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>> Welcome to University Place

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Presents.

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I'm Norman Gilliland.

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Whether it's a tiny piece of

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land somewhere in Wisconsin

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that's been restored or somehow

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saved in its original form, or

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something as big and monumental

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as Yosemite National Park, there

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is a tribute behind them to a

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single man who spent a good deal

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of time in Wisconsin, in fact

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some formative years.

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His name: John Muir.

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He was one of the co-founders

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of the Sierra Club.

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For that matter, he has many big

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firsts to his credit when it

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comes to our relationship with

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the land.

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And what was it about his early

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years in Wisconsin that shaped

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the thinking and the actions of

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John Muir?

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We'll find out from somebody who

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has spent a good time studying

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the life and work and even the

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artifacts of John Muir.

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He's Daniel Einstein.

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He's the manager of historic and

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cultural resources at the

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University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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Welcome to University Place

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Presents.

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>> Glad to be here.

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>> What got you interested in

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John Muir?

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>> Well, John Muir has been a

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figure in my life for many

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years.

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I actually grew up in the

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Midwest and moved to California,

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and one of my first places that

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I visited was Muir Woods just

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north of San Francisco.

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And I went on to work at Redwood

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National Park and fall in love

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with Yosemite and the Sierras

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and Redwood National Park.

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John Muir's imprint is all over

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California.

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Later, I came to Wisconsin to go

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to the Nelson Institute for

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Environmental Studies and

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discovered that there was a

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Wisconsin connection to Muir,

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and I've had a chance to pursue

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that connection over the last

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few years.

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>> I was not too long ago in

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Scotland, and lo and behold

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there is a tribute to John Muir

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there, not surprising since he

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came from Scotland, and what was

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his life like there?

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>> Well, he was in a large

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family, eight children.

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A fairly prosperous family in

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the town of Dunbar, Scotland.

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>> Not too far from Edinburgh.

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>> From Edinburgh, right.

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And his father was a successful

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merchant.

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But he was constrained in his

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ability to practice his

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religious interests in Scotland

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and decided that he would take

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his family to America.

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So here was a boy, 11 years old,

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who very much scampers about the

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countryside, an urban lifestyle,

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who's yanked out of school

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one day and boards a boat,

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comes to America.

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>> Was their intention to come

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originally to America?

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I mean, these are British

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citizens.

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>> Well, that's interesting.

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As I say, the father was looking

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for religious freedom, and as a

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British citizen his initial

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thought was he would go to

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Canada, that that might be the

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easiest route for him.

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But on the boat over, he's

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talking it over with some fellow

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emigrants and he's told that,

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no, Canada is much too difficult

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a place to make a living.

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>> They weren't trying to sell

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him land, were they?

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>> No, there were just too many

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trees.

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But there was this place in the

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Midwest called Wisconsin, where

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in a short while you could clear

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the land and plant your first

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crop of wheat.

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And, more importantly, in this

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area of southern Wisconsin you

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could access the two great

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watersheds of the continent:

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the Mississippi basin

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and the Great Lakes basin.

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Only separated by a mile between

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the two watersheds and the town

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of Portage.

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And as someone who was looking

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to become a farmer and to grow

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wheat, he thought being able to

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access the waterways and export

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through the Gulf of Mexico or

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out through the Atlantic, this

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would be the place to go.

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So he changes his plans

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midway across the Atlantic.

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>> And this would have been,

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what, about 1849 or so?

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>> 1849.

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The story goes that it was quite

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an abrupt departure.

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That he didn't really announce

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this to the family.

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He comes home one day and he

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says forget about your studies

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tonight, tomorrow we're going to

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America.

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And John, of course, is 10 years

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old at the time, is delighted,

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and he runs out into the streets

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and screams I'm going to America

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in a Scottish brogue of course.

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Every time I've tried Scottish

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brogue it comes out a hybrid

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between Italian and Yiddish, so

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I'm going to spare you that.

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He goes with his sister and

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brother, and they board a ship,

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a six-week passage across the

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Atlantic.

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They arrive in America.

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They get another boat, travel up

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the Hudson, travel across on the

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Erie Canal, another boat from

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Buffalo, land in Milwaukee, and

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get on an oxcart, and they head

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towards Marquette County.

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>> And so they have bought or

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are soon to buy this piece of

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land?

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>> They buy the land once they

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arrive.

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>> Sight unseen.

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>> Sight unseen.

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They use their Scottish clan

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connections, and they hear about

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this place near Montello,

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Wisconsin.

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It's about 50 miles north

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of Madison, where there's a

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combination of grasslands and

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widely scattered open oak

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openings.

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And wheat, at the time, was the

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primary crop in Wisconsin.

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A lot of folks are unaware

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because of our dairy heritage

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that dairying was not the first

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crop, but wheat was.

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>> They weren't even using wheat

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for beer at that point, were

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they?

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>> I don't know.

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>> And does, well, farming of

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any kind, but in the mid-19th

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century in a place that's never

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been farmed before has got to be

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notoriously difficult.

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>> Well, it was backbreaking

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work.

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In Muir's autobiography, he

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writes a little bit about what

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it was like to arrive in this

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wilderness of Wisconsin.

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And let me read to you about his

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first impressions as he arrives

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at what they would later name

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Fountain Lake.

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He said:  To this charming hut,

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in the sunny woods, overlooking

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a flowery glacier meadow and a

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lake rimmed with white

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water-lilies, we were hauled by

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an ox team across trackless

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carex swamps and low-rolling

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hills, sparsely dotted with

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round-headed oaks.

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This sudden plash into pure

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wildness, baptism in nature's

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warm heart, how utterly happy

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it made us.

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Nature streaming into us,

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wooingly teaching her wonderful

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glowing lessons.

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Here, without knowing it,

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we still were at school.

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Every wild lesson a love

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lesson, not whipped,

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but charmed into us.

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Oh, that glorious Wisconsin

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wilderness.

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You get a sense for his writing

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style, but this was, in many

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ways, a spiritual awakening for

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this young boy.

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>> It makes me wonder if he had

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been reading Thoreau.

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>> Well, he didn't have access

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to books as a young boy.

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His father was, well, to be

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generous, a religious zealot who

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insisted that all of his family

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read the one good book, the

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bible.

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And they were required to

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memorize it.

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And Muir writes quite critically

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of the teaching technique that

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his father imposed.

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He said something to the effect

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that what the mind forgets the

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flesh remembers.

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Which is to say he was whipped

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quite brutally on a regular

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basis if he did not mind his

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father, if he did not tend to

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his biblical lessons.

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>> It must have been difficult

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for him, and we have a view here

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of the place that he came to.

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It must have been difficult for

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him as such a lover of the

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outdoors to be so strictly

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controlled by his father.

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He seemed to have right away the

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impulse to just go running off

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into the woods and meadows.

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>> Well, he was, what, 12 years

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old before his father put him to

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the plow.

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And he would work on this farm

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and another farm for the next

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11-12 years, sometimes 17 hours

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a day, from sun-up to sundown.

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Meanwhile, his father was a

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preacher and would leave the

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farm on a regular basis to work

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the circuit, leaving his

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children to work the fields.

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>> Was this the proverbial log

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cabin American boyhood story?

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>> Well, initially there was a

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shanty, a burr oak shanty that

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they created.

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We saw the view from that shanty

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out across Fountain Lake.

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This combination of sedge meadow

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and bog and prairie.

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And eventually they did build a

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fairly substantial home at

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Fountain Lake, and it was there

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that they raised animals and

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raised their wheat.

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>> Those look like a pretty

287
00:11:10,066 --> 00:11:11,800
substantial and, if the picture

288
00:11:11,800 --> 00:11:13,733
is right, a fairly trim family

289
00:11:13,733 --> 00:11:16,366
home for the Muirs.

290
00:11:16,366 --> 00:11:18,233
>> They were fairly prosperous,

291
00:11:18,233 --> 00:11:19,866
but, remember, he had all the

292
00:11:19,866 --> 00:11:21,566
children working for him.

293
00:11:21,566 --> 00:11:23,800
They worked the land pretty

294
00:11:23,800 --> 00:11:26,300
hard.

295
00:11:26,300 --> 00:11:29,233
And wheat is a kind of crop that

296
00:11:29,233 --> 00:11:32,233
exhausts the soil fairly

297
00:11:32,233 --> 00:11:34,366
rapidly.

298
00:11:34,366 --> 00:11:35,933
>> Presumably, they just have to

299
00:11:35,933 --> 00:11:38,200
move pretty soon.

300
00:11:38,200 --> 00:11:40,400
>> They lived there for about

301
00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:43,866
seven years before the father

302
00:11:43,866 --> 00:11:46,233
decides to pick up and move

303
00:11:46,233 --> 00:11:50,333
away.

304
00:11:50,333 --> 00:11:52,566
And this was heartbreaking to

305
00:11:52,566 --> 00:11:55,200
John because of all the work

306
00:11:55,200 --> 00:11:57,533
they had put in to building this

307
00:11:57,533 --> 00:12:00,100
place, and, yet, here they were

308
00:12:00,100 --> 00:12:04,533
moving on to the next farm.

309
00:12:04,533 --> 00:12:07,566
>> Which, I assume, was at least

310
00:12:07,566 --> 00:12:10,100
fairly nearby.

311
00:12:10,100 --> 00:12:12,566
>> Yeah.

312
00:12:12,566 --> 00:12:14,066
The farm was about five to six

313
00:12:14,066 --> 00:12:16,933
miles down the road.

314
00:12:16,933 --> 00:12:20,700
But this Fountain Lake farm had

315
00:12:20,700 --> 00:12:24,466
this unique combination of

316
00:12:24,466 --> 00:12:27,766
different habitats and water,

317
00:12:27,766 --> 00:12:29,700
water in particular.

318
00:12:29,700 --> 00:12:31,333
>> And we get a view of the lake

319
00:12:31,333 --> 00:12:33,033
here.

320
00:12:33,033 --> 00:12:35,066
>> The lake plays an important

321
00:12:35,066 --> 00:12:37,800
role in his understanding of the

322
00:12:37,800 --> 00:12:41,166
landscape because we have these

323
00:12:41,166 --> 00:12:43,533
different ecosystems.

324
00:12:43,533 --> 00:12:44,933
We have the sedge meadow.

325
00:12:44,933 --> 00:12:46,166
We have the prairie.

326
00:12:46,166 --> 00:12:48,166
We have the bog.

327
00:12:48,166 --> 00:12:49,900
The farm they moved to, Hickory

328
00:12:49,900 --> 00:12:53,300
Hill, is on a hill and no water

329
00:12:53,300 --> 00:12:56,300
to be found there.

330
00:12:56,300 --> 00:12:59,000
The lake plays an interesting

331
00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:01,366
role in one of his early

332
00:13:01,366 --> 00:13:02,533
adventures, which he writes

333
00:13:02,533 --> 00:13:03,966
about in his autobiography,

334
00:13:03,966 --> 00:13:05,133
"The Story

335
00:13:05,133 --> 00:13:07,000
of My Boyhood and Youth."

336
00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:09,133
He didn't know how to swim, and

337
00:13:09,133 --> 00:13:11,266
he's out on the lake one day and

338
00:13:11,266 --> 00:13:16,600
he's about to scare a friend of

339
00:13:16,600 --> 00:13:20,200
his who's on a boat.

340
00:13:20,200 --> 00:13:22,733
He approaches the boat, but

341
00:13:22,733 --> 00:13:25,966
instead of being able to grab

342
00:13:25,966 --> 00:13:29,300
the boat, he's drawn underwater,

343
00:13:29,300 --> 00:13:31,966
and he doesn't know how to swim.

344
00:13:31,966 --> 00:13:36,800
And he falls lower and lower

345
00:13:36,800 --> 00:13:39,066
into the lake, and he thinks

346
00:13:39,066 --> 00:13:42,433
he's about to die.

347
00:13:42,433 --> 00:13:45,966
And he has this epiphany that he

348
00:13:45,966 --> 00:13:50,366
has to swim, that he must find

349
00:13:50,366 --> 00:13:53,200
the courage to drive himself

350
00:13:53,200 --> 00:13:55,566
back up to the top.

351
00:13:55,566 --> 00:13:58,633
And he's able to do this,

352
00:13:58,633 --> 00:14:02,033
gasping for breath, nearly

353
00:14:02,033 --> 00:14:05,000
drowning.

354
00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:07,266
But he's terribly embarrassed by

355
00:14:07,266 --> 00:14:10,233
this experience, and he wills

356
00:14:10,233 --> 00:14:14,600
himself to swim yet again the

357
00:14:14,600 --> 00:14:17,300
next day and the day after.

358
00:14:17,300 --> 00:14:18,866
>> That's a real exercise in

359
00:14:18,866 --> 00:14:20,833
overcoming fear.

360
00:14:20,833 --> 00:14:23,666
>> Here is a man whose exploits

361
00:14:23,666 --> 00:14:25,900
later in life are well

362
00:14:25,900 --> 00:14:28,800
documented that he would go off

363
00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:30,700
into the wilderness for weeks at

364
00:14:30,700 --> 00:14:32,900
a time all by himself with but a

365
00:14:32,900 --> 00:14:36,666
crust of bread and a pouch of

366
00:14:36,666 --> 00:14:39,400
tea.

367
00:14:39,400 --> 00:14:41,633
And he would just will himself

368
00:14:41,633 --> 00:14:43,666
to survive in these very trying

369
00:14:43,666 --> 00:14:49,800
situations.

370
00:14:49,800 --> 00:14:51,666
>> Is this, what we're seeing

371
00:14:51,666 --> 00:14:53,366
here, a look at Fountain Lake

372
00:14:53,366 --> 00:14:55,233
today?

373
00:14:55,233 --> 00:14:56,800
>> Fountain Lake today has been

374
00:14:56,800 --> 00:14:58,366
preserved.

375
00:14:58,366 --> 00:14:59,800
>> And is there water in there?

376
00:14:59,800 --> 00:15:01,433
>> There is water.

377
00:15:01,433 --> 00:15:03,266
That's a 30-acre lake which is

378
00:15:03,266 --> 00:15:05,433
just over the horizon of this

379
00:15:05,433 --> 00:15:08,233
view of the former home site.

380
00:15:08,233 --> 00:15:11,066
The property has been preserved

381
00:15:11,066 --> 00:15:14,566
as a county park and a state

382
00:15:14,566 --> 00:15:17,200
natural area.

