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Dear Mr. Muir:- It has been a long time since I have heard from you. I am anxious to know that you and Helen are in good
health. We had the pleasure of meeting Wanda and her husband in the Yosemite, where they were apparently enjoying themselves.
We went to Yosemite via Wawona, my first trip that way. What a grand and glorious ride through the forests All seemed grander
than ever before. We spent one day in the Merced Grove, and four days about Washburns: we had a little spice on the way in
our stage with others was held up, and we were relieved of some of our rubbish by an old mountain acquaintance. While he recognized
me all right, he left me to guess who he was, only his eyes and a part of his nose were visible. Well I am entirely out of
the Government service, the powers in Washington have made it very unpleasant for me the past two years: but I took up the
work with this one ambition and hope, namely, to demonstrate the practicability of reforesting our mountains, and with it
making a perfect system of fire protection, this I have accomplished. I have worked it all out, but it has required eight
years of hard work and study. My compensation in salery has been an average of thirty dollars per month, for the time I was
engaged: but the satisfaction of having accomplished that which few believed could be done, and very many declared could not
be done is very gratifying: but to continue longer would mean to go hungry and unclothed, so I have gone into the Real Estate
business, in which I hope to keep the wolf from the door. I will never cease to regret your not coming to see my work while
I was in charge, you know you are responsible for my deep interest in forestry, and I thank you for it all: but I did want
so much to show you my pets and have your blessing upon the hopeful trees, that illegible 03877