Imperial Valley press., 1928-02-07
PART 2
American Explorers


first prospectors emerged from the
hills with handfuls of yellow metal
end wrote the name of California
across the sky in letters of gold,
Spanish soldiers, searching for fabl-
ed treasures, had discovered and
navigated the Rio Colorado, destin-
ed to become the richest possession
of the Great Southwest.
Throughout the three centuries
preceding the magic year of 1S49,
the romance of discovery, conquest
and adventure moved upon the wat
crs of this untamed river. Swash-
buckling eonquistadores; brown
robed padres; hardy, sharp eyed eX-
plorers; lean, sun tanned trappers;
daring, quick shooting, adventurcrs;
following closely in each others foot
steps. they tramped up an ddown
the banks of the Colorado.
Then came the gold rush to Cal
ifornia. To the long trains of cover
ed wagons, the red river appeared
only as an obstacle blocking their
path and nccessitating long, peril
Gus detours. The 'fortv-nincrs knew
naught of the White Gold of hydro
electric power hidden in the flow of
this mighty stream. Like the Span
ish discoverers before them, they
sought the treasure of Yellow Gold;
most of them chafcd at the delay
caused by this river rushing past
them between them and the land
of their heart s desire.
In the great host of pioneers,
blazing their way across the contin'
ont, toward the setting sun, there
was one, however, who refused to
recognize the Colorado as a barrier.
This one was William Manly, whose
daring exploits place him in the
front rank of that colorful company
Of gold rush days.
Manly was attached as driver
to one of the overland wagon trains
| creaking its slow, difficult way ac-
ross the Continental divide. When
his party reached northern Utah and
! came to the Green River, a tribut-
ary of the Colorado, someone volun-
teered the information that this
stream flowed directly to the Pacif'
ic. The faulty geography of the in
formant was unguessed by young
Manly, who promptly determined to
ride the racing currents of the Green
and Colorado Rivers to the Calf
ornia gold fields. He found an aban
doned and delapitated ferry boat
sunk in the sands along the banks
Of the river, and induced six of his
hull-whacking companions to join
| him on the voyage.
Makes Perilous Trip
In this clumsy, leaky ferry boat
Manly set forth to navigate the
treacherous and well-nigh impassa
lie rock studded rapids of the Green
and Colorado. His ferry boat was
smashed to bits in one of the can
vons. Manly and his followers prim.
! pity followed out three log boats
and sped merrily on.
The solemn warning of friendly
Indians, however, finally caused this
overriding band of oX-skinners tC
quit the stream above the Crane
Canyon and strike westward by al
overland trail.
Manly later added to his fame by
leading another party of forty
miners out of the jaws of Death Val
ley. But for hair-raising adventure
this mad dash through the upper ser
les of Colorado river canyons by :
party of whacking frontiersmcn
short on navigation lore but long OF
nerve, has rarely, if ever, been sur
passed.
Throughout the hectic fiftic
thousands of travellers crossed tn,
! Colorado, or it's northern tributar
ics-and pressed on westward. Tn,
Herculcan task of Systematically cX
ploring and charting the giant o
western rivers remained for Il NOR
sober decade.
The first successful voyage eve
made through the Grand Canyon o
the Colorado was headed by Maj
John W. Powell. This man, who los
an arm while serving under Gran
in the battle Of Shiloh, appears to b.
the first American with the visiOl
to see the tremendous national I'M
pOrtancc of the Colorado.
For years the Government hat
been making an occasional attcmp
to survey the river and chart it
course. Its engineers had attcmpte'
to do this by sending unwield.
steamboats, upstream from Yuma
|