Creator
John Muir
Recipient
Dav[id Muir]
Transcription
1873 [illegible] [illegible] [illegible] [illegible] [illegible]
Yosemite Valley March 1st 1873
Dear Dave I answer your letter at once be- cause I want to urge you to do what you can in breaking up that wild Caprice of fathers of going to Bristol & Lord Muller You & David Galloway are the only reliable common sense heads in our tribe & it is important when the radical welfare of our parents & sisters are at stake that we should do all that is in our power. I expected a morbid & semifanatical outbreak of this kind as soon as I heard of his breaking free from the wholesome cares of the farm Yet I hoped
thicket of destitution worthy of his benevolence Can you not convince him that the whole world id full of work for the kind & willing heart. Or if you cannot urge him to undertake any inde- pendent charity. Can you not please him in correspondence with some Milwaukee or Chicago society where he would find elbow room for all his importance. An [underlined: earnest] man like father who also has a little money is a valuable acquisition to many societies of a philanthropic kind & I feel sure that if once fairly afloat from this shoal of indolence upon wh he now chafes, that he would sail calmly the yrs now remaining to him At all events tell Mother & the girls that whether this side the sea or that, they need take no uneasiness concerning bread. I am glad you are getting more fresh air into your half shut lungs & stomach. I will be among you some day to see that army of underbrush that has appeared "since I sailed since I sailed, such a crop of babies!! My eyes in the picture may well look unnatural as I was com- pelled to stare about twenty minutes, the day was so dark, Besides I was frightened out of more than half of each of my senses by the blaze & glare of everything around me. With love to Katie & wee ones. I am unchangeably Yours John Muir
that he would find ballast in your town of some sabbath- School or missionary kind that would save him from any violent crisis like the present. That thick matted sod of Bristol orphans, wh is a sort of necess- ary evil, induced by other evils, is all right enough for Muller in England but all wrong for Muir in America The lives of Anna & Joanna accustomed to free wild Nature of our woods if transplanted to artificial fields & dingy towns of England would wilt & shrivel to mere husks, even if they were not to make their life work amid those pinched, & blinking orphans Father in his present feeble- minded condition is sick & requires the most considerate treatment from all who have
access to his thoughts, this moral disease is by no means contemptible for it is only those who are endowed with poetic & enthusiastic brains that are subject to it Most people who are born into the world remain babies all their lives, their development bring arrested like sundried seeds Father is a magnificent baby who instead of dozing contentedly like most of his neighbors suffers growing pains that are ready to usher in the dawn of a higher life But to come to our work can you not induce father to engage in some tract or mission or Sabbath school enterprise that will satisfy his demands for bodily & spiritual exercise Can you not find him some
[illegible]
(Original letter in possession of David Gilrye Muir]
To David Jilrye Muir
Yosemite Valley,
March 1st, 1873,
Dear Dave:
I answer your letter at once because I want to urge you to do what you can in breaking up that wild caprice of father's of going to Bristol and Lord Muller. You and David Galloway are the only reliable common-sense heads in our tribe, and it is important, when the radical welfare of our parents and sisters is at stake, that we should do all that is in our power.
I expected a morbid and semi-fanatical outbreak of this kind as soon as I heard of his breaking free from the wholesome cares of the farm. Yet I hoped that he would find ballast in your town of some Sabbath-school or missionary kind that would save him from any violent crisis like the present. That thick-matted sod of Bristol orphans, which is a sort of necessary evil induced by other evils, is all right enough for Muller in England, but all wrong for Muir in America.
The lives of Anna and Joanna, accustomed to the free wild Nature of our woods, if transplanted to .artificial fields and dingy towns of England, would wilt and shrivel to mere husks, even if they were not to make their life work amid those pinched and blinking orphans.
Father, in his present feeble-minded condition, is sick and requires the most considerate treatment from all who have access to his thoughts, and his moral disease is by no means contemptible, for it is only those who are endowed with poetic and enthusiastic brains that are subject to it.
Most people who are born into the world remain babies all their lives, their development being arrested like sun-dried seeds. Father is a magnificent baby, who, instead of dozing contentedly like most of his neighbors, suffers growing pains that are ready to usher in the dawn of a higher life.
But to come to our work, can you not induce father to engage in some tract or mission or Sabbath-school enterprise that will satisfy his demands for bodily and spiritual exercise? Can you not find him some thicket of destitution worthy of his benevolence? Can you not convince him, that the whole world is full of work for the kind and willing heart? Or, if you cannot urge him to undertake any independent charity, can you not place him in correspondence with some Milwaukee or Chicago society where he would find elbow room for all his importance. An earnest man like father, who also has a little money, is a valuable acquisition to many societies of a philanthropic kind, and I feel sure that if once fairly afloat from this shoal of indolence upon which he now chafes, that he would sail calmly the years now remaining to him.
At all events, tell mother and the girls, that whether this side the sea or that, they need take no uneasiness concerning bread...
John Muir
I am glad you are getting more fresh air into your half shut lungs and stomach. I will be among you some day to see that army of underbrush that has appeared "since I sailed, since I sailed, such a crop of babies!!
My eyes in the picture may well look unnatural, as I was compelled to stare about twenty minutes, the day was so dark. Besides, I was frightened out of more than half of each of my senses by the blaze and glare of everything around me. With love to Katie and wee ones, I am unchangeably yours,
John Muir.
Location
Yosemite Valley
Date Original
1873 Mar 1
Source
Original letter dimensions: 21 x 26 cm.
Recommended Citation
Muir, John, "Letter from John Muir to Dav[id Muir], 1873 Mar 1." (1873). John Muir Correspondence (PDFs). 1515.
https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/muir-correspondence/1515
Resource Identifier
muir02_1077-let.tif
File Identifier
Reel 02, Image 1077
Collection Identifier
Online finding aid for the microform version of the John Muir Correspondence http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt0w1031nc
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
