Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1891-02-19
A Scene Of Unique and Unparalleled
Snbl]msi'y Meets the Eye in
Every Direction.
Here May be Seer Effects the Artist
and Architect Have not limited
At.
The Scene Likencd to a Vast CITY, but
it is one not of Mans COncep-
ton.

1
where the indians had set their camp by a
shallow pond. and drove along the
ridge, in the cool shades. for three or
four miles. Suddenly, on The edge of a
descent, we who were on the box saw
through the tree-tops a vision that stop
ped the pulse for second, and filed us
With excitement. 1t was only glimple,
far off, and apparently lifted up--red
towers. purple cliffs, widespread apart
hints of color and splendor; on the RICH
distance, mansions, gold and white and car
mine $50 the light made them), architect
uai habitations in the sky it must be, and
suggestions of others far eff in the middle
distance, a subtantiat aerial city, or the
ruins of one, such as the prophet saw in a
vision. 1t was only a glimpse. Our
hearts were in our mouths. We had A
vague impression of something wonderful,
fearful, some Incompatible splendor thai
was not earthly. Were we drawing near
the ''city"? and should we have vet
a more perfect view thereof? Was it
Jerusalem, Or some Hindoo temples, there
in the sky?
1T was builded of pearls and precious
stones, also the streets were paved with
gold; so that by reason of the natural
glory of the city, and the reflection of sun
beams upon it, Christian with desire fell
sick 1t was momentary vision of a
vast amphitheatre of splendor, mostly
hidden by the trees and the edge of the
| plateau.
We descend into hollow. There was
the well, log cabin, d tent of two under
pine-trees. We dismounted with impati-
ent haste. The sun was low in the hori-
zon, and had long withdrawn from the
grassy dell. Tired as we were we could
not wait. 1t was only to ascend the little
steep, stony slope-300 yards-and we
should see! The party were struggling
up the hill. Two or three had reached the
edge lookek up. The Duchess threw
up her arms and screamed. We were not
| fifteen PAGES behind, but we saw nothing
| We took the few steps, and the whole
magni6cence broke npon us. No one
could be prepared for it, The scene is one
to strike dumb with awe, or to unstrmg
| the nerves; one might stand in silent
establishment, another would burst into
| tears.
There are some experiences that cannot
| be repeated-one first view of Rome,
ones first view of jerusalem But these
| emotions are produced by association, by
| the sudden standing face to face with the
scenes most wrought into our whole life
and education by tradition and reiioion
! This was without associa' ion as it was
without parallel Ii was a shock so novel
| that the mind, dazed, quite failed to COM
prehend it. All that we could grasp was
a vast confusion Of amphitheatres and
strange architectural forms resplendent
with color The vastness of the view
| amazed US quite us much as its transcen-
dent beauty.
We had expected canon-two lines
of perpendicular walls 5000 feet high,
with the ribbon of river at the bottom.
But the reader may dismiss all his notions
of ca non, indeed of any sort of noun
tain or gorge scenery with which he is
familiar. We had come into a new world.
What we saw was not a canon, or a
chasm, or a gorge, but vast area which
is a break in the plateau. From where
we stood it was IL miles across to the OPP
posite walls-a level line of mesa on the
| Utah side. We looked up and down for
| 20 to 30 miles. This great space is filed
| with gigantic architectural constructors,
masonry, fortresses terraced up to the
| level of the eye, temples mountain size,
all brilliant with horizontal lines of color
-streaks of solid hues a few feet in
width, streaks thousand feet in width
| yellows. mingled while and gray, orange,
| dull red, brown, blue, carmine, green, all
blending in the sunlight into enc trans
| cendant suffusion of splendor. Afar off
we saw the river in two places, a mere
thread, as motionless and smooth as
strip of mirror, only we knew IL was a
| turbid boiling torrent 600 feet below u.s.
Directly opposite the overhanging ledge
On which we stood was a mountain, the
sloping base of which was ashy gray and
blush; it rose In a series OF terraces to a
thousand feet wall of dark red sandstone,
receding upward with ranges of columns
and many fantastic sculptures, to a final
row of gigantic Opera-glasses g 600 feet
above the river. The great San Francisco
mountain, with its snowy crater, which
we had passed on the way. might have
been set down in the place of this one,
and it would have been on Y one in a null
titude of such forms that met the eve
whichever way we looked. Indeed, all the
vast mountains In this region might be
hidden in this canon.
Wandering little away from the group
and ont of sight, and turning suddenly to
the scene from another point Of view, |
experienced for a moment an indescrib-
able terror of nature, a confusion of mind,
a desire to be alone in such presence.
With all this grotesqueness and majesty
of form and radiance of color. creation
seemed in whirl. With our education
in scenery Of totally different Find. |
suppose it would need long acquaintance
with this to familiarize one with it to the
extent of perfect mental comprehension.
The vast abyss has an atmosphere of its
own, one always changing and producing
new effects, an atmosphere and shadows
and tones of its own-golden, rosy, gray.
brilliant and sombre, and playing a
thousand fantastic tricks to the vision
The rich and wonderful color effects. says
Captain Dutton. ARE due to the inherent
colors Of the rocks, modified by the atmos-
phere. Like any other great series of
strata in the plateau province, the car
boniferous has its own range of colors,
which might serve to distinguish it even
if We had no other criter3n. The summit
strata are pale gray. with a faint yellow
ish cast. Beneath them the cross-bedded
sandstone appears, showing a notified
surface of pale pinkish hue. Underneath
this member are nearly / 900 feet of the
lower Aubrey sandstones, displaying an
intensely brilliant red, which is somewhat |
marked by the talus shot down from the
gray cherry limestone at the summit |
Beneath the lower Aubrey is the face Of |
the Red Wall limestone, from 1000 to |
5000 feet high. 1t has d strong red tone, |
but very peculiar one. Most of the red
strata of the west have the brownish Or
vermillion tones. but these are rather |
purplish-red. as if the pigment had been
treated to dash of blue. 1t is not quite
L