383
00:15:17,200 --> 00:15:20,766
And then the original homestead,

384
00:15:20,766 --> 00:15:25,633
the home 80, has been purchased

385
00:15:25,633 --> 00:15:28,833
by someone who is helping to

386
00:15:28,833 --> 00:15:31,400
preserve the site and has been

387
00:15:31,400 --> 00:15:34,633
able to get the home site

388
00:15:34,633 --> 00:15:36,700
designated as a national

389
00:15:36,700 --> 00:15:38,700
landmark.

390
00:15:38,700 --> 00:15:40,366
>> Did he bond as well with the

391
00:15:40,366 --> 00:15:41,866
Hickory Hill property as he had

392
00:15:41,866 --> 00:15:43,800
with the Fountain Lake?

393
00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:45,800
>> Well, Hickory Hill, as I

394
00:15:45,800 --> 00:15:48,766
said, was the second farm, a

395
00:15:48,766 --> 00:15:51,433
different landscape, a dry,

396
00:15:51,433 --> 00:15:53,833
sandy landscape.

397
00:15:53,833 --> 00:15:57,833
And he talks about that

398
00:15:57,833 --> 00:16:01,633
transition to the new farm.

399
00:16:01,633 --> 00:16:04,466
He writes:  After eight years

400
00:16:04,466 --> 00:16:06,300
of dreary work of clearing the

401
00:16:06,300 --> 00:16:08,233
Fountain Lake farm, fencing it

402
00:16:08,233 --> 00:16:09,600
and getting it in perfect

403
00:16:09,600 --> 00:16:11,100
order, building a frame house

404
00:16:11,100 --> 00:16:12,733
and the necessary outbuildings

405
00:16:12,733 --> 00:16:14,233
for the cattle and horses,

406
00:16:14,233 --> 00:16:15,533
after all this had been

407
00:16:15,533 --> 00:16:17,300
victoriously accomplished and

408
00:16:17,300 --> 00:16:19,000
we had made out to escape with

409
00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:21,133
life, father bought a half

410
00:16:21,133 --> 00:16:22,800
section of wild land about

411
00:16:22,800 --> 00:16:24,866
four or five miles to the

412
00:16:24,866 --> 00:16:27,066
southeast and began all over

413
00:16:27,066 --> 00:16:29,433
again to clear and fence and

414
00:16:29,433 --> 00:16:31,233
breakup the fields for a new

415
00:16:31,233 --> 00:16:32,766
farm, doubling all the

416
00:16:32,766 --> 00:16:34,800
stunting, heartbreaking

417
00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:36,033
chopping, grubbing,

418
00:16:36,033 --> 00:16:37,933
stump-digging, rail-splitting,

419
00:16:37,933 --> 00:16:39,200
fence-building, barn-building,

420
00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:42,000
house-building.

421
00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:43,333
We called our second farm

422
00:16:43,333 --> 00:16:45,666
Hickory Hill Farm for its many

423
00:16:45,666 --> 00:16:47,033
fine hickory trees and the

424
00:16:47,033 --> 00:16:48,666
long, gentle slope leading

425
00:16:48,666 --> 00:16:50,366
up to it.

426
00:16:50,366 --> 00:16:52,300
The land was better for

427
00:16:52,300 --> 00:16:54,766
farming, but it had no living

428
00:16:54,766 --> 00:16:57,566
water, no spring, or stream,

429
00:16:57,566 --> 00:16:58,966
or meadow.

430
00:16:58,966 --> 00:17:01,033
So, clearly, his association

431
00:17:01,033 --> 00:17:03,433
with the Fountain Lake property

432
00:17:03,433 --> 00:17:06,366
was much stronger,

433
00:17:06,366 --> 00:17:09,700
but he did as he was told.

434
00:17:09,700 --> 00:17:13,000
They built this fine house, fine

435
00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:16,100
brick house, and it was here,

436
00:17:16,100 --> 00:17:19,400
from the time he was, oh, let's

437
00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:22,100
see, 17 to about 22, where he

438
00:17:22,100 --> 00:17:25,200
lived.

439
00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:26,966
>> Now, this is starting to look

440
00:17:26,966 --> 00:17:28,566
like a classic 19th century

441
00:17:28,566 --> 00:17:30,866
Wisconsin farmhouse.

442
00:17:30,866 --> 00:17:33,533
>> It's a substantial house and

443
00:17:33,533 --> 00:17:35,433
barn that they built there.

444
00:17:35,433 --> 00:17:38,533
One of the iconic stories from

445
00:17:38,533 --> 00:17:41,133
his time on Hickory Hill Farm

446
00:17:41,133 --> 00:17:44,166
was digging the well.

447
00:17:44,166 --> 00:17:46,366
As he says, there's no water.

448
00:17:46,366 --> 00:17:48,500
They're at the top of the hill,

449
00:17:48,500 --> 00:17:50,333
and one of the first assignments

450
00:17:50,333 --> 00:17:52,066
that his father gives him is to

451
00:17:52,066 --> 00:17:54,866
dig the well through the solid

452
00:17:54,866 --> 00:17:57,100
sandstone rock.

453
00:17:57,100 --> 00:18:00,233
And each morning he would go out

454
00:18:00,233 --> 00:18:03,033
with a hammer and a stone

455
00:18:03,033 --> 00:18:05,266
chisel, and he would literally

456
00:18:05,266 --> 00:18:07,300
chip away at the solid stone.

457
00:18:07,300 --> 00:18:09,200
And he worked at this for weeks

458
00:18:09,200 --> 00:18:11,233
each morning.

459
00:18:11,233 --> 00:18:12,733
>> Without knowing how far down

460
00:18:12,733 --> 00:18:14,100
the water would be.

461
00:18:14,100 --> 00:18:15,866
>> It's down there somewhere.

462
00:18:15,866 --> 00:18:17,533
>> Could be 50 feet; could be

463
00:18:17,533 --> 00:18:19,300
250 feet.

464
00:18:19,300 --> 00:18:21,800
>> They had no way of knowing.

465
00:18:21,800 --> 00:18:23,766
It was close to the house.

466
00:18:23,766 --> 00:18:25,100
You want the well close to the

467
00:18:25,100 --> 00:18:26,566
house.

468
00:18:26,566 --> 00:18:28,100
But, no, he had no way of

469
00:18:28,100 --> 00:18:29,600
knowing.

470
00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:31,166
They set up a tripod with a

471
00:18:31,166 --> 00:18:33,233
pulley and a bucket and rope

472
00:18:33,233 --> 00:18:36,066
system so that midday John would

473
00:18:36,066 --> 00:18:40,100
load the little chips of rock

474
00:18:40,100 --> 00:18:42,200
into the bucket and his father

475
00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:44,000
would haul them up to the

476
00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:46,100
surface and they would empty the

477
00:18:46,100 --> 00:18:47,866
bucket and then have his lunch,

478
00:18:47,866 --> 00:18:49,466
he'd go back down into the hole

479
00:18:49,466 --> 00:18:51,400
and work by himself in this

480
00:18:51,400 --> 00:18:53,733
three-foot diameter shaft.

481
00:18:53,733 --> 00:18:56,333
>> Three feet, and he's 40, 50,

482
00:18:56,333 --> 00:18:58,233
60 feet down?

483
00:18:58,233 --> 00:19:01,400
>> He got to 80 feet, and one

484
00:19:01,400 --> 00:19:04,766
morning his father is lowering

485
00:19:04,766 --> 00:19:08,100
him down into this dark, narrow

486
00:19:08,100 --> 00:19:10,933
shaft and he's immediately

487
00:19:10,933 --> 00:19:13,366
overcome by what is referred to

488
00:19:13,366 --> 00:19:15,266
as choke damp, which is an

489
00:19:15,266 --> 00:19:16,966
accumulation of carbon dioxide

490
00:19:16,966 --> 00:19:18,833
gases.

491
00:19:18,833 --> 00:19:20,433
And, for some reason, they knew

492
00:19:20,433 --> 00:19:24,300
nothing of this threat.

493
00:19:24,300 --> 00:19:27,166
He immediately losses

494
00:19:27,166 --> 00:19:30,600
consciousness, and right before

495
00:19:30,600 --> 00:19:33,266
he goes blank, he calls out to

496
00:19:33,266 --> 00:19:36,000
his father and his father

497
00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:38,833
instructs him to grab hold of

498
00:19:38,833 --> 00:19:40,766
the bucket.

499
00:19:40,766 --> 00:19:42,700
And clinging to the bucket, his

500
00:19:42,700 --> 00:19:44,300
father hauls him 80 feet to the

501
00:19:44,300 --> 00:19:46,000
surface, unconscious, near

502
00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:49,266
death.

503
00:19:49,266 --> 00:19:51,166
Well, what they learned from

504
00:19:51,166 --> 00:19:54,033
their neighbors who were miners,

505
00:19:54,033 --> 00:19:56,800
this accumulation of gas in the

506
00:19:56,800 --> 00:19:59,266
mine can be cleared away.

507
00:19:59,266 --> 00:20:01,566
It can be stirred up, and you

508
00:20:01,566 --> 00:20:05,600
can return to the shaft.

509
00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:07,266
After just a few days of

510
00:20:07,266 --> 00:20:08,966
recovery, what does his father

511
00:20:08,966 --> 00:20:10,900
do?

512
00:20:10,900 --> 00:20:12,733
He sends him back down to finish

513
00:20:12,733 --> 00:20:15,000
the job.

514
00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:16,733
>> So just as he has overcome

515
00:20:16,733 --> 00:20:18,966
his fear of drowning, he has to

516
00:20:18,966 --> 00:20:20,600
overcome this fear of

517
00:20:20,600 --> 00:20:22,200
suffocating at the bottom of a

518
00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:23,766
mine.

519
00:20:23,766 --> 00:20:25,433
>> I can't imagine after being

520
00:20:25,433 --> 00:20:27,066
that close to death to being

521
00:20:27,066 --> 00:20:28,933
told this is what we do.

522
00:20:28,933 --> 00:20:30,700
You have no choice.

523
00:20:30,700 --> 00:20:32,300
Go back down and finish.

524
00:20:32,300 --> 00:20:33,900
Apparently it was only another

525
00:20:33,900 --> 00:20:35,666
10 feet before they struck

526
00:20:35,666 --> 00:20:37,333
water.

527
00:20:37,333 --> 00:20:39,400
And that well is still present

528
00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:41,300
on the farm.

529
00:20:41,300 --> 00:20:42,800
They've built a windmill over

530
00:20:42,800 --> 00:20:44,400
the top of it.

531
00:20:44,400 --> 00:20:45,833
>> We saw that.

532
00:20:45,833 --> 00:20:47,966
>> Of the well head.

533
00:20:47,966 --> 00:20:49,900
The farm is privately owned by

534
00:20:49,900 --> 00:20:51,333
the same family that bought it

535
00:20:51,333 --> 00:20:53,133
from the Muirs.

536
00:20:53,133 --> 00:20:54,666
>> Oh, really.

537
00:20:54,666 --> 00:20:56,500
>> Back in the 1870s.

538
00:20:56,500 --> 00:20:58,033
>> Well, it must be a good spot

539
00:20:58,033 --> 00:20:59,733
then.

540
00:20:59,733 --> 00:21:01,766
Well, as John Muir gets into his

541
00:21:01,766 --> 00:21:05,866
teens, he faces a decision as to

542
00:21:05,866 --> 00:21:08,300
whether to stay on the family

543
00:21:08,300 --> 00:21:11,300
farm or strike out on his own.

544
00:21:11,300 --> 00:21:13,933
>> You know, he stays on the

545
00:21:13,933 --> 00:21:16,366
farm until he's 22 years old,

546
00:21:16,366 --> 00:21:18,366
which is longer than most young

547
00:21:18,366 --> 00:21:21,366
men would have stuck around.

548
00:21:21,366 --> 00:21:23,766
But he's very attached to his

549
00:21:23,766 --> 00:21:25,733
family and his brothers and his

550
00:21:25,733 --> 00:21:27,266
sisters.

551
00:21:27,266 --> 00:21:30,366
But he hungers for something

552
00:21:30,366 --> 00:21:32,533
more.

553
00:21:32,533 --> 00:21:35,900
Now, I said that he had no books

554
00:21:35,900 --> 00:21:38,833
as a young boy, but through his

555
00:21:38,833 --> 00:21:41,166
teen years he is able to find

556
00:21:41,166 --> 00:21:45,000
books that he borrows from

557
00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:47,533
neighbors.

558
00:21:47,533 --> 00:21:50,666
Sometimes surreptitiously,

559
00:21:50,666 --> 00:21:52,766
sneaking them into the house.

560
00:21:52,766 --> 00:21:54,433
>> Is he home-schooled through

561
00:21:54,433 --> 00:21:55,933
these years, or does he actually

562
00:21:55,933 --> 00:21:57,466
go to a local school?

563
00:21:57,466 --> 00:21:59,366
>> The only record we have is

564
00:21:59,366 --> 00:22:00,900
that he might have attended

565
00:22:00,900 --> 00:22:02,833
school for a couple of months

566
00:22:02,833 --> 00:22:04,966
between the time he is 11,

567
00:22:04,966 --> 00:22:06,833
leaving Scotland, and the time

568
00:22:06,833 --> 00:22:10,066
he leaves to go to Madison.

569
00:22:10,066 --> 00:22:13,433
So he's teaching himself.

570
00:22:13,433 --> 00:22:15,000
He's home-schooled in a sense,

571
00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:16,533
but he has no formal

572
00:22:16,533 --> 00:22:18,933
instruction.

573
00:22:18,933 --> 00:22:21,000
He teaches himself algebra and

574
00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:24,266
trigonometry and physics, and he

575
00:22:24,266 --> 00:22:28,133
starts reading the great poets

576
00:22:28,133 --> 00:22:30,600
and the classics, teaching

577
00:22:30,600 --> 00:22:32,500
himself Latin and Greek.

578
00:22:32,500 --> 00:22:34,266
>> Does his father approve of

579
00:22:34,266 --> 00:22:36,300
this learning?

580
00:22:36,300 --> 00:22:39,800
>> His father initially is

581
00:22:39,800 --> 00:22:43,933
restricting his education

582
00:22:43,933 --> 00:22:47,866
because the bible has all the

583
00:22:47,866 --> 00:22:50,833
truth that one might need to

584
00:22:50,833 --> 00:22:54,266
live a good life.

585
00:22:54,266 --> 00:22:57,966
There are stories of him taking

586
00:22:57,966 --> 00:23:00,133
time in the middle of the day to

587
00:23:00,133 --> 00:23:01,933
scribble out math problems in

588
00:23:01,933 --> 00:23:06,633
the dirt in between the harvest

589
00:23:06,633 --> 00:23:12,466
and the planting season.

