Devil's Canyon (33 page)

“I'll start right now,” Mamie promised.

Having broken open the wooden case, Isaac and Josh had begun capping and fusing the dynamite.

“I reckon a case of it will be enough,” said Faro.

“Unless it's solid rock to the center of the earth,” Isaac said, “this should be enough to blow up all of southern Utah.”

As the explosive was made ready, Faro began placing it in the saddlebags of their still-saddled horses. Finally the three of them mounted and rode upriver, again crossing to the north bank.

“We'd better leave the horses a good distance away, and continue on foot,” Faro said, “or the blast will spook them and we'll end up walking back to camp.”

“I figured we'd leave them up-canyon about where you discovered the gold cross,” said Isaac. “That's maybe half a mile. All the dynamite has a long-burning fuse.”

They dismounted, picketing the horses where there were some patches of graze along the river. Isaac removed four sticks of dynamite from his saddlebag.

“We'll start with a small charge, increasing it if we need to,” Isaac said. “If the charge is too heavy, you lose control of it.”

“I can believe that,” said Faro. “Do you begin blasting at the riverbank, or at the rim of the canyon?”

“At the canyon rim,” Isaac said. “We must be sure the channel from the river to the canyon is deep enough and that the elevation is right for the water to flow, before we bust through the riverbank. We need just enough of a retaining wall to hold the water back, but not so much that a final blast can't finish the job.”

“I reckon,” said Faro. “I can't imagine lighting a dynamite fuse under water.”

Expecting some rock, Isaac had kept the pick and shovel. When they reached the area where the distance was shortest between river and canyon, he swung the pick hard, driving it into the canyon rim. As expected, he struck rock, and quickly determined that most of the area between riverbank and canyon rim was equally obstructed.

“Well,” said Isaac, “that explains why the river never broke through into the canyon at this particular place. We may need a sledgehammer and drill.”

“Maybe not,” Faro said. “That's why I brought a lariat. If the two of you can lower me over the rim a ways, maybe I can dig far enough into the canyon wall to set a charge. That should blast away enough of the rock for us to continue to the riverbank.”

“That should work,” said Isaac, “but it's a pretty good drop to the canyon floor, and I think we should go back for one of the horses. Josh?”

“I'll bring one of 'em,” Josh said.

When Snyder returned with his horse, Faro tied one end of the lariat to the saddle horn. In the other end, he made a loop that he brought over his head and tightened about his waist.

“That'll cut you in half,” said Isaac.

“All the more reason for me to do it
pronto
,” Faro replied.

Josh backstepped the horse, bringing the lariat taut until Faro was over the edge of the canyon rim. A dozen feet down, there was a hump in the wall on which Faro was able to rest his feet, easing the strain of the rope around his middle. With all the force he was able to muster, he swung the pick, driving it deep.

“More rock?” Isaac shouted.

“Not yet,” said Faro.

He drove in the pick again and again, dirt and loose stones cascading over him to the canyon floor below.

“Don't try to dig in too deep,” Isaac said. “Just enough to set a charge.”

“Then haul me up,” said Faro wearily. “I can't last much longer.”

By the time they helped Faro over the edge, he was having trouble breathing. When he was at last free of the lariat, he lay there wheezing.

“That's the most difficult part,” Isaac said. “Josh or me can go down long enough to place the charge.”

“There's barely room enough, I reckon,” said Faro, “but maybe it'll be enough.”

“I'll go down there and set the charge,” Josh said, “and once that fuse is afire, haul me up fast.”

He tightened the lariat around his middle and took the four sticks of capped and fused dynamite that had been bound together. Faro backstepped the horse, tightening the rope as Josh stepped over the canyon rim. When he was in position, he shoved the dynamite into the crevice with as much force as he could. In his teeth he gripped three matches, and popping one of them aflame with his thumbnail, he lighted the dynamite fuse. Belly-down at the canyon rim, Isaac had been watching his progress.

