DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
FRANKLIN K. LANE. SECRETARY
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
STEPHEN T. MATHER, DIRECTOR

EARLY HISTORY
OF
YOSEMITE VALLEY
CALIFORNIA

By
RALPH S. KUYKENDALL
NATIVE SONS HISTORY FELLOW. 1918-1919

Reprint of an article published in The Grizzly Bear
(Official Organ Native Sons and Native Daughters Golden West)
July, 1919

WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
1919

EARLY HISTORY OF YOSEMITE VALLEY, THE MASTERPIECE
OF NATURE’S HANDIWORK.

[By Ralph S. Kuykendall, Native Sons History Fellow, 1918-19.]

INTRODUCTION.

Ralph S. Kuykendall, in this excellent article, makes several new contributions to the early history of the Yosemite Valley. He has unearthed a number of official reports and other contemporary documents bearing on the subject which have never before been used by writers.

One of the documents is the first letter ever written in the Yosemite. This and another, from both of which extensive quotations are made in this article, constitute Capt. Bowling’s report of the second expedition of 1851. By the use of this new material Mr. Kuykendall has been able definitely to determine for the first time the exact date of the discovery of the Yosemite, and to fix the chronology of the several military expeditions that were made into this region in 1851 and 1852. (Herbert E. Bolton, professor of American History and curator of the Bancroft Library, University of California.)

THE INDIANS.

The beginnings of human life in the Yosemite Valley are shrouded in impenetrable mystery. As we seek to trace back the history of the people who were occupying the region when white men first entered its fastnesses we come almost immediately into the realm of myth and legend, from which it is impossible to extract any element of attested fact. But from the Indian legends, filtered through the imagination of the white folk, we can draw out a fairly consistent story, which, in the absence of authentic history, may serve as an introduction.

From time immemorial there had dwelt in the fair valley of Ahwahnee the powerful tribe of the Ahwahneechees. To this place they believed the Great Spirit had led them from their original home in the far-distant west. In their new, high-walled home the Ahwahneechees were secure from attack, and their warlike prowess made them feared and respected by all the other tribes of the mountains. But at length an evil time came upon them. Wars and a fearful pestilence decimated the tribe. The valley was held to be accursed, and the feeble remnant of its inhabitants fled to their neighbors or to the wild tribes across the mountains. For many years the valley was deserted.

But a certain noble youth of the tribe, who had gone among the Monos, married a maiden of that tribe, and to this pair a son was born, who was named Teneiya. Now Teneiya, when he had grown to man’s estate, remembered the home of his fathers. So he gathered together the remnants of the tribe and returned with them to the vale of Ahwahnee; and they prospered and once more became powerful. And one day it happened that a young brave, going to the Lake of the Sleeping Water to spear fish, was met by a monster grizzly bear, and a terrific battle ensued, from which the Indian emerged victorious, though grievously wounded. After this the young chief was called Yosemite, or the large grizzly bear, and finally the name came to be applied to the whole tribe.

Thus far the legend. But with Teneiya we come to an historical personage, the last chief of the Yosemite Indians. He was ruling over the tribe when the white men came to the valley. When asked about the name Yosemite he is reported to have said that when he was a young chief this name had been selected for the tribe—

because they occupied the mountains and valleys. which were the favorite resort of the grizzly bear, and because his people were expert in killing them. That his tribe had adopted the, name because those who had bestowed it were afraid of “the grizzlies” and feared his band.[1]

Ethnologically the natives of the Yosemite Valley belonged to the Mariposa dialect group of the southern Sierra Miwok Indians, and the ethnologists assure us that the Indian name for the valley was, and still is, Awani (Ahwahnee), which was the name of the principal village in the valley, and by extension, the name of the people also. The ending tei (or chee), signifying location or origin, is sometimes added to Awani (or Ahwahnee) when speaking of, the people. The name Yosemite is simply a corruption of the term which the southern Miwoks applied to any species of bear and particularly to the grizzly,[2] and was given to the valley, as we shall see, because white people who first came in contact with its native inhabitants called them Yosemites.

FIRST VISIT OF WHITE MEN.

