Creator

Helen Muir

Recipient

Wolfe, Linnie Marsh

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'■■ highest San Francisco peak, and then in a wagon with a team we went north of Flagstaff through the Painted Desert and the Navajo reservation to the Little Colorado and it's canyon where it joins the Grand Canyon. A grand trip, never to be forgotten. The man who owned the hors- and light wagon did the very simple cooking, and I was not allowed to lift a finger with the camp work. I was sitting in the wagon after supper one evening enjoying the sunset, and Papa was fixing the beds, and the man of work washing up our dishes, when a young Navajo rode quietly into camp and sat his horse while he looked us over. He kept turning to me with puzzele.d eyes and frank disaproval because I was iiie and the men working. After a week spent along the rim of the Canyon we came back to Flagstaff and went on to Williams oy train, the following day going to the Canyon where we spent several days riding along the rim and thrugh the pine woods. Then we returned home. Tom and Wanda were living in the back of the old home, but Tom had not yet gotten any repairing done to chimneys or walls, and Papa was much disgusted, as he had wanted things fixed up when I got home. However he attended to it himself and later had the lower rooms remodaled, bought drapes and hangings and new rugs for me, and soon we had a lovely home. We hired a Jap boy to cook and clean, and I taught him to answer the phone and the door bell. That left me free all morning to be in Papa's study to answer his letters, and type his manuscripts. After lunch I was to ride horseback, or go for walks if Papa, could toe with me. That summer Tallulah Le Conte Elston and lone Garnett Rainy, toot^h minus the last names then, spent much time-w- with me,AJ^s^Aof-the time when Papa had to be away on short trips, and then we had with us an old lady, who had long "been a friend of my mother's, Mrs. Hathaway, a dear understanding old lady whom we girls all loved. When Papa was "busy with writing I had no company, my time was all for him. That was our happy year. We were closer then than ever "before, and while my health was good I was no longer a worry to Papa. I spent some time planting roses around the grounds and climbers on the walls, and beds of Shasta daisies on the sunny side of the old. garden, violets in the shade. I was so fond of violets I could scarcely have enough of them, so Papa always brought me a bunch fromSan Francisco on his weekly trips there. Violets and candy, just like a lover. Happy days gone, tout I dont forget them. Sometime during this year (1906 - 7) Papa wrote to some famous Geologist in Scotland, sending him specimens of his carboniferous wood, asking him his opinion. This man whose name I have forgotten, 'but whose opinion Papa valued, replied promptly and agreed with all Papa's f indingd. I think Papa, also wrote to someone in England with the same results, tout I am not certain of that. He kept the Scotch Geologist's letter, I wish we could find it. And those Arizona notetoooks, they have ca,used me many sleepless nights wondering atoout them, And I have decided that Papa must have put them in the Bank in his "box where he sometimes kept his most valutole / •-.■ \ r

Location

San Bernardino, Calif.

Date Original

January 1943

Circa Date

[1943]

Page Number

18

Resource Identifier

MSS048 Vb.7

Copyright Statement

Some material related to John Muir may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

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.

Keywords

John Muir, biography, reminiscence, colleagues, contemporaries, archives, special collections, University of the Pacific, California, Holt-Atherton Special Collections, history, naturalist

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