Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1877-06-20
More About the Big Trees Of Cali
fOrnia.

IL lttCH l1c MdIlpOSd SIO'c, VIC
were compelled to ride from Big Tree
section up rocky, zig-zag path seven
miles TO the top Of the Sierras. Here.
on the snow-capped summit. about
6 ZOO feet above the sea, we heard one
of our party shout:
Hoop, hurrah, The big treesN'
In five minutes we had left the rocky
trail and all stood round the "Grizzly
Giant" one of the biggest trees in the
grove. It's bark was like the bark of
cedar. and its leaves closely resem-
bled the same tree.
How tall is it," l asked the
guide.
That's the Grizzly Giant" he
answered. "He was 800 feet tall be-
fore the wind broke off his top. He
is ninety-two feet seven inches in cir
conference. Do you see that limb -
he asked pointing to a limb sixty-tiye
feet above the ground.
yes"
"Well, that limb is six feet in diam
eter."
"What stump is that" ! asked,
pointing to stump twenty-siX feet in
diameter in the Calaveras grove.
"That Is a tree that they cut down a
few years ago. 1t took five men twen-
ty-two days to bore it down."
"Bore it DOWN. | exclaimed.
Eyes, sir. You couldn't chop one
of these trees down any more than you
could chop down Westinghouse.
Why" continued the guide, "when
they did get it bored down it wouldn't
fall. They had to drive in wedges for
two days and fix guy-ropes, and finally
when it did fall you would have
thought that an earthquake had struck
the Sierras. This tree said the
guide, sis twenty-eight feet in dame
ter, and was 302 feet long before they
stole the top and carried it away.
Why, sir, thirty-two people danced on
that stump last Fourth of July, and
left enough room all around them for
the tiddlers and lookers-on.
THAT big tree over there said the
guide, as we rode along, " was the
mother of the forest before she fell
She measures 81 feet in circumference,
and she was 1921 feet high. 1t was 1877
feet to the first limb. Why there are
537, 900 feet of lumber in that tree. At
$50 per thousand it would be worth
SiO,T4O. A man wouldn't want but
ten of those trees in Chicago TO be rich
enough to retire.
In the Mariposa grove our guide led
us from the trail right into big tree.
This tree he said, is the Key
OF , Snn niuht of hnrSnl nH
all-are hid away out of sight in the
hollow, and the tree is growing over
head as if we we're so many ants
"Come into the Grand Hotel, said
our guide, as we rode along in the
South Park grove. Then he led US all
into the hollow trunk of a growing big
tree capable OF holding forty people.
"That tree over there is called
| Noah's Ark" He was pointing TO a
large fallen tree. alt is ninety feet
| in circumference and 500 feet long.
| The bark is fifteen inches thick; and
over there is live tree in the hollow
trunk of which sixteen horses car
! stand.
We saw some of the trees that had
grown old-perhaps five Thousand
years old-and died standing there
! The winds were not sufficient to blow
them down. Beside the large trees
there are many small ones, so the
species are not liable to become eX
tinct. They are of the same 0e1lts Is
the pine, balsam, hemlock and cedar
but a distinct species found 40 whelt
else in the world.
Among tourists examining them
We're sGcal4S from England, Austral-
ians. Germans and .Frenchmen, fol
| travellers throughout the whole worlC
are interested in these tremendous
tree. -" Eli Perkins," IN Chicag,
! Inter- ocean.
! Tint Ranann Pool