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THE YOSEMITE VALLEY
ITS HISTORY, CHARACTERISTIC
FEATURES, AND THEORIES RE-
GARDING ITS ORIGIN. ;: ::
By GALEN CLARK
Mverer Of the Mariposa Grove ol Big Trees. Author ol
oi the Yosemite." "Kg Trees oi California." and
many years Quar4ian of the Yosemite Valley.
Bluitrattd from Photograph*
by Ctorgt Fith*.
NELSON L. SALTER
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INTRODUCTION AND SKETCH OP THE
AUTHOR
generaij characteristics
discovery and history of yosemite . .
theories regarding origin
the author's theory 23
prominent peaks and domes
waterfali-s
mirror lake 6'
trees in yosemite vau-by
flowering shrubs 8:
flowering plants 90
FERNS.
HINTS TO YOSEMITE VISITORS
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ILLUSTRATIONS.
EL CAPITAN 3
VIEW FROM INSPIRATION POINT 1
OVERHANGING ROCK, GLACIER POINT 11
Y03EMITE FALI^ 15
NORTH DOME 21
SENTINEL DOME 25
THREE BROTHERS 29
BIRDS-EYE VIEW 33
SENTINEL ROCK 37
BOYAL ARCHES, NORTH DOME AND
WASHINGTON COLUMN *1
THE HAI,F DOME *5
THE BRIDAL VEIL 49
YOSEMITE FALLS FROM GLACIER POINT
TRAIL 63
ICE CONE, UPPER YOSEMITE FALL 57
VERNAL FALL 61
NEVADA FALL 95
MIRROR LAKE AND MT. WATKINS G9
THE HAPPY ISLES 7B
WILD AZALEAS S3
THE CATHEDRAL HPIRES 91
YOSEMITE VALLEY IN WINTER 99
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YOSBMITE THE MASTERPIECE.
Oh, words, how poor, and vain, and weak.
When of the masterpiece we apeak.
Ot emerald vale and starry peak.
Thy glories, grand Yoaemlte!
What know we of the times remote,
When on Azoic seas afloat
Great Nature sailed her granite boat,
And dreamt about Yosemite?
What demon thrones were upward hurled.
What fiery flags were high unfurled
From bastions of a ruined world.
Beneath thy gulf, Yosemlte,
When Vulcan, tired of labors tame.
Lighted ble furious forge of flame
And- smote young Terra's molten frame.
And fa^ioned wild Yosemite!
We only know this Titan's home
Of ribboned fall and purpled dome
Is crystal ot the primal foam
That bathed thy beach, Yosemite.
Fair Jewel, — gold, and red, and brown, —
In splendor shining softly down.
The Kohlnoor of Nature's crown —
Magnificent Yosemite!
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THE YOSEMITE VALLEY
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INTRODUCTION AND SKETCH
OP THE AUTHOR.
HUNDREDS of thousands of Yosem-
ite visitors were grief-stricken a
few weeks ago when It was announced
that Galen Clark, the discoverer, in 1857,
of the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees,
had "joined the innumerable caravan"
at the rare old age of ninety-six, and in
full possession of all his senses and per-
fect storehouse of mind.
The writer had known Galen Clark in-
timately and had met him often for
forty-odd years, and had deemed him
one of the most agreeable and entertain-
ing human beings he had ever met, and,
altogether, one of the most benignant
characters.
Mr. Clark was a New Englander, and
came to California, via the Isthmus of
Panama, in 1853, and to the mining
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camps between Sonora and Mariposa the
year following. He had been carefully
and healthfully brought up, but the in-
sidious conditions of the Isthmus, or in
the mines, had brought on a pulmonary
disorder of a serious nature, and a
friendly physician advised him to seek
an abode among the stately conifers and
pellucid waterways of the High Sierras.
In the spring of 1857 he built himself a
log cabin in the beautiful valley now
known as Wawona, which for nearly
twenty years was known as "Clark's
Station," and in a few months discover-
ed the Mariposa Grove of Sequoias, only
eight miles distant from his abode.
Mr. Clark was a member of the first
Board of Commissioners for the care of
the Yosemite Valley and Mariposa
Grove of Big Trees, and was the "Guar-
dian of the Valley" for many years
afterward; and for more than half a
century he had lived in the Valley or at
Wawona, and became familiar with
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every species of shi-ub and tree, grass
and flower, and with the dimensions of
every elevation and fall of water. He
won the respect and friendship of all
with whom he came in contact, including
the tribes of Indians which then inhabit-
ed that region and who still remain in
small and scattered bands as one of the
interesting features of the Yosemite
Valley.
In 1904, when ninety years of age, Mr.
Clark published a book on the Indians
of the Yosemite, which was followed in
1907 by a volume on the Big Trees of
California. These books are written in
a simple and entertaining style and have
proven valuable contributions to the lit-
erature of Western America. They
have been widely read and are regarded
as the most authoritative works on the
subjects of which they treat. So far as
I know, Mr. Clark's experience has been
absolutely unique in becoming an author
at the age of ninety.
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In this, his latest and most pretentious
book, the manuscript of which he had
personally handed to his printer less
than two weeks before being summoned
to his last account, he succinctly and
delightfully presents descriptions of all
the cataracts and waterfalls, spires and
domes, trees and flowers, islands and
lakes, rivers and vales, and the multi-
plicity of other objects which have made
the Yosemite Valley the masterpiece of
the scenic world.
This last publication of Mr. Clark has
many aims, but its principal object is to
furnish answers to the numerous ques-
tions asked by Yosemite visitors, not
only with regard to the great scenic fea-
tures of the Valley and the various
theories which have been advanced to
account for their origin, but also con-
cerning the many beautiful and varied
specimens of tree and plant life. The
book therefore contains the correct name
and a brief sketch of each flower, fern.
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tree, shrub and grass ; and a description
of all the falls and domes and other ele-
vations, with their names and altitudes,
their significance in Indian minds, and
much else of an interesting aboriginal
study and belief. It has been the aim
of the author to avoid infinitesimal de-
tail and ponderosity; in other words, he
has omitted nothing that should be pre-
sented, but has made a book that may
be carried in almost any pocket and
drawn upon for reference at any time
and at any place. It is the gem of books
on the Yosemite Valley and scintillates
like a star.
Very naturally Mr. Clark descants on
the cause or causes which led to the cre-
ation of the great gorge, a question
which has perplexed so many savants
and other scholarly men of science and
observation; and while he summarizes
to some extent the conclusions of Pro-
fessors Whitney and Le Conte (whose
deductions are diametrically in conflict
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with each other) he advances a theory
of his own which more or less harmon-
izes the views of Whitney, Le Conte,
Davidson, Muir and other distinguished
scientists and scholars, and also fits in
palpably with all physical conditions.
This may be regarded, I think, as the
profoundest chapter in the book, and a
feature that will elicit the admiration of
all its readers.
