Travel Essays · Chapter
In the Valley explained
The narrator describes a scenic drive through the Napa Valley, past Mount Saint Helena, and visits the Petrified Forest owned by a former sailor turned rancher.
What happens
The narrator describes a scenic drive through the Napa Valley, past Mount Saint Helena, and visits the Petrified Forest owned by a former sailor turned rancher. The chapter also recounts encounters with fellow Scots in California, reflecting on themes of wandering, clannishness, and the oddities of life on the frontier.
Themes in this chapter
Nature and the Sublime
The chapter vividly describes the beauty of Mount Saint Helena, the valleys, streams, and the petrified forest, emphasizing the awe-inspiring power of nature.
Travel and Discovery
The narrator's journey through the valley, his visit to the Petrified Forest, and his encounters with locals highlight the theme of exploration and new experiences.
Human Connection and Community
The narrator's interactions with the Swede, the Scots, and the use of the telephone to speak with Foss illustrate connections formed in a remote setting.
Characters to notice
- Foss
The narrator uses a telephone for the first time to converse with Foss, who lives several miles away among the hills.
- Silverado
The Silverado is mentioned as the narrator's residence in the valley.
- The Americans
The narrator reflects on the American frontier, with telephones and telegraphs running ahead among Indians and grizzly bears.
- Indians
Mentioned in the context of the Geysers being a health resort for Indians before the whites, and in the description of the frontier.
Key passages
“down the valley, laden with perfume. Up at the top stood Mount Saint Helena, a bulk of mountain, bare atop, with tree-fringed spurs, and radiating warmth.”
A fragrant breeze flowed down the valley, while Mount Saint Helena loomed above, its bare summit and wooded ridges radiating heat.
Describes the sensory experience of the landscape.
“The proprietor was a brave old white-faced Swede. He had wandered this way, Heaven knows how, and taken up his acres—I forget how many years ago—all alone, bent double with sciatica, and with six bits in his pocket and an axe upon his shoulder.”
The owner, a pale old Swede, had arrived alone, penniless and sick with sciatica, carrying only an axe and a small amount of money.
Introduces the Petrified Forest proprietor and his backstory.
“It is at least a curious thing, to conclude, that the races which wander widest, Jews and Scotch, should be the most clannish in the world.”
It is odd that the most wandering peoples, like Jews and Scots, are also the most clannish.
Reflects on the paradox of wandering and clannishness.