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Auditing and Assurance Services
Auditing and Assurance Services Louwers Ramsay Sinason Strawser
Auditing and Assurance Services Louwers Ramsay Sinason Strawser 4th
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Auditing and Assurance Services Louwers 4th Edition Solutions Manual
CHAPTER 2
Professional Standards
SOLUTIONS FOR REVIEW CHECKPOINTS
2.1 For independent (external) auditors of financial statements, practice standards are issued by
the AICPA Auditing Standards Board (in the form of Statements on Auditing Standards) and the
Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (in the form of Auditing Standards). Statements
on Auditing Standards are appropriate for the audits of nonpublic entities, while Auditing
Standards are appropriate for the audits of public entities.
For governmental auditors, the Government Accountability Office issues Government Auditing
Standards (also known as the “Yellow Book”).
For internal auditors, the Institute of Internal Auditors issues Statements of Internal Auditing
Standards (also known as the “Red Book”).

For fraud auditors, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners issues Professional Standards
and Practices for Certified Fraud Examiners.
For auditors in other countries, the IFAC International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board
issues International Standards on Auditing and Assurance.
2.2 Generally accepted auditing standards are standards that identify necessary qualifications and
characteristics of auditors and guide the conduct of the audit examination.
Generally accepted accounting principles represent the requirements for the preparation and
presentation of financial statements and accompanying footnote disclosures.
These two types of standards are related to one another because a primary objective of a GAAS
audit is to allow auditors to conclude whether an entity’s financial statements are prepared and
presented in conformity with GAAP.
2.3 The three fundamental principles are:
1. Responsibilities, which involves having appropriate competence and capabilities, complying
with relevant ethical requirements, maintaining professional skepticism and exercising
professional judgment.
2. Performance, which requires auditors to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the
financial statements as a whole are free of material misstatement by: (1) planning the work and
properly supervising assistants; (2) determining and applying appropriate material levels; (3)
identifying and assessing the risk of material misstatement; and, (4) obtaining sufficient
appropriate audit evidence.
3. Reporting, which requires the auditor to express an opinion as to whether the financial
statements are prepared in accordance with the applicable financial reporting framework.
Auditing procedures relate to acts to be performed during the engagement. Auditing standards
deal with measures of the quality of performance of those acts and the objectives to be attained.
Auditing standards are less subject to change and provide the criteria for rejecting, accepting, or
modifying auditing procedures in a given circumstance.
An example of the relative stability of standards and procedures is found in the change from non
computerized information systems to computerized information systems. New auditing
procedures were required to evaluate computerized information systems, but auditing standards
remained unchanged and were the criteria for determining the adequacy of the new auditing
procedures.
2.4 Independence in fact represents auditors’ mental attitudes (do auditors truly act in an
unbiased and impartial fashion with respect to the client and fairness of its financial statements?).
Independence in appearance relates to financial statement users’ perceptions of auditors’
independence.

Auditors can be independent in fact but not perceived to be independent. For example, ownership
of a small interest in a public client would probably not influence auditors’ behavior with respect
to the client. However, it is likely that third-party users would not perceive auditors to be
independent.
2.5 Due care reflects a level of performance that would be exercised by reasonable auditors in
similar circumstances. Auditors are expected to have the skills and knowledge of others in their
profession (known as that of a prudent auditor) and are not expected to be infallible.
2.6 Professional skepticism is a state of mind that is characterized by appropriate questioning and
a critical assessment of audit evidence.
Professional judgment is the auditors’ application of relevant training, knowledge, and
experience in making informed decisions about appropriate courses of action during the audit
engagement.
Auditors are required to demonstrate professional skepticism and professional judgment
throughout the entire audit process.
2.7 Reasonable assurance recognizes that a GAAS audit may not detect all material
misstatements and auditors are not “insurers” or “guarantors” regarding the fairness of the
company’s financial statements. The following characteristics of an audit do not permit auditors
to provide absolute assurance:
• Mistakes and misinterpretations may occur
• Management judgments and estimates affect financial reporting
• Audit procedures cannot always be relied upon to detect misstatements
• Audit engagements must be conducted within a reasonable period of time and so as to achieve a
balance between benefit and cost.
2.8 Three elements of planning and supervision considered essential in audit practice are:
• A written audit plan.
• An understanding of the client’s (auditee’s) business.
• Policies to allow an audit team member to document disagreements with accounting or auditing
conclusions and disassociate him or herself from the matter.
2.9 The timing of the auditors’ appointment is important because auditors need time to properly
plan the audit and perform the necessary work without undue pressure from tight deadlines.
2.10 Materiality is the dollar amount that would influence the lending or investing decisions of
users; this concept recognizes that auditors should focus on matters that are important to
financial statement users. Materiality should be considered in planning the audit, performing the
audit, and evaluating the effect of misstatements on the entity’s financial statements.
2.11 Auditors obtain an understanding of a client, including its internal control, as a part of the
control risk assessment process primarily in order to plan the nature, timing and extent of

