JOHN WESLEY POWELL. 33 



the walls rapidly increase in altitude. On the left are overhanging 

 ledges and cliffs five hundred a thousand fifteen hundred feet 

 high. 



"On the right, the rocks are broken and ragged, and the water 

 fills the channel from cliff to cliff. Now the river turns abruptly 

 around a point to the right, and the waters plunge swiftly down 

 among great rocks; and here we have our first experience with 

 canyon rapids. I stand up on the deck of my boat to seek a way 

 among the wave-beaten rocks. All untried as we are with such 

 waters, the moments are filled with intense anxiety. Soon our 

 boats reach the swift current; a stroke or two, now on this side, 

 now on that, and we thread the narrow passage with exhilarating 

 velocity, mounting the high waves, whose foaming crests dash over 

 us, and plunging into the troughs, until we reach the quiet water 

 below; and then comes a feeling of great relief. Our first rapid is 

 run. Another mile, and we come into the valley again. 



"Let me explain this canyon. Where the river turns to the 

 left above, it takes a course directly into the mountain, penetrating 

 to its very heart, then wheels back upon itself, and runs out into 

 the valley from which it started only half a.mile below the point at 

 which it entered ; so the canyon is in the form of an elongated let- 

 ter U, with the apex in the center of the mountain. We name it 

 Horseshoe Canyon." 



For a week their course winds among foothills, with minor 

 gorges and minor rapids, which prepare and train them for the 

 grandeur and the danger that await them. At last they enter the 

 heart of the mountain through the "Gate of Lodore." 



"June 8. We enter the canyon, and, until noon, find a suc- 

 cession of rapids, over which our boats have to be taken. 



"Here I must explain our method of proceeding at such places. 

 The 'Emma Dean' goes in advance; the other boats follow, in 

 obedience to signals. When we approach a rapid, or what on 

 other rivers would often be called a fall, I stand on deck to ex- 

 amine it, while the oarsmen back water, and we drift on as slowly 

 as possible. If I can see a clear chute between the rocks, away we 

 go; but if the channel is beset entirely across, we signal the other 

 boats, pull to land, and I walk along the shore for closer examina- 

 tion. If this reveals no clear channel, hard work begins. We drop 

 the boats to the very head of the dangerous place, and let them 

 over by lines, or make a portage, frequently carrying both boats 

 and cargoes over the rocks, or, perhaps, only the cargoes, if it is 

 safe to let the boats down. 



