fatiguing. At one point of the canon the red argillaceous sandstone rose
in a wall of five hundred feet, surmounted by a stratum of white
sandstone; and in an opposite ravine a column of red sandstone rose, in
form like a steeple, about one hundred and fifty feet high. The scenery
was extremely picturesque, and notwithstanding our forlorn condition, we
were frequently obliged to stop and admire it. Our progress was not very
rapid. We had emerged from the water half naked, and, on arriving at the
top of the precipice, I found myself with only one moccasin. The fragments
of rock made walking painful, and I was frequently obliged to stop and
pull out the thorns of the _cactus_, here the prevailing plant, and
with which a few minutes' walk covered the bottoms of my feet. From this
ridge the river emerged into a smiling prairie, and, descending to the
bank for water, we were joined by Benoist. The rest of the party were out
of sight, having taken a more inland route. We crossed the river
repeatedly--sometimes able to ford it, and sometimes swimming--climbed
over the ridges of two more canons, and towards evening reached the cut,
which we here named the Hot Spring gate. On our previous visit in July, we
had not entered this pass, reserving it for our descent in the boat; and
when we entered it this evening, Mr. Preuss was a few hundred feet in
advance. Heated with the long march, he came suddenly upon a fine bold
spring gushing from the rock, about ten feet above the river. Eager to
enjoy the crystal water, he threw himself down for a hasty draught, and
took a mouthful of water almost boiling hot. He said nothing to Benoist,
who laid himself down to drink; but the steam from the water arrested his
eagerness, and he escaped the hot draught. We had no thermometer to
ascertain the temperature, but I could hold my hand in the water just long
enough to count two seconds. There are eight or ten of these springs
discharging themselves by streams large enough to be called runs. A loud
hollow noise was heard from the rock, which I supposed to be produced by
the fall of water. The strata immediately where they issue is a fine white