The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-06-03
BETWEEN THE WALLS
The Hero of the Grand Canyon
Experience in Salt Lake.
HIS STATEMENT OF THE CASE
The Walls Of the Grand Canyon OF the Col
0rado are not So Difficult to Scale
as Has Been Reported.

Harry Mcdonald, the chief boatman W no
has gone down the Grand canon of the Col
orado twice, has been IN town since Mon
day, on his way to Denver. Mr.. Melon
AIDS first trip through the canon was with
the party of Mr.. Brown, who left Green
River in April, 1889, with the object Of
finding if it will be possible to build rail-
road throughout the canon. The second
trip was with the now famous Stanton sur
vey party, who left Greer River in Novem-
Der, 1889. with the same object in view.
A HERALD reporter interviewed Mr..
Mcdonald in regard to the prospects Of
the region the projected railroad will tap,
and also in regard to his connection with
the two parties. He said the railroad,
when built, will tap district rich in min
erals, which is thickiy timbered and heavily
stocked with cattle. The railroad will
carry all the beeves for the eastern mar
ket from all the ranches within one nun
dred miles of its line, and will also
be the only line running through the
heavily timbered regions of the Buckskin
mountains. Copper, iron, silver, gold and
tin have been found in this canon in vari-
Gus quantities. and the railroad will pass
through all this rich region and will carry
these ores. 1t can be built at a compare
lively low rate on account of the peculiar
formation of the walls of the canon. He
wished to correct an error that IS widely
spread in regard to the formation of the
walls of the canon. Instead of being per-
pendicular and impossible to scale, he says
the walls of the canon slope downward at
an angle of 80 degrees ana can be scaled at
almost any point on the river.
when he first became connected with the
party OF Mr.. Brown, he had been prospect
ing at the head of Cataract canon for some
time and was acquainted with the rapids
of that wild canon. He went down the
river with the party and says that Mr..
Brown met his death in the following man
ner: The party had gone through one
rapid and had come to another which
looked dangerous, and Mr.. Brown insisted
that his boat should be the first TO go
through to try the channel. The boat was
occupied b. Brown and himself and it was
decided that this boat should go first and
the other boats should follow in its wake
If it went through safely. The boat avoided
all rocks and whirlpools, until it had gone
around point out OF sight of the other
boats, when It struck a whirlpool and cap
sized. The occupants were thrown
into the current of the whirlpool
and Mcdonald. calling to Brown to
Come on" struck out for the shore.
Donald thought he was following. Nc
Donald made a landing about one hundred
feet down the river from where the boat
capslZed, and looked up the stream to see
Brown feebly struggling in the mighty
whirl. Just then one of the other boats,
the occupants Of which had become alarmed
at the prolonged absence of a signal from
Brown, who had agreed TO give one, rounded
the point, and Mcdonald called to them TO
''Pick up Brown" The men in the other
boat looked and saw Brown in the water
and made strenuous efforts to get to wnere
he was in time TO save him. But while
they were yet fifty feet away Mr.. Brown
sank, ana as the boat passed over the spot
where he had gone down, his pocketbOok
came to the surface of the water and was
picked up by one OF the men IN the boat.
MIR. Mcdonald also told of the death of the
other members of the party, the
loss of the boats and finally their
trip TO kanab, from whence the dis
cOuraged remnants of the party
returned to Denver. In refutation of the
statement of Mr.. Stanton to the effect that
he left the party for the purpose of pros
pectlng, contrary to the promise he had
made when the expedition started from
Green River he says that, while on the
river he had so much work in the water, in
shooting the rapids and in the daily routine
of their duty that he had a severe attack of
rheumatism and, as he feared he would
soon be unable to work at all if ne con-
tinUed with the party, he left them after
they had gone through the worst part of
the canon.
When he left the party he had food for
three days, a macintosh coat, two pairs of
blankets and rifle; on the second day he
had TO cache the blankets and the mackin-
tosh, as the snow was too deep for him to
be able to carry them; on the third day he
came upon snow that varied from four to
six feet in depth, and that night he slept on
the side of a fallen tree with nothing on but
his clothes; on the fourth day his food gave
out and he struggled through the deep snow
for two days without any food, reaching the
ranch of John w. Young, of this city, on
the morning of the sixth day, where he was
Hospitality treated. After recuperating at
House Rock, Mr.. Mcdonald, with three or
four others, went down into the caflon by
one of the trails made by Powell's party,
and located some very valuable claims
there. They found good copper in large
quantities and mountains of hematite iron.
A large deposit of white salt has been found
in the canon.
Mr.. Mcdonald will be the head of a
large prospecting party which will start
soon to prospect in the interest of Denver