River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1905-12-21
THE GRAND CANYON.
Its Vostness and Grandeur as
Viewed by Badger.
(Written for the JoURNAL.)

1t mas D6en remarked by travellers
that their ordinary judgment affords
inadequate bases for many phenom-
ena that they observe in away-from
home sections. Especially is the
Badger likely to nisjudge distances
and colors of the Canyon, and he
has constant difficulty III calculat-
ing the influences of water, frost,
and vegetable in breaking down
rock. So the Badger must multiply
by ten the dimensions recently re-
cited by engineers concerning the
deepest cut in the Panama canal in
order to realize the Arizona cash in
the earth that is over one mile deep,
thirteen miles wide at the rim, and
over two-hundred miles long, hav-
ing a stream of water that is five
hundred feet wide and as many
deep, that at places flows fifteen
miles per hour.
Au ODSClNCl SLdllOo OA IhO I'LL az
(hotel) FL Tovar and looks down
an angle of forty-five degrees at
some small white objects 5000 feet
away; the feld-glass shows the
white objects to be dozen tents;
some flies emerging from that Sec
ton are likewise shown to be
mounted body of tourists, crossing
field, apparently three acres in
extent, but the horsemen require
fifteen minutes to walk it, thus con-
frming the guides statement that
that field" is one mile by one and
half miles in dimensions.
The splendors in coloring of the
cliff that stands thirteen miles away
arise from the combined effect of
the suns rays falling against four
alternating sections of stratified
rock in original position and debris
from the same, each more than a
thousand feet high, the verticals
composed of horizontal strata of
lime and sandstone in many shades
of buff and red, the deep green of
abundant evergreen shrubs and
trees adding variety to the scene.
A great cloud passes over the sun
and corresponding shadow ap-
pears upon the opposite wall, Great
ing the most varied and the largest
panorama imaginable.
The Badger undertook walk TO
the neighboring point on the rim
while the comrades waited" but
| he travelled distance equal TO that
of Ilwaco before he returns from
the "neighboring point" At many
points within the canyon proper
stand isolated masses of the origin
al rock bearing alignments on all
faces that resemble architectural
forms; some of these have been
from fancied resemblanceS known
as Temple of ISIS" THE Battle
Shop" "The Temple of Brahma, +"
etc., as named by Godet's survey
| ors.
But the entire scene derives its
chief attractions from notifications
of original tints by the continued
play of the suns rays deepened by
shades of parts of isolated masses
and clouds already alluded to. An
observer will stand silent before the
changing panorama on the wall one
mile deep and forty miles long, sub
dued by the glory of coloring aud
the magnitude of the moving scene.
Viewed when the sun is in the hor-
lion, at full height, and again at
horizon, this is the most awe-in-
spring scene imaginable. Many
tourists make the zigzag seven mile
descent of the trail to the river, but
all their written and spoken &C
counts fail to show any desirable
new phase of Times contest with
matter, but on the contrary reveal
great discomfort, afoot and astride,
and the Badgers staid upon the rim,
witnessing during the second day
the gathering of storm, its con
densation to rain in the valley and
to snow on the rim. The struggle
of the elements to clear the atmos-
phere showed visitors how storms
are made, until the suns rays shot
across miles of vapor, banked 1t
against the opposite stone buttress
and mountain of fog, rolled over
and over until its last drop of mois-
ture had drenched the vertical
walls, deepening their many hues
so that at sunset a new aspect OF
the morning scene was superadded
to that which ordinarily prevails.
Spread in many places along the
crest of the canyon, and blown into
crevices, is sufficient soil to afford
bedding of seeds of many semi,
tropical plants, and now moisture
swells the seed and thus thousands