The John Muir Newsletter, Summer 2000

u Volume 10, Number 3 oi. Summer 21)01) NEWSLETTER Reconstruction of John Muir\u27s First Public Lecture, Sacramento, 1876 by Steve Pauly, Pleasant Hill, California WEditor\u27s Note: This is Part IV of Steve Pauly\u27s article recreating John Muir\u27s first public talk; the earlier parts appeared in 1999 issues.) OSEMITE CREEK GLACIER The broad, many-fountained glacier to which the basin of Yosemite Creek belonged, was about fourteen miles in BSngth by four in width, and in many places was not less than a ^thousand feet in depth. Its principal tributaries issued from lofty .iphitheatres laid well back among the northern spurs of the ifloffmann range. These at first pursued a westerly course; then, Sihiting with each other and absorbing a series of small affluents from the Tuolumne divide, the trunk thus formed swept round : to the south in a series of small affluents from the Tuolumne ide. The trunk thus formed swept round to the south in a s magnificent curve, and poured its ice into Yosemite in cascades two miles wide. This broad glacier formed a kind of wrinkled !|te-cloud. As it grew older, it became more regular and river- like; encircling peaks overshadowed its upper fountains, rock islets rose at intervals among its shallowing currents, and its Bright sculptured banks, nowhere overflowed, extended in massive simplicity all the way to its mouth. As the ice-winter iidrew near a close, the main trunk, becoming torpid, at length iiwholly disappeared in the sun, and a waiting multitude of plants |jpd animals entered the new valley to inhabit the mansions prepared for them. In the meantime the chief tributaries, (creeping slowly back into the shelter of their fountain shadows, Monlinued to live and work independently, spreading moraine soil for gardens, scoping basins for lakelets, and leisurely Completing the sculpture of their fountains. These also have at |||st vanished, and the whole basin is now full of light. Forests jjjourish luxuriantly over all its broad moraines, lakes and lleadows nestle among its domes, and a thousand flowery lens are outspread along its streams. HOFFMANN GLACIER jjf The short, swift-flowing Hoffman Glacier offered a UNIVERSITY OR striking contrast to the Yosemite Creek, in the energy and directness of its movements, and the general tone and tendencies of its life. The erosive energy of the latter was diffused over a succession of low boulderlike domes. Hoffmann Glacier, on the contrary, moved straight to its mark, making a descent of 5,000 feet in about five miles, steadily deepening and contracting its current, and finally thrusting itself against the upper portion of Yosemite in the form of a wedge of solid ice, six miles in length by four in width. The concentrated action of this energetic glacier, combined with that of the Tenaya, accomplished the greater portion of the work of the disinterment and sculpture of the great Half Dome, North Dome, and the adjacent rocks. Its fountains, ranged along the southern slopes of the main Hoffmann ridge, gave birth to a series of flat, wing-shaped tributaries, separated from one another by picturesque walls built of massive blocks, bedded and jointed like masonry. The story of its death is not unlike that of the Yosemite Creek, though the declivity of its channel and equal exposure to sun-heat prevented any considerable portion from passing through a torpid condition. It was first burned off on its lower course; then, creeping slowly back, lingered a while at the base of its mountains to finish their sculpture, and encircle them with a zone of moraine soil for gardens and forests. The gray slopes of Mount Hoffmann are singularly barren in aspect, yet the traveler who is- so fortunate as to ascend them will find himself in the very loveliest gardens of the Sierra. The lower banks and slopes of the basin are plushed with chaparral rich in berries and bloom — a favorite resort for bears; while the middle region is planted with the most superb forest of silver-fir I ever beheld. Nowhere are the cold footsteps of ice more warmly covered with light and life. TENAYA GLACIER The rugged, strong-limbed Tenaya Glacier was about twelve miles long, and from half a mile to two and a half miles wide. Its depth varied from near 500 to 2,000 feet, according as its current was outspread in many channels or (continued on page 3) PACIFIC page 1 News & Notes MY INTRODUCTION TO JOHN MUIR AND HIS PAPERS By Ron Limbaugh (Editor\u27s Note: The Director of the John Muir Center, R.H. Limbaugh, has retired from the University of the Pacific, and will be very much missed by staff and colleagues. We invited Ron to share with our readers how he became hooked on John Muir thirty years ago.) John Muir was not well known when I was a boy, and neither was his nature philosophy. Like Muir after he came to Wisconsin, I was raised on a small farm. We lived in the southwest corner of Idaho, where I grew up facing nature daily in the form of cows, sheep, hogs, chickens, draft horses, row crops and dirt. Life for late Depression small farmers was a series of confrontations with unpredictable natural enemies: weeds, coyotes, duststorms, insects, frost, too much or too little rain, and big farmers. Those who think those farmers learned to respect the land by trying to earn a living from it are unaware of small farm life and culture in America from the 1860s to the Second World War. To escape the drudgery