590
00:23:12,466 --> 00:23:17,466
He begs his father to allow him

591
00:23:17,466 --> 00:23:21,466
to study, allow him to work on

592
00:23:21,466 --> 00:23:23,566
some of his inventions.

593
00:23:23,566 --> 00:23:25,700
He becomes very interested in

594
00:23:25,700 --> 00:23:29,500
mechanical contrivances.

595
00:23:29,500 --> 00:23:31,133
>> Is he starting to invent

596
00:23:31,133 --> 00:23:32,800
things on the farm then?

597
00:23:32,800 --> 00:23:34,200
>> Pardon me?

598
00:23:34,200 --> 00:23:35,633
>> Is he starting to invent

599
00:23:35,633 --> 00:23:37,066
things on the farm?

600
00:23:37,066 --> 00:23:38,700
>> He does come up with some

601
00:23:38,700 --> 00:23:40,700
inventions that help feed the

602
00:23:40,700 --> 00:23:43,466
animals, but his primary

603
00:23:43,466 --> 00:23:45,600
inventions seem to be centered

604
00:23:45,600 --> 00:23:47,400
around clocks.

605
00:23:47,400 --> 00:23:49,333
He doesn't have, I think there

606
00:23:49,333 --> 00:23:50,866
may have been one clock in the

607
00:23:50,866 --> 00:23:53,566
household, but mostly he learns

608
00:23:53,566 --> 00:23:55,766
about clocks and time from these

609
00:23:55,766 --> 00:23:59,700
books that he's able to borrow.

610
00:23:59,700 --> 00:24:01,500
>> Here's one of these devices

611
00:24:01,500 --> 00:24:04,066
that he has put together.

612
00:24:04,066 --> 00:24:06,166
Something called a scythe clock.

613
00:24:06,166 --> 00:24:07,966
>> A scythe clock, right.

614
00:24:07,966 --> 00:24:10,500
It's a whimsical contraption

615
00:24:10,500 --> 00:24:12,466
that he invents.

616
00:24:12,466 --> 00:24:14,666
A scythe is a tool that one uses

617
00:24:14,666 --> 00:24:20,400
in the fields to cut wheat.

618
00:24:20,400 --> 00:24:23,066
That implement that father time

619
00:24:23,066 --> 00:24:25,033
and The Grim Reaper carry around

620
00:24:25,033 --> 00:24:27,000
with them.

621
00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:29,733
And he uses just a whittling

622
00:24:29,733 --> 00:24:34,433
knife to carve gears and cogs

623
00:24:34,433 --> 00:24:36,933
which he assembles on the blade

624
00:24:36,933 --> 00:24:41,300
of his scythe, and suspended

625
00:24:41,300 --> 00:24:44,233
from the blade is a pendulum

626
00:24:44,233 --> 00:24:47,133
which he makes out of arrows

627
00:24:47,133 --> 00:24:49,666
that are counterweighted with

628
00:24:49,666 --> 00:24:51,933
old copper pennies that he

629
00:24:51,933 --> 00:24:54,666
pounds out into arrowheads.

630
00:24:54,666 --> 00:24:57,933
And this arrowhead pendulum

631
00:24:57,933 --> 00:25:02,233
drives the gears that provide

632
00:25:02,233 --> 00:25:04,966
both the seconds, minutes, the

633
00:25:04,966 --> 00:25:08,000
hours on his scythe clock.

634
00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:09,266
>> What is the actual function,

635
00:25:09,266 --> 00:25:10,800
a purpose for this scythe clock?

636
00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:11,966
>> To tell time.

637
00:25:11,966 --> 00:25:13,266
>> To tell time.

638
00:25:13,266 --> 00:25:15,866
>> And what's, I think,

639
00:25:15,866 --> 00:25:18,200
fascinating about this very

640
00:25:18,200 --> 00:25:20,633
early invention of his, he

641
00:25:20,633 --> 00:25:23,266
carves on the handle, the

642
00:25:23,266 --> 00:25:26,033
re-curved handle, the biblical

643
00:25:26,033 --> 00:25:29,200
verse all flesh is grass, which

644
00:25:29,200 --> 00:25:32,266
I think can be interpreted many

645
00:25:32,266 --> 00:25:33,866
different ways.

646
00:25:33,866 --> 00:25:35,400
>> Yes.

647
00:25:35,400 --> 00:25:38,000
>> Don't be so vain, you may be

648
00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:39,866
flesh today but tomorrow you're

649
00:25:39,866 --> 00:25:42,333
grass, that life is fleeting.

650
00:25:42,333 --> 00:25:45,166
But I also think it portends

651
00:25:45,166 --> 00:25:48,466
some of his thinking about

652
00:25:48,466 --> 00:25:52,200
immortality.

653
00:25:52,200 --> 00:25:54,900
That flesh is grass

654
00:25:54,900 --> 00:25:56,700
and grass is flesh.

655
00:25:56,700 --> 00:25:58,533
>> This cycle.

656
00:25:58,533 --> 00:25:59,933
>> This cycle of life,

657
00:25:59,933 --> 00:26:01,200
this carbon cycle, this

658
00:26:01,200 --> 00:26:04,133
interconnectedness of all

659
00:26:04,133 --> 00:26:06,933
things, which is an important

660
00:26:06,933 --> 00:26:10,100
theme in his later writings.

661
00:26:10,100 --> 00:26:11,766
>> And he would be very aware of

662
00:26:11,766 --> 00:26:13,400
that as being on the farm over a

663
00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:15,100
period of time where he could

664
00:26:15,100 --> 00:26:17,666
see this annual cycle or

665
00:26:17,666 --> 00:26:19,533
lifetime cycles taking place.

666
00:26:19,533 --> 00:26:21,400
>> Absolutely.

667
00:26:21,400 --> 00:26:23,733
His connection to farm animals

668
00:26:23,733 --> 00:26:26,400
but as well as the birds and the

669
00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:30,900
animals that live in and among

670
00:26:30,900 --> 00:26:33,200
the fields where he is working.

671
00:26:33,200 --> 00:26:36,700
He's very aware of both the

672
00:26:36,700 --> 00:26:38,600
animals and the trees and the

673
00:26:38,600 --> 00:26:41,033
flowers.

674
00:26:41,033 --> 00:26:43,100
Fascinated from his very

675
00:26:43,100 --> 00:26:44,266
youngest days.

676
00:26:44,266 --> 00:26:45,433
>> How does it come about then

677
00:26:45,433 --> 00:26:46,500
that he leaves the farm at the

678
00:26:46,500 --> 00:26:48,033
age of 22?

679
00:26:48,033 --> 00:26:53,600
>> Well, he's inventing.

680
00:26:53,600 --> 00:26:55,266
Let me just tell you about one

681
00:26:55,266 --> 00:26:57,633
of his earlier inventions that

682
00:26:57,633 --> 00:27:01,633
he creates.

683
00:27:01,633 --> 00:27:05,900
It's a self-setting sawmill.

684
00:27:05,900 --> 00:27:08,666
>> There it is there.

685
00:27:08,666 --> 00:27:13,500
>> The self-setting sawmill, say

686
00:27:13,500 --> 00:27:16,366
that 10 times, is a model that

687
00:27:16,366 --> 00:27:19,600
he creates in his early teens.

688
00:27:19,600 --> 00:27:23,000
At the time, sawmills had a

689
00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:24,866
single blade and you would drive

690
00:27:24,866 --> 00:27:27,000
the log through the sawmill.

691
00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:28,700
>> A circular blade.

692
00:27:28,700 --> 00:27:30,600
>> A circular blade.

693
00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:32,566
But each time the log goes

694
00:27:32,566 --> 00:27:34,300
through the sawmill, you'd have

695
00:27:34,300 --> 00:27:37,000
to reset the spacing so that you

696
00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:39,033
would get a standard dimension

697
00:27:39,033 --> 00:27:40,600
lumber.

698
00:27:40,600 --> 00:27:42,200
>> Right.

699
00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:43,833
>> And so he sees that there's

700
00:27:43,833 --> 00:27:45,366
an opportunity to create a

701
00:27:45,366 --> 00:27:48,433
carriage that will allow a

702
00:27:48,433 --> 00:27:51,833
standard offset to be created

703
00:27:51,833 --> 00:27:54,466
each time the log passes the

704
00:27:54,466 --> 00:27:56,633
blade and so you get a standard

705
00:27:56,633 --> 00:27:59,333
board.

706
00:27:59,333 --> 00:28:01,200
>> A standard board each time.

707
00:28:01,200 --> 00:28:02,866
>> Right.

708
00:28:02,866 --> 00:28:04,700
So he takes this model, and I

709
00:28:04,700 --> 00:28:06,733
think this is a wonderful story,

710
00:28:06,733 --> 00:28:08,966
he takes this model down to a

711
00:28:08,966 --> 00:28:10,733
stream, he's still living at

712
00:28:10,733 --> 00:28:12,733
Fountain Lake, and he dams the

713
00:28:12,733 --> 00:28:14,600
stream to create the water power

714
00:28:14,600 --> 00:28:17,133
to drive this model sawmill.

715
00:28:17,133 --> 00:28:20,133
And he sees that it is good.

716
00:28:20,133 --> 00:28:21,566
Almost biblical sounding.

717
00:28:21,566 --> 00:28:22,700
>> Yeah, I was going to say,

718
00:28:22,700 --> 00:28:23,666
right.

719
00:28:23,666 --> 00:28:24,700
>> He sees that it is good, and

720
00:28:24,700 --> 00:28:25,966
he decides that that's enough.

721
00:28:25,966 --> 00:28:27,766
That his concept for this

722
00:28:27,766 --> 00:28:30,066
machine is good and it works and

723
00:28:30,066 --> 00:28:31,866
he moves on.

724
00:28:31,866 --> 00:28:34,166
Of course, later in life, the

725
00:28:34,166 --> 00:28:36,766
irony here is that he works

726
00:28:36,766 --> 00:28:38,766
tirelessly against damming

727
00:28:38,766 --> 00:28:42,366
projects throughout the west.

728
00:28:42,366 --> 00:28:46,600
And his ire is often raised

729
00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:47,966
against the clear-cutting of

730
00:28:47,966 --> 00:28:50,066
trees.

731
00:28:50,066 --> 00:28:52,066
But here he is building a

732
00:28:52,066 --> 00:28:54,666
sawmill in his youth.

733
00:28:54,666 --> 00:28:56,800
Well, he is known in the

734
00:28:56,800 --> 00:28:59,800
neighborhood for inventions.

735
00:28:59,800 --> 00:29:01,666
He builds clocks.

736
00:29:01,666 --> 00:29:03,766
He builds the sawmill.

737
00:29:03,766 --> 00:29:08,533
And one day he meets a friend on

738
00:29:08,533 --> 00:29:10,600
the road, and the friend says,

739
00:29:10,600 --> 00:29:12,666
you know, down in Madison

740
00:29:12,666 --> 00:29:14,533
they're about to have the State

741
00:29:14,533 --> 00:29:16,133
Fair.

742
00:29:16,133 --> 00:29:18,333
I bet that if you gather some of

743
00:29:18,333 --> 00:29:20,066
your inventions, go to the State

744
00:29:20,066 --> 00:29:21,866
Fair, put them on display that

745
00:29:21,866 --> 00:29:24,166
many people will approach you

746
00:29:24,166 --> 00:29:26,133
and offer you a job as an

747
00:29:26,133 --> 00:29:27,633
engineer or someone to work in

748
00:29:27,633 --> 00:29:30,033
their factory.

749
00:29:30,033 --> 00:29:32,300
And this is the opportunity that

750
00:29:32,300 --> 00:29:34,133
he's looking for.

751
00:29:34,133 --> 00:29:36,166
So he announces that he's going

752
00:29:36,166 --> 00:29:38,200
to Madison.

753
00:29:38,200 --> 00:29:41,533
His parents are not necessarily

754
00:29:41,533 --> 00:29:45,300
enthused about losing their son,

755
00:29:45,300 --> 00:29:46,966
but they realize that he must

756
00:29:46,966 --> 00:29:50,000
go.

757
00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:52,500
So he bundles up his inventions,

758
00:29:52,500 --> 00:29:54,800
and he heads to Pardeeville.

759
00:29:54,800 --> 00:29:56,900
>> Sort of the train line ends.

760
00:29:56,900 --> 00:29:59,600
>> That's where the train is.

761
00:29:59,600 --> 00:30:01,466
It's about nine miles away.

762
00:30:01,466 --> 00:30:02,966
And the interesting thing about

763
00:30:02,966 --> 00:30:04,800
this is that here he has been in

764
00:30:04,800 --> 00:30:11,333
Wisconsin now for 11 years, and

765
00:30:11,333 --> 00:30:14,400
he's never traveled more than a

766
00:30:14,400 --> 00:30:16,200
few miles away from the home

767
00:30:16,200 --> 00:30:17,766
farm.

768
00:30:17,766 --> 00:30:19,400
>> Yeah, probably not at all

769
00:30:19,400 --> 00:30:21,733
unusual back then.

770
00:30:21,733 --> 00:30:23,433
>> In fact, his father only

771
00:30:23,433 --> 00:30:25,566
allowed him Sundays off and two

772
00:30:25,566 --> 00:30:27,566
days of vacation throughout this

773
00:30:27,566 --> 00:30:29,866
11-year period.

774
00:30:29,866 --> 00:30:32,666
New Years and the 4th of July.

775
00:30:32,666 --> 00:30:34,366
Those are his only days off.

776
00:30:34,366 --> 00:30:36,233
>> Not even Christmas.

777
00:30:36,233 --> 00:30:38,033
Too lavish, too garish a

778
00:30:38,033 --> 00:30:39,733
celebration.

779
00:30:39,733 --> 00:30:41,466
>> I don't know.

780
00:30:41,466 --> 00:30:44,133
But here he is, he's been

781
00:30:44,133 --> 00:30:45,933
cloistered on this farm for 11

782
00:30:45,933 --> 00:30:47,700
years.

783
00:30:47,700 --> 00:30:49,266
He remembers the trains from

784
00:30:49,266 --> 00:30:50,900
Scotland, but he has not seen a

785
00:30:50,900 --> 00:30:52,466
train.

786
00:30:52,466 --> 00:30:54,066
He has not traveled more than a

787
00:30:54,066 --> 00:30:56,566
few miles from home.

788
00:30:56,566 --> 00:30:58,000
He attracts attention

789
00:30:58,000 --> 00:30:59,700
immediately in Pardeeville.

790
00:30:59,700 --> 00:31:01,600
They say, who is this boy, and

791
00:31:01,600 --> 00:31:03,266
what are you doing with this

792
00:31:03,266 --> 00:31:06,100
strange bundle of inventions?

