Otis Reed "Dock" Marston (February 11, 1894 – August 30, 1979) was an American writer, historian and Grand Canyon river runner who participated in a large number of river-running firsts. Marston was the eighty-third person to successfully complete the water transit of the Grand Canyon. He spent the last thirty years of his life writing his magnum opus on the history of the first 100 Grand Canyon river runners. In researching his book, he amassed a vast collection of material on early river runners in the American Southwest, especially runners of the Green and Colorado Rivers. His collection is housed in the Huntington Library in San Marino, California.
Early life Family Otis Reed Marston's father, Captain William Harrington Marston, was orphaned in northern Maine at the age of nine. William went to sea out of Boston in his teens where he became a master mariner and eventually owned a large shipping business sailing the Pacific out of San Francisco. The forty-eight-year-old captain met twenty-one-year-old Idela Alice Reed while sailing one of his ships from Hawaii to California in 1883. The couple was married the next year. Idela gave birth to her first child, Sibyl, in 1885, followed by her first son, Ellery William, in 1886. Tragically, Ellery choked to death while the family was at sea in late 1888 and he was buried there. Idela gave birth to four more children: Elsa, Merle, Vera and another son, Otis Reed.
University studies and early career Young Otis was a strong swimmer. He swam across the Golden Gate strait from San Francisco to Marin County in 1915. He received a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley in 1916, then went on to receive his master's degree in industrial engineering at Cornell University in 1917.Martin, Thomas C., (2012). Big Water Little Boats: Moulty Fulmer and the First Grand Canyon Dory on the Last of the Wild Colorado River. Flagstaff, Arizona: Vishnu Temple Press, p. 43,
Otis joined the United States Navy and received training at the United States Naval Academy where he graduated as an ensign in 1918. While on leave on Christmas Eve 1918, Otis rode a mule to Hermit Camp in the Grand Canyon, and saw Hermit Rapid on Christmas Day. By the close of 1919, he had completed his qualifications as a submarine commander with the Navy on the USS H-7 (SS-150).Martin, Thomas C., (2012). Big Water Little Boats: Moulty Fulmer and the First Grand Canyon Dory on the Last of the Wild Colorado River. Flagstaff, Arizona: Vishnu Temple Press, p. 43,
Marriage and children Otis met Margaret “Mag” Lowell Garthwaite and the two were married on January 4, 1925. They had three children, a son named Otis Garthwaite “Garth” and twin girls, Loel and Maradel. In later years, Mag became a prime mover in the University of California Alumni Association and Berkeley's Young People's Symphony Orchestra program. Mag is also credited with initiating the use of policewomen on the Berkeley force.Oakland Tribune, Sunday, September 22, 1968
Marston began working as a financial planner for E. F. Hutton around 1930, and he soon realized he was better at his job if he understood the psychological make-up of his clients. To this end, he read a number of books on psychology. The work with Hutton was terminated in 1947.Martin, Thomas C., (2012). Big Water Little Boats: Moulty Fulmer and the First Grand Canyon Dory on the Last of the Wild Colorado River. Flagstaff, Arizona: Vishnu Temple Press, p. 43, Martin, Thomas C., (2014) personal communication Jeff Marston
River running Marston made a total of twenty-two river trips through the Grand Canyon.Quartaroli, Richard D., (2013). A Rendezvous of Grand Canyon Historians: Ideas, Arguments and First Person Accounts. Flagstaff, Arizona, Grand Canyon Historical Society, p. 18, The following is a recounting of some of those river trips. It is not a complete list.
1942 Grand Canyon A friend of Marston's, Neill C. Wilson, participated in a San Juan River trip with Norman Nevills and thought it would be great to go with Norm on a Grand Canyon cruise. Otis joined Wilson and the two men, accompanied by their sons, cruised the Grand Canyon with Nevills in 1942.Webb, Roy, (2005). High, Wide and Handsome: The River Journals of Norman D. Nevills. Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press, p. 119, Marston, Otis R., (2014). From Powell To Power; A Recounting of the First One Hundred River Runners Through the Grand Canyon. Flagstaff, Arizona: Vishnu Temple Press, p. 427 By the end of the trip, Otis had grown a bushy beard making him look like an "old time pill-roller" or "Doc". The name stuck, and a few years later Otis changed it to Dock, as in the dock at the end of the trip.Quartaroli, Richard D., (2013). A Rendezvous of Grand Canyon Historians: Ideas, Arguments and First Person Accounts. Flagstaff, Arizona, Grand Canyon Historical Society, p. 17,
1944 Glen Canyon In 1944, Marston and his two daughters joined Nevills for a run from Mexican Hat, Utah, through Glen Canyon to Lee's Ferry. Dock rowed a punt some on that trip, including through Syncline Rapid.Reilly, Plez Talmadge, Oral Interview With Otis Marston, P. T. Reilly papers, 1947–1986, Utah State Historical Society, http://utsl.sirsi.net/uhtbin/cgisirsi/?ps=eOXXGvA09E/ARCHIVES/148850016/9
1945 Cataract Canyon, Salmon and Hell's Canyon of the Snake River In 1945, Marston rowed a boat on the Colorado River from Moab, Utah to Lee’s Ferry, through Cataract and Glen canyons with Nevills; in 1946, Marston and Nevills rowed Idaho’s Salmon River and Hells Canyon.Webb, Roy, (2005). High, Wide and Handsome: The River Journals of Norman D. Nevills. Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press, p. 147,
