F. GEOGRAPHY. .259 



volcanoes that seem to be connected with the fissures of 

 these faults. 



The labyrinth of canons with which this country is beset, 

 and the long lines of cliffs, which are escarpments of rocks 

 hundreds or thousands of feet in height, and scores or hun- 

 dreds of miles in length, have been explored and examined, 

 and the o^eolosrical and meteorolosrical conditions under which 

 they were formed have been the subject of much study. 



All the canons seem to be gorges of erosion. The escarp- 

 ments are of two classes : those having an easterly and west- 

 erly trend are formed by erosion ; the northerly and south- 

 erly escarj)ments mark the lines of faults, and are formed by 

 the throw of the formations leaving mural escarpments re- 

 maining in place. 



During the summer, attention has been given to the Indians 

 inhabiting the valley of the Colorado, and other tribes allied 

 to them in language. For this purpose more than fifty such 

 tribes in the country to the west-northwest and southwest 

 have been visited. A number of vocabularies, embracing 

 several hundred words each, have been made among the In- 

 dians known as Utes, Pai-Utes, Shoshonees, Bannocks, Pa- 

 vi-6-tsos, Chem'-a-hue-vis, etc., and the grammatical struct- 

 ure of their language has been studied to some extent. 



The mythology of these people has not been neglected, 

 and interesting additions have been made to the collection 

 of Indian tales and legends concerning the origin of things 

 and the doings of their gods. 



Their poetry, too, has furnished a theme for study, and the 

 Professor has now a collection of more than a hundred song-s 

 or short poems. 



It is curious to notice that while their mythology is occu- 

 pied with relating the conflicts, wiles, deceptions, and magical 

 deeds of these strange personages, their j^oetry is chiefly de- 

 voted to the beauties and wonders of Nature. They sing of 

 a cloud as a crown of feathers on the brow of a mountain ; 

 of a rainbow as made of eagles' tears ; and of an earthquake 

 as a mountain trembling with pain. 



In their folk-lore they tell of the Spirits of the mountains, 

 Avho ride mountain-sheep among the crags ; of Rock-wander- 

 ers, who travel unseen over the deserts of naked stone ; of the 

 Spirits of springs, who dwell in the depths of the earth, and 



