The record-union., 1899-05-22

the business world to wonderland, ana
if there are any annoyances or dl1n-
oulties connected with it his guests
never find it out. Their paths are maoe
easy and they have nothing to 90 pul
enjoy the grandeur Of the unrivaiea
scenery through which he conducts
them
| After a good lunch at Ahwahnee the
party was off again on the twenty-five
| mile drive to Wawona. This portion VI
the tlip was through dense forest u
pine, rassing to the left of the Mari
posa Big Tree Grove, just before reach-
| ing Wawona, at which place all were
ready fer the fine dinner set pefore
| them, and then the good beds n wnlch
| they rested that night. The hotel at
| Wawona is kept by the two brothers OF
| A f. Washburn, and they are as wen
| skilled in their business as he in ms.
| The three brothers resemble each other
very r1ue h in appearance ana actoh'
and are equally untiring in looking after
| the comfort and enjoyment OF their
| guests.
| First on the program Monday morn
! ing was a visit to the fish hatchery at
| Wawona, which is under the superln-
tendence of VIM B. Hunt, who was
reared in Sacramento. He is the son
of VIM. B. Hunt. who was formerly
! Chief of the Sacramento Fire Depart
ment and proprietor of the Hotel de
France. Here the tourists saw the
J whole process of fish Matching, and were
deeply interested in it. They saw the
| eggs, a little fish just emerging from
| the eggs, others a day DID, and so on.
| 1t was something new to most of them,
| and they listened eagerly to Mr.. Hunt s
| lucid explanation of the whole process
| The process of fish culture is fully de-
scribed in the cyclopedias but the view
| ing of 1t is deeply interesting.
| After lunch the party took uncovered
stages and visited the famous Mari
posa big tree grove, where they saw
! the largest trees ON earth, among the
most gigantic being the Grizzly Giant, ,"
measuring 33 feet in diameter, and
| ''Wawona,'' 2S feet in diameter. The
/ fourth horse stages pass directly through
| the last named tree, and also through
one named ."California- Those who
carried cameras and kodaks secured
! several fine group pictures here with
| the big trees for back grounds and
| later used the grand falls of the Yo-
semitic Valley for back grounds. The
hotel at Wawona was reached again in
time for dinner, and the party was join
| ed by several members from Southern
California
| On Tuesday morning the whole party
was off for the Yosemite Valley, the
awnings being removed from the stages
| so as to give unobstructed view Of the
| dizzy nights which were being ap-
preached. The road led through seen
cry so grand that it was thought by
many that it could not be possible that
! it would be surpassed by anything to be
| seen in the valley itself, but when the
| stages stopped on Inspiration Point, g.
| 24S feet in hight, where the first view
of the valley is obtained, it was admit
ted that their imaginations had not
conjured up anything to compare with
the scene in beauty and grandeur before
them. From this time on wonders pre-
| Sented themselves in such rapid sue
cession that the visitors We're perfectly
| bewildered. Each declared that he
would never even attempt to describe
them. Inl fact, it is not possible to con-
vey through the medium Of the pen, or
even the camera, any adequate con-
ception of the wonderful entrancing
scenes which met the eye at every step.
The first Of the great falls in sight is
the Bridal Veil, with a clear fall of $50
feet. As the floor of the valley is reach
ed numerous falls are seen on either
side, until the great Yosemite fall is
seen on the left. This fall is 2,51S feet
in hight. divided into three falls, the
| upper fall, LOOP feet, the middle fall,
559 feet, and the lower fall 4S7 feet
From the valley are seen the Half
Dome, at an altitude of SS23 feet;
Clouds Rest, 9,912 feet; North Dome,
1925 feet; Glacier Point, 7,2O1 feet;
Cathedral Rock, 6,631 feet; Cap of Lib
erty, 7,062 feet; Mount Starr King, g.
$50 feet; Ell Captain. 7012 feet; Union
Point, 6, ,290 feet; Three Brothers, 7,751
feet; Cathedral Spires, 1894 feet; Sem
tinel Dome, s, 122 feet; The Sentinel, T.
065 feet
At noon the excursionists reached the
Sentinel Hotel kept by J. B. Cook, and
found the accommodations as they had
done at WaWona, first class. 1t was
astonishing to them that such excellent
hotel service can be maintained so far
from the base of supplies, for the party
had just seen over what tremendous
grades all of the provisions had been
hauled from Raymond, sixty mine miles
away
Here the excursionists were met by
Miles Wallace, the guardian of the val
ley, who gave them much information
and accompanied them on their trips
about the valley and up the trails dur
ing the following two days. His du-
ties as the representative of the State
in the Yosemite Valley and Big Tree
Grove are numerous and he is kept
busy looking after the trails and camp
ers. When campers arrive in the valley
they are handed a little leafiet inform