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# 2023-04-22 - The Canyons of the Colorado by John Wesley Powell
(HTM) Grand Canyon of the Colorado River by Thomas Moran
(HTM) Chasm of the Colorado by Thomas Moran
Years ago i put this book on my to-read list after seeing it
referenced in another book, i forget which. Coincidentally, i saw
and old hard-bound copy sitting on an engineer's desk in Eugene.
The book is still making the rounds. The author did not originally
intend to write a book, but Congress made him do it. So he wrote
the book based on his journals. It sounded like quite an
adventure to have in the late 1800's! Below are some excerpts, with
my comments within square brackets.
# Preface
Realizing the difficulty of painting in word colors a land so
strange, so wonderful, and so vast in its features, in the weakness
of my descriptive powers I have sought refuge in graphic
illustration, and for this purpose have gathered from the magazines
and from various scientific reports an abundance of material. All of
this illustrative material originated in my work, but it has already
been used elsewhere.
# Chapter 1, The Valley of the Colorado
Including [the Green River tributary], the whole length of the
[Colorado River] is about 2,000 miles. The region of the country
drained by the Colorado and its tributaries is about 800 miles in
length and varies from 300 to 500 miles in width, containing about
300,000 square miles...
For more than a thousand miles along its course the Colorado has cut
for itself such a canyon; but at some few points where lateral
streams join it the canyon is broken, and these narrow, transverse
valleys divide it into a series of canyons.
... the whole upper portion of the basin of the Colorado is traversed
by a labyrinth of these deep gorges.
The longest canyon through which the Colorado runs is that between
the mouth of the Colorado Chiquito and the Grand Wash, a distance of
217-1/2 miles. But this is separated from another above, 65-1/2
miles in length, only by the narrow canyon valley of the Colorado
Chiquito.
... there were stories current of parties wandering on the brink of
the canyon and vainly endeavoring to reach the waters below, and
perishing with thirst at last in sight of the river which was roaring
its mockery into their dying ears.
# Chapter 2, Mesas and Buttes
After the acquisition of this territory by the United States they
became disaffected by reason of encroaching civilization, and the
petty wars between United States troops and the Navajos were in the
main disastrous to our forces, due in part to the courage, skill, and
superior numbers of the Navajos and in part to the character of the
country, which is easily defended, as the routes of travel along the
canyons present excellent opportunities for defense and ambuscade.
But under the leadership and by the advice of Kit Carson these
Indians were ultimately conquered. This wily but brave frontiersman
recommended a new method of warfare, which was to destroy the herds
and flocks of the Navajos; and this course was pursued. Regular
troops with volunteers from California and New Mexico went into the
Navajo country and shot down their herds of half-wild horses, killed
hundreds of thousands of sheep, cut down their peach orchards which
were scattered about the springs and little streams, destroyed their
irrigating works, and devastated their little patches of corn,
squashes, and melons; and entirely neglected the Navajos themselves,
who were concealed among the rocks of the canyons. Seeing the
destruction wrought upon their means of livelihood, the Navajos at
once yielded. More than 8,000 of them surrendered at one time...
Wherever there is water, near by an ancient ruin may be found; and
these ruins are gathered about centers, the centers being larger
pueblos and the scattered ruins representing single houses. The
ancient people lived in villages, or pueblos, but during the growing
season they scattered about by the springs and streams to cultivate
the soil by irrigation, and wherever there was a little farm or
garden patch, there was built a summer house of stone. When times of
war came, especially when they were invaded by the Navajos, these
ancient people left their homes in the pueblos and by the streams and
constructed temporary homes in the cliffs and canyon walls. Such
cliff ruins are abundant throughout the region, intimately the
ancient pueblo peoples succumbed to the prowess of the Navajos and
were driven out.
When the Navajo invasion came, by which kindred tribes were displaced
from the district farther west, these Tewan Indians left their
pueblos on the plateau and their dwellings by the rivers below in the
depths of the canyon and constructed cavate homes for themselves;
that is, they excavated chambers in the cliffs where these cliffs
were composed of soft, friable tufa. On the face of the cliff,
hundreds of feet high and thousands of feet or even miles in length,
they dug out chambers with stone tools, these chambers being little
rooms eight or ten feet in diameter. Sometimes two or more such
chambers connected. Then they constructed stairways in the soft
rock, by which their cavate houses were reached; and in these rock
shelters they lived during times of war. When the Navajo invasion
was long past, ... Spanish adventurers entered this country from
Mexico, and again the Tewan peoples left their homes on the mesas and
by the canyons to find safety in the cavate dwellings of the cliffs;
and now the archaeologist in the study of this country discovers
these two periods of construction and occupation of the cavate
dwellings of the Tewan Indians.
