diff options
| author | pgww <pgww@lists.pglaf.org> | 2025-08-02 07:22:02 -0700 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | pgww <pgww@lists.pglaf.org> | 2025-08-02 07:22:02 -0700 |
| commit | e87776a6db31b09d1a330f9b627c06f25be5a6d0 (patch) | |
| tree | 3da42872dbe0b85dd0a3f987df8b385978f03aa5 /76616-h | |
Diffstat (limited to '76616-h')
| -rw-r--r-- | 76616-h/76616-h.htm | 4568 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 76616-h/images/cover.jpg | bin | 0 -> 233472 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 76616-h/images/i_frontispiece.jpg | bin | 0 -> 261778 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 76616-h/images/i_p024.jpg | bin | 0 -> 258802 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 76616-h/images/i_p040.jpg | bin | 0 -> 258458 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 76616-h/images/i_p048.jpg | bin | 0 -> 253865 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 76616-h/images/i_p064.jpg | bin | 0 -> 256192 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 76616-h/images/i_p072.jpg | bin | 0 -> 255889 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 76616-h/images/i_p080.jpg | bin | 0 -> 258528 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 76616-h/images/i_p096.jpg | bin | 0 -> 252397 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 76616-h/images/i_p104.jpg | bin | 0 -> 260412 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 76616-h/images/i_p120.jpg | bin | 0 -> 256823 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 76616-h/images/i_p136.jpg | bin | 0 -> 246277 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 76616-h/images/i_p144.jpg | bin | 0 -> 259308 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 76616-h/images/i_title.jpg | bin | 0 -> 38783 bytes |
15 files changed, 4568 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/76616-h/76616-h.htm b/76616-h/76616-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..97a9e84 --- /dev/null +++ b/76616-h/76616-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,4568 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html> +<html lang="en"> +<head> + <meta charset="utf-8"> + <title>The Giant Sequoia | Project Gutenberg</title> + <link rel="icon" href="images/cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover"> + <style> + + body { + margin-left: 8%; + margin-right: 10%; + } + + h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6 { + text-align: center; + clear: both; + } + + h1 {font-size: 375%;} + + h2 {margin-bottom: 1%;} + + h2.nobreak {page-break-before: avoid;} + + /* === h2 Subheading === */ + .subhead { + font-size: smaller; + text-align: justify; + margin: 1% 2%; + text-indent: -1em; + padding-left: 1em; + } + + .subheadc { + text-align: center; + margin: 0 2% 3% 2%; + } + + p { + margin-top: .25em; + margin-bottom: .25em; + text-align: justify; + text-indent: 1em; + } + + .p2 {margin-top: 2em;} + + /* === Continuation after illo or poetry === */ + p.noindent {text-indent: 0;} + + p.hang { + text-align: justify; + text-indent: -1em; + padding-left: 1em; + } + p.thoughtbreak { + text-align:center; + color:grey; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; + letter-spacing: 1.5em; + } + + /* === Title page === */ + div.titlepage { + text-align: center; + page-break-before: always; + font-weight: bold; + } + + div.titlepage p { + text-align: center; + text-indent: 0; + line-height: 1.5; + margin-top: 3em; + } + + div.chapter { + clear: both; + margin-top: 10%; + page-break-before: always; + } + + hr {width: 35%; margin: 1% 32.5%; clear: both;} + hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} + hr.short {width: 15%; margin: auto 42.5%;} + hr.full {width: 95%; margin-left: 2.5%; margin-right: 2.5%;} + hr.chap {width: 65%; margin: 5% 17.5%;} + .x-ebookmaker hr.chap {visibility: hidden;} + @media print {hr.chap {visibility: hidden;}} + hr.r5 {width: 5%; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 47.5%; margin-right: 47.5%;} + hr.r65 {width: 65%; margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 3em; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} + + /* === Super/subscript size === */ + sup, sub {font-size: 75%;} + + /* === Fonts === */ + .xxsmall {font-size: xx-small;} + .xsmall {font-size: x-small;} + .small {font-size: small;} + .medium {font-size: medium;} + .large {font-size: large;} + .xlarge {font-size: x-large;} + .xxlarge {font-size: xx-large;} + .xxxlarge {font-size: 150%;} + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + .allsmcap {font-variant: small-caps; text-transform: lowercase;} + .blue {color: blue;} + .u {text-decoration: underline;} + .gesperrt {letter-spacing: 0.2em; margin-right: -0.2em;} + .gesperrt1 {letter-spacing: 0.1em; margin-right: -0.1em;} + /*.antiqua {font-weight: bold; font-size: 105%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', 'Times', serif;}*/ + .antiqua {font-family: Fraktur, Textur, "Old English Text MT", Schwabacher, Blackletter, + "Olde English", "Old English Five", "Engravers Old English BT", "Collins Old English", + "New Old English", UnifrakturMaguntia, sans-serif;} + + /* === Alignment === */ + .mt0 {margin-top: 0;} + .mt1 {margin-top: 1%;} + .mt2 {margin-top: 2%;} + .mt5 {margin-top: 5%;} + .mt6 {margin-top: 6%;} + .mt10 {margin-top: 10%;} + .mb0 {margin-bottom: 0;} + .mb2 {margin-bottom: 2%;} + .mb5 {margin-bottom: 5%;} + .mb10 {margin-bottom: 10%;} + .ml10 {margin-left: 15%;} + .lh2 {line-height: 2em;} + .clear {clear: both;} + .left {text-align: left;} + .center {text-align: center;} + .justify {text-align: justify;} + .right {text-align: right; margin-right: 2%;} + .fright, .x-ebookmaker .fright {float: right;} + + /* === Page #s === */ + .pagenum { + position: absolute; + right: 1%; + color: gray; + font-size: x-small; + text-align: right; + font-style: normal; + font-weight: normal; + font-variant: normal; + padding: 0 0.2em; + } + + blockquote { + margin-left: 5%; + margin-right: 5%; + font-size: 90%; + } + + /* === Author signature at end of letter === */ + p.quotsig { + margin-left: 35%; + text-indent: -4em; + /* gimmick to move 2nd line right */ + } + + /* === Italics block with normal emphasis === */ + .italics {font-style: italic;} + .italics em { + font-weight: normal; + font-family: initial; + font-style: normal; + } + + cite.upright {font-style: normal;} + + /* === Bordered box === */ + .bbox { + margin: auto auto 10%; + border: 2px solid; + padding: .3em 1em; + } + .bt {border-top: 1px solid;} + .br {border-right: 1px solid;} + .bb {border-bottom: 1px solid;} + .bl {border-left: 1px solid;} + .bt2 {border-top: 2px solid;} + .br2 {border-right: 2px solid;} + .bl2 {border-left: 2px solid;} + .bb2 {border-bottom: 2px solid;} + + /* === Lists === */ + li.ifrst { + margin-top: 1em; + text-indent: -2em; + padding-left: 1em; + } + li.indx { + margin-top: 0.5em; + text-indent: -1em; + padding-left: 1em; + } + li.isub1 { + text-indent: -2em; + padding-left: 2em; + } + li.isub2 { + text-indent: -2em; + padding-left: 3em; + } + li.isub3 { + text-indent: -2em; + padding-left: 4em; + } + li.isub4 { + text-indent: -2em; + padding-left: 5em; + } + + ol.paren {list-style-type: none;} + ol.paren li:before {content: "(" counter(list, decimal) ") ";} + ol.paren li {counter-increment: list;} + + /* === Tables === */ + table { + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + } + + table.autotable {border-collapse: collapse;} + table.autotable td, + table.autotable th {padding: 0.25em;} + + .tdl {text-align: left; padding-left: 0;} + .tdr {text-align: right;} + .tdc {text-align: center;} + .tdc1 {text-align: center; padding-top: 1em;} + .tdc2 {text-align: center; padding-bottom: 1em;} + + .tdr div {text-align: right;} + .tdc div {text-align: center;} + + .top {vertical-align: top;} + .middle {vertical-align: middle;} + .bottom {vertical-align: bottom;} + + .tdhang { + text-align: justify; + padding-left: 1.5em; + text-indent: -1.5em; + } + + .leftbrace { + width: 1em; + text-align: left; + vertical-align: middle; + } + + .rightbrace { + width: 1em; + text-align: right; + vertical-align: middle; + } + + .lbrace { + width: 0.3em; + padding-right: 0; + border-top: 2px solid; + border-left: 2px solid; + border-bottom: 2px solid; + } + + .rbrace { + width: 0.3em; + padding-left: 0; + padding-right: 0; + border-top: 2px solid; + border-right: 2px solid; + border-bottom: 2px solid; + } + + /* === Footnotes === */ + .footheader { + font-size: large; + text-align: center; + margin-top: 2%; + margin-bottom: 3%; + } + + .footnotes { + border: 1px dashed; + margin-top: 10%; + } + + .footnote { + margin: 1% 5% 1% 6.5%; + font-size: small; + text-align: justify; + } + + .footnote .label { + position: absolute; + right: 87%; + text-align: right; + } + + .fnanchor { + vertical-align: super; + font-size: x-small; + text-decoration: none; + font-style: normal; + font-weight: normal; + font-variant: normal; + } + + .col50 { + display: inline-block; + width: 49.5%; + vertical-align: top; + } + + .col2 {margin-left: 13%;} + + /* === Poetry === */ + .center-container { + display: flex; + justify-content: center; + } + + .poetry { + text-align: left; + margin-left: 5%; + margin-right: 5%; + } + + .stanza { + margin: 0.75em auto; + text-indent: -3em; + } + .stanza div.i0 {padding-left: 3em;} + .stanza div.i1 {padding-left: 3.5em;} + .stanza div.i2 {padding-left: 4em;} + .stanza div.i3 {padding-left: 4.5em;} + .stanza div.i4 {padding-left: 5em;} + .stanza div.i5 {padding-left: 5.5em;} + .stanza div.i6 {padding-left: 6em;} + .stanza div.i7 {padding-left: 6.5em;} + .stanza div.i8 {padding-left: 7em;} + .stanza div.i10 {padding-left: 8em;} + .stanza div.i12 {padding-left: 9em;} + .stanza div.i14 {padding-left: 10em;} + .stanza div.i20 {padding-left: 13em;} + .stanza div.i22 {padding-left: 14em;} + .stanza div.i30 {padding-left: 18em;} + .stanza div.i40 {padding-left: 23em;} + + .poetry .attrib { + margin: -.5em -2em 0 2em; + text-align: right; + } + + /* === Images === */ + img { + max-width: 100%; + height: auto; + } + + figure { + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + max-width: 100%; + text-align: center; + page-break-inside: avoid; + clear: both; + } + + figcaption { + font-weight: bold; + font-size: 95%; + text-align: center; + } + + .figcenter { + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + text-align: center; + clear: both; + max-width: 100%; + page-break-inside: avoid; + } + + .figleft { + float: left; + clear: left; + margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; + padding: 0; + text-align: center; + page-break-inside: avoid; + max-width: 100%; + padding: 0; + } + .x-ebookmaker .figleft {float: left;} + + .figright { + float: right; + clear: right; + margin: 1em 0 1em 1em; + padding: 0; + text-align: center; + page-break-inside: avoid; + max-width: 100%; + padding: 0; + } + .x-ebookmaker .figright {float: right;} + + .attr, .x-ebookmaker .attr { + float: right; + font-size: x-small; + margin-bottom: 0.5%; + } + + .attl, .x-ebookmaker .attl { + float: left; + font-size: x-small; + margin-bottom: 0.5%; + } + + .illowp10 {width: 10%; max-width: 7.5em;} + .illowp15 {width: 15%;} + .illowp29 {width: 29%; max-width: 21.75em;} + .illowp33 {width: 33%; max-width: 25em;} + .illowp40 {width: 40%; max-width: 30em;} + .illowp45 {width: 45%; max-width: 33.75em;} + .illowp46 {width: 46%; max-width: 34.5em;} + .illowp47 {width: 47%; max-width: 35.25em;} + .illowp50 {width: 50%; max-width: 37.5em;} + .illowp54 {width: 54%; max-width: 40.5em;} + .illowp56 {width: 56%; max-width: 42em;} + .illowp58 {width: 58%; max-width: 43.5em;} + .illowp60 {width: 60%; max-width: 45em;} + .illowp61 {width: 61%; max-width: 45.75em;} + .illowp62 {width: 62%; max-width: 46.5em;} + .illowp63 {width: 63%; max-width: 47.25em;} + .illowp64 {width: 64%; max-width: 48em;} + .illowp66 {width: 66%; max-width: 49.5em;} + .illowp68 {width: 68%; max-width: 51em;} + .illowp70 {width: 70%; max-width: 52.5em;} + .illowp73 {width: 73%; max-width: 54.75em;} + .illowp75 {width: 75%; max-width: 56.25em;} + .illowp76 {width: 76%; max-width: 57em;} + .illowp77 {width: 77%; max-width: 57.75em;} + .illowp78 {width: 78%; max-width: 58.5em;} + .illowp80 {width: 80%; max-width: 60em;} + .illowp83 {width: 83%; max-width: 62.25em;} + .illowp84 {width: 84%; max-width: 63em;} + .illowp85 {width: 85%; max-width: 63.75em;} + .illowp86 {width: 86%; max-width: 64.5em;} + .illowp88 {width: 88%; max-width: 66em;} + .illowp90 {width: 90%; max-width: 67.5em;} + .illowp91 {width: 91%; max-width: 68.25em;} + .illowp92 {width: 92%; max-width: 69em;} + .illowp100 {width: 100%; max-width: 75em;} + + /* === image of a symbol or glyph === */ + .iglyph { + height: 0.9em; + width: auto; + vertical-align: -0.2em; + } + + /* === Text drop caps === */ + p.drop-cap {text-indent: 0;} + p.drop-cap:first-letter { + float: left; + font-size: 2.75em; + margin: 0 0.1em 0 0; + line-height: 0.8 + } + .x-ebookmaker p.drop-cap {text-indent: inherit;} + .x-ebookmaker p.drop-cap:first-letter { + float: none; + font-size: inherit; + padding-right: inherit; + padding-left: inherit; + margin-top: inherit; + line-height: inherit; + } + + /* === Image drop caps === */ + p.drop-img { + text-indent: -0.4em; + margin-top: 2%; + } + p.drop-img:first-letter { + color: transparent; + visibility: hidden; + margin-left: -.7em; + } + span.drop-img { + float: left; + margin: 0em 0.1em 0em 0.5em; + vertical-align: text-top; + } + + /* === Abreviation: no underline, no color === */ + abbr { + border: none; + text-decoration: none; + } + + /* no underline of links */ + a {text-decoration: none;} + + /* === Transcriber's notes === */ + ul.spaced li {padding-top: 1%;} + + .transnote { + background-color: #E6E6FA; + border: 1px solid; + color: black; + font-size: small; + padding: 0.5em; + margin-bottom: 5em; + margin-top: 3em; + font-family: sans-serif, serif; + } + + </style> +</head> + +<body> +<div style='text-align:center'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76616 ***</div> + <figure class="x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <img class="illowp75" src="images/cover.jpg" alt="" id="cover" style="max-width: 30em;"> + </figure> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="titlepage"> + <h1><i>The</i> Giant Sequoia</h1> + + <div>AN ACCOUNT OF THE HISTORY AND CHARACTERISTICS<br> + OF THE BIG TREES OF CALIFORNIA</div> + + <div class="mt5">BY<br> + <span class="xlarge">RODNEY SYDES ELLSWORTH</span></div> + + <div class="mt5 small">WITH TWELVE FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS</div> + + <figure class="figcenter illowp15 mt10"> + <img src="images/i_title.jpg" alt=""> + </figure> + + <div class="mt10 small">J. D. BERGER<br> + OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA<br> + 1924</div> + </div> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="titlepage mt10 mb10"> + COPYRIGHT, 1924,<br> + BY RODNEY SYDES ELLSWORTH</div> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_frontispiece"> + <img src="images/i_frontispiece.jpg" alt=""> + <div class="attl">MARIPOSA GROVE</div> + <div class="attr">Photo by H. S. Hoyt</div> + <figcaption class="clear">THE SUN WORSHIPPERS<br> + <span class="small">Only at sunset does the Sequoia lose its dignity to become a thing of beauty</span> + </figcaption> + </figure> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="titlepage mt10 mb10">To My Grandmother</div> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="center-container mt10 mb10"> + <div class="poetry"> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="i0"><i>A living thing,</i></div> + <div class="i0"><i>Produced too slowly to decay,</i></div> + <div class="i0"><i>Of form and aspect too magnificent</i></div> + <div class="i0"><i>To be destroyed.</i></div> + <div class="i12 smcap">—Wordsworth.</div> + </div> + </div> + </div> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="chapter"> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="PREFACE">PREFACE</h2> + </div> + + <p class="drop-cap">THAT imposing calm which the great Sequoia of the Sierra Nevada exerts + over many came to be individually impressed upon the author during a + summer’s residence in the Mariposa Grove two years ago. Indeed, it + was the persistence of this spell that made him wish to know more + about this noble tree and caused him to inquire into its literary and + scientific associations. These studies at length stimulated another + desire—that of making the gist of the scattered and heterogeneous mass + of material, ranging from popular rhapsodies to scientific treatises, + available and accessible to all.</p> + + <p>It was likewise the author’s ambition to effect a symmetrical + presentation if possible of both the popular and the scientific aspects + of the subject. Hence, the rhapsodies have been robbed of their purple + and the treatises have been faintly touched with imagination to make + them possess an interest for the general reader. By this it must not be + presumed that gravity and fidelity have been neglected. They have been + preserved throughout.</p> + + <p>This book has been written primarily for the good of the greatest + number. It is not by a botanist for botanists, but by a tree-lover for + tree-lovers. And if from its pages there emanates, however faintly, + something of the inspiring and enobling presence of the Giant Sequoia, + the author will not have dusted off many an old volume and entertained + himself with an examination of its contents in vain.</p> + + <p>The author is greatly indebted to Miss Cristel Hastings for her + untiring aid in the preparation of the manuscript. He also wishes + to extend gratitude to Mr. William T. Amis, who has rendered much + invaluable assistance and counsel. Hearty thanks are due various + Professors of the University of California from whom the author as a + student and friend has received many helpful criticisms and suggestions.</p> + + <div class="right smcap">Rodney Sydes Ellsworth.</div> + + <div>Berkeley, California,<br> + <span style="padding-left: 1em;">April 17, 1924.</span></div> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="chapter"> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS</h2> + </div> + + <table> + <tbody> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="tdc1 smcap"><a href="#PART_ONE">Part One</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="tdc2">SEQUOIAS OF YESTERDAY AND TODAY</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">I—</td> + <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#Chapter_I">The Auld Lang Syne of Trees</a></td> + <td class="tdr">13</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">II—</td> + <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#Chapter_II">The Glory of the Mountains of California</a></td> + <td class="tdr">23</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="tdc1 smcap"><a href="#PART_TWO">Part Two</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="tdc2">GIANT SEQUOIAS OF THE MARIPOSA GROVE</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">III—</td> + <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#Chapter_III">Galen Clark</a></td> + <td class="tdr">35</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">IV—</td> + <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#Chapter_IV">Wonder Trees</a></td> + <td class="tdr">59</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">V—</td> + <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#Chapter_V">Oldest of Living Things</a></td> + <td class="tdr">89</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">VI—</td> + <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#Chapter_VI">The Eternal Tree</a></td> + <td class="tdr">102</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">VII—</td> + <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#Chapter_VII">A Blossom of Decadence</a></td> + <td class="tdr">115</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="tdc1 smcap"><a href="#PART_THREE">Part Three</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="tdc2">NAMING OF THE SEQUOIA</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">VIII—</td> + <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#Chapter_VIII">A Name for the Ages</a></td> + <td class="tdr">127</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">IX—</td> + <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#Chapter_IX">Sequoyah</a></td> + <td class="tdr">134</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="tdl smcap"><a href="#BIBLIOGRAPHY">Bibliography</a></td> + <td class="tdr">159</td> + </tr> + </tbody> + </table> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="chapter"> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS">LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> + </div> + + <table class="autotable"> + <tbody> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><a href="#i_frontispiece">The Sun Worshippers</a></td> + <td class="tdr">Frontispiece</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><a href="#i_p024">In the Court of the Giants</a></td> + <td class="tdr">24</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><a href="#i_p040">Galen Clark</a></td> + <td class="tdr">40</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><a href="#i_p048">Galen Clark Tree</a></td> + <td class="tdr">48</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><a href="#i_p064">The Cabin</a></td> + <td class="tdr">64</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><a href="#i_p072">Telescope Tree</a></td> + <td class="tdr">72</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><a href="#i_p080">Wawona Tree</a></td> + <td class="tdr">80</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><a href="#i_p096">Fallen Monarch</a></td> + <td class="tdr">96</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><a href="#i_p104">Grizzly Giant</a></td> + <td class="tdr">104</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><a href="#i_p120">Alabama Tree</a></td> + <td class="tdr">120</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><a href="#i_p136">Sequoyah</a></td> + <td class="tdr">136</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><a href="#i_p144">The Invincible Sequoia</a></td> + <td class="tdr">144</td> + </tr> + </tbody> + </table> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="titlepage mt10 mb10" id="PART_ONE"> + <span class="large">PART ONE</span><br><br> + <span class="xxlarge">Sequoias <i>of</i> Yesterday<br> + <i>and</i> Today</span></div> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="chapter"> + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">13</span> + <h2 class="nobreak smcap" id="Chapter_I">Chapter I</h2> + </div> + + <div class="subheadc">THE AULD LANG SYNE OF TREES</div> + + <p class="drop-cap">THE Sequoia is nature’s most magnificent endowment. King of trees, + it has no rival in size the world over, nor is it approached among + living things in age. Noblest of all conifers, it has the grandeur of + granite and the solemnity of marble. Venerable in aspect, it savors of + great antiquity, seeming always to wrap itself in the memories of the + past. So striking, indeed, is this feature of its appearance that the + intellectual traveler often wonders if its race has played a grander + part in the past. Is it a living survivor of an extinct age of monsters?</p> + + <p>Time was, and not long ago, when such a question bearing on the + antiquity of the Sequoia would have been lightly considered. Now, + however, mankind is not altogether satisfied with things as they are, + but is mindful of how they came to be so, and the ceaseless searches + of science are unveiling the mysteries of the past. The spade unearths + a coin whose imprint betrays the beliefs or customs, the finish + or crudeness, of an ancient civilization. The discovery of a clay + tablet, the uncovering of a ruined temple or a forgotten tomb, sheds + fresh light upon the history of a people. Bit by bit the evidence + accumulates, and as the vision of the past becomes less dim science <span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">14</span>is + better able to conjure up before the mental eye the imposing pageants + of a world that has passed away.</p> + + <p>Shakespeare calls the world a stage. The allusion, though, is confined + to men and women. But as the scientist views the great earth-drama + that has been enacted throughout the ages he sees a far more extensive + application of this thought. To him “the races of the children of + life” are the players, by reason of the fact that all life has been + superseded by more complex and more highly evolved forms. Indeed, for + millions of years countless multitudes of living creatures have played + their little parts on this earthly stage and have gone their way into + oblivion. The majority have left as little record as the autumn leaves + that drift by the wayside. These are the so-called “lost creations.” + Yet a sufficient number have been preserved for the later instruction + and delight of man. “Everything,” observed Emerson, “in nature tends to + write its own history. The planet and the pebble are attended by their + shadows, the rolling rock leaves its furrows on the mountainside, the + river its channel in the soil, the animal its bone in the stratum, the + fern its modest epitaph in the coal.”</p> + + <p>These remains filed away in the archives of nature’s great storehouse + constitute the record of the rocks. And as science reconstructs a + civilization of yesterday from its rude implements, in a similar + manner it interprets the mute meaning of <span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">15</span>these fossils in the rocks. + The dry bones and empty footprints are given animation and pictured + as they are supposed to have been when alive. Great flying reptiles, + called <em>pterodactyls</em>, with an enormous wingspread of twenty-five + feet, have fallen into Miocene seas and have been entombed with the + leaves and muds of their shallow bottoms. Huge reptiles, called + <em>dinosaurs</em>, have stalked across the mud-flats of primeval lakes, + leaving their broad footprints in the oozy surface. The tide has come + in and gently covered the impression with a fine sediment and preserved + it forever. Further deposits of sediment have accumulated and the + whole become submerged, until, under constant pressure, they have been + compacted into rock and in the course of time have been raised again to + dry land.</p> + + <p>The record of the rocks discloses the fact that the Sequoia flourished + on the earth when these dragons of old time and their weird kin + inhabited it. Its forests extended over three continents and it blessed + with its shade these creatures more strange and huge than the earth has + since borne. Under its high, arching columns <em>dinosaurs</em> took toll + of all that could be conquered. Within sight of its imposing forests + others, equally formidable, wallowed in shallow seas, while overhead + soared <em>pterodactyls</em>, neither bats nor birds, but giant lizards + that had acquired the power of flight.</p> + + <p>This was millions of years ago. It was during the middle period of + life, or, what geologists <span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">16</span>term the Miocene. It was before the advent + of fur and feathers—aeons, almost, before man’s coming. In point + of time the antiquity of all living things on earth today is of a + recent yesterday when compared to the antiquity of the Sequoia. The + frail tenure of human works is as but a thousand years amid eternity; + nothing; a mockery.</p> + + <p>The pick of the fossil hunter has unearthed fossil remains of Sequoia + leaves and cones in strata as early as the <em>Triassic</em>. This period + represents the morning of reptilian life and is the first of three + great ages of the Miocene. At its advent moving life had already safely + crossed the border-line of its dependence on water for existence and + had succeeded, slowly and laboriously, in invading dry land. Hence, the + Sequoia as a race has a claim to almost fabulous antiquity.</p> + + <p>Memorials of the Sequoia’s ancestry are more abundant in the rocks of + the two succeeding periods of the Miocene, the <em>Jurassic</em> and + the <em>Cretaceous</em>. Under the lava flows of Mt. Shasta imprints + of its leaves and cones are found. This is indubitable evidence + that the Sequoia existed in California at that time. Fossil remains + have also been found in localities ranging from “France and Hungary + to Spitzbergen and from Greenland to Oregon and Nebraska.” These + stratified remains offer positive proof that the Sequoia was a great + genus covering the entire Northern Hemisphere and that the now desolate + Arctic regions, which were then warm, were luxuriant with <span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">17</span>many of its + species. In short, the Sequoia was one of the chief garments of the + earth’s vegetation during Miocene times. Its forests must have been the + most imposing the earth has ever known. Truly, they were the forests + primeval.</p> + + <p>It is not a little remarkable that the Sequoia was in existence even + before the very mountains which are enobled today by its presence. The + vagaries of mutability have been such that it was actually present on + earth during the genesis of the Sierra Nevada and saw this range lifted + to its place in the sun. Indeed, the eternality of the hills is a + misnomer, for mountains have their birth and their youth, their old age + and their obliteration. Like successions of living forms they have had + their entrance and exit on this terrestrial stage.</p> + + <p>During the early period of the Miocene, that country which lay between + the Rockies and the Pacific was a flat plain of low relief, with + meandering streams and vague divides. Occasional rounded hills broke + the monotony of this plain. These were but the abraded stumps of a + pre-existing mountain mass—the ruins of mountains that had been. About + <em>Jurassic</em> time a general disturbance occurred in the present + region of the Sierra Nevada. This was accompanied by an intrusion of + a vast body of molten rock which, when solidified, became the granite + of the Sierra. During the <em>Cretaceous</em> the entire region between + the Rockies and the Pacific again awoke and began to bulge at slow and + intermittent intervals. <span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">18</span>The Sierra block had its origin during one of + these upheavals and acquired a slight westward slant.</p> + + <p>During the age that gave man to the world, the Sierra was uplifted + to the light. About the dawn of the <em>Quaternary</em>, the last of + the great divisions of geological time, the greatest manifestation + of Sierra mountain building took place. This convulsion of the earth + hoisted the snowy range to its present sublime elevation.</p> + + <p>Following this upheaval came an age of ice. It is to this period that + Yosemite Valley owes its glaciation. In fact, the present indefinable + charm and fierce grandeur of the High Sierra are legacies of this reign + of ice. However, the glaciation of the Sierra must not be correlated + with the continental glaciations which ushered in the age succeeding + the Miocene. The former glaciation is “more properly to be regarded as + corresponding to the very last episode of that long and varied chapter + in the geological history of the continent,” states Lawson. Though + the final uplift of the Sierra block is a long time past as years go, + geologically speaking it is not remote. Indeed, the Sierra Nevada might + “safely be placed among the young and giddy mountains of our planet.” + From the comparative point of view, on the other hand, the waste of + years that have elapsed since the Sequoia first waved its magnificent + evergreen dome toward the heavens is bewildering.</p> + + <p>Impressive as the evolution of the Sierra must have been, few of the + dramas of the earth which <span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">19</span>science has restored are more wonderful + than the restriction of the Sequoia exclusively to the mountains of + California. The record of the rocks following the great Age of Reptiles + tells quite a different story. With amazing abruptness all the rich + diversity of reptilian life apparently ceased. Some change seems to + have occurred, blotting it out forever, for not a scrap of evidence + remains of its continued existence. The <em>dinosaurs</em> are no more; + the <em>pterodactyls</em> have vanished. A new type of life, that of the + mammal, now holds dominion over the earth. Most astounding of all, the + Sequoia still carries on, even to the present day—living survivor of + the Age of Reptiles.