148 
THE GEAKD CAI^ON DISTEICT. 
from a certain monotony which would otherwise prevail. The same type 
and general form is persistent. Like the key-note of a song, the mind car- 
ries it in its consciousness wherever the harmony wanders. 
The horizontal lines or courses are equally strong. These are the edges 
of the strata, and the deeply eroded seams whei’e the superposed beds touch 
each other. Here the uniformity as we pass from place to place is con- 
spicuous. The Carboniferous strata are quite the same in every section, 
showing no perceptible variation in thickness through great distances, and 
only a slight dip. 
It is readily apparent, therefore, that the effect of these profiles and 
horizontal courses so persistent in their character is highly architectural. 
The relation is more than a mere analogy or suggestion ; it is a vivid resem- 
blance. Its failure or discordance is only in the ground plan, though it is 
not uncommon to find a resemblance, even in this respect, among the Per- 
mian buttes. Among the buttes of the Grand Canon there are few striking 
instances of definiteness in ground plan. The finest butte of the chasm is 
situated near the upper end of the Kaibab division ; but it is not visible 
from Point Sublime. It is more than 5,000 feet high, and has a surprising 
resemblance to an Oriental pagoda. We named it Vishnu’s Temple. 
On either side of the promontory on which we stand is a side gorge 
sinking ueaidy 4,000 feet below us. The two unite in front of the point, 
and, ever deepening, their trunk opens into the lowest abyss in the granite 
at the river. Across either branch is a long rambling mass, one on the 
right of us, the other on the left. We named them the Cloisters. They are 
excellent types of a whole class of buttes which stand in close proximity to 
each other upon the north side of the chasm throughout the entire extent 
of the Kaibab division. A far better conception of their forms and features 
can be gained by an examination of Mr. Holmes’s panoramic picture than 
by reading a whole volume of verbal description. The whole prospect, 
indeed, is filled with a great throng of similar objects, which, as much by 
their multitude as by their colossal size, confuse the senses; but these, on 
account of their proximity, may be most satisfactorily studied. The infinity 
of sharply defined detail is amazing. The eye is instantly caught and the 
attention firmly held by its systematic character. The parallelism of the 
