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Show 86. BIRTH OF THE GLACIAL EYE As he relived and recreated the geological history of Yosemite, Muir dreamed glaciers. At times he wrote about following their paths, and even sleeping with them, as in a section of one article entitled "Scenes Among Glaciers' Beds." No wonder he was so enthusiastic when he had a chance to investigate one firsthand. Besides, his method of study insisted that there was no substitute for complete immersion in Nature. The one thing Muir had wholly rejected when he rebelled against his religious training, was reasoning from authority. In the final analysis, his findings in Yosemite could only be trustworthy if he could substantiate his imagination not by books on glaciology, but by personal observations. So Muir made his most decisive single step toward certainty when he found an active glacier on Red Mountain in October of 1872. He wrote to Jeanne Carr, Asa Gray, Joseph LeConte, to almost everyone he knew. The article which appeared in the December 1872 issue of Overland was substantially that letter. As it appeared in Overland, Muir's letter was only a report of work in progress, "first fruits," and aimed only to substantiate the existence of glaciers in the Sierra. He did not attempt to discuss the personal and geological significance of his findings, but he did use the opportunity to discuss his |