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Stickeen [with Biographical Introduction]
Stickeen [with Biographical Introduction]
108 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1897
88 people are currently reading
1070 people want to read
About the author
John Muir
625 books1,418 followersJohn Muir (1838 – 1914) was a Scottish-American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, have been read by millions. His activism helped to preserve the Yosemite Valley, Sequoia National Park and other wilderness areas. The Sierra Club, which he founded, is now one of the most important conservation organizations in the United States. One of the best-known hiking trails in the U.S., the 211-mile (340 km) John Muir Trail, was named in his honor. Other such places include Muir Woods National Monument, Muir Beach, John Muir College, Mount Muir, Camp Muir and Muir Glacier.
In his later life, Muir devoted most of his time to the preservation of the Western forests. He petitioned the U.S. Congress for the National Park bill that was passed in 1890, establishing Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks. The spiritual quality and enthusiasm toward nature expressed in his writings inspired readers, including presidents and congressmen, to take action to help preserve large nature areas. He is today referred to as the "Father of the National Parks" and the National Park Service has produced a short documentary about his life.
Muir's biographer, Steven J. Holmes, believes that Muir has become "one of the patron saints of twentieth-century American environmental activity," both political and recreational. As a result, his writings are commonly discussed in books and journals, and he is often quoted by nature photographers such as Ansel Adams. "Muir has profoundly shaped the very categories through which Americans understand and envision their relationships with the natural world," writes Holmes. Muir was noted for being an ecological thinker, political spokesman, and religious prophet, whose writings became a personal guide into nature for countless individuals, making his name "almost ubiquitous" in the modern environmental consciousness. According to author William Anderson, Muir exemplified "the archetype of our oneness with the earth".
Muir was extremely fond of Henry David Thoreau and was probably influenced more by him than even Ralph Waldo Emerson. Muir often referred to himself as a "disciple" of Thoreau. He was also heavily influenced by fellow naturalist John Burroughs.
During his lifetime John Muir published over 300 articles and 12 books. He co-founded the Sierra Club, which helped establish a number of national parks after he died and today has over 1.3 million members. Author Gretel Ehrlich states that as a "dreamer and activist, his eloquent words changed the way Americans saw their mountains, forests, seashores, and deserts." He not only led the efforts to protect forest areas and have some designated as national parks, but his writings gave readers a conception of the relationship between "human culture and wild nature as one of humility and respect for all life," writes author Thurman Wilkins.
His philosophy exalted wild nature over human culture and civilization. Turner describes him as "a man who in his singular way rediscovered America. . . . an American pioneer, an American hero." Wilkins adds that a primary aim of Muir’s nature philosophy was to challenge mankind’s "enormous conceit," and in so doing, he moved beyond the Transcendentalism of Emerson and Thoreau to a "biocentric perspective on the world."
In the months after his death, many who knew Muir closely wrote about his influences.
In his later life, Muir devoted most of his time to the preservation of the Western forests. He petitioned the U.S. Congress for the National Park bill that was passed in 1890, establishing Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks. The spiritual quality and enthusiasm toward nature expressed in his writings inspired readers, including presidents and congressmen, to take action to help preserve large nature areas. He is today referred to as the "Father of the National Parks" and the National Park Service has produced a short documentary about his life.
Muir's biographer, Steven J. Holmes, believes that Muir has become "one of the patron saints of twentieth-century American environmental activity," both political and recreational. As a result, his writings are commonly discussed in books and journals, and he is often quoted by nature photographers such as Ansel Adams. "Muir has profoundly shaped the very categories through which Americans understand and envision their relationships with the natural world," writes Holmes. Muir was noted for being an ecological thinker, political spokesman, and religious prophet, whose writings became a personal guide into nature for countless individuals, making his name "almost ubiquitous" in the modern environmental consciousness. According to author William Anderson, Muir exemplified "the archetype of our oneness with the earth".
Muir was extremely fond of Henry David Thoreau and was probably influenced more by him than even Ralph Waldo Emerson. Muir often referred to himself as a "disciple" of Thoreau. He was also heavily influenced by fellow naturalist John Burroughs.
During his lifetime John Muir published over 300 articles and 12 books. He co-founded the Sierra Club, which helped establish a number of national parks after he died and today has over 1.3 million members. Author Gretel Ehrlich states that as a "dreamer and activist, his eloquent words changed the way Americans saw their mountains, forests, seashores, and deserts." He not only led the efforts to protect forest areas and have some designated as national parks, but his writings gave readers a conception of the relationship between "human culture and wild nature as one of humility and respect for all life," writes author Thurman Wilkins.
His philosophy exalted wild nature over human culture and civilization. Turner describes him as "a man who in his singular way rediscovered America. . . . an American pioneer, an American hero." Wilkins adds that a primary aim of Muir’s nature philosophy was to challenge mankind’s "enormous conceit," and in so doing, he moved beyond the Transcendentalism of Emerson and Thoreau to a "biocentric perspective on the world."
