ONE LIVING ONE DEAD 



completely for the next thirty-six hours 

 from the effects of the storm. 



Failing in this effort I went to their 

 flumes which bring down the lumber from 

 their mills, and through the courtesy ac- 

 corded me, secured a sample of the wood 

 from a Sequoia tree which must have 

 been at least twelve feet in diameter. 

 This sample I used as my basis for esti- 

 mating the age of this very large tree 

 which I was told was 133 feet in circum- 

 ference, 280 feet high as it stood; the top 

 having been at some previous day broken 

 off by a stroke of lightning. Had the tree 

 been perfect its height must have been 

 not less than 350 feet. My estimate of 

 the annual growth of this tree, put con- 

 servatively, is not less than twenty-six 

 annual rings for each inch of its growth, 

 including its bark (the bark of the Se- 

 quoia is often as thick as eighteen inches 

 and some say even thicker) ; thus indicat- 

 ing its age to be 6864 years. So I think 

 I am correct in saying that this is the 



43 



