Exploration of the Colorado River of the West and Its Tributaries Explored in 1869, 1870, 1871, and 1872, Under the Direction of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.

Page 034, Exploration of the Colorado River

34 EXPLORATION OF THE CANONS OF THE COLORADO. help me with the barometer case; but I fear I cannot hold on to it. The moment is critical. Standing on my toes, my muscles begin to tremble. It is sixty or eighty feet to the foot of the precipice. If I lose my hold I shall fall to the bottom, and then perhaps roll over the bench, and tumble still farther down the cliff. At this instant it occurs to Bradley to take ofi his drawers, which he does, and swings them down to me. I hug close to the rock, let go with my hand, seize the dangling legs, ard, with his assistance, I am enabled to gain the top. Then we walk out on a peninsular rock, make the necessary observations for determining its altitude above camp, and return, finding an easy way down. June 19.-To-day, Rowland, Bradley, and I take the "Emma Dean," and start up the Yampa River, The stream is much swollen, the current swift, and we are able to make but slow progress against it. The canon in this part of the course of the Yampa is cut through light gray sandstone. The river is very winding, and the swifter water is usually found on the outside of the curve, sweeping against vertical cliffs, often a thousand feet high. In the center of these curves, in many places, the rock above overhangs the river. On the opposite side, the walls are broken, craggy, and sloping, and occasionally side canons enter. When we have rowed until we are quite tired we stop, and take advantage of one of these broken places to climb out of the canon. When above, we can look up the Yampa for a distance of several miles. From the summit of the immediate walls of the canon the rocks rise gently back for a distance of a mile or. two, having the appearance of a valley, with an irregular, rounded sandstone floor, and in the center of the valley a deep gorge, which is the canon. The rim of this valley on the north is from two thousand five hundred to three thousand feet above the river; on the south, it is not so high. A number of peaks stand on this northern rim, the highest of which has received the name Mount Dawes. Late in the afternoon we descend to our boat, and return to camp in Echo Park, gliding down in twenty minutes on. the rapid river a distance of four or five miles, which was only made up stream by several hours' hard rowing in the morning.