The Parker post. (Parker, Ariz.) 1910-1918, 1914-02-07
HARD STREAM
TO NAVIGATE
TWO PARkERITES MAKE TRIP
UP COLORADO IN GASOLINE
LAUNCH AND MEET WITH
HARDSHIPS ALL THE WAY.

H. B. Hull and H. E. Buckingham,
fresh-water sailors with headquarters
at Parker, returned from two
weeks cruise up the Colorado river
as far as Needles, last Satur-
cay. Although they travelled with
modern eQuipment-a gasoline launch
their journey was attended with
many mishaps, trials and dangers,
net unlike those encountered by the
early navigators Of that stream.
On the first day out, having left
the mooring at Parker early in the
NJ orning, they ran out of gasoline at
a point about Is miles this side of
Iopock This was due to the fact
that many shoals were encountered
that they had never before known,
and while their supply of gasoline
would have been sufficient under Or
dinary circumstances, the extra
amount of power needed to propel the
boat over the obstructions exhaust
ed the supply much sooner than they
They tied the boat to a tree on
the bank and started for Topock on
foot, believing the distance to be
only two or three miles instead of
five times three. They reached To
pock pretty will tagged OUT after
several hours of hard travel, and took
the train to Needles. There they
bought quantity of gasoline and
provisions but were 'up against it"
again when they tried to get a boat
to carry themselves and baggage
down stream, as none could be had
at any price. AS there was nothing
else for them to do, they secured a
quantity of lumber and at the end
of three days succeeded in building
that looked like a barge.
This they launched and after drifting
down stream II or IA hours reached
the place where their boat had been
tied only to find that someone had
taken it, but considerably left two
blankets on the bank. Thankful for
small favors, the nights being very
cold, they took on their blankets and
drifted along for two or three miles
when they found their boat safely
tied to a tree on the bank. While
there was evidence that the pirates
had searched the boat from stem to
stern for something which they did
not find, nothing about the craft was
damaged. Filling the tank with gaso-
line and cranking up, they started
off, towing the barge at lively
clip that would have soon taken
t. m to their destination had not
night come on with a darkness as
dense as a ''nigger's pocket" while
tn navigators had nothing but
small primitive lantern to light their
way
1t had been their intention to stop
at Hull's camp, which is between To
peck and Parker, but the night was
sc dark that it was impossible to
the ordinary outline Of
the banks, and it was not until hey
re; thed a prominent land mark, sew
eral miles below Hull's place, that
:: knew where they were at"
There are many eddies and danger
ous whirlpools in the river and sew
eral times their craft came very near
:, being eng, fled, while as often it
{ scaped by 2 close margin being
caused to turn turtle" through con-
tact with overhanging willows. FL
raliy the boat ran into one of these
willows at a point where fortunately
the current was not very strong, SO
they hove to," secured the boat
firmly to a limb and remained there
until daylight when they made their
way back to camp.
Wnlle Trip up the COlOrduO our
ing high water is a delightful one,
it is very dangerous during low wa
ter on account of the constant chang
ing Of the channel and the many
caused thereby in uneX-
pected places, besides the danger of
snags and sunken
bouders.