—Our friend John Muir, the “Hugh Miller of the West,” has kindly furnished the following:
“Keith is painting with characteristic enthusiasm and success on the subject of the ‘Head-waters of the Merced.’ Lofty alps laden with ice and snow; massive rocks rounded and burnished by ancient glaciers; deep shadowy cañons, groves; meadows, streams, have been steadily growing and blending, and are now making rapid progress toward perfect development in one glorious picture. The foreground lies at an elevation of 7,500 feet above the level of the sea, and is composed chiefly of one of those immense dams of glacier-polished granite so often found stretching across the high Sierra cañons. Its surface is planted with picturesque brown-barked junipers, mats and fringes of chaparral, and minute garden-like patches of the various flowers characteristic of the region. The middle and back grounds are the main upper Merced Cañon, and a cluster of snowy alps, flushed and inspired with pure mountain light. From its lofty fountains the young Merced is seen foaming down betw’een its grandly sculptured cañon rocks, curving gracefully through meadow and grove, and finally entering a dark narrow gorge leading on down to Yosemite Valley. The painted rocks are so truly rocky, we would expect to hear them clank and ring to the blows of a hammer; and notwithstanding they are so full of plain truth in form, sculpture, and combination, as to be fit for scientific illustrations, the whole picture glows with the very genius and poetry of the Sierra. I believe the canvas is said to be ten feel long; but paint, pictures, art, and artist are alike forgotten when we gaze into this glorious landscape. There are living alps, blue shadows on the snow; rocks, meadows, groves, and the crystal river, radiating beauty that absorbs and carries us away. Keith is patiently following the leadings of his own genius, painting better than he knows, observing a devout truthfulness to nature, yet removing veils of detail, and laying bare the very hearts and souls of the landscapes; and the truth of this is attested more and more fully by every picture that he paints.”
