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<br />GUNNISON ElVER DIVERSION PROJECT
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<br />II
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<br />ward. They roped together and, using the spike - shod
<br />transit tripod legs as alpenstocks, they slowly made their pre-
<br />carious way, one after another, up the canyon wall. By noon
<br />they had scaled a thousand feet. In the afternoon one of the
<br />company could hardly be restrained from jumping into the
<br />chasm. Finally, at 3: 30 in the afternoon the rim was reached.
<br />The men were exhausted, covered with dust, parched, hands
<br />cut, lips swollen, eyes bloodshot. Even then, they were still
<br />in wild, uninhabited country and had to hike fifteen miles
<br />before they encountered William McMillen's ranch on the
<br />Muddy, where they could procure food. From there McMillen
<br />transported them to a place where they could make connec-
<br />tions for Montrose, which they reached on October 1."
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<br />During these days of exploration, friends and relatives of
<br />the five men had maintained a vigil on the rim, hoping for an
<br />occasional glimpse of the intrepid river-runners. Towards the
<br />end of September, not having seen the explorers for some
<br />time, the watchers finally feared the worst and were making
<br />preparations to screen the river where it left the canyon to
<br />the northeast to recover the bodies, when the men were re-
<br />ported safe.
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<br />This partial exploration of the canyon by river served to
<br />bolster the interest in irrigation possibilities of the region.
<br />In 1901, Meade Hammond, State Representative from Delta,
<br />introduced a new Gunnison Tunnel bill (House Bill No. 195)
<br />into the Colorado legislature, Thirteenth Session, "a bill for
<br />an act to construct, maintain and operate State Canal No.3,
<br />in Montrose and Delta counties; the creation of a board of
<br />control; the use of convict labor in constructing the same; the
<br />issuance of certificates of indebtedness; providing for the sale
<br />of water, and making an appropriation for construction.""
<br />The request for funds was in the amount of $50,000. The bill
<br />was referred to the Finance Committee. On April 11, the bill
<br />was approved but with the amendment that only $25,000 would
<br />be authorized to support the project.'" This bill had been
<br />pushed not only by Senator Hammond but by Senators W. S.
<br />Buckley, Montgomery, Rewalt, and others as well. Indeed,
<br />Buckley felt so strongly about the measure that, despite having
<br />been confined to a hospital bed in the last throes of tubercu-
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<br />2-1 Montrose Enterprise" October 6, 1900. They probably made their ascent
<br />from the canyon on September 30. The only specific terminal date given in
<br />accounts is for their arrival back in Montrose, October 1. Several of the popular
<br />accounts (Marsh, ap. cit." pp. 95-96; Rolker and Willey, op. eft.,. 513: and others)
<br />report that the men didn't reach the rim until 9:30 p.m. The seemingly more
<br />accurate story in the Montrose Enterprise for October 6 gave the 3:30 time.
<br />~5 Senate Journal of the General Asselltbly of the State of Colorado, 13th
<br />Session (1901), p. 902. This .bill is presented in detail in Session Laws of Colo-
<br />rado, 13th Session (1901), pp, 369-374,
<br />26 Sidney Jocknick, Early Days on the Western Slope of Colorado (Denver,
<br />1913). p. 282.
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