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snow banks while on the of the mount and his noble repose in massive their vast size and simple flowing in the most striking manner with the and thin on the horizon to the north and south of them tracing the gradually gazing at the sublime scenery more and more openly unfolded noting the in our national the upper forests lingering over beds of blue and purple and and dwarf an inch high in gray carpets brightened here and there with and soft creeping of sprinkled with pink bells that seem to have been down from the sky like hail thus and enchanted you reach the base of the mountain wholly unconscious of the miles you have walked and so on to the summit for all the way up the long red slate slopes that in the distance seemed barren you find little garden beds and of dwarf and blue that go straight to your heart blessed fellow kept safe and warm by a thousand miracles you are now more than thirteen thousand feet above the sea and to the north and south you behold a sublime wilderness of mountains in glorious array their snowy towering together in crowded bewildering abundance shoulder to shoulder peak beyond peak to the east lies the great basin and silent apparently a land of pure desolation rich only in beautiful light lake fourteen miles long is below you at a depth of nearly seven thousand feet its shores of ashes and sand and a group of with well formed rises to the south of the lake while up from its eastern shore in the national park mountains with soft flowing extend range beyond range ff and pale purple and blue the farthest gradually fading on the glowing horizon westward you look down and over the countless meadows and grand sea of and rock waves of the upper basin the cathedral and mountains with their wavering lines and of forest the wonderful region to the north of the and across the dark belt of silver to the pale mountains of the coast in the icy fountains of the mount and bitter groups of peaks to the south of three of the most important of the rivers the and san take their rise their hi few of z other a forth on their adventurous courses beneath snow banks and of the small shrinking of the of the majestic system that the range i have seen sixty five about of them are in the park and eight are in sight from mount the lakes are over all the and regions gleaming like eyes beneath heavy rock brows tree or bare m l the wood g ua with green and purple meadows around them but the greater number are in the cool shadowy our national of the summit mountains not far from the the highest lying at an elevation of from eleven to nearly twelve feet the sea the whole number in the not counting the smallest can hardly be less than fifteen hundred of which about two hundred and fifty are in the park from one on red mountain i counted forty two most of them within a of ten miles the meadows which are spread over the filled up of vanished lakes and form one of the most charming features of the scenery are still more numerous than the lakes an observer stationed here in the period would have overlooked a wrinkled of ice as continuous as that which now covers the continent of and of all the vast landscape now shining in the sun he would have seen only the tops of the summit peaks rising darkly like storm beaten islands and hopeless above rock ice waves if among the agents that nature has employed in making these mountains there be one t at above all others deserves the name of it is the but we quickly learn that destruction is creation during the dreary centuries through which the lay in darkness crushed beneath the ice folds of die win ter there was a steady invincible advance toward the warm life and beauty of to day and it is the national park just where die most that the greatest amount of is made manifest but as these have succeeded the so they in turn are giving place to others already planned and foreseen the granite and apparently we take as of while these crumbling peaks down whose frosty are ever falling are of change and decay yet all alike fast or slow are surely vanishing away nature is ever at work building and pulling down creating and destroying keeping everything whirling and flowing allowing no rest but in motion chasing everything in endless song out of one beautiful form into another chapter iv the forests of the the forests of the park and of the in general all others of their kind in america or indeed in the world not only in the size and of the trees but in the number of species assembled together and the grandeur of the mountains they are growing on leaving the and wandering into the heart of the mountains we find a new world and stand beside the majestic pines and and silent and as if in the presence of superior beings new arrived from some other star so calm and bright and they are going to the woods is going home for i suppose we came from the woods originally but in some of nature s forests the adventurous seems a feeble unwelcome creature wild beasts nd ihe weather trying to kill him the rank tangled vegetation armed and needles his way and making life a hard struggle here everything is hospitable and kind as if planned for your the forests of the to every want of body and soul even the storms are friendly and seem to regard you as a brother their beauty and tremendous earnestness charming alike	28
but the weather is mostly sunshine both winter and summer and the clear sunny of the park is one of its most characteristics even the heaviest portions of the main forest belt where the trees are and stand are not in the least gloomy the sunshine falls in glory through the colossal and crowns each a symbol of health and strength the noble shafts faithfully upright like the pillars of temples a roof of infinite leafy arches and fretted the more open portions are like spacious with small shrubs or only with the needles sprinkled here and there with flowers in some places where the ground is level or slopes gently the trees are assembled in groves and the flowers and in trim beds and as in landscape gardens or the lovingly planted grounds of homes or they are drawn up in orderly rows around meadows and lakes and along the brows of but in general the forests are distributed in wide in accordance with climate and the comparative strength of each kind in gaining and holding possession of the ground while anything like monotonous is prevented by the varied our national and by the arrangement of the best soil beds in intricate patterns like for these are the of ancient or o l ij a ru g d m action and the trees trace them over the hills and and far up the sides of the rising with even growth on and towering above one another on the long rich slopes prepared for them by the vanished had the forests been accessible the most valuable of them would ere this have fallen a prey to the thus far the of the coast mountains and the of and washington have been more available for lumber than the pine of the it cost less to go a thousand up the coast for timber where the trees came down to the shores of rivers and than fifty miles up the mountains the superior value of the sugar pine for many purposes has tempted to ei nd large sums on and to reach the best forests though perhaps none of these has paid fortunately the lately established system of and has put a stop to any g extension of the business in its most destructive forms and as the park region has l the and the all devouring i the forests of the park of have been banished it is still in the main a pure wilderness unbroken by axe except on the lower margin where a few have opened spots beside hay meadows for their and gardens but these are mere of cultivation in no d disturbing the grand solitude twenty or thirty years ago a good many trees were for their seeds traces of this destructive method of seed are still visible along the but these as well as the ruins an overgrown the gardens and beds of once by sheep are blooming again in all their wild glory and the park is a paradise that makes even the loss of seem insignificant on the way to valley you get some grand views over the forests of the and and glimpses of some of the finest trees by the roadside without leaving your seat in the stage but to learn how they live and behave in pure to see them in their varying aspects through the seasons and weather rejoicing in the great storms in the spiritual mountain light putting forth their new leaves and flowers when all the streams are in flood and the birds are singing and sending away their seeds in the thoughtful indian sum when all the landscape is glowing in deep for this you must love them national and live them as free from and and time as the trees themselves and surely nobody will find anything hard in this even the blind must enjoy these drinking their listening to the of the winds in their groves and their flowers and and and richly rowed the kind of study required is as easy and natural as breathing without any great knowledge of or wood craft in a single season you may learn the name and something more of nearly every kind of tree in the park with few exceptions all the l trees are growing in the park nine species of pine two of fir one each of and sixteen in all and about the same number of round headed trees oaks laurel etc the first of the you meet in going up the from the west is the nut pine a vn wide tree forty to sixty feet high with long green foliage and lai at a height of fifteen to thirty feet from the ground the trunk usually into several main branches which after bearing away from one another shoot straight up and form separate heads as if the of the tree had been broken the forests of the park e the secondary divide again and again into rather slender loosely with leaves eight to twelve inches long the yellow and purple flowers are about an inch long the in clusters the big rough five to eight or ten inches in length and five or six in are rich brown in color when ripe and full of hard nuts that are greatly by indians and this strange looking pine enjoying hot sunshine like a palm is distributed along the part of the among small oaks and and with its g y mist of foliage strong trunk and branches and big seen in relief on the glowing sky forms the most striking feature of the vegetation is a small slender tree with pale green leaves in clustered flowers half an inch long yellow and crimson and in conspicuous clusters around the branches and also around the trunk the never fall off or open until the tree dies they are about four inches long exceedingly strong and and	28
with hard forming a and almost worm and proof in which the seeds are kept fresh and safe during the lifetime of the tree sometimes one of the trunk is overgrown and in the heart wood a knot but nearly all are pushed out and t our national kept on tiie surface by the pressure of the of wood against the base this admirable little tree grows on slopes which from their position and the character of the vegetation are most frequently fire swept these grounds it is able to hold against all comers however big and strong by saving its seeds until death when all it has pro are scattered over the bare cleared ground and a new generation quickly springs out of the ashes thus the curious fact that all the trees of extensive groves and are of the same age is accounted for and their slender habit for the lavish abundance of seed sown at the same time makes a crowded growth and the with an even start rush up in a hurried race for light and life only a few of the and pines are within the boundaries of the park the former on the side of the the latter on the walls of valley and in the below it the nut pine is a small hardy contented looking tree about fifteen or twenty feet high and a foot in in its youth the close and branches form a handsome broad based but when fully grown it becomes round and irregular throwing out crooked limbs like an apple tree the leaves are pale the forests of the green about an inch and a half long and instead of being divided into clusters they are single round sharp pointed and rigid like amid which in the spring the red flowers glow brightly the are only about two inches in length and breadth but nearly half of their bulk is made up of sweet nuts this fruitful little pine grows on the dry east side of the park along the margin of the sage plain and is the commonest tree of the short mountain of the great basin of thousands of acres are covered with it forming for the bed man being so low and accessible the are easily beaten off with poles and the nuts procured by until the scales open to the tribes of the desert and sage plains these seeds are the staff of life they are eaten either raw or or in the form of or cakes after being into meal the time of nut harvest in the autumn ib the indian s time of all the year an industrious family can gather fifty or sixty in single month before the snow comes and then their bread for the winter is sure the white pine is widely distributed through the mountains and the of the great basin where in many places it grows to a good size and is an important timber tree where none better is to be found in our national the park it is scattered along the eastern flank of the range from pass southward above the nut pine at an elevation of from eight to ten thousand feet to a tangled bush near the timber line but under favorable conditions a height of forty or fifty feet with a of three to five the long branches show a tendency to sweep out in bold curves like those of the mountain and sugar pines to which it is closely related the needles are in clusters of five closely packed on the ends of the the are about five inches lone the smaller ones nearly oval the larger bat the most feature of the tree is its bloom the vivid red flowers glowing among the leaves like coals of fire the pine or white pine is sure to interest every observer on account of its curious low habit and the great height on the snowy mountains at which it bravely g it forms the extreme edge of the timber on both of the summit mountains if so lowly a tree can be called timber at an elevation of ten to twelve thousand feet above the level of the sea where it is first met on the lower limit of its range it may be thirty or forty feet high but farther up the rocky wind swept slopes where the snow deep and heavy for six months of the year it makes shaggy the forests of the park and beds and pressed flat oyer which you can easily walk nevertheless in this crushed down pressed condition it to ufe forth fresh leaves every spring on the ends of its bravely in the with dance of gay red and purple flowers its seeds in the short and often the favored giants of the sun lands far below one of ihe trees that i examined was only about feet high th a stem six in ter at the and branches that spread out as if they had grown up against a ceiling yet it was four hundred and twenty six years old and one of its about an eighth of an inch in inside the bark was seventy five years old and so tough that i tied it into knots at the age of this dwarf many of the sugar and yellow pines and are seven feet in and over two hundred feet high in detached never touched by fire the fallen needles of centuries of growth make fine elastic for the weary while the spread a roof over him and the dead roots half usually found in abundance make capital camp fires in storms of rain or snow seen from a distance the and patches darkening the mountain sides look like on a roof and our national bring to dr johnson s remarks on the trees of scotland his guide anxious for the honor of was still talking of its woods	28
portions of on the warm sides to seven thousand five hundred in when most trees are asleep it puts forth its flowers the are pale green and but the are yellow about one fourth of an inch long and are produced in all the branches with gold and the tree as it stands in the snow look like a gigantic though scattered rather amongst its companions in the open woods it is seldom out of and its bright brown shafts and f o make a striking feature of the landscape while young and growing fast in an open situation no other tree of its size in the park forms so exactly a the branches in flat and beautifully sweep gracefully downward and outward except those near the top which the lowest to the ground one another shedding off rain and snow and making fine tents for storm bound and birds in old age it becomes irregular and picturesque accidents running fires heavy wet snow breaking the branches the top our national compelling it to try to make new out of branches still it frequently lives more than a thousand years beautiful and worthy its place beside the and the great pines this forest is still further enriched by two majestic silver and bands of which come down from the main fir belt by cool shady and is the noblest of its race growing on at an elevation of seven thou sand to eight thousand five hundred feet above the sea to a eight of two hundred or two hundred and fifty feet and five to seven in and with these noble dimensions there is a richness and and perfection of finish not to be found in any other tree in the the branches are in mostly and stand out from the straight red purple in level or on old trees in drooping every branch regularly like and clad with silvery needles making broad singularly rich and the flowers are in their prime about the middle of june the red growing on the of the in crowded profusion giving a rich color to nearly all the tree the yellow tinged with pink standing erect on the upper side of the branches while the of young leaves about the forests of the park as brightly colored as of the push out their fragrant brown a few weeks later making another grand show the mature in a single season from the flowers when full grown they are about six to eight inches long three or four in blunt gray in color covered with a fine silvery down and with transparent very rich and standing erect hke on the branches if possible the inside of the is still more beautiful the scales and are tinged with red and the seed wings are purple with bright the white silver fir grows best about two thousand feet lower than the it is nearly as large but the branches are less and the leaves are longer and instead of standing out around the or turning up and clasping them they are mostly arranged in two or ascending rows and the are less than half as large the bark of the is purple and closely that of the is gray and widely a noble pair only by the and of the forests of washington and the northern coast but none of these northern species form pure forests that in extent and beau approach those of the our national the seeds of are curiously formed and colored white brown purple plain or spotted like birds eggs and excepting the they are all handsomely and winged with reference to their distribution they are a sort of devised flying mar one winged birds birds with but one feather and they take but one flight all save those which after flying from the nest in calm weather chance to alight on branches where they have to wait for a wind and though these seed wings are intended for only a moment s use they are as thoughtfully colored and fashioned as tiie wings of birds and require from one to two seasons to grow those of the pine fir and are curved in such manner that in being dragged ihe air by the seeds they are made to whirling ihe seeds in a close and them long enough to allow the winds to carry them to considerable distances a style of flying full of quick merry motion strikingly contrasted to the sober dignified sailing of seeds on of surely no ever set out to seek their fortunes only in the fir woods are large flocks seen for unlike the of the pine etc which let the seeds escape slowly one or two at a time by spreading the scales the fir when ripe fall to pieces and let nearly all go at once io the forests of the favorable weather all along the for hun of miles on dry autumn days the spaces in the woods among the colossal are in a whirl with these shining notwithstanding the have been working at the top of their speed for weeks trying to cut o e every before the seeds were ready to swarm and fly seeds have flat wings and and glance in their flight like a boy s the of seeds is effected by the and cherry plan of birds at the cost of their board and thus obtaining the use of a pair of extra good wings above the great fir belt and below the ragged beds and of the dwarf pine stretch the broad dark forests of usually called pine on broad fields ie material it forms nearly pure forests at an elevation of about eight or nine thousand feet above the sea where it is a small well tree fifty or sixty feet h d d or two in th t short needles in clusters of two bright yellow and crimson flowers and small	28
the very largest i ever measured was ninety feet in height and a little over six feet in four feet above the ground on moist well drained soil in sheltered hollows our national it grows tall and slender with ing branches g ul fifty to seventy five feet high with stems only five or six inches thick the most extensive forest of this pine in the park lies to the north of the big meadows a famous deer pasture and hunting ground of the indians for miles over wide beds there is an even nearly pure growth broken only by meadows around which the trees stand in trim array their sharp showing to fine advantage both in g summer and white winter on account of the of its growth in many and the and of its bark it is easily killed by running fires which work destruction in its ranks but a new generation rises quickly from the ashes for all or a part of its seeds are held in reserve for a year or two or many years and when the tree is killed the open and the seeds are scattered over the burned ground like those of the next to the mountain and the dwarf pine this species best burial in heavy snow while m hunger and cold on it is not surpassed by any it is distributed from to southern and inland across the rocky mountains taking many forms in accordance with demands of climate soil rivals and enemies growing patiently in the forests of the park s and on sand beside the sea where it is with salt on high snowy mountains and down in the throats of extinct springing up with invincible vigor after every fire and extending its farther the sturdy storm enduring red delights to dwell on the tops of granite and and of the upper pine belt at an elevation of to ten thousand feet where it can get plenty of sunshine and snow and elbow room growing ing rivals they never make anything like a forest seldom come together even in groves but stand out separate and independent in the wind clinging by slight joints to the rock living chiefly on snow and thin air and maintaining tough health on this diet for two thousand years or more every feature and gesture expressing steadfast dogged endurance the largest are usually about six or eight feet in and fifteen or twenty in height a very few are ten feet in and on isolated heaps forty to sixty feet in height many are mere as broad as high broken by and lightning with dense foliage and giving no hint of dying the flowers are like those of the but smaller the are national the wood is red fine and fragrant the bark bright and red and in trees is strikingly and off in thin ribbons which the indians used to into and coarse cloth these brown pillars standing solitary on polished with masses of foliage in their arms are exceedingly picturesque and never fail to catch the eye of the artist they seem sole of some ancient race wholly with their neighbors i have spent a good deal of time trying to determine their age but on account of dry rot which most of the old ones i never got a complete count of the largest some are undoubtedly more than two thousand years old for though on good soil they g w about as fast as oaks on bare and smoothly g in the dome region they grow extremely slowly one on the ridge only two feet eleven inches in was eleven hundred and forty years old another on the same ridge only one foot seven and a half inches in had reached the age of eight hundred and thirty four years the first fifteen inches from the bark of a medium sized tree six feet in on the north pavement had eight hundred and fifty nine of wood or ly seven to the the forests of the inch beyond this the count was stopped by dry rot and of old wounds the largest i examined was thirty feet in or nearly ten in and though i failed to get anything like a complete count i learned enough from this and many other specimens to convince me that most of the trees eight to ten feet thick standing on are more than twenty centuries of age rather than less accidents for all i can see they would live forever when killed they waste out of existence about as slowly as granite even when by after standing so long they refuse to lie at rest leaning on their big elbows as if anxious to rise and while a single root holds to the rock putting forth fresh leaves with a grim never y die and never he own expression as the is the most stubborn and of trees the mountain is the most graceful and and sensitive to the slightest touches of the wind until it reaches a height of fifty or sixty feet it is clothed down to the g und with drooping branches which are divided into waving and arranged in most beautiful ways and sprinkled with handsome brown the flowers also are peculiarly beautiful and effective the very dark rich purple the blue of so our national fine and pure a tone that the best of the high sky seems to be in them though apparently the most delicate and feminine of all the mountain trees it s best where the snow lies deepest at an elevation of from nine thousand to nine thousand hundred feet in hollows on the northern slopes of mountains and but under all and conditions of weather and soil sheltered from the main currents of the winds or in blank exposure to them well fed or starved it is always singularly graceful in habit even at its highest limit in the	28
park ten thousand five hundred feet above the sea on exposed where it and close together in low like those of the dwarf pine it still to put forth its and branches in forms of irrepressible beauty while on moist d l it j a p tropical of foliage flower and fruit in the first winter storms the snow is soft and in the dense leafy branches pressing them down against the and the slender drooping lower and lower as the load until the top touches the ground and an ornamental arch is made then as storm storm and snow is heaped on snow the whole tree is at last buried not again to see the light or move leaf or limb until set free by the spring in june or july not the forests of the park the young only are thus carefully covered and put to sleep in the of white beds for five or six months of the year but trees thirty and forty feet high from april to may when the snow is you may ride over the pro groves s ng a branch or leaf of them in the autumn they are full of merry life when and are gathering the abundant crop of seeds while the deer rest beneath the thick concealing branches the finest grove in the park is near mount and the trail from the springs to the mountain runs through it many of the trees in this grove are three to four or five feet in and about a hundred feet high the mountain is widely distributed from near the south extremity of the high northward along the mountains of and washington and the coast of british to where it was first discovered in its limit so far as i have observed is in the icy of prince william s sound in latitude where it forms pure forests at the level of the sea growing tall and majestic on the banks of the great waving in accord with the mountain winds and the thunder of the falling here as in the it is beautiful the very love in america our national of the round headed trees in the park the most influential are the black and oaks they occur in some parts of the main forest belt scattered among the big pines like a heavier but form extensive groves and reach perfect development only in the valleys and of the main the black oak is one of the largest and most beautiful of the western oaks under favorable conditions a height of to a hundred feet with a trunk three to seven feet in p picturesque branches and lively green foliage handsomely purple in tiie spring yellow and red in autumn it grows best in sunny open groves on covered with rose etc few if any of the famous oak of europe however extensive in the size and strength and bright airy beauty of the trees the color and fragrance of the vegetation beneath them the quality of the light that fills their leafy arches and in the grandeur of the surrounding scenery the est grove in the park is in one of the little valleys of the a few miles above the mountain live oak or oak forms extensive groves on earthquake and and the forests of the park in and valleys from about three to five thousand feet above the sea in tough sturdy strength this is the oak of oaks in general appearance it the great live oak of the southern states it has pale gray bark a short heavily but trunk which usually a few feet above the into strong wide reaching limbs forming noble arches and ending in an of small branches and the outer ones frequently drooping in long to the ground like those of the weeping willow covered with small simple polished leaves making a broad and on which the sunshine falls in glorious brightness the are shallow thick walled and covered with yellow dust the flowers appear in hay and june with a profusion of followed by the bronze colored young leaves no tree in the park is a better measure of in at an elevation of four thousand feet you may easily find a tree six or eight feet in and at the head of a side three thousand feet higher up which you can climb in less than two hours you find the giant to a slender with leaves like those of bushes stiu bearing and seemingly contented forming dense patches of on the top of which you may make your bed and sleep softly our national like a in a thou band feet higher it is still smaller making about a foot high and along in and the brows of giving hand holds here and there on hard to climb the largest i have measured were from twenty five to twenty seven feet in fifty to sixty feet high and the spread of the limbs was about double the height the principal trees are willow broad and s flower ing the y often called of from the on its is a tall stately tree towering above its companions and gracefully the banks of the main streams at an elevation of about four thousand feet its abundant foliage turns bright yellow in the fall and the indian sunshine through it in tones over the slow gliding waters when they are at their lowest ebb the is brighter still in these brooding days for every branch of its broad head is then a brilliant crimson flame in the spring when the streams are in flood it is the of trees white as a snow bank with its magnificent flowers four to eight inches in width making a wonderful show and drawing of and the broad is usually found in tha the forests of the park choked where the streams are gray and white with foam over which it its branches	28
in arches from bank to bank forming leafy full of soft green light and spray favorite homes of the water around the lakes two or three thousand feet higher the common grows in lines and groves hich are brilliantly colored in autumn reminding you of the color glory of the eastern woods scattered here and there or in groves the will find a few other trees mostly small the mountain mahogany cherry chestnut oak laurel and the is a handsome en belonging to the family with pale bark leaves fruit like a green and seed like a one of the best groves of it in the park is at the below but the noble oaks and all these rock stream trees are as nothing amid the vast forests of during my first years in the i was ever calling on everybody within reach to admire them but i found no one half warm enough until came i had read his essays and felt sure that of all men he would best interpret the sayings of these noble mountains and trees nor was my faith weakened when i met him in he seemed as serene as a his head in the national and forgetting his age plans ties of every sort i proposed an trip back in the heart of the mountains he seemed anxious to go but men his party i said never mind the mountains are calling run away and let plans and parties and dragging duties all gang we go up a singing your own song good by proud world i i m going home in divine earnest up there lies a new heaven and a new earth let us go to the show but alas it was too late too near the of his life the shadows were lo g d he hi hu full of philosophy failed to see the natural beauty and of promise of my wild plan and laughed at it in good natured ignorance if it were necessarily amusing to imagine that boston people might be led to accept of at the price of rough anyhow they would have none of it and held mr to the hotels and after spending only five days in he was led away but i saw him two days more for i was kindly invited to go with the party as far as the big trees i told mr that i would gladly go to the with him if he would camp in the grove he consented heartily and i felt sure that we would have at least one good wild memorable night the forests of the park s around a camp fire next day we rode through the magnificent forests of the basin and i kept calling his attention to the sugar pines quoting his wood notes come listen what the pine tree etc pointing out the noblest as kings and high priests the most eloquent and commanding of all the mountain forests stretching forth their arms in over the crowded about them he gazed in devout admiration saying but little while his fine smile faded away early in the afternoon when we reached s station i was surprised to see the party and when i asked if we were not going up into the grove to camp they said no it would never do to lie out in the night air mr might take cold and you know mr that would be a dreadful thing in vain i urged that only in homes and hotels were caught that nobody ever was known to take cold in these woods that there was not a single cough or in all the then i pictured the big climate changing inspiring fire i would make praised the beauty and fragrance of flame told how the great trees would stand about us in the purple light while the stars looked down between the great ending by urging them to come on and make an immortal night national of it but the house was not to be overcome nor the strange dread of pure night air though it is only cooled day air with a little dew in it so the carpet dust and were preferred and to think of this being a boston choice sad on culture and the accustomed to reach whatever place i started for i was going up the mountain alone to camp and wait the coming of the party next day but since was so soon to i concluded to stop with him he hardly spoke a word all the evening yet it was a great pleasure simply to be near him warming in the light of his face as at a fire in the morning we rode up the trail through a noble forest of pine and fir into the famous grove and stayed an hour or two mostly in ordinary fashion looking at the biggest giants measuring them with a line riding through prostrate fire bored trunks though mr was alone about as if under a spell as we walked through a fine group he quoted there were giants in those days the antiquity of the race to his visit mr dark the guardian of the selected the finest of the trees and requested him to give it a name he named it after the new england as the best that occurred to him the forests of the park the poor bit of measured time was soon spent and while the were being adjusted i again urged to stay you are yourself a i said stop and get acquainted with your big brethren but he was past his prime and was now as a child in the hands of his affectionate but sadly civilized friends who seemed as full of old fashioned as of bold intellectual independence it was the afternoon of the day and the afternoon of his life and his course was now westward	28
down all the mountains into the sunset the party mounted and rode away in wondrous contentment apparently tracing the trail through and bushes around the of the big trees up the slope of the basin and over the divide i to the edge of the grove lingered in the rear of the train and when he reached the top of the ridge after all the rest of the party were over and out of sight he turned his horse took off his hat and waved me a last good by i felt lonely so sure had i been that of all men would be the to see the mountains and sing them gazing awhile on the spot where he vanished i sauntered back into the heart of the grove made a bed of and by the side of a stream gathered a store of and then walked about until the birds etc that had kept out of sight came im national about me now that all was quiet and made cheer after i built a great fire and as usual had it all to myself and though lone some for the first time in these forests i quickly took heart again the trees had not gone to boston nor the birds and as i sat by the fire was still with me in spirit though i never again saw him in the flesh he sent books and wrote cheering me on advised me not to stay too long in solitude soon he hoped that my guardian angel would intimate that my was at a close then i was to roll up my sketches and poems though i never knew i had any poems and come to his house and when i tired of him and his humble surroundings he would show me to better people but there remained many a forest to wander through many a mountain and to cross before i was to see his and boston and it was seventeen years after our parting on the ridge that i stood beside his grave under a pine tree on the hill above sleepy hollow he had gone to higher and as i fancied was again waving his hand in friendly recognition chapter v thb wild of the week was wild it was the est part of the continent and perhaps it is so still notwithstanding the has in great part vanished before the flocks and so was the bloom of the main valley of the state it would still have been rich had ninety nine out of every hundred of its crowded flowers been taken away far than the beautiful of and or the of the southern states in the early spring it was a smooth planted sheet of purple and gold one mass of bloom more than four hundred miles long with scarce a green leaf in sight still more interesting is the rich and wonderfully varied of the mountains going up the across the park to the summit peaks thirteen thousand feet high you find as much variety in the vegetation as in tiie scenery change change with bewildering rapidity for in a few days you pass through as national many and ranged one above an other as you would in walking along the low lands to the ocean and to the variety due to climate there is added that caused by the features of the different regions again the vegetation is profoundly varied by the peculiar distribution of the soil and moisture broad and deep ancient and weu are spread over the lower regions rough and comparatively recent and un over the middle and upper regions with bare and and polished the highest in the icy recesses of the peaks raw and shifting some of them being still in process of formation and of course scarcely planted as yet besides these main there are many others comparatively of both and weather out and deposited by running water and the wind on gentle slopes and in all sorts of hollows valleys lake etc some in dry and situations others sheltered and kept moist by lakes streams and of spray making comfortable homes for plants widely varied in general give soil to high and low places almost alike while water currents are of special blessings constantly tending to make the poorer and the valleys richer mingle all kinds of wild gardens of the park material together mud and fifty feet in whether in passionate in the size and shape of the material it carries mud is the finest meal for any use in the park tion into and as foundations for garden meadows was the first work that the young rivers were called on to do occur only in shallow where the climate is cool enough for and where the surrounding conditions are such that they are safe even in the most copious rains and from the action of flood currents capable of carrying rough gravel and sand but where the water supply is nevertheless constant the dying from year to year g give rise to those rich beds in which so many of our best plants delight to dwell the strong winds that occasionally sweep the high play a more important part in the distribution of special soil beds than is at first sight recognized carrying forward considerable quantities of sand and gravel of etc and them in fields and beds beautifully ruffled and embroidered and adapted to the wants of some of the and of the shrubs and flowers the more resisting of the smooth solid polished and can hardly be said to have any soil at all our national while others beginning to give way to the ther are sprinkled with coarse gravel some of them are full of which as the surface of the rock is are set free covering the and rolling down the sides in minute giving rise to and beds of soil in some instances the various occur	28
only here and there sprinkled in tiie gray gravel like in a sod but in others or more is made up of and the glow of the or loosely strewn gems and their colored and at different times of the day when the sun is shining might well the flowers that grow among them and console them for being so completely these radiant sheets and and dome rings of are the most beautiful of all the soil beds while the huge ranged along the walls of the great are the deepest and instead of being slowly and accumulated from the cliffs overhead like common they were au formed suddenly and simultaneously by an earthquake that occurred at least three centuries ago though thus hurled into existence at a single effort they are the least and of all the soil in the range excepting those which were launched directly into e channels of rivers scarcely one park i lu where found a flowers and they make but in the i meadows rich in flowers being from d has ir creation and blocks to fifty feet to live and etc and scarce a ly by you ry the ed e our national upper meadows there are miles of blue and white and and of rosy covering rocky with a abundance of bloom by humming birds and a host of other insects as beautiful as flow ers in the lower and middle regions also many of the most extensive beds of bloom are in great part made by shrubs cherry rose laurel and many others the spaces about them bright and fragrant th etc is a handsome hardy belonging to the rose family flourishing on dry ground below the pine belt and often covering of twenty or thirty square miles of rolling sun beaten hills and with a dense dark green almost impenetrable which in the distance looks like scotch it is about six to eight feet high has slender elastic branches red bark leaves and small white flowers in about a foot long making glorious sheets of fragrant bloom in the spring to running fires it offers no resistance vanishing with the few other shrubs and vines and plants that g ow with it about as fast as wild gardens of the park leaving nothing but ashes bat with wonderful vigor it ri again and again in fresh beauty from the root and calls back to its hospitable the multitude of wild animals that had to flee for their lives as soon as you enter the pine woods you meet the charming little one of the of the park shrubs next in and beauty to the of the regions like it belongs to the rose family is from twelve to eighteen inches high has brown bark slender branches white flowers like those of the and yellow green leaves finely cut and as if unusual pains had been taken in them where there is plenty of sunshine at an elevation of three thousand to six thousand feet it makes a close continuous growth leaf touching over hundreds of acres spreading a handsome mantle beneath the yellow and sugar pines here and there a lily rises above it an bunch of tall and at wide intervals a or of or but there are no rough weeds mixed with it no of any sort perhaps the most widely distributed of all the park shrubs and of the in general certainly the most strikingly characteristic are the many species of our national though one species the or the of the western indians extends around the world the greater part of them are they are mostly from four to ten feet high round headed with innumerable branches brown or red bark pale green leaves set on edge and a rich profusion of small pink narrow urn shaped flowers like those of the branches are and about as rigid as bones and the bark is so thin and smooth both trunk and branches seem to be naked looking as if they had been polished and painted red the wood also is red hard and heavy these grand bushes seldom fail to engage the attention of the and hold it especially if he has to pass through closely planted fields of them such as grow on slopes at an elevation of about seven thousand feet and in choked with earthquake for they make the most stubborn of all even bears take pains to go around the patches if possible and when compelled to force a passage leave of hair and broken branches to mark their way while less under like circumstances sometimes lose most of their clothing and all their temper the like sunny ground on warm and sandy at the foot of sun beaten wild of the park cliffs some of the specimens have well defined trunks six inches to a foot or more thick and stand apart in orchard like which in are among the finest garden sights in the park the largest i ever saw had a round slightly trunk nearly four feet in which at a height of only eighteen inches from the ground dissolved into a wilderness of branches rising and spreading to a height and width of about twelve feet in every bush over all the mountains is with ly flowers in with the red pleasantly about the size of peas are like little apples and the hungry is glad to eat them though hale their bulk is made up of hard seeds indians bears birds and other mountain people live on them for months associated with there are six or seven species of fragrant and altogether delightful shrubs growing in glorious abundance in the forests on sunny or half shaded ground up to an elevation of about nine thousand feet above the sea in the woods the most beautiful species is c often called or deer brush it is five or six feet high smooth slender	28
with bright foliage and of blue flowers in close two species and spread national handsome blue and on warm beneath the pines and offer delightful beds to the tired the commonest species c is mostly to the silver fir belt it is white and and makes extensive of tangled far too dense to through and too deep and loose to walk on though it is pressed flat every winter by ten or fifteen feet of snow above these beds sometimes mixed with them a very wild red cherry grows in magnificent fragrant and white as snow when in bloom the fruit is small and rather bitter not so good as the black that grows in the but like it below the cherry and oak spread generous of and with and in adjacent help to clothe and adorn the rocky wilderness and produce food for the many mouths nature has to fill is the glory of cool streams and meadows it is from two to five feet high has bright green leaves and a rich u sion of large fragrant white and yellow flowers which are in prime beauty in june july and august according to the elevation from three thousand to six thousand feet only the purple of the for thicket wild gardens of the rivals or it in superb bloom back a little way from the bordered streams a small wild rose makes often several acres in extent fragrant on mornings and after showers the fragrance mingled with the music of birds in them and not far from these rose gardens covers the ground with broad leaves and pure white flowers as large as those of its neighbor the rose and finer in texture followed at the end of summer by soft red good for bird and beast and man also this is the commonest and the most beautiful of the whole blessed the glory of the r on in are the and enriched here and there by the and by the purple the only discovered in and the only species in the the lowly hardy adventurous has exceedingly der creeping branches leaves and pink or white bell flowers few plants large or small so well endure hard weather and rough ground over so great a range in july it a wavering interrupted belt of the loveliest bloom around lakes and meadows and across wild between roar our national ing streams all along the and northward beneath cold skies by way of the mountain chains of washington british and to the regions gradually descending until at the north end of the continent it reaches the level of the sea blooming as and at about the same time on frozen as on the high the companion of it as far north as where together they thick beds on rounded mountain tops above the it grows mostly at slightly lower the upper margin of what may be called the belt in the with and the lower margin of the the wide bell shaped flowers are bright purple about three of an inch in hundreds to the square yard the young branches mostly erect being covered with them no in more luxurious rest than the in a bed of blooming and imagine the show on calm mornings when there is a radiant globe in the throat of every flower and smaller gems on the needle shaped leaves the pouring through them in the same wild cold region the tiny mixed with and dwarf wild of the park thinner carpets the leaves sprinkled with pink bells and on higher sandy slopes you will find several species of with gorgeous masses of yellow bloom and the lovely with many blessed companions charming plants gentle nature s which seem always the finer the higher and their homes many interesting are distributed over the park from the to a little above the timber line the greater number are rock etc with small and and the cliffs and the most important of the larger species are and the common is a superb five to eight feet high growing in where the ground is level and on slopes in a regular over like on a roof its range in the park is from the western boundary up to about five thousand feet mostly on benches of the north walls of watered by small streams it is far more abundant in the coast mountains beneath the noble where it a height of ten to twelve feet the are mostly to the moist parts of the lower forests fo national to streams the hardy shouldered the commonest of grows and graceful on sunny and at between three thousand and six thousand feet those who know it only in the eastern states can form no fair conception of its stately beauty in the sunshine of the on the level sandy floors of valleys it often a height of six to eight feet in fields thirty or forty acres in extent the magnificent in a nearly position forming a ceiling beneath which one may walk erect in delightful mellow shade no other does so much for the color glory of autumn with its and and g and even after lying dead all winter beneath the snow it a lively brown mantle over the desolate ground until the young with a noble display of faith and hope come rolling up into the light through the midst of the beautiful ruins a few weeks suffice for their development then gracefully poised each in its place they manage themselves in every of weather as if they had passed through a long course of train ing i have seen solemn old sugar pines thrown into momentary confusion by the sudden of a storm tossing their arms excitedly as if scarce awake and wondering what had happened but i never noticed surprise or embarrassment in the behavior of this noble wild of the park of five species of in the park the handsome growing in with s	28
is largest p the and at the same time the most fragile of the grows in dense among rocks on storm beaten mountain sides along the upper margin of the line it is a charming little four or five inches high has shining bronze colored which are about as as and pale green com on the lower part of its range are and the soft and tender not at all like a rock though it grows on rocks where the snow lies u with o ro simply is about the same size as and ranks next to it as a growing in and around on about a thousand feet lower we find the smaller and more abundant p on and strewn watered until late in summer by ing current from snow banks or thin streams from growing in dose its little bright green about an inch in length as innumerable as leaves of grass p has twice or thrice is dull in color and dwells on hot rocky among in our national three species of and with al two to four an inch to five inches long adorn the walls of the however dry and sheer the exceedingly delicate and interesting is rare the others abundant at from three thousand to seven thousand feet elevation and are often accompanied by the little gold and rarely by the curious little the smallest of which are less than an inch high the finest of all the rock is lover of and the of spray no other is so constant a companion of white spray streams or tells so well their wild thundering music the homes it loves best are cave uke hollows beside the main falls where it can float its on their breath safely sheltered from the heavy spray laden many of these moss lined chambers so cool so moist and brightly colored with rainbow light contain thousands of these happy clinging to the walls by the slightest holds reaching out the most wonderfully delicate on dark glossy sensitive tremulous all alive in an attitude of eager attention throbbing in with every motion and tone of the water to their wild gardens of the park est moving each division of the separately at times as if the playing on invisible keys considering the lilies as you go up the mountains the first you come to is l large orange yellow purple spotted flowers big enough for babies it is seldom found higher than thirty five hundred feet above the sea grows in magnificent groups of fifty to a hundred or more in romantic in the pine woods shaded by and willow and with bushes in front of the trees for a border and and in front of the bushes while the bed of black in which the are set is with an these richly furnished lily gardens are the pride of the falls on the lower of the and rivers falls not like those of coming from the sky with rock thunder tones but small with self contained keeping their snowy skirts well about them yet furnishing plenty of spray for the lilies the washington lily is white fragrant moderate in size with three to ten the largest i ever measured was eight feet high the two feet long with fifty two flowers fifteen of our national them open the others had or were still in the bud this famous lily is distributed over the sunny portions of the sugar pine woods never in large garden companies like but widely scattered up to the waist in its lovely flowers above the blooming wilderness of and giving their fragrance to the breeze these stony are about the last places in the mountains in which one would look for lilies but though they toil not nor spin like other people under adverse circumstances they have to do the best they can because their large are good to eat they are dug up by indians and bears therefore like hunted animals they seek refuge in the where among the and tough tangled roots they are comparatively safe this is the favorite lily and it is now growing in all the best and gardens of the world the gardens in the park lie in the silver fir forests on the top of the main dividing or hang like colored down their sides their wet places are in great part taken up by a robust broad plant determined to be seen and and the parts by tall etc standing deep in grass with here and there around the borders but the wild gardens of the park finest feature of these forest gardens is it greatly in size the being from six to nine feet high with splendid of ten to fifty small orange colored flowers which rock and wave with great dignity above the other flowers in the winds that fall over the protecting wall of trees though rather frail looking it is strong reaching prime vigor and beauty eight thousand feet above the sea and in some places venturing as high as eleven thousand or is a unique of many species confined to the side of the continent charming plants somewhat resembling the of europe but far finer the richest region lies below the western boundary of the park still five or six species are included c is common on in the forests of the two pine and c and very slender lowly species may be found in moist garden spots near g with pure white flowers growing in shady places among the shrubs is i think the very loveliest of all the lily family a soul plant saint that every one must love and so be made better it puts the wildest on his good behavior with this plant the whole world would seem rich though none other existed next after is the most interesting x national nearly all the many species have heads of blue and	28
yellow flowers the gardens of the lower pine region other plants likely to attract attention are the blue the of which are as food by indians f and the climbing the common plants are and the only flower i have seen in the park is a handsome thoughtful looking plant living beside cool the large oval lip is white delicately with purple the other and purple and curved and twisted to the most attractive of all the flowers of the forest is the snow plant guinea it is a bright red pillar that up through the dead needles in the pine and fir woods like a d g ol th brown of needles on the forest floor in the cracks of which you notice fiery presently a blunt dome shaped head an inch or two i r s with ly i scales and in a week or so it grows to a height of six to twelve inches then the long fringed spread and curl aside wild gardens of the allowing the twenty or thirty five flowers to open and look straight out from the it is said to grow up through the snow on the contrary it always waits until the ground is warm though with other early flowers it is occasionally buried or half buried for a day or two by spring storms the entire plant flowers stem scales and roots is red but notwithstanding its glowing color and beautiful flowers it is singularly and cold everybody it as a wonderful curiosity but nobody loves it without fragrance rooted in vegetable matter it stands beneath the pines and rs lonely silent and about as rigid as a down in the main adjoining the and rose gardens there are beds of plants tall and and bright beds of on the meadows and airy purple adorn near falls the trees and with wild and while lightly shaded are covered with and of many species etc thousands of the most interesting gardens in the park are never seen for they are small and our national lie far up on and of the sheer wh ver a strip of soil however narrow and shallow can rest the birds winds and down washing rains have planted them with all sorts of hardy mountain flowers and where there is sufficient moisture they flourish in profusion many of them are watered by little streams that seem lost on the tremendous clinging to the face of the rock in and dripping from ledge to ledge too silent to be called falls from the upper meadows which for centuries have been seeking a way down to the rivers they belong to without having worn as yet any channel mostly or g ven to the plants they meet before reaching the foot of the cliffs to these unnoticed streams the finest of the cliff gardens owe their and freshness of beauty in the larger ones and flowers flourish in wonderful profusion and scarlet and with and a few specimens of each that seem to have been from the large gardens above and beneath them even lilies are occasionally found in these cliff gardens swinging their bells over the giddy seemingly as happy as their relatives down in the most of wild gardens of the park the g however are dependent on summer showers and though from the of the soil beds they are often dry they still display a number of flowers scarlet purple bush and of glowing golden nor is there any lack of plants the homely is often found in them and sweet and for the bees in the upper where the walls are inclined at so low an angle that they are loaded with material through which streams in broad diffused currents there are long wavering garden beds that seem to be descending through the forest like their lines suggesting motion swaying from side to side of the banks up here and there over island like piles or dividing and flowing around them in some of these the vegetation is chiefly and with in others flowers like those of the lily gardens on the main another curious and picturesque series of wall gardens are made by thin streams that slowly from and slip gently over smooth slopes from of sand and mud they carry a pair of sheets of soil an inch or two thick are gradually formed one of them hanging down from the brow of the slope the other leaning up our national from the foot of it like and the soil being held together by the moisture loving growing in it along the rocky parts of the between lake where the streams flow fast over polished granite there are rows of gardens full of and other common plants of the neighborhood nicely arranged like and standing out in telling relief on the bare shining rock banks and all the way up the to the summit wherever there is soil of any sort there is no lack of flowers however short the summer may be within eight or ten feet of a snow bank lingering beneath a shadow you may see their l september and g up their brown on ground that has been free from snow only eight or ten days and likely to be covered again within a few weeks the winter in the of these shadow gardens being about eleven months long while spring summer and autumn are hurried and crowded into one month again under favorable conditions gardens three or four thousand feet higher than the last are in their prime in june between the summit peaks at the head of the surprising effects are produced where the sunshine falls direct on rocky slopes and among toward the end of august in wild gardens of the park one of these natural on the north shore of a lake feet above the sea i found a luxuriant growth of hairy and the	28
