March 1959

YOSEMITE VOLUME XXXVIII - NUMBER 3 MARCH 1959

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE IN COOPERATION WITH THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE.

—Yosemite Museum Roosevelt's party at the base of the Grizzly Giant. John Muir stands to the right of Roosevelt, Benj. Ide Wheeler, then President of the University of California, is at far right. Cover—Theodore Roosevelt at Glacier Point. —Underwood & Underwood

Since 1922, the monthly publication of the National Park Service and the Yosemite Natural History Association in Yosemite National Park. John C. Preston, Park Superintendent Douglass H. Hubbard, Park Naturalist Robert F. Upton, Associate Park Naturalist Paul F. McCrary, Assistant Park Naturalist Sigismund J. Zachwieja, Junior Park Naturalist Robert A. Grom, Park Naturalist Trainee

VOLUME XXXVIII MARCH

1959

NO. 3 PRESIDENTIAL VISITS TO YOSEMITE

By Marvin R. Koller, Ranger-Naturalist Part II Finally, a President arrived while the person was still in office. This was the fourth President to come to Yosemite but the first one to still be actively engaged in his high position as he studied Yosemite's charms. The distinction falls to President Theodore Roosevelt, known affectionately as the "Rough Rider" from his Spanish-American War days. President Roosevelt was noted for his love of the outdoors and it was on his own personal wishes that he came to Yosemite. He had read the works of the great naturalist, John Muir, and felt that it would be a wonderful experience to go camping with a man whose feeling for the outdoors matched his own deep emotions. A trip to Yosemite was arranged and despite the wishes of those who wanted to honor the President, the original plans were carried out. President Roosevelt was determined to go camping with John Muir and this he carried forward with his customary vigor. He paid his respects to the assembled multitude but at his earliest opportunity he rode off with Muir and two rangers for a night in the high country. It was May, 1903 and it was snowing as the men rode towards Sentinel Dome. They camped for the night near Glacier Point according to a report by Charles Leidig, one of the rangers in the party. (Charles Leidig was the first white boy born in Yosemite Valley and while his whole life is involved in Yosemite history, this particular camping trip was a highlight of his career.) Much that we know about President Roosevelt's camping trip with John Muir is reported through the eyes of Ranger Leidig. Ranger Leidig reported that the men had much in common and spent a great deal of time talking together. There was a little difficulty as both

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—Southern Pacific R.R. Following their camping trip to Glacier Point, Roosevelt and Muir ride along Yosemite Valley floor followed by Charles Leidig and Archie Leonard, Yosemite's first park rangers.

Ranger Leidig reported that the men were well versed in outdoor matters and each wanted to have the floor. More than once they were talking simultaneously rather than letting the other dominate the conversation. Judging from the report, I would say that John Muir won the battle of words as it was he who wanted the President to know his views on a great many matters of national concern. Roosevelt had come to learn and Muir made an excellent teacher.

The very next day, the party descended towards Nevada Falls and at the crest encountered a group of people who had come to see their President. This broke the mood of the President from one of great tranquility to one of annoyance. It is said that he cried from sheer emotional joy as he viewed the floor of the Valley from Glacier Point but at Nevada Falls he expressed himself in no uncertain terms that he was

annoyed. The party rode on to the Valley floor and ran into a considerable road block in the form of a group of ladies who had created a line across the path of the President in an attempt to stop him. Ranger Leidig spurred his horse. As the ladies gave way before the rearing animal, the President politely waved his hat in farewell to the ladies and rode past them. At Sentinel Hotel was probably the biggest hazard of all. Here an elaborate dinner had been planned as well as a large display of fireworks (including dynamite bombs!). The President was to be quartered in the Chris Jorgenson home across the river over Sentinel Bridge. Instead, he stopped only momentarily to apologize to his host and hostess and rode past the astounded officials Roosevelt crossing the old Sentinel Bridge midst excited throngs. A few minutes later he and his party sat on their horses in front of the Sentinel Hotel and Roosevelt announced ""We will pitch camp at Bridalveil! " —Dexter

