I NT R O D 'C T I O N
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' Amer i c a n boy dem a nds a nd sho u ld
r
eceive
for
his
benefit
a
nd
ours
a
n
g
educ at ion t h a t shall fi t h im t o l ive a cceptab l y
and e flec t i v e l y i n Ame r ica And no c u r r i c u
lum of Eng l ish p u b l ic school or Ge r m a n gym
n a s i u m o r F r ench lyc '
e however tested and
deve l oped th r ough l ong ye ar s and foun d
good i n t he sigh t of Eng l ish or Ge rm a n o r
F r ench masters of t e a ch in g c a n be tra n s
pl an t ed and t h r ust i ntac t upon any Ame r ic a n
sch ool a nd t h at school be t he best sort for
Ame r ican boys
Life in Amer i c a i s di ff eren t fr om li fe i n
England o r Germany and Ame r ic a n school
ing shou l d be a pa r ticul a r fit t in g for Ameri
can l ife Schooling and educa t ion are got
fr om o t her sources t h an schools a nd fr om
o t her men and t hings than professed educ a
to r s We grown ups a r e s t ill wedded to edu
ca t ion from boo k s a nd precepts fr om pre
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e rn on L ' el lo g g Ass oc i a t e
'r ofesso r of 'o o l o g y L e l a nd S ta nfo r d 'u n i or ' n i v e r s i t y A u
tho r o f 'l e m en ta ry 'o o l o y I nsec t A n a tom y 't c 't c f o r
t he k i n d n ess o f w r i t i n g t hg
8
I n tro d u c t i on
W W '
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1
a
m i ndeb t ed to 'r ofesso r V
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But give th e boy h is ch ance an d
see hi m ge t educated fr om thin g s an d l ea r n
t he l aws of fit l ivin g fr om l ife and Na t u r e
The boy i s t h e rea l o r iginal inves t i ga t o r h e
i s t h e questioner of th e r eali t ies an d ve r ities
as he sees and fee l s t hem ; h e asks n o a u
th o r i t y be t ter t h an the th in gs t h a t a r e no
s t im ul us t o go to school t o the wo rl d which
he finds about h im Some di r ec t ion h e needs
t o s a ve t ime an d occ a siona l dissipa t i on o f
ene r gy ; som e tr adi t ions it is we ll t ha t he
sh ou l d know an d r espec t but give him a
fai r l eng t h of picket rope for va r ied b r owsing
an d i f he come not to t he b est food fo r h im
and t hat which sha ll nou r ish him t o t h e bes t
s t a t u r e and quickest b l ood he wi l l do l ess
than t he beasts of t h e field an d t h e ou t come
of him despite eve r so m uch n u r sing i s t o be
fea r ed
An d in this Ame r ican land of old an d new
civiliza t ions a j os tl e where one a nd t he same
m a n is to d ay in the co l l ege y a r d at H a r var d
under the sh adow of th e tr aditions and t h e
books and t o mo r row is a s tr ide t h e uncocked
bronco on th e B ar ' r a nch or somers a u l t i ng
ce p t o r s
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the fla pj ack in its w a rm pan near the prospect
ho l e on t he Sierran fl a nks it is wel l t hat t he
Ame r ican boy begin t o lea r n to know Natu r e
and Things in t he same hour with his begi n
n ing to l ea r n th e a l phabets of deceased and
excep t fr om school an d co ll ege c la ss rooms
depa rt ed t ongues Nor is the American boy
educa t ed to l ive most e ffect i ve l y i n Ame r ica
u n l ess he ge t s this ot her and un t r adi t iona l
pa r t of hi s education Our count r y h as sti l l
i ts frontie r i t s pioneer li fe its mos t p r imi t ive
wilderness
and its men h a ve sti l l to be to
t hemse l ves s u fli c i e n t i n many an d v ar ious
things Tha t p r ogressive civi l iza t ion which
specia l izes our l ife and m ak es of one of u s a
t ai l or fo r a ll and of the o t he r a coo k for a l l
and of t he o t he r the t o w n c ri e r has not yet
and wil l n ot fo r long to come fasten i ts b e n e fi
cence on a l l o f this broad lan d And in ha l f
of it the m a n m ust st il l be r e a dy to c a re for
h imself in fo r est a nd on pl a in on water a nd
in dese r t ; to c a re for t he horse th a t be a rs
h im t he rifle th a t gets h i m food the c a noe
t h at floats h im over the bl u e dep t h s or threads
his way th ro u gh t he wh i te rapids H e m ust
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be h i s own coo k over his own pine cone fed
fire a nd know so well fr om long fam i l i ar i t y
with its st a r a nd leaf set han gings his sweet
ai r ed bed r oom that the outdoo r n i gh t aro u nd
shall n o t k eep h i m wa k efu l w i th it s strange
ness The Americ a n boy m ust lea r n to do as
well a s to kn o w before he is educated
Agassiz H all is a pp a rently a good example
of a school i n which boys do t hings ; and
especia l ly do wholesome a nd righteous t h ings
ou t doors I n th a t glo r ious and unique ou t ing
to a n a cco u n t of wh i ch t his wee book is de
voted th a t two wee k s o f padd l in g and d r ift in g
i n rowbo a ts for th r ee h undred mi l es t h r o u gh
the G r eat D esert the Ag a ss i z boys l et me
he a r of summer c a mps i n t he Sie r ras of
c a noe i ng on Tahoe tha t cle a nes t a nd pu res t
a nd most g ra ndly set of Ame ri c a n lakes of
month l y campin gs i n t he forests near the
s chool
They discuss e d w i th an i ma t ion and
fu ll techn i cal k nowledge the f a t a l me r i t s of
var i ous tr a ps ; they c al led i n the mornings
