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of tlie cleffc, which I judge to be about seventy-five
feet in beigbt. Where it curved over tbe side of tbe
precipice it was confined, but, as soon «as it began to
fall, it spread out and came down, not in one continuous,
unvarying sbeet of water, but in a series of
wavelets, until tbe wbole resembled a buge comet
trying, as it were, to escape from eartb up to its
proper place in tbe pure sky above it. On either
side of tbis pulsating fall is a sbeet of green vegetation,
wbicb bas gained a footbold in every crevice
and on every projecting ledge in tbe precipice. Behind
tbe f a l l i n g water there is a wall of black, volcanic
rock, and at its foot is a mass of angular debris
wbicb bas broken off from tbe cliff above. Now we
turned sharply round to tbe north, and began ascending
to tbe plateau. Tbe cleft bas not been formed in
a straight but in a zigzag line, so that, in looking np
or down, its sides seem to meet a short distance before
yon and prevent any farther advance in either
direction; but, as you proceed, tbe road suddenly
opens to tbe right or left, and thus tbe effect is never
wearying. It resembles some of tbe dark canons in
our own country between tbe Rocky Mountains and
Sierra Nevada, except that while their dark sides are
of naked rock, tbe sides of tbis ravine are covered
with a dense growth of vines, shrubs, and large trees,
according to tbe steepness of the acclivities. Here
were many trees and shrubs with very brilliantly-
colored leaves. Tbe wbole scenery is so grand that
no description, or even photograph, could convey an
accurate idea of its magnificence. For four miles we
rode up and up tbis chasm, and at last came on to tbe