The chapters descriptive of the flow-
ering shrubs and flowering plants glow
in all the colors of an Axminster; and
these many blooms remind one of Mil-
ton's "leaves that strew the brooks of
Vallombrosa. " There are more than a
score of these gorgeous floral inhabitants
described, and many ferns. Surely,
these chapters may be veritably termed
the very "language of flowers." The
descriptions of the trees, which embrace
the yellow, sugar and black pines and
tamaracks, the Douglas 8i>ruce and the
fir, the cedars and the oaks, the cotton-
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woods and the alder, the maple and the
laurel, the quaking aspen and some oth-
ers, are highly instructive and quite as
bewitching as Emerson's essays on "the
woods," which he termed "God's Tem-
ples."
The author's remains now sleep the
everlasting sleep under a modest sarco-
phagus quarried from a fugitive granite
boulder by his own hands, surrounded
by trees and flowers, shrubs and vines.
His was a good and warm and sympa-
thetic heart, and he was always notably
gentle and kind, radiant and lovable.
He was strikingly pure and honest, for
his word was as good and as unimpeach-
able as a bond.
There have been many noble Knights
of the High Sierras, but Galen Clark
was one of the noblest of all.
Ben C. Thuman.
Los Angeles,
May 2, 1910
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GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS.
YOSEMITE VALLEY is nearly in
the center of the State of California,
and about midway between the western
base and the summit of the Sierra Ne-
vada Mountains.
The floor of the Valley, which is four
thousand feet above the sea, is nearly a
level area about seven miles in length
and with an average width of one mile.
This floor is nearly a mile in perpendicu-
lar depth below the general level of the
adjacent region.
The top rim of the surrounding walls
is irregular, culminating in craggy peaks,
domes and pinnacles, between which it
is carved into many fantastic forms of
interesting and gigantic proportions,
while Nature has been at worK for thou-
ands of years adorning and beautifying
the great barren walls with trees and
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shrubbery, flowering plants and ferns,
wherever a root-hold could be obtained
on every projecting ledge or open crevice
containing a little moisture.
The floor of the Valley presents a
scene of surpassing beauty, with its great
variety of forest trees, flowering shrub-
bery, green meadows, wild flowers and
ferns.
The Merced River flows its winding
way from side to side through the length
of the Valley. The Illilouette and Tenei-
ya Creeks join the Merced at the ex-
treme upper end, and the Yosemite,
Bridal Veil and many other smaller
streams from both sides, join the river
lower down, all of them forming water-
falls and cascades of charming beauty
in the early part of the season, when at
their full volume, and many of them
lasting throughout the summer.
Prof. J. D. Whitney, in his report as
State Geologist, says, "The peculiar
features of the Valley are, first, the neac
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approach to verticality of its walls ;
next, tkeir great height, not only abso-
lutely, but as compared with the width
of the Valley itself, and, finally, the very
small amount of talus at the bottom of
the gigantic cliffs."
The late Samuel Bowles of the Spring-
field, Massachusetts, Republican, who
was an early visitor to Yosemite on
horseback by the way of old Inspiration
Point, in writing home to his paper, says
of the Valley :
' ' As well try to interpret God in
thirty-nine articles as portray to you by
word of mouth or pen, as well repro-
duce castle or cathedral by a stolen
frieze or broken column, as this assem-
blage of national wonder and beauty by
photograph or painting.
"The overpowering sense of the sub-
lime, of awful desolation, of transcend-
ing marvelousness and unexpectedness,
that swept over us as we reined our
liorses sharply out of green forests and
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stood upon the high jutting rock that
overlooked this rolling, up-heaving sea
of granite mountains, holding far down
its rough top this vale of beauty of
meadow and grove and river I Such tide
of feeling, sueh stoppage of ordinary
emotions, comes at rare intervals in any
life.
"It was the confrontal of God face to
face as in great danger, in solemn, sud-
den death. It was Niagara magnified.
All that was mortal shrunk back, all that
was immortal swept to the front and
bent down in awe.
"Niagara alone divides honors with it
in America. Only the whole of Switzer-
land can surpass it."
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VIBW FROM ARTIBI-S POINT
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DISCOVERY AND HISTORY OF
YOSEMITE VALLEY.
THE Yosemite Valley was discovered
and made known to the public by
Major James D. Savage and Capt. John
Boling, who, with a strong detachment
of monnted volunteers from what was
known as the Mariposa Battalion, went
with friendly Indian guides to the Valley
in March, 1S51, to capture the resident
tribe of Indians and pnt them on the
Fresno Indian Reservation.
The first improved trail for saddle
animals to Yosemite Valley was made
by a livery firm in Mariposa, the Mann
Brothers, in 1856. This trail led from
Mariposa to the Valley by way of the
South Fork of the Merced River, cross-
ing the stream at a point now known as
Wawona.
In 1857 the regular tourist travel to
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Yosemite Valley may be said to have
commenced, although a few persons had
gone there in previous years since its
discovery. All parties, at that time,
"went prepared with camping outfits.
The first house in Yosemite was built
in the fall of the year 1856, and was
opened the next spring as a saloon for
tlie entertainment of that class of visi-
tors who loved whiskey and gambling.
The next year it was fitted up and used
as a restaurant. Several years later it
was enlarged, and known as Black's
Hotel.
The first building erected for a hotel
was built in 1859, and is now a part of
the Sentinel Hotel premises, being known
as the Cedar Cottage.
Most of the early \'isitors to Yosemite
were Californians, and the number did
not amount to one thousand in any one
season until the completion of the Union
Pacific and Central Pacific Eailroads.
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Soon after that the number increased to
many thousands annually.
All the necessary supplies for the
hotels and other purposes were taken
into the Valley by pack mules from
Coulterville and Mariposa, a distance of
fifty miles, until the completion of the
first wagon roads in 1874.
The main features and great variety of
Yosemite scenery were early and widely
made known throughout the civilized
world by pen, press, and public speech,
and have been many times portrayed by
paint brush, camera and kodak ; but no
description, painting or photograph can
give its vivid, thrilling, overwhelming
life expression.
The officers in command of the military
expedition which discovered Yosemite
Valley in 1851, in their report to Gover-
nor McDougal, estimated the height of
the most prominent parts of the walls
around the valley at from twelve hun-
dred to fourteen hundred feet. This is
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about the height that most visitors esti-
mate them as they see them on entering
the Valley. When the actual heights
were ascertained by civil engineers, with
surveyor's transit, they were found to
be more than double the heights esti-
mated by the unaided eye.
Jarvis Kiel of Mariposa was the first
engineer to make some of the actual
heights known. He was followed by
Prof. J. D. Whitney, State Geologist,
witli nis assistant engineers. Still later
came Capt. Wheeler and Lieut. McComb-
of the United States Engineering De-
partment. There is very little variation
in all these reported heights.
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THEORIES IN REGARD TO THE ORIGIN
OP YOSEMITE.
"l_I OW was this wonderful valley
■ * formed!" is a question asked by
thousands of visitors, and there have
been three distinct theories advanced by
different geologists on this subject.