In the months after his death, many who knew Muir closely wrote about his influences.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 180 reviews
January 15, 2020
4+ stars - Although I’ve read many quotes by environmental activist, John Muir, this is my first book by him. An adventure story about Muir’s exploration of a glacial area in Alaska with a dog named Stickeen, it is both fascinating and illuminating. Muir’s descriptions of the landscape are thorough and intimate. A man who knows his way around rough terrain and knows just the right words that will convey his rapturous delight in nature; I was mesmerized by Muir’s narrative. While reading the story, which takes place in the summer of 1880, I envisioned a young man in his twenties, full of youth and vigor. Well, he’s definitely full of vigor, but Muir is forty-two at the time this story takes place.
Muir, not being impressed with Stickeen’s small appearance thinks that the dog will just be an encumbrance on the journey, but his master, the Rev. Young vouches for the little dog, saying that he can endure the bad weather and will be no problem. Muir gives a wonderful physical description of little Stickeen, but the characteristic that stuck out in my mind is how his “fine tail, which was about as airy and shady as a squirrel’s, and was carried curling forward almost to his nose.” Muir observes and interacts with Stickeen through weeks of travel and through his words, I become entranced by Stickeen, who has his own idiosyncrasies, as much as any person.
The heart of this 40-page story revolves around an excursion by Muir and Stickeen out into an Alaskan storm. Muir is exhilarated by the storm, writing, “I made haste to join it; for many of Nature’s finest lessons are to be found in her storms, and if careful to keep in right relations with them, we may go safely abroad with them, rejoicing in the grandeur and beauty of their works and ways,...” Muir didn’t invite Stickeen, but along the little dog came, and could not be persuaded otherwise. To explore glacial terrain with its treacherous crevasses in a storm seems foolhardy to me, but Muir was cut from wild man cloth. He admits that he has fear about the yawning crevasses; a misstep could bring instant death or horrible suffering or both. If anything the fear seems to sharpen Muir’s appreciation of the details of all the beauty around him.
I learned through reading Muir’s biographical sketch on Wikipedia that at the time he took this trip, he had met his future wife, Louisa Stentzel and that upon returning from Alaska in 1880, they were married. Muir is aware at many points during this excursion that his life is in jeopardy and writes that he would consider it a blessing to die on a “noble mountain, or in the heart of a glacier as compared with death from disease.” How about Louisa, I can’t help but think. And yet, this man is an adventurer through and through, and he will heed that call above all others. This is an extraordinary tale that I came to read because of my GR’s friend, Chrissie’s review, and I’m so glad she called my attention to it. I loved the details that Muir gives about Stickeen’s reactions throughout their adventure. Talk about a bonding experience! The story is ‘free’ on amazon for kindle readers.
Muir, not being impressed with Stickeen’s small appearance thinks that the dog will just be an encumbrance on the journey, but his master, the Rev. Young vouches for the little dog, saying that he can endure the bad weather and will be no problem. Muir gives a wonderful physical description of little Stickeen, but the characteristic that stuck out in my mind is how his “fine tail, which was about as airy and shady as a squirrel’s, and was carried curling forward almost to his nose.” Muir observes and interacts with Stickeen through weeks of travel and through his words, I become entranced by Stickeen, who has his own idiosyncrasies, as much as any person.
The heart of this 40-page story revolves around an excursion by Muir and Stickeen out into an Alaskan storm. Muir is exhilarated by the storm, writing, “I made haste to join it; for many of Nature’s finest lessons are to be found in her storms, and if careful to keep in right relations with them, we may go safely abroad with them, rejoicing in the grandeur and beauty of their works and ways,...” Muir didn’t invite Stickeen, but along the little dog came, and could not be persuaded otherwise. To explore glacial terrain with its treacherous crevasses in a storm seems foolhardy to me, but Muir was cut from wild man cloth. He admits that he has fear about the yawning crevasses; a misstep could bring instant death or horrible suffering or both. If anything the fear seems to sharpen Muir’s appreciation of the details of all the beauty around him.
I learned through reading Muir’s biographical sketch on Wikipedia that at the time he took this trip, he had met his future wife, Louisa Stentzel and that upon returning from Alaska in 1880, they were married. Muir is aware at many points during this excursion that his life is in jeopardy and writes that he would consider it a blessing to die on a “noble mountain, or in the heart of a glacier as compared with death from disease.” How about Louisa, I can’t help but think. And yet, this man is an adventurer through and through, and he will heed that call above all others. This is an extraordinary tale that I came to read because of my GR’s friend, Chrissie’s review, and I’m so glad she called my attention to it. I loved the details that Muir gives about Stickeen’s reactions throughout their adventure. Talk about a bonding experience! The story is ‘free’ on amazon for kindle readers.
April 20, 2019
I'm currently reading John Muir and the Ice That Started a Fire: How a Visionary and the Glaciers of Alaska Changed America and have come to a part in the book that mentions this wonderful little dog. I remembered that I had bought this a while ago from audible. Since it was short, i decided to take a side trip and listen to the story. I loved it.
Muir and his glaciers, another expedition, only this time joined by a little dog who belonged to another member. He was doubtful that this little dog belonged in such rugged terrain, seeing much trouble ahead. Stickeen soon proved him wrong, following Muir around, proving himself as fearless and indefatigable as Muir himself. Until one day, when their survival depended on the crossing of a dangerous ice bridge. A wonderful story of man and dog, and the bond they formed.
