There is, in my opinion, no ground for such assumptions.

Several trappers, like Pattie and Carson, had gained a considerable knowledge of the general course and character of the river as early as 1830, but to Major Powell and his two parties undoubtedly belongs the high honour of being the first to explore and explain the truth about it and its extraordinary canyon environment.

If danger, difficulty, and disaster mean romance, then assuredly the Colorado of the West is entitled to first rank, for seldom has any human being touched its borderland even, without some bitter or fatal experience.

Never is the Colorado twice alike, and each new experience is different from the last.

Once acknowledge this and the dangers, however, and approach it in a humble and reverent spirit, albeit firmly, and death need seldom be the penalty of a voyage on its restless waters.
I have endeavoured to present the history of the river, and immediate environment, so far as I have been able to learn it, but within the limits of a single volume of this size much must necessarily be omitted.
Reference to the admirable works of Powell, Gilbert, and Button will give the reader full information concerning the geology and topography; Garces, by Elliott Coues, gives the story of the friars; and the excellent memoir of Chittenden, The American Fur Trade of the Far West, will give a complete understanding of the travels and exploits of the real pioneers of the Rocky Mountain country.