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Show 311. LIFE IN THE FOREST Muir was like the strolling Indian in Walden; he had woven a basket of delicate texture in his journal, but he had to consider how he would sell it. He would have to unravel the strands of his experience and offer parts of them to three different audiences. His argument about Sequoia forests appeared in three different publications but was essentially one. He sent "God's First Temples. How Shall We Preserve Our Forests?" to the Sacramento Record-Union. Because it was directed toward Californian legislators, it was practical minded and emphasized the value of forests as watershed. Muir's argument was based almost entirely on the theories of George Perkins Marsh, though he considered the particular history and ecology of the Sierra. He tried to appeal to the self-interest of Californians who would be appalled to discover that they were losing an important economic resource, and who would be ashamed to admit that they were not keeping up with the Europeans in practicing efficient economic forestry, He talked about the wasteful lumbering methods and the great ravages of fires, ninety percent of which he attributed to sheep-men who wanted to "improve" pasturage. "On the Post-Glacial History of Sequoia Gigantea" was Published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and contained a more sophisticated analysis of the ecological condition of the Sequoia Forest. Muir spoke of the |
