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Ancient Chinese Account of the Grand
Canyon, or Course of the Colorado
(Copyrighted, Brooklyn, 1913)
By ALEXANDER M'ALLAN
TEN SUNS IN THE SKY!
The ancient Chinese records tell of a "Place of Ten Suns," where "Ten
Suns rose and shone together" (see Appendix, note 1).
Seven Suns were also seen shining together in the sky! and at night (if
indeed we can call it "night") as many as seven moons! (What a haunt for
lovers and poets!)
Five Suns were also beheld (see note 2).
What Liars those Chinese writers are!
[Illustration: Figure 1. Spectacle of Five Suns.]
Very good; but why not denounce all our own Arctic navigators as a pack
of Liars? They all tell about more Suns than one! A picture of Five (see
Figure 1) is furnished by a most eminent explorer (note 3). The
dictionaries and cyclopedias of our careful publishers call the
appearance of two or more suns (or moons) a =Parhelion=. The number of
the multiplied "luminaries" never exceeds Ten (note 4). There actually
is a "Place of Ten Suns."
Ten Suns say the Ancients.
Ten Suns say the Moderns.
AMERICA SHAPED LIKE A TREE.
The ancient Mexicans likened North America to a Tree--a stupendous
=Mulberry Tree=--"planted in the land known to us today as South
America" (n. 5).
The Chinese geographers or mythologists teach that at a distance of
30,000 =le= (10,000 miles) to the east there is a land 10,000 =le= (over
3,000) miles in width.
Now the land referred to must be North America, for, 10,000 miles east
from southern China brings us to California; and we further find that
North America, now reached, is 10,000 =le=, or over 3,000 miles in
width, measuring from the Pacific to the Atlantic.
The Chinese accounts further call our eastern realm a =Fu-Sang= (or
Helpful =Mulberry=) land.
A =Mulberry= land (3,000 miles wide) is =There=, say the Chinese.
The =Mulberry= land (3,000 miles wide) is =Here=, say the Mexicans.
Like the Mexicans, the Chinese sages declare that there is an enormous
Tree--the =Fu= (or helpful) =Sang= Tree--in the eastern Mulberry land
3,000 miles wide.
As just remarked, the Chinese call the enormous Eastern Tree a =Sang=,
and the Mexicans call their enormous Tree a =Beb= (both terms standing
for the =Mulberry=,--a fact to which no writer hitherto has directed, or
called, attention.)
Observe (see Figure 2) that at Tehauntepec (a little west of Yucatan)
our continent narrows down to a width of 100 miles (or 300 Chinese
=le=).
The Mexicans say that North America is a Tree, and that it has a
correspondingly enormous Trunk,--which at Tehauntepec measures 100 miles
(or 300 Chinese =le=).
Now the Chinese writers declare that the enormous Mulberry in the region
east of the Flowery Kingdom has "a Trunk of 300 =le=" (or 100 miles.)
What a prodigious dimension! (see note 6.)
A Mulberry Tree, with a "Trunk of 300 =le=," is =There=, say the
Chinese.
A Mulberry Tree, with a Trunk of 300 =le=, is =Here=, say the Mexicans.
Such a stupendous Tree ought to have enormous Branches to match the
Trunk, and we are not surprised when informed that our monarch of the
forest goes up--up--up even to the Place of the 10 Suns (in the Arctic
zone.)
The One true sun is, of course, high above the mountain ranges, or
"Branches" of our Continental Mulberry.
But the extra Nine are false or delusive and mere reflections of the
true sun on fog or vapor. The Chinese account, truly enough, states that
they bear =wu=, and this term stands for "blackness," "inky," or "dark"
(Williams dict. p. 1058.)
This identical term =wu= also stands for black or dark =fowls=, such as
the raven, blackbird, and crow; and one Oriental scholar, dwelling
indeed in Japan, assures us that each of the Nine Suns bears a =Crow=!
We are seriously informed, that "all bear--literally cause to ride--a
=Crow=" (note 7.)
As well might it be asserted that because =wu= signifies "black," the
Nine =Wu= borne by the Suns must be nine blacks or negroes! The
supposition that Nine =Crows= are meant is absurd and contradicted by
the luminaries themselves.
Strange to say, the "luminaries" emit no radiance! The light that is in
them is darkness, and they are fitting symbols for commentators--black,
white, yellow, and green--who have written learnedly and positively on
them without understanding a thing about them. Perhaps it might be well,
apart from its inconvenience, when writing about any nation, place, or
natural object, to ascertain the position and name of the =continent= in
which the subject of study is situated. Of course we are not so
unreasonable as to insist that we must really comprehend a matter before
getting up to explain it to others, but the positions of continents
dealt with ought, as a rule, to be clearly ascertained. In the present
instance we have faithfully followed the ancient directions and groped
our way into the presence of the Nine blind suns. Gazing at their
beaming disks we perceive how the term wu (black or dark) applies to
them. The =color= of Crows is there, but not the living birds
themselves. It is the story of the Three Black Crows advanced another
stage on its career of misrepresentation, and magnified Threefold. The
Nine Suns have neither swallowed nor disgorged Nine Black Crows. But
they are certainly open to the charge of having feasted too freely on
diet no less dark and deceptive.
They're the =color= of Crows, say the Ancients.
They =bear= Nine Crows, say the Moderns.
[Illustration: Figure 2. Our Continental American Tree.]
The truth is that the false suns furnish neither heat nor light and
really consist of dark (=wu=) vapor.
