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By F. S. DELLENBAUGH
The North-Americans of Yesterday
A Comparative Study of North-American Indian Life, Customs,
and Products, on the Theory of the Ethnic Unity of the Race.
8º. Fully illustrated. net, $4.00
The Romance of the Colorado River
A Complete Account of the Discovery and of the Explorations
from 1540 to the Present Time, with Particular Reference to
the Two Voyages of Powell through the Line of the Great
Canyons.
8º. Fully illustrated. net, $3.50
Breaking the Wilderness
The Story of the Conquest of the Far West, from the Wanderings
of Cabeza de Vaca to the First Descent of the Colorado by
Powell, and the Completion of the Union Pacific Railway, with
Particular Account of the Exploits of Trappers and Traders.
8º. Fully illustrated. net, $3.50
A Canyon Voyage
The Narrative of the Second Powell Expedition down the
Green-Colorado River from Wyoming, and the Explorations on
Land in the Years 1871 and 1872.
8º. Fully illustrated. net, $3.50
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
NEW YORK LONDON
[Illustration: The Grand Canyon
Looking south from the Kaibab Plateau, North Rim, near the head of
Bright Angel Creek, the canyon of which is seen in the foreground. The
San Francisco Mountains are in the distance. On the South Rim to the
right, out of the picture, is the location of the Hotel Tovar. The
width of the canyon at the top in this region is about twelve miles,
with a depth of near 6000 feet on the north side, and over 5000 on the
south. Total length, including Marble Canyon division, 283 miles.
Sketch made in colour on the spot by F. S. Dellenbaugh, June 4, 1903.]
A Canyon Voyage
The Narrative of the Second Powell Expedition down the Green-Colorado
River from Wyoming, and the Explorations on
Land, in the Years 1871 and 1872
By
Frederick S. Dellenbaugh
Artist and Assistant Topographer of the Expedition
"Come on, sir; here's the place. Stand still. How fearful
And dizzy 't is to cast one's eyes so low!"
_King Lear._
With Fifty Illustrations
G. P. Putnam's Sons
New York and London
The Knickerbocker Press
1908
Copyright, 1908
by
FREDERICK S. DELLENBAUGH
The Knickerbocker Press, New York
TO
H. O. D.
MY COMPANION
ON THE
VOYAGE OF LIFE.
PREFACE
This volume presents the narrative, from my point of view, of an
important government expedition of nearly forty years ago: an expedition
which, strangely enough, never before has been fully treated. In fact in
all these years it never has been written about by any one besides
myself, barring a few letters in 1871 from Clement Powell, through his
brother, to the Chicago _Tribune_, and an extremely brief mention by
Major Powell, its organiser and leader, in a pamphlet entitled _Report
of Explorations in 1873 of the Colorado of the West and its
Tributaries_ (Government Printing Office, 1874). In my history, _The
Romance of the Colorado River_, of which this is practically volume two,
I gave a synopsis, and in several other places I have written in
condensed form concerning it; but the present work for the first time
gives the full story.
In 1869, Major Powell made his famous first descent of the
Green-Colorado River from the Union Pacific Railway in Wyoming to the
mouth of the Virgin River in Nevada, a feat of exploration unsurpassed,
perhaps unequalled, on this continent. Several of the upper canyons had
been before penetrated, but a vague mystery hung over even these, and
there was no recorded, or even oral, knowledge on the subject when
Powell turned his attention to it. There was a tale that a man named
James White had previously descended through the great canyons, but Mr.
Robert Brewster Stanton has thoroughly investigated this and definitely
proven it to be incorrect. Powell's first expedition was designed as an
exploration to cover ten months, part of which was to be in winter
quarters; circumstances reduced the time to three. It was also more or
less of a private venture with which the Government of the United States
had nothing to do. It became necessary to supplement it then by a second
expedition, herein described, which Congress supported, with, of course,
Major Powell in charge, and nominally under the direction of the
Smithsonian Institution, of which Professor Henry was then Secretary and
Professor Baird his able coadjutor, the latter taking the deeper
interest in this venture. Powell reported through the Smithsonian; that
was about all there was in the way of control.
The material collected by this expedition was utilised in preparing the
well-known report by Major Powell, _Exploration of the Colorado River of
the West, 1869-1872_, the second party having continued the work
inaugurated by the first and enlarged upon it, but receiving no credit
in that or any other government publication.
As pointed out in the text of this work, a vast portion of the basin of
the Colorado was a complete blank on the maps until our party
accomplished its end; even some of the most general features were before
that not understood. No canyon above the Virgin had been recorded
topographically, and the physiography was unknown. The record of the
first expedition is one of heroic daring, and it demonstrated that the
river could be descended throughout in boats, but unforeseen obstacles
prevented the acquisition of scientific data which ours was specially
planned to secure in the light of the former developments. The map, the
hypsometric and hydrographic data, the geologic sections and geologic
data, the photographs, ethnography, and indeed about all the first
information concerning the drainage area in question were the results of
the labours of the second expedition. Owing, perhaps, to Major Powell's
considering our work merely in the line of routine survey, no special
record, as mentioned above, was ever made of the second expedition. We
inherited from the first a plat of the river itself down to the mouth of
the Paria, which, according to Professor Thompson, was fairly good, but
we did not rely on it; from the mouth of the Paria to Catastrophe Rapid,
the point below Diamond Creek where the Howlands and Dunn separated from
the boat party, a plat that was broken in places. This was approximately
correct as far as Kanab Canyon, though not so good as above the Paria.