793
00:31:06,100 --> 00:31:08,466
And when the trains arrives, the

794
00:31:08,466 --> 00:31:13,433
stationmaster asks the engineer

795
00:31:13,433 --> 00:31:16,166
if this boy, who's going to

796
00:31:16,166 --> 00:31:18,133
Madison to exhibit at the State

797
00:31:18,133 --> 00:31:19,900
Fair, could travel up in the

798
00:31:19,900 --> 00:31:22,433
engine.

799
00:31:22,433 --> 00:31:25,100
And, reluctantly, the engineer

800
00:31:25,100 --> 00:31:26,933
allows him to climb up onto the

801
00:31:26,933 --> 00:31:29,166
locomotive, and they head south

802
00:31:29,166 --> 00:31:32,400
to Madison.

803
00:31:32,400 --> 00:31:34,000
Well, it wasn't good enough to

804
00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:36,000
be traveling with the engineer.

805
00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:38,033
He asks if he can climb out onto

806
00:31:38,033 --> 00:31:40,100
the engine to get closer to the

807
00:31:40,100 --> 00:31:43,100
wheels and the drive mechanisms.

808
00:31:43,100 --> 00:31:44,666
>> This is before liability

809
00:31:44,666 --> 00:31:46,366
laws.

810
00:31:46,366 --> 00:31:47,900
>> Yeah.

811
00:31:47,900 --> 00:31:49,600
And, again, reluctantly the

812
00:31:49,600 --> 00:31:51,566
engineer says sure.

813
00:31:51,566 --> 00:31:53,100
He climbs out and that's not

814
00:31:53,100 --> 00:31:54,733
good enough.

815
00:31:54,733 --> 00:31:56,300
He climbs out onto the

816
00:31:56,300 --> 00:31:58,066
cowcatcher on the front of the

817
00:31:58,066 --> 00:31:59,766
train, and this is how he rides

818
00:31:59,766 --> 00:32:01,733
into Madison.

819
00:32:01,733 --> 00:32:03,166
>> That's how he comes into

820
00:32:03,166 --> 00:32:04,600
Madison.

821
00:32:04,600 --> 00:32:06,066
>> He comes into Madison.

822
00:32:06,066 --> 00:32:07,433
>> This is some idea of what

823
00:32:07,433 --> 00:32:08,800
he'll see there.

824
00:32:08,800 --> 00:32:10,333
He'll see this view of Madison

825
00:32:10,333 --> 00:32:11,700
at about that time.

826
00:32:11,700 --> 00:32:13,600
>> So, it's September 1860, and

827
00:32:13,600 --> 00:32:15,600
he goes to the fairgrounds.

828
00:32:15,600 --> 00:32:17,366
On the hill is the Fine Arts

829
00:32:17,366 --> 00:32:19,066
Hall.

830
00:32:19,066 --> 00:32:21,966
The Fine Arts Hall is where all

831
00:32:21,966 --> 00:32:24,166
of the exhibits are being held.

832
00:32:24,166 --> 00:32:26,833
The Fine Arts Hall is roughly

833
00:32:26,833 --> 00:32:29,300
where the west stands of the

834
00:32:29,300 --> 00:32:31,266
Camp Randall Football Stadium is

835
00:32:31,266 --> 00:32:32,866
along Breese Terrace, the

836
00:32:32,866 --> 00:32:34,866
largest structure at the

837
00:32:34,866 --> 00:32:38,700
fairgrounds.

838
00:32:38,700 --> 00:32:40,800
And he's met there, again, all

839
00:32:40,800 --> 00:32:44,633
according to his unbiased

840
00:32:44,633 --> 00:32:46,933
autobiography, he's met with

841
00:32:46,933 --> 00:32:54,200
with intrigue and excitement.

842
00:32:54,200 --> 00:32:56,066
What is this that you have?

843
00:32:56,066 --> 00:32:57,533
And he says, well, I've got some

844
00:32:57,533 --> 00:32:58,966
inventions.

845
00:32:58,966 --> 00:33:00,833
And the professor who's minding

846
00:33:00,833 --> 00:33:02,900
the hall says, pick any place

847
00:33:02,900 --> 00:33:05,200
for your exhibit, I'll get you a

848
00:33:05,200 --> 00:33:06,600
carpenter and we'll build you a

849
00:33:06,600 --> 00:33:08,000
shelf.

850
00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:09,733
And he sets up his scythe clock

851
00:33:09,733 --> 00:33:12,400
and he sets up one of his other

852
00:33:12,400 --> 00:33:14,833
clocks which he attaches to

853
00:33:14,833 --> 00:33:16,633
something called his early

854
00:33:16,633 --> 00:33:18,766
rising bed.

855
00:33:18,766 --> 00:33:20,333
>> Ah, the early rising bed.

856
00:33:20,333 --> 00:33:21,766
>> The early rising bed is at

857
00:33:21,766 --> 00:33:23,166
the exhibit.

858
00:33:23,166 --> 00:33:24,900
And this is a great sensation.

859
00:33:24,900 --> 00:33:26,800
In fact, the Wisconsin State

860
00:33:26,800 --> 00:33:29,266
Journal writes and article about

861
00:33:29,266 --> 00:33:32,600
this man, this man-boy from the

862
00:33:32,600 --> 00:33:35,333
hinterlands who's come to

863
00:33:35,333 --> 00:33:38,266
Madison, the ingenuous whittler

864
00:33:38,266 --> 00:33:40,766
and his early rising bed.

865
00:33:40,766 --> 00:33:42,933
>> How was it supposed to work?

866
00:33:42,933 --> 00:33:44,533
>> How is it supposed to work?

867
00:33:44,533 --> 00:33:45,966
It's a clock again.

868
00:33:45,966 --> 00:33:48,266
It's a series of cogs and wheels

869
00:33:48,266 --> 00:33:50,100
that are attached to a

870
00:33:50,100 --> 00:33:53,833
counterweight.

871
00:33:53,833 --> 00:33:55,833
It's a three-legged bed.

872
00:33:55,833 --> 00:33:58,033
Two legs are at the head of the

873
00:33:58,033 --> 00:34:00,233
bed and a third leg in the

874
00:34:00,233 --> 00:34:01,866
center.

875
00:34:01,866 --> 00:34:03,900
And that third leg has an elbow.

876
00:34:03,900 --> 00:34:06,100
The elbow joint is held in place

877
00:34:06,100 --> 00:34:08,666
with a peg, and attached to that

878
00:34:08,666 --> 00:34:11,000
peg is a cord.

879
00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:13,233
And so he sets the clock for a

880
00:34:13,233 --> 00:34:15,733
few minutes and asks one of the

881
00:34:15,733 --> 00:34:18,033
young boys in the audience to

882
00:34:18,033 --> 00:34:20,433
come and lay on his bed, and

883
00:34:20,433 --> 00:34:23,166
after a few minutes the pendulum

884
00:34:23,166 --> 00:34:26,800
drives the gears which trips the

885
00:34:26,800 --> 00:34:29,766
escapement which allows the

886
00:34:29,766 --> 00:34:32,166
counterweight to drop, pulling

887
00:34:32,166 --> 00:34:35,266
the cord, yanking the peg out of

888
00:34:35,266 --> 00:34:39,300
the elbowed joint, and the

889
00:34:39,300 --> 00:34:41,500
bottom of the bed falls to the

890
00:34:41,500 --> 00:34:43,833
ground, and the unsuspecting

891
00:34:43,833 --> 00:34:47,133
occupant falls in a heap.

892
00:34:47,133 --> 00:34:49,566
People loved this.

893
00:34:49,566 --> 00:34:51,233
In fact, he writes later that he

894
00:34:51,233 --> 00:34:52,800
tries to patent this idea, and

895
00:34:52,800 --> 00:34:54,766
several of these beds he

896
00:34:54,766 --> 00:34:56,500
fabricates and sells as a

897
00:34:56,500 --> 00:34:58,500
student trying to make a little

898
00:34:58,500 --> 00:35:00,033
extra money.

899
00:35:00,033 --> 00:35:03,333
I'm still looking for that bed.

900
00:35:03,333 --> 00:35:05,433
I'm persuaded there's one of

901
00:35:05,433 --> 00:35:07,466
them sitting in someone's attic.

902
00:35:07,466 --> 00:35:08,466
>> If not their dorm room.

903
00:35:08,466 --> 00:35:09,600
[LAUGHTER]

904
00:35:09,600 --> 00:35:10,666
>> In their dorm room.

905
00:35:10,666 --> 00:35:13,100
Well, this experience at the

906
00:35:13,100 --> 00:35:18,266
fair is successful in as much as

907
00:35:18,266 --> 00:35:20,700
the other great attraction at

908
00:35:20,700 --> 00:35:23,033
the fair is a man who brings an

909
00:35:23,033 --> 00:35:25,233
iceboat.

910
00:35:25,233 --> 00:35:27,966
This is a boat that would allow

911
00:35:27,966 --> 00:35:30,066
someone to traverse the frozen

912
00:35:30,066 --> 00:35:33,733
rivers of Wisconsin.

913
00:35:33,733 --> 00:35:38,366
And this man invites him to come

914
00:35:38,366 --> 00:35:41,133
to his shop in Prairie du Chien,

915
00:35:41,133 --> 00:35:43,033
and he will mentor him and he

916
00:35:43,033 --> 00:35:44,766
will teach him the mechanical

917
00:35:44,766 --> 00:35:46,400
trades.

918
00:35:46,400 --> 00:35:48,633
And so he leaves Madison after

919
00:35:48,633 --> 00:35:51,200
the fair and heads out to

920
00:35:51,200 --> 00:35:54,633
Prairie du Chien.

921
00:35:54,633 --> 00:35:57,666
Well, it turns out that this

922
00:35:57,666 --> 00:36:00,033
ice-breaking steam-driven boat

923
00:36:00,033 --> 00:36:03,300
is a technological failure,

924
00:36:03,300 --> 00:36:07,133
and it sinks.

925
00:36:07,133 --> 00:36:08,833
>> We'd call that a failure for

926
00:36:08,833 --> 00:36:10,266
any boat.

927
00:36:10,266 --> 00:36:11,766
>> Yep.

928
00:36:11,766 --> 00:36:13,400
>> Except maybe a submarine.

929
00:36:13,400 --> 00:36:14,833
>> And so he makes his way back

930
00:36:14,833 --> 00:36:16,533
to Madison.

931
00:36:16,533 --> 00:36:19,333
I imagine him, without

932
00:36:19,333 --> 00:36:21,700
projecting too much, like so

933
00:36:21,700 --> 00:36:25,100
many young men who are lost.

934
00:36:25,100 --> 00:36:26,933
He doesn't know what to do.

935
00:36:26,933 --> 00:36:28,533
He knows he has to leave his

936
00:36:28,533 --> 00:36:30,533
family.

937
00:36:30,533 --> 00:36:32,533
His first venture into the

938
00:36:32,533 --> 00:36:35,500
working world is a failure, and

939
00:36:35,500 --> 00:36:37,833
he wanders over to the campus.

940
00:36:37,833 --> 00:36:41,400
And of course he's enthralled by

941
00:36:41,400 --> 00:36:44,500
what he sees there.

942
00:36:44,500 --> 00:36:47,166
Here's what he writes about

943
00:36:47,166 --> 00:36:49,766
seeing the university campus.

944
00:36:49,766 --> 00:36:50,800
He says:  No University,

945
00:36:50,800 --> 00:36:53,200
it seemed to me, could be more

946
00:36:53,200 --> 00:36:54,966
admirably situated, and as I

947
00:36:54,966 --> 00:36:56,733
sauntered about it, charmed

948
00:36:56,733 --> 00:36:58,466
with its fine lawns and trees

949
00:36:58,466 --> 00:37:00,166
and beautiful lakes, and saw

950
00:37:00,166 --> 00:37:01,533
the students going and coming

951
00:37:01,533 --> 00:37:02,666
with their books, and

952
00:37:02,666 --> 00:37:04,100
occasionally practicing with

953
00:37:04,100 --> 00:37:05,466
a theodolite in measuring

954
00:37:05,466 --> 00:37:07,133
distances, I thought that

955
00:37:07,133 --> 00:37:08,833
if I could only join them

956
00:37:08,833 --> 00:37:10,200
it would be the greatest joy

957
00:37:10,200 --> 00:37:11,733
of life.

958
00:37:11,733 --> 00:37:13,666
I was desperately hungry and

959
00:37:13,666 --> 00:37:15,600
thirsty for knowledge and

960
00:37:15,600 --> 00:37:17,233
willing to endure anything to

961
00:37:17,233 --> 00:37:19,033
get it.

962
00:37:19,033 --> 00:37:20,900
And he chances upon a student

963
00:37:20,900 --> 00:37:23,233
who'd seen him at the fair,

964
00:37:23,233 --> 00:37:25,900
said aren't you that John Muir?

965
00:37:25,900 --> 00:37:27,900
And he said, yeah, yeah, I would

966
00:37:27,900 --> 00:37:30,266
love to come study here,

967
00:37:30,266 --> 00:37:34,166
but I don't know how to get in.

968
00:37:34,166 --> 00:37:35,200
>> Don't have the tuition

969
00:37:35,200 --> 00:37:36,233
either, perhaps.

970
00:37:36,233 --> 00:37:37,466
>> I don't have the tuition.

971
00:37:37,466 --> 00:37:38,666
I've never gone to school.

972
00:37:38,666 --> 00:37:39,800
I haven't been to school since I

973
00:37:39,800 --> 00:37:41,166
was 11 years old.

974
00:37:41,166 --> 00:37:42,500
He says, no problem.

975
00:37:42,500 --> 00:37:44,433
Go and talk to Professor

976
00:37:44,433 --> 00:37:46,933
Sterling, who was the acting

977
00:37:46,933 --> 00:37:48,666
chancellor of the university,

978
00:37:48,666 --> 00:37:50,333
and plead your case.

979
00:37:50,333 --> 00:37:51,266
And he said, but I don't have

980
00:37:51,266 --> 00:37:52,166
any money.

981
00:37:52,166 --> 00:37:53,433
He says, no problem.

982
00:37:53,433 --> 00:37:55,266
He says, very little is

983
00:37:55,266 --> 00:37:58,166
required.

984
00:37:58,166 --> 00:38:00,000
I'm presume you're able to enter

985
00:38:00,000 --> 00:38:01,866
the freshman class and you can

986
00:38:01,866 --> 00:38:03,933
board yourself as quite a number

987
00:38:03,933 --> 00:38:05,200
of us do at a cost of about a

988
00:38:05,200 --> 00:38:06,566
dollar a week.

