In the chapters on Tovar and Cardenas, Fray Marcos and Garces, I have given
some idea of the history of the Spanish explorations of the Grand Canyon
region. In this chapter is presented an account of the brave work done by
later explorers, until now the Grand Canyon and the whole canyon system of
the Colorado River is as well known as the course of many a less dangerous
stream.
Early American Trappers. Who can know whether any of those daring souls,
the trappers of the earliest days of American history, ever penetrated to
the depths of these canyons in their expeditions after the pelts of
fur-bearing animals? These men were the true pioneers. They ever kept
thrusting the frontier line further forward. As civilization, with people,
villages, towns, cultivated lands, advanced westward, still further west
pushed the trapper. Civilization was a hindrance to his business. The wild
animals he sought fled from the presence of many men. Though the Indian had
penetrated more or less to all these secluded regions, the Indian has
enough of the reserve of outdoor life not to disturb any of the animals. It
is the imperious, self-willed, noisy white man who drives away the shy
creatures of the wild.
United States Purchases New Territory. In 1815, the small nation known as
the United States had become eager to grow, and Jefferson had made his
memorable purchase of all the territory north of the Red River, the
Arkansas and the forty-second parallel, as far as the British boundary or
Canadian line, then still unsettled, and the disputed region of Oregon.
Lewis and Clark had made their wonderful expedition, and the world, through
the publication of their report, knew a little of the immense territory now
acquired. In the previous century, the Spaniards had discovered the value
of the pelts of the fur-bearing animals of California, and a few
venturesome spirits were soon to learn that the western mountains, forests
and rivers abounded in the same profitable game. In his interesting and
illuminative American Fur Trade of the Far West, Chittenden has shed a
flood of light on these early-day operations.
Trappers Seek Riches. Padilla, Kino, Garces, Escalante, and others of the
brave Spanish padres, had penetrated into some portion of these unknown
territories, but they had gone with the vow of poverty upon them. No greed
for gold blinded their eyes to the rights of others. A hunger for the
salvation of souls was their only hunger; the glitter of the golden harps
and crowns in heaven the only glitter that attracted them. But the trappers
had a different purpose. They were a different kind of men. Rough and
ready, venturesome to the last degree, turbulent as the raging Colorado,
imperious in their high-handed dealing with all who stood in their way,
they were about to enter the conflict for the sake of gold, and gold is the
most remorseless driver, the most soul-destroying master man ever has had.
Trappers the Primary Cause of Indian Wars. It has been the trappers who
largely have given to us our notions of the American Indians of the West.
For they were the first men to come into conflict with them. They were the
first to dispute with them about water-holes and springs, about "rights,"
about "property." Is it necessary to ask what kind of a report such men
would bring of any who stood in their way? Is it necessary to know much of
human nature to know how these men treated the Indians? The trappers not
only began the lucrative fur trade of the West, that laid the foundation
for several vast American fortunes, but they also laid the foundation for a
series of Indian wars that have cost the United States more lives and
treasure than all the furs ever gathered on earth were worth. And not only
did they take the furs from the animals they trapped. The agents of the Fur
Companies (whether British or American) took them from the Indians. Read
Jim Beckwourth's accounts of how he traded with the Indians, and listen to
his own comments upon his actions. As Dellenbaugh vividly says: "Roughshod
the trapper broke the wilderness, fathomed its secret places, traversed its
trails and passes, marking them with his own blood and more vividly with
that of the natives."
The Ashley Fur Camp Is Established. Early in the last century, the trappers
were operating on the head waters of the Colorado River. Green River Valley
was discovered, and in 1822 one of the most brilliant men of the West of
that period, General William Henry Ashley (born in Virginia in 1778, went
to Missouri in 1802, and in 1820 was its first governor), went into the fur
trade with Andrew Henry, an expert trapper. Two years later, with a band of
such men as Henry, Ashley established a camp in Green River Valley, and,
with his men, set out on expeditions for furs and pelts.
Inscription at Red Canyon. When in June, 1869, Powell and his party were
passing through the fourth canyon after leaving Green River, now known as
Red Canyon, they saw an inscription on one of the huge rocks above the
river, done in black letters, sheltered by a slight projection of the rock
which acted as a cornice, reading:
"Ashley 18...5"
The third figure was obscure and some of the party read in 1835, some 1855.
Ashley Expedition Unsuccessful. It should have been read 1825. Powell was
not familiar with the history of the fur traders. Ashley was an unknown
name to him, but as Chittenden has so vividly pointed out, he, in his way,
left his impress upon our Western civilization as strongly as did Powell.
