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Woodcut from title page ofr
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![]() r Carl and Betty Russellr r 1925 (NPS)r r (so much for Prohibition)r r |
r Dr. Russell served in several regional positions in the NPS,r including NPS Chief Naturalist, regional director,r and Yosemite National Park Superintendent.r Dr. Russell retired from the park service in 1957 andr died June 19, 1967.r Besides several editions ofr One Hundred Years in Yosemite,r he wroter r Guns on the Early Frontiersr in 1957,r and, published posthumously,r r Firearms, Traps and Tools of the Mountain Men.r
r rr For more information see ther r WSU Libraries’ biographical sketch.r WSU Special Collections is the depository for his papers.r More Russell papers are in the Bancroft Library.r See also John Bingaman’s biographical sketch inr r Chapter 23 of Guardians of the Yosemite (1961)r
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![]() r Carl P. Russellr |
r Ther Documents section in the appendices is from ther first edition (pp. 170-202), published 1931 by Stanford University.r It was omitted in the second edition published in 1947.r The second edition also omitsr several photographsr that were in the 1931 edition.r The third edition (1957) is the last edition edited by Dr. Russell.r
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Digitized by Dan Anderson, December 2004,r
from a personal copy.r
These files may be used for any non-commercial purpose,r
provided this notice is left intact.r
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—Dan Anderson, www.yosemite.ca.usr
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One Hundred Years in Yosemiter
![]() r by Carl P. Russell (Paperback, 1992)r r r r Buy this book at Amazon.comr r | r
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r rr http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/one_hundred_years_in_yosemite/r
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r r r r rr ONE HUNDRED YEARS IN YOSEMITEr
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r BY CARL PARCHER RUSSELLr
r rr CHIEF NATURALIST, UNITED STATES NATIONAL PARK SERVICEr
r rr With a Foreword by Newton B. Druryr
r rr UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESSr
r rr Berkeley and Los Angeles • 1947r
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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESSr
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BERKELEY AND LOS ANGELESr
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CALIFORNIAr
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-<>-r
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CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESSr
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LONDON, ENGLANDr
r COPYRIGHT, 1932r
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COPYRIGHT, 1947, BYr
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THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIAr
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PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICAr
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BY THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESSr
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DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OFr
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WASHINGTON BARTLETT LEWISr
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1884-1930r
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ANDr
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CHARLES GOFF THOMSONr
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1885-1935r
r Next: Forewordr •r Contentsr
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r The national park servicer r is primarily a custodian of andr trustee for lands—lands with unique and special qualities,r so distinctive as to make their care a concern of the entirer nation; lands, therefore, held under a distinctive pattern andr policy, administered according to the national park concept.r Yosemite National Park comprises such lands. It is, so tor speak, a type locality for the national park idea. While Yellowstone,r established in 1872, was the first real national park,r Yosemite Valley, in 1864, under an act signed by President Lincoln,r was transferred to the State of California to be protectedr according to park principles, later to be re-ceded to the Federalr Government. Here in Yosemite many of the national parkr policies and techniques of protection, administration, and interpretationr have evolved and are still evolving, within ther framework of the basic act of 1916, with its injunction to “conserver the scenery and the natural and historic objects and ther wildlife therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the samer in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpairedr for the enjoyment of future generations.”r r
r rr r Dr. Russell’s One Hundred Years in Yosemite, appearingr now in its new version, gives not only a chronology of events,r and the persons taking part in them, related to this place ofr very special beauty and meaning. It also portrays, in terms ofr r r r human experience, the growth of a distinct and unique conceptionr of land management and chronicles the thoughts andr effort of those who contributed to it. It tells of the obstaclesr overcome, and of the pressures, present even today, to breakr down the national park concept, and turn these lands to commercialr and other ends that would deface their beauty andr impair their significance.r r
r rr r This book, therefore, is more than a history of Yosemite. Itr traces the evolution of an idea.r r
r rr r In scholarly fashion, sources of information are cited. Manyr of the documents and other source materials upon which ther book is based are preserved in the Yosemite Museum, thus givingr special interest to visitors to Yosemite.r r
r rr r Belief in the worth of the national park program cannot butr be strengthened by reading One Hundred Years in Yosemite.r
r rr
Newton B. Drury. r
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Director, National Park Servicer
r February 13, 1947r
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r It is ther r purpose of One Hundred Years in Yosemite tor preserve and disseminate the true story of the discoveryr and preservation of America’s first public reservation to be setr aside for its natural beauty and scientific interest.r r
r rr r When the original version of this book was written in 1930,r I had recently completed the collation of manuscript diariesr and correspondence, newspaper files, old journals, hotel registers,r state and federal reports, photographs, and a variety ofr other pertinent historical source materials in the library of ther Yosemite Museum. This was the material upon which the bookr was based. In the preface of the book I made a plea for the contributionr of additional Yosemite memorabilia to be added tor the Yosemite archives. Perhaps some of the fine response fromr donors during the past sixteen years is traceable to that plea;r more likely, the increased interest in the Yosemite Museumr results from the creditable work of the park’s staff membersr and the message carried by the monthly publication,r r Yosemiter r r Nature Notes.r r The notable growth of the Yosemite Museumr collections and the improvement of its exhibits and its generalr program of interpretive work are heartening to all who hadr a hand in the establishment of the work.r r
r rr r In the original version, and in bringing to the present workr the benefit of new material, I have attempted to organize ther r r r published information which has been confirmed by the oralr testimony of many Yosemite pioneers and enriched with authenticr data from unpublished manuscripts prepared by otherr “old-timers” to whom I could not speak. In order that a convenientr chronology of events might be available to the reader, anr outline is appended to the book. This includes the episodes relatedr in the text and in addition mentions many obscure eventsr not treated in the narrative. It also provides ready referencer to the sources drawn upon in writing. This method of citingr sources has made it unnecessary to encumber the pages of ther text with numerous footnotes.Most of the manuscripts referredr to are the property of the Yosemite Museum. The whereaboutsr of other manuscripts is indicated in the bibliography.r r
r rr r To the donors of the expanding collection of source materialsr and to the Yosemite staff members, also, who have accomplishedr so much in organizing, interpreting, and publishingr upon these materials, I am indebted. Their interest and theirr labors have facilitated my present writing, and their conscientiousr handling of file systems, accession records, stored collections,r and publication programs will facilitate the work ofr future investigators of Yosemite history and natural history.r At the same time, their good museum practices should inspirer further public confidence in the integrity of the Yosemite program,r and the collections will continue to grow.r r
r rr r A host of friends and associates have contributed to ther production of the book. Great thanks are due my wife for herr generous help and continuous encouragement. Mrs. H. J. Taylorr lent important assistance and advice. Among the Yosemiter staff members who gave valuable help, former Park Naturalistsr r r r r
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![]() r By Ralph Anderson, NPSr rr The Yosemite Museumr r | r
r r In the sixteen years that have elapsed since One Hundredr Years in Yosemite first appeared, notable changes have takenr place in the geographical boundaries of the national park,r physical developments within the reservation have, so far asr possible, kept pace with progressing modes of vacationing, andr some eight million visitors have journeyed to its wonders. Ar number of the historic caravansaries that served so conspicuouslyr during stagecoach days have been removed from ther scene, and the one-time dusty, tortuous routes of access haver been converted to safe, surfaced roads of beautiful alignment.r A world-shaking conflict has been waged, and the superlativer values of the park have emerged from that war unaffected byr the demands of “production” interests.r r
r rr r Many earnest men have applied themselves in guarding ther precious values of the great reservation. Some of these conservationistsr have virtually died in the harness. A growingr appreciation of the work of these men is evident, and there isr notable acclaim also of the far-sightedness of unnamed leadersr who in 1864 obtained the epoch-making legislation that gaver America her first public reservation of national park caliber.r r
r rr r It has been gratifying to me to observe some practical usefulnessr of my original compilation of Yosemite history, andr this new version of the work is offered with the hope that itr may continue to guide public attention to the significance ofr the action of pioneers who led the world along the paths ofr r r r scenic conservation. Upon the executives who now plan andr administer programs of protection and management in Yosemiter rests a responsibility that gains in magnitude in proportionr to the growing pressure exerted by the hordes of people whor seek the offerings of the park. The nation is yet in a pioneeringr stage in defining Yosemite values and regulating their use. Inr the light of experience of the past, it should be possible to discernr some of the path that lies ahead.r r
r rr r The ability to discern even the more subtle influences affectingr the security of Yosemite and other great national parks hasr become a “must” for National Park Service executives. Thisr sensitivity has not developed overnight, but now it approachesr maturity. Director Newton B. Drury has exercised a leadershipr in this regard which marks his period of service as the apexr of clear thinking on national park problems.r r
r rr Carl P. Russellr
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United States National Park Servicer
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January 30, 1947r
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CHAPTER | PAGE | |
I. | r Discovery | 1 |
II. | r Mariposa Hills | 9 |
III. | r White Chief of the Foothills | 15 |
IV. | r Pioneers in the Valley | 36 |
V. | r Tourists in the Saddle | 50 |
VI. | r Stagecoach Days | 61 |
VII. | r Explorers | 71 |
VIII. | r Hotels and Their Keepers | 92 |
IX. | r East-side Mining Excitement | 117 |
X. | r The Interpreters | 129 |
XI. | r Guardians of the Scene | 146 |
Chronology | 176 | |
Bibliography | 195 | |
Index | 217 |
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r The following are illustrations that appeared in the first edition (1931)r that did not appear in the second edition (1947).r
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r r rr The following are illustrations that appeared in the first edition (1931)r of One Hundred Years in Yosemiter that did not appear in the second edition (1947).r
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![]() r Yosemite National Park and Adjacent Regions (Inside cover map)r r |
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![]() SCHLAGETER HOTEL, MARIPOSA, 1854 rr A pioneer hostelry which is still represented in the present Mariposar r |
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COURTESY YOSEMITE MUSEUM r r![]() TYPICAL YOSEMITE INDIANr r[Editor’s note:r Captain John (Shibana or Poko-Tucket “Horse Eater”),r Mono Paiute, d. 1924r —dea.]r r |
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PHOTO BY C. P. RUSSELL r r![]() MARIA’S RANCHO rr Primitive home of Maria, aged Yosemite squaw, the last living member ofr the Indian band ejected from Yosemite by the Mariposa Battalionr r |
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PHOTO BY W. H. JACKSON (Not a view of the Yosemite episode) r r![]() HOW THE FIRST WAGON WAS BROUGHT TO YOSEMITE r |
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COURTESY YOSEMITE MUSEUM r r![]() OPENING OF THE MARIPOSA ROAD rr A great celebration marked the completion of Washburn, Chapman,r Coffman, and Company’s Mariposa Road on July 22, 1875r r |
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PHOTO BY J. T. BOYSEN r r![]() AN EARLY MOTOR BUS IN YOSEMITE VALLEY r |
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PHOTO BY J. T. BOYSEN r r![]() [AUTOMOBILE IN YOSEMITE] IN 1914 rr “Speed will be limited to six miles per hour, except on straightr stretches when approaching teams will be visible, when, if no teams are inr sight, this speed may be increased to an approximate maximum speed ofr ten miles per hour.”r r |
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YOSEMITE PARK AND CURRY COMPANY PHOTO r r![]() MODERN TRANSPORTATION rr “Mother” Curry and one of the Studebaker coaches which assumes its sharer of their annual load of half a million touristsr r |
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PHOTO BY [James V.] LLOYD r r![]() PERFECT ROADS FOR MODERN VEHICLES rr The system of approach roads and Valley floor avenues will long stand asr monuments to the memory of W. B. Lewis, their insistent proponentr r |
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COURTESY YOSEMITE MUSEUM r r![]() CLARK’S STATION (WAWONA) 1857 TO DATE rr “This ranch is a long, rambling, low house, built under enormous sugarr pines, where travelers find excellent quarters . . . .”—Bracer r |
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COURTESY YOSEMITE MUSEUM r r![]() LEIDIG’S HOTEL, 1869-1888 r |
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COURTESY YOSEMITE MUSEUM r r![]() UPPER HOTEL OR HUTCHINGS HOUSE, 1857 TO DATE rr The oldest building in Yosemite, known as Cedar Cottage. Every plank,r rafter, and joist in the building was whipsawed or hewn by handr r[Editor’s note:r The Cedar Cottage was torn down in 1938-1940—dea.]r r |
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COURTESY YOSEMITE MUSEUM r r![]() BLACK’S HOTEL, 1869-1888 r |
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COURTESY YOSEMITE MUSEUM r r![]() LA CASA NEVADA, 1870 TO EARLY ’90’s rr Snow’ House, on the flat between Vernal and Nevada Falls, accommodatedr the many users of the horse trail built by Snow in 1869r r |
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COURTESY YOSEMITE MUSEUM r r![]() THE STONEMAN HOUSE, 1889-1896 rr “. . . . in 1887 the state built a four-story structure that wouldr accommodate about one hundred and fifty guests”r r |
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COURTESY YOSEMITE PARK AND CURRY COMPANY r r![]() GLACIER POINT HOTEL, 1917 TO DATE rr “Highest Winter Resort in the World”r r[Editor’s note:r The Glacier Point Hotel burned down in 1969r —dea.]r r |
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COURTESY OF MRS. D. A. CURRY r r![]() CAMP CURRY, 1899 TO DATE rr Mr. and Mrs. D. A. Curry originated an idea in tourist service whichr revolutionized hostelry operation in Yosemite and other National Parksr r |
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COURTESY YOSEMITE PARK AND CURRY COMPANY r r![]() THE AHWAHNEE HOTEL, 1927 TO DATE r |
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PHOTO BY [James V.] LLOYD r r![]() THE BOOTHE LAKE HIGH SIERRA CAMP, 1924 TO DATE rr The unique system of high-country camps in Yosemite has grown fromr plans made by W. B. Lewis in 1923r r[Editor’s note:r This camp was moved andr renamed Vogelsang High Sierra Camp.r Vogelsangr is German for “bird song”—dea.]r r |
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COURTESY OF SIERRA CLUB r r![]() THE MAY LUNDY MINE rr Reports of the State Mining Bureau indicate that gold worth somethingr like three million dollars was produced by the May Lundy Miner r |
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COURTESY OF SIERRA CLUB r r![]() MOUNT DANA SUMMIT MINE rr Yosemite hikers who have climbed into that interesting summit region above Gaylor Lakes, no doubt, pondered overr the origin of long-deserted rock cabins clustered about a deep mine shaftr r |
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COURTESY YOSEMITE MUSEUM r r![]() GALEN CLARK rr One of the first commissioners for Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grover of Big Trees, “Guardian of the Valley” for twenty-six yearsr r |
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COURTESY YOSEMITE MUSEUM r r![]() GABRIEL SOVULEWSKI rr A living link between modern administration and the army management.r r |
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COURTESY YOSEMITE MUSEUM r r![]() HUNTERS IN YOSEMITE rr In 1896 destruction of both animals and plants was prohibited.r r |
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PHOTO BY HILEMAN r r![]() STEPHEN TYNG MATHER rr “. . . with generous and far-seeing wisdom he has made accessible for a multitude of American their greatr heritage of snow-capped mountains, of glaciers and streams and falls, of stately forests and quiet meadows.”r r |
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PHOTO BY [James V.] LLOYD r r![]() | r
THE YOSEMITE MUSEUM rr This National Park Service institution is a gift of the Laura Spelmanr Rockefeller Memorial through the American Association of Museums. Itr serves as a popular Yosemite guide for the 300,000 visitors who each yearr enter its doors. Within it are contained the historical items upon whichr this book is based. More than 300 donors have contributed to its accessions.r r[Editor’s note:r Today the Museum building is used for administrative officesr and most of the photographs, paintings, and artifacts are locked awayr when it closed in 1967.r The only museum space left is a room for an small Indian exhibit.r —dea.]r r |
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r r rr r In 1833 the Joseph Walker party crossed the Sierra, entering the Yosemite National Parkr region from the northeast and approximately following the route shown (Green Creek-Glenr Aulin-present Tioga Road route). Several members looked into Yosemite Valley on ar scouting trip from a camp along the Merced-Tuolumne divide.r [Editor’s note:r today historians generally believe the Walker party looked down The Cascades,r which are just west of Yosemite Valley, instead of Yosemite Valley itself.—dea]r r The party discovered ther Big Trees (Tuolumne or Merced groves).r r
r rr r In 1849-50 J. D. Savage maintained a trading post and milling camp below Yosemite Valleyr at the confluence of the Merced and its South Fork. In the spring of 1850 this station wasr attacked by Indians.r r
r rr r Savage then removed his post to a safer location on Mariposa Creek. In December, 1850,r Indians destroyed this post and murdered those in charge. Savage had established a branchr store on the Fresno River, and this station was also burned in December, 1850.r r
r rr r As a result the white settlers organized a volunteer company to punish the Indians. A campr of 500 Indians was found on a tributary of the San Joaquin River. The savages were routed.r r
r rr r Governor McDougal then authorized organization of the Mariposa Battalion. On March 19,r 1881, they set out for Yosemite (Mariposa-Wawona-Old Inspiration Point). The Battalion’sr first Yosemite Valley camp was near Bridalveil Creek. Their second was at Indian Canyon.r They explored the valley to the vicinity of Snow Creek Falls and the foot of Nevada Fall.r r
r rr r Later in 1851 Captain Boling and party returned to Yosemite to make final disposition of ther Indians (Fort Miller-Mariposa-Wawona). After two weeks of scouting they located ther Indians at Tenaya Lake (via Indian Canyon). The entire tribe was captured and broughtr to the reservation on the Fresno River. Old Chief Tenaya was later permitted to take hisr family back to Yosemite. Other members of his tribe soon ran away to join him.r r
r rr r In 1852, eight prospectors entered the valley and two of them were killed by the Yosemites.r As a result regular soldiers from Fort Miller, under Lt. Moore, made a third expedition tor Yosemite. They followed the fleeing Indians to Mono Lake (Tenaya Lake-Soda Springs-Mono Pass)r but captured none of them. On Moore’s return (Soda Springs-Little Yosemite-Glacier Pointr vicinity-Wawona) to Mariposa he exhibited mineral specimens found inr the summit region and Lee Vining was induced to go to the region to prospect. In 1853r according tor Bunnell,r wrathy Mono Indians, trailing stolen horses, came over the mountainsr and ended all Yosemite Indian troubles by virtually exterminating Tenaya’s band. Butr Maria Lebrado, a survivor, denied thisr (see p. 47).r r
r rr r In 1857, five years after Lt. Moore’s findings, word reached miners west of the range that richr placers had been found at Mono Diggings (Monoville). A rush from the Tuolumne Regionr followed. This excitement lasted but a few years.r r
r rr r In 1860 the Sheepherder Mine was located at Tioga. A prospect hole, shovel, pick, and obliteratedr notice were found in 1874 by William Breuschi, who relocated the lode. The Tiogar District was organized October 18, 1878.r r
r rr r In 1859, Brodigan, Doyle, Garraty, and W. S. Body had located rich ground at Bodie. By 1879r there were 8,000 people in Bodie. More than $34,000,000 has been produced here.r r
r rr r In 1879 the Homer District was organized at Lundy, on ground discovered by C. H. Nye.r r
r rr r In 1882-83 a wagon road, following the old alignment of the present Tioga Road. was builtr from Crockers to Bennetville (Tioga) in order that machinery might he brought up the westr slope. Road construction cost $64,000, and approximately another .$300,000 was spent onr development at Tioga. The mine never produced.r r
r rr r The sketch map also shows the Yosemite National Park Boundary as of 1946. The boundariesr at one time included Mount Ritter and the present Devils Postpile National Monument.r r
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SKETCHr
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![]() r By Thomas A. Ayers, 1855r rr The First Drawing Made in Yosemiter r | r
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r That picturesquer type known as the American trapperr ushered in the opening event of Sierra Nevada history.r True, the Spaniards of the previous century had viewed ther “snowy range of mountains,” had applied the name Sierra Nevada,r and even had visited its western base. But penetration ofr the wild and snowy fastness awaited the coming of Americans.r
r rr In the opening decades of the nineteenth century the entirer American West was occupied by scattered bands of trappers.r From the ranks of the “Fur Brigade” came Jedediah Strongr Smith, a youthful fur trader, not yet thirty years old but experiencedr in his profession and well educated for his time. Inr the summer of 1826 he took his place at the head of a partyr of men organized to explore the unknown region lying betweenr Great Salt Lake and the California coast. Smith’s leadership ofr this party gave him a first place in the history of the Sierrar Nevada. His party left the Salt Lake rendezvous on August 22,r 1826. A southwest course was followed across the deserts ofr Utah and Nevada, penetrating the Mojave country and ther Cajon Pass. On November 27 they went into camp nearr Mission San Gabriel. Smith was thus the first American to maker the transcontinental journey to California, the harbinger of ar great overland human flood.r
r rr The Spanish governor of California refused to permit ther party to travel north as Smith had planned. Instead, he instructedr that they should quit California by the route used inr entering. Reinforced with food, clothing, and horses suppliedr r r r by the friendly Mission San Gabriel, Smith returned to ther neighborhood of the Cajon Pass. It was not his intention, however,r to be easily deterred in his plan to explore California. Her followed the Sierra Madre to the junction of the Coast Rangesr and the Sierra Nevada and entered the San Joaquin Valley.r He found the great interior valley inhabited by large numbersr of Indians, who were in no way hostile or dangerous. Therer were “few beaver and elk, deer and antelope in abundance.”r Reaching one of the streams flowing from the mountains, her determined to cross the Sierra Nevada and return to Great Saltr Lake. Smith called this stream the Wimmelche after a tribe ofr Indians by that name who inhabited the region thereabouts.r C. Hart Merriam has established the fact that Smith’s “Wimmelche”r is the Kings River, and the time of his arrival therer as February of 1827. Since the passes of the Sierra in this regionr are never open before the advent of summer, it is not surprisingr that his party failed in this attempted crossing of the range.r Authorities have differed in their interpretation of Smith’sr writing regarding his ultimate success in traversing the Sierra,r but there is little doubt that he crossed north of the Yosemiter region, perhaps as far north as the American River.r
r rr Smith was, then, the first white man known to have crossedr the Sierra Nevada. His pathfinding exploits did not take himr into the limits of the present Yosemite National Park, but becauser his manuscript maps were made available to governmentr officials who influenced later expeditions and because he wasr the first to explore the mountain region of which the Yosemiter is an outstanding feature, his expedition provides the openingr story in any account of Yosemite affairs.r
r rr Smith’s explorations paved the way for a notable influx ofr American trappers to the valleys west of the Sierra Nevada.r Smith, in fact, returned to California that same summer.r Pattie, Young, Ogden, Wolfskill, Jackson, and Walker all broughtr parties to the new fields during the first five years following ther r r r Smith venture. Fur traders informed the settlers in the westernr states of the easy life in California and enticed them with storiesr of the undeveloped resources of the Pacific slope. Pioneers werer then occupying much of the country just west of the Missouri,r and a gradual tide of westward emigration brought attentionr first to Oregon and then to California.r
r rr The presence of Americans in California greatly annoyedr the Mexican officials of the country. The fears of these officialsr were justified, for the trappers scarcely concealed their desirer to overthrow Mexican authority and assume control themselves.r To add to the threatened confusion, revolt brewedr among the Mexicans who held the land.r
r rr In 1832 Captain B. L. E. Bonneville secured leave of absencer from the United States Army and launched a private venture inr exploring and trapping. One Joseph Reddeford Walker, whor had achieved fame as a frontiersman, was engaged by Bonneviller to take charge of a portion of his command. Walker’s partyr of explorers was ordered to cross the desert west of Great Saltr Lake and visit California. Reliable knowledge of the Sierrar Nevada and the first inkling of the existence of Yosemite Valleyr resulted from this expedition, made in 1833.r
r rr Joseph Walker, born in 1798 on the Tennessee River nearr the present Knoxville, Tennessee, had moved westward withr the advancing frontier in 1818 to the extreme westernr boundary of Missouri. There he and his brothers rented governmentr land near the Indian Factory, Fort Osage. They put in a cropr and during slack seasons mingled with the Osages and ther Kanzas Indians. Here Walker formed his first ideas of trader with the Indians—ideas which bore fruit during his later experiencesr on the Santa Fe Trail and with the fur brigades inr the Rocky Mountains.r
r rr Early in 1831, Walker, enroute southward from his home tor buy horses, stopped at Fort Gibson in the heart of the Cherokeer Nation in the eastern part of the present Oklahoma. Severalr r r r companies of the 7th U. S. Infantry were stationed here. Thisr circumstance brought about a sequence of events which leftr permanent marks upon Walker’s personal career and uponr the history of the American West. Captain B. L. E. Bonneviller was in command of B Company of the 7th Infantry. Bonneviller confided in Walker that the government was about to placer him on detached service in order that he might conduct ar private expedition into the Rocky Mountains for furs andr geographical data. He asked Walker to join him as guide andr counselor. To this proposal Walker acceded enthusiasticallyr and proceeded forthwith to organize the equipment and personnelr needed for the venture.r
r rr On the first of May, 1832, Bonneville and Walker led westwardr a caravan of twenty wagons attended by one hundred andr ten mounted trappers, hunters, and servants from the Missourir River landing where Fort Osage had once stood. Out upon ther Kansas plains they went, up the Platte, to the Sweetwater, andr through South Pass. In the valleys of the Green and the Snaker they trapped and traded through the winter and spring ofr 1832-33. After the rendezvous on the Green in July, 1883,r Walker was named by Bonneville to be the leader of the nowr famous Walker expedition to the Pacific.r
r rr The reports of Jedediah Smith on his trip of 1826 to Californiar and the much talked about adventures of Smith, asr discussed by the mountain men, seem to have been decisiver factors which influenced Bonneville to authorize this ambitiousr undertaking. The fact that a scant 4,000 pounds of beaverr was all he had to show for his campaign of the past year alsor may have contributed to his determination to take anotherr fling at exploration, trapping, and the trade. Walker’s Californiar party consisted of fifty men, with four horses each, a year’sr supply of food, ammunition, and trade goods. Zenas Leonardr and George Nidever, two free trappers who had joined ther Bonneville crowd at the Green River rendezvous, were selectedr r r r as members of the Walker party. Both were to become conspicuousr in California history by virtue of their writings.r
r rr Because Walker was the first white man to lead a party ofr explorers to the brink of Yosemite’s cliffs, he is given a firstr place in Yosemite history. It is worthwhile to record here somer of the appraisals of Walker, the man, made by his contemporariesr and companions.r
r rr Zenas Leonard, clerk of the Walker party, wrote, “Mr.r Walker was a man well calculated to undertake a business ofr this kind [the California expedition]. He was well hardenedr to the hardships of the wilderness—understood the character ofr the Indians very well . . . was kind and affable to his men, but atr the same time at liberty to command without giving offence . . .r and to explore unknown regions was his chief delight.”r
r rr Washington Irving said of Walker, “About six feet high,r strong built, dark complexioned, brave in spirit, though mildr in manners. He had resided for many years in Missouri, on ther frontier; had been among the earliest adventurers to Santa Fe,r where he went to trap beaver, and was taken by the Spaniards.r Being liberated, he engaged with the Spaniards and Siouxr Indians in a war against the Pawnees; then returned to Missouri,r and had acted by turns as sheriff, trader, trapper, untilr he was enlisted as a leader by Captain Bonneville.”r
r rr Hubert Howe Bancroft, the historian, estimated, “Captainr Joe Walker was one of the bravest and most skillful of ther mountain men; none was better acquainted than he with ther geography or the native tribes of the Great Basin; and the wasr withal less boastful and pretentious than most of his class”r
r rr Walker’s biographer, Douglas S. Watson, referring to Bonneville’sr effort to blame the financial failure of his westernr enterprises upon a scapegoat, stated, “Whatever may haver been Bonneville’s purpose in besmirching Walker in whichr Irving so willingly lent himself, he has hardly succeeded, forr where one person today knows the name Bonneville, thousandsr r r r regard Captain Joseph Reddeford Walker as one of ther foremost of western explorers, worthy to be grouped withr Jedediah Strong Smith and Ewing Young as the trilogy responsibler for the march of this nation to the shores of the Pacific; ther true pathfinders.”r
r rr Walker’s perseverance in completing his California journeyr grew out of a solemn determination to make a personal contributionr to the expansion of the United States westward to ther Pacific. His cavalcade crossed the Great Basin west of Greatr Salt Lake via the valley of the Humboldt and, passing southr by Carson Lake and the Bridgeport Valley, struck westwardr into the Sierra Nevada. The exact course they took acrossr the Sierra has been a matter of conjecture; some studentsr have attempted to identify it with the Truckee route, andr others have maintained that no ascent was made until the partyr reached the stream now known as Walker River. It seems probabler that they climbed the eastern flank of the Sierra by oner of the southern tributaries of the East Walker River. Once overr the crest of the range, they traveled west along the divide betweenr the Tuolumne and the Merced rivers directly into ther heart of the present Yosemite National Park.r
r rr Inr r Leonard’s narrative is found the following very significantr comment regarding the crossing:r