“Haul him up,” Isaac shouted.

Quickly Faro backstepped the horse. When Snyder reached the canyon rim, Isaac was quick to help him to safety.

“Help him mount his horse,” Faro said. “We may not have time for him to get his wind.”

Quickly Isaac boosted Snyder into the saddle and the trio retreated to where they had left the horses. Still the charge didn't blow.

“Damn it,” said Snyder, “the fuse may have flamed out. I should have waited a little longer, bein' sure of it.”

But at that moment the earth shook with the force of the explosion, and the horses nickered in fear. Once the horses were again calm, Isaac took another four sticks of the dynamite from his saddlebag, and the trio set out for the scene. Reaching it, they found the blast had dislodged an enormous boulder, which now lay on the canyon floor.

“Except for the one big rock, it didn't accomplish much,” Faro said.

“That's enough,” said Isaac. “While we've gained less than half a dozen feet, that'll be all we'll need to set another charge.”

“If I'm any judge,” Josh said, “we'll have to go a lot deeper than that.”

“I agree,” said Isaac. “Without enough elevation, the river won't empty completely, but I think we ought to continue this channel on to the riverbank. That will give us some idea as to how much deeper we need to go. Then we'll come back to this end and shoot for the proper depth.”

“We may not finish today, then,” Faro said.

“Probably not,” said Isaac. “When you're blasting through rock, you have to take it a little at a time, like the calf ate the grindstone.”

Faro laughed. “This is the first time I've heard that expression since leaving Texas.”

“Let's set another charge,” Josh said. “That should give us some idea as to how tough the rest of it will be.”

The second blast dislodged more rock, advancing their channel another three or four feet. A third and fourth blast provided further proof of what they already suspected. Their progress was going to be agonizingly slow.

“Looks like I was wrong,” Isaac said. “We'll need more dynamite before this day is done, so we might as well ride back for some of that grub Mamie's making ready.”

The food was ready and the rest of the outfit was eating.

“We waited for you as long as we could,” said Dallas Weaver. “Three minutes.”

“That's better than I'd expect,” Faro said. “I reckon you've been hearin' our progress. I hope the lot of you have hauled in enough wood to last the winter.”

“I expect we will have, before you gents get the river diverted,” Dallas said. “Looking down there, I still see water.”

“You'll probably be seeing it for a while,” said Isaac. “While there doesn't seem to be much separating the river from Devil's Canyon, what there is appears to be mostly rock.”

“That's why we brought plenty of dynamite,” Collins said.

“There may not be any left over,” said Felix. “We were lucky, being able to dig some ore from the riverbank. For all we know, we may end up blasting the rest of it loose.”

“We may need as much as two more cases of dynamite to blast the channel from the river to the canyon,” Isaac said.

“Perhaps you should increase the charge,” said Collins.

“I doubt it would help that much,” Isaac said. “Blasting through rock, you can only get so far with a single charge. We're using four sticks at a time. Too much force might only widen the channel, rather than lengthening it.”

“Then continue as you and Josh see fit,” said Collins.

“Yeah,” Tarno said, “just as long as you have that riverbed dry in another day or so. The wind's gettin' colder, and the Injun in me says we're due for another storm, and we'll be needin' shelter.”

“Then if you can find a piece of ground that's not solid rock,” said Faro, “you'd better dig a hole big enough for you and that Injun in you to crawl into. Blasting this channel to Devil's Canyon from the bank of the river is some devil of a job, and it may run right on into next week.”

Taking a second case of dynamite from one of the wagons, Isaac and Josh capped and fused it. The three of them then rode back to continue what they had started.

“At least another fifty feet to the riverbank,” Isaac observed, “and even then we won't have the depth we'll need.”

“No,” said Josh, “but when we begin blasting on a second level, there may not be so much rock. Then we can increase the charge.”

“Seems to me we'll have to blast this new channel even lower than the riverbed,” Faro said. “Otherwise, we may divert only some of the water, with the rest flowing along the original bed.”

