cook +fills his arms with the mess-kit, and jumping into a boat, stumbles and +falls, and away go our cooking utensils into the river. Our plates are +gone; our spoons are gone; our knives and forks are gone. "Water catch +'em; h-e-a-p catch 'em." + +When on the boats, the men are compelled to cut loose, as the flames, +running out on the overhanging willows, are scorching them. Loose on the +stream, they must go down, for the water is too swift to make headway +against it. Just below is a rapid, filled with rocks. On the shoot, no +channel explored, no signal to guide them! Just at this juncture I +chance to see them, but have not yet discovered the fire, and the +strange movements of the men fill me with astonishment. Down the rocks I +clamber, and run to the bank. When I arrive they have landed. Then we +all go back to the late camp to see if anything left behind can be +saved. Some of the clothing and bedding taken out of the boats is found, +also a few tin cups, basins, and a camp kettle; and this is all the +mess-kit we now have. Yet we do just as well as ever. + +_June 17._--We run down to the mouth of Yampa River. This has been a +chapter of disasters and toils, notwithstanding which the Canyon of +Lodore was not devoid of scenic interest, even beyond the power +of pen to tell. The roar of its waters was heard unceasingly from the +hour we entered it until we landed here. No quiet in all that time. But +its walls and cliffs, its peaks and crags, its amphitheaters and +alcoves, tell a story of beauty and grandeur that I hear yet--and shall +hear. + +The Canyon of Lodore is 20 3/4 miles in length. It starts abruptly at +what we have called the Gate of Lodore, with walls nearly 2,000 feet +high, and they are never lower than this until we reach Alcove Brook, +about three miles above the foot. They are very irregular, standing in +vertical or overhanging cliffs in places, terraced in others, or +receding in steep slopes, and are broken by many side gulches and +canyons. The highest point on the wall is at Dunn's Cliff, near Triplet +Falls, where the rocks reach an altitude of 2,700 feet, but the peaks a +little way back rise nearly 1,000 feet higher. Yellow pines, nut pines, +firs, and cedars stand in extensive forests on the Uinta Mountains, and, +clinging to the rocks and growing in the crevices, come down the walls +to the water's edge from Flaming Gorge to Echo Park. The red sandstones +are lichened over; delicate mosses grow in the moist places, and ferns +festoon the walls. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +FROM ECHO PARK TO THE MOUTH OF THE UINTA RIVER. + + +The Yampa enters the Green from the east. At a point opposite its mouth +the Green runs to the south, at the foot of a rock about 700 feet high +and a mile long, and then turns sharply around the rock to the right and +runs back in a northerly course parallel to its former direction for +nearly another mile, thus having the opposite sides of a long, narrow +rock for its bank. The tongue of rock so formed is a peninsular +precipice with a mural escarpment along its whole course on the east, +but broken down at places on the west. + +On the east side of the river, opposite the rock and below the Yampa, +there is a little park, just large enough for a farm, already fenced +with high walls of gray homogeneous sandstone. There are three river +entrances to this park: one down the Yampa; one below, by coming up the +Green; and another down the Green. There is also a land entrance down a +lateral canyon. Elsewhere the park is inaccessible. Through this land +entrance by the side canyon there is a trail made by Indian hunters, who +come down here in certain seasons to kill mountain sheep. Great hollow +domes are seen in the eastern side of the rock, against which the Green +sweeps; willows border the river; clumps of box-elder are seen; and a +few cottonwoods stand at the lower end. Standing opposite the rock, our +words are repeated with startling clearness, but in a soft, mellow tone, +that transforms them into magical music. Scarcely can one believe it is +the echo of his own voice. In some places two or three echoes come back; +in other places they repeat themselves, passing back and forth across +the river between this rock and the eastern wall. To hear these repeated +echoes well, we must shout. Some of the party aver that ten or twelve +repetitions can be heard. To me, they seem rapidly to diminish and merge +by multiplicity, like telegraph poles on an outstretched plain. I have +observed the same phenomenon once before in the cliffs near Long's Peak, +and am pleased to meet with it again. + +During the afternoon Bradley and I climb some cliffs to the north. +Mountain sheep are seen above us, and they stand out on the rocks and +eye us intently, not seeming to move. Their color is much like that of +the gray sandstone beneath them, and, immovable as they are, they appear +like carved forms. Now a fine ram beats the rock with his fore foot, +and, wheeling around, they all bound away together, leaping over rocks +and chasms and climbing walls where no man can follow, and this with an +ease and grace most wonderful. At night we return to our camp under the +box-elders by the river side. Here we are to spend two or three days, +making a series of astronomic observations for latitude and longitude. + +_June 18.--_We have named the long peninsular rock on the other side +Echo Rock. Desiring to climb it, Bradley and I take the little boat and +pull up stream as far as possible, for it cannot be climbed directly +opposite. We land on a talus of rocks at the upper end in order to reach +a place where it seems practicable to make the ascent; but we find we +must go still farther up the river. So we scramble along, until we reach +a place where the river sweeps against the wall. Here we find a shelf +along which we can pass, and now are ready for the climb. + +We start up a gulch; then pass to the left on a bench along the wall; +then up again over broken rocks; then we reach more benches, along which +we walk, until we find more broken rocks and crevices, by which we +climb; still up, until we have ascended 600 or 800 feet, when we are met +by a sheer precipice. Looking about, we find a place where it seems +possible to climb. I go ahead; Bradley hands the barometer to me, and +follows. So we proceed, stage by stage, until we are nearly to the +summit. Here, by making a spring, I gain a foothold in a little crevice, +and grasp an angle of the rock overhead. I find I can get up no farther +and cannot step back, for I dare not let go with my hand and cannot +reach foothold below without. I call to Bradley for help. He finds a way +by which he can get to the top of the rock over my head, but cannot +reach me. Then he looks around for some stick or limb of a tree, but +finds none. Then he suggests that he would better help me with the +barometer case, but I fear I cannot hold on to it. The moment is +critical. Standing on my toes, my muscles begin to tremble. It is sixty +or eighty feet to the foot of the precipice. If I lose my hold I shall +fall to the bottom and then perhaps roll over the bench and tumble still +farther down the cliff. At this instant it occurs to Bradley to take off +his drawers, which he does, and swings them down to me. I hug close to +the rock, let go with my hand, seize the dangling legs, and with his +assistance am enabled to gain the top. + +Then we walk out on the peninsular rock, make the necessary observations +for determining its altitude above camp, and return, finding an easy way +down. + +_June 19.--_To-day, Howland, Bradley, and I take the "Emma Dean" and +start up the Yampa River. The stream is much swollen, the current swift, +and we are able to make but slow progress against it. The canyon in this +part of the course of the Yampa is cut through light gray sandstone. The +river is very winding, and the swifter water is usually found on the +outside of the curve, sweeping against vertical cliffs often a thousand +feet high. In the center of these curves, in many places, the rock above +overhangs the river. On the opposite side the walls are broken, craggy, +and sloping, and occasionally side canyons enter. When we have rowed +until we are quite tired we stop and take advantage of one of these +broken places to climb out of the canyon. When above, we can look up the +Yampa for a distance of several miles. From the summit of the immediate +walls of the canyon the rocks rise gently back for a distance of a mile +or two, having the appearance of a valley with an irregular and rounded +sandstone floor and in the center a deep gorge, which is the canyon. The +rim of this valley on the north is from 2,500 to 3,000 feet above the +river; on the south it is not so high. A number of peaks stand on this +northern rim, the highest of which has received the name Mount Dawes. + +Late in the afternoon we descend to our boat and return to camp in Echo +Park, gliding down in twenty minutes on the rapid river, a distance of +four or five miles, which was made up stream only by several hours' hard +rowing in the morning. + +_June 20.--_This morning two of the men take me up the Yampa for a short +distance, and I go out to climb. Having reached the top of the canyon, I +walk over long stretches of naked sandstone, crossing gulches now and +then, and by noon reach the summit of Mount Dawes. From this point I can +look away to the north and see in the dim distance the Sweetwater and +Wind River mountains, more than 100 miles away. To the northwest the +Wasatch Mountains are in view, and peaks of the Uinta. To the east I can +see the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains, more than 150 miles +distant. The air is singularly clear to-day; mountains and buttes stand +in sharp outline, valleys stretch out in perspective, and I can look +down into the deep canyon gorges and see gleaming waters. + +Descending, I cross to a ridge near the brink of the Canyon of Lodore, +the highest point of which is nearly as high as the last mentioned +mountain. Late in the afternoon I stand on this elevated point and +discover a monument that has evidently been built by human hands. A few +plants are growing in the joints between the rocks, and all are lichened +over to a greater or less extent, giving evidence that the pile was +built a long time ago. This line of peaks, the eastern extension of the +Uinta Mountains, has received the name of Sierra Escalante, in honor of +a Spanish priest who traveled in this region of country nearly a century +ago. Perchance the reverend father built this monument. + +Now I return to the river and discharge my gun, as a signal for the boat +to come and take me down to camp. While we have been in the park the men +have succeeded in catching a number of fish, and we have an abundant +supply. This is a delightful addition to our _menu._ + +_June 21.--_ We float around the long rock and enter another canyon. The +walls are high and vertical, the canyon is narrow, and the river fills +the whole space below, so that there is no landing-place at the foot of +the cliff. The Green is greatly increased by the Yampa, and we now have +a much larger river. All this volume of water, confined, as it is, in a +narrow channel and rushing with great velocity, is set eddying and +spinning in whirlpools by projecting rocks and short curves, and the +waters waltz their way through the canyon, making their own rippling, +rushing, roaring music. The canyon is much narrower than any we have +seen. We manage our boats with difficulty. They spin about from side to +side and we know not where we are going, and find it impossible to keep +them headed down the stream. At first this causes us great alarm, but we +soon find there is little danger, and that there is a general movement +or progression down the river, to which this whirling is but an +adjunct--that it is the merry mood of the river to dance through this +deep, dark gorge, and right gaily do we join in the sport. + +But soon our revel is interrupted by a cataract; its roaring command is +heeded by all our power at the oars, and we pull against the whirling +current. The "Emma Dean" is brought up against a cliff about 50 feet +above the brink of the fall. By vigorously plying the oars on the side +opposite the wall, as if to pull up stream, we can hold her against the +rock. The boats behind are signaled to land where they can. The "Maid +of the Canyon" is pulled to the left wall, and, by constant rowing, they +can hold her also. The "Sister" is run into an alcove on the right, +where an eddy is in a dance, and in this she joins. Now my little boat +is held against the wall only by the utmost exertion, and it is +impossible to make headway against the current. On examination, I find a +horizontal crevice in the rock, about 10 feet above the water and a +boat's length below us; so we let her down to that point. One of the men +clambers into the crevice, into which he can just crawl; we toss him +the line, which he makes fast in the rocks, and now our boat is tied up. +Then I follow into the crevice and we crawl along up stream a distance +of 50 feet or more, and find a broken place where we can climb about 50 +feet higher. Here we stand on a shelf that passes along down stream to a +point above the falls, where it is broken down, and a pile of rocks, +over which we can descend to the river, is lying against the foot of the +cliff. + +It has been mentioned that one of the boats is on the other side. I +signal for the men to pull her up alongside of the wall, but it cannot +be done; then to cross. This they do, gaining the wall on our side just +above where the "Emma Dean" is tied. + +The third boat is out of sight, whirling in the eddy of a recess. +Looking about, I find another horizontal crevice, along which I crawl to +a point just over the water where this boat is lying, and, calling loud +and long, I finally succeed in making the crew understand that I want +them to bring the boat down, hugging the wall. This they accomplish by +taking advantage of every crevice and knob on the face of the cliff, so +that we have the three boats together at a point a few yards above the +falls. Now, by passing a line up on the shelf, the boats can be let down +to the broken rocks below. This we do, and, making a short portage, our +troubles here are over. + +Below the falls the canyon is wider, and there is more or less space +between the river and the walls; but the stream, though wide, is rapid, +and rolls at a fearful rate among the rocks. We proceed with great +caution, and run the large boats wholly by signal. + +At night we camp at the mouth of a small creek, which affords us a good +supper of trout. In camp to-night we discuss the propriety of several +different names for this canyon. At the falls encountered at noon its +characteristics change suddenly. Above, it is very narrow, and the walls +are almost vertical; below, the canyon is much wider and more flaring, +and high up on the sides crags, pinnacles, and towers are seen. A number +of wild and narrow side canyons enter, and the walls are much broken. +After many suggestions our choice rests between two names, Whirlpool +Canyon and Craggy Canyon, neither of which is strictly appropriate for +both parts of it; so we leave the discussion at this point, with the +understanding that it is best, before finally deciding on a name, to +wait until we see what the character of the canyon is below. + +_June 22._--Still making short portages and letting down with lines. +While we are waiting for dinner to-day, I climb a point that gives me a +good view of the river for two or three miles below, and I think we can +make a long run. After dinner we start; the large boats are to follow in +fifteen minutes and look out for the signal to land. Into the middle of +the stream we row, and down the rapid river we glide, only making +strokes enough with the oars to guide the boat. What a headlong ride it +is! shooting past rocks and islands. I am soon filled with exhilaration +only experienced before in riding a fleet horse over the outstretched +prairie. One, two, three, four miles we go, rearing and plunging with +the waves, until we wheel to the right into a beautiful park and land on +an island, where we go into camp. + +An hour or two before sunset I cross to the mainland and climb a point +of rocks where I can overlook the park and its surroundings. On the east +it is bounded by a high mountain ridge. A semicircle of naked hills +bounds it on the north, west, and south. + +The broad, deep river meanders through the park, interrupted by many +wooded islands; so I name it Island Park, and decide to call the canyon +above, Whirlpool Canyon. + +_June 23.--_We remain in camp to-day to repair our boats, which have had +hard knocks and are leaking. Two of the men go out with the barometer to +climb the cliff at the foot of Whirlpool Canyon and measure the walls; +another goes on the mountain to hunt; and Bradley and I spend the day +among the rocks, studying an interesting geologic fold and collecting +fossils. Late in the afternoon the hunter returns and brings with him a +fine, fat deer; so we give his name to the mountain--Mount Hawkins. Just +before night we move camp to the lower end of the park, floating down +the river about four miles. + +_June 24.--_Bradley and I start early to climb the mountain ridge to the +east, and find its summit to be nearly 3,000 feet above camp. It has +required some labor to scale it; but on its top, what a view! There is a +long spur running out from the Uinta Mountains toward the south, and the +river runs lengthwise through it. Coming down Lodore and Whirlpool +canyons, we cut through the southern slope of the Uinta Mountains; and +the lower end of this latter canyon runs into the spur, but, instead of +splitting it the whole length, the river wheels to the right at the foot +of Whirlpool Canyon in a great curve to the northwest through Island +Park. At the lower end of the park, the river turns again to the +southeast and cuts into the mountain to its center and then makes a +detour to the southwest, splitting the mountain ridge for a distance of +six miles nearly to its foot, and then turns out of it to the left. All +this we can see where we stand on the summit of Mount Hawkins, and so we +name the gorge below, Split Mountain Canyon. + +We are standing 3,000 feet above the waters, which are troubled with +billows and are white with foam. The walls are set with crags and peaks +and buttressed towers and overhanging domes. Turning to the right, the +park is below us, its island groves reflected by the deep, quiet waters. +Rich meadows stretch out on either hand to the verge of a sloping plain +that comes down from the distant mountains. These plains are of almost +naked rock, in strange contrast to the meadows,--blue and lilac colored +rocks, buff and pink, vermilion and brown, and all these colors clear +and bright. A dozen little creeks, dry the greater part of the year, run +down through the half circle of exposed formations, radiating from the +island center to the rim of the basin. Each creek has its system of +side streams and each side stream has its system of laterals, and again +these are divided; so that this outstretched slope of rock is +elaborately embossed. Beds of different-colored formations run in +parallel bands on either side. The perspective, modified by the +undulations, gives the bands a waved appearance, and the high colors +gleam in the midday sun with the luster of satin. We are tempted to call +this Rainbow Park. Away beyond these beds are the Uinta and Wasatch +mountains with their pine forests and snow fields and naked peaks. Now +we turn to the right and look up Whirlpool Canyon, a deep gorge with a +river at the bottom--a gloomy chasm, where mad waves roar; but at this +distance and altitude the river is but a rippling brook, and the chasm a +narrow cleft. The top of the mountain on which we stand is a broad, +grassy table, and a herd of deer are feeding in the distance. Walking +over to the southeast, we look down into the valley of White River, and +beyond that see the far-distant Rocky Mountains, in mellow, perspective +haze, through which snow fields shine. + +_June 25.--_This morning we enter Split Mountain Canyon, sailing in +through a broad, flaring, brilliant gateway. We run two or three rapids, +after they have been carefully examined. Then we have a series of six or +eight, over which we are compelled to pass by letting the boats down +with lines. This occupies the entire day, and we camp at night at the +mouth of a great cave. The cave is at the foot of one of these rapids, +and the waves dash in nearly to its end. We can pass along a little +shelf at the side until we reach the back part. Swallows have built +their nests in the ceiling, and they wheel in, chattering and scolding +at our intrusion; but their clamor is almost drowned by the noise of the +waters. Looking out of the cave, we can see, far up the river, a line of +crags standing sentinel on either side, and Mount Hawkins in the +distance. + +_June 26._--The forenoon is spent in getting our large boats over the +rapids. This afternoon we find three falls in close succession. We carry +our rations over the rocks and let our boats shoot over the falls, +checking and bringing them to land with lines in the eddies below. At +three o'clock we are all aboard again. Down the river we are carried by +the swift waters at great speed, sheering around a rock now and then +with a timely stroke or two of the oars. At one point the river turns +from left to right, in a direction at right angles to the canyon, in a +long chute and strikes the right, where its waters are heaped up in +great billows that tumble back in breakers. We glide into the chute +before we see the danger, and it is too late to stop. Two or three hard +strokes are given on the right and we pause for an instant, expecting to +be dashed against the rock. But the bow of the boat leaps high on a +great wave, the rebounding waters hurl us back, and the peril is past. +The next moment the other boats are hurriedly signaled to land on the +left. Accomplishing this, the men walk along the shore, holding the +boats near the bank, and let them drift around. Starting again, we soon +debouch into a beautiful valley, glide down its length for 10 miles, and +camp under a grand old cottonwood. This is evidently a frequent resort +for Indians. Tent poles are lying about, and the dead embers of late +camp fires are seen. On the plains to the left, antelope are feeding. +Now and then a wolf is seen, and after dark they make the air resound +with their howling. + +_June 27.--_Now our way is along a gently flowing river, beset with many +islands; groves are seen on either side, and natural meadows, where +herds of antelope are feeding. Here and there we have views of the +distant mountains on the right. During the afternoon we make a long +detour to the west and return again to a point not more than half a mile +from where we started at noon, and here we camp for the night under a +high bluff. _June 28.--_To-day the scenery on either side of the river +is much the same as that of yesterday, except that two or three lakes +are discovered, lying in the valley to the west. After dinner we run but +a few minutes when we discover the mouth of the Uinta, a river coming in +from the west. Up the valley of this stream about 40 miles the +reservation of the Uinta Indians is situated. We propose to go there and +see if we can replenish our mess-kit, and perhaps send letters to +friends. We also desire to establish an astronomic station here; and +hence this will be our stopping place for several days. + +Some years ago Captain Berthoud surveyed a stage route from Salt Lake +City to Denver, and this is the place where he crossed the Green River. +His party was encamped here for some time, constructing a ferry boat and +opening a road. + +A little above the mouth of the Uinta, on the west side of the Green, +there is a lake of several thousand acres. We carry our boat across the +divide between this and the river, have a row on its quiet waters, and +succeed in shooting several ducks. + +_June 29.--_A mile and three quarters from here is the junction of the +White River with the Green. The White has its source far to the east in +the Rocky Mountains. This morning I cross the Green and go over into the +valley of the White and extend my walk several miles along its winding +way, until at last I come in sight of some strangely carved rocks, named +by General Hughes, in his journal, "Goblin City." Our last winter's camp +was situated a hundred miles above the point reached to-day. The course +of the river, for much of the distance, is through canyons; but at some +places valleys are found. Excepting these little valleys, the region is +one of great desolation: arid, almost treeless, with bluffs, hills, +ledges of rock, and drifting sands. Along the course of the Green, +however, from the foot of Split Mountain Canyon to a point some distance +below the mouth of the Uinta, there are many groves of cottonwood, +natural meadows, and rich lands. This arable belt extends some distance +up the White River on the east and the Uinta on the west, and the time +must soon come when settlers will penetrate this country and make homes. + +_June 30.--_We have a row up the Uinta to-day, but are not able to make +much headway against the swift current, and hence conclude we must walk +all the way to the agency. + +_July 1.--_Two days have been employed in obtaining the local time, +taking observations for latitude and longitude, and making excursions +into the adjacent country. This morning, with two of the men, I start +for the agency. It is a toilsome walk, 20 miles of the distance being +across a sand desert. Occasionally we have to wade the river, crossing +it back and forth. Toward evening we cross several beautiful streams, +tributaries of the Uinta, and pass through pine groves and meadows, +arriving at the reservation just at dusk. Captain Dodds, the agent, is +away, having gone to Salt Lake City, but his assistants receive us very +kindly. It is rather pleasant to see a house once more, and some +evidences of civilization, even if it is on an Indian reservation +several days' ride from the nearest home of the white man. + +_July 2._--I go this morning to visit Tsauwiat. This old chief is but the +wreck of a man, and no longer has influence. Looking at him one can +scarcely realize that he is a man. His skin is shrunken, wrinkled, and +dry, and seems to cover no more than a form of bones. He is said to be +more than 100 years old. I talk a little with him, but his conversation +is incoherent, though he seems to take pride in showing me some medals +that must have been given him many years ago. He has a pipe which he +says he has used a long time. I offer to exchange with him, and he seems +to be glad to accept; so I add another to my collection of pipes. His +wife, "The Bishop," as she is called, is a very garrulous old woman; she +exerts a great influence, and is much revered. She is the only Indian +woman I have known to occupy a place in the council ring. She seems +very much younger than her husband, and, though wrinkled and ugly, is +still vigorous. She has much to say to me concerning the condition of +the people, and seems very anxious that they should learn to cultivate +the soil, own farms, and live like white men. After talking a couple of +hours with these old people, I go to see the farms. They are situated in +a very beautiful district, where many fine streams of water meander +across alluvial plains and meadows. These creeks have a considerable +fall, and it is easy to take their waters out above and overflow the +lands with them. + +It will be remembered that irrigation is necessary in this dry climate +to successful farming. Quite a number of Indians have each a patch of +ground of two or three acres, on which they are raising wheat, potatoes, +turnips, pumpkins, melons, and other vegetables. Most of the crops are +looking well, and it is rather surprising with what pride they show us +that they are able to cultivate crops like white men. They are still +occupying lodges, and refuse to build houses, assigning as a reason that +when any one dies in a lodge it is always abandoned, and very often +burned with all the effects of the deceased; and when houses have been +built for them the houses have been treated in the same way. With their +unclean habits, a fixed residence would doubtless be no pleasant place. + +This beautiful valley has been the home of a people of a higher grade of +civilization than the present Utes. Evidences of this are quite +abundant; on our way here yesterday we discovered fragments +of pottery in many places along the trail; and, wandering about the +little farms to-day, I find the foundations of ancient houses, and +mealing-stones that were not used by nomadic people, as they are too +heavy to be transported by such tribes, and are deeply worn. The +Indians, seeing that I am interested in these matters, take pains to +show me several other places where these evidences remain, and tell me +that they know nothing about the people who formerly dwelt here. They +further tell me that up in the canyon the rocks are covered with +pictures. + +_July 5.--_The last two days have been spent in studying the language +of the Indians and in making collections of articles illustrating the +state of arts among them. + +Frank Goodman informs me this morning that he has concluded not to go on +with the party, saying that he has seen danger enough. It will be +remembered that he was one of the crew on the "No Name" when she was +wrecked. As our boats are rather heavily loaded, I am content that he +should leave, although he has been a faithful man. + +We start early on our return to the boats, taking horses with us from +the reservation, and two Indians, who are to bring the animals back. + +Whirlpool Canyon is 14 1/4 miles in length, the walls varying from 1,800 +to 2,400 feet in height. The course of the river through Island Park is +9 miles. Split Mountain Canyon is 8 miles long. The highest crags on its +walls reach an altitude above the river of from 2,500 to 2,700 feet. In +these canyons cedars only are found on the walls. + +The distance by river from the foot of Split Mountain Canyon to the +mouth of the Uinta is 67 miles. The valley through which it runs is the +home of many antelope, and we have adopted for it the Indian name +Won'sits Yuav--Antelope Valley. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +FROM THE MOUTH OF THE UINTA RIVER TO THE JUNCTION OF THE +GRAND AND GREEN. + + +_July 6_.--An early start this morning. A short distance below the mouth +of the Uinta we come to the head of a long island. Last winter a man +named Johnson, a hunter and Indian trader, visited us at our camp in +White River Valley. This man has an Indian wife, and, having no fixed +home, usually travels with one of the Ute bands. He informed me that it +was his intention to plant some corn, potatoes, and other vegetables on +this island in the spring, and, knowing that we would pass it, invited +us to stop and help ourselves, even if he should not be there; so we +land and go out on the island. Looking about, we soon discover his +garden, but it is in a sad condition, having received no care since it +was planted. It is yet too early in the season for corn, but Hall +suggests that potato tops are good greens, and, anxious for some change +from our salt-meat fare, we gather a quantity and take them aboard. At +noon we stop and cook our greens for dinner; but soon one after another +of the party is taken sick; nausea first, and then severe vomiting, and +we tumble around under the trees, groaning with pain. I feel a little +alarmed, lest our poisoning be severe. Emetics are administered to those +who are willing to take them, and about the middle of the afternoon we +are all rid of the pain. Jack Sumner records in his diary that "potato +tops are not good greens on the 6th day of July." + +This evening we enter another canyon, almost imperceptibly, as the walls +rise very gently. + +_July 7._--We find quiet water to-day, the river sweeping in great and +beautiful curves, the canyon walls steadily increasing in altitude. The +escarpments formed by the cut edges of the rock are often vertical, +sometimes terraced, and in some places the treads of the terraces +are sloping. In these quiet curves vast amphitheaters are formed, now in +vertical rocks, now in steps. + +The salient point of rock within the curve is usually broken down in a +steep slope, and we stop occasionally to climb up at such a place, where +on looking down we can see the river sweeping the foot of the opposite +cliff in a great, easy curve, with a perpendicular or terraced wall +rising from the water's edge many hundreds of feet. One of these we find +very symmetrical and name it Sumner's Amphitheater. The cliffs are +rarely broken by the entrance of side canyons, and we sweep around curve +after curve with almost continuous walls for several miles. + +Late in the afternoon we find the river very much rougher and come upon +rapids, not dangerous, but still demanding close attention. We camp at +night on the right bank, having made 26 miles. _July 8.--_This morning +Bradley and I go out to climb, and gain an altitude of more than 2,000 +feet above the river, but still do not reach the summit of the wall. + +After dinner we pass through a region of the wildest desolation. The +canyon is very tortuous, the river very rapid, and many lateral canyons +enter on either side. These usually have their branches, so that the +region is cut into a wilderness of gray and brown cliffs. In several +places these lateral canyons are separated from one another only by +narrow walls, often hundreds of feet high,--so narrow in places that +where softer rocks are found below they have crumbled away and left +holes in the wall, forming passages from one canyon into another. These +we often call natural bridges; but they were never intended to span +streams. They would better, perhaps, be called side doors between canyon +chambers. Piles of broken rock lie against these walls; crags and +tower-shaped peaks are seen everywhere, and away above them, long lines +of broken cliffs; and above and beyond the cliffs are pine forests, of +which we obtain occasional glimpses as we look up through a vista of +rocks. The walls are almost without vegetation; a few dwarf bushes are +seen here and there clinging to the rocks, and cedars grow from the +crevices--not like the cedars of a land refreshed with rains, great +cones bedecked with spray, but ugly clumps, like war clubs beset with +spines. We are minded to call this the Canyon of Desolation. + +The wind annoys us much to-day. The water, rough by reason of the +rapids, is made more so by head gales. Wherever a great face of rocks +has a southern exposure, the rarefied air rises and the wind rushes in +below, either up or down the canyon, or both, causing local currents. +Just at sunset we run a bad rapid and camp at its foot. + +_July 9.--_Our run to-day is through a canyon with ragged, broken walls, +many lateral gulches or canyons entering on either side. The river is +rough, and occasionally it becomes necessary to use lines in passing +rocky places. During the afternoon we come to a rather open canyon +valley, stretching up toward the west, its farther end lost in the +mountains. From a point to which we climb we obtain a good view of its +course, until its angular walls are lost in the vista. + +_July 10.--_Sumner, who is a fine mechanic, is learning to take +observations for time with the sextant. To-day he remains in camp to +practice. Howland and I determine to climb out, and start up a lateral +canyon, taking a barometer with us for the purpose of measuring the +thickness of the strata over which we pass. The readings of the +barometer below are recorded every half hour and our observations must +be simultaneous. Where the beds which we desire to measure are very +thick, we must climb with the utmost speed to reach their summits in +time; where the beds are thinner, we must wait for the moment to arrive; +and so, by hard and easy stages, we make our way to the top of the +canyon wall and reach the plateau above about two o' clock. + +Howland, who has his gun with him, sees deer feeding a mile or two back +and goes off for a hunt. I go to a peak which seems to be the highest +one in this region, about half a mile distant, and climb, for-the +purpose of tracing the topography of the adjacent country. From this +point a fine view is obtained. A long plateau stretches across the river +in an easterly and westerly direction, the summit covered by pine +forests, with intervening elevated valleys and gulches. The plateau +itself is cut in two by the canyon. Other side canyons head away back +from the river and run down into the Green. Besides these, deep and +abrupt canyons are seen to head back on the plateau and run north toward +the Uinta and White rivers. Still other canyons head in the valleys and +run toward the south. The elevation of the plateau being about 8,000 +feet above the level of the sea, it is in a region of moisture, as is +well attested by the forests and grassy valleys. The plateau seems to +rise gradually to the west, until it merges into the Wasatch Mountains. +On these high table-lands elk and deer abound; and they are favorite +hunting grounds for the Ute Indians. + +A little before sunset Howland and I meet again at the head of the side +canyon, and down we start. It is late, and we must make great haste or +be caught by the darkness; so we go, running where we can, leaping over +the ledges, letting each other down on the loose rocks, as long as we +can see. When darkness comes we are still some distance from camp, and a +long, slow, anxious descent is made toward the gleaming camp fire. + +After supper, observations for latitude are taken, and only two or three +hours for sleep remain before daylight. + +_July 11.