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
This is also found in the Colorado proper, where another
fish, with a humpback, is to be caught. I do not know the name of this,
but imagine it the same as has in latter days been called “squaw-fish.”
Side Canyon of Glen Canyon. Side Canyon of Glen Canyon.
Homogeneous Sandstone.
Photograph by J. FENNEMORE, U.S. Colo. Riv. Exp.
All over the region the rocks are seamed by mineral veins. Some of
these have already poured forth millions of dollars, while others await
a discoverer. On the river itself gold is found in the sands; and the
small alluvial bottoms that occur in Glen Canyon, and a few gravel bars
in the Grand, have been somewhat profitably worked, though necessarily
on a small scale. The granite walls of the Grand Canyon bear
innumerable veins, but as prospecting is there so difficult it will be
many a long year before the best are found. The search for mineral
veins has done much to make the farther parts known, just as the
earlier search for beaver took white men for the first time into the
fastnesses of the great mountains, and earlier the effort to save the
souls of the natives marked their main trails into the wilderness.
This sketch of the Basin of the Colorado is most inadequate, but the
scope of this volume prevents amplification in this direction. These
few pages, however, will better enable the reader to comprehend the
labours of the padres, the trappers, and the explorers, some account of
whose doings is presented in the following chapters.[12]
[12] In connection with the subject of erosion and corrasion the
reader is advised to study the following works, which are the
standards: _The Exploration of the Colorado of the West_, and the
_Geology of the Uinta Mountains_, by J. W. Powell; _The Henry
Mountains_, by G. K. Gilbert; _The Geology of the High Plateaus of
Utah_, and _The Tertiary History of the Grand Canyon District_, by C.
E. Dutton.
CHAPTER IV.
Oñate, 1604, Crosses Arizona to the Colorado—A Remarkable Ancient Ruin
Discovered by Padre Kino, 1694—Padre Garces Sees the Grand Canyon and
Visits Oraibi, 1776—The Great Entrada of Padre Escalante across Green
River to Utah Lake, 1776—Death of Garces Ends the Entrada Period, 1781.
In the historical development of the Basin of the Colorado four, chief
epochs are apparent. The discovery of the river, as already outlined in
previous chapters, is the first; second, the entradas of the padres;
third, the wanderings of the trappers; and fourth, the expeditions of
the explorers. These epochs are replete with interesting and romantic
incidents, new discoveries; starvations; battles; massacres; lonely,
dangerous journeys, etc., which can only be touched upon in a volume of
the present size. Dr. Coues placed the diary of Garces, one of the
chief actors of this great four-act life-drama, in accessible shape,
and had not his lamented death interfered he would have put students
under further obligation to him.
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.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account