Well Worn Trail: Part V, Among the Redwoods [pp. 496-501]

Photo ly Ericson.
THE UNDER-CUJT.
ist but for the lumberman. Like the
grizzly, the buffalo, and the North American Indian, the "big trees" are rapidly
and surely dying out before the march of
civilization, and it will not be many yea rs
before such a grove as the one at Guerneville will be all that is left to show the
world of what the soil of California is
capable. Today the bulk of the remaining redwood forests is in two counties,
Mendocino and Humboldt, where the
annual rainfall is in keeping with the
size of the trees-between four and five
feet. Since I856 the commercial value
of these trees has been steadily growing,
498
and in spite of the protests of the lovers
of nature the demand has been met with
a ready supply. A wood that will not
rot, is hard to burn, easy to work
up, of a rich mahogany color, and not
difficult to procure, holds out too many
inviting inducements to expect lany
mercy from the human race. Redwoods
have been found prostrate in perfectly
good condition for lumber over and
around which another redwood had
grown that is between five and six hundred years old. In clearing the ground
after the lumber has been taken off, the
roots have to be cut and dug out, for