There is no evidence to show that white men entered Yosemite Valley before the spring of 1851. There is some reason to believe that the Joseph R. Walker expedition of 1833 descended the western slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains along the ridge between the Merced and the Tuolumne Rivers and looked down into the Yosemite Valley from its northern wall, but our best authority for that expedition, the contemporary or nearly contemporary narrative of Zenas Leonard, a member of the party, states clearly that they did not succeed in their efforts to go down into a valley which he describes in terms that have been taken to apply to the Yosemite. As early as 1806 a Spanish missionary and reconnaissance expedition went half a day’s march up the Merced River, and other Spanish expeditions crossed the Merced at later times, but none of these seem to. have gone farther up the river than the lowest foothills. A year or two before 1851 James D. Savage, while in pursuit of Indians, reached a point within a few miles of the valley. But the real discovery of this masterpiece of nature’s handiwork was made in 1851, as an incidental result of the effort to settle the Indian problems which had arisen in that region.

INDIAN WAR 0F 1850-51.

When the white men flocked into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in search of gold it was not long before difficulties arose with the Indians. What happened here was the same thing that had happened everywhere on the frontier— the red man had to give way to the white; but he did not do so without a struggle. This, struggle, it is true, was comparatively short, since the California Indians were not capable of maintaining a long contest. The war in the Mariposa country was only one episode in the red man’s fight to keep possession of his ancestral home, but it is the only part of it which we need to consider in this connection.

In the beginning of 1850 James D. Savage had a trading post and mining camp on the Merced River some 20 miles below the Yosemite Valley, which was at that time unknown to the whites. During the spring of that year Indians supposed to belong to the tribe known as the Yosemites made an attack on this post. They were driven off, but Savage thought it best to abandon the place and remove his store to Mariposa Creek. He also established a branch post on the Fresno River and at both places built up a prosperous trade. Savage had several Indian wives and obtained a really remarkable influence over the Indian tribes with which he was connected. But there were malcontents among them and the tribes in the mountains were suspicious and easily incited to acts of hostility.

On the 17th of December, 1850, Savage’s Indians deserted the Mariposa camp and on the same or the following day his post on the Fresno was attacked and two of the three men there present killed. Adam Johnston, the Indian agent, describes the scene as it was two days later when he visited it:

It presented a horrid scene of savage cruelty. The Indians had destroyed everything they could not use, or carry with them. The store was stripped of blankets, clothing, flour, and everything of value; the safe was broken open and rifled of its contents; the cattle, horses and mules had been run into the mountains; the murdered men had been stripped of their clothing and lay before us filled with arrows; one of them had yet 20 perfect arrows sticking in him.[1]

Several other similar outrages occurred soon after and signalized the beginning of a general Indian war.

THE MARIPOSA BATTALION.

Under these circumstances the white settlers took prompt action to protect. themselves. Under the lead of Sheriff James Burney and James D. Savage, a volunteer company was formed, January 6, 1851, with Burney in command. This force had several indecisive skirmishes with the Indians. Meanwhile the governor had been appealed to and he immediately authorized Sheriff Burney to call out 200 militiamen and organize a battalion for service as the emergency might demand. Under this authorization the Mariposa Battalion (as it was popularly called) was formed, February 10, at Savage’s partially ruined store on Mariposa Creek. Savage was elected major, Burney having declined to be a candidate for the position, and three companies were organized under command of Capts. John J. Kuykendall, John Bowling, and William Dill. Headquarters were established on Mariposa Creek and here the battalion was drilled in preparation for the campaign, and occasional scouting forays were made into the enemy’s country.

INDIAN COMMISSIONERS TO RESCUE.

At the same time that Gov. McDougal issued his order for the calling out of the militia he appealed for cooperation to the United States Indian commissioners, McKee, Barbour, and Wozencraft, who had just arrived in California with instructions to make treaties with the Indian tribes. It was agreed that the commissioners would go at once to the disaffected region and endeavor to treat with the hostile tribes, and that the volunteer battalion which had been raised should be subject to their directions. If negotiations failed, force would be used to bring the Indians to terms. The commissioners arrived at the Mariposa camp about the 1st of March, and immediately sent out runners inviting the various tribes to come in and have a talk. A meeting was arranged for the 9th of March, and on the 19th a treaty was made with six tribes, which were at once removed to a reservation between the Merced and the Tuolumne rivers. The commissioners then went on to talk with the tribes south of the Merced River, and left part of the volunteer battalion to deal with the Indians who had refused to enter into the treaty.[1]

PURSUIT OF RECALCITRANT INDIANS.

