nearer the right wall, from which they were manoeuvred across to a pile about two hundred feet away against the foot of the cliff, This ended our struggle for the day, as night was upon us.  The black rocks towering so far above made the gorge darken early, and rain began to fall.  A little damp driftwood was collected with which a fire was started in order that Andy might prepare supper.  When this was almost ready peal after peal of thunder suddenly crashed among the cliffs, which seemed to collapse and fall down upon us, and a flood from the sky descended.  The fire died without a sputter, everything not in rubber was soaked, and all we could do was to stand in the darkness, cold and hungry, and wait for the deluge to cease.  At last we were able to start the fire once more, and had a half-cooked supper before hunting the soft sides of the rocks for beds.  The next day it required hard work till one o’clock to get the boats down two hundred yards farther.  At one place to keep the bow in, I was in one of the boats, being lowered along the wall, while the other men were a hundred feet above my head, holding the end of two hundred feet of rope, as they clambered along a ledge.  The situation all around was rather precarious, but we had no accident.  This brought us to a small alcove where there was a limited talus.  The boats were so much bruised that we were obliged to halt on these rocks for repairs, instead of starting out again into the current as we intended.  This work took so long that darkness approached before all was done.  At the same time we discovered that the river was rising rapidly, at the rate of three or four feet an hour, submerging the rocks.  Fortunately, about twenty feet up the cliff was a narrow shelf, and to this the rations were passed to guard them from the rising waters.  Then there was danger of the boats pounding to pieces, as the space they were on was rapidly decreasing, and waves from the rapid swept into the cove, so it was decided to raise them up on the side of the wall as far as necessary.  By means of the ropes we succeeded in swinging them at a height of about six feet and there made them fast for the night.  There was not room on the ledge for a camp, but by going out around a projection a talus was available, though there was a dearth of wood and level spots.  I managed to find enough half-dead mesquite bushes for a fire, and Andy did his best on the supper.  One hundred feet above the river I found driftwood.  To add to the discomfort of the occasion the rain began again, and the river continued its rise.  Through the night a watch was kept on the boats, so that they could be lifted farther if necessary.  The morning of August 31st was wet and gloomy in the black gorge.  Some of the rocks were still above water, against the wall.  When the boats were lowered they pounded about at a frightful rate on the surges that swept into the alcove.  Then it was found that a hole in the Dean had been forgotten or overlooked, and she was leaking