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Frederick S. Dellenbaugh - The Romance of the Colorado River
wilderness, fathomed its secret places, traversed its trails and passes, marking them with his own blood
and more vividly with that of the natives. Incidentally, by right of their discoveries and occupation of the
wilderness, much of it became by the law of nations a part of the lands of the United States, though still
nominally claimed by Mexico. Two years after the return of the famous Lewis-and-Clark expedition,
Andrew Henry "discovered" South Pass (1808), and led his party through it into the Green River* Valley.
His discovery consisted, like many others of the time, in following up the bison trails and the highways of
the natives. The latter, of course, knew every foot of the whole country; each tribe its own special lands
and more or less into and across those of its neighbours.
* The name Green River was used as early as 1824, and was probably derived from the name of the early
trapper. Till about 1835 it was usually called by the Crow name, Seedskeedee.
By the time the third decade of the nineteenth century was fairly begun the trappers were crossing in
considerable numbers from the headwaters of the Missouri and the Platte into the valley of the Colorado
and the Columbia, and as early as 1824 one of the most brilliant figures of this epoch, General Ashley,*
having previously organised a fur-trading company in St. Louis, then the centre of all Western commerce,
had established himself in Green River Valley with a large band of expert trappers which included now
famous names like Henry, Bridger, Fitzpatrick, Green, Sublet, and Beckwourth. Provo (or Provost) was
already encamped in Brown's Hole. One of Ashley's principal camps was what they called the
"rendezvous" (there were a great many French-Canadians engaged in the fur business, and hence
numerous French words were in common use among the trappers of the period), just above "The Suck,"
on Green River. This Suck was at the entrance to Flaming Gorge, as it has since been named. Beckwourth
says of this: "The current, at a small distance from our camp, became exceedingly rapid, and drew toward
the centre from each shore." The river here narrows suddenly and attacks a high ridge. Doubling around a
point to the left and then as suddenly to the right, the swift water or "Suck" slackens up in the quieter
reach of Flaming Gorge. In their journeys after beaver the Ashley party had been able to go into this
gorge and the two following ones, Horseshoe and Kingfisher, and had doubtless trapped in them. Here
were many beaver, and Ashley drew the inference that as many existed below in the deeper canyon.
Though he had discovered the dangerous character of the river he decided to build boats and set forth on
the current in order to trap the canyon, the length of which he did not know and underestimated. A
purpose of reaching St. Louis by this route has been attributed to Ashley, but as Hunt and others some
years before understood this to be a stream on whose lower waters Spaniards lived, Ashley doubtless had
the same information, and from that he would have known that it was no practicable route to St. Louis.
Beckwourth, who relates the story of the trip,** makes no suggestion of any far-off destination, nor does
he say they took their packs along, as they would have done if going to a commercial centre. It seems to
have been purely a trapping expedition, and was probably the very first attempt to navigate Green River.
They took along few provisions, expecting to find beaver plentiful to the end of the canyon, but after a
few miles the beaver were absent, and, having preserved none of the meat, the party began to suffer for
food. They were six days without eating, and, the high precipitous walls running ever on and on, they
became disheartened, or, in Western phrase, "demoralised," and proposed to cast lots to find which should
make food for the others, a proposition which horrified Ashley, and he begged them to hold out longer,
assuring them that the walls must soon break and enable them to escape. They had not expected so long a
gorge. Red Canyon is twenty-five miles and, with the three above, the unbroken canyon is about
thirty-five miles. Under the circumstances the canyon seemed interminable and the cliffs insurmountable.
The latter grow more precipitous toward the lower end, and scaling would be a difficult feat for a man
well fed and strong, though well-nigh hopeless for any weakened by lack of proper food. At last,
however, an opening appeared. Here they discovered Provo encamped with an abundance of provisions,
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