Weekly Arizona journal-miner., 1903-04-29
EXPLORING
 WITH POWELL
The Grand Canyon Seen
 Under Difficulties.
Climbing Up or Sliding Down Pre- cipiCes and DOdging Indians
 Not Pleasant Pastime.
MUM 6ER II.

I
 2anab, Utah. Powell made his head quarters in one of these houses. Our first trip from there was to Shebits spring. The first night we camped at what think Powell called the devils s punch bowl. When near Shebits we saw a naked Indian woman gathering seeds. She had a wide top basket, held this under the seed head then struck them a smart blow with a stick.
 Camped at the springs were about twenty Pah (water) Ute Indians, so called because they always camped near the water, while other Indians as rule camp away from the water. Powell was told by an Indian that there was a place where he could go down into the canyon. We left most of the supplies here, and only took four pack horses. We came to the rim of the main canyon at point where wedge shape side canyon put in made by lava flow. This was about one fourth as deep as the main can yon.
 Where this side canyon made a bend, there was a shoulder. Down this we zigzaged with our horses. The pass through the rocks at the bottom was so narrow that the pack  animals could hardly get through. All had to do was to put in few rocks and brush in this gap, and the horses were in an inclosure that it was impossible for them to get out. In time of rain, where the water had flowed down this side canyon, it had made round bottom channel, for about one fourth of a mile back from the rim. It was impossible to cross, where the water from this channel dropped over into the main canyon. It had cut back under, leaving the rock overhanging. Down about twenty feet it struck hard seam which form ed crescent shaped shelf about 20 inches wide. On this we had to cross. From this shelf it was straight down to almost water level of the river. It was a hard climb down to this point. In crawling across on this shelf, while the shoulder on the in side brushed the overlapping rock, the hand on the outside was within a few inches of eternity. Each man took what food he wanted, and a quart canteen. That night we slept on the sand on the bank of the river.
 It was in the afternoon by the time we got back on the rim. We made a dry camp and the next day started back to Shebits spring by different route. Our guide told us he knew where there was water. About four o'clock we came to a tank of water. It was about ten feet wide, fifteen long, and one and a half feet deep. In the center lay dead horse, in the worst stage of decay. As we ap- preached a flock of buZzards flew away. This was the fourth day for our horses without water, and we had had none since the evening before. I punched holes in the bottom of camp kettle, filled it with sand and strained the water, but no horse drank what two and half gallon bucket would hold. For our own use, l strained it several times, each time through new sand, and then we made strong coffee, and it was as much as we could do to drink it. l have drunk bad water on the COW range, but none as bad as this.
 Our explorations was all hard work, hunting new breaks, climbing down as far as We could, hanging out over the canyon to see if we could find a place to climb down, going back miles to get around crack that one could almost throw stone across, all hard work and at times dangerous. None of the party with the exception of Maj. Powell, took any interest in the scenery. To him it was a pleasure trip.
 Finding no other place where we could get down, when we got back to Kanab, l was sent on ahead, to build boat. and to have everything across the river, ready to start as soon as Powell got there. He was to fol low me in four days. 1 took with me Timmy, Graves, and Stone, an old prospector who was stranded in Ka nab, and the MormOns wouldn't give him anything to eat until he joined the church. He was baptized the day before we got back. 1 cut boards four feet long, packed them on my mule for the bottom of the boat. The first water was horse rock springs; then Jacobs we'll, spring surrounded by sand hills. At times one could see the trail but few yards ahead. Then the month of the Pah river deer wa ter where we were to cross. This side was poor place for a camp, in case of an attack by Indians, wide creek bottom, filled with brush and trees. We hewed two blanks out of cottonwood logs, four or five inches thick. and about fourteen inches wide, shaping both ends of the bottom alike. On this we nailed our boards. This made a boat little over three feet wide, and ten feet long. The first boat built was where Lees ferry now crosses the Colorado.
 We swan our horses across, and fer ried our supplies over. On this side of the river there was a bar, or flat, crescent shaped, about one quarter of mile wide and three quarters long. Back of it was a perpendicular bluff. The upper end was where the river came out of canyon. The lower end against a smooth bare lime stone shoulder, that projected out into the river, and around which the river makes a bend. At this point there is rapid, and this is the head of the canyon Tn Arizona. The trail crosses this limestone point. About twenty feet above the flat or bar, there is a small flat on the trail about ten by fifteen feet. On this we made our camp. Back of the camp we piled our aparahoes, pack saddles and sup plies not needed. We could stand in