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Kimes Entry Number
185
Original Date
11-1-1891
Publication
The Century Magazine, v. 43, no. 1
Page/Column
pp. 77-97
Excerpt/Portion of
In this article Muir used edited portions of no. 47.
Reprint/Offprint
For a reprint, see: no. 387; no. 419, pp. 102-126, [246]-248; no. 456; no. 459.
Recommended Citation
Muir, John, "A Rival of the Yosemite. The Canon of the South Fork of King's River, California." (1891). John Muir: A Reading Bibliography by Kimes, 1986 (Muir articles 1866-1986). 208.
https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/jmb/208
William and Maymie Kimes Annotation
""In the vast Sierra wilderness far to the southward of the famous Yosemite Valley, there is yet a grander valley of the same kind."" Muir, who had made four excursions into this area, the first as early as 1873, describes the valley and its surrounding canyons in knowledgeable and intriguing detail. He contrasts the wildness of the region in his early visits with the damage caused by sheep. More startling, however, was the devastation along Mill Creek and the higher forest belt where the lumber mills had doubled in number since his first visit. He writes: ""It seems incredible that Government should have abandoned so much of the forest cover of the mountains to destruction. As well sell the rain clouds, and the snow, and the rivers, to be cut up and carried away if that were possible. Surely it is high time that something be done to stop the extension of the present barbarous, indiscriminating method of harvesting the lumber crop."" He concludes by urging that ""all of this wonderful King's River region, together with the Kaweah and Tule sequoias, should be comprehended in one grand national park. Let the law-givers make haste before it is too late .... ""