From the Kanab Canyon, where we ended our work with the boats, to the
mouth of the Virgin we received fragments of the course owing to the
mistake made in dividing the notes at the time of the separation; a
division decided on because each group thought the other doomed to
destruction. Thus Howland took out with him parts of both copies which
were destroyed by the Shewits when they killed the men. After Howland's
departure, the Major ran in the course to the mouth of the Virgin.
Professor Thompson was confident that our plat of the course, which is
the basis of all maps to-day, is accurate from the Union Pacific Railway
in Wyoming to Catastrophe Rapid, for though we left the river at the
Kanab Canyon, we were able by our previous and subsequent work on land
to verify the data of the first party and to fill in the blanks, but he
felt ready to accept corrections below Catastrophe Rapid to the Virgin.
For a list of the canyons, height of walls, etc., I must refer to the
appendix in my previous volume. While two names cover the canyon from
the Paria to the Grand Wash, the gorge is practically one with a total
length of 283 miles. I have not tried to give geological data for these
are easily obtainable in the reports of Powell, Dutton, Gilbert,
Walcott, and others, and I lacked space to introduce them properly. In
fact I have endeavored to avoid a mere perfunctory record, full of data
well stated elsewhere. While trying to give our daily experiences and
actual camp life in a readable way, I have adhered to accuracy of
statement. I believe that any one who wishes to do so can use this book
as a guide for navigating the river as far as Kanab Canyon. I have not
relied on memory but have kept for continual reference at my elbow not
only my own careful diary of the journey, but also the manuscript diary
of Professor Thompson, and a typewritten copy of the diary of John F.
Steward as far as the day of his departure from our camp. I have also
consulted letters that I wrote home at the time and to the Buffalo
_Express_, and a detailed draft of events up to the autumn of 1871 which
I prepared in 1877 when all was still vividly fresh in mind. In
addition, I possess a great many letters which Professor Thompson wrote
me up to within a few weeks of his death (July, 1906), often in reply to
questions I raised on various points that were not clear to me. Each
member of the party I have called by the name familiarly used on the
expedition, for naturally there was no "Mistering" on a trip of this
kind. Powell was known throughout the length and breadth of the Rocky
Mountain Region as "the Major," while Thompson was quite as widely known
as "Prof." Some of the geographic terms, like Dirty Devil River, Unknown
Mountains, etc., were those employed before permanent names were
adopted. In my other books I have used the term Amerind for American
Indian, and I intend to continue its use, but in the pages of this
volume, being a narrative, and the word not having been used or known to
us at that time, it did not seem exactly appropriate.
Some readers may wish to provide themselves with full maps of the course
of the river, and I will state that the U. S. Geological Survey has
published map-sheets each 20 by 16-1/2 inches, of the whole course of
the Green-Colorado. These sheets are sent to any person desiring them
who remits the price, five cents the sheet, by post-office money order
addressed: "Director U. S. Geological Survey, Washington, D. C.," with
the names of the sheets wanted. The names of the seventeen sheets
covering the canyoned part are: Green River(?), Ashley, Yampa,(?) Price
River, East Tavaputs, San Rafael, La Sal, Henry Mountains, Escalante,
Echo Cliffs, San Francisco Mountains, Kaibab, Mount Trumbull, Chino,
Diamond Creek, St. Thomas, and Camp Mohave.
Several parties have tried the descent through the canyons since our
voyage. Some have been successful, some sadly disastrous. The river is
always a new problem in its details, though the general conditions
remain the same.
Major Powell was a man of prompt decision, with a cool, comprehensive,
far-reaching mind. He was genial, kind, never despondent, always
resolute, resourceful, masterful, determined to overcome every obstacle.
To him alone belongs the credit for solving the problem of the great
canyons, and to Professor Thompson that for conducting most successfully
the geographic side of the work under difficulties that can hardly be
appreciated in these days when survey work is an accepted item of
government expenditure and Congress treats it with an open hand.
I am indebted to Mr. Robert Brewster Stanton, who completed the Brown
Expedition triumphantly, for valuable information and photographs and
for many interesting conversations comparing his experiences with ours;
to the Geological Survey for maps and for the privilege of using
photographs from negatives in the possession of the Survey; and to Mr.
John K. Hillers for making most of the prints used in illustrating this
book. My thanks are due to Brigadier-General Mackenzie, U. S. Engineers,
for copies of rare early maps of the region embraced in our operations,
now nearly impossible to obtain.
