Two Weeks in the Yosemite and Vicinity (1883) by J. M. Buckl. J. M. Buckley Copyright 1883, by Phillips & Hunt

Transcription

1 Two Weeks in the Yosemite and Vicinity (1883) by J. M. Buckl J. M. Buckley Copyight 1883, by Phillips & Hunt

2 Table of Contents Two Weeks in the Yosemite and Vicinity (1883) by J. M. Buckley...1 TWO WEEKS...2 THE YOSEMITE...3 AND VICINITY...3 TWO WEEKS IN THE YOSEMITE AND VICINITY...6 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS...21 YOSEMITE AND VICINITY...22 TRACTS...24 Home College Seies...24 About the Autho...25 Bibliogaphical Infomation...26 i

3 Two Weeks in the Yosemite and Vicinity (1883) by J. M. Buckley Home College Seies. Numbe ~~~~~ ~~~~~ Foty-Eight. Two Weeks in the Yosemite and Vicinity (1883) by J. M. Buckley 1

4 TWO WEEKS IN TWO WEEKS 2

5 THE YOSEMITE AND VICINITY. BY REV. J. M. BUCKLEY, D.D. NEW YORK: PHILLIPS & HUNT. CINCINNATI: WALDEN & STOWE. THE YOSEMITE 3

6 Cathedal Rock. Copyight 1883, by Phillips & Hunt, New Yok. Home College Seies. Numbe foty-eight. AND VICINITY. 4

7 AND VICINITY. 5

8 TWO WEEKS IN THE YOSEMITE AND VICINITY. Most touists give but two o thee days to the Yosemite; and some, having bad weathe, o not ecoveing fom thei fatigue befoe leaving the Valley, ae disappointed, and send to thei fiends and the public patial and contadictoy desciptions. Cautioned by old taveles against this blunde, I made aangements fo all the time necessay to visit thooughly the Big Tees and the Yosemite, and consumed nealy thee weeks in what was in expeience, and is in ecollection, one of the most delightful, healthful, inspiing, and instuctive tous of my life. What I saw, and something of what I felt, will be biefly and familialy, yet accuately, told in the following pages, the fiendly lette and not the fomal essay being my model. The excusion was made in May and June, 1871, and we wee faily on the way to the Calaveas Gove of Big Tees when we took the stage fo Muphy s Camp, which is only sixteen miles fom the Gove. The keepes of the vaious inns o lodging-places along the oute had not been duly infomed of the unusual ush of tavel, which began about the time we left San Fancisco; and at the fist stopping place we wee met by a paty one of whom told us that they had just eaten the last mosel of food in the house. As it was then past noon, and we had taken a vey ealy beakfast, this was painful intelligence; but, like most bad news, the fist account was wose than the tuth; fo afte some complaint and delay we secued a hunch of bead, potatoes, and pok, which hungy people can dispose of without difficulty, though Jews, Mohammedans, and dyspeptics might find some touble with the pok. But, as we ate all the landlod had, (as he solemnly declaed,) what the thee stage-loads behind us, who also dined thee, found to satisfy thei cavings, we have neve been able to guess. We eached the hotel at the Calaveas Gove late in the evening, afte moe than thity miles of staging, and to ou constenation found the only house full to oveflowing; but afte the usual bustle the ladies wee accommodated with decent ooms and beds, while the gentlemen wee sent into the gaet, whee thee wee about twenty single cots. I went to one, and was about to lie down, when the clek said that it belonged to the hostle; the next was occupied by a dive, and simila infomation was given until the fifth was eached, which I was allowed to take. It equied, howeve, much agument, pesuasion, and clamo, to get clean linen, the clek pesisting in saying that the bed had not been used; but a stuck juy of the guests, afte inspecting the same, endeed a vedict that my inteest and that of the taveling public equied, at least, clean sheets and pillow-eases. Of the twenty men who gaoted togethe that night thee should neve apply to thei night sest the wods of the poet, gentle sleep, fo they ae sonoous snoes, the unconscious beathings of one in paticulaesembling a mingling of tumpet blasts and steam whistles, while anothe s snoe sounded like the fa-off oll of the ocean. Weay as we wee, these songstes of the night kept us awake until we became accustomed to thehythm, which was not until towad moning. Afte an ealy and vey good beakfast, (fo the landlod knows how to keep a hotel when he is not ove cowded,) we cossed the oad and enteed the wondeful Gove of which we have head so much in the few yeas since it was discoveed. TWO WEEKS IN THE YOSEMITE AND VICINITY. 6

9 The day was pleasantly spent in exploing the egion and measuing some of the tees. You will not expect me to use the mavelous language about the Big Tees which the lectues and newspape coespondents have developed into a style as much lage than that of odinay convesation as the tees ae lage than ose bushes. I shall be content with the humble task of giving you some infomation taken fom accuate souces, and sketching the walks which I took though the Gove. The Calaveas Gove of Big Tees, says Pof. Whitney, the geologist, who gives M. Hutchings as his authoity on this point, was the fist one discoveed by white men, and the date was the sping of The peson who fist stumbled on these vegetable monstes was M. A. T. Dowd, a hunte employed by the Union Wate Company to supply the men in thei employ with fesh meat while digging a canal to bing wate down to Muphy s. Accoding to the accounts, the discovee found that his stoy gained so little cedence among the wokmen that he was obliged to esot to a use to get them to the spot whee the tees wee. I shall now condense, fom Pof. Whitney s wok and othe souces, an account which will enable those who ead this sketch to know without difficulty what to believe and to state about these wondes of the vegetable wold. The stoy of thei discovey soon got into the papes of Califonia, and was epublished in the Athenaeum and the Gadenes Chonicle of London. In Decembe, 1853, D. Lindley published a scientific desciption of the Big Tees, and, supposing them to be an entiely new genus, he named them Wellingtonia, and added, to designate the species, the title Gigantea. But futhe examination showed that the Big Tee is of the same natue as the Redwood; and the Redwood had fomely been named Sequoia, afte an Indian of the Cheokee tibe who invented an alphabet of eighty-six chaactes fo his people. Since a celebated Fench botanist, named Decaisne, has conclusively poved that the Redwood and the Big Tee ae of the same genus, the Big Tee is commonly called Sequoia Gigantea Decaisne. Pof. Whitney obseves that it is to the happy accident of the geneic ageement of the Big Tee with the Redwood that we owe it that we ae not now obliged to call the lagest and most inteesting tee of Ameica afte an English militay heo. A geat demand fo seeds of the Big Tee spang up, and hundeds of thousands of the tees (millions it is said) ae gowing in diffeent pats of the wold fom seeds planted. They gow moe than two feet pe yea; and soon poduce cones, which, though symmetical and pleasing to the eye, ae not as lage as would be supposed. So many impobable even incedible things have been said of the Big Tees, that I was pepaed to find them much smalle than they ae geneally epesented to be, but was ageeably supised, fo they ae gande and moe majestic than I had eve imagined. On enteing the Gove a few of the lowe Tees only wee visible to me, and compaing them with some magnificent Sycamoes that stand in an old chuch-yad nea Philadelphia, Pa., the Sequoia seemed somewhat highe than the Sycamoes, but not astonishingly high. Knowing the height of the Sycamoes to be less than one hunded and ten feet, and how easily we ae deceived by compaisons of what we see with what we emembe, I walked aound one of the Tees, and found it as lage as fou of the Sycamoes; and, by eteating fom its base to secue a pope angle of vision, saw that it must be moe than two hunded and twenty feet in height. I then passed on to examine in otation all the Tees, of which thee ae in this Gove ove ninety of immense size, besides many smalle, any one of which, standing on the Atlantic coast, would be consideed a geat cuiosity, and would attact visitos fom evey diection. TWO WEEKS IN THE YOSEMITE AND VICINITY. 7

