The John Muir Newsletter, Winter 2003/2004
Newsletter ^ERSnY OF THE PACIFIC, STOCKTON. CA Volume 14, Number l Winter 2008-2004 John Mum and Civilization Corinne Wong, Clackamas, Oregon (Editor's note: Corinne Wong is a graduating senior double majoring in Environmental Studies and Geosciences. In addition, Wong is a student athlete in w...
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| Summary: | Newsletter ^ERSnY OF THE PACIFIC, STOCKTON. CA Volume 14, Number l Winter 2008-2004 John Mum and Civilization Corinne Wong, Clackamas, Oregon (Editor's note: Corinne Wong is a graduating senior double majoring in Environmental Studies and Geosciences. In addition, Wong is a student athlete in women's basketball at the University of the Pacific. This paper was prepared in the Fall of 2002 for an undergraduate course, "John Muir and the Environment.") J-ohn Muir was very much a man of nature. He was a geologist, botanist, mountaineer, nature writer, and, as most commonly recognized, a conservationist. His love for nature is a well-known aspect of his life. Most Muir scholars enthusiastically present Muir in a nature setting, lost in study among the glaciers or wildflowers, enthralled by the beauty and wonderment of an aesthetic scene, wandering in person and/or thought through some vast wilderness, or writing and commenting cheerfully on any variety of happy little creatures. A marker at John Muir Memorial Park in Wisconsin does much to present this image, He came to America as a lad of eleven, spent his teen years in hard work clearing the farm across this lake, carving out a home in the wilderness. In the 'sunny woods, overlooking a flowery glacial meadow and a lake rimmed with water lilies,' he found an environment that fanned the fire of his zeal and love for all nature, which, as a man, drove him to study, afoot, alone and unafraid, the forests, mountains and glaciers of the west to become the most ragged, fervent naturalist America has produced, and the Father of the National Parks of our country. .' Muir's love of "Nature" and his quest to lead others to nature by his own example consumed much of his time, and is key and most relevant to historians, especially in terms of the conservation movement. However, other aspects of his life are skimmed over with mere mention; or they are completely overlooked. Muir is remembered as a nature lover and conservationist, but hardly ever as a stem, successful businessman, as a popular member of elite social circles, or as a husband and loving father. More specifically, Muir's life in relation to civilization is under- discussed. By the end of his life Muir was active in society, a fact that seems quite contradictory to the most commonly painted image of Muir, alone in the grand wilderness. How did Muir view civilization, and what might have been the thoughts behind those feelings? What was Muir's relationship to civilization, and how did this change throughout his life? To begin, it is helpful to have a thumbnail sketch, or timeline, of his life. He was born in Scotland in 1838, and immigrated to the United States ten years later when his father settled the family in Wisconsin. Muir worked on the family's farm through the 1850s under the vigilant watch and strict rule of his father. He used the little spare time he had or could steal, to read, self-educate himself, and experiment with various mechanical inventions. In 1860, (continued on page 4) . . . page 1 SCIENCE LESSON PLANS INSPIRED BY LEGENDARY NATURALIST JOHN MUIR NOW AVAILABLE The Sierra Club announces new standards-aligned Science Lesson Plans inspired by and using John Muir's adventures and explorations. John Muir was the famed naturalist, explorer, writer, conservationist, renowned for his exciting adventures in California's Sierra Nevada, among Alaska's glaciers, and world wide travels in search of nature's beauty. As a writer, he taught the people of his time and ours the importance of experiencing and protecting our natural heritage. Learning about John Muir's life can serve as a launching pad to science-based environmental studies through plant and animal habitats, ecosystems, earthquakes, avalanches, glaciers, geology, weather, biodiversity, and forests, as we discover that, as John Muir said, "When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe." The Science Lesson Plans are the latest installment in the John Muir Study Guide, a K-12 Curriculum Guide for implementing California Education Code Section 37222 and celebrating John Muir's Birthday each April 21. While the original Study Guide is focused on History and Social Science, the new lesson plans are aligned to the California Academic Content Standards for Science or each grade level, K-12. Both curricula can be used at any time of the year, and contain subject matter relevant outside California as well. The new Science Lesson Plans were written by Janet Wood, M.S. Geoscience Education, with the John Muir Education Committee of the Sierra Club. Teachers may obtain the new Science Lesson Plans free of charge at the following website: http://www.