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Show Record As to the width of the water, I saw it once when there wasn't any. That was the dry year. Aside from that year I don't think I have ever seen it at any point narrower than 130 or 200 feet, and that would be where it was confined between canyon walls. 4544 I have crossed the Colorado River many times in boats. I have crossed it at Hite, Hole- In- The- Rock and Moab. There were regular ferries at Glens Ferry and at Hite. On the portions of the San Juan River that I have observed, and know, the characteristics of the river with respect to depth, 4545 flow and gradient, it is my opinion that the river is adapted to the use of boats both up and down. 4547 In that placer mining on the San Juan I have worked dirt there from which we saved $ 22.00 a cubic yard, and there was some in pockets richer than that. The values I have given are excep-tional, but we never worked any dirt that went less than $ 10.00 a cubic yard. I know that the operations carried on by my party were financially successful. There were four in our party including my- 4548 self. I was one of the partners. The main practical difficulty in extracting the gold was the lack of hydraulic or heavy machinery to handle the dirt. There weren't any power lines in there. The 4549 gold was all flour gold. We retorted our gold, that is, we used copper plates with quick silver on them. When the gold adhered to the quick silver it was called amalgam. We would scrap the amalgum off the copper plate and put it into a retort and then on a fire. The quick silver would 4550 evaporate and leave the gold in a nice little nugget. Most of our gold was sold to the First National Bank of Durango, Colorado. During my trips to the Colorado River I have observed boats on the river from Hite to Lees Ferry. I have never seen any come up. I did not do any boating except crossing. I am familiar with the scenic portions of southern Utah, Northern Arizona and Western Colorado and New Mexico. I am familiar with Mesa Verdi National Park in Colorado, and with the Navajo Re- |