10 The pincipal Tees have names such as follows: Name. Cicumfeence six feet fom gound. Height. Keystone State 45 feet 325 feet Mothe of the Foest 61 feet (without bak) 315 feet Daniel Webste 47 feet 307 feet That you may fom a bette idea of these heights, I will paallel them with objects with which you ae familia: Height. Tinity Spie, New Yok Bunke Hill Monument Height. 284 feet 221 feet Hence, to epesent the height of the Keystone State, we might imagine the Booklyn pie of the East Rive Bidge, which, as it now stands, is ove one hunded feet high, placed on the apex of Bunke Hill Monument, o a fine elm tee placed as a plume on the top of Tinity Chuch steeple. One of the Tees was cut down, and to accomplish it, took five men twenty-two days; and afte it was cut though,equied thee days labo to make it fall down its weight being so geat that it emained fimly in its place. The stump still exists, having been smoothed off about six feet fom the gound, and a small house has been eected ove it. I measued its diamete, and found it a little ove twenty-fou feet. When the bak was on it the entie diamete of the tunk must have been twenty-seven o twenty-eight feet, which gives a cicumfeence of moe than eighty feet. It is quite common fo lage paties to dance on the stump; and semons have been peached to congegations of fom fifty to seventy-five pesons, who had abundant oom on that singula floo. I was anxious to see the Tee though which it is said that a man can ide two hunded feet o moe on hoseback; a stoy which I had often head but not fully cedited. But who shall dispute with facts? Thee lies the hollow Tee, and people do ide though it on hoseback, fo which the space is ample; and if it wee not, the thickness above fo seveal feet might be cut away without coining to the suface. I also measued seveal of the Tees and found that the measuements of the Geological Suvey ae absolutely coect. The stoies about the wondeful age of these Tees ae now effectually exploded. Pof. Whitney says, that theings of annula gowth show that one of the lagest of them is one thousand thee hunded yeas old. This would be geat fo the age of a man, and highly espectable fo that of a nation; but those who have said that when Nebuchadnezza was on his thone, and Solomon built the temple, and Cesa cossed the Rubicon, these Tees wee in thei gloy, have no authoity fo thei statements. TWO WEEKS IN THE YOSEMITE AND VICINITY. 8

11 The puity and tanslucency of the atmosphee add much to the enjoyment of the tavele, as the belt occupied by the Gove is fou thousand seven hunded and fifty-nine feet, o moe than two-thids the height of Mount Washington in New Hampshie, above the level of the sea. The longe I wandeed though the Gove, the deepe the impession of its gandeu became. Like Niagaa, it seems to gow as we gaze upon it, and the spectacle ennobles all who behold it. Subsequently I had the pleasue of exploing the Maiposa Gove, of which I shall not say much fo want of space. It is five thousand five hunded feet above the sea level, o at an elevation nealy twice as geat as that of the Catskill Mountain House, and is eached on foot o hoseback fom Clak s Ranch, fom which it is about five miles; ove which distance an ascent of one thousand five hunded feet is spead. Hee thee ae about one hunded and twenty-five tees ove foty feet in cicumfeence. The aveage height of the tees in this Gove is not as geat as that of those in the Calaveas, but the aveage cicumfeence is consideably geate. They have been much injued by fie, yet the effect of the whole, with the Pitch and Suga Pines, the Douglas Spuce, the White Fi, the Bastad Ceda and othe tees associated with the Sequoia Gigantea, is vey gand. The tees in this Gove ae not named, as in the Calaveas, but ae numbeed. I give the height, cicumfeence at gound, and cicumfeence six feet above the gound, of the five lagest, accoding to the tables of the State Suvey: Height Cicumfeence at gound. Six feet above gound. No feet 6 inches Pof. Whitney says of this Tee: Splendid tee; ove one hunded feet in cicumfeence oiginally, but much buned at base. Height. Cicumfeence at gound. Six feet above gound. No feet 92 feet 7 inches No feet 81 feet 6 inches 67 feet 2 inches No. 64 feet 82 feet 4 inches 50 feet No. 60 feet 81 feet 6 inches 59 feet I enjoyed my lonely tip though this Gove, (fo I was on foot and alone,) to a degee which would have eached ecstasy if thee had been two o thee congenial spiits with me. Thee ae, howeve, two sots of pesons who might have spoiled it the paot guide, who would have pofaned the sanctity of that fist temple of God by his mecenay chatte, and the posaic tavele, who would have been continually calculating the numbe of cods of wood o feet of lumbe in each tee. I will emak one fact about the Big Tees, which detacts something fom thei powe to impess pemanently. Thei fom is simple and easily emembeed. Afte they have been once seen, they cannot be fogotten; hence, when evisited, they appea just as they ae expected to appea, and the imagination having but little oom to play, the impession diminishes. It is not so with mountain sceney, which cannot be emembeed as it is, because of its vastness and vaiety, of summit and valley, of gentle slope and pecipice, of ivulet and cataact: no with the Falls of Niagaa, o even of Schaffhausen, whee the ush of the toent and the eve-changing, neve-ending vaiety TWO WEEKS IN THE YOSEMITE AND VICINITY. 9

12 of light and shade defy the ecollection and make it impossible that they should be to the eye a second time as at fist; no with such gand woks of achitectue as St. Paul s, London, o St. Pete s, Rome, whee the stuctue is immense, and the fom, though symmetical is yet complicated, and not to he fully compehended by a glance. The simplicity and egulaity of the stuctue of the Tees explain the fact that nealy all taveles ae moe ageeably impessed with the Gove they visit fist. If that be the Maiposa, though they aftewad exploe the Calaveas, they will speak moe enthusiastically of the fome, while the impession on my mind was geate at the Calaveas. I will now take leave of the Sequoia Gigantea by expessing my high admiation of Pof. Whitney s book on the subject, which was of geat use to me at evey step, and on which I elied moe and moe as I tested its unfailing accuacy. He thus closes his emaks on the Big Tee: It occus in geat abundance, of all ages and sizes, and thee is no eason to suppose that it is now dying out, o that it belongs to a past geological ea, any moe than the Redwood. The age of the Big Tees is not so geat as that assigned by the highest authoities to some of the English Yews. Neithe is thei height as geat by fa as that of an Austalian species, the Eucalyptus Amygdalina, any of which have, on the authoity of D. Mülle, the eminent Govenment botanist, been found to measue ove fou hunded feet. One, indeed, eaches the enomous elevation of fou hunded and eighty feet, thus outstipping the tallest Sequoia by one hunded and fifty-five feet. * * * On the whole it may be stated that thee is no known tee which appoaches the Sequoia in gandeu, thickness and height being both taken into consideation, unless it be the Eucalyptus. The lagest Austalian tee yet epoted is said to be eighty-one feet in cicumfeence at fou feet fom the gound; this is nealy, but not quite, as lage as some of the lagest of the Big Tees of Califonia. We will now take up the jouney in the ode of time, and leave the Calaveas Gove fo the Yosemite Valley. Ououte was back to Muphy s Camp, thence to Sonoa, thence to Gaote, and thence to Cane s Flat. Vey much of the county has been woked fo gold, and pesents on that account a peculia aspect. Natue neve leaves, afte any of its convulsions, the face of a county in a condition at all esembling that of a egion which has been woked fo gold. Hee and thee we saw men still at wok; and one whom I questioned infomed me that his aveage yield fo that season had been about eight dollas pe day. In fome yeas, howeve, the yield had been much geate. About seven miles befoe eaching Sonoa, some of us left the coach in ode to elieve it of a pat of the weight, as the hills wee becoming vey steep. The Rev. D. A. Goodsell, of Connecticut, paticipated with me in this pedestian exploit, and that it may be undestood how much the hoses wee elieved by ou depatue, the following poblem in mental aithmetic is given: If fifteen pounds be deducted fom the weight of the wite, and the emainde be multiplied by two, the poduct will be the weight of his companion; but if twenty-five pounds be added to the weight of both, and the sum be multiplied by five, the esult will be one ton. We did not expect to walk moe than a few miles, as the hou was high noon, and the sun shone, oathe blazed, upon us most unmecifully; but, though some misundestanding, the stage passed us, and we wee obliged to walk to Sonoa, whee we expected to find the vehicle and the balance of the load in waiting. In this we wee disappointed, as the dive had pushed on. So, afte dining in this ancient town, (ancient fo Califonia,) we pocued a couple of fleet hoses, and ovetook the paty at the next halting place, twelve miles futhe on. When we eached Ga-o-te, a place whose name ovethows the famous quotation fom Shakspeae, TWO WEEKS IN THE YOSEMITE AND VICINITY. 10

