A Boat Swamped 299 
at a later period, came down the gorge, he would hardly admit 
that Wheeler actually did reach Diamond Creek: he thought 
the ascent impossible. The second day in the canyon five 
rapids were passed within two miles, and, on the next, nine 
were overcome before noon, and before sunset, fifteen, show¬ 
ing that the party were working with all the nerve and muscle 
they possessed. On this day they passed the monument Gass 
and his companions had erected at their farthest point in 1864. 
The rapids were now “more formidable” than any yet seen, 
and Wheeler was “satisfied ” that no one had ever gone higher. 
This was true, and it is probable no one will ever try to go up 
this portion again. The way to make the passage is from 
above, the work being less and the danger no greater. Wher¬ 
ever a portage can be made going up it can also be made going 
down. The river was compressed to seventy-five feet in one 
place on this day. On the loth they made about five miles, 
and met with a serious accident: two of the boats were carried 
back over a rapid, but were luckily secured again without hav¬ 
ing suffered damage. The declivity was now very great, and 
the stream flowed along between solid granite, where footing 
was both difficult and dangerous, and pulling the boats up over 
the rocks taxed the combined strength of the crews. Every¬ 
thing had to be unloaded at one bad place and the first boat 
was nearly swamped. All could not be taken up before dark, 
so a “dreary camp is made among the debris of the slopes, 
where, cuddled up Indian-fashion, the weary hours of the 
night are passed.” The labour was tremendous, and two of 
the party became ill: one, a Mohave, who was badly bruised by 
being thrown upon the rocks. Wheeler now began to despair 
of reaching Diamond Creek, and well he might, but he con¬ 
cluded that he could get there if the men and the boats would 
but hold together. The next day, another series of rapids 
was surmounted, and then came a particularly bad-looking one. 
The first boat was filled instantly with water, swamped, and 
thrown back against the rocks “almost a perfect wreck, and 
its contents were washed down below the overhanging rocks.” 
A package of Wheeler’s valuable papers was lost, also a lot of 
expensive instruments, the astronomical and meteorological 
