Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-11-20
THE GREATEST GROVE
Discovered in California Just Found
by a Stanford Student.
ONLY SIX TREES YET STANDING,
But They Are the Last of the Giants Of the
Famous SequoiaS.
NEAR THE LAST CHANCE INNING CAMP

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 19-William W.
Price, student of the Leland Stanford Jr.
University, lately discovered a new grove
of big trees or sequoia gigantea while out
collecting plants during his vacation. Ths
only description yet given of the grove was
in a short paper recently read BY himself at
meeting of the Academy of Sciences. So
far the scientific world has received no
further information on the subject.
Mr. Price believes that this grove is the
most northern known of seqaoia ,siSantea.-,
1t is situated in Placer county, about Is
miles east of Forrest Hill, on branch Of
the Middle Fork of the American river.
The altitude is about 5000 feet.
Only Six Trees Now Standing.
"Only six trees are standing" said the
discoverer. 'iand these do not spread over
an acre or two of ground. This is, perhaps,
the last stand made by sequoia gigantea,
and for 1000 years or more this
grove has beaten back the fierce onslaughts
OF fire, storm and cold. The two largest
standing trees are about IL feet in diameter.
The four others are smaller. One fallen
tree is 90 feet in diameter at the base and
IL feet at distance of Is feet from the
root. There are other smaller fallen trees
There had been years before a much larger
fallen trunk, some % feet in diameter, but
fire haa destroyed it. The height is not
great, for sugar pines standing near tower
above them"
Mr.. Price is credited with being the dis.
coverer of the grove because he was the
first to give a description to the world.
But he was not the first actually to behold
these big trees. On the occasion of his
visit to the locality OH June 20 last, he was
accompanied by Messrs. Hoffman and
Ferguson, residents of Placer county. Tho
explorers were guided by vague rumors
that such grove existed, although none In
the party had ever met any person who had
seen such q gro We or who was able to say
whether or not the trees were seuoias or
some other kind of conifers
Originally in Greater Profusion.
When the trio arrived in the vicinity they
found numerous dates, such as 1860, 1862,
1868, 1872, $780, 1890, cut in the bark OF
alders growing along tine stream. Probably
the old prospectors and others who saw the
grove prior to the arrival of Mr.. Price did
not realize the value of the discovery. which
seems to prove that the big trees originally
extended much farther north than has been
generally supposed.
The Placer grove is about eight miles
from an old mining camp known as Last
Chance" Mr.. Price describes the forest
through which he and his companions
passed in their search as one unbroken soli-
tude without any travelled trails and with
only few chipmunks. jays and chickadees
to disturb the great monotony: Inc woods
were mostly sugar pines All ABOUT the
grove of big trees the party found the tracks
Of California lions and other wild animals.
The grove cannot be seen until one is within
100 Yards of il. as the sides of a densely
wooded canyon close it all about it.
Mr. Price expects TO make more ex-
tended exploration of the Northern Grove
at his earliest opportunity.