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Show 391 a sublime and powerful natural phenomenon. Such an approach would lead to his more e f f e c t i v e use of the near view two years later in "Treasures of Yosemite." But he failed in his first attempt, because he only vaguely reconsidered his own experiences. His near views seemed blurred out, because he was reluctant to dramatize his own experiences. Mostly, his shots were scattered, and his arguments were l o s t in a chaotic collection of observations. Undoubtedly, Muir's problems were p a r t l y due to the ambiguous nature of the p r o j e c t . He was employed by J. Dewing Company of New York and San Francisco, to e d i t and contribute essays for the s e r i a l publication of a loosely organized group of illustrated issues which would attempt to portray the United States west of the Rockies, from Alaska to California. The project lasted from 1887 to 1890, and Muir became increasingly impatient with his own r o l e in i t . His writing was far from lively, and the writing of other contributors was hardly more inspired. More than anything e l s e , the volume underlines the fact that San Francisco's l i t e r a r y renaissance did not live past the middle s e v e n t i e s . It i s hard to say what the thesis of the volume was. Muir wrote to Jeanne Carr that the object of the publication was amorphous; "What a bright appreciative traveller would l i k e to see and hear i s what i s wanted as near as I can make o u t . " The publishers had neither thesis nor direction, and Muir found himself unable to give his own direction to the finished copy. No wonder he was not happy about his commitment to the |
