Muir's feats are well portrayed

JOHN MUIR: MAGNIFICENT TRAMP, by Rod Miller, Forge, 207 pages, $19.95.

A Scottish immigrant at the age of 11, John Muir went from farming to becoming a noted authority on botany, glaciers and the forestry of the nation's wilderness.

Best known for his writings about the Yosemite Valley and the Sierra Nevada mountain range, Muir also explored the Southern states, Alaska, the Great Basin and the Mojave Desert.

Although he was known as a modest and quiet literary figure, his conservationist views propelled him into battle with major political and industrial interests. His work is known to have been influential on American presidents who supported legislation to protect forests and expand national parks.

He is also remembered by his followers as the founder of the Sierra Club, father of American conservation and the architect of what is known as the "wilderness ethic." Most conversations about the importance of protecting the environment begin and end with John Muir.

Rod Miller, a writer, historian and Utah resident, has done a commendable job in his compact book, "John Muir: Magnificent Tramp," of portraying Muir's unique personality and accomplishments, one of Forge's "The American Heroes" series, which also includes Amelia Earhart, Chief Joseph and Mary Edwards Walker (and will eventually embrace Davy Crockett and George Washington).

One of the most interesting chapters of the book deals with Muir's meeting with the great New England writer and transcendentalist philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson in 1871. Emerson was 68 at the time he first viewed the magnificent Yosemite country, and he said, "This valley is the only place that comes up to the brag about it and exceeds it."

Emerson visited Muir where he lived in the nest of a sawmill under the overhang of the building's eaves. After viewing Muir's drawings and rock and plant specimens, Emerson, who was in frail health, traveled the trail to the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias on horseback.

Another major meeting for Muir was with Teddy Roosevelt, one of the most environmentally minded presidents. Muir favored federal control of the Yosemite valley, so when he talked with the president in 1903, the usually unkempt conservationist wore a new three-piece suit to help him impress Roosevelt when he boarded the presidential train.