</p> + + <p>Authorities are not agreed concerning the causes that led to the + extinction of the reptiles. Science still ponders over the mystery. A + feature so extraordinary seems to demand an unusual explanation. Causes + of a violent cataclysmic nature are advanced as valid interpretations. + Yet science refuses to take cognizance of universal calamities and + considers them as apocryphal because they are too unnatural. Climatic + conditions, in the main, are probably responsible, for it is upon + climate that the wealth or poverty of life on the globe depends. That + which was a land of comfort, of abundant food, and of continual summer + may have become, through a process of alternate haste and deliberation, + a land of long winters, of bitterness and hardship. The good days + of the world were exchanged for hard times, <span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">20</span>and those who could + not survive were gathered to their forefathers. This, together with + volcanic eruptions which took place on a stupendous scale, followed by + glaciations of continental extent, apparently conspired in the ultimate + undoing of reptilian life. These causes, in all likelihood, are + responsible also for the shrinking of the majestic Sequoian woodlands + to a mere fragment of their ancient, vast extent.</p> + + <p>About the end of the Miocene the earth became intensely active. In + its agitation some of its seething interior was exuded to the surface + in a deluge of lava. At the same time fountains of molten rocks shot + up from volcanoes, causing the heavens to rain fire about them, and + sifting ashes afar over the earth. Rivers and lakes floated up in + immense clouds of steam over which the blazing beacons suffused weird + colorings—lights and shades of an inferno that not even the pen of a + Dante would have the temerity to attempt to describe. A land of beauty + had become filled with forms of the gloomiest and ghostliest grandeur. + The great <em>dinosaurs</em> looked with disquietude upon it all. Unable, + by reason of their cumbersomeness, to migrate to a gentler clime, they + stoically awaited their doom. The <em>pterodactyls</em>, terrified, + fluttered to the ground, flapping their great useless wings as the + unearthly flashes from the heavens fell upon them. The noble Sequoias, + even more impotent to make a retreat, held their ground until set afire + or enveloped in floods of <span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">21</span>molten lava. At length, having exhausted its + fury, this agent of wholesale ruin ceased as if stricken lifeless in + the midst of its maddest rioting, and the land became a far-stretching + waste out of which life had apparently gone forever.</p> + + <p>The unknown complex of causes which brought about the ice age that + followed probably completed extermination of the reptiles, and + it certainly brought the Sequoia, as a race, perilously near to + extinction. The temperature became too cold for life adapted to the + warm conditions of the Miocene age. As a result, reptilian life paled + and declined, until finally its feeble flame flickered out entirely + with the arrival of the glacial epoch. The vast amount of water that + had been vaporized during the volcanic eruptions returned to the earth + in the form of snow. This accumulated in such enormous quantities that + continents came to be white worlds where the vacant sky communed only + with the silent ice. Pulseless and cold, these vast continental ice + caps were as eloquent of death as were the fiery lava flows. Uncharted, + trackless seas of ice they were, with all traces of earthly travail + buried far beneath them. And a terrible solitude was the lord of this + universe.</p> + + <p>The scientific world is equally perplexed regarding the mysterious + chain of events that again caused the amelioration of climate. At + any rate, the warmth of summer gradually overtook the snows of + winter, and the ice wasted away. Like <span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">22</span>morning mist it vanished in + the sunshine. Lakes filled the yawning throats of volcanoes. Light + and beauty replaced ashes and death. Life, too, ebbed back from the + southland and conquered the desolation, filling the vacant world with + a glorious animation. But it was a different type of life that came. + Mammals instead of reptiles now held undisputed dominion. Of all the + rich diversity of life that flourished before the advent of the ordeal + of volcanic fire and the chilling empire of ice, apparently only the + Sequoia escaped utter destruction.</p> + + <p>It is this singular survival that prompted John Muir to write of the + Sequoia as a “tree which the friendly pines and firs seem to know + nothing about. Ancient of other days, it keeps you at a distance, + taking no notice of you, speaking only to the winds, thinking only + in the sky, looking as strange in aspect and behavior among the + neighboring trees as would the homely mastadon and hairy elephant among + the bears and deer. It belongs to an ancient stock and has a strange + air of other days about it, a thoroughbred look inherited from the long + ago—the auld lang syne of trees.”</p> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="chapter"> + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">23</span> + <h2 class="nobreak smcap" id="Chapter_II">Chapter II</h2> + </div> + + <div class="subheadc">THE GLORY OF THE MOUNTAINS OF CALIFORNIA</div> + + <p class="drop-cap">BUT two species of the genus Sequoia carry on the noble line in these + feeble times. Scions of a race whose ancestors extend into the depths + of the ages, they seem to be not a part of this puny world. Gigantic in + proportion, they are not unlike uncouth vestiges of another age when + all things were molded on a monstrous scale. Numbering their years by + thousands, they are an “unaccountable oversight” in a world where lives + are limited to the psalmist’s span of years, and where there is no + hope of gaining the length of days of Methuselah and his kin. Indeed, + they appear to be more like mysterious strangers from some far star + than solitary and lonely survivors in the midst of an unfamiliar new + age. Patiently accepting the part of on-lookers, they disdain to take + their place in the active ways of the world and continue to exist for + no apparent reason other than to preserve the pristine glory of their + ancestors lest it die with them and leave the coming years.</p> + + <p>Rarest of all tree species, these two survivors are the Giant + Sequoia, or <i>Sequoia gigantea</i>, and the Redwood, or <i>Sequoia + sempervirens</i>. Both are impressive <span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">24</span>in the mystery that hangs over + their history. But it is only this that they may be said to have in + common. In almost every other respect they are quite dissimilar. True, + the Giant Sequoia is a grander and more massive edition of the Redwood. + However, the former puts the latter in the shade as to girth, while + the latter dwarfs the former as to height. The Big Tree is unexceeded + among trees in girth; the Redwood probably outstrips all trees of the + world in height. Rarely does the Big Tree lift its towering column of + verdure more than 280 feet into the heavens. Yet it attains an amazing + trunk diameter of 20 to 27 feet well above its immense swollen base. + The Redwood seldom produces a trunk more than 15 feet in diameter and + the average of the larger trees range from 8 to 12 feet. Trees 280 feet + high are not altogether uncommon. Some even wave their evergreen crowns + 340 dizzy feet above the ground—truly a prodigious altitude for living + shafts of wood to attain.</p> + + <p>The Big Tree keeps its youth longer than any known tree and for this + reason is acclaimed the oldest living thing. Frequently it reaches as + great an age as 2,500 years. A few Giant Sequoias are known to have + passed their three thousandth year. Seemingly, this figure fails to + convey a satisfactory comprehension of the magnitude of such a great + age to the minds of popular writers. As a consequence, the age of this + grand tree has suffered unpardonable padding. Nevertheless, <span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">25</span>such + estimates are not conclusive and rest only on the speculative notions + of fanciful writers. The Redwood, on the other hand, while quite + noteworthy in longevity in the tree world, scarcely sees a thousand + summers. It must yield the palm in all honor to its greater cousin + which ranks first in age of all the worthies of the tree kingdom, and, + hence, in the world of living things.</p> + + <figure class="figcenter illowp66" id="i_p024"> + <img src="images/i_p024.jpg" alt=""> + <div class="attl">MARIPOSA GROVE</div> + <div class="attr">Photo by H. S. Hoyt</div> + <figcaption class="clear">IN THE COURT OF THE GIANTS</figcaption> + </figure> + + <p>The <i>Sequoia sempervirens</i> is one of the most consummately + beautiful of trees. Its beauty is as rare and undefinable as the blue + on the mountains in the hour of twilight, as startling and lovely as a + flower-clad April, as charming and delightful as the notes of a melody + that the winds bear away. And yet beauty is its least perfection. All + the cheerful gayety, the contented peacefulness, the warm companionship + that are the chief glory of other trees, the Redwood, too, possesses. + It is one of the most lovable and friendly of trees. But there is + nothing rough or common about it, nothing coarse or voluptuous. To know + it is to know something that is genuine. To admire it is to be unable + to look upon it with the cold eye of a judge, but with the reverence of + a worshipper and the veneration of a child.</p> + + <p>The <i>Sequoia gigantea</i> is formidable and sombre in aspect + and very often terrible to look upon. Impassive, unapproachable, + uncommunicative, it is the very autocrat of the forest. Godlike in + physiognomy, at times it is impossible to understand. <span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">26</span>It has a + loftiness of port, a dignity of bearing, a sublimity of energy that + command attention and win their way insensibly into the soul. Its + nature is as hard and flinty as the granite of the mountainside. But + in spite of all this highmightiness there is something forlorn and + pathetic, something sad and benign about it. All who know the pathos + in memories of days that are accomplished and faces that have vanished + will realize how replete this tree is with sadness and tenderness. + Grand though it is in the religious solemnity and silence that rest + upon it there is something pathetic about its very loneliness that + resembles sadness as mist resembles the rain. Assuredly, if the + <i>Sequoia sempervirens</i> is the most lively and cheerful of trees, + the <i>Sequoia gigantea</i> is the saddest and the grandest.</p> + + <p>If the Redwood be considered Grecian in its glory, the Giant Sequoia is + Roman in its grandeur. Both produce forests of giants. In one beauty + and grace held splendid court; in the other greatness and magnificence. + The one is Grecian in its idealism, so divine in its loftiness as + to exert an elevating and ennobling influence, and so fine in its + perfection of form as to epitomize this immortal quality of Athenian + genius; the other is Roman in its invincible strength, so imposing + in its stolidity and massiveness as to embarrass its beholders, and + so baffling in its superiority as to thrill them with awe and fill + them with wonder. One is an emblem of eternal youth, ever sprouting + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">27</span>Phoenix-like from its ruins and pressing with youthful vigor upon the + faltering footsteps of its mouldering sires, exempt, like the immortal + influence of Greece, from mutability and decay; the other is an emblem + of permanence, a form of endurance standing among the temporary shapes + of time, a structure not unlike a Roman pile, built to withstand the + onslaught of the ages.</p> + + <p>Today both species of Sequoia are confined to the mountains of + California. They inhabit the western slopes of its two systems of + mountains, the Coast Range on the West and the Sierra Nevada on the + East. The former parallels the ocean; the latter forms the backbone + of the State. Enclosed between these mountain chains lies the great + valley of California—a vast, oval plain, scarred all over with grain + fields and orchards, and mottled with shadows from the drifting sky + squadrons—with its two central rivers, the Sacramento and the San + Joaquin, meeting in its center and flowing with tranquil deliberation + through a series of bays, on through the Golden Gate to the Pacific.</p> + + <p>In comparison with the vast distribution of the genus during Miocene + times these two surviving species now occupy a mere fragment of + territory. The Redwood is restricted solely to the coastal mountains; + the Big Tree obtains only in the Sierras. Together, by reason of the + lofty height of the coast species and the gigantic girth of the Sierra + species, they comprise a group of <span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">28</span>conifers unrivaled the world over. + Since they are found nowhere else, California rightfully merits John + Muir’s claim of being the “Paradise of Conifers.”</p> + + <p>The <i>Sequoia sempervirens</i> forms a tolerably uninterrupted belt + along the seaward side of the Coast Range. This belt is approximately + 450 miles long and extends from just beyond the northern California + border-line, where it fades out noticeably, south to the bay of + Monterey. The maximum width of the Redwood belt is thirty miles and + reaches from nearly sea level to an altitude of 3,000 feet. In the + vicinity of Crescent City the Redwood approaches the ocean so closely + that its tiny cones scatter their minute seeds about the cliffs upon + which the wild waves of the Pacific beat. In the hot interior valleys + that lie parched and shimmering under summer suns—valleys that are + moistened only occasionally by winter rains, conditions are apparently + too unfavorable to permit of its growth, and the tree is absent. It + thrives only where the fog-laden atmosphere hovers about its crown. + Its feathery arms seem to drink in these hazy, lazy mists as if by + magic and to precipitate them into gentle showers. Along the river + flats frequented by sea fogs, where the soil and environment are + ideal, it attains its greatest development. Indeed, on the bottom + lands of the Smith River and the main fork of the Eel in Humboldt and + Del Norte Counties, the Redwood “completely monopolizes <span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">29</span>the soil + and forms virgin forests of the heaviest stands of timber in the + world.” “Stands,” according to Jepson in his monumental <cite>Silva of + California</cite>, “of 125 to 150 thousand feet, board measure, to the + acre are not uncommon. Instances of even two and one-half million board + feet to the acre are on record, while 480 thousand feet, not including + waste, have been taken out of a single tree.” When it is realized that + good eastern forests produce but ten thousand board feet to the acre, + this statement is striking. In fact, such an immense yield separates + the Redwood from all the timber trees of the globe.</p> + + <p>The <i>Sequoia gigantea</i> is more limited in its range than its + fog-loving cousin. Its belt is but 250 miles long and extends from the + middle of the American River, near Lake Tahoe, to Deer Creek in Tulare + County. It is found in the verdant center of the coniferous belt along + the middle heights of the Sierra. This zone of finest vegetation is + located between the altitudes of 4,600 to 8,000 feet above the sea + where the environment insures the most nearly perfect conditions for + tree life; where heat is tempered by elevation and the cold of winter + is modified by the proximity of a great sunlit valley. The area covered + by the Big Tree, however, fails to equal a hundredth part of that which + the Redwood occupies. This is due to the fact that the Giant Sequoia + does not occur in an uninterrupted belt. Unlike the Redwood, generally + speaking, it congregates in groves. <span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">30</span>Single trees are rarely found + alone in solitary grandeur. Preferring the society of its fellows, the + Big Tree is almost always found in “family clusters.” Though mingling + with Sugar and Yellow Pine, with White Fir and Incense Cedar, these + Sequoian groves never lose their identity. The size of the individual + Sequoias and their concentration within a definite area are sufficient + to set them conspicuously apart from the general forest.</p> + + <p>Twenty-six of these scattered patches of forest giants sociably growing + with trees of shorter pedigree and lesser dignity have been enumerated + by Jepson. These groves logically form a northern and a southern group, + with the Kings River as the line of division. The northern portion + of the Giant Sequoia belt has so diminished in size that it consists + of but seven small groves so widely separated that three of the gaps + between them are from thirty to forty miles in width. The northernmost + group must be called a “grove” by courtesy, since it contains but + six trees half of which are less than three feet in diameter. The + southernmost, with the exception of the Fresno Grove, is the most + remarkable of the northern group. This is the famous Mariposa Grove. In + all these northern patches, the Sequoia is an epicure of climate and + site. It grows only in locally favored or protected spots where the + sunshine is abundant and the soil rich, deep, and moist.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">31</span></p> + + <p>The southern groves mark an almost continuous line through the + majestic, trackless forests of pine and fir from the Kings River + southward to Deer Creek. The gaps in the belt gradually become + increasingly narrow, and then cease altogether. The Sequoia may be said + to extend across the wide basin of the Kaweah and Tule Rivers in noble + forests broken only by deep, yawning canyons with rivers threading + their sinuous way down the center of each. Here, too, the belt widens + out, extending from the granite promontories overlooking the fading + line of tawny foothills to within sight of the summit peaks—regions + of rock and ice lifted above the limit of life. The largest and most + famous of these forests is the Giant Forest located near the mouth of + the Marble Fork of the Kaweah River and within the confines of the + Sequoia National Park. This most wonderful of all American forests was + named by John Muir, who must have wept for joy when he stumbled upon + it. Thousands of trees are congregated in this forest, five thousand of + which are said to be veritable titans in size. It possesses, also, the + largest tree in the world, the General Sherman, which has a diameter of + 36.5 feet and a height of 280 feet—measurements which easily entitle it + to wear the purple of the King of all trees.</p> + + <p>In this glorious forest the Sequoia is indifferent alike to exposure + and soil, and is found growing in profusion on slopes of every + character, some <span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">32</span>even clinging to life on bare granite surfaces in a + way wonderful to behold. Multitudes of tender seedlings are continually + springing up in moist, sunny openings to carry on the royal line, and + companies of slender saplings are eagerly crowding up every slope + deserted by their elders, crowning all save the highest eminences. + In fact, the marvelous bounty of Nature has produced here the finest + assemblage of conifers known to botanical science. The entire region is + a billowy sea of evergreens, sinking and rising with the undulations + of the land with an unfailing luxuriance, the great rounded domes of + the giants swelling above the verdant canopy of pines and firs to mark + where the Sequoias sweep along the ridges, rise out of deep canyons, or + encamp on sunny meadows in conclave grand and solemn.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">33</span></p> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="titlepage mt10 mb10" id="PART_TWO"> + <span class="large">PART TWO</span><br><br> + <span class="xxlarge">Giant Sequoias <em>of the</em><br> + Mariposa Grove</span></div> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="chapter"> + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">35</span> + <h2 class="nobreak smcap" id="Chapter_III">Chapter III</h2> + </div> + + <div class="subheadc">GALEN CLARK</div> + + <p class="drop-cap">THE Giant Sequoia must have afforded pride and pleasure to the Creator + for it is the finest tree He ever made. Of a truth, there is not in all + the world a tree more wonderful.</p> + + <p>And yet, man has flouted this “shade of His perfection.” Under its + shadow he has neglected to gain inspiration and strength. In the + restless trend of the times he has become engrossed in empty pleasures. + In the agitation and strife for wealth individual interests, and not + those of posterity, have become of moment. As a result only that + which offers the allurement of gain has been recognized in the great + Sequoia. Its solemn and stately forests have been invaded by the axe + and commercialism has turned reverence, not into beams and pillars for + places of worship, but into supports for grape vines and barbed wire.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">36</span></p> + + <p>Fortunately, the Mariposa Grove has escaped the fate which the axe + has brought many of its brethren. Like the groves of yore that were + God’s first temples it still stands, a virgin forest. The fluted + columns of its mighty trees are softened by the touch of centuries, + and so harmoniously are these venerable columns disposed that splendid + colonades are formed, giving the effect of a vast, many-pillared hall. + The airy masses of foliage that these great trunks mingle high in the + heavens form cathedral-like archways of the finest forest ceilings + imaginable. These magnificent interlaced archways soften the glare of + day and impart a dim religious light which suffuse shifting mosaics + of light and shade over the forest floor. Even the thick layers of + crumbling bark and the dessicated dust of ages serve to deaden the + footfall of the wanderer and to invest the gloom with a profound + silence. A deep Sabbath-like calm broods in the very air. Indeed, all + seems eloquent of worship. Here Nature stands with arms uplifted.</p> + + <p>None escape the sacred influence of such a grove. None, save possibly + the white man. Deer with eyes of soft innocence trip timorously through + it; burly brown bear never shuffle heedlessly down its winding aisles; + and rarely does the noisy, impudent jay muster sufficient courage to + disturb its serenity. The Indian with his stone axe never harmed it, + nor has the myth that he lighted his fires against its trunks, thus + “wantonly destroying that which he was too rude to reverence,” <span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">37</span>been + substantiated. It is only civilized man who violates such a sanctuary + “just so long,” as John Muir so pithily expressed it, “as fun or a + dollar can be gotten out of them.”</p> + + <p>Truly, the ways of man are at times past understanding. Under roofs + that his frail hands have raised he worships, yet he destroys with + utter disregard a Sequoian grove—a temple not made with human hands. + Such acts may be damaging. They may even be bad. But they are + manifestations of human nature—of the clay as it came from the hands + of the Potter. Happily, there are those among men who are of more than + common clay. Such a man was Galen Clark. It was he who first made known + to the world the Mariposa Grove and who faithfully guarded it for well + nigh a quarter of a century. He, above all others, rendered it the most + completely free from the axe and preserved it in the condition in which + his eyes first beheld it. Lest man forget, he saved it as a place of + play and prayer.</p> + + <p>Galen Clark came to California in the days of the gold boom. Strictly + speaking, he was not of the Argonauts of ’49, since he was not seized + by the spell of the gold fever until 1853. Shaking the dust of New + York from his feet in October of that year, he joined the eager + multitudes who flocked toward the new El Dorado. The year 1854 found + him in the country of Mariposa taking part in the pick and shovel storm + that was then raging on its mountains. Not unlike the majority, <span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">38</span>he + failed to find “a chartless river running on fabled sands of gold.” + The chase of the fabulous ended; he took up the less fascinating but + more substantial occupation of a surveyor. Occasionally, however, the + gold lure again possessed him and he spasmodically returned to mining + with the flare-up of local bonanzas. It was while so engaged that he + contracted, through exposure and hardships that had already filled + the nooks of the gold region with the bones of strong men, a disease + of the lungs. The physicians, unable to lessen the great number of + hemorrhages, prophesied that he had not long to live. Now a member + of the dreary brotherhood of failures, health and strength gone, and + knowing that death would claim him soon, he did not become a dissolute + miner. Instead of finding a refuge in strong drink, he sought solace + through communion with the sweet wonders of the common earth and sky. + In truth, he went home to Mother Nature, and became a wanderer finding + peace on mountain tops and consolation in piney woods.</p> + + <p>Singularly enough, his lungs healed. The climate had accomplished the + miracle. The bland and salubrious air rendered pungent by the balsamic + odor of Sierran forests, together with an abundance of health-giving + exercise, had cured the disease. More strange still, Galen Clark + attained the venerable age of ninety-six. Though he continued to lead + the life of a mountaineer, and constantly to expose his person to calm + and <span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">39</span>storm alike, he never suffered a recurrence of the malady.</p> + + <p>It was during one of his mountain rambles that Galen Clark came upon + the Mariposa Grove in May of 1857. Having toiled up the slope of a + divide with the South Fork of the Merced flashing in its ravine far + below, he paused at the summit for rest. Upon gazing around, to his + amazement he was greeted by an immense tree. He immediately recognized + it as of the same variety and genus as the mammoth trees of Calaveras + which had so astounded the world subsequent to their discovery in 1852, + and which were, supposedly, the only trees of their kind in existence. + A cairn today marks the spot where Galen Clark caught his first glimpse + of the Sequoia, and this first majestic shaft upon which his eyes + rested in wonderment bears his name carved on a slab of granite hardly + more enduring than the tree itself.</p> + + <p>Though not alone in this discovery, it is quite certain that Galen + Clark was the first white man to thoroughly explore the Mariposa Grove + and to make it known to the public. According to his own testimony he + was accompanied by one Milton Mann. “A few days later I was in the + lower portion of the Grove,” writes the discoverer in Foley’s <cite>Guide + Book</cite>, “and since the Grove was situated in Mariposa County, I named + it the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees.” It is not certain, on the other + hand, that Galen <span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">40</span>Clark and his companion were the first white men to + walk through the Mariposa Grove. The dauntless prospector, undoubtedly, + had also traversed this region. In his search for the imprisoned metal + that seemed to cry out to him for liberation all of this hitherto + unbroken solitude had become familiar ground to his feet. But if + any gold-seekers beheld the Mariposa giants earlier than 1857, the + discovery died with them.</p> + + <p>It is sometimes claimed that one R. Hogg, a hunter employed by a + water company to keep its camp supplied with venison and bear meat, + discovered the Mariposa Grove in 1855. While in the pursuit of his + calling, he came upon three trees of a different nature from any others + in the forest. This he reported to Galen Clark and other acquaintances. + Later, in the summer of 1857, and following the discovery of the + Mariposa Grove, Galen Clark came upon the three trees reported by Hogg + in a gulch about one-half mile southeast of the Big Tree grove. The + largest of these stragglers, to which Hogg accredited a circumference + of more than ninety feet, was so badly burned by a forest fire in + 1864 that it was afterwards blown down during a storm. The other two + eventually fell victims to the axe.</p> + + <p>In April of his forty-third year (1857) Galen Clark settled on the + South Fork of the Merced. He had visited Yosemite in 1855. Therefore, + it was not without foresight that he staked out his claim beside the + trail running from Mariposa <span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">41</span>to Yosemite in the year that the Mann + brothers completed it. He selected a spot near the lovely expanse of + the Wawona meadow which lies in a basin-like depression encircled by + rolling mountains clad in forests of sugar pine that are no more. He + built a crude log cabin, thus making the beginning of the white man’s + Wawona.</p> + + <figure class="figcenter illowp66" id="i_p040"> + <img src="images/i_p040.jpg" alt=""> + <div class="attr">Photo by A. C. Pillsbury</div> + <figcaption class="clear">GALEN CLARK AT THE AGE OF NINETY-SIX</figcaption> + </figure> + + <p>It was not long before his visions of a teeming traffic that would + some day wend its steady way before his door en route to the Yosemite + became a reality. At first small straggling parties came at lengthy + intervals, then larger groups, and finally a steady stream of eager + travelers who desired to see the glories of Yosemite began to pass his + way. His establishment, too, kept pace with the increasing travel. It + varied from canvas and log to tolerably pretentious buildings as the + seasons went by. With the advent of the sixties it was known as Clark’s + Station, and was the heart of activity in this backwoods country. + By this time a trail connected Clark’s with the Mariposa Grove. So + impressed had the discoverer become with the importance of his find + that he had built a good horse trail of four miles in length, thereby + making the wonder trees of the Mariposa Grove more accessible to the + world.</p> + + <p>A trip to the Yosemite in these early days involved much of hardship + without reward; much heat and dust and fatigue in the hope of + enjoyment. A ninety-two mile stage ride was necessary before reaching + Mariposa and an additional sixty <span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">42</span>miles on horseback. The first night + of the horseback journey usually found the traveler at Clark’s, the + second amid the solemn immensity of Yosemite’s granite cliff and domes + at Black’s, the first structure in the Valley pretentious enough to be + styled a hotel. Real enjoyment did not come until Clark’s was reached. + Here the traveler had arrived at the outer edge of the civilized world + and an atmosphere of romance surrounded the rest of the way. Europeans + and New Yorkers were prone to class the trip in the same category as + an expedition to little-known Tibet, and the friends of those who were + determined on making it urged that such adventurers, before they left + draw up their last wills and testaments. Nor is it to be wondered at + that tourists returning from Yosemite after such a journey should + speak vaguely of “obstacles and difficulties overcome and represent + themselves as having a kind of undefinable claim to the character of + heroes.”</p> + + <p>Everyone who passed over the Mariposa trail carried away a pleasant + memory of Galen Clark’s quaint wayside inn and long remembered its + proprietor. The generous hospitality that he extended never failed to + win the admiration of his guests. Even celebrities from abroad paid + him tribute whenever they chanced to speak of him in later years, and + always remarked that he had made them feel at home beneath his roof. + The poor as well as the rich held him in esteem. No weary wanderer, no + matter how low his fortune <span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">43</span>or how humble his pack, was ever turned + away hungry or unrested. All were equally welcome, for he shared his + loaf with Indian and white alike. Indeed, the natives in the country + around loved him for his kind and gracious ways, sought his advice in + council, and called him “Father Clark.”