The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1878-11-14
A Naturalist in a Tree.TOp.

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A Naturalist in a Tree-TOp.
Mr.. John Muir, who has for several
years been exploring in the Sierras, has
contributed number of short papers to
jScribner's Monthly for publication dur
ing the coming year. The first of these,
describing ga Wind Storm in the For
ests of Yuba," appears in the No
vember number of the Monthly. The
following extract will give an idea of
the authors style. He has just de-
scribed the passionate music and mo-
ton" of the fearful gale, and his desire
to get loftier view of it:
made choice of the tallest of a
group of Douglass spruces that were
growing close together like a tuft of
grass, no one of which seemed likely to
fall unless all the rest fell with it.
Though comparatively young, they were
about a hundred feet high, and their
1.-THE, brushy tops were rocking and
swirling in wild ecstacy. Being accus-
toned to climb trees in making botan-
ical studies, experienced no difficulty
in reaching the top of this one, and
never before did enjoy so noble an ex-
hilaration of motion. The slender tops
fairly tapped and swished in the pas
sionate torrent, bending and swirling
backward and forward, round and
round, tracing indescribable combina-
tions of vertical and horizontal curves,
while chung with muscles firm braced,
| like a h0bOlinE on reed
In its widest sweeps my tree-top de-
scribed an arc of from twenty to thirty
degrees, but felt sure of its elastic
temper, having seen others of the same
species still more severely tried-bent
almost to the ground indeed, in heavy
SHOWS without breaking fiber. / was,
therefore, safe and free to take the wind
into my pulses and enjoy the excited
forest from my grand outlook. The
view from here must be extremely beau
tiful in any weather. Now my eye
royed over the piney hills and dales as
over fields of waving grain, and felt the
light running in ripples and broad
swelling undulations across the valleys
from ridge to ridge, as the shining
foliage was stirred by corresponding
waves of air. Oftentimes these waves
of reflected light would break up sud.
denly into a kind of beaten foam, and
again, after chasing one another in reg
ular order they would seem to bend for.
ward in concentric curves, and disap.
pear on some hillside, like sea-waves on
shelving shore. The quantity of light
reflected from the bent needles was SC
great as to make whole groves appear
as if covered with snow, while the black
shadows beneath the trees greatly en-
HANGED the effect of the silvery splendor
Excepting only the shadows there
was nothing somber in all this wild ses
of pines. On the contrary, notwith
standing this was the winter season, the
colors were remarkably beautiful. The
shafts of the pine and ibocedrus wert
brown and purple, and most of the foil
age was well tinged with yellow, anc
the laurel groves, with the pale under
sides of their leaves turned upward
made masses of gray; and then ther,
was many dash of chocolate color from
clumps of manzaDita, and jet of 'viviC
crimson from the bark of madronas
while the ground on the hill-sides, ap
pearing here and there through open
ings between the groves, displayed
masses of pale purple and brown.
The sounds Of the storm correspondec
gloriously with this wild exuberance O
light and motion. The profound bas
of the naked branches and beles boom
ing like waterfalls; the quick, tense vi
brations of the pine needles, now risin|
to shrill, whistling hiss, now falling t
silky murmur; the rustling of laure
groves in the dells, and the keen me
tallic click of leaf on leaf-all heard i
easy analysis when the attention wa
calmly bent.
The varied gestures of the multitud
were seen to fine advantage, so that on
could recognize the different species a
distance of several miles by this mean
alone, as we'll as by their forms an
colors, and the way they reflected tn
light. ALI seemed strong and comfor
able, as if really enjoying the storm
while responding to its most enthus
astic greetings. We hear nuch now.
days concerning the unive al struggl
for existence, but no struggle in th
common meaning of the word was mar
ifest here; no recognition of danger b
any tree, no depreciation; but rather a
invincible gladness as remote from e.
, ultation as from fear.
i I kept my lofty perch for hours, fir
quently closing my eyes to enjoy tt
, music by itself, or to feast quietly Q
the delicious fragrance that was strean
ing past. 1t was less marked than tn.
produced during warm rain, when
a many balsamic buds and leaves al
r STEPPED like tea; but, from the chafr
i of rosiny branches against one anothe
and the incessant attrition of myriaC
of needles, the gale was spiced to vel
. tonic degree. And besides the fir
!; GRANGE from these local sources the
were traces of scents brought from afa
For this wind came first from the Sc
: . rubbing against its fresh, briny wave
y then distilled through the redwood
!. threading rich ferny gulches, al
spreading itself in broad undulati1
n currents over many hower-enamel'
), ridge of the coast, then across the gold,
8 plains, up the purple foothills, and in
n these piney woods with the varied i
! cense gathered by the way.