The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1885-12-12
6oLonAoo CANYONS.

Prof. Biekmers Describes sSsss q To-
wopdsrs Of the Mound siss'
In an oratorical journey through inc
canyons of the Colorado, with q lew
hundred school-teachers yesterday
Prof. Bickm6re said that the whole re-
gion was a grand highway provided by
"atnre for mar TO learn her innermost
sectets. a great book containing the
history Of the eatsh fer ell v DO wish to
turn its leaves and read. After getting
the teachers accustomed to tfeSf
new geographical surroundings by a
liberal display of maps, the Professor
revealed to them successive 3 eauties Of
mountain scenery. with ~hish, he said,
the Alps were tame in comps isoff. No
other part Of the globe could show
such a wonderful development Of rock
structure, nor offer such uneqaaled 10
%cilities for the study Of it.
These remarkable formations, Pfoi.
Bickmore said, were not mal' IS handi-
work, but had been carved out Of the
solid rock by the c~easeless dow Of the
yellow waters Of the C6lorado and by
the endless trickling Of The rain.
Mature" he said. seems to have
been carving these walls so as to give
us an ever-increasiig source of de-
light" In looking at the We ird com.
bination of rock strata Prof. Bickmore
felt as though he was in the presence
of a series of decaying temples Of some
great race of giants. 1t fact, this i'm
preston vas so general that many Of
the formations had been named tenn.
Piles. When he was at the b ttom Of
one Of the frightful canyons Pr Of. Bick-
more could not rid himself Of the inn
preston that he was In prison. As
the sunlight faded away and the long
shadows stole over the steep rocks the
sense of loneliness was oppressive and
almost unbeatable.
The school teachers held their breath
when the professor stood with them on
rocks towering eleven thousand feet
above the river and asked them to
scale ridges four and one-half times as
high as the Palisades. They looked
shocked when he showed them Dirty
Devil Mountain, and they were delight
ed when he portrayed the brilliantly
colored strata Of the Flaming George.
In follow-the-leader fashion the teach
ers hurried over towering masses Of
stone, crossed gurgling waterfalls and
stopped short in surprise when . foam
ing torrent dashed fiercely against .
wall of stone, forced its way through
it, and came out again miles away in
the heart Of the mountains on the same
plane. This, the professor said, was
because the river had existed long be-
fore the mountains. 1t has rolled
placidly on its way and let the mount
aims rise up around 1t,
Through the Canyon Of Lodore went
the teachers, expressing their constant
admiration at the succession Of sur
prises in store for them, admiring the
mountain views In the changes Of the
sunlight and by the weird effects Of tho
shadows cast by the full moon. They
saw the Lone Mexican, the Echo Rock,
the Canyon of Desolation, the peaks Of
the wheat stacks and an endless va.
riety of volcanic rock, most of it de.
void Of vegetation and animal life.
Animals could find nothing to eat up
there, the Professor said. Sometimes
the teachers shnddered at the sight Of
an explorer holding fast to the summit
of a towering cliff. They asked Prof.
Bickmore how in the world the man
ever got>up there, and worse yet, how
he ever managed to get down again.
Some men, the Professor said, did not
get down, but were killed by bands Of
Indians. The teachers stopped in won.
der at a series Of great amphitheaters
that the rushing river had carved ont
Of the cliffs in the course of ages.
A ~laccolite, the Professor said, was a
lake of stone under the earth. The
generally accepted theory about the
wonderful rock formations he had been
showing was that the surface Of the
earth had been pushed up from under.
meath by fluid rock pouring from some
deep assure extending to uncomfortable
depths. 1t had simply lifted up the
mass Of rock above it. 1t was a beauti-
full sight to see the sunlight flashing
down the mountain slopes like silver
waterfalls. The sunlight views in these
canyons were superb, and the general
effect was greatly enhanced by the clear
blue air. 1t was strange, the Professor
that so many Americans had no
Of this wonderful region. It
had no equal on any part OF the globe.
Y. Times.