Creator
T[heodore] P. Lukens
Recipient
John Muir
Transcription
Dear Mr. Muir:-
It has been a long time since I have heard from you. I am anxious to know that you and Helen are in good health. We had the pleasure of meeting Wanda and her husband in the Yosemite, where they were apparently enjoying themselves. We went to Yosemite via Wawona, my first trip that way. What a grand and glorious ride through the forests! All seemed grander than ever before. We spent one day in the Merced Grove, and four days about Washburns: we had a little spice on the way in our stage with others was held up, and we were relieved of some of our rubbish by an old mountain acquaintance. While he recognized me all right, he left me to guess who he was, only his eyes and a part of his nose were visible.
Well! I am entirely out of the Government service, the powers in Washington have made it very unpleasant for me the past two years: but I took up the work with this one ambition and hope, namely, to demonstrate the practicability of reforesting our mountains, and with it making a perfect system of fire protection, this I have accomplished. I have worked it all out, but it has required eight years of hard work and study. My compensation in salery has been an average of thirty dollars per month, for the time I was engaged: but the satisfaction of having accomplished that which few believed could be done, and very many declared could not be done is very gratifying: but to continue longer would mean to go hungry and unclothed, so I have gone into the Real Estate business, in which I hope to keep the wolf from the door.
I will never cease to regret your not coming to see my work while I was in charge, you know you are responsible for my deep interest in forestry, and I thank you for it all: but I did want so much to show you my pets and have your blessing upon the hopeful trees, that
[illegible]
03877
[4]
between the two ranges of vessels bringing us very close to some going out and to the others on the return trip, there were twenty two to thirty the day we went with flags and [illegible]ants all flying - they were very pretty, but not so pretty as the quiet view we have every day from our piazza
Every thing is about as usual here,- the breeze is blowing, the birds singing, the sweet peas and [illegible] blooming and we are pretty well.
With love to yourself and all the family I am
Affectionately yours
Joanna M. Brown
July 2nd '07
Port Norfolk Va
[1] [July 2 1907]
Dear brother John:-
I have just received a letter from Margaret telling us of the birth of your grandson, I hasten to congratulate you - and it does not take much wisdom to predict that he will be named John Muir; May he live long and bring joy to his parents and grandfather! I wish your Louie could have
03887
[2]
lived to enjoy him - Please give my loving congratulations to Wanda and her husband - How are you progressing with your new book, and what of your work in the Petrified forests? Please let us know whenever anything new is published. We saw a nice article about you and your work not long ago in a magazine called the Worlds Work
[3]
The Jamestown Exposition is progressing but when our U. S. fleet and all the foreign battleships took leave a week or more ago I think the greatest attraction of exposition was gone for the naval re[illegible]s have been the finest possible. I have not been able to attend the exposition but we all went in a steamer through Hampton Rondo to Old Point Comfort and passed by all the vessels so close as to be able to see them perfectly They were so arranged that [visitors?] could pass right
Location
[place unknown]
Circa Date
[1907 Jun]
Source
Original letter dimensions: 26.5 x 20.5 cm.
Recommended Citation
Lukens, Theodore P., "Letter from T[heodore] P. Lukens to John Muir, [ca. 1907 Jun]." (1907). John Muir Correspondence (PDFs). 3708.
https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/muir-correspondence/3708
Resource Identifier
muir16_0809-let.tif
File Identifier
Reel 16, Image 0809
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