Muir and his glaciers, another expedition, only this time joined by a little dog who belonged to another member. He was doubtful that this little dog belonged in such rugged terrain, seeing much trouble ahead. Stickeen soon proved him wrong, following Muir around, proving himself as fearless and indefatigable as Muir himself. Until one day, when their survival depended on the crossing of a dangerous ice bridge. A wonderful story of man and dog, and the bond they formed.
August 15, 2020
4✚ 🐶 🐶 🐶 🐶
I have my friend Karen to thank for pointing the way to this marvelous 30 minute short story.
It's about an amazing little dog on a treacherous glacier hike with John Muir and it's a true story.
No self-respecting dog or Muir lover should miss it. It's free to all with Kindle or you can access it at Project Gutenberg here:
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11673
I have my friend Karen to thank for pointing the way to this marvelous 30 minute short story.
It's about an amazing little dog on a treacherous glacier hike with John Muir and it's a true story.
No self-respecting dog or Muir lover should miss it. It's free to all with Kindle or you can access it at Project Gutenberg here:
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11673
January 12, 2020
Heartwarming and exhilarating, short and exciting. It is John Muir's magnificent writing that makes the book the classic that it is.
"The wind was blowing a gale from the north and the rain was flying with the clouds in a wild passionate horizontal flood as if it were all passing over the country instead of falling on it."
A story about a dog that did exist and the unforgettable adventure John Muir and the dog shared crossing an Alaskan glacier in 1880.
The audiobook is very well read by Andre Stojka and contains additional information about glaciers, the Sierra Club, Yosemite, the dog and the story's publications. It is the 1909 version that is read here.
"The wind was blowing a gale from the north and the rain was flying with the clouds in a wild passionate horizontal flood as if it were all passing over the country instead of falling on it."
A story about a dog that did exist and the unforgettable adventure John Muir and the dog shared crossing an Alaskan glacier in 1880.
The audiobook is very well read by Andre Stojka and contains additional information about glaciers, the Sierra Club, Yosemite, the dog and the story's publications. It is the 1909 version that is read here.
January 4, 2014
This book is very special to me and my family. Stickeen's owner Samuel Hall Young was my great-great-grandfather. I am happy to see that so many people have enjoyed it.
February 6, 2017
John Muir and a little dog named Stickeen had a life threatening adventure crossing a wide crevasse while exploring a glacier in Alaska in 1880. The danger bonded the naturalist with the remarkable Stickeen.
Thanks to Renata for putting this short story on my radar. It's a free story (without illustrations) on Project Gutenberg.
Thanks to Renata for putting this short story on my radar. It's a free story (without illustrations) on Project Gutenberg.
December 30, 2016
The actual text I hold in my hand is by Heyday Books (copyright 1981) which was reprinted from the original 1909 Houghton Mifflin Edition.
John Muir is my favorite naturalist for the way he exulted in nature his entire life, for his consistently poetically vivid prose which sings to the soul, and for his tireless work in preserving our natural world.
My favorite of his writings is Stickeen the story of a death defying adventure he shared with this "mighty midget" one day on an Alaskan glacier.
Each time I reread this powerful little book my heart swells several sizes for the transcendent descriptions of this man's love of nature and for the transformation he underwent on this journey. It is a man and his dog story, and ever so much more.
Muir was traveling in a canoe on an expedition to explore the icy region of southwestern Alaska for several months. His companions were Indian guides and a missionary friend who this time was accompanied by a small terrier like dog named Stickeen by the Indians of that tribe who viewed him rather as a good-luck totem.
Muir did not hide his disdain for this "toy-dog", this "poor silly thing that will be in Rain and snow for weeks or months, and will require Care like a baby." But Muir found his match in this adventurous dog who "could endure cold and hunger like a bear, swim like a seal, and was wondrous wise and cunning"
Stickeen was an enigma to Muir from the beginning. The dog was indifferent to pleasing people, "as cold as a glacier and impervious to fun", yet extremely attentive to any and all activity, curious and bold. And intrigued by Muir.
On a typical Muir adventure ( 10 o'clock on a pitch dark rainy night) Muir set out in an Indian canoe to get a closer look at a salmon run: "...the water was phosphorescent. The salmon were running, and the myriad fins of the onrushing multitude were churning all the stream into a silvery glow, wonderfully beautiful and impressive in the ebon darkness." A half mile down the river, stopping at the rapids, Muir looks back and sees "a long spreading fan of light like the tail of a comet, which we thought must be made by some big strange animal pursuing us." It was Stickeen come to see what was up!
Muir soon learned that Stickeen loved to share his wanderings "with the patience and fortitude of a mountaineer" and like Muir himself never tiring or getting discouraged: "Ordinary storms were a pleasure to him[Stickeen] and as for mere rain, he flourished in it like a vegetable. (Lol - love that!)
But the real story is the blustery morning Muir set off with a crust of bread in his pocket, no time for a cup of coffee (can you tell I notice the absence of some essential creature comforts) with the imperturbable companionship of Stickeen to map a glacier!
