﻿312 
  EEPOET 
  UNITED 
  STATES 
  GEOLOGICAL 
  SURVEY. 
  

  

  eral 
  nortbeiiy 
  course, 
  lies 
  for 
  the 
  first 
  four 
  miles 
  far 
  above 
  tbe 
  snow- 
  

   line, 
  when 
  it 
  culminates 
  in 
  a 
  high 
  red 
  peak 
  and 
  then 
  plunges 
  suddenly 
  

   down 
  to 
  the 
  timber, 
  whence 
  it 
  falls 
  quite 
  gradually 
  till 
  it 
  loses 
  itself 
  in 
  

   the 
  level 
  of 
  the 
  valley 
  near 
  the 
  junction 
  of 
  the 
  first 
  stream 
  from 
  the 
  

   east. 
  jS^ow, 
  it 
  is 
  on 
  the 
  west 
  side 
  of 
  this 
  ridge, 
  at 
  a 
  point 
  about 
  six 
  

   miles 
  south 
  of 
  the 
  liio 
  Grande, 
  that 
  we 
  find 
  this 
  curious 
  group 
  of 
  mon- 
  

   uments. 
  The 
  mountain-rock 
  is 
  a 
  kind 
  of 
  conglomerate 
  of 
  coarse 
  gravel, 
  

   with 
  dark, 
  hard 
  bowlders 
  interspersed. 
  Eunning 
  out 
  from 
  the 
  ridge 
  

   and 
  at 
  right 
  angles 
  to 
  it 
  is 
  a 
  series 
  of 
  parallel 
  walls, 
  from 
  40 
  to 
  60 
  feet 
  

   thick 
  at 
  the 
  base 
  and 
  300 
  to 
  500 
  feet 
  high 
  at 
  the 
  highest 
  points. 
  

   These 
  walls 
  are 
  from 
  100 
  to 
  200 
  feet 
  apart, 
  and 
  their 
  summit 
  lines 
  

   join 
  the 
  ridge 
  at 
  the 
  crest. 
  The 
  spaces 
  between 
  the 
  walls 
  have 
  a 
  

   very 
  steep 
  slope, 
  so 
  that 
  the 
  heights 
  in 
  each 
  wall 
  range 
  from 
  zero 
  

   at 
  or 
  near 
  the 
  top 
  of 
  the 
  ridge 
  to 
  the 
  maximum 
  height 
  near 
  the 
  middle 
  

   of 
  the 
  length 
  of 
  the 
  wall. 
  These 
  walls 
  are 
  wonderfully 
  regular 
  as 
  to 
  

   thickness 
  and 
  direction. 
  In 
  one 
  place 
  two 
  of 
  them, 
  each 
  over 
  400 
  feet 
  

   high, 
  inclose 
  a 
  space 
  completely, 
  except 
  at 
  the 
  lower 
  side, 
  both 
  being 
  

   })ertectly 
  unbroken. 
  Many 
  monuments 
  with 
  their 
  capping-stones 
  rise 
  

   from 
  tbe 
  top 
  of 
  these 
  walls. 
  In 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  spaces 
  between 
  walls 
  sire 
  

   high 
  lone 
  monuments. 
  In 
  the 
  northern 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  group 
  the 
  regularity 
  

   of 
  the 
  walls 
  seems 
  to 
  disappear, 
  and 
  an 
  immense 
  number 
  of 
  lone 
  monu- 
  

   ments 
  take 
  their 
  place. 
  I 
  believe 
  this 
  part 
  to 
  have 
  more 
  wonderful 
  

   curiosities 
  than 
  the 
  southern 
  end, 
  but 
  we 
  only 
  had 
  time 
  to 
  examine 
  a 
  

   very 
  small 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  whole 
  group 
  near 
  the 
  edge, 
  and 
  did 
  not 
  get 
  into 
  

   the 
  center 
  of 
  the 
  mass 
  at 
  all. 
  Several 
  of 
  the 
  walls 
  had 
  large 
  and 
  very 
  

   regular 
  arches 
  worn 
  through 
  them. 
  From 
  some 
  views 
  these 
  arches 
  

   appear 
  as 
  perfect 
  in 
  form 
  and 
  proportion 
  as 
  if 
  built 
  by 
  the 
  hand 
  of 
  a 
  

   mason. 
  I 
  succeeded 
  by 
  climbing 
  along 
  the 
  wall 
  on 
  a 
  very 
  narrow 
  ledge 
  