The Nine are mere reflections of the low-declined, true sun on
"surrounding" frozen haze or mist, in extremely cold weather. When this
icy fog seems--merely seems, of course,--to touch and surround the true
sun, the illusions known as false suns are apt to appear. They obey some
optical code of laws or signals understood best perhaps by themselves,
and will sometimes disappear in a moment like a flock of timid "sun
birds" (or wild geese--see note 8.) Their design apparently is to cheer
and escort their illustrious sire in his otherwise lonesome trip through
a frozen, desolate zone. Some Chinese accounts call them
"children"--"children of the sun," etc., etc.
There is a reference to this frozen mist, in Verne's "Fur Country,"
reading as follows: "It is not a mist or fog,' he said to his
companions, 'it is frost-rime,' a dense vapor which remains in a state
of complete congelation. But whether a fog or a frozen mist, this
phenomenon was none the less to be regretted for it rose a hundred feet
at least above the level of the sea, and it was so opaque that the
colonists could not see each other when only two or three paces
apart."--Danvers' translation, p. 288.
It should be remarked that the frozen haze which breeds the false suns
is found only "at the bottom of," or "below," the mountain ranges or
"branches" of our North American Mulberry Tree. The false suns speedily
disappear from the view of the observer who climbs up out of the thick
stratum of frozen fog or mist and ascends the nearest "Branch."
Such observations are completely in accord with the ancient Chinese
declaration that Nine of the suns are to be seen "below" (=hia=) or "at
the bottom of" the Branches, and One "above" the Branches. The suns (see
note 9) are not said to be "in the Branches." Nine are "below" (=hia=)
and One "above" (=shang=); a remark as true today as it ever was.
The "Morea" (about fifty miles long), in Greece, was so named because it
was supposed to resemble the leaf of a =morus= or mulberry. And
similarly North America was considered by Mexican and Chinese
mythologists to exhibit some resemblance to a mulberry,--the Helpful
Mulberry (or =Fu-Sang=). The one comparison is just as fanciful or
reasonable as the other. Nor can it be denied that North America
presents some likeness to a Tree,--towering aloft like the Tree of the
Prophet Daniel, which was seen from the ends of the earth. Here Columbia
lights up her Tree and welcomes the Neighbors with a smile.
The Chinese note concerning the extra suns and moons, which frequently
flit about and disappear, like so many sun-birds, connects them with the
"Branches" of the Fu (or Fu-Sang) Tree of amazing proportions, which
flourishes in the Region east of the Eastern Sea. The Fu-Sang land,
10,000 =le= (or 3,000 miles wide) is said to be 30,000 =le= (10,000
miles) to the east of China; and this indeed is the distance from Canton
to California. A lesser distance (20,000 =le=, or 7,000 miles) lies
between Northern China and the American Mulberry land due east. It is in
America that we are directed to search for the surplus assemblage of
suns. And do we not find both them and Fu-Sang? (See note 10.) In what
respect is the Chinese account inaccurate thus far? We are informed that
"in the water is a large tree having nine suns," etc. The Trunk of this
prodigious Tree, which is more or less immersed in the Eastern Sea,
furnishes the surprising dimension of "300 =le=." And rising above a
Valley of Hot Springs (readily found in Nicaragua) the Tree proceeds
upward and rears aloft its exalted Branches in the "Place of the Ten
Suns."
The vast mountain-system, with its tree-like "Trunk" and "Branches," on
which the many suns and moons are seen to alight or gambol, is called
the "Sun and Moon =shan=" (=shan= signifying "mountain or range") in
both the Chinese text and the translation (see note 11.) It is identical
with our continental stony Mulberry and constitutes the form of North
America. Unfortunately our esteemed translator was utterly in the dark
concerning the sense of the curious statements regarding the manifold
suns and moons and even suggested that an explanation should be sought
for in connection with the Philippine Islands. But the Tree, or range of
the Sun and Moon, is plainly in North America. And here are the flocks
of Suns roosting among the Branches.
NOTICE OF OUR GRAND CANYON.
According to the translation, a "Great Canyon" is to be seen in the
"Great Eastern Waste" "Beyond the Eastern Sea." And this Great Canyon is
placed in connection with the "Sun and Moon =shan=",--which possesses
the Mulberry's Branches and exhibit of Suns already glanced at (note
12.)
We read that a stream flows through this canyon, "producing a charming
gulf." We are further informed that "the water accumulates and so forms
a gulf." A river flowing through the "Great Canyon," swells or widens
out, displays a broadening expanse of water and becomes a Gulf, a
"Charming Gulf."
Is not this the beautiful Gulf of California, which is a widening out or
enlargement of a notable stream, the Colorado? Decidedly this mighty and
famous river, whose "water accumulates and so forms a gulf," flows
through a Canyon. Moreover, this Canyon is truly a "Great Canyon." It is
the greatest and grandest on the planet. It is also found in the "Great
Waste to the east of the Eastern Sea," which washes the coast of China.
It is the Grand Canyon of the Colorado.
The translation informs us (note 13) that this stream which flows into,
or becomes a gulf has a "delightful spring." The Canyon "has a beautiful
mountain, from which there flows a delightful spring, producing a
charming gulf. The water accumulates and so forms a gulf." Such is the
translation; but no Chinese term for "spring" appears in the text. The
original states that it is a =kan shui= which runs through the Canyon,
and this identical compound is translated "Sweet River" by our author on
page 163 of his large and comprehensive work. =Kan= indeed signifies
sweet, sweetness; delightsome, pleasant, happy, refreshing; and =Shui=
stands for "water or river" (see Williams dict. pp. 310, 781.) It is
therefore evident that a =kan shui= should be remarkable for the
sweetness of its water and should start from a "delightful spring" of
=sweet= water, in order to be pure and deserve its reputation.