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/lessons/science/ For more information, Contact: Harold Wood, (559) 739-8527 harold.wood@sierraclub.org increase San Francisco's annual rental of Hetch Hetchy Valley from 530,000 to $8 million, and to ear-mark the money for Yosemite. Each year, San Francisco receives approximately 30 to 40 million dollars from the sale of hydro-power from three powerhouses (Kirkwood, Moccasin, and Holm) located outside the Park that are tied to the Hetch Hetchy power grid. It's amounted to over $670 million for the benefit of San Francisco since 1979, according to a report by the San Francisco Chronicle. In a nine-page letter to Yosemite Superintendent Michael Tollefson, Restore Hetch Hetchy Executive Director, Ron Good, suggested possible uses for new revenues: Visitors Center at Hetch Hetchy: Currently, there is no Visitors Center at Hetch Hetchy Valley that could serve as an' educational center for Park visitors to learn about the natural history, cultural history of Native Americans, and the debate led by John Muir regarding Hetch Hetchy's proper role in the Park. Visitors Centers are located throughout other locations in Yosemite; Interpretive/Educational Park Rangersat Hetch Hetchy: Currently, there are no Interpretive/Educational Park Rangers assigned to Hetch Hetchy, despite the fact that interpretation activities have become an integral part of the Park experience for our national park visitors. Congressman George Radanovich who is Chair of the National Parks Subcommittee in the U.S. House of Representatives and whose district includes Yosemite National Park and Tuolumne and Mariposa counties, reacted favorably to the proposal: "The nice thing about this proposal is that the $8 million could be used in Yosemite. We're always looking for ways to improve the park and pay for those improvements." A spokesperson for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, however, defended the current rental fee, and objected to any increase. Harold Wood, Coordinator Sierra Club John Muir Education Committee P.O. Box 3543, Visalia, CA 93278 John Muir Exhibit: http://www.sierraclub.org/iohn muir exhibit/ To subscribe to our John Muir Discussion mailing list, send in the message body (Subject is irrelevant):SUBSCRIBE CE-EE- JOHN-MUIR-EDUCATION Your first name Your last name to: listserv@lists.sierraclub.org PROPOSED "RENT" INCREASE FOR SAN FRANCISCO'S USE OF HETCH HETCHY VALLEY (submitted by Ron Good) In 1913, after a decade of opposition by John Muir, Congress passed the Raker Act allowing San Francisco to build a dam and reservoir in Yosemite National Park's Hetch Hetchy Valley. Congress set San Francisco's annual "rental" fee at $15,000 for the use of Hetch Hetchy Valley. The rental payments were to begin in 1918. In 1928, the annual fee went to $20,000; and, in 1938, the annual fee was set at $30,000. There have been no rent increases since then. This amounts to a grand total of about $2.3 million mandated by Congress for San Francisco's use of nearly two thousand acres of "prime real estate" in Yosemite National Park. In early February, the President's budget proposed to The John Mum Newsletter Volume 14, Number 1 Winter 2003-2004 published quarterly by The John Muir Center for Environmental Studies university of the pacific, stockton, ca 95211 ♦ STAFF ♦ Director W.R. Swagerty Editor W.R. Swagerty PRODUCTION ASSISTANT MARILYN NORTON Unless otherwise noted, all photographic reproductions are courtesy of the John Muir Papers, Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections University of the Pacific Libraries. Copyright 1984 Muir-Hanna Trust This Newsletter is printed on recycled paper ^m^w.:B;^mms0^m^^smmm %M%s&&M&s@lmk page 2 ANNOUNCING NEW CALIFORNIA QUARTER The following is taken from the March 30, 2004 San Francisco Chronicle: "With a little help from Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, California's new quarter will feature naturalist John Muir, Yosemite's Half Dome and a soaring condor. The new coin, unveiled by the governor Monday [March 29, 2004], will be minted beginning in January as part of a 10-year, 50-state quarters program conducted by the U.S. Mint. 'Here in California, growth and progress and wilderness protection and the protection of the environment , go hand in hand,' Schwarzenegger said. 