Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1892-03-01
IA. elo rRr1s oe CALIFORNIA

York sun says: N the grove. ~ III"
Sequola gigantea, the big trees ~ Cali
fornIs, ar, 10 be preserved for another
generation "a 90. aud wonder AZ, the
national government will have 10 act
very soon. The ruthless destruction OF
th--e forest king. that '. going on
through the entire belt ~ the groves
wherever the government has not already
thrown IL. protecting hand. u beyond
appreciation by any one who has not
seen u.
These tree. grow nowhere la the
world but along certain wrll-dehnei
belt ~ the western SLOPE ~ the sierra
Ne,adas, AZ an elevation ~ about Son
feet, where they are scattered In irregu.
lar groups, numbering perhaps . score,
through a distance ~ about two hun
drrd miles. one would think that OBJ
Iect. .o unique, "a say nothing ~ their
beauty and grandeur aud their marvel.
ou. age. would be- safc from the hands
~ the lumbeTman, and particularly 80
since the mountain sides are covered
thickly With forests that are just AZ val
liable, for money-making purpose, a.
the .sauolas. Hut the lumberman j. all
deyouring. lie has attacked these few
groves IL giant tree. a. II hi sole pur-
pose In no. was Ia cxtefminlte them a.
quickly a. possible.
North ~ the Yosemite Valley the Cal.
ayers. grove u untouched. Ihluy-fNe
mile. south ~ the valley Il the Mariposa
grove which Z. included In the Yosemite
grant, and !. therefore safe.
Hut the Fresno Flats grove, the next
one la the belt. Ia q scene of destruction
II belong. to the California Lumber
Company ~ san JO.e. IL. policy has
been to slaughter the trees without ~
gard to az. or Sire, beauty or grandeur.
hi. va. one. one IL the most beautl-
fnl III the groves, but to-day " u spiti-
fuI wreck. Giant. 10 the forest, fifteen,
twenty, aud thirty feet In diameter, lie
on the ground In every direction. The
largest trunks, those that are too large
Ia H. handled easily with th. .av, have
been shattered with blasting powder.
stump. ~ the tire. six. ten, or a dolen
feet high are all about, an army OF Wit
n...e. Ia the msleyolent ayarice 81 men.
,.ionaIIy there !. . mighty tree still
standing. With a great ga.h, perhaps
i've feet deep, cut and sawed Into one
.Iie. This grove has been almost amt
hIi,ted. when the company cleans up
the trunks and limbs that now cover the
ground It.work % destruction will h.
u.t about completed. II has lsen en-
gagged on this grove for . number 81
wears, ani has turned It, attention
almost entirely Ia the .e1uoias.
~ the big tree lumber brought higher
prices than any other sort the real which
shown In the destruction OF the groves
could be understood. Hut u rate. no
higher Ia the market than the sugar pine,
with which the mountain SLOPES are
ien.ely covered. The lumber companies
could have made just a. much money
and been at no expense for blasting pow
der II they had LEI the blk trees alone
aud turned Ia the sugar pines.
IN the grove. farther "a the south the
same scene 1. repeated time after time.
In that portion ~ the .eluois belt be-
tween the north and south boundaries 81
Tulare County alone there are nj least
ten mill., every one of which Il indus
triou.ly working away at the big trees.
Their owner. evidently fear that the
national government will some day
awaken Ia the wisdom 81 throwing pro-
lection around these unique groves, aud
they are determined to get just a. much
money out of them as possible before
that day comes.
In the Fresno grove, which u on the
line between Fresno and 'rulare Counties,
the General Grant National Park pre-
sent. few of the big trees. II u only a
square mile In extent, and does not In
clude the whole ~ the grove. The rect
Of II Il rapidly disappearing.
A little "a the southeast the seguola
National Park includes the North ks-
w-ah and south kswcah groves, whlch
were Withdrawn from the -sle In time to
save them from destruction.
Through the remainder Of the groves
one comes upon the same scene again
and again. Everywhere AZ, saw, and
blasting powder are doing their detesti-
able work with speed and thoroughne.s,
II has been proposed Ia extend the
boundaries Of the sequoia Park 80 u
will embrace all the sequola groves ln
Tulare County aud over the mountain
.lop~ from the summit Of the Sierra.
nearly Ia the lower timber Hoe. III the
proposition included the whole belt OF
the seq,.olas, from the most northern
grove 10 the most southern tree, " would
he stIli more heartily approved by al
those (excepting always the mill own.
er.) who have visited the groves and
know how hopeless IL their preservation
Il "A. suV afhef wax