Creator
Nelson F. Evans
Recipient
John Muir
Transcription
JOHN K. GORE, VICE PRESIDENT AND ACTUARYWILBUR S. JOHNSON, 2D VICE PRES,AND COMPTROLLEREDWARD GRAY, 3D VICE PRESIDENTFORREST F. DRYDEN, PRESIDENTEDWARD D. DUFFIELD, 4TH VICE PRES.AND GENERAL SOLICITORWILLARD I.HAMILTON, SECRETARYC.A FOEHL, MANAGER FOR EASTERN PENNSYLVANIANELSON F. EVANS,SUPT. OF AGENTSORDINARY DEPARTMENTEIGHT FLOOR THE NORTH-AMERICAN BUILDINGPHILADELPHIA, PA.GEORGE B.SPEERASSISTANT SECRETARY June 13,1914. Mr. John Muir,Martinez, Cal.Dear Mr. Muir:The inquiry in your good letter of April 4 in reply to mine of March 10th has awaited an opportunity to refresh my memory about our pioneer Yosemite trip to the top of the North wall in 1870.I have found a diary kept by one of the ladies, whom I afterward married, and with its aid I am able to give you the following facts:My immediate companion on my California trip that summer was Rev. Francis L. Robbins, then Pastor of one of the largest Presbyterian churches in Philadelphia. On the trip to the Calaveras Grove and Yosemite Valley there were with us a part of the time Hon. John Patton, a member of Congress and a banker from Pennsylvania,with his two sons Alexander and John, and Rev. Mark Hopkins, D.D.,President of Williams College, and his wife and daughter, and two ladies placed in my care by Rev. A. L. Stone, Pastor of the First Congregational Church in San Francisco, both from Rockland, Maine,one Miss Lucy Hatch, the other Mrs. Laura Snow Wood, a widow, whom I married a year later.You and I planned the trip to the Three Brothers and the only persons who accompanied us were Mr. Robins, these two ladies and one05774
JOHN K.GORE, VICE PRESIDENT AND ACTUARYWILBUR S.JOHNSON, 2D VICE PRES,AND COMPTROLLEREDWARD GRAY, 3D VICE PRESIDENTFORREST F. DRYDEN, PRESIDENTEDWARD D.DUFFILED,4TH VICE PRES.AND GENERAL SOLICITORWILLARD I.HAMILTON,SECRETARYC.A FOEHL,MANAGER FOR EASTERN PENNDYLVANIANELSON F.EVANS,SUPT.OF AGENTSORDINARY DEPARTMENTELIGHT FLOOR THE NORTH-AMERICAN BUILDINGPHILADELPHIA,PAGEORGE B.SPEEDASSISTANT SECRETARYIN REother gentleman whose name I cannot recall.As we approached the summit of Three Brothers late in the afternoon of August 3, 1870, an eagle, disturbed by our approach,flew away from this summit quite near to us; whereupon Laura said to you, I name this Eagle Peak; and you replied that shall be its name. You evidently faithfully kept this promise, for I find in the U. S. Government maps of Yosemite region that mountain top is in all of them named Eagle Peak. It is a pleasant reflection for me and my daughters, that my wife and their mother named a mountain,on the pioneer trip to that mountain with the distinguished John Muir as a guide. You said no white woman, and indeed no party of tourists, had ever been there before us.You are therefore justified in recording the following names as the party conducted by you and your Indian helper:Nelson F.Evans:Francis L.Robbins:Philadelphia.Laura Snow Wood: :Rockland, Maine.Lucy Hatch:I shall be very grateful if you will advise me where I can purchase the volume you are to write, in which you may mention this incident.With best wishes for your health and happiness in this pretty good old world for yet many years.Yours respectfully,[illegible]05774
Location
Philadelphia, Pa.
Date Original
1914 Jun 13
Source
Original letter dimensions: 27.5 x 21.5 cm.
Recommended Citation
Evans, Nelson F., "Letter from Nelson F. Evans to John Muir, 1914 Jun 13." (1914). John Muir Correspondence (PDFs). 6568.
https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/muir-correspondence/6568
Resource Identifier
muir22_0399-let.tif
File Identifier
Reel 22, Image 0399
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
