Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1877-09-19
THE GREAT CANYONS.
MajOr Powell Recltes His Expert.
ence I'm the Colorado WIlds.

passed, Intellectually. gathered at
McClure's Hall last night to hear
Major j. W. Powell, of the Smith
sonian Institute, lecture on the
canyons of the Colorado
The Colorado river, said the dis
tinguished lecturer, was formed by
the Grand and the Green rivers.
No rain fell during the flood tide
of the river, the effect of which was
that the river cut deeper year after
year, until it flowed along a gorge,
the banks of which rose 5000 feet
above the water. Every creek and
feeder of this mighty stream had
also cut a gorge, SO that it was i'm.
possible to travel through this
country without threading the
gorgeS. In the Western countries
the most terrible stories were told
of boats overwhelmed by the roar
ing river, of deep underground
passages, where the river was lost
for a hundred miles in the bowels
of the earth. The Indians, too,
had interviewer it with their my
thology, ascribing its formation to
a god who took a bereaved chief to
heaven by the path, and, to prevent
the trail being used again, poured
into it the Colorado.
In May, 1869, with four boats
he and others passed down the
gorge in Green river to the head of
Colorado river for the purpose of
geological exploration. Hence,
one day, they went a few miles
down the river to side gorge,
which he wished to explore. Land
ing, they climbed up, crawled along
narrow shelf, worked slowly up
through a crevice and saw the most
magnificent scene he had ever wit
messed. The next day they started
down Cataract canyon, as they con-
cluded to call it.
From this point to the point
where they left the river--1OOO
miles--there is a fall of 500 feet;
III places 800 to 500 feet in a mile;
800 miles were smooth water, max
ing nearly the entire fall within
200 miles. Listening carefully;
they could always hear the rapids
and would drift slowly on, looking
for place where they could shoot
the falls; the boats would dart
through, sometimes under water,
with all clinging to them. They
never feared water, the danger was
in the rocks.
While camped in an empty
canyon a sudden rain sent roaring
torrent through it, and the camp
was hurriedly moved. In half an
hour a stream was rolling over the
site of the camp on which the
largest steamboat could float in
perfect safety.
Grand Canon is 200 miles long,
and with banks a mile and quar-
ter higher than the river, They
could hear always some great fall
in advance, but could see only a
little way before them, and no liv.
ing thing but bats and lizards, but
on either side scenes Of unsurpassed
grandeur.
E0ne day they passed through a
place where a volcano, then extinct,
had filled the gorge with lava, and
the river had cut a new channel
through. Finally they came to a
place where two large canyons came
in, one on either side. Here three
left the party, and falling in with a
tribe of Indians were killed. The
rest of the party went on through
the canyon, When they were out
Of the canyon there was no describ-
ing the JOY there was in the camp.
The bare synopsis we are com
PEELED to make but inadequately
portrays the charms and interest Of
the lecture, for no synopsis can do
the lecturer justice, and every sem
tence was well worthy Of repeti-
tion. In describing his perllous
journey, he gave a great many
thrilling incidents and kept the
attention of every one in the audi
ence riveted upon him.
Some description Of the Indian
tribes in the West were then given
with their religions aud customs,
the speaker relating several anec-
lotes illustrating their mytholooi.