As a geographical fact, the Colorado flows out of the very fount which
curiously enough, gives birth to the "Sweet Water." This stream becomes
the Platte or Nebraska river, which joins the Missouri. And from the
fount of the Sweet Water, exactly on the mountain divide, a head-stream
of the Colorado bubbles out, enlarging into the affluent known as the
"Green," the stream traverses the Grand Canyon and connects with the
Gulf. (note 14.)
It should have a spring of =kan shui= or =sweet water=; and we find that
it comes sparkling down the mountains from a =Sweet Water= spring.
The Sweet Water stream after traversing a Canyon, even a "Great Canyon"
should connect with, or enlarge into, a gulf, described as "charming."
Can the Gulf of California be regarded as charming?
One explorer expresses himself as charmed and delighted with the scenery
of the gulf. A sample passage in his report reads as follows: "The
island and mountain peaks, whose outlines, as seen from the gulf, had
been somewhat dimmed by a light haze, appeared surprisingly near and
distinct in the limpid medium through which they were now viewed. The
whole panorama became invested with new attractions, and it would be
hard to say whether the dazzling radiance of the day or the sparkling
clearness of the night was the more beautiful and brilliant. (note 15.)
Truly a charming and beautiful Gulf is here.
Although the translation does not draw attention to the fact, the term
employed in the Chinese record to describe the course of the stream
which passes through the Great Canyon, is =chu=. Now this word is
employed to designate water which is "shooting over a ledge" (Williams'
dict. p. 89), and its use is entirely appropriate in a description of
the course of the water in the channel of the Colorado. The bed of the
stream is exceedingly irregular and consists indeed of a succession of
=ledges=--producing a series of rapids, falls, or cataracts. Were the
water to disappear, the exposed bed of the Colorado, with its ascending
series of steps, might be likened indeed with truth to a stairway for
giants or gods.
The falls caused by =ledges= (=chu=) are exceedingly numerous. One
navigator's log contains many such entries as the following: "Still more
rapids and falls today. In one, the Emma Dean [a boat] is caught in a
whirlpool, and set spinning about (n. 16).
One subdivision of the Grand Canyon is known as Cataract Canyon, and
this section "in its 41 miles, has 75 rapids and cataracts, and 57 of
these are crowded into 19 miles, with falls, in places, of 16 to 20
feet" (n. 17.)
All accounts concur in representing the stream as remarkable for the
fury and number of its falls. To ascend the Colorado is a sheer
impossibility and even to descend the stream is an enterprise rarely
indeed attempted or achieved. Only rafts or life-boats, backed by pluck
and luck, stand a chance of getting through--in pieces. The mariners all
wear life-belts and are just as often in the water as they are out of
it. Evidently a River of =Ledges= is here. Surely the term =Chu= (or
water shooting over =Ledges=) applies with peculiar force to the career
of this "wildest of rivers"--the Colorado.
THE COLORADO--BOTTOMLESS?
Knowing quite well as we do, that our mighty river possesses a very
substantial bottom composed of step-like ledges of rock, we learn with
surprise that it is said to flow through a section described as
=bottomless=! Is not such a statement or assertion absurd? But what did
the ancient writer mean? What could he have meant?
The translation states that, according to a poem, the =Tsang-shan-wu=,
"in the east there is a stream flowing in a =bottomless= ravine. It is
supposed to be this Canyon"--the "Great Canyon of the Region beyond the
Eastern Sea."
The Chinese term rendered "Canyon" is =Hoh=, which stands also for "a
bed of a torrent, a deep gully or wady; a valley" (see Williams dict. p.
453.)
Of course, a =Ta= (or "Great") =Hoh= ought to be a Great Canyon, or a
remarkable deep gorge or valley containing the bed of a torrent.
We have already been informed that a =Chu= (or river of ledges and
falls) is in the =Ta Hoh=, or mighty gorge beyond the Eastern Sea. We
also perceive that the title =Ta Hoh= applies properly to the
mountain-hemmed course of our Colorado (which connects with Middle Park
and runs to the Gulf.)
Somewhere in this immense and peerless =Ta Hoh=--somewhere among the
majestic mountains--somewhere along the bed of the Colorado (either
inside or outside of Middle Park,) the investigator should find a
section which is =bottomless=. The ancient account locates it there. Nor
are we to look for it in any Philippine Island. We are restricted to the
bed or banks of the Colorado which we have identified as the =Chu= or
plunging river that rushes downward to the Gulf. Our leaping stream
flows into and out of Grand Lake (within Middle Park.) Now this Lake (or
enlargement of the bed of the Grand Colorado) "has a beach, and far out
into the body of the water a sandy bottom" and "in the center, covering
an area of nearly a =mile= square the Lake to all appearance is
=bottomless=."
We are further informed that "explorations of the edges of this great
submarine cavern give the most positive evidences that it was once the
crater of a great volcano" (note 18).
"The Lake to all appearance is bottomless. The deepest soundings that
could ever be made have failed to reach bottom. Hence it is concluded
that it has =no bottom=."
Turn these two words, "no bottom" into Chinese and we get =wu ti=,--the
very terms employed in the Chinese account.
No bottom, say the Ancients.
No bottom, say the Moderns.