Prof. J. D. Whitney, in his report as
State Geologist, says:
"The Valley is too wide to have been
formed by a fissure. Much less can it
be supposed that the peculiar form of
Yosemite is due to the erosive action of
ice. A more absurb theory was never
advanced than that by which it was
sought to ascribe to glaciers the sawing
out of these vertical walls and the round-
ing of the domes. In short, we are led
irresistibly to the adoption of a theory
of the origin of Yosemite in a way
which has hardly yet been recognized as
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one of those in which valleys may be
formed, probably for the reason that
there are so few cases in which such an
event can be absolutely proved to have
occurred,
"We consider that during the process
of upheaval of the Sierra, or, possibly,
at some time after that had taken place,
there was at the Yosemite a subsidence
of a limited area, marked by lines of
'fault' or fissures crossing each other
somewhat nearly at right angles. In
other and more simple language, the
bottom of the Valley sunk down to an
unknown depth owing to the support be-
ing withdrawn from underieath during
some of those convulsive movements
which must have attended the upheaval
of so extended and elevated a chain, no
matter how slow we may imagine the
process to have been."
I have been informed that Prof. Silli-
man and some other noted geologists,
who were among the early visitors to
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Yoseraite, conceived and advanced the
theory that the Valley was formed by a
great subterranean force causing a deep
rupture in the surface of the earth,
which in an unknown period of time has
been filled up to the present floor of the
Valley.
The third theory, and perhaps the
most popular one at the present time, is
that the origin and general formation of
the Valley is due to the agency of gla-
ciers. Clarencp King, who was one of
Prof. J. D. Whitney's topographical en-
gineers in the survey of Yosemite Valley
and the adjacent mountain range, was
the first geologist to advance the opinion
■ that Yosemite Valley was formed by
glacial agency. In later years. Prof.
Joseph Le Conte and other noted geolo-
gists, in their many visits to Yosemite
and explorations in the High Sierras,
and after examining the old glacial mo-
raines, terminal, lateral and medial, still
to be plainly seen on the floor of the Val-
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ley, also the stria and other evidence of
glacial erosion in many places high up
on the walls of the Valley, and the gla-
cial polish still in evidence on the rocks
above the falls of all the large streams
entering the Valley, together with the
extensive areas of polished granite high-
er up in the range, came to the positive
conclusion that the Yosemite Valley was
formed by the agency of glaciers instead
of eitber a local subsidence or a rupture
of the earth's surface.
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THE AUTHOR'S THEORY.
DUBING a residence of many years
in Yosemite, and a careful observa-
tion of the structural formation of the
great walls on each side and the great
domes in connection therewith, it seems-
evident to me that there were two great
forces which operated at different per-
iods of time in the origin and formation
of Yosemite Valley.
In some period of the earth's exist-
ence, while its granite crust in that local-
ity was in a semi-plastic condition, by
some great subterranean force of gases
or superheated steam, its surface was
forced up in places, forming these great
dome elevations. In some instances this
force was sufficient to burst open the
surface and make a complete blow-out.
forming a great chasm with vertical
sides. The bursting open of two or more
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of these great domes seems to have been
the original agency in the formation of
Yosemite Valley. I can imagine no oth-
er theory to account for the various lines
of cleavage and fractures in the great
walls of the Valley, some of them being
vertical, some horizontal, and others in
various degrees of inclination and
curves.
In later years, during the glacial
epoch, a portion of the great glaciers
which covered this part of the moun-
tain range completed the work by crush-
ing the remaining rock material, filling
up to a great extent the deep chasms
and carrying out the surplus material,
and at the end of the great ice age the
Valley was left a great lake which in the
course of time was filled up by disinte-
grated granite brought in by the flood
waters from the higher mountains ad-
jacent, leaving the main picturesque
features of the Valley much as we see
them now.
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Ever since then Nature has been in-
dustriously at work growing trees, flow-
ering shrubs and plants to adorn and
hide from view, as much as possible, the
awful desolation left by the melting gla-
ciers ; and by long exposure to the action
of the elements for unjmown thousands
of years, to the expansion and contrac-
tion of countless summers and winters,
large portions of the surface of the
walls, which bore evidence of glacial
erosion, have fallen away, and form the
great piles of rock at the base of the
cliffs on each side of the Valley.
One of Prof. Whitney's great objec-
tions to the glacial theory of the origin
of Yosemite Valley was the lack of evi-
dence of what became of the great
amount of crushed rock material which
must have been created in its formation.
It is evident that most of this material
must have been carried away in the form
of glacial mud by the great stream flow-
ing from under tiie glacier down through
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the Merced Canyon to the San Joaquin
Valley, which undoubtedly at that time
was a great inland sea, and, when reach-
ing the slack water of the sea, settled in
a deposit which in the course of unknown
years has been hardened into rock, forui-
. ing elevated ridges near the Merced
River, and much of what is called "hard
pan" beneath the surface soil in the near
vicinity.
All the great and smaller canyons of
the rivers which head in the High
Sierras, together with the whole western
face of the Sierra Nevada range of
mountains, have been forced by glacial
action to contribute largely in the for-
mation of the great plains of the Sacra-
mento and San Joaquin Valleys, The
dying glaciers have therefore bequeath-
ed to California a vast empire of agri-
cultural wealth as well as a crowning
mountain diadem of unspeakable sub-
limity and grandeur.
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PROMINENT PEAKS AND DOMES IN
YOSEMITE.
El Capitan,
AT the entrance to the Valley on the
north side is El Capitan, a type of
enduring massiveness, being an enor-
mous block of solid granite thirty-three
hundred feet in height, with a smooth
"vertical face of over one hundred and
sixty acres in superficial area. In one
place the top edge overhangs the base
nearly one hundred feet. In a slight .
depression, about one thousand feet
above the base, there is growing a lone
pine tree which is by actual measure-
ment eighty feet in height.
On another part of the face of El Cap-
itan is plainly to be seen, in certain con-
ditions of light, the figure of a man
facing west, and apparently traveling in
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that direction, clothed in a flowing robe
and a low crowned hat. The old Indians
of Yosemite called this figure To-tau-
kon-nu-la, anji held it in supreme rever-
ence as a great chieftain of their remote
ancestors.
On the crowning ridge of El Capitan,
thirty-six hnndred feet above the Valley,
there is a juniper tree growing which is
thirty-four feet in circumference, breast
high.
Three Brothers,
The Three Brothers, thirty-eight hun-
dred and thirty feet high, are a triple
group of rocks which rise in steps, one
back of the other, with a smooth, slant-
KET TO BIRDS-EYE VIEW ON OPPOSITE
PAGE. (Drawing by Chrts, Joreensen), — 1. Ribbon
Fall. 2. El Capstan. 3. Three Brothers. 4. Yosem-
ite Falls. B. tost Arrow. 6. Yosemtte Point. 7.
Royal Arches. S. Washington Column. 0. North
Dome. 10. Basket Dome. 11. Mt. W^atklna. IZ.
Cloud's Rest. 13. Mirror Lake. U. Halt Dome.
16. Mt. Broderlck. 16. Liberty Cap. 17. Little Yo-
semite. 18. Nevada Fall. 19. Panorama Rock. 20.
