2 The Delta of the Rio Colorado. 
present to the near-by Indian, and in accordance with immemorial 
custom he sows his crops in the mud of the receding waters in August 
and September. Once or twice in the lifetime of a man, or at inter- 
vals of fifteen to twenty years, a similar rise is caused by rains on the 
lower slopes in February and March resulting in serious disturbances 
to all life in the delta. The expedition of which the author was a 
member made its way through the delta on the crest of such a flood 
during the present year (1905). Previous visits to various portions 
of this interesting region had been made in company with Mr. God- 
frey Sykes, who has also made several independent voyages through 
FIG, MUD FLATS SHOWING CONCHOIDAL 
PL pesos IN LARGE BOWL-SHAPED 
FRACTURE WHEN DR MELONS AND CORN ARE 
DEPRESSIONS DUG DOWN BEL OW THE FRACTU 
the estuary to the gulf. For two centuries occasional parties, at- 
tracted by the call of the “red gods” or by the lure of profit, have 
gone down the river to the sea, and perhaps not more than one in 
three of such adventurers have escaped hardship or disaster in some 
torm. 
One of the most notable experiences of this character was that of 
Messrs. Sk kyes and MacLean in 1890, who, having started around the 
world in a small sloop from the head of the delta, had their boat and 
supplies burned on the eastern shore of Baja California, three hun- 
dred miles from civilization and a hundred miles from the nearest 
