ABSTRACT
KINGS CANYON PARK Kings Canyon National Park in the Sierra Nevada, enclosing magnificent mountain and canyon scenery like that of Yosemite, grew out of agitation for enlargement of Sequoia park, which it is, essentially. John Muir visited the region in 1875 and was vastly impressed with it, always insisting that it was as fine as Yosemite. When he saw it the next time, in June 1891, the lumbermen were blowing giant sequoias to bits with dynamite, sheep were skinning the mountainsides, sheepmen were shooting and poisoning the wild game and setting many fires. Muir thought the region should be made a national park, and at the request of Robert Underwood Johnson, editor of the Century Magazine wrote an article with illustrations, on "A Rival of Yosemite, the Canyon of the South Fork of the Kings River," which was reproduced in summary in Planning and Civic Comment. Johnson and his Century Magazine did much to stir up interest in this region. 1
