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1-1-1909 The ndE angered Valley: The etH ch-Hetchy Valley in The oY semite National Park. John Muir
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Recommended Citation Muir, John, "The ndE angered Valley: The eH tch-Hetchy Valley in The osY emite National Park." (1909). John Muir: A Reading Bibliography by Kimes. 325. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/jmb/325
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the John Muir Papers at Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in John Muir: A Reading Bibliography by Kimes by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ~/J r?7{ .•. ,, .. ·,r ·' ,,~ <· t''"u..., . •r•;· r."'~.'~~ ~A ~ l~ . -!'" ' ·~ ' 11 ol 11. ., » '· "' ).! v, .: 1" t {;/ .tl· ·• Jl· :,.. $,':0. ,,;_,t tl~ B-1;. ..·• .JJi." ;~;~.... : the :hy '' . !~T ·EVERYONE HELP t liBf~fi~flTH~EOUS HETCH ~ r s ?r:g · .. HETCH)p tALJEi rr:j1 l's A.Nu ~ 1- YC:MCZS: STOP THE COMMERCIAL DESTR ION WHICH !s . ·• ,·f'. t :',I' THREATENS OUR NATIONAL PARKS . J. cfo6 2··t , ··· ~~-~w.~~.w~~~·~ 'Mi<~~~~t'~~-~~-~ " • To the American Public: ·' The famous Hetch- Hetchy Valley, ndxt
_). \ to Yosemite the most wonderful and important \ fea ture of our Yosemite National Park, is ·again in danger of being destroyed. Year ' ' after year attacks have been made on this ~ Park under the guise of development of _natural resources. At the last regular ses ·.· ~ '. .. ,·,., · sion of Congress the most determined attack of all was made by the City of San Francisco to get possession of the Hetch- Hetchy Valley '.' ,-' { ",£ ·· •• as a reservoir site, thus defrauding ninety ·.. millions of people for the sake of saving , San .Francisco dollars. As soon as this scheme became manifest, public- spirited citizens all over the country poured a storm of pr otest on Congress~ Be fore the session was over, the Park invaders saw that they were def eated and permitted ~.t\ Y ··· g. 1n 1 ;,.~ . the bill to die without bringing it to a vote, so as to be able to try again. .· · The bill ha s been re- introduced and will be urged at the coming ~ession of Con gress, which convenes in December. Let all .those who believe that our great nati~nal onderlands should be preserved unmarred as places of res t and recreation for the use of all the people, now enter their protests. Ask Congress to reject this destructive bill, and also urge that the present Pa rk laws be so amended as to put an end to all such assaults on our system of National Pa rks.
. ~ .-· ;; Faithfully yours, ·. -·:. ' ~ ..··
"~' .. / ~~ J111W STATE UNIV£RSfTY lfll~lAif 1909. '··
at all ( p. r I) are revocable at the discretion of any Secretary of the BRIEF STATEl'v1ENT 0 . E > HETCH-HETCHY CASE Interior. Armed with this Garfield permit to flood the Hetch-Hetchy TOJUMTE. Valley and destroy its use as a public playground, the Park invaders again applied to Congress in December, Igo8, to confirm Garfield's (Pages refer to more ·_cui:!ple 1111111 u"lformation contained in other portwns otrlit~ pan.phlet.) action and render it irrevocable by securing title to the floor of I-Ietch The Yosemite National Park is not only the greatest and most won Hetchy in fee simple. The matter vvas referred to the Public Lands derful national playground in California, but in many of its featur:s it Committees of the House and Senate for recommendation. \Vhile a is without a rival in the ·w hole world. It belongs to the Amencan majority vote of eight in the House Committee favored the abandon people and is among their most priceless possessions. In world ·wide t ment of this priceless national property, there were seven who voted interest it ranks 'vith the YelloYvstone and the Grand Canyon of the .~ against it, and one other member later joined the minority, making th.e Colorado. The Yosemite Park embraces the headwaters of two rivers vote a tie. (P. 22.) :Many friends of the National Park system were -the ·Merced and the Tuolumne. The Yosemite Valley is in the ready to champion the people's cause if the bill had reached the floor :Merced basin, and the Hetch-Hetchy Valley, the Grand Canyon of the of the House, but the closing days of the session made it impossible to Tuolumne, and the Tuolumne l\'Ieadows are in the Tuolumne basin. have the bill brought up. Before the Senate Committee the bill did not Excepting only the Yosemite Valley, the Tuolumne basin is the fin~r fare as well and it became known that, if brought to a vote, the result and larger half of the Park. Practically all of the Tuolumne basm would have been unfavorable to San Francisco and this would have drains directly into I-Ietch-Hetchy Valley, which is a wonderfully exact been fatal to future attempts to pass the bill. Therefore, the bill died counterpart of the great Yosemite, not only in its crystal river, sublir;-1e with the Sixtieth Congress. cliffs and waterfalls, but in the gardens, groves, and meado·ws of 1ts The same bill has been re-introduced in the present Congress, and flowery park-like floor. This park-like floor is especially adapted for a last desperate attempt to force it through will be made. pleasure camping, and is the focus of all the trails_ from b~th the north If San Francisco could not obtain pure water elsewhere, this great and the south which leacl into and through th1s magmficent camp national sacrifice might be justified, but hydraulic engineers of un ground. . . . questioned standing have reported on many other adequate and avail The Yosemite National Park was created 111 r8go by Congress m able sources. In this respect, probably, no large city in the world is order that this gTeat natural \Vonderland should be preserved in pure more favorably situated. ( Pp. 4-6.) wildness for all time for the benefit of the entire nation. The Yosemite Valley was already preserved in a State Park, and the National Park was created primarily to protect the I-Ietch-Hetchy Valley and Tuol The unnecessary destruction of Hetch-Hetchy Valley is being opposed by the unme Meadows from invasion. .SOCIETY FOR THE PRESERVATION OF NATIONAL PARKS In spite of the fact that this is a national proj)erty dedi_cated as a AMERICAN CIVIC ASSOCIATION public po.. K for all time in which every citizen of the _Umted St_ates AMERICAN SCENIC AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION SOCIETY has a direct interest, certain individuals in San Francisco _oncelved PLAYGROUND ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA the idea that here would be an opport;mity to acquire a wat~r ~upply I GENERAL FEDERATION OF WOMEN'S CLUBS for the city at the expense of the natwn. They made appllcatwn to CALIFORNIA AND OTHER STATE FEDERATIONS OF WOMEN'S the late Hon. E. A . Hitchcock, then Secretary of the Intenor, for the , CLUBS )rivileo·e of usino· Hetch-Hetchy Valley and Lake Eleanor as reservoir ' l b b Af . . AMERICAN ALPINE CLUB sites from which to draw a municipal supply of water. ter gwmg 1 SIERRA CLUB OF CALIFORNIA the question careful consideration, he denied these rights on January ; APPALACHIAN MOUNTAIN CLUB OF BOSTON 20, 1903, and on a rehearing again ei~1phati~ally denied t~~m Dec~mb~r 1 MAZAMAS OF PORTLAND 22, 1903. (P. ro.) Thereupon a btl! designed to over11de Sec1e_tary · MOUNTAINEERS OF SEATTLE Hitchcock's decision was intr?cluc_ecl in ~ongress but the Committ~e \ CHICAGO GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY on Public Lands refused to give It standmg. The matter was agam j SATURDAY WALKING CLUB OF CHICAGO taken up with the President, who referred it to Hon. Victor I-I. :Met- 1 calf then Secretary of Commerce and L:1.bor. He upheld Secretary 1 And innumerable other leading Clubs throughout America Hit~hcock's opinion and again denied the right of the city to enter a , . to permit a municipal corporation to intrench itself in the national park. \Vhen l-Ion. James R. Garfield became Secretary of 1 the Interior, the city advocates renewed their efforts to have these Yosemite National Park, no matter how good that corporation prom rio·hts O'ranted which had been so many times refused, and at last pre ises to be;- seems to "The Outlook" an indefensible and dang·erous 1 piece of inconsistency which will be thoroughly bad not only in its v;ilecl. b Secretary Garfield on l\Iay I I, an. opinio_n so \ ~go8, ren~er~d immediate effect but as a precedent for future action.