13 what s in a name? that which we call a ose By any othe name would smell as sweet, we found the house cowded, and, as thee o fou loads, aveaging fifteen each, aived with us, whee we wee to stay the night became a seious question. We found in the paty two o thee English noblemen, taveling as pivately as possible, and moe modest, unassuming gentlemen we neve met. About ten o clock the ladies got places to sleep, some of which might be called beds, othes wee beds as it wee, o so to speak; but the gentlemen wee obliged to sleep whee they could. The English lods slept on the floo in the ba-oom; and, though its odos wee not balmy, thei influence, combined with that of pevious fatigue, was sopoific. Seven o eight of us wee disposed of in a small sitting-oom my pedestian fiend on an antique settee nealy two feet too shot fo him. I was stetched on an ancient and populous buffalo hide, fom which dives fleas wee disposed to flee, not futhe, howeve, than to the peson of the tavele who tespassed on thei teitoy. The est of the floo was occupied by five men in evey possible elation to each othe. Daniel O Connell once confounded an abusive woman by calling he a paallelogam. If he had been of ou paty, looked at fom one point of view, he would have been pat of a paallelogam himself; and fom anothe, pat of a tiangle; and fom anothe, the ac of a cicle. But, though neithe fleas, no bad ai, no the had floos, no a leathe valise fo a pillow, could keep me awake, a lusty snoe succeeded in doing so, until, in self-defense, I was obliged to awaken him, afte which he could sleep no moe, and I obtained a little est, and but a little, fo at two in the moning we wee oused with the infomation that the stage would stat in half an hou. Up we spang and contended fo ou tun at the tin wash-basin, huiedly swallowed ou beakfast, which was good enough fo the pice, though we would athe the pice had been moe, if the quality and vaiety had impoved with it. At thee we left the hotel, all, o nealy all, in good spiits, and about eleven o clock eached the base of the lofty mountain on the summit of which lies the cleaing whee the stage oute ceased and the hoseback iding began. I poposed to one of the Englishmen to walk np the mountain, to which he assented, and we made the five miles in about two hous and a half; taveling at a ate which, though vey slow on a plain, any one who attempted to keep with us on such a steep ascent would find to be sufficiently apid. The supeioity of the hose as a tavele does not accompany that animal into high mountain egions. An odinay pedestian can ascend a mountain much soone than a stage o caiage, howeve light its load, can be dawn up by hoses; and a fist-ate mountainee can go much faste than a man on hose o mule back, eithe up o down a steep mountain oad. This statement does not apply to meely hilly oads; on them, in descents and on the intevening levels, the hoses make up what they lose in ascending, but it is tue of all long and steep ascents and descents. And on any oads, fo a month o six weeks, pedestians can be found who can tavel fathe and end the jouney in bette condition than any hoses, though the enduance of the mule defies all competition except that of the camel and the domeday. Ou walk was delightful. The quietness of the wildeness was now and then boken by the statled movements of some small animal o bid, distubed by ou appoach, as we tuned fom the main path to dink at a sping o book, to suvey some immense tee, o to shoten the oute by taking a staighte though steepe line, to some distant tun in the oad. At each new view of inceasing beauty the Englishman would say, That s a um view, and if any thing unusual took place he would say, That s a um thing. This is an adjective with which the eades of Dickens ae somewhat familia; but if it is to be applied to so many diffeent subjects, its meaning should be expanded by diffeences of intonation. Oueal hope was to each the summit in time to make a good selection of hoses fo ouselves and fiends, but in this we wee disappointed by the exteme democacy of the agent in chage, who allowed no choice to be made until the whole company should aive. So that we had an hou to wait; nevetheless, we ageed that the walk and subsequent est wee moe pleasant than the weaisome lumbeing of the stage. TWO WEEKS IN THE YOSEMITE AND VICINITY. 11

14 At last all wee eady, and then one of the most amusing scenes you can imagine occued. Some of the ladies had not been on hoseback fo twenty yeas, and some neve. They wee told that to ide on side-saddles is both inconvenient and dangeous, and that it is much bette to ide like thei husbands and bothes. Some of the younge ladies had an unpleasant consciousness of the novelty of the situation, and some detemined to sacifice comfot to custom; but, afte a bief tial, all but two o thee ode like couies, and, amid much laughte and good spiits, the cavalcade stated fo the Valley. My heavy fiend, who, unlike many lage men, is well-popotioned and a fineide, found a poweful mule, on which he sat with dignity and ease; and I pocued a gaceful and swift pony which moved unde me as easily as a cadle unde a sleeping child. My fiend s mule was a emakable animal. When all was eady, and the signal was given to stat, this mule looked on his maste, looked on the company, looked on the whole univese as fa as he could see it, and opened his mouth little by little, the mighty chasm yawning until it seemed like one of the heads of alligatos which adon pimay geogaphies, and fom the abyss came foth a sound such as only a mule o his fathe can poduce loud bass, baitone, teno, all mixed, not blended, polonged until the mountain ang again. It was a tumpet blast, and its inspiing notes stied evey animal in the paty. Having utteed this voice, befoe my fiend had time to deseve such a epoof as Balaam eceived, the mule staightened his eas and stated. We shall hea his voice again. The cavalcade numbeed about sixty, and pesented a pictuesque appeaance as it wound along the naow bidle path. A moe minute desciption of ououte will now be inteesting to those who have followed us thus fa. At the point whee we took the hoses, we wee some thousands of feet highe than the level of the Yosemite, and wee, by the path, about twenty miles distant fom the hotels. Pof. Whitney will explain the necessity of thus ascending and descending so many thousands of feet as follows: The tavele is obliged to ise fom thee thousand to thee thousand five hunded feet highe than the point which he wishes to each, namely, the bottom of the Yosemite Valley, which is only fou thousand feet above the sea level, while the highest point on the Maiposa tail is seven thousand fou hunded feet in elevation, and the summit on the Coulteville and Big Oak Flat side not much less. The eason of this we shall undestand bette when we daw nea the walls of the Valley. Moving as we wee, along the side, though vey nea the summit, of the Siea, and sometimes passing ove it, we caught, evey few moments, tansient views of magnificent sceney in the distance, but fo the geate pat of the fist ten miles the supeb foests which cove the egion pevented ou seeing any thing else, no did we much desie any thing moe gand than the lofty Cedas and Suga and Pitch Pines, as well as the majestic Fis, which stand like sentinels on evey side. Having a fleet hose, and but little fo him to cay, and being accustomed to mountaineeing, I fomed the pesumptuous and hazadous esolution of getting into the Valley befoe all the othes. Of couse, thee was no difficulty in passing the ladies and seveal. eldely gentlemen, no was thee any touble in distancing seveal fine ides who wee miseably mounted; but thee wee seveal gentlemen who wee well-mounted, and capital ides, and had the same esolution which I had made. The supeio stength of my fiend s mule ovecame all the disadvantages of his weight, and he kept well up with the foemost. One eason fo ou desie to get in fist was, that thee ae but fou o five houses in the Valley, the day was Satuday, thee wee indications of a stom, and we wee told that the hotels wee cowded whence we concluded that somebody would have vey poo accommodations. Allowing my pony his own gait, I had passed all save two paties, one of thee, the othe of five, of which the five wee a few hunded yads behind the thee. I ovetook them at a point whee the path fo a shot distance is vey steep, and thee tuning aside at a apid cante, I undetook to pass them, when, hoible to tell, the gith boke, the saddle tuned, and I was on the gound, not hut, but demoalized, and compelled to ask one of my ivals to assist me to adjust the saddle TWO WEEKS IN THE YOSEMITE AND VICINITY. 12