</p> + + <p>The early guide books that tell of these incipient days of pilgrimages + to the Yosemite rarely neglect to remark about the evenings spent about + the open campfire of this simple, upright, kindly man. They tell how he + presided over the social converse of the evening, how he narrated many + a mirth-provoking anecdote, freely exchanging wit and wisdom, and all + the while never indulging in boisterous laughter. They allude to those + trifles which memory often cherishes—“the slight intonations of his + voice indicating that something mildly sarcastic or funny was coming.” + Lastly, they usually conclude with a picture of the great sugar pines, + one hundred and fifty and two hundred feet high, solemnly standing + guard, the files of their fellows extending back into the mystic + blackness of the forest, the foremost calmly looking on the happy + scene, their shadowy clusters of needles brightening and glowing in the + flickering firelight.</p> + + <p>Yet these noble qualities which Nature had planted in his being with + such munificence unfitted Galen Clark as an inn-keeper. Business was + too foreign to his temperament, and he was too utterly self-forgetful + to win success. His friends <span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">44</span>multiplied fearfully and wonderfully, + but fortune was unkind to him and led him into debt. So low had his + estate fallen by 1869, when the Mariposa County survey was made, that + he deeded half his Wawona property to one Edwin Moore. A few years + later he borrowed money with which to make extensive improvements. + These proved so unfortunately planned that foreclosure resulted. Again + Galen Clark faced the most discouraging ordeal that can come to man—the + making of a new start in life.</p> + + <p>Until the late seventies the Mariposa Grove was accessible only by + foot or horse. The beginning of the seventies witnessed the completion + of the Mariposa road to Clark’s. In 1874 Washburn, Coffman, Chapman + and Company were granted permission to extend the Mariposa road + to Yosemite, with the privilege of collecting a moderate toll as + compensation for its construction. This road, which is now known as + the Wawona Road, reached the Valley in July of 1875. Its completion + was celebrated in Mariposa in the true holiday manner of the early + Californian. Bands and bluster and bunting were the order of the day. + One prominent citizen of the community delivered a flowery oration + and with an air of great electrical effulgence heralded the event + as the dawn of a new era. Indeed, returning travelers from Yosemite + could no longer lay claim to the laurels of heroes, for the journey + was now considerably shorn of its “terrors.” <span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">45</span>During the spring of + ’78 or ’79 the present road from Wawona to and through the Big Trees + was built. The opening through the Wawona Tree in the Grove was made + in one of these years and vehicles began to carry the curious of the + world through this living tree. Clark’s Station was purchased by the + Washburn Company in May of 1875, and with the advent of the eighties + the present-day Wawona had seen its birth. Clark’s had become but a + memory.</p> + + <p>Contrary to popular opinion, the quaint Log Cabin which is so redolent + with the breath of the fifties was not built shortly after the + discovery of the Mariposa Grove. It was built much later, too late, + in fact, to pose as “Galen’s Hospice” or to satisfy the lovely legend + that it sheltered from the stormy blast wanderers who found themselves + far from civilized habitation or human succor. Sentiment would fain + preserve this myth. However, truth is firm and in all honor it must + be stated that this cabin was not erected until 1885, and that it has + never given shelter save to curios and their merchants. The report of + the “Commissioners to manage the Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove + of Big Trees” of 1886 forever proves how palpably against the weight of + authority this tale is. “Last year,” the report states, “a comfortable + and artistic log cabin was erected at a central point in the Grove + ... and ornamented by a shapely, massive chimney with <span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">46</span>a cavernous + fireplace guarded by the traditional crane and pendant kettle.”</p> + + <p>The first curio dealer to occupy the Log Cabin was “Old Cunningham.” + This quaint character made his curios in a hollow tree with the aid + of a jig-saw and tourists prized his wares the more knowing that they + were made on the spot. When his purse was fat “Old Cunningham” would + ride to Wawona to a saloon called the “Snow Plant,” where he was wont + to present the bottle and spin yarns. Hutchings left posterity a + delightful penciling of this old fellow. “The coach generally halts + at a large and deliciously cool spring near the Cabin, where those + who have come to spend the day will probably take lunch. Here, too, + we shall have the pleasure of meeting Mr. S. M. Cunningham, who knows + every tree by heart, its history, size, and name, and can tell you more + about them in ten minutes than any man could in an hour (as is the + usual case with such wags). I can see his bright and genial look, watch + his wiry form and supple movements while I write. There is one thing + especially noticeable about Mr. Cunningham—he is never discouraged + and sees always the bright side of things, so that when a storm is + swaying the tops of the trees until they bend together, he can listen + interestedly and tell you laughable incidents until your sides ache.”</p> + + <p>With the waning of the gold excitement and the waxing of a stable + Statehood, those who were <span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">47</span>laying the foundations of the State began to + turn their faces toward the future. Gradually they came to see the need + of treasuring some of its natural heritages. They recognized the fact + that California had been lavishly favored with great natural wonders. + Nevertheless, they came to realize also that she was not so rich in + these as to be careless or neglectful of their preservation. They + likewise perceived, these far-seeing ones, that although California + possessed all of the Giant Sequoias, they were the most perishable of + all her treasures if left without protection. Destructive humanity can + little change the sublime granite forms of Yosemite. They will always + remain unspoiled, and mankind can hardly mar them more than could the + clouds that hover about their summits or the butterflies that flit + about their bases. It is true that man may plow Yosemite’s meadows + and cut down wildflower gardens that have never known a mower. He can + destroy its clusters of trees, rob Mirror Lake of its reflective charm, + stop the flow of its waterfalls. All this he can do. But however much + he tries he can but little alter or disturb the majestic repose of its + rocks. Yet he can lay low in a single day a Sequoia that waved its + arms to Sierran winds when the Carpenter of Nazareth was born. In one + short season he can reduce a hallowed Sequoian grove to an expanse of + blackened stubble where only charred stumps remain to mark where trees + once stood and “looked at God all day.”</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">48</span></p> + + <p>Fortunately, however, these builders of a commonwealth saw the light + in time. Nor did they wink at it. Hence, the Mariposa Grove came to be + made safe from the axe through seasonable legislation and was spared + the fate that soon befell other Sequoian groves at the hands of greed + and commercialism.</p> + + <p>Fortunately, again, Galen Clark was appointed Guardian of the Mariposa + Grove by the Governor. The choice was well and wisely made. In fact, + when John Muir said, “Galen Clark is the sincerest tree lover I ever + knew,” he spoke with fine truth and spirit. Never will Yosemite look + again upon the likeness of such a man. In the performance of his duties + as guardian of the Yosemite Grant he was not found wanting and proved + himself sterling by every standard incident to human nature.</p> + + <p>In 1864 when kinsmen in their bitterness and hatred were destroying + one another, Senator Conness in behalf of certain influential citizens + of California introduced a bill into Congress and the law-makers of + Washington paused for a moment in the prosecution of the Civil War to + pass the Act which granted to the State that “cleft or gorge in the + Granite Peak of the Sierra Nevada Mountains ... known as the Yosemite + Valley with its branches and spurs, in estimated length fifteen miles + and in average width one mile back from the main edge of the precipice + on each side of the valley ... and the tracts embracing what is + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">49</span>known as the ‘Mariposa Big Tree Grove,’ not to exceed four square + miles....” In addition to this the Act stipulated: “the said State + shall accept this Grant upon the express conditions that the premises + shall be held for public use, resort, and recreation and shall be + inalienable for all time.” President Lincoln approved the Act a few + days before he made his famous speech on the field of the battle that + broke the Southern blade. Shortly after this Governor Low of California + formally issued a proclamation accepting the Grant. In it he warned + all persons against willful and malicious trespassing and made it a + misdemeanor to injure or destroy any of its treasures. In accordance + with the terms of the Act, the Executive of California then appointed + eight Commissioners to manage the Valley and the Big Tree Grove, naming + Galen Clark as one of them. On the second of April, 1866, the State + Legislature made formal and legal acceptance of the Grant and clothed + the Commissioners with the necessary power to make such regulations + as were requisite to its administration and control. At this time the + Legislature also authorized the Governor to appoint a Guardian to take + active charge of the Grove and the Valley. A small appropriation of two + thousand dollars was made for the purpose of making improvements during + the ensuing two years and an annual salary of five hundred dollars was + voted the Guardian.</p> + + <figure class="figcenter illowp66" id="i_p048"> + <img src="images/i_p048.jpg" alt=""> + <div class="attl">MARIPOSA GROVE</div> + <div class="attr">Photo by H. S. Hoyt</div> + <figcaption class="clear">GALEN CLARK TREE<br> + <span class="small">Rock cairn to left marks spot of discovery</span> + </figcaption> + </figure> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">50</span></p> + + <p>Life is not always a picking of flowers; often it is a plowing of + meadows strewn with hidden rocks. The latter proved to be the lot of + the Commissioners in connection with the Yosemite, for their progress + was blocked by the hostility of settlers who refused to relinquish + their claims. Litigation resulted and the Commissioners encountered + only censure and antagonism in their attempts to make of the Yosemite + a playground for the people. Happily, they were not so handicapped + in their management of the Big Tree Grove, yet here, too, they had + difficulties to contend with.</p> + + <p>Chiefly among these was the problem of human vandalism. Constant + vigilance was necessary to guard against those who seemed to take an + insatiable delight in destroying all within their reach. Truly, the + besetting sin of all “pilgrims” the world over is their unquenchable + lust for “specimens.” Like priests of the Capuchin Convent who + “unfailingly show some memento of a saint—a bone of his body, a thread + of his garment, a lock of his hair, or a drop of his blood—before they + extol his miracles,” the “pilgrims” who journey to Nature’s shrines + must, at all hazard, carry away some bit of the shrine to awaken the + wonder of the rustics at home. Or, if they are thwarted in this, it + becomes imperative for them to inscribe their poor little names in + some convenient place on the shrine so that all who run may read. What + a pity some <span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">51</span>justly wrathful Sequoia cannot fall on some of these + defamers and crush their “eyeballs into dust,” thereby intimidating + them and their kind into forever desisting from such acts.</p> + + <p>The Commissioners were plagued with vandals of yet another sort—the + camper and the sheep-herder; the one starting forest fires through + negligence, the other purposely to insure better grass for his + “hoofed locusts.” In 1889 the Grove was threatened with disaster. + A fire, started because of a camper’s carelessness or through the + deliberate design of sheep-herders, secured sovereign possession of + the surrounding forest and in one place invaded the Grove itself. In a + few days the entire annual appropriation was used in saving the Grove + from the angry flames. When their fury was finally conquered, black + scars that only time could obliterate remained. It was this memorable + fire that consumed the Lone Giant, the largest decumbent monarch in the + Grove.</p> + + <p>Since the Commissioners had no control over outside forests bordering + on the Grove, this calamity indicated the need of building a fireline + to arrest the progress of future conflagrations. The necessity of + clearing the Grove of its dense masses of inflammable undergrowth was + also made apparent. This growth not only obstructed a view of the older + trees, but it rendered them inaccessible for close inspection. It also + made for poor reproduction by depriving seedlings of light. It choked + and starved the younger trees, while <span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">52</span>it robbed the patriarchs of their + much needed moisture and hindered their growth. Hence, to render these + harmful features negligible, the Commissioners decided to clear the + Grove of its underbrush. The appropriations of the next five years were + used toward this end. By 1895, all the acreage within the ambit of the + Big Tree Grant had been treated to the brush scythe and the grubbing + hoe, and the fire menace reduced to a minimum.</p> + + <p>No less worthy of attention are the extensive additions and + improvements made during these years upon the roads. Each of the main + clusters of Sequoias was rendered accessible and travelers could + make a complete tour of the Grove viewing its principal wonder trees + from the stage, as they do today. The State had received the Grant + approachable only by trail. In an amazingly short time, considering + the meagerness of appropriations, the State had rendered the Grove + accessible to other than hardy travelers. Young and old, the physically + fit and the infirm, could now enter it with comfort and safety. In + all fairness it must be conceded that the State had made the Mariposa + Grant more suitable for the particular use for which it had been + appropriated. The Commissioners had administered the Grove for the + good of the greatest number. They had taken positive steps to protect + it from the carelessness of the thoughtless and the wantonness <span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">53</span>of the + ignorant. Unquestionably, they had proved scrupulously careful in their + administration of the trust imposed in them.</p> + + <p>Yet even so commendable an accomplishment as this only aroused a storm + of criticism. The removal of the fire-inviting underbrush shocked + the nerves of sentimentalists who advocated the preservation of the + Mariposa Grove “in the condition in which it won the admiration of its + discoverer and appealed to the enthusiasm of the world.” They lamented + over the fancied catastrophe. They fell into near convulsions over the + thought that the virginal beauty of the Grove was no more, because + its “flowering shrubs” had been grubbed out. Even the <cite>Century + Magazine</cite> took up the bodeful cry. Joaquin Miller’s statement that + he had travelled from Babylon to Jerusalem “without seeing so much + as a grasshopper, or a bird, or a blade of grass in a land that was + once an Eden” was quoted as a prophecy of the Grove’s condition in the + near future if these “destructive tendencies” continued. Alexander, + they pointed out, mourned because Greek ivy would not grow on the + tower of Babel and inferred that such would be California’s lot when + her eyesight sufficiently improved to see the need of enhancing the + grandeur of her Sequoias by garlands. And all the while they failed to + see the irony of their plea. They did not know that sentiment, like + ivy, can cling to a very flat surface.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">54</span></p> + + <p>Nor is this all that the Commissioners accomplished. To their list of + achievements must be added yet another. In order to make the Grant of + 1864 a treasure that “all shall share and none shall be the poorer for + sharing,” they warred against unscrupulous commercial enterprises. + Hawkers continually pressed forward their schemes in honeyed words to + make travelers the victims of innumerable petty charges and vexations. + However, the Commissioners who were all men of high principles would + have none of them. Concessioners who proved unprincipled in their + treatment of tourists were summarily deprived of the means with which + to accrue further ill-gotten gains. In all truthfulness it can be + stated that throughout the entire forty years of State control<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> the + various Commissioners never sullied their hands in graft. Though they + received not a penny in salary and often laid out considerable sums + to swell the meager appropriations of the State Legislature, their + office was never used for the purpose of gain. In short, they carried + a trusteeship that concerned the high honor of the Commonwealth of + California in a manner which justifies the pride of the people.</p> + + <p>In all this glorious work Galen Clark, as Guardian, stands head + and shoulders above his colleagues. He had that desire to serve + without <span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">55</span>its selfish qualities. Not inspired by the love of fame and + reputation, he did not toil for self-aggrandizement, like many men. He + considered the interest of the people higher and purer than that of the + individual. It was this interest that he ever held paramount, that he + always best served. To him the highest patriotism was expressed by the + man who thought not of honor of self or of individual reward, but who + lost himself in the larger and dearer interests of the Commonwealth; + who so loved it for its own sake that he was content to be forgotten. + In this respect Galen Clark succeeded in a manner so striking that it + deserves the name of art, not of artifice. He is practically unknown + today. Yet he rendered the people of California, and even of America, a + singular service.</p> + + <p>“As Guardian he enjoyed a longer contact with the management of the + Grant, off and on, than any other single individual. He was reappointed + again and again by succeeding Governors as Guardian, and after + twenty-four years of service in this capacity, he voluntarily retired, + carrying with him the respect and admiration of every member of the + Commission, of all the residents of the Valley, and of every visitor + who enjoyed the pleasure of his personal acquaintance.”</p> + + <p>The tribute paid him on his retirement in 1897 by those with whom he + was so long officially associated is worthy of full quotation:</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">56</span></p> + + <blockquote> + <p><span class="smcap">Whereas</span>: Galen Clark has for a long number of years been + closely identified with Yosemite Valley and has for a considerable + portion of that time been its Guardian; and</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Whereas</span>: He has now, by his own choice and will, + relinquished the trust confided in him, and retired into private + life; and</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Whereas</span>: His faithful and eminent services as Guardian, + his constant efforts to preserve, protect and enhance the beauties + of Yosemite; his dignified, kindly and courteous demeanor to all + who have come to see and enjoy its wonders, and his upright and + noble life, deserve from us a fitting recognition and memorial; + now, therefore, be it</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Resolved</span>: That the cordial assurance of the appreciation + by this Commission of the efforts and labors of <span class="smcap">Galen + Clark</span>, as Guardian of Yosemite, in its behalf, be tendered and + expressed to him:</p> + + <p>That we recognize in him a faithful, efficient and worthy citizen + and officer of this Commission, and of the State; that he will be + followed into his retirement by the sincerest and best wishes of + this Commission individually, and as a body, for continued long + life and constant happiness.</p> + </blockquote> + + <p>Galen Clark did great things, but apparently fame accompanied him to + the grave. Few know of him today. One of the most kindly of men, he had + a simplicity so intense that at times it appeared ridiculous to men of + sense and candor. Never offending by superiority, modesty composed the + very fabric of his being. To be rather than to appear was the ruling + passion of his long life. Having an insuperable aversion for bluster + and bombast, he talked about himself rarely, and then only with the + greatest of reticence. It was only after much persuasion on the part of + friends that <span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">57</span>he was induced to write his charming and authoritative + account of the <cite>Indians of Yosemite</cite> in 1904. Doing nothing + for the sake of personal display, he never forced himself into the + limelight. Unobtrusive and unpretentious, he had all that unaffected + humility that some believe to be the essence of Lincoln’s greatness.</p> + + <p>No account of Galen Clark would be complete if it failed to touch on + his love of Nature. “He was fond of scenery,” testifies John Muir, + “and once told me that he liked ‘nothing in the world better than to + climb to the top of a high ridge or mountain and look off.’ Oftentimes + he would take his rifle, a few pounds of bacon, a little flour and a + single blanket and go off hunting, for no other reason than to explore + and get acquainted with the most beautiful points of view. On these + trips he was always alone and indulged in the tranquil enjoyment of + Nature to his heart’s content.”</p> + + <p>Few, indeed, have been more sincere in their love of Nature. He loved + not only all her moods, both beauteous and terrible, but all her forms + from the lowliest flower in the dust by the roadside to the loftiest of + Yosemite’s cloud-caressed cliffs. But he lacked the power of expressing + his affections. Like Muir, he “read the great book spread out before + him;” unlike Muir, he was not gifted with a magic pen. Probably he was + too sensitive to his poverty of language to attempt to describe the + fairy-like beauty, the rare delicacy, <span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">58</span>and the wondrous tints of an + Alpine blossom—“that beautiful creature that catches the smile of God + from out the sky and preserves it.”</p> + + <p>Twenty summers in the Yosemite formed in Galen Clark an attachment for + the Valley that was deep and lasting. Nearing the sunset of his life, + like the patriarchs of old, he dug his own grave in the little cemetery + near Yosemite Falls. With his hands he hewed his own tombstone from + one of the granite blocks the elements had plucked from the cliff over + which the snowy flood of the grand Yosemite Falls descend sonorous, and + soft, and slow. Taking up a few seedling Sequoias from the Mariposa + Grove, he transplanted them at the four corners of his last resting + place so that they would shade the grave of their blessed benefactor in + the years to come. A man of great age, he must have brooded on death + and become familiar with its mystery so that the end did not come as a + surprise.</p> + + <p>One day in 1910, at the age of ninety-six, the end came and in sorrow + and in silence all that was mortal of Galen Clark was laid in the + sacred earth, his kindly soul passing on to where, beyond the booming + voice of the great fall he so loved, there is peace.</p> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="chapter"> + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">59</span> + <h2 class="nobreak smcap" id="Chapter_IV">Chapter IV</h2> + </div> + + <div class="subheadc">WONDER TREES</div> + + <p class="drop-cap">THE Mariposa Grove belongs in the category of the world’s impressive + wonders. It presents the most remarkable exhibition of the Sequoias + growing between the American and the Kings Rivers and displays Nature’s + finest handiwork on the fraternity of the king of all trees. It + contains the essence of the most imposing qualities of the Sequoia and + is unlike any other grove in its very compactness. Concentrated in its + small extent are trees in every phase of development from nurseries + of tender seedlings obtaining their feeble hold on life and groups of + graceful saplings not half arrived at the maturity of treehood, and + just disclosing their impatience to be kings, to venerable patriarchs + that are numbered foremost in the world of living things—giants + so freighted with age that they exemplify Doctor Johnson’s famous + metaphor, “and panting Time toiled after him in vain.”</p> + + <p>The Mariposa Grove is superior to other Sequoian tracts in its + accessibility, lying as it does in a shallow, crater-like depression + near the top of a forested ridge at an elevation of 6,000 feet above + the sea and a distance of sixteen miles as the crow flies from the + Village in Yosemite Valley. This ridge, upon which the Grove is + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">60</span>situated, runs in an easterly direction between Big Creek and the + South Fork of the Merced, having as its culmination Mt. Raymond, a + rocky promontory upon which the snow lingers even in July.</p> + + <p>The Grove is approachable over the Wawona Road which winds upward + along the south rim of Yosemite Valley. After passing southward in a + meandering course through twenty-seven miles of Park forest, the road + drops to Wawona from where it again ascends 1,500 feet within eight + miles before reaching the portals of the Mariposa Grove. Once within + the Grove, but a comparatively brief period of time is required in + which to review its salient features. With little effort it may be + completely explored and studied. So harmoniously are its wonder trees + disposed within the utmost smallest space that all of them may be + viewed from a passing vehicle. In fact, even the most cursory journey + through the Mariposa Grove will suffice to give an impression of the + singular, solemn dignity of the Sequoia.</p> + + <p>Possibly much of the world-wide fame of this Grove is due to the fact + that it has been brought the nearest to civilization of the several + Big Tree groves. Yet interest in it should not spring merely from such + a consideration, for it lies in happy proximity to the grandeur of + Yosemite’s cliffs and domes. Indeed, it is as distinctive a feature + of Yosemite National Park as the Valley itself. Time was when the + importance of the Mariposa <span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">61</span>Grove was little if at all recognized. In + the last decades of the nineteenth century the Calaveras Grove held the + center of the stage. The latter was then the most accessible. Because + of this it became the Mecca of naturalists and celebrities of the + day who made pilgrimages across the continent in order to visit it. + Therefore, the Calaveras giants loom large in the earlier literature of + the Sequoia. But with the passing of the stagecoach and the hitching + post—with the coming of the “winged wheels” and the “iron horse,” + the Mariposa Grove ceased to bloom unseen. Instead of the Calaveras + Grove it became the more easily reached. Inevitably the pendulum of + popularity swung toward it and yearly the tide of travel that flows its + way increases.</p> + + <p>The tendency to wander into the wilderness that obtains in these + feverish times is advancing the popularity of the Mariposa Grove. + Mankind is coming more and more into sympathetic contact with Nature. + Yearly thousands of over-civilized people are discovering that nothing + so renews the health of the body, so refines the mind, so affords + a margin of leisure for the soul, or so has the power to quiet the + “restless pulse of care” as communion with Nature. They are discovering + that real recreation and enjoyment are not found in crowded cities or + fashion-hampered hotels. As a result, unspoiled woods and mountain + solitudes, brawling brooks and soundless lakes, flowers and stars, rosy + dawns, <span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">62</span>sunset golds and twilight purples are fast becoming the wealth + of nations. All this is glorious and full of promise. It lends a happy + tone to the times. Truly, if it persists in increasing, the Mariposa + Grove is destined to enjoy a tremendous tomorrow.</p> + + <p>The Grant made by Congress in 1864 really embraced two distinct groups + of the Giant Sequoia. Because these approach within but a few yards + of each other, they have come to be looked upon as a single body. The + Upper Grove, according to Whitney, contains 365 trees of a diameter + of one foot and over. This makes, as the old guide books were wont + to point out, “a tree for every day in the year.” The Lower Grove is + smaller in area and contains but 182 trees, which are more scattered + than those of the Upper Grove. In both groves there are hardly + more than 125 Sequoias over 40 feet in circumference, yet these in + themselves are so imposing that to view them is compensation for a + journey half the circuit of the globe.</p> + + <p>The road enters the Lower Grove, describing a figure eight in passing + through it and the Upper Grove. The Sergeant of the Guard and the + Four Sentinels guard the gateway. Their bright color and port, rather + than their size, at once attract the eye. Soon other monarchs, among + them the prostrate Father of the Forest, are passed. Then the Grizzly + Giant, standing alone in the grandeur <span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">63</span>of its own solitude, chains + the attention. Upward wanders the road, passing from one marvel to + another. Each seems to surpass its predecessor, and finally, when + the road passes through the Wawona Tree, it seems the chief wonder + of them all. But when this Highway of the Giants winds back again to + the Log Cabin, the traveller learns that the real wonder has been + reserved for the last. Here he will find himself in the midst of a + most magnificent grouping of Sequoias. Over half a hundred are within + sight of the Cabin. But not until, after examining one after another, + letting the eye roam over their fluted columns and upward into the + blue-green depths of their far-away tops, walking around some and into + the enormous hollows of others, climbing up the sides of still other + prostrate trunks and stepping them off from end to end, will a proper + realization of the immensity of the Sequoia be possible.</p> + + <p>The more remarkable trees of the Mariposa Grove have received names + to individualize them. But even this practice of late has been + carried too far. The names of states, cities, and persons have been + indiscriminately tacked to trees that were on earth when the stones + of Rome were laid. That such comparatively trivial and frivolous + designations so inconsistent with the grandeur and nobility of the + Sequoia should be permitted is amazing and regrettable. It detracts + seriously from the finer appreciation of the tree and renders its + groves “freak museums” which are looked <span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">64</span>upon with a “Barnum eye” + as merely “side-show curiosities and big things.” Assuredly, such a + practice is to be unreservedly condemned.</p> + + <p>Whitney attempted to avoid just such a result as this by distinguishing + the greater Sequoias by numerals. However, the undesirability of such a + method is at once apparent when pressed into service. Such featureless + monotony as “Number 15, fine, sound tree; Number 304, largest and + oldest tree in the Grove; Number 262, half-burned at the base,” and + the like (as Whitney recites in his <cite>Yosemite Guide Book</cite>) is + produced. Obviously, the trees must be individualized by names. But why + attach a name such as Andy Johnson to a tree that saw the light of day + when Pompeii was destroyed? Affixing names of such temporary notable + figures of the day to a Sequoia savors almost of ticketing the name + for an “adventitious immortality.” At any rate, whether it be the tree + or the man so honored, probably either would live as long in memory + without the connection. If a Sequoia must be labeled, let some striking + attribute of the tree itself be the governing factor in selecting the + designation.