In 1902 when I informed Major Powell that I was preparing my history of
the Colorado River, he said he hoped that I would put on record the
second trip and the men who were members of that expedition, which I
accordingly did. He never ceased to take a lively interest in my
affairs, and the year before he wrote me: "I always delight in your
successes and your prosperity, and I ever cherish the memory of those
days when we were on the great river together." Professor Thompson only
a month before he died sent me a letter in which he said: "You are heir
to all the Colorado material and I am getting what I have together."
These sentiments cause me to feel like an authorised and rightful
historian of the expedition with which I was so intimately connected,
and I sincerely hope that I have performed my task in a way that would
meet the approval of my old leader and his colleague, as well as of my
other comrades. One learns microscopically the inner nature of his
companions on a trip of this kind, and I am happy to avow that a finer
set of men could not have been selected for the trying work which they
accomplished with unremitting good-nature and devotion, without
pecuniary reward. Professor Thompson possessed invaluable qualities for
this expedition: rare balance of mind, great cheerfulness, and a sunny
way of looking on difficulties and obstacles as if they were mere
problems in chess. His foresight and resourcefulness were phenomenal,
and no threatening situation found him without some good remedy.
Some of the illustrations in Powell's _Report_ are misleading, and I
feel it my duty to specially note three of them. The one opposite page 8
shows boats of the type we used on the second voyage with a middle
cabin. The boats of the first expedition had cabins only at the bow and
stern. The picture of the wreck at Disaster Falls, opposite page 27, is
nothing like the place, and the one opposite page 82 gives boats in
impossible positions, steered by rudders. A rudder is useless on such a
river. Long steering sweeps were used.
Time's changes have come to pass. You may now go by a luxurious Santa Fé
train direct to the south rim of the greatest chasm of the series, the
Grand Canyon, and stop there in a beautiful hotel surrounded by every
comfort, yet when we were making the first map no railway short of
Denver existed and there was but one line across the Rocky Mountains.
Perhaps before many more years are gone we will see Mr. Stanton's
Denver, Colorado Canyon, and Pacific Railway accomplished through the
canyons, and if I then have not "crossed to Killiloo" I will surely
claim a free pass over the entire length in defiance of all
commerce-regulating laws.
Frederick S. Dellenbaugh.
Cragsmoor,
August, 1908
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
A River Entrapped--Acquaintance not Desired--Ives Explores the
Lower Reaches--Powell the Conqueror--Reason for a Second
Descent--Congressional Appropriation--Preparation--The Three
Boats--The Mighty Wilderness--Ready for the Start 1
CHAPTER II
Into the Wilderness--The Order of Sailing--Tobacco for the
Indians Comes Handy--A Lone Fisherman and Some Trappers--Jack
Catches Strange Fish--The Snow-clad Uintas in View--A Larder
Full of Venison--Entrance into Flaming Gorge 9
CHAPTER III
The First Rapid--Horseshoe and Kingfisher Canyons--A Rough
Entrance into Red Canyon--Capsize of the _Nell_--The Grave of
a Bold Navigator--Discovery of a White Man's Camp--Good-bye to
Frank--At the Gate of Lodore 19
CHAPTER IV
Locked in the Chasm of Lodore--Rapids with Railway Speed--A
Treacherous Approach to Falls of Disaster--Numerous Loadings
and Unloadings--Over the Rocks with Cargoes--Library Increased
by _Putnam's Magazine_--Triplet Falls and Hell's Half
Mile--Fire in Camp--Exit from Turmoil to Peace 34
CHAPTER V
A Remarkable Echo--Up the Canyon of the Yampa--Steward and
Clem Try a Moonlight Swim--Whirlpool Canyon and Mountain
Sheep--A Grand Fourth-of-July Dinner--A Rainbow-Coloured
Valley--The Major Proceeds in Advance--A Split Mountain with
Rapids a Plenty--Enter a Big Valley at Last 49
CHAPTER VI
A Lookout for Redskins--The River a Sluggard--A
Gunshot!--Someone Comes!--The Tale of a Mysterious Light--How,
How! from Douglas Boy--At the Mouth of the Uinta--A Tramp to
Goblin City and a Trip down White River on a Raft--A
Waggon-load of Supplies from Salt Lake by Way of Uinta
Agency--The Major Goes Out to Find a Way In 61
CHAPTER VII
On to Battle--A Concert Repertory--Good-bye to Douglas
Boy--The Busy, Busy Beaver--In the Embrace of the Rocks Once
More--A Relic of the Cliff-Dwellers--Low Water and Hard
Work--A Canyon of Desolation--Log-cabin Cliff--Rapids and
Rapids and Rapids--A Horse, whose Horse?--Through Gray Canyon
to the Rendezvous 72
CHAPTER VIII
Return of the Major--Some Mormon Friends--No Rations at the
Elusive Dirty Devil--Captain Gunnison's Crossing--An All-night