Would that it had been as nobly, as grandly beneficent. Ashley fitted up a
trapping expedition to go down Green River, in spite of its known dangers,
and, expecting to find beaver in plenty, took but little provisions along
with them. At first they did fairly well. Then, as the canyons narrowed, to
their horror and distress, as well as surprise,--for they had kept none of
the meat of the beavers they had killed,--the animals ceased to appear, and
starvation stared them in the face. For six days they were without food.
The precipitous walls of the Canyon forbade escape, and at length they
became so demoralized that Beckwourth declares they actually proposed to
cast lots as to which should be killed to make food for the others. This
fearful proposition so horrified Ashley that he begged them to hold out a
while longer, and to their joy they soon emerged from the Canyon, possibly
at a place known as Brown's Hole; where Provo, an experienced trapper, had
his camp. From here they abandoned the Canyon expedition, and doubtless
returned with Provo to Salt Lake. Powell named the falls near where Ashley
left his name Ashley Falls.
There is every reason to assume that other trappers attempted the passage
of the Canyon, for Powell found a bake oven, several tin plates, and part
of a boot in Lodore Canyon, which he imagined were Ashley's; but, as we
have seen, Ashley never went down so far.
Other Unsuccessful Trappers. In his excellent Romance of the Colorado
River, Dellenbaugh recites at length, from their own narratives largely,
the adventures of several trappers and others, whose experiences are
connected with the Colorado River,--the Patties, Jedediah Smith,
Kit Carson, William Wolfskill, Farnham, Fremont, Lieutenant Derby, Captain
Johnson, and others, who, however, never came actually into the Grand
Canyon region. Hence I shall make no further reference to them here.
My reason for giving so much space to Ashley has been merely to offer a
sample of the kind of experiences the trappers of the early days met with,
in trying to solve the problem of the canyons of the Colorado River.
Lieutenant Ives' Expedition. Lieutenant Ives' expedition, however,
reached into the very heart of this country. He visited the Havasupais in
their canyon, also the Wallapais, and traversed the weary miles across the
desert to the villages of the Hopi. Steamboats had plied up and down the
Colorado River from the Gulf of California as far as Fort Yuma--near where
the present railroad bridge crosses the stream--but Ives was instructed by
the War Department to explore the river further up, in order to determine
whether the military posts of New Mexico and Utah could be reached, and
their supplies transported by the Colorado. Instead of calling upon Captain
Johnson and chartering his steamboat, the Colorado, Ives ordered his
steamer constructed in Philadelphia, and shipped in sections via the
Isthmus of Panama to San Francisco, and thence around Cape Lucas into the
Gulf of California, to the mouth of the Colorado River. Yet he was able to
report, doubtless with a clear conscience, that Johnson's company "was
unable to spare a boat, except for a compensation beyond the limits of the
appropriation."
Ives' Report and Accompanying Pictures. Ives' report is a most
interesting document, and the pictures that accompany it, made by
Mollhausen and Eggloffstein, especially those of the latter artist, are
wonderful in their imaginative qualities. They are no more like the Grand
Canyon than are the visions of Dore, yet they afford a good idea of the
impression its vastness and sublimity made upon an artistic mind.
Starts up the River. Ives ascended the river, passing Johnson on the way in
the Mohave Valley, a few miles above the Needles. The latter had gone to
ferry Lieutenant Beale and his outfit across the river. So in reality he
was ahead of Ives, for he entered the Black Canyon to the highest point
attainable by steamers before Ives did, and thus got the better of the man
who had refused to hire him and his steamer.
Journey Is Abandoned. But Ives went on as if Johnson had never existed,
"discovered" what was already known, viz.: that the river "was flanked
by walls many hundreds of feet in height, rising perpendicularly out of the
water, the Colorado emerging from the bowels of the range," and then struck
a sunken rock, and had to give up in disgust.
Returns East across Country. Sending his vessel, the Explorer,
back to Fort Yuma under the command of Robinson, its efficient captain, the
gallant lieutenant now struck out across country, having received new
supplies and his pack-train. Under the guidance of an intelligent Mohave
Indian, Ireteba, they reached Diamond Creek, and there not only came in
contact with the Wallapais, but for the first time saw the Big Canyon, as
they called the Grand Canyon. He then pushed on east, entered Havasupai
(Cataract) Canyon, visited the Indians there, then made a wide detour to
examine the San Francisco peaks, struck east again, crossed the Little
Colorado, and reached the province of Tusayan, where dwell the Hopis. After
a short visit there, he crossed south and east to Fort Defiance, and
finally returned east with his report. When the Civil War broke out, Ives
joined the Confederate forces and was killed in one of the battles.