th e roll of th e n i ght s v i s i tors a bout camp
fr om the f oo t pr i n t s on th e sand and in th e
soft mu d of the r i ver ban k ; they n a med t he
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b ir ds fr om thei r fligh t a n d their cr i es ; they
l earned how to r ead o n the fain tly l ette r ed
su r face o f the river whe t her sand bar or snag
o r safe deep channe l lay beneath ; they
l ea r ned the inexo r ab l e laws of the deser t a n d
saw how p l an t and a nim a l bow to t hese l a ws
fo r life s sake An d t he things t hey k new
h ad come fr o m o r igin a l sou r ces fi lt ered
t h r ough n o stupid o r sen t imenta l teache r ;
and t he t hin gs t hey l ea r ned we r e knowledge
become a pa r t an d a usable par t of t hem
Nor is t he know l edge less inspi r ing fo r i ts
p r ac t ica l ness l ess s t imu lat ing to soul th a n
he l pfu l t o mind an d musc l e
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>l<
at'
The Dese rt ' B ut wh a t tongue sh a ll tell
t he maj es t y of i t the ete r na l s tr eng t h of i t
the poe tr y of i t s widespre a d ch a os the sub
li mity of i ts lone l y deso l a t ion ' An d who
sha ll pain t the sp l endo r of its l igh t ; a nd from
the rising up of t he sun t o t he going down of
the moon ove r the i ron mount a ins the glory
'
of its wond r o us co l o r ing ' T r u l y no t my
tongue though wi t h k eener r ea l ization of its
m aj esty or eyes more fu l l of i t s sp l endrou s
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light th a n those with which I sit these wee k s
a w a y from i t no teller of i ts story co u ld a sk
to be endowed
And th e gre at silen t r i ver
The voice
less ri ve r ' F r om the canyon to t he sea it
flows th r ough deserts and eve r the seal of
silence i s upon i t Even the scan t l i fe of its
—
borders is d umb birds with no n o t e ani mals
with no c r y h uman beings with no voice
And so fo r sa k en ' The l ar ges t ri ver wes t of
t he mountains and yet t he le a st known
There a r e m iles upon miles of mesas st r etchi ng
u pw a rd fr om the st ream t hat n o feet have
ever trodden a nd th a t possess not a vestige
of life of any ki nd And a l on g its banks t he
same tale is t old Y o u flo a t for d ays an d
mee t with n o t r aces of humanity
S l owly pa t ien tl y w i ndin g a bo u t obs tr uctions
cuttin g ou t n ew ch anne l s creeping whe r e i t
m a y not r un the bubb l e l ess water works its
way to the se a
The n i ght winds ste a l a lon g
it s shores a nd p a ss i n a nd out a mong i ts
sedges b u t there a re n o whisper i ng vo i ces ;
an d t he s t ars eme r ge a nd sh ine upon the flat
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of w a ter but the r e i s no lustre The
dre ar desolation of it
Where t he poe t ha l ts there is left to be told
simp l y t he anna l s of the days the fa c t s of t he
rocks the bi r ds a nd the p l ants These Mr
P r ice has wri t ten and such n eed no i n t r o duc
t ion
And so without doin g more than i ntro
duce the I n t roduction I was a sk ed t o wri t e
and h ave not I s t op premising only th a t Mr
P r ice t e l ls tru t hs i n his dia r y a nd th a t his
comp a nions tell on l y l ess than the truth in
expressin g t o hi m thei r grati t ude fo r h i s le a d
i n g of them to the Desert a nd the River
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L ' 'L L OGG
an
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2
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9
V 'R N ON
Stan ford 'n i vers i t y Ca l
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T H R ''
H 'ND R 'D ' I L 'S O N
C O L O R A D O R I V 'R
TH '
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T
w a s pas t m idday the z r st December
1 9 0 1 when ou r p a rty of n i ne in three row
boa t s '
a bl a ck can vas boat a r ed boat and
a green boa t 'pushed off fr om the m uddy ban k
of the Color a do a t the t own of Need l es and
be g a n ou r j ou r ney of th r ee h und r ed miles t o
the southward The smoky l i ttl e rai l r o a d
t own w a s soon l eft beh i nd an d we were pass
ing through a l evel co u n tr y c l o t hed wi t h a
dense growth of a r rowweed five to eigh t feet
high wi t h now an d then wi ll ows a n d cot t on
wood rising to the di gnity of tr ees The cur
ren t w a s s wift with many sho al s and sand
b a rs but with a li tt le p ra c t ice we soon l earned
to keep the channe l
We c a mped a few m i les below N eedles on
the Ar i zon a ban k under co t tonwood trees i n
a dense j un gle of ar r owweed young wi ll ow
a nd thorny mesqui te i n places i mpenet r able
Aft er a f e w n i gh ts we h a d become adepts i n
h e win g a com fort a ble c a mp s i te i n the j ung l e
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no ma t ter how dense Befor e s u pp e r so m e
of the p a rty sc a ttered o ff i n se a rch of game
br i ngin g b a c k three q ua il a nd a woodpec k er
E r nes t t ho u ght he s a w the tr a c k s of a wild
hog and hea r d one crashin g thro u gh the
u ndergrowth
The t r acks of coyote fox and
ra ccoon were abund a n t a long the river but
t he t r aps set f o r t he a nim a ls were not mo
lest ed
The morning of the 2 2 d w a s v ery cold the
