CHAPTER XI 
An Island Park and a Split Mountain—The White River Runaways—Powell 
Goes to Salt Lake—Failure to Get Rations to the Dirty Devil—On the 
Rocks in Desolation—Natural Windows—An Ancient House—On the Back 
of the Dragon at Last—Cataracts and Cataracts in the Wonderful Cataract 
Canyon—A Lost Pack-Train—Naming the Echo Peaks. 
W ITH one of the boats from the camp in Echo Park Pow¬ 
ell went up the Yampa to see what might be there. 
Though this stream was tranquil at its mouth, it proved to be 
rough farther up, and the party, in the four days they were 
gone, were half worn out, coming back ragged, gaunt, and 
ravenous, having run short of food. The Monday following 
their return, our boats were again carefully packed, life-pre¬ 
servers were inflated, and we went forth once more to the 
combat with the rapids. A few minutes’ rowing carried us to 
the end of Echo Rock, which is a narrow tongue of sandstone, 
about half a mile long and five hundred or six hundred yards 
thick, and turning the bend we entered Whirlpool Canyon ; the 
cliffs, as soon as the other side of Echo Rock was passed, 
shooting up into the air and enfolding us again in a canyon 
embrace. The depth was quickly a couple of thousand feet 
with walls very close together till, in three or four miles, we 
came to a violent rapid. A landing was easily made and the 
boats lowered by lines. Below this the canyon was much 
wider, and the rapids were not difficult. By the time the 
259 