</p> + + <p>Foremost of the Sequoias in the Mariposa Grove is the Grizzly Giant. + It is among the most massive-stemmed trees of the world and ranks + with the oldest inhabitants of the earth. Yet a mere statement of + its size little serves to convey an adequate impression of the tree. + Measurements are, after all, only relative criteria, at best. As + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">65</span>well give the tailor’s measurements of Lincoln as an index of his + greatness as to try to convey the fascinating immensity of this tree by + saying that it is 204 feet high and 31 feet in diameter at the ground. + Its stockiness is truly remarkable. Its sturdy trunk tapers upward so + slightly to the first great limb—reputed to be six feet in diameter; + the size of a mature pine—that the diametric variance is almost + imperceptible. Nor is its base excessively expanded. No more, really, + than is necessary for strength. In fact, it seems almost too slight an + expansion to serve as a diagonal brace or instep for the support of + such a gigantic structure upon the earth. Consequently, the diametric + measurement of the Grizzly Giant at the ground justly signifies its + enormous bulk. Yet even this cannot be accurately obtained for its + base has been so badly gnawed by flames that a true measurement is not + possible.</p> + + <figure class="figcenter illowp66" id="i_p064"> + <img src="images/i_p064.jpg" alt=""> + <div class="attl">MARIPOSA GROVE</div> + <div class="attr">Photo by H. S. Hoyt</div> + <figcaption class="clear">THE CABIN AND ITS MAGNIFICENT SETTING</figcaption> + </figure> + + <p>Several Sequoias press closely upon the Grizzly Giant in girth. The + Lafayette Tree is easily its counterpart, having a ground diameter of + 29.4 feet. But in this case the swell at the base is excessive and + the trunk itself has less than two-thirds the diameter of the Grizzly + Giant. The Columbia Tree even exceeded the Grizzly Giant in girth and + must have measured at least 110 feet in circumference before fire + claimed half its base. Viewed from the Cabin it is extremely imposing + and almost as grand and picturesque in its old age as the Grizzly + Giant. Standing on a steep <span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">66</span>slope, its stem appears to be fully as + massive as that of the patriarch of the Grove, while its great elbowed + limbs and its high top, “bald with dry antiquity” and scarred with + tokens of old wars, vest it with a venerable charm. However, a scramble + through the dense brush on the up-hill side reveals a large burnt + hollow in which a dozen persons could comfortably stand. If sawed + close to the ground its stump would be shaped like a crescent moon. A + tape stretched around it and across its concave surface would record + a diameter of 25.6 feet. The Washington Tree is a foot less in girth + at the ground than the Grizzly Giant, yet measured 10 feet above the + ground its trunk is a few inches larger in diameter, being 20.7 feet. + Nevertheless, it tapers far more and is not nearly so imposing in its + pillar-like stateliness as the tree that presides over the Mariposa + Grove.</p> + + <p>After all, mere figures have their limitations. They are not expressive + of Sequoian size. This may be due to the columnar character of the + Sequoia’s trunk. It rises smooth and unbroken by protuberance of any + kind for a hundred to a hundred and fifty feet. Vastness is so artfully + given emphasis and completeness that the whole is not a monstrosity. + Symmetry is so perfectly achieved that there is no straining for + enormity. What would be a commanding height for a building on a flat + level surface appears not out of the ordinary in the Sequoia. This is + perhaps why a <span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">67</span>first glimpse of the Sequoia is sometimes disappointing. + Examination and meditation are necessary before the grandeur of the + tree “grows” upon the observer. Then he is filled with a feeling of awe + that no grandeur of architectural pile could possibly inspire.</p> + + <p>The Mariposa Grove possesses the tallest of the Sierra Sequoias, the + Mark Twain Tree. This magnificent specimen lifts its proud head 331 + feet into the sky. Thus, it would reach nearly two-thirds of the + way up the lofty Washington Monument and would over-top the dome of + the Nation’s Capitol. Yet those who gaze upon it for the first time + depart doubting. Seeing is not believing. Its appearance is anything + but that of the tallest Giant Sequoia on the globe. Nevertheless, the + measurement is accurate and authentic and must stand.<a id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p> + + <p>Other Sequoias rank close seconds to the Mark Twain Tree in height. The + Captain A. E. Wood, with a height of 310 feet, is not far behind. The + Columbia, 294 feet high, the Nevada, 287 feet, and the Georgia, 270 + feet, are all exceptional trees. In fact, a score of others could be + enumerated before the imperial Queen of the Forest would be reached, + whose 219 feet of trunkage place it within the average height of the + Giant Sequoia.</p> + + <p>Most perfectly formed of the Sequoias of the Grove is the Alabama + Tree. The pioneers called <span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">68</span>it the “Pillar of the Temple.” It has + developed under full sunlight and is magnificently balanced in all + its proportions. Truly, it is one of the finest examples of “Nature’s + forest masterpieces,” as John Muir was wont to designate the Sequoia. + Fit to support any temple, it stands marvelously perfect, unmarred + by fire, untouched by disease, undisturbed by the violence of the + elements. Centuries have passed over it, centuries that have noted many + disasters in the march of civilization, and yet it has remained free + from accident. Its heroic stem is as roundly perfect and as regularly + tapered as though turned in a lathe. Unbroken by a limb upwards of + nearly two hundred feet, with an instep that adjusts itself to the + mass it supports with elegant finish, it discloses a trunk with deeply + and widely furrowed ridges not unlike a pillar that Phidias might + have fashioned. But no pillar ever conceived by man bore a tint more + ravishing or a luster more superb than this. When spotted with shifting + patches of golden sunlight, its cinnamon-reddish trunk would put to + shame the richest colorings of Numidian marble.</p> + + <p>Nor has any pillar of stone ever supported a more exquisite structure + than the crown of this Sequoia. Possessed of almost an artificial + finish, it is a gracefully trimmed, singularly perfect dome. The + supports of this crown leave the trunk in a woody wilderness of huge + arms, wild in ungovernable expression, knotted and confused as those of + giants who toss their arms in anguish. <span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">69</span>These great limbs, regal-hued + in rose and purple, dissolve themselves abruptly into masses of stumpy + branchlets which in turn spray out into a soft film of deep blue-green + foliage. Indeed, it is impossible to distinguish against the skyline + exactly where this arch described by the foliage ends and where sky + begins. So subtile are the edges of this crown that they appear to melt + away into the heavens. Yet more wonderful is the flame-like semi-halo + visible along the crest of this tree just after a rain. Ruskin noticed + this light on pine trees. “The whole outer crown,” he states, “becomes + a thing of light, dazzling as the sun itself, for every minutest needle + is bedewed and carries a diamond, as if living among the clouds it had + caught a part of their glory.”</p> + + <p>Never has Nature presented a more striking contrast, a more + extraordinary comparison than in the trunk and foliage of the Sequoia. + They are at the opposite ends of the scale. One presents the utmost + massiveness of outline; the other the most delicate curvature and + grace. The trunk has qualities of permanence, classic mightiness, + enduring power, and the colossal dimensions that go with two thousand + years of age; the foliage possesses qualities of fleetness, ephemeral + frailty, fragile beauty, and the airy nothingness of a dream.</p> + + <p>Nearly all the other Sequoias of the Grove have had their perfection + marred by three agents of destruction—time, fire, and man. The + remarkable <span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">70</span>manner in which they have triumphed over their destroyers + makes them unique among trees. Seared, scarred, and mutilated all + their lives, they have carried on in their great, patient, rugged + fashion. Accidents seem unable to disturb more than momentarily their + peaceful way. Calamities that would vanquish other trees only serve + to quicken their hardy, tenacious growth. Almost invincible, they + appear to know neither despair nor defeat. Even when overthrown by the + combined strength of the elements of heaven and earth, though uprooted + and prostrate, they refuse to perish utterly. Would that man had the + stamina of the Sequoia.</p> + + <p>Time has not laid a heavy hand on the Sequoia. On all living things it + leaves its trace. But never within the compass of human reckoning has + time alone been able to take off a Sequoia. Fire must first prepare the + way by eating through the center of gravity of its trunk. Then, and + only then, are the tempests able to overthrow it. This is because the + scanty foliage of the tree never makes for top-heaviness. One of the + most interesting habits of the Sequoia is the pruning of its own top. + Unnecessary limbs are rarely retained. Not infrequently in Sequoian + groves when there is neither wind nor other apparent cause, a crash in + the night is heard and at dawn the ruins of a limb are found beneath + one of the Giants. Evidently the Sequoia knows that a tree which + carries its crown two hundred and fifty feet above its base <span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">71</span>cannot + wrestle with the fury of the winds under full sail. Consequently, it is + only after fire has deflected one of these columns from its plumbline + and when the mass of earth about its roots has been softened by rain or + snow, that the gales succeed in prostrating the Sequoia.</p> + + <p>The Fallen Monarch and the Fallen Giant are the two most noted of this + category in the Mariposa Grove. The former, when standing in the full + glory of prime, must have been the equal of the largest of the lordly + monarchs of today. Its bark gone, its sap-wood decayed, its base badly + fire-scarred, it still measures over 85 feet in circumference. But + for all its great size, its refusal to perish is even more wonderful. + It is not a mouldering mass which tourists can idly kick about, but a + solid trunk whose wood is as firm and sound as on the day the tree fell + to earth. How long the bleached ruin of a tree may have lain on the + forest floor is mere conjecture. How old this monarch was before its + fall is an equally fascinating speculation. It may be that the circling + sun looked down upon it as a graceful sapling when Cheops raised + the Pyramids on the plains of Gizeh. Nor are these vast, unmeaning, + sepulchral piles erected to the great who exhausted the splendor of + Egypt in their building, apparently more enduring than this decumbent + monarch.</p> + + <p>The other, the Fallen Giant, fell during a storm in the early + seventies. Its mammoth prone trunk may be seen from the Cabin porch + today. <span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">72</span>Since its fall a troop of cavalry have been lined up in + formation upon it and a coach-and-four has been driven along its trunk. + Living, it stood among the foremost of the Grove. It was known as the + Andy Johnson Tree and was one of the famous giants of pioneer days. Now + all its glories have shrunken into a “curiosity,” for tourists take a + special delight in clambering up and stamping upon its grey surface to + test the soundness of its wood.</p> + + <p>But the destructive work of time as a whole has been of less + consequence than that of fire. Of all the tragedies and great passions + of the elements that cross the silent life of a Sequoia, none can + compare with the sinister work of this forest fiend. Fire alone + seems able to inflict irreparable wounds, and nothing else, not even + disease, apparently ever injures the heart of a Sequoia. The immense + black charrings on many of the noble trees of the Grove bear silent + testimony to great conflagrations of the past. Yet, in a sense, the + Sequoia triumphs even over this arch enemy. Fires that totally destroy + its neighbors only assail its vitality after many and repeated attacks. + Enormous areas of its base may be burned and yet the tree will live on. + So erratic, indeed, may some of these injuries become that daylight + is let through the tree. Even if it be advanced in age, it will still + continue to put forth green leaves, persisting in a really remarkable + manner <span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">73</span>in the face of misfortune to which a lesser tree would + immediately succumb.</p> + + <figure class="figcenter illowp66" id="i_p072"> + <img src="images/i_p072.jpg" alt=""> + <div class="attl">MARIPOSA GROVE</div> + <div class="attr">Photo by H. S. Hoyt</div> + <figcaption class="clear">TELESCOPE TREE<br> + <span class="small">Light may be seen through this tree, hollowed by fire</span> + </figcaption> + </figure> + + <p>The Haverford, the Stable, and the Hermit’s Cabin are notable for + the large fire-created cavities of their bases. The Haverford has + had its broad base entirely hollowed out by flames which have burned + a three-chambered archway through the tree across two spurs, the + distance of which is 35 feet, and, transversely, 33 feet. Garrulous + stage-drivers of early days, whose creative faculties at times spurred + them on to daring mendacities, called the Haverford the “Tree of + Refuge” and alluded to the fact that 30 horses found safety and shelter + within its hollow trunk during a severe storm. When it is determined, + however, with certainty that but half this number of horses really were + sheltered, the size of this cavern in the base of a living tree is + still sufficiently striking.</p> + + <p>The Stable Tree has a capacious hollow in its base almost forming a + room eight by twelve feet. It was because “Old Cunningham” manufactured + his quaint stock of curios in the hollow of this tree that it gained + the fitting appellation of the “Old Curiosity Shop.” Later when the + soldiers of the Government patrolled the Grove they tied their mounts + within this room-like hollow—a practice which eventually caused it to + be known as the Stable Tree.</p> + + <p>The Hermit’s Cabin is a charcoal-lined circular chamber with a very + fine domed ceiling. It <span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">74</span>affords a spacious room in which some denizen + of the mountains could dwell in princely comfort and contentment. Wild + beasts may have made it their forest lair in the past, and the Indian + may have flaked his arrowheads within it while waiting for a storm to + pass. It is not altogether improbable that some failing miner may have + used it for his hermitage, seeking solace in the vast, silent bowers of + shade about him and submerging himself in the immense peacefulness of + the Grove—wandering, rambling at will, pausing to drink at a spring, + or anon to examine a flower, or to warm himself in the sun, bewildered + yet charmed by the fascination of it all; a dreamer seeming to hear the + laughter and voices of dear ones at home, but in reality listening to + the songs of birds.</p> + + <p>But there are Sequoias even more fire-tortured than these. The + Telescope Tree is an erect, burnt-out, tubular trunk 220 feet high. Its + heartwood is completely gone. Tourists may enter it and look up through + its chimney-like cylinder to the blue sky above. Internally, its + appearance is that of a tree from which life has gone forever, while + externally it appears to be a perfectly sound tree. Of course, its top + is a ruin. But one up-turned limb remains. This abounds in the spirit + of intense life, for its bossy patches of deep blue-green foliage still + bear cones whose seeds perpetuate the endless cycle of the royal race. + Thus this tree—hardly more than a mere barkcovered <span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">75</span>shell, clings to + life with a Roman tenacity—the epitome of vitality.</p> + + <p>Pluto’s Chimney is yet more of a ruin. It is nothing but a huge old + stub of a tree, blackened and burned inside and out. So forbidding + and fearsome is its interior aspect that some call it the “Devil’s + Dungeon.” But for all its dismal repellence, it, too, has its story to + tell. Like a battle-scarred veteran, its blackened body tells mutely + of a mighty struggle bravely waged against the forest fiend. The sun + lights its gloomy circular vault and sheds a troop of bright sunbeams + upon its dead walls as though to bless them and warm them back to life. + Even winter’s clouds sift snow in its burnt-out shell as though to cool + its fire-ravaged sides.</p> + + <p>Yet another of these enormous charcoal-lined cylinders lies prostrate + not far away. Early travelers were accustomed to pursue each other + through it on horseback. But this pastime was put to an abrupt end by + a nearby Sequoia falling across it and breaking in the roof. Since + then spring floods have deposited considerable quantities of sediment, + lessening its diameter, so that today a man can just walk erect through + it. Still other similar fragments, the monuments of departed monarchs + of other centuries, dot the forest floor. To search these out is a + pleasure worth the climbing of a mountain to enjoy. Through ragged + knot-hole openings charming and enchanting glimpses of the forest may + be <span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">76</span>obtained. Seemingly, all that is unattractive is hidden from view + and the beauties of the picture can be contemplated at leisure.</p> + + <p>Far greater than the destructive work of time is that of man. Against + his double-bitted axe the Sequoia is completely powerless. Ironically + enough, the larger and more remarkable the tree the more certain + and swift its doom. The rarity of the species is no bar against its + destruction. Indeed, man seems even eager to barter this most priceless + heritage for a handful of yellow gold. Wherever greed has had free rein + the Sequoia has been lumbered. For the past fifty years cuttings in + privately owned holdings of Sequoian tracts have continued unchecked. + The axe has removed a large part of the Sequoias in the Redwood + Mountain, Merced, and Tule River regions, and the sawmill is still at + its work of destruction in the magnificent forests of the Kings and + Kaweah River basins. “Earlier cutting,” states Sudworth, “took only a + part of this timber, but the later operations have removed practically + every tree.”</p> + + <p>Has man no regard for the past—no sentiment of conservation for the + future? How can he trace the arduous survival of the Sequoia through + geological ages without acquiring a peculiar admiration and love for + it? How can he look upon such a living monument which connects the + past with the present and blink at its intellectual and aesthetic + value? When the Germans bombarded Rheims in 1914 and Turkish cannon + demolished <span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">77</span>the Parthenon of Athens in 1687, all lovers of architecture + and the beautiful stamped such acts as barbarism. But the rose window + of Rheims and the colonades of the Parthenon <em>can</em> be restored. + They were merely man-made. Living things, however, once destroyed are + forever lost to the world. When the axe destroys a Sequoian grove it is + irrevocably gone, for, after all, “only God can make a tree.”</p> + + <p>Were the commercial value of the Sequoia in any manner adequate to + its monumental value, all this vilifying would be but simon-pure + sentimentality. Could the wood of the Sequoia be used as girders and + columns in great halls and solemn cathedrals, its commercial use would + somewhat befit the nobility and heroic proportions of the tree. But it + is otherwise. The light, soft, brittle wood of the Big Tree unfits it + for supporting ponderous roofs and massive balconies. No wise architect + would use it in this manner. In fact, nearly every wood grown on the + American Continent is superior to the Big Tree in the weight it will + sustain.</p> + + <p>Few other trees in their lumbering exceed the Giant Sequoia in + wastefulness. More lumber can be obtained from ash or maple than from + the Sequoia of the Sierra. This is due to the enormous size of the tree + and the brittle character of its wood. When a falling Sequoia strikes + the ground with the force of many thousands of tons, any inequality + of the earth’s surface suffices to break <span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">78</span>its trunk. Blasting must + then be employed to reduce the great pieces to sizeable dimensions + for handling. This results in fragments of all sorts unsuited for + commercial use, to say nothing of the great loss of that which is + cracked and splintered beyond all hope of salvage. “No where on the + face of the globe,” says Dudley, “can there be found more wasteful + lumbering. One-half to even three-fourths or seven-eighths of the great + trunks of the Sequoias of the Converse Basin (near the Kings River) + were broken and rent beyond use in falling.” In substance, breakage is + so great that the major portion of the wood is suitable only for grape + stakes and fence posts and the like. If no other tree save the Sequoia + could furnish these products, the destruction of its forests might be + justifiable. Hence, no other conclusion can be reached than that the + lumbering of the Sequoia is wholly unnecessary and deserving of the + severest condemnation.<a id="FNanchor_3" href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></p> + + <p>Yet more must be told. Much vandalism has been committed on the Sequoia + by man. Early accounts are filled with these “botanical tragedies” + which were perpetrated whenever the venture appeared profitable. For + instance, in 1878, a butchered specimen of the Giant Sequoia was + shipped from Tulare City to San Francisco for exhibition purposes and + gain. It was the largest <span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">79</span>Sequoia the vandals could find in the forest. + Fourteen feet above the ground they made the first cut and for twelve + days nine men disturbed the age-old peace of the place with the ring + of axes and the rasp of saws. Finally, the monarch that had defied the + passions of the elements for centuries fell, conquered by the blade. + Then the inside of the stump, which was 21 feet in diameter, was hewn + out to within a dozen inches or so of the foot-thick bark and the + hollow shell sawed into fifteen gigantic slabs. With indefatiguable + energy, a road six miles in length was constructed to haul these out of + the forest. Each slab made a load for eight horses, while two railroad + cars were required to transport them all. The so-called “curiosity” + was set up on Market Street as the largest tree yet discovered in + California. Strangely enough, this act elicited hardly a whisper of + indignation or a word of protest from Californians who seemed to regard + the exhibit as a “real novelty.”</p> + + <p>The Calaveras Grove suffered grievously at the outset from such + barbaric acts. Two of its most imposing trees were destroyed. One of + the grandest trees in the Grove was bored down with pump-augers by five + men in twenty-two days in order to make a dancing floor—butchered, in + other words, to make an American holiday. Its great trunk, 302 feet + in height and 96 feet in circumference, was hacked and chopped by the + usual “pilgrims” desirous of securing specimens of <span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">80</span>their visit. The + other, the “Mother of the Forest,” was stripped of its bark in 1854 + to a height of 116 feet—veritably “skinned alive” so that its bark + could be sent to the Crystal Palace in England, where the curious of + Europe could see how large and fine California’s Big Trees really were. + Naturally enough, this act brought death to the tree. “For years,” + Hutchings remarks, “its majestic form perpetually taunted the belittled + and sordid spirits that were the authors of her ruin. Yet the elements + sympathized with her unmerited disgrace and attempted to hasten her + dismemberment to cover the wrong.” In the early part of the present + century a fire almost completed the work. Now but a great blackened + trunk remains with two disfigured limbs bent upward like human arms as + if to say, “Forgive them, for only in darkness does vandalism flourish.”</p> + + <p>Fortunately, the Mariposa giants have escaped all this ignominy. + The serenity of the grove has been unbroken by the death chant of a + Sequoia. It has never echoed to the measured chopping of the axe, the + droning swish of saws, the hoarse call of teamsters, the clanking of + irons, or the shrill whistle of the donkey-engine. The sawmill has + eaten its destroying way all around its boundaries, leaving desolation + in its wake. But the Mariposa Grove has been spared this fate. A more + noble use has been found for it.</p> + + <figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_p080"> + <img src="images/i_p080.jpg" alt=""> + <div class="attl">MARIPOSA GROVE</div> + <div class="attr">Photo by H. S. Hoyt</div> + <figcaption class="clear">WAWONA TREE<br> + <span class="small">The curious of the world have passed through this Sequoia for half a century</span> + </figcaption> + </figure> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">81</span></p> + + <p>Only two trees within the boundaries of the Grove have been touched by + the axe—the Wawona and the California. Both have huge openings hewn + through them. However, this cutting has not been the work of vandalism, + for fire had prepared the way by almost tunneling through them. It was + possible, therefore, to complete the opening with little injury to the + tree in each instance. Indeed, it is not impossible that both of these + Sequoias will go on living long after the generation that let daylight + through them has been all but forgotten. The passage-way through the + Wawona was cut during the late seventies when Henry Washburn built + the first road through the Grove. The opening in the California Tree + was made much later, so that tourists could experience the novelty of + driving through a living tree in the late spring when the snow was yet + deep in the upper part of the Grove where the Wawona stands.</p> + + <p>In all the world there is probably not another tree more celebrated + than the Wawona. It is neither wonderful in the massiveness of its + great red stem, or glorious in the symmetry of its domed crown; nor has + it the venerable picturesqueness of the Grizzly Giant, or the port, + pomp, or perfection of the Mariposa Tree. Its fame rests simply upon + the ten-foot passage-way through its base. Pictures of it appeared in + geographies over half a century ago; stage coaches have passed through + it times innumerable to the <span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">82</span>amazement always of certain of their + passengers without discomfort, and now thousands of automobiles drive + through it annually.</p> + + <p>Of the wonder trees of the Mariposa Grove perhaps none offer a greater + object lesson to man than the Faithful Couple. From earliest times + mankind have destroyed each other and the fallacy of war has yet to be + learned. The Faithful Couple represent two trees that warred with each + other all their lives, never realizing the value of peace until, in the + weakness of their old age, they united their almost spent strength to + fight the greater battle against death.</p> + + <p>They are the sole survivors of a former commonwealth of seedlings. + In company with a community of tiny trees they began their lives + on ground cleared for their reception by the fall of a giant of + a former generation or by a ground fire. Either of these agents + exposed the mineral soil so necessary to the life of the germinating + seed. Sunlight, too, must have been sifted down in proper amounts + since but little shade can be endured at any stage of the Sequoia’s + existence. Even then the hold this zealous crop of seedlings had on + life was precarious. From the instant they cast their tiny shadows on + the ground, excessive moisture, erosion, and wind threatened their + existence. Indeed, many must have perished in their earliest infancy + from these dangers.</p> + + <p>As soon, however, as their branches and their roots began to interfere + with each other, a <span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">83</span>struggle of yet another sort ensued, and each + seedling began to battle fiercely with its neighbors for light and + nourishment. At the same time each exerted a beneficial influence + over the other by preventing the winds from drying out the soil or + the rains from carrying it away. Each was a member of a “protective + union,” mutually making for better conditions of growth which gave them + greater strength to carry on the fight for life. Strangely enough, each + continually comforted and assisted while at the same time attempting + to destroy each other, for they were the most deadly of enemies. Each + was shouting “excelsior” and endeavoring to rear its head above those + of its fellows in the race for the skies. “Aspire or die,” became the + watchword of the group. Gradually the most fit of the Sequoian youths + over-topped their slower rivals, eventually shutting off their share of + sunlight and ultimately snuffing out their lives. For generations this + struggle toward the sun went on, as terrible as it was silent, each + survivor eliminating its rivals. And all the while the sun, the one + object of this eternal striving, neither knew or apparently cared.</p> + + <p>As the number of the defeated increased and the veterans became fewer + and fewer, the struggle became less intense. At last, but two of all + the host that started the fray of perpetuity versus extinction were + left. These remained to preach the aristocracy of the forest—that + it is of the <span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">84</span>best and for the best. The weak and unfit had been + vanquished. Only the straight-trunked and the strong lived to enjoy the + commonwealth of the sky. They were the chosen few. Now, unable to lift + their proud heads higher into the clouds, because Nature cannot pump + water to such dizzy heights, these two giants attempted to crowd one + another off the earth. Not satisfied that they had found a place in the + sun, they had to bear each other’s ill will. The struggle continued, + but each was as powerful as the other. At length, having wasted their + energy in useless conflict, they came to terms. Embracing, they finally + united in confiding communion the better to brave whatever blessing or + blast fate might bring them in their declining years. Have they learned + the worth of peace too late?</p> + + <p>Near the Cabin stand four wonderfully perfect Sequoias. So military in + precision are they, so formal and rigid in their poise, and so perfect + in alignment, that they seem to be standing ever at attention. Hence, + they have been designated as the Old Guard. Others, however, prefer + to call them by the more poetical name of “Sun Worshippers,” for, as + the sun traces its long descent of midsummer afternoon, it throws a + golden shower of sunshine upon them, and they in turn appear to revel + in all this glory. Their great limbs, the size of ordinary trees, seem + uplifted in prayerful attitude, while nearby companies of pine and + fir appear to gather about these four high priests of <span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">85</span>the sun like + worshippers in humble veneration. At sunset, during the silent battle + between light and darkness, this effect is singularly impressive. Their + fine round trunks seem to glow, not unlike red-hot steel drawn from + intolerable flame, and their cool green domes are splashed with floods + of vermillion, gold, and purple, as the fading light plays its changing + wizardry upon their delicate foliage. Only at such a time does the + Sequoia lose its crushing dignity and its overwhelming complacency to + become a thing of beauty. Then, as the shadows steal forth and enfold + the solemn forest, and the red trunks burn lower and lower until, + finally, like lamps they go out, a mighty calm settles upon their + silent crests where departing day lingers in a last caress.