CANYONS OF THE COLORADO

BY J. W. POWELL, PH.D., LL.D.,

Formerly Director of the United States Geological Survey. Member of the National Academy of Sciences, etc., etc.

WITH MANY ILLUSTRATIONS.

First published 1895

PREFACE.

On my return from the first exploration of the canyons of the Colorado, I found that our journey had been the theme of much newspaper writing. A story of disaster had been circulated, with many particulars of hardship and tragedy, so that it was currently believed throughout the United States that all the members of the party were lost save one. A good friend of mine had gathered a great number of obituary notices, and it was interesting and rather flattering to me to discover the high esteem in which I had been held by the people of the United States. In my supposed death I had attained to a glory which I fear my continued life has not fully vindicated.

The exploration was not made for adventure, but purely for scientific purposes, geographic and geologic, and I had no intention of writing an account of it, but only of recording the scientific results. Immediately on my return I was interviewed a number of times, and these interviews were published in the daily press; and here I supposed all interest in the exploration ended. But in 1874 the editors of Scribner's Monthly requested me to publish a popular account of the Colorado exploration in that journal. To this I acceded and prepared four short articles, which were elaborately illustrated from photographs in my possession.

In the same year--1874--at the instance of Professor Henry of the Smithsonian Institution, I was called before an appropriations committee of the House of Representatives to explain certain estimates made by the Professor for funds to continue scientific work which had been in progress from the date of the original exploration. Mr. Garfield was chairman of the committee, and after listening to my

IV PREFACE.

account of the progress of the geographic and geologic work, he asked me why no history of the original exploration of the canyons had been published. I informed him that I had no interest in that work as an adventure, but was interested only in the scientific results, and that these results had in part been published and in part were in course of publication. Thereupon Mr. Garfield, in a pleasant manner, insisted that the history of the exploration should be published by the government, and that I must understand that my scientific work would be continued by additional appropriations only upon my promise that I would publish an account of the exploration. I made the promise, and the task was immediately undertaken.

My daily journal had been kept on long and narrow strips of brown paper, which were gathered into little volumes that were bound in sole leather in camp as they were completed. After some deliberation I decided to publish this journal, with only such emendations and corrections as its hasty writing in camp necessitated. It chanced that the journal was written in the present tense, so that the first account of my trip appeared in that tense. The journal thus published was not a lengthy paper, constituting but a part of a report entitled "Exploration of the Colorado River of the West and its Tributaries. Explored in 1869, 1870, 1871, and 1872, under the direction of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution." The other papers published with it relate to the geography, geology, and natural history of the country. And here again I supposed all account of the exploration ended. But from that time until the present I have received many letters urging that a popular account of the exploration and a description of that wonderful land should be published by me. This call has been voiced occasionally in the daily press and sometimes in the magazines, until at last I have concluded to publish a fuller account in popular form. In doing this I have revised and enlarged the original journal of exploration, and have added several new chapters descriptive of the region and of the people who inhabit it. Realizing the difficulty of painting in word colors a land so strange, so wonderful, and so vast in its features, in the weakness of my descriptive powers I have sought refuge in graphic illustration, and for this purpose have gathered from the magazines and from various scien-

PREFACE. V

tific reports an abundance of material. All of this illustrative material originated in my work, but it has already been used elsewhere.

Many years have passed since the exploration, and those who were boys with me in the enterprise are--ah, most of them are dead, and the living are gray with age. Their bronzed, hardy, brave faces come before me as they appeared in the vigor of life; their lithe but powerful forms seem to move around me; and the memory of the men and their heroic deeds, the men and their generous acts, overwhelms me with a joy that seems almost a grief, for it starts a fountain of tears. I was a maimed man; my right arm was gone; and these brave men, these good men, never forgot it. In every danger my safety was their first care, and in every waking hour some kind service was rendered me, and they transfigured my misfortune into a boon.