989
00:38:06,566 --> 00:38:07,933
The baker and milkman come every

990
00:38:07,933 --> 00:38:09,700
day, and you can live on bread

991
00:38:09,700 --> 00:38:12,000
and milk.

992
00:38:12,000 --> 00:38:14,700
This is the 1860s version of a

993
00:38:14,700 --> 00:38:16,233
student diet based on Ramen.

994
00:38:16,233 --> 00:38:18,333
>> There you go.

995
00:38:18,333 --> 00:38:20,033
>> In fact, there are stories of

996
00:38:20,033 --> 00:38:21,733
students chipping in and buying

997
00:38:21,733 --> 00:38:25,733
a barrel of crackers and cooking

998
00:38:25,733 --> 00:38:28,800
a potato on the furnace and

999
00:38:28,800 --> 00:38:31,266
getting by with very little.

1000
00:38:31,266 --> 00:38:34,666
So, Professor Sterling asks him

1001
00:38:34,666 --> 00:38:36,933
to recite a little Latin, a

1002
00:38:36,933 --> 00:38:38,800
little Greek, and has him do a

1003
00:38:38,800 --> 00:38:40,400
few problems.

1004
00:38:40,400 --> 00:38:41,866
He says, you know, I think you

1005
00:38:41,866 --> 00:38:44,100
have what it takes.

1006
00:38:44,100 --> 00:38:45,900
And he goes to what is called

1007
00:38:45,900 --> 00:38:47,533
the preparatory school to bring

1008
00:38:47,533 --> 00:38:48,900
him up to speed.

1009
00:38:48,900 --> 00:38:50,466
Apparently, he only needed a few

1010
00:38:50,466 --> 00:38:52,000
weeks and he enters the freshman

1011
00:38:52,000 --> 00:38:53,833
class.

1012
00:38:53,833 --> 00:38:55,133
He moves into North Hall,

1013
00:38:55,133 --> 00:38:56,500
North Hall at the time.

1014
00:38:56,500 --> 00:38:58,933
>> And here's what it looks like

1015
00:38:58,933 --> 00:39:01,333
pretty much today and then.

1016
00:39:01,333 --> 00:39:03,800
>> It hasn't changed that much.

1017
00:39:03,800 --> 00:39:05,000
The exterior of the building

1018
00:39:05,000 --> 00:39:06,133
hasn't changed.

1019
00:39:06,133 --> 00:39:07,700
Unfortunately, the interior of

1020
00:39:07,700 --> 00:39:09,666
the building has been modified

1021
00:39:09,666 --> 00:39:11,166
pretty significantly.

1022
00:39:11,166 --> 00:39:12,333
>> Is his room there, I haven't

1023
00:39:12,333 --> 00:39:13,966
been in, but I imagine one of

1024
00:39:13,966 --> 00:39:15,333
those velvet cords and a little

1025
00:39:15,333 --> 00:39:16,800
plaque on the wall and maybe

1026
00:39:16,800 --> 00:39:18,966
some Victorian furniture.

1027
00:39:18,966 --> 00:39:22,800
>> No, not quite so glamorous.

1028
00:39:22,800 --> 00:39:25,100
Although, as we can see in the

1029
00:39:25,100 --> 00:39:27,300
picture here, his room was in

1030
00:39:27,300 --> 00:39:29,033
the first floor northeast

1031
00:39:29,033 --> 00:39:31,533
corner.

1032
00:39:31,533 --> 00:39:33,500
And it was just recently in the

1033
00:39:33,500 --> 00:39:36,266
last year that, in conjunction

1034
00:39:36,266 --> 00:39:38,400
with the local Sierra Club's

1035
00:39:38,400 --> 00:39:42,600
50th anniversary, we were able

1036
00:39:42,600 --> 00:39:44,700
to get into the room and they

1037
00:39:44,700 --> 00:39:46,366
cleared the furniture out for

1038
00:39:46,366 --> 00:39:48,033
us, and we were able to kind of

1039
00:39:48,033 --> 00:39:50,566
reconstruct the space to imagine

1040
00:39:50,566 --> 00:39:53,300
what it looked like back when

1041
00:39:53,300 --> 00:39:57,366
John Muir was a student.

1042
00:39:57,366 --> 00:39:58,866
His bedroom was about nine feet

1043
00:39:58,866 --> 00:40:00,433
by nine feet.

1044
00:40:00,433 --> 00:40:02,466
There was an adjacent study

1045
00:40:02,466 --> 00:40:04,400
room, and he shared a second

1046
00:40:04,400 --> 00:40:05,866
bedroom.

1047
00:40:05,866 --> 00:40:08,266
So it was kind of a suite.

1048
00:40:08,266 --> 00:40:09,600
So he had two windows in his

1049
00:40:09,600 --> 00:40:10,933
bedroom, one which could look

1050
00:40:10,933 --> 00:40:12,566
out across the lake, one which

1051
00:40:12,566 --> 00:40:16,133
looked out towards town.

1052
00:40:16,133 --> 00:40:17,666
By the way, in the 1860s there

1053
00:40:17,666 --> 00:40:18,733
were only three buildings on

1054
00:40:18,733 --> 00:40:20,733
campus.

1055
00:40:20,733 --> 00:40:22,700
There was North Hall,

1056
00:40:22,700 --> 00:40:24,533
South Hall, and the main edifice

1057
00:40:24,533 --> 00:40:26,166
which we now refer to as Bascom.

1058
00:40:26,166 --> 00:40:27,433
>> Right.

1059
00:40:27,433 --> 00:40:28,733
>> So campus is quite small.

1060
00:40:28,733 --> 00:40:30,266
There are 80 students.

1061
00:40:30,266 --> 00:40:32,233
Most of them are living

1062
00:40:32,233 --> 00:40:34,300
in North Hall.

1063
00:40:34,300 --> 00:40:36,533
Some of the classes occur in

1064
00:40:36,533 --> 00:40:39,566
Bascom Hall, but there is a

1065
00:40:39,566 --> 00:40:42,633
recitation hall in North Hall

1066
00:40:42,633 --> 00:40:45,600
as well.

1067
00:40:45,600 --> 00:40:46,833
>> And what about the proverbial

1068
00:40:46,833 --> 00:40:49,233
student desk?

1069
00:40:49,233 --> 00:40:50,300
You have a bed.

1070
00:40:50,300 --> 00:40:51,566
We've got that figured out.

1071
00:40:51,566 --> 00:40:52,533
And then the only other thing

1072
00:40:52,533 --> 00:40:53,600
you need as a student is a desk,

1073
00:40:53,600 --> 00:40:54,500
right?

1074
00:40:54,500 --> 00:40:55,733
>> Well, the student desk is, I

1075
00:40:55,733 --> 00:40:57,700
think, one of the more wonderful

1076
00:40:57,700 --> 00:41:00,100
inventions.

1077
00:41:00,100 --> 00:41:02,133
He, of course, continues to

1078
00:41:02,133 --> 00:41:03,333
whittle.

1079
00:41:03,333 --> 00:41:05,533
And there are descriptions of

1080
00:41:05,533 --> 00:41:07,666
his dorm room being something of

1081
00:41:07,666 --> 00:41:10,000
a museum, and in the corner was

1082
00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:12,933
this student study desk.

1083
00:41:12,933 --> 00:41:15,033
And a pile of wood shavings in

1084
00:41:15,033 --> 00:41:18,666
the corner and bottles and vials

1085
00:41:18,666 --> 00:41:20,566
on the window sill and buckets

1086
00:41:20,566 --> 00:41:23,266
of botanical specimens.

1087
00:41:23,266 --> 00:41:25,833
So keep up with his studies,

1088
00:41:25,833 --> 00:41:27,433
because he's an easily

1089
00:41:27,433 --> 00:41:29,033
distracted young man, I can

1090
00:41:29,033 --> 00:41:31,666
imagine he might have a

1091
00:41:31,666 --> 00:41:35,466
diagnosis as ADD because he's

1092
00:41:35,466 --> 00:41:37,833
just so fascinated and so

1093
00:41:37,833 --> 00:41:40,933
brilliant but easily distracted.

1094
00:41:40,933 --> 00:41:43,900
He builds himself another clock.

1095
00:41:43,900 --> 00:41:46,300
There's always a clock involved.

1096
00:41:46,300 --> 00:41:49,533
Time is a theme that plays out

1097
00:41:49,533 --> 00:41:51,933
in so much of his writing and

1098
00:41:51,933 --> 00:41:55,133
his thinking.

1099
00:41:55,133 --> 00:41:57,466
And, of course, these gears and,

1100
00:41:57,466 --> 00:41:59,800
again, this theme of revolution

1101
00:41:59,800 --> 00:42:03,000
and cycles.

1102
00:42:03,000 --> 00:42:07,833
Well, this clock is attached to

1103
00:42:07,833 --> 00:42:10,133
a tabletop which has a slot in

1104
00:42:10,133 --> 00:42:12,333
it.

1105
00:42:12,333 --> 00:42:14,166
And below the slot in the

1106
00:42:14,166 --> 00:42:16,400
tabletop is a book rack.

1107
00:42:16,400 --> 00:42:18,933
And he would set his clock at

1108
00:42:18,933 --> 00:42:22,833
15-minute intervals, and every

1109
00:42:22,833 --> 00:42:29,433
15 minutes a counterweight would

1110
00:42:29,433 --> 00:42:32,100
drive a piston which was below

1111
00:42:32,100 --> 00:42:34,900
the book rack and drive a book

1112
00:42:34,900 --> 00:42:36,900
up through the slot in the

1113
00:42:36,900 --> 00:42:40,000
tabletop and it would flop open.

1114
00:42:40,000 --> 00:42:41,600
>> The book, for that 15

1115
00:42:41,600 --> 00:42:43,000
minutes.

1116
00:42:43,000 --> 00:42:44,466
>> That 15 minutes.

1117
00:42:44,466 --> 00:42:46,233
And he would study for 15

1118
00:42:46,233 --> 00:42:48,500
minutes, the gears would rotate,

1119
00:42:48,500 --> 00:42:50,600
the piston would retreat, the

1120
00:42:50,600 --> 00:42:52,366
book would drop through the

1121
00:42:52,366 --> 00:42:54,500
hole.

1122
00:42:54,500 --> 00:42:57,433
The bookcase was on a carriage,

1123
00:42:57,433 --> 00:42:59,433
it would move over a slot kind

1124
00:42:59,433 --> 00:43:00,433
of like the self-setting

1125
00:43:00,433 --> 00:43:01,700
sawmill.

1126
00:43:01,700 --> 00:43:02,933
It would move over.

1127
00:43:02,933 --> 00:43:04,000
The piston would drive the next

1128
00:43:04,000 --> 00:43:05,600
book up on the table, and he

1129
00:43:05,600 --> 00:43:07,333
would have 15 minutes for his

1130
00:43:07,333 --> 00:43:09,100
next lesson.

1131
00:43:09,100 --> 00:43:10,133
>> A fascinating idea.

1132
00:43:10,133 --> 00:43:11,366
I suspect not really that

1133
00:43:11,366 --> 00:43:12,800
practical given the way most

1134
00:43:12,800 --> 00:43:15,366
people study.

1135
00:43:15,366 --> 00:43:17,900
>> Well, we did some research

1136
00:43:17,900 --> 00:43:19,966
recently to try and find in the

1137
00:43:19,966 --> 00:43:22,166
UW Archives references to his

1138
00:43:22,166 --> 00:43:24,266
time here, and there were only a

1139
00:43:24,266 --> 00:43:27,200
few catalogs.

1140
00:43:27,200 --> 00:43:29,033
They actually printed the

1141
00:43:29,033 --> 00:43:30,966
catalog after the term.

1142
00:43:30,966 --> 00:43:32,766
So they would have the names of

1143
00:43:32,766 --> 00:43:34,500
the students who had attended in

1144
00:43:34,500 --> 00:43:37,433
that term and the coursework.

1145
00:43:37,433 --> 00:43:42,300
And although Muir spends the

1146
00:43:42,300 --> 00:43:46,300
equivalent of two and a half

1147
00:43:46,300 --> 00:43:49,366
years in study at UW, he never

1148
00:43:49,366 --> 00:43:52,400
advances beyond being a first

1149
00:43:52,400 --> 00:43:54,800
year student.

1150
00:43:54,800 --> 00:43:56,933
And he's categorized in the

1151
00:43:56,933 --> 00:43:58,600
catalog as an irregular gent.

1152
00:43:58,600 --> 00:43:59,700
[LAUGHTER]

1153
00:43:59,700 --> 00:44:00,833
Which I think is a wonderful

1154
00:44:00,833 --> 00:44:02,533
term.

1155
00:44:02,533 --> 00:44:04,666
He was not normal in the sense

1156
00:44:04,666 --> 00:44:07,566
that he had any particular

1157
00:44:07,566 --> 00:44:10,600
notion about how he was going to

1158
00:44:10,600 --> 00:44:15,066
navigate his time on campus.

1159
00:44:15,066 --> 00:44:17,533
>> As he's doing all this

1160
00:44:17,533 --> 00:44:19,400
inventing, do we have any sense

1161
00:44:19,400 --> 00:44:22,200
that he still has this inner

1162
00:44:22,200 --> 00:44:25,333
glow of fascination for things

1163
00:44:25,333 --> 00:44:27,400
natural?

1164
00:44:27,400 --> 00:44:29,666
>> Well, his studies were

1165
00:44:29,666 --> 00:44:32,966
standardized, in some sense,

1166
00:44:32,966 --> 00:44:35,200
where in the 1860s you learned

1167
00:44:35,200 --> 00:44:36,766
the classics.

1168
00:44:36,766 --> 00:44:38,566
You learned Greek.

1169
00:44:38,566 --> 00:44:41,133
You learned Latin.

1170
00:44:41,133 --> 00:44:44,566
You learned mathematics.

1171
00:44:44,566 --> 00:44:46,600
And natural history, as a

1172
00:44:46,600 --> 00:44:50,566
discipline, was relatively new.

1173
00:44:50,566 --> 00:44:56,166
His main instructor was Ezra

1174
00:44:56,166 --> 00:45:00,766
Carr, who taught chemistry but

1175
00:45:00,766 --> 00:45:03,133
also natural history.

1176
00:45:03,133 --> 00:45:05,300
And this is where he starts to

1177
00:45:05,300 --> 00:45:07,066
pick up some of his ideas about

1178
00:45:07,066 --> 00:45:09,500
glaciation and geology and the

1179
00:45:09,500 --> 00:45:12,100
natural world.

1180
00:45:12,100 --> 00:45:14,300
But much of his studies were in

1181
00:45:14,300 --> 00:45:18,533
that classical mode.

