The Sequoias of California 231 



of these big trees. But into some of the groves 

 men had already gone and, with ax and saw, and 

 even gunpowder, destroyed many of the noble 

 old trees. 



The sequoias are so lasting that, even when 

 fallen, they lie on the ground for hundreds of 

 years without a sign of decay. In California 

 there is one tree with a tunnel cut through the 

 center of its trunk. Stages drawn by six horses 

 pass through the tree every day. In years past, 

 settlers have made their homes in old sequoia 

 trees; hollowed out, the huge stumps must have 

 made very comfortable and fairly roomy houses 

 in which to live. 



One old fire-scarred stump has over four 

 thousand rings on it a ring for each year of 

 its life. And this tree was not killed by fire, but 

 cut down many years ago. Had it been left 

 alone, it would probably be alive to-day. The 

 trees now standing are between four and five 

 thousand years old, and no one knows how 

 much longer they will live if unharmed by man. 

 Some of them are nearly four hundred feet high. 

 Many of the big trees are between thirty and 

 forty feet thick. In shape they look like pyra- 



