480 



THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 



rock leaving long streaks of silver-gray 

 deepening to black. 



We had planned to make our camp in 

 front of the White House and had pro- 

 gressed a considerable distance up the 

 canon, when a threatened storm ar- 

 rived. Suddenly, in turning an angle, 

 the rain was upon us. We had just 

 time to pull the wagon sheets around us 

 and cover our camping outfit when the 

 torrential downpour struck, driving al- 

 most horizontally and with great force. 

 In ten minutes, however, the sky was 

 clear, and we were on our way again. 



We finally reached our camping 

 ground, and pitched our tent under a 

 six hundred foot cliff with a great over- 

 hang, where, should it rain, the water 

 would drip fifty feet in front of us. 

 Our camp was placed, as we had 

 planned, almost opposite the White 

 House ruins. At the ne.xt bend of the 

 river the canon narrowed to a couple of 

 hundred yards, but at this point it was 

 very wide, and although the opposite 

 wall seemed only a few yards away, it 

 was actually a quarter of a mile distant. 



The first afternoon was taken up in 

 studying the character of the caiion and 

 in looking for locations from which to 

 sketch. The next day I rigged my can- 

 vas and started my work under favor- 

 able light conditions, but before two 

 hours had elapsed the sun was obscured 

 and rain began to fall. All during the 

 morning, even with my canvas an- 

 chored to the ground, it was necessary 

 to hold the stretcher with my left hand 

 while painting with the right. There 

 were several heavy showers during the 

 afternoon so that I had to keep my paint 

 box covered. Trying to use oil paint 

 mixed with rain was very much like 

 pushing water around on a dusty floor. 

 The next morning brought the same 

 conditions, with occasional bursts of 

 sunlight through the clouds, and with 

 stronger winds than the day before. 

 The finished sketch was so large that it 

 would not go into the tent at night, so I 

 had to lay it outside on the guy ropes. 



This proved its ruin. We had pitched 

 the tent at the end of a long sand bar 

 with the opening away from the pre- 

 vailing winds, and during the evening 

 a heavy storm came up from the oppo- 

 site and unexpected direction and de- 

 posited a coat of sand over the wet 

 paint. Fortunately, however, the know- 

 ledge gained in transferring the image 

 and coloring of the caiion to the ill- 

 fated canvas survived, and the last day 

 was spent in making pencil sketches 

 and notes on color. 



That evening at dusk two Xavaho boys 

 appeared at the rim of the caiion and 

 started down, resting on a ledge near 

 the top. We could see that they were 

 carrying heavy sacks, so we watched 

 their progress downward. At one place 

 the wall is so steep that shallow steps 

 liave been cut in the rock for a distance 

 of at least sixty feet. Down these steps, 

 witli their faces toward the wall and 

 each carrying a two-bushel sack of 

 piiion nuts, they descended with ease 

 and agility. It was a remarkable feat 

 of mountain climbing and when they 

 came into camp we gave them coffee 

 and tobacco and complimented them on 

 their skill. With as much sign lan- 

 guage as we could muster we engaged 

 them to carry a note to the trader at 

 Chin Lee asking for a team to take us 

 out. So well did they fulfill their mis- 

 sion that in the afternoon of the next 

 day we broke camp, and arrived at the 

 trading post in time for supper. 



Perso2is who have not been in this 

 wild and little known ISTavaho country 

 are afraid that there is danger from the 

 Indians, or that the water is bad, or 

 that they will encounter numberless 

 difficulties and dangers. As a matter 

 of fact, the Indians are as friendly as 

 one will let them be, and the dangers 

 and difficulties are not as great as those 

 encountered in the streets of a large 

 city. Indeed, our most thrilling adven- 

 ture was risking our health by partak- 

 ing of the products of our own inexpe- 

 rienced camp cooking. 



