Creator
Sydney V. Smith
Recipient
John Muir
Transcription
July 27 [ ]
My dear Muir,
You owe me a call. For one evening,after the conclusion of a case I was trying at Martinez and my dinner, I took a buggy and drove out to your place, missing my road once, and so not arriving at your gate until half past eight. The lower part of the house was already in darkness, lights were only to be seen at the upper windows, the dogs were baying in the farm yard, and the front gate was pad-locked. I did not like to jump the fence, I respected the dogs, and I did not care to bring you downstairs in what might seem to country people the middle of the night, so I turned my horse like an Arab and silently stole away, disappointed at not being able to see you and your wife and your baby. When all this was I could not tell you without reference to the Court records in the case of Garilo vs. The American Central Insurance Company.
The other day I was at Gale, B.C., where I got into a discussion with a would-be geologist who was firmly of the opinion that the Fraser River Canyon had been cut by the water, that there were signs of the old shore-line, of conglomerate, etc. along the cliffs.Of course my loyalty to you made me take the other side, the in-theory side, of the question, but you can well believe that I soon showed how sadly I had neglected all the advantages of travel and intimacy with you. And now can you refer me to any one published paper of yours in which the arguments in support of your glacial doctrine are most concisely and clearly stated, so that I may slay mine enemy with your weapons? And perhaps some day you will drop into my office and receive my assurance that I am still,
Very truly yours,
Sidney V. Smith, Jr.
John Muir, Esq.,
292
02004
Location
[San Francisco, Calif?]
Circa Date
[1882 ] Jul 27
Source
Original letter dimensions: 20 .5 x 25 cm.
Recommended Citation
Smith, Sydney V., "Letter from Sydney V. Smith to John Muir, [ca 1882 ] Jul 27." (1882). John Muir Correspondence (PDFs). 713.
https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/muir-correspondence/713
Resource Identifier
muir04_0875-md-1.pdf
File Identifier
Reel 04, Image 0874
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