r rr We travelled a few miles every day, still on top of the mountain,r and our course continually obstructed with snow hills and rocks.r Here we began to encounter in our path many small streams whichr would shoot out from under these high snow-banks, and afterr running a short distance in deep chasms which they have throughr the ages cut in the rocks, precipitate themselves from one loftyr precipice to another, until they are exhausted in rain below. Somer of these precipices appeared to us to be more than a mile high.r Some of the men thought that if we could succeed in descendingr one of these precipices to the bottom, we might thus work our wayr into the valley below—but on making several attempts we foundr it utterly impossible for a man to descend, to say nothing of ourr r r r horses. We were then obliged to keep along the top of the dividingr ridge between two of these chasms which seemed to lead pretty nearr in the direction we were going—which was west,—in passing overr the mountain, supposing it to run north and south.r
r r[Editor’s note:r today historians generally believe the Walker party looked down The Cascades,r which are just west of Yosemite Valley, instead of Yosemite Valley itself.—dea]r
r rr Walker’s tombstone, in Martinez, California, bears the inscription,r “Camped at Yosemite Nov. 13, 1833.” Leonard’s descriptionr of their route belies the idea of his having campedr in Yosemite Valley, and the date is obviously an error as therer is reliable evidence that Walker had reached the San Joaquinr plain before this date. L. H. Bunnell in hisr Discovery of the Yosemiter records the following regarding Walker’s route andr his Yosemite camp sites:r
r rr The topography of the country over which the Mono Trail ran,r and which was followed by Capt. Walker, did not admit of his seeingr the valley proper. The depression indicating the valley, and itsr magnificent surroundings, could alone have been discovered, andr in Capt. Walker’s conversations with me at various times whiler encamped between Coulterville and the Yosemite, he was manlyr enough to say so. Upon one occasion I told Capt. Walker thatr Ten-ie-ya had said that, “A small party of white men once crossedr the mountains on the north side, but were so guided as not to seer the Valley proper.” With a smile the Captain said, “That was myr party, but I was not deceived, for the lay of the land showed therer was a valley below; but we had become nearly barefooted, ourr animals poor, and ourselves on the verge of starvation; so we followedr down the ridge to Bull Creek, where, killing a deer, we wentr into camp.”r
r rr Francis Farquhar, in his article, “Walker’s Discovery ofr Yosemite,” analyzes the problem of Walker’s route through ther Yosemite region and shows clearly that the Walker party wasr not guided by Indians. He concludes quite rightly that Bunnellr was not justified in depriving Walker of the distinctionr of discovering Yosemite Valley. Douglas S. Watson, in his volume,r West Wind: The Life of Joseph Reddeford Walker, offersr further evidence to this end.r
r r r r rr It requires no great stretch of the imagination to visualizer scouts along the flanks of the Walker party coming out uponr the brink of Yosemite Valley and looking down in wonderr upon the plunging waters of Yosemite Falls and, perhaps, venturingr to the edge of the Hetch Hetchy. In any case we haver in the 1839 account by Leonard the first authentic printedr reference to the Yosemite region. Another passage from thisr narrative must be quoted here:r
r rr In the last two days travelling we have found some trees of ther Redwood species, incredibly large—some of which would measurer from 16 to 18 fathom round the trunk at the height of a man’s headr from the ground.r
r rr This is the first published mention of the Big Trees of ther Sierra. If we accept Bunnell’s contention that the Walker partyr camped at Bull Creek (Hazel Green), we will also agree that ther party followed the old Mono Trail of the Indians. This router would have taken them near the Merced Grove of Big Trees.r There is probably no way of determining definitely whetherr the Merced Grove, the Tuolumne Grove, or both, were seenr by Walker’s men, but this incident so casually mentioned isr clearly the discovery of the famous Big Trees, and here for ther first time is a scholarly record of observations made in the presentr Yosemite National Park. We may accept Leonard’s writingsr as the earliest document in Yosemite history and the Walkerr party as the discoverer of both the Yosemite Valley and ther Sequoia gigantea.r
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![]() r By Schwartzr r Mariposa in the ’Fiftiesr | r
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Woodcut from the first edition (1931) | r
r r Followingr r the significant work of the early overland furr traders there came a decade of immigration of bona fider California settlers. The same forces that led the pioneer acrossr the Alleghenies, thence to the Mississippi, and from the Mississippir into Texas, explain the coming of American settlers intor California. Hard times in the East stimulated land hunger,r and California publicity agents spread their propaganda at anr opportune time. Long before railroads, commercial clubs, andr real estate interests began to advertise the charms of California,r its advantages were widely heralded by the venturesome Americansr who had visited and sensed the possibilities of the province.r The press of the nation took up the story, and the peopler of the United States were taught to look upon California as ar land of infinite promise, abounding in agricultural and commercialr possibilities, full of game, rich in timber, possessed ofr perfect climate, and feebly held by an effeminate people quiter lacking in enterprise and disorganized among themselves.r
r rr The tide of emigration resulting from this painting of wordr pictures began its surge in 1841 with the organization of ther Bidwell-Bartleson party. Other parties followed in quick succession,r and many of the pioneer fur hunters of the precedingr decade found themselves in demand as guides. The settlersr came on horseback, in ox wagon, or on foot, and with the menr came wives and children. They entered the state by way ofr the Gila and the Colorado, the Sacramento, the Walker, ther Malheur and the Pit, and the Truckee. Some journeyed to ther r Mono region east of Yosemite and either struggled over difficultr Sonora Pass just north of the present park or tediouslyr made their way south to Owens River and then over Walkerr Pass. The Sierra Nevada experienced a new period of exploration,r and California took a marked step toward the climax ofr interest in her offerings.r
r rr This pre-Mexican War, pre-gold-rush immigration takes ar prominent place in the history of the state, and the tragedyr and success of its participants provide a story of engrossing interest.r They had forced their slow way across the continentr to find a permanent home beside the western sea, and theirr arrival presaged the overthrow of Mexican rule in California.r The Mexican, Castro, stated before an assembly in Monterey:r “These Americans are so contriving that some day they willr build ladders to touch the sky, and once in the heavens theyr will change the whole face of the universe and even the colorr of the stars.”r
r rr In one of the parties of settlers was a man of no signal traits,r who, by a chance discovery, was to set the whole world agog.r This was James W. Marshall, an employee of John A. Sutterr of the Sacramento: On January 24, 1848, he found gold in ar millrace belonging to Sutter. About a week later the inevitabler took place. California became a part of the United States.r
r rr The news of the gold discovery spread like wildfire, and byr the close of 1848 every settlement and city in America andr many cities of foreign lands were affected by the Californiar fever. Gold seekers swarmed into the newly acquired territoryr by land and by sea. The overland routes of the fur trader andr the pioneer settler found such a use as the world had neverr seen. From the Missouri frontier to Fort Laramie the processionr of Argonauts passed in an unbroken stream for months.r Some 35,000 people traversed the Western wilderness and 230r American vessels reached California ports in 1849. The westernr slope of the Sierra from the San Joaquin on the south tor r r r the Trinity on the north was suddenly populous with the gold-madr horde. On May 29, the Californian of Yerba Buena issuedr a notice to the effect that its further publication, for the present,r would cease because its employees and patrons were goingr to the mines. On July 15 its editor returned and published anr account of his personal experiences as a gold seeker. He wrote:r “The country from the Ajuba [Yuba] to the San Joaquin, ar distance of about 120 miles, and from the base toward the summitr of the mountains . . . about seventy miles, has been exploredr and gold found on every part.”r
r rr By 1849 the Mariposa hills were occupied by the miners,r and the claims to become famous as the “Southern Mines”r were being located. Jamestown, Sonora, Columbia, Murphys,r Chinese Camp, Big Oak Flat, Snelling, and Mariposa, all adjacentr to the Yosemite region, came to life in a day. Stocktonr was the immediate base of supply for these camps.r
r rr The history of Mariposa is replete with fascinating episodes,r May Stanislas Corcoran, a daughter of Mariposa, has suppliedr the Yosemite Museum with a manuscript entitled “Mariposa,r the Land of Hidden Gold,” which comes from her own accomplishedr pen. From it the following brief account is abstractedr as an introduction to the beginnings of human affairs in ther Mariposa hills.r
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In 1850, Mariposa County occupied much of the state fromr
Tuolumne County southward. A State Senate Committee onr
County Subdivision, headed by P. H. de la Guerra, determinedr
its bounds, and a Select Committee on Names, M. G. Vallejo,r
Chairman, gave it is name—a name which was first applied byr
Moraga’s party in 1806 to Mariposa Creek.1r
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The first legislature of the state appointed a committee to report on ther
derivation and definition of the names of the several counties of California. Ther
report is dated April 16, 1850 and from it is quoted the following:r
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“In the month of June, 1806 (in one of their yearly excursions to the valley ofr
the rushes—Valle de los Tulares—with a view to hunt elks), a party of Californiansr
pitched their tents on a stream at the foot of the Sierra Nevada, and whilst there,r
myriads of butterflies, of the most gorgeous and variegated colors, clustered onr
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the surrounding trees, attracted their attention, from which circumstance theyr
gave the stream the appellation of Mariposa. Hence Mariposa River, from whichr
the county (also heavily laden with the precious metal) derives its poetical name.”r
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Gradually throughr
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the years, the original expansive unit was reduced by the creationr
of other counties—Madera, Fresno, Tulare, Kings, andr
Kern, and parts of Inyo and Mono counties.r
r Agua Fria was at first the county seat, but even in the beginningr the town of Mariposa was the center of the scene of activity.r Four mail routes of the Pony Express converged upon it.r Prior to the arrival of Americans, the Spanish Californians hadr scarcely penetrated the Sierra in the county, but these uplandsr were well populated with Indians. One of the strongest tribes,r the Ah-wah-nee-chees, lived in the Deep Grassy Valley (Yosemite)r during the summer months and occupied villages along ther Mariposa and Chowchilla rivers in the winter.r
r rr [Editor’s note:r the correct meaning of Ahwahnee is “(gaping) mouth.” Seer “Origin of the Place Name Yosemite”—dea.]r
r rr Mariposa proved to be the southernmost of the importantr southern mines. Of the people who were drawn to it duringr the days of the gold rush, many were from the Southern States.r They brought “libraries . . . horses from Kentucky . . . silk hats,r chivalry, colonels, and culture from Virginia; and from mostr of the states that later became Confederate, lawyers, doctors,r writers, even painters—miners all. . . . Pennsylvania, Massachusetts,r New York, and Europe also sent representatives, andr there were Mexican War veterans, such as Jarvis Streeter,r Commodore Stockton, Colonel Frémont, and Capt. Wm. Howard.”r By Christmas, 1849, more than three thousand inhabitantsr occupied the town of Mariposa, which extended from Chickenr Gulch to Mormon Bar.r
r rr In February, 1851, a remarkable vein of gold was discoveredr in the Mariposa diggings, first designated as the “Johnson veinr of Mariposa,” and extensive works were developed fromr Ridley’s Ferry (Bagby) to Mount Ophir. These properties werer acquired by a company having headquarters in Paris, France,r which became known as “The French Company.”r
r r r r rr The Frémont Grant, also known as the Rancho Las Mariposas,r was a vast estate of 44,386 acres of grazing land in ther Mariposa hills, which Colonel J. C. Frémont acquired by virtuer of a purchase made in 1847 from J. B. Alvarado. It was oner of several so-called “floating grants.” After gold was discoveredr in the Mariposa region in 1848, Frémont “floated” his ranchor far from the original claim to cover mineral lands includingr properties already in the possession of miners. The center ofr Frémont’s activities was Bear Valley, thirteen miles northwestr of Mariposa. Lengthy litigations in the face of hostile publicr sentiment piled up court costs and lawyer fees. However, ther United States courts confirmed Frémont’s claims, and otherr claimants, including the French Company, lost many valuabler holdings. Tremendous investments were made in stamp mills,r tunnels, shafts, and the other appurtenances related to the miningr towns as well as to the mines which Frémont attemptedr to develop.r
r rr In spite of its phenomenal but spotty productiveness, ther Frémont Grant brought bankruptcy to its owner and wasr finally sold at sheriff sale. The town of Mariposa, which wasr on Frémont’s Rancho, became the county seat in 1854, and ther present court house was built that year. The seats and the barr in the courtroom continue in use today, and the documentsr and files of the mining days still claim their places in the ancientr vault. They constitute some of the priceless remindersr of a dramatic period in the early history of the Yosemite region.r In these records may be traced the transfer of the ownership ofr the Mariposa Grant from Frémont to a group of Wall Streetr capitalists. These new owners employed Frederick Law Olmstedr as superintendent of the estate. He arrived in the Sierrar in the fall of 1863 to assume his duties at Bear Valley. Ther next year he was made chairman of the first board of Yosemiter Valley commissioners, so actively linking the history of ther Mariposa estate with the history of the Yosemite Grant. Olmstedr r r r continued his connection with the Mariposa Grant untilr Aug. 31, 1865, at which time he returned to New York andr proceeded to distinguish himself as the “father” of the professionr of landscape architecture.r
r rr His son, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., born July 24, 1870, hasr continued in the Olmsted tradition. As an authority on parks,r municipal improvements, city planning and landscape architecture,r and the preservation of the American scene he hasr exerted a leadership comparable to his father’s pioneering.r He has entered the Yosemite picture as National Park Servicer collaborator in planning and as a member of the Yosemite Advisoryr Board, to which organization he was appointed in 1928.r
r rr One of the few members of the small army of early minersr in the Mariposa region who left a personal record of his experiencesr was L. H. Bunnell. His writings provide most valuabler references on the history of the beginning of things in ther Yosemite region. He was present in the Mariposa hills in 1849,r and from his book,r r Discovery of the Yosemite,r we learn thatr Americans were scattered throughout the lower mountains inr that year. Adventurous traders had established trading posts inr the wilderness in order that they might reap a harvest from ther miners and Indians.r
r rr James D. Savage, the most conspicuous figure in early Yosemiter history, whose life story, if told in full, would constitute ar valuable contribution to Californian, was one of these traders.r In 1849 he maintained a store at the mouth of the South Forkr of the Merced, only a few miles from the gates of Yosemite Valley.r Now half a million people each year hurry by this spot inr automobiles; yet no monument, no marker, no sign, indicatesr that the site is one of the most significant, historically, of allr localities in the region. It was here that the first episode in ther drama of Yosemite Indian troubles took place. The story ofr the white man’s occupancy of the valley actually begins at ther mouth of this canyon in the Mariposa hills.r
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Woodcut from the first edition (1931) | r
r r The entire storyr r of very early events in the Yosemite regionr is pervaded by the spirit of one individual. In spite of ther fact that no historian has chronicled the events of his briefr but exciting career, the name of James D. Savage is legendaryr throughout the region of the Southern Mines. It has been ther ambition of more than one writer of California history to pinr down the fables of this pioneer and to establish his true lifer story on stable supports of authentic source. Scattered throughr the literature of the gold days are sketchy accounts of his exploits,r and rarely narratives of firsthand experiences with hisr affairs may be found. Before relating Savage definitely to Yosemiter itself we shall do well to consider his personal history.r
r rr During the beginning years of the gold excitement, his famer spread throughout the camps and to the ports upon which ther mines depended for supplies. Savage was the subject of continualr gossip, conjecture, and acclaim. His career was short,r but it was crowded with thrilling happenings and terminatedr with violence in a just cause. Throughout it, Savage was brave—r a man born to lead.r
r rr Because he played a leading role in the discovery of Yosemiter Valley, national park officials have been energetic in their attemptr to complete his life story and give it adequate representationr in the Yosemite Museum. For several years, as historicalr material had been accumulating there, and details of mostr events in the Yosemite drama unfolded and took their properr place in the exhibits, Savage still remained a mystery.r
r r r rr At last there came a Yosemite visitor who was descendedr from the grandfather of James D. Savage. This lady, Ida Savager Bolles, after learning of the local interest in her relative, communicatedr with yet another relative, who today resides in ther same Middle Western state from which “Jim” Savage came.r The result was that Mrs. Louise Savage Ireland took up ther challenge and devoted many months to the determining of ther California pioneer’s ancestry. To her we acknowledge indebtednessr for her persevering search, which involved considerabler travel and correspondence. Not only did she reveal the ancestryr of Jim Savage, but she located a “delightful old lady” who, asr a girl, knew Jim of California fame. This unexpected biographicalr material provides firsthand information about ther youth of James D. Savage such as has not been obtained fromr any living Californian who knew him in his halcyon days.r
r rr The following story of the life of the first white man to enterr Yosemite Valley, though incomplete, is much more comprehensiver than anything that has previously appeared in print, andr is, we believe, gathered from sources1r r [1Foremost among the references is L. H. Bunnell’sr r Discovery of the Yosemite,r published in 1880. Bunnell was closely associated with Savage during three ofr his most active years in the Mariposa region; his account is intimate and richr in detail and unprejudiced. We catch an interesting glimpse of Savage, the ’forty-niner,r through the pages also of George H. Tinkham’s California Men andr Events. Something additional of his gold mining and trading is gleaned fromr the writings of W. E. Wilde and S. P. Elias. Elliott’s History of Fresno Countyr contributes a number of authenticated incidents, andr r J. M. Hutchingsr revealsr matters regarding influences that undoubtedly figured in his tragic death. Unitedr States Senate documents record his official dealings with the Indians;r L. A. Winchell gives some information on his enemies; contemporary newspapers describer his meeting with death; and finally Depositions from the Papers of Geo.r W. Wright, One of Two First Congressmen from California, provides papersr pertaining to the Court of Claims, 1858, in which appears sworn testimonyr regarding the shooting of Savage. This last paper formed a part of the Boutwellr Dunlap Collection.r ]r wholly dependable.r
r rr James D. Savage was one of six children born to Peter Savager and Doritha Shaunce. Henry C. Pratt of Virginia, Illinois, ar second cousin, writes, “My mother, Emily Savage, born inr r r r r 1817, and her cousin, James Savage, were near the same age.”r This is the best approximation of his age contained in the biographicalr material accumulated by Mrs. Ireland. The parent,r Peter Savage, went by ox cart and raft from Cayuga County,r New York, to Jacksonville, Morgan County, Illinois, in 1822.r Sixteen years lated Peter’s family removed to Princeton, Bureaur County, Illinois.r
r rr Mrs. Ireland in her quest met Mrs. Sarah Seton Porter ofr Princeton, who at the time of the interview in 1928 was ninety-eightr years old. Mrs. Porter knew James D. Savage as a youth.r She recalls thatr
r rr Jim Savage was grown when his father, Peter, brought the familyr to Princeton from Morgan County. Jim was smart as a whip,r shrewd, apt in picking up languages, such as German and French—r for both tongues were spoken here, the two races having settlementsr in and about Princeton. He was vigorous and strong, had blue eyesr and a magnificent physique, loved all kinds of sports engaged inr in his day, was tactful, likable, and interesting. . . .r
r rr Sometimes Jim would come to church, but, oh, he was such ar wag of a youth. More often than not, he would remain outside, andr when he knew time had come for prayer, he’d flick the knees ofr his horse and make him kneel, too, and then wink at us inside. Wer couldn’t laugh of course, but we always watched for this trick ofr Jim’s. He got such a lot of fun out of doing it.r
r rr Savage took a wife, Eliza, and settled in Peru, Illinois. Ar daughter was born to this union. He and his brother, Morgan,r were caught in the wave of California fever that affected manyr of the border settlements in the ’forties and they joined oner of the overland parties in 1846. Lydia Savage Healy, anotherr second cousin, expresses the opinion that the brothers joinedr Frémont’s third expedition. However, since it is known thatr Savage’s wife and child made the start, it is evident that theyr were with one of the parties of emigrants who, that year, mader the journey. Mrs. Porter, then Sarah Seton, with two brothersr and a sister drove from Princeton to Peru to bid them farewell.r
r r r rr On this journey, “suffering and discouragement went handr in hand.” The wife and child did not survive the trip. Onlyr the physically fit endured the hardships, and among these werer Savage and his brother. By what route they entered Californiar is not known, but S. P. Elias reports that Savager
r rr volunteered beneath the Bear flag and fought through the warr against the Mexicans. A member of Frémont’s battalion, he wasr with Frémont both in Oregon and in California. After peace andr before the discovery of gold, and shortly after the disbanding ofr Frémont’s battalion, he went to the south, settled among the Indians,r and through José and Jésus, two of the most powerful chiefsr in the valley of the San Joaquin, he established an intimacy withr the principal tribes. By his indomitable energy, capability of endurance,r and personal prowess he acquired a complete masteryr over them to such an extent that he was elected chief of several ofr the tribes. He obtained great influence over the Indians of the lowlandsr and led them successfully against their mountain enemies,r conquering a peace wherever he forayed.r
r rr In any event, when Frémont and Pico put their signaturesr to the Cahuenga peace treaty on January 13, 1847, the Mexicanr War, so far as California was concerned, was at an end.r Frémont’s battalion was disbanded, and we may believe, withr Elias, that James D. Savage then established his intimacy withr the principal Indian tribes of the San Joaquin.r
r rr His aptitude for “picking up languages” apparently came tor the fore, for he mastered the Indian dialect and extended hisr influence until it amounted to something of a barbaric despotism.r The Indians acknowledged his authority, and he, nor doubt, improved their condition. In the wars with the mountainr tribes Savage’s tactics won them victories, and he broughtr about progress, generally.r
r rr Prior to the gold rush, his territory was seldom visited byr whites, but early in 1848, hardly a year subsequent to hisr conquest of the Indians, there poured in that flood of minersr which transformed the entire picture. Savage adapted himselfr r to it forthwith, and soon his name was on the lips of everyone.r When he let it be known among his Indian followers that her would like to acquire a lot of the yellow metal, the squaws setr to work and turned the product of their labors into the lap ofr the white chief. W. E. Wilde writes that Savage was associatedr with the Rev. James Woods in 1848 and that he and his Indiansr were working the gravel deposits at what became known as Bigr Oak Flat. It was here that a white Texan stabbed Luturio, oner of the Indian leaders, and the Texan in turn was killed by ther Indians. Savage, knowing the potentialities of enraged Indians,r pacified them and withdrew with them to other localities.r
r rr George H. Tinkham next throws a spotlight on Savage atr Jamestown in May (?) 1849. Cornelius Sullivan related to Tinkhamr thatr
r rr under a brushwood tent, supported by upright poles, sat James D.r Savage, measuring and pouring gold dust into the candle boxes byr his side. Five hundred or more naked Indians, with belts of clothr bound around their waists or suspended from their heads broughtr the dust to Savage, and in return for it received a bright piece ofr cloth or some beads.r
r rr Just how much gold dust Savage acquired was never reported,r but that it was an enormous amount is not to be questioned.r For some two years his army of Indian followers busiedr themselves in gleaning the creeks and ravines of the foothills,r and considering the facility with which gold could be gatheredr it is small wonder that he was reputed to have barrels fall of it.r
r rr We learn from L. H. Bunnell, one of Savage’s intimater acquaintances of long standing, that in 1849-1850 Savage hadr established his trading post at the mouth of the South Fork ofr the Merced, not more than fifteen miles below Yosemite Valley,r and on the line of the present Merced-Yosemite highway.r
r rr At this point, engaged in gold mining, he had employed a partyr of native Indians. Early in the season of 1850 his trading-post andr mining camp were attacked by a band of the Yosemite Indians. Thisr r tribe, or band, claimed the territory in that vicinity, and attemptedr to drive Savage off. Their real object, however, was plunder. Theyr were considered treacherous and dangerous, and were very troublesomer to the miners generally.r
r rr Savage and his Indian miners repulsed the attack and drove offr the marauders, but from this occurrence he no longer deemed thisr location desirable. Being fully aware of the murderous propensitiesr of his assailants, he removed to Mariposa Creek, not far from ther junction of the Agua Fria, and near to the site of the old stone fort.r Soon after, he established a branch post on the Fresno, where ther mining prospects became most encouraging, as the high water subsidedr in that stream. This branch station was placed in charge of ar man by the name of Greeley.r
r rr This event on the South Fork constitutes the initial step inr the hostilities that were to result in Savage’s renown as the discovererr of Yosemite Valley. Since he had remained so close tor the remarkable canyon for some months prior to the Indianr attack, and because the threatening Indians frequently boastedr of a “deep valley in which one Indian is more than ten whiter men,” Bunnell once asked Savage whether he had ever enteredr the mysterious place. Savage’s words were: “Last year while Ir was located at the mouth of the South Fork of the Merced, I wasr attacked by the Yosemites, but with the Indian miners I hadr in my employ, drove them off, and followed some of themr up the Merced River into a canyon, which I supposed led tor their stronghold, as the Indians then with me said it was notr a safe place to go into. From the appearance of this rocky gorger I had no difficulty in believing them. Fearing an ambush, I didr not follow them. It was on this account that I changed my locationr to Mariposa Creek. I would like to get into the den of ther thieving murderers. If ever I have a chance I will smoke outr the Grizzly Bears [the Yosemites] from their holes, where theyr are thought to be so secure.”r
r rr Savage built up an exceedingly prosperous business at hisr trading posts on the Fresno and on Mariposa Creek. He stockedr r his stores with merchandise from San Francisco Bay and exchangedr the goods at enormous profits for the gold brought inr by the Indians. An ounce of gold bought a can of oysters, fiver pounds of flour, or a pound of bacon; a shirt required fiver ounces, and a pair of boots or a hat brought a full pound ofr the precious metal. His customers included white prospectorsr as well as his subservient Indians, for the white men wouldr agree to his exacting terms in preference to leaving their diggingsr to make a trip for supplies to the growing village ofr Mariposa.r
r rr The Indians never questioned the rate of exchange, for tor them it seemed that their white chief was working miraclesr in providing quantities of desirable food and prized raimentr in return for something that was to be had for the taking. Tor guarantee a continuance of cordial relations with his Indianr friends, and to cement the alliance of several tribes, Savage hadr taken wives from among the young squaws of different tribes.r Two of these were called Eekino and Homut. It is not knownr which tribes were represented in his household, but the wivesr are reported to have totaled five. If their bridal contract wasr recognized by all their tribesmen, it is not difficult to understandr how Savage’s supporters numbered five hundred.r
r rr The Mariposa Creek store retinue of whites was thrownr into a state of some agitation one fall day in 1850 when oner of Savage’s wives confided the information that the mountainr Indians were combining to wipe the whites from the hills. Confirmationr of her rumor was obtained from some of the friendlyr bucks who had long followed Savage. These Indians declaredr that they had learned that the mountain tribe, the Yosemites,r were ready to descend upon Savage again for the purpose ofr plunder and that they were maneuvering to secure the combinedr forces of other tribes.r
r rr Savage did not misunderstand the threat, as did some othersr of the white men. Hoping to impress the Indians with the wonders,r r numbers, and power of the whites, he conceived the idear of taking some of them to that milling base of supply, San Francisco.r It is probable, too, that he planned to put some of hisr great store of accumulated gold in safekeeping on the samer trip. Accordingly, he announced that he was going to “ther Bay” for a new stock of goods and invited José Juarez, a chiefr of influence with the Chowchillas and Chukchansies, to accompanyr him. José accepted the invitation. With them wentr some of Savage’s dependable Indian friends, including a wifer or two.r
r rr It was the occasion of this trip that provided the crowningr touch for Savage’s reputation among the whites of all the goldr camps. The story of the affair spread to as many localities asr were represented in San Francisco’s picturesque population atr the time of the visit, and legends of Jim Savage’s barrel of goldr are handed down to this day. How large the barrel may haver been it is now impossible to ascertain, but certainly a fabulousr fortune traveled with the strange party.r
r rr They made their headquarters at the Revere House andr became the sensation of the hour.2r r [2r Bell (1927) records that the photographer, Vance, made pictures of Savager and his Indians on this occasion.r ]r r The Indians arrayed themselvesr in gaudy finery and gorged themselves with costly viandsr and considerable liquor. To the great distress of Savage, Josér maintained himself in a state of drunkenness throughout mostr of their stay. In order to prevent disturbances Savage lockedr him up on one occasion and when he was somewhat soberedr remonstrated with him. José flew into an excited rage, becamer abusive with his tongue, and finally disclosed his secret of ther war against the whites. Savage knocked him down.r
r rr The party remained to witness the celebration of the admissionr of California into the Union on October 29, 1850. Savager deposited his gold in exchange for goods to be delivered asr needed, gilded his already colorful visit with enough gamblingr r r r and reckless spending to stagger the residents, and gathered hisr retinue for the return journey.r
r rr José had maintained a silence and dignity ever after ther violent quarrel with his chief.r
r rr No sooner had they reached the foothill territory from whichr they had traveled a fortnight before than they were greetedr with news of Indian threats. As the Fresno station maintainedr by Savage seemed to be in immediate danger, the party wentr there at once. Numerous Indians were about, but all seemedr quiet. However, the white agents employed by Savage revealedr that the Indians were no longer trading.r
r rr Savage thereupon invited all Indians present to meet withr him and proceeded at once to conduct a peaceful confab beforer his store. Addressing them he said:r
r rr “I know that some of the Indians do not wish to be friendsr with the white men and that they are trying to unite the differentr tribes for the purpose of a war. It is better for the Indiansr and white men to be friends. If the Indians make war on ther white men, every tribe will be exterminated; not one will ber left. I have just been where the white men are more numerousr than the wasps and ants; and if war is made and the Americansr are aroused to anger, every Indian engaged in the war will ber killed before the whites will be satisfied.”r
r rr Having made himself clearly understood in the Indian languager he turned to his fellow traveler, José, for confirmation ofr his statements regarding the power of the whites. José steppedr forward and delivered himself of the following brief but energeticr oration:r
