We saw the only thing to do was to lower one boat, with two men on board, by her line for some distance (a hundred feet of best Manila rope were attached to each boat by a strong iron ring; in the stern was also an iron ring), and from the stern let the other cautiously down to the very head of the fall, where there was a second pile of rocks which received the boat between them and held her fast.

The upper boat was then pulled back to where we had remained, the line from the second being tied to her stern.

Entering her we clung to projections of the wall with our hands, to prevent the current from swinging the boat out, while the men who were in the lower boat carefully hauled on the stern line till at last we also reached the rocks.

With a great deal of labour we then worked both boats from these rocks to some others nearer the right wall, from which they were manoeuvred across to a pile about two hundred feet away against the foot of the cliff, This ended our struggle for the day, as night was upon us.
The black rocks towering so far above made the gorge darken early, and rain began to fall.

A little damp driftwood was collected with which a fire was started in order that Andy might prepare supper.