In this Book
- Hell Or High Water: James White's Disputed Passage through Grand Canyon, 1867
- Book
- 2003
- Published by: Utah State University Press
Although John Wesley Powell and party are usually given credit for the first river descent through the Grand Canyon, the ghost of James White has haunted those claims. White was a Colorado prospector, who, almost two years before Powell's journey, washed up on a makeshift raft at Callville, Nevada. His claim to have entered the Colorado above the San Juan River with another man (soon drowned) as they fled from Indians was widely disseminated and believed for a time, but Powell and his successors on the river publically discounted it. Colorado River runners and historians have since debated whether White's passage through Grand Canyon even could have happened.
Hell or High Water is the first full account of White's story and how it became distorted and he disparaged over time. It is also a fascinating detective story, recounting how White's granddaughter, Eilean Adams, over decades and with the assistance of a couple of notable Colorado River historians who believed he could have done what he claimed, gradually uncovered the record of James White's adventure and put together a plausible narrative of how and why he ended up floating helplessly down a turbulent river, entrenched in massive cliffs, with nothing but a driftwood raft to carry him through.
Table of Contents

- List of Illustrations
- p. viii
- Introduction
- pp. 1-7
- 1. Callville
- pp. 11-14
- 2. Who Was James White?
- pp. 15-18
- 3. White’s War
- pp. 19-23
- 4. The Road to Gold
- pp. 24-31
- 5. The Rescue
- pp. 32-34
- 6. Downriver Crier
- pp. 35-41
- 7. The News Spreads East
- pp. 42-50
- 9. Dr. Parry’s Report
- pp. 59-67
- 10. Major Calhoun’s Version
- pp. 68-76
- 11. Major Powell
- pp. 77-83
- 12. On the Road Again
- pp. 84-90
- 14. Enter Robert Brewster Stanton
- pp. 101-110
- 15. Senate Document No. 42
- pp. 111-122
- 16. Battle of The Trail
- pp. 123-126
- 17. The White Family and Dock Marston
- pp. 127-132
- 19. Bob Euler and Square One
- pp. 141-148
- 20. In James White’s Footsteps
- pp. 149-153
- 21. Summary and Conclusions: Part A
- pp. 154-159
- 22. Summary and Conclusions: Part B
- pp. 160-168
- 23. Summary and Conclusions: Part C
- pp. 169-180
- 24. Resolution
- pp. 181-183
- Appendix A: James White’s 1867 Letter
- pp. 184-185
- Appendix B: James White’s 1917 Statement
- pp. 186-191
- Chapter Notes
- pp. 192-208
- References, Sources, and Related Subjects
- pp. 209-217
- Author’s Note
- pp. 218-220
Additional Information
Copyright
2001