Vernal Fall. 21. Grizzly Peak. 22. Glacier Point.
23. Union Point. 24. Sentinel Dome. 25. Sentinel
Rock, 2e. Cathedral Spires. 27, Cathedral Rocks.
23. Bridal Veil Fall. 29. Deanlng Tower.
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ing western surface. The extreme top
of the highest one cannot be seen from
the point where photographs are usually
taken, but farther up the Valley it is
plainly seen, and known as Eagle Peak,
thirty -nine hundred feet high.
Thbee Gbaces. Cathedral Bocks.
On the other side of the Valley, oppo-
site El Capitan, is another great group
of rocks which, as seen from the west, is
catted the Three Graces. In general ap-
pearance these rocks resemble the Three
Brothers. Farther up the Valley this
same group presents a different appear-
ance, and is known as the Cathedral
Eocks.
Cathedral Spires.
Closely adjoining the Three Graces,
but set a little farther back, are the two
unique and graceful pinnacles called the
Cathedral Spires. One of these is said
to be twenty-five hundred and seventy-
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four feet high, the other twenty-six hun-
dred and seventy-eight feet.
These spires are isolated columns of
rock standing out from, but connected at
the base with, the main walls of the Val-
ley. Two such symmetrical columns, so
near alike and so near together, like two
towers of a Gothic cathedral, form a
very rare and interesting feature in
mountain scenery.
Sentinel Eock.
Further up the Valley, on the same
side, is an elevated point known as Sen-
tinel Rock. Its height is thirty-one
hundred feet. The walls of the Valley
on each side of it slope back, leaving it
standing squarely out with a perpendic-
ular face of nearly two thousand feet,
below' which it descends at a steep angle
to the floor of the Valley.
Glacier Point.
Near the upper end of the Valley is.
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the locality known as Glacier Point,
thirty-two hundred and fifty feet high.
From this elevated standpoint we get
a fine view of all the upper part of the
Valley and surrounding walls, also Ver-
nal and Nevada Falls, and a grand and
extensive panorama of the Sierra Ne-
vada range.
Eagle Peak.
This peak, the tallest one of the Three
Brothers, is thirty-nine hundred feet
above the Valley floor. From this point
we get the finest and most extensive view
of the Valley, and also a part of the High
Sierras in the distance.
YosEMiTB Point.
Yosemite Point, just east of Yosemite
Falls, is thirty-two hundred and twenty
feet above the Valley. Here also can be
obtained a magnificent view of the Val-
ley far below.
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North Dome. Eoyal Arch^k.
Washington Column.
The North Dome, thirty-seven hundred
and twenty-flve feet high, is a great
rounded mass of granite made up of
huge concentric plates of rock overlap-
ping each other.
Lower down on the face of the wall,
where the edges have been broken off
and carried away, these concentric plates
form the great Royal Arches. These
Arches show very plainly the concentric
structure of the dome, the top of which
is only accessible from the rear side.
Adjoining the Royal Arches is a fine
shaft of granite known as the Washing-
ton Column.
The Half Dome.
The Half Dome, ofi the opposite side,
facing Teneiya Canyon, is five thousand
feet in height above the Valley, and is
the loftiest mass of rock of those con-
sidered as a part of the Yosemite.
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On the side fronting Teneiya Canyon
it is absolutely vertical for nearly two
thousand feet from the summit and then
falls off in a steep incline to the bottom
of the canyon.
On the opposite side the Half Dome
has a rounded form at the top, and grows
more and more steep to the bottom.
The whole appearance of this great
mass of roek is that of an originally
dome-shaped elevation with a very steep
curve, of which a great part of the west-
em half has been split off. This evi-
dently took place while Teneiya Canyon
was still occupied by the remains of the
great glacier which at an earlier period
filled it. This debris, falling upon the
glacier, was carried a little further down
and dropped when the glacier melted.
In the fall of the year 1876, George
Anderson, then a resident of Yosemite,
worked his way up to the top of the Half
Dome with drills, iron eyebolts and
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ropes, and was the first man to stand
upon its tofty summit.
There is an area of many acres wliieh
can be safely traveled over on the top,
and in many places, where soil has ac-
cumulated from the disintegrated gran-
ite, there are flowering plants and some
small trees.
From the top of the vertical side front-
ing Teneiya Canyon there is a great open
craek extending back into the Dome
nearly one hundred feet. In dropping a
small pebble into this crack it can be
heard rattling down a long distance.
This great fracture in the rock was un-
doubtedly made at the time the western
part of the dome was split off. This
great cataclysm I think must have been
caused by some tremendous subterran-
ean force upheaving this part of the
earth's surface.
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the: half dome:
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WATERFALLS IN TOSEMITE VALLEY.
Bridal Veil Fall.
THE Bridal Veil Fall, on the south
side of the entrance to the Valley,
is nine hundred feet in height, and is
formed by a creek of the same name,
which has its source about fifteen miles
to the south in a series of meadows gen-
erally known as the Bridal Veil Mead-
ows.
This waterfall is certainly one of the
most interesting objects in Yosemite
when seen about five o 'clock in the
afternoon, in the clear sunshine, illum-
inated by magnificent rainbows.
The upper part of the fall is a perpen-
dicular descent of six hundred feet. It
then descends in rapids three hundred
feet to the level of the Valley.
It has its most charming and fascinat-
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ing effect when at about two-thirds of its
early spring volume, and when swayed
back and forth by the wind, which con-
stantly ehanges its appearance, there
being no two minutes in succession when
it looks the same. T-.ate in the season it
becomes a verj- small stream.
Ribbon or Virgin's Tears Fall.
Tlie Ribbon or Virgin's Tears Fall is
thirty-three hundred feet in height and
is situated on the opposite side of the
Valley from the Bridal Veil.
In the early part of the season it is a
very wonderful and interesting water-
fall, coming down in a deep recess in the
face of the wall twenty-three hundred
feet perpendicular to the great pile of
talus, then one thousand feet in rapids
till it nears its junction with the Merced
River.
This waterfall is almost entirely over-
looked, or at least little noticed by most
visitors, on account of the far superior
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and more beautifol appearance of the
Bridal Veil Fall directly opposite.
YosEMiTE Falls.
The Yosemite Falls, about midway up
the Valley on the north side, are perhaps
in the early part of the season one of
the most conspicuous and interesting
features of Yosemite, being in plain view
from the hotel, public camps, and busi-
ness center of the Valley.
They are formed by the Yosemite
Creek, which rises on the northwest side
of the Mount Hoffman group about fif-
teen miles northeast of the Valley. Be-
ing fed entirely by the melting snow, its
volume varies greatly at different times
and seasons.
The Falls are in three distinct parts.