mountain with thousands of purple flowers an inch wide while the opposite shore at a distance of only three hundred yards was bound in heavy snow summer on one side winter on the other and i know a bench garden on the north wall of in which a few flowers are in bloom all winter the massive rocks about it up sunshine enough in summer to melt the snow about as fast as it falls when tired of the confinement of my cabin i used to camp out in it in january and never failed to find flowers and also except during and a few days after from one can easily walk in a day to the top of mount a massive gray mountain that rises in the centre of the park with easy slopes adorned with piles and on the south side rugged with perpetual snow on the north most of the broad summit is comparatively level and smooth and covered with of etc out and strewn loosely as if sown their radiance so dazzling in some places as to fairly hide the multitude of our national small flowers that grow among them of keen lance rays infinitely fine white or colored making an almost continuous glow over all the ground with here and there throbbing lilies of light on the lai r gems at first sight only these crystal are noticed but looking closely you discover minute etc in thousands showing more than leaves and larger plants in hollows and on the borders of mountain fringed with you wander about from garden to garden enchanted as if walking among stars gathering the brightest gems each and all apparently doing their best with eager enthusiasm as if everything depended on faithful shining and considering the flowers in the glorious light many of them looking like of and that were resting after long dances in the now your attention is called to colonies of and the in front of their glittering like heaps of romantic ground to in or die in now you look abroad over the vast round land bounded by the down sky nearly all the park in it displayed like a map f meadows lakes rock waves and snowy mountains northward lies the basin of creek paved with bright and lakes like larger wild gardens of the park eastward the region and the summit peaks in glorious array southward and westward the boundless forests on no other mountain that i know of are you more likely to linger it is a camp ground of dwarf pine furnish roots and branches for fuel and the pure water around your camp fire the flowers seem to be looking eagerly at the light and the shine making fine company as you lie at rest in the very heart of the vast serene majestic night the finest of the meadow gardens lie at an elevation of about nine thousand feet in the upper pine forests like lakes of light they are smooth and level a mile or two long and the rich well drained ground is completely covered with a soft sod with flowers not one of which is in the least or coarse in some places the sod is so crowded with flowers that the no z h they re rather scattered while every leaf and flower seems to have its winged representative in the of happy like insects that en the air above them with the winter wings and are folded and for more than half the year the meadows are snow buried ten or fifteen feet deep in june they begin to out small patches of our national tiie dead sod appear g increasing in size until they are free and warm again face to face with the sky of push through the steaming mould sing soon joined by the birds and the merry insects come back as if suddenly raised from the dead soon the ground is green with and and dotted with small making the first crop of the season then the leaves a new sod and the exceedingly slender rise above it like a purple mist speedily followed by yellow and purple and a few later come the and and of the last there are three species small and fine with varying tones of blue and in glorious abundance extensive patches where the sod is through the midst flows a stream only two or three feet wide silently gliding as if ul not to disturb the hushed calm of the solitude its banks by the common sod bent down to the water s edge and trimmed with and slender grass lean over like miniature pine trees and here and there on the places small of are neatly spread without the down curling sod in spring and summer the weather is mostly crisp sunshine though magnificent mountain of wild gardens of the are often about noon their shady tinged with purple fine their snowy sun beaten glowing against the sky casting shadows for an hour or two then in a quick washing rain but for days in succession there are no clouds at all or only faint and scarcely toward the end of august the sunshine g announcing the coming of indian summer the outlines of the are softened and and more and more plainly are the mountains clothed with light white tinged with pale purple richest in the morning and evening the warm brooding days are full of life and thoughts of life to come seeds with next summer in them or a hundred the nights are impressive and calm frost of wondrous beauty grow on the grass each carefully planned and finished as if intended to endure forever the sod becomes yellow and brown but the late and carefully closing their flowers at night do not seem to feel the frost no plants of any kind are to be seen even	28
the early fail to them at last the precious seeds are ripe all the work of the season is done and the sighing pines tell the coming of winter and rest ascending the range you find many of our national the higher meadows from the amount of loose material washed into their and and rushes are mixed with the or take their places though all are still more or less and bordered with and dwarf here and there yon come to small the smooth and adorned with and others and ruffled like bits of their and with dwarf shrubs on piles the ted and on sandy slopes several species of yellow some of the plants less than a foot high being very old a century or more as is shown by the rings made by the annual of leaves on the big roots above these slopes the gray savage wilderness of and peaks seems lifeless and bare all the way up to the tops of the highest mountains supposed to be covered with eternal snow there are bright garden spots crowded with flowers their warm colors calling to mind the sparks and of fire on rising above a world of ice tlie mountain top plants are and pole growing in detached and the highest streaks and of the summer wave as it breaks against these wintry wild gardens of the park heights the most are the and and the red with innumerable flowers hiding the leaves though plants like the trees and shrubs are as they ascend two of these mountain and are notable exceptions the yellow is eight to twelve inches high stout erect the leaves three to six inches long a fragrant standing up boldly on the grim stained and never looking in the least tired or discouraged both the ray and flowers are yellow the heads are nearly two inches wide and are eagerly sought for by bee the is quite as luxuriant and tropical looking as its companion about the same height fragrant its blue flowers closely packed in eight or ten heads twenty to forty in a head it is never far from growing at of between eleven and thirteen thousand feet wherever a little hollow or situated with a handful of wind driven soil can be found from these frosty sky gardens you may descend in one straight to the and c of where the sunshine is warm h for palms but the greatest of all the gardens is the belt of forest trees covered in the spring national with blue and purple red and yellow blossoms each tree with a gigantic of flowers fifty to a hundred feet long yet strange to say they are seldom noticed few travel through the woods when they are in bloom the flowers of some of the species opening before the snow is o e the ground nevertheless one would think the news of such gigantic flowers would quickly spread and from all the world would make haste to the show eager inquiries are made for the of covered mountains and for the of streams that they may be enjoyed in but the far outburst if tree bloom covering a thousand mountains who about that that the flowers of the pines and should escape the eyes of careless is less to be wondered at since they mostly grow aloft on the branches and can hardly be seen from the foot of the trees yet even these make a magnificent show from the top of an overlooking ridge when the are pouring through them but the far more numerous flowers of the pines in large rosy clusters and those of the silver in countless thousands on the under side of the branches cannot be hid stand where you may the mountain also is colored with a profusion of lovely blue and purple flowers a spectacle to gods and men wild gardens of the park a single pine or or silver fir in the prime of its beauty about the middle of june is well worth the pains of the longest journey how much more broad forests of them thousands of miles long i one of the best ways to see tree flowers is to climb one of the trees and to get into close touch with them and then look abroad speaking of the benefits of tree climbing says i found my account in climbing a tree once it was a tall white pine on the top of a hill and though i got well pitched i was well paid for it for i discovered new mountains in the horizon which i had never seen before i might have walked about the foot of the tree for years and ten and yet i certainly should never have seen them but above all i discovered around me it was near the middle of june on the ends of the branches a few minute and delicate red blossoms the fertile flower of the white pine looking i carried straightway to the village the spire and showed it to stranger who walked the streets for it was court week and to farmers and and and hunters and not one had ever seen the like before but they wondered as at a star dropped down the same blindness here although the blossoms are a more our national abundant and telling once when i was collecting flowers of the red silver fir near a summer resort on the mountains above lake i carried a handful of branches to the boarding house where they quickly attracted a wondering admiring crowd of men women and children oh where did you get these they cried how pretty they are mighty handsome just too lovely for anything where do they grow on the commonest trees about you i replied you are now standing beside one of them and it is in full bloom look up and i pointed	28
to a blossom laden about a hundred and twenty feet high in front of the house used as a post and seeing its beauty for the first time their wonder could hardly have been greater or more sincere had their silver fir post for them at that moment as suddenly as s rod the mountain extends an almost continuous belt along the and northern to prince s sound accompanied part of the way by the pines our two silver to mount thence the fir belt is continued through washington and british by four other species and while the magnificent with large bright purple flowers the coast region from to cook s wild gardens of the park and all these f one belt one garden blooming in june rocking its in the hearty weather bowing and enjoying clouds and the winds and filling them with covering thousands of mu of the clothing the long slopes by the sea crowning and and innumerable islands and the banks of the one wild wavering belt of the noblest flowers in the world worth a lifetime of love work to know it chapter vi among the animals of the the bear brown or gray tbe of the animals over all the park though few have the pleasure of seeing him on he through the majestic forests and facing all sorts of weather rejoicing in his strength everywhere at home with the trees and rocks and shaggy happy fellow i his lines have fallen in pleasant places lily gardens in silver fir forests miles of bushes in endless variety and of bloom over hill waves and valleys and along the banks of streams full of music and fair as places in which one might expect to meet rather bears in this happy land no famine comes nigh him all the year round his bread is sure for some ci the thousand kinds that he likes are always in season and accessible ranged on the shelves of the mountains like stores in a from one to another from climate to climate up and down he on each in est among the of the its as great variety as if he to ff countries north and south to him almost every thing is food except granite every tree helps to feed him every bush and fruits and flowers leaves and bark and all the animals he can catch ground etc and bees old and young together with their eggs and and nests and down all g o to his stomach and vanish as if cast into a fire what i a sheep or a wounded deer or a pig he eats warm about as quickly as a boy eats a or should the meat be a month old it still is welcomed with tremendous relish after so gross a meal as this perhaps the next will be and or with and nuts or and and as if fearing that anything in all his should escape being eaten he breaks into to look after sugar dried apples bacon etc occasionally he eats the s bed but when he has had a full meal of more tempting he usually leaves it undisturbed though he has been known to drag it up through a hole in the roof carry it to the foot of a tree and lie down on it to enjoy a eating everything never is he himself eaten except by man and only man is an enemy to be feared b ar meat said a hunter from whom i was seeking our national tion b ar meat is the best meat in the their skins make the best beds and their the best with b ar goes as far as beans a man will walk all day on a couple of them in my first interview with a bear we were frightened and embarrassed both of as but the bear s behavior was better than mine when i discovered him he was standing in a narrow strip of meadow and i was concealed behind a tree on the side of it after studying his appearance as he stood at rest i rushed toward him to frighten him that i might study his gait in running but contrary to all i had heard about the shyness of bears he did not run at all and when i stopped short within a few steps of him as he held his ground in a fighting attitude my mistake was plain i was then put on my good behavior and never afterward forgot the right manners of the wilderness this happened on my first excursion in the forest to the north of valley i was eager to meet the animals and many of them came to me as if willing to show themselves and make my acquaintance but the bears kept out of my way an old in reply to my questions told me that bears were very shy all save g m old and that i might travel the mountains for years without seeing one unless i gave among the animals of the mind to them and the stealthy ways of hunters nevertheless it was only a few weeks after i had received this information that i met the one mentioned and obtained instruction at first hand i was in the woods about a mile back of the rim of beside a stream that falls into the valley by the way of indian nearly every day for weeks i went to the top of the north dome to sketch for it commands a general view of the valley and i was anxious to draw every tree and rock and a st dog was my companion a fine intelligent fellow that belonged to a hunter who was compelled to remain all summer on the hot plains and who him to me for the season for the sake of having him in the mountains where he	28
would be so much better off knew bears through long experience and he it was who led me to my first interview though he seemed as much surprised as the bear at my like behavior in june just as the began to stream through the trees i set out for a day s on the dome and before we had gone half a mile from camp the air and looked cautiously ahead lowered his tail drooped his ears and began to step softly like a cat turning every few yards and looking me in the face with a telling expression saying plainly enough there is a bear a our national little way ahead i walked carefully in the indicated direction until i approached a small meadow that i was familiar with then crawled to the foot of a tree on its margin bearing in mind what i had been told about the shyness of bears looking out cautiously over the of the tree i saw a big bear about thirty yards off half erect his on the trunk of a fir that had fallen into the his almost buried in grass and flowers he was listening attentively and trying to catch the scent showing that in some way he was aware of our approach i watched his and tried to make the most of my opportunity to learn what i could about him fearing he would not stay long he made a fine picture standing alert in the garden walled in by the most beautiful in the world after examining him at leisure noting the sharp thrust forward the long hair on his broad chest stiff ears n i d a do u way in which he moved his head i foolishly made a rush on him throwing up my arms and shouting to frighten him to see him run he did not mind the demonstration much only pushed his head forward and looked at me sharply as if asking what now if you want to fight i m ready then i began to fear that on me would fall the work of running but i was afraid to among the animals of the run lest he be encouraged to pursue me therefore i held my ground staring him in the face within a dozen yards or so putting on as bold a look as i could and hoping the influence of the human eye would be as great as it is said to be under these strained relations the interview seemed to last a long time finally the bear seeing how still i was calmly withdrew his huge from the log gave me a piercing look as if warning me not to follow him turned and walked slowly up the middle of the meadow into the forest stopping every few steps and looking back to make sure that i was not trying to take him at a fe in a rear attack i was to part with h and enjoyed the t view as he through the lilies and i always tried to g ve bears respectful notice of my approach and they usually kept well out of my way though they often came around my camp in the night only once afterward as far as i know was i veiy near one of them in daylight this time it was a i met and as luck would have it i was even nearer to him than i had been to the big though not a large specimen he seemed formidable enough at a distance of less than a dozen yards his shaggy coat was well his head almost white when i first caught sight of him he was eating national under a oak at a distance of perhaps five yards and i tried to dip past without disturbing him but he had either heard my steps on the gravel or caught m j scent for he came straight toward me stopping every rod or so to look and listen and as i was afraid to be seen running i crawled on my hands and knees a little way to one side and hid behind a hoping he would pass me unnoticed he soon came up opposite me and stood looking ahead while i looked at him peering past the trunk of the tree at last turning his head he caught sight of mine stared sharply a minute or two and then with fine dignity disappeared in a covered earthquake considering how heavy and broad footed bears are it is wonderful how little harm they do in the wilderness even in the well watered gardens of the middle r on where the flowers grow and where during warm weather the bears and roll no evidence of destruction is visible on the contrary under nature s direction the massive beasts act as on the forest floor with needles and brush and on the tough sod of meadows bears make no mark but around the sandy margin of lakes their magnificent tracks form grand lines of their well worn extend along the main on either side and among the animals of the though dusty in some places make no on the landscape they bite and break off the branches of some of the pines and oaks to get the but this is so light that few ever notice it and though they interfere with the orderly veiled decay of fallen trees tearing them to pieces to reach the colonies of that them the scattered ruins are quickly pressed back into harmony by snow and rain and over leaning vegetation the number of bears that make the park their home may be guessed by the number that have been killed by the two best hunters and old david brown began to be known as a bear about the year he was then the woods hunting and on the south fork of the a friend told me that he killed his	28
first bear near his cabin at that after courage to fire he fled without waiting to learn the effect of his shot going back in a few hours he found poor dead and gained courage to try i in confessed to me when we made an excursion together in that he was at first afraid of bears but after killing a half dozen he began to keep count of his victims and became ambitious to be known as a great bear hunter in nine years he had killed forty nine keeping count by cut on one of the a his cabin on the shore of our national cent lake near the south boundary of the park he said the more he knew about bears the more he respected them and the less he feared them but at the same time he more and more cautious and never fired until he had every advantage no matter how long he had to wait and how far he had to go before he g t the bear just right as to the direction of the wind the distance and the way of escape in case of accident making allowance also for the character of the animal old or young or for old he said he had no use whatever and he was mighty careful to avoid their acquaintance he wanted to kill an even hundred then he was going to confine himself to safer game there was not much money in bears anyhow and a round hundred was enough for glory i have not seen or heard of him lately and do not know how his bloody count stands on my excursions i occasionally passed his cabin it was full of meat and skins hung in bundles from ihe and the ground about it was strewn with bones and hair infinitely less tidy than a bear s den he went as hunter and th a survey party for a year or two and was very proud of the scientific knowledge he picked up his admiring fellow he said gave him credit for knowing not only the names of all the trees and among the animals of the bushes but also the names of tlie bears the most famous hunter of the r on was david brown an old who early in the gold period established his main camp in a little forest on the north fork of the which is still called brown s flat no finer solitude for a hunter and could be found the climate is delightful all the year and the scenery of both earth and sky is a perpetual feast though he was not much of a scenery fellow his friends say that he knew a pretty place when he saw it as well as any one and liked to get on the top of a command ridge to look off when out of provisions he would take down his old fashioned long rifle from its rest over the fireplace and set out in search of game seldom did he have to go far for son because the deer liked the wooded slopes pilot peak ridge with its open spots where they could rest and look about them and enjoy the breeze from the sea in warm troublesome flies while they found hiding places and fine food in the deer brush a small wise dog was his only companion and well the little understood the object of every hunt whether deer or bears or only hidden in the fir tops in sandy had little to do trotting national his master as he walked noiselessly through the fragrant woods careful not to step heavily on dry twigs open spots in the where the deer feed in the early morning and toward sunset peering over and as new were reached and along and willow fringed and streams until he found a young buck killed it tied its legs together threw it on his shoulder and so back to camp but when bears were hunted sandy played an important part as leader and several times saved his master s life and it was as a bear hunter david brown became famous his method as i had it from a friend who had passed many an evening in his cabin listening to his long stories of adventure was simply to take a few pounds of flour and his rifle and go slowly and silently over hill and valley in the part of the wilderness until little sandy came upon the fresh track of a bear then follow it to the death paying no heed to time wherever the bear went he went however rough the ground led by sandy who looked back from time to time to see how his master was coming on and regulated his pace accordingly never growing or allowing any other track to divert him when high ground was reached a halt was made to the in every direction and perchance would be discovered sitting upright on eating pulling among the animals of the down the fruit laden branches with his and pressing them together so as to get substantial however mixed with leaves and twigs the time of year enabled the hunter to determine where the game would be found in spring and early summer in and meadows and in along the banks of streams or on vine and slopes in late summer and autumn beneath the pines eating the cut off by the and in oak groves at the bottom of and and after snow had fallen in hot feeding on and yellow jacket these food places were always cautiously approached so as to avoid the chance of sudden whenever said the hunter i saw a bear before he saw me i had no trouble in killing him i just took lots of time to learn what he was up to and how long he would be likely to stay and to study the direction of	28
gems the effect of the in their eyes it was nearly midnight when a pair of the arrived they walked boldly through a gap in the fire circle killed two sheep carried them out and vanished in the dark woods leaving ten dead in a pile trampled down and smothered against the fence while the scared in the tree did not fire a single shot saying he was afraid he would hit some of the sheep as the bears got among them before he could get a good sight in the morning i asked the why national they did not move the flock to a new oh no use cried look my dead we move three four time ore all the same bear come by the track no to morrow we go home below look my dead soon all dead thus were they driven out of the mountains more than a month before the usual time after uncle sam s soldiers bears are the most effective forest police but some of the are veiy successful in killing them altogether by hunters indians and probably five or six hundred have been killed within the bounds of the park during the last thirty years but they are not in danger of now that the park is guarded by soldiers not only has the vegetation in great part come back to the desolate ground but all the wild animals are in numbers no are allowed in the park except under certain and after a permit has been obtained from the officer in charge this has stopped the barbarous slaughter of bears and especially of deer by hunters and hunting who it would seem can find no pleasure without blood the deer the spend the in the and exceedingly rough region just below the main timber belt and are less accessible to hunters there than when they among the animals of the are passing through the comparatively open forests to and from their summer pastures near the of the range they go up the early in the spring as the snow not waiting for it all to disappear reaching the high the first of june and the recesses at the of the peaks a month or so later i have them for miles over snow from three to ten feet deep deer are capital making their way into the heart of the mountains seeking not only hut a cool climate and safe hidden places in which to forth their young they are not supreme as animals they take second rank yield ing the first to the mountain sheep which dwell above them on the highest and peaks still the two meet frequently for the deer all the peaks save the lofty above the crossing piles of roaring swollen streams and sheer walled by and passes that would try the nerves of the climbing with graceful ease and reserve of strength that can not fail to arouse admiration everywhere some species of deer seems to be at home on rough or smooth ground or in and and the woods in varying hot or cold over all the maintaining glorious health never our al ing an awkward step standing lying walking feeding running even for life it is always graceful and adds beauty and animation to every landscape a charming animal and a great credit to nature i never see one of the common deer the only species in the park without fresh admiration and since i never carry a gun i see them well lying beneath a or dwarf pine among tiie brown needles on the brink of some cliff or the end of a ridge commanding a wide outlook feeding in selecting leaves and twigs leading out of my way or making them lie down and hide bounding past through the forest or curiously advancing and retreating again and again one morning when i was eating breakfast in a little garden spot on the around with i noticed a deer s head thrust through the bushes the big beautiful eyes at me i kept still and the deer ventured forward a step then and with drew in a few minutes she returned and came into the open garden stepping with in grace followed by two others after showing themselves for a moment they bounded over the hedge with sharp timid and vanished but curiosity brought them back with still another and all four came into my among the animals of the garden and satisfied i meant no ill began to feed actually eating breakfast with me like tame gentle sheep around a shepherd rare company and the most graceful in movements and attitudes i eagerly watched them while they fed on and wild cherry single leaves here and there from the side of the hedge turning now and then to a few leaves of from the midst of the garden flowers grass they did not eat at all no wonder the contents of the deer s stomach are eaten by the indians while exploring the upper of the north fork of the san one evening the sky threatening rain i searched for a dry bed and made choice of a big that had been pushed down by a snow but was rest ing on its knees high enough to let me ue under its broad trunk just below my shelter there was another on the very brink of a precipice and examining it i found a deer bed beneath it completely protected and concealed by drooping branches a fine refuge and as well as resting place about an hour before dark i heard the clear sharp of a deer and looking down on the rocky bottom discovered an anxious that no doubt had her concealed near by she bounded over the and up the farther slope of the wall often stopping to look national back and listen a fine picture of vivid e i	28
sat perfectly still and as my shirt was colored like the bark i was not easily seen after a little she came cautiously toward me the air and and her movements as she descended the side over piles and brush and fallen timber were admirably strong and beautiful she never strained or made apparent efforts although jumping high here and there as she drew nigh she anxiously trying the air in different directions until she caught my scent then bounded off and vanished behind a small of soon she came back with the same going five or six times while i sat her a evidently excited by her noisy climbed a beneath me and witnessed her performances as attentively as i did while a too restless or hungry for such shows busied himself about his supper in a thicket of the fruit of which was then ripe glancing about on the slender twigs lightly as a toward the end of the indian summer when the young are strong the deer begin to gather in little bands of from six to fifteen or twenty and on the approach of the first they set out on their march down the mountains to their winter quarters usually on warm th animals of the and spurs eight or ten miles below the as if to leave about the end of november a heavy far reaching storm drives them down in haste along the dividing between the rivers led by old experienced whose knowledge of the is wonderful it is when the deer are coming down that the indians set out on their grand fall hunt too lazy to go into the recesses of the mountains away from they wait for the deer to come out and then them this plan also has the advantage of finding them in bands great preparations are made old guns are mended bullets and the hunters wash themselves and fast to some extent to good luck as they say men and women old and young set forth together central are made on the well known of the deer which are soon red with blood each hunter in laden old as well as maidens smiling on the all grow fat and merry boys each armed with an head play at buck fighting and plague the industrious women who are busily preparing the meat for by stealing up behind them and throwing fresh hides over them but the indians are away here as everywhere and their red lips on the are fewer year our national there are and in the park but not in large i have seen well back in the range at the head of the meadows as early as june st before the snow was gone feeding on but they are far more numerous on the inhabited around where they enjoy life on chickens eggs ground etc and all kinds of fruit few wild sheep i fear are left for though safe on the high peaks they are driven down the eastern slope of the when the deer are driven down the western to and spurs where the snow does not fall to a great depth and there they are within reach of the s the two of the park the and the keep all the woods lively the former is far more abundant and more widely distributed being found all the way up from the to the dwarf pines on the summit peaks he is the most influential of the animals though small and the brightest of all the i know a of quick mountain vigor and purely wild and as free from disease as a one cannot think of such an animal ever being weary or sick he claims all the woods and is inclined to drive away even men as how he and what faces he makes if among the animals of the not so small he would be a dreadful fellow the gray is the i think of all the large american he is something the eastern gray but is brighter and clearer in color and more and slender he dwells in the oak and pine woods up to a height of about five thousand feet above the sea is rather common in valley river and indeed in all the main and but does not like the high fir compared with the the gray is more than twice as large nevertheless he to make his way through the trees with less stir than his small neighbor and is much less influential in every way in the spring before the pine nuts and nuts are ripe he last year s for the few seeds that may be left in them between the scales and fallen nuts and seeds on the ground among the leaves after making sure that no enemy is nigh his fine tail now behind now above him level or curled light and radiant as dry his body seems hardly more substantial than his tail the is a firm emphatic bolt of life fiery full of and show and fight and his movements have none of the elegant deliberation of the gray they are so quick and keen they almost sting the national and the he makes of himself turns one giddy to see the gray is shy and stealthy as if half expecting to find an enemy in every tree and and behind every log he seems to wish to be let alone and no desire to be seen or admired or feared he is hunted by the in and this of itself is cause enough for caution the is less attractive for game and probably increasing in numbers in spite of every enemy he goes his ways bold as a lion up and down and across round and round the happiest of all the hairy tribe and at the same time earnest and solemn r t with his electric toes if you him you cannot think he will he seems	28
making an isolated patch of warm among the animals of the climate i found a nice garden foil of rock etc and a few and in this garden i overtook the wanderer enjoying a fine fresh meal perhaps the first of the season how did he know the way to this one garden spot so high and far off and what told him that it was in bloom while yet the snow was ten feet deep over his den for this it would seem he would need more and knowledge than most are possessed of the shy curious mountain lives on the heights not far from the he and the flow of small streams under the sod and it is startling when one is on the edge of a sloping meadow near the homes of these industrious to be awakened in the still night by the sound of water rushing and under one s head in a newly formed canal also have a way of awakening nervous that is quite as exciting as the s plan that is by a series of firm upward when they are driving and up the dirt one naturally cries out who s there and then discovering the cause all right on good night and goes to sleep again the bob and wood rat are also among the most interest our national by a on the granite and by the light of my fire i discovered a handsome beside me dragging away my ice pulling with might and main by a string on the handle i threw bits of bark at him and made a noise to frighten him but he stood scolding and chattering back at me his fine eyes shining with an air of injured innocence a great variety of the warm portions of the park some of them are more than a foot in others but little larger than a few are and repulsive at first sight but most of the species are handsome and attractive and bear acquaintance well we like them better the farther we see into their charming lives small fellow mortals gentle and they are easily tamed and have beautiful eyes expressing the innocence so that in spite of prejudices brought from cool countries one must soon learn to like them even the of the plains and called horrid is mild and gentle with charming eyes and so are the species found in the of the lower forests these glide in curves with all the ease and grace of while their small limbs drag for the most part as useless one specimen that i measured was fourteen inches long and as far as i saw it made no use whatever of its among the animals of the most of them and dart on the rocks and across open spaces from bush to and birds and about as colored they never make a long sustained run whatever their object but dart direct as arrows for a distance of ten or twenty feet then suddenly stop and as suddenly start again these stops are necessary as rests for they are short and when pursued steadily are soon run out of breath and may easily be caught where no retreat in bush or rock is quickly available if you stay with them a week or two and behave well these gentle descendants of an ancient race of giants will soon know and trust you come to your feet play and watch your every motion with cunning curiosity you will surely learn to like them not only the bright ones gorgeous as the rainbow but the little ones gray as granite and scarcely bigger than and they will teach you that scales may cover as fine a nature as hair or feathers or anything there are many in the and lower forests but they are mostly handsome and harmless of all the and who have visited and the adjacent not one has been bitten by a snake of any sort while thousands have been charmed by them some of them with the in national beauty of color and dress patterns only the is and he carefully keeps his to himself as far as man is concerned unless his life is threatened before i learned to respect i killed two the first on the san plain he was comfortably around a of bunch grass and i discovered him when he was between my feet as i was stepping over him he held his head down and did not attempt to strike although in danger of being trampled at that time thirty years ago i ed that should be killed wherever found i had no weapon of any sort and on the smooth plain there was not a stick or a stone within miles so i crushed him by jumping on him as the deer are said to do looking me in the face he saw i meant mischief and quickly cast himself into a ready to strike in i knew he could not strike when therefore i threw of dirt and grass at him to him out of he held his ground a few minutes threatening and and then started off to get rid of me i ran forward and jumped on him but he drew back his head so quickly my heel missed and he also missed his stroke at me persecuted tormented again and again he tried to get away bravely striking out to protect himself but at last my heel came down sorely wound among the animals of thb ing him and a few more brutal him i felt degraded by the killing farther from heaven and i made up my mind to try to be at least as fair and charitable as the themselves and to kill no more save in self the second killing might also i think have been avoided and i have always felt somewhat sore and g ty about it i had built a	28
would be trying to most likely their is carried on th feet of ducks and other anyhow they are most thoroughly distributed and flourish what a cheery hearty set they are and how bravely their and the rock i none of the high lying lakes or branches of the rivers above sheer falls had fish of any sort until by the agency of man in the high the only river in which exist naturally is the middle fork of kings river there are no sheer falls on this stream some of the however are so swift and rough even at the lowest stage of water that it is surprising any fish can them i found in abundance in this fork up to seventy five hundred feet they also run quite high on the on the they get no higher than valley four thousand feet all the forks of the river being barred there by sheer falls and on i s national the main they are stopped by a fall below still lower than though these upper waters are inaccessible to the fish one would suppose their eggs might have been planted there by some means nature has many ways of doing such things in case she f or the a of j and now many of these hitherto lakes and streams are full of fine by individual enterprise clubs etc in great part under the of the united states fish commission a few carried into in a common water bucket have multiplied wonderfully fast lake at an elevation of over eight thousand feet was eight years ago by mr who carried a few from many of the small streams of the eastern slope have also been with transported over the passes in tin on the backs of soon it would seem all the streams of the range will be enriched by these lively fish and will become the means of drawing thousands of visitors into the mountains catching with a bit of bent wire is a rather trivial business but fortunately people fish better than they know in most cases it is the man who is caught fishing regarded as bait for catching men for the saving of both body and soul is important and deserves all the expense and care be on it vn among thb birds of thb in the forests usually complain of the want of life the trees they say are fine hut the empty stillness is deadly there are no animals to he seen no we have not heard a song in all the woods and no wonder i they go in large parties with and horses they make a great noise they are dressed in unnatural colors every animal them even the frightened pines would run away if they could but devout open eyed looking and listening with love find no lack of inhabitants in these mountain and they come to them gladly not to mention the large animals dr the small insect people every has its and every tree its or or bird tiny the of the hark cheerily whispering to as it off loose scales and the curled edges of or crow or examining the or some singer resting feeding attending to domestic affairs our national ha and sail overhead walk ir happy flocks below and song sing in every bed of there is no crowding to be sur unlike the low eastern trees those of the in the main forest belt average nearly two hundred feet in height and of course many birds are required to make much show in them and many voices to them nevertheless the whole range from to snowy is shaken into song every summer and though low and thin in winter the music never ceases the sage cock is the largest of the game birds and the king of american it is an admirably strong hardy handsome independent bird able with comfort to bid defiance to heat cold hunger and all sorts of storms living on whatever seeds or insects chance to come in its way or simply on the leaves of sage brush everywhere abundant on its desert range in winter when the temperature is below and heavy are blowing he sits beneath a sage bush and allows himself to be covered his head now and then through the snow to feed on the leaves of his shelter not even the an is in frost and snow darkness when in full he is a beautiful bird with a long firm sharp pointed tail which in walking raised and back and among the birds of the t s forth with each step the male is handsomely marked with and white on the neck back and wings five or six pounds and measures about thirty inches in length the female is clad mostly in plain brown and is not so large they occasionally wander from the sage plains into the open nut pine and woods but never enter the main forest it is only in the broad dry half desert plains that they are quite at home where the weather is blazing hot in summer cold in winter if any one passes through a flock all on the gray ground and hold their heads low hoping to escape observation but when approached within a rod or so they rise with a magnificent burst of wing beats looking about as big as and making a noise like a on the th of june at the head of s valley i caught one of the young that was then just able to fly it was seven inches long of a uniform gray color blunt and when captured cried in a shrill voice clear in tone as a boy s small willow whistle i have seen flocks of from ten to thirty or forty on the east margin of the park where the desert meets the gray of the but since cattle have been there they are becoming every	28
year another magnificent bird the blue or dusky next in size to the sage is found all national the forest belt not in th y like w ie b t rf woods near garden and meadow where there is but little to cover the approach of enemies when a flock of these brave birds and feeding on the sunny of some hidden meadow or valley far back in the heart of the mountains see a man for the first time in their lives they rise with hurried notes of surprise and excitement and alight on the lowest branches of the trees wondering what the wanderer may be and showing great eagerness to get a good view of the strange animal knowing nothing of guns they allow you to approach within a half dozen paces then hop a few branches higher or fly to the next tree without a thought of concealment so that you may observe them as long as you like near enough to see the fine of their the feathers on their toes and the innocent in their wild eyes but in the neighborhood of roads and they soon become shy and when disturbed fly into the highest trees and suddenly become invisible so well do they know how to hide and keep still and make use of their nor can they be easily ere they are ready to go in vain the hunter goes and round some pine oi fir into which he has perhaps seen a dozen among the birds of the gazing up through the branches his eyes while his gun is held ready not a feather he see unless his eyes have been sharpened by long experience and knowledge of the blue s habits then perhaps when he is thinking that the tree must be hollow and that the birds have all gone inside they burst forth with a startling of wing beats and after gaining full speed go swiftly away through the forest arches in a long silent wavering with wings steady during the summer they are most of the time on the ground feeding on insects seeds etc around the of open spots and rocky playing and sun and sand and drinking at little pools and during the heat of the day in winter they mostly in the trees depending on for food beneath dense branches at night and during storms on the of the trunk themselves on tbe limbs in fine weather and sometimes into the snow to flutter and apparently for exercise and fun i have seen young running beneath the in june at a height of eight thousand feet above the sea on the approach of danger the mother with a peculiar cry the helpless to scatter and hide beneath leaves and twigs and even in plain open places it is almost s our national impossible to discover them in the meantime the mother throws herself at your feet and and to draw your attention from the the young are generally able to fly about the middle of july but even after they can fly well they are usually advised to run and hide and lie still no matter how closely approached while the mother goes on with her loving lying acting apparently as desperately concerned for their safety as when they were sometimes however after carefully studying the circumstances she them to take wing and up and away in a and they scatter to au points of the compass as if blown up with dropping out of sight three or four hundred yards off and keeping quiet until called after the danger is supposed to be past if you walk on a little way without any inclination to hunt them you may sit down at the foot of a tree near enough to see and hear the happy one touch of nature makes the whole world kin and it is truly wonderful how love telling the small voices of these birds are and how far they reach through the woods into one another s hearts and into ours the tones are so perfectly human and so full of anxious affection few can fail to be touched by them they are cared for until full grown on the among the of the of august as i was passing along the margin of a garden spot on the head waters of the san a rose from the ruins of an old that had been and brought down by an from a cliff overhead she threw herself at my feet and fluttered and gasped showing as i thought that she had a nest and was raising a second brood looking for the eggs i was surprised to see a strong winged flock nearly as large as the mother fly up around me instead of seeking a warmer climate when the winter storms set in these hardy birds stay all the year in the high forests and i have never known them to suffer in any sort of ther able to live on the of pine and fir they are forever independent in the matter of food supply which gives so many of us trouble g us here and there away from our best work how gladly i would live on pine however for the sake of this independence i with all his superior resources man makes more difficulty concerning food than any other of the family the mountain or ore is common in all the upper portions of the park though nowhere in numbers he considerably higher than the in summer but is unable to endure the heavy storms of winter when his food is i our national buried he the range to the at a height of from two thousand to three thousand feet above the sea but like every true he is quick to follow the spring back into the highest mountains i think he is the very and most interesting of all the american larger and than	28
the famous bob white or even the fine valley or the of and that he is not so regarded is because as a lonely he is not half known his is delicately shaded brown above white and rich chestnut below and on the sides with many dainty of black and white and gray here and there while his ful head three or four inches long nearly straight composed of two feathers closely folded so as to appear as one is worn backward like a single feather in a boy s giving him a very marked appearance tl y wander over the lonely mountains in family flocks of from six to fifteen beneath and wild cherry and over dry sandy meadows rocky and beds of around lakes especially in autumn when the of the up r are ripe uttering low notes to enable them to keep together when they are so suddenly disturbed that they ar among the birds of the afraid they cannot escape the danger by running into they rise with a fine hearty and scatter in the brush over an area of half a square mile or so a few of them leafy trees but as soon as the danger is past the parents with a clear note call them together again by the end of july the young are two thirds grown and fly well though only dire necessity can compel them to try their wings in gait gestures habits and general behavior they are like domestic chickens but infinitely finer searching for insects and seeds looking to this side and that scratching among leaves jumping up to pull down grass heads and and muttering in low tones once when i was seated at the foot of a tree on the head waters of the i heard a flock up the valley behind me and by their voices gradually sounding nearer i knew that they were feeding toward me i kept still hoping to see them soon one came within three or four feet of me without noticing me any more than if i were a stump or a part of the trunk against which i was leaning my clothing being brown nearly like the bark presently along came another and another and it was delightful to get so near a view of these handsome chickens perfectly undisturbed observe their manners and hear their low peaceful notes at last one of them caught my eye national gazed in silent wonder for a moment then nt a peculiar cry which was followed by a lot of hurried muttered notes that sounded like speech the others of course saw me as soon as the alarm was sounded and joined the wonder talk gazing and chattering astonished but not frightened then all with one accord ran back with the news to the rest of the flock what is it what is it oh you never saw the like they seemed to be saying not a deer or a wolf or a bear come see come see where where down there by that tree then they approached cautiously past the tree stretching their necks and looking up in turn as if knowing from the story told them just where i was for fifteen or twenty minutes they kept coming and going venturing within a few feet of me and discussing the wonder in charming chatter their curiosity at last satisfied they began to scatter and feed again going back in the direction they had come from while i to part with them followed noise crawling beneath the bushes keeping them in sight for an hour or two learning their habits and finding out what seeds and they liked best the valley is not a and seldom enters the park except at a few of the lowest places on the western boundary it belongs to the and among the of the and and is a hundred tunes more numerous than the mountain it is a beautiful bird about the size of the bob white and has a handsome crest of four or five feathers an inch long standing nearly erect at times or drooping forward the loud calls of these in the spring pe check ah a are heard far and near over all the they have vastly increased in numbers since the settlement of the country notwithstanding the immense numbers killed every season by boys and pot hunters as well as the regular from the towns for g ve i tion is more by increased supply of food from cultivation and by the destruction of their etc which not only kill the old birds but plunder their nests where and abound scarce one pair in a hundred is successful in a brood so well aware are these birds of the protection afforded by man even now that the number of their wild enemies has been diminished that they prefer to nest near houses notwithstanding they are so shy four or five pairs rear their young around our cottage every spring one year a pair in a straw pile within four or five feet of the stable door and did not leave the eggs when the men led the horses back and forth a foot or two fox national many seasons a pair in a of grass in the garden another pair in an ivy vine on the cottage roof and when the young were it was interesting to see the parents getting the down they were greatly excited and their anxious calls and directions to their many attracted our attention they had no great in persuading the young birds to pitch themselves from the main roof to the porch roof among the ivy but to get them safely down from the latter to the ground a distance of ten feet was most distressing it seemed impossible the frail soft things could avoid being killed the anxious parents led them to a point above a bush that reached	28
most conspicuous of the flashing their throats in countless wild gardens far up the higher slopes where they would be least expected all one has to do to enjoy the com of these mountain loving is to display a blanket or handkerchief the is another delightful singing a wild cheery song and carry ing the sky on his back over all the gray and of the region a fine hearty good natured lot of dwell in the park and keep it lively all the year round among the most notable of these are the magnificent log cock iu the prince of and only second in rank as far as i know of all the wood of the world the black that and flies like a lis i g d d fa great part on wild and and the carpenter who stores up great quantities of in the bark of trees for winter use the named species is a beautiful bird and far common than the others in the woods our national of the west he represents the eastern red head bright cheerful industrious not in the least shy the give delightful animation to the open forests at a height of from three thousand to fifty five hundred feet especially in autumn the are ripe then no works harder at his pine nut harvest than these at their harvest holes in the thick bark of the yellow pine and incense in which to store the crop for winter use a hole for each so nicely adjusted as to size that when the point foremost is driven in it fits so well that it cannot be drawn out without digging around it each is thus carefully stored in a dry bin perfectly protected from the weather a most laborious method of away a crop a for each the birds seem never to weary at the work but go on so diligently that they seem determined to save every in the grove they are never seen eating at the time they are them and it is commonly believed that they never eat them or intend to eat them but that the wise birds store them and protect them from the of and solely for the sake of the worms they are supposed to contain and because these worms are too small for use at the time the drop they are shut up like lean and each in a among the birds of the separate stall with abundance of food ta grow big and fat by the time they will be most wanted that is in winter when insects are scarce and stall fed worms most valuable so these are supposed to be a sort of cattle each with a drove of thousands the that raise grain and keep herds of plant for milk cows needless to say the story is not true though some even believe it when was in the park having heard the worm story and seen the g pines full of he asked just to pump me i suppose why do ihe take the trouble to put into the bark of the trees for the same reason i replied that bees store honey and nuts but they tell me mr that don t eat yes they do i said i have seen them eating them during they seem to eat little besides i have repeatedly interrupted them at their meals and seen the perfectly sound half eaten they eat them in the shell as some people eat eggs but what about the worms i suppose i said that when they come to a one they eat both worm and anyhow they eat the sound ones when they can t find anything they like better and from the time they store them until they are used they guard them and woe to the or our national caught stealing indians in times of resort to these stores and chop them out with a or more may be gathered from a single or pine the common robin with all his notes and gestures is found nearly everywhere throughout the park in shady beneath and along the banks of the streams about the of meadows in the fir and pine woods and far beyond on the shores of lakes and the slopes of the peaks how admirable the constitution and temper of this cheery graceful bird keeping glad health over so vast and varied a range t in all america he is at home flying from plains to mountains up and down north and south away and back with the seasons and supply of food in the high as you wander through the solemn woods and silent yon will hear the voice of this fellow wanderer ringing out sweet and clear as if saying fear not fear not only love is here in the he seems as happy as in gardens and apple the enter the park as soon as the snow and go on up the mountains gradually higher with the opening flowers until the meadows are reached in june and july after die short summer is done they among the birds of the descend like most other summer visitors in with the weather keeping out of the first heavy as much as possible while lingering among the frost wild on the slopes just below the meadows thence they go to the lower slopes of the forest region compelled to make haste at times by heavy storms picking up seeds or insects by the way and at last all save a few that winter in valleys arrive in the and and fields of the in november picking up fallen fruit and grain and awakening old time memories among the white headed who cannot fail to recognize the influence of so a bird they are then in flocks of hundreds and make their way into the gardens of towns as well as into the and fields and about the bay	28
of san where many of the are shot for sport and the morsel of meat on their breasts man then seems a beast of prey not even genuine piety can make the robin quite respectable saturday is the great slaughter day in the bay region then the city pot hunters with a rag of boys go forth to kill kept in countenance by a of arrayed in self conscious ma d l l d dog d c r i g makers over the fine the our national goes forward with shameful enthusiasm after escaping countless dangers thousands fall big are gathered many are left wounded to die slowly no red cross society to help them next day sunday the blood and vanish from the most devout of the bird who go to church carrying gold headed instead of guns after hymns prayers and sermon they go home to feast to put god s song birds to use put them in their dinners instead of in their hearts eat them and the pitiful little it is only race living on race to be sure but christians singing divine love need not be driven to such straits while wheat and apples grow and the shops are full of dead cattle song birds for food compared with this making of and would be pious economy the come in large flocks from the hills and mountains in the fall and are as as the fortunately most of our song birds keep back in leafy and are comparatively inaccessible the water in his rocky home amid foaming waters seldom sees a g and of all the singers i like him the best he is a plainly dressed little bird about the size of a robin with short crisp but rather broad wings and a tail of moderate length up giving hun with his nodding manners a look among the of the s he is usually seen fluttering about in the spray of falls and the rapid portions of the main branches of the rivers these are his favorite haunts but he is often seen also on comparatively level reaches and occasionally on the of mountain lakes especially at the beginning of winter heavy have the streams with though not a water bird in structure he gets his living in the water and is never seen away from the immediate margin of streams he into rough boiling and to feed at the bottom flying under water seemingly as easily as in the air sometimes he in shallow places thrusting his head under from time to tune in a nodding way that is sure to attract attention his flight is a solid of wing beats like that of a and in going from place to place along his favorite string of he follows the of the stream and usually on some rock or on the bank or out in the current or rarely on limb of an overhanging tree like a tree bird when it suits his convenience he has the manners imaginable and all his gestures as he about in the wild dashing waters the utmost cheerfulness and confidence he sings both winter and summer in all sorts of weather a sweet melody low and much less keen and national than from the brisk vigor of his movements one be led to expect how romantic and beautiful is the life of this brave little singer on the wild mountain streams building his round nest of moss by the side of a rapid or fall where it is sprinkled and kept fresh and green by the spray no wonder he sings well since all the air about him is music every breath he draws is part of a song and he gets his first music lessons before he is bom for the eggs in time with the tones of the bird and stream are inseparable and wild gentle and strong the bird ever in danger in the midst of the stream s mad yet seemingly immortal and so i might go on writing words words words but to what purpose go see him and love him and through him as through a window look into nature s warm heart chapter thb f and of thb national park let to the fields the tlie tbe ns the end the iu the joyful streams of the are among the most famous and interesting in the world and draw the admiring on and on through their wonderful year after year after long wanderings with tracing them to their fountains learning their history and the forms they take in their wild works and ways throughout the different seasons of the year we may then view them together in one magnificent show over all the range like their silvery branches a nd i i g y horn to the sea the small with hard roads to travel dropping from ledge to ledge pool to pool like chains of sweet toned slipping gently over beds of pebbles and sand resting in lakes shining the shores with whispering and shaking over our national leaning bushes and grass the larger streams and rivers in the displaying noble purity and beauty with energy rushing down smooth in wide sheets fold over fold springing up here and there in magnificent s crisp the to bursting with hoarse roar through rugged and in falls gliding glancing cool soothing murmuring through long reaches richly filling the grand with glorious song and giving life to all the landscape the present rivers of the are still young and have made but little mark as yet on the prepared for them by the ancient only a very short time ago they all lay buried beneath the they singing in low smothered or silvery ringing tones in crystal channels while the sum weather melted the ice and snow of the surface or gave showers at first only in warm weather was any part of these buried	28
