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Sierra Club Bulletin 



is she who implants the gregarious instinct. She did it know- 

 ingly, she who opens the individual faculties to receive the 

 mighty impress of all this. She superintends the processes, 

 and lends a hand, and is not abashed. She is aware of other 

 resources. In the great contest of Hush against Rush, Nature 

 stands serenely confident of her ground. You will recall that 

 the opening definition made the Solitude identical with Nature, 

 leaving out only man. And now, what is left after you have 

 subtracted man from Nature, is much. All of the earth, and 

 sea, and sky, and most of what in them is. The Solitude doesn't 

 mean a graveyard. It means all the life there is, except just 

 human life; and there is oceans of it. The resources for 

 nature-culture are as inexhaustible as those for humanity cul- 

 ture, and perhaps more effective. It is Nature that puts up 

 both cultures, out of the two to make one. In doing it she 

 combines them, I think, somewhat as she does in combining 

 oxygen with nitrogen to make air; the nature element here is 

 the less in volume, maybe, but it is more in weight, and greatly 

 the more efficient. 



And then. Nature begins her work early. Her day began 

 long enough before that of humanity. She had us to herself, 

 as you know, in the long ages of general globe development. 

 And after the race arrived Nature long kept us individually 

 segregated. You will remember, too, that when we did begin 

 to mingle, it was not exactly to swap wisdom and exchange 

 developmental tips. About all that passed between primeval 

 men appears to have been knocks. Broken heads formed the 

 regular medium of exchange. Humanity, in those days, was 

 engaged in creating the raw materials for experience. There 

 was as yet no merchantable experience to be had. The Pac- 

 tolian river was carrying only mud — mud and blood — rather 

 than charity and clarity. It was later that bibles came in ; very- 

 lately that printing presses arose and humanity organized its 

 boards of trade. Now in those long intervals Nature took 

 occasion to weave into our nature many ineradicable strains. 

 She set her sign manual deep. 



Even as yet she has us in our opening hours. Wholly at 

 first, partially until, and even after, we are grown. There is 

 nothing to which the youngling clings as to a flower or some 



