days later, a still more powerful and dangerous rapid was encountered.
Some idea of the force of the water can be gleaned from the precautions
that were necessary. A line 250 feet long was strung out ahead, and the
boat was swung into the stream. It went through apparently the most
dangerous places without much difficulty. The line was loosened slowly
and the boat held under control, but when it reached the main eddy it
began to get contrary, and finally swung round, and seemed to have
struck a back current. Several hours' work got the boat to shore, but
the next one was dashed into a thousand pieces while crossing over some
of the sharp-pointed rocks.

The forty miles of the Granite Gorge are replete with wonders. The
strangely misnamed section, the Bright Angel Creek, is absolutely dark,
even at midday. It has been described as a sentinel of the great cañon,
and few people have dared attempt to pass through it. Farther down, the
granite walls become less steep, and black granite relieves the monotony
of color. Here and there, at side cañons and sudden bends, the vast rear
view of the gorge, with its sandstone cliffs, is brought into view.
These are benched back several miles from the river, with huge mountains
here and there intervening. Above the dark sandstone there are flattened
slopes of yellow, brown, red, green and white rock, rich in mineral.
Through these the force of water for ages has cut narrow, trench-like
waterfalls, most remarkable in appearance and attractive in their
variety of coloring.

It is difficult to imagine an upright wall a thousand feet high with red
the predominating color, and with brighter hues near the summit. Benches
of marble, with tufts of glass and bush, appear here and there, while
occasionally there is a little tract of faultless green. Above all this,
there is something like two thousand feet of a lighter colored