1182
00:45:18,533 --> 00:45:20,700
>> So a good complement to his

1183
00:45:20,700 --> 00:45:24,666
what might intuitive studies.

1184
00:45:24,666 --> 00:45:28,166
>> He does have an epiphanic

1185
00:45:28,166 --> 00:45:31,066
experience.

1186
00:45:31,066 --> 00:45:34,633
Probably occurring in his first

1187
00:45:34,633 --> 00:45:37,633
or second year on campus.

1188
00:45:37,633 --> 00:45:41,433
A fellow student meets him

1189
00:45:41,433 --> 00:45:45,833
outside of North Hall, and this

1190
00:45:45,833 --> 00:45:48,800
student has a reputation for

1191
00:45:48,800 --> 00:45:51,033
being a little full of himself

1192
00:45:51,033 --> 00:45:52,833
and wants to share his

1193
00:45:52,833 --> 00:45:54,666
knowledge.

1194
00:45:54,666 --> 00:45:57,100
And he asks Muir if he knows

1195
00:45:57,100 --> 00:45:59,466
anything about trees.

1196
00:45:59,466 --> 00:46:01,533
Well, he writes about it in his

1197
00:46:01,533 --> 00:46:03,366
autobiography.

1198
00:46:03,366 --> 00:46:04,700
Let me just read this.

1199
00:46:04,700 --> 00:46:06,566
One memorable day in June,

1200
00:46:06,566 --> 00:46:07,800
when I was standing on

1201
00:46:07,800 --> 00:46:09,166
the stone steps of the north

1202
00:46:09,166 --> 00:46:11,566
dormitory, Mr. Griswold

1203
00:46:11,566 --> 00:46:13,066
joined me and at once

1204
00:46:13,066 --> 00:46:14,300
began to teach.

1205
00:46:14,300 --> 00:46:15,733
He reached up, plucked

1206
00:46:15,733 --> 00:46:17,033
a flower from an overspreading

1207
00:46:17,033 --> 00:46:18,666
branch of a locust tree, and,

1208
00:46:18,666 --> 00:46:19,966
handing it to me, said,

1209
00:46:19,966 --> 00:46:21,466
"Muir, do you know what family

1210
00:46:21,466 --> 00:46:23,200
this tree belongs to?"

1211
00:46:23,200 --> 00:46:24,933
"No," I said, "I don't know

1212
00:46:24,933 --> 00:46:26,966
anything about botany."

1213
00:46:26,966 --> 00:46:28,600
"Well, no matter," said he,

1214
00:46:28,600 --> 00:46:29,666
"what is it like?"

1215
00:46:29,666 --> 00:46:31,133
"It's like a pea flower,"

1216
00:46:31,133 --> 00:46:32,266
I replied.

1217
00:46:32,266 --> 00:46:33,833
"That's right," he said, "it

1218
00:46:33,833 --> 00:46:35,300
belongs to the Pea Family."

1219
00:46:35,300 --> 00:46:37,233
"But how can that be,"

1220
00:46:37,233 --> 00:46:39,100
I objected, "when the pea

1221
00:46:39,100 --> 00:46:40,300
is a weak, clinging,

1222
00:46:40,300 --> 00:46:41,466
straggling herb,

1223
00:46:41,466 --> 00:46:42,833
and the locust a big,

1224
00:46:42,833 --> 00:46:44,833
thorny hardwood tree?"

1225
00:46:44,833 --> 00:46:46,700
Now, of course, this is written

1226
00:46:46,700 --> 00:46:49,333
50 years after this experience.

1227
00:46:49,333 --> 00:46:52,366
And Muir is a wonderful

1228
00:46:52,366 --> 00:46:55,733
storyteller, and these stories

1229
00:46:55,733 --> 00:46:57,700
change over time.

1230
00:46:57,700 --> 00:47:00,366
Was there a locust tree?

1231
00:47:00,366 --> 00:47:01,733
Yes.

1232
00:47:01,733 --> 00:47:03,666
Did he have an epiphanic botany

1233
00:47:03,666 --> 00:47:05,433
lesson?

1234
00:47:05,433 --> 00:47:08,933
Well, he'd always loved flowers.

1235
00:47:08,933 --> 00:47:11,833
He was always aware of the

1236
00:47:11,833 --> 00:47:16,466
natural world, but what Griswold

1237
00:47:16,466 --> 00:47:20,000
introduced to him was the plant

1238
00:47:20,000 --> 00:47:25,300
science, the taxonomy, which,

1239
00:47:25,300 --> 00:47:27,100
for someone who has these

1240
00:47:27,100 --> 00:47:29,166
mechanistic views of the world,

1241
00:47:29,166 --> 00:47:31,133
genus species.

1242
00:47:31,133 --> 00:47:32,533
>> Yes.

1243
00:47:32,533 --> 00:47:33,966
You have to have the

1244
00:47:33,966 --> 00:47:35,500
organization that goes with the

1245
00:47:35,500 --> 00:47:36,800
knowledge.

1246
00:47:36,800 --> 00:47:38,766
>> So now he's learning about

1247
00:47:38,766 --> 00:47:40,766
the reproductive parts of a

1248
00:47:40,766 --> 00:47:43,533
flower and how they're similar

1249
00:47:43,533 --> 00:47:45,800
and dissimilar and how you can

1250
00:47:45,800 --> 00:47:47,933
group these together.

1251
00:47:47,933 --> 00:47:50,233
He writes:  This fine lesson

1252
00:47:50,233 --> 00:47:51,700
charmed me and sent me flying

1253
00:47:51,700 --> 00:47:53,200
to the woods and meadows

1254
00:47:53,200 --> 00:47:55,833
in wild enthusiasm.

1255
00:47:55,833 --> 00:47:57,900
I can imagine him literally

1256
00:47:57,900 --> 00:48:00,333
being off the ground a few feet.

1257
00:48:00,333 --> 00:48:02,366
He writes about his botanizing

1258
00:48:02,366 --> 00:48:05,700
expeditions.

1259
00:48:05,700 --> 00:48:08,233
He would traverse the lake

1260
00:48:08,233 --> 00:48:10,866
shore, Lake Mendota, gathering

1261
00:48:10,866 --> 00:48:13,033
flowers, gathering plants that

1262
00:48:13,033 --> 00:48:15,566
he would bring back to his dorm

1263
00:48:15,566 --> 00:48:18,466
room to identify.

1264
00:48:18,466 --> 00:48:21,366
By the way, there are some

1265
00:48:21,366 --> 00:48:23,533
accounts of him swimming along

1266
00:48:23,533 --> 00:48:26,133
the Lake Mendota shoreline out

1267
00:48:26,133 --> 00:48:29,833
to University Bay and back.

1268
00:48:29,833 --> 00:48:32,233
>> As long as you stay near the

1269
00:48:32,233 --> 00:48:34,433
shoreline.

1270
00:48:34,433 --> 00:48:35,866
>> As long as you stay near the

1271
00:48:35,866 --> 00:48:38,000
shoreline.

1272
00:48:38,000 --> 00:48:41,900
This is where he's really

1273
00:48:41,900 --> 00:48:47,600
awakened to this natural world.

1274
00:48:47,600 --> 00:48:49,366
>> And what becomes of that

1275
00:48:49,366 --> 00:48:52,500
legendary Muir locust?

1276
00:48:52,500 --> 00:48:55,266
>> Well, the book, his

1277
00:48:55,266 --> 00:48:57,833
autobiography comes out in 1914.

1278
00:48:57,833 --> 00:49:00,366
And by that time, they're not

1279
00:49:00,366 --> 00:49:04,300
sure where this Muir locust is.

1280
00:49:04,300 --> 00:49:06,700
During an alumni parade they

1281
00:49:06,700 --> 00:49:10,433
walk around North Hall and they

1282
00:49:10,433 --> 00:49:12,633
look for the biggest black

1283
00:49:12,633 --> 00:49:14,266
locust they can find and they

1284
00:49:14,266 --> 00:49:16,000
declare that that would be the

1285
00:49:16,000 --> 00:49:18,466
black locust that John Muir

1286
00:49:18,466 --> 00:49:21,066
received his first botany lesson

1287
00:49:21,066 --> 00:49:23,033
under.

1288
00:49:23,033 --> 00:49:24,466
>> I don't recall there being a

1289
00:49:24,466 --> 00:49:26,300
locust there now.

1290
00:49:26,300 --> 00:49:29,900
>> It was cut in 1953.

1291
00:49:29,900 --> 00:49:33,133
And that's a picture of it on

1292
00:49:33,133 --> 00:49:35,866
the front page of our tree walk

1293
00:49:35,866 --> 00:49:38,200
brochure.

1294
00:49:38,200 --> 00:49:39,666
>> That's what became of the

1295
00:49:39,666 --> 00:49:41,066
locust.

1296
00:49:41,066 --> 00:49:42,533
Some wood products.

1297
00:49:42,533 --> 00:49:44,900
>> The locust had to be cut

1298
00:49:44,900 --> 00:49:46,866
down, but because it was a

1299
00:49:46,866 --> 00:49:49,666
revered tree, President EB Fred

1300
00:49:49,666 --> 00:49:52,866
worked with others to have

1301
00:49:52,866 --> 00:49:56,600
mementos crafted from the tree.

1302
00:49:56,600 --> 00:49:58,600
They made gavels and they made

1303
00:49:58,600 --> 00:50:01,133
letter openers out of these

1304
00:50:01,133 --> 00:50:02,933
gavels which then were

1305
00:50:02,933 --> 00:50:04,800
distributed to benefactors

1306
00:50:04,800 --> 00:50:06,733
across the country and people

1307
00:50:06,733 --> 00:50:10,966
who loved or knew John Muir.

1308
00:50:10,966 --> 00:50:13,666
And there was a wonderful

1309
00:50:13,666 --> 00:50:15,500
collection of these letters of

1310
00:50:15,500 --> 00:50:17,000
acceptance.

1311
00:50:17,000 --> 00:50:18,366
Oh, thank you, President Fred,

1312
00:50:18,366 --> 00:50:20,066
for remembering me and

1313
00:50:20,066 --> 00:50:22,033
remembering John Muir with this

1314
00:50:22,033 --> 00:50:25,533
gavel.

1315
00:50:25,533 --> 00:50:27,066
>> So he was having the time of

1316
00:50:27,066 --> 00:50:28,800
his life at the University of

1317
00:50:28,800 --> 00:50:32,400
Wisconsin circa 1860-1861.

1318
00:50:32,400 --> 00:50:34,266
It's a time in which a lot of

1319
00:50:34,266 --> 00:50:36,133
young men are going over to Camp

1320
00:50:36,133 --> 00:50:38,733
Randall for processing to the

1321
00:50:38,733 --> 00:50:40,600
front during the Civil War.

1322
00:50:40,600 --> 00:50:42,066
What about John Muir?

1323
00:50:42,066 --> 00:50:44,366
>> Well, John does not

1324
00:50:44,366 --> 00:50:46,033
volunteer.

1325
00:50:46,033 --> 00:50:48,100
In fact, he arrives on campus

1326
00:50:48,100 --> 00:50:49,700
February of 1860.

1327
00:50:49,700 --> 00:50:51,700
It's only a couple of months

1328
00:50:51,700 --> 00:50:53,800
later that the shot

1329
00:50:53,800 --> 00:50:55,766
at Fort Sumter is heard.

1330
00:50:55,766 --> 00:50:58,466
Immediately, many of his

1331
00:50:58,466 --> 00:51:00,766
classmates drop out of school

1332
00:51:00,766 --> 00:51:05,400
and join the Union forces.

1333
00:51:05,400 --> 00:51:07,666
They head over to what used to

1334
00:51:07,666 --> 00:51:09,466
be the fairgrounds, now

1335
00:51:09,466 --> 00:51:11,066
converted to a Civil War

1336
00:51:11,066 --> 00:51:13,133
training ground.

1337
00:51:13,133 --> 00:51:14,666
And he's torn.

1338
00:51:14,666 --> 00:51:18,633
He doesn't want to go to war.

1339
00:51:18,633 --> 00:51:21,000
It's not in his constitution to

1340
00:51:21,000 --> 00:51:24,466
do that.

1341
00:51:24,466 --> 00:51:27,266
He visits Camp Randall, and he

1342
00:51:27,266 --> 00:51:30,666
writes that he was absolutely

1343
00:51:30,666 --> 00:51:32,500
appalled by these young men.

1344
00:51:32,500 --> 00:51:34,233
Some of them students that he

1345
00:51:34,233 --> 00:51:37,766
knew, some of them neighbors

1346
00:51:37,766 --> 00:51:41,133
from up in the Montello area.

1347
00:51:41,133 --> 00:51:43,033
They are drinking.

1348
00:51:43,033 --> 00:51:44,733
They are swearing.

1349
00:51:44,733 --> 00:51:47,000
They are visiting the local

1350
00:51:47,000 --> 00:51:48,333
bordellos.

1351
00:51:48,333 --> 00:51:49,333
>> I'm tell you, it's the

1352
00:51:49,333 --> 00:51:50,366
beginning of the end for

1353
00:51:50,366 --> 00:51:51,700
Madison.

1354
00:51:51,700 --> 00:51:54,333
It all ended with the 1861.

1355
00:51:54,333 --> 00:51:59,066
>> It was a rough stretch.

1356
00:51:59,066 --> 00:52:03,400
But what distresses him the most

1357
00:52:03,400 --> 00:52:06,600
is sitting around the fire at

1358
00:52:06,600 --> 00:52:09,066
Camp Randall with these young

1359
00:52:09,066 --> 00:52:11,933
recruits, and they're talking

1360
00:52:11,933 --> 00:52:15,833
about how glorious a time they

1361
00:52:15,833 --> 00:52:18,000
will have killing the

1362
00:52:18,000 --> 00:52:20,366
southerners.

1363
00:52:20,366 --> 00:52:23,466
And he ministers to them, and he

1364
00:52:23,466 --> 00:52:26,200
tries to calm their nerves

1365
00:52:26,200 --> 00:52:28,500
because they're scared, they're

1366
00:52:28,500 --> 00:52:31,700
frightened, their hubris is

1367
00:52:31,700 --> 00:52:36,166
beyond what one might expect

1368
00:52:36,166 --> 00:52:41,100
from a reverent person heading

1369
00:52:41,100 --> 00:52:43,533
off to war.