"THUS began the most memorable of all my wild days."
It would be a shame to deprive you of the thrills of this adventure - of a wild and stormy nature I am only too willing to experience as an arm chair traveler. When I read the descriptions of the vast crevasses "many of which were from twenty to thirty feet wide, and perhaps a thousand feet deep -- beautiful and awful. ... I was severely cautious, but Stickeen came on as unhesitating as the flying clouds. The widest crevasse I could jump (Muir was 42) he would leap without so much as halting to take a look at it." I am chilled to the bone and glad to be home!
Some of it is great beauty. Through Muir's vivid descriptions we are left in trembling awe at the magnificence and shattering power of glaciers which are able to grind two hundred year old trees into a pulp. At this time he had already theorized the role glaciers played in the formation of Yosemite Valley so it was a particular thrill. He described the glacier as a great gray dome under the cloudy skies and yet when the sun broke through it was a prairie of dazzling brightness "wearing the clouds as garments, while the prairie blooms and sparkles with irised light from myriads of washed crystals."
The wildness of nature lured them on and eventually a snowstorm began. Both Muir and Stickeen are tested to their very limits. It is an often harrowing adventure and a testament to courage, determination, faith of many kinds, and the close bonds between "mortals" of different species.
Stickeen is my favorite animal memoir on many levels. It leaves you feeling wiser, humbler, and pondering our relationships with all of the natural world. And yes, it might make you shed several tears -
I highly recommend this to anyone who feels a connection to nature, to the urge to go forth and explore some wild area, who has ever felt a closeness with an animal "mortal".
Just FYI there are also two excellent picture book retellings for children. My favorite is
Stickeen as Retold by Donnell Rubay and gloriously illustrated by Christopher Canyon
For children from about 7 - 10
The other is for probably third through 5th grade and includes many detailed drawings of the flora of the Arctic in its margins. But that age group can also hear the original and would enjoy it far more for the power of its language and death defying struggle.
I first read the original aloud to my sons while on a camping trip in Yosemite over Memorial Day Weekend. We were so cold and tired of huddling around the fire so we retreated to the tent, crawled into our sleeping bags, and I read Stickeen. After reading about John Muir's explorations on the GLACIERS in Rain and snow we felt pretty silly huddling in our parkas in a sleeping bag in a tent! It gave us perspective and we decided to be more like John and Stickeen - take a hike, climb some boulders, enjoy the music of the leaves in the trees!
John Muir is my favorite naturalist for the way he exulted in nature his entire life, for his consistently poetically vivid prose which sings to the soul, and for his tireless work in preserving our natural world.
My favorite of his writings is Stickeen the story of a death defying adventure he shared with this "mighty midget" one day on an Alaskan glacier.
Each time I reread this powerful little book my heart swells several sizes for the transcendent descriptions of this man's love of nature and for the transformation he underwent on this journey. It is a man and his dog story, and ever so much more.
Muir was traveling in a canoe on an expedition to explore the icy region of southwestern Alaska for several months. His companions were Indian guides and a missionary friend who this time was accompanied by a small terrier like dog named Stickeen by the Indians of that tribe who viewed him rather as a good-luck totem.
Muir did not hide his disdain for this "toy-dog", this "poor silly thing that will be in Rain and snow for weeks or months, and will require Care like a baby." But Muir found his match in this adventurous dog who "could endure cold and hunger like a bear, swim like a seal, and was wondrous wise and cunning"
Stickeen was an enigma to Muir from the beginning. The dog was indifferent to pleasing people, "as cold as a glacier and impervious to fun", yet extremely attentive to any and all activity, curious and bold. And intrigued by Muir.
On a typical Muir adventure ( 10 o'clock on a pitch dark rainy night) Muir set out in an Indian canoe to get a closer look at a salmon run: "...the water was phosphorescent. The salmon were running, and the myriad fins of the onrushing multitude were churning all the stream into a silvery glow, wonderfully beautiful and impressive in the ebon darkness." A half mile down the river, stopping at the rapids, Muir looks back and sees "a long spreading fan of light like the tail of a comet, which we thought must be made by some big strange animal pursuing us." It was Stickeen come to see what was up!
Muir soon learned that Stickeen loved to share his wanderings "with the patience and fortitude of a mountaineer" and like Muir himself never tiring or getting discouraged: "Ordinary storms were a pleasure to him[Stickeen] and as for mere rain, he flourished in it like a vegetable. (Lol - love that!)
But the real story is the blustery morning Muir set off with a crust of bread in his pocket, no time for a cup of coffee (can you tell I notice the absence of some essential creature comforts) with the imperturbable companionship of Stickeen to map a glacier!
"THUS began the most memorable of all my wild days."
It would be a shame to deprive you of the thrills of this adventure - of a wild and stormy nature I am only too willing to experience as an arm chair traveler. When I read the descriptions of the vast crevasses "many of which were from twenty to thirty feet wide, and perhaps a thousand feet deep -- beautiful and awful. ... I was severely cautious, but Stickeen came on as unhesitating as the flying clouds. The widest crevasse I could jump (Muir was 42) he would leap without so much as halting to take a look at it." I am chilled to the bone and glad to be home!