substantive audit procedures. A secondary purpose is because of auditors’ responsibilities for
reporting on client’s internal controls under Auditing Standard No. 5.
2.12 As the client’s internal control is more effective (a lower level of control risk), auditors may
use less effective substantive procedures (a higher level of detection risk). Conversely, when the
client’s internal control is less effective (a higher level of control risk), auditors must use more
effective substantive procedures (a lower level of detection risk).
2.13 Audit evidence is defined as the information used by auditors in arriving at the conclusion
on which the audit opinion is based.
2.14 External documentary evidence is audit evidence obtained from another party to an arm’s
length transaction or from outside independent agencies. External evidence is received directly
by auditors and is not processed through the client’s information processing system.
External internal documentary evidence is documentary material that originates outside the
bounds of the client’s information processing system but which has been received and processed
by the client.
Internal documentary evidence consists of documentary material that is produced, circulates, and
is finally stored within the client’s information processing system. Such evidence is either not
circulated to outside parties at all or is several steps removed from third-party attention.
2.15 In general, evidence that is completely external in nature is most reliable, because the client
has not influenced its processing. In contrast, evidence that is completely internal in nature is
least reliable, as it may represent a fictitious transaction created or modified by client personnel
to enhance perceptions of the client’s financial statements.
2.16 As auditors need to achieve lower levels of detection risk, more appropriate evidence needs
to be obtained. Thus, auditors should gather higher quality evidence (more reliable evidence).
For example, auditors may choose to obtain evidence from external sources rather than internal
sources.
In addition, for lower levels of detection risk, auditors need to gather more sufficient evidence.
Because sufficiency relates to the quantity of evidence, a greater number of transactions or
components of an account balance should be examined.
2.17 A financial reporting framework is a set of criteria used to determine the measurement,
recognition, presentation, and disclosure of material items in the financial statements. The
financial reporting framework is related to auditors’ reporting responsibilities because this
framework serves as the basis against which the financial statements are evaluated and the
auditors’ opinion on the financial statements is expressed.
2.18 Four types of opinions and their conclusions:
Type Conclusion

Unqualified opinion Financial statements are presented in conformity with GAAP.
Adverse opinion Financial statements are not presented in conformity with GAAP.
Qualified opinion Financial statements are presented in conformity with GAAP, except for one
or more departures or issues of concern.
Disclaimer of opinion An opinion cannot be issued on the financial statements.
2.19 The auditors’ report is dated at the point when all significant procedures have been
completed by auditors and auditors have gathered sufficient appropriate evidence. This date is
referred to as the audit completion date.
2.20 Public accountants should issue a report when they are associated with financial statements
because users may mistakenly assume that an audit has been conducted and that the entity’s
financial statements are fairly presented according to GAAP.
2.21 The purpose served by the attestation standards is to guide work in attestation areas and
engagements other than audits of financial statements.
2.22 The major differences between attestation standards and generally accepted auditing
standards (GAAS) lie in the areas of practitioner competence, materiality and the risk of material
misstatement, and reporting.
GAAS presume knowledge of accounting and require competence and capabilities as auditors
(meaning auditors of financial statements). The attestation standards are more general, requiring
training and proficiency in the “attest function” and knowledge of the “subject matter of the
assertions.”
The attestation standards have no specific requirement for determining materiality levels or
obtaining and understanding of the entity and its environment to assess the risk of material
misstatement. Because attestation engagements may cover information not confined to
accounting and financial assertions, these activities may not be appropriate for all attest
engagements.
Reporting is different because attestations on nonfinancial information do not depend upon
generally accepted accounting principles. In addition, GAAS do not address two reporting issues
(stating significant reservations about the engagement and indicating that the report is only
intended for specified parties) that are important reporting aspects for attestation engagements.
2.23 A system of quality control provides firms with reasonable assurance that the firm and its
personnel (1) comply with professional standards and applicable regulatory and legal
requirements and (2) issue reports that are appropriate in the circumstances.
The six elements of a system of quality control are:
1. Leadership responsibilities for quality within the firm (“tone at the top”)
2. Relevant ethical requirements

3. Acceptance and continuance of clients
4. Human resources
5. Engagement performance
6. Monitoring
2.24 In deciding whether to accept or continue an engagement with a client, firms should
consider:
• The integrity of the client and the identity and business reputation of its owners, key
management, related parties, and those charged with governance.
• Whether the firm possesses the competency, capability, and resources to perform the
engagement.
• Whether the firm can comply with the necessary legal and ethical requirements.
If firms decide to withdraw from an engagement, the firm should document significant issues,
consultations, conclusions, and the basis for any conclusions related to the decision to withdraw.
2.25 Typically, firms that audit nonpublic companies have peer reviews conducted through the
AICPA’s Center for Public Company Audit Firms Peer Review Program. While firms that are
subject to PCAOB review requirements can elect to have peer reviews conducted under this
program, most choose not to do so.
2.26 The PCAOB’s monitoring role for firms providing auditing services to public entities
includes registering public accounting firms and conducting inspections of registered public
accounting firms (similar to peer reviews).
2.27 The frequency of PCAOB inspections depends upon the number of audits conducted by
member firms. For firms performing audits for more than 100 public companies, inspections are
required on an annual basis. For those performing audits for fewer than 100 public companies,
inspections are conducted every three years.
SOLUTIONS FOR MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
2.28 a. Correct Gathering audit evidence is a component of the performance principle.
b. Incorrect While reasonable assurance is related to gathering audit evidence, this is not one of
the categories of principles
c. Incorrect The reporting principle relates to the contents of the auditors’ report
d. Incorrect The responsibilities principle relates to the personal integrity and professional
qualifications of auditors.
2.29 a. Incorrect This practice relates to accountants’ competence and capabilities, not due care.
b. Incorrect This practice relates to the reporting principle.
c. Incorrect Sufficiency of evidence relates to the performance principle and not due care.
d. Correct These practices are a part of due care.