-Editorial in prejudicial to the interests of the Amenc~n pubhc 111 t?en· Natwnal Parks, as to practically nullify the whole natwnal park pobcy and_ thr?w ..... N. Y. "Outlook," January 30, 1909. those o-reat publi<;: .playg-rounds open tQ ; ~u ,if:_i!J-4:S;·; pf destructlve 111- ;.'.!''.! Where is the justice in taking what has been already dedicated to vas ion b from local· and comparatively ·jil'i~ate '111tel'ests. Fortun~t:ly ~ .,, . the American public merely to save San Francisco's dollars? , 1 1. ("' _ _ __ ..,1-~··~- ("'.., •. ,h/,1r1 ,+ 4-hr:Jou f"\f'\CC:PCC: ~nV lPo~llfV ~ - ·:,. , In a brief filed by the San Francisco city attorneys in June, 1909, in the United TvfANY OTHER \A,T ATER SUPPLIES ARE AVAILABLE FOR States Circuit Court, Ninth Circuit, Equity Case No. 13,395, appears the follow SAN FRANCISCO. ing language used in behalf of the city in that suit (pp. 520-523) : "The testimony discloses that several other substitutes (for the Tuolumne "Let us say at once that we hold human life more sacred than scenery, system) are available for the use of San Francisco." ... (Elaborate quota than even great natural wonderlands, vastly as they contribute to save life tions from the testimony are made to demonstrate this fact.) "It appears and promote happiness; and if that were the issue, if San Francisco could from the evidence, therefore, that the Tuolumne is but one of the several not . otherwise obtain an abundant water supply, we should be willing to possible sources from which a substitutional supply might be obtained." cleclicate to that purpose not only I-Ietch-Hetchy, but even the incomparable Yosemite itself."-Editorial .by R. U. J ohuson ·in "Century 111 aga.1ine." · "\'\Then you consider the matter of money alone, there are available quite a number of sites aud a number of sources, probably more than a One of the first questions asked by those seeking information on this dozen."-Marsden Manson, City Engineer of San Fraucisco, Senate Hear subject is whether there are other supplies available for the use of San ings, p. 123. Francisco. There are many. \Ve have always favored O'Oino' to the James D. Schuyler, hydraulic engineer of Los Angeles, says that there are 0 f b b mountams or pure water. "A number of other available sources of water supply for San Francisco." Look at a map of California. San Francisco is situated near the -IIeari:ngs, .Tcmuary :20, 1908, j1 . 307. confluence of the two great rivers of the State,-the Sacramento and '~--· " . .. lt is feasible to provide an an1ple supply of pure water for San the San Joaquin. Tributary to these rivers and flowing west toward Francisco from nearer somces (than the Hetch-Hetchy) by works which 'I would be much more economical, efficient, and reliable . . .. They can be San Francisco clown the Sierra are several large rivers, (among them developed to supply all the water requireLl for the next 4o or more years." the Tnolumne) any one of which will furnish ample water for San I -Frederick P. Steams, Chief Eugiucer of the Mctroj>olitan TFatcr Board Francisco. North and South of San Francisco along· the coast ri1any that snJlPlics Boston (/>/' ..108, 3II, .T ournal of the ,-lssociation of Engiueer streams waste their waters in the ocean. It is doubtful whether any illg Societies, Dece111bcr, 1908) . Schuyler and Stearns were consulting engineers on the Panama Canal. other city in the world of the size of San Francisco has so many t "I do not consider that the Tuolumne (Hetch-Hetchy) supply would available water supplies. It is ridiculous to assert that the only water furnish a gre.ater quantity of water, nor a water of better quality, than can -available for San Francisco runs clown the Tuolumne shingle of the be obtained from nearer sources."-Rudolj>h Hcriug, the hydraulic en great Sierra roof. gineer of New York and Philadelphia (testimony in Equity Case No. 13,395). WHAT OUR OPPO~ENTS AND EMINENT ENGINEERS SAY ABOUT OTHER WATER SUPPLIES. Colonel W. H. Heuer, U. S. A. Engineer and chairman of the Executive Com mittee of the Federated vVater Committee of San Francisco, states that the C. E. Grnnsky, former city engineer of San Francisco and sometimes referred present nearby sources to as the "Father of the Hetch-Hetchy system," says: ' "Can be increased by additional clams and raising some existing dams, so "In the case of San Francisco, there is no single source of supply so as to supply considerable more than roo million gallons per clay, or more pre-eminently <:. ailable that it could without question rule out others from than enough to supply the wants of San Francisco during the next forty comparison."-/>. 15 of Reports on TYater Su/'f>lies of San Francisco 1908 · years, and at reasonable cost. . . . Engineers who made surveys of Lake />. 385 House Committee Hearings, January 2I, 1909. ' ' Eleanor and I-Ietch-Hetchy inform me that there are other Sierra supplies which can be brought here at much less cost than I-Ietch-Hetchy. The Professor C. D. Marx, one of the city's hydraulic experts, has stated that latter by persistent advocates has been preached, almost forced, ;nto ac ''It can readily ))e _s hown that the drainage area needed for a \vater supply ceptance by the people of San Francisco."-Sau Francisco 111 erclw nts' As capable of furmshmg 20o,ooo,ooo gallons per day can be had on a number sociation Review, J-uly, 1908. of the Sierra streams ... . That the drainage areas of streams north of Tbis view receives further corroboration from C. E. Grunsky ( pp. 164-6, the Tuolumne gi,·e better promise of meeting these requirements, cannot Sept. 'o8, Jourual of the Association of Engineering Societies), Prof. Geo. David be denied ... . It cannot be said that the physical data now available are son, U. S. Coast and Geodetic Snn,ey, and other engineers. San Francisco now such as to admit of a reliable comparison of the relative values of the various sources of water supply for San Francisco from the Sierras." uses only 35,ooo,ooo gallons .,.--• cray. Trallsactio·ns of Comnt.onwealth Club, June, 1907. On the Feather River is the Big lVIeaclows reservoir site of about 20,000 acres. .. At the outlet of the lVIe aclows the topography is such that by the construction "?..I I:. Phelan-There are no less than half a dozen water supplies from I ~~ of a comparatively s·'1all clam a storage resen'oir can be created which will be the Sierras. . . . Mr. Hammond-vVe have listened to the eno·ineers but ,j ~fl ' one of the largest ardicial bodies of wate1· in the world, having a capacity of I did not understand that the Tuolumne is the only Sierra s~pply. ' l:VIr. -L{; over 280,000 million gallons, or fonr times the greatest capacity of the Hetch Phelan-By no means."