This ruined the trail beyond all
hope of repair, and there is no travel at present over the old Ute
Crossing. The fording of the river on horseback was effected by
dropping down to the river through a narrow side canyon, and crossing
to the centre on a shoal, then following a centre shoal down quite a
distance, and completing the crossing at a low point on the opposite
side. This was only possible at the very lowest stage of water.
The morning following our arrival here, we walked about a mile up the
gravelly slope on the south side, to see if we could locate the pass
by which the trail dropped down over these 3000-foot walls. The canyon
had changed in appearance after leaving the mountain, and now we had a
canyon; smaller, but not unlike the Grand Canyon in appearance, with
an inner plateau, and a narrow canyon at the river, while the walls on
top were several miles apart, and towering peaks or buttes rose from
the plateau, reaching a height almost equal to the walls themselves.
The upper walls were cream-tinted or white sandstone, the lower
formation was a warm red sandstone. We could not discover the pass
without a long walk to the base of the upper cliffs, so returned to
the boats.
About this time we heard shots, seeming to come from some point down
the river, and on the north side. Later a dull hollow sound was heard
like pounding on a great bass drum. We could not imagine what it was,
but knew that it must be a great distance away.
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