2.30 a. Incorrect GAAS relates to the conduct of audit engagements and not overall professional
services.
b. Correct Standards within a system of quality control are firm- (rather than auditor-) related.
c. Incorrect GAAP relates to accounting and financial reporting, rather than auditing practices.
d. Incorrect International auditing standards govern the conduct of audits conducted across
international borders.
2.31 a. Incorrect Relying more extensively on external evidence is related to the appropriateness
(or quality) of evidence.
b. Incorrect Focusing on items with more significant financial effects on the financial statements
is related to materiality.
c. Correct Professional skepticism is characterized by appropriate questioning and a critical
assessment of audit evidence.
d. Incorrect Financial interests are most closely related to auditors’ independence.
2.32 a. Correct Auditors study internal control to determine the nature, timing, and extent of
substantive tests.
b. Incorrect Consulting suggestions are secondary objectives in an audit.
c. Incorrect Information about the entity’s internal control is, at best, indirect evidence about
assertions in the financial statements.
d. Incorrect Information about the entity’s internal control provides auditors with little
opportunity to learn about changes in accounting principles.
2.33 a. Incorrect External evidence is considered to be relatively reliable.
b. Correct Management representations should least affect auditors’ conclusions, as they have
not been validated or corroborated by external parties.
c. Incorrect Auditor-prepared evidence is considered to be the most reliable form of evidence.
d. Incorrect Although a representation of a client employee, inquiry of the entity’s legal counsel
is considered more reliable than that of entity management.
2.34 a. Incorrect Inquiry of management should least affect auditors’ conclusions.
b. Incorrect Although very persuasive, auditors’ personal knowledge (choice d) provides the
most persuasive evidence
c. Incorrect Observation of a client’s procedures provides evidence on the effectiveness of the
client’s internal control, but not the existence assertion for newly-acquired computer equipment.
d. Correct Auditors’ personal knowledge provides the most persuasive evidence.
2.35 a. Incorrect Inquires of client personnel are the least reliable form of evidence.
b. Incorrect While more reliable than inquiries (choice a), inspection of internal documents is
relatively low in terms of reliability.
c. Incorrect While sales invoices are documents created by external parties, the fact that these
documents were received from client personnel decreases their reliability.

d. Correct Because the statements were received directly from outside parties, this is a more
reliable form of evidence than choice (c).
2.36 a. Incorrect Documentation of this nature would not be related to independence.
b. Incorrect While the quality of the documentation and the conclusions included in the
documentation might provide information about competence and capabilities, choice (c) is more
appropriate.
c. Correct Initials of the preparer and reviewer provide evidence that the documentation was
reviewed, which relates to planning and supervision.
d. Incorrect While the quality of the documentation and the conclusions included in the
documentation might provide information about sufficient appropriate evidence, choice (c) is
more appropriate
2.37 NOTE TO INSTRUCTOR: Since this question asks students to identify the requirement
that is not included in attestation standards, the response labeled “correct” is not included in
attestation standards and those labeled “incorrect” are included in attestation standards.
a. Incorrect Attestation standards require adequate knowledge of the subject matter.
b. Correct An understanding of the client’s environment (including internal control) is not
required under attestation standards, because internal control may not always be relevant to the
subject matter of the attestation.
c. Incorrect Attestation standards require sufficient evidence to be gathered.
d. Incorrect Attestation standards require independence in mental attitude.
2.38 NOTE TO INSTRUCTOR: Since this question asks students to identify the concept that is
least related to due care, the response labeled “correct” is least related to due care and those
labeled “incorrect” are more related to due care.
a. Incorrect Due care requires the level of skills and knowledge of others in the auditors’
profession, which would require independence in fact.
b. Incorrect See choice (a) above.
c. Incorrect Due care refers to the performance of a “prudent” auditor.
d. Correct Due care recognizes that mistakes and misinterpretations may occur during the audit.
2.39 a. Incorrect Internal documents are a relatively low quality of evidence.
b. Incorrect Management representations (and the related verbal inquiries) are the lowest quality
of evidence.
c. Incorrect While direct, external evidence is of reasonable quality, it is of lower quality than
direct personal knowledge of the auditor (choice d).
d. Correct Direct, personal knowledge of auditors is the most appropriate form of evidence.
2.40 a. Incorrect While it may increase auditors’ knowledge about the client, obtaining an
understanding of a client’s internal control does not directly influence auditors’ competence and
capabilities.
b. Incorrect Obtaining an understanding of a client’s internal control does not directly influence

auditors’ independence.
c. Incorrect Obtaining an understanding of a client’s internal control does not directly help
satisfy the quality control standard about audit staff professional development.
d. Correct The primary purpose of obtaining an understanding of a client’s internal control is to
plan the nature, timing, and extent of substantive audit procedures on an engagement.