To you--J. C. Sumner, William H. Dunn, W. H. Powell, G. Y. Bradley, O. G. Howland, Seneca Howland, Frank Goodman, W. E. Hawkins, and Andrew Hall--my noble and generous companions, dead and alive, I dedicate this book.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER PAGE

I. The Valley of the Colorado ..17

II. Mesas and, Buttes . . . . 39

III. Mountains and Plateaus ...67

IV. Cliffs and Terraces ....89

V. From Green River City to Flaming Gorge . 117

VI. From Flaming Gorge to the Gate of Lodore . . 133

VII. The Canyon of Lodore ...151

VIII. From Echo Park to the Mouth of the Uinta River .167

IX. From the Mouth of the Uinta River to the Junction of the

Grand and Green . ...189

X. From the Junction of the Grand and Green to the Mouth

of the Little Colorado ......211

XI. From the Little Colorado to the Foot of the Grand Canyon247

XII. The Rio Virgen and the Uinkaret Mountains . .289

XIII. Over the River ....327

XIV. To Zuñi ......351

XV. The Grand Canyon ....379

Index .......399

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Portrait of the Author ....... Frontispiece [missing]

PAGE

The Colorado River ......16

Parunuweap Canyon .....18

Bird's-eye View of the Cliffs ....19

San Francisco Peak .....21

Cliff near Fort Wingate .....22

Scenery on the High Plateaus ...23

The Mogollon Escarpment ....25

Snow-clad Mountains on the River ..26

Our Messenger ......28

Apache Basket ......29

Our Messenger's Wife .....30

Ruins of Toyalone .....31

A Zuñí Court .......33

Adobe Church, Zuñi .....34

The Site of Moenkopi . . . . . . . . 36

Mountain of the Holy Cross ...38

Wingate Cliff .......40

Pyramid Butte near Fort Wingate ..41

Zuñi Cliffs .......42

Great Neck Nine Miles South of Salazar .43

Cinder Cone and Neck, Northeast of Grant Station 44

Two Large Necks, the More Distant One being the Cabazon45

Neck Six Miles Northeast of Juantafoya ..46

A Group of Necks near Mount Taylor .47

Panorama from the Edge of Mount Taylor Mesa 48

Panorama in the Valley of the Puerco .50

Ruins at the Head of McElmo Canyon . . . 52

A Navajo Hogan ......53

An Ancient Coiled Vase from Tusayan ..54

A Typical Cliff Dwelling ....56

A Room in a Pueblo .....57

A Navajo Ready for a Journey ...58

A Navajo Boy .......59

Gardens of Zuñi ......60

A Tusayan Ladder ......61

A Zuñi Stool ......61

X CANYONS OF THE COLORADO.

PAGE

A Tusayan Field Shelter .....62

Another Tusayan Field Shelter ...63

View of Hano, One of the Seven Pueblos of Tusayan . 64

Mesa Verde . . . . ... . . between 64 and 65

Mount Moran, Teton Range, Wyoming ..66

Marble Basins, Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone Park 69

Terraced Basins, Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone Park 70

Tabernacle Crater and Lava Beds of the Basin Province 73

View on Great Salt Lake Desert, showing Mountains half buried by Lake Sediments .....74

An Indian Hunter ......76

Reservoir Butte, showing Terraces of the Ancient Lake Bonneville Shorelines . . . . . . . 77

