The Buchanan County guardian. (Independence, Buchanan County, Iowa) 1858-1864, 1859-05-19

archs of California forests, we publish a
description given by correspondent o
the New York Tribune, who wrote under
date of May IA, 1853. He wrote ::
" l am in the midst of the Mammoth
Grove of Mariposa. On all sides Of me
are numerous giants of the forest, vary.
ing from 90 to "a feet in diameter, and
from Pts to 325 feet high. Sublime
sight Each tree fills me with wonder
as look at it. A glance at one of these
immense trunks conveys new idea Of
the magnifcence of nature "glorious
as the universe on creations morn" is
this grove. The Titans and the gods
fought with such trees as these for clubs
when the attempt was made to carry Hea-
ven by storm, as recorded in the Grecian
Mythology. The trees are so high that
YOU must look twice before you can see
the tops, and then you cannot compre-
hend how high they are until you have
looked at them from many points of view,
and compared them with the little pines
in the vicinity, which do not exceed ten
feet in diameter, and 200 feet in height.
No words, no exclamations, no figures,
no description can convey to a person
who has not seen these mammoths, the
vivid impression of their sublime gran
deur, which fills and overwhelms the
mind of the beholder. But the idea, in
its full force, remains in the mind only
while the eyes are fixed upon the trees.
The conception is too great to be impris-
oned in the brain, except with the aid Of
vision as door-keeper /; and while you
have that you are delighted. l could lie
and look up for hours at these mighty
columns, which seem to threaten the
heavens f; their sight fills my mind with
a rapid succession of changing emotions,
and would call them poetic thoughts,
but I cannot express them. l feel as
though am | a poet without the means OF
expression, as though, if l could write
what ! feel. l should produce a poem,
wherein the sun and planets would be
tossed about as l kick this gravel at my
feet. Now that look up, these trees ap-
pear to be among the greatest objects OF
nature, and men are but earthworms in
comparison.
The spire of Trinity Church, which
is the highest artificial structure in the
United States, and famed as such, and
therefore an object of great curiosity
which towers up far above the remainder
Of New York, is 284 feet high, and
would have been entirely lost to view il
put down with its church in this grove.
One tree has fallen, and considerable
portion Of it has been burned, but
think it was nearly 40 feet in diameter
and 400 feet long.
The Calaveras mammoth grove, to
which made flying visit on my way
hither, lies northwest from here, so miles
distant in a straight line, but considera-
BILE further by the travelled road. This
was the first discovered Of the mammoth
groves, is the most noted, and attracts
the greatest number Of visitors. 1t was
first known to the whites when found by
some hunters in 1850, but the public at.
tention was not called to the place until
1854, when one of the largest trees was
cut down, and the bark stripped from an
other to distance of lie feet from the
ground. The tree which was felled was
90 feet in circumference, and 800 feel
high, and five men worked at it 22 days
cutting through it with augurs. On the
stump, which has been smoothed off,
there have been dancing parties and the
atrical performances, and now there is a
printing office, from which the Big Tree
Bulletin is issued. The tree which was
stripped of its bark, continued green and
flourishing for two years and half, and
did not begin to die until after a very
hard frost in the winter Of 1856 81 The
bark, with some of the wood of the fell
ed tree. is now in the English Crystal
| Palace. One of the Calaveras trees,
which is down, must have been $50 feet
high and nearly 40 feet in diameter al
the butt. tl ~ H mas e
Many interesting ideas are suggested
by the consideration of these trees. The
rings of the felled tree were counted, and
its age variously estimated. according tc
the different ways of counting, at from
1900 to 5000 years. Probably its ag,
was not less than 1000 years. 1t sprout
ed while Rome was in its glory. II i
older than any kingdom. language
or creed of Europe or America. II was
a large tree before the foundation of thu
Christian Church, and was fifteen hun