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have been the chief factors in wiping out the lake, which was never
much more than a shallow morass.
Beyond Tulare we again came into a sandy, desert-looking
country and were astonished to see billboards in one of the little
towns offering "bargains in land at one hundred and thirty-five
dollars per acre"—to all appearances the country was as barren and
unpromising as the Sahara, but no doubt the price included irrigation
rights. Along this road we noticed occasional groves of stunted
eucalyptus trees, neglected and dying in many instances. It occurred
to us that these groves were planted by the concerns which sold
stock to Eastern "investors" on representation that the eucalyptus
combined all the merits to be found in all the trees of the forest. The
fact is that it is not fit for much and the "fly-by-night" concerns
disappeared as soon as they had pocketed the cash, leaving their
victims to bemoan "another California swindle."
While the country was mostly flat and uninteresting, the scene
was varied by the dim ranks of the Sierras far to our left all day long
—always dominated by one lone, snow-capped summit rising in
solemn majesty above the blue shadows that shrouded the lower
ranges. It was Mount Whitney, the highest peak within the limits of
the United States, with an altitude of fifteen thousand feet above
sea level. A road leads well up the slopes of the mountain and from
its termination one may ascend in three hours by an easy trail to the
summit, which affords one of the grandest views on the American
continent.
In this same vicinity, about twenty-five miles east of Visalia, are
Sequoia and General Grant National Parks, each of which has a
grove of redwoods, and the former is said to be the most extensive
in the state. It has one tree, the General Sherman, which contests
with the Grizzly Giant of Mariposa for the honor of being the largest
living tree in the world, being eighty feet in circumference one

hundred feet from its base. In all there are over three thousand
trees in this grove which measure forty-five feet or more in
circumference. Both of these parks are easily reached by motor from
Visalia.
We reached Bakersfield weary enough to wish for the comforts
of Del Monte, but found the New Southern far from the realization of
our desires. It was "new" in name only—apparently an old building
with furnishings and service far below the California standard for
towns like Bakersfield, a live-looking place of nineteen thousand
people. It is the center of an oil-producing section and has
considerable wholesale trade.

A ROAD THROUGH THE REDWOODS
From Photograph by Pillsbury
A few miles out of town, on the Tejon route, we found ourselves
again in the desert and ploughed through several miles of heavy
sand before reaching the hill range to the south. There were no

houses or people for many miles, the only sign of civilization being
an oil-pumping station near the foothills. We beheld a wide stretch
of sandy country, dashed with red and purple grasses and occasional
wild flowers. To the south and east lay the mottled hill ranges, half
hidden by dun and purple hazes and cloud-swept in places. Before
us rose a single snow-capped peak and as we ascended the rough,
winding grades of Tejon Pass, we were met by a chilly wind which
increased in frigidity and intensity until we found need for all the
discarded wraps in the car. Some distance from the foot of the grade
we came to Neenach Post Office, which proved only a small country
store, and beyond this were long stretches of sandy desert dotted
with cacti and scrub cedars and swarming with lizards and horned
toads. The cactus blooms lent a pleasing bit of color to the brown
monotone of the landscape—myriads of delicate yellow, pink, red,
and white flowers guarded by millions of needle-like spines.
The desert road continued for fifty miles—deep sand and rough,
broken trails alternating with occasional stretches of easy going over
smooth sand packed as hard as cement. As we came to Palmdale, a
lonely little town marking the terminus of the railroad, we noted
frequent cultivated fields which showed the fertility of this barren
desert when irrigated. From Palmdale we proceeded to Saugus
through Mint Canyon, since the San Francisquito and Bosquet routes
—both shorter—were closed by washouts. We found the state
highway completed to Saugus; the village showed many
improvements and had a decidedly smarter appearance than two
years previously—a result that will no doubt follow in all the little
towns when the highway reaches them. Near Saugus we passed
over the great Owens River Aqueduct, a near view giving us a better
conception of the giant dimensions of the iron and cement tubes
carrying the water supply to Los Angeles. From Saugus it is an easy
jaunt of thirty miles to Los Angeles over one of the finest boulevards
leading into the city.

We agreed that while the trip over the "Inland Route" from
Fresno was interesting and well worth doing once, we would not
care to repeat it under such conditions except upon actual necessity.
When we are ready to go again we hope to find that the new
highway has replaced the terrible old trails which served for roads
the greater part of the five hundred miles of the run.
In the foregoing paragraphs I have endeavored to give some
idea of our earliest run over the Inland Route in the good old days
when California roads were in their virgin state. My revised edition
would hardly deserve the name if I were to omit reference to the
present condition of this now very popular route between Los
Angeles and San Francisco, since nearly all of it has been improved
and much of it entirely re-routed. To-day (1921) practically a solid
paved boulevard extends between the two cities and the run of
about five hundred miles may be made in two days with greater
ease than in twice the time under old conditions.
For more than three-fourths of the distance the road runs in
level, straight stretches, permitting all the speed that any car may be
capable of—if the driver is willing to risk his neck and take chances
of falling into the clutches of the frequent "speed cop" along the
way. In the main it is not a "scenic route"—though one is never out
of sight of the mountains. The country is mostly flat and
uninteresting—for California—but if it grows too monotonous,
Sherman and Grant National Parks and Yosemite are only a few
miles off this highway. There are excellent hotels at Bakersfield,
Fresno, Merced, Modesto, and Stockton, and very good ones in
several smaller places. A modern hotel, the Durant, has also been
built recently at Lebec, just beyond the summit near the northern
extremity of the ridge. Lake Castaic, near by, is a good-sized body of
water, affording opportunity for boating and fishing and there is
much wooded country in the vicinity—attractions which will
doubtless make the Durant a popular stopping-place for motorists.

