In short, the land presented
every variety of feature calculated to charm the imagination and
delight the eye.
It was a mysterious land, too; for broad rivers burst in many places
from the earth, flowed on for a short space, and then disappeared
as if by magic into the earth from which they rose. Natural bridges
spanned the torrents in many places, and some of these were so
correctly formed that it was difficult to believe they had not been
built by the hand of man. They often appeared opportunely to our
trappers, and saved them the trouble and danger of fording rivers.
Frequently the whole band would stop in silent wonder and awe as they
listened to the rushing of waters under their feet, as if another
world of streams, and rapids, and cataracts were flowing below the
crust of earth on which they stood. Some considerable streams were
likewise observed to gush from the faces of precipices, some twenty or
thirty feet from their summits, while on the top no water was to be
seen.
Wild berries of all kinds were found in abundance, and wild
vegetables, besides many nutritious roots.
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