</p> + + <p>No review of the Mariposa giants would be complete without due mention + of the Fallen Hero Tree, which was dedicated by the American Legion of + California in the summer of 1921, to the Unknown Dead of the World War. + Surely, no dedication could be more fitting, for nothing living is more + monumental than the Giant Sequoia. Besides is it not better to preserve + monuments than to build them? “Almost no structure,” declares Dudley, + “erected by human hands has come down to us intact through the lifetime + of a Sequoia; and few that we can admire which are hewn from inanimate + marble or granite can be compared to a living organism vast in life + and complete in the records of every year of its <span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">86</span>existence. An empire + or republic may be compared with the life of this great tree, but what + empire or republic has lived twenty-five centuries? None worthy of the + name. Then, in the building of the Sequoia, no blood has been shed + through all its twenty-five hundred years of life, no injustice or + oppression have secured the means necessary for its construction, no + hatred or strife has been engendered, no accident occasioning pain or + suffering—no extinction of human life has left a stain on the history + of its growth.”</p> + + <p>Again, from the standpoint of art and permanence, no dedication could + be more appropriate. Few living things merit a higher place in art + than the great Sequoia. It appeals to the highest intellectual and + spiritual qualities of man. Of all trees it is the most dignified and + majestic. After a shower its crown is oftentimes vested with a nameless + light—a glory not of this earth—never seen on granite crag or marble + temple. Then again no living thing is more enduring than the Sequoia. + Tombstones that mark the graves of the known heroes will have become + cornerless and the names they bear will have been obliterated by the + elements; those who knew and loved the names will have run their brief + course and be laid at rest, as will their children and many generations + after them, before the Fallen Hero Tree ceases to transmit to the + coming ages the memory of the Unknown Dead who fought, suffered, and + died in the Great War.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">87</span></p> + + <p>Assuredly, the Mariposa Grove has other values than that of a mere + “show place.” Aside from the size and age of its far-famed trees, the + Grove has power to inspire and its lesson to teach. Its trees have + stood steadfast for centuries indifferent to time and tide, the better + to admonish mortal man lest he forget his littleness. To contemplate + them in cold calm without feelings of reverence is impossible. No + artist has yet been able to adequately depict their God-like composure + and their haunting grandeur. Indeed, they are as gloriously beyond the + brush as they are above words. That stirring apostrophe of Byron to the + ocean is the nearest approach in all literature to their greatness. + Most mysterious of all natural wonders, they have looked on events that + distinguish centuries. Over them has been drawn the mantle of the past + and within them are locked many of the secrets of history.</p> + + <p>To stand in the presence of such ancient things is to be able to sense + something of the riddle propounded by the inscrutable Sphinx. And + yet more wonderful is such an impression by moonlight. On every hand + tower the stern columns of the Sequoias, their shaggy crowns gemmed + with stars. About them are grouped other tree hosts, rising in files + and striving in vain to emulate the ample girth and majestic height + of the giants. These lesser trees are pines with a perfection almost + faultless, cedars as beautiful as those of Lebanon; and firs with a + grace not unlike that of <span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">88</span>hills sculptured by rain drops. Among these + are yet others—trees crooked and short and stumped; trees tall and slim + and slender. Through the rents in the roof of this aged forest the + moon looks in, sending long arrows of light to investigate some pitchy + obscurity, splashing the forest floor here and there with blotches + of silvery light and banding the open spaces with monstrous slanting + shadows of Sequoian columns. Formless masses of impenetrable darkness + loom everywhere. All the rest is a region of half-light in which + everything is seen and nothing recognized. All is wrapped in a cloak of + unreality, lending a weird, almost theatrical effect. Shadows move with + a ghostly sound throughout the cavernous chambers. The perpetual peace + of night is upon the forest.</p> + + <p>Then it is that the Sequoia is almost holy in its tremendous power + to inspire reverence. Only in the solitudes of the sea where there + is no trace of land or sail to break the fearful circle set upon the + surface of the great deep is such an impression of the mystic charm of + space received. Here the immensity of sea and sky is comparable to the + over-shadowing majesty of the Sequoia. The soul is overwhelmed with + solemnity. The immeasurable calm and solitude of it all overflows like + a tide. One seems on the threshold of oblivion. Life’s endless toil and + endeavor are at an end, for one has caught a glimpse of the immortal.</p> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="chapter"> + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">89</span> + <h2 class="nobreak smcap" id="Chapter_V">Chapter V</h2> + </div> + + <div class="subheadc">OLDEST OF LIVING THINGS</div> + + <p class="drop-cap">WHEN that intrepid botanist-explorer, David Douglas, who in his lonely + wanderings along the Pacific endured numberless hardships that he might + make the flowers and trees of the coast known to science, first saw + the Redwoods while traveling through the Santa Cruz forest in 1830, + they invoked in him feelings of the most profound awe. He hesitated to + describe them lest he fall into discredit among his friends in England. + “New and strange things seldom fail to make strong impressions,” he + wrote in his Journal, “and are therefore frequently over-rated. This + tree gives the mountains a most peculiar, I was going to say, awful + appearance—something which plainly tells me that we are not in Europe.”</p> + + <p>Little did this awestruck wanderer know that yet larger trees stood in + these princely forests of the Western world. In fact, almost a quarter + century elapsed before the presence of the Giant Sequoia was made + known. John Bidwell has sometimes been accredited their discovery in + 1841. But the more acceptable and authoritative record of discovery + is that of A. T. Dowd who, while hunting, came quite by accident upon + the Calaveras Grove eleven years later. Even then Dowd’s story was + accepted with much doubt and <span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">90</span>it was necessary to resort to a ruse in + order to induce even a few skeptical workmen to confirm the discovery. + Still the truth of David Douglas’ moralizing on the over-rating of + strong impressions asserted itself, and traveler after traveler had his + reputation for truthfulness sorely tried until almost a “convention + of naturalists” had seen the mammoth tree and given their unanimous + testimony as to its size. Then the great Sequoia became an almost + meteoric celebrity, for few plants have attracted as much attention in + so short a period of time. Since then the Sequoia has been lauded in + every land as the largest and most nobly proportioned of trees. It has + found its way sometimes in a most engaging manner into literature. For + instance, in Victor Hugo’s <cite>Toilers of the Sea</cite>, an old seaman who + had gathered from his voyages many wonderful stories, tells a child of + a hollow tree in California “so vast that a man on horseback could ride + one hundred paces inside.”</p> + + <p>Yet the prodigious size of the Sierra Sequoia is hardly as wonderful as + its remarkable age. That it should become known as the oldest living + thing that human eyes can look upon is truly marvelous.</p> + + <p>The elements to which the Sequoia is indebted for its great age are as + enigmatic as they are controversial. Foremost of these is the tree’s + intense desire to live. It seems never weary with the weight of years, + and is blessed with a tenacity, a faith in life granted to no other + living thing. From the finely interlaced network of its <span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">91</span>shallow root + system to the utmost tip of every tiny needle, it displays a fervent + love of life.<a id="FNanchor_4" href="#Footnote_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> Indeed, there is a joy in noting the eager attitude + of the foliage as it stretches out toward the light to gather the + sunshine. Every unnecessary and useless branch is promptly discarded + and the entire energy of the tree is devoted toward putting forth new + foliage the better to capture the sunbeams.</p> + + <p>The altitude in which the Sequoia grows produces the loveliest verdure + of the Sierras. All seems submersed in an ocean of sunlight. It is a + region lifted above the thirsty foothills and yet far enough below the + vacant solitudes of perpetual ice and naked rock to be free from the + searing heat and dust of the former and the tragedy and wreck of the + latter. John Muir so delighted in the “glorious floods of light” that + pervaded this region that he referred to the Sierra, not as the snowy + range, but the “Range of Light.”</p> + + <p>This abundance of sunshine, then, helps to explain the splendid + conifers that the middle heights of the Sierra produce. The amount of + solar heat sensibly affects the growth of trees. It is in the presence + of sunlight that the green coloring matter in leaves is able to digest + plant food. Yet this is not the all-important factor. Moisture plays + a most potent role, also. The distribution<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">92</span> of the lingering patches + of the Sequoia reveals the powerful influence of moisture over the Big + Tree. In the northern limits of its range, the Sequoia exists at a + lower altitude (4,500 feet) where moisture is plentiful, while in the + southern portion of the belt it climbs nearer the summit peaks (7,000 + feet) where the drying heat of the San Joaquin plains is modified by + elevation. The inexorable force exerted by moisture over the Sequoia is + even better demonstrated by individual trees. All the better specimens + are found growing in well watered places. Springs often bubble forth + from the wide-spread masses of sponge-like Sequoian roots, indicative + of the constant underground irrigation system that supplies the tree + with mineral nutriment. The stunted are nearly always found growing in + the dryer spots, looking very rusty but resolute; the thrifty tower + about boggy meadows or along the drainage of water courses whose waters + roar in their channels in flood time and trickle from pool to pool with + faint murmur in Autumn after the azalea has bloomed and the mountain + lilac has lost its badge of Spring.</p> + + <p>Indeed, it would be difficult to conceive a tree that has established + a more adequate and harmonious relationship in concordance with both + climate and soil. Under the most constant stimulus of the elements + so vital to the growth of trees in general, the Sequoia is sustained + by <span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">93</span>soil, deep and rich, by sunshine, and by moisture, as well as by + the other elements which it, in common with other associated trees, + derives from the air. Nevertheless, the sugar pine often enjoys such + idyllic conditions, as do the silver fir and the incense cedar. Yet the + Big Tree exceeds them all in size. Since it so outranks its fellows + in girth and longevity, the Sequoia must, therefore, possess certain + superior innate qualities that are found wanting in other trees.</p> + + <p>Theoretically, there is no limit to the girth of trees. There <em>is</em> + a limit, however, to the height of a column which Nature, working + silently through centuries, builds. One theory holds that this limit + is governed by the distribution of sap. When the tree attains a + height beyond which its circulating fluids cannot rise, upward growth + practically ceases and all appreciable growth is in girth. Since there + are no limits to dilation, the tree is capable of indefinite expansion. + Normally, however, counteracting causes which at first retard, then + arrest, are continually at work, finally checking the progress + of growth. The tree most completely free from such counteracting + influences logically attains the greatest size and age.</p> + + <p>This, then, is the keynote of the Sequoia’s great age. There is a limit + to its height, but none, apparently, to its rotundity. So long as + the growth of the Big Tree is unimpaired, it continues with patient, + steady, indefatigable energy <span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">94</span>to add ring after ring to its stem year + after year, century after century. In time the old channels become + clogged with insoluble matter taken up by the roots and the annual + layers become successively consolidated until the united cells attain + such strength that the vast wooden pillar defies the onslaught of the + elements. It stands a monument of power, emblematic of the limitless + desire to live.</p> + + <p>“Trees,” states Asa Gray in his famous essay on the <cite>Longevity of + Trees</cite>, “far outlast all living things. They never die of old + age, but only from injury or disease, or, in a word, from accidents. + If not destroyed by accident, that is, by extrinsic causes—they do + not eventually perish, like ourselves, from old age. It is commonly + thought that they are fully exposed to the inevitable fate of all + living things, but this springs from a false analogy which we have + unconsciously established between plants and animals. This popular + analogy might, perhaps, hold good if the tree were actually formed like + the animal, all parts of which are created at once in their rudimentary + state, and soon attain their fullest development so that the functions + are carried on throughout life in the same set of organs. If this were + the case of the tree it would likewise die sooner or later of old age.</p> + + <p>“But the tree is an aggregate of many individuals united in a common + trunk and why should not the aggregate, the tree, last indefinitely? To + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">95</span>establish the proper analogy, we must not compare the tree with man, + but with the coral formations in which numerous individuals, engrafted + and blended on a common base, conspire to build up immense coral groves + which have endured for ages; the inner and older parts consisting of + the untenanted cells of individuals that have long since perished, + while fresh structures are continually produced on the surface. The + individuals, indeed, perish; but the aggregate may endure as long as + time itself. So with the tree.</p> + + <p>“Only the leaf may be said to die of old age. It lives but a single + season and is the proper emblem of mortality. But the leaves are + necessarily renewed every year, so are the other essential organs of + the plant. It annually renews not only its buds and leaves, but its + wood and its roots; everything, indeed, that is concerned with its life + and growth.</p> + + <p>“Though the wood in the center and large branches—the produce of buds + and leaves that had long ago disappeared—may die and decay; yet, while + new individuals are formed on the surface with each successive crop of + fresh buds, and placed in as favorable communication with the soil and + the air as their predecessors, the aggregate, the tree, would appear to + have no necessary, no inherent limit to its existence.”</p> + + <p>Of the many chapters of evidence gathered by this American botanist on + the remarkable age of <span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">96</span>certain trees, none made mention of trees older + than the Sequoia. The ancient oak which cost the poets much mental toil + in their panegyrics to its strength and endurance falls far short of + the Sequoia in age; nor do the lordly Cedars of Lebanon, “from which + the sacred writers derived so many noble images,” nor the venerable + yews, “whose branches were used by our pagan ancestors to deck the + graves of the dead as the emblem of immortality,” exceed it in years. + The Mexican cypress may have witnessed the rise and fall of the Aztec + Empire, but they are not coeval with the Christian era that has seen + the decay and death of a score of empires. Sengal Baobabs and Teneriffe + Dragon Trees may be reputed to be the “most ancient living monuments in + the world,” but they do not antedate Solomon’s time.</p> + + <p>Since no tree, apparently, surpasses the Sequoia in longevity it + must enjoy an immunity from the causes that take off other trees. + Ordinarily, weakness in trees results from a diminution of resistance + and rejuvenating power, or a loss of vitality. The protecting bark is + often lacerated and stripped away through accident, creating wounds + through which insects gain easy entrance to carry on their insidious + work. Fire often exposes the tender tissues in which the spores of + fungi find lodgment and breed disease. Instances of the death of trees + through these causes are legion throughout the forests of the Sierra. + The magnificent silver firs seldom live to <span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">97</span>see their three hundredth + birth year, and though externally of sound and fair appearance, when + cut they are not infrequently found to be a mass of watery, decayed + wood inside. Through a loss of vitality the noble sugar pines likewise + are often devoured by larvae soon after reaching maturity.</p> + + <figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_p096"> + <img src="images/i_p096.jpg" alt=""> + <div class="attl">MARIPOSA GROVE</div> + <div class="attr">Photo by H. S. Hoyt</div> + <figcaption class="clear">FALLEN MONARCH<br> + <span class="small">This tree shows no evidence of decay after decades of mountain weather</span> + </figcaption> + </figure> + + <p>Yet strangely enough, the Sequoia appears untouched by the forces of + decay. This tale of a struggle into being, of a life lived, of decay + and death, is written on all of Nature’s works. The way of life and + its destined end is toward oblivion. But causes that conspire to bring + about the end of trees in general appear unable to quench the vitality + within a Sequoia. It rarely ever shows the slightest evidence of + weakness, and appears never to be defiled by the ravages of disease. + Injuries only of the greatest magnitude are a source of irrecoverable + loss. Indeed, Sequoias that have great holes burned in them are + magnificent in their refusal to accept defeat. They summon their + splendid resources, clutch the soil with a broader and deeper hold in + their determination to enjoy life to the very last. So long as there + is a sound root left, it is the way of a Sequoia to cling to life. No + one who has an appreciation of the wonders of Nature can behold + this grim, steadfast, dogged resolution that prevails against all odds + without feeling the beauty of such an unconquerable spirit.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">98</span></p> + + <p>The wood of the Sequoia seems to be provided with every refinement of + durability. Natural decomposition is slow and its wood wastes away + insensibly like granite. So resistant is it to weather, to the rigorous + and incessant forces of obliteration, that it is hardly an exaggeration + to affirm “that a log cabin built of Giant Sequoia logs on granite will + last as long as its foundation.” The resinous matters that pervade + wood are considered a preservative against decay. Hardwood has always + been indicative of durability, whereas the wood of the Sequoia is soft + and brittle. But for all its softness and lack of resin, though hoary + and mossy with age, and deformed by centuries of violent storms, the + Sequoia is nearly always sound <em>from the sapwood to the center</em>, + and this is more than can be said of nearly all the “remarkable and + curious cases” of trees that have enjoyed a great longevity as cited by + Asa Gray.</p> + + <p>Most impressive of the excellent qualities of the Sequoia, however, is + its amazing vitality. In the ability to recover from accident it is + probably excelled by no other tree. The shadows of twenty centuries + may sleep beneath its boughs, yet its growing power is as active as + ever, the tree ever rallying in apparent youthful vigor to replace + its broken, tempest-tossed crown. It defies even the wrath of heaven. + Though lightning may shatter a pine to splinters, it can but knock off + fifty feet, more or less, of a Sequoia’s crown. Never has it <span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">99</span>been + known to have destroyed a Sequoia outright. “Thousands of years the + Sequoia stands offering its head to every passing cloud as if praying + for heaven’s fire as a blessing,” observed John Muir. “Then when the + old head is off, every bud and branch becomes excited like a colony of + bees that have lost their queen, and tries hard to repair the damage. + Branches that for centuries have grown out horizontally at once begin + to turn upward and all the branchlets arrange themselves with reference + to a new top of the same ineffably fine contour as the old one. And + curious enough, all very old Sequoias have lost their crowns in this + manner. Of all living things, they seem to be the only ones able to + wait long enough to be struck by lightning.”</p> + + <p>The power of a Sequoia to heal an immense fire scar is another + noteworthy manifestation of its vitality. Its resistance to fire is + almost incredible. Its massive, unresinous bark offers an almost + asbestos-like exterior to the eternal antagonist of the forest. Its + wood, too, is so non-resinous in character that it burns with marked + sluggishness, and it is only after repeated attacks by fire that the + wood will be consumed.</p> + + <p>Even when fire has made serious inroads the Sequoia refuses to be + discouraged. It musters all its energy and attempts to heal the + burned area by extending the living tissue over the blackened wound + and reuniting the broken circle of its cambium layer. This healing + occurs in a rhythmical <span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">100</span>and pulsating manner accompanying the seasons, + beginning along the margins of the burned area. Each year the layer + of new wood-tissue encroaches slowly and patiently upon the injured + area, diminishing the charring until the two opposite folds touch one + another. In a few years the bark is pinched out and once more the + annual layers become continuous around the tree. The wound is healed, + and as the centuries pass it recedes deeper and deeper within the heart + of the tree, unchanged and never a source of decay.</p> + + <p>The late Dr. Dudley examined the stump of a lumbered Sequoia in the + Converse Basin which registered the effects of great forest fires. He + found the tree to be 2,171 years old when cut down. At the age of 516 + years the tree suffered its first burn, acquiring a scar three feet in + width. One hundred and five years were required to heal the injury. + A second burn occurred when the tree was 1,712 years old, making two + wounds, one twelve inches in width, the other two feet. One hundred + and thirty-nine years passed before these scars were covered. Then, + when the tree came to be 2,068 years old, a tremendous conflagration + burned a great scar eighteen feet wide and thirty feet high. This was + still unhealed when the tree was cut down. Professor Dudley estimated + that at the rate of the above healing it would require at least <em>four + centuries and a half</em> to repair the result of the injury done by + this last forest fire.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">101</span></p> + + <p>No other tree could have lived under similar circumstances without + becoming diseased or decayed. This greatest among trees stands alone + in its superb resistance to insect and fungi attack, and this, coupled + with a marvelous recuperative power, enables it to withstand injuries + of such considerable magnitude, and to endure long enough to recover + from them. Its vitality, as deep as it is tenacious, and its very love + for living, vest it with this sublime power. Symbol of an unconquered + will, the Sequoia has caught more of the immortal than any other + living thing. The Gordian Knot of its existence would never be cut + were it possible to protect it for all time from fire and the axe. + Had it remained untouched by flames of the past, the vastly shrunken + present-day habitat of this great tree might possibly contain the + ragged rear guards of the departed giants of the Miocene, and a single + Sequoia would be old enough to establish a paleontological era.</p> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="chapter"> + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">102</span> + <h2 class="nobreak smcap" id="Chapter_VI">Chapter VI</h2> + </div> + + <div class="subheadc">THE ETERNAL TREE</div> + + <p class="drop-cap">THE Grizzly Giant is among the first born of the living things of the + earth. It bears greater evidence of extreme age than any other living + Sequoia of the Mariposa Grove and may be of a former generation. The + companions of its youth are dead and buried in their graves of leaf + mold and it seems to have been nearing its prime when the other lofty + monarchs of today were unknown. Grand and unconquerable, mightiest of + the mighty lords of the forest, it stands like an agonized Sampson + of the woods, blind and lost, with a hundred great arms groping and + reaching out. Like all Nature’s works of power, it seeks to express + more than it can convey. Homeric in its gravity, marble in its + impassiveness, and majestic in its tranquility, it is unapproachable + among things that live. Aspiring toward the clouds and on speaking + terms only with the heavens, its equanimity seems unruffled by storm + or tempest; its sweet serenity unsullied by anger, hatred or other + passions unworthy of an immortal nature. For a thousand years the + earliest rays of dawn have gilded it. For ten centuries departing day + has lingered and played on its summit. Surely the mellow notes of the + hermit thrush issuing forth from such loftiness sound more angelic + there than elsewhere.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">103</span></p> + + <p>Joseph Le Conte left posterity an indelible picture of this tree. “Of + all the trees of the Grove, and, therefore, of all trees I have ever + seen, the Grizzly Giant impressed me the most profoundly; not, indeed, + by its tallness or its symmetry, but by the hugeness of its cylindrical + trunk, and by a certain gnarled grandeur, a fibrous, sinewy strength + which defies time itself. The others with their smooth, straight, + tapering shafts towering to a height of over two hundred feet seemed to + me the type of youthful vigor and beauty in the plentitude of power and + success. But <em>this</em>, with its large, rough, battered trunk nearly + thirty feet in diameter—with top broken off at a height of two hundred + and four feet, with its great limbs six to eight feet in diameter, + twisted and broken—seemed to me the type of a great life, declining but + still strong and self-reliant. Perhaps my own top with its departing + foliage made me sympathize with this grizzled giant; but I found + the others, too, standing with hats in hand and gazing in silent, + bare-headed reverence upon this grand old tree.”</p> + + <p>The size of the Grizzly Giant is sufficient to stimulate the mind to + silent musings. Often this leads to “cord wood contemplations,” for + the mind, in attempting to realize the prodigious amount of timber + such a stem might contain, is naturally apt to associate unknown + quantities with known. Ordinarily, a statement on the size of this + tree, if unsupported by other known <span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">104</span>comparison, is of little import. + That it requires a short journey to walk around it; that twenty + people can hardly encompass its girth touching hands; that fourteen + horses, head to tail, can just encircle its base, serve to visualize + the measurement. If it were pierced by a lofty arch, two street cars, + side by side, could pass through it; or, if it were hollowed out into + a round room with a row of seats cut out of the solid heart wood, a + round table could be set in the center and fourteen guests could be + seated about it with uncrowded ease. If it were cut into lumber, two + hundred cords of firewood and over half a million board feet<a id="FNanchor_5" href="#Footnote_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> could + be obtained from its trunk, while its shattered crown would still lie + untouched on the forest floor, a beautiful rosy red and emerald ruin + awaiting the coming of some all-devouring forest fire.</p> + + <p>The Grizzly Giant has long been the subject of much unpardonable + exaggeration by popular rhapsodists. There is little doubt but that + this tree, presumably the most ancient thing endowed with life on the + planet, may fairly claim an almost fabulous antiquity. It has escaped + the usual accidents to which the Sequoia is heir, and, as a result, has + attained a longevity that far exceeds the ordinary life-span of the + species. <span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">105</span>Since this is known, the age of the Grizzly Giant can be + stated approximately. Its exact age, however, can never be ascertained + until the annual rings of its trunk are counted, and this cannot be + accomplished without felling the tree.</p> + + <figure class="figcenter illowp66" id="i_p104"> + <img src="images/i_p104.jpg" alt=""> + <div class="attl">MARIPOSA GROVE</div> + <div class="attr">Photo by H. S. Hoyt</div> + <figcaption class="clear">GRIZZLY GIANT, THE ETERNAL TREE</figcaption> + </figure> + + <p>Nor is it possible to determine the age of a Sequoia merely from its + diametric measurement. Up to the present century there prevailed + a common belief that this could be done and that great size was + indicative of great age. If a tree measured ten feet in diameter, the + supposition was that another of the same species twice as large would, + accordingly, be twice as old. However, Dudley, who spent many summers + in the logged areas of the Converse Basin, found this to be untrue + of the Sequoia. One tree thirty-nine feet in circumference proved to + be 2,171 years old; while another twice its circumference, or nearly + eighty feet, was 1,510 years old.</p> + + <p>From a close study of various age classifications, it was believed + that the annual growth could be calculated. But even this method has + been found unreliable. After a careful study of various ages, Jepson + determined upon an average basis of twenty years of growth to every + inch. The unfortunate tree in the Calaveras Grove which was ruthlessly + cut down that its stump might serve as a dance floor had a diameter + of twenty-seven feet, exclusive of bark. Thus, its computed age would + have been 6,480 years; whereas, its true age was but 1,300 years. + Notwithstanding <span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">106</span>the impossibility of determining the age of a Sequoia + from its diametric measurement, the ages of a representative number of + felled Sequoias are definitely known. From these it has been possible + to ascertain that the average age of the tree is between 900 and 2,100 + years. The oldest Sequoia found by Dudley showed 2,425 annual rings, + while the most ancient tree logged thus far in the Converse Basin + had an age of 3,148 years. John Muir counted over 4,000 rings on a + “majestic, old, fire-scarred monument” in the Kings River forest. + These are the oldest trees of which science has definite record. + Consequently, it would not be rash to estimate the age of the Grizzly + Giant at 3,000 years. Figures, however, of 8,000 years and more are + assuredly absurd and fabulous; and yet, they are given by several + authors of credit, and by a distinguished authority on fishes in + particular.</p> + + <p>A pile of stones that has looked upon great events possesses an + indefinable something that stirs the mind profoundly, lifting it + to a higher level of feeling. Byron touched the keynote of this + sentiment when he spoke of the “mountains that looked upon Marathon.” + Feeling the need of some witness of that event, his imagination + vested those blind mountains with sight. Likewise, in beholding the + gathered companies of crag and spire from the summit of Mt. Whitney, + Clarence King was overwhelmed with a sense of the power and tragedy + of geological struggle. <span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">107</span>Feeling that this splendid mass of granite + was contemporaneous with great events, he endowed it with a quality of + consciousness. Yet how infinitely more sublime is this feeling when the + object is a living thing. What changes have occurred on the earth since + the tiny seed of the Grizzly Giant sent down its first threadlike roots + to the mineral soil! Thirty centuries are spanned by its life. Even + at thought of this the mind teems with images and memories of events + that have transpired during the life and growth of this single tree, + it endows the blind yet living column with sight, places it upon some + lofty height, and imagines that far below it sees “the far-winding path + of human progress, from dim Cimmerian shores of prehistoric shadow into + the fuller yet broken and fitful light of the modern time.”