The Ute Indians, like all the Indians of North America, have a wealth
of mythic stories. The heroes of these stories are the beasts,
birds, and reptiles of the region, and the themes of the stories are
the doings of these mythic beasts--the ancients from whom the present
animals have descended and degenerated. The primeval animals were
wonderful beings, as related in the lore of the Utes. They were the
creators and controllers of all the phenomena of nature... The Utes
are zootheists.
# Chapter 3, Mountains and Plateaus
Fremont's Peak, the culminating point, is 13,790 feet above the level
of the sea. It stands in a wilderness of crags. Here at Fremont's
Peak three great rivers have their sources: Wind River flows eastward
into the Mississippi; Green River flows southward into the Colorado;
and Gros Ventre River flows northwestward into the Columbia.
When the seeds were gathered they were winnowed by tossing them in
trays so that the winds might carry away the chaff. Then they were
roasted in the same trays. Burning coals and seeds were mixed in the
basket trays and kept in motion by a tossing process which fanned the
coals until the seeds were done; then they were separated from the
coals by dexterous manipulation. Afterwards the seeds were ground on
mealing-stones and molded into cakes, often huge loaves, that were
stored away for use in time of need. Raspberries, chokecherries, and
buffalo berries are abundant, and these fruits were gathered and
mixed with the bread. Such fruit cakes were great dainties among
these people [the Shoshone].
# Chapter 4, Cliffs and Terraces
On the margins of the canyons these are rounded off into great
vertical walls, and at the bottom of every winding canyon a beautiful
stream of water is found running over quicksands. Sometimes the
streams in their curving have cut under the rocks, and overhanging
cliffs of towering altitudes are seen; and somber chambers are found
between buttresses that uphold the walls. Among the Indians this is
known as the "Rock Rovers' Land," and is peopled by mythic beings of
uncanny traits.
In these canyon walls many caves are found, and often the caves
contain lakelets and pools of clear water.
A great variety of desert plants furnish them food, as seeds, roots,
and stalks. More than fifty varieties of such seed-bearing plants
have been collected. The seeds themselves are roasted, ground, and
preserved in cakes. The most abundant food of this nature is derived
from the sunflower and the nuts of the piñón.
From one of these it [the Kanab river] emerges at the foot of the
Vermilion Cliffs, and here stood an extensive ruin not many years
ago. Some portions of the pueblo were three stories high. The
structure was one of the best found in this land of ruins. The Mormon
people settling here have used the stones of the old pueblo in
building their homes, and now no vestiges of the ancient structure
remain.
To the south they extended far beyond the territory of the United
States, and the so-called Aztec cities were rather superior pueblos
of this character. The known pueblo tribes of the United States
belong to several different linguistic stocks. They are far from
being one homogeneous people, for they have not only different
languages but different religions and worship different gods.
# Chapter 5, From Green River City to Flaming Gorge
Early in the spring of 1869 a party was organized for the exploration
of the canyons. Boats were built in Chicago and transported by rail
to the point where the Union Pacific Railroad crosses the Green
River. With these we were to descend the Green to the Colorado, and
the Colorado down to the foot of the Grand Canyon.
Our boats are four in number. Three are built of oak; stanch and
firm; double-ribbed, with double stem and stern posts, and further
strengthened by bulkheads, dividing each into three compartments. Two
of these, the fore and aft, are decked, forming water-tight cabins.
It is expected these will buoy the boats should the waves roll over
them in rough water. The fourth boat is made of pine, very light, but
16 feet in length, with a sharp cutwater, and every way built for
fast rowing, and divided into compartments as the others. The little
vessels are 21 feet long, and, taking out the cargoes, can be carried
by four men.
We take with us rations deemed sufficient to last ten months, for we
expect, when winter comes on and the river is filled with ice, to lie
over at some point until spring arrives; and so we take with us
abundant supplies of clothing, likewise. ... For scientific work, we
have two sextants, four chronometers, a number of barometers,
thermometers, compasses, and other instruments.
[They divided the cargo to have redundant supplies in all the boats
so that the mission could go on even if they lost one of the boats.]