-Tesli1110ny before the Public Lands Committee I-letchy reservoir. This water could be brought to San Francisco if necessary. of the House, Jauuary 2I, 1909, p. 342. " "YVithout a doubt the city can obtain water from half a dozen other DEFEND OUR NATIONAL PARKS. sources ":hich are now owned by private interests .. . ."-p. 36. The precedent im·olved is one most dangerous to the welfare of the national ''It 1s simply a question of which of the various sources of supply is the parks generally, and the establishment of a reservoir in Hetch-1-Ietchy will compel· best o_ne for the city of San Francisco to take . . .. "-p. 38. a tremendous sacrifice in notable scenery a· j in public recreation grounds. ''\'Vtthout doubt the city has the rig-ht, under California law, to condemn." Every citizen who believes in preserving· the integrity of our national parks, -p. 38. Secretary Garfield in hearing before Public Lauds Committee of evet:yone who regards these scenic treasures as national resources, hitherto I-I ouse, JauuarJ' 9, 1909. supposed to be safeguarded for the benel1t of all the people, should protest. Object to the surrender of any public land in any national park, and urge the "\'V~ do not deny that there are other sot;rces of supply up and down need of extinguishing all private claims through purchase by the governmcnt. the Sterra Nevada Mountains ... ." - !. D. Calloway, p. 387, Hearings, By Appalachian M ouutain Cl-ub. January 21, 1909. (<. Read carefully pp. 20-21 and help to save the Parli. 5 4 Read carefully pp. 20-21 aud help to save the Park. THE EFFECT OF USING HE1~ CI-1-I-IETCHY AS A :MUNI A DOZEN SOURCES OF WAtF.R SUPPLY Aim AVAiLABL:ii FOR CIPAL RESERVOIR. SAN FRANCISCO. Direct Effect.-To flood the floor of the valley as proposed will r. ~dvantage of the STAN ISLAUS RIVER as a source of supply for San destroy its use by the public. The_ fl~or ~f this valley is four and _a Franc1sco :~Co llecting basin "adequate in area, with pure waters" (Marsden ~:Ianson, City Eng!neer) .. River rises in high granite mountains similar to half miles long, averaging half a nule 111 wtdth and a!most lev~e l. I~ ts I.uolumne an~ not 111 a natwnal park. No scei1ery comparable to Hetch-Hetchy, beautifully wooded, being pronounced by Mr .. G~orf?e h·edenck 1uolum1~e Canon and .M~a dows, hence no danger of contamination from increas Schwarz, forestry and landscape expert, who stu.dtec~ 111 tor~7t schools mg toun.st travel; r~mfall he.avy; watershed protected by forest reserve; pipe of France and Germany, after a careful exam111at101~, ~s the most line. to City shorter t.1an to 1.uol:Hnne supply; ample storage at Donald's Flat, Relief, and Kennedy reservo1r Sites; dams already constructed by Stanislaus beautiful natural parkland" he had ever seen, and that 111 tts wm~derful Power Co., and to be constructed, thus insuring uniform maximum flow of forest gTowth of great variety and magnificent development 1t sur water. Power company will sell ample power to pump water over coast rano·e passed the Yosemite Valley itself. pr~ctically at cost. . Saving by having dams and power plants already built will offset the comparatively small cost involved in purchasing full right to water. IT IS A PARADISE FOR CA1\IPERS AND CAN ACCOM Company has gu~ranteed v.:ater rights and supply of water equal to all of city's MODATE THOUSANDS. requ1rements. City has pa1d no attention to offer to build system and deliver water for ten per cent added to bare cost. · It is one of the three great camp grounds in the Park-the o~he~·s 2. Advantages of !he EEL RIVER as a source of supply.-Uninhabited being· Yosemite Valley and yuolumne Meadows. All of_ the tratls .m mountam watershed m forest reserve, 325 square miles tributary to diversion this portion of the Park racltate fr?m Hetch-I-~etchy .. lt ~~ the natlllal pomt; 268 square miles tributary to Gravelly Valley reservoir; water rights gateway to the wonderfully beautiful mountam regwn lymg gt!aranteed perfect; average annual rainfall, so to 6o inches; capacity of reservoir cas~ an~ w1th rso-~oot dam, 70,ooo .million gallons, or twice the capacity of Hetch-Hetchy north of the valley. The walls of the valley are steep~ perp~nchc_ulat Valley w1th the same he1ght of dam; dam crest, 6oo feet; rsoo feet of drifts Yosemite-like cliffs. The Commonwealth Club of :::,an 1' ranCt~co, already run demonstrate good character of dam foundation· roo-foot dam wi'll through a committee appointed to investigate this very questwn, be completed by fall of I9II; tunnel already constructed div~rts flow to Russian River basin. \Vater can be diverted at waste o·ates or allowed to flow down recently reported as follovvs: Rnssi~n Riv.er to Cloverdale gravel beds and filt~recl naturally and piped to San "More important than the loss of scenic beauties we consider the loss of Fr::tnc1sco v1a San Pedro and San Pablo Point crossing. This crossino· can be the opportunities of public enjoyment of them. At present any one m~y go accomplished by flexible pipe lines similar to those which have been i; service and freely camp in the Hetch-HL~chy Vall~y and stay as.. long as h~ s m at Dumbarton for twenty years. San Pablo crossing is only a little longer and clination permits. lf the valley IS made mto a reser.vou, howevet, the deeper, and cost of lines carrying 6o million ga·llons daily has been estimated to camping-grounds will be destroyed as a place to ~!S it, and the Hetch- be only about $r,soo,ooo. Distance to distributing reservoirs less than Tuolumne. Hetchy Valley will have been taken from the :am per. s map. . . . . Gravity system following California and Northwestern Railroad grade, saving "The importance of the Hetch-I-Ietchy V< ey as an entrance p~th mto excessiVe costs of transportation and heavy pipe. \Vater would be taken the upper Sierras has been very strongly Uq?;ed by those wh? .PI esented through Berkeley and Oakland, thus supplying all bay cities at smallest expense. their objections to Congress. vVhile H~tch-Hetchy 1s now usea ~01: such a A. M. Hunt, an engineer familiar with water problems of San Francisco reports purpose by but _few, it i> pro~able that 1t woul.d be so ~1sed by ~ ' _ I Y n:uch that this water suppl: is ample and can be brought to the city for one~half the larger number 111 the future, 1f the valley remam.ed avail~ble. 1 o the extent expense of bringing i1, an equal amount from Tuolumne system. Power company that this is true, the flooding of the valley 1s a sen ous matter to the offered to sell water rights to city for vrry small figure, but city paid no attention mountain-climber. It is the natural campmg base and the natural. plac~ to offer. for rest and recuperation from fatiguing journeys mto the upper terntory. 3. Pumping from SAN JOAQUIN RIVER as source of supply.-vVhen nearby Imagine the floor of Yosemite Valley floocle~! . vVl:ere ~voulcl there so~1rc es ( whic.h unbiased engineers report can be developed to three times present daily use of c1ty) are exhausted, by pumping from San Joaquin River just below be the possibility of visiting the place ar~cl enjoy111g tt.. Every argu -0-ltamont, city can secure all the additional water she wants free of cost; can ment in favor of floodin o·. Hetch-Hetchy ts equally applicable to flood hlter to any degree of purity; saving in head works, length of pipe line, rights of . i ing· Yosemite itself. There are no campin~ possil~ilities on or neat: way, water rights, power plants, etc., would more than offest fixed pumping the steep walls or cliffs of Hetch-I-Ietchy. fhere ts one small shelt charge and cost of filtration. Supply is always available and need not be resorted to until necessity arises. above the lower end of the valley where a few could be accommodated. 