"A hundred yards and the limits of the town were passed, scattered chaparral succeeding, and then a noble grove, overflowing the bijou canon."

Bijou is French for jewel. So I guess O.Henry meant the canyon was small but attractive.

It seems to have been adopted. My English dictionary has it meaning 'small and elegant'.

Bingley

isn't this word spelled with an x, as in, 'bijoux'?

spelled with an x

Depends. How many of 'em ya got?

That is to say - bijou is French for "jewel". Some irregular French plurals end in an 'x', and this is one of them: bijoux is the word for "jewels".

bijou,caillou,chou,genou,hibou,joujou,pou.
The French words forming plural by adding "x"
(jewel,pebble,cabbage,knee,owl,toy,louse)

Thanks all. Fald, not many of the real kind. A lot of faux though! :-)

But they make them more irregular still.

beau, beaux = male admirer(s)
bureau, bureaux = desk (a "false friend," = faux ami)
cheval, cheveau = horse(s) [edit 12/21: Shame on me. Attention wandering. "cheval, chevaux"]
cheveu, cheveux = hair(s)
eau, eaux = water(s)
gateau, gateaux = cake(s)

and even

l'oeil, les yeux = eye(s)

and I'm sure there are more I don't know

A lot of faux though!