We need hardly take the arguments against luxurious living seriously because the world will not listen to them, and if it did life could easily be reduced to a pot of dried peas and a blanket. The greatest force in the world is an idea, and the greatest art is to adequately express it. We may remind those who like practical results, and are still skeptical of the importance of fine art to any but the leisure classes, that on more than one well authenticated occasion Ruger de Lille beat the Austrians with his Marseillaise hymn.

CHAPTER XXIII.

SOME SCENIC WONDERS.

Wherever the name of California is spoken visions of scenic glory fill the mind, for the climate of the far west is not more celebrated in song and story than are the wonders of Yosemite, the glory of the big trees, and the inspiration of peak and canyon.

For these reasons a brief history and description of the wonderful valley are a proper part of the story of California, particularly as each year brings more visitors than the year previous to the wonderland of the west.

Mr. W. S. Pladwell has made a careful study of Yosemite, and to him the author is indebted for much of the valuable matter contained in this chapter. He says:

The Yosemite Valley, situated in the core of the high Sierra, has an area of about 36,000 acres, and is described as a cleft or gorge in the granite peaks of the Sierra Nevadas, in the county of Mariposa, at the head waters of the Merced river. The territory embraced within the boundaries of the valley comprises the whole of the valley proper and extends back from the edge of the precipice for an average distance of one mile, all picturesque country, surpassed in natural curiosities and grandeur of scenery only by the beautiful Yosemite itself.

In the early fifties the white settlers of this region living among the foothills on the edges of the Sierra and on the plains of the great San Joaquin Valley, found it impossible to exist in peaceful relation with the scattered Indian tribes, which had been for centuries in undisputed possession of the land and regarded the invasion of the white men with fear and aversion. A number of depredations were committed and atrocities perpetrated before the white settlers banded together to drive them out of the country. Several battles and skirmishes were fought; the Indians, in accordance with their usual tactics lying in ambush, but they were repulsed after which they retreated farther into the fastnesses of the hills, where it was ascertained they

had a stronghold and foraging ground to which they could take refuge in time of need and remain indefinitely without fear of famine or discovery.

In the spring of 1851 the "Mariposa Battalion," as the settlers styled themselves, under command of Captain Boling, determined to explore the mountains and route the Indians from their refuge. While engaged in active pursuit of the enemy they followed them into a wonderful gorge, where an engagement ensued. The Indians were defeated in pitched battle, a number killed and the remainder put to flight. Thus were the wonders of the beautiful Yosemite, until then unknown and untrodden by the foot of the white race, first disclosed to their enchanted gaze.

The attention of the general public was not attracted to the valley, however, until 1852, when the experience of Captain Boling and his party was published and the charm of the place, discovered under such peculiar circumstances, depicted in colors so glowing that lovers of nature flocked to the spot, and their enthusiastic endorsement .soon brought the tide of travel slowly in that direction.

In one of nature's cataclysms, a mighty upheaval of the ages, was chiseled this wonderful gorge, a cleft among gigantic boulders. The softening hand of time bevelled the face of the rude rocks and covered the floor of the valley with soft tracery of foliage from her choicest storehouse. Against the radiant arch of the sky, gleaming like a translucent blue pearl, rise clustering peaks and stately domes, flashing with multi-colored lights from summit to summit. Down the sides of the majestic rocks twinkle the beautiful falls and cascades which make Yosemite unique and unlike any other valley under the sun. The exquisite Bridal Veil, so aptly named, with traces of tears mingling with happy leap of its waters plunges over the granite wall to an abyss of over nine hundred feet. Here and there the wind playfully catches up large fronds of the snowy, lace-like spray, throwing off myriads of glittering diamonds, in its descent to the dark abyss below. The Indians call it "Pohono," "Spirit of the Evil Wind." The water at the base twists into a thousand tortuous and fantastic shapes, veiled in the eternal swirling mists which, added to the deep, hollow roar of the dashing spray, calls into play all the weird superstition of Indian natures, and they people the place with gnomes and spirits of evil and would suffer torture sooner than approach it.