Among the tribes which had agreed to come in to talk with the commissioners was one which t he latter called the “Yosemetos”[2] and which Adam Johnston, the Indian agent, refers to as the “Yocemete.”[3] This tribe had failed to appear, and reports brought in by friendly Indians indicated that they had no intention of coming in. One of these friendly Indians is reported to have said:

The Indians in the deep rocky valley on the Merced do not wish for peace, and will not come in to see the chiefs sent by the great father to make treaties. They think the white men can not find their hiding places, and that “therefore they can not be driven out.”[4]

It was therefore deemed necessary to send a military force after them.

On the evening of March 19, the very day on which the treaty was signed, Maj. Savage set out[5] with the companies of Capts. Bowling and Dill, Capt. Kuykendall’s company being absent in the region of San Joaquin and Kings Rivers.

The march was over rugged mountains and through deep defiles covered with snows and was one of considerable exposure and hardship. * * * Part of the march was exceedingly difficult and dangerous. It lay along a deep canyon and a part of it had to be made through the water and a part over precipitous cliffs covered with snow and ice.[1]

On the morning of the 22d a Nuchu rancheria on the South Fork of the Merced River was surprised and captured without a fight. At this point a camp was established and messengers were sent ahead to the Yosemites with a request that they come into camp. Next[2] day the old chief Teneiya came in alone, and after an interview with Savage promised that if allowed to return to his people he would bring them in. “He was allowed to go. The next day he came back, and said his people would soon come to our Camp.”[3] The day passed and no Indians appeared. Maj. Savage, growing impatient, set out on the morning of March 25 with a part of his command, taking the old chief along with him as guide. After a little while they met a company of 72 Indians on the trail, and Teneiya said that these were all of his people except some who had gone over the mountains. Savage replied:

There are but few of your people here. Your tribe is large. I am going to your village to see your people, who will not come with you. They will come with me if I find them.[4]

DISCOVERY OF YOSEMITE VALLEY.

Teneiya was allowed to go to the camp on the South Fork with his people, but Savage took one of his young braves as a guide and continued his march toward the north.[5] Within a short time the company came to old Inspiration Point and the full view of the valley was presented to their gaze. It must be confessed, however, that the scenic wonder of this valley made very slight impression on these rough men of action, and without much ado they hastened down the trail and camped for the night on the south side of the Merced River, a little below El Capitan. The day of the discovery was March 25, 1851.[6]

As the tired campaigners sat about the camp fire that night the events of the day were passed in review and the question arose of giving a name to the valley which they had found. Dr. L. H. Bunnell, upon whom the scenes and events of this campaign made a deeper impression than upon any of the others, suggested the appropriateness of naming it after the aborigines who dwelt there. The suggestion was agreed to after some good-natured banter, and since the white men called these Indians Yosemites the name Yosemite was given to the valley, rather than the more melodious Indian name Awani (Ahwahnee) which already belonged to it.

The next day was spent in a search of the valley, but no Indians were found save an ancient squaw who was too old and decrepit to make her escape.[1] Indian huts, evidently deserted but a few hours before, and large caches of acorns and other provisions were found and destroyed. The valley was thoroughly explored by the volunteers, one party going up Teneiya Creek beyond Mirror Lake and another ascending the Merced to a point above Nevada Fall. The search proving fruitless and the supplies running low it was decided to abandon the chase and return to the camp on the South Fork. From there the Indians who had been gathered together were started toward the commissioners’ camp on the Fresno, but before they arrived at their destination the negligence of the guard permitted them to escape and they returned to their mountain fastnesses. They were gone, but assuredly not forgotten.[2]

In Judge Marvin’s account of this expedition occurs what is probably the first printed description of the Yosemite, Valley:

The rancherias of the Yosemitees is described as being in a valley of surpassing beauty, about 10 miles in length and 1 mile broad. Upon either side are high perpendicular rocks, and at each end through which the Middle Fork runs, deep canyons, the only accessible entrance to the valley. The forest trees, such as pine, fir, redwood, and cedar, are of immense height and size.

About the middle, of April Maj. Savage led a fruitless expedition into the mountains in an effort to round up certain reluctant bands of Chowchilla Indians. On the 29th of April the commissioners made, a treaty with 16 tribes of Indians between the Chowchilla and Kaweah Rivers and placed them on a reservation. The three commissioners, then divided their territory, and each went to a different part of the State, to continue their labors, leaving the volunteer battalion to complete the work here by bringing to the reservations the Indians who were still lurking in the mountains.