--_ A short distance below camp we run a rapid, and in doing so +break an oar and then lose another, both belonging to the "Emma Dean." +Now the pioneer boat has but two oars. We see nothing from which oars +can be made, so we conclude to run on to some point where it seems +possible to climb out to the forests on the plateau, and there we will +procure suitable timber from which to make new ones. + +We soon approach another rapid. Standing on deck, I think it can be run, +and on we go. Coming nearer, I see that at the foot it has a short turn +to the left, where the waters pile up against the cliff. Here we try to +land, but quickly discover that, being in swift water above the fall, we +cannot reach shore, crippled as we are by the loss of two oars; so the +bow of the boat is turned down stream. We shoot by a big rock; a reflex +wave rolls over our little boat and fills her. I see that the place is +dangerous and quickly signal to the other boats to land where they can. +This is scarcely completed when another wave rolls our boat over and I +am thrown some distance into the water. I soon find that swimming is +very easy and I cannot sink. It is only necessary to ply strokes +sufficient to keep my head out of the water, though now and then, when a +breaker rolls over me, I close my mouth and am carried through it. The +boat is drifting ahead of me 20 or 30 feet, and when the great waves +have passed I overtake her and find Sumner and Dunn clinging to her. As +soon as we reach quiet water we all swim to one side and turn her over. +In doing this, Dunn loses his hold and goes under; when he comes up he +is caught by Sumner and pulled to the boat. In the meantime we have +drifted down stream some distance and see another rapid below. How bad +it may be we cannot tell; so we swim toward shore, pulling our boat with +us, with all the vigor possible, but are carried down much faster than +distance toward shore is diminished. At last we reach a huge pile of +driftwood. Our rolls of blankets, two guns, and a barometer were in the +open compartment of the boat and, when it went over, these were thrown +out. The guns and barometer are lost, but I succeeded in catching one of +the rolls of blankets as it drifted down, when we were swimming to +shore; the other two are lost, and sometimes hereafter we may sleep +cold. + +A huge fire is built on the bank and our clothing spread to dry, and +then from the drift logs we select one from which we think oars can be +made, and the remainder of the day is spent in sawing them out. + +_July 12.--_This morning the new oars are finished and we start once +more. We pass several bad rapids, making a short portage at one, and +before noon we come to a long, bad fall, where the channel is filled +with rocks on the left which turn the waters to the right, where they +pass under an overhanging rock. On examination we determine to run it, +keeping as close to the left-hand rocks as safety will permit, in order +to avoid the overhanging cliff. The little boat runs over all right; +another follows, but the men are not able to keep her near enough to the +left bank and she is carried by a swift chute into great waves to the +right, where she is tossed about and Bradley is knocked over the side; +his foot catching under the seat, he is dragged along in the water with +his head down; making great exertion, he seizes the gunwale with his +left hand and can lift his head above water now and then. To us who are +below, it seems impossible to keep the boat from going under the +overhanging cliff; but Powell, for the moment heedless of Bradley's +mishap, pulls with all his power for half a dozen strokes, when the +danger is past; then he seizes Bradley and pulls him in. The men in the +boat above, seeing this, land, and she is let down by lines. + +Just here we emerge from the Canyon of Desolation, as we have named it, +into a more open country, which extends for a distance of nearly a mile, +when we enter another canyon cut through gray sandstone. + +About three o'clock in the afternoon we meet with a new difficulty. The +river fills the entire channel; the walls are vertical on either side +from the water's edge, and a bad rapid is beset with rocks. We come to +the head of it and land on a rock in the stream. The little boat is let +down to another rock below, the men of the larger boat holding to the +line; the second boat is let down in the same way, and the line of the +third boat is brought with them. Now the third boat pushes out from the +upper rock, and, as we have her line below, we pull in and catch her as +she is sweeping by at the foot of the rock on which we stand. Again the +first boat is let down stream the full length of her line and the second +boat is passed down, by the first to the extent of her line, which is +held by the men in the first boat; so she is two lines' length from +where she started. Then the third boat is let down past the second, and +still down, nearly to the length of her line, so that she is fast to the +second boat and swinging down three lines' lengths, with the other two +boats intervening. Held in this way, the men are able to pull her into a +cove in the left wall, where she is made fast. But this leaves a man on +the rock above, holding to the line of the little boat. When all is +ready, he springs from the rock, clinging to the line with one hand and +swimming with the other, and we pull him in as he goes by. As the two +boats, thus loosened, drift down, the men in the cove pull us all in as +we come opposite; then we pass around to a point of rock below the cove, +close to the wall, land, make a short portage over the worst places in +the rapid, and start again. + +At night we camp on a sand beach. The wind blows a hurricane; the +drifting sand almost blinds us; and nowhere can we find shelter. The +wind continues to blow all night, the sand sifting through our blankets +and piling over us until we are covered as in a snowdrift. We are glad +when morning comes. + +_July 13.--_This morning we have an exhilarating ride. The river is +swift, and there are many smooth rapids. I stand on deck, keeping +careful watch ahead, and we glide along, mile after mile, plying +strokes, now on the right and then on the left, just sufficient to guide +our boats past the rocks into smooth water. At noon we emerge from Gray +Canyon, as we have named it, and camp for dinner under a cotton-wood +tree standing on the left bank. + +Extensive sand plains extend back from the immediate river valley as far +as we can see on either side. These naked, drifting sands gleam +brilliantly in the midday sun of July. The reflected heat from the +glaring surface produces a curious motion of the atmosphere; little +currents are generated and the whole seems to be trembling and moving +about in many directions, or, failing to see that the movement is in the +atmosphere, it gives the impression of an unstable land. Plains and +hills and cliffs and distant mountains seem to be floating vaguely about +in a trembling, wave-rocked sea, and patches of landscape seem to float +away and be lost, and then to reappear. + +Just opposite, there are buttes, outliers of cliffs to the left. Below, +they are composed of shales and marls of light blue and slate colors; +above, the rocks are buff and gray, and then brown. The buttes are +buttressed below, where the azure rocks are seen, and terraced above +through the gray and brown beds. A long line of cliffs or rock +escarpments separates the table-lands through which Gray Canyon is cut, +from the lower plain. The eye can trace these azure beds and cliffs on +either side of the river, in a long line extending across its course, +until they fade away in the perspective. These cliffs are many miles in +length and hundreds of feet high; and all these buttes--great +mountain-masses of rock--are dancing and fading away and reappearing, +softly moving about,--or so they seem to the eye as seen through the +shifting atmosphere. + +This afternoon our way is through a valley with cottonwood groves on +either side. The river is deep, broad, and quiet. About two hours after +noon camp we discover an Indian crossing, where a number of rafts, +rudely constructed of logs and bound together by withes, are +floating against the bank. On landing, we see evidences that a party of +Indians have crossed within a very few days. This is the place where the +lamented Gunnison crossed, in the year 1853, when making an exploration +for a railroad route to the Pacific coast. + +An hour later we run a long rapid and stop at its foot to examine some +interesting rocks, deposited by mineral springs that at one time must +have existed here, but which are no longer flowing. + +_July 14.--_ This morning we pass some curious black bluffs on the +right, then two or three short canyons, and then we discover the mouth +of the San Rafael, a stream which comes down from the distant mountains +in the west. Here we stop for an hour or two and take a short walk up +the valley, and find it is a frequent resort for Indians. Arrowheads are +scattered about, many of them very beautiful; flint chips are strewn +over the ground in great profusion, and the trails are well worn. + +Starting after dinner, we pass some beautiful buttes on the left, many +of which are very symmetrical. They are chiefly composed of gypsum, of +many hues, from light gray to slate color; then pink, purple, and brown +beds. Now we enter another canyon. Gradually the walls rise higher and +higher as we proceed, and the summit of the canyon is formed of the same +beds of orange-colored sandstone. Back from the brink the hollows of the +plateau are filled with sands disintegrated from these orange beds. They +are of a rich cream color, shading into maroon, everywhere destitute of +vegetation, and drifted into long, wave-like ridges. + +The course of the river is tortuous, and it nearly doubles upon itself +many times. The water is quiet, and constant rowing is necessary to make +much headway. Sometimes there is a narrow flood plain between the river +and the wall, on one side or the other. Where these long, gentle curves +are found, the river washes the very foot of the outer wall. A long +peninsula of willow-bordered meadow projects within the curve, and the +talus at the foot of the cliff is usually covered with dwarf oaks. The +orange-colored sandstone is homogeneous in structure, and the walls are +usually vertical, though not very high. Where the river sweeps around a +curve under a cliff, a vast hollow dome may be seen, with many caves and +deep alcoves, which are greatly admired by the members of the party as +we go by. + +We camp at night on the left bank. + +_July 15._---Our camp is in a great bend of the canyon. The curve is to +the west and we are on the east side of the river. Just opposite, a +little stream comes down through a narrow side canyon. We cross and go +up to explore it. At its mouth another lateral canyon enters, in the +angle between the former and the main canyon above. Still another enters +in the angle between the canyon below and the side canyon first +mentioned; so that three side canyons enter at the same point. These +canyons are very tortuous, almost closed in from view, and, seen from +the opposite side of the river, they appear like three alcoves. We name +this Trin-Alcove Bend. + +Going up the little stream in the central cove, we pass between high +walls of sandstone, and wind about in glens. Springs gush from the rocks +at the foot of the walls; narrow passages in the rocks are threaded, +caves are entered, and many side canyons are observed. + +The right cove is a narrow, winding gorge, with overhanging walls, +almost shutting out the light. The left is an amphitheater, turning +spirally up, with overhanging shelves. A series of basins filled with +water are seen at different altitudes as we pass up; huge rocks are +piled below on the right, and overhead there is an arched ceiling. After +exploring these alcoves, we recross the river and climb the rounded +rocks on the point of the bend. In every direction, as far as we are +able to see, naked rocks appear. Buttes are scattered on the landscape, +here rounded into cones, there buttressed, columned, and carved in +quaint shapes, with deep alcoves and sunken recesses. All about us are +basins, excavated in the soft sandstone; and these have been filled by +the late rains. + +Over the rounded rocks and water pockets we look off on a fine Stretch +of river, and beyond are naked rocks and beautiful buttes leading the +eye to the Azure Cliffs, and beyond these and above them the Brown +Cliffs, and still beyond, mountain peaks; and clouds piled over all. + +On we go, after dinner, with quiet water, still compelled to row in +order to make fair progress. The canyon is yet very tortuous. About six +miles below noon camp we go around a great bend to the right, five miles +in length, and come back to a point within a quarter of a mile of where +we started. Then we sweep around another great bend to the left, making +a circuit of nine miles, and come back to a point within 600 yards of +the beginning of the bend. In the two circuits we describe almost the +figure 8. The men call it a "bowknot" of river; so we name it Bowknot +Bend. The line of the figure is 14 miles in length. + +There is an exquisite charm in our ride to-day down this beautiful +canyon. It gradually grows deeper with every mile of travel; the walls +are symmetrically curved and grandly arched, of a beautiful color, and +reflected in the quiet waters in many places so as almost to deceive the +eye and suggest to the beholder the thought that he is looking into +profound depths. We are all in fine spirits and feel very gay, and the +badinage of the men is echoed from wall to wall. Now and then we whistle +or shout or discharge a pistol, to listen to the reverberations among +the cliffs. + +At night we camp on the south side of the great Bowknot, and as +we eat supper, which is spread on the beach, we name this Labyrinth +Canyon. + +_July 16.--_Still we go down on our winding way. Tower cliffs are +passed; then the river widens out for several miles, and meadows are +seen on either side between the river and the walls. We name this +expansion of the river Tower Park. At two o'clock we emerge from +Labyrinth Canyon and go into camp. + +_July 17._--The line which separates Labyrinth Canyon from the one below +is but a line, and at once, this morning, we enter another canyon. The +water fills the entire channel, so that nowhere is there room to land. +The walls are low, but vertical, and as we proceed they gradually +increase in altitude. Running a couple of miles, the river changes its +course many degrees toward the east. Just here a little stream comes in +on the right and the wall is broken down; so we land and go out to take +a view of the surrounding country. We are now down among the buttes, and +in a region the surface of which is naked, solid rock--a beautiful red +sandstone, forming a smooth, undulating pavement. The Indians call this +the _Toom'pin Tuweap',_ or "Rock Land," and sometimes the _Toom'pin +wunear'l Tuweap',_ or "Land of Standing Rock." + +Off to the south we see a butte in the form of a fallen cross. It is +several miles away, but it presents no inconspicuous figure on the +landscape and must be many hundreds of feet high, probably more than +2,000. We note its position on our map and name it "The Butte of the +Cross." + +We continue our journey. In many places the walls, which rise from the +water's edge, are overhanging on either side. The stream is still quiet, +and we glide along through a strange, weird, grand region. The landscape +everywhere, away from the river, is of rock--cliffs of rock, tables of +rock, plateaus of rock, terraces of rock, crags of rock--ten thousand +strangely carved forms; rocks everywhere, and no vegetation, no soil, no +sand. In long, gentle curves the river winds about these rocks. + +When thinking of these rocks one must not conceive of piles of boulders +or heaps of fragments, but of a whole land of naked rock, with giant +forms carved on it: cathedral-shaped buttes, towering hundreds or +thousands of feet, cliffs that cannot be scaled, and canyon walls that +shrink the river into insignificance, with vast, hollow domes and tall +pinnacles and shafts set on the verge overhead; and all highly +colored--buff, gray, red, brown, and chocolate--never lichened, never +moss-covered, but bare, and often polished. + +We pass a place where two bends of the river come together, an +intervening rock having been worn away and a new channel formed across. +The old channel ran in a great circle around to the right, by what was +once a circular peninsula, then an island; then the water left the old +channel entirely and passed through the cut, and the old bed of the +river is dry. So the great circular rock stands by itself, with +precipitous walls all about it, and we find but one place where it can +be scaled. Looking from its summit, a long stretch of river is seen, +sweeping close to the overhanging cliffs on the right, but having a +little meadow between it and the wall on the left. The curve is very +gentle and regular. We name this Bonita Bend. + +And just here we climb out once more, to take another bearing on The +Butte of the Cross. Reaching an eminence from which we can overlook the +landscape, we are surprised to find that our butte, with its wonderful +form, is indeed two buttes, one so standing in front of the other that +from our last point of view it gave the appearance of a cross. + +A few miles below Bonita Bend we go out again a mile or two among the +rocks, toward the Orange Cliffs, passing over terraces paved with +jasper. The cliffs are not far away and we soon reach them, and wander +in some deep, painted alcoves which attracted our attention from the +river; then we return to our boats. + +Late in the afternoon the water becomes swift and our boats make great +speed.. An hour of this rapid running brings us to the junction of the +Grand and Green, the foot of Stillwater Canyon, as we have named it. +These streams-unite in solemn depths, more than 1,200 feet below the +general surface of the country. The walls of the lower end of Stillwater +Canyon are very beautifully curved, as the river sweeps in its +meandering course. The lower end of the canyon through which the Grand +comes down is also regular, but much more direct, and we look up this +stream and out into the country beyond and obtain glimpses of snow-clad +peaks, the summits of a group of mountains known as the Sierra La Sal. +Down the Colorado the canyon walls are much broken. + +We row around into the Grand and camp on its northwest bank; and here we +propose to stay several days, for the purpose of determining the +latitude and longitude and the altitude of the walls. Much of the night +is spent in making observations with the sextant. + +The distance from the mouth of the Uinta to the head of the Canyon of +Desolation is 20 3/4 miles. The Canyon of Desolation is 97 miles long; +Gray Canyon, 36 miles. The course of the river through Gunnison Valley +is 27 1/4 miles; Labyrinth Canyon, 62 1/2 miles. + +In the Canyon of Desolation the highest rocks immediately over the river +are about 2,400 feet. This is at Log Cabin Cliff. The highest part of +the terrace is near the brink of the Brown Cliffs. Climbing the +immediate walls of the canyon and passing back to the canyon terrace and +climbing that, we find the altitude above the river to be 3,300 feet. +The lower end of Gray Canyon is about 2,000 feet; the lower end of +Labyrinth Canyon, 1,300 feet. + +Stillwater Canyon is 42 3/4 miles long; the highest walls, 1,300 feet. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +FROM THE JUNCTION OF THE GRAND AND GREEN TO THE MOUTH OF THE LITTLE +COLORADO. + + +_July 18_.--The day is spent in obtaining the time and spreading our +rations, which we find are badly injured. The flour has been wet and +dried so many times that it is all musty and full of hard lumps. We make +a sieve of mosquito netting and run our flour through, it, losing more +than 200 pounds by the process. Our losses, by the wrecking of the "No +Name," and by various mishaps since, together with the amount thrown +away to-day, leave us little more than two months' supplies, and to make +them last thus long we must be fortunate enough to lose no more. + +We drag our boats on shore and turn them over to recalk and pitch them, +and Sumner is engaged in repairing barometers. While we are here for a +day or two, resting, we propose to put everything in the best shape for +a vigorous campaign. + +_July 19.--_Bradley and I start this morning to climb the left wall +below the junction. The way we have selected is up a gulch. Climbing for +an hour over and among the rocks, we find ourselves in a vast +amphitheater and our way cut off. We clamber around to the left for half +an hour, until we find that we cannot go up in that direction. Then we +try the rocks around to the right and discover a narrow shelf nearly +half a mile long. In some places this is so wide that we pass along with +ease; in others it is so narrow and sloping that we are compelled to lie +down and crawl. We can look over the edge of the shelf, down 800 feet, +and see the river rolling and plunging among the rocks. Looking up 500 +feet to the brink of the cliff, it seems to blend with the sky. We +continue along until we come to a point where the wall is again broken +down. Up we climb. On the right there is a narrow, mural point +of rocks, extending toward the river, 200 or 300 feet high and 600 or +800 feet long. We come back to where this sets in and find it cut off +from the main wall by a great crevice. Into this we pass; and now a +long, narrow rock is between us and the river. The rock itself is split +longitudinally and transversely; and the rains on the surface above have +run down through the crevices and gathered into channels below and then +run off into the river. The crevices are usually narrow above and, by +erosion of the streams, wider below, forming a network of "caves", each +cave having a narrow, winding skylight up through the rocks. We wander +among these corridors for an hour or two, but find no place where the +rocks are broken down so that we can climb up. At last we determine to +attempt a passage by a crevice, and select one which we think is wide +enough to admit of the passage of our bodies and yet narrow enough to +climb out by pressing our hands and feet against the walls. So we climb +as men would out of a well. Bradley climbs first; I hand him the +barometer, then climb over his head and he hands me the barometer. So we +pass each other alternately until we emerge from the fissure, out on the +summit of the rock. And what a world of grandeur is spread before us! +Below is the canyon through which the Colorado runs. We can trace its +course for miles, and at points catch glimpses of the river. From the +northwest comes the Green in a narrow winding gorge. From the northeast +comes the Grand, through a canyon that seems bottomless from where we +stand. Away to the west are lines of cliffs and ledges of rock--not such +ledges as the reader may have seen where the quarryman splits his +blocks, but ledges from which the gods might quarry mountains that, +rolled out on the plain below, would stand a lofty range; and not such +cliffs as the reader may have seen where the swallow builds its nest, +but cliffs where the soaring eagle is lost to view ere he reaches the +summit. Between us and the distant cliffs are the strangely carved and +pinnacled rocks of the _Toom'pin wunear' Tuweap'._ On the summit of the +opposite wall of the canyon are rock forms that we do not understand. +Away to the east a group of eruptive mountains are seen--the Sierra La +Sal, which we first saw two days ago through the canyon of the Grand. +Their slopes are covered with pines, and deep gulches are flanked with +great crags, and snow fields are seen near the summits. So the mountains +are in uniform,--green, gray, and silver. Wherever we look there is but +a wilderness of rocks,--deep gorges where the rivers are lost below +cliffs and towers and pinnacles, and ten thousand strangely carved forms +in every direction, and beyond them mountains blending with the clouds. + +Now we return to camp. While eating supper we very naturally speak of +better fare, as musty bread and spoiled bacon are not palatable. Soon I +see Hawkins down by the boat, taking up the sextant--rather a strange +proceeding for him--and I question him concerning it. He replies that he +is trying to find the latitude and longitude of the nearest pie. + +_July 20.--_This morning Captain Powell and I go out to climb the west +wall of the canyon, for the purpose of examining the strange rocks seen +yesterday from the other side. Two hours bring us to the top, at a point +between the Green and Colorado overlooking the junction of the rivers. + +A long neck of rock extends toward the mouth of the Grand. Out on this +we walk, crossing a great number of deep crevices. Usually the smooth +rock slopes down to the fissure on either side. Sometimes it is an +interesting question to us whether the slope is not so steep that we +cannot stand on it. Sometimes, starting down, we are compelled to go +on, and when we measure the crevice with our eye from above we are not +always sure that it is not too wide for a jump. Probably the slopes +would not be difficult if there was not a fissure at the lower end; nor +would the fissures cause fear if they were but a few feet deep. It is +curious how a little obstacle becomes a great obstruction when a misstep +would land a man in the bottom of a deep chasm. Climbing the face of a +cliff, a man will without hesitancy walk along a step or shelf but a few +inches wide if the landing is but ten feet below, but if the foot of the +cliff is a thousand feet down he will prefer to crawl along the shelf. +At last our way is cut off by a fissure so deep and wide that we cannot +pass it. Then we turn and walk back into the country, over the smooth, +naked sandstone, without vegetation, except that here and there dwarf +cedars and piñón pines have found a footing in the huge cracks. There +are great basins in the rock, holding water,--some but a few gallons, +others hundreds of barrels. + +The day is spent in walking about through these strange scenes. A narrow +gulch is cut into the wall of the main canyon. Follow this up and the +climb is rapid, as if going up a mountain side, for the gulch heads but +a few hundred or a few thousand yards from the wall. But this gulch has +its side gulches, and as the summit is approached a group of radiating +canyons is found. The spaces drained by these little canyons are +terraced, and are, to a greater or less extent, of the form of +amphitheaters, though some are oblong and some rather irregular. Usually +the spaces drained by any two of these little side canyons are separated +by a narrow wall, 100, 200, or 300 feet high, and often but a few feet +in thickness. Sometimes the wall is broken into a line of pyramids above +and still remains a wall below. There are a number of these gulches +which break the wall of the main canyon of the Green, each one having +its system of side canyons and amphitheaters, inclosed by walls or lines +of pinnacles. The course of the Green at this point is approximately at +right angles to that of the Colorado, and on the brink of the latter +canyon we find the same system of terraced and walled glens. The walls +and pinnacles and towers are of sandstone, homogeneous in structure but +not in color, as they show broad bands of red, buff, and gray. This +painting of the rocks, dividing them into sections, increases their +apparent height. In some places these terraced and walled glens along +the Colorado have coalesced with those along the Green; that is, the +intervening walls are broken down. It is very rarely that a loose rock +is seen. The sand is washed off, so that the walls, terraces, and slopes +of the glens are all of smooth sandstone. + +In the walls themselves curious caves and channels have been carved. In +some places there are little stairways up the walls; in others, the +walls present what are known as royal arches; and so we wander through +glens and among pinnacles and climb the walls from early morn until late +in the afternoon. + +_July 21.--_ We start this morning on the Colorado. The river is rough, +and bad rapids in close succession are found. Two very hard portages are +made during the forenoon. After dinner, in running a rapid, the "Emma +Dean" is swamped and we are thrown into the river; we cling to the boat, +and in the first quiet water below she is righted and bailed out; but +three oars are lost in this mishap. The larger boats land above the +dangerous place, and we make a portage, which occupies all the +afternoon. We camp at night on the rocks on the left bank, and can +scarcely find room to lie down. + +_July 22.--_This morning we continue our journey, though short of oars. +There is no timber growing on the walls within our reach and no +driftwood along the banks, so we are compelled to go on until something +suitable can be found. A mile and three quarters below, we find a huge +pile of driftwood, among which are some cottonwood logs. From these we +select one which we think the best, and the men are set at work sawing +oars. Our boats are leaking again, from the strains received in the bad +rapids yesterday, so after dinner they are turned over and some of the +men calk them. + +Captain Powell and I go out to climb the wall to the east, for we can +see dwarf pines above, and it is our purpose to collect the resin which +oozes from them, to use in pitching our boats. We take a barometer with +us and find that the walls are becoming higher, for now they register an +altitude above the river of nearly 1,500 feet. + +_July 23._--On starting, we come at once to difficult rapids and falls, +that in many places are more abrupt than in any of the canyons through +which we have passed, and we decide to name this Cataract Canyon. From +morning until noon the course of the river is to the west; the scenery +is grand, with rapids, and falls below, and walls above, beset with +crags and pinnacles. Just at noon we wheel again to the south and go +into camp for dinner. + +While the cook is preparing it, Bradley, Captain Powell, and I go up +into a side canyon that comes in at this point. We enter through a very +narrow passage, having to wade along the course of a little stream until +a cascade interrupts our progress. Then we climb to the right for a +hundred feet until we reach a little shelf, along which we pass, walking +with great care, for it is narrow; thus we pass around the fall. Here +the gorge widens into a spacious, sky-roofed chamber. In the farther end +is a beautiful grove of cottonwoods, and between us and the cotton-woods +the little stream widens out into three clear lakelets with bottoms of +smooth rock. Beyond the cottonwoods the brook tumbles in a series of +white, shining cascades from heights that seem immeasurable. Turning +around, we can look through the cleft through which we came and see the +river with towering walls beyond. What a chamber for a resting-place is +this! hewn from the solid rock, the heavens for a ceiling, cascade +fountains within, a grove in the conservatory, clear lakelets for a +refreshing bath, and an outlook through the doorway on a raging river, +with cliffs and mountains beyond. + +Our way after dinner is through a gorge, grand beyond description. The +walls are nearly vertical, the river broad and swift, but free from +rocks and falls. From the edge of the water to the brink of the cliffs +it is 1,600 to 1,800 feet. At this great depth the river rolls in solemn +majesty. The cliffs are reflected from the more quiet river, and we seem +to be in the depths of the earth, and yet we can look down into waters +that reflect a bottomless abyss. Early in the afternoon we arrive +at the head of more rapids and falls, but, wearied with past work, we +determine to rest, so go into camp, and the afternoon and evening are +spent by the men in discussing the probabilities of successfully +navigating the river below. The barometric records are examined to see +what descent we have made since we left the mouth of the Grand, and what +descent since we left the Pacific Railroad, and what fall there yet +must be to the river ere we reach the end of the great canyons. The +conclusion at which the men arrive seems to be about this: that there +are great descents yet to be made, but if they are distributed in rapids +and short falls, as they have been heretofore, we shall be able to +overcome them; but may be we shall come to a fall in these canyons which +we cannot pass, where the walls rise from the water's edge, so that we +cannot land, and where the water is so swift that we cannot return. Such +places have been found, except that the falls were not so great but that +we could run them with safety. How will it be in the future t So they +speculate over the serious probabilities in jesting mood. + +_July 24.--_We examine the rapids below. Large rocks have fallen from +the walls--great, angular blocks, which have rolled down the talus and +are strewn along the channel. We are compelled to make three portages in +succession, the distance being less than three fourths of a mile, with a +fall of 75 feet. Among these rocks, in chutes, whirlpools, and great +waves, with rushing breakers and foam, the water finds its way, still +tumbling down. We stop for the night only three fourths of a mile below +the last camp. A very hard day's work has been done, and at evening I +sit on a rock by the edge of the river and look at the water and listen +to its roar. Hours ago deep shadows settled into the canyon, as the sun +passed behind the cliffs. Now, doubtless, the sun has gone down, for we +can see no glint of light on the crags above. Darkness is coming on; but +the waves are rolling with crests of foam so white they seem almost to +give a light of their own. Near by, a chute of water strikes the foot of +a great block of limestone 50 feet high, and the waters pile up against +it and roll back. Where there are sunken rocks the water heaps up in +mounds, or even in cones. At a point where rocks come very near the +surface, the water forms a chute above, strikes, and is shot up 10 or 15 +feet, and piles back in gentle curves, as in a fountain; and on the +river tumbles and rolls. + +_July 25.--_Still more rapids and falls to-day. In one, the "Emma Dean" +is caught in a whirlpool and set spinning about, and it is with great +difficulty we are able to get out of it with only the loss of an oar. At +noon another is made; and on we go, running some of the rapids, letting +down with lines past others, and making two short portages. We camp on +the right bank, hungry and tired. + +_July 26.--_We run a short distance this morning and go into camp to +make oars and repair boats and barometers. The walls of the canyon have +been steadily increasing in altitude to this point, and now they are +more than 2,000 feet high. In many places they are vertical from the +water's edge; in others there is a talus between the river and the foot +of the cliff; and they are often broken down by side canyons. It is +probable that the river is nearly as low now as it is ever found. +High-water mark can be observed 40, 50, 60, or 100 feet above its +present stage. Sometimes logs and driftwood are seen wedged into the +crevices over-head, where floods have carried them. + +About ten o'clock, Powell, Bradley, Howland, Hall, and I start +up a side canyon to the east. We soon come to pools of water; then to a +brook, which is lost in the sands below; and passing up the brook, we +see that the canyon narrows, the walls close in and are often +overhanging, and at last we find ourselves in a vast amphitheater, with +a pool of deep, clear, cold water on the bottom. At first our way seems +cut off; but we soon discover a little shelf, along which we climb, and, +passing beyond the pool, walk a hundred yards or more, turn to the +right, and find ourselves in another dome-shaped amphitheater. There is +a winding cleft at the top, reaching out to the country above, nearly +2,000 feet overhead. The rounded, basin-shaped bottom is filled with +water to the foot of the walls. There is no shelf by which we can pass +around the foot. If we swim across we meet with a face of rock hundreds +of feet high, over which a little rill glides, and it will be impossible +to climb. So we can go no farther up this canyon. Then we turn back and +examine the walls on either side carefully, to discover, if possible, +some way of climbing out. In this search every man takes his own course, +and we are scattered. I almost abandon the idea of getting out and am +engaged in searching for fossils, when I discover, on the north, a +broken place lip which it may be possible to climb. The way for a +distance is up a slide of rocks; then up an irregular amphitheater, on +points that form steps and give handhold; and then I reach a little +shelf, along which I walk, and discover a vertical fissure parallel to +the face of the wall and reaching to a higher shelf. This fissure is +narrow and I try to climb up to the bench, which is about 40 feet +overhead. I have a barometer on my back, which rather impedes my +climbing. The walls of the fissure are of smooth limestone, offering +neither foothold nor handhold. So I support myself by pressing my back +against one wall and my knees against the other, and in this way lift my +body, in a shuffling manner, a few inches at a time, until I have made +perhaps 25 feet of the distance, when the crevice widens a little and I +cannot press my knees against the rock in front with sufficient power to +give me support in lifting my body; so I try to go back. This I cannot +do without falling. So I struggle along sidewise farther into the +crevice, where it narrows. But by this time my muscles are exhausted, +and I cannot climb longer; so I move still a little farther into the +crevice, where it is so narrow and wedging that I can lie in it, and +there I rest. Five or ten minutes of this relief, and up once more I go, +and reach the bench above. On this I can walk for a quarter of a mile, +till I come to a place where the wall is again broken down, so I can +climb up still farther; and in an hour I reach the summit. I hang up my +barometer to give it a few minutes' time to settle, and occupy myself in +collecting resin from the pinon pines, which are found in great +abundance. One of the principal objects in making this climb was to get +this resin for the purpose of smearing our boats; but I have with me no +means of carrying it down. The day is very hot and my coat was left in +camp, so I have no linings to tear out. Then it occurs to me to cut off +the sleeve of my shirt and tie it up at one end, and in this little sack +I collect about a gallon of pitch. After taking observations for +altitude, I wander back on the rock for an hour or two, when suddenly I +notice that a storm is coming from the south. I seek a shelter in the +rocks; but when the storm bursts, it comes down as a flood from the +heavens,--not with gentle drops at first, slowly increasing in quantity, +but as if suddenly poured out. I am thoroughly drenched and almost +washed away. It lasts not more than half an hour, when the clouds sweep +by to the north and I have sunshine again. + +In the meantime I have discovered a better way of getting down, and +start for camp, making the greatest haste possible. On reaching the +bottom of the side canyon, I find a thousand streams rolling down the +cliffs on every side, carrying with them red sand; and these all unite +in the canyon below in one great stream of red mud. + +Traveling as fast as I can run, I soon reach the foot of the stream, for +the rain did not reach the lower end of the canyon and the water is +running down a dry bed of sand; and although it conies in waves several +feet high and 15 or 20 feet in width, the sands soak it up and it is +lost. But wave follows wave and rolls along and is swallowed up; and +still the floods come on from above. I find that I can travel faster +than the stream; so I hasten to camp and tell the men there is a river +coming down the canyon. We carry our camp equipage hastily from the bank +to where we think it will be above the water. Then we stand by and see +the river roll on to join the Colorado. Great quantities of gypsum are +found at the bottom of the gorge; so we name it Gypsum Canyon. + +_July 27.