100 EXPLORATION OF THE CANONS OF THE COLORADO. 
set of these is given to Howland, and now we are ready. For the last time, 
they entreat us not to go on, and tell us that it is madness to set out in this 
place; that we can never get safely through it; and, further, that the river 
turns again to the south into the granite, and a few miles of such rapids and 
falls will exhaust our entire stock of rations, and then it will be too late 
to climb out. Some tears are shed; it is rather a solemn parting; each party 
thinks the other is taking the dangerous course. 
My old boat left, I go on board of the "Maid of the Canon." The 
three men climb a crag, that overhangs the river, to watch us off. The 
"Maid of the Canon" pushes out. We glide rapidly along the foot of the 
wall, just grazing one great rock, then pull out a little into the chute of the 
second fall, and plunge over it. The open compartment is filled when we 
strike the first wave below, but we cut through it, and then the men pull 
with all their power toward the left wall, and swing clear of the dangerous 
rock below all right. We are scarcely a minute in running it, and find that, 
although it looked bad from above, we have passed many places that were 
worse. 
The other boat follows without more difficulty. We land at the first 
practicable point below and fire our guns, as a signal to the men above that 
we have come over in safety. Here we remain a couple of hours, hoping 
that they will take the smaller boat and follow us. We are behind a curve 
in the canon, and cannot see up to where we left them, and so we wait until 
their coming seems hopeless, and push on. 
And now we have a succession of rapids and falls until noon, all of 
which we run in safety. Just after dinner we come to another bad place. 
A little stream comes in from the left, and below there is a fall, and still 
below another fall. Above, the river tumbles down, over and among the 
rocks, in whirlpools and great waves, and the waters are lashed into mad, 
white foam. We run along the left, above this, and soon see that we can 
not get down on this side, but it seems possible to let down on the other. 
We pull up stream again, for two or three hundred yards, and cross. Now 
there is a bed of basalt on this northern side of the canon, with a bold 
escarpment, that seems to be a hundred feet high. We can climb it, and 
walk along its summit to a point where we are just at the head of the fall. 
