The record-union., 1891-08-15
IN THE WOODS.
A Rambling Account of a Summer
Ramble.
Lakes, Mountains, Trees and Camp.
Life In the Sierra-An Eastern
Lady's Experience.

"Do we CaIifornians appreciate the
grand old Sierra?''
| Cynthia asks the question, and an
swer NO" If we are poor, we stay at
home and talk about Yosemite. If we
are rich, we 60 to Europe and climb the
Alps.
A few happy people go quietly to the
lakes away up in the mountains. They
steal off as silently as that wise bird, the
turkey, goes to her nest. They come
back explaining, 1--WE have been in the
mountains" and we think they apologize
for not being at Del Monte or Redondo.
| I've been up to see where they go.
| Don't smile; no bank cashier was in the
party. 1t would not be bad place for
one, however. The retreat is secluded,
even inaccessible. Tramp tourists fol-
! low the railroad; we must let them have
Tahoe, but we will keep the rest Of the
playground to ourselves" This seems
to be the conclusion.
"The rest of the playground" is no re-
stricted tract. One can go as far as Honey
| Lake, but that is rather near the alEai
district. PlumaS County affords many
! delightful spots for hunting and fishing.
| Spanish Peak and Pilots Peak are worth
| the climbing.
| In Sierra County we turn to the lakes
| as the attraction. Webber is little Jewel,
| in a setting of hills that on one side slope
down to the waters edge. The road runs
beside the blue water that took its name
from old DR.. Webber who crossed the
plains with big pile papoose and ma
| hala." The last-named distinction was
learned from an Indian, an old Washoe,
! fn IUhn of hi To
| Hiawatha. The lake is calm, in spite of
the winds that blow from the snowy
peaks. 1t affords fine fishing, mountain
trout being almost the only inhabitant OF
the water.
These mountain lakes abound in trout,
but that is all the animal life that is found
| in abundance, perhaps because OF the
coldness of the water. Cast q line into
the water, but no-wait till you see Inde-
pendence. Drive on for 81 number Of
miles; now the road is indicated by q
| sign -board-the hand pointing in the
| wrong direction. If the credulOus
traveller relies on the offered hand,
he will, at the END of two miles,
be returned by another hand that
as steadily points the right road. So they
may play battledore and shuttlecock till,
in desperation, he will dash up the steep
that crosses the hill in a tedious incline
as If 1t was the way to somewhere. You
know how travellers dash in this light
air. Even valley horses climb with diff
Guilty, valley people usually escheWing
any kind of climbing not strictly neces-
! sary.
This is the place to enjoy the fir trees.
They must be dark and sOmber IN a
storm, but on a sunny day one finds them
a delight to the eyes.
Watch for the snow flower. The snow
has been Oft here for some time, but we
may find blossom still. Look for a red
flower with feshy stem covered with
umbels. You Will probably find it near
withered, but still showing what it has
been. There is q fresh blossom. You
can't dig out the root. A better botanist
than you are has failed at that.
Here is the lake, much wilder than
WeOber and not so easily reached. The
water IS equally clear, but has less OF a
blue shade. 1t is very deep, hundred
feet and more in places. At its head
stands stately Mt. Mona, or Mt. Rosa, as
it is now called.
Would you try climbing to the snow,
or do you prefer trolling for trout? In
the one case you viii want to cross the
lake to the snowy peaks; in the other,
boat and line are at your disposal. You
learn the rapture by the lonely shore and
on the calm waters. Walden Pond itself
is not more secluded. There is not one of
us who, invigorated by such air and
\ pIedSauI 6AcTclSe, VIII uOI SyIllDdLDlZc
with rhOreau. 1t is when we take the
street-car and unfold the morning paper
that we wonder why people will Vegetate
in the woods. Thoreau's life has helped
to show US that out-of-doors is a longer
word than indoors. II we climb hill
in his memory or enjoy a flower as he
has enjoyed it, we are in accord with his
spirit. Thoreau would not have felt at
home at Newport. Though he would not
have cared for Bar Harbor, he would
have enjoyed the Sierras.
Perhaps it was because of the two years
deer law-perhaps it was because there
| was no gun in the party-that we looked
with the dignity of a high caste Brahmin
on fine-antlered deer that bounded past
US. OF course it was beautiful, innO-
cent thing; of course it wanted to live,
but - we have not Outgrown the alb
original tendency, have we? There is a
savage in every man, but it had much
better escape through a gun or fishing
rod than to shoot forth in choleric pellets
in his family circle. Much savagery
emergeS into the columns headed wit
and Humor''-some of il. Your pardon;
savages cannot concentrates their thoughts.
You see my inheritance?
The ride through these primeyal for
ests is inspiring. Would that our dusky
. progenitors had bequeathed to! us their
knowledge of woodcraft Can you, col
lege man as you are, distinguish between
black and yellow pine? Can you tell a
cedar from a tamarack, and do you know
the position that fir boughs take? What
are pine-needles good for2 What trees
have useful bark? Why has the aspen
-? Enough If you can't answer
these simple queries don't excuse your
ii self by pronouncing the Latin names.
Don't hand US promissory notes when
we ask for coin.
The botanical name for slippery elm
won't help cuts and burns, but the bark
of the tree will. Californians are opposed
to Latin on principle. They are cosmop-
olites, and have all the living languages
spoken within the State. Variety enough
they think, and they have hardly room
for Latin and Greek in their college
course. Why, do you know, I was told
that they would take me for quack or q
/ druggist if l used Latin terms Posi-
/; lively ! have not used even foreign
I idiom since, and l aim to use the simp-
i; lest Anglo-SaXon. When you are in Cali
fornia, speak as the early English did
You are not expected to adopt the slang
4 of the country-that is one comfort
Seeking for short words has diminished
4 the adjectiveS | must needs apply to the
/, scenes before me. "Good" is not appli.
3 cable; fine is Westernism. "Grand'
is appropriate when one looks at the
mountains, but who would use it wheT
2 turning to the numerous crystal streams
i or great clumps of ferns, or those badg
ers peering out of their holes?
I'VE badgered him"-that peculiar
word. He was not treated badly, if yor
r simply watched him with the look O
curious admiration with which the ami
), NAL regarded us. And the young badger
: looked equally interested and less pru-
: dent.
/ The grouse is even more familiar
1 80. I'D h, cit 4.,l Il