r rr “Our brother has told his Indian relatives much that is truth;r we have seen many people; the white men are very numerous;r but the white men we saw on our visit are of many tribes; theyr are not like the tribe that dig gold in the mountains.” He thenr gave an absurd description of what he had seen while below,r and continued: “Those white tribes will not come to the mountains.r r r r They will not help the gold diggers if the Indians maker war against them. If the gold diggers go to the white tribes inr the big village, they give their gold for strong water and games;r when they have no more gold, the white tribes drive the goldr diggers back to the mountains with clubs. They strike themr down [referring to the police], as your white relative struckr me while I was with him. The white tribes will not go to warr with the Indians in the mountains. They cannot bring theirr big ships and big guns to us; we have no cause to fear them.r They will not injure us.”r
r rr His climax came as a bold argument for the immediate declarationr of war upon the whites.r
r rr Chief José Rey of the Chowchillas then contributed his plear for immediate hostilities, and Savage withdrew before the twor hostile chiefs. Upon his return to the Mariposa Station, hisr appeals for immediate preparation for war were given smallr hearing by the whites. A few were inclined to scoff.r
r rr Close on the heels of the warnings, however, came news of anr attack on the Fresno store. All the whites except the messengerr who had brought the news were killed. The Mariposa Indianr War was on.r
r rr Savage had gone to Horse Shoe Bend in the Merced Canyonr to solicit aid. He had hoped to find a more attentive audiencer there than among the county officials at Agua Fria. In his absencer his Mariposa store was burned, its three white attendantsr were killed, and his wives were carried off by the assailants.r
r rr Cassady, one of the rival traders who had scoffed at Savage’sr first news of impending disaster, was surprised in his establishmentr and met quick death. Three other murderous attacksr took place in the immediate vicinity, and the whites finallyr leaped to the defense of their holdings.r
r rr James Burney, the county sheriff, took a place at the head ofr a body of volunteers who had banded for mutual protection.r On January 6, 1851, James D. Savage accompanied this partyr r r r in an attack made upon an Indian encampment of several hundredr squaws and bucks under the leadership of José Rey. Thisr was the first organized movement of the whites against ther Indians of the Mariposa Hills.r
r rr By this time Governor McDougal had issued a proclamationr calling for volunteers, and the Mariposa Battalion came intor existence. Savage was made major in full command. Threer companies, under John J. Kuykendall, John Boling, and Williamr Dill, were organized and drilled near Savage’s ruinedr Mariposa store.r 3r r [3r A muster rollr of the Mariposa Battalion appears in Elliott, 1881, and inr Russell, 1931, pp. 186-191.r ]r The affairs of this punitive body of men arer dealt with in another chapter. Let it here suffice to say that itsr activities were especially directed against the mountain triber of “Grizzlies,” and that on March 25, 1851, Savage and his menr entered the mysterious stronghold, Yosemite Valley.r
r rr In 1928 it was my privilege to interview Maria Lebrado, oner of the last members of the Yosemite tribe who experiencedr subjection by the whites. I eagerly sought ethnological andr historical data, which was forthcoming in gratifying abundance.r Purposely I had avoided questioning the aged squawr about Major Savage; but presently she asked, in jumbled Englishr and Spanish, if I knew about the “Captain” of the whiter soldiers. She called him “Chowwis,” and described him as ar blond chief whose light hair fell upon his shoulders and whoser beard hung halfway to his waist. She had been much impressedr by his commanding blue eyes and declared that his shirts werer always red. To this member of the mountain tribe of Yosemiter the Major was recalled as something of a thorn in her flesh.r That he was a beloved leader of the foothill tribes she agreed,r but hastened to explain that those Indians, too, were enemiesr of her people. Maria is the only person I have met who hadr seen Savage.r
r rr For five months Savage commanded the movements of ther r r r Mariposa Battalion. Its various units were active in the Sierrar Summit region above Yosemite, at the headwaters of the Chowchilla,r and on the upper reaches of the San Joaquin. In everyr encounter the Indians were defeated and they finally sued forr peace. The prowess of Savage as a mountaineer and militaryr leader is borne out in ar letter,r published in Alta Californiar on June 12, 1851, in which the battalion’s sergeant major describesr at length for the adjutant a foray at the headwaters ofr the San Joaquin:r
r rr . . . I am aware that you have been high up and deep in the mountainsr and snow yourself, but I believe this trip ranks all others. Ther Major himself has seen cañons and snow peaks this trip which her never saw before. It is astonishing what this man can endure. Travelingr on day and night, through snow and over the mountains,r without food, is not considered fatigue to him, and as you are wellr aware the boys will follow him as long as he leaves a sign.r
r rr The same Alta carries a resolution, signed by men in Dill’s andr Boling’s companies, affirming in great detail their high confidencer in Savage.r
r rr In addition to his activities with the battalion in the field,r Major Savage functioned conspicuously in aiding the Unitedr States Indian Commissioners in preparing ar peace treaty.r He maintained a friendly attitude toward the oppressed Indiansr and, had the government made good its promises, or had ther appropriations not been absorbed elsewhere, the tribes of ther Sierra would have been more adequately provided for. Ther treaty, signed April 29, 1851, does not carry the “signatures” ofr Tenaya of the Yosemites or of the leader of the Chowchillas.r
r rr On July 1, 1851, the Mariposa Battalion was mustered out.r Major Savage resumed his trading operations in a store on ther Fresno River near Coarse Gold. In compliance with the treaty,r a reservation for the Indians was set aside on the Fresno, andr another on the Kings River. In the fall of 1851 the Fresno storer was the polling place for a large number of voters for countyr r officers. That winter Savage built Fort Bishop, near the Fresnor reservation, and prepared to carry on a prosperous trade. Her spoke as follows on this subject tor L. H. Bunnell:r
r rr If I can make good my losses by the Indians out of the Indians,r I am going to do it. I was the best friend the Indians had, and theyr would have destroyed me. Now that they once more call me “Chief,”r they shall build me up. I will be just to them, as I have been merciful,r for, after all, they are but poor ignorant beings, but my lossesr must be made good.r
r rr During the first months of 1852, Major Savage conducted ar substantial, if not a phenomenal, business with the miners ofr the Fresno and surrounding territory, and with the Indiansr at the agency. No Indian hostilities were in evidence, but ar policy of excluding them from the store proper was adheredr to. The goods which they bought with their gold dust werer handed out to them through small openings left in the walls.r These openings were securely fastened at night.r
r rr Not infrequently the Indians were subjected to abusiver treatment at the hands of certain whites. The mistreatmentr was enough to provoke an uprising, but with a few exceptionsr they remained on the reservations. An important light on subsequentr events in Savage’s life is brought out in this statementr byr L. H. Bunnell:r
r rr As far as I was able to learn at the time, a few persons enviedr them the possession of their Kings River reservation and determinedr to “squat” upon it, after they should have been drivenr off. This “border element” was made use of by an unprincipledr schemer, who it was understood was willing to accept office, whenr a division of Mariposa County should have been made, or when ar vacancy of any kind should occur. But population was required, andr the best lands had been reserved for the savages. A few hangers-on,r at the agencies, that had been discharged for want of employmentr and other reasons, made claims upon the Kings River reservation;r the Indians came to warn them off, when they were at once firedr upon, and it was reported that several were killed.r
r r r rr Further details of the deplorable act committed by ther would-be “squatters” are provided by the following news itemr which appeared in the Alta California of July 7, 1852:r
r rr By Mr. Stelle, who came express to Stockton on the 5th inst., wer have received the annexed correspondence fromr
r rr San Joaquin, (Evening,) July 2, 1852.r
r rr Editors Alta California:—A few days ago, the Indians on King’sr River warned Campbell, Poole & Co., ferrymen, twenty miles fromr here, to leave, showing at the same time their papers from the Indianr Commissioners. The Indians then left, and threatened to killr the ferrymen if on their reservation when they returned. Mr. Campbellr has been collecting volunteers, many have joined him. Majorr Harvey left this evening with some eighteen or twenty men. A finer chance for the boys to have a frolic, locate some land, and be wellr paid by Uncle Sam.r
r rr These agitations and murders were denounced by Majorr Savage in unsparing terms. Although the citizens of Mariposar were at the time unable to learn the details of the affair at Kingsr River, which was a distant settlement, the great mass of ther people were satisfied that wrong had been done to the Indians;r however, there had been a decided opposition by citizens generallyr to the establishment of two agencies in the county, andr the selection of the best agricultural lands for reservations.r Mariposa then included nearly the whole San Joaquin Valleyr south of the Tuolumne.r
r rr The opponents to the recommendations of the commissionersr claimed that “The government of the United States hasr no right to select the territory of a sovereign State to establishr reservations for the Indians, nor for any other purpose, withoutr the consent of the State.” The state legislature of 1851-1852r instructed the senators and representatives in congress to user their influence to have the Indians removed beyond the limitsr of the state.r
r r r rr W. W. Elliott, in his History of Fresno County (1881), revealsr further details: “Sometime previous to August 16, 1852,r one Major Harvey, the first county Judge of Tulare County,r and Wm. J. Campbell, either hired or incited a lot of men,r who rushed into one of the rancherias on Kings River and succeededr in killing a number of old squaws.”r
r rr Elliott’s assertions are supported by the following news itemr from the San Francisco Daily Herald, August 21, 1852:r
r rr Among other acts by white men calculated to excite the Indians,r a ferry was established over the San Joaquin, within an Indianr reservation, above Fort Miller, some miles above Savage’s. Ther Indians, no doubt, considered this an encroachment; and fromr an idea that the ferry stopped fish from ascending the river, somer straggling Indian, acting without authority from chiefs or council,r spoke of this notion about the fish at the ferry, and saying that ther ferry was within their lands, added that it would have to be brokenr up. The proprietor of the ferry, assuming this as a threatened hostility,r or making a pretence of it, assembled a few willing friends,r who, armed with rifles, appeared suddenly among some Indianr families while most of the men were many miles off, peaceably atr work at Savage’s, without dreaming of danger, and without justifiabler provocation the white men fired upon the families, killingr two women, as it is stated, and some children, and wounding severalr others.r
r rr With such conditions prevailing on the Kings, it is smallr wonder that numerous Kings Agency Indians traveled to ther Fresno in order to trade with Savage. Needless to say, thisr aroused the further ire of the traders on the Kings. The whiter malcontents continued their agitation, and the wronged Indiansr of the Kings wailed to Savage of their troubles. Consistentlyr with his earlier acts, wherein the public good wasr involved, Major Savage attempted to pacify the Indians. Her also denounced the “squatters” with all the emphasis of hisr personality and high standing. He asserted that they shouldr be punished under the laws which they had violated and presentedr the case to the Indian Commissioners.r
r r r rr Harvey and the trader Campbell made common cause ofr denouncing Major Savage in return. Word was sent to ther Major that they dared him to set foot in Kings River region.r Upon its receipt, Savage mounted his horse and traveled to ther Kings River Agency.r
r rr The events that occurred upon his arrival have been variouslyr described by half a dozen writers. Elliott’s description,r which agrees essentially withr Bunnell’s,r is as follows:r
r rr On the 16th day of August, 1852, Savage paid a visit to the Kingsr River Reservation, but previously to this Harvey declared that ifr Savage ever came there he would not return alive. Arriving at ther reservation early in the forenoon, Savage found there Harvey andr Judge Marvin, and a quarrel at once ensued between Savage andr Harvey, the latter demanding of Savage a retraction of the languager he had used regarding Harvey, whereupon Savage slappedr Harvey across the face with his open hand, and while doing so, hisr pistol fell out of his shirt bosom and was picked up by Marvin.r Harvey then stepped up to Marvin and said: “Marvin you haver disarmed me; you have my pistol.” “No.” said Marvin, “this is Majorr Savage’s pistol,” whereupon Harvey, finding Savage unarmed, commencedr firing his own pistol, shooting five balls into Savage, whor fell, and died almost instantly. Marvin was standing by all thisr time, with Savage’s pistol in his hands, too cowardly or scared tor interfere and prevent the murder. At this time Harvey was Countyr Judge of Tulare County, and one Joel H. Brooks, who had beenr in the employment of Savage for several years, and who had receivedr at his hands nothing but kindness and favors, was appointedr by Harvey, Justice of the Peace, for the sole purpose of investigatingr Harvey’s case for the killing of Savage. Of course Harvey wasr acquitted by Brooks—was not even held to answer before the Grandr Jury. Harvey finally left, in mortal fear of the Indians, for he imaginedr that every Indian was seeking his life to avenge the murder ofr Savage. Afterwards, Harvey died of paralysis.r
r rr In 1926 the late Boutwell Dunlap unearthed 169 pages ofr depositions in manuscript form, taken in a law case of 1858 inr which the death of Savage was made an issue. The incidentsr related by the witness under oath are redolent of the old wildr r r r days. This testimony comes from the same Brooks who as magistrater had acquitted Harvey. It is quoted as follows:r
r rr Twenty-four hours after the Indians had ordered Campbell tor leave, Harvey and his company had a fight with the Indians, killingr some and whipping the balance. Savage was then an Indian agentr appointed by Wozencroft. Savage and Wozencroft made a great fussr about the American people abusing the Indians and succeeded inr getting the Commanding General of the U.S. forces on the Pacificr to send up a couple of companies of troops to Tulare County, tor take up Major Harvey and the men that were under his commandr and that had assisted him in this horrible murder of “the poor innocentr savages.”r
r rr The circumstances which led to Savage’s death grew out of thisr difficulty. The troops had crossed Kings River. This was some timer in August 1852 in the morning. Major Savage and Judge John G.r Marvin rode up to the door of Campbell’s trading-house. Savager called for Harvey. Harvey stepped to the door. Savage remarked,r “I understand, Major Harvey, that you say I am no gentleman.”r Harvey replies, “I have frequently made that statement.” Savager remarked, to Harvey, “There is a good horse, saddle, bridle, spursr and leggings which belong to me. I fetched them, for the purposer of letting you have them to leave this country with.” Harvey replied,r “I have got a fine mule and I will leave the country on myr own animal, when I want to leave it.” Savage called for breakfast.r Savage and Marvin ate breakfast by themselves in a brush houser outside the store. After they had got through their breakfast, Savager tied up his hair, rolled up his sleeves, took his six-shooter out ofr its scabbard and placed it in front of him under the waistband ofr his pantaloons. He then walked into Campbell’s store and askedr Major Harvey if he could not induce him to call him a gentleman.r Harvey told him that he had made up his mind and had expressedr his opinion in regard to that, and did not think he would alter it.r He knocked Harvey down and stamped upon him a little. Theyr were separated by some gentlemen in the house, and Harvey gotr up. Savage says, “To what conclusion have you come in regard tor my gentlemancy?” Harvey replies, “I think you are a damned scoundrel.”r Savage knocked Harvey down again. They were again separatedr by gentlemen present. As Harvey straightened himself ontor his feet, he presented a six-shooter and shot Major Savage throughr r r r the heart. Savage fell without saying anything. It was supposed thatr Harvey shot him twice after he was dead, every ball taking effectr in his heart. That is all I know about the fight. I gained this informationr by taking the testimony as magistrate of those who saw it.r
r rr What may have become of the court records of the so-calledr trial is unknown, but a scrap of testimony by the proprietorr of the house in which the killing took place was preserved byr the San Francisco Daily Herald, September 3, 1852, as follows:r
r rr The People of the State of California vs. Walter H. Harvey, for ther killing of James D. Savage, on the 16th day of August, 1852, contraryr to the laws of the State of California, &c.r
r rr Mr. Edmunds sworn, says—“Yesterday morning Major Savager came into my house and asked Major Harvey if he had said he wasr no gentleman. Major Harvey replied he had said it. Major Savager struck Major Harvey on the side of the head and knocked himr down on some sacks of flour, and then proceeded to kick and beatr him. Judge Marvin and some one else interfered, and Major Savager was taken off of Major Harvey. Major Savage still had hold ofr Major Harvey when Major Harvey kicked him. Major Savage thenr struck Major Harvey on the cheek, and knocked him down the secondr time, and used him, the same as before. By some means I cannotr say, Major Savage was again taken off, and they separated.r Major Savage was in the act of attacking him again, when Majorr Harvey draw his pistol and shot hint.”r
r rr Question by the Court—Did Major Harvey shoot more thanr once?r
r rr Answer—I think he did; I found four holes in him.r
r rr Question—Did Major Savage knock Major Harvey down beforer he drew his pistol?r
r rr Answer—The prisoner had been knocked down by Major Savager twice before he drew his pistol, or made any attempt to shoot him.r
r rr Mr. Gonele sworn—corroborates the evidence of Mr. Edmunds.r Mr. Knider sworn, also does the same.r
r rr This is all the testimony given in as to the fight, Major Fitzgerald,r U.S.A., sworn, testified to some facts which induced him to thinkr Major Savage not a gentleman.r
r rr The Court, upon this testimony, discharged Major Harvey withoutr requiring bail.r
r r r rr So passed the leading figure in early Yosemite history. In thisr day of greater appreciation of individual heroism, sacrifice,r and pioneer accomplishment in public service, how one covetsr unprejudiced narratives of such lives as was that of James D.r Savage! Bunnell comments feelingly on “his many noble qualities,r his manly courage, his generous hospitality, his unyieldingr devotion to friends, and his kindness to immigrant strangers.”r A writer in the Daily Herald of September 4, 1852, contributesr more details of events that followed the murder.r
r rr We have received a letter dated August 31st. on the Indian Reservation,r Upper San Joaquin, giving some further particulars of ther murder of Major James Savage and the effect produced therebyr upon the Indians. The writer has resided among them upwardsr of two years, understood their language and their habits, and forr a long time assisted Major Savage in managing them. His opinionsr therefore are entitled to weight. The following extracts will showr the probable effect this murder will have on the prospects of ther southern section of the State:r
r rr “You have doubtless ere this heard of the death, or rather murder,r of Major Savage upon King’s River. It has produced considerabler sensation throughout the country and is deeply regretted, for ther country and the government have lost the services of a man whom itr will not be easy to replace. He could do more to keep the Indians inr subjection than all the forces that Uncle Sam could send here. Ther Indians were terribly excited at his death. Some of them reachedr the scene of the tragedy soon after it occurred. They threw themselvesr upon his body, uttering the most terrific cries, bathing theirr hands and faces in his blood, and even stooping and drinking it, asr it gushed from his wounds. It was with difficulty his remains couldr be interred. The Chiefs clung to his body, and swore they wouldr die with their father.r
r rr “The night he was buried the Indians built large fires, aroundr which they danced, singing the while the mournful death chaunt,r until the hills around rang with the sound. I have never seen suchr profound manifestations of grief. The young men, as they whirledr wildly and distractedly around in the dance, shouted the name ofr r r r their ‘father’ that was gone; while the squaws sat rocking theirr bodies to and fro, chaunting their mournful dirges, until the veryr blood within one curdled with horror at the scene.r
r rr “I have not the slightest doubt that there will be a general outbreakr this winter. Just as soon as the rainy season sets in we shallr have the beginning of one of the most protracted and expensiver wars the people of California have ever been engaged in. Ther Indians are quiet now, but are evidently contemplating some hostiler movement. They told me, a few days since, that their ‘father’r was gone and they would not live with the whites any longer.r
r rr “I have studied the character of these Indians, as you know, forr more than two years, and have acquired my experience in managingr them under Savage himself. I do not speak lightly nor unadvisedly,r therefore, when I assert that no more disastrous event couldr have occurred to the interests of this State, than the murder of ther gallant Major Savage.”r
r rr It is possible that more details of Savage’s biography may ber brought to light, and it is with that hope, coupled with the desirer to give his memory just due, that this material is presentedr for public perusal.r
r rr On the Fresno River, near the site of his old trading post,r rest the bones of the “white chief.” In 1855, Dr. Leach, who hadr been associated with Savage in trading with the Indians, journeyedr to the Kings River, disinterred the remains, and transferredr them to their present resting place. A ten-foot shaft ofr Connecticut granite, bearing the simple inscription, “Maj.r Jas. D. Savage,” marks the spot. On July 4, 1929, the little cityr of Madera, California, honored the memory of Savage by placingr an inscribed plaque on a city gate. These memorials, presumably,r are the only public reminders of the importance ofr James D. Savage in the history of the state.r
r rr The story of Major Savage may be concluded with a referencer to his family ties. As has been related, Californians were,r until 1928, wholly mystified about his origin. Through ther researches of Louise Savage Ireland we are made to sense ther human side of his saga and are brought to an understandingr r r r of his intimate family connections and his faithfulness to bloodr ties. L. H. Savage of El Paso, Texas, writes that his father, Johnr W. Savage, first cousin of James D. Savage, made a vain attemptr to join the Major in California. Returning miners in 1850 toldr the Illinois Savages that “Jim” invited them to come to California,r where he would make them rich. John, then a boyr of nineteen years, financed by older members of the family,r shipped for the Golden State and sailed around the Horn.r Almost a year elapsed before he reached San Francisco.r There he learned that his noted relative had met death sixr months before.r
r rr What became of any wealth that the Major may have amassedr remains a mystery. The Indians he struggled to protect and ther lands he tried to save for them long ago passed out of the reckoning.r By way of explanation we quote from Hutchings’r In the Heart of the Sierras:r
r rr The reservation on the Fresno gradually became unpopular onr this account [because the Indians craved their mountain homes],r but mainly from bad management; was afterwards abolished byr the Government; and, finally, its lands and buildings were gobbledr up by sharp-sighted, if not unprincipled men, who, like manyr others of that class, became rich out of the acquisition.r
r rr One cannot but wonder what counteracting influences Jamesr D. Savage would have exercised in the Fresno Agency businessr had he been permitted to live.r
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Woodcut from the first edition (1931) | r
r r By Marchr r of 1851 the Indian Commissioners McKee, Barbour,r and Woozencraft were actively assembling representativesr of the numerous Sierra Indian tribes and drivingr sharp bargains with them to quitclaim their lands. On Marchr 19, 1851, the commissioners in their camp (Camp Frémont)r in the Mariposa region reached an agreement with six tribesr and proceeded to establish a reservation for them. Their reportr refers to one tribe, the “Yosemetos,” who were expected at thisr confab but failed to appear. The friendly Indians who signedr the treaty reported that this mountain tribe had no intentionsr of coming in. It was, therefore, decided to send Major Savager and a part of his Mariposa Battalion after them.r
r rr On the evening of March 19, the day on which the Campr Frémont treaty was signed, Major Savage set out with ther companies of Captains Boling and Dill. Captain Kuykendall’sr company had traveled to the region of the San Joaquin andr Kings rivers, in which locality the commissioners planned tor negotiate another treaty. The force under the command ofr Major Savage followed a route very near that which is nowr known as the Wawona Road to Yosemite Valley.r
r rr On the South Fork of the Merced, at what is now calledr Wawona, a Nuchu camp was surprised and captured. Messengersr sent ahead from this camp returned with the assurancer that the Yosemite tribe would come in and give themselves up.r Old Chief Tenaya of the Yosemites did come into camp, but,r after waiting three days for the others, Major Savage becamer r r r impatient and set out with the battalion to enter the much-talked-ofr Yosemite retreat. When they had covered about halfr the distance to the valley, seventy-two Indians were met ploddingr through the snow. Not convinced that this band constitutedr the entire tribe, Savage sent them to his camp on ther South Fork while he pushed on to the valley. His route againr was that followed by the present Wawona road.r
r rr On March 25, 1851, the party went into camp near Bridalveilr Fall. That night around the campfire a suitable name forr the remarkable valley was discussed. Lafayette H. Bunnell, ar young man upon whom the surroundings and events had mader a deeper impression than upon any of the others, urged thatr it be named Yosemite, after the natives who had been drivenr out. This name was agreed upon. Although the whites knewr the name of the tribe, they were apparently unaware that ther Indians had another name, Ahwahnee, for their Deep Grassyr Valley.r
r rr The next morning the camp was moved to the mouth ofr Indian Canyon, and the day was spent in exploring the valley.r Only one Indian was found, an ancient squaw, too feeble tor escape. Parties penetrated Tenaya Canyon above Mirror Lake,r ascended the Merced Canyon beyond Nevada Fall, and exploredr both to the north and to the south of the river on ther valley floor. No more Indians were discovered, and on the thirdr day the party withdrew from the valley. The Indians who hadr been gathered while the party was on the way to the valleyr escaped from their guard while en route to the Indian Commissioner’sr camp on the Fresno; so this first expedition accomplishedr nothing in the way of subduing the Yosemites.r
r rr In May, 1851, Major Savage sent Captain John Boling andr his company back to Yosemite to surprise the elusive inhabitantsr and to whip them well. Boling followed the same router taken previously and arrived in Yosemite on May 9. He mader his first camp near the site of the present Sentinel Bridge. Chiefr r r r Tenaya and a few of his followers were captured, but the majorityr of the Yosemites eluded their pursuers. It was during thisr stay in Yosemite that the first letter from the valley was dispatched.r On May 15, 1851, Captain Boling wrote to Majorr Savage of his affairs, and ther letter,r was published in the Alta California, June 12, 1851. It follows:r
r rr On reaching this valley, which we did on the 9th inst., I selectedr for our encampment the most secluded place that I couldr find, lest our arrival might be discovered by the Indians. Spies werer immediately despatched in different directions, some of whichr crossed the river to examine for signs on the opposite side. Trailsr were soon found, leading up and down the river, which had beenr made since the last rain. On the morning of the 10th we took upr the line of march for the upper end of the valley, and having traveledr about five miles we discovered five Indians running up ther river on the north side. All of my command, except a sufficientr number to take care of the pack animals, put spurs to their animals,r swam the river and caught them before they could get intor the mountains. One of them proved to be the son of the old Yosemetyr chief. I informed them if they would come down from ther mountains and go with me to the U. S. Indian Commissioners, theyr would not be hurt; but if they would not, I would remain in theirr neighborhood as long as there was a fresh track to be found; informingr him at the same time that all the Indians except his father’sr people and the Chouchillas had treated. . . . He then informed mer that . . . if I would let him loose, with another Indian, he wouldr bring in his father and all his people by twelve o’clock the next day.r I then gave them plenty to eat and started him and his companionr out. We watched the others close, intending to hold them asr hostages until the despatch-bearers returned. They appeared wellr satisfied and we were not suspicious of them, in consequence ofr which one of them escaped. We commenced searching for him,r which alarmed the other two still in custody, and they attemptedr to make their escape. The boys took after them and finding theyr could not catch them, fired and killed them both. This circumstance,r connected with the fact of the two whom we had sent outr not returning, satisfied me that they had no intention of coming in.r My command then set out to search for the Rancheria. The partyr which went up the left toward Can-yarthia [?] found the rancheriar r r r at the head of a little valley, and from the signs it appeared thatr the Indians had left but a few minutes. The boys pursued them upr the mountain on the north side of the river, and when they hadr got near the top, helping each other from rock to rock on accountr of the abruptness of the mountains; the first intimation they hadr of the Indians being near was a shower of huge rocks which camer tumbling down the mountain, threatening instant destruction. Severalr of the men were knocked down, and some of them rolled andr fell some distance before they could recover, wounding and bruisingr them generally. One man’s gun was knocked out of his handr and fell seventy feet before it stopped, whilst another man’s hat wasr knocked off his head without hurting him. The men immediatelyr took shelter behind large rocks, from which they could get an occasionalr shot, which soon forced the Indians to retreat, and by pressingr them close they caught the old Yo-semity chief, whom we yetr hold as a prisoner. In this skirmish they killed one Indian andr wounded several others.r
r rr You are aware that I know this old fellow well enough to lookr out well for him, lest by some stratagem he makes his escape. I shallr aim to use him to the best advantage in pursuing his people. I sendr down a few of my command with the pack animals for provisions;r and I am satisfied if you will send me ten or twelve of old Ponwatchez’r best men I could catch the women and children andr thereby force the men to come in. The Indians I have with me haver acted in good faith and agree with me in this opinion.r
r rr On May 21, some members of the invading party discoveredr the fresh trail of a small party of Indians traveling in the directionr of the Mono country. Immediate pursuit was made, and onr May 22 the Yosemites were discovered encamped on the shoresr of Tenaya Lake in a spot much of which was snow-covered.r They were completely surprised and surrendered without ar struggle. This was the first expedition made into the Yosemiter high country from the west, and it was on this occasion thatr the name Lake Tenaya was applied by Bunnell. The old Indianr chief, on being told of how his name was to be perpetuated,r sullenly remonstrated that the lake already had a name, “Py-we-ack"—r Lake of the Shining Rocks.r
r r r r rr The Indians were on this second occasion successfully escortedr to the Fresno reservation. Tenaya and his band, however,r refused to adapt themselves to the conditions under whichr they were forced to live. They begged repeatedly to be permittedr to return to the mountains and to the acorn food of theirr ancestors. At last, on his solemn promise to behave, Tenayar was permitted to go back to Yosemite with members of hisr family. In a short time his old followers quietly slipped awayr from the reservation and joined him. No attempt was mader to bring them back.r
r rr During the winter of 1851-52, no complaints against ther Yosemites were registered, but in May of 1852 a party of eightr prospectors made their way into the valley, where two ofr them were killed by the Indians. A remarkable manuscript,r prepared by Stephen E Grover, a member of this party, wasr obtained by Mrs. A. F. Chandler, of Santa Cruz, who in 1901r mailed it to Galen Clark. Upon Clark’s death it was turnedr over to the pioneer Yosemite photographer, George Fiske.r When Mr. Fiske died, the papers were given to National Parkr Service officials for safekeeping in the Yosemite Museum.r Grover’s reminiscences are apparently authentically presentedr and divulge much that was not recorded elsewhere. Thoser familiar with Yosemite history as it has been accepted since ther appearance of Bunnell’sr r Discovery of Yosemite will recognize ar number of incidents that are at variance with previous records.r
r rr On the 27th of April, 1852, a party of miners, consisting of Messrs.r Grover, Babcock, Peabody, Tudor, Sherburn, Rose, Aich, and anr Englishman whose name I cannot now recall, left Coarse Goldr Gulch in Mariposa County, on an expedition prospecting for goldr in the wilds of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We followed upr Coarse Gold Gulch into the Sierras, traveling five days, and tookr the Indian trail through the Mariposa Big Tree Grove, and werer the first white men to enter there. Then we followed the South Forkr of the Merced River, traveling on Indian trails the entire time.r