15 and get unde way. The fleetness of my hose, howeve, enabled me to pass all but two, and by one of these I should cetainly have been beaten if he had not met with a simila accident. As it ended, the two of the advance paty and myself ode in side by side. Thee is a patial view of the Valley at a point called the Stand Point of Silence. I did not pause thee, as it seemed bette to each the end of the jouney as soon as possible, especially as the uppe pat of the Valley is not visible at this point. Just beyond we began apidly to descend into the Valley. It is about this pat of the oute that such thilling adventues ae told such as this that the ovehanging ocks poject so that one is obliged to ide on the exteme edge to avoid being knocked off the pecipice, which happening, the unfotunate man would fall pependiculaly some thousands of feet. Thee ae, indeed, many appalling depths, and the path is sometimes naow, and if a hose wee blind, and his ide intoxicated o asleep, the animal might wande out of the path and meet with disaste; but thee ae no places along eithe of the main outes whee one is in dange of being knocked off as stated. Thee ae few points whee a hoseman meeting anothe would not find oom to pass; and thee is no spot whee, if hose and ide fell ove the pecipice fom the path, they would fall pependiculaly two hunded feet, though thee would be ample scope fo them to dash andoll below fo a long distance. Any woman not moe than seventy yeas old, if in fai health, can ide the whole distance without any occasion fo fight. A vey heavy peson in some of the steepest descents might do well to dismount, though it is not necessay. Indignation at those who have exaggeated the peils of the oute, and thus deteed timid pesons fom enteing, was feely expessed by many; and one of the paty of thee, an eloquent Pesbyteian clegyman of San Fancisco, made the whole descent with his hands in his pockets, sitting bolt upight on his hose s back. Both the Maiposa oute and that which we took ae evey way as safe as odinay mountain tails. Still, let no one expect to find them like the Boulevads, o the avenues in Cental Pak. The last five miles ae though the Valley, of which we could see nothing, as it was now quite dak. I selected the middle of the thee hotels, Black s, and obtained quates fo the eight who wee immediately of ou paty, and while sitting in the poch saw a company of men binging up the steps what seemed to be the body of a man. On inquiy I found that an Italian gentleman had fallen, that aftenoon, ove a pecipice, and was fatally injued. The poo man died that night. How he met with the accident will be descibed in the naative of ou visit to the same spot. Feaing lest ou paty, heaing of this accident, should suppose some of thei own fiends to be injued, Iode back towad them, and soon met M. Goodsell, to whom I communicated the sad intelligence of the accident and the joyful news that we had good accommodations. He infomed me that one of ou paty was badly hut, not by falling o being thown, but by a kick fom a vicious hose. His wound, though painful, and sufficient to keep him in bed fo a few hous, and to excite the sympathy of his fiends, was not as bad as it would have been if it had been wose; and by all but the suffee, and pehaps by him now, may be classed among the inteesting adventues of the tip. When my fiend left his faithful mule, the animal, with evey appeaance of affection, tuned his face towad his late ide, and made the valley ing again with his mighty voice. The note had something mavelous in it; and to this day we almost fancy that we hea it evebeating among the hills. Some of the ladies, on dismounting, found that thei limbs efused to obey, and thei mode of motion esembled that of a cab; but the stiffness soon passed away, all had excellent appetites, all wee cheeful, and all slept well. I ought to say, howeve, that the intelligence of the fatal accident efeed to thew a tinge of gloom ove the whole company. The next day was Sunday, and it ained fom moning till night. In the evening we had a bief sevice, at which most of the guests wee pesent. On Monday the stom continued fo the geate pat of the day, and I TWO WEEKS IN THE YOSEMITE AND VICINITY. 13

16 employed the intevals in iding on hoseback though the Valley and making myself familia with its topogaphy. It is easy to see why we must ascend seveal thousand feet above the Valley in ode to get into it. It is so deep, and has such steep sides, that it cannot be enteed fom below, but must be appoached fom above and on the side. (Since my visit, howeve, the Indian tail, moe than two thousand feet lowe, has been woked, and I lean has aleady been, o soon will be, declaed open and safe. All obust and leisuely taveles will, howeve, do well to take one of the high tails in enteing o depating, as the sceney moe than compensates fo the inceased labo. One geat advantage of the lowe tail will be the possibility of enteing and leaving the Valley much ealie and late in the season, as the snow will melt in the Sping soone and will not fall until late in the Autumn on the loweoute than on the summit of the Siea, ove which the old Maiposa and Big Oak tails un.) I am going to give you simply an outline at fist, and then descibe the excusions made. The Geological Suvey, aleady quoted, says, The Valley pope consists of thee pats. Fist, the bottom. This is a nealy level aea, having a gentle slope. The width of the space between the débis slopes is vey vaiable. In the uppe pat of the Valley it aveages something less than half a mile. A little below the Thee Bothes it closes to an eighth of a mile in width, and between El Capitan and Cathedal Rock the Valley is naowed down so that thee is only just oom fo the ive to pass. Below this it opens out again, and foms two chaming little patches of meadow of about twenty aces each in extent. Thee ae altogethe one thousand one hunded and foty-one aces of land in the Valley pope, of which seven hunded and foty-five ae meadow and the emainde a sandy soil. The elevation of the bottom of the Valley above the sea level is in ound numbes fou thousand feet. Though the Valley flows the Meced Rive, about seventy feet in width. The walls of this naow Valley ae fom thee to fou thousand feet in height. These ae diffeently named, accoding to thei shape and the fancy of those who have named them; and it is but simple tuth to say, that evey potion of the Yosemite wall is sublime. Ove these pecipitous, black, jagged ocks, foeve shatteed, and the same foeve, the gandest watefalls and cataacts in the wold dash and foam. If we suppose ouselves in the lowe pat of the Valley, on the left is El Capitan, an immense block of ganite pojecting squaely out into the Valley, and pesenting an almost vetical shap edge thee thousand thee hunded feet in elevation. It can be seen in clea weathe fifty o sixty miles. Opposite is the Bidal Veil Fall, which leaps at fist six hunded and thity feet in the clea, and then plunges down in cascades thee hunded feet moe. Opposite to this is the Vigin Teas Fall, moe than one thousand feet high. Then, beyond the Bidal Veil Fall, is the Cathedal Rock, whose summit is two thousand six hunded and sixty feet above the Valley. Beyond this, and standing on the walls of the Valley, ae the Spies, isolated columns of ganite, at least five hunded feet high. On the othe side ae the Thee Bothes, which ise one behind anothe, the highest being thee thousand eight hunded and thity feet in elevation. Opposite to these is the Sentinel Rock, which towes above the ive thee thousand and foty-thee feet. About two miles above the Yosemite Falls the Valley divides into thee naowe chasms o cañons; the Meced Riveuns though the Middle, the Tenayo Fok though the left, and the South Fok though the ight. On the left, above the division, ises the Noth Dome, thee thousand five hunded and sixty-eight feet above the Valley, and nealy opposite to it is the Half Dome o South Dome, which is fou thousand seven hunded and thity-even feet high, absolutely pependicula fo moe than two thousand feet fom the summit, being pobably the only one of all the pominent points about the Yosemite which neve has been, and neve will be, todden by human foot. Up this nothwestely cañon is Mio Lake, and above it is TWO WEEKS IN THE YOSEMITE AND VICINITY. 14