SECOND EXPEDITION TO YOSEMITE.

On May 4, 1851, Maj. Savage addressed to Capt. John Bowling the following order:

Sir: You will with 35 of your company take up the line of march for the Yosemite vicinities. You will, if possible, surprise them and whip them well. But in the event you can not surprise them you will make use of any means in your power to induce them to come down and treat.[3]

There is an official account of this expedition, written by Capt. Bowling in the form of two letters. The first of these was written May 15, 1851, in the Yosemite Valley, and. addressed to Maj. Savage. The second was written May 29 at the camp on the Fresno River, and addressed to Col. G. W. Barbour, one of the Indian commissioners. These reports have not heretofore been known to writers on the history of the Yosemite Valley, and since they give a vivid account of this expedition, I think it worth while to let Capt. Bowling tell the story in his own words.[1] Writing from the “Yo-Semety Village. May 15, 1851,” he says:

On reaching this valley, which we did on the 9th instant, I selected for our encampment the most secluded place that I could find, lest our arrival might be discovered by the Indians. Spies were immediately dispatched in different directions, some of which crossed the river to examine for signs on the opposite side. Trails were soon found, leading up and down the river, which had been made since the last rain. On the morning of the 10th we took up the line of march for the upper end of the valley, and having traveled about 5 miles we discovered five Indians running up the river on the north side. All of my command, except a sufficient number to take care of the pack animals, put spurs to their animals, swam the river and caught them before they could get into the mountains. One of them proved to be the son of the old Yosemite chief.[2] I informed them if they would come down from the mountains and go with me to the United States Indian commissioners, they would not be hurt; but if they would not, I would remain in their neighborhood as long as there was a fresh track to be found; informing him at the same time that all the Indians except his father’s people and the Chouchillas had treated. * * * He then informed me that * * * if I would let him loose with another Indian, he would bring in his father and all his people by 12 o’clock the next day.

I then gave them plenty to eat and started him and his companion out. We watched the others close, intending to hold them as hostages until the dispatch-bearers returned. They appeared well satisfied and we were not suspicious of them, in consequence of which one of them escaped. We commenced searching for him, which alarmed the other two still in custody, and they attempted to make their escape. The boys took after them and, finding they could not catch them, fired and killed them both. This circumstance, connected with the fact of the two whom we had sent out not returning, satisfied me that they had no intention of coming in. My command then set out to search for the rancheria. The party which went up the left toward Canyarthia [?] found the rancheria at the head of a little valley, and from the signs it appeared that the Indians had left but a few minutes. The boys pursued them up the mountain on the north side of the river, and when they had got near the top, helping each other from rock to rock on account of the abruptness of the mountains, the first intimation they had of the Indians being near was a shower of huge rocks which came tumbling down the mountain, threatening instant destruction. Several of the men were knocked down, and some of them rolled and fell some distance before they could recover, wounding and bruising them generally. One man’s gun was knocked out of his hand and fell 70 feet before it stopped, whilst another man’s hat was knocked off his head without hurting him. The men immediately took shelter behind large rocks, from which they could get an occasional shot, which soon forced the Indians to retreat, and by pressing them close they caught the old Yosemite chief, whom we yet hold as a prisoner. In this skirmish they killed one Indian and wounded several others.

You are aware that I know this old fellow well enough to look out well for him, lest by some stratagem he makes his escape. I shall aim to use him to the best advantage in pursuing his people. I send down a few of my command with the pack animals for provisions; and I am satisfied if you will send me 10 or 12 of old Ponwatchi’s best men.[3] I could catch the women and children and thereby force the men to come in. The Indians I have with me have acted in good faith and agree with me in this opinion.

The account is continued in the letter to Col. Barbour:

* * * Notwithstanding the number of our party being reduced to 22 men, by the absence of the detachment necessary to escort with safety the pack train, we continued the chase with such rapidity, that we forced a large portion of the Indians to take refuge in the plains with friendly Indians, while the remainder sought to conceal themselves among the rugged cliffs in the snowy regions of the Sierra Nevada.

