anything we had
previously witnessed burst upon our sight Not a tree or bush, no outline
whatever, marked its position or course, and we were lost in amazement
and wonder as we rode up and peered into the yawning abyss.

In depth it could not have been less than one thousand feet, in width
from three to five hundred yards, and at the point where we first struck
it, its sides were nearly perpendicular. A sickly sensation of dizziness
was felt by all three of us, as we looked down, as it were, into the
very bowels of the earth. Below, an occasional spot of green relieved
the eye, and a stream of water, now visible, now concealed behind some
huge rock, was bubbling and foaming along. Immense walls, columns, and,
in some places, what appeared to be arches, filled the ravine, worn by
the water undoubtedly, but so perfect in form, that we could with
difficulty be brought to believe that the hand of men or genii had not
been employed in raising them. The rains of centuries, failing upon the
extended prairie, had here found a reservoir and vent, and their sapping
and undermining of the different veins of earth and stone had formed
these strange and fanciful shapes.

Before reaching the chasm, we had crossed numerous large trails leading
a little more to the westward than we had been travelling, and we were
at once convinced that they all centred in a common crossing close at
hand. In this conjecture we were not disappointed; half-an-hour's
trotting brought us into a large road, the thoroughfare for years of
millions of Indians, buffaloes, and mustangs. Perilous as the descent
appeared, we well knew there was no other near. My horse was again
started ahead while the two others followed. Once in the narrow path,
which led circuitously down the deep descent, there was no possibility
of turning back, and our maddened animals finally reached the bottom
in safety.

Several large stones were loosened from under our feet during this
frightful descent. They would leap, dash, and thunder down the
precipitous sides, and strike against the bottom far below us with a
terrific crash.

We found a running stream at the bottom, and on the opposite side of it
a romantic dell covered with short grass and a few scattered cotton-wood
trees. A large body of Indians had encamped on this very spot but a few
days previous; the _blazed_ limbs of the trees and other "signs" showing
that they had made it a resting-place. We, too, halted a couple of h