79 



and time-tried he had sought mental 

 equilibrium. He had to run away 

 from the tremendous vision to 

 unload his mind of the burden, ere 

 it was crushed! 



In the sublime there is no laughter; 

 so more sanely now we surveyed 

 the scene. All the colours of the 

 rainbow blazed mile after mile away 

 like some titanic jewel casket, with 

 the gem of all, the boiling, seething 

 flood of the Colorado flashing like 

 a tiny streak of lightning, down 

 crag after crag, valley after valley, 

 below. 



So this was the Canon that paint- 

 ers had dared to portray, that writers 

 had dared to describe. I was 

 drunk with the gorgeous beauty 

 and immensity of it, even glad to 

 turn away and be busied with the 

 details of a horseback ride along the 

 brink. We reluctantly decided to 

 give up the trip down the Canon, 

 as Hank's Trail was out of repair 

 and dangerous owing to the storm. 

 The guides were unwilling to take 

 us that day, and we could not wait. 



As I was getting into the saddle, 

 having obtained a battered riding 