Some of it is great beauty. Through Muir's vivid descriptions we are left in trembling awe at the magnificence and shattering power of glaciers which are able to grind two hundred year old trees into a pulp. At this time he had already theorized the role glaciers played in the formation of Yosemite Valley so it was a particular thrill. He described the glacier as a great gray dome under the cloudy skies and yet when the sun broke through it was a prairie of dazzling brightness "wearing the clouds as garments, while the prairie blooms and sparkles with irised light from myriads of washed crystals."
The wildness of nature lured them on and eventually a snowstorm began. Both Muir and Stickeen are tested to their very limits. It is an often harrowing adventure and a testament to courage, determination, faith of many kinds, and the close bonds between "mortals" of different species.
Stickeen is my favorite animal memoir on many levels. It leaves you feeling wiser, humbler, and pondering our relationships with all of the natural world. And yes, it might make you shed several tears -
I highly recommend this to anyone who feels a connection to nature, to the urge to go forth and explore some wild area, who has ever felt a closeness with an animal "mortal".
Just FYI there are also two excellent picture book retellings for children. My favorite is
Stickeen as Retold by Donnell Rubay and gloriously illustrated by Christopher Canyon
For children from about 7 - 10
The other is for probably third through 5th grade and includes many detailed drawings of the flora of the Arctic in its margins. But that age group can also hear the original and would enjoy it far more for the power of its language and death defying struggle.
I first read the original aloud to my sons while on a camping trip in Yosemite over Memorial Day Weekend. We were so cold and tired of huddling around the fire so we retreated to the tent, crawled into our sleeping bags, and I read Stickeen. After reading about John Muir's explorations on the GLACIERS in Rain and snow we felt pretty silly huddling in our parkas in a sleeping bag in a tent! It gave us perspective and we decided to be more like John and Stickeen - take a hike, climb some boulders, enjoy the music of the leaves in the trees!
January 20, 2021
Jan 19, 8pm ~~ Review when I sort out how this story made me feel. Hint: apparently not the way most others reviewers felt.
Jan 20, 1pm ~~ I learned about this little story back when I read Mark Salzman's book The Man In The Empty Boat. He mentioned it, if I remember correctly, when he was agonizing over the idea of his family getting a dog even though he did not want one. Just don't quote me on that, because I read that book three years ago, and I did not write down exactly why Salzman's mentioning the book made me want to read it.
Anyway, here we are three years later. I've read the tale, and while I agree that it is a very dramatic story, I was not as blown away by it as so many other reviewers seem to have been.
Basically it is a portrait of a dog who chooses his man, follows that man into a life-threatening situation, shows his increased devotion to this same man afterwards for as long as the man is physically close to him and then is repaid for his adoration in a way that appears to me to be a betrayal of the dog's honest faith and a figurative slap across Stickeen's muzzle.
Apparently Muir was not a man who loved dogs. Perhaps that is why Salzman mentioned this story in the first place?
I understand Muir was an explorer and felt he just had to be out on the glacier in a winter storm to get a true experience. And he tried to make the dog go back to the camp in the first place, but Stickeen had chosen his man, and followed him across the ice right up to the very last and most dangerously intimidating obstacle. Which only was faced because Muir couldn't resist going just a little further with a snow storm bearing down on him the entire time, and ended up slightly lost.
Sorry, this may be his idea of an adventure but I think it showed extremely poor judgment. And Stickeen, whose blind obedience to something in his soul that made him choose to follow this man above all others in the camp (even his actual owner) proves that he was just being true to a dog's nature: even when a man does not deserve their love, they give it freely.
Jan 20, 1pm ~~ I learned about this little story back when I read Mark Salzman's book The Man In The Empty Boat. He mentioned it, if I remember correctly, when he was agonizing over the idea of his family getting a dog even though he did not want one. Just don't quote me on that, because I read that book three years ago, and I did not write down exactly why Salzman's mentioning the book made me want to read it.
Anyway, here we are three years later. I've read the tale, and while I agree that it is a very dramatic story, I was not as blown away by it as so many other reviewers seem to have been.
Basically it is a portrait of a dog who chooses his man, follows that man into a life-threatening situation, shows his increased devotion to this same man afterwards for as long as the man is physically close to him and then is repaid for his adoration in a way that appears to me to be a betrayal of the dog's honest faith and a figurative slap across Stickeen's muzzle.
Apparently Muir was not a man who loved dogs. Perhaps that is why Salzman mentioned this story in the first place?
I understand Muir was an explorer and felt he just had to be out on the glacier in a winter storm to get a true experience. And he tried to make the dog go back to the camp in the first place, but Stickeen had chosen his man, and followed him across the ice right up to the very last and most dangerously intimidating obstacle. Which only was faced because Muir couldn't resist going just a little further with a snow storm bearing down on him the entire time, and ended up slightly lost.
Sorry, this may be his idea of an adventure but I think it showed extremely poor judgment. And Stickeen, whose blind obedience to something in his soul that made him choose to follow this man above all others in the camp (even his actual owner) proves that he was just being true to a dog's nature: even when a man does not deserve their love, they give it freely.
