New-York tribune., 1906-04-15

Pv boat over large part OF the great Colorado
,,esert OF Southern California; II sounds very
s,.nv eapec,ally when remember that the
soiortsts tel IS that this is "a moro pronounced
desert thsn those parts OF Sahara where regular
,,araoro logical observations made"
For twenty years or more have been observing
,s studying this desert. 1 now drawing TO a
,ocus tie results of these extended studies for
s,ee5,, publication ana IN order TO round them
sr,, 7 determined to make another thorough survey
- the whole region. Most interesting Of all at the
-eear- moment the SaltOn Sea. Its rapid rise;
a. eco7 7,,r Of the main line OF the Southern Pacific
railway necessitating the building Of some forty
niles or so u new track upon higher ground: the
,esrs EXPRESSED by some OF the settlers near Mecca
90 IN the Imperial Valley that ere long they would
~ sUar11ed out Of existence; the wild and fantastic
cherries propounded by the thoughtless and sensa-
,,,re1 N account for the existence OF the sea.
Gov Instance that # was caused by a subterranean
,rsov, from the Pacific Ocean; the fact that tho
-bore Colorado River pouring into II, and that
s.,,.-s.s e~orts had been made end still were
..,rr made % check the mad dow; the equally in
...,r- tar+ that many years ago, Dr.. ]. p Wild
= no afterward became the president Of the
1-r,yersty of Southern California. strongly advo-
cata5 the national governments doing what is now
tot,, so strangely accomplished; the fears ex-
ossos that the growth Of the sea would change
- --,-sa .be climate of the Salton BASIN
- .-5 MANY other considerations determined me
- e,o eaIlor the hitherto unfollowed course OF
49, ora-eowed Colorado directly into the Salton
Sea
Purchasing two boats a. Numa-one nat DOT
,a5 ordinary gig stOutly built. with SIX oars aAu
- +7,s- q mere tub. OF Hight scow, with fiat bot
,o, and stab nose. such as miners ana pros
..,rs t,ve made 20 float down the Colorado
I2,sr orr Marty of six whites LEFT the city OF
torrid heat" .,--.,,
We had been warned OF the dangers and o'nioui-
= - s,,re "a encounter. There were some
oh a
o,,-e forest through which We should have 10 CUT,
-, s,-oa orir way. one of tho men who had
,-ia5 failed and returned Then II we succeeded
o. getting through the mesquite and reached
shsrr's-the point IN Mexico where the waters are
-, and distributed through hesdgates into the
,fye-i-r canals OF the Imperial country-we should
80 so,,a efty miles o. the Alamo River 20 run.
which had never before been done. The difference
IN la,.e1 between the water 81 Sharp's and at the
sa1ro Sea was nearly so feet and fail OF $40 feet
IN fsty miles surely meant rapids galore; indeed we
wore warned that We should make tho nifty
mites in fifty minutes" Then TIE engineers as
sured Us that the force the food had so secured
on. N. channels that the banks. from being
mere ridges now high walls thirty
forty fifty and more feet high' ana one
great danger 10 he apprehe1oed ana guaroea
against vas the Fact that the rapid now OF the
stream was constantly undermining certain por-
tons of these banks. and they fell into the stream
in such vast quantity that they would destroy or
sink any boat unfortunate enough 10 be under
them This was a serious enough danger. as
we afterward learned when We saw thousands of
tons Of earth fall. sending up great waves which
came near TO swamping boats We were
folly party when set c1t from Yuma On Thurs
day afternoon March s. Esgtly drifted with the
current our artist impatient al the time 10 catch
the marvellous colors that seemed 20 be produced
that evening Sor his especial deleotAtIon.
shall never forget his delight when I pulled
IN shore and called out Camp for the night"
ForEetful OF everything he jumped out and came
rear being swallowed Up IN the quicksand. Cor
here there is little clay 10 make wet parts
II the banks secure. without waiting. however,
70 cleanse hrnsetf OF the mud, hs nrsd his easel
and in a few moments obliv.ous 70 the world.
the flesh ana the devil IN the reveiry Of color the
sunset was giving HIM.
Sleeping out OF doors is great fun IN a Dry
healthy country like California, and 20 see the sir
2 rs early that morning rolled up on the sand
"-h nothing but our heads sticking out enough
tempt one Of us 10 FIRE OF gun. II scared the
."ls nearly out of their wits. but they were soon
Ur a-G ready for breakfast
Later IN the day 70 the scene Of the
desperate efIorts-six In number-uads at the sr-
lenctUre of hundreds OF Thousands OF dollars 10
oontro. the unexpected foods Of the Colorado. For
Years the river viii be calm and serene ~ a
river can be that chroniceiy spills over every
june when the SHOWS melt IA the mountains OF
colorado, Wyoming Utah ana Northern Arizona
4a'n Tor a Few months 4 viii cut UP In such un-
expected ways and st such unexpected times
as 70 upset al ordinary calculations II cer-
'ainlF Old seem strange 20 stand on the point
from which figure was taken and see tf1e whole OF
The water OF the Colorado flowing Cns is there
SHOWN into what few months ago a mere
cut hltF feet wide. made a temporary expedient
10 supply water the irTfgationsts in tho Imperial
alley beoause water could not how through the
canal four miles Up account OF the acoumula-
hon Q: silt. on the other side OF the gtream we
could walk right into the dry bed OF tls old river.
i was almost pathetic 10 see the unused chan