On the third of September the boilers "foamed" so that we had to
tie up for nearly a day. This was caused by the water being so
very muddy. The Rio Colorado deserves its name, for its
swift-flowing current sweeps by like a mass of seething red
liquid, turbulent and thick and treacherous. It was said on the
river, that those who sank beneath its surface were never seen
again, and in looking over into those whirlpools and swirling
eddies, one might well believe this to be true.
>From there on, up the river, we passed through great canons and
the scenery was grand enough; but one cannot enjoy scenery with
the mercury ranging from 107 to 122 in the shade. The grandeur
was quite lost upon us all, and we were suffocated by the
scorching heat radiating from those massive walls of rocks
between which we puffed and clattered along.
I must confess that the history of this great river was quite
unknown to me then. I had never read of the early attempts made
to explore it, both from above and from its mouth, and the
wonders of the "Grand Canon" were as yet unknown to the world. I
did not realize that, as we steamed along between those high
perpendicular walls of rock, we were really seeing the lower end
of that great chasm which now, thirty years later, has become one
of the most famous resorts of this country and, in fact, of the
world.
There was some mention made of Major Powell, that daring
adventurer, who, a few years previously, had accomplished the
marvellous feat of going down the Colorado and through the Grand
Canon, in a small boat, he being the first man who had at that
time ever accomplished it, many men having lost their lives in
the attempt.
At last, on the 8th of September, we arrived at Camp Mojave, on
the right bank of the river; a low, square enclosure, on the low
level of the flat land near the river. It seemed an age since we
had left Yuma and twice an age since we had left the mouth of the
river. But it was only eighteen days in all, and Captain Mellon
remarked: "A quick trip!" and congratulated us on the good luck
we had had in not being detained on the sandbars. "Great
Heavens," I thought, "if that is what they call a quick trip!"
But I do not know just what I thought, for those eighteen days on
the Great Colorado in midsummer, had burned themselves into my
memory, and I made an inward vow that nothing would ever force me
into such a situation again. I did not stop to really think; I
only felt, and my only feeling was a desire to get cool and to
get out of the Territory in some other way and at some cooler
season.