'And even though some people believe that you can only have one or the other, we want to be corrrmitted to make it go hand in hand.' The coin commemorates the state's Sept. 9, 1850, entry into the United States and is the 31s1 coin to be unveiled. States release then quarters to mark the order in which they ratified the U.S. Constitution and joined the union. More than 2 billion of the new quarters will be minted. Los Angeles graphic designer Garrett Burke submitted the original idea for the coin, although the final design was tweaked by Schwarzenegger and the U.S. Mint. Burke, 42, said it is a 'grand thrill' to have his design selected. 'Yosemite and John Muir are the inspiring ones said. 'I did the easy part.' The process for selecting California's coin started under the previous governor, Gray Davis. For two months in 2002, submissions were accepted from around the state, including from school children. Eventually a selection committee narrowed the choices to 20, and people were given the opportunity to vote for their favorite. In the advisory vote, Califomians selected a coin depicting a man panning for gold as then- top choice. Davis selected five finalists, including the gold miner and the John Muir coin, along with coins depicting the Golden Gate bridge, a Giant Sequoia, and a sun and waves. he State Librarian Kevin Stair said that when Schwarzenegger took office, he took all 20 designs to the new governor. Starr said Schwarzenegger, who likes to study art, made several suggestions for the design of the final coin, including making the figure of John Muir larger and adding the California condor. Schwarzenegger said Muir 'has been a model for generations of Califomians and conservationists around the world.' 'He has taught us to be active and to enjoy, but at the same time protect our parks, our beaches, and our mountains,' he said. Burke, a self-described nature enthusiast, compared the excitement of learning that his design was selected to the birth of his daughter. 'It's the moment you know your life has changed forever — and it's all going to be good,'he said. His wife, who collects coins, was the one who encouraged him to try to come up with a California design. Students at Morello Park Elementary School in Martinez were thrilled that John Muir — whose 14-room mansion in Martinez is a national historic site — will be on California's quarter. Last year, Kristi Ellenwood's third-grade students not only voted for the design, they also urged relatives and friends to send e- mails to the governor. T had 20 kids and they all went home and spread the word,' the teacher said on Monday. The students were especially excited because Muir — whose life is studied had strong ties not only to Yosemite, but also to Martinez. "They really understand that he's part of their commumty,' Ellenwood said. 'We were convinced that (the quarter) needed to be of John Muir.' At the unveiling, Schwarzenegger was joined by his wife, Maria Shriver, and their four children . The governor said the whole family got involved in the selection. Shriver, borrowing a favorite phrase from her husband, said it was a fantastic day for California. 'This is only the people's quarter, and I think there is no better person to unveil the quarter than the people's governor,' she said." in the third grade • page 3 (continued from page 1) . . . he left home to pursue his mechanical and inventive talents beginning with the exhibition of some of his inventions at the Wisconsin state fair. He enrolled at the University of Wisconsin in 1861and was introduced to a variety of new studies. Restless, he left the university two years later and wandered from job to job, on various geological and botanical walks, making it up into Canada and then back down into Indiana. In 1867, an industrial accident decidedly turned him from the mechanical industry toward nature, beginning with his famous thousand mile walk to the Gulf. From the Gulf, he took a boat to the west coast, and he entered the Yosemite Valley for the first time in 1868.2 The next five years were among the best of his life. He spent most of his time in Yosemite Valley, working miscellaneous jobs while thoroughly exploring the surrounding area from the valley floor to the surrounding peaks. During this time he studied botany and glaciation, completed numerous mountaineering feats, made many social contacts, took on his first nature writing assignments, and, for the most part, lived in the wilderness he so admired. By the mid 1870s, he had been all around California, traveling and staying with various friends and taking on various lecturing and writing assignments. He married and settled into a rather domesticated life in 1880, a life that included two daughters and a very successful