1 4.-SACRAlVIENTO RIVER. 9.-MOKELUMNE RIVER. Feed for animals would last but a few clays. The ~· .!perintenclent of 5.-LAKE TAHOE. ro.-COSUMNES RIVER. the Park informed us that though he wisl~ed t~ do so, he coul.d not 6.- YUBA RIVER. I I .-CLEAR LAKE. camp there for lack of drinking water, whtch dtsappears early 111 the 7--FEATHER RIVER. 12.-BA Y SHORE GRAVELS. ::: :,tson. Along the traveled approach to the valley, the ne~rest camp 8.-AMERICAN RIVER ing places for parties of any considerable size are from etght to ten r3.-PRESENT SuPPLY ADDED TO SAN GREGORIO, PUR- miles distant. ISSIMA, PESCADERO, CALAVERAS, ALAMEDA, Etc. . ... If the Hetch-Hetchy Valley is turned into a res~rvoir,. it \Ve do not contend that all of these supplies are suitable, but many will be for the purpose of supplying· the city of San Franc1sco w1th of them are. water for drinking·, washing and industr-ial purposes. These . ~ur . poses cannot be hygienically carried ou'~ without careful. supervlSlon, .... while the Yosemite National Park mig·ht v0ry properly be not only of the Tuolumne River and the beautiful campmg meadowf sacrificed to save the lives and health of the citizens of San Fran near its head, but also of the watersheds on the north and south. cisco, it ought not to be sacrificed to save their dollars.-Editorial in Editorial in N. Y. "Outlook," January 30, 1909. N.Y. "Outlook," January 30, 1909. Read carefully pp. 20-21 and help to save the Park. 6 Read ca·refully pp. 20-21 and help to save the Park. 0 -:.r ______-_ __- __ __• '". "-;,_;,__.c .. __ .,:_, ____.:1-~ - - .. 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(/ TRAVEL INTO THE ENTIRE TUOLUMNE WATERSHED, BY 1 SAN FRANCISCO WANTS WATER POWER AT THE EX- / FAR THE F INER I-IALF OF THE PARK, WOULD ,~_ \1. PENSE OF THE NATION. BE JEOP.'\.RDIZED. -' The park invaders objecL to these other av a il abl~ water_ supplies be- Ind-irect Eft'C"ct.-Five hunclrecl square miles of the Park drain -~~ ! cause the water power rights have largely passed mto_ pnvate owner- ciirectly into th e proposed municipal system. lmmecliately above the it ship. This is the crux of the whole situation. (See artl~le by Iviarsden valley itst> lf and extending to the very source of th e Tuolumne River, -:r 1\tlanson, City Engineer, in Ca lifornia f.ileekl'y, June 18, 19°9-) The which fl ows through the J Jctch-1 Tetchy, is the most wonderful scenery same paper says editorially: . . . . . in the P ark. inclucling as it does the Grant! Canyon of the Tuolumne, "It is the possibility of a power supply that makes tlus P10POSltlon pie- 'I I · 1 · 1 1· f' 1 f II 1 1 eminently attractive." . near ]y a 1111 e c eep, Wit 1 1ts stu pent ons c rts anc water ·a s, anc t 1e " ... the other water supplies were all in private o'vnersh1p. Of course the magnificent Tuolumne l\Ieaclows at the head of the canyon, which are city could condemn and acquire these supplies ... ."-Mr. Pile/all's testimony by far the most delightful and interesting hi g- h mountain camp g rounds I bc{o?'e Public Lauds Committee, U. S. Sena~e, P- "~- "' . • 15 in the High Sierra. Travel to all of these natural wonders will be !\ Both :rvir. Phelan and l'vir. Manson, the City Engmeer, say, It a matte! of · 1 ·f · · 1 · 11 1 1 · 1 money." (p. 386, House Hearings.) . . . . _ _ res t nctec 1 a 111U111Clpa water system IS a owec to store water w l!C 1 I "There are no less than half a dozen water supphes from the S1e11 ~ s,_ but they drains from these camp g rounds. ..t, . are all obstructed by ownership, developments mad ~ by power compames, used by lVIarsden :Manson, the city eng ineer, in an official report on this sys- T power companies .. . ."-Mr. Phelan, H ousc H can!1gs, P- 342. . . . . tem says "that at no time in the futme can conditions arise tending to The development of power does not consume water. ll: IS still a~ml- impair the purity of the water fl owing- therefrom, which can ·not be able for the city. T he city would have to buy yower for pumpmg. -rigidly controlled.'' Think of a city controlling all the people of the i This expense would be offset by th~ fact that the ctty would not have to United States in their enjoyment of their own park! J expend millions of dollars in constructi~n of dat:ns and power plan_t ,-, "Argument is scarce ly necessa ry to indica te the impossibility of permitting I The power companies have clone and Will clo th1s. In short, the ctty public access to a reservoir int e ~>cl e cl to furnish a domestic water supply to any asks the nation to make her a priceless g-ift in order to save herself large ce nter of population. The danger of pollution which wou ld thus res ult from having· to j)a" the difference between the cost and the market would make the water supply thus acquired a menace instead of a benefit to the 1 people of the city involved. _One case of 'walking typhoid' on the borders of the price of water power. · . ·.. lake proposed to be established as a reservoir could start an epidemic of typhoid The creation of the park has heretofore prevented the pr~vate ~cquiSI- fever in the city to be supposedly benefited, ca using the loss of hundreds of in no- tion of the power and water rights in ~Ietch-_I-Ietchy.. fhe c1ty has cent lives. Countless experiences prove the correctness of this statement. The sllllllber·ed \vhile other power and water ru:thts 111 the _S_ 1erra have been city of Reading, Pennsylvania, has had eight hundred cases of typ hoid fever ~ - d 1 I within less than eight weeks through the pollution of a supposedly guarded j acquired by others. In order to save a few doll ~ r s the City now emanc_s water supply. The ep idemics at Plymouth, at Ithaca and elsewhere are well- 11. the sacrifice of a national park and would selhshly destroy a wonder- known to ha,·e resulted from exactly the conditions which might be expected in ..,.. Janel which wise and patriotic foresight has preserved all these years respect to the city of San Francisco. It is thus apparent that full public access to the lake and the vallev in which it shall be created can not be had if the health for the American people. of the people of the city- of San F rancisco is of any importance to those who are THE BEAUTIFUL LAKE FALLACY. seeking this water supply. •;' Landscape gardens, places of recreation and worship, a:·e never "Not only in the resen·oir itself would danger from pollution exist, but a made beautiful by destroying and bm· yi n~- them. The beautiful lake greater danger would arise through the possible pollution of the watershed feed- fot·sootll \VOnlcl be only an e)re-sore, a dismal blot_ on the landsca_pe, in g the resen ·oir proposed. A single case of 'wa lking-typhoid' again affecting a 1 f 1 ca mper, or stroller, or ordinary visitor, who had acquired that typhoid on hi s like many others to be seen in the Sierra. For, msteac 0
