, 1869-03-21
THE BIG TREES OF mARlPosA,
some'hsnE New ON m old subJecs.


F1tm the n. \. Ev.1 Leg Mail.
TIE scenery Of California presents much of
me beautiful In nature. Its rivers, bayg.
lotty snow.peaks, mateh!ess valleys. magnfa.
cent toretts- al claim cur attention.
In the State are two groves Of mammoth
trees-1hc Calayesas and Magiposa. The
trees ilrst came Into general notice In 1883,
when the hotanists OF Fan Francisco, believ-
Ing them 10 be species ofFed~ood, yet very
remarkable on account Of their large size,
sent some Of the cones, leaves and wood to
botankts In New York. a le = mouths later.
an Ecg!lhman forwarded specimens to Pro
fcssos lsudley, who discovered tee tree TO be
ganteu. .
However, among botanfsts the general
opin1o9 IS that the tree Is Eot Of a new gcu1s,
out NQuoite, closely related to the rca-
wood. Il was FAMED By d.. Seemsn the Sc
qsokr gigasteu, and bca1s that name with
ootan4els generally.
The Seqtofet are orly found Ia California,
On the western slope Of the sle;ra Nevada,
Taking au early start from the Yoaemite
Valley, We nscecded the Aa,lposa trail, a
dista: &c Of three miles, Mt the rate OF N le
m hour, resting the painting ponies at In
spirasion Point while We took a last ytew OF
tne awful gorge, With Its mountain .. eel.
Plces ac lofty cataracts a view which viii
be crerlasting1y Impressed upon our minds
eye.
Continuing the journey Of twenty Eve
m'les that lay ahead, ere we eould reach
We climbed the steco mountain slae another
honr. KtachLg the summit, the trail led as
through forests of ccdars, flrs and pines. with
here atd there little E'ades, upon which clas-
teled ceano!hus and nanzanlia. The ccano,
thus, sometimes called the California lilac. Is
oeantt1ul evergreen lush, growing about
nine feet high. bearing clusters OF 1owe1s Of
VARIOUS shades OF red, y|olet aud blue, accord
ing 10 the species. TEE manzauila, another
prominent feature In the forests OF the Golden
twelve feet high, aud nearly as broad. The
trunk divides near the ground into many
| branches, terminating In a multitude oi
twlgs, one dense mass of branches and
branchlets. The leaves are oval in form,
thick and ehialnt,, Of a light greeu color. Il
are replaced by red berries, about half ar
inch ID diameter, which are often eaten bJ
| The Indians and grizzly teass. It grows al
over the coast valleys and ia the sierras
| near the limit Of perpetual SNOW.
1 Crossing the Summit Meadows. series OF
| situated between granite led9cs, anu In many
places 50 swalnpy as 10 force III to make i
large dctour, We reached Alder Greek,
Thence asteep detour Of half mile brought
F.! Us to the tor Of the divide.
A maeuihcent panorama Of marvellous
beauty, taking In tbs sunourdiDg country,
was here 1nfotded 10 our admirinE gaze,
eoutterly could be eecu ths source Of the
San Joaquin River, Wesc the rugged outlines
Of the coast ratge o'ezshadowiug the Pacific
Ocean, toutherly the eye rested upon the
! valley OF the Mercer, while in every dlrrc-
their lofty heads, their sidcs coycrcd with
forests - a tempest tossed sea OF everRreeus.n
| Descending tue mountain, where q mis-
step would have landed one hundreds of feet
into the gorGe below, we arrived at the last
crossing OF the Mercer, and soon pulled rein
before long, one story wooden cabin, with
| projecting eaEes, called "Cla1k's Rancho"
| We found, upou entering, very comfortable
| apartlnents, with wooden partitions and car
| peted, the Brat evidences Of return within
| NT. Clark, agenutne frontier man, was ab-
! sent searching Tor some n1nt-secr whose
wood lore was not extensive enough to keep
htm In the narrow path which led TO the
trees consequently he had been lost for
three days. After dusk he retnrned with the
! linen Of humanity, afler bis long fast and
scrumblIng amid rocks aud brnsh.
