212 NEW TRACKS IN NORTH AMERICA. 
high water-level, which had a distinct mark of about forty, 
feet above the August stage. The highest part of the cafion, 
White thinks, is between the San Juan and the Colorado 
Chiquito, where the wall appeared to him more than one mile 
(5,280 feet) in perpendicular height, and at a few points even 
higher. Dr. Newberry states, from barometrical observations, 
that for a long distance the altitude is nearly 7,000 feet. 
But we must not begin to draw conclusions too soon, much of 
interest remains to be told of this unparalleled adventure. 
The current bore White from the Colorado Chiquito slowly 
down ‘the main river. His clothing was torn to shreds, and 
the few rags which clung to his frame were constantly 
saturated with water. Each noon the sun looked into the 
cafion only to pour his almost vertical rays on the famishing 
man, and to burn and blister those parts of his body that the 
scanty rags did not cover. One, two, three, four days 
dragged slowly past since he tasted food, and still the current 
bore him through the towering walls of the cafion. The 
hunger maddened him. He felt it burning into his vitals. 
His thoughts were of food! food! food! and his sleeping | 
moments were filled with Tantalus-like dreams. Once he 4 
raised his arm to open some vein and draw nutriment from | f 
his own blood, but its shriyelled, blistered length frightened 
him. For hours as he floated down he would sit looking into 
the water, yet lacking courage to make the plunge that would 
rid him of all earthly pain. On the morning of the fifth day | 
since he had tasted food, he saw a flat bank with some 
mezquit bushes upon it, and by using all his strength he 
succeeded in reaching it with his raft. He devoured the few 
green pods and the leaves of the bushes, but they only | 
increased his desire for more. The journey was resumed, 
= he remembers that anes the last two days of unbroken 