--_We have more rapids and falls until noon; then we come to a +narrow place in the canyon, with vertical walls for several hundred +feet, above which are steep steps and sloping rocks back to the summits. +The river is very narrow, and we make our way with great care and much +anxiety, hugging the wall on the left and carefully examining the way +before us. + +Late in the afternoon we pass to the left around a sharp point, which is +somewhat broken down near the foot, and discover a flock of mountain +sheep on the rocks more than a hundred feet above us. We land quickly in +a cove out of sight, and away go all the hunters with their guns, for +the sheep have not discovered us. Soon we hear firing, and those of us +who have remained in the boats climb up to see what success the hunters +have had. One sheep has been killed, and two of the men are still +pursuing them. In a few minutes we hear firing again, and the next +moment down come the flock clattering over the rocks within 20 yards of +us. One of the hunters seizes his gun and brings a second sheep down, +and the next minute the remainder of the flock is lost behind the rocks. +We all give chase; but it is impossible to follow their tracks over the +naked rock, and we see them no more. Where they went out of this +rock-walled canyon is a mystery, for we can see no way of escape. +Doubtless, if we could spare the time for the search, we should find a +gulch up which they ran. + +We lash our prizes to the deck of one of the boats and go on for a short +distance; but fresh meat is too tempting for us, and we stop early to +have a feast. And a feast it is! Two fine young sheep! We care not for +bread or beans or dried apples to-night; coffee and mutton are all we +ask. + +_July 28._--We make two portages this morning, one of them very long. +During the afternoon we run a chute more than half a mile in length, +narrow and rapid. This chute has a floor of marble; the rocks dip in the +direction in which we are going, and the fall of the stream conforms to +the inclination of the beds; so we float on water that is gliding down +an inclined plane. At the foot of the chute the river turns sharply to +the right and the water rolls up against a rock which from above seems +to stand directly athwart its course. As we approach it we pull with all +our power to the right, but it seems impossible to avoid being carried +headlong against the cliff; we are carried up high on the waves--but not +against the rock, for the rebounding water strikes us and we are beaten +back and pass on with safety, except that we get a good drenching. + +After this the walls suddenly close in, so that the canyon is narrower +than we have ever known it. The water fills it from wall to wall, giving +us no landing-place at the foot of the cliff; the river is very swift +and the canyon very tortuous, so that we can see but a few hundred yards +ahead; the walls tower over us, often overhanging so as almost to shut +out the light. I stand on deck, watching with intense anxiety, lest this +may lead us into some danger; but we glide along, with no obstruction, +no falls, no rocks, and in a mile and a half emerge from the narrow +gorge into a more open and broken portion of the canyon. Now that it is +past, it seems a very simple thing indeed to run through such a place, +but the fear of what might be ahead made a deep impression on us. + +At three o'clock we arrive at the foot of Cataract Canyon. Here a long +canyon valley comes down from the east, and the river turns sharply to +the west in a continuation of the line of the lateral valley. In the +bend on the right vast numbers of crags and pinnacles and tower-shaped +rocks are seen. We call it Mille Crag Bend. + +And now we wheel into another canyon, on swift water unobstructed by +rocks. This new canyon is very narrow and very straight, with walls +vertical below and terraced above. Where we enter it the brink of the +cliff is 1,300 feet above the water, but the rocks dip to the west, and +as the course of the canyon is in that direction the walls are seen +slowly to decrease in altitude. Floating down this narrow channel and +looking out through the canyon crevice away in the distance, the river +is seen to turn again to the left, and beyond this point, away many +miles, a great mountain is seen. Still floating down, we see other +mountains, now on the right, now on the left, until a great mountain +range is unfolded to view. We name this Narrow Canyon, and it terminates +at the bend of the river below. + +As we go down to this point we discover the mouth of a stream which +enters from the right. Into this our little boat is turned. The water is +exceedingly muddy and has an unpleasant odor. One of the men in the boat +following, seeing what we have done, shouts to 'Dunn and asks whether it +is a trout stream. Dunn replies, much disgusted, that it is "a dirty +devil," and by this name the river is to be known hereafter. + +Some of us go out for half a mile and climb a butte to the north. The +course of the Dirty Devil River can be traced for many miles. It comes +down through a very narrow canyon, and beyond it, to the southwest, +there is a long line of cliffs, with a broad terrace, or bench, between +it and the brink of the canyon, and beyond these cliffs is situated the +range of mountains seen as we came down Narrow Canyon. Looking up the +Colorado, the chasm through which it runs can be seen, but we cannot see +down to its waters. The whole country is a region of naked rock of many +colors, with cliffs and buttes about us and towering mountains in the +distance. + +_July 29._--We enter a canyon to-day, with low, red walls. A short +distance below its head we discover the ruins of an old building on the +left wall. There is a narrow plain between the river and the wall just +here, and on the brink of a rock 200 feet high stands this old house. +Its walls are of stone, laid in mortar with much regularity. It was +probably built three stories high; the lower story is yet almost intact; +the second is much broken down, and scarcely anything is left of the +third. Great quantities of flint chips are found on the rocks near by, +and many arrowheads, some perfect, others broken; and fragments of +pottery are strewn about in great profusion. On the face of the cliff, +under the building and along down the river for 200 or 300 yards, there +are many etchings. Two hours are given to the examination of these +interesting ruins; then we run down fifteen miles farther, and discover +another group. The principal building was situated on the summit of the +hill. + +A part of the walls are standing, to the height of eight or ten feet, +and the mortar yet remains in some places. The house was in the shape of +an L, with five rooms on the ground floor,--one in the angle and two in +each extension. In the space in the angle there is a deep excavation. +From what we know of the people in the Province of Tusayan, who are, +doubtless, of the same race as the former inhabitants of these ruins, we +conclude that this was a _kiva,_ or underground chamber in which their +religious ceremonies were performed. + +We leave these ruins and run down two or three miles and go into camp +about mid-afternoon. And now I climb the wall and go out into the back +country for a walk. + +The sandstone through which the canyon is cut is red and homogeneous, +being the same as that through which Labyrinth Canyon runs. The smooth, +naked rock stretches out on either side of the river for many miles, but +curiously carved mounds and cones are scattered everywhere and deep +holes are worn out. Many of these pockets are filled with water. In one +of these holes or wells, 20 feet deep, I find a tree growing. The +excavation is so narrow that I can step from its brink to a limb on the +tree and descend to the bottom of the well down a growing ladder. Many +of these pockets are potholes, being found in the courses of little +rills or brooks that run during the rains which occasionally fall in +this region; and often a few harder rocks, which evidently assisted in +their excavation, can be found in their bottoms. Others, which are +shallower, are not so easily explained. Perhaps where they are found +softer spots existed in the sandstone, places that yielded more readily +to atmospheric degradation, the loose sands being carried away by the +winds. + +Just before sundown I attempt to climb a rounded eminence, from which I +hope to obtain a good outlook on the surrounding country. It is formed +of smooth mounds, piled one above another. Up these I climb, winding +here and there to find a practicable way, until near the summit they +become too steep for me to proceed. I search about a few minutes for an +easier way, when I am surprised at finding a stairway, evidently cut in +the rock by hands. At one place, where there is a vertical wall of 10 or +12 feet, I find an old, rickety ladder. It may be that this was a +watchtower of that ancient people whose homes we have found in ruins. On +many of the tributaries of the Colorado, I have heretofore examined +their deserted dwellings. Those that show evidences of being built +during the latter part of their occupation of the country are usually +placed on the most inaccessible cliffs. Sometimes the mouths of caves +have been walled across, and there are many other evidences to show +their anxiety to secure defensible positions. Probably the nomadic +tribes were sweeping down upon them and they resorted to these cliffs +and canyons for safety. It is not unreasonable to suppose that this +orange mound was used as a watchtower. Here I stand, where these now +lost people stood centuries ago, and look over this strange country, +gazing off to great mountains in the northwest which are slowly +disappearing under cover of the night; and then I return to camp. It is +no easy task to find my way down the wall in the darkness, and I clamber +about until it is nearly midnight when camp is reached. + +_July 30.--_We make good progress to-day, as the water, though smooth, +is swift. Sometimes the canyon walls are vertical to the top; sometimes +they are vertical below and have a mound-covered slope above; in other +places the slope, with its mounds, comes down to the water's edge. + +Still proceeding on our way, we find that the orange sandstone is cut in +two by a group of firm, calcareous strata, and the lower bed is +underlaid by soft, gypsiferous shales. Sometimes the upper homogeneous +bed is a smooth, vertical wall, but usually it is carved with mounds, +with gently meandering valley lines. The lower bed, yielding to gravity, +as the softer shales below work, out into the river, breaks into angular +surfaces, often having a columnar appearance. One could almost imagine +that the walls had been carved with a purpose, to represent giant +architectural forms. In the deep recesses of the walls we find springs, +with mosses and ferns on the moistened sandstone. + +_July 31.--_We have a cool, pleasant ride to-day through this part of +the canyon. The walls are steadily increasing in altitude, the curves +are gentle, and often the river sweeps by an arc of vertical wall, +smooth and unbroken, and then by a curve that is variegated by royal +arches, mossy alcoves, deep, beautiful glens, and painted grottoes. Soon +after dinner we discover the mouth of the San Juan, where we camp. The +remainder of the afternoon is given to hunting some way by which we can +climb out of the canyon; but it ends in failure. + +_August 1.--_We drop down two miles this morning and go into camp again. +There is a low, willow-covered strip of land along the walls on the +east. Across this we walk, to explore an alcove which we see from the +river. On entering, we find a little grove of box-elder and cotton-wood +trees, and turning to the right, we find ourselves in a vast chamber, +carved out of the rock. At the upper end there is a clear, deep pool of +water, bordered with verdure. Standing by the side of this, we can see +the grove at the entrance. The chamber is more than 200 feet high, 500 +feet long, and 200 feet wide. Through the ceiling, and on through the +rocks for a thousand feet above, there is a narrow, winding skylight; +and this is all carved out by a little stream which runs only during the +few showers that fall now and then in this arid country. The waters from +the bare rocks back of the canyon, gathering rapidly into a small +channel, have eroded a deep side canyon, through which they run until +they fall into the farther end of this chamber. The rock at the ceiling +is hard, the rock below, very soft and friable; and having cut through +the upper and harder portion down into the lower and softer, the stream +has washed out these friable sandstones; and thus the chamber has been +excavated. + +Here we bring our camp. When "Old Shady" sings us a song at night, we +are pleased to find that this hollow in the rock is filled with sweet +sounds. It was doubtless made for an academy of music by its storm-born +architect; so we name it Music Temple. + +_August 2.--_We still keep our camp in Music Temple to-day. I wish to +obtain a view of the adjacent country, if possible; so, early in the +morning the men take me across the river, and I pass along by the foot +of the cliff half a mile up stream and then climb, first up broken +ledges, then 200 or 300 yards up a smooth, sloping rock, and then pass +out on a narrow ridge. Still, I find I have not attained an altitude +from which I can overlook the region outside of the canyon; and so I +descend into a little gulch and climb again to a higher ridge, all the +way along naked sandstone, and at last I reach a point of commanding +view. I can look several miles up the San Juan, and a long distance up +the Colorado; and away to the northwest I can see the Henry Mountains; +to the northeast, the Sierra La Sal; to the southeast, unknown +mountains; and to the southwest, the meandering of the canyon. Then I +return to the bank of the river. We sleep again in Music Temple. + +_August 3.--_Start early this morning. The features of this canyon are +greatly diversified. Still vertical walls at times. These are usually +found to stand above great curves. The river, sweeping around these +bends, undermines the cliffs in places. Sometimes the rocks are +overhanging; in other curves, curious, narrow glens are found. Through +these we climb, by a rough stairway, perhaps several hundred feet, to +where a spring bursts out from under an overhanging cliff, and where +cottonwoods and willows stand, while along the curves of the brooklet +oaks grow, and other rich vegetation is seen, in marked contrast to the +general appearance of naked rock. We call these Oak Glens. + +Other wonderful features are the many side canyons or gorges that we +pass. Sometimes we stop to explore these for a short distance. In some +places their walls are much nearer each other above than below, so that +they look somewhat like caves or chambers in the rocks. Usually, in +going up such a gorge, we find beautiful vegetation; but our way is +often cut off by deep basins, or "potholes," as they are called. + +On the walls, and back many miles into the country, numbers of +monument-shaped buttes are observed. So we have a curious _ensemble_ of +wonderful features--carved walls, royal arches, glens, alcove gulches, +mounds, and monuments. From which of these features shall we select a +name? We decide to call it Glen Canyon. + +Past these towering monuments, past these mounded billows of orange +sandstone, past these oak-set glens, past these fern-decked alcoves, +past these mural curves, we glide hour after hour, stopping now and +then, as our attention is arrested by some new wonder, until we reach a +point which is historic. + +In the year 1776, Father Escalante, a Spanish priest, made an expedition +from Santa Fe to the northwest, crossing the Grand and Green, and then +passing down along the Wasatch Mountains and the southern plateaus until +he reached the Rio Virgen. His intention was to cross to the Mission of +Monterey; but, from information received from the Indians, he decided +that the route was impracticable. Not wishing to return to Santa Fe over +the circuitous route by which he had just traveled, he attempted to go +by one more direct, which led him across the Colorado at a point known +as El Vado de los Padres. From the description which we have read, we +are enabled to determine the place. A little stream comes down through a +very narrow side canyon from the west. It was down this that he came, +and our boats are lying at the point where the ford crosses. A +well-beaten Indian trail is seen here yet. Between the cliff and the +river there is a little meadow. The ashes of many camp fires are seen, +and the bones of numbers of cattle are bleaching on the grass. For +several years the Navajos have raided on the Mormons that dwell in the +valleys to the west, and they doubtless cross frequently at this ford +with their stolen cattle. + +_August 4.--_To-day the walls grow higher and the canyon much narrower. +Monuments are still seen on either side; beautiful glens and alcoves and +gorges and side canyons are yet found. After dinner we find the river +making a sudden turn to the northwest and the whole character of the +canyon changed. The walls are many hundreds of feet higher, and the +rocks are chiefly variegated shales of beautiful colors--creamy orange +above, then bright vermilion, and below, purple and chocolate beds, with +green and yellow sands. We run four miles through this, in a direction a +little to the west of north, wheel again to the west, and pass into a +portion of the canyon where the characteristics are more like those +above the bend. At night we stop at the mouth of a creek coming in from +the right, and suppose it to be the Paria, which was described to me +last year by a Mormon missionary. Here the canyon terminates abruptly in +a line of cliffs, which stretches from either side across the river. + +_August 5.--_With some feeling of anxiety we enter a new canyon this +morning. We have learned to observe closely the texture of the rock. In +softer strata we have a quiet river, in harder we find rapids and falls. +Below us are the limestones and hard sandstones which we found in +Cataract Canyon. This bodes toil and danger. Besides the texture of the +rocks, there is another condition which affects the character of the +channel, as we have found by experience. Where the strata are horizontal +the river is often quiet, and, even though it may be very swift in +places, no great obstacles are found. Where the rocks incline in the +direction traveled, the river usually sweeps with great velocity, but +still has few rapids and falls. But where the rocks dip up stream and +the river cuts obliquely across the upturned formations, harder strata +above and softer below, we have rapids and falls. Into hard rocks and +into rocks dipping up stream we pass this morning and start on a long, +rocky, mad rapid. On the left there is a vertical rock, and down by this +cliff and around to the left we glide, tossed just enough by the waves +to appreciate the rate at which we are traveling. + +The canyon is narrow, with vertical walls, which gradually grow higher. +More rapids and falls are found. We come to one with a drop of sixteen +feet, around which we make a portage, and then stop for dinner. Then a +run of two miles, and another portage, long and difficult; then we camp +for the night on a bank of sand. + +_August 6.--_Canyon walls, still higher and higher, as we go down +through strata. There is a steep talus at the foot of the cliff, and in +some places the upper parts of the walls are terraced. + +About ten o'clock we come to a place where the river occupies the entire +channel and the walls are vertical from the water's edge. We see a fall +below and row up against the cliff. There is a little shelf, or rather a +horizontal crevice, a few feet over our heads. One man stands on the +deck of the boat, another climbs on his shoulders, and then into the +crevice. Then we pass him a line, and two or three others, with myself, +follow; then we pass along the crevice until it becomes a shelf, as the +upper part, or roof, is broken off. On this we walk for a short +distance, slowly climbing all the way, until we reach a point where the +shelf is broken off, and we can pass no farther. So we go back to the +boat, cross the stream, and get some logs that have lodged in the rocks, +bring them to our side, pass them along the crevice and shelf, and +bridge over the broken place. Then we go on to a point over the falls, +but do not obtain a satisfactory view. So we climb out to the top of the +wall and walk along to find a point below the fall from which it can be +seen. From this point it seems possible to let down our boats with lines +to the head of the rapids, and then make a portage; so we return, row +down by the side of the cliff as far as we dare, and fasten one of the +boats to a rock. Then we let down another boat to the end of its line +beyond the first, and the third boat to the end of its line below the +second, which brings it to the head of the fall and under an overhanging +rock. Then the upper boat, in obedience to a signal, lets go; we pull in +the line and catch the nearest boat as it comes, and then the last. The +portage follows. + +We go into camp early this afternoon at a place where it seems possible +to climb out, and the evening is spent in "making observations for +time." + +_August 7.--_The almanac tells us that we are to have an eclipse of the +sun to-day; so Captain Powell and myself start early, taking our +instruments with us for the purpose of making observations on the +eclipse to determine our longitude. Arriving at the summit, after four +hours' hard climbing to attain 2,300 feet in height, we hurriedly +build a platform of rocks on which to place our instruments, and quietly +wait for the eclipse; but clouds come on and rain falls, and sun and +moon are obscured. + +Much disappointed, we start on our return to camp, but it is late and +the clouds make the night very dark. We feel our way down among the +rocks with great care for two or three hours, making slow progress +indeed. At last we lose our way and dare proceed no farther. The rain +comes down in torrents and we can find no shelter. We can neither climb +up nor go down, and in the darkness dare not move about; so we sit and +"weather out" the night. + +_August 8._--Daylight comes after a long, oh, how long! a night, and we +soon reach camp. After breakfast we start again, and make two portages +during the forenoon. + +The limestone of this canyon is often polished, and makes a beautiful +marble. Sometimes the rocks are of many colors--white, gray, pink, and +purple, with saffron tints. It is with very great labor that we make +progress, meeting with many obstructions, running rapids, letting down +our boats with lines from rock to rock, and sometimes carrying boats and +cargoes around bad places. We camp at night, just after a hard portage, +under an overhanging wall, glad to find shelter from the rain. We have +to search for some time to find a few sticks of driftwood, just +sufficient to boil a cup of coffee. + +The water sweeps rapidly in this elbow of river, and has cut its way +under the rock, excavating a vast half-circular chamber, which, if +utilized for a theater, would give sitting to 50,000 people. Objection +might be raised against it, however, for at high water the floor is +covered with a raging flood. + +_August 9.--_And now the scenery is on a grand scale. The walls of the +canyon, 2,500 feet high, are of marble, of many beautiful colors, often +polished below by the waves, and sometimes far up the sides, where +showers have washed the sands over the cliffs. At one place I have a +walk for more than a mile on a marble pavement, all polished and fretted +with strange devices and embossed in a thousand fantastic patterns. +Through a cleft in the wall the sun shines on this pavement and it +gleams in iridescent beauty. + +I pass up into the cleft. It is very narrow, with a succession of pools +standing at higher levels as I go back. The water in these pools is +clear and cool, coming down from springs. Then I return to the pavement, +which is but a terrace or bench, over which the river runs at its flood, +but left bare at present. Along the pavement in many places are basins +of clear water, in strange contrast to the red mud of the river. At +length I come to the end of this marble terrace and take again to the +boat. + +Riding down a short distance, a beautiful view is presented. The river +turns sharply to the east and seems inclosed by a wall set with a +million brilliant gems. What can it mean? Every eye is engaged, every +one wonders. On coming nearer we find fountains bursting from the rock +high overhead, and the spray in the sunshine forms the gems which bedeck +the wall. The rocks below the fountain are covered with mosses and ferns +and many beautiful flowering plants. We name it Vasey's Paradise, in +honor of the botanist who traveled with us last year. + +We pass many side canyons to-day that are dark, gloomy passages back +into the heart of the rocks that form the plateau through which this +canyon is cut. It rains again this afternoon. Scarcely do the first +drops fall when little rills run down the walls. As the storm comes on, +the little rills increase in size, until great streams are formed. +Although the walls of the canyon are chiefly limestone, the adjacent +country is of red sandstone; and now the waters, loaded with these +sands, come down in rivers of bright red mud, leaping over the walls in +innumerable cascades. It is plain now how these walls are polished in +many places. + +At last the storm ceases and we go on. We have cut through the +sandstones and limestones met in the upper part of the canyon, and +through one great bed of marble a thousand feet in thickness. In this, +great numbers of caves are hollowed out, and carvings are seen which +suggest architectural forms, though on a scale so grand that +architectural terms belittle them. As this great bed forms a distinctive +feature of the canyon, we call it Marble Canyon. + +It is a peculiar feature of these walls that many projections are set +out into the river, as if the wall was buttressed for support. The walls +themselves are half a mile high, and these buttresses are on a +corresponding scale, jutting into the river scores of feet. In the +recesses between these projections there are quiet bays, except at the +foot of a rapid, when there are dancing eddies or whirlpools. Sometimes +these alcoves have caves at the back, giving them the appearance of +great depth. Then other caves are seen above, forming vast dome-shaped +chambers. The walls and buttresses and chambers are all of marble. + +The river is now quiet; the canyon wider. Above, when the river is at +its flood, the waters gorge up, so that the difference between high and +low water mark is often 50 or even 70 feet, but here high-water mark is +not more than 20 feet above the present stage of the river. Sometimes +there is a narrow flood plain between the water and the wall. Here we +first discover mesquite shrubs,--small trees with finely divided leaves +and pods, somewhat like the locust. + +_August 10.--_Walls still higher; water swift again. We pass several +broad, ragged canyons on our right, and up through these we catch +glimpses of a forest-clad plateau, miles away to the west. + +At two o'clock we reach the mouth of the Colorado Chiquito. This stream +enters through a canyon on a scale quite as grand as that of the +Colorado itself. It is a very small river and exceedingly muddy and +saline. I walk up the stream three or four miles this afternoon, +crossing and recrossing where I can easily wade it. Then I climb several +hundred feet at one place, and can see for several miles up the chasm +through which the river runs. On my way back I kill two rattlesnakes, +and find on my arrival that another has been killed just at camp. + +_August 11.--_We remain at this point to-day for the purpose of +determining the latitude and longitude, measuring the height of the +walls, drying our rations, and repairing our boats. + +Captain Powell early in the morning takes a barometer and goes out to +climb a point between the two rivers. I walk down the gorge to the left +at the foot of the cliff, climb to a bench, and discover a trail, deeply +worn in the rock. Where it crosses the side gulches in some places steps +have been cut. I can see no evidence of its having been traveled for a +long time. It was doubtless a path used by the people who inhabited this +country anterior to the present Indian races--the people who built the +communal houses of which mention has been made. + +I return to camp about three o'clock and find that some of the men have +discovered ruins and many fragments of pottery; also etchings and +hieroglyphics on the rocks. + +We find to-night, on comparing the readings of the barometers, that the +walls are about 3,000 feet high--more than half a mile--an altitude +difficult to appreciate from a mere statement of feet. The slope by +which the ascent is made is not such a slope as is usually found in +climbing a mountain, but one much more abrupt--often vertical for many +hundreds of feet,--so that the impression is given that we are at great +depths, and we look up to see but a little patch of sky. + +Between the two streams, above the Colorado Chiquito, in some places the +rocks are broken and shelving for 600 Or 700 feet; then there is a +sloping terrace, which can be climbed only by finding some way up a +gulch; then another terrace, and back, still another cliff. The summit +of the cliff is 3,000 feet above the river, as our barometers attest. + +Our camp is below the Colorado Chiquito and on the eastern side of the +canyon. + +_August 12.--_The rocks above camp are rust-colored sandstones and +conglomerates. Some are very hard; others quite soft. They all lie +nearly horizontal, and the beds of softer material have been washed out, +leaving the harder forming a series of shelves. Long lines of these are +seen, of varying thickness, from one or two to twenty or thirty feet, +and the spaces between have the same variability. This morning I spend +two or three hours in climbing among these shelves, and then I pass +above them and go up a long slope to the foot of the cliff and try to +discover some way by which I can reach the top of the wall; but I find +my progress cut off by an amphitheater. Then I wander away around to the +left, up a little gulch and along benches, climbing from time to time, +until I reach an altitude of nearly 2,000 feet and can get no higher. +From this point I can look off to the west, up side canyons of the +Colorado, and see the edge of a great plateau, from which streams run +down into the Colorado, and deep gulches in the escarpment which faces +us, continued by canyons, ragged and flaring and set with cliffs and +towering crags, down to the river. I can see far up Marble Canyon to +long lines of chocolate-colored cliffs, and above these the Vermilion +Cliffs. I can see, also, up the Colorado Chiquito, through a very ragged +and broken canyon, with sharp salients set out from the walls on either +side, their points overlapping, so that a huge tooth of marble on one +side seems to be set between two teeth on the opposite; and I can also +get glimpses of walls standing away back from the river, while over my +head are mural escarpments not possible to be scaled. + +Cataract Canyon is 41 miles long. The walls are 1,300 feet high at its +head, and they gradually increase in altitude to a point about halfway +down, where they are 2,700 feet, and then decrease to 1,300 feet at the +foot. Narrow Canyon is 9 1/2 miles long, with walls 1,300 feet in height +at the head and coming down to the water at the foot. + +There is very little vegetation in this canyon or in the adjacent +country. Just at the junction of the Grand and Green there are a number +of hackberry trees; and along the entire length of Cataract Canyon the +high-water line is marked by scattered trees of the same species. A few +nut pines and cedars are found, and occasionally a redbud or Judas tree; +but the general aspect of the canyons and of the adjacent country is +that of naked rock. + +The distance through Glen Canyon is 149 miles. Its walls vary in height +from 200 or 300 to 1,600 feet. Marble Canyon is 65 1/2 miles long. At +its head it is 200 feet deep, and it steadily increases in depth to its +foot, where its walls are 3,500 feet high. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +FROM THE LITTLE COLORADO TO THE FOOT OF THE GRAND CANYON. + + +_August 13_.