The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1870-05-13

From the \. Y. obser-v,er.l


From t,,e. \. " t,,,xerxar 4 :
-, .'--ss,....ss :. -.
Inc nIsG stf0nS sieelie tnst ever M i,
70 VISIT Salit0fH1e, was 70 see the Dl
trees. 1 remember Wen tne In tens'
curiosity, not upnIne!eo Mith IN mcredu
MY, Wnicn Vas awaAened py the ms
accounts OF their aissoye,y ana tneil
glgantic SIZE, ana the ionslng 70 9enott
them with my own eyes never s u9sidet
until, tape IN nahd, I took some, oI tnell
proportions. 1 am satisneu, put no
disappointed. Iney are just az large as
tney have been represented, tne same
number OF feeS IN diametef, ana IN Cur
cumference made my measurement
with New YORK hneahd found every.
thing right, but on comparing my an.
ticipations with what l saw, find thai
| was expecting to see each tree coyef-
ing about an acre OF ground with the
area Of its trunk, to say nothing OF Its
top extending slightly above the clouds.
The truth IS, no one at nrstf Slgnt can
appreciate or even conpfenena the
greatness of these giants OF the forest,
and this for several reasons. Our con.
ceptions OF magnitudes, or heights and
distances, are seldom accurate. Very
few persons ever found the rails OF Nj
agara one half as hlgh as tney expect
ed. These trees TOO, are SO syHmetri-
cal in shape, SO periectiy WeH.propof-
toned and SO Ike otner trees In tneif
general aspect, tnat u IS oiiilcuit 20 ti.Ke
into ones mind the simple element o.
greatness by ITSELF But imagine that
the main reason why tney 40 not az
first impress the behoider with their
immensely, Is, that they stand III the
midst OF giants. 10 vislt the groves
where they are found, the traveller
passes through regular gradatl0n,
from a trecless plain, and small oaks,
to frs and pines which swell out into
larger dimensions, untiI tfees OF ofui,
nary size become the excepIons ana
great trees the general rule. FOR miles
before reaching the giants themselves,
! saw scores and tnen huhdreds, ant
then, l may say, tnOusanttS sugar pines
that would measure thirty or iorsy Ieet
in circumference; trees OF tnlS Size
shooting up LOO feet III a snaIt as
straight as an arrow, and with scarcely
any perceptible dlmlnutiOn IN SIZE, anu
then branching out ana rising loV ieet
higher. One man, VINO nad long occu-
pied ranch III the Vicmity, toid me ne
had measured sugar pines that We're 10
feet in circumference. After traveinng
through such forest for half day,
one is really not in the best state to
judge of big trees, and when he comes
upon those that are little largcrs he
may be excused if he cannot open his
eyes much wider and exclaim, oh Z!
These wonders af the forest were dis
covered i'm 1852 by hunter, whose sto-
Nv of their size met with no. credence,
until others had penetrated the same
wilds and had seen for themselves.
They have now name and celebrity
throughout the wide world, and al
though they are not indigenous in any
other country, or any part of this cOun-
try excepting the small tract in which
they were found, they are now growing
in almost every land, prOpagated from
seeds taken in the cOilefrom California.
1t grows rapidly and vigorously i'm al
most any climate, and although few
will live to see the result of their expe-
riments in the production Of trees of
equal size with the parent stems, yet
its character may be studied now III al,
most every country. Christians and
all philanthropists, will feel a peculiar
interest in knowing that the generic
name of the tree,-Scquoid,- d,-perpet-
yates the memory of George Guess, the
ingenious Cherokee half-breed, who ill.,
vented an alphabet for ms nation,
which alphabet was for u long TIME III
use among that nation. His indan
name,-Sequoyah,- gwen 10 tne
newly discovered REDWOOD, OF Caiiiof-
mia, by the learned botanist Endlicher,
who first defined the genus, ealing tne
tree Sequoia Semperyiscus. Ihe iear
of this tree (the Redw0od) Is precisely
similar to our Arbor Vita, nat III us
expansion. When the great trees were
discovered, the classification became
the subject of much discussion III 0i1-
ferent countries, and different names
Were given, but 1t has at length been
established that they are OF the same
genus, and, another honor is attached TO
the memory of the Cherokee genius,
whose name is now associated Win tne
grandest production OF the Negetapie
Kingdom. 1t is called Se4esot1 6tgea-
tea. 1t is very similar IN form ana ill
the general appearance Of the trunk TO
the Redwood. One not familiar WIN
both would scarcely distinguish tneh
as they stand in the forest; but the lessl
of the Gigdatcd is branching, ike tne
cedar of the Eastern States, although
much longer and stronger, and not nat
like the Scmperriscus and the Ar0"
TtG. The Redwood. which Is the conf
mon tree of the Pacific slope, furnish
ing a large portion of its timber, also
attains to gigantic size, trees having
been found, according to authentic re-
ports, of scarcely less circumference
than the Big Trees themselves. Prot
Whitney, in his scientific report OF the
State, speaks of trees having been found
all the way from 20 to so feet in diam
eter, and great numbers are now stand
ing i'm the forest of Is feet and more III
diameter. The wood of the two specie:
is the same, very dark red, much darker
than any cedar that i have seen, ano
almost as light as cork. From one o
the PROSTATE monarchs, quite removed
from the rest, and giving evidence o
having been among the largest OF 1ts
tribe, / took a silver and had it made
into flagstaff, which / preserve also a
specimen ofthe wood. 1t is as dari
i'm color as old mahogany, but OF a red
der hue. - :
There are several groves Of the Sc
s,toia Gigantcd, but they are all III th'
vicinity or the direction of the Yosemite
Valley, and an excursion to these Won
ders of the world is almost always mad,
at the same time. Few persons so t
see one without visiting the other, and
| indeed, the principal trails to the Vale,
lead through the groves. The Maripo
sa grove, although not the first discov