The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-09-16

bic-ree groves of California are equally
climax for the naturalist and climax LOT DIM
who wanders to see what is greatest aud
strangest in nature.
Standing for twenty centuries and more, they
have not escaped scars from 30 prodiglous
conflict with the elements and the savage;
After reaching the height of between three ana
four hundred feet, the storms invariably tear
off their tops, 80 that the trunks OF all ternl-
nate with ragged abruptness. The camp,nres
OF fifty generations OF Indians have mut,iateu
and blackened about hree-fourlhs OF tne
giants. many of which have been hollow Ior
aces. and open to imminent danger from the
bnrninc faegots left 80 often inside their spa
cious shelter. s 49,
THE bip tree. where it emerges from the
ground, has an immense Rnarly bniee, OF glI-
die of knots that add many Zee. t 10 .I ahore the
gronnd the trunk emerges from lts huge,
rough pedestal, and shoots straight upward,
ehr,nJrinp in diameter about ope-hfth, ana Ia
neriny very gradually to it's splintered capital.
The pinety.three mammoth trees are lnteI-
spersed in groups Of two or three, a. lnserva's
of thirty, forty ana ss nies 6nts;Se of this
smaIl {, act no specimens OF it are found, ex-
cent in three counties in California, distant
from Calayeras. Why they should thus be con-
gregated in four little groups in the interior OF
California, and unknown elsewhere, ls singu-
are only found on the western slope OF the
Sierra Nevada, al elevations Of from 1000 to
5000 feet above the Pacific, and in soil OF pc
culiar rlchuess-not q rank, black mold, but a
loose, unctiOus. brown mold, that, tickled with
dry, yellow atom no larger or thicker tnan
the tiniest finger nail of the tniest baby ,hurties
up into the air q wooden tower thrty-tn1ee
feet thick and four hundred feet high.
We rambled through the grove several times
during our stay, and fearing that the measure
ments given by printed descriptions were e3-
aggerated, applied for ourselves the most care,
ful tests. We paced around the Mees ao9
measured them with line and rule. We found
the original figures to be accurate. The trees
DO not look to be over 800 feet tall, but by mea-
suripp those that have fallen, the mlscalcula-
ton Of the eye in this respect also Is correct
ed. 1.-THE Father OF the Forest, which lies
prone, must have been $50 fees high, The
trunk, es it now rem aims exceeds 800 feet IN
length, and at it's broken top it lie sixteen feet
in diameter. A stairway containing twenty
one steps conducts to the top OF the PROSTATE
giant. A lofty hole in its side admits man on
horseback and for one hundred and twenty
eight feet one can ride erect through It's hollow
trunk. tried it on medium sized horse. eat
straight in the saddle aud determined not to
duck my head. My hat barely grazed the
back roof OF the strange causeway in one place.
Elsewhere there was plenty OF play for perpen-
dicular equestrianism. -Four teamsters, mount
ed on large horses, came to "do" the rldlng
exploits while we were near at hano. Iney
were 80 delighted with their complete success
that they went off whooping aud on the galiop.
The best test object in the grove Is what Is
known as sthe stump of the big tree" and an
accompanying section OF the trunk that lies
near at hand. This tree was solid 10 the core
In 1853 five men, employing large augurs,
Awo1k ked industrIously for twenty-five days to
fell il. The giant tn It yielded TO this vandal-
ism was thirty -one feet through, aud over
three hundred feet high. The stump was
plaped off on top and enclosed IN o neat sum-
windows. Around the interior OF the summer
house runs bench for louneers. The stump
affords ample room for thirty-.wo dancers.
Dramatic performances have been given Oh 1t,
and in 1858 seventy copies OF the Big Iree bu.-
letin we're published there. The sechonoi the
trunk outside is twenty feet long, and lts
smooth summit is attained by stairway twer,
ty-five feet long. Il is covered with the carved
names OF visitors. AS space has given out,
many little slabs of wood have been inscribed
by ambitious tourists aud nailed over the ear
lier autographs. The rest of the trunk OF this
tree lies close By. It was formerly used Tor
bowling. alley and bar-room, but >, has been
stripped Of ali such Improvements.
The murder of the splendid tree named the
"Mother of the Forest is another example OF
8 hateful vandalism that would not now be
tolerated. This tree was encirced by scaftold;
ing, and stripped of bark Tor one hundred and
sixteen teet above the ground. 1t fingered
year or two, but now stands stark and leafe,s,
with the creaking scafolding clipging TO it
o dead giant hung 10 chains. The bark was
carefully cut into eectiops and taken to England
where it was put together in it's original
upright shape. giving lire-like idea of Cali
fornia big tree. When portion Of the Syden-
ham Crystal Palace burned, recently, this pom
drous tower of bark was entirely destroyed
Savagery with nature prospers as meagrely as
cheating.