irely, for the past three
weeks, of corn and beans, purchased from the natives, but even on this
diet without salt the skiff party, worked its way steadily upward over
many rapids through the superb chasm. "No description," says Ives, "can
convey an idea of the varied and majestic grandeur of this peerless
waterway. Wherever the river makes a turn, the entire panorama changes,
and one startling novelty after another appears and disappears with
bewildering rapidity." I commend these pages of Lieutenant Ives, and, in
fact, his whole report, to all who delight in word-painting of natural
scenery, for the lieutenant certainly handled his pen as well as he did
his sword.* Emerging from the solemn depths of Black Canyon (twenty-five
miles long) he and his small party passed Fortification Rock and
continued on two miles up the river to an insignificant little stream
coming in from the north, which he surmised might be the Virgen, though
he hardly thought it could be, and it was not. It was Vegas Wash. This
was his highest point. Turning about, he descended to the steamboat
camp and called that place the head of navigation, not that he did not
believe a steamer might ascend, light, through Black Canyon, but he
considered it impracticable. Running now down-stream in the Explorer,
the expected pack-train was encountered at the foot of Pyramid Canyon,
and a welcome addition was made to the supplies.

* It may be of interest to state that Lieutenant Ives became an
officer in the Confederate Army, and was killed in one of the battles of
the Civil War.

The steamboat was now sent back to the fort and Ives prepared for a land
journey, which led him eastward over much the same route that Garces
had traversed so long ago on his march to Oraibi. Ireteba was his guide.
They went to the mouth of Diamond Creek, where they had their first view
of the Grand Canyon, or Big Canyon, as they called it, of which Ireteba
had before given them some description. The illustrations given in
Ives's report of both Black and Grand Canyons are a libel on these
magnificent wonder-places, and in no way compare with the lieutenant's
admirable pen-pictures. Crossing the Colorado Plateau (which another
explorer ten or twelve years later claims the honour of naming,
forgetting that Ives uses the name in his report), they visited the
Havasupai in their deep canyon home, just as Garces had done, and then
proceeded to the towns of the Moki. Ives was deeply