--We are now ready to start on our way down the Great Unknown. +Our boats, tied to a common, stake, chafe each other as they are tossed +by the fretful river. They ride high and buoyant, for their loads are +lighter than we could desire. We have but a month's rations remaining. +The flour has been resifted through the mosquito-net sieve; the spoiled +bacon has been dried and the worst of it boiled; the few pounds of dried +apples have been spread in the sun and reshrunken to their normal bulk. +The sugar has all melted and gone on its way down the river. But we have +a large sack of coffee. The lightening of the boats has this advantage: +they will ride the waves better and we shall have but little to carry +when we make a portage. + +We are three quarters of a mile in the depths of the earth, and the +great river shrinks into insignificance as it dashes its angry waves +against the walls and cliffs that rise to the world above; the waves are +but puny ripples, and we but pigmies, running up and down the sands or +lost among the boulders. + +We have an unknown distance yet to run, an unknown river to explore. +What falls there are, we know not; what rocks beset the channel, we know +not; what walls rise over the river, we know not. Ah, well! we may +conjecture many things. The men talk as cheerfully as ever; jests are +bandied about freely this morning; but to me the cheer is somber and the +jests are ghastly. + +With some eagerness and some anxiety and some misgiving we enter the +canyon below and are carried along by the swift water through walls +which rise from its very edge. They have the same structure that we +noticed yesterday--tiers of irregular shelves below, and, above these, +steep slopes to the foot of marble cliffs. We run six miles in a little +more than half an hour and emerge into a more open portion of the +canyon, where high hills and ledges of rock intervene between the river +and the distant walls. Just at the head of this open place the river +runs across a dike; that is, a fissure in the rocks, open to depths +below, was filled with eruptive matter, and this on cooling was harder +than the rocks through which the crevice was made, and when these were +washed away the harder volcanic matter remained as a wall, and the river +has cut a gateway through it several hundred feet high and as many wide. +As it crosses the wall, there is a fall below and a bad rapid, filled +with boulders of trap; so we stop to make a portage. Then on we go, +gliding by hills and ledges, with distant walls in view; sweeping past +sharp angles of rock; stopping at a few points to examine rapids, which +we find can be run, until we have made another five miles, when we land +for dinner. + +Then we let down with lines over a long rapid and start again. Once more +the walls close in, and we find ourselves in a narrow gorge, the water +again filling the channel and being very swift. With great care and +constant watchfulness we proceed, making about four miles this +afternoon, and camp in a cave. + +_August 14-_--At daybreak we walk down the bank of the river, on a +little sandy beach, to take a view of a new feature in the canyon. +Heretofore hard rocks have given us bad river; soft rocks, smooth water; +and a series of rocks harder than any we have experienced sets in. The +river enters the gneiss! We can see but a little way into the granite +gorge, but it looks threatening. + +After breakfast we enter on the waves. At the very introduction it +inspires awe. The canyon is narrower than we have ever before seen it; +the water is swifter; there are but few broken rocks in the channel; but +the walls are set, on either side, with pinnacles and crags; and sharp, +angular buttresses, bristling with wind- and wave-polished spires, +extend far out into the river. + +Ledges of rock jut into the stream, their tops sometimes just below the +surface, sometimes rising a few or many feet above; and island ledges +and island pinnacles and island towers break the swift course of the +stream into chutes and eddies and whirlpools. We soon reach a place +where a creek comes in from the left, and, just below, the channel is +choked with boulders, which have washed down this lateral canyon and +formed a dam, over which there is a fall of 30 or 40 feet; but on the +boulders foothold can be had, and we make a portage. Three more such +dams are found. Over one we make a portage; at the other two are chutes +through which we can run. + +As we proceed the granite rises higher, until nearly a thousand feet of +the lower part of the walls are composed of this rock. + +About eleven o'clock we hear a great roar ahead, and approach it very +cautiously. The sound grows louder and louder as we run, and at last we +find ourselves above a long, broken fall, with ledges and pinnacles of +rock obstructing the river. There is a descent of perhaps 75 or 80 feet +in a third of a mile, and the rushing waters break into great waves +on the rocks, and lash themselves into a mad, white foam. We can land +just above, but there is no foothold on either side by which we can make +a portage. It is nearly a thousand feet to the top of the granite; +so it will be impossible to carry our boats around, though we can climb +to the summit up a side gulch and, passing along a mile or two, descend +to the river. This we find on examination; but such a portage would be +impracticable for us, and we must run the rapid or abandon the river. +There is no hesitation. We step into our boats, push off, and away we +go, first on smooth but swift water, then we strike a glassy wave and +ride to its top, down again into the trough, up again on a higher wave, +and down and up on waves higher and still higher until we strike one +just as it curls back, and a breaker rolls over our little boat. Still +on we speed, shooting past projecting rocks, till the little boat is +caught in a whirlpool and spun round several times. At last we pull out +again into the stream. And now the other boats have passed us. The open +compartment of the "Emma Dean" is filled with water and every breaker +rolls over us. Hurled back from a rock, now on this side, now on that, +we are carried into an eddy, in which we struggle for a few minutes, and +are then out again, the breakers still rolling over us. Our boat is +unmanageable, but she cannot sink, and we drift down another hundred +yards through breakers--how, we scarcely know. We find the other boats +have turned into an eddy at the foot of the fall and are waiting to +catch us as we come, for the men have seen that our boat is swamped. +They push out as we come near and pull us in against the wall. Our boat +bailed, on we go again. + +The walls now are more than a mile in height--a vertical distance +difficult to appreciate. Stand on the south steps of the Treasury +building in Washington and look down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol; +measure this distance overhead, and imagine cliffs to extend to that +altitude, and you will understand what is meant; or stand at Canal +Street in New York and look up Broadway to Grace Church, and you have +about the distance; or stand at Lake Street bridge in Chicago and look +down to the Central Depot, and you have it again. + +A thousand feet of this is up through granite crags; then steep slopes +and perpendicular cliffs rise one above another to the summit. The gorge +is black and narrow below, red and gray and flaring above, with crags +and angular projections on the walls, which, cut in many places by side +canyons, seem to be a vast wilderness of rocks. Down in these grand, +gloomy depths we glide, ever listening, for the mad waters keep +up their roar; ever watching, ever peering ahead, for the narrow canyon +is winding and the river is closed in so that we can see but a few +hundred yards, and what there may be below we know not; so we listen for +falls and watch for rocks, stopping now and then in the bay of a recess +to admire the gigantic scenery; and ever as we go there is some new +pinnacle or tower, some crag or peak, some distant view of the upper +plateau, some strangely shaped rock, or some deep, narrow side canyon. + +Then we come to another broken fall, which appears more difficult than +the one we ran this morning. A small creek comes in on the right, and +the first fall of the water is over boulders, which have been carried +down by this lateral stream. We land at its mouth and stop for an hour +or two to examine the fall. It seems possible to let down with lines, at +least a part of the way, from point to point, along the right-hand wall. +So we make a portage over the first rocks and find footing on some +boulders below. Then we let down one of the boats to the end of her +line, when she reaches a corner of the projecting rock, to which one of +the men clings and steadies her while I examine an eddy below. I think +we can pass the other boats down by us and catch them in the eddy. This +is soon done, and the men in the boats in the eddy pull us to their +side. On the shore of this little eddy there is about two feet of gravel +beach above the water. Standing on this beach, some of the men take the +line of the little boat and let it drift down against another projecting +angle. Here is a little shelf, on which a man from my boat climbs, and a +shorter line is passed to him, and he fastens the boat to the side of +the cliff; then the second one is let down, bringing the line of the +third. When the second boat is tied up, the two men standing on the +beach above spring into the last boat, which is pulled up alongside of +ours; then we let down the boats for 25 or 30 yards by walking along the +shelf, landing them again in the mouth of a side canyon. Just below this +there is another pile of boulders, over which we make another portage. +From the foot of these rocks we can climb to another shelf, 40 or 50 +feet above the water. + +On this bench we camp for the night. It is raining hard, and we have no +shelter, but find a few sticks which have lodged in the rocks, and +kindle a fire and have supper. We sit on the rocks all night, wrapped in +our _ponchos,_ getting what sleep we can. + +_August 15.--_This morning we find we can let down for 300 or 400 yards, +and it is managed in this way: we pass along the wall by climbing from +projecting point to point, sometimes near the water's edge, at other +places 50 or 60 feet above, and hold the boat with a line while two men +remain aboard and prevent her from being dashed against the rocks and +keep the line from getting caught on the wall. In two hours we have +brought them all down, as far as it is possible, in this way. A few +yards below, the river strikes with great violence against a projecting +rock and our boats are pulled up in a little bay above. We must now +manage to pull out of this and clear the point below. The little boat is +held by the bow obliquely up the stream. We jump in and pull out only a +few strokes, and sweep clear of the dangerous rock. The other boats +follow in the same manner and the rapid is passed. + +It is not easy to describe the labor of such navigation. We must prevent +the waves from dashing the boats against the cliffs. Sometimes, where +the river is swift, we must put a bight of rope about a rock, to prevent +the boat from being snatched from us by a wave; but where the plunge is +too great or the chute too swift, we must let her leap and catch her +below or the undertow will drag her under the falling water and sink +her. Where we wish to run her out a little way from shore through a +channel between rocks, we first throw in little sticks of driftwood and +watch their course, to see where we must steer so that she will pass the +channel in safety. And so we hold, and let go, and pull, and lift, and +ward--among rocks, around rocks, and over rocks. + +And now we go on through this solemn, mysterious way. The river is very +deep, the canyon very narrow, and still obstructed, so that there is no +steady flow of the stream; but the waters reel and roll and boil, and we +are scarcely able to determine where we can go. Now the boat is carried +to the right, perhaps close to the wall; again, she is shot into the +stream, and perhaps is dragged over to the other side, where, caught in +a whirlpool, she spins about. We can neither land nor run as we please. +The boats are entirely unmanageable; no order in their running can be +preserved; now one, now another, is ahead, each crew laboring for its +own preservation. In such a place we come to another rapid. Two of the +boats run it perforce. One succeeds in landing, but there is no foothold +by which to make a portage and she is pushed out again into the stream. +The next minute a great reflex wave fills the open compartment; she is +water-logged, and drifts unmanageable. Breaker after breaker rolls over +her and one capsizes her. The men are thrown out; but they cling to the +boat, and she drifts down some distance alongside of us and we are able +to catch her. She is soon bailed out and the men are aboard once more; +but the oars are lost, and so a pair from the "Emma Dean" is spared. +Then for two miles we find smooth water. + +Clouds are playing in the canyon to-day. Sometimes they roll down in +great masses, filling the gorge with gloom; sometimes they hang aloft +from wall to wall and cover the canyon with a roof of impending storm, +and we can peer long distances up and down this canyon corridor, with +its cloud-roof overhead, its walls of black granite, and its river +bright with the sheen of broken waters. Then a gust of wind sweeps down +a side gulch and, making a rift in the clouds, reveals the blue heavens, +and a stream of sunlight pours in. Then the clouds drift away into the +distance, and hang around crags and peaks and pinnacles and towers and +walls, and cover them with a mantle that lifts from time to time and +sets them all in sharp relief. Then baby clouds creep out of side +canyons, glide around points, and creep back again into more distant +gorges. Then clouds arrange in strata across the canyon, with +intervening vista views to cliffs and rocks beyond. The clouds are +children of the heavens, and when they play among the rocks they lift +them to the region above. + +It rains! Rapidly little rills are formed above, and these soon grow +into brooks, and the brooks grow into creeks and tumble over the walls +in innumerable cascades, adding their wild music to the roar of the +river. When the rain ceases the rills, brooks, and creeks run dry. The +waters that fall during a rain on these steep rocks are gathered at once +into the river; they could scarcely be poured in more suddenly if some +vast spout ran from the clouds to the stream itself. When a storm bursts +over the canyon a side gulch is dangerous, for a sudden flood may come, +and the inpouring waters will raise the river so as to hide the rocks. + +Early in the afternoon we discover a stream entering from the north--a +clear, beautiful creek, coming down through a gorgeous red canyon. We +land and camp on a sand beach above its mouth, under a great, +overspreading tree with willow-shaped leaves. + +_August 16.--_We must dry our rations again to-day and make oars. + +The Colorado is never a clear stream, but for the past three or four +days it has been raining much of the time, and the floods poured over +the walls have brought down great quantities of mud, making it +exceedingly turbid now. The little affluent which we have discovered +here is a clear, beautiful creek, or river, as it would be termed in +this western country, where streams are not abundant. We have named one +stream, away above, in honor of the great chief of the "Bad Angels," and +as this is in beautiful contrast to that, we conclude to name it "Bright +Angel." + +Early in the morning the whole party starts _up_ to explore the Bright +Angel River, with the special purpose of seeking timber from which to +make oars. A couple of miles above we find a large pine log, which has +been floated down from the plateau, probably from an altitude of more +than 6,000 feet, but not many miles back. On its way it must have passed +over many cataracts and falls, for it bears scars in evidence of the +rough usage which it has received. The men roll it on skids, and the +work of sawing oars is commenced. + +This stream heads away back under a line of abrupt cliffs that +terminates the plateau, and tumbles down more than 4,000 feet in the +first mile or two of its course; then runs through a deep, narrow canyon +until it reaches the river. + +Late in the afternoon I return and go up a little gulch just above this +creek, about 200 yards from camp, and discover the ruins of two or three +old houses, which were originally of stone laid in mortar. Only the +foundations are left, but irregular blocks, of which the houses were +constructed, lie scattered about. In one room I find an old +mealing-stone, deeply worn, as if it had been much used. A great deal of +pottery is strewn around, and old trails, which in some places are +deeply worn into the rocks, are seen. + +It is ever a source of wonder to us why these ancient people sought such +inaccessible places for their homes. They were, doubtless, an +agricultural race, but there are no lands here of any considerable +extent that they could have cultivated. To the west of Oraibi, one of +the towns in the Province of Tusayan, in northern Arizona, the +inhabitants have actually built little terraces along the face of the +cliff where a spring gushes out, and thus made their sites for gardens. +It is possible that the ancient inhabitants of this place made their +agricultural lands in the same way. But why should they seek such +spots'? Surely the country was not so crowded with people as to demand +the utilization of so barren a region. The only solution suggested of +the problem is this: We know that for a century or two after the +settlement of Mexico many expeditious were sent into the country now +comprising Arizona and New Mexico, for the purpose of bringing the +town-building people under the dominion of the Spanish government. Many +of their villages were destroyed, and the inhabitants fled to regions at +that time unknown; and there are traditions among the people who inhabit +the pueblos that still remain that the canyons were these unknown lauds. +It may be these buildings were erected at that time; sure it is that +they have a much more modern appearance than the ruins scattered over +Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. Those old Spanish +conquerors had a monstrous greed for gold and a wonderful lust for +saving souls. Treasures they must have, if not on earth, why, then, in +heaven; and when they failed to find heathen temples bedecked with +silver, they propitiated Heaven by seizing the heathen themselves. There +is yet extant a copy of a record made by a heathen artist to express his +conception of the demands of the conquerors. In one part of the picture +we have a lake, and near by stands a priest pouring water on the head of +a native. On the other side, a poor Indian has a cord about his throat. +Lines run from these two groups to a central figure, a man with beard +and full Spanish panoply. The interpretation of the picture-writing is +this: "Be baptized as this saved heathen, or be hanged as that damned +heathen." Doubtless, some of these people preferred another alternative, +and rather than be baptized or hanged they chose to imprison themselves +within these canyon walls. + +_August 17.--_Our rations are still spoiling; the bacon is so badly +injured that we are compelled to throw it away. By an accident, this +morning, the saleratus was lost overboard. We have now only musty flour +sufficient for ten days and a few dried apples, but plenty of coffee. We +must make all haste possible. If we meet with difficulties such as we +have encountered in the canyon above, we may be compelled to give up the +expedition and try to reach the Mormon settlements to the north. + +Our hopes are that the worst places are passed, but our barometers are +all so much injured as to be useless, and so we have lost our reckoning +in altitude, and know not how much descent the river has yet to make. +The stream is still wild and rapid and rolls through a narrow channel. +We make but slow progress, often landing against a wall and climbing +around some point to see the river below. Although very anxious to +advance, we are determined to run with great caution, lest by another +accident we lose our remaining supplies. How precious that little flour +has become! We divide it among the boats and carefully store it away, so +that it can be lost only by the loss of the boat itself. + +We make ten miles and a half, and camp among the rocks on the right. We +have had rain from time to time all day, and have been thoroughly +drenched and chilled; but between showers the sun shines with great +power and the mercury in our thermometers stands at 115 degrees, so that +we have rapid changes from great extremes, which are very disagreeable. +It is especially cold in the rain to-night. The little canvas we have is +rotten and useless; the rubber _ponchos_ with which we started from +Green River City have all been lost; more than half the party are +without hats, not one of us has an entire suit of clothes, and we have +not a blanket apiece. So we gather driftwood and build a fire; but after +supper the rain, coming down in torrents, extinguishes it, and we sit up +all night on the rocks, shivering, and are more exhausted by the night's +discomfort than by the day's toil. + +_August 18._--The day is employed in making portages and we advance but +two miles on our journey. Still it rains. + +While the men are at work making portages I climb up the granite to its +summit and go away back over the rust-colored sandstones and +greenish-yellow shales to the foot of the marble wall. I climb so high +that the men and boats are lost in the black depths below and the +dashing river is a rippling brook, and still there is more canyon above +than below. All about me are interesting geologic records. The book is +open and I can read as I run. All about me are grand views, too, for the +clouds are playing again in the gorges. But somehow I think of the nine +days' rations and the bad river, and the lesson of the rocks and the +glory of the scene are but half conceived. I push on to an angle, where +I hope to get a view of the country beyond, to see if possible what the +prospect may be of our soon running through this plateau, or at least of +meeting with some geologic change that will let us out of the granite; +but, arriving at the point, I can see below only a labyrinth of black +gorges. + +_August 19.--_Rain again this morning. We are in our granite prison +still, and the time until noon is occupied in making a long; bad +portage. + +After dinner, in running a rapid the pioneer boat is upset by a wave. We +are some distance in advance of the larger boats. The river is rough and +swift and we are unable to land, but cling to the boat and are carried +down stream over another rapid. The men in the boats above see our +trouble, but they are caught in whirlpools and are spinning about in +eddies, and it seems a long time before they come to our relief. At last +they do come; our boat is turned right side up and bailed out; the oars, +which fortunately have floated along in company with us, are gathered +up, and on we go, without even landing. The clouds break away and we +have sunshine again. + +Soon we find a little beach with just room enough to land. Here we camp, +but there is no wood. Across the river and a little way above, we see +some driftwood lodged in the rocks. So we bring two boat loads over, +build a huge fire, and spread everything to dry. It is the first +cheerful night we have had for a week--a warm, drying fire in the midst +of the camp, and a few bright stars in our patch of heavens overhead. + +_August 20.--_The characteristics of the canyon change this morning. The +river is broader, the walls more sloping, and composed of black slates +that stand on edge. These nearly vertical slates are washed out in +places--that is, the softer beds are washed out between the harder, +which are left standing. In this way curious little alcoves are formed, +in which are quiet bays of water, but on a much smaller scale than the +great bays and buttresses of Marble Canyon. + +The river is still rapid and we stop to let down with lines several +times, but make greater progress, as we run ten miles. We camp on the +right bank. Here, on a terrace of trap, we discover another group of +ruins. There was evidently quite a village on this rock. Again we find +mealing-stones and much broken pottery, and up on a little natural shelf +in the rock back of the ruins we find a globular basket that would hold +perhaps a third of a bushel. It is badly broken, and as I attempt to +take it up it falls to pieces. There are many beautiful flint chips, +also, as if this had been the home of an old arrow-maker. + +_August 21.--_We start early this morning, cheered by the prospect of a +fine day and encouraged also by the good run made yesterday. A quarter +of a mile below camp the river turns abruptly to the left, and between +camp and that point is very swift, running down in a long, broken chute +and piling up against the foot of the cliff, where it turns to the left. +We try to pull across, so as to go down on the other side, but the +waters are swift and it seems impossible for us to escape the rock +below; but, in pulling across, the bow of the boat is turned to the +farther shore, so that we are swept broadside down and are prevented by +the rebounding waters from striking against the wall. We toss about for +a few seconds in these billows and are then carried past the danger. +Below, the river turns again to the right, the canyon is very narrow, +and we see in advance but a short distance. The water, too, is very +swift, and there is no landing-place. From around this curve there comes +a mad roar, and down we are carried with a dizzying velocity to the head +of another rapid. On either side high over our heads there are +overhanging granite walls, and the sharp bends cut off our view, so that +a few minutes will carry us into unknown waters. Away we go on one long, +winding chute. I stand on deck, supporting myself with a strap fastened +on either side of the gunwale. The boat glides rapidly where the water +is smooth, then, striking a wave, she leaps and bounds like a thing of +life, and we have a wild, exhilarating ride for ten miles, which we make +in less than an hour. The excitement is so great that we forget the +danger until we hear the roar of a great fall below; then we back on our +oars and are carried slowly toward its head and succeed in landing just +above and find that we have to make another portage. At this we are +engaged until some time after dinner. + +Just here we run out of the granite. Ten miles in less than half a day, +and limestone walls below. Good cheer returns; we forget the storms and +the gloom and the cloud-covered canyons and the black granite and the +raging river, and push our boats from shore in great glee. + +Though we are out of the granite, the river is still swift, and we wheel +about a point again to the right, and turn, so as to head back in the +direction from which we came; this brings the granite in sight again, +with its narrow gorge and black crags; but we meet with no more great +falls or rapids. Still, we run cautiously and stop from time to time to +examine some places which look bad. Yet we make ten miles this +afternoon; twenty miles in all to-day. + +_August 22.--_We come to rapids again this morning and are occupied +several hours in passing them, letting the boats down from rock to rock +with lines for nearly half a mile, and then have to make a long portage. +While the men are engaged in this I climb the wall on the northeast to +a height of about 2,500 feet, where I can obtain a good view of a long +stretch of canyon below. Its course is to the southwest. The walls seem +to rise very abruptly for 2,500 or 3,000 feet, and then there is a +gently sloping terrace on each side for two or three miles, when we +again find cliffs, 1,500 or 2,000 feet high. From the brink of these the +plateau stretches back to the north and south for a long distance. Away +down the canyon on the right wall I can see a group of mountains, some +of which appear to stand on the brink of the canyon. The effect of the +terrace is to give the appearance of a narrow winding valley with high +walls on either side and a deep, dark, meandering gorge down its middle. +It is impossible from this point of view to determine whether or not we +have granite at the bottom; but from geologic considerations, I conclude +that we shall have marble walls below. + +After my return to the boats we run another mile and camp for the night. +We have made but little over seven miles to-day, and a part of our flour +has been soaked in the river again. + +_August 23.--_Our way to-day is again through marble walls. Now and then +we pass for a short distance through patches of granite, like hills +thrust up into the limestone. At one of these places we have to make +another portage, and, taking advantage of the delay, I go up a little +stream to the north, wading it all the way, sometimes having to plunge +in to my neck, in other places being compelled to swim across little +basins that have been excavated at the foot of the falls. Along its +course are many cascades and springs, gushing out from the rocks on +either side. Sometimes a cottonwood tree grows over the water. I come to +one beautiful fall, of more than 150 feet, and climb around it to the +right on the broken rocks. Still going up, the canyon is found to narrow +very much, being but 15 or 20 feet wide; yet the walls rise on either +side many hundreds of feet, perhaps thousands; I can hardly tell. + +In some places the stream has not excavated its channel down vertically +through the rocks, but has cut obliquely, so that one wall overhangs the +other. In other places it is cut vertically above and obliquely below, +or obliquely above and vertically below, so that it is impossible to see +out overhead. But I can go no farther; the time which I estimated it +would take to make the portage has almost expired, and I start back on a +round trot, wading in the creek where I must and plunging through +basins. The men are waiting for me, and away we go on the river. + +Just after dinner we pass a stream on the right, which leaps into' the +Colorado by a direct fall of more than 100 feet, forming a beautiful +cascade. There is a bed of very hard rock above, 30 or 40 feet in +thickness, and there are much softer beds below. The hard beds above +project many yards beyond the softer, which are washed out, forming a +deep cave behind the fall, and the stream pours through a narrow crevice +above into a deep pool below. Around on the rocks in the cavelike +chamber are set beautiful ferns, with delicate fronds and enameled +stalks. The frondlets have their points turned down to form spore +cases. It has very much the appearance of the maidenhair fern, but is +much larger. This delicate foliage covers the rocks all about the +fountain, and gives the chamber great beauty. But we have little time to +spend in admiration; so on we go. + +We make fine progress this afternoon, carried along by a swift river, +shooting over the rapids and finding no serious obstructions. The canyon +walls for 2,500 or 3,000 feet are very regular, rising almost +perpendicularly, but here and there set with narrow steps, and +occasionally we can see away above the broad terrace to distant cliffs. + +We camp to-night in a marble cave, and find on looking at our reckoning +that we have run 22 miles. + +_August 24.--_The canyon is wider to-day. The walls rise to a vertical +height of nearly 3,000 feet. In many places the river runs under a cliff +in great curves, forming amphitheaters half-dome shaped. + +Though the river is rapid, we meet with no serious obstructions and run +20 miles. How anxious we are to make up our reckoning every time we +stop, now that our diet is confined to plenty of coffee, a very little +spoiled flour, and very few dried apples! It has come to be a race for a +dinner. Still, we make such fine progress that all hands are in good +cheer, but not a moment of daylight is lost. + +_August 25.--_We make 12 miles this morning, when we come to monuments +of lava standing in the river,--low rocks mostly, but some of them +shafts more than a hundred feet high. Going on down three or four miles, +we find them increasing in number. Great quantities of cooled lava and +many cinder cones are seen on either side; and then we come to an abrupt +cataract. Just over the fall on the right wall a cinder cone, or extinct +volcano, with a well-defined crater, stands on the very brink of the +canyon. This, doubtless, is the one we saw two or three days ago. From +this volcano vast floods of lava have been poured down into the river, +and a stream of molten rock has run up the canyon three or four miles +and down we know not how far. Just where it poured over the canyon wall +is the fall. The whole north side as far as we can see is lined with the +black basalt, and high up on the opposite wall are patches of the same +material, resting on the benches and filling old alcoves and caves, +giving the wall a spotted appearance. + +The rocks are broken in two along a line which here crosses the river, +and the beds we have seen while coming down the canyon for the last 30 +miles have dropped 800 feet on the lower side of the line, forming what +geologists call a "fault." The volcanic cone stands directly over the +fissure thus formed. On the left side of the river, opposite, mammoth +springs burst out of this crevice, 100 or 200 feet above the river, +pouring in a stream quite equal in volume to the Colorado Chiquito. + +This stream seems to be loaded with carbonate of lime, and the water, +evaporating, leaves an incrustation on the rocks; and this process has +been continued for a long time, for extensive deposits are noticed in +which are basins with bubbling springs. The water is salty. + +We have to make a portage here, which is completed in about three hours; +then on we go. + +We have no difficulty as we float along, and I am able to observe the +wonderful phenomena connected with this flood of lava. The canyon was +doubtless filled to a height of 1,200 or 1,500 feet, perhaps by more +than one flood. This would dam the water back; and in cutting through +this great lava bed, a new channel has been formed, sometimes on one +side, sometimes on the other. The cooled lava, being of firmer texture +than the rocks of which the walls are composed, remains in some places; +in others a narrow channel has been cut, leaving a line of basalt on +either side. It is possible that the lava cooled faster on the sides +against the walls and that the center ran out; but of this we can only +conjecture. There are other places where almost the whole of the lava is +gone, only patches of it being seen, where it has caught on the walls. +As we float down we can see that it ran out into side canyons. In some +places this basalt has a fine, columnar structure, often in concentric +prisms, and masses of these concentric columns have coalesced. In some +places, when the flow occurred the canyon was probably about the same +depth that it is now, for we can see where the basalt has rolled out on +the sands, and--what seems curious to me--the sands are not melted or +metamorphosed to any appreciable extent. In places the bed of the river +is of sandstone or limestone, in other places of lava, showing that it +has all been cut out again where the sandstones and limestones appear; +but there is a little yet left where the bed is of lava. + +What a conflict of water and fire there must have been here! Just +imagine a river of molten rock running down into a river of melted snow. +What a seething and boiling of the waters; what clouds of steam rolled +into the heavens! + +Thirty-five miles to-day. Hurrah! + +_August 26.