Book Reviews 



125 



to encourage his friend, Muir was finally able to reach his side. Hanging 

 to the cliff with one hand, with the other he swung Young out over its 

 face, and, pulling him in, grasped his collar with his teeth. Then, with 

 both hands free to climb, he ascended for ten or twelve feet to compar- 

 ative safety. All that night Muir carried and assisted this helpless man 

 down through ten long miles of unknown glacier and canon, reaching 

 the steamer in the morning. With this introduction it is little wonder 

 that these two became fast friends. 



On another excursion they visited Glacier Bay, naming many of the 

 wonderful tumbling rivers of ice which flow into the sea. Muir's de- 

 scription of the voyage among the islands, of the ever present glacier- 

 crowned mountains and of the marvelous colors of the floating ice, re- 

 veals an appreciation of beauty which has seldom been equalled. 



In 1880 Muir and Young charter a canoe and sail northward, study- 

 ing the Indian tribes and speaking at their villages. These were the early 

 days of Alaska, and rivers of salmon were found in which there were 

 apparently more fish than water. The quest for gold held no allurements 

 for Muir, and awakened only pity in his heart when he beheld men 

 blind to all but a fortune, Muir's treasure was of flower, and bird, and 

 tree; in them he rejoiced as only a soul that is free from the search for 

 outward things knows how. 



A most interesting exploration is made of the fiords of Sum Dum 

 Bay, and far in the heart of one of these is found a wonderful valley 

 with flower-hung walls rising thousands of feet above the water, while 

 a great tumbling glacier hurls its bergs into the peaceful waters. This 

 was appropriately named Yosemite Bay, 



Mr. Young's story of the famous adventure with Stickeen is dramat- 

 ically told, but no one in search of adventure should fail to read Muir's 

 own account of his trip over the vast Taylor Bay Glacier, Unlike most 

 men, he could not remain indoors during a storm, but regardless of 

 darkness or danger, would match his powers against all of nature's 

 forces. In the worst weather, alone, except for Mr. Young's little dog 

 Stickeen, Muir crosses this widely crevassed glacier. Returning at night, 

 they loose their way on its surface, and, after jumping an eight-foot 

 chasm, find themselves on an island, from which they escape only by 

 traversing a frail sliver of ice seventy-five feet in length. Muir often 

 seemed protected where other men would have met their fate. 



Mr. Young has given us a vivid, lifelike impression of John Muir, of 

 his vitality and abounding enthusiasm, above all of his abiding conscious- 

 ness of God as directing all the processes of nature, and delighting in 

 the beauty of the life which He is constantly creating. For him the trees 

 wave and pray, while the lilies ring their bells for joy. 



John Muir's place in the literature of our western mountains, trees, 

 and flowers is easily foremost. His gospel of beauty and of joy is des- 

 tined to become increasingly known as the truth of his message is at- 

 tested in the experience of all who follow in his footsteps. 



Le Roy Jeffers 



