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Volume 3 (1858-1859) (592 pages)
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Page: of 592
388 HUTCHINGS’ CALIFORNIA MAGAZINE.
WORKMEN ENGAGED IN
of the stream, and now on that, as the
hills proved favorable or otherwise for
the construction cf a good road. If
our visit is supposed to be in spring or
early summer, every mountain side, even
to the tops of the ridges, is covered with
flowers and flowering shrubs of great variety and beauty ; while, on either hand,
groves of oaks and pincs stand as shadegiving guardians of personal comfort to .
the traveler on a sunny day.
As we continue our ascent for a few
miles, the road hecomes mere undulating
and gradual, an@ lying fur the most part
on the top or gently sloping sides of a dividingridge; often through denseforests of
tall, magnificent pines, that are from one
hundred and seventy to two hundred and
twenty feet in height, slender and straight
as anarrow. We measured one that had
fallen, that was twenty inches in diameter at the base, and fourteen and a half
inches in diameter at the distance of one
hundred and twenty-five feet from the
base. The ridges being nearly clear of
an_undergrowth of shrubbery, and the
trunks of the trees for fifty feet upwards
or more, entirely clear of branches, the
FELLING THE MAMMOTH TREE.
. eye of the traveler can wander, delight. edly, for a long distance among the cap. tivating scenes of the forest.
At differentdistances upon the route, the
canal of the Union Water Company winds
its sinuous way on the top or around the
sides of the ridge; or its sparkling contents rush impetuously down the waterfurrowed center of a ravine. Here and
there an aqueduct, or cabin, or saw-mill,
. gives variety to an ever changing land. scape.
When within about four and a half
miles of the Mammoth Tree Grove, the
surrounding mountain peaks and ridges
are boldly visible. Looking south, the
bare head of Bald Mountain silently announces its solitude and distinctiveness:
west, the “the Bear Mountain range”
forms a continuous girdle to the horizon,
extending to the north and east, where
the snowy tops of the Sierras form a magnificent back-ground to the glorious picture,
While we have been thus riding and
admiring, and talking, and wondering,
and musing, concerning the beautiful
scenes we have witnessed; the deepening