coldes t on the t r ip a n d i ce fo r med a n inch
thick i n ou r camp b u cket By a li t t l e after
sun r ise we we r e o ff down the r iver t he j agged
Need l es r ising sha r p on the southe r n hori
zon A t one poin t where the San ta Fe Rail
r oad runs close t o t he r iver bank a lon g t r ai n
passed the passenge r s w a vin g to us fr om t he
windows Then t he magn ificen t steel b r idge
over t he Co l o r ado came i n view and on the
r oc k y hi ll side beyond we drew up o u r boa t s
for l uncheon On t h is hi l l we found sever a l
kinds o f cactus p l an t s some la r ge a nd ba rr el
sh a ped o t hers lon g an d slende r growin g
close to t he ground H e r e we noticed t h a t
s ome c u rio u s white a n ts h a d covered little
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I O
st i c k s a n d de a d b u shes w i th a thin co a ting of
m u d beneath which they h ad e a ten ga l leries
i n t he wood Professor ' ellogg said th i s
m u d co a t i ng was t o protect t he li tt le creatu r es
from heat an d ligh t a nd f r om the i r enemies
H o w desper a te l y ba r e al l t hi s region i s '
I t seems do u btful i f th ree r ains fa l l du r in g
the enti r e year On all s i des the barren
deser t mo u n ta ins sh ut i n c l ose abou t us
Sou t hwa r d i t seems i mpossib l e t hat any river
cou l d force its way th r ough such piled con
fusion of roc k Th is is t he begin ni n g o f
Moj ave Canyon the ba r e c l i fls i n p l aces r ise
a b r up tl y from t he wa t er i n o t hers a n a rr ow
ri m of soil fringed wi t h wil l ows l ies be t ween
the c l i ff and the wa t er T he river is usua ll y
deep t he current even makin g no so u nd
except a r ound j u tting points where i t forms
sma l l eddies
Mid way i n t h e canyon we passed t he li t tle
steamer Aztec which h ad a ll t he mo r nin g
been ag r ound on a b a r The Captai n w a rned
us about a pl a ce in the canyon be l ow where
a n abrupt turn makes a dangerou s wh i rl pool
but i n the pre sen t low w a ter we h a d no difli
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c u lty whatever I n fact w e s a w no pl a ce on
t he r ive r which at a ll a l a rmed u s
But i n
fl o o dt i m e in sprin g a nd e ar ly s um mer the
r iver should be n a vig a ted only with a n ex
i
e
guide
r
n
c
d
e
e
p
The rock a ll seems of volc a nic form a t i on of
brecc ia chiefly a nd m ost bri l li a ntly colored
The reds browns greens a nd yellows of a
dozen shades are co l ors never seen except i n
the deser t where the r oc k masses a re so com
exposed
to
a
ll
clima
t
ic
cond
i
t
ions
l
t
l
e
e
p
y
The cli ff s o f ten r is i ng h und r eds of feet are
worn by the wind a nd t he weathe r i nto fan
—
pict u red by the imagin a tion
t a s ti c sh apes
into bi r ds beas t s and I ndi a n he a ds There
were several natu r al b ri dges along the tops
of th e ridges a nd caves were common on the
fa ce of t he c l i ff s
The canyon with i ts tower i ng w a lls was all
too soon l eft beh ind u s and we flo a ted down
past Pu l pi t Rock w it h deserted nests of the
he r on scat t ered over i t an d on to the do u b l e
Moj ave Roc k f a med i n I ndian t ra dition to
t he more open co u ntry a t the he a d of t he
we c a mped
Ch i muh ue v i s V a lley w here
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12
*28
d i st a nt from Needles abo u t
mi les 1 4
miles from the S a nta Fe Bridge
We m a de c a mp i n a l i tt l e cove wh er e a
short r a vine cam e down from the steep vol
I t was a c a pit a l place for game
c a n i c h il ls
a n d a dozen qu a il fell to our guns
These
birds we r e G a mb e l s quai l simi l a r to the v a l
ley q u a i l of Cali forn i a bu t mo r e b l e a ched i n
co l or the m ales h a vin g a chestn u t c r own
They r un over the rock y gro u n d wi t h sur
p r isin g r a p i dity When t ho r ough l y al a rmed
t hey c a nnot be ove r t ak en an d t hey often wi l l
not ta k e w i ng We saw t rac k s of rabbi t s i n
the sandy w a sh b a c k of camp a n d i n t raps
se t for smal l a ni m a ls c au ght a deser t wood
rat and a long t a i l ed mouse A few ducks
flew down the rive r and q u ai l aligh t ed i n the
wi ll ows about c a mp at dusk but bi rd l ife was
extreme l y r a re d u rin g the who l e t r ip a t
which we m ar veled
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d i s t an ces g i v e n i n t h ese n o t es a r e ta k en fro m t he
T he r e
r e p or t s o f s t e a m bo a t m e n a n d m a y n o t be a cc u ra t e
h as been n o a cc u r a t e s u r v ey or ch ar t of th e r i e r so far a s I m
A n i n t e r es tin g a cco u n t of t he r e g i o n i s g i en by L i e u
aw a re
t en a n t
C I v es i n
'' p l o r a t i on of t h e Col o r a d o R i e r f t h e
W es t G o v e rn m en t 'ri n ti n g O fi c e W a sh i n g t on D C 1 860 ;
b ut t h is i s a r a r e p u bl i c a tion o n l y t o be h a d i n t h e l arg es t
l i b r a ri es '
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Two prospecto r s had their c a mp on t he
Ar i zona bank a sho r t dist a nce above us We
had called to them i n passing and le a rned
that t hey were p r ospecting a m i ne b a ck in
the h i ll s We me t many of t hese men on the
way At Needles a pa r ty of four j ust p r e