17 Mount Watkins. To fom a pope idea of the puity of the atmosphee it must be emembeed that fou thousand feet must be added to the above heights, as the Valley itself is at that elevation above the level of the sea. Following the Meced we soon appoach the Venal Fall, which is about fou hunded feet in height; beyond which, fo about a mile, the ive plunges ove a seies of escapments, foming many cascades and apids, and then the Nevada Fall is eached, which is nealy six hunded feet in pependicula height. Behind and above it is the Cap of Libety, a solid mass of ganite, some two thousand feet fom its base, and nealy pependicula. Above and beyond the Nevada Fall ae the high Sieas. By efeence to this outline you can follow me without difficulty. On Monday I fist ode down to the Bidal Veil Fall, and fastening the hose to a tee, undetook to climb to its summit. A gentleman, just descending, said that he had gone as fa as he daed alone, and would etun if I would accompany him. Afte toiling about two hous we found it impossible to poceed futhe, and at a height of one thousand five hunded feet above the Meced Rive we suveyed the Valley. At ou left, and vey close, was the Bidal Veil Fall; beneath was the Meced, plunging tumultuously along; opposite was the Vigin Teas Fall, a hunded feet highe than the Staubbach of Switzeland, and in all espects moe beautiful; just above was the massive, smooth, white face of El Capitan, now patly coveed with snow and patly hidden by the clouds and vapos which ovehung and almost enveloped it. The gandeu of the spectacle defies desciption. Descending, I ode back to the hotel, and thence to the foot of the Yosemite Falls. These I saw by daylight, and stalight, and moonlight, and by the light of an immense fie of bush made beneath them. How shall I descibe them? All the desciptions I had ead o head seemed contemptible as I stood thee. A lady fom New England, whom I did not know, stood entanced with the beauty and gandeu of the scene. At last, tuning to the lady who accompanied he, she said, That is kind of petty, isn t it! I felt unspeakable contempt fo one who would dae to apply any thing less than sublime to such a spectacle: but if I wee to ty to descibe it, and wee to employ the most expessive language which could be commanded, and you wee to visit the Valley, and take my desciption with you and ead it thee, you contempt fo me would be as geat as that which I felt fo he. Thee is vey little talking thee. The common expessions of wonde, supise, admiation, o pleasue, ae not often head. Men and women gaze and ae silent, and even little childen ae made quiet by the ovewhelming majesty of the place. On Tuesday moning I tied to find some one who desied to ascend the moe difficult cañons on foot, but met with no success; all of my fiends desied to leave the next moning, and must ide to save time. Just as I was detemining to employ a guide, and go with no othe company, one of ou paty said, Thee is a Scotch gentleman in the office whom you ought to see. He says he has been hee thee weeks, and has walked though the whole egion, and if he could find a companion whose wind and limbs wee good he would stay a week longe. I hastened in and was intoduced. The Scotchman citically suveyed me and said, How long can you walk? I did not like his tone. It implied doubt of my pedestianism. As I had walked though most of the mountainegions of ou own county, and ove his native Highlands, I eplied, Eighteen hous without food o dink. He ose instantly and said, We will ascend the Noth Dome to-day. The ain in the Valley had been snow on the mountains, and I had not walked much since the peceding summe; but thee was no oom to hesitate. Though it was moe than twenty miles, some of it of teible climbing, I could not show the white feathe. TWO WEEKS IN THE YOSEMITE AND VICINITY. 15

18 At eight we stated, cossed the Valley, and just beyond the Yosemite Falls enteed the Indian Cañon. Fo a little while we talked; but when the climbing gew difficult we needed all ou beath, and hous passed away in silence. No poposition of est was made by my companion; I would not fist cy Hold! enough. At last, afte about fou hous, we met a noted photogaphe, accompanied by his assistant. They told us that the summit was coveed with snow, and enveloped in vapos, and advised us to tun back; but that would not do, fo neithe of us could in hono popose it. On we went, waded though the snow, and eached a point nealy a thousand feet highe than the Noth Dome and a mile to the noth of it. But fom that point to ou destination we walked on a magnificent ganite causeway, sometimes hundeds of yads with scace a seam. At thee o clock we wee on the Dome; beneath wee the Tenayo Fok and Mio Lake; opposite, seeming nea enough to touch, the stupendous Half Dome; to the east, the Sentinel Dome, and beyond, the Sentinel Rock, while in diffeent diections we saw the vaious goups of the high Sieas, fom ten to fouteen thousand feet above the level of the sea. It was piecingly cold, the summit was at intevals enveloped in clouds, and the wind blew violently. Heaping togethe quantities of decayed wood, we built a geat fie, to wam ou hands and show ou fiends at the hotel that we wee eally thee. While gatheing wood we found a bottle containing the names of a paty of fou, one of whom was a woman, who had made the ascent some yeas befoe. Afte washing ou sandwiches down ou dy thoats with some snow wate, we began the descent, and though it was long afte dak when we eached the hotel, we wee in fine spiits and had settled two things, which in ouemaining tips eceived confimation one was that my Scotch fiend was much moe expet in keeping and finding a tail than I, and the othe that my eyes wee moe eliable fo distant obsevations than his. This enabled each to espect himself, and compelled him to espect the othe. As fo powes of enduance, he seemed satisfied, fo he obseved that he did not have to hold back on my account. I did not deem it necessay to tell him that if he had let out any moe he might have been compelled to hold back. The next moning, afteequesting ou accommodating landlod to keep ouooms fo us, as we should not etun fo some days, we walked to Mio Lake. This little lake deives its deseved celebity fom the sublime sceney suounding it, and which is eflected fom its placid bosom; and as the sceney is gande than that which suounds othe lakes, the eflection is moe beautiful. My fiend, the Scotchman, whose name is Maxwell, said that thee wee good fish thee, and he would catch some. While he did so I slept, hoping to, fully ecove fom the fatigue of the pevious day, which fo a beaking in was athe sevee. The fish, when caught and cooked by a man who had a saloon thee, wee eaten, but they had a vey peculia effect on us both. We became vey sick, and concluded that the cook had used two pounds of gease to one pound of fish. Retuning, we cossed the Meced Rive on a log, and began to ascend towad the Venal Fall. In evey diection the sceney was gand, but when we eached the Fall itself we wee moe than delighted with its beauty. Thee times as high as Niagaa its volume, of couse, not nealy as geat it was yet the lagest we had seen in the Valley. The ock behind this Fall is a pefectly squae-cut mass of ganite, extending acoss the cañon, and the path up its side nea the Fall winds aound and along a steeply sloping mountain side. The pependicula pat of the ascent is sumounted by the aid of laddes, which should be eplaced by a substantial and well-potected staicase. This was witten by Pof. Whitney, and the staicase has since been built, so that now the ascent is as safe as the entance to a chuch. It was hee that the Italian lost his life. One of the laddes ested on a ledge, pehaps ten feet long and fou o five in width. Seveal ladies and gentlemen wee descending, and the unfotunate man, when he eached the ledge just mentioned, tuned aound to offe his assistance to a lady just coming down. When he thus tuned, his back was towad the pecipice, and as she declined his aid he bowed and took one step backwad, which caused him to lose his balance, and he fell headlong upon the ocks beneath. Though the laddes had athe an unsafe look, no accident had happened thee, and while the politeness of the Italian is to be commended, and his fate deploed, his death is to be attibuted to caelessness. He had, just befoe, dank a bottle of wine, and though not gossly intempeate, habitually used wines and stonge liquos. If his head had been quite steady it seems impobable that he would have tuned his back on such a pecipice and then poceed to act as TWO WEEKS IN THE YOSEMITE AND VICINITY. 16

