84 THROUGH UNKNOWN AFRICAN COUNTRIES. 
appearance ; for far below us was a deep canyon circling 
in a southerly direction, and connected with this were 
several smaller valleys. The view was superb. The pass 
was very rocky, but there was an absence of the thick, 
tangling thorn-bush so prevalent in Africa, this being 
replaced by rows of bushes resembling the English yew in 
shape, size, and beautiful deep shiny green color of its 
leaves, while forming picturesque groups at every turn 
were palm-trees, and many succulent shrubs, covered with 
beautiful flowering vines. Below us we could see the deep 
cut in the bottom of the valley, but the water was not 
visible until we found ourselves immediately above it. 
After nearly a mile of twisting and turning in our 
descent, we reached the edge of the precipice, at the bot- 
tom of which were the clear rushing waters of the river 
Web two hundred feet below us. A little farther on, and 
we were at the water’s edge, where marvel after marvel 
presented itself. Balustrades and peristyles, huge columns 
and arches, looking as though they had been cut and carved 
by the Cyclops from mountains of pure white marble, broke 
the water’s course and lined its shores. 
The manner in which the water had carved the rocks 
into such marvellous shapes was bewildering. There was a 
method about the whole scheme of columns, with their 
very ornate capitals, round symmetrical bodies, and splen- 
did bases, that seemed to have emanated from the divine 
inspiration of a wonderful sculptor. We stood for a while 
contemplating the scene, and then passed under an arch 
and through a natural temple composed of a little group 
of columns of white translucent rock, supporting a roof of 
solid granite (see illustration, page 85).’ 
1 A specimen of the white rock which I brought back has been identified by 
Professor Heilprun, of the Academy of Natural Sciences, of Philadelphia, as 
coral limestone. 
