him take his knife from its sheath, and step forward to cut the line. He
has evidently decided that it is better to go over with the boat as it
is, than to wait for her to be broken to pieces. As he leans over, the
boat sheers again into the stream, the stem-post breaks away, and she is
loose. With perfect composure Bradley seizes the great scull oar, places
it in the stern rowlock, and pulls with all his power (and he is an
athlete) to turn the bow of the boat downstream, for he wishes to go bow
down, rather than to drift broadside on. One, two strokes he makes, and
a third just as she goes over, and the boat is fairly turned, and she
goes down almost beyond our sight, though we are more than a hundred
feet above the river. Then she comes up again, on a great wave, and down
and up, then around behind some great rocks, and is lost in the mad,
white foam below. We stand frozen with fear, for we see no boat. Bradley
is gone, so it seems. But now, away below, we see something coming out
of the waves. It is evidently a boat. A moment more, and we see Bradley
standing on deck, swinging his hat to show that he is all right. But he
is in a whirlpool. We have the stem post of his boat attached to the
line. How badly she may be disabled we know not. I direct Sumner and
Powell to pass along the cliff, and see if they can reach him from
below. Rhodes, Hall, and myself run to the other boat, jump aboard, push
out, and away we go over the falls. A wave rolls over us, and our boat
is unmanageable. Another great wave strikes us, the boat rolls over, and
tumbles and tosses, I know not how. All I know is that Bradley is
picking us up. We soon have all right again, and row to the cliff, and
wait until Sumner and Powell can come. After a difficult climb they
reach us. We run two or three miles farther, and turn again to the
northwest, continuing until night, when we have run out of the granite
once more.
_August 29._ We start very early this morning. The river still
continues swift, but we have no serious difficulty, and at twelve
o'clock emerge from the Grand Canon of the Colorado.
We are in a valley now, and low mountains are seen in the distance,
coming to the river below. We recognize this as the Grand Wash.
A few years ago a party of Mormons set out from St. George, Utah, taking
with them a boat, and came down to the mouth of the Grand Wash, where
they divided, a portion of the party crossing the river to explore the
San Francisco Mountains. Three men--Hamblin, Miller, and Crosby--taking
the boat, went on down the river to Callville, landing a few miles below
the mouth of the Rio Virgen. We have their manuscript journal with us,
and so the stream is comparatively well known.
To-night we camp on the left bank in a mesquit thicket.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account