Creator
John Muir
Recipient
[Annie Kennedy] Bidwell
Preview
Transcription
In Camp near Austin Nevada, Aug’ 6th, 1878 —Dear Mr Bidwell What magnificent floods of sunshine we have here; open, shadeless, unmitiagated sunglow & [Boo?] how hot it is riding all day on the gray plains. We set out from Sacrament on horseback & though but fairly begun have already ridden 700 miles across plains & mountains [ Mary O.?] We spent the 4th of July at glorious Tahoe sailed once more around the lake enjoying the ravishing beauty of the water. Thence we pushed eastward to the Wassuck mountains near Walker Lake Thence North to old Fort Churchill on the Carson – was delighted to find the ancient outlet of the Walker River basin. It flowed from the North end of Mason Valley into the Carson opposite the old fort. It appears therefore that the great Carson & Humboldt Sink also received the waters of Walker River towards the close of the Glacier Period. From the fort we pushed off in a North Easterly direction across the Sink & ascended the gray ashy looking range that bounds it on the East. How the sun shone, & how the burning air wavered & ripped – strange that even the very sunlight may become dreary The gray alkaline levels have a weird mysterious influence. Yet there is no real cause to make one lose his senses. The delicate pink Abronia is in full bloom, & one sunflower & a leguminous bush with purple flowers, & even the Sage is beautiful if one only takes the times to look at it deliberately.
Location
In Camp near Austin Nevada
Date Original
1878 Aug 6
Source
Original letter dimensions unknown.
Resource Identifier
muir03_0868-let.tif
File Identifier
Reel 03, Image 0868
Copyright Status
Copyrighted
Copyright Statement
The unpublished works of John Muir are copyrighted by the Muir-Hanna Trust. To purchase copies of images and/or obtain permission to publish or exhibit them, see http://www.pacific.edu/Library/Find/Holt-Atherton-Special-Collections/Fees-and-Forms-.html
Owning Institution
The Bancroft Library, University of California at Berkeley. Please contact this institution directly to obtain copies of the images or permission to publish or use them beyond educational purposes.
Copyright Holder
Muir-Hanna Trust
Copyright Date
1984
Page Number
Page 1
Keywords
John Muir, correspondence, letters, author, writing, naturalist, California, correspondent, mail, message, post, exchange of letters, missive, notes, epistle
