The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-05-05

| tie valley, occupying depression on th'
| back OF n ridge which runs along In al
| easterly direction between Big Creek ant
| the South MERGED. The grant made by
| Congress is two miles square and en-
| braces, In reality. two distinct groves oi
| two collections of Big Trees between which
| there IN an intervening space without any
| The upper grove is In pretty compact
| body, containing In nm area of 300 TO 80
| feet In dimensions just 3e5 trees of the
Sequoia eigantea, OF n diameter of on.
| foot and over, besides n great number of
small ones. The lower grove. which Is
! smaller I'm size and more scattered, lies
| I'm a southwesteriy direction from the
other, some OF the trees growing quite
| high up In the gulches on the south side
| Of the ridge which separates the two
groves.
There are but very few of the young Big
| Trees growing within the grove. Around
| the base of several OF the large trees OH
the outskirts OF the grove there are several
| natural plantations of the young sequoias
OF all sizes M to six or eight inches in
diameter. but only "A few are as large as
this. Those trees which are about ten
feet in diameter and entirely unintured
by fire. In the fun symmetry of vigorous
growth OF say 500 years, are, although
not so stuoendous as the older giants of
the forest still exceedingly beautiful and
impressive. The southern division of the
Mariposa Grove contains about 1S3 trees.
They are much scattered among other
trees and do not, therefore, present as I'M
posing an appearance as those In the 9TH
often be seen from one point. The larg-
est tree in the lower grove is the one
known as the Grizzly Giant" which is
ninety-three feet seven inches in circum-
ference at the ground and sixty-four feet
three inches at eleven feet above. The
tree Is very much injured and decreased
in size by burning. Some of the branches
of this tree are six feet in diameter. This
tree. however. has long since passed its
prime and has the battered and war-worn
appearance conveyed by its name.
The next grove south of the Mariposa is
one in Fresno county, extending two and
d half miles in length by from one to two
in breadth. There are above 600 trees in
il. the largest of which measures feet
from the ground eighty-one feet. No 9TH
er grove of big trees has been discovered
to the southeast of this along the slope
of the Sierra, until a point is reached
more than fifty miles distant from the
Fresno Grove Here. between the Kings
and Kaweah rivers, is by far the most ex-
tensive collection of trees of this species
which has yet been discovered IN the
State. This belt of trees occurs thirty
miles north-northeast of Visalia. on the
tributaries of the Kings and kaweah nv
ers and on the divide between them:
They are scattered over the slopes ana
on the valleys, but are larger in the de-
pressions, where the soil is more moist
This belt comprises an area four to hye
miles wide by eight to ten miles long.
The trees are not collected together IN
groves but are scattered through the
forests. and associated with other spe-
cies usually occurring at this altitude IN
the Sierra. They are most abunuant
at from 5000 to 1000 feet elevation above
sea level Their number is great, prop
ably thousands might be counted. Their
size, however is not great, the average
being from ten TO twelve feet IN diame-
ter. and but few exceeding twenty iee,.
One tree which had been cut had diam
eter of eight feet, exclusive of the Dark
and was 371 years old. The longest one
seen had a circumference of JOG feet near
1Isx,x. h.afra mn n n
a portion which was burned away at the
base When entire the tree may have
been ten or twelve feet more in circum-
ference. Twelve feet from the ground its
circumference was sevents-fiye feet Its
height was PC feet The top was dead
however and, although the tree was SYM
metrical and in good growth, II had
passed its prime. Another tree when
was so large that three horsemen could
ride abreast into the cavity for dis
lance of thirty feet, its height and width
being about eleven feet. AT "A distance OF
was eight feet
The oriy other groves yet discovered
are those on the Tule River, of which
there are two, one on the north and the
other on the south bank of the river.
They are fifteen miles apart, and the most
northerly of the two is about thirty
miles from the Kings and kaweah River
has been but little explored. 1t is not at
ali unlikely that more of the Big Trees
may be found along the fork of the ka-
weah. which intersects this region with
its numerous branches. The number of
trees in this grove Is quite large and
they are scattered over several, square
miles Of area. The largest of them are
about the size OF the largest In the other
groves.
In 1853 one of the largest trees was cut
down. Ii was the tree, already referred to-
which had been denuded OF a large sec
ton of its bark for exhibition purposes.
This was one of the Calaveras collection.
This tree was actually girdled and. of
course, died. II was 3o2 feet in height
and 60 feet in circumference at its base.
1t was finally decided to cut down the
dead tree. the next act in this botanical
tragedy. This was for the purpose of
supplying those who wished to carry
home specimens of its wood as souvenirs
of their visit. But how to fell this huge
tree was puzzling question. If one
could fttingly imagine so ludicrous
sight as a few Liiiputian men attempting
10 chop down this Brobdingnagian giant.
his contempt would reach its becoming
climax. This, therefore, was given up as
altogether TOO chimerieal and impractl-
cable. Finally the plan was adopted of
boring it off with pump augurs. This
employed five men twenty-five days to
and after the stem was sew
cred from the stump. the uprightness of
its position and the breadth of its base
prevented its overthrow, so that two and
a half OF the twenty-five days were spent
I'm inserting wedges and driving them in
TO the butt of the tree, by logs suspended
on ropes. thereby compelling its down.
fall. While these slow and apparently
hopeless attempts were going on, the
workmen retired to dinner and a gust of
wind took hold of its top and hurled ii
over without the least seeming effort Its
fall caused the earth to tremble as by
an earthquake. Thus this noble monu
ment of the forest was dethroned after
having bra"ed the battle and the breeze
does the average man pos
sess.
in this grove (Calaveras) once stood a
most beautiful tree, graceful in form and
unexcelled in proportions. hence Gas in
human experience) those very qualities a [
once became the most attractive-to the
eyes OF the unfeeling spoliator. This tree
bore the queehly name Of Mother OF the
was stripped from its trunk by Mr..
George Gales for purposes CT exhibition
in the East, to the height of JIG rect. II
now measurN in circumference at the
base without the bark, "a feet; 20 feet
from its base. 80 feet 6 inches The full
at its base, including bark,
was 20 feet. Its height was 3H feet The
average thickness of the bark was II inch
This tree IL estimated 10 contain 53l 900 feet
Of sound rich lumber. To the first branch
II is l37 feet. The small black marks upon
the tree Indicate points where two and
Dne-half inch anger holes were bored. and
into these were inserted rounds, by which
10 ascend and descend while removing the
bark. II is contemplated to build Il cir
cular stairway around this tree.
But q short distance from this Mother of
the Foresi lies the nrostrat. form OF one
hat was probably the tallest sequoia that
ever grew, the Father Of the Forest. This
tree when standing in its primitive ma
jesty, is credited with exceeding 400 feet
IN height with a circumference at its base
9f 10 feet, and although limbless, without
bark. and even much Of its sapwood de-