FORT YUMA TO MOJAVE CANON —SNAGS AND SUNKEN ROCKS. hl 
The snags we have seen are productive of inconvenience, but of little danger, not being 
heavy or rigid enough to penetrate the bottom of the boat. Not a great many rocks have 
been passed, though enough to make it evident that they may at any time be encountered. 
The low stage of the river permits us to fix the position of those that would be dangerous at 
SS = ——— 
Fig. 6.—Sleeper’s Bend. 
other seasons. The water is perfectly opaque, but the rapid current occasions a ripple upon 
the surface, which, when the atmosphere is still, distinctly marks the presence of either a 
sunken rock or snag, and enables it to be avoided. If the wind is blowing, and the surface is 
agitated, the ripple of course is not perceptible; and when this is the case, while passing a 
suspicious looking locality, we proceed very slowly and uncomfortably till the danger is over. 
While the boat is in motion a man is stationed at the bow with a sounding pole, and constantly 
calls out the depth of the water and the character of the bottom. This is not so much for the 
benefit of the pilot as to gratify the anxious curiosity of the passengers, and to enable Mr. 
Bielauski and Mr. Eglofistein, who sit on the wheel-house with their note-books delineating 
the river and the surrounding country, to keep an accurate record. Captain Robinson, for his 
part, is able, as a general rule, to predict exactly when the water will shoal or deepen, and to 
select, with unerring accuracy, from a labyrinth of channels, the most practicable. His 
success in avoiding difficulties is not greater than the fertility of resource he displays in extri- 
cating us from them, and if the ascent of the river is accomplished, it will be due to his skill 
and good management. The labor attending the crossing of a bar, carrying out the anchors 
and lines, heaving upon the windlass, handling the boat poles, and lightening the boat of the 
cargo by carrying it ashore in the skiffs, is by no means small; and to enable the men to undergo 
it with less fatigue, they are divided into two gangs or watches, which alternately work and 
rest for a day. The working party remains near the bow, and the others distribute themselves 
