ns. The others, after many
accidents and hair-breadth escapes, succeeded in getting through in
safety.

In addition to the rapidity of the current the river has many rapids and
water-falls with jagged projecting rocks which make boating extremely
hazardous. All these perils were conjectured but unknown to Major
Powell's party, and every new bend of the river was liable to disclose
a cataract more dangerous than any encountered before. Then the
reverberating sound of the roaring river as it struck the sides of its
lofty prison walls together with the deep gloom of the mighty abyss was
calculated to terrify the bravest. Thus, facing death at every turn of
the stream, the men were kept constantly in a tense state of excitement.

A wealth of adjectives has been expended in attempting properly to
describe the immensity of this great handiwork of nature, and scores of
persons have produced fascinating word-paintings of its awe-inspiring
grandeur.

Leading back from the river the canyon walls are made up in part of
shelving rocks and terraces. These, with peaks, buttes, and myriads of
other structures arising from the great gulf, show plainly the different
strata of rocks of which they are composed. Many of these rocks are
richly colored; the tints as a rule result from the salts of iron and
other mineral matter disseminated through them. In some instances the
coloring material of the upper strata has been washed down by the storms
and has stained the rock of the walls below. This is the case in the
Grand Canyon, where the limestone wall is colored red by the iron in an
overlying stratum.

When the gigantic forms partly filling the chasm, yet standing apart
from each other, are seen near sunrise or sunset with their shifting
shadows, they leave on the mind remembrances that will never fade.

To appreciate properly the magnitude and height of these towering masses
one should examine them not only by travelling along the brink, but by
descending to the river level in order to examine them from below. Then
only will the awful grandeur and immensity of this monumental
architecture of nature begin to dawn upon the understanding.

To the geologist this chasm is an intensely interesting book which
reveals much of the history of the past in world-building.

Some years ago a company was formed in New York to build a scenic
railroad through Marble and Grand Canyons. Engineers were sent out not
only to make a careful survey of th