rivers displayed in the light of day for as soon as frost prevailed the surface vanished though the streams beneath the ice and in the body of it flowed on all the year when toward the close of the period the ice mantle began to shrink and from the the lower portions of the rivers were fountains and streams developed issuing from on the melting margin and growing longer as the ice withdrew while for many a century the and upper portions of the trunks remained covered in the of time these also were set free in the sunshine to take their places in the each with ite smaller branches being gradually developed like the main trunks as the changes went on at first all of them were muddy with and they became clear only after the they drained had beyond lake in which the were dropped this early history is clearly explained by the present rivers of of those that discharge into arms of the sea only the on the surface of the ice and currents in the tide water in front of the ice wall are visible where in the first stage of have from the shore short sections of the trunks of the rivers that are to take their places may be seen rushing out from and in the melting front rough roaring laden torrents foaming and tumbling over to the sea perhaps without a single bush or flower to their raw shifting banks again in some of the warmer and valleys from which the trunk have been melted the fm national main trunks of the are well developed and their banks planted with fine forests while their upper branches lying high on the snowy moan are still buried beneath shrinking every stage of development from icy darkness to light and from to crystal clearness now that the hard grinding work of the period is done the whole bright band of rivers run clear all the year except when tiie snow is melting fast in the warm spring weather and during extraordinary winter floods and the heavy of summer called cloud bursts even then they are not muddy above the region unless the have been loosened and the vegetation destroyed by sheep for the rocks of the upper are clean and the most able streams find but little to carry save the spoils of the forests trees branches of bark leaves dust etc with scales of sand g ins and which are rolled along the bottom of the steep parts of the main channels short sections of a few of the highest heading in are of course with finely ground rock mud but this is dropped in the first lakes they enter on the northern part of the range with rocks the fountain waters sink and flow below the surface for con fountains and streams distances groping their way in the dark like the streams of and at last bursting forth in big generous springs and cool and exquisitely clear some of the largest look like lakes their waters straight up from the bottom of deep rock in quiet massive volume giving rise to young rivers others issue from in sheer with loud tumultuous roaring that may be heard half a mile or more examples of these great northern spring fountains twenty or thirty feet deep and ten to nearly a hundred yards wide abound on the main branches of the feather and fall rivers the springs of the park and the high ai l n m numerous are comparatively small from and in thin flat irregular which remain on the surface or near it the rocks of the south half of the range being mostly granite and since granite is but slightly the streams are particularly pure nevertheless though they are all clear and in the upper and main central forest r delightfully lively and cool thej vary somewhat in color and taste as well as temperature on account of differences however slight in exposure and in the rocks and vegetation with which they come in contact some m national are more exposed than others to winds and shine in their falls and thin be amount of dashing mixing and the waters of each receive considerably and there is always more or less variety in the kind and quantity of the v they flow through and in the time they lie in shady or sunny lakes and the water of one of the branches of the north fork of river near the of the park at an elevation of ninety five hundred feet above the sea is the best i ever found it is not only delightfully cool and bright but brisk sparkling and so positively to the taste that a party of friends i led to it twenty five years ago still praise it and refer to it as that wonderful champagne water though comparatively the finest wine is a coarse and vulgar drink the party about a week in a pine grove on the edge of a little round meadow through which the stream ran bank full and drank its icy water on frosty mornings before breakfast and at night about as eagerly as in the heat of the day lying down and taking draughts direct from the flood lest the touch of a cup might disturb its celestial flavor on one of my excursions i took pains to trace this stream to its head springs it is mostly derived snow that lies in heavy and fountains and streams leaps on or near the of the range it flows first in flat sheets over coarse sand or derived from a granite ridge and the of bed mountain then gathering its many small branches it through beds of material and a series of and meadows and frosty bordered with and linked together by short reaches below these growing strong with tribute drawn from many a snowy fountain on	28
either side the glad stream goes dashing and through of the white pine and tangled willow and enriched by the fragrant vegetation usually found about them and just above the level camp meadow it is and and beaten white over and over in crossing a of big earthquake giving it a very thorough but to what the peculiar excellence of this water is due i don t know for other streams in adjacent are in about the same way and draw traces of and plant from similar sources the best water yet discovered in the park flows from the springs on the north side of the big meadow like it and every healing virtue to it but in no way can any of these waters be compared with the champagne it is a curious fact that the waters of some si our national of the lakes and streams are invisible or nearly so under certain weather conditions this is noticed by hunters and wide awake sharp eyed little likely to be by fine one of these mountain men whom i had nursed while a broken leg was mending always reported the wonders he found once returning from a trip on the head waters of the he came running eagerly crying i ve found the lake in the mountains it a high up where nothing g and when it isn t shiny you can t see it and you walk right into it as if there was nothing there the first you know of that lake you are in it and get tripped up by the water and hear the splash the waters of creek are nearly invisible in the autumn so that in following the channel jumping from to after a shower you will frequently drag your feet in the apparently pools excepting a few low warm slopes fountain snow usually covers all the park from november or december to may most of it until june or july while on the parts of the north slopes of the mountains at a height of eleven to thirteen thousand feet it is perpetual it seldom lies at a greater depth than two or three feet on the lower margin ten feet over the middle region or fifteen to twenty feet fountains and streams m in the shadowy and among the peaks of the except where it is drifted or piled in heaps at the foot of long slopes to form f contains the first crop of snow that the mountains and the streams usually falls in september or october in the midst of charming indian summer weather often while the and are in their prime but these indian summer like some of the late ones that bury the june gardens vanish in a day or two and garden work goes on with speed the grand winter storms that load the mountains with enduring fountain snow seldom set in before the end of november the fertile clouds descending glide about and in brooding silence as if thoughtfully examining the forests and streams with reference to the work before them then small or single appear and in and and soon the masses fill the sky and make darkness like night hurrying wandering to th winter quarters the first fall is usually about two to four feet deep then with intervals of bright weather not very cold storm storm snow on snow until from thirty to fifty or sixty feet has fallen but on account of heavy settling and and the waste and melting the depth in the national middle region as stated above rarely ten feet never wholly ceases even in the weather and the sunshine between storms the surface or less waste from melting goes on at tiie bottom from summer heat stored in the rocks as is shown by the rise of the streams after the first general storm and their steady sustained flow all winter in the deep sugar pine and silver fir woods up to a height of eight thousand feet most of the snow lies where it falls in one smooth universal fountain until set free in the streams but in the lighter forests of the two pine and on the bleak slopes above the timber line there is much wild drifting during storms accompanied by high winds and for a day or two after they have fallen when the temperature is low and the snow dry and dusty then the trees bending in the blast roar like feeding lions the frozen lakes are buried so also are the streams which now flow in dark as if another period had come on high where the winds have a free sweep magnificent curling are formed which with the piles last as fountains almost all summer and when an high wind is blowing from the north the snow rolled drifted and ground to dust is driven up the northern slopes of the peaks and sent flying for miles in the form of bright wavering fountains and streams fin displayed in wonderful clearness and against the sky the greatest storms however are usually followed by a deep peculiar silence especially profound and solemn in the forests and the noble trees stand hushed and motionless as if under a spell until the morning begin to through their laden then the snow shifting and falling from the top branches strikes the lower ones in succession and masses all the way down thus each tree is enveloped in a hollow of fairy silvery white on the outside while the relieved branches spring up and wave with startling effect in the general stillness as if moving of their own these beautiful tree hundreds of which may be seen falling at once on fine mornings after storms pile their snow in raised rings around corresponding hollows beneath the trees making the forest mantle somewhat irregular but without its duration and the flow of the streams the large storm are most abundant on the summit peaks of the	28
range they descend the broad steep slopes as well as narrow and with grand roaring and and glide in graceful curves out on the they so feed down in the main ca of the middle region t our national broad masses are launched over the brows of cliffs three or four thousand feet high which worn to dust by in falling so far through the air hang for a minute or two in front of the tremendous like half transparent beautiful when the sun is shining through them most of the however flow in regular channels like the of streams when the snow first g way on the upper slopes of their a dull muffled rush and is heard which increasing with heavy deliberation seems to draw rapidly nearer with appalling intensity of tone presently the wild flood comes in sight bounding out over and sheer places leaping from bench to bench spreading and and throwing off clouds of whirling diamond dust like a majestic compared with and falls are short lived and the sharp sounds so common in dashing water are usually wanting but in their deep thunder tones and purple tinged whiteness and in dress gait gestures and general behavior they are much alike besides these common storm there are two other kinds the annual and the century hich further the scenery thou h influence on is comparatively small annual are composed of heavy com fountains and streams snow which has been subjected to frequent o frost and they are on and mountain sides the greater number of them at of from nine to ten thousand feet where the slopes are so inclined that the dry of winter and hold fast the spring sap their foundations and make them then away in grand style go the ponderous icy masses adorned with spray without any cloudy snow dust some of the largest descending more than a mile with even sustained energy and like the grand century that wide through the upper forests occur on shady mountain sides about ten to twelve thousand feet high where under ordinary conditions the snow accumulated from winter to winter lies at rest for many years allowing trees fifty to a hundred feet high to grow undisturbed on the slopes below them on their way through the forests they usually make a clean sweep off the soil as well as the trees clearing paths two or three hundred yards wide from the timber line to the meadows and the trees head downward in along the sides like and broken branches on the standing trees the record the side depth of the overwhelming flood and when we come to count the annual wood rings of the trees we our national learn that some of these colossal only once in about a century or even at still wider intervals few go far enough during the snowy months to see many and fewer still know the thrilling of in au my wild i have enjoyed only one ride and the start was so sudden and the end came so soon i thought but little of the danger that g with this sort of travel though one thinks fast at such times one calm bright morning in after a hearty storm had given three or four feet of fresh snow to the mountains being eager to see as many as possible and gain wide views of the peaks and forests arrayed in their new robes before the sunshine had time to change or them i set out early to climb by a to the top of a command ing ridge a little over three thousand feet above the valley on account of the of the snow that blocked the i knew the climb would be trying and estimated it might require three or four hours but it proved far more difficult than i had foreseen most of the way i sank waist deep in some places almost out of sight and after spending the day to within half an hour of in this loose snow work i was still several hundred feet below the summit then my hopes were reduced to get and streams ting np in time for the sunset and a sparkling home going beneath the stars but i was not to get top views of any sort that day for deep near the head where the snow was strained started an and i was back down to the foot of the as if by enchantment the ascent of about a mile had taken all day the descent perhaps a minute when the snow suddenly gave way i instinctively threw myself on my back and spread my arms to try to keep from sinking fortunately though the grade of the was steep it was not interrupted by step or big enough to cause or free plunging on part of the rush was i buried i was only on the surface or a little below it and covered with a hissing back streaming veil of dusty snow and as the whole mass beneath or about me joined in the flight i felt no though tossed here and there and from side to side and when the torrent and came to rest i found myself on the top of the pile without a single or says that steam has travel notwithstanding the smoke smells and clatter of boat and rail riding this flight in a way of snow flowers was the most spiritual of all my travels and after many years the mere thought of it is still an our national in the after all the are down and the snow is fast it is glorious to hear the streams sing out on the mountains every fountain swelling countless hurry together to the rivers at the call of the sun beginning to run and sing soon after sunrise increasing until toward then gradually failing through the cold frosty hours of the night thus the volume of the	28
during the last three or four centuries for trees three or four hundred years old were growing on them some standing at the top close to the wall without a or broken branch showing that scarcely a single had fallen among them since they were planted all the throughout the range seemed by the trees and growing on them to be of the same ag all the phenomena pointed straight to a grand ancient earthquake but i left the question open for years and went on from to observing again and again measuring the heights of throughout the range on both and the variations in the angles of their surface slopes studying the way their were and related and brought to rest and the joints of the cliffs from whence they were derived cautious about making up my mind only after i had seen one made did all doubt as to their formation vanish in valley one morning about two o clock i was aroused by an earthquake and though i had never before enjoyed a storm of this sort the strange wild thrilling motion and could not be mistaken and i ran out of my cabin near the both glad and m national frightened shouting a noble earthquake i feeling sure i was going to learn something the were so violent and varied and succeeded one another so closely one had to balance in walking as if on the deck of a ship among the waves and it seemed impossible the high cliffs should escape being shattered in particular i feared that the sheer which rises to a height of three thousand feet would be shaken down and i took shelter back of a big pine hoping i might be protected from should any come so far i was now convinced that an earthquake had been the maker of the and positive proof soon came it was a calm moonlight night and no sound was heard for the first minute or two save a low and a slight rustling of the agitated trees as if in with the mountains nature were holding her breath then suddenly out of the strange silence and strange motion there came a tremendous roar the eagle a short distance up the valley had given way and i saw it in thousands of the great i had been studying so long pouring to the valley floor in a free curve luminous from making a terribly sublime and beautiful spectacle an arc of fire fifteen hundred feet span as true in form and as steady as a rainbow in the midst of the rock storm the fountains and streams was deep and broad and ear as if the whole earth uke a living creature had at last found a voice and were calling to her sister it seemed to me that if au the thunder i ever heard were into one roar it would not equal this rock roar at the birth of a mountain think then of the roar that arose to heaven when all the thousands of ancient throughout the length and breadth of the range were simultaneously given birth the main storm was soon over and eager to see the new bom i ran up the valley in the moonlight and climbed it before the huge blocks after their wild fiery flight had come to complete rest they were slowly settling into their places grating one another groaning and whispering but no motion was visible except in a stream of small fragments down the face of the cliff at the head of the a cloud of dust the smallest of the floated out across the whole breadth of the valley and formed a ceiling that lasted until after sunrise and the air was loaded with the of crushed from a g ve that had been down and like weeds about to see what other changes had been made i found the indians in the middle of the valley terribly frightened of course fear our national the angry spirits of the rocks were trying to kill them the few in the valley were assembled in front of the old hotel comparing notes and meditating flight to ground seemingly as sorely frightened as the indians it is always interesting to see people in dead earnest from whatever cause and make earnest shortly after sunrise a low blunt like distant thunder was followed by another series of which though not nearly so severe as the first made the cliffs and tremble like and the big pines and oaks thrill and and wave their branches with effect then the groups of were suddenly hushed and the solemnity on their faces was sublime one in particular of these winter neighbors a rather thoughtful man with whom i had often conversed was a firm in the origin of the valley and i now remarked tiiat his wild tumble ment might soon be proved since these and might be the of another which would perhaps double the depth of the valley by the floor leaving the ends of the wagon roads and three or four thousand feet in the air just then the second series of and it was fine to see how awfully silent and solemn he fountains and streams his belief in the existence of a abyss into which the suspended floor of the valley and all the and of the walls might at any moment go roaring down troubled him to cheer and him into another view of the case i said come cheer up smile a little and clap your hands now that kind mother earth is trotting us on her knee to amuse us and make us good but the joke seemed and utterly failed as if only terror could rightly belong to the wild beauty making business even after all the heavier were over i could do nothing to him on the contrary he handed me the keys of his little store and	28
with a com of like mind fled to the in about a month he returned but a sharp shock occurred that very day which sent him flying again the rocks trembled more or less every day for over two months and i kept a bucket of water on my table to learn what i could of the move ments the blunt tones in the depths of the mountains were usually followed by sudden from the northward often succeeded by twisting movements judging by its effects this or earthquake as it is sometimes called was gentle as compared with the one that gave rise to the grand system of the range and did so much fi our national for the scenery nature j so deliberate in her operations then created as we have seen a new set of features simply by giving the mountains a shake changing not only the high peaks and cliffs but the streams as soon as these rock fell every stream b an to sing new songs for in many places thousands of were hurled into their channels and half them compelling the waters to and roar in where before they were gliding smoothly some of the were completely leaves etc filling the between the thus giving rise to lakes and level reaches and these again after being gradually filled in to smooth meadows through which the streams now silently while at the same time some of the took the places of old meadows and thus rough places were made smooth and smooth places rough but on the whole by what at first sight seemed pure confusion and ruin the were enriched for every however big the it was covered with groves and gardens and made a finely and ornamental base for the sheer cliffs in this beauty work every is prepared and measured and put in its place more thoughtfully than are the stones of temples if for a moment you are inclined to regard these as mere fountains and streams to the top of one of them tie your mountain shoes over the and with nerves run down without any hesitation boldly jumping from to with even speed you will then find your feet playing a tune and quickly discover the music and poetry of rock piles a fine lesson and all nature s tells the same story f every t t jl of nature etc however mysterious and lawless at first sight they may seem are only harmonious notes in the song of creation varied expressions of s love chapter ix thb aim the big tree is nature s forest and so far as i know the of living things it belongs to an ancient stock as its remains in old rocks show and has a air of other days it a look inherited from the long ago the of trees once the was common and with many species flourished in the now desolate regions in the interior of north america and in europe but in long events f ul wanderings from climate to climate only two species have survived the hardships they had to encounter the and ns tiie former now to the western slopes of the the other to the coast mountains and both to excepting a few groves of which extend into the pacific coast in general is the paradise of here nearly au of them are g ts and display a beauty and magnificence unknown elsewhere the climate is mild the ground never the and moisture and abound all the year nevertheless it is not easy to account for the colossal size of the the largest are about three hundred feet high and thirty feet in who of all the of the plains and and fertile home forests of round headed oak and and elm ever dreamed that earth could bear such trees that the familiar pines and seem to know nothing about lonely silent serene with a almost and so old sands of them still living had already counted their years by of centuries when set sail from spain and were in the vigor of youth or middle age when the star led the to the infant s cradle as far as man is concerned they are the same yesterday to day and forever of no description can give any adequate idea of their singular majesty much less of their beauty excepting the sugar pine most of their neighbors with pointed tops seem to be forever shouting while the big tree though soaring above them all seems satisfied its rounded head poised lightly as a giving no impression of trying to go higher only in youth does it show like other a keenly with a long wing top indeed the whole tree for the first century or two or until a hundred to a hundred and fifty feet our national high is in form and compared with the solemn of age is as sensitive to the wind as a tail the lower branches are gradually dropped as it grows older and the upper ones out until comparatively few are left these however are developed to great size divide again and again and in rounded masses of leafy while the head becomes dome shaped then poised in of strength and beauty stem and solemn in mien it with eager enthusiastic life quivering to the tip of every leaf and branch and far reaching root calm as a dome the first to feel the touch of the rosy beams of the morning the last to bid the sun good night perfect specimens by running fires or lightning are singularly and in general form though not at all conventional showing infinite variety in sure unity and harmony of plan the immensely strong stately shafts with rich brown bark are free of limbs for a hundred and fifty feet or so though dense of occur here and there producing an ornamental effect while long parallel give	28
seen every clear day about lively as ever to stores never coming up in the loose snow about as quickly as ducks in ter while storms and sunshine sing to each other one of the noblest and most beautiful of the late winter sights is the of the big trees like gigantic and the of their the over all the forest and the snow covered ground a most glorious view of nature s immortal and flower love one of mj own best excursions among the was made in the autumn of when i the then unknown or little known region south of the grove for comprehensive views of the belt and to learn what i could of the peculiar distribution of the species and its history in general in particular i was anxious to try to find out whether it had ever been more widely distributed since the period what conditions favorable or otherwise were affecting it what were its relations to climate soil and the other trees growing with it etc and whether as was supposed the species was i was already acquainted in a general way with the northern groves but excepting some passing glimpses gained on excursions into the high about the head waters of kings and rivers i had seen nothing of the south end of the belt nearly all my has been done on foot carrying as little as possible depending on camp fires for warmth that so i might be light and free to go wherever my studies might lead on this trip which promised to be long i was persuaded to take a small wild mule with me to provisions and a pair of our national the friendly owner of the animal having noticed that i sometimes looked tired when i came down from the peaks to my bread sack assured me that his little mule was just what i wanted tough as a knot per low and narrow just right for through brush able to climb like a jump from to like a wild sheep and go anywhere a man could go but tough as he was and accomplished as a many a time in the course of our journey when he was and hungry fast in rocks or in like a fly in a his troubles were to see and i wished he would leave me and find his way home alone we set out from about the end of august and our first camp was made in the well known grove here and in the adjacent pine woods i spent nearly a week carefully the boundaries of the grove for traces of its extension without finding any then i struck out into the majestic forest to the hoping to find new groves of old ones in the dense silver fir and pine woods about the head of big creek where soil and climate seemed most favorable to their but not a single tree or old monument of any sort came to light until i climbed the high rock called by the indians here i obtained tell the ing views of the fertile forest filled basin of the upper of the noble yellow pine were displayed rising above one another on the slopes and yet nobler sugar pines with superb arms outstretched in the rich autumn light while away toward the on the verge of the glowing horizon i discovered the majestic dome like crowns of big trees towering high over all singly and in dose grove there is something wonderfully attractive in this king tree even when beheld from afar that draws us to it with indescribable enthusiasm its superior height and massive smoothly rounded outlines its character in any company and when one of the oldest full stature on some commanding ridge it seems the very god of the woods i ran back to camp packed over the divide and down into the heart of the then choosing a camp on the side of a brook where the grass was good i made a cup of tea and set off free among the brown giants in the abundance of new work about me one of the first special things that caught my attention was an extensive the ground on the side of a stream had given way to a depth of about fifty feet and with all its trees had been launched into the bottom of the stream most of the trees pines incense and were still our national standing erect and as if that anything out of the common had happened tracing the alongside the i saw many trees whose roots had been laid bare and in one instance discovered a about fifteen feet in growing above an old prostrate trunk that seemed to belong to a former generation this slip had occurred seven or eight years ago and i was glad to find that not only were most of the big trees but that many companies of hopeful and were growing confidently on the fresh soil along the broken front of the these young trees were already eight or ten feet high and were shooting up vigorously as if sure of eternal life though young pines and were a race with them for the sunshine with an even start farther down the i counted five hundred and thirty six promising young on a bed of rough soil not exceeding two acres in extent the big trees covered an area of about four square miles and while wandering about surveying the boundaries of the grove anxious to see every tree i came suddenly on a handsome log cabin richly and so fresh and it was still of and like a newly tree strolling forward wondering who could have built it the i an old weary eyed g man on a bark stool by the door reading a book the discovery of his by a stranger seemed to surprise him but when i explained that i	28
was only a tree lover along the mountains to study he bade me welcome made me my mule down to a tu l door d with him promising to show me his pet trees and many curious things bearing on my studies after supper as the evening shadows were falling the good his life in the mines which in the main was like that of most other gold hunters a succession of intense experiences full of big and downs like the mountain since he had wandered over most of the sinking innumerable prospect holes like a sailor making digging new channels for streams g old sprinkled and gravel beds with energy life s noon the meanwhile passing unnoticed into late afternoon shadows then health and gold gone the game played and lost like a wounded deer creeping into this forest solitude he the call how sad the of many a life here now the noise of the first big gold battles has died away how many interesting lie drifted and in hidden of the gold region perhaps no other range contains national the remains of ao many rare and men the name of my friend is john a a fine kind man who in going into the woods has at last gone home for he loves truly and that these last shadowy days with scarce a of gold in them are the of all birds plants g t loving natural recognition and delightful it was to see how he to the silent influences of the woods his eyes brightened as he gazed on the trees that stand g rd around his little home and mountain came to his call to be fed and he tenderly the little hoping they yet might g ow straight to the aj and rule the grove one of the greatest of his trees stands a little way back of his cabin and he proudly led me to it bidding me admire its colossal proportions and measure it to see if in all the forest there could be another so grand it proved to be only twenty six feet in and he seemed distressed to learn that the giant was larger i tried to comfort him by observing that his was l e taller finer formed and perhaps the more situated then he led me to some noble ruins of gigantic trunks of trees that he supposed must have been larger than any now standing and though they had lain on the damp ground exposed to fire and the weather for centuries the wood was perfectly sound the s timber is not only beautiful in color rose red when fresh and as easily worked as pine but it is almost absolutely build a house of big tree logs on granite and that house will last about as long as its foundation indeed fire seems to be the only agent that has any effect on it from one of these ancient trunk i cut a specimen of the wood which neither in color strength nor could be distinguished from specimens cat from trees although it had kin on the damp forest floor for more than three hundred and eighty years probably more than thrice as long the time in this instance was determined as follows when the tree from which the specimen was derived fell it sunk itself into the ground making a ditch about two hundred feet long and five or six feet deep and in the middle of this ditch where a part of the fallen trunk had been burned a silver fir four feet in and three hundred and eighty years old was growing showing that the trunk had lain on the ground three hundred and eighty years the unknown time that it lay before the part whose place had been taken by the fir was burned out of the way and that which had elapsed ere the seed from which the fir sprang fell into the prepared soil and took root now because trunks are never wholly consumed in one forest fire and our these fires only at considerable interval and because after being cleared are often left for centuries it becomes evident that the trunk remnant in question may have been on the ground a thousand years or more similar are common and together i ith the root and long straight of the fallen throw a sure light back on the post history of the species bearing on its distribution one of the most interesting features of this grove is the apparent ease and strength and comfortable independence in which the trees occupy their place in the forest young and middle aged trees are around the old betraying no of approach to on the contrary all seem to be saying everything is to our mind and we mean to live forever but sad to tell a lumber company was building a and near in the and sometimes in the lower portion of the trunk and roots there is a dark sub which readily in water and a magnificent purple color it is a strong and is said to be used by the indians as a big medicine mr showed me specimens of ink he had made from it which i tried and found good flowing freely and holding its color well indeed everything about the tree seems constant the with these interesting forming the largest of the northern groves i stopped only a week for i had far to go before the fall of the snow the seemed to cling to me and tried to make me promise to winter with him after the season s work was done had to be got home however and other work awaited me therefore i could only promise to stop a day or two on my way back to and give the forest news the next two weeks were spent in the basin of the san innumerable and surveying the far	28
in every shady hollow beside the walls of roots many hopeful spring up the largest and as far as i know the oldest of all the kings trees that i saw is the majestic stump already referred to about a hundred and forty feet high which above the swell of the roots is thirty five feet and eight inches inside the bark and over four thousand years old it was burned nearly half through at the base and i spent a day in off the our national cutting into the heart and counting the with the aid of a i made out a over four thousand without difficulty or doubt but i was unable to get a complete count owing to confusion in the rings where wounds had been healed over judging by what is left of it this was a fine tall tree nearly forty feet in before it lost its bark in the last sixteen hundred and seventy two years the increase in was teu feet a short distance south of this forest lies a beautiful grove now mostly included in the general national park i found many shake makers at work in it access to these magnificent woods having been made easy by the old wagon road the park is only two miles square and the largest of its many fine trees is the general grant so named before the date of my first visit twenty eight years ago and said to be the largest tree in the worlds though above the base the is less than thirty feet the lumber company owns nearly all the kings outside the park and for many years the mills have been spreading desolation any advantage one of the shake makers directed me to an old grant it proved to be a huge black stump thirty two feet in the next in size to the grand monument mentioned above the i found a scattered growth of big trees extending across the main divide to within a short distance of s mill on a of dry creek the mountain ridge on the south side of the stream was covered from base to summit with a most superb g of big trees what a picture it made in all my wide forest wanderings i had seen none so sublime every tree of all the mighty host seemed perfect in beauty and strength and their majestic heads rising above one another on the mountain slope were most displayed like a range of clouds on a calm sky in this glorious forest the mill was busy forming a sore sad centre of destruction though small as yet so immensely heavy was the growth only the smaller and most accessible of the trees were being cut the logs from three to ten or twelve feet in were dragged or rolled with long strings of oxen into a and sent flying down the steep mountain side to the mill flat where the largest of them were into dimensions for the and as careless on ground half or three of the timber was wasted i spent several days exploring the ridge and counting the annual wood rings on a large number of in the then my bread sack and pushed on southward all national the way across the broad rough of the and rivers ruled supreme forming an almost continuous belt for sixty or seventy miles waving up and down in huge mountain in compliance with the grand day after day from to grove to i made a long wavering way terribly rough in some places for but cheery for me for big trees were seldom out of sight we crossed the rugged picturesque of creek the north fork of the and marble fork and full of beautiful and falls sheer and infinitely varied with broad curly foam and of in which the thence we climbed into the noble forest on the marble and middle fork divide after a general of the basin part of the belt seemed to me the finest and i then named it the giant forest it extends a magnificent growth of giants in pure temple groves ranged in along the sides of meadows or scattered among the other trees from the granite overlooking the hot and plains of the san b to within a few les of the old fountains at an elevation of to feet above the sea when i entered this sublime wilderness the the day was nearly done the trees with rosy glowing countenances seemed to be hushed and thought ful as if waiting in conscious dependence on the sun and one walked softly and awe stricken among them i wandered on meeting nobler trees where all are noble subdued in the general calm as if in some hall pervaded by the deepest and that sway human souls at the trees seemed to cease their worship and breathe free i heard the birds going home i too sought a home for the night on the edge of a level meadow where there is a long open view between the trees standing guard along its sides then after a good place was found for poor who had had a hard weary day sliding and across the marble i made my bed and supper and lay on my back looking up to the stars arches finer far than the pious heart of man telling its love ever reared then i took a walk up the meadow to see the trees in the pale light they seemed still more massive and tall than by day heaving their colossal heads into the depths of the sky among the stars some of which appeared to be sparkling on their branches like flowers i built a big fire that vividly the huge brown of the nearest trees and the little plants and and fallen leaves at their feet keeping up the show until i fell asleep to dream our national of forests and trail fox	28
joyous birds welcomed the dawn and the now their food were ripe and had to be quickly gathered and stored for winter began their work before sunrise my tea bread breakfast was soon done and leaving to feed and rest i sauntered forth to my studies in every direction ruled the woods most of the other big were present here and there but not as rivals or companions they only served to and the general wilderness trees of every age cover as well as the deep soiled slopes and plant their magnificent shafts along every and meadow and meadows are rare or entirely wanting in the isolated groves north of kings river here there is a beautiful series of them lying on the broad top of the main dividing ridge in the very heart of the woods as if for ornament their smooth kept bright and fertile by streams and sunshine resting awhile on one of the most beautiful of them when the sun was high it seemed impossible that any other forest picture in the world could rival it there lay the grassy lawn three of a mile long smoothly ing in mellow autumn light colored brown and yellow and purple with lines of n the along the streams and ruffled here and t ith patches of and scarlet around the margin there is first a fringe of and willow bushes colored orange yellow with vivid of red as if painted then up spring the mighty walls of three hundred feet high the brown so thick and tall and strong they seem fit to the sky the dense foliage swelling f oi ward in rounded on the upper half shaded and tinted that of the young trees dark of the old an a d ward beyond the general line with arms was covered with gray and yellow and surrounded by a group of whose slender seemed to lack not a single leaf or spray in their wondrous perfection such was the meadow picture that golden afternoon and as i gazed every color seemed to and glow as if the progress of the fresh im work were visible from hour to hour while every tree seemed religious and conscious of the presence of a free man in a scene like this and time goes by i stood fixed in silent wonder or sauntered about shift ing my points of view studying the of separate trees and going out to the different color patches to see how they were put on and what they were made of giving free our national to my joy in nature s im mortal vigor and beauty never dreaming any other human being was near suddenly the spell was broken by dull sounds and a man and horse came in sight at the farther end of the meadow where they seemed sadly out of place a good big bear or or would have been more in keeping with the old forest nevertheless it is always pleasant to meet one of our own species after solitary and i stepped out where i could be seen and shouted when the rider in his galloping and waited my approach he seemed too much surprised to speak until laughing in his puzzled face i said i was glad to meet a fellow in so lonely a place then he abruptly asked what are you doing how did you get here i explained that i came across the from and was only looking at the trees oh then i know he said g to my surprise you must be john he was a band of horses that had been driven up a rough trail from the to feed on these forest meadows a few of was all that was left in my bread sack so i told him that i was nearly out of provision and asked whether he could spare me a little flour oh yes of course you can have anything i ve got he said just take my the track and it will lead you to my camp in a big hollow log on the side of a meadow two or three miles from here i must ride after some strayed horses but i ll be back before night in the mean time make yourself at home he galloped away to the northward i returned to my own camp and by the middle of the afternoon discovered his noble den in a fallen by fire a spacious of one log lined centuries old yet sweet and fresh weather proof earthquake proof likely to the most stone and commanding views of garden and grove far than the richest king ever enjoyed found plenty of grass and i found bread which i ate with views from the big round door soon the good came in and i enjoyed a famous rest listening to his observations on trees animals adventures etc while he was busily preparing supper in answer to inquiries concerning the distribution of the big trees he gave a good deal of particular information of the forest we were in and he had heard that the species extended a long way south he knew not how far i wandered about for several days within a of six or seven miles of the camp surveying boundaries measuring trees and climbing the highest points for general views from the south side of the divide i saw telling national ranks of crowned stretching for into the distance and plunging vaguely down into profound depths weeks of good work i had now heen out on the trip more than a month and i h an to fear my studies would be interrupted by snow for winter was drawing nigh where there is n t a way make a way is easily said when no way at the time is needed but to the with a mule across the lines of the brave old phrase becomes heavy with meaning there are ways	28
across the by well marked and followed by men and beasts and birds and one of them even by but none natural or artificial along the range and the who would thus travel at right angles to the ways must and extending side by side in endless succession by side and and stubborn and defended by innumerable sheer my own ways are easily made in any direction but though one of the tough est and most of his race was discouraged for want of hands and caused endless work wild at first he was tame enough now and when turned loose he not only refused to run away but as his troubles increased came to depend on me in such a pitiful touching way i became attached to him and helped him as if the he were a good natured boy in distress and then the labor grew lighter bidding good by to the kind cave we vanished again in the wilderness drifting slowly southward on every ridge top and pointing the way in the forest between the middle and east forks of the i met a great fire and as fire is the master and of the distribution of trees i stopped to watch it and learn what i could of its works and ways with the giants it came racing up the steep covered slopes of the east fork with passionate enthusiasm in a broad of flames now bending down low to feed on the green bushes devouring acres of them at a breath now towering high in the air as if looking abroad to choose a way then stooping to feed again the lurid flapping and the smoke and terrible rushing and roaring hiding all that is gentle and orderly in the work but as soon as the deep forest was reached the flood became calm like a torrent entering a lake creeping and spreading beneath the trees where the was level or gently slowly the cake of compressed needles and scales with flames an inch high rising here and there to a foot or two on dry twigs and of small bushes and grass only at considerable intervals were fierce national lighted where heavy branches broken off by snow had accumulated or around some able giant whose head had been stricken off by lightning i on the edge of a little meadow beside a stream a good safe way off and then cautiously chose a camp for myself in a big stout hollow trunk not likely to be crushed by the fall of burning trees and made a bed of and boughs in it the night however and the strange wild were too beautiful and exciting to allow much sleep there was no danger of being chased and hemmed in for in the main forest belt of the even when swift winds are blowing fires seldom or never sweep over the trees in broad all embracing sheets as they do in the dense rocky mountain woods and in those of the mountains of and washington here they creep from tree to tree with tranquil deliberation allowing close observation though caution is required in venturing around the burning giants to avoid falling limbs and knots and fragments from dead shattered tops though the day was best for study i sauntered about night after night learning what i could and admiring the wonderful show vividly displayed in the lonely darkness the ground fire advancing in long crooked lines gently and smoking on ttie close pressed leaves springing up in thousands the of of pure on dry and twigs and tall and flat sheets with jagged flapping edges dancing here and there on grass ts and big blazing in perfect storms of energy where heavy branches mixed with small ones lay smashed together in hundred cord piles big red arches between spreading root and trees growing dose together huge fire trunks on the hill slopes glowing like bars of hot iron violet colored fire run up the tall trees tracing the of the bark in quick quivering and lighting magnificent on dry shattered tops and ever and anon with a tremendous roar and burst of lights young trees clad in low descending branches vanishing in one flame two or three hundred feet high one of the most impressive and beautiful sights was made by the great fallen trunks lying on the all red and glowing like colossal iron bars fresh from a furnace two hundred feet long some of them and ten to twenty feet after repeated have consumed the bark and sap wood the sound surface being full of cracks and sprinkled with leaves is quickly with a pure rich glow almost and producing a effect in the night another grand and interesting sight are the fires on the tops of the largest living trees flaming above the our national green branches at a height of perhaps two hun feet entirely cut off from the ground fires and looking like signal on watch towers from one i sometimes saw a dozen or more those in the distance looking like great stars above the forest roof at first i not imagine how these lamps were lighted but the very first night strolling about waiting and watching i saw the thing done again and again the thick bark of old trees is divided by deep nearly continuous the sides of which are bearded with the ends of broken by the growth swelling of the trunk and when the fire comes creeping around the feet of the trees it runs up these in lovely pale blue quivering of flame with a low earnest whispering sound to the lightning top of the trunk which in the dry indian summer with perhaps leaves and twigs and scales and seed wings lodged in it is readily these lamp lighting the most beautiful fire streams i ever saw last only a minute or two but the big lamps burn with varying brightness for days and	28
weeks throwing off sparks like the spray of a fountain while ever and anon a shower of red coals comes down through the branches followed at times with startling effect by a big off weighing perhaps half a ton the immense where fifty or a hundred the u of split smashed wood has been piled around some old g by a single stroke of lightning is another grand sight in the night the light is so great i found i could read common print three hundred yards from them and the illumination of the circle of trees is impressive other big fires roaring and were on the upper sides of trees on against which limbs broken off by heavy snow had rolled while branches high overhead tossed and shaken by the ascending air current seemed to be in pain perhaps the most startling phenomenon of all was the quick death of only a century or two of age in the midst of the other comparatively slow and steady fire work one of these tall beautiful leafy and would be seen blazing up suddenly all in one heaving h flame reaching from the ground to the top of the tree and fifty to a hundred feet or more above it with a smoke column bending forward and streaming away on the upper wind to bum these green trees a strong fire of dry wood beneath them is required to send up a current of air hot enough to from the leaves and then instead of the lower limbs catching fire and the next and next in the whole tree seems to almost our national and with awful roaring and throbbing a round flame shoots up two or three hundred feet and in a second or two is the green spire a black dead mast and with down curling boughs nearly all the trees that have been burned down are lying with their heads because they are burned far more deeply on the upper side on account of broken limbs rolling down against them to make hot fires while only leaves and twigs on the lower side and are quickly consumed without injury to the tree but green wood very slowly and many successive fires are required to burn down a large tree fires can run only at intervals of several years and when the ordinary amount of that has rolled the gigantic trunk is consumed a ow ia slowly de pen d by fires until far beyond tf of when at last the tree falls it of course falls the healing folds of wood on some of the deeply burned trees show that centuries have elapsed since the last wounds were made when a great falls its head is smashed into fragments about as small as those made by lightning which are mostly devoured by the first running hunting fire that finds them while the trunk is slowly wasted away by centuries of fire and weather one of the most interesting fire the s actions on the trunk is the of those great like hollows through which may gallop all of these famous hollows are burned out of the solid wood for no is ever by decay when the tree falls the trunk is often broken straight across into sections as if into these joints the fire on account of the great size of the broken for weeks or even months being much influenced by the weather after the great glowing ends each other have burned so far apart that their cease to the fire continues to work on in the and the ends become deeply then heat be ing from side to side the burning g on in each section of the trunk independent of the other until the of the bore is so great that the heat across from side to side is not sufficient to keep them burning it appears therefore that only very large trees can receive the fire and have any shell rim left fire attacks the large trees only at the g round the fallen leaves and at their feet doing them but little harm unless considerable quantities of fallen limbs happen to be piled about them their thick mail of almost bark affording strong protection therefore the oldest and most perfect trees are found on ground that is nearly level while those growing on our national against which falling branches roll are always deeply on the upper side and as we have seen are sometimes burned down the thing of all was to see the hopeful many of them and bent with the pressure of winter snow yet bravely at the top helplessly and young trees perfect of and naturally immortal suddenly changed to dead the sun looked cheerily down the in the forest roof turning the black smoke to a beautiful brown as if all was for the best beneath the smoke clouds of the suffering forest we again pushed southward descending a side of the east fork and climbing another into new forests and groves not a whit less noble the meanwhile had been resting while i was weary and sleepy with almost ceaseless wanderings giving only an hour or two each night or day to sleep in my log home way making here seemed to become more and more difficult impossible in common phrase for four legged two or three miles was all the day s work as far as distance was con nevertheless just before we found a charming camp ground with plenty of grass and a forest to study that had felt no fire for many a year the camp hollow was evidently a favorite home of bears on many of the trees at a height of six or eight feet the were inscribed in strong free flow ing strokes on the soft bark where they had stood up like cats to stretch their limbs using both hands every a pen the handsome curved lines of their writing take	28
the form of remarkably regular pointed arches producing a truly ornamental effect i looked and listened half expecting to see some of the writers alarmed and withdrawing from the unwonted disturbance also looked and listened for fear bears instinctively and have a very keen nose for them when i turned him loose instead of going to the best grass he kept cautiously near the camp fire for protection but was careful not to step on me the great night passed away in deep peace and the rosy morning were searching the ere i awoke from a long blessed sleep the breadth of the belt here is about the same as on the north side of the river extending rather thin and scattered in some places among the noble pines from near the main forest belt of the range well back towards the frosty peaks where most of the trees are growing on but little changed as yet two days scramble above bear hollow i enjoyed an interesting interview with deer soon after sunrise a little company of four came to my camp in a wild garden in nd after q observation quietly our began to eat breakfast with me keeping perfectly still i soon had their confidence and they came so near i f no difficulty while their manners and gestures in hat plants they were gaining a far finer knowledge and sympathy than comes by killing and hunting indian summer gold with scarce a whisper of winter in it was painting the glad wilderness in richer and yet richer colors as we scrambled across the south the basin of the here the big tree forests are still more and furnished abundance of work in tracing boundaries and crowned up and down back and forth exploring studying admiring while the great passed on and away but in the calm of the camp fire the end of the season seemed near too often brought to mind he became doubly th i him d li li camp to feed and rest while i the invincible bread business also troubled me again the last were consumed and was becoming scarce even in the naturally inaccessible to sheep one afternoon as i gazed over the rolling stretching southward seeking a way and counting how far i might go without food a rifle shot rang out sharp and the marking the direction i gladly on hoping to find some hunter who could spare a little food within a few hundred rods i struck the track of a shod horse which led to the camp of two indian one of them was cooking supper when i arrived glancing curiously at me he saw that i was hung and gave me some mutton and l read and said as he pointed to the west soon indian come heap speak english toward two thousand sheep a cloud of dust came streaming through the grand to a meadow the camp and presently the english speaking shepherd came in to whom i explained my wants and what i was doing like most white men he could not conceive how anything other than gold could he the object of such as mine and asked repeatedly whether i had discovered any mines i tried to make him talk about trees and the wild animals but unfortunately he proved to be a tame indian from the had been to school claimed to be civilized and spoke contemptuously of wild indians and so of course his inherited instincts were or lost the big trees he said grew far south for he had seen them in the mountains from to lone pine in the morning he kindly gave me a few pounds of flour and assured me that i would get plenty more at a on the south fork our national if i reached it before it was shut down for the season of all the basin forest the section on the north fork seemed the finest surpassing i think even the giant forest of the southward from here though the width and general of the belt is well sustained i thought i could detect a slight falling off in the height of the trees and in of g all the basin was swept by of the southern part over and over again until not a leaf within reach was left on the the outer edges of the beds or even on the young which unless under the stress of dire famine sheep never touch of course suffered though i made search for grassy sheep proof spots turning him loose one evening on the side of a he the desolate neighborhood without finding anything that even a starving mule could eat then utterly he stole up behind me while i was bent over on my knees making a fire for tea and in help it was a mighty touching prayer and i answered it as well as i could with of what was left of a cake made from the last of the flour given me by the indians hastily passing it over my shoulder and saying yes poor fellow i know but soon you u have plenty to the row down we go to and speaking to him as if he were human as through stress of trouble plainly he was after eating his portion of bread he seemed content for he said no more but patiently turned away to g aw such clinging confiding dependence after all our and adventures together was very touching and i felt conscience stricken for having led him so far in so rough and desolate a country man says lord bacon is the god of the dog so also he is of the mule and many other dependent fellow mortals next morning i turned westward determined to force a way straight to pasture letting wait fortunately ere we had struggled down through half a mile of we heard a mill whistle for which we gladly made	28
ones that at first came under the observation of students there are but few and young trees to take the places of the old ones therefore the species was regarded as doomed to speedy as r l n a ed in the so called struggle for life and into its last in moist where conditions are favorable but the majestic continuous forests of the south end of the belt create a very different impression our national as we have seen no in the forest is more established nevertheless it is vaguely said that the climate is drying out and that this constantly increasing will of itself surely king though sections of wood rings show that there has been no change of climate during the last forty centuries that can grow and is growing on as dry ground as any of its neighbors or rivals we have seen proved over and over again why then it will be asked are the big tree groves always found on well watered spots simply because big trees give rise to streams it is a mistake to suppose that the water is the cause of the groves being there on the ihe groves are the cause of the water being there the roots of this immense tree fill the ground forming a which the of the and sends it forth in clear streams instead of allowing it to rush headlong in short lived destructive floods is also checked and the air kept still in the shady sec depths while thirsty robber winds are shut out since then it appears that can and does grow on dry ground as its and that the greater moisture found with it is an effect rather than a cause of its presence the notions as to the former greater extension of the tiie species and its near approach to based on its supposed dependence on greater moisture are seen to be indeed all my observations go to show that in case of prolonged the sugar pines and would die before again if the and irregular distribution of the species be interpreted as the result of the of the range then instead of in individuals toward the south where the is less it should if then its peculiar distribution has not been governed by superior conditions of soil and moisture by what has it been governed several years before i made this trip i noticed that the northern groves were on those parts of the soil belt that were first laid bare and opened to when the ice sheet began to break up into individual and when i was examining the basin of the san and trying to account for the absence of when every condition seemed favorable for its growth it occurred to me that this remarkable gap in the belt is in the channel of the great ancient of the san and river which poured its frozen floods to the plain fed by the that fell on more than fifty miles of the summit peaks of the range constantly brooding on the question i next perceived that the great gap in the belt to our national the forty miles de between the and groves occurs in the channel of the great and and that the smaller g p between the and groves occurs in the channel of the smaller the wider the ancient the wider the gap in the belt while the groves and forests attain their greatest development in the and river just where owing to conditions the region was first cleared and warmed while protected from the main that flowed past to right and left down the kings and valleys in general where the ground on the belt was first cleared of ice there the now is and where at the same elevation and time the ancient lingered there the is not what the other conditions may have been which enabled the to establish itself upon these oldest and warmest parts of the main soil belt i cannot say i might venture to state however that since the forests present a more and more ancient and long established aspect to the southward the species was probably distributed from the south toward the close of the period before the arrival of other trees about this branch of the question however there is at present much fog but the general relationship we have pointed out between the distribution of the big tree and the the ancient system is clear and when we bear in mind that all the forests of the are growing on fresh soil and that the range itself has been recently and brought to light from beneath the ice mantle of the winter then many lawless mysteries vanish and take their places but notwithstanding all the observed bearing on the post history oi this colossal tree point to the conclusion that it never was more widely distributed on the since the close of the epoch that its present forests are scarcely past prime if in deed they have reached prime that the day of the species is probably not half done yet when from a wider outlook the vast antiquity of the is considered and its ancient richness in species and individuals comparing our giant and of the coast the only other living species with the many species already discovered and described by and some of which flourished over large around the circle and in europe and our own during and times then indeed it becomes plain that our two species to narrow within the limits of are mere of the both as to species and individuals and our national that they probably are to but the verge of a period beginning in times may have a breadth of of thousands of years not to mention the possible existence of conditions calculated to and both species and individuals no change of climate so far as i can see no disease but	28