The lip or edge of the Upper Fall is in
round numbers twenty-six hundred feet
above the Valley. This lip or edge,
througn centuries of erosion, has become
a narrow circular depression in the
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smooth polished granite over which the
rushing water plunges in a perpendic-
ular descent of sixteen hundred feet,
striking on a solid ledge of granite about
one-fourth of a mile back from the lower
portion of the cliff. From uere the wide
spreading stream converges into a nar-
row gorge and plunges in a series of
cascades down a descent equal to six
hiandrecl feet perpendicular xmtil it
reaches the top of the Lower Fall, where
it makes a final plunge of four hundred
feet to the base of the vertical precipice
near tne level of the Valley floor. All
this can be plainly seen from the Glacier
Point trail at Union Point, on the oppo-
site side of the Valley.
The width of the stream at the top of
the Upper Fall, at a medium stage of
water, is about thirty feet, with a depth
of two feet. This widens out towards
the bottom to over two hundred feet.
One of the most striking features of
this Fall is its swaying motion from one
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side to the other under the varying pres-
sure of the wind, which acts with great
force on so long a column.
Water in motion does not run in a
steady even current, but flows in a series
of waves. This is plainly to be seen in
the Upper Yosemite Fall, and, as each
successive wave descends, its crest sepa-
rates into small streams which soon van-
ish in spray. These small streams are
commonly called water-rockets. These
two peculiar and very interesting fea-
tures — the swaying and wave motions-
in the Upper Yosemite and Bridal Veil
Falls — are not seen in any of the other
falls of less altitude.
In the early part of the season, when
the snow on the mountains in the near
vicinity of the Valley is melting rapidly,
the volume of water in the Upper Yosem-
ite Fall is so great and heavy that it
jars the ground a mile distant, frequent-
ly coming down with such force and.
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weight as to make a report like distant
artitlery.
Back of the bottom of this fall there is
quite a large cave, which has probably
been made by the eroding action of ice
in the winter, and it may be possible that
the great mass of water, when it strikes
the solid ledge in front, causes a concus-
sion of the air in this cave wliich aids
in maKing these loud reports.
During the winter season a large
amount of ice accumulates at the foot of
the Upper Yosemite Fall. In the cold
freezing nights large sheets of ice and
great icicles are formed on the face of
the vertical walls on each side of the fall-
ing water. When the sun shines bright
and clear in the day time these great
masses of ice loosen and fall to the bot-
tom. The spray is also constantly fall-
ing in hail and snow, which forms a
NOTE.— The photograph on page 67 ahowa an Ice
cone five hundred and fifty feet high at the fool of
Upper Yosemite Falls. The two amall figures on
the left-hand side are George Anderson and Galen
Clark.
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great cone-shaped mound. During some
winters this mound grows to be more
than five hundred feet high, and the
great cave at the base of the fall is
pressed solidly full of ice.
"Wonderful ice formations are seen at
the base of all the falls in winter.
Sentinel Fall.
Sentinel Fall, thirty-two hundred and
seventy feet high, is formed by a small
stream known as Sentinel Creek, which
has its source in the Pot Hole Meadows
about four miles distant on the south
side of the Valley. This fall comes
down in a succession of steep cascades
very fine in the early spring, but it is
usually dry by the latter part of July.
KoYAL Akch Fall.
The Eoyal Arch Fall has a descent of
two thousand feet down a steep incline
on the face of the wall at the western
edge of the Eoyal Arches, It is a fine
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waterfall early in tlie season, but is
short lived, generally becoming di-\- in
July.
Ii,Liix}UEXTE Fall,
The Itlilouette Fall is located between
Glacier Point and the Vernal Fall, at
the entrance to the upper canyon of the
Merced River, above the level of the
Valley. It is seen from the trail going
to the Vernal and Nevada Falls, and can
also be seen, from above, on the trail
from Nevada Fall to Glacier Point,
which passes close to the top of the-
Illilouette Fall.
This waterfall never gets entirely drj'.
It is formed by the Illilouette Creek,
which has its source in the Merced group
of mountains, a lower part of the High
Sierras.
Vernal Fall.
The Vernal Fall is three hundred and
fifty feet high, and is one hundred feet
wide at the top during the full flood vol-
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"ume, in the early part of the season. It
is formed by the main Merced River,
This is one of the most perfect per-
pendicular water falls in Yosemite. On
the south side, at the top, there is a huge
slab of granite rock which forms a para-
]Det nearly breast high, over which one
may Iook down the face of the fall and
the rapids below. From below we get
the finest view from Lady Tranklin
Rock, and this view is the most interest-
ing at a medium stage of water. A foot
trail leads up from Lady Franklin Rock
to the top of Vernal Fall. During the
hours of sunshine in this locality, when
passing through the dense spray near
the foot of the fall, a perfect circular
rainbow can be seen.
Above the Vernal Fall is the Emerald
Pool, deep and placid, where the rushing
river seems to stop for a moment of
quiet rest before making its graceful
plunge over the perpendicular cliff on
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its rapid course past the Happy Isles
to tlic5 vale of beauty below.
Next above the Emerald Pool is the
Silver Apron, a broad white sheet of
water swiftly gliding down the smooth
surface of the inclined bed rock at a
speed of nearly a mile a minute when the
river is at its full spring flow.
Then come the Diamond Cascades,
just Delow the trail bridge, where the
whole river bursts with terrific force
into scattered fragments from the outlet
of the narrow deep smooth granite flume.
The river rapids extend above this to
the foot of Nevada Fall, forming a rare
combination of wonderfully picturesque
river scenery.
Nevada Fall.
The Nevada Fall is nearly one mile
higher up the Merced Eiver than the
Vernal Fall, and is six hundred feet
high. Near the top of the fall there is
a projecting ledge of rock which throws
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NBVADA PALI,
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a part of the stream off a little to one
side with a peculiar twist which adds
considerably to its general effect. Be-
low this the face of the wall is not quite
perpendicular, but at a full stage of
water this is scarcely noticed, as the
great volume of water is forced so far
out at the top that the front face of the
fall is nearly perpendicular. Late in the
summer, when the river is at its lowest
stage, the whole stream of water glides
down the broad smooth face of the wall
in a never ending series of most exquis-
ite long lace waves, forming the most
fascinating object of beauty of its kind
to be seen in Yosemite.
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MIRROR LAKE.
THIS small sheet of water is not in the
Valley proper. It is located at the
entrance of Teneiya Canyon at the base
of the great Half Dome, When seen in
the morning before the sun rises it is an
enchanting little lake environed by grand
mountain scenerj', all of whit^h is seen
mirrored in its apparently unfathomable
depths.
One of the most interesting scenes
is a mirror view of the sunrise from
behind the Half Dome or adjacent
elifif. At first a small portion of
the snn's disk is seen as a bright star.
In a moment it enlarges too bright to
look at. By moving a few steps into a
place of shadow the experience can be
repeatea, and by several changes of this
kina many sunrises may be seen in a
few minutes any fair morning.
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MIRROR LAKE AND MT. W.
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TREES IN TOSEMITE VALLEY.
Cone-Bearebs.
PINES. — The leaves of pines are needle
shaped, enclosed in a sheath at their
junction with the branch, and vary in
numbers and length in different varie-
ties.
Yellow Pine (Ptnus ponder'osa)—The
leaves of this variety grow in clusters of
three, and are dark green in color and
average about six inches in length in full
grown trees. On young thrifty trees
they are two or more inches longer.