April 5, 2021
Wonderful true story by naturalist John Muir about an experience he had with Stickeen, a dog he knew briefly. Initially, Mr. Muir thought the dog sort of stand-offish, but the dog showed lots of heart and courage.
April 30, 2019
A beautiful story about a man and his dog, a truly loyal friend. The illustrations are gorgeous.
March 20, 2024
When was the last time you read eagerly as a child, not wanting to stop reading even for a moment? This was my feeling upon reading John Muir’s account and adventure with his little black dog Stickteen. I will share a few quotes tomorrow; but this evening I want to be alone with my thoughts of crossing a glacier in a snow storm in Alaska in 1890, with only an axe and my little faithful and courageous dog Stickteen.
May 4, 2020
This morning while under stay at home orders in my home, I went on an adventurous hike across the glaciers of Alaska with John Muir and a daring little dog named Stickeen. Those complaining about staying at home should be so lucky. Who knew 29 pages could say so much.
September 4, 2020
Such a lovely short story.
John Muir’s writing style is poetic and lyrical! His views on nature draw you in and bring your senses alive. John was apprehensive about bringing a dog, Stickeen, on a rugged expedition in Alaska.
The great friendship between man and dog is heartfelt and beautiful!
John Muir’s writing style is poetic and lyrical! His views on nature draw you in and bring your senses alive. John was apprehensive about bringing a dog, Stickeen, on a rugged expedition in Alaska.
The great friendship between man and dog is heartfelt and beautiful!
July 16, 2018
When I purchased Strickeen, I thought it was a book that John Muir had written for children as it is only 70 pages long, not including the afterword and a chronology of Muir's life and travels. However, Strickeen was originally published in 1897 as a story in Century Magazine, a publication similar to Harper's. It is an absolutely wonderful story of grit, dauntless courage, loyalty and friendship between Muir and the little dog who adopted him on one of Muir's explorations of glaciers in Alaska.
In 1880, Muir set out on his second trip to Alaska to explore glaciers. The previous year he had discovered Glacier Bay and was respected as the foremost expert of his day on glaciers. Strickeen is the harrowing account of a day that Muir, followed by the little dog, Strickeen, spent on a glacier in Alaska in the midst of a fierce storm.
Though a very small dog, Strickeen seemed to be fearless as he followed Muir and "flashed across nerve-trying chasms six or eight feet wide." p. 33. Of course these are the same chasms that Muir himself had just "flashed" across!
As Muir and Strickeen were attempting to return to camp, the storm became increasingly worse, and they were stopped by a seemingly insurmountable crevasse. What happens next is the hair-raising heart of the story which I don't want to spoil for anyone who might want to read this amazing tale of adventure and friendship between Muir and Strickeen.
Near the end of the story Muir has these words for Strickeen,
"I have known many dogs, and many a story I could tell of their wisdom and devotion, but to none do I owe so much as to Strickeen. At first the least promising and least known of my dog-friends, he suddenly became the best known of them all. Our storm-battle for life brought him to light, and through him as through a window I have ever since been looking with deeper sympathy into all my fellow mortals." p. 70
A beautifully written tale that took Strickeen straight to my heart.
In 1880, Muir set out on his second trip to Alaska to explore glaciers. The previous year he had discovered Glacier Bay and was respected as the foremost expert of his day on glaciers. Strickeen is the harrowing account of a day that Muir, followed by the little dog, Strickeen, spent on a glacier in Alaska in the midst of a fierce storm.
Though a very small dog, Strickeen seemed to be fearless as he followed Muir and "flashed across nerve-trying chasms six or eight feet wide." p. 33. Of course these are the same chasms that Muir himself had just "flashed" across!
As Muir and Strickeen were attempting to return to camp, the storm became increasingly worse, and they were stopped by a seemingly insurmountable crevasse. What happens next is the hair-raising heart of the story which I don't want to spoil for anyone who might want to read this amazing tale of adventure and friendship between Muir and Strickeen.
Near the end of the story Muir has these words for Strickeen,
"I have known many dogs, and many a story I could tell of their wisdom and devotion, but to none do I owe so much as to Strickeen. At first the least promising and least known of my dog-friends, he suddenly became the best known of them all. Our storm-battle for life brought him to light, and through him as through a window I have ever since been looking with deeper sympathy into all my fellow mortals." p. 70
A beautifully written tale that took Strickeen straight to my heart.
May 5, 2021
3.5 rounded down. A very short story about a brave, tireless dog and environmentalist John Muir that's currently free on Amazon for Kindle.
Yes, that is an odd name for a dog. "When the little fellow was a pup about the size of a woodrat he was presented to his wife by an Irish prospector at Sitka, and that on his arrival at Fort Wrangell he was adopted with enthusiasm by the Stickeen Indians as a sort of new good-luck totem, was named "Stickeen" for the tribe."
The full title is "Stickeen: An Adventure with a Dog and a Glacier".
Yes, that is an odd name for a dog. "When the little fellow was a pup about the size of a woodrat he was presented to his wife by an Irish prospector at Sitka, and that on his arrival at Fort Wrangell he was adopted with enthusiasm by the Stickeen Indians as a sort of new good-luck totem, was named "Stickeen" for the tribe."
