San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1883-07-12
ouIRpIAN OF THE VALLEY.
...,..I ssttlsr In HIS Pictsresqus Cabin
~ or Ss.T The Feet or Yosemite Falls.

ns Nssr the Feet OF Isssnits Falls.
o,s Of the original settlers in the
Nav was Mr.. James M. Hutchings,
' "So had been known in California
, sno the days of 40. AS one Of the
s aas cold hunters he prospected and
u u,;nsd through the length Of the foot
s;iIs and then settling down he edited
~. a California Magazine, the first lite
w Wv publication of its kind on the
.asst In 1856 Mr.. Hutchings made
S;s first journey into the valley, and
h;s marty were the first real tourists to
Lbeld the wonders of the Yosemite.
i few wears afterward Mr.. Hutchlngs
aid out his magazine and moved his
smily into the valley for permanent
rssidence. When congress granted
ibe Yosemite to the State for public
mark it wholly disregarded the rights
e the settlers who were then living
shere and cultivating their homestead
lands. Mr.. Hutchings appealed to
the courts to maintain his rights, and
for ten years he fought his way from
the county courts to the United States
Supreme Court. In the end the State
UNIDENTIFIED him for his losses, and,
rat1,rning to his old home, Mr.. Hutch
ines kept the one hotel of the valley
for more than a decade. In later
wears Mr.. Hutchings has held the
Office of guardian of the Yosemite
Valley" and, by the power vested in
him by the board of commissioners,
he stands as the representative of law
and authority within these walls.
After his long residence here and
Identification with the valley it is pc
culiarly appropriate that he should
have succeeded to this Office, and be-
vond his title of Guardian he is often
called "The Father of the Valley" by
enthusiastic visitors. By birth Mr..
Hutchings is North of England
man, and still carries in his speech a
trace of the strong, resonant utterance
of the North country people. The
wears have silvered his hair and beard,
but have not taken away the flash
and animation of his eyes nor the
quick, alert movements of a true
mountaineer, and the valley has still
as much fascination and charm for
him as on the day when he first be-
held it. The Guardian lives in a
picturesque cabin" near the foot of
the Yosemite falls, and his solitude is
cheered by the company of his small
family of pet animals. Although his
duties as guardian and protector Of
this domain keep him constantly on
the alert, the latchstring of the cabin
always hangs out, and on Sunday
afternoon particularly there is always
a choice gathering of favored visitors
around the great fireplace. The walls
of the study aud living-room are GOV.
cred with exquisite paintings and
sketches of Yosemite flowers and
scenery that was done by Mrs. Hutch
ings in the last years of her life in
this home. A great armchair OF
Manzanita wood is one Of the especial
curiosities of the room, and the arm
chair and the Fireplace are at once
the admiration and envy of all guests.
Books fill the corners of the room,
Strew the floor, and are scattered on
the window-sills and tables, while the
collection of minerals and strange
growths overflow all limits.
From his seemingly inexhaustive store
room Mr.. Hutchings produces seeds,
slips, cones and specimens of the
bark, wood, foliage and fruit of all the
trees that grow anywhere in this
region. If the visitor be.of
a botanical turn, strange names and
long words are banded bewilderingly,
and every few minutes Mr.. Hutchings
appears from the store-room with
another bag of seeds, of which ne
gives small package to his botanical
guest. Last Sunday afternoon dis
tinguished Englishman sat for an
hour at the round table sorting, exam
ming and labelling the different seeds
which Mr.. Hutchings was giving him
to plant in his private park. If they
all grow, wandering Americans will
some day be surprised to find noble
forest of sequoial and strange Sierra
.rees shading acres of one of England's
'amous north country places.-COrres-
oOndencs st. Louis GlObe-DemOcrdt.