A6 FORT YUMA TO MOJAVE CANON——EXPLORER’S PASS. 
along, and entering the boat, seated themselves on the rail with an air of indifference that did 
not altogether conceal that they thought they were embarked in a rather doubtful enterprise. 
Their friends on the shore, being out of the scrape themselves, were naturally delighted at 
seeing others in it. The men grinned, and the women and children shouted with laughter, 
which was responded to by a scream from the Explorer’s whistle; and in the midst of the 
uproar the line was cast off, the engine put in motion, and, gliding away from the wharf, we 
soon passed through the gorge abreast of the fort and emerged into the open valley above. 
wd 
Fig 1.—Yuma Shoals. 
The river here spread out over a wide surface, and was, of course, shallow and full of bars and 
snags. The channel became at each moment more difficult to find, and when we had made but 
two miles we were brought to a dead stop by a bar. An anchor was put out ahead; but the 
bed being quicksand, it would not hold. It was necessary to lighten the boat, and final most 
of the men got overboard, and having thus further diminished the draught gidoseded ses four 
hours and a half of hard labor, in forcing the steamer into the deeper water even’ die shee The 
delay would have been less annoying if it had occurred a little higher up. We were - lain 
sight of the fort, and knew that this sudden check to our progress was affording an jt of 
great entertainment to those in and out of the garrison. As it was nearly dark when the oe 
was passed, after proceeding a mile we stopped at a point where there was wood, and ‘Went 
into camp. | 
Camp 13, Explorer’s Pass, January 12.—A mile and a half of difficult navigation brought us 
to the end of the Yuma shoals. For ten miles the valley was then traversed without sileien - 
tion, and at the head of a southeast bend, where the river again turned to the north, we -ceahied 
the first of several ranges of low purple hills that cross the Colorado with a opt eee aoe 
southeast trend. The pass through this range was not visible till we were almost at its mouth. 
