34 JOHN WESLEY POWELL. 



"The waves caused by such falls in a river differ much from 

 the waves of the sea. The water of an ocean wave merely rises 

 and falls; the form only passes on, and form chases form unceas- 

 ingly. A body floating on such waves merely rises and sinks does 

 not progress unless impelled by wind or some other power. But 

 here, the water of the wave passes on, while the form remains. 

 The waters plunge down ten or twenty feet, to the foot of a fall ; 

 spring up again in a great wave ; then down and up, in a series of 

 billows, that gradually disappear in the more quiet waters below; 

 but these waves are always there, and you can stand above and 

 count them. 



"A boat riding such, leaps and plunges along with great velo- 

 city. Now, the difficulty in riding over these falls, when the rocks 

 are out of the way, is in the first wave at the foot. This will some- 

 times gather for a moment, heaping up higher and higher, until it 

 breaks back. If the boat strikes it the instant after it breaks, she 

 cuts through, and the mad breaker dashes its spray over the boat, 

 and would wash us overboard did we not cling tight. If the boat, 

 in going over the falls, chances to get caught in some side current, 

 and is turned from its c % ourse, so as to strike the wave 'broadside 

 on,' and the wave breaks at the same instant, the boat is capsised. 

 Still, we must cling to her, for, the water tight compartments act- 

 ing as buoys, she cannot sink ; and so we go, dragged through the 

 waves, until still waters are reached. We then right the boat, and 

 climb aboard. We have several such experiences to-day. 



"At night, we camp on the right bank, on a little shelving 

 rock, between the river and the foot of the cliff; and with night 

 comes gloom into these great depths. 



"After supper, we sit by our camp fire, made of driftwood 

 caught by the rocks, and tell stories of wild life; for the men have 

 seen such in the mountains, or on the plains, and on the battle- 

 fields of the South. It is late before we spread our blankets on the 

 beach." 



In another rapid the 'No Name' is wrecked, much of her cargo 

 is lost, and her crew for a time are in great peril. 



"During the afternoon [June 15] we run down, three-quarters 

 of a mile, on quiet water, and land at the head of another fall. On 

 examination, we find that there is an abrupt plunge of a few feet, 

 and then the river tumbles, for half a mile, with a descent of a 

 hundred feet, in a channel beset with great numbers of huge 

 boulders. This stretch of the river is named Hell's Half-Mile. 



