EXPERIENCES IN THE GRAND CANYON 



107 



A DANGEROUS WATl^RFALL 



A mile down the can3'on was another 

 fall, even higher than the first, being 

 credited with a drop of over i8o feet 

 (see page loi). It was 30 feet wide, the 

 water going over in a solid wall, not 

 spreading, as did the upper fall. The 

 first party of miners met with a fatality 

 here, one of their number, Mooney by 

 name, losing his life by the breaking of 

 a rope with which he was being lowered 

 to the bottom of the falls. The mining- 

 company had provided a passage around 

 the falls in a spectacular manner. A 

 sloping cave in the travertine, or depos- 

 ited mineral, had been enlarged, and a 

 winding stairway was hewn out of its 

 sides. In two places an opening had 

 been made in the sides, allowing a view 

 of the falls. These openings were spa- 

 cious, and compared well with a box in 

 a theater. Large stalactites hung pen- 

 dant from the walls, and gave the whole 

 scene an enchanting appearance. 



A short distance below the fall an iron 

 ladder was erected 200 feet up the side 

 of the wall, leading to a cave, which had 

 been enlarged by the miners. It was 

 held by spikes inserted into holes drilled 

 into the walls, then wedged with wooden 

 pegs. We had a creepy feeling when 

 one of these allowed the ladder to swing 

 outward a few inches as we climbed it. 



the; INDIAN AT HOME 



We visited the Indians' homes where 

 ■we thought we were welcome. Their 

 houses were merely a few logs leaning 

 together, overlaid with willows, and 

 wdth a covering of red earth over all. 

 We saw a few fig trees and many apricot 

 and peach trees. Some of the latter 

 w^ere in bloom, for this was the month of 

 T^ilay. At one place we found a very old 

 blind squaw, alone except for her dogs. 

 She was busily engaged in carrying some 

 corn from one building to another, guid- 

 ing herself with a rope tied between the 

 two structures. 



Several years after this visit a cloud- 

 burst at the head of the canyon caused a 

 number of storage dams to give way, the 

 waters sweeping down through the un- 

 fortunate village. This helpless old 



woman was drowned, and nearly every 

 house in the place was washed away. 

 This fact is merely noted in passing, be- 

 cause it gives some idea of the violence 

 of the storms which sometimes occur in 

 this country. 



The following day we prepared for the 

 hard trip to the river, 6 miles below our 

 camp. First we loaded our plate-hold- 

 ers, using one of the tunnels for a dark 

 room. We have seldom had a better one. 

 Then, with our cameras, food, and equip- 

 ment packed on our backs, we set off 

 down the canyon. As we descended, the 

 walls grew higher and closer together ; 

 the stream had increased in volume until 

 it was more like a small but turbulent 

 river ; the foliage everywhere blocked 

 our path. We had to cross the stream 

 several times. At times we would at- 

 tempt to walk on the mineral deposit. 

 Often this would crumble under our feet, 

 and we would be plunged into the deeper 

 water, our cameras being saved by hold- 

 ing them above our heads. 



After about five miles of such travel- 

 ing, the lower walls, which were about 

 200 feet high at our camp, now towered 

 above us to a height of 2,000 feet ; then 

 they sloped back and up again to a total 

 height of 4,500 feet. When we finally 

 reached the river (see page 104) we 

 found that much the same condition ob- 

 tained there, the walls directly above the 

 river being almost sheer for 2,500 feet, 

 with only a ledge or two to -break their 

 sides (see pages 104 and 105). We 

 afterwards discovered the trails of moun- 

 tain sheep on these ledges. 



DETERMINING AVENUES OE ESCAPE 



In all our excursions to distant parts 

 of the Grand Canyon we always endeav- 

 ored to reach the river and locate these 

 possible avenues of escape from it, for 

 some day we intended to descend the 

 stream in boats, as Major Powell had 

 done in iSGg-'yi, and our knowledge o.t 

 these places might prove to be valuable. 



We were two weary but happy travel- 

 ers when we dragged our feet into camp 

 that night. The distance traveled was 

 scarcely more than 12 miles ; but it was 12 

 miles of tangled grape-vines, fallen boul- 

 ders, and cataracts — about as much as an 