</p> + + <p>The great white race which dominates the world today had made its + entrance on the stage of history when the Grizzly Giant began its + existence. And within the lifetime of this tree, this race, known as + Indo-European, has made vast and noble contributions to the culture of + man. Indeed, most of the triumphs of truth and genius over prejudice + and tradition in every decade since have been the triumphs of these + gifts of the Indo-European peoples.</p> + + <p>Drifting southward tribe by tribe from their grassland homes between + the Danube and the Black Sea, these ancestors of the present people <span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">108</span>of + Europe, came into conflict with the first civilizations four or five + thousand years ago.</p> + + <p>Among the first to be victorious were the Persians. These barbarians + fell upon the effeminate city-dwellers of the Tigris and Euphrates + Rivers, reduced the conquered to slaves and set themselves up as the + aristocrats of the land. But civilization conquered them and they + became refined, lost their original hardihood, and were, in their turn, + conquered by other barbarians who, too, became civilized. These were + the Greeks under Alexander the Great. They infused new blood into the + stagnant pools of culture they found in the Orient, and the product + was Hellenism. But Greece, too, fell into a decline and came under the + dominion of Rome, whose stability, organization, and power advanced + culture again. At length Rome grew weak like the others, and became + unable to defend herself against other roving hordes of Indo-Europeans. + Fortunately, however, she preserved this precious thing known as + civilization long enough for the barbarians to respect it and enabled + the Christian Church to shelter it during the Dark Ages. Such is the + drama of the growth of civilization which occurred on the earth during + the time when the Grizzly Giant was making its patient climb toward the + sun.</p> + + <p>The greatest empire of the Bronze Age, Egypt, had fallen; Babylon + showed evidence of decay; <span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">109</span>Palestine was at the zenith of her career; + and Homeric Greece was laying the foundation for classic Greece, when + this oldest of trees was sprouting from its tiny seed, unpacking its + tender leaves, and taking its first feeble hold on life. The Trojan War + (1194–1184 B. C.) was a very recent event, for prosperous and wealthy + Troy had been destroyed by a few Greeks who resented her commercial + rivalry. Homer was not yet born, hence the epic of the burning of Troy + and the rescue of a beautiful woman had yet to be written by this poet + of supreme genius. The Hebrew nation had not reached its golden age + under Solomon, but David had vanquished the Philistines, united his + people, driven the Canaanites out of Jerusalem and made himself King + of an extensive empire. This, then, was the status of the civilized + world around 1100 B. C. The code of Hammurabi was already more than a + thousand years old; the Great Pyramid of Gizeh was almost as old as the + Christian religion is today; the Great Wall of China had nearly nine + hundred years to wait before its first stone would be laid (214 B. C.); + while Rome, the Eternal City, lacked over three hundred and fifty years + of its traditional founding (753 B. C.)</p> + + <p>While the Grizzly Giant was a sapling, a Sequoia of awkward and + ungainly mien, bushy, bent, and crooked by the weight of winter snows, + the Assyrians were gaining a great ascendency in the East. They had + developed war <span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">110</span>to a high point of perfection by equipping an army + for the first time with iron weapons and chariots drawn by horses. + “Whenever they swept through a land they left a trail of ruin and + desolation behind. Around smoking heaps which had once been towns, + stretched lines of stakes on which were hung the bodies of rebellious + rulers flayed alive; while all around rose mounds and piles of the + slaughtered heaped to celebrate the great King’s triumph. Through the + clouds of dust rising along the main roads of the Empire men of the + subject kingdoms beheld great herds of cattle, horses, asses, flocks of + sheep and goats, and long lines of camels laden with gold and silver, + the wealth of the conquered, converging on the palace of Nineveh. + Before them marched the chiefs of the plundered kingdoms carrying the + severed heads of their former rulers about their necks.” And mothers + prayed then as now that there would be no more War.</p> + + <p>While the Grizzly Giant was yet a youth, the Persians gained the + lordship of the East and lost it later to Alexander the Great. Greece, + under Pericles, raised human culture to the highest pinnacle yet + attained; Herodotus founded history; Buddha saw his vision of the + serenity of the soul; Confucius left to posterity his code of personal + conduct. During this fruitful period of man’s advancement, the Grizzly + Giant had become conscious of its destiny and had begun to aspire + heavenward and attain its place in the <span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">111</span>sun. Having a form of conical + perfection, it was very aristocratic in its trimness. Densely clothed + with-short whip-like branches from base to tip, it gradually arose + in fringed growths which narrowed pyramid-like toward the sky with + charming grace. Other trees show their trunks and knotted boughs, but + this tree was compact like a Sequoian cone, and permitted no branch to + be seen. Its foliage was of the most exquisite fineness, resembling a + series of morning-glory blossoms strung on a string, and forming the + softest of forest scenery. The tree had a suppleness which, compared + with its present-day rigidity of old age, was as sensitive as the + leaves of the quaking aspen.</p> + + <p>When it reached the glory of prime and attained the lusty strength of + maturity, it had lost its youthful characteristics and assumed the + nobility of the Sequoia. Having shed the purplish, leaden-gray, flaky + bark of early years, it had taken on the deep red, fibrous bark that + distinguishes its royal nature. Having also discarded all of its lower + branches, it disclosed a straight, regularly tapering trunk fluted with + long parallel furrows. This great shaft, both inspiring in its height + and uplifting in its stateliness, supported a magnificent dome-shaped + crown. In this sumptuous top a multitude of tiny cones ripened + annually and sent forth myriads of golden-winged seeds on the Autumn + breezes. Soaring now above all the lesser trees of the forest, it lost + its desire to go <span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">112</span>yet higher. Serene and grand, this king of trees + presented that “perfect combination of beauty, strength, and grandeur + which marks it the noblest of God’s trees.”</p> + + <p>At this time Imperial Rome, sitting on her seven hills, was the center + of the world’s culture, its progress and power. Rome had enjoyed two + centuries of peace—the longest period of order and prosperity mankind + has ever known—and had reached her greatest territorial extent under + Hadrian (138 A. D.) Julius Caesar had destroyed the Republic; Augustus + had founded the Empire; the Star of Bethlehem had proclaimed the + Birth of the Saviour; Palestine had become a holy land; the world had + received the Christian conception of the dignity of labor and the + brotherhood of man, and Calvary had witnessed the spectacle of the + Crucifixion. Already Nero had inaugurated Christian persecutions by + illuminating his gilded palace with human torches, and the Cross had + begun in earnest its conquest of the world.</p> + + <p>When Alaric knocked at the Gates of Rome, the Grizzly Giant had arrived + at full maturity. Its base had become greatly enlarged, the better + to bear up its great weight; while its crown had grown more open, + displaying enormously large, gnarled, and knotty branches, each bearing + a dense mass of blue-green foliage that melted impalpably away into the + sky like vagrant shreds of clouds.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">113</span></p> + + <p>And from the Fall of Rome to the present day, the Grizzly Giant has + passed through maturity and on into life’s late afternoon shadows. + It first saw the light of day when European civilization was in its + dawn and has continued apace with its progress, the epitome of the + advancement of the Indo-European peoples. Empires have risen, reached + the zenith of their power, and passed on to decay and oblivion within + its life time. Nations have succeeded Empires, and these, too, have + been followed in their turn by other world powers, like meteors in the + sky of history, and this aged monarch has reigned on. Like some ancient + thing of the dead ages, it seems to have been forgotten by death so + that it might live on until the sun is a burnt-out cinder in the sky.</p> + + <p>Impassive, resolute, and self-possessed, it stands unmoved and + unaffected by the world about it, unconcerned with its pompous shams, + its trite pride, its hollow vanity. Grizzled and picturesque with + age, it still clings to life with sublime tenacity. The lightnings of + countless clouds have failed to take its life; the snows of a thousand + winters have shattered and broken its royal crown; the storms of + over ten centuries have stripped it nearly bare of its bark and have + mercilessly washed the soil from its roots, while the insect foes and + fungi pests of three thousand years have left it as unharmed as fitful + winds leave the heavens. The oldest living thing, triumphant <span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">114</span>over + tempest and flame, verdant and fruitful, giving shelter to all seekers + thereof, and sending forth flocks of singing feathered creatures + annually from its great crown like its own flocks of winged seeds from + its cone, the Grizzly Giant stands—content.</p> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="chapter"> + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">115</span> + <h2 class="nobreak smcap" id="Chapter_VII">Chapter VII</h2> + </div> + + <div class="subheadc">A BLOSSOM OF DECADENCE</div> + + <p class="drop-cap">IS the great Sequoia a tree that dreads tomorrow? This mournful + question was raised over a half century ago by prominent naturalists + of the period. Imbued with the idea that all living things have their + day in this world of evolving forms of life, they were unable to see a + future for a tree whose race has played so large a role in the past.</p> + + <p>Acquainted with the northern groves where the Sequoias are nearly + all aged, they could see in them only pitiful, fast-dwindling stands + desperately huddled in patches where environment insured conditions + ideal for tree life. This they accepted as evidence that the Sequoia + stood at the brink of extinction; that it had outlived its day of + vigor and progress, and was but a race in its dotage. The surviving + remnants were hardly more than a faint echo of past glory, displaying + “the munificence of departing greatness” but expressing, as a race, a + blossoming of decadence.</p> + + <p>Among the first to sound this note of alarm was Asa Gray. Addressing a + meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in + 1872, he stated: “The <i>Sequoia gigantea</i> of the Sierra exists in + numbers so limited that the <span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">116</span>separate groves may be reckoned upon the + fingers, and the trees of most of them have been counted, except near + the southern limit, where they are said to be more copious. A species + limited in individuals holds its existence by a precarious tenure, and + this has a foothold only in a few sheltered spots of a happy mean in + temperature and locally favored with moisture in summer. Even then, + for some reason or other, the pines, the firs, and even the incense + cedars possess a great advantage and wholly overpower the Sequoia in + numbers. Seedlings of the big trees occur not rarely, but in a meagre + proportion to those of associated trees; and small, indeed, is the + chance that these seedlings will attain to ‘the days of the years of + their forefathers.’ The force of numbers eventually wins. Whatever the + individual longevity, certain if not speedy is the decline of a race in + which a high death rate afflicts the young.</p> + + <p>“In the commonly visited groves <i>Sequoia gigantea</i> is invested in + its last stronghold, can neither advance into more exposed positions + above, nor fall back into drier and barer ground below, nor hold its + own in the long run where it is under the present conditions; and a + little drying out of the climate of the region, which must have been + much moister than now, would precipitate its doom.”</p> + + <p>Man, seemingly, has conspired with Nature in bringing the Sequoia under + the inexorable law of <span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">117</span>extinction. He lacks respect for this priceless + heritage of earlier ages, for already many of the most magnificent + stands of the Sequoia have been logged. If commercialism is allowed to + go its wayward way unchecked, posterity will soon be robbed of these + last remaining remnants of the forests of the Miocene. Even now man + is bringing the age of Mammals to a close. Soon there will be no wild + life left except in those spots that are given protection. Outside of + these areas, all life will be destroyed save those plants and animals + that have been reclaimed from the wild. Then man will stand alone and + unchallenged amid the wreck of creation.</p> + + <p>Happily, this melancholy cry is not the expression of an actual fact, + at least, so far as the Sequoia is concerned. Enough Sequoian tracts + have been made safe from the axe to insure the future of the race and + to prevent ultimate destruction at the hands of man. Nor is the tree in + danger of natural extinction if the salvaged Sequoian tracts reproduce + in sufficient numbers to continue the struggle for existence. If this + can be proved to a reasonable certainty, then the Sequoia, as a race, + is not fated to be without descendants.</p> + + <p>Unlike the Redwood of the coast, the great Sequoia of the Sierra does + not reproduce by root or stump sprouts, but from seed only. The seeds + are in cones exceedingly small for so colossal a tree, being hardly + larger than a small egg. These <span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">118</span>ovule bodies are composed of thirty + to forty closely packed, woody, persistent scales, each with four to + six seeds at its base. Two years are required for the cone to mature, + and by early Autumn of the second year their olive green, purplish + color has faded to a dull yellowish brown, the cone has shrunken and + the scales parted sufficiently to liberate its seeds to the wind. So + insignificant looking are these tiny seeds that few fail to marvel + that they should contain the actual germ which produces the largest + inhabitant of the world’s forests. But the size of a mustard seed, with + membranous disk-like wings, they are so light that they make a sound + almost imperceptible to the human ear in their glancing and wavering + fall to the forest floor.</p> + + <p>Not less impressive is the abundance of these seeds. Over three hundred + are contained within each cone. John Muir counted on two ordinary + specimen branches over four hundred and eighty cones containing at + least one hundred and forty thousand seeds. This led him to state that + “millions of seeds are ripened annually by a single tree, and in a + fruitful year the product of one of the northern groves would contain + enough to plant all the mountain ranges of the world.” Surely, the cone + of the Sequoia presses closely upon the classic pomegranate in the + number of its seeds and may well be considered the symbol of abundance.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">119</span></p> + + <p>During the droning days of Autumn when the air is freighted with a + calm, serious stillness, and a thousand wild creatures are occupied + with tasks that fulfill an instinctive provision for a coming want, + the squirrels are busy gathering the Sequoia cones, small as they are. + Throughout these quiet days the sound of their dropping may be heard + and grey-furred bodies may be seen coming down the great red trunks + with nervous, jerky vehemence—trunks whose bark has known the tiny + feet of others of their voluble kin decades ago. Securing the cones + they have cut down with their “ivory sickles,” these diligent little + harvesters store them away for winter use. Often forgotten, these + cones, buried at the proper depth for germination, become the means of + further perpetuating the race of the giants.</p> + + <p>Other creatures, too, are laying up provisions for the winter. Birds + are amazingly industrious. Some are gathering with much fuss into + flocks preparatory for southward flight, while others, with thoughts + of chill days to come, are busily searching out every cranny for a + morsel of food, mere atoms against the huge, lofty trunks. Blue-jays + are indulging in their usual pilfering, making more noise than all the + rest of the forest folk combined. Insects also seem unusually active. + Happy, gauzy-winged bits of concentrated gayety, they while away their + little hours in the mellowed sunshine. Giving no thought to the frosts + and short days to come, transitory and <span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">120</span>carefree, they offer the most + tragic contrasts, dancing and humming about the immortal Sequoia.</p> + + <p>When winter comes and all is in keeping with the great sleep of the + forest, it is blossom time for the Sequoia. For everything else the + beauty of life’s expansion is ended. The pines have become funereal + in their aspect; the firs have lost their gayety. The underbrush, + bowed with the weight of snow, is stripped of its bright leaves. Sear + and brown, they lie heaped in hollows where the wailing Autumn winds + left them. The flowers, too, are in their graves. The robins are + gone. Even streams are silent and buried. But the Sequoia, living an + almost enchanted existence, is quite beyond reach of every influence + suggestive of winter’s repose. Though all life about it may cease, it + must blossom forth. Producing myriads of minute flowers at the ends of + branches formed the previous year, it fairly bursts into bloom, dusting + the snowy ground, like a gigantic goldenrod, with golden pollen.</p> + + <p>Contrasting the prolific abundance of Sequoia seeds with the scarcity + of seedlings, it seems logical to conclude that the Sequoia is not + reproducing. It is true that seedlings are rare in the northern groves, + although seed production there is as great as elsewhere. This has been + construed as evidence that the seeds are infertile and bears out the + sad prophecy of Asa Gray that the Sequoia is a wan and weary survivor + of the Age <span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">121</span>of Reptiles and has that inferiority about it of all + things that go back into the past. Tainted with antiquity, it is + supposedly losing its power of reproduction.</p> + + <figure class="figcenter illowp66" id="i_p120"> + <img src="images/i_p120.jpg" alt=""> + <div class="attl">MARIPOSA GROVE</div> + <div class="attr">Photo by H. S. Hoyt</div> + <figcaption class="clear">ALABAMA TREE, A PERFECT SEQUOIA</figcaption> + </figure> + + <p>The southern groves, however, throw quite a different light upon the + question. There reproduction is manifest on every hand. Companies of + seedlings are springing up everywhere determined to carry on the noble + line. They are found growing not alone in moist glens where the soil is + rich and deep, but also on rocky ledges and steep hillsides seemingly + bare of all nutriment, some even battling for life with their roots + wedged in crevices of granite beds. Exuberant and heavy with an output + of green foliage, these monarchs of the future promise anything but an + inability to maintain the forest in its most perfect vigor.</p> + + <p>The fact that the Sequoias in the northern part of their range show + lack of reproduction is not due to a loss of viability of their seeds, + but to other causes. Wherever the thick layer of leaf mould is stripped + away exposing the mineral soil and the proper amount of sunlight is + sifted down, plantations of thrifty seedlings promise renewal of the + race. But where the overhead shade is unbroken and the litter on the + forest floor undisturbed, the seedling succumbs long before its tiny + roots can reach down through the decaying vegetable matter to the + soil beneath. In the southern groves where the ravages of the lumber + mill and fire have been extensive enough to open <span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">122</span>up the dense shade, + tearing the ground and baring it to the sunlight, the Sequoia has + displayed an admirable ability to seed over the desolated areas. But in + the northern groves where sunlight and soil conditions are unfavorable + to the development of seedlings, reproduction is practically at a + standstill.</p> + + <p>In the Calaveras Grove Sudworth found a few seedlings “where storm + had made an opening in the forest and a ground fire had exposed a + little mineral soil. Apparently good use had been made of the first + opportunity for reproduction,” he goes on to state, “for young big + trees were vigorous in the full enjoyment of the sun.” The same may be + said to be true of the Mariposa Grove. Reproduction, as a whole, is + always evident when proper conditions obtain, for numberless seedlings + may be found growing on spots bared of the forest litter and open to + the sun. With continued protection these bid fair to replace the old + giants of the present.</p> + + <p>It is also of interest to note that seedlings are the exception + throughout the Redwood belt. This is not due to sterility of the + seeds, but to the same causes which have conspired in Big Tree forests + to prevent reproduction. The dense shade and the heavy ground litter + present conditions most unfavorable to germination. Indeed, were it not + for the Redwood’s unique habit of sprouting shoots from stumps and old + roots, they, too, would be as completely splendid in their poverty <span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">123</span>of + young trees as the northern groves of the Giant Sequoia.</p> + + <p>The causes, then, of the death of seedlings, especially in the northern + parts of the Sequoia’s range, are not, as was first commonly supposed, + due to the drying out of the climate, the loss in vitality of the race, + or the fact that the Sequoias are being vanquished by competitive and + more lusty species. Given favorable soil and light conditions the tree + “still possesses that strong inherent reproductive power that permits + survival of the fit.”</p> + + <p>It is true that the Sequoia has not extended its range since + post-glacial time. If it has, the monuments of its extension have + remained no more enduring than those left by departed bees and + butterflies, for in the gaps between the Sequoia groves, not a + root-hole or a trench made by a falling giant has been discovered. The + fact that such records are well nigh imperishable, taken in conjunction + with their abundant presence in the groves themselves, led John Muir to + conclude that their absence outside is indicative of the non-extension + of the species beyond its present limits since the glacial period that + gave the Sierras their aspect of savage grandeur. Before this epoch, + however, it is believed that the Sequoia extended in an unbroken belt + along the Sierra and that the present-day gaps mark the paths of these + great ice rivers. In fact, wherever the glaciers once wore their bodies + into the <span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">124</span>canyons, the Sequoia is found wanting. And though the tree + has not re-united its broken clusters, it has held its own ground + against rival species. John Muir took this as evidence that the Sequoia + exhibited no decadence since the glacial period.</p> + + <p>The unequivocal conclusion to be drawn from these facts is that the + Sequoia is in no danger of extinction. It has not lost the original + hardihood of its race. Nor is the present but the epilogue of the + imposing part it has played in the past—it is the augury of a yet more + splendid future awaiting a race whose ancestors reach back into the + borderland of the forgotten ages.</p> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="titlepage mt10 mb10" id="PART_THREE"> + <span class="large">PART THREE</span><br><br> + <span class="xxlarge">Naming <em>the</em> Sequoia</span></div> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="chapter"> + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">127</span> + <h2 class="nobreak smcap" id="Chapter_VIII">Chapter VIII</h2> + </div> + + <div class="subheadc">A NAME FOR THE AGES</div> + + <p class="drop-cap">THE infinite deal of trivial fussiness that has clustered about + the botanical name of the Giant Sequoia is, indeed, a grievous + misfortune. The tree must regard it all with consummate unconcern. + Alone with the past and having a dignity not of earth in its mien + it stands as indifferent to agitation that has to do with the petty + passions of humanity as the far-away patient stars. Suggestive of + no strife save that of emulation, it looks with complacent disdain + upon life’s vanities; its strange medley of littleness and greatness, + its commingling of folly and wisdom. Yet for all the great Sequoia’s + majestic aloofness, its name has become embroiled in endless bickerings + and surrounded with technicalities apt to nip any budding enthusiasm + for botanical nomenclature.</p> + + <p>In order to avoid interminable confusion it is necessary that the + plants of the earth be systematically classified and that there be no + deviation <span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">128</span>from the rules governing their classification. Foremost of + the rules that have been laid down is that of priority. This dictates + that the first name given a new plant in point of time must prevail. + If contention or ambiguity arise, priority decides the case, and the + first botanical designation bestowed stands for all time, regardless + of whether it be appropriate or not. Designations of a subsequent date + are entitled to rank as synonyms only. Because of its rigor, this law + should admonish botanists to exercise good taste in giving scientific + names to hitherto unnamed plants. Another important rule is that + the name of the new plant must appear in an accredited publication, + otherwise it is technically regarded as unpublished and consequently + discarded.</p> + + <p>Shortly after the discovery of the Calaveras Grove, the tale of its + wonderful Big Trees found its way into print. The Sonora <cite>Herald</cite> + appears to have been the first newspaper to give an account of the + Giant Sequoia. This was republished in the <cite>Echo du Pacific</cite> of + San Francisco, appearing later in the London <cite>Athenaeum</cite> of July + 23, 1853. Whitney believes the latter to be the first notice of the + tree to appear in Europe.</p> + + <p>Naturally, these accounts excited botanists. Specimens of the Big Tree + were presented to the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco + early in 1853. Unfortunately, however, the Academy was unable to + properly describe the new plant, since it had no references on hand + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">129</span>which would enable its botanists to publish a proper scientific + description of the mammoth tree. Specimens were subsequently sent East + to Torrey and Gray, but again ill fortune attended them and they were + lost in crossing the Isthmus of Panama. Meanwhile, William Lobb, an + English seed collector, on seeing specimens of the recently discovered + vegetable wonder, believed he recognized a species new to science. He + secured a sufficient quantity of Sequoia cones, foliage, and wood to + characterize the tree and departed for England in the Autumn of 1853. + These specimens found their way into the hands of Lindley, who hastily + described them in Gardner’s <cite>Chronicle</cite> of December 24th, of the + same year. Thus Lindley, a botanist of no particular eminence, was + the first to give a scientific description of the Giant Sequoia, and + American botanists lost both the opportunity and honor of naming a very + remarkable plant.</p> + + <p>Overlooking the close relationship of the Big Tree to the already + scientifically described Redwood, Lindley considered it “an entirely + new coniferous form ... an evergreen of a most imperial aspect,” + which he called <i>Wellingtonia</i>, adding the specific name of + <i>Gigantea</i>. The Duke of Wellington had been dead but a year and + his greatness had not yet gained the perspective of historical time; + hence, Lindley’s designation. “We think,” he wrote, “that no one + will differ from us in feeling that the most appropriate <span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">130</span>name to be + proposed for the most gigantic tree which has been revealed to us by + modern discovery, is that of the greatest of modern heroes. Wellington + stands as high above his contemporaries as the California tree above + all the surrounding foresters. Let it, then, bear henceforth the name + of <i>Wellingtonia Gigantea</i>.”</p> + + <p>In bestowing on an essentially American tree the name of an essentially + English hero, Lindley showed execrable taste. He might have foreseen + that such an act was almost certain to fire those who felt a consuming + contempt for anything British. Promptly the fine rules of botanical + nomenclature were thrown overboard, and Americans, eager to make a + self-righteous display of their enmity, proceeded on no principles, and + with terrible energy of language, to disturb the designation. Gradually + the agitation centered upon changing the name <i>Wellingtonia</i> to + one bearing reference to Washington. Nor was any evidence brought + forward considered too trivial to substantiate the reasons for this + change.</p> + + <p>Perhaps the most withering rebuke of all was that of Winslow. In the + <cite>California Farmer</cite> of August, 1854, appeared the following: ... + “as Washington and his generation declared themselves independent of + all English rule and political dictation, so American naturalists + must, in this case, express their respectful dissent from all British + scientific stamp acts. If the Big Tree be a <i>Taxodium</i>, let it + be called now and forever <span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">131</span><i>Taxodium Washingtonium</i>.... No name + can be more appropriate; and if, in accordance with the views of + American botanists, I trust the scientific honor of our country may be + vindicated from foreign indelicacy by boldly discarding the name now + applied to it, and by affixing to it that of the immortal man whose + memory we all love, and honor, and teach our children to adore.”</p> + + <p>Even Asa Gray felt entitled to rush into the field. In September of the + same year he published, on his own authority, an account stating that + the Redwood and the Big Tree did not differ sufficiently to warrant the + establishment of a new genus; adding “The so-called <i>Wellingtonia</i> + will hereafter bear the name imposed by Dr. Torrey, namely, that of + <i>Sequoia Gigantea</i>.” But since there is no documentary evidence to + show that Torrey had published this description, the quibble remained + unsettled. The English stood at their guns and the storm raged on. + Surely, if so venerable a Sequoia as the Grizzly Giant could have + been endowed with a consciousness and could have thought about this + ostentatious parade of pettiness, it would not have been inspired with + that “high and ennobling sense” of the intellectual destiny of the + human race.</p> + + <p>Happily, the issue was quieted for a time.