The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1905-09-28
BIG TREE RESERVES.
FOREST GIANTS IN SEVEN CAL
IFoRNIA GROVES.
Redwoods That Are Six Thousand
Years Old--Some Historic In
cidents of Santa Cruz
Reserve,


There are seven groves of big trees"
In California, and most Of them are
now protected within forest reserves.
One OF them is five miles from Santa
Cruz, a popular summer resort. An
other of 3,S00 acres Is at 1.-The Big
Basin,' 16 miles from Santa Cruz,
which the state of California has re-
Gently purchased for $250.OOO and re-
served as a public park. The third Is
In Calaveras county, a famous mining
region east of Sacramento--the scene
OF many Of Bret Harte's stories. The
fourth Is in Tuolumne county between
Calayeras and the Yosemite. The
Mariposa grove at the southern en-
trance of the Yosemite is flfth. The
Gen. Grant national park in fresno
county and the Seauoia national park
In Tulare county. both Of them Just
west OF Death valley, complete the list.
II is popular impression. writes Will
liam E. Curtis. in the Chicago Record
Herald, that the big trees" are all IN
the same section. but this Ii q great
mistake. The groups have named are
~
Cessible, but the forest at Santa Cruz
Ia most convenient and the only one
that can be reached without q long
stage ride. A narrow gauge railroad
Iuns trains to 1t every hour In about
30 minutes; the Big Basin park can be
reached by a pleasant 16-mile drive:
Calaveras grove. Tuolumne. Mariposa,
Gen. Grant park and the Sequoia park
are all reached by stage rides Of from
40 to rs miles.
The Santa Cruz forest is not so large
as some Of the others, but 1t is q good
type OF them all. and people whose
time Is limited can get an adequate
idea by coming here and taking this,
the easiest and shortest route.
The big trees"-"equoia semper-
virens"-found at Santa Cruz are cou-
sins OF the "seQuoia gigantes" found in
the other parks and are from the same
family and about the same size. The
name "sequoia" Is said to have been
given them by an Alabama botanist
who came here and described them in
an carly day. although he did not first
discover them. The name originally
belonged to q Cherokee chief in that
state who was very tall and very
strong and had q fine character, which
the botanist greatly admired. Others
explain that the word was derived
from the Latin 'sequOr," which means
finished"
The trees are not in one mass. They
are scattered through forest of mas
sive pines. cedars and other varieties.
but the Santa Cruz park can be seen
thoroughly In a few hours. There are
no accommodations at the forest, how
ever-only few old buildings at
which photographs and curios are sold.
There Is not even restaurant. Peo-
pie can visit the grove and get back
to town between the ordinary hours
for meals. II Is true. but there shoIld
be first-class hotel in the forest, so
TO hurry back and forth. The owners
Of the property are the heirs of the late
Joseph w. Welch. fos many years one
OF the proprietors Of the Alta Califor-
nian, a newspaper of San Francisco
II was formerly part Of Spanish
erant. Rincon de la Canada. and was
turned over to the late Gov Stanley
formerly of South Carolina. as a fee
for his services In lawsuit. In 1866
MIR. Welch bought from Gov. Stanley
365 acres, containing 100 trees more
than IL feet in diameter, the largest
called "the Cathedral"-being 33 feet
in diameter and LOG feet in circumfer
cnce. This Is claimed to be the largest
tree In the world. The highest tree in
the Santa Cruz forest is called "the
Giant" II towers BOG feet toward the
sky aEd was Is feet taller q few. years
ago. when Its tip was broken OF by q
storm. More than SO trees In the
grove are over 800 feet high. One OF
them was recently cut down and 10000
"split shakes"--which are large shin
gles-were out from It and sold for III
& thousand on the cars: $50 railway
ties we're cut from the limbs. which
sold for 38 cents each. Thus the pro-
ceeds brought Q total Of 1927. which ia
probably . record price for one tree.
No more Of the giants will bs cut,