Creator

John Muir

Recipient

[Louie Strentzel Muir]

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Transcription

scarce at all injured by the pounding & grinding she has undergone, & sailing home seems nothing more than crossing San Francisco bay. We have added a large territory to the domain of the United States & amassed a grand lot of knowledge of one sort & another. Now we sail from her tomorrow for Cape [Lisburne?] or if stormy to Plover Bay to cool & repair our rudder wh is a little weak. Thence we will go again around the margin of the main polar pack about Wrangel Land but not into it, & possibly discover a clear way to land upon it again & obtain more of its geography, then leave the arctic about the 10th of Sep’ call at St Michaels & at Oonalaska & then straight home. I shall not write at length now as this is to go down by the Legal Tender who sails in a few days & expects to reach S.F. by the 20th of Sep, but we may reach home nearly as soon as she. I have to dash off a letter for the Bulletin tonight yet, though I ought to go to bed, Not a word of it is yet written. We came poking & feeling our way along this icy shore a few hrs ago through the fog little thinking that a letter from you was just ahead. Then the fog lifted & we saw four whalers at anchor & a strange vessel. When the Captain of the Belvidere shouted “Letters for you Captain” by the Legal Tender” wh was the strange vessel. Our hearts leaped, & a boat was speedily sent along side. I got the letter package & handed them round, & yours love was the very last in the package & dreaded there was none. The Rodgers has not yet been heard from [in margin: Goodbye love I shall soon be home. Love to all. My wee lass-love she] [in margin: One of the whale ships was caught here & crushed in the ice & sunk in 20 minutes a month ago.]

Location

Point Barrow, [Alaska]

Date Original

1881 Aug 16

Source

Original letter dimensions: 25.5 x 20.5 cm.

Resource Identifier

muir04_0688-let.tif

File Identifier

Reel 04, Image 0688

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The unpublished works of John Muir are copyrighted by the Muir-Hanna Trust.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

University of the Pacific Library Holt-Atherton Special Collections. 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 2

Keywords

John Muir, correspondence, letters, author, writing, naturalist, California, correspondent, mail, message, post, exchange of letters, missive, notes, epistle

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