fruit ranching business. This lasted for almost a decade. In 1889, Muir sold a significant portion of the ranch, and collaborated with Robert Underwood Johnson, editor of Centwy Magazine, in lobbying for the creation of Yosemite National Park. During the 1890s and into the twentieth century, Muir was heavily committed to the conservation effort, involved in political lobbying, the formation of the Sierra Club, and the beginnings of the U.S. Forestry Commission. Up until his death in 1914, Muir continued to travel throughout California, the United States, and the world; to care for his family, both his siblings as well as his ailing daughters; to write, publishing various articles and compiling his journals into books; and to lobby for preservation, most intensively for the protection of Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park.3 It is generally assumed that Muir had a dislike for civilized life, and was much more at home in the wilderness. His appreciation for and comfort with nature can be seen throughout his life - by the way he explored, commented on, wrote about, lobbied for, and, quite often, lived in it. His distaste for civilization most obviously came out in biting comments and bitter descriptions such as, "Often I thought I would like to explore the city if, like a lot of wild hills and valleys, it was clear of inhabitants. . ;"4 and, "They (tourists) climb sprawlingly to their saddles like overgrown frogs pulling themselves up a steam-bank through the bent sedges, ride up the valley with about as much emotion as the horses they ride upon, and comfortable when they have 'done it all,' and long for the safety and flatness of their proper homes. . . "5 It was also seen in his rejection of the norm. He operated according to his own standard, and as a consequence, lived a life very different from those who lived by societal standards. Even his appearance, behavior, attitude, outlook, and beliefs were different: ". . .he kept his beard long and untrimmed, his hah an ungroomed snarl, his clothing careless and random. He determinedly maintained 'the outward bearing of an unsophisticated farmer. . . ;'"s and, a comment spoken during a conservation debate, '"he is a man entirely without social sense. With him, it is me and God and the rock where God put it, and that is the end of the story. . .'"7 What was the origin of Muir's attitude toward society? Why did Muir choose to set himself apart from typical men? Muir's uniqueness may have originated from his religious upbringing and personal relationship with nature. Muir's father was an extremely strict Calvinist who believed that God, and one's own salvation through knowing God, was the end-all. He wrote in a letter to his son, "Do not let the vanities of this life possess your soul. Do all to the glory of God, and he will prosper you in that which is good. Keep the faith, pray sincerely. Nothing but Christ can keep you from sinking. . ."8 To be pious, humble, and a servant of God was the standard by which Muir was raised and disciplined. Though Muir came to reject this strict, orthodox interpretation of religion, he remained very religious throughout his life. In place of the church, bible, and orthodox word, Muir turned to God in nature — the God that manifested himself in the beauty and grandeur of the wilderness. Muir baptized himself in His waterfalls, and worshiped Him as he praised the trees, the rocks, and all His creatures.9 Muir heard, saw, and felt God in nature, as one in touch with nature could see the truth behind everything and find relief, as "here (in nature) will your hard doubts disappear, your carnal incrustations melt off, and your soul breathe deep and free in God's shoreless atmosphere of beauty and love. . ,"10 On the contrary, the further one put him or herself away from nature, the further he or she was from the truth, from God. Therefore, those wrapped-up in the falseness of civilization were out of touch with nature and with God. These feelings are documented in passages such as in a letter to Ezra Carr, "What you say respecting the littleness of the number who are called to 'the pure and deep communion of the beautiful, all-loving Nature' is particularly true of the hard-working, hard drinking, stolid Canadians. In vain is the glorious chart of God in Nature spread out for them. So many acres chopped is then motto, so they grub away amid the smoke of magnificent forest trees, black as demons and material as the soil they move upon. ."" Such passages are also in much of his published writing, as in My First Summer in the Sierra, "No wonder the hills and groves were God's first temples, and the more they are cut down and hewn into cathedrals and churches, the farther off and dimmer seems the Lord himself. ,"12 He saw civilized people as clumsy and ignorant due to their separation from the natural world. This is illustrated in his reconstruction of an encounter with a visitor to Yosemite, (the visitor) 'I should be afraid to look over so high a wall' he said. 