dismally crawling out of the roaring waters with nothing left but the clothes on their backs.  Our opinion was, they were served just right:  first, because they had stolen our property, and, second, because they had so little sense.  The walls had rapidly grown in altitude, and near the river were vertical so that climbing out at this place was a particularly difficult undertaking.  The river was still very high, but not at the highest stage of this year, which had been passed before the Canonita party had come down to the Paria from Fremont River.  But the canyon was even yet uncomfortably full and we were hoping the water would diminish rapidly, for high tide in such a place is a great disadvantage.  The stream was thick with red mud, the condition from which it derived its name, and it swept along with a splendid vigour that betokened a large reserve flood in the high mountains.  The marble composing the walls of this canyon for most of its length is of a greyish drab colour often beautifully veined, but it must not be supposed that the walls are the same colour externally, for they are usually a deep red, due to the discoloration of their surface by disintegration of beds above full of iron.  Except where high water had scoured the walls, there was generally no indication of their real colour.  In places the friction of the current had brought them to a glistening polish; the surface was smooth as glass, and was sometimes cut into multitudinous irregular flutings as deep as one’s finger.  The grinding power of the current was well shown in some of the boulders, which had been dovetailed together till the irregular line of juncture was barely perceptible.

The next day was begun by accomplishing the portage over the rapid which had punished the prospectors for their temerity and for their lack of proper morals, and then we made most excellent progress, successfully putting behind us eleven lively rapids free from rocks before we were admonished to pause and make a let-down.  Then camp was established for the night with the record of ten and three-eighths miles for our day’s work.  At one place we passed a rock in the water so large that it almost blocked the entire stream, which had averaged about two hundred feet in width, though narrowing at many places to no more than seventy-five.  The current was always extremely swift, while many whirlpools added their demands, though they gave us no serious trouble.  It is exasperating, however, to be turned around against one’s will.  The canyon at the top for a considerable distance was not over three-quarters of a mile wide.  The depth was now from fifteen hundred to eighteen hundred feet.  There were always rapids following quickly one after another, but so often they were free from rocks, the dangerous part of most rapids, that we were able to sail through them in triumph.  On the 20th, out of thirteen sharp descents, we easily ran twelve, all in a distance of less than seven miles.  The average width of the river was one hundred and