They had followed Powell on his former trip, declaring that if he could go down the river so could they, but they learned their mistake and paid dearly for the experience.

The leader, whose bones lie in these splendid depths of Red Canyon, was said to have been the first mayor of Cheyenne.

Many more rapids we ran with a current of from six to twelve or fifteen miles per hour, and we made many "let-downs," which means working a boat along the edge of a rapid by the aid of lines, without removing the cargo.
We called this process, when we removed the cargo, a "line portage," as distinguished from a complete portage where the boats were taken out of the water.
Shortly after dinner one day we heard a deep roaring, which implied that we were approaching a violent fall, and hugging the left-hand bank, we drifted slowly down to within a rod or two of the drop and easily landed.

It was Ashley Falls.

In the centre of the river protruded an immense rock, twenty-five feet square, and the river rushed by on each side making a sudden descent of about eight feet.