Daily Arizona silver belt. (Globe, Gila County, Ariz.) 1906-1929, 1908-01-18

BRIGHT ANGEL, Grand Canyon,
Ariz.. January l0.-Somewhere in the
bottom of the Grand Canyon, below the
foot of Bright Angel trail, two men in
one sixteen-foot rowboat are being
hurled through the rapids of the Colo
RADIO river, with their destination, The
Needles, Cal, More Than 800 miles dis
ant, and their starting point, Green
River, Utah, more than 400 miles at
their backs. In this fimsy craft these
two men are attempting to perform a
feat which has been accomplished sue
sessfully only twice in history, ond then
by large, well-equipped parties, with
much heavier and bigger boats.
Behind them, up the river, FIVE miles
above Bright Angel, is one of their
boats, wedged fast between two bould-
ers, at the foot of the famous Sock
DIGGER Rapids, where the river plunges
down in a continuous serious of cata-
racts for ten miles, with drop of 210
feet. Two hundred and fifty miles
farther north is third boat. with
which the little expedition started. Its
occupant, the organizer of the trip, has
disappeared where the river has claim
ed for its own almost every man who
has ever dared to attempt its fearful
rapids. Travelling overland to the near.
est habitation in Southern Utah, the
fate of this third man is as yet unknown
10 his former companions.
The two men who started on down
the river from here are Charles s. Rus
sell of Prescott, Ariz., and f. r. Monet
Of Goldfeld, New. The third man was
Ebert Lopez, native of Louisiana, Mo.
When Monet s boat was smashed into
fragments in the rapids five miles above
lere, the men at first thought they must
ibandon their trip, which, beginning at
Green River, 420 miles north of here,
has already lasted for more than three
months.
The men entered the Grand Canyon
proper on December 20, and spent
Christmas on the trail. In the fifteen
niles between their camping place and
he foot of this trail they consumed ten
lays in fighting the worst stretch of
water in the 420 miles of rapids they
lad encountered According to Stan.
on s measurements, the river drops at
his point 2l0 feet in ten miles. II
vas in this stretch of continuous rap
DIS that Monet came TO grief. His
boat struck partly submerged rock
and was completely demolished.
Russell, who had shot the rapids first,
made his boat fast to the bank, and
laundering along the almost perpendie-
Mar cliffs, managed to reach a point
opposite his companion. After several
attempts, Russell managed to throw q
ope TO Monet, and the latter let go
his hold on the rock on which his boat
lad struck, and to which he had chung
for twenty minutes, and was dragged
through the rushing torrent to the shore.
From this point to the foot of the
rail, distance of five miles, Monet
ode astride of the steel-inclosed deck
If Russell's boat.
With only one boat left, the two
men have room for only six weeks pro-
'isions, already they have been more
han 100 days on the trip, which is but
little more than half finished. AS there
s not house on the shores of the Colo
ado river between here and The
Needles, and as there is no likelihood
If their seeing human being until
they reach that point, it is necessary
for them to make this stretch of more
Than 300 miles within forty-two DAYS.