TIw Great Canons of the Colorado River. 313 



shapes seemed to start out, all sparkling and blinking in the 

 light, and to be peering over at us as we lay watching them 

 from the bottom of the profound chasm. The contrast between 

 the vivid glow above and the black obscurity beneath, formed 

 one of the most striking points in the singular picture. As we 

 proceeded, the canon continued increasing in size and magni- 

 ficence. No description can convey an idea of the varied and 

 majestic grandeur of this peerless water-way. Wherever the 

 river makes a turn, the entire panorama changes; and one 

 startling novelty after another appears and disappears. Stately 

 facades, august cathedrals, amphitheatres, rotundos, castellated 

 walls, and rows of time-stained ruins, surmounted by every 

 form of tower, minaret, dome, and spire, have been moulded 

 from the Cyclopean masses of rock that form the mighty defile. 

 The solitude, the stillness, the subdued light, and the vastness 

 of every surrounding object, produce an impression of awe that 

 ultimately becomes almost painful. As hour after hour passed, 

 we began to look anxiously ahead for some sign of an outlet 

 from the range, but the declining day brought only fresh piles 

 of mountains, higher, apparently, than any before seen. 



" We had made up our minds to pass another night in the 

 canon, and were searching for a spot large enough to serve as 

 a resting-place, when we came into a narrow passage, between 

 two mammoth peaks, that seemed to be nodding to each other 

 across the stream, and unexpectedly found, at the upper end, 

 the termination of the Black Canon. These great towers form- 

 ing the northern gateway were striped with crimson and yel- 

 low bands, the gravel bluffs bordering the river exhibited 

 brilliant alternations of the same hues, and not far to the east, 

 mingled with the grey summits, were two brilliant hills, alto- 

 gether of a blood colour, that imparted a peculiarly ghastly air 

 to the scene. Not a trace of vegetation could be discovered, 

 but the glaring monotony of the rocks was somewhat relieved 

 by these fanciful variations of colouring.'''' 



At this point, progress up the river had to be abandoned; 

 the water above being of a shoal nature, the current swift, and 

 the rapids numerous and full of danger. This was, then, the 

 practical head of the Colorado navigation. So the expedition 

 proceeded on mules and on foot to the higher plateaux of the 

 N. W. Eocky Mountains, where they discovered still grander 

 scenery. 



From this part we must give an extract or two : — 



' ' At last the ridge of the swell was attained, and a splendid 

 panorama burst suddenly into view. In the foreground were 

 low table hills, intersected by numberless ravines ; beyond these 

 a lofty line of bluffs marked the edge of an immense canon ; a 

 wide gap was directly ahead, and through it we beheld, to the 



