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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 1884)
242 THE WEST SHORE. It was not long Ixiforo lovers of tho marvelous began to make pilgrimages to this mammoth grovo, sections of its Lark wcro exhibited, tho story of their immensity was spread far and wide, and later, when the overland rail road was built, tourists from the East and Europe became frequent visitors to the Calaveras forest and the great Yosemito.. Covering on area of fifty acres are 103 trees, twenty of them exceeding eighty feet in circumference at the base. One of theso, known as tho " Mammpth Tree," was felled by Iniring it off with augers, the task requiring five men's work for twenty-two days. This tree was 302 feet high and 5)0 in circumference at tho base. Upon its stump, which has loon miulo as smooth as a floor, four sets of cotillions have danced at, ono time, leaving plenty of room for musicians and spectators. Other trees which urn still standing aro equally enormous. Tho "Mother of the Forest" is 321 foot high, and measured 90 feet around its baso lofore tho bark was removed for exhibi tion. It is 137 foet from tho ground to tho first limb. A short distanco from this lies tho prostrate trunk of the "Father of tho Forest," the largest of tho group. Tho circumference at its base is 110 foet, and the first branch is 200 foot distant It is hollow, and porsons can readily pass through it walking eroct It is estimated, by the trunks of trees broken when this giant foil, that its height was 4.i; root; as it lies it is 18 foot in diameter where it is broken ofT, 300 foot from tho root. There aro many others, Sdino pros trate and decaying, but tho majority still erectnnd sound to tho ooro, tlio largor of which havo received names generally significant of some JM'ciiliarity of tho trw itself. Through lortionsof many of lh fallen trees one cm rido on horH0.. back a diHtoneo of fifty to Hoventy.five fH't There aro Um "Husband and Wife," "Burnt 1W," "Hercules" (!W foot in circum. ferenoe and 320 foot ), "Hermit" (318 tM hiirhl. "Old Maid," "Old Bachelor,' f p w!k ftt SMf, M , 1 M&v Rff ft). UWKMITK FALLS. Pionoor's Piil.i.." off at . Wgu of 150 fc easurbg W ft in tUamekT at th. base), "Siamese Twins." "Guar.lL" "Mother and Son," "Pride of tho Forest," "Two Sen tinels," " Three Graces," etc. Six miles south is another grove of 1,300 trees, some of them of grander proportions than any found in the grove de scribed, reaching a circumference of 130 feet The other for. est most com monly visited is the one in Man posa County, about sixteen miles southeast of the Yosemite Valley. This was discovered in 1855 by a hun ter named Hogg, in a manner sim ilar to the way in wh ich the Cal averas grove was stumbled upon. There are in this vicinity several groves of vary ing sizes, the one generally visited being known as Mariposa grove. Fire has swept through portions NEVADA FALLS. of this magnificent forest, and many of the stricken giants lie prone upon the ground, partly con sumed, while others still standing have only their charred trunks to attest their former greatness. NameB befitting their various pe culiarities have been bestowed upon the larger and more interesting of the trees in this grove, such as "Satan's Spear" (named in fanci ful reference to the enormous wea pon placed in the hand of the Prince of Darkness by the Blind roet), " Wanona" (the stage road is tunneled through the base, and a Bix-horse Concord coach is cov ered by it from the leaders to the hind wheels), "The Giant's Tow er," "Twin Sisters" (82 and 87 feet in circumference), "Beauty and tlm Rnnat" a irrneeful and Blender tree standing beside" a knotty and scarred mon ster), "Queen of the Forest," "Keystone" (19 fall grown horses can stand in ita hollow end), "Artists' En- 3 .. ' t . I TOW'S M - . m - V . . . . .