John Muir, Guardian of the Wilderness
Description
Vocal Characteristics
Language
EnglishVoice Age
Young Adult (18-35)Accents
North American (General)Transcript
Note: Transcripts are generated using speech recognition software and may contain errors.
John Muir, guardian of the wilderness. In 18 67 a young man named John Muir walked 1000 miles across the United States. Muir had already had many outdoor adventures in his life, but this journey was special because it almost didn't happen. Six months earlier, a factory accident had temporarily blinded me or changing him forever. The despair he felt that the thought of never again seeing the wilderness was so strong that he vowed to spend the rest of his life studying nature. He later also decided to share his passion by starting a career as a writer in order to entice people to look at nature's loveliness. Over the years, John Muir's explorations and writings changed people's views of wilderness and inspired many to take up the cause of preservation. John Muir was born on April 21st 18 38 in Dunbar, Scotland. One of eight siblings. He spent hours exploring the outdoors as young boy You're attended school until he was 11 when his family moved to America and settled on a farm in Wisconsin. You're strict religious father put his Children to work in the fields from dawn to dusk. There was no time for school, Butmir was curious about the world around him and began teaching himself with books. By the age of 15 he had developed a keen interest in mechanical devices and hoped to become an inventor. He received her mission from his father to rise five hours before dawn each morning so he could read books and tinker with machinery to make sure sleep didn't steal This precious time. He invented an alarm clock to tip his bed and knock him onto the floor. Then he would hurry down to the cellar, where, working by candlelight, he crafted clocks and other gadgets when he was 22 years old, you're displayed his inventions at the State Fair. His work was praised for its ingenuity, which encouraged Mirror to continue his education. He decided to study at the University of Wisconsin. Mere pursued his interest in invention in college. In fact, he kept up with his course work by building a desk that could open up a book for a set time and then automatically replace it with another. But mirrors interest in the natural world was growing. In 18 64 he left college to visit Canada, where he wandered in the wilderness, collecting botanical specimens and sketching in a notebook to support himself. Near worked at a Canadian sawmill and broom making factory. Where is mechanical skills proved invaluable? Mere left Canada in 18 66 returning to the United States to accept a job at an Indiana factory and to study the local landscape. Disaster struck on March 6th, 18 67 a tool slip from yours hand and pierced his right eye, causing him to go blind in both eyes. The threat of permanent blindness allowed mere to see what was truly important to him. When mirrors vision returned, he dedicated himself to the study of nature writing I beta due to mechanical inventions determined to devote the rest of my life to the inventions of God As soon as his eyesight returned in your began his 1000 mile walk, traveling from Kentucky to Florida and observing plant life along the way. He then took a boat to Cuba, where he spent a month in the jungle near Hope to continue his trip with a raft ride down the Amazon River. But he could not find a boat sailing to South America, seeing cheap fares to California, he decided to visit San Francisco instead. This decision would change the rest of his life. Within days of his arrival, he started walking to Yosemite Valley in the Sierra Nevada, Ah, vast mountain range in California and Nevada. They're a rancher hired mirror to herd sheep, offering near an extraordinary opportunity to study Yosemite and the mountains around it. He was awed by the beauty and serenity of Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada, a place he called the range of light. Near worked a variety of jobs but spent as much time as he could studying the mountain range. As word of Muir's knowledge spread, visitors began to seek him out for guided tours. By 18 71 Muir had begun to write about the natural wonders of the landscape. He also shared his views on the damage caused by people. Tourists left garbage scattered about farmers. Sheep devoured everything before them, for which he called them hooved Locusts. In 18 73 Muir left the wilderness of the valley to enlist support for its preservation. Through his writing, his articles became popular among both the common people of California and influential figures across the country. Although mirror had many friends in California and many more with whom he exchanged letters. His long walks were usually done alone, and he was lonely. In 18 80 Muir finally found love and married, settling down in California to run his father in law's ranch. He spent the winters on the ranch, lost and choked in agricultural needs, as he wrote. But he continued to travel during the rest of the year and write about his adventures in the wild. He especially loved to tell the story of a trek across an Alaskan glacier on which he was accompanied by a dog named Stay Keen. Together, Muir and the brave dog crossed a treacherous sliver of ice, a long, narrow bridge hundreds of feet in the air. Throughout the next decade, Muir continued to call for preservation of the Yosemite area, saying that wilderness is necessary for people's physical and spiritual health. He encouraged city dwellers to experience the wonders of nature. Writing come to the woods for here is rest. The United States Congress finally declared the Yosemite region a national park in 18 90 but Muir pressed for further expansion of the federal national park system in 1903 when President Theodore Roosevelt visited Yosemite Valley. He can't alone with mere. For several days, the two men became lifelong friends, and you're gained a powerful ally. During his presidency, Roosevelt established five national parks and protected other sites, such as the Grand Canyon by declaring them national monuments. The impact mere hat on the president is one reason he is now considered the father of America's national parks. Your continued to travel and advocate for preservation until his seventies, and he never regretted his choice to abandon a career as an inventor to follow his love for the outdoors. He died on December 24th 1914. During his lifetime, he had over 300 articles and 10 books published, and his influence extends to the modern day. He was a founder of the Sierra Club and organization, still committed to helping people explore, enjoy and protect the planet. Many people are reminded of his contributions as they walk in the Muir Woods, a grove of 1000 year old trees in California. This grove might have been destroyed if Mueller had not helped people recognize that wildness is necessity, that mountain parks and reservations are fountains of life, John, you're inspired people everywhere to embrace the wonders of nature, and his legacy survives in today's efforts to preserve wilderness around the world.