The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-12-16


over the falls to inevitable destruction. and
= the men on the rocks were yelling with
ncfror dismay, Curtis. who was one of
the endangered pair. jumped out into the
c ~n,er IN such a way as to be caught by the
current and washed against a rock that
STOOD but a foot above the surface. As he
Jumped he grasped the gunwale OF the
poat and held II with a grip of desperation
saved only his quickness and willingness
va AXE a desperate a saved his own
me and that OF Anderson. his companion.
On one day during this last stage OF the
journey the explorers were able 10 travel
only 100 feet. nearly all of the distance
oelhg over rocks. where the boat had first
70 De unloaded and then dragged. into this
part OF the chasm II is impossible for any
human being to enter alive except by the
way these five men came. The walls rise
10 a height OF just about half a mile al
most vertically, and often there is no foot
ing on either side OF the river. One or two
OF the party would go ahead, examine the
prospect in front of them for a few yards.
ana then return TO assist in moving the
Dodt. AT every 100 or 200 feet, sometimes,
the boat had to be unloaded and the outfit
carried on the backs OF the members OF
the party, but now and then it happened
that they could no longer find any foothold.
ana under such circumstances there was
nothing TO do but 10 trust entirely TO the
Doat, taking the chance of what a sharp
turn In the stream a short distance ahead
might reveal.
Evidences were found of freshets. which.
at the season when they occur, must rem
der IL wholly impossible for anyone to live
In the canyon. In places driftwood was
found stacked to a height of forty-two feet,
and marks on the sides OF the cliffs showed
where the water had reached an elevation
even greater.
THE SADDEST DAY.
On the day before the last of the jour-
ney the whole party got a ducking, the
boat being caught in a whirlpool and sub
merged. Similar accidents happened more
than once on the trip. making it necessary
to land. build a fire. and dry the clothes
and bedding. Most unfortunately many
photographs which had been taken were
destroyed by the wetting of the films.
The last day was the saddest. When un-
dergoing hardships. men of the Kind that
composed this party are not dovnhearted.
and the greatest danger is regarded with
a smile, but on the last day. when it be-
came obvious hat the trip could not be
completed and must be abandoned, there
was genuine sorrow.
After the hardships that had been en-
cured they realized tina there was one
Pc TT of the canyon through which no means
men can command could possibly carry
them. They had come to a cataract sixty
Ieet In height, between precipitous walls Ct
solid rock of an altitude so tremendous az
10 exclude the sunlight at noon. IN neither
SIDE was there a possibility of gaining a
roofing by which to make the descent.
i'Fen IL they could manage to lower tn
boat in safety, they would be unable TO
follow it.
Nor was there any certainty if they
passed the falls that they could escape. To
return the way they had come was impos-
sible. The boat could not be forced back
against the current, and it was out of the
question to carry their provisions. even if
they had had enough TO last them on a
return trip. The canyon was only thirty
feet wide at the bottom. and above them
lcomed The nearly vertical walls, which
| seemed likely to hem them in forever.
The situation seemed desperate enough.
To scale one of the walls was their only
salvation, and they did II. Everything was
left behind. The boat was abandoned, and
water. There was not a dry eye in the
party as the explorers, just at daybreak.
babe farewell tc the sturdy little craft thai
had brought them through such difficulties
and dangers, and turned their faces to tho
east wall OF the gorge. Stripped of all but
necessary clothing, they began a climb
which lasted from daybreak TO IL O'Clock
at night. at which hour they had made the
ascent to an elevation of $500 feet Gust
about half a mile) on a six-hundred-foot
slope. That is to say. they were but six
hundred feet back from the river and 2.60)
feet above il. All of these hours they had
neither food nor water.
AT the top they found friends. who pro-
vided them with everything they needed.
Not yet daunted. they tried to ascertain
TX IL would not be practical TO approach
the impossible falls from the other end OF
the canyon-i. e., from Delta Station. This,
they learned, would not be difficult up to a
point within one and a half miles of the
cataract-the Falls of Sorrow. as the ex-
plorers named them-but there. again, was
a stretch that could not be passed. They
have not yet given up the enterprise, and
this winter they Will make another attempt
tc reach the falls from the Delta end of the
gorge. when the river is frozen. starting
out with ice hooks and spiked boots, and
| carrying their outfit on a sled.