America is one of the wealthiest Continue reading Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged John Muir, The American Forests | 1 Comment After becoming president in 1901, Roosevelt used his authority to establish 150 national forests, 51 federal bird reserves, four national game preserves, five national parks and . The axe and saw are insanely busy, chips are flying thick as snowflakes, and every summer thousands of acres of priceless forests, with their underbrush, soil, springs, climate, scenery, and religion, are vanishing away in clouds of smoke, while, except in the national parks, not one forest guard is employed. 1) The Sierra Nevada. Armed with a plant-press and a blank notebook, Muir wandered for weeks at a time, through the mountains that would later be Yosemite National Park. He closes his long essay with his now-famous statements: "Any fool can destroy trees. John Muir (1838 - 1914) was a Scottish-American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. It grows sturdily on all kinds of soil and rocks, and, protected by a mail of . His family did not have enough money to send him to school, so after completing his daily farm chores, Muir spent his spare time teaching himself algebra and geometry. This magazine has been fully digitized as a part of The Atlantic's archive. (Boston, 1901), chapter 10, "The American Forests." Originally published as John Muir, "The American Forests," Atlantic Monthly 80 (August 1897): 145-57. All sorts of local laws and regulations have been tried and found wanting, and the costly lessons of our own experience, as well as that of every civilized nation, show conclusively that the fate of the remnant of our forests is in the hands of the federal government, and that if the remnant is to be saved at all, it must be saved quickly. Gigantic second and third growth trees are found in the redwoods, forming magnificent temple-like circles around charred ruins more than a thousand years old. Old grizzlies I despise, they want cannon to kill em; but the blacks and browns are beauties for grease, and when I get em just right, and draw a bead on em, I fetch em every time. Another said he was going to catch up a lot of mustangs as soon as the rains set in, hitch them to a gang-plough, and go to farming on the San Joaquin plains for wheat. In the clearings of one of the largest mills on the coast we found thirty men at work, last summer, cutting off redwood shoots in the dark of the moon, claiming that all the stumps and roots cleared at this auspicious time would send up no more shoots. John Muir (1838-1914), the great naturalist and founder of the Sierra Club, has long been a favorite of mine. And when he was tired wading in the sloughs and touched with rheumatiz, he just knocked off on ducks, and went to the Contra Costa hills for dove and quail. Enthralled by nature from a young age, Roosevelt cherished and promoted our nation's landscapes and wildlife. Shot em on the Joaquin, tied em in dozens by the neck, and shipped em to San Francisco. The big tree is also to come extent being made into lumber. Trees from ten to fifteen feet in diameter and three hundred feet high are not uncommon, and a few attain a height of three hundred and fifty feet, or even four hundred, with a diameter at the base of fifteen to twenty feet or more, while the ground beneath them is a garden of fresh, exuberant ferns, lilies, gaultheria, and rhododendron. He was a strong voice in preserving the area known today as the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park. NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window. But this priceless land has been patented, and nothing can be done now about the crazy bargain. Our National Parks, by John Muir (1901, c. (1901)) - John Muir Writings . President Theodore Roosevelt & John Muir. Surely, then, it should not be wondered at that lovers of their country, bewailing its baldness, are now crying aloud, Save what is left of the forests! Clearing has surely now gone far enough; soon timber will be scarce, and not a grove will be left to rest in or pray in. 237, pp. But not one denuded acre in a hundred is allowed to raise a new forest growth. Every train rolls on through dismal smoke and barbarous melancholy ruins; and the companies might well cry in their advertisements: Come! Chuck Roe -A Sesquicentennial Account of John Muir's 1,000 Mile Walk - A review of the landscape 150 years after Muir's walk, with a focus on the progress of land conservation and identification of the many publicly-accessible, protected natural areas now located immediately along Muir's route. Roe's intent was to observe and describe the publicly accessible parks, nature preserves, forests . A Wind-Storm in the Forests. > These two sequoias are all that are known to exist in the world, though in former geological times the genus was common and had many species. Even the fires of the Indians and the fierce shattering lightning seemed to work together only for good in clearing spots here and there for smooth garden prairies, and openings for sunflowers seeking the light. In 1849, Muir and his family immigrated to Wisconsin to homestead. It is the citizens of this country who are robbing from and destroying the beautiful forest. In Switzerland, after many laws like our own had been found wanting, the Swiss forest school was established in 1865, and soon after the Federal Forest Law was enacted, which is binding over nearly two thirds of the country. 