of farm life, I loved to walk the hills of Idaho and, as I grew older, the mountains in the high country attracted me. In those days an hour\u27s ride out of Boise led to spectacular wilderness areas where it was possible to roam afoot for days without crossing a fence or seeing another human being, although wildlife was plentiful. Once I crossed a ridge line in the central Idaho wilds and found myself looking down on a herd of mountain goats, probably a dozen or two. Today Idaho\u27s wild goat herd doubtless has been hit hard after 40 years of growth, while there are hardly more than a dozen in the whole State of California. I left my home state in 1966 without looking back, heading for California and a job at the University of the Pacific. By that time I had read about the conservation movement but had only cursory knowledge. In those days courses in the Westward Movement started with Frederick Jackson Turner and ended when the frontier closed in 1890.1 knew I had a lot more to learn after the chair of the history department at UOP, said to me during the hiring interview: Well, being a western historian you must be well acquainted with John Muir. I made sure I was well acquainted before the next time we met. My life changed about 1969, when I was invited to help organize and catalog the manuscript collections that had accumulated in what later became the special collections branch of the university library. In those days it was called the California History Foundation. My colleague in the history department, Richard Coke Wood, was also Executive Secretary of the Conference of California Historical Societies, an umbrella organization established on the UOP campus in 1947 by Rockwell Hunt, former dean at the University of Southern California. Hunt and Wood, along with Leland Case, co-founder of Westerners International, all had a role in developing a research library that had substantial primary resources, including approximately 100 linear feet of manuscripts. Since I had been historical librarian and archivist at the Idaho State Historical Society, I took a one-course release from the history department and joined the Foundation staff as curator of manuscripts. A year later the John Muir papers came to UOP. The principal actors in the drama of bringing the Muir papers to UOP were John Muir\u27s grandchildren, especially Jean Hanna Clark and her brother Richard Hanna. The family had never relinquished legal title to their grandfather\u27s personal papers, although for years the bulk of the collection was in the custody of the Pacific School of Religion at Berkeley, and then Bancroft Library. During the 1960s, the preservation of the papers became an issue, and Bancroft officials were anxious to acquire legal title so they could begin processing the papers, uncataloged and stored in Bancroft\u27s basement. The Hanna family began looking for alternative repositories, and, fortunately for the University of the Pacific, the Hannas knew UOP personally. Several were graduates, including one grandchild of John Muir. In addition, the two most prominent Muir bibliographers, Bill and Maymie Kimes, were UOP alumni and advisors to the family. Thus, Jean Hanna\u27s offer to give UOP custody was a logical development. Once the decision was made, it fell to me to work out the details, starting with the task of bringing the papers to UOP. I must admit that it was a curious feeling to back a station wagon up to Bancroft Library doors and physically haul away the invaluable Muir collection. We saw some long faces among Bancroft Library staff that day, but the impact of the event didn\u27t really hit until I began the task of organizing and cataloging the collection. Once I put my hands on the precious field journals, well-worn in their fragile bindings, I was hooked as a Muir scholar, and have been thoroughly engrossed in Muir studies ever since. N E W S L E TT E R Volume 10, Number 3 Summer 2000 Published quarterly by The John Muir Center for Regional Studies University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA 95211 ♦ Staff 0 Editor Sally M. Miller Production Assistants . . . Marilyn Norton, Pearl Piper All photographic reproductions are courtesy of the John Muir Papers, Holt-Atherton Department of Special Co/lections, University of the Pacific Libraries. Copyright 1984 Muir-Hanna Trust. This Newsletter is printed on recycled paper. page 2 Reconstruction of John Muir\u27s First Public Lecture, by Steve Pauly (continued. . .) compressed in one. Instead of drawing its supplies directly from the summit fountains, it formed one of the principal outlets of the Tuolumne mer de glace, issuing at once from this noble source, a full-grown glacier two miles wide and more than a thousand feet deep. It flowed in a general southwesterly direction, entering Yosemite at the head, between Half and ::; North Domes. In setting out on its life-work it moved slowly, spending its strength in ascending the Tuolumne divide, and in ding a series of parallel sub-channels leading over into the : broad, shallow basin of Lake Tenaya. Hence, after uniting its uiHin current, which had been partially separated in crossing the divide, and receiving a swift-flowing affluent from the fountains I of Cathedral Peak, it set forth again with renewed vigor, pouring massive floods over the southwestern rim of the basin in a ■ . fcs of splendid cascades; then, crushing heavily against the ge of Clouds Rest, curved