Creator
John Muir
Recipient
[James] Cross
Transcription
[illegible] 1981 Yosemite Valley Dec 24th 71
Dear Cross. I have just written a line to Maxwell & of course you are in lively remember- ance as one third of the pleasant [illegible] of the Hoffman excursion. I suppose that you are now bravely housed in Merrie England, & in looking back upon the many broad fields of terrestrial grandeur & beauty, you behold our Yosemite sharply defined, peerless & companionless, would that you might see our mountains now, they are glorious with the generous snows of four days storm, every dome & spire, & every nitch & tablet, has its share of the pure jewels of winter storm. Since you were here I have rambled the upper mtns incessantly untill driven down by deep snows, I am engaged in the study of the ancient glacial system of this region, & am no longer bound to Hutchings or his mill, I will likely go on with my explorations with reference to the dead Yosemite ice rivers for several years & may write a mono- gram for the Boston Academy of Sciences. I was in the great Tuolumne canon a short time ago of wh Hetch Hetchy valley forms a part the Hetch Hetchy occupies exactly the same pos- ition upon the Tuolumne, that the Yosemite does upon the Merced, & both vallies were formed at the same period & by the same forces, & of course
Accession #
their physical characters are closely similar I should enjoy a talk with you Letters are small contrivances of but little value in scientific discussions, though they answer well enough for the conveyance of friendly greetings. I send you an outline sketch of our Hoffman Camp, wh doubtless will touch a happy memory. May the mountain beauty wh you then absorbed remain pictured in you forever, & enrich the whole fabric of your life.
[drawing overtop some writing] Blacks be here all lovely, there valley with whom ought, I would Farewell cordially yrs Muir
valley California (Via Big Oak Flat)
A trail is being made up Indian Canon & another up the face of the mountain to glacier point & a third one is in contemplation for Eagle point via the rigged & tangled canon wh Maxwell said would "puzzle the saints" & wh you called "The Valley"!! #7333 00210
Accession #
their physical characters are closely similar I should enjoy a talk with you Letters are small contrivances of but little value in scientific discussions, though they answer well enough for the conveyance of friendly greetings. I send you an outline sketch of our Hoffman Camp, wh doubtless will touch a happy memory. May the mountain beauty wh you then absorbed remain pictured in you forever, & enrich the whole fabric of your life.
[drawing overtop some writing] Blacks be here all lovely, there valley with whom ought, I would Farewell cordially yrs Muir
valley California (Via Big Oak Flat)
A trail is being made up Indian Canon & another up the face of the mountain to glacier point & a third one is in contemplation for Eagle point via the rigged & tangled canon wh Maxwell said would "puzzle the saints" & wh you called "The Valley"!! #7333 00210
Location
Yosemite Valley
Date Original
1871 Dec 4
Source
Original letter dimensions: 25.5 x 20 cm.
Recommended Citation
Muir, John, "Letter from John Muir to [James] Cross, 1871 Dec 4." (1871). John Muir Correspondence (PDFs). 1409.
https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/muir-correspondence/1409
Resource Identifier
muir02_0601-let.tif
File Identifier
Reel 02, Image 0601
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
Holt-Atherton Special Collections, University of the Pacific Library. 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
Pages
3 pages
Keywords
Environmentalist, naturalist, travel, conservation, national parks, John Muir, Yosemite, California, history, correspondence, letters
