we were near to the end of the barranca. We
could hear a noise like the sound of a waterfall. We guessed that it
must be a cataract formed by the stream, where it leaped into the
strange ravine that already began to expand before our faces. We were
right in our conjectures, for the next moment we crept out upon the edge
of a fearful cliff, where the water of the rivulet swept over, and fell
through a height of several hundred feet.

It was a beautiful sight to look upon, as the long jet, curving like the
tail of a horse, plunged into the foaming pool below; and then rising
with its millions of globules of snowy spray, glittered under the
sunbeam with all the colours of the rainbow. It was, indeed, a
beautiful sight; but our eyes did not dwell long upon it, for other
objects were before them that filled us with wonder. Away below--far
below where we were--lay a lovely valley, smiling in all the luxuriance
of bright vegetation. It was of nearly an oval shape, bounded upon all
sides by a frowning precipice, that rose around it like a wall. Its
length could not have been less than ten miles, and its greatest breadth
about half of its length. We were at its upper end, and of course
viewed it lengthwise. Along the face of the precipice there were trees
hanging out horizontally, and some of them even growing with their tops
downward. These trees were cedars and pines; and we could perceive also
the knotted limbs of huge cacti protruding from the crevices of the
rocks. We could see the mezcal, or wild maguey plant, growing against
the cliff--its scarlet leaves contrasting finely with the dark foliage
of the cedars and cacti. Some of these plants stood out on the very
brow of the overhanging precipice, and their long curving blades gave a
singular character to the landscape. Along the face of the dark cliffs
all was rough, and gloomy, and picturesque. How different was the scene
below! Here everything looked soft, and smiling, and beautiful. There
were broad stretches of woodland, where the thick foliage of the trees
met and clustered together, so that it looked like the surface of the
earth itself; but we knew it was only the green leaves, for here and
there were spots of brighter green, that we saw were glades covered with
grassy turf. The leaves of the trees were of different colours, for it
was now late in the autumn. Some were yellow, and some of a deep claret
colour. Some were bright red, and some of a b