GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CALIFORNIA.
J. D WHITNEY, STATE G~o~ocis~.
THE
YOSEMtTE   GUtDE-BOOK:
A DESCRIPTION OF TIlE YOSEMITE VALLEY AND THE
ADJACENT REGION OF THE SIERRA NEVADA
AND OF THE BIG TREES OF CALIFORNIA.
WInI TWO MAP~
PUBLISflFD BY AUTHORITY OF THE LEGISLATURE.
1871. 
UNIVERSITY P~~~~: WELCH, BIGELOw, & Co.,
CAMBRIDGE. 
PREFATORY NOTE.
A STATEMENT of tbe ~vay i1~ ~vbicb tlie preseiit vo1un~e
to be autborized by tlie Legis1at~re, sod of tbe sources froni
which the inforn~atioo it contaijis wss drawn, will be found iii
tlie introductory cliajiter. It ~iay be pro~~er to add that tlii~e
editions have been 1)ublisbed  one iii (tuarto form, with photographic illustrations  another in octavo, with`voo~icuts selected
froiii aniolIg those used iii the first voliinie of our  (~eology of
-(~~aiifornia   aiid a tliiul (the l)resent voluu~e, iiainely) iii`vljicl~
~ortahiiity lias beeii ~1iiefly ainied at.  Ti~e two maps attaclie~l
to the l)resent volun~c are reductio'is of those giveil iii tiie quarto
and octavo editions, 50(1 as n~uch detail lias hei~ii put upoii them
as tiie neee.~sary snialliicss of the scsi would allow.  A few verbal cliaiiges have been nade in this edition, which were required
liy changes in the facilities of access brought about within the
1iaSt two years and by tlie on~ission of tlie woodcuts.
J. D. V.
CAMBRIDGE, MAss., April 1, 1871.  
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER 1.
INTRODUCTORY.
Object of the present volume, - its origin, - the Congressional grant of the
Yosemits Valley and the Big Trees to the State of California, 9; action of
the Governor, - appointment and names of Commissioners, - surveys to
establish the boundaries of the grants, 10; acceptance of the grants by
the State, - action of the Legislatnre, - authority given the State Genlo  pist to prepare a guide-book of the Valley and Grove, 11; action of the
Commissioners and the State Geologist in carrying out tise directions of
the Legislature, 12; surveys made for the Commissioners, - report of the
Commissioners, - their plans and wishes, 13, history of the settlement
of the Yosemite Valley, - Indian ~Var, 14; aboriginal names of the
prominent points in and around the Yosemite, 15, 16; these names not
current at present, -system adopted by the Geological Survey in giving
names, 17; history of the di~covery and setttsment of the Vosemits, 18
first visits by tourists, - public houses built there, 19; settlers in the
Valley, - their attempt to get possession of it, - action of the Legislature
and Congress, 20; reason for not yielding to their demands, 21; the
promises and the duties of the State of California 22
CHAPTER II.
GENERAL.
Sketch of the topographical features of the United States, 23; the mountain
system west of the 105th meridtan, 24; the name suggested for it as a
whole, 25; history of its exploration, 26; need of good maps, -sanitary
value of mountain travel, 27; mountains of California, 28; the Coast
Ranges and the Sierra Nevada, 29; topography and botany of the Coast
Ranges, 3) - 35; intsresting points to be vi~ited, 32, 35; ascent of Monte
Diablo, 32; character of Coast Range scenery, 33; views from points
about San Francisco, 34, 35; the Sierra Nevada, 36-43; its extent, 36;
elevation, 37; heigi~ts of passes and dominating peaks, 36, 37; its geol  ogy, 37,38; forest vegetation, 38,39; climate, 40; rain and snow on the
Sierra, 41, 42; former eyistence of glaciers - former greater precipi~
tion, 43. 
Vi             TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CllAPTLR III.
T II E Y 0 8 R M I T R Y A L L E Y.
The Yosemite Valley, its position, 44; routes to, 45; advantages of each, 46;
advice in regard to getting to and from the Valley, 47; the route by
Coulterville, 48; the Bover Cave, 48: Pilot Peak, 49: route by Bear
Valley and ~lanposa, 50, 51; ~isite and Itatch's, 51: Clark's Ranch, -
~Ve~tfsil's, 52: poeltion of the Vosensite, - usaps referred to, - pn'ncipal
features ot the Valley, 53; Li Capitan, - Bn'dsl Veil Fall, 55; Virgin's
Tears Fall,- Cathedral Rock, - the Three Brothers, 56; ~enfinei Rock.
57; the Yosemite Fall, 57, 5~; Royal Arches, - North Dome, 59; Itaif
Dome, 60: Mirror Lake, - Cloud's itest, - tise Vernal Fall, 61; Nevada
Fall, - the Illilonette Cailon, 62; botany, topography, and geology of the
Yosemite, 63-76; its shape and elevation, 63; vegetation, 64-67; the
walls, -exit frons, 67; its, waterfalls, - changes in the waterliilis at dif  ferent seasons, 68; compafl~on of celebrated tails with those of the Yo  semite, 70: appearance of the Valley in the  inter, - peculiar type of
scenery in the Yosemite, 71; how originated, 72-75;  sot by aqueous
erosion, 72: nor by glaciers, - general remarks on the formah'on of val  leys, 73; theory suggested for the origin of the Yosemite, 74; reasons
for adopting this theory, 75.
CHAPTER IV.
T II R II I G It S I R R R A.
Visitors to the Yosemite advised to extend their journey to the higher regions
of the Sierra Nevada, - advantages of the climate for such excursions,
77; comparison of Swiss and Californian scenery, 78: tour around ths
Yosemite, 79; route to be followed, 80; visit to tise top of the Three
Brothers, 80. to summit of Mount Itoffmann, 81; view of Tower Peak,
- Lake Tenaya, S2; Catisedral Peak, 83; Tuolumuse Valtey, sod Soda
Springs, 83, 84; view frous Soda Springs, 84, 85; glaciers once existing
here, - de~cripIion of the scenery, - tise Tuolumme canon probably con  taining grand waterfalls, - the Ileteis-Itetchy Valley, 85; ascent of
Mount Dana, 86; topography of tise crest of the Sierra, - passes near
Moun~ Dassa, 87; view frons its sumusit, - geology, 88; glades-s, - mu
ri~ne lakes, - ascent of ~lount Lycil, ~9; return route, - the Little
Yosemite, 90; Mount Starr King, - Sentinel Dosne, 91; views from the
Dome and Clacter Point, 92; the Merced Group, - the Obeiisk, 93;
Mount Ritter, 94; the Retch-Hetchy Valley, 94, 95; Itigh Sierra at head
of King's and Kern rivers, 96 - 116; party for its exploration in 1864,97;
their route,-a   I of Bald Mountain, 98;`y of tie region,  D,~ ke Ridge, - Big Meadows, 98; Dome Mountains, - structure of the
gs-anite, 99: the Kettle, - the divide beyond the Kettle, 101: 8ugar Loaf
Rock, 162; Mount Brewer, 103; view from Mount Bce sec, 103, 104; to  pography of the region, 104; usaguifi     of the.    y, and character
of the country about tise head of King's River, 104, 105: Mr King's as  cent of Mount Tvndall, 105-107; view from its sunmsit, ~07; attempt to
ascend Mount ~~"hituey, loS, 169; route followed, - topography of the
region, - elevation reached, 109; caiiou of south lock of King's River,  stupendous scenery, 110; pass out from th, - attempts to reach
Mount God'tard, - Mount King,- the Palisades, 111; the party descends
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS.            Vii -
into Owen's Valley, - return across the Sierra at head of weet branch of
Owen's River, 112; grandeur of the scenery, - Red Slate Peaks, 113; de  pression at forks of King's River, - region loved by the Diggers, 114;
ascent of Mount Goddard, - north fork of the San Joaquin, - dome of
graoite, 115; getting out of the calion, -scenery, -M~uut Ritter, 116;
ascent of Black Mountain, return to Clark's Ranch, li~.
CllAPTER Y.
THE BIG TREES.
First discovery of the Big Trees, 118; history of their scientific nomenclature,
119, 120; wide distributioss of the cultivated trees, - name of the genus,
whence derived, 120; geographical range and habitat of the redwood and
Hi" Tree, 121; size of the redwood, - grandeur of the redwood forests,
122~ distribution of the Big Trees, 123; the Calaveras Grove, 124; meas  urements of the trees in the grove, 125; age of the Big Trees, - height
of, 126; the Beaver Creek Grove, - the Crane Flat Grove, 127; the Maci  posa Grove, 128-130; measurements of trees in this grove, 129; vegeta
tion of the meadows and grove, - the Lower Grove, - the Grizzly Giant,
130; Fresno County Grove, - the Ring's River belt of Big Trees, 131;
the Tule River Groves, 132; comparison of the Big Trees with other trees,
132,133.  
THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOTh
CHAPTER 1.
INTRODlYcTORY.
llE object of this volume is to call the attention of the pub     lic to the scenery of California, and to furnish a reliable
guide to some of its most interesting features, namely, the Yosem  ite Valley, the lligh Sierra in its immediate vicinity, and the
so-called "Big Trees."  ~Iuch has indeed already been published
in regard to these remarkable localities  but in all that has been
given to the public, with the exception of tlte necessarily brief
description in tlte Report of the Geological Survey (Geology,
Vol. 1.), there has been little of accuracy, and almost nothing
of permanent value.
The origin of the present volume is to be found in fl~e action
of Congress and the State of California in regard to il~e Yosemite
$ Valley and the ~Iariposa Grove of Big Trees.  This action dates
back to the year 1564.  In that year Congress, being moved
thereto bv certain influential and intelligent citizens of Califor  nia, passed the following Act: -
"Be it enacted hj' the Senate and House a  Representatives ~f the
United States of AmerTha, ja Congress assemh ed, That there shall he,
and is hereby,  ran ted to the State of California, the`Cleft' or
Gorge' in the Gn~nite Peak of the Sierra Nevada Mountain, situ ated in the county of Mariposa, in the State aforesaid, and the head waters of tlie ~Ierced River, aiid known as the Yosemite Valley, with
its branches and spurs, in estimated length fifteen miles, and in
average width one mile hack from the main edge of the precipice,
on each id of the valley, with the stipulation, nevertheless, that
the said State shall accept this grant upon il~e express conditions
that the premises shall be held for public use, resort, and recreatioii;
shall be inalienable for all time; but leases not exceeding ten years
may be granted for portions of said premises.  All incomes derived
from leases of privileges to be expended in the preservation and
improvement of the property, or the roads leading thereto; tho
 
10          THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
boundaries to be established at the cost of said State by the United
States Surveyor-General of California, whose official plat, when affirmed by the Commissioner of the General Laud Office, shall constitute the evidence of the locus, extent, and limits of the said Cleft
or Gorge; the premises to be managed by the Governor of the State,
with eight other Commissioners, to be appointed by fi~e Executive
of California, and who shall receive no compensation for their services.
"SECT. 2. And be it further eancted, That there shall likewise be,
and there is hereby, gn~nted to tlie said State of California, the tracts
embracing wl~at is known as the`~Iariposa Big Tree Grove,' not to
exceed tlie area of four sections, and to be taken in legal subdivisions of one-quarter section each, with the like stipulations as expressed in tlie first section of this Act as to the State's acceptance,
with like conditions as in the first section of thi~ Act as to iiialienability, yet with tlie same lease privileges; tlie income to be expended
in the preservation, improvement, and protection of tlie property, the
premises to be mu~aged by Commissioners, as stipulated in the first
sectioi0 of this Act, ai~d to be taken in legal subdivisions as aforesaid;
and the official plat of the United States Surveyor-General, when
affirmed by tlie Commissioner of the General Land Office, to be the
evidence of the locus of the said Mariposa Big Tree Grove."
The above-cited Act was approved by tlie President, June 30,
1864, aisd shortly after a proclamation was issued by the then
Goven~or of California, F. F. Low, taking possession of the
tracts thus granted, iii the name and on behalf of the State,
appointing commissioners to manage fl~em, and warning all
persons against trespassing or settling there without authority,
and especially forbidding the cutting of timber and other injurious acts.
The Commissioners first appointed were F. Law Olmated,
J. D. ~Vhitney, ~Vilham Asliburner, I. V. ~ayniond, F. S.
II olden, Alexander Deering, George V. C oulter, asid Galen
Clark, all of whom continue to hold office, with the exception
of Mr. Olmited, who resigned shortly after returning to the
East, and whose place has been filled by the a~~pointment of
Henry V'. Cleaveland.
The surveys necessary to establish the boundaries of the grants
in questlon, as required by the Act of Congress, were made in
the autumn of 1864, by Messrs. J. T. Gardner and C. King,
and the official plat of their work was fonvarded by the SurveyorGeneral of California to the authorities at Vashingron, and
accepted by the Commissioner of the General Land Office
thus, in tbe language of the Act, establishing "the locus,
extent, and limits" of the grants of the Yosemite Valley and
the Manposa Big Tsee Grove.
A map of the Yosemite Valley, on a scale of two inches to 
INTRODUCTORY.                11
one mile, was drawn by ~~r. Gardner, showing the boundaries
of the Yosemite Valley grant, and the topography of its immediate viciJiity. This map has been engraved, and was appended
to the octavo edition of this book.
Before, however, the Yosemite Valley and the Big Tree Grove
could become the property of the State, it was necessary that
the grant made by Congress should be accepted by tl~e State
Legislature, with all the stipulations a'id reservatioiis co"tained
thereiii.  The grant had no validity until the State, through its
Legislature, had solemnly promised to take the premises for the
benefit of the people, for their use, resort, and recreation, and
especially "TO HOLD THEM INALIENABLE FOR ALL TIME."
This was not an ordinary gift of la~~~l, to be sold and the
proceeds used as desired  but a trust imposed on tlle State,
of tlie nature of a solcuin compact, forever binding after having
been once accepted.  Had the State decliiied to accept the trust,
on the conditions expressed in the Act, the whole proceedinn
wou~N ~ave ~een nu~ and vo\d, and f\~e prern\ses wou~d`nave
continued, as they o~ginally were, a part of the national domain.
But, at the next ses~ion of the Legis1at~ire of Ga1ifon~ia after
the passage of tlie Act of Congress cited above, ali Act was
ji~s'scd accepting the grant of the Yosemite Valley a~id the Big
TI'ce Grove, 011 the stipulated conditions, confirming the appOilitment of the Commissioners, organizing them into a body for
legal purposes, and empowering them to make regulatioiis and
by-laws for their own government.  The Act of the Legislature
also contained })rOvisiolls making it a penal offei~ce to commit
depredations on the premises, and authorizing the appohitment
of a guardian to take charge of the Grove and Valley.
In this Act there was special authority given to the State
Geologist to make further exldoratious and surveys in and about
the premises ceded by the United States, arid to prepare and
publish such topog; aphical maps and reports on the region as he
m~ght deem advisable, for the purpose of furnishing travellers
with desirable information.  This was a part of tlie legitimate
work of the Geological Survey  alld similar exlilorations, maps,
and rel;orts of the whole of the mountain regions of the State,
but especially of tlie Sierra Nevada, should be made, and, indeed, woul'l have been, had the necessary means been furnished
by the Legislature  for no more suitable way of employing our
time and money could be suggested than this.  Thus the first
step towards increasing the facilities of travel and fulfilling the
stipulations of the grant was taken, to be followed, it was hoped,
by opening roads and trails in and about the Valley arid Grove, 
12         THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
building bridges, and by a variety of similar enterprises calculated to render tl~e region accessible and attractive to travellers.
In obedience to the special request of the Legislature, therefore, our attention ~vas at once turned to the region of the Yosemite Valley  and, as early in 1866 as the season would permit,
a party was organized by the State Geologist for the purpose of
making a detailed geographical and geological survey of the
High Sierra in that vicinity, - a district which had been rapidly
reconnoitred and roughly mapped by us du~ng the season of
1863, enough work having been done at that time to satisfy us
that its scenery was in the highest degree attractive, and that it
possessed many features which should make it particularly desirable as a resort for pleasure travellers, in addition to the
Yosemite Valley and fl~e Big Trees themselves.  The party of
1866 consisted of ~Iessrs. King, Gardner, Bolander, and Brinley,
with two nsen, and was accompanied during a part of the time by
the State Geologist.  This party continued in the field'from June
to October, exploring assd mapping the region about the iseads
of the ~lerced, Tuolonine, a'id San Joaquin Rivers, or that
portion of the High Sierra which lies between the parallels of
37 30' and 38 and which is most easily and naturally accessible
by the same approaches which lead to the Yosemite Valley. An
accurate topograpl'ical map of the district embraced in these
explorations was commenced by ~fr. Gardner, in the winter of
1866, on a scale of two usiles to one inch.  To cousplete the
surveys necessary for this map, - a work requiring more ilsan
one season, - another party was organized in 1867, under the
direction of ~Ir. Hoffmassn.  This party continued in the field
during the months of August and Septeniber of that year, and
fise map was finished and placed in the engraver's hands in the
spring of 1868. *
Besides il~e surveys and explorations mentioned above as havlug been made under the direction of the State Geologist, by
asithority of the Legislature, for the purpose of preparing a reliable guide-book to the Yosemite Valley, a careful survey of tlse
bottom of the Valley was made for the use of the Commissioners
and plotted on a scale of ten chains to one inch, making a map
fifty by thirty inches in size.  This inap has the number of acres
of each tract of meadow, timber, and fefll land designated on
it, and also the boundaries of the claims of the settlers, and a
statement of the number of acres enclosed and claimed by them.
*This map and the one noticed on the preceding page are included in the
octavo edition of this Guide-Book.  They may also be had sepaaately.  A
special map accompanies this volume. 
LNTRODUCTORY.                13
The principal grove of trees in the Big Tree grant was also surveyed, each tree of over one foot in dian~eter nieasured, and the
height of a number of them accurately determined.  As thus
`neasured, the trees were carefully plotted, so that their exact
position, size, and relations to each other can be seen at a
glance.
Froni the very limited appropriation of $ 2,000 made by the
I*gislature of 1865 - 66 for the purposes of the Commissioners,
but little remaiiied after paying the salary of the Guardian of
the Grove and Valley, ~Ir. Galen Clark  with what was left
some iiiiprovemeiits were made on the trails in tise Valley, in
order to re'ider iiiteresting points more accessible, aiid two
bn'dg&~s were built across the ~Ierced ~iver; oiie at the lower
end of the Valley, in order to avoid the delay aiid expense of the
fen'y  the other above the Vernal Fall, so that the summit of
the Nevada Fall might be rendered accessible.  Uiifortunately,
both these bridges were swept away by the unprecedentedly high
water of the winter of 1867-68, which destroyed every bridge 011
tlie ~Ierced liver.
At tlie session of the Legislature of California which commenceil iii Dec~mber, 1867, the first after the takiiig possession of
tlie Yosemite Valley by the State, the Commissioners presented
their report, as required by law, in which il~~v stated what they
liad bee ii able to accomplish in the way of improvements in and
about the Valley, and requested a small additiojial appropriation for tlie purpose of making interesting linints more accessible,
and of removiiig all charges or tolls on ladders, ferries, bridges,
&c.  They also asked for a sufficient sum for the salary of ilie
Guardian and his assistant, so that one or the other might be
able to be on the spot duriiig all ilie season for visitors, it having
been found that careless or malicious persons would injure or
even cut down the trees and shrubs, or set them  on fire, unless
some persoil, armed with the authority of the State, was at hand
to I)revent such niischief.  Beshles all this, reference was made
to tlie case of certain settlers in, aiid claimants to, portioiis of
the Yoseiiiite Valley, to which tl'e attention of the reader will
have to be calle~l for a short time.  Aiid, in order to understand tlie coiidition of thiiigs, it will be ilecessary to go back and
give a brief account of the discovery and occul)atioli of the Valicy, enibodying in this acconiit some particulars with which it
will always be interesting for tntvellers to be acquainted.
The whites living on the streams which head in the vicinity
of the Vosenilte ha(l, in 1850, founil themselves unable to live
iii peace with tlie few scattered Iiidians in that region, and,
after some niurders and much trouble, a military company was 
14          TllE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
fon~ed to drive the~~ out of the country.  In the course of il~e
skirujishin g aid figl}ting ~~bich took place, it ~vas ascertained
that the Indians liad a stronghold or retreat far up in the
mountains, in ~vhich they thought that they could take reflige,
and remaiu ~vitliout the slightest danger of being fouiid.  This
jilace of refuge was the Yosemite Valley, and this was the way
iii which it flist came to be heard of by white I)eople. Of course
the curiosity of the settlers was excited in regard to this stronghold, and in the spring of 1851 an expedition was organized,
under tlie comiiiand of Captain Boliiig, to explore the mountains
aiid discover aiid drive out the Iiidiaiis from their fastiiess. This
was in ~~arch, 1851.  Under tlie guidance of an old chief, named
Tenaya, whose name is perpetuated in the heautiful lake which
lies bctween Mt. lloffiiiaiin aiid Cathedral Peak, aiid in the
liranch of the llerced River headiiig in that lake, the party
reached the Valley, drove out tlse Indians, killed a fow, and
"niade peace  with the rest, who were terribly disheartened at
this uncerenionious invasion, 011 the part of tlie whites, into
what they liad supposed to be their impregiiable retreat.  Everything seems to have remained (luiet ii~ the region until 1852,
when a party of minens was attacked, under what provocation is
iiot stated, by the Iiidians in the Valley, anil two of theni killed,
and linried near the Bridal Veil ~leado'v.  This led to another
expedition ilitO tlie Valley by the ~~ariposa battalion, who killed
some and drove out tlie rest of the Iiidians  these took refuge
with the ~loiios, on the easterii side of the Sierra, but got into
difficulty there, and, escaping with a lot of stolen horses, were
followed back to the Voseniite by the ~Ionos, where a battle was
fought, resultiiig in the almost entire extei~iiiiation of tlie Vosemite tribe.  Since that time tise Valley has been animally visited by the ~Ioiios, at the thue of tlie flpeiiilig of the acon~s, for
the puri~ose of laying in a stock of this staide article of food
but the numher of Indians actually and permanently resident
in and bout tlie Yosemite or the ~Iariposa Grove is very small.
Like the rest of the so-called "diggers" in California, they are
a miserable, de grad cii, and fast-disappearing set of beings, who
must die out before the progress of the white maii's civilization,
aiid for whom there is neither hope nor chance.
Tlie Indian residents in and about the Yosemite Valley are
said to have been a mixed race, made up of the disaffected of
tlie various tribes fi-om the Tuolumne to Ring's Piver. *  But
little is known of their langiiage  but it is well ascertained that
they had a name for every meadow, cliff, aiid waterfall in and
*Scc Dr. Dunocil's account of the" todiso ~Var" in Hutchings's California
Magazine, and in the " ~enes in California," by the same author. 
INTRODUCTORY.                  15
about the Valley.  The families of the tribe had each its special
"reservation" or tract set apart for its use, each of these, of
course, having its distinct appellation.  It were much to be
lesired that these names could be retained and perpetuated, but
it is i"~possihle  they have already almost passed into oblivion.
They are so long, so uncertain in their spelliiig and nicaning,
that tl~ey have never been adopted iiito general use, and never
will be.  The o,ily one whicls is current is that of the Valley
its~lf, - "Yosen~ite," and this, it apl)ears, is 000t tlie name
giveis to the Valley by the Indians  the word meaiis " Grizzly Hear," and was ~irobably the name of a chief of the tribe
or, peihaps, this was the name given to the Valley by the band
of liidians driven out by tlse whites in 1851.  Such would seem
to be tl~e case, from tlse fact that the name became cun~ent at
that tiiiie.  At all events, it is well known that the present
Jn~lian nanie of the Valley is, not Yosemite, but Aliwalinee.
~Vhile our party was at the Yosemite, ill 1866, the services of
a person designated as the most reliable Indian iiiterpreter iii
tlie region were secured to accompaiiy us around the Valley and
give tl~e Indian names of tlie diffcreiit objccts and localities and
their meaning.  This gentleman, i~Ir. B. B. Travis, fi~riiished
tlie frillowi,'  names, which were taken down by ~Ir. Bolander
as iiea' ly as lse could imitate them, tlie Italian sounds being
given to tlie vowels: -
P'(~e"o. The mountain over which the Yosemite trail runs.
To~~i~'e'~nc1e.  Tlie rocks between the foot of the ~Iariposa trail
and tlie Bridal Veil Fall  said to mean "a succession of
rocks."
~e1~o~'o.  Tlse B~~lal Veil Fall  explained to signify a blast of
`vi,i(l, or the niglst-wind, perhaps from the chilliness of the air
occasioned by coming under tlse high cliff and ii ear the fall  iii water, or possibly with reference to the constant swaying
of~tho sheet of water from one side to the other under the
iiifluence of tlie wind.  ~Ir. liutchings, more poetically, says
that " Fohono" is "an evil spirit, whose breath is a blight  iii  and flital wind, and consequently to be dreaded and
shunned."
AThos~iko't(p  The rocks near Cathedral Pock, sometimes called
"The Three Graces."
Pil(pi(lOO.  The meadow and little streani, on the Coulterville
trail, first niet in coming into the Valley  means the " hub  bliiig of water.
K~ioJa~~w'j  ~Iountains west of El Capitan.
Luog~io(~~ckoya.  The Virgin's Tears Creek, meaning, Pigeon
Creek. 
16          THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
Totok6ni~?a.  ~Tsnally spelt Tutocanula, tlie rock generally called
El (?apitan "  the Indians say that this name is an imita  tion of the cry of the crane, given because, in wiiiter, this
bird enters the Valley generally by flying over tbat rock.
Ho~v tise nan~e El Capitan, the captain, originated it is not
easy to say  peH~aps it may have been given with the feelii~g
that it was tl~e n~ost striking and impressive mass of rock iii
the Valley, aiid the Indians, who often have a sniatterilig of
Spanish, n~ay have called attention to it as "el C'.ipitaii
or, as we might say, " tlie biggest fellow of them all."  The
west side of El Capitan is called "Ajeinic," or mai~zanita,
that being a place where they gather the berries of this familiar
shrub.
U~a~cha~kc.  The Three Brothers; said to mean "falling rocks."
Tlie usual name given as that of tlie Three Brothers is "Pom  pompasus,  equivalent to " Konipol~ai.~e " given by our inter  preter as tlie name of the small rock a little to the west of the
Three Brothers.  It was said to mean "Leaping Frog Rock."
The Thi~e Brothers have a vague resemblance to three frogs
with their heads tnrned in one direction, each higher than
the one in front.  The common idea is, that the Indiai~s
imagined the mountains to be playing "Leap Frog."  It
would remain, in that case, to show that the Indians practise
that, to us, faniiliar game  we have never caught them at it.
~osii~aschi~cko.  Cathedral Rock, a large "cache" of acorns
evidently from its shape resembli'~g that of a large stack or
cache of acorns, which the Indians are accustomed to build in
the trees, in order to secure their stock of food from the
depredations of wild animals.
Loyo.  Senti~iel Rock  means an Indian camp, or signal-sta  tion, probably.OlThaya.  511)511 stream between the Three Brothers and the
Yosen~ite Fall  means Frog Brook.
Sc~to1Thwi.  Indian Canon  the gulch between the Yosemite
Falls and the North Dome.
Ummo.  Rocks between the Yosemite Falls and Indian Canon
means "lost arrow.
Lehamelc.  Rocks next east of Indian Canon; meaning, the place
where the arrow-wood grows.
Tokoya.  TIse North Don~e; meaning, the basket, so named on
account of its roundcd basket shape.
Schokoa%.  The Royal Arches  meaning, the shade or cover to
an Indian cradle-basket, the shape of these ro~ks being sonie  what like that of this aboriginal and domestic article.
!Kaiya.  Mirror Lake. 
LNTRODUCTORY.                  17
Tesaiyak.  The Half Dome, generally spelt Tisayac.
!Ko~~ctt.  ~tonnt ~Tatkins  meaning, the Pine ~Ionntain.
~~ii11ii~~.  Glacier Point.
Tu1uTh~cckdck.  The canon of the South Fork of tlie ~Ierced,
called tlie Illilonette in the California Geological Pc port, that
being the spelling given by ~tessrs. I&ing and Gardner, - a
good illustration of how difficult it is to catch tl~e exact pro  nunciation of these names.  ~lr. Hntchings spells it Toolulu  wack.
~ciwayok.  The Vernal Fall  meaning, white water  spelt
Piwyack by some.  Said also to mean sparkling water, or,
more poetically, "a shower of crystals "  this is the transla  tion of the word  Piwyack" given by ~1r. Cu~iiiiugliam, fiom
whom the In~lian names for objects in and about tlie Valley
have, heretofore, been mostly obtained.
Scho1~ick.  The Nevada Fall, as given by our interpreter.  By
others this word, or Choolook, as it is often spelt, is used for
the Vosemite Fall, while Yowiye is used for the Nevada.
Perhaps the word`` Scholuck " means simply a waterfall.
You' lye is translated by ~Ir. Cunningham as meaning "squirm  Ing  or`` twisted," in reference to tlse peculiar shape of the
Nevada Fall.  The discrepancies between the statenients of
the different biterpreters it is beyond our power to reconcile.
A comparison of the above names with those previously published shows how difficult it is to get at the real truth where
Indian worils and their pronunciation are concerned  As will
be noticed, the very name of the Valley itself is uncertain, both
as to its origin and orthograplsy.  The word "Yosemite" means
a full-grown gri~zly bear," and is not that by which the Valley is at preseilt designated by the Indians; and how it is that
Ahwahuee, or Auwoni, the real name, failed to be brought into
use, it is now lInpossible to say.  Nor is it of mu&li conse(luence,
unless it be to tlse special student of the abonginal Indian languages. The names given by the early white visitors to the region
have entirely replaced the native ones; and they are, in general,
quite sufficiently euphonious and proper.  Some of them, perhaps, slightly incline to sentimentality; for if we recognize the
ap1iropriateness of the "Briilal Veil" as a designation for the
fall called Pohono by il~e Indians, we fail to perceive why
tlie "Virgiii's T ears" should be flowing on fl~e opposite side of
the Valley.  The Geological Survey has made no cliaiiges in the
nomenclature either in 6r about the Valley.  We have a~lopted
all the nanies which were in well-established use, and added
nothing.  Only in the Ii igh Sierra, among the numerous high
2 
18          THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
peaks previously without appellations, we bave selected a few,
to which we ]~ave given the names of some of the most eminent
explorers, geographers, and geologists of this and other countries,
as will he seen further on in this volume or on reference to the
map.  This we have done, not so much from any desire to impose designations of our own selectioii on the public, but because
the dominant peaks, such as are necessarily selected for topographical stations, were unnamed, and it would have -been
excessively i~sconvenient for us, in plotting our work and describing the country, to be obliged to designate them by numbers.  ~Ve claim, however, a full and ample ught, as the first
ex~slorers, describers, and mappers of the Iligit Sierva, to give
such names as we please to the previously unna~ued peaks which
we locate  and the names thus given by us will be adopted by
the civilized and scientific woAd abroad, however much our
disinclination to bestow on prominent points the names of great
politicians and editors may be criticised in California. *
To return to the subject of the history of tlse discovery and
settlement of the Yosemite Valley.  The visit of the soldiers
under Captain Loling led to no immediate results in this directiosi.  Sosne stories told by them on their return found their
way iii to tlse newspapers  but it was not until four years later
that, so far as can be ascertained, any persons visited the Valley
for tlse purpose of exausining its wonders, or as regular pleasuretravellers.  It is, i'sdeed, surprising that so reniarkable a locality
should SlOt sooner is ave become known  one would suppose that
accounts of its cliffs and waterfalls would have spread at once
all over the country.  Probably they did circulate about Califon~ia, and were not believed, but set down as "travellers'
stories."  Yet these first visitors seesa to have been very usoderate in their statements, for they spoke of the Yosemite Fall as
being " more than a thousand feet high," thus cutting it down
to less than one half its real altitude.t
*The principles we have followed in this Ceological Survey, in giving names
to prominent natural objects, and especially mountains, which had previously
bccn unnamed, are simple, and euch as must commend fl~emselves to all
reasonable people.  ~~~e have selected for this purpose the names of explorers,
surveyors, gcographers, geologists, and engineers, and especially of such as
have worked or lived in the region in which tise point to be named was situated. ~~heu tiscre was no such name to be found, or when, if found, it was
already in use elsewhere, we have, in a tow cases, selected, hoasris couso, the
names of very eminent geographers, geologists, or physicists, wiso have labored
sucressfnlly in gcneral science, and whose results have thus become the property of the wor~d.
t An article in the Country Gentleman, for October 9,1856, gives an account
of the Vosemite ValiQy, in which the heights of -   aS points are given with
an approach to accuracy; this article, which professes to ne based on one in
the (?aitornia Chnstian Advocate, states that four gentlemen were living in
the Valley at that tinse, having taken up" claims" there. 
INTRODUCTORY.                 19
Mr. J. M. Hutchings, having heard of the wonderful Valley,
and being, in 1855, engaged in getting together materials to
illustrate the scenery of California, for the California Magazine,
collected a party and made il~e first regular tourists' visit to the
Yosemite during the summer of that year.  This party was followed by another from Mariposa, the same year, consisting of
sixteen or eighteen persons.  The next year (1856) the regular
pleasure-travel commenced, and the trail on the Mariposa side
of`the Valley, from ~Vhite and Hatch's, was opened by Mann
Brothers, at a cost of about $ 700.  This trail was afterwards
purchased for $ 200 by the citizens of the county, and made free
to the public.
The first house was built in il~e Yosemite Valley in tlse autuma of 1856, opposite the Fall of that name  it is still standing, aud is usually known as fl~e Lower Hotel.  At the locality
a little over half a mile farther up the Valley, a canvas house
was built by G. A. Hite in the spring of 1857, and in the spring
of the next year the present wooden house, now known as
Hutcliings's Yosemite Hotel," was built by Hite and Beardsley.  They kept it as a public house during that season, and it
afterwards passed into the hands of Messrs. Sullivan and Cashman  it was next kept, in 1859- 61, by Mr. Peck, then by Mr.
Longburst, and since 1864 by Mr. liutchiugs.  ln the spring
of 1~57 Cuni~ingham and Beardaley had a stord~ouse and shop
just above tise present Hutchings Hotel.  The Lower Hotel
was kept by John Reed in 1857, and by Mr. Cunningham frorn
1858 to 1861  it remained vacant for a couple of years, and was
then taken by Mr. G. F. Leidig, who Isas kept it during the
season of travel for the past three or four years.
Previous to 1864, the only actual settler and permanent resident in the Valley was Mr. J. C. Lamon, who~took up his lonely
quarters there in 1860.  Maiiy persons bad been there during
the summer, and numerous "claims" had been made, which
were, of course, invalid under United States laws, as ilsey were
not accompanied by permanent residence, neither had the land
ever been surveyed and brought bito market, so ilsat it was not
open to pre-emption.
At the time il~at the Governor's proclamation was issued,
taking possession of the Valley, and appointing Commissioners
to protect and manage it'. there were several residents and
numerous claimants to various portions of the Valley and to
"impi-ovements" which had been made there.  These claimants tlse Commissioners were disposed to treat, and to recommesid to be treated by the State, with all possible consideration.
They went to the extent of their powers by offering Messrs. 
20          THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
Hutchings and Lam on leases for ten years of tbe premises occu
pied by then), at a nominal rent.  Tl)is liberal offer these gentlemen saw fit to decline, believing that they could work upon
public sympathy, and in some way influence the Legislature to
grant them better terms, or perhaps even to look with favor on
their pretensions to get possession of the Valley and hold it in
fee simple.  They ai)peared before the Legislature of 1867 - 68,
- the next one to that which had accepted the Congressional
grant, - and succeeded in procuring the passage of a bill giving
them each 160 acres of land, and asking Congress to confiim this
action.   It is now stated, however, that, by some clerical oversight, this bill did not actually become a law.  Be that as it
may, this action of the Legislature of California caine up in
Congress for indorsement, and a bill or resolution to that effect
did actually pass the House  but, beiiig sent to the Senate, was
unfavon~bly repofted on, then placed on file, and lost by not being
reached before tlie final adjournment of tlsat Congress.*  What
the result will be, if such a bill ever passes, it i4 not difficult
to predict.  Tlie Yosemite Valley, instead of being held by the
State for the benefit of the people, and "for publfc use, resort,
and pleasure," as was solemnly promised, will become the prop.
erty of private individuals, and will be held and managed for
private benefit and not for the public good.  As the tide of travel
in the direction of this`vonderfiil and unique locality increases,
so will the vexatious, restraints, and aisiioying clsarges, which
are so universal at all places of great resort, be multiplied,
and the Yosemite Valley, instead of being "a joy forever," will
become, like Niagara Falls, a gigantic institution for fleecing
the public.  The screws will be put on just as fast as the public
can be educated into bearing the pressure.  Instead of having
every convenieiice for circulation in and about tlie Valley, -
free trails, roa~ls, and bridges, with every facility offered for the
eujoym~nt of Nature in the greatest of her works, unrestrained
except by the requirements of decency and order, - the public
will find, if the ownership of the Valley passes into private
hands, that oppoftunity will be taken to levy toll at every point
of view, on every trail, on every bridge, and at every turning, while there will be no inducement to do anything for the
public accommodation, except that which usay be made ilumediately available as a new means of raising a tax on the unfortunate traveller.  Had the liberal policy inaugurated by the
Legislature which accepted the grant (that of 1865- 66) been
* At the second session of the next Congress after the one here alluded to
(the second session of the Forty-first Congress this bill was again introduced
hI tue House, but was rejected by a very large majority. 
INTRODUCTORY.              21
carried out by its successor, - a policy whicli involved only a
very small expenditure of money, - during the next season new
trails and bridges would have been built, afibrding free access to
every point of interest, and the present occupants' of the Valley
would have been in undisturbed possession of their premises,
where they might remain so long as they were willing to conform
to the few simple regulations of the Commissioners, forbidding
wanton damage to the trees, shrubs, and flowers.  Leases, on
reasonable terms, would have beesi granted to such respectable
parties as might apply for them, and multiplyllig facilities on
every side would meet tlie increase of travel.
It has been argued that the Valley is large, and that the
ceding of a couple of patches of only 160 acres each to private
parties will have no seriously injurious consequences, -the bulk
of the land would still remain in the hands of the Commissioners, to be managed for the benefit of the public.  But there are
only a little more than 1,100 acres of land in the Valley, within
the rocky talus, or debris fallen from the walls, and of this only
a small portion is valuable land for pasturage and cultivation,
as well as desirable on account of its convenience of situation.
Thus the holders of 320 acres of land judic~ously selected would,
in point of fact, have almost a monopoly of the Valley, especially as fl~ey would not be hampered by any restrictions, asid
would be above all control by the Commissioners.  But, more
than this, tlie whole Valley is already claimed, and if two of
the claiiiiants are to have their requests granted, the rest must
be placed on the same footing  there would be neither justice
nor reason in conceding 160 acres each to ~lessrs. Lamon
and llutchings, and not doing as much for others who made
claims before either of these gentlemen.  The whole Valley must
be inevitably given up to the claimants, if any portion of it is
and the Commissioners would recommend that this should be
done, in case ~lessrs. Lamon and Hutchings succeed in making
good their pretens~ons.  It would be entirely useless to attenipt
to exercise soy useful control over the premises, with so large a
portion of them withdrawn from supervision and placed in charge
of irresponsible persons.
The State of California has, through its Legislature, assumed
fl~e responsibility and the guardianship of the grants of the
Valley and the Big Tree Grove  she has solemnly promised to
hold them  inalienable for all time."  She has no right to
attempt to withdraw from the responsibility she lias voluntarily
assumed.  The e~1uitable claims of the settlers in the Valley can
be abundantly made good by a small amount of money, and it
is astonishing that the great State of California should seek to 
22         THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
avoid the performance of her agreement, -to repudiate her obligations, - merely to avoid the payment of the small sum which
may be equitably due the parties who have been dep~ved, by
the joint action of the State and of Congress, of their power to
obtain, at some future time, a right in fee simple to the lani
they occopied.  Legal rights these parties have not  the land
had never been surveyed aiid opened to pre-emption.  Their ease
is like that of thousands of others who have settled on the public land before it was surveyed, and wlso have afterwards been
ousted by the General Government, when the ground they occupied was required for purposes of public good.
