Arizona weekly citizen., 1892-06-18

and Dr. Hayes built the framework
 while 1 gathered gum. My diary for
 that day closes with We are nearly
 down to rosebuds and raw four but our
 new boat will now swamp or save us
 in d short time" Next night the boat
 was done, except a little more gum
 coating and that was finished early the
 morning of the 10th: and we stood
 ready for our trip. We practically
 stripped 10 our underclothing to meet
 any accident. At II we were all
 ready to try our tissue paper transpor-
 tation, every one jumped in and the
 boat leaped forward at gait of from
 ten to twelve miles an hour, the islands
 fairly whirling by us. It was danger
 ous to stop, so we dashed through
 breakers that were better than barber's
 elixir for raising hair. Russell, arising
 in the stern to see what harbOr in
 Hades we were heading for, was sent
 spinning by an unusual lurch and it
 was active work to get back to our
 normal status. Both Russell and the
 Doctor were pitched out in stop
 ping the boat to inspect an ominous
 outlook ahead and alone in the world.
 l started out at speed that promised
 to land me in San Francisco that even
 ing if nothing interfered. Iconsidered
 myself lucky when 1 made a gravel bar
 not far below, and awaited the two
 who had to lock arms to cross the swift channels between us. The channels
 outside of either party were roaring
 torrents that Leander could not have crossed. It was just noon when we
 ripped the first hole, lurched sidewise, dumped Russell overheard, and came ne rolling over and over down the steep chute as a wrecked expedition.
 An hour was used in repairing dam- ages We made twenty miles by lunch time. in about two hours. having been in and out the boat dozen times to in- spect threatening outlOOks, or when thrown out by the plunging craft it. self. How the ballOon-like boat stood the banging was the greatest mystery of all Tine outlook now was very black, the great river of mile in width at places was, ahead. narrowing into colossal canyon and its roar sounded dubiouSly like a cataract Russell spent nearly two hours ahead on the north wall inspecting it but he could find no fall, though the rapids in places were almost equivalent, While he was gone signal smokes were made to attract any Indians idiots enough to find this country congenial. It was a hydraulic hurdle race for five miles and we could hardly tell half the time whether we were under the water, on top of it, or flying through the spray. The wide boat made it impossible for me to paddle in the center without add ing danger to the already great peril and the work fell to the others. No better relief, however, could have been devised in such exciting places than exciting labor. It looked so very bad at 4:30 another inspection was made. The canyon was so black, narrow, and turned so sharply it seemed | as if the whole foaming mass plunged | into an abyss out of sight. We were | not yet clear of glacial country and it | was not imprOba ble we might disap- ! pear in a tunnel of ice if one was-met | Just ;, we tore the side out and came | near sinking before a bar could | be made; we got away at | in exceedingly heavy water and at 7:2O, seeing the canyon ahead | obliterated in the black i we stopped on a bar and | with thirty-six miles in our favor. My diary closes: "A day of dangers long to be remembered. being B continuous run of rough rapids, with waves often four and five feet high and tossing in all directions" We now had but one days full ration of four, after which we could help ourselves to the salt. It was 1925 before we got started next morning, the time being taken up in inspecting the canyon. Russell said there were at least five O six miles of heavier rapids than any net so far, and remarked, "There was lot one chance in hundred for any ort of a boat to get through safely" The roaring rapid just ahead, probably qual to the wli 'lpool rapids below Niagara, was but one of a score or lore in the course. The high canyon Valls were perpendicular now as an verage, and quite as often were pro- ecting over us as they slanted back yards. The canyons course was a ortuous one, with sharp turning an les, yet somewhat uniform in propor- ions, so little experience taught us ow to manage them to the least dan CT. Oftentimes the swift glacial 1ater, perfect sand-blast for centur- IS, had cut far under the rock wall, gainst which it impinQed sometimes