19 if he wee on a paiie. As it was now nealy night-fall we hailed with pleasue Snow s Cottage, at the foot of the Nevada Fall. Ms. Snow is a Vemonte, a woman of shewdness, activity, and disposed to please taveles. She knows how to cook all the plain dishes, and can funish fom he daiy milk and butte equal to those poduced in he native State. We had ecoveed fom the effects of ou fish dinne, the walk had given us fine appetites, we ate heatily, soon went to bed, and found that the sleep of the laboing man is sweet, whethe he eat little o much. At half-past six in the moning we beakfasted, and having povided ouselves with a sandwich, set out on a tou into the higheegions. Ououte fist was to the summit of the Nevada Fall, up a magnificently omantic path by its side. The top eached, we went out upon a causeway of ocks into the middle of the ive, and fom a kind of cape o pomontoy, just above the lip of the Fall, beheld the wondous panoama. Pependiculaly descending beneath us was the Nevada; then the little spot of geen, with Snow s house on it; below, the cascades; then, the Venal Fall; on the left, the lofty cest of the Sieas; on the ight, the Cap of Libety; and in the distance, potions of the main Valley, with a glimpse of El Capitan. Hee one might emain motionless fo a day, and neve gow weay o desie a change of position. My genial Scotch fiend suggested that I ought by all means to ascend the Cap of Libety, and offeed to point out the path; but said that as he had aleady made the ascent, he would amuse himself below. Accodingly I began the jouney up. The only difficulty was the steepness, fo the tees wee bunt off at the base of the mountain, and fo the last fifteen hunded feet of pependicula ascent it was smooth, bae ganite. The stillness and solitude deepened the impession of sublimity; the views continually inceased in gandeu and extent; and afte an hou and a half of fai wok the summit was eached. It is, as the name indicates, a mass of ganite shaped like a cap, entiely smooth, but having on it one o two tees whose oots absob all the eath thee is. The scene cannot be descibed, and cannot be fogotten. If you eve ascend the Cap of Libety, and emembe this bief sketch, you will be gateful to me fo not tying to descibe the view.* [* The atist has tied in the accompanying engaving to impat an idea of the gandeu of the Cap of Libety and the Nevada Fall. You must expand the pictue by supposing nine spies as high as Tinity, in New Yok, one above anothe, on the side of the Cap, and moe than thee Niagaas in height, plunging down the Nevada.] I had not been on the summit moe than twenty minutes when my companion appeaed, and said that he would point out some objects which could not be identified without a guide. He then poposed to advance to the shap edge of the cliff, and look at the ainbows playing about the Nevada Fall. He did so, and stetching his body fa out ove the pecipice, equested me to sit down upon his limbs, which done, he enjoyed fo a few moments the scene, and then offeed to exchange places with me, which was soon accomplished. If he had isen, o had been seized with a convulsion, no cannon ball eveushed though the ai moe apidly than my body would have plunged into the abyss. So long as neithe of these happened, thee was no dange whateve, and the enjoyment amply epaid the touble. The descent was soon made, and the question now aose, whee next? In the distance Cloud s Rest toweed up moe than ten thousand feet above the level of the sea, and about fou thousand five hunded above ou position. Afte a little delibeation, about noon we stated fo that mountain. At ou left, now, was the Cap of Libety, and beyond it the Half Dome, whose aspect is as imposing on this side as on the othe, though its fom is vey diffeent. Fo a few miles the way was quite level, and the walking easy; thee was no bidle path then, as thee is now, and we tusted to ou eyes. Often, on the vaious tous thus fa, we had head a peculia sound, esembling the noise of an immense TWO WEEKS IN THE YOSEMITE AND VICINITY. 17

20 woodpecke; but as we continued to hea it when we wee miles fom any tee, my companion insisted that it was the noise of the beating of ou own heats. But as we head nothing moe when standing close to each othe than when some distance apat, this theoy was given up. What the cause of the sound was we could not detemine, no could any of the old settles and taveles theeabouts explain, though othes claimed to have head it. At fou in the aftenoon we eached what we supposed to be the summit, but found that thee ae thee peaks, the highest of which had not been visible at all fom any point which we had passed befoe, and that it was at least half a mile fom us. On we went, detemined to attain it, and ate ou last sandwich on the vey cest at five o clock. We saw, fom Cloud s Rest, the Valley itself; Mount Lyell, thiteen thousand feet high; Mount Dana, thiteen thousand two hunded and twenty-seven feet high; Mount Hoffman, Mount Sta King, the Obelisk Range, and innumeable peaks andanges, and could apply to it a emak made by a well known tavele about anothe mountain, Only those who have been thee can tell what a mistake is made by omitting it. We now descended as apidly as possible, but it was afte eight o clock, and quite dak, when we tuned the base of the Cap of Libety and began the descent of theocky and pecipitous path down the side of the Nevada Fall. A descent is always moe peilous than an ascent, if the path be at all steep; to make that descent in dakness was peilous enough to be vey exciting. M. Maxwell, howeve, was equal to any pofessional guide, and I humbly followed. At nine the lights at Snow s wee just being extinguished when we knocked and voices wee head. Pomptly M. Snow usheed us in, pomptly Ms. Snow cooked us a suppe, and pomptly we ate it, and went at once to bed, declaing that such a day s wok had given us the appetite and sleeping powe of gowing boys. At six a. m. we wee up, and at 6.30 wee off again, this time detemined to bing up somewhee else that night, o sleep out on the mountains. moving eascended to the summit of the Nevada Fall, we continued ou walk along the side of the ive to the Little Yosemite Valley. This is a flat valley, o mountain meadow, about fou miles long and fom a half a mile to a mile wide. It is inclosed between walls fom two thousand to thee thousand feet high, with numeous pojecting buttesses and angles, topped with dome-shaped masses. The Little Yosemite Valley is a little ove six thousand feet above the sea level, o two thousand above the Yosemite, of which it is a kind of continuation, being on the same steam, namely, the main Meced. The views thee ae beautiful, unique, and some of them vey gotesque. About half-way up the Valley a cascade comes sliding down in a clea sheet ove a ounded mass of ganite; it was estimated at one thousand two hunded feet in height. Having spent some hous hee we etuned towad the Nevada Fall, in seach of a log on which to coss the ive. None being found, M. Maxwell poposed to wade it, and, emoving a potion of his clothing, made the attempt, but soon found that he had miscalculated the depth, and became thooughly soaked with the coldest wate. I pefeed to disobe entiely, and avoid the necessity of climbing in wet clothes. We then began the ascent of Mount Sta King, whichises steeply fom the shoe of the ive. The chapaal, a vey stiff, impenetable gowth, obstucted ou pogess at evey step. In addition to the steepness, the labo was as geat as that of focing though hedges, and at the end of two hous we seemed povokingly close to the ive. But by two o clock we wee as nea the summit as it is possible fo human beings to get by climbing. Pof. Whitney says: Sta King is the steepest cone in the egion with the exception of the Half Dome, and is exceedingly smooth, having hadly a beak in it; the summit is quite inaccessible, and we have not been able to measue its height. We think that we wee within six hunded feet pependicula of the summit. Having suveyed the mavelous panoama, which stetched fom Monte Diablo in the Coast Range, nea San Fancisco, to Mount Lyell and the Obelisk Range, we descended apidly towad the Illilouette, o South Fok, along which we wandeed fo pehaps two miles befoe finding a place to coss. M. Maxwell could coss a log ove a chasm five hunded feet deep, and his head would be wholly unmoved; not so with me though unde the encouagement of his example I impoved. On this occasion I cawled acoss a naow log, whee a slip would have been fatal, taking the attitude of boys playing the ancient game of see-saw. It was now five p. m., and we wee a long distance fom any human habitation. Accoding to Maxwell s judgment we began to climb almost pependiculaly up the mountain side. Two hous passed in silence and sevee toil, when M. M. cied out, TWO WEEKS IN THE YOSEMITE AND VICINITY. 18

