1890.] Geography and Travel. 463 
eneral Notes. 
GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVELS. 
Col, Stanton’s Recent Descent of the Colorado River.— 
Col. Robert Stanton, commander of the Denver expedition now ex- 
ploring the comparatively unknown regions traversed by the Colorado 
river, has written to the Denver Republican a graphic account of the 
perilous journey down the wild stream from the head of the Granite 
gorge of the Grand canyon to the mouth of Diamond creek, to accomp- 
lish which required the time from January 24 to March r. The expe- 
dition had to battle upon entering the Granite gorge with mighty 
cataracts and foaming torrents, sometimes letting their boats down 
with ropes, and at times portaging all the contents of the boats around 
rapids. Two of the boats were dashed against rocks and wrecked. 
Progress was extremely slow. At one point they were delayed five 
days while one of the wrecked boats was being reconstructed. Of 
that portion of the Granite gorge from its head to Bright Angel creek, 
Col. Stanton quotes from his note book, under date of February 7: 
‘ The canyon is growing more and more picturesque and beautiful 
the further we proceed. The Granite has lost its awful and threaten- 
ing look, and slopes back in beautiful hillsides of variegated black, 
gray, and green. Above this, next to the river, is a stratum of dark 
sandstone cut into sharp horizontal layers, standing in an almost per- 
pendicular wall, jutting out in places to the edge of the granite, and 
studded all over with points standing out in the air, darker in color 
than those behind them, and the top edge cut into smaller points and 
crevices through which the light shines, giving a rough, beaded 
appearance, 
VIEWS IN THE GORGE. 
‘* At the side of the canyons, and from the: bends of the river, the 
upper portions of the whole gorge are brought into view, showing the 
great marble and sandstone cliffs benched back far away from the river, 
while small mountains jut in close between the side canyons and wash 
nearly a mile and a quarter in height. As we sail along the smooth 
stretches between the rapids each turn brings some wonderful picture 
more beautiful than the last. As we look down the river or up a low 
side canyon, with the placid water between its polished walls of black 