Thus far I have made it a point to give as little alarm as possible. After capturing some of them I set a portion at liberty, in order that they might assure the others that if they come in they would not be harmed. Notwithstanding the treachery of the old chief, who contrived to lie and deceive us all the time, his grey hairs saved the boys from inflicting on him that justice which would have been administered under other circumstances. Having become satisfied that we could not persuade him to come in, I determined on hunting them, and if possible running them down, lest by leaving them in the mountains they would form a new settlement and a place of refuge for other ill-disposed Indians who might do mischief and retreat to the mountains, and finally entice off those who are quiet and settled in the reserve. On the 20th (of May) the train of pack animals and provisions arrived, accompanied by a few more men than the party which went out after provisions, and Ponwatchi, the chief of the Nuchtucs (Nuchu) tribe with 12 of his warriors.

On the morning of the 21st we discovered the trail of a small party of Indians traveling in the direction of the Monos’ country. We followed this trail until 2 o’clock next day, 22d, when one of the scouting parties reported a rancheria near at hand. Almost at the same instant a spy was discovered watching our movements. We made chase after him immediately and succeeded in catching him before he arrived at the rancheria, and we also succeeded in surrounding the ranch and capturing the whole of them. This chase in reality was not that source of amusement which it would seem to be when anticipated. Each mail in the chase was stripped to his drawers, in which situation all hands ran at full speed at least four miles, some portion of the time over and through snow 10 feet deep, and in this 4-mile heat all Ponwatchi gained on my boys was only distance enough to enable them to surround the rancheria while my men ran up in front. Two Indians strung their bows and seized their arrows, when they were told that if they did not surrender they would be instantly killed.

They took the proper view of this precaution and immediately surrendered. The inquiry was made of those unfortunate people if they were then satisfied to go with us; their reply was they were more than willing, as they could go to no other place. From all we could see and learn from those people we were then on the main range of the Sierra Nevada. The snow was in many places more than 10 feet deep, and generally where it was deep the crust was sufficiently strong to bear a man’s weight, which facilitated our traveling very much. Here there was a large lake completely frozen over, which had evidently not yet felt the influence of the spring season.[1] The trail which we were bound to travel lay along the side of a steep mountain so slippery that it was difficult to get along barefoot without slipping and falling hundreds of yards. This place appearing to be their last resort or place where they considered themselves perfectly secure from the intrusion of the white man. In fact those people appear to look upon this place as their last home, composed of nature’s own materials, unaided by the skill of man.

The conduct of Ponwatchi and his warriors during this expedition entitled him and them to much credit. They performed important service voluntarily and cheerfully, making themselves generally useful, particularly in catching the scattered Indians after surprising a rancheria. Of the Yosemities, few, if any, are now left in the mountains. * * *

It seems that their determined obstinacy is entirely attributable to the influence of their chief, whom we have a prisoner, among others of his tribe, and whom we intend to take care of. They have now been taught the double lesson—that the white man would not give up the chase without the game, and at the same time, if they would come down from the mountains and behave themselves they would be kindly treated.

Altogether Capt. Bowling’s command spent about two weeks in the valley on this occasion. The main purpose of the expedition having been accomplished, a return was made) to the, headquarters on the Fresno and the Indians were placed on the reservation. Teneiya, however, chafed under restraint and appealed repeatedly for permission to return to the, mountains. Finally, on his solemn promise to behave, he was allowed to go back to the valley, taking his immediate family with him. In a short time a number of his old followers made their escape from the reservation and were supposed to have joined him. No attempt was made to bring them back, and no complaint was heard against the Yosemites during the winter of 1851-52.

EXPEDITION OF 1852.

On the 20th of May, 1852, party of eight prospectors started from Coarse Gold Gulch on a trip to the upper waters of the Merced River. They had just entered the Yosemite Valley when they were set upon by a band of Indians, and two of them, named Rose and Shurborn were killed and a third badly wounded. The others got away and after enduring great hardships arrived again at Coarse Gold Gulch on the 2d of June. The same day about 30 or 40 miners set out to punish the treacherous Yosemites. This party found and buried the bodies of the murdered men, but they were compelled to return without punishing the perpetrators of the deed.[1]

The commander at Fort Miller having been informed of these events, a detachment of Regular soldiers under Lieut. Moore, with scouts and guides, was at once dispatched into the mountains. On arriving in the Yosemite Valley this expedition surprised and captured five Indians. Clothing said to belong to the murdered men being found upon them, they were summarily shot. The remainder of the Yosemites with their old chief Teneiya made their escape and fled over the mountains into the Mono country. Thither the soldiers pursued, but were unable to catch any of them. The party lost a few horses, killed by the Indians, explored the region about Mono Lake, discovered some gold deposits, and then returned to the fort on the San Joaquin by a route that led south of the Yosemite Valley. This expedition was made in June and July, 1852.

