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Show 272. lutionary forces had acted upon them, the r e s u l t was the largest and most beautiful of the furry f o r e s t e r s. Douglas squirrel seemed created on the spot and "enduring as the trees," since he was master forester and played a significant role in Nature's economy- He was l i k e a "condensed . . . piece of sun-fire" because he lived on his harvest from the sun f i l l ed t r e e s . Muir thought he handled half of the cones ripened in the Sierra. Since many of the seeds he hid germinated and became t r e e s , he was p l a n t e r and harvester. Muir contrasted this naturally symbiotic r e l a t i o n s h i p between animal and tree with the coarser r e l a t i o n s h i p of men and t r e e s . Men chopped down evergreens for t h e i r seeds, or s t o l e from the stores of Douglas. Men became pitchy in the process, unlike Douglas, who was a clean eater and a b r i g h t s p i r i t . So Muir's squirrel cast a shadow on Man's more solemn pretentions as tree farmer. He fled when Muir whistled a solemn hymn. Here then were two simple lessons for men. The ouzel and the squirrel were the master s p i r i t s of the waters and woods of the Sierra. In harmony, l i v i n g parts of t h e i r communities, they were the e v o l u t i o n i s t ' s version of the mythical Ariel and Caliban. They were s p i r i t s in the wilderness, but not mysterious. Muir r e a l i z e d the meanings of t h e i r lives one day when he walked to the canyon of the Tuolumne. "How blessed i t would be to be banished to the Canyon!" he wrote. "There are many witches, say the Indians of Yosemite. Blessed witches! Even banishment to the lonely tundras of Siberia would be a blessing to many." So i t was in Nature's realm. |