BOOK REVIEWS 



Elizabeth M. Bade, Acting Editor 



Steep All who have found John Muir's interpretation of the moun- 

 Trails* tains to be the most beautiful in literature will rejoice in this 

 new collection of papers and letters which Professor Bade has 

 so sympathetically compiled. 



Eventually it will be seen that Muir's greatest service was that of 

 recognizing and revealing God as the Infinite Personality who is work- 

 ing in and through nature. Never was he confused by the outward ap- 

 pearance, or by the evolutionary process, for his attitude of mind was 

 that in which he perceived the Creator manifesting Himself in all that 

 is true and beautiful. This insight illumined Muir's heart, and it fills 

 his message with power and life. Personality in God and man; indi- 

 viduality in bird, and tree, and flower, each created for itself but inter- 

 related with all life. 



All great souls are in a measure solitary, for their companionship is 

 with the invisible. With the unawakened spirit they may have little 

 true converse. Theirs is an inner world of reality, and they deal with 

 causes rather than with effects. John Muir was most at home when 

 alone in the mountains, for there he found a freedom of spirit that rose 

 above the bondage of city-bound humanity. In Steep Trails there arc 

 many of these trips into the open paradise of our western country. Up 

 glacier-polished Tenaya Canon, Muir made so difficult a trip that few 

 have been able to follow him. For a hundred miles around the flower- 

 strewn slopes of mighty Shasta he strolled alone in joyous content. 

 Early and late in the season he forced his way through storm and night 

 to its distant summit, finding in each new experience a fresh revelation 

 of Divine love and purpose. 



In all the annals of mountaineering one may hardly find a more thrill- 

 ing night upon a mountain than was the one which Muir spent upon Mt. 

 Shasta. In order to complete barometric observations he remained on 

 its summit with a companion until overtaken by a blinding storm. Per- 

 ilous in the extreme was their unseen route along a dangerous ridge, 

 while beyond their progress was halted by the force of the wind and 

 the uncertain darkness. Knowing no fear, Muir would have continued 

 down the icy slope, but, respecting the wish of his companion, he re- 

 traced his steps to the fumaroles near the summit, where they spent the 

 night. Unable to stand against the storm, they were compelled to lie in 

 the boiling mud and fight for their lives amid its poisonous gases. 



* Steep Trails. By John Muir. Edited by William Frederic Bade. Hough- 

 ton Mifflin Company, Boston and New York. 191 8. Pages, xi -|- 390. Illustrated. 

 Price, $3.00. Large paper edition, $5.00. 



