Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1867-06-22
The Great Canon of the Colorado.

The following is from Col. Marcy's GU. g
A.) "Thirty Years Army Life on the Bor
DER and is very interesting description OF
one of the great wonders of the world. lie
says:
This cannon, two hundred miles long, is
without doubt one of the most stupcndous
freaks Of nature that can be found on the
face Of the earth It appears that by some
great convulsivc throc, an elevated chain of
mountains had been rent asundcr, as if to ad-
nit a passage for the river along the level of the
grade of the base. The walls of this maies-
tic dclilc, SO far as they have been seen, arc
nearly perpcndcular and although VIC have
no exact data upon which to base positive
calculation of their altitude yet our informa,
ton is amply sufficient to warrant tllo nsscr.
tion that it far exceeds anything of the kind
elsewhere known. A Spanish explorer, Gas.
tenada, says he travelled several days along on
the crest of the lofty bluff bordering this can
non, which he estimated to be Mrcc len0urs
high, and he found no place where he could
pass down to the water from the summit An
tone IIercux, one Of best informed guides in
New Mexico, told me in 1858 that he had
once been at point on this canon where ho
Soelh'alCN tllC NuiiS W wv LnICC UllIcS nlHn.--
Mr.. Kern, in speaking of tho Colorado, SAYS
no river in North America passes through n
canon equal in depth to this one We had a
view OF it from the San Francisco mountain.
N. NJ, and Judging from our own elevation
and the character Of the intervening country,
the walls are at least 5000 feet 10 height. -
Imagine then what mus. be the effect Of n
large stream like the Colomoo, travcrsine
for 20O miles dcfilc, with the pc, pcndicular
walls towering 5000 feet above the bed Of the
river. 1t IS not known that it has ever been
explored, owing to the probability of almost
lnsnrmountnble barriers of falls and sunkcn
rocks, but consideration Of vast Importance
might result from thorough exploration of
this part of the river, in the development of
mineral wealth. In fSl0 Mr.. i. X. Aubrey
Informed me that he had crossed the Colorado
near tho outlet If tho " Big Canon" where
he met Indians with whom he exchanged
leadcn for gold rifle balls, and these Indians
did not appear to have the slightest idea of the
relative value Of the two metals.
That gold and silver abound in that region
is fully established, as they have been found
on che easS and west of the Colorado. Is il
not, therefore probable that the walls cf this
gigantic crcvice may exhibi. many rich depos.
its? Companies arc formed almost daily, and
| largo sums of money expended to- sink shafts
of'ono. two or three hundred feet, with the
confident expectation Of finding mineral de-
posts But here nature has opened and cx
posed to view continuous shat t,co hundyeo
miles tong and five thousand feet deep.
In the one case VIC have small shaft BIAS
ted out at great expense by manual labor
showing surface Of about 5000 feet whil
here nature gratuitously exhibits 10000, 900,
900 of foot, extending into tho very bowel
of tho earth. Is it then at all without tn
scope Of rational conjecturcs to predict tina
such an immense development Of the ntcrio
strata Of tho earth such a huge guch, exten
ded to great distance through tho heart Of