1947 Lodore and Grand Canyon Marston rowed a boat for Norm through Lodore and Grand canyons in 1947. On that trip, Dock and Garth were the first father-son team to each row a boat on the same trip through the Grand Canyon. Dock swam Dubendorff Rapid without a life jacket or air mattress. It was the first record of anyone intentionally swimming a Grand Canyon rapid free of any flotation device.Webb, Roy, (2005). High, Wide and Handsome: The River Journals of Norman D. Nevills. Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press, p. 188,
1948 Grand Canyon and Dolores River In 1948, Dock rowed the Grand Canyon on his last river trip with Norm Nevills before Nevills' untimely death in 1949. He also ran the Dolores River with his wife Mag, making the first complete transit of the Dolores River with Robert Preston Walker of the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.Webb, Roy, (2005). High, Wide and Handsome: The River Journals of Norman D. Nevills. Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press, p. 216,
1949 first motorboat run of Grand Canyon
Dock’s next first was his run of the Grand Canyon in the first motorized boat, the Esmeralda II, with Egbert "Ed" Hudson in 1949. Hudson had built the boat to design specifications provided by Canadian Naval Architect William Garden. Hudson did the driving while Dock did the navigating. Other members in the Esmeralda II included Hudson's son Edward, Wilson "Willie" Taylor, and Bestor Robinson.Martin, Thomas C., (2012). Big Water Little Boats: Moulty Fulmer and the First Grand Canyon Dory on the Last of the Wild Colorado River. Flagstaff, Arizona: Vishnu Temple Press, p. 55, Marston, Otis R., (2014). From Powell To Power; A Recounting of the First One Hundred River Runners Through the Grand Canyon. Flagstaff, Arizona: Vishnu Temple Press, pp. 472–79
1950 first stock motorboat run of Grand Canyon Dock was back to run the Grand Canyon again with two motorboats in 1950, with Ed Hudson piloting the Esmeralda II and Dock piloting a stock Chris-Craft Speedster. The Esmeralda II broke down and was abandoned by Hudson. In the first helicopter rescue of river runners in the Grand Canyon, Hudson and his son Edward were helicoptered out of the canyon while Dock completed the cruise in the Chris-Craft. The next river trip in Grand Canyon, almost a month later, discovered the Esmeralda II, fixed her, and were able to motor her through the rest of the Canyon. Hudson donated the Esmeralda II to the National Park Service where the boat is preserved to this day. Just after completing the 1950 cruise, Dock and Mag joined Moulton Fulmer for a dory run of the Yampa River.Martin, Thomas C., (2012). Big Water Little Boats: Moulty Fulmer and the First Grand Canyon Dory on the Last of the Wild Colorado River. Flagstaff, Arizona: Vishnu Temple Press, p. 62,
1951 first outboard motorboat run of Grand Canyon
Dock next turned to the question of outboard motors. In 1951, he orchestrated the first successful down-run of outboard motorboats through the entire Grand Canyon. The 1951 "Marston Motorcade" consisted of two outboard motorboats and three stock Chris-Craft Speedsters. The 18-foot aluminum hull outboard motorboat June Bug was piloted by Jimmy Jordan and the second boat of the same design, the Twin, was piloted by Rod Sanderson. The two outboards were powered by twin 25-horsepower Evinrude outboard motors. While the June Bug completed the cruise, not far below Separation Canyon, the gearshift on the motor of the Twin gave trouble, and the boat was taken in tow, much to the disgust of its crew.Martin, Thomas C., (2012). Big Water Little Boats: Moulty Fulmer and the First Grand Canyon Dory on the Last of the Wild Colorado River. Flagstaff, Arizona: Vishnu Temple Press, p. 67, Marston, Otis R., (2014). From Powell To Power; A Recounting of the First One Hundred River Runners Through the Grand Canyon. Flagstaff, Arizona: Vishnu Temple Press, pp. 492–95
1953 and 1954 all-outboard trips In June 1953, Dock and his wife Mag did a Grand Canyon river trip to do some reconnaissance for a possible Walt Disney film. They used three single-engine outboard boats, including the Twin, one of the original outboards used in 1951. Dock put together another all-outboard three-boat trip in 1954. Low water caused numerous rock vs. boat encounters.Oral interview Jorgen Visbak December 2010
1957 high-water Grand Canyon run, 1958 run and 1959 Disney Film Dock kept running rivers, and in 1957 ran the Grand Canyon on , the highest Colorado River flow ever navigated.Martin, Thomas C., (2012). Big Water Little Boats: Moulty Fulmer and the First Grand Canyon Dory on the Last of the Wild Colorado River. Flagstaff, Arizona: Vishnu Temple Press, p. 46, In 1958, Dock led a three motorboat group through Grand Canyon. Renowned artist Mary Ogden Abbott was on that trip. Hired by Walt Disney Studios in 1959 as a technical adviser, Dock lead a film crew through the Grand Canyon to film river running and background scenes for a perfectly horrible movie about Powell’s first transit called Ten Who Dared. The film critics wished the men hadn’t.
1960 first and only jetboat up-run of Grand Canyon Using his vast river knowledge and ability to get a river-running permit, in 1960 Dock teamed up with New Zealander Jon Hamilton, son of Bill Hamilton, and others for the first and only successful up-run of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon using jetboats.Quartaroli, Richard D., (2013). A Rendezvous of Grand Canyon Historians: Ideas, Arguments and First Person Accounts. Flagstaff, Arizona, Grand Canyon Historical Society, p. 44, Reilly, Plez Talmadge, Oral Interview With Otis Marston, P. T. Reilly papers, 1947–1986, Utah State Historical Society, http://utsl.sirsi.net/uhtbin/cgisirsi/?ps=eOXXGvA09E/ARCHIVES/148850016/9
1963 first Sportyak II Grand Canyon down-run