The Real Pioneers 
viii 
immediate environment, so far as I have been able to learn it, 
but within the limits of a single volume of this size much must 
necessarily be omitted. Reference to the admirable works of 
Powell, Gilbert, and Dutton will give the reader full infor¬ 
mation concerning the geology and topography; Garces, by 
Elliott Coues, gives the story of the friars; and the excellent 
memoir of Chittenden, The American Fur Trade of the Far 
West, will give a complete understanding of the travels and 
exploits of the real pioneers of the Rocky Mountain country. 
I differ with this author, however, as to the wise and com¬ 
mendable nature of the early trappers’ dealings with the na¬ 
tives, and this will be explained in the pages on that subject. 
He also says in his preface that “no feature of western 
geography was ever discovered by government explorers after 
1840.’’ While this is correct in the main, it gives an erro¬ 
neous impression so far as the canyons of the Colorado are 
concerned. These canyons were “discovered,” as mentioned 
above, by some of the trappers, but their interior character was 
not known, except in the vaguest way, so that the discovery 
was much like discovering a range of mountains on the horizon 
and not entering beyond the foothills. 
For the titles of works of reference, of the narratives of 
trappers, etc., I refer to the works of H. H. Bancroft; to War¬ 
ren’s Memoirs, vol. i. Pacific Railroad reports; and to the first 
volume of Lieut. Geo. M. Wheeler’s report on Explorations 
West of the looth Meridian. The trappers and prospectors 
who had some experience on the Green and the Colorado 
have left either no records or very incomplete ones. It seems 
tolerably certain, however, that no experience of importance 
has escaped notice. So far as attempts at descent are con¬ 
cerned, they invariably met with speedy disaster and were 
given up. 
In writing the Spanish and other foreign proper names I 
have in no case translated, because such translations result in 
needless confusion. To translate “Rio del Tizon ” as Fire¬ 
brand River is making another name of it. Few would recog¬ 
nise the Colorado River under the title of Red River, as used, 
for example, in Pattie’s narrative. While Colorado means red. 