r r r rr On reaching the hills above Yosemite Valley, our party campedr for the night, and questioned the expediency of descending intor the Valley at all. Our party were all opposed to the project exceptr Sherburn, Tudor, and Rose. They over-persuaded the rest andr fairly forced us against our will, and we finally followed the oldr Mariposa Indian trail on the morning of the 2nd of May, and enteringr the Valley on the East side of the Merced River, camped onr a little opening, near a bend in the River free from any brushr whatever, and staked out our pack mules by the river. I, being ther youngest of the party, a mere boy of twenty-two years, and not feelingr usually well that morning, remained in camp with Aich andr the Englishman to prepare dinner, while the others went up ther Valley, some prospecting, and others hunting for game. We hadr no fear of the Indians, as they had been peaceable, and no outbreaksr having occurred, the whites traveled fearlessly wherever theyr wished to go. Thus, we had no apprehension of trouble. To myr astonishment and horror I heard our men attacked, and amidr firing, screams, and confusion, here came Peabody, who reachedr camp first, wounded by an arrow in his arm and another in ther back of his neck, and one through his clothes, just grazing the skinr of his stomach, wetting his rifle and ammunition in crossing ther river as he ran to reach camp. Babcock soon followed, and as bothr men had plunged through the stream that flows from the Bridalr Veil Falls in making their escape, they were drenched to the skin.r On reaching us, Aich immediately began picking the wet powderr from Babcock’s rifle, while I with my rifle stood guard and keptr the savages at bay the best I could. (The other men, with the exceptionr of Sherburn, Tudor, and Rose, came rushing into camp in wildr excitement.) Rose, a Frenchman, was the first to fall, and from ther opposite side of the stream where he fell, apparently with his deathr wound, he screamed to us, “’Tis no use to try to save ourselves, wer have all got to die.” He was the only one of our company that couldr speak Indian and we depended upon him for an interpreter. Sherburnr and Tudor were killed in their first encounter, Tudor beingr killed with an ax in the hands of a savage, which was taken alongr with the party for cutting wood. The Indians gathered around asr near as they dared to come, whooping and yelling, and constantlyr firing arrows at us. We feared they would pick up the rifles droppedr by our companions in their flight and turn them against us, butr they did not know how to use them. As we were very hard pressed,r r r r and as the number of Indians steadily increased, we tried to escaper by the old Mariposa trail, the one by which we entered the Valley,r one of our number catching up a sack of a few pounds of flour andr another a tin cup and some of our outer clothing and fled as bestr we could with the savages in hot pursuit. We had proceeded butr a short distance when we were attacked in front by the savages whor had cut off our retreat. Death staring at us on almost every hand,r and seeing no means of escape, we fled to the bluff, I losing my pistolr as I ran. We were in a shower of arrows all the while, and the Indiansr were closing in upon us very fast; the valley seemed alive withr them—on rocks, and behind trees, bristling like Demons, shriekingr their war whoops, and exulting in our apparently easy capture.r We fired back at them to keep them off while we tried to make ourr way forward hugging the bluff as closely as possible. Our way wasr soon blocked by the Indians who headed us off with a shower ofr arrows (two going through my clothing, one through my hat whichr I lost), when from above the rocks began to fall on us and in ourr despair we clung to the face of the bluff, and scrambling up wer found a little place in the turn of the wall, a shelf-like projection,r where, after infinite labor, we succeeded in gathering ourselves,r secure from the falling rocks, at least, which were being thrownr by Indians under the orders from their Chief. The arrows stillr whistled among us thick and fast, and I fully believe—could I visitr that spot even now after the lapse of all these years—I could stillr pick up some of those flint arrow points in the shelf of the rock andr in the face of the bluff where we were huddled together.r
r rr We could see the old Chief Tenieya way up in the Valley in anr open space with fully one hundred and fifty Indians around him,r to whom he gave his orders, which were passed to another Chiefr just below us, and these two directed those around them andr shouted orders to those on the top of the bluff who were rollingr the rocks over on us. Fully believing ourselves doomed men, wer never relaxed our vigilance, but with the two rifles we still keptr them at bay, determined to sell our lives as dearly as possible. Ir recall, with wonder, how every event of my life up to that timer passed through my mind, incident after incident, with lightningr rapidity, and with wonderful precision.r
r rr We were crowded together beneath this little projecting rockr (two rifles were fortunately retained in our little party, one in ther hands of Aich and one in my own), every nerve strung to its highestr r r r tension, and being wounded myself with an arrow through myr sleeve that cut my arm and another through my hat, when all of ar sudden the Chief just below us, about fifty yards distant, suddenlyr threw up his hands and with a terrible yell fell over backwardsr with a bullet through his body. Immediately, the firing of arrowsr ceased and the savages were thrown into confusion, while notes ofr alarm were sounded and answered far up the Valley and from ther high bluffs above us. They began to withdraw and we could hearr the twigs crackle as they crept away.r
r rr It was now getting dusk and we had been since early morningr without food or rest. Not knowing what to expect we remainedr where we were, suffering from our wounds and tortured with fearr till the moon went down about midnight; then trembling in everyr limb, we ventured to creep forth, not daring to attempt the oldr trail again; we crept along and around the course of the bluff andr worked our way up through the snow, from point to point, oftenr feeling the utter impossibility of climbing farther, but with anr energy born of despair, we would try again, helping the woundedr more helpless than ourselves, and by daylight we reached the topr of the bluff. A wonderful hope of escape animated us though surroundedr as we were, and we could but realize how small our chancesr were for evading the savages who were sure to be sent on our trail.r Having had nothing to eat since the morning before, we breakfastedr by stirring some of our flour in the tip cup, with snow, andr passing it around among us, in full sight of the smoke of the Indianr camps and signal fires all over the Valley.r
r rr Our feelings toward the “Noble Red Man” at this time can betterr be imagined than described.r
r rr Starting out warily and carefully, expecting at every step to feelr the stings of the whizzing arrows of our deadly foes, we kept nearr and in the most dense underbrush, creeping slowly and painfullyr along as best we could, those who were best able carrying the extrar garments of the wounded and helping them along; fully realizingr the probability of the arrow tips with which we were woundedr having been dipped in poison before being sent on their messager of death. In this manner we toiled on, a suffering and saddenedr band of once hopeful prospectors.r
r rr Suddenly a deer bounded in sight. Some objected to our shootingr as the report of our rifle might betray us—but said I, as well die byr our foes as by starvation, and dropping on one knee with never ar r r r steadier nerve or truer aim, the first crack of my rifle brought himr down. Hope revived in our hearts, and quickly skinning our prizer we roasted pieces of venison on long sticks thrust in the flame andr smoke, and with no seasoning whatever it was the sweetest morsel Ir ever tasted. Hastily stripping the flesh from the hind quarters of ther deer, Aich and myself, being the only ones able to carry the extrar burden, shouldered the meat and we again took up our line ofr travel. In this manner we toiled on and crossed the Mariposa Trail,r and passed down the south fork of the Merced River, constantlyr fearing pursuit. As night came on we prepared camp by cuttingr crotched stakes which we drove in the ground and putting a poler across enclosed it with brush, making a pretty secure hiding placer for the night; we crept under and lay close together. Althoughr expecting an attack we were so exhausted and tired that we soonr slept.r
r rr An incident of the night occurs to me: One of the men on reachingr out his foot quickly, struck one of the poles, and down came ther whole structure upon us. Thinking that our foes were upon us, ourr frightened crowd sprang out and made for the more dense brush,r but as quiet followed we realized our mistake and gathering togetherr again we passed the remainder of the night in sleeplessr apprehension.r
r rr When morning came we started again, following up the river,r and passed one of our camping places. We traveled as far as wer could in that direction, and prepared for our next night to campr and slept in a big hollow tree, still fearing pursuit. We passed ther night undisturbed and in the morning started again on our journey,r keeping in the shelter of the brush, and crossed the foot of ther Falls, a little above Crane Flat—so named by us, as one of our partyr shot a large crane there while going over, but it is now known asr Wawona. We still traveled in the back ground, passing throughr Big Tree Grove again, but not until we gained the ridge abover Chowchilla did we feel any surety of ever seeing our friends again.r
r rr Traveling on thus for five days, we at last reached Coarse Goldr Gulch once more, barefooted and ragged but more glad than Ir can express. An excited crowd soon gathered around us and whiler listening to our hair-breadth escapes, our sufferings and perils, andr while vowing vengeance on the treacherous savages, an Indian wasr seen quickly coming down the mountain trail, gaily dressed in warr paint and feathers, evidently a spy on our track, and not threer r r r r r r r r r r r
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![]() r Joseph R. Walkerr | r
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![]() r By Joseph Dixonr rr Maria Lebrador r | r
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![]() r Captain John Bolingr | r
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![]() r Lafayette H. Bunnellr | r
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![]() r By J. T. Boysenr r A Freight Outfitr r | r
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![]() r By Gustav Fagersteenr rr Early Tourists in the Saddler r | r
r My brother Whitney Grover quickly formed a company ofr twenty-five men, who were piloted by Aich, and started for ther Valley to bury our unfortunate companions. They found only Sherburnr and Tudor, after a five days march, and met with no hostilityr from the Indians. They buried them where they lay, with such landr marks as were at hand at that time. I have often called to mind ther fact that the two men, Sherburn and Tudor, the only ones of ourr party who were killed on that eventful morning, were seen readingr their Bibles while in camp the morning before starting into the Valley.r They were both good men and we mourned their loss sincerely.r
r rr After we had been home six days, Rose, who was a partner ofr Sherburn and Tudor in a mine about five miles west of Coarse Goldr Gulch, where there was a small mining camp, appeared in ther neighborhood and reported the attack and said the whole party wasr killed, and that he alone escaped. On being questioned, he said her hid behind the Waterfall and lived by chewing the leather strapr which held his rifle across his shoulders. This sounded strange to usr as he had his rifle and plenty of ammunition and game was abundant.r Afterward hearing of our return to Coarse Gold Gulch camp,r he never came to see us as would have been natural, but shortlyr disappeared. We thought his actions and words very strange andr we remembered how he urged us to enter the Valley, and at ther time of the attack was the first one to fall, right amongst the savages,r apparently with his death wound, and now he appears without ar scratch, telling his version of the affair and disappearing withoutr seeing any of us. We all believed he was not the honest man andr friend we took him to be. He took possession of the gold mine inr which he held a one-third interest with Sherburn and Tudor, andr sold it.r
r rr Years afterward, in traveling at a distance and amongst strangers,r I heard this story of our adventures repeated, as told by Aich, andr he represented himself as the only man of the party who was notr in the least frightened. I told them that “I was most thoroughlyr frightened, and Aich looked just as I felt.”r
r rr Stephen F. Growerr
r rr Santa Cruz, Californiar
r r r rr The commander of the regular army garrison at Fort Millerr was notified of these events, and a detachment of the 2d Infantryr under Lieutenant Tredwell Moore was dispatched inr June, 1852. Five Indians were captured in the Yosemite Valley,r all of whom were found to possess articles of clothing belongingr to the murdered men. These Indians were summarily shot.r Tenaya’s scouts undoubtedly witnessed this prompt pronouncementr of judgment, and the members of the tribe fled with allr speed to their Piute allies at Mono Lake.r
r rr The soldiers pursued the fleeing Indians by way of Tenayar Lake and Bloody Canyon. They found no trace of the Yosemitesr and could elicit no information from the Piutes. The partyr explored the region north and south of Bloody Canyon andr found some promising mineral deposits. In August they returnedr to Tuolumne Soda Springs and then made their wayr back to Mariposa by way of the old Mono Trail that passedr south of Yosemite Valley.r
r rr Upon arrival at Mariposa they exhibited samples of theirr ore discoveries. This created the usual excitement, and Leer Vining with a party of companions hastened to visit the regionr to prospect for gold. Leevining Canyon, through which ther Tioga Road now passes, was named for the leader of this party.r
r rr Tenaya and his refugee band remained with the Mono Indiansr untir late in the summer of 1853, when they again venturedr into their old haunts in the Yosemite Valley. Shortly afterr they had reestablished themselves in their old home, a partyr of young Yosemites made a raid on the camp of their formerr hosts and stole a band of horses which the Monos had recentlyr driven up from southern California. The thieves brought ther animals to Yosemite by a very roundabout route through a passr at the head of the San Joaquin, hoping by this means to escaper detection. However, the Monos at once discovered the ruse andr organized a war party to wreak vengeance upon their ungratefulr guests. Surprising the Yosemites while they were feastingr r r r gluttonously upon the stolen horses, they almost annihilatedr Tenaya’s band with stones before a rally could be effected.r Eight of the Yosemite braves escaped the slaughter and fledr down the Merced Canyon. The old men and women whor escaped death were given their liberty, but the young womenr and children were made captive and taken to Mono Lake.r
r rr The story of this last act in the elimination of the troublesomer Yosemites was made known to Bunnell by surviving membersr of the tribe.r
r rr In 1928, when I talked with Maria, a member of the originalr Yosemite tribe, her version of the massacre differed widelyr from the story told by Bunnell. Through her daughter sher stoutly assured me that no Indians died in Yosemite Valleyr except those killed by whites and those who were ill. I askedr her how Tenaya died and where. She explained that while ther Yosemites were at Mono Lake they engaged in hand gamesr with the Monos. These games are stirring affairs among ther Indians. A. L. Kroeber states, “It is impossible to have seenr a California Indian warmed to his work in this game whenr played for stakes—provided its aim and method are understood—andr any longer justly to designate him mentally sluggishr and emotionally apathetic, as is the wont. It is a gamer in which not sticks and luck, but the tensest of wills, the keenestr perceptions and the supplest of muscular responses arer matched. . . . Seen in this light, the contortions, gesticulations,r noises, and excitement of the native are not the mere uncontrollednessr of an overgrown child, but the outward reflexes ofr a powerfully surcharged intensity.”r
r rr According to Maria, it was in the heat of such a game thatr a quarrel developed between Tenaya and his Mono allies. Inr the fight that followed, Tenaya and five of his Yosemite bravesr were stoned to death. At least, this stoning feature agrees withr former accounts of the killing. Horse stealing and a gluttonousr feast in Yosemite Valley do not figure in Maria’s story. She insistsr r r r that Tom “Hutchings,” the Yosemite Indian befriendedr by J. M. Hutchings, attended to the burning of the bodies andr packed the charred remains upon his own back from Monor Lake to Hites Cove. There a great “cry” was held for twor weeks; the remaining Yosemite Indians and all their friendsr bewailed the loss of Chief Tenaya and the four tribesmen.r A number of parties of miners, emboldened by the news ofr the disbanding of the Yosemites, visited the valley in the fallr of 1853. During 1854 no white men are known to have enteredr Yosemite Valley.r
r rr By 1855 several accounts written by members of the threer punitive expeditions that had entered Yosemite had been publishedr in San Francisco papers. The difficulties of overcomingr hostile Indians in the search for gold were far more prominentr in the minds of these writers than the scenic wonders of ther new-found valley. Nevertheless, the mention of a thousand-footr waterfall in one of these published letters awakened Jamesr M. Hutchings, then publishing ther r California Magazine,r tor the possibilities that Yosemite presented. Hutchings organizedr ther r first tourist partyr in June, 1875, and with two of the originalr Yosemites as guides proceeded from Mariposa over the oldr Indian trail via Wawona and Inspiration Point to the valley.r Thomas Ayres, an artist, was a member of the party and duringr this visit he made the first sketches ever made in Yosemite. Tenr of these original pencil drawings are now preserved in ther Yosemite Museum.r
r rr In 1853, James Alden, then a commander in the Unitedr States Navy, came to California on a commission to settle ther boundary between Mexico and California. He remained untilr 1860. Some time between 1856 and 1860 he visited Yosemiter Valley. Probably on his return to San Francisco he came uponr Ayres’s work, which appealed to him as the best mementosr of his Yosemite experience, and he procured ten originals andr one lithograph. Mrs. Ernest W. Bowditch, Mrs. C. W. Hubbard,r r r r and Mrs. A. H. Eustis, descendants of Admiral Alden andr heirs to these priceless drawings, have presented them to ther Yosemite Museum, which stands near the spot where some ofr them were made.r
r rr In the years that have elapsed since these drawings werer created, they have journeyed on pack mules, sailed the seas inr old United States men-of-war, jolted about in covered wagons,r and at last made a transcontinental journey to come again tor the valley that gave them birth.r
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Woodcut from the first edition (1931) | r
r r Hutchingsr r and his first sight-seers “spent five glorious daysr in luxurious scenic banqueting” in the newly discoveredr valley and then followed their Indian guides over ther return trail to Mariposa. Upon their arrival in that mountainr city, they were besieged with eager questioners, among whomr was L. A. Holmes, the editor of the Mariposa Gazette, whichr had recently been established. Mr. Holmes begged that hisr paper be given opportunity to publish the first account fromr the pen of Mr. Hutchings. His request was complied with, andr in the Gazette of July 12, 1855, appears the first printed descriptionr of Yosemite Valley, prepared by one uninfluenced byr Indian troubles or gold fever.r
r rr Journalists the country over copied the description, andr so started the Hutchings Yosemite publicity, which was tor continue through a period of forty-seven years. Parties fromr Mariposa and other mining camps, and from San Francisco,r interested by Hutchings’ oral and printed accounts, organized,r secured the same Indian guides, and inaugurated tourist travelr to the Yosemite wonder spot.r
r rr Milton and Houston Mann, who had accompanied one ofr these sight-seeing expeditions, were so imbued with the possibilitiesr of serving the hordes of visitors soon to come that theyr set to work immediately to construct a horse toll trail fromr the South Fork of the Merced to the Yosemite Valley. Galenr Clark, who also had been a member of one of the 1855 parties,r was prompted to establish a camp on the South Fork wherer r r r travelers could be accommodated. This camp was situated onr the Mann Brothers’ Trail and later became known as Clark’sr Station. It is known as Wawona now. The Mann brothers finishedr their trail in 1856.r
r rr Old Indian trails were followed by much of the Mariposa-Yosemite Valley route.r The toll was collected at White and Hatch’s,r approximately twelve miles from Mariposa. At Clark’s Station (Wawona),r the trail detached itself from the Indianr route and ascended Alder Creek to its headwaters. Here itr crossed to the Bridalveil Creek drainage and passed throughr several fine meadows, gradually ascending to the highest pointr on the route above Old Inspiration Point on the south rim ofr Yosemite Valley. From this point it dropped sharply to the floorr of the valley near the foot of Bridalveil Fall. The present-dayr Alder Creek and Pohono trails traverse much of the old route.r
r rr Several years after the pioneer trail was built, sheep campsr were established on two of the lush meadows through whichr it passed. They were known as Westfall’s and Ostrander’s. Ther rough shelters existing here were frequently used by tiredr travelers who preferred to make an overnight stop on ther trail rather than exhaust themselves in completing the saddler trip to the valley in one day. Usually, however, Westfall’s orr Ostrander’s were convenient lunch stops for the saddle parties.r
r rr In 1869, Charles Peregoy built a hotel, “The Mountain Viewr House,” at what had been known as Westfall Meadow and withr the help of his wife operated a much-praised hospice everyr summer until 1875, when the coming of the stage road betweenr Wawona and Yosemite Valley did away with the greater part ofr the travel on the trail.r
r rr The Mann Brothers’ Trail, which was some fifty miles inr length, was purchased by Mariposa County and made availabler to public use without charge before construction of the stager road from Mariposa had been completed.r
r rr In 1856, the year that witnessed the completion of ther r r r Mariposa-Yosemite Valley Trail, L. H. Bunnell, George W.r Coulter, and others united in the construction of the “Coulterviller Free Trail.” Very little, if any, of this route followed existingr Indian trails. The Coulterville Trail started at Bull Creek,r to which point a wagon road already had been constructed, andr passed through Deer Flat, Hazel Green, Crane Flat, and Tamarackr Flat to the point now known as Gentry, and thence to ther valley. Its total length was forty-eight miles, of which seventeenr miles could be traveled in a carriage.r
r rr A second pioneer horse trail on the north side of the Mercedr began at the village of Big Oak Flat, six miles north of Coulterville,r and followed a route north of the Coulterville Free Trailr through Garrote to Harden’s Ranch on the South Fork of ther Tuolumne River, thence to its junction with the Coulterviller Trail between Crane Flat and Tamarack Flat.r
r rr Sections of all of these early routes passed over high terrainr where deep snow persisted well into the spring. Early fall snowr storms in these vicinities sometimes contributed to the hazardsr of travel. The trails found use during a relatively short season.r The Merced Canyon offered opportunity to establish a route atr lower elevation, but the difficulties of construction in the narrowr gorge deterred all would-be builders until a short timer prior to the wagon-road era. The Hite’s Cove route, which camer into use in the early ’seventies, partly answered the need forr a snow-free canyon trail. Hite’s Cove, where the John Hiter Mine was located in 1861, is on the South Fork of the Mercedr some distance above its confluence with the Merced River. Ar wagon road eighteen miles in length made it accessible fromr Mariposa. Tourists using this route stopped overnight in Hite’sr Cove and then traveled twenty miles in the saddle up the Mercedr Canyon to the valley.r
r rr Another means of reaching the valley on horseback via ther Merced Canyon was developed soon after wagon roads hadr been built. Some Yosemite visitors, perhaps because of the poorr r r r condition of the roads at certain seasons, elected to leave ther Coulterville stage route at Dudley’s, from where they went tor Jenkins Hill on the rim of the steep walls of the Merced gorge.r Here a horse trail enabled them to descend to the bottom ofr the canyon, thence up the Merced to the valley. This thirty-miler saddle trip involved an overnight stop at Hennesey’s, situatedr a short distance below the present El Portal.r
r rr Travel in the saddle, of course, was regarded by the Californiar pioneer with few qualms. Likewise, the conveyance ofr freight on the backs of mules was looked upon as commonplace,r and the success attained by those early packers is, in thisr day and age, wonderful to contemplate. Inr r Hutchings’ California Magaziner for December, 1859, appears a most interestingr essay on the business of packing as then practiced among ther mountaineers of the gold camps.r
r rr Pack animals and packers have not yet passed from ther Yosemite scene, for much of the back country is, and alwaysr will be, we hope, accessible by trail only. Government trailr gangs are dependent for weeks at a time upon the suppliesr brought to them upon the backs of mules. Likewise, those whor avail themselves of High Sierra Camp facilities are served byr pack trains. Present-day packing differs in no essential wayr from the mode of the ’fifties, except that it is often done byr Indians instead of the old-time Mexican mulatero.r
r rr What one visitor of the pre-wagon days thought of the saddler trip into Yosemite Valley may be gathered from J. H. Beadler in his Undeveloped West. Beadle visited the Sierra in 1871 andr approached the valley from the north.r
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r Thirty-seven miles from Garrote bring us to Tamarack Flat,r the highest point on the road, the end of staging, and no wonder.r The remaining five miles down into the valley must be made onr horseback.r
r rr While transferring baggage—very little is allowed—to pack mules,r the guide and driver amuse us with accounts of former tourists,r r r r particularly of Anna Dickinson, who rode astride into the valley,r and thereby demonstrated her right to vote, drink “cocktails,” bearr arms, and work the roads, without regard to age, sex, or previousr condition of servitude. They tell us with great glee of Olive Logan,r who, when told she must ride thus into the valley, tried practisingr on the back of the coach seats, and when laughed at for her pains,r took her revenge by savagely abusing everything on the road. Whenr Mrs. Cady Stanton was here a few weeks since, she found it impossibler to fit herself to the saddle, averring she had not been in oner for thirty years. Our accomplished guide, Mr. F. A. Brightman,r saddled seven different mules for her (she admits the fact in herr report), and still she would not risk it, and “while the guidesr laughed behind their horses, and even the mules winked knowinglyr and shook their long ears comically, still she stood a spectacle forr men and donkeys.” In vain the skillful Brightman assured her her had piloted five thousand persons down that fearful incline, andr not an accident. She would not be persuaded, and walked the entirer distance, equal to twenty miles on level ground. And shall thisr much-enduring woman still be denied a voice in the governmentr of the country? Perish the thought. With all these anecdotes Ir began to feel nervous myself, for I am but an indifferent rider, andr when I observed the careful strapping and saw that my horse wasr enveloped in a perfect network of girths, cruppers and circingles,r I inquired diffidently, “Is there no danger that this horse will turnr a somerset with me over some steep point?” “Oh, no, sir,” rejoinedr the cheerful Brightman, “he is bitterly opposed to it.”r
r rr We turn again to the left into a sort of stairway in the mountainr side, and cautiously tread the stony defile downward; at places overr loose boulders, at others around or over the points of shelving rock,r where one false step would send horse and rider a mangled massr two thousand feet below, and more rarely over ground coveredr with bushes and grade moderate enough to afford a brief rest. Itr is impossible to repress fear. Every nerve is tense; the muscles involuntarilyr make ready for a spring, and even the bravest leanr timorously toward the mountain side and away from the cliff, withr foot loose in stirrup and eye alert, ready for a spring in case of peril.r The thought is vain; should the horse go, the rider would infalliblyr go with him. And the poor brutes seem to fully realize their dangerr and ours, as with wary steps and tremulous ears, emitting almostr human signs, with more than brute caution they deliberately placer r r r one foot before the other, calculating seemingly at each step the desperater chances and intensely conscious of our mutual peril. Mutualr danger creates mutual sympathy—everything animal, everythingr that can feel pain, is naturally cowardly—and while we feel a stranger animal kinship with our horses, they seem to express a half-humanr earnestness to assure us that their interest is our interest, and theirr self-preservative instinct in full accord with our intellectual dread.r We learn with wonder that of all the five thousand who have mader this perilous passage not one has been injured—if injured be ther word, for the only injury here would be certain death. One falser step and we are gone bounding over rocks, ricocheting from cliffs,r till all semblance of humanity is lost upon the flat rock below. Suchr a route would be impossible to any but those mountain-trainedr mustangs, to whom a broken stone staircase seems as safe as an ordinaryr macadamized road.r
r rr At length we reach a point where the most hardy generally dismountr and walk—two hundred feet descent in five hundred feetr progress. Indeed half the route will average the descent of an ordinaryr staircase. Then comes a passage of only moderate descent andr terror, then another and more terrible stairway—a descent of fourr hundred feet in a thousand. I will not walk before and lead myr horse, as does our guide, but trail my long rope halter and keep himr before, always careful to keep on the upper side of him, springingr from rock to rock, and hugging the cliff with all the ardor of ar young lover. For now I am scared. All pretense of pride is gone,r and just the last thing I intend to risk is for that horse to stumble,r and in falling strike me over that fearful cliff. At last comes ar gentler slope, then a crystal spring, dense grove and grass-coveredr plat, and we are down into the valley. Gladly we take the stage, andr are whirled along in the gathering twilight.r
r rr The vehicle that whirled Beadle over the flat of the valleyr floor was brought to Yosemite before roads were constructedr and is now exhibited at the Yosemite Museum as “the firstr wagon in Yosemite Valley.”r
r rr The arrival of visitors prompted the building of shelters.r The first habitation to be constructed by white men in Yosemiter was a rough shack put up in 1855 by a party of surveyors,r of which Bunnell was a member. A company had been organizedr r r r to bring water from the foot of the valley into the dryr diggings of the Mariposa estate. It was supposed that a claimr in the valley would doubly secure the water privileges.r
r rr The first permanent structure was built in 1856 by Walworthr and Hite. It was constructed of pine boards that werer rived out by hand, and occupied the site of the 1851 camp ofr Boling’s party (near the foot of the present Four-Mile Trail tor Glacier Point). It was known as the Lower Hotel until 1869,r when it was pulled down, and Black’s Hotel was constructedr on the spot.r
r rr In the spring of 1857, Beardsley and Hite put up a canvas-coveredr house in the old village. The next year this was replacedr by a wooden structure, the planks for which had beenr whipsawed by hand. J. M. Hutchings was again in the valleyr in 1859, and hisr r California Magaziner for December of thatr year tells of the first photographs to be made in Yosemite.r C. L. Weed, a pioneer photographer apparently working forr R. H. Vance, packed a great instrument and its bulky equipmentr through the mountains to the Yosemite scenes. Photographyr was just then taking its place in American life. Mr.r Weed’s first Yosemite subject was this Upper Hotel of Beardsleyr and Hite.r [Editor’s note:r Charles Leander Weed’s first photograph, taken June 18, 1859 was of Yosemite Falls,r not Hite’s Hotel, which was photographed 3 days later—dea.]r Hutchings and Weed decided on this occasionr that they must visit the fall now called Illilouette, and Hutchingsr wrote:r
r rr The reader would have laughed could he have seen us ready forr the start. Mr. Beardsley, who had volunteered to carry the camera,r had it inverted and strapped at his back, when it looked morer like an Italian “hurdy gurdy” than a photographic instrument, andr he like the “grinder.” Another carried the stereoscopic instrumentr and the lunch; another, the plate-holders and gun, etcetera; andr as the bushes had previously somewhat damaged our broadclothr unmentionables, we presented a very queer and picturesque appearancer truly.r
r rr Hutchings published a woodcut made from the first photographr of the Yosemite hostelry in November of 1859; his book,r r In the Heart of the Sierras, again alludes to his presence inr the valley when this first photograph was taken.r [Editor’s note:r Charles Leander Weed’s first photograph, taken June 18, 1859 was of Yosemite Falls,r not the “Yosemite hostelry,” which was photographed 3 days later—dea.]r Naturally,r students of California history have been interested in learningr more about the work of Weed, but in spite of serious attemptsr to procure more information on this photographer of 1859,r nothing was brought to light. It was then something of a thrillr to me to find myself in possession of an original print from ther earliest Yosemite negative. That the print is genuine seems tor be a fact, and the incidents relative to its discovery are worthr the telling here.r