DEATH OF TENEIYA.

Teneiya and his fellow tribesmen seem to have remained among the Monos until the summer of 1853, when they returned once more to the Yosemite Valley. They repaid the hospitality of the Monos by stealing a number of their horses. This proceeding stirred the wrath of the Monos, and they determined to wreak summary vengeance upon their erstwhile guests. They put on their war paint and descended suddenly upon the Yosemites while the latter were in the midst of a gluttonous feast. Old Teneiya had his skull crushed by a rock hurled from the hand of a Mono warrior and all except a handful of his followers were slain. The tribe was virtually exterminated, though a few of their descendants still survive. From that day to the present there has been peace in the vale of Ahwahnee.

YOSEMITE IS MADE KNOWN.

In the manner which has been described, the Yosemite Valley was discovered; but the Californians of that early day, and particularly those in the mining region, had very little interest in scenery. The discovery of a rich placer would have attracted some attention, but mere scenery none at all. The wonderful valley remained practically undisturbed for three years longer. Early in the year 1855 one of the very meager descriptions of Yosemite called forth by the events of 1851 and 1852 came by chance to the notice of J. M. Hutchings. Hutchings was at the moment laying plans for the publication of his California Magazine, and for that reason the mention of a waterfall a thousand feet high arrested his attention, and he resolved to investigate the matter.

In June or July, 1855, Hutchings formed a party to visit the valley, consisting of himself, Walter Millard, and Thomas Ayres, an artist. At Mariposa, a fourth member, Alexander Stair, joined the party. Some difficulty was experienced in the matter of a guide, but finally, through the assistance of Capt. Bowling and some other members of the Mariposa Battalion, two Indians were found to perform that essential service, and in due time the party found their way into the valley.

Says Hutchings:

We spent five glorious days in luxurious scenic banqueting here, the memory of which is like the mercies of the Almighty, “new every morning and fresh every evening.” We left it reluctantly, even when our sketch and note-books were as full to repletion with elevating treasures as our souls were with loving veneration for their wonderful Author.

Upon their return to the settlements these men gave an enthusiastic account of their experiences. Hutchings wrote an article which was printed in the Mariposa Gazette of August 16, and parts of which were quoted in the San Francisco (Calif.) Chronicle of August 18. A picture by Ayres was lithographed and published soon after, and before the year was out two other parties made their way into the valley. With the visit of Hutchings, Ayres, Millard, and Stair the tourist travel to Yosemite may fairly be said to have begun.

O

Footnotes

Page 4.

1L. H. Bunnell, Discovery of the Yosemite, 63-4.

2A. L. Kroeber, in Univ. Calif. Publ. Am. Arch. Ethn., XII, 68 ; S. A. Barrett, in Ibid., VI, 343, and map opposite page 348.

Page 5.

1Adam Johnston to Gov. Peter H. Burnett, Jan. 2, 1851, In Journals of California Legislature, 2 Sess. (1851), p. 565.

Page 6.

1Rep. of Ind. Coms., Mar. 5, 1851, in Sen. Docs., 33d Cong. spec. sess., Doc. 4, pp. 60-63; Adam Johnston to Luke, Lea, Mar. 7, 1851, in ibid., pp. 63-67; Reports and Cor[r]espondence in Journals of California Legislature, 2d sess. (1851), pp. 599ff, 670ff; W. H. Ellison, Fed. Ind. Policy in Cal. Ms. Chapter 7; San Francisco Cal. Daily Courier, March 10, 1851.

2Rep. of Ind. Coms., loc. cit.

3Adam Johnston to J. M. Crane, Mar. 28, 1851, in San Francisco (Calif.) Daily Courier, Apr. 2, 1851.

4 Bunnell, p. 33.

5See Maj .Savage’s orders, Nos. 11 and 12, in Elliott’s. History of Fresno County, p. 179; also Johnston’s letter to Crane, cited above. An account of this expedition was written by Judge John G. Marvin, quartermaster of the battalion, from information furnished by Adjt. M. B. Lewis and Lieut [? Corp. I. H.] Brooks. This account was written three weeks after the return of the expedition, and was printed in the San Francisco Alta California, Apr. 23, 1851. The account here given is based on that of Judge Marvin and the well-known history by Bunnell. Dr. Bunnell was a member of both the expeditions of 1851, but his first account of them, in Hutchings’ California Magazine, later expanded into his book, was not published until May, 1859.