only fire and the axe and the of flocks and herds threaten the existence of these noblest of ood s trees in nature s keeping they are safe but through man s agency destruction is making rapid progress while in the work of protection only a beginning has been made the grove belongs to and is guarded by the state the general grant and national established ten years ago are ef guarded by a troop of under the direction of the secretary of the interior so also are the small and gloves which are included in the national park while a few scattered patches and scarce at all protected though belonging to the national government are in the forest perhaps more than half of all the big trees have been sold and are now in the hands of and mill men even the beautiful little grove of ninety trees so interesting from its being the first red is now owned together with the much the larger south or grove by a company far the largest and most important section of protected big trees is in the grand national park now easily accessible by stage from it contains seven and extends across the whole breadth of the magnificent basin but large as it is it should be made much larger its natural eastern boundary is the high and the northern and southern boundaries the kings and rivers thus the sublime scenery on the of these rivers and perhaps nine of all the big trees in existence private claims cut and both of the as well as all the best of the forests every one of which the government should gradually by as it readily may for none of these are of much value to their owners thus as far as possible the grand blunder of selling would be corrected the value of these forests in and the of the mountain clouds is infinitely greater than lumber or sheep to the of the plain dependent on the big tree leaving all its higher uses out of the count is a tree of life a never failing spring sending water to the all through the hot summer for every grove cut down a stream is dried up therefore all is crying save the s our trees of the fountains nor judging by be signs of the times is it likely that the cry will cease until the salvation of all that is of is chapter x the american forests the forests of america however hy man most have been a great delight to ood for they were the best he ever planted the whole continent was a garden and from the beginning it seemed to be favored above all the other wild and gardens of the globe to prepare the ground it was rolled and in seas with infinite loving deliberation and lifted into the light and warmed over and over again pressed and into folds and mountains and hills with heaving fires and ground and into scenery and soil with and rivers every feature growing and changing from beauty to beauty higher and higher and in the of time it was planted in groves and and broad forests with the largest most varied most fruitful and most beautiful trees in the world bright seas made its border with wave and gray deserts were in the middle of it our national on the on the and blooming and plains while lakes and rivers shone through all the vast forests and and happy birds and beasts gave delightful animation everywhere everywhere over all the blessed continent there were beauty and melody and kindly wholesome f ul abundance these forests were composed of about five hundred species of trees all of them in some way useful to man in size from twenty five feet in height and less than one foot in at the ground to four hundred feet in height and more than twenty feet in the gospel of beauty like for many a century after the ice were melted nature fed them and dressed them every working like a man a g every leaf and flower and bending painting them with the loveliest colors bringing over them now clouds with shadows and showers now sunshine them with gentle winds and rustling their leaves them in every fibre with storms and them with flowers and fruit them with snow and ever them more beautiful as the years rolled by wide oak and in endless variety and the forests and and ing limb to limb spread a leafy can along the coast of the atlantic over the wrinkled folds and of the a green sea in summer golden and purple in autumn gray like a steadfast frozen mist of branches and in winter to the southward stretched dark level in tangled in the midst of them like lakes of light of gay sparkling trees and palms glossy and blooming and shining continually to the northward over and rose hosts of white pine and and shoulder to shoulder laden with purple their needles sparkling and covering and rocky and ever bravely and seeking the sky the ground in their shade now snow clad and frozen now and meadows here and there full of lilies and grass lakes gleaming like eyes and a silvery of rivers and watering and brightening all the vast glad wilderness thence westward were oak and elm and g m and and ash and laurel spreading on ever wider in glorious over the great f er our national tile basin of the over damp level low hollows and round dot ting hills sunny and cheery park half sunshine half shade while a dark wilderness of pines covered the region around the great lakes thence still westward swept the forests to right and left around grassy plains and deserts a thousand miles wide irrepressible hosts of and pine and willow nut pine and and caring nothing for extending	28
from mountain to mountain over and desert to join the darkening multitudes of pines that covered the high rocky and the glorious forests along the coast of the moist and pacific where new species of pine giant and silver and kings of their race close together like grass in a meadow poised their brave and in the sky three hundred feet above the and the that the ground towering serene through the long centuries preaching god s fresh from heaven here the forests reached their highest development hence they went wavering northward over icy brave and fir and by the and the rivers to within sight of the ocean forests the of the world surveyed thus from the east to the west from the north to the south the american forests they are rich beyond thought immortal enough and to spare for every feeding beast and bird insect and son of adam and nobody need have cared had there been no pines in no and on and the no vine clad in the basin of the with such variety harmony and triumphant even nature it would seem might have rested content with the forests of north america and planted no more so they appeared a few centuries ago when they were rejoicing in the indians witli stone could do them no more harm than could and even the fires of the indians and the fierce lightning seemed to work together only for good in clearing spots here and there for smooth garden and lor seeking the light but when the c steel axe of the white man rang out on the startled air their doom was sealed every tree heard the sound and pillars of smoke gave the sign in the sky i suppose we need not go mourning the in the nature of things they had to give place to better cattle though the change might have been made without barbarous wickedness likewise many of nature s five hundred kinds of wild trees had to make way for x our national and in the settlement and f tion of the country or r was wanted and in the blindness of hunger the early claiming heaven as their guide regarded s trees as only a larger kind of weeds extremely hard to get rid of accordingly with no eye to the future pious interminable forest wars flew thick and fast trees in their beauty fell crashing by millions smashed to confusion and the smoke of their burning has been rising to heaven more than two hundred years after the coast from to had been mostly cleared and into ruins the overflowing multitude of bread and money poured over the into the fertile middle west spreading ever wider and farther over the valley of the and the vast shadowy pine region about the great lakes thence still westward the of called made its fiery way over the broad rocky mountains and burning more fiercely than ever until at last it has reached the wild side of the continent and entered the last of the great forests on the shores of the pacific surely then it should not be wondered at that lovers of their country its bald are now crying aloud save what is left o the american forests m r forests has surely now gone far enough soon timber will be scarce and not a grove will be left to rest in or pray in the remnant protected will yield plenty of timber a harvest for every right use without further of its area and will continue to cover the springs of the rivers that rise in the mountains and give waters to the dry valleys at their feet prevent wasting floods and i be a blessing to everybody forever every other civilized nation in the world has been compelled to care for its forests and so must we if waste and destruction are not to go on to the bitter end leaving america as barren as or spain in its calmer moments in the midst of bewildering hunger and war and restless over industry has learned that the forest plays an important part in human progress and that the advance in civilization only makes it more indispensable it has therefore as shown by mr refused to deliver its forests to more or less speedy destruction by permitting them to pass into private but the state are not allowed to lie idle on the contrary they are made to produce as much timber as is possible without them in the administration of its forests tiie state considers itself bound to treat them as a trust for the nation as a whole and to keep in view the common good of the people for all national i ao g v t t r sold since on the other hand about one half of the fifty million spent on has been given to works to ma the of possible the disappearance of the forests in the first place it is claimed may be traced in most cases directly to mountain the provisions of the code concerning private are these no private owner may clear his without giving notice to the government at least four months in advance and the forest service may forbid the clearing on the following grounds to maintain the soil on mountains to defend the soil against and by rivers or torrents to the ex of springs or to protect the and etc a proprietor who has cleared his forest without permission is subject to heavy fine and in addition may be made to re plant the cleared area in after many laws like our own had been found wanting the forest school was established in and soon after the forest law was which is binding over nearly two thirds of the country under its provisions the must and pay the number of educated required for the of the forest law and in the organization of	28
a forest the american forests die object of first importance must be the cut ting each year of an amount of timber equal to the total increase and no more the government passed a law in declaring clearing is forbidden in protected forests and is allowed in others only when its effects will not be to disturb the suitable relations which should exist between forest and agricultural lands even is ahead of us in the management rf her forests they cover an area of about million acres the lords valued the and vigorous laws and when in the latest civil war the government destroyed the system it declared the forests that had belonged to the lords to be the property of the state a forest law binding on the whole kingdom and founded a school of in the forest service does not rest with the present proportion of but looks to planting the best forest trees it can find in any country if likely to be useful and to in in li l forest management was begun about forty years ago under difficulties presented by the character of the country the of running fires opposition from etc not unlike those which us now of the total area of government forests perhaps seventy million acres fifty five mo our national million acres have been brought under the control of the department a larger area than that of all our national and the chief aims of the administration are effective protection of the forests from fire an efficient system of and cheap of the forest the results so far have been most and encouraging ji seems therefore that almost every civilized nation can ve us a lesson on the management and care of forests so far our government has done nothing effective with its forests though the best in the world but is like a rich and foolish who has inherited a magnificent estate in perfect order and then has left his fields and meadows forests and to be sold and and wasted at will depending on their inexhaustible abundance now it is plain that the forests are not inexhaustible and that quick measures must be taken if ruin is to be avoided year by year the remnant is growing smaller before the axe and fire while the laws in existence provide neither for the protection of the timber from destruction nor for its where it is most needed as is shown by mr e a formerly of the public land service the foundation of our policy which has protected is an act passed march which the secretary of the navy to reserve the forests live oak and for the sole of supplying timber for the navy of the united states an extension of this law by the passage of the act of march provided that if any person should cut live or red trees or other timber from the lands of the united states for any other purpose than the construction of the navy such person should pay a fine not less than triple the value of the timber cut and be imprisoned for a period not exceeding twelve months upon this old law as mr points out having the construction of a wooden navy in view the united states government has to day chiefly to rely in protecting its timber throughout the arid regions of the west where none of the naval timber which the law had in blind is to be found by the act of june timber can be taken from public lands not subject to entry under any existing laws except for by of the rocky mountain states and and the under the timber and stone act of the same date land in the pacific states and valuable mainly for timber and unfit for cultivation if the timber is removed can be purchased for two dollars and a half an acre under certain by the act of march all land grant and right of way are to take timber from the public lands adjacent to their lines national for purposes and they have taken it with a vengeance destroying a hundred times more than they have used mostly by allowing fires to run in the woods the settlement laws under which a may enter lands valuable for timber as well as for furnish means of obtaining title to public timber with the exception of timber culture act under which in consideration of planting a few acres of on the plains got acres each the above is the only to protect and promote the planting of forests in no other way than under some one of these laws can a citizen of the united states make any use of the public forests to show the results of the timber planting act it need only be stated that of the thirty lion acres entered under it less than one million acres have been thia means that less than fifty thousand acres have been planted with almost hopeless of trees while at the same time the government has allowed millions of acres of the forest trees to be stolen or destroyed or sold for nothing under the act of june in and the were allowed to cut timber for and purposes from land which in the practical west means both cutting and burning anywhere and every where for any purpose on any sort of public land the american thus the the and and railroad companies are allowed by law to take all the timber they like for their mines and roads and the forbidden if there are no lands near his farm or stock or none that he knows of can hardly be expected to forbear taking what he needs wherever he can find it timber is as necessary as bread and no of management to and this wa t can be maintained in any case it will be hard to teach the that	28
company in consideration of the company s paying m our national all expenses and giving the jolly sailors fifty apiece for their trouble by such methods have our magnificent and much of the sugar pine forests of the been absorbed by foreign and uncle sam is not often called a fool in business matters yet he has sold millions of acres of timber land at two dollars and a half an acre on which a single tree was more than a hundred dollars but this land has been and nothing can be done now about the crazy bargain according to the everlasting law of even the at less than one per cent of its value are making or nothing on account of fierce competition the trees are and about half of each is left on the ground to be converted into smoke and ashes the better half is into choice lumber and sold to citizens of the united states or to foreigners thus the country of its glory and it without fight benefit to anybody a bad the is one of the few era that from the stump and roots nd it declares itself willing to begin immediately to repair the damage of the and also that of the forest as soon as a is cut down or burned it sends up a crowd of eager hopeful shoots which if allowed to grow would in m the forests few attain a height of a hundred feet and the strongest of them would finally become giants as great as the original tree gigantic second and third trees are found in the r od t i md l around ruins more than a thousand years old but not one acre in a hundred is allowed to raise a new forest growth on the contrary all the brains religion and superstition of the neighborhood are brought into play to prevent a new growth the from the roots and are out off again and again with zealous concern as to the best time and method of making death sure in the of one of the largest mills on the coast we found thirty men at work last summer cutting off red wood shoots in the dark of the moon claiming that all the and roots cleared at this time would send up no more shoots anyhow these vigorous almost immortal trees are killed at last and black are now their only monuments over most of the and burned the is the glory of the coast range it extends along the western slope in a nearly continuous belt about ten miles wide from beyond the boundary to the south of a distance of nearly four hundred miles and in massive sustained grandeur and of growth all the other timber woods of the our national world trees from ten to fifteen feet in ter and three hundred feet high are not uncommon and a few attain a height of three hundred and fifty feet or even four hundred with a at the base of fifteen to twenty feet or more while the ground beneath them is a garden of fresh lilies and this grand tree is surpassed in size only by its near relative or big tree of the if indeed it is surpassed the is certainly the taller of the two the a greater and is heavier more noble in port and more beautiful these two are all that are known to exist in the world though in former times the was common and had many species the is to the coast range and the big tree to the as timber the is too good to live the largest ever built are busy along its border with all the modem improvements but so immense is the yield per acre it will be long ere the supply is exhausted the big tree is also to some extent being made into lumber it is far less abundant than the and is fortunately less accessible extending along the western flank of the in a partially interrupted belt about two hundred and fifty miles long at a height of from four to eight road through tht grove the american forests thousand feet above the sea the enormous logs too heavy to handle are into dimensions with a large portion of the best timber is thus shattered and destroyed and with the huge tops is left in ruins for tremendous fires that kill every tree within their range great and small still the species is not in danger of it has been planted and is flourishing over a great part of europe and magnificent sections of ae forests have been reserved as national and state the grove near managed by the state of and the general grant and national on the kings and rivers guarded by a small troop of united states cavalry under the direction of the secretary of the interior but there is not a single specimen of the in any national park only by g ft or purchase so far as i know can the government get back into its possession a single acre of this wonderful forest the legitimate demands on the forests that have passed into private as well as those in the hands of the government are increase ing every year with the rapid settlement and up building of the country but the methods of r are as yet ul in most mills only the best portions of the best trees are used while the ruins are left on the ground to feed fl national great fires which kill much of what is left of the less desirable timber together with the on which the of the forest depends thus every mill is a centre of destruction far more from waste and fire use the same thing is true of the mines which con and destroy immense quantities of timber with their innumerable fires or set to make open ways and often	28
without to how far they run the deliberately sets fires to clear off the woods just where they are to lay the rocks bare and make the discovery of mines easier and their also set fires everywhere through the woods in the fall to the march of their countless flocks the next summer and perhaps in some places to improve the the axe is not yet at the root of every tree but the sheep is or was before the national were established and guarded by the military the only effective and arm of the government free from the of politics not only do the at the time of the year set fire to everything that will but the sheep every green leaf not even the young when they are in a starving condition from crowding and they and the loose soil of the mountain sides for the spring floods to wash away and thus at last leave the ground barren the american forests of all the that the woods the shake maker seems e happiest twenty or thirty years ago shakes a kind of long split with a and a were in great demand for covering and sheds and many are used still in preference to common especially those made from the which do not or crack in the in after harvest and are over meet to discuss their plans for the winter and their talk is interesting once in a company of this kind i heard a man as he peacefully smoked his pipe boys as soon as this job s done i m goin into the duck business there s big money in it and your costs nothing joe made five hundred dollars last winter on and shot em on the tied em in by the neck and em to san and when he was tired in the and touched with he just knocked o e on ducks and went to the hills for dove and it s a mighty good business and you re own and the whole thing s fun another of the company a bearded fellow with a trace of in his voice out bird business is well enough for some but bear is my game with a deer and a lion thrown in now and then for change there s our national always market for bear and sometimes you can sell the they re good as any day and you are your own in my business too if the bears ain t too and jo m tor old i they want cannon to kill em but the and are beauties for g and when once i get em just right and draw a bead on em i fetch em every time another said he was going to catch up a lot of as soon as the rains set in them to a gang plough and go to farming on the san plains for wheat but most preferred the shake business until something more profitable and as sure could be with equal comfort and independence with a cheap or mule to carry a pair of blankets a sack of flour a few pounds of and an axe a f row and a cross cut saw the shake maker the mountains to the pine belt where it is most accessible usually by some mine or mill road then he strikes off into the virgin woods where the sugar pine king of all the hundred species of pines in the world in size and beauty towers on the open sunny slopes of the in the of its glory selecting a favorable spot for a cabin near a meadow with a stream he his animal and it out on the then he into one after another of the pines until forests he finds one that he feels will split freely cuts this down off a section four feet long it and from this first cut perhaps seven feet in he gets shakes enough for a cabin and its furniture walls roof door table and stool besides his labor only a few pounds of nails are required poles form the frame of the airy building usually about six feet by eight in size on which the shakes are nailed with the edges a few from the same section that the shakes were made from are split into square sticks and built up to form a chimney the inside and being and filled in with mud thus with abundance of fuel shelter and comfort by his own fireside are secured then he goes to work and for the market tying the shakes in bundles of fifty or a hundred they are four feet long four inches wide and about one fourth of an inch thick the first few thousands he or trades at the nearest mill or store getting provisions in exchange then he in whatever way he can that he has excellent shakes for sale easy of access and cheap only the lower perfectly clear free portions of the giant pines are used perhaps ten to twenty feet from a tree two hundred and fifty in height all the rest is left a mass of ruins to rot or to feed the forest fires while thou sands are deeply and rejected in proving our national the grain over nearly all of the more slopes of the and mountains in southern at a height of om three to six thousand feet above the sea and for a distance of about six hundred this waste and confusion extends happy l ing in the most the most climate breathing delightful both day and night drinking cool living water roses and lilies at their feet in the spring shedding fragrance and ringing bells as if cheering them on in their work there is none to say them nay they buy no land pay no taxes dwell in a paradise with no forbidding angel either from washington or from heaven	28
in view of the waste going on is growing more and more anxious for government protection the we hear against forest come the forests ml mostly from who wealthy and steal timber by they have so long been allowed to steal and destroy in peace that any to forest robbery is as a cruel and interference with rights to the repose of all ly welfare gold i how strong a that metal has o wm f or the h b im ib t even in a of gold carefully concealed will and all the nation on a subject like well smothered in ignorance and in which the money interests of only a few are under these circumstances the stuff the voice of god himself the dawn of a new day in is breaking honest citizens see that only the rights of the government are being trampled not those of the only what belongs to all alike is reserved and every acre that is left should be held together under the government as a basis for a general policy of administration for the public good the people will not always be deceived by selfish opposition whether from lumber and or from and however brought for ward underneath and gold says that things refuse to be our national y long an exception would seem to be found ill the case of our which have been rather long and now come desperately near being like smashed eggs and milk still in the long run the world does not move backward the wonderful advance made in the last few years in creating four national in the west and thirty forest embracing nearly forty million acres and in the planting of the borders of streets and and spacious in all the great cities to satisfy the natural taste and hunger for landscape beauty and that god has put in some measure into every human being and animal shows the of awakening public opinion the making of the far new york central park was opposed by even good men with pluck perseverance and ingenuity but straight right won its way and now that park is appreciated so we confidently believe it will be with our great national and forest there will be a period of indifference on the part of the rich sleepy with wealth and of the toiling millions sleepy with poverty most of whom never saw a forest a period of screaming protest and objection from the who are as and as satan but light is surely coming and the friends of destruction will preach and in vain the american forests the united states government has always been proud of the welcome it has extended to good men of every seeking freedom and homes and bread let them be welcomed still as nature them to the woods as well as to the and plains no place is too good for good men and still there is room they are invited to heaven and may well be allow in america every place is made better by them let them be as free to pick gold and g from the hills to cut and dig and plant for homes and bread as the birds are to pick from ihe wild bushes and moss and leaves for nests the will be to feed them and the pine wiu come down from the mountains for their homes as willingly as the came from for solomon s temple nor will the woods be the worse for this use or their influences be diminished any more than the sun is diminished by shining mere however tree wool and mutton men spreading death and confusion in the fairest groves and gardens ever planted let the government hasten to cast out and make an end of them for it must be told again and again and be borne in mind that just now while measures are being languidly destruction and use are on faster and farther every day the axe and saw are busy are flying thick as our national and eveiy summer of acres of forests with their so springs climate and religion are vanishing away in clouds of smoke while except in the national not one forest guard is employed all sorts of local laws and have been tried and found wanting and the costly lessons of our own experience as well as that of every civilized nation s ow that the fate of the remnant of our forests is in the hands of the government and that if the remnant is to be saved at all it must be saved quickly any fool can destroy trees they cannot run away and if they could they would still be destroyed chased and hunted down as long as fun or a dollar could be got out of their bark hides horns or magnificent few that fell trees plant them nor would planting avail much towards getting back anything like the noble forests during a man s life only can be grown in the place of the old trees of centuries old that have been destroyed it took more than three thousand years to make some of the trees in these western woods trees that are still standing in perfect strength and beauty waving and singing in the mighty forests of the through all the wonderful centuries since christ s time and long before that the american forests god has cared for these trees saved them from disease and a thousand straining and floods hut he cannot save them from fools only uncle sam can do that i m i is l j i i si ai an ij am i s j ii i i i l i m i a s e a s a i i s i i f g f p i i p s iii iii i i l s e e	28
later is national awaiting them all unless awakening public opinion comes forward to stop it even the great deserts in and new which offer so little to attract and which a few years ago were afraid of as places of desolation and death are now taken as pastures at the rate of one or two square miles per cow and of course their plant treasures are passing away the delicate etc only a few of the bitter shrubs are left and the sturdy that defend themselves with and most of the wild plant wealth of the east also has vanished gone into dusty history only of its glorious and remain to bless humanity in rocky places fortunately some of these are purely wild and go far to keep nature s love visible white water lilies with deep and safe in mud still send up every summer a way of fragrant flowers around a thousand lakes and many a of wild grass waves its on rocks beyond reach of g feet in company and even in l midst of f ers fields precious too soft for the feet of cattle are preserved with their charming plants unchanged etc ca wild of the west still hides in the of canada and away to the southward there are a few big ones where and like guardian angels defend their treasures and keep them as pure as paradise and beside a that and a that the east is blessed with good and clouds that shed white flowers over all the land covering every and making the landscape divine at least once a year the most extensive least spoiled and most of the gardens of the continent are the vast of in summer they extend smooth even continuous beds of flowers and leaves from about to the shores of the ocean and in winter sheets of make all the country shine one mass of white radiance like a star nor are these plant people the pitiful frost pinched they are guessed to be by those who have never seen them though lowly in stature keeping near the frozen ground as if loving it they are bright and cheery and speak nature s love as plainly as their big relatives of the south tenderly and tucked in beneath snow to sleep through the long white winter they make haste to bloom in the spring without trying to grow tall though some rise high enough to ripple and wave in the wind and display masses of color yellow purple and blue so our national rich that they look like beds of and are visible miles and miles away as early as june one may find the in flower and the dwarf patting forth of to be followed quickly especially on the ground by a and a host of and with bright stars and bells in glorious profusion particularly and the most abundant and beautiful of them all many also grow here and wave fine purple and over the other flowers etc even are found thus far north carefully and their precious and all growing on a bed of and not the seen on rails and trees and fallen logs to the southward but massive finely colored plants like wonderfully beautiful worth going round the world to see i should uke to mention all the plant friends i found in a summer s wanderings in wild of the west this cool reserve but i fear few would care to read their names although everybody i am sure would love them could they see them blooming and rejoicing at home on my last visit to the region about sound near the middle of september the weather was so fine and mellow that it suggested the indian summer of the eastern states the winds were hushed the glowed in golden sunshine and the colors of the ripe foliage of the and red purple and in pure bright tones were enriched with those of which were everywhere as if they had been from the clouds like hail when i was back a mile or two from the shore in this and thinking how fine it would be could i cut a square of the sod of conventional picture size frame it and hang it among the paintings on my study walls at home saying to myself such a nature painting taken at random from any part of the thousand mile would make the other pictures look dim and coarse i heard merry shouting and looking round saw a band of men women and children loose and hairy like wild animals running towards me i could not guess at first what they were seeking for they seldom leave the shore but soon they told me as they threw themselves down and laughing our national on the mellow and began to feast on the a picture they made and a one as they frightened the and th the beautiful of many kinds and filled bags with them to carry away for days in winter nowhere else on my travels have i seen so much warm blooded rejoicing life as in this grand by so many regarded as desolate not only are there in abundance along the shores and innumerable and white bears but on the great herds of fat and wild sheep and birds perhaps more birds are bom here than in any other region of equal extent on the continent not only do strong winged and water fowl to whom the length of the continent is merely a pleasant excursion come up here every summer in great numbers but also many short winged and hither to rear their young in safety the plant bloom with their and the wilderness with song flying all the way some of them from and central america in coming north they are coming home for they were born here and they go south only to	28
spend the winter months as new v d they wild op the west sing in orange groves and vine clad woods in winter in of dwarf and in summer and sing and chatter more or less all the way back and forth keeping the whole country glad in new land just as the last snow patches are melting and the sap in the begins to flow the blessed may be heard about and the edges of fields where they have stopped to a scanty meal not long knowing they have far to go tracing the footsteps of spring they arrive in their homes in june or july and set out on their return journey in or as soon as their families are able to fly well this is nature s own and every lover of will rejoice with me that by kindly frost it is so well defended the discovery lately made that it is sprinkled with gold may cause some alarm for the strangely stuff makes the timid bold for any thousands at least half insane are now pushing their way into it some by the southern passes over the mountains perchance tiie first mountains they have ever seen struggling gasping for breath as laden with awkward merciless burdens of provisions and tools they over rough and cross thin some are going by tiie mountains our national and rivers to the eastward through canada tracing the old romantic ways of the bay others by sea and the sailing all the way getting glimpses perhaps of the famous fur the ice and the innumerable islands and bars of the great in spite of frowning hardships and the frozen ground the gold will increase the crowds for years to come but comparatively little harm will be done holes will be burned and dug into the hard ground here and there and into the mountains and hills ragged towns like and villages will be built and mills and will make noises but the s pick will not be followed far by the plough at least not until nature is ready to the frozen soil beds with her slow turning climate key on the other hand the roads of the wiu lead many a lover of into the of the reserve who without them would never see it in the meantime the wildest health and pleasure grounds accessible and available to seeking escape from care and dust and early are the and of the west there are four national the general grant and all within easy reach and thirty forest there now and wild of the west a magnificent realm of woods most of which by and and open is also fairly accessible not only to the determined rejoicing in difficulties but to those may their tribe increase who not tired not sick just naturally take wing every summer in search of the forty million acres of these are in the main as yet though sadly wasted and threatened on their more open by the axe and fire of the and and by which like the winged ones every leaf within reach while the and owners set fires with the of making a blade of grass grow in the place of every tree but with the result of killing both the grass and the trees in the million acre black hills reserve of south the of the great forest made for the sake of the farmers and there are in p e f s well apart allowing of sunshine to warm the ground this tree is one of the most and most widely distributed of american pines it grows on all kinds of soil and rocks and protected by a mail of thick bark r t l and la daring y danger in firm calm beauty and strength it occurs here mostly on the outer hills and slopes where no other tree can grow the ground beneath it our national is yellow most of the summer with and other sun lot ing plants which though they form no heavy growth yet give abundance of color and make au the woods a garden beyond the yellow pine woods there a world of rocks of broken and not very high but the st in form and style of imaginable towers and and slender columns are crowded together and with sharp pointed making curiously mixed forests half trees half rocks level gardens here and there in the midst of them offer charming surprises and so do the many small lakes with lilies on their borders and etc together forming novel and made still by many interesting animals deer wolves and birds not very long ago this was the richest of all the red man s after the season s were over as described by who with a picturesque of s passed through these famous hills in every winter deficiency was here made good and hunger was unknown until in spite of most determined fighting killing opposition the white gold hunters entered the fat game reserve r wild of the west and spoiled it the indians are dead now and so are most of the hardly less striking free of the early romantic mountain times arrows bullets knives need no longer be f and au the wilderness is peacefully open the rocky mountain are the and bitter boot priest and more than twelve million acres of mostly rough forest covered mountains in which the great rivers of the country take their rise the commonest tree in most of them is the brave and altogether admirable widely in all kinds of climate and soil growing cheerily in frosty breathing die damp salt air of the sea as well as the dry biting of the interior and making itself at home on the most dangerous flame swept slopes and of the mountains in abundance and variety of forms thousands of acres of this species are destroyed by running fires	28
nearly every summer but a new growth springs quickly from the ashes it is generally small and few of commercial value but is of importance to the and supplying mine and holding the soil on steep slopes preventing and and giving kindly shelter to our national animals and the widely sources of the life giving rivers the other trees are mostly mountain pine and fir some of them on the western slopes of the mountains grand size and furnishing abundance of fine timber perhaps the least known of all this grand group of is the bitter boot of more than four million acres it is the wildest block of forest in tiie mountains full of happy healthy storm loving trees full of streams that dance and sing in glorious array and full of nature s animals deer wild sheep bears cats and innumerable smaller people in indian summer when the heavy winds are hushed the vast forests covering hill and rising and falling over the rough and in e distance seem lifeless no moving thing is seen as we climb the peaks and only the low mellow murmur of falling water is heard which seems to the silence nevertheless how many hearts with warm red blood in them are beating under cover of the woods and how many teeth and eyes are shining i a multitude of animal people intimately related to us but of whose lives we know almost nothing are as busy about their own as we are about ours are building and mending and huts for winter and wild of the west them with food bears are studying winter quarters as they stand thoughtful in open spaces while the gentle breeze the long hair on their backs and deer on the heights are considering cold pastures where they will be farthest away from the wolves and are busily laying up provisions and their nests against coming frost and snow foreseen and countless thousands of birds are forming parties and gathering their young about them for flight to the while and bees apparently with no thought of hard times to come are hovering above the late blooming and with countless other insect folk are dancing and humming right merrily in the and shaking all the air into music wander here a whole if you can thousands of god s wild blessings will search you and you as if you were a and the big days will go by if you are business tangled and so with duty that only weeks can be got out of the year then go to the reserve for it is easily and quickly reached by the great northern get off the track at station and in a few minutes you will find yourself in the midst of what you are sure to say is the best care scenery on the continent beautiful derived straight from national lofty mountains in lovely blue skies and clad with forests and in their hollows nameless and and gardens in the best of everything when you are calm enough for observation you wiu the western giants beautiful picturesque and in port easily the of all the in the world it grows to a height of one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet with a at the ground of five to eight feet out ite branches into the as no other tree does to those who before have seen only the european or the species of the eastern rocky mountains or the little or of the eastern states and canada this western king must be a revelation associated with this grand tree in the making of the forests is the large and beautiful mountain pine or western white pine the invincible or lodge pole pine and and the forest floor is covered with the richest beds of i ever saw thick fragrant carpets enriched with shining here and there and with and weaving hundred mile beds of bloom that would have made blessed old weep for joy lake full of brisk is in the tf wild of the west heart of this f and lake is ten miles above at the feet of a group of laden mountains give a month at least to this reserve the time not be taken from the sum of your life instead of it will it and make you truly immortal will time seem short or long and cares will never again fall heavily on you but gently and kindly as gifts from heaven the vast pacific coast in washington and the washington mount bull run and named in order of size include more than acres of magnificent forests of beautiful and gigantic trees they extend over the wild mountains and both of the range the wet and the dry on the east side of the the woods are sunny and open and contain principally yellow pine of moderate size but of great value as a cover for the streams that flow the dry interior ere on a grand scale is being carried on along the moist west flank of the mountains facing the sea the woods reach their highest development and excepting the are the heaviest on the continent they are made up mostly of the with the giant or and several species our national of fir and in varying abundance forming a forest kingdom unlike any other in limb meets limb touching and in bright lively triumphant two hundred and three hundred and even four hundred feet above the shady ground over all the other species the supreme it is not only a large tree the in america next to the hut a very beautiful one with bright green drooping e handsome and a shaft exquisitely straight and round and regular forming extensive forests by itself in many places it lifts its tops into the sky close together with as even a growth as a field of grain no ground has been better for wheat than these	28
mountains for trees they were by mighty and and and by the broad streams that flowed from the ice as they were withdrawn at the close of the period in proportion to its weight when dry timber is perhaps stronger than that of other in the country and being tough and elastic it is admirably suited for ship building piles and heavy in general but its hardness and to it is cut into boards render it unfit for fine in lumber of it is wild of the west called pine when is going on in the best woods especially about sound many of the long slender are saved for and so superior is their quality that they are called for in almost every in the world and it is interesting to follow l fortunes and and to tide water they are raised ain as and for ship given iron ro and canvas foliage decorated with flags and sent to sea where in glad motion they go cheerily over the ocean in every latitude and and bowing to the same winds that waved them when they were in the woods after standing in one e for centuries they thus round the world like many a friend from tiie old home forest some like themselves some standing head downward in muddy holding up the of and others doing all kinds of hard timber work or hidden this wonderful tree also grows far northward in british and southward along the coast and middle regions of and flourishing with the wherever it can find an opening and with the sugar pine yellow pine and in the it extends into the san san and san mountains of southern it also grows well on the mountains national where it is called red pine and on many parts of the mountains and short interior of the great basin but thus widely distributed only in washington and some parts of british does it reach perfect development to one who looks from some high over its vast breadth the forest on the west side of the seems all one dim dark monotonous field broken only by the white along the summit of the range back in the wilderness a deep carpet of brown and yellow covers the ground like a garment pressing about the feet of the trees and rising in rich softly and kindly over every rock and trunk leaving no spot for and small and the meadows and the banks of streams not seen in general views we find besides the great a considerable number of trees oak ash wild apple cherry s and in some places chestnut in a few favored spots the broad grows to a height of a hundred feet in forests by itself sending out large limbs in magnificent arches covered with and thus forming lofty sky gardens and rendering the delightfully cool no forest ceiling is to be found than these arches while the floor it wild of the west ornamented with tall and vines and cast into by the moss covered roots of the trees matches it well passing from beneath the heavy shadows of the woods almost anywhere one steps into lovely gardens of lilies and wild roses along the lower slopes especially in where the woods are less dense there are miles of making glorious masses of purple in the spring while all about the streams and the lakes and the meadows there is a rich of cherry apple and with of flowers and abundance of other more delicate such as and the lovely of the north beside all these there are wonderful about the many misty some of the ten feet high others the most delicate of their tribe the the rocks within reach of the dust of the spray while the trees on the cliffs above them leaning over look like eager listeners anxious to catch every tone of the restless waters in the autumn of every color and flavor abound enough for birds bears and everybody particularly about the stream sides and meadows where sunshine reaches the ground red blue and black some growing close to the ground others on national ten feet high called al by the indians salmon an inch in growing in dense the flowers like wild roses still more beautiful than the fruit and the and meadow are in great part made np of these and vines but in the depths of the woods there is not much of any kind only a thin growth of and vine notwithstanding the the last winter in washington that farms towns and es were included in them and that all business was threatened or blocked nearly all the mountains in which the lie are stiu covered with virgin forests though has long been carried on with tremendous energy along their boundaries and home have the woods for available for farms however one may wander in the heart of the for weeks without meeting a human being indian or white man or any conspicuous trace of one indians used to ascend the main streams on their way to the mountains for wild whose wool furnished them clothing but with food in abundance on the coast there was little to draw them into the woods and the monuments they have left there are scarcely more conspicuous than wild of the west those of birds and far less so than those of the which have streams and made that will endure for centuries nor is there much in these woods to attract cattle some of the first made farms on the small bits of and in the comparatively open and valleys of washington but before the gold period most of the from the eastern states settled in the fertile and open of even now when the search for land is so keen excepting the of the rivers around sound there are few cleared spots in all western washington on every meadow or opening of any sort	28
some one wiu be found keeping cattle raising or patches of grain but these spots are few and far between au the larger spaces were taken long ago therefore most of the build their where the built theirs they keep a few cows laboriously their little meadow by and burning the rim of the close pressing forest and scratch and plant among the huge blackened logs and and killing themselves in killing the trees most of the farm lands of washington and excepting the valleys of the and rivers lie on the east side of the mountains the forests on the eastern slopes national of the fail altogether ere the foot of the range is reached stayed hy as suddenly as on the west side they are stopped by the l showing strikingly how are forest giants on the generous rains and so often complained of in the coast climate the lower portions of the are solemnly soaked and in rain and fog during the winter months and there is a sad of sunshine but with a little knowledge of any one may enjoy an excursion into these woods even in the rainy season the big gray days are and the colors of leaf and branch and are then at their best the mighty trees getting their food are seen to be wide awake every needle thrilling in the welcome storms and bowing low in glorious harmony while and is seen as a beneficent messenger from the sky the snow that falls on the lower woods is soft coming the trees in their branches and bending them down against the trunks until they lo k like arrows while a strange muffled silence making solemn but these and their effects quickly vanish the snow in a day or two sometimes in a few hours the bent branches spring up again and all the forest work is left to the fog and the rain at the same time dry r wild of the west snow falling on the upper forests and moon tain tops day after day often for weeks the big clouds give their flowers without ceasing as if knowing how important is the work they have to do the the blast and the trees and rocks are to a depth of ten to twenty feet then the snug in a grove with bread and fire has nothing to do but gaze and listen and enjoy ever and anon the deep low roar of the storm is broken by the of as the snow slips from the heights and rushes down the long white slopes to fill the fountain hollows all the smaller streams are hushed and buried and the groves of and fir near the edge of the l ber are gently bowed to the ground and put to sleep not again to see the light of day or stir branch or leaf until the spring these grand should draw are neglected as ie of no account and are allowed to ruin them as fast as they like a few cut here were set up in london philadelphia and where they the outlook forest is now popular more practical than in the welfare of the country s forests is g wing rapidly and a hopeful beg n has been made by the in real protection for the as weu as for the from there been and from s to of our national excited wondering but the countless hosts of trees rejoicing at home on the mountains are scarce considered at all most here are content with what they can see from car windows or the of hotels and in going from place to place cling to their precious trains and stages like wrecked to when an excursion into the woods is proposed all sorts of dangers are imagined hears indians yet it is far safer to wander in god s woods than to travel on black or to stay at home the snake danger is slight it is hardly worth mentioning bears are a people and mind their own business instead of going about like the devil seeking whom they may poor fellows they have been poisoned and shot at until they have lost confidence in brother man and it is not now easy to make their acquaintance as to indians most of them are dead or civilized into useless innocence no american wilderness that i know of is so dangerous as a city home with all the modem improvements one should go to the woods for safety if for nothing else and in their famous trip across the continent in did not lose a single man by indians or animals though all the west was then wild captain was bitten on the hand as he lay asleep that was one bite among more than a hundred men while nine thou wild of the west sand miles are far more likely to be met than indians or bears in the or about their boundaries brown weather men with faces like bark tired looking moving slowly swaying like the trees they chop a little of everything in the woods is fastened to their clothing and with and rubbed into it so that their scanty outer grow thicker with use and never wear out many a forest giant have these old but round shouldered and stooping they too are leaning over and tottering to their others however stand ready to take their places stout young fellows erect as and always the foes of trees their friends far up the white peaks one can hardly fail to meet the wild goat or american an admirable familiar with woods and as well as rocks and in leafy deer will be found while gliding about unseen there are n ny sleek animals enjoying their beautiful lives and birds also notwithstanding few are noticed in hasty walks the the and where the streams flow and every grove has its singers however silent ij	28
been into them by which in a few hours can get well up into the sky and find in hospitable and club houses while br thing ng they ma the beauty about them and look comfortably down on the busy towns and the most beautiful orange groves ever planted since began the grand of of nearly two million acres or the most interesting part of it as well as the region should see note p wild of the west be made into a national park on account of their supreme grandeur and beauty setting out from a station on die and f railroad on the way to the you pass through beautiful forests of yellow pine like those of the black hills but more extensive and curious dwarf forests of nut pine and the spaces between the miniature trees planted with many interesting species of and after riding or walking seventy five miles through these pleasure grounds the san and other mountains in and smooth shallow valleys with long which in of finish and arrangement suggest the work of a landscape artist watching you all the way you come to the most tremendous in the world it is abruptly in the forest so that you see nothing of it until you are suddenly stopped on its brink with its wealth of colored and buildings before you and beneath you no matter how far you have wandered hitherto or how many famous and valleys you have seen this one the grand of the will seem as novel to you as in the color and grandeur and quantity of its architecture as if you had found it after death on some other star so lovely and grand and national supreme is it above all tiie other in our fire earthquake shaken rain washed wave washed river and world it is about six thousand feet deep where you first see it and from rim to rim ten to fifteen miles wide instead of being dependent for interest upon depth wall and beauty of floor like most other great it has no in and no floor spaces the big river has just room enough to flow and roar here and there groping its way as best it can like a weary murmuring trying to escape from the tremendous abyss while its roar serves only to the silence instead of being filled with air the vast space between the walls is crowded with nature s buildings a sublime city of them painted in every color and adorned with richly fretted and spire and tower in endless variety of style and architecture every invention of man has been anticipated and far more in this of god s cities n the national of the four national of the west the is far the largest it is a big wholesome wilderness on the broad summit of the mountains favored with abundance of rain and snow a place of fountains where the greatest of the american rivers take their rise the central portion is a and comparatively level with an average elevation of about eight thousand feet above the sea surrounded by an imposing host of mountains belonging to the subordinate wind river and snowy lakes shine in it united by a famous band of streams that rush up out of hot beds or fall from the frosty peaks in channels rocky and bare and to the main rivers singing cheerily on through every dividing and finding their way east and west to the two far off seas meadows and meadows are with charming effect along the banks of the streams in the woods and national small gardens in recesses of the mountains some of them containing more than leaves while the whole wilderness is with happy animals beside the treasures common to most mountain regions that are wild and blessed with a kind climate the park is full of exciting wonders the wildest in the world in bright triumphant bands are dancing and singing in it amid thousands of boiling springs beautiful and awful their arrayed in colors like gigantic flowers and hot paint pots mud springs mud and whose contents are of every color and and heave and roar in bewildering abundance in the adjacent mountains beneath the living trees the edges of forests are exposed to view like specimens on the shelves of a museum standing on tier above tier where they grew solemnly silent in rigid beauty after swaying in the winds thousands of centuries ago opening views back into the years and and life of the past here too are hills of sparkling bills of hills of glass bills of and ashes mountains of every style of architecture icy or mountains covered vith honey bloom sweet as mountains boiled soft like k and colored like a sunset sky a bat and a that and twice as s a that the national park nature has on show ia the park therefore it is called and thousands of and stream into it every summer and wander in it enchanted fortunately almost as soon as it was discovered it was and set apart for the benefit of the people a piece of that shines amid the common dust and ashes history of the public domain for which the world must thank professor above all others for he led the first scientific exploring party int it described it and with admirable enthusiasm urged to preserve it as in the year the park contained about square miles on march it was to all and purposes enlarged by the national park timber and in december by the forest reserve thus nearly its original area and extending the southern boundary far enough to take in the sublime range and the famous pasture lands of the big mountain game animals the of this large tract from the public domain did no harm to any one for its height to over feet above the sea and its thick mantle	28
