Durango semi-weekly herald., 1905-10-05

such enormous growths; and while the
sequoia and redwoods are the largest
the pines, cedars, frs, oaks and Other
varieties are OF corresponding immen
sity. There is something peculiar
about the soil and climate of thes,
mountains that has made them so
The Mariposa grove. as | have said
is the finest we have seen-un Assem-
blage OF the largest and most magnifi
cent examples of the vegetable king
| dom known to botany. The father OF
them all Is l06 feet In circumference
and more than $50 feet high-more
than twothirds as high as the Wash
ington monument, and almost as large
In girth. The top is twisted and
broken and the guides tell us that IL
| was about rs feet higher many years
| ago. hut lost Its crest In "A storm.
There are ll5 trees In one group,
| each OF which is more than fifteen feet
N diameter and more than 300 feet
nigh. Most OF them are between 25
md tairty feet in diameter and from
eighty to 100 feet in circumference.
You have seen pictures OF the hole
ut through the base of one of these
irees. with stage coach loaded with
passengers, driving through H. Thn,
s feature OF every one of the seven
orests. Perhaps you nave also seen
me trunk Of fallen giant lying on
the ground. with stage coach load
ed with passengers. driving its full
'ength. That trick was actually per
'ormed. and was devised to grartify a
New York gentleman who paid the
9tage driver for his trouble The most
'lriking photograph. however, 10 MY
mind, is one that shows a troop of
ne fonrth cavalry, on horseback,
lrilline upon the trunk of Il fallen ei
mt | did not see the drill, but
nave seen the tree and there is plen-
y OF room upon the trunk for a squad.
ron OF horsemen to go through their
haheuvers. The "ballroom'--thc
'tump which has been smoothed on
md polished for n dancing hoor--is In
he forest OF Calayeras, hundred
miles to the north. II was originally
10 feet and eight inches In diameter,
md when the bark had been removed
here remained n dancing floor 25 feet
N diameter and seven feet from the
round. The largest tree in the Cal.
,veras forests, called the New York"
Is l04 feet In circumference. The
Ohio" is l03 feet. Many OF the trees
IRE hollow at the bottom. They have
been burned out by forest nres, and
great rooms remain. In the Tree OF
Refuge" In the Calaveras forest, six.
teen steers were once found huddled
together. seeking shelter in the trunk
rom a storm. When President Har.
rison was at Santa Cruz forest he as
iembled his entire party OF AZ people
IN the hollow trunk of tree in which
General Fremont is said to have
ramped.
The bark upon these trees Ia often
wo feet thick. II is generally from
six to eight inches and beautifully
notified or fiuted like gigantic column
The trunk tapers slowly their sym.
metry Is very striking. and they are
isually without limb for hundred
'eet from the ground. The largest
ones Will average 300 feet In height.
and you often find them 1915 feet.
Their limbs are ragged and twisted:
heir foliage Is scanty. due to the
storms OF 5000 years. They grow
closely together; sometimes two.
three. and even Ave spring from the
1ame roots. and there are acres where
the trees are 30 losely grown that
with your finger tips. The root sys-
TEN Is not extensive nor is II deep.
1t is extraordinary that the trees have
lived Tor so many centuries and have
grown so large with so little soil and
so little moisture. Botanists say tha,
they can live almost on the nourish
ment from the air. and that is where
they nave an advantage over human
beings. There are no buttresses. like
YOU see supporting the trunks of mon
ster trees in eastern forests, but they
rise out OF the soil without showing
their roots In most cases and stand
squarely over their own center OF
gravity. They do not die or decay
like other trees, and although you
will find hundreds of them burned out
at the bottoms, so that the gap will
| shelter a score of men or squadron
of cavalry, yet the upper trunk and
the branches will be as firm and
healthfcl as nature could make them ;
| and professional foresters. like John
Muir, will tell you that, among more
than five thousand of these giants
scattered along the slopes OF the
Sierra Nevada mountains, they have
never seen but one sequoia tree
which died n natural death That Is
famous. It lies on the bank OF Boul
der Greek, and was evidently starved
to death. The rocky ravine where
nature imprisoned 1t furnished In
sufficient nourishment and inadequat,
moisture. but II grew and grew, unit
II became greater than any other tre.
in the neignborhood. until It coul,
look over the tops OF the forests a
round 1t. Then, one day, 1t fell from
It's own weight and perished
Worms and other pests do not al
feet the sequoias. They seem I'm