The road is redeemed from monotony, however, by the section
known as the "Ridge Route" between Saugus and Bakersfield—thirty
miles of the most spectacular highway in California. This superlative
feat of engineering supersedes the old-time Tejon Pass trail, long the
"bete noir" of the Inland Route. It cost the state of California nearly
a million dollars to fling this splendid road along the crest of the
great hill range that must needs be crossed, to pave it with solid
concrete, and to adequately guard its many abrupt turns. It rises
from an elevation of about 1000 feet above Saugus to 5300 feet at
the highest point, near the northern terminus of the grade, but so
admirably have the engineers done their work that nowhere is the
rise more than six per cent.
No description or picture can give any idea of the stupendous
grandeur of the panorama that unrolls before one as he traverses
this marvelous road. Vast stretches of gigantic hills interspersed with
titanic canyons—mostly barren, with reds and browns predominating
—outrun the limits of one's vision. Nearer Saugus greenery prevails
in summer and at the northern end there is some fine forest. In
winter snow not infrequently falls throughout the entire length of the
ridge and affords the variation of a dazzling winter spectacle to
anyone hardy enough to make the run, which is rather dangerous
under such conditions.
Any extended tour of California must surely include the Ridge
Route. If one is minus a car of his own he still can make the trip
quickly and comfortably in one of the motor stages which ply daily
between Los Angeles and Bakersfield. At the San Francisco end of
the Inland Route there is some pretty hill scenery between Stockton
and Oakland, which has been referred to elsewhere in this book. If
one were making the trip between San Francisco and Los Angles
only one way, there would need be no hesitancy in selecting the
Coast road, on the score of greater scenic beauty and historic
interest. If he should be seeking the easier run and quicker time he

would choose the Inland Route. If, as in the case of the average
tourist, he is out to see as much of California as possible and
expects to make the round trip between north and south, he will
naturally go by one route and return by the other.

XVI
OUR RUN TO YOSEMITE
No extended motor tour of California could lay claim to
thoroughness if Yosemite Valley and Lake Tahoe were omitted from
its itinerary, and I therefore avail myself of the opportunity to add
chapters giving briefly the experience of our runs to these popular
national playgrounds.
Yosemite was closed to automobiles prior to 1915 and it was
only through the strenuous exertions of the Automobile Club of
Southern California that the authorities finally consented to remove
the ban. The decree was issued apparently with fear and hesitation
and the motorist was hedged about with restrictions and hampered
with endless red tape regulations.
The dire results so freely predicted did not materialize in any
great degree. There were few serious accidents and the motors, as a
rule, met little difficulty in negotiating the roads to and within the
park. As a consequence the rules have been relaxed with each
succeeding year and many of the most annoying regulations
abandoned or reduced to mere formalities. We made our trip in
September of the Panama-Pacific year, and during the previous

months of the season nearly two thousand cars had preceded us
into the park. We did not have to demonstrate that "either set of
brakes would lock the wheels to a skid;" in fact, I am very dubious
on this point. We did not have to get up at an unearthly hour to
enter or leave the park and the time schedule imposed on us was so
reasonable that none but the speed maniac would care to exceed it,
even had no severe penalty been attached.
There are several routes by which one may enter and leave the
park pending the happy days longed for by the Auto Club when a
broad, smooth road—"no grades exceeding five per cent"—shall
convey the joyful motorist to this Earthly Paradise of the Sierras. You
can go from Fresno via Coarse Gold, from Merced via Coulterville,
from Stockton via Chinese Camp, or from Madera via Raymond. You
can now even reach the park from the east by the new Tioga road,
branching off the Sierra Highway at Mono Lake, should you be
seeking the wildest and most difficult route of all.
We decided, after an extended canvas of the pros and cons of
the matter, to make our initial venture via the Madera route,
returning by the way of Big Oak Flat and Stockton. We passed the
night at Fresno and left Madera late in the afternoon of the following
day with the intention of stopping for the night at Raymond, some
twenty-five miles distant. However, we found the prospect for
comfortable quarters in that forlorn-looking little hamlet so
unpromising that we decided, in accordance with a genial garage
man's advice, to go on to Miami Lodge.
"It's only thirty miles," he said; "and a mighty comfortable place;
you ought to reach there before it gets dark. Shall I telephone them
to hold dinner for you?"
All of which sounded good to us as we contemplated prospective
accommodations in Raymond, and with a speedy acquiescence we

