In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Editor's Preface I FIRST MET P. T AND SUSIE REILLY IN THE EARLY 1990S. I WAS ATTEMPTING to learn about long-term changes in rivers in northern Arizona and southern Utah, and I had embarked on a large repeat-photography project in Grand Canyon. I first heard of P. T in 1985, when Ron Smith, then owner of Grand Canyon Expeditions in Kanab, Utah, showed me a nearly unbelievable photograph Dwain Norton took of Reilly rowing a boat (Susie was a passenger) past a nearly submerged Boulder Narrows in Marble Canyon. Among those who knew river history, Reilly had a near-legendary status as a boatman. Mter being told repeatedly to see P. T about his extensive photography of Grand Canyon, I finally called and scheduled a visit. P. T was an imposing man. He quizzed me repeatedly about Grand Canyon geography; fortunately, I knew something about the place. I felt that if I had not genuinely cared about Grand Canyon, he would not have given me the time of day. But he did, and he generously shared his photography . No coaxing was required to get story after story of river trips before Glen Canyon Dam. Fascinated, I got him to write up some of his stories.1 My river crews and I matched about fifty of his photographs, and the observations from his diaries were extremely important in documenting changes that have occurred over the years in the Colorado River. I heard the news a month after P. T died on October 24, 1996. I knew he was ill, but I did not have the time to visit him one last time. lowed a debt to P. T and Susie for their help and graciousness during my visits, and I wanted to repay them. When I was asked to edit P. T's book on the history of Lee's Ferry, Ijumped at the task. I could only hope that my help in bringing his manuscript into publication would in small measure repay him for his help to me. Of course, I had heard about the manuscript. I was dying to see it, but he wouldn't let me. I thought his history would answer a number of questions I had about the local environment and changes in the Paria and Colorado Rivers. How often did the river freeze? P. T told me what was published in other sources and said his book wouldn't help. When did the Paria River change course in its delta? Again, no real answer from P. T The ix x Lee's Ferry answers were in the manuscript that I wasn't allowed to see until one day, in September 1997, a large package arrived in the mail. My job was to turn a thousand page manuscript, written as two volumes , into a book. I couldn't ask the author questions-what did you mean in that passage, P. T?-and the book didn't seem finished. Two previous books had been published on Lee's Ferry;2 how was this one different? P. T Reilly was a well-published historian; how could I change a single word in his life's work? With tremendous help and support from Susie and the Cline Library at Northern Arizona University, I prepared the final manuscript for this volume. I quickly realized that Reilly's book differed significantly from the previous two, which I had first read years ago. Both previous books always seemed to me to be about Lee's Ferry, the place; P. T's book is most definitely about Lee's Ferry, the people. My changes to P. T's original text were designed to preserve and enhance his stories of people and their activities in this remarkable place. P. T was thorough; he interviewed nearly everyone alive who had relatives at or lived at Lee's Ferry. He scoured the archives of the Church ofJesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as well as other major archives. Much of the history of northern Arizona and southern Utah swirled through this little transportation bottleneck. My task was to make the constant ebb and flow of people to and from this place, by river and by land, accessible. The biggest problem was to establish continuity in the story line without losing facts or lessening the impact. P. T had adopted a strictly chronological style that fragmented the lives of many of his major characters, particularlyJerryJohnson, Charles Spencer, and Leo Weaver. Finally, the style changed...

Share