Vernal, Nevada and Yosemite Falls deserve separate descriptions. Each has its individual merits-none is like the other, and they are all unlike any other fall in the world-surrounded as they are by wild and beautiful scenery. When the Vernal Fall catches the sunlight it becomes a cascade of glittering diamonds. The Ribbon Fall is a delicate gossamer spray, rippling over the side of the gleaming rocks for two thousand feet. The great Yosemite plunges in three vast leaps, before being consigned in its writhing course to the deep canyon below, while the broad Nevada, a magnificent cataract of virgin white, surrounded by domes, pinnacles, peaks, precipices and spires, majestically and eternally wends its way onward, playing its part in the panorama of this wonderful scene.

From Inspiration Point, a magnificent view bursts upon the sight. When Emerson saw it he said it was "the only place that came up to the brag." The hills stand out in bold relief against an azure sky, cloud shadows veil the slumbrous but transparent atmosphere, softening the gorgeous coloring of mosaic russets and yellows. The daring points of Cathedral Spires are grandly outlined and look like a replica of some ancient Gothic cathedral. Built of massive irregular boulders of nature's own manufacture, in the midst of a scene so impressive as to defy description, it is a fitting altar for her worship. Who has not heard of El Capitan, the stately guardian of the valley, the majestic domes, beautiful arches and towering peaks that form the mural architecture of this wonderful storehouse of beauty?

The floor of the valley is covered with choicest of foliage, flora and the finest specimens of the forest, amid whose protecting shelter gentle creatures lurk. Here and there exquisite lakes mirror the surroundings, enhancing the beauty of the scene. Springs and cascades leap laughingly from grim old rocks as if by enchantment, their rippling course ending in softly flowing streams of crystal purity. A sylvan fairyland is disclosed in all the wild pristine beauty of nature's handiwork. One glances upward, and everywhere, in such great profusion as to almost tax the senses, stand out in bold relief the magnificent vision of sculptured chasm and cliff, their stern sublimity and rugged aspect softened by the lights and shadows which play over them, the exquisite colorings of nature's brush and the sparkling cascades and cataracts which leap from their sides everywhere in prodigal array. The gleaming great Half Dome, burnished like copper, the Royal

Arches, Sentinels, infinite variety and limitless compass of cave and cavern, crag, precipice, canyon, gorge, toned and idealized with sky effects above and the dainty carpeting of nature below in soft tender greens and oases of lakes and purling streams. This is the Yosemite Valley, reposing within the bosom of California, unequalled anywhere, and wanting but the guiding hand to bring the world to its feet in homage and admiration.

In 1864 certain influential citizens of California and lovers of nature generally, fearing the beautiful spot would be given over to pre-emption and settlement, thus causing its division into small holdings and depriving the public of a place of resort and recreation, interceded with congress to grant to the state the land comprising the valley and its approaches. Congress being so moved, did by an act grant to the state of California the "cleft or gorge in the granite peaks of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, situated in the county of Mariposa, in the state of California, at the head waters of the Merced river, with its branches and spurs, in estimated length 15 miles and an average width one mile back from the main edge of the precipice."

This grant to the state of the land described was made upon the express condition that the premises should be held for "public use, resort and recreation" and should be inalienable for all time, but leases not exceeding ten years may be granted for portions of the premises. All income derived from these leases or privileges to be expended in the preservation or improvement of the property or for roads leading thereto. Boundaries to be established at the cost of the state by the United States surveyor general for the state of California, whose official plat, when affirmed by the commissioner, shall constitute evidence of the "Locus, extent and limits of the cleft or gorge." The premises to be managed by the governor of the state, with eight other commissioners appointed by him, who shall receive no compensation.

Section 2 of the same act granted to the state the tracts of land embracing what is known as the "Mariposa Big Tree Grove, not to exceed the area of four sections and to be taken in legal subdivisions of one quarter section each, upon the same stipulations and provisions that govern the Yosemite Valley."

Frederic F. Low, then governor of California, on September 28, 1864, issued a proclamation reciting the act of congress granting Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Big Tree Grove, to the state, and appointed the eight other