Creator
John Muir
Recipient
[John] Strentzel
Transcription
Austin Nevada, Aug’ 5th, 1878.
Dear Doctor Your kind note of the 22th was received the other day & your discussion of [fruits?] & the f[illegible]ness in general of civilized things takes me at some little disadvantage. From “the Switch” we rode to the old f[illegible] Churchhill on the Carson & at the “Upper” lower end of Mason Valley was delighted to find the [illegible] Outlet of Walker lake down through a very picturesque Canon to its Confluence with the Carson. it appears therefore that not only the Humboldt & Carson but the Walker River also poured its waters into the Great Sink towards the end of the Glacial Period. From Fort Churchhill we pushed Eastward between Carson Lake & The Sink, Boo! how hot it was riding in the solemn silent glare, shadeless – waterless, Here is what the early emigrants called the 40 mile desert well marked with bones & broken wagons. Strange how the very sunshine may become dreary. How strange a spell this region custs over poor mortals accustomed to shade & coolness & green fertility. yet there is no real cause that I could see for reasonable beings losing their wits & becoming frightened. There are the lonely tender Abronias blooming in the ferrid sand & sun & a species of sun flower & a curious legume[illegible]bush crowded with purple blossoms, & a green Saltwart & four or five sp[illegible] of Art[illegible] really beautiful, & three or four handsome grasses, Lizard reveled in the
[in margin: Im sure I showed my appreciation of good things. That’s a fine suggestion about the grapes Try me doctor on [illegible] [illegible] Tokings. Cordially Yrs John Muir]
00804
[Page 2]
Austin Nevada, Aug’ 5th, 1878.
Dear Doctor Your kind note of the 22th was received the other day & your discussion of [fruits?] & the f[illegible]ness in general of civilized things takes me at some little disadvantage. From “the Switch” we rode to the old f[illegible] Churchhill on the Carson & at the “Upper” lower end of Mason Valley was delighted to find the [illegible] Outlet of Walker lake down through a very picturesque Canon to its Confluence with the Carson. it appears therefore that not only the Humboldt & Carson but the Walker River also poured its waters into the Great Sink towards the end of the Glacial Period. From Fort Churchhill we pushed Eastward between Carson Lake & The Sink, Boo! how hot it was riding in the solemn silent glare, shadeless – waterless, Here is what the early emigrants called the 40 mile desert well marked with bones & broken wagons. Strange how the very sunshine may become dreary. How strange a spell this region custs over poor mortals accustomed to shade & coolness & green fertility. yet there is no real cause that I could see for reasonable beings losing their wits & becoming frightened. There are the lonely tender Abronias blooming in the ferrid sand & sun & a species of sun flower & a curious legume[illegible]bush crowded with purple blossoms, & a green Saltwart & four or five sp[illegible] of Art[illegible] really beautiful, & three or four handsome grasses, Lizard reveled in the
[in margin: Im sure I showed my appreciation of good things. That’s a fine suggestion about the grapes Try me doctor on [illegible] [illegible] Tokings. Cordially Yrs John Muir]
00804
Location
Austin, Nevada
Date Original
1878 Aug 5
Source
Original letter dimensions: 31.5 x 20.5 cm.
Recommended Citation
Muir, John, "Letter from John Muir to [John] Strentzel, 1878 Aug 5." (1878). John Muir Correspondence (PDFs). 435.
https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/muir-correspondence/435
Resource Identifier
muir03_0865-md-1.pdf
File Identifier
Reel 03, Image 0864
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, click here to view the Holt-Atherton Special Collections policies.
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
2 pages
Keywords
Environmentalist, naturalist, travel, conservation, national parks, John Muir, Yosemite, California, history, correspondence, letters
