This yawning gulf with its awful depths of nearly two thousand feet,
through which the river, like a silver thread was wending its way, and
the sublime coloring produced by nature, reflected from the mineral
formations on the sides of the great canyon, was a sight too much for
human frailty, and I had to be satisfied to take a glimpse and wait
until I could recuperate from the shock before attempting another
adventure.
Before leaving Inspiration Point, some one shouted, "See the eagle's
nest!" and there, looking down into a tall pine tree at the right of
the descent, was the nest; but I was more interested in the canyon,
for I had never had the faintest conception of what it really is.
When I had recuperated somewhat from the bewilderment, I was inclined
to charge those who had visited the Park before, among whom were my
brother and his wife, with stupidity and a lack of appreciation for
not having done more to tell of such grandeur. But afterwards I had to
admit that the half cannot be told however much anyone might try.
Unlike the Royal Gorge in Colorado, we were not at the bottom looking
up, but at the top looking down into the silent and awful depths. It
was as if the earth had rent asunder and we were standing on the brink
looking over into the abyss.
"Of all the marvels of the Yellowstone National Park, the
most sublime is the Grand Canyon. Through this the
Yellowstone River, which is a tributary of the Missouri,
flows in one place for twenty continuous miles between
perpendicular cliffs only about 200 yards apart and from
1,200 to 1,500 feet in height. At the entrance of this part
of the canyon the whole river makes a stupendous leap of
308 feet, in what is known as the 'Lower Fall.' The sides of
this gigantic chasm have literally almost all the colors of
the rainbow displayed upon their vertical surfaces. Red,
orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, and white tints, are
constantly succeeding one another here in wonderful variety,
thus lighting up with glory countless architectural forms,
which Nature, it would seem, had fashioned here to make the
proudest works of man appear diminutive and tame. These
colors doubtless have been formed by the percolating through
the cliffs of the hot mineral waters from the neighboring
springs. Distinguished painters have sadly declared that any
adequate representation of these brilliant, variegated hues
is utterly beyond the power of human art. What an unrivalled
combination is there, therefore, in this canyon, of
awe-inspiring grandeur and enchanting beauty! And what a
magnificent pathway has been given to the Yellowstone River!
Leaving the famous Yellowstone Lake enclosed by snow-clad
mountains, it passes through a series of rapids and a fall
of 140 feet before it even reaches the Grand Canyon, and
just beyond this it receives a tributary, which in its haste
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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