THE SEQUOIA 329 



larger South or Stanislaus Grove, by a lumber 

 company. 



Far the largest and most important section 

 of protected Big Trees is in the grand Sequoia 

 National Park, now easily accessible by stage from 

 Visalia. It contains seven townships and ex- 

 tends across the whole breadth of the magnificent 

 Kaweah basin. But large as it is, it should be 

 made much larger. Its natural eastern boundary 

 is the high Sierra, and the northern and southern 

 boundaries, the Kings and Kern rivers, thus in- 

 cluding the sublime scenery on the headwaters of 

 these rivers and perhaps nine tenths of all the 

 Big Trees in existence. Private claims cut and 

 blotch both of the Sequoia parks as well as all 

 the best of the forests, every one of which the 

 government should gradually extinguish by pur- 

 chase, as it readily may, for none of these hold- 

 ings are of much value to their owners. Thus 

 as far as possible the grand blunder of selling 

 would be corrected. The value of these forests 

 in storing and dispensing the bounty of the 

 mountain clouds is infinitely greater than lumber 

 or sheep. To the dwellers of the plain, depend- 

 ent on irrigation, the Big Tree, leaving all its 

 higher uses out of the count, is a tree of life, a 

 never-failing spring, sending living water to the 

 lowlands all through the hot, rainless summer. 

 For every grove cut down a stream is dried up. 

 Therefore, all California is crying, " Save the 