--_The canyon walls are steadily becoming higher as we +advance. They are still bold and nearly vertical up to the terrace. We +still see evidence of the eruption discovered yesterday, but the +thickness of the basalt is decreasing as we go down stream; yet it has +been reinforced at points by streams that have come down from volcanoes +standing on the terrace above, but which we cannot see from the river +below. + +Since we left the Colorado Chiquito we have seen no evidences that the +tribe of Indians inhabiting the plateaus on either side ever come down +to the river; but about eleven o'clock to-day we discover an Indian +garden at the foot of the wall on the right, just where a little stream +with a narrow flood plain comes down through a side canyon. Along the +valley the Indians have planted corn, using for irrigation the water +which bursts out in springs at the foot of the cliff. The corn is +looking quite well, but it is not sufficiently advanced to give us +roasting ears; but there are some nice green squashes. We carry ten or a +dozen of these on board our boats and hurriedly leave, not willing to be +caught in the robbery, yet excusing ourselves by pleading our great +want. We run down a short distance to where we feel certain no Indian +can follow, and what a kettle of squash sauce we make! True, we have no +salt with which to season it, but it makes a fine addition to our +unleavened bread and coffee. Never was fruit so sweet as these stolen +squashes. + +After dinner we push on again and make fine time, finding many rapids, +but none so bad that we cannot run them with safety; and when we stop, +just at dusk, and foot up our reckoning, we find we have run 35 miles +again. A few days like this, and we are out of prison. + +We have a royal supper--unleavened bread, green squash sauce, and strong +coffee. We have been for a few days on half rations, but now have no +stint of roast squash. + +_August 27._--This morning the river takes a more southerly direction. +The dip of the rocks is to the north and we are running rapidly into +lower formations. Unless our course changes we shall very soon run again +into the granite. This gives some anxiety. Now and then the river turns +to the west and excites hopes that are soon destroyed by another turn to +the south. About nine o'clock we come to the dreaded rock. It is with no +little misgiving that we see the river enter these black, hard walls. At +its very entrance we have to make a portage; then let down with lines +past some ugly rocks. We run a mile or two farther, and then the rapids +below can be seen. + +About eleven o'clock we come to a place in the river which seems much +worse than any we have yet met in all its course. A little creek comes +down from the left. We land first on the right and clamber up over the +granite pinnacles for a mile or two, but can see no way by which to let +down, and to run it would be sure destruction. After dinner we cross to +examine on the left. High above the river we can walk along on the top +of the granite, which is broken off at the edge and set with crags and +pinnacles, so that it is very difficult to get a view of the river at +all. In my eagerness to reach a point where I can see the roaring fall +below, I go too far on the wall, and can neither advance nor retreat. I +stand with one foot on a little projecting rock and cling with my hand +fixed in a little crevice. Finding I am caught here, suspended 400 feet +above the river, into which I must fall if my footing fails, I call for +help. The men come and pass me a line, but I cannot let go of the rock +long enough to take hold of it. Then they bring two or three of the +largest oars. All this takes time which seems very precious to me; but +at last they arrive. The blade of one of the oars is pushed into a +little crevice in the rock beyond me in such a manner that they can hold +me pressed against the wall. Then another is fixed in such a way that I +can step on it; and thus I am extricated. + +Still another hour is spent in examining the river from this side, but +no good view of it is obtained; so now we return to the side that was +first examined, and the afternoon is spent in clambering among the crags +and pinnacles and carefully scanning the river again. We find that the +lateral streams have washed boulders into the river, so as to form a +dam, over which the water makes a broken fall of 18 or 20 feet; then +there is a rapid, beset with rocks, for 200 or 300 yards, while on the +other side, points of the wall project into the river. Below, there is a +second fall; how great, we cannot tell. Then there is a rapid, filled +with huge rocks, for 100 or 200 yards. At the bottom of it, from the +right wall, a great rock projects quite halfway across the river. It has +a sloping surface extending up stream, and the water, coming down with +all the momentum gained in the falls and rapids above, rolls up this +inclined plane many feet, and tumbles over to the left. I decide that it +is possible to let down over the first fall, then run near the right +cliff to a point just above the second, where we can pull out into a +little chute, and, having run over that in safety, if we pull with all +our power across the stream, we may avoid the great rock below. On my +return to the boat I announce to the men that we are to run it in the +morning. Then we cross the river and go into camp for the night on some +rocks in the mouth of the little side canyon. + +After supper Captain Howland asks to have a talk with me. We walk up the +little creek a short distance, and I soon find that his object is to +remonstrate against my determination to proceed. He thinks that we had +better abandon the river here. Talking with him, I learn that he, his +brother, and William Dunn have determined to go no farther in the boats. +So we return to camp. Nothing is said to the other men. + +For the last two days our course has not been plotted. I sit down and do +this now, for the purpose of finding where we are by dead reckoning. It +is a clear night, and I take out the sextant to make observation for +latitude, and I find that the astronomic determination agrees very +nearly with that of the plot--quite as closely as might be expected from +a meridian observation on a planet. In a direct line, we must be about +45 miles from the mouth of the Rio Virgen. If we can reach that point, +we know that there are settlements up that river about 20 miles. This 45 +miles in a direct line will probably be 80 or 90 by the meandering line +of the river. But then we know that there is comparatively open country +for many miles above the mouth of the Virgen, which is our point of +destination. + +As soon as I determine all this, I spread my plot on the sand and wake +Howland, who is sleeping down by the river, and show him where I suppose +we are, and where several Mormon settlements are situated. + +We have another short talk about the morrow, and he lies down again; but +for me there is no sleep. All night long I pace up and down a little +path, on a few yards of sand beach, along by the river. Is it wise to go +on? I go to the boats again to look at our rations. I feel satisfied +that we can get over the danger immediately before us; what there may be +below I know not. From our outlook yesterday on the cliffs, the canyon +seemed to make another great bend to the south, and this, from our +experience heretofore, means more and higher granite walls. I am not +sure that we can climb out of the canyon here, and, if at the top of the +wall, I know enough of the country to be certain that it is a desert of +rock and sand between this and the nearest Mormon town, which, on the +most direct line, must be 75 miles away. True, the late rains have been +favorable to us, should we go out, for the probabilities are that we +shall find water still standing in holes; and at one time I almost +conclude to leave the river. But for years I have been contemplating +this trip. To leave the exploration unfinished, to say that there is a +part of the canyon which I cannot explore, having already nearly +accomplished it, is more than I am willing to acknowledge, and I +determine to go on. + +I wake my brother and tell him of Howland's determination, and he +promises to stay with me; then I call up Hawkins, the cook, and he makes +a like promise; then Sumner and Bradley and Hall, and they all agree to +go on. + +_August 28._--At last daylight comes and we have breakfast without a +word being said about the future. The meal is as solemn as a funeral. +After breakfast I ask the three men if they still think it best to leave +us. The elder Howland thinks it is, and Dunn agrees with him. The +younger Howland tries to persuade them to go on with the party; failing +in which, he decides to go with his brother. + +Then we cross the river. The small boat is very much disabled and +unseaworthy. With the loss of hands, consequent on the departure of the +three men, we shall not be able to run all of the boats; so I decide to +leave my "Emma Dean." + +Two rifles and a shotgun are given to the men who are going out. I ask +them to help themselves to the rations and take what they think to be a +fair share. This they refuse to do, saying they have no fear but that +they can get something to eat; but Billy, the cook, has a pan of +biscuits prepared for dinner, and these he leaves on a rock. + +Before starting, we take from the boat our barometers, fossils, the +minerals, and some ammunition and leave them on the rocks. We are going +over this place as light as possible. The three men help us lift our +boats over a rock 25 or 30 feet high and let them down again over the +first fall, and now we are all ready to start. The last thing before +leaving, I write a letter to my wife and give it to Howland. Sumner +gives him his watch, directing that it be sent to his sister should he +not be heard from again. The records of the expedition have been kept in +duplicate. One set of these is given to Howland; and now we are ready. +For the last time they entreat us not to go on, and tell us that it is +madness to set out in this place; that we can never get safely through +it; and, further, that the river turns again to the south into the +granite, and a few miles of such rapids and falls will exhaust our +entire stock of rations, and then it will be too late to climb out. Some +tears are shed; it is rather a solemn parting; each party thinks the +other is taking the dangerous course. + +My old boat left, I go on board of the "Maid of the Canyon." The three +men climb a crag that overhangs the river to watch us off. The "Maid of +the Canyon" pushes out. We glide rapidly along the foot of the wall, +just grazing one great rock, then pull out a little into the chute of +the second fall and plunge over it. The open compartment is filled when +we strike the first wave below, but we cut through it, and then the men +pull with all their power toward the left wall and swing clear of the +dangerous rock below all right. We are scarcely a minute in running it, +and find that, although it looked bad from above, we have passed many +places that were worse. The other boat follows without more difficulty. +We land at the first practicable point below, and fire our guns, as a +signal to the men above that we have come over in safety. Here we remain +a couple of hours, hoping that they will take the smaller boat and +follow us. We are behind a curve in the canyon and cannot see up to +where we left them, and so we wait until their coming seems hopeless, +and then push on. + +And now we have a succession of rapids and falls until noon, all of +which we run in safety. Just after dinner we come to another bad place. +A little stream comes in from the left, and below there is a fall, and +still below another fall. Above, the river tumbles down, over and among +the rocks, in whirlpools and great waves, and the waters are lashed into +mad, white foam. We run along the left, above this, and soon see that we +cannot get down on this side, but it seems possible to let down on the +other. We pull up stream again for 200 or 300 yards and cross. Now there +is a bed of basalt on this northern side of the canyon, with a bold +escarpment that seems to be a hundred feet high. We can climb it and +walk along its summit to a point where we are just at the head of the +fall. Here the basalt is broken down again, so it seems to us, and I +direct the men to take a line to the top of the cliff and let the boats +down along the wall. One man remains in the boat to keep her clear of +the rocks and prevent her line from being caught on the projecting +angles. I climb the cliff and pass along to a point just over the fall +and descend by broken rocks, and find that the break of the fall is +above the break of the wall, so that we cannot land, and that still +below the river is very bad, and that there is no possibility of a +portage. Without waiting further to examine and determine what shall be +done, I hasten back to the top of the cliff to stop the boats from +coming down. When I arrive _I_ find the men have let one of them down to +the head of the fall. She is in swift water and they are not able to +pull her back; nor are they able to go on with the line, as it is not +long enough to reach the higher part of the cliff which is just before +them; so they take a bight around a crag. I send two men back for the +other line. The boat is in very swift water, and Bradley is standing in +the open compartment, holding out his oar to prevent her from striking +against the foot of the cliff. Now she shoots out into the stream and up +as far as the line will permit, and then, wheeling, drives headlong +against the rock, and then out and back again, now straining on the +line, now striking against the rock. As soon as the second line is +brought, we pass it down to him; but his attention is all taken up with +his own situation, and he does not see that we are passing him the line. +I stand on a projecting rock, waving my hat to gain his attention, for +my voice is drowned by the roaring of the falls. Just at this moment I +see him take his knife from its sheath and step forward to cut the line. +He has evidently decided that it is better to go over with the boat as +it is than to wait for her to be broken to pieces. As he leans over, the +boat sheers again into the stream, the stem-post breaks away and she is +loose. With perfect composure Bradley seizes the great scull oar, places +it in the stern rowlock, and pulls with all his power (and he is an +athlete) to turn the bow of the boat down stream, for he wishes to go +bow down, rather than to drift broadside on. One, two strokes he makes, +and a third just as she goes over, and the boat is fairly turned, and +she goes down almost beyond our sight, though we are more than a hundred +feet above the river. Then she comes up again on a great wave, and down +and up, then around behind some great rocks, and is lost in the mad, +white foam below. We stand frozen with fear, for we see no boat. +Bradley is gone! so it seems. But now, away below, we see something +coming out of the waves. It is evidently a boat. A moment more, and we +see Bradley standing on deck, swinging his hat to show that he is all +right. But he is in a whirlpool. We have the stem-post of his boat +attached to the line. How badly she may be disabled we know not. I +direct Sumner and Powell to pass along the cliff and see if they can +reach him from below. Hawkins, Hall, and myself run to the other boat, +jump aboard, push out, and away we go over the falls. A wave rolls over +us and our boat is unmanageable. Another great wave strikes us, and the +boat rolls over, and tumbles and tosses, I know not how. All I know is +that Bradley is picking us up. We soon have all right again, and row to +the cliff and wait until Sumner and Powell can come. After a difficult +climb they reach us. We run two or three miles farther and turn again to +the northwest, continuing until night, when we have run out of the +granite once more. + +_August 29.--_We start very early this morning. The river still +continues swift, but we have no serious difficulty, and at twelve +o'clock emerge from the Grand Canyon of the Colorado. We are in a valley +now, and low mountains are seen in the distance, coming to the river +below. We recognize this as the Grand Wash. + +A few years ago a party of Mormons set out from St. George, Utah, taking +with them a boat, and came down to the Grand Wash, where they divided, a +portion of the party crossing the river to explore the San Francisco +Mountains. Three men--Hamblin, Miller, and Crosby--taking the boat, went +on down the river to Callville, landing a few miles below the mouth of +the Rio Virgen. We have their manuscript journal with us, and so the +stream is comparatively well known. + +To-night we camp on the left bank, in a mesquite thicket. + +The relief from danger and the joy of success are great. When he who has +been chained by wounds to a hospital cot until his canvas tent seems +like a dungeon cell, until the groans of those who lie about tortured +with probe and knife are piled up, a weight of horror on his ears that +he cannot throw off, cannot forget, and until the stench of festering +wounds and anaesthetic drugs has filled the air with its loathsome +burthen,--when he at last goes out into the open field, what a world he +sees! How beautiful the sky, how bright the sunshine, what "floods of +delirious music" pour from the throats of birds, how sweet the fragrance +of earth and tree and blossom! The first hour of convalescent freedom +seems rich recompense for all pain and gloom and terror. + +Something like these are the feelings we experience to-night. Ever +before us has been an unknown danger, heavier than immediate peril. +Every waking hour passed in the Grand Canyon has been one of toil. We +have watched with deep solicitude the steady disappearance of our scant +supply of rations, and from time to time have seen the river snatch a +portion of the little left, while we were a-hungered. And danger and +toil were endured in those gloomy depths, where ofttimes clouds hid the +sky by day and but a narrow zone of stars could be seen at night. Only +during the few hours of deep sleep, consequent on hard labor, has the +roar of the waters been hushed. Now the danger is over, now the toil has +ceased, now the gloom has disappeared, now the firmament is bounded only +by the horizon, and what a vast expanse of constellations can be seen! + +The river rolls by us in silent majesty; the quiet of the camp is sweet; +our joy is almost ecstasy. We sit till long after midnight talking of +the Grand Canyon, talking of home, but talking chiefly of the three men +who left us. Are they wandering in those depths, unable to find a way +out? Are they searching over the desert lands above for water? Or are +they nearing the settlements? + +_August 30.--_We run in two or three short, low canyons to-day, and on +emerging from one we discover a band of Indians in the valley below. +They see us, and scamper away in eager haste to hide among the rocks. +Although we land and call for them to return, not an Indian can be seen. + +Two or three miles farther down, in turning a short bend of the river, +we come upon another camp. So near are we before they can see us that I +can shout to them, and, being able to speak a little of their language, +I tell them we are friends; but they all flee to the rocks, except a +man, a woman, and two children. We land and talk with them. They are +without lodges, but have built little shelters of boughs, under which' +they wallow in the sand. The man is dressed in a hat; the woman, in a +string of beads only. At first they are evidently much terrified; but +when I talk to them in their own language and tell them we are friends, +and inquire after people in the Mormon towns, they are soon reassured +and beg for tobacco. Of this precious article we have none to spare. +Sumner looks around in the boat for something to give them, and finds a +little piece of colored soap, which they receive as a valuable +present,--rather as a thing of beauty than as a useful commodity, +however. They are either unwilling or unable to tell us anything about +the Indians or white people, and so we push off, for we must lose no +time. + +We camp at noon under the right bank. And now as we push out we are in +great expectancy, for we hope every minute to discover the mouth of the +Rio Virgen. Soon one of the men exclaims: "Yonder's an Indian in the +river." Looking for a few minutes, we certainly do see two or three +persons. The men bend to their oars and pull toward them. Approaching, +we see that there are three white men and an Indian hauling a seine, and +then we discover that it is just at the mouth of the long-sought river. + +As we come near, the men seem far less surprised to see us than we do to +see them. They evidently know who we are, and on talking with them they +tell us that we have been reported lost long ago, and that some weeks +before a messenger had been sent from Salt Lake City with instructions +for them to watch for any fragments or relics of our party that might +drift down the stream. + +Our new-found friends, Mr. Asa and his two sons, tell us that they are +pioneers of a town that is to be built on the bank. Eighteen or twenty +miles up the valley of the Rio Virgen there are two Mormon towns, St. +Joseph and St. Thomas. To-night we dispatch an Indian to the +last-mentioned place to bring any letters that may be there for us. + +Our arrival here is very opportune. When we look over our store of +supplies, we find about 10 pounds of flour, 15 pounds of dried apples, +but 70 or 80 pounds of coffee. + +_August 81.--_This afternoon the Indian returns with a letter informing +us that Bishop Leithhead of St. Thomas and two or three other Mormons +are coming down with a wagon, bringing us supplies. They arrive about +sundown. Mr. Asa treats us with great kindness to the extent of his +ability; but Bishop Leithhead brings in his wagon two or three dozen +melons and many other little luxuries, and we are comfortable once more. + +_September 1.--_This morning Sumner, Bradley, Hawkins, and Hall, taking +on a small supply of rations, start down the Colorado with the boats. It +is their intention to go to Fort Mojave, and perhaps from there overland +to Los Angeles. + +Captain Powell and myself return with Bishop Leithhead to St. Thomas. +From St. Thomas we go to Salt Lake City. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +THE RIO VIRGEN AND THE UINKARET MOUNTAINS. + + +A year has passed, and we have determined to resume the exploration of +the canyons of the Colorado. Our last trip was so hurried, owing to the +loss of rations, and the scientific instruments were so badly injured, +that we are not satisfied with the results obtained; so we shall once +more attempt to pass through the canyons in boats, devoting two or three +years to the trip. + +It will not be possible to carry in the boats sufficient supplies for +the party for that length of time; so it is thought best to establish +depots of supplies, at intervals of 100 or 200 miles along the river. + +Between Gunnison's Crossing and the foot of the Grand Canyon, we know of +only two points where the river can be reached--one at the Crossing of +the Fathers, and another a few miles below, at the mouth of the Paria, +on a route which has been explored by Jacob Hamblin, a Mormon +missionary. These two points are so near each other that only one of +them can be selected for the purpose above mentioned, and others must be +found. We have been unable up to this time to obtain, either from +Indians or white men, any information which will give us a clue to any +other trail to the river. + +At the headwaters of the Sevier, we are on the summit of a great +watershed. The Sevier itself flows north and then westward into the lake +of the same name. The Rio Virgen, heading near by, flows to the +southwest into the Colorado, 60 or 70 miles below the Grand Canyon. The +Kanab, also heading near by, runs directly south into the very heart of +the Grand Canyon. The Paria, likewise heading near by, runs a little +south of east and enters the river at the head of Marble Canyon. To the +northeast from this point, other streams which run into the Colorado +have their sources, until, 40 or 50 miles away, we reach the +southern branches of the Dirty Devil River, the mouth of which stream is +but a short distance below the junction of the Grand and Green. + +The Paunsa'gunt Plateau terminates in a point, which is bounded by a +line of beautiful pink cliffs. At the foot of this plateau, on the west, +the Rio Virgen and Sevier River are dovetailed together, as their minute +upper branches interlock. The upper surface of the plateau inclines to +the northeast, so that its waters roll off into the Sevier; but from the +foot of the cliffs, quite around the sharp angle of the plateau, for a +dozen miles, we find numerous springs, whose waters unite to form the +Kanab. A little farther to the northeast the springs gather into streams +that feed the Paria. Here, by the upper springs of the Kanab, we make a +camp, and from this point we are to radiate on a series of trips, +southwest, south, and east. + +Jacob Hamblin, who has been a missionary among the Indians for more than +twenty years, has collected a number of Kai'vavits, with +Chuar'-ruumpeak, their chief, and they are all camped with us. They +assure us that we cannot reach the river, that we cannot make our way +into the depths of the canyon, but promise to show us the springs and +water pockets, which are very scarce in all this region, and to give us +all the information in their power. Here we fit up a pack train, for our +bedding and instruments and supplies are to be carried on the backs of +mules and ponies. + +_September 5, 1870.--_The several members of the party are engaged in +general preparation for our trip down to the Grand Canyon. + +Taking with me a white man and an Indian, I start on a climb to the +summit of the Paunsa'gunt Plateau, which rises above us on the east. Our +way for a mile or more is over a great peat bog, which trembles under +our feet, and now and then a mule sinks through the broken turf and we +are compelled to pull it out with ropes. Passing the bog, our way is up +a gulch at the foot of the Pink Cliffs, which form the escarpment, or +wall, of the great plateau. Soon we leave the gulch and climb a long +ridge which winds around to the right toward the summit of the great +table. + +Two hours' riding, climbing, and clambering bring us near the top. We +look below and see clouds drifting up from the south and rolling +tumultuously toward the foot of the cliffs beneath us. Soon all the +country below is covered with a sea of vapor--a billowy, raging, +noiseless sea--and as the vapory flood still rolls up from the south, +great waves dash against the foot of the cliffs and roll back; another +tide comes in, is hurled back, and another and another, lashing the +cliffs until the fog rises to the summit and covers us all. There is a +heavy pine and fir forest above, beset with dead and fallen timber, and +we make our way through the undergrowth to the east. + +It rains. The clouds discharge their moisture in torrents, and we make +for ourselves shelters of boughs, only to be soon abandoned, and we +stand shivering by a great fire of pine logs and boughs, which the +pelting storm half extinguishes. + +One, two, three, four hours of the storm, and at last it partially +abates. During this time our animals, which we have turned loose, have +sought for themselves shelter under the trees, and two of them have +wandered away beyond our sight. I go out to follow their tracks, and +come near to the brink of a ledge of rocks, which, in the fog and mist, +I suppose to be a little ridge, and I look for a way by which I can go +down. Standing just here, there is a rift made in the fog below by some +current or blast of wind, which reveals an almost bottomless abyss. I +look from the brink of a great precipice of more than 2,000 feet; but +through the mist the forms are half obscured and all reckoning of +distance is lost, and it seems 10,000 feet, ten miles--any distance the +imagination desires to make it. + +Catching our animals, we return to the camp. We find that the little +streams which come down from the plateau are greatly swollen, but at +camp they have had no rain. The clouds which drifted up from the south, +striking against the plateau, were lifted up into colder regions and +discharged their moisture on the summit and against the sides of the +plateau, but there was no rain in the valley below. + +_September 9.--_We make a fair start this morning from the beautiful +meadow at the head of the Kanab, cross the line of little hills at the +headwaters of the Rio Virgen, and pass, to the south, a pretty valley. +At ten o'clock we come to the brink of a great geographic bench--a line +of cliffs. Behind us are cool springs, green meadows, and forest-clad +slopes; below us, stretching to the south until the world is lost in +blue haze, is a painted desert--not a desert plain, but a desert of +rocks cut by deep gorges and relieved by towering cliffs and pinnacled +rocks--naked rocks, brilliant in the sunlight. + +By a difficult trail we make our way down the basaltic ledge, through +which innumerable streams here gather into a little river running in a +deep canyon. The river runs close to the foot of the cliffs on the +right-hand side and the trail passes along to the right. At noon we rest +and our animals feed on luxuriant grass. + +Again we start and make slow progress along a stony way. At night we +camp under an overarching cliff. + +_September 10._--Here the river turns to the west, and our way, +properly, is to the south; but we wish to explore the Rio Virgen as far +as possible. The Indians tell us that the canyon narrows gradually a few +miles below and that it will be impossible to take our animals much +farther down the river. Early in the morning I go down to examine the +head of this narrow part. After breakfast, having concluded to explore +the canyon for a i few miles on foot, we arrange that the main party +shall climb the cliff and go around to a point 18 or 20 _\_ miles below, +where, the Indians say, the animals can be taken down by the river, and +three of us set out on, foot. + +The Indian name of the canyon is Paru'nuweap, or Roaring Water Canyon. +Between the little river and the foot of the walls is a dense growth of +willows, vines, and wild rosebushes, and with great difficulty we make +our way through this tangled mass. It is not a wide stream--only 20 or +30 feet across in most places; shallow, but very swift. After spending +some hours in breaking our way through the mass of vegetation and +climbing rocks here and there, it is determined to wade along the +stream. In some places this is an easy task, but here and there we come +to deep holes where we have to wade to our armpits. Soon we come to +places so narrow that the river fills the entire channel and we wade +perforce. In many places the bottom is a quicksand, into which we sink, +and it is with great difficulty that we make progress. In some places +the holes are so deep that we have to swim, and our little bundles of +blankets and rations are fixed to a raft made of driftwood and pushed +before us. Now and then there is a little flood-plain, on which we can +walk, and we cross and recross the stream and wade along the channel +where the water is so swift as almost to carry us off our feet and we +are in danger every moment of being swept down, until night comes on. +Finding a little patch of flood-plain, on which there is a huge pile of +driftwood and a clump of box-elders, and near by a mammoth stream +bursting from the rocks, we soon have a huge fire. Our clothes are +spread to dry; we make a cup of coffee, take out our bread and cheese +and dried beef, and enjoy a hearty supper. We estimate that we have +traveled eight miles to-day. + +The canyon here is about 1,200 feet deep. It has been very narrow and +winding all the way down to this point. + +_September 11.--_Wading again this morning; sinking in the quicksand, +swimming the deep waters, and making slow and painful progress where the +waters are swift and the bed of the stream rocky. + +The canyon is steadily becoming deeper and in many places very +narrow--only 20 or 30 feet wide below, and in some places no wider, and +even narrower, for hundreds of feet overhead. There are places where the +river in sweeping by curves has cut far under the rocks, but still +preserves its narrow channel, so that there is an overhanging wall on +one side and an inclined wall on the other. In places a few hundred feet +above, it becomes vertical again, and thus the view to the sky is +entirely closed. Everywhere this deep passage is dark and gloomy and +resounds with the noise of rapid waters. At noon we are in a canyon +2,500 feet deep, and we come to a fall where the walls are broken down +and huge rocks beset the channel, on which we obtain a foothold to reach +a level 200 feet below. Here the canyon is again wider, and we find a +flood-plain along which we can walk, now on this, and now on that side +of the stream. Gradually the canyon widens; steep rapids, cascades, and +cataracts are found along the river, but we wade only when it is +necessary to cross. We make progress with very great labor, having to +climb over piles of broken rocks. + +Late in the afternoon we come to a little clearing in the valley and see +other signs of civilization and by sundown arrive at the Mormon town +of Schunesburg; and here we meet the train, and feast on melons and +grapes. + +_September 12._--Our course for the last two days, through Paru'nuweap +Canyon, was directly to the west. Another stream comes down from the +north and unites just here at Schunesburg with the main branch of the +Rio Virgen. We determine to spend a day in the exploration of this +stream. The Indians call the canyon through which it runs, +Mukun'tu-weap, or Straight, Canyon. Entering this, we have to wade +upstream; often the water fills the entire channel and, although we +travel many miles, we find no flood-plain, talus, or broken piles of +rock at the foot of the cliff. The walls have smooth, plain faces and +are everywhere very regular and vertical for a thousand feet or more, +where they seem to break back in shelving slopes to higher altitudes; +and everywhere, as we go along, we find springs bursting out at the foot +of the walls, and passing these the river above becomes steadily +smaller. The great body of water which runs below bursts out from +beneath this great bed of red sandstone; as we go up the canyon, it +comes to be but a creek, and then a brook. On the western wall of the +canyon stand some buttes, towers, and high pinnacled rocks. Going up the +canyon, we gain glimpses of them, here and there. Last summer, after our +trip through the canyons of the Colorado, on our way from the mouth of +the Virgen to Salt Lake City, these were seen as conspicuous landmarks +from a distance away to the southwest of 60 or 70 miles. These tower +rocks are known as the Temples of the Virgen. + +Having explored this canyon nearly to its head, we return to +Schunesburg, arriving quite late at night. + +Sitting in camp this evening, Chuar'ruumpeak, the chief of the +Kai'vavits, who is one of our party, tells us there is a tradition among +the tribes of this country that many years ago a great light was seen +somewhere in this region by the Paru'shapats, who lived to the +southwest, and that they supposed it to be a signal kindled to warn them +of the approach of the Navajos, who lived beyond the Colorado River to +the east. Then other signal fires were kindled on the Pine Valley +Mountains, Santa Clara Mountains, and Uinkaret Mountains, so that all +the tribes of northern Arizona, southern Utah, southern Nevada, and +southern California were warned of the approaching danger; but when the +Paru'shapats came nearer, they discovered that it was a fire on one of +the great temples; and then they knew that the fire was not +kindled by men, for no human being could scale the rocks. The +_Tu'muurrugwait'sigaip,_ or Rock Rovers, had kindled a fire to +deceive the people. So, in the Indian language this is called +_Tu'muurruwait'sigaip Tuweap',_ or Rock Rovers' Land. + +_September 13._--We start very early this morning, for we have a long +day's travel before us. Our way is across the Rio Virgen to the south. +Coming to the bank of the stream here, we find a strange metamorphosis. +The streams we have seen above, running in narrow channels, leaping and +plunging over the rocks, raging and roaring in their course, are here +united and spread in a thin sheet several hundred yards wide and only a +few inches deep, but running over a bed of quicksand. Crossing the +stream, our trail leads up a narrow canyon, not very deep, and then +among the hills of golden, red, and purple shales and marls. Climbing +out of the valley of the Rio Virgen, we pass through a forest of dwarf +cedars and come out at the foot of the Vermilion Cliffs. All day we +follow this Indian trail toward the east, and at night camp at a great +spring, known to the Indians as Yellow Rock Spring, but to the Mormons +as Pipe Spring; and near by there is a cabin in which some Mormon +herders find shelter. Pipe Spring is a point just across the Utah line +in Arizona, and we suppose it to be about 60 miles from the river. Here +the Mormons design to build a fort another year, as an outpost for +protection against the Indians. We now discharge a number of the +Indians, but take two with us for the purpose of showing us the springs, +for they are very scarce, very small, and not easily found. Half a dozen +are not known in a district of country large enough to make as many +good-sized counties in Illinois. There are no running streams, and +these springs and water pockets are our sole dependence. + +Starting, we leave behind a long line of cliffs, many hundred feet high, +composed of orange and vermilion sandstones. I have named them +"Vermilion Cliffs." When we are out a few miles, I look back and see the +morning sun shining in splendor on their painted faces; the salient +angles are on fire, and the retreating angles are buried in shade, and I +gaze on them until my vision dreams and the cliffs appear a long bank of +purple clouds piled from the horizon high into the heavens. At noon we +pass along a ledge of chocolate cliffs, and, taking out our sandwiches, +we make a dinner as we ride along. + +Yesterday our Indians discussed for hours the route which we should +take. There is one way, farther by 10 or 12 miles, with sure water; +another, shorter, where water is found sometimes; their conclusion was +that water would be found now; and this is the way we go, yet all day +long we are anxious about it. To be out two days with only the water +that can be carried in two small kegs is to have our animals suffer +greatly. At five o'clock we come to the spot, and there is a huge water +pocket containing several barrels. What a relief! Here we camp for the +night. + +_September 15.