Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-05-06
RIDING THROUGH A TREE-TRUSK.

ain mahogany also f1ourishes, and the griz-
ely bears are extremely fond Of its red
berry, which is very acid, and ouenches
their thirst II also makes good cider.
think, as / have mentioned the grizzly
bear, must relate what happened to one of
our party who was of an adventurous turn,
and an enthusiast when talking Of bears.
He had wandered off quite distance from
our party, with his gun, and boosted that
he would bring US trophy of the trip.
Sure enough, and before he was aware of
IL, he came upon two grizzly cubs. i" What
splendid game" he thought, as he raised
his gun on a level with one of them, and
fired, but he succeeded only in wounding it,
whereupon It's yclls and cries brought the
mother at terrific pace to the rescue,
compelling him to climb a tree instantly
He said afterwards he never knew how he
got up the tree; however, he escaped the
grizzly-as the brute can not climb trees
but he could not kill her, because he had
thrown down his gun before climbing to his
perch. There is no telling how long be
might have had to stay there had it not
been for the calls of tho two juveniles who
reminded their mother she had better go to
them. We all had good deal Of fun over
it, as no one ever made quicker tracks for
safety than he did
The MaripOsa big trees are thirty miles
from Yosemite. The ride is intensely in
teresting and exciting. Hundreds of mann
moth redwoods are scattered among large
pine trees, some of which are from three to
four hundred feet high, and elsewhere
would be called kings of the forest, but
among these giants they are almost insig-
nlicant. the big trees have been consid
claim otherwise and call them sequoias.
They are the Oldest and most stupendous
vegetable products existing upon the globe.
The MarIpOsa is considered the largest
and finest IN he State. In this grove are
two hundred, which are more than twelve
feet in diameter, fifty over fifteen feet and
SIX more than thirty feet
The PROSTATE monarch, which is believed
to have fallen over two hundred years ago,
fire has consumed much of its trunk, still
there is enough left of the blackened and
charred remains TO show that it must have
been over forty feet in diameter. Just
imagine the heighth of such a tree as it
stood thousands of years agOl Some of
these trees stand between three and four
hundred feet, though the tops of the largest
ones have been broken off. Into one enor-
nous tree, of which the inside has been
burnt out, seven of US went abreast from
end to end, and there was plenty Of room
for more. 1t was great surprise. and for
all the world like Il tunnel. The stump of
the largest standing tree would, if cut off
smooth, hold fifty persons easily. Some of
these trees are so straight that after they
have been sawed in two they persist in
standing, and can only be brought down by
the introduction of powerful wedges.
We were told that II Calavaras, which is
fifty miles north of Mariposa, an enormous
tree had been cut down by boring with
Rugers and saving it In sections, and that
1t took six men a month to get it down.
Whether this is California yarn or not, |
nm not prepared to say, however. l should
not be surprised if it were true, as at Cal
Rvaras they have stump of a tree which is
used for dancing pavilion, and measures
twenty-five feet across.
There is no proof that the redwoodS are
a native Of any country outside of Califor-
MIA The cones are quite small in compar-
isou with the tree, being about the size Of a
peach, and very much the Same shape, while
pine cones are often foot long.
There are many Of these groves in the
State, prominent among which is the Santa
Cruz grove, SIX miles from Santa Cruz, On