﻿156 
  PROCEEDINGS 
  OF 
  THE 
  CALIFORNIA 
  

  

  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 
  the 
  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 
  ou 
  the 
  

   grandest 
  scale." 
  

  

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

  

  " 
  These 
  glacial 
  markings 
  were 
  _^rs; 
  noticed 
  by 
  Mr. 
  J. 
  E. 
  Clayton, 
  and 
  the 
  fact 
  

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

   ural 
  Sciences, 
  several 
  years 
  ago." 
  

  

  (The 
  italics 
  are 
  mine.) 
  

  

  At 
  a 
  meeting 
  of 
  this 
  Academy, 
  held 
  on 
  the 
  21st 
  of 
  October, 
  

   1867,* 
  Prof. 
  Whitney 
  exhibited 
  some 
  photographs 
  and 
  stereographs, 
  

  

  * 
  Vide 
  Proc. 
  Cal. 
  Acad. 
  Sci., 
  vol. 
  Ill, 
  page 
  368 
  ; 
  see 
  also 
  San 
  Francisco 
  Evening 
  Bulletin 
  of 
  

   October 
  22d, 
  1867. 
  

  

  