Creator
John Bidwell
Recipient
John Muir
Transcription
Chico, Nov 29, 1877
Dear Mr Muir
Your P. card dated “Sequoia Woods on Kings River, Oct 21st”, has just come by tonight’s mail! Must have gone via Shasta & Lassen to Mt Hood and back, or some other longer way round! By this time you must of course have returned to civilization. To write you fully, I have not time – to do justice to your in imitable letter from Sacramento (about a week after your departure) would be impossible! What did finally become of “Snag Jumper”? I never did before allow any man to leave Chico with quite so bad an out- fit! Supposing that you had directed my “naval constructor” just how to do, I gave the matter no thought whatever, and never saw the nondescript till
[Page 2]
we reached the river! The very sight of it caused me go down into my boots- and I still go deeper and deeper every time I think of it! Mrs. Bidwell is very well, and we are rejoiced to hear from you. Miss Sallie left for the East Oct. 16th; visiting (by way of episode) Lake Tahoe and Virginia City and down to the 1900 foot level in the mines! Mrs Bidwell went as far on the way as Battle Mountain. Sister reached home safely of course – 1207 N Street, [ Washn?] D.C.. For days after your de- parture from Rancho Chico there was one thought uppermost – one unvarying question! [underlined: Where was Mr Muir]! No matter what question I asked, it would be answered by another, “Where do you think Mr Muir is?” “Am afraid he is drowned.” And the inquiries still go on with unabated anxiety. So you
will learn that you are not forgotten, nor soon likely to be at Rancho Chico – or Washington. Since your embarkation, we have made a good road to the river at a point lower down, but it is to be extended up to that famous point. Please let us have a few lines as soon as convenient, to assure us of your safety and whereabouts, and when we may expect to see you at Rancho Chico, - and believe me, Mrs Bidwell joining in warmest regards, ever and Very Truly Yours John Bidwell
John Muir Esq Scientific Explorer &c
00759
Location
Chico, [Calif]
Date Original
1877 Nov 29
Source
Original letter dimensions: 25 x 39 cm.
Recommended Citation
Bidwell, John, "Letter from John Bidwell to John Muir, 1877 Nov 29." (1877). John Muir Correspondence (PDFs). 387.
https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/muir-correspondence/387
Resource Identifier
muir03_0628-md-1.pdf
File Identifier
Reel 03, Image 0627
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
2 pages
Keywords
Environmentalist, naturalist, travel, conservation, national parks, John Muir, Yosemite, California, history, correspondence, letters