'It would make my head swim. There is nothing worth seeing anywhere, only rocks, and I see plenty of them here. Tourists that spend their money to see rocks and page 4 falls are fools, that's all. You can't humbug me.' 'Such souls' (Muir narrated), T suppose, are asleep, or smothered and befogged beneath mean pleasures and cares. .'l3 He was frustrated with the notion that humans thought they were superior, and, even worse, that they could improve upon nature. He elaborated on this in his article, "Wild Wool:" Nevertheless, the barbarous notion is almost universally entertained by civilized man that there is in all nature something essentially coarse which can and must be eradicated by human culture. No dogma taught by the present civilization seems form so insuperable an obstacle in the way of a right understanding of the relations which culture sustains to wilderness as that which regards the world as made especially for the uses of humans. Orchard apples are to me the most eloquent words that culture has ever spoken, but they reflect no imperfection upon nature. Every cultivated apple is but cooked, spiced, and rendered pulpy and foodful, but as utterly unfit for the uses of nature as a meadowlark killed plucked and roasted. . . ,14 He also saw human practices as wasteful and destructive. Such was the point of his comment on the abandoned mines of Nevada. "The wealth Nevada has already given to the world is indeed wonderful, but the only grand marvel is the energy expanded in its development. In full view of the substantial results achieved, the pure waste manifested in the ruins one meets never fails to produce a saddening effect."15 A similar theme is found in his article "Bee Pastures," as he wrote, About 20 years ago, when the gold placers had been pretty thoroughly exhausted, the attention of the fortune-seekers - not home seekers - has, in great part, turned away from the mines to the fertile plains. Thus a ranch was established, as centers of desolation . . . The time will undoubtedly come when the entire area of this noble valley will be tilled like a garden, when the fertilizing waters of the mountains, now flowing to the sea, will be distributed to every acre, giving rise to prosperous towns, wealth, art, etc. the pure waste going on — the wanton destruction of the Muir and others helping themselves to oranges (photo courtesy Holt-Atherton Special Collections) innocence (referring to the vast pastures of wild flowers) — is a sad sight to see. .16 Muir believed civilization was the source of the apathy as people were too wrapped up in industry, wealth, or working to appreciate or even experience nature. "It often seemed to me that our fierce overindustrious way of getting grain from the ground was too closely connected with grave-digging. Men and boys, and in those days even woman and girls, were cut down while cutting the wheat. The fat folk grew lean and the lean leaner, while the rosy cheeks brought from Scotland and other cool countries across the sea faded to yellow like the wheat. We were all made slaves through the vice of over-industry. . . ."'7 In response, Muir saw it a priority to draw people from their darkened state in civilization and enlighten them to the wonder of wilderness, to entice people to nature so they could experience that which was righteous. This was the purpose of his writing and conservation efforts; it was . philanthropy, for the benefit of :if'^f> the people.'8 However, Muh US ^_5 was not against all of man and civilization. In terms of ■>&i&$Bm civilization, he was not against development and utilization of 'M natural resources. He saw great potential for human use in many aspects of nature. Though his conservation efforts were based on preservation — preservation of the largest, most beautiful, or most pristine — Muh never denied civilization's need for resources. As argued in his article, "American Forests," "I suppose we need not go mourning the buffaloes, by the nature of things they had to give place to cattle, though the change might have been made without barbarous wickedness. Likewise many of nature's 500 kinds of wild trees had to make way for orchards and cornfields." He later went on to call for the protection of the remaining forests so they could be effectively utilized, "The remnant protected will yield plenty of timber, a perennial harvest for every right use, without further diminution . . . State woodlands