same time, I seem to be fulfilling a duty towards my old
comrades. The reader is referred to Chapter XIV., and to pages 368-9 for
later data on descents. Notwithstanding these the canyons remain almost
terra incognita for each new navigator. There have been some who appear
to be inclined to withhold from Major Powell the full credit which is
his for solving the great problem of the Southwest, and who, therefore,
make much of the flimsy story of White, and even assume on faint
evidence that others fathomed the mystery even before White. There is,
in my opinion, no ground for such assumptions. Several trappers, like
Pattie and Carson, had gained a considerable knowledge of the general
course and character of the river as early as 1830, but to Major Powell
and his two parties undoubtedly belongs the high honour of being the
first to explore and explain the truth about it and its extraordinary
canyon environment. If danger, difficulty, and disaster mean romance,
then assuredly the Colorado of the West is entitled to first rank, for
seldom has any human being touched its borderland even, without some
bitter or fatal experience. Never is the Colorado twice alike, and each
new experience is different from the last. Once acknowledge this and
the dangers, however, and approach it in a humble and reverent spirit,
albeit firmly, and death need seldom be the penalty of a voyage on its
restless waters.

I have endeavoured to present the history of the river, and immediate
environment, so far as I have been able to learn it, but within the
limits of a single volume of this size much must necessarily be omitted.
Reference to the admirable works of Powell, Gilbert, and Button will
give the reader full information concerning the geology and topography;
Garces, by Elliott Coues, gives the story of the friars; and the
excellent memoir of Chittenden, The American Fur Trade of the Far West,
will give a complete understanding of the travels and exploits of the
real pioneers of the Rocky Mountain country. I differ with this author,
however, as to the wise and commendable nature of the early trappers'
dealings with the natives, and this will be explained in the pages on
that subject. He also says in his preface that "no feature of western
geography was ever discovered by government explorers after 1840." While
this is correct in the main, it gives an erroneous impression so far
as the canyons of the Colorado are concerned. These canyons were