Note To Dkos Readers: If you are just joining me for this series of diaries on, please read the introduction in the first diary (http://www.dailykos.com/...). I also recommend reading the ensuing diaries. It will help explain the essence of both the adventure and the social politics behind same.
The Soaring Gateway To The 'Great Unknown': Desolate enough to suit a love-sick poet. One of Major Powell’s men, probably Sumner, made this comment about the next canyon down the line, Marble. On August 5 the expedition camped above the start of this sixty mile sinuous chasm, which today is part of the Grand Canyon’s province. But none of the men, including Major Powell, knew their exact position. The major only had a rough idea they were much closer to the end of the line, with a reference to a small Mormon community in Nevada, Callville. He designated this next canyon below Lee's ferry Marble Canyon, and he wanted to use this same designation for Cataract Canyon. Due to the way the walls of Marble Canyon reflected the sunlight it looked like marble from a distance, although Major Powell certainly knew marble from limestone. The men had a rough time with some of the rapids in the canyon but managed to get through them without any serious mishaps. Then again, by this stage they were pretty adept to how to run, or at least how to read, the whitewater. They were boatmen with experience, albeit their boats were still difficult to manage and made the task all the more difficult.
Historic Grand Canyon photo appearing in Dellenbaugh's "Romance of the Colorado" (from the second expedition):
The mighty test they faced began almost immediately upon entering Marble Canyon, and would become a common template for the rest of the journey both canyons had in store for the men. Bradley noted in his journal on August 5 that he and the others had come to like the rapids, yet they came upon two others (Badger and Soap Creek) that didn’t suit him too well. His other chief complaints were the usual: the nearly constant drenchings from the monsoons followed by the uncomfortable sauna effects of a boiling sun.