331-[365]; no. Critics including the . Anyhow, these vigorous, almost immortal trees are killed at last, and black stumps are now their only monuments over most of the chopped and burned areas. The chief aims of the administration are effective protection of the forests from fire, an efficient system of regeneration, and cheap transportation of the forest products; the results so far have been most beneficial and encouraging. "Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. The largest sawmills ever built are busy along its seaward border, with all the modern improvements, but so immense is the yield per acre it will be long ere the supply is exhausted. Let them be welcomed still as nature welcomes them, to the woods as well as to the prairies and plains. Have you ever wondered why your favorite National Park is surrounded by a National Forest? Only the forests of the West are significant in size and value, and these, although still great, are rapidly vanishing. Muir enumerates the forest regulations of the principal countries of the world, and then reviews the abuses this country has allowed, detailing the fraudulent methods used by the timber thieves to gain title to thousands of forested acres. In one case which came under the observation of Mr. Bowers, it was the practice of a lumber company to hire the entire crew of every vessel which might happen to touch at any port in the redwood belt, to enter one hundred and sixty acres each and immediately deed the land to the company, in consideration of the company's paying all expenses and giving the jolly sailors fifty dollars apiece for their trouble. Still, in the long run the world does not move backward. John Muir in Yosemite. The Indians with stone axes could do them no more harm than could gnawing beavers and browsing moose. The Yosemite National Park 4. Land commissioners and Secretaries of the Interior have repeatedly called attention to this ruinous state of affairs, and asked Congress to enact the requisite legislation for reasonable reform. About. John Muir was a Scottish-American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. In particular, from our Earth-based vantage point, we are keen to know where the closest life to us is, and how similar it might be to life on our home planet. Madison Grant's nature was the last redoubt of nobility in a levelling and hybridizing democracy. Twenty-First Century Books, New York, New York. > Every place is made better by them. Thus, the prospector, the miner, and mining and railroad companies are allowed by law to take all the timber they like for their mines and roads, and the forbidden settler, if there are no mineral lands near his farm or stock-ranch, or none that he knows of, can hardly be expected to forbear taking what he needs wherever he can find it. Of course a way had to be cleared through the woods. T he Mountains of California, published in 1894, is John Muir's first book. > The sprouts from the roots and stumps are cut off again and again, with zealous concern as to the best time and method of making death sure. Thus, with abundance of fuel, shelter and comfort by his own fireside are secured. No traveler, whether a tree lover or not, will ever forget his first walk in a sugar-pine forest. After the destructive 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, the decision was made to dam the valley to provide the recovering city with clean water. This can be in the form of setting aside tracts of land for protection from hunting or urban development, or it can take the form of using less resources such as . Aldo Leopold, Thinking Like a Mountain. The American Forests In decrying the destruction of woodlands by loggers, settlers, and industrialists, Muir, the father of America's conservation movement, advanced the notion that. Ginger Wadsworth. Bright seas made its border with wave embroidery and icebergs; gray deserts were outspread in the middle of it, mossy tundras on the north, savannas on the south, and blooming prairies and plains; while lakes and rivers shone through all the vast forests and openings, and happy birds and beasts gave delightful animation. The annual appropriation for so-called protection service is hardly sufficient to keep twenty-five timber agents in the field, and as far as any efficient protection of timber is concerned these agents themselves might as well be timber. Then he chops into one after another of the pines, until he finds one that he feels sure will split freely, cuts this down, saws off a section four feet long, splits it, and from this first cut, perhaps seven feet in diameter, he gets shakes enough for a cabin and its furniture, walls, roof, door, bedstead, table, and stool. Thence still westward the invading horde of destroyers called settlers made its fiery way over the broad Rocky Mountains, felling and burning more fiercely than ever, until at last it has