HETCH-HETCHY AND THE YOSEMITE PARK IS A GREAT · - , ARGUMENTS OF THE PARK INVADERS AN.SWER~~: . . NATIONAL ASSET. '01~~~~~1~ w~uld enter and d~~~~o{tl~·ii.f~t~:~~Heest~~~~;~\}a~f~~~uitsesfl~~d~:!t b;l ~~~~ According· to the terms of the Garfield permit, San Fran;isco must natwnal parks gtve as ~ reason . . . The facts arc these: For a few days 111 spring freshets ?f the 1 L!OltTme Rn·~t. f the Hetch-Hetchy Valley are covered first develop Lake Eleanor and Cherry River to their greatest capacity. the spnng por~wns of ~ Je ~wei en cn~bracinv the most beautiful parts of .the It would be fifty years before Hetch-Hetchy Valley could possibly be \Vtth 'Yater. 1 ~~e upp~t two t1m ci s! . he water recedes from the lower portwn, used. \iVho can foretell what the travel to the Hetch-Hetchy will be park-ltlce .floor, ts nevet . ro~cl.e~l. 1 Aitet : o e of the most beautiful flow er gardens by that time? It is now numbered by the hundreds annually and in fifty it leaves~ dry s~~1dy s~t w ~tc 1V~e?,on:eflod1· is subject to the same periodic and in the Sterra. l he Y osenute a.1 e)' • I years will reach so far into the thousands as to be almost unbelievable. 1 1 1 A hundred years ago the travel into the Alps was negligible. Now it ex t~ nsi~e fl_o~~li~fe~\1 :~!':t~ 1~~, \~}~{;~ ~~~~t~~·en call~d a "mosquito ~a~·sh" b,? ~~;~; ij· 1 11e OOI , . . ·c Llitoes there 111 great mimbet' tmmeuta e) has become the "Playground of Eur.ope" and consular reports indicate i ' zealou? opponent~ . . 1 he~~ a I e fmlos \ower end of the yalley, but they remain but that over two million persons travel to the Swiss Alps annually. followmg; the spim.g ovei .ow ? . i ~e . rhen the water is drained off from the sandy a short tune and dtsappeai entne) '~ 'cl·ly accomplicl-- · Drainage and a If 11 San Francisco should secure the legislation she seeks granting flower garcle:1s and meadows, as .na ure, q ~ tl;is temporar;, ;a nee. There are her the floor of Hetch-Hetchy, it would mean that the destruction of liberal use ot petroleum wtll etacltc~te e\ e 1v 't V 11 f Let us drown the valley would only he a matter of time. How much more rational oTeat numbers of mosquitoes e:ren 111 the i osenu e a ey · to let this question of the necessity ·for using· the valley be determined tl1e yosemite if this argunnnt ~s tV~~f1~· is accessible only ~ _,v months in the They a~·gue that Hedtcl~- etc 1 by cl~ accessible the whole year round, as the when that necessity actually arises. The valley will remain in the park year. Wtth good roa s tt can e ma . · V 11 1 · ently been made accesst)11 e. and can not be acquired by others. This situation demonstrates the Yosemtte a ey 1as rec b . f .. t Hetch-Hetchy Valley now and t 11at sophistry of the water system advocates. They are afraid to let this The park invaders m:ge that l:t ew 't'lStlo tile IJleasures of a few. The same Teat ctty are pa1 amom1 W . question remain open to be decided by those who fifty years hence are the nee c1 s o f a g . , . Yosemite before good roads were made. e ~~ e rightfully entitled to decide it. If allowed to increase without restric argu.ment would have applied to - . ch, Valle by present travel the;·e. Wtth tion, travel to the Hetch-Hetchy fifty years from now will be so great not Jnclg111g the n~e~ls of the He~c!It r;:i~h )the Yo~emite and the other nnportant good r~ads and t_t,.atls_ c~nlnetcttH,., t·l-Hetchy will increase just as travel to the as to make any scheme to destroy it unthinkable. The value of the places 111 the pal '• tl a\· e o e c 1 Yosemite National Park as a commercial asset is simply incalculable. ; Yosemite has mcreased.. . , , ll the patented land on the floor of the It is a gold mine for the State of California and a treasure house for \ They urge that .the. Cl~Y now .~\\ tb a . 1 rovides for the exchange of other the whole nation. The Hetch-Hetchy Valley is one of its niost priceless ·~ valley and that till~ btll 111 Con~ I ess ~1:e~ eo~ ~1e entire floor in fee simple. San lands so that the c.tty can sec_ur: con~~~e ?0 acres in and about the floor of tl;e attractions, and no community would suffer greater loss by the destruc Francisco has acqmrecl by pmc!Mse '.. ?-f ll tile 1.1·a·hts che desires she wtll tion of Hetch-Hetchy than San Francisco herself. \' Hetch-Hetc. 1 1y v a ll ey. I n .order I t to 'ove1' elono· u Yto the American"' " people anc 1 1s.· a I 1 need about zooo acres moie t 1 ~ no£" -~ Iat~ that the nation ever parted wtth "The value of great scenic possessions is being increasingly recognized the part of. the. national park. It ts t~n i~l ~:~e" of those mistakes made in the early world over. This value is now known to have a great influence upon the develoJJ ny of Jts tttle to but tt . lled out without regard to consequences. ment of that best citiz.enship, without which a cotmtry is poor indeed. Tt is also t~ese lan~s, .lays when our publ~c domam .was P;~:ts~ of homesteads, etc., and in reality was admittedly understood to relate very closely to tl1e maintenance of the health of This land was acqmred undei th.e "' d stock The o·overnment at that the people. There is, too, a recognized and most definite value in the mainten used for a few years for p~stunng.ts 1Ieep an1.11e ct·ea. tt. on ot' the national park ance of great scenery as a directly productive as~et , attracting travel from all I. d h rwtceless 1 was ' · the world. It is admitted that more tl1an twentv millions of dollars are annually time never rea tz_e ow .· fi f one of the nation's most valuable possesswns. expended in travel to see the Falls of Niagara. - Capitalized at five per cent, ancl put an end to fm_ther s~cll coe o th t because the government made the .manu taking no account of the increasing travel, this would make the travel value Now these park mvaders a~,t:e_. a t'tl to an acre of this wonderland, tt shall alone of this one asset of American natural scenery exceed four hunch·ed millions I mental mistake o~ evet: par\m1 ~~tth f t .e ·ifi~ino· it all! The land the city owns of dollars. The travel tribute paid to the Yosemite National Park is annually now commit the·trrett:tevab e o y ·~ s,~ctcquirit1o· control over all the remainder. r is valueless for reservOtr purposes wt I?u ~ a ted the pari' and a wise policy will increasing, and as our population increase it must increase in larger proportion; 1 The government cadlleci ~ t~~t f~~ ~~~t{~ ~~~~ntcd befo;·e 'the creati01; of ~he pari~ for more and more are men driven for necessary rest and recreation to the 'few 1 1 decree that the Ian w1 nc . c1 l'l·e other pnva te clanns 111 othet remaining spots pt·esenting undamaged nature's sublimest works. It may there shall be either purchased or com1 emne t, fore be assumed, I insist, that all of the Yosemite National Park, which in its wisdom Congress set aside many years ago for just the purpose I have been national parks. - , PROPOSED EXCHANGE BY T:~r. CITY .. urging, holds a very large value, inhering to all the people of the United States. j' UNEQ~AL N ATUR~ ,?F bill now Jending in Congress to exchau," f~I This value, I insist, should not be interfered with except for a grave public The ctty prop~sfs ~uo:J~l~ i~1:tch-Hetch/ an equal acreage of pz,tented la.nnsl . necessity, and for cause fully shown to the satisfaction of the wl1ole country, lands on or neal. t ;e oot . ark and some not even in the park, but 111 ~ le who own the Yosemite National Park."-]. Horace McFarland, President of some situated wtthm. the natwnal E' Rat;ch is one of the tracts lying just outstcle American Civic Association. adjacent forest reseive. The I~o\-ke' thousands of other Sierra pastures, and to the present park boundatV')'. ll It ~so/ Boo· Ra~ch would be like exchanging Central "Conservation of our natural scenery is conservation of one of the exchange Hetch-Hetc~lY a ey "'. o· of cow astnre. nati<"t's greatest resources. Park in New York Ctty .for an equal ao~f"'e 't is ~n Till Till Valley. The Another private holdmg ownled by . 