The First Record of a Sequoia 



By Donald Bruce 

 Assistant Professor of Forestry, University of California 



WHAT is probably the oldest tree stem analysis on 

 record for the western United States has re- 

 cently come into the possession of the For- 

 estry Division of the University of California. The 

 measurements were taken on a big secjuoia near Eldorado 

 in Calaveras County in the 

 Sierras in 1865. The tree meas- 

 ured 26 feet 6 inches in diameter 

 on the stump, which was six feet 

 above the ground, while its age at 

 the stump point was 1245 years. 

 The form of record is unusual, 

 consisting of a long, narrow roll 

 of paper, 9 inches wide by 14 feet 

 long. On this a pencil centre line 

 is drawn, along which the posi- 

 tion of each annual ring is 

 marked by an inked cross line, 

 every tenth line being somewhat 

 longer. The only figures appear- 

 ing are the serial numbers of the 

 decades entered for quick iden- 

 tification. The preparation of 

 such a record must have involved 

 an enormous amount of labor and 

 its form is far from convenient, 

 but except for the meagreness of 5) 

 the description of the tree ■*■ "* 

 should serve every purpose of a '^ 

 modern stem analysis. ■""* 



This document was among 

 the records of the late Professor 

 E. W. Hilgard, the eminent 

 authority on soils, and the 

 author of the classic text with 

 which so many foresters are 

 familiar. Shortly before his 

 death he directed that it be 

 given to the newly established 

 Division of Forestry of the 

 University which he had served so long and faithfully. 



There is every reason to believe that this is a record 

 of the dimensions of the first of the giant trees to be 

 seen by a white man. The discovery of the species was 

 made in 1852 by a hunter while in pursuit of a grizzly 

 bear which fled into what is now known as the Calaveras 

 Grove. In amazement at the size of this original big 

 tree, the bear was forgotten and the hunter returned to 

 camp to tell his companions of his find. Not unnaturallv 

 his story was heard with such complete incredulity that 

 he could not persuade anyone to return with him to ex- 

 amine the tree. After a dav's futile efifort the discoverer 



again sallied forth, ostensibly to hunt, and presently re- 

 turned claiming that he had killed a huge bear and needed 

 help to bring it into camp. This story found so much 

 more ready acceptance that the whole party immediately 

 volunteered to accompany him, and were thus led to the 



JZ>a.te 





T'erioct I'c 



GROWTH CHART OF ORIGINAL BIG TREE 



On this chart are plotted two lines, the broken one showing the average rate of increase in diameter for each 

 ten-year period, and the solid one indicating the average rate of increase during the tree's whole life to each 

 given date. 



giant tree. The rest of the Calaveras grove was soon 

 found, proving that it was the species rather than the 

 individual which was so remarkable. 



Within a year or so the bark was stripped from this 

 original tree and the tree itself, of course, died. It was 

 therefore determined to fell it. Long saws were as yet 

 unknown and axes seemed hopelessly inadequate, so the 

 work was done by boring a series of holes with long 

 pump-augers. Five men worked 22 days, only to find that 

 even after the wood had been completely severed the 

 massive weight of its stem defied all attempts to bring it 

 to the ground. Two and a half more days were futilely 



489 