ceded u s down t h e river We passed the m i n
Moj ave Canyon wi t h t heir boats dr a wn up
u nde r t he wi l lows None of them c ar ed to
give us any information They seem a si l ent
taci t u r n fo l k suspicious of a ny s t ranger who
may also be in sea r ch of h idden treasure
The 2 3 d of Decembe r dawned sh a r p an d
clea r bu t the piping of quail on t he hil l s
d r ew the mos t re l uct a nt of u s from his sleep
ing bag Afte r hun t ing a n ho u r we returned
to breakfast of co r nmea l mush co ff ee pot a
toes bacon and qu a il While we were ea t in g
a n old I ndian prob a bly att r acted by t h e r e
po r ts o f our guns came into c a mp H e
squ a t t ed a l it t le dis t ance apa r t w a tch ing our
eve r y move H e was ve r y o l d and ben t and
d r essed in non desc r ipt clo t h i ng pe r haps
begged a t Needles H e h a d rawh i de sand al s
on h i s crooked feet When w e off ered h im
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co ff ee a nd foo d we noted th a t he h a d no
tee t h H e s a ved the scraps of bre a d from o u r
t able wr a ppin g th e m in a n old rag wou nd
about h i s matted gr a y h a ir We a sked h i m
if he was a Moj a ve to which he indign a n t ly
replied
N o ' Me Ch i m u h u e v i s
Mo j a ve
'
no bueno ladrones ' '
Moj ave n o good
I n his a nswer w a s t he sto r y of the
robbe rs
a g r icul t u ra l t r ibe
Chi m uh ue v i s a simp l e
who wi t h their near cousins the Color a dos a
few miles to t he so u th h a d been fr o m time
i mmemo ri a l r aided a nd robbed by the fi e r ce r
Moj aves d we ll in g to the no r th of Moj ave
Canyon We l eft the old m a n sitting on the
bank a nd when a ben d i n the ri ver a ha l f
mile below sh ut o u t th e view he was still
there
The I nd i ans h a ve many c a m ps a long the
river on both b a nks ; t he i r h u t s a r e t h atch ed
with arrow weed a nd p l as t e r ed with m ud
We saw a few fences of t he thorny mesqui t e
b r anches tied wi t h w i sps of wil l o w twigs and
some t i mes r a whide whe r e they raised pump
kins melons and beans Seve ra l ti mes we
s a w lon e I nd ia ns perch e d u pon h i lls ne a r the
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I
r i ve r
sigh t
S
viden t l y w a tch ing u s A str a nge
these black figures mot i on l ess si l
We did not get
ho u e t t e d again st t he sky
c l ose enough t o speak wi t h t he m but some
chi l d r en we su r p r ised a t a dis t ance on t he
r iver bank wen t sku rr ying aw a y into the
b r ush l ike fr igh tened r abbi t s
The va ll ey passed we agai n entered low
r ocky hi ll s wi t h r ock s coming t o the wa t er s
edge and some t imes on l y pa r t ia ll y s u bme r ged
Th e mountains t o th e south and west were
ve r y r ugged a nd i mpo sin g i n the sun set
whi l e those eas t ward we r e resp l endent i n
go r geous co l o r s r eds and b r owns We camped
a gai n on t he Ca l iforni a ban k j ust above
D r e n n a n s quart z mi ll forty two miles from
Need l es
Mo r e qu a i l shoo t ing at supper t i me ; more
qu a i l befo r e breakfast We make an ea rl y
s t a r t down stream gettin g a few ine ff ec t ive
sho t s at ducks We passed close to the mil l
which was sma l l near to the water on the
Ca l ifo r nia side There was a ten t a nd a
rough fr ame house on the bank A few miles
be l ow we c a me to Bo a t Roc k an oblong j ut
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ting mass of l a va i n th e middle of the river
G r e at heaps of d r ift we r e pi l ed ten or fi ft een
fee t high on the uppe r fa ce showin g t he
eno r mous vo l ume a nd rush of the wa t er i n
fl o o dt i m e
A fe w bi r ds we r e seen i n t he
open p l aces feedin g on mistletoe ber r ies
abundan t on t he mesqu i te bushes The mos t
common we r e t he western b l ueb i rd and t he
phai nopep l a a slender black bird wi t h whi t e
pa t ches on i t s wings an d a c r est m uch l ike
that of the waxwin g A few whi t e crowned
sp arr ows we r e al so seen along the b r ushy banks
At F r iant s r anch on the A r izon a side
t h r ee m il es above Williams Fo r k was t he
fi r s t a t tempt a t ag r icul t ure we had seen
H e r e M r Friant has a few ac r es of a ll uvial
soil above high w at er to which he pumps
w a t e r wi t h an engine and wi ndmi ll The
wonde r ful fe rt i l ity o f the soi l and t he g r ea t
heat of summer enable hi m to r aise seve r al
c r ops of ga r den vegetables whe r e a sin gle
c r op only could be g r own i n co l de r regions
H e owns a l ittle steamboat and ca rr ies most
of h i s p r od u ce to N eedles a dist a nce of fi f ty
fi ve m iles
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Fork i n gr a nd e u r scarcely s u rp a ssed by the
Moj ave C a nyon We en t ered i t a bout n oon
a s t ron g w i nd spr i ngin g u p from the no rt h
Cl i fls rose h u ndreds of feet a bove the water
and here for the fi r st ti me we saw the c a ndel
V
abra form of the gi a nt cactus V hi te throated
swifts darted here a nd the r e high among the
cl i ff s where probably i n summer ti me they
nested a n d a g r e a t h a w k o r eag l e w a s soa r in g
a bove t he pea k s
The wind inc rease d to a
gale before we h a d p a ssed t h r o u gh the c a nyon
a nd on some of the no r th turns blowin g