1ed mctoynstrated by the following fact. · f 1 · 1-oposed exc 1anrre ts e . · . tl · "This threatened precedent of entering National Parks is wrong· in absnrdtty o t us P "' ealth Club of San Franctsco havmg us The srJecial committee of the Commonw tl t ·t "t's extremely doubtful, con- principle and unnecessary in fact. 1 ver" matter un d er const·d ei·ation . . reports, tl1a . Tt'll Tl'll "may be used for t h e ) d"fx: 1 · f amtatwn w1 1e 1e1 ' · "There is a vast economic reason for jealously guarding all of our sidering the. t ucu tJ~s . o .•~' 'f , Hetch-Hetchy becomes a municipal .reservOtr. accommodatiOn of VlSttOI s 11 . I ano·e? The very land the nation would scenic heritage in America."--J. Horace McFarland, President of Would the nation profit by sue 1 an ebxl.c 1,1 "' .tse t11e land the nation would sur- . ld t b 'cl by the pu tc Jecat . h' I American Civic Association. acqutre cou n? ~ use . e used as a municipal reservotr, w tc 1 render to the ctty m exc.hat~ge ~voul~il~ Till! Till Till would also be rendered !3 Read cnrefully Pf. 20-21 aitd help to sm;e the Park. '"1luted by drama"'e. fJotdn. f tl Hetch-H,trhv camp n···ntmds. - ·1 . 1,.. 1... .. tl,r: floo tng· o !~ THE ENDANGERED VALLEY: THE HETCH-HETCHY The Endangered Valley-! oh.n .Muir. VALLEY IN THE YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK. nf color as you would a piece of embroidery held in the hand. Near Bv Jor-IN Mum, th" head of the fall you see groups of booming comet-like masses, their solid white heads separate, their tails like combed silk interlacing Author of "The Mountains of California," "Our National Parks," etc. among delicate shadows, ever forming and dissolving, worn out by Th.e fame of the Merced Yosemite has spread. far and wide, while friction in their rush through the air. Most of these vanish a few Hetch-Hetchy, the Tuolumne Yosemite, has until recently remained hundred feet below the summit, changing to the varied forms of comparatively unknown, notwithstanding it is a wonderfully exact cloudlike drapery. Near the bottom the width of the fall has increased counterpart of the famous valley. As the Merced flows in tranquil from about twenty-five to a hundred feet, and is composed of yet finer beauty through Yosemite, so does the Tuolumne through Hetch tissue, fold over fold-air, water, and sunbeams woven into irised robes Hetchy. The floor of Yosemite is about 4,000 feet above the sea, that spirits might wear. and that of Hetch-Hetchy about 3,700, while in both the walls are of So fine a fall might well seem sufficient to glorify any valley; but gray granite, very high, and rise precipitously out of flowery gardeils here as in Yosemite Nature seems in no wise moderate, for a short and groves. .r7urthermore, the two wonderful valleys occupy the same distance to the eastward of Tueeulala booms and thunders the great relative positions on the flank of the Sierra, were formed by the same Hetch-Hetchy fall, Wapama, so near that you have both of them in full forces in the same kind of granite, and have similar waterfalls, sculp view from the same standpoint. It is the counterpart of the Yosemite ture, and vegetation. Hetch-Hetchy lies in a northwesterly direction Fall, but has a much greater volume of water, is about 1,700 feet in from Yosemite at a distance of about eighteen miles, and is now easily height, and appears to be nearly vertical though considerably inclined, accessible by a trail and wagon-road from the Big Oak Flat road at ard is dashed into huge outbounding bosseP of foam on the projecting Sequoia. shelves and knobs of its jagged gorge. No two falls could be more The most strikingly picturesque rock in the valley is a majestic unlike-Tueeulala out in the open sunshine descending like thistle pyramid over 2,000 feet in height which is called by the Indians down, chanting soft and low like a summer breeze in the pit1es; Vla "Kolana." It is the outermost of a gToup like the Cathedral Rocks pama in a jagged shadowy gorge roaring· and thundering, pounding of Yosemite and occupies the same relative position on the south wall. its way with the weight and energy of an avalanche. Tueeulala Facing Kolana on the north side of the valley there is a massive sheer whispers that the Almighty dwells in peace; vVapama is the thur..der rock like the Yosemite El Capitan about 1,900 feet high, and over its of His chariot-wheels in power. Besides this glorious pair there brow flows a stream that makes the most beautiful fall I have ever is a broad massive fall on the main rivl r a short distance above the seen. The Indian name for it is "Tueeulala." From the edge of the head of the valley. Its position is something· like that of the Vernal cliff it is perfectly free in the air for a thousand feet, then breaks up in Yosemite, and its roar as it plunges into a surging trout-pool may into a ragged sheet of cascades among the boulders of an earthquake be heard a long way, though it is only about twenty feet high. There talus. It is in all its glory in June, when the snow is melting· fast, but is also a chain of magnificent cascades at the head of the valley on a fades and vanishes toward the end of summer. The only fall I know stream that comes in from the northeast, mostly silvery plumes, like with which it may fairly be compared is the Yosemite Bridal Veil; the one between the Vernal and Nevada falls of Yosemite, half-sliding, but it excels even that favorite fall both in height and fineness of fairy i half-leaping on bare glacier-polished granite, covered witJ'l crisp clash airy .beauty and behavior. Lowlanders are apt to suppose that moun ing spray into which the sunbeams pour with glorious effect. Oth.ers tain streams in their wild career over cliffs lose control of themselves shoot edgewise, through deep, narrow gorges, chafing and surg;mg and tumble in a noisy chaos of mist and spray. On the contrary, on no beneath rainbows in endless variety of form and tone. And bestdes part of their travels are they more harmonious and self-controlled. all these here and there small streams, seldom noticed, come daPcing Imagine yourself in Hetch-Hetchy on a sunny day in June, standing down from crag to crag with birdlike song and watering many a hidden waist-d.>e' in grass and flowers (as I have oftentimes stood), whil,. j cliff-garden and fernery, doing what they can in the grand genera.! tl,:.;.. ·6Teat pine:; sway dreamily with scarce perceptible motion. Look harmony. mg northward across the valley you see a plain gray granite cliff rising The floor of the valley is about three and a half miles long, half atruptly out of the gardens and gToves to a height of I,8oo feet, and a mile wide, and is partly separated by a r .r of glacier-polished gran in front of it Tueeulala's silvery scarf burning with irised sun-fire in ite across which the riv('~ breaks in rapids. The lower part is mostly every fiber. Approaching the brink of the rock, her waters flow l· a <>Tassy flowery meadow, with the trees confined to the sides and the swiftly, and in the first white outburst of the stream at the head of the l ri;er-ba~ks. The upper forested part is charmingly diversified with fall there is abundance of visible energy, but it is speedily hushed and groves of the large and pic~uresqu~ California Jive-oak, and the noble concealed in divine repose; and its tranquil progress to the base of the yellow pine, which here attams a he1ght of .more than t;vo hundred feet, cliff is like that of downy feathers in a still room. Now observe the ~::- growing well apart in small groves or smgly, allovvmg each tree to be seen in all its beauty and grandeur. Beneath them the common s fineness and marvelous distinctness of the various sun-illumined fabrics into which the vvater is woven: they sift and float from form to form /~ · pteris spreads a sumptuous carpF• tufte~ here and there ~vith ceanotl:us I .,:) ' . down the face of that grand gray rock in so leisurely and unconfused :; _,-·-. and manzanita bushes azalea. and bner-rose, and bnghtened wtth a manner that you can examine their texture, and patterns, and tnnf's.. ,I. Mariposa tulips, golde~rod, tall-mints, larkspurs, geraniums, etc., amid ,i ' ~ ~ -··· J 1 .~ 11. ~,.. ,. ,...... ,,. 1-l,.-~ p ,..,.vh T~ J