The old account puts the unfathomable abyss in a =Kuh= (valley or
ravine) and it is within a Valley--the Valley of Middle Park--that we
actually find it. Moreover, this bottomless valley is "supposed" (or
reported) to belong to the =Ta Hoh=--a title which would cover both
Valley and Canyon. Indeed, Middle Park, with its enormous mountain-walls
connects directly with the system of the Grand Canyon. Moreover, the one
stream flows through both. And here it may be remarked that the =Chu=
(or River of Ledges and Falls) is not terminated or swallowed up by the
Bottomless abyss in =Kuh= (or Valley of Middle Park.) It flows on
through the =Ta Hoh= and ultimately enlarges into a Gulf (the Gulf of
California).
The rocky floor of the =Kuh= (or Valley of Middle Park) evidently
constitutes a support or bottom for an impetuous and important River of
Ledges or rapids and yet, at the same time, is reported to be
Bottomless. This seems contradictory. But reaching the precise locality
referred to in the old account, modern scientists simply echo the
declaration of the Ancients,--that this Valley or =Kuh=, traversed by a
leaping, furious =Chu=, is unfathomable.
Bottomless! say the Ancients.
Bottomless! say the Moderns.
It thus appears that a statement seemingly calculated at first sight to
drown the ancient claim in a flood of derision, turns out on examination
to be overwhelmingly powerful evidence in support of the validity of the
old record.
In no respect or degree is the ancient testimony contradicted or
falsified by modern evidence. Take for instance the old assertion that
the =shan= or mountain-range of the Great Canyon, is "beautiful."
Nothing seems more natural than to conclude that such a laudatory term
is grossly out of place and that the Mountain-range, with its Canyon and
furious =Chu=, is a frightful, gloomy, dangerous, horrible, repulsive,
bleak, and ugly mass of shattered and tottering heights. And, indeed,
there is much truth in this view of the situation. Nevertheless, modern
visitors unite in declaring that Beauty is a marked feature of the rocky
heights that possess or direct the Colorado; and this is in agreement
with the ancient account.
One traveler says: "The roar of its waters was heard unceasingly, ...
but its walls and cliffs, its peaks and crags, its amphitheatres and
alcoves, tell a story of =beauty= and sublimity" (note 19).
Another visitor, who was treated most disrespectfully by our =Chu=, has
eyes only for its "beauty": "The Canyon grows more and more picturesque
and =beautiful= the farther we proceed.... On many of the long stretches
where the river can be seen for several miles, the picture is one of
charming =beauty=.... As the clouds rose we were treated to scenes rare
and =beautiful= in the extreme" (n. 20.)
Again: "Cataract and Narrow Canyons are wonderful, Glen Canyon is
=beautiful=, Marble Canyon is mighty; but it is left for the Grand
Canyon, where the river has cut its way down through the sandstones, the
marbles, and the granites of the Kaibab Mountains, to form those
=beautiful= and awe-inspiring pictures that are seen from the bottom of
the black granite gorge, where above us rise great wondrous mountains of
bright red sandstone capped with cathedral domes and spires of white,
with pinnacles and turrets, and towers, in such intricate forms and
flaming colors that words fail to convey any idea of their =beauty= and
sublimity."
The translation informs us that the mighty gorge is the Canyon of
=Kiang=, =Shang=, or Almighty God.
And a modern visitor declares that "here Omnipotence stands revealed,"
and that here is "a glorious creation of God." (n. 21.)
So impressed were the ancients with the beauty and grandeur of this
region that they peopled it with the souls of illustrious sages, and
declared that here was the Canyon of Almighty God. And those who enter
it today, come reeling back from its portals,--declaring that no mortal
can describe its glories, and that it is the Grand Canyon of Almighty
God!
Words fail one in the attempt to describe this glorious creation of God.
The impression it leaves upon the mind is overpowering. One feels as
though he had been admitted into the presence of the Genii of the
plutonic regions, had penetrated to the very heart of the inner world of
elemental creations."
We need not wonder that the old account connects a revered ancestor with
this glorious and celestial retreat in the Grand Canyon. He is called
=Shao Hao=, and is furthur termed a =ju=, (or sucking child.)
=Shao= signifies "little" or "a little," and =Hao= is formed of the
signs for "sun" and "heaven." It is therefore evident that the =ju= or
infant at the Canyon is (or was) a little sun child, or child of the
sun.
American rulers called themselves "Children of the Sun," and we should
be careful not to confound our Arizona Prince with any Asiatic ruler.
[The =Hao= or =Shao Hao= of supposed Chinese origin is represented by
some different symbols: see Williams' dict. p. 172, columns 1 and 2.]
The little Child of the Sun at the =Ta-Hoh= or Great Canyon should not
be--must not be--confounded with any early Chinese sun-worshiper. We are
to look =far to the east of China= for both the Canyon and the little
Child of the Sun referred to in the account before us.
We are informed that the country connected with the Great Canyon was
called "=Shao Hao's= country" (or the land of the Sun-child) on account
of the little Prince. He entered (=chi=) it, and this furnished the
=reason= (or =chih=) for its title--Land of the Sun-child.
The infant (or =ju=) is distinctly called a ruler (or =ti=.) Moreover,
although he was little (=shao=) or but a =ju= (suckling); he was a
supreme king (or =chwen suh=). (Note 22.)
=Chwen= is formed by putting together the two words "only" and "head."
And =suh= is a Chinese term composed of the two significant words "only"
and "king" (see Williams' dict. pp. 117, 825, 1043.)
Evidently the baby ruler (or =ju ti=) was regarded by his people, in
this region remarkable for its mountains, as the only or supreme
head--the =chwen suh=, as Chinese historians might forcibly phrase
it--of the people ruled.