“That's exactly right,” said Isaac. “Water always seeks the lowest level, so we may have to drop this new channel several feet below the original riverbed.”

As the afternoon wore on, they placed six more charges, each advancing their channel a few more feet.

“There's enough dynamite for four more charges,” Josh said. “That should get us to the riverbank on a first level, and will be about as much as we can do
today. Tomorrow we can begin deepening the channel.”

The last charge advanced their channel all the way to the riverbank, but still far short of their goal.

“Now we'll have to back up to the canyon rim and shoot for depth,” said Isaac. “We're still a dozen feet away from water level, and depending on the depth of the river, we may have to go down another sixteen to twenty feet.”

“Tarnation,” Faro said, “I hope we'll have enough dynamite.”

“We will,” said Isaac. “Josh and me figured on something like this, before Levi went to Santa Fe. There's a good chance, as we go deeper, there'll be less rock. In that case, the force of the river will work for us.”

They reached camp an hour before sunset. The rest of the outfit was already there, and Felix was helping Mamie prepare supper. An enormous pile of logs had been dragged in for firewood. While they waited for supper, Isaac told them what progress had been made. Collins expressed some doubt.

“Will we have enough dynamite? Where we had originally planned to divert the river—just above the claim—the banks were much lower.”

“Yes,” Isaac agreed, “but there was a greater distance between Devil's Canyon and the river, so it should even out.”

“Isaac and me went a little heavy, orderin' the dynamite,” said Josh. “We're seven hundred miles out of Santa Fe, so it's better havin' too much than not enough.”

“I don't believe we'll have too much,” Isaac said. “We're considering the possibility that we may have to blast some of the ore loose, once the river's been diverted. For all we know, the vein may run through solid rock.”

“If it does, it'll be worth the extra effort,” said Dallas Weaver. “I've had some experience with mining, and when you find rock shot with color, it's almost always pure gold.”

“I've heard talk about that,” Felix said.

“This is all so exciting,” said Mamie. “It'll be hard to wait.”

*   *   *

With the dawn came a cold wind from the northwest that had the feel of snow. Along the western horizon stretched a band of gray clouds.

“Before we do anything else,” Faro said, “I think we'd better position four wagons and get our canvas shelters in place.”

“Leave that to the rest of us,” said Dallas. “You, Josh, and Isaac continue blasting.”

“I believe that's a worthy suggestion,” Levi Collins said. “When the canvas is up, we'll continue the search for firewood.”

So Isaac and Josh capped and fused another case of dynamite, and with the explosive in their saddlebags, they returned to the scene of the blasting. Dallas and Collins lined up the first and second wagons side by side, a dozen feet apart, their sides facing west. Shanghai and Tarno brought wagons three and four into a similar position. With all four in a line, canvas was stretched from the bows of one wagon to the bows of
the next, secured with rawhide thongs. Finished, there was adequate shelter between wagons one and two, two and three, and three and four. On the outside of the fourth wagon—facing west—canvas was secured to the wagon box, stretched tight, and pegged to the ground. It would be an effective windbreak as well as protection from blowing snow.

“That's about all we can do,” said Dallas, “but it's helped us survive blizzards on the plains in Kansas, where there wasn't a hill, or even a rock.”

“It's a touch of genius,” Felix said. “Who came up with the idea?”

“Faro, mostly,” said Dallas. “Freighting ain't a fair-weather business. To survive, you can't let an occasional blizzard discourage you.”

“I suppose not,” Collins said, “but there's the melted snow, the rain, then the mud.”

“Yeah,” said Tarno. “We been suggestin' that Faro come up with a way to beat that, but so far he ain't done a damn thing.”

By the time the rest of the outfit had prepared for the expected storm, there had been two more explosions upriver.

“It's looking better than I expected,” Isaac said, as he viewed the results of the last explosion. “A lot of the rock is near the surface, and we're already below that. I believe we'll make better progress from here on.”