THE CLEFT. 391 



of the cleft, whicli I judge to be about seventy-five 

 feet in lieiglit. Where it curved over the side of the 

 precipice it was confined, but, as soon as it began to 

 fall, it spread out and came down, not in one con- 

 tinuous, unvarying sheet of water, but in a series of 

 wavelets, until the whole resembled a hus-e comet 

 trying, as it were, to escape from earth up to its 

 proper place in the pure sky above it. On either 

 side of this pulsating fall is a sheet of green vegeta- 

 tion, which has gained a foothold in every crevice 

 and on every projecting ledge in the precipice. Be- 

 hind the falling water there is a wall of black, vol- 

 canic rock, and at its foot is a mass of ano-ular debris 

 which has broken ofi:' from the cliff above. Now we 

 turned sharply round to the north, and began ascend- 

 ing to the plateau. The cleft has not been formed in 

 a straight but in a zigzag line, so that, in looking up 

 or down, its sides seem to meet a short distance be- 

 fore you and prevent any farther advance in either 

 direction ; but, as you proceed, the road suddenly 

 opens to the right or left, and thus the effect is never 

 wearying. It resembles some of the dark canons in 

 our own country between the Rocky Mountains and 

 Sierra Nevada, except that while their dark sides are 

 of naked rock, the sides of this ravine are covered 

 with a dense growth of vines, shrubs, and large trees, 

 according to the steepness of the acclivities. Here 

 were many trees and shrubs with very l)rilliantly- 

 colored leaves. The whole scenery is so grand that 

 no description, or even photograph, could convey an 

 accurate idea of its magnificence. For four miles we 

 rode up and up this chasm, and at last came ou to the 



