Creator
Geo[rge] Hansen
Recipient
John Muir
Transcription
Jackson, Oct., 23d. /96.
My dear Sir,
In spite of the upset state of our home, I can not refrain from sending you those few words my heart dictates. I have received your letter, your remittance, and your book. I am fully appreciative of your kindness, and I promise that as soon as we again live in a home, I will go to work and pick out what you order from collection.
"Meanwhile do not feel hurt if I can not steal the time to entirely peruse your book. Do not mind me making such confession, but I think, it an honor to be so remembered by you. I read from your letter that you offer it as a sign of appreciation on your part of what I intend. Inded, the denomination you and I belong to, the worship of Nature, it embraces high and low, near and distant, and best of all, they who there worship, they are a set of honest devotees. Permit me therefore, to kneel beside you, and accept [illegible] the faith of a foundling. I have read the two chapters of your book : 'A near view of the high Sierra, and" In the Sierra Foot-Hills. - I regret ever so much that I leave here ere my last trip of exploration, in the region of 6000 to 9000[illegible], could not be carried out. I was there twice, upon hasty visits, yet a return is neceassary to refreshen and correct many impressions received. Yet, time may bring many a change, and I must confess to an ardent desire, of becoming thoroughly familiar with the needs and restoration of our forests. I will not again fall into ways of making my pin-money from chicken and milk business. I must have outlived that, and if honesty, and sincerety of purpose counts for aught, I should succeed. Is it not grandly true that for the last 8 years our policitical life in California has gone through a process of clearance? I depend upon my observation from far off, and I am determined to abandonsmy secluded state of living and either stay [illegible] or drift from hence. As I
told you in my last letter, I have tried to Formtulate for a long time all those ideas I have conceived respecting the protection of our forests. I much fear that the "Overland Monthly" is not on a paying basis, and while I will be "out of a job", I am forced to look for remuneration for my pen's-work. As soon as I have put into writing what I knwon he subject, I will take occasion to advise you of such, and may be, you can refer me to where such articles would do me the most good while reaching where they are destined for.It was so encouraging to read your words ¦' You should write more" Miners' and gamblers' slang", such were the critics received from certain quarters, and believe, it hurts deeply, when I look back to the time when I was told that I was powerfull in my native tongue. - I mail a copy of my Monograph "The Orchid Hybrids". Please, accept it. Not that you should be familiar with the first on the subject, not take it from me as a sign of my appreciation of the fact, that have found somebody who feels like I do, or, perhaps, that somebody has come across me, and thinks sufficiently of me to take an interest in me. The first 47 pages should tell you more about the character of your new acquaintance, and the rest, can it not serve to prove what I am made of? If nothing else, let it be witness to the sincerety of my conviction, to the honesty of my purpose, and to the anxiety with, which I pray for participation in this world's achievements I now have an order for a set of my exsiccatae from Genoa, and I feel proud and glad to think, I will be able to get my supplement into print.
I am interrupted constantly in my writing. Let me take up another sheet whenever I feel again at home where I dip my pen.
Gratefully and faithfully yours
[illegible]
Location
Jackson [Calif.]
Date Original
1896 Oct 23
Source
Original letter dimensions: 15 x 21 cm.
Recommended Citation
Hansen, George, "Letter from Geo[rge] Hansen to John Muir, 1896 Oct 23." (1896). John Muir Correspondence (PDFs). 852.
https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/muir-correspondence/852
Resource Identifier
muir09_0454-let.tif
File Identifier
Reel 09, Image 0454
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