—Boysen Roosevelt expresses his appreciation for accommodations at the Wawona Hotel before leaving for the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees. with his famous words, "We'll pitch camp tonight at Bridalveil." Mrs. L. Bardsley, whose maiden name was Dorothy Atkinson (her infant brother "Bill," William Bonney Atkinson, is buried in the cemetery near the Museum), said that she had picked a bouquet of violets for the President but was too overawed to present them to him as he rode by at Sentinel Bridge. Camp was made at Bridalveil Meadow as Roosevelt wished it to be. When people came too close, Ranger Leidig reported that he went out to the onlookers and told them they were bothering the President. They tiptoed away so that President Roosevelt and John Muir could have a good, final discussion of the problems involved in the preservation of the natural heritage of our country. There is no doubt that this historic meeting did leave a deep impression in Roosevelt's mind because within a few short years after this Yosemite trip, a total of 148 million acres of land had been set aside as forest reserves, sixteen national monuments were created, and five national parks received a tremendous boost from the White House. In 1906 the Antiquities Act put into law they were bothering the President. Muir 's concern over "pot hunters"

who were destroying areas and objects of historical interest to all American citizens. Instead of idle curio hunting, Muir wanted Americans to know from personal experience something of our country 's rich heritage. This could not be achieved by letting visitors come into an area and pick an historic site apart until nothing was left but rather by its careful preservation so that all could see and learn. The farsightedness of both Muir and Roosevelt has enabled most of us to enjoy the things we do to this very day. Indeed, it is the people who see ahead who are the great people. Those of us who are not so great must settle for living in the present or look sadly back in time for our lessons. An interesting sidelight on this trip was the fact that Roosevelt did have a fairly comfortable bed at Bridalveil as forty blankets and a shelter half were provided for him. He could choose what depth of blankets he would use for cover and what depth of blankets would serve as a mattress. Ranger Archie Leonard, the second ranger in the party, dived for this presidential bed of blankets just as soon as he was sure the President had departed! The second of a three part serves, To be concluded in the April issue. Seldom has the Wawona Tunnel Tree been honored as on this day in May, 1903. —Boysen

Dome-fringed Little Yosemite Valley points toward the eastern crest of Yosemite 's High sierra, culminating in the over 13,000 foot peaks of Mount Lyell and Mount Maclure. Vitagraph Corp., Inc.

LIGHTNING AT GLACIER POINT AND HALF DOME

By Lawrence P. Blumer, Ranger-Naturalist By 11 a.m. on July 23, 1958, the sky over Glacier Point blackened, and then the rains and hail came—pouring and rattling down in torrents. This was at 11:30 a.m. The big iron-gray thunderhead was rolling rapidly from the southeast. Seen from Glacier Point, the storm clouds first obliterated the peaks along the eastern crest of the Sierra Nevada. Mt. Starr King and some of the other domes were silhouetted against the blue-black background. Rodgers, Lyell, Florence, Maclure, Vogelsang, and others. Soon Merced

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lightning flashed and struck hither and yon in the adjacent back-country. The thunder rumbled hollowly and loudly. At about 12:15 p.m. it struck! There was a brilliant flashing, immediately followed by a mighty roaring and crashing. I saw the lightning and heard the thunder from Glacier Point campground. By 1 :30 p.m. I had located the spot where the bolt had struck. This was a Jeffrey pine sixty feet high and three feet in diameter on Glacier Point about seventy yards back from the overhanging rock at the tip of the point and about eighty yards down the western slope from the path along its crest. Oddly enough this tree is not the highest point in the surrounding forest, for the tree is growing from the ground about forty feet lower in elevation than the summit of the point. The bolt had apparently struck the tree trunk some six feet from the top; this was evident from the pathway of peeled bark on_the trunk. From this point near the top of the tree a strip of live wood, six to ten inches wide, from which the bark had been stripped, extended in a gentle spiral down the trunk toward the ground. The middle twenty feet or so of the pathway taken by the electric charge was beneath the bark. Although it was not peeled away completely from the live wood underneath, the path of the electricity could be seen as an elevated ridge of disturbed bark extending down the trunk to the point, some twenty feet above the ground, where the bared strip again appeared and continued to the ground. Pieces of bark ripped from the tree trunk as the bolt of lightning slashed its way to the ground had been hurled ten, twenty, and even fifty feet from the tree. These chunks —Anderson, NPS Jeffrey Pine were from six to twenty-four inches long and three to six wide. Neither trunk nor bark were charred, nor were the pine needles charred at the foot of the tree. A pit about two feet across and six

