56 LLANO EST AC ADO. 



the bed of the river to such a height as, for a great portion of the day, 

 to exclude the rays of the sun, were worn away, by the lapse of time 

 and the action of the water and the weather, into the most fantastic 

 forms, that required but little effort of the imagination to convert into 

 works of art, and all united in forming one of the grandest and most 

 picturesque scenes that can be imagined. We all, with one accord, 

 stopped and gazed with wonder and admiration upon a panorama 

 which was now for the first time exhibited to the eyes of civilized man. 

 Occasionally might be seen a good representation of the towering walls 

 of a castle of the feudal ages, with its giddy battlements pierced with 

 loopholes, and its projecting watch-towers standing out in bold relief 

 upon the azure ground of the pure and transparent sky above. In other 

 places our fancy would metamorphose the escarpments into a bastion 

 front, as perfectly modelled and constructed as if it had been a produc- 

 tion of the genius of Vauban, with redoubts and salient angles all 

 arranged in due order. Then, again, we would see a colossal specimen 

 of sculpture representing the human figure, with all the features of the 

 face, which, standing upon its lofty pedestal, overlooks the valley, and 

 seems to have been designed and executed by the Almighty artist as 

 the presiding genius of these dismal solitudes. 



All here was crude nature, as it sprang into existence at the fiat of 

 the Almighty architect of the universe, still preserving its primeval 

 type, its unreclaimed sublimity and wildness ; and it forcibly inspired me 

 with that veneration which is justly due to the high antiquity of nature's 

 handiworks, and which seems to increase as we consider the solemn and 

 important lesson that is taught us in reflecting upon their continued 

 permanence when contrasted with our own fleeting and momentary 

 existence. 



On climbing up to the summit of the escarpment over the head of 

 the spring, we found ourselves upon the level p]ain of the "Llano es- 

 tacado," which spreads out from here in one uninterrupted desert, to the 

 base of the mountains east of the Rio Grande. The geographical posi- 

 tion of this point, as determined by courses and distances from the 

 place where we left the wagons, is in latitude 34° 42' north, and longi- 

 tude 103° *7' 11" west; and its approximate elevation above the sea, as 

 determined by frequent and careful barometric 'observations, is 2,450 

 feet. 



The geological formation is different here from what it is below, inas- 

 much as we find no gypsum ; and the moment we passed this mineral, 

 (which was only about two miles before we reached the head of the 

 river,) the water became at once sweet and good. 



