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
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
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
2 pages