Vigil for Cap. and Clem--The Land of a Thousand Cascades--A
Bend Like a Bow-knot and a Canyon Labyrinthian--Cleaving an
Unknown World--Signs of the Oldest Inhabitant--Through the
Canyon of Stillwater to the Jaws of the Colorado 94
CHAPTER IX
A Wonderland of Crags and Pinnacles--Poverty Rations--Fast and
Furious Plunging Waters--Boulders Boom along the
Bottom--Chilly Days and Shivering--A Wild Tumultuous Chasm--A
Bad Passage by Twilight and a Tornado With a Picture
Moonrise--Out of One Canyon into Another--At the Mouth of the
Dirty Devil at Last 115
CHAPTER X
The _Cañonita_ Left Behind--Shinumo Ruins--Troublesome Ledges
in the River--Alcoves and Amphitheatres--The Mouth of the San
Juan--Starvation Days and a Lookout for Rations--El Vado de
Los Padres--White Men Again--Given up for Lost--Navajo
Visitors--Peaks with a Great Echo--At the Mouth of the Paria
135
CHAPTER XI
More Navajos Arrive with Old Jacob--The Lost Pack-train and a
Famished Guide--From Boat to Broncho--On to Kanab--Winter
Arrives--Wolf Neighbours too Intimate--Preparing for Geodetic
Work--Over the Kaibab to Eight-mile Spring--A Frontier
Town--Camp below Kanab--A Mormon Christmas Dance 152
CHAPTER XII
Reconnoitring and Triangulating--A Pai Ute New Year's
Dance--The Major Goes to Salt Lake--Snowy Days on the
Kaibab--At Pipe Spring--Gold Hunters to the Colorado--Visits
to the Uinkaret County--Craters and Lava--Finding the
Hurricane Ledge--An Interview with a Cougar--Back to Kanab
174
CHAPTER XIII
Off for the Unknown Country--A Lonely Grave--Climbing a
Hog-back to a Green Grassy Valley--Surprising a Ute
Camp--Towich-a-tick-a-boo--Following a Blind Trail--The
Unknown Mountains Become Known--Down a Deep Canyon--To the
Paria with the _Cañonita_--John D. Lee and Lonely Dell 195
CHAPTER XIV
A Company of Seven--The _Nellie Powell_ Abandoned--Into Marble
Canyon--Vasey's Paradise--A Furious Descent to the Little
Colorado--A Mighty Fall in the Dismal Granite Gorge--Caught in
a Trap--Upside Down--A Deep Plunge and a Predicament--At the
Mouth of the Kanab 215
CHAPTER XV
A New Departure--Farewell to the Boats--Out to the World
Through Kanab Canyon--A Midnight Ride--At the Innupin
Picavu--Prof. Reconnoitres the Shewits Country--Winter
Quarters in Kanab--Making the Preliminary Map--Another New
Year--Across a High Divide in a Snow-storm--Down the Sevier in
Winter--The Last Summons 242
Index 269
ILLUSTRATIONS
FACING
PAGE
The Grand Canyon _Frontispiece_
Looking south from the Kaibab Plateau, North Rim, near the
head of Bright Angel Creek, the canyon of which is seen in the
foreground. The San Francisco Mountains are in the distance.
On the South Rim to the right, out of the picture, is the
location of the Hotel Tovar. The width of the canyon at top in
this region is about twelve miles, with a depth of near 6000
feet on the north side, and over 5000 on the south. Total
length, including Marble Canyon division, 283 miles.
Sketch made in colour on the spot by F. S. Dellenbaugh, June
4, 1903.
The Toll 1
Unidentified skeleton found April, 1906, by C. C. Spaulding in
the Grand Canyon 300 feet above the river, some miles below
Bright Angel trail. There were daily papers in the pocket of
the clothes of the early spring of 1900.
Photograph by Kolb Bros. 1906, Grand Canyon, Arizona.
Red Canyon 6
Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.
Before the Start at Green River City, Wyoming 9
The dark box open. Andy, Clem, Beaman, Prof. Steward, Cap.,
Frank, Jones, Jack, the Major, Fred, _Cañonita_, _Emma Dean_,
_Nellie Powell_.
Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.
Flaming Gorge 17
The beginning of the Colorado River Canyons, N. E. Utah.
Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.
Horseshoe Canyon 21
Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.
Red Canyon 25
Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.
Red Canyon 28
Ashley Falls from below.
Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.
In Red Canyon Park 29
Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.
The Head of the Canyon of Lodore 34
Just inside the gate.
Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.
Canyon of Lodore 37
Low water.
Photograph by J. K. Hillers, 1874.
The Heart of Lodore 40
F. S. Dellenbaugh.
Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.
Canyon of Lodore--Dunn's Cliff 43
2800 feet above river.
Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.
Canyon of Lodore 44
Jones, Hillers, Dellenbaugh.
Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.
Echo Park 49
Mouth of Yampa River in foreground, Green River on right.
Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.
Whirlpool Canyon 54
Mouth of Bishop Creek--Fourth of July camp.
Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.
Split Mountain Canyon 59
Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.
