Creator
[John Muir]
Recipient
[Annie] Wanda [Muir]
Transcription
[letterhead]
Aug. 1 1888
My dear Wanda
Your nice good letter came yesterday & I was very glad to get it far gladder then you know for I had not heard a word from home since I left you all. & when I got to this town I went very quick & in a very anxious frame of mind to the post office expecting to find five or six letters but there was none at all & I was very sorry for I wanted so much to hear that you & Helen & Mama & everybody were well. I had to go to a hotel & felt very sad & had a sore heart. Keith got two letters & next day his wife came. He said, "never mind Muir everybody is well at your house & things are so smooth
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& regular they never thought there was anything to write about. but you will get a letter soon anyway. Then I went again to the post office & waited a long time for my turn & asked the main in the office if there was a letter for John Muir & spelled the name for him, M.u i. r but after looking over a big lot of letters he said No, & shook his head. Then I went again & again until I thought there was no use going any more but Keith said yesterday "Muir lets go to the Post Office You are sure to get a letter today" & so I went with him as I was soon going to leave Seattle & I thought I must try once more before going away
[2]
[letterhead]
into the woods & sure enough the man gave me your letter & I opened it & looked anxiously down the page until I came to the place where you said we are all well & I was very glad for I was afraid that Helen might be sick then I read all the letter & found it very interesting from beginning to end.
Papa has not been very well since he left home but feels better now
Yesterday Mr. Keith & I went on a little steamboat to Port Blakeley across the sound from here & looked at the big sawmills & walked into the woods to see the trees & the flowers & we had a good time & got back here at
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of them lean over & spread on the ground like vines. All the ground is covered with them for miles & miles. The leaves are large & firm & handsome & the flowers are pink bells. I wish you could see them here are a few that I gathered for you but they will all be withered before you get them some day I will take you into these beautiful wild woods & there you will see the deal little vine that is called Linnean I found one flower for you most of the flowers have faded a month ago.
Your rhyme or rim as you
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[in margin: give my love to everybody at both homes & take good care of little Helen Your loving Father]
call it is very good I think & I hope you will send me some more. Tell mama that I expected to leave this town three or four days ago,. but had to wait for others to get ready Tomorrow we go across the mtns by the [Snowhomish?] Falls then through the woods by Green River to Mt Ranier. Guess I will not be able to climb to the top of it, & the weather is not safe but I will see some of the glaciers at least & the grand old trees
Goodbye send your next letters to Portland In about 2 weeks I may be there
Location
Seattle, W[ashington] T[erritory]
Date Original
1888 Aug 1
Source
Original letter dimensions: 26.5 x 15.5 cm.
Recommended Citation
Muir, John, "Letter from [John Muir] to [Annie] Wanda [Muir], 1888 Aug 1." (1888). John Muir Correspondence (PDFs). 1772.
https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/muir-correspondence/1772
Resource Identifier
muir05_1098-let.tif
File Identifier
Reel 05, Image 1098
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
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
Pages
6 pages