354 
The Colorado River 
through Cataract Canyon. Brown and Stanton went ahead 
with six men, the others coming along later with the survey. 
At Dandy Crossing three of the party left the river—J. N. 
Hughes, E. A. Reynolds, and T. P. Rigney. One man joined 
the party, Harry McDonald, a frontiersman and an experi¬ 
enced boatman. From Lee’s Ferry, Brown went on horseback 
to Kanab for supplies, for Dandy Crossing was not a metropo¬ 
lis, and more rations were needed before venturing to enter 
the Grand Canyon. Only one transit instrument was left, 
and it was decided that Brown, Stanton, Hislop, McDonald, 
Hansborough, Richards, Gibson, and Nims, the photographer, 
should form the party to proceed, making an examination, 
taking notes and photographs, but not attempting an instru¬ 
mental survey. Brown returned from Kanab by July 9th, and 
an immediate start was made with the three boats,—boats en¬ 
tirely unfitted for the work in Cataract Canyon, and tenfold 
more inadequate for the giant gorge, with its terrible descents, 
now before them. It seems a pity they did not realise this and 
leave the continuation of the work till proper boats could be 
had, but it appears as if they again underestimated the dangers 
of the river. At any rate they went bravely forward with a 
courage that deserved a better reward. The first ugly rapids 
in Marble Canyon are the two near together about ten miles 
below Lee’s Ferry, where the prospectors met their punish¬ 
ment early in July, 1872. These the Brown party reached 
safely, and made the necessary portages, camping at the foot 
of the Soap Creek or lower fall. Brown appeared to feel 
lonely and troubled, and asked Stanton to come and sit by his 
bed and talk. They smoked and talked till a late hour about 
home and the prospect for the next day. Brown’s wife and 
two children were at this time travelling in Europe and prob¬ 
ably the thought of them so far away made him somewhat 
blue. Then, if he had before thought that this canyon would 
be easy, the nature of the rapids around him served to unde¬ 
ceive his mind. The deepening gorge, inadequate boats, and 
increasingly bad rapids probably affected his nerves, for that 
night he dreamed of the rapids, and this troubled him so much 
that he mentioned it to Stanton in the morning. Breakfast 