Cones, when mature, before the scales en-
closing the seeds dry and open, are about
three inches in length and one inch in
diameter.
This pine is often found two hundred
feet in height and eight to ten feet in
diameter, the average height of mature
trees being about one hundred and sev-
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enty-five feet with a diameter of six or
seven feet.
Black Pine {Pinus Jeffreyi) — Only a
few trees of this variety of pines are
found in Yosemite. Its natural habitat
is at a higher altitude. It is said to be
a variety of the Ponderosa. Its leaves
are in clusters of three, about six inches
long, of a light green color with a bright
silvery sheen. The cones are about five
inches in length and three inches in di-
ameter. The body and height of full
grown trees are not quite equal to the
Ponderosa.
Sugar Pine {Pinus Lambertiana) —
This is a variety of the White Pine. Its
leaves grow in clusters of five, about
three inches long and lightish green in
color. The cones are the longest of any
of the pine-tree family, but vary very
much in length on different trees and at
different altitudes. The average length
is about sixteen inches, but in many in-
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stances tliey are found over twenty
inches long. This tree gets the name of
Sugar Pine from the fact that where the
trees are burned deep into the heart a
moist substance exudes and dries in
white globules of a sweet taste, much
like sugar. The Sugar Pine grows to
about the same diameter and height as
the Ponderosa. It is considered the
most valuable lumber tree in California.
There are but few of them growing in
Yosemite Valley.
Tamarack Pine {Pinus Murrayana) —
The natural habitat of this pine is at a
much higher altitude than Yosemite, but
there are a few growing in the Valley
started from seeds brought down by
flood waters. This pine has only two
leaves about two inches long, in a fas-
cicle. The cones are not much larger
than a lady's thimble. The bark is very
thin, which renders the tree easily killed
bv fire. It is not a good tree for lumber.
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Douglas Spruce {Pseudotsuga Doug-
lasii)^This tree is found quite plentiful-
ly in some parts of Yosemite. Its small
narrow leaves, about one inch in length,
are attached to the slender twigs in ir-
regular order. The cones are about two
inches long, with bracts exserted beyond
the scales. This tree grows to a large
size, six or seven feet in diameter and
one hundred and fifty feet in height. It
is considered one of the best of timber
trees, on account of standing well the
extreme conditions of wet and dry ex-
posure.
White Fir {Abies concolar) — This is
the only variety of fir growing in Yosem-
ite Valley. It grows to a large size —
five and six feet in diameter and over
one hundred feet high. The small, nar-
row leaves, a little over an inch in length
and light green in color, grow in regular
close rows on each side of the slender
branches. The cones are about three
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the: happy isles
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inelies long and about one inch in diam-
eter. The scales are not persistent like
those of the pines and spruces; when
fully ripe they fall to pieces.
White Cedab (Libocedrus decurrcns)
— This tree grows to a large size in
Yosemite. It is found, in many in-
stances, seven and eight feet in diameter
and one hundred and fifty feet high. It
does not have a regular cone. The seed
Yessel is small, about an inch in length
and half an inch in diameter, with a scale
on each side of a septum. Under each
scale two seeds are matured with a per-
manent wing appendage. When the
seeds are ripe the scales dry and open,
and the seeds are scattered broadcast by
the winds. The young trees very much
resemble the Arbor Vita.
Oaks.
Black OAK{Querc'us Kelloggii) — This
tree is very common in Yosemite. Its
wide-spreading branches and dome-
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shaped top makes it a very conspicuous
and ornamental part of the forest scen-
erj'. In the fall of the year its abundant
green foliage turns to an orange color,
adding much to the charm of the autum-
nal landscape. The acorns are highly
prized by the Indians, who grind them
into meal from which they make bread.
Before using this meal it is put through
a leaching process, which takes out all
the bitter astringent quality.
Live Oak. [Quercus chrysolepis) —
This oak grows around the borders of
the Valley among the fallen rocks at the
base of the walls. The wood, when well
seasoned, is the hardest of any tree in
California.
Otheb Trees,
Cottonwood {Populus Balsamiffera)
— This tree grows on the banks of
streams and borders of marshy mead-
ows. It is not a true cottonwood, but
gets its common name from the fine
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■white material, like cotton, which is slied
from the seed pods when ripe. This,
falling on the ground, gives the appear-
ance of a recent small snow storm. The
buds are viscid and aromatic in odor
and are said to be medicinal in quality.
Aldeb {Alnus viridis) — This tree
grows on the banks of the streams and
in wet localities. In some instances it
is found a good sized tree nearly two
feet in diameter and fifty feet high.
Maple (Acer macrophyllum) — This is
the only variety of maple found down
near the floor of the Valley. It grows
among the rocks at the base of the great
-walls. It never grows to a very large tree
in Yosemite, the largest being only about
one foot in diameter and forty feet high.
It is remarkable for its large leaves,
which in many instances are six inches
or more wide. In the autumn its bright
lemon-colored foliage makes it very (con-
spicuous.
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Quaking Aspen {Populus trcmuloides)
— This variety of poplar gets its name
from the constant trembling of its leaves,
which move with the slightest impulse
from the air. It is a small tree in
Yosemite. Its native habitat is at a
higher altitude.
California Laurel {Tetranthera Cal-
iforntca) — This variety of the California
Laurel does not often grow to be a large
tree in Yosemite. It is more like a large
shrub than a tree. Its leaves are of a
bright glossy green in color and when
crushed emit a strong, pungent odor
quite similar to that of bay rum. The
leaves are often used to protect woolen
goods from the ravages of moths.
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FLOWERING SHRUBS IN YOSEMITE.
/r\oGwooD {Gonius Nuttallii) — Only a
r^— ' few of the most common and attrac-
tive shrubs will here be mentioned. One
of tiiese is the dogwood. In the month of
^laj', with its large, white, showy flowers
three inches in diameter, it is a pleasing
sight never to be forgotten. Later on,
in October, its brilliant colored leaves
are even more attractive than its flowers.
^AzAT. EA {Azalea occidentalis) — This
beautiful flowering shrub is very abund-
ant along the banks of the Merced River
and other streams and slough borders in
Yoseniite. It begins to open its white,
fragrant blooms early in June, closely
following the dogwood's decaying flow-
ers. In some cold, shady places it may
be found in bloom until late in Jji|y.
The flowers are generally white, with a
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yellow blotch on one of the lobes. In
some rare instances the flowers have a
very pretty pink tinge.
Manzasita (Arctostaphi/los glauca) —
This variety of the Manzanita {Spanish
for "Little Apple'.') with its dark reti
bark and great number of ridged, crook-
ed branches forming a symmetrical
rounded top, is the most attractive and
beautiful shrub in Yosemite. It pre-
sents the curious anomaly of having an
evergreen foliage and a deciduous bark,
the old bark exfoliating every summer
when the new bark is formed beneath.