[Because the infant was king and even the supreme king, it seems
reasonable to suppose that his father was dead (and his mother alive) at
the time when he was carried into the Great Canyon and duly suckled
there.] We need not just here attempt to unravel his history. Enough to
show that our Grand Canyon is positively and clearly referred to in
Chinese literature. We may, however, note the fact that the royal infant
(see translation) belonged to the =Kin Tien= or Golden Heaven family,
and this title must be considered when the history of our Arizona Prince
comes to be investigated. It should further be remarked that the
respected translator has erred slightly in his supposition that the
=Chwen Suh= (or Supreme Head) was "Shao =Hao's descendant=." The
Chinese terms in the original are: =shao hao= (not =hao's=) =ju= (baby)
=ti= (ruler) =chwen suh= (head king.) It was the =little sun child ruler
and supreme king= who was at the Canyon.
Particular attention should be paid to the fact, that, although regarded
as a supreme ruler, the Prince is represented as being but a suckling
(or =ju=) when in the neighborhood of the Great Canyon.
Now, the translation states that this baby or supreme lord "of whom no
further description is given, =left there his lute= and lyre. It says
that =his lute= and lyre are in this canyon."
MUSIC IN THE GRAND CANYON?
It is absurd to imagine for a moment that a =sucking= infant could own,
or could be really supposed to own, a =lute=. The Chinese text does not
say that the musical instrument is "his." And yet, curiously enough, it
does declare that the baby-prince left or abandoned (=k'i=) a Lute or
Lyre in the Canyon.
Why should such a matter be mentioned? Supposing that a fiddle was left
behind, or a drum, or a rattle, why should the trivial fact be gravely
recorded?
If a Lute was left in the mighty chasm, its remains might be there
still. But how could an infant be said to leave or abandon a Lute? Would
he not try, so well as our memory serves, to first get it into his
mouth? Would not his chubby hands, quite stout enough for destructive
arts, tear the strings apart and feed the music to the nearest cat?
Would it be a lute at all when ultimately relinquished? And if the babe
derived pleasure from ill-treated and squalling strings, why should he
leave the lute behind? As well say that the suckling abandoned there a
fishing-rod! Would not a milk-bottle be a much readier fount of ecstacy
than either a lute or a flute? Why, neither one nor the other =could be
heard= within the Canyon.
A Chinese commentator, however, relieves us from the necessity of
seeking for a literal lute between the resounding jaws of the mighty
chasm (note 23.) He says it is erroneous (=ngo=) to suppose that the
baby emperor (=ju ti=) grasped (=ping=,) or left behind (=chi=) or
abandoned in the place of midnight darkness (=huen=) any lutes or lyres
(=kin seh=.) In hyperbolical language (=wu wu=)--which is never true
when taken literally--a clear limpid river (=shuh=) would be the lute
(=kin=.)
But how could a clear stream serve as a lute?
The running water might produce limpid notes. Thus Moore, in his ode on
"Harmony," uses the following words:
"Listen!--when the night-wind dies
Down the still current, =like a harp= it sighs!
A liquid =chord= in every wave that flows."
Here is a current of water likened to the string of a harp, and the
playing of winds compared to music.
Mrs. Sigourney calls Niagara a "Trump," and we accept the assertion
(although literally it is quite untrue.)
But if the Chinese account placed a Trump in the Ontario chasm there
would be considerable difficulty in finding it.
Fortunately, in the case immediately before us, it is a Chinese author
who tells us that we are to seek for limpid streams rather than for
literal lutes or lyres.
The mention of the latter would probably imply that the sounds of some
stream or streams in the Great Canyon are of a remarkably soft and
musical character.
Streams may produce delightful tones. Thus one observer (at Yellowstone)
tells of the "mysterious music of the distant falls" "like the tremulous
vibration of a mighty but remote harp-string." (note 24)
If falling water under certain peculiar acoustic circumstances can
produce notes like those struck off from harp-strings, the tones can
also be compared to those of lutes or lyres (for all are stringed
instruments.)
The very volume which places lutes and lyres in the Great Canyon, also
tells of a forest elsewhere, which is a "Forest of Lutes and Lyres"
(note 25.)
Of course sounds merely resembling those of the stringed instruments,
are here referred to. A forest is composed of trees rather than musical
instruments, but it may produce musical tones like those of Lutes and
Lyres.
And similarly the notes arising from the Grand Canyon may be of a
lute-like character. This is the teaching of the Ancients. We have found
the Bottomless stream and it is certain that visitors should return with
accounts of melody arising from the Canyon. Future explorers should
listen for musical notes. They will certainly not be disappointed.
One visitor says: "The waters waltz their way through the Canyon, making
their own rippling, rushing, roaring music." We further read of
innumerable cascades adding their wild music to the roar of the river."
What are these innumerable cascades but the strings of the Lute which
was heard ages ago by enraptured ears and which has kept on resounding
ever since. The concert in the Canyon drowns even the basic roar of the
river. The music is there.
"We sit on some overhanging rocks, and enjoy the scene for a time,
listening to the music of falling waters away up the canyons." (n. 26.)
It appears that the acoustic properties of the Grand Canyon are
calculated to produce most notable effects: "Great hollow domes are seen
in the eastern side of the rock.... Our words are repeated with
startling clearness, but in a soft mellow tone, that transforms them
into magical music."
Elsewhere an immense grotto "was doubtless made for an academy of
=music= by its storm born architect; so we name it =Music= Temple." (n.
27.)
Lutes and Lyres are there, say the Ancients.