No: the Yosemfte Valley is a unique and wonderful locality;
it is an exceptional creation, and as such has been exceptionally
provided for jointly by the Nation and the State, - it has been
made a National public park and placed under the charge of
the State of California.  Let Californians beware how they make
the name of their State a byword and reproach for all time, by
trying to throw off and repudiate a noble task which they undertook to perform, - that of holding the Yosemite Valley as a
place of public use, resort, and recreation, inalienable for all
time 
GENERAL.                  23
CllAPTER II.
GENERAL.
HAT portion of ilse North American Continent which lies
`V ithin the borders of tise United States (leaving out of
cojjsidenstion the remote and isolated region now known as
Alaska) presents to the traveller crossing it from east to west,
in the pathway along which civilization has advanced, three
well-marked grand divisions, which may be called the Laster~i,
~Iiddle, and ~Vestern.  On the East, we have the broad belt of
the Appalachian chain of mountains, determining the general
direction of the coast line, made up of a series of closely cornpacted wrinkles of ilse earth's crust, of no great elevation, never
in its highest peaks ~nite reaching 7,000 feet, very uniform in
directioii anil elevation over bug distances, densely wooded, and
offering in its fertile valicys and on its gently rising slopes every
possible advantage of soil, fcivst, and water to benefit the settler.  This series of ranges does not, however, rise at once from
the edge of the Atlantic, but is prepared for, as it were, by a
plain gently sloping upwards as we go`vest, and forming what
is called tile Atlantic Seaboard.  This plain is about fifty miles
wide in New Eiigland, where it is not so strongly marked a featore as f~rther sooth, in which direction it gains in width, extending as much as two hundred miles hack fi-om the sea in North
and Sooth Caroliiia.  Leaving the seaboard, we rise among the
Appalachian ranges, which form a belt of inoontaiiis averaging,
perhaps, a hoii~lrcd miles in width.  Crossing tids belt, and the
brokeis foot-li ill country which borders it on the west, for~ning
the eastern side of Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee, we come in
our western progress to tise great central valley of tise Continent,
- the region drained by the ~Iississippi and the ~lissouri and
their tributaries.  At Pittsborg, the head of the Ohio proper,
we are at all elevation of 699 feet above tise sea-level  descending this river, we find ourselves, at its mouth and junction with
the ~[ississippi, at 275 feet above the Golf of ~Iexico, tlie average fall of the last-named river in that part of its course from
the mouth of the Ohio to tise Gulf being only three inches per
mile.  In following down the Ohio we are skirting the southern
border of tise region of prairies, the garden of the Contisient, of
which nearly the whole of Illinois may be taken as the type. 
24         THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
Crossing tile Mississippi, and still pursuing our westward course,
we follo\v up the Missouri to the westen~ line of tlie State of the
sanie nau~e, where the river benils to tlie north and leaves us
the choice, if we wish to keep on directly west, of one of its
great branches cornilig in from that direction, - tlie Platte and
tlie Kansas.  Up either of these we inay travel for snore than
500 miles, gradually and iJnI)erceptibly rising, an unbroken
horizon in the distance, and a vast plain on either hand, absolutely destitute of trees, except along the banks of the streams,
but abouudiiig in nutritious grasses, the food of herds of buffaloes, once alniost countless in nunibers, but now n~pidly disap.
peaHug before tlie rifle and the rail.  These broad, almost endless
seas of grazing-land are "the plains," not at all to be confounded
with the  prairies."  The plains ferns tlie western side of the
great central valley, a region where, from cliniatological causes
which cannot bere be set forth, tlsere is a great scarcity of rain,
the amouiit of tlie annual precipitation diminishing rapidly as
we go westward froni the Mississippi Biver, uiitil between the
100th and 105th meridians it is no more than fifteen inches, or
only one third of what it is near the meridian of 90 in tlse centre of tlie great valley.
The edge of tlse great tangle of mountains whicil makes up
the western third of our ter~fory is eiicountered by the traveller
coming from the east, after passing over a thousanl utiles j~
widfli of tile central valley, in loiigitude 103) if lie strikes the
Black liills, in latitude 44  or im's 105~, if he follows up the
Platte and finds himself at tlie base of the Pocky Mountains
proper.  From here west he will thread liis way through narrow
and intricate defiles, wind around or cross over inijumerable
spurs and ridges, traverse narrow valleys aiid occasional broad
plains, the former sometimes green and attractive, the latter
alwQvs arid and repulsive to the last degi~ee  he will never descend below 4,000 feet above tlse sea-level, and will never be out
of sight of niountains  these will always environ liim, with
thinly woode(l flanks, and sterile and craggy summits, often
glistening with great patches of snow, which gradually lessen as
the summer advances.  In the ilistance these mountain ranges,
behind their atmosphere of purple haze, will seem  massive and
uniform in character  as he approselses each one, he will find it
presenting some new charm of hidden valley or canon deeply
countersunk into the mountain slile.  As lie i:ises still higher,
he will quench his thirst at the refreshing spring of pure water
fed by tlie melting snow above, while the grandeur of the rocky
masses, the ~~~ty of the air, the solitanness an~I the almost
infinite extent of the panorama opened before him, when he 
G~NERAL.                 25
fairly reaches the summit, will leave upon his mind an ineffaceable ilnpres~iou of the peculiar features of our`vesteri} mountain
scenery.  It is through and over these mountain ranges, passiI)g
north of Salt Lake, and striking the Humboldt River, which
traverses the western side of the Great Basin at right-angles to
the general direction of the chain, that the Pacific Railroad
threads its way across the Continent.
This great mass of mountains, which fills the space between
the 105th men~lian and the Pacific Ocean so completely that it
must be coiisidcred as a geographical unit, demands a distinct
nanie by which it may be designated as a whole, as the geographer has every day occasion to do.  The ter'n "Rocky ~lountains  has loi~g been in use for a portion of its eastern border,
and the "Sierra Nevada" and " Cascade Raiige" are e~~ually
well known appellations of the western edge of the great mass
while tlie almost innumerable broken and partially, but never
quite, detacljcd masses which fill up il~e intenor receive their
distinctive names as fast as they become known to the explorer
or the settler.  There is no name for the whole series of ranges,
however; although in former days the teri~ "Rocky ~1ountains"
was more gene a~ly used than any other; but iii tise progress of
exploration aiid geographical discovery this designation has become flilly fixed on the group of ranges which surrounds the
Parks in Colorado, Northern New i~Iexico, and Wyoming.
Taken collectively, all the mountains bordei'ing on the Pacific
coast of America, from Cape Horn to the North Polar Sea, have
been and still are by some geugn~phers designated as " The Coreli/ic rca," * a Spanish u'ord signifying chains of nionntaiiis.  The
South American portion of the series was distiiignislied as the
Cordillenis of the Andes, those of North Anserica having no
special des~gnatory word corresponding to Andes, but being
somewhat vaguely known as the Cordilleras of i~lexico or of
North America.  As, in the progress of ti'iie, the name Andes
has become firmly established in use as a genend one for all the
South Aineri~an chains bordering the Pacific, without the additioiial word " Cordilleras," I propose to use this exclusively for
tlie North Americaii chains, and, hereafter, to desigisate the great
nasa of nionutains occupying the western side of the American
Contiiient as TIlE CoRDILLEi?'As, and trust that other geographers will see tlie propriety of the suggestion, and concur wfth
nie in ado~~ting it.  There is a greater propriety in usiiig the
word (`ordilleras for the mass of North American mountains
than for tliu~e of South America, for the latter are far more
* See llurnbo1dt~s" Aspects 0~ Nature," English E~tion, Vol. 1. p. 56. 
2G         THE YOSEMITE GUThE-BOOK.
simple in tbeir structure, being made up of a few great ranges,
and not of a great number of smaller ones (Cordilleras) as on the
northern division of the Continent.
The great region of the Cordilleras was pretty much a lerra fl~
coj(?~ita olily a quarter of a century ago.  The exidorations of
Bonneville (1832 - 36) shed the first light on fl~e region known
as the Great Basin, and those of Fremont, a few years later
(1842 - 45), made that generally known which bad previously
only been surmised, and laid a foundation, by an a~)proximate
determination of the latitude and longitude of a considerable
number of important points, for a map of the central portion of
the Cordilleras.  Lewis and Clarke had pi~viously (1805 - 7)
made known the outlines of the geography of the country about
the U~~per Missouri and the Columbia Rivers, at the same time
that Pike was exploriiig the bead of the Arkansas Biver.
But little progress was made, however, towards anything like
a reliable or complete map of the region west of the Rocky
Mountains, until after the annexation of California to the
United States ajid the discovery of gold in that region had given
so prodigious an impetus to emigration to the Pacific coast, and
led to a universal desire for railroad communicaticn across the
Continent, in place of the long and dangerous route by the
Isthmus of Panama, or the tedious ride over the plains.  The
work of exploring a route for a Pa~~ific railroa~l, along several
parallels of latitude, between Oregon on the north and Arizona
on the south, was begun in 1853, and continued through that
and the succeeding year by a considerable number of surveying
parties, in charge of United States Engineer officers.  The gengraphical results of thcse expeditions, with all the other matenal
of this kind which could be collected froni every possible source,
were coml~iled into one gei~eral map by the United States Engineer Bureau, nuder the direction of Lieutenant (now General)
~Tarren.  This map, which has been altered and corrected so
many times at tlie Engineer Office, since its first appearance, in
1857, as to have become almost a new one, is the principal source
froni which conipilers and publishers draw their matenal for
maps of the Pacific States and Territories  but the study of it,
t~y those familiar with the topography of portions of the region
which it covers, will not fail to convince suds persons that it
can only be considered as a first rough sketA~, nearly the whole
of which must eventually give way to more reliable and accurate
materials.  The topographical work of fl~e Central Pacific Railroad, done for tise purpose of getting information for definitely
locating its road, ai~d the labors of the California Geological
Survey, have already brought together a large amount of valua 
GE~ERAL.                 27
ble material, which can be made available for improving il~e
official map of the Engineer Bureau, and the results of the
Fortieth Parallel Survey under the direction of ~Ir. Clarence
King, no`V in process of publication, will add still flirther of
thoroughly reliable information in regard to the geography of a
considerable portion of the region in question.
The necessity of a good map of the Cordilleras has become
more and more evident now that the Pacific Railroad has been
completed, an event which has led to a great increase of travel,
and especially of pleasure.travel, across the Continent.  Four or
five days from New York, or three from Chicago, now bring
travellers into the high mountain region  and thousands who
have alrea~ly visited the Alps will seek for new impressions, and
a new revelation of nature among the Cordilleras, rather ilian go
over tlie old European ground a second or third thue.  ~tany
Eng? ish travellers for pleasure, among whom some, no doubt, of
the renowned clhnbers of the Alpine Ch~b will be found, will try
their wind and muscle in a new field, and find health and excitement in climbing peaks which are yet unscaled, and in
exploring regions where no foot of white man has ever been
set.  The inhabi~ants of ilie ~Iississippi Yalley will seek refuge
frona the intense heat of summer ainong the lofty railges of the
no longer remote Pacific States  the invalid from the Eastern
slope will exchange the cold, damp east wind for the invigorating mountain breeze, and will obtain a new lease of life while
acquiring a knowledge of Nature's sublimest handiwork.  For
re.establisbing tlie worn-out constitution, bracing up the shattered nerves, and briiiging relief to ilie weaned soul, there is no
anacca e(iual to mountain life and mountain scenery, taken in
arge doses, on the spot; and it is pleasant to think that we
shall have the medicine at our own door hereafter, and not be
obliged to cross the water in search of it.  Besides, as a means
of mental development, there is nothing which will compare
~a~th the study of Nature as mauffested in her mountain liandiwork.  Nothing so refines the ideas, purifies the heart, and
exalts tlae imagination of the dweller on tlae plains, as an occasional visit to the mountains.  It is not good to dwell always
among them, for "familiarity breeds contempt."  The greatest
peoples have not been those who lived on the mountai~s, but
near them.  One must carry someil~ing of culture to iliem, to
receive all the benefits they can bestow in return.
But it is especially to Californian mountains and mountain
scenery that this volume is dedicated, and to a small portion of
these that it is to be more exclusively devoted, so that we mnst
not tarry longer on the way to them. 
28         THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
Every one, be his acquaintance with the geography of our
we~terii border ever so slight, has at least some fiidistinct idea
of tlie existence in California of two great masses of mountains,
one called tbe Coast Eanges, the other the Sierra Nevada.  The
traveller, passing up the valley of the Sacramento or the San
Joaquin, observes at a distance of twenty or thirty miles, on
eitlser hand, a continuous wall of mountains, which may appear
in the dim distance, to the inexperienced eye, as a simple narrow uplift  botb of these apparent walls are, in reality, broad
belts of elevated ranges, the one averaging forty the other seventy
niiles i~i wi(ltb, of wl~icb tlse detailed structure is exceedingly
coniplicated, and whose grand dimensioiis can only be apprecia ted by those who have penetrated to their deel)est recesses.
On the east, we have the Sierra Nevada  on the west, the Coast
Eanges,   the one not inaptly to be parallelized, in general extent anil average elevation, with the Al1)s  the other but little
infeiior, iii the san~e respects, to the Apl~alachian chain, - two
guind features of the earth's surface which have for so many
years occnl~ieil the attention of scientific observers and lovers of
natural scenery.  Of the eastern series of ranges, the most distant and loitiest elevations are never entirely bai~ of snow, and
for a large portion of the year are extensively covei.ed with it
tbe western ones, on the other hand, in tlie central portion of
the State at least, have their highest peaks whitened for a few
days only, (lii ring the coldest and stormiest winters.  Hence the
eastern heights ~~ere, long since, known to the Slianiards as fl~e
"Sierra Nevada," or "Snowy Pange," Sierra beiiig the almost
exact ei~uivalent of our word range, or mountain chain.  The
group of mountains on the western side and nearer the ocean
naturally`eceived the designatioii of "Coast Panges " or Coast
~tountaiiis, the many subordinate ranges of which it is made lip
haviiig received fi~m the early ~1exican-Spanish settlers the
names of different saints, nearly exhausting the calendar.
The coast line of California, extending over ten degrees of
latitude, or from near 32 to 42~, has a regular noi~hwestern
trend between the parallels of 35 and 4O~, ai-~d the same regn.
larity is found repeated in the interior features of tlie country
betweeii the same parallels.  And, in order to bring vividly
before the niind the grand simplicity of the topographical features of this part of tlse State, we may di~aw oii the map five
e(iyiidistaut i~arallel lines, having a direction of N. 31 ~V., and 55
miles apart.  Let tlie niiddle oiie of these be di~awn at the western
ease of the Sier's Nevada  it will touch tlie edge of the foothills all ali~ng from Visalia to P'e~l BluIf, a distance of nearly 400
miles.  The first parallel east of this, drawn at 55 miles' dis 
GENERAL.                  29
tance, will pass through, or very near, the ~ighest points of the
Siena Nevada from ~1on'it Shasta on the iiorth to ~Iount ~Vhitney on the south.  This line, running through the dominating
peaks of the Sierra, a'id which is a very ~ieaAy straight one for
500 miles in leiigth, we have ca~led, in tiie California Geological
I~eport, the Inaili axial line of the State.  Again, parallel to
this on the east, and at about the same constant distance of 55
miles from the summit of the Sierra, we filld our line crossing a
series of depressions, mostly occupied by lakes, which we may
consider as represellting the easteris base of tlse range.  ~Vest of
tlie great central valley, the fourth of our ilnagillary lines touches
tlle eastern base of the Coast Raiiges, and the fifth will approximately indicate tlse position of the edge of tbe Pacific, whidi
is, of course, the western base of the same mountains.
This arrangement of lines in~licates a division of the central
portion of the State into four bdts of nearly equal width, and
which are indeed the best recognized features of its geogra~~liy
they are known to all, mentioning them in tbeir orde~ from east
to west, as tlie Eastern Slope, tlie Sierra, the Great Valley (or
the Valley of the Sacramento and the San Joa11uiii), and the
Coast Pang~s.  The indicated arrangement holds good for a
distance of 400 miles through the centre of tbe State, and tbrough
iliat portion of California which is by far the most important,
both from an agi~cultural and milling poillt of view.  Central
California, as this divi~ion ulay properly be called, does not embrace over one third of the area of the State  but it holds at
least 95 per cent of its population.  The regions or divisions on
each side of this ceiitral one are extreniely mountainous and
thinly inhabited.  Tiie southern portion is traversed by numerous broken ranges as yet but little explored, but characterized
by extreme sterility, owing to the want of water, so that a large
part can only be considered as an unmitigated desert.  A narrow belt along the ocean, however, is more favored by climatic
causes, and contains some tracts wliicli are of unrivalled beauty
and fertility.  The northern division, again, is even in ore mountainous than the southeni, portions of it being almost inaccessible.  Along the coast and in much of tlie interior it is very
heavily timbere~l  while, towards the eastern boundary of tlie
State, it begiiis to exhibft il~e dryness and sterility characteristic
of the Great Ba~in.  It is a wild, rough region  aiid 110 small
portion of it is ~)retty much given up to its aboriginal inhal~itants, who have thus far held their own against the encroachments of the whites`vith pertinacity and no little success.
The Coast Ranges inosculate with the Sierra Nevada ~ioth
llorth and south. Iu tlse neighborhood of the Tejon Pass, which 
30          THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
is in about latitude 35  the ridges of the two systems become
topogra~~bically undistin~uishable from each other  and it was
only by careful examination of the position of the strata that we
could di~cover where one system  began and the other ended.
So too, on tlie north, above Shasta City (latitude 40 35), the
ranges close iii on all sides, and to tise traveller ilireading il~e
innumerable canons, there seems to be no clew to the la1~ynnth
of cliaiiis, and no possibility of preserving the distinction bet'veeii Coast Bange and Sienn.  But passiiig north into Oregon,
we come, in latitude 44~, to the ~Villamette Valley, which here
forms as marked a separation be~veen the two systems of mountains as do tise Sacramento and San Joaquin in California. Geoblogically, the Coast Banges are made up of ~ewer formations
than the Sierra, and they have been subjected to great disturbances 01) to a very recent (geological) period.  There are no rocks
in the Coast I~anges older than tlse Cretaceous  strata of this
aiid the Tertiary age making up nesily their whole body, with
some inas~es of ~~olcanic and granitiQ materials, neither, however, foiming aiiytliing like a central nucleus or core.
TIse Coast Banges do not exhibit any very lofty dominating
peaks.  The higlie~t point in sight from San Francisco is Mount
llamiltosi, about fifteen miles east of San Jose  this is 4,440
foet high, or just 10,000 feet less than Mount Shasta.  Still, it
does not rise coiispicuously above the range in its vicinity, and
it needs a sharp eye to pick it out at a little distance.  Monte
Diablo, although 584 feet lower (its elevation being 3,856 feet)
is a much moic coiispicuous object, since it is quite isolated on
the north side, owing to the great break in the range, which exteiids froni tlie Golden Gate entirely across tlie chain.  Indeed,
tlie l)eculiar position of this mountain makes its graceful, doublepointed suinusit a very conspicuous landmark over a large portion of tlie State.  Noril~ and south of tlse central portion, the
Coast Banges rise higher as they approach tlse Sierra in each
direction, and the highest points attain as muck as 8,000
feet.
The scenery of the Coast Banges is rarely more than pieturesque, but always peculiar, especially to those coming from ilse
East.  It is not so much il~e sumnilts or ridges, as the valleys
whii~h nestle between them, and the reniarkable vegetation of
both valleys and slopes, wliicls give character to the landscape.
Besides, we niust allow its share in producing tlse general impressinis to the peculiar erosion of the mountain masses, made
conspicuous l)y the absence of forest vegetation, and, especially,
to tlie peculiar atmosphere, ~diich invcsts then~ with an indescribable charm. 
GENERAL.                  31
The vegetation of these valleys and ranges is not remarkable
for variety, for the number of forest-trees exhibited is small  it
is rather the distrihution of the trees ~~iich makes iliem impressive.  These are flie most park-like valleys in the world.  By
far the largest number of trees in these valleys are oaks, and
they grow, not uiiiformly distributed over the surface, but in
graceful clunips, just as if arranged by tlse most skilful landscape gardener.  The burr oak ((2i6crc~s Thb(ct(t) is the one which
gives, iii tlie central Californian Valley, fl~e most character to
the landscape  it grows to a great size, and lias tlie p~euliar,
gi-acefully-drooping branches of ilie Amen can elm  sonic of il~e
noblest sI)ecimeus of it are to be found in Napa Valley.  Other
conspicuous oaks are the live oak (Q. ogrifolie), a puzAc to botanists from the van~ability of its foliage, the white (~?- (;arryona),
the black (Q. Soiioiiicitsis), and the chestiiut ((?. dci~iflore).
As we rise above the valleys, and especially in tise vicinity of
the ocean, and iii tlie deep shailed cai~ons which intersect the
mousitains, and where the moisture brought by the winds fi-om
tlie sea is not too rapidly evaporated, we liud a more considerable growth of forost-trees in the Coast Pauges, and especially as
we proceed towards the northwest.  Pines asid oaks, however,
everywhere greatly predominate.  Of tlie piiies, Tii?,i65 Coo[tcri
is remarkable as liavisig the largest and niost licautinil cones of
all the pines  r. ~bbii?ioi?o, the digger pine, or silver pine, a
very cliaracten-stic tree of the foot-hills, especially of the Sierra
Nevada, up to 2,000 feet elevation, and also on tlie dry souil~erly
hillsides of the Coast Ranges  r. i~sigoi$, the well-known ornainesital``~~onterey plise," quite limited in its distribution to
some tliousaiids of acres about ~Ionterey and Carinelo  T. ni~crico to is cii other Coast Range species, and r.?)o?ideroso (ilie
yellow pine) and B. Lo~ibcrtioiio (the sugar pine) are found in
both Sierra and Coast Ranges.  The redwood (Scq?coio scoipervirciis) is also oiie of the grand characteristic trees of the Califoriiian Coast Ranges, to which it is exclusively confined  with
it grows frequently the well-known Douglas fir (A')ic9 Doscgi'osii).
Be%iiles tl~ese there are the laurel (TctronU~cro Colifornico), of
which the wood is now coming into use for ornaniental cabinet
work  the mailroua, * a very characteristic and beautinil tree
with its red bark and glossy leaves.  The ~Ionterey cypress
(Ci~rcsiics arocrocorpo) is another magnificent tree, greatly resembliiig the cedar of Lebanon  but strictly confined to one
locality at Cypress Point, near ~Ionterey.  Of the shrubby
mide rgrowth, the ebamiso (A dciioste ico fosic 0 to to), the mauzan
* Properly the "madrodo," but everywhere called as written above. 
32          TllE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
ita (~1rc~s~op1~ijTh~ g7o~~ccr), and different species of tile Ceanothus,
called "Caliioriiia lilac" by settlers fiom the Eastern States, on
account of the rt~semblance of its perfume to that of the Eastern
lilac, are the most prominent.  These shrubs, separate or mingled together, and associated wfth a variety of slirubby oak-s, eacil
flirnished with as n~any thorns as there are points to leaves or
brancl~es, make what is universally known in California as
chaparral"  a'id large regions, especially near tlie summits
of the mouiitains in the Coast Rangcs, are often densely covered
with this abominable undergrowth, utterly preveliting free circ'ilation, and rendcring I)arts of the State quite iiiaccessible, -
as, for instance, the mountains along ilie coast south of ~Ionterey for a distaisce of a hundred miles, into whose recesses not
even the exi)loi~er or the hunter has ever penetrated.
There are many points of interest in the Coast Ba ages which
the tourist may visit   among them tise Geysers, Clear and
Borax Lakes, tlse New Alniaden ~Iines, and, iii general, all the
valleys whit'ls connect with the Bay of San Fraiscisco, or are
adjacent to it. * Osie gets a fine idea of the coast lisountains and
valleys bv ridis~g ovs~r the Santa Cruz Range to the town of that
name  and a trip to the Geysers, coupled with the ascent of Sulphur (or Geysci) Peak, - a very easy climb from tlie stage road,
- will show the rraveller some of the niost interesting features
of the lower Californian ranges.
Mount llelena, a broad, flat-topped volcanic mountain at tile
bead of Napa Valley, a few miles noith of Calistoga, is now easy
of access from that lilace, the excursion to tlie summit and back
being easily made in a day.  The view coin pares favorably with
that from ~ionte Diablo.
The most interesting short excursion, however, which can be
made from San Francisco is the ascent of Moiste Biablo, 3,856
feet high, and distant from the city, in a north-northeast direction, twenty-eight miles.  The route to the foot of the mountain,
which is usually ascentled from the north side, is either by carriage or public conveyance from Oakland, by ~Talnut Creek and
San Bamon Valley, to Clayton, at the base of the mountain  or,
clse, by steasisboat to Beisicia, ferry to Martinez, and carriage or
stage to Clayton, via Pacheco.  In either case Clayton is the
point from which the ascent may be made, the distance to the
summit being about six miles, and the excursion from Clayton
and back being easily made, on foot or horseback, in a day, with
~See "s~L~p of the vicinity of the T3av of San Francieco," published by the
CaSliornia (?,eo}or~c:sl Survey, from  hich, at a glance, a better idea of the
topography of t~~e re~oo may be obtained than could be given in & whole
chapter of verbal description. 
GENERAL.                    33
time in il~e afternoon, if one should desire it, to retun~ to Martinez the same ~iight. *  Froni the suiiiniit the vie~v is ~)a~loraniic, and 1~erbaps unsurpassed iii extent.   Owing to the
pccnliar distnbution of the n~ountain ranges of California, aiid
tlie 1)OSitlOO of Moi~te L)iablo in the ceistre of a glvat ellil)tic
basiii, the eye has full sweep over the slopes of tise Sierra Nevada
to its crest, from Lasseii's Peak on the north to Mount NVbitney
on the south, a dista~ice of flilly 325 n~iles.  It is only in the
clearest weather that the details of the "Snowy Range " can be
made out  but the nearer nsasses of the Coast Raisges, with their
innumerable waves of usountains and wave lets of sl)urs, are visible, floss' Mou~it Hansilton and Moint Oso on tise south to
Mount I~elena on tise north.  The great iisteAor valley of Callfornia - the lilail)  of the Sacrainesito and San Joai1uiii - are
spread out nisder the observer's feet like a roap, and they seem
Illinsitable in extent.  The whole area tisus ensbn~ced within
tise field of vision, as limited by the extreme points in the distaisee, is little less tlsan 40,000 square miles, or ab~ost as large
as the whole State of New ~~ork.  Mount Hanillton, fifteen
miles east of San Jose, also commands a grand view, exclusively
of the Coast Panges; parties making a visit to this mountain,
however, should be prepared to canip at its base, where there
are all possible facilities of wood aiid water.  The excunsion
from San Jose to the summit and back was made by our party
in oiie day, l~ut it is much better to take two for tlse trip  and
it would isot be easy to fiiid a pleasauter campiiig-ground than
presents itself on the banks of the Arroyo liondo at the base of
the issountain.
~Vhat gives its peculiar character to the Coast Range scenery
is, the delicate and beautiful carviiig of their masses by the
aqueous erosiosi of the soft material of which they are composed,
and which is made conspicuous by the general absence of forest
and shru~by vegetation, except in the canons and aloiig the
crests of the raisges.  The bareness of the slopes gives full play
to the eflbcts of light and shade caused by the varying and intricate coijtour of the surface.  In il~e early spring these slopes
are of the most vivid gicen, the awakening to life of the vegetation of this regioll beginning just when the hills and valleys of
the Eastern States are most deeply covered with snow.  S~inng
here, in fact, consinences with tise end of summer winter there
is none.  Summer, blazing summer, tempered by tlie oceasi fogs
anti ocean breezes, is followed by a long and delightful six
fl There hould be a goo~ hotel at Clayton; if there were, no doubt pleasure.
travel to the meoutain would be much increased.
3 
34         THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
mo~iths' spring, which in its turn passes aln~ost instantaneously
away, at the approach of another suinn~er.  As soon as the dry
seasol sets i'i, the herbage withers under the su~i's ulys, except
in the dee1) canons, the surface becomes fifat 2f a pale green,
then of a light stnsw-yello~v, and finally, of a rich russet-brown
color, agaiost which the dark gre en foliage of the oaks and pines,
uncliangiiig during the summer, is deeply contrasted.
Oiie need not go beyond the boundaries of the city of San
Francisco to obtaiii fine panoramic views of Coast Ban~e scenery
let the traveller, an hour before sunset, ascend T~legraph or
Russian Hill of a clear day in tlse rainy season, - and suds days
are far fi'om uncommon, - and he will have siin~ad out before
him the Golden Gate and the Bay of San Fraiicisco, a~id the
mountains which surrouiid them, fi~m ~tount Bache aiid ~Iount
Hamilton on the soutis to Mount Heleiia on tlie north.  Lookiiig iii a nortlswesterly direction, he will see the ranges of Marin
County coniiiig dowii to meet the ocean, fornilug tlie northern
side of tlse Golden Gate, and preseliting at their termination a
broken biit precipitous wall of dark reddish rock, from six to
eight hundred feet high, which contrasts fiiiely with tlie rounded,
green sl~~pes al~ove.  Beyond these, tlie steel aiid graceful form
of Tamal Pais is seen risilig to tlie height of 2, 597 feet, and
formiiig tlie most promineiit landmark of the region.  This
mountain lies six miles southwest of San Pafiel, fi~m which
place tlic trip to its summit may easily be made on horseback in
a day  and, although the view fiom it is not as extensive as
that fioni Monte Diablo, it is one well worthy of beiiig seen, as
being both attractive and characteristic of tlse Coast Ranges,
while the forest vegetation iii the canons on tlie north slope of
the mountain is tlsorouglily Californian, consisting of noble
specimeiis of the redwood, laurel, madrona, ai)d other trees
noticed above as occurrilig in this portion of tlie State.  Faciiig
the north, our observer froin Telegra~~li Hill will have directly
before him, at a distance of a mile, Alcatraz Island, with its
fortificatioiis, and beyoiid it, three miles farther on iii the same
direction, Angel Island, 771 feet high, interce~tiiig the view up
the Bay of San Francisco and into San Pablo Bay, beyond which
rise the numerous ranges which border Napa and Sonoina valleys, the farthest visible point in this direction being Mount
Helena, 4, 343 feet high, aiid about sixty miles distant.  Facing
the east, the view extends across the Bay, here about five miles
wide, to the Contn~ Costa Hills, which rise ni~~idly fi~m a gently
~loping plain, two miles in wi(ltb, to an average height of about
1,500 feet.  Along tlie base of tlse Contra Costa Hills the population is rapidly h~creasing in density, - the towns of Oakland, 
GENERAL.                  35
San Antonio, Alameda, and San Leandro forn~ing almost a continuous ro~v of houses along a line some ten or twelve miles in
length.  l3el~ind tlie Contra Costa Range rises the conical mass
of ~ronte Diablo, apparently near at hand, but in reality belongin  to a distant railge, and separated fi~m the Contra Costa
Hills by the San Ran~on Valley.  To obtain, within the city
itself, a clear view to tlie south, one must ascend fl~e highest
pohit of Clay Street Hill, or the elevation on which the reservoir
is situated, just beyond Russian Hill  from these poilits the eye
may ralige over the San Bruno Hills, down the l3ay iiito tlse San
Jose Valley, and as far as the great niass of mountains near and
west of ~Iount Hamilton and ~touiit Oso, - a wild waste of
chaparral-covered ridges, luto which few persoiis have ever penetrated.  This portioli of the Coast Ranges sometimes remains
covered with snow for days, or, during exceptionally cold and
storniy winters, weeks even, and at such times liresents an
almost Alpine appearance.  On the other side of the San Jose
Valley we look along the hills covered with redwood forests -
now, alas! fast disa}~peariiig before the chopper's axe - as far as
~lounts Bache, Chual, and Umunhum, which rise directly above
the village and miiies of New Almaden, the highest of these,
nanied in honor of tlie late eminent chief of ilie Coast Survey,
beiiig just sixty feet lower than ~Ionte Diablo.  Fron~ some
points between the city and the ocean, in certain states of the
atmosphere, tlie Farallones are distinctly visible, forty miles out
at sea, their precipitous granite masses gleaming white in il~e
sun.
But we linger too lou_ amon  the Coast Ranges, and must
turn to the gran~ler Sierra, in which the localities more particularly the thenie of this volume are situated.
The Sierra Nevada, or "Snowy Range," forms the western
edge of the great continental upheaval or plateau, on which the
C&rdilleras are built up.  It corresponds in position to the
Rocky ~lountains, the one being t lie western, the other the
eastern edge of the central portion of ilie mass.  The base of
the Rocky ~Iouutaius, however, is 4,000 feet above the sea-level,
aiid the slope fioni it eastward is almost imperceptible, but continuoiis for 600 miles to the ~Iississippi  while fi~om the crest
of the Sierra Nevada we descend rapidly, in less than a huiidred
miles, to very near the level of the sea.  The plateau between
the two ranges is nearly a thousand miles wide, haviiig here its
greatest development and its maximum altitude, while the subordiiiate n'mges piled upon it here exhibit their greatest regularity of trend and structure.
No range among all the mountain chains which make up the 
3(3        THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
Cordilleras of North America surpasses, if any one eqna~s, the
Sierra Nevada, in extent or altitude, and certainly no one on the
continent can be compared with it in the general features of interest which characterize it, — its scenery, vege~tion, mineral
wealth, the energy a'id skill with which its resources have been
developed, a'~d the impetus which this develol)n~ent has given
to conimerce and civilization.
The Sierra Nevada, as the term is popu~arly understood, is
strictly liiuiteil to Califoriiia, and it extends froni tlie T~~o'n Pass
to Mount Shasta, a distaiice of over 550 miles.  Son~e, however,
and with ~iropriety, would consider the Sierra as teriiiiuating at
Lassen's Peak, a grand volcanic mass in latitude 40 30', where
the metamorphic rocks of the Sierra system sink down in a great
transverse bi~ak, and a volcanic plateau takes their place and
stretches iiorth to i~Iount Shasta.  Beyond this last-nan~ed volcanic mass, the i'auge is prolonged to the north through Oregon
and ~Vashiugton Teiritory, with much tlie saiiie character as in
California, alti ough with greatly diminished average elevation  but it is tliei~ everyu~sen kiiown by tise name of the
Cascade Range.  In its southern termination, as previously remarked, the Sierra Nevada in osculates with the Coast Ranges,
and the two systems are so linked together from the Tejon P-ass
south, that there is no loiiger any geographical, but only a geological, distiiiction to be made betweeii them.
Considei~ng the Sic ra to terniinate on tlie north at Lessen 5
Peak, its length will be about 450 niiles, and its bn~adth, taking
the valleys &f`~Valker's, ~~ono, and Honey Lakes as its easten~,
and the base of the foot-hills as its western limit, may be set
down as averaging eighty miles. This width, however, is very`inequally distributed between the two slolies  the western is much
more gradual, and of course longer, especially as tlie elevation
to be gained is much greater  for the westen~ descent is to the
level of the sea, or nearly to that  while the eastern is to the
level of the Great Basin, some 4,000 feet above tide-water.  The
western slope of the Sierra rises, in the cential portion of the
State, opposite Sacramento, at il~e average rate of about 100 feet
to a mile, the elevation of the passes being about 7,000 feet, and
the horizontal distance seventy miles.  As we go south from
here the cievation of tlie passes increases rapidly and the breadth
of the range diminishes, until the grade reaches its maximum
opposite ~ isalia, where the average rise from the plain of the
San Joaquin to tlie summit of the passes is over 240 feet to the
mile, and to the summit of the highest peaks 300 feet.  North
of the Donner Lake Pass, or that by which the Centi~l Pacific
Railroad crosses the Sierra, the branches of the Feather River 
GENERAL.                       37
head around and to the east of an elevated range on which
Spanish Peak asid Lassen's Peak are situated, while the real
divide or water-shed is forty miles farther east, and crowned
with numerous peaks, few of which are named, and none known
to geographers.  The intermediate space between these two dom
inating raliges is filled with a labyrinth of ridges and valleys,
defyi~ig all attempts at classification.  The average slope from
Oroville to the summit of Beckworth's Pass is not over seventy
feet to the suite  but, owing to the peculiar character of the
country in~licated above, ilsis more  moderate elevation and
grade could not be niade available for railroad purposes, as
the summit could not be reached, except by a circuitous and
difficult route up one of the branches of the Feather River.
The height of the donitnating peaks, as well as of the passes,
sinks as we go northward from latitude 36 30', which is nearly
that of the north end of Owesi's Lake.  This condition of things
wilt be easily understood on examination of the annexed tabular
statement: -
TABLE OF TilE ELEVATIONS OF PEAKS AND PASSES IN TilE
SIERRA NEVADA.
Lati-          Name and Elevation of Pass.        Name and Elevation of A~~aeent
tude.                                            Dominating Peak,
Feet.                                 Feet.
36  3~ Pass without name       12,057 Mount ~Vhitney...      15,000
37 28.. 12,400 Red Slate Peak..           13,400
37 55  Mono Thiss... 10,765 Mount Dana....      13,227
38 10  Sonora P.tss.... 10,115 Castle Peak...           12,500
35 39  Silver Mountain Pass.  8,793 Silver Mountain...      10,934
38 45  Carson Pa~.    8,759 ~Vood's Peak...      10,552
38 50  Johnson Pass..`  7~339Pyramid Peak..      10,120
39 10  Georgetosvn, or Squaw          No very marked      domi        Valley Pass...  7.119  nating peaks;the  crest
39 20  Donner P&s..    7,056  of the range from   500
39 30  Henness Pass.  6,993  to 1,000 feet above the
39 38      Vuba Gap...    6,642        Downieville Buttes.    8,400
39 45      Beckworth's Pass.  5,327        Onjumi                  8,378
From Beck worth's north, the passes gain a little in elevation,
and tlie adjacent t)eaks are from 8,000 to 9,000 feet high.  Tlie
above table shows that from latitude 36 32' to 39 45' tlie peaks
sink froni 15,000 to 8,400, asid the passes from 12,000 to 5,400 feet.
The eentn~l niass, or core, of tise Siers'a Nevada, as of most
high mountilsis, is chiefly granite  this is flanked on both sides
by metamoqilii  slates, and capped irregularly by vast masses 
38         THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
of basaltic and other kinds of lava, and heavy beds of ashes and
breccia, hea"ing witness to a former prodigions activity of the
subterranean volcanic forces, now dormant or o'ily made sensible
by occasional earth~uake shocks.  The granitic belt widens as
we go south, a'id, in the highest portion of the Sierra, has a
breadth of nearly forty miles.  Northwards, the amount of volcanic material increases, and, after we pass Lassen's Peak, as
before re~narked, it covers the whole width of the i~nge, forming one vast elevated plateau, crowned with a series of cones,
many of which have well-formed craters still existing on their
summits.  These craters, however, now exhibit no indications
of present activity.  The only remnants of the forces by which
tisey were built up are the hot springs, which are pleutiftslly distributed aloisg the line of former volcanic action.  ~hile the
southern highest points of the Sierra are of granite, aiid those
north of Lake Tahoe are chiefly volcanic, or, at least, capped
with volcanic nsaterials, there are a is um her of very elevated
peaks in the central part of the State, inclndiisg ~[ount Dana,
which are niade up of slates and metamorphic rocks, as will be
noticed in the next chapter.
In so elevated a range as the Sierra Nevada, we should expect
to find a number of belts of forest vegetation, corresponding to
the different zones of altitude above the sea-level.  As in the
Coast Panges, the general character is given to the landscape by
coniferous trees and oaks, all other fanillies being usually quite
subordinate in imI)ortance, and the number of the conifers, as
compisred with that of the oaks, increasing rapidly as we ascend.
There are four pretty well marked belts of forest vegetation
on the`vest slope of the Sierra, and that of the eastern slope
would make a fifth for the whole range.  These belts, however,
pass gradually into each other, and are not so defined that ibies
can be drawn separating or distinctly limiting them, asid the
division iii to groups or belts here proposed will only be found to
hold good in the central portion of the State  as we go north,
all the groiips of species gradually descend in elevation, espe.
cially in aji~iroacbing the coast.
Of the fi~nr belts on the western slope of the Sierra the lowest
is that of tlie foot-hills, extending "p to about 3, 000 feet in
elevation  its most characteristic species are the digger l)ine (P.
