File:The book of the national parks (1920) (14765678675).jpg

Identifier: bookofnationalpa1920yard (find matches)
Title: The book of the national parks
Year: 1920 (1920s)
Authors: Yard, Robert Sterling, 1861-1945
Subjects: National parks and reserves
Publisher: New York : Charles Scribner's Sons
Contributing Library: Harold B. Lee Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Brigham Young University

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explore the great canyons of the Greenand Colorado Rivers. Besides the immense benefitto science, the expedition promised a great adventure.Many lives had been lost in these canyons and wonder-ful were the tales told concerning them. Indians re-ported that huge cataracts were hidden in their depthsand that in one place the river swept through an un-derground passage. Nevertheless, with the financial backing of theState institutions of Illinois and the Chicago Academyof Science, Powell got together a party of ten menwith four open boats, provisions for ten months, andall necessary scientific instruments. He started abovethe canyons of the Green River on May 24, 1869. There are many canyons on the Green and Colo-rado Rivers. They vary in length from eight to ahundred and fifty miles, with walls successively risingfrom thirteen hundred to thirty-five hundred feet inheight. The climax of all, the Grand Canyon, is twohundred and seventeen miles long, with walls sixthousand feet in height.
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A PAGEANT OF CREATION 347 On August 17, when Powell and his adventurersreached the Grand Canyon, their rations had beenreduced by upsets and other accidents to enough mustyflour for ten days, plenty of coffee, and a few driedapples. The bacon had spoiled. Most of the scientificinstruments were in the bottom of the river. Oneboat was destroyed. The men were wet to the skinand unable to make a fire. In this plight they enteredthe Grand Canyon, somewhere in whose depths agreat cataract had been reported. The story of the passage is too long to tell here.Chilled, hungry, and worn, they struggled through it.Often they were obliged to let their boats down steeprapids by ropes, and clamber after them along theslippery precipices. Often there was nothing to dobut to climb into their boats and run down long foam-ing slants around the corners of which death, perhaps,awaited. Many times they were upset and barelyescaped with their lives. With no wraps or clothingthat were not soaked with water,

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