(IMG) Trail up Walpi Mesa
To-day it rains, and we employ the time in repairing one of our
barometers, which was broken on the way from New York. A new tube has
to be put in; that is, a long glass tube has to be filled with
mercury, four or five inches at a time, and each installment boiled
over a spirit lamp. It is a delicate task to do this without breaking
the glass; but we have success, and are ready to measure mountains
once more.
# Chapter 6, From Flaming Gorge to the Gate of Lodore
May 30.--This morning we are ready to enter the mysterious canyon,
and start with some anxiety. The old mountaineers tell us that it
cannot be run; the Indians say, "Water heap catch 'em"; but all are
eager for the trial, and off we go.
June 2.--This morning we make a trail among the rocks, transport the
cargoes to a point below the fall, let the remaining boats over, and
are ready to start before noon.
On a high rock by which the trail passes we find the inscription:
"Ashley 18-5." The third figure is obscure--some of the party reading
it 1835, some 1855. James Baker, an old-time mountaineer, once told
me about a party of men starting down the river, and Ashley was named
as one. The story runs that the boat was swamped, and some of the
party drowned in one of the canyons below. The word "Ashley" is a
warning to us, and we resolve on great caution.
After a good drink we walk out to the brink of the canyon and look
down to the water below. I can do this now, but it has taken several
years of mountain climbing to cool my nerves so that I can sit with
my feet over the edge and calmly look down a precipice 2,000 feet.
And yet I cannot look on and see another do the same. I must either
bid him come away or turn my head.
# Chapter 7, The Canyon of Lodore
This chapter has an exciting tale about one of the boats going over a
waterfall, breaking in two, then breaking into pieces. The two men
in that boat narrowly escaped going over a second and far worse
waterfall. I won't quote [or spoil] the story here, but suffice it
to say, it was a close call.
June 10
While the men are building the camp fire, we discover an iron
bake-oven, several tin plates, a part of a boat, and many other
fragments, which denote that this is the place where Ashley's party
was wrecked.
As Ashley and his party were wrecked here and as we have lost one of
our boats at the same place, we adopt the name Disaster Falls for the
scene of so much peril and loss.
Though some of his companions were drowned, Ashley and one other
survived the wreck, climbed the canyon wall, and found their way
across the Wasatch Mountains to Salt Lake City, living chiefly on
berries, as they wandered through an unknown and difficult country.
# Chapter 8, From Echo Park to the Mouth of the Uinta River
We have named the long peninsular rock on the other side Echo Rock.
Desiring to climb it, Bradley and I take the little boat and pull up
stream as far as possible...
Here, by making a spring, I gain a foothold in a little crevice, and
grasp an angle of the rock overhead. I find I can get up no farther
and cannot step back, for I dare not let go with my hand and cannot
reach foothold below without. I call to Bradley for help. He finds a
way by which he can get to the top of the rock over my head, but
cannot reach me. Then he looks around for some stick or limb of a
tree, but finds none. ... 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 off 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, and with his
assistance am enabled to gain the top.
June 29
This morning I cross the Green and go over into the valley of the
White and extend my walk several miles along its winding way, until
at last I come in sight of some strangely carved rocks, named by
General Hughes, in his journal, "Goblin City."
(HTM) Photos of Goblin City
# Chapter 10, From the Junction of the Grand and Green to the Mouth
# of the Little Colorado
July 22
Our boats are leaking again, from the strains received in the bad
rapids yesterday, so after dinner they are turned over and some of
the men calk them.
Captain Powell and I go out to climb the wall to the east, for we can
see dwarf pines above, and it is our purpose to collect the resin
which oozes from them, to use in pitching our boats.
July 24
We examine the rapids below. Large rocks have fallen from the
walls--great, angular blocks, which have rolled down the talus and
are strewn along the channel. We are compelled to make three portages
in succession, the distance being less than three fourths of a mile,
with a fall of 75 feet. Among these rocks, in chutes, whirlpools, and
great waves, with rushing breakers and foam, the water finds its way,
still tumbling down. We stop for the night only three fourths of a
mile below the last camp. A very hard day's work has been done, and
at evening I sit on a rock by the edge of the river and look at the
water and listen to its roar.
[The water is rough. The party frequently loses ores, and then has
to saw driftwood logs and make new oars to replace them.]
