B Bia TREES OF CALIFORNIA. 



into full possession on the 1st of April, 1900. The Sequoia and Gen- 

 eral Grant National parks, which are supposed to embrace and give 

 securit}^ to a large part of the remaining Big Trees, are eaten into by 

 a sawmill each, and by private timber claims amounting to a total of 

 1,172.87 acres. The rest of the scanty patches of Big Trees are in a 

 fair way to disappear — in Calaveras, Tuolumne, Fresno, and Tulare 

 counties, they are now disappearing — by the ax. In brief, the major- 

 ity of the Big Trees of California, certainly the best of them, are 

 owned by people who have every right, and in many cases every 

 intention, to cut them into lumber. 



GENERAL FACTS. 



First Grove Discovered. 



The Calaveras Grove was the first one discovered, having been found 

 in 1841 by John Bidwell, afterward candidate for member of Congress 

 from California. But for some reason this discovery seems to have 

 been generally credited to another person, as shown by the following 

 story quoted from ''In the Heart of the Sierras," by J. M. Hutchings: 



In the spring of 1852, Mr. A. T. Dowd, a hunter, was employed by the Union 

 Water Company, of Murphy's, Calaveras County, to supply the workmen engaged 

 in the construction of their canal with fresh meat, from the large quantities of game 

 running wild on the upper portion of their works. While engaged in this calling, 

 having wounded a grizzly bear, and while industriously pursuing him, he suddenly 

 came upon one of those immense trees. * * * 



Returning to camp, he there related the wonders he had seen, when his compan- 

 ions laughed at him, and even questioned his veracity. "^ * * 



For a day or two he allowed the matter to rest; submitting, with chuckling satis- 

 faction, to their occasional jocular allusions to "his big tree yarn," but continued 

 hunting as formerly. On the Sunday morning ensuing, he went out early as usual, 

 but soon returned ' * * * when he exclaimed, "Boys, I have killed the largest 

 grizzly bear that I ever saw in my life. While I am getting a little something to eat, 

 you make every preparation for bringing him in; all had better go that can be spared, 

 as their assistance will certainly be needed." 



Nothing loath, they were soon ready for the start. * * * On, on they hurried, 

 with Dowd as their guide, through thickets and pine groves; crossing bridges and 

 canyons, flats, and ravines, each relating in turn the adventures experienced, or heard 

 of from companions, with grizzly bears, and other formidable tenants of the moun- 

 tains, until their leader came to a halt at the foot of the immen3e tree he haa seen, 

 and to them had represented the approximate size. Pointing to its extraordinary 

 diameter and lofty height, he exultingly exclaimed, "Now, boys, do you believe my 

 big tree story? That is the large grizzly I wanted you to see. Do you now think it 

 a yarn?" 



Discovery of Other Groves. 



Just how and when the other groves of Big Trees were found is dif- 

 ficult to determine. As early as 1864 Professor Brewer, of Yale, and 

 a party from the California Geological Survey visited the Calaveras 

 and Mariposa groves and also several tracts in the region of Kings 

 River, and by 1870 the majority of Big Trees had been located. 



The following account of the different groves, which is in the main 

 accurate and complete, is taken from J, D. Whitney's '' Yosemite Guide- 

 Book" (1870): 



General Description and Location of Big Tree Groves. 



The Big Tree occurs exclusively in "groves" or scattered over limited areas, never 

 forming groups by themselves, but always disseminated among a much larger number 

 of trees of other kinds. These patches on which the Big Trees stand do not equal in 