A Temple of Music is there, say the Moderns.
It will be noticed that the Chinese annotater calls the Great
Canyon--the =Ta Hoh=--a place of (=huen=) midnight darkness and declares
that it is erroneous to suppose that the Lute played down there (where
it could not possibly be heard) was an instrument held by a human hand
(the hand of a suckling!). Now, although the great gorge is wonderfully
beautiful, it must be conceded that its basic part (within which human
beings might dwell) is decidedly dark. Here "it is necessary to 'lie
down upon one's back in order to see the sky,'--as I once heard General
Crook express it. Into much of this deep gorge no ray of sunshine ever
falls, and it well deserves the name of the 'Dark Canyon.'" (n. 28).
Often in midday, stars are seen shining overhead; and it may well be
called a place of midnight darkness (=huen=.)
In the following passage a modern visitor notices the "dark and
frowning" walls of the chasm, but still enlarges on their beauty:--"One
would think that after traveling through six hundred miles of those
canyons, one would be satisfied with =beauty= and grandeur, but in this
fact lies the charm. Of the six hundred miles no two miles are alike.
The picture is ever changing from grandeur to beauty, from beauty to
sublimity, from the =dark= and =frowning= greatness of its granite
walls, to the dazzling colors of its upper cliffs. And I stood in the
last few miles of the Grand Canyon spellbound in wonder and admiration,
as firmly as I was fixed in the first few miles in surprise and
astonishment." (note 29.)
Nature has done her best to adorn the walls of the mighty gorge. We are
told of "=thousands of rivulets=" that "dropped farther and farther
down, till the whole of the bright scarlet walls seemed hung with a
tapestry of silver threads, the border fringed with white fleecy clouds
which hung to the tops of the walls, and through which the points of the
upper cliffs shone as scarlet tassels."
Nor was Dame Nature completely satisfied with her tapestry and fringe of
tassels. Other embroidery was displayed. "As the sun broke through some
side gorge, the canyon was spanned from side to side, as the clouds
shifted their position, with rainbow after rainbow, vying to outdo in
brilliancy of color the walls of the canyon themselves."
The ancient account declares, that in "the Region beyond the Eastern
Sea," a Bottomless river traverses a Great Canyon. And this stream,
remarkable for its ledges (=chu=) or rapids and falls, rushes onward and
downward, and grows or enlarges into a Gulf. And the Canyon, the River,
and the Gulf are all reported to be =Kan=--or =Beautiful=.
And visitors today return from all three, declaring that they are
Beautiful! Beautiful!! Beautiful!!!
And some are entranced by strains of music arising from the mouth of the
Canyon and declare that it holds an "orchestra." In one place the
thousands of streamlets, glistening and gleaming like silvery cords,
stretch downward from the edge of the painted chasm; and the resounding,
melodious precipice is called "the Cliff of the Harp." (note 30.) What
is this but an echo of the ancient declaration that the royal Lute in
the Canyon was merely a musical stream. Similar ideas have occurred to
poets. Coleridge in his "Ancient Mariner," tells of
"A noise like of a hidden brook
In the leafy month of June,
Which to the sleeping woods all night
Singeth a quiet tune."
And Moore has heard the notes of harp-strings sounding forth from
melodious streams. What wonder, then, that ancient poets (and the
translation states that the particular work which makes mention of the
"Bottomless =Kuh=" or valley, is a "poem") should have likened a
collection of falling streams or cascades to the chords of a tuneful
Lute and then, to distinguish it from others less excellent, have
applied to the stringed instrument the name of their Prince. Americans
today gravely talk of visiting or seeing "St. Luke's Head" (in
California!) And we possess a mere natural formation which is supposed
to resemble a nose and is religiously called "St. Anthony's Nose." In
truth this "nose" is no more a literal nose than the "Lute" in the
Canyon is a literal stringed instrument made by men. Then we have
"Cleopatra's Bath" and "Pompey's Pillar." (Next tell us in the interest
of chaos and confusion that Pompey left here "his" Pillar.)
In the grand caves at Pikes Peak there is an "organ," which is really no
organ at all. It is a natural formation or production from which
charming melodies are fetched by skilled musicians. Now if we ourselves
can gravely call a musical, highly-strung rock an "Organ," may not the
Ancients be excused for calling a combination of musical streams a Lute?
Contemplating the "Cliff of the Harp," we can readily understand how
old-time visitors found down there the tuneful string of a "Lute" and
how an imperial Child of the Sun was unable to lug along "his" notable
musical toy. There it remains and melodious notes still come floating
up.
Lutes and Lyres are there, say the Ancients.
"An Academy of Music!" say the Moderns.
The Chinese annotater remarks that the =lieh tsze= (a class of sages or
teachers--the literati) are unacquainted (=pu chi=) with the =sheu-hai=
or Gulf situated toward the east (=chi tung=.)
The Chinese scholars of the writer's time knew little or nothing of our
Gulf of California (or =Sheu-hai=). However, it was known to some; and
we are now informed that it is =ki= (a =few=; nearly about,
approximately) =yih= (to =guess=, to bet; 100,000; an indeterminate
number) =wan= (10,000) =le=.
A single =wan le= should measure about 3,000 miles, and a =few= (to
"guess") separate China from the =Ta-Hoh= which connects with the
Bottomless =kuh= or valley ("=Ta-Hoh shih wei wu ti chi kuh=.)
Evidently the Great Canyon lies more than =one wan le= (3,000 miles) to
the east of China. We find indeed that the number may well be referred
to as "a few" (=ki=.)
