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Show 60 EXPLORATION OF T.IJE OARONS OF THE OOLORADO. hundred or a few thousand yards from the walL But this gulch has its Ride gulches, and, as you come near to tho summit, a group of radiating canons is found. 'rhe spaces drained by these little canons are terraced, and are, to a greater or less extent, of the form of amphitheaters, though some aro oblong and some r~ther irregular. Usually, tho spaces drained by any two of these little side cations are separated by a narrow wall, one, two, or three hundred feet high, and often but a few feet in thickness. Sometimes the wall is broken into a line of pyramids above, and still remains a wall below. Now, there are a number of these gulches which break the wall of the main canon of tho Groen, each one having its system of side canons and amphitheaters, inclosed by wal1s, or lines of pinnacles. Tho course of t11e Green, at this point, is approximately at right angles to that of the Colorado, and on the brink of tho latter canon we find the same system of terraced and walled glens. Tho walls, and pinnacles, and towers are of sandstone, homogeneous in structure, but not in color, as they show broad bands of red, buff, and gray. This painting of the rocks, dividing them into sections, increases their apparent height. In some places, _these terraced and walled glens, along the Colorado, have coalesced with those along the Green; that is, the intervening walls arc broken down. It is very rarely that a loose rock is seen. The sand is washed off so that the walls, ten-aces, and slopes of the glens are all of smooth sandstone. In the walls themselves, curious caves and channels have been carved. In some places, there are little st.:'1.irways up the walls; in others, the walls present what are known as royal arches; and so we wander through glens, and among pinnacles, and climb the walls from early morn until late in tho afternoon. July 21.-We start this morning on the Colorado. Tho river is rough, and bad rapids, in close succession, are found. Two very hard portages are made during the forenoon. After dinner, in running a rapid, tho "Emma Dean" is swamped, and we are thrown into the river, we cling to her, and in the first quiet water below she is righted and bailed out; but three oars are lost in this mishap. 'rhe larger boats land above tho dangerous place, and we make a portage, that occupies all the afternoon. W o camp at night, on the rock, on the left bank, and can scarcely find room to lie down. |