were away for Miami Lodge. Ten miles per hour, said the garage
man, would be a good average "for a greenhorn" over the road we
were to traverse—a ridiculously low estimate, we thought, but we
had not proceeded far before we agreed with his conservatism. A
narrow and exceedingly tortuous trail plunged into the hills,
threading its way among giant pines or creeping precariously along
steep hillsides and around abrupt corners deep with dust and at
times laboriously steep. Now and then it emerged into pleasant little
glades and on entering one of these we saw a young mountain lion
trotting leisurely toward the thicket. Of course our small rifle was
under a pile of baggage, unloaded, and the cartridges in a grip, but
we consoled ourselves with remarks about the extreme improbability
of hitting him even if we had the gun.
It was sunset by the time we had covered little more than half
the distance and while we regarded the approaching darkness with
some apprehension, for the road showed no signs of improvement,
we forgot it all in our admiration for the enchanting scene. Many
were the magnificent vistas opening through the pines skirting our
road along the mountainside. Purple hills topped with dark forests
stretched away to a crimson sky; shadowy canyons sloped far
beneath us, their mysterious deeps shrouded in a soft blue haze. It
was a constantly changing yet always entrancing picture until the
color faded from the skies and the canyons were blotted out by the
gathering blackness. Then the road demanded our undivided
attention, for we covered the last ten miles in pitch darkness and our
neglected headlights proved in very poor condition.
The Lodge is a comfortable rustic inn set in the pines on a
hillside which slopes down to a clear creek dammed at one point into
a small lake. The little valley forms a natural amphitheater
surrounded by the forest-clad hills and is altogether a pleasant and
restful spot well away from noise and disturbance of any kind. The
creek is stocked with rainbow trout and big game is fairly common—

attractions which bring many sportsmen to the Lodge. It is easy of
access by auto stages which run daily during the season.
Beyond Miami Lodge we found the road even more trying than it
was southward. Heavy grades and sharp turns continued, and deep
dust and rough stretches caused much discomfort. We met many
motor trucks and several heavy wagons drawn by six or eight
horses, which made ticklish work in passing on the narrow grades
and which stirred up clouds of yellow dust. As the sun mounted, the
day became intolerably hot, making it necessary to elevate our cape
top, which combined with the dust to interfere with our view of the
scenery.
We reached Wawona, at the park entrance, in time for the
noonday luncheon at the pleasant old inn which has been the haven
of sightseers for nearly half a century. It is delightfully situated in a
little vale amidst a group of towering pines and all about it green
meadows stretch away to the forest-clad hills that surround it on
every hand. Through the valley runs the South Merced, famous for
its mountain trout, a delicacy which guests at the inn sometimes
enjoy. About the main hotel building are scattered several isolated
cottages for the accommodation of guests who may be particular
about privacy and plenty of light and air. There are numerous
beautiful drives in the vicinity aside from the Mariposa Grove trip.
One of these follows the river for some distance and another makes
a circuit of the valley.
We had no time for these, as we were intent upon reaching
Yosemite for the night and the regulation is that you check in at the
final station by six o'clock. About a mile from Wawona we found the
cabin of the ranger who issued tickets for the south entrance to the
park. The formalities detained us but a few moments, since, with the
great influx of motor tourists during the exposition year, much of the
original red tape was dispensed with. A copy of the rules and

regulations was given us and the time of our entrance was stamped
upon the ticket to be delivered to the superintendent at Yosemite
village. The action of our small rifle was sealed and, with a friendly
caution that it would be unwise to exceed the limit, we were ordered
to proceed. Knowing something of the trip from previous experience
we felt no uneasiness about exceeding the two hours and twenty-
seven minutes, minimum time allowed for covering the twenty-eight
and nine-tenths miles between the station and Yosemite garage. No
one but a confirmed speed maniac would care to exceed this very
reasonable limit and anyone wise enough to admire the scenery
along the road as it deserves to be admired might well consume
twice the minimum time.
For some miles after entering the park we climbed the long,
steady grade following the South Merced Canyon, always at a
considerable distance above the stream, which we could see at
intervals through the pines, flashing over its rock-strewn bed. There
was scarcely a downward dip in the road for the first half-dozen
miles, and we could not but recall the distressing efforts of the
horses as they toiled painfully upward on our former trip while we
sat disconsolately enveloped in smothering clouds of dust. What a
contrast we found in the steady, cheerful hum of our engine as it
drove our car onward at not less than the permitted speed of fifteen
miles, leaving the dust behind us and affording unhindered views of
the endless panoramas of canyons and hills. Not often, even in
California, will one come across finer individual cedars, sugar pines
and yellow pines than he will see here—splendid, arrow-straight
shafts several feet in circumference, often rising to a height of two
or even three hundred feet. It is pleasant to think that they are
immune from the lumberman's ax and guarded carefully against
devastating fires. We paused at times in the shade of these forest
Titans and contemplated the wide range of hills and valleys beyond
the canyon—particularly at Lookout Point, some seven or eight miles

