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Show 441. His most effective tool was still his pen during these years, though he found himself increasingly placed in the public eye. Many of his friends had argued that he was a more effective speaker than writer, and many of his activities tested his talents in that direction. Travelling with the Forestry Commission, guiding Roosevelt and Taft in Yosemite, speaking to members of the Sierra Club at meetings and on annual outings - these kinds of activities tested his social abilities as well as his talents as a public speaker. His record suggests that he more than passed the test. THE EMERGING POLITICAL MAN The alliance which Muir and Johnson forged in the late eighties became more and more significant after their initial moves for Yosemite and Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks, at the same time as it became strained. By the ends of those campaigns, Muir thought that he had reached the limit of what he was capable of giving, as a writer at least. He grew tired of writing to specifications, to order. He was tired of being rushed, being a popular writer, being a public figure. He never wanted America to love him. He only hoped for a kind of mutual respect. Indeed, he did not want to be "the best loved of Nature writers." Such accolades could go to others who had the time for them. Increasingly, Muir was writing to Johnson about his hopes for other kinds of books, scientific books which he would in fact never write. His |