July 28
After this the walls suddenly close in, so that the canyon is
narrower than we have ever known it. The water fills it from wall to
wall, giving us no landing-place at the foot of the cliff; the river
is very swift and the canyon very tortuous, so that we can see but a
few hundred yards ahead; the walls tower over us, often overhanging
so as almost to shut out the light. I stand on deck, watching with
intense anxiety, lest this may lead us into some danger; but we glide
along, with no obstruction, no falls, no rocks, and in a mile and a
half emerge from the narrow gorge into a more open and broken portion
of the canyon. Now that it is past, it seems a very simple thing
indeed to run through such a place, but the fear of what might be
ahead made a deep impression on us.
August 5
With some feeling of anxiety we enter a new canyon this morning. We
have learned to observe closely the texture of the rock. In softer
strata we have a quiet river, in harder we find rapids and falls.
Below us are the limestones and hard sandstones which we found in
Cataract Canyon. This bodes toil and danger.
Besides the texture of the rocks, there is another condition which
affects the character of the channel, as we have found by experience.
Where the strata are horizontal the river is often quiet, and, even
though it may be very swift in places, no great obstacles are found.
Where the rocks incline in the direction traveled, the river usually
sweeps with great velocity, but still has few rapids and falls. But
where the rocks dip up stream and the river cuts obliquely across the
upturned formations, harder strata above and softer below, we have
rapids and falls.
# Chapter 11, From the Little Colorado to the Foot of the Grand Canyon
August 14
Heretofore hard rocks have given us bad river; soft rocks, smooth
water; and a series of rocks harder than any we have experienced sets
in. The river enters the gneiss! We can see but a little way into the
granite gorge, but it looks threatening.
The walls now are more than a mile in height--a vertical distance
difficult to appreciate.
[The waterfalls frequently occur after creeks join the river. The
creeks wash down boulders, which dam the river and form waterfalls.]
There is yet extant a copy of a record made by a heathen artist to
express his conception of the demands of the conquerors. In one part
of the picture we have a lake, and near by stands a priest pouring
water on the head of a native. On the other side, a poor Indian has a
cord about his throat. Lines run from these two groups to a central
figure, a man with beard and full Spanish panoply. The interpretation
of the picture-writing is this: "Be baptized as this saved heathen,
or be hanged as that damned heathen." Doubtless, some of these people
preferred another alternative, and rather than be baptized or hanged
they chose to imprison themselves within these canyon walls.
[The food is spoiled by repeated exposure to water. They have 10
days worth left.]
Our hopes are that the worst places are passed, but our barometers
are all so much injured as to be useless, and so we have lost our
reckoning in altitude, and know not how much descent the river has
yet to make.
We have had rain from time to time all day, and have been thoroughly
drenched and chilled; but between showers the sun shines with great
power and the mercury in our thermometers stands at 115 degrees, so
that we have rapid changes from great extremes, which are very
disagreeable. It is especially cold in the rain to-night. The little
canvas we have is rotten and useless; the rubber ponchos with which
we started from Green River City have all been lost; more than half
the party are without hats, not one of us has an entire suit of
clothes, and we have not a blanket apiece. So we gather driftwood and
build a fire; but after supper the rain, coming down in torrents,
extinguishes it, and we sit up all night on the rocks, shivering, and
are more exhausted by the night's discomfort than by the day's toil.
August 23
In some places the stream has not excavated its channel down
vertically through the rocks, but has cut obliquely, so that one wall
overhangs the other. In other places it is cut vertically above and
obliquely below, or obliquely above and vertically below, so that it
is impossible to see out overhead.
Just after dinner we pass a stream on the right, which leaps into'
the Colorado by a direct fall of more than 100 feet, forming a
beautiful cascade. There is a bed of very hard rock above, 30 or 40
feet in thickness, and there are much softer beds below. The hard
beds above project many yards beyond the softer, which are washed
out, forming a deep cave behind the fall, and the stream pours
through a narrow crevice above into a deep pool below. Around on the
rocks in the cavelike chamber are set beautiful ferns, with delicate
fronds and enameled stalks. The frondlets have their points turned
down to form spore cases. It has very much the appearance of the
maidenhair fern, but is much larger. This delicate foliage covers the
rocks all about the fountain, and gives the chamber great beauty.