1370
00:52:43,533 --> 00:52:45,666
Later in the war, he visits Camp

1371
00:52:45,666 --> 00:52:49,100
Randall again at a time when the

1372
00:52:49,100 --> 00:52:52,733
wounded and the sick are being

1373
00:52:52,733 --> 00:52:55,233
brought back to the hospital,

1374
00:52:55,233 --> 00:52:57,566
and he tends to the sick and

1375
00:52:57,566 --> 00:52:59,366
wounded and it's at that time

1376
00:52:59,366 --> 00:53:01,666
that he imagines that he might

1377
00:53:01,666 --> 00:53:04,733
become a medical doctor.

1378
00:53:04,733 --> 00:53:09,300
That might be his path in life.

1379
00:53:09,300 --> 00:53:12,300
>> Not far fetched given his

1380
00:53:12,300 --> 00:53:14,966
ability to improvise devices

1381
00:53:14,966 --> 00:53:18,100
and, of course, his

1382
00:53:18,100 --> 00:53:21,066
understanding of the organic.

1383
00:53:21,066 --> 00:53:24,266
His reputation as the best

1384
00:53:24,266 --> 00:53:27,033
chemist on campus certainly sets

1385
00:53:27,033 --> 00:53:32,566
him well for a career as a

1386
00:53:32,566 --> 00:53:36,866
physician.

1387
00:53:36,866 --> 00:53:42,700
There are stories about Muir

1388
00:53:42,700 --> 00:53:44,866
being a draft dodger, that he

1389
00:53:44,866 --> 00:53:48,000
avoided service.

1390
00:53:48,000 --> 00:53:52,833
He leaves campus in 1863.

1391
00:53:52,833 --> 00:53:56,633
And he returns to the family

1392
00:53:56,633 --> 00:53:59,466
farm, and he's waiting out the

1393
00:53:59,466 --> 00:54:02,733
draft.

1394
00:54:02,733 --> 00:54:04,766
At this stage in the war,

1395
00:54:04,766 --> 00:54:06,166
no more volunteers are coming

1396
00:54:06,166 --> 00:54:08,066
forward, and they need new

1397
00:54:08,066 --> 00:54:10,200
recruits.

1398
00:54:10,200 --> 00:54:11,533
>> They do, yes.

1399
00:54:11,533 --> 00:54:12,700
They have repeated calls.

1400
00:54:12,700 --> 00:54:13,966
>> They have repeated calls,

1401
00:54:13,966 --> 00:54:16,133
in 1863 in particular.

1402
00:54:16,133 --> 00:54:18,800
So he's thinking maybe I want to

1403
00:54:18,800 --> 00:54:20,566
go to the University of

1404
00:54:20,566 --> 00:54:21,933
Michigan.

1405
00:54:21,933 --> 00:54:23,700
They have a medical school

1406
00:54:23,700 --> 00:54:25,233
there.

1407
00:54:25,233 --> 00:54:27,266
But perhaps he decides that his

1408
00:54:27,266 --> 00:54:29,366
chances are better if he stays

1409
00:54:29,366 --> 00:54:31,166
in Wisconsin when the draft

1410
00:54:31,166 --> 00:54:34,333
comes up that his number will

1411
00:54:34,333 --> 00:54:36,833
not be as high, and his chances

1412
00:54:36,833 --> 00:54:38,733
will be better.

1413
00:54:38,733 --> 00:54:40,666
So he waits in Wisconsin until

1414
00:54:40,666 --> 00:54:43,300
the draft is satisfied, the

1415
00:54:43,300 --> 00:54:45,833
local draft is satisfied.

1416
00:54:45,833 --> 00:54:50,766
And he pledges to leave

1417
00:54:50,766 --> 00:54:54,800
Wisconsin when the first flower

1418
00:54:54,800 --> 00:54:58,033
emerges that following spring.

1419
00:54:58,033 --> 00:54:59,533
>> An interesting way of

1420
00:54:59,533 --> 00:55:01,366
thinking of the time.

1421
00:55:01,366 --> 00:55:03,400
>> And come early February, late

1422
00:55:03,400 --> 00:55:05,933
February of 1864 the flower

1423
00:55:05,933 --> 00:55:10,233
blooms in his yard, and the next

1424
00:55:10,233 --> 00:55:14,900
day he takes off for Canada.

1425
00:55:14,900 --> 00:55:17,400
Now, his younger brother had

1426
00:55:17,400 --> 00:55:20,366
already, in the parlance of the

1427
00:55:20,366 --> 00:55:22,466
time, skedaddled across the

1428
00:55:22,466 --> 00:55:25,333
border to Canada.

1429
00:55:25,333 --> 00:55:27,733
He, it appears, was dodging the

1430
00:55:27,733 --> 00:55:31,266
draft, but Muir seems to have

1431
00:55:31,266 --> 00:55:34,433
stuck around long enough to know

1432
00:55:34,433 --> 00:55:37,433
what his chances were and was

1433
00:55:37,433 --> 00:55:41,000
not so much avoiding the draft

1434
00:55:41,000 --> 00:55:44,466
as sidestepping it.

1435
00:55:44,466 --> 00:55:46,766
>> And is this the point at

1436
00:55:46,766 --> 00:55:49,066
which he leaves Wisconsin?

1437
00:55:49,066 --> 00:55:52,233
>> He leaves Wisconsin, heads to

1438
00:55:52,233 --> 00:55:55,366
Ontario where he works for a

1439
00:55:55,366 --> 00:55:59,700
while, then makes his way down

1440
00:55:59,700 --> 00:56:02,333
to Indianapolis, Indiana, where

1441
00:56:02,333 --> 00:56:04,566
he gets a job working in a

1442
00:56:04,566 --> 00:56:07,266
carriage factory.

1443
00:56:07,266 --> 00:56:11,400
And he's well liked in his job

1444
00:56:11,400 --> 00:56:13,366
because, of course, he's coming

1445
00:56:13,366 --> 00:56:15,566
up with new ways of

1446
00:56:15,566 --> 00:56:20,033
manufacturing and time studies

1447
00:56:20,033 --> 00:56:22,600
that he's doing to improve the

1448
00:56:22,600 --> 00:56:24,966
efficiency of this operation.

1449
00:56:24,966 --> 00:56:26,666
But he has an industrial

1450
00:56:26,666 --> 00:56:28,133
accident.

1451
00:56:28,133 --> 00:56:29,966
A tool flies up and catches him

1452
00:56:29,966 --> 00:56:32,066
in the eye, and he's blinded.

1453
00:56:32,066 --> 00:56:35,466
And he spends the next month

1454
00:56:35,466 --> 00:56:39,300
recuperating, not knowing if he

1455
00:56:39,300 --> 00:56:41,733
will regain his sight, and it's

1456
00:56:41,733 --> 00:56:47,366
at this time that he vows that

1457
00:56:47,366 --> 00:56:51,466
if he should regain his sight,

1458
00:56:51,466 --> 00:56:54,233
he will look towards nature and

1459
00:56:54,233 --> 00:56:57,100
leave this industrial world

1460
00:56:57,100 --> 00:56:59,400
behind.

1461
00:56:59,400 --> 00:57:02,166
And he does regain his sight,

1462
00:57:02,166 --> 00:57:04,933
and, from there, he leaves on

1463
00:57:04,933 --> 00:57:07,133
his first great adventure, what

1464
00:57:07,133 --> 00:57:09,000
he later calls his thousand-mile

1465
00:57:09,000 --> 00:57:11,533
walk to the Gulf.

1466
00:57:11,533 --> 00:57:12,900
>> Down to Cedar Key, Florida.

1467
00:57:12,900 --> 00:57:14,133
>> Right.

1468
00:57:14,133 --> 00:57:15,233
>> This is, I think, 1867.

1469
00:57:15,233 --> 00:57:17,300
>> Right, right.

1470
00:57:17,300 --> 00:57:19,566
So he makes his way down,

1471
00:57:19,566 --> 00:57:22,333
eventually arriving in Cuba.

1472
00:57:22,333 --> 00:57:25,200
He contracts malaria.

1473
00:57:25,200 --> 00:57:29,466
It's not such a great trip.

1474
00:57:29,466 --> 00:57:31,800
Then finds his way back to

1475
00:57:31,800 --> 00:57:34,700
New York where he boards a ship

1476
00:57:34,700 --> 00:57:39,033
and makes his way to California.

1477
00:57:39,033 --> 00:57:41,233
And, of course, California is

1478
00:57:41,233 --> 00:57:44,566
where he spends his adult life

1479
00:57:44,566 --> 00:57:46,933
and is most closely associated.

1480
00:57:46,933 --> 00:57:51,466
But he's, what, 28, I believe,

1481
00:57:51,466 --> 00:57:52,833
by the time he gets to

1482
00:57:52,833 --> 00:57:56,333
California.

1483
00:57:56,333 --> 00:57:58,466
>> And, of course, by this time

1484
00:57:58,466 --> 00:58:00,700
his formative years, well in

1485
00:58:00,700 --> 00:58:02,733
terms of Wisconsin, are behind

1486
00:58:02,733 --> 00:58:04,266
him.

1487
00:58:04,266 --> 00:58:05,833
Does he ever go back to

1488
00:58:05,833 --> 00:58:07,400
Wisconsin?

1489
00:58:07,400 --> 00:58:09,166
>> He makes his way back on

1490
00:58:09,166 --> 00:58:11,600
several occasions.

1491
00:58:11,600 --> 00:58:16,666
Once, he's hoping to buy back

1492
00:58:16,666 --> 00:58:19,266
the Fountain Lake farm.

1493
00:58:19,266 --> 00:58:23,500
And his brother-in-law has

1494
00:58:23,500 --> 00:58:26,366
purchased it.

1495
00:58:26,366 --> 00:58:28,200
And he recalls, many, many years

1496
00:58:28,200 --> 00:58:30,266
later of course, that his

1497
00:58:30,266 --> 00:58:32,233
brother-in-law would not sell

1498
00:58:32,233 --> 00:58:34,000
him the farm.

1499
00:58:34,000 --> 00:58:36,700
He wanted to preserve the farm,

1500
00:58:36,700 --> 00:58:41,933
and his brother-in-law tells him

1501
00:58:41,933 --> 00:58:45,766
that it's folly.

1502
00:58:45,766 --> 00:58:48,000
That you can't stand in the way

1503
00:58:48,000 --> 00:58:49,733
of progress.

1504
00:58:49,733 --> 00:58:51,800
That you can't fence off this

1505
00:58:51,800 --> 00:58:53,733
place.

1506
00:58:53,733 --> 00:58:56,733
That it's inevitable that it

1507
00:58:56,733 --> 00:58:59,133
will be a farm forever.

1508
00:58:59,133 --> 00:59:02,333
Fortunately, many, many years

1509
00:59:02,333 --> 00:59:04,733
later, the farm is purchased, as

1510
00:59:04,733 --> 00:59:06,866
I mentioned, by Marquette

1511
00:59:06,866 --> 00:59:12,033
County, and through the work of

1512
00:59:12,033 --> 00:59:14,466
many volunteers conducting

1513
00:59:14,466 --> 00:59:16,500
ecological restoration, the

1514
00:59:16,500 --> 00:59:18,500
sedge meadows and the prairie

1515
00:59:18,500 --> 00:59:20,466
has been restored.

1516
00:59:20,466 --> 00:59:22,333
And it's a beautiful time of

1517
00:59:22,333 --> 00:59:24,266
year to go and visit the old

1518
00:59:24,266 --> 00:59:26,533
Fountain Lake Farm, now known as

1519
00:59:26,533 --> 00:59:30,600
the John Muir Memorial Park.

1520
00:59:30,600 --> 00:59:31,866
>> He's really best known, isn't

1521
00:59:31,866 --> 00:59:33,966
he, for his work out west,

1522
00:59:33,966 --> 00:59:36,433
though, with Yosemite and then

1523
00:59:36,433 --> 00:59:38,833
starting the Sierra Club, which

1524
00:59:38,833 --> 00:59:41,233
is a concept which must have

1525
00:59:41,233 --> 00:59:43,033
been foreign to a lot of people

1526
00:59:43,033 --> 00:59:46,100
when he did it.

1527
00:59:46,100 --> 00:59:49,833
>> Well, John Muir is, for many

1528
00:59:49,833 --> 00:59:53,833
people, the foremost iconic

1529
00:59:53,833 --> 00:59:56,433
figure in the early conservation

1530
00:59:56,433 --> 00:59:58,633
movement.

1531
00:59:58,633 --> 01:00:01,800
He was an early advocate for

1532
01:00:01,800 --> 01:00:04,533
forest reservations which become

1533
01:00:04,533 --> 01:00:07,500
our national forests.

1534
01:00:07,500 --> 01:00:09,600
He advocated for the

1535
01:00:09,600 --> 01:00:11,933
establishment of national parks.

1536
01:00:11,933 --> 01:00:14,966
He writes hundreds of articles

1537
01:00:14,966 --> 01:00:16,866
in what at the time was the

1538
01:00:16,866 --> 01:00:18,766
equivalent of the major

1539
01:00:18,766 --> 01:00:20,366
networks.

1540
01:00:20,366 --> 01:00:22,366
Atlantic Magazine,

1541
01:00:22,366 --> 01:00:23,500
Century Magazine.

1542
01:00:23,500 --> 01:00:25,033
He was appearing on all of

1543
01:00:25,033 --> 01:00:27,200
those.

1544
01:00:27,200 --> 01:00:28,533
>> Talk shows of the time.

1545
01:00:28,533 --> 01:00:29,600
>> Talk shows at the time,

1546
01:00:29,600 --> 01:00:31,433
right.

1547
01:00:31,433 --> 01:00:34,466
And he has a powerful influence

1548
01:00:34,466 --> 01:00:36,300
in the establishment of the

1549
01:00:36,300 --> 01:00:38,800
Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest,

1550
01:00:38,800 --> 01:00:40,433
Mount Rainier, Sequoia National

1551
01:00:40,433 --> 01:00:43,766
Park, and of course Yosemite.

1552
01:00:43,766 --> 01:00:47,200
And this earns him the title

1553
01:00:47,200 --> 01:00:50,266
father of our national parks.

1554
01:00:50,266 --> 01:00:53,533
>> Now, in order to do that,

1555
01:00:53,533 --> 01:00:55,700
in order to have that much

1556
01:00:55,700 --> 01:00:58,033
clout, he had to have some

1557
01:00:58,033 --> 01:00:59,966
political connections somewhere.

1558
01:00:59,966 --> 01:01:02,133
Where did he get them?

1559
01:01:02,133 --> 01:01:03,766
>> Well, this is where his

1560
01:01:03,766 --> 01:01:05,833
friendship with Ezra Carr and

1561
01:01:05,833 --> 01:01:07,733
his wife Jean Carr becomes so

1562
01:01:07,733 --> 01:01:09,733
important.