r rr Its donor, Arthur Rosenblatt, resided as a small boy withinr a few blocks of the Hutchings San Francisco home on Piner Street. Mr. Rosenblatt and his brothers played with the Hutchingsr children. In 1880 the Hutchings home was destroyed byr fire. The small boys of the neighborhood searched the debrisr for objects worth saving, and Irving and Wallace Rosenblattr salvaged a pack of large water-stained photographs. Arthurr Rosenblatt with forethought mounted these pictures in an oldr scrapbook. He has cherished them through the years that haver passed. In June, 1929, he visited the Yosemite Museum andr was interested in the historical exhibits. In his study of ther displayed materials, he came upon a photographic copy of ther old drawing of the “Hutchings House;” which has been takenr from In the Heart of the Sierras. He recognized its subject asr identical with one of the old photographs which he had preservedr since 1880. He made his find known to the park naturalist,r and immediately phoned to his San Francisco home andr requested that the scrapbook be mailed at once to the Yosemiter Museum. Upon its receipt, the old hotel photograph was segregatedr from the others, and comparisons were made with ther drawing in the old Hutchings book and with the buildingr itself. The print is obviously from the original Weed negative.r
r rr Hutchings’ visit of 1859 apparently convinced him of ther desirability of residing in Yosemite Valley. During the next fewr r r r years he spared no effort in making its wonders known to ther world through his California Magazine. The spirited etchingsr of Yosemite wonders that were reproduced in the magaziner from Weed’s photos and from Ayres’s drawings did much tor convince travelers of the magnificence of Yosemite scenery.r The stream of tourists who entered the valley grew apace inr spite of the hardships to be endured on the long journey inr the saddle.r Horace Greeleyr was one of those who braved ther discomforts in 1859 and gave his description of the place tor hundreds of thousands in the East. Greel[e]y, foolishly, determinedr to make the 57-mile saddle trip via the Mariposa router in one day. He arrived at the Upper Hotel in Yosemite Valleyr at 1:00 A.M., more dead than alive, yet shortly afterward her wrote, “I know no single wonder of Nature on earth which canr claim a superiority over the Yosemite.” His visit was made atr a season when Yosemite Falls contained but little water, andr he dubbed them a “humbug,” but his hearty praise of the generalr wonders played a significant part in turning the interestr of Easterners upon the new mecca of scenic beauty.r
r rr In 1864 J. M. Hutchings came to the Upper Hotel (Cedarr Cottage) in the role of proprietor. The mirth and discomfiturer engendered among Hutchings’ guests by the cheesecloth partitionsr between bedrooms prompted him to build a sawmillr near the foot of Yosemite Falls in order to produce sufficientr lumber to “hard finish” his hostelry. It was in this mill thatr John Muir found employment for a time. The hotel wasr embellished with lean-tos and porches, and an addition wasr constructed at the rear in which was completely enclosed ther trunk of a large growing cedar tree. Hutchings built a greatr fireplace in this sitting room and proceeded to make the novelr gathering place famous as the “Big Tree Room.”r
r rr A winter spent in the frigid shade of the south wall of Yosemiter Valley convinced the Hutchings family that their “Big Treer Room” was not a pleasant winter habitation. They built anewr r r r and moved into the warm sunshine of the north side of the valley.r With their own hands members of the family constructedr a snug cabin among giant black oaks near the foot of Yosemiter Falls and there spent the remainder of their Yosemite days.r
r rr Papers, letters, and photographs relating to the Yosemiter experiences of the Hutchings family have been preserved byr J. M. Hutchings’ daughter, Mrs. Gertrude Hutchings Mills,r and by the family of his wife, the Walkingtons of England.r Materials generously donated from these sources take importantr places in the collections of the Yosemite Museum and haver greatly aided in the preparation of this volume.r
r rr J. M. Hutchings invested heavily in the construction of ther Sentinel group of buildings and continued to be identifiedr with the Yosemite as publicity agent, hotel proprietor, resident,r official guardian, and unofficial champion until 1902. In thatr year, he met his death on the zigzags of the Big Oak Flat Road.r In the 1902 register of the hotel, which was once the Hutchingsr House, is the following entry made by Mrs. Hutchings, ther second wife of J. M. Hutchings:r
r rr November 8, 1902r
r rr Today leaving Yo Semite and all I love best.r
r rr Emily A. Hutchingsr
r rr Thinking that some who come here may wish to know a littler about the sad tragedy of Mr. J. Hutchings death, I would like tor write a few words.r
r rr Because I had never seen Yo Semite in the autumn, my dearr husband brought me here for a short holiday, on our way to Sanr Francisco. We started from the Calaveras Big Trees and came viar Parrots Ferry, and its beautiful gorge—the wonderful old miningr center of Columbia, and its hitherto only surface-skimmed Goldr Fields—Sonora and its good approaches, in its oiled and well gradedr roads—and thence to Chaffee and Chamberlains and to Crockersr and their hearty hospitality. It has been a very pleasant experience,r to see many friends on the way—most of them honored “Oldr Timers,” who have been the thews and sinews of the State, and whor still hold their own in the rugged strength, which has brought themr through to 1902.r
r r r rr From Crockers, we started on the last day of our journey [Oct. 31,r 1902], continuing through the glorious Forests of the Sierras, ther autumnal tints of which this year, have been of unusual grandeur—r these beauties all being intensified in Yo Semite.r
r rr Coming down the Grade we were impressed beyond expression,r and, when we reached the point where El Capitan first presentsr itself, my Husband said, “It is like Heaven.”r
r rr There was no apparent danger near but one of the horses tookr fright (probably a wild animal was at hand) and dashed away.r When the Angel of Death reached Mr. Hutchings a few momentsr later—under the massive towering heights of that sun-illuminedr Cliff—“He” found him in the full vigour of life and high energeticr purpose—but his grief-stricken wife prayed in vain that the ebbingr tide would stay.r
r rr From the moment the sad accident was known, the greatest sympathyr and kindness were shown, loving hands gave reverent aid—r and on Sunday, Nov. 2, 1902, my dear husband was borne from ther Big Tree Room and its time honored memories. The residents ofr the Valley and many of the Indians, who had long known him, followed.r We laid him to rest, surrounded by nature in Her mostr glorious garb, and under the peaks and domes he had loved so wellr and had explored so fearlessly.r
r rr Emily A. Hutchingsr
r rr Nov. 8, 1902r
r rr In 1941 and for several years thereafter, Yosemite Valley wasr visited by Cosie Hutchings Mills, daughter of J. M. Hutchings,r born October 5, 1867, the second white child born in the valley.r Elizabeth H. Godfrey, of the Yosemite Museum, obtainedr from Mrs. Mills both written and oral statements regardingr the pioneer experiences of the Hutchings family in Yosemite.r The interviews with Mrs. Mills were recorded by Mrs. Godfrey.r Her manuscript, “Chronicles of Cosie Hutchings Mills,”r and Mrs. Mills’ written reminiscences are preserved in ther Yosemite Museum.r
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![]() r By C. L. Weed, 1859r r First Yosemite Photograph—“Upper Hotel”r | r
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Woodcut from the first edition (1931) | r
r r For twenty-three yearsr r after the coming of the first sightseers,r Yosemite Valley was accessible only by horse trail.r The twelve thousand tourists, who frantically clung to theirr Yosemite-bound steeds during this period, included many Easternersr and Europeans not accustomed to mountain trails. Theyr had departed surcharged with enthusiasm but sometimes werer caustic in their expressions regarding their mode of conveyancer and the crudity of the facilities found at their disposal bothr en route and in the valley. Not a few of the comments mader by visitors found their way into print. Yosemite bibliographyr is not limited to items printed in English. The entire worldr sent representatives to the valley during that first period ofr travel, and foreign literature carried the story of Yosemite wondersr quite as did American publications. The reader may formr some opinion of what the printed word has done for Yosemite,r if he will scan the titles which are given in the bibliographyr appended to this volume. In addition to these, of course, arer hundreds of books and articles to which no reference has beenr made in the present work.r
r rr The merchants of the towns along the routes of approach,r as well as the businessmen within the valley itself, felt the needr of providing more adequately for the greater numbers thatr might be brought to their attractions. Foremost among ther provisions, naturally, was the construction of wagon roads.r
r rr To Dr. John T. McLean, the president of the Coulterville andr Yosemite Turnpike Company, belongs the honor of first makingr r r r the Yosemite Valley accessible to wheeled vehicles. Ther Coulterville Company was formed in 1859. It had extendedr its road to Crane Flat, and, at the insistence of Dr. McLeanr arranged with the Yosemite commissioners to build and maintainr a toll road to the floor of Yosemite Valley. The commissionersr had agreed that this company should have exclusiver rights on the north side of Yosemite Valley; that is, no otherr company was to build a road into the valley from the northr for a period of ten years. Under this agreement, ther Coulterville Road was projected in 1870 and completed to the Mercedr River in 1874. The following paragraph from a letter sent byr Dr. McLean to the president of the Yosemite National Parkr Commission, 1899, gives interesting information on ther discovery1r r [r 1r ‘The Walker party, 1833, may have been the first to see the Merced Grove.r See p. 8.r See alsor r Wegner, J. H., Yosemite Nature Notes (1930), p. 67.r ]r of the Merced Grove of Big Trees, as well as a statementr regarding the opening of the Coulterville Road:r
r rr While making a survey for this road a grove of big trees was discovered,r its existence not having been previously known except tor Indians before these explorations for the building of this road werer prosecuted. It was determined to carry the road directly throughr this grove, which was named the Merced Grove by me because ofr its nearness to the Merced River. In order to carry the proposedr road through this new-found grove of Sequoia gigantea it was necessary,r in order to secure the best grades and shortest distances tor Yosemite, to leave the road already built at Hazel Green instead of atr Crane Flat six miles farther east. It was thought the greater lengthr of road required to start from Hazel Green and build through tinr Merced Grove would be compensated by the advantage the roarr would have of passing through this grove of over 50 Sequoias ofr the way to Yosemite. The additional cost in construction of ther road by reason of this new departure from Hazel Green insteadr of from Crane Flat was about $10,000. The work of constructionr was vigorously prosecuted, and on June 17, 1874, the Yosemite wasr first opened to travel by wheeled vehicles over this road, on that dayr a number of stage coaches and passenger and freight teams passingr over it to the level of the valley.r
r r r rr The Big Oak Flat and Yosemite Turnpike Company appliedr to extend their road to Yosemite Valley after the commissionersr had conveyed exclusive rights to the Coulterville Road.r The commissioners refused to violate their agreement withr McLean’s company, but the Big Oak Flat Company securedr the passage of an act by the state legislature, which grantedr the privilege asked. In July, 1874, the Big Oak Flat Road wasr completed to the floor of Yosemite. Needless to say, this secondr road functioned to the everlasting detriment of the Coulterviller route.r
r rr In the fall of 1874, Washburn, Chapman, Coffman and Companyr of Mariposa sought the right to extend their Mariposar Road to Yosemite Valley. The commissioners granted theirr request on the same terms as given to the Coulterville Company.r On July 22, 1875, amid much celebrating, the Mariposar Road was completed to the valley floor.r
r rr The easier mode of travel introduced by this road construction,r coupled with the increased publicity from the penr and brush of enthusiasts, made for a substantial increase inr the number of Yosemite visitors. In keeping with this wagon-roadr building was the steady extension of the Central Pacificr Railroad. Stockton, Modesto, Copperopolis, Berenda, Merced,r and Madera were, in turn, the terminals. Seven routesr to Yosemite made bids for the tourist travel. The Milton andr Calaveras route permitted of railroad conveyance to Milton.r Those who were induced to take the Berenda-Grants Springsr route took the train to Raymond. The Madera-Fresno Flatsr route afforded railroad-coach transportation to Madera. Ther Modesto-Coulterville route meant leaving the rails at Modesto.r The Merced-Coulterville route involved staging fromr Merced. The Mariposa route also required detraining at Merced,r but the stage route followed took travelers through Hornitosr and Mariposa. Those tourists who chose the Milton-Bigr Oak Flat route left the train at Copperopolis and traveled inr r r r the stage to Chinese Camp, Priests, and into the valley on ther Big Oak Flat Road. Dodgers, pamphlets, and guidebooks furnishedr by the competing towns and stage companies producedr a confusion to say the least.r
r rr The conveyances were of two types. At the height of ther season, when travel was heavy and roads dry, ther Standard Concord Coach was employed. At other times, a vehicle commonlyr termed a “mud wagon” was put to use. During this erar of horse-drawn vehicles, the trains of pack mules were, ofr course, replaced by great freight wagons. Today, in drivingr over the old wagon roads, one is led to wonder how passengerr vehicles succeeded in passing the great freight outfits.r Some years ago, in searching through the objects left in ar deserted house in the ghost town, Bodie, I came upon a manuscriptr describing staging as it was practiced in that famousr mining camp. What the unknown author has to say about ther business there applies to neighboring mountain regions, andr is a reminder of a phase of life of the ’eighties.r
r rr The stage coach is to California what the modern express trainr is to Indiana, and people unaccustomed to mountain life can formr but little conception of the vast amount of transportation carriedr on by means of coaches and freight wagons.r
r rr Even though California may truly be termed the “Eden” ofr America, yet there is not a county in the state but has more or lessr traffic for the stage coach, and in the northern and eastern part ofr the state, especially, there is an entire network of well-graded roads,r resembling Eastern pikes. These roads are mostly owned by corporationsr and, consequently, are toll roads.r
r rr Over these are run the fast stages drawn by from two to ten larger horses, and the great freight wagons drawn by from fourteen tor twenty mules.r
r rr The stage lines have divisions, as do railroads, and at the endr of each division there is a change of horses, thus giving the greatestr possible means for quick conveyance. Over each line there arer generally two stages per day, one each way. These carry passengers,r mail, and all express traffic. At each town is a Wells Fargor r r r office, and business is carried on in a similar manner to that of railroadr express offices. Telegraph lines are in use along the most importantr roads.r
r rr The stage lines have time cards similar to railroads, and in caser a stage is a few minutes late, it causes as much anxiety as does ther delay of an O. & M. express. A crowd is always waiting at the expressr office; some are there for business, others through some curiosityr and to size up the passengers.r
r rr A stage from a mining town usually contains a bar of gold bullionr worth $25,000, which is being shipped to the mint. Bullion isr shipped from each mine once a month, but people always knowr when this precious metal is aboard by the appearance of a fat, burlyr officer perched beside the stage-driver, with two or three double-barreledr shotguns. He, of course, is serving as a kind of scarecrowr to the would-be stage robbers.r
r rr The average fare for riding on a stage is 15 cents per mile.r
r rr The manner in which freight is transported is quite odd, especiallyr to a “Hoosier.” Wagons of the largest size are used. Some ofr these measure twelve feet from the ground to the top of the wagonr bed; then bows and canvas are placed over this, making a totalr height of fifteen feet, at least. Usually three or four of these wagonsr are coupled together, like so many cars, and then drawn by fromr fourteen to twenty large mules. All these are handled by a singler driver. A team of this kind travels, when heavily loaded, about fifteenr miles per day, the same being spoken of always as the slowr freight. In some mining districts, however, where business is flush,r extra stages are put on for freight alone. These are termed the fastr freights. This business involves a large capital, and persons engagedr in it are known as forwarding companies. Even the freight or expressr on goods from New York is sometimes collected a hundredr miles from any railroad, and so even to those living in the remoter mountain regions, this is about as convenient, and they seem tor enjoy life as well as if living in a railroad town.r
r rr The city of Bodie has its entire freight and passenger trafficr carried as mentioned above. A short time ago its population wasr 10,000; there were three daily papers and free mail delivery, andr all the improvements necessary to any modern town or city.r
r rr The prospect of a holdup always added to the thrill of staging.r Yosemite literature is not replete with road agent episodes,r r r r but highwaymen did occasionally appear along the routes tor the valley. “Black Bart,” whose fame as a gentleman stage robberr was world-wide during the early ’eighties, met his downfallr in the Yosemite region on his twenty-eighth robbery.r
r rr Black Bart was a very unusual bandit. He took no humanr lives. In fact, he never fired a weapon in any of his exploits. Her carried an unloaded shotgun and bluffed, successfully, twenty-sevenr times. His forays began in 1874, and his returns werer such that he was enabled to reside in San Francisco as a respectedr and rather dapper citizen. His absence from the cityr on the occasions of his robberies was accounted for throughr his story of visiting mines in which he held interests. His desirer to be well dressed and his penchant for clean linen provedr his undoing. It was a laundry mark on a handkerchief whichr brought about his capture after his twenty-eighth robbery.r Not all the holdups along Yosemite roads took place in ther distant past. D. J. Foley’s Yosemite Tourist for July 10, 1906,r carries the following account of a robbery that brings the melodramaticr influence of highwaymen into the very end of ther period of stage coach days. It was entiled “Five Stages Held Upr by the Lone Highwayman of the Chowchilla, An Event Full ofr Excitement and Interest,” and reads:r
r rr This is the story of a plain, ordinary “hold-up” of the Raymond-Wawona-Yosemiter stages; and the time was Saturday afternoon atr ten minutes of four. The place was about six miles this side ofr Ahwahnee, upon the side of the Chowchilla Mountain, about ar mile and a half this side of where a similar, but less important,r event took place last August.r
r rr The point, carefully selected by the bold robber was an ideal one.r The road here is in the form of the letterr S,r flattened out, and her selected the upper part of the letter, about all of the other partsr being visible.r
r rr The first stage was in charge of Will Palmer, one of the newr drivers. Puffing and sweating, the team of four were rounding ther turn in the road, when Walter Brode, who, with Mrs. F. J. House,r r r r occupied the front seat, yelled: “Hold up!” For up the road a hundredr or more feet away he saw the fellow jump out from behindr some brush and, with his old 44 Winchester up to his shoulder, her was advancing toward them. And in tones, musical and soft butr determined, he said:r
r rr “Throw out that box!”r
r rr The driver was not aware of the presence of the express box, butr it was there and Mr. Seth Hart threw it out like a gentleman.r “Get out of that stage,” came the cool, determined command,r supplemented with that ugly-looking 44.r
r rr And out they got.r
r rr Then he requested one of the ladies, Miss Bowen, to “pass ther hat around,” which she did under protest.r
r rr The other stage was then about due and so he moved down ther road a bit to a point where he could keep them well “covered,” andr yet not be seen by the approaching stage. In the meantime all theirr hands were up, for that big “44” was pointed their way.r
r rr Around the turn came the second stage with “Josh” Wrenn asr driver. No especial importance was attributed to the unusual sight,r believing it to be a joke. But the illusion was quickly dispelledr when out rang that soft and musical command: “Get out of ther stage,” and out they got, the vicious-looking “44” being much inr evidence. He lined them up with the others and then ordered a boyr of about fifteen to “pass the hat around.” The boy was badly scared,r and justly, too, and was about to comply with the request, when upr spoke C. E. McStay, a well-known business man of Los Angeles,r who very kindly offered to take the boy’s place. To this the robberr consented, not suspecting the “job” that was so quickly put up onr him. For “job” it was, and one, too, that saved the passengers manyr dollars and valuables. “I quickly thought of and settled this proposition,”r said Mr. McStay. “If that boy passes the hat and searchesr us, for this is what he was ordered to do, he will not use any discretion,r and we will all be heavy losers; whereas, if I can do thatr honor I shall take but little, unless I have to.” All this and more,r too, was thought out by Mr. McStay in less time than it takes tor write this, and so he acted at once, and to him is due the credit ofr the “buncoing” that followed; for this mild-mannered, soft-voicedr Lone Highwayman of the Chowchilla was most thoroughly “buncoed”r in this change of “hat passers,” and he suspected it even beforer the first stage was ordered to “move on.” But that’s another story.r r r r And so in the fullness of his nerve—it’s the real California—Losr Angeles kind, too, Mr. McStay became the apparent Chief Assistantr of the Lone Highwayman of the Chowchilla.r
r rr The third stage drove up in due time with the experience of ther second stage duplicated. The fourth wagon had a load of ladies,r and he did not order them to get out. Tho thus honored it was fromr this wagon that he secured most of his coin. The passengers of ther fifth wagon “lined up” with the others. On this stage, in charge ofr the driver, Ed Gordon, was a sack, for the Sugar Pine Mills, withr over $500 in it. From the zig-zag below they saw the crowd “linedr up” and they, suspecting the cause, helped the driver to hide ther sack under the cushion of the seat.r
r rr During the forty-year period which rightly may be consideredr as the stagecoach era, a combination of influences were atr work. Politics sadly affected the management of the state grantr (brought into existence in 1864), and sheep threatened ther upper country not under the jurisdiction of the Yosemite commissioners.r A national park came into existence which physicallyr encompassed the state park and figuratively engulfed ther state management.r
r rr Improvements grew apace. New hotels and public campr grounds were created; trails were built; the road system wasr improved and enlarged; electricity developed; and a climaxr reached with the construction of a railroad almost to the veryr gates of the valley. In 1907 the Yosemite Valley Railroadr changed the entire aspect of stagecoach days by bringing itsr coaches to El Portal.r
r rr With the advent of this new transportation, the long stager ride was no longer necessary, but great fleets of horsedrawnr vehicles were still employed to convey visitors from the railheadr to Yosemite Valley. The various stage companies continuedr to operate, but except for the Big Tree routes, their trafficr was greatly reduced. The Yosemite Valley Railroad menacedr the business of staging, but a far more ominous threat hadr already appeared on the scene. Motor-driven vehicles werer r r r proving to be a success. The automobile was introduced tor Yosemite more than a decade prior to the time when its officialr entry was permitted by park regulations. The first car to climbr the Yosemite grades was a Stanley Steamer, and its driver wasr A. E. Holmes of San Jose. In a letter to J. V. Lloyd, Mr. Holmesr testifies as follows:r
r rr This trip was made in the month of July [1900] by way of Maderar and Raymond in a Stanley Steamer car that was manufactured justr outside of the city of Boston. I was accompanied on this trip byr my brother, F. H. Holmes.r
r rr At that time Boysen took our photographs in the Valley; one atr the foot of Yosemite Falls, and another near Mirror Lake.r
r rr The body that is shown in the photograph is not the originalr body that came with the car, but one that was made just for the tripr into the Yosemite.r
r rr To what extent noisy automobiles were regarded as a menacer may be sensed upon considering the following “Instruction”r posted about the park and published with Rules and Regulationsr during the later years of the stagecoach era:r
r rr (4) Bicycles.—The greatest care must be exercised by personsr using bicycles. On meeting a team the rider must stop and stand atr side of road between the bicycle and the team—the outer side ofr the road if on a grade or curve. In passing a team from the rear, ther rider should learn from the driver if his horses are liable to frighten,r in which case the driver should halt, and the rider dismount andr walk past, keeping between the bicycle and the team. . . .r
r rr (9) Miscellaneous.—Automobiles and motor cycles are not permittedr in the park.r
r rr What the railroad did to the stagecoach, the automobile,r aided by storm, did to the railroad. On December 11, 1937, asr a result of prolonged and heavy warm rains which melted ther early snow cover at elevations as high as 10,000 feet, a floodr developed in the basins of Yosemite and Tenaya creeks, and tor a lesser degree in the other Yosemite watersheds. The notchr at the top of Yosemite Falls was filled almost to the brim withr r r r muddy water that was estimated to leap 150 feet away fromr the cliff at the top. In the valley itself Yosemite Creek was halfr a mile wide, and the Merced River overflowed its banks onr a similar rampage. Flood scars were clearly visible in the chutesr of the valley walls nine years later. In the Merced Canyon farr below the valley several miles of both the All-Year Highwayr and the Yosemite Valley Railway were destroyed.r
r rr The expense of replacing miles of twisted rails and missingr roadbed, the loss of passenger traffic to automobile travel, andr finally the loss of freight revenue when the Yosemite Sugarr Pine Lumber Company sold its major holdings, combined tor put the railway out of business. In 1945, wrecking crews tookr up the track, and another pioneer railroad disappeared.r
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Woodcut from the first edition (1931) | r
r r The influx of travelersr r even in the days of horse trails andr the stagecoach brought a demand to know more of ther valley and the region as a whole. Maps were needed, and ther desires of travelers for dependable information brought surveyr parties into the park. The first of these, the Geological Surveyr of California, was in Yosemite in the years 1863-1867. Josiahr Dwight Whitney was director of the survey, and William H.r Brewer, his principal assistant. Ar guidebookr based upon theirr investigations was published in 1868. Most of the mappingr was done by Clarence King, Charles F. Hoffmann, andr James T. Gardiner. King was later to become the first director of ther United States Geological Survey and to write a dramatizedr account of his adventures in Yosemite and the Sierra as oner of the important contributions to the literature of the range,r Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada.r Later mountaineersr have not always been able to find terrain hazards he describedr but they have enjoyed his story, admittedly written for an armchairr audience, and have made due allowance for an aspect ofr greater severity that existed in the Sierra of his day.r
r rr A party of the Wheeler Survey, under George Montague Wheeler,r in general charge of the Geographical Surveys westr of the 100th Meridian, was in Yosemite in the late ’seventiesr and early ’eighties and in 1883 produced a large-scale topographicr map of Yosemite Valley and vicinity. Lieut. M. M.r Macomb was responsible for the Yosemite work.r
r rr During July and August, of 1890, Professor George Davidsonr r r r of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, togetherr with his assistants, occupied the summit of Mount Conness forr the purpose of closing a link in the main triangulation whichr connected with the transcontinental surveys.r
r rr Large instruments and much equipment had to be transportedr to the summit of the mountain by pack animals andr upon the shoulders of men.r
r rr Astronomical observations were made at night, and duringr the daylight hours horizontal angles were measured on distantr peaks in the Coast Ranges from which heliotropes werer constantly showing toward Mount Conness. A small squarer wooden observatory, 8 by 8 feet, housed the 20-inch theodoliter mounted upon a concrete pier. Sixteen twisted-wire cablesr fastened the observatory to the granite mountain top and keptr it from being blown away.r
r rr The officers of the Coast and Geodetic Survey party underr Professor Davidson were J. J. Gilbert, Isaac Winston, Fremontr Morse, and Frank W. Edmonds.r
r rr As a result of his own travels and surveys in the region, J. N.r LeConte prepared a map of the Sierra adjacent to Yosemite andr Hetch Hetchy valleys, which was published by the Sierra Clubr in 1893, and army officers in charge of park administration didr much important map making in the 1890’s. The United Statesr Geological Survey began its mapping of the region embracedr within the present park in 1891 and completed the surveys inr 1909. R. B. Marshall and H. E. L. Feusier surveyed the Yosemite,r Dardanelles, and Mount Lyell sheets; A. H. Sylvester andr George R. Davis, the Bridgeport Quadrangle. Operating asr they did with limited funds, their efforts spread over a vastr territory, and confronted with a short season, they inevitablyr made some errors on their maps. In correct editions of theser maps some ridges, lakes, and canyons have been moved, butr today’s travelers may still find lakes and glaciers which are notr on the map, and may find a few of these features on the mapr r r r but not on the ground. It is not the errors of Sierra mapmakers,r however, but the measure of success they achieved, which isr remarkable. In the higher reaches of the Sierra today it is extremelyr difficult to discover, after a particularly heavy winter,r which snow field conceals a lake and which covers merely ar meadow or an expanse of ice. Nor is the Sierra itself utterlyr static. At least two small lakes which formed behind dams ofr glacial moraine have disappeared recently when the dams werer undermined.r
r rr Perhaps the ultimate in Yosemite mapping, from the geomorphologist’sr point of view, is the Yosemite Valley Sheet, preparedr by the United States Geological Survey in cooperationr with the State of California. The map is of large scale, and ther topography, the work of François E. Matthes, is extremelyr accurate, giving it something of the quality of a relief map onr a plane surface. Even the overhangs of the cliffs are depicted.r The 1946 edition of this sheet falls short in that detail has beenr lost through the overprinting of topographical shading.r
r rr Considered for their practical guidance to the user of Yosemiter trails, the U. S. Geological Survey maps of the back countryr are most important. The 700-odd miles of maintained trailsr which make much of the park accessible to the hiker and riderr appear upon these topographical maps in true relationshipr to the physical features through which they pass. A usefulr guidebook covering the routes in and around Yosemite Valley,r as well as many of the park trails south of the Tuolumne River,r is the Illustrated Guide to Yosemite Valley, by Virginia andr Ansel Adams. In this volume road and trail diagrams are stylizedr to impart, simply and directly, information on distances,r altitudes, and relative positions. Walter A. Starr, Jr.’sr Guide to the John Muir Trail and the High Sierra Regionr includes ar section (Part I) on the trails of the Yosemite National Parkr region, and the map which accompanies it relates the highr country trails to the road systems of both the east and westr r r r slopes. This guide, published by the Sierra Club, is kept up-to-dater through the production of frequent editions.r
r r rr Before the story of trail building within the national park isr presented, it is worthwhile to review briefly the history of ther approach routes outside the present limits of the park—ther trails followed by the Indian fighters and miners.r
r rr Most of the early routes of the white man across the Yosemiter Sierra and out of the valley itself followed Indian trails. Ther discovery of arrow points and knife blades on the slopes ofr some of the higher Yosemite peaks indicates that the Miwokr Indians entered the high, rough country in pursuit of game.r Their regularly established trade with the Monos also is ar matter of record. Indian Canyon and the Vernal and Nevadar falls gorge of the Merced provided two much used routes outr of the valley to the east, and the Old Inspiration Point-Wawonar -Fresno Flats-Coarse Goldr route gave access to the foothillr country to the west. There were other ancient routes onr the valley walls accessible to an able-bodied Indian; however,r except in emergency they probably found little use.r
r rr Walker, west-bound in 1833, followed the Miwok-Mono trailr on the divide between the Merced and Tuolumne watersheds,r having reached this divide, in all likelihood, via the maze ofr canyons formed by the tributaries of the East Walker Riverr and the feeder streams of the Tuolumne River. White men inr pursuit of eastward-fleeing Indians in 1851 penetrated to ther Tenaya Lake basin, and one party in 1852 crossed to the eastr side via Bloody Canyon, as already described. This party returnedr to the San Joaquin on a branch of the Mono Trail whichr crossed Cathedral Pass, thence into Little Yosemite Valley,r Mono Meadows, Peregoy Meadows, and Wawona. In all theser travels definite trails of the aborigines could be followed evenr though many parts of the routes were buried in snow.r
