Creator
Annie L. Muir
Recipient
Louie [Muir]
Transcription
Lincoln, Neb.,
Aug. 6, '88.
Dear Louie and all the household :
I arrived here last Wed. at 1:30 P.M., having been delayed nearly two hours about 40 miles from here by the giving out of the engine which brought us over the mountains. The day being excessively warm this was no small discomfort, but Dan was at the depot to meet me, which was a surprise, as I had not attempted to announce the hour of my arrival, so uncertain were all our movements.
I had begun to feel very tired the day before, and at Denver we were changed to chair cars, in which I found it impossible to sleep or rest much. Consequently I found myself very weary, dusty, and worn, and so glad to leave the cars and enter a clean quiet room once more. But until this morning the weather here has been very warm day and night and on three of the five nights which I have spent here we have had a good energetic thunderstorm with wind and torrents of rain. On the second evening after I came, while the storm was on, Dan went out to do something by way of preparation and just after a flash of lightning touched a water pipe with his thumb, when it was immediately doubled up with a jerk, and a sharp pain ran up his arm. But it was all over in an instant, and he suffered no inconvenience from it.
They have had plentiful rains all summer, and the country looks beautiful -- green and fresh -- not a faded leaf anywhere. The corn is said to be an unusually fine growth and crop -- 13 ft. being nothing uncommon for a stalk and bearing from three to five fine ears. And the sun-flowers, which are very numerous here, grow to an incredible height. A man came into Dan's office since I have been here and stated that he and a 14 year old boy went out into the country near here a few days ago, and seeing a remarkably large sun-flower the boy undertook to climb it, and did so, reaching the top and breaking off a flower. It was afterwards measured and proved to be 14 ft. high. This is vouched for as a fact.
But to go back to my journey as far back as Salt Lake. We reached that city at 3:30 P.M. instead of early morning, and so were too late for the services in the tabernacle, which was a disappointment. But a Mormon man came through the cars before we reached the place, taking names at one dollar apiece for a ride in carriages about the city to all the places of interest (which were pointed out and explained to us) and a dinner at the best hotel and returned to the train in time for starting. As this was the best we could do in the time, many bought tickets, I with the others, and it proved delightfully satisfactory in every respect. We were taken to the tabernacle and admitted to a sight of an immense audience room, said to seat 9000 people, and to accomodate 12,000 when pressed to its uttermost capacity. The organ which was built in the building is one of the largest in the world. We also saw the Temple, which is still unfinished.
I go to Crete tomorrow, where I will probably stay about a week, soon after which I will start for Wis. Please let me find a letter awaiting me there, for I long for news of you all, and especially of the little girlies of whom I find myself speaking and thinking very often. Anite has grown very lovely and charming. The other little girls are not quite so pretty as when I last saw them. Love to all from
Annie L. Muir
Location
Lincoln, Nebr.
Date Original
1888 Aug 6
Source
Original letter dimensions: 20 x 25.5 cm.
Recommended Citation
Muir, Annie L., "Letter from Annie L. Muir to Louie [Muir], 1888 Aug 6." (1888). John Muir Correspondence (PDFs). 1773.
https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/muir-correspondence/1773
Resource Identifier
muir05_1114-trans.tif
File Identifier
Reel 05, Image 1114
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
Copyright status unknown
Copyright Statement
Some letters written 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
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.
Pages
3 pages
Keywords
Environmentalist, naturalist, travel, conservation, national parks, John Muir, Yosemite, California, history, correspondence, letters
