BLUEJACKETS AND JACK TARS

Sacramento Union, April 24, 1908

                                        

In May 1908 Santa Cruz hosted the "Great White Fleet." The term was a nickname for the U.S. Atlantic Fleet that made the first around-the-world cruise by a contingent of steam-powered steel battleships. The forty-three-thousand-mile, fourteen-month circumnavigation was the idea of President Theodore Roosevelt to display American naval dominance of the seas and remains one of the greatest achievements of the peacetime navy. 

The land-starved sailors, marines and officers of the fleet were invited to picnic at Big Trees Grove; an invitation they accepted with great joy. Happily, Herman and Joseph Welch, Jr. consented to waive the 25 cents per person entrance fee for all fleet members.

In my book, Historic Tales of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park - Big Trees Grove, I give a detailed account of the fleet's visit in the chapter entitled, "Bluejackets and Jack Tars."  The cover of my book is graced with an extraordinarily clear image showing a throng of fleet sailors and local townsfolk standing among the Fremont Group. This outstanding image is from the Special Collections of the University of California, Santa Cruz. The panoramic image was taken by Arthur C. Pillsbury, who was best known for his landscapes of Yosemite and the San Francisco Earthquake. Only a portion of Pillsbury's fleet image is shown on the cover, but within my book you can see the entire panoramic image. For further information about Pillsbury and his work you may visit the Arthur C. Pillsbury Foundation at www.acpillsburyfoundation.org

There were some additional images of the fleet's visit which I located in newspaper accounts. I have yet to locate the originals of these images. If anyone might know their whereabouts, I would greatly appreciate knowing.

These images appeared in the May 5, 1908 San Francisco Call article by W. Russell Cole entitled, "Fleet is Again in One Array." 

SOARING WORDS

Seeing the Big Trees for the first time can be a transcendent experience. In the 19th century the words used to describe them were often imbued with the spiritual and the sublime. This 1880 description by a Santa Cruz correspondent for the Denver Tribune probably surpasses them all … and its soaring words are great fun too!  

Scott Peden Collection

 “As we stood and viewed them we felt we could not, even in their presence, appreciate their vast magnitude, their inexpressible greatness. You have to contemplate them for some time until your soul rises to the awful sublimity of the occasion. It is like viewing for the first time the mighty vastness of the deep, the snow-capped summits of the range, or sweeping off the planetary system with a telescope. It is more, for they seem to humanity akin, with almost a touch of immortality. If, as the scientists claim, they are over 2,000 years old, their birth was contemporary with the palmy days of the Old World. They waxed and grew strong with the outcroppings of science that has since become fundamental law. They stood when Alexander marched to victory, Caesar crossed the Rubicon, and Moses led the people out of the wilderness. Their leafy banners fluttered to the breeze before the coming of Christ and the dawning of the Christian era. They bowed their heads in responsive sympathy when all nature was convulsed with the tragedy of Calvary. How many million times have they seen the sun dip beyond the Pacific, and their aged tops have scanned the distant horizon and nodded a welcome to the first dauntless explorer that touched these shores, or waved their wind-rung branches in requiem over their graves!  If these dumb trunks could speak, what tales they could reveal of earthquakes that have shook their titanic forms, or tornadoes that have wrenched their massive limbs, and tidal waves that have surged against their floor-defying bosoms! What a page in history could they unfold of races that have sought the shelter of their friendly arms and passed away, leaving no trace of their existence.”

Note:  It was a common belief in the 19th century that the redwoods lived from 4,000-5,000 years. Today it is understood that the oldest redwoods live to just over 2,000 years.

Source:  “Monarchs of the Forest – A Visit to Santa Cruz and to the Big Trees,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, August 18, 1880.