r r r r rr In the foothill region west of the park ancient Indian pathsr enabled gold seekers to reach much of the terrain in which theyr were interested.r Barrett and Gifford (1933, p. 128)r report thatr a Mr. Woods discovered gold on Woods Creek near the presentr Jamestown, Tuolumne County, in June, 1848, several monthsr before the general rush of miners into the territory of ther Southern Miwok. In this locality Indian trails connected ther several rancherias near the present town, Sonora, with similarr Indian villages on the Merced. In the Tuolumne country, also,r a primitive transmountain route gave access via Sonora Passr to the favored locality now known as Bridgeport Valley. Ther wagon road which was opened here very early in the gold-rushr period followed closely the route of the Indians. That therer were prehistoric lanes of travel in the high mountains whichr connected the Sonora Pass and Mono (Bloody Canyon) routesr seems likely but no record of such north-south trails of ther Indians has been handed down, other than the statementsr made by Walker and Leonard regarding their route from ther Walker River country to the Tuolumne-Merced divide.r
r rr The country south of the Merced drainage system was popular,r both with the Miwok and the Chukchansi, a group of ther Yokuts Indians. Kroeber (1925, pp. 446, 481-482, 526) has recordedr the distribution of ancient Miwok villages on the Southr Fork of the Merced, on Mariposa Creek, and on the Chowchillar and Fresno rivers. The primitive trails which connectedr these villages provided a network of lanes through the hillsr well known to J. D. Savage and his contemporary forty-ninersr who frequented the hills and stream courses north of ther San Joaquin River. These Indian trails became the first routes followedr by the miner and his pack outfits. A few were “improved”r by their first white users to become fairly good horser trails and later some of them were transformed into wagonr roads. Today the old routes are not easily distinguished fromr the more recent logging roads which lace back and forth everywherer r r r through the pine country south of the park, but the investigativer motorist who will check against the maps made priorr to the period of logging at the turn of the century may identifyr the old routes and follow them in exploring the country surroundingr Wawona, Mariposa, Miami, Nipinnawasee, Hites Cove,r Fish Camp, Bear Valley, Hornitos, and several other historicr and prehistoric sites in the Mariposa region.r
r rr The Chukchansi, northernmost of the Yokuts, occupied ther country south of the Fresno River and at times crossed thatr stream and overlapped upon the lands of the Miwok. Prior tor the Yosemite Indian War with the whites, 1850-1852, theyr seem to have been on friendly terms with the Miwok. Chukchansir villages close to the border of Miwok territory existedr at Fresno Flats (near the present Oakhurst, Madera County),r Coarse Gold, Magnet, and on the San Joaquin near Hutchins.r As was true of the Miwok villages, primitive trails connectedr these rancherias and extended into the country of the Chukaiminar on the south and into the Mono territory to the east. Inr this part of the Sierra, the Monos claimed a goodly part of ther west slope, including the present Bass Lake region and ther higher country drained by the San Joaquin and Kings rivers.r At the time of the Yosemite Indian War, these west-slope Piutesr (Monos) were allied with the Chowchillas and Chukchansi.r The intricate trail system of the densely populated belts, characterizedr by the Digger pine (Upper Sonoran Zone) and ther oaks and ponderosa pine (Transition Zone), fed westward intor major routes to the great San Joaquin Valley and eastward tor high passes on the crest of the Sierra. Of these last-mentionedr routes, those across Sonora Pass, Bond Pass, Buckeye Pass,r Bloody Canyon, Agnew Pass, Mammoth Pass, Mono Pass (headwatersr of the South Fork of the San Joaquin River), Pine Creekr Pass, and Piute Pass were especially important to the Indiansr of the Yosemite region. At least some of these passes were traversedr by horses before the advent of the white man.r
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![]() r By George Fisker rr On the First Trail to the Top of Vernal Fallr r | r
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![]() r By Mode Winemanr rr John Conway, a Pioneer Trail Builderr r r | r
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![]() r Mount Conness and the Observatory Campr r | r
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James T. Gardiner and Clarence King,r
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Professor Davidson (right) andr
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r More than a few of the Indians of the Yosemite region had,r prior to the gold rush, lived in the Spanish mission towns alongr the coast. Adam Johnston, Indian agent at the time of ther Yosemite Indian War, stated of the Chowchilla and Chukchansi,r “The most of them are wild, though they have amongr them many who have been educated at the missions, andr who have fled from their real or supposed oppressors to ther mountains. These speak the Spanish language as well as theirr native tongue.” (Russell, 1931, p. 172.) As might be expected,r the mountain tribes maintained their long-established contactr with the Indian population of the lower valleys, and numerousr routes led from the ra[n]cherias of the hill tribes out upon the Sanr Joaquin Valley and to the coast.r
r rr As we have seen, the first penetration of the Yosemite Valleyr by white men was the result of miners’ activities in the Mariposar hills. In reaching the hills and in entering the valley, ther white prospectors of the gold-rush period followed well-definedr trails long used by Indians. Within a few years after the closer of hostilities with the Sierra tribes, the events described inr the chapter on early mining excitements east of Yosemite tookr place. Here, also, the primitive paths of the Indian opened ther way. The sheepherder, contemporary with the miner of ther high country, also followed the trails of the Indian, and hisr flocks, together with the cattleman’s herds, did their part inr “grading” the routes and making them conspicuous.r
r rr When Yosemite National Park was created in 1890, the U. S.r Army took over the administration of the federal area whichr almost surrounded the state reservation. To aid patrolling inr the park, a full program of exploration and mapping wasr launched. Capt. Alexander Rodgers, Col. Harry C. Benson,r Major W. W. Forsyth, and Lts. N. F. McClure and Milton F.r Davis made particularly important contribution to the work.r
r r r r rr The existing fine system of trails so important to protectionr and enjoyment of Yosemite National Park had its inception inr the plan of the U. S. Army. Almost at once after assumingr responsibility for the care of the park, commanding officersr initiated construction of trails, and at this juncture the locationr of primitive Indian trails was no longer a prime considerationr in defining routes. The story of trail building by ther U. S. Army will be told in a later part of this chapter.r
r rr It was inevitable that in the exploration for trails and passes,r certain peaks should be climbed. The first recorded ascents ofr Yosemite’s peaks are attributed to members of the variousr survey parties. Perhaps the first was the ascent of Mount Hoffmannr in 1863 by Whitney, Brewer, and Hoffmann. Kingr climbed it in 1864 and with Gardiner climbed Mount Connessr that same year, following with an ascent of Mount Clark, notr without adventure, in 1866. Muir climbed Mounts Dana andr Hoffmann, and far more difficult Cathedral Peak, three yearsr later. Probably the first Yosemite ascent for the challenge of itr by a casual tourist was that of Mount Lyell, highest peak in ther park, in 1871. According tor Hutchings:r
r rr Members of the State Geological Survey Corps having consideredr it impossible to reach the summit of this lofty peak, the writerr was astonished to learn from Mr. A. T. Tileston [John Boies Tileston]r of Boston, after his return to the Valley from a jaunt ofr health and pleasure in the High Sierra, that he had personallyr proven it to be possible by making the ascent. Incredible as itr seemed at the time, three of us found Mr. Tileston’s card upon itr some ten days afterward.r
r rr Mr. Tileston, writing to his wife from Clark and Moore’sr after the climb on Mount Lyell, explained that he ascendedr nearly to the snow line on August 28, 1871, and next morningr “climbed the mountain and reached the top of the highestr pinnacle (‘inaccessible,r according to ther State Geological Survey’)r before eight.” (Tileston, 1922, pp. 89-90.)r
r r r r rr John Muir reached the summit of Mount Lyell later thatr year. Muir undoubtedly climbed in part as a response to ther challenge of summits but could hardly be considered a casualr tourist.r
r rr Four years later another summit, of whichr Whitneyr hadr said, it “never has been, and never will be trodden by humanr foot,” was ascended by a man climbing merely for the funr of it. In 1875, George G. Anderson, continuing where Johnr Conway, a valley resident, had been stopped by difficulty andr danger, tackled the climb of Half Dome with ideas of his own.r According tor Muir:r
r rr Anderson began with Conway’s old rope, which had been left inr place, and resolutely drilled his way to the top, inserting eye-boltsr five or six feet apart, and making his rope fast to each in succession,r resting his feet on the last bolt while he drilled a hole for the nextr above. Occasionally some irregularity in the curve, or slight foothold,r would enable him to climb a few feet without the rope, whichr he would pass and begin drilling again, and thus the whole workr was accomplished in less than a week.r
r rr Anderson’s climb was the beginning of a search for routesr to prominent heights in Yosemite that continues today. Ther fame of Yosemite’s wonders was spreading through the world,r and the advent of stage roads brought a multitude of visitorsr who preferred to see the region without having to drill to dor so. It was imperative that officials in charge of the state reservationr improve and multiply the faint Indian trails in orderr that eager visitors might reach the valley rim and the Highr Sierra beyond.r
r rr Because appropriations made by the state legislature forr the use of the Yosemite Valley Commission were too small tor enable that executive body to undertake a program of trailr building, toll privileges were granted to certain responsibler individuals in return for the construction of some of the much-neededr trails. Albert Snow, John Conway, James McCauley,r r r r Washburn and McCready, and James Hutchings were prominentr in this contractual arrangement with the Yosemite commissioners.r
r rr Two trails antedate the regime of the Yosemite Valley Com[mis]sioners—ther trail to Mirror Lake and the Vernal Fall Trail. Nor record exists identifying the builders of these pioneer trails.r Albert Snow, 1870, built a horse trail from “Register Rock” onr the Vernal Fall Trail, via Clark Point, to his “La Casa Nevada”r on the flat between Vernal and Nevada falls. In 1871, Johnr Conway, working for McCauley, started construction of ther Four Mile Trail from the base of Sentinel Rock to Glacierr Point. The project was completed in 1872. The old Monor Trail of the Indians between Little Yosemite and Glacier Pointr was followed by Washburn and McCready when they constructedr their toll route here in 1872. In 1874, James Hutchingsr met the cost of a horse trail up Indian Canyon, whichr by 1877 already had fallen into such disrepair as to make itr accessible only to hikers. The disintegration progressed rapidly,r and the “improved” aboriginal route to the north rimr found use during a comparatively few years of Yosemite touristr travel. Geographically and topographically it has much to commendr it; in the current master plan of Yosemite National Parkr it is carried as the trail proposal calculated “to provide the bestr all-year access to the upper country on the north side of ther valley.” Early action is expected which will place it on the mapr again. The Yosemite Falls Trail, started by John Conway inr 1873 and completed to the north rim in 1877, was carried byr its builder and owner still higher to the summit of Eagle Peak,r highest of the Three Brothers. John Conway’s homemade surveyingr instruments used in trail building are preserved in ther Yosemite Museum.r
r rr By 1882 the State Legislature initiated a program of purchasingr and maintaining the Yosemite trails which had beenr privately built and operated on a toll basis. The Four Mile Trailr r r r r
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![]() r r By Ralph Anderson, NPSr r Present-day Trail Work—Oiling the Eleven-Mile Trailr | r
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![]() r Gabriel Sovulewski in 1897r | r
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![]() r r By Ralph Anderson, NPSr r Mount Maclure and Its Glacierr | r
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![]() r r By Ralph Anderson, NPSr r Measuring the Mount Lyell Glacierr | r
r At the time Yosemite National Park was established ar great part of the northern section of the reservation was quiter unknown except to cattlemen, sheepmen, and a few prospectorsr and trappers. As previously mentioned, the U. S. Armyr officers responsible for the administration of the national parkr at this time opened a new era in High Sierra trail development.r From 1891 to 1914 a succession of officers, with a number ofr troops of cavalry, worked with diligence and with great ingenuityr in locating trails, in contracting for their construction, andr in counteracting the forces of exploiters who looked upon thisr great mountain domain as their own. At that time the backr country trails were limited to the Tioga Road, which had deterioratedr to the status of a horse trail; a trail along the southernr boundary from Wawona to Crescent and Johnson lakesr and Chiquito Pass, thence to Devils Postpile; the old Indianr route from Wawona to Tuolumne Meadows via Cathedral Pass;r two trails to Hetch Hetchy and Lake Eleanor from Hog Ranch,r near the present Mather Ranger Station; and a trail fromr Tuolumne Meadows to Mount Conness. This dearth of markedr routes was corrected quickly. Regular patrol routes for protectiver purposes were established, and the soldiers located,r marked, and supervised the construction of the trails neededr in policing the area. The large “T” blazed on the trees alongr the routes of the cavalrymen remain as evidences of the Army’sr activities and are still familiar signs in much of the Yosemiter back country.r
r rr By the time of the return of the Yosemite Grant and ther Mariposa Grove of Big Trees to Federal administration inr r r r 1906, the Army had worked wonders in providing a system ofr trails. C. Frank Brockman (1943, p. 96) summarizes the storyr as follows:r
r rr The original trail system of 1891 had been extended to include ar trail up Little Yosemite Valley to Merced Lake, Vogelsang Pass andr thence down Rafferty Creek to Tuolumne Meadows, a route thatr is familiar to all High Sierra hikers of the present day. The Isbergr Pass trail to the east boundary of the park had been marked andr Fernandez Pass, farther to the south, had also been rendered accessibler by a trail that branched from the original trail along ther southern boundary. The present trail from Tuolumne Meadowsr up the Lyell Fork of the Tuolumne to Donohue Pass also datesr from this period. From Tuolumne Meadows a trail also reached outr into the remote northern portion of the park to the vicinity ofr Glen Aulin, thence up Alkali Creek to Cold, Virginia, and Matterhornr canyons. From the latter point this route continued westwardr to Smedberg Lake, down Rogers Canyon, eventually passingr through Pleasant Valley and over Rancheria Mountain to Hetchr Hetchy Valley. The Ten Lakes area was accessible by means of a trailr originating on the Tioga Road near White Wolf, and from Hetchr Hetchy Valley trails radiated to Tiltill Mountain, Miguel Meadow,r Lake Eleanor, Vernon Lake, and up Moraine Ridge to a pointr near what is today known as the “Golden Stairs,” overlooking ther lower portion of Jack Main Canyon. A route approximating ther present Forsythe trail from Little Yosemite around the southernr shoulder of Clouds Rest to Tenaya Lake had been established, andr from Tenaya Lake the point now known as Glen Aulin could ber reached by the McGee Lake trail. The routes taken by these earlyr trails were essentially the same as those of the present day and pointsr mentioned will be familiar to all who enjoy roaming about ther Yosemite back country.r
r rr When the National Park Service came into existence inr 1916, the broad design of the trail system was essentially as itr is at present. The more important trails constructed during ther last years of Army administration and in the first years of ther National Park Service regime include the Tenaya zigzags builtr in 1911; the Glen Aulin-Pate Valley route, 1917-1925; ther r r r Babcock Lake Trail; the Yosemite Creek-Ten Lakes Trail; ther Ledge Trail to Glacier Point, 1918; the Harden Lake-Pater Valley Trail, 1919; Pate Valley-Pleasant Valley Trail, 1920;r and the Ottoway Lakes-Washburn Lake Trail in 1941.r
r rr Gabriel Sovulewski, who for more than thirty years supervisedr the construction of Yosemite trails, once outlined for mer the amazing story of the evolution of the trail system fromr Indian routes and sheep trails (Sovulewski, 1928, pp. 25-28).r Mr. Sovulewski stated, “Most of these improvements werer made on my suggestion, and sometimes at my insistence, yet itr is necessary to bear in mind that the credit is not all due to me,r even though I did work hard. I share the credit with all superintendentsr under whom I have served. They gave me freedomr to do the work which I have enjoyed immensely.”r
r rr Col. H. C. Benson, one of the superintendents referred tor by Mr. Sovulewski, wrote in 1924:r
r rr The successful working out of the trails and the continuation ofr developing them is due largely to the loyalty and hard work of Mr.r Gabriel Sovulewski. Too much credit can not be given to this manr for the development of Yosemite National Park. (Brockman, 1943,r p. 102.)r
r r rr A fitting climax to the High Sierra trails in Yosemite Nationalr Park is found in that portion of the trail system which has beenr designated the John Muir Trail. Beginning at the LeConter Lodge in Yosemite Valley, this route follows the Merced Riverr Trail to Little Yosemite, thence along the ancient Indian router over Cathedral Pass to Tuolumne Meadows, up the Lyell Forkr of the Tuolumne to Donohue Pass (where the trail leaves ther national park), along the east slope to Island Pass, then backr to the headwaters of westward-flowing streams to Devils Postpiler and Reds Meadow on the San Joaquin, south to Monor Creek and other tributaries of the South Fork of the San Joaquin,r into Kings Canyon National Park at Evolution Valley,r r r r over Muir Pass to the headwaters of the Middle Fork of ther Kings, over Mather Pass in the South Fork of the Kings, overr Pinchot Pass, Glen Pass, and into Sequoia National Park atr Foresters Pass, thence south to Mount Whitney. At Whitneyr Pass the route descends the east slope until it connects with ar spur of the El Camino Sierra at Whitney Portal above the townr of Lone Pine. Along the route are 148 peaks more than 13,000r feet in height. The Sierra crest, itself, is more than 13,000 feetr above the sea for eight and one-half miles adjacent to Mountr Whitney. The trail traverses one of the most extensive areasr yet remaining practically free from automobile roads.r
r rr In Sequoia National Park, the High Sierra Trail from Giantr Forest to Mount Whitney enters the John Muir Trail on Wallacer Creek, a tributary of the Kern. Thus does the John Muirr Trail connect the national parks of the Sierra, traversing inr some 260 miles most of the grandest regions of the High Sierra.r
r rr The National Park Service, the Forest Service, and the Stater of California have coöperated in making the John Muir Trailr a reality. The phenomenal route had its inception during ther 1914 Sierra Club Outing, when it was suggested to officers ofr the club that the State of California might well appropriater funds with which to develop trails in the High Sierra. Uponr the death of John Muir, president of the club, appropriationr bills were introduced for the purpose of creating a memorialr trail. The first appropriation of $10,000 enabled the state engineer,r Wilbur F. McClure, to explore a practical route along ther crest of the Sierra from Yosemite to Mount Whitney. McClurer made two trips into the Sierra and then conferred with ther Sierra Club and officers of the U. S. Forest Service before designatingr the route. During the next twenty years several stater appropriations were forthcoming, and the federal agenciesr most concerned, the Forest Service and the National Park Service,r entered into the program of locating and building the trail.r The earlier explorations of Muir, Solomons, LeConte, andr r r r numerous state and federal survey parties contributed to ther success of the undertaking. The maps of the Geological Surveyr greatly facilitated the work.r
r rr While Stephen T. Mather was still Assistant Secretary ofr the Interior and before the National Park Service was created,r the “Mather Mountain Party of 1916” assembled in Yosemiter Valley preparatory to an inspection of the John Muir Trail.r This expedition received the support of the Geological Survey.r Frank B. Ewing, at that time an employee of the Geologicalr Survey, was chief guide and general manager. As an employeer of the National Park Service, he has remained in Yosemiter National Park ever since that early march along the John Muirr Trail and has been a principal party to the National Park Servicer trail developments previously described. The section of ther John Muir Trail in Yosemite National Park was born and hasr matured under Ewing’s personal supervision. Mr. Mather’sr expedition of 1916 helped to crystallize ideas regarding ther Muir Trail and established it in the official minds and masterr plans of the new National Park Service and the U. S. Forestr Service. Robert Sterling Yard, a member of the Mather partyr and later editor for the new bureau, wrote a sparkling accountr of the expedition (Yard, 1918). The route at that time was ther same within Yosemite National Park as it is today, but the physicalr condition of the trail has improved mightily. The Matherr party traveled the John Muir Trail to Evolution Valley, beyondr which the trail was described as impassable to horses.r From there the party moved westward to the North Fork ofr the Kings, then south to the Tehipite Valley, Kanawyers on ther South Fork, and yet further southward to the Giant Forest.r Today the Giant Forest is more accessible from the John Muirr Trail via the High Sierra Trail.r
r rr In promoting the development of the John Muir Trail andr in fostering the use of High Sierra trails, generally, the Sierrar Club has ever been preëminent among the advocates of mountaineering.r r r r Among its members are many individuals whor have contributed to the shaping of National Park Service policies.r This club, which was organized about the same time thatr Yosemite National Park was created, defined its purposes: “Tor explore, enjoy, and render accessible the mountain regions ofr the Pacific Coast; to publish authentic information concerningr them; to enlist the support and cooperation of the people andr the Government in preserving the forests and other naturalr features of the Sierra Nevada.” For nearly half a century ther Sierra Club has centered its attention upon the security andr well-being of the natural attributes of Yosemite and has workedr to make those attributes known and appreciated. The nationalr parks, national forests, and state parks, generally, have benefitedr greatly by the continuous interest of the club, and ther trail and road systems of Yosemite National Park, especially,r have received its study.r
r rr With the completion of an all-year highway into Yosemite Valleyr and the realignment of portions of the Big Oak Flat andr Tioga roads, the accessibility of Yosemite National Park to ther motorist reached its peak, and since that time serious thoughtr has been given to modification of the road system. The Commonwealthr Club, in a comprehensive report entitled, “Shouldr We Stop Building New Roads into California’s High Mountains?”r concluded that accessibility had already reached, if itr had not passed, a desirable maximum, on the basis of a stand forr the preservation of mountain wilderness values made by manyr sportsmen’s organizations and the Sierra Club. The Nationalr Park Service gave consideration, in its Yosemite Master Plan,r to the abandonment and obliteration of certain roads whichr were either superseded by highways or which could be relocatedr to reduce any detrimental effects upon the mountainr landscape. Col. C. G. Thomson led in establishing this trend.r
r r r r rr Studies were made by the park administration, the concessionaire,r and various organizations outside of the park ofr means by which present-day visitors, who were now arrivingr by automobile in hurried throngs numbering as many asr 30,000 persons on a single holiday week end, might enjoy ther park to some degree at least in the manner that the pioneersr had enjoyed it. Improvement of the trails, of outlying facilities,r education in the means of trail travel, and the development ofr an all-season program that would help to spread the peak ofr travel into a plateau, were steps taken and which are beingr taken in the attempt to halt the tendency of the public to maker of Yosemite Valley an urban “resort.”r
r rr High Sierra camps were developed, as described elsewherer in this book. They were visited by travelers afoot or in ther saddle, and “foot-burners” and pack outfits visited the remoter regions of the park, where no improvements upon nature arer permitted other than those which a man can carry in—andr carry back out again when he leaves. The numbers of peopler who are attracted to the back country have increased mightily,r but the congestion of crowds in Yosemite Valley is still great.r This fact in itself constitutes a reason for increasing the effortr to introduce visitors to the wonders of the wild high country.r
r rr David R. Brower, an officer of the Sierra Club and an ardentr proponent of rock-climbing as a sport, and an accomplishedr skier, has reviewed the development of these forms of recreationr in Yosemite. He has kindly agreed to my use of the followingr portion of an enlightening account, most of which has notr previously appeared in print:r
r rr “To a few people—fortunately, perhaps, a very few—even ar trail detracts a little from the feeling of ‘roughing it.’ Toor clearly, the foot of man, or of mule, has trod there before them.r Consequently, those who would get especially close to naturer have become skilled in woodcraft so as to take care of themselvesr and have then struck off not only from the highwaysr r r r and roads, but also from the horse trails and footpaths. Muirr and Anderson were pioneers in this form of recreation. A fewr have carried on where they left off. Routes were found throughr trailless Tenaya Canyon to the high country above; Muirr Gorge, in the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne, presented anr obstacle where the waters of that river were confined in a narrow,r vertical-walled box canyon, but it has proved not to ber an obstacle to good swimmers in periods of low water. Muirr discovered Fern Ledge and crossed it along the tremendousr face of the Yosemite Falls cliff, until he was under the upperr fall itself. Charles Michael, years later, and William Kat, to thisr day, followed Muir’s footsteps and made new ones of their ownr on other Yosemite byways, such as the Gunsight to the top ofr Bridalveil Fall, Mount Starr King, the Lower Brother. For ther most part these men, and others of similar bent, climbed alone.r Michael was almost to regret it when, on an ascent of Piuter Point, he fell a few feet, broke his leg, and was just able tor drag himself back to the valley—to climb again when the breakr had knitted.r
r rr “These pioneers of the byways were limited, not by lack ofr enterprise, but by lack of modern equipment and the techniquer for its use; both of these required assets came to Yosemiter in 1933. A year before that a Rock-Climbing Section wasr formed in the Sierra Club, and its members brought Alpiner technique, which they had practiced and improved in localr metropolitan rock parks, to Yosemite. Skillfully using roper and piton technique, and developing their balance climbingr to a point where they are able to ascend Half Dome withoutr recourse to any artificial aids, much less cableways, membersr of this and similar sections, men and women alike, have pioneeredr many new routes on the valley walls, some extremelyr difficult. The present total of routes to the rim, exclusive of ther trails, is forty-five. Spires and pinnacles not accessible by otherr means were especially challenging. The higher and lowerr r r r r
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![]() r r By D. R. Browerr r Ski Mountaineering Party near Mount Starr Kingr | r
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![]() r r By D. R. Browerr r Climbing on the Three Brothersr | r
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![]() r r By R. M. Leonardr r Descending Lower Cathedral Spirer | r
r “Construed at present as the ultimate in technical rock-climbingr was the ascent, September 2, 1946, of the Lost Arrowr by the party of Jack Arnold, Robin Hansen, Fritz Lippmann,r and Anton Nelson. The party used more than a thousand feetr of rope and many pounds of mountaineer’s hardware. Theyr first managed to throw a light line over the summit. Two menr remained in support at the rim. The other two went down ar rope to the notch separating the pinnacle from the valley wall,r and with expert technique were able to climb 100 feet of ther rock’s outer face, nearly 3,000 sheer feet above the valley floor,r until they could reach the lower end of the line. With this theyr pulled rope over the summit. Another 100 feet of climbing onr that rope, with help from the men on the rim, brought themr to the top on the evening of the third day. On the crowded,r rounded summit they drilled small holes for two expansionr bolts, anchored ropes to them, and in the moonlight workedr across the gap to the rim on the airy, swinging ropes.r
r rr “Needless to say, such climbs as this should not be undertakenr without the necessary background of experience. Foolhardyr attempts by the overoptimistic to take short cuts orr cross-country routes into unknown hazards all too often resultr in arduous and dangerous rescue operations by park rangers.r The National Park Service requires, in Yosemite and in otherr ‘mountaineering’ parks, that persons desiring to climb offr the trail register first at park headquarters, where, as a matterr of the visitor’s own protection, he can be advised whether her has the adequate equipment or skill for his proposed undertaking,r and where he announces his destination so that rangersr will know where to look for him in case of trouble.r
r r r r rr “If trails or cross-country routes have afforded the summerr visitor a fuller knowledge of Yosemite National Park and itsr hidden wild places, certainly the improvement of access to variousr park areas in winter has also increased the enjoyment ofr the superlative scenery for which Yosemite was set aside as ar national park in the first place.r
r rr “In the first days of winter sports in Yosemite, snowballing,r tobogganing, skating, and sliding down small hills on toe-strappedr skis was enough for the winter visitor. Snow, to Californiansr at least, was novelty enough in itself. But the surger of interest in skiing as a sport of skill that arrived after Worldr War I, the resulting vast improvement in ski equipment andr apparel, and the winter accessibility brought about by use ofr snow-removal equipment, inevitably stimulated skiers to demandr greatly improved facilities for skiing. The National Parkr Service, required by law to be custodians of outstanding scenicr resources for all the people, in all seasons, for present andr future enjoyment, very properly ‘made haste slowly.’ Otherr areas, administered by agencies whose obligations were lessr exacting, developed facilities far more rapidly, and the pressurer on the National Park Service, in Yosemite and elsewhere,r was greatly increased.r
r rr “Ski development in Yosemite involved serious scenic,r economic, and geographic considerations. The developmentr should not damage the scenic values for which the park wasr created. It should, nevertheless, be so situated that the skierr could enjoy that scenery without going far beyond the areasr in which utilities were available; otherwise, the facilities wouldr be used primarily by persons who wanted only to ski and notr to enjoy the Yosemite scene. Such persons could be better accommodatedr elsewhere. The area developed for skiing shouldr not be so close to the valley rim as to be dangerous. From ther concessionaire’s standpoint, the development should make user of, and not duplicate, hotel facilities already available; otherwise,r r r r it would not be worth the financial risk. Where the Parkr Service was concerned, economically, it should be close enoughr to the valley not to require excessive road maintenance andr snow removal and should not be too difficult to administer, forr the Park Service, after all, could only spend what Congressr appropriated in the annual budget. As for the man who skiedr in Yosemite for the sake of skiing, his wants were simple. Inr the aggregate, he wanted high and low cost accommodationsr built at an elevation where the best snow lay the longest andr the slopes were most open; he wanted satisfactory uphill transportationr to enable him to spend most of his time and energyr sliding down; he wanted cleared runs and marked trails, outlyingr huts for touring, and excellent ski instruction patternedr after the best European ski schools. He wanted ski competitionr scheduled, and long courses on which to race. He, moreover,r wanted all this in a quantity that would take care of four thousandr or more skiers on a week end, without overcrowding ther facilities or overburdening his purse.r
r rr “What could the National Park Service do? The developmentr at Badger Pass was the result. The ski house, upski, roper tows, Constam lift, the runs of various types, the ski school,r the cleared roads and parking area, the ranger ski patrol, ther marked touring trails, and the touring hut at Ostrander Laker are all part of a development that is compatible with the nationalr park concept. Improvements will inevitably follow. Inr the development so far, full enjoyment has been provided forr the tens of thousands of skiers who, although they like improvements,r would still prefer that the administrators of the nationalr parks continue to make haste slowly in any attempt to improver upon the natural scene.”r
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r rr Yosemite > Library >r 100 Years in Yosemite >r Hotels and Their Keepers >rr r
