174 
THE GRAND OA^ON DISTRICT. 
general course towards the east. It is necessary to make a detour in order 
to head the Bright Angel Amphitheater, which is very long, and is eroded 
so far back into the plateau that its upper end is only a little more than a 
mile from the main eastern flank of the plateau, and the portion of the 
Kaibab south of it is almost isolated from the main mass. At length the 
trail leads down into a ravine of unusual depth, with very steep banks. A 
few hundred yards below it plunges into the vast depth of the great amphi- 
theater. There is a very small spring* in the bottom of the ravine a few 
hundred yards above the point where the trail reaches the bottom, but it is 
hardly available, and yields but a very few gallons per day. Climbing the 
southern bank, we once more reach the summit platform, and a mile further 
on we find a lai’ge lagoon. Its water is stagnant and strongly impregnated 
with vegetable matter, but it is incomparably better than that which we are 
sometimes compelled to use at the pockets in the desert. If a protracted 
stay is made at the south end of the Kaibab, there is no alternative but to 
send back to this lagoon for a supply for camp purposes and to sustain the 
animals. In very dry seasons its contents are wholly evaporated before the 
summer or early autumn is over. The picturesqueness of the spot, how- 
ever, is some compensation for the inferiority of the water. Very lovely is 
the sylvan scenery of the Kaibab summit. It never fails. Wherever we 
go the grand old trees are above us and the grassy lawn beneath our feet. 
The ground is unencumbered with undergrowth, and the beautiful vistas of 
open parks, winding glades, and vanishing avenues of tree trunks, the long 
nodding grasses, and flowers, invite the fancy to wander forever in Paradise. 
From the lagoon our course is nearly southward. Crossing several 
ravines athwart our path, we at length follow downwards the course of one 
leading southwestward. The trail “scatters” and is finally lost, and our 
way is literally in the pathless woods. As the ravine grows more rugged, 
and deepens and narrows rapidly, we interpret its meaning to be a near 
approach to its termination at some lateral chasm. Ascending its left bank 
to the upper platform, a ride of half a mile brings us to the verge of the 
*I have been particular to note the locations of the few springs on the Kaibab, because they are 
of the utmost importance to the traveler. 
