314 The Great Canons of the Colorado River. 



extreme limit of vision, vast plateaux towering one above 

 another thousands of feet in the air, the long horizontal bands 

 broken at intervals by wide and profound abysses, 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 Canon was before us ; and for a long time we 

 paused in wondering delight, surveying the stupendous forma- 

 tion through winch the Colorado and its tributaries break their 

 way." 



By dint of much exertion, the elevated plateau was reached, 

 the mighty sides of which formed this stupendous canon. At 

 a spot near the mouths of Diamond and Cataract rivers, two 

 tributaries of the Colorado, a barometrical observation showed 

 that the almost perpendicular walls of rocks which towered 

 above these streams were over a mile in height ! The illustra- 

 tion which accompanies this is a careful reduction of Mr. 

 Egglesteim's sketch of one point m this vast river wall. 



But the " Big Canon " was only one of many : — 



" The extent and magnitude of the system of canons in 

 every direction is astounding. The plateau is cut into shreds 

 by these gigantic chasms, and resembles a vast ruin. Belts of 

 country, miles in width, have been swept away, leaving only 

 isolated mountains standing in the gap. Fissures so profound 

 that the eye cannot penetrate their depths, are separated by 

 walls whose thickness one can almost span, and slender spires, 

 which seem tottering on their bases, shoot up thousands of 

 feet from the vaults below." 



It may readily be supposed that such a region was but 

 thinly peopled : 



" The handful of Indians who inhabit these seques- 

 tered retreats, where we discovered them, have probably 

 remained in the same condition and of the same number for 

 centuries. The country could not support a large population, 

 and by some provision of nature they have ceased to multiply. 

 Excepting when the melting snows send their annual torrents 

 through the avenues to the Colorado, conveying with them 

 sound and motion, these dismal abysses, and the arid table- 

 that enclose them, are left as they have been for ages, in 

 unl -olitude and silence." 



e exploration of the loftiest of these table-lands nearly 

 proved fatal to the whole part} r : — 



" At the end of ten miles of weary travel, a steep ascent 

 brought us to the summit of a table-land that overlooked the 

 countr trds the i for a hundred miles. No place 



could be d •, far or near, that gave a promise of con- 



taining water. The wretched and broken-down animals, now 

 forty-eight hours without drinking, and that, too, while making 



