“Fish Eyes” Runs His Last Rapid

   Frank E. Masland, Jr., one of the tribal elders of Grand Canyon river runners, ran his last rapid on July 30, 1994. Just short of 99 years of age, “Fish-Eyes” Masland made the Marston list of the first 100 people on their first complete traverse of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River. With Norm Nevills in 1948, “Fish-Eyes” joined veteran Colorado River runners Garth and Dock Marston and young Frank Wright, also on his his first trip.

   As most Grand Canyon river runners know, Nevills’ cataract boats had no seats for passengers, thus requiring them to perch on the decks. Running the “Roaring 20s” on July 13th, Frank’s “...companions started calling me ‘Fish-Eyes.’ It seems the usual way for the person riding the stern of the boat to go through a rapid is sitting up, but being blissfully ignorant of the approved technique, I stretched out face down with my head overhanging the stern. Since the boats go through the rapids stern first, I was under water most of the way. The first time I went through, Norm, who was waiting at the foot, wondered what happened to me, since most of the time I had been out of sight. After two or three trips in this submerged position, they began talking about the fish-eye view I had of the water, and soon ‘Fish-Eyes’ was the name. I kept on riding that way, since it added greatly to the sport. It was like diving through ocean breakers along the seacoast.” 

   Frank made quite a few other river trips and wrote self published pamphlets and journal articles about them and other excursions into the canyon and arch country. Francis P. Farquhar’s annotated Selective Bibliography of The Books of the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon lists two of Frank’s works in this elite compilation: By the Rim of Time: Being the Diary and Impressions of Frank E. Masland, Jr., a Member of Norman Nevills’ 1948 Colorado River Expedition; and The Goat Run, a San Juan river trip that ended at Lees Ferry. Special Collections and Archives, Cline Library, Northern Arizona University, has copies of most, if not all, of Frank’s publications. A few hours reading them would be time well spent.

   Also instrumental in establishing and protecting areas of the National Park System, Frank “received the National Parks and Conservation Association’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas Award for his ‘awesome’ contributions over a period of 50 years to the national park system.” He was also honored by having an arch he discovered named after him while he was still alive, contrary to rules of the Board of Geographic names. To bypass the rule disallowing the use of the name of a living person for a geographical feature, the euphemism “Fisheye Arch” was suggested. Today the roar of the Colorado may be implied in the name of this delightful arch in the south end of Canyonlands National Park.

   On behalf of the entire Grand Canyon river running community, our condolences are extended to the family of Frank E. Masland Jr., ‘Fish-Eyes.’ His river running style will oft’ be remembered around the campfires of our lives and minds.

C. V. Abyssus