This is green in color at first, but soon
changes to dark red on exposure to the
atmosphere and sunlight. This bark is
as thin as tine paper. The Manzanita
blossoms in the early spring. The flow-
ers are small, white, fragrant, w axen
bells in^mall clusters, in some instances
slightly tinged with pale pink. The
fruit is a small berry, and when ripe is
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of a red color and has the taste or flavor
of dried apples. The Indians make
great use of it as an edible berry, and
also make an excellent sweetish cider by -+*i
crushing the berries and leaching water
through the mass in one of their strainer
Califo bjjia Lil ac (Ceanotlius hiteger-
rimus) — T'his variety of the California
Lilac is quite numerous along the rocky
borders of Yosemite Valley. Its
branches are of a green color. Its flow-
ers are white, in dense oblong clusters
from two to three inches in length. They
are very fragrant, with the strong odor
of wintergreen. The young growth of
the branches also has the strong flavor
of wintergreen or black birch. There is
another variety of the Ceanothus grow-
ing in the sandy part of the Valley, near
the cemetery, with pale blue flowers.
Spice Bush or Sweet-Scented Shruk
(Calycanthus occidentalis) — This is an-
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other one of the beautiful shrubs in
Yosemite. It grows in rather wet,
rocky places. The flowers are of a dark
red or w ine color, having a spicy, fra-
grant odor. This shrub is not fonnd
very plentifully around the Valley floor,
the altitude being a little above its favor-
ite habitat.
_, Wild Syringa (PhUadelphus) — This,
with its~~dense masses of pure white
flowers, forms another of the attractive
flowering shrubs in Yosemite, It resem-
bles very much the cultivated syringa.
,:_^ViLD.KosE {Rosa blanda) — This vari-
ety is quite plentiful in Yosemite. The
bushes are three or four feet high, well
armed with sharp, curved thorns. Its
flowers are of a pink color, and very
fragrant.
Elder (Sambucus glauca) — This vari-
ety is very common in Yosemite. The
stems are from six to eight feet high.
Its flowers are white, in targe flat-top
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clusters. Its fruit is a small, dark-
colored berry covered with a light-col-
ored bloom. These berries are tart in
flavor and make fine jellies. They are
a great favoritejvith the Indians.
C hoke Che bries (Prunus demissa) —
This is a very common shrub in the Val-
ley. It grows from six to ten feet high.
The flowers are white, in dense clusters
two to three inches long, emitting a
strong and not unpleasant odor. The
fruit is dark red in color, and very as-
tringent until dead ripe. Th^Indians
gather all they can get of them.
Thimble Berby (Rubus Nutkanus) —
This is a variety of the raspberry. It
is generally a low shrub, about three feet
high, with large broad leaves. Its flow-
ers are white, an incli in diameter. Its.
fruit is red and juicy, with a slightly
acid, pleasant taste.
Willow — Willows are very numerous
in Yosemite, along the banks of the Mer-
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eed River and smaller streams, and in
the marshy meadows. Their beautiful
white silky catkins, as they emerge
from their winter wrappings, are always
a joyful sight as the heralds of the com-
ing spring, proclaiming the resurrection
to renewed life of alt Nature's most
charming features.
Wild Coffee (Rhamnus Californica)
— This is a very common shrub in Yo-
semite. It is from six to eight feet high.
It gets its name of Wild Coffee from the
fact that the two seeds in the berry very
much resemble the coffee bean, but that
is as far as any resemblance goes. Upon
careful analysis it is found to have none
of the qualities of coffee. Its flowers are
very small and inconspicuous, but the
bark contains valuable medicinal quali-
ties. For this reason it was called by
the Mission Fathers Cascara Sagrada—
the sacred bark. An extract from the
bark is the most valuable laxative known.
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Yerba Santa {Ermdictyon Californi-
cum) — This shrub is about three feet
high. Its flowers are purple. Its leaves
are thick and glutinousT^a bitter aro-
matic taste, and are highly prized by the
native Indians as a remedy for rheuma-
tism, colds and fever.
, ftF.Rvrf,i.-. B f.rry ( Am,elanrkip.r alnifoUa)
— This in Yosemite is a slender shrub
three to six feet high. Its flowers are
. white . Its fruit is a berry nearly black,
sweet and .iuicy, and highly prized by the
Indians.
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FLOWERING PLANTS IN YOSEMITE.
T^HERE are said to be over one hun-
' dred diiferent kinds of flowering-
plants in Yosemite. Only a very few of
them will be here mentioned, and, as the
author is not a botanist, no attempt will
be made to give a minute botanical anal-
ysis.
Persons visiting Yosemite who wish
to study the flowers there, should pro-
vide themselves with Mary Elizabeth
Parsons ' illustrated book on ' ' Wild
Flowers of California." It is one of
the best books of the kind published for
beginners in the study of flowers.
Black-Eyed Susan {Helleniwm grand-
ifolia) — This, with its numerous showy
yellow flowers, is very abundant along
the lowlands of the streams and marshy
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Shooting Stars or Wild Cyclamen
{Dodecatheon Meadia) — This is a very
early spring flower growing in wet
ground. Its stems are a foot or more
high. These flowers are peculiar in ap-
pearance, are of varying color, and very
beautiful.
Small Tigeb J Jjlly or Alpine Lilv
(Lilium parvum) — This lily grows in
rich, moist soil and wet meadows. Its
rich green leaves are in a succession of
■whorls up the stem, which is sometimes
six feet high and crowned with a head
of numerous small orange-colored flow-
ers It blooms during the months of
July and August.
Rein Orchis (Hebenaria leucostachys)
— This is found in the wet meadows, two
to three feet high. Its flowers are pure
white, in a long dense spike. It blooms
late in the summer.
Yellow Pond Lily {Nuphar Advena)
— The only place in Yosemite where this
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lily is found is in a little pond a short
distance from the Sentinel Hotel, on the
opposite side of the river. In the higher
range of mountains it is found in many
small shallow ponds.
The Evening Pkimbose (Enothera bi-
ennis) — This is very common in Yosem-
ite, growing from two to three feet high,
terminating in a long slender head with
a series of upright buds in various stages
of development. It begins blooming at
its base about sunset, one or more buds
bursting from their close wraps and de-
veloping within about five minutes into
large yellow flowers, which wither next
day and arefoftSwed by new ones every
evening.
Pussy's Paws {Spraguea umbellata) —
This grows in sandy soil. It flowers in
dense spikes of a ro^e cpjpr, growing in
a bunch much resembling a kitten's foot,
hence the name "pussy's paws."
Lupines (Lupinus bicolor) — Lupines
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are very abundant in Yosemite, growing
in sandy soil, in early all of them have
bi-coiored flowers — blue and whitg.
Indian Paint Bbush {Castilleia lati-
/oiia ) — Tliis^ planV with its elongated
bright scarlet head, is very conspicuous
among its vivid green surroundings. It
blooms in June.
CoLLiHsiA (Collinsia tinctoria) — The
Collinsia, with its delicate showj' white-
and-purple blossoms arranged in many '
storiea rings, grows in the dense shade
of the great black oaks in Yosemite.
