Orange County observer., 1891-03-14
THE GRAND CANON.
THE MOST SUBLIME OF ALI,
EARTHLY SPECTACLES.
Vast Break in the a Plateau Filled
With Gigantic Forms Fash
Toned by Nature-A Mag
nificent Sight

Magazine, gives his impressions of the
Srand Canon of the Colorado in q paper
entitled "The Heart of the Desert" Mr..
Warner says,
We had~expected a canon-two lines
If perpendicular walls 5000 feet high,
Elth the ribbon of river at the bottom.
But the reader may dismiss all his no.
lions of canon, indeed of any sort of
mountain or gorge scenery with which
ae is familiar. We had come into new
world.
What we saw was not canon, or q,
:hasm, or gorge, but vast area, which
s break in the plateau. From where
ne stood it was twelve miles across to
;he opposite walls-a level line of mesa
N the Utah side. We looked up and
iown for twenty to thirty miles.
: This great space is filled with gigantic
architectural constructions, with amphi-
heaters, gorges, preciplces, walls of ma
'onry, fortresses terraced up to the level
If the eye, temples mountain size, all
brilliant with horizontal lines Of color
treaks of solid hues few feet in width,
,treaks a thousand feet in width-yel-
ows, mingled white and gray, orange,
aull red, brown, blue, carmine, green,
F,ll blending in the sunlight into one
ranscendent suffusion Of splendor.
Afar off we saw the river in two places,
mere thread, as motionless and smooth
IS strip of mirror, only we knew it was
+, turbid, boiling torrent, 5000 feet be-
ow us. Directly opposite the overhang-
ng ledge on which we stood was
mountain, the sloping base Of which was
',.shy gray and blush; it rose in series
IF terraces to thousand foot wall of
dark red sandstone, reccding upward,
with ranges of columns and many fantas-
tic sculptures, to final row Of gigantic
opera glasses 5000 feet above the river.
4
The great San Francisco Mountain, with
its sbowy crater, which we had passed
On the way, might have been sat down
In the place of this one, and it would
have been only one in multitude Of
euch forms that met the eye whichever
.ay we looked Indeed, all the vast
mountains in this region might be hidden
u this canon.
i Wandering a little away from the
group and out of sight, and turning sud-
denly to the scene from another Point of
REV, experienced for moment an in
descrlbablc terror Of nature, confusion
of mind, fear to be alone in such a
presence. With all this grotesqueness
and majesty of form and radiance Of
color creation seemed in whirl. With
our education in scenery of totally diff
ferent kind suppose it would need long
Acquaintance with this to familiarize one
with it to the extent Of a perfect mental
comprehension.
Twas continually hkening this to q
vast city rather than a landscape, but it
was a city of no mans creation, nor Of
any mans conception. Here are effects
beyond the artist, forms the architect
has not limited at.
Some one said that all that was needed
to perfect this scene was Niagara Falls.
| thought what figure fall $50 feet high
and 5000 lcng would make in this arena
1t would need a spyglass to discover It.
An adequate Niagara here should be a
least three miles in breadth and fall 200G
feet over one Of these walls. And th'
Yosemite the lovely Yosemite
Dumped down into this wilderness Q
vorpes and mountains, il would tax
guide who knew Of its existence lon;
.irne to find it. The process Of creation
Is mere iaiN pare tNf0u1u sA| GSo4o- -
periods. The strata Of rock, deposltef
or upheaved, preserve their horizonta
] md parallel courses. II we imagine
.iver flowing on plain II would wear 10
tself a deeper and deeper channel. Tn
calls OF this channel would reccde il
egularly by wea,hering and by the CON
NJ in OF other streams. TIE cnaanf
xould 60 on deepening aad the oute
walls would again reccle. l. the rock
we're of difTefea, material and degrees {
hardness the forms would be carved
the fantastic and architectural uanneE v
End them here.
The Colorado fows through the toi
tuous inner chasm, and where We see j
: i, is 6oO0 feet below the surface whel
We stand. aud below the towers Of Il