i 6 o 
The Colorado River 
thirty feet in a few hours after the ebb begins. The shallower 
the water as the tide rushes in against the ebb, the angrier the 
wave becomes, sometimes reaching a height of ten or twelve 
feet. 
At Robinson’s Landing, a mere mud flat, a camp was 
established and preparations made for the voyage to the ex¬ 
treme limit of navigation. The parts of the steamer were put 
ashore and a suitable spot selected whereon to set her up. 
The high tides were over for a month, and the mud began to 
dry, enabling the party to pitch their tents. It was an un¬ 
comfortable spot for expedition headquarters, but the best 
that could be had, as the Monterey was not permitted by her 
owners to venture farther up the river. But this delay, dis¬ 
comfort, and difficulty, to say nothing of expense, might have 
been avoided could a contract have been made with the exist¬ 
ing steamboat company. As the bank on which the boat was 
to be reconstructed was not likely to be overflowed more than 
a foot by the next high tide, a month later, an excavation was 
made wherein to build the steamer that she might certainly 
come afloat at the desired time. Sixty holes had to be made 
in the iron plates so that the four stiffening timbers could be 
attached to the bottom to prevent the craft from breaking in 
two under the extra-heavy boiler. Inside, cross timbers were 
also added to resist the strain. On December 17th, two 
steamers appeared from the fort, in command, respectively, of 
Johnson and Wilcox, to transport the army supplies to their 
destination, Robinson, after whom the landing was called 
because he had a cabin there, was with the steamboats, and, as 
he knew the river, especially as far as Yuma, Ives engaged him 
for pilot. 
By the end of the month, the Explorer, as the Ives boat was 
named, was ready for the expected high tide. She was fifty- 
four feet long over all, not quite half the length of Johnson’s 
Colorado. Amidships she was open, but the bow was decked, 
and at the stern was a cabin, seven by eight feet, the top of 
which formed an outlook. For armament, she was supplied 
on the bow with a four-pound howitzer, though this weapon 
was not likely to be of much service. When the anticipated 
