The Arizona Desert 



with bad rivers, and thought I was a judge of danger 

 ous currents. The Colorado slid with a menacing 

 roar out of a giant split in the red wall, and whirled, 

 eddied, bulged on toward its confinement in the iron- 

 ribbed canon below. 



In answer to shots fired, Emmett s man appeared 

 on the other side, and rode down to the ferry land 

 ing. Here he got into a skiff, and rowed laboriously 

 upstream for a long distance before he started across, 

 and then swung into the current. He swept down 

 rapidly, and twice the skiff whirled, and completely 

 turned round; but he reached our bank safely. Tak 

 ing two men aboard he rowed upstream again, close 

 to the shore, and returned to the opposite side in 

 much the same manner in which he had come over. 



The three men pushed out the scow, and grasping 

 the rope overhead, began to pull. The big craft ran 

 easily. When the current struck it, the wire cable 

 sagged, the water boiled and surged under it, raising 

 one end, and then the other. Nevertheless, five min 

 utes were all that were required to pull the boat over. 



It was a rude, oblong affair, made of heavy planks, 

 loosely put together, and it leaked. When Jones 

 suggested that we get the agony over as quickly as 

 possible, I was with him, and we embarked together. 

 Jones said he did not like the looks of the tackle; 

 and when I thought of his by no means small 



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