The Penn's Grove record., 1909-07-30
CALIFORNIA; Big Trees
As Seen By A Pedricktown Resident.
California, June q, 1909.

llid, JuLlc A1y lOU0.
While spending sometime in Yosemite
Valley, 1 visited the Maraposa Grove Of
Big Trees, which is in the National Park,
and contains some of the largest in the
world.
We left Glacier Point Hotel in stage for
Uawona, a distance of "a miles.
The road led over the top of the
mountain, some places through snow four
feet deep, and then down around and up
another one, down again, through forest
of pine, spruce, fir, tamarack and cedar,
i~nterspersed with small patches of mead
ows. with green velvety surface and
wild flowers.
In some places the trees we're set close
ly together some almost covered with
moss, very little underbrush anywhere.
Where they were more widely scattered
l saw many ferns and wild flowers,
among them the Wild Azalea, Mountain
Lilac, Indian Pea, Larkspur and Mara
posa lily, also the Snow Plant with its
gorgeous coloring.
Wild deer are often seen in these
mountains. One crossed the road ahead
of us, ran into the forest and stood gazing
at us, also saw many squirrel which are
very tame, as there is no shooting allowed
in the Park.
The Government keeps two companies
OF Soldiers here during the summer
months, to see that rules are obeyed.
Arrived at Chiquapin a station where
we changed horses, we proceeded again
on u journey which was mostly down
grade the the rest of the way. Made
good time and arrived at Nawona at 6
o'clock.
Here we found a very nice Hotel where
we passed the night after having refresh
ed ourselves with a bounteous dinner:
trout right from the mountain stream,
and all the other delicacies of the season,
Nawano is a small village, with a hotel,
store and a few other buildings, situated
in the South Fork Valley of the MERGED
river and a mile outside of the Park. It's
elevation is 300 feet, AGO feet lower than
Glacier Point from where we started,
The following morning at 9 o'clock we
took the stage for the Grove of Big Trees.
which is eight miles farther south and
within the boundary of the Yosemite
National Park.
1t was a gradual climb of $500 feet. As
we neared the Grove we strained our eyes
for a first glimpse of the Great Monarchs
OF the forests. They are within a radius
of four miles,
They are a specie of Pine called The
Sequio Giganta and vary in heigth from
250 to 300 feet and IA feet in diameter.
The bark which is a cinnamon color varies
from IA to 30 inches in thickness. The
branches seldom appear below 100 #.
from the ground, and the first links are
five to six feet in diameter. From one of
these trees could be cut SO, 1000 feet of IN
inch boards twelve inches wide. There
are $50 of the Big trees in the grove. most
of themnamed either for a State, Uniyer-
sity or some Great General. We drove
through two, the NaWona and California
and between two just opposite each other,
the New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
We stopped two hours and a half at
this log cabin, that was built where the
trees are the thickest, ate our lunch
under those Monster Giants, thousand of
years old, thought to have been standing
here when Moses passed through the,
wilderness. We wandered among them,
climbed on n that had fallen wears ago
and ON which at times, they drive the
four.
The Columbia is the tallest, 800 feet
high. The Grizzly Giant is tremendous
girth, a limb 80 feet above the groundd is
20 IT. in circumference. The trees base
Is l04 It. and 6 feet above the ground
80 feet in circumference.
Many OF them are burned at the base
by forest fires, and some have been splin-
tered at the tops by Tightening.
Electrical storms occur occasionally ON
the mountains but the valleys and plains
OF California are free from them. One tree
has a cavity the entire length of it. a
dozen people can stand in it and look out
of the top. 1t is still alive as there are
several green branches near the top. Six
teen horses have been sheltered in the cav
ity of the Haverford at one time.
1t is estimated that if Gen. Grant. one
OF the largest trees was sawed into boards
one inch thick, would make a fence 6 feet
high and "a miles long, and that Greater
New York would need to have twice as
many people as at present. in order to
move equal the avordupois of the 600