are not allowed to idle. On the contrary, they are made to produce as much timber as possible without spoiling them. ,"19 Muh, himself, was a horticulturalist, miming a highly productive operation based on the inventive altering and harvesting of nature's fruit. Looking back in his autobiography, he wrote, "for ten years . . . engaged in fruit raising. . I had more money than I thought I would ever need for my family or for all expenses of travel and study, however far or long continued . . ."20 Also, often overlooked, or not taken into full consideration, Muh was much a part of the social aspects of civilization. He had an extensive network of individuals page 5 with whom he corresponded. A friend playfully described in a letter, "I must tell you how much sympathy I wasted on you somehow I thought you had no friends nor companions, but glaciers and icebergs. . . Well one day my sympathies were all exploded as I heard you were the center of an adoring circles of ladies in San Francisco. . ." 21 At times he could not keep up with all his contacts, "If I have forgotten to answer your husband's letter, I am very sorry. I usually answer all home letters as soon as they come to hand because they are so very numerous I am unable to remember whether or no they receive a reply. ,22 He was intricately involved in academic fields, researching, lecturing, publishing, discussing, debating, and reading a wide variety of literature. As he wrote in a letter to Louie, "I have allowed myself to be entangled in a snarl of lectures while trying to keep free, and makes haste to have. But no sooner had I landed then I was pounced up on and kuffed into lecture business. The Science Association, The Young Man's Christian Association, and some college or other at Forest Grove, all want lectures. . ."23 He also enjoyed and appreciated art and music, as he writes to his sister, "Don't wear your strength too sorely with your art work, not yet allow yourself to neglect it altogether. I anticipate much pleasure in looking over your work. I am acquainted with quite a number of artists here . . . ,"24 And he had respect and confidence in the government, for it was into the hands of the federal government that he was fighting to put the most sacred of lands. Stepping back, Muh lived in wilderness and in civilization, alone and among friends and family, playing and traveling as well as working, writing, and lobbying. Part of Muir's life was spent in nature and in the wilderness setting, just as part of it was spent among people and civilization. Though this may seem convoluted and somewhat contradictory — a man with a natural love for nature, and definite aversion to civilized settings but spending so much of his life in civilization — perhaps separating Muir's life into segments, and taking a closer look at Muh during these different periods, may allow for some insight. When Muh left the family farm in 1860, his eyes were opened to a whole new world. Out from under his father's strict rule, he felt free to pursue his interests and talents. During this time he was excited by life, by possibility, by the discovery of a variety of academic fields, industrial opportunities, and an unexplored world in general. He bounced here and there, trying out different fields, and wishing he could have an unlimited number of lives to live, or an indefinite amount of time to pursue everything he found of interest. He expressed this in a letter to Mrs. Carr, . a lifetime is so little a time that we die ere we get ready to live. I would like to go to college, but then I have to say to myself, 'You will die ere you can do anything else.' I should like to invent useful machinery, but it comes, 'You do not wish to spend your lifetime among machines and you will die ere you can do anything else.' I should like to study medicine that I might do my part in lessening human misery, but again it comes, 'You will die ere you are ready to be able to do so.' How intensely I desire to be a Humboldt! but again the chilling answer is reiterated. Could we but live a million years, then . . perhaps might we, with at least a show of reason, 'shuffle off this mortal coil' and look back upon our star with something of satisfaction . . ,25 Also during this time, Muir struggled to find a purpose, a meaning to life, something by which he could define himself. He tried to describe what was driving him, what was causing his inability to settle down, what kept his mind from being at ease; but he could never quite put a finger on it. He wrote in the beginnings of an autobiography, "Shortly after leaving college I began to doubt whether I was fully born. I was on the world but was I really in it. I was tormented with that soul hunger of