The party
managed to reach Hite, however, towing the damaged boat, and there made the
necessary repairs.
Loper Stays at Hite. Loper had acted as photographer of the expedition, and
had the camera and the plates in his boat, when it was filled with water.
Examination showed that the plates were ruined, and the camera shutter
badly rusted. It was decided that Loper should remain behind at Hite, and
await the arrival of a new shutter for which he had written. It was agreed
that he need not be thus delayed more than two weeks, and should be able to
rejoin his companions at Lee's Ferry, a Mormon settlement of three
families, one hundred and forty miles below Hite, within twenty-one days.
Russell and Monett Start. Accordingly, Russell and Monett pushed ahead, and
put in many days prospecting along the shores of Glen Canyon. After
forty-three days of waiting at Lee's Ferry, Russell and Monett decided that
if they were to complete the trip before their now rapidly decreasing
supply of provisions was exhausted, they must start on without Loper, for
whom they had waited more than twice the time agreed on. Friday, December
13, had no terrors for the intrepid pair, and on the morning of that day
they started on down the river, with the sixty-six miles of Marble Canyon
in front of them, an introduction to the two hundred and seventeen miles of
the Grand Canyon below.
Their Remarkable Nerve. In telling of this stage of the journey, Russell
seemed to lose sight entirely of the remarkable nerve both men showed in
starting down through what is admittedly the wildest stretch of continuous
bad water in the whole river. And that, too, without the third companion,
who at the outset had been considered absolutely indispensable to the
success of the party. Instead, he emphasized rather his belief that Loper
had elected to face no more dangers, and had voluntarily remained behind at
Hite.
First Seven Days Passed in Safety. In seven days they had passed the length
of the roaring stream, in its descent through perpendicular walls of
marble, reaching up to an average height of two thousand five hundred feet,
and had come through the worst rapids to that point, without damage to
either boat. At one stage there are fifty-seven falls of from sixteen to
twenty feet in a distance of nineteen miles, according to Stanton's
records, in which was kept an accurate count of all the rapids in the
river.
Enter the Grand Canyon. They entered the Grand Canyon December 20. For the
first fifteen miles below the entrance of the Little Colorado, and the
beginning of the big Canyon, they found comparatively quiet water. But from
this point, on to the beginning of the first granite gorge, their way was
threatened with the worst falls they had met thus far. The good luck which
had attended them from the start, however, still prevailed, and they
managed to shoot their way safely down over the almost continuous cataracts
for five long days. Christmas found them only fifteen miles above Bright
Angel. In describing the manner of their celebration, Russell remarked
casually that they certainly "hung their stockings" - to dry. From beginning
to end of their journey, the adventurers were obliged to depend entirely
for fuel on such driftwood as they could find lodged in eddies and on the
rocky shores. More than one night they spent in clothes soaked through with
the icy water of the Colorado, with no fire to warm them. Their Christmas
camp, however, was on a narrow strip of sand, with a greater supply of
driftwood at hand than they had found at any point along the river.
Dangerous Rapids. Beginning immediately below this camping place, and
continuing for ten miles, the river dashes madly through that stretch of
foaming water called by Stanton the "Sockdologer." To make matters worse,
Russell found it impossible to follow his usual custom of "picking a trail"
through the rapids. Ordinarily the elder man climbed along the precipitous
sides of the Canyon beside each cataract, leaving Monett above the rough
water in charge of the two boats. From his vantage point, Russell could
pick out the most dangerous places, and chart a course through the rapids
accordingly. But throughout these ten miles of granite, the walls are sheer
and smooth for the first fifteen hundred feet of their rise. Russell could
find no foothold, and the men for the first time faced the necessity of
"shooting" unknown waters.
Russell's Method of Shooting Rapids. As always, Russell led the way in his
boat, swinging it into the boiling current stern first - his own method of
taking each cataract making the frail craft respond to his will, when
possible, by a forward pull on one or the other of his oars. For half an
hour the men were hurled down the seemingly neverending length of tossing
waters. After the first minute, the cockpit in which each man sat was
filled to the gunwales with icy water, in which the oarsmen worked, covered
to the armpits. Hundreds of times great waves totally submerged them, the
little boats each time staggering out from under the weight of water, only
to plunge into more.
Russell Gets Safely Through. With less than a quarter of a mile still to be
covered, before the less turbulent water below was reached, and just as
Russell was sweeping around the last great curve beyond which he could see
the placid water, he heard his companion in the rear cry out in alarm.
Before he could turn to see the cause of the cry, he was driven round the
curve.
