THE PRIESTS' FORD. 63 



Indians from times immemorial; and the writings of 

 one of the early Jesuit missionaries show that it was 

 there that he had crossed when travelling through this 

 country under the guidance of the savages, a century 

 before, and the place is still called " El Vado de los 

 Padres," i.e., "the Priests' Ford," to this day. 



Paths, until quite recently known only to the Indians, 

 have long existed, where at certain points a narrow 

 track descends the cliffs, and a similar one ascends at 

 the opposite side, by which these crafty and adventurous 

 savages used to effect a crossing, and so baffle pursuit, 

 when followed by troops, etc. 



Advantage was no doubt taken of places where falls 

 have occurred in the cliffs, forming banks of debris, 

 sloping down at a steep angle to the water's edge; 

 and here sufficient beach occasionally exists at the 

 bottom by which people can make their way along 

 the bed of the canon, until a similar point of vantage 

 can be reached by which to ascend on the opposite 

 side. There are also many dry canons, without any 

 water at the bottom, which in the dry season, can be 

 used as passages by the Indians, and are practicable 

 as such, throughout their entire length. The U.S. Go- 

 vernment explorations and surveys, according to Pro- 

 fessor Powell, show that such places are sufficiently 

 numerous, and many of them consisted of " profound 

 chasms, that are hundreds of feet deep, and that never 

 have a continuous stream for their entire length." * 

 The reports of the few travellers who have published 

 an account of their adventures in the canon country 



* Report to the United States House of Representatives on the 

 Survey of the Colorado River of the West, of May 1874, by 

 Professor J. W. Powell, p. 7. 