a ga i nst the cu r rent pi l ed u p great waves
m aki n g prog r ess slow Many of th e c l i ff s
h a d holes a nd caves i n them th r ough which
the wind whistl e d a n d roa r ed On t h e a l
l n v i a l b a n k s th e fine s a nds b l ow i n a ye l low
clo u d a nd dr i fts beh i nd obstr u ctions li k e w i nd
d ri ven snow The whole s k y w a s fil l ed wi t h
the smo k y haze of dust the sun was d i mmed
Some prospectors h a d camps here on both
s i des of t he river their n ume r o u s w a ter b a r
rels a n d kegs m u te evidence o f th e ex t reme
ar id i ty of the reg i on b a c k from the r i ver
A
f e w donkeys wer e nibbl i n g a t the w i llo w
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twigs or looking w i th l onging eyes a t so m e hay
bales p r o t ec t ed i n a po l e co r ral A three
stamp mi ll rusty an d dese rt ed was on the
l eft bank
We saw no persons a bout t he
place as we swept on do wn the river A few
mi l es fu r the r we came t o Empi r e Flat amid
c l ouds of blowin g sand A copper comp a ny
h ave bui lt seve r al houses here a nd expect
soon to put up a smel t er for the mines a few
mi l es back i n the hi ll s Li k e most embryo
mining c a mps they were w a i t in g for mo r e
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capi t a l
The directors h a d a well bui l t
house with wide ve r and a lace curta i ns and
piano but the watchm a n to l d u s i t h a d not
been occupied
As n igh t drew near we camped behind a
she lt ered poin t opposi t e M a c k s m ill seven ty
mi l es fr om Need l es The w i nd wen t down
wi t h the s u n ; a fu l l moon rising over the
eas tern mountains made Christ ma s Eve one
of t he most de l igh t fu l of the t r i p After s u p
per we bui lt a huge fi r e and s a t a bout i t l a te
into the n ight l istening to tales of adventures
of big game h un t i n g i n the Rocki es Th e
fire lighted up a l a rge cottonwood ov e r u s
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20
r u stl i ng the golden le a ves a nd br i ng i ng o u t
the white t r un k and branches i n fine con tra st
Beh ind us the cl i fls m a gnified i n the moon
light towered majestically ; i n f ront the r ive r
swept a gle a ming sheet o f si l ver a nd ro u nd
about us the desert i mmense u nknown
fascin a ting lay silen t a s midnight
The m i l l stand i n g on a little r i se a bove
the wate r h as not c r ushed ore for some ye a rs ;
i ts owner B i ll y Mac k h a s a little ra nch
a half mi l e fr o m t he ri ve r where a sp r ing
t he only one in scores of miles t r i ckles ou t
of a gr assy sideh i ll H ere he h a s a fe w a c r es
of pasture and some f r uit trees a tiny oasis
While we p a id hi m a c a ll we were told of t he
ti mes thi rt y ye a rs p a st when he first settled
o n the l a nd H o w the mo u n tai n sheep used
to pass fr om ra nge to r ange over well de fin e d
t r ails bu t al l a r e gone from the region now ;
he had not seen a t r ac k i n a dozen ye ar s
Ch r istmas on the Colorado ' Our fri ends
i n c i vilization h a ve pi t ied u s
B a nks of
gravel rose a brupt l y from the wate r m any of
them covered with the r eto rt sha ped nests of
th e cl i fl sw a llo w 'udging fr om the deserted
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nests swallo ws m u st be very abund a nt in the
summe r t i me Co r ner Rock p a ssed we soon
came i n t o a b r oad rive r bo tt om a n d t o t he
pump i n g sta t ion at the I ndian rese r vation at
Pa rker A l i t tle back from t he river we saw
t he l arge school bu i lding wi t h the Ame r ic a n
flag We kept on seve r a l miles passin g I n
dians po l ing their boats u p s tr e a m keeping
i n the shal l ow wa t er an d m aking surp r isin g
headway against the swi ft cu r rent Some
I ndi a n l odges o f poles and a r r owweed we r e
here and t he r e on both sides of t he r iver
whole families s t a r in g at us as we passed
We camped for Ch ri s t mas dinner i n a thicket
of wi l lows in the rive r bot t om on the California
side the r e cooking a roy a l meal of quail
mushrooms cranbe r ries p l um pudding candy
and n uts so that t he younger boys ve ri ly
be l ieved t hemselves as well o ff as at t he home
tab l e Quail we r e so common that they we r e
shot fr om the c a mp ; aft er dinne r some
of t he pa r ty made a way by an old cattle tr ail
bac k to t he dese r t mesa a h al f mile from t he
rive r H e r e the vegetation ab r uptly changes
On th e s a ndy or g ra v elly mes a grow i ron
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wood ,
p a l o verde ephedra a nd gre a sewood
i n direct contr a st to t he cottonwood wi ll ow
mesq u i te and a rrowweed of the riverbottom
A ft er p a ssing Wi l liams Canyon s ome i m
pos i ng mountains came i n view on the righ t
Mt Whi pple and The Mo nument
The
l atter is a h uge finger r isin g fr om a r ugged
mountain a nd vis i ble for a h undred mi l es
down t he r iver
S at ur d a y Decemb e r 2 8th fo u nd o u r p ar ty at
t he vi l l a ge of Ehrenbe r g 1 50 miles fr o m
Need l es We we r e delayed a whole day in a
sn ug camp i n t he j ungle by a terrific no r th
wind The whole region h as been one of
great sameness an a l most con t i n uous succes