Canyon of Desolation 81
Steward.
Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.
Colorado River White Salmon 98
Photograph by the Denver, Colorado Canyon and Pacific Railway
Survey under Robert Brewster Stanton, 1889.
Dellenbaugh Butte 102
Near mouth of San Rafael.
Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.
Labyrinth Canyon--Bowknot Bend 108
The great loop is behind the spectator.
Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.
Stillwater Canyon 110
Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.
Cataract Canyon 119
Clement Powell.
Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.
Cataract Canyon 128
Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.
Narrow Canyon 133
Photograph by Best Expedition, 1891.
Mouth of the Fremont River (Dirty Devil) 135
Photograph by the Brown Expedition, 1889.
Glen Canyon 140
Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.
Looking Down Upon Glen Canyon 142
Cut through homogeneous sandstone.
Photograph by J. K. Hillers, U. S. Colo. Riv. Exp.
Tom 147
A typical Navajo. Tom became educated and no longer looked
like an Indian.
Photograph by Wittick.
Glen Canyon 149
Sentinel Rock--about 300 feet high.
Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.
The Grand Canyon 162
From Havasupai Point, South Rim, showing Inner Gorge.
From a sketch in colour by F. S. Dellenbaugh, 1907.
The Grand Canyon 168
From South Rim near Bright Angel Creek.
The Grand Canyon 174
From part way down south side above Bright Angel Creek.
Winsor Castle, the Defensive House at Pipe Springs 186
Photograph by H. Arthur Pomroy, 1903.
Little Zion Valley, or the Mookoontoweap, Upper Virgin River 186
Photograph by H. Arthur Pomroy, 1903.
In the Unknown Country 195
Photograph by J. K. Hillers, 1872.
Navajo Mountain From Near Kaiparowits Peak 201
Photograph by J. K. Hillers, 1872.
Tantalus Creek 206
Tributary of Fremont River.
Photograph by J. K. Hillers.
Example of Lakes on the Aquarius Plateau 211
Photograph by J. K. Hillers.
The Grand Canyon 215
Near mouth of Shinumo Creek. The river is in flood and the
water is "colorado."
Sketch made in colour on the spot by F. S. Dellenbaugh, July
26, 1907.
Marble Canyon 219
Thompson.
Photograph by J. K. Hillers, 1872.
Canyon of the Little Colorado 222
Photograph by C. Barthelmess.
The Grand Canyon 224
From just below the Little Colorado.
Photograph by J. K. Hillers, 1872.
The Grand Canyon 227
Running the Sockdologer.
From a sketch afterwards by F. S. Dellenbaugh.
The Grand Canyon 232
From top of Granite, south side near Bright Angel Creek.
The Grand Canyon 238
Character of river in rapids.
Photograph by F. S. Dellenbaugh, 1907.
The Grand Canyon 242
At a rapid--low water.
The Grand Canyon 248
At the bottom near foot of Bass Trail.
The Grand Canyon 254
From north side near foot of Toroweap Valley, Uinkaret
District.
Photograph by J. K. Hillers.
The Grand Canyon 258
Storm effect from South Rim.
MAPS
A.
Map by the U. S. War Department, 1868. Supplied by the
courtesy of General Mackenzie, U. S. A., showing the knowledge
of the Colorado River basin just before Major Powell began
operations. The topography above the junction of the Green and
Grand is largely pictorial and approximate. The white space
from the San Rafael to the mouth of the Virgin is the unknown
country referred to in this volume which was investigated in
1871-72-73. Preliminary maps B, C, and D at pages 244-46, and
207 respectively, partly give the results of the work which
filled in this area. 95
B.
Preliminary map of a portion of the southern part of the
unknown country indicated by blank space on Map A, at page 95,
showing the Hurricane Ledge, Uinkaret and Shewits Mountains
and the course of the Grand Canyon from the mouth of Kanab
Canyon to the Grand Wash. The Howlands and Dunn left the first
expedition at Catastrophe Rapid at the sharp bend a few miles
below the intersection of the river and longitude 113° 30',
climbed out to the north and were killed near Mt. Dellenbaugh.
244
C.
Preliminary map of a portion of the central part of the
unknown country indicated by the blank space on Map A, at page
95, showing the Kaibab Plateau, mouth of the Paria, Echo
Peaks, House Rock Valley and the course of part of Glen Canyon
and of Marble Canyon and the Grand Canyon to the mouth of the
Kanab Canyon. El Vado is at the western intersection of the
37th parallel and the Colorado River, and Kanab is in the
upper left-hand corner of the map--just above the 37th
parallel which is the boundary between Utah and Arizona. The
words "Old Spanish Trail from Santa Fé to Los Angeles" near El
Vado were added in Washington and are incorrect. The old
Spanish trail crossed at Gunnison Crossing far north of this
point which was barely known before 1858. 246
D.
