MOJAVE VALLEY TO BIG CANON—HUALPAIS RETREATS. 99 
sected by numberless ravines; beyond these a lofty line of bluffs marked the edge of an im- 
mense caiion; a wide gap was directly ahead, and through it were beheld, to the extreme limit 
of vision, vast plateaus, towering one above the other thousands of feet in the air, the long 
horizontal bands broken at intervals by wide and profound abysses, and extending a hundred 
miles to the north, till the deep azure blue faded into a light cerulean tint that blended with 
the dome of the heavens. The famous ‘‘ Big cafion’’ was before us; and for a long time we 
paused in wondering delight, surveying this stupendous formation through which the Colorado 
and its tributaries break their way. 
Our guides, becoming impatient of the detention, plunged into a narrow and precipitous 
ravine that opened at our feet, and we followed as well as we could, stumbling along a rough 
and rocky pathway. The Hualpais were now of great assistance, for the ravines crossed and 
forked in intricate confusion; even Ireteba, who had hitherto led the train, became at a loss 
how to proceed, and had to put the little Hualpais in front. The latter, being perfectly at 
home, conducted us rapidly down the declivity. The descent was great and the trail blind and 
circuitous. A few miles of difficult travelling brought us into a narrow valley flanked by steep 
and high slopes; a sparkling stream crossed its centre, and a gurgling in some tall grass near 
Fig 31 —Side Cafions of Diamond River. 
by announced the presence of a spring. The water was delicious. The grass in the neigh- 
borhood was sparse, but of good quality. Spee és 
This morning we left the valley and followed the course of a creek down a ravine, in the bed 
of which the water at intervals sank and rose for two or three miles, when it altogether disap- 
peared. The ravine soon attained the proportions of a caiion. The bottom was rocky and 
itresular,: and there were some jump-offs over which it was hard to make the pack ae 
Pass. The vegetation began to disappear, leaving only a few stunted cedars projecting trom 