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inches deep had been blown where the electric charge left the tree trunk and entered the soil. From here dirt had been sprayed for about three feet. This sixty-foot Jeffrey pine was growing out of the midst of a small group of young white firs. Two of these first, about thirty and thirty-five feet tall and perhaps one and one and a half feet through their trunks, standing some six and twelve feet from the pine had also been hit severely. Their trunks show pathways, similar to those on the pine, plowed through the bark down their trunks to the ground. At the base of the larger of these trees was, also, a pit in the soil about six inches across and three inches deep. From here dust had been tossed about a foot. An interesting anecdote was related to the writer by Mr. Ernst H. Grunwald, 63, of Live Oak, California. Accompanied by two younger friends, Mundt George ("Butch") Rock, 15, of Colbert, Washington, and Paul Rausch, 21, of Columbus, Ohio, he had reached the summit of Half Dome at about 11:45 a.m. on the previous day, July 23. Three other men were already on the summit. The rain and hail storm was upon them; so all six took shelter in a small cave under the boulders right at the tip of the overhang above Tenaya Canyon. About eight feet from this cave is an iron pipe stuck into the granite. Just at noon, at the height of the storm, a bolt of lightning struck this iron post. There was a brilliant orange flash that lit up the cave and an earthshaking clap of thunder. A powerful electric shock racked the men's bodies. Butch Rock 's hair stood straight on end. Luckily no one was injured or killed. Asked if ozone could be smelled right after the lightning struck, Mr. Grunwald answered that it could not. The storm lasted for half an hour over the summit of Half Dome. When it was over, a heavy rain-like vapor hovered in the area for some five minutes. Although the experience was a terrifying one Mr. Grunwald said that it was also extremely thrilling and interesting and he would not have missed it. I can agree with Mr. Grunwald about such experiences, for I had a similar "thrill" on the slope of one of the huge volcanoes in the Hawaiian Islands some eight years ago. Even though feeling the strong electric shock and being thrown to the ground was a frightening sensation, to say the least, the whole episode, in retrospect, was exciting and interesting.

YOSEMITE A LITTLE BIT OF HOME IN YOSEMITE

By John D. Cunningham, Ranger-Naturalist While most visitors to Yosemite National Park reside in California, people from all walks of life and all parts of the United States, as well as from many foreign countries, enter the park each year. During the peak of the summer residents from nearly every section of our country visit Yosemite daily. Many visitors are naturally proud of the beauties of their own states and continually compare them to what they see here. Any plant or animal that reminds the visitor of home is usually a welcome sight. State flowers and state birds are generally chosen because of their beauty, widespread distribution, usefulness, or peculiar significance to the people of that state. In Yosemite one may find the counterpart or a close relative of nearly every state flower and state bird on record. Actually, plants and animals representative of nearly every region from Mexico to Alaska can be found within the boundaries of Yosemite National Park. Differences in rainfall, exposure, altitude, soil, etc. account for this distribution of plants and animals and form the several life zones present in the park. While many of the state birds could be seen by the trained visitor with relative ease, some of the state flowers or their counterparts would require a diligent search. Several constitute a relatively insignificant part of the flora of Yosemite, represented by over 1400 species of plants. Two states have as their state flower the apple blossom. While the ap ple doesn't occur naturally in the park, numerous trees are present and have an interesting history. It is hoped that the list of state flowers and state birds will acquaint visitors with that aspect of their states and to guide them in searching for a little bit of home in Yosemite. Black-headed Grosbeak