Preliminary map of a portion of the northern part of the
unknown country indicated by the blank space on Map A, at page
95, showing the course of part of Glen Canyon, the mouth of
the Fremont (Dirty Devil) River, the Henry (Unknown)
Mountains, and the trail of the first known party of white men
to cross this area. The Escalante River which was mistaken for
the Dirty Devil enters the Colorado just above the first
letter "o" of Colorado at the bottom of the map. The Dirty
Devil enters from the north at the upper right-hand side.
207
E.
Showing results of recent re-survey of part of the Grand
Canyon near Bright Angel Creek by the Geological Survey with
ample time for detail. Compare with Map C at page 246--the
south end of Kaibab Plateau. 250
A CANYON VOYAGE
CHAPTER I
A River Entrapped--Acquaintance not Desired--Ives Explores the
Lower Reaches--Powell the Conqueror--Reason for a Second
Descent--Congressional Appropriation--Preparation--The Three
Boats--The Mighty Wilderness--Ready for the Start.
The upper continuation of the Colorado River of the West is Green River
which heads in the Wind River Mountains at Frémont Peak. From this range
southward to the Uinta Mountains, on the southern boundary of Wyoming,
the river flows through an open country celebrated in the early days of
Western exploration and fur trading as "Green River Valley," and at that
period the meeting ground and "rendezvous" of the various companies and
organisations, and of free trappers. By the year 1840 the vast region
west of the Missouri had been completely investigated by the trappers
and fur-hunters in the pursuit of trade, with the exception of the
Green-and-Colorado River from the foot of Green River Valley to the
termination of the now famous Grand Canyon of Arizona. The reason for
this exception was that at the southern extremity of Green River Valley
the solid obstacle of the Uinta Range was thrown in an easterly and
westerly trend directly across the course of the river, which, finding
no alternative, had carved its way, in the course of a long geological
epoch, through the foundations of the mountains in a series of gorges
with extremely precipitous sides; continuous parallel cliffs between
whose forbidding precipices dashed the torrent towards the sea. Having
thus entrapped itself, the turbulent stream, by the configuration of the
succeeding region, was forced to continue its assault on the rocks, to
reach the Gulf, and ground its fierce progress through canyon after
canyon, with scarcely an intermission of open country, for a full
thousand miles from the beginning of its entombment, the entrance of
Flaming Gorge, at the foot of the historical Green River Valley. Some
few attempts had been made to fathom the mystery of this long series of
chasms, but with such small success that the exploration of the river
was given up as too difficult and too dangerous. Ashley had gone through
Red Canyon in 1825 and in one of the succeeding winters of that period a
party had passed through Lodore on the ice. These trips proved that the
canyons were not the haunt of beaver, that the navigation of them was
vastly difficult, and that no man could tell what might befall in those
gorges further down, that were deeper, longer, and still more remote
from any touch with the outer world. Indeed it was even reported that
there were places where the whole river disappeared underground. The
Indians, as a rule, kept away from the canyons, for there was little to
attract them. One bold Ute who attempted to shorten his trail by means
of the river, shortened it to the Happy Hunting Grounds immediately, and
there was nothing in his fate to inspire emulation.
The years then wore on and the Colorado remained unknown through its
canyon division. Ives had come up to near the mouth of the Virgin from
the Gulf of California in 1858, and the portion above Flaming Gorge,
from the foot of Green River Valley, was fairly well known, with the
Union Pacific Railway finally bridging it in Wyoming. One James White
was picked up (1867) at a point below the mouth of the Virgin in an
exhausted state, and it was assumed that he had made a large part of the
terrible voyage on a raft, but this was not the case, and the Colorado
River Canyons still waited for a conqueror. He came in 1869 in the
person of John Wesley Powell, a late Major[1] in the Civil War, whose
scientific studies had led him to the then territory of Colorado where
his mind became fired with the intention of exploring the canyons. The
idea was carried out, and the river was descended from the Union Pacific
Railway crossing to the mouth of the Virgin, and two of the men went on
to the sea. Thus the great feat was accomplished--one of the greatest
feats of exploration ever executed on this continent.[2]
[Illustration: The Toll.
Unidentified skeleton found April 1906 by C. C. Spaulding in the Grand
Canyon 300 feet above the river, some miles below Bright Angel trail.
There were daily papers of the early spring of 1900 in the pocket of the
clothes. Photograph 1906 by Kolb Bros.]
Circumstances had rendered the data collected both insufficient and
incomplete. A second expedition was projected to supply deficiencies and
to extend the work; an expedition so well equipped and planned that time
could be taken for the purely scientific side of the venture. This
expedition was the first one under the government, the former expedition
having been a more or less private enterprise. Congress made
appropriations and the party were to start in 1870. This was found to be
inexpedient for several reasons, among which was the necessity of
exploring a route by which rations could be brought in to them at the
mouth of what we called Dirty Devil River--a euphonious title applied by
the men of the first expedition. This stream entered the Colorado at the
foot of what is now known as Narrow Canyon, a little below the 38th
parallel,--the Frémont River of the present geographies. Arrangements
for supplies to be brought in to the second expedition at this place
were made by the Major during a special visit to southern Utah for the
purpose.