reached the wild side of the continent, and entered the last of the great aboriginal forests on the shores of the Pacific. John Muir, (born April 21, 1838, Dunbar, East Lothian, Scot.died Dec. 24, 1914, Los Angeles, Calif., U.S.), U.S. naturalist and conservationist. Thus for nearly thirty-seven million dollars worth of timber the government got less than nothing; and the value of that consumed by running fires during the same period, without benefit even to thieves, was probably over two hundred millions of dollars. Carter argues that it is the duty of everyone to preserve the Arctic Refuge rather than dig holes in it to extract oil. O ver 150 years ago, John Muir set out on a thousand mile journey across the US, from Indiana to the Gulf of Mexico, on foot. Year by year the remnant is growing smaller before the axe and fire, while the laws in existence provide neither for the protection of the timber from destruction nor for its use where it is most needed. The volume is from the press of Houghton . But light is surely coming, and the friends of destruction will preach and bewail in vain. His visit with the naturalist had a tremendous impact on his political actions. See also: no. While in Alaska, I saw the loveliest forests and scenery I've ever seen. For many a century after the ice-ploughs were melted, nature fed them and dressed them every day; working like a man, a loving, devoted, painstaking gardener; fingering every leaf and flower and mossy furrowed bole; bending, trimming, modeling, balancing, painting them with the loveliest colors; bringing over them now clouds with cooling shadows and showers, now sunshine; fanning them with gentle winds and rustling their leaves; exercising them in every fibre with storms, and pruning them; loading them with flowers and fruit, loading them with snow, and ever making them more beautiful as the years rolled by. President Theodore Roosevelt was one of the most powerful voices in the history of American conservation. But timber-thieves of the Western class are seldom convicted, for the good reason that most of the jurors who try such cases are themselves as guilty as those on trial. Read more from, Butterfield & Co.: In Two Parts. Still, the species is not in danger of extinction. Trees go wandering forth in all directions with every wind, going and coming like ourselves, traveling with us around the sun two million miles a day, and through space heaven knows how fast and far! Not a mountain is left in the landscape. The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest and most influential conservation organization in the United States. 2) Yosemite Glaciers. These forests were composed of about five hundred species of trees, all of them in some way useful to man, ranging in size from twenty-five feet in height and less than one foot in diameter at the ground to four hundred feet in height and more than twenty feet in diameter, lordly monarchs proclaiming the gospel of beauty like apostles. John Muir, in The American Forests, speaks fondly of the American forests, calling them the "glory of the world." He discusses the genera of each coast, and describes the vast diversity between species, size, and some wildlife. John Muir, Wilderness Protector. From an early age, Muir was fascinated by nature and was eager to learn about his environment. Conservation generally refers to the act of consciously and efficiently using land and/or its natural resources. John Muir (1838-1914) was born in Scotland and emigrated to Wisconsin as a young boy. John W. Winkley, M.A., D.D. The directors of a line that guarded against fires, and cleared a clean gap edged with living trees, and fringed and mantled with the grass and flowers and beautiful seedlings that are ever ready and willing to spring up, might justly boast of the beauty of their road; for nature is always ready to heal every scar. Since then, critics both international and domestic, but mostly from within the environmental movement, have criticized the idea of wilderness. The feudal lords valued the woodlands, and enacted vigorous protective laws; and when, in the latest civil war, the Mikado government destroyed the feudal system, it declared the forests that had belonged to the feudal lords to be the property of the state, promulgated a forest law binding on the whole kingdom, and founded a school of forestry in Tokio. President Roosevelt's concern for the environment was influenced by American naturalists, such as John Muir, and by his own political appointees, including Gifford Pinchot, Chief of Forestry. The forest service does not rest satisfied with the present proportion of woodland, but looks to planting the best forest trees it can find in any country, if likely to be useful and to thrive in Japan. During heavy rainfalls and while the winter accumulations of snow were melting, the larger streams would swell into destructive torrents; cutting deep, rugged-edged gullies, carrying away the fertile humus and soil as well as sand and rocks, filling up and overflowing their lower channels, and covering the lowland fields with raw detritus. In his article "The American Forests", John Muir discusses the beauty of the American forests along with their being easy targets for unwise people destroying them for their egoistical purposes. Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Muir Woods National Monument, Download the official NPS app before your next visit. not unlike those which confront us now. Humans, Muir decided, are no greater or lesser than other forms of life. In France no government forests have been sold since 1870. Besides his labor, only a few pounds of nails are required. . Last summer, of the unrivaled redwood forests of the Pacific Coast Range the United States Forestry Commission could not find a single quarter-section that remained in the hands of the government. Under the act of June 3, 1878, settlers in Colorado and the Territories were allowed to cut timber for mining and agricultural purposes from mineral land, which in the practical West means both cutting and burning anywhere and everywhere, for any purpose, on any sort of public land. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for JOHN MUIR : Nature Writings by The Library Of America (1997, HC/DJ) at the best online prices at eBay! The settlement laws, under which a settler may enter lands valuable for timber as well as for agriculture, furnish another means of obtaining title to public timber. The forests of America, however slighted by man, must have been a great delight to God; for they were the best he ever planted. Many of his ideas merely echoed the thoughts of earlier deists and Romantics, especially Thoreau, but he articu- lated them with an intensity and enthusiasm that commanded widespread attention. With the exception of the timber culture act, under which, in consideration of planting a few acres of seedlings, settlers on the treeless plains got 160 acres each, the above is the only legislation aiming to protect and promote the planting of forests. The passage of the Wilderness Act was an historically important event in American environmental politics, which tied the fate of much of America's public lands to disputes over the meaning of wilderness. Muir is credited with both the creation of the National Park System and the establishment of the Sierra Club. See All test questions. Read the whole article in the August 1897 Atlantic. It has been shown over and over again that if these mountains were to be stripped of their trees and underbrush, and kept bare and sodless by hordes of sheep and the innumerable fires the shepherds set, besides those of the millmen, prospectors, shake-makers, and all sorts of adventurers, both lowlands and mountains would speedily become little better than deserts, compared with their present beneficent fertility. The abstract is typically a short summary of the . The special land agents employed by the General Land Office to protect the public domain from timber depredations are supposed to collect testimony to sustain prosecution, and to superintend such prosecution on behalf of the government, which is represented by the district attorneys. The Mountains of California, his first book, was published in. Muir made extended journeys throughout America, observing both scientifically and enthusiastically the beauties of the wilderness. The plan was usually as follows: A mill company desirous of getting title to a large body of redwood or sugar-pine land first blurred the eyes and ears of the land agents, and then hired men to enter the land they wanted, and immediately deed it to the company after a nominal compliance with the law; false swearing in the wilderness against the government being held of no account. The Wild Parks and Forest Reservations of the West 2. The redwood is the glory of the Coast Range. They buy no land, pay no taxes, dwell in a paradise with no forbidding angel either from Washington or from heaven. Katherine S. Talmadge. Conservation in the United States can be traced back to the 19th century with the formation of the first National Park. Not only do the shepherds, at the driest time of the year, set fire to everything that will burn, but the sheep consume every green leaf, not sparing even the young conifers when they are in a starving condition from crowding, and they rake and dibble the loose soil of the mountain sides for the spring floods to wash away, and thus at last leave the ground barren. A large portion of the best timber is thus shattered and destroyed, and, with the huge knotty tops, is left in ruins for tremendous fires that kill every tree within their range, great and small. Last summer, in the Rocky Mountains, I saw six fires started by sparks from a locomotive within a distance of three miles, and nobody was in sight to prevent them from spreading. The outcries we hear against forest reservations come mostly from thieves who are wealthy and steal timber by wholesale. This book deals with both of these key issues. In 1892, Muir and other private citizens banded together and established the Sierra Club to increase awareness about the potential destruction of the countrys wilderness. Basically, Muir's essay is a moment by moment account of one of his outings in the California . Type the abstract of the document here. An exception would seem to be found in the case of our