Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1901-11-14

- man named Ike Thompson
and myself, were hunting and cxplor-
ing in that great territory in the
neigiIborhO0d Of the Colorado River.
We had three prairie-SchOon-
| crs''-loadcd with traps, guns, speci-
mems. food ammunition and so OIL un-
til cur horses fell sick OF 4 strange
disease, and all soon died but two. AS
these could not draw orr things to
any trading post, we 'cached' the
bulk Of them. ard hurried forward
with the remainder and cur sorry
team.
We Travelled to the nearest point, the
| old pioneer town Of st. George.
through about one hundred and ten
| miles of droary waste, with water
holes not less than twenty-five miles
apart. At st George We made halt,
but could get 10 horses; 50 we fol
lowed the Virgin River to Eiovilie
where there WAS n ferry.
Here we expected to get boat that
would carry Us down the Colorado to
the Needless on the border between
| Arizona and California, where we
| knew We could get horses with which
to come D9ci, for our cached things
a Journey Of about four hundred miles.
At RiGvilIo We found 10 boat, and
no one who could build one. So my
father proposed the making Of raft.
! We crossed to IN island near by. feliod
several trees, cut them into twenty
foot pieces twelve inches thick, crisis
| crossed the timDerS i'll true lumber
| mans fashion, fastening them with
wooden pegs, and soon had Il complete
raft, with Il rude bOX.amidsEips for
our baggage.
Early tie next morning we started,
on a good current lately Increased by
| heavy rains, and entered the great
| Colorado canon an hour later. What
Il sight it was! | had never been in
even tiny gorge before, except at
Watkins Glen. III New York State;
and now | was suddenly passing be-
| tween perpendicular walls Of sclid
rock never less and often much more
than one thousand feet high and per-
feet kaieid0scCp@S Of changing color
As Major Powell had descended Il
bad part of the river only the year be
fore that time, my father supposed our
stout raft would carry up safely; but
we soon found that The wild water
required ali hands to work. There
WAS scarcel! a mile without rapids.
Ii we could have turned back after
1 ln .ii.S+ ul,n
done 50; but now thore was nothing to
Do except sweep a!1 swirl OH 10 the
end. The water often washed over
rs TO our arm pits, and often we had
to work desperately to ''fend off, from
the cliffs at sudden turns and twists
At night We were fortunate enough
to find Il backWattr where we could
tie up. Having set watches of two
hours each to see that the ropes did
not chafe through, we rested, and re
sumed our journey on the following
mOrnin~. About ten o'clock in the
forenoon we turned q corner suddenly,
ard saw Il divided way i'll front of
us, one current turning slightly west
the other slightly east Utterly pow
erleSS to guide the raft, we We're car
rjsd furiously toward the entrance Of
the westerly water.
There the surge seemed to co from
under lie, and then We hung for few
moments, doing our pest to push out
OF danger that we could NOW clearly
Sc. Some rocks were so near us on
our upstream side that Ike Thomp-
son seized Il lariat. meaning to jump
10 them and hold the raft from falling
into the west water; but Just then
the surge came up again and flung us
into the great eddy that we SO feared.
1t did not seem Il terrible place at
ali when first We were fairly in it. for
the raft was then lying on Il smooth
pool. 1t was Il pool i'll a blind gorge
| gorge which had no opening except
where We had entered.
Save at that place, the eddy was
surrounded by cliffs fully two thou
sand feet nigh. The hole or gulf
between them was about sixty yards
wide and perhaps three hundred yards
long. An opening of some thirty
yards wide connected the pool with
the river, which may be said to have
spilled its greater surges into the
high-walled basin.
One Of these SurgeS. which seemed
| to result from the rapid rising of the
water. had driven us in. The river
7 was Us if choked for a few moments
about once every five minutes; then n
surge whelmed into the pool While
We We're now looking around US. study
j ing the cliffs and wondering how we
could ever get out, Ike pointed to an
incoming wave.
1t ran at us with Il crestless front
about two feet high, hurried our raft
around the basin, dashed it against
the Cliff at the lower end, and then
raced it back toward the entrance. as
II to give us to the main stream again
But at the critical moment the force
OF the water died away; ana we float
, ed as at first on a waVeleSS pool
Were caught in an eddy" said Ike
land We'll have some tough work tC
get out, I'm thinking. But get out VT
! must, and soon, too, or We'll be dashed
| 10 pieces against these rocks. Wal
until the next rush comes; then bt
ready with your poles. When she
sings US back near the opening. pols
for all you're worth
We were all ready for the mex
surge, and did not allow it 10 dasl
the raft against the cliff again, al
though the Tending off was no cas-,
JOB. until the stream itself pulled III
away and rushed us once more to
ward the opening. There we poled an,
tugged and used all our strength t,
shove the raft over the four or fv
yards between it and the main cur