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Show Record During the time I was there the only change in the character or of mining on the river that I can recall was the putting in of a current wheel to raise water up on the Good Hope bar, a 45 foot 3571 current wheel. The population that was in there principally were the people who were employing us. They would come and go. There was no substantial population, outside of our immediate outfit. I think Cass Hite went down there in 1883 or 1884. During the eight years that I was there I went down the 3572 river as far as the Aztec rapids. The rapid at the mouth of Aztec Greek is very swift shallow water, with a lot of boulders and no definite channel that you could get through, without danger of wrecking your boat, from what I could see from the shore and the head of the rapid. I think it was about 1894 that I took this one particular trip. In that stretch of the river there are rapids every few miles all the way down. The worst one down there was at the mouth of Hanson creek and Bullfrog rapids. I made just the one trip down to Aztec Greek. I observed the character of the water on the Colorado 3573 River with reference to floods. With reference to the rise and fall of the river during floods, I think the highest river we had was about 21 or 22 feet at Dandy Crossing at Hite and at Good Hope while I was there. The water was so thick with silt and mud that you could not hardly settle it enough to get a drink. The floods that I speak of come from the melting of the snow, from freshets up the stream, cloud- bursts, etc. The rise from snow melting usually begins in April and ends early in July. 3574 During the months of July and August the river as a rule is very muddy, from the rains, etc., that come from the Little Lateral canyon. Sometimes the water was very low, and at other times it was a pretty good stage of water. There was no definite, set stage of water that I can recall at that particular time. It was more erratic and had more rise and fall to it than at any other |