--_Up at daybreak, for it is a long day's march to the +next water. They say we must "run very hard" to reach it by dark. + +Our course is to the south. From Pipe Spring we can see a mountain, and +I recognize it as the one seen last summer from a cliff overlooking the +Grand Canyon; and I wish to reach the river just behind the mountain. +There are Indians living in the group, of which it is the highest, whom +I wish to visit on the way. These mountains are of volcanic origin, and +we soon come to ground that is covered with fragments of lava. The way +becomes very difficult. We have to cross deep ravines, the heads of +canyons that run into the Grand Canyon. It is curious now to observe the +knowledge of our Indians. There is not a trail but what they know; every +gulch and every rock seems familiar. I have prided myself on being able +to grasp and retain in my mind the topography of a country; but these +Indians put me to shame. My knowledge is only general, embracing the +more important features of a region that remains as a map engraved on my +mind; but theirs is particular. They know every rock and every ledge, +every gulch and canyon, and just where to wind among these to find a +pass; and their knowledge is unerring. They cannot describe a country +to you, but they can tell you all the particulars of a route. + +I have but one pony for the two, and they were to ride "turn about"; but +Chuar'ruumpeak, the chief, rides, and Shuts, the one-eyed, barelegged, +merry-faced pigmy, walks, and points the way with a slender cane; then +leaps and bounds by the shortest way, and sits down on a rock and waits +demurely until we come, always meeting us with a jest, his face a rich +mine of sunny smiles. + +At dusk we reach the water pocket. It is in a deep gorge on the flank of +this great mountain. During the rainy season the water rolls down the +mountain side, plunging over precipices, and excavates a deep basin in +the solid rock below. This basin, hidden from the sun, holds water the +year round. + +_September 16._--This morning, while the men are packing the animals, I +climb a little mountain near camp, to obtain a view of the country. It +is a huge pile of volcanic scoria, loose and light as cinders from a +forge, which give way under my feet, and I climb with great labor; but, +reaching the summit and looking to the southeast, I see once more the +labyrinth of deep gorges that flank the Grand Canyon; in the multitude, +I cannot determine whether it is itself in view or not. The memories of +grand and awful months spent in their deep, gloomy solitudes come up, +and I live that life over again for a time. + +I supposed, before starting, that I could get a good view of the great +mountain from this point; but it is like climbing a chair to look at a +castle. I wish to discover some way by which it can be ascended, as it +is my intention to go to the summit before I return to the settlements. +There is a cliff near the summit and I do not see any way yet. Now down +I go, sliding on the cinders, making them rattle and clang. + +The Indians say we are to have a short ride to-day and that we shall +reach an Indian village, situated by a good spring. Our way is across +the spurs that put out from the great mountain as we pass it to the +left. + +Up and down we go across deep ravines, and the fragments of lava clank +under our horses' feet; now among cedars, now among pines, and now +across mountain-side glades. At one o'clock we descend into a lovely +valley, with a carpet of waving grass; sometimes there is a little water +in the upper end of it, and during some seasons the Indians we wish to +find are encamped here. Chuar'ruumpeak rides on to find them, and to say +we are friends, otherwise they would run away or propose to fight us, +should we come without notice. Soon we see Chuar'ruumpeak riding at full +speed and hear him shouting at the top of his voice, and away in the +distance are two Indians scampering up the mountain side. One stops; the +other still goes on and is soon lost to view. We ride up and find +Chuar'ruumpeak talking with the one who had stopped. It is one of the +ladies resident in these mountain glades; she is evidently paying taxes, +Godiva-like. She tells us that her people are at the spring; that it is +only two hours' ride; that her good master has gone on to tell them we +are coming; and that she is harvesting seeds. + +We sit down and eat our luncheon and share our biscuits with the woman +of the mountains; then on we go over a divide between two rounded peaks. +I send the party on to the village and climb the peak on the left, +riding my horse to the upper limit of trees and then tugging up afoot. +From this point I can see the Grand Canyon, and I know where I am. I can +see the Indian village, too, in a grassy valley, embosomed in the +mountains, the smoke curling up from their fires; my men are turning out +their horses and a group of natives stand around. Down the mountain I go +and reach camp at sunset. After supper we put some cedar boughs on the +fire; the dusky villagers sit around, and we have a smoke and a talk. I +explain the object of my visit, and assure them of my friendly +intentions. Then I ask them about a way down into the canyon. They tell +me that years ago a way was discovered by which parties could go down, +but that no one has attempted it for a long time; that it is a very +difficult and very dangerous undertaking to reach the "Big Water." Then +I inquire about the Shi'vwits, a tribe that lives about the springs on +the mountain sides and canyon cliffs to the southwest. They say that +their village is now about 30 miles away, and promise to send a +messenger for them to-morrow morning. + +Having finished our business for the evening, I ask if there is a +_tugwi'nagunt_ in camp; that is, if there is any one present who is +skilled in relating their mythology. Chuar'ruumpeak says +Tomor'rountikai, the chief of these Indians, is a very noted man for his +skill in this matter; but they both object, by saying that the season +for _tugwi'nai_ has not yet arrived. But I had anticipated this, and +soon some members of the party come with pipes and tobacco, a large +kettle of coffee, and a tray of biscuits, and, after sundry ceremonies +of pipe lighting and smoking, we all feast, and, warmed up by this, to +them, unusually good living, it is decided that the night shall be spent +in relating mythology. I ask Tomor'rountikai to tell us about the So'kus +Wai'unats, or One-Two Boys, and to this he agrees. + +The long winter evenings of an Indian camp are usually devoted to the +relation of mythologic stories, which purport to give a history of an +ancient race of animal gods. The stories are usually told by some old +man, assisted by others of the party, who take secondary parts, while +the members of the tribe gather about and make comments or receive +impressions from the morals which are enforced by the story-teller, or, +more properly, story-tellers; for the exercise partakes somewhat of the +nature of a theatrical performance. + +THE SO'KUS WAI'UNATS. + +Tumpwinai'rogwinump, He Who Had A Stone Shirt, killed Sikor', the Crane, +and stole his wife, and seeing that she had a child and thinking it +would be an incumbrance to them on their travels, he ordered her to kill +it. But the mother, loving the babe, hid it under her dress and carried +it away to its grandmother. And Stone Shirt carried his captured bride +to his own land. + +In a few years the child grew to be a fine lad, under the care of his +grandmother, and was her companion wherever she went. + +One day they were digging flag roots on the margin of the river and +putting them in a heap on the bank. When they had been at work a little +while, the boy perceived that the roots came up with greater ease than +was customary and he asked the old woman the cause of this, but she did +not know; and, as they continued their work, still the reeds came up +with less effort, at which their wonder increased, until the grandmother +said, + +"Surely, some strange thing is about to transpire." + +Then the boy went to the heap where they had been placing the roots, and +found that some one had taken them away, and he ran back, exclaiming, + +"Grandmother, did you take the roots away?" + +And she answered, + +"No, my child; perhaps some ghost has taken them off; let us dig no +more; come away." + +But the boy was not satisfied, as he greatly desired to know what all +this meant; so he searched about for a time, and at length found a man +sitting under a tree, and taunted him with being a thief, and threw mud +and stones at him until he broke the stranger's leg. The man answered +not the boy nor resented the injuries he received, but remained silent +and sorrowful; and when his leg was broken he tied it up in sticks and +bathed it in the river and sat down again under the tree and beckoned +the boy to approach. When the lad came near, the stranger told him he +had something of great importance to reveal. + +"My son," said he, "did that old woman ever tell you about your father +and mother?" + +"No," answered the boy; "I have never heard of them." + +"My son, do you see these bones scattered on the ground? Whose bones are +these?" + +"How should I know?" answered the boy. "It may be that some elk or deer +has been killed here." + +"No," said the old man. + +"Perhaps they are the bones of a bear"; but the old man shook his head. + +So the boy mentioned many other animals, but the stranger still shook +his head, and finally said, + +"These are the bones of your father; Stone Shirt killed him and left him +to rot here on the ground like a wolf." + +And the boy was filled with indignation against the slayer of his +father. + +Then the stranger asked, + +"Is your mother in yonder lodge?" + +"No," the boy replied. + +"Does your mother live on the banks of this river?" + +"I don't know my mother; I have never seen her; she is dead," answered +the boy. + +"My son," replied the stranger, "Stone Shirt, who killed your father, +stole your mother and took her away to the shore of a distant lake, and +there she is his wife to-day." + +And the boy wept bitterly and, while the tears filled his eyes so that +he could not see, the stranger disappeared. Then the boy was filled with +wonder at what he had seen and heard, and malice grew in his heart +against his father's enemy. He returned to the old woman and said, + +"Grandmother, why have you lied to me about my father and mother?" + +But she answered not, for she knew that a ghost had told all to the boy. +And the boy fell upon the ground weeping and sobbing, until he fell into +a deep sleep, when strange things were told him. + +His slumber continued three days and three nights and when he awoke he +said to his grandmother: + +"I am going away to enlist all nations in my fight." + +And straightway he departed. + +(Here the boy's travels are related with many circumstances concerning +the way he was received by the people, all given in a series of +conversations, very lengthy; so they will be omitted.) + +Finally he returned in advance of the people whom he had enlisted, +bringing with him Shinau'av, the Wolf, and Togo'av, the Rattlesnake. +When the three had eaten food, the boy said to the old woman: + +"Grandmother, cut me in two!" + +But she demurred, saying she did not wish to kill one whom she loved so +dearly. + +"Cut me in two!" demanded the boy; and he gave her a stone ax, which he +had brought from a distant country, and with a manner of great authority +he again commanded her to cut him in two. So she stood before him and +severed him in twain and fled in terror. And lo! each part took the +form of an entire man, and the one beautiful boy appeared as two, and +they were so much alike no one could tell them apart. + +When the people or natives whom the boy had enlisted came pouring into +the camp, Shinau'av and Togo'av were engaged in telling them of the +wonderful thing that had happened to the boy, and that now there were +two; and they all held it to be an augury of a successful expedition to +the land of Stone Shirt. And they started on their journey. + +Now the boy had been told in the dream of his three days' slumber, of a +magical cup, and he had brought it home with him from his journey among +the nations, and the So'kus Wai'unats carried it between them, filled +with water. Shinau'av walked on their right and Togo'av on their left, +and the nations followed in the order in which they had been enlisted. +There was a vast number of them, so that when they were stretched out in +line it was one day's journey from the front to the rear of the column. + +When they had journeyed two days and were far out on the desert, all the +people thirsted, for they found no water, and they fell down upon the +sand groaning and murmuring that they had been deceived, and they cursed +the One-Two. + +But the So'kus Wai'unats had been told in the wonderful dream of the +suffering which would be endured, and that the water which they carried +in the cup was to be used only in dire necessity; and the brothers said +to each other: + +"Now the time has come for us to drink the water." + +And when one had quaffed of the magical bowl, he found it still full; +and he gave it to the other to drink, and still it was full; and the +One-Two gave it to the people, and one after another did they all drink, +and still the cup was full to the brim. + +But Shinau'av was dead, and all the people mourned, for he was a great +man. The brothers held the cup over him and sprinkled him with water, +when he arose and said: + +"Why do you disturb me? I did have a vision of mountain brooks and +meadows, of cane where honey dew was plenty." + +They gave him the cup and he drank also; but when he had finished there +was none left. Refreshed and rejoicing, they proceeded on their journey. + +The next day, being without food, they were hungry, and all were about +to perish; and again they murmured at the brothers and cursed them. But +the So'kus Wai'unats saw in the distance an antelope, standing on an +eminence in the plain, in bold relief against the sky; and Shinau'av +knew it was the wonderful antelope with many eyes which Stone Shirt kept +for his watchman; and he proposed to go and kill it, but Togo'av +demurred and said: + +"It were better that I should go, for he will see you and run away." + +But the So'kus Wai'unats told Shinau'av to go; and he started in a +direction away to the left of where the antelope was standing, that he +might make a long detour about some hills and come upon him from the +other side. + +Togo'av went a little way from camp and called to the brothers: + +"Do you see me!" + +They answered they did not. + +"Hunt for me." + +While they were hunting for him, the Rattlesnake said: + +"I can see you; you are doing so and so," telling them what they were +doing; but they could not find him. + +Then the Rattlesnake came forth declaring: + +"Now you know that when I so desire I can see others and I cannot be +seen. Shinau'av cannot kill that antelope, for he has many eyes, and is +the wonderful watchman of Stone Shirt; but I can kill him, for I can go +where he is and he cannot see me." + +So the brothers were convinced and permitted him to go; and Togo'av went +and killed the antelope. When Shinau'av saw it fall, he was very angry, +for he was extremely proud of his fame as a hunter and anxious to have +the honor of killing this famous antelope, and he ran up with the +intention of killing Togo'av; but when he drew near and saw the antelope +was fat and would make a rich feast for the people, his anger was +appeased. + +"What matters it," said he, "who kills the game, when we can all eat +it?" + +So all the people were fed in abundance and they proceeded on their +journey. + +The next day the people again suffered for water, and the magical cup +was empty; but the So'kus Wai'unats, having been told in their dream +what to do, transformed themselves into doves and flew away to a lake, +on the margin of which was the home of Stone Shirt. + +Coming near to the shore, they saw two maidens bathing in the water; and +the birds stood and looked, for the maidens were very beautiful. Then +they flew into some bushes near by, to have a nearer view, and were +caught in a snare which the girls had placed for intrusive birds. + +The beautiful maidens came up and, taking the birds out of the snare, +admired them very much, for they had never seen such birds before. They +carried them to their father, Stone Shirt, who said: + +"My daughters, I very much fear these are spies from my enemies, for +such birds do not live in our land." + +He was about to throw them into the fire, when the maidens besought him, +with tears, that he would not destroy their beautiful birds; but he +yielded to their entreaties with much misgiving. Then they took the +birds to the shore of the lake and set them free. + +When the birds were at liberty once more they flew around among the +bushes until they found the magical cup which they had lost, and taking +it up they carried it out into the middle of the lake and settled down +upon the water, and the maidens supposed they were drowned. + +The birds, when they had filled their cup, rose again and went back to +the people in the desert, where they arrived just at the right time to +save them with the cup of water, from which each drank; and yet it was +full until the last was satisfied, and then not a drop remained. + +The brothers reported that they had seen Stone Shirt and his daughters. + +The next day they came near to the home of the enemy, and the brothers, +in proper person, went out to reconnoiter. Seeing a woman +gleaning seeds, they drew near, and knew it was their mother, whom Stone +Shirt had stolen from Sikor', the Crane. They told her they were her +sons, but she denied it and said she had never had but one son; but the +boys related to her their history, with the origin of the two from one, +and she was convinced. She tried to dissuade them from making war upon +Stone Shirt, and told them that no arrow could possibly penetrate his +armor, and that he was a great warrior and had no other delight than in +killing his enemies, and that his daughters also were furnished with +magical bows and arrows, which they could shoot so fast that the arrows +would fill the air like a cloud, and that it was not necessary for them +to take aim, for their missiles went where they willed; they _thought_ +the arrows to the hearts of their enemies; and thus the maidens could +kill the whole of the people before a common arrow could be shot by a +common person. But the boys told her what the spirit had said in the +long dream and that it had promised that Stone Shirt should be killed. +They told her to go down to the lake at dawn, so as not to be endangered +by the battle. + +During the night the So'kus Wai'unats transformed themselves into mice +and proceeded to the home of Stone Shirt and found the magical bows and +arrows that belonged to the maidens, and with their sharp teeth they cut +the sinew on the backs of the bows and nibbled the bow strings, so that +they were worthless. Togo'av hid himself under a rock near by. + +When dawn came into the sky, Tumpwinai'ro-gwinump, the Stone Shirt man, +arose and walked out of his tent, exulting in his strength and security, +and sat down upon the rock under which Togo'av was hiding; and he, +seeing his opportunity, sank his fangs into the flesh of the hero. Stone +Shirt sprang high into the air and called to his daughters that they +were betrayed and that the enemy was near; and they seized their magical +bows and their quivers filled with magical arrows and hurried to his +defense. At the same time, all the nations who were surrounding the camp +rushed down to battle. But the beautiful maidens, finding their weapons +were destroyed, waved back their enemies, as if they would parley; and +standing for a few moments over the body of their slain father, sang the +death song and danced the death dance, whirling in giddy circles about +the dead hero and wailing with despair, until they sank down and +expired. + +The conquerors buried the maidens by the shores of the lake; but +Tumpwinai'rogwinump was left to rot and his bones to bleach on the +sands, as he had left Sikor'. + +There is this proverb among the Utes: "Do not murmur when you suffer in +doing what the spirits have commanded, for a cup of water is provided"; +and another: "What matters it who kills the game, when we can all eat of +it?" + +It is long after midnight when the performance is ended. The story +itself is interesting, though I had heard it many times before; but +never, perhaps, under circumstances more effective. Stretched beneath +tall, somber pines; a great camp fire; by the fire, men, old, wrinkled, +and ugly; deformed, blear-eyed, wry-faced women; lithe, stately young +men; pretty but simpering maidens, naked children, all intently +listening, or laughing and talking by turns, their strange faces and +dusky forms lit up with the glare of the pine-knot fire. All the +circumstances conspired to make it a scene strange and weird. One old +man, the sorcerer or medicine man of the tribe, peculiarly impressed me. +Now and then he would interrupt the play for the purpose of correcting +the speakers or impressing the moral of the story with a strange dignity +and impressiveness that seemed to pass to the very border of the +ludicrous; yet at no time did it make me smile. + +The story is finished, but there is yet time for an hour or two of +sleep. I take Chuar'ruumpeak to one side for a talk. The three men who +left us in the canyon last year found their way up the lateral gorge, by +which they went into the Shi'wits Mountains, lying west of us, where +they met with the Indians and camped with them one or two nights and +were finally killed. I am anxious to learn the circumstances, and as the +people of the tribe who committed the deed live but a little way from +these people and are intimate with them, I ask Chuar'ruumpeak to make +inquiry for me. Then we go to bed. + +_September 17.--_Early this morning the Indians come up to our camp. + +They have concluded to send out a young man after the Shi'vwits. The +runner fixes his moccasins, puts some food in a sack and water in a +little wickerwork jug, straps them on his back, and starts at a good +round pace. + +We have concluded to go down the canyon, hoping to meet the Shi'vwits on +our return. Soon we are ready to start, leaving the camp and pack +animals in charge of the two Indians who came with us. As we move out +our new guide comes up, a blear-eyed, weazen-faced, quiet old man, with +his bow and arrows in one hand and a small cane in the other. These +Indians all carry canes with a crooked handle, they say to kill +rattlesnakes and to pull rabbits from their holes. The valley is high up +in the mountain and we descend from it by a rocky, precipitous trail, +down, down, down for two long, weary hours, leading our ponies and +stumbling over the rocks. At last we are at the foot of the mountain, +standing on a little knoll, from which we can look into a canyon below. + +Into this we descend, and then we follow it for miles, clambering down +and still down. Often we cross beds of lava, that have been poured into +the canyon by lateral channels, and these angular fragments of basalt +make the way very rough for the animals. + +About two o'clock the guide halts us with his wand, and, springing over +the rocks, he is lost in a gulch. In a few minutes he returns, and tells +us there is a little water below in a pocket. It is vile and our ponies +refuse to drink it. We pass on, still descending. A mile or two from the +water basin we come to a precipice more than 1,000 feet to the bottom. +There is a canyon running at a greater depth and at right angles to +this, into which this enters by the precipice; and this second canyon is +a lateral one to the greater one, in the bottom of which we are to find +the river. Searching about, we find a way by which we can descend along +the shelves and steps and piles of broken rocks. + +We start, leading our ponies; a wall upon our left; unknown depths on +our right. At places our way is along shelves so narrow or so sloping +that I ache with fear lest a pony should make a misstep and knock a man +over the cliffs with him. Now and then we start the loose rocks under +our feet, and over the cliffs they go, thundering down, down, the echoes +rolling through distant canyons. At last we pass along a level shelf for +some distance, then we turn to the right and zigzag down a steep slope +to the bottom. Now we pass along this lower canyon for two or three +miles, to where it terminates in the Grand Canyon, as the other ended in +this, only the river is 1,800 feet below us, and it seems at this +distance to be but a creek. Our withered guide, the human pickle, seats +himself on a rock and seems wonderfully amused at our discomfiture, for +we can see no way by which to descend to the river. After some minutes +he quietly rises and, beckoning us to follow, points out a narrow +sloping shelf on the right, and this is to be our way. It leads along +the cliff for half a mile to a wider bench beyond, which, he says, is +broken down on the other side in a great slide, and there we can get to +the river. So we start out on the shelf; it is so steep we can hardly +stand on it, and to fall or slip is to go--don't look to see! + +It is soon manifest that we cannot get the ponies along the ledge. The +storms have washed it down since our guide was here last, years ago. One +of the ponies has gone so far that we cannot turn him back until we +find a wider place, but at last we get him off. With part of the men, I +take the horses back to the place where there are a few bushes growing +and turn them loose; in the meantime the other men are looking for some +way by which we can get down to the river. When I return, one, Captain +Bishop, has found a way and gone down. We pack bread, coffee, sugar, and +two or three blankets among us, and set out. It is now nearly dark, and +we cannot find the way by which the captain went, and an hour is spent +in fruitless search. Two of the men go away around an amphitheater, more +than a fourth of a mile, and start down a broken chasm that faces us who +are behind. These walls, that are vertical, or nearly so, are often cut +by chasms, where the showers run down, and the top of these chasms will +be back a distance from the face of the wall, and the bed of the chasm +will slope down, with here and there a fall. At other places huge rocks +have fallen and block the way. Down such a one the two men start. There +is a curious plant growing out from the crevices of the rock. A dozen +stems will start from one root and grow to the length of eight or ten +feet and not throw out a branch or twig, but these stems are thickly +covered with leaves. Now and then the two men come to a bunch of dead +stems and make a fire to mark for us their way and progress. + +In the meantime we find such a gulch and start down, but soon come to +the "jumping-off place," where we can throw a stone and faintly hear it +strike, away below. We fear that we shall have to stay here, clinging to +the rocks until daylight. Our little Indian gathers a few dry stems, +ties them into a bundle, lights one end, and holds it up. The others do +the same, and with these torches we find a way out of trouble. Helping +each other, holding torches for each other, one clinging to another's +hand until we can get footing, then supporting the other on his +shoulders, thus we make our passage into the depths of the canyon. + +And now Captain Bishop has kindled a huge fire of driftwood on the bank +of the river. This and the fires in the gulch opposite and our own +flaming torches light up little patches that make more manifest the +awful darkness below. Still, on we go for an hour or two, and at last we +see Captain Bishop coming up the gulch with a huge torchlight on his +shoulders. He looks like a fiend, waving brands and lighting the fires +of hell, and the men in the opposite gulch are imps, lighting delusive +fires in inaccessible crevices, over yawning chasms; our own little +Indian is surely the king of wizards, so I think, as I stop for a few +moments on a rock to rest. At last we meet Captain Bishop, with his +flaming torch, and as he has learned the way he soon pilots us to the +side of the great Colorado. We are athirst and hungry, almost to +starvation. Here we lie down on the rocks and drink, just a mouthful or +so, as we dare; then we make a cup of coffee, and spreading our blankets +on a sand beach the roaring Colorado lulls us to sleep. + +_September 18._--We are in the Grand Canyon, by the side of the +Colorado, more than 6,000 feet below our camp on the mountain side, +which is 18 miles away; but the miles of horizontal distance represent +but a small part of the day's labor before us. It is the mile of +altitude we must gain that makes it a Herculean task. We are up early_;_ +a little bread and coffee, and we look about us. Our conclusion is that +we can make this a depot of supplies, should it be necessary; that we +can pack our rations to the point where we left our animals last night, +and that we can employ Indians to bring them down to the water's edge. + +On a broad shelf we find the ruins of an old stone house, the walls of +which are broken down, and we can see where the ancient people who lived +here--a race more highly civilized than the present--had made a garden +and used a great spring that comes out of the rocks for irrigation. On +some rocks near by we discover some curious etchings. Still searching +about, we find an obscure trail up the canyon wall, marked here and +there by steps which have been built in the loose rock, elsewhere hewn +stairways, and we find a much easier way to go up than that by which we +came down in the darkness last night. Coming to the top of the wall, we +catch our horses and start. Up the canyon our jaded ponies toil and we +reach the second cliff; up this we go, by easy stages, leading the +animals. Now we reach the offensive water pocket; our ponies have had no +water for thirty hours, and are eager even for this foul fluid. We +carefully strain a kettleful for ourselves, then divide what is left +between them--two or three gallons for each; but it does not satisfy +them, and they rage around, refusing to eat the scanty grass. We boil +our kettle of water, and skim it; straining, boiling, and skimming make +it a little better, for it was full of loathsome, wriggling larvae, with +huge black heads. But plenty of coffee takes away the bad smell, and so +modifies the taste that most of us can drink, though our little Indian +seems to prefer the original mixture. We reach camp about sunset, and +are glad to rest. + +_September 19._--We are tired and sore, and must rest a day with our +Indian neighbors. During the inclement season they live in shelters made +of boughs or the bark of the cedar, which they strip off in long shreds. +In this climate, most of the year is dry and warm, and during such time +they do not care for shelter. Clearing a small, circular space of +ground, they bank it around with brush and sand, and wallow in it during +the day and huddle together in a heap at night--men, women, and +children; buckskin, rags, and sand. They wear very little clothing, not +needing much in this lovely climate. + +Altogether, these Indians are more nearly in their primitive condition +than any others on the continent with whom I am acquainted. They have +never received anything from the government and are too poor to tempt +the trader, and their country is so nearly inaccessible that the white +man never visits them. The sunny mountain side is covered with: wild +fruits, nuts, and native grains, upon which they subsist. The _oose,_ +the fruit of the yucca, or Spanish bayonet, is rich, and not unlike the +pawpaw of the valley of the Ohio. They eat it raw and also roast it in +the ashes. They gather the fruits of a cactus plant, which are rich and +luscious, and eat them as grapes or express the juice from them, making +the dry pulp into cakes and saving them for winter and drinking the wine +about their camp fires until the midnight is merry with their revelries. + +They gather the seeds of many plants, as sunflowers, golden-rod, and +grasses. For this purpose they have large conical baskets, which hold +two or more bushels. The women carry them on their backs, suspended from +their foreheads by broad straps, and with a smaller one in the left hand +and a willow-woven fan in the right they walk among the grasses and +sweep the seed into the smaller basket, which is emptied now and then +into the larger, until it is full of seeds and chaff; then they winnow +out the chaff and roast the seeds. They roast these curiously; they put +seeds and a quantity of red-hot coals into a willow tray and, by rapidly +and dexterously shaking and tossing them, keep the coals aglow and the +seeds and tray from burning. So skilled are the crones in this work they +roll the seeds to one side of the tray as they are roasted and the coals +to the other as if by magic. + +Then they grind the seeds into a fine flour and make it into cakes and +mush. It is a merry sight, sometimes, to see the women grinding at the +mill. For a mill, they use a large flat rock, lying on the ground, and +another small cylindrical one in their hands. They sit prone on the +ground, hold the large flat rock between the feet and legs, then fill +their laps with seeds, making a hopper to the mill with their dusky +legs, and grind by pushing the seeds across the larger rock, where they +drop into a tray. I have seen a group of women grinding together, +keeping time to a chant, or gossiping and chatting, while the younger +lassies would jest and chatter and make the pine woods merry with their +laughter. + +Mothers carry their babes curiously in baskets. They make a wicker board +by plaiting willows and sew a buckskin cloth to either edge, and this is +fulled in the middle so as to form a sack closed at the bottom. At the +top they make a wicker shade, like "my grandmother's sunbonnet," and +wrapping the little one in a wild-cat robe, place it in the basket, and +this they carry on their backs, strapped over the forehead, and the +little brown midgets are ever peering over their mothers' shoulders. In +camp, they stand the basket against the trunk of a tree or hang it to a +limb. + +There is little game in the country, yet they get a mountain sheep now +and then or a deer, with their arrows, for they are not yet supplied +with guns. They get many rabbits, sometimes with arrows, sometimes with +nets. They make a net of twine, made of the fibers of a native flax. +Sometimes this is made a hundred yards in length, and is placed in a +half-circular position, with wings of sage brush. Then they have a +circle hunt, and drive great numbers of rabbits into the snare, where +they are shot with arrows. Most of their bows are made of cedar, but the +best are made of the horns of mountain sheep. These are soaked in water +until quite soft, cut into long thin strips, and glued together; they +are then quite elastic. During the autumn, grasshoppers are very +abundant, can be gathered by the bushel. At such a time, they dig a +hole in the sand, heat stones in a fire near by, put some hot stones in +the bottom of the hole, put on a layer of grasshoppers, then a layer of +hot stones, and continue this, until they put bushels on to roast. There +they are. + +When cold weather sets in, these insects are numbed and left until cool, +when they are taken out, thoroughly dried, and ground into meal. +Grasshopper gruel or grasshopper cake is a great treat. + +Their lore consists of a mass of traditions, or mythology. It is very +difficult to induce them to tell it to white men; but the old Spanish +priests, in the days of the conquest of New Mexico, spread among the +Indians of this country many Bible stories, which the Indians are +usually willing to tell. It is not always easy to recognize them; the +Indian mind is a strange receptacle for such stories and they are apt to +sprout new limbs. Maybe much of their added quaint-ness is due to the +way in which they were told by the "fathers." But in a confidential way, +while alone, or when admitted to their camp fire on a winter night, one +may hear the stories of their mythology. I believe that the greatest +mark of friendship or confidence that an Indian can give is to tell you +his religion. After one has so talked with me I should ever trust him; +and I feel on very good terms with these Indians since our experience of +the other night. + +A knowledge of the watering places and of the trails and passes is +considered of great importance and is necessary to give standing to a +chief. + +This evening, the Shi'vwits, for whom we have sent, come in, and after +supper we hold a long council. A blazing fire is built, and around this +we sit--the Indians living here, the Shi'vwits, Jacob Hamblin, and +myself. + +This man, Hamblin, speaks their language well and has a great influence +over all the Indians in the region round about. He is a silent, reserved +man, and when he speaks it is in a slow, quiet way that inspires great +awe. His talk is so low that they must listen attentively to hear, and +they sit around him in deathlike silence. When he finishes a measured +sentence the chief repeats it and they all give a solemn grunt. But, +first, I fill my pipe, light it, and take a few whiffs, then pass it to +Hamblin; he smokes, and gives it to the man next, and so it goes around. +When it has passed the chief, he takes out his own pipe, fills and +lights it, and passes it around after mine. I can smoke my own pipe in +turn, but when the Indian pipe comes around, I am nonplused. It has a +large stem, which has at some time been broken, and now there is a +buckskin rag wound around it and tied with sinew, so that the end of the +stem is a huge mouthful, exceedingly repulsive. To gain time, I refill +it, then engage in very earnest conversation, and, all unawares, I pass +it to my neighbor unlighted. + +I tell the Indians that I wish to spend some months in their country +during the coming year and that I would like them to treat me as a +friend. I do not wish to trade; do not want their lands. Heretofore I +have found it very difficult to make the natives understand my object, +but the gravity of the Mormon missionary helps me much. I tell them that +all the great and good white men are anxious to know very many things, +that they spend much time in learning, and that the greatest man is he +who knows the most; that the white men want to know all about the +mountains and the valleys, the rivers and the canyons, the beasts and +birds and snakes. Then I tell them of many Indian tribes, and where they +live; of the European nations; of the Chinese, of Africans, and all the +strange things about them that come to my mind. I tell them of the +ocean, of great rivers and high mountains, of strange beasts and birds. +At last I tell them I wish to learn about their canyons and mountains, +and about themselves, to tell other men at home; and that I want to take +pictures of everything and show them to my friends. All this occupies +much time, and the matter and manner make a deep impression. + +Then their chief replies: "Your talk is good, and we believe what you +say. We believe in Jacob, and look upon you as a father. When you are +hungry, you may have our game. You may gather our sweet fruits. We will +give you food when you come to our land. We will show you the springs +and you may drink; the water is good. We will be friends and when you +come we will be glad. We will tell the Indians who live on the other +side of the great river that we have seen Ka'purats, and that he is the +Indians' friend. We will tell them he is Jacob's friend. We are very +poor. Look at our women and children; they are naked. We have no horses; +we climb the rocks and our feet are sore. We live among rocks and they +yield little food and many thorns. When the cold moons come, our +children are hungry. We have not much to give; you must not think us +mean. You are wise; we have heard you tell strange things. We are +ignorant. Last year we killed three white men. Bad men said they were +our enemies. They told great lies. We thought them true. Wo were mad; +it made us big fools. We are very sorry. Do not think of them; it is +done; let us be friends. We are ignorant--like little children in +understanding compared with you. When we do wrong, do not you get mad +and be like children too. + +"When white men kill our people, we kill them. Then they kill more of +us. It is not good. We hear that the white men are a great number. When +they stop killing us, there will be no Indian left to bury the dead. We +love our country; we know not other lands. We hear that other lands are +better; we do not know. The pines sing and we are glad. Our children +play in the warm sand; we hear them sing and are glad. The seeds ripen +and we have to eat and we are glad. We do not want their good lands; we +want our rocks and the great mountains where our fathers lived. We are +very poor; we are very ignorant; but we are very honest. You have horses +and many things. You are very wise; you have a good heart. We will be +friends. Nothing more have I to say." + +Ka'purats is the name by which I am known among the Utes and Shoshones, +meaning "arm off." There was much more repetition than I have given, and +much emphasis. After this a few presents were given, we shook hands, and +the council broke up. + +Mr. Hamblin fell into conversation with one of the men and held him +until the others had left, and then learned more of the particulars of +the death of the three men. They came upon the Indian village almost +starved and exhausted with fatigue. They were supplied with food and put +on their way to the settlements. Shortly after they had left, an Indian +from the east side of the Colorado arrived at their village and told +them about a number of miners having killed a squaw in drunken brawl, +and no doubt these were the men; no person had ever come down the +canyon; that was impossible; they were trying to hide their guilt. In +this way he worked them into a great rage. They followed, surrounded the +men in ambush, and filled them full of arrows. + +That night I slept in peace, although these murderers of my men, and +their friends, the Uinkarets, were sleeping not 500 yards away. While we +were gone to the canyon, the pack train and supplies, enough to make an +Indian rich beyond his wildest dreams, were all left in their charge, +and were all safe; not even a lump of sugar was pilfered by the +children. + +_September 20._--For several days we have been discussing the relative +merits of several names for these mountains. The Indians call them +Uinkarets, the region of pines, and we adopt the name. The great +mountain we call Mount Trumbull, in honor of the senator. To-day the +train starts back to the canyon water pocket, while Captain Bishop and +I climb Mount Trumbull. On our way we pass the point that was the last +opening to the volcano. + +It seems but a few years since the last flood of fire swept the valley. +Between two rough, conical hills it poured, and ran down the valley to +the foot of a mountain standing almost at the lower end, then parted, +and ran on either side of the mountain. This last overflow is very +plainly marked; there is soil, with trees and grass, to the very edge +of it, on a more ancient bed. The flood was, everywhere on its border, +from 10 to 20 feet in height, terminating abruptly and looking like a +wall from below. On cooling, it shattered into fragments, but these are +still in place and the outlines of streams and waves can be seen. So +little time has elapsed since it ran down that the elements have not +weathered a soil, and there is scarcely any vegetation on it, but here +and there a lichen is found. And yet, so long ago was it poured from the +depths, that where ashes and cinders have collected in a few places, +some huge cedars have grown. Near the crater the frozen waves of black +basalt are rent with deep fissures, transverse to the direction, of the +flow. Then we ride through a cedar forest up a long ascent, until we +come to cliffs of columnar basalt. Here we tie our horses and prepare +for a climb among the columns. Through crevices we work, till at last we +are on the mountain, a thousand acres of pine laud spread out before us, +gently rising to the other edge. There are two peaks on the mountain. We +walk two miles to the foot of the one looking to be the highest, then a +long, hard climb to its summit. What a view is before us! A vision of +glory! Peaks of lava all around below us. The Vermilion Cliffs to the +north, with their splendor of colors; the Pine Valley Mountains to the +northwest, clothed in mellow, perspective haze; unnamed mountains to the +southwest, towering over canyons bottomless to my peering gaze, like +chasms to nadir hell; and away beyond, the San Francisco Mountains, +lifting their black heads into the heavens. We find our way down the +mountain, reaching the trail made by the pack train just at dusk, and +follow it through the dark until we see the camp fire--a welcome sight. + +Two days more, and we are at Pipe Spring; one day, and we are at Kanab. +Eight miles above the town is a canyon, on either side of which is a +group of lakes. Four of these are in caves where the sun never shines. +By the side of one of these I sit, at my feet the crystal waters, of +which I may drink at will. