was to keep as near the shore as
possible. Once I thought it was all over when I saw the _Edith_ pulled
directly for a rock in spite of all Emery could do to pull away.
Nothing but a rebounding wave saved him. I went through the same
experience. Several times we were threatened with an upset, but we
landed in safety. The portage was short and easy. Flat granite rocks
were covered with a thin coat of ice. The boats were unloaded and slid
across, then dropped below the projecting rock. The _Defiance_ skidded
less than two feet and struck a projecting knob of rock the size of a
goose egg. It punctured the side close to the stern, fortunately above
the water line, and the wood was not entirely broken away.

Two miles below this we found another bad one. This was lined while
Bert got supper up in a little sloping canyon; about as uncomfortable
a camp as we had found. Many of the rapids run the next day were
violent. The river seemed to be trying to make up for lost time. We
passed a canyon coming from the south containing two streams, one
clear, and one muddy. The narrowest place we had seen on the river was
a rapid run this day, not over forty feet wide. Evening brought us to
a rapid with a lateral canyon coming in from each side, that on the
right containing a muddy stream. The walls were sheer and jagged close
to the rapid, with a break on the rugged slopes here and there. A
sloping rock in the middle of the stream could be seen in the third
section of the rapid. This was Separation Rapid, the point where the
two Howland brothers and Dunn parted company with Major Powell and his
party.

From our camp at the left side we could easily figure out a way to the
upper plateau. Above that they would have a difficult climb as far as
we could tell. That they did reach the top is well known. They met a
tragic fate. The second day after getting out they were killed by some
Indians--the Shewits Utes--who had treated them hospitably at first
and provided them with something to eat. That night a visiting Indian
brought a tale of depredations committed by some miners against
another section of their tribe. These men were believed to be the
guilty parties, and they were ambushed the next morning. Their fate
remained a mystery for a year; then a Ute was seen with a watch
belonging to one of the men. Later a Mormon who had a great deal of
influence with the Indians got their story from them, and reported to
Major Powell what he had learn