from Wawona. Here we beheld a seemingly endless panorama of
forest-clad hills stretching away until lost in the infinite distance of
the lucent afternoon. Once before we had beheld the same scene—
at sunset, the hills shrouded in an amethyst haze, the valleys dim
with purple shadows, and the sky resplendent with crimson and
gold. Nothing could have shown more impressively the wonderful
variations of the same landscape at different hours of the day or
proved more completely that one must come many times to see the
beauty of Yosemite.
Continuing a few miles farther we came to the top of the grade
leading down into the valley. We recalled it as a stiff, strenuous road,
winding around sharp curves and often along the edge of sheer
precipices which gave us many thrills from our high perch beside the
driver of our four-in-hand. We had traversed mountain roads so
much worse in the meanwhile that Wawona grade really seemed
quite tame from a motor car and even the ladies took only languid
interest in its twists and turns. We paused for the third time at
Inspiration Point and we can not help envying those who are so
fortunate as to come into Yosemite by this road and thus get their
first glimpse of the valley from Inspiration Point. Perhaps the view
from Glacier Point is as glorious but one is not likely to come upon it
so suddenly and is somehow expecting stupendous things, but
Inspiration Point bursts on the wayfarer from the Wawona all
unaware and he sees unfold before him almost in an instant all the
marvelous sights that have made Yosemite a world's wonder.
It is the third time we have viewed this wonderful scene and we
have been fortunate in coming each time at a different period of the
day—morning and evening and early afternoon. Each has shown us
a different phase of the beauty of Yosemite, for the variation of light
and consequent changes of coloring have everything to do with the
view from Inspiration Point.

We proceeded slowly and cautiously down the steep switchbacks
leading to the floor of the Valley, a long, low-gear grind, for
regulations forbid disengaging gears on roads in the park. The
descent did not seem nearly so precarious as when we first made it
in the regulation coach-and-four—the road appeared to have been
widened at the turns; maybe this was only in our imagination, due
to greater familiarity with mountain roads. We were enough at our
ease to enjoy the splendid vistas of the valley and mountains which
were presented from a hundred viewpoints as we slowly descended,
something that we hardly did the first time. Nor did the time seem
so long, though I really doubt if we went down so quickly as our
dashing driver piloted his coach-and-four over this three-mile grade
on our first trip. We soon found ourselves on the floor of the valley
with Bridal Veil Falls waving like a gossamer thread above us—it was
in September and the waterfalls were all at lowest ebb. The four
miles along the floor to Yosemite was a joy ride indeed and we felt
no desire to infringe the low speed limit imposed on motor cars.
What though we had seen this wondrous array of stupendous cliffs,
domes, pinnacles and towers many times before, familiarity does not
detract from their overpowering majesty and changeful beauty.

VERNAL FALLS, YOSEMITE
From Original Painting by Chris.
Jorgenson
Our excuse for a third visit to Yosemite was chiefly that we
wanted to go by motor car; we had seen most of the sights and

made most of the trail trips and drives, so there was little to do but
lounge about in the hotel and vicinity for the rest of the afternoon. I
visited the garage, which was merely a huge tent with open sides
where the cars were parked in care of an attendant. There was
apparently a very good machine shop which seemed to have plenty
of work, for break-downs are not uncommon. The manager asked us
if we would favor him by carrying a new axle to a motorist who was
laid up at Crane Flat, near the entrance to the park on the road by
which we expected to leave the next morning.
The regulations require that motor cars leave by the Big Oak Flat
road between 6:00 A. M. and 4:00 P. M., and the first-named hour
found us ready for departure, as we had been warned that a
strenuous day's work lay before us. It is only one hundred and
twenty-three miles to Stockton; hence we concluded that the
strenuousness must be due to something besides long distance—a
surmise which we did not have to wait long to verify. About two
miles from the hotel, following the main valley road, we came to a
sign, "Big Oak Flat Route," and turned sharply to the right, crossing
the Merced River. Immediately we began a sharp ascent over a dusty
trail through thickly standing pines.
Coming out of the trees we find ourselves on a narrow road cut
in the side of the almost perpendicular cliff. It is fair at first,
screened from the precipitous drop alongside by a row of massive
boulders which have the psychological effect of making us feel much
more at ease, though I doubt if they would be of much use in
stopping a runaway car. Nevertheless, they are a decided factor in
enabling us to enjoy the wonderful views of mountain and valley
that present themselves to our eager eyes as we slowly climb the
steep ascent. We are sure that we see many vistas quite equal to
the view from the much-vaunted Inspiration Point, but they are not
so famous because far less accessible.

The road grows rougher and dustier as we climb slowly upward;
the boulder balustrade disappears and we find ourselves on a
narrow shelf, with infrequent passing places, running along the edge
of a cliff that falls almost sheer beneath us. We pause occasionally to
contemplate the marvelous scene beneath. The whole floor of the
valley is now visible; its giant trees seem mere shrubs and the
Merced dwindles to a silver thread; across the narrow chasm we
now look down on the Cathedral Spires, the Three Sisters, and
Sentinel Rock; we see Bridal Veil Fall swaying like a gossamer
against the mighty cliff, and beyond we have an endless vista of
forest-clad mountains. Three thousand feet above the valley we
enter a forest of mighty pines; the road winds among them in sharp
turns and the grades are very steep and deep with dust. We are not
very familiar with our car, which we leased from a Los Angeles
dealer, and as we near the summit the motor loses power and can
not be cajoled into propelling the car over the last steep, dusty pitch.
After an hour of fruitless effort we appealed to the foreman of a
road gang which, fortunately for us, was at work close by, and he
helped the balky engine out with a stout team of horses.