By great good fortune I became a member of the second expedition. Scores
of men were turned away, disappointed. The party was a small one, and it
was full. We were to begin our voyage through the chain of great
canyons, at the same point where the first expedition started, the point
where the recently completed Union Pacific Railway crossed Green River
in Wyoming, and we arrived there from the East early on the morning of
April 29, 1871. We were all ravenous after the long night on the train
and breakfast was the first consideration, but when this had
re-established our energy we went to look for the flat car with our
boats which had been sent ahead from Chicago. The car was soon found on
a siding and with the help of some railroad employés we pushed it along
to the eastern end of the bridge over Green River and there, on the
down side, put the boats into the waters against whose onslaughts they
were to be our salvation. It was lucky perhaps that we did not pause to
ponder on the importance of these little craft; on how much depended on
their staunchness and stability; and on our possible success in
preventing their destruction. The river was high from melting snows and
the current was swift though ordinarily it is not a large river at this
point. This season had been selected for the start because of the high
water, which would tide us over the rocks till tributary streams should
swell the normal volume; for our boats were to be well loaded, there
being no chance to get supplies after leaving. We had some trouble in
making a landing where we wanted to, in a little cove on the east side
about half a mile down, which had been selected as a good place for our
preparatory operations. Here the three boats were hauled out to receive
the final touches. They were named _Emma Dean_, _Nellie Powell_, and
_Cañonita_. A space was cleared in the thick willows for our general
camp over which Andy was to be master of ceremonies, at least so far as
the banqueting division was concerned, and here he became initiated into
the chemistry necessary to transform raw materials into comparatively
edible food. But it was not so hard a task, for our supplies were flour,
beans, bacon, dried apples, and dried peaches, tea and coffee, with, of
course, plenty of sugar. Canned goods at that time were not common, and
besides, would have been too heavy. Bread must be baked three times a
day in the Dutch oven, a sort of skillet of cast iron, about three
inches deep, ten or twelve inches in diameter, with short legs, and a
cast-iron cover with a turned-up rim that would hold hot coals. We had
no other bread than was made in this oven, or in a frying-pan, with
saleratus and cream of tartar to raise it. It was Andy's first
experience as a cook, though he had been a soldier in the Civil War, as
had almost every member of the party except the youngest three, Clem,
Frank, and myself, I being the youngest of all.
For sleeping quarters we were disposed in two vacant wooden shanties
about two hundred yards apart and a somewhat greater distance from the
cook-camp. These shanties were mansions left over, like a group of
roofless adobe ruins near by, from the opulent days of a year or two
back when this place had been the terminus of the line during building
operations. Little remained of its whilom grandeur; a section house, a
railway station, a number of canvas-roofed domiciles, Field's
"Outfitting Store," and the aforesaid shanties in which we secured
refuge, being about all there was of the place. The region round about
suggested the strangeness of the wild country below, through the midst
of which led our trail. Arid and gravelly hills met the eye on all
sides, accentuated by huge buttes and cliffs of brilliant colours,
which in their turn were intensified by a clear sky of deep azure. In
the midst of our operations, we found time to note the passing of the
single express train each way daily. These trains seemed very friendly
and the passengers gazed wonderingly from the windows at us and waved
handkerchiefs. They perceived what we were about by the sign which I
painted on cloth and fastened across the front of our house, which was
near the track: "Powell's Colorado River Exploring Expedition." Above
this was flying our general flag, the Stars and Stripes.
The white boats were thoroughly gone over with caulking-iron and paint.
Upon the decks of the cabins, canvas, painted green, was stretched in
such a way that it could be unbuttoned at the edges on three sides and
thrown back when we wanted to take off the hatches. When in place this
canvas kept the water, perfectly, out of the hatch joints. Each boat had
three compartments, the middle one being about four feet long, about
one-fifth the length of the boat, which was twenty-two feet over the
top. Two places were left for the rowers, before and abaft the middle
compartment, while the steersman with his long oar thrust behind was to
sit on the deck of the after-cabin, all the decks being flush with the
gunwale, except that of the forward cabin the deck of which was carried
back in a straighter line than the sheer of the boat and thus formed a
nose to help throw off the waves. It was believed that when the hatches
were firmly in place and the canvases drawn taut over the decks, even if
a boat turned over, as was expected sometimes might be the case, the
contents of these cabins would remain intact and dry. As so much
depended on keeping our goods dry, and as we knew from Powell's previous
experience that the voyage would be a wet one, everything was carefully
put in rubber sacks, each having a soft mouth inside a double lip with a
row of eyelets in each lip through which ran a strong cord. When the
soft mouth was rolled up and the bag squeezed, the air was forced out,
and the lips could be drawn to a bunch by means of the cord. When in
this condition the bag could be soaked a long time in water without
wetting the contents. Each rubber bag was encased in a heavy cotton one
to protect it; in short, we spared no effort to render our provisions
proof against the destroying elements. At first we put the bacon into
rubber, but it spoiled the rubber and then we saw that bacon can take
care of itself, nothing can hurt it anyhow, and a gunny-sack was all
that was necessary. Though the boats were five feet in the beam and
about twenty-four inches in depth, their capacity was limited and the
supplies we could take must correspond. Each man was restricted to one
hundred pounds of baggage, including his blankets. He had one rubber bag
for the latter and another for his clothing and personal effects. In the
provision line we had twenty-two sacks of flour of fifty pounds each.
