When John Muir first visited Wrangell on July 14, 1879 , it was not love at first sight. He described it as "the most inhospitable place at first sight I had ever seen...There was nothing like a tavern or lodging-house in the village, nor could I find any place in the stumpy, rocky, boggy ground about it that looked dry enough to camp on until I could find a way into the wilderness to begin my studies". After much searching, he was befriended, by a group of Presbyterian missionaries, including Reverend Samuel Hall Young, and the noted Dr. Sheldon Jackson, who would later establish a college in Sitka. Young who joined Muir in many of his adventures and became a lifelong friend. described Muir as a "lean, sinewy man of forty, with waving, reddish-brown hair and beard, and shoulders slightly stooped. He wore a Scotch cap and a long, gray tweed ulster...".
One night shortly after Muir's arrival in Wrangell, he inadvertently scared most of the town. A great storm was brewing and he climbed to the top of Mt. Dewey, a hill that overlooks Wrangell. During a heavy downpour he built a large fire for warnth. Unknown to Muir, the fire itself was not visible from the town and it cast strange lights upon the passing clouds. Natives became aware of the event and grew concerned that the light was becoming brighter, in spite of the increasing rain. Reverend Young was summoned to console the community and had little the offer in the way of explanation. Muir later described it as one of the best campfires he had ever enjoyed. The City of Wrangell now maintains the John Muir trail to the top of Mt. Dewey. The view from the campfire site takes in downtown, the harbor and many of the surrounding islands.
Young and Muir began their first adventure, which nearly ended in disaster , by steaming up the Stikine River. Along the way they were mesmerized my the giant peaks, vast valleys, and grand glaciers of the rugged Coastal Range.The group traveled on the riverboat Cassiar and landed for a short time at the village of Glenora in British Columbia, Canada. Glenora was the head of navigation for the Stikine River and a boom town in the 1874 Cassiar gold rush. Upon sighting Mount Glenora towering above the village, Muir decided to that from its' peak one could see most of the mountain range. The Cassiar however would only be in Glenora for the night. If Muir could climb the peak and return by the morning the captain would wait. Despite misgivings, Muir was convinced by Young into allowing the reverend to join him during this climb. Near the summit, Reverend Young slipped and dislocated both of his arms. John Muir begin a heroic rescue, which would see him carrying Young off the mountain, often holding on with just his teeth. Young said, "All that night this man of steel and lightning worked, never resting a minute, doing the work of three men, helping me along the slopes, easing me down the rocks, pulling me up cliffs, dashing water on me when I grew faint with the pain; and always cheery, full of talk and anecdote, cracking jokes with me, infusing me with his own indominitable spirit". In the the morning, the two men finally made it back to the Cassiar. After resetting the dislocations, they returned to Wrangell.
Recommended reading (Available for sale at the Alaska Vistas' Bookshelf)
Travels in Alaska - John Muir
Stickeen - John Muir
Alaska Days with John Muir - Samuel Hall Young
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