sion of flats a nd bars a nd divided ch anne l s
We had k illed a ho r ned owl d u cks q u ai l
pe l ic a ns
Charles shot a l arge Canad a
goo se which m ade us two exce l lent mea l s
cooked i n the dutch oven
Ehrenberg a city of the p a st is now a
ragged collection of ru i ned adobe houses wi t h
two or th r ee fam i lies I t once h a d a p o p u l a
tion of thousands when in the e a rly s ixties
the placer mi n e s of L a P a z were r u nnin g full
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blast
A few Mexicans h ung abo u t the set
t l e m e n t and an old prospec t o r had come i n
at the sto r e fo r supp l ies We take lunch at
t he s o c all ed
boardin g ho u se and wish we
hadn t We v isit t he gr a veya r d on the hi ll
side a nd no t e that t he marked gr a ves a r e
nea r ly all t hose of men Did they die of
natu r a l causes ' A yo u n g minin g man
told us a bou t old La Paz a few mi l es to the
no r th i t s l ong streets of adobe houses roofless
now and utte rl y dese r ted The I ndi a ns wou l d
no t even a ll ow the t ha t ched r oofs to r e m a i n
but bu r ned the m and to r e ou t the hewn beams
I n i ts p al my days t his t ow n had a s many as
four t housand popu l ation and hund r eds of
t housands of do ll a r s we r e t aken fr o m t he d r y
washes t he r eabou t
Satu r d a y aft ernoon we ran dow n t he ri ve r
eigh t or t en miles be l ow Eh r enbe r g and
c a mped fo r two nigh t s under a sand b l u ff a t
t he edge of the dese rt on t he A r izon a side
These we r e t he red l e tt er days of the tr ip
The boys ki ll ed numbe r s of ducks snipe
qu a i l and pe l icans We r amb l ed fa r ove r the
desert pickin g up curious c a ctus pl a n t s l i tt l e
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24
fuzzy fellows with rec urved Sp i nes p i eces of
pe tr ified wood a nd fr a gmen t s of ca r ne l i a n
an d a gate The pl a ce t oo was bi r dy
in
con trast to all our o t her camps Severa l
kinds not before seen we r e co ll ected a nd
s k inned b u t the exci t in g adventu r e w a s the
t ra i l ing of a huge b u ck a mule deer of the
la r ges t size
The s t o r y of our h un t
though we did not get h i m is exc i ting to us
even n ow
I t h a ppened thi s way
A p a rty of u s had
gone up one of t he sandy washes which come
down to the r iver from t he g r ave l ly mesas
shoo t ing quai l here an d the r e and examinin g
the strange desert shrubs Professor ' e l logg
had gone a head wh ile we had stopped to res t
on a little g r avelly k noll Aft e r a time we
h alloed to our companion who a nswered a nd
began to retr a ce h i s steps to our ou tl ook
Suddenly M i ss W w h o was w i th her sister
Mrs S exc la imed
Loo k a t tha t dee r '
Wi t hin fift y y a r ds of us a n eno r mous buck
broke fr om a li tt le thick et of i r on woo d a nd
loped o ff leisure l y into the m idd l e of t he w a sh
Our
a nd w a s s o on lost i n the shrubbe r y
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down on the b a re g r ound u s i n g o u r h u nt i ng
coats for pil l ows We dr a n k Sp ar in gly m u nch
in g our h a rdtac k a nd prun e s a nd m a de p l a ns
for the mo r row s t ra ilin g We were to w a l k
a bre a st on th e tr a il of the buc k k eep a bso l u t e
s il ence a n d shoot whenever t he deer was
sigh ted The moon r ose a fter a t i me ligh t in g
u p t he gr a y green iron wood and smoke bush
a nd throw i n g sh a rp sh adows across t he g l it
t e ri ng s a nd washes
The scatte ri ng gian t cac
t us stood sen t i nel l ik e over all t he waste of
desert As th e fi r e burned di m tow ar d m id
n igh t some prowling night anima l came c l ose
to c a mp ; its footfa lls on t he loose gravel a wak
ened u s to r eplen i sh the fi r e a n d wa r m t he
othe r side
Thus we p a ssed t he n i gh t with
o u t cover of any ki nd b ut n ot wi t h much di s
comfort Towards morning a coyo t e y elped
i n t he dis ta nce a Sc r eech owl c a l l ed but
mi ne c a me ne a r c a mp
At daybre a k we were on the tra i l followin g
i t u p a li tt le side wash over a fla t topped r i dge
i n to the a dj oinin g w a sh t o the no r th Th e
deer w a s w al kin g l eisurely n i bbling at times
a t the m e sq ui t e a n d i ron wood prob a b l y get
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ting his evenin g me al and did not seem to be
at al l s u sp i cious
H i s enem i es we r e miles b e
h ind Aft er fo l lowing him two o r t hree m i l es
in which his course w a s down the w a sh to
wa r d the r ive r bo t tom we found his nigh t
camp unde r a dense i r on wood on a sligh t r ise
an d over l ooking t he wash H e now began
b r eakfas t as his hesi t a t in g tr acks a bo u t cer
tain bushes showed We even found pa r
t i a l l y chewed mou t hfu l s of tender twigs wi t h
sa l iva s t i ll wet u pon them These we r e fr esh
signs su re l y and we rushed si l ently al ong the
tr ai l wi t h eye an d ea r a l e r t fo r any st r ange
movemen t or sound Sti l l t he dee r k ept t o a
wa l k makin g a great oblong loop c r ossin g
his t r ai l near his night bed Once or twice he
had l ain down i n t his morn i ng w al k t o rest
and we fe l t we were c l ose upon him but he
soon t urned he r e headin g up t he w a sh towa r d