Page 7.

1Marvin.

2 Bunnell, p. 45. Marvin says he brought two of his sons with him. It Is interesting to notice that the name Teneiya does not appear in any of the strictly contemporary documents relating to these expeditions of 1851 and 1852. This name first appeared in print, so far as I am, aware, in Bunnell’s short account in Hutchings’ California Magazine for May, 1895 [Ed. note: 1859]. J. M. Hutchings’ first account, published in the same magazine for July, 1856, and based apparently on information received from Capt. Bowling and from John D. Hunt, a member of the battalion, gives the name of the old chief as Je-ne-a-eh. The contemporary accounts call him Yosemite (variously spelled), when they refer to him by name.

3 Bunnell, p. 47.

4 Ibid., p. 52.

5 Ibid., 52-3. Marvin says that Savage took the old chief along with him into the valley.

6This date is definitely fixed by Judge Marvin’s account, for which there is abundant supporting evidence on this point. Bunnell is practically right. He says (p. 70) that it was “about the 21st of March.” J. M. Hutchings (In the Heart of the Sierras, pp. 56-7, 61) in an otherwise excellent account, blunders badly on the date, placing it on May 5 or 6. The evidence which he cites proves, in fact, the impossibility of his conclusions.

Page 8.

1 Bunnell, chapter 5. Marvin says that they found “a very old Indian and his wife, the father and mother of Yo-Semitee [Teneiya], who had been left behind to perish or to take care of themselves as best they could * * *.” But it seems clear to me that a circumstance so remarkable as this would hardly have escaped Dr. Bunnell. It must be remembered that Marvin, though he wrote within a month after these events, was not an eye witness. As to the treatment accorded this withered specimen (or specimens) Bunnell and Marvin agree. A supply of wood for fuel and acorns for food was placed within easy reach.

2Judge Marvin states that the Indians Were turned over to the commissioners, but this probably refers to about a hundred gathered up by Capt. Dill in the neighborhood of the Fresno.

3Elliott’s History of Fresno County, p. 179.

Page 9.

1These letters were printed in the San Francisco Alta California, June 12 and 14, 1851. The first one is beyond any question the first letter ever written in the Yosemite Valley.

2Bunnell, p. 147, says three of them were sons of Teneiya, and that the peaks known as the Three Brothers received that name from the circumstance of the three sons of Teneiya being captured near them.

3Nuchu Indians captured on the preceding expedition.

Page 10.

1This was Teneiya Lake, named after the old chief.

Page 11.

1San Francisco Alta California, June 10, 18, 1852. Neither Bunnell nor Hutchings mention this expedition of miners. They attribute the burial of the murdered men to the military expedition that followed.

Bibliographical Information

Ralph Simpson Kuykendall (1885-1963) Early History of Yosemite Valley California (Book Club of California, 1962), (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1919) 12 pages. 25 cm. Saddle stitched with a paper cover. LCCN 19-027635. Library of Congress Call Number P868.Y6 K8.

Digitized by Dan Anderson, November 2004. These files may be used for any non-commercial purpose, provided this notice is left intact.
—Dan Anderson, www.yosemite.ca.us

About the Author

Ralph S. Kuykendall was born April 12, 1885 in Linden, California, the son of a Methodist clergyman and missionary, John Wesley Kuykendall, and Marilla Pierce Kuykendall. He graduated from University of the Pacific with a AB in 1910 and from University of California (Berkeley) with a MA in 1918. Kuykendall married Edith Clare Kelly in 1919 and they had two sons. She died 1948. Kuykendall’s interest in California history began during his days at University of California inventorying California county archives and researching Pacific voyages in the Spanish archives. In 1922 he moved to Hawaii and became interested in Hawaiian history. Mr. Kuykendall was assistant professor and professor at University of Hawaii, Honolulu from 1931 to his retirement in 1950. He has written several Hawaiian histories. The best known is Hawaiian Kingdom 1854-1874, Twenty Critical Years (1853). He died May 9, 1963 in TUcson, Arizona. An editorial of his death is in the Honolulu Advertiser for May 21.

- Ralph Simpson Kuykendall (Wikipedia)

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