toward the west, quickened its part-, focalized its wavering currents, and bore down upon lemite with its whole concentrated energy. Toward the end .he ice-period, and while the upper tributaries of its Hoffmann companion continued to grind rock-meal for coming sts, the whole body of Tenaya became torpid, withering ■\u27iltaneously from end to end, instead of dying gradually from foot upward. Its upper portion separated into long parallel \u3es extending between the Tenaya basin and Tuolumne mer • glace. These, together with the shallow ice-clouds of the basin, melted rapidly, exposing broad areas of rolling rock- ve s and glossy pavements, on whose channclless surface s\u27x ran everywhere wild and free. There are no very extensive morainal accumulations of any sort in the basin. The largest ir on the divide, near the Big Tuolumne Meadows, and on ■ sloping ground northwest of Lake Tenaya. For a distance of six miles from its mouth the pathway of noble glacier is a simple trough from 2,000 to 3,000 feet p, countersunk in the solid granite, with sides inclined at li.ujes with the horizon of from thirty to fifty degrees. Above this its grand simplicity is interrupted by huge moutoneed ridges ending in the general direction of its length over into the in of Lake Tenaya. Passing these, and crossing the bright el ■ ial pavements that border the lake, we find another series idges, from 500 to 1,200 feet in height, extending over the \u27 ide to the ancient Tuolumne ice-fountain. Their bare ■toneed forms and polished surfaces indicate that they were ovciswept, existing at first as mere boulders beneath the mighty glacier that flowed in one unbroken current between Cathedral k and the southeast shoulder of the Hoffmann range. VADA OR SOUTH LYELL GLACIER The South Lyell Glacier was less influential than the last, bm longer and more symmetrical, and the only one in the reed system whose sources extended directly to the main summits on the axis of the chain. Its numerous ice-wombs, now ,tly barren, range side by side in three distinct series at an elevation above sea-level of from 10,000 lo 12,000 feet. The first series on the right side of the basin extends from the itterhorn to Cathedral Peak in a northwesterly direction a distance of about twelve miles. The second series extends in the same direction along the left side of the basin in the summits of the Merced group, and is about six miles in length. The third is iihniil nine miles long, and extends along the head of the basin direction at right angles to that of the others, and unites : with them at their southeastern extremities. The three ranges of units in which these fountains are laid, and the long continuous ridge of Clouds Rest, enclose a rectangular basin, leaving an outlet near the southwest corner opposite its principal neve fountains, situated in the dark jagged peaks of the Lyell group. The main central trunk, lavishly fed by these numerous fountains, was from 1,000 to 1,400 feet in depth, from three- fourths of a mile to a mile and a half in width, and about fifteen miles in length. It first flowed in a northwesterly direction for a few miles, then curving toward the left, pursued a westerly course, and poured its shattered cascading currents down into Yosemite between Half Dome and Mount Starr King. Could we have visited Yosemite toward the close of the glacial period, we should have found its ice-cascades vastly more glorious than their tiny water representatives of the present hour. One of the most sublime of these was formed by that portion of the South Lyell current which descended the broad, rounded shoulder of Half Dome. The whole glacier resembled an oak with a gnarled swelling base and wide-spreading branches. Its banks, a few miles above Yosemite, were adorned with groups of picturesque rocks of every conceivable form and mode of combination, among which glided swift-descending effluents, mottled with black slates from the summits, and gray granite blocks from ridges and headlands. One of the most interesting facts relating to the early history of this glacier is, that the lofty cathedral spur forming the northeast boundary of its basin was broken through and overflowed by deep ice- currents from the Tuolumne region. The scored and polished gaps eroded by them in their passage across the summit of the spur, trend with admirable steadiness in a northeasterly and southwesterly direction; a fact of great importance, considered in its bearings upon questions relating to the universal ice-sheet. Traces of a similar overflow from the northeast occur on the edges of the basins of all the Yosemite glaciers. The principal moraines of the basin occur in short, irregular sections scattered along the sides of the valleys, or spread in rough beds in level portions of their bottoms, without manifesting subordination to any system whatever. This fragmentary condition is due to interruptions caused by portions of the sides of the valleys being too precipitous for moraine matter to rest upon and to breaking and down-washings of torrents and avalanches of winter snow. The obscurity resulting from these causes is further augmented by forests and underbrush, making a patient study of details indispensable to the recognition of their unity and simple grandeur. The south lateral moraine of the lower portion of the trunk may be traced about five miles, from the mouth of the north tributary of Mount Clark to the canon of