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Woodcut from the first edition (1931) | r
r r The earlyr r public interest manifested in the scenic beautiesr of Yosemite prompted a few far-sighted local men of ther mountains to prepare for the influx of travelers that they feltr was bound to occur. J. M. Hutchings had no more than relatedr hisr r experiences of his first visitr in 1855 before Milton and Hustonr Mann undertook the improvement of the old Mariposar Indian trail leading to the valley. The next year Bunnell developedr a trail from the north side of the gorge. The first visitorsr were from the camps of the Southern Mines, chiefly, butr there were a few from San Francisco and interior towns, asr well. During those first years of travel the few visitors expectedr to “rough it”; they were men and women accustomed to ther wilds, and comforts were hardly required. Yet those pioneerr hotelkeepers who had provided crude shelters found that theirr establishments were patronized. Hotelkeeping takes a placer very near the beginning of the Yosemite story.r
r rr The valley was then public domain. Although unsurveyed,r it was generally conceded that homesteads within it might ber claimed by whosoever persevered in establishing rights. Ther prospect of great activity in developing Fremont’s “Mariposar Estate” caused certain citizens of Mariposa to turn their attentionr to Yosemite Valley as the source of a much-needed waterr supply. Bunnell reveals that commercial interests had designsr upon the valley as early as 1855. A survey of the valley and ther canyon below was made in that year by L. H. Bunnell andr George K. Peterson with the idea of making a reservoir.r
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![]() r The Cosmopolitan, 1870-1932r | r
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![]() r The Lower Hotel, 1856-1869r | r
r The first house to be constructed there was built in 1856 byr the company interested in this water project.r r Bunnellr states:r “It was of white cedar ‘puncheons,’ plank split out of logs. Ther builders of it supposed that a claim in the valley would doublyr secure the water privileges. We made this building our headquarters,r covering the roof with our tents.”r
r rr The first permanent hotel structure was also started thatr year. It became known as the “Lower Hotel.” During the nextr decade it and the Upper Hotel found no competitors. At ther close of the ’sixties, however, the hotel business of Yosemiter Valley flashed rather prominently in the commerce of ther state.r
r rr A volume might be written on the efforts of honest proprietorsr to serve the early tourist; on the scheming of less scrupulousr claimants to capitalize on their Yosemite holdings; onr the humorous reaction of unsuspecting visitors within ther early hostelries; and, finally, on the story of later-day developmentsr which now care for the throng that, annually, partakesr of Yosemite offerings. The full history of Yosemite hotels isr eminently worth the telling, but the present work will be contentr in pointing to interesting recorded incidents in the story.r
r rr Messrs. Walworth and Hite were the first to venture in servingr the Yosemite public. Hite was a member of that family whoser fortune was made from the golden treasure of a mine at Hite’sr Cove. Walworth seems to have left no record of his affairs orr connections. The partners selected a site opposite Yosemiter Falls, very near the area that had been occupied by Captainr Boling’s camp in 1851, and set up their hotel of planks splitr from pine logs. The building, started in 1856, was not completetedr until the next year, and in the meantime a secondr establishment was started near the present Sentinel Bridge, sor the first became, quite naturally, the “Lower Hotel.” Cunninghamr r r r and Beardsley, the same Beardsley who packed Weed’sr camera in 1859, elected to finish construction of the Lowerr Hotel, and they employed Mr. and Mrs. John H. Neal to runr it for them. J. C. Holbrook, the first to preach a sermon inr Yosemite, writes of his stop with Mrs. Neal in 1859: “I securedr a bed, such as it was, for my wife, in a rough board shantyr occupied by a family that had arrived a few days before tor keep a sort of tavern, the woman being the only one withinr fifty or sixty miles of the place. For myself, a bed of shavingsr and a blanket under the branches of some trees formed myr resting place.”r
r rr A London parson in his To San Francisco and Back, of ther late ’sixties, offers the following description of his visit to thisr earliest of Yosemite hotels:r
r rr There are in it [the valley] two hotels, as they call themselves,r but the accommodation is very rough. When G——— and I werer shown to our bedroom the first night we found that it consisted ofr a quarter of a shed screened off by split planks, which rose aboutr eight or ten feet from the ground, and enabled us to hear everythingr that went on in the other “rooms.” which were simply stalls in ther same shed. Ours had no window, but we could see the stars throughr the roof. The door, opening out into the forest, was fastened withr cow-hinges of skin with the hair on, and a little leather strap whichr hooked on to a nail. We boasted a rough, gaping floor, but severalr of the other bedrooms were only strewed with branches of arborr vitae. As a grizzly bear had lately been seen wandering about a fewr hundred yards from our “hotel,” we took the precaution of puttingr our revolvers under our pillows. I dare say this was needless as ther bears have mostly retired to the upper part of the valley, a few milesr off, but it gave a finish to our toilet which had the charm of novelty.r Next morning, however, seeing the keeper of the ranch with hisr six-shooter in his hand, and noticing that it was heavily loaded, Ir asked him why he used so much powder. “Oh,” said he, “I’ve loadedr it for bears.”r
r rr At first G——— and I were the only visitors at this house, butr several were at the other one about half a mile off, and more werer soon expected.r
r r r r rr Cunningham, A. G. Black, P. Longhurst, and G. F. Leidigr all took their turn at operating the crude establishment. It wasr under the management of Black when Clarence King arrivedr on his pioneer trip with the Geological Survey of California,r and one Longhurst apparently even then anticipated futurer proprietorship by engaging in guiding its guests about ther valley. King describes Longhurst as “a weather-beaten round-the-worlder,r whose function in the party was to tell yarns, singr songs, and feed the inner man.” His account, inr Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada,r continues:r
r rr We had chosen, as the head-quarters of the survey, two littler cabins under the pine-trees near Black’s Hotel. [Black was thenr owner of the Lower Hotel.] They were central; they offered usr a shelter; and from their doors, which opened almost upon ther Merced itself, we obtained a most delightful sunrise view of ther Yosemite.r
r rr Next morning, in spite of early outcries from Longhurst, and ar warning solo of his performed with spoon and fry-pan, we lay inr our comfortable blankets pretending to enjoy the effect of sunriser light upon the Yosemite cliff and fall, all of us unwilling to ownr that we were tired out and needed rest. Breakfast had waited anr hour or more when we got a little weary of beds and yielded to ther temptation of appetite.r
r rr A family of Indians, consisting of two huge girls and their parents,r sat silently waiting for us to commence, and, after we hadr begun, watched every mouthful from the moment we got it successfullyr impaled upon the camp forks, a cloud darkening their facesr as it disappeared forever down our throats.r
r rr But we quite lost our spectators when Longhurst came upon ther boards as a flapjack-frier, a rÔle to which he bent his whole intelligence,r and with entire success. Scorning such vulgar accomplishmentr as turning the cake over in mid-air, he slung it boldly up,r turning it three times, ostentatiously greasing the pan with a finer centrifugal movement, and catching the flapjack as it flutteredr down, and spanked it upon the hot coals with a touch at once gracefulr and masterly.r
r rr I failed to enjoy these products, feeling as if I were breakfastingr in sacrilege upon works of art. Not so our Indian friends, whor r r r wrestled affectionately for frequent unfortunate cakes which wouldr dodge Longhurst and fall into the ashes.r
r rr In 1869 A. G. Black tore down the Lower Hotel and on itsr site constructed the rambling building which became knownr as “Black’s.”r
r rr Prior to their interest in the Lower Hotel, S. M. Cunninghamr and Buck Beardsley had essayed to start a store and tent shelterr on the later site of the Cedar Cottage. Cunningham, of later Bigr Tree fame, dropped this venture; so Beardsley united with G.r Hite and in the fall of 1857 began the preparation of the timbersr which made the frame of the Cedar Cottage. Mechanicalr sawmills had not yet been brought so far into the wilderness,r and the partners whipsawed and hewed every plank, rafter, andr joist in the building. It was ready for occupancy in May, 1859.r
r rr The proprietors of the Upper Hotel fared none too wellr in the returns forthcoming from guests. Ownership changedr hands a number of times, and business dwindled to a point ofr absolute suspension. In 1864 it was possible for J. M. Hutchingsr to purchase the building and the land claim adjoining forr a very nominal price. At this time the proposed state park wasr being widely talked of, and, as a matter of fact, Hutchingsr stepped into the ownership of the Upper Hotel property butr a few months before the Yosemite Valley was removed from ther public domain and granted to the state to be “inalienable forr all time.” Mr. Hutchings was, and is to this day, sharply criticizedr by some citizens for his presumption in purchasing publicr lands that had not been officially surveyed. Whatever mayr have been his legal claim, it must be admitted that his wasr the moral right to expect compensation for the expenditurer of thousands of dollars for physical improvements made uponr his Yosemite property.r
r rr Hutchings brought his family to the Upper Hotel in 1864r and assumed a proprietorship that awakened lengthy commentsr r r r r
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![]() r r By George Fisker r Mill Built by John Muir in 1869r | r
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![]() r By Thomas Hillr r Sentinel Hotel (left background), 1876 to 1938r | r
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![]() r By Thomas Hillr r Sentinel Hotel (left background), 1876 to 1938r r | r
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![]() r By D. R. Browerr r The Ahwahnee Hotel, 1927 to dater r | r
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![]() r By Ansel Adamsr r Saddle Trip on a High Sierra Trailr | r
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![]() r By Ansel Adamsr r Merced Lake High Sierra Camp, 1916 to dater | r
r Charles Loring Brace visited Yosemite a few years afterr Hutchings became a local character there. He stopped at ther Hutchings House and later wrote about his experience:r
r rr One of the jokes current in the Valley is to carefully warn ther traveler, before coming to this hotel, “not to leave his bed-roomr door unlocked, as there are thieves about!” On retiring to his roomr for the night, he discovers to his amazement, that his door is a sheet,r and his partition from the adjoining sleeping-chamber also a cottonr cloth. The curtain-lectures and bed-room conversations conductedr under these circumstances, it may be judged, are discreet. Ther house, however, is clean, and the table excellent; and Hutchingsr himself, enough of a character alone to make up for innumerabler deficiencies. He is one of the original pioneers of the Valley, andr at the same time is a man of considerable literary abilities, and ar poet. He has written a very creditable guidebook on the Canyon.r No one could have a finer appreciation of the points of beauty, andr the most characteristic scenes of the Valley. He is a “Guide” in ther highest sense, and loves the wonderful region which he shows yearlyr to strangers from every quarter of the world. But, unfortunately,r he is also hotel-keeper, waiter, and cook—employments requiringr a good deal of close, practical attention, as earthly life is arranged.r Thus we come down, very hungry, to a delicious breakfast of freshr trout, venison, and great pans of garden strawberries; but, unfortunately,r there are no knives and forks. A romantic young ladyr asks, in an unlucky moment, about the best point of view for ther Yosemite Fall. “Madam, there is but one; you must get close to ther Upper Fall, just above the mist of the lower, and there you will seer a horizontal rainbow beneath your feet, and the most exquisite—”r
r rr Here a strong-minded lady, whose politeness is at an end, “Butr here, Hutchings, we have no knives and forks!” “Oh, beg a thousandr pardons, madam!” and he rushes off; but meeting his wife onr r r r the way, she gives him coffee for the English party, and he forgetsr us entirely, and we get up good-naturedly and search out the implementsr ourselves. Again, from an amiable lady, “Please, Mr.r Hutchings, another cup of coffee!” “Certainly, Madam!” When ther English lady from Calcutta asks him about some wild flowers, her goes off in a botanical and poetical disquisition, and in his abstractionr brings the other lady, with great eagerness, a glass of water.r Sometimes sugar is handed you instead of salt for the trout, or coldr water is poured into your coffee; but none of the ladies mind, forr our landlord is as handsome as he is obliging, and really full ofr information.r
r rr Maria Teresa Longworth, known as Therese Yelverton, Viscountessr Avonmore, visited Yosemite in 1870, where she wroter Zanita: A Tale of the Yosemite, published in 1872. She mader the Hutchings’ entourage a part of her melodrama, and Florence,r eldest daughter of the Hutchingses, was the heroine,r “Zanita.” John Muir, of whom in real life the Viscountess wasr enamored, was the hero, “Kenmuir.” A good analysis of Yelverton’sr relationships, actual and fictional, with the Hutchingsr family and the other pioneer residents of the valley is containedr in Linnie Marsh Wolfe’s great book, Son of the Wilderness.r
r rr Not all of the Hutchings House features were within itsr walls. J. D. Caton, who availed himself of the Hutchings hospitalityr in 1870, “walked over to the foot of the Yosemite Fallsr and lingered by the way to pick a market basket full of enormousr strawberries in Hutchings’ garden.” One of the first actsr of the homesteaders was to plant an orchard and cultivate ther above-mentioned strawberry patch. The strawberries long agor disappeared, but many of the one hundred and fifty apple treesr still thrive and provide fruit for permanent Yosemite residents.r
r rr During his regime of ownership, Hutchings added Rockr Cottage, Oak Cottage, and River Cottage to his caravansary.r In 1844 the state legislature appropriated $60,000 to extinguishr all private claims in Yosemite Valley, and the Hutchings interestsr were adjudged to be entitled to $24,000.r
r r r r rr Coulter and Murphy then became the proprietors of the oldr Hutchings group and in 1876 they built the Sentinel Hotel.r Their period of management was brief, and the entire propertyr passed to J. K. Barnard in 1877, who for seventeen yearsr maintained it as the Yosemite Falls Hotel.1r [r 1See Fannie Crippen Jones, “The Barnards in Yosemite,” MS in Yosemiter Museum.r ]r This unit amongr the pioneer hostelries was torn down in 1938-1940.r
r rr Galen Clark accompanied one of the 1855 Yosemite-boundr parties that had been inspired by Hutchings, when that pioneerr related his experiences in Mariposa. Upon his first tripr to the valley over the old Indian trail from Mariposa, he recognizedr in the meadows on the South Fork of the Merced a mostr promising place of abode. His health had been impaired in ther gold camps; he had, in fact, been told by a physician that her could live but a short time. The lovely vale of the Nuchu Indiansr offered solace, and in April of 1857 he settled there onr the site of the camp occupied by the Mariposa Battalion inr 1851. Nowhere in his writings does Clark intimate that he expectedr to be overtaken by early death at the time of his homesteading.r Rather we may believe that it was with foresight andr careful plan that he erected his cabin beside the new trail ofr the sight-seer and prepared to accommodate those saddle-wearyr pilgrims who mounted horses at Mariposa and made their firstr stop with him en route to the new mecca.r
r rr His first cabin was crude. A rough pine table surroundedr by three-legged stools facilitated his homely service. As ther number of visitors increased, Clark enlarged his ranch house.r When ten years of his pioneer hotel keeping had passed,r Charles Loring Brace was among his visitors. Brace writes:r
r rr After fourteen miles—an easy ride—we all reached Clark’s Ranchr at a late hour, ready for supper and bed.r
r r r r rr This ranch is a long, rambling, low house, built under enormousr sugar-pines, where travelers find excellent quarters and rest in theirr journey to the Valley. Clark himself is evidently a character; oner of those men one frequently meets in California—the modern anchorite—ar hater of civilization and a lover of the forest—handsome,r thoughtful, interesting, and slovenly. In his cabin were some of ther choicest modern books and scientific surveys; the walls were linedr with beautiful photographs of the Yosemite; he knew more thanr any of his guests of the fauna, flora, and geology of the State; her conversed well on any subject, and was at once philosopher, savant,r chambermaid, cook, and landlord.r
r rr From the scores of books written by early Yosemite visitors,r one might extract a great compendium of remarks on Clarkr and his ranch. The proprietor, like the Grizzly Giant, was impressive.r He was invariably remembered by his guests. Theyr wrote of his generous hospitality, his simplicity, kindness, honesty,r wit, wisdom, and unselfish devotion to the mountains her loved. Had they known, they might have written that he gaver too freely of all his mental and physical assets and that as ar businessman he was not a success. The season of 1870 foundr the ownership of his ranch divided with Edwin Moore.r
r rr Moore assumed general management, and Clark’s becamer known as “Clark and Moore’s.” The ladies of Moore’s familyr introduced a new element in the hospitality of the place, andr for a few years it assumed an aspect of new ambition. Extensiver improvements, however, resulted in foreclosure of mortgages,r and the firm of Washburn, Coffman, and Chapman securedr ownership in 1875 and changed the name to “Wawona.”r
r rr A. P. Vivian stopped at Wawona in January, 1878, and wrote:r
r rr Although still called a “ranche,” this establishment has longr ceased to be mainly concerned with agriculture. Clark himselfr exists no longer, at any rate in this locality; that individual sold hisr interests some years ago to Messrs. Washburn, who “’run the stage,”r and are now the “bosses of the route” between this and Merced.r The ranche is now a small but comfortable and roomy inn, andr during the tourists’ season is filled to overflowing.r
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![]() r By Ralph Anderson, NPSr r Badger Pass Ski Houser | r
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![]() r By Ralph Anderson, NPSr r Ski Patrol at Workr | r
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![]() r By D. R. Browerr r Winter in the Yosemite High Sierra: Clark Ranger | r
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![]() r By Ralph Anderson, NPSr r Snow Gaugers Entering Tuolumne Meadowsr | r
r Besides having constructed the twenty-five miles of capital roadr hence into the Yosemite Valley, Messrs. Washburn are again showingr their enterprise by making a road direct to Merced, the objectr of which is to save thirty miles over the present Mariposa route.r
r rr The Yosemite Park and Curry Company now owns and operatesr Wawona. It has become one of the largest and most favorablyr known family resorts in the Sierra Nevada and retainsr some of the flavor of its earlier years.r
r rr A. G. Black was a pioneer of the Coulterville region. In ther late ’fifties, he resided at Bull Creek on the Coulterville trail.r Visitors who entered the valley from the north during the firstr years of tourist, travel have left a few records of stops made atr the “Black’s” of that place. The “Black’s” of Yosemite Valleyr did not come into existence until the advent of the ’sixties,r when Mrs. Black is reported to have purchased the old Lowerr Hotel. In 1869 this first structure was torn down, and anr elongated shedlike structure built on its site, near the foot ofr the present Four-Mile Trail to Glacier Point. This was ther “Black’s” that for nineteen years served a goodly number ofr Yosemite tourists. In 1888, after the opening of the Stonemanr House, there was among the commissioners “a unanimity ofr feeling that the old shanties and other architectural bric-a-brac,r that had long done service for hotels and stables, and the like,r should be torn down.” Black’s Hotel was accordingly removedr in the fall of 1888, and the lumber from its sagging walls wentr into the construction of the “Kenneyville” property, whichr stood on the present site of the Ahwahnee Hotel.r
r rr The family of George F. Leidig arrived in Yosemite Valley inr 1866. For a time the old Lower Hotel was in their charge, but,r when its owner, A. G. Black, assumed its management personally,r r r r the Leidigs secured rights to build for themselves. Theyr selected a site just west of the old establishment and constructedr a two-story building to become known as Leidig’s. This was inr 1869. Charles T. Leidig, the first white boy to be born in ther valley, was born in the spring of that year.r
r rr Mrs. Leidig’s ability as a cook was quickly noted by visitors,r and, no doubt, the popularity of her table did much to drawr patrons. Many are the printed comments in the contemporaryr publications of her guests. Here is an example:r
r rr Leidig’s is the best place in the line of hotels. Mrs. L—— attendsr to the cooking in person; the results are that the food is well cookedr and intelligently served. There is not the variety to be obtainedr here as in places more accessible to market. After traveling a fewr months in California, a person is liable to think less of variety andr more of quality. At this place the beds are cleanly and wholesome,r although consisting of pulu mattresses placed upon slat bedsteads.r This house stands in the shadow of Sentinel Rock, and faces ther great Yosemite Fall; is surrounded with porches, making a pleasantr place to sit and contemplate the magnificence of the commandingr scenery. (From Caroline M. Churchill, 1876.)r
r rr When A. P. Vivian continued on to Yosemite in January ofr 1878, he found the Leidig family in the valley and commentedr as follows on his winter reception:r
r rr Our host was glad enough to see us, for tourists are very scarcer commodities at this time of the year, and he determined to celebrater our arrival by exploding a dynamite cartridge, that we mightr at the same time enjoy the grand echoes. These were doubtless extraordinary,r but I am free to confess I would rather have gone awayr without hearing them than have experienced the anxiety of mind,r and real risk to body, which preceded the pleasure.r
r rr Leidig’s, with Black’s, was torn down after the Stonemanr House provided more fitting accommodations. The littler chapel which had been built near these old hotels in 1879 wasr moved to its present site in the Old Village. In 1928 the picturesquer r r r old well platform and crane, which had marked ther Leidig site, was destroyed. Only a group of locust trees nowr indicates where this center of pioneer activity existed.r
r rr But the wonder—among the buildings of Yosemite—is the “Cosmopolitan,”r containing saloon, billiard hall, bathing rooms, andr barber-shop, established and kept by Mr. C. E. Smith. Everythingr in it was transported twenty miles on mules; mirrors full-length,r pyramids of elaborate glassware, costly service, the finest of cuesr and tables, reading-room handsomely furnished and supplied withr the latest from Eastern cities, and baths with unexceptionable surroundings,r attest the nerve and energy of the projector. It is a perfectr gem. The end of the wagon-road was twenty miles away whenr the enterprise began, and yet such skill was used in mule-packingr that not an article was broken. I have not seen a finer place of resort,r for its size. The arrangements for living are such that one couldr spend the summer there delightfully, and we found several touristsr who remained for weeks.r
r rr The foregoing from J. H. Beadle is but one of scores of enthusiasticr outbursts from amazed tourists who wrote of theirr Yosemite experiences. To say that C. E. Smith figured in earlyr Yosemite affairs is hardly expressive. His baths, his drinks, andr the various unexpected comforts provided by his Cosmopolitanr left lasting impressions that vied with El Capitan when itr came to securing space in books written by visitors. The ladiesr exclaimed over the cleanliness of the bathtubs; a profusionr of towels, fine and coarse; delicate toilet soaps, bay rum, Floridar water, arnica, court plaster; needles, thread, and buttons;r and late copies of the Alta and the Bulletin for fresh “bustles.”r The men found joy in “a running accompaniment of ‘brandy-cocktails,’r ‘gin-slings,’ ‘barber’s poles,’ ‘eye-openers,’ ‘mint-julep,’r ‘Samson with the hair on,’ ‘corpse-revivers,’ ‘rattlesnakes,’ andr other potent combinations.”r
r rr The Cosmopolitan boasted of a certain Grand Register, ar foot in thickness, morocco-bound, and mounted with silver.r r r r Within it were the autographs and comments of thousands ofr visitors both great and lowly. The relic is now a part of ther Yosemite Museum collection.2r [r 1r r See Harwell, C. A., Yosemite Nature Notes, 1933, Vol. XII, No. 1.r ]r
r rr Tommy Hall, the pioneer barber of Yosemite, found sumptuousr quarters in the Cosmopolitan. The old building continuedr to house a barber shop until it was destroyed by fire onr December 8, 1932.r
r rr For fifteen years after the coming of visitors, the wonders ofr the Merced Canyon above Happy Isles were accessible onlyr to those hardy mountaineers who could scramble through ther boulder-strewn gorge without the advantage of a true trail.r In 1869-70 one Albert Snow completed a horse trail frontr Yosemite Valley to the flat between Vernal and Nevada falls,r and there opened a mountain chalet, which was to be knownr as “La Casa Nevada.” The popularity of the saddle trip to ther two great falls of the Merced was immediate, and the pioneerr trail builder, John Conway, extended the trail from Snow’sr to Little Yosemite Valley the next year. It then was usual forr all tourists to ascend the Merced Canyon to La Casa Nevadar and Little Yosemite. Some hikers undertook the trip from Littler Yosemite to Glacier Point, but another fifteen years were tor elapse before Glacier Point was made accessible by a truly goodr horse trail from Nevada Fall.r
r rr Snow’s was opened on April 28, 1870. One of the prized possessionsr of the Yosemite Museum is a register from this hostelry,r which dates from the opening to 1875. Upon its foxed pagesr appear thousands of registrations and numerous commentsr of more than passing interest. Among these is a very interestingr two-page manuscript by John Muir, describing an 1874r trip to Snow’s via Glacier Point and the Illilouette.r P. A. H. Laurencer [Editor’s note:r James Henry Laurence—dea],r once editor of the Mariposa Gazette, contributedr r r r to its value by inscribing within it an account of his visit tor Yosemite Valley in 1855, years before the chalet was built.r
r rr A party with N. H. Davis, United States Inspector General,r commented upon their destination and added: “This partyr defers further remarks until some further examinations arer made.” Under the date of the original entry is a significantr second autograph by a member of the General’s party: “Ar preliminary examination develops an abundance of mountainr dew.”r
r rr A great pile of broken containers, which had once held ther “mountain dew,” is about the only remnant of La Casa Nevadar which may be viewed by present-day visitors, for the chalet wasr destroyed by fire in the early ’nineties.r
r rr Another pioneer hotel is represented in the Yosemite Museumr collections by a register.3r [r 3r r See Taylor, Mrs. H. J., Yosemite Nature Notes (1929).r ]r It was known as the Mountain Viewr House and occupied a strategic spot on the old horse trail fromr Clark’s to Yosemite Valley. Its site is known to present-day visitorsr as Peregoy Meadows, and the remains of the log buildingr now repose quite as they fell many years ago. The hospitalityr of its keepers, Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Peregoy, was utilized byr those travelers who, coming from Clark’s, took lunch there, orr by those who departed from the valley via Glacier Point andr made it an overnight stopping place.r
r rr The Mountain View House register indicates that guestsr were entertained as early as the fall of 1869. It was not, however,r until the spring of 1870 that the little resort made a bidr for patronage. Its capacity for overnight accommodation wasr sixteen; so it is not surprising that a number of writers of ther ’seventies were forced to record, in their published Yosemiter memoirs, that they arrived late and sat around the kitchenr stove all night. In June of 1872, fifty-six tourists were overtakenr r r r by a snowstorm in the neighborhood of Peregoy’s. It is to ber surmised that on that night even the little kitchen did notr accommodate the overflow.r
r rr The construction of the Wawona road in 1875 revised ther route of all Yosemite travel south of the Merced. Peregoy’s wasr left far from the line of travel and no longer functioned in ther scheme of Yosemite resorts.r
r rr By 1878, the demand for recognition of private camping partiesr introduced the idea of public camp grounds in Yosemite.r Large numbers of visitors were bringing their own conveyancesr and camping equipment so as to be independent of ther hostelries. The commissioners set aside a part of the old Lamonr property in the vicinity of the present Ahwahnee Hotel as ther grounds upon which to accommodate the new class of visitors.r Mr. A. Harris was granted the right to administer to the wantsr of the campers. He grew fodder for their animals, offered stabler facilities, sold provisions, and rented equipment. The Harrisr Camp Ground was the forerunner of the present-day housekeepingr camps and public auto camps, which accommodate,r by far, the greater number of Yosemite visitors.r
r rr An exceedingly interesting register, kept for the commentsr of campers of that day, was recently presented to the Yosemiter Museum by the descendants of Harris. For ten years Yosemiter campers recorded their ideas of Yosemite, its management, andr particularly the kindness of Harris, upon its pages. The followingr is representative:r
r rrr rr Yosemite Valley, r
r rr Tuesday, July 10th, 1880r
r rr We have tented in the Valley and been contented too.r
r r
r So would like to add a chapter to this bible for reviewr
r Of campers who come hither for study or for funr
r In this Valley—of God’s building the grandest ’neath the sun.r
r r When you come into the Valley—for information gor
r r To the owner of this Record, and directly he will showr
r r r r r You where to go, and how to go, and what to see when therer
r r And will sell you all things needful, at prices that are fair.r
r Like Moses in the wilderness, he’ll furnish food and drinkr
r For all the tribes that come to him—cheaper than you’d think.r
r His bread is not from Heaven—but San Francisco Bayr
r And that is next thing to it—so San Franciscans say.r
r The water that he gives you—running through granite rockr
r Is the same as that which Moses gave his wonder-stricken flock.r
r r If you ask him where to angle—he’ll tell you—on the slyr
r r Down in the Indian Camp—with silver hook and fly.r
r r In a word this Mr. Harris is a proper kind of man,r
r r And as a friend to campers in the Valley—leads the van.rr
r rr Wm. B. Laker r
r Fred W. Lakerr }r r
r } San Franciscorr E. D. Laker r
r Nat Webbrr }r r
r } Sacramentorr If the reader thinks this poetry—don’t judge me by the style,r
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r For ’t is the kind that rhymsters make to peddle by the mile.rr W B Lr
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r It may be said that from the Harris service grew the idea ofr camp rental, which was first practiced by the commissioners inr 1898 and is now a recognized business of the housekeeping-campsr department of the present operators in the park.r
r rr After the construction of Snow’s trail to Little Yosemite inr 1871, some good mountaineers made the Glacier Point tripr via Little Yosemite and the Illilouette basin. Prior to this time,r J. M. Hutchings had been guiding parties of hikers to ther famous Point over a most hazardous trail, which he had blazedr up the Ledge and through the Chimney. Occasional referencesr to a shack at Glacier Point indicate that Peregoy had mader some attempt to locate there about the same time that hisr Mountain View House of Peregoy Meadows was opened forr business. However, the real claim for Glacier Point patronager came from one James McCauley, who in 1870-1871 met ther expense of building a horse trail from Black’s and Leidig’s overr r r r a four-mile route up the 3,200-foot cliff to the famous vantager point. This new route was at first a toll trail. For sixty years itr has been climbed and descended by countless thousands ofr riders and hikers. It has been known as the Four-Mile Trailr for more than half a century, and it was not until 1929 that itsr grades, surveyed and built by John Conway, were changed byr more skilled engineers.r
r rr It is likely that McCauley, owner of the Four-Mile Trail,r made use of the insufficient little building on Glacier Pointr while his trail was in the making. Few records regarding ther “shack” or his later Mountain House are to be found, butr r Lady C. F. Gordon-Cummingr wrote on the tenth of May, 1878: “Ther snow on the upper trail [Four-Mile] had been cleared by menr who are building a rest-house on the summit.” After arrivingr at Glacier Point, she records: “The cold breeze was so bitingr that we were thankful to take refuge, with our luncheon-basket,r in the newly built wooden house.” Later, “On our wayr down through the snow-cuttings, we had rather an awkwardr meeting with a long file of mules heavily laden with furniture—r or rather, portions of furniture—for the new house.”r
r rr It is believed that the first firefall from Glacier Point wasr the work of James McCauley in 1871 or 1872. He sold his trailr to the state. His Mountain House was operated on a leaser basis from the commissioners. One of his visitors of the earlyr ’eighties was Derrick Dodd, who concocted something of ar classic in the way of Glacier Point stories. It is too good to passr into oblivion.r
