2 



Springs, without encountering any extraordinary difficulties. I am sure that it 

 may be entered at more than fifty different points along the walls, by mountain- 

 eers of ordinary nerve and skill. At the head, it is easily accessible on both 

 sides." 



I do not intend to question the motive or the taste of Mr. Muir's 

 remarks, which might be regarded as a commentary on his quotation 

 from the State Geologist, or to explain why Mr. King did not ex- 

 plore the valley at the time referred to. It seems to me reasonable 

 to suppose that, upon the line pursued by Mr. King, the valley was 

 inaccessible ; and it is unreasonable to suppose that, if an expe- 

 rienced mountain-climber like Mr. King had really desired to enter 

 the valley, he would have been deterred from doing so by obstacles 

 of an ordinary character, as no person can with truth deny to him 

 the possession " of ordinary nerve and skill." 



This interesting region has been again visited this summer by 

 Mr. Muir and several other persons, and will soon become familiar 

 to an increasing number of tourists, from year to year. 



On pages 428-9 of Volume I (Geology), in his " Report of 

 Progress and Synopsis of the Field-work " of the Geological Sur- 

 vey, "from 1860 to 1864," Prof. Whitney, in commenting on the 

 main geological and topographical features of this region, remarks : 



" The vicinity of Soda Springs, and indeed the whole region about the 

 head of the Upper Tuolumne, is one of the finest in the State for studying the 

 traces of the ancient glacier system of the Sierra Nevada. The valleys of both 

 the forks ***** exhibit abundant evidences of having, at no very remote pe- 

 riod, been filled with an immense body of moving ice, which has everywhere 

 rounded and polished the surface of the rocks up to the height of at least a 

 thousand feet above the present level of the river at Soda Springs. This polish 

 extends over a vast area, and is so perfect that the surface is often seen from a 

 distance to glitter with tlie light reflected from it as from a mirror. Not only 

 have we these evidences of the former existence of glaciers, but all the phenom- 

 ena of the moraines — lateral, medial, and terminal — are here displayed on the 

 grandest scale." 



In a foot-note, on page 429, Prof. Whitney says : 



" These glacial markings were first noticed by Mr. J. PI Clayton, and the fact 

 of their existence was communicated by him to the California Academy of Nat- 

 ural Sciences, several years ago." 



(The italics are mine.) 