Ives's Prediction. As an evidence of the folly of making predictions in
regard to what the future has in store for any region, let me quote one
paragraph from Ives which always has amused me:
"This region can be approached only from the south, and after entering it
there is nothing to do but to leave. Ours has been the first, and will
doubtless be the last party of whites, to visit this profitless locality."
Yet Ives enjoyed the Canyon, and wrote some truly eloquent descriptions of
it. How surprised he would be could he come back now, approach it from the
north, cross the river in a steel cage, and find at El Tovar such an hotel
as even the city of Washington never surpassed in Ives's day. Then, taking
the Grand Canyon Railway, he could speed to Williams, and in twenty-four
hours reach the Pacific, or in four days the Atlantic. We march forward
with great strides in these days.
Powell's Preparations for His Life-Work. Even at the time of his writing
(1858), John Wesley Powell was being prepared to bring Ives's words to
naught. Born March 24, 1834, at Mount Morris, Livingston County, New York,
he found himself in 1858 at Wheaton, Illinois, engaged in making a
conchological collection for the Illinois State Natural History Society.
While engaged in this work, he also secured collections in botany, zoology,
and mineralogy. His mind now opened to perceive that all these sciences
were related to the greater science of geology, and thenceforward he
declared that this should become his lifework.
Experiences in Civil War. During the Civil War, he fought with bravery and
honor, losing an arm at the battle of Shiloh, April 6, 1862. When Sherman
began his march to the sea, Powell was given command of twenty batteries of
artillery. He served on the staff of General Thomas at the battle of
Nashville, and was mustered out in the early summer of 1865. Even during
these exciting years, his beloved science not only never lost its
attraction for him, but he utilized every possible opportunity to add to
his knowledge. He made a collection of fossils unearthed in the digging of
the Vicksburg trenches, and from the Mississippi swamps gathered land and
river shells. In Illinois, while on detached service, mosses engaged his
attention, and he was indefatigable in studying the geology of the region
through which his section of the army passed.
Begins Geological Explorations in Colorado. After the war he declined a
lucrative political office to take the chair of geology in the struggling
Wesleyan University, of Bloomington, Illinois. He had married his cousin,
Emma Dean, in 1862, and, after a glimpse of the country in 1867, he took
her and a party that he had organized, to make geological explorations in
Colorado. This was the beginning of his work that ultimately wrested the
secrets from the mysterious canyons of the Colorado River. This preliminary
work led him on, as it were, to the greater work, and in 1869, on May 24,
with four boats, the Emma Dean, Kitty Clyde's Sister, Maid of the Canyon,
and No-Name, and nine companions, John C. Sumner, William H. Dunn, Walter
H. Powell, G. Y. Bradley, O. G. Howland, Seneca Howland, Frank Goodman,
William R. Hawkins, and Andres Hall, he set forth from Green River City.
The simple records of that trip, and a later one made in 1871-1873 (in
which Frederick S. Dellenbaugh, the author of "The Romance of the Colorado
River", was engaged, read like a romance. A condensation of them is but an
aggravation. No one interested in the Canyon should neglect to read them,
and I am now arranging to republish Powell's original monograph, together
with his monumental work on "The Canyons of the Colorado", the plates of
which I purchased at his death for this purpose.
Powell's First Expedition. In the first expedition, the party was from May
24 to August 30 passing through the Canyon system, from Green River City to
the mouth of the Rio Virgen. On the first of September, four of the men,
with a small supply of provisions, resumed their journey on the river to
Fort Mohave, while Powell and his brother returned to civilization by way
of Salt Lake City.
Second Expedition. Though chapter nine of Powell's report as published by
the Government, speaks of the "continuation of the explorations" of the
Canyon, and gives an account of the studies made in and around the region
of the Virgen River, and chapter ten contains Professor A. H. Thompson's
"Report on a Trip to the Mouth of the Dirty Devil River," there is nothing
in the volume that suggests the magnitude of the second trip through the
Canyon. This great omission Mr. Dellenbaugh supplies in his complete
narrative before referred to.
Powell's Work on the Canyon Completed. This time three boats started, the
Emma Dean, Nellie Powell, and Canyoncita, manned by S. V. Jones, J. K.
Hilliers, F. S. Dellenbaugh, A. H. Thompson, J. F. Steward, F. M. Bishop,
F. C. A. Richardson, E. O. Beaman, W. C. Powell, and A. J. Hattan, with
Major J. W. Powell, of course, as leader and director. The start was made
from Green River City, Wyoming, as before, and the date was May 22, 1871.
