The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-08-04
TWO WOMEN COAST 5000 FEET
 AND SAVE A POSTOFFICE
Night Auto Ride Down Camp Curry in the Yosemit Brings Them to Telegraph Soon Enough to Bombacd Congressmen and Jolt Up Washington on-How Jimmie
 Goes to College on "Fall of Fire''
By ZOE BECKLEY

By ZoE
 Yosemite Valley, Cal, August S.-(Spe- cial) )-would you mind if I write just a little piece about Yosemite? I shall not rhapsodize over it's magnificences nol sing paens on it's beauties. You have seen pictures of Sentinel Rock and the gigantic Fl Capitan ever since you had a geography book. As kiddie you bored over photographs of the So00-year-old ''big tree" with a six-horse coach driving through it's heart. You have gazed at lil1enesses of the exquisite Bridalyeil Falls and of the other cataracts that l look less ike water than like snow being shoveled on the precipices by unseen hands. shall spare you descrip- tions of how they sound dashing from the very heavens onto the sweet green floor of the valley. And of the smell of the pines as you lie in your tent at night. I shall tell you instead about Jamie, who earns the price of college by scaling the ssoO-foot wall of Glacier Point every other evening from May until October to make a fire fall'' for the delight and wonder of the people at Camp Curry. l And of Mrs. Curry who runs the camp. And of her daughter, Marjorie who drove the Curry automobile over the l thrilling mountain roads at night to save the Curry postoffice. And of little Mrs. Jillson, 70 years old and mother of SIX, who tours the land as an enter tainer and has more magnetism than May Irwin. And of the stentor of To- semite, "who has the voice of 50 men" :" And of the valley doctor, who slides down cliffs and gallops along levels at all hours of the day and night slithers in behind waterfalls and scales impossi- ble heights, looking after people who break their shins or acquire appendicitis or fall over precipices or are got by the altitude.
 If there's any room left after that, I'll tell you about the daring old woodchop- per who have been in the valley almost ever since it was discovered, and loves to take the baby rainbows up in his arms And of the government rangers and their beautiful horses who chum to- gether in the silent forests. $ But there; it's no use. I won't have room.
 ADD TO THE "OH MYSw
 Until two years ago the coaches you saw in your old geography book were still the only means of getting into To- semitic by way of the Merced valley and the hig trees. Now you go, less pie turesquely perhaps, but in a fraction of the time by powerful S-passenger cars driven by men who are feazed by noth- ing the combination of mountain pass with halrpin turns, an eight-cylinder mo- tor and a pack of assorted tourists ex- pecttng holdups can do.
 "Oh, yes, there are highway robberies every once in awhile" said the stocky Scotsman who was chauffing us confi- dently along aSroad cut out of the sierra 1000 feet above the sea level "The last one I heard of was July 5. year ago.
 ''That fellow had sawed-off shotgun and held up string of five cars on the Merced road He got away with about $500. There ain't many robberies inside Yosemite Park, because they know the governmental get after 'em.'
 Soon we had forgotten all about our money or our lives because we came out on to Inspiration Point, coloquially called "Oh, My! point and were oh- mying like thousands of others before us.
 One hates to draw invidious compari- sons, but to me Yosemite valley is to the Grand canyon what the living Is to the dead One gazes upon the canyon in stupefaction, wondering, not understand ing. One smiles into the valley, enter ing it not only with awe, but with de- light and love.
 And now to Camp Curry which is camp de luxe, with swimming pool, bath house, electric lights, a giant campfire at night-and Jamie's firefall!
 The work of the camp with it's 800 guests is done by girls and boys. from the state colleges, U. of C., Leland Stan ford and the rest. They care for the tents, wait at table, attend the bowling alleys, the soda fountain, the dance room and all the regulation things. But Jamie does the big stunt.
 "FIREFALL" A WINDFALL Twenty years ago MT. and Mrs David A. Curry pioneered into the valley and started six-tent camp with a few friends. The holiday was such a glori- fled success that it was repeated on "a bigger and bigger scale each year.
 Papa Curry found that his huge voice could be made to reach the apex of Gla- | cier Point against the base of which the 1 camp is snuggled. He hoorooed and yow-wowed to the folks encamped on top and they yeeeeeowed and kivyihied down in answer. It grew to be stunt, l only a few being able to make them selves heard.
 At night the Curryites built a big fire i and everybody who knew any camp 1