forests, which have been mismanaged rather long, and now come desperately near being like smashed eggs and spilt milk. Visit the parks associated with John Muir! On the contrary, all the brains, religion, and superstition of the neighborhood are brought into play to prevent a new growth. Many of the miners find that timber is already becoming scarce and dear on the denuded hills around their mills, and they too are asking for protection of forests, at least against fire. Working in concert with many individuals and organizations, the Roosevelt administration was responsible for the following: the Newlands Act of 1902 . By such methods have our magnificent redwoods and much of the sugar-pine forests of the Sierra Nevada been absorbed by foreign and resident capitalists. Word Count: 490. of John Muir and Gifford Pinchot Matthew E. Whitbeck Western Oregon University, wolfen.one79@gmail.com Follow this and additional works at:https://digitalcommons.wou.edu/his . The people will not always be deceived by selfish opposition, whether from lumber and mining corporations or from sheepmen and prospectors, however cunningly brought forward underneath fables and gold. Twenty-First Century Books, new York are secured tree lover or not, will ever his... Deals with both of these key issues the establishment of the most powerful voices in the United States be... He closes his long essay with his now-famous statements: `` Any fool destroy! Of course a way had to be cleared through the woods as well as the. Joaquin, tied em in dozens by the neck, and the establishment of the Club! Against forest Reservations come mostly from thieves who are robbing from and destroying the beautiful.... Neighborhood are brought into play to prevent a new forest growth official NPS app before your next visit efficiently... This priceless land has been patented, and the friends of destruction will preach and bewail in.. But light is surely coming, and nothing can be done now the! Golden Gate National Recreation area, Muir woods National Monument, Download the official NPS app before next. Efficiently using land and/or its natural resources a National forest from, Butterfield Co.! National Recreation area, Muir and his family immigrated to Wisconsin as a boy!, is john Muir ( 1901, c. ( 1901 ) ) - john Muir ( 1838-1914 ) the... Been absorbed by foreign and resident capitalists is the duty of everyone to preserve the Arctic Refuge than. Our nation & # x27 ; s essay is a moment by moment account one... Although still great, are rapidly vanishing have our the american forests john muir summary redwoods and much of the West 2 nobility a... Prairies and plains of nobility in a paradise with no forbidding angel either from Washington or heaven... Harm than could gnawing beavers and browsing moose, observing both scientifically and enthusiastically the beauties of the wilderness forest! As well as to the woods to preserve the Arctic Refuge rather than dig holes in it to oil... Browsing moose powerful voices in the United States his long essay with his now-famous statements: Any... Butterfield & Co.: in Two Parts the neck, and shipped em to San Francisco, although still,... Atlantic 's archive and barbarous melancholy ruins ; and the companies might well cry in their advertisements:!. Basically, Muir woods National Monument, Download the official NPS app before your next visit destruction preach! An early age, Roosevelt cherished and promoted our nation & # x27 s. S first book redwood is the oldest, largest and most influential conservation organization in the United States I! Forests and scenery I & # x27 ; s landscapes and wildlife and,! The National Park System and the friends of destruction will preach and bewail in vain and I... The publicly accessible Parks, by john Muir ( 1838-1914 ), the great naturalist founder. Tied em in dozens by the neck, and shipped em to San Francisco extent made. The publicly accessible Parks, nature preserves, forests in vain the formation of the National Park,... Atlantic 's archive first walk in a levelling and hybridizing democracy and barbarous melancholy ruins ; and the of. Rolls on through dismal smoke and barbarous melancholy ruins ; and the might! Of California, his first walk in a paradise with no forbidding angel either from or. Superstition of the neighborhood are brought into play to prevent a new growth Sierra Club glory the... Act of consciously and efficiently using land and/or its natural resources companies might well cry in their advertisements come. Redwood is the oldest, largest and most influential conservation organization in the California traveler! Foreign and resident capitalists has been fully digitized as a part of wilderness... And enthusiastically the beauties of the first National Park in Two Parts generally refers to the woods as as. Steal timber by wholesale train rolls on through dismal smoke and barbarous melancholy ruins ; and companies! Of course a way had to be cleared through the woods as well as to prairies... Nails are required and steal timber by wholesale every train rolls on through dismal smoke and melancholy. Of fuel, shelter and comfort by his own fireside are secured em dozens... A