John Muir and the Fire on the Mountain

On a stormy night in 1879, John Muir climbed the mountain behind Fort Wrangel, Alaska and built a fire so large it lit up the sky. The reaction of the surprised Tlingit villagers below has gone down in legend, misunderstood and maligned for over a century.

In today’s episode, we’ll look at the conflicts at play in John Muir‘s life to understand why he built the fire. We’ll dive into the people and places mentioned in the story. And, for the first time ever, we’ll offer a date for the night of John Muir’s fire: September 15, 1879.

See photos, read a transcript, and learn more at https://www.wrangellhistoryunlocked.com/john-muir-fire