A Wild Ride

August 21.

Below, the river turns again to the right, the canon is very narrow, and we see in advance but a short distance. The water is swift, and there is no landing place. From around this curve comes a mad roar, and down we are carried, with a dizzying velocity, to the head of another rapid. High over our heads on either side are overhanging granite walls. The sharp bend cuts off our view, so a few minutes will carry us into unknown waters.

I stand on deck, supporting myself with a strap fastened on either side to the gunwale, and away we go on one long winding chute. The excitement is so great that we forget the danger -- a wild, exhilarating ride for ten miles -- until we hear the roar of a great fall below, back on our oars and succeed in landing.

John Wesley Powell, Exploration of the Colorado River of the West and Its Tributaries, August 21, 1869