140 EXPLORATION OF THE CANONS OF THE COLORADO. 
till we reached the salient spoken of. Here we found that the eastern line 
of the plateau swung in another great curve to the north, and thus again 
projected in a salient, like the one we had reached. 
In the angle between these salients lies a beautiful valley, drained by 
a stream flowing northward, being, in fact, as we after ward ascertained, one 
of the southern branches of the Dirty Devil River. We went into camp at 
this point, and spent a day in exploration. 
The stream draining the valley between the salients soon enters a nar 
row canon, and the whole country becomes so cut by transverse gorges that 
travel in that direction was manifestly impracticable. " During the day an 
old Indian trail was discovered, leading along the low, broken ridge noticed 
from the foot of Potato Valley. This we followed the next morning, and 
after many wanderings around the heads of canons, running both northward 
and southward, came to the edge of the cliff forming the eastern rim of the 
Escalante Basin, and overlooking a valley 2,000 feet below. After some 
trouble we found a practicable way to descend, though most of the time 
we were on bare rock, often sloping at an angle of twenty five degrees. 
Reaching the foot, we found ourselves on the bank of a clear stream, flow 
ing through groves of cottonwood, and well entitled to the name which we 
gave it Pleasant Creek. During the day we had observed many fresh 
signs of Indians, and early the next morning we found a small party gather 
ing seeds. From their questions, and the surprise they evinced at our 
appearance, it was evident that we were the first white men who had been 
known to visit this portion of their country. We traveled but three miles 
this day, spending the most of the time in endeavoring to induce the Indians 
to accompany us, but with no success. 
On leaving this camp our course was south fifteen degrees east, for eight 
miles, when we turned to the left, and entered a narrow cailon, with vertical 
walls 800 feet high. We followed this for ten miles, and to its head, find 
ing no place where its walls could be scaled, and reluctantly returned, and 
camped for the night near its mouth. The next day, after much searching 
and considerable labor, we made a trail up a rocky point, and camped that 
night at a water pocket, in the head of a canon, on the mesa above. The 
next day we crossed the mesa, to the flank of the Henry Mountains, and 