of rocks prevent its ever being available for or while on the other hand its position climate and wonderful scenery combine to make it a grand health pleasure and study our national resort a gathering place for from all the world the national are not only withdrawn from sale and like the forest but are managed and guarded by small troops of united states cavalry directed by the secretary of the interior under this care the forests are flourishing protected from both axe and fire and so of course are the shaggy beds of and the vegetation the so called also are preserved and the and tribes many of which in danger of a short time are in numbers a thing to see amid the destruction that is going on in the adjacent regions in pleasing contrast to the noisy ever changing management or of money making vote who receive their places om as purchased goods the soldiers do their duty so quietly that the is scarce aware of their presence this is the and highest of the occur every month of the year nevertheless the tenderest finds it warm enough in summer the air is electric and fuu of healing kept pure by frost and fire while the scenery is wild enough to awaken the dead it is a glorious place to grow in and rest in on the shores of the ir the national park lakes in the of the woods golden with on the banks of the streams by the snowy beside the exciting wonders or away from them in the of the mountain walls sheltered from every wind on smooth ri e i op in a fountain hollows of the ancient between the peaks where cool pools and and gardens of precious plants are never wanting and good rough rocks with every variety of cliff and are near for and exercise from these lovely you may make excursions whenever you like into the middle of the park where the and hot springs are and in their beautiful displaying an of color and strange f ri charm and shake up the least o of into n it however orderly your excursions or again and again amid the scenery you will be brought to a hushed and awe stricken before phenomena wholly new to boiling nd of purest green and water thousands of them are and heaving in these high cool as if a fierce furnace fire ere burning beneath each one of them and a hundred white torrents of boiling water and steam our national like water are ever and anon rushing up out of the hot black some of these ponderous columns are as large as five to sixty feet in one hundred and fifty to three hundred feet high and are sustained at this great height with tremendous energy for a few minutes or perhaps nearly an hour standing rigid and erect hissing throbbing as if were raging beneath their roots their sides or like the of trees their tops in branches while the spray like misty bloom is at times blown aside revealing the massive shafts shining against a background of pine covered hills some of them lean more or less as if storm bent and instead of being round are flat or fan shaped issuing from irregular in with structure the through them in splendor some are broad and round headed like oaks others are low and near the ground like bushes and a few are hollow in the centre like big or no frost them snow never covers them nor in their branches winter and summer they welcome alike all of them of whatever form or size faithfully rising and sinking in fairy dance night and day in all sorts of weather at varying periods of minutes hours or weeks growing up rapidly r the national park as fate tossing their branches in the wind bursting into bloom and vanishing like the flowers plants of which nature raises hundreds or thousands of crops a year with no apparent exhaustion of the fiery soil the so called in which this rare sort of vegetation is growing are mostly open valleys on the central that were by after the greater fires had ceased to bum down over the forests as you approach them from the surrounding heights you see a multitude of white columns broad masses and and of the or entangled like smoke among the neighboring trees suggesting the of some busy town or the camp fires of an army these mark the position of each pot hot spring and or as the words mean and when you a e of fl n bright to and see how pure and white and gray they are in the shade of the mountains and how radiant in the sunshine you are fairly enchanted so numerous they are and varied nature seems to have gathered them from all the world as specimens of her fountains to show in one place what she can do over four thousand hot springs have been counted our national in the park and a hundred how many more there are nobody knows these valleys at the heads of the great rivers may be regarded as and in which amid a thousand and pots we may see nature at work as or cook an infinite variety of cooking whole mountains boiling and steaming rocks to smooth and yellow brown red pink gray and white making the most beautiful mud in the world and the most ethereal many of these pots and have been boiling thousands of years pots of and and pots of as black as ink are tossed and stirred with constant care and thin transparent too pure and fine to be called water are kept gently in beautiful cups and that grow ever more beautiful the longer they are used in some of the spring the waters though still warm are	28
thousand feet deep a weird of jagged fantastic and most colored here the range forming the northern rim of the basin made up mostly of beds of by the action of waters has been cut through and laid open to by the river and a famous section it has made it is not the depth or the shape of the nor the nor the green and gray river its brave song as it goes foaming on its way that most the observer but the colors of the rocks with few exceptions the in strange lands finds that however much the scenery and our national vegetation in different countries may change mother earth is ever familiar and the same but here the very ground is changed as if belonging to some other world the walls of the from top to bottom burn in a perfect glory of color and dazzling when the sun is shining white green blue and various other shades of red all the earth seems to be paint millions of tons of it lie in sight exposed to wind and weather as if of no account yet fresh and bright fast colors not to be washed out or out by either sunshine or storms the effect is so novel and awful we imagine that even a river might be afraid to enter such a place but the rich and gentle beauty of the vegetation is the lovely a hangs her twin bells over the brink of the cliffs forests and gardens extend their treasures in smiling confidence on either side nuts and well whatever may be going on below blind fears vanish and the grand seems a kindly beautiful part of general harmony full of peace and joy and good will the park is easy of access drag you to its northern boundary at and horses and guides do the rest from you will be whirled in along the foaming river to hot springs the national park thence through woods and meadows and along branches of the upper and rivers to the main thence over the continental divide and back again up and down through dense pine and fir woods to the magnificent lake along its northern shore to the outlet down the river to the falls and grand and thence back through the woods to hot springs and stopping here and there at the so called points of interest among the springs pots mud etc where you will be allowed a few minutes or hours to over the watch the play of a few of the and peer into some of the most beautiful and terrible of the and pools these wonders you will enjoy and also the views of the mountains especially the and the long and meadows the beds of and many other flowers some species giving color to whole meadows and and you will enjoy your short views of the great lake and river and no indians will you see the and that once here are gone so are the old the and with all their attractive and romance there are several bands our national of in the park but you will not thus in fashion see them nor many of the other large animals hidden in the wilderness the song birds too keep mostly out of sight of the rushing though off the roads g etc keep the air sweet and merry perhaps in passing and falls you may catch glimpses of the but in the whirling noise you will not hear his song fortunately no road noise the and his merry play and gossip will amuse you all through the woods here and there a deer may be seen crossing the road or a bear most likely however the only bears you will see are the half tame ones that go to the hotels every night for dinner table scraps powder stuff mixed and that have proved too tough for the among the gains of a coach trip are ae made and the fresh views into human nature for the wilderness is a shrewd even thus lightly approached and brings many a curious trait to view setting out the driver cracks his whip and the four horses go off at half gallop half trot in trained style until out of sight of the hotel the coach is crowded old and young side by side blooming and fading full of hope and fun and care some look at the scenery or the horses the national and all ask questions an odd mixed lot of them where is the umbrella what is the name of that blue flower over there are you sure the little bag is aboard is that hollow yonder a how is your throat this morning how high did you say the how does the elevation affect your head is that a over there in the rocks or only a hot spring a long ascent is made the solemn mountains come to view small cares are and all become natural and silent save perhaps some unfortunate who has been reading and forth and until he is in danger of being heaved overboard the driver will give you the names of the peaks and meadows and streams as you come to them call attention to the glass road tell how hard it was to build how the cliffs naturally pushed the s lines to the right and the industrious by the valley in front of the cliff pushed them to the left however are the main objects and as soon as they come in sight other wonders are forgotten all gather around the of the one that is expected to play first during the of the smaller such as the and old faithful though a little frightened at first all welcome the glorious show with enthusiasm and shout oh how wonderful beautiful our national splendid majestic some venture near enough to stroke the column with a stick	28
as if it were a stone pillar or a tree so firm and substantial and permanent it seems while wait around a large such as the castle or the giant there is a chatter of small talk in anything but solemn mood and during the intervals between the preliminary and some adventurer occasionally looks down the throat of the admiring the and wondering whether is as beautiful but when with awful uproar as if were falling and storms thundering in the depths the tremendous outburst begins all run away to a safe distance and look on awe stricken and silent in devout wonder the largest and one of the most wonderfully beautiful of the springs is the which the guide will be sure to show you with a of yards it is more like a lake than a spring the water is pure deep blue in the centre fading to green on the edges and its basin and the slightly pavement about it are bright and varied in color this one of the multitude of fountains is of itself object enough for a trip across the continent no wonder that so many fine have originated in springs that so many fountains were held sacred in the youth of the the national park world and had miraculous virtues ascribed to them even in these cold doubting questioning scientific times many of the fountains seem able to work miracles near the spring is the great which is said to throw a column of boiling water to feet in to a height of from to feet at irregular periods this is the greatest of all the yet discovered anywhere the which sweeps past it is at ordinary stages a stream about yards wide and feet deep but when the is in so great is the quantity of water discharged that the volume of the river is doubled and it is rendered too hot and rapid to be are found in many other regions in new the the eastern south america the and elsewhere but only in new and this mountain park do they display their forms and of these three famous regions the is easily first both in the number and in the size of its the greatest height of the column of the great of actually measured was feet and of the feet in new the te at lake the at and two others are said to lift their waters occasionally to a height of feet while the celebrated te at national lifts a boiling column feet in to a height of feet but all these are far surpassed by the few however will see the in action or a thousand other interesting features of the park that lie beyond the wagon roads and the hotels the regular from three to five days are too short nothing can be done well at a speed of forty miles a day the multitude of mixed novel impressions rapidly piled on one another make o d am most of which is far more time should be taken walk away quietly in any direction and taste tiie freedom of the camp out among the grass and of meadows in garden full of nature s climb the mountains and get their good tidings nature s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees the winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy while cares drop o e like autumn leaves as age comes on one source of enjoyment after another is closed but nature s sources never fail like a generous host she offers here cups in endless variety served in a grand hall the sky its ceiling the mountains its walls decorated with glorious paintings and with bands of music ever playing the petty that beset the awkward guest the are quickly the national park forgotten all that is precious remains vanish as soon as one free in most of the dangers that haunt the citizen are imaginary the real ones are perhaps too few rather than too many for his good the bears that always seem to spring up thick as trees in fighting devouring attitudes before the frightened whenever a camp ing trip is proposed are gentle now finding they are no longer likely to be shot and the other big dread of over civilized people are scarce here for most of the park lies above the snake line poor creatures loved only by their maker they are timid and as know and though perhaps not possessed of much of that charity that suffers long and is kind seldom either by mistake or by do harm to any one certainly they cause not the part of the pain and death that follow the footsteps of the admired again and again in season and out of season the tion comes up what are good for as if nothing that does not obviously make for the benefit of man had any right to exist as if our ways were god s ways long ago an indian to whom a french put this old question replied that their tails were good for and their heads for fever our national anyhow they are all head and tail good for themselves and we need not them their share of life fear nothing no town park you have been accustomed to in ig so free from danger as the it is a hard place to leave even its names in your are attractive and should draw you far from roads all we hell roaring river hell springs the devil s etc indeed the whole region was at first called s hell from the fiery stories told by who left the and expedition and wandered through the park in the year with a band of indians the later names many of which we owe to mr of the u s survey are so telling and that they	28
set our dancing and make us begin to enjoy the pleasures of excursions ere they are commenced three river peak two ocean pass continental divide are capital descriptions thousands of miles of rejoicing streams and all that s to them bis horn pass peak big g br mo tain to mind hills hills mountain storm peak electric peak roaring mountain are bright names and swan lakes the national park up fine pictures and so also do and creek and and are lively and sparkling names that help the streams to shine and and what pictures these bring up violet morning mist and springs and many beside give us visions of fountains more beautifully arrayed than solomon in all his purple and golden glory all these and a host of others call to camp you may be a little cold some nights on mountain tops above the timber line but you will see the stars and by and by you can sleep enough in your town bed or at least in your grave keep awake while you may in mountain so rare if you are not very strong try to climb electric peak when a big well charged is on it to breathe the set free and get yourself kindly shaken and shocked yon are sure to be lost in wonder and praise and every hair of your head will stand up and ham d dog a n after this experience you should take a look into a few of the volumes of the grand library of the park and see how god writes history no knowledge is required only a calm day and a calm mind perhaps nowhere else in the mountains have w our national the forces been so busy more ten thousand square miles have been covered to a depth of at least five thousand feet with material from and during the period forming broad of etc and masses of ashes sand and stones now into charged with the of plants and animals that lived in the calm genial periods that separated the perhaps the most interesting and telling of these rocks to the hasty are those that make up the mass of mountain on its north side it presents a section two thousand feet high of roughly beds of sand ashes and coarse and fine forming the edges of a wonderful set of volumes lying on their sides books a million years old well bound miles in size with full page illustrations on the of this one section we see and of fifteen or ancient forests ranged one above another standing where they grew or prostrate and broken like the pillars of ruined temples in desert sands a forest fifteen or twenty stories high the roots of each spread above the tops of the next beneath it telling wonderful tales of the centuries with their and growth and death fire ice and flood the national park there were giants in those days the largest of the standing and and prostrate sections of the trunks are from two or three to fifty feet in height or length and from five to ten feet in and so perfect is the that the annual rings and are clearer and more easily counted than those of trees centuries of burial having brightened the records instead of them they show that the of the period gave as decided a check to vegetable growth as do those of the present time some trees grew rapidly increasing twenty inches in in as many years while others of the same species on poorer soil or increased only two or three inches in the same time among the roots and on the old forest floors we find the remains of and bushes and the seeds and leaves of trees like those now growing on the southern such as laurel ash studying the lowest of these forests the soil it grew on and the it is buried in we see that it was rich in species and flourished in a genial sunny climate when its stately trees were in their glory fires broke forth from and like larger ashes stones and mud fell on the doomed forest like hail and our national through the leaves and branches choking the streams covering the ground crushing bushes and rapidly deep packing around the trees and breaking them rising higher until the boughs of the giants were buried leaving not a leaf or in so complete was the desolation at last tt ol began h th fiery il settled mud floods and floods passed over it it it rains fell and mellow sunshine and it became fertile and ready for another crop birds and the winds and brought seeds from more f woods and a new forest grew up on the top of the buried one centuries of genial growing seasons passed the trees became giants and with strong branches spread a leafy over the gray land the sleeping fires again awake and shake the mountains and every leaf the old with perhaps new ones are opened and immense quantities of ashes and are again thrown into the sky the sun of his beams like a dull red ball until hidden in clouds snow hail and floods fall on the new forest burying it alive like the one beneath its roots then come another noisy band of mud floods and floods mixing settling the new ground more seeds sun the national park shine and showers and a third noble forest is carefully raised on the top of the second and so on forest was planted above forest and destroyed as if nature were ever the work she had so done and burying it of course this destruction was creation progress in the march of beauty through death how quickly these old monuments excite and hold the imagination we see the old stone and and in the d as trees to shoulder branches in	28
grand varied round headed forests see the sunshine of and evening their trunks and leaves of the through of and ash and falling in mellow patches on the floor see the shining after rain breathe the fragrance and hear the winds and birds and the murmur of and insects we watch them from season to season see the swelling when the sap begins to flow in the spring the opening leaves and blossoms the of summer fruits the colors of autumn and the of branches and in winter and we see the sudden of the storms that overwhelmed them one calm morning at sunrise i saw the oaks our national and pines in valley shaken by an earthquake their tops back and forth and every branch and needle shuddering as if in distress like the screaming birds one waving of those ancient woods and the terror of their inhabitants when the first were felt the sky grew dark and rock laden floods began to roar but though they were close pressed and buried cut off from sun and wind au their happy leaf fluttering and waving done other currents through them and thrilling every fibre and beautiful wood was replaced by beautiful stone now their rocky are partly open and show forth the natural beauty of death after the forest times and fire times had passed away and the were and held in another great change occurred the winter came on the sky was again darkened not with dust and ashes but with snow which fell in glorious abundance deeper deeper slipping from the heights in into that flowed over all the landscape off forests grinding the comparatively beds into the beautiful of hill and and of mountains we behold to day forming for lakes channels for streams the national park new for forests gardens and meadows while this ice work was going on the fires were boiling the the rocks making beauty in the darkness these u harm together how wild their meetings on the surface were we may imagine when the period began and hot springs were p ing in g der volume it may be those of to day the flowed over them while they and thundered carrying away their fine and and their mysterious channels the made the down required to bring the present features of the landscape into relief are possibly no better than were some of the old that were carried away and which as we have seen nourished cent forests but the are more beautiful than the old ones were the winter has passed away like the ancient and fire periods in the of the all these times are recent only small on the cool northern slopes of the highest mountains are left of the vast all embracing ice mantle as and are all that are left of the ancient now the post agents are at work on the national grand old of the park region new characters but still in its main telling features it remains distinctly the are being refined re formed and covered with vegetation the polished and and other superficial on the crumbling are being rapidly are being cut in the and loose and and seem to be up uke growing trees while the nevertheless the ice work is scarce as yet these later effects are only spots and wrinkles on the grand countenance of the park perhaps you have already said that you have seen enough for a lifetime but before you go away you should spend at least one day and a night on a mountain top for a last general settling view mount is a good one for the purpose because it stands in the middle of the park is with other peaks and is so easy of access that the climb to its summit is only a first your eye g round l n ri lid the hundreds of peaks some with plain flowing skirts others abruptly and defended by sheer flat or round heaving like sea waves or r the national park c like with snow in the and darkened with of adventurous trees climbing the the nearer peaks are perchance clad in blue others far off in white in the broad glare of noon they seem to shrink and to less than half their real stature and grow dull and mere dead heaps of waste ashes and stone giving no hint of the multitude of animals enjoying life in their or of the bright streams and lakes but when storms blow they awake and arise wearing robes of cloud na mi t in ng like gods in the color glory of morning and evening they become still more impressive in the divine light of the their and with the heavens they seem neither high nor low over all the central which from here seems level and over the and lower slopes of the mountains the forest extends like a black uniform bed of weeds interrupted only by lakes and meadows and small burned spots called all of them except the lake being mere and in general views made conspicuous by their color and brightness about eighty five per cent of the entire area of the park is covered with trees the lodge pole pine our national with a few patches and of silver fir and a few and the is found only on the lowest portions the silver fir on the highest and the on the places best defended from fire some fine specimens of the pine are growing on the of wide sturdy trees as broad as high with trunks five feet in leafy and shady laden with purple and rose colored flowers the and sub silver fir are beautiful and notable trees tell hardy frost and snow and widely distributed over the west wherever there is a mountain to climb or a cold slope to cover but neither of these is a	28
as y the national park we overlook this wonderful wilderness fountains of the and lie before us with those of the and and fine it would be to go with them to the pacific but the sun is in the west and soon our day will be done is mountain and other mountains hardly less rich in old forests which now seem to spring up again in their glory and you see the storms that buried them the ashes and torrents laden with and mud the centuries of sunshine and the dark lurid nights ton see again the vast floods of red hot and white hot pouring out from gigantic the of lakes and streams absorbing or driving away their hissing screaming waters flowing around hills and every subordinate feature then you see the snow and taking possession of the land making new how admirable it is that after passing through so many of frost and fire and flood the and even the complexion of the landscape should still be so fine thus the past we see ture working with enthusiasm like a man blowing her a blacksmith blowing his fires over the like a carpenter his clearing planting our national and like a farmer and gardener doing rough work and fine work planting and pines and working in gems filling every crack and hollow with them painting plants and shells clouds mountains all the earth and heavens like an artist ever working toward beauty higher and higher where may the mind find more a thousand wonders are calling look up and down and round about you and a multitude of still small voices may be heard directing you to look through all this transient shifting show of things called substantial into the truly substantial spiritual world whose forms flesh and wood rock and water air and sunshine only veil and conceal and to learn that here is heaven and the dwelling place of the angels the sun is setting long violet shadows are growing out over the woods from the mountains along the western rim of the park the range is in the divine light of the and its rocks and trees are next to the light of the dawn on high mountain tops the is the most impressive of all the of god now comes the the is fading into gloom but do not let your town habits draw you away to the hotel the national park stay on this good fire mountain and spend the night among the stars watch their glorious bloom until the dawn and get one more of light then with fresh heart go down to your work and whatever your fate under whatever ignorance or e you may afterward chance to suffer you will remember these fine wild views and look back with joy to your wanderings in the blessed old chapter m thb national of all the mountain i have climbed i like the the best though extremely rugged with its main features on the scale in height and depth it is nevertheless easy of access and hospitable and its beauty displayed in striking and forms the admiring wanderer on and on higher and higher charmed and enchanted benevolent solemn pervaded with divine light every landscape like a countenance in eternal repose and every one of its living creatures clad in flesh and leaves and every crystal of its rocks whether on the surface shining in the sun or miles deep in what we call darkness is throbbing and with the of god all the world lies warm in one heart yet the seems to get more light than other mountains the weather is mostly sunshine with magnificent storms and nearly everything shines from base to the rocks streams lakes falls and the forests of silver fir the national park and silver pine and how bright is the shining after summer showers and and after frosty in spring and li when die morning are pouring the on the bushes and grass and in winter through the snow laden trees the average for the whole year is perhaps less than ten scarcely a day of all the summer is dark though there is no lack of magnificent they rise in ihe midday hours mostly over the middle region in june a d july like new mountain ae the scene e rain to the forests and gardens and bringing forth their fragrance the wonderful weather and beauty inspire everybody to be up and doing every summer day is a to be confidently counted on the short of rain forming not but rests the big blessed storm days of winter when the whole range stands white are not a whit less inspiring and kind well may the be called the of light not the snowy for only in winter is it white while all the year it is bright of this glorious range the national park is a central section thirty six miles in length and forty eight miles in breadth the famous valley lies in the heart of it and it the head waters of the our national and rivers two of the most streams in the world innumerable lakes and and smooth the noblest forests the granite the deepest ice the brightest and snowy mountains soaring into the sky twelve and thirteen thousand feet open r and g partially separated by tremendous and gardens on their sunny brows thundering down their long white slopes roaring gray and foaming in the crooked rugged and in their shadowy recesses working in silence slowly their new born lakes at their feet blue and green free or with drifting like miniature shining sparkling calm as stars nowhere will you see the majestic operations of nature more clearly revealed beside the most gentle and peaceful things nearly all the park is a profound solitude it is full of charming company full of god s thoughts a place of peace and safety amid the most exalted	28
grandeur and eager enthusiastic action a new song a place of in first lessons on life mountain building eternal invincible order with sermons in stones storms trees flowers and animals of humanity during the last period just the national park part the former features of the range we rubbed off as a chalk sketch from a and a new beginning was made hence the wonderful clearness and freshness of the rocky pages but to get all this into words is a hopeless task the sketch of each feature would need a whole chapter nor would any amount of space however be of much avail to town in articles are like pictures of bread to the hu lean write to good to come to the feast while this glorious park embraces big generous of the very best of lie treasures it is fortunately at the same time the most accessible portion it lies opposite san at a distance of about one hundred and forty miles connected with all the continent reach into the and three good carriage roads from big oak and run into valley another called the road runs from s station on the big oak road near the big tree grove right across the park to the summit of the range by way of lake the big meadows and mount these roads with many that from valley bring most of the park within reach of everybody well or half well our national the three main natural divisions of the park the lower middle and regions are fairly well defined in features and vegetation the lower with an average elevation of about five thousand feet is the region of the great forests made up of sugar pine the largest and most beautiful of au the pines in the world the silvery yellow pine the next in rank the white and red silver and the or big tree the king of the noblest of a noble race on warm slopes next the there are a few nut pines oaks make beautiful groves in the valleys and laurel and s shade the banks of the streams many of the pines are more than two hundred feet high but they are not crowded together the streaming through their arches the ground and you walk beneath the radiant ceiling in devout subdued mood as if you were in a grand cathedral with mellow light through colored windows while the open in every direction scarcely a peak or ridge in the whole region rises bare above the forests though they are planted in some places where the soil is shallow from the cool heights you look abroad over a boundless waving sea of covering the national hill and ridge and smooth flowing as far as the eye can reach and filling every hollow and down plunging in glorious triumphant perhaps the best general view of the pine forests of the park and one of the best in the range is obtained from the top of the and divide near green on the long smooth finely folded slopes of the main ridge at a height of five to six thousand feet above the sea they reach most perfect development and are to view in magnificent towering ranks their colossal and and broad crowns deep in the kind sky rising above one another a multitude of giants in perfect health and beauty sun fed rejoicing in their strength with the winds in accord with the falling waters the ground is mostly open and inviting to the fragrant is in rich carpets miles in extent the in orchard like groves covered with pink shaped flowers in the spring grows in facing the sun and in the warm brows are purple with yellow with and and tall lilies ring their bells around the borders of meadows and along the banks of the streams never was mountain forest more f national green is a good place quietly to camp and study to get acquainted with the trees and birds to drink the water and weather and to watch the changing lights of the big charmed days the rose light of the dawn creeping higher among the stars changes to yellow then come the level enthusiastic pouring across the touching pine after pine and fir and searching every recess until all are awakened and warmed in the white noon they shine in silvery splendor every needle and cell in and branch thrilling and with ardent life and the whole landscape with consciousness like the face of a god the hours go by the evening flames with purple and gold the breeze that has been blowing from the dies away and far and near the mighty host of trees in the purple flood stand hushed and thoughtful awaiting the sun s and farewell as impressive a ceremony as if it were never to rise again when the daylight the night breeze from the snowy begins to blow and the trees waving and rustling beneath the stars breathe free again it is hard to leave such and woods nevertheless to the large majority of the middle region of the park is still more interesting for it has the most striking features of the national au the scenery ae deepest sections of the famous of which the and many smaller on are der po with level floors and walls of immense height and grandeur of this middle region holds also the greater number of the beautiful lakes and meadows the great granite and the most brilliant and most extensive of the and in part it is severely rocky and bare it is rich in trees the magnificent silver fir which ranks with the giants forms a continuous belt across the park above the pines at an tion of from seven to nine thousand feet and north and south of the park boundaries to the of the range only interrupted by the main the two or pine makes another less regular	28
belt along the upper margin of the region while between these two and mingling with them in groves or scattered are the mountain the most graceful of the noble mountain pine the form of the yellow pine with big and long needles and the brown sturdy western all these except the which grows on bald rocks have plenty of brush about them and gardens in open spaces here too lies the broad shining heavily our national region of granite which best tells the story of the period on the pacific side of the continent no other mountain chain on the globe as far as i know is so rich as the in bold striking well preserved monuments easily understood by anybody capable of patient observation every feature is more or less and this park portion of the range is the brightest and of all not a peak ridge dome lake basin garden forest or stream but in some way explains the past existence and modes of action of flowing grinding sou making ice not the agents air rain frost rivers have been at work upon the greater part of the range for of thousands of years own characters over those of the ice the latter are so heavily and enduring they stiu rise in sublime relief clear and through every after inscription the streams have traced only shallow wrinkles as yet and wind rain and melting snow have made and but the effected on the face of the landscape is not greater than is made on the face of a by a single year of of all the phenomena presented here the most striking and attractive to are the polished because they are so the national park beautiful and their beauty is of so rare a kind unlike any part of the loose where people dwell and earn their bread they are simply flat or gently of solid resisting granite the unchanged surface over which the ancient flowed they are found in the most perfect condition at an elevation of from eight to nine thousand feet above sea level some are miles in extent only slightly or by spots that have at last yielded to the weather while the best preserved portions are brilliantly polished and reflect the as calm water or glass shining as if rubbed and every day notwithstanding they have been exposed to rains dew frost and for thousands of years the attention of hunters and who see so much in their wild journeys is seldom attracted by however regular and artificial or rocks however boldly or however deep and sheer walled but when they come to these they o down on their knees and rub their hands ad on tiie glistening surface and try hard to account for its mysterious and brightness they may have seen the winter come down the mountains through the woods sweeping away the trees and the but they conclude that this our national cannot be the work of the show that the i nt whatever it was flowed along and around and over the top of high and and also filled the deep neither can they see how water be the agent for the strange is thousands of feet above the reach of any conceivable flood only the winds seem capable of moving over the face of the country in the directions indicated by the and the are particularly fine around lake and have suggested the indian name we the lake of die shining rocks indians seldom trouble themselves with questions but a indian once came to me and asked if i could tell him what made the rocks so smooth at even dogs and horses on their first journeys into this region study to the extent of gazing at the strange brightness of the ground and it and smelling it as if afraid of falling or sinking in the production of this admirable hard finish the in many places exerted a pressure of more than a hundred tons to the square foot down granite slate and alike showing their structure and making beautiful where large form the greater part of the rock on such the sunshine is at times dazzling as if the surface were of silver the national park here also are the brightest of the in general the regions lying at the same elevation to the north and south were perhaps subjected to as long and intense a but because the rocks are less resisting their polished have given way to the weather leaving here and there only small imperfect patches on the most enduring portions of walls protected from the action of rain and snow and on hard kept comparatively dry by the short inclined of the east flank of the range are in some places brightly polished but they are far less magnificent than those of the broad west flank one of the best general views of the middle region of the park is to be had from the top of a majestic dome which long ago i named the monument it is situated a few miles to the north of cathedral peak and rises to a height of about fifteen hundred feet above its base and ten thousand above the sea at first sight it seems sternly inaccessible but a good will find that it may be on the south side approaching it from this side you pass through a dense fringed grove of mountain catching glimpses now and then of the colossal dome towering to an height above the dark and when at last you have made your way across woods through and you step abruptly out of the tree shadows and our national leafy softness upon a bare pavement and behold the dome in all its grandeur fancy a nicely monument eight or ten feet high from one stone standing in a pleasure ground it to a height of fifteen hundred feet retaining it of form and and cover its	28
learn that the miracle occurs for for everybody doing worth doing seeing worth s g one day is as a thousand years a thousand years as one day and while yet in the flesh you enjoy from the monument you will find an easy way down through the woods and along the big meadows to mount die summit of which commands a grand telling of the region the scenery all the way is inspiring and you on without knowing that you are climbing the spacious sunny meadows through the midst of which the bright river extend with but little interruption ten miles to the eastward dark woods rising on either side to the limit of tree growth and above the woods a picturesque line of gray peaks and dotted with snow banks while on the of the mount and his noble repose in massive their vast size and simple flowing in the most striking manner with the and thin on the horizon to the north and south of them tracing the ascending gazing at the sublime scenery more and more openly unfolded noting the in our national the upper forests lingering over beds of and purple and and dwarf an inch high in close gray carpets brightened here and there with and soft creeping of sprinkled with pink bells that seem to have been down from the like hail thus begged and enchanted you reach the base of the mountain wholly unconscious of the miles you have walked and so on to the summit for all the way up the long red slate slopes that in the distance seemed barren you find little garden beds and of dwarf and blue that go straight to your heart blessed fellow kept safe and warm by a thousand miracles tou are now more than thirteen thousand feet above the sea and to the north and south you behold a sublime wilderness of mountains in glorious array their snowy sum towering together in crowded bewildering abundance shoulder to shoulder peak beyond peak to the east lies great basin and silent apparently a land of pure desolation rich only in beautiful light lake fourteen miles long is below you at a depth of nearly seven thousand feet its shores of ashes and sand and a group of with well formed rises to the south of the lake while up from its eastern shore in the national mountains with soft flowing outlines extend range beyond range g j p o purple and blue the farthest gradually fading on the glowing horizon westward you look down and over the countless meadows and grand sea of and rock waves of the upper basin the cathedral and mountains th their wavering lines and of forest the wonderful region to the north of the and across the dark belt of silver to the pale mountains of the coast in the icy fountains of the mount and bitter groups of peaks to the south of three of the most important of the rivers the and san take their rise their highest being within a few miles of one another as they rush forth on their adventurous courses from beneath snow banks and of the small shrinking of the of the majestic system that the range i have seen sixty five about of them are in the park and eight are in sight from mount the lakes are sprinkled over all the and regions gleaming like eyes beneath heavy rock brows tree fringed or bare in the woods or lying in open with green and purple meadows around them but the greater number are in the cool shadowy our national of the summit mountains not far from the the highest lying at an elevation of from eleven to nearly twelve feet above the sea the whole number in the not counting the smallest can hardly be less than fifteen hundred of which about two hundred and fifty are in the park from one on red mountain i counted forty two most of them within a of ten miles the meadows which are spread over the filled up of vanished lakes and form one of the most charming features of the scenery are still more numerous than the lakes an observer stationed here in the period would have overlooked a wrinkled mantle of ice as continuous as that which now covers the continent of and of all the vast landscape now shining in the sun he would have seen only the tops of the summit peaks rising darkly ke islands is and hopeless above rock ice waves if among the agents that nature has employed in making these mountains there be one that above all others deserves the name of it is the but we quickly that d is creation during the dreary through which the lay in darkness crushed beneath the ice folds of the winter there was a steady invincible advance toward the warm life and beauty of to day and it is w the national park just where the crushed most that the greatest amount of beauty is made manifest but as these have succeeded the so they in turn are giving place to others planned and foreseen the granite and apparently we take as of while these p down whose frosty are ever falling are of change and decay yet all alike fast or slow are surely vanishing away nature is ever at work building and pulling down creating and destroying keeping everything whirling and flowing allowing no rest but in motion chasing everything in endless song out of one beautiful form into another chapter iv the of the the forests of the park and of the in general all others of their kind in america or indeed in the world not only in the size and of the trees but in the number of species assembled together and the grandeur of the mountains they are growing on leaving the and wandering into the	28
clusters the big rough five to eight or ten inches in length and five or six in are rich brown in color when ripe and full of hard nuts that are greatly by indians and this strange looking pine enjoying hot like a palm is distributed the il of the among and and with its gray mist of foliage strong trunk and branches and big seen in relief on the glowing sky forms the most striking feature of the vegetation is a small slender tree with pale green leaves in clustered flowers half an inch long yellow and crimson and in conspicuous around the branches and also around the trunk the never fall off or open until the tree dies they are about four inches long exceedingly strong and solid and with hard forming a and almost worm and proof in which the seeds are kept fresh and safe during the lifetime of the tree sometimes one of the is overgrown and in the heart wood like a knot but nearly all are pushed out and national kept on surface by the pressure of the successive of wood against the base this admirable tree grows on slopes which from their position and the character of the vegetation are most frequently fire swept these grounds it is able to hold against all comers however big and strong by saving its seeds until death when all it has produced are scattered over the bare cleared ground and a new generation quickly springs out of the ashes thus the curious fact that all the trees of extensive groves and are of the same age is accounted for and their slender habit for the lavish abundance of seed sown at the same time makes a crowded growth and the with an even start rush up in a hurried race for light and life only a few of the and pines are within the boundaries of the park the former on the side of the the latter on the walls of valley and in the below it the nut pine is a small hardy contented looking tree about fifteen or twenty feet high and a foot in in its youth the close and branches form a handsome broad based but when fully grown it becomes round and irregular throwing out crooked limbs like an apple tree the leaves are pale the forests of the green about an inch and a half long and instead of being divided into clusters they are single round sharp pointed and rigid like amid which in the spring the red flowers glow brightly the are only about two in length and breadth but nearly half of their bulk is made up of sweet nuts this fruitful little pine grows on the dry east side of the park along the margin of the sage plain and is the commonest tree of the short mountain of the great basin of thousands of acres are covered with it forming for the red man being so low and accessible the are easily beaten off with poles and the nuts procured by until the scales open to the tribes of the desert and sage plains these seeds are the staff of life they are eaten either raw or or in the form of or cakes after being into meal the time of nut harvest in the autumn is the indian s time of all the year an industrious family can gather fifty or sixty in a single month before the snow comes and then their bread for the winter is sure the white pine is widely distributed through the mountains and the of the great basin where in many places it grows to a good size and is an important timber tree where none better is to be found in national the park it is scattered along the eastern flank of the range from pass southward above the nut pine at an elevation of from eight to ten thousand feet to a tangled bush near the timber line but under favorable conditions a height of forty or fifty feet with a of three to five the long branches show a tendency to sweep out in bold curves like those of the mountain and sugar pines to which it is closely related the needles are in clusters of five closely packed on the ends of the the are about five inches long the smaller ones nearly oval the larger but the most interesting feature of the tree is its bloom the vivid red flowers glowing among the leaves like coals of fire the pine or white pine is sure to interest every observer on account of its curious low habit and the great height on the snowy mountains at which it bravely grows it forms the extreme edge of the timber line on both of the summit mountains if so lowly a tree can be called timber at an elevation of ten to twelve thousand feet above the level of the sea where it is first met on the lower limit of its range it may be thirty or forty feet high but farther up the rocky wind swept slopes where the snow lies deep and heavy for six months of the year it makes shaggy the forests op the y park and beds and pressed flat over which jou can easily walk nevertheless in this crushed down pressed condition it to life puts forth fresh leaves every n b the d of ta t l i b bravely in the with abundance of gay red and purple flowers its seeds in the short and often the favored giants of the sun lands far below one of the trees that i examined was only about feet high n ter at the ground and branches that spread out as if they had grown up against a ceiling yet it was four hundred and twenty six years old and one of its about	28
an eighth of an inch in inside the bark was seventy five years old and so tough that i tied it into knots at the age of this dwarf many of the sugar and yellow pines and are seven feet in and over two hundred feet high in detached never touched by fire the fallen needles of centuries of growth make fine elastic for the weary while the spread a roof over him and the dead roots half usually found in abundance make capital camp fires in storms of rain or snow seen from a distance the and patches darkening the mountain sides look like on a roof and our national bring to mind dr johnson s remarks on the trees of scotland his guide anxious for the honor of was still of its woods and pointing them out sir said johnson i saw at what they called a wood which i took for heath if you show me what i shall take for it will be something the mountain pine is far the largest of the tree climbing nearly as high as the dwarf it is still a giant in size bold and strong standing erect on the storm beaten peaks and tossing its laden branches in the rough winds living a thousand years and reaching its greatest size ninety to a hundred feet in height six to eight in just where other trees its companions are but it ia not able to endure burial in snow so long as the and therefore on the upper limit of its range it is found on slopes which from their or exposure are least snowy its soft graceful beauty in youth and its leaves and branches constantly remind you of the r pine to which it is closely allied an admirable tree growing nobler in form and size the colder and the mountains about it the giants of the main forest in the favored middle region are the sugar pine yellow pine and the two the forests of the silver the park are to two small groves a few miles apart on the and divide about seventeen miles from valley the big oak flat road to the valley runs through the grove the through the the more famous and better known grove belong g to the state lies near the corner of the park a few miles above the pine is first met in the park in open woods at an elevation of t thirty l feet above the sea full development at a height between five and six thousand feet and at the level of eight thousand feet in many places especially on the northern slopes of the main between the rivers it forms the bulk of the forest but mostly it is intimately associated with its noble companions above which it towers in glorious majesty on every hill ridge and from one extremity of the range to the other a distance of five hundred miles the largest noblest and most beautiful of all the seventy or eighty species of pine trees in the world and of all the second only to king a good many are from two hundred to two hundred and twenty feet in height with a at four feet from the ground of six to eight feet and occasionally a grand seven or our national eight hundred years old is found that is ten or even twelve feet in and two hundred and forty feet high with a magnificent crown seventy feet wide david who discovered this most beautiful and immensely grand tree in the fall of in southern says that the largest of several that had been blown down at three feet from the ground was fifty seven feet nine inches in or fully eighteen feet in at one hundred and thirty four feet seventeen feet five inches extreme length two hundred and feet probably for we should read thirty seven for the base which would make it correspond with the other dimensions for none of this species with anything like so great a has since been seen a of ti l t is a fallen specimen that i measured was nine feet three inches in inside the bark at four feet from the d and six feet in at a hundred feet from the ground a comparatively young tree three hundred and thirty years old that had been cut down measured seven feet across the stump was three feet three inches in at a height of one hundred and fifty feet and two hundred and ten feet in length the trunk is a round delicately shaft with finely brown bark usually the forests op the park free of limbs for a hundred feet or more the top is furnished with long and comparatively slender branches which sweep gracefully downward and outward with short and divided only at the ends forming a crown fifty to seventy five feet wide but without the monotonous of palm crowns or of the of most the old trees are as varied and picturesque as oaks no two are alike and we are tempted to stop and admire every one we come to whether as it stands in the scented sunshine or waving in accord with enthusiastic storms the leaves are about three or four inches long in clusters of five finely tempered bright lively green and radiant the flowers are but little larger than those of the dwarf pine and far less the fifteen to twenty or even twenty four inches long and three in hang singly or in clusters like ornamental at the ends of the long branches green flushed with purple on the side like those of almost all the pines they in the autumn of the second season from the flower and the seeds of all that have escaped the indians bears and take wing and fly to their places then the become still more effective as ornaments for by the spreading of	28
the scales the is nearly doubled and the color changes to a rich national brown they on the tree the following winter and summer therefore few fertile trees are ever found without them nor even after they fall is the beauty work of these grand done for they make a fine show on the needle strewn the wood is pale yellow fine in i the sugar which gives name to the tree es from the heart wood on wounds made by fire or the axe and forms irregular crisp white like masses to the taste of most people it is as good as sugar though it cannot be eaten in large quantities no whether a tree lover or not will ever f or his first walk in a pine forest the ma a r make a glorious through the arches of which the pour the needles and the stately columns and the ground into a scene of enchantment the yellow pine is surpassed in size and of port only by its companion full grown trees in the main forest where it is associated with the sugar pine are about one hundred and seventy five feet high with a of five to six feet though much larger specimens may easily be found the largest i ever measured was a little over eight feet in four feet above the g und and two hundred and twenty feet high where there the forests op the park is plenty of sunshine and other conditions are favorable it is a massive spire formed of a strong straight shaft clad with innumerable branches which are divided again and again into stout laden with bright shining needles and green or purple where the growth is at all close half or more of the trunk is the species its greatest size and most majestic form in open groves on the deep well drained soil of lake at an elevation of about four thousand feet there nearly all the old trees are over two hundred feet high and the heavy leafy branches clothe the trunk to the ground such trees are easily climbed and in going up the winding stairs of limbs to the top you will gain a most telling and memorable idea of the height the richness and of the branches and the abundance and beauty of the long shining elastic foliage in tranquil weather you will see the firm needles in calm content and throwing off keen minute rays of light like of ice but when heavy winds are blowing the strong towers bend and wave in the blast with eager wide awake enthusiasm and every tree in the grove and flashes in one mass of white both the yellow and sugar pines grow rapidly on good soil where they are not crowded at our national the age of a hundred years they are about two feet in and a hundred or more high they are then very handsome though very unlike the sugar pine closely clad with ascending branches the yellow open showing its from the ground to the top its branches but little divided as yet spreading and turning up at the ends with ld ol l bright needles t shoot with its leaves being often three or four feet long and a foot and a half wide the most hopeful looking and the in the woods but instead of increasing like its companion in and ity of form with age it becomes more and the bark is usually very thick four to six inches at the ground and arranged in large plates some of them on the lower part of the trunk four or five feet long and twelve to eighteen inches wide forming a strong against fire the leaves are in and from three inches to a foot long the flowers appear in may the pink or brown in conspicuous clusters two or three inches wide the crimson a fourth of an inch wide and mostly hidden among the leaves on the tips of the the vary from about three to ten inches in length two to five in width and grow in standing clusters near the ends of the the forests of the park being able to endure fire and han er and ted eastward from the coast across the broad rocky mountain to the black hills of a distance of more than a thousand miles and southward from british near latitude to about fifteen hundred miles south of the river it meets the sugar pine and it all the way down along the coast and mountains and the and southern to the mountains of the of lower where they find their homes together is extremely and much bother it gives who try to catch and confine the in two or a dozen species but in au ite wanderings in every form it noble strength clad in thick bark like a warrior in mail it extends its bright ranks over all the high of the wild side of the continent in the fog and rain of the northern coast at the level of the sea in the snow laden of the mountains and the white glaring sunshine of the interior and plains on the borders of haunted deserts and beds waving its bright in the hot winds blooming every year for centuries and tossing big ripe the and ashes of nature s our the grows with the great pines especially on the cool north sides of and and is here nearly as large as the yellow pine but less abundant the wood is strong and tough the bark thick and deeply and on vigorous quick growing trees the stout spreading branches are covered with innumerable slender swaying handsomely clothed with short leaves the flowers are about three of an inch in length red or green not so as the but in june and july when the young bright yellow leaves appear the entire tree seems to be covered	28