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STATE

State

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State Bird

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Flower Counterpart Counterpart Alabama Goldenrod Goldenrod Yellow-hammer Flicker Arizona Giant Cactus Cactus Wren Rock Wren Arkansas Apple Blossom Apple Blossom Mockingbird Mockingbird California Golden Poppy Golden Poppy Calif. Quail Calif. Quail Colorado Columbine Columbine Lark Bunting Lazuli Bunting Conn. Mt. Laurel Pale Laurel Robin Robin Delaware Peach Blossom Chokecherry Blue Hen Sooty Grouse Chicken Dist. of Col. American Wild Rose Wood Thrush Hermit Thrush Beauty Rose Florida Orange Mockingbird Mockingbird Blossom Georgia Pasture Rose Wild Rose Brown Thrasher Hermit Thrush Idaho Syringa Syringa Mt. Bluebird Mt. Bluebird Illinois Violet Violet Cardinal Black-headed Grosbeak Indiana Zinnia Aster Cardinal Black-headed Grosbeak Iowa Wild Rose Wild Rose Goldfinch Goldfinch Kansas Sunflower Sunflower Meadowlark Meadowlark Kentucky Golden Rod Goldenrod Cardinal Black-headed Grosbeak Louisiana Magnolia Brown Pelican White Pelican Maine White Pine White Pine Chickadee Chickadee Cone Cone Maryland Black-eyed Black-eyed Baltimore Bullock 's Susan Susan Oriole Oriole Mass. Mayflower Lady 's Slipper Chickadee Chickadee Michigan Apple Blossom Apple Blossom Robin Robin Minn. Moccasin Lady's Scarlet We. Tanager Flower Slipper Tanager Miss. Magnolia Mockingbird Mockingbird Missouri Hawthorn Apple Bluebird Bluebird Montana Bitterroot Bitterroot Meadowlark Meadowlark Nebraska Goldenrod Goldenrod Meadowlark Meadowlark Nevada Sagebrush Sagebrush Mt. Bluebird Mt. Bluebird

Purple Lilac Ash Purple Finch Purple Finch

Violet Violet Goldfinch Goldfinch

Rose Wild Rose Bluebird Bluebird New Mexico Yucca Road Runner Road Runner

Dogwood Dogwood Cardinal Black-headed Grosbeak

Prairie Rose Wild Rose Meadowlark Meadowlark Ohio Red Carnation Indian Pink Cardinal Black-headed Grosbeak

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Oklahoma Mistletoe Mistletoe Bobwhite Quail Oregon Oregon Grape Meadowlark Meadowlark Penn. Mt. Laurel Pale Laurel Ruffed Grouse Sooty Grouse Rhode Is. Violet Violet Bobwhite Valley Quail

Yellow Carolina Wren Rock Wren Jessamine

Pasque Flower Clematis Ring-necked Pheasant Tennessee Iris Iris Mockingbird Mockingbird Texas Blue Bonnet Lupine Mockingbird Mockingbird Utah Sego Lily Mariposa Lily Gull Gull Vermont Red Clover Clover Hermit Thrush Hermit Thrush Virginia Dogwood Dogwood Cardinal Black-headed Grosbeak Washington Rhododendron Azalea Willow Goldfinch Goldfinch

Rhododendron Azalea Tufted Titmouse Plain Titmouse Wisconsin Violet Violet Robin Robin Wyoming Indian Paint Indian Paint Meadowlark Meadowlark Brush Brush

REPOSE

Treetops waving gently Seemed to beckon me to come To the shelter of their bosoms While a song was coming from The lips of laughing waters, And the wind was writing stories On the firmament in azure, Of Nature and her glories. With the echo of her ballad From the woodland coming sweetly, The sky and living things Responding so discreetly Urging my soul to linger longer To enjoy the sweet repose, In blissful meditation, Hear its poetry and its prose. —Alfred E. Brighton

PUBLICATIONS FOR SALE AT THE YOSEMITE MUSEUM

All mail orders should be addressed to, and remittances made payable to, Yosemite NATURAL HISTORY ASSOCIATION, Yosemite NATIONAL PARK, CALIFORNIA. Prices include postage, insurance, and on proper items, California State Sales Tax 3%, plus 1% County Tax.

GENERAL

Adams' Guide to Yosemite Valley, Illustrated $1.65 Auto Tour of Yosemite Valley, Self-Guiding - Beatty and Harwell

Auto Tour of Yosemite National Park - Ditton and McHenry

Campsite Finder (Western) - Hartesveldt 1 65 Climbers Guide to High Sierra - Sierra Club 3 25 Devils Postpile National Monument - Hartesveldt

Exploring Our National Parks and Monuments - Butcher (paper) 3 75 Exploring Our National Parks and Monuments - Butcher (cloth) 5 40 Going Light - With Backpack or Burro - Sierra Club 2 25 Happy Isles Nature Center, Your Guide to - Hubbard

National Park Story in Pictures - Story..