Sc&issio-io) and the black oak (y. Sosioaiciisis)  these stand
sparsely scattered over the hillsides, or in graceful groups, nowhere forming what can be called a forest.  Tlie hale blisish tint
of the pine leaves contrasts finely with the dark green of the
oak foliage, and both pines and oaks are stroiigly relieved, in
summer, against the amber and straw-colored ground.  The 
GENERAL.                  39
sn~al] side valleys, guldses or eas~ons, as il~ey are called in California, according to their disnensioiis, are lined ~vitls flo~veriog
shro1~s, of ~l~ich the California  bock-eye  (~~e?~l~es Coisfor
~~z'e), is, at this altitude, by far the most conspicuous, guidually
giving i)lace, as ~ve ascend, to the various species of the delightfully fragrant C~q~~o~hics, or California lilac.   ~~anzanita and
ebamiso are, of course, abundant everywhere, asid especially on
the iriest hillsides and summits.
The next belt is that of the pitch pine, or Pj?ii(3 ~~o~i(i~rose',
the sug~r pine (P. L'z~jtior1iqiirc), the wbite or bastaul cedar
(Liboee~i~~~es ~1cci~i~re~is), aiid the Douglas spruce (Abme I)osijlasii)  this is peculiarly the forest belt of tise Sierra Nevada, or
that in which the trees have their finest developm~~ut.  The
pitch pine repla~~es the digger pine first, and more aiid more of
il~e sugsr phi is seeli finn' about 4,000 feet on to 5,000, at which
altitude the last-named noble and peculiarly Califoriiia~i tree is
most abundant.  Tise sugar pine is remarkable for tise size of
its cones, which hang in bunches of two or more frons the ends
of the loss  branches, like ornamental tassels.  Tise timber of
this tree is the best that California fisruishes, and its size gigantic, being ssot unfie~~uently 300 feet in height and fl-nm seven to
ten feet in diameter.  It is also in this helt that the  Big
Trees" belong.
The thirsi zone of forest vegetation is that of il~e firs (Pice~
grasi~iis and eoinii7Ie), with the tamarack pine (P. ensitorte)
taking to a enuilderable extent the place of the lsitcli and sugar
pines.  This belt extends fiom 7,000 to 9,000 fiet above the
sea, in the central pirt of the State.  Tise traveller to the Yosemite will awe it u-ell developed about ~Vestfiill's meadows, and
from there to the edge of the Valley.  These firs, es~seeially the
a?neb ii is, which is distinguished by the geometrical regularity
with which its branches are divi~led, are omit superb trees
they attain a large size, are very sysumetrical in their growth,
and have a dark green brilliant foliage, ~~iieh is very fi-~grant.
-A pine ealle~l Pisises Je/freyi, by some considered a variety of
tise pnsi~1ern~e, is also a characteristic tree of tise u~sper part of
this belt  and above this sets in the Pisius asn~~tien'a, which
takes the place of the Piceos at a high elevation.
The highest belt of all is that of the Pis~ses a1bieau1t~ (or fl,ttilis of anme botanists), which marks the limit of vegetation in
the middle and northern Sierra, Pisis~s e~istntie takisfg its ~slaee
in the more southern region about tise head of l&ing's ansi I&ern
kivers.  Tlse ce16ic~ese~is generally shows itself at the lisie just
where veg~~tatinn is going to give out altogether, as arnusid tlse
base of i~~onnt Clark, ~Ionnt Dana, and ~Iount Shasta.  On the 
40         THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
last-named mountain it was seen growing, as a shrub, in favorable places, up to 9,000 feet  aiid small trees were so compacted
by the pressure of the snow on then~ in the winter, that a man
could easily walk over the flat surface formed by their foliage.
A little clump of this species just at the edge of the snow, on
Lassen's Peak, shows tlie aspiring character of this tree, which
is one widely distributed over the high mountain~tops of the
Cordilleras. Tlie eris1o~a is also found in the ~ocky Mountains,
as well as along a limited part of the highest region of the Sierra
Nevada.
~Ioie dctails of the d'stribution of the forest-trees in and aboist
the Vosemite will be found in the two following chapters  the
above very gesseral and brief remarks seemed necessary to our
hasty sketels of the general featui.es of the Sierra Nevada.
The climate of the Sierra Nevada varies, of course, with the
altitude  but not so much, nor so ra~~idly, as one would expect.
Indeed, rhe traveller, leaving San Francisco, will have to rise
~eveml thousand feet on the ~anks of the Siei~a, before he will
come to a region where the mean tempen~tn~'e of summer is as
low as in that city.  As high up as 8,000 or 10,000 feet, even,
the days are quite comfortably warm.  On the very highest
peaks, at elevations of 12,000 or 13,000 feet, we rarely felt the
want of an overcoat at midday.  Ais exansisiation of our thermometncal observations shows that we liad tlie niercury almost
always over 80 in the Vosemite Valley, at an elevation of 4,000
feet above the sea, durisig the six midday hours, iii June and
July, although the nights were, almost without exception, cool
enough to make a pair of heavy blankets desirable.  At our
camp in tlic Tuolumne Valley, dunsig the same months, at an
elevation of 8, 700 feet, the mercury stood at a little over 60
usuallv, during the hours from 11 to 3, but fill ra~~idly after
sunset and, in one case, soli(l ice an iiicli thick was formed
dnriiig tlic night.  At the sunimit of Mount Daiia, 13,227 feet
high, the tensperature marked at noon was 43~ and on I~ed
~Iountain, at an elevation of neaHy 12,000 feet, the thermometer stood at 58~.  At high altitudes, all tliroisgii tise mountains,
tlse weather luring the summer is almost always the fliiest possilde for ti'avelliug, whether for scientific purposes or for pleasure.
Tise niglsts, indced, are colil  but fuel is abundasit, and the
system becomes braced up to endure what, iii lower regions,
would seeni unbearable.  There are occasional storms in the
high mountaisis  but, in ordinary scasons, these are quite rare,
aiid nise of the greatest drawbacks to the pleasure of travelling
in the Alps, the uncertainty of the weather, is here almost entirely wanth~g.  One may be reasonably sure, in starting to 
GENERAL.                  41
climb a mountain peak, of a clear sky, anj a temperature wilicli
will make walking and riding a pleasure.
In the mountains there is almost always a breeze dunug tile
day  but this rarely ill summer rises to a gale.  In the daytime
il~e air draws up tile mountain slopes, and in tile night blows
down.  Hence travellers always have il~e dust with them, in
ascendiug, until they get above roads and wheeled vehicles, -
a great annoyance, and a senous drawback to the pleasure of
travelling, the only compensation for which is to be foui~d in
t)~e fact that, in going down the niou~itains and towards tile
Bay of San Fn~ncisco, whefl~er approaching it f,~m north or
south, you have tilO breeze in your face and the dust behind you.
The high,nountaiiis of ~alifornia receive, probably, their
whole preQi1~itatioii of moisture in the forni of show, a~id of
this an ellornious amount f~lls, and duriiig tile wi~iter months
almost exclu~ively.  In the central portioll of tlie State show is
iiot f1'e(1uellt, iieither does it lie long on the grouiid, at localities
below 3,000 feet in altitude.  As we go higher than il~is, tile
snow fall increases rapidly, a~id it accumulates iii immense
bodies 0,1 the n~ountain slopes, and esp~cialiy in the cafions.
Nearly one huiidred inches of rain fell ill tlie Sierra, during the
stormy winter of 1S07-68, along a belt 2,000 feet above the sealevel  and we can easily believe the statement t1~at over sixty
feet of siiow fell during that season at Doniier Lake, not quite
6,000 feet ill altitu~le.  The variation in the fall of rain or snow,
from wi,iter to winter, is very great all through C'alifori~ia.
During ordinary years, however, the flai~ks of tilO Sierra are
well cover~~d dow~i to 4, 000 feet above tise sea, durisig tlie midwisiter iiionths, aiid a heavy body of snow lies on the passes
until ~Iay, or even June.
The crest of the Sierra is never entirely denuded of its snow
although at the end of a long and dry' summer, fillowing an nilusually dry ~~inter, there are no heavy bo(lies of it except in the
caf~ons, on the iiortherii slopes of the very highest peaks.  There
is ordiiiarily but little if any snow left, at tile end of the slimsuer, alosig the crest of tise mountains betweesi Henness Pass
and I~asseii's Peak.  ()ne or two of the other hi-guest poisits in
Plumas County showed, here mid there, a spot of iii ow on their
northern slopes, in iSbO, usitil nearly tiie esid of the summer
but oil Lassesi's Peak (1llitC large bodies of sliosv remain permasiesitly, as fir down as 2,000 feet below the summit.  From here
north to`\Iount Shasta there is no lastisig accumulation of snow
but on tli~it ~eak there are always, throughout tlie season, great
masses ill th( r~iviiies or canons on all sides, exteisiliug down to
6,000 or 7 000 feet below the summit.  It is here, and ilere 
42          TllE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
only, that a pretty well defined "line of perpetual snow" rnay
be said to exi~t.  Seen hum  a great distaiice, Moujit Shasta
appears as a dazzlingly white cone of snow  but, fl~i~ a point
olily a fc~v ~i)ilC5 ot~ it is evidejit enough  that flie ridges and
crests betweeii tlie ravines flirrowiug its sides arc bare, and that
tliese forni a large portioii of the ~vliole surface.
It is flie iiieltiiig iii suninier of tlie iii ow accun~ulated during
the ~viiiter ~vlilcii keeps the strean~s full of water, high up in flie
niouiitaiiis, aiid the~e, iii turn, furiiish flie caiials or ditches
which coiivey tlie iiidispeiisable su~iply to flic niiners.   i'hese
ditclics are dee1 iii l)i~o1)ortion to their wiiltli, aiid have a rapid
fail, so as to le~.~eii the evalioration, which so rapidly din~inishes
the qualitity of water in tlie streanis flowing naturally down the
Sierni, tise iinaller of which usually beconie quite dry befi~re the
summer is halt over.  i~lsus the store of silow laiil by in the
Sierra is a ino~t ~)i.ecious treasure to the State  for, if all the
preci1~it~tion weiv iii tlie forn~ of rain, it would run nif at once,
causilig devastatiiig floods, and iii the sunsi~er it would be sn~ptissible to carry on agricultural or issinisig oI)eratioiis.  Isideed,
without tlie su~~ply of snow, the whole coniltry would beconse a
perfect desert.  All through t lie Great Basiss it is the nielting
of tlie wi'iter' 5 stock of snow which gives what little there is of
verilure and feitility to the slopes of tlie nsonntaiiss.  When the
ranges are lofty enough and wide enongh to collect and store
away a large su~iply, which as it nielts will furnish water to irrigate the sloIles aiid valleys, these i~ay be nsade to bear abundant
crops  where, on the other hand, the riilges are low, they, as
well as the valleys at their bases, are absolutely sterile.
The snow se(~iiis to disappear fions tlse susisinits of the higher
peaks hv ev;il)or~tion, rather than by actual nselting.  On the
tO1) of ~roniit &liasta, for instance, there was no iiidication of
danspness; inileed, l)ieces of lisper, with the nanses of visitors
written 01) them, and laid in uncorked bottles, or on the rocks
theniselves, were found bv iii to have remained for years as fresh -
and free frons nioulil or discoloration as when first left there.  It
is owing to this peculiar dryness of tise air, ~robalily, that there
are iso indii~atioiis of the present existence of glaciei~s on Mount
Shasta: and, if iiot occurring there, they could iiot be expected
to he founil anywhere else in California. *  ~fasses of snow several ruiles bug, snil hundreds of feet iii thickness, reniain all
ssinsnser without showing any indication of becoiiiiiig glacier ice.
They freeze anil thaw on the surface, and grailually waste away,
*Since the above a written, several small glaci~rs have been disrovereti
high np on tlse north ii(l5 of ~5onnt Shasta by SIr Iiinz.  This is to be
accoonted for hv tlis flirt that tlse atmosphrre is moistrr on the nortb 5i(lS of
the mountain, the dry correut striking it from the south and southwest. 
GENERAL.                  43
witl~out giving rise to considerable streams, remaining ahvays
sno~v, and notising biit sno~v.
At a former a~i~l iiot very remote geo~ogical period, bowever,
there weic immense glaciers in tise Sierra Nevada, aiid tbe
traces of their l)ast existence are among tbe niost iliteresting
pi~eiiomena to be nb~erve&t tbere now.  Tbe saii~e beautifully
stuated mid 1ioli~lsed surfaces of rock, resulting fi~m tiie ~)ressure and slidiiig of great masses of ice over tlicni, - tbe same
peculiar accumulatioiis of gravel and boulders, called "moraines  in tlie Al1is, and wbich are always formed wbei~ glaciers
exist, are fonnil in the Sierra over a great extent of surface.
These manifestations of former glacial ageiicies are linilted to
the higher part of the railge, and are niost abunilant aiid welldefiiied about the heads of Ijern and I&iiig's livers, in tlie region
above tlie N~o~cinite, and iii tbe valleys in which tlie ~lerced,
San Joa~1uiii, aiid Tuoluinne head, as will be niore fully iioticed
iii a succeediiig clialiter.  The facts observed I)i~ove i~learly that
the climate of (?alifornia was once considenibly moi~ter than it
now is.  There must have been a ~)retty abundant precipitation
of siiow along tlie Sierra duriiig the summer, as there now is in
the Alps  but it is not necessary to suppose that tlie country,
at tlie base of the mountains at least, was uiiiiihaliital~le.  The
glaciers di(l not extend, in tlie centn~l portion of the State, down
below 6,000 to 5,000 feet above the sea-level, excelt in a few
exceptional localities.  In these, the configun~tion of tlie niountain valleys at the head of the glaciers was such as to give occasioii for the accumulation of exceptioiially great masses of snow.
Sueb cin1nes, or am1~hitlieatres, exist now at tlie heads of the
largest Alpiiie glaciers.  Of these former low-desceiiding iceniasses in (?alifornia, one of the most striking was that which
came down tlie valley of the Tuolui~ne, and which must have
been over tbii~y miles in length.
That there was formerly a much greater precipitation of moisture on the eastern side of the Sierra than then no~v is, seems
p~~ved by the fonner greater extension of the lakes on tlie eastern slope.   ~lniio Lake, for histance, is surrounded by ti~rraces
or benches, which  show that its surface once stood 600 feet
higher than it now does  and the same is true of ~Valker, Pyramid, and the other lakes on that side of the Sierra.  No doubt,
at that time the now and valleys of Nevada were beautiftil
inlaii~l seas, wl~ich fille(l the spaces between the lofty parallel
riilges liy which tl)at State is traversed.  Perhaps tlie 5101)es of
those ridges were then clothed with dense forests, oih~i~ng a
woiidernil contrast to the present barre~iness of the ranges, and
tlie monotoiiy and desolation of the alkaline plains at their bases. 
44          THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOO~
CHAPTER III.
THE YOSEMITE VALLEY.
HE Yosemite Valley is situated a little south of east from
San Fra~icisco, and is distant fro~n that city about 155 miles
in a din~ct line  but by either of tlse routes usually tn~velled it
is nearly 250, as will be seen froni the aniiexed tables, which
givc tlie estimated distances of the Valley fi~om Stockton, by
each of tho tlirec routes which it is possible to take by the ordinary public coiivQvances.  Stocktoii itself, usually called 120
niiles by water from San Fraiicisco, is iiow reached by tlie cars
rom that city in about four hours.  Tlie tn~ins at I)i'esent leave
San Fraiicisco for Stockton twice a day.   Boats also leave San
Francisco at four o'clock p. M., and arrive at Stockton early the
next ilioriliug, in aniple time to connect with the stages which
leave the last-named place for various points in tlse iiiountains
at six o'clock A. M.
Frous Stockton there are, ~omiually, three routes to the Yosemite; hilt, ontil last year, aliiiost all tlie ti~vel was by two of
them, the third, that by Big Oak Flat, beiiig almost entii'ely
neglecteil.  Yet this latter is tlie most direct line to tlie Valley,
passengers by either of the other routes making it consiilerable
detour to the sooth.  A straight line from Stockton to the Yosemite passes directly througli Big Oak Flat, aiid the distance
is olily ulilety miles iii an air-line.  Duriiig tlie summer of 187,0
a wagon-road was completed from l3ig Oak Flat to Hardin s
Mill, tlie di~tanee beiiig called tweiiry-oue miles.  From this
point a saildle-tnain was run into tlie Valley, and most of the
travel went that way.  It is intended that tlie road shall be finished and opened to the edge of the clifl' overlooking tlie Valley,
duriiig the lireseilt season (1871).  Ois the ~faflliosa side, a road
has been built as far as Clark's Ranch, mid it is proposed to extend it to the Valley as soon as possible.
A utiltoad has also been talkeil of for soi~e time between Stockton and C'~i~ipero~iolis.  Tlsis would shorten tlie tiiiie to the Yosemite consideral~ly. Those who can aflbr~l it will ilo well to lsire
private conveymices at Stockton, as the stages are often crowded
aiid uiicoinfortable, the arrangements on the i~ute not having
been hitherto made with reference to the comfort of pleasure
travellers. 
THE YOSEMITE VALLEY.                          45
The tables of distances from Stockton, by the different routes,
are as follows: -
VIA BIG OAK FLAT.                          Miles.
Stockton to Copperopolis.... 36
Copperopolis to Cl~iiie~e Camp..   15
otBhe;:::;e. or { {{~k1{;{~~~~)ii\{~)ltJB0si}{)~g$~)~f~{Y)~~. ~89
Sprague's Ranch eo Big Flume.      4
Big Flume to South Fork, Tuolumne River  3
t South Fork to Hardin's Ranch..  4
-  83
f Hardin's Ranch to Tamarack Flat.   14
On horseback.  Tamarack Flat to Boundary Corner, Yo
em ite                            
t Boundary Corner to Lower Hotel..
- 24~
Total                                                 1O7~
VIA COULTERVILLE.
(Stockton to Knight's Ferry...  36
By stage               Ki~iglit' S Ferry to Crimea House..   12
Crimea House eo Don l~edro's Bar..  9
Don Pedro's Bar to Coulterville.   14
- 71
Horseback or    Coulterville to Bower Cave                     12
on wheels       Bower Cave to Black's.                          5
( Black's to Deer Flat                             6
Deer Flat to Hazle Green.
Hazle Green to Crane Flat                         5
On horseback. 1 Crane Flat to Tamarack Flat.. $
Tamarack Flat to Boundary
Boni~dary Stake to Edge of Valley.
t Edge of Valley to Lower Hotel..  7
- 48~
Total                                        119~
VIA BEAR VALLEY AND MARIPOSA.
Stockton to Tuolumne River... 45
Tuolumne River to Snelling's..   12
By sta~eor   Snelling's to Hornitos....  12
h~l        llon~ito to Bear Valley...    9
wees.       Bear Valley to ~Iariposa....  12
~lariposa to ~Vhite and Hatch's..   11'
~`hite and Hatch's to Clark's...  11'
- 113j 
46           THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
(Clark's to Alder Creek....
Alder Creek to Empire Camp...  3
On horseback. ~ Empire Camp to ~Ve~tfall's.~Ieadow.
\Ve~tfi~ll's Meadow to Inspiration Point.  5
Inspiration Point to Lower Hotel..
- 25~
Total                                138~
Thus it will be seen that the distances to be travelled by the
di We rent routes are as follows * -
B. 0. Flat. Coulterville. Man puss.
On wl~eels       83          71           1131 miles.
Honseback        24~         48~          25~
Total        107~        I19~          138~
And, having given the distances, as above, we will add a few
words as to tise desiral)ility of the dificrent routes.  In the first
place, it must be mentioned that the roads isito the Valley all
have a great fi~ult  the traveller is obliged to rise fioi~ 3,000
to 3, 500 feet higher than the point which he wishes to reae1~,
namely, tll~ bottom of the Yoseniite Valley, which is olily 4,000
feet above the s'~a-lcvel, while the highest point 051 tlse i~Ianposa
trail is 7, 400 leet in elevation, anti the sunimit on tlie Coulterville asssi lii Oak Flat side not much less.  Tlie reason of this
is, that tlie cai~on of the ~[ercetl, which river runs through the
Valley, is deep and crooked, and has such precipitous sides, that
makiss a road or trail through it would be (luite difficult and
expensive, so that the Valley has to be approached, siot from
below, l)~5t froin one side.  Still, the Indians have a trail on the
south side of the ~~erced, from Clark's Ranch, which is used by
theni wisesi the oil~er is closed by snow, and which we suppose
to be at least 2,000 feet lower than the other, and which consequesitly is o~ieu earlier in the spring and closed later in the
autumn.  If a good trail could be made into ilse Valley this
way, not only would the extra climbing and descending be
avoided, but, what is of more importance, the Valley would
be accessible to travellers, not liking to go in over the snow, for
a muds longer time during the season.  At present there is
sometimes a considerable amount of snow to be crossed in going
in, on either side, as late as June, although, generally, the trail
is clear in ~~Iay.
* The tourist will notice that as these relative distances travelled by stage
and on horseback are liable to changes, a fly-leaf will be inserted in this volume frnm tinse to time, calting attention to such changes, and giving the
latest information.  -   
-T1T~ YOSEMITE VALLEY.           47
The proper, way for travellers is, andonbtedly, to make the
"ronnd trij,,' going into the Valley on one sI(lC and returning
on tlio otl~ei, as the trait 011 the ~fariposa side takes olie near
the Ri
views   Trees, aiid, besides, flirnishes by flir tlie best general
of tlie Valley  while, on the Coulterville trail, we have
tlie Ilower Cave and many flue vie~~~ of the distant Sierra.  It
is for tlie traveller to decide whether he prerers gettiiig these
general views of the Valley after lie has already h~en there, or
on his way iiito it.  If lie wishes to have the ~~~ole giandeiir of
the Voseu~ite revealed to hin~ at once, let liini enter tlie Valley
on tlie ~lariposa side  if, on tlie other liaiid, lie prefei~s to see
tlie various points in succession, one after nautlier, aiid then,
finally, as be leaves the Valley, to have these gloiious general
views, as a kind of sunimiug lip of the whole, lie will enter by
tlie Coulterville aiid deliart by tlie ~Iariposa side.   Horses and
guides niny be obtained at Coulterville, ~Iaril)osa, or Bear Valley,
to make the round trip, and parties often go Iiivliared to camp
out ois the way wherever they may fliid it agreeal~le, thus remdering themselves iiidepenleut of hotels and laudloiils.  Those
who do not canip usually ride fi'om Bear Valley or ~Iariposa to
~lThite and Itatch's, diiie there, and go oii to Clark's the same
evenii g  stop over there one day, and visit tlie l3ig Tree Grove
theis ride to tlie Vosemite tlie next day.  Iii l~~aviiig the Valley,
they rile to Black's the first day  then to Coulteiville tlie second, and reach San Francisco late tlie night of the tliiril.  Those
who are 11(~t in haste ShOulti StOp over night at ~Vliite and
liatch's, aiid jog on comfortably the next da~ to Clark's.  Persons have l~een foun~l, sufficiently in haste, 511(1 liaviiig so little
regard for rlieir horses, as to ride froiu Bear Valley to tlie Vosemite iii oiie day, eighteen hours long!
~Vith tlie coiu1deti~n of the railroad from San Francisco to
Stockton, aiid from tlie latter place to Coppero~~olis, as well as
of tlie wngon-roa~ls contemplated and spokeii of above, tlie trip
to tlie Yoseiiiite will no loiiger be one reqiiii~iiig aiiy coiisiderable
exertion, even from  those least used to "roiigliiiig it.,,  As at
lireseilt arrau~o~d however, it will not do to take less than ten
days for tlie excursion fi~oin San Fmncisco to tlie Yoseiiiite and
back, including a visit to the Big Trees.  This iiicludi~s a stoppage of three days in the Valley, - the least tinie that one can
give to it, eveii if all the niiiior excursions are neglected.  The
followiiig would be a conveiiient programme: leave on Stockton
boat at four o'clock p. M.  then first day to Bear Valley; sccosic',
to ~~Tliite and Hatch's; tkiret, visit the Big Tre~~s aiiil return to
Clark's; fo~.'r(k, to the Yosemite; fifth, si%Us, aiid scvciitli, iii tlie
Valley  ciqhth, to Black's;`isiuth, to Bower Cave and Coulter 
48           TllE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
ville  tenth, return to San Francisco, leaving Coulterville very
early in the moriling and reaching San Francisco late the same
night. *  There is oiotliing in the trip which need excite alarni
in even tise ooo~ tionid person, as the trails are nowhere dangerous, aiid it is always easy to dismount where the slope is too
steep for riding witll consfort to man or beast.  The grandeur of
the scenery, tlie magnificence of the forests, the clear cool water,
and bracing air of the onountains, - all these coo'ibiooe to make
ilse ri~le, after oote leaves tlic foot-hills, one of most intense enj~vment to those who are sufficiently accustomed to rid in  to
feel "at honie" 011 a horse's or mule's hack, as is usually the
case with Californians.  Three days, however, is but a very liniited time for seeiiig the Valley itself and its surroundings  and,
after descril~ing the principal objects of interest in the region,
some hints will be given as to extending the sojourn there and
utiliziiig the additional days to the best advantage.
For convenience, the routes into the Valley, 001 each side, will
first be described, aiid then the Valley itself, and we will ionagine the traveller to start at Coulterville, entering tlie Yosemite
on the north si~le.
Coulterville lies near tlie "Creat Quartz Vein" of California,
and was oiice the seat of considerable placer soid quartz minisig;
but both of these industries are, at present, in rather a stagnant
condition.  It lies 001 Maxwell Creek, a branch of the Merced,
at an elevation of about 1,800 feet above tlie sea, aiid not far
fi-om the border between tlie "foot-hills" and the Sierra proper,
where we leave the hills densely covered with chaparral for the
more open and majestic forests of the higher regiosis, exchanging
ditches for iiaturally-running water, no longer thickened to the
consistency of 1~orridge by the red mud of the niiiier.  The roatl
ruiis froni Goulterville iiearly northeast for eight miles, until it
strikes the North Fork of tlie Merced, down which it descends
for a short listance, then crosses and passes near the "Bower
Cave.   This is a loicturesque and quite ultique locality, and is
well wodhy of a visit.
It consists of an immense crack in il~e limestone, open to the
air at the surface, noid irregularly widened out in a cave-like
manner below, by the action of curreoits of water.  On the upper side of tlie obli~1uely-descendioig crevice, an overhanging
ledge of rock permits the vertical depth of the cave to the
~ This progr~mme i~ liable to some modification in consequence of the
completion of the r~ilrosd to Stockton, and the changes in the roads noticed
above.  The tn'~cllcr will find no difficulty in posting himself, with the aid of
the fiy4eaf attached to this volume, or the aewapapers and handbills, if he
prefer those. 
THE YOSEMITE VALLEY.            49
level of the water, which partly f~lls it, to be measured  it is
109 feet.  The lei~gtb of the open crevice is 133 feet, ai~d its
width 86.  At various heights, deep cavities, or small caves, are
worn in the rock, sonic of which inay be followed for a considerable distaiice.  The picturesque effcct of the cave is greatly
heighteiied by the growth witliin it of tlsree la'ge mal)lc.trees,
of ~~~hlcls the braiiches project out at tlie top.  Tlie water at the
bottom is exceediiigly pellucid, permitting the ramificatioiis of
the crevice beneath its surface to be seen for a depth of at least
forty feet.  Access can be bad to the bottom of the cave by a
series of StC1)5, aiid a boat is provided for the use of visitors
other C0uveuieu~~es ai~e also ftin~ished, permitting a cool and
coniforta~~le stay in this curious place, which scenis to be peenliarly adaliteil for a ~ii(nic iii hot weather.
From the Bou er t?ave, the road follows down the North Fork
of the ~Ierced for three miles, then crosses over rolling bills to
Black's, about tlie same distance farther.  Here the first night
is usually 51)CiIt, tbe accomniodations being excell cut.  From
Black's the trail winds along the side of the iiarrow valley of
Bull Creek, completely embowered in ceanothus, or California
lilac, most flagrant during the eaHy part of tlie season.  Leavin  Bull Creek, we follow Deer Creek, oiie of its bn~uches, to its
source at Deer Flat.  This is one of the numerous small, nearly
level, areas of grassy laud, usually called "flats" in the Sierra.
Here was formerly, and perhaps is still, the last habitation on
the trail, aiid good camping ground, although rather wet early
iii tlie season.
Leaving Deer Flat, the trail winds up along the side of Pilot
Peak, a promineiit landmark, a little over 6,000 feet above tlse
sea-level, the summit of which may be easily reached froni the
trail, and the view from which will well repay a delay of a
couple of hours for that purpose.  There are few points of easy
access finer than Pilot Peak lor a geucial view of the Sierra, the
crest of which is about forty miles distant in a straight liiie.  In
clear weather, in sl)ite of this distance, an admirable panoramic
view isiay be obtained, especially of the almost inaccessilile volcanic region south of the Sonora trail, where Tower Peak, one
of thegi~ndest mountain masses in California, rises in steps like
a series of truncated pyramids piled one above the other.  This
point is twenty-five miles distant in a northeasterly direction.
Sweeping round the horizon, to the nght from Tower Peak, we
see, beyond the Yosemite, the highest portion of the Sierra, at
the head of the ~Ierced River, a magiiiflcent group of peaks over
13,000 feet iii elevation.  The summit of Pilot Peak is also in
excellent point for getting an idea of the middle portion of the 
50         TllE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
Sierra Nevada, the region of deep calions and innumerable, long,
parallel ridges, all clad with dense forests of coniferous trees.
Froi~ Deer Fiat to Crane Flat is ten and a half in lies (usually
called twelve), Hazel Green bcing midway between the two
tlsese are all sn~all patches of mea~low.  The trail passes over
and along a high gi~nite spur of the Sierra, flsing at the summit to the elevation of 6,669 feet.  From this portion of the
route fl~ere are occasional glimpses to be had of the crest of tbe
Sierra, especially from a ndge a few rods to the south of the
trail, at a point two miles beyond Hazel Green.  Here we have
a fine view of the ~ferced group, - the mountain range about
which tlie branches of the river of that nai~e head.  At Crane
Flat, 6,130 feet above the sea, there is a deserted shaiity ali(I
abundant feed for animals.  The forests in this vicinity are Snperb, consisting of firs, cedars, sugar and pitch pines.  There
is also a small grove of the Big Trees about a mile froin the Flat,
in a northwesterly direction.
From here on to tise Yoseniite the elsameter of the scenery
begins to change, aiid to show indicatioiis of an apliroach to tise
higher regions of the Sierra.  Tlie larger oistcrops of granite
assume more or less of the dome form, and they are almost hare
of vegetati~~n.  The forests become less deisse, the sugar pine
grows less frequent, and the firs and spruce begin to predomiii ate over the pines.  From Crane Flat to Cascade Creek is an
elevated reglois, about 7,000 feet above the sea, and covered with
snow some time after the rest of the trail has become clear.
llence a lower route has beeis selected, ~diich descends Crane
Creek aiid then skirts along the canon of the ~~erced, a thousand
or more feet below the one ordinarily in use later in the season.
This avoiding the high ground, however, is not effected without
addiiig a couple of miles to tise distance.  Tlie two trails unite
at Cascade Creek, only a short distance from tlie edge of the
Valley.  At a little distance from tlse trail, on the southern or
right-hand side, a partial glimpse into the Yosemite may he obtained.  It is not a satisfactory one, however, OTi account of
the number of trees in the way, aiid the bend in the Valley
itself, which cuts off the view of all tise upper part.  This point
of view isas been rather absurdly called the  Stand-Point of
Silence.~'
Leaving our imaginary party sitting here and enjoying the
cool breezes and grateful shade, we will return and conduct
another set over the ~Ianposa trail, in order that justice may be
done to "both slues.
The traveller, starting from Bear Valley for the Yosemite,
passes diagonaBy through the whole length of the ~Iariposa 
THE YOSEMITE VALLEY.                51
Estate, that famous quartz-mining property which has had so
n~any ups and downs.   Before startin   however, one should
take a day to ride to the snmmft of ~lount Bullion, two miles
east of Bear Valley, if he has time, and wishes for soniething
like the distant ~ anoramic view of the Sierra, which was described above as to be had from Pilot Peak, on the Coulterville
trail.  From ~Iount Bullion the view to the south along the
crest of the Sierra is one of immense extent, tlie eye ranging for
a hundred miles, as far as the head of the Kern ai~d King's Bivers, alo1]g a serrated line of peaks from 12,000 to 15,000 feet in
height.  This view can only be bad, as a rule, early in the season  for, later than ~Iay or June (according to the season), all
views, from points not high up in the Sierra, b~~gin to be ohscured by the risil~g cloud of smoke and dust, whi(~h gradually
accumulates during the summer, and finally cuts off all distant
objects.
The road from Bear Valley to ~Ian-posa passes through a region which gives as good an idea as any in the State of equal
extent can of tlie peculiar foot4~ill scenery of the Sierra Nevada.
The park-like valley, with scattered oaks and pines, the latter
chiefly of r~~~~~ SOb?niofla, the true foot-hill pine  the dark
chapan~al-covered hills  tlse ground almost hidden by a profi~sion of brilliant flowers and flowering shn~bs in the spring, but
dry, brou-n, and dusty in the summer, still, however, invested
with a certain charm by the eternal serenity of the weather; the
intense heat of the sun and the refreshing coolness of the breezy
shade  the nights without dew or dampness, and the days wfthout clouds, - these are the prominent features of the lower belt
of the Sierra, up to 3,000 or 4,000 feet above the sea-level.
At Mormon Bar we leave the Mariposa Estate, and, traversing
a not particulaAy interesting, but particularly dusty, region of
foot-hills, crossing numerous small bn~nA~es of the Cliowehilla,
arrive, after twelve miles of riding, at ~Vhite and Hatch's, a little over 3,000 feet above the sea-level.  Here we begin to enter
tlse real mountain region of the Sierra, to find ourselves among
the tall i)itch pines, and to get sniffs of cool air from the snowbanks above.   From ~Thite and Hatdi's to Clark's the road
ascends the Chowcliilla Creek, and tlsen crosses a high ridge
forniing the divide between that stream and the waters of the
~Ierced.  Nearly the whole way is among the finest forests of
the Sierra, the summit on tlse road being about 2,800 feet above
~Vhite and Hatch's.   To the left of the road is a high granite
knob, called tlie Devil's Mountain, not easy of ascent, but offering a fine view to the climber.   From the summit tlse road
descends rapsdly, crosses Eig Creek, a branch of the South Fork 
52           THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
of the Merced, rounds the extremity of the spur which separates
the creek from  the river, a~id reaches Clark's Ranch, ou the
banks of tlie Soisth Mcrccd, after a descent of about 1,700 feet
frous the suiuiuit of the trail.
At Clark's lianch we are nearly at the same elevation as the
Yosen~itc ~~allcy, which lies dircctly north at a distajice of only
twelve miles iii a direct line. *  The South Fork is here a stream
60 to SO feet wide, clear as crystal, and headiiig about sixteeii
~niles farther up, at the southeast end of the Merced Group.  Mr.
Clark hiin~elf is one of the piolleers of the country, aii(l has
ahways received travellers with that hearty hospitality aiid gennine kindisess u-hich makes them feel at home.  The acconilnodations here, slthongh not palathil, are well suited to miiiister
to conifort.  Here travellers usually remain over a day, to visit
tise Big Tree Grove, four mfles distant, of which snore in a sub5e&~neiit chapter.
From Clark's, ilse trail to ilse Yosemite crosses the South
Fork of the Merced, and ascends uspidly on to the plateau which
lies betu-eesi the Main Me reed and the South Fork.  After about
six miles' travel, ~sretty steadily up-hill, we reach Alder Creek,
1,9.00 feet above Clark's, and follow this up about a niile to Empire Camp, slot iiow inhabited, attaining here an elevatioii of
2,018 feet above Clark's, or about 6,000 feet above the sea-level.
are now nearly 051 the height of the plateau, asid follow
along Alder Creek to its source iii a large meadow, known as
~~estfall's, and 3,100 feet above Chark's, or 7,100 above the sea.
Here are two houses, ~~estfall's and Ostrander's, sometimes occupied during tise summer by herders of sheep, and which have
often affordeil a kisid of shelter, poor, but better than none, to
persons overtakesi by night, or too snuck fatigued to go liarther. t
Usually, however, this is the lunch-place, or half-way house
between Clark's and the Valley, as will be easily recognizel
froni the siumber of empty tin cans lying about.  That we are
respectably high up in the Sierra is rendered evident by the predominance of the Pin us cositorin, a rather small tree, with its
leaves short and in pairs, usually called "tamarack" by the
settlers.  This and the noble firs (Picca grand is and asanbilis)
form lsere alusost the whole of the forests.
From Ostraniler's, about half a mile northeast of Weitfall's, a
trail has been blazed by the Geological Survey to Sentinel Dome,
of which more in the next chapter.   Not far from Westfall's is
* Mr. Clark~s house is 65 feet above the Lower hotel in the Yosemite.
t Lunch-houses have been built at various points in and about the Valley;
and there is probably, or will be soon, a public-house of some kind at this
place. 
THE YOSEMITE VALLEY.             53
a ridge, easily accessible, from wbicb a fine view may be bad of
the ~Ierced Group of mountains  Ostrander's ~ocks are also am
excellent point from which to survey the country.
From  NVestfall's to the edge of the Vosemite, the trail passes
over a rolliiig, plateau-like country, traversing low ridges with
meadows between, and rising in its highest point to 3,426 feet
above Clark's, or 7,400 above the sea.  At Insl)iration Point
the traveller gets his first view of a portion of the Yosemite
and here we will leave him, while we enter on a dcscription of
the Valley itselt, leaving the account of this, and other views
to be had from the outside of the walls, for another ph~ce.
The Yosemite Valley is neaAy in the centre of tlie State iiorth
and south, and just niidway hetween the east and west bases of
the Sicrra, here a little over seventy miles wi~le.  Its shape and
position will be best understood by referriiig to tlie two maps
which acconipany this volume.  One is a n~nch reduced sketch
frons the map prepared by ~1r. Gardner for the Commissioners,
and including only the Valley and its immediate sun~nndings
the onginal was on a scale of two inches to a niile.  The other
Is comi)iled fl-nm the Central California n~ap of the Geological
Survey, and is intended to show the routes frons San Francisco
to the Yosemite, and the principal features of the surrounding
country.  The Valley is a nearly level area, about six miles in
length, and from half a mile to a mile in width, sunk almost a
mile in ~~erpendicular depth below the general level of the adjacent region.  It may be roughly likened to a gigai~tic trough
hollowed in the mountains, nearly at right angles to their regular trend  Hast is to say, North 60 East, the dhvetion of the
axis of the Sierra being, as before stated, North 31 ~Vest.  This
trough, as will be seen by reference to the map, is quite irregular, lsaving several re-entering angles and square recesses, let
back, as it were, into its sides  still, a general northeast-byeasterly direction is maintained in the depression, until we
arrive near its upper end, when it turns sharply, at rightangles almost, and soon divides into three branches, through
either of wl~ich we may, going up a series of gigantic steps, as it
were, ascend to the general level of the Sierra. Dowi each of these
branches, or canons, descend streanis, forks of the ~ferced,
cumin g down tlie steps ill a series of stupendous waterfiills.  At
its lower eiid, the Valley coiitracts into a narrow gorge, or canon,
with steeply inclined walls, and not having the U shape of tlse
Yosemite, but the usual V form of California valleys.
The principal features of the Yosemite, and those by which
it is distingnished from all other known valleys, are: first, the
iiear approach to verticality~of its walls  secoiid, their great 
54          THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
height, not only absolutely, but as compared with the width of
the Valley itself  aiid, finally, tise very small amount of talus
or dc'b)~is at the base of tbese gigantic cliffs.  These are the great
characteristics of the Yosemite throughout its whole length
but, besides these, there are many other striking peculianties,
and features both of sublimity and beauty, which can hardly
be surpassed, if e~~ualled, by those of aily moiintaiu valleys in
the woAd.  Either the domes or the waterfalls of the Yoseiiiite,
or any single one of them even, would be sufficient in any European country to attract travellers from far aiid wide in all directions.  ~Vaterfalls iii the vicinity of fl~e Yosemite, surpassing in
beauty maiiy of those best known and most visited in Europe,
are actually left entirely unnoticed by travellers, because there
are so many other objects of interest to be visited that it is impossible to uiid time for them all.