the dese rt mou ntains some t en mi l es distan t
On on we tr ai l ed now ove r the smoo t h s a ndy
floor of t he old wa t er cou r se where his tracks
seemed a s la r ge as a co w s ; now up a li t tl e
gravel l y side gu l ch where his hoof marks
were sc a rcely visible a nd bac k a gain to t he
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m ai n w a sh ever eastw a rd tow a rd the m o u nt a ins
Each momen t str u ng w ith i ntense excite
m e nt we expected to see those im m ense ant
lers '
a s i x pointer cer t ainly 'r i se fr om some
gully an d race bo u ndin g over the deser t
Once Ch a rles tho u gh t he saw a movemen t i n
a thicke t of mesquite a qu ar ter mile ahea d
but i t was n ot repeated When we reached
t he th i cket by a ci r cui t ous pa t h there were
the fr esh m ar ks i n t he s a nd whe r e t he dee r h a d
lai n down ; now he no l onger wa l ked but
reached t he grave l ly summit of the mesa with
a few sho rt bounds a nd took a course straigh t
for the mountai ns a l ong t he open mesa Fa r
i n t he distance a fai n t obj ect was seen movin g
from u s then i t faded i n t o t he gray haze to be
seen n o mo r e I ts tr ack was l os t on t he h a r d
g r ave ll y soi l We looked at each other i n
h elpless dism a y bu t W a lte r broke the si l ence
Give me th r ee d a ys he said and I l l ge t
that dee r ' We could no t s pare t he t ime
B ut the b u c k fa r o ff at the edge of t he moun
t ai n s t ossed h i s an t le r s contemp t uous l y
'
What funny trailers these boys are ' I wish
I h a d fooled them a li ttle longer
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Th a t s a me a ft e r n oon we lo a ded b a gg a ge on
o u r bo a ts an d m a de a dozen mi l es down the
river camping ne ar some woodcutters wh o
we r e ge t ting out cottonwood t i mbers for a lit
tle rai l road a t Picacho a minin g town s ixty
mi l es below Opposi t e ou r camp were some
co tt onwood tr ees fi ll ed wi t h the bulky nes t s
of t he g r eat b l ue he r on We had seen t hese
bi r ds S pa r ing l y on t he r ive r I n the summe r
time t hey ar e pe r haps ab u nd a n t Ow l s hoo t ed
a ll nigh t and l it tl e anima l s scampe r ed over t he
dry l eaves abou t ou r beds
The next mo r n ing Dec 3 I s t we p a ssed t he
pump house a t t he l i ttl e se tt lemen t at Cibo l o
and t akin g the l eft hand channe l of t he river
gained some five miles on ou r companions
who t ook t he r igh t ha n d o r main channe l We
found d ucks and geese a bundant i n t his b y
way b ut di d no t h a ve t ime to s ta l k them
t hough we got a few sh o t s from t he boat a s
they flew b y
A t noon a t a deserted r anch
on the A r izon a side we waited th r ee hours
for t he othe r bo at s which had eviden t ly been
de l ayed on t he river This ranch h ad been a
fa mo u s stop ping pl a ce i n early d a ys when
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3
there was m uch tr a vel t o the m i nes a t L a P a z
a nd Ehrenberg
I t stands on a gr a vel h il l a
hundred feet above the river and has a grand
view bo t h nor t h and so u th
Now eve ry t hin g
about i t was ruined t he court ya r d wa l l bro
ken down i n a dozen p l aces and much of the
roof fall en in Tre a sure h un t e r s had d u g up
all t he fi r eplaces and gre a t h oles in t he pac k ed
ea r then floo r s As we wai ted in t he shade of
the wa l l fo r the boats th e b l ac k a nd the red
to a rr ive a li tt le g ra y l izard r an fr om a b r o
ken w all in t o the sun l ight the only livin g
c r eature save one raven c r oa k in g pas t about
t h e p r emises
The blac k bo a t a r r i ved a bout the m i ddle of
the a ft e r noon b ut it knew nothing of the
whereabouts of t he red with th r ee boys
Somewh a t a larmed we d r opped down stream
a couple of m i les camped and m a de a h uge
fi r e fo r a signal At dus k the t r uan t boa t was
sigh ted far up the stre a m The rowers had
b r oken a n o ar loc k They were l azy they
s a id a nd wan t ed to h a ve some fun so t hey
had d r ift ed since ten o c l oc k i n t he mo r ning a
d i s ta nce of fift een miles They had sc ar cely
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3
to u ched a n oa r and when g r ounded on ba r s
had l e t the boa t swing a r o u nd and a r ound t i l l
t hey we r e free agai n The boys dec l a r ed t ha t
i t was t he bes t day of the tr i p New Y ea r s
Eve a big fi r e s t o r ies and a l l so t ired that
we s l ept t i ll dawn
This mo r ni ng t he fi r st o f the New Y ear we
passed in t o t he Choco l a t e Moun t ains wi t h the
ab r upt chimney peaks of Picacho di r ec tl y
down t he rive r
L igh t house Rock r isin g
bo l d l y fr om t he wate r is a t t he beginnin g of
an a l most con t inuous canyon fo r t hi rty mi l es
Th is landma r k six t y m i l es fr om Eh r enberg
was t he fi r s t r ocky fo r ma t ion on the r ive r fo r
a dis t ance of 1 3 5 mi l es M uch of t he in t e r
v e n i n g coun t ry had bee n t h r ough deso l ate
fla t s t he ch an nel oft en hard t o fo l l ow even
wi t h rowboats and nigh impossib l e t o t he
r ive r steame r s at this l ow wa t er
B ut t he r e
was eve r a ch a r m about the r egion ever some
—
t hin g new
a
sand blu ff sculptu r ed by t he
wind beaver cu t tin gs a nd slides g r ea t flocks
