There was a four foot skag or keel under the stern end of the boat,
but this was only used when in quiet water; and as it was never
replaced after being once removed we seldom refer to it. Being
flat-bottomed, they drew comparatively little water, a matter quite
important on low water such as we found in the Green River. While each
boat carried a weight of seven hundred pounds in addition to its own
five hundred pounds, they often passed over rocks less than ten inches
below the surface, and did so without touching. While the boats were
quite large, the arched decks made them look even larger. A
considerable amount of material could be stored under these decks. The
only part of the boat that was entirely open or unprotected from the
waves was the cockpit, or mid-section occupied by the oarsman. This
was only large enough for one man. A second man had to sit on the deck
behind the oarsman, with his feet hanging into the cockpit. Jimmy
occupied this place of honour as we drifted through the placid water;
first on one boat, then on the other, entertaining us meanwhile with
his songs.
We encountered two splashy little rapids this day, but with no rocks,
or any dangerous feature whatever. Any method, or none at all, was
safe enough in these rapids.
The colouring of the rocks changed as we proceeded, and at the lower
end of the short canyon we saw the flaming patch of colour that had
suggested its name to Major Powell, forty-two years before.
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