There was no whiskey, so far as I ever knew, except a small flask
containing about one gill which I had been given with a ditty-bag for
the journey. This flask was never drawn upon and was intact till needed
as medicine in October. Smoking was abandoned, though a case of smoking
tobacco was taken for any Indians we might meet. Our photographic outfit
was extremely bulky and heavy, for the dry plate had not been invented.
We had to carry a large amount of glass and chemicals, as well as
apparatus.
The numerous scientific instruments also were bulky, as they had to be
fitted into wooden cases that were covered with canvas and then with
rubber. Rations in quantity were not obtainable short of Salt Lake or
Fort Bridger, and we had Congressional authority to draw on the military
posts for supplies. The Major and his colleague, Professor Thompson,
went to Fort Bridger and to Salt Lake to secure what was necessary, and
to make further arrangements for the supplies which were to be brought
in to us at the three established points: the mouth of the Uinta, by way
of the Uinta Indian Agency; the mouth of the Dirty Devil; and the place
where Escalante had succeeded in crossing the Colorado in 1776, known as
the Crossing of the Fathers, about on the line between Utah and Arizona.
[Illustration: Red Canyon.
Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.]
Mrs. Thompson and Mrs. Powell, who had come out on the same train with
us, had gone on to Salt Lake, where they were to wait for news from the
expedition, when we should get in touch with the Uinta Agency at the
mouth of the Uinta River, something over two hundred miles further down.
At length all was provided for and the Major and Prof. returned to our
camp from Salt Lake bringing a new member of the party, Jack Hillers, to
take the place of Jack Sumner of the former party who was unable to get
to us on account of the deep snows in the mountains which surrounded the
retreat where he had spent the winter trapping. Prof. brought back also
an American flag for each boat with the name of the boat embroidered in
the field of blue on one side while the stars were on the other. We all
admired these flags greatly, especially as they had been made by Mrs.
Thompson's own hands.
We had with us a diary which Jack Sumner had kept on the former voyage,
and the casual way in which he repeatedly referred to running through a
"hell of foam" gave us an inkling, if nothing more, of what was coming.
Our careful preparations gave us a feeling of security against disaster,
or, at least, induced us to expect some degree of liberality from
Fortune. We had done our best to insure success and could go forward in
some confidence. A delay was caused by the non-arrival of some extra
heavy oars ordered from Chicago, but at length they came, and it was
well we waited, for the lighter ones were quickly found to be too frail.
Our preparations had taken three weeks. Considering that we were obliged
to provide against every contingency that might occur in descending this
torrent so completely locked in from assistance and supplies, the time
was not too long. Below Green River City, Wyoming, where we were to
start, there was not a single settler, nor a settlement of any kind, on
or near the river for a distance of more than a thousand miles. From the
river out, a hundred miles in an air line westward, across a practically
trackless region, would be required to measure the distance to the
nearest Mormon settlements on the Sevier, while eastward it was more
than twice as far to the few pioneers who had crossed the Backbone of
the Continent. The Uinta Indian Agency was the nearest establishment to
Green River. It was forty miles west of the mouth of the Uinta. In
southern Utah the newly formed Mormon settlement of Kanab offered the
next haven, but no one understood exactly its relationship to the
topography of the Colorado, except from the vicinity of the Crossing of
the Fathers. Thus the country through which we were to pass was then a
real wilderness, while the river itself was walled in for almost the
entire way by more or less unscalable cliffs of great height.
Finally all of our preparations were completed to the last detail. The
cabins of the boats were packed as one packs a trunk. A wooden arm-chair
was obtained from Field and fastened to the middle deck of our boat by
straps, as a seat for the Major, and to the left side of it--he had no
right arm--his rubber life-preserver was attached. Each man had a
similar life-preserver in a convenient place, and he was to keep this
always ready to put on when we reached particularly dangerous rapids. On
the evening of the 21st of May nothing more remained to be done. The
Second Powell Expedition was ready to start.
[Illustration: Before the Start at Green River City, Wyoming.
The dark box open. _Cañonita_; Andy, Clem, Beaman. _Emma Dean_; Jones,
Jack, the Major, Fred. _Nellie Powell_; Prof., Steward, Cap., Frank.
Photograph by E. O. Beaman, 1871.]
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: Powell had received an appointment as Colonel before he
left the Volunteer Service, but he was always called Major.]
[Footnote 2: For the history of the Colorado River the reader is
referred to _The Romance of the Colorado River_, by F. S. Dellenbaugh.]