The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1886-08-06
THE MARIPOSA GROVE.
Something More About the Big Trees OF
California,

They call it the Mariposa grove, but
there's no grove about it, the big trees,
being d part OF a dense forest, with no
clear space in sight and the giants not
standing together and separated from
the other trees, but scattered among
them indiscriminately over several
hundred acres of ground, there being
perhaps two or three hundred ordin-
ary trees for every giant. The ordin-
ary trees would be called giants in
Missouri, many of them measuring
ten and twelve feet in diameter and
towering up from $50 to 200 feet, but
IN the Mariposa grove" they look
small and attract no attention. Our
first stop was made at the "Griz-
zly Giant" which the guidebook says
Is thirty-one feet in diameter
three feet above the ground. Mrs.
Udell had brought ball of twine
along, and everybody was given an
opportunity to measure the circum-
ference OF the Grizzly Giant" and take
the measure home with him. Thet tree
is a little larger two or three feet
above the ground than it is at the
base. We all wound up ourlines with
out stopping to measure them, and
will wait till we get home before verl-
tying the figures OF the guidebook.
There are many taller trees in the
grove" than the Grizzly, but none so
big round, and this tree was even larg-
er-more than hundred feet in cir
cumference-before it suffered the raw
ages OF fire. Nearly all the tres in the
Mariposa grove are more or less burn
away at the base. The Grizzly meas
ures sixty-four feet three inches in cir
cumference eleven feet from
the base, and one OF its
branches more than 100 feet
above the ground is six feet in diane.
ter and would make quite tree by
itself in Missouri. Many OF the taller
trees in the grove measure some 800
feet. The Grizzly is but 267 feet,
about three times as high as the South.
ern hotel or Lindell The Calavera,
grove, III Calaveras county, has still
taller trees, one towering up 325 feet,
but none is rs large in circumference
as the Grizzly Giant, the Wawona and
two or three other of the largest trees
in the Mariposa grove. The Wawona
is twenty eight feet in diameter, and
265 feet high. The heart Of the trunk
has been burned out, leaving hole
big enough for our stage to drive
through the tree, and every stage
stops inside for a few minutes, long
enough to give the passengers al
oportunity to write their names on
the walls" which seem to have been
pianed down to q smooth surface for
that purpose. Twenty feet above the
ground the tree looks as green and
fresh as any in the forest. The only
house in the grove" is little shanty
occupied by the overseer OF the bis
trees. A brief halt was made here
and some of the members of our party
utilized the time III climbing to thl
top OF one OF the big trees. 1t is hard
ly necessary to state the tree was ly-
ing down, and that the climbing was
| done with ladder some twenty-five
feet long. All these big trees, and the
little ones, too, were givenb congress
along with the Yosemite grant to the
state OF California, to be held in trust
for the benefit of the public. The big
tree giant is two miles square and
some fifteen miles from the Yosemite.
Both the grove" and thovalley are
in charge ola board of commissioners,
consisting OF the governor OF the state,
an eX-oiiicio member, and eight of his
appointees.-St. Louis Republican.