Nor can the Gulf be =more= than about 30,000 =le= to the east, seeing
that this Gulf of California is in "the region beyond the Eastern Sea"
along with the =Fu-Tree= which has a trunk of 300 =le=. The Gulf to the
east is connected with the mountain system whose Branches exhibit the
gorgeous spectacle of Ten Suns. In short, the Gulf and Canyon are along
with =Fu-Sang=; and =Fu-Sang= is only 30,000 =le= to the east of China,
and merely 10,000 wide. Accordingly, the Gulf is but "a few" =wan le= to
the east of the Flowery Kingdom.
To look for the Canyon and Tree within the Philippine Islands,
contiguous to China, is simply impossible. The islands have been pretty
well thrashed over lately, and no one has met with the Tree! It has a
"Trunk of 300 le," and collectors of curios or strange plants should
keep wide awake and see that they don't pass it in the dark. And yet
with its Ten Moons, how miss it? How fail to notice our glittering,
gleaming, glorious candelabrum? It couldn't have fallen or drifted over
to the Panama ditch? It can't possibly be now stuck in any South
American Flower-pot? Catching the Tree seems to be as slippery as
catching Tartars, and perhaps when the first is found, the others won't
be very far off.
The Chinese commentator, of course, never saw either the Gulf or Canyon
but he quotes from earlier writers who were well acquainted with our
"region beyond the Eastern Sea;" and one of these named =Chwangtsze=, is
quoted to the effect that in the =Ta Hoh= or Great Canyon =high winds=
(=yuen fung=) occur (=yu=) or come unexpectedly upon one.
Do storms arise suddenly in the neighborhood of the mighty chasm?
One modern explorer says: "I go up to explore the alcove. While away a
whirlwind comes scattering the camp fire among the dead willows and
cedar spray and soon there is a conflagration, the men rushing for the
boats, leaving all they cannot readily seize at the moment, and even
then they have their clothing burned and hair singed." (note 31.)
Storms occur in all parts of the world. Is there anything peculiar about
the tempests which are said to suddenly arise in the Great Canyon?
One visitor says: "Storms were not infrequent and these occurring where
the canyon walls were a mile high and close together produced an effect
that was almost supernatural in its awfulness. The deep thunder echoed
sharply between the cliffs, producing a roaring sound that was almost
deafening." (note 32.)
It should be remembered that the vast caverns here multiply the
bellowings of thunder and also help to confine and intensify the raging
and imprisoned whirlwinds.
One eye or ear witness tells of a storm both seen and heard within the
Canyon and adds: "I have seen the lightning play and heard the thunder
roll among the summit peaks of the Rocky Mountains, as I have stood on
some rocky point far above the clouds, but =nowhere= has the awful
grandeur equalled that night in the lonesome depths of what was to us
death's canyon.... Again all was shut in by darkness thicker than that
of Egypt. The stillness was only broken by the roar of the river as it
rushed along beneath me. Suddenly as if the mighty cliffs were rolling
down against each other, there was peal after peal of thunder striking
against the marble cliffs below, and mingling with their echoes,
bounding from cliff to cliff. Thunder with echo, echo with thunder,
crossed and recrossed from wall to wall of the canyon," etc. (note 33.)
Surely sudden and dreadful storms rage here. The loudest in North
America, says an expert.
Observe that the visitor just quoted notices the "roar of the river" in
connection with the fury of the tempest.
Now, the ancient visitor does the same. After directing attention to the
sudden high winds, he says that a decidedly curious sight or spectacle
(=king shun=) is the =keang= (a large main stream which receives
tributaries) spreading abroad (=fu=) the =noise= of flowing water
(=tsung=) in the =Ta-Hoh= or Great Canyon.
The noise of the great river or =Keang= is thus noticed by the ancient
visitor, who also declares that the =Ta-Hoh= or Great Canyon constitutes
a decidedly fine or curious sight.
And such in truth it actually is. "Imagine a chasm that at times is less
than a quarter of a mile wide and more than a mile deep, the bed of
which is a tossing, =roaring=, madly impetuous flood.... What an
imposing spectacle; what a sublime vision of mightiness!" (n. 34).
A great sight! say the Ancients.
A Wonder of the World! say the Moderns.
The roar of the river has never ceased since the ancient scribe, or his
informant, passed that way. A modern visitor says: "The threatening
=roar= of the water is loud and constant."
Again, "The =roar= of its waters was heard unceasingly from the hour we
entered it until the time we landed here. No quiet in all that time."
(n. 35).
One navigator tells of a "bore" in connection with the resounding
stream. "In the stillness of the night, the roaring of the huge mass
could be heard reverberating among the windings of the river.... This
singular phenomenon of the 'bore,' as it is called, is met with but at
few places in the world.... In the course of four or five hours the
river falls about thirty feet" (n. 36.)
Another explorer pauses at one spot in his amphibious career to note
that "high water mark" can be seen "fifty, sixty, or a hundred feet
above its present stage;" and "when a storm bursts over the canyon, a
side gulch is dangerous, for a sudden flood may come and the inpouring
waters will raise the river, so as to hide the rocks before your eyes"
(n. 37).
Another navigator, who never was without a life-belt,--which he found of
vital use when righting his too often overturned ark,--tells with
amazement of "the waves, torrents, and cataracts of this wildest of
rivers."
A ceaseless basic roar is there,--deadened at times by floods of music,
yet nevertheless eternally there.
The sea connected with the Great Canyon is elsewhere called a =Puh hai=
(the latter term signifying "sea.")
