let-downs

Updated: May 25, 2025

Running rapids and passing falls by portages and let-downs, they met no formidable obstacle till August 14th, when they ran into a granite formation, the "First Granite Gorge." While the gorge was wide above, it grew narrower as the river level was approached, till the walls were closer than anywhere farther up; and they were ragged and serrated.

Frederick Samuel Dellenbaugh - The Romance of the Colorado River : The Story of its Discovery in 1840, with an Account of the Later Explorations, and with Special Reference to the Voyages of Powell through the Line of the Great Canyons

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.

Frederick Samuel Dellenbaugh - The Romance of the Colorado River : The Story of its Discovery in 1840, with an Account of the Later Explorations, and with Special Reference to the Voyages of Powell through the Line of the Great Canyons

As soon as we had consumed the allowance of bread, bacon, and coffee, we took up our task by making two very difficult and tiring let-downs; that is, manoeuvring the boats in and out, among and over, the rocks alongshore by lines, with one or two men aboard, always on the lookout to prevent being caught by outer currents.

Frederick Samuel Dellenbaugh - The Romance of the Colorado River : The Story of its Discovery in 1840, with an Account of the Later Explorations, and with Special Reference to the Voyages of Powell through the Line of the Great Canyons