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This is a black and white photograph of John Burroughs
and John Muir .copyright F. P. C., signed "Clatworthy". On the back of
the frame it states "The Two Johnnies" "John of Birds" and "John of
Mountains." "John Burroughs, age 72, and John Muir, age 70, taken in
Yosemite by Fred Payne
Clatworthy, who had the good fortune to spend a week with them in this
beautiful park in May, 1909. On the trail to Nevada Falls they rested
for a
few minutes at the base of a baby redwood tree. Said
John of Mountains to John of Birds -'See that valley below us -that is
the effect of a glacier.' Said John of Birds, who thought
his partner made too much of the glaciers, 'Yes, if a bumble bee would
alight on yonder rock there would be some
effect.' As they both laughed at this retort, the shutter clicked.".
John Burrough, 1837-1921, was a famous American naturalist described
here as 'John of Birds'. John Muir, 1838-1914, has been described as a
"Scottish American polymath", but as a geologist, he is called here
'John of Mountains'. He is noted for his work in promoting and
describing the Yosemite area, and frequently accompanied famous visitors
to see the
delights of this area.
The following extracts from 'My Road to Rotary' by Paul P Harris are
from Chapters 31 and 32:
Harry C Pullman, from Louisville, (who later became Chairman of the
National Baseball League) and Paul became chums and decided to work
their
way through the State of California. Within a few days, they were doing
manual labour on a fruit ranch in the Vaca Valley. Later they explored
the
now famous but then little known Yosemite Valley.
They spent nine months in California. From other information contained in
the two chapters it seems most likely that their period in California
(including Yosemite) was in 1891 (after July) or 1892
Further on in 'My Road', Paul Harris quotes John Burroughs at length.
John Burroughs (1837-1921) was an essayist and inductee into the Ecology
Hall of Fame. At his rustic cabin 'Slabsides', not far from the
Hudson, which he built, with his son in 1895, he entertained many famous
visitors, including Theodore Roosevelt. He was a friend of John Muir,
who was also an inductee into the Ecology Hall of Fame, while Theodore
Roosevelt was President of the Ecology Hall of Fame. He was also
President
of the United States from 14th September 1901 to 1909.
In his Autobiography, Theodore Roosevelt in 1913 in his
chapter 'Outdoors and Indoors' he mentions correspondence with John
Burroughs, various meetings and a trip that both men made to Yellowstone
Park (in 1905). In the same
autobiography he also mentions the first trip (1903?) that he made to
Yosemite accompanied by John Muir. He commented "I shall always be
glad that I was in Yosemite with John Muir
and in the Yellowstone with John Burroughs".
Clearly Burroughs and Muir were both associated with Yosemite, and
Harris had good memories of this area from his earlier visit. This
probably
accounts for the inclusion of the picture in the Gallery.
We thank PDG Ian Campbell, for this piece.
Edited by Basil Lewis. |
