Nevertheless a
noted writer, comparing the Grand Canon in a general way with the glacial
Yosemite, says: "And the Yosemite--ah, the lovely Yosemite! Dumped down
into the wilderness of gorges and mountains, it would take a guide who
knew of its existence a long time to find it." This is striking, and shows
up well above the levels of commonplace description; but it is confusing,
and has the fatal fault of not being true. As well try to describe an eagle
by putting a lark in it. "And the lark--ah, the lovely lark! Dumped down
the red, royal gorge of the eagle, it would be hard to find." Each in its
own place is better, singing at heaven's gate, and sailing the sky with
the clouds.
Every feature of nature's big face is beautiful,--height and hollow,
wrinkle, furrow, and line,--and this is the main master furrow of its
kind on our continent, incomparably greater and more impressive than
any other yet discovered, or likely to be discovered, now that all the
great rivers have been traced to their heads.
The Colorado River rises in the heart of the continent on the dividing
ranges and ridges between the two oceans, drains thousands of snowy
mountains through narrow or spacious valleys, and thence through canons
of every color, sheer-walled and deep, all of which seem to be represented
in this one grand canon of canons.
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