with bloom it is this grand tree that forms the famous forests of western washington and the adjacent coast regions of british where it its greatest size and is most abundant making almost pure forests over thousands of square dark and close and almost inaccessible many of the trees towering with straight shafts to a height of three hundred feet their heads together shutting out the one of the most a k th western giants the incense when full grown is a magnificent tree one hundred and twenty to nearly two hundred feet high five to eight and occasionally twelve feet the forests of the park u in th colored bark and warm green foliage and in general appearance like an it is distributed through the main forest from an elevation of three to six thousand feet and in sheltered portions of on the warm sides to seven thousand five hundred in when most trees are asleep it puts forth its flowers the are pale green and but the are yellow about one fourth of an inch long and are produced in all the branches with gold and the tree as it stands in the snow look like a gigantic though scattered rather amongst its companions in the open woods it is seldom out of sight and its bright brown shafts and warm of f ge make a striking feature of the landscape while young and growing fast in an open situation no other tree of its size in the park forms so exactly a the branches in flat and beautifully sweep gracefully downward and outward except those near the top which the lowest to the ground one another shedding off rain and snow and making fine tents for and birds in old age it becomes irregular and picturesque mostly from accidents running fires heavy wet snow breaking the branches lightning the top our national compelling it to try to make new out of side branches etc still it frequently lives more a thousand years beautiful and worthy its place beside the and the great pines this forest is still further enriched by two majestic silver and bands of which come down from the main fir belt by cool shady and is the noblest of its race growing on at an elevation of seven thousand to eight thousand five hundred feet above the sea to a height of two hundred or two hundred and fifty feet and five to seven in and with these noble dimensions there is a richness and and perfection of finish not to be found in any other tree in the the branches are in mostly and stand out from the straight red purple in level or on old trees in drooping every branch regularly like and clad with silvery needles making broad singularly rich and the flowers are in their prime about the middle of june the red growing on the of the in crowded profusion giving a rich color to nearly all the tree the yellow tinged with pink standing erect on the upper side of the branches while the of young leaves about the forests of the park as brightly colored as those of the push out their fragrant brown a few weeks later making another grand show the mature in a single season from the flowers when full grown they are about six to eight inches long three or four in blunt massive gray in color covered with a fine silvery down and with transparent very rich and standing erect like on the branches if possible the inside of the is still more beautiful the scales and are tinged with red and the seed wings are purple with bright the white silver fir grows best about two thousand feet lower than the it is nearly as large but the branches are less regularly and the leaves are longer and instead of standing out around the or turning up and clasping them they are mostly arranged in two or ascending rows and the are less than half as large the bark of the is purple and closely that of the is gray and widely a noble pair only by the and of the forests of washington and the northern coast range but none of these northern species form pure forests that in extent and beauty approach those of the our national the seeds of the are curiously formed and colored brown purple plain or spotted like birds eggs and excepting the they are all handsomely and winged with reference to their distribution they are a sort of devised flying m one winged s birds but one f and they take but one flight all save those which after g from the nest in calm weather chance to alight on branches where they have to wait for a wind and though these seed wings are intended for only a moment s use they are as thoughtfully colored and fashioned as the wings of birds and require from one to two seasons to grow those of the pine fir and are curved in such manner that in being dragged through the air by the seeds they are made to whirling the seeds in a close and them long enough to allow the winds to carry them to considerable distances a style of flying full of quick merry motion strikingly contrasted to the v di l of il on of surely no ever set out to seek their fortunes only in the fir woods are large flocks seen for unlike the of the pine etc which let the seeds escape slowly one or two at a time by spreading the scales the fir when ripe fall to pieces and let nearly all go at once in the forests of the park favorable weather all along the for hundreds of miles on dry autumn days the sunny spaces in the woods among the colossal are in a whirl with these shining notwithstanding the	28
have been working at the top of their speed for weeks trying to cut o e every before the seeds were ready to swarm and fly seeds have flat wings and and glance in their flight like a boy s the of seeds is by the and cherry plan of birds at the cost of their board and thus obtaining the use of a pair of extra good wings above the great fir belt and below the ragged beds and of the dwarf pine stretch the broad dark forests of usually called pine on broad f material it forms nearly pure forests at an elevation of about eight or nine thousand feet above the sea where it is a small well tree fifty or sixty feet high and one or two in with thin gray bark crooked much divided straggling e short needles in clusters of two bright yellow and crimson flowers and small the very largest i ever measured was ninety feet in height and a httle over six feet in four feet above the ground on moist f well drained soil in sheltered hollows k our national it grows tall and slender with ascending branches making graceful fifty to seventy five feet high with stems only five or six inches thick the most extensive forest of this pine in the park lies to the north of the big meadows a famous deer pasture and hunting ground of the indians for over wide beds there is an even nearly pure growth broken only by meadows around which the trees stand in trim array their sharp showing to fine advantage both in green summer and white winter on account of the of its growth in many places and the and of its bark it is easily killed by running fires which work destruction in its ranks but a new rises quickly from the ashes for all or a part of its seeds are held in reserve for a year or two or many years and when the tree is killed the open and the seeds are scattered over the burned ground uke those of the next to the mountain and the dwarf pine this species best burial in heavy snow while in hunger and cold on it is not surpassed by any it is distributed from to southern and inland across the rocky mountains taking many forms in accordance with demands of climate soil rivals and enemies growing patiently in the forests of the park and on sand beside the sea where it is with salt on high snowy mountains and down in the throats of extinct springing up with invincible vigor after every fire and extending its farther the sturdy storm enduring red delights to dwell on the tops of granite and and of the upper pine belt at an elevation of seven to ten thousand feet where it can get plenty of sunshine and snow and elbow room quick growing ing rivals they never anything like a forest seldom come together even in groves but stand out separate and independent in the wind clinging by slight joints to the rock living chiefly on snow and thin air and maintaining tough health on this diet for two thousand years or more every feature and gesture expressing steadfast dogged endurance the largest are usually about six or eight feet in and fifteen or twenty in height a very few are ten feet in and on isolated heaps forty to sixty feet in height many are mere as broad as high broken by and lightning with dense gray foliage and giving no hint of dying the flowers are like those of the but smaller the are national the wood is red fine and fragrant the bark bright and red and in trees is strikingly and off in thin ribbons which the indians used to into and coarse cloth these brown standing on polished with masses of foliage in their arms are exceedingly picturesque and never fail to catch the eye of the artist they seem sole of some ancient race wholly with their neighbors i haye spent a good deal of time to determine their age but on account of dry rot which most of the old ones i never got a complete count of the largest some are undoubtedly more than two thousand years old for though on good soil they grow about as fast as oaks on bare and smoothly granite in the dome region they grow extremely slowly one on the king ridge only two feet eleven inches in was eleven hundred and forty years old another on the same ridge only one foot seven and a half inches in had reached the age of eight hundred and thirty four years the first fifteen inches from the bark of a medium sized tree six feet in on the north pavement had eight hundred and fifty nine of wood or fifty seven to the the forests of the park inch beyond this the count was stopped by dry rot and of old wounds the largest i feet i r ten in and though i failed to get anything like a complete count i learned h thi pi in u me that most of the trees eight to ten feet thick standing on are more than twenty centuries of age rather less accidents for all i can see they would live forever when killed they waste out of existence about as slowly as granite even when by w to li at rest leaning on their big elbows as if anxious to rise and while a single root holds to the rock putting forth fresh leaves with a grim never y die and never ue down expression as is the most stubborn and of trees the mountain sensitive to the slightest touches of the wind until it reaches a height of fifty or sixty feet it is clothed down to the ground with dr ing	28
of from the on its is a tall stately tree towering above its companions and gracefully the banks of the main streams at an elevation of about four thousand feet its abundant foliage turns bright yellow in the fall and the sunshine through it in delightful tones over the slow gliding waters when they are at their lowest ebb the is brighter still in these brooding days for every branch of its broad head is then a brilliant crimson flame in the spring when the streams are in flood it is the of trees white as a snow bank with its magnificent flowers four to eight inches in width making a wonderful show and drawing of and the broad is usually found in the the of the park choked where the streams are gray and white with foam over which it its branches in arches from bank to bank forming leafy full of soft green light and spray favorite homes of the water around the lakes two or three thousand feet the common grows in and groves which brilliantly colored in autumn reminding you of the color glory of the eastern woods scattered here and there or in groves the will find a few other trees mostly small the mountain mahogany cherry chestnut oak laurel and the is a handsome belonging to the family with pale bark leaves fruit like a green and seed like a one of the best groves of it in the park is at the below but the noble oaks and all these rock stream trees are as nothing amid the vast forests of during my first years in the i was ever calling on everybody within reach to admire them but i found no one half warm enough until came i had read his essays and felt sure that of all men he would best interpret the sayings of these noble mountains and trees nor was my faith weakened when i met him in he seemed as serene as a his head in the national and forgetting his age plans duties ties of ev ry sort i pro d back in the heart of the mountains he seemed anxious to go but mentioned his party i said never mind the mountains are run away and let plans u d p and di g d ti m ing your own song good by proud world i i m going home in divine earnest up there lies a new heaven and a new earth let us go to the show but alas it was too late too near the of his life the shadows were long and he leaned on his friends his party fuu of philosophy failed to see the natural beauty and of promise of my wild plan and laughed at it in good natured ignorance as if it were necessarily amusing to imagine that boston people might be led to accept of god at the price of rough anyhow they would have none of it and held mr to the hotels and after spending only five days in he was led away but i saw him two days more for i was kindly invited to go with the party as far as the big trees i told mr that i would gladly go to the with him if he would camp in the grove he consented heartily and i felt sure that we would have at least one good wild memorable night the forests of the park around a camp fire next day we rode through the magnificent forests of the basin and i kept calling his attention to the sugar pines quoting his wood notes listen what the pine tree etc pointing out the noblest as kings and high priests the most eloquent and of all the mo tain forests forth their arms in ben ov the crowded about them he gazed in devout admiration saying but little while his fine smile faded away early in the afternoon when we reached s station i was surprised to see the and when i asked if we were not going up into the grove to camp they said no it would never do to lie out in the night air mr might take cold and you know mr that would be a dreadful in vain i urged that only in homes and hotels were caught that nobody ever was known to take cold in these woods that there was not a or in all the then i the big climate hanging inspiring fire i would make praised the beauty and fragrance of flame told how the great trees would stand about us in the purple light while the stars looked down between the great ending by urging them to come on and make an immortal night our national of it bat the house habit wa not to be overcome nor the strange dread of pure night air though it is only cooled day air with a little dew in it so the carpet dust and were preferred and to think of this being a boston choice sad on culture and the glorious accustomed to reach whatever place i started for i was going up the mountain alone to camp and wait the coming of the party next day but since was so soon to vanish i concluded to stop with him he hardly e a word all the evening yet it was a great pleasure simply to be near him warming in the light of his face as at a fire in the morning we rode up the trail through a noble forest of pine and fir into the famous grove and stayed an hour or two in ordinary ing at the biggest giants measuring them with a line riding through prostrate fire bored trunks etc though mr was alone occasionally about as if under a spell as we walked through a fine group he quoted there were giants in those days	28
the strong winds that occasionally sweep the high play a more important part in the distribution of special soil beds than is at first recognized forward considerable titles of sand and gravely of etc and them in fields and beds beautifully ruffled and embroidered and adapted to the wants of some of the and of the and flowers the more resisting of the smooth polished and can hardly be said to have any at au our national while others beginning to give way to the weather are sprinkled with coarse gravel some of them are full of as the surface of the rock is are set free covering the and rolling down the sides in minute giving rise to and beds of soil in some instances the various occur only here and there sprinkled in gray gravel like in a sod but in others half or more is made up of and the glow of the or loosely strewn gems and their colored and at times of the day when the sun is shining might well the flowers that grow among them and console them for being so completely these radiant sheets and and dome rings of are the most beautiful of all the soil beds while the huge ranged along the walls of the great are the deepest and instead of being slowly and accumulated from the cliffs overhead like common they were all formed suddenly and simultaneously by an earthquake that occurred at least three centuries ago though thus hurled into existence at a single effort they are the least and of all the soil in the range excepting those which were launched directly into the of rivers scarcely one wild gardens of the park ul of their and has been moved since the day of their creation and though mostly made up of huge blocks of granite many of them from ten to fifty feet trees and shrubs make out to live and on them and even delicate plants etc soothing their rugged features with gardens and groves in general views of the park scarce a hint is given of its wealth only by patiently lovingly about in it will you discover that it is all more or less the forests as well as the open spaces and the mountain tops and rugged slopes around the as well as the sunny meadows even the majestic cliffs seemingly absolutely for thousands of feet and necessarily doomed to eternal are cheered with happy flowers on invisible and wherever the slightest grip for a root can be found as if nature like an enthusiastic gardener could not resist the temptation to plant flowers everywhere on high dry rocky and most of the plants are so small they make but little show even when in bloom but in the parts of the main forests the meadows stream banks and the level floors of valleys the vegetation is exceedingly rich in flowers some of the lilies and being from eight to ten feet high and on the our national upper meadows there are miles of blue and white and blue and great of rosy purple covering rocky with a abundance of bloom by humming birds and a host of other insects as beautiful as flowers in the lower and middle regions also many of the most extensive beds of bloom are in great part made by shrubs cherry rose laurel and many others the sunny spaces about them bright and fragrant with lilies etc is a handsome hardy belonging to the rose family flourishing on dry ground below the pine belt d often covering of or square miles of rolling sun beaten and with a dense dark green almost impenetrable which in the distance looks like it is about six to eight feet high has slender elastic branches red bark leaves and small white flowers in about a foot long making glorious sheets of t ia se p to fire k no resistance vanishing with the few other shrubs and vines and plants that grow with it about as fast as dry wild gardens of the park grass leaving nothing but ashes but with wonderful vigor it rises again and again in fresh beauty from the root and calls back to its hospitable the multitude of wild ft that had to flee for their lives as soon as you enter the pine woods you meet the charming little one of the of the park shrubs next in and beauty to the of the regions like it belongs to the rose family is from twelve to eighteen inches high has brown bark slender branches white flowers like those of the and yellow green leaves finely cut and as if unusual pains had been taken in them where there is plenty of sunshine at an elevation of three thousand to six thousand feet it makes a close continuous growth leaf touching leaf over hundreds of acres spreading a handsome mantle beneath the yellow and sugar pines here and there a lily rises above it an bunch of tall and at wide intervals a or of or but there are no rough weeds mixed with it no of any sort perhaps the most widely distributed of all the park shrubs and of the in general certainly the most strikingly characteristic are the many species of national though one species the or the of the western indians extends around the world the greater part of them are they are from four to ten feet high round headed with innumerable branches brown or red bark pale green leaves set on edge and a rich profusion of small pink narrow urn shaped flowers like those of the branches are and about as rigid as bones and the bark is so thin and smooth both trunk and branches seem to be naked looking as if they had been polished and painted red the wood also is red hard and heavy these grand bushes	28
seldom fail to engage the attention of the and hold it especially if he has to pass through closely planted fields of them such as grow on slopes at an elevation of about seven thousand feet and in choked with earthquake for they make the most stubborn of all even bears take pains to go around the patches if possible and when compelled to force a passage leave of hair and broken branches to mark their way while less under like circumstances sometimes lose most of their clothing and au their temper the like sunny ground on warm and sandy at the foot of un beaten wild gardens of the park cliffs some of the specimens have well defined trunks six inches to a foot or more thick and stand apart in orchard like which in are among the finest garden sights in the park the largest i ever saw had a rounds slightly trunk nearly four feet in which at a height of only eighteen inches from the ground dissolved into a wilderness of branches rising and spreading to a height and width of about twelve feet in every bush over all the mountains is the red pleasantly about the size of peas are like little apples and the hungry is glad to eat them though half their bulk is made up of hard seeds indians bears birds and other mountain live on them for months associated with there are six or seven species of fragrant and altogether delightful shrubs growing in glorious abundance in the forests on sunny or half shaded ground up to an elevation of about nine thousand feet above the sea in the woods the most beautiful species is c often called or deer brush it is five or six feet high smooth slender with bright foliage and abundance of blue flowers in close two species and spread our national handsome blue and rags on warm beneath the pines and offer delightful beds to the tired the commonest species c is mostly to the silver fir belt it is white and and makes extensive of tangled far too dense to through and too deep and loose to walk on though it is pressed flat eveiy winter by ten or fifteen feet of snow above these beds sometimes mixed with them a very wild red cherry g in magnificent fragrant and white as snow when in bloom the fruit is small and rather bitter not so good as the black that grows in the but like it below the cherry and oak spread generous of and with and in adjacent help to clothe and adorn the rocky wilderness and produce food for the many mouths nature has to fill is the glory of cool streams and meadows it is from two to five feet high has bright green leaves and a rich profusion of large fragrant white and yellow flowers which are in prime beauty in june july and august according to the elevation from three thousand to six thousand feet only the purple of the for thicket e i i j wild gardens op the park rivals or it in superb bloom back a way from the bordered streams a small wild rose makes often several acres in extent fragrant on mornings and after showers the fragrance mingled with the music of birds in them and not far from these rose gardens covers the ground with broad leaves and pure white flowers as large as those of its neighbor the rose and finer in texture followed at the end of summer by soft red good for bird and beast and man also this is the commonest and the most beautiful of the whole blessed the glory of the region in are the and enriched here and there by the and by the purple the only discovered in and the only species in the the lowly hardy adventurous has exceedingly slender creeping branches leaves and pale pink or white bell flowers few plants large or small so well endure hard weather and rough ground over so great a range in july it a wavering interrupted belt of the loveliest bloom around lakes and meadows and across wild between roar our national ing streams all along the and beneath cold skies by way of the mountain chains of washington british and to the regions gradually descending until at the north end of the continent it reaches the level of the sea blooming as and at about the same time on frozen as on the high the companion of it as far north as where together they thick beds on rounded mountain tops above the it grows mostly at slightly lower the upper margin of what may be called the belt in the with and the lower margin of l the wide bell shaped flowers are bright purple about three of an inch in hundreds to the square yard the young branches mostly erect being covered with them no in more luxurious rest the in w of blooming b thus and the show on calm mornings when there is a radiant globe in the throat of every flower and smaller gems on the needle shaped leaves the pouring through them in the same wild cold region the tiny mixed with and dwarf of the thinner carpets the leaves sprinkled with pink and on higher sandy slopes you wiu find several species of with gorgeous masses of yellow bloom and the lovely with many blessed companions charming plants gentle nature s which seem always the finer ae higher and their homes many interesting are distributed over the park from the to a little above the timber line the greater number are rock wood sa with small and and the cliffs and the most import of the larger species are and the common is a superb five to eight feet high growing in where the ground is level and on slopes in a regular over like on a roof	28
its range in the park is from the western boundary up to about five thousand feet mostly on benches of the north walls of watered by small streams it is far more abundant in the coast mountains beneath the noble where it a height of ten to twelve feet the are mostly to the moist parts of the lower forests our national to streams the hardy the commonest of grows tall and graceful on sunny and at between three thousand and six thousand feet those who know it only in the eastern states can form no fair conception of its stately beauty in the sunshine of the on the level sandy floors of valleys it often a height of six to eight feet in fields thirty or forty acres in extent the magnificent in a nearly position forming a ceiling beneath which one may walk erect in delightful mellow shade no other does so much for the color glory of autumn with its and and changing and even after lying dead all winter beneath the snow it a lively brown mantle over the desolate ground until the young with a noble display of faith and hope come rolling up into the light through the midst of the beautiful ruins a few weeks suffice for their development then poised each in its place they manage themselves in every of weather as if they had passed through a long course of training i have seen solemn old sugar pines thrown into momentary confusion by the sudden of a storm tossing their arms excitedly as if scarce awake and f what had happened but i never noticed ent iii the behavior of this noble wild of the park of five species of in the park the handsome growing in with is the largest p the and at the same time the most fragile of the grows in dense among rocks on storm beaten sides along the upper margin of the line it is a charming four or five inches high has shining bronze colored which are about as as glass and pale green its companions on the lower part of its range are and the latter soft and tender not at all like a rock though it grows on rocks where the snow lies longest p with blue green narrow simply is about the same size as and ranks next to it as a growing in and around on about a thousand feet lower we find the smaller and more abundant p on and strewn watered until late in summer by currents from snow banks or thin streams from growing in close its little bright green about an inch in length as innumerable as leaves of grass p has twice or thrice is dull in color and dwells on hot rocky among our national three species of and with beautiful two to four an inch to five inches long adorn the walls of the however dry and sheer the exceedingly delicate and interesting is rare the others abundant at from three to seven thousand feet elevation and are often accompanied by the little gold and rarely by the curious little the smallest of which are less la an inch hi h the finest of all the rock is lover of and the of spray no other is so constant a companion of white spray covered streams or tells so well their wild thundering music the homes it loves best are cave like hollows beside the main falls where it can float its on their breath safely sheltered from the heavy spray laden many of these moss lined chambers so cool so moist and brightly colored with rainbow light contain thousands of these happy clinging to the walls by the slightest holds reaching out the most wonderfully delicate on dark glossy sensitive tremulous all alive in an attitude of eager attention throbbing in with every motion and tone of the waters to their wild gardens op the park est moving each division of the separately at times as if the music playing on invisible keys considering the lilies as yon go up the mountains the first yon come to is l with large orange yellow purple spotted flowers big enough for babies it is seldom found higher than thirty five hundred feet above the sea grows in magnificent groups of fifty to a hundred or more romantic au in the pine woods shaded by and willow and with bushes in front of the trees for a border and and in front of the bushes while the bed of black in which the are set is with and these richly furnished lily gardens are the pride of the falls on the lower of the and rivers falls not like those of coming from the sky with rock shaking thunder tones but small with low kind voices cheerily singing in leafy self contained keeping their snowy weu about them yet furnishing plenty of spray for the lilies the washington lily l is white fragrant moderate in size with three to ten the largest i ever measured was eight feet high the two feet long with fifty two flowers fifteen of our national them open the others had faded or were still in the bud this famous lily is distributed over the the pine woods never in large garden companies like but widely scattered standing up to the waist in dense and ite waving its lovely flowers above the blooming wilderness of brush and giving their fragrance to the breeze these stony are about the last places in the in which one would look for lilies but though they toil not nor spin like other people under adverse circumstances they have to do the best they can because their large are good to eat they are dug up by indians and bears therefore like hunted animals they seek refuge in the where among the and tough tangled roots they are comparatively safe this is	28
the favorite lily and it is now growing in all the best and gardens of the world the gardens in the park he in the silver fir forests on the top of the main dividing or hang like colored down their sides their wet places are in great part taken up by a robust broad plant determined to be seen and and the parts by tall etc standing deep in grass with here and there around the borders but the wild of the park finest feature of these forest gardens is it greatly in size the being from six to nine feet high with splendid of ten to fifty small orange colored flowers which rock and wave with great dignity above the other flowers in the winds that fall over the protecting wall of trees though rather frail looking it is strong reaching prime vigor and beauty eight thousand feet above the sea and in some places venturing as high as eleven thousand or is a unique of many species confined to the me of the t charming somewhat resembling the of europe but far finer the richest region lies below the western boundary of the park still five or six species are included c is common on in the forests of the two pine and c and very slender lowly p i y b fo d in en n j c with pure white flowers growing in shady places among the shrubs is i think the very of all the lily family a soul plant saint that every one must love and so be made better it puts the wildest on his good behavior with this plant the whole world would seem rich though none other existed next after is the most interesting our national nearly all the many species have ul heads of blue and yellow flowers the gardens of the lower pine region other plants likely to attract attention are the blue the of which are as food by indians f and the climbing the common plants are and the only flower i have seen in the park is a handsome thoughtful looking plant living beside cool the large oval lip is white delicately with purple the other and purple and curved and twisted to the most attractive of all the flowers of the forest is the snow plant guinea it is a bright red pillar that up through the dead needles in pine and fir woods like a gigantic shoot the first intimation of its coming is a and of the brown of needles on the forest floor in the cracks of which you notice fiery presently a blunt dome shaped head an inch or two in appears covered with closely scales and in a week or so it grows to a height of six to twelve inches then the long fringed spread and curl wild gardens of the park allowing the twenty or thirty five flowers to open and look straight out from the it is said to grow up through the snow on the contrary it always the ground is warm though with other early flowers it is occasionally buried or half buried for a day or two by spring storms the entire plant flowers stem scales and roots is red but notwithstanding its glowing color and beautiful flowers it is singularly and cold everybody it as a wonderful curiosity but nobody loves it without fragrance rooted in vegetable matter it beneath the pines and lonely silent and about as rigid as a monument down in the main adjoining the and rose gardens there are fine beds of plants and and bright beds of on the meadows and airy purple adorn near f the trees and with wild and while lightly shaded are covered with and of many species etc thousands of the most interesting gardens in the park are never seen for they are small and our national lie far up on and of the sheer walls wherever a strip of soil however narrow and shallow can rest the birds winds and down washing rains have planted them with all sorts of hardy mountain flowers and where ther i nt ey in profusion many of them are watered by little streams that seem lost on the tremendous clinging to the face of the rock in and dripping from ledge to ledge too silent to be called falls from the upper meadows for centuries have been a way down to the rivers they be w to worn yet au channel mostly or given to the plants they meet before reaching the foot of the cliffs to these unnoticed streams the finest of the cliff gardens owe their and freshness of beauty in the er ones and in pink and scarlet and with and a few specimens of each that seem to have been from the large gardens above and beneath them even are occasionally found in these cliff gardens swinging their bells over the giddy seemingly as happy as relatives down in the most of wild gardens of the park the cliff gardens however are dependent on summer showers and though from the of the soil beds they are often dry they still display a surprising number of bright flowers scarlet purple bush and of glowing golden nor is there any lack of plants the homely is often found in them and sweet and for the bees in the upper where the walls are inclined at so low an angle that they are loaded with material through which streams in broad diffused currents there are long wavering garden beds that seem to be descending through the forest like their lines suggesting motion swaying from side to side of the banks up here and there over island like piles or dividing and flowing around them in some of these the vegetation is chiefly and ruffled with in others flowers like those of the lily gardens on	28
speedily followed by and purple and a few later come the and and of the last are three species and fine with varying tones of blue and in glorious abundance extensive patches where the sod is through the midst flows a stream only two or three feet wide silently gliding as if careful not to disturb the hushed calm of the solitude its banks by the common sod bent down to the water s edge and trimmed with and slender grass lean over like miniature pine trees and here there on the places small of heath are neatly spread the down curling sod in spring and summer the weather is crisp sunshine though magnificent mountain range of wild gardens of the are often about noon their shady hollows tinged with purple fine their snowy sun beaten glowing against the sky casting shadows for an hour or two then in a quick washing rain but for days in succession there are no clouds at all or only faint and scarcely toward the end of august the sunshine grows announcing the coming of indian summer the outlines of the are softened and and more and more plainly are the clothed light tinged th pale purple richest in the morning and evening the warm brooding days are full of life and thoughts of me to come seeds th next summer in them or a hundred the nights are impressive and calm frost of wondrous beauty grow on the grass each carefully planned and finished as if intended to endure forever the sod becomes yellow and brown but the late and carefully closing their flowers at night do not seem to feel the frost no plants of any kind are to be seen even the early fail to them at last the precious seeds are ripe all the work of the season is done and the sighing pines teu the coming of winter and rest ascending the range you find that many of id our national the higher meadows slope considerably from the amount of loose material washed into their and and are mixed with the or take their places though all are still more or less and bordered with and dwarf here and there you come to small the smooth and adorned with and others and ruffled like bits of their and with dwarf shrubs on piles the red and on sandy slopes several species of yellow some of the plants less than a foot high being very old a century or more as is shown by the rings made by the annual of leaves on the big roots above these flower dotted slopes the gray savage wilderness of and seems lifeless and bare yet all the way up to the tops of the highest mountains commonly supposed to be covered with eternal snow there are bright garden spots crowded with flowers their warm colors calling to mind ae sparks and of fire on rising above a world of ice the principal mountain top plants are and growing in detached and the highest streaks and of the summer wave as it breaks against these wintry wild gardens of the heights the most beautiful are the and c and the red with innumerable flowers hiding the leaves though plants like the trees and shrubs are as they ascend two of these mountain and are notable exceptions the yellow is eight to twelve inches high stout erect the leaves three to six inches long a fragrant standing up boldly on the grim stained and never looking in the least tired or discouraged both the ray and flowers are yellow the heads are nearly two inches wide and are eagerly sought for by bee the is quite as luxuriant and tropical looking as its companion about the same height fragrant its blue flowers closely packed in eight or ten heads twenty to forty in a head it is never far from growing at of between eleven and thirteen thousand feet wherever a little hollow or situated with a handful of wind driven soil can be found from these frosty sky gardens you may descend in one straight to the and gardens of where the is warm enough for palms but the greatest of all the gardens is the belt of forest trees covered in the spring our national with blue and purple red and yellow blossoms each tree with a gigantic of flowers fifty to a hundred feet long yet strange to say they are seldom noticed few travel through the woods when they are in bloom the flowers of some of the species opening before the snow is off the ground nevertheless one would think the news of such gigantic flowers would quickly spread and from all the world would make haste to the show eager inquiries are made for the of covered mountains and for the of streams that they may be enjoyed in their prime but the far outburst of tree bloom covering a thousand mountains who about that that the flowers of the pines and should escape the eyes of careless is less to be wondered at since they mostly grow aloft on the branches and can hardly be seen from the foot of the trees yet even these make a magnificent show from the top of an overlooking ridge when the are pouring through them but the far more numerous flowers of the pines in large rosy clusters and those of the silver in countless thousands on the under side of the branches cannot be hid stand where you may the mountain also is colored with a profusion of lovely blue and purple flowers a spectacle to gods and men wild gardens of the park a single pine or or silver fir in the prime of its beauty about the middle of june is well worth the pains of the longest journey how much more broad forests of them thousands of miles long one of the best	28
ways to see tree flowers is to climb one of the trees and to get into close touch with them and then look abroad speaking of the benefits of tree climbing says i found my account in climbing a tree once it was a tall white pine on the top of a hill and though i got well pitched i was well paid for it for i discovered new mountains in the horizon which i had never seen before i might have walked about the foot of the tree for years and ten and yet i certainly should never have seen them but above all i discovered around me it was near the middle of june on the ends of the branches a few minute and delicate red blossoms the fertile flower of the white pine looking i carried straightway to the village the spire and showed it to stranger who walked the streets for it was court week and to farmers and and and hunters and not one had ever seen the like before but they wondered as at a star dropped down the same blindness here although the blossoms are a more our national abundant and telling once when i was collecting flowers of the red silver fir near a summer resort on the mountains above lake i carried a handful of branches to the boarding house where they quickly attracted a wondering admiring crowd of men women and children oh where did you get these they cried how pretty they are mighty handsome just too lovely for anything where do they grow on the commonest trees about you i replied you are now standing beside one of them and it is in full bloom look up and i pointed to a blossom laden about a hundred and twenty feet high in front of the house used as a post and seeing its beauty for the first time their wonder could hardly have been greater or more sincere had their silver fir post for them at that moment as suddenly as s rod the mountain extends an almost continuous belt the and northern ran es to prince sound accompanied part of the way by the pines our two silver to mount thence the fir belt is continued through washington and british by four other species and while the magnificent with large bright purple flowers the coast region from to cook s wild gardens of the park and all these form one belt one garden blooming in june its in the hearty bo ig and enjoying and the and filling them with covering thousands of miles of the wildest mountains clothing the long slopes by the sea crowning and and innumerable islands and the banks of the one wild wavering belt of the noblest flowers in the world worth a lifetime of love work to know it chapter vi among the animals of the the bear brown or gray the of the animals over all die park though few have the pleasure of seeing him on he through the majestic forests and all sorts of weather rejoicing in his strength everywhere at home with the trees and rocks and shaggy happy fellow his lines have fallen in pleasant my gardens in fir miles of bushes in endless variety and of bloom over hill waves and valleys and along the banks of streams full of music and fair as places in which one might expect to meet angels rather than bears in this happy land no famine comes nigh him all the year round his bread is sure for some of the thousand kinds that he likes are always in season and accessible ranged on the shelves of the mountains hke stores in a from one to another from climate to up and down he on each in turn en among animals of the as great variety as if he to far off countries north and south to him almost every thing is food except granite every tree helps to feed him every bush and with fruits and flowers leaves and bark and all the animals he can catch ground etc and bees old and young together with their eggs and and nests and down all go to his stomach and vanish as if cast into a fire what i a sheep or a wounded deer or a pig he eats warm about as quickly as a boy eats a or should the meat be a month old it still is welcomed with tremendous relish after so gross a meal as this perhaps the next will be and or with and nuts or and and as if fearing that anything in all his should escape being eaten he breaks into to look after sugar dried apples bacon etc occasionally he eats the s bed but when he has had a full meal of more tempting he usually leaves it undisturbed though he has been known to drag it up through a hole in the roof carry it to the foot of a tree and lie down on it to enjoy a eating everything never is he himself eaten except by man and only man is an enemy to be feared b ar meat said a hunter from whom i was seeking our national tion b ar meat is the best meat in the mountains their skins make the best beds and their the best butter with b ar goes as far as beans a man will walk all day on a couple of them in my lt interview with a bear we were frightened and embarrassed both of us but the bear s behavior was better than mine when i discovered him he was standing in a narrow strip of meadow and i was concealed behind a tree on the side of it after studying his appearance as he stood at rest i rushed toward him to frighten him	28
that i might study his gait in running but contrary to all i had heard about the shyness of bears he did not run at all and when i stopped short within a few steps of him as he held his ground in a fighting attitude my mistake was plain i was then put on my good behavior and never afterward forgot the right manners of the wilderness this happened on my first excursion in the forest to the north of valley i was eager to meet the animals and many of them came to me as if willing to show themselves and make my acquaintance but the bears kept out of my way an old in reply to my questions told me that bears were very shy all save grim old and that i might travel the mountains for years without seeing one unless i gave among the animals of the my mind to them and the stealthy ways of hunters nevertheless it was only a few weeks after i had received this information that i met the one mentioned above and obtained instruction at first hand i was in the woods about a mile back of the rim of beside a stream that falls into the valley by the way of indian nearly every day for weeks i went to the top of the north dome to sketch for it commands a general view of the valley and i was anxious to draw every tree and rock and a st dog was my companion a fine intelligent fellow that belonged to a hunter who was compelled to remain all summer on the hot plains and who him to me for the season for the sake of having him in the mountains where he would be so much better off knew bears through long experience and he it was who led me to my first interview though he seemed as much surprised as the bear at my like behavior one morning in june just as the began to stream through the trees i set out for a day s on the dome and before we had gone half a mile from camp the air and looked cautiously ahead lowered his tail drooped his ears and began to step softly like a cat turning every few yards and looking me in the face with a telling expression saying plainly enough there is a bear a our national little way ahead i walked carefully in the indicated direction until i approached a small meadow that i was familiar with then crawled to the foot of a tree on its margin bearing in mind what i had been told about the shyness of bears looking out cautiously over the of the tree i saw a big bear about thirty yards off half erect his resting on the trunk of a fir that had fallen into the meadow his almost buried in and to catch the scent showing that in some way he was aware of our approach i watched his and tried to make the most of my to what i could about him f j g he would not stay long he made a fine picture standing alert in the sunny garden in by the most beautiful in the world after e him at leisure noting die sharp thrust forward the long shaggy hair on his broad chest the stiff ears nearly buried in hair and the slow heavy way in which he moved his head i foolishly made a rush on him throwing up my arms and shouting to frighten him to see him run he did not mind the demonstration much only pushed his head farther forward and looked at me sharply as if asking what now if you want to fight i m ready then i began to fear that on me would fall the work of running but i was afraid to among the animals of the run lest he should be encouraged to pursue me therefore i held my ground staring him in the face within a dozen yards or so putting on as bold a look as i could and hoping the influence of the human eye would be as great as it is said to be under these strained relations the interview seemed to last a long time finally the bear seeing how still i was calmly withdrew his huge from the log gave me a piercing look as if warning me not to follow him turned and walked slowly up the middle of the meadow into the forest stopping every few steps and looking back to make sure that i was not trying to take him at a disadvantage in a rear at tack i was glad to part with him and greatly enjoyed the vanishing view as he through the lilies and i always tried to give bears respectful notice of my approach and they usually kept well out of my way though they often came around my camp in the night only once afterward as far as i know was i very near one of them in daylight thi time it w a i met and as luck would have it i was even nearer to him than i had been to the big though not a large specimen he seemed formidable enough at a distance of less than a dozen yards his shaggy coat was well his head almost white when i first caught sight of him he was eating our national under a oak at a distance of perhaps yards a d i tried to sup past without disturbing him but he had either heard my steps on the or ht my scent for he straight toward me stopping every rod or so to look and listen and as i was afraid to be running i crawled on my hands and knees a little way to one side and hid behind a hoping he would pass me unnoticed	28
he soon came up opposite me and stood looking ahead while i looked at him peering past the trunk of the tree at last turning his head he caught sight of mine stared sharply a minute or two and then with fine dignity disappeared in a earthquake considering how heavy and broad footed bears are it is wonderful how little harm they do in the wilderness even in the well watered gardens of the middle region where the flowers grow and where during warm weather the bears and roll no evidence of destruction is visible on the contrary under nature s direction the massive beasts act as on the forest floor with needles and brush and on the tough sod of meadows bears make no mark but around the sandy mai gin of lakes their magnificent tracks form grand lines of their weu extend along the main on either side and among the animals of the though dusty in some places make no on the landscape they bite and break off the branches of some of the pines and oaks to get the nuts but this is so light that few ever notice it and though they interfere with the orderly veiled decay of fallen trees tearing them to pieces to reach the colonies of that them the scattered ruins are quickly pressed back into harmony by snow and rain and over leaning vegetation the number of bears that make the park their home may be guessed by the number that have been killed by the two best hunters and old david brown began to be known as a bear about the year he was then the woods hunting and on the south fork of the a friend told me that he killed his first bear near his cabin at that after courage to fire he fled without waiting to learn the effect of his shot going back in a few hours he found poor dead and gained courage to try again confessed to me when we made an excursion together in that he was at first afraid of bears but after killing a half dozen he began to keep count of his victims and became ambitious to be known as a great bear hunter in nine years he had killed forty nine keeping count by cut on one of the of his cabin on the shore of our national cent lake near the south boundary of the park he said the more he knew about bears the more he respected them and the less he feared them but at the same time he grew more and more cautious and never fired until he had every advantage no matter how long he had to wait and how far he had to go before he got the bear just right as to the direction of the wind the distance and the way of escape in case of accident making allowance also for the character of the animal old or f or for id i he had no and he was mighty careful to avoid their acquaintance he wanted to kill an even hundred then he was going to confine himself to safer game there was not much money in bears anyhow and a round hundred was enough for glory i have not seen or heard of him lately and do not know how his bloody count stands on my excursions i occasionally passed his cabin it was full of meat and skins hung in bundles from the and the ground about it was strewn with bones and hair infinitely less tidy than a bear s den he went as hunter and with a survey party for a year or two and was very proud of the scientific knowledge he picked up his admiring fellow he said gave him credit for knowing not only the names of all the trees and among the animals of the bushes but also the names of the bears the most famous hunter of the region was david brown an old who early in the gold period established his main camp in a little forest on the north fork of the which is still called brown s flat no finer solitude for a hunter and could be found the climate is delightful all the year and the scenery of both earth and sky is a perpetual feast though he was not much of a scenery fellow his friends say that he knew a pretty place when he saw it as well as any one and liked to get on the top of a commanding ridge to look off when out of provisions he would take down his old fashioned long rifle from its rest over the fireplace and set out in search of game seldom did he have to go far for because the deer liked the wooded slopes of pilot peak ridge with ite open spots where could rest and look about them and enjoy the breeze from the sea in warm weather free from troublesome flies while they found hiding places and fine food in the deer brush a small wise dog was his only companion and well the little understood the object of every hunt whether deer or bears or only hidden in the fir tops in sandy had little to do trotting behind our national his as he walked noiselessly the fragrant woods careful not to step heavily on dry twigs open spots in the where the deer feed in the early morning and toward sunset peering over and as new were reached and along and willow fringed and streams until he found a young killed it tied its legs together threw it on his shoulder and so hack to camp but when hears were hunted sandy played an important part as leader and several times saved his master s life and it was as a hear hunter that david brown became famous his method as i had it from a friend	28
who had passed many an in us bi w of adventure was simply to take a few pounds of flour and his rifle and go slowly and silently over hill and valley in the part of the wilderness until little sandy came upon the fresh track of a bear then follow it to the death paying no heed to time wherever the bear went he went however rough the ground led by sandy who looked back from time to time to see how his master was coming on and regulated his pace accordingly never growing weary or allowing any other track to divert him when high ground was reached a halt was made to the in every direction and perchance would be discovered sitting upright on his eating pulling among the animals of the down the laden branches with his and pressing them together so as to get substantial however mixed with leaves and twigs the tune of year enabled the hunter to determine where the game would be found in spring and early summer in grass and meadows and in the banks of streams or on vine and clad slopes in late summer and autumn beneath the pines eating the cut o e by the and in oak groves at the bottom of and and after snow had fallen in feeding on and yellow jacket these food places were always cautiously approached so as to avoid the chance of sudden whenever said the hunter i saw a bear before he saw me i had no trouble in killing him i just took lots of time to learn what he was up to and how long he would be likely to stay and to study the direction of the wind and the lay of the land then i worked round to of him no matter how far i had to go crawled and to within a hundred yards near the foot of a tree that i could climb but which was too small for a bear to climb there i looked well to the of my rifle took off my boots so as to climb quickly if necessary and with my rifle in rest and sandy behind me our national waited until my bear stood right when i made a sure or at least a good shot back of the fore leg in case he showed fight i got up the tree i had in mind before he could reach me but bears are slow and awkward with their eyes and being to they could not scent me and often i got in a second shot before they saw the smoke usually however they tried to get away when they were hurt and i let them go a good safe while before i ventured into the brush after them then sandy was pretty sure to find them dead if not he bold as a hon to draw attention or rushed in and them behind me to get to a safe distance and watch a chance for a finishing shot oh yes hunting is a mighty interesting business and safe enough if followed just right though like every other business especially the wild kind it has its accidents and sandy and i have had close calls at times bears are nobody s fools and they know enough to let men alone as a general thing unless they are wounded or or have in my opinion a hungry old mother would catch and eat a man if she could which is only fair play anyhow for we eat them but nobody as far as i know h been eaten up in th rich mountains why they never tackle a fellow when he is lying asleep i never could understand they could us mighty handy but i suppose it s nature to respect a sleeping man among the animals of the sheep owners and their have killed a great many bears mostly by poison and traps of various sorts bears are fond of mutton and heavy toll on every flock driven into the mountains they usually come to the at night climb in kill a sheep with a stroke of the carry it off a little distance eat about half of it and return the next night for the other half and so on all summer or until they are themselves killed it is not however by direct killing but by through crowding against the wall in fright that the greatest losses are incurred from ten to fifteen sheep are found dead smothered in the after every attack or the walls are broken and the flock is scattered far and wide a flock may escape the attention of these for a week or two in the spring but after their first taste of the fine mountain fed meat the visits are persistently kept up in spite of all precautions once i spent a night with two who were greatly troubled with bears from two to four or five visiting them almost every night their camp was near the middle of the park and the wicked bears they said were getting worse and worse not waiting now until dark they came out of the brush in broad daylight and boldly carried off as many sheep as liked one evening before a bear followed by two our national came for an early supper as the flock was being slowly driven toward the camp joe the elder of the warned by many exciting experiences promptly climbed a tall pine and left the to help themselves while calling him a coward and declaring that he was not going to let bears eat up his sheep before his face set the dogs on them and rushed toward them with a great noise and a stick the frightened ran up a tree and the mother ran to meet the shepherd and dogs stood astonished for a moment the bear then fled faster than joe had closely	28
into the open garden stepping with in grace followed by two others after showing themselves for a moment they bounded over the hedge with sharp timid and vanished but curiosity brought them back with still another and all four came into my among the animals op the garden and satisfied that i meant them no ill began to f actually eating breakfast with me like tame gentle sheep around a shepherd rare company and the most graceful in move ments and attitudes i eagerly watched them while they fed on and wild cherry single leaves here and there from the side of the hedge turning now and then to a few leaves of from the midst of the garden flowers grass they did not eat at all no wonder the contents of the deer s stomach are eaten by the indians while e the upper of the north fork of the san one evening the sky threatening rain i searched for a dry bed and made choice of a big that had been pushed down by a snow but was resting on its knees high enough to let me lie under its broad trunk just below my shelter there was another on the very brink of a precipice and examining it i found a deer bed beneath it completely protected and concealed by drooping branches a fine refuge and as well as resting place about an hour before dark i heard the clear sharp of d r u d down on th j rocky bottom discovered an anxious that no doubt had her concealed near by she bounded over the and up the f ar ther slope of the wall often stopping to look our national back and listen a fine picture of vivid eager i sat perfectly still and as my shirt was colored like the bark i was not easily seen after a httle she came cautiously toward the air and d h ments as she descended the side over piles and brush and fallen timber were admirably strong and beautiful she never strained or made apparent efforts although jumping high here and there as she drew nigh she anxiously trying the air in different directions until she caught my scent then bounded off and vanished behind a small grove of soon she came back with the same caution and curiosity coming and going five or six times while i sat admiring her a evidently excited by her noisy climbed a beneath me and witnessed her performances as attentively as i did t r or h for such shows busied himself about his supper in a thicket of the fruit of which was then ripe glancing about on the slender twigs as a toward the end of the indian summer when the young are strong the deer begin to gather in little bands of from six to fifteen or twenty and on the approach of the first they set out on their march down the mountains to their winter quarters lingering usually on warm among the animals of the and spurs eight or ten miles the as if to leave about the end of november a heavy far reaching storm drives them down in haste along the dividing between the rivers led by old experienced whose knowledge of the is wonderful it is when the deer are coming down that the indians set out on their grand fall hunt too lazy to go into the recesses of the mountains away from they wait for the deer to come out and then them this plan also has the advantage of finding them in bands great preparations are made old guns are mended bullets and the hunters wash themselves and fast to some extent to good luck as they say men and women old and young set forth together central are made on the well known of the deer which are soon red with blood each hunter comes in laden old as well as maidens smiling on the all grow fat and merry boys each armed with an head play at buck fighting and plague the industrious women who are busily preparing the meat for by stealing up behind them and throwing fresh hides over them but the indians are passing away here as everywhere and their red on the mountains are fewer every year our national there are and in the park but not in large numbers i have seen well back in the range at the head of the meadows as early as june ist before the snow was gone feeding on but they are far more numerous on the inhabited around where they enjoy hfe on chickens eggs ground etc and all kinds of fruit few wild sheep i fear are left for though safe on the high peaks they are driven down the eastern slope of the mountains when the deer are driven down the western to and spurs where the snow does not fall to a great depth and there they are within reach of the s the two of the park the and the gray keep all the woods lively the former is far more abundant and more widely distributed being found all the way up from the to the dwarf pines on the summit peaks he is the most influential of the animals though small and the brightest of all the i know a of quick mountain vigor and purely wild and as free from disease as a one cannot think of such an animal ever being weary or sick he claims all the woods and is inclined to drive away even men as how he and what faces he makes if among the animals of the not so small he would be a dreadful fellow the gray is the i think of all the large american he is something like the eastern gray but is brighter and clearer in color and more and	28