On the third of September, the mouth of Kanab Canyon was reached, where, on
account of high water, the trip for the time being was abandoned. The
topographical work of the survey of the surrounding country was continued
through to the winter of 1873, when the maps were completed, and Powell's
great work on the canyons and tributary country practically brought to a
close.
Wheeler's Expedition in 1871. Another interesting Colorado River expedition
was that of Captain G. M. Wheeler, made in the fall of 1871. It was
doubtless an offset to that of Major Powell, as in those early days there
were three separate geographical surveys in the field, working
independently and without common guidance. Hence it was natural that there
should have been some degree of rivalry. Captain Wheeler started up the
Colorado River from Camp Mohave, in three boats that had been specially
made in San Francisco, and with a barge loaned by the commanding officer at
the fort. Dr. G. K. Gilbert was the geologist of the party. From September
16 to October 20, they had a difficult, arduous and occasionally thrilling
journey, reaching the mouth of Diamond Creek at the latter date. Diamond
Creek is a point on the Canyon which used to be largely visited. It is
reached from Peach Springs, but the scenery is far less impressive than at
any of the more accessible points described in this book.
Brown's Unsuccessful Expedition. Seventeen years after Powell, Frank M.
Brown, a Denver capitalist, determined to survey the canyons with the
purpose of building a railway through them to the Gulf of California. The
main start was made May 25, 1889, from the Rio Grande Western's tracks
across the Green River, with six boats and sixteen men. It was a disastrous
expedition. Brown himself lost his life at Soap Creek Rapids, some fifteen
miles below Lee's Ferry, and four days later two others were drowned in
Marble Canyon. The expedition was then abandoned, the remnant of the party
climbing the Canyon walls, and finding their way back to civilization
assisted by the kindly owner of a cattle ranch.
Stanton's Boats Travel Through the Whole Canyon System. In November of the
same year, however, Robert Brewster Stanton, Brown's engineer, observing
precautions that Brown had so unfortunately neglected, prepared to continue
the exploration. He had his boats hauled on wagons to the mouth of Crescent
Creek near Fremont River, to avoid a repetition of the experiences in
Cataract Canyon; and a good start was made. The party ate Christmas dinner
at Lee's Ferry, and a few days later, slightly below where Brown lost his
life, the photographer of the expedition fell from a ledge and broke his
leg. With incredible labor, the unfortunate man was got out of the Canyon,
four miles in distance and seventeen hundred feet in altitude, on an
improvised stretcher, and then taken in a wagon which Stanton had fetched
from Lee's Ferry. The party then went on, entered the Grand Canyon, and
reached Diamond Creek March 1, where they remained ten days recuperating.
The last dash was then made in safety. The boats left the Canyon March 17,
1890, and proceeded easily and gently, until on the twenty-sixth of April
tide-water was reached at the mouth of the river on the Gulf of California.
Galloway Repeats Stanton's Exploit. On January 12, 1897, N. Galloway, a
Mormon trapper, who for years had operated on the Canyons of the Green
River, determined to emulate Powell and Stanton. He made two light boats of
rude lumber, covered them fore and aft with canvas, got a companion,
William Richmond, and on the day named left a point near the state line of
Wyoming and Utah. On the third of February they emerged from the Canyon. As
they reached the open country below the Grand Wash, they came upon the
officers who had found the bodies of two men, killed by Mouse, a Paiuti
Indian. The officers requested the use of Galloway's boats to convey the
bodies to the Needles. This was acceded to, and on the seventeenth of
February Needles was reached, the boats sold, and the Mormons returned to
their homes.
Making Photographs of Soap Creek Rapids. Later in the same year, I made the
trip by wagon from Winslow, Arizona, over the Painted Desert to Lee's
Ferry, and there, to my great delight, met Galloway. He built a boat, and
took me up Glen Canyon for a long distance, and down Marble Canyon to Soap
Creek Rapids, where poor Brown was lost. As I photographed the rapid, he
offered to "run it" in his boat if I desired, saying that, with his light
boat, there was no danger whatever. I declined, however, on the ground that
no photograph ever made could justify the risking of a man's life. As
recently as August, 1908, in coming to the Canyon by rail, I met at
Kingman, Arizona, a deputy sheriff by name of Ayres, who was one of my
party taken by Galloway up the Glen Canyon.
In the Fall of 1909, Mr. Galloway accompanied an Eastern capitalist, Mr.
Julius Stone, of Columbus, Ohio, in boats of their own manufacture, through
the Canyons, from Green River to Needles, California. They had a
delightful, though an arduous nine weeks trip. Mr. Stone secured the
finest set of photographs of the Canyons as a whole that ever have been
made.
In another chapter, entitled "The Story of a Boat," the interesting account
of the successful trip of Russell, Monett and Loper is given.