The Endangered Valley-! ohn Mm:r. \ The Endangered Valley-] olm Mu-ir. which butterflies, bees, and humming-birds fincl rich pasturage. Near like those of the devil devised for the destruction of the first garden the walls, especially on the earthquake tali that occur in many places, so much of the very best Eden fntit going to waste, so much of the the pines and California oak give place to the monntain live-oak, which best Tuolumne water. In these ravag-ing mon.ey-mad days monopo forms the shadiest and most extensive groves. The glossy foliage, lizing San Francisco capitalists are now doing their best to destroy densely crowclecl, makes a beautiful ceiling, with only a few irregular t! the Yosemite Park, the most wonderful of all our great mountain openi1ws for the admission of sunbeams, while the pale-gray trunks national parks. Beginning on the Tuolumne side, they are trying· with and th~ branches, gnarled and outspread in wide interlacing arches, a lot of sinful ingenuity to get the Government's permission to clam are most impressively beautiful and picturesque. The sugar-pine, and destroy the Hetch-Hetchy Valley for a reservoir, simply that com Sabine pine, incense cedar, silver fir, and tumion, occur here and there paratively private gain may be made out of universal public loss. This amono· the oaks and yellow pines, or in cool side canons, or scatt\!red use of the valley, so destructive and foreign to its proper park use, on th~ rifted wall rocks and benches. The river-bank trees are chiefly has long beeh planned and prayed for, and is still being- prayed for libocedrus poplar willow, alder, and flowering dogwood. by the San Francisco board of supervisors, not because water as pure Hetch-Hetchy' 'Valley is a grand landscape garden, one of N ature ' s ·and .abundant cannot ?e got from adjacent sources outside the park, rarest arid most precious mountain mansions. As in Yosem~te, ~he --J for 1t can,-but seemmgly only because of the comparative cheapness sublime rocks of its walls seem to the nature-lover to glow wtth hfe, of the dam required. Garden- and park-making goes on everywhere with civilization, for whether leaning back in repose or standing erect in thoughtful atti l tudes o·ivino· welcome to storms and calms alike. And how softly everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, b b 1 . h •/ these mountain rocks are adorned, and how fine anc reassunng t e ,![t where Nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul. :, company they keep-their brows in the sky, their fee_t set in g~·oves It is impossible to overestimate the value of wild mountains and and g·ay emerald meadows, a thot~san~ flowers leamng con?clmgly i_, mountain temples. They are the greatest of our natural resources. ao·ainst their adamantine bosses, while btrcls, bees, and butterfltes help God's best gifts, but none, however high and holy, is beyond reacl~ tl~e river and waterfalls to stir all the air into music-things frail and of the spoiler. . Jleetino· and types of permanence meeting here and blending, as if into These temple destroyers, devotees of ravaging· commercialism, seem this gl~rious mountain temple Nature had gatherec~ her choicest tre.as to have a perfect contempt for Nature, and instead of lifting their eyes ures whether o-reat or small, to draw her lovers mto close confidmg to the mountains, lift them to dams and town skyscrapers. ' b • communion with her. Dam Hetch-Hetchy! As well dam for vvater-tanks the people's Hetch-Hetchy weather is delightful and invigorating all the year. cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated Snow seldom lies long on the floor, and is never very deep. On the by the heart of man. · sunny north wall many a sheltered nook may be found embraced by Excepting only Yosemite, Hetch-Hetchy is the most attractive and sun-warmed rock-bosses in which flowers bloom every month of the wonderful valley within the bounds of the great Yosemite National year. Even on the shaded south side of the valley the frost is never J, Park and the best of all the campgrounds. People are now flocking severe. to it in ever-increasing numbers for health and recreation of body and The most deli o·htful and wonderful campgrounds in the pa.rk are ( . mind. Though the walls are less sublime in height than those of ·the three o-reat ,~,l!ey s-Yosemite, Hetch-Hetchy, and Upper Tuol Yosemite, its groves, gardens, and broad spacious meadows are more unme; anct they are also the most important places with reference to beautiful and picturesque. It is many years since sheep and cattle were their positions relative to th_e oth~r great feaures-t~e Merced and pastured in it, and the vegetation now shows scarce a trace of their Tuolumne cafions and the Htgh Sterra peaks and glac1ers, etc., at the ravages. Last year in October I visited the valley with Mr. William hr,ad of the river~. The main part of the Tuoli.unne Valley is a beau Keith, the artist. He wandered about from view to view, enchanted, made thirty-eight sketches, and enthusiastically declared that in varied .t~ '£11! ;;;1Jacious flowery lawn four or five miles long, surrounded by ·magnificent snowy mountains. ~t is <:bout 8,500 feet above the s~a, picturesque beauty Hetch-Hetchy greatly surpassed Yosemite. It is and forms the a-rand central I-hgh S1erra campground from wh1ch one of God's best gifts, and ought to be faithfully guarded. excursions are ~1ade. to the noble mountains, domes, glaciers, etc. ; [NOTE.-The substance of the foregoing article has appeared in the Century across the range to the Mono Lake and volcanoes ; and down the Magazine, Siena Club Bulletin, and the Out/oo/1, and it was written many years Tuolumne Canon to Hetch-Hetchy. But should Hetch-Hetchy be before this Hetch-Hetchy question arose.] submerg-ed, as proposed, not only would it be mad~ uttet~ly inaccessible, but the sublime canon way to the heart of the H1gh S1erra would be .... If a municipal wate· -works is permitted to erect its plant hopelessly blocked. · I That ·any one would try to destroy such a place seemed impossible, - ~ in the Hetch-Hetchy Valley, it means that the Yosemite Park will be come the back-yard of a great municipal utility instead of a recrea but sad experience shows that there are people good enough ~nd bad enouo·h for anythino·. The proponents of the dam scheme bnng for tion ground for all the people of the country.-Editorial in N. Y. ward"' a lot of bad ~rguments to prove that the only rig-hteous .thing "Outlook," January 30, 1909. for Hetch-Hetchy is its destruction. These arguments are cunously Read carefuliy pp . 20-2I and help to sa·ve the Park. 17 r6 Read carefu ll-y pp. 20-2J aud help to sc~ve the Park. y I