National Parks, The - What They Mean to You and Me - Tilden (cloth) 6 20 National Parks, The - What They Mean to You and Me - Tilden (paper)

Nature Trail - Inspiration Point Self-Guiding - Carpenter

Nature Trail - Mariposa Grove Self Guiding - Wason

Outdoor Hazards - Real and Fancied - Hood.._..__ 4 25 Place Names of Yosemite Valley - Hartesveldt __

Rocks & Minerals, How to Know Them - Pearl............................................................65 Starr 's Guide to John Muir Trail and High Sierra Region 2 25 This is California - Obert -_-_ _ _--_. '---_ -- 8 00 Waterfalls, Famous, of the World - Brockman

Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada - Ansel Adams & John Muir 12 70 Yosemite Story, The - Scott 1.20 Yosemite Trails & Tales - Taylor ' 90

ANIMAL LIFE

Animal Tracks, Field Guide to - Murie 4 30 Birds of Pacific States - Hoffman 6 20 Birds, Western, Field Guide to - Peterson 4.30 Birds of Yosemite - Stebbins .85 Fishes of Yosemite National Park - Evans-Wallis .50 Mammals, Field Guide to - Burt and Grossenheider _ 4.30 Mammals of Yosemite National Park - Parker _ .60 Reptiles and Amphibians of Yosemite National Park - Walker .45 Survey of Sierra Nevada Bighorn - Jones .60

TREES AND FLOWERS

Broadleaved Trees of Yosemite National Park - Brockman .60 Cone-bearing Trees of Yosemite National Park - Cole .50 Ferns, Field Guide to - Cobb 4.30 Sequoias, Yosemite, Guide to the - McFarland .50 Wildflowers, Common, of Yosemite - Beatty, Harwell and Cole .25 Wildflowers of the Sierra (80 color photos) - Hubbard __ .55 Wildflowers, Western, Field Book of - Armstrong 5.40

HISTORY AND INDIANS

Ghost Mines of Yosemite - Hubbard (paper) 1.20 Ghost Mines of Yosemite - Hubbard (cloth) _ -_ 3.00 Gold, Guns and Ghost Towns - Chalfant 3.80 Indians, Yosemite, Yesterday and Today - Godfrey

John Muir, Protector of the Wilds - Haines-Morrill 2.00 Miwok Material Culture - Barrett and Gifford (paper) 2.20 Miwok Material Culture - Barrett and Gifford (cloth) 3,25 Mother Lode Country, Guide to the - Brockman

100 Years in Yosemite - Russell (paper)....................'.---... °-"'-'-" 2.20 100 Years in Yosemite - Russell (cloth) 3.25 One Thousand California Place Names - Gudde 1.15 Steve Mather of the National Parks - Shankland 6.20 Wilderness World of John Muir, The - Teale 4.85 Yosemite: The Story of An Idea - Huth -__

GEOLOGY AND MAPS

Geologic History of Yosemite Valley (Prof. Paper 160) - Matthes - 5.75 Geology of Yosemite Valley, Brief Story of - Beatty

High Sierra Camp Areas, Pocket Guide to - Clark

High Sierra Camp Areas, Trail Guide to - Clark 1.15 Incomparable Valley, The - Matthes (paper) _-2.15 Map of Sequoia-Kings Canyon NP, Topographic - USGS 1.15 Map of Yosemite National Park, Topographic - USGS

Map of Yosemite Valley, Topographic, shaded (geology story printed on back)

North Country of Yosemite, Pocket Guide to - Clark

North Country of Yosemite, Trail Guide to - Clark

South Boundary Country, Pocket Guide to - Clark

South Boundary Country, Trail Guide to - Clark -__ 1 15

FOR CHILDREN

A Day with Tupi, An Indian Boy of the Sierra - Hubbard (paper) 1.20 A Day with Tupi, An Indian Boy of the Sierra - Hubbard (cloth) 3.00 Animal Friends of the Sierra - Hubbard (paper) _ 1.20 Animal Friends of the Sierra - Hubbard (cloth) 3.00