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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. Christma
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 o
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. Mooring his boat to the bank as
quickly as possible, Russell half climbed, half waded along the shore
of the river, and made his way back up the side of the rapids. Monett in Danger. Monett, his boat wedged tight between two jagged
rocks, a foot below the surface of the sweeping water, was hanging
desperately to the gunwale of the little craft, his body
straightened out horizontal by the rush of the water about him. The
boat was completely wrecked. But Russell, when he threw a rope to
his companion, was astounded to see the boy work his way slowly
nearer the boat, and begin to tie its contents securely with the
line intended for his own salvation.
Rescued with Difficulty. Against the roar of the rapids, it was useles
for Russell to call to his companion to let the provisions go and
save himself. Four times the lad let Russell drag sides of bacon and
sacks of beans through the thirty feet of roaring water between him
and the shore, before he finally caught the rope and was dragged to
safety. He had been in the water for more than twenty minutes, and
was nearly exhausted when Russell lifted him to his feet.
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