The walls were of solid rock, showing the numerous strata of sandstone and other formations, worn so unevenly that it looked possible for a person to use them as stairs in climbing the sides.

Pausing on the edge and peering cautiously down the dizzy steep, the youths could see a stream of water, winding its course far down at the bottom, where the roughness of its bed churned it into foam, and gave it the appearance of a white ribbon that had been strung along the course.

The murmur was so soft and faint that at times they were not sure they heard it, and when it reached their ears the voice of the distant ocean was suggested.
A striking feature of this phenomenon was the exceeding narrowness of the canyon.

It has been stated that directly opposite to where the boys had halted it was scarcely a dozen feet wide, and there were places in sight with the width still less, though most of it was greater.

The ages that it had taken this stream to erode such a bed for itself was beyond imagination.
"Jack," said his companion, with that elasticity of spirits natural to one of his years, "if you had pitched down there, how in the world could I have pulled you up to the top again ?" "Why would you wish to do that ?" "Well, you would have been pretty well bruised and would have needed help." "Possibly; but I wonder whether there are many such pit-holes in this part of the world.