<a id="FNanchor_6" href="#Footnote_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> At a meeting of the + Société Botanique de France, held on June 28, 1854, the illustrious + French <span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">132</span>botanist, J. Decaisne, discussed at length the relationship + of the Redwood and the Big Tree. He pointed out that though they + differed in leaf structure, the former having yew-like leaves in + two ranks, the latter small, scaly, cypress-like leaves in regular + spirals, the two species belonged to the same genus <i>Sequoia</i>. + Therefore, in compliance with the rules of botany, he called the new + species <i>Sequoia Gigantea</i>. Other botanists quickly recognized the + correctness of his view, and <i>Wellingtonia Gigantea</i> was permitted + to fall upon evil days. Nevertheless, it is due to this accident of the + generic agreement between the Redwood and the Big Tree that the Giants + of the Sierra bear the name of Sequoia instead of that of Wellington.</p> + + <p>But this botanical storm had no sooner died down than another developed + in its place. Inasmuch as the derivation of the name Sequoia was + uncertain, this was sufficient provocation to call forth much diversity + of opinion. Again spectacled wise men sought to satisfy their passion + for exactness and their propensity to doubt. Guesses fantastic in the + extreme were advanced and the subject presents another silly spectacle + of pedantry.</p> + + <p>According to Jepson, the Redwood was collected by Thaddeus Haneke in + 1791. Archibald Menzies, a member of the famous Vancouver Expedition, + is reputed to be its second botanical collector. Specimens of his + collection came before the notice of Lambert, the able English + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">133</span>botanist, who, considering it as of the same genus as the Bald + Cypress, published it in 1824 as <i>Taxodium Sempervirens</i>. However, + this designation was not allowed to stand, for twenty-three years later + the Redwood was recognized as a distinct genus. In the year 1847 the + celebrated Austrian, Endlicher, established the genus <i>Sequoia</i> + and gave the world the now well-known <i>Sequoia sempervirens</i>.</p> + + <p>Unfortunately, Endlicher failed to make a statement concerning the + origin of the word Sequoia, leaving its meaning to be inferred. Gordon + in his <cite>Pinetum</cite> stated that it was probably derived from the + Latin for “sequence,” alluding to the fact that the Redwood was “a + follower or remnant of several extinct colossal species.” Kotch was + inclined to hold the name in light estimation, claiming its source + to be entirely fanciful. De Candolle, a contemporary with Endlicher, + thought it of California origin, probably taken “from some native word + and written more or less correctly.” But others have kept their heads + better in the matter. Both Hooker and Englemann believed it derived + from the Cherokee Indian, Sequoyah. At least, it is edifying to know + that Endlicher was an eminent linguist as well as a botanist. It is + not improbable, then, that he was acquainted with Sequoyah’s colorful + career and named the tree in honor of this aboriginal illiterate, this + magnificent savage, who groped in darkness to give his people letters, + and found the light.</p> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="chapter"> + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">134</span> + <h2 class="nobreak smcap" id="Chapter_IX">Chapter IX</h2> + </div> + + <div class="subheadc">SEQUOYAH</div> + + <p class="drop-cap">HAD Sequoyah lived thirty centuries ago, Plutarch, and after him + Shakespeare, would have made him immortal. Had he invented an alphabet + then, similar to that which he invented for his people, the Cherokees, + he would have been hailed as one of the benefactors of the human + race. But as it is, the world’s knowledge concerning his achievement + may be said to sleep. The records of his life are hidden from the + average reader, while his fame is suffering the fate of many worthy of + antiquity—perishing from memory for want of an historian. Already the + twilight of uncertainty is throwing its shadows across his history.</p> + + <p>Yet no savage is more worthy of remembrance. The life of Sequoyah + was radiant with the prime quality of greatness—<em>virtue</em>. It + is true that mankind admires the men and women of the past who have + spoken great words, done great deeds, and suffered noble sorrows. + Few of these, however, possess that quality of virtue which inspires + emulation. Indeed, only those whose names are written in gold on + the sombre chronicles of the past inspire to imitation. Sequoyah’s + achievement easily entitles him a place among the great characters of + all time, while his life of service <span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">135</span>stirs a strong desire to emulate, + for he strove to save his unhappy race from extinction in the noblest + way a savage ever sought.</p> + + <p>Despite this, his name and fame go untrumpeted and unsung. Meanwhile + mankind is frantically fashioning statues to rest idly on pedestals, or + building magnificent edifices whose marbles glisten in the sunlight, + in commemoration of men of frailer virtue. Yet Sequoyah’s name is + borne by apartment houses and tomato cans. Apparently it remains for + the most gigantic and remarkable tree on the surface of the globe, the + Sequoia, to save his name from oblivion and to attempt to correct the + indifference of a so-called superior race.</p> + + <p>Authorities are agreed that the birth, breeding, and fortune of + Sequoyah were low and that his greatness rested on a life of labor. + They are in disagreement, however, as to the date and place of his + birth, and have been able merely to offer conjectures concerning his + parentage. These mists of uncertainty that surround Sequoyah’s earliest + years are, undoubtedly, due to conditions of early frontier life.</p> + + <p>The fur trader, who represented the outer edge of the advancing wave + of European civilization, was the first to penetrate the American + wilderness in his exploitation of beasts. Early in the settlement of + America he entered the country of the Cherokee which then embraced the + beautiful reaches of the southern Appalachians. The <span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">136</span>Cherokees received + the trader with hospitality and kindness, and a lucrative traffic in + furs soon resulted; the trader offering professions of regard and + extracting exorbitant profits. To better secure the faith of the + savage, thereby insuring the success of their venture, many of these + traders married Cherokee women. Some, fascinated by this wild life of + freedom, reverted to savagery and became “squaw men,” but the great + majority adopted this method of wife-taking to avoid a bill for board + and lodging, and then speedily disappeared as soon as their trading + enterprise was over.</p> + + <p>An episode of this nature occurred just prior to the termination of + the French and Indian War. Of the married life of this couple there + is little record. It is quite certain, however, that it was of short + duration and that the trader concerned gathered together his effects + and went the lighthearted way of other traders before him, and was + never heard of again. The babe born to this deserted mother soon + afterwards was called by the Cherokees George Gist, presumably the + name of the father, while the mother bestowed upon the infant the more + musical name of Sequoyah.</p> + + <p>Tradition has it that the mother of Sequoyah was a woman of no common + character and energy. To the end she remained true to her faithless + husband and lived alone, maintaining herself by her own efforts and + caring for her babe with a devotion <span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">137</span>that would put many of her + more polished sisters to shame. Unaided, she cleared a little patch, + carrying her babe about while she broke the ground with a short stick + and planted it with Indian corn. “That she is a woman of some capacity + is evident from the undeviating affections for herself which she + inspired in her son, and the influence she exercised over him. This + is all the more extraordinary since Indian women are looked upon in + the light of servants rather than companions of man, and males are + taught early to despise the character and occupations of women.” But + with Sequoyah it seems to have been otherwise, for he carried a lofty + respect for his mother to the grave.</p> + + <figure class="figcenter illowp75" id="i_p136"> + <img src="images/i_p136.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption>SEQUOYAH<br> + <span class="small">From original painting made in 1828</span> + </figcaption> + </figure> + + <p>As a babe, it is said that Sequoyah had an air of infantile gravity + about him which was emphasized by a contemplative light which shone + in his little black eyes. As a boy he was much alone and thoughtful, + having no fondness for the rude sports of others of his age. He + preferred to assist his mother rather than to become proficient with + the bow. It is said that he occupied his boyish leisure carving milk + pails, skimmers, and other useful objects, displaying at this early age + the mechanical side of his genius. He even milked the few cows with + which fortune had favored his mother, and on occasions aided her in her + labors in the field. This failure to scorn a woman’s pursuit and trim + his sail to the unchanging breeze of Indian tradition only <span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">138</span>brought + down on him a torrent of abuse from grey-beards and caused youths to + rail at him like chattering birds. Young Sequoyah, however, calmly and + silently bore all this disgrace and followed the dictates of his reason + with unflinching gravity—a characteristic he displayed throughout his + life and which some hold as the keystone of his greatness.</p> + + <p>When Sequoyah attained manhood’s estate, the Thirteen Colonies had won + their independence, and Daniel Boone had led the first settlers into + the blue grass country of the Cumberland. In these times the English, + French, and Spanish hotly vied with each other for the control of + the valuable fur trade of the “Old Southwest,” and their pack-trains + threaded their way out of Cherokee country in unceasing strings, + bearing the rich peltry of the wilderness. In this work of destruction + of wild life the Indian had innocently come to play, by far, the major + role. Nor is it altogether improbable that Sequoyah, who by now had + become a hunter, aided in the extermination of the buffalo that still + lingered in the valleys of the Ohio and the Tennessee.</p> + + <p>It is also likely that Sequoyah would not have escaped the degradation + into which the red man was falling had not an accident befallen him + while hunting which rendered him a cripple for the rest of his life. + The coming of the rifle, a new and powerful sinew of war, and of the + chase, brought in its train a hopeless dependence on <span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">139</span>unscrupulous + traders for powder and lead. The introduction of whiskey further + conspired in the ruin of a proud people. Drinking had become the pledge + of cordiality on the frontier, and Sequoyah had become as much addicted + to the vice as his fellow hunters. Later events proved that Sequoyah + possessed an intellect elevated above the sphere in which it was + placed. Had he not become a cripple, however, it is doubtful whether + he would have meditated upon the decaying fortunes of his race, which + meditation led him to make his remarkable invention. Thus, paradoxical + as it may at first appear, misfortune often precipitates a chain of + events that ultimately end in accomplishment of great import.</p> + + <p>Unable to follow the pursuits of manhood, Sequoyah now faced the + humiliation of donning petticoats and of performing the servile labors + of woman’s lot among the Cherokees. Such a prospect would, indeed, + have broken the spirit of an ordinary Indian, and especially so if a + stain had been affixed to his character such as that which Sequoyah + had incurred in his youth by assisting his mother. But it must be + remembered that Sequoyah was not of common clay. The traits manifested + in infancy and boyhood now stood him in good stead and opportunity was + given to bring them to fruition. One trait, an extraordinary mechanical + ability, was first pressed into service; the other, a remarkably + analytical and philosophical mind, was given leisure in which <span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">140</span>to + become mellow, until, in the ripeness of time, it should find its + proper exercise.</p> + + <p>The Cherokees were a people fond of display. It occurred to the + intuitive mind of Sequoyah that an opulent livelihood could be secured + in the manufacture of silver ornaments. As a hunter he had visited the + white settlements and had seen the blacksmiths smelt ore and fashion + trinkets. Endowed with good powers of observation and possessed of + an innate skill with his hands, he set to work without the aid of an + instructor to make his own bellows and tools. Within a comparatively + brief time he became a master in the art of silver working and in the + end became such an expert artisan that he developed this art to the + highest point attained by the Indians of North America.</p> + + <p>Astonished, his people came to gaze upon one of their own race who + possessed the skill and ingenuity of the white man. Such uncommon + accomplishment merited high recognition. He became a wonder in their + eyes. The fame of his handiwork spread far and near, and they flocked + to his door, eager to give him employment. Then it was that Sequoyah + began to enjoy an unprecedented popularity. Affable, accommodating, + and unassuming, having a nature too truly great to be spoiled by the + recognition of his superiority, success only nourished the greater + qualities within him. The women especially attracted by his skill, + bestowed their smiles <span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">141</span>upon him, but, like Alexander, “he found a + counter charm in the beauty of self-government and sobriety and on the + strength of this passed them by, as so many statues.” The braves of the + tribe likewise courted his friendship and his shop became the center + for male gossip. Since Sequoyah was not lacking in the social graces + of his tribe and since the munificence of his table increased with his + fortune, he came more and more to spend his time in receiving visitors + and in discharging the duties of hospitality. Lastly, even the elders + of the tribe sought his favor and welcomed his voice in their councils.</p> + + <p>Wishing to identify his wares, Sequoyah employed a literate half-breed, + Charles Hicks, to write his name, from which he made a die. With this + he stamped his name on all the silver he fabricated. Many of these + ornaments remain in the proud possession of the scattered and forgotten + remnants of the Cherokees. Prized beyond price, they are a reminder + of the glory of the past. Just as the crumbling ruins of antiquity + speak of the pride and pomp of yesterday, so do these treasured silver + objects remind their possessors of the Golden Age of the Cherokee.</p> + + <p>As the years went on, Sequoyah’s philosophical nature ripened and + he came to ponder on the future of his fast dwindling race. This + problem was probably first brought to his attention during the social + gatherings held under his roof, for the Cherokees were sensitive to + the superiority of <span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">142</span>civilized man and quick to note the cardinal + points of difference between themselves and the whites. Often they had + wondered at the ability of the white man to “talk on paper.” But after + considerable inquiry they became convinced that the power of recording + and communicating thoughts by means of writing was the product of some + mysterious gift which the white man alone possessed. Nevertheless, + Sequoyah was unable to dismiss the problem as lightly from his mind as + his brethren had done. It was odious to Luther that the devil had all + the best tunes; likewise it was odious to Sequoyah that the white man + should have a monopoly on the power of written expression. At length + he decided that writing was not the result of sorcery, but a faculty + of the mind which could be acquired. Hence, he concluded that he could + solve this mystery and give his people “talking paper” like that of the + whites.</p> + + <p>His reflections on this problem were further stimulated by the + progress of events. The day of the trader had passed, while that of + the settler had come. The swelling tide from Europe had settled around + the Cherokees, and the frontier of settlement had begun to continually + spill over into the Cherokee country. What was even more maddening, + encroachments were on the increase and held no promise of abating. + At last in despair, the Cherokees appealed to the “Great Father” in + Washington to stem the tide. A treaty followed, <span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">143</span>clipping away a + goodly portion of their ancestral domain. The ink on it was hardly dry + before another wrested from them still more thousands of acres of rich + land. In each treaty the Federal Government recognized the Cherokee + claims and titles and solemnly declared it to be “the last and final + adjustment of all claims and differences.” Obviously, the Cherokees + were shocked by these acts of treachery. The fact that the hand of the + “Great Father” was gloved and that it purported to throw continual + favors in their path did not make them less apprehensive of the menace. + Yet they were convinced of the folly of an appeal to arms through a + realization of the inequality of the struggle. Therefore, they did that + which no other Indian tribe in the face of calamity has ever done. They + attempted to combat civilization by becoming civilized themselves. At a + great council they organized themselves to form a Federal Union after + the United States, and set to cultivating the arts of peace and the + ways of civilization.</p> + + <p>By this time Sequoyah had become imbued with the idea that the secret + of the white man’s superiority lay in his power of communication by + writing. Indeed, he struck a salient note here, for the invention + of writing has made tremendously for the superior advantages of + the civilized races over the primitive. “The mind and the pen have + ultimately, in all ages, been mightier than the sword. Rome, the + conquerer, was led in chains by <span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">144</span>Greece, who, though herself over-run + by barbaric Romans, compelled them to adopt, respect, and maintain + her institutions.” History, in fact, is replete with instances of + people who have been able to ward off the effects of conquest because + they were intellectually above their victors. But this superiority + has always preceded conquest; it has <em>never</em> followed it. + Unfortunately, Sequoyah was ignorant of this. Nevertheless, the mere + fact that such an ideal had its birth in the mind of an untutored + savage is sufficient to vest it with sublimity.</p> + + <p>Inspired with the thought of saving his people from conquest by giving + them the power of the pen, he took up his great work at the age of + forty-nine, in the last year of Jefferson’s Presidency. Ceasing his + labors as a silversmith, he began carving strange characters out of + bark and spending hours wrapped in thought. His fellow tribesmen were + unable to understand his singular behavior. They thought it but the + work of madness for their great silversmith to lay aside his hammer + and bellows, to quit his social circle, and of a sudden to become + seclusive. Sequoyah, however, refused to reveal his secret, knowing + full well the attitude of his fellow tribesmen in regard to the + impossibility of discovering a supposedly supernatural power of the + whites. His popularity suffered a quick decline, and his friends fell + away like leaves from Autumn trees attempting to justify their actions + by scoffing <span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">145</span>and sneering. Then Sequoyah began to taste in full + measure the vinegar of derision and to learn that gratitude is but a + lively sense of favors to come. Notwithstanding, he preserved the usual + calm behavior and serenity of mind that had attended him from infancy, + always turning from the storm without to the sunshine of hope within + him. And after twelve years—years of persevering labor and repeated + failure—years of ridicule in which his faith in his people must have + been sorely tried—he perfected his remarkable invention of the Cherokee + Alphabet.</p> + + <figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_p144"> + <img src="images/i_p144.jpg" alt=""> + <div class="attl">MARIPOSA GROVE</div> + <div class="attr">Photo by H. S. Hoyt</div> + <figcaption class="clear">THE INVINCIBLE SEQUOIA<br> + <span class="small">The large fire-made cavity in the Haverford suggests the tree’s great vitality</span> + </figcaption> + </figure> + + <p>It is a notable fact that the great works of the imagination have + usually been produced by men nearly innocent of schooling and + scholarship. Homer, Shakespeare, Cervantes, Burns, and Abraham Lincoln + were all self-taught men. Sequoyah was an absolute illiterate, yet + he invented an alphabet. He had no acquaintanceship with the English + language, for he disdained the aid of missionaries, and for this reason + the most elemental principles of our alphabet were unknown to him. He + reasoned, and with no little correctness, that a knowledge of English + would be of no avail because of the peculiarities of the Cherokee + language. With his own unaided intellect he fashioned a syllabary so + extraordinary that it astonishes even the learned, and proved himself + a mental giant. Evidently he did not recognize the stops of the human + mind, which is almost wholly imitative. Indeed, some of his biographers + are <span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">146</span>unwilling to give him this honor, claiming that his invention + was not altogether free from borrowing. But for all that, there are + still those who hold that Bacon wrote that which is attributed to + Shakespeare. Because man shows an extreme poverty throughout the + history of invention, because he rarely tries to do over again that + which has been once accomplished, and because he is quicker to grasp + and more capable of appropriating, independent inventions are the + exception rather than the rule. It must be conceded, in all fairness, + that Sequoyah’s syllabary was an invention “par excellence.”</p> + + <p>Having first conceived the notion that speech could be represented by + characters or signs and that if these signs were uniform they would + convey the idea intended by the writer, he set out to devise a symbol + for each word or idea of the Cherokee tongue. His first step, in other + words, was in the direction of the simple pictograph. As the experiment + progressed, however, his symbols multiplied fearfully, until, at the + end of three years he had thousands of them. It would have been almost + impossible for the human mind to retain such a complex multitude of + signs. Happily, Sequoyah had a sufficient sense of the practical to + realize this. Hence, he abandoned this experiment and started again by + making a study of the construction of language itself.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">147</span></p> + + <p>Even a people as cultivated as the Chinese have never made the next + stride which Sequoyah took. The Chinese still employ the lowest stage + of writing in all its absurd prolixity with the result that long years + of study and a memory above the average are required for its mastery. + This is largely the reason, too, why intellectual democracy is so + noticeably absent in China. The Chinese language is too elaborate + in structure, too laborious in use, and too inflexible in form to + thoroughly saturate China’s teeming millions and to meet the need of a + simple, swift, and lucid communication of thought. Our alphabet, on the + other hand, answers these requirements. “It is because the Egyptians + passed into the glory of the true alphabet that the Phoenicians + simplified and improved it, and that the Greeks were able to transmit + it to occidental civilization that western nations have been able to + make such tremendous mental progress and established such a wide and + common knowledge.” It is quite obvious that Sequoyah was not blundering + when he discarded his pictograph system if he would achieve his ideal.</p> + + <p>After long and patient study he began a search for the unity of + speech. At length he discovered that <em>sound</em> was the key in the + construction of language. Then by attentive listening for another + period he discovered that the sounds in the words spoken by the + Cherokees could be analyzed and classified and could be represented + by hardly <span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">148</span>more than a hundred syllables. Further analysis revealed + two distinct types of sounds, vowels and consonants. Classifying the + sounds according to this division, he found that there were six vowel + and seventy-two consonant sounds. Thirty-seven sounds still remained + unclassified. By dint of further analysis he found that these were of + a hissing or guttural nature. In an ingenious way he represented the + former by seven combinations and the latter by one. As a result, in + this expeditious manner he was able to write a copious language vastly + wealthier in its vocabulary than ours, with but eighty-five characters.</p> + + <p>The best authorities are agreed that our alphabet is, in some respects, + the greatest invention of the human mind. Yet it is not the product of + a single mind, but the accretion of Egyptian, Phoenician, and Greek + wisdom extending over a period of at least three thousand years. + Excellent as our alphabet is, it fails to outrank that of Sequoyah in + point of felicity and ease of mastery. Ours is superior in that it goes + to the unit of speech, <em>sound</em>, and has characters that stand for + sound. Sequoyah’s alphabet had characters that stood for combinations + of sounds or syllables. Our alphabet is the only sound-for-a-sign + system of writing yet invented. It is an alphabet of letters, while + that of Sequoyah was an alphabet of syllables. James Mooney claims that + it ranks second to all systems of writing ever known to <span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">149</span>the world. + It certainly could not have been the work of other than a gigantic + intellect.</p> + + <p>It was not without considerable difficulty that Sequoyah induced a few + skeptical and superstitious Cherokees to learn his alphabet after he + had completed it in 1811. These few who were the first to try it out + did so merely to expose the delusions of the alphabet-maker, but as the + lesson progressed, though they had come to scoff, they began to admire + until, finally, when the lesson was finished they were convinced that + the seemingly impossible had been achieved—that the Cherokees could + “talk on paper” like the whites. This time Sequoyah’s rise to fame was + meteoric. News of his invention spread like wildfire throughout the + tribe, and, at a public test made before the assembled Houses of the + Cherokee Congress, his alphabet was officially adopted as the means of + elevating the tribe. Sequoyah had become the Cadmus<a id="FNanchor_7" href="#Footnote_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> of his nation.</p> + + <p>Then occurred a spectacle without a parallel among primitive people; + that of gray-bearded savages studying in groups with unfettered zeal + in order to become the equal of the white man in knowledge. Almost + overnight the entire nation became an academy. To be able to read and + write became a craze with the Cherokees. Never was Plato’s fine phrase + of a people being “possessed and maddened with a passion for knowledge” + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">150</span>better exemplified. Mass meetings in abundance were held and the new + method of “talking on paper” was taught virtually wholesale. It was + even common to see groups teaching each other in cabins and along + the roadside. “Within a few months thousands of formerly illiterate + savages, without the aid of schools or the expense of time or money, + could read and write.” In fact, by the time the Monroe Doctrine was + promulgated in 1813, reading and writing had become so general among + the Cherokees that “they carried on a correspondence by letter between + different parts of the nation and were in the habit of making receipts + and giving promissory notes in affairs of trade. Directions were even + inscribed on trees indicating the different roads.”</p> + + <p>This is manifest evidence of the ease with which Sequoyah’s syllabary + was learned. “In my own observation,” states Phillips, “Indian children + will take one or two years to master the English printed and written + language, but in a few days can read and write in Cherokee. They do + the latter, in fact, as soon as they learn to shape letters. As soon + as they master the alphabet they have got rid of all the perplexing + questions that puzzle the brains of our children. It is not too much to + say that a child will learn in a month by the same effort as thoroughly + in the language of Sequoyah that which in ours consumes the time of our + children for at least two years.”</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">151</span></p> + + <p>Sequoyah next paid a visit to the Arkansas Cherokees. This band had + separated from the main body when the Cherokees decided to combat + civilization with civilization and had moved west where they could + enjoy the ancient ways of their ancestors. Though this body had spurned + all civilized innovations and had clung slavishly to tradition, + strangely enough, they readily seized the new art Sequoyah brought with + him and learned it with a zest that almost put their eastern brethren + in the shade.</p> + + <p>In the Autumn of this same year, 1823, the Cherokee Council publicly + acknowledged Sequoyah’s service to the nation by sending him through + their President, the noted John Ross, a silver medal commemorative of + his achievement. So highly had the Cherokees come to esteem Sequoyah’s + greatness that five years later they elected him to represent them + in Washington. There he was cordially received and recognized as an + intellectual peer. On this occasion he sat for his portrait. The Treaty + of Washington of 1828 reveals that he still enjoyed high favor from the + Government, for it provided for a sum to be paid to Sequoyah and his + heirs “for the great benefits he has conferred upon the Cherokee people + in the beneficial results they are now experiencing from the use of the + alphabet discovered by him.” It is worthy to note that for many years + the Government paid this pension—<em>the only literary pension it has + ever paid</em>.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">152</span></p> + + <p>The Cherokees had now passed into a state of semi-civilization. They + had a National Congress which had passed laws against intemperance + and polygamy. They had a national press and a national newspaper, the + <cite>Cherokee Phoenix</cite>. The first copy of this unique paper appeared + on February 18, 1828. It was printed in both English and Cherokee by + a hand press which had been purchased in Boston, shipped by water to + Augusta, Georgia, and then transported laboriously by wagon over two + hundred miles to the Cherokee national capital. Such a journalistic + record is without rival in primitive society, and the <cite>Cherokee + Phoenix</cite> holds the honor of being the father of all aboriginal + newspapers.</p> + + <p>Rapid strides, economically as well as politically and intellectually, + had been made. Many Cherokees had amassed considerable wealth and + enjoyed some of the refinements and luxuries of a more polished + society. The majority of them possessed herds of cattle, together + with horses, hogs, and sheep. Husbandry was so efficiently practiced + that some products were actually exported, as evidenced by the large + cargoes of wheat and tobacco that were floated on flat-boats down + the Tennessee to New Orleans. The manufacture of woolen and cotton + cloth had even assumed a productiveness permitting of exportation. In + short, prosperity was on the boom and everything augured well for the + Cherokees’ happy attainment of civilization.