NEVADA FALL, YOSEMITE
From Original Painting by H. H. Bagg
"What's the damage?" we gratefully asked of our rescuer.

"Just a bottle of whiskey, stranger, if you happen to have one
along."
We expressed regret at our inability to meet the very modest
request and our friend had to be content with coin of the realm
instead. Later on an auto expert told us that the carburetor on this
particular car will not work satisfactorily at an elevation of seven
thousand feet.
Crane Flat is nothing more than the ranger station on the road
and the official took up our "time card"—we came by a safe margin
of two or three hours—and removed the seals from our "game-
getter." We delivered the axle entrusted to our care, but found that
the owner of the broken-down car had accepted the situation
philosophically and gone fishing—his third day of this pleasant
pastime, while waiting for repairs.
Two or three miles from Crane Flat we came to the Tuolumne
Grove of Big Trees, where there are numerous giant redwoods,
though not so many or so huge as those of Mariposa. A short detour
from the main route took us to the Dead Giant, the most remarkable
tree of this grove. It is tunneled like the Wawona tree in Mariposa
and we had the sensation a second time of driving through a
redwood. The remains of the Dead Giant are one hundred feet high
and one hundred and five feet in circumference; scientists estimate
that the tree must have been at least forty feet in diameter and
perhaps four hundred feet high—larger and higher than any
redwood now living. It was destroyed perhaps three hundred years
ago by fire or lightning. The General Lawton of this grove is one of
the most beautiful redwoods in existence and there is also a Fallen
Giant still growing greenly although lying prone, its roots not being
entirely severed.

It was lunch time when we reached Sequoia, though we were
only twenty-nine miles from Yosemite—a pretty insignificant showing
for a half-day's run, from a mileage point of view, but it had been
strenuous enough to make us tired and ravenously hungry. And
hunger proved a very good sauce for the meal which we got at
Crocker's Hotel, which is about all there is of Sequoia. And I am not
complaining of Crocker's Hotel, either. I think they did very well
when one considers that all their supplies must be hauled eighty
miles by wagon road—naturally, canned stuff and condensed milk
prevailed.
Beyond Crocker's the characteristics of the country were about
the same. A rough, dusty trail, winding through pine-clad hills with
occasional heavy grades, carried us along for a good many miles. We
occasionally passed a remote little station with a general store and
"garage" bearing evidence of its origin in an old-time blacksmith
shop. Colfax Gate, Smith's, Garrett, and Big Oak Flat—which showed
little reason for the distinction of giving its name to the road—were
all the same type, with nothing to invite even a casual glance from
the tourist unless he needed gasoline or oil.
At Priest's there is a country hotel, a haunt of hunters and
ranchmen; but we recall Priest's chiefly because it gives its name to
one of the most beautiful bits of road engineering in California. It
follows the very crest of a giant hill range overlooking a beautiful
valley some two or three thousand feet below. Alongside there is
nothing to break the full sweep of one's vision—not a tree or even a
shrub intervenes between the roadbed and the precipitous slope
beneath. Although the road is wide enough for easy passing at any
point, the very baldness of its outer edge is enough to give a
decided thrill to nervously inclined people and our driver received
more advice and caution from the rear seat than had been offered
him on far more dangerous roads with occasional rocks or trees
alongside.

At Jacksonville the road comes down almost to the level of the
Tuolumne River and we found ourselves on the border of the old
gold-mining region made famous by the tales of Bret Harte. There
are still several placer mines in operation along the river—the road
passes a very large one at the foot of Chinese Camp grade, and the
river is sullied for miles by the muddy washings from the mill.
Chinese Camp grade is one of the worst encountered on our entire
trip; it is steep and terribly rough, and dust a foot deep hides the
ruts and chuck holes, so we were compelled to "go it blind." It was a
four-mile plunge and scramble around sharp curves,—half
smothered and blinded by dense dust clouds which rose before we
could get away from them, we made slow progress over the dreadful
road. At the hilltop, however, we were rewarded for our strenuous
scramble by a magnificent view of the river canyon and a wide
panorama of forest-clad hills with the emerald thread of the
Tuolumne winding through them.
A short distance over a stony trail brought us into the main
street of Chinese Camp, if we may so designate the wide, dusty
section of road lined with wooden shacks of which every other one
seemed a saloon. The appearance of the buildings warranted the
guess on our part that there has been little change in this primitive
hamlet since Bret Harte visited it, nearly a half century ago. Not far
from here are many other camps and villages which found enduring
fame in the stories of this most representative of all earlier California
writers. Sonora, Angel's Camp, Tuttletown, San Andreas,
Mokelumne, and other places familiar in Harte's pages may all be
reached in a detour of fifty miles or so from the Big Oak Flat road.
Most of these towns, like Chinese Camp, have made little progress
since they were mirrored in the tales which appeared in the old
Overland and Argonaut of San Francisco.
Beyond Chinese Camp we encountered the worst stretch of road
of the entire day—a mere trail winding through a rough, boulder-

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