River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1907-02-21
THE GRAND CANYON OF
THE COLORADO

scription of the Grand Canyon of the
Colorado river. | then thought l
would surely see this remarkable
freak of nature sometime during my
life. So in planning my western trip
made il one of my objective points.
We took a sleeper at Winslow on
the Santa Fe railroad, one hundred
miles away at evening, and the next
morning when we awoke we were
within few rods of the mightiest
chasm on the earth's surface. There
is but one grand canyon. All 9TH
ers that are so named are mere pig
mics in comparison.
This terrific cash in the earth's
surface is over two hundred miles
long and over mile deep. From the
edge of the rim at the head of Bright
Angle Trail, where we first saw it,
TO the opposite side it is thirteen
miles. The country along its sides
is rather flat and there is nothing to
warn you that one of the most stu
pendous sights in the world awaits
you only few steps away. When
| looked over the rim, feeling came
up within me that | never before
had. 1t is indescribable. When
look back now and think of it am
ready to throw down my pen in dis
gust and say cannot tell you about
it. Go and see it for yourself. 1t
is the only way to have any idea of
the magnifcence, the grandeur and
the overwhelming splendor which
greets you.
It is a assure deep down into the
foundations of the earth, abrupt, al
most frightful, and wonderful be-
yond description. In it are assem-
bled mountains, valleys, enormous
rocks, cliffs, where if person should
slip over, a fall of over a thousand
feet would result. Pinnacles, turrets
and rocks piled up in all sorts of
fantastic shapes. These and thou
sand other details so shock and con-
fuse the sight and mind that the on
locker is struck dumb with amaze
ment. Along the sides are number
less smaller canyons, ravineS and
gorges breaking into the main one,
so that if you only change your
point of view short distance, new
scene is presented. A person would
have to be made of cast iron to look
down into this fearful abyss without
catching his breath, or having his
heart come up into his mouth.
When we first look at it we pay
no attention to detail. The whole
inpresses us so that the rest of the
earth seems to fade away, and we
are standing on little pinnacle
viewing a world of itself and afraid
to step backward for fear we will
fall off into illimitable space. Al
though the picture is broken up into
thousand forms, the whole seems
harmonious. The spectacle is SO
symmetrical and so completely ex
cludes the outside world, that it is
difficult to make any comparisons,
or acquire any notion of its immens
ity. If it were only half as deep,
and half as wonderful it would be
no less bewildering, SO utterly does
it battle the human mind. A mount
ain stands before you which looks
like fragment that has fallen from
the side, and perhaps it has, but it
is higher than the Washington mon
ument. 1t looks so near that you
may think you can throw stone on
to its peak. If you attempt it, you
will be surprised to see the stone
fall almost under your feet. When |
you journey toward it down the trail
you will find it half mile away
Yonder is a cliff, partly in sunshine
and partly in shadow, the perpendic
ular sides of which would measure
over 1900 feet. 1t is only one of the
little things that go to make up the
whole magnificent effect. All this |
is enough to bewilder a persons |
sense and imagination, but when
you add to it all the colors of the
rainbow and each color in sunshine |
and shadow and all on such a pro-
digious scale, the poor, little pro-
auctions of man seem utterly insig
nihcant.
1t seems as if the Almighty says
to man, Put away your easel, COW
er up your canvas, do not attempt |
to paint it for you will surely be dis
appointed. Away down below you
is a little green patch which looks
about as large as little back lawn
where the good housewife might
hang out her clothesline and spread
out a few sheets in the morning
sun. When we reach it we find it is