136 GRAND CANON DISTRICT. 



it quite open. Contrasting finely with these are the aspens (Popuhis 

 trcmuloides) with their white trunks and pale green foliage. Through- 

 out the greater part of the plateau these three genera comprise all the 

 arboreal forms that occur. But upon its borders we also find cedars, 

 mountain mahogany, and pinon (Junipcrus occidental is, Ccrcocarpii* 

 Icdifolius, and Pimm edulis), the latter, though classed as a pine, differ 

 ing greatly from the more typical forms of the genus. 



The ravine, where we enter its mouth, is about COO feet in depth. 

 The ascent is by a very easy grade, averaging about 100 feet to the mile. 

 As we progress it becomes shallower, but not so rapidly as the grade 

 might indicate, for the plateau summit also rises though at a lower 

 grade towards the east. The course is a crooked one, but none the less 

 agreeable oti that account. Every traveler on foot or horseback has 

 probably observed how tiresome and monotonous the road becomes when 

 he can see it stretching away before him for many miles, and how 

 charming the diversity when it wanders hither and thither. It matters 

 not if the successive vistas are as much alike as two turns of a kaleido- 

 scope, there is always an impatience to see what is beyond the next turn. 

 So it is here. The successive scenes are much alike, or change by insen- 

 sible degrees, but the same general view is presented in ever varying 

 detail, and its subject matter is always delightful. 



It is difficult to say precisely wherein the charm of the sylvan scenery 

 of the Kaibab consists. We, who through successive summers have 

 wandered through its forests and parks, have come to regard it as the 

 most enchanting region it has ever been our privilege to visit. Surely 

 there is no lack of beautiful or grand forest scenery in America, and it 

 is a matter of taste what species of trees are the most pleasing. Proba- 

 bly few people would select the conifers and poplars as the highest 

 types of arboreal beauty. I suspect that the charm consists in influ- 

 ences far more subtle than these outward forms. The delicious cli- 

 mate, neither cold nor hot, neither wet nor excessively dry, but always 

 exhilarating, is a fundamental condition by virtue of which the body 

 and mind are brought into the most susceptible mood. The ease with 

 which we move from place to place, the absence of all anxiety or care 

 for the three great requisites of camp life, fuel, water, and grass, are 

 accessory conditions. The contrast of the desert with its fatigue, its 

 numberless discomforts and privations, is still another. But the scenery 

 is also very beautiful in itself. The trees are large and noble in 

 aspect and stand widely apart, except in the highest parts of the pla- 

 teau where the spruces predominate. Instead of dense thickets where 

 we are shut in by impenetrable foliage, we can look far beyond and 

 see the tree trunks vanishing away like an infinite colonnade. The 

 ground is unobstructed and inviting. There is a constant succession of 

 parks and glades— dreamy avenues of grass and flowers winding be- 

 tween sylvan walls, or spreading out in broad open meadows. From 