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +OVER THE RIVER. + + +It is our intention to explore a route from Kanab to the Colorado River +at the mouth of the Paria, and, if successful in this undertaking, to +cross the river and proceed to Tusayan, and ultimately to Santa Fe, New +Mexico. We propose to build a flatboat for the purpose of ferrying over +the river, and have had the lumber necessary for that purpose hauled +from St. George to Kanab. From here to the mouth of the Paria it must be +packed on the backs of mules; Captain Bishop and Mr. Graves are to take +charge of this work, while with Mr. Hamblin I explore the Kaibab +Plateau. + +_September 24_--To-day we are ready for the start. The mules are +packed and away goes our train of lumber, rations, and camping equipage. +The Indian trail is at the foot of the Vermilion Cliffs. Pushing on to +the east with Mr. Hamblin for a couple of hours in the early morning, we +reach the mouth of a dry canyon, which comes down through the cliffs. +Instead of a narrow canyon we find an open valley from one fourth to one +half a mile in width. On rare occasions a stream flows down this valley, +but now sand dunes stretch across it. On either side there is a wall of +vertical rock of orange sandstone, and here and there at the foot of the +wall are found springs that afford sweet water. + +We push our way far up the valley to the foot of the Gray Cliffs, and by +a long detour find our way to the summit. Here again we find that +wonderful scenery of naked white rocks carved into great round bosses +and domes. Looking off to the north we can see vermilion and pink +cliffs, crowned with forests, while below us to the south stretch the +dunes and red-lands of the Vermilion Cliff region, and far away we can +see the opposite wall of the Grand Canyon. In the middle of the +afternoon we descend into the canyon valley and hurriedly ride, down to +the mouth of the canyon, then follow the trail of the pack train, for +we are to camp with the party to-night. We find it at the Navajo Well. +As we approach in the darkness the camp fire is a cheerful sight. The +Navajo Well is a pool in the sand, the sands themselves lying in a +basin, with naked, smooth rocks all about on which the rains are caught +and by which the sand in the basin is filled with water, and by digging +into the sand this sweet water is found. + +_September 25._--At sunrise Mr. Hamblin and I part from the train once +more, taking with us Chuar, a chief of the Kaibabits, for a trip to the +south, for one more view of the Grand Canyon from the summit of the +Kaibab Plateau. All day long our way is over red hills, with a bold line +of cliffs on our left. A little after noon we reach a great spring, and +here we are to camp for the night, for the region beyond us is unknown +and we wish to enter it with a good day before us. The Indian goes out +to hunt a rabbit for supper, and Hamblin and I climb the cliffs. From an +elevation of 1,800 feet above the spring we watch the sun go down and +see the sheen on the Vermilion Cliffs and red-lands slowly fade into the +gloaming; then we descend to supper. + +_September 26.--_Early in the morning we pass up a beautiful valley to +the south and turn westward onto a great promontory, from the summit of +which the Grand Canyon is in view. Its deep gorge can be seen to the +westward for 50 or 60 miles, and to the southeastward we look off into +the stupendous chasm, with its marvelous forms and colors. + +Twenty-one years later I read over the notes of that day's experience +and the picture of the Grand Canyon from this point is once more before +me. I did not know when writing the notes that this was the grandest +view that can be obtained of the region from Fremont's Peak to the Gulf +of California, but I did realize that the scene before me was awful, +sublime, and glorious--awful in profound depths, sublime in massive and +strange forms, and glorious in colors. Years later I visited the same +spot with my friend Thomas Moran. From this world of wonder he selected +a section which was the most interesting to him and painted it. That +painting, known as "The Chasm of the Colorado," is in a hall in the +Senate wing of the Capitol of the United States. If any one will look +upon that picture, and then realize that it was but a small part of the +landscape before us on this memorable 26th day of September, he will +understand why I suppress my notes descriptive of the scene. The +landscape is too vast, too complex, too grand for verbal description. + +We sleep another night by the spring on the summit of the Kaibab, and +next day we go around to Point Sublime and then push on to the very +verge of the Kaibab, where we can overlook the canyon at the mouth of +the Little Colorado. The day is a repetition of the glorious day before, +and at night we sleep again at the same spring. In the morning we turn +to the northeast and descend from Kaibab to the back of Marble Canyon +and cross it at the foot of the Vermilion Cliffs, and find our packers +camped at Jacob's Pool, where a spring bursts from the cliff at the +summit of a great hill of talus. In the camp we find a score or more of +Indians, who have joined us here by previous appointment, as we need +their services in crossing the river. + +On the last day of September we follow the Vermilion Cliffs around to +the mouth of the Paria. Here the cliffs present a wall of about 2,000 +feet in height,--above, orange and vermilion, but below, chocolate, +purple, and gray in alternating bands of rainbow brightness. The cliffs +are cut with deep side canyons, and the rainbow hills below are +destitute of vegetation. At night we camp on the bank of the Colorado +River, on the same spot where our boat-party had camped the year before. +Leaving the party in charge of Mr. Graves and Mr. Bishop, while they are +building a ferryboat, I take some Indians to explore the canyon of the +Paria. We find steep walls on either side, but a rather broad, flat +plain below, through which the muddy river winds its way over +quicksands. This stream we have to cross from time to time, and we find +the quicksands treacherous and our horses floundering in the trembling +masses. + +These broad canyons, or canyon valleys, are carved by the streams in +obedience to an interesting law of corrasion. Where the declivity of the +stream is great the river corrades, or cuts its bottom deeper and still +deeper, ever forming narrow clefts, but when the stream has cut its +channel down until the declivity is greatly reduced, it can no longer +carry the load of sand with which it is fed, but drops a part of it on +the way. Wherever it drops it in this manner a sand bank is formed. Now +the effect of this sand bar is to turn the course of the river against +the wall or bank, and as it unloads in one place it cuts in another +below and loads itself again; so it unloads itself and forms bars, and +loads itself with more material to form bars, and the process of +vertical cutting is transformed into a process of lateral cutting. The +rate of cutting is greatly increased thereby, but the wear is on the +sides and not on the bottom. So long as the declivity of the stream is +great, the greater the load of sand carried the greater the rate of +vertical cutting; but when the declivity is reduced, so that part of the +load is thrown down, vertical cutting is changed to lateral and the rate +of corrosion multiplied thereby. Now this broad valley canyon, or "box +canyon," as such channels are usually called in the country, has been +formed by the stream itself, cutting its channel at first vertically and +afterwards laterally, and so a great flood-plain is formed. + +For a day we ride up the Paria, and next day return. The party in camp +have made good progress. The boat is finished and a part of the camp +freight has been transported across the river. The next day the +remainder is ferried over and the animals are led across, swimming +behind the ferryboat in pairs. Here a bold bluff more than 1,200 feet in +height has to be climbed, and the day is spent in getting to its summit. +We make a dry camp, that is, without water, except that which has been +carried in canteens by the Indians. + +_October 4-_--All day long we pass by the foot of the Echo Cliffs, which +are in fact the continuation of the Vermilion Cliffs. It is still a +landscape of rocks, with cliffs and pinnacles and towers and buttes on +the left, and deep chasms running down into the Marble Canyon on the +right. At night we camp at a water pocket, a pool in a great limestone +rock. We still go south for another half day to a cedar ridge; here we +turn westward, climbing the cliffs, which we find to be not the edge of +an escarpment with a plateau above, but a long narrow ridge which +descends on the eastern side to a level only 500 or 600 feet above the +trail left below. On the eastern side of the cliff a great homogeneous +sandstone stretches, declining rapidly, and on its sides are carved +innumerable basins, which are now filled with pure water, and we call +this the Thousand Wells. We have a long afternoon's ride over sand +dunes, slowly toiling from mile to mile. We can see a ledge of rocks in +the distance, and the Indian with us assures us that we shall find water +there. At night we come to the cliff, and under it, in a great cave, we +find a lakelet. Sweeter, cooler water never blessed the desert. + +While at Jacob's Pool, several days before, I sent a runner forward into +this region with instructions to hunt us up some of the natives and +bring them to this pool. When we arrive we are disappointed in not +finding them on hand, but a little later half a dozen men come in with +the Indian messenger. They are surly fellows and seem to be displeased +at our coming. Before midnight they leave. Under the circumstances I do +not feel that it is safe to linger long at this spot; so I do not lie +down to rest, but walk the camp among the guards and see that everything +is in readiness to move. About two o'clock I set a couple of men to +prepare a hasty lunch, call up all hands, and we saddle, pack, eat our +lunch, and start off to the southwest to reach the Moenkopi, where there +is a little rancheria of Indians, a farming settlement belonging to the +Oraibis, so we are told. We set out at a rapid rate, and when daylight +comes we are in sight of the canyon of the Moenkopi, into which we soon +descend; but the rancheria has been abandoned. Up the Moenkopi we pass +several miles, in a beautiful canyon valley, until we find a pool in a +nook of a cliff, where we feel that we can defend ourselves with +certainty, and here we camp for the night. The next day we go on to +Oraibi, one of the pueblos of the Province of Tusayan. + +At Tusayan we stop for two weeks and visit the seven pueblos on the +cliffs. Oraibi is first reached, then Shumopavi, Shupaulovi, and +Mashongnavi, and finally Walpi, Sichumovi, and Hano. + +In a street of Oraibi our little party is gathered. Soon a council is +called by the _cacique,_ or chief, and we are assigned to a suite of six +or eight rooms for our quarters. We purchase corn of some of the people, +and after feeding our animals they are intrusted to two Indian boys, +who, under the direction of the _cacique,_ take them to a distant mesa +to herd. This is my first view of an inhabited pueblo, though I have +seen many ruins from time to time. At first I am a little disappointed +in the people. They seem scarcely superior to the Shoshones and Utes, +tribes with whom I am so well acquainted. Their dress is less +picturesque, and the men have an ugly fashion of banging their hair in +front so that it comes down to their eyes and conceals their foreheads. +But the women are more neatly dressed and arrange their hair in +picturesque coils. + +Oraibi is a town of several hundred inhabitants. It stands on a mesa or +little plateau 200 or 300 feet above the surrounding plain. The mesa +itself has a rather diversified surface. The streets of the town are +quite irregular, and in a general way run from north to south. The +houses are constructed to face the east. They are of stone laid in +mortar, and are usually three or four stories high. The second story +stands back upon the first, leaving a terrace over one tier of rooms. +The third is set back of the second, and the fourth back of the third; +so that their houses are terraced to face the east. These terraces on +the top are all flat, and the people usually ascend to the first terrace +by a ladder and then by another into the lower rooms. In like manner, +ladders or rude stairways are used to reach the upper stories. The +climate is very warm and the people live on the tops of their houses. It +seems strange to see little naked children climbing the ladders and +running over the house tops like herds of monkeys. After we have looked +about the town and been gazed upon by the wondering eyes of the men, +women, and children, we are at last called to supper. In a large central +room we gather and the food is placed before us. A stew of goat's flesh +is served in earthen bowls, and each one of us is furnished with a +little earthen ladle. The bread is a great novelty to me. It is made of +corn meal in sheets as thin and large as foolscap paper. In the corner +of the house is a little oven, the top of which is a great flat stone, +and the good housewife bakes her bread in this manner: The corn meal is +mixed to the consistency of a rather thick gruel, and the woman dips her +hand into the mixture and plasters the hot stone with a thin coating of +the meal paste. In a minute or two it forms into a thin paper-like cake, +and she takes it up by the edge, folds it once, and places it on a +basket tray; then another and another sheet of paper-bread is made in +like manner and piled on the tray. I notice that the paste stands in a +number of different bowls and that she takes from, one bowl and then +another in order, and I soon see the effect of this. The corn before +being ground is assorted by colors, white, yellow, red, blue, and black, +and the sheets of bread, when made, are of the same variety of colors, +white, yellow, red, blue, and black. This bread, held on very beautiful +trays, is itself a work of art. They call it _piki._ After we have +partaken of goat stew and bread a course of dumplings, melons, and +peaches is served, and this finishes the feast. What seem to be +dumplings are composed of a kind of hash of bread and meat, tied up in +little balls with cornhusks and served boiling hot. They are eaten with +much gusto by the party and highly praised. Some days after we learned +how they are made; they are prepared of goat's flesh, bread, and +turnips, and kneaded by mastication. As we prefer to masticate our own +food, this dainty dish is never again a favorite. + +In the evening the people celebrate our advent by a dance, such it +seemed to us, but probably it was one of their regular ceremonies. + +After dark a pretty little fire is built in the chimney corner and I +spend the evening in rehearsing to a group of the leading men the story +of my travels in the canyon country. Of our journey down the canyon in +boats they have already heard, and they listen with great interest to +what I say. My talk with them is in the Mexican patois, which several of +them understand, and all that I say is interpreted. + +The next morning we are up at daybreak. Soon we hear loud shouts coming +from the top of the house. The _cacique_ is calling his people. Then all +the people, men, women, and children, come out on the tops of their +houses. Just before sunrise they sprinkle water and meal from beautiful +grails; then they all stand with bare heads to watch the rising of the +sun. When his full orb is seen, once more they sprinkle the sacred water +and the sacred meal over the tops of the houses. Then the _cacique_ in a +loud voice directs the labor of the day. So his talk is explained to us. +Some must gather corn, others must go for wood, water must be brought +from the distant wells, and the animals of the strangers must be cared +for. Now the house tops present a lively scene. Bowls of water are +brought; from them the men fill their mouths and with dexterity blow +water over their hands in spray and wash their faces and lave their long +shining heads of hair; and the women dress one another's locks. With +bowls of water they make suds of the yucca plant, and wash and comb and +deftly roll their hair, the elder women in great coils at the back of +the head, the younger women in flat coils on their cheeks. And so the +days are passed and the weeks go by, and we study the language of the +people and record many hundreds of their words and observe their habits +and customs and gain some knowledge of their mythology, but above all do +we become interested in their religious ceremonies. + +One afternoon they take me from Oraibi to Shupaulovi to witness a great +religious ceremony. It is the invocation to the gods for rain. We arrive +about sundown, and are taken into a large subterranean chamber, into +which we descend by a ladder. Soon about a dozen Shamans are gathered +with us, and the ceremony continues from sunset to sunrise. It is a +series of formal invocations, incantations, and sacrifices, especially +of holy meal and holy water. The leader of the Shamans is a great burly +bald-headed Indian, which is a remarkable sight, for I have never seen +one before. Whatever he says or does is repeated by three others in +turn. The paraphernalia of their worship is very interesting. At one end +of the chamber is a series of tablets of wood covered with quaint +pictures of animals and of corn, and overhead are conventional black +clouds from which yellow lightnings are projected, while drops of rain +fall on the corn below. Wooden birds, set on pedestals and decorated +with plumes, are arranged in various ways. Ears of corn, vases of holy +water, and trays of meal make up a part of the paraphernalia of worship. +I try to record some of the prayers, but am not very successful, as it +is difficult to hold my interpreter to the work. But one of these +prayers is something like this: + +"Muingwa pash lolomai, Master of the Clouds, we eat no stolen bread; our +young men ride not the stolen ass; our food is not stolen from the +gardens of our neighbors. Muingwa pash lolomai, we beseech of thee to +dip your great sprinkler, made of the feathers of the birds of the +heavens, into the lakes of the skies and sprinkle us with sweet rains, +that the ground may be prepared in the winter for the corn that grows in +the summer." + +At one time in the night three women were brought into the _kiva._ These +women had a cincture of cotton about their loins, but were otherwise +nude. One was very old, another of middle age, and the third quite +young, perhaps fourteen or fifteen years old. As they stood in a corner +of the _kiva_ their faces and bodies were painted by the bald-headed +priest. For this purpose he filled his mouth with water and pigment and +dexterously blew a fine spray over the faces, necks, shoulders, and +breasts of the women. Then with his finger as a brush he decorated them +over this groundwork, which was of yellow, with many figures in various +colors. From that time to daylight the three women remained in the +_kiva_ and took part in the ceremony as choristers and dancing +performers. + +At sunrise we are filed out of the _kiva,_ and a curious sight is +presented to our view. Shupaulovi is built in terraces about a central +court, or plaza, and in the plaza about fifty men are drawn up in a line +facing us. These men are naked except that they wear masks, strange and +grotesque, and great flaring headdresses in many colors. + +Our party from the _kiva_ stand before this line of men, and the +bald-headed priest harangues them in words I cannot understand. Then +across the other end of the plaza a line of women is formed, facing the +line of men, and at a signal from the old Shaman the drums and the +whistles on the terraces, with a great chorus of singers, set up a +tumultuous noise, and with slow shuffling steps the line of men and the +line of women move toward each other in a curious waving dance. When the +lines approach so as to be not more than 10 or 12 feet apart, our party +still being between them, they all change so as to dance backward to +their original positions. This is repeated until the dancers have passed +over the plaza four times. Then there is a wild confusion of dances, the +order of which I cannot understand,--if indeed there is any system, +except that the men and women dance apart. Soon this is over, and the +women all file down the ladder into the _kiva_ and the men strip off +their masks and arrange themselves about the plaza, every one according +to his own wish, but as if in sharp expectancy; then the women return up +the ladder from the _kiva_ and climb to the tops of the houses and stand +on the brink of the nearer terrace. Now the music commences once more, +and the old woman who was painted in the _kiva_ during the night throws +something, I cannot tell what, into the midst of the plaza. With a shout +and a scream, every man jumps for it; one seizes it, another takes it +away from him, and then another secures it; and with shouts and screams +they wrestle and tussle for the charm which the old woman has thrown to +them. After a while some one gets permanent possession of the charm and +the music ceases. Then another is thrown into the midst. So these +contests continue at intervals until high noon. + +In the evening we return to Oraibi. And now for two days we employ our +time in making a collection of the arts of the people of this town. +First, we display to them our stock of goods, composed of knives, +needles, awls, scissors, paints, dyestuffs, leather, and various fabrics +in gay colors. Then we go around among the people and select the +articles of pottery, stone implements, instruments and utensils made of +bone, horn, shell, articles of clothing and ornament, baskets, trays, +and many other things, and tell the people to bring them the next day to +our rooms. A little after sunrise they come in, and we have a busy day +of barter. When articles are brought in such as I want, I lay them +aside. Then if possible I discover the fancy of the one who brings +them, and I put by the articles the goods which I am willing to give in +exchange for them. Having thus made an offer, I never deviate from it, +but leave it to the option of the other party to take either his own +articles or mine lying beside them. The barter is carried on with a +hearty good will; the people jest and laugh with us and with one +another; all are pleased, and there is nothing to mar this day of +pleasure. In the afternoon and evening I make an inventory of our +purchases, and the next day is spent in packing them for shipment. Some +of the things are heavy, and I engage some Indians to help transport the +cargo to Fort Wingate, where we can get army transportation. + +_October 24-.--_To-day we leave Oraibi. We are ready to start in the +early morning. The whole town comes to bid us good-by. Before we start +they perform some strange ceremony which I cannot understand, but, with +invocations to some deity, they sprinkle us, our animals, and our goods +with water and with meal. Then there is a time of handshaking and +hugging. "Good-by; good-by; good-by!" At last we start. Our way is to +Walpi, by a heavy trail over a sand plain, among the dunes. We arrive a +little after noon. Walpi, Sichumovi, and Hano are three little towns on +one butte, with but little space between them; the stretch from town to +town is hardly large enough for a game of ball. The top of the butte is +of naked rock, and it rises from 300 to 400 feet above the sand plains +below by a precipitous cliff on every side. To reach it from below, it +must be climbed by niches and stairways in the rock. It is a good site +for defense. At the foot of the cliff and on some terraces the people +have built corrals of stone for their asses. All the water used in +these three towns is derived from a well nearly a mile away--a deep pit +sunk in the sand, over the site of a dune-buried brook. + +When we arrive the men of Walpi carry our goods, camp equipage, and +saddles up the stairway and deposit them in a little court. Then they +assign us eight or ten rooms for our quarters. Our animals are once more +consigned to the care of Indian herders, and after they are fed they are +sent away to a distance of some miles. There is no tree or shrub growing +near the Walpi mesa. It is miles away to where the stunted cedars are +found, and the people bring curious little loads of wood on the backs of +their donkeys, it being a day's work to bring such a cargo. The people +have anticipated our coming, and the wood for our use is piled in the +chimney corners. After supper the hours till midnight are passed in +rather formal talk. + +Walpi seems to be a town of about 150 inhabitants, Sichumovi of less +than 100, and Hano of not more than 75. Hano, or "Tewa" as it is +sometimes called, has been built lately; that is, it cannot be more than +100 or 200 years old. The other towns are very old; their foundation +dates back many centuries--so we gather from this talk. The people of +Hano also speak a radically distinct language, belonging to another +stock of tribes. They formerly lived on the Rio Grande, but during some +war they were driven away and were permitted to build their home here. + +Two days are spent in trading with the people, and we pride ourselves on +having made a good ethnologic collection. We are especially interested +in seeing the men and women spin and weave. In their courtyards they +have deep chambers excavated in the rocks. These chambers, which are +called _kivas,_ are entered by descending ladders. They are about 18 by +24 feet in size. The _kiva_ is the place of worship, where all their +ceremonies are performed, where their cult societies meet to pray for +rain and to prepare medicines and charms against fancied and real +ailments and to protect themselves by sorcery from the dangers of +witchcraft. The _kivas_ are also places for general rendezvous, and at +night the men and women bring their work and chat and laugh, and in +their rude way make the time merry. Many of the tribes of North America +have their cult societies, or "medicine orders," as they are sometimes +called, but this institution has been nowhere developed more thoroughly +than among the pueblo Indians of this region. I am informed that there +are a great number in Tusayan, that a part of their ceremonies are +secret and another part public, and that the times of ceremony are also +times for feasting and athletic sports. + +Here at Walpi the great snake dance is performed. For several days +before this festival is held the people with great diligence gather +snakes from the rocks and sands of the region round about and bring them +to the _kiva_ of one of their clans in great numbers, by scores and +hundreds. Most of these snakes are quite harmless, but rattlesnakes +abound, and they are also caught, for they play the most important role +in the great snake dance. The medicine men, or priest doctors, are very +deft in the management of rattlesnakes. When they bring them to the +_kiva_ they herd all the snakes in a great mass of writhing, hissing, +rattling serpents. For this purpose they have little wands, to the end +of each one of which a bunch of feathers is affixed. If a snake attempts +to leave its allotted place in the _kiva_ the medicine man brushes it or +tickles it with the feather-armed wand, and the snake turns again to +commingle with its fellows. After many strange and rather wearisome +ceremonies, with dancing and invocations and ululations, the men of the +order prepare for the great performance with the snakes. Clothed only in +loincloth, each one seizes a snake, and a rattlesnake is preferred if +there are enough of them for all. It is managed in this way: The snake +is teased with the feather wand and his attention occupied by one man, +while another, standing near, at a favorable moment seizes the snake +just, back of the head. Then he puts the snake in his mouth, holding it +across, so that the head protrudes on one side and the body on the +other, which coils about his hand and arm. A few inches of the head and +neck are free, and with this free portion the snake struggles, squirming +in the air; but the attention of the snake is constantly occupied by the +attendant who carries the wand. Then the men of the priest order +carrying the snakes in their mouths arrange themselves in a line in the +court and move in a procession several times about the court, and then +engage in a dance. After the ceremony all of the snakes are carried to +the plain and given their freedom. + +This snake dance was not witnessed at the time of the first visit, but +an account of it was then obtained, such as given above. It has since +been witnessed by myself and by others, and carefully prepared accounts +of the ceremonies have been published by different persons. + +At last our work at Walpi is done, on October 27, and we arrange to +leave on the morrow. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +TO ZUNI. + + +_October 28_.--To-day we leave the Province of Tusayan for a journey +through the Navajo country. There is quite an addition to the party now, +for we have a number of Indians employed as freighters. Their asses are +loaded with heavy packs of the collections we have made in the various +towns of Tusayan. After a while we enter a beautiful canyon coming down +from the east, and by noon reach a spring, where we halt for +refreshment. The poor little donkeys are thoroughly wearied, but our own +animals have had a long rest and have been well fed and are all fresh +and active. On the rocks of this canyon picture-writings are etched, and +I try to get some account of them from the Indians, but fail. + +After lunch we start once more. It is a halcyon day, and with a +companion I leave the train and push on for a view of the country. Away +we gallop, my Indian companion and I, over the country toward a great +plateau which we can see in the distance. The Salahkai is covered with a +beautiful forest. We have an exhilarating ride. When the way becomes +stony and rough we must walk our horses. My Indian, who is well mounted +on a beautiful bay, is a famous rider. About his brow a kerchief is +tied, and his long hair rests on his back. He has keen black eyes and a +beaked nose; about his neck he wears several dozen strings of beads, +made of nacre shining shells, and little tablets of turkis are +perforated and strung on sinew cord; in his ears he has silver rings, +and his wrists are covered with silver bracelets. His leggings are black +velvet, the material for which he has bought from some trader; his +moccasins are tan-colored and decorated with silver ornaments, and the +trappings of his horse are decorated in like manner. He carries his +rifle with as much ease as if it were a cane, and rides with wonderful +dexterity. We get on with jargon and sign language pretty well. At +night, after a long ride, I descend to the foot of the mesa, and near a +little lake I find the camp. The donkey train has not arrived, but soon +one after another the Indians come in with their packs, and with white +men, Oraibi Indians, Walpi Indians, and Navajos, a good party is +assembled. + +_October 29.--_We have a long ride before us to-day, for we must reach +old Fort Defiance. I stay with the train in order to keep everything +moving, for we expect to travel late in the night. On the way no water +is found, but in mid-afternoon the trail leads to the brink of a canyon, +and the Indians tell me there is water below; so the animals are +unpacked and taken down the cliff in a winding way among the rocks, +where they are supplied with water. Again we start; night comes on and +we are still in the forest; the trail is good, yet we make slow +progress, for some of the animals are weary and we have to wait from +time to time for the stragglers. About ten o'clock we descend from the +plateau to the canyon beneath and are at old Port Defiance, and the +officers at the agency give us a hearty greeting. + +We spend the 30th of October at the agency and see thousands of Indians, +for they are gathered to receive rations and annuities. It is a wild +spectacle; groups of Indians are gambling, there are several horse +races, and everywhere there is feasting. At night the revelry is +increased; great fires are lighted, and groups of Indians are seen +scattered about the plains. + +_November 1.