Emery had a little difficulty in this rapid, when
his boat touched a rock which turned the boat sideways in the current,
and he was nearly overturned in the heavy waves which followed. As it
was, we were both drenched.
About the middle of the afternoon, twelve miles below Lee's Ferry, we
reached the Soap Creek Rapid of which we had heard so much. The rapid
had a fall of twenty-five feet, and was a quarter of a mile long. Most
of the fall occurred in the first fifty yards. The river had narrowed
down until it was less than two hundred feet wide at the beginning of
the descent. Many rocks were smattered all through the upper end,
especially at the first drop. On the very brink or edge of the first
fall, there was a submerged rock in the centre of the channel, making
an eight-foot fall over the rock. A violent current, deflected from
the left shore, shot into this centre and added to the confusion.
Twelve-foot waves from the conflicting currents, played leap-frog,
jumping over or through each other alternately. Clearly there was no
channel on that side. On the right or north side of the stream it
looked more feasible, as the water shot down a sloping chute over a
hundred feet before meeting with an obstruction. This came in the
shape of two rocks, one about thirty feet below the other. To run the
rapid this first rock would have to be passed before any attempt could
be made to pull away from the second rock, which was quite close to
the shore.
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