THE FOURTH DAY, 207 
hat hemmed them in, and mocked at their escape. Here 
and there the raft shot past side cafions, black and forbidding, 
ike cells set in the walls of a mighty prison. 
Baker had informed his comrades as to the geography of 
he country, and while floating down they remembered that 
Valville was at the mouth of the cafion, which could not be 
ar off ; “such wonderful walls could not last.” Then hope 
same with the promise of escape. A few days would take 
them to Calville; their provisions could be made to last for 
ve. So these two men, thus shut zz from the world, buried, 
is it were, in the very bowels of the earth, in the midst of a 
reat unknown desert, began to console themselves, and even 
o jest at their situation. 
‘ Forty miles below their entrance into the cafion of the 
Jolorado, they reached the mouth of the San Juan River. 
t ey attempted to enter it, but its swift current cast them 
ack. The perpendicular walls, high as those of the Colorado, 
vith the water flowing from bank to bank, forbade their 
ba ndoning their raft to attempt escape in that direction. So 
hey floated away. At every bend of the river it seemed as 
f they were descending deeper into the earth, and that the 
valls were coming closer together above them, shutting out 
he narrow belt of sky, thickening the black shadows, and 
edoubling the echoes that went up from the foaming waters. 
d = days had elapsed since they embarked on the 
raft ; it was now August 28th. So far they had been 
Bstontly wet, but the water was comparatively warm, and 
he current more regular than they could have expected. 
trole had taken upon himself to steer the raft, and, against 
advice of White, he often set one end of the pole against 
bank or some opposing rock, and then leaned with the 
er end against his shoulder, to push the raft away. As 
