Show meandering RIVER reprint rights reserved fifth installment in the previous installment of this narrative something of the life we were to lead for five long months has been told the peculiar habit of the river in rising and falling without warning has also been shown which made life interesting to say the least we had entered the deeper portion of the canyon aj the goodridge bridge and at honaker trail the canyon had attained a depth of more than 1300 feet in a single days run we had followed the river in almost every direction of the compass but we were still in touch with the outside world as by climbing tile the steep trail to the top we could reach mexican Alex ican hat at in a few fe hours on leaving JIo tra T we lef all hope of contact with anything remotely resembling civilization nal H several months later we vre emerged at lees ferry arizona during this time we were often hungry due 0 0 the limited amount of food our boats boata awauld carry every two weeks our packer was scheduled to and generally did appear we invariably were out of canned milk which cost co st a can frieg ht and had long since since been out of sugar and an d other luxuries 11 once in a while 0 wo o procured wild meat to vary our fare sometimes we had only biscuits and bacon three times a day and at one time the bacon gave out and the biscuits had no salt As the elevation of the river became less and less we were compelled A 10 work farther and farther fron from the stream to reach the foot level which was is our top count cur eur line in the deep canyons this was no hardship but in the more open country we worked miles from the river in the blistering hol hoi sun with insufficient drinking water this was truly a hard undertake under undertaking taki ng about 60 miles from bluff by ri river V we camel came to the mouth of johns 3 canyon there is is a small rapid a half mile above the canyon andt another at the ibe mouth of the canyon three miles below is a large sulphur spring 68 miles from bluff is the mouth of Slick hom horn canyon we had seen tracks of mountain sheep before and here we saw some of the big horns an old steam boiler lay on the gravel bar where we camped it is said the boiler had fallen from the trail high above when an oil company to bring it in for the purpose of drilling for oil seventy two miles from our start ing point we ran a rapid caused by the entrance of grand gulch from the north as were Slick hom and johns canyon here we again ag ain saw mountain sheep A few miles farther we arrived at a canyon so narrow hat bat all were compelled to take to he feats bloats which were thus so heavily laden that the smallest of waves imperiled our safety there was so little soil pral within this canyon hat at one time sir mr trimble had to shoot two feet over the rod lod that is the stadia rod lacked two feet of being long enough enouf to come within the cross hairs of the instrument and I 1 had to hold bold the rod up above my iny knee until it was read and then measure the distance from the sand upon which I 1 was standing to the bottom of the rod ten miles of this brought us a to the mouth of the cria chasm sm just above the clay hill crossing we had now dow come 81 84 miles from the town of bluff in contrast to the deep and narrow canyons we had traversed above the river river now spread out to such an extent that there was scarcely enough water to float he boats long hours were spent in mapping the wide clay flats and low ow shale hills As we could spend several days without moving camp loper and miser decided to take a hike to clay hill pass some 20 11 I 1 3 to the northwest with ivich a couple of gallons of water to quench their thirst thy th y out cut the water proved inadequate for the undertaking der taking and both bot suffered gren grea ly ay from thirst jus as tile the it unton be began bean an to look tragically serious loper climbed to abe top of a hill and saw in the distance a pond of rain water near red house their objective hurrying to the side of miser who had bad turned again toward the riv erl loper told him the good news and so averted what might have been a tragedy the two men spent the night at red house merely an old stone dwelling and took the downward trail to the river the next day from the clay hills to piute diute farms is the greatest open area be been bluff and the colorado river thru which the san juan flows at one place the river attains a width of half a mile all of which was covered with wa ier during a sudden rise while we were camped in the piute farm area here we experienced a rainy period and endured the sting of many mosquitoes A few miles distant rises the beautiful neural na Jural monument organ rock which towers feet above the surrounding plain its many layers of different colored shale and sandstone presenting a stupendous and striking wonder of nature |