Illilouette, though simplicity of structure has in most places been prevented by the nature of the ground and by the action of a narrow margin glacier which descended against it with variable pressure from cool, shadowy slopes above. The corresponding section of the right lateral, extending from the mouth of Cathedral tributary to Half Dome, is far more perfect in structure, because of the evenness of the ground, and because the ice-wing which curved against Clouds Rest and descended against it was fully exposed to the sun, and was, therefore, melted long before the main trunk, allowing the latter to complete the formation of this section of its moraine undisturbed. Some conception of its size and general character may be obtained by following the Clouds Rest and Yosemite trail, which crosses it obliquely, leading past several cross-sections made by small streams. A few slate boulders from the Lyell group may be seen, but the main mass of the moraine is composed of ordinary granite and porphyry, the latter having been derived from Feldspar and Cathedral valleys. page 3 Reconstruction of John Muir\u27s First Public Lecture, by Steve Pauly (continued. . .) The elevation of the top of the moraine near Cathedral tributary is about 8,100 feet; near Half Dome, 7,600. It rests upon the side of the valley at angles varying from fifteen to twenty-five degrees, and in many places is straight and uniform as a railroad embankment. The greatest depth of the glacier between Clouds Rest and Mount Starr King, measuring from the highest points of its lateral moraines, was 1,300 feet. The recurrence of ridges and terraces on its sides indicate oscillations in the level of the glacier, probably caused by clusters of cooler or snowier seasons which no doubt diversified the great glacial winter, just as clusters of sunny or stormy days occasion fluctuations in the level of the streams and prevent monotony in our annual winters. When the depth of the South Lyell Glacier diminished to about 500 feet, it became torpid, on account of the retardation caused by the roughness and crookedness of its channel. But though it henceforth made no farther advance of its whole length, it possessed feeble vitality — in small sections, of exceptional slope or depth, maintaining a squirming and swedging motion, while it lay dying like a wounded serpent. The numerous fountain wombs continued fruitful long after the lower valleys were developed and vitalized with sun-heat. These gave rise to an imposing series of short residual glaciers, extending around three sides of the quadrangle basin, a distance of twenty-four miles. Most of them have but recently succumbed to the demands of the changing seasons, dying in turn, as determined by elevation, size, and exposure. A few still linger in the loftiest and most comprehensive shadows, actively engaged upon the last hieroglyphics which will complete the history of the South Lyell Glacier, forming one of the noblest and most symmetrical sheets of ice manuscripts in the whole Sierra. ILLILOUETTE The broad, shallow glacier that inhabited the basin of Illilouette more resembled a lake than a river, being nearly half as wide as it was long. Its greatest length was about ten miles, and its depth perhaps nowhere much exceeded 700 feet. Its chief fountains were ranged along the western side of the Merced spur at an elevation of about 10,000 feet. These gave birth to magnificent affluents, flowing in a westerly direction to several miles, in full independence, and uniting near the center of the basin. The principal trunk curved northward, grinding heavily against the lofty wall forming its left bank, and finally poured its ice into Yosemite by the South Canon between Glacier Point and Mount Starr King. All the phenomena relating to glacial action in this basin are remarkably simple and orderly, on account of the sheltered positions occupied by its principal fountains with reference to the unifying effects of ice-currents from the main summits of the chain. A fine general view, displaying the principal moraines sweeping out into the middle of the basin from Black, Red, Gray, and Clark mountains may be obtained from the eastern base of the cone of Starr King. The right lateral of the tributary which took its rise between Red and Black mountains is a magnificent piece of ice-work. Near the upper end, where it is joined to the shoulder of Red Mountain, it is 250 feet in height, and displays three well marked terraces. From the first to the second to the third, ninety-five feet, and inclination twenty-five degrees; and from the third to the bottom of the channel, seventy feet, made at an angle of nineteen degrees. The smooth-ness of the uppermost terrace shows that it is considerably more ancient than the others, many of the blocks of which it was composed having crumbled to sand. A few miles farther down, the moraine has an average slope in front of about twenty-seven degrees, and an elevation above the bottom of the channel of six hundred and sixty-six feet. More than half of the side of the channel from the top is covered with moraine matter, and overgrown with a dense growth of chaparral, composed of manzanita, cherry, and castanopsis. Blocks of rose- colored granite, many of them very large, occur at intervals all the way from the western base of Mount Clark to Starr King, indicating exactly the course pursued by the ice when the north divide of the basin was overflowed, Mount Clark