In dcscribiug the Yosemite, we will first give the necessary
details iii regtrd to tlse different objects of interest in and about
the Valley, following it upward, and supposing the traveller to
enter fl'oin the ~Iatii)osa side.  In doiiig tlsis, we will poiiit out
the promineilt oljects, in the order in which they present themselves, giving the statistics of their elevation and dinsensions,
so far as rcqnired or ascertained  after tl~is has been done, we
can enter iiito note general considerations in regard to the Valley and its surrouiidings, speaking of it as a whole, after due
descAption of its parts.
In descending the ~~aAposa trail, a steep climb of 2,973 feet
down to the bottom of the Valley, the traveller has presented to
him a succession of views, all of which range over the whole
exteiit of tlse principal Valley, revealing its dominant features,
while at ea~~h iiew I)oint of view lse is brought nearer, aiid, as it
were, more face to face with tlsese gigantic objects.  The principal poiists seen present themselves as follows: on the left is El
Capitan, oii the right il~e Bridal Veil Fall, coming down on the
back side of the Cathedn~l Rocks, and in the cent?e the view of
the \`alley, and beyond into the canon of the Tenaya Fork of
the ~Ierced  the point of the Half Dome is just visible over the
ridge of which Sentinel Rock forms a hart, and beyond it, iff the
farthest distaisce, Cloud's Rest is seen.  A general idea of il~e
Valley can be well obtained from this point, and in one view
but, as we n.~le up between the walls, new objects are constantly
becoming visible, which at the lower end were entirely concealed.
Of the cliffs around the Valley, El Capitan and the Half
Dome are tl~e most stAking  the latter is the higher, but it
would be difficult to say which conveys to the mind the most 
THE YOSE~lITE VALLEY.          55
decided impression of grandenr and massiveness.  El Capitan is
aii inimeilse ~)lock of granite, projecting squarely out into the
Valley, and pl.eseiitiiig an almost vertical sharp ed~e 3 300 feet
i~i elevation.  Tlie sides or ~valls of the mass are bar~~, smooth,
and eiitirely destitute of vegetation.  It is almost impossible for
the ohserver to consl~relieud the enormous dimeiisions of this
rock, which in clear weather can be distinctly see'i from the
San Joattuin 1dains, at a distance of fifty or sixty miles.  Nothing, however, so helI~s to a realization of the magnitude of these
masses al~out the Yosemite as clinibing around a~id aniong them.
Let the vi~itor begin to ascend the pile of ci~&rss`vljich lies at
the base of El Cal)itan, and he will soon fiiid his i~~eas enlarged
on the point in question.  And yet these c'~brjs piles along the
clifis, and es~~ecially under El Capitan, are of i~isigi~ificas~t size
comI~ai.ed with tlie dimensions of tlie solid wall its(~lf.  They
are hardly noticeable in takiiig a gene~~al view of flie Valley.
El Cai)itan iml)oses on us by its stupenilous bulk, which seenis
as if hewed fiom the mountains on purpose to stai~d as the type
of eternal massiveness.  It is doubtful if anywhere iii the world
there is presented so squarely cut, so lofty, and so iniposing a
face of rock.
On the other side of the Valley we have tlie Bridal Veil Fall,
unquestionably one of tlie most beautiful o1~jects in tlie Yosemite.  It is funned by the creek of tlie same name, which rises a
few miles east of Empire Camp, runs through the nicadows at
~Vestfisll's, and is iiiially precipitated over the cliffs, on the
west side of Cathedral lock, into the Yosemite, in one leap of
630 feet per1iendicular.   The water strikes here on a sloping
pile of dY~i~is, down which it ruslses in a series of cascades for a
perpendiculsr distance of nearly 300 feet more, the total height
of the cilgi' of tlie fall above the meadow at its liase being 900
feet.  Tlie effect of the fall, as everywhere seeii fi~om the Valley,
is as if it were 900 feet iii vertical height, its base beiiig colicealed by- the trees which surround it.   The qiaiitity of water
in the Iliiilal Vi~il Fall varies greatly with tlie season.  In ~Iay
and June the amount is geiierally at the maximuni, and it gradnally decreases as tlie summer advances.  Tlie effect, however,
is fiiiest when the body of water is not too heavy, sini~e then the
swaying froni side to siile, and tlie waving nuder the varying
pressure of the wind, as it strikes the bug column of water, is
more marked.   As seen fi~m a distance at suds tinies, it seenis
to flutter like a white veil, pi~diieiiig an indescribably beautiflil
effect.  Tlie isme  Bridal Veil" is poetical, but fairly- appropn.ate.   Tlie stream which sulildies this fall heads low down iii
the Sierra, tar belo~i the iegioii of eteinal snow, hence, as sum 
5G          TIlE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
iner advances, the supply of water is rapidly diminished, and,
by the ~uiddle or end of July, there is only a small streamlet
t~ckling down the vertical face of the rock, over which it is
precipitated in a bold curve when the quantity of water is larger.
At the higisest stage, the stream divides into a dozen stream lets
at tlie base of tlie fall, several of which are only just fordable on
horseback.
The Virgin's Tears Creek, on the other side of the Valley, and
directly opposite the Bridal Veil, makes also a fi'ic fitll, over a
thousai~d feet high, included in a deep recess of`the rocks near
the lower corner of El Capitan.  This is a beautiful fall as long
as it lasts  but the streans which produces it dries 01) early in
the season.  Iii quantity of water, elevatioji, asid genensl effect,
this fall, hasdly spoken of at the Yoseiisite among so many
graiider ones, is far superior to the celehrated Staubbach of
Switzerland.
Proceeding up the Valley, we find on the same side as the
BH'dal Veil, and a little above it, the prominent and massively
sculptured liile of granite, to which tlie name of Cathedral Bock
bas becis given.  This mass of rock is not so high nor so luassive as El Capitan, nor are its sides quite as neasly veitical  its
summit is 2, bOO feet above the Valley.  Just beyond Catheilral
Bock, on the same side, are the graceflil Iiinuaclcs of rock called
`The Spires."  These spires are isolated columiss of granite, at
least 500 feet high, standing out hem, but cosinected at the base
with, the walls of tlse Valley.  Tisey are ke1it in obscurity, or
brought out into wondcrftsl relief, according to the ditierent way
the light or shadow falls upon them.  Tlie whole side of the
Valley, along this part of it, is faiitastically but exquisitely
carved out into forms of gigantic proportions, which anywhere
else, excel)t in the Vosenilte, would be considered ohjects of the
greatest iiiterest.  From nise point of view, tbese spires appear
symmetrical, of equal heiglst, squarely cut, aisil risilig above the
edge of the cliff' behind exactly like two towers of a Gothic
cathedral.
The next prominent object, in going up the Valley, is the
triple group of rocks knowis as the Three Brotlscrs.  These rise
in stel)s oiie hehind the other, the highest beiiig 3,830 hot above
the Valley.  From the summit of this, there is a superb view
of the Valley and its surromidings.  Tlie peculiar outline of
these rocks, a~ seen hem below, resembliiig three frogs sitting
with their heads turned in one direction, is supposed to have
sliggested the Indian name Pomp,o,mpasus, which means, we are
inforissed, "Leaping Frog Rocks.
NeaHy opposite the Three Brothers is a point of rocks project. 
THE YOSEMITE VALLEY.           57
ing into tbe Valley, the termination of which is a slender mass
of granite, having some thing the shape of an obelisk, a~id calicd,
from its peculiar position, or from its resemblance to a gigantic
watch-tower, the "Sentinel Rock."  The obelisk form of tise
Sentinel continues down for a thousand feet or more from its
snusmit  below tisat it is united with the ~~all of the Valley.
Its entire height above the river at its base is 3,043 feet.  This
is one of the grandest masses of rock in the N~osemite.
From ssear the foot of Sentinel Rock, looking directly across
the Valley, we have before us what probably issost ~~ersoiis will
admit to he, if ~iot tlss niost stupendous, at least tise most attractive fearure of the Yosemite  namely, tise "Nosemite Fall"
~ar eavellesce, that one of all the falls about the N~allcy which is
best entitled to bcar tlsat name.  The ilnest view of this fall is
in a group of oaks sicar the Lower lIotel, from which the fall
is seen directly iii front.  From this poisst tlse various parts
seesis most tlsoroughly to be ble~sded into osse wlsole of surprising
attractivcnegs.  Lven ilse finest ~dsotogra~)ls is, lsowever, utterly
issade~1uate to convey to the mind any sati~factory inipression or
realization of lsow suany of tlie elems~nts of grai~deur and beauty
are combined in this waterfall and its surs'on~sdings aisd accessories.  The first and most impressive of tlscse elements is, as iii
all other objccts about the N~osemite, vertical lseight.  In this it
surpasses, it is belicved, any waterfall in tlse world with anything like a~s equal body of water.  And all the accessories of
this fall are of a character worthy of, aisd comusensurate with,
its height, so that everytlsing is added,`vlsich ca's be, to augme,st the inipressioss wlsich the descent of so large a mass of
water from ssscli a height could not fail, by itsclf, to 1sroduce.
Tise Yoscnsite Fall is formed by a civek of tlie sanse isame,
~~sicls heads osi tise west side of the ~Iouiit lIofibsasin Group,
about tess ssiilcs isortlicast of fl~e Valley.  Being fed by meltisig
sno'vs exclusively, and running through its whole coui'se over
alniost bare gsa is ste rock, its volume varies givatly at different
tinses and scasoiss, according to the amonist of si~ow remaining
unmelted, tise tcnsl)eraturc of the air, ansi the clearisess or cloudissess of the weatlscr.  In the spring, wheis the snow first begins
to melt with ra1sidity, the volume of ~~ater is very great  as
ordinarily sees by visitors in the most favorable ~~ortiosi of the
scason, - say fi~om May to July, - tiss quantity is still sulficiesit to produce a fisse effect  still later, it slisinks down to
a vcrv niuch snialler volume.  ~Ve estissiatcd tlse size of the
streassi at tlse suninsit of the fall, at a medium stage of water, to
be t~vi~nty fcct iss width, asid two feet iii average dc1sth.  Mr. J.
F. licugistess mensured tise Vosensfte Creek below the fall June 
58          THE YOSEMI I E GUIDE-BOOK.
17, 1865, and found it to be~thirty-seven feet wide and twentyfive inches deep, ~vith the velocity of about a mile an hour,
giving about half a million cubic feet as passing over tbe fall in
a's hour. * At the highest stage of water there is probably three
times as much as this.  The vertical height of tlse lip of the
fall above the Valley is, in round numbers, 2,600 feet, our variOus measurements giving from 2,537 to 2,641, the discrepancies
being due to the fact that- a near approacls to, or a precise definition of, tlse place where the perpendicular portion of the fall
commences is not possible.  The lip, or edge of tlie fall, is a
great rounded mass of granite, polished to the last degree, on
which it`v('15 found to be a very lsazardous netter to move.  A
difference of a hundred feet in a fall of this height would be
entirely imperceptible to most eyes.
The fall is not in one perpendicular sheet.  There is first a
vertical descent of 1,500 feet, when the water strikes on what
seems to be a projectiiig ledge, but which, in reality, is a shelf
or recess, almost a thinl of a mile back from the front of the
lower portioli of the cliff.  From here the water finds its way, in
a series of CC5C5(1C5, down a descent equal to 626 feet perpendic
ular, and then gives one final plunge of about 400 feet on to a
low tol~~s of rocks at the base of tlie precipice.  The whole
arrangement a~'d succession of the differeiit I)arts of tlie fall
can be easily unilerstood by ascending to the base of the Upper
Fall, whii~h is a very interesting and isot a difficult clinib, or froin
Sentinel Dome, 0,5 the opposite side of tlie Valley, where the
spectator is at a considerable tlistance above its edge.t  As the
valious portions of the fall are neaHy in one vertical plane, the
effect of tlse whole is nearly as grand, and peHiaps even more
picturesque, than it would be if tlse descent were made in one
leap froin the top of the cliff to the level of the Valley.  Nor is
tbe grandeur or beauty of the fall perceptibly dinsinished, by
even a very cosisiderable dinsinution of the qnailtity of water
fiom its hi~hest stage.  One of the most stH.king features of the
Yosemite Fail is the vil~ration of the iipi~er portinis from one
side to the other, under the varying pressure of the wind, which
acts with immense force on so long a column.  The descending
mass of water is too great to allow of its being entirely broken
lip iiito spray  but it~widens out very much towards the bottom,
- probably to as much as 300 feet, at high water, the space
through which it moves being fully three tiines as wide.  This
* Our measurements gave about 220 cubic feet as the amount passing over
the fall in one ec~nd, at a moderate stage of water.
t The exact di~tance from the Sentinel Dome across in a straight line to the
edge of the Upper Yosemite Fall is two and a half miles. 
TllE YOSE~llTE VALLEY.             59
vibratory motion of the Yosemite and Bridal Veil falls is something peculiar, and not observed in any others, so far as we
know  the effect of it is indescribably grand, especially under
the magical illumination of the full moon.
The cliff a little east of the Yosemite Fall rises in a bold peak
to the height of 3,030 feet above the Valley  it can be reached
up Indian C'aiioii, a little farther east, and from this point a
magiiificei~t view of the whole region can be obtained.  The
asceiit to the sumniit of the fall and the return to the Valley can
be made in one day, but only by good mountain c~imbers.
Following up the Valley for about two miles above the Yosemire Fall~, we find that the main portion of it conies to an
end, and that it suddenly branches out in three distinct but
much nan~wer cudo~is, as they would be called by Californians,
each of which, isowever, has sonie new wonders to disclose.  The
~Ierced Liver keeps the middle one of these, and its course is
here about the same that it was below, or nearly west  it holds
this direction nearly up to the base of the ~Iouiit Lycli Gi~up,
where it heads, between tise main crest of the Sierra and the
parallel subordinate or side range called by us the ~ierced or
(~helisk Group.   In the left hand, or northwesterly canon, the
Tenaya Fork of the ~Ierced comes down, and in tise i~glit hand,
or southwesterly one, the South Fork, * or tise Illilonette.
At the angle where the Y~oseniite branches we have, on the
nortis side, the rounded columnar mass of rock called tlie ~~ashington Columis, and immediately to the left of it the immense
arched cavity called the B~val krches, and over these is seen
the dome-shiped mass called the North Dome.  This is one of
those roundc~l masses of granite which are not nisconinion in
the Sierra Nevada  it rises to an elevation of 3,568 feet above
the Valley.  Such dome-shaped masses are somewhat characteristic of all granitic regions, but are nowhere develo1sed on so
grand a scale as in the Sierra.  An examination with a good
glass, or a glance at one of ~Vatkins's noble ~)liotogra~~hs, will
show that the North Dome is made up of huge conceistric plates
of rock, overlap}~iog each other, in such a way as to absolutely
prevent an ascent on the side presented to tise Valley  to the
north, however, the Dome runs out in a long ridge, as reprosented on tlse map, and from tisat side there is not the slightest
difficulty in gctting to the summit.
The eoni~entric structure of the North Dome is well seen in
the P'~val Arches, which are, in fact, a sort of appeisdage to its
Thi i the" Sooth Fork of the Middle Fork," and not the asain South
Fork, whirh flov by Cl,irk'o ~~nch. To avoid ronfts~ion,it   ill be ~ll to
call it by the Indian name, Illilonette, one not yet much iu use ill the Valley. 
GO         THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
base.  This peculiarity of structure pervades the whole mass of
rock, and it is evident that these arches have hee~i formed by
the slipping down of immense plates of granite, tlie size of the
cavity thus left heing enormous, hut not easily measured.  The
arches and the colun}ii, at tlie angle of the main Valley and tise
Tenaya Canon, seem as if intended to form a Thise of adequate
niagnitude and grandeur for the support of the Dome which
rests upon tlsem.
Tlse Half Dome, on the opposite side of the Tenaya Canon, is
the loftiest and most imposing mass of thoie considered as part
of the N~osen~ite.  It is not so lsigh as Clou(l's Ii~~it, 1 at tise lat ter seems ritlier to belong to the Sierra than to tlie N~osensite.
Tl~e Half Dome is in sight, in the distance, as we descend tlse
Mariposa trail, but is not visible in tlie lower part of the Val ley itself  it is seen first when we come to tli(`i~eadow opposite
Hntchiiigs's.  It is a crest of granite, risiiig to tlie h~~ight of
4, 737 feet ahove tlie Valley, perfectly ii~accessihle, heiiig proba-~ bly tlse only oiie of all tlie proniineiit points about tlie ~~oseniite
which never 1)55 been, a))d never will lie, trod(leii by human
foot.  The 511m'nit of the Half Dome rniis iii a noi~lieast and
soutlswest direction, parallel with the canois  it rises on the
southwest side witls a gn~nd, regular dome-like form, but falls
oft rapidly in a series of steps as it descen~ls to tl~e northeast.
At right ai~gl~s with tlsis, or crosswise of tlie us ass, tlie section
is very iseculiar.  On the side fs'onting Tenays Canon, it is ob sololely rer~icai for 2,000 feet or more fiom the stissinsit, assd
then falls nlf with a very steep slope, of pi~hably 60 or 70 de grees, to the bottom of the canon.  This slope, however, is not,
as one would supIsose, a talscs of fragments fallen finns above
it is a mass of graisite rock, part and parcel of tlse solid structure
of the Dome  the real ~1Gbris pile at tlie bottom is absolutely
insigssihcant in sliniensions compared witls the Dosne itself.  On
the opposite fa~~e the Half Dome is not absolsstely vertical  it
has a rounded form at the top, and grows snore asid more steep
at the bottossa.  The whole appearance of the mass is that of an
origissally dosne-slsaped elevation, with ass exceedingly steep
curve, of wlsich tlse western half has been split oft assd becosne
essgulfe~i.  This geological theory of its format ins appears to lsave
forced itself upon those who gave it tlse name "Half Dome,"
whiels is osse tlsat seems to suggest itself, at the lirat sight of
tlsis truly usarvelloiss crest of rock.  From tlse up~ser }sart of tlse
~~lley, and fiom all tlse lseiglsts about it, the Half Dome pre sents itself as an ol)ject of the usost imposissg grasideur.  It isas
not the sn~ssiveneis of El ~~al)itan, bist is ssiore astoisielsirig, assd
probably there are few visitors to the Valley who would ssot con  
TllE YOSEMITE VALLEY.                 61
cede to it the first place among all the wonders of the region.
Even the niost casual observer must recogllize in it a new revelation of nion'itaiii gi~andeur.  Those who have not seen it could
a ever coin 1~reliend its extraordinary foi~m and l)~OI ortion 5, not
even with the aid of photographs.  It is entirely unique in the
Sierra Nevada  aiid, so far as we know, iii tlie wofld.  Tlie only
possible rival would be tlie i~Iatterhorn.  Each is n~ii(1ne in its
way  but the fi~rn~s of the two are so different that they will
hardly bear colnparison.
Farther up the canon of the Tenaya is a beautiful little lake
called "~Iiiror Lake," all expansion of the Tenaya Fork.   It is
fiequently visited, and best early ill the aloriling, for the parpose of getting the reflection fi'oa~ its unruffled ~~~~n~~~ of a iioble
overhanging niass of rock, to which the name of ~lount ~Vatkins
lias been give ii, as a compliment to the photographer wlio Las
done so much to attract attention to this region.
Still farther up the Teaaya Fork, on the riglit-l~and side, is
Cloud's lest," tl~e somewhat faiicifiil designation of a long,
bare, steep, and extremely elevated gn~aite ridge, which connects tiie Valley with the High Sierra.  This poiiit is one of the
fi~w which have not been a~easured by tiie Geological Survey; it
is peri~aps a tliou~ind feet higher than tiie Half Dome, or nearly
10,()00 feet above tiie sea-level.
Followii~g up the Tenaya Fork Canon, we find the creek cornlag clown iii a series of cascades and waterfalls through an aliiiost
imliossable gorge  but through which access inay be had, by
goo~l dia~bers, to the trail from Bi  Oak Flat to ~Iono Lake.  It
is, however, not passable for animals.
~Ve return iiow to the ca~on of tile main Alerced Biver, which
also has its own peculiar wonders to disclose.  Leaving tile Yosemite Valley proper, at the angle spoken of before, where tiie
three canons uiiite, we follow up tile ~Ierced, soon crossilig the
Illilonette, which carries perlsal)s a third or a quarter as a~uch
water as the asain river.   Bising rapidly on a trail which runs
along near the river, over the talus of great angular masses fallen
from above, we ride a little less tisan a mile, and nearly to tise
base of tile first of the two great falls made by tise Merced in
comilig down from tile level of the plateau above into tise Yosem~te Valley.  In doing this, tlie river descends, in two asiles,
over 2,000 feet, asaking, besides innumerable esseades, two grand
falls, which are among tise n~eater attractions of the Yose~iiite,
not oiily on account of their height and tise large body of water
iii the river during most of the season, bist also on account of
the stupendous sc4liery in tise midst of which they are 1daced.
The first fall readied in ascending the canon is the Vernal, a 
62          TllE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
perpendicular 4~eet of water with a descent varying greatly with
the season.  Our measurements give all the way flom 315 to
475 feet for the vertieal height of the fall, between the niontlis
of June and ()ctober.  The reason of these liscrepaiicies seems
to lie in tlie fact that the rock near tlse bottom is stee~dy inlined, so that a precise definition of the place where tlie perpendicular part c(~a5e5 is very difficult amid the blinding spray
and foam.  As the body of water increases, tlie force of tlie fall
is greater, and of course it is thrown farthest forwar~l when the
mass of water is greatest.  Probalily it is near the truth to call
the height of the fall, at the average stage of water in June or
July, 400 feet.  The rock behind this fall is a perfei~tly sf[uarecut mass of granite extending across tlie canon, an~l it is wonderflil to see, at low water, how little the eroding efibct of the river
has liad to do with the formation of the canon and fall.  It
would seem as if causes now in action had little or nothing to
do with tlie formation of this step in the desceiit of il~e ~lercei
to any valley below.
T lie path up the side of ilie canoa near tlie Vernal Fall winds
around and along a steeply slopiiig mountain~~i(le, always wet
with the sp0~ay, and conse~~uently rather slippery iii places.
I~ailies, howe~~er, find no great difficulty in passiiig, with tlie
aid of fi~ien~lly arnis, and protected by stout l)oots and iiiiliarubber clotliiiig brought from tlie hotel.  The perpendicular
part (~f tlie ascent is surmounted by tlie aid of ladders, which
~hould he replaced by a substantial and well-protected staircase.
At tlie suninilt of tlie fall the view down il~e canon, as well as
in il~e O1)pO5~tC direction, is extremely tine.  A remarkable liarapet of granite runs along tlie edge of the Veriial Fall for some
distance, just hreast-high, and looking as if maile on puriiose to
afford tlie visitor a secure position fiom which to enjoy the
scene.
From the Vernal Fall up stream, for the distance of about a
mile, tlie river may be followed, and it I)resents a succession of
cascades and rapids of great beauty.  As we approach the Nevada Fall, the last great one of tlie ~~erced, we have at every
step sonieiliing new and impressive.  On tlie left hand, or north
side of the river, is a stupendous mass of rock, isolated and
nearly 1ierpendicular on all sides, rising peHiaps 2,000 feet above
its base, and little inferior to the Half Dome in giundeur.  This
has bon~e, at different times, a great variety of names  but is
best known, at present, as the "Cap of Lihefty."  It lias been
climbed, aiid has on its summit, aceonling to ~lr. Hutchings's
statement, a juniper-tree of enormous diameter.
The Nevada Fall is, in every respect, one of tlie gi-andest 
THE YOSE~lITE VALLEY.           63
waterfalls in tile woAd, whether we consider its y~i ical i~eigilt,
tile purity and volume of the river`vilicil forms it, or the stupendous sceiiery by which it is environed.  The fall is not quite
1~erpendicular, as there is near tile summit a le~lge of rock ~~~icil
receives a I)ortion of the water and thi~ows it oil. with a i~ecnliar
twist, addiiig cousideral~ly to the ge~ieral ])ieturesqne elfect.  A
determination of the height of the fall was`iot easy, o~i account
of the bliudii~g spray at the bottom, and tlie ni~ce0~taiiity of the
exact spot where the ~~~ter strikes.  Indeed, tl~is seems to vary
in the Nevada as well, although not so n~nch, as in tlie Vernal
Fall.  Our measurements made the Nevada from 591 to 639 fe(~t,
at different tinies and seasons.  To call the Vernal 400 and the
Nevada 600 feet, in round numbers, will be near enough to the
truth.  The deseeiit of the river iii the rapids between tise two
falls is nearly 300 feet.
In the cation of the South Fork, or Illilonette, thei~ is a fine
fall estimated at 600 feet high.  It is seen fro~u a 1)Oliit on the
trail froin the hotel to ~Iirror Lake, although but i~arely visited
by travellers, tise cation ilcing rough and difficult to climb.  A
trail shoulil be made up this gorge, to give access to tlie fidl,
and to the superb views to be had of the back of tlie Half Dome,
the Vernal Fall, and other b~teresting poilits.
Having thus run rapidly through the list of objects in the
Valley best known and most lilely to be visited, we will give a
more systeluatic and general account of the Vosemite, - its
botany, topography, and geology  this will enable us to bring
forward sonic interesting consideratio'is which could siot so well
he introduced in a detailed enumeration, in a geographical order,
of the points of interest.
The Yosemite Valley proper - that is to say, what would be
considered by the visitor as naturally incluiled under that designation - may be described as consisting of three liai1s, tlse hottom of il~e Vail cv or the actual Valley, the loins or (i~'tris slope,
and the walls, or tise vertical or nearly vertical solid rock.  Each
of these parts will be noticed iii oi~der.  First, tlie bottom, or
Valley proper.  This is a nearly level area, haviiig a gentle
slope, with the river, to tise southwest, of only 35 fi~(~t between
the junctions of the Tenays Fork and the b)riilal Veil Creek
with the niain river, four miles and a half in a straight line.
Tile ~~dth of the space between the dibris siolies is very variable.  In the upper half of the Valley it averages soniewbat less
than half a mile.  A little bclo'v the Three lirotilci's it closes to
an eighth of a mile in width  and between El Capitan and
Cathedral Pock the river "nations," to use a Californiaii librase,
meaning that the Valley is narrowed down, so that there is only 
64          THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
just roon~ for the river to pass.  Below this, it opens out again,
and forn~s two chai~n~ing little patches of nicadow, of ahont 20
acres each in exteiit.  There are, altogether, 1,141 acres of land
in the Valley prol)er, of which 745 are meadow, and the ren~ainder
a sandy soil, a little neore elevated, partly covered with a sparse
growth of forest trees and partly with pertinacious ferns.  The
elevation of the bottoni of the Valley abovc the sea-level is, in
round nunebers, 4,000 feet; the mean of our observations, in
June, was 4,040 fe3t  those taken by Miss Sproat, in Octoher, gave, as calculated by Colonel H. S. ~Villiainson, 3, 935
feet.  The nacan of these results is 3, 990 feet, and that is probably not far from the truth.   Through tlie Vailcy flows the
Merced River, about 70 feet in width, making ~uany sharp and
curiously angular bends, touching tlee totes first on one side and
then on tlee otleer.
Along the banks of the river, and over the a~ljacent rather
swampy mea~lows, we find a somewhat varied ve~~tation ac
cordi'}g to the locality, the narrow portions of the Valley diffenn
considerably frons the broader ones.  In the forneer, near the
falls, there is a dense growth of alder G4tsres tirijia), which
sometimes foi~nis quite a large tree, with ash-colored hark; associated with this are small trees of Thetnees ~Je~~zieaii, remarkable for its large and sombre leaves.  A few willows, the Douglas
spruce (A/~ies De~rgt~caii), and, iu the upper part of the Valley,
an occasioisal sugar pine, are also found in this position.  ~Vhere
the Valley widens out, and tiec river banks beconse lower, so
that slough and swamps are formed, the Balm of Gilead poplar
(B)p?t['~~8 &~~tsuo~sjcr~~) comes in; this is a common tree in the
Valley, and is usually mistaken for the cottonwood; with this
occur large willows and abundance of the Douglas spruce, and
also the 4zele~ occictclrclis, whose superb white and fragrant
flowers form oiie of the charms of the Valley.  Ilettessicos gramd~fior~~m, Nutt., with its numerous yellow flowers, is a showy
and conspicuous plant on and near the river banks.  The meadows are swanepy, with a deep peaty soil; their vegetation consists chie~ly of carices s)r sedge and a few coarse grasses (Calarmagrostis C,t~~te~teie, E~auv., Phr~g mites cooini~es~is, L., Ulyceria
~ierveta, Trin.).  In a sneall pond on ~ir. llutchings's farni, the
yellow pond-lily (i\tt6])har adeena, Ait.) occurs.  At the upper
part of flac side cauons and near the falls, the Vernal especially, the cryptogaIiiic vegetation is most abundantly developed.
~Vhere the rocks are kept moistened by the s~)ray, numerous
mosses thrive; and even on the hill-slopes, as far as the moisture reaches, the peat moss (&flhag)s?~esl grows.  The shelving
rocks in such positions are decorated with several species of most 
THE YOSEMITE VALLEY.            65
graceful ferns.  About the Vernal Fall, tlse following species
occur, all of rare beauty: Adia~~turn peda~eni, Kaulf., Pc7io'~
dc)lsc, Hook., P. Pridycsii, Hook., P. a~ucro~wto, Eat., CheilenUtcs groci"i'~~~o, Eat., Po1ypodu~n Ca1'(for~ticu~e, Kaulf., Aspt
Ji~~oe 0 rj(~t t?C 0?, Kaulf., and Cystopleris Jrag ii is, Berub.
The sandy regiou of the Valley proper forms a connecting strip
along tlie edge of the rocky labs, on both aides of the river.  It
is quite irregular in width  but it makes i~p the largest portion
of the Valley above Indian Qanon.  It has evidently been forme4
by the disintegration and washing down of the finer portions of
the cte'bns from the walls.  The soil is a coarse, loose, deep sand,
containing but little vegetable matter, and becoming fi'ie", more
compact, and more fertile as it approaches tlse river.  This is
peculinAy the arhorifrrons belt of the Valley, and various portio'is of its area exhibit different characters of vegetation to correspond with the differences of soil.  On the drier a'~d looser
portions, the pitch (or yellow) pine (P. roaclerose) and the bastard
cedar (Libocedrus decorrens) are tise most abundant and cisarac.
teristic trees; both these species occur of considerable size and
of fine proportions, the pines being usually from 125 to 150 feet
high.  Below the Bridal Veil Fall, near the debris, the fir (Pice~
greudis), a noble tree, comes in  near the swampy land, the
black oak (Q. So)?os??e)?si~) is abundant.  The sandy region also
bears a great number and variety of shrubs and u'idergrowth
among these are: the Corn us A~ttto 11 ii, with its showy white
flowers, three inches in diameter  i?stbs~s i~~~tI~onus, the most
beautiful of tlie rnsi~berries, and found from Lake Superior u~st
also t lse characteristic California shrub, mauzanita (il rrlostophylos glance).  Ymong the lower shrubs are: tlie wild rose (1?osa
blonde)  Pc?? (s~cmo~c lwl??s, with its beautifi~l blue flowers  JIosarkia gre 1? diilera al~o udth brilliant flowers  also, in l)laces,
the Pros gale CaliFr??ira, forming dense thickets  the same is
true of the low willow.  Tlse common brake (Pleris a quilin a) is
very abundant and sometimes very large.  The en rious ~1n~ag?'ea U5? belle ~?, one of the most characteristic flowers of tlie
Valley, is also abundant in the saisdy region.  In places. especially below tlie Bridal Veil Fall, Con~as?dra n~belle~e, ~ilene
con?~mc~e, and CI?crfledis echillofolia cover the ~~ound.  An
exami'?ation of the different woodeuts will show how the vegetation is distributed in the Valley, and the most cha"acte~stic
trees will easily be recognized.
The meadows and sandy portions, described above a.~ constituting the bottom of the Valley, contain all the land in the
Yosen~ite which can be utilized for any purpose, such as building or cultivation.  The talt~s or ae'bris, the second great divis 
THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
ion, forms steeply sloping masses of rocky fragments piled along
the base of the cliffs, on both sides and from one end of the Valley to the other.  O~ily in a very few places do the nearly vertical
walls con~e squardy down to the level of the Valley, without any
intervening fu1~ts.  The ta1~~ however, is everywhere of insig.
nificant h~~ight compared with the cliffs themselves, tlsis being, as
before remarked, one of the chan~cteristic features of the Valley.
Thc d~bris lies chiefly in the receding or re-enteri'ig angles, and
in the canons or gorges lown wlsich the smaller streams flow into tl~e ValiQy.  It is least conspicuous arouii~l some of the more
promineiit and elevated projecti~0g points, as the Three Brothers,
El Capitan, and the Cathedral Rock.  Singularly eiioo~h, there is
also very little debris at the foot of the YO5Oi)SitO Fall  while,
on the opposite side of the Valley, the t~1~cs is exceptionally wide.
On examining tlie photographs of tlse Yosemite, now so common, it will be noticed at once how little the t~1~ts has to
do with producing the general effect of tl~e Valley  in most
of them  it can hardly be recognized as existing at all.
Tlie most characteristic tree of tlie dibris piles is, perhaps, tbe
mountain live~oak (y. rhry~o1ejsi~ I~iebm. ), which is associated,
in tlie lsigher portions, with the cmnmoii shrobby evergreen oak
of the higher Sierras, perhaps the Q. aocci~~fio~ia of Kellogg. In
the vicillity of the points where small streams come over the precipi'3e5, we fliid the Oregon maple (Ar"~r a1acroph?itiua~, Pnrsh),
with its large and deeply cut leaves, and, in the higher portions
of the dibri9, another maple (Acer gJ~brw~n, Torr.), a shrub, 10
or 15 feet high, whose delicate branches, long peduncled leaves,
and clusters of re~ldish seed make it an obj4ct consI)icuous for
its heauty.  Near tlse base of the dibris, where tlie streams of
the smaller waterfalls emerge, the California laurel (Tet~rrsither~
C'l4r~~ice) occurs as a small tree, wifli smooth brilliant evergreen foliage and aromatic odor.  Among the smaller plants, we
have several beautiful species of ~e~~ts~eo~o~~ o~~e with brilliant
scaflet flowers (P. ~IC?~ZiC5ji, Hook.) is very conspicuous.  Bukiz
co~fer~~flora, a low shrub, with densely clustered yellow flowers,
is al.~o abundant.  A number of species of grasses, of great interest to the botanist, also occur in this position  aI)d in tl~e crevices of tlie rocks the bemitiful little fern Cbeilct~dhus gracilkima,
with several others equally graceful, occurs.
The slope along the descent by which flac ~~aH.posa trail winds
into the Vallev offers, also, an interesting an~l pe uliar grouping
of species.  ()aks, pines, and firs make ~p the fon~st, and with
these is a profiisi~n of flowering shrubs, some of which are very
showy.  Among these are fl~e CeeaoU~~~s i)dcgcrriwus, H. & A.,
with its dense clusters of white or pale-blue and fragrant flowers, 
THE YOSEMITE VALLEY.           67
often called tile "beanty of tile Sierra"; tile C. divericat~,
Nutt., ~vith fragrant blue flo~vers; Phi1aJe7j~h~ts Ceisfornicus,
with large whfte flowers  an occasional "poison oak" (lihns
ckirersiThba, T. & C.); also tlie "snow plant" or "ice plant"
(Surcodcs saagaiaco, Torr., the wilole of whidi is of a brilliant
red, like a tongue of flame issuing from the ground  and, especially, the gi~at white Lily of thc Sierra (Li1ia~m tTa?qnecn8is?),
perbaps the most superb and deliciously fragrant flower of California.
The salient and most striking points in the walls of tile Yosemite have already been passed rapidly in review.  The whole
Valley, however, is surrounded by this wall, and tlie objects
psi ticulai~y noticed were only such portions of it as attract general ai~d immediate attention, owing to some ~~eculiarity of form
or po~ition.  Every portion of the Yosemite wall is sublime
and where there is so much to be seen, and wilcie evel'y object
caii be seen fiom so ii~any different points of view, there is hardly
any limit to the con~binations of the different elements of landscape beauty, which can be obtained by change of position and
change of illumination.  The color of the granite of the walls is
a light gray, - bnllianfly white, generally, when the sun's light
is reflected from it.  It is, in places, diversified with veins of a
brighter or deeper hue; but these patcbes of color ai~e iiot conspicuous enough to produce muds effect.  More character is
given by the vertical parallel lines of darker color, - gray,
l~rown, and black, - with which portions of tlse walls are striped.
These are the result of tile flowing dowi~ of water, in tlie line
of most direct descent, over the face of the cliffs, carrying organic
matter in solution or suspension.  These stains are very conspicuolis, and not at all ungraceful, on tlie R~iyal Arches, as well
as oii El Capitan and other vertleal cliffs.  The geiieral effect of
the cliffs, as to color, is dazzling in the sunlight; but it is tile
l~rilliancy of cold colors, not of warm ones, and the var ous oil
paintings of the Yoseniite, representing a rich golden haze as
pervading and giving its hue to everything in tlie Valley, are
simply and entirely nutnie to nature.  The beauty of color comes
rather from the intensity of tlie contrast of the gray rock with
the brilliant vegetation of the Valley bottom, and, in a less degi~e, with that of the canons and the edge of tlie cliffs.
Although there is no exit from the Yosemite for a mounted
traveller, except by one of the two trails winding lip the steep
slope at the lower end of the Valley, there are several places
where a footnian can find his way out without any difficulty,
except that naturally resulting from a climb ill) a steep slope of
angular rocks, equal in vertical rise to 3,000 feet and more. 
68         THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
Tourists bave occasionally climbed up Indian Caiion to the bead
of the Yosemite Fall (see niap), and also up tlie gorge by the
side of Sentinel Rock, to get to its sumnilt and to the Sentinel
Dome.  There are places where one could clinib up, a~~parenily,
near the Cathedral, a little below El Capitan, and between El
Capitan and tlie Three Brothers  but we are not aware that they
have ever been tried.  Persons who are not accustomed to clinibing, and especially ladies, are strongly advised to ride out of the
Valley on tlie regular trails, when they wish to niake excursions
on the outside, rather than risk getting over-fatigued in performing acrobatic feats, which are not at all necessary to enable
one to see aiid enjoy the whole region.  ~Iore tban one person,
however, has climbed, stocking-footed in some particularly ticklisli places, uii the cliff on the left-hand side of the Yosemite
Fall, along tl}e ledges, when there is room, if not for a foothold,
at least for a toe-li old.  ~`Te have never heard that any serious
acci~leiit has ha~ipened to visitors to the Yoseniite, but too much
caution can'iot be used, by ladies especially, in regard to overfatiguing themselves.
Some general statements as to the waterfidla of the Yosemite,
in addition to what has already been said on this subject, may
here he i'itrocluced.   The principal falls about tlse Valley have
already been described   but there are several others not yet
mentioned which are worthy of notice.   It is only early iii the
seaso'i, while the snow on the summits immediately adjacent to
the Valley is nielting, that the "grandes enux" of this national
park can be said to be in play.   Indeed, at such tii~es, and especially after tlie first few warm days in the spring, there are
large nunibers of sin all streams discharging ili em selves over the
cliffs, and each, of course, producing a waterfall proportionate
iii pictures(lne effect to the amount of water it furnishes.  Of
these niiiior flills, there are several which continue for a considerable time  others are quite short-lived.  The Virgiis's Tears
Fall is one of tiie finest of the former  in 1867 it was quite a
fine sight in June.  There is another, sicarly opposite, on a
stream called i~Ieadow Brook, which is well seen by those coming into the Valley on the ~Iariposa trail early in tlie season.  A
stream heading at Ostrander's Rocks conies down near Sentinel
Rock, in a kind of "Buttermilk Fall," or series of step-like
cascades, until all the snow at its head has disalipeared.  The
fall over tlie Royal Arches also keelis itself alive for sonie time,
with quite a body of water coniing down from the North Dome,
and on the opposite side the Senthiel Dome also furnishes its
quota towards keeping up the high display of the Yosemite.
