The Sierra Club 



137 



would be the natural starting-point from which all trips would 

 be made. Later the idea expanded, and by 1890 the proposi- 

 tion of forming a club or association was widely discussed, par- 

 ticularly among the students and faculty of the University of 

 California, and the name "Sierra Club" seems to have been 

 thought of at that time. Professor Senger discussed the mat- 

 ter with many of his friends, notably with Professor William 

 D, Armes, of the state university, with Mr. Warren Olney, of 

 San Francisco, and with John Muir. I myself realized the im- 

 portance of such a club during a trip through the Kings River 

 Sierra in 1890. At that time nothing was popularly known of 

 the trails in that section, and our party knew nothing from day 

 to day of what lay before us. 



The one thing which finally brought matters to a head was the 

 creation of the Yosemite, Sequoia, and General Grant national 

 parks in October, 1890. The idea here was first conceived by 

 Mr. Robert Underwood Johnson, editor of the Century Mag- 

 azine. He visited Yosemite during the summer of 1889, and 

 was persuaded by Mr. Muir to accompany him to the high Si- 

 erra region about the headwaters of the Tuolumne and Merced 

 rivers. He noticed the sad destruction caused by sheep in the 

 meadows and wild-flower gardens, descriptions of which he 

 had read in Mr. Muir's articles, and on his return he urged the 

 formation of a great national park which should include this 

 upper region, offering to Mr. Muir the use of the Century Mag- 

 azine to put before the public a proper description of this and 

 other scenic wonders of the Sierra. Right gladly Mr. Muir 

 took up the work, and, energetically backed by those who af- 

 terward were founders of the Sierra Club, the necessary bills 

 were passed through Congress and signed by President Cleve- 

 land. 



The formation of the Sierra Club was now no longer a mat- 

 ter of doubt. It was decided to abandon the idea of headquar- 

 ters in Yosemite Valley, as that was obviously inappropriate to 

 the broader idea, and to make the place of business San Fran- 

 cisco. 



On January 11, 1892, Professor Senger, encouraged by the 

 universal interest shown, wrote to Mr. Olney, whose letter in 

 reply follows : 



