Creator
Joseph J. Perkins
Recipient
John Muir
Transcription
OFFICE OFJOSEPH J.PERKINSATTORNEY AT LAWNOTARY PUBLIC AND COMMISSIONER OF DEEDS. ETC...FOR..ARIZONAGEORGIAMICHIGANNEW YORKOREGONCOLORADOILLINOISMISSOURINEW MEXICOPENNSYLVANIADISTRICT OF COLUMBIALOUISIANAMASSACHUYSETTSOHIOIn re...........Panta Barbara, bal. March 29,1910. Mr.John Muir,Martinez,Cal.My dear Sir:-For the last fire weeks, with as much patienceas I could command, I have been submitting to an enforced rest-as a penalty for too much work and too little recreation. During this rest, I have had ample time to read for the second or third time, two of your books - entitled "Our National Parks" and "The Mountains of California", respectively. I scarcely know how to express to you my cordial appreciation of those two volumes; not only for the accurate information they contain, but for the literary merit of the text-the grace, rythm and strength of its style and the charm of its descriptions. It is, in short, poetic prose throughout. I cannot tell you how much I have enjoyed them. And when night came, bringing little sleep to overtired nerves, I followed you over the trails and through the forests, in imagination, still recalling the charm of your descriptions and trying to see through your eyes.The two volumes are a monument to your patience, endurance and industry. Every lover of nature owes you a debt of gratitude, which he will find it difficult to discharge.As evidence that I am not altogether a "tenderfoot", I might mention, incidentally, that I came from Boston to Santa Barbara04739
OFFICE OF JOSEPH J. PERKINSATTORNEY AT LAWNOTARY PUBLIC AND COMMISSIONER OF DEEDS, ETC. . . for . .ARIZONAGEORGIAMICHIGANNEW YORKOREGONCOLORADOILLINOISMISSOURINEW MEXICOPENNSYLVANIADISTRICT OF COLUMBIALOUISIANAMASSACHUYSETTSOHIOIn re...........Panta Barbara, bal. Mr.John Muir (No.2).thirty five years ago - to die, as my friends verily believed -and even my physician intimating that if I did net go to a mild climate my friends would be likely to take My remains to Mt. Auburn before Spring. Well, I thought I would try Santa Barbara. When I arrived I weighed 117 lbs., which for a"six-footer", you will admit, was a "light weight." I was a mere skeleton. As soon as I was strong enough to ride, I started for the Santa Ynez range of mountains, exploring its canons, climbing its ridges and finally its highest peak 4000 feet, or to be exact 3985 feet - a mere ant hill compared with some of the peaks of Sierra Nevada - often sleeping on the ground with my saddle for a pillow, wherever night overtook me. In that way I regained my health and, in time, my normal weight 175-180 lbs. I mention this fact as an evidence that I have seen at least some of the foothills of California, if not the mountains. Now the mountains are calling to me, Oh! so loudly! And your books have emphasized the call. I mean to respond to it sometime.I feel very much interested to know what you used for footwear in Summer in the mountains and also what you used in Winter, when you wallowed through the snow - four to six feet in depth.And for my own advantage, in the mountains, I would like to know what kind, or kinds of food you took with you on your five to ten-day tramps. You speak of bread and tea only. How and in04739
OFFICE OF JOSEPH J. PERKINSATTORNEY AT LAWNOTARY PUBLIC AND COMMISSIONER OF DEEDS, ETC. . . for . .ARIZONAGEORGIAMICHIGANNEW YORKOREGONCOLORADOILLINOISMISSOURINEW MEXICOPENNSYLVANIADISTRICT OF COLUMBIALOUISIANAMASSACHUYSETTSOHIOIn re...........Panta Barbara, bal. Mr.John Muir (No.3).what form could you carry enough bread to last you on such long trips? And why did you always take tea with you and not coffee? Did you ever carry almonds and raisins?Now. I know you are a busy man, and if you cannot find time to answer the above questions drop these lines into your waste-basket and think no more about them.I shall love you just the sameGratefully yours[illegible]J.J.P./M.,br>P.S. I have just finished reading,"Mountains in the Sierra Nevada1 by King "Wild Life in the Rockies" by Mills, and "The Mountains by Stewart Edward White.King's book contains much information, but the author's style is not pleasant reading. The other two books (to me) are indifferent.J.J.P.04739
Location
Santa Barbara, Calif.
Date Original
1910 Mar 29
Source
Original letter dimensions: 28 x 21.5 cm.
Recommended Citation
Perkins, Joseph J., "Letter from Joseph J. Perkins to John Muir, 1910 Mar 29." (1910). John Muir Correspondence (PDFs). 4980.
https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/muir-correspondence/4980
Resource Identifier
muir19_0283-let.tif
File Identifier
Reel 19, Image 0283
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