There are as many reasons, then, as there are waterfalls in the 
THE YOSEMITE VALLEY.          69
Valley, why the traveller should visit the Yosemite early in the
season.  It is true that some visitors who kave anived too late
to see the falls in their graiideur have voted them, if not "humbugs, at least i'on-essential to the glory of the Yosemite.  They
have been so much impressed with the nsighty cliffs and domes
that they have not conceived it possible that suds sublimity
could he heightened by the introduction of any additional features.  It is true that the Valley has about it, aside from its
waterfalls, that which will amply repay the traveller for the
time and labor re(iuired for his visit; but it is not tn~e that such
natural objects as the Yosemite, the Vernal, or Nevada Falls,
seen with all their glorious surroundings, do not immeasurably
enhance the attractions of the Valley.  Tlie traveller should
endeavor, if possible, to visit the regio~i just as the last snow is
disappearing from the plateau; and, as soon as the trail is made
on a lower level, as suggested above, he will be able to do so
with ease and comfort at a considerably earlier period than now.
~lay, June, and July are tlse most favorable months; and even
April, in some years, would not be too early.  Of the pnncipal
falls in the Valley, only the Vernal and Nevada continue in
existence through the season.  The Yosemite and the Bridal
Veil shrink almost to nothing by August or September.  This
is the result of the peculiar climate of California, by which rains
are, even in the mountains, almost entirely dispensed with during the six summer months, so that the streams have to be fed
exclusively from melting snow.  As every rule has its exception,
it sometimes hap~ens lsere that heavy thunder-showers around
the Valley raise the streams suddenly, in midsummer, to the
Isighest point of their winter flow.  This occuried in 1867, when
a violent thunder.storm at the head of the ~Ierced, in June,
raised the South Fork at Clark's Rancls and the Yosemite Creek
several feet, within half an hour.  This rain.fall was limited to
a quite small area; but a very large amount of water must have
fallen in a short space of time.  It was probably of the nature
of one of those violent deluges, which not unfrequenfly occur
in California, aud which are generally known as "cloudbursts."
Some comparison of the principal falls in the Yosemite with
the niost celebrated ones in other parts of the world will be of
interest to the tourist, as enabling him to form an opinion as to
their relative attractiveness.  There are several circumstances to
be taken into consideration, however, in a companson of waterfalls.  Absolute height and quantity of water are undoubtedly
the two important elements; but all the accessories have a share
in producing the general effect.  The fall is the picture  but 
70         THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
tbe value of it is wonderfully heightened or diminished, according to the more or less picturesque character of the frame in
which it is set.  Exactly what the relative importance of height
and volume is, in producing the effect in different waterfalls, it
is not easy to say.  There are those on whom Niagara, with its
immense mass of water, would produce a greater effect than the
Yoseniite, with its ten times greater height, and its much more
fl~an ten times diminished volume.  Others, again, would consider the h~gber fall as mudi the niore attractive, in spite of its
comparatively sn~all body of water.  Niagara and the Zambesi
are typical falls for volume  hut probably no one has seen both
of these, so as to he able to institute a valuable comparison between them.
The falls visited by tourists, in Europe, are very numerous
but they all belong to the type of those which impress by their
height and not by their volume, resembling in this respect the
Yosemite Fall.   The most celebrated are those of Norway and
Switzedand  but the highest of all is that of Gavnriiie, in the
Pyrenees, in which the vertical descent is 1,266 feet.  In this
fall the quanTity of water is only just enough to form a dozen
thin streams, trickling down tlie face of the rock, with one, a
little larger than tlie others, which swings off as a wl~ite cord,
twice broken by projecting ledges, and entirely dissipated in
spray before it readies the bottom.  It is plain enough, then,
that the fall of Gavarnie will not compare with that of the Vosensite either in volume or height.  The fall of tl)e Staubbach,
iii Switzerland, is about the height of the Bridal Veil  but the
quantity of water is extremely sniall, so that ilse effect is insignificant, compared even with that of the Virgin's Tears.  The
fall of ilse Aar, at Handek, makes a fine show, but is not, by
any meaiis, as imposing as the Vernal Fall, bein  biferior to it
in elevation and in volume, and of course much behind the
Nevada in both respects.
The Viiring Foss, in Norway, is generally admitted to be the
finest waterfall in Europe  its volume is about that of the Aar
at Handek, and its height is estimated at 850 feet.  It has never
been sneasured, for it falls into an inaccessilsie chasm, which is
only just as wide as the stream itself.  As it can only be viewed
from above, much of the impressiveness of the fall is lost.  ~Ir.
Brace, the author of the "Norse-Folk," who is probably the
only person who has seen both the Yosemite Valley asid the
Vo~ring Foss, considers the ~ orwegian falls to be far inferior to
those of Ca1ifarnia.
Asia and South America seem poorly provided with waterfalls
at least, there are few described which can be mentioned in coin 
THE YOSEMITE VALLEY.              71
pan son with those of Europe and North America and it is likdy
that, if any of surpassiiiggrandeur existed in those conatnes,
they would have become known before this time. * ~Ve are disposed to believe that a majority of cultivated lovers of iiatnnal
scenerv would admit the N~osemite Fall to surpass any in the
world, as preseIitii}g the most perfect combinatio~is of all the
elements of the picturesqne.  Certainly, taking tlie wbole r(~gion
of the Voseniite together, with its five great falls, tlie lowest 400
fcct and the bighet 2,600, it must be allowed that, in this l)articular kind of scenery, it is a locality without a rival in the
world.
Although the Valley is, at present, almost inaccessible in the
winter, an~l, indeed, entirely so to those who are not up in travellisig on snow-sl~ocs, it is not unlikely that the time will soon
come wheii a vi~it to it at that season will be considcred as the
"regular thing  for tourists, asid when pioper facilities for gettisig there will be provided.  The views, at the time when tlie
snow is still lying deep on the surrounding plateau, and thundering (1 owii iii frequent avalanches fi'oin the domes aiid over
the walls of tlie Valley  or, a little later, when the streams are
filled to n~1~letion asid pour themselves over tlie clijis iii literally
unnuinbejed cascailes  when the ~Ierced liecomes a mad torrent,
and hurries down its 2,000 feet of almost vertical descent in one
wild iiia~s of s~~ray.enveloped watens, - all this is, as described
by tho~e wlio have seen it, of surpassing granileur.  Tlie accumn
lation of ice at tlie base of the upper part of the Yosemite Fall is
also spokeis of as a most impressive feature iii the winti~r view.
The fi~zen spray forms a vast conical mass, rising sometin~es to
the height of a hundred feet or niore, from ~Aiicli the falling
water, rebounding, is shot off in graceful curves, forming a'i
isomeisse boniluet, each drop of which sparkles lil~e a diamond
in the so ii.
All will recognize in the Yosemite a peculiar and unique type
of seenerv.  Cliffs absolutely vertical, like the upper portions
of the Half Dome aiid El Capitan, and of such immense height
as these, are, so far as we know, to be seen nowhere else.  The
dome form of mountains is exhibited on a guind scale in other
parts of the Sierra Nevada  but there is no Half Dome, even
among the stupendous precipices at tlie head of the I&ing's
1~iver.  No one can avoid asking, ~Vhat is tlie origili of this
lieculiar ty~~e of scenery?  How lias this unique valley been
fornieil, ai~~i what are the eolo~ical causes which have produced
its wonderhil ciffs, and all the other features which conibisie to
*Since this  as  ntten a very fine fall, called the Kajeteur, is said te have
been di~cevered in British Guiana. 
2          THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
make this locality so remarkable?  These questions we will endeavor to answer, as well as our ability to pry into what went
on in the deep-seated regions of the earth, in foriiier geological
ages, will permit.
Most of the great canons and valleys of the Sierra Nevada
have resulted from aqueous denudation, and iu no part of the
world has this kind of work been done on a larger scale.  The
long-continued action of tremendous torrents of water, rushing
with impetuous velocity down the slopes of the mountains has
excavated those immense gorges by which the chaii~ of the Sierra
Nevada is flirrowed, on its western slope, to the depth of thousands of feet.  This erosion, great as it is, has l~een done within
a comparatively recent period, geologically speaking, as is conelusively demonstrated in numerous localities.  At the Abbey's
Ferry crossing of the Stanislaus, for instance, a portion of the
mass of Table Mountain is seen on each side of the river, in such
a position as to demonstrate that the current of the lava which
forms the summit of this mountain once flowed continuously
across what is now a cai~on over 2,000 feat deep, showing that
the erosion of that immeiise gorge has all been effected since the
lava flowed down from the higher portion of the Sierni.  This
event took place at a very recent geological period, or in the
latter part of the Tertiary epoch, and even since the appearance
of maii on the earth, as has been clearly demoustn~ted by the
discovery, at several different localities, of human bones and
works of art embedded under the volcanic mass.
The eroded canons of the Sierra, however, whose formation is
due to the action of water, never have vertical walls, nor do
their sides present the peculiar angular forms which are seen in
the Yosemite, as, for instance, in i~l Capitan, where two perpendicular surfaces of smooth granite, more thai~ 3,000 feet high,
meet each other at a right angle.  It is sulhcient to look for a
moment at tlie vertical faces of El Capitaii and the Bridal Veil
Rock, turned down the Valley, or away from the direction in
which the eroding forces must have acted, to be able to say that
aqueous erosioii could not have been the agent em~~loyed to do
any such work.  The squarely cut re-entering angles, like those
below El Capitan, and between Cathedn~l Rock and the Sentinel,
or in the Illilouette canon, were never produced by ordinary erosion.  ~~ucli less could any such cause be called in to account
for the peculiai formation of the Half Dome, the vertical portion
of which is all above the ordinary level of the walls of the Valley, rising 2,000 feet, in sublime isolation, above any point
which could have been reached by denuding agencies, even supposing the current of water to have filled the whole Valley. 
THE YOSEMITE VALLEY.             73
Mucil less can it be supposed that tbe peculiar form of tile
Yoseniite is due to the erosive action of ice.  A more absurd
theory was never advanced than that by which it was sought to
ascribe to glaciers the sawing out of these vertical walls and the
rounding of the domes.  Nothing more unlike the real work of
ice, as exhibited in the Alps, could be found.  Besides, there is
ilo reason to suppose, or at least no proof, il~at glaciers have
ever occupied the Valley, or any portion of it, as will be explained in tile next chapter, 50 that fl~is theory, based on entire
ignorance of the whole subject, may be droi)ped without wasting
any more time u~)on it.
The theory of erosion not being admissible to account for the
forniatioit of the Yosemite Valley, we have to fall back on some
one of tlio~e moven~euts of the earth's crust to which the prii~al
forms of mouiitain valleys are due.  The forces which have acted
to produce valleys are complex in their nature, and it is not easy
to classify tlse forms which have resulted froni them in a satisfactory maliner.  The two principal types of valleys, however,
are those produced by rents or fissures in tlse crust, and those
resulting frons fiexures or foldings of the strata.  The former are
nanally traiisverse to the mountain chain in which they occur
the latter are more fi~equeiitly parallel to them, asid parallel to
tise general strike of the strata of which the mouiitains are made
up.  Valleys which have originated in cross fractures are usually
very nariow defiles, enclosed within steep wails of rocks, the
steepness of the walls increasing with the hardiiess of the rock.
It would be difficult to point to a good examl)le of this kind of
valley in Califorisia  the famous defile of the Via Mala in Switzerlaiid is one of the best which could be cited.  Valleys formed
rata are very common ill many mountain
by foldin~s of +he st
chains, especially in those typical ones, the Jura and the A~paladsians.  Many of the valleys of the Coast Bauges are of this
order.  A valley formed in either one of the ways suggested
above may be modified afterwards by forces ~)ertaiiiing to either
of the others  thus a valley originating in a transverse fissure
may afterwards become much modified by an erosive agency, or
a longitudiiial fiexure valley may have one of its sides raised up
or let down by a "fault" or line of fissure runnilig through or
across it.
If we examine the Yosemite to see if traces of all origin in
either of tise above ways can be detected there, we obtain a negative answer.  The Valley is too wide to have beesi formed by
a fissure  it is about as wide as it is deep, and, if it had been
ori~in ally a siusple crack, the walls must have been moved
bodily away from each other, carrying the whole chain of the 
74         THE YOSEMITE GUrnE~BOOK.
Sierra with them, to one side or the other, or both, for the distance of half a mile.  Besides, when a cliff has been thus formed,
there will be no difficulty in recognizing the fact, from tlie currespondence of the outlines of the two sides; just as, whei' we
break a stone in two, the pieces must necessanly atlinit of being
fitted together again.  No coHespondence of the two sides of
the Yosemite can be detected, nor will the most i1)genious contri~~ng, or lateral movilig, suffice to bring them iiito anything
like adaptation to each other.   A square recess oi~ one side is
met on the other, not by a correspoii~ling projection, but by a
plain wall, or even another cavity.  These facts al~e suffi~'ient to
make the adoption of the theory of a rent or fissure iiopo~sible.
There is much the same difficulty in conceiviiig of the foj~iiiation
of the Valley by any flexure or foldi~ig process.  The forms and
outli'ies of tlie masses of rock linilting it are too aiigular, aiid
have too little development iii any one direction; they ai~e cut
off squarely at the upper enil, where the ascent to tlie geiieral
level of the country is by gigantic steps, and not by a gradual rise.
The direction of the Valley, too, is ti'ansverse to the general line
of elevation of tlse mountains, and iiot parallel with it, as it
should be, roughly at least, were it the result of folding or`upheaval.
In short, we are led irresistibly to the adoption of a theory of
the ongin of the Yosemite in a way which has hardly yet been
recognized as one of those in which valleys nacy be formed,
probably for the reason that there are so few cases in which such
an event can be absolutely proved to have occurred.  ~Ve conceive that, dunn  the process of upheaval of the Sierra, or,
possibly, at some time after that had taken place, there was at
the Yoseiiiite a subsidence of a limited area, marked by lines of
`fault" or fissures crossing each other somewhat iieaHy at right
angles.  ln other and inure siinIde language, the buttons of the
Valley sank down to an unknown depth, owing to its supliurt
being witlidnawn from underneath, during some of those convulsive movements which must have attended the ulilseaval of so
extensive and elevated a chain, no matter how slow we may
imagine the process to have been.   Subsidence, over extensive
areas, of portions of the earth's crust, is not at all a new idea in
geology', aiid there is nuthiiigin this lieculiar application of it which
need excite surprise.  It is the great amount of vertical displtcement for the small area imlilicated which makes this a peculiar
case; but it would not be easy to give any good reasois wliy such
an exceptional result should not be brought about, amid tlie
complicated play of forces which the elevation of a great mountain chain must set in motion. 
THE YOSEMITE VALLEY.           75
By the adoption of fl~e subsidence theory for the formation of
the Yoseniite, we are able to gc~ over one difficulty which appears insurmountable wfth any other.  This is, the ve'~ sniall
amount of dc'br'is at the base of the cliffs, and even, at a few
points, its entire absence, as previously noticed in our description of tlie Valley.  ~Ve see il~at fragnients of rock are loosened
by rain, frost, gravity, and other natural causes, aloiig the walls,
and probably iiot a winter elapses that sonic great mass of detAtus does not conie thundering down from above, adding, as it is
easy to see friim actual inspection of those slides which have
occurred within the past few years, no incoiisiderable amount
to the to`us.  Several of these great rock-avalanches have taken
place since the Valley was inhabited.  One which fell near
thedral Pock is said to have shaken the Valley like aii earthquake.  This abrasion of tlie edges of tl~e Valley has unquestionaldy been going on during a vast pen-od of time  ~ hat lias
become of tlie detrital material?  Some niasses of graiiite now
lying in the Valley - one iii particular near the base of the Yosemite Fall-are as large as houses.  Such masses as these could
never have been removed from the Valley by curreiits of water
in fact, there is no evidence of any consideushle amoulit of ailueous erosion, for the cation of the Merced below tlie Yosciiiite is
nenAy free from detritus, all the way down to tlie 1)laiii.  The
falling masses have not been carried out by a glacier, for there
are below the Valley no remains of the nioraines which such an
operation could not fail to have forn~ed.
It appears to us that fiie~e is no way of disposing of tlie vast
mass of detritus, which must have fallen froiii tlie walls of the
Yo~emite since the formation of the Valley, except by assunling
that it has goiie down to fill the abyss, wl~ich was opened by
the subsidence which our theory supposes to have taken place.
~Vhat the depth of the chasm may have been we have no data
for computing  but that it must have been very great is liroved
by the fact that it has been able to receive the accumulations of
so bug a period of time.  The cavity was, undoubtedly, occui ied
by water, forniing a lake of unsurpassed beauty and granileur,
~n~ilquite a receiit epoch.  The gradual desiccation of tlic whole
country, the disa1ipearauce of the glaciers, and tlie filliiig up of
the abyss to nearly a level with the present outlet, where tlie
Valley ~)asses iiito a cation of the usual form, have converti~d
the lake into a valley with a river meandering through it.  Tlie
~irocess of filling up still continues, and the talus will acciimulate perce~itibly fast, although a long time niust elapse before
the general appearance of tlie Valley will be much altered by
this cause, so stupendous is the vertical height of its walls, and 
76         THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
so slow their crumbling away, at least as compared wftli the
historic duration of time.
Lake Tahoe and the valley which it partly occupies we conceive also to be, like the Yosemite, the result of local subsidence.
It has evidently not been produced by erosion  its depth below
the mou'itains on each side, amounting to as mu cli as 3,000 feet,
forbids this idea, as do also its limited area and its parallelism
with the axis of the chain.  The Lake is still very deep, over
1,000 feet; but how deep it was originally, a'id how much detritus has been carried into it, we have no data for even crudely
estimating. 
THE HIGH SIERRA.              77
CHAPTER lY.
THE HIGH SIERRA.
AVING, in the last chapter, given as full a description of
the Yosen~ite Valley as our space will l)ermit, we proceed
next to call the reader's attention to the higher region of the
Sierra Nevada,   tlie Alps of Califon~ia, as the upper I)ortioIl
of this great chain of mountains is sometimes called  this region
we designate, for con veaience, as the "High Sierra." It is, however, esliecially the elevated valleys and mountahis which lie above
and near the Vo~emite that we wish to descrihe, and to endeavor
to b~ng to the reader's notice, as this is not only a region central
and easy of access, hut one extremely picturesque, aiid offerlag
to the lover of high mountain scenery every possible iiiducement
for a visit.  By adding a ffw niore days to the time required for
a trip to the Vosemite, the tourist nisy make himself aci1nainted
with a type of sce~iery quite different fi~m that of conutnes usually visited by l)leasure.travellers, and niay enjoy the sight of
as lofty snow-covei'ed peaks, and as grand panolaJilic views of
mountain and valley, as lie can find in SwitzeHand itself.  This
region of the ~igli Sierra in California is hardly yet opcned to
visitors, so far as the providiiig for them of public accommodations is concerned, for there is not a hotel, nor a ~~einia~iently
inhabited house, anywhere`near tlie crest of the Sieria, between
the Silver ~Ionntain road on the nortis and ~Talker's Pass on the
south  but such is the mildness of the summer, and so steady is
the clean~ess of the atmosi~here in the Californian high mountains, that, with a very liniited amount of preparation, one may
make the tour outside of the Yoseniite almost without any discomforts, and ccrtainly ~~ithont any danger.  In the Sierra
Nevada, the entire absence of severe storms during the summer,
aiid the almost uninterrupted serenity of the sky, particularly
invite to ~deasnre.travel.  The worrying delays and U~e serious
naks of Alpine travel, caused l~y long-continued rains and storms
of wind and hail, with their attendant avalanches of siiow and
rocks, are un~nown in il~e Califoriiian high mountains  and we
have camped hy the week together, in the constant enjoyment
of the fiiiest weather, at elevations which would seem too great
for anything hut hardship and discomfoft. 
78          THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK
A comp~rison of the Swiss and Californian Alpine scenery is
not easy, and yet it seems natural to wish to give some idea of
the most strikiiig features of the Sierra by referring for comparison, or eontutst, to the niountain scenery of SwitzeHand, which
has hecome the very focus of pleasure-travel for il~e civilized
worl~l. *
Tlie mud~ smaller quantity of snow and ice in H~e Sierra, as
compare~l wi~h regions of e~~ual elevation in Switzerland, is the
most strikiiig feature of difference hetweci' the mountains of the
two coul~tries.  In tise Sierra we see almost exactly what ~vould
be lire~~iite~l to view in the Alps, if the larger portion of il~e ice
and snow- iiel~ls were melted away.  The marks of the old glaCiens are there   but the glaciers themselves are gone.  The
polislie ~ surfaces of the rocks, tise moraines or long trains of
detritus, and the strin enguaved oil the walls of the caThons, -
these s1ie'ik elo~lieistiy of suds an icy cove ri's  once existing here
as now clothes the suininfts of the Alps.
Another feature of il~e Sierra, as compared with the Alps, is
tls~;tli~eisce of the``Alpen," or those gntssy slopes which occur
aliove tlse line of forest vegetation, between that aiid the eternal
show, aisd which have givei~ their names to the mountains themselves.  In the place of these, we have in the Califl~rnian mountains the forests exteisding quite up to the snow-line in many
i)laces, and everywhere much higlser than in tise Alps.  The
forests of the Sierra, and especially at elevations of Th,OOO to
7,OOo feet, are magnificent, both iii the size anti beauty of the
trees, 50(1 far beyon~l ally in the Alps; they constitute one of the
most attractive features of the scenery, and yet they are somewh'it isonotonous in their unifon~ity of ty~)e, aisd they give a
soul ire t~)se to the lau~iscape, as seeu froiu a distance in their
dark 5115(105 of green.  The grassy valleys, along the streams, are
extreuiely b~autiful, but occupy only a small ai-ea; antl, especsally, they do sot produce a usarked effect ill tlse distaist views,
sioce tlsey ai~e mosfly concealed belsijid tise ranges, to one looking over the country from a high poiist.
Tlse pre.loiuinatiiig features, theis, of the High Sierra are subliinity and grandeur, rather than beauty and vai~iety.  The
scenery will perhaps pro~luce as much impression, at first, as
that of the Alps, but will not invite so fiequent visits, nor so
bug a delay among its hidllen recesses.  Its ty~)e is different
froiss tls~t of the Swiss iisountains, anti shoulsl be stistlied by
fisose wlso wish to see Nature in all her variety of mountain
*There are probably ten times as many persons in Calitarnia who have
travelle~l for pleasure in Switzerland as ansong these most interesting portions
of the Sierra. 
THE HIGH SIERRA.              79
gloom and mountain glory.  The many in this country who do
not have the opportunity of seeing the Alps should not miss the
Sierra, if it be in their power to visit it.
For a journey around the Yosemite, or in any portion of tbe
High Sierra, mules or horses may be hired at Bear Valley, Mariposa, or C~oultervi1le  and the services of some one wl)o will act
as giiide can be obtained, usually, at either of these places.  But
thel~e are, as yet, no regular guides for the high mou'~tains, and
travel must increase considerably before any suds will be found.
A good 1~edesti~an will often prefer to walk, and will pack his
baggage on a horse or niule.  For convenience and enjoyment,
the ~~arty should consist of several persons.  A good su~~ply of
blankets ai~d of provisions, ~~itls a few simple cooking utensils,
an axe, a light tent, substantial woollen clothes, a'0d, above all,
or rather under all, a pair of hoots "made on lion or,  with
the soles filled with nails, - these are the princii)al i'equisites.
Tlie guide ~` ill initiate the unpractised traveller into the mysterious art of``packing" a mule or horse, an accoiiiplishment
which can only be acquired by actual practice, but one on the
skilfiil pe' formance of which much of the traveller's comfort depends.  Those who are faniiliar with woods-life in Caliibrnia, or
elsewhere, can easilv find their way about with tlse lselp of the
maps coutaiiied in this volume.
It will be the principal object of il~is chapter to describe the
region of the High S iciTa adjacent to the Yosemite, and this
will first lie done  after`vhich, we will acld a bi'ief description
of sonie other less-known liortions of the Sierra, in the hope that
travellers niny be induced to visit them, and, perhaps, to give to
the woHd some of their experience, for the benefit of future touri5t5.  And, for convenience, we will first desciibe the trip which
is most likely to be made by those visiting the Yosemite namely,
an excursion around the Valley, on the outside, one which will
reveal much that is of great interest, occupying but few days,
anil which can be made mostly on beaten trails, without the
slightest difficulty or danger.  ~Ve cannot but believe that the
tin~e will soon conic when hundreds, if not thousands, will every
year visit this region, and that it will become as well known as
the calleys and peaks of the Bernese Oberland.
In niaking the circuit of the Yosemite, as here proposed, the
traveller is supposed to start from the Valley itself, leaving it on
the north side, anil following the Mono trail to Soda Sp~ings,
campiiig there and ascending Mount Dana, then returning by
the trail from Mono to Manposa, passing beliiuil Cloud's Rest
and the Half Dome, through the Little Yoseniiti~, across the
Illilouette, by the Sentinel Dome, then to Weatfall's and back 
80          THE YOSEMI fE GUIDE.BOOK.
into the Yalley, or to Clark's Ranch, as may be desired, the
whole trip occupying about a week.
Leaving the Valley, the traveller ascends to the plateau by
the Coulterville tn~il  but, instead of keepiiig on the trail back
to that place, turns sharp to the right just after passing the
Boundary Corner, taking the trail formerly considerably used by
mule-trains betweeii Big~Oak Flat aiid Aurora.   This trail was
of some importance at the time that the Esmeralda District was
in favor with nsining speculators  for, although it rises to the
elevation of over 10,700 feet above the sea-level, yet, there being
an abundance of feed at the various tIats and meadows on tise
route, - which, as they were not claimed or fenced in, were free
to all, - it offered a more eligible route for large trains of mules
than the passes farther north, where all the grass was taken pus.
session of by setlers, and where, consequeiitly, fi~ed ~nust be
purchased.  In 1863 all the meadows ols the Silver ~Iountain
road (the one next north of the Sonora Pass road) were claimed;
there were several public houses on the route, and a public conveyance over it  but, at that time, there was isot a house or a
settler on the ~Iono trail anywhere between Deer Flat, twenty.
two miles below the Yosemite, and the eastern base of the Sierra,
near ~fono Lake; nor is there now, so far as we are informed.
The traveller, therefore, will not be able to telegra~~li, in advance
of his arrival, for rooms at the sumptuous hotel at the next
station  but he will find grassy meadows in which to pasture
his animals, scattered along the route at convenient intervals,
will have an al~undance of ice-cold water, and, drawing on his
saddle-bags for liis own rations, with unlimited command of free
fuel, he will find both novelty and delight in his entire independence of ho~el bills, and in knowing that he is not in danger
of being crowded out of his "accommodations~"
The?i~rst good camping-ground, after leaving the Valley on
the i~Iono trail, is in the neighboH~ood of the Virgin's Tears
Creek, and from here the highest of the Three Brothers may be
easily reache~l, in an hour or two.  There is no trail blazed as
yet  but tlie alsortest and best way can easily be found, in the
absence of a goide, by the aid of the map.  From this commanding point, almost 4,000 feet above the Valley, the view is
extremely fine, the ~1erced River and green meadows which border it seelnilig to be directly under the observer's feet.  Probably
there is no better place from which to get a bird's-eye view of
the Yosemite Valley itself; and, iii respect to the distant view
of the Sierra to be had from the summit of the Three Brothers,
it can only be said, that, like all the others which can be obtained from commanding positions around the Valley, it seems, 
THE HIGH SIERRA.               81
while one is enjoying it, to be the finest possible.  At the time
of our vi~it to tliis region iii 1866, ~ve cliiiibed a conlinanding
ridge just nortli of oui camp on tlie ~~irgiil's Tears Creek, fi~u~
which a noble panoramic vie~v of the Sierra ~vas had.  It ~vas
just at su'iset, aiid ti~e effect of color which was produced by
souje peculiar coiiditio'i of the atmosphere, and which coiitiiiued
for at least a quarter of an hour, was soniethiug eiitirely unique
ai~d iiidcscribably beautiful. The whole landscape, even the foregrouiid aiid i)tiddle ground, as well as the distant railges, becime of a bright Venetian.red color, i)roducing an effect which a
l)aiiiter would vainly attempt to inlitate by any color or combiI~ation of colors.  It was mslike the``Al1~iiie glou-," so often
seen iii lii~b niountaiiis  for, instead of being co'ifiued to the
distant an~~ lofty railges, it tinged even the nearest objects, aiid
not`viti) shades of rose-color and purple, but with a uniform
tiiit of brilliaiit, clear red.
After cro~si1Ig the ~~irgin's Tears, the next creek is fl~at which
forms tlie Yoseu)ite Falls, and which is about two miles farther
on.  The tiall crosses this creek a little above a small meadow,
wiiei-e 01)0 can cami~, aiid frons which the brink of the fall and
th~ sl'minit of the cliff overliaugiiig it on tlse east tony be visited.
A couple of nilles farther oil is a high meadow called Deer Park,
on which tlieie was souse snow CVCO 1)1 the latter part of June,
1863  ior we are here nearly 8,500 feet above the sea-level.
Deseeudiiig ii little, we soon reach Porcu1iiue Flat, a small mendow of carices, 8,173 feet above tide-water, and a good camping.
grousid for those who wish to visit ~Iount 1foil~siaiin.
i~Iouiit floffusnun is tise culmii~ntiiig point of a group of elevatiosis, very conspicuous from various pOilitS about the Yosemite,
aisd especially f~'oin the ~Iariposn trail and fi-om Sentinel Dome,
looking directly across the Valley and to the north of it.  It is
about four illileS iiorthwest of Porcupiiie Flat, and can be readied
and ascended without tlse sligbtest difficulty. The ridge to which
it belongs foinsa the divide between the bend-waters of Teiinya
and Yoseniite Creeks, tise latter beading in several small lakes
`vhich lie immediately nuder the bold mural face of the range,
which is t~O0(l to the northwest.  The summit is 10,872 feet
above tlie sea-level, and is a bare granitic mass, with a gently
curvilig slope on the south side, but falliisg off in a grand preci1dce to~the iiorth.
Tlie view from the summit of ~Iount Hoffmann is remarkably
fine, anil those who have not time, or inclination, to visit the
higher peaks of the main ridge of the Sierra are strongly advised
to asceiid this, as the trip from the Yosemite and back need
only occu~)y two or three days  and no one who has not climbed 
82          THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
some high point above tbe Valley can consider himself as l~aving
made more than a distant acquaintance with the High Sierra.
This is a particularly good point for getting all idea of the almost
inaccessible region of volcaiiic masses lying between the Tisolumne River and the Sonora Pass road.  Here are great tables
of lava resting on the granite, 3,000 feet above tise adjacent valley, the mass of volcanic material being fully 700 feet thick.
The number of ilistinet peaks, ri~lges, and tables, visible in that
direction, crowded together, is too great to be counted.   The
grand mass of Tower Peak is a promiiieut and most remarkably
Picturesque object.  This mountain was named Castle Peak by
Mr. G. H. Goddard, about ten years ago, at which time he ascended, by estimate, to within 1,000 feet of the snusmit, and
calculated it to be 13,000 feet in elevation above tlie sea-level.*
By sonic unaccountable mistake, tise name of Castle Peak was
afterwards transferred to a rounded and not at all castellated
mass about seven niiles north of Mount Dana  and it has become so firmly established here, that it is now impossible to
transfer it back to its rightfisl ownership.  There is also a "Castle Peak" a little north of the Central Pacific Railroad, near
Summit Station.  In order to avoid confusion and duplication
of names, we have given the name of Tower Peak to Goddard's
Castle Peak, and that of Mount Stanford to the Castle Peak in
Sierra County.
From Porcupine Flat and ~fonnt lloffmann we look directly
souil~ on to the fine group of mountaiiis lying southeast of the
Yoseniite, and called by us the Obelisk Group, which will be
fully desenbed further on in this chapter.  It is a conspicuous
feature in the scenery of the region about the Vosenilte.
Lake Tenaya, tlie head of the branch of the A [creed of tbe
same nalne, is the next point of interest on the trail, and is about
six miles east-nortlseast of Porcupine Flat.  It is a beantffsil
sheet of water, a usile long aiid half a anile`viile.  Tlic trail
passes around its east side, and good camping-ground can be
found at the upper end in a fine grove of firs and pines.  The
rocks ill the vicinity all cxlsibit in the most remarkable degree
the concentric structure peculiar to tlic granite of ~is region.
At tlse bead of the lake is a very conspicuous conical knob of
smoofl~ granite, about 800 feet high, cistirely bare of vegctatiou,
and beautiftilly scored and polished by former glaciers.  The
traces of tlse existeisce of an immense flow of ice down the valley
* Mr. Goddard's measurement was made with an aneroid barometer, and
subsequent examinations along his route, by the Geological Survey, indicate
that his figures are about I,500 feet too great  Castle Peak is probably between 11,000 and 12,000 feet high. 
THE HIGH SIERRA.             83
now occupied by Lake Tenaya begin here to be very conspicuous.
The i~dges on each side of the trail are worn and polished by
glacial action nearly to their summits, so that travelling really
becomes difficult for the aninials on the pass from the valley of
tlie Tenaya into that of the Tuolumne, so higl~ly polished and
slippery are the broad areas of granite over which they have to
pick their way.  A branch of the great Tuolumne glacier flowed
over into the Tenaya ~~alley through this pass, showing tisat the
ihickncss of the mass of ice was much more than 500 feet, which
is the difference of level between the summit of the pass and
tlie Tuolumne Piver.  As the glacial markings are seen on the
rocks around Lake Tenaya at an elevation of fully 500 feet above
its level, it is ceitain that tlse whole thickness of tlie ice in the
Tuolumne Valley must have been at least 1,000 feet.  The summit of the pass is 9,070 feet shove the sea-level.
Tlie trail descends into the valley of tl~e Tuolumne, winding
down under the brow of the Cathedral Peak Group, a superb
mass of rock, which first becomes conspicuously visible to the
traveller just before n~acbing Lake Tenaya.  This is one of the
grandest laudniarks in the whole region, and has been most
a~ipropriately named.  As seen fi-om tlie west and southwest, it
presents the appearance of a lofty mass of rock, cut squarely
dou-n on all sides for more than a thousanil feet, and having at
its southern end a beautiflil cluster of slender pinnacles, which
rise several hundred feet above the asain body.  It requires no
effort of the imagination to see the resemblance of tlse u-hole to
a Gothic cathedral  but the majesty of its form and its vast
dimensioiis are such, that any work of human hands`a-ould sink
ii'.to insigiiiflcance beside it.  Its sumiiift is at least 2,500 feet
shove the surrounding plateau, and about 11,000 feet above the
sea-level.  ~rom tlie Tuolumne Piver Valley, on the east, the
Cathedral Peak presents a moSt attn~ctive appean~nce, but has
quite lost the peculiar resemblance which was so conspicuous on
the other siile.
Tlse valley of the Tuolumne, into which the ~Iono trail now
d{~sceiids (see map), is one of the most picturesque and delightful in the High Sierra.  Situated at an elevatioii of between
8,000 and 9,000 feet above the sea-level, sun-ounded by noble
railges and fantastically shaped peaks which rise from 3,000 to
4,000 feet higher, and from which tbe snow never entirely dis.
appears, traversed by a clear rapid nver, along which meadows
of carices and clumps of pines and firs alternate, the effect of the
whole i inileed most superb.  The main portion of the valley is
about four miles long, and from half to a third of a mile wide.
At its upper end it forks, the ~Iono trail taking the left-hand 
84         THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
branch, or that which comes down from Moont Dana, wliile the
right-hand fork, or that which enters from the sootiseast, is the
one heading on the north side of Moont Lycll (see map), about
eight miles above the jonctioii of tlse two branches.   Soda
Springs, on the north side of the Tuolomne, near tise place
where the Moon trail desceiids iiito the valley, offers an agreeable cani~~iiig-groond, and many otlier pleasaiit spots caii be
foond between this and tlie head of the pass.  The springs fornish a mild chalybeate water, slightly im~~regnated with ca'tonic
acid gas, and rather pleasant to tise taste.  They are elevate4
thirty or forty feet above the river, and are 8,680 feet above the
sea.  Fro~n this point the view iii all directions ss a magnificent
one.  Tlie Cathedral Peak Group is one of the most colispicuous
features in tlie landscape, tlse a       slender form of tlie domiliating 1)eak being always attractive, from whichever Side it is
seen.,Vhat resembled the spires of a cathedral, in the distant
view froin the west, near Lake Te nays, is now seeii to be two
bare pyramidal peaks, rising precipitously fro iii the forest-clothed
sides of tlie ridge to tlie height of about 2,300 feet above tlie
valley.  Fartlser east the range is contiiiued in a line of jaggel
~eaks and pinnacles, too steep for the snow to rensain upon them,
and rising above great slopes of hare graisite, over which, through
the whole sunimer, large patches of siiow are distributed, in
sheltered places a'id on the north side.  One of these peaks has
a very peculiar horn-shaped outline, and hence was called Unicorn Peak.  This range trends off to the southeast, 50(1 unites
with the grand mass of tlie Mount LycIl Group, which forms
the dominatiug portion of the Sierra in this region.
The vicinity of Soda Spriugs, and, indeed, the whole region
about the head of the upper Tuolumiie, is one of the finest in
the State for studying the traces of the ancient glacier system
of the Sierra Nevada.  The valleys of both the Mount Lyell ani
tlie Mouiit Dana forks exhibit abundant evideiice of having been
filled, at no very remote period, with an imniense body of moving ice, which has everywhere rounded and polished the surface
of the rocks, up to at least a thousand feet above the level of the
river.  This polish extends over a vast area, and is so perfect
that the surface is often seen from a distance to glitter with the
light reflected from it, as from a niirror.  Not only is ave we
these evideuces of the former existence of glaciers, but all the
phenomena of the moraiues - lateral, medial, ani terminal -
are here displayed on the graisdest scale.
To tlte northeast of Soda Spnngs, a platean stretches along
the southwestern side of the crest of the Sierra, with a gentle
inclination towards the river, rising gradually up to a rugged 
THE HIGH SIERRA.            85
mass of peaks, of which ~fount eon ness is the highest.  The
plateau lies at an elevation of between 9,000 and 10,000 feet
it has clumps of?i?~?(5 co~~1or1a scattered over it, and is ft~n'owed
by water-cours~s, which are not very large.  The whole surface
of this is most beautifully polished and grooved, except where
covered with tise piles of d~'bris, which stretch across it in long
parallel lines, a'id which are the medial moraines of tlie several
side glaciers, which formerly united with the main one, coming
down from the gorges and canons of the great mass of tlie Sierra
above.  About a mile below tise apHogs are the remains of a
terminal moraine, stretching across the valley; it is not very
conspicuous, except fi'om the fact that it bears a scattered
growth of pines, contrasting beautifully with the grassy and
level area above and below.  A mile and a half lower down, a
belt of granite, a niile or more wide, exteiids across the valley
over this the river falls in a series of cascades, having a perpen
dicular descent of above a hundred feet in all.  This granite
belt is woi~ iiito many knobs, some of whi~~h are a hundred feet
high and over, between these are great grooves and channels
worn by ice, and their whole surface, to the very summit, is
scratched aiid polished, the markings behig parallel with the
present course of the river.
Below this is another grassy field, and then the river enters a
canon, which is about twenty miles long, and probably inaccessible through its entire length; at least we have never heard of
its being exl)lored, and it certainly cannot be entered from its
head.  ~Ir. King followed this canon down as far as he could,
to where the river precipitated itself dow ii in a grand fall, over
a mass of rock so rounded on the silge, that it was impossible to
approach near enongh to look over into the chasm below, the
walls on each side being too steep to be climbed.  Where the
canon opens out again, twenty miles below, so as to be accessible, a remarkable counterpart of the Yosemite Valley is found,
called the Hetch-Iletchy Valley, which will be described farther
on.  Between this and Soda Spflngs there is a descent in the
river of 4,500 feet, and what grand waterfalls and stupeiidons
scenery there may be here it is not easy to say.  Although we
have not succeeded in getting iiito tisis canon, it does not follow
that it cannot be done.  Adventurous cliusbers, desirous of signaliziiig themselves by new discoveries, should try to penetrate
into this unknown gorge, which inay perhaps admit of being
entered through some of the side canons coming in from the
iiorth, and which must exhibit stupendous scenery.  Tlie fl~gion
iiorth of this canon, as far as the Sonora road across the Sierra,
is wondeffully wild and difficalt of access.  Our parties made 
8G          TllE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
an attempt to penetrate it, and to climb Tower Peak, but witliout success.  During the summer of 1870, however, this pcak
was reached and ascended from the north without any difficulty.
