The Grand Cañon of the Colorado--Niagara Outdone--The Course of the Colorado River--A Survey Party Through the Cañon--Experiences of a Terrible Night--Wonderful Contrasts of Color in the Massive Rocks--A Natural Wall a Thousand Feet High--Hieroglyphics which have Never been Deciphered--Relics of a Superior Race--Conjecture as to the Origin of the Ancient Bearded White Men. CHAPTER XIX. OUR GREAT WATERWAYS. Importance of Rivers to Commerce a Generation Ago--The Ideal River Man--The Great Mississippi River and its Importance to our Native Land--The Treacherous Missouri--A First Mate who Found a Cook's Disguise very Convenient--How a Second Mate got over the Inconvenience of Temporary Financial Embarrassment. CHAPTER XX. THROUGH THE GREAT NORTHWEST. The Importance of Some of our Newest States--Romantic History of Montana--The Bad Lands and their Exact Opposite--Civilization Away Up in the Mountains--Indians who have Never Quarreled with White Men--Traditions Concerning Mount Tacoma--Wonderful Towns of the Extreme Northwest--A State Shaped like a Large Chair--The Falls of Shoshone. CHAPTER XXI. IN THE WARM SOUTHEAST. Florida and its Appropriate Name--The First Portions of North America Discovered by White Men--Early Vicissitudes of its Explorers--An Enormous Coast Line--How Key West came to be a great Cigar Town--The Suwanee River--St. Augustine and its World-Renowned Hotel--Old Fort Marion. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Statue to Minute Man Interior of Independence Hall, Philadelphia Tomb of General Grant, Riverside Park A Memory of Rip Van Winkle The Exact Center of United States Brigham Young's Grave, Salt Lake City Chief Rain-in-the-Face and his Favorite Pony The Cowboy as He Is Civilized Indians An Uncivilized Savage The Belle of the Pueblo Custer Battlefield and Monument The Old French Market at New Orleans The Prettiest Chinese Woman in America Yellowstone Falls In and Around Yellowstone Park A Marvel of Magnificence Climbing Pike's Peak by Rail Hieroglyphic Memoirs of Past Ages A Fin de Siecle Pleasure Steamer Whaleback Steamer on the Lakes Two Views of Mount Tacoma A Restful Southern Home MY NATIVE LAND. CHAPTER I. OUR NATION'S BIRTH. The Story of Liberty Bell--Impartial Opinions on the Revolutionary War--The Shot that was Heard Around the World--The First Committee of Safety--A Defeat which Equaled a Victory--Washington's Earnestness--To Congress on Horseback--The First 4th of July Celebration. It was not until April 19th, 1775, that the shot was fired which was "heard around the world." But the struggle for American Independence was really started nearly a quarter of a century earlier, when on the afternoon of August 27th, 1753, Liberty Bell was rung to call together the Assembly of the Province of Pennsylvania.