slender he dwells in the oak and pine woods up to a height of about five thousand feet above the sea is rather common in valley kings river and indeed in all the main and but does not like the high covered compared with the the gray is more than twice as large nevertheless he to make his way through the trees with less stir than his small neighbor and is much less influential in every way in the spring before the pine nuts and nuts are ripe he last year s for the few seeds that may be left in them between the scales and fallen nuts and seeds on the ground among the leaves after making sure that no enemy is nigh his fine tail now behind now above him level or gracefully curled light and radiant as dry his body seems hardly more substantial than his tail the is a firm emphatic bolt of life fiery full of and show and fight and his movements have none of the elegant deliberation of the gray they are so quick and keen they almost sting the our national and the show he makes of himself turns one giddy to see the gray is shy and stealthy as if half expecting to find an enemy in every tree and bush and behind every log he seems to wish to be let alone and no desire to be seen or admired or feared he is hunted by the indians and this of itself is cause enough for caution the is less attractive for game and probably increasing in numbers in spite of every enemy he goes his ways bold as a lion up and down and across round and round the happiest of all the hairy tribe and at the same time earnest and solemn sunshine making every tree with his electric toes if you him you cannot think he will he seems above the chance and change that beset common mortals though in busily gathering and nuts he shows that he has to work for a living like the rest of us i never found a dead he gets into the world and out of it without being noticed only in prime is he seen like some little plants that are visible only when in bloom the little striped is one of the most amiable and delightful of all the mountain tree a brighter does not exist he is more and like than the familiar eastern species and is distributed as widely on the among the animals of the as the every forest however dense or open every and however or bare is cheered and by this happy little animal you are likely to notice him first on the lower edge of the belt where the and yellow pines meet and thence upward go where you may you will find him every day even in winter unless the weather is stormy he is an exceedingly interesting little fellow full of odd quaint ways confiding thinking no and without being a a true shadow tail he the life of a and has almost all accomplishments without i never weary of him as he about the bushes gathering seeds and on slender twigs of wild cherry along prostrate trunks or over the grassy needle strewn forest floor darting from to on and the tops of the great when the seeds of the are ripe he the trees and cuts off the for a winter store working diligently though not with the tremendous lightning energy of the who frequently drives him out of the best trees then he lies in wait and up a share of the cut off by his cousin and stores them beneath logs and in hollows few of the animals are so well liked as this little airy our national half half so gentle confiding and cheery and happy he takes one s heart and keeps his place among the of the mountain a of seeds nuts and of course he is well fed though never in the least with fat on the contrary he looks like a mere of fur weighing but little more than a field mouse and of his without haste there is no end can bark with his mouth closed but little always opens his when he talks or sings he has a considerable variety of notes which correspond with his movements some of them sweet and liquid like water dripping into a pool with sound his eyes are black and animated shining like dew he seems dearly to like a dog venturing within a few feet of it then away with a lively and low beating time to his music such as it is with his tail which at each and describes a half circle not even is footed or takes greater risks i have seen him running about on sheer cliffs holding on with as uttle effort as a fly and as of danger k he had made the least slip he would have fallen thousands of feet how fine it would be could move about on with the same sure grip among the animals of the before the pine nuts are ripe g ass seeds and those of the many species of with and the soft red of form the bulk of his food and a is not to be found in the mountains bees powdered with their blunt noses into the bells of flowers are comparatively clumsy and along some fallen pine or fir when the grass seeds are ripe he looks about him considering which of the he sees is likely to have the best runs out to it what he thinks is sure to be a good head cuts it off carries it to the top of the log sits upright and out the grain without getting in his mouth turning the head round holding it and it as if playing on a then for another	28
and another bringing them to the same dining log the dwells on high bleak and piles and a very different sort of is he fat and fairly at times by hearty indulgence in the pastures of his airy home and yet he is by no means a dull animal in the midst of what we regard as storm beaten desolation high in the frosty air beside the he pipes and right cheerily and lives to a good old age if you are as early a as he is you may see him come out of his to meet the our national first beams of the morning and take a on some favorite flat afterward well warmed he goes to breakfast in one of his garden hollows eats heartily like a cow in until comfortably swollen then goes and plays and loves and fights in the spring of when i was exploring the peaks and about the head of the middle fork of the san i had crossed the range from the head of and one morning passing around a frozen lake where the snow was perhaps ten feet deep i was surprised to find the fresh track of a plainly marked the sun having softened the surface what could the animal be thinking of coming out so early while all the ground was snow buried the steady of his track showed he had a definite aim and fortunately it was toward a mountain thirteen thousand feet high that i meant to climb so i followed to see if i could find out what he was up to from the base of the mountain the track pointed straight up and i knew by the melting snow that i was not far behind him i lost the track on a crumbling ridge partly projecting through the snow but soon discovered it again well toward the summit of the mountain in an open spot on the south side nearly by among which the sun heat making an isolated patch of warm among the animals of the climate i found a nice garden full of rock etc and a few and in this garden i overtook the wanderer enjoying a fine fresh meal perhaps the first of the season how did he know the way to this one garden spot so high and far off and what told him that it was in bloom while yet the snow was ten feet deep over his den for this it would seem he would need more and knowledge than most are possessed of the shy curious mountain lives on the heights not far from the he and the flow of small streams under the sod and it is startling when one is on the edge of a sloping meadow near the homes of these industrious to be awakened in the still night by the sound of water rushing and under one s head in a newly formed canal also have a way of awakening nervous that is quite as exciting as the s pain that is by a series of firm upward when they are driving and up the dirt one naturally cries out who s there and then discovering the cause all right go on good night and to sleep and wood rat are also among the most interest our national ing of the animals the last is scarcely at all like the common rat is nearly twice as large has a delicate soft fur white on the belly large ears thin and eyes full and liquid and mild in expression nose blunt and slender claws sharp as needles and as his limbs are strong he can climb about as well as a while no rat or has so innocent a look is so easily approached or in general expresses so much confidence in one s good intentions he seems too fine for the he and his big rough hut is as unlike himself as possible no other animal in these mountains so large and striking in appearance as his they are built of all kinds of sticks broken branches and old rotten and green twigs smooth or cut from the nearest bushes mixed with miscellaneous rubbish and curious odds and ends bits of earth stones bones bits of deer etc the whole simply piled in masses on the ground in some of these are five or six feet high and occasionally a dozen or more are together less perhaps for society s sake than for advantages of food and shelter coming through deep stiff in the heart of the heated and weary in forcing a way the solitary happening among the animals op the into one of these curious villages is startled at the strange sight and may imagine he is in an indian village and feel anxious as to the reception he will get in a place so wild at first perhaps not a single will be seen or at most only two or three seated on the tops of their huts as at the doors observing the stranger with the of mild eyes the nest in the centre of the cabin is made of grass and of bark to tow and lined with feathers and the down of various seeds the thick rough walls seem to be built for against enemies fox etc as well as for shelter and the delicate creatures in their big rude homes suggest tender flowers like those of defended by sometimes the home is built in the forks of an oak twenty or thirty feet from the ground and even in among who have these as neighbors or guests they are regarded as thieves because they carry away and pile together everything knives forks tin cups spectacles nails wood etc as well as of all sorts to strengthen their or to shine among rivals once far back in the high they stole my the lid of my and my and one stormy night when	28
under a prostrate i was awakened our national by a sound on the granite and by the light of my fire i discovered a handsome beside me dragging away my ice pulling with might and main by a string on the handle i threw bits of bark at him and made a noise to frighten him but he stood scolding and chattering back at me his fine eyes shining with an air of injured innocence a great variety of the warm portions of the park some of them are more than a foot in length others but little larger than a few are and repulsive at first sight but most of the species are handsome and attractive and bear acquaintance well we like them better the farther we see into their charming lives small fellow mortals gentle and they are easily tamed and have beautiful eyes expressing the innocence so that in spite of prejudices brought from cool countries one must soon learn to like them even the of the plains and called horrid is mild and gentle with charming eyes and so are the species found in the of the lower forests these glide in curves with all the ease and grace of while their small drag for the most part as useless one specimen that i measured was fourteen inches long and as far as i saw it made no use whatever of its limbs among the animals of the most of them and dart on the sunny rocks and across open spaces from bush to bush swift as and humming birds and about as brilliantly colored they never make a long sustained run whatever their object but dart direct as arrows for a distance of ten or twenty feet then suddenly stop and as suddenly start again these stops are necessary as rests for they are short and when pursued steadily are soon run out of breath and may easily be caught where no retreat in bush or rock is quickly available if you stay with them a week or two and behave well these gentle descendants of an ancient race of giants will soon know and trust you come to your feet play and watch your every motion with cunning curiosity you will surely learn to like them not only the bright ones gorgeous as the rainbow but the ones gray as granite and scarcely bigger than and they will teach you that scales may cover as fine a nature as hair or feathers or anything there are many in ike and lower forests but they are mostly handsome and harmless of all the and who have visited and the adjacent mountains not one has been bitten by a snake of any sort while thousands have been charmed by them some of them with the in our national beauty of color and dress patterns only the is and he carefully keeps his to himself as far as man is concerned unless his life is threatened before i learned to respect i killed two the first on the san plain he was comfortably around a of bunch grass and i discovered him when he was between my feet as i was stepping over him he held his head down and did not attempt to strike although in danger of being trampled at that time thirty years ago i imagined that should be killed wherever found i had no weapon of any sort and on the smooth plain there was not a stick or a stone within miles so i crushed him by jumping on him as the deer are said to do looking me in the face he saw i meant mischief and quickly cast himself into a ready to strike in i knew he could not strike when therefore i threw of dirt and grass at him to him out of he held his ground a few minutes threatening and striking and then started off to get rid of me i ran forward and jumped on him but he drew back his head so quickly my heel missed and he also missed his stroke at me persecuted tormented again and again he tried to get away bravely striking out to protect himself but at last my heel came down sorely wound among the animals of the ing him and a few more brutal crushed him i felt degraded by the killing business farther from heaven and i made up my mind to toy to be at least as fair and charitable as the themselves and to kill no more save in self the second killing might also i think have been avoided and i have always felt somewhat sore and guilty about it i had built a little cabin in and for convenience in getting water and for the sake of music and society i led a small stream from creek into it running along the side of the wall it was not in the way and it had just fall enough to ripple and sing in low sweet tones making delightful company especially at night when i was lying awake then a few came in and made merry with the stream and one snake i suppose to catch the returning from my long walks i usually brought home a large handful of plants partly for study partly for ornament and set them in a comer of the cabin with their stems in the stream to keep them fresh one day when i picked up a handful that had begun to fade i uncovered a large that had been hiding behind the flowers thus suddenly brought to light face to face with the owner of the place the poor was desperately embarrassed evidently that he our national had no right in the it was not only fear that he showed but a good deal of downright illness and embarrassment like that of a more than half honest person caught under suspicious circumstances behind a door	28
things in this case she waited for the agency of man and now many of these hitherto lakes and streams are full of fine by individual enterprise clubs etc in great part under the of the united states fish commission a few carried into in a common water bucket have multiplied wonderfully fast lake at an elevation of over eight thousand feet was eight years ago by mr who carried a few from many of the small streams of the eastern slope have also been with transported over the passes in tin on the backs of soon it would seem all the streams of the range will be enriched by these lively fish and will become the means of drawing thousands of visitors into the mountains catching with a bit of bent wire is a rather trivial business but fortunately people fish better than they know in most cases it is the man who is caught fishing regarded as bait for catching men for the saving of both body and soul is important and deserves all the expense and care bestowed on it vn among the of thb in the forests usually complain of the want of life the trees they say are fine but the empty stillness is deadly there are no animals to be seen no birds we have not heard a song in all the woods and no wonder they go in large parties with and horses they make a great noise they are dressed in unnatural colors every animal them even the frightened pines would run away if they could but devout silent open eyed looking and lis with love find no lack of inhabitants in these mountain and they come to them gladly not to mention the large animals or the small insect people every has its and every tree its or or bird tiny the of the bark cheerily whispering to itself as it off loose scales and the curled edges of or crow or examining the or some singer resting feeding attending to domestic affairs our national and ea sail overhead walk in happy fl k ta nd song in every bed of there is no to be sure unlike the low eastern trees those of the in the main forest belt average nearly two hundred feet in height and of course many birds are required to make much show in them and many voices to fill them nevertheless the whole range from to snowy is shaken into song every summer and though low and thin in winter the music never ceases the sage cock is the largest of the game birds and the king of american it is an admirably strong hardy handsome independent bird able with comfort to bid defiance to heat cold hunger and au sorts of storms on whatever seeds or insects chance to come in its way or simply on the leaves of sage brush everywhere abundant on its desert range in winter when the temperature is below and heavy are blowing he sits beneath a sage bush and allows himself to be covered his head now and then through the snow to feed on the leaves of his shelter not even the is in frost and snow and wintry darkness when in full he is a beautiful bird with a long firm sharp pointed tail which in walking is slightly raised and back and among the birds of the forth with each step the male is handsomely marked with black and white on the neck back and wings five or six pounds and measures about thirty inches in length the female is clad mostly in plain brown and is not so large they occasionally wander from the sage plains into the open nut pine and woods but never enter the main forest it is only in the broad dry half desert sage plains that they are quite at home where the weather is blazing hot in summer cold in winter if any one passes through a flock all on the g ay ground and hold their heads low hoping to escape observation but when approached within a rod or so they rise with a magnificent burst of wing beats looking about as big as and making a noise like a on the th of june at the head of s valley i caught one of the young that was then just able to it was seven inches long of a uniform color blunt and when captured cried in a shrill voice clear in tone as a boy s small willow whistle i have seen flocks of om ten to thirty or forty on the east margin of the park where the desert meets the gray of the but since cattle have been there they are becoming every year another magnificent bird the blue or dusky next in size to the sage cock is found all our national through the main forest belt though not in great numbers they hke best the heaviest silver fir woods near garden and meadow where there is but little to cover the ap of enemies when a flock of these brave birds and feeding on the sunny flow ery of some hidden meadow or far back in the heart of the mountains see a man for the first time in their lives they rise with hurried notes of surprise and excitement and alight on the lowest branches of the trees wondering what the wanderer may be and showing great eagerness to get a good view of the strange animal knowing of guns they allow you to approach within a half dozen paces then quietly hop a few branches higher or fly to the next tree without a thought of concealment so that you may observe them as long as you like near enough to see the fine of their the feathers on their toes and the innocent in their beautiful wild eyes but in the neighborhood of roads and they	28
soon become shy and when disturbed fly into the highest trees and suddenly become invisible so well do they know how to hide and keep still and make use of their nor can they be easily ere they are ready to go in vain the hunter goes round and round some tall pine or fir into which he has perhaps seen a dozen enter among the birds of the gazing up the branches his eyes while his gun is held ready not a feather can he see unless his eyes have been sharpened by long experience and knowledge of the blue s habits then perhaps when he is thinking that the tree must be hollow and that the birds have all gone inside they burst forth with a startling of wing beats and after gaining full speed go swiftly away through the forest arches in a long silent slide with wings held steady during the summer they are most of the time on the ground feeding on insects seeds etc around the of open spots and rocky playing and i ng sun and sand and drinking at little pools and during the heat of the day in winter they live mostly in the trees depending on for food beneath dense branches at night and during storms on the of the trunk themselves on the limbs in fine weather and sometimes into the snow to flutter and apparently for exercise and fun i have seen young running beneath the in june at a height of eight thousand feet above the sea on the approach of danger the mother with a peculiar cry the helpless to scatter and hide beneath leaves and twigs and even in plain open places it is almost our national impossible to discover them in the meantime the mother throws herself at your feet and and to draw your attention from the the young are generally able to fly about the middle of july but even after they can fly well they are usually advised to run and hide and lie still no matter how closely approached while the mother goes on with her loving lying acting apparently as desperately concerned for their safety as when they were sometimes however after carefully studying the circumstances she tells them to take wing and up and away in a and they scatter to all points of the compass as if blown up with dropping out of sight three or four hundred yards off and keeping quiet until called after the danger is supposed to be past if you walk on a little way without any inclination to hunt them you may sit down at the foot of a tree near enough to see and hear the happy one touch of nature makes the whole world kin and it is wonderful how love telling the small voices of these birds are and how far they reach through the woods into one another s hearts and into ours the tones are so perfectly human and so full of anxious affection few can fail to be touched by them they are cared for until full grown on the among the birds of the th of august as i was passing along the mai gin of a garden spot on the head waters of the san a rose from the ruins of an old that had been and brought down by an from a cliff overhead she threw herself at my feet and fluttered and gasped showing as i thought that she had a nest and was raising a second brood looking for the eggs i was surprised to see a strong winged flock nearly a large as the mother fly up around me instead of seeking a warmer climate when the winter storms set in these hardy birds stay au the year in the high forests and i have never known them to suffer in any sort of weather able to live on the of pine and fir they are forever independent in the matter of food supply which gives so many of us trouble dragging us here and there away from our best work how gladly i would live on pine however for the sake of this grand independence with all his superior resources man makes more concerning food than any other of the family the mountain or is common in all the upper portions of the park though nowhere in numbers he considerably higher than the in summer but is unable to endure the heavy storms of winter when his food is our national buried he the range to the at a height of from two to three thousand feet above the sea but like every true he is quick to follow the spring back into the mountains i of all the american larger and than the famous bob white or even the fine valley or the of and that he is not so regarded is because as a lonely he is not half known his is delicately shaded brown above white and rich chestnut below and on the sides with many dainty of black and white and gray here and there while his beautiful head three or four inches long nearly straight composed of two feathers closely folded so as to appear as one is worn backward like a feather in a boy s cap giving him a very appearance wander over the lonely mountains in family flocks of from six to fifteen beneath and wild cherry and over dry sandy meadows rocky and beds of around s lakes in autumn when the of the upper are ripe uttering low to enable them to keep when they are so suddenly disturbed that they are among the birds of the afraid cannot escape the danger by running into they rise with a fine hearty and scatter in the brush over an area of half a square mile or so a few of them into leafy trees but as soon as	28
the danger is past the parents with a clear note call them together again by the end of july the young are two thirds grown and fly well though only dire necessity can compel them to try their wings in gait gestures habits and general behavior they are like domestic chickens but infinitely finer searching for insects and seeds looking to this side and that scratching among leaves jumping up ti pull dow h d id lu g in low z once when i was seated at the foot of a tree on the head waters of the i heard a flock up the valley behind me and by their voices gradually sounding nearer i knew that they were f toward me i kept still hoping to see them soon one came within three or four feet of me without noticing me any more than if i were a stump or a part of the against which i was leaning my clothing being brown nearly like the bark presently along came another and another and it was delightful to get so near a view of these handsome chickens perfectly undisturbed observe their manners and hear their low peaceful notes at last one of them caught my eye national gazed in silent wonder for a moment then uttered a peculiar cry which was followed by a lot of hurried muttered notes that sounded like speech the others of course saw me as soon as the alarm was sounded and joined the wonder talk gazing and chattering astonished but not frightened then all with one accord ran back with the news to the rest of the flock what is it what is it oh you never saw the like they seemed to be saying not a deer or a wolf or a bear come see come see where where down there by that tree then they approached cautiously past the tree stretching their necks and looking up in turn as if knowing from the story told them just where i was for fifteen or twenty minutes they kept coming and going venturing within a few feet of me and discussing the wonder in charming chatter their curiosity at last satisfied they began to scatter and f again going back in the direction they had come from while i to part with them followed noiselessly crawling beneath the bushes keeping them in sight for an hour or two learning their habits and finding out what seeds and they liked best the valley is not a and seldom enters the park except at a few of the lowest places on the western boundary it belongs to the and plains among the birds of the and and is a hundred times more numerous than the mountain it is a beautiful bird about the size of the bob white and has a handsome crest of four or five feathers an inch long standing nearly erect at times or drooping forward the loud calls of these in the spring pe check ah a are heard far and near over all the they have vastly increased in numbers since the settlement of the country notwithstanding the immense numbers killed every season by boys and pot hunters as well as the regular from the towns for man s destructive action is more than by increased supply of food from cultivation and by the destruction of their enemies etc which not only kill the old birds but plunder their nests where and abound scarce one pair in a hundred is successful in raising a brood so well aware are these birds of the protection afforded by man even now that the number of their wild enemies has been greatly diminished that they prefer to nest near houses notwithstanding they are so shy four or five pairs rear their young around our cottage every spring one year a pair in a straw pile within four or five feet of the stable door and did not leave the eggs when the men led the horses back and forth within a foot or two for our national many seasons a pair in a of grass in the garden another pair in an ivy vine on the cottage roof and when the young were it was interesting to see the parents getting the down they were greatly excited and their anxious calls and directions to their many attracted our attention they had no great difficulty in persuading the young birds to pitch themselves from the main roof to the porch roof among the ivy but to get them safely down from the latter to the ground a distance of ten feet was most distressing it seemed impossible the frail soft things could avoid being killed the anxious parents led them to a point above a bush that reached nearly to the which they seemed to know would break the fall anyhow they led their to this point and with infinite and encouragement got them to tumble themselves off down they rolled and through the soft leaves and to the pavement and strange to say all got away except one that lay as if dead for a few minutes when it revived the joyful parents with their brood fairly launched on the journey of life proudly led them down the cottage hill through the garden and along an orange hedge into the cherry orchard these charming birds even enter towns and villages where the gardens are of good and guns are forbidden sometimes among the birds of the going several miles to feed and returning every evening to their in ivy or trees and shrubs g occasionally visit the park but never stay lone sometimes on their way across the r e der i h to rest or get something to eat and if shot at are often sorely bewildered in seeking a way out i have seen them rise from the meadow or river wheel round in a until	28
a height of four or five hundred feet was reached then form ranks and try to fly over the wall but seem to be as to as to men for they would suddenly find themselves against the cliffs not a fourth of the way to the top then turning in confusion and screaming at the strange heights they would try the opposite side and so on until exhausted they were compelled to rest and only after discovering the river could they make their escape ge shaped flocks may often be seen crossing the range in the spring at a height of at least fourteen thousand feet think of the strength of wing required to sustain so heavy a bird in air so thin at this elevation it is but little over half as dense as at the sea level they hold bravely on in beautifully dressed ranks and have breath enough to spare for loud after the crest of the is it is only a smooth slide down the sl to our national the waters of where they may rest as long as they like ducks of five or six species among which are the and wood duck go far up into the heart of the mountains in the spring and of course come down in the f au with the they have reared a few as if to leave the mountains pass the in the lower valleys of the park at a height of three thousand to four thousand feet where the main streams are never wholly frozen over and snow never falls to a great depth or lies long in summer they are found up to a height of eleven thousand feet on all the lakes and branches of the rivers except the smallest and those beside the d drifting ic d w i found and wood ducks at lake june before the ice covering was half melted and a flock of young ones in bloody lake june they are usually met in pairs never in large flocks no place is too wild or rocky or solitary for these brave no stream too rapid li ae roaring seem as much at home as in the tranquil reaches and lakes of the broad valleys themselves to the wild play of the waters they go drifting through spray dancing on waves tossing in beautiful security on water than is usually encountered by sea birds when storms are blowing among the birds of the a mother duck with her family of ten little ones round and round in a pot hole ornamented with foam bells huge rocks leaning over them above and below and beside them made one of the most interesting bird pictures i ever saw i have never found the great northern in the park lakes most of them are inaccessible to him he might plump down into them but would hardly be able to get out of them since with his small wings and heavy body a wide expanse of elbow room is required in rising now and then one may be seen in the lower lakes to the northward about and at a height of four thousand to five thousand feet making the places with the wildest of wild cries are found along the sandy shores of nearly all the mountain lakes on the water s edge picking up insects and it is interesting to learn how few of these familiar birds are required to make a solitude cheerful are sometimes found in comparatively small mere in the mighty forest in such spots at an elevation of from six thousand to eight thousand feet above the sea they are occasionally met in pairs as early as the end of may the snow is still deep in the surrounding fir and sugar pine woods and on sunny days in autumn large our flocks may be seen sailing at a g eat height above the forests shaking the crisp air into rolling waves with their hearty r r r r soaring in circles for hours together on their majestic wings seeming to float without effort like clouds the wrinkled landscape like a map with lakes and and meadows and with shadowy and streams and surveying every marsh and sandy flat within a hundred miles and are seen above the and the greatest height at which i have observed them was about twelve thousand feet over the of mount in the middle region of the park a few pairs had their nests on the cliffs of this mountain and could be seen every day in summer hunting mountain a pas of golden have made their home in ever since i went there thirty years ago their nest is on the fall cliff opposite the liberty cap their screams are rather pleasant to hear in the vast between the granite cliffs and they help the in keeping the echoes busy but of all the birds of the high the strangest and most notable is the crow he is a foot long and nearly two feet in extent of wing gray in general color with black wings white among the birds of the tail and a strong sharp bill with which he into the pine for the seeds on which he mainly he is quick boisterous and irregular in movements and speech and makes a loud and advertisement of himself and in deep curves across and valleys from ridge to ridge on dead looking about hi and leaving his dr spring trembling from the vigor of his kick as he himself for a new flight screaming from time to time loud enough to be heard more than a mile in still weather he dwells far back on ae high margin of the forest where the mountain pine and grow wide apart on and l rough and the dwarf pine makes a low growth along the of the summit peaks in so open a region of course he ia well	28
seen everybody notices him and nobody at first knows what to make of him one he must be a another a crow or some sort of another a he seems to be a pretty thoroughly mixed and compound of all these birds has all their strength cunning shyness and wary suspicious curiosity combined and he flies like a dead for insects big holes in pine to get at the seeds cracks nuts held be our national his toes cries like a crow or but id a far louder and more forbidding of voice and besides his crow and screams has a great variety of small chatter talk uttered in a fault finding tone like the he articles that can be of no use to him once when i made my camp in a grove at cathedral lake i chanced to leave a cake of soap on the shore where i had been washing and a few minutes afterward i saw my soap flying past me through the grove pushed by a crow in winter when the snow is deep the of the mountain pines are empty and the and dwarf pine orchard buried he comes down to seeds in the yellow pine forests startling the with his loud screams but even in winter in calm weather he stays in his high mountain home the bitter frost once i lay through a three days storm at the timber line on mount and while the roaring snow laden blast swept by one of these brave birds came to my camp and began at tiie on the branches of half buried pines without showing the slightest distress i have seen feeding their young as early as june at a height of more than ten thousand feet when nearly the whole landscape was snow covered they are excessively shy and keep away from among the birds of the the as long as they think they are observed but when one goes on without seeming to notice them or sits down and keeps still their curiosity speedily gets the better of their caution and they come flying from tree to tree nearer and nearer and watch every motion few i am afraid will ever learn to like this bird he is so suspicious and self and his voice is so harsh that to most ears the scream of the eagle will seem melodious compared with it the who has and suffered and struggled must admire his strength and ance the way he faces the mountain weather the icy cares for his young and a from die stem higher yet than dwells the little headed from early spring to late autumn he is to be found only on the snowy icy peaks at the head of the and his feeding grounds in spring are the snow sheets between the peaks and in and autumn the many bold insects go almost as soon as they are bom ascending the highest on the mild breezes that blow in from the sea every day during steady weather but comparatively few of these find their way down or see a flower bed again getting tired and chilly they alight on the snow fields and attracted perhaps by the our national glare take cold and die there they lie as if on a white cloth purposely for them and the find them a rich and varied requiring no pursuit bees and on ice and many a perpetual feast on tables big for guests so small and in vast halls by cool breezes that the feathers of the fairy happy fellows no rivals come to dispute possession with them no other birds not even as far as i have noticed live so high they see people so seldom they flutter around the with the curiosity and come down a httle way sometimes nearly a mile to meet him and conduct him into their icy homes when i was exploring the group climbing up the grand between the and bed mountains into the fountain of an ancient just as i was approaching the small active that back in the shadow of mountain a flock of twenty or thirty of these uttle birds the first i had seen came down the to meet me flying low straight toward me as if they meant to fly in my face instead of attacking me or s y j i l i round my head and fluttering for a minute or two then turned and escorted me up the on the nearest rocks on either hand and flying ahead a few yards at a time to keep even with me among the birds of the i have not discovered their winter quarters probably they are in the desert to the eastward for i never saw any of them in yo the ter refuge of so many of the mountain birds humming birds are among the best and most conspicuous of the flashing their throats in countless wild gardens far up the higher slopes where they would be least expected all one has to do to enjoy the company of these mountain loving is to display a blanket or handkerchief the d is another delightful singing a wild cheery song and carrying the sky on his back over all tiie gray and of the region a fine hearty good natured lot of dwell in the park and keep it lively all the year round among the most notable of these are the magnificent log cock the prince of and only second in rank as far as i know of all the of the world the large black glossy that and flies like a crow does but little and in great part on wild and and the carpenter who stores up great quantities of in the bark of trees for winter use the last named species is a beautiful bird and far more common than the others in the woods our national of the west	28
he represents the eastern red head bright cheerful industrious not in the least shy the give delightful animation to the open forests at a height of from three thousand to fifty five hundred feet especially in autumn when the are ripe then no works harder at his pine nut harvest than these at their harvest holes in the thick bark of the yellow pine and incense in which to store the crop for winter use a hole for each so nicely adjusted as to size that when the point foremost is driven in it fits so well that it cannot be drawn out without digging around it each is thus carefully stored in a dry bin perfectly protected from the weather a most laborious method of away a crop a for each yet the birds seem never to weary at the work but go on so diligently that they seem determined to save every in the grove they are never seen eating at the time they are them and it is commonly believed that they never eat them or intend to eat them but that the wise birds store them and protect them from the of and solely for the sake of the worms they are supposed to contain and because these worms are too small for use at the time the drop they are shut up like lean and each in a among the birds of the separate stall with abundance of food to h d fat tke th y be n that is in winter when insects are scarce and stall fed worms most valuable so these are supposed to be a sort of cattle each with a drove of thousands the that raise grain and keep herds of plant for milk cows needless to say the story is not true though some even believe it when was in the park having heard the worm story and seen the pines full of he asked just to pump me i suppose why do the take the trouble to put into the bark of the trees for the same reason i replied that bees store honey and nuts but they tell me mr that don t eat yes they do i said i have seen them them during they seem to eat little besides i have repeatedly interrupted them at their meals and seen the perfectly sound half eaten they eat them in the shell as some people eat eggs but what about the worms i suppose i said that when they come to a one they eat both worm and anyhow they eat the sound ones when they can t find anything they like better and from the time they store them until they are used they guard them and woe to the or our national caught stealing indians in times of frequently resort to these stores and chop them out with a or more may be gathered from a single or pine the common robin with all his familiar notes and gestures is found nearly everywhere throughout the park in shady beneath and along the banks of the streams about the of meadows in the fir and pine woods and far beyond on the shores of lakes and the slopes of the peaks how admirable the constitution and temper of this cheery graceful bird keeping glad health over so vast and varied a range i all america he is at home flying from plains to mountains up and down north and south away and back with the seasons and supply of food in the high as you wander through the solemn woods and silent you will hear the voice of this fellow wanderer ringing out sweet and clear as if saying fear not fear not only love is here in the he seems as happy as in gardens and apple the enter the park as soon as the snow and go on up the mountains gradually higher with the opening flowers until the meadows are reached in june and july after the short summer is done they among the of the descend like most other summer visitors in with the weather keeping out of the first heavy as much as possible while lingering among the frost wild on the slopes just below the meadows thence they go to the lower slopes of the forest region compelled to make haste at times by heavy picking np e u or l i mb insects by the way and at last all save a few that winter in valleys arrive in the and and fields of the in november picking up fallen fruit and grain and awakening old time memories among the white headed who cannot fail to recognize the influence of so a bird they are then in flocks of hundreds and make their way into the gardens of towns as well as into the and fields and about the bay of san where many of the are shot for sport and the morsel of meat on their breasts man then seems a beast of prey not even genuine piety can make the robin quite respectable saturday is the great slaughter day in the bay region then the city with a rag of boys go forth to kill kept in countenance by a of regular arrayed in self conscious majesty and leading dogs and carrying guns of famous makers over the fine the killing our national goes forward shameful after escaping countless dangers thousands fall big are gathered many are left wounded to die slowly no red cross society to help them next day sunday the blood and vanish from the most devout of the bird who go to church carrying gold headed instead of guns after hymns prayers and sermon they go home to feast to put s song birds to use put them in their dinners instead of in their hearts eat them and the pitiful uttle it is only race living on	28
race to be sure but christians singing divine love need not be driven to such straits while wheat and apples grow and the shops are full of dead cattle song birds for food compared with this making of and would be pious economy the come in large flocks from the hills and mountains in the fall and are as as the fortunately most of our song birds keep back in leafy and are comparatively inaccessible the water in his rocky home amid foaming waters sees a gun and of au the singers i like him the best he is a plainly dressed little bird about the size of a robin with short crisp but rather broad wings and a tail of moderate length up giving him with his nodding manners a look among the birds of the he is usually seen fluttering about in the spray of falls and the rapid portions of the main branches of rivers these are his favorite haunts but he is often seen also on comparatively level reaches and occasionally on the shores of mountain lakes especially at the beginning of winter when heavy have the streams with though not a water bird in structure he gets his living in the water and is never seen away from the immediate margin of streams he into rough boiling and to feed at the bottom flying under water as ly as in the air sometimes he in shallow his head under from time to time in a nodding way that is sure to attract attention his flight is a solid of wing beats like that of a and in going from place to place along his favorite string of he follows the of the stream and usually on some rock or on the bank or out in the current or rarely on the dry limb of an overhanging tree like a tree bird when it suits his convenience he has the manners imaginable and all his waters the utmost cheerfulness and confidence he sings both winter and summer in all sorts of weather a sweet melody rather low and much less keen and our national than from the brisk vigor of his movements one would be led to expect how romantic and beautiful is the life of this brave uttle on the mountain streams building his nest of moss by the side of a rapid or fall where it is sprinkled and kept fresh and green by the spray no wonder he sings well since all die air about him is music every breath he draws is part of a song and he gets his first music lessons before he is bom for the eggs in time with the tones of the bird and stream are inseparable and wild gentle and strong the bird ever in danger in the midst of the stream s mad yet seemingly and so i might go on writing words words words but to what purpose go see him and love him and through him as through a window look into nature s warm heart chapter vm the fountains and streams of the ite national come let to tlie fields the and die the forests invite the streams and the fountains the joyful streams of the are among the most famous and interesting in the world and draw the admiring on and on through their wonderful year after year after long wanderings with them tracing to their fountains learning their history and the forms they take in their wild works and ways throughout the different seasons of the year we may then view them together in one magnificent show over all the range like their silvery branches on a thousand mountains singing their way home to the sea th e small with hard roads to travel dropping from ledge to ledge pool to pool like chains of sweet toned bells slipping gently over beds of pebbles and sand resting in lakes shining the shores with whispering and shaking over our national leaning bushes and g the larger streams and rivers in the displaying noble purity and beauty th energy rushing down smooth in wide sheets fold over fold springing up here and there in magnificent scattering crisp spray for the to bursting with hoarse roar through rugged and in falls glancing with cool soothing murmuring through long reaches richly the grand with glorious song and giving life to all the landscape the present rivers of the are still young and have made but little mark as yet on the grand prepared for them by the ancient only a very short time ago they all lay buried beneath the they drained singing in low smothered or silvery ringing tones in crystal channels while the summer weather melted the ice and snow of the surface or gave showers at first only in warm weather was any part of these buried rivers displayed in the light of day for as soon as frost prevailed the surface vanished though the streams beneath the ice and in the body of it flowed on all the year when toward the close of the period the ice mantle began to shrink and from the the lower portions of the rivers were fountains and streams developed issuing from on the melting margin and growing longer as the ice withdrew while for many a century the and upper portions of the trunks remained covered in the of time these also were set free in the sunshine to take their places in the each with its smaller branches being gradually developed like the main trunks as the changes went on at first all of them were muddy with and they became clear only after the they drained had beyond lake in which the were dropped this early history is clearly explained by the present rivers of of those that discharge into arms of the sea only the on the surface of the ice and currents in the tide water	28
in front of the ice wall are visible where in the first stage of have from the shore short sections of the trunks of the rivers that are to take their places may be seen rushing out from and in the melting front rough roaring laden torrents foaming and tumbling over to the sea perhaps without a single bush or flower to their raw shifting banks again in some of the warmer and valleys from which the trunk have been melted the national main trunks of the rivers are weu developed and their banks planted with fine forests while their upper branches lying high on the snowy mountains are still buried beneath shrinking every stage of development from icy darkness to light and from to crystal clearness now that the hard grinding work of the period is done the whole bright band of rivers run clear all the year except when the snow is melting fast in the warm spring weather and during extraordinary winter floods and the heavy of summer called cloud bursts even then they are not muddy above the region unless the have been loosened and the vegetation destroyed by sheep for the rocks of the upper are clean and the most able streams find but little to carry save the spoils of the forests trees branches of bark leaves dust etc with scales of sand and which are rolled along the bottom of the steep parts of the main channels short sections of a few of the highest heading in are of course with finely ground rock mud but this is dropped in the first lakes they enter on the northern part of the range with rocks tiie fountain waters sink and flow below the surface for con fountains and streams distances groping their way in the dark like the streams of and at last bursting forth in big generous springs and cool and exquisitely clear some of the largest look like lakes their waters straight up from the bottom of deep rock in quiet massive volume giving rise to young rivers others issue from in sheer with loud tumultuous roaring that may be heard half a mile or more magnificent examples of these great northern spring fountains twenty or thirty feet deep and ten to nearly a hundred yards wide abound on the main branches of the feather and fall rivers the springs of the park and the high in general though many times more numerous are comparatively small from and in thin flat irregular currents which remain on the surface or near it the rocks of the south half of the range being mostly granite and since granite is but slightly the streams are particularly pure nevertheless though they are all clear and in the upper and main central forest regions delightfully lively and cool they vary somewhat in color and taste as well as temperature on account of differences however slight in exposure and in the rocks and vegetation with which they come in contact some our national are more exposed than others to winds and sunshine in their falls and thin the amount of dashing mixing and the waters of each receive considerably and there is always more or less variety in the kind and quantity of the vegetation they flow through and in the time they lie in shady or sunny lakes and the water of one of the branches of the north fork of river near the boundary of the park at an elevation of ninety five hundred feet above the sea is the best i ever found it is not only delightfully cool and bright but brisk sparkling and so positively delicious to the taste that a party of friends i led to it twenty five years ago still praise it and refer to it as that wonderful champagne water though comparatively the finest wine is a coarse and vulgar drink the party about a week in a pine grove on the edge of a little round meadow through which the stream ran bank full and drank its icy water on frosty mornings before breakfast and at night about as eagerly as in the heat of the day f down and direct from the lest the touch of a cup might ite celestial flavor on one of my excursions i took pains to trace this stream to its head springs it is mostly derived from snow that lies in heavy and fountains and streams heaps on or near the of the range it flows first in flat sheets over coarse sand or derived from a granite ridge and the of red mountain then gathering its many small branches it runs through beds of material and a series of and meadows and frosty bordered with and together by short reaches below these growing strong with tribute drawn from many a snowy fountain on either side the glad stream goes dashing and through of the white pine and tangled willow and enriched by the fragrant vegetation usually found about them and just above the level camp meadow it is and and beaten white over and over again in crossing a of big earthquake giving it a very thorough but to what the peculiar excellence of this water is due i don t know for other streams in adjacent are in about the same way and draw traces of and plant from similar sources the best water yet discovered in the park flows from the springs on the north side of the big meadow like it and every healing virtue to it but in no way can any of these be compared with the river champagne it is a curious fact that the waters of some our national of tiie lakes and streams are invisible or nearly so under certain weather conditions this is noticed by hunters and wide awake sharp eyed little likely to be by fine one of these mountain men whom i had nursed while a	28
broken leg was mending always g reported the wonders he found once returning from a trip on the head waters of the he came running eagerly crying i ve found the lake in the mountains it s high up where nothing grows and when it isn t shiny you can t see it and you walk right into it as if there was nothing there the first you know of that lake you are in it and get tripped up by the water and hear the splash the waters of creek are nearly invisible in the autumn so that in following the channel jumping from to after a shower you will frequently drag your feet in the pools excepting a few low warm slopes fountain snow usually covers au the park from november or december to may most of it until june or july while on the parts of the north slopes of the mountains at a height of eleven to thirteen thousand feet it is perpetual it seldom lies at a greater depth than two or three feet on the lower margin ten feet over the middle region or fifteen to twenty feet fountains and streams in the shadowy and among the peaks of the summit except where it is drifted or piled in heaps at the foot of long slopes to form fountains the first crop of snow that the mountains and the streams usually falls in september or october in the midst of charming indian summer weather often while the and are in their prime but these indian summer like some of the late ones that bury the june gardens vanish in a day or two and garden work goes on with speed the grand winter storms that load the mountains with enduring fountain snow seldom set in before the end of november the fertile clouds descending glide about and in brooding as if examining the forests and streams with reference to the work before them then small or single appear and in and iq and soon the masses fill the sky and make darkness like n ht wandering to their winter quarters the first fall is usually about two to four feet deep then with intervals of bright weather not very cold storm storm snow on snow from thirty to fifty or sixty feet has fallen but on account of heavy settling and and the waste from and melting the depth in the our national middle region as stated above rarely ten feet never wholly ceases even in the weather and the sunshine between storms the surface more or less waste from melting also goes on at the bottom from summer heat stored in the rocks as is shown by the rise of the streams after the first general storm and their steady sustained flow all winter in the deep sugar pine and silver fir woods up to a height of eight thousand feet most of the snow lies where it falls in one smooth universal fountain until set free in the streams but in the lighter forests of the two pine and on the bleak slopes above the timber line there is much wild drifting during storms accompanied by high winds and for a day or two after they have fallen when the temperature is low and the snow dry and dusty then the trees bending in the darkening blast roar like feeding lions the frozen lakes are buried so also are the streams which now flow in dark as if another period had come on high where the winds have a free sweep magnificent ling formed s w ft e a piles last as fountains almost all summer and when an high wind is blowing from the north the snow rolled drifted and ground to dust is driven up the northern slopes of the peaks and sent flying for miles in the form of bright wavering t mi li i till fountains and streams displayed in wonderful clearness and beauty the sky the greatest storms however are usually followed by a deep peculiar silence especially profound and solemn in the forests and the noble trees stand hushed and motionless as if under a until the morning begin to through their laden then the snow shifting and falling from the top branches strikes the lower ones in succession and masses au the way down thus each tree is enveloped in a hollow of fairy silvery white on the outside while the spring up and wave with startling effect in the general stillness as if moving of their own these beautiful tree hundreds of which may be seen falling at once on fine mornings aft r storms pile their snow in raised rings around corresponding hollows beneath the trees making the forest mantle somewhat irregular but without greatly its duration and the flow of the streams the large storm are most abundant on the summit peaks of the range they descend the broad steep slopes as well as narrow and with grand roaring and and glide in graceful curves out on the they so feed down in the main of the middle region our national broad masses are launched over the brows of cliffs three or four thousand feet high which worn to dust by in falling so far through the air hang for a minute or two in front of the tremendous like half transparent beautiful when the sun is shining through them most of the however flow in regular channels like the of streams when the snow first gives way on the upper slopes of their a dull muffled rush and is heard which increasing with heavy deliberation seems to draw rapidly nearer with appalling intensity of tone presently the wild flood comes in sight bounding out over and sheer places leaping from bench to bench spreading and clouds of whirling diamond dust like a majestic compared with and falls are short lived and the sharp sounds so common	28
to travel in crowds like floods while melody in color and fragrance form and motion flows to the heart through all the senses in early summer the streams are in bright prime running crystal clear deep and full but not overflowing their banks about as deep through the night as the day the so marked in spring being now too slight to be noticed nearly all the weather is g r i d t i their n throbbing life most of the plants are in full leaf and flower the blessed have built their huts and are now singing their sweetest songs on spray sprinkled le es beside the in tranquil mellow autumn when the year s work is about done when the fruits are ripe birds and seeds out of their nests and all the landscape is glowing like a benevolent countenance at rest then the streams are at their lowest ebb their wild rejoicing soothed to thoughtful calm all the smaller whose branches do not reach back to the fountains of the summit peaks shrink to whispering currents the snow of their national gone they are now fed only by small springs whose waters are mostly in passing over warm and in feeling their way from pool to pool through the midst of and sand even the main streams are so low they may be easily and their grand falls and now gentle and have to sheets and of falling fold over fold in new and ever changing beauty two of the most of the rivers the and water nearly all the park spreading their branches far and wide like oaks and the highest branches of each draw their sources from one and the same fountain on mount at an elevation of about thirteen thousand feet above the sea the crest of the mountain against which the head of the rests is worn to a thin blade full of joints through which a part of the water flows southward giving rise to the highest of the while the main flowing northward gives rise to those of the after for a distance of ten or twelve miles these twin rivers flow in a general direction descending rapidly for the first thirty miles and rushing in glorious apron and falls from one valley to another below the they descend in gray and swaying reaches fountains and streams through the clad of the and across the golden plain to their with the san where after au their long wanderings they are only about ten miles apart the main are from fifty to seventy miles long and from two to four thousand feet deep carved in the solid flank of the range though rough in some places and hard to travel they are the most delightful of roads leading through the scenery full of life and motion and offering most telling lessons in earth the walls far from being unbroken cliffs seem like of separate mountains so deep and varied is their rising in towers and with dark shadowy side between but however wonderful in height and mass and of finish no are presented no of nature all stand related in delicate a grand rock song among the most interesting and influential of the secondary features of scenery are the great that lean against the walls at intervals of a mile or two in the middle region they are from three to five hundred feet high and are made up of huge well preserved our national overgrown with g ay trees shrubs and delicate plants some of the largest of the are forty or fifty feet weighing from five to ten thousand tons and where the joints of the granite are wide apart a few blocks may be found nearly a hundred feet in these wonderful piles are distributed throughout all the of the range completely choking them in some of the portions and no will be likely to forget the savage of the roads they make even the swift rivers accustomed to sweep everything out of their way are in some places and held in check by them foaming roaring in glorious majesty of flood rushing off long trains of ponderous blocks without apparent effort they are not able to move the largest which all for centuries are left at rest in the channels like islands with gardens on their tops fringed with foam below with flowers above on some points concerning the origin of these i was long in doubt plainly enough they were derived from the cliffs above them the size of each being measured by a on the wall the rough surface of which with the rounded parts i saw also that instead of being slowly accumulated material fountains and streams off by in the ordinary way almost every had been formed suddenly in a single and had not been increased in size during the last three or four centuries for trees three or four hundred years old were growing on them some standing at the top close to the wall without a or broken branch showing that scarcely a single had fallen among them since they were planted all the throughout the range seemed by the trees and growing on them to be of the same age all the phenomena pointed straight to a grand ancient earthquake but i left the question open for years and went on from to observing again and again measuring the heights of throughout the range on both and the variations in the angles of their surface slopes studying the way their were and related and brought to rest and the joints of the cliffs from whence they were derived cautious about making up my mind only after i had seen one made did all doubt as to their formation vanish in valley one morning about two o clock i was aroused by an earthquake and though i had never before enjoyed a storm of this sort the strange wild	28