Just before reachi'ig the bead of the great cai~on, ti~ere is an
isolated granite knob in the valley, risill to the height of about
800 feet above the river, and beautifully glacier-polished to its
very summit.  At this poiiit the great glacier of the Tuolumne
must have been at least a mile and a half wide, aii~l over 1,000
feet thick.  From this knob the view of the valley and tlse
surrounding monutaiiis is one hardly surpassed in iiiterest and
grandeur.  In the lower part of the valley are tlie smooth aiid
glitteriiig surfaces of granite, indicating the former existence of
the gla~~ier  above this, ols citber baud, the steep slopes of the
monistains, clad with a sombre growth of pines (1~iatts co~tlorto'),
and bcyoiid, still higher up, tbe great snow-fields, above which
rises the Uiiicorsi Peak, and many other nanieless OneS, in grand
contrast with the donie-shaped niasses see ii, in the farthest distan cc, in the direction of Lake Tenaya.
Of all the excursions which can be made from Soda Springs,
the osie most to be recommended is the asceiit of ~~ount Daiia,
as beitig entirely without difficulty or danger, and as offering
one of the grandest panoramic vieu-s which cais be had in the
Sierra Nevada; those who wish to try a more difficult feat can
climb ~Ionnt Lycil or Mount Couness. *  Since the visit of the
Geological Suivey to this region, in 1863, several parties have
ascended Mount Dana, riding nearly to the suns mit on horseback; and there casi be no doubt that fl~e ascent will, in time,
become well known, ansi popular amosig tourists.  As it is
rather too hard a day's work to go from Soda Springs to the
susunsit of Mousit Dana and back iii a day, it will be convenient
to move cain p to the base of the mountain, ii ear the bead of the
~tono pass.  The distance from the springs to the summit of
the pass is about ten miles in a straight line, and perhaps twelve
ili following the trail.  A conveniesit place for cans~sing, and
from whit~lt to ascend Mount Dais a, is at a poll it about three
miles from  the summit of the pass, on tise left bank of the
streaus and near tlse junction of a sissall brasicli, coming iii from
*Moont Dana was named after Professor J. D. Dana, the eminent American
cologist  Moont Lycli, from Sir Charles Lycli, whose adinirsihie geological
works have been well known to students of this branch of science, in this
country, for t~e past thirty years.  Mount Conness hears the name of a distinguished citizen of California, lately a United States Senator, who deserves,
us ore than any other person, tise credit of carrying the bill organinog the
Geological S~scvey of California through the Legislature, and who is chiefly
to be credited for another great scientific work, the Survey of the 40th Parallel. 
TllE llIGH SIE~RA.             87
the slopes of ~~onnt Dana to unite witls tbe main river, wbieli
heads in flie pass itself and along the ridges to the southeast of
it.  This ean~p is 9,805 feet above the sea, and about a thousand
feet below the sun~init of the pass, which is 10,765 feet iii elevation.
An examination of the map will give a better idea than any
verbal exl)laiiatioii can do of the character and position of the
subordinate niembers of the crest of the Sierra in this region.  A
jagged liiie of graiiite piiinacles runs fl~m the head of the Saii
Joaqiiiii Piver noi tiiwest, for about twenty miles, begiiiiiing at
the ~li'iai'cts and cii ding at Cathedral Peak.  ~Iouiit I{itter,
~Iount LyclI, aiiil i~Ionnt ~Iaclure are tlie only points in this
range that we liave named * they are all about 13,000 feet
high.
From ~~ount Lyell starts off a grand spur connecting wfth the
Obelisk Group Paiige, which inns parallel with the ~~ouiit hyell
Pange and iil~iout ten miles fi~ns it.  About the sanie distance
front the latter, in the opposite direction front the Obelisk
Group, is another serrated line of peaks, of which ~~ount
Goititess is tite culminating point.  Connecting the ~touut
hyoll and the ~Iount Conness ranges, and forming tiie maiii
divitle of the Sierra, in this part, is a sei~es of elevations which
have rounded suinutits and rather gently sloping sides, contrasting in the itiost marked manner with tlie pititiacles aiid obelisks
of the other ranges.  This portion of tise Sierra runs north and
south, aitti has as its dominating mass ~~ount Dana, which appears to be tite highest poitit auyu~sere in this region, antI which
was, for a coiisiderable tinse, supposed by us to be the highest
of the whole Sierra, with the exception of ~Iount Shasta. ~1ount
Dana aiid ~~oniit I~yell are so nearly of the same height ilsat the
difibrence fails within tite limits of possible insti'uii;eiital error
but OlS levellitig, with a pocket-level, from oiie to the other, the
foi'nter seemed to be a little tise higher of the two.
~tount L~aiia is the second peak north of the pass  the one
betwecit that mountain and the pass is called ~Iount Gibbs.
Between tlie two is a gap somen-hat lower than tlie ~~ono Pass,
but desceisding too steelily ott the easteris side to adittit of use
without considenible excavation.  There is also asiotlier pass on
tlie north iii of ~Iouiit Daita, as represented nit the iitaii this
is about 600 feet lower thait the ~Iono Pass, and might ~irobably
be niade available with a small exitenditure.  From tite summit
*Ritter t the name of the great German geographer, the thuoder of the
science of   tern comparative geogra~thy.  To the piniseer of Anierican geology,`villlaiti ~l;tclure, one of the doutinating peaks of the Sierra Nevada t~
very properly dedicated 
88          THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
everywhere to the east, the descent is exceedingly rapid  that
through "Bloody Canon," as the east slope of the ~Ioi}o Pass is
called, lets the traveller down 4, 000 feet in three n~iles.  The
total descent fi~n~ the su~~i~it of i~Ionnt Dana to ~fono Lake is
6, 773 feet, and the horizontal distance only six miles, or over
1,100 feet fall to the n~ile.
~~e ascended i~~ount Dana twice froin ilse south side without
difficulty, sliding dou~n on the snow for a considerable portion
of tiie way, on the return, making a descent of about 1,200 feet
ill a couple of minutes.  ~Ve have beeii told, however, that the
approach to the summit from the opposite side is in nc's easier,
and that it is even possible to ride a horse nearly to tlie top from
the northwest.   Tlie height was deterniiiied by us to be 13,227
feet, and it need hardly be added that the view fi~oui tise suminit is sul~lime.  EveThy tourist who wishes to niake himself
acquainted with thc high mountain scenery of (?aliforiiia should
climb ~lount Dana  those wlio ascend 110 higher thai the Yosemite, and never penetrate into the heart of tlse iuouiitains,
should never undertake to talk of having seen the Sierra Nevada - as well cli~im an intimate ac(luaintance with the Bernese Oberlaiid after having spent a day or two in Beriie, or with
~Iont Blanc after visiting Geneva.  The Yoseniite is something
by itself  it is not the High Sierra, it belongs to an eiitircly
differejit ty~)e of scenery.  1'roni ~Iount Dana, the iii numerable
peaks and rituges of tlie Sierra itself, stretching off to tite north
and south, forni, of course, the great fcatui'e of tite view.  To
the east, ~lono Lake lies spread out, as on a map, at a depth of
nearly 7, 000 feet below, while beyoiid it rise, chain above chain,
the lofty and, here and there, snow-clad ranges of tlse Great
Basiii, - a region which niay well be called a wilderness of
mountains, barren and desolate ill the highest de~ree but    -
sessing lItaily of the elemeiits of the sublime, especially vast
extent aiid wonderful variety and grouping of monittalis forms.
Tite up~~er ptrt of ~Iount Dana is not graitite, as are almost
all the surrounding I)eaks.  It is made up of slate, very metamorphic near the summit, and showitig, ftrther down, especially
on the south side, alteruatitig batids of bright green anti deep
reddi~h-browu, atid ~troducing a very ~deasiiig effect, by the contrast of these brilliant colors, especially wheit tlie surface is wet.
This belt of metamorliltic rock is seen to extetid for a great distan cc to tlie north, giving a rounded outline to the summits in
that ilirection, of which ~Iount ~Varren, about six miles distant
and 13,000 feet high, as near as we could estimate, is one of the
niost prominent.  The contrast between the cotitours of the metamorliltic summfts of the Sierra and the granitic one  is very
strikitig. 
THE HIGH SIERRA.              89
Along the western and southern slopes of Mount Dana the
traces of ancient glaciers are very distinct, up to a height of
12,000 feet.  In the gap directly south of the summit a mass of
i(!C in nat once have existed, having a thickness of at least 800 feet,
at as high an elevation as 10,500 feet.  From all the gaps and valleys of the west side of the range, tributary glaciers came down,
and all united in one grand iii ass lower in the valley, where the
medial inoraines which accumulated between them are perfectly
distingiii~liable and in places as regularly formed as ai)y to be
seen iii tlie Al1)s at the present day.  On the eastera side of the
pass, also, tlie traces of fornier glacial action are very niarked,
fl-nm the suinlijit down to the foot of the cation  and there are
several sniall lakes which are of the kind known as``nioraine
lakes,'' ioiil]ed by the damming up of the gorge by the terminal
moiaiiies left hy the glacier as it melted away and retreated lip
the catioii.
Of tlie high peaks adjacent to Mount Dana, Mount ~Varren
was ascended by ~lr. ~Vackenreuder, and Mount Conness by
~Iessi's. I&iiig soil farduer.  The latter was reached by following a moraine which forms, as Mr. I~iiig remarks, a gool graded
road all the way rouiid from Soda S~~riiigs to the very foot of
the niouiitaiii.  Tlie a~cent was difficult and soniewbat hazardoils, the apl)roach to the summit being over a knife-blade ridge,
which niight be trying to the nerves of the uninitiated in mounfain clliiil~iii~.  The summit is 12,692 feet above the sea-level,
and is of gi'aiiite, fi~riiiiiig great conceiitric plates dip1~ing to the
west.  Of course, the vieu-, like all fl~in the domiiiaiit 1~eaks of
this region, is extensive, aiid grand beyoiid all description.
Our paity also ascendcd flie Mount Lyell fork, following up
the vall y of that stream.  The highest Iloint of the group u-as
atten~}~ted l)y ~lessrs. Brewer and lIofimaun  but they were
unalile to reach the very sumniit, which was found to be a sharp
and iiiacce~sible piiiiiacle of granite 1'ising above a field of snow. -
By ohservatioiis taken at a station estimated to be 150 feet below
the to1) of this liiii)acle, Mouiit Lyell was found to be 13~217
feet high.  Tlie aseeiit was difficult, on account of the hoily of
snow uhich liad to be traversed, and which was softened by the
sun, so that climbing in it was very laborious.  This trouble
aiji~lit have beeii obviated, however, by eaniI~iiig nearer the sumiiiit and ascending l~cfore the sun had been up long eiiough to
si)fti~ii tlie snow.`flie culniiiiating peaks of Mount I~ycll have
ii gi'ailiial slol~e to the aortlicast  but to the south aiid southwe~t they bo~ak off in preciI)ic(~s a thousaiid feet or niore in
lit~i~lit.  l~~twecn these clitfa, oii that side, a vast amphitheatre is
hicluded, oiicc tlie birthplace of a grand glacier, which flowed 
90          THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
down into tbe canon of tise Merced.  From tl~is point, tbe views
of tbe coiitiiiuatioii of the cbain to tbe 50lltbc('L~t are nagnifi.
ccnt.  llu~~~lreds of points, in that direction, rise to an elcvatiou
of over 12,000 feet, mostly in jagged }~iiinacles of granite, towering above extensive snow-fields, with small plafeans between
thcni.  This continnation of tbe range to tbc soutbeast of
Mount Lyell was afterwards visited by another l)a!Iy, and the
peak called on the ma~ Mount Pitter was ascej~ded, as will be
noticed farther on, after con'pletii~g the tour around the Yosemite.
If the tmveller has ascended ~fount Dana, he will probably
desire to return down tlie Tuolu~i~iie Valley and coiiti~~ue his
journey on the trail leading souil~ of Cloud's P~est to tbe Little
Yosemite and Sentinel Dome, and so hack to Clark's Lanch.
Tl~is trail strikes directly south fi~m the cros~ii)g of tlie Tuolunine, a little below Soda Spiings, and passes close under Cathe~lral Peak, on tl~e west si(le, theii along tlie back, or east side
of Cloud's i{est, and down into tise Little Yosemite Valley, as it
is called.
This is a flat valley or mountain meadow, about four miles
long, and fro~n half a mile to a mile wide.  It is enclosed between walls froni 2,000 to 3,000 feet high, with isumerous projecting buttresses and angles, topped wiffi douse-sha1~ed masses.
At tlie upper eisd of the valley it contracts to a V-shaped gorge,
through which the Merced rushes with rapi~l desceiit, over huge
masses of (1~&?~i5.  The Little Yosemite Valley is a little over
6,000 feet above the sea-level, or 2,000 above tlse Yosemite, of
which it is a kiiid of contiiiuation, being on the same strea'ii, -
namely, tlie usaili Merced,   aiid only a short distance above the
Nevada Fall, fin in tlie summit of which easy access may be had
to it, whenever the bi~~lge across tlse river b~~tween the Vernal
and Nevada Ftlls has beeii rebuilt.  This bridge, which was carried away in the wiister of 1567-68, obviated tlie iies'essity of a
very circuitous and difficult climb, to get fi~m tlse base of the
Neva~la Fall to its summit, the asceiit beiiig 1iiite easy on the
north side of the river.  On the south side, about midway up
the Valley, a cascade comes sli~ling down in a clear sheet over
a rounded mass of graisite  it was estimated at 1,200 feet in
height.  The concentric structure of the granite is beautifully
marke~l in the Little Yoseniite  the curious rousided n~ass,
called the Sugar Loaf, is a good instaiice of this.
The trail, leaving the Lit?le Yosemite, crosses il~e divide
between the Mereed and the Illilonette, then tlie last-named
stream, passing to the west of Mount Starr King, another of
those remarkable conical knobs of granite, of which there is quite 
THE HIGll SIERRA.            91
a group in tbis vicinity.  From vanons points in il~e upper part
of the N~oseuiite ~~alley, from ~vhich one can lool up the Illilouette Canon, the sumniit of ~fouut Starr King is jn~t visible in
the distaiice, nearly concealed bebind another of these do'nes or
cones, tlie two being ~vitb difficulty to be distiiiguisbed from
cads other, except when the sunlight happens to fiAl on one
and not on the otl~er, whieb is necessarily something of rather
rare occurrence.  Starr King is the steepest cone in the region,
with tlie excel4ion of the flaif Dome, and is exceedingly smootb,
having bardly a break in it  the su~nmit is 1uitc inaccessible,
and we have not been able to measure its height.
There is nothing niore of particular interest in this vicinity,
nor before reaching ~Vestfiill's meadows, except the Senti'iel
J)ome.  This may be visited from Ostrande~~'s, fi~m wl~ich a
trail has been blazed, or fi~m the Illilonette ~Tdley direct, on
the return route.  Horses may be ridden nearly to its sun~n-'it,
`vl~ich is a great rounded mass of gra~lite with a fi~w straggling
piJies on it.  The view it con~~nands is indeed sublinie.  1)ookin directly ac'~ss the ~~osemite, we have on the left tlie snowcovered mass of ~Iount Hoffujaun, and, nearly und~~r it, the
rounded sumujit of tlie North Dome, and another sinillar mass
of gla1iite near it.  In the centre of the field, the view extends
di~.ectly up the Tenaya Canon, past the stnpendo~is vertical face
of the Half Dome, on to the bare regular slope )f ~~loud's Pest,
while on the opposite side of the canon we see ~~ount ~Vatkins,
a'id, in the distance, the serrated crest of tlie Sierra.  Tlie points
next to the left of Cloud's ~est, and directly over tlie Tenaya
Cai~on, belong to the Cathedral Peak and Uiiicoru Peak ranges,
which are such pi'ominent features in tlse view fi~om Soda Spi~ings.
The tip of Cathedral Peak is just seen rising above the intem
vening ranges.  l~eyond, in the farthest distance, we have the.
higher ange of ~lount Con ness and tlie adjacent peaks.  The
Half Dome is the great feature in this view, aiid no one can
form any conception of its grandeur who has oiily seen it from
the Valley bAuw.  On the Sentinel Dome we are 4,150 feet
above the Valley  but still lack 587 feet of being as high as
the sunimit of the Half Dome.
Facing the east, we have directly in front the Nevada Fall,
with the Cap of I~iberty on the left of it.  Just above fl~e latter
we look into the Little Vosemite, and see a spot of its level floor,
surroundcd l~y bare, shelving granite masses.  On the extrenie
lett is a small portion of tlie bare side of the Half Donie, aiid
the farthest poilit to the right is the Obelisk, or ~Iount Clark,
tlie most western and dominating point of the ~Ierced Group,
its sides streaked with snow.  Iii the extreme distance is tlse 
92          THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
mass of mountains which we have called tile ~fonnt Lycil
Group. *
Looking towards the southeast, we have a grand view of the
whole of the ~~erced Group, in the distance, the Obel~sk on the
left, and the three other principal peaks to the ~ght.  Just
midway between the ~entinel Dome and the Obelisk is the
curious elevation called i~Iount Starr Ki~ig, mentioned before as
beiiig an extremely steep, bare, inaccessible colic of gn~nite, surrou~idcd by several others of the same Ilattern, but of snialler
diin ensioli 5.
The Sentinel Dome may easily be reached by the traveller to
the Voseinite, by sto1~piiig over a day, on the way to or fron~
the Valley, at ~~~estfa{l's meadow.  jt niakes just a pleasant
dav's excur~ion to ride to tlse Dome and hack, with a few hours
to remain OlS tlie suinusit.  But if olie is ilS a lsnrry, it is possible to snake tlse trip asid returis in tisise to reads citlser Clark's
or tlie Vosemite before night.  To visit this regiols and siot
ascend Sentissel Dome, is a liiistake  osily those who have had
the lileasure of makiss this excursion cali appreciate how snuch
is lost by isot goisig there.
There is one poisit overhanging the Valley, aboist isalf a mile
nortliea~t of tise Sentinel Dome, an~l direc~tly iss a lisie with the
edge of tise Half Douse.  This is called Glacier Point, asid the
view fs~osn it combisies perhaps more elements of beau%v and
gnindeur tisan ally other single else about the Valley.  The
Nevada and Venial Falls are botls plaisily in sight, and directly
over them  is the Obelisk, with a portion of tise range extending off to tise rigist, until cosicealed beliiiid tise coisical mass of
~Ionnt Starr Risig.  To tlie left of the Cap of l~iberty is the
depression in whicls lies the Little Vosensite, asid heyosid tlsis,
in the farthest distance, the lofty summits of tise ~Ionnt Lyoll
Group.  Tlse l)illes frisigiiig the e~lge of Glacier Poisit are tise
Ti? its Jeffreyi.  Tlse view of the H.ilf Dome from this poisit is
stepenilous, as tlse sliectator is very near to that object, asid ill
a 1iositiois to see it almost exactly edgewise.  ~\~e regret that we
are not able to give a {.igtire of it froiii this poisit of ~iew.  Language is liowerless to express the effect which this gigantic mass
of rock, so utterly usslike anything else in the world, produces
on tlie usind.
~~e have thus conducted the traveller around the Valley, and
given liim as many liiiits as our space will admit as to tlse elsaracier antI locality of tlse olijects to be seesi 011 the route.  A week
*~.Thiint Lyell and Mount Maclure are tao dark points visible to the right
and the fi~ft of a onoa-covered peik, ri~ing in the farthest distance between
the Nevada fa~ and the Cap of Liberty. 
THE HIGH SIERRA.              93
is surely very little to devote to this excursion  and, when we
con~ider how n~uch can be seen and enjoyed durii~g this tin~e, it
seenis as if every one would be desirous of taking the op~)ortu0~ity
of being at the \~osen~ite to n~ake this addition to liis travelling
experiei~ce.  The tin~e will certainly come when this will be
fully recognized, and when tlie rather ii~distinct trail around
the ~~alley will be as well beaten as is now the one which leads
into it.
For tl)ose ~~~o desire to extend their knowledge of the High
Sierra still farther, tisere are nuu~erous n~ountaijis, peaks, passes,
aiid valleys to be visited, each one of which has its own peculiar
heauties ai~d attractioi~s.
Tlie ~ferced G0~up, which is so conspicuous an ol)Ject in the
view fi~n~ Sentinel Don~e and n~any other poi~its about the Yosemite, oIlers a fine field fi)r exploratio~~.  This group is a siderange, parallel with the ninin oi~e, aiid about twelve niiles frorn
it.  It runs fi~n~ a poiist near tlie Little N~osen~ite, for about
twelve n~iles, a~id then u~eets the transverse raiige con~ii0g fi'on~
~Iount Lyell, and forn~ii~g tlie divide between the Saii Joaquin
aiid the ~Ierced.  Iiitersecting this, tlie ~Ierced Group 5 confinned to the southeast, aiid runs into a high peak, called Black
~lonntain  it tl~en flills oIl, and becon~es lost in the plateau
which boi~ders the San Joaquin.
At the northeast extrenilty of the group is the grand peak to
which we first gave the nanie of tlse  Obelisk," fi~iin its peculiar sha1)e, as seen fion~ tlie region to flie north of the Yosen~ite.
It has, since that, been nanied ~Iount Clark, while the range to
which it belongs is son~etiines called the Obelisk Groul), hut,
oftener, the ~Ierced Gron1i, because the branches of that river
head aroniid it.  This is a iioble range of mountains, with four
conspicuous sun~i~its and many others of less pron~i1ience.  The
doniinating peaks all lie at the intei~section of s~iurs with the
n~ain range, as will be seen on tlie niap.  ~Iount ~lark, or the
Obeli~~, is the one nearest the N~oseniite.  All these peaks are
ii early of tlie san~e height.  The one next south of tlse Obelisk
was called the Gray Peak, the next the Bed ~Iountain, and the
i~ext Black ~Ionntain, fi~on~ the various colors which predonilnate
on their up~:er portioiis.  The last name liad, however, beeii p~e~iously given to the highe~t point of the n~ass of ridges and
peaks at the southern extren~ity of the ralige, south of the divide between tlie San Joaquin aiid the ~Ierced.  All these })OiiitS,
except Gray Peak, have been clin~bed by the Geological Survey,
and they ale all between 11,500 aiid 11,700 feet in elevation.
Mount C~lark was found to be aii extremely shaili crest of gino.
ite, and`~ as not climbed ~~ithout consideinbie iisk.  Mr. Kmg, 
94         TllE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
wbo, witb ~Ir. Gardner, made tbe ascent of tbe peak, says tbat
its suusu~it is so slender, that ~vheu on top of it they seemed to
be suspended in the air.
The spurs of the i~~erced Group break off in bold precipices to
tbe north, ~vith a more gradual descent to the south, - a ~)eculiarity already mentloised as existing at the summit of ~Iount
Hoffn~ann.  The same is the case with the bug crested ridge
~vhich forms the divide bet~veen the ~vaters of the ~Ierced and
the San 4oa(iuin.  ~ll these spurs and ridges open to the north
~vith grand amphitheatres, ~~here great glaciei's cii cc beaded.
The space enclosed bet~vecn the ~Icrced Group, the ~Iount Lycli
Group, and the divide of the San Joac1uiii aiid ~~erced, forms a
graiid i~lateau about teis miles square, iiito ~vhich project the
various spurs, coniing do~vn in parallel order,`vl~i1c iii tlie centre
there is a deep trough, sunk 2,000 feet below tise genen~l level,
in which runs the ~Ierced.  T lie views fi~oiii all tlie dominatiii~'
points 011 tise ridges surrounding this lilatean are sublime, the region beiiig one of the ~4ldcst aiid most inaccessihle iii tlic Sierra.
Our ~)arty, iii charge of ~Ir. Kiiig, made aii atteiiipt to clh~b
~Iount Ritter, but, on account of the uiifavorablc weather, did
not suceced iii quite reaching the suiii,iiit.  They ap~iroachcd it
from the southwest, passing to the south of Bueiia Vista Peak
aiid Black 1~Iountaiii.  The i~~erced divide was found to be
everywhere ii..ipassahle for aiiimals.  ~~r. l&ing evideiitly considers ~Iount l~itter the culminating point of tlsis portioii of
tlie Sierra, as he says tliat he climbed to a point about as high
as ~Iouiit Daiia, and had still above liim an inaccessihie peak
some 400 or 500 feet high.  To the south of tliis arc sonic grand
pinnacles of grinite, very lofty and ap~~areiitly iiiaccessihlc, to
which we gave the iianie of "the ~Iinarets."  Our space is not
suificient to enable us to go into a descrilition of this region
suffice it to say tlsat there are bore numerous peaks, yet unsealed
and unnamed, to which tlie attention of mountain climbers is
iiivited.  4ny one of them will furiiisli a panoraniic view which
will surely re~)ay tise lover of ~lpiiie scenery for the expenditure
of time and 10105010 re(luired for its ascent.
Tlicre is a very interesting locality cii the Tuolumne River,
about sixteen miles fi~oin tise Yoseiiiite in a straight line, and iii
a direction a little west of north.  It is calleil tlie ileteli-Hetchy
Valley, an Indian name, the meaning of which we have been
unable to ascertain.  It is not only interesting on aceciont of the
beauty and grandeur of its scenery, biit also because it is, in
many respects, almost an exact counterpart of the Yosemite. It
is not on quito so gn~iid a scale as that valley; but, if there were
no Yosemite, the llotcli.Hetchy would be fairly esititled to a 
THE HIGH SIERRA.             95
woAd-wide flime; and, in spite of the superior attractions of the
Yosemite, a visit to its counterpart may be recommended, if it
be only to see how curiously Nature has 1 epeated herself.
The Hetch-Hetehy niay be reached easily from Big Oak Flat,
by takii~g tlie regular Yosemite trail, by Sprague's hall eb al)d
Big Flume, as far as ~Ir. Hardin's fence, between the south an4
middle forks of tlie Tuolumi~e River.  Here, at a distance of
about eighteen miles from Big Oak Flat, tbe trail turns off to
the left, going to ~Vade's meadows, or Big ~Ieadows as they are
also called, the distance being about seven miles.  From ~Vade's
Ranch the trail crosses the middle fork of the Tuolumne, and
goes to the "Hog Ranch," a distance of five miles, then up the
divi~le between the middle fork and the main river, to aiiother
little ra~ich called``the Cafion."  From here, it winds down
among the rocks for six miles, to the Hetcli.Hetchy, or the
Tuolnusne Cai~on.`I'll is trail was made hy ~lr. Jose1jh Screech,
and is well blazed, and has been used for drielug sheep..ind cattle into tl~e Valley.  The whole distance from Big Oak Flat is
called thirty-eight miles.  ~Ir. Screech first visited this place in
1550, at which time tlie I~ldians had poSSeSSiOn.  Tlie Pab Utes
still visit it every year for the purpose of getting the acorlis,
having driven out the western slope Indians, just as they did
fron~ the Vose'~ite.
The Hetch.Hetchy is between 3,500 and 3,900 feet above the
sea-level, or nearly the same as il~e Vosen~ite  it is three miles
lo'~g, east and west, but is divided into two parts by a spur of
granite,`vl~ich nearly closes it up in the centre.  The portion
of the Valley below this spur is a large open meadow, a mile
in lellgth, and from an eighth to half a niile in width, with
excellent grass, timbered only along the edge.  The meadow
termi~iates below in an extreniely narrow canoi~, through which
the river lias not sufficient room to flow at tlle time of flie spring
fresliets, so that the Valley is then inundated, giving rise to
a fine lake.  The upper part of the Valley, east of 4~e spur,
is a mile and three quarters long, and from an eighth to a third
of a mile wide, well timbered and grassed.  The walls of this
Valley are not i1uite so high as those of the Vosenilte  hut still,
aiiywhere else than in California, il~ey would be con~idered as
woiiderfully grasid.  Oii the north side of the Hetch-Hetchy is
a perpelidicular bluff, the edge of which is 1,500 feet above the
Valley, and having a remarkahle resemblance to El Capitan.
Iii tlie spring, when the snows are melting, a large stream  is
precipitated over this cliff, falliiig at least 1,000 feet perpendicular.  The volume of water is very large, aliil the whole of the
lower part of H~e Valley is said to be filled with its spray. 
96          TllE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
A little farther east is the Hetch-Hetchy Fall, the counterpart of the Yosemite.  The height is 1,700 feet.  It is not quite
pei'pendicular  hut it comes lown in a series of beautiful cascad es, over a steej~ly inclined face of ock.  Tise volume of water
is niuch larger than that of the Yosemite Fall, and, in tlie spring,
its iioi~c cail be heard for niiles.  The position of this fall in rel;~tioji to tlie Valley is exactly like that of the Yosemite Fall in
its Valley, and opposite to it is a rock niuch resembling tlie
Cathedi~tl Rock, aiid 2,270 feet high.
At tlie upper end of the Valley flie river forks, one branch,
nearly as large as the main river, coming iii froiii near Castle
Peak. Above this, the canon, so far as we know, is unexplored,
but, in all probability, has concealed in it some graiid falls.
There is no doubt that tlie great glacier, which, as already mentioiie~l, originated near Mount Daisa and Mount i~yell, fouiid its
way lown the Tnolumiie CaThon, aiid passed through tlie RetchHetchy Vall~y.  How far beyond this it reached we are unable
to s~y, for we have mtide no exploratioiis in the caf~on below.
~Vitliin the Valley, tlie rocks are beautiflilly I~olished, up to at
least 800 feet above the river.  Iii deed, it is probable that the
glacier was much thicker than this; for along tlie trail, near the
south end of tlie Hetch-Hetchy, a moraine was observed at the
elevation of fully 1,200 feet above the bottoiii of tlie Valley.
The great size aiid elevation of the amphitheatre in which the
Tuolumne glacier headed caused such an immense mass of ice to
be formed that it descended far below the line of perpetual snow
before it melted away.  The plateau, or amphitheatre, at the
bead of the Me reed was not high eiiough to allow a glacier to be
formed of siitfi~ient thickness to desceiid down as far as into tlie
Yosemite Valley; at least, we have obtaiiied no Ilositive evi~lence
that such was the case.  The statement to that effect in the "Geology of California." Vol. 1., is an error, although it is certain
that the niasses of ice approached very near to tlie edge of the
Valley,`id were very thick in the caf~on to the southeast of
Cloud's Rest, and on down iiito the Little Yosemite.
This chapter may be closed by adding a few pages in regard
to a portion of the High Sierra beyond the limits of tlie map
acconipanying this volume, but to which we desire to direct attention, as including the loftiest and the grandest mountains, and
the most stupendous mountain sceisery, yet discovered within
our owis territory.
By referring to the Table on page 37, it will be observed that
betwecis latitudes 36 and 37 there are peaks and passes higher
than those described as existing near the Yosemite, there being
a general rise of the mass of the Sierra as we go south.  This 
THE HIGH SIL~RA.               97
high region, in which the passes exceed 12,000, and the peaks
rise, in oiic instance at least, to 15,000 ft~et, lics at the head of
Iiing's aiid I~ern rivers and tile San JO5(~Uii0.  The most elevatcd 1)eaks are between the parallels of 36 30' arid 37  soil are
distant frou~ the Voseinite, in a southeast direction, fi~m 90 to
110 miles.  This region was first explored l)y the Geological
Survey in 1864, and a synopsis of the results of this reconiiaissauce will ho found in tlie "Geology of (?aliforiiia," Vol. 1. (pp.
365-402), from which some extracts will here he introdu~eed, in
tlie hope of attracting tise attention of some travellers, who may
thus be iiiduced to push their exploratioiis beyonil the comparatively narrow limits of a trip to and around the Yosemite.  Tlie
regioli in question is not very difficult of access; hideed, a very
good idea of its grandeur may he obtained by oiily a sisort trip
from Visalia and back.
Our ~iarty, consist in g of ~~essrs. Brewer, lloffmann, King,
Garduci, aiid Cotter, took the field in ~lay and proceeded from
San Fmncisco across tlie plains of the San Joaquin to Visalia,
fi~in which point they entered the Sierra, ascending Kiiig's
Pivot to its source, and exploring the whole region about the
head-waters of tlsat and Kern Liver.  Tlsence they made their
way across the range by a pass over 12,000 feet high, passed up
Owen's Vall~v, ascended the west bn~nch of Owen's ~iver, crossing the Siciwa again at an altitude of 12,400 feet, and thence
descending to the head of tise San Joaquin River.  Tlse exploration was continued through the region of the head-waters of
that stream and tlie ~Ierced, connecting the reconnaissance with
that of 1863 around the sources of the Tuolunine.  The whole
exliedition occupied about three months, during which tinse tlie
geogra~iliy aiid geology of a district including an area of over
10,000 square miles were for the first time explored, tlse whole
region having previously been entirely unknown.  The results
Iii~oved to be of the greatest interest, disclosing the fact that this
was tlie highest part of the Sierra Nevada, which was something
quite unex1~ected to most persons, ~Iount Shasta having long
been considered the most elevated point in California.
Thomas's Saw-mill (Cansp 164), at an elevation of 6,484 feet
shove the sea, and about forty miles northeast of Visalia, may
Ise made the base of supplies for an expedition to this region.
Tlie mill stands on the edge of a beautiful meadow, the water
froni which runs into Kiisg's River.  It is surrounded by a magnificent forest of the ii anal coniferous trees found hs tlse Sierra
at this altitude, and a little higher up the Big Trees (Sequoia
gigon~eo) are abundant, as will be noticed in tlse next chapter.
A rocky summit, called Bald ~lountain, about six miles east 
98         THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
of Thomas's ~Iill, was ascended by our party for the purpose of
gettilig the first idea of the topography of the unknown re~ion
about to be visited.  It is easy of access, although 7,936 feet
high, and offers a flue view of the neighborii~g country and tiie
extended crest of the Sierra.  Its position is at once seen to be
on the great elevated divide between the waters of Kiiig's Piver
on the north, and the I&aweah on the south.  This divide runs
up to the snowy mountains at the summit of the chmn, and
appeared to terminate iii the highest group of peaks, some
tweiity-five or thirty miles distant.  The ridge of the divide
rises at intervals into 1ieaks, each one commandiiig tlie country
on either side and behind it, as well as forward to the east as
far as the next h~gh point iii that direction.  About eight or
uhie miles to the north, and several thousand feet below, is the
canon of Iiing's River, which seems precipitous aiid impassable.
Some twenty nile to the northeast this river divides ii,to two
branches, and the course of the northern of these is such that
the observer on the summit of Bald ~Iountain can look directly
into it.  Tiie view is most impressive.  Graiiite walls with buttresses, piniiacles, and domes rise perpendicularly fi~om tliree to
five then sand feet above the river, and above these the bare,
rocky slopes tower up, high above all vegetation into regions of
perpetual snow.  Dark lines of trees wiiid lip the ravines on the
mountain-sides, beconilug thinner an~l more scattered, until they
disappear altogether, tlie suniniits of the mountains rising far
above all vegetation, barren and desolate.
Such is the chancter of the divide between tlie main forks of
the I~ing's River, al4~ough the southern side is not as steep as
the iiorthern.  Its lofty summit, everywhere crested with precipices, pre~ented an insurmountahle barrier, over which our party
never succee~led in taking their animals.  Just at the junction
of the forks, the end of the divide is crossed by a broad red
stripe, bearing about northwest, a'id which could be seen appearing again on the noril~ side of the canon.  This, which
seemed to be a great dyke of volcanic rock, but which was
afterwards found to be a vein of graiiite, led to giving the divide
the name of "Dyke Ridge."
An attenil)t was first made to reach the summit of the Sierra
by tnivellii~g lip this divide, Si' old Indian trail being discovere~I
which was followed for about fifteen miles.  This trail led to a
point u-here tlie ridge widened out into a plateau occupied by a
large meadow; a number of cattle had been driven here, and the
place was known to hunters as the "Big Meadows." Camp 165
was intermediate bet'i-een Thomas's and the Big Meadows, and
was 7,450 feet above the sea.  The rock along the whole route 
THE HIGH SIERRA.              99
is granite, which has a tendency to weather into grand, rounded,
l~oulder-like masses.  Camp 166, about two nijies below fire Big
~Ieadows, but nearly at the same altitude, was at an elevation
of 7, 827 feet.   Here the massive granite is traversed by occasional dykes of a fine-grained variety of the same rock, and with
veins of urilky quartz.  Large areas of nearly level or gently.
sloping ground occur here, covered with meariows or forests of
fir is coirtorki, and there are also extensive patches of bare rock,
or of granitic sand derived from its decomposition.  As the granite decourposes very irregularly, the harder portions rise in rocky,
rounded liii is, and the softer are occuiried by small valleys.  A
series of these grassy plats, five or six nriies in length, makes up
tire Big ~leadows, arid they are drained in both directions, nanrely, into tire I~irrg~s and I~a'veah rivers.  At this altitude tire
sugar arid 1iitcir pines, as well as the Big Trees, are left behind,
arid tire forests are made up of the dark and sonibre fir and fiarts
coir~orta.  Altirougir it was the urouth of June, tire thermometer
sank as low as 16 at night, and a snow-storur of three or four
hours' duration occurred.
Just east of tire Big ~Ieadows, and on the summit of the divide, are two elevations, to which the name of   Dome ~tountains" was given, fl-our tire finely rounded, donre-like sweep of
their outlines, which contrasts in a striking uranner with the
sharpness of tire surnurit peaks behind tirem.   Ori their southerir sides the forests rise in an unbroken curve to tireir sumurits  but on tire north side there is a precipice for 200 to 300
feet below tire crest, then a short, coircave curve, and then the
r~ounded arid wooded slolre descending to the I~ing's River Yalicy.   Iii this part of tire mountains, as at tire Yosemite, the
guirrite exhibits a tendency to forrir donre-siraped masses on a
grand scale  but on tire very crest or summit-range it rises in
irirrrracles, giving a very different character to tire scenery, as
will be noticed furtirer on.  That one of tirese Dome ~Iountains
which was ascended was found to be 9,825 feet high.  Its sunsnrit was made uir of concentric layers or beds of granite, from
one to five feet thick, breaking into large rectangular masses
suft~ciently surooth and regular in forrn to be used for masonry
without dressing.  The nojth slope of tire mountain is covere(t
by irirmense nrasses of this angular debris.   That this concentric structure is not the result of the original stratification of
tire rock, is evident fronr a study of the phenonrena, which do
not indicate anything like anticlinal or synclinal axes, or any
irregular folding.  Tire curves are arrangeil strictly with reference to tire surface of the in asses of rock, showing clearly that
they niust have been produced by the contraction of the mate 
100        THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
nal while cooling or solidifying, and also giving very strongly the
impression that, in many places, we see something of the ori~inal shape of the surface, as it was when the grallitic mass assumed its present position.  In the canons between these ddmes
we sometines have large surfaces ex[)osed by denudation, and,
as a result of the onginal concentric structure of the rocks on
each side, we see tlie great plates of granite oveAappiug each
other, and where considerahie weathering and denudation has
taken place, we have picturesque and curious forms as the resuit pyramids and pini~acles me left staiiding on the prominent
points, and their bedded structure adds to the peculiar impression which they give of their being works of art rather than of
nature.
The route followed by the party, in their attempt to reach the
summit, led around the north side of the Domes, over the huge
piles of angular fragments, and was on this account tedious and
difficult. Camp 167 was made at a point two miles northeast of
the Dome, and at an altitude of 8,890 feet above the sea.  Camp
1 68 was four or five miles southeast of the Dome, at a small
meadow on the divide, and at an elevation of 9,569 feet.  Progress was necessarily very slow, owing to the heavy load of provisions and instruments with which the small train of animals
was packed, and the extreme roughness of the region travelled
over.  Beyond tlie Domes the divide contracts to a mere ridge;
the slope to the south, although steep, is comparatively smooth,
and spreads out, towards its base, into rolling wooded spurs, between which small brooks run down into the Kaweab.  Nearly
all these streams head in little sedgy meadows, whose bright
gi~een contrasts beautifully with the deep shade of the surroundlug forests.  To the north, the aspect of fl~ings was different;
instea~l of a smooth slope, there was a fractured granite precipice, descending 200 feet, then a slope of dibris, and at its foot
two small lakes, forming the head-waters of a stream which
unites with the south fork of King's River, a few miles above
the dyke.  This stream was called Glacier Brook, from the
abundant traces of former glacial action in its vicinity.  From
Camp 168 to the Big Meadows is only sixteen miles; but so
difficult was the way, that it required two days for the party to
accomplish that distance.  From this camp, and tlie next (No.
