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Show 442. discontent was expressed over the essays on Alaska he submitted to Century. Muir had hoped that his journeys to Alaska were still his own realm, his last remaining creative field. He had countered the responsibilities to the farm and to the movement for Parks with his own escape to Aalska. Consequently he voiced his reservations about writing for Century primarily when it came to the Alaskan materials which the magazine was so slow in publishing. But these were complaints which he had been nursing all along. Johnson must have known that. He tried to turn Muir to new tasks, the most significant being the formation of the Sierra Club. But this was only part of the program Johnson envisioned, a program which required that Muir become a public and political figure. There was no turning back. By 1893 Johnson brought him to the East, visiting the Chicago Exposition, meeting all kinds of literary folk and notables. Mark Twain, Thomas Bailey Aldrich, George Washington Cable, Josiah Royce, and Francis Parkmen. He was touring the old homes of Emerson, Thoreau, and Hawthorne. After that, he made a journey to Europe. Despite his best efforts, he had become a cosmopolitan. All the rough edges were being rubbed off, and he was ready to Publish his first and most famous book, The Mountains of California. Muir, in turn, knew what was happening. He had earned himself an audience by making concessions, not only by giving the public the picturesque descriptions they expected, but |