21 Thee is a gisly! And so it was. The immense bute, howeve, showed no disposition to molest us, and walked slowly away into a ocky caven. Two o thee days befoe anothe had been seen by a paty of ladies and gentlemen, whose guide fomed them into a hollow squae in font of Si Buin; this gave him no altenative but to advance upon them; the squae boke into as many pieces as thee wee pesons, and the bea went on his way undistubed. At eight o clock, with ou tongues geatly swollen and hanging out of ou mouths with thist, thee having been neithe snow no wate on the last ascent, we eached the summit. The sun was just setting and the full moon ising opposite, and they seemed but a few miles apat. As theyose and set behind the vetical summits of mountainanges, it seemed as though thee was an invisible axis common to both, and that it was so inclined that one sank as the otheose. Neve have I beheld any thing moe beautiful in the Alps o any of ou Ameican mountains than the blended ays of the ising moon and setting suneflected fom the snowy Sieas. In one of ou ealie tips, knowing that the Scotch love and feely use stong liquos, I asked my companion what he thought of whisky as a stimulant in case of exhaustion. He eplied that he had taveled though Austalia, and many otheegions whee hadship and pivation wee theule, and had slept out many a night, and that while he was not a total abstinence man, he believed that evey dop of alcohol a man takes on such tous weakens his nevous and muscula system, and diminishes his powe of enduance. This was an ageeable supise. Up to this point ou only dink had been wate, but now we could find no wate, and ou tongues wee swollen and painful. M. Maxwell poduced a flask, and said, Shall we dink? but just then we descied a snowbank, which elieved ou immediate necessity. Except the loss of a few dops, necessay to educe the swelling of the tongue, and a little used on the feet, the flask went back as full as when we stated. We now walked apidly along the cest to the Glacie Peak, as my fiend and guide thought we could descend it; but it was feezing cold when we eached the cañon, and the light of the moon gave us no help on that side of the Valley. Afte some debate we concluded to attempt it, but half an hou s wok convinced us of its impacticability at night, though M. Maxwell and an Englishman named Coss had descended in the day-time. Acoss the Valley, fa up unde the Yosemite Fall, a huge fie was buning, kindled by M. Mui, a esident of the Valley, who had an engagement to spend the night thee with us, but we had failed to each it. The tempeatue was now about five degees below feezing point, ice fomed all aound us, and ou clothing, wet by the wate in the cañon, began to gow stiff. We had no time to lose, and walked at a apid pace to Peegoy s, aiving thee at twenty minutes of one in the moning, having walked and climbed steadily fom a little befoe 7 a. m. to a. m. next day, making just the eighteen hous I had foolishly boasted of in the beginning. Peegoy could give us no bed, no any dy clothes, so we sat ove the cook-stove until 5 o clock, when two guides got up and we slipped into thei places and slept till 6.30, when we beakfasted and aftewad ascended the Sentinel Dome, subsequently going down the Sentinel Rock Cañon to the hotel, which was eached Satuday aftenoon at fou o clock. If you ask whethe we wee fatigued, tuth equies me to say that afte tuning away fom the Glacie Peak to walk eight miles to Peegoy s, if memoy had failed we could still have told by ou sensations that we must have been walking; but thee was not a moment duing the whole week s wok when we wee not in bette physical and mental condition than when we began, excepting shot peiods of geat peil while we wee descending Glacie Peak and Sentinel Rock Cañons. TWO WEEKS IN THE YOSEMITE AND VICINITY. 19

22 Thee ae some, pehaps, who will say, I cannot see any pleasue, and I do see ciminal ecklessness, in such labos and exposues. To all such I thus eply: The labo is sweet to a genuine love of mountains. He pesonifies evey seemingly inaccessible cag and distant summit, detemines to conque it, and, having done so, feels his mental, moal, and physical systems alike baced fo futhe effot in any depatment. The exposues to an expeienced pedestian ae moe appaent than eal; and the possibilities of accident do not incease dange, because the knowledge of them leads to geate caution; not, indeed, the tembling caution wose than none, but the cae which expeience and steadiness of neve ende easy and almost instinctive. To those who can see no pleasue in such a tou I commend the following incident: On one occasion the celebated Robet Hall having ascended the dome of the Radcliffe Libay at Oxfod, England, beheld with aptue the vision of supassing beauty, and tuning to a fiend exclaimed, O! if this eath is so beautiful what must the New Jeusalem be! Soon aftewad the equally celebated Andew Fulle was taken to the same spot. Afte looking aound a moment he scatched his head, and said to the gentleman who was with him, Have you seen any new definition of justification by faith lately? Thee ae divesities of taste, and if you can see no pleasue in such tous, can you not spend you summes at Saatoga, and walk in slippes fom sping to sping, and dink the wates, and thus evince beyond dispute you manhood, and descent fom those bave men whom we eveently call ou fathes? On Sunday I went ove to Hutching s Hotel, and listened to an admiable semon deliveed by Rev. M. Pekins, a Congegational ministe of Wae, Mass., and in the evening had stength enough left to conduct a sevice of at least odinay length at Black s. The Yosemite is moe sublime than any cathedal, and the voices of its many wates moe musical than the most magnificent ochesta. Standing in awe befoe the silent, inaccessible, appaently immutable Half Dome, it is befitting us to say, as Moses said among the mountains of Asia, Lod, thou bast been ou dwelling-place in all geneations. Befoe the mountains wee bought foth, o eve thou hadst fomed the eath and the wold, even fom evelasting to evelasting, thou at God. On the 5th of Octobe, 1863, I stood on the Col de Balme in Switzeland. While the guide was caing fo the mules, I ascended an adjacent summit, five hunded feet highe, and met thee a Bitish office, taveling like myself, alone. Afte a few moments convesation he said, Look at Mont Blanc, with its myiad bistling cags; see that sunlight intensified a hunded times by the cathedals of ice fom which it is eflected; behold the Me de Glacé, does it notesemble that sea of glass mingled with fie? Could thee be any thing on eath moe sublime? I esponded, It is gand beyond imagination. But, said he, thee is something fa sublime than this. And what is that? I asked. He eplied, That the God who made all this, and by a wod could emand it all to nothingness and night, so loved you and me as to give his only begotten Son to live and die and ise fo us, that when this wondous panoama shall have passed away we shall be with Him foeve. This, as nealy as I can ecollect it, is the convesation which I had with the eloquent and spiitually minded Bitish office; and in the Yosemite I emembeed it and thought, Yes, that God, the Ceato of all that thills me hee, should give his Son to save me, is the sublimest of all possible conceptions. May those, who ead these wods have a tue sympathy with Natue in its gand manifestations, TWO WEEKS IN THE YOSEMITE AND VICINITY. 20