Pavant Butte, over a Submarine Volcano of the Great Basin 78

An Indian Camp ......79

Indians Gambling ......80

Ruin near Moenkopi .....81

Ruins of Payupki, Six Miles Northwest of Mashongnavi, Tusayan .. 82

Shupaulovi .......85

General View of Zuñi, looking West ..86

The Gray Cliffs ......88

Section and Bird's-eye View of the Plateaus North of the Grand Canyon ......90

A Group of Stone Corrals ....91

Ruins ........92

Lagoon on the Kaibab .....95

Pink Cliffs, Paunsagunt Plateau ...96

A Permian Butte ......99

Vermilion Cliffs at Kanab .....100

A Midsummerday's Dream on the Colob .103

An Indian Village ......104

Antinaints, Putusiv, and Wichuts in Festal Dress . 105

Perspective View of Typical Solitary House .106

Perspective View of Round-House Structure of Lava . 107

An Ancient Cliff House .....108

A Zuñi Eagle Cage .....109

A View of Zuñi ......110

Walpi Dance Rock .....112

A Passageway in Walpi .....114

A Passageway in Mashongnavi ...115

The Hurricane Fault ..... between 114 and 115

Temples and Towers of the Rio Virgen . between 114 and 115

Towers of the Vermilion Cliffs .... between 114 and 115

Panorama ....... between 114 and 115

Terraced Houses in Zuñi .....116

The Start from Green River Station ..118

View in Sichumovi ......121

Trail up Walpi Mesa .....122

Ridges on Bitter Creek .....123

Mesas ........124

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. XI

PAGE

A Valley West of Green River ...125

Alcove Lands ......126

Bad Lands . . . . . . . . . . 127

Our Indian Guide .....128

Our Guide's Boy ......129

Green River Plains .....130

The Chief Kiva of Shupaulovi . . . . . . 131

Walpi .........132

Camp at Flaming Gorge . . . . . . . 134

Mashongnavi, with Shupaulovi in the Distance . . 135

Horseshoe Canyon ......136

Scene in Hano ......139

Pescado Pueblo, Outside Steps ....140

Oven near Pescado Pueblo ....141

Primitive Andiron in Shumopavi ...142

Tusayan Mealing-Stones ....143

Kiva and Stone Corrals of Mashongnavi ..144

"Hogbacks" with Intervening Valleys .146

An Ancient Pueblo Metate ....148

The Home of the Chief ....150

Gate of Lodore .......153

Wreck at Disaster Falls . . . . . . 155

Metalliferous Veins exposed to View ..156

Winnie's Grotto, a Side Canyon ...159

Eroded Towers capped with Large Blocks of Sandstone . 161

Fire in Camp ......162

An Isolated House at Zuñi ....164

An Oraibi Court ......166

The Rescue . . . . . . . . . ...169

Echo Park .......170

Fragment of Wall, Zuñi .....171

Kivas of Shumopavi .....172

General View of Awatubi . . . . . . . 173

Swallow Cave . . . . . . . . 175

View of Shumopavi . . . . . . . . 177

Ruins .......178, 179

Indian Lodge in the Uinta Valley ...181

Warrior and Bride .....183

Our Interpreter and His Family ...185

House Building at Oraibi ....186

General View of Ojo Caliente ....188

Sumner's Amphitheater ....190

Chimneys and Roofs, Zuñi ....193

A Tusayan Interior .....194

Lighthouse Rock, Canyon of Desolation ..197

Gunnison Butte, Gray Canyon ...199

Ruins of Ketchipauau .....201

Bird's-eye View of the Land of the Standing Rocks . 202

The Butte of the Cross .....204

Land of the Standing Rocks . . . . 205

XII

CANYONS OF THE COLORADO.

PAGE

Moenkopi .......207

Oraibi Houses .......208

The Heart of Marble Canyon ...210

A Lateral Canyon. ......213

A Tusayan Mealing Trough. ...215

The Heart of Cataract Canyon . . . . . 217

Water Basin in Gypsum Canyon ...219

The Water Pocket Canyon ....221

Plan of the Ruin of Kiu-Tiel, near Tusayau . . 222

Pescado Houses .......225

Repairing Boats at the Mouth of Dirty Devil River . 226

Ruins on the Brink of Glen Canyon ..228

Island Monument iu Glen Canyon ...231

Glen Canyon .......232

An Enclosing Wall of Upright Stones at Ojo Caliente 235

Marble Canyon .......236

Noonday Rest in Marble Canyon ..239

View of Marble Canyon from Vermilion Cliffs . . 240

Adobe Walls, Zuñi .....243

At the Mouth of the Little Colorado ..246

Walls of Gneiss ......249

Running a Rapid ......250

Head of the Grand Canyon ....252

The Inner Gorge ......254

Signal of Discovery or Alarm . . . . . 257

Signal, "Who are you?" Answer, "Pani" . . . ...258

Signal of Successful War Party ...261

A Signal of Peace ......262

Moki Method of Dressing the Hair ..265

Moki Method of Spinning ....266

An Alcove in the Red Wall ...269

Kanab Canyon, near the Junction ...270

Kanab Canyon in the Red Wall Limestone . . 273

The Brink of the Inner Gorge ....275

The Grand Canyon of the Colorado, showing Amphitheater and Sculptured Buttes .....276