1563
01:01:09,733 --> 01:01:12,900
Ezra Carr was his teacher in

1564
01:01:12,900 --> 01:01:15,233
geology and natural history, and

1565
01:01:15,233 --> 01:01:18,133
his wife really took a strong

1566
01:01:18,133 --> 01:01:21,833
interest in John.

1567
01:01:21,833 --> 01:01:24,266
They leave the University of

1568
01:01:24,266 --> 01:01:27,266
Wisconsin, move to Berkeley to

1569
01:01:27,266 --> 01:01:29,200
teach at the University of

1570
01:01:29,200 --> 01:01:31,600
California, and they reunite in

1571
01:01:31,600 --> 01:01:33,533
California.

1572
01:01:33,533 --> 01:01:35,800
And they are well connected, and

1573
01:01:35,800 --> 01:01:37,733
they introduce John to folks

1574
01:01:37,733 --> 01:01:39,233
like Emerson.

1575
01:01:39,233 --> 01:01:40,933
>> Ralph Waldo Emerson.

1576
01:01:40,933 --> 01:01:42,666
>> Yeah.

1577
01:01:42,666 --> 01:01:44,400
And other movers and shakers and

1578
01:01:44,400 --> 01:01:47,666
magazine editors and political

1579
01:01:47,666 --> 01:01:50,633
contacts.

1580
01:01:50,633 --> 01:01:52,733
He spends a night

1581
01:01:52,733 --> 01:01:54,766
with Teddy Roosevelt.

1582
01:01:54,766 --> 01:01:56,100
>> That seems inevitable,

1583
01:01:56,100 --> 01:01:57,200
doesn't it?

1584
01:01:57,200 --> 01:01:58,133
>> Right.

1585
01:01:58,133 --> 01:01:59,433
>> Because Roosevelt was such a

1586
01:01:59,433 --> 01:02:00,666
big proponent of parks.

1587
01:02:00,666 --> 01:02:01,833
>> Right.

1588
01:02:01,833 --> 01:02:03,000
And the Antiquities Act and the

1589
01:02:03,000 --> 01:02:05,700
National Park System Organic

1590
01:02:05,700 --> 01:02:07,266
Act.

1591
01:02:07,266 --> 01:02:09,900
These are all things that Muir

1592
01:02:09,900 --> 01:02:11,900
was able to influence through

1593
01:02:11,900 --> 01:02:13,433
his writing, through his

1594
01:02:13,433 --> 01:02:15,300
politics, through his

1595
01:02:15,300 --> 01:02:16,766
relationship with the Sierra

1596
01:02:16,766 --> 01:02:18,266
Club.

1597
01:02:18,266 --> 01:02:21,266
>> And I think this is, is this

1598
01:02:21,266 --> 01:02:22,900
the Carr's house here that we're

1599
01:02:22,900 --> 01:02:24,700
seeing?

1600
01:02:24,700 --> 01:02:27,166
>> Coming back to Madison, Jean

1601
01:02:27,166 --> 01:02:30,200
Carr was one of the people who

1602
01:02:30,200 --> 01:02:32,466
was judging the inventions back

1603
01:02:32,466 --> 01:02:34,266
at the Fine Arts Hall.

1604
01:02:34,266 --> 01:02:35,733
>> Oh, is that right?

1605
01:02:35,733 --> 01:02:37,033
From his very first days in

1606
01:02:37,033 --> 01:02:38,433
Madison.

1607
01:02:38,433 --> 01:02:40,200
>> Very first days.

1608
01:02:40,200 --> 01:02:42,933
And her son was one of the kids

1609
01:02:42,933 --> 01:02:45,000
that was used to demonstrate the

1610
01:02:45,000 --> 01:02:48,200
early rising bed at the fair.

1611
01:02:48,200 --> 01:02:51,100
And so they invite him to come

1612
01:02:51,100 --> 01:02:53,766
over to his house, and he's the

1613
01:02:53,766 --> 01:02:55,466
chore boy and the babysitter for

1614
01:02:55,466 --> 01:02:58,400
the Carr children.

1615
01:02:58,400 --> 01:03:01,033
And, of course, they have this

1616
01:03:01,033 --> 01:03:03,066
remarkable library.

1617
01:03:03,066 --> 01:03:06,033
>> Where's the house?

1618
01:03:06,033 --> 01:03:07,633
>> It's on West Gilman Street.

1619
01:03:07,633 --> 01:03:09,166
>> West Gilman in Madison.

1620
01:03:09,166 --> 01:03:10,600
It's still there.

1621
01:03:10,600 --> 01:03:11,966
>> It's still there.

1622
01:03:11,966 --> 01:03:13,333
It's been converted, like so

1623
01:03:13,333 --> 01:03:14,866
many grand houses in Madison,

1624
01:03:14,866 --> 01:03:16,500
has been converted to student

1625
01:03:16,500 --> 01:03:18,900
housing.

1626
01:03:18,900 --> 01:03:20,500
I'd love to go take a look

1627
01:03:20,500 --> 01:03:22,900
there.

1628
01:03:22,900 --> 01:03:25,800
But wall to wall books and this

1629
01:03:25,800 --> 01:03:29,766
wonderful wraparound sun porch.

1630
01:03:29,766 --> 01:03:32,233
And that's why I'm persuaded

1631
01:03:32,233 --> 01:03:34,666
that early in his Madison career

1632
01:03:34,666 --> 01:03:37,200
he must have been learning about

1633
01:03:37,200 --> 01:03:39,866
botany because Jean Carr was a

1634
01:03:39,866 --> 01:03:42,133
botanist and introduced those

1635
01:03:42,133 --> 01:03:46,266
ideas to him.

1636
01:03:46,266 --> 01:03:48,100
>> He lives until 1914.

1637
01:03:48,100 --> 01:03:50,466
How long before the first

1638
01:03:50,466 --> 01:03:52,733
memorials to John Muir start to

1639
01:03:52,733 --> 01:03:55,300
show up?

1640
01:03:55,300 --> 01:03:58,533
>> Well, here on campus

1641
01:03:58,533 --> 01:04:02,100
the first recognition that

1642
01:04:02,100 --> 01:04:04,100
he receives is with an honorary

1643
01:04:04,100 --> 01:04:07,500
doctorate.

1644
01:04:07,500 --> 01:04:09,900
I think it was 1897.

1645
01:04:09,900 --> 01:04:11,400
Never graduates but he receives

1646
01:04:11,400 --> 01:04:13,633
an honorary doctorate, which,

1647
01:04:13,633 --> 01:04:15,966
interestingly, he doesn't come

1648
01:04:15,966 --> 01:04:18,300
to Madison to retrieve.

1649
01:04:18,300 --> 01:04:19,400
But we do have a letter in

1650
01:04:19,400 --> 01:04:22,833
Archives where he very politely

1651
01:04:22,833 --> 01:04:25,033
acknowledges his alma mater and

1652
01:04:25,033 --> 01:04:26,233
thank you very much for the

1653
01:04:26,233 --> 01:04:28,133
diploma.

1654
01:04:28,133 --> 01:04:31,266
He receives honorary doctorates

1655
01:04:31,266 --> 01:04:34,633
from other universities as well.

1656
01:04:34,633 --> 01:04:37,766
So not bad for a dropout.

1657
01:04:37,766 --> 01:04:42,000
>> Right.

1658
01:04:42,000 --> 01:04:46,466
>> In 1916 the sculptor

1659
01:04:46,466 --> 01:04:50,500
CS Pietro sculpts a likeness of

1660
01:04:50,500 --> 01:04:55,966
Muir, and, in a dramatic

1661
01:04:55,966 --> 01:04:58,900
ceremony held at Music Hall, the

1662
01:04:58,900 --> 01:05:03,233
dedication occurs with a special

1663
01:05:03,233 --> 01:05:05,533
address from Chancellor

1664
01:05:05,533 --> 01:05:08,200
Van Hise, who recalls Muir's

1665
01:05:08,200 --> 01:05:10,333
great achievements.

1666
01:05:10,333 --> 01:05:13,166
It's important to remember that

1667
01:05:13,166 --> 01:05:15,433
during the first 75 years of the

1668
01:05:15,433 --> 01:05:17,400
university's existence, John

1669
01:05:17,400 --> 01:05:21,200
Muir is the greatest man to have

1670
01:05:21,200 --> 01:05:23,600
ever passed through the

1671
01:05:23,600 --> 01:05:27,400
university's doors.

1672
01:05:27,400 --> 01:05:31,233
That bust, that bronze bust is

1673
01:05:31,233 --> 01:05:34,866
over in Birge Hall.

1674
01:05:34,866 --> 01:05:37,333
If you enter the main lobby and

1675
01:05:37,333 --> 01:05:39,033
go up on the mezzanine, you can

1676
01:05:39,033 --> 01:05:43,200
see the Muir bust.

1677
01:05:43,200 --> 01:05:46,933
A couple of years later, he was

1678
01:05:46,933 --> 01:05:50,633
honored again with the

1679
01:05:50,633 --> 01:05:52,933
designation of Muir Knoll.

1680
01:05:52,933 --> 01:05:55,700
Muir Knoll being directly across

1681
01:05:55,700 --> 01:05:59,066
from North Hall.

1682
01:05:59,066 --> 01:06:01,633
And another dedication, I think

1683
01:06:01,633 --> 01:06:03,333
we have a picture of the

1684
01:06:03,333 --> 01:06:06,600
ceremony.

1685
01:06:06,600 --> 01:06:09,700
There it is.

1686
01:06:09,700 --> 01:06:11,800
And who is that at the podium?

1687
01:06:11,800 --> 01:06:14,066
That's Milton Griswold, the man

1688
01:06:14,066 --> 01:06:16,000
who provided John Muir with his

1689
01:06:16,000 --> 01:06:18,166
first botany lesson.

1690
01:06:18,166 --> 01:06:19,833
>> That's appropriate.

1691
01:06:19,833 --> 01:06:21,400
>> Yeah.

1692
01:06:21,400 --> 01:06:23,366
And this photo is kind of a

1693
01:06:23,366 --> 01:06:25,300
who's who of Madison

1694
01:06:25,300 --> 01:06:27,766
dignitaries.

1695
01:06:27,766 --> 01:06:31,033
Birge and Van Hise

1696
01:06:31,033 --> 01:06:32,766
and Elizabeth Waters.

1697
01:06:32,766 --> 01:06:34,100
They're all...

1698
01:06:34,100 --> 01:06:35,333
>> Familiar names.

1699
01:06:35,333 --> 01:06:36,966
>> All at the podium to

1700
01:06:36,966 --> 01:06:40,266
dedicated Muir Knoll.

1701
01:06:40,266 --> 01:06:41,400
The adjacent park is also now

1702
01:06:41,400 --> 01:06:44,733
named for John Muir.

1703
01:06:44,733 --> 01:06:48,566
John Muir Park was designated in

1704
01:06:48,566 --> 01:06:52,233
the 1960s, interestingly, as a

1705
01:06:52,233 --> 01:06:55,333
result of a controversy on

1706
01:06:55,333 --> 01:06:57,600
campus when a social science

1707
01:06:57,600 --> 01:06:59,900
building was being constructed

1708
01:06:59,900 --> 01:07:01,933
in this woodland, then known as

1709
01:07:01,933 --> 01:07:03,533
Bascom Woods.

1710
01:07:03,533 --> 01:07:05,500
The compromise was that no more

1711
01:07:05,500 --> 01:07:07,066
buildings would be built in

1712
01:07:07,066 --> 01:07:08,600
these woods and that they would

1713
01:07:08,600 --> 01:07:11,100
be renamed John Muir Woods.

1714
01:07:11,100 --> 01:07:12,833
So John Muir Knoll,

1715
01:07:12,833 --> 01:07:16,133
John Muir Woods.

1716
01:07:16,133 --> 01:07:18,966
>> Which is where we find you

1717
01:07:18,966 --> 01:07:20,766
getting inspired by the work of

1718
01:07:20,766 --> 01:07:24,333
John Muir, as many have over the

1719
01:07:24,333 --> 01:07:25,666
years and continue to be

1720
01:07:25,666 --> 01:07:28,800
influenced by John Muir.

1721
01:07:28,800 --> 01:07:30,333
Well, Daniel Einstein, it's been

1722
01:07:30,333 --> 01:07:33,033
a pleasure walking through the

1723
01:07:33,033 --> 01:07:35,366
Wisconsin footsteps of that

1724
01:07:35,366 --> 01:07:37,700
great environmentalist and so

1725
01:07:37,700 --> 01:07:39,433
many other things he has to his

1726
01:07:39,433 --> 01:07:41,633
credit too, John Muir.

1727
01:07:41,633 --> 01:07:45,233
>> If I can just close with the

1728
01:07:45,233 --> 01:07:49,366
very last lines in John's

1729
01:07:49,366 --> 01:07:52,533
autobiography about departing

1730
01:07:52,533 --> 01:07:55,033
the university.

1731
01:07:55,033 --> 01:07:56,666
From the top of a hill on the

1732
01:07:56,666 --> 01:07:58,433
north side of Lake Mendota

1733
01:07:58,433 --> 01:08:00,433
I gained a last wistful,

1734
01:08:00,433 --> 01:08:01,966
lingering view of the beautiful

1735
01:08:01,966 --> 01:08:03,033
university grounds

1736
01:08:03,033 --> 01:08:04,300
and buildings where

1737
01:08:04,300 --> 01:08:05,700
I had spent so many hungry

1738
01:08:05,700 --> 01:08:08,600
and happy and hopeful days.

1739
01:08:08,600 --> 01:08:10,966
There with streaming eyes

1740
01:08:10,966 --> 01:08:13,133
I bade my blessed alma mater

1741
01:08:13,133 --> 01:08:14,566
farewell.

1742
01:08:14,566 --> 01:08:16,300
But I was only leaving one

1743
01:08:16,300 --> 01:08:17,966
university for another, the

1744
01:08:17,966 --> 01:08:20,100
Wisconsin University for the

1745
01:08:20,100 --> 01:08:23,133
University of the Wilderness.

1746
01:08:23,133 --> 01:08:25,000
>> Well, it's a very poetic

1747
01:08:25,000 --> 01:08:27,000
statement of a turning point

1748
01:08:27,000 --> 01:08:28,200
in the life of John Muir

1749
01:08:28,200 --> 01:08:31,400
by the man himself.

1750
01:08:31,400 --> 01:08:32,533
I'm Norman Gilliland.

1751
01:08:32,533 --> 01:08:34,133
Thanks for joining me, and I

1752
01:08:34,133 --> 01:08:35,833
hope you'll be with me next time

1753
01:08:35,833 --> 01:08:38,766
for University Place Presents.