OCR Text |
Show Record the Moab Garage Company delivered to me and I went out with that boat, trailing our little boat, about December 1. On the trip out I broke off a support for the propeller of the black boat and endeavored to use the small boat to pull it over to the bank. I sheared off propeller pins twice; that was the major trouble we had and was brought about by our getting on sand bars; we frequently hit sand bars, but the occasion I mention was the only 2841 one on which there was any real damage done. I operated the boats daily myself and " was quite familiar with the channel, because of that daily operation". In 1928 I went down to what is known as the loop located about six miles above the junction of the rivers on or about October 20, taking two small sixteen- foot boats with outboard motors. One other man, a cook, went with me, and the rest of my party had arranged to come overland by truck and pack to our camp which was then located at the foot of the 2842 only trail leading to the river in that lower portion; that probably is near the southeast corner of township 29 south, range 19 east, and was made by one of the oil companies four or five years ago when that company tried but found it impracticable to build a road out of there. This trail connects with the road that comes down Indian Creek, and I think that road goes to Salt Wash. They were intending to drill at Indian Creek. The work was of the same general character as that I have described in previous years, with the additional duty of carrying lines on the high mesas; the 2843 parties were more separated. We used one or the other of our boats all of the time in our work. I was on the river almost daily, except Sundays, during that period. I encountered more submerged rooks on the lower portion of the river, whereas on the upper portion of the river our delays were usually occasioned by bars; on the lower portion we would hit a submerged rook, the pro- 2844 peller would be sheared off, and it would be necessary to install a new pin and proceed. These pins will be affected by impact on a rock or with a heavily packed sand bar; the pin will break and 378 |