i83 
A Splendid Yarn 
wherein the river falls some eighteen hundred feet, White 
found a slow current and his troubles from rapids were over!' 
For 217 miles of the worst piece of river in the world, he found 
no difificulty. The gloom and lack of food alone oppressed 
him, and he thought of plunging from the raft, but lacked the 
courage. Had he really entered the Grand Canyon his raft 
would have been speedily reduced to toothpicks and he would 
not have had the choice of remaining upon it. Finally, he 
reached a bank upon which some mesquite bushes grew, and 
he devoured the green pods. Then sailing on in a sort of 
stupor he was roused by voices and saw some Yampais, who 
gave him meat and roasted mesquite beans. Proceeding, he 
heard voices again and a dash of oars. It was Hardy and at 
last White was saved! 
We have seen various actors passing before us in this 
drama, but I doubt if any of them have been more picturesque 
than this champion prevaricator. But he had related a splen¬ 
did yarn. What it was intended to obscure would probably 
be quite as interesting as what he told. Just where he entered 
upon the river is of course impossible to decide, but that he 
never came through the Grand Canyon is as certain as any¬ 
thing can be. His story reveals an absolute ignorance of the 
river and its walls throughout the whole course he pretended 
to have traversed. 
