The San Francisco call., 1896-05-17

inches. Each boat will draw about four
inches of water. Being very shallow, they
are particularly we'll fitted for passing over
rocks and rapids. Captain Mellon will
start from Green-river station, on the
Union Pacific Railroad in Wyoming He
will transport his boats from here there by
rail. Each dory is to be manned by four
stalwart Indians. In each end OF the boats
are alright compartments for storing sup
plies of all kinds, including guns and am
muniuon, for there is great deal of game
along the route and firearms are absolutely
Indispensable.
Captain Mellon is one OF the owners OF
the steamers Gila, Aztec and Mojave. He
has been running on the Colorado River
thirty-two years, and Is probably better
posted in regard to the terrible rapids Of
the Colorado than almost any other man
in the world.
The strange part OF Captain Melons
scheme Is that he proposes 10 make the en-
tire trip IN no more than thirteen days.
( This will seem remarkable, in view of the
fact that j. w. Powell. Chief of the United
States Geological Survey, who attempted
the trip in 1863, was four months in getting
TO the mouth of the Virgin River, which
Is 400 miles above Yuma. Besides he lost
who were wrecked were killed by the In
dians.
V. F. Neisz, q boatbullder of this CITY.
has recently completed one dorv for Cap
tain Mellon and in little time he will fn-
ish the other.
trip successfully" said Captain Mellon
yesterday. 'It msy,look like huge under
taking and l admit that in sc lse it is
Nobody has attempted it since lowell, and
the grim tragedy that surrounded his
efforts has caused such terror whenever
even the suggestion is made of trying to
float down through q wild Indian country
and worse than all through the fearful
canyons of the Colorado River, that people
generally did not care even TO consider IL
But there are objects TO be attained which
| believe are meritorious.
1.-The part of the Green River from
Green River station TO the Grand is largely
unexplored. People know next to nothing
about it. They don't know whether the
soil is rich OF whether there's gold or sill
yer in large quantities, or coal or sapphires.
Powell didn't have time to do any in
vestigatlng, and as for the researches of
such lew people as have ever been in that
part OF the country. like the cowboys and
the Struggling hunters, every one knows
how little news of a scientific character
they have ever gathered. In fact, nothing
mas ever been heard of this part of the
Green River.
From the point where the Green River
enters the Grand, on down to the Mormon
settlement in the southern part of Utah.
the country is similarly wild and largely
unexplored. II is the Green and Grand
rivers which make the Colorado. The
river from this point on is large, and has
In places wide valleys, presumably of
very fertile soil. The mountains which
flank the river, many of them snow
capped and reaching to prodigious
height, undoubtedly contain large bodies
OF rich ore.
II know place on the Colorado River,
for instance, and | have run past it on my
steamer when the water was high, where |
there are mountains of pure salt. The
salt is so white that it is like snow and al |
most daZzles the eye. In some places the !
salt is overland by q sort of caprock of |
sandstone and when this Is taken off there |
is your pure, white salt, Mt for use. There |
is a curious thing about this salt. found |
IN digging down into il some pieces OF /
burnt wood. They were lying right in the |
middle of the bed of salt. 1 could not see |
how they got there, but anyhow the salt /