Canyon on the Gila

Upon leaving the Iron Mountain campsite of October 25, Whipple's  survey party approached an impassable section of the canyon and were forced to interrupt their survey of the river and find a detour.  Here's Lt. Whipple's diary entry from Dr. David H. Miller's typescript:

Monday Oct. 27 [1851] "After walking a mile (for mules could not be riden [sic] down the rocks,) and wading the river twice the precipices of the cañon narrowed to 30 feet which pass was blocked up by boulders 15 feet high between which the river dashed in deep but narrow channels.  The precipices upon each side were estimated from 1000 to fifteen hundred feet in height.  They were beautifully worn into curious shapes and often terminated in spires or towers as perfect as if formed by the hand of man.  The sketch by Mr. Wheaton shows the present termination of the survey."   

-Whipple Collection, Oklahoma Historical Society  

Eastman's watercolor above was made in about 1853 from an 1851 field sketch done by an artist in the survey party.  An interesting point here is the artist's depiction of the direction of the river flow.  This watercolor shows the river flowing toward the viewer, when it actually flows the opposite direction.  Eastman was never at the site and obviously guessed wrong about the river flow.

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