169), two miles farther up the divide, an examination was made
of an interesting and characteristic feature in the topography of
this granitic region, and to which the name of "The Kettle"
was given.
This is a rocky amphitheatre at the head of a stream which
flows back directly northeast from its source towards the axis of 
THE HIGH SIERRA.             101
the chain, for a distance of twclve miles, and then curves and
enters King's River, a peculiar and almost unique course for a
stream in the Sierra Nevada.  The kettle-like form of this amphitheatre is very apparent in a cross-section.  The northern
nm is about 1,100 feet and the southern one 1,606 feet above
the bottom, the sides being in places vertical and everywhere
quite steep.  The distance across is nearly a mile.  The Kettle
is open at the north-northeast end, and extends as a green valley some six miles, to the south fork of King's River.  There
are several small domes and pinnacles on the ea~t side, and in
some places the granite along the rim forms a parapet, which
has a striking resemblance to an artificial structure, as the rock
is most beautifully and regularly bedded, so that the wall seems
to vie with the most finished mason-work in execution.
This nm of the Kettle is a beautiful illustration of the concentnc or " dome-stiiicture " of the granite of this re~ion and
this peculiar cn~ter-hke cavity in the granite is typical of many
others seen afterwards in this region, the origiii of which it
seems impossible to refer to any ordinary denudation, or to the
action of glaciers.  These cavities were all occupied by iii asses
of ice, as is evident from the polish of the interior walls and
bottom of each of them  but it hardly needs to be added hat
no glacial action could have originally formed one of these kettles  the most that it could do would he to scour out and polish
up the interior.  This subject will be discussed in the second
volume of the "Geology of California."
Beyond the Kettle the divide becomes quite impassable for
animals, and nearly so for men.  Several unsuccessful trials
were made to pass the barrier of nearly perpeiidicular rocks
but, at last, a cli ink in the granite was found, through which
the party crawled, and proceeded to ascend the next high peak
on the divide, which is about six miles southeast of Camp 169,
the elevation of which was found to be 11,623 feet above the
sea.  From its summit a magnificent view was obtained of the
crest of the Sierra, as well as of the divide which had been traversed by the party.  The region to the east presented a complicated system of very sharp ridges, rising here and there into
pinnacles, apparently all of granite, with numerous immense
circular siuphitheatral cavities, formed by sharp ridges surrounding basins, of which one side is always broken away, and which
have exactly the appearance of ancient craters both in form and
outline.  To the west the predominance of roniided or dome.
shaped mountain summits was most striking, the whole country
appearing as if it had suddenly been cooled or congealed while
violently boiling. 
102        TllE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
Camp 170 was about seven miles nortb-noftbeast of No. 169,
in the valley of the stream  which flows from the Kettle, and at
an altitude of 7,408 feet, whidi was a lower point than was
afterwards reached hy the party for a long time.  The way to
this camp led arouiid the west and north sides of the Kettle
over a region exceedingly difficult to traverse, with alternating
steep, naked slopes of granite, and thick, low forests.  Some of
the ancient nioraines, piles of angular fragments of granite,
were almost insurmountable obstacles to the passage of the animals.  This camp was situated behind a sharp granite knob
which rises from the valley like a sugar-loaf, as seeii from below  but which, in reality, is the end of ii ridge a iiiile or two
in length.  This is several hundred feet high, and its summit
is quite inaccessible.  Its sides show un~loubted evidence that it
was once surrounded by a great glacier flowing down the valley.
The slopes directed towards the moving icc are worn and polished, a'id huge boulders have been pushed up on them, ant
left all along, wherever the angle was not too steep for fragments
of rock to lie.  The meadow occupies a basin behiiid this knob,
which appears to have been scooped out by a glacier.
From  the Sugar Loaf Pock there is a magiii~iceut view tip
the valley to the group of mountains formiiig the western crest
of the Sierra, the culminating point of which was named
~Iount Brewer.  This was directly east, and about ten miles
distant.  A gi-aiid view was also had of the great moraine on
the easterii id of the extreme souil~ fork of King's River  this
moraine stretches along for six or eight miles in an unbroken
line, resembling an iinm(~nse artificial embankment.  There is
another one on the opposite side of tlse valley which is also very
distii~ct, but the eastern one is much the larger.  The bonzontal distance across fjom one to the other is about a mile and a
half.  At a distance these moraines aj~pear as regular as railroad
embankuients, their crests being quite smooth, and having a
uniform aiid gradual inclination up the valley.  To ascend or
descend their sides with animals, is a task of considerable difficulty  but, once on the to1), travelling is quite easy.  In the
bottom of the valley the granite is everywhere grooved and
beautifully polished.
The view of the canon, towards its bead, as seen from this
moraine, near Camp 175, was sublime, strongly resembling the
valley of the Yosemite in some of its gmndest features.  It
curves but little, so that the view is unobstructed.  C~reat surfaces and precipices of naked granite are seen, often over 1,000
feet high, but seldom  vertical, although sloping at a very high
an~le  these surfaces are everywhere in the valley rounded and 
TllE IIIGll SIERRA.          103
polisbed.  Side canons of the same cliai'acter, but still more preC~1?ltOO5, open into the main one.
From Cam} 171, ~Ionnt Brewer was twice ascended, on the
2d and 4th of July, by passing up the valley in which the camp
was situated, and which divides at the base of the mou~~tain,
extending up to the crest of the ridge.  Its sides were found to
be very stecp up to above 12,000 feet, the southern one leing an
almost vertical wall of 1,000 feet in height.  Tlie granite of
this regio~~ is bard, not very coarse, a'}d of a light ash-gray
color, ~~ith a pearly lustre when seen in great masses.  It is iiitersected with veins of qnartz and also of feldspar, and witis
some made up of a mixture of both these miiicrals  these veins
were rarely more than two or three feet iii tbicki~ess.  l~i general, however, the rock is remarkably homogeneous an~l almost
destitute of accidental nilnerals, a little epidote bciiig the only
one observed in this region.
The view fiom the summit of`\iount Brewer is one of the
most sublime which it is possible to obtain, even ij~ this sublimest portion of the Sierra.  The snowy peaks, flsi'lg to over
~ 1,000 feet in elevation, cover a breadth of anore tbaii twentyfive miles, and the point of view on tl~e summit of this mountain is such, that the observer is placed in the very midst of this
grand assemblage.   High peaks, sharp i~dges bristling witls
pinnacles, rocky amphitlicatres, and deep canons constit'ite the
~nain fi~atures of the scene.  The summit is a loose and shattered
mass of angular pieces of granite, forming a ridge some thirty
feet long by five broad, which from the west appears as a sharp
cone.  The eastern side of the mouiitain is a l)reciI)ice buttressed by a thin ridge, running out between two great vertically-walled basii~s, white with snow, which contrasts beautifully
with the vivid blue of the fiozen lakes 3,000 feet below.
The baro~~~etiical ~neasurements make tlie height of Mount
Brewer 13,SS6 feet  it is not, however, tlie culminating poi'it
of the Sierra, but is on a spur embraced by two brandies of
King's River.  Ten miles farther east another ridge stretches in
an unbroken liiie north and south, and through its depressions
the blue ranges of the desert are plainly seen.  Oii this ridge
there are fourteen peaks visible, ten of which are as l~igh as
Mount Brewer, and four higher.  One of these, directly' opposite, and which appeared to be the highest poiiit but one, was
called ~Iount Tyndall, in lion or of this distinguished 1ihysicist
a'id ~lpi'~e explorer.  The other high poiiit, eight nilles south of
~loiti~t Tyndall, and, so far as known, the culmiiiating 1)eak of
the Sierra, was named by the party Mount ~Vliitiiey.  Farther
observations, by Mr. King, showed that a point about two miles 
104         THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
northeast of ~Iount Tyndall was a little high er than this mountain  it was named in honor of ~Iajor H. S. ~`Tilliaiijson, of the
United States Engineers, so well known by his topogi.aphical
labors on tlie Pacific coast, especially in coniiectioii with the
United States railroad surveys.  Thirty-two nijies iiorth-northwest is a very high mountain, called ~Iount Goddard, in isonor
of a C'ivil E'igineer who has doiie much to advance our knowlcdge of tlie ge~gra~~liy of California, and who is tiie author of
UHttOlI and ~ey's Map."   ~ transverse ridge runI~ing ohIi~uely across fi~m Mount Brewer to Mount Tyndall fon~s the
divide betwccn tlic head-waters of the Kern and those of King's
Hiver.  South of this, tlie division of the sumniit of the Sierra
into two parallel ridges is very marked, the Kern flowing in the
tremendous gorge between them.  Tlse eastern ridge forms an
almost unbroken wall for a great distance to the iiorth, while
the western one is less distinctly marked, beiiig broken through
to allow of the passage of the head-waters of the Kiiig's and
San Joaquin rivers.  The highest portion of the western ridge
is tlsat extending between Mou'it Brewer and Kaweab Peak,
twelve miles to tlie south.   This last-nansed l)eak was not
reacised by our party, but its heigist was estimated to be over
14,000 feet.  From its great elevation and peculiar position,
epposite to the highest point of tlie Sierra, and the immense
depth of the caiion of the Kern between it and Mount Whitney,
it woul~l probably command the grandest view which could be
obtained in tise whole range of the Sierra.  Kaweab Peak is
distinctly visible fi'om Visalia, to one looking up tise valley of
the Kaweab Biver.
Of the terrilde grandeur of the region embraced in this portion of the Sierra it is hardly possible to convey any idea.  Mn
Ganluer, in lsis notes of tise view from Mouiit Brewer, thus
enumerates souse of the most stnking features of tlic scene
"C'aiions fi-om two to five thousand feet deep, between thin
ndges to[)1)ed with piniiacles slsarp as needles  successions of
great, crater-like amphitheatres, with crowning precipices over
sweepilig snow-fields and frozen lakes  everywhere naked and
shattered granite without a sign of ve~etation, except where a
few gnarled and storm-beaten Idnes (Pi)1u8 co~dortet, 1). a1bic~ulis, and ~. ceisteP() cling to the rocks iii the deeper eafsons
suds were tise elements of the scene we looked down upon, while
col(I gray deeds were drifting overhead."
The u~~per part of the niountain slopes rapidly on all sides for
2,000 feet fi~m the summit, then falls off more gn~dually on the
west towauls the canon of the south fork of Kiiig's Piver.  On
tlse east, it breaks off suddeisly hato a great amphitheatre, the 
THE HIGH SIERRA.             105
head of a canon between 4,000 and 5,000 feet deep hdow the
crest, surrounded by sheer vertical walls, and with glacier-poli~hed slopes at the botto0ll, over whids are scattered several
sniall and beautiful lakes.  These canons and precipices, which
lie between the two principal ridges, constitute the main difficulty in reaching and exploring tise eastern summit peaks.  The
regioli is desolate and cold  but these hindrances, incidentsl to
all high niountain climbing, could be overcome, were it not for
the impassable precipices which continually block the way, necessitatii)g long dct~~trs, and rendering it in~possible to reach
any high 1~eak without a long series of perilous and extremely
fa~iguiug ascents aiid descents.
As want of provisions and the absolute impossibility of proceeding any f~'trtber with the animals were sufficient reasons to
preveilt the`vl~ole party from making any attempt to climb the
summit of the eastern ridge, ~Ir. King volni~teered to undertake this task, altl~ough it seemed to most of the party that it
was quite impossible to reach either of the highest 1jeaks from
the western side.  Packing provisions for six days and one blanket, he started, accompaiiied by Pichard (~otter, fiom the camp
at the base of ~Iount hrewer, July 4th, and tlie following account
of the trip, in which the snmmft of ~~oni~t Tyndali was reached,
is given nearly iii ~Ir. King's own words: -
"To follow down the ridge which forms tlie divide between
King's a'~d Kern rivers, and which runs obli~1nely across from
~Iount Brewer to ~lonnt Tyndall, was impossible, for it rose in
sbai'p crags above us, and had we been able to pass around these,
we should have been stopped by vertical clefts over a thousand
feet deep.  ~Ve began, therefore, to climb down the eastern
slope of the ridge, instead of trying to keep on its crest.  The
only way down was along a sloping shelf, on which we were
obliged to proceed with tlie greatest caution, as our 1~acks had a
constant tei~deney to overbalance us, and a single misstep would
have been fatal.  At last we reached the base of the cliff safely,
and made our way rapidly down a long snow- slope and over
huge angular iii asses,' of d~'bris to the margin of a frozen lake.
were now in tlie amphitheatre  the crags toweriug
around us were all inaccessible, and we were obliged to spend
six hours in climbii~g down froin the outlet of the lake, over a
M'31)t' of smooth granite, polished by glaciers, and kept constaiitly wet l~y a shallow current of water, into King's River
(`aiioi~, and tiieii iip again over a long, difficult d~bris slope and
a'`r()~~s several liel(ls of snou', into another am1~hitheatn~.  Of
tl~i tlie soi~tliern u'all is the divide between King's and Kern
rivers.  Tl~c sky by this time had become quite overcast, and 
106         THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
we were obliged to take refuge under son~e oveH~anging rocks,
whil( a severe hail-storm went by.  ~Ye started on again, hopin  to cross over to Kern Cai~on  but the asce~~t proved very
dithcuit, aiid night overtook us at the foot of a clifi' 2, 000 feet
bigh.  There was no wood, so we burned paper ai~~l dead carices
enough to make some lukewarm tea, a'id fi'i~1iiig a crevice
510011 the ice and granite blocks, somewhat sheltered from the
biting winds, we retired. The elevation was over 12,000 feet,
and the air stinging cold hut the sunset view was glorious.
The east wall of the hasin was brilliantly lighted 01), its huu~lred
pin~1ac1es were of pure yellow, relieved by the (lark blue of tlie
si~y, wllich is so noticeal~1e when one looks up from a deep canon
in the Sierra.  A long 51()p0 of snow o1iposite us war1ued with a
soft rosy tinge (the Alpine gliiw), and the rugge~l i~idge behind
us cast a serrateil gray shadow across it, which slowly crept up
and scaled the granite wall, until only tlie very t01)n005t spires
were in the light.  All night long, large masses of gotllite canie
crashing ilown from the crags overhead, striking at times too
near for comfort.
"The,iext morning we ate our frozen venison by starligbt,
50(1 starte~1 at sunrise to nsce'id the snow-sloIle before it should
beconie softened.  ~Ve had to cut steps, slid aft~'r working up
awhile it b~came quite ditlicult, so that we were thi~e hours iii
reachiiig tlie rocks, after whlch we clinibed two hours rnore,
until we caIne to a very bad ravine where it was inipossihle to
proceed with cur packs.   It was now tllat our reata came into
play, and we took turns in clinibing the len gtli of it, and pullin  packs and blankets after us, reaching t lie top about noon,
by wlii'~h time the iiovelty of tllis niethod of ascent had quite
worn olf.   ~Vhat was our consteriiation to flild ourselves, as we
scaled the sullinlit, on the bn'nk of an almost ~~oseniite cliff!
~~e walked along the edge, however, for some (listance, until at
last we discovered three shelves, each about fifty feet below the
o~her, from  the lowest of which we might, by good luck and
hard clinibing, work along tlie face of fhe cliff to a sort of ravine, down which we might probaldy reach the (i~'&rls.  I tied
the reata firmly abolit uiy body, and Cotter lowered 1110 down to
the first shelf  lie then careflilly sent dow~i the I)recious barometer and our packs.  Next, he made a fast 1001) in the lasso,
booked it over a point of rock aiid ca~ne down hand over hand,
whip1~ing the rope off the rock to wliich it had l)een fastened,
thus severing our communication with the top of the cliff.  This
operation was repeated, not without cousidenible danger, frona
the inipossibility of finding a firm rock around whi(~h ~o secure
the rope, until the bottom "`as at last safely reached.  At the 
THE HIGH SIEBRA.                ~O7
foot of tile de'br~ was a beantiful lake lialf a mile long, once tile
bottom of tbe bed of a glacier.
"Tilere were a few Ti)~~~s coafo~1o visilde down tile course of
tile I&ern, - bere only a sni~ll brook, - and ~nite a grove of P.
aristule; tbcse, witli a fc'v willows and an Al1)i~~e 1~ibcs, were
all il~e vegetation we could see, exceptil~g a ft~w cariccs.  Camp
was made at tlie base of tbe peak, aft~~r cli~ubing up a difficult ridge, near a little cluster of tile Ti~~us co~~torla; fisis was
about 11,000 fcct above tile sea.
Tile next day tile summit was reaciled, witbout serious difficulty, after some n~ky climbing of susootil dome.sbai)ed masses
of granite, wilere tile only sul)l)ort and aid i~i climili'ig was an
occasional crack.  Tile barumeter stood, at 12 M., at 18.104,
tile temperature of tile air being 44~.  On sctting tile level, it
was seen at once that tilere were two peaks eqi~ally high in sigist,
and two still more elevated, all within a distance of suveis usiles.
Of tile two iligilest, one rose close by, hardly a mile away  it is
an inaccessible bunch of needles, and we gave it tlie name of
~Iount ~Villiamson.  Tlse otiler, wilicil we called ~Ionnt ~N~hitney, appeared ecpsally inaccessible fi~m any poilit on tile north
or west side  it is between seven and cigilt miles distant, i'~ a
soutil.soutlieast direction, and I should tlsi'jk flilly 350 fcet
liiglser than our peak. (Farther examination showed that it was
really 600 or 700 feet higher than i~Iount Tyssdall.) ~Vithin our
field of view were five mountains over 14,000 feet, and about fifty
peaks over 13,000.
"Tile five highest peaks are a~l on tile eastern ridge.  Owen's
Valley, a brown sage plain, lies 10,000 feet below on the one
side, and Kern Canon, once tile rockv bed of a grsiid old glacier, 4,000 feet down on the other.  About fiftee's miles north
of here, King's Biver cuts tilrongh ilse western ridge and turns
at a rigilt angle tow ards tile plain.  North of tilis poiSit, again,
tlie two great ridges unite i~i a grand pile of granite niountains,
whose ou%lines are all of tile ~uost rugged and fantastic character.  Twenty.five miles south, tile high groul) ends, there (certainly for a breadth of sixty miles) forming one bi~ad, rolling,
forest-covered 1dateau, 8,000 to 9,000 feet in elevation.
"From ~Iount Brewer to Kaweah Peak, tile two culminating
points of tlie western ridge, fur a distance of fifteen miles, there
is nothing that can be called a separate mountain  it is, rather,
a great mural ridge, capped by small silarp cones aiid low, ragged domes, all covered with little minarets.  At one place tile
ri~lge forms a level table  upon this lies an unbroken cover of
snow.  To tile eastward, all tisis range, from Kiisg's Biver gateway to Kaweak Peak, presents a series of blank, almost perpen 
108        THE ~~OSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
dicular precipices, broken every mile or so by a bold granite
buttress.  Petween these are vast snow.fields, and also numberless deep lakes, of ~vbicb the most elevated are frozen."
The elevation of ~1ount Tyndall, as calculated from ~Ir.
I~ing's observations, compared ~vitli those of tise otber party,
and with the station barometer at Yisalia, was fixed at 14,386
feet; this is only fifty-four feet less than the altitude of ~1ount
Sha~ta.
i~fter ~fr. King's retnrn to Camp 171, at the eastern hase of
~1ount Brewer, the whole par~v went back to Big ~feadows,
ha'.-in bee ii out of provisions for several days, with the exception of a few strips of jerked bear meat.  Here, also, they were
to aseet the escort which was considere~l indi~pensablc for safely
exploring the region to the north.  ~Ii~. King, however, not
being satisfied with hi5 first attempt to reacl~ the cnl'iiinating
point of tl~e Sierra, ma~le anotlser start fi~in Visalia July 14th,
with no other company than an escort of two sol~liers.  His
intention was to follow the Owen's Lake aiid Visalia trail, which
leads up the Kaweali 1{iver, keeping the south fork from its
junction with the maui river.  It was supposed that it might
be possible to reach the summit of ~1ount N\Tliiti~ey fi~m this
side, previous explorations having shown that this could siot be
accomplished froni the northwest or west.
Tlie iirst camp was at forty miles distance from tlie edge of
tbe foot-hills, the road up the valley being intensely liot, dry,
and dusty.  From this camp tlie trail led over a rolling plateau
of high altitude (probably between 8,000 and 9,000 feet), partly
covered by forests of r~~~~~ co~~lorla, and partly by chains of
meadows.  North of the road was a range of bald, grniiite hills,
with groves of pine scattered about their bases, aii occasional
patch of snow apl)earing on the higher points.  This chaiii of
peaks seenis to be tlie continuation of tlie divide between the
south and main Kaweab rivers, and it continues eastward to
the summit of the Sierra, being the southen~ termiiiation of
tlie high ranges to the north; south of it the country fails
off grailually to ~Valker's Pass, forming numerous broad, flattop~~ed ridges, which give the region the general asI)ect of a
table-land, scored down froin north to south by parallel canons,
of which the Kern occupies the deepest.  Tlie main and north
forks of this river rise far to the north of this table-land, and
cist their way through it, while the south fork heads on its
southern slope, and joins the main river, about eight miles
below where tlie trail crosses.  This plateau is entirely of granite, an~l the vegetation varies acconliiig to tlse altitu~le.  ~Vest of
the canon of the south fork, the forests are chiefly of the r~~~~ 
THE HIGH SIERRA.             109
cmiThrla; between this and the main Kern are fine groves of P.
Jeff~vyi, and occasional oaks.  ~Vhere the trail crosses the
main Kern, the river is twenty-five or thirty yards wide  the
water is clear and cold, and abundantly supplied with trout.
From this point the old trail heiit southward, crossing the
mountains sonic distaiice below Little (~~wen's Lake  the new
oiie was built no farther, and from here it was necessary to continue the exploration, without any other guides than the eye
mid tlie coin~)ass.  Striking the north fork of the Kern, at that
point only a brook four or five yards wide, ~tr. King followed it
up for several miles, to`visere it breaks through an east and
west range of craggy peaks, which comes down like an immense
Spur at nght-angles to the general course of the Sierra, and is
continued as an elevated ridge far down the north side of the
Kaweab.  This raiige heads ili a very high and bare graiiitic
peak, called Shed  l~ock, fi-om the great numlier of mountain
shed found in this vicinity.  It is about eight miles south of
~Iouiit ~Vliitney, and is the termination of this high portion of
tlie Sierra.
North of this spur or lateral range through which the north
and nisin forks of the Kern both make their way, there is a
quadrilateral area, comprised between tlie two great divisions of
the Sierra on the east and west sides, and having on tlie north
the transverse ridge which connects ~I on`it Tyndall with ~Iount
~Vliitney.  In this the main Kern heads with iii any branches,
and to the east of it, in the midst of every difficulty, ~Ir. King
worked for three days before he could reach the base of tlie
mountain, whose snusmit he was endeavoring to attain.  All his
efforts, however, proved unsuccessful, so far as this particular
object was concerned; but he was enabled to determiiie the main
features of the topo~apliy of a considerable area, which otherwise would necessarily have been left an entire blank upon our
map.  The highest point reached hy him was, accoriling to the
most reliable calenlations, 14, 740 feet above the sea-level.  At
the place where this observation was taken he was, as near as he
was able to estimate, between 300 and 400 feet lower than the
culminating point of the mouiitain, which must, therefore, somewhat exceed 15,000 feet in height.
Tlie su'nmit is a ridge having somewhat fl~e outline of a helmet,
the perpenilienlar face being turned towards the east, and there
is snow or its summit, which indicates that there must be a flat
surface there.   It is the culminating point of an imniense pile
of granite, which is cut almost to the centre by numerous steep
and often almost vertical canons, ending in high walled am phitheatres.  Southward of the main peak there is a range of sharp 
110         TllE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
needles, forir of which are over 14,000 feet high.  The general
aspect of tlie gronp is mneh like that of ~Ionnt~Tyndall.  ~Ionnt
~~~hiti~cy lies been approached oil all sides, except fi~ra the east,
and, so far, foniid to he utterly inaccessible.
Duriiig the time while ~Ir. Kiiig was exploring about the
sources of l&ern River, Professor Brewer and party continucil
their route iiorthwanl, in the hope of being able to cross over
tlie higher ridges of the Sierra to the head of the San Toaquin.
They left tlic Big ~Ica~lo~vs and made tiseir way into tise great
canon of the soutls fork of I~iiig's River by a terribly steep road,
the descei~t being between 4,500 and 5,000 feet.  The canon
here is very m~ich like the Yosemite.  lt is a valley, froiii half
a mile to a`nile wide at the bottons, about eleven miles long,
an~l closc~l at the lower en~l by a deep and inaccessihie ravine
like that b~~low tlse Yosemite, bist deeper and more precipitous.
It expan~l  above and branches at its head, and is everywhere
snrroun~le~l and walled in by gran~l lirecipices, broken here and
th~re by side caiions, resembling the Y~oscinite in its main features.  Tlie walls of tlse I&'ing's River Canosi, however, are nowhere vcrtical to so great a height as El   Capita's  1)1st rather
resemble tlie Sentinel an~l Cathedn~l Rocks, or tlse Three Brothi~rs, of tlse Yosemite Valley.  Thev rise at various points to
heights estimated to be fioni 3,500 to 6,000 feet above their
base, an~l there is but little dc'~ris at tlse foot of the walls.  The
height of tlse lower eiid of the valley above the sea was found to
lie ap~)roximCtOly 4,737 f(~et  that of the sipper enil, 5,218 feet.
At tlie li ati of the valley, occupying a position`analogous to that
of the ltalf I~ois~e at the Yosemite, is the most elevated hart of
tlie wall; it is nearly vertical, and between 6,500 and 7,000 feet
high.
The Kisig's River Ca~on rivals and even surpasses the Yosemite Valley iii tlie altinide of its surrounding cliffs; but it has no
features so strikiiig as the Half Dome, or Tutucansila, nor has it
the stupendous waterfalls which make that valley quite isnrivalled in beauty; its streams descend by a series of what
n~ay be called ~in California) cascades, of from 150 to 200 feet
high.
The bottom of the valley is covered with granitie sand, forming a soil which supllorts a fine growth of timber, with here and
there a nicatlow.  The river abouiiils in trout.
Tlse party came into the valley by an old Indian foot-trail,
which passes out by the north fork, over an exceedingly rough
coontry, antl must cross the Sierra at an elevation of at least
1 3, 000 feet.  This trail was entirely impracticable for animals.
As it was quite impossible to get north at the head of the valley, 
TllE HIGll SIERRA.            III
the party returned a distance of two or three miles, and made
fl~eir way out on tlie north side, by an exceedingly steep and
difficult route, can~piug ti~ur or five miles fron~ the edge of tbe
canon, a~~d at an elevation of more than 4,000 feet above it, or
~j,308 feet above the sea.  This camp (No. iSO) was situated between tlie two ~nain forks of I&ing's River, and finn it a series
of fluitles attempts were made to reach ~loii~it Goddard, about
twenty-four n~iles di~tant, in a ~iorth.northwesterly direction.
The ridge between the forks of the I&i'~g's rises u~ in a crest,
whi4~, three miles southwest of Camp iSO, is 12,400 feet above
the sea.  From the summit of this ridge there is a precipitous
desce'it~to the north, l0~t0 the eas-lon of~the n~iddle fork, which
is, perhaps, even deeper than the one just described.
The cost preseiits a very serrated outline.  Two peaks lying
just in flout of it are especially fine  they a~~e between five a'id
six miles east of Canip 150; both are probably over 14,000 feet
high, tlie northern being a little the higher.  This was na~ued
~r~~~~t l&i~~g, aiid the southern one ~~ount Gardner.  ~lount
I&ing breaks off in grand precipices on the northwest side, like
the Half Dome  these are several thousa'id feet in height, and
almost vertical, yroduci'ig the effect of an imn~ense obelisk.
The region around the crest of the ridge between the forks of
the I~ing'~ co~~sists of gra~~ite masses, with spurs 1~rojecting out
from them, and embracing basins of bare rock, cads l~aving a
small lake at the bottom.  The only livi~~g things visible in
these valleys are the grasses in tbe small meadows which border
the lakes.  Everywhere else are to be seen only smooth, bare
rocks, or g'-anitic ~1~~ris in stceply-slopiiig l)iles at the base of
the preci~)ices.  The crests of the ridges are thin and shattered,
- so thin that, in some cases, they could o~~ly be traversed by
hitching the body over while sitting astride of them.
At the bead of the north fork, along the nisin crest of the
Sierra, is a range of peaks, from 13.500 to 14,000 feet high,
which we called "the Palisades."  These were ui~like the rest
of tlie crest in outline aiid color, and were doubtless volca~~ic
they were very grand a'id fantastic in shape, like the rocks seen
on tlie Silver ~Iountain trail near Ebbett's Pass.  All doubts as
to the nature of these peaks were removed after observing on the
east side of the crest, in Owen's ~~alley, vast sticams of lava
which had flowed down the slope of tlie Sierra, just below the
P~ lisades.
Three days were spent by the party in trying to find some
Ida ce where the ridge between the forks of the K~ng's could be
crossed with animals, so that the party could reach the ~niddle
fork and thence make their way to ~1ount Goddard.  This was 
112          TllE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
ascertained to be impossible, and it was found necessary to return to the caThon of the south fork.  From here it was, after
some hesitatiou, dccided to cross the mountains into Owen's
~~alley, aiid, after following it up for forty or fifty miles, to turn
west and cross the Sierra again, so as thus to reach the headwaters of the Saii Joa~1uin, over a trail which was made, in 1863,
by a party of soldiers iii pursuit of Indians.
A day aiid a half was re(luired to make the distance of twelve
miles which lay between Camp 179, in the South Fork Canon, and
the sunimit of the Sierra; although the labor of crossing was
much facilitated by the fact that a party of prospecters liad
crossed here not long hefore, and had done a good deal towards
makiiig a passable trail.  Camp 181, midway between tlse valley
and the summit, was found to be 9, 627 feet high.  To the north
of this camp, and nearly east of ~Iount King, but on the niain
crest of the Sierra, was a high, naked rock, risilig fully 3,000
feet above tlie trail at its base, and one of the grandest objects
seen among these moniitaiiis.
The distance from Camp 181 to the summit was found to be
about eight miles.  Tlie crest, on the pass, is double, the first
summit heing 11,031 feet high, and the eastern one 12,057 feet.
The latter is a very sharp ridge, with both sides iiiclined at as
steep aii angle as tlie loose matenals could nialutain without
sliding; the actual crest is a sharp comb of rock.  The peaks on
each side are very steel), and were estimated to be 2,500 feet
above the pass, or folly 14, 500 feet above the sea.  At this time
(July 27) there was no snow on the line traversed by our party,
although large patches were seen much lower down in shaded
1ocaliti~s.
From the crest of the Sierra to its base in Owen's Yalley is
about eight miles iii a direct li'ie, and the average descent is just
1,000 f&et per niile for that distance.  Froni the foot of the
mountain. a gradual and uniform slope extends into the valley,
forming an inclined plane, strewn with boulders resting upon a
sanily soil.  This plain is dry and barren, and covered with the
~sual desert shrubs, Artemisia, Purshia, Linosyris, and others.
The h~ghest peaks of the main crest are not more than teis or
eleven mil~~s from the valley, and fully 10,500 feet above it.
The mountains were entered again at the head of the west
branch of Owen's }?iver, on which Camp 187 was situated, at
all elevation of 9,298 feet above the sea.  To the north of this
is an extremely barren table of lava, and on tlie south granite.
Tlie valley of the streani is half a mile wide, aiiil flaiiked on
both siiles ly heautiflilly regular moraines, fiom 1,000 to 1,200
feet above tlse bottom. 
THE HIGH SIERRA.               113
~~e summit of the Sierra was crossed at an altitude of 12,400
feet, and although the crest rose Ul) iii fi'out, ap~)earing as one
contilinous wall, and seemingly not to be scaled, yet the ascent
was found to be on a comparatively easy guide, with the excep.
tion of one ro~ky place near the sumnilt.  There is an obscure
Jndiaii foot-trail whieb crosses here, and a body of seventy cavalry, with their pack-train, crossed by it in juiie, 1863.  At
that time there were patches of snow half a mile long upon the
road.  A wagon-road could be made over this pass, without
niuch difficulty  but its great height, and the imineiise body of
siiow which iiiust lie here during nearly or quite all the year,
forbid the i~Iea of aiiy such undertaking.  The ~re~t here is very
rugg~d, i~siilg in l)recipitous ridges about 1,000 f('et above the
iii its iioiiiediate vicinity, and perhaps 2,000 feet at a little
di~ta') ce iiorth aii~l south.
Tlie views from the high points above the trail at il~e summit
wei~ of the grandest descri1~tion.  Eight miles to the north was
a gi'oup of dark, criuisou-colored peaks, aiid tweiity-five miles
farther in that direction were the snow-clad raiiges near ~Ioiio
Lake.  In a southerly directioii rose a vast mass of granite peaks
and ridges, with the same sharp scattered crests, vertical cliffs
overhanging snow-helds and aniphitheatres with frozen lakes,
which were tlie nisin features of the views iii tlie region about
flie head of King's ~iver.
()ii the west side of the pass there was one mile of rocky
and steep descent  but otherwise no difficulty was experienced.
Great slopes were traversed, which were worn aiid 1)olished by
gl.-tciei's, aiid, as everyu-here else in the Sierra, these exhibitions
of ancient glacial phenomena were on a much grai~der scale o~i
the west slope of the Sierra than had been observed on the eastern side.
Camp 188, a little below the summit, was at an elevation of
9,940 feet, and from this high peaks on both sides were ascended
an~l examined.  ~Ir. Gardner visited the crimson-colored group
~)oticed above, and which was about five miles iiorth of tlie
cailip.  The rocks were found to he of nietamori)hic slate,
which continues about eight miles to tlie north, aiid is tl~ere
lo~t nuder the graiiite.  Eiiclosed in tlie slate, and having the
saiI)e dip and strike, is a veili of white quartz rock sixty to
seveiity feet wide.  The "Red Slate Peaks," as they wei'e called,
were found to be about 13,400 feet in elevatioii.  This group
forms tlie northern termination of the great elevated rai)ge of
the Sierra, which stretches to tlie south, for a distance of over
ninety iiiiles, without any depression below 12,000 feet, iis all
~~robabihty the highest continuous mass of mountains in ~~orth 
114         THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
America.  To the north, between the Red Slate Peaks and the
~Iono Group, a conside~~ble depression exists, over which is a
pass, of the height of which we have no positive knowledge.
There is a great depression where the three largest branches
of the I&inKs come toge~ber; in this Camp ~89 was ma~le, at a
distance of twenty.two miles frons the sunimit of the Sierra,
and 6,939 feet a ove the sea.  Grassy meadows occur here, and
rising above them are uiaiiy rocky knolls rouu~led by former
glaciers.  This locality has loug been a favorite resort of the
Jiidians, on acconut of its remoteness from the settled part of
California, and its consequent security.  The abundance of
game and the great number of plue trees in this valley also
added to its charms.  Thousands of trees were seen which had
trenches dug around them, to catch the worms which live in the
bark, as is said  these, as well as tlie nuts of the pine, are
staple articles of food among the "Diggers."  All tlie movemeuts of our party were watched by the Indians from a distance and si~ualle~l by smokes; but no attack was made, as
there might have been, had we not been provided with a military escort.
Froni Camp 189 the country to the south was explored, in the
direction of ~fount Goddard, an import ant topographical station
for connecting with th( work on the other side of tlie I~ing's.
In going from Camp 189 to 190 the middle and south forks of
the San Joaquin were crossed, and a due south course was kept
towards a high point on the ridge, eight miles distant.  The
valley widens out here, aiid includes a broad belt of rolling
country, with numerous low hills of granite, whose tops and
sides are all smoothly rounded by glacial action.  The predominant trees here are fi)i?(5 Jeffreyi aiid P. co~~~o~~ta.  As we rise
out of the valley, immense moraines are seen at the height of
from 1,500 to 2,000 feet above it bottom.  A glacier, at least
1,500 feet deep, eight or nine miles wide, and probably thirty
miles long, perhaps much more, once flowe~l down this valley,
and has left its traces everywhere along its sides.
A peak a little south of Camp 190, and 10,711 feet above il~e
sea, was climbed; from this a grand view of the Sierra between
the Obelisk Range and the ~Iount Brewer Group was obtained.
The snow lay on this ridge several hundred feet below tise summit; but fl~e Pj)i~65 elbicaulis grows to the very top.  This
fonns one of a series of high points which extend in a line
nearly parallel with the crest of the Sierra, and from sixteen to
twenty miles distant from it, thus preserving all through this
region the same double-crested character which the range has
farther south arousid the head of King's River. 
THE HIGH SIERRA.              115
The next move took the party about twelve miles in a southeasterly direction, and to a point only eighteen miles from
~Iount Goddard.  This camp (No. 191) was at an elevation of
10,268 feet.  The route followed lay along arid over a ridge,
with a very sharp crest hreaking off in grai~d precipices on each
side.  It has also a parapet along the south edge similar to that
described as forming tlie rim of the Kettle  this is in places
thirty feet high, and rises like a grand wall, with a nan-ow shelf
on the north  from this there is a very steep slope down for a
thousand feet or niore.
From Camp 191 an unsuccesaftil attempt was made to reach
~Iount Goddard, without the animals, as they could be taken
no farther.  Tlie only possible way led along the divide between
Kiiig's and San Joaquin rivers, over a series of ridges, high
and shaq~, with valleys between, a thousand feet deep or more,
so that progress was excessively slow and tiresome.  Cotter and
one of t}ie soldiers succeeded, after a day's clinihing, in getting
within 300 feet of the sumuiit, and hung sip tlie barometer just
before it was too dark to see to read it.  They were then at an
elevation of 13,648 feet, making the height of the mountain
about 14,000 feet.  The return to an impromptu canip, at an elevation of about 12,000 feet and without provisions or fire, made
by tlie remainder of the party at the base of the mountain, re(luired the whole night, and was hazardous in the extreme.
From Camp 191 the party returned to 189, and from there
worked to the northwest in the canon of the north fork of the
Saii Joaquin.  For three fourths of the way the route followed
led down the depression at the junction of the three forks before
iioticed.  This dei)ression lias the appearance of a valley only
when seen from the heights around it.  There are numerous
flats lying between rounded hills of hare graisite  these flats are
sonietimes covered by forests, but many of theni form beautiful
meadows in which many cattle might be pastured.
The north fork of the San Joaquin comes down through a
very deep calion, and the wiile, open, valley-like depression terniinates heie.  This canon is from 3,000 to 4,000 feet deep, and
proved to be a serious obstacle to the advance of the party.
Near the junefion of the north and mah~ forks it is a mere
notch, and its walls exliibit some grandly picturesque features.
Two or three miles southeast of this is a most remarkable dome,
more perfect in its form than any before seen in the State.  It
rises to the height of 1,800 feet above the river, and presents
exactly the appearance of the upper part of a sphere  or, as
Professor Brewer says, "of the top of a gigantic balloon struggling to get up through the rock." 
116         THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
Camp 194, in the canon, was at an altitude of about 4,750
feet, while the ranges to the east and n~ril~east rose from 4,000
to 5,000 feet above this, and those on the west about 3,000 feet.
The sides of the canon are very abrupt, a~id present i~nmense
surfaces of naked granite, resenibling tlie valley of the Yosemite.
There are everywhere in this valley the traces of former glaciers,
on an imineiise scale, and as the party rose above the caiion on
tlie north, in leaving the river, the nioraine on tlie opposite side
was seen very distinctly, and appeared to he at an elevation of
not less thin 3,000 feet above the bottom of the valley.  It was
evident that the glaciers which came down the varions branches
of the San jOS(1O~O all united here to form one immense "sea
of ice," which filled the whole of the wide depressioii spoken of
above, aiid left its moraiiies at this high elevation above tlie
present river-bed.