23 which cannot but elevate and efine them, and also a deepe sympathy with the God of Natue, who eveals in Chist what the mountains, and the seas, and the stas, cannot tell his pesonal sympathy and love fo evey one of his eathly childen. NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. Tavel, in the younge sot, is a pat of education; in the elde, a pat of expeience. Bacon. To him who in the love of natue holds Communion with he visible foms, she speaks A vaious language. Byant. I had athe believe all the fables in the Legend, and the Talmud, and the Alcoan, than that this univesal fame is without a mind: and theefoe, God neve wought miacles to convince atheism, because his odinay woks convince it. Bacon. Pleasant wee many scenes, but most to me The solitude of vast extent, untouched By hand of at, whee natue showed heself, And eaped he cops; whose gaments wee the clouds; Whose minstels, books; whose lamps, the moon and stas; Whose banquets, moning dews; whose heoes, stoms; Whose waios, mighty winds; whose loves, flowes; Whose oatos, the thunde-bolts of God; Whose palaces, the evelasting hills; Whose ceiling, heaven s unfathomable blue; And fom whose ocky tuets battled high, Pospect immense spead out on all sides ound; Lost now between the welkin and the main, Now walled with hills that slept above the stom. Pollock. High mountains ae a feeling, but the hum Of human cities totue. Byon. NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 21

24 It stuck me much, as I sat by the Kuhlbach, one silent noontide, and watched it flowing, gugling, to think how this same steamlet had flowed and gugled, though all changes of weathe and of fotune, fom beyond the ealiest date of histoy. Yes, pobably on the moning when Joshua foded Jodan, even as at the midday when Caesa, doubtless with difficulty, swam the Nile, yet kept his Commentaies dy this little Kuhlbach, assiduous as Tibe, Euotas, o Siloa, was mumuing on acoss the wildeness, as yet unnamed, unseen; hee, too, as in the Euphates and the Ganges, is a vein o veinlet of the gand wold-ciculation of wates, which, with its atmospheic ateies, has lasted and lasts simply with the wold. Thou fool! Natue alone is antique, and the oldest At is a mushoom; the idle cag thou sittest on is six thousand yeas of age. Calyle. Hee we ae safe afte such adventues and such wondes in the Yosemite and the Big Tees. All is moe beautiful and wondeful than I had expected, and Califonia the finest county in the wold and O, the flowes! This is a wondeful spot: such cags, pillas, caves ed and gay and the Floa, such a jumble cactus, yucca, poison-sumach, and lovely stange flowes, mixed with Douglas and Menzies pine, and eatable-pinon, and those again with ou own haebells and oses and all sots of English flowes. Chas. Kingsley. YOSEMITE AND VICINITY. [thought-outline to help the memoy.] 1. The stat? Hotel expeience? Big Tees? How discoveed and named? 2. To the valley? Companions? Animals? Accidents? 3. False umos? Moe seious accidents? Sunday? Tails? 4. Geneal outline of suvey? Falls? Rives? Lakes? Summits? 5. El Capitan? Impessions? New companion? Noth Dome? Powe of enduance? Rainbows? 6. Cloud Rest? Dangeous descent? Mount Sta King? A bea? Thist? Tempeance discussion? YOSEMITE AND VICINITY. 22

25 7. Objections answeed? Divese impessions? Sunday sevice? Bitish office s comment? The Cap of Libety and Nevada Fall. YOSEMITE AND VICINITY. 23

26 TRACTS. Home College Seies. Pice, each, 5 cents. Pe 100, fo cash, $3 50. The Home College Seies will contain shot papes on a wide ange of subjects biogaphical, histoical, scientific, liteay, domestic, political, and eligious. Indeed, theeligious tone will chaacteize all of them. They ae witten fo evey body fo all whose leisue is limited, but who desie to use the minutes fo the enichment of life. No. 1. Thomas Calyle. By Daniel Wise, D.D. 2. William Wodswoth. By Daniel Wise, D. D. 3. Egypt. By J. I. Boswell. 4. Heny Wodswoth Longfellow. By Daniel Wise, D.D. 5. Rome. By J. I. Boswell. 6. England. by J. I. Boswell. 7. The Sun. By C. M. Westlake, M.S. 8. Washington Iving. By Daniel Wise, D.D. 9. Political Economy. By G. M. Steele, D.D. 10. At in Egypt. By Edwad A. Rand. 11. Geece. By J. I. Boswell. 12. Chist as a Teache. By Bishop E. Thomson. 13. Geoge Hebet. By Daniel Wise, D. D. 14. Daniel the Uncompomising Young Man. By C. H. Payne, D.D. 15. The Moon. By C. M. Westlake, M.S. 16. The Rain. By Miss Caie E. Dennen. 17. Joseph Addison. By Daniel Wise, D.D. 18. Edmund Spense. By Daniel Wise, D.D. 19. China and Japan. By J. I. Boswell. NOW READY. No. 39. Diamonds and othe Pecious Stones. By Alfed Taylo. 40. Memoy Pactice. 41. Gold and Silve. By Alfed Taylo. 42. Meteos. By C. M. Westlake, M.S. 43. Aeolites. By C. M. Westlake, M.S. 44. Fance. By J. I. Boswell. 45. Euphates Valley. By J. I. Boswell. 46. United States. By J. I. Boswell. 47. The Ocean. By Miss Caie R. Dennen. 48. Two Weeks in the Yosemite and Vicinity. By J. M. Buckley, D.D. 49. Keep Good Company. By Samuel Smiles. 50. Ten Days in Switzeland. By H. B. Ridgeway, D.D. 51. At in the Fa East. By E. A. Rand. 52. Readings fom Cowpe. 53. Plant Life. By Ms. V. C. Phoebus. 54. Wods. By Ms. V. C. Phmbus. 55. Readings fom Olive Goldsmith. 56. At in Geece. Pat I. TRACTS. 24

27 20. The Planets. By C. M. Westlake, M.S. 21. William Flickling Pescott. By Daniel Wise, D.D. 22. Wise Sayings of the Common Folk. 23. William Shakespeae. By Daniel Wise, D.D. 24. Geomety. 25. The Stas. By C. M. Westlake, M.S. 26. John Milton. By Daniel Wise, D.D. 27. Penmanship. 28. Housekeepe s Guide. 29. Themistocles and Peicles. (Fom Plutach.) 30. Alexande. (Fom Plutach.) 31. Coiolanus and Maximus. (Fom Plutach.) 32. Demosthenes and Alcibiades. (Fom Plutach.) 33. The Gacchi. (Fom Plutach.) 34. Caesa and Ciceo. (Fom Plutach.) 35. Palestine. By J I. Boswell. 36. Readings fom William Wodswoth. 37. The Watch and the Clock. By Alfed Taylo. 38. A Set of Tools. By Alfed Taylo. 57. At in Italy. Pat I. 58. At in Gemany. 59. At in Fance. 60. At in England. 61. At in Ameica. 62. Readings fom Tennyson. 63. Readings fom Milton. Pat I. 64. Thomas Chalmes. By Daniel Wise, D.D. 65. Rufus Choate. 66. The Tempeance Movement vesus The Liquo System. 67. Gemany. By J. I. Boswell. 68. Readings fom Milton. Pat II. 69. Reading and Reades. By H. C. Faa. A.B. 70. The Cay Sistes. By Miss Jennie M. Bingham. 71. A Few Facts about Chemisty. By Ms. V. C. Phoebus. 72. A Few Facts about Geology. By Ms. V. C. Phoebus. 73. A Few Facts about Zoology. By Ms. V. C. Phoebus. 74. Hugh Mille. By Ms. V. C. Phoebus. 75. Daniel Webste. By D. C. Adams. 76. The Wold of Science. 77. Comets. By C. M. Westlake, M.S. 78. At in Geece. Pat II. 79. At in Italy. Pat II. 80. At in Land of Saacens. 81. At in Nothen Euope. Pat I. 82. At in Nothen Euope. Pat II. 83. At in Westen Asia. By E. C. Rand. Published by Phillips & Hunt, New Yok; Walden & Stowe, Cincinnati, Ohio. About the Autho Home College Seies. 25