Climbing the Grand Canyon Wall ..279

Triangulation Station .....281

Cavate Houses ......283

Standing Rocks .......285

Mount Trumbull, from Mount Logan ..288

Mary's Veil, the Upper Fall on Pine Creek . . . 290

Filling's Cascade, the Lower Palls on Pine Creek . 291

Aboriginal Ladder . ... . . . . . 292

Another Style of Ladder ....293

Entrance to Parunuweap .....295

Towers on the Rio Virgen ....296

Mukuntuweap Canyon . . . . . . . 298

The Witches' Water Pocket ....301

Wunavai Gathering Seeds .....302

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Xlll

PAGE

Terrace Fireplace and Chimney of Shumopavi . . 305

A Sweat House .......306

An Interior Lodge ......309

Halved and Pinned Trapdoor Frame of Zuñí Kiva . . 310

Wooden Pivot Hinges of a Zuñi Door .310

A Poultry House of Sichumovi resembling an Oven . 312

The Human Pickle .....314

Recent Lava Flow on the Uinkaret . . . . . 317

A Zuñi Window glazed with Selenite ..318

A Zuñi Chair .......319

An Ancient Circular Doorway or "Stone Close" in Kin-Tiel 320

A Gaming Ring ......320

Interior View of a Tusayan Kiva ..322

Cave Lake in Kanab Canyon ....324

Ancient Pottery from Tusayan ...326

Tusayan Fetiches and Implements ...329

Dance Paraphernalia from Tusayan ..332

The Thousand Wells .....334

Terraced Houses in Oraibi showing Entrance to Kiva in Foreground ........335

The House of Talti, Chief of the Council in the Town of Oraibi 337

Praying for Rain ......339

Mashongnavi .......340

Tusayan Trays .......341

Tusayan Maskettes .....343

Sichumovi and Hano .....344

Walpi, a Village of Tusayan ...346

Tusayan Basketry ....330, 348, 349

Zuñi from Housetops, looking East ..350

Navajo Indian with Silver Ornaments ..352

Bringing down the Batten . . . . 353

Navajo Church, near Fort Wingate ...354

Round Tower on a Rock ....355

Toyalone, from the Top of a House in Zuñi .356

Typical Terraced Communal Pueblo ..357

Dancer holding up the Great Plumed Arrow .358

Dancer "swallowing" the Great Plumed Arrow . 359

Navajo Woman weaving a Belt ...360

Navajo Woman spinning ....361

A Room in a Zuñi House ....362

Ashtishkee, a Navajo Chief ....365

Navajo Medicine Lodge, viewed from the South . . 366

Navajo Medicine Lodge, viewed from the East . . 367

Navajo Fire Dance ......368

Workshop of Navajo Silversmith ...369

Zuñi Woman weaving a Belt ....370

Weaving of Diamond-shaped Diagonals .371

Zuñi Fetiches .......372

Effigy Pottery from Zuñi ....373

Zuñi Pottery .......374

XIV CANYONS OF THE COLORADO.

PAGE

Zuñi Grails .......375

Culinary Pottery from Zuñí . . . . . . 376

Navajo Fabrics ......377

The Grand Canyon ......378

A Gable with Pinnacles ....381

Niches or Panels in the Red Wall Limestone .382

Bounded Inward Curves and Projecting Cusps of the Walls ...384

The Eastern Temple ......387

The Western Temple .....388

Granite Falls, Kaibab Division, Grand Canyon . . 391

Dikes in the Canyon Wall ....392

Pinnacles of the Kaibab .....395

Vishnu's Temple ......396

Key to the Panorama from Point Sublime, looking East, between 396 and ...397

Key to the Panorama from Point Sublime, looking West, between ...396 and ...397

Key to the Panorama from Point Sublime, looking South, between ...396 and ...397

Grand Canyon at the Foot of the Toroweap, looking East, between ...396 and ...397

The Great Unconformity at the Head of the Grand Canyon, between ...396 and ...397