Letter from R[obert] U[nderwood] J[ohnson] to John Muir, 1897 Aug 3.

• Main Author: Johnson, Robert Underwood
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Scholarly Commons 1897
• Subjects: Environmentalist; naturalist; travel; conservation; national parks; John Muir; history; correspondence; letters; Yukon; glacier; Alaska
• Online Access: https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/muir-correspondence/2281; https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/context/muir-correspondence/article/3280/viewcontent/muir09_0992_let.pdf

[1][letterhead]1897Aug.3.Dear Muir:Here is a proposition form the Century Magazine of New York. It is that you should write for it a group of short articles _ say a page or two in length each on the curious or wonderful things you have seen or experienced in your exploration calling them "Notes of an Explorer" or something better & printing several at once. In this you could describe that wonderful aurora in02323 [2]Alaska, the adventure on the glacier when the buzzards were looking for you, the Salmon Stories and lots of serious and humorous experience, in short a sort of "Camp-fire talk," even bringing in your "John the Divine" story as sauce to scientific meat This would make a readable mixture of grave and gay. Your memory is chockful of interesting reminiscences of scentific men of [humor?] Dr. John Hall (!) & others which would be interesting and would relieve the seriousness of the purely scientific material. Will you just save the plums for the Century. And by the way have you anything interesting to say of the Klondike? If so, now is your time.Remember that I shall said for London August 21" and let me have a word about this before I leave--or if that isn't possible wirte Mr. Gilder afterward. I suppose you are with Prof. Sargent by this time If so remember me to him cordially.[3] (Muir 2)[letterhead]Why not sit down on receipt of this & sketch out two or three papers of these notes, and see how the thing would look? Could you make one or two Yukon region alone? If so, do it at once.Wasn't the "Alaska Trip" a timely hit, appearing on the very heels of the gold excitement? Heaven favors the virtuous.The Atlantic paper is good & I hear people speak of it. but dont let Page allure you away from your first love.See how we advertise you always as the author of "The Mountains of California".02323 [4]We really out to say A.M. or L.L.D. for I see the University of Wis. has been honoring you. The more the many-er. I congratulate you.Good-bye. Dont fall down a glacier. Heaven bless you!Faithfully ...