August 26
Since we left the Colorado Chiquito we have seen no evidences that
the tribe of Indians inhabiting the plateaus on either side ever come
down to the river; but about eleven o'clock to-day we discover an
Indian garden at the foot of the wall on the right, just where a
little stream with a narrow flood plain comes down through a side
canyon. ...there are some nice green squashes. We carry ten or a
dozen of these on board our boats and hurriedly leave, not willing to
be caught in the robbery, yet excusing ourselves by pleading our
great want. ... Never was fruit so sweet as these stolen squashes.
August 27
About eleven o'clock we come to a place in the river which seems much
worse than any we have yet met in all its course.
August 28
[
Three men decide to leave the party and try to make their way back
to civilization. The rest of the party decide to press on. It is 45
miles as the bird flies to the mouth of another tributary, 20 miles
above which is a Mormon settlement. The party leave behind one of
the boats, so now they have two boats.
They go through a many waterfalls in series. They reach one they
cannot portage, so they carry the boats out of the canyon and try to
lower own down a cliff wall further down, with a person in the boat
to keep it from hitting the canyon wall. It gets stuck in a
dangerous situation. The person eventually decides to cut the line
and goes over the waterfall in the boat! Amazingly, he makes it
through okay. The rest of the party eventually goes over the
waterfall too. They wipe out, but survive, and the guy at the bottom
helps rescue them.
]
August 30
...
As we come near, the men seem far less surprised to see us than we do
to see them. They evidently know who we are, and on talking with them
they tell us that we have been reported lost long ago, and that some
weeks before a messenger had been sent from Salt Lake City with
instructions for them to watch for any fragments or relics of our
party that might drift down the stream.
Our arrival here is very opportune. When we look over our store of
supplies, we find about 10 pounds of flour, 15 pounds of dried
apples, but 70 or 80 pounds of coffee.
# Chapter 12, The Rio Virgen and the Uinkaret Mountains
The party splits up and a year later they resume the mission from
where they left off.
September 15
It is curious now to observe the knowledge of [the] Indians. There
is not a trail but what they know; every gulch and every rock seems
familiar. I have prided myself on being able to grasp and retain in
my mind the topography of a country; but these Indians put me to
shame. My knowledge is only general, embracing the more important
features of a region that remains as a map engraved on my mind; but
theirs is particular. They know every rock and every ledge, every
gulch and canyon, and just where to wind among these to find a pass;
and their knowledge is unerring.
# Chapter 14, To Zuni
All life is miraculous and is worshiped as divine. The heavenly
bodies, the sun and moon and stars, are mythic animals, and all of
the phenomena of nature are attributed to these zoic beings. ... All
the phenomena of nature, the rising and setting of the sun, the
waxing and waning of the moon, the shining of the stars, the coming
of comets, the flash of meteors, the change of seasons, the gathering
and vanishing of the clouds, the blowing of the winds, the falling of
the rain, the spreading of the snow, and all other phenomena of
physical nature, are held to be the acts of these wonderful zoic
deities. It is deemed of prime importance that such deities should be
induced to act in the interest of men.
These Shamans and cult societies have a great variety of functions to
perform. ... The hunter cannot penetrate the forest without his
charm; the woman cannot plant corn until a ceremony is performed for
securing the blessings of some divine being. A war must be submitted
to the gods, and a sneeze demands a prayer.
[Kind of like saying "bless you" to a sneeze, making long
deliberations over foreign policy, and requiring a hunting license
and tags to hunt, etc.]
# Chapter 15, The Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon of the Colorado is a canyon composed of many
canyons. It is a composite of thousands, of tens of thousands, of
gorges. In like manner, each wall of the canyon is a composite
structure, a wall composed of many walls, but never a repetition.
Every one of these almost innumerable gorges is a world of beauty in
itself. In the Grand Canyon there are thousands of gorges like that
below Niagara Palls, and there are a thousand Yosemites. Yet all
these canyons unite to form one grand canyon, the most sublime
spectacle on the earth.
The wonders of the Grand Canyon cannot be adequately represented in
symbols of speech, nor by speech itself. The resources of the graphic
art are taxed beyond their powers in attempting to portray its
features. Language and illustration combined must fail.
The rainbow is not more replete with hues. But form and color do not
exhaust all the divine qualities of the Grand Canyon. It is the land
of music. The river thunders in perpetual roar, swelling in floods of
music when the storm gods play upon the rocks and fading away in soft
and low murmurs when the infinite blue of heaven is unveiled.
author: Powell, John Wesley, 1834-1902
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LOC: F788 .P88
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tags: ebook,non-fiction,outdoor
title: The Canyons of the Colorado
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