thrilling motion and could not be mistaken and i ran out of my cabin near the both glad and s our national frightened shouting a noble earthquake feeling sure i was going to learn something the were so violent and varied and succeeded one another so closely one had to balance in walking as if on the deck of a ship among the waves and it seemed impossible the high cliffs should escape being shattered in particular i feared that the sheer rock which rises to a height of three thousand feet would be shaken down and i took shelter back of a big pine hoping i might be protected from should any come so far i was now convinced that an earthquake had been the maker of the and positive proof soon came it was a calm moonlight night and no sound was heard for the first minute or two save a low muffled and a slight rustling of the agitated trees as if in with the mountains nature were holding her breath then suddenly out of the strange silence and strange motion there came a tremendous roar the eagle a short distance up the valley had given way and i saw it falling in thousands of the great i had been studying so long pouring to the valley floor in a free curve luminous from making a terribly sublime and beautiful spectacle an arc of fire fifteen hundred feet span as true in form and as steady as a rainbow in the midst of the roaring rock storm the fountains and streams sound was deep and broad and earnest as if the whole earth like a living creature had at last found a voice and were calling to her sister it seemed to me that if all the thunder i ever heard were into one roar it would not equal this rock roar at the birth of a mountain think then of the roar that arose to heaven when all the thousands of ancient throughout the length and breadth of the range were simultaneously given birth the main storm was soon over and eager to see the new bom i ran up the valley in the moonlight and climbed it before the huge blocks after their wild fiery flight had come to complete rest they were slowly settling into their places grating against one another groaning and whispering but no motion was visible except in a stream of small fragments down the face of the cliff at the head of the a cloud of dust the smallest of the floated out across the whole breadth of the valley and formed a ceiling that lasted until after sunrise and the air was loaded with the of crushed from a grove that had been down and like weeds about to see what other changes had been made i found the indians in the middle of the valley terribly frightened of course fear our national ing the angry spirits of the rocks were trying to kill them the few in the valley were assembled in front of the old hotel comparing notes and meditating flight to ground seemingly as sorely frightened as the indians it is always interesting to see people in dead earnest from whatever cause and make everybody earnest shortly after sunrise a low blunt muffled like distant thunder was followed by another series of which though not nearly so severe as the first made the cliffs and tremble like and the big pines and oaks thrill and and wave their branches with startling effect then the groups of were suddenly hushed and the solemnity on their faces was sublime one in particular of these winter neighbors a rather thoughtful man with whom i ha often conversed was a firm in the origin of the valley and i now remarked that his wild tumble ment might soon be proved since these and might be the of another which would perhaps double the depth of the valley by the floor leaving the ends of the wagon roads and three or four thousand feet in the air just then came the second series of and it was fine to see how awfully silent and solemn he became fountains and streams his belief in the existence of a mysterious abyss into which the suspended floor of the valley and all the and of the walls might at any moment go roaring down troubled him to cheer and him into another view of the case i said come cheer up smile a little and clap your hands now that kind mother earth is trotting us on her knee to amuse us and make us good but the joke seemed and utterly failed as if only terror could rightly belong to the wild beauty making business even after all the heavier were over i could do nothing to him on the contrary he handed me the keys of his little store and with a companion of like mind fled to the in about a month he returned but a sharp shock occurred that very day which sent hun flying again the rocks trembled more or less every day for over two months and i kept a bucket of water on my table to learn what i could of the movements the blunt thunder tones in the depths of the mountains were usually followed by sudden from the northward often succeeded by twisting movements judging by its effects this or earthquake as it is sometimes called was gentle as compared with the one that gave rise to the grand system of the range and did so much our national for the scenery nature usually so deliberate in her operations then created as we have seen a new set of features simply by giving the mountains a shake changing not only the high peaks and cliffs but the streams as soon as these rock fell every stream began to sing new songs for in	28
many places thousands of were hurled into their channels and half them compelling the waters to and roar in where before they were gliding smoothly some of the streams were completely leaves etc filling the between the thus giving rise to lakes and level reaches and these again after being gradually filled in to smooth meadows through which the streams now silently while at the same time some of the took the places of old meadows and groves thus rough places were made smooth and smooth places rough but on the whole by what at first sight seemed pure confusion and ruin the were enriched for gradually every however big the it was covered with groves and gardens and made a finely and ornamental base for the sheer cliffs in this beauty work every is prepared and measured and put in its place more thoughtfully than are the stones of temples if for a moment you are inclined to regard these as mere climb fountains and streams to the top of one of them tie your mountain shoes firmly over the and with nerves run down without any hesitation boldly jumping om to with even speed you will then find your feet playing a tune and quickly discover the music and poetry of rock piles a fine lesson and all nature s tells the same story storms of every sort torrents of nature etc however mysterious and lawless at first sight they may seem are only harmonious notes in the song of creation varied expressions of god s love chapter ix the and general grant the big tree is nature s forest and so far as i know the greatest of living things it belongs to an ancient stock as its remains in old rocks show and has a strange air of other days about it a look inherited from the long ago the of trees once the was common and with many species flourished in the now desolate regions in the interior of north america and in europe but in long wanderings from climate to climate only two species have survived the hardships they had to the and ns the former now to the western i of the the other to the coast mountains and both to excepting a few groves of which extend into the pacific coast in general is the paradise of here nearly au of them are giants and display a beauty and magnificence unknown elsewhere the is the ground never the and moisture and sunshine abound all the year nevertheless it is not easy to account for the colossal size of the the largest are about three hundred feet high and thirty feet in who of all the of the plains and and fertile home forests of round headed oak and and elm ever dreamed that earth could bear such trees that the familiar pines and seem to know nothing about lonely silent serene with a and so old thousands of them still living had already counted their years by of centuries when set sail from spain and were in the vigor of youth or middle age when the star led the to the infant s cradle as far as man is concerned they are the same yesterday to day and forever of no an give any idea of their singular majesty much less of their beauty excepting the sugar pine most of their neighbors with pointed tops seem to be forever shouting while the big tree though soaring above them all seems satisfied its rounded head poised lightly as a cloud giving no impression of trying to go higher only in youth does it show like other a yearning keenly with a long quick growing top indeed the whole tree for the first century or two or until a hundred to a hundred and fifty feet our national high is in form and compared with the solemn of age is as sensitive to the wind as a tail the lower branches are gradually dropped as it grows older and the upper ones out until comparatively few are left these however are developed to great size divide again and again and in rounded masses of leafy while the head becomes dome shaped then poised in of strength and beauty stem and solemn in mien it with eager enthusiastic life quivering to the tip of every leaf and branch and far reaching root calm as a granite dome the first to feel the touch of the rosy beams of the morning the last to bid the sun good night perfect specimens by running fires or lightning are singularly regular and in general form though not at all conventional showing infinite variety in sure unity and harmony of plan the immensely strong stately shafts with rich brown bark are free of limbs for a hundred and fifty feet or so though dense of occur here and there producing an ornamental effect while long parallel g ve a appearance it shoots forth its limbs with equal boldness in every direction showing no weather side on the old trees the main branches are crooked and rugged and strike rigidly outward mostly at right angles from the trunk but there is always a certain r the measured restraint in reach which keeps them within bounds no other tree has so or outline so finely firmly drawn and so subordinate to an ideal type a particularly looking branch five to eight feet in and perhaps a thousand years old may occasionally be seen pushing out from the trunk as if determined to break across the bounds of the regular curve but like all the others as soon as the general outline is approached the huge limb into of and as if the tree were growing beneath an invisible bell glass against the sides of which the branches were while many small varied from the ideal form give the impression of freedom to grow as they like except	28
in picturesque old age after being struck by lightning and broken by a thousand this regularity of form is one of the big tree s most characteristics another is the simple beauty of the trunk and its great thickness as compared with its height and the width of the branches many of them being from eight to ten feet in at a height of two hundred feet from the ground and seeming more like finely and columns than the stems of trees while the limbs are like supporting dome head our national the root system in magnitude with the other dimensions of the tree forming a flat far reaching two hundred feet or more in width without any and the is so grand and fine so suggestive of endless strength it is long ere the eye is released to look above it the natural swell of the roots though at first sight excessive g rise to no greater than are required for beauty as weu as strength as at once appears when you stand back far to see the whole tree in ite true proportions the of the of the trunk is shown by its thickness at great heights a of ten feet at a height of two hundred being as we have seen not uncommon indeed the of but few trees hold their thickness as well as resolute determined in form always beheld wondering the big tl always seems standing alone with peculiar awfully solemn and earnest nevertheless there is nothing alien in its looks the clad in thin smooth red and yellow bark and big glossy leaves seems in the dark forests of washington and island like some lost wanderer from the groves of the south while the with all its strangeness seems more at home than any of its neighbors holding the best right to the ground as the oldest strong the est one soon becomes acquainted with new species of pine and fir and as with friendly people shaking their outstretched branches like hands and their beautiful little ones while the venerable ancient of other days keeps you at a distance taking no notice of you speaking only to the winds thinking only of the sky looking as strange in aspect and behavior among the neighboring trees as would the or hairy elephant among the homely bears and deer only the is at all like it standing rigid and on for thousands of years grim rusty silent with an air of antiquity about as pronounced as that so characteristic of the bark of full grown trees is from one to two feet thick rich brown on young trees and shady parts of the old forming magnificent masses of color with the and beds of flowers toward the end of winter the trees themselves bloom while the snow is still or ten feet deep the re aw th j of n long pale green and grow in countless thousands on the ends of the the are still more abundant pale yellow a fourth of an inch long and when the golden is ripe they color the whole tree and dust the air and the ground far and near our national the are bright grass green in color about two and a half inches long one and a half wide and are made up of thirty or forty strong closely packed scales with four to eight seeds at the base of each the seeds are extremely small and light being only from an eighth to a fourth of an inch long and wide including a surrounding wing which causes them to and in falling and the wind to carry them considerable distances from the tree the faint of as they alight is one of the smallest sounds mortal can hear the sound of falling seeds even when they happen to strike on flat leaves or of bark is about as faint very different is the and of the falling most of them are cut off by the and stored for the sake of the seeds small as they are in the calm indian summer these busy with ivory go to work early in the morning as soon as breakfast is over and nearly all day the ripe fall in a steady shower unless in this way they discharge their seeds and remain on the trees for many years in fruitful seasons the trees are fairly laden on two small specimen branches one and a half and two inches in i counted four hundred and eighty no other produces nearly so many the seeds excepting perhaps its relative the of the coast mountains millions are by a single tree and the product of one of the main gloves in a fruitful year would ce to plant all the mountain of the world the dense make snug places for birds and in some of the towers of thousands of generations have been reared the great solemn trees shedding flocks of merry singers every year from nests like the flocks of winged seeds from the the big tree keeps its youth far longer than any of its neighbors most silver are old in their second or third century pines in their fourth or fifth while the big tree growing beside them is still in the bloom of its youth in every feature at the age of old pines and cannot be said to attain anything like prime size and beauty before its fifteen year or under favorable circumstances become old before its three many no doubt are much older than this on one of the kings giants thirty five feet and eight inches in exclusive of bark i counted upwards of four thousand annual wood rings in which there was no trace of decay after all these centuries of mountain weather there is no absolute limit to the existence of any tree their death is due to accidents not as of animals to the wearing out of our	28
national organs only the leaves die of old age their fall is foretold in their structure but the leaves are renewed every year and so also are the other essential organs wood roots bark most of the trees die of disease thus the magnificent silver are devoured by and comparatively few of them live to see their three birth year but nothing hurts the big tree i never saw one that was sick or showed the slightest sign of decay it on through indefinite thousands of years until burned blown down or shattered by some tremendous lightning stroke no ordinary bolt ever seriously hurts in all my walks i have seen only one that was thus killed outright lightning though rare in the is common on the almost every day in june and july small refresh the main forest belt clouds like snowy mountains of beauty grow rapidly in the calm sky about midday and cast shadows and showers that seldom last more than an hour nevertheless these brief kind storms wound or kill a good many trees i have seen silver two hundred feet high split into long rails and down to the roots leaving not even a stump the rails like the of a wheel from a hole in the ground where the tree stood but the instead of being split and usually has forty or the fifty feet of its top smashed off in short about the size of cord wood the beautiful rosy red ruins covering the ground in a circle a hundred feet wide or more i never saw any that had been cut down to the ground or even to below the branches except one in the grove about twelve feet in the greater part of which was smashed to ments leaving only a stump about seventy five feet high it is a curious fact that all the very old have lost their heads by lightning au things come to him who waits but of all things is perhaps the only one able to wait long enough to make sure of being struck by lightning thousands of years it stands ready and waiting offering its head to every passing cloud as if inviting its fate praying for heaven s fire as a blessing and when at last the old head is off another of the same shape immediately begins to grow on every bud and branch seems excited like bees that have lost their queen and tries hard to repair the damage branches that for many centuries have been growing out at once turn upward and all their arrange themselves with reference to a new top of the same peculiar curve as the old one even the small subordinate branches down the trunk do their best to push up to the top and help in this head making our national the great age of these noble trees is even more wonderful than their size standing bravely up in out to all that fortune may bring them triumphant over tempest and fire and time fruitful and beautiful giving food and shelter to multitudes of small fleeting creatures dependent on their other trees may claim to be about as large or as old english and venerable trees of renown some of which are from ten to thirty feet in we read of oaks that are supposed to have existed ever since the creation but strange to say i can find no definite accounts of the age of any of these trees but only based on tradition and assumed average of growth no other known tree approaches the in grandeur height and thickness being considered and none as far as i know has looked down on so many centuries or opens such impressive and suggestive views into history the majestic monument of the kings river forest is as we have seen fully four thousand years old and measuring the rings of annual growth we find it was no less than twenty seven feet in at the beginning of the christian era while many observations lead me to expect the discovery of others ten or twenty centuries older as to those of moderate age there are thousands mere youths as yet that the saw the light that shone on s uplifted on many a royal gilded throne and deed forgotten in the present saw the age of sacred trees and and mystic and saw from forest like these the bring his arches great trees and groves used to be as sacred monuments and halls of council and worship but soon after the discovery of the grove one of the trees was cut down for the sake of a stump the laborious had seen the biggest tree in the world then they must try to see the biggest stump and dance on it the growth in height for the first two centuries is usually at the rate of eight to ten inches a year of course all very large trees are old but those equal in size may vary greatly in age on account of variations in soil or of growth etc thus a tree about ten feet in that grew on the side of a meadow was according to my own count of the only two hundred and fifty nine years old at the time it was while another in the same g of almost exactly the same size but less situated was fourteen hundred and forty years old the tree cut for a dance floor was twenty four feet in and only thirteen hundred years old another about the same size was a thousand years older our national the following notes and are copied from my height in age v s k feet i inside bark oyer feet in at height of feet in at height of feet little however is to be learned in confused hurried spending only a poor noisy hour in a grove with a guide you should go looking	28
and listening alone on long walks through the wild forests and groves in all the seasons of the year in the spring the winds are and sweet blowing up and down over great beds of and through the woods now rich in softening and and the th scent of steaming earth the sky is mostly sunshine tempered by magnificent clouds the breath of the sea up into new mountain warm during the day cool at night good flower opening weather the young of the big trees are showing in clusters their flower time already past and here and there you may see the of their tiny seeds of the previous autumn taking their first feeble hold of the ground and their tender of leaves then you will naturally be led on to consider their wonderful growth up and up through the mountain weather now buried in snow bent and now in summer sunshine hke shooting ing serene and satisfied through countless years of and storm the of plants and all but immortal under the e trees up come the small plant people putting forth fresh leaves and in such profusion that the hills and valleys would still seem rich and glad were all the grand trees away by the side of melting rise the crimson and massive as the themselves and beds of blue and larger yellow ones with leaves curiously and and lilies on the banks of the streams and a little way back of them be national the trees and on sunny spots on the hills around the groves wild rose and and forget me not etc many of them as worthy of lore immortality as the famous scotch wanting only a to sing them home to all hearts in the midst of this glad plant work the are some singing at their work some silent others especially the about as noisy as building their then every bower in the groves is a bower the winds murmur softly overhead the streams sing with the birds while from far off and thunder clouds come deep rolling organ notes in summer the days go by in almost constant brightness sunshine pouring over the forest roof while in the shady depths there is the subdued light of perpetual morning the new leaves and are and make a grand show seeds are young birds learning to fly and with of insects glad as birds keep the air whirling joy in every their humming and singing with the ah ing of the winds f while at evening every thicket and grove is enchanted by the tranquil of the blessed the sweetest and most peaceful of sounds telling the veiy heart joy of earth as it rolls through the heavens the in the autumn the sighing of the winds is softer than ever the gentle ah ah ing filling the sky with a fine universal mist of music the birds have little to say and there is no stir or rustling among the trees save that caused by the most of the seeds are ripe and away those of the trees the sunny air glancing through the midst of the merry insect people rocks and trees everything alike in gold light heaven s colors coming down to the meadows and groves making every leaf a romance air earth and water in peace beyond thought the great brood ing days opening and closing in divine of color winter comes suddenly arrayed in storms though to on the peaks and the tones of the wind give sufficient warning you hear strange among the tree tops as if the giants were counsel together one after another nodding and swaying calling and replying the news until all with one accord break forth into glorious song the first grand of the year and up in the dim clouds and like towers in flying and spray studying the behavior of the giants from some friendly shelter you will see that even in the glow of their wildest enthusiasm when the storm they never lose our national their god like composure never toss their arms or bow or wave like the pines but only slowly solemnly nod and sway standing erect making no sign of strife none of rest neither in alliance nor at war with the winds too calmly noble and strong to strive wi or bid defiance to anything owing to the of the leafy and great breadth of head the big tree carries a much heavier load of snow than any of its neighbors and after a storm when the sky the laden trees are a glorious spectacle worth any amount of cold to see every limb and crown is solid white and the immense height of the giants becomes visible as the eye travels the white steps of the colossal tower each by a mass of blue shadow in the forest depths are as fresh and pure as the and of a few and other hardy birds dwell in the groves au winter and the may be seen every clear day about lively as ever to their stores never coming up empty mouthed in the loose snow about as quickly as ducks in water while storms and sunshine sing to each other one of the noblest and most beautiful of the late winter sights is the of the big tree like gigantic and the of their the oyer all the forest and the snow ground a most glorious view of nature s immortal and flower love one of my own best excursions among the was made in the autumn of when i the then unknown or little known region south of the grove for comprehensive views of the belt and to learn what i could of the peculiar distribution of the species and its history in general in particular i was anxious to try to find out whether it had ever been more widely distributed since the period what conditions favorable or otherwise were affecting	28
it what were its relations to climate soil and the other trees growing with it etc and whether as was generally supposed the species was i was already acquainted in a general way with the northern groves but excepting some passing glimpses gained on excursions into the high about the head waters of kings and rivers i had seen nothing of the south end of the belt nearly all my has been done on camp fires for warmth that so i might be light and free to go wherever my studies might lead on this trip which promised to be i was persuaded to take a small wild mule national the friendly owner of the animal having noticed that i sometimes looked tired when i came down from the peaks to my bread sack assured me that his little mule was just what i wanted tough as a knot perfectly low and narrow just right for through brush able to climb like a jump from to like a wild sheep and go anywhere a man could go but tough as he was and accomplished as a many a time in the course of our journey when he was and hungry fast in rocks or struggling in like a fly in a his troubles were sad to see and i wished he would leave me and find his way home alone we set out from about the end of august and our first camp was made in the grove here and in the adjacent pine woods i spent nearly a week carefully examining the boundaries of the grove for traces of its greater extension without finding any then i struck out into the majestic forest to the hoping to find new groves or traces of old ones in the dense silver fir and pine woods about the head of big creek where soil and climate seemed most favorable to their growth but not a single tree or old monument of any sort came to light until i climbed the high rock called by the indians here i obtained tell the ing views of the fertile forest filled basin of the upper innumerable of the noble yellow pine were displayed rising above one another on the slopes and yet nobler sugar pines with superb arms outstretched in the rich autumn light while away toward the on the verge of the glowing horizon i discovered the majestic dome like crowns of big trees towering high over all singly and in close grove there is something wonderfully attractive in this king tree even when beheld from afar that draws us to it with indescribable enthusiasm its superior height and massive smoothly rounded outlines its character in any company and when one of the oldest full stature on some commanding ridge it seems the very god of the woods i ran back to camp packed over the divide and down into the heart of the grove then choosing a camp on the side of a brook where the grass was good i made a cup of tea and set off free among the brown giants in the abundance of new work about me one of the first special things that caught my attention was an extensive the ground on the side of a stream had given way to a depth of about fifty feet and with all its trees had been launched into the bottom of the stream most of the trees pines incense and were stiu our national standing erect and as if unconscious that anything out of the common had happened tracing the alongside the i saw many trees whose roots had been laid bare and in one instance discovered a about fifteen feet in growing above an old prostrate trunk that seemed to belong to a former generation this slip had occurred seven or eight years ago and i was glad to find that not only were most of the big trees but that many companies of hopeful and were growing confidently on the fresh soil along the broken front of the these young trees were already eight or ten feet high and were shooting up vigorously as if sure of eternal life though young pines and were a race with them for the sunshine with an even start farther down the i counted five hundred and thirty six promising young on a bed of rough soil not exceeding two acres in extent the big trees covered an area of about four square miles and while wandering about surveying the boundaries of the grove anxious to see every tree i came suddenly on a handsome log cabin richly and so fresh and it was still of and like a newly tree stroll g d cold bout it r the i found an old weary eyed man on a bark stool by the door reading a book the discovery of by i stranger seemed to surprise him but when i explained that i was only a tree lover along the mountains to study he bade me welcome made me bring my mule down to a little meadow before his door and camp with him promising to show me his pet trees and many curious things bearing on my studies after supper as the evening shadows were falling the good his life in the mines which in the main was like that of most other gold hunters a succession of intense experiences full of big and downs like the mountain since he had wandered over most of the sinking innumerable prospect holes like a sailor making digging new channels for streams and gravel wi with energy life s noon the meanwhile passing unnoticed into afternoon shadows then health and gold gone the game played and lost like a wounded deer creeping into this forest solitude he the call how sad the of many a life here now the noise of the first big gold battles has died away how many interesting	28
lie drifted and in hidden of the gold region perhaps no other range contains our national the remains of so many rare and interesting men the name of my friend is john a a fine kind man who in going into the woods has at last gone home for he loves nature truly and that these last shadowy days with scarce a of gold in them are the best of all birds plants get loving natural recognition and delightful it was to see how he to the silent influences of the woods his eyes brightened as he gazed on the trees that stand guard around his little home and mountain came to his call to be fed and he tenderly the little hoping they yet might grow straight to the sky and rule the grove one of the greatest of his trees stands a little way back of his cabin and he proudly led me to it bidding me admire its colossal proportions and measure it to see if in all the forest there could be another so grand it proved to be only twenty six feet in and he seemed distressed to learn that the giant was larger i tried to comfort him by observing that his was the taller finer formed and perhaps the more situated then he led me to some noble ruins of gigantic trunks of trees that he supposed must have been larger than any now standing and though they had lain on the damp ground exposed to fire and the weather for centuries the wood was perfectly sound the timber is not only beautiful in color rose red when fresh and as easily worked as pine but it is absolutely build a house of big tree logs on granite and that house will last about as long as its foundation indeed fire seems to be the only agent that has any effect on it from one of these ancient trunk i cut a specimen of the wood which neither in color strength nor could be distinguished from specimens cut from trees although it had certainly lain on the damp forest floor for more than three hundred and eighty years probably more than thrice as long the time in this instance was determined as follows when the tree from which the specimen was derived fell it sunk itself into the ground making a ditch about two hundred feet long and five or six feet deep and in the middle of this ditch where a part of the fallen trunk had been burned a silver fir four feet in and three hundred and eighty years old was growing showing that the trunk had lain on the ground three hundred and eighty years the unknown time that it lay before die part whose place had been taken by the fir was burned out of the way and that which had elapsed ere the seed from which the fir sprang fell into the prepared soil and took root now because trunks are never wholly consumed in one forest fire and our national these fires only at considerable intervals and because after being cleared are often left for centuries it becomes evident that the trunk remnant in question may have been on the ground a thousand years or more similar are common and together with the root and long straight of the fallen throw a sure light back on the post history of the species bearing on its distribution one of the most interesting features of this grove is the apparent ease and strength and comfortable independence in which the trees occupy their place in the general forest young and middle aged trees are around the old betraying no sign of approach to on the contrary all seem to be saying is to our mind and we mean to live forever but sad to tell a lumber company was building a large mill and near by assuring destruction in the and sometimes in the lower portion of the trunk and roots there is a dark substance which readily in water and a magnificent purple color it is a strong and is said to be used by the indians as a big medicine mr showed me specimens of ink he had made from it which i tried and found good flowing freely and holding its color well indeed everything about the tree seems constant the with these interesting trees forming the largest of the northern groves i stopped only a week for i had far to go before the fall of the snow the seemed to cling to me and tried to make me promise to winter with him after the season s work was done had to be got home however and other work awaited me therefore i could only promise to stop a day or two on my way back to and give him the forest news the next two weeks were spent in the wide basin of the san climbing innumerable and surveying the far sea of pines and but not a single crown appeared among them all nor any trace of a fallen trunk until i had crossed the south divide of the basin opposite creek one of the of kings river on this stream there is a small grove said to have been discovered a few years before my visit by two hunters in pursuit of a wounded bear just as i was one of the branches of creek i met a shepherd and when i asked him whether he knew anything about the big trees of the neighborhood he replied i know all about them for i visited them only a few days ago and my sheep in the grove he was fresh from the east and as this was his first summer in the i was curious to learn what impression the had made on him when i asked our national whether it was that ae big trees were really so big as	28
people say he warmly replied oh yes sir you bet they re i never used to believe half i heard about the awful size of trees but they re monsters and no mistake one of them over here they tell me is the biggest tree in the whole world and i guess it is for it s forty foot through and as many good long paces around he was very earnest and in of faith offered to guide me to the grove that i might not miss seeing this biggest tree a fair four feet from the ground above the main swell of the roots showed a of only thirty two feet much to the young man s disgust only thirty two feet he lamented only thirty two and i always thought it was forty then with a sigh of relief no matter that s a big tree anyway no fool of a tree sir that you can cut a plank out of thirty feet broad straight edged no bark all good wood sound and solid it would make the white pine from old look hke a good many other fine specimens are distributed along three small branches of the creek and i noticed several growing on a granite ledge apparently as independent of deep soil as the pines and clinging to and and sending their roots far abroad in search of moisture the creek is very clear and beautiful gliding the through of shrubs and flower beds gay bee and butterfly pastures the g s own stream pure water flowing all the year every drop through moss and leaves and the of the giant trees one of the most interesting features of the g is a small with a clear pool at the foot of it how cheerily it sings the songs of the wilderness and how sweet its tones you seem to taste as well as hear them while only the subdued roar of the river in the deep reaches up into the grove sounding like the sea and the winds so charming a fall and pool in the heart of so glorious a forest good would have consecrated to some lovely hence down into the main kings river a mile deep i led and dragged and my patient much enduring mule through miles and miles of gardens and brush innumerable streams crossing savage rock slopes and sliding through g and then up into the grand forests of the south side cheered by the royal crowns displayed on the narrow horizon in a day and a half we reached the woods in the neighborhood of the old thomas mill flat thence striking off i found a magnificent forest nearly six miles long by two in width composed mostly of big trees with groves as far our national east as creek here five or six days were spent and it was delightful to learn from countless trees old and young how comfortably they were settled down in with climate and soil and their noble neighbors in these majestic woods there are numerous meadows around the sides of which the big trees press close together in beautiful lines showing their grandeur openly from the ground to their heads in the sky the young trees are still more numerous and than in the and groves standing apart in beautiful family groups or crowding around the old giants for every venerable lightning tree there is one or more in au the glory of prime and for each of these many young trees and crowds of the young trees express the grandeur of their race in a way by any words at my command when they are five or six feet in and a hundred and fifty feet high they seem like mere baby as many inches in their habit and gestures completely their real size even to those who from long experience are able to make fair in their of common trees one morning i noticed three airy quick growing babies on the side of a meadow the largest of which i took to be about eight inches in on measuring it i found to the my astonishment it was five feet six inches in and about a hundred and forty feet high on a bed of sandy ground fifteen yards square which had been occupied by four sugar pines i counted ninety four promising an instance of gaining ground from its neighbors here also i noted eighty six young from one to fifty feet high on less than half an acre of ground that had been cleared and prepared for their reception by fire this was a small bay burned into dense showing that fire the great of tree life is sometimes followed by conditions for new sufficient fresh soil however is f ur for the constant renewal of the forest by the fall of old trees without the help of any other agent animals fire flood etc for the ground is thus turned and stirred as well as cleared and in every shady hollow beside the walls of roots many hopeful spring up the largest and as far as i know the oldest of all the kings river trees that i saw is the majestic stump already referred to about a hundred and forty feet high which above the swell of the roots is thirty five feet and eight inches inside the bark and over four thousand years old it was burned nearly through at the base and i spent a day in off the surface our national cutting into the heart and counting the with the aid of a i made out a little over four thousand without difficulty or doubt but i was unable to get a complete count to confusion in the rings where wounds had been healed oyer judging by what is left of it this was a fine tall tree nearly f feet in before it lost its bark in the last sixteen	28
hundred and seventy two years the increase in was ten feet a short distance south of this forest lies a beautiful grove now mostly included in the general grant national park i found many shake makers at work in it access to these magnificent woods having been made easy by the old mill wagon road the park is only two square and the largest of its many fine trees is the general grant so named before the date of my first visit twenty eight years ago and said to be the largest tree in the world though above the base the is less than thirty feet the lumber company owns nearly all the groves outside the park and for many years the mills have been spreading desolation without any advantage one of the shake makers directed me to an old grant it proved to be a huge black stump thirty two feet in the next in size to the grand monument mentioned above r the i found a scattered growth of big trees extending across the main divide to within a short distance of s mill on a of dry creek the mountain ridge on the south side of the stream was covered from base to summit with a most superb growth of big trees what a picture it made in all my wide forest wanderings i had seen none so sublime every tree of all the mighty host seemed perfect in beauty and strength and their majestic heads rising above one another on the mountain slope were most displayed like a range of clouds on a calm sky in this glorious forest the mill was busy forming a sore sad centre of destruction though small as yet so immensely heavy was the growth only the smaller and most accessible of the trees were being cut the logs from three to ten or twelve feet in were dragged or rolled with long strings of oxen into a and sent flying down the steep mountain side to the mill flat where the largest of them were into dimensions for the and as the timber is very by this and careless on ground half or three of the timber was wasted i spent several days exploring the ridge and counting the annual wood rings on a large number of in the then my bread sack and pushed on southward all our national the way across the broad rough of the and rivers ruled supreme forming an almost continuous belt for sixty or miles waving up and down in huge mountain in compliance with the grand day after day from grove to grove to i made a long wavering way terribly rough in some places for but cheery for me for big trees were seldom out of sight we crossed the rugged picturesque of creek the north fork of the and marble fork and full of beautiful and falls sheer and infinitely varied with broad curly foam and of in which the thence we climbed into the noble forest on the marble and middle fork divide after a general of the basin this part of the belt seemed to me the finest and i then named it the giant forest it extends a magnificent growth of giants in pure temple groves ranged in along the sides of meadows or scattered among the other trees from the granite overlooking the hot and plains of the san back to within a few miles of the old fountains at an elevation of to feet above the sea when i entered this sublime wilderness the the day was nearly done the trees with rosy glowing countenances seemed to be hushed and thoughtful as if waiting in conscious religious dependence on the sun and one naturally walked softly and awe stricken among them i wandered on meeting nobler trees where all are noble subdued in the general calm as if in some vast hall pervaded by the deepest and that sway human souls at the trees seemed to cease their worship and breathe free i heard the birds going home i too sought a home for the night on the edge of a level meadow where there is a long open view between the trees standing guard along its sides then after a good place was found for poor who had had a hard weary day and across the marble i made my bed and supper and lay on my back looking up to the stars through arches finer far than the pious heart of man telling its love ever reared then i took a walk up the meadow to see the trees in the pale light they seemed still more massive and tall than by day heaving their colossal heads into the depths of the sky among the stars some of which appeared to be sparkling on their branches like flowers i built a big fire that vividly the huge brown of the nearest trees and the little plants and and fallen leaves at their feet keeping up the show until i fell asleep to dream our national of boundless forests and trail building for joyous birds welcomed the dawn and ike now their food ripe and had to be quickly gathered and stored for winter began their work before sunrise my tea breakfast was soon done and leaving to feed and rest i sauntered forth to my studies in every direction ruled the woods most of the other big were present here and there but not as rivals or companions they only served to and the general wilderness trees of every age cover as well as the deep slopes and plant their magnificent shafts along every and meadow and meadows are rare or entirely wanting in the isolated groves north of kings river here there is a beautiful series of them lying on the br ad top of the main dividing ridge in the very heart of the woods as if for ornament their smooth	28
kept bright and fertile by streams and sunshine resting awhile on one of the most beautiful of them when the sun was high it seemed impossible that any other forest picture in the world could rival it there lay the grassy lawn three of a mile long smoothly in mellow autumn light colored brown and yellow and purple with lines of green the along the streams and ruffled here and there with patches of and scarlet around the there is first a fringe of and willow bushes colored orange yellow with vivid of red as if painted then up spring the mighty walls of three hundred feet high the brown pillars so thick and tall and strong they seem fit to the sky the dense foliage swelling forward in rounded on the upper half shaded and tinted that of the young trees dark green of the old an aged standing a uttle forward beyond the general line with arms was covered with gray and yellow and surrounded by a group of whose slender seemed to lack not a single leaf or spray in their wondrous perfection such was the meadow picture that golden afternoon and as i gazed every color seemed to and glow as if the progress of the fresh sun work were visible from hour to hour while every tree seemed religious and conscious of the presence of god a free man in a scene like this and time goes by i stood fixed in silent wonder or sauntered about shifting my points of view studying the of separate trees and going out to the different color patches to see how were put on and what w n ad f l national to my joy in nature s wild immortal vigor and beauty never dreaming any other human being was near suddenly the spell was broken by dull sounds and a man and horse came in sight at the farther end of the meadow where they seemed sadly out of place a good big bear or or would have been more in keeping with the old forest nevertheless it is always pleasant to meet one of our own species after solitary and i stepped out where i could be seen and shouted when the rider in his galloping and waited my approach he seemed too much surprised to speak until laughing in his puzzled face i said i was glad to meet a fellow in so lonely a place then he abruptly asked what are you doing how did you get here i explained that i came across the from and was only looking at the trees oh then i know he said greatly to my surprise you must be john he was a band of horses that had been driven up a rough trail from the to feed on these forest meadows a few of was all that was left in my bread sack so i told him that i was nearly out of provision and asked whether he could spare me a little flour oh yes of course you can have anything i ve got he said just take my the track and it will lead you to my camp in a big log on the side of a meadow two or three miles from here i must ride after some strayed horses but i be back before night in the mean time make yourself at home he galloped away to the northward i returned to my own camp and by the middle of the afternoon discovered his noble den in a fallen by fire a spacious of one log lined centuries old yet sweet and fresh weather proof earthquake proof likely to the most stone castle and commanding views of garden and grove far than the richest king ever enjoyed found plenty of grass and i found bread which i ate with views from the big round ever open door soon the good came in and i enjoyed a famous rest listening to his observations on trees animals adventures etc while he was busily preparing supper in answer to inquiries concerning the distribution of the big trees he gave a good deal of particular information of the forest we were in and he had heard that the species extended a long way south he knew not how far i wandered about for several days within a of six or seven miles of the camp surveying boundaries measuring trees and climbing the highest points for general views from the south side of the divide i saw our national ranks of crowned stretching far into the distance and plunging down into o und i l l weeks of good work i had now been out the trip more than a month and i began to fear my studies would be interrupted by snow for winter was f where there is n t way j j m n way at the time is needed but to the with a mule across the lines of the brave old phrase becomes heavy with meaning there are ways across the by well marked and followed by men and beasts and birds and one of them even by but none natural or artificial along the range and the who would thus travel at right angles to the ways must and extending side by side in endless succession by side and g and stubborn and defended by innumerable sheer my own ways are easily made in any direction but though one of the and most of his race was discouraged for want of hands and caused endless work wild at first he was tame enough now and when turned loose he not only refused to run away but as his troubles increased came to depend on me in such a pitiful touching way i became attached to him and helped him as if our national lighted where heavy branches broken off by snow had accumulated or around some venerable giant	28
whose head had been stricken off by i on the edge of a little meadow beside a stream a good safe way off and then cautiously chose a camp for myself in a big stout hollow trunk not likely to be crushed by the fall of burning trees and made a bed of and boughs in it the night however and the strange wild were too beautiful and exciting to allow much sleep there was no danger of being chased and hemmed in for in the main forest belt of the even when swift winds are blowing fires seldom or never sweep over the trees in broad all embracing sheets as they do in the dense rocky mountain woods and in those of the mountains of and washington here they creep from tree to tree with tranquil deliberation allowing close observation though caution is required in venturing around the burning giants to avoid falling and knots and fragments from dead shattered tops though the day was best for study i sauntered about night after night learning what i could and admiring the wonderful show vividly displayed in the lonely darkness the ground fire advancing in long crooked lines gently and smoking on the close pressed leaves springing up in thousands the of of pure flame on dry and twigs and tall and flat sheets with jagged flapping edges dancing here and there on grass and bushes big blazing in perfect storms of energy where heavy branches mixed with small ones lay smashed together in hundred cord piles big red arches between spreading root and trees growing close together hu fe fire trunks on the hill slopes like l of hot i le l ed up the tall trees tracing the of the bark in quick quivering and lighting magnificent on dry shattered tops and ever and anon with a tremendous roar and burst of young trees clad in low descending branches vanishing in one flame two or three hundred feet high one of the most impressive and beautiful sights was made by the great fallen trunks lying on the all red and glowing like colossal iron bars fresh from a furnace two hundred feet long some of them and ten to twenty feet thick after repeated have consumed the bark and the sound surface being full of cracks and sprinkled with leaves is quickly with a pure rich glow almost and producing a effect in the night another grand and interesting sight are the fires on the tops of the largest living trees flaming above the our national green branches at a height of perhaps two hundred feet entirely cut off from the ground fires and looking like signal on watch towers from one i sometimes saw a dozen or more those in the distance looking like great stars above the forest roof at first i could not imagine how these lamps were lighted but the very first night about waiting and watching i saw the thing done again and again the thick bark of old trees is divided by deep nearly continuous the sides of which are bearded with the ends of broken by the growth swelling of the trunk and when the fire comes creeping around the feet of the trees it runs up these in lovely pale blue quivering of flame with a low earnest whispering sound to the top of the trunk which in the dry indian summer with perhaps leaves and twigs and scales and seed wings lodged in it is readily these lamp lighting the most beautiful re streams i ever saw last only a minute or two but the big lamps burn with varying brightness for days and weeks throwing off sparks like the spray of a fountain while ever and anon a shower of red coals comes down through the branches followed at times with startling effect by a big burned off weighing perhaps half a ton the immense where fifty or a hundred th of split smashed wood has been piled around some old giant by a single stroke of is another grand sight in the night the light is so great i found i could read com mon print three hundred yards from them and the illumination of the circle of trees is impressive other big fires roaring and like were ing on the upper sides of trees on against which limbs broken off by heavy snow had rolled while branches high overhead tossed and shaken by the ascending air current seemed to be in pain perhaps the most startling phenomenon of all was the quick death of only a century or two of age in the midst of the other comparatively slow and steady fire work one of these beautiful leafy and would be seen blazing up suddenly au in one heaving passionate flame reaching from the ground to the top of the tree and fifty to a hundred feet or more above it with a smoke column bending forward and streaming away on the upper wind to bum these green trees a strong fire of dry wood beneath them is required to send up a current of air hot enough to from the leaves and then instead of the lower gradually catching fire and the next and next in succession the whole tree seems to almost our national and with awful roaring and throbbing a round flame shoots up two or three feet and in a second or two is leaving the green spire a black dead mast and with down curling boughs nearly all the trees that have been burned down are lying with their heads because they are burned far more deeply on the upper side on account of broken limbs rolling down against them to make hot fires while only leaves and twigs on the lower side and are quickly consumed without injury to the tree but green wood very slowly and many successive fires are required to burn down a large tree	28
fires can run only at intervals of several years and when the ordinary amount of that has rolled against the gigantic trunk is consumed only a shallow is made which is slowly deepened by fires until far beyond the centre of gravity and when at last the tree falls it of course falls the healing folds of wood on some of the deeply burned trees show that centuries have elapsed since the last wounds were made when a great falls its head is smashed into fragments about as as those made by lightning which are mostly devoured by the first running hunting fire that finds them while the trunk is slowly wasted away by centuries of fire and weather one of the most interesting fire the actions on the trunk is the of those great like hollows through which may gallop all of these famous hollows are burned out of the solid wood for no is ever by decay when the tree falls the trunk is often broken straight across into sections as if into these joints the fire and on account of the great size of the broken ends for weeks or even months without being much influenced by the weather after the great glowing ends each other have burned so far apart that their cease to bum the fire continues to work on in the and the ends become deeply then heat being from side to side the burning goes on in each section of the trunk independent of the other until the of the bore is so great that the heat across from side to side is not to keep them burning it appears therefore that only very large trees can receive the fir and have any shell rim left fire attacks the large trees only at the ground the fallen leaves and at their feet doing them but little harm unless considerable quantities of fallen limbs happen to be piled about them their thick mail of almost bark affording strong protection therefore the oldest and most perfect trees are found on ground that is nearly level while those growing on our national against which falling branches roll are always deeply on the upper side and as we have seen are sometimes burned down the thing of all was to see the hopeful many of them and bent with the pressure of winter snow yet bravely at ti e top helplessly and feet of and naturally immortal suddenly changed to dead yet the sun looked cheerily down the in the forest roof turning the black smoke to a beautiful brown as if all was for the best beneath the smoke clouds of the suffering forest we again pushed southward descending a side of the east fork and climbing another into new forests and groves not a whit less noble the meanwhile had been resting while i was weary and sleepy with almost ceaseless wanderings giving only an hour or two each night or day to sleep in my log home way here seemed to become more and mo i impossible in common phrase for four legged two or three miles was all the day s work as far as distance was concerned nevertheless just before we found a charming camp ground with plenty of grass and a forest to study that had felt no fire for many a year the camp hollow was evidently a favorite home of bears on many of the trees at a height of six or eight feet their the were inscribed in f flowing strokes on the soft bark where they had stood up like cats to stretch their limbs both hands every a pen the handsome curved lines of their writing take the form of remarkably regular pointed arches producing a truly ornamental effect i looked and listened half expecting to see some of the writers alarmed and withdrawing from the unwonted disturbance also looked and listened for fear bears instinctively and have a very keen nose for them when i turned him loose instead of going to the best grass he kept cautiously near the camp fire for protection but was careful not to step on me the great night passed away in deep peace and the rosy morning were searching the grove ere i awoke from a long blessed sleep the breadth of the belt here is about the same as on the north side of the river extending rather thin and scattered in some places among the noble pines from near the main forest belt of the range well back towards the frosty peaks where most of the trees are growing on but little changed as yet two days scramble above bear hollow i enjoyed an interesting interview with deer soon after sunrise a little company of four came to my c p ib mid den in i l and after much cautious observation quietly our national began to eat breakfast with me keeping perfectly still i soon had their confidence and they came so near i found no difficulty while admiring their graceful manners and gestures in what plants they were eating thus gaining a far finer knowledge and sympathy than comes by killing and hunting indian summer gold with scarce a of winter in it was painting the glad wilderness in richer and yet richer colors as we scrambled across the south into the basin of the here the big tree forests are still more extensive and furnished abundance of work in tracing boundaries and crowned up and down back and forth exploring studying admiring while the great days passed on and away but in the calm of the camp fire the end of the season seemed near too often brought to mind he became doubly though i never rode him and always left him in camp to feed and rest while i the invincible bread business also troubled me again the last were consumed and grass was becoming scarce even in the naturally inaccessible	28

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