The party passed out of the canon to il~e northwest, first asceiiding a steep ridge, over 3,000 feet high, and then eiiteflng a
wide elevate~I valley, where Camp 195 was made, at an elevation
of about 7,250 feet.  On the high ridge traversed in getting to
this camp were many bouldeis of lava, which must have been
brought from sonic niore northerly point and dropped in their
present positioli by ancient glaciers.  The source of these boulders seems to have been near ~Iount Clark, in the Obelisk Range.
The view from the summit of the ridge was a grand one, coininandi~ig the whole of the ~Iount Lyell aiid Obelisk Groups, as
well as the main raiige of the Sierra to the east, where are many
dark-colored peaks, apparently volcanic.  A very high and massive peak was seen to the east of ~Iount Lycil, w~iich has since
been named by us ~lount Ritter, and is believed to be ilae dominating point of the group (see page 109).
In the del)ressiou to tlie west of the ridge noticed above are
heavy forests and fine meadows scattered over the country, into
which many cattle had been driven from Fresno County, to escape the extreme drought of the season.  Tlie meadows occupy
the fiats or level intervals between the domes of granite  grassy
"flats," as they are called, occur everywhere along the Sierra at
about this altitude, on tlse high lands between tlie large streams.
Camp 196, a few miles north of 195, was at the base of a
prominent peak, which was supposed to belong to the Obelisk
Group, for wliich the party was aiming.  On ascending it, however, it proved to be about ten niiles due souil~ of the Obelisk.
It was found to be 10,950 feet high, and comnanuded a fine view.
This is called Black ~Iountain, a name common to at least a
dozen peaks in the State.  Eighteen miles northeast of ilais is
the lowest gap or pass over the Sierra which occurs between Car 
THE HIGH SIERRA.            117
son 5 and Walker's Passes, a distance of about 250 miles.  An
a~)proximation to its height was obtained by an observation of
tlic barometer on the peak ascended near Camp 195, at a point
which was ascertained by levelibig to be at about the same altitude as the pass itself.  The result of ilse calculation gave 9,200
feet as the height of the summit of the pass, which is considerably lower than the ~Iono Pass.  Cattle have been driven
across to Owen's Valley over this route, the north fork of the
San Joaquin being crossed at a point mncl~ farther up ilsan
where our party traversed it, and where the canon is not nearly
so deep.
From Camp 196 the pafty made their way, as rapidly as the
worn-out coiidition of tlie men and horses i)ermitted, to Clark's
Pan cli, on the trail from ~lariposa to the Yosemite.  They first
travelled in a southwesterly direction, over a region of domeshaped gs~iiite hills, for a distance of tweiity-tliree miles, and
camlied at the head of the Chiquito San Joaquin, and at the
altitude of 7,463 feet.  ~Iany meadows were passed, into which
large numbers of cattle had been driven.  One of these is known
as Neal's Ranch, or Jackass Meadows.  From this point there
weic trails which could be followed, and this was the first sign
of a return to the regions of civilization. 
118         THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
CHAPTER Y.
THE BIG TREES.
~E fact that, in addition to the Yosemite Yalley, already
described in the preceding pages, Congress has given to the
State of California, to hold as a 1)ublic park, one of the largest
and finest groves of the so-called (par excellence) BIG TREEs,
makes it iucumbe~~t on us to devote one chapter of the preseiit volume to a statement of some of the most interesting facts
concerning these trnly remarkable productions of the vegetable
kingdom.  This we do the more readily, as it is astonishing
how little that is really reliable is to be found in all that has
been published about the Big Trees.  No correct statement of
their distnbntion or dimensions has appeared in pnnt  and, if
their age has been correctly stated in one or two scientific jourTIals, 110 such information ever finds its way ilitO the popular
descriptions of this tree, which are repeated over and over again
in contributions to newspapers, and in books of travel.  For all
the statements here made the Geological Survey is responsible,
except when it is otherwise expressly stated.  For the history
of the botanical name of this species I am specially indebted to
Professor Brewer, Botanist of the Snrvey, who has investigated
this somewhat compheated subject with care, and with access to
all the authorities.
According to ~Ir. llut4~ings's statement, the Calaveras Grove
of Big Trees was the first one discovered by white men, and the
date was the spring of 1852.  The person who first stumbled on
these vegetable monsters was Mr. A. T. Dowd, a hunter employed by the Union ~Vater Company to supply the men in their
employ with fresh meat, while digging a canal to bring water
down to ~Iurphy's.  According to the accounts, the discoverer
found that his story gained so little credence among the workmen that he was obliged to resort to a ruse to get them to the
spot where the trees were.
The wonderful tale of the Big Trees soon found its way into
the papers, and appears to have been first published in the Sonora Herald, the nearest pei'iodical to the locality.  The account
was republished, among other papers, in the Ecko du ~aezfle of 
TUE BIG TREES.              119
San Francisco, then copied into the London Atben~uin of July
23(1, 1853 p. 892), whieb is believed to be the first notice published in Europe, and from there again into tl~e Gardener's
~lironicle of London, where it ap}~eared July 30th, 1853 (p.
488).  In the last-named journal, for December 24th, page 819,
Dr. Liudley 1~ubli~lied the first scientific description of ti~e Big
Tree.  Overlookiiig its close affinity with the ah~ady dcsci~ibed
redwood, he rega~ded it as the type of a new genus, which l(C
called!t'Th11i?(g~O~(iO, adding the sI)ecific name of' gi~o~~1eo.  Uis
specimens wel'c n'ceivt d fioni ~~r. ~Villiam Lobl), thro~igh ~Iessrs.
Veiteli & Soiis, u'ell-kiiown nurserymen.  The tree liad licen previously brought to the notice of scientific men iii Sa~i Fra~icisco,
and s~~ecinieiis had been sent to Dr. Torn'y in New N~oi~ considerably earlier than to Dr. Lindley, but the specimelis we~v lost
in tran~nii~~ioii  and, no description having beeii 1)ul'li~hed in
San Fraiici~co, although Drs. I&ellogg and Belir had bi'ought it
to tlie notice of the C'aliforuia Academy early that year as a new
species, tlie lion or and oppo0'tunity of naming it was lost to
American botanists.  The closely allied species of the same
genus, tlie ~`cq~(oio 3c~i(Pcrrirciis, the redwood, had beci named
and described by Endliche" in 1847, and was well known to hotaiiists all over the world in 1852.
At the iiieetiug of the  Societe' Botanique de France," hAd
June 28th, 1854, the eniineiit botanist Dicaine 1iresented speciniens of the two species, the Big Tree and the redwood, with
those of other Californian coaiX~9'~, recently received fioni tlie
(`on solar Agent of France at San Fi'aneiseo.  At this iiieeting
~I. Decaisne gave liis reasons, at some length, for considering
tlie redwood and the more recently discovered  Big Tree" to
beloiig to the sanie genus, SeQi(oio, and, in accordaiiee with tlie
rule~ of botanical nomenclature, called the new spi'eies Sequoia
giq(t ii tea.  The report of these proceedings is to be found in the
Liillrt,i'e (Ic it SociCte' Bota~iique (Ic Fra~ice, ~`ol. 1. p. 70, which
was issued iii July (probably) of 1854.
In the mean tiiiie specimens had been received tiy Dr. Toi~ey
at New York, and in September of the same year (1854) Profess()r Gray, of CambAdge, published, in the Ameilcan Journal of
Science. appended to a notice of the age of tlie redwood, a stateiiienr, on his on-n authority, that a comparison of the cones of
that tree and those of tlie so-called fVet1i)iUto~tia of Lind}ey did
iiot bring to view any differeiices adequate to the establishment
of a new`en us.  To this Professor Gray adds:`The so-called
ItTh/1i9)g/O?iU will hereafter bear the nanie imposed by Dr. Torrey, namely, that of Scqitaia giqanten."  It does iiot appear,
however, oil examination, that Dr. Torrey had himself pub 
120         THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
lished any description of the Big Tree, or of the fact that he
considered it generically identical with the redwood, and priority seenis to have beeii secured by Decaisne, so that the name
must now stand as Scquoia giga?~tce, Decaisne.  It is to the
happy accident of the gencric agreement of the Big Tree with
tlie redwood that we owe it that we are not now obliged to call
the largest and most interesting tree of America after an English
military hero  had it been an English botanist of tlie highest
eminen~e, the dose would not have been so unpalatable.
No other plant ever attracted so much attention or attained
such a celebrity within so short a period.  Tlie n~fi~n~isces to it
in scie'~tilic works and journals already ~iumber between one and
two hun~lred, atsd it has been the theme of innun~erable articles
in popular l)eriodicals and books of travel, in various latsguages
probably tbere is hardly a newspaper in Ch~stendoi~~ that has
slot published souse item on the subject.
See~ls were first sent to Europe and tlie Eastern States in 1853,
and since that tissie imusense nutobers have fotind tiseir way to
market.  They gerusissate readily, assd it is probable that hundreds of thousands of the trees (millions it is said, are growing
iii different parts of the world froni seeds planted.  Tisey flourish with peculiar luxuriance in Great Britain, asid grow with
extraordinary rapidity.  Numerous examples are cited where
they have grown over two feet per year, and have produced
cosies when four or five years old.  Some marked "gardesier's
varieties  are already in the market.
The genus was named hi honor of Sequoia * or Sequnysh, a
Cherokee Indbsn of mixed blood, better known by his English
name of George Guess, who is supposed to have been born
about 1770, and who lived in ~~il1's Valley, in the exti~eme
northeastern corner of Alabama, ansong the Cherokees.  He becaine kisown to the woAd by his invesition of an alphabet and
wntten language for his tribe.  This alphabet, which was constructed with wonderfisi ingenuity, consisted of eighty-six characters, each represesating a syllable  and it had already come
isito use, to a consislerable extent, before the whites had heard
anything of it.  After a tinse the missionaries took up Sequoyah's isles, asid had types cast asid a printing-press supplied to
the Cherokee nation, aiid a siewspaper was started in 1828, partly in this character.  Driven with the rest of isis tribe beyond
*Endlicher, who named the genus, was not only a learned botanist, but
w~ eminent in e0~nological research and was undoubtedly well acquainted
with.~eqnoia's career.  The name is also, and more generally, spelt "Sequo
yab," which is the Engli~h way of writing it, while the other is what it would
naturally and properly be in Latin. 
THE BIG TREES.                   121
tbe`\~ississippi, he died in New ~Iexico, in 1543.  His remarkable al1~habet is still iii use, alil~ough destined to pass away with
his natioii, but not into oblivion, for his name attached to one
of the graiidest and most impressive productions of tise vegetable kii~gdom will forever keep his memory green. *
Having given a few itenis in the history of the discovery of
the Big Trees, we will pass on to detail some of the facts ii'
regard to their geogi~phical distnbution, age, size, and appearance, with which it will be desirable for travellers to be acquala ted.
The Pig Tree is extremely limited in its range  even more so
than its tu~it brother, the redwood.  The latter is strictly a
Coast I~ai~gt or sea~board tree  the other iiila~id, or exclusively
limited to the Sierra.   Both trees are, also, peculiarly Californian.  A very few of the redwood may be found just across the
border in Or~gon, btit tlie Big Tree has never been found out5i(lC of Califoriiia, and probably never will be.t
The redwood fornis an interrupted belt along the Coast
Ranges, from about latitutle 36 to 42~, or from a little below
tlie ht~ad of tlie Nacimiento River, north to the northern boundary of the State.  Between the southern termi'iation of the helt
and Carnielo, the redwoods ocetir but sparingly, nowhere formiiiextensive groves  and from Carinelo to the Pajaro River
they are interrul~ted altogether.  Near the last-nanied place this
tree sets in again, and forms a tolerably continuous belt north
to a point nearly opl)osite Half-~looii Bay, keepiiig well upon
the western side of the ridges, but descending on the eastern
side into tlie canons.  There were formerly fiiie redwoo~ls opposite San Fn~ncisco, along the crest of tlie Conti~a Costa 14 ills
but they are now all cut down.  The small patches of them in
~tarin Couiity are fast going ilse saine way.   Beyontl Russian
River, however, the belt of redwoods widesis out rapidly, forming alniost a continuous forest, some ten or fifteen niiles in
width, up to tlie northern end of ~lendocino County, or for
inure than a hundred miles.  From here north, through Humboldt. Klamath, aiid I)el Norte Counties, this tree occurs in
more or less disconsiected patches, some of which, however,
~ For the above particulars of Cequoyah~s history, and several other items
which we have not here space to publish, we are indebted to Profrssor Bre~eer
t There -.~l fi~aa~l species of the genus 5csss~C.  The Miocene Tertiary of Greenland, in 70 north latitude, furnishes on~ - the Sc,   a Lang~
dsrffi~- which, ac~ording to the en~inent botanist fleer, can with difficulty be
distinguished fron the reowocal of California  it n~a,, perhaps, be identical
witi it  The stalernent above, that the Seqacie is a peculiarly Califarnian
genu~, must be understood as refernug to the vegetation of the present gee
logical ep~h, and not to that of former ages. 
122          THE YOSEMIT~ GUIDE-BOOK.
cover an extensive area.  In this direction the redwood gradaally ap~~roacbes tlie coast, and at llumboldt and Tunity Bays,
and near Crescent City, is directly upon the ocean.  Mr. Bolander thinks that his observations show clearly that the redwood is exclusively confined to a peculiar kind of rock, - the
metaniorphic sandstone, - and it is certain, also, that it ~~ll
only iioui~sh when it is fre~~uently enveloped in the ocean fogs.
The redwood is the glory of the Coast Ranges  its gigantic
size and its beauty of forns and foliage entitle it to a place hardly
secon~l to that of tlse Big`free itself, as may be gathered from
tise following facts derived cldefiy from tlse notes of Messrs.
Brewer and Bolan~ler.
Near Santa Cruz is a redwood grove of great beauty  the
largest tree is 50 feet in circumference at the base and 275 feet
lsigh.  Near Crescent City Professor Brewer measured one 58
feet in circuiiiference at four feet from the ground, and it scarcely swelle~l at all at its base.   Several persoiis stated, however,
that there were larger ones south of tlsis, and that, near the
Kiamath River, there were some as much as 30 feet in diameten
Mr. Ashburuer heard of a hollow redu-ood stump, seven miles
hack from Eureka, 38 feet in diameter, in which 33 pack-mules
were cornilled at oiie time.  Mr. Bolaiidej reported a redwood 25
feet in diameter, near Little River, ~~Ieiidocino Couiity.
During the stormy winter of 1861 - 62 immense numbers of
redwood logs were carried out to sea, along tlie coast in the
northern part of the State.  They were so abundaiit as to he
dang~rous to shi1)s at a distance of over 150 nilles from  land.
During a heavy southwest gale great numbers of these were cast
on slsore near Crescent City, and thrown together in gigantic
piles.   Professor Brewer measured a dozen of these brbken,
battered logs, and found them to vary from 120 to 210 feet in
length  oiie of 200 feet was ten feet in diameter at the base,
and another of 210 feet was three feet in diameter at the little
end.  Accurate measureiiieuts of the height of tlie trees standlug in the forests of this region ai~ wanting  but there are sup.
posed to be maiiy redwoods from 250 to 300 feet in elevation.
Thos we see, that in size the redwood falls but very little below the Big Tree, and it is not impossible that souse of the
former may yet be found as large as any of the latter.  In general effect the forests of redwood, in the opinion of Profrasor
Brewer, surpass eve is the groves of Big Trees.  The great reason
for tlsis is, that the redwood forms fi.e~ueistly almost tise entire
forest, while the Big Tree nowhere occurs except scattered
among otlser trees, &ud never in clusters or groups isolated
froin other species.   Let one imagine an entire forest, extend 
THE BIG TREES.                123
ing as far as the eye can reach, of trees of frorn eight to twelve
feet in diarneter, arid frorn 200 to 300 feet high, thickly grouped,
their tr~iiks inarvellously straight, not branching`intil they
reach frorn 100 to 150 feet above the ground, arid tlien forniing
a dense canopy, which shuts out the view of the sky, tire contrast of tho bright cinnamon-colored trunks with the sonibre
deep yet brilliant green of the foliage, the utter silence of these
forests, whei'e often no sound can he heard except the low tliunder of the breaking surf of the distant ocean, - let one pictnre
to himself a scene like this, and he may pefliaps receive a faint
impression of the majestic grandeur of the redwood forests of
Califo~~ia.
Tire Big Tree occurs exclusively in "groves," or scattered
over linrited areas, never forirring groups by themselves, but always disseroinared among a much larger nuniber of trees of
other kinds.  These 1~atches on which the Big Trees stand do
not equal in area a hundredth part of that which the`edwoods
cover exclusively.  ~Ve are quite unalile to state the number of
square miles or acres on which tlse Big Trees grow, except for
two of the groves, the Calaver'as and ~Iariposa, both of which
have been carefrilly surveyed by our parties.  It may he roughly stated, however, that this area does not, so far as yet known,
exceed fifty square railer, and that most of this is iii one patch,
between I&irrg's and Kaweali rivers, as will be noticed farther
on.
The groves of the Big Trees are Umited in latitude between
36 and 35 15, nearly, at least so far as we now know.  The
`~alavenas Grove is the most northerly, arid one on the south
fork of tire Tule is the farthest south of any yet known to us.
They are also iluite limited in vertical range, since they nowhere
deaccad niucli below 5,000 or rise above 7,000 feet.  They follow the other trees of California, in this respect, that they occur lower down on tlse Sierra as we go northwards; the most
northerly grove, that of Calaverris, is the lowest in elevation
above the sea-level.
N\~e will first describe, or notice, so far as our space allows,
tire di~ferent groves which have been discovered, giving more
details of that orre wlrich has been given by Congress to the
State of California " for public use arid recreation," and we will
tire ii state some general facts connected with this species, which
will lie better' understood after reading what has preceded.
There are eight distinct patches or groves of tire Big Trees, -
or nine. if we should corisirier the ~Ian'posa trees as belonging to
two different groups, which is hardly necessar'y, inasuruch as
there is only a ridge half a mile in width separating the upper 
124        THE YOSEMITE GUIDE~BOOK.
grove from the lower.  The eight groves are, in geographical
ord~r from north to south: first, tiie Calaveras; second, the
Stani~laus; third, Crane Flat; fourth, Manposa; fifth, Fresno;
sixth, King's and Kawesh rivers; seveiith, North Fork Tule
Piver; eighth, South Fork Tule ~iver.  These we will now
notice in the above order, begiuning with the one best known
an~l most visited.
Tise Calaveras Grove is situated in the county of that name,
about sixteen miles fi~m ~~inrphy's Camp, and near the Stanislaos Piver.  It is on, or near, the road crossing the Sierra by
the Silver ~Iouiitaiii Pass.  This being the first grove of the Big
Trees discovere~l, aiid tise most accessible, it has come more into
notice, and bee ii much more visited than any of tlie others; iiid~~eil, this aiid the ~[a~posa Grove are the only oiies which have
become a resort for travellers.  The Calaveras Gi'ove has also the
great adv~iiitage over the others, that a good hotel is kept there,
aiid that it is accessible oii wheels, all the others being at a
greater or less distance from any road.
This grove occupies a belt 3,200 feet long by 700 feet broad,
exten~liFig iii a northwest and southeast direction, in a depression be~ween two slopes, through which meanders a sin all brook
which dries up in tlie summer.  There are between 90 and 100
trees of large size in the grove, and a considerable number of
sniall ones, chiefly on the outskirts.  Several have fi~llen since
tlie _ rove was ilis~~ovcred  0110 has been cut down; and one lias
bad the bark striiipett from it up to the height of 116 feet above
tile grouiid.  Tlie bark thus renioved was &xhibited in different
places, aiid flually founIl a resting. place in the Sydenham Crystal Pabice, whore it was unfortuiiately bunied, in the fire which
consume~l a p~irt of that building a few years ago.  The two
trees thus iles~royed were perhaps the finest in the grove; the
tallest now standing is the one called the  Keystone State"
the largest 50(1 finest is known as the "Empire State."  The
height of this grove above the sea-level is 4,759 feet.
The aiinexed table shows the elevation of all the trees which
could be conveniently measured, and their circumference at six
feet above the ground: - 
IllE BIG TREES.                  125
TABLE OF MEASUREMENTS OF llEIGItT AND CIRCUMFERENCE
OF TREES IN TilE CALAVERAS GROVE.
Circumierence
Name of Tree.         6 feet above height.
ground.
Feet.       Feet.
Keyetone State                          45         825
Genentl Jackson..         40         819
Mother of the Forest     (without bark) 61         815
Daniel ~Vebster...         47         807
Richard Cobden                          41         284
T. Starr King...         52         288
Prideoftlse Forest..        48         282
IlenryCtay                              47         280
Bay State                               46         275
Jas. King of ~~lliam..         51         274
Sentinel                                49         272
Dr. Kane....         50         271
Arbor vitee Queen                       80         269
Abn~ham Lincoln..         44         268
Maid of honor                           27         266
Old Vern~ont                            40         265
Uncle Sam                               48         265
Mother & Son (Mother)..         51         261
Three (~nces highest)..       80         262
~t~m Cullen Bryant..         48         262
U. S Geant                              84         261
Genenti Scott                           48         258
George ~~asltington..       51         256
lIenry ~~~ard Beecher..         84         252
California                              88         250
Uncle Tom's Cabin..         50         250
Beauty of the Forest..       89         249
J. B. M'Pherson..         81         246
Florence Nightingale..       87         246
James ~Vadsworth..         27         289
Eliho Burritt                           81         281
Tite exact nicasurement of tlie diameter and the ascertaining
of the age of one of the largest trees isa this grove was snade possible by`ctsttistg it down.  This was doste soon after the grove
was discovered, and is said to have occupied five men disring
twenty-two days.  Tiie felling`v55 done by boring through the
tree with ~)nnsp-augers  it was no sutall nffair to persuade the
trunk to fall, even after it had been conipletely severed fiom its
connection with the base.  It was done, however, by driving in
wedges on one side, until the ponderous mass was inclined asifficiently, which was not effected until alter three days of labor.
The stuml) of this tree was squared off smoothly at six feet
above the ground, and tlae bark being removed, a pavilion was 
126          THE YOSE~IITE GUIDE-BOOK.
built over it, forming a capacious room, the exact dimensions
of the stump inside of the bark being,
Across its longest diameter, south of centre, 13 feet 9~ inches.
north of ceiitre, 10  4
Total longest diameter.
The shorter diameter, or that east and west, was 23 feet, divide([ exeetly even on each side of the centre.  The thickness
of the bark, averaging 18 inches prol~ably, would add three feet
to the dianieter of the tree, making 27 feet in all.  After this
tree had been cut down, it was again cut through about 30 feet
from the first cut.  At the upper end of this section of the trunk,
or about 40 feet from the ground, as the tree originally stood,
we e'~n~fu1ly counted the rings of annual growth, measuring at
the sainc time the width of each set of one hundred, beginning
at the exterior; the result was as follows: -
Fir~t hundred                         3.0 inches.
Seco
Third
Fourth
Fifth
Sixfli
Sevei~th
Eighth
Ni!ith
Teiith
Eteveuth
Twelfth
55 ve:irs
1,255 years.                        80.8
There was a small cavity in the centre of the tree which prevented an accurate fixing of its age; but making due allowance
for that, and for tlie time re(iuired to grow to the height at which
the couiit was made, it will be safe to say that this particular
tree, which was probably about as large as any now standing in
the grove, was, in round numbers, 1,300 years old.
The Calaveras Grove contains, as will be seen in the table on
page 125, four trees over 300 feet high, the highest one measured in tlie ~fariposa Grove being 272.  The published stateinents of the heights of these trees are considerably exaggerated,
as will be noticed; but our measurements can be relied on as
beitig correct. *  The Keystone State has the honor of standing
* Several trees were me~eured twice, and the results, in every case, found to
be cloecly coincident. 
THE BIG TREES.              127
at tbe bead, a'itb 325 feet as its elevation, and this is the tallest
tree yet measured on this continent, so far as our inforn~ation
goes.  ~Vhen we observe how regularly and gradually the trees
~liminish in size, from the highest down, it will be evident that
the stories told, of trees having once stood in this grove over
400 f(~et in height, are not entitled to cre~lence.  It is not at all
likely that any one tree should have overtopped all tlie others
by 75 feet or n~ore.  Tlie sanie condition of general average elevation, ai~d absence of trees very much taller thaii any of the
rest in the grove, will be noticed anloag the trees on tlie ~Iariposa grant, where, however, there is no one as l~igli as 300 feet.
Tlie next grove south of the one just noticed is south of tlio
Stanislaus Biver, iiear tlie borders of Calaveras aiid Tiiol'iniiie
Counties.  It has never been visited by any niember of tlie Geological Survey, and is not located on any loap.  It has been
described to iii as heii~g about ten miles southeast of the Calaveras G'~ve, on Beaver Ci~eek, a branch of the Stanislaus.  It
is said to contain from 600 to 800 t~ees, but none as large as
those already described.
About twenty-live miles southeast of the last-mentioned gI-ove
is another, which niay be called tlie Crane Flat Grove, as it is
f1~m a niile to a niilc and a half from tlie station of that name
on tlie Coulterville trail to tlie N~osenifte, in a northwesterly
direction.  It`vas visited by our party, in haste, and its extent
was lOt ascertaiiied nor the nuniber of trees counted.  They
staiid mostly on the north slope of a hill, rather sheltered
from the wind  and, so far as ob~erved, are rather smaller than
those of tlie Calaveras Grove.  The largest sound tree measured
was 57 feet in circumference, at three feet froni the ground.  A
stunip, so buriied that only one half reniained, was 23 feet in
dianieter, in~ide the bark at three feet from the ground.  A sin
gle Big Tree stands in the woods, by itself, soniewbere south.
west of the Crane Flat Grove, and betwei~n it and the ~Ierced.
It is the only iii stance, so far as we know, of tlie occurrence of
this species thus solitary and alone.  Tlieie is an almost entirely
unexplored region between tlie Beaver Creek and the Crane Flat
Groves, arid there 1iiay 1~ossibly be some niorc Big Trees ex-istiag
there and not yet discovered.  It is about tweuty niiles, still
in a southweste4y direction, from Crane Flat to tlie ~Iiriposa
Grove, and that region has been so thoroughly explored by the
Survey, that there is no reason to suppose that any more of these
trees will be fouriri there.
The ~tariposa Grove is situated about sixteen miles directly
south of the Lower Ilotel in the Yosemite Valley, and between
three and four niilei southeast of Clark's Panch, and at an 
128         THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
elevation of about 1,500 feet above tlie last-named place, or of
5,500 feet above tile sea~level.  It lies iii a little valley, occupy.
lug a depression 011 the back of a ridge, which runs along in an
easterly directioii between Big Creek and the South ~Ierced.
Oiie of the bniiiches of the creek heads in the grove.
Tho grant made by Congress is two milcs s(luare, and embraces,
in reality, two distinct, or nearly distinct groves; that is to say,
two collections of Big Trees, betwcen which there is an intervenilig sl)ace without any.  The Upper Grove is in a pretty
compact body, contaillilig, on an area of 3,700 by 2,300 feet in
dimensions, jtist 3b5 trees of the Seq~oia g4qa~~te~e, of a diameter
of one foot aiid over, besides a great number of small ones.  The
lower grove, which is smaller in size aiid nsore scattered, lies in
a southwesterly lirection fi'om the other, some trees growing
quite high ul iii the gulches on the south side of tlie ridge which
separates the two groves.
Tlie trail approaches the Upper Grove from the west side, and
passes through and around it, in such a maimer as to take the
visitor very iiear to alusost all tlie largest trees; to accomplish
this, it ascenils one braiicls of the creek and tlieis crosses over
and dcsceisds tlie other, showiiig that tlse size of tlse trees depeiiils somewhat oil their position in regard to water.  Still,
there arc several very large ones on tlse side hill south of the
creek, (mite lsigli above tlie water.
Several of the trees in this grove have been named, some of
thens, iiideed, half a dozen tiiiies; there are no names, however,
which seem to have beconie current, as is the case in the Cala`veras Grove.  A plan has beeii drawn for the Commissioners,
however, showing each tree, with its exact positioii and size, a
iiumber being attached to each.  The circumference of every
tree iii tlie grove was also carefully measured, and tlse height of
such as coulil be coiiveniently got at for tlsis ptir~)ose.
From tlie fiillowiiig table it will be seen that there are several
trees in this grove larger than any iii the Calavenis, and that
their average size is greater.  Tlie aven~ge height of tlie Alariposa
trees, however, is less than that of tlie Calaveras; aiid the highest of tlie foriiier, 272 feet, is 53 feet less than the tallest one of
the latter.  There is a burned stuns p on the north side of the
grove, ii early all gone, but iiiilicatiiig a tree of a size pethaps a
little greater tliaii aiiy now existilig lsere.  The beauty of the
~~ariposa grove has been sadly marred by the ravages of fire,
which lias evidently swelit through it again aiiil again, almost
riiiiiing niany of the finest trees.  Still, fhe general appearance
of tlse grove iS extremely grand aiid iniposing.  There are about
125 trees over 40 feet in circumference. 
THE I3IG TREES.                          129
TABLE OF MEA8UREMPNT8 OF HEIGHT AND CIRC~MFERENCE
OF TREES IN TilE MARIPOSA GROVE.
Circum              Circum-  ference
No.    Height.  ference  at 6 feet    Remarks.
at    above the
Ground  Ground.
7              72.5
11              62.
12        244   62.....        Very fine symmetrical tree.
15        272........      Fine sound tree.
16..  8(3.5....     31 feet in dian~etcr. Hollow.
20... 72.5    55.         Fine tree.
21......     44.         Very tine tree, not swollen at base.
27        250   48.
29... 89.8
31        186   35.7    29.6        Very straight and symmetrical.
35...   65.     50.8
d8        226   27.
49        194
51        218   56      39.         Very fine tree.
59        249....     40.         Fine tree.
60... 81.6    59.         Very fine tree, hut burned at base.
64... 82.4    50.         Very fine tree
66       221  39 8
69       219    35.
70       225   439
197....     27.8
102       255....     50.         Very fine tree.
158       223
164       243....     27.6
169...   79.6...        Much horned at base.
171... 82 7....        Badly burned on one side.
174       268....     40.8
194       192....     46          Two trees, united at the base.
-       229    87.8....       Much burned on one side, formerly
20o                                   over 100 feet in circuniference.
206       235     704                                  [base.
216......  63.2  Very large tree, much burned at
226       219...   48.   Fine tree.
236       256.... 46.                           [side.
238.......     ~.        26 feet in diameter, burned on one
23~    187...   26.6
245     270       81.6   67.2        Burned on one side.
253...     74.3   60.
262...     56.....         Half horned away at base
275..     68.                                         (tre
286...     76.....         Burned on one side nearly to ceo290.......   46.
301.......   51.
Largest tree in the Grove, 27 feet
394     260       92.7....          in diameter, but all burned away
on one side.
Splendid tree, over 100 5.et in rir330...     91.6....            cumierence originally, hut much
348                             burned at base.
227....   51. 
130         THE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
The preceding table gives tlie beight of all thIt were measured,
and the eireu'i~ferenee of these an~l of several other of the largest
trees in the grove, with some remarks as to their condition and
appearance.
The principal trees assoejated with the Big Trees iii this grove
are: the pitch and sugar pines, the Douglas spruce, the ~~~liite
fir (Piec~ j(re~~c[is), and the bastard cedar (Liboced?~es ~cc~crrens)
the latter so much resembles the Big Tree in tlie gcl~er'd al)pearance of its trunk 50(1 l~ark, that there was no person in our party
who could certainly distinguish the two species at a little distance.
There are but very few of the young Big Trees growioig within
the grove, where probably they have been destroyed by fire
around the base of several of the large trees, on the outskirts of
the grove, there are small plantations of yomig Se~~~oias, of all
sizes, up to six or eight inches in diameter, but nisly a few as
large as this.  Those trees which are about ten feet in diameter
soil entirely uniiijured by fire, in the full synimetsy of a vigorous gi~wtli of say 560 years, are although iiot as stupendous as
tije older giants of tlie forest, still exceedingly beautiful and impressive.
The meadows on ilse Big Tree Grant abound in gay, blooming
flowers.  ~Ir. Bolander enumerates, as the most conspicuous
liitdbrckie ~4iliJ~eriri~i', Gray Aceniticus nas~ctitin', Fischer; Axisocerpi~s i?e[~iii(tcri, Gray; Be ykiii in occid6iite(is, T. & G.; Si~t1cen iicn~i'vcflore, Gray; Afyricc~ ~t[e, L.  Hicisin brevifolin,
Gray; B]) i~ob i icin c'iij(ic5t (Plinas  tft ro trun~ Ci~1tforiiic icac.  A
species of lupine is very abundant, and this, with the Bicdbeckin,
gives the ninin coloring to the meadows, which also abouiid with
numerous ~-arices.
Tise southern division of the ~Iariposa Grove, or Lower Grove,
as it is usually called, is said to contain about half as many trees
as the one just described.  They are ninch scattereil anioiig other
trees and do not, therefore, present as imposing an appearance
as those in the other grove, where quite a large iiumber can often
be seen from one point.  The largest tree in the I~ower Grove is
the one known as the "Grizzly Giant," which is 93 feet 7 inches
in circumference at the ground, and 64 feet 3 iiiches at 11 feet
above.  Its two diameters at the base, as near as we could messure, were 30 and 31 feet.  The calculated diameter, at 11 feet
above the ground, is 20 feet nearly.  The tree is very much injured and decreased in size by burning, for which no allowance
has been made in the above measurements.  Some of the branches
of this tree are fully six feet in diameter, or as large as the trunks
of the largest elms of the Gonnecticut Valley, of which Dr. Holines 
THE BIG TIREES.             131
has so p~easantly discoursed in the Atlantic ~Ionthly.  This tree,
however, has long since passed its prime, and has the battered
anil war-worn apj~arance conveyed by jys naii!e.
The next grove south of the ~Iariposa is one in Fresno County,
about fourteen miles southeast of Clark's, and not far from a
coiispicnous point called ~Vanimelo Rock.  ~fr. Claik has descrihed this grove, which we have not visited, as exteiidiiig for
above two ai~d a half miles in length by from one to two iii
breadth.  He has counte~l 500 trees in it, aiid believes the whole
number to he iiot far from 600.  The largest measuied 81 feet iii
circiiniference, at three feet from the groniid.
No otlier gi'ove of hig Trees has l#~n discovered to the souil~east of this, along t lie slope of the Sierra, nutil we reach a poiiit
more than fifty miles distaiit from tise Fresno Grove.  Here, between the I&ing's and Kaweah rivers, is by far tlie most extensive collectioii of trees of this species which has yet been discovered in the State.
This belt of trees, for grove it can hardly be called, occurs
about thirty miles noitli-northeast of Visalia, on tlie tributanes
of the I&iiig's and I&aweah -ivers, and on the divide between.
They are scattered over the slopes anil on the valleys, but are
larger in the deliressions, where the soil is niore moist.  Along
the trail which nius from  Visalia to the Big ~Ieadows, the belt
is four or five miles W~(lC, and it extends over a vertical range
of about 2,500 feet; its total length is as niuch as eight or ten
miles, and niay be more.  The trees are not collected together
into groves, but are scattered through tlie forests, and associated
with the other species usually occurring at this altitude iii the
Sierra; they are most abundant at froin 6,000 to 7,000 feet elevation above the sea-level.  Their nuniber is great; probably
thousanils might be counted.  Their size, however, is not great,
the average being froii ten to twelve feet in diameter, aiid but
~few excee~liiig 20 feet; but smaller trees are very iiniiierous.
One tree, wlii(~li had been cut, had a diameter of eight feet, Cxelusive of the bark, and was 377 years old.  Tlie largest one
seen was near Thoii~as's ~Iill; this had a circumfereiice of 106
feet near tlie groiiii d, no allo'vaiice being iiiade for a portion
which was burned away at the base. ~Vhen entire the tree may
have been ten or twelve feet in ore in circumference.  At about
tuelve feet from the ground, the circumference was 75 feet.  Its
height was 276 feet.  Tlie top was dead, however, aiid, although
tlie tree was synimetrical and in good growth, it liad passed
its prinie.
Another tree, which liad fallen, and had been burned hollow,
was so large, that three horsemen could ride abreast into the 
132         TllE YOSEMITE GUIDE-BOOK.
cavity for a distance of 30 feet, its height and width being about
11 feet.  At a distance of 70 feet fise ~liarneter of tlie cavity was
still as niucli as eiglst feet.  Tlie base of this tree coril~l not be
eassly isicasured  hut tlse trunk was burised through at 120 feet
from the grouisd, (`I n~l at tlsat point had a diameter (exclusive of the
bark) of 13 feet 2 iisclies; arid, at 169 feet hem its base, the tree
was ijise feet in diameter.  The Indians stated that a still larger
tree existed to the north of King's i~iver.  This tice should he
looked up and carefully measured  unfortunately, it was not in
the l)0'vC~ of our party to do this.
All tlsi'ougli these f\~rests there are numerous young Big Trees,
of all sizes, from tlse sceilling upu~ards  aisd at Tlieisia~'s mill
they are cut up for lumber, ils a manner quite at variaiice with
tlie oft-repeated story of the exceptieiial character of the species.
Prostrate trunks of old trees are also numerous  some of them
must have lain for ages, as they were nearly gelie, while tise
weed is very durable.
The elily other groves yet discovered are those on the Tule
~iver, of which tisere are two, one en the noi'th asid tlie other
on the south brands of that stream.  Tlsey are 15 issiles apart,
and tise niost northerly of tise two is al~out 30 miles from the
grove last descs~bed.  As tise iiiterveiiiiig region has been but
little explored, it is not at all usilikely that niere of tlie Big
Trees may be found along the fork of the Kaweab which intersects this region with its numerous braiselses.  We are not
aware tisat tisese two Tule groves were known previous to their
discovery by ~~r. D'Heureuse, one of the to~~ogra~ihers of the
Geological Survey, in 1867; at least, no notice of thesis liad ever
aIspeare~l in print.  The isrimber of trees iss these groves is quite
large, as they are scattered over several square miles of area.
The largest of them were said by ~Ir. D'lleureuse to be about
the size of tlse largest in the other groves.
Not one of the Big Trees has ever been found soisth of the
grove ess tlie South Fork of the Tisle.  The 1'egion lias not, however, bee is so tlsorouglsly explored that it would be safe to say
that none exist thei'e.  Judgisig froiss the exti~nt of tlie area over
which this sl~e(~ies is scattered, between Kiisg's ais~l Kaweab rivers, it would seem tisat here was its niost congenial habitat, and
it inay evesitnally be feun~l that tisis tree forriss pretty nearly a
ceiitiiinous belt, for some fifty or sixty miles.
Froiii what has beesi statesi alseve, the reader will easily gather
that tlse Pig Tree is iset that wosiderhilly exceptional tliiiig which
~sepular writers luive almost always des~~ribeil it as lseiiig.  It is
siot so restricted in its rasige as seine other species of tlie Cesi#er~ in California; it occurs in great abundance, of all ages and 
TllE BIG TREES.                133
sizes, and there is no renson to snppose that it is now dying out,
or that it belongs to a past geological era, aI)y more than the
rettwood.  Tlie age of the Bi Tree
signed, by the higl~est     ~    5 is iiot so great as that as                  authorities, to some of the L'nglish yews.
~ either is its height as great, by far, as that of an Aiistraliaii
species, the L'~~co1yp1~ts`t~i~yg~I~t/ i~~', Inany of which have, on the
authority of I)r. ~1uller, the emine~jt Government botanist, been
foui~d to measure over 400 feet.  One, indeed, reaches the enornious elevation of 480 feet, tililS overtopping the tallest ~equoi~
by 155 feet.  There are also trees which exceed the Big Tree ill
diameter, n~, for iiist~~iicc, the UsohIb ( I(1(~)t~O?~jc( 1igi~~~la) hut
tl~is sl~ec1&~s is al'v'iys coiii~)aratively lou~, ilot excecdiiig 60 or 70
feet 111 height, it1I(i iiiuch swolleii at the base.
On the whole, it n~ay he stated, that there is no known tree
which al)proaclles tlie SO(1U0j(r in graiidenr, thickness and height
being both taken iiito consideration, uiiless it be the E?~ca1yj)1u3.
The largest Australian tree yet reported is said to be 81 icet in
circumference, at four feet from the ground; this is nearly, but
htr~'est of the
IlOt quite, as large as some of the      Big Trees of
Cal iforma.
ThE E~D.
Cambddge:Printed by Welch, Bigelow, & Co.