Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-12-13
A New Yosemite,


The diadem for scenic grandeur has heretofore
been won by Yosemite, but late explorations in
the Sierra Nevada have revealed some half dozen
contest antS for that honor. Among these NAV
be mentioned Mount Shasta, the canyon of the
South Fork of Kings river ION the shadow OF
Mount Whitney, and the great ruolumne river
canyon. John Muir, the lonely adventurous eX-
p}orer and geologist of the Yosemite valley, and
Cullen Clark, state guardian of that valley, last
month penetrated and explored the last men
toned canyon, which Prof Whitney and Clar-
ence King did not enter, the former expressing
a doubt, in his State Geological Report whether
it was possible TO get into it at all, MIR. Muir
reports that this canyon lies about eighteen
miles in an almost due norherly direction from
Yosemite valley. Its beginning or mouth is be-
low Hech-EIetchy valley, and the main Tuol.
umne river runs through it. 1t curves in an
anbrOken line for over forty miles, and runs up
to and ends i'll the very heart of the SUBMITS of
the upper Sierra Nevada. The uueuphoniOusly
named Hetch-HetchY valley constitutes an eX-
banded portion of the great Tuolumne canyon,
which properly begins at the eastern end of
Hetch-Hetchy, and has, from thence to its head,
a length of twenty miles of continuous, unbrok-
en- vertical walls of granite, similar TO, but more
clear cut, and with much greater depth than
those of Yosemite valley. Yosemite valley has
an average width of half a mile and is in one
place mile wide, but the Tuolumme canyon
has nowhere a width exceeding a quarter of a
mile, and is in some places much narrower than
that. The Tuolumme river, which runs
through it has twice the width OF the Merced.
The falls of the MERGED Yosemite surpass those
of the TuOlumne canyon in unbroken volumes
of descending water; but, in endless variety of
cascades and watersheds the Tu0lumne canyon
is far superior. The great walls of the canyon
are scanned by water worn assures, down which
rivers leap, chum, thunder, brawl and sing with
all possible varieties of expression of sound.
There is one water leap 1900 feet high in the Iuo-
lumne canvon but it is not unbreken, like the
upper Yosemite, and is in that respect inferior
to the latter. The upper Yosemite falls is 1900
feet high. In the spring, when the river is full,
that fall tumbles into its great water-worn, rocky
bowl with a sound resembling the fall from the
sky of gigantic cannon balls on massive and
tightly-stretched drums. This sound closely re-
sembles, yet hardly rises to the noisy dignity of
the loudeSt peals of thunder; bur the noise pro-
duced by the ruoumne waterfalls is as dealen-
ing as the loudest thunder IA thunder which is
brought directly home to the ears by the mar
rowness and vast depth Of the great iCe-cov-
cred assure and The unsurpassed facilities 1t
affords for pouderous echoes. One of the water
falls spreads out at first like a great flmy fan of
silyery-threaded water; bat, after a descent in
this shape Of about 200 feet, it is whirled over,
closed up with lightning.like rapidity,
changed in color, Shot down narrow grO0 We
of rocks, like an arrow Of steam. The great
sculpture marks of glacial action is much newer
and more easily read iii the ruolumne than in
the canyon for, though called a valley, it is
really a canyon of the Yosemite. The glacial
alphabet by which the history of glacial action
can be read, is very much blurred in Yosemite
by the subsequent action of rain, snow, sun,
winds and earthquakes; but in the HuOlnmne
canyon the page is fresh from the glacial work.
shop on the submits Of Mounts Lye Dana,
Gibbs and Ritter. The glacier on the latter has
Il length and width of about half a mile, and a
depth of about 800 feet. The glaciers from these
mountains Mr.. Muir thinks, at one time not
only filed the great Tuolumne canyon, but
layiShly overlooked it as q river oyertows its
banks in springtine.
Messrs Muir and Clark had n rough task in
exploring this great canyon and its surround
ings. They were forced to wade rushing, icy
torrents, the sides Of which brushed the foot of
perpendicular rocks of granite. They camped
one night in their shirt sleeves and went supper
less to bed One Of the walls mentioned is 1000
feet high.
Those who have come out of Yosemite by the
Couteryille trail, will remember what magnif-
cent view of the Bridal Vail falls is had iromt
Those falls are by no means the largest but
they are the most beautiful and appropriately
named of all the many falls of the great valley.
The wind swings them and dlsarrangeS their
falling folds and silver threads, just as it would
a vail of the most gauzy texture. There are
many of these bridal vail falls in tch-Hetchy
valley and tue Tuolumne canyon. There is
greater display and variety of water-Shapes
hues, tintS, motions and expressions in the
latter canyon than there is in the Yosemite
One imagines that he has seen and heard all the
possible combinations into which water can
enter to awe and delight the eye aud charm the
ear, after a visit to Yosemite; but MIR. Muir
states that the exploration of the TuoIumne can
yon has revealed iDnumerable new discoveries
in this respect, even to his eye, which has Tor
years been familiar with all the waterfalls of the
Yosemite region.
1t is evident from these and other recent dis
coyeries in the Sierra Nevada, that there is
wealth of wonders there, outside of, and in
many respects far surprising those regions
on which the eyes Of tourists have heretofore
rested.