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">153</span></p> + + <p>But fate had willed it otherwise. The Cherokees had reached the zenith + of their advance. Gold was discovered in their domain in 1829. This + event led to dishonorable deeds of the white man and gave the annals + of American-Indian history another black page. In their rapacity, the + border ruffians of Georgia violated the sacredness of treaties and with + a vicious disregard for the rights of their legal owners, appropriated + by violence the rich lands of the Cherokees. Gradually all the fine + achievements of these splendid savages melted into thin air. When the + United States Supreme Court decreed that the misappropriated Cherokee + lands be returned to their rightful owners, President Jackson, a + frontiersman and an Indian hater, defied its authority with his famous + rebuke, “John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce + it.” Finally, after nearly nine years of agitation and disquietude, + negotiations with the Government ended in the Ridge Treaty, an infamous + concoction which was brazenly sustained. By its means the remaining + fragment of what was once the Cherokee Nation were exiled at the point + of the bayonet to a country beyond the Mississippi.</p> + + <p>Unfortunately, the new home allotted to the Cherokees proved to be + inhospitable. The land was claimed by the Osage as their ancestral + hunting ground, and the already impoverished Cherokees had to hold it + by force of arms. Nor were the Osage the sole authors of their woes. + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">154</span>The Arkansas band resented this intrusion of their eastern brethren. + Fratricidal war broke out and the tribe became further wasted. Warred + on from without, and torn by strife within, the Cherokees, as a people, + were in danger of extinction. Foreseeing this end, Sequoyah and others + attempted to avert it. As President of the Council of the Arkansas + band, he was largely instrumental in effecting a reunion which put an + end to strife and declared the Eastern and Western Cherokee “one body + politic under the style and title of the Cherokee Nation.”</p> + + <p>Sequoyah was by this time in his eighty-second year and well merited + the boon of rest and relaxation. Lest he leave no margin to his life + and crowd it to the very end in his devotion to his people, he retired + from active political life. But his forceful mind denied his crippled + and aged body the rest it deserved. Speculative ideas possessed him and + he formulated a theory that he could devise a universal alphabet for + the red man. Under the dominion of this newer and deeper ambition he + came to feel that he had yet a mission to perform. Though his people + had suffered an excess of calamity, his spirit was unbroken. Having + sounded the depths of human disappointment, he rose again, full of + courage and faith in the salvation of his race. Not in the habit of + taking the advice of others and not having lost one jot of his most + distinguishing characteristic—intensity of purpose—he determined <span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">155</span>to + make an investigation among the remote tribes of the West in search of + some common element of speech.</p> + + <p>Securing a few articles of Indian trade and loading these on an ox cart + driven by a Cherokee boy, Sequoyah set out upon his last quest in 1843. + Such a linguistic crusade the world will doubtless never again witness. + Everywhere he was received by his red-skinned brothers of the plain and + of the mountain with the utmost respect. Eagerly they furnished him + with the means of prosecuting his inquiries. That reticence which they + so notoriously displayed to Caucasian scientists was absent. Nor is + this to be wondered at, for here was a scientist of their own race who + had come to renown and they rested assured that he came not among them + to discover their inferiorities or to prepare the way for exploitation.</p> + + <p>With his boy companion he crossed the boundless plains, and, like + Kipling’s <cite>Explorer</cite>, “hurried on in hope of water or turned back + in search of grass.” Puzzling his way through the Rockies, he camped + in meadows of softest velvet sweet with flowers, or above the tree + line amid the grandeur of frost shattered peaks and perpetual snows. + Then turning toward that scorched and waterless expanse unrelieved + by the shade of a solitary tree, he crossed the Colorado Desert and + entered the Mexican Sierras. Here, it is said, his boy companion died + of exposure and hardship, and <span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">156</span>somewhere in the silent places of these + desolate mountains this grand old man buried the lone partner of his + wanderings.</p> + + <p>An ancient myth current in the lodges of his forefathers told of a lost + band of Cherokees who had wandered ages ago into northern Mexico. Vexed + by chilling frosts and scorching heat, Sequoyah began a search for his + lost kinsmen. Enfeebled of limb and yet strong of heart, he pursued + his solitary way, ever straining toward the distant horizon to find + what might be beyond. But he had over-estimated his strength, and not + far from the Rio Grande, in the State of Tamaulipas, this “splendid + wayfarer” reached the end of his trail and watched with fast-dimming + eyes the pearl-gray smoke of his last camp-fire curl toward the heavens + as he drew nearer to eternity.</p> + + <p>The greatest of his race, Sequoyah sleeps beyond the Rio Grande. No + monument marks the last resting place of this American Cadmus. His + bones, denied the privilege of sepulchre, were picked by slinking + wolves and wheeling buzzards, and left to bleach in the sun until the + winds had buried them in the sands. His alphabet, too, is destined to + pass away with his race, but his name will never pass into oblivion, + for it is borne by the largest, the oldest, the most magnificent of + trees, the noble Sequoia. This alone is sufficient to preserve his + memory forever.</p> + + <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <div class="chapter"> + <span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">159</span> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="BIBLIOGRAPHY">BIBLIOGRAPHY<a id="FNanchor_8" href="#Footnote_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a></h2> + </div> + + <h3>GENERAL</h3> + + <p><span class="smcap">Bigelow, John</span>—1856. “Descriptions of Remarkable and Valuable + California Trees.” U. S. War Dept. <cite>Pacific Railroad Report</cite>, + 1855–1861; Vol. 4, Pt. 2, pp. 22–23.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Clark, Galen</span>—1907. <cite>Big Trees of California.</cite> (Reflex + Pub. Co., Redondo, Cal.), 104 pp.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Dudley, William R.</span> and others—1900. “A Short Account of the + Big Trees of California.” Forest Service, 1887–1913. <cite>Bulletin + 28</cite>, pp. 1–30.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Grant, Madison</span>—1919. “Saving the Redwoods.” (New York + Zoological Society, New York). <cite>Bulletin</cite>, 1897–1924; Vol. 22, pp. + 91–118. 1920. “Saving the Redwoods.” (National Geographical Society, + Washington, D. C.) <cite>National Geographic Magazine</cite>, 1892–1924; Vol. + 37, pp. 519–536.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Hooker, W. T.</span>—1854. “Wellingtonia Gigantea.” (Lovell Reeve + Co., London). <cite>Curtis’ Botanical Magazine</cite>, Third Series, + 1845–1904; Vol. 10, Tab. 4777, 4778.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Hutchings, J. M.</span>—1886. <cite>In the Heart of the Sierras.</cite> + (Pacific Press, Oakland). pp. 241–247.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Jepson, W. L.</span>—1923. <cite>Trees of California.</cite> (Independent + Press, San Francisco). pp. 13–30.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Lemmon, John G.</span>—1890. “Cone Bearers of California.” + (California State Board of Forestry, Sacramento). Biennial + <cite>Report</cite>, 1886–1921, Vol. 3., pp. 157–168. 1898. “Conifers of the + Pacific Slope.” (The Sierra Club, San Francisco.) <cite>Bulletin</cite>, + 1893–1924; Vol. 2, pp. 171–2.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Muir, John</span>—1894. <cite>The mountains of California.</cite> (Century + Co., New York). pp. 197–200. 1912. <cite>The Yosemite.</cite> (Century + Co., New York). pp. 127–147. 1901. <cite>Our National Parks.</cite> + (Houghton-Mifflin Co., Boston). pp. 268–330.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">160</span></p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Murray, Andrew</span>—1859. “Notes on California Trees.” (Neill and + Co., Edinburgh). <cite>Edinburgh Philosophical Journal.</cite> New Series, + 1855–1864, Vol. 2, pt. 2, pp. 205–221.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Shinn, Charles H.</span>—1889. “The Big Trees.” (Garden and Forest + Pub. Co., New York). <cite>Garden and Forest</cite>, 1889–1897; Vol. II, pp. + 614–615.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Sudworth, George B.</span>—1908. <cite>Forest Trees of the Pacific + Slope.</cite> U. S. Forest Service, pp. 138–145. 1900. “Forest + Reservations.” U. S. Geological Survey Annual <cite>Report</cite>, 1880–1913, + Vol. 21, pp. 526–532.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Veitch, James</span>—1881. <cite>A Manual of Coniferae.</cite> (James + Veitch and Sons, London). pp. 204–212.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Williamson, R. S.</span>—1856. “Mammoth Trees of California.” U. + S. War Dept. <cite>Pacific Railroad Report</cite>, 1855–1861; Vol. 5, pp. + 257–259.</p> + + <h3>THE AULD LANG SYNE OF TREES</h3> + + <p><span class="smcap">Gray, Asa</span>—1872. “The Sequoia and its History.” (Peabody + Academy of Sciences, Salem, Mass.) <cite>American Naturalist</cite>, + 1867–1924; Vol. 9, pp. 577–596.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Hutchinson, H. N.</span>—1911. <cite>Extinct Monsters and Creatures of + the Other Days.</cite> (D. Appleton and Co., New York). Third Edition, + pp. 1–50, 124–186, 199–210.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Jepson, W. L.</span>—1910. <cite>Silva of California.</cite> (University + Press, Berkeley). pp. 127–128.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">King, Clarence</span>—1902. <cite>Mountaineering in the Sierra + Nevada.</cite> (Chas. Scribners and Sons, New York). pp. 1–6.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Lawson, Andrew C.</span>—1921. “The Sierra Nevada.” (University + Press, Berkeley). <cite>University of California Chronicle</cite>, 1896–1924; + Vol. 23, pp. 130–149.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Matthes, François F.</span>—1912. <cite>Sketch of Yosemite National + Park and an Account of the Origin of the Yosemite and Hetch Hetchy + Valleys.</cite> U. S. Dept, of the Interior, pp. 6–8.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Wells, H. G.</span>—1921. <cite>The Outline of History.</cite> (Macmillan + Co., New York). Third Edition; 1 Vol., pp. 5–12, 19–36.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">161</span></p> + + <h3>THE GLORY OF THE MOUNTAINS OF CALIFORNIA</h3> + + <p><span class="smcap">Clark, F. L.</span>—1901. “The Big Basin.” (Sierra Club, San + Francisco). <cite>Bulletin</cite>, 1893–1924; Vol. 3, pp. 218–223.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Hall, Ansel F.</span>—1921. <cite>Guide to Giant Forest.</cite> (Ansel F. + Hall, Yosemite). 127 pp.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Hastings, Cristel</span>—1923. “Muir Woods, A National Monument.” + (Pacific-Atlantic Pub. Co., San Francisco). <cite>Scenic America</cite>; Vol. + 2, No. 2, pp. 17–23.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Hill, C. L.</span>—1916. <cite>Forests of Yosemite, Sequoia and General + Grant National Parks.</cite> U. S. Dept. of the Interior, pp. 5–13.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Jepson, W. L.</span>—1910. <cite>Silva of California.</cite> (University + Press, Berkeley). pp. 9, 128–143.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Kellogg, A.</span>—1884. <cite>Redwood and Lumbering in California + Forests.</cite> (Edgar Cherry & Co., San Francisco). pp. 76–102.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Muir, John</span>—1901. <cite>Our National Parks.</cite> (Houghton-Mifflin + Co., Boston). pp. 268–330. 1920. “Save the Redwoods.” (Sierra Club, San + Francisco). <cite>Bulletin</cite>, 1893–1923; Vol. II, pp. 1–4.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Osborn, Henry Fairfield</span>—1919. “Sequoia—the Auld Lang Syne of + Trees.” (American Museum of Natural History, New York). <cite>Natural + History</cite>, 1900–1924; Vol. 19, pp. 598–613.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Price, William W.</span>—1892. “Discovery of a New Grove of Sequoia + Gigantea.” (T. S. Brandegee, San Francisco). <cite>Zoe</cite>, 1890–1900; + Vol. 3, pp. 132–133. 1893. “Description of a New Grove of Sequoia + Gigantea.” (Sierra Club, San Francisco). <cite>Bulletin</cite>, 1893–1924; + Vol. 1, pp. 17–22.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Sommers, Fred M.</span>—1898. “Forests of the California Coast + Range.” (Harper & Bro., New York). <cite>Harpers Magazine</cite>, 1850–1924; + Vol. 79, pp. 653–660.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Sudworth, George B.</span>—1908. <cite>Forest Trees of the Pacific + Slope.</cite> U. S. Dept. Forest Service, pp. 138–148.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Walker, Frank L.</span>—1890. “Sequoia Forests of the Sierra Nevada: + Their Location and Area.” (T. S. Brandegee, San Francisco). <cite>Zoe</cite>, + 1890–1900; Vol. 1, pp. 198–204.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">162</span></p> + + <h3>GALEN CLARK</h3> + + <p><span class="smcap">Bunnell, Lafayette H.</span>—1911. <cite>Discovery of Yosemite and + the Indian War of 1851 Which Led to that Event.</cite> (Gerlicher, Los + Angeles). Fourth Edition, pp. 339–348.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Clark, Galen</span>—1904. <cite>Indians of Yosemite Valley.</cite> (H. S. + Crocker Co., San Francisco). “Introductory Sketch of the Author.” pp. + IX-XVIII.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Foley, J. D.</span>—1903. <cite>Yosemite Souvenir and Guide.</cite> (J. D. + Foley, Yosemite). pp. 102–103.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Hutchings, J. M.</span>—1860. <cite>Scenes of Wonder and Curiosity in + California.</cite> (Hutchings and Rosenfield, San Francisco). pp. 140–142.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Kuykendall, Ralph S.</span>—1921. “History of the Yosemite Region.” + (G. P. Putnam’s Sons, New York). <cite>Handbook of Yosemite National + Park.</cite> Ed. by Ansel F. Hall, pp. 19–24, 28–29.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Lester, John Erastus</span>—1873. <cite>The Yosemite: Its History.</cite> + (Providence Press, Providence). pp. 17–18.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Muir, John</span>—1910. “Galen Clark.” (Sierra Club, San Francisco). + <cite>Bulletin</cite>, 1893–1924; Vol. 7, pp. 215–220. 1912. <cite>The + Yosemite.</cite> (Century Co., New York). pp. 240–248.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Whitney, J. D.</span>—1870. <cite>Yosemite Guide-Book.</cite> (University + Press: Welch, Bigelow & Co., Cambridge). pp. 1–23.</p> + + <p>——. “California Commissioners to Manage Yosemite Valley and the + Mariposa Grove of Big Trees.” (Sacramento). Biennial <cite>Reports</cite> for + 1870, 1873, 1875, 1877, 1886, 1888, 1890, 1892, 1894, 1896, 1898, 1902, + 1904.</p> + + <h3>WONDER TREES</h3> + + <p><span class="smcap">Bancroft, A. L.</span>—1871. <cite>Bancroft’s Tourist Guide of + Yosemite.</cite> (A. L. Bancroft & Co., San Francisco). pp. 57–71.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Dudley, William R.</span>—1913. “Vitality of the Sequoia Gigantea.” + (Stanford University Pub., Palo Alto). <cite>Dudley Memorial Volume</cite>, + pp. 40–41. 1900. “Big Trees of California.” (American Forestry + Association, Washington, <span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">163</span>D. C.) <cite>Forester</cite>, 1899–1924; + Vol. 6, pp. 206–210. 1900. “Lumbering in Sequoia National Park.” + <cite>Forester</cite>, Vol. 6, pp. 293–295.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Hall, William L.</span>—1911. “Uses of Commercial Woods of the United + States.” U. S. Forest Service, 1887–1913. <cite>Bulletin</cite> 95, pp. 57–62.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Hutchings, J. M.</span>—1860. <cite>Scenes of Wonder and Curiosity in + California.</cite> (Hutchings & Rosenfield, San Francisco), pp. 9–12, + 40–50, 140–148. 1886. <cite>In the Heart of the Sierras.</cite> (Pacific + Rural Press, Oakland), pp. 214–232, 256–263.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Jepson, W. L.</span>—1921. “The Giant Sequoia.” (G. P. Putnam’s Sons, + New York). <cite>Handbook of Yosemite National Park.</cite> Ed. by Ansel F. + Hall, pp. 237–246. 1910. <cite>Silva of California.</cite> (University Press, + Berkeley), pp. 145–146.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Kellogg, A.</span>—1882. “Forest Trees of California.” (California + State Mining Bureau, Sacramento). Reports, 1880–1921. Vol. 2, Appendix. + 1884. “Essay on Redwood.” (Edgar Cherry Co., San Francisco). <cite>Redwood + and Lumbering in California Forests</cite>, pp. 102–107.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">King, Clarence</span>—1902. <cite>Mountaineering in the Sierra + Nevada.</cite> (Chas. Scribners & Sons, New York), pp. 49–53.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Kneeland, Samuel</span>—1871. <cite>Wonders of Yosemite Valley and of + California.</cite> (Alexander Moore, Boston), pp. 47–51.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Osborn, Henry Fairfield</span>—1912. “Preservation of the World’s + Animal Life.” (American Museum of Natural History, New York). + <cite>Natural History</cite>, 1900–1924. Vol. 12, pp. 123–124.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Pinchot, Gifford</span>—1899. “A Primer of Forestry.” U. S. Forest + Service, 1887–1913. <cite>Bulletin 24</cite>, pt. 1, pp. 44–65.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Sudworth, George B.</span>—1912. “Present Conditions of the + California Big Trees.” (American Museum of Natural History, New York). + <cite>Natural History</cite>, 1900–1924; Vol. 12, pp. 227–236.</p> + + <p>—— 1917. “Our Big Trees Saved.” (National Geographical Society, + Washington, D. C.) <cite>National Geographic Magazine</cite>, 1892–1924; Vol. + 31, pp. 1–11.</p> + + <p>—— 1923. <cite>Rules and Regulations of Yosemite National Park.</cite> U. S. + Dept. of the Interior, p. 13.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">164</span></p> + + <h3>OLDEST LIVING THING</h3> + + <p><span class="smcap">Dudley, William R.</span>—1913. “Vitality of the Sequoia Gigantea.” + (Stanford University Pub., Palo Alto). <cite>Dudley Memorial Volume</cite>, + pp. 33–42.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Eisen, Gustav</span>—1893. “Native Habits of the Sequoia Gigantea.” + (T. S. Brandegee, San Francisco). <cite>Zoe</cite>, 1890–1900. Vol. 4, pp. + 141–144.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Gray, Asa</span>—1844. “The Longevity of Trees.” (Otis Brooders Co., + Boston). The <cite>North American Review</cite>, 1815–1924; Vol. 59, pp. + 189–238.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Lemmon, John G.</span>—1890. “Cone-Bearers of California.” + (California State Board of Forestry, Sacramento). Biennial + <cite>Report</cite>, 1886–1921; Vol. 3, pp. 165–166.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Magee, Thomas</span>—1895. <cite>Immortality of the Big Trees.</cite> + (William Doxey, San Francisco). pp. 61–77.</p> + + <h3>THE ETERNAL TREE</h3> + + <p><span class="smcap">Breasted, James H.</span>—1916. <cite>Ancient Times.</cite> (Ginn & Co., + Boston). pp. 157–158.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Chase, J. Smeaton</span>—1911. <cite>Yosemite Trails.</cite> + (Houghton-Mifflin Co., Boston). pp. 126–143.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Gray, Asa</span>—1854. “On the Age of a Large Tree Recently Felled + in California.” (G. P. Putnam’s Sons, New York). <cite>American Journal + of Science</cite>, Second Series, 1846–1870. Vol. 17, pp. 440–443. + Re-printed 1857. (American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Boston). + <cite>Proceedings</cite>, 1864–1923; Vol. 3, pp. 94–96.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Hill, C. L.</span>—1916. <cite>Forests of Yosemite, Sequoia, and General + Grant National Parks.</cite> U. S. Dept. of the Interior, p. 15.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Huntington, Ellsworth</span>—1912. “Secret of the Big Trees.” (Harper + & Bro., New York). <cite>Harper’s Magazine</cite>, 1850–1924; Vol. 125, pp. + 92–302. Re-printed 1913. U. S. Dept. of the Interior. 24 pp.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Jepson, W. L.</span>—1910. <cite>Silva of California.</cite> (University + Press, Berkeley). pp. 58, 146. 1921. “The Giant Sequoia.” (G. P. + Putnam’s Sons, New York). <cite>Handbook of Yosemite National Park.</cite> + Ed. by Ansel F. Hall, pp. 240–241.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">165</span></p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Le Conte, Joseph</span>—1875. <cite>Journal of Ramblings Through the + Sierra Nevada.</cite> (Francis Valentine & Co., San Francisco). pp. 24–26. + Re-printed 1900. (The Sierra Club, San Francisco). <cite>Bulletin</cite>, + 1893–1924; Vol. 3, pp. 26–27.</p> + + <h3>A BLOSSOM OF DECADENCE</h3> + + <p><span class="smcap">Fitch, H. C.</span>—1900. “The Yosemite Triangle.” U. S. Geological + Survey (Annual <cite>Report</cite>, 1880–1913). Vol. 21, pp. 571–574.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Gray, Asa</span>—1872. “The Sequoia and its History.” (Peabody + Academy of Sciences, Salem, Mass.) <cite>American Naturalist</cite>, + 1867–1924; Vol. 9, pp. 577–581.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Jepson, W. L.</span>—1910. <cite>Silva of California.</cite> (University + Press, Berkeley). p. 144.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Muir, John</span>—1877. “On the Post Glacial History of Sequoia + Gigantea.” (American Association for the Advancement of Science, Salem, + Mass.) <cite>Proceedings</cite>, 1848–1915; Vol. 25, pp. 242–252. 1901. + <cite>Our National Parks.</cite> (Houghton-Mifflin Co., Boston). pp. 274–275, 284.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Sudworth, George B.</span>—1912. “Present Conditions of the + California Big Trees.” (American Museum of Natural History, New York). + <cite>Natural History</cite>, 1900–1924; Vol. 12, pp. 227–236.</p> + + <h3>A NAME FOR THE AGES</h3> + + <p><span class="smcap">Bloomer, H. G.</span>—1868. “On the Scientific Name of the + Big Trees.” (California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco). + <cite>Proceedings</cite>, 1854–1896; Vol. 3, p. 399.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Decaisne, J.</span>—1854. “Sequoia Gigantea.” (Société Botanique de + France, Paris). <cite>Bulletin</cite>, 1854–1921. Vol. 1, pp. 70–71.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Endlicher, Stephen</span>—1847. <cite>Synopsis Coniferarum.</cite> + (Sangalli, Scheitlin and Zollikofer). pp. 198–199.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Engleman, George</span>—1880. “Botany of California.” (John Wilson & + Son, Cambridge). California Geological Survey <cite>Report</cite>. Vol. 2, p. + 117.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">166</span></p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Gray, Asa</span>—1854. “Mammoth Trees of California.” (G. P. Putnam’s + Sons, New York). <cite>American Journal of Science</cite>, Second Series, + 1846–1870. Vol. 18, pp. 286–287.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Gordon, George</span>—1880. <cite>Pinetum.</cite> (N. G. Bolon, London). + pp. 414–416.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Kellogg</span> and <span class="smcap">Behr</span>—1855. “Taxodium Giganteum.” + (California Academy of Science, San Francisco). <cite>Proceedings</cite>, + First Series, 1854–1874. Vol. 1, p. 51.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Jepson, W. L.</span>—1910. <cite>Silva of California.</cite> (University + Press, Berkeley). pp. 138–139, 128.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Lindley, John</span>—1853. “New Plants.” (Bradbury & Evans, London). + <cite>Gardner’s Chronicle</cite>, 1841–1924. Vol. 13, pp. 823, 819–820.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Lemmon, John G.</span>—1890. “Cone-Bearers of California.” + (California State Board of Forestry, Sacramento). Biennial + <cite>Report</cite>, 1886–1921. Vol. 3, pp. 158–159, 161–163.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Sudworth, George B.</span>—1898. “Check List of the Forest Trees of + the United States.” U. S. Forest Service, 1887–1913. <cite>Bulletin</cite> + 17, pp. 28–29. 1897. “A Nomenclature of Arborescent Flora of the United + States.” U. S. Forest Service, 1887–1913. <cite>Bulletin 14</cite>, pp. 61–62.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Torrey, John</span>—1856. “Description of the General Botany of + California.” U. S. War Dept. <cite>Pacific Railroad Report</cite>, 1855–1861. + Vol. 4, pt. 5, p. 140.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Whitney, J. D.</span>—1870. <cite>Yosemite Guide Book.</cite> (University + Press: Welch, Bigelow & Co., Cambridge). pp. 139–141.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Winslow, C. F.</span>—1854. “Letters from the Mountains.” (Warren & + Co., San Francisco). <cite>California Farmer</cite>, 1854–1880. Vol. 2, No. + 8, p. 58.</p> + + <h3>SEQUOYAH</h3> + + <p><span class="smcap">Gallatin, Albert</span>—1836. “A Synopsis of the Indian Tribes of + North America.” (University Press, Cambridge). American Antiquarian + Society. <cite>Translations and Collections</cite>, 1820–1911. Vol. 2, pp. + 92–93 and Appendix 301.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Kroeber, A. L.</span>—1923. <cite>Anthropology.</cite> (Harcourt, Brace & + Co., New York). pp. 223–225, 263–292.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">167</span></p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Magee, Thomas</span>—1895. <cite>The Alphabet and Language.</cite> (William + Doxey, San Francisco). pp. 1–57.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">McKinney, T. L.</span> and <span class="smcap">Hall, James</span>—1838. <cite>History + of the Indian Tribes of North America.</cite> (Frederick W. Greenbough, + Philadelphia). Vol. 1, pp. 63–70.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Mooney, James</span>—1900. “Myths of the Cherokee.” U. S. Bureau of + American Ethnology, 1899–1924. Nineteenth Annual <cite>Report</cite>. Vol. 1, + pp. 14, 135–139, 147–148, 219–220, 351, 353–355, 485, 501.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Phillips, William A.</span>—1870. “Se-quo-yah.” (Harper & Brothers, + New York). <cite>Harper’s Magazine</cite>, 1850–1924. Vol. 41, pp. 542–548.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Pilling, James C.</span>—1888. “Bibliography of Iroquoian + Languages.” U. S. Bureau of American Ethnology, 1887–1924. <cite>Bulletin + 6</cite>, pp. 41–42, 72–73.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">White, George B.</span>—1855. <cite>Historical Collections of + Georgia.</cite> (Pudney & Russell, New York). pp. 387–389.</p> + + <p><span class="smcap">Wells, H. G.</span>—1921. <cite>The Outline of History.</cite> (Macmillan + Co., New York). Third Edition. Vol. 1, pp. 168–176, 254, 558–560.</p> + + <div class="footnotes"> + <div class="footheader">FOOTNOTES:</div> + + <div class="footnote"><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[1]</a> The Grant of 1864 was ceded back to the Nation in 1906 + and became incorporated in Yosemite National Park, which was created + sixteen years earlier.</div> + + <div class="footnote"><a id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2" class="label">[2]</a> This measurement was made in June of 1912 (as were the + other measurements given on these pages) by David A. Sherfey, resident + engineer of the Park at this time.</div> + + <div class="footnote"><a id="Footnote_3" href="#FNanchor_3" class="label">[3]</a> The wood of the Big Tree must not be confused with that + of the Redwood, for the latter has a very high economic value as a + commercial wood, and is noted for its many excellent qualities.</div> + + <div class="footnote"><a id="Footnote_4" href="#FNanchor_4" class="label">[4]</a> Scientifically speaking it is not proper to attribute + a will to a form of plant life. Its use here is in a non-scientific sense.</div> + + <div class="footnote"><a id="Footnote_5" href="#FNanchor_5" class="label">[5]</a> Computations made at the ground, thirty-one feet, give + over three-quarters of a million board feet; while those made eleven + feet above, where the diameter is but twenty feet, give only a quarter + of a million feet of lumber. The figure given above is, therefore, a + fair one. Random statements that this tree contains a million board + feet of lumber rest on no substantial basis.</div> + + <div class="footnote"><a id="Footnote_6" href="#FNanchor_6" class="label">[6]</a> The interesting question raised by Sudworth in + 1898 whether the specific name should be <cite>Gigantea</cite> or + <cite>Washingtonia</cite> is discussed in Bulletin Number 17, U. S. Forest + Service, Page 28.</div> + + <div class="footnote"><a id="Footnote_7" href="#FNanchor_7" class="label">[7]</a> A mythical Phoenician who brought letters to the Greeks + and in whose honor the people of Thebes erected a magnificent edifice + known as the Cadmeum.</div> + + <div class="footnote"><a id="Footnote_8" href="#FNanchor_8" class="label">[8]</a> The author desires to offer grateful acknowledgement for + the extensive and liberal use he has made of this bibliography in the + preparation of the manuscript. He is further indebted to Clarence + King’s <cite>Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada</cite>; Mark Twain’s + <cite>Innocents Abroad</cite>, Vol. II; and to the writings of Bret Harte, + for many suggestions and numerous happy phrases.</div> + </div> + + <div class="transnote"> + <div class="large center"><b>Transcriber’s Notes</b></div> + + <ul class="spaced"> + <li>Blank pages have been removed.</li> + <li>Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected.</li> + </ul> + </div> + +<div style='text-align:center'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76616 ***</div> +</body> +</html> + diff --git a/76616-h/images/cover.jpg b/76616-h/images/cover.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..77bae02 --- /dev/null +++ b/76616-h/images/cover.jpg diff --git a/76616-h/images/i_frontispiece.jpg b/76616-h/images/i_frontispiece.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..a5f90a9 --- /dev/null +++ b/76616-h/images/i_frontispiece.jpg diff --git a/76616-h/images/i_p024.jpg b/76616-h/images/i_p024.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..3efdefe --- /dev/null +++ b/76616-h/images/i_p024.jpg diff --git a/76616-h/images/i_p040.jpg b/76616-h/images/i_p040.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..0473ea5 --- /dev/null +++ b/76616-h/images/i_p040.jpg diff --git a/76616-h/images/i_p048.jpg b/76616-h/images/i_p048.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..9c99802 --- /dev/null +++ b/76616-h/images/i_p048.jpg diff --git a/76616-h/images/i_p064.jpg b/76616-h/images/i_p064.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..e778873 --- /dev/null +++ b/76616-h/images/i_p064.jpg diff --git a/76616-h/images/i_p072.jpg b/76616-h/images/i_p072.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..cb1a04e --- /dev/null +++ b/76616-h/images/i_p072.jpg diff --git a/76616-h/images/i_p080.jpg b/76616-h/images/i_p080.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..1fff482 --- /dev/null +++ b/76616-h/images/i_p080.jpg diff --git a/76616-h/images/i_p096.jpg b/76616-h/images/i_p096.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..53f4fa5 --- /dev/null +++ b/76616-h/images/i_p096.jpg diff --git a/76616-h/images/i_p104.jpg b/76616-h/images/i_p104.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..83652ab --- /dev/null +++ b/76616-h/images/i_p104.jpg diff --git a/76616-h/images/i_p120.jpg b/76616-h/images/i_p120.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..289b402 --- /dev/null +++ b/76616-h/images/i_p120.jpg diff --git a/76616-h/images/i_p136.jpg b/76616-h/images/i_p136.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..2747372 --- /dev/null +++ b/76616-h/images/i_p136.jpg diff --git a/76616-h/images/i_p144.jpg b/76616-h/images/i_p144.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..20d7484 --- /dev/null +++ b/76616-h/images/i_p144.jpg diff --git a/76616-h/images/i_title.jpg b/76616-h/images/i_title.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..f22e5b7 --- /dev/null +++ b/76616-h/images/i_title.jpg |