The full title is "Stickeen: An Adventure with a Dog and a Glacier".
April 20, 2017
refreshing, exciting, freeing for people dulled by the black roads,concrete houses, congestion, human chatter. The land of glaciers with adventurous ,poetic Muir & courageous Stickeen is very inviting & vigorous trip.
March 15, 2012
A wonderful story told by my husband's hero, John Muir.
John Muir is well-known for his mountaineering adventures, especially during storms. In 1880, Muir returns to Alaska to continue his glacier exploration. Stickeen is a small dog that joined Muir's party and proved to be a fearless explorer, sticking to Muir's side, even during some hair-raising moments. That is, until a particularly scary spot, crossing a wide crevasse, Stickeen seemed to reach his limit. Muir and Stickeen become "brothers", bonding through this experience. Muir had called this adventure with Stickeen "the most memorable of all my wild days." He told this story again and again, at parties and at lectures. Muir wrote that the little dog "enlarged my life, extended its boundaries." Which back in the nineteenth century, was an unheard opinion towards animals, they normally weren't highly regarded.
Muir's descriptive writing takes the reader out there, in the wilds of Alaska, on a glacier, "wandering through a thousand rooms of God's crystal temple" with a small brave dog named Stickeen. "Our storm-battle for life brought him to light, and through him as through a window I have ever since been looking with deeper sympathy into all my fellow mortals."
John Muir is well-known for his mountaineering adventures, especially during storms. In 1880, Muir returns to Alaska to continue his glacier exploration. Stickeen is a small dog that joined Muir's party and proved to be a fearless explorer, sticking to Muir's side, even during some hair-raising moments. That is, until a particularly scary spot, crossing a wide crevasse, Stickeen seemed to reach his limit. Muir and Stickeen become "brothers", bonding through this experience. Muir had called this adventure with Stickeen "the most memorable of all my wild days." He told this story again and again, at parties and at lectures. Muir wrote that the little dog "enlarged my life, extended its boundaries." Which back in the nineteenth century, was an unheard opinion towards animals, they normally weren't highly regarded.
Muir's descriptive writing takes the reader out there, in the wilds of Alaska, on a glacier, "wandering through a thousand rooms of God's crystal temple" with a small brave dog named Stickeen. "Our storm-battle for life brought him to light, and through him as through a window I have ever since been looking with deeper sympathy into all my fellow mortals."
August 27, 2012
It is a wonderful introduction to John Muir. It reveals much about the man and the small dog named in the title. I would recommend this short book highly to everyone who would like a taste of Muir's magnificent nature writing and heroic character.
February 26, 2018
This book really hit me. I read this book because I've already read books like white fang and call of the wild, and they are similar books to Stickeen. This book kinda scared me because at one point in the book Stickeen the dog named Stickeen has to cross a ravine, Its winter and If he doesn't cross the ravine he will die. The books ending was so sad and abrupt because this man that was working with Stickeen in Alaska was really close to Stickeen but didn't own Stickeen so they were separated and never got to see each other again. The theme of this story would probably be: when family's not around to keep you company and safe looking for a new friend is the way to go. This book is a great story about a dog and maybe it has a bit of "Mans best friend" in it too!
November 30, 2021
It is hard to rate a book sometimes. I like to think of my criteria, how much did I like the book, would I want to read it again, how well was the dog a part of the story....
John Muir does not seem to be a big dog lover. A little dog latches on to him when he goes out to walk alone through dangerous glaciers. He takes the dog over treacherous fisures, and then winds up having to cross an ice bridge that seems even more dangerous so the dog balks and whines. So Mr Muir acts like he is leaving the dog so it has to follow him across the dangerous ice bridge. Then the dog becomes attached to him, but since it is not his dog, eventually the dog is forced to leave him. That is a summary of the story.
So it appears like the book is a children's book. The artwork is great, and if the real glacier they had to face was half as scary as the pictures show, it must have been very scary. When I read books to a child, I like to engage them with questions. For this one I would want to ask, was it smart to go into a dangerous area by yourself? Was it smart to risk your life go across crevice's and ice bridges? Was that good that he put that dog in those dangerous situations? The dog followed him, but was there an alternative to just let him follow? May be good lessens, but wouldn't want to scare a kid too much...
I am glad I heard the story. It actually makes me think a little less of John Muir, but since he accomplished a lot of good in his life, a little dent won't hurt his reputation. I wouldn't rush out to read it again, but maybe look at the great artwork a second time. The dog in this case was a major point of the story, and dogs are so great, they even follow reckless people like John Muir.
Since it doesn't take long to read this book, if you see it, pick it up, read the story and look at the nice artwork.
John Muir does not seem to be a big dog lover. A little dog latches on to him when he goes out to walk alone through dangerous glaciers. He takes the dog over treacherous fisures, and then winds up having to cross an ice bridge that seems even more dangerous so the dog balks and whines. So Mr Muir acts like he is leaving the dog so it has to follow him across the dangerous ice bridge. Then the dog becomes attached to him, but since it is not his dog, eventually the dog is forced to leave him. That is a summary of the story.