   to 
  get 
  into 
  one 
  of 
  these, 
  and 
  found 
  it 
  remarkably 
  perfect 
  on 
  a 
  near 
  view 
  

   also. 
  It 
  was 
  about 
  50 
  feet 
  span, 
  with 
  an 
  altitude 
  of 
  20 
  to 
  30 
  feet, 
  the 
  

   base 
  being 
  somewhat 
  uneven, 
  and 
  the 
  wall 
  about 
  40 
  feet 
  thick. 
  This 
  

   would 
  seem 
  to 
  be 
  a 
  pretty 
  large 
  arch, 
  but 
  looking 
  at 
  it 
  from 
  the 
  outside 
  

   it 
  is 
  dwarfed 
  into 
  insignificance 
  by 
  the 
  size 
  of 
  the 
  massive 
  walls 
  through 
  

   which 
  it 
  forms 
  a 
  gate- 
  way. 
  This 
  arch 
  was 
  situated 
  about 
  100 
  feet 
  above 
  

   the 
  foot 
  of 
  the 
  wall, 
  and 
  about 
  200 
  below 
  the 
  summit. 
  Looking 
  out 
  of 
  it 
  

   on 
  either 
  side 
  you 
  could 
  see 
  an 
  inclosnre 
  formed 
  by 
  the 
  walls 
  on 
  the 
  sides. 
  

   The 
  illustration 
  is 
  from 
  a 
  drawing 
  made 
  under 
  the 
  arch 
  of 
  a 
  column 
  be- 
  

   tween 
  it 
  and 
  the 
  next 
  wall 
  to 
  the 
  north. 
  (See 
  Plate 
  L.) 
  This 
  is 
  nearly 
  300 
  

   feet 
  in 
  height. 
  The 
  wall 
  in 
  the 
  background 
  was 
  nearly 
  500 
  feet 
  high 
  at 
  

   the 
  highest 
  point. 
  It 
  was 
  surmounted 
  by 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  monuments 
  of 
  

   many 
  different 
  sizes, 
  which, 
  with 
  their 
  cap-stones, 
  might 
  well 
  be 
  likened 
  

   to 
  sentinels 
  keeping 
  guard 
  on 
  the 
  walls 
  of 
  a 
  great 
  city. 
  These 
  are 
  

   sentinels 
  in 
  more 
  senses 
  than 
  one 
  — 
  sentinels 
  guarding 
  from 
  profane 
  

   eyes 
  the 
  holy 
  secrets 
  of 
  nature 
  — 
  for 
  the 
  stones 
  which 
  they 
  bear 
  upon 
  

   their 
  shoulders, 
  far 
  over 
  the 
  traveler's 
  head, 
  carry 
  a 
  menace 
  not 
  to 
  

   remain 
  unheeded. 
  They 
  resemble 
  human 
  sentinels 
  in 
  another 
  sense 
  

   also, 
  for 
  they 
  possess 
  that 
  characteristic 
  so 
  rarely 
  found 
  in 
  inorganic 
  

   nature, 
  a 
  very 
  definite 
  term 
  of 
  existence. 
  The 
  hard 
  bowlder 
  incrusted 
  

   in 
  the 
  walls 
  has 
  all 
  the 
  softer 
  material 
  around 
  it 
  worn 
  away 
  by 
  the 
  

   storms, 
  and 
  it, 
  in 
  turn, 
  protects 
  from 
  the 
  weather 
  the 
  column 
  of 
  con- 
  

   glomerate 
  vertically 
  under 
  it. 
  Thus 
  it 
  slowly 
  grows 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  destruc- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  things 
  about 
  it. 
  In 
  fact 
  almost 
  all 
  the 
  wonderful 
  forms 
  in 
  

   nature 
  f^row 
  in 
  this 
  way. 
  This 
  is 
  a 
  remarkable 
  case 
  of 
  nature's 
  sculpture, 
  

   slow 
  sculpture, 
  too; 
  for 
  nature 
  when 
  she 
  comes 
  to 
  work 
  up 
  the 
  details 
  

   of 
  her 
  monuments 
  is 
  very 
  deliberate. 
  This 
  work, 
  unlike 
  the 
  great 
  and 
  

   noble 
  carvings 
  of 
  mountain 
  forms, 
  does 
  not 
  require 
  thousands 
  of 
  ages, 
  

  

  