The National tribune., 1903-07-23
THE GIANT REDwOODs.
Something About the Mammoth Old Trees
and the Management Of the Parks.


EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: live In
that portion of California where the Sc
quota Gigantea, or giant redwood, grows
| to perfection. Several years ago the Gov
ernment very wisely set apart some OF the
very finest bodies Of this timber for Gov
| ernment parks. The most accessible OF
| these is the Gen. Grant Park, a small
park two miles square, in the center of
| which is the Gen. Grant tree, for long
time thought to be the largest tree IN the
world. Now, do not think me the biggest
liar in the world, if l am an old soldier.
At the ground it is 40 feet in diameter,
but it is rather swell-butted and mis-
shapen, and at % feet from the ground it
is 26 feet in diameter.
The she wolf might have sheltered Rom
uluS and RemuS under the Grant, winch
was probably then several thousand years
old and larger than any tree in Europe at
that time. The robins were building their
nests among its branches before the pyra-
mids were built. 1t was very large tree
when our ancestors were half-clad savages
in Europe.
We are told by scientists that it is an
expiring species; that prior to the last
glacial epoch there were over 80 varieties,
and that they grew as fer north as Hud-
sons Bay, and that during that cold period
they all perished but two species-the Sc
quota Gigantea and the SequOia Semper-
virens They are both here in California
as the result of some of the seeds hndng
lOdgment in a secure place where they
withstoOd the blasts of !OUo years ana
then sprang into life to become the won-
der of the civilized world. Among the
thousands of young trees that are spring
ing from the ground in the park now,
there are some that will be standing when
it will take q close student OF history TO
find the footprints of Gen. Grant: They
will probably still be living when the equi-
nox progresses to that point where the
North Pole presents itself to the sun on
the long point of the Earth's orbit and the
ice returns to complete what it SO nearly
accomplished at its last return.
There are hundreds of pounds OF seed
(the seed are about the size of a parsnip
seed being sent to all parts of the world,
so the agency of man may still perpetuate
this expiring species. When the fate of
the United States becomes that OF Lemnra
or Atlantis, and there is good, scientific
reason that they once existed, and Mount
Whitney becomes an atOll then, thanks to
mans agency, the Sequoia will still live.
There is one unfortunate circumstance.
When these trees were first discovered
their description was sent to an English
botanst for identification. He pronounced
it new species, and named it WeiHng-
tona Gigantea, and this name prevails IN
all parts of the world.
But / have digressed. A ranger is en-
ployed in the park, whose duty it is to
watch the tourists to see that they do not
whip out a jack-knife and split off piece
of the Grant for souvenir or write their
name on it with a pencil, and keep his eye
on the man with the camera and edge
around next to the best-loOking girl in the
crowd and have his picture taken a half
dozen times Il day during the tourist
season. During the Winter he sits i'll his
cabin and smokes his pipe and reads nov
els, except when lie has to go out and draw
his salary.
Now this is only one of large number
of forest and park rangers in these noun
tains. Besides this, the Government
makes an annual appropriation of $4,000
for the Sequoia Park and $500 for the
Grant Park, to be expended in building
roads. trails, fire breaks, etc.
Hold on, there, all you old veterans. Do
not look with longing eye on these good
jobs. They are all too high for you, no
matter how good n picture you would
take or how competent to build roads. You
must belong to the clique. You must have
a pull, and good one. Battle scars won't
help you here. Honor is at discount.
A few years ago, when rangers were
first appointed, an old Union soldier by
the name of r. 3. East, and another,
Pendola, were appointed rangers, but as
soon as the value of the places became
known, they had to give them up. A local
politician of some note, S. Z. n. Ellis, got
the position, and had his nephew, A. Bull
lard, appointed in Pendola's place.