Man of Grass

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.” [Ecclesiastes 9:10]

David Douglas was only 26 years old in 1825 when he sailed along the west coast of the United States and up the Columbia River. The young botanist from London was on a quest. Since a boy he had been obsessed with plants, and by the age of 21 he was appointed to the Royal Botanical Gardens in Scotland. Now, five years later, he was to examine the plant life of the New World.

As the ship approached land, one particular tree captivated David. As he reported later, “So pleased was I that I could scarcely see anything but it.” He couldn’t wait to see the tree up close, and when he did, he pronounced it “one of the most striking and truly graceful objects in nature.” It was only fitting that this famous tree would later bear his name, as it does to this day – the Douglas fir.

David spent the next two years exploring the Northwest, finding new plants and shipping over 200 species back to England. His collecting adventures took him 12,000 miles on foot, horseback, and canoe. William Hooker, one of the world’s leading botanists, described him as a man of “great activity, undaunted courage… and energetic zeal.” The Native Americans were immensely impressed with David’s endurance, but they questioned his sanity. They called him “Man of Grass” because he would hike from first dawn to dusk collecting plants that he couldn’t even eat.

On his 1829 trip to North America, David Douglas made a discovery that eventually changed the history of the New World. While collecting plants in California, he pulled a plant from the ground that contained many flecks of gold in the soil clinging to the roots. But as David packed the plant for shipment he saw only the plant. That’s how gold was first discovered in California in 1831 – not by loggers in Sutter Creek, but by the botanists in London who unpacked the shipment of plants from Douglas and saw the gold on the roots.

David Douglas had only one purpose in life. Nothing – not even gold – could distract him from his mission. That is the sort of focused and energetic zeal that God wants from us today!