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John Muir
Yosemite by John Muir (Illustrated Edition)
The Yosemite, Our National Parks, Features of the Proposed Yosemite National Park
Published by
Books
- Advanced Digital Solutions & High-Quality eBook Formatting -
2017 OK Publishing
ISBN 978-80-7583-809-4
Table of Contents
FEATURES OF THE PROPOSED YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK
Books
THE YOSEMITE
Affectionately dedicated to my friend,
Robert Underwood Johnson,
faithful lover and defender of our glorious forests
and originator of the Yosemite National Park.
Chapter 1. The Approach to the Valley
Chapter 2. Winter Storms and Spring Floods
Chapter 5. The Trees of the Valley
Chapter 6. The Forest Trees in General
Chapter 11. The Ancient Yosemite Glaciers: How the Valley Was Formed
Chapter 12. How Best to Spend One's Yosemite Time
Chapter 13. Early History Of The Valley
Chapter 16. Hetch Hetchy Valley
Appendix A. Legislation About the Yosemite
Appendix B. Table of Distances
Appendix C. Maximum Rates for Transportation
Chapter 1
The Approach to the Valley
When I set out on the long excursion that finally led to California I wandered afoot and alone, from Indiana to the Gulf of Mexico, with a plant-press on my back, holding a generally southward course, like the birds when they are going from summer to winter. From the west coast of Florida I crossed the gulf to Cuba, enjoyed the rich tropical flora there for a few months, intending to go thence to the north end of South America, make my way through the woods to the headwaters of the Amazon, and float down that grand river to the ocean. But I was unable to find a ship bound for South America--fortunately perhaps, for I had incredibly little money for so long a trip and had not yet fully recovered from a fever caught in the Florida swamps. Therefore I decided to visit California for a year or two to see its wonderful flora and the famous Yosemite Valley. All the world was before me and every day was a holiday, so it did not seem important to which one of the world's wildernesses I first should wander.
Arriving by the Panama steamer, I stopped one day in San Francisco and then inquired for the nearest way out of town. "But where do you want to go?" asked the man to whom I had applied for this important information. "To any place that is wild," I said. This reply startled him. He seemed to fear I might be crazy and therefore the sooner I was out of town the better, so he directed me to the Oakland ferry.
So on the first of April, 1868, I set out afoot for Yosemite. It was the bloom-time of the year over the lowlands and coast ranges the landscapes of the Santa Clara Valley were fairly drenched with sunshine, all the air was quivering with the songs of the meadow-larks, and the hills were so covered with flowers that they seemed to be painted. Slow indeed was my progress through these glorious gardens, the first of the California flora I had seen. Cattle and cultivation were