\ WHAt tHE :PR.:Ess tH!N'l 20 Read careful/J> pp. 20-2:1 ~ud help to save the Park. 'I VIEWS OF MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE OF PUBLIC ing been made cheap in that manner, San Francisco now desires to use LANDS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. it for itself by spoiling the very purpose which has made it cheap .... "I believe that we owe it to all the people to preserve Hetch-Hetchy "I am of the opinion that the city has failed to establish its contention uninterfered with for the use and enjoyment of all the people and to that the Hetch-Hetchy is the only reasonably available source of water carry out the policy i tended when it was included within the boun supply in the Sierras, and that, therefore, the interests of the people of daries of the YosP•~=· - National Park."-Herbert Parsons. all the country should be waived on behalf of San Francisco in its claim to exclusive use of this valley."-F. W. M ondell, Scott Ferris, W. B . Craig, ]no. M. Reynolds, D. W . Hamilton. YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK. "We are opposed to this resolution in its present form, as it does not sufficiently guard public interests. We believe that its passage wiln evei1tually exclude the public from the Retch-Hetchy Valley and the: Tuolumne Canon, and we are not willing that that should be done, as: it does not appear that it is necessary for the city of San Francisco• to obtain this property for a water supply. "It appears from the testimony given by the committee appointed by the city. to urge this resolution before this committee that there are ,· .;... t' , ·( .~ other available supplies in the Sierras."-A. f. Volstead, A. f. Gronna. ' •· ; . "The undersigned admits that if this source is essential to San Fran ,b cisco the grant should be made. But San Francisco has not made out a case showing that it is essential. The testimony indicates that there are a number of other sources...... "San Francisco is in an enviable situation for water supply. It has all the Sierras, with their mountain snows and lakes to draw upon. There are no less than sixteen different systems. . . . "The fact of the matter is that San Francisco, having its eye on the Hetch-Hetchy, has not thoroughly investigated other systems . ... "Certainly the Federal Government is not bound to give up to San Francisco two fifths of a national park simply because it is cheaper. \i\Thy is it cheaper? It is cheaper because, having been made a national park, it has not been possible for private interests to file upon the water in the same manner that they could have if there had not been a national park. Had private interests been allowed to file upon the water, San Francisco 'vould not have thought of going to Hetch-Hetchy any more than to any other place. It would have chosen the place that it most cheaply could have condemned. It goes to Hetch-Hetchy mainly be cause it is chearc<;t. Hetch-Hetchy is cheapest because it belongs to all' the people instea.l of to some of the people. It has been preserved and made cheap becau.:;e the purpose vvas to use it as a national park. Hav-· Cineiunatl, 0. TET.EGRAIU. Nov. 18, 11109. Resolution passed by the Amerienn Civie Association, Thurs1lny, Nov. 18,. 1909, •·ecog;nizing· the wis1lom of the Cong·rcss In setting; asi1le for public use the· g·reat nntionul ttnrlt:s nn'l belie-ving· that nn.:r n''t)f(Tnble interference "'fl'itlt tl1e· scenic integ,·rity of these JUll'lcs is in the ltig·hest (!e~Tce nncleslrable, the Anteri-· enn Ch,ic AsSJocintiou in convention nssentblefl ui·g·c.s the Seei•etnry of the In-· tet•io1· to 1·eyol;:e the ItC1'Jnit 2.nul the Cong;rc-ss to 1·efnse to confirn1 snell tterntit· under ,,·hielt the city of Sun lt'rnncisco is ussnntlng· to control eventnully for n doJncstic "\"\'Utcr SUJ)l•ly ntot•e tltnn ftye Jnnulreil squure 1ni1es of the best of the Yosemite/ Nntionnl Pnrl<, unless after a full nllll lmtun·tin~ Inquiry it shall be 3. 'l'he Hetch-Hetchy Valley is a wonderfully exact counterpart of the shown to the sntisfnetion of tlw CongTess that no other sufficient source of great Yosemite. _ . wnter Sllllllly is avnilnble to San Francisco. '\Ve further rest•eetfully rctn•esent 4 The Grand Canon of the Tuolumne is one of the finest canons in Amenca thnt the g·ranting· an1l couilrmatilln of sucl• n 11ermlt to hlYI\de the Il1lblic •lo• with 'its wonderful cascades and waterfa lls and tremendous cliffs and walls. Junin "·oul(l create n 1nost tlnug·e1·ous prece "WE DESCENDED INTO THE [HETCH-HETCHYl VALLEY, AND MARCHED FOR MILES, SINGLE FILE, THROUGH A FAINT TRAIL BETWEEN FLOWERY GRASSES SHOULDER HIGH; MARCHED TO OUR CAMP UNDER THE STRAIGHT GRANITE COLUMN OF KOLANA-A CAMP SHADOWED BY GREAT PINES AND FIRS AND CEDARS, BESIDE THE Photo by Herbert W. Gleason. BEAUTIFUL TUOLU:MNE."-Hm·riet Mom·oe. ____1~ ., - .... ;c, - "' ~ ~ - ~ - -·~11~~~ TUEEULALA HETCH-HETCHY EL CAPITAN WAPAMA I' · II 1-•I iJ t liI· ,j II I i I. tl I I! i~ "NO TWO FALLS COULD BE MORE UNLIKE - TUEEULALA OUT IN THE OPEN SUNSHINE DF.SC:Fl\TnTl\Tr. LIKE THISTLEDO\VN rr:r • "',.."'".. cr.""~ • ,.~ • ~------,l .,-, ~< . ~· \'., .... ' ~ ' ' I ( J r ( I .J.:-~ - 1· L •.. , t~ ,..; ,, :~ · •' I "THE MOST STRIKINGLY PICTUR' · ' · • · , "IT I S THE COUNTERPART OF THE YOSEJ\IITE FALL, BUT l-IAS A MUCH A MAJESTIC PYRAMID OVER ,'~~PUE hO,Cl, IN 1-IETCI-l·HETCHY VALLEY I S INDIANS 'KOLANA' . " , " HEIGHT WHICH IS CALLED BY THE GREATER VOLUME OF WATER, IS ADOUT qoo FEET IN HEIGHT, AND APPEARS I . : ~,ooo r:~El I ~, TO DE NEARLY VERTI CA L THOUGH CONSIDERABLY INCLINED, AND IS DASHED ROCKS OF YOSEi\1,1' ;r IS IHE ,0~1~l~~ ·~OS, l OF A GROUI' LIKE TI-IE CATHEDRAL .SO UTI" \·VALL" fE AND OCCUI IJ ~S HIE SAME RELATIVE POSITION ON THE IN'l'O HUGE OUTBOUNDING l30SSES OF FOAM ON THE PROJECTING SHELVES • , -Jo/m M1<1Y, p - hoto by Herbert W. Gleason. t\N 1J Kl\OilS OF ITS JAGGED GORGE."- Jo/w Muir, Photo by Herbert W. Gleason, II '" ' u".· ~, I '!HETCH-HETCHY VALLEY IS A GRAND LANDSCAPE GARDEN, ONE OF ;(ATURE'S RAREST AND :IWST PRECIODS l\10UNTAIN MANSIONS. AS IN YOSEMITE, THE SUBLill.fE ROCKS OF ITS WALLS GLOW WITH LIFE, WHETHER LEANil\'G BACK IN REPOSE OR STANDING ERECT IN THOUGHTFUL ATTITUDES GIVING WELCO?dE TO STORMS AND CALMS 1\LIKE."- John M"£,-, Photo by Herbert \V. Gleason. ---J!!!;;.:iT~ - ~~wii \! ~-~A~ -...... ~~ ~' ------~ -- --~~~ _ji ~ ~ ~ ~0 · ~~ -< ~ "FACING KOL.t>,.NA ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE VALLEY THEI-lE IS A J\IASSIYE SHEER ROCK LIKE THE YOSEMITE EL CAPITAN, ABOUT 1,9oo FEET HIGH, AND OVER ITS BROW FLOWS A STRL\M THAT MAKES THE "l'HE UPPER FORESTED PART IS CHARMINGLY DIVERSIFIED WITH GROVES OF THE LARGE AND PICTUR ESQUE CALIFORNIA LIVE-OAK, AND THE NOBLE YELLOW PINE, vVHICH HERE ATTAINS A HEIGHT OF MORE THAN TWO. HUNDRED FEET, GROWING WELL APART IN SMALL GROVES OR SINGLY, ALLOWING EACH TREE TO BE SEEN . IN ALL ITS BEAUTY AND GRANDEUR. BENEATH THEM SPREADS A SU!I1PTUOUS FERN CARPET."- John -~1uir . Photo by J. N . LeConte. ~~~~- ~ -- : .... '""""':··!··;·· --·- , .. _ .,.,,: - ..: · '~3~-;:,,, . :,:; . , .. : . :;;:;,;;~:.;.~;t~~~;.:'". ;J.N~''' ::;;_",;.:,' .'::.:.._ ... :.:..::.:::':.;_3.:.::- tj~o..q :_:: Z :<:j~ ~ ::;z:<~ t-"1 if) • . ... ~ 0 "'t:J '1:1::;::: ~ ·· H ::f! ESO~~> :<;cr