A =Puh hai= is said to be a "Gulf," and we find a Gulf--the Gulf of
California--at the mouth of the Colorado.
It should, however, be observed that the term =Puh= by itself stands for
"an arm of the sea." A =Puh hai= is a Gulf which forms "an arm of the
sea." The Gulf or sea should be shaped like an =arm=--an arm of the
ocean (see Williams' dict. p. 718.)
Now, a glance at the map shows that in a very peculiar sense the Gulf of
California is a =hai= or "sea" which meets the requirements of being
shaped like an =arm=. It is a sea and a gulf and at the same time "an
arm" of the ocean. Truly it is a =Puh hai=.
A great many "gulfs" are quite unlike "arms," being too broad to admit
of such a comparison. But our Gulf of California is comparatively narrow
and is truly an "arm" of the sea. And notice how the water of the
river--our Colorado--"accumulates and so forms a gulf." Such are the
words of the existing translation and they apply completely to the
American situation. Here we find the water of the Colorado accumulating
or widening out until it becomes a great body of water--a Gulf. Indeed
this development or process of expansion is so gradual that it is
impossible for navigators to tell where the river ends or the gulf
begins.
In the Chinese comment immediately before us, however, the =hai= or sea
to the Canyon's river mouth is called a =Sheu=.
Now this term signifies "to rinse the mouth, to scour; to wash out a
thing; to purify." (Williams, p. 757.)
The word =Sheu= is written by combining the characters for "water" and
"to suck in."
It is evident that our Gulf of California is "an arm of the sea" and no
less a =Sheu=. A "mouth" it undoubtedly has, and this mouth is being
ceaselessly "washed," "scoured," and "purified." Even a dentist would be
satisfied! The immense stream rushes out, and tides from the Pacific
rush in. Moreover the Colorado "sucks in" the tidal wave known as the
Bore. Surely we have here the Eastern Gulf sea which is both a =Puh= and
a =Sheu=.
The water of the noisy, restless, purifying stream within the =Ta-Hoh=
was it is said,--
1. =Yu= (which means "used or employed.")
2. =Wuh= (to water or irrigate; to soften with water; to enrich.)
3. =Tsiao= (scorched, burned, singed, dried up.)
4. =Chi= (referring to or denoting.)
5. =Tsze= (here or this.)
Evidently the water of the Colorado was used to =irrigate= some ground
or vegetation which was dried up or =scorched=.
Such a remark implies a high temperature (during the period of
growth) between the walls of the chasm, and also leads us to look
for some soil--some scorched or dried up soil (sadly in need of
irrigation)--between the jaws of the Canyon. Is there parched or
desert soil on the banks of the Colorado?
Here is the answer: "The region through which the chafing waters of the
Colorado run is forbidding in the extreme, a vast =Sahara= of waste and
inutility; a desert too dreary for either vegetable or animal life; a
land that is =haunted with wind-storm=, on which ride the furies of
desolation.... The earth is =parched to sterility=.... It is like the
moon, a =parched= district, save for the single stream which, instead of
supplying sustenance, is eating its vitals." (note 38.)
Another traveler visited Fort Yuma, on the Colorado, and says: "The ride
to the fort was through a flat and desolate looking country.... It was a
dreary eight hours ride." Other remarks are made concerning "the
barrenness of the surrounding region and" "the =intense heat= of its
summer climate." (note 39.)
In some spots, however, water produces magical effects. In the Mojave
valley, for instance, "the annual overflow of the river enables the
Mojaves, to raise with little labor, an abundant supply of provisions
for the year.... During one season, a few years since, the Colorado did
not overflow its banks; there were consequently no crops and great
numbers of the Mojaves perished from starvation." (note 40.)
Curiously enough, although rain fell furiously within the Canyon, it was
observed by a traveler that "such rain-storms were invariably confined
to the immediate vicinity of the Canyon, the territory lying two or
three miles east or west continuing parched with hardly a cloud above
it." And the explorer wonders how some ancient inhabitants, whose
buildings are now in ruins, "managed to exist, situated as they were in
a desolate country, where there was great scarcity of both vegetable and
animal life."
The ancient Chinese account connects a baby king, a supreme ruler, with
the Great Canyon and now states that water was used within the gorge to
irrigate the soil, which is represented as being dried up or scorched.
Is the Canyon remarkable for its heat? Surely it ought to be cool down
there?
One visitor says: "That Canyon was the sultriest place I have ever
struck, and my experience includes some of the hottest sections this
side of the equator.
The oppressive heat in the chasm was felt at a "point fifty times as
deep as the great chasm at Niagara." (note 41.)
"But despite the terrible heat, despite the discomfort of the situation,
I was compelled to wonder and admire, For,"--
The =Ta-Hoh= should constitute a magnificent sight, but it is also said
to contain some =scorched= or dried up soil. Is such to be seen?
An explorer reached the Colorado at a point where it is 266 yards wide,
and adds that the "soil" "bore nothing but dry weeds and bushes and the
whole scene presented the most perfect picture of desolation I have ever
beheld, as if some =sirocco= had passed over the land, =withering= and
=scorching everything=." (note 42.)
Withered and scorched! say the Ancients.
Withered and scorched! say the Moderns.
In one favored spot, "to the limit of vision, the tortuous course of the
river (the Colorado) could be traced through a belt of alluvial land
varying from one to six miles in width, and garnished with inviting
meadows, with broad groves of willow and mezquite and promising fields
of grain." The visitor remarks that the valley appears most attractive
in the spring--"at this season of the year before the =burning heat= has
=withered= the freshness and beauty of the early vegetation." (note 43.)