Creator
Marcius Curtis Smith
Recipient
John Muir
Transcription
[letterhead]
March 30th 1901
My dear Mr. Muir; I sincerely appreciate your kind and warm letter of the seventeenth. The say that old friends are the best friends and I find by long experience that this is a most true saying. We must hold to our old acquaintances as long as possible, and not let them drop out of our lives simply because time and distance intervene between visits. Yes I remember well my visits to South Indianapolis, and how you fascinated me with your various collections and inventions. What a life of adventure and discovery you have had since those Hoosier days! My days have been a mixture of business and pleasure with a goodly share of the latter well sprinkled in. I left Indianapolis in the spring of 1874 for a week's visit to relatives
02852
in Davenport, Iowa. This visit lengthened into a quarter of a century. There I married in 1884, Miss Wilkinson She was a graduate with highest honors of Vassar College and a most noble and lovable woman. We travelled through Europe during the years of 1884 and 1890. Our married life was most happy during the few years alloted to us together. She died June 18th 1897. I am living alone in St Louis, having entered into active and pressing business to keep the mind occupied. My business interests are [growing?], and they will doubtless make St Louis my permanent residence. Here you have the nutshell autobiography of my last third of a century. I thank you very much for your kind invitation to visit you in Martinez. As I have two brothers living on the Coast, it is possible that I may get to California some day and I will surely accept your hospitality. I appreciate your book, magazines and pamphlets sent me ! I have a great receiving capacity! I can take more. - [Now?] Mr. Muir I am no correspondent, yet I ask you to write to me about yourself, your work, your family. I want to know you - I want you to know me.
Sincerely yours,
Marcius Curtis Smith.
Location
St. Louis
Date Original
1901 Mar 30
Source
Original letter dimensions: 27.5 x 21.5 cm.
Recommended Citation
Smith, Marcius Curtis, "Letter from Marcius Curtis Smith to John Muir, 1901 Mar 30." (1901). John Muir Correspondence (PDFs). 4402.
https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/muir-correspondence/4402
Resource Identifier
muir11_0663-let.tif
File Identifier
Reel 11, Image 0663
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