When picking the flowers the sap of the
stem stains the fingers a brown color.
GrODETiA (Godeiia amoena) — In early
summer this plant, with its delicate dark
pink flowers blotched with bright crim-
son, is one of the most beautiful and
show;' flowers in Yosemite. The flowers
close up at night and open the next day.
It is sometimes known as "Farewell to
Spring."
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Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) — The
yarrow is very common in Yosemite, but
its white flowers, in a dense flat cluster,
are seldom honored by a place in a choice
bouqnet. It was formerly in high repute
for its varied medicinal qualities.
(Jbeat Willow Herb {EpUobium spi-
catujii) — This grows very luxuriantly in
some parts of the Valley, being from
four to seven feet high, terminating in a
great spike of very showy pink flowers
which commence blooming fate " in July.
Its roots are said to contain valuable
medicinal qualities of a tonic character.
':.,CQEEaEaia — A variety of wild coreop-
sis is seen in all parts of Yosemite Val-
ley, from one to three feet high. It has
bright yellow flowers, which partly close
at night, opening out early the next
morning, and seem to turn their bright
faces towards the sun throughout the
day, apparently being devout sun wor-
shipers.
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Snow Plant {Sarcodes i
TWsJjlood^Tfidr and brilliantly attractive
plant is met with in a few localities in
Yosemite. The stout succulent stem,
covere,, with waxlike, beli-shaped flow-
ers, and delicate, semi-transparent, slen-
der leaves that intertwine among the
bells, all being blood red, makes it the
most conspicuous and beautiful flower in
the Sierras. It is met with on al! the
routes to Yosemite and the Big Trees.
The name it bears might give the im-
pression that it grew in the Sierra snows,
but this is not the case. It never shows
its red crown rmtil several days after the
winter snow has melted away. Some-
times, however, a snow storm may come
in the spring after it is up in. full bloom.
It is thought by some botanists to be a
parasitic plant, they claiming that it only
grows on the decaying roots of some
coniferous trees. This has been well
proved to be untrue.
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Other Flowebing Plants — Grolden
Eod (SoUdago Galifornica), Bl\ie Lark-
spur (Delphinium), Col umbin g (Aquile-
gia truncata), Golden Star (Bloomeria
aurea), Blue Milla {Brodiaea laxa), blue
and other varieties of the Penstemon,
blue, yellow and white violets, and many
other very beautiful flowering plants, are
well represented in Yosemite. The open
expanse of green grassy meadows, be-
spangled with a multitude of bright col-
ored flowers, is a most charming feature
of the landscape.
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YOSBMITB VALLGV IN WINTBR
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FERNS IN YOSEMITE.
THE many kinds of ferns, large and
small, to be found on the floor of the
Valley, and on the rocky talus at the base
of the great walls that surround it, form
one of the minor charms of Yosemite,
The Common Brake (Pteris aquilina)
— This is found in all parts of the floor
of the Valley and in some localities it
attains a height of four feet, with broad
spreading fronds.
WooDWARDiA Radicans — This beautiful
large fern is found in wet rocky places.
Maidenhair [Adiantum pedatum)—
This grows at the base of the great
waterfalls, and wet shady cavities and
clefts in the rocks at the base of the
walls.
Other Varieties— Pelloea densa, Pel-
loea Bridgesii, Pelloea inacronata, Chei-
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lantkus gracilliina, Cystopteris Fragilis,
the gold-back Gymnogramme Triangu-
laris, the moss-baet Woodsia Scopulina,
and several varieties of the shield fern,
are found among the rocks at the base of
the surrounding walls. There are many
other beautiful ferns whose names I have
never learned.
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HINTS TO YOSEMITE VISITORS.
THE following paragraphs, contain-
ing information and suggestions
likely to be of value to tourists in Yosem-
ite, are re-printed, with some additions,
from the author's hook on "The Indians
of the Yosemite," published in 1904:
Secure stage seats in advance.
Take only hand baggage, unless for a
protracted visit. For a short trip, an
outing suit and two or three waists, with
a change for evening wear, will be found
sufBeient. The free baggage allowance
on the stage lines is fifty pounds.
Men will find flannel or negligee shirts
the most comfortable.
In April, May and June wear warm
clothing and take heavy wraps. In July.
August and September wear medimn
clothing, with light wraps. In October
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and November wear warm clothing, with
heavy wraps. The nights are cool at all
Dusters are always advisable, and
ladies should provide some light head
covering to protect the hair from dust.
Sun bonnets are frequently worn.
Short skirts are most convenient.
Divided skirts are proper for trail
trips, as ladies are required to ride
astriae. Heavy denim for skirts and
bloomers is very satisfactory. Such
skirts can be hired in the Valley.
Waists of soft material and neutral
shades are appropriate. Avoid white.
Something absolutely soft for neck-
wear will be found a great comfort, both
by men and women.
Leggings, stout comfortable shoes and
heavy, loose gloves, will be found very
serviceable.
A soft felt hat is preferable to straw.
One that will shade the eyes is best. A
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cloth traveling cap is the worst thing to
wear.
Smoked glasses will sometimes save
the wearer a headache.
Except in March, April, May, Novem-
ber and December, an umbrella is apt to
be a useless encumbrance.
If the skin is sensitive, and one wishes
to avoid painful sunburn, the use of a
pure cream and soft cloth is preferable
to water, and far more efBcacious.
A week is the shortest time that should
be allowed for a trip to Yosemite. Two
weeks are better. The grandeur of the
Valley cannot be fully appreciated in a
few days.
On walking trips, let the clothing be
so loose as not to be binding on any part
of the body. A light strong staff four
or five feet in length will be of much
service both in going up and down the
trails.
In starting on the up-grade don't
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hurry ; go slowly ; stop often for a min-
ute or two.
Don't talk while walking; keep your
mouth shut, and breathe through your
nose. Talk all you wish while stopping
for a short rest.
Your lungs will soon get into a more
expansive condition and you can increase
the distance between resting spells, and
will arrive at your destination in good
condition to enjoy the magnificent views.
Those not accustomed to staging or
mountain climbing should make some
allowance in their itineraries for rest.
Many visitors spoil their pleasure by
getting too tired.
Take a little more money than you
think will be needed. You may want to
prolong your stay.
Hunting, or the possession of fire-
arms, is not permitted in the Yosemite
National Park. Fishing is allowed, and
in June and July an expert angler is
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likely to be well rewarded. Eods and
tackle may be hired in the Valley.
There is no hardship, risk or danger
in any part of the Yosemite trip. Many
old people and children visit the Valley
without difficulty.
A knowledge of horsemanship is not
needed for going on the trails. The
most timid people make the trips with
enjoyment. Some of the finest views
can only be obtained in this way.
There is a laundry in the Valley.
There is a barber shop.
There is a postoffiee, telegraph and
express.
There is a general store and places for
the sale of photographs, curios and In-
dian work.
Treat the Indians with courtesy and
consiaeration, if you expect similar
treatment from them. Do not expect
them to pose for you for nothing. They
are asKed to do it hundreds of times
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