--_After a short day's ride we camp at Rock Spring. A +fountain gushes from the foot of the mesa. Then another day's ride +through a land of beauty. On the left there is a line of cliffs, like +the Vermilion Cliffs of Utah. In the same red sandstones and on the top +of the cliff the Kaibab scenery is duplicated. A great tower on the +cliff is known as "Navajo Church." Early in the afternoon we are at Fort +Wingate and in civilization once more. The fort is on a beautiful site +at the foot of the Zuni Plateau. And now our journey with the pack train +is ended, and I bid good-by to my Indian friends. My own pack train is +to go back to Utah, while from Fort Wingate I expect to go to Santa Fe +in an ambulance. But the region about is of interest for its wonderful +geologic structure and for the many ruins of ancient pueblos found in +the neighborhood. On the 2d of November Captain Johnson, an artillery +officer, takes me for a ride among the ruins. Many of these ancient +structures are found, but those which are of the most interest are the +round towers. Nothing remains of these but the bare walls. They average +from 18 to 20 feet in diameter, and are usually two or three stories +high. Probably they were built as places of worship. + +Above Fort Wingate there is a great plateau; below, there stretches a +vast desert plain with mesas and buttes. The ruins are at the foot of +the plateau where the streams come down from the pine-clad heights. + +On the 3d of November with a party of officers I visit Zuni in an +ambulance. The journey is 40 miles, along the foot of the plateau half +the way, and then we turn into the desert valley, in the midst of which +runs the Zuni River, sometimes in canyons cut in black lava. Zuni is a +town much like those already visited, except that it is a little larger. +Nothing can be more repulsive than the appearance of the streets; +irregular, crowded, and filthy, in which dogs, asses, and Indians are +mingled in confusion. In the distance Toyalone is seen, a great butte on +which an extensive ruin is found, the more ancient home of these people, +though Zuni itself appears to be hundreds of years old. The people +speak a language radically different from that of Tusayan, and no other +tribe in the United States has a tongue related to it. + +In the midst of the town there is an old Spanish church, partly in +ruins, but it is still graced with the wooden image of a saint, gayly +colored; and the old tongueless bell remains, for it was sounded with a +stone hammer held in the hand of the bellman; the marks of his blows are +deeply indented in the metal. Alvar Nunez Caveza de Vaca was the first +white man to see Zuni, when he wandered in that long journey from +Florida around by the headwaters of the Arkansas, through what is now +New Mexico and Arizona, southward to the City of Mexico. He had with him +a Barbary negro, who was killed by the Zuni, and his burial place is +still pointed out. + +Among the Zuni, as among the tribes of Tusayan, the form of government +which prevails throughout the North American tribes is well illustrated. +Kinship is the tie by which the members of the tribe are bound together +as a common body of people. Each tribe is divided into a series of +clans, and a clan is a group of people that reckon kinship through the +family line. The children therefore belong to the clan of the mother. +Marriage is always without the clan; the husband and father must belong +to a different clan from the mother and children, and the children +belong to their mother and are governed by her brothers, or by her +mother's brothers if they be still living. The husband is but the guest +of the wife and the clan, and has no other authority in the family than +that acquired by personal character. If he is an able and wise man his +advice may be taken, but each clan is very jealous of its rights, and +the members do not submit to dictation from the guest husband. The woman +is not the ruler of the clan; the ruler is the patriarch or elder man, +or if he is not a man of ability a younger and more able man is chosen, +who by legal fiction is recognized as the elder. Over the officers of +the clan are the officers of the tribe,--a chief with assistant chiefs. +The organization by tribal governors varies from tribe to tribe. +Sometimes the chieftaincy is hereditary in a particular clan, but more +often the chieftaincy is elective. There is very little personal +property among the tribal people, such property being confined to +clothing, ornaments, and a few inconsiderable articles. The ownership of +the great bulk of the property inheres in the clan, such as their +houses, their patches of land, the food raised from the soil, and the +game caught in the chase. Sometimes the clans are grouped, two or more +constituting a phratry, and then there are other officers or chiefs +standing between the clan and tribal authority. Again, tribes are +sometimes organized into confederacies, and a grand confederate chief +recognized. In addition to the chieftaincy of confederate tribes, +phratries, and clans, there are councils; but these are not councils of +legislation in the ordinary sense. The councils are clans whose +decisions become a precedent. Tribal law is therefore court-made law, +and such customary law grows out of the exigencies which daily life +presents to the people. The problems as they arise are solved as best +they may be, and the deliberations of the councils look not to the +future but only to the present, and are invoked to settle controversy, +that peace may be maintained. Of course there is no written constitution +or body of laws, but there are traditional regulations which are well +preserved in the idioms of oral speech, every rule of procedure or of +justice being sooner or later coined into an aphorism. + +It has been seen that a clan is a body of kinship in the female line; +but the members of the different clans are related to one another by +intermarriage. Thus the first tie is by affinity; but, as fathers belong +to other clans than the children, the tie is also by consanguinity. Thus +the entire tribe is a body of kindred, and the tribal organization is a +fabric with warp of streams of blood and woof of marriage ties. When +different tribes unite to form a confederacy for offensive or defensive +purposes, artificial kinship is established. One tribe perhaps is +recognized as the grandfather tribe, another is the father tribe, a +third is the elder-brother tribe, a fourth is the younger-brother tribe, +etc. In these artificial kinships the members of one tribe address the +members of another tribe by kinship terms established in the treaty. +Strangers are sometimes adopted into a clan, and this gives them a +status in the tribe. The adoption is usually accomplished by the woman +claiming the individual as her youngest son or daughter, and such +adopted person has thereupon the status belonging to such a natural +child; and, though he be an adult, he calls the child born into the clan +before his advent, though it be but a year old, his elder brother or his +elder sister. Then often young men are advanced in the clan because of +superior ability, and this is done by giving them a kinship rank higher +than that belonging to their real age; so that it is not infrequently +found that old men address young men as their elder brothers and yield +to their authority. The ties of the tribe are kinship, and authority +inheres in superior age; but in order to adjust these rules so that the +abler men may be given control, artificial kinship and artificial age +are established. The civil chiefs direct the daily life of the people in +their labors. + +To the civil organization of the tribe, as thus indicated, there is +added a military organization, and war chiefs are selected. But usually +these war chiefs are something more than war chiefs, for they also +constitute a constabulary to preserve peace and mete out punishment; and +young men from the various clans are designated as warriors and advanced +in military rank according to merit. There is thus a brotherhood of +warriors, and every man in this brotherhood recognizes all others of the +group as being elder or younger, and so assumes or yields authority in +all matters pertaining to war and the enforcement of criminal law. + +In addition to the secular government there is always a cult +government. In every tribe there are Shamans, designated variously by +white men as "medicine men," "priests," "priest doctors," "theurgists," +etc. In many tribes, perhaps in all, the people are organized into +Shamanistic societies; but that these societies are invariably +recognized is not certain. The Shamans are always found. Among the Zuni +there are thirteen of these cult societies. The purpose of Shamanistic +institutions is to control the conduct of the members of the tribe in +relation to mythic personages, the mysterious beings in which the savage +men believe. In the mind of the savage the world is peopled by a host of +mythic beings, anthropomorphic and zoomorphic. The difference between +man and brute recognized in civilization, is unrecognized in savagery. +All animal life is wonderful and magical co sylvan man. Wisdom, cunning, +skill, and prowess are attributed to the real animals to a degree often +greater than to man; and there are mythic animals as well as mythic +men--monsters dwelling in the mountains and caves or hiding in the +waters, who make themselves invisible as they pass over the land. Not +only are there great monsters, beasts, and reptiles in their mythology, +but there are wonderful insects and worms. All life is miraculous and +is worshiped as divine. The heavenly bodies, the sun and moon and stars, +are mythic animals, and all of the phenomena of nature are attributed to +these zoic beings. For example, the Indian knows nothing of the ambient +air. The wind is the breath of some beast, or it is a fanning which +rises from under the wings of a mythic bird. All the phenomena of +nature, the rising and setting of the sun, the waxing and waning of the +moon, the shining of the stars, the coming of comets, the flash of +meteors, the change of seasons, the gathering and vanishing of the +clouds, the blowing of the winds, the falling of the rain, the spreading +of the snow, and all other phenomena of physical nature, are held to be +the acts of these wonderful zoic deities. It is deemed of prime +importance that such deities should be induced to act in the interest of +men. Thus it is that Shamanistic government is held to be of as great +importance as tribal government, and the Shamans are the peers of the +chiefs. With some tribes the cult societies have greater powers than the +clan; with other tribes clan government is the more important; but +always there is a conflict of authority, and there is a perpetual war +between Shamanistic and civil government. + +These Shamans and cult societies have a great variety of functions to +perform. All disease and all injuries are attributed to mythic beings or +to witchcraft, and on these pathologic ideas the medicine practices of +the people are based. The medicine men are sorcerers, who work wonders +in discovering witchcraft and averting its effects or in discovering the +disease-making animals and overcoming their power. So the Shamans and +the cult societies are the possessors of medicine and ceremonies +designed to prevent and cure human ailments. They also have charge of +the ceremonies necessary to avert disaster and to secure success in all +the affairs of life in peace and war; and they prescribe methods and +observances and furnish charms and amulets, and in every way possible +control human conduct in its relation to the unknown. No small part of +savage life is devoted to cult ceremonies and observances. The hunter +cannot penetrate the forest without his charm; the woman cannot plant +corn until a ceremony is performed for securing the blessings of some +divine being. Religious festivals and ceremonies are carried on for days +and weeks. A war must be submitted to the gods, and a sneeze demands a +prayer. + +Our arrival at Fort Wingate practically ended the exploration of the +great valley of the Colorado. This was in 1870. In 1891 we can look back +upon the completion of the survey of all of that region, for it has now +been carefully mapped. The geology of the country has been studied, and +the tribes which inhabit it have been subjects of careful research. This +work has been carried on by a large corps of men, and interesting +results have accrued. + + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +THE GRAND CANYON. + + +The Grand Canyon is a gorge 217 miles in length, through which flows a +great river with many storm-born tributaries. It has a winding way, as +rivers are wont to have. Its banks are vast structures of adamant, piled +up in forms rarely seen in the mountains. + +Down by the river the walls are composed of black gneiss, slates, and +schists, all greatly implicated and traversed by dikes of granite. Let +this formation be called the black gneiss. It is usually about 800 feet +in thickness. + +Then over the black gneiss are found 800 feet of quartzites, usually in +very thin beds of many colors, but exceedingly hard, and ringing under +the hammer like phonolite. These beds are dipping and unconformable with +the rocks above; while they make but 800 feet of the wall or less, they +have a geological thickness of 12,000 feet. Set up a row of books +aslant; it is 10 inches from the shelf to the top of the line of books, +but there may be 3 feet of the books measured directly through the +leaves. So these quartzites are aslant, and though of great geologic +thickness, they make but 800 feet of the wall. Your books may have +many-colored bindings and differ greatly in their contents; so these +quartzites vary greatly from place to place along the wall, and in many +places they entirely disappear. Let us call this formation the +variegated quartzite. + +Above the quartzites there are 500 feet of sandstones. They are of a +greenish hue, but are mottled with spots of brown and black by iron +stains. They usually stand in a bold cliff, weathered in alcoves. Let +this formation be called the cliff sandstone. + +Above the cliff sandstone there are 700 feet of bedded sandstones and +limestones, which are massive sometimes and sometimes broken into thin +strata. These rocks are often weathered in deep alcoves. Let this +formation be called the alcove sandstone. + +Over the alcove sandstone there are 1,600 feet of limestone, in many +places a beautiful marble, as in Marble Canyon. As it appears along the +Grand Canyon it is always stained a brilliant red, for immediately over +it there are thin seams of iron, and the storms have painted these +limestones with pigments from above. Altogether this is the red-wall +group. It is chiefly limestone. Let it be called the red wall limestone. + +Above the red wall there are 800 feet of gray and bright red sandstone, +alternating in beds that look like vast ribbons of landscape. Let it be +called the banded sandstone. + +And over all, at the top of the wall, is the Aubrey limestone, 1,000 +feet in thickness. This Aubrey has much gypsum in it, great beds of +alabaster that are pure white in comparison with the great body of +limestone below. In the same limestone there are enormous beds of chert, +agates, and carnelians. This limestone is especially remarkable for its +pinnacles and towers. Let it be called the tower limestone. + +Now recapitulate: The black gneiss below, 800 feet in thickness; the +variegated quartzite, 800 feet in thickness; the cliff sandstone, 500 +feet in thickness; the alcove sandstone, 700 feet in thickness; the red +wall limestone, 1,600 feet in thickness; the banded sandstone, 800 feet +in thickness; the tower limestone, 1,000 feet in thickness. + +These are the elements with which the walls are constructed, from black +buttress below to alabaster tower above. All of these elements weather +in different forms and are painted in different colors, so that the wall +presents a highly complex facade. A wall of homogeneous granite, like +that in the Yosemite, is but a naked wall, whether it be 1,000 or 5,000 +feet high. Hundreds and thousands of feet mean nothing to the eye when +they stand in a meaningless front. A mountain covered by pure snow +10,000 feet high has but little more effect on the imagination than a +mountain of snow 1,000 feet high--it is but more of the same thing; but +a facade of seven systems of rock has its sublimity multiplied +sevenfold. + +Let the effect of this multiplied facade be more clearly realized. Stand +by the river side at some point where only the black gneiss is seen. A +precipitous wall of mountain rises over the river, with crag and +pinnacle and cliff in black and brown, and through it runs an angular +pattern of red and gray dikes of granite. It is but a mountain cliff +which may be repeated in many parts of the world, except that it is +singularly naked of vegetation, and the few plants that find footing are +of strange tropical varieties and are conspicuous because of their +infrequency. + +Now climb 800 feet and a point of view is reached where the variegated +quartzites are seen. At the summit of the black gneiss a terrace is +found, and, set back of this terrace, walls of elaborate sculpture +appear, 800 feet in height. This is due to the fact that though the +rocks are exceedingly hard they are in very thin layers or strata, and +these strata are not horizontal, but stand sometimes on edge, sometimes +highly inclined, and sometimes gently inclined. In these variegated beds +there are many deep recesses and sharp salients, everywhere set with +crags, and the wall is buttressed by a steep talus in many places. In +the sheen of the midday sun, these rocks, which are besprinkled with +quartz crystals, gleam like walls of diamonds. + +A climb of 800 feet over the variegated beds and the foot of the cliff +sandstone is reached. It is usually olive green, with spots of brown and +black, and presents 500 feet of vertical wall over the variegated +sandstone. The dark green is in fine contrast with the variegated beds +below and the red wall above. + +Climb these 500 feet and you stand on the cliff sandstone. A terrace +appears, and sometimes a wall of terraces set with alcoves of marvelous +structure. Climb to the summit of this alcove sandstone--700 feet--and +you stand at the foot of the red wall limestone. Sometimes this stands +in two, three, or four Cyclopean steps--a mighty stairway. Oftener the +red wall stands in a vertical cliff 1,600 feet high. It is the most +conspicuous feature of the grand facade and imparts its chief +characteristic. All below is but a foundation for it; all above, but an +entablature and sky-line of gable, tower, pinnacle, and spire. It is not +a plain, unbroken wall, but is broken into vast amphitheaters, often +miles abound, between great angular salients. The amphitheaters also are +broken into great niches that are sometimes vast chambers and sometimes +royal arches 500 or 1,000 feet in height. + +Over the red wall limestone, with its amphitheaters, chambers, niches, +and royal arches--a climb of 1,600 feet--is the banded sandstone, the +entablature over the niched and columned marble, an adamantine molding +800 feet in thickness, stretching along the walls of the canyon through +hundreds of miles. This banded sandstone has massive strata separated by +friable shales. The massive strata are the horizontal elements in the +entablature, but the intervening shales are carved with a beautiful +fretwork of vertical forms, the sculpture of the rills. The massive +sandstones are white, gray, blue, and purple, but the shales are a +brilliant red; thus variously colored bands of massive rock are +separated by bands of vertically carved shales of a brilliant hue. + +On these highly colored beds the tower limestone is found, 1,000 feet in +height. Everywhere this is carved into towers, minarets, and domes, gray +and cold, golden and warm, alabaster and pure, in wonderful variety. + +Such are the vertical elements of which the Grand Canyon facade is +composed. Its horizontal elements must next be considered. The river +meanders in great curves, which are themselves broken into curves of +smaller magnitude. The streams that head far back in the plateau on +either side come down in gorges and break the wall into sections. Each +lateral canyon has a secondary system of laterals, and the secondary +canyons are broken by tertiary canyons; so the crags are forever +branching, like the limbs of an oak. That which has been described as a +wall is such only in its grand effect. In detail it is a series of +structures separated by a ramification of canyons, each having its own +walls. Thus, in passing down the canyon it seems to be inclosed by +walls, but oftener by salients--towering structures that stand between +canyons that run back into the plateau. Sometimes gorges of the second +or third order have met before reaching the brink of the Grand Canyon, +and then great salients are cut off from the wall and stand out as +buttes--huge pavilions in the architecture of the canyon. The scenic +elements thus described are fused and combined in very different ways. + +We measured the length of the Grand Canyon by the length of the river +running through it, but the running extent of wall cannot be measured in +this manner. In the black gneiss, which is at the bottom, the wall may +stand above the river for a few hundred yards or a mile or two; then, to +follow the foot of the wall, you must pass into a lateral canyon for a +long distance, perhaps miles, and then back again on the other side of +the lateral canyon; then along by the river until another lateral canyon +is reached, which must be headed in the black gneiss. So, for a dozen +miles of river through the gneiss, there may be a hundred miles of wall +on either side. Climbing to the summit of the black gneiss and following +the wall in the variegated quartzite, it is found to be stretched out to +a still greater length, for it is cut with more lateral gorges. In like +manner, there is yet greater length of the mottled, or alcove, sandstone +wall; and the red wall is still farther stretched out in ever branching +gorges. To make the distance for ten miles along the river by walking +along the top of the red wall, it would be necessary to travel several +hundred miles. The length of the wall reaches its maximum in the banded +sandstone, which is terraced more than any of the other formations. The +tower limestone wall is less tortuous. To start at the head of the +Grand Canyon on one of the terraces of the banded sandstone and follow +it to the foot of the Grand Canyon, which by river is a distance of 217 +miles, it would be necessary to travel many thousand miles by the +winding Way; that is, the banded wall is many thousand miles in length. + +Stand at some point on the brink of the Grand Canyon where you can +overlook the river, and the details of the structure, the vast labyrinth +of gorges of which it is composed, are scarcely noticed; the elements +are lost in the grand effect, and a broad, deep, flaring gorge of many +colors is seen. But stand down among these gorges and the landscape +seems to be composed of huge vertical elements of wonderful form. Above, +it is an open, sunny gorge; below, it is deep and gloomy. Above, it is a +chasm; below, it is a stairway from gloom to heaven. + +The traveler in the region of mountains sees vast masses piled up in +gentle declivities to the clouds. To see mountains in this way is to +appreciate the masses of which they are composed. But the climber among +the glaciers sees the elements of which this mass is composed,--that it +is made of cliffs and towers and pinnacles, with intervening gorges, and +the smooth billows of granite seen from afar are transformed into cliffs +and caves and towers and minarets. These two aspects of mountain scenery +have been seized by painters, and in their art two classes of mountains +are represented: mountains with towering forms that seem ready to topple +in the first storm, and mountains in masses that seem to frown defiance +at the tempests. Both classes have told the truth. The two aspects are +sometimes caught by our painters severally; sometimes they are combined. +Church paints a mountain like a kingdom of glory. Bierstadt paints a +mountain cliff where an eagle is lost from sight ere he reaches the +summit. Thomas Moran marries these great characteristics, and in his +infinite masses cliffs of immeasurable height are seen. + +Thus the elements of the facade of the Grand Canyon change vertically +and horizontally. The details of structure can be seen only at close +view, but grand effects of structure can be witnessed in great panoramic +scenes. Seen in detail, gorges and precipices appear; seen at a +distance, in comprehensive views, vast massive structures are presented. +The traveler on the brink looks from afar and is overwhelmed with the +sublimity of massive forms; the traveler among the gorges stands in the +presence of awful mysteries, profound, solemn, and gloomy. + +For 8 or 10 miles below the mouth of the Little Colorado, the river is +in the variegated quartzites, and a wonderful fretwork of forms and +colors, peculiar to this rock, stretches back for miles to a labyrinth +of the red wall cliff; then below, the black gneiss is entered and soon +has reached an altitude of 800 feet and sometimes more than 1,000 feet; +and upon this black gneiss all the other structures in their wonderful +colors are lifted. These continue for about 70 miles, when the black +gneiss below is lost, for the walls are dropped down by the West Kaibab +Fault, and the river flows in the quartzites. + +Then for 80 miles the mottled, or alcove, sandstones are found in the +river bed. The course of the canyon is a little south of west and is +comparatively straight. At the top of the red wall limestone there is a +broad terrace, two or three miles in width, composed of hills of +wonderful forms carved in the banded beds, and back of this is seen a +cliff in the tower limestone. Along the lower course of this stretch the +whole character of the canyon is changed by another set of complicating +conditions. We have now reached a region of volcanic activity. After the +canyons were cut nearly to their present depth, lavas poured out and +volcanoes were built on the walls of the canyon, but not in the canyon +itself, though at places rivers of molten rock rolled down the walls +into the Colorado. + +The next 80 miles of the canyon is a compound of that found where the +river is in the black gneiss and that found where the dead volcanoes +stand on the brink of the wall. In the first stretch, where the gneiss +is at the foundation, we have a great bend to the south, and in the last +stretch, where the gneiss is below and the dead volcanoes above, another +great southern detour is found. These two great beds are separated by 80 +miles of comparatively straight river. Let us call this first great bend +the Kaibab reach of the canyon, and the straight part the Kanab reach, +for the Kanab Creek heads far off in the plateau to the north and joins +the Colorado at the beginning of the middle stretch. The third great +southern bend is the Shiwits stretch. Thus there are three distinct +portions of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado: the Kaibab section, +characterized more by its buttes and salients; the Kanab section, +characterized by its comparatively straight walls with volcanoes on the +brink; and the Shiwits section, which is broken into great terraces with +gneiss at the bottom and volcanoes at the top. + +The Grand Canyon of the Colorado is a canyon composed of many canyons. +It is a composite of thousands, of tens of thousands, of gorges. In like +manner, each wall of the canyon is a composite structure, a wall +composed of many walls, but never a repetition. Every one of these +almost innumerable gorges is a world of beauty in itself. In the Grand +Canyon there are thousands of gorges like that below Niagara Palls, and +there are a thousand Yosemites. Yet all these canyons unite to form one +grand canyon, the most sublime spectacle on the earth. Pluck up Mt. +Washington by the roots to the level of the sea and drop it headfirst +into the Grand Canyon, and the dam will not force its waters over the +walls. Pluck up the Blue Ridge and hurl it into the Grand Canyon, and it +will not fill it. + +The carving of the Grand Canyon is the work of rains and rivers. The +vast labyrinth of canyon by which the plateau region drained by the +Colorado is dissected is also the work of waters. Every river has +excavated its own gorge and every creek has excavated its gorge. When a +shower comes in this land, the rills carve canyons--but a little at each +storm; and though storms are far apart and the heavens above are +cloudless for most of the days of the year, still, years are plenty in +the ages, and an intermittent rill called to life by a shower can do +much work in centuries of centuries. + +The erosion represented in the canyons, although vast, is but a small +part of the great erosion of the region, for between the cliffs blocks +have been carried away far superior in magnitude to those necessary to +fill the canyons. Probably there is no portion of the whole region from +which there have not been more than a thousand feet degraded, and there +are districts from which more than 30,000 feet of rock have been carried +away. Altogether, there is a district of country more than 200,000 +square miles in extent from which on the average more than 6,000 feet +have been eroded. Consider a rock 200,000 square miles in extent and a +mile in thickness, against which the clouds have hurled their storms and +beat it into sands and the rills have carried the sands into the creeks +and the creeks have carried them into the rivers and the Colorado has +carried them into the sea. We think of the mountains as forming clouds +about their brows, but the clouds have formed the mountains. Great +continental blocks are upheaved from beneath the sea by internal +geologic forces that fashion the earth. Then the wandering clouds, the +tempest-bearing clouds, the rainbow-decked clouds, with mighty power and +with wonderful skill, carve out valleys and canyons and fashion hills +and cliffs and mountains. The clouds are the artists sublime. + +In winter some of the characteristics of the Grand Canyon are +emphasized. The black gneiss below, the variegated quartzite, and the +green or alcove sandstone form the foundation for the mighty red wall. +The banded sandstone entablature is crowned by the tower limestone. In +winter this is covered with snow. Seen from below, these changing +elements seem to graduate into the heavens, and no plane of demarcation +between wall and blue firmament can be seen. The heavens constitute a +portion of the facade and mount into a vast dome from wall to wall, +spanning the Grand Canyon with empyrean blue. So the earth and the +heavens are blended in one vast structure. + +When the clouds play in the canyon, as they often do in the rainy +season, another set of effects is produced. Clouds creep out of canyons +and wind into other canyons. The heavens seem to be alive, not moving as +move the heavens over a plain, in one direction with the wind, but +following the multiplied courses of these gorges. In this manner the +little clouds seem to be individualized, to have wills and souls of +their own, and to be going on diverse errands--a vast assemblage of +self-willed clouds, faring here and there, intent upon purposes hidden +in their own breasts. In the imagination the clouds belong to the sky, +and when they are in the canyon the skies come down into the gorges and +cling to the cliffs and lift them up to immeasurable heights, for the +sky must still be far away. Thus they lend infinity to the walls. + +The wonders of the Grand Canyon cannot be adequately represented in +symbols of speech, nor by speech itself. The resources of the graphic +art are taxed beyond their powers in attempting to portray its features. +Language and illustration combined must fail. The elements that unite to +make the Grand Canyon the most sublime spectacle in nature are +multifarious and exceedingly diverse. The Cyclopean forms which result +from the sculpture of tempests through ages too long for man to compute, +are wrought into endless details, to describe which would be a task +equal in magnitude to that of describing the stars of the heavens or the +multitudinous beauties of the forest with its traceries of foliage +presented by oak and pine and poplar, by beech and linden and hawthorn, +by tulip and lily and rose, by fern and moss and lichen. Besides the +elements of form, there are elements of color, for here the colors of +the heavens are rivaled by the colors of the rocks. The rainbow is not +more replete with hues. But form and color do not exhaust all the divine +qualities of the Grand Canyon. It is the land of music. The river +thunders in perpetual roar, swelling in floods of music when the storm +gods play upon the rocks and fading away in soft and low murmurs when +the infinite blue of heaven is unveiled. With the melody of the great +tide rising and falling, swelling and vanishing forever, other melodies +are heard in the gorges of the lateral canyons, while the waters plunge +in the rapids among the rocks or leap in great cataracts. Thus the Grand +Canyon, is a land of song. Mountains of music swell in the rivers, hills +of music billow in the creeks, and meadows of music murmur in the rills +that ripple over the rocks. Altogether it is a symphony of multitudinous +melodies. All this is the music of waters. The adamant foundations of +the earth have been wrought into a sublime harp, upon which the clouds +of the heavens play with mighty tempests or with gentle showers. + +The glories and the beauties of form, color, and sound unite in the +Grand Canyon--forms unrivaled even by the mountains, colors that vie +with sunsets, and sounds that span the diapason from tempest to tinkling +raindrop, from cataract to bubbling fountain. But more: it is a vast +district of country. Were it a valley plain it would make a state. It +can be seen only in parts from hour to hour and from day to day and from +week to week and from month to month. A year scarcely suffices to see it +all. It has infinite variety, and no part is ever duplicated. Its +colors, though many and complex at any instant, change with the +ascending and declining sun; lights and shadows appear and vanish with +the passing clouds, and the changing seasons mark their passage in +changing colors. You cannot see the Grand Canyon in one view, as if it +were a changeless spectacle from which a curtain might be lifted, but to +see it you have to toil from month to month through its labyrinths. It +is a region more difficult to traverse than the Alps or the Himalayas, +but if strength and courage are sufficient for the task, by a year's +toil a concept of sublimity can be obtained never again to be equaled on +the hither side of Paradise. + + + +INDEX. + +Apache Indians, home and character of the + +Art, ancient, vestiges of, in the Gila and Colorado valleys + +Bad lands, formation and characteristics of the + +Bad lands of Green River + +Baker, John, a famous mountaineer + +Bierstadt, how he paints a mountain + +Boats and cargoes, description of + +Bosque Redondo, Navajos on a reservation at the + +Bradley, G. T., a member of the expedition + +Bradley rescues others from the water + +Buttes, mesas, plateaus, distinction between + +Canyon cutting in the upper Colorado basin + +Cavate or cliff dwellings of the Tewan Indians + +Caves in a volcanic crater used as habitations by Indians + +Caves in cliffs used as habitations by Indians + +Ceremony at Shupaulovi to bring rain + +Chambers excavated in volcanic ashes by Indians for habitations + +Chumehueva Indians, low condition and former home of the + +Church, how he paints a mountain + +Cinder-cone town formerly inhabited by Indians + +Cliff dwellings of the Tewan Indians + +Cliff village of Walnut Cany on + +Collecting specimens of the art of Tusayan + +Colorado Canyon broken by lateral canyons + +Colorado Desert, singular characteristics of the + +Crater town formerly inhabited by Indians + +Cult societies among the Indiana + +Death, supposed, of the author + +Digger Indians, the original + +Dunn, W. H., a member of the expedition + +Dunn, W. H., abandons the party and is killed by Indians + +Freebooters of the Plateau Province + +Fremont's Peak, height of and view from + +Garfield, J. A., insists on the publication of the history of the +expedition + +Goodman, Frank, a member of the expedition + +Goodman, Frank, leaves the party + +Government, civil, military, and religious, among the tribes of Tusayan + +Grand Canyon, how formed + +Grand Canyon, the most sublime spectacle on earth + +Grand Canyon walls, elements of and height of + +Hall, Andrew, a member of the expedition + +Hano, a visit to + +Hano, location and language of + +Hawkins, W. R., a member of the expedition + +Rowland, O. G., a member of the expedition + +Rowland, Seneca, a member of the expedition + +Howland and Dunn abandon the party and are killed by Indians + +Instruments, tools, rations, etc. + +Irrigation and hydraulic works built by the Indians + +Irrigation developed by the Navajo and other Indians + +Killing by the Shivwits of the three men who left the party + +Kinship ties among the tribes of North America + +Kit Carson, leadership of, against the Navajos + +Maricopa Indians, home and character of the + +Marriage and kinship ties among the North American Indians + +Mashongnavi, a visit to + +Mashongnavi, location and language of + +Medicine-man as historian, priest, and doctor + +Men who composed the exploring party + +Mesas, plateaus, buttes, distinction between + +Mogollon Escarpment, description of the + +Mojave Indians, former home and life of the + +Moran, Thomas, how he paints a mountain + +Moran, Thomas, painting of "The Chasm of the Colorado" + +Myth, Indian, of the origin of the Colorado Canyon and River + +Myth of the Sokus Waiunats, or One-Two Boys + +Mythic stories of the Ute and other Indians + +Navajo Indians, home, characteristics, language, art, etc., of the + +Oraibi, a visit to + +Oraibi, collecting the arts of the people of + +Oraibi, life at + +Oraibi, location and language of + +Painted Desert region, description of the + +Papago Indians, home and character of the + +Pestilence and war causes of abandonment of pueblos and rancherias + +Pima Indians, home and character of the + +Plateaus, mesas, buttes, distinction between + +Powell, W. H., a member of the expedition + +Pueblo Indians, languages and culture of the + +Rabbit snaring by the Utes + +Rations, clothing, ammunition, tools, and scientific instruments + +Rescued from a perilous position + +Ruins in the Grand Canyon region + +Ruins of ancient pueblo-building tribes in the valley of the Little +Colorado and vicinity + +Ruins of ancient pueblo-building tribes on San Francisco Plateau + +Ruins of cavate or cliff dwellings of the Tewan Indians + +Scenic features of the Canyon land + +Shivwits chief talks + +Shoshone Indians, home and life of the + +Shumopavi, a visit to + +Shumopavi, location and language of + +Shupaulovi, a visit to + +Shupaulovi, location and language of + +Sichumovi, a visit to + +Sichumovi, location and language of + +Snake dance at Walpi + +Sokus Waiunats, or One-Two Boys + +Spanish expeditions and conquerors in the Southwest + +Starting from Green River City for the Canyon + +Stories, mythic, of the Ute and other Indians + +Storm below the beholder + +Sumner, J. C., a member of the expedition + +Thousand Wells + +Timber region of Arizona, description of the + +Trumbull. Mount, ascent of + +Tusayan, the seven pueblos of + +Tusayan, tribes of, government among the + +Tusayan, two weeks spent at + +Uinta Indians, home of the + +Ute Indians, home, life, dress, etc., of the + +Volcanic dust, enormous amount of, on Tewan Plateau + +Walpi, a visit to + +Walpi, location and language of + +War and pestilence causes of abandonment of pueblos and rancherias + +Yellowstone Park, the land of geyser wonders + +Yuma Indians, former home and life of the + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Canyons of the Colorado, by J. W. Powell + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CANYONS OF THE COLORADO *** + +***** This file should be named 8082-8.txt or 8082-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/8/0/8/8082/ + +Produced by Eric Eldred + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. |