The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1877-05-13
DOWN TIE RIVER COLORADO
MOSES THREE DfYs IND 4 HiLF ON
RfFT nv THE RIPIDS.
The rirst Descent ever Made hirling In
the Eddies OF the Grand Canon beneath
Walls that almost shut out the sunlight.


F,om he SIN ftanei-o c'n
Can't John Moss has been introduced to
the readers Of the cal through his narrative Of
Mormon Implication in the Mountain Meadows
massacre. His career IA "a irOntierman, os'll-
lat ng ~ guide. trnppcr. explorer. Indian inter-
prefer. and mining prOsprctOr is remarkallc;
He ia the first white man whv eyer descended
the rapids OF the Colorado. White descended
portion of the great canon some years later. anu
camo out Of the ro k-bound gauntlet almost
dead But the escnpade OF running down
stream on a raft 800 or 400 miles. from the en-
trance Of the great canon. through Black canon
to Mohaye City. was not PERFORMED ny Mhi,s.
to his listener. ono with me--not on the rat,
but three or four soldiers and u couple OF
Indians were with me when the raft was built.
II WIS purely an exploring expedition. My OBJ
Ject was to locate the mouth of the little Colo
rado-the Colorado Chiguto, which has lts rise
the Government troops. and an old mountain
Ger called Weaver, who had been trapping on
the Colorado for thirty odd years, had SAID he
had seen the mouth of the Little Colorado; had
in fact. assembled from Fort Mohavv 10 the point
at which the stream emptios Into the Big Oolo-
RADIO .
| doubted Weaver. and. TO satisfy myself md
the officers of the fort. volunteered 10 ra!t II
rom the enirance To W. treat ,'non 70 rTrv
mo. Lieut.. Riley. three soldiers and the
Indians sot out Win me- We s'ru,k
OF San Francisco mountain, to point
known as Lees Ferry-the J. ID. Lee who was
shot the other day. He had ranch 9i that
lavapi county. then in Mcw Mexico. but now in
Arizona. Below this the river enters the Grand
canon, and receives the Colorado ChiQutO on
the left bank lower down IT receives on the
right bank the Virgin river. and then II enters
the Big canon and turns eastward ana soltn-
ward into tho Black canon. below which IL Fort
MnhHNe.
The Grand canon Is n series Of deep chan
nes with ils-uro Intersections or cracks in a
great mesa. The walls II tho chnunS rise per
pendicuarly To "A height Of from l.5uD tO 1000
feet. and aduwn the base of the narrow channel
llt4 "A III
except at high noon there IA ever ia the depths
of the chasm an even twilight gloom that Is
scarcely atcrnntD ii bN the hla"kn'ss ot night.
You peer up through the rift AMI trace Inc OF
blue sky. with here and there a pat h oi sun
shine on projecting pv'hls u ar th' summit no
vrEvtltion 10 relieve the prevail NJ gray ul INC
grim limestone cleavage; No tNittcr or chirp VI
If could he seen or heard.
II may hr called one canon from Lees Forty
t. the Big Bend. where the river turns south 10
ward. or to the nOrtnwnrd Of tie II Dorado
canon. Font Mohave Is sixty five miles lower
down. ana YOU MAY call the DISTANCE 400 miles.
The average depth Of the river VIII not exceed
thirty or forty feet, and the width - from 100 To
200 yards. Still places occur. Tut thcr" are no
cats,ru,ts. Oh~trurtlOn- appear IN many places.
from misses Of rock having tumblrd INTO the
water. but it dashes over tho boulders In
Al Lee, Ferry the soldiers constructed for me
rnit fourteen feet in length. double lVint"d'
and five feet broad. The Indians after tho sol
disr- lcit. tan INK with them my animal. refused
g. proceed. | had provisions with M" and u
rife and "A pole. aud | pooled myself oil from. the
bank in daredevil spirit. The stream swept
the raft oil gradually into It's centre and was
adriit beyond the possibility of recall. II went
very pleasantly for two hours, but going down
more rapidly than | bargalned for. and bcing
knocked from side to side, and iunhlrt about
ON the raft and drenchcd 10y occasional duck
ings. ON each side OF me there WAS nothing hui
d"ad wall. towering lar overhead ~ ghnsty
| sort of grandeur. and only leaving I'M streak
| Of sky for oprnine. Thus | entered upon a
journey oi three days ana "A hail. lhroushn M
the day 1t was u deep El9ainihE. save when th'
sun az meridian slantcd down for a brief inter
| val on the mighty now of boiling waters. The
night scarcely brought with II change. and ever
sounding in the ears was the dull roar vi III,
Nv provisions and gun had been dashed to the
| RAFT and in a very short time after the start al
was lost in an cddy that spun me round and
round and Upset the unmanaseable thing wa
nnoat On. Tho pole had To- guido the raft went
| with the rest. and nothing was l"N Nut u" rat
| and myself, drrnr h. Il. shlvering. and dclrgt ted
| IhrOuEhout the three days and hall VIA
| without sleep:a comaot indincr'n'e stole Over
| mo and IL Wa quiet. II not %" rcpo-r ~ Slum
! her; but every tliue that Iait turned ~uui"r
| sault IN rapid Gums To IL Win drspyrAiion
II was the low condition of thu river that save,
| IN" II kept me IN the nldd" Ot the slr"dn
generally. and il il had been in flooded stat,
| tho RAFT must have been smashed to splinters
| No place to land on showed itself. - . ,
| set ont to lind the mouth Of the Litie Col
| oradO. | may have seen II. but could not lorHt'
| ii definitely. and doubt whether MAJOR Powell
| with all the years he spent ~ ,Npluring, cuu'
| locate it With thirty miles 81 The reai POINT
| confluence. But soon knew that hh, iniSst'
| the Little Colorado hy the muddy cuudiinn e.
| tn water. In Dvmmon ptriuu &C., M" Lllii' Col
orado is about three parts sediment lie mann
i0n tho fourth lay the raft had drifel dowr
stream 20 q point an"yc MohaNe, anu u1rrc j
| was sighted by some Indians, who put u am
| towrd il ashore ! WAS lying On u. lace down
ward. clngiug To- tle pluuk-. Lilo Was ltlt u
me. hut wu- very iaiAt ANA "Nhnu~t.d; an M
clothes gono except u pair OF la'craied bu \
| skin brrerhes. and the rIlt spintrred AWAY O.
very little more than my own length. NOUr4sl
nlcnt and care brought me- around.