wh' we hear so much now a days that longing and vague unrest regarded as proofs of immortality. . . ."26 But perhaps nature was the source of his restlessness as he continued to write, A dreadfully significant term 'settling-down.' It should not be done rashly. It should be done with ceremony and religious rules. About this time it occurred to me that it would be a fine thing to make and take one more grand Sabbath day, three years long, during which I would fast and pray and ramble in the tropic lands, filling my soui with fine landscape and flowers. Thus accumulating a stock of wild beauty sufficient to lighten and brighten my afterlife in the shadows, gloom and hunger of civilization's defrauding 'duties. . . .'27 A major turning point in his life came after an industrial accident nearly left him blind. Following his recovery, he declared that he was dedicating his life to nature, the study, exploration, and appreciation of all that was wild, "it was from this time that my long continuous wanderings may be said to have fairly commenced. I bade adieu to all my mechanical inventions, determined to devote the rest of my life to the study of the inventions of God."28 Muh then turned away from the societal standards by which he had learned and lived, and began to define his own. The standards and way of life he defined were largely based on what he considered to be consistent with nature, "Some plants take on themselves the forms & habits of society & civilization quite readily, but generally speaking soon return to primitive simplicity of life in all things & I too like a weed of civilization feel a constant tendency to return to primitive wildness. . . ,"29 With this fresh outlook on life came the rejection of the old standards of the world defined by man. He believed humans were too focused on themselves, mistaken, as they put themselves at the center of the world. Rather, he saw it as, Why should man value himself as more than a small part of the one great unit of creation? And what creature of all that the Lord has taken the pains to make is not essential to the completeness of that unit — the cosmos? The page 6 universe would be incomplete without man; but it would also be incomplete without the smallest transmicroscopic creature that dwells beyond our conceitful eyes and knowledge. After human beings have also played then part in Creation's plan, they too may disappear without any general burning or extraordinary commotion whatever.30 So it was in this context that he spent much of the 1860s and 1870s, reflected in his carefree living, free from any seriously binding obligations, traveling here and there without much of an itinerary or thought as to what tomorrow would bring. These carefree days came to end in 1880, as he married, fathered two children, and took on the responsibility of a major ranching business. At the age of forty-two, such a move was a drastic change in Muir's life, another significant turning point. The reasons and/or explanation behind this move are unclear, though there are a variety of possibilities. One of the more common speculations is that Muh was finally longing for family in his life. That family was on his mind can be seen in comments written to his sister in 1875: I thought of you all gathered with your little ones enjoying the sweet and simple pleasures that belong to our lives and loves. I have not yet in all my wandering found a single person so free as myself. Yet I am bound to my studies, and the laws of my own life. At times I feel as if driven with whips, and ridden upon. When in the woods I sit at times for hours watching birds or squirrels or looking down into the faces of flowers without suffering any feeling of haste. Yet I am swept onward in a general current that bears on irresistibly. When, therefore, I shall be allowed to float homeward, I dinna, dinna kin but I hope.31 And in 1877, "How delightful it is for you to gather on the holidays, and what a grand multitude you much make when you are all mustered. Little did I think when I used to be, and am now fonder of home and still domesticated life than any one of the boys, that I only should be a bachelor and doomed to roam always far outside the family circle. Perhaps his expansive network of friends and increasingly continuous contact with colleagues had finally led Muh to conclude that having a little stability might be beneficial. In a letter in 1876, he describes such an involved life, "My life these days is like the life of a glacier, one eternal grind, and the top of my head suffers a weariness at times that you know noth https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/jmn/1074/thumbnail.jpg |
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