CHAPTER II. 
MOUTH OF THE COLORADO TO FORT YUMA. 
DEPARTURE FROM ROBINSON’S LANDING.—PERILOUS POSITION —MEETING WITH STEAMER FROM FORT YUMA.—KINDNESS OF CAPTAIN WIL- 
cox.—DESCRIPTION OF RIVER.—CAMP AT COCOPA VILLAGE.—APPEARANCE OF INDIANS.—NORTHWESTER.—CHARACTER OF NAVIGA- 
TION.—OBSTACLES AND DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED.—ACCIDENTS AND DETENTION.—NIGHT EXPEDITION IN SKIFF.—A FRONTIER 
SETTLEMENT —HosPITABLE RECEPTION.—A NIGHT'S LODGING.—RIDE TO FORT YUMA.—RIVER AND MOUNTAIN SCENERY.—ARRIVAL 
AT FORT YUMA —DESCRIPTION OF POST.—APPROACH OF EXPLORER.—OPERATIONS OF MEMBERS OF EXPEDITION.—TRIP OF MR. PEA- 
COCK TO SAN FRANCISCO —RECOVERY OF DR. NEWBERRY.—YUMA INDIANS.— RUMORS OF MORMON MOVEMENTS.—SUSPICIONS AND DIS- 
TRUST AMONG COLORADO TRIBES CONCERNING EXPEDITION.— DIFFICULTY IN OBTAINING dUIDES.—LOW STAGE OF RIVER.—PREPARA- 
TIONS TO START FROM FORT YUMA. 
Camp 2, Cocopa Village, December 21.—At midnight steam was gotten up and all hands 
roused for immediate departure. The two skiffs, with their heavy loads, were fastened along- 
side, and Mr. Whiting’s sloop attached by a towline astern. The atmosphere was clear and 
profoundly quiet, and the moon’s rays, flashed back from the mirror-like sheet of water, made 
it almost as light asday. But for the roar of the rushing tide, and the occasional swift passage 
of some floating substance, the expanse of water would have seemed as still and motionless as 
alake. The party was disposed so that the boat would be in perfect trim—a necessary precau- 
tion, for the gunwale was scarcely six inches above the surface of the water. The lines were 
then cast loose, and with a shrill scream from the whistle the Explorer started out into the 
river, and in a moment was shooting along upon the tide with a velocity that made the high 
bank seem to spin as we glided by. 
For some time all went well. Not a ripple broke upon the surface. We kept at no great 
distance from the bank, long stretches of which were rapidly passed, till, at last, as we were 
entering a bend to the west, a little breeze from the north sprang up, and the tide making 
against it at once occasioned a disturbance. As the wind freshened, waves began to rise, and 
the water to dash into the boat. The prospect was somewhat alarming, for even throwing 
overboard the cargo would not have saved the open boat from swamping had the breeze con- 
tinued long enough to have raised a sea, and though near the land, the strongest swimmer 
would have stood little chance in such a current, with nothing to cling to but a steep bank of 
slippery clay. We shipped so much water that we were on the point of commencing to lighten 
the boat, and I think if the wind had held fifteen minutes longer the Colorado expedition 
would have come to a disastrous issue; but the breeze died away as suddenly as it had sprung 
up; the water again became smooth, and in a couple of hours all danger from winds and waves 
was over; the low banks on the opposite side came in sight, and the broad and hazardous sheet. 
of water narrowed into a moderately sized and shallow stream. 
- Twenty miles above Robinson’s Landing Mr. Whiting perceived near the shore the camp fire 
of his men, and left with his sloop to join them. A few miles higher up the firewood gave 
out, and the whole party being exhausted from want of rest and hard labor during two suc- 
cessive days and nights, we stopped for a few hours for sleep and breakfast. Our steamboat 
does not furnish accommodations for either sleeping or cooking, and every night the men will 
have to camp on shore, a matter of little importance, as it is quite impracticable at night to 
navigate the lower portion of the Colorado, and the river will not be likely to improve as it is 
oe 
We breakfasted at rather a late hour, and afterwards the men took their axes and Jaid in a 
