The Romance of the Colorado River : $b The Story of its Discovery in 1840, with an Account of the Later Explorations, and with Special Reference to the Voyages of Powell through the Line of the Great CanyonsDellenbaugh, Frederick Samuel
History
The Romance of the Colorado River : $b The Story of its Discovery in 1840, with an Account of the Later Explorations, and with Special Reference to the Voyages of Powell through the Line of the Great Canyons
Dellenbaugh, Frederick Samuel
Colorado River (Colo.-Mexico) -- Description and travel; Colorado River (Colo.-Mexico) -- Discovery and exploration; Colorado River Valley (Colo.-Mexico) -- Description and travel; Colorado River Valley (Colo.-Mexico) -- Discovery and exploration; Grand Canyon (Ariz.) -- Description and travel; Gran
A Pai Ute Family at Home. A Pai Ute Family at Home.
Photograph by J.K. HILLERS, U.S. Colo. Riv. Exp.
The Arapahos were said to range into Brown’s Park; the Utes were all
along the Wonsits Valley and below it on both sides of the river. Then
came the Navajos, ranging up to the San Juan and above.[10] On the
north side, below the San Juan, were the various bands of Pai Utes,
while on the south were the Puebloan tribes, with the Apaches, Suppais,
Wallapais, etc., while still below came the Mohaves, Cocopas, and
Yumas, with, on the Gila, the Pimas, Papagos, and Maricopas. The
250,000 square miles of the basin were variously apportioned amongst
these tribes, but their territorial claims were usually well defined.
[10] For notes on the distribution of tribes see the _Seventh Ann.
Rep, Bu. Ethnology; Wheeler’s Report_, vol. i.; _Report of Lieut.
Ives, Works of H. H. Bancroft_, and _Garces_, by Elliott Coues.
The Barrel Cactus. The Barrel Cactus.
Pencil sketch by F.S. DELLENBAUGH.
The vegetation of the area, especially that of the lower half,
possesses singular characteristics quite in keeping with the
extraordinary topography. Here flourishes the cactus, that rose of the
desert, its lovely blossoms red, yellow, and white, illuminating in
spring the arid wastes. The soft green of its stems and the
multiplicity of its forms and species, are a constant delight. It
writhes and struggles across the hot earth, or spreads out
silver-spined branches into a tree-like bush, or, in the great
pitahaya, rises in fierce dignity like a monitor against the deep blue
sky. And the yuccas are quite as beautiful, with their tall central
rods so richly crowned with bell-like blossoms, the fantastic
_Clistoyucca arborescens_, or Joshua tree, being more in harmony with
the archaic landscape than any other plant there. As the traveller
crosses one of the open forests of this tree, which is often
twenty-five feet high, the more distant ones appear to beckon like some
uncanny desert octopus yearning to draw him within reach of those
scrawny arms. The blossom of this monstrous growth is a revelation, so
unexpected is it. A group as large as one’s head, pure white, on the
extremity of a dagger-covered bough, it is like an angel amidst
bayonets. The pitahaya, often more than thirty feet high and twelve to
twenty-four inches diameter, is a fit companion for the Joshua, with an
equally startling blossom.
Vegetation of the Southwest. Vegetation of the Southwest.
Photograph by E.O. BEAMAN.
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