The Colorado River 
176 
the main gorge, where they discovered an abundance of drift¬ 
wood, and decided to make a raft with which to escape. This 
raft consisted of three sticks of cottonwood about ten feet long 
and eight inches diameter, tied together with lariats. They 
had abandoned their horses above, bringing only their arms, 
ammunition, and some food. Waiting for midnight to come 
so that their pursuers might not discover their intention, they 
seized their poles and, under the waning moon, cast off and 
were soon on the tempestuous tide, rushing through the yawn¬ 
ing chasm. “Through the long night they clung to the raft 
as it dashed against half-concealed rocks, or whirled about like 
a plaything in some eddy.” When daylight came they landed, 
as they had a smoother current and less rugged banks, though 
the canyon walls appeared to have increased in height. They 
strengthened their raft and went on. In the afternoon, after 
having floated about thirty miles from the starting point they 
reached the junction of the Grand and Green. So far all is 
well, but here he makes his first break, as he had no conception 
of the actual character of the rivers at the junction. He says 
the canyon now far surpassed that of either of the forming 
streams, which is not so. For five or six miles below the 
junction there is little change, yet he describes the walls as 
being four thousand feet high, an altitude never attained in 
Cataract Canyon at all, the highest being somewhat under 
three thousand, while at the junction they are only thirteen 
hundred. Then he goes on to say that detached pinnacles 
appeared to rise “one above the other,” for one thousand feet 
more, giving an altitude here of five thousand feet, clearly an 
impression in his mind of the lower end of the Grand Canyon, 
which he had doubtless become somewhat familiar with in 
some prospecting trip. He fancied the “Great Canyon” be¬ 
gan at the junction of the Grand and Green, and he did not ap¬ 
preciate the distance that intervened between Callville and that 
point. They tied up at night and travelled in the day. No 
mention is made of the terrific rapids which roar in Cataract 
Canyon, but he speaks of the “grey sandstone walls” the 
lower portion smooth from the action of floods. There exist 
some greyish walls; but most are red except in the granite 