of pe l icans and geese which at times a rose
with de a fen ing ro a r of their win gs ; a so l ita r y
figure on the bank wondering at o u r str a n ge
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flot i ll a ; cottonwoods i n golden fol i age a n d
si l ver t runks a n d branches ; wi ll ows i n a dozen
sh ades of green sun r i se a g l o r y of opalescen t
colorin g s u nse t am id cloud m asses of pin k
and go ld with pu r p l e sh adows r each i n g ac r oss
the dist a nt mountai ns and then twili gh t deep
—
no two days i n the fou r teen
e n i n g into night
the same
We l unched t h i s day unde r Precipice Bend
j ust above the town of Pic a cho We c li mbed
t he bl ufl fr om t he no r th an d walked o u t to t he
poin t where i t r i ses 300 fee t sheer fr om t he
w ate r On eve r y han d r ose t he mos t ra gged
of mount ai ns who ll y vo l canic an d o f t he
most viv i d co l o r s b r owns b l ac k s r eds ye l
lows g r eens wi t h s tr eaks here and there of
wh ite volcanic ash
I t has lon g been a n oted
m in i n g region A t the town we saw t he foun
da ti on of an i mmense mill in cou r se of con
st r uc ti on
Ou r c a mp w a s m ade below C a nebr ak e Can
yo n on a b a n k ten feet a bove t he river so
di fi c ul t to re a ch th a t t he boys called i t the
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elevator camp
We hea r d coyo t es h e r e and
sa w the i r t r a c k s eve r ywher e i n t he d r y d ust
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the grandest v i e w on the j o u rney The sun
w a s l ow i n the wes t amid g r e a t c l oud m asses
pi l ed high above t he Californian Cordi ll e r a
which bold range extended north an d sou t h
ti l l i t b l ended i n the ho r izon This g r eat
mo u n t a i n chain which is the con t in ua ti on of
t he Sier r a Nevad a of Cen t ral Califo r nia r ises
ve r y ab r up t ly fr om the dese r t to a heigh t of
fi ve or six thousand feet and culmina t es in
t he sou t h a t t he lo ft y pe ak of San Ped r o Ma r
ti r th ir t een thousand f eet a bove t he Gulf
This peak was p l ain l y visible a hund r ed and
fift y mi l es a way its cone r isin g sharp above
the haze of t he dese rt Be t ween ou r hi l l a nd
this southe r nmost point of vision l a y a great
space unbroken by any moun t ai n r a nge t he
wi l d l i t t l e k nown desert at t he h ead of the
—
Californian Gu l f a s tra nge land fil l ed with
wonde r ful sigh t s t he eve r pre sent mirage
acres of boilin g m ud sp r in gs in l and l akes
floo r ed w i th roc k salt c ryst a l c l ea r end l ess
m ud fl a ts l evel sandy w a stes a land of fish
a nd g a me b ut w i t h never a drop of wate r to
d r i nk The l ow ba rr en mountains he r eabou t s
al l have t hei r t a l es of fa b ulously r ich l os t
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mines and t his Fa t a Morg a n a ye a r l y dr a ws
gold feve r ed mine r s in t o t he fo r bidden la nd
Dusk appea r ed as we we r e ye t upon the
h i l lt op The w a tch l igh t s a t Y uma a dozen
m i l es a way g l i tt e r ed on t he prison wa l ls and
a tr ai n on t he Sou t hern Pacific t oi l ed s l ow l y
ove r t he p l ai n A l l t he glory had gone from
t he wes t e r n sky and San Pedro M ar t ir h a d
b l ended i n t o t he g r ay of t he de se rt On l y
abou t us nea r a t hand was t he r e vivid colo r
ing ; t he rive r bo tt om a t ou r fee t was b ril l iant
in silve r a n d go l d on cot t on wood and wil l ow
an d t he pa l e g reen of t he a rr ow weed con
t r a s t e d wi t h t he da r k mesqui t e
A so l i t ary
ho r seman ga ll oped ove r the p l ain t r a i ling a
c l oud of dus t ; a t our r igh t the r iver flowed
and the r e g l eamed our camp fi r e
The nex t mo r ning a few miles fr om o u r
camp we passed a so l i t a r y t rappe r laborious l y
comin g up s tre a m his leaky t ub requiring a l
most constan t b a ilin g
We answe r ed hi s
questions a bou t beaver sign and v ar min t s
and left him at the ban k s t i ll ba i lin g wi t h a
s l ow pain ful st r oke
We s t opped a t m i dd a y a few mi les a bove
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Y um a
for o u r l a st me a l W i t h n ot a l i tt l e
r egret we dre w out the blac k canvas boa t
k nocked i n i ts r i bs a n d g unwales and ro ll ed
i t u p for b a gg a ge
I t h ad been a companion
on m a ny t rips of w i ld a dventu r e and t his not
the le ast Our c a m pin g together h a d ended
The fo u rteen h a ppy d a ys had p a ssed wi t hout
acc i den t or misfortune of any k in d We h a d
sh a red a ll uncomplainin g the l i t tle hardsh ips
the dust a nd the d i rt a nd none a ided mo r e to
the success of t he t r i p t h a n t he two ladies
who were i deal ca mpe r s
A f e w hours later we d r ew up unde r the
shadow of a g rea t iron bridge our th r ee hun
dred mi le j o ur ney on the
Silen t Rive r
ended We h a d le ar ned t o k now it and to
love it a nd i n the hear t s of every one of us
w a s a w i l d desire to le a ve all civi l ization a nd
follow the mighty cu r ren t s t i ll furthe r to t he
sou t h p a st those boundless caneb r akes a nd
m ud fl a t s t i ll merged i nto th e blue Gulf
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