Title:
Letter from [William Colby] to John Muir, 1906 Mar 5 .
Creator:
[William Colby]
Publisher:
University of the Pacific Library Holt-Atherton Special Collections. Please contact this institution directly to obtain copies
of the images or permission to publish or use them beyond educational purposes.
Contributor:
John Muir
Date:
1906 Mar 5
2008
Type:
Text
Format:
Image/jpeg2000
Identifier:
muir16_0136-md-1
Source:
Original letter dimensions: 28 x 22 cm.
Language:
eng
Coverage:
San Francisco
Rights:
Copyright status unknown
Some letters written to John Muir may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). Transmission or reproduction
of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners.
Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
Transcription:
illegible San Francisco, March 5, 1906. Mr. John Muir, Adamana, Ariz. My dear Mr. Muir: I am receiving very unfavorable
news from every source, concerning the present status of the bill accepting the recession of Yosemite Valley now before Congress.
It seems that Fresno people and H. S. Huntington applied to have the bill modified so as to allow their proposed railroad
to run near the entrance of the valley from Wawona without going down to the South Fork and losing all the grade . The entire
California delegation seem to favor this, and recommend that the Secretary of the Interior approve such amendment. Various
other interests have taken this opportunity to come in and demand that the park boundary on the west be cut down still further
to suit their private ends. All the cattle men around Sonora backed up by Curtin, want all the northwest portion of the park
thrown out, and everything north of the Tuolumne River. The water interests want Hetch Hetchy Valley and Lake Eleanor thrown
out as reservoir sites. The lumber interests want all that magnificent sugar pine belt on both sides of the Wawona stage
road and extending two or three miles east all along this road, almost as far as Inspiration Point, thrown out, and with all
these interests combined, and fighting to cut down the park so as to leave little outside of the Yosemite Valley, are making
a very powerful fight, and unless a strong stand is taken at once, and the matter called to the attention of the President
and other important officials in Washington, this wholesale slaughter of the western boundary willtake place . I think it
very important that you should write the President at once and call this matter to his attention. Since he took such a strong
stand last year on the boundaries recommended by the commission, there is no reason why he should not do the same again this
year. With regards to the girls and yourself, I remain, Very truly yours,