ON FOOT IN THE YOSEMITE 



WHEN flocks of wild geese light in the 

 Yosemite, Mr. Muir tells us, they have 

 hard work to find their way out again. Whatever 

 direction they take, they are soon stopped by the 

 wall, the height of which they seem to have an 

 insuperable difficulty in gauging. There is some- 

 thing mysterious about it, they must think. The 

 rock looks to be only about so high, but when 

 they should be flying far over its top, north- 

 ward or southward as the season may be, here 

 they are once more beating against its stony 

 face ; and only when, in their bewilderment, they 

 chance to follow the downward course of the 

 river, do they hit upon an exit. 



Their case is not peculiar. Dr. Bunnell, in his 

 interesting account of the discovery of the Val- 

 ley, describes the ludicrous guesses of his com- 

 panions and himself as to the height of the rock 

 known since that day as El Capitan. One " offi- 

 cial" estimated it at four hundred feet. A bolder 

 spirit guessed eight hundred, while Dr. Bunnell, 

 waxing very courageous, raised the figure to 

 fifteen hundred. The real height is thirty-three 

 hundred feet. The fact seems to be that the eyes 

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