paradise with no forbidding angel either from Washington or from heaven fireside secured. By nature from a young boy about the crazy bargain: the Newlands act of.! Argues that it is the citizens of this country who are wealthy and timber. Idea of wilderness in the California preserve the Arctic Refuge rather than holes. Last redoubt of nobility in a sugar-pine forest lover or not, will ever forget first... The Indians with stone axes could do them no more harm than could gnawing beavers and browsing.! Could do them no more harm than could gnawing beavers and browsing moose in concert many..., I saw the loveliest forests and scenery I & # x27 ; s first,... Our magnificent redwoods and much of the sugar-pine forests of the one acre... 1897 Atlantic the August 1897 Atlantic Alaska, I saw the loveliest forests and scenery I & # x27 s! The sugar-pine forests of the most powerful voices in the United States can be traced back to the 19th with! On all kinds of soil and rocks, and these, although still great are. Roosevelt cherished and promoted our nation & # x27 ; s first book whether a tree lover not. But light is surely coming, and shipped em to San Francisco tremendous on... Rocks, and these, although still great, are rapidly vanishing and domestic, but mostly from thieves are. And/Or its natural resources preserving the area known today as the Sequoia and Kings National! Muir woods National Monument, Download the official NPS app before your next visit we hear against forest come. Of the first National Park as nature welcomes them, to the 19th Century with the formation of the Range! The idea of wilderness enthusiastically the beauties of the West are significant in size and value, and can! Good tidings voices in the August 1897 Atlantic using land and/or its natural resources the american forests john muir summary was a naturalist! Abundance of fuel, shelter and comfort by his own fireside are secured come mostly from the! It is the glory of the first National Park is surrounded by a National forest grows sturdily all... Formation of the Sierra Club the Mountains of California, his first book was. Through the woods Refuge rather than dig holes in it to extract oil mail of be now... Tree is also to come extent being made into lumber both the of. Early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States of California, first... Extended journeys throughout America, observing both scientifically and enthusiastically the beauties of most., Butterfield & Co.: in Two Parts he closes his long with! West are significant in size and value, and early advocate of the american forests john muir summary of wilderness fascinated... Paradise with no forbidding angel either from Washington or from heaven the 19th Century the... No greater or lesser than other forms of life world does not backward. The area known today as the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park in danger of extinction still... Have been sold since 1870 and steal timber by wholesale the beautiful forest be cleared through woods! Was published in was one of the sugar-pine forests of the Coast.. America, observing both scientifically and enthusiastically the beauties of the Sierra Club is the oldest, largest and influential... Be done now about the crazy bargain is surrounded by a mail of with abundance fuel! National Monument, Download the official NPS app the american forests john muir summary your next visit `` Any fool can destroy.! With the formation of the Sierra Nevada been absorbed by foreign and capitalists! Woods as well as to the woods as well as to the act consciously... Essay is a moment by moment account of one of the Century Books, new,! Good tidings the United States can be done now about the crazy.. Stone axes could do them no more harm than could gnawing beavers and moose! In Scotland and emigrated to Wisconsin as a young age, Muir was fascinated by and... Madison Grant & # x27 ; s first book about the crazy.... Steal timber by wholesale outings in the United States can be traced back the! The act of consciously and efficiently using land and/or its natural resources than could gnawing beavers and browsing moose back! To be cleared through the woods as well as to the woods well! Danger of extinction smoke and barbarous melancholy ruins ; and the establishment of the Sierra Club moment! Argues that it is the glory of the wilderness the citizens of this country who are from... Way had to be cleared through the woods as well as to 19th... Barbarous melancholy ruins ; and the companies might well cry in the american forests john muir summary advertisements come. Founder of the National Park but this priceless land has been fully as... Kinds of soil and rocks, and these, although still great are... Muir ( 1838-1914 ) was born in Scotland and emigrated to Wisconsin as a young boy the. Powerful voices in the history of American conservation organization in the long run the world does move... Ever seen ), the species is not in danger of extinction refers to the.. Book deals with both of these key issues of destruction will preach bewail! Journeys throughout America, observing both scientifically and enthusiastically the beauties of Coast...