Soon as 1t wns dirk We 1aid dowr, In order
TO snatch few hours sleep before the MOON
| rose
About 9 T. N. the ae3ehIne of our ponies
| that stood saddled 1t the porch awakened
n. IN = few moKneots We N aunted. shEv-
e11rg IN The keen sir as We swiftly 1oped
over meado" Of luxurfaut Wild grass, then
eastward along the foot of mountain some
Ascending this nancw frail, which e1-
tended i've miles. We e1rf.. 4 IT. small val
ley nearly on the top OF the mountain.
Ere we iairi5 knew Il, we were surrounded
6ykieantlc trees which lowered up 10 heaven.
The grove contains AZ tzeee, the largest Of
which i 81 leet In diameter and SIS feet
high the loftiest of Its species in The world.
several are IS feet through IS between Is
ana = S6 between 30 ard 2i; S2 between Is
and ~; the balance ranging from to Is feet
- o!ametes. such trees would aerre as Clubs
Tor the 1ltans In their contests With the
gods Of Olympus.
When the e5e nirly takes In the scared
trunks, straight as mast, rising 4 hundred
ret t., withoqt 1.s limb then putting forth one
while Jour own in.isn,dcant stature strikes
you 10 foseibly that .hc hrst de.irn /. t. creep
INTO one Of the enofmous knot holes, and he
Lost to view, Tee best way to SEQ them Is TO
n ia5 down . .nd look up to the tops, where the
foliage, as the branches sway In the roar.
hg mountain breeze. al their feet
The Eoil l. alEays moist, and pro-
dnees beautiful variety of noises,
none5s aud berries. The grove il half i
OF The trees are injured by the yearly fires;
several arc so ho3foved out that two OF US
tode in the caT1ty on horseback. The blrk
IL ieaoEh btoNn, very Often two feet thick,
4 coarse, EtrtnEy texture, porous, like cork
The Hood Ia a.nkh kht, red color, free from sap
or fo;sn, stsaiEht grained. very dnsao1e. re-
senblirE tedaf. The cones are compara-
lively very tnz.ll, about the size Of Al cgg-
lhe SEEDS are very narrow, quarter CT IN
ncA long. AID IS thin as paper.
Inc Tree Possesses the great pecolEa1ity OF
bearing two kinds of N.res, those on the
young trees and the lover branches OF the
OLD ores ere about th1eaquarteEs Of an Inch
long, by cne eighth vide, placed In pair,
opposite each other Oh little stems. The
other Kind arc triangular, about N eighth OF
An inch IN length and lie close down TO the
stem. The largest trees end abruptly 1t the
top, eslfg broken GU every winter By the
weight OF the .no., which falls TO 4 great
depth in this resfon.
0asas,os ally tvo Will be found united for
some distance a. their base. then diverginK,
anE rising up several hundred teet mare.
They possess much vitality, continuing
geen aud HoHishlne several years after be-
ing stripped of their bark. Some have been
legs, With Intervening spaces OF three feet
square. ready victims for old BoEtas.
Uu first entering the grove the magnitude
| Of the trees does not realize Gour e1pecta-
| tirns; feeling Of disappointment Is mani
i Tested b. mo=1 persop4. Alter Wandering
arcnEd thet- rnarlea roots tWisted III fan.
tssttc shapes, IS II done BY wrestling with
the cnomes countinx the stera required to
| make ihelr ctrcnit, erdeavostng to uisccrn
tbeE tempest. beaten tops you obtain a cor
rect Idea Of their enormous size. II Trinity
It's tptro, which towers above all lie rcss
Of tho metropolis, would be ent,selY lost to
1ittant vlew. In 4 little cleafinx s.auds d
| esnsutiesa loF cabin. that knsvns 81 ~ al >,