So it appears like the book is a children's book. The artwork is great, and if the real glacier they had to face was half as scary as the pictures show, it must have been very scary. When I read books to a child, I like to engage them with questions. For this one I would want to ask, was it smart to go into a dangerous area by yourself? Was it smart to risk your life go across crevice's and ice bridges? Was that good that he put that dog in those dangerous situations? The dog followed him, but was there an alternative to just let him follow? May be good lessens, but wouldn't want to scare a kid too much...
I am glad I heard the story. It actually makes me think a little less of John Muir, but since he accomplished a lot of good in his life, a little dent won't hurt his reputation. I wouldn't rush out to read it again, but maybe look at the great artwork a second time. The dog in this case was a major point of the story, and dogs are so great, they even follow reckless people like John Muir.
Since it doesn't take long to read this book, if you see it, pick it up, read the story and look at the nice artwork.
November 1, 2020
John Muir was a Scottish-American naturalist who is known as the "Father of the National Parks". He was born in Dunbar, Scotland (been there) and his family emigrated to Portage, Wisconsin (been there) when he was eleven years old. Stickeen, available for free in the public domain, recounts Muir's exploration of an Alaskan glacier with a funny little dog named Stickeen and the hair-raising predicament they ultimately find themselves in. The dog's name "Stickeen" refers to a tribe of Indians who adopted him as a pup.
This is a wonderful short story I would recommend to anyone who likes a quick adventure or loves dogs, or both. It was a fun compliment to the book I just read, Two in the Far North.
This is a wonderful short story I would recommend to anyone who likes a quick adventure or loves dogs, or both. It was a fun compliment to the book I just read, Two in the Far North.
April 19, 2015
If you haven't read any of John Muir's writing, especially Travels in Alaska this is a good short story to start with. Muir's style is accessible and powerful even today. This story is about a dog who went on one of Muir's trips to Alaska, so if you've read that book, you have essentially read Stickeen, hence my rating.
Would be great for middle and high school, maybe even grade school readers.
Would be great for middle and high school, maybe even grade school readers.
August 23, 2012
When we arrived in Colorado this year for summer vacation, my father sat the entire family down to a family meeting. His terms: 1- to spend time with each of the grandsons, and 2- to read this book to the family.
It was, as my oldest said, "a lot better than I thought it was going to be!".
This is an excellent story about nature, life, challenges, and friendship. I was blown away!
It was, as my oldest said, "a lot better than I thought it was going to be!".
This is an excellent story about nature, life, challenges, and friendship. I was blown away!
September 13, 2022
The appreciation of the natural world that Muir already held was broadened by the experience of traversing a glacier in a storm. I was amazed at the confidence of both Muir and Stickeen. Yet,I realized that rather than blind confidence, it was realization of and preparation for the dangers. The description of the forest, glacier, and other parts of the journey are as rich and fluid as his other writings.
July 13, 2024
this is very much a stereotypical man dog-person book, and I am neither
June 10, 2021
Heartwarming! Love Dogs!!!!
June 11, 2024
A short story which leaves you with glimpses of an Alaskan trail. And of course with an interesting co-adventurer, Stickeen the dog...
Almost uncinematic but still a tale which will stay with you for a long time, John Muir is my new discovery and already I am in love with his writing style, the vivid descriptions he is able to achieve with such simple word choice is fantastic, looking forward to reading his other works
Almost uncinematic but still a tale which will stay with you for a long time, John Muir is my new discovery and already I am in love with his writing style, the vivid descriptions he is able to achieve with such simple word choice is fantastic, looking forward to reading his other works
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December 21, 2023Wonderful story but I'm sure it lost much in adaption.
April 25, 2020
Read it.
March 13, 2025
It strikes me as more than coincidental that both Muir and Mills wrote about their dogs. Muir's story was first published in a magazine in 1897. Mills' book about Scotch came out in 1916 (it may, too, have first appeared in a magazine). Mills admired Muir so I suspect that the story of Stickeen inspired Mills to write about his own 'amazing' dog.
This is basically a story of Muir's exploration of a glacier in Alaska. On one day-trip, he crossed the rough, icy surface of an active glacier during a storm (he loved storms). It ended dramatically.
Muir describes his companion as being a ...
"little adventurer, only about two years old, yet nothing seemed novel to him, nothing daunted him. He showed neither caution nor curiosity, wonder nor fear, but bravely trotted on as if glaciers were playgrounds. His stout, muffled body seemed all one skipping muscle, and it was truly wonderful to see how swiftly and to all appearance heedlessly he flashed across nerve-trying chasms six or eight feet wide."
This is basically a story of Muir's exploration of a glacier in Alaska. On one day-trip, he crossed the rough, icy surface of an active glacier during a storm (he loved storms). It ended dramatically.
Muir describes his companion as being a ...
"little adventurer, only about two years old, yet nothing seemed novel to him, nothing daunted him. He showed neither caution nor curiosity, wonder nor fear, but bravely trotted on as if glaciers were playgrounds. His stout, muffled body seemed all one skipping muscle, and it was truly wonderful to see how swiftly and to all appearance heedlessly he flashed across nerve-trying chasms six or eight feet wide."
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