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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



poured in on us from all sides. The 

 Painted Desert was directly above us, 

 and it added its quota of sand, as if we 

 did not have enough already to contend 

 with. 



A REAL SAND STORM 



We had seen sand storms before, but 

 none to equal that. It literally rained 

 sand from the desert above. Our camp 

 articles, which had been carefully placed 

 on shelving rocks, were blown helter- 

 skelter over the place ; our bed, weighted 

 down with stones, was the only refuge 

 available, so we crawled into the blan- 

 kets and covered up our heads, waiting 

 for the passing of the storm. It is 

 doubtful if the building could have been 

 any more suffocating than our bed, cov- 

 ered up as we were. We both fell 

 asleep after a while, and neither of us 

 knew just when the wind ceased. When 

 we awoke all was as quiet as before the 

 storm. 



The air, however, as is usual after 

 these storms, was a brick-red color for 

 two or three days. 



We had long anticipated the next 

 day's exploration. Prospectors had told 

 us of having seen a series of cataracts 

 about 15 miles up the river, but imag- 

 ined that it was not possible to follow up 

 the bed of the river, as they had only 

 seen them from above. We were anx- 

 ious to photograph the cataracts also, to 

 learn if it was possible to reach them by 

 the river. We had taken the season 

 when the water was low on the Little 

 Colorado for that reason. Loading our- 

 selves with the inevitable cameras and 

 plates, a lunch, and a large canteen of 

 muddy water from the Colorado, we 

 began our journey, starting at an early 

 hour, for we were sure that we had a 

 hard day's work ahead of us. The burro 

 was left to await our return. 



A DANGl^ROUS TRAIL 



The trip was somewhat easier than 

 we had expected to find it ; but it was 

 hard enough, especially in spots. We 

 took advantage of the shore wherever 

 possible, sometimes finding long stretches 

 of hard, firm sand on which we could 

 make good time. It was quite different 



when we had to climb the canyon's sides, 

 for the heat was intense when we got 

 away from the river. Some of the sand, 

 too, was very deceptive, and instead of 

 being hard and firm, was treacherous 

 quicksand. At times we spurted quickly 

 over these places, resting on islands of 

 solid rock, then would make another 

 spurt. It would have been great sport 

 but for the loads we carried. In other 

 sections we shunned the deposit entirely, 

 for it was very soft and slippery, being 

 about the consistency of slacked lime or 

 of lard. We managed to pass it all, 

 however, by crossing the stream two or 

 three times, climbing the banks where it 

 was possible, and taking advantage of 

 the fallen rocks which lined the river's 

 edge. About noon we reached the cata- 

 racts, which extended up the stream for 

 half a mile or more (see page 138). 



The canyon walls were very narrow 

 here, and about 2,500 feet high. 



We felt well repaid for our efforts. 

 We not only secured our coveted oppor- 

 tunity, but had succeeded in doing what 

 was commonly thought to be impossible. 

 We went far enough above the ledges to 

 find that it was entirely feasible to make 

 our way still farther up the canyon, but 

 time would not permit. We knew from 

 the rock formation that we were within 

 a mile of a spot we had previously vis- 

 ited on our initial trip into the canyon 

 several years before. Were it not for 

 the fact that we had a burro and our 

 camp to look after, we would have gone 

 on up the canyon and climbed out as we 

 did before. 



Ill 



SHOOTING THE RAPIDS OF THE 

 COLORADO 



OLTR photographic boating trip began 

 September 8 at Green River City, 

 Wyoming, where the U. P. R. R. crosses 

 the Green River, hundreds of miles above 

 our home in the Grand Canyon of Ari- 

 zona. 



A glance at a map of the Southwest- 

 ern States (see page 153) will show our 

 course down the Green and Colorado 

 rivers. From Green River City, Wy- 

 oming, the river flows almost directly 



