Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-09-21
destroyed canno. be replaced in a hundred

AOSSA NohaASs ~ sStes<Ssss 80 - eAuAANAS~
Most OF the fires are started with the
carelessness OF campers and herders OF
brush and logs at night for cooking and
warmth, and In the morning leave them
burning when they leave camp. The pres
ent fire Tat Is raging around the Yosemite,
whether accurately or not Is attributed to
a passenger on one of the stages. who threw
a burning matcn to the ground after he
had lighted ..is cigar. The stage driver
that the &C. was done exactly at the
place where the fire started The soil OF
the forests Is covered with a thick mat
ting OF dry leaves and pine needles. dead
twigs that have fallen from the trees,
strips Of bark that have sloughed off. cones
that are saturated with pitch and turpen-
tine-the most infiammabie material you
can imagine-and over all of it is growing
become dry In the fall. Thus. IL a match
is thrown or II a burning cigar or cigarette
happens to fail where the lighted end comes
In contact with the ground. the dead leaves
and pine needles are instantly inhamed and
the fire spreads as 1t would along powder
train.
Experienced foresters contend that the
live large trees and the vigorous small ones
will not be injured. but rather benefited.
II the ground was burned over every year
or two. as the Indians did it. But IL the
fnfiammable debris Is allowed to accumu-
late for several years it makes so fierce
to death. They say also that there are
more fires on the forest reserves nowadays
than before they were withdrawn from set
Element. First, because. when cattle were
allowed to. Craze on the lanas they kept
down the grass and wild oats: secondly,
because campers and herdsmen are more
careless than they used to be, and take
no interest in government property. and.
thirdly. because the Ioresters do not burn
the ground over every year or two as was
formerly done.
Situation of the Grove.
The Mariposa grove belonged to the state
of California having been included in the
grant made by the federal government in
1864; but 1t has been receded by the state
legislature to the United States. 1t is
about thirty-five miles from the Yosemite
valley, and a morning drive from Wa
wona, the headquarters of the Southern
Pacific stage line. Wawona Is an Indian
word, meaning big trees" Yosemite means
full grown grizzly bear Wawona is a
lovely place-a park Of several thousand
acres shaded by enormous pines and In
closed by massive mountains. At one end
of the park Is a coy little hotel. surround
ed by cottages. 1t reminds you of some
of the Virginia summer resorts. The BROTH
ers who keep the place are genial. hos
pitable men, who are always looking out
for the comfort of their guests, and try
to make them feel at home. But you
find the same evidences of genuine hos
pitality at all of the hotels in the valley
at Glacier Point. at Advance. Hazel Green.
Coulterville-and you are sure of getting
good bed and a good meal wherever you
stop in this country. 1t is common fault
of tourists to limit their time in the Yo-
semitic. and they thus deprive themselves
come here should not set any time for
going away, for the longer they remain
the more they will enjoy themselves. There
enough pleasant excursions around Wa
for examine to fortnight.
The visit to the Mariposa trees is only
one of dozen.
In the center Of the Mariposa grove,
like a mere atom In a universe, stands
little log cabin, occupied by the Gus
todian and the rangers. The custodian
sells photographs and curios. and holds
so that he can deal with vandale
promptly, and makes the majesty of the
law felt in the forest. In front Of the cabin
Is a cold spring, whose waters are the
be colder If they ran from the back of
an iceberg; and this circumstance suggests
the existence of a Concealed glacier. They
show you the place where President Roose
welt wrapped himself in a blanket one night
and lay down on the pine needles between
two Titanic trees. In the morning, when
he was awakened, he said he never slept
so sweetly in his life before. and that
his bed was softer than any they had at
the White House. He Spent a week In
these woods with John Muir and another
friend, with one of the forest rangers as
guide. They had tents, but slept on
the ground in their blankets, although there
was frost every night.
They had no cooking utensils except fry
ing pan and coffee pot. reinforced by tin
plates and cups and knives and forks. They
didn't even have a wash basin. They found
plenty of water in the creeks and springs.
They carried a strip of bacon and some
-four, and they shot what fresh meat they
needed. Nobody ever enjoyed visit to the
valley than the President.
Discoverer of the Trees.
Over in one corner of the Mariposa big
tree grove stands pile of boulders twelve
feet high. shaped like an obelisk-a very APP
propriate monument in honor of Galen
Clark the man who discovered it. Mr..
Clark is still living and you can see him
and hear him tell of his wonderful expe-
riences. He Is ninety-one years old, but Is
as vigorous as man of sixty. He came
from the town of Dublin, n. H., via the
Isthmus of Panama in 1853. and worked In
the gold mines at Mariposa. In 1857. while
on a hunting trip. he discovered the big
trees and built the present log cabin, which
for thirty years was known as "Galen's
Hosplce." For twenty-four years he was
guardian of the Yosemite and for long
time was postmaster there. He remains In
the valley winter and summer. He hasn't
been out of it for many years, and with his
own hands has dug his grave in a little
cemetery and has set up granite block
upon which he has carved his name and the
date of his birth. A lusty young sequoia
tree Is planted at each of the four corners
of the lot