Preview
Transcription
who is so engraved that when he reaches the calm (outside) days of reflection he may rejoice in following the forms of both his upper and under lines. [Jan.] 5th. Wind, O. Clouds, a few faint filmy touches through which the sun is shining as through glass. The balminess and springiness from the same fountain as that of yesterday. The blessed larks are aglee with sunshine and fresh grass. [Jan.] 6th. W. W. &N.W. Cloudiness 9/10, black cirrus, cold. A few flossy isolated parcels of mist are floating about loose in the foothills. When the sun was a half hour high in the morning it seemed as if made of silver in a condition a little more liquid and glowing than the silver of the moon, but still without any indistinctness of outline or glare. The sun’s edge was not smooth, but had long unequal leg-like projections as if glowing silver had fallen upon a hard sky and spattered out in ragged rays. This afternoon all magnitudes were greatly exaggerated by the peculiar condition of the atmosphere. Sheep at a short distance looked like oxen, and hills at a mile’s distance appeared to be at least ten miles away. These conditions are oftentimes reversed. One day I observed in looking over the plain a few moving dots on a hillock, and after watching their motions attentively for some minutes fully decided that they were not sheep from my flock but rambling hogs. On approaching them nearly they proved to be oxen!! Variations, mirages, etc. of all kinds are common upon these plains, but I seldom have seen
Date Original
1869
Source
Original journal dimensions: 14 x 18 cm.
Resource Identifier
MuirReel23Journal03P28-29.tif
Publisher
Holt-Atherton Special Collections, University of the Pacific Library
Rights Management
To view additional information on copyright and related rights of this item, such as to purchase copies of images and/or obtain permission to publish them, click here to view the Holt-Atherton Special Collections policies.
Keywords
John Muir, journals, drawings, writings, travel, journaling, naturalist