r rr As a part of the usual programme, we experimented as to the timer taken by different objects in reaching the bottom of the cliff. Anr ordinary stone tossed over remained in sight an incredibly longr time, but finally vanished somewhere about the middle distance. Ar handkerchief with a stone tied in the corner, was visible perhaps ar thousand feet deeper; but even an empty box, watched by a field-glass,r could not be traced to its concussion with the Valley floor.r r r r Finally, the landlord appeared on the scene, carrying an antiquer hen under his arm. This, in spite of the terrified ejaculations andr entreaties of the ladies, he deliberately threw over the cliff’s edge. Ar rooster might have gone thus to his doom in stoic silence, but the sexr of this unfortunate bird asserted itself the moment it started on itsr awful journey into space. With an ear-piercing cackle that graduallyr grew fainter as it fell, the poor creature shot downward; nowr beating the air with ineffectual wings, and now frantically clawingr at the very wind, that slanted her first this way and then that: thusr the hapless fowl shot down, down, until it became a mere fluff ofr feathers no larger than a quail. Then it dwindled to a wren’s size,r disappeared, then again dotted the sight a moment as a pin’s point,r and then—it was gone!r
r rr After drawing a long breath all round, the women folks pitchedr into the hen’s owner with redoubled zest. But the genial McCauleyr shook his head knowingly, and replied:r
r rr “Don’t be alarmed about that chicken, ladies. She’s used to it.r She goes over that cliff every day during the season.”r
r rr And, sure enough, on our road back we met the old hen aboutr half up the trail, calmly picking her way home!r
r rr In 1882, the Glacier Point road was built. Traffic to ther Mountain House was, of course, doubled by the coming ofr those who would not walk or ride a horse up steep trails. Glacierr Point trails did not fall into disuse, however. On the contrary,r attempts were made to make them more attractive. Anderson’sr Trail from Happy Isles to Vernal Fall was constructed at greatr loss to its builder in 1882. The present Eleven-Mile Trail fromr Nevada Fall to Glacier Point was built in 1885. In spite of ther variety of routes offered, it was planned as early as 1887 tor provide a passenger lift to the famous vantage-point. The planr progressed as far as the making of a preliminary survey. Accommodationsr at the point remained unchanged until 1917, whenr the Glacier Point Hotel was built by the Desmond Park Servicer Company adjacent to the Mountain House. The two structuresr function as a unit of the Yosemite Park and Curry Companyr operation.r
r r r r rr The Degnan concession in the “Old Village” is not and neverr was a hotel or lodge. However, it has catered to Yosemite touristsr since 1884 and is the oldest business in the park. Johnr Degnan, an Irishman, built his first Yosemite cabin on the siter of the present Degnan store. Soon thereafter, on the occasionr of a spring meeting of the Yosemite Valley Commissioners, ofr which the governor of the state was a member, Mr. Degnanr appeared before the managing body to obtain the privileger of building a suitable home. The board listened to his plea,r and the Governor observed, “He seems to be the kind of manr we want as an all-year resident—one who will take care ofr the place when it needs care.” Mr. Degnan, in an interview withr a National Park Service official in 1941, stated, “After thatr meeting the Commissioners came over to my cabin, and ther Governor then assigned to me the land which I now occupy,r extending from the road to the cliff.”r
r rr Mrs. Degnan, who was a party to all of Mr. Degnan’s pioneeringr in Yosemite Valley, met the tourists’ demand for bread.r Gradually, her bakery expanded until her ovens could turn outr one hundred loaves at a baking. The business and the homer grew as did the Degnan family. Mary Ellen Degnan, one ofr the several children born to Mr. and Mrs. Degnan, now managesr the modern store and restaurant which evolved from ther pioneer venture.r
r rr The record of John Degnan’s activities in Yosemite Nationalr Park stands as ample testimony to the accuracy of the governor’sr appraisal, “He seems to be the kind of man we want.” Her was a respected party to much of the early physical improvementr in and about the valley and to the general growth andr development of facilities and services.r
r rr Mrs. Degnan died Dec. 17, 1940, and Mr. Degnan’s deathr occurred on Feb. 27, 1943.r
r r r r rr The demand for more pretentious accommodations than thoser afforded by the pioneer hotels of Yosemite was met in 1887,r when the state built a four-story structure that would accommodater about 150 guests. The legislature in 1885 appropriatedr $40,000 to be expended on this building. Another $5,000r was secured for water supply and furniture. A site near ther present Camp Curry garage was selected, and the building contractr let to Carle, Croly, and Abernethy. Upon its completionr J. J. Cook, who had been managing Black’s Hotel, was placedr in charge.r
r rr The bulky structure was not beautiful architecturally, andr the first few years of its existence demonstrated that its designr was faulty. In 1896 the Stoneman House burned to the ground.r
r rr Mr. and Mrs. D. A. Curry originated an idea in tourist servicer which rather revolutionized the scheme of hostelry operationr in Yosemite and other national parks. The Currys came tor Yosemite in 1899. They were teachers who had turned theirr summer vacations into profitable management of Westernr camping tours in such localities as Yellowstone National Park.r Their first venture in Yosemite involved use of seven tents andr employment of one paid woman cook. The services of severalr college students were secured in return for summer expenses.r The site chosen for that first camp is the area occupied byr Camp Curry.r
r rr Success of the hotel-camp plan was immediately apparent.r The first year 292 people registered at the resort. However, successr was not attained without striving. The camp was dependentr upon freight-wagon service requiring two weeks to maker the round trip to Merced. Sometimes even this service failed.r
r rr Informal hospitality has always characterized Camp Curry.r r r r Popular campfire entertainments have been a feature from mer beginning. In one of the first summers in Yosemite, D. A. Curryr revived the firefall,4r [r 4r r Beatty, M. E. “History of the Firefall”r Yosemite Nature Notes (1934), pp. 41-43;r and Yosemite Park and Curry Co., 1940,r The Firefall, Explanation and History,r Yosemite National Park, pp. 1-5.]r which it is presumed originated with Jamesr McCauley, of the Mountain House. Employees from Campr Curry were occasionally sent to Glacier Point to build a firer and push it off for a special party. This was done more andr more frequently, until it became a nightly occurrence. Mr.r Curry’s “Hello,” his “All’s well,” and “Farewell,” delivered withr remarkable volume, won for him the appellation, “The Stentorr of Yosemite.”r
r rr The coming of the Yosemite Valley Railroad in 1907 gaver a powerful new impetus to the growth of Camp Curry. Automobiler travel, of course, provided the climax. In 1915 the campr provided accommodations for one thousand visitors. Today, itr maintains nearly 500 tents and 200 bungalow and cabin rooms.r
r rr The successful operations of the Curry business inducedr would-be competition. Camp Yosemite, later known as Campr Lost Arrow, was started in 1901 near the foot of Yosemite Falls.r It continued to function until 1915. Camp Ahwahnee, at ther foot of the Four-Mile Trail, was established in 1908 and continuedr for seven years. The Desmond Park Service Companyr secured a twenty-year concession to operate camps, stores, andr transportation service in 1915. This company purchased ther assets of the Sentinel Hotel, Camp Lost Arrow, and Campr Ahwahnee. The two camps were discontinued, and a new venturer made in the present Yosemite Lodge. The Desmond Companyr prevailed until 1920, when reorganization took place, andr it became the Yosemite National Park Company.r
r rr The Curry Camping Company maintained its substantialr position through all of the years of varying fortunes of its lessr substantial contemporaries. In 1925, the Yosemite Park andr Curry Company was formed by the consolidation of the Curryr r r r Company and the Yosemite National Park Company. The newr organization has contracted with the government to performr all services demanded by the public in the park. Some 1,250r people are employed during the summer months, and the investmentr in tourist facilities totals $5,500,000.r
r rr David A. Curry did not live to witness the realization of allr his plans. However, prior to his death in 1917, the march ofr progress had so advanced as to make evident the place of leadershipr the Curry operation was to maintain. “Mother” Curry, asr “Manager Emeritus,” still devotes personal attention to ther business of the pioneer hotel-camp but the active managementr is in the hands of persons trained by her and her daughter,r Mary Curry Tresidder. Her son-in-law, Dr. Donald B. Tresidder,r until 1943 actively managed the operations and stillr retains the presidency of the extensive Yosemite Park andr Curry Company, which has grown from the modest start mader in 1899.r
r rr The Yosemite National Park Company in 1920 established ar tent camp in the upper section of the Mariposa Grove, whichr consisted of a rustic central building constructed around ther base of the tree, Montana, and a group of cabins and tents. Ther camp persisted in this form until 1932, when it was razedr by the Yosemite Park and Curry Company, and a new lodger was built near Sunset Point in the Grove. In its design ther new building reflects the charm of pioneer structures of ther Sierra Nevada.r
r rr In 1923, Superintendent Lewis advocated the creation of ar service that would enable the hiker to enjoy the wonders ofr the Yosemite high country and yet be free from the irksomer load of blankets and food necessary to the success of a trip awayr from the established centers of the park. T. E. Farrow, of ther r r r Yosemite Park Company, projected tentative plans for a seriesr of “hikers’ camps,” and in the fall of 1923 I was dispatched onr a journey of reconnaissance for the purpose of locating campr sites in the rugged country drained by the headwaters of ther Merced and Tuolumne. The sites advocated were Little Yosemite,r Merced Lake,* Boothe Lake, the Lyell Fork (Mountr Lyell), Tuolumne Meadows,* Glen Aulin, and Tenaya Lake.*r In 1924, these sites, with the exception of Lyell Fork and Glenr Aulin, were occupied by simple camps, consisting of a messr and cook tent, a dormitory tent for women, and a dormitoryr tent for men. Attendants and cooks were employed for eachr establishment. With two exceptions, the camps were removedr from roads, and equipment and supplies were of necessityr packed in on mules. Yet it was possible to offer the facilities ofr these high mountain resorts at a very low price, and it becamer apparent that saddle parties, as well as hikers, would take advantager of them. Consequently they have become known asr High Sierra Camps.r
r rr *Camps at these spots first were established in the days of the Desmond Parkr Service Company, 1916-1918.r
r rr The camp beside the White Cascade at Glen Aulin was establishedr in 1927 and has been very popular. In 1938, the Tenayar Lake Camp was moved to a beautiful location in a grove ofr hemlocks on May Lake, just east of Mount Hoffmann. Newr trails were built to make this spot more readily accessible fromr the Snow Creek Trail and from Glen Aulin. The Boother Lake Camp, after a few years of operation, was abandonedr in favor of a new camp near the junction of the Vogelsang,r Rafferty Creek, and Lyell Fork trails. In 1940, this camp wasr rebuilt on the banks of Fletcher Creek. The Tuolumne Meadowsr Lodge is now the only one of these camps situated on ar road. Each camp has a setting of a distinctive mountain characterr on lake or stream. All the camps represent a joint effortr on the part of the National Park Service and the concessionairer r r r to encourage and assist travel beyond the roads, where the visitorr may appreciate the wild values of the park which he canr hardly observe from the highways.r
r rr The Yosemite Park and Curry Company opened the Ahwahneer in 1927. Its interior has received quite as much study as has itsr exterior architectural values.r
r rr California Indian patterns have been used throughout ther hotel in many ways. In the lobby, six great figures, set in multipler borders, rendered in mosaic, give color and interest tor the floor. In the downstairs corridor and the dining room,r other borders and simpler Indian motifs are rendered in acid-etchedr cement. Painted Indian ornaments play a number ofr different roles in the building.r
r rr In the main lounge the great beams have been related to ther contents of the room with borders, spots, and panels of Indianr motifs in the colors that appear in the rugs and furniture coverings,r while the entire mantel end of the room serves as a bondr between the ceiling and the floor with a composite of Indianr figures built into one great architectural structure. At the topr of each of the ten high windows is a panel of stained glass, eachr one different, the series forming a rhythmical frieze that bandsr the room. They are all composed of Indian patterns.r
r rr The arts of the whole world have been called together tor give the Ahwahnee character and color. There are Colonialr furniture, pottery, and textiles; furniture, cottons and linen,r lights, and a clock from England; cottons from Norway; and ironsr from Flanders; more iron and furniture and fabrics fromr France; embroideries from Italy; rugs from Spain; designsr from Greece and designs from Turkey; rugs, jars, and tiles, silksr and cottons from Persia; more rugs from the Caucasus and tentr strips from Turkestan; porcelains and paintings from China;r the sturdy Temmoku ware from Japan; fabrics from Guatemala;r r r r terra cotta from Mexico, and so back to California,r whence comes the basic motif of the whole, the Indian design.r
r rr On June 23,1943, the Ahwahnee Hotel was taken over by ther United States Navy and operated as a hospital. It functioned asr the Naval Special Hospital until its formal decommissioningr on December 15, 1945, and 6,752 patients were treated, ther greatest number at one time being 853. A large and variedr naval staff was assigned to duty at the Ahwahnee, includingr officers, nurses, Waves, and enlisted men. Representatives ofr the American Red Cross, Veterans’ Administration, and ther United States Employment Service also participated in ther hospital program. The Ahwahnee as a hospital became anr adequately equipped and functioning rehabilitation center,r capable of handling full programs of physical training, occupationalr therapy, and educational work. The department ofr occupational therapy, especially, was recognized as outstandingr among service hospitals. The program of rehabilitationr extended to the out-of-doors, both summer and winter.r
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Woodcut from the first edition (1931) | r
r r Frequentlyr r each summer, those who climb to the Sierrar crest within the Yosemite National Park come upon ther remains of little “cities” near the mountaintops. Because ther story of these deserted towns, now within the boundaries ofr the park is so interwoven with the story of Mono mining affairsr in general, this chapter will of necessity take some account ofr the events of the Mono Basin, immediately east of Yosemite.r
r rr The first white men to visit the Mono country were undoubtedlyr the American trappers, followed shortly afterward by ther explorers and immigrants. The first records of mineral findsr in this region, however, are those that pertain to Lieutenantr Tredwell Moore’s Indian-fighting expedition to the Yosemiter in June, 1852 (see p. 46),r which crossed the Sierra at the northernr Mono Pass and brought back samples of gold ore. Ther miners who soon followed and, with a few others, continuedr to work in the Mono region, were apparently unthought-of byr their former associates west of the Sierra.r
r rr John B. Trask, in his report on mines and mining in California,r made to the legislature of California in 1855, says: “In myr report of last year, it was stated that the placer ranges were atr that time known to extend nearly to the summit ridge of ther mountains; but this year it has been ascertained that they passr beyond the ridge and are now found on the eastern declivity,r having nearly the same altitude as those occurring on the oppositer side. Within the past season, many of these deposits haver been examined, and thus far are found to be equally productiver r r r with those of similar ranges to the west, and, with ar favorable season ensuing, they will be largely occupied.” It isr probable that Trask’s statements were based on reports of ther work done by Lee Vining’s party.r
r rr At any rate, in 1857 it became known among the minersr of the Mother Lode that rich deposits had been found atr “Dogtown” and Monoville, and a rush from the Tuolumner mines resulted. The Mono Trail from Big Oak Flat, throughr Tamarack Flat, Tenaya Lake, Tuolumne Meadows, and Bloodyr Canyon, following in general an old Indian route, was blazedr at this time and came into great use. The Sonora Pass route wasr used also, and it was over this trail that the discoverer of ther famous Bodie district, later to become the center of all Monor mining, made his way.r
r rr It is not my purpose, however, to write the history of Monor County, or even to make this a lengthy story of Mono miningr camps. Rather would I present a concise account of the originr of the relics found by Sierra enthusiasts, and, incidentally, tellr something about the astonishing town of Bodie.r
r rr The name Tioga and the beautiful region which its mentionr suggests are now familiar to thousands who annually driver over the route that bisects Yosemite National Park. The originalr location of the mineral deposit now known as the Tiogar Mine was made in 1860. Consequently, it is here that ourr present chronicle of Yosemite summit events should begin. Inr 1874, William Brusky, a prospector, came upon a prospectr hole, shovel, pick, and an obliterated notice at this place. Ther notice indicated that the mine had been located as “The Sheepherder”r in 1860. It was presumed by Brusky that the originalr locators were returning to Mariposa or Tuolumne from Monor Diggings, Bodie, or Aurora when they made the find. He flatteredr the claim by supposing that “the original locators probablyr perished, as it is not likely that they would abandon sor promising a claim”; he relocated it as the “Sheepherder.”r
r r r r rr In 1878, E. B. Burdick, Samuel Baker, and W J. Bevan organizedr the Tioga District. Most of the mines were owned by menr of Sonora, although some Eastern capital was interested. Ther district extended from King’s Ranch, at the foot of Bloodyr Canyon, over the summit of the Sierra and down the Tuolumner River to Lembert’s Soda Springs. It was eight miles in extentr from north to south. At one time there were 850 locations inr the district. Bennetville (now called Tioga) was headquartersr for the Great Sierra Mining Company offices, which concernr was operating the old Sheepherder as the “Tioga Mine.”r
r rr The company apparently suffered from no lack of funds,r and operations were launched on a grand scale. Great quantitiesr of supplies and equipment were packed into the camp atr enormous expenditure of labor and money. At first the placer was accessible only via the Bloody Canyon trail, and Mexicanr packers contracted to keep their pack animals active on thisr spectacular mountain highway. A trail was then built fromr the busy camp of Lundy, and that new route to Tioga provedr most valuable. The Homer Mining Index of March 4, 1882,r describes the packing of heavy machinery up 4,000 feet ofr mountainside to Tioga in winter:r
r rr The transportation of 16,000 pounds of machinery across oner of the highest and most rugged branches of the Sierra Nevadar mountains in mid-winter, where no roads exist, over vast fields andr huge embankments of yielding snow and in the face of furiousr wind-storms laden with drifting snow, and the mercury dancingr attendance on zero, is a task calculated to appall the sturdiestr mountaineer; and yet J. C. Kemp, manager of the Great Sierrar Consolidated Silver Company of Tioga, is now engaged in such anr undertaking, and with every prospect of perfect success at an earlyr day—so complete has been the arrangement of details and so intelligentlyr directed is every movement. The first ascent, from Mill Creekr to the mouth of Lake Canyon, is 990 feet, almost perpendicular.r From that point to the south end of Lake Oneida, a distance ofr about two miles, is a rise of 845 feet, most of it in two hills aggregatingr half a mile in distance. The machinery will probably ber r r r hoisted straight up to the summit of Mount Warren ridge from ther southwest shore of Lake Oneida, an almost vertical rise of 2,160r feet. From the summit the descent will be made to Saddlebags Lake,r thence down to and along Lee Vining Creek to the gap or pass inr the dividing ridge between Lee Vining and Slate creeks, and fromr that point to Tunnel, a distance of about one mile, is a rise of aboutr 800 feet—most of it in the first quarter of a mile. The machineryr consists of an engine, boiler, air-compressor, Ingersoll drills, ironr pipe, etc., for use in driving the Great Sierra tunnel. It is beingr transported on six heavy sleds admirably constructed of hardwood.r Another, or rather, a pair of bobsleds, accompanies the expedition,r the latter being laden with bedding, provisions, cooking utensils,r etc. The heaviest load is 4,200 pounds. Ten or twelve men, two mules,r 4,500 feet of one-inch Manila rope, heavy double block and tackle,r and all the available trees along the route are employed in “snaking”r the machinery up the mountain—the whole being under ther immediate supervision of Mr. Kemp, who remains at the front andr personally directs every movement. It is expected that all the sledsr will be got up into Lake Canyon today, and then the work willr be pushed day and night, with two shifts of men. Meantime, ther tunnel is being driven day and night, with three shifts of men underr Jeff McClelland.r
r rr Such difficulties prompted the Great Sierra Mining Companyr to construct the Tioga Road, that they might bring theirr machinery in from the west side of the Sierra. The road wasr completed in 1883 at a cost of $64,000.r
r rr In 1884, one of those “financial disasters” which always seemr to play a part in mining-camp history overtook the Great Sierrar Mining Company, and all work was dropped. Records showr that $300,000 was expended at Tioga, and there is no evidencer that their ore was ever milled.r
r rr Persons who have climbed into that interesting summit regionr above Gaylor Lakes have no doubt pondered over ther origin of the picturesque village of long deserted rock cabinsr clustered about a deep mine shaft. This is the Mount Danar Summit Mine, one of the important locations of the Tiogar District. Its owners were determined to operate in winter, asr r r r well as in summer. In the Homer Mining Index, Lundy, ofr October 30, 1880, we are told that the superintendent of thisr mine visited Lundy and employed skilled miners to spendr the winter there. In December of the same year one of themr descended to Bodie to obtain money with which to pay thoser miners. “He got tripped up on Bodie whisky and was drunkr for weeks. Some of the miners returned to Lundy from ther Summit Mine. The distance is but seven miles, but they werer two days making the trip and suffered many hardships.” Laterr F. W. Pike took charge of the Summit Mine, but no recordr appears to have been handed down of the final demise ofr the camp.r
r rr Another camp of the main range of the Sierra that receivedr much notice and actually produced great wealth was Lundy,r situated but a few miles north of Tioga. Prior to 1879, W. J.r Lundy was operating a sawmill at the head of Lundy Lake. Hisr product helped to supply Bodie’s enormous demand for timber.r In the spring of 1879, William D. Wasson took his familyr to Mill Canyon, near Lundy Lake, and engaged in prospecting.r He was followed by C. H. Nye and L. L. Homer, who locatedr rich veins of ore. J. G. McClinton, of Bodie, investigated andr was persuaded by what he found to bring capital to the newr camp at once. Homer District was organized at Wasson’s residencer at Emigrant Flat, in Mill Creek Canyon, September 15,r 1879. Prior to this time the region was included in the Tiogar District, but because the books of the Tioga recorder were keptr at an inconvenient point, a new district was formed. L. L.r Homer, for whom the district was named, bowed down byr “financial troubles,” committed suicide in San Francisco a fewr months later.r
r rr It is worthy of mention that in 1881 the Sierra Telegraphr Company extended its line from Lundy to Yosemite Valley,r where it made connection with Street’s line to Sonora.r
r rr A trail was built from Tioga over the divide from Leeviningr r r r Canyon into Lake Canyon, thence down Mill Creek Canyonr to Lundy. In 1881 Archie Leonard, renowned as a Yosemiter guide and ranger, put on a ten-horse saddle train betweenr Lundy and Yosemite. The trip was made in a day and a half,r and the fare was $8.00 one way.r
r rr Reports of the State Mining Bureau indicate that somethingr like $3,000,000 was taken from the May Lundy Mine. Ther town of Lundy proved to be substantial for many years, andr the Homer Mining Index, printed there, is the best of all ther newspapers that were produced in the ephemeral camps ofr Mono. Something of the spirit of mining-camp journalism mayr be gathered from the following note taken from a December,r 1850, number of the Index:r
r rr The Index wears a cadaverous aspect this week. It is the unavoidabler result of a concatenation of congruous circumstances. Ther boss has gone to Bodie on special business. The devil has beenr taking medicine, so that his work at the case has been spasmodicr and jerky. The printing office is open on all sides, and the snow fliesr in wherever it pleases. In the morning everything is frozen solid.r Then we thaw things out, and the whole concern is deluged withr drippings. It is hard to set type under such conditions. When ther office is dry, it is too cold to work. When it is warm, the printerr needs gum boots and oilskins. In fact, it has been a hell of a job tor get this paper out.r
r rr Like the other camps, Lundy is now defunct. The Mayr Lundy Mine has not operated for some years, and the buildingr of a dam has raised Lundy Lake so that a part of the townsiter is submerged.r
r rr Another old camp that many Yosemite fishermen and hikersr come upon is the aggregation of dwellings about the “Goldenr Crown.” At the very head of Bloody Canyon, within Mono Pass,r are to be found sturdily built log cabins in various stages ofr decay. From the Homer Mining Index it has been possible tor glean occasional bits of information regarding this old camp.r It is stated in an 1880 number of the Index that Fuller andr r r r Hayt (or Hoyt) discovered large ledges of antimonial silverr there in 1879. The Mammoth City Herald of September 3,r 1879, contains a glowing account of the wealth to be obtainedr from the “Golden Crown.” as the mine was christened, and predictsr that thousands of men will be working at the head ofr Bloody Canyon within one year. The Mammoth City Heraldr of August 27, 1879, under the heading, “Something Besidesr Pleasure in Store for Yosemite Tourists.” contains an enthusiasticr letter regarding these prospects.r
r rr When one observes the great number of mining claimsr staked out throughout the summit region about White Mountain,r Mount Dana, Mount Gibbs, and Kuna Peak, it is notr surprising to learn that some Yosemite Valley businessmen venturedr to engage in the gamble. Albert Snow, proprietor of ther famous La Casa Nevada between Vernal and Nevada falls,r owned a mine in Parker Canyon; and A. G. Black, of Black’sr Hotel, owned the Mary Bee Mine on Mount Dana.r
r rr Some twenty miles south of the Tioga District, in a highr situation quite as spectacular in scenic grandeur as any of ther camps of the main range of the Sierra, was Lake District, inr which Mammoth and Pine City flourished for a time—a veryr brief time.r
r rr In June of 1877, J. A. Parker, B. N. Lowe, B. S. Martin, andr N. D. Smith located mineral deposits on Mineral Hill at anr altitude of 11,000 feet. Lake District was organized here thatr same summer. Activity was not great until 1879, when greatr riches seemed inevitable, and a rush of miners swelled the populationr of Mammoth and Pine City. A mill was built for ther reduction of ores that were not in sight, and two printing establishmentsr cut each other’s throats, the Mammoth City Herald,r first on the ground, and the Mammoth City Times.r
r rr For a time hope was high. J. S. French built a toll trailr from Fresno to Mammoth City. French’s saddle trains met ther Yosemite stages at Fresno Flats, and traveled to Basaw (orr r r r Beasore) Meadows, Little Jackass Meadows, Sheep Crossing,r Cargyle Meadow, Reds Meadow, through Mammoth Pass, andr then to Mammoth City, a distance of fifty-four miles. Livestockr to supply the Mammoth markets was driven from Fresnor Flats over this trail, also.r
r rr The first winter after propaganda had inveigled capital tor take a chance on Mammoth, all activities persisted throughr the winter. Like those hardy men who suffered the hardshipsr of winter on Mount Dana, the inhabitants of Mammoth contendedr with great difficulties.r
r rr After the winter of 1879-80, it became apparent that ther Mammoth enterprise was unwarranted. The mill, constructedr with such optimism, was poorly built. Had it been mechanicallyr perfect, the fate of the camp would have been no better,r for the expected ore was not forthcoming. Mammoth wasr another of those camps which engulfed capital and producedr little or nothing. In the winter of 1880-81 the place closed.r
r rr Benton, Bodie, and Aurora are quite removed from the arear likely to be reached by Sierra travelers, yet to close this accountr without some mention of their birth, growth, and death wouldr be to omit some of the most important affairs of Mono mining.r The first settlement in the region immediately south ofr Mono was made by George W. Parker, who located the Adober Meadows in 1860. In 1861 E. C. Kelty sent “Black” Taylor, ar partner of the discoverer of Bodie District, to winter somer cattle in Hot Springs Valley, where he was killed by Indians.r William McBride entered the region in 1853 and engaged inr ranching. Float rock was found in October, 1863, by Robinsonr and Stuart in the foothills of the White Mountains, east ofr Benton. In February, 1864, these men organized the Montgomeryr District and succeeded in attracting some attention to theirr find. The region flourished for a season, but soon declined andr became deserted. A few very rich deposits existed, but therer seem to have been no continuous veins.r
r r r [r Inserted here was ar “Sketch Map of Yosemite Region.”r ]r r r rr “Cherokee Joe” found lead ore in a long, low granite hill,r which rises abruptly out of the valley west of the White Range,r and it was here that Benton started in 1865. James Larne builtr the first house, and soon the camp became quite populous.r Like the others, it attracted a printer, and for a time the Monor Weekly Messenger flaunted taunts at neighboring camps andr exploited the virtues and possibilities of Benton. Like ther others, too, the camp failed, and the printer moved, this timer to Mammoth, where he founded the short-lived Mammothr City Herald.r
r rr When, in the late ’seventies, the turbulent town of Bodier was attaining its reputation as a tough place, a newspaper ofr Truckee, California, quoted the small daughter in a Bodie-boundr family as having offered the following prayer: “Good-by,r God! I’m going to Bodie.” An editor of one of the several Bodier papers rejoined that the little girl had been misquoted. Whatr she really said was, “Good, by God! I’m going to Bodie.”r
r rr According to accounts printed when excitement at Bodier was high, the discoverer of the Bodie wealth, W. S. Body, camer to California on the sloop Matthew Vassar in 1878. He hadr lived in Poughkeepsie, New York, and there left a wife and sixr children. In November, 1859, Body, Garraty, Doyle, Taylor,r and Brodigan crossed Sonora Pass to test the Mono possibilities.r On their way back to the west side of the mountains, theyr dug into placer ground in a gulch on the east side of Silver Hill,r one of those now pock-marked hills just above Bodie.r
r rr The partners apparently remained on the ground andr equipped themselves to work their claims. In March, 1860,r Body and “Black” Taylor went to Monoville for supplies, andr en route were overtaken by a severe snow-storm. Body becamer exhausted, and Taylor attempted to carry him but was forcedr to wrap a blanket around him and leave him. Taylor returnedr to their cabin, obtained food, and then wandered about allr night in a vain search for his companion. It was not until Mayr r r r that Body’s body was found, when it was buried on the westr side of the black ridge southwest of the present town. Taylor’sr fate has already been mentioned.r
r rr Other miners came into the vicinity, and at a meeting, withr E. Green presiding, “Body Mining District” was organized.r Subsequent usage changed “Body” to “Bodie.” In the summerr of 1860, prospectors located lodes a few miles north of Bodier that were destined to put the Bodie find “in the shade” forr some years to come. This was the Aurora discovery, upon whichr the Esmeralda District, organized in 1860, centered. Aurorar forged ahead and became a wildly excited camp, but its bloodyr career was little more than a drunken orgy. The rich ores whichr had induced extravagance and wild speculation disappearedr when shafts had been sunk about one hundred feet, and ther “excitement” came to a sudden end.r
r rr It is worthy of note that the first board of county supervisorsr of the county of Mono met in Aurora, June 13, 1861. By 1864r it was discovered that the camp was some miles within the stater of Nevada; so Bridgeport was named the county seat. Just beforer the move was made, a substantial courthouse had beenr built in Aurora, and the old building still stands. E. A. Silerman,r first editor of the Esmeralda Star of Aurora, journeyedr to the Eastern States prior to 1863-64, and took with him ar fifty-pound specimen of rich Aurora ore. This chunk of rockr had been sold and resold at mining-camp auctions to swellr the Sanitary Fund, the Civil War “Red Cross.” Thousands ofr dollars were added to the fund by this one specimen, just asr had been done through repeated sale of the celebrated Austinr (Nevada) sack of flour.r
r rr Mr. Sherman met Mr. Davis of the Pilgrim Society inr Plymouth, Massachusetts, and exchanged the Aurora ore forr a piece of Plymouth Rock. This fragment of Plymouth Rockr was brought back to Aurora, and when the Mono County courthouser was built there, the Plymouth Rock fragment was placedr r r r in the cornerstone. The fifty-pound chunk of Aurora ore stillr may be seen in the Plymouth Society’s venerable museum.r
r rr Mark Twain at one time resided in Aurora and engagedr in his humorous exaggerations. His cabin there, which evenr in 1878, when Wasson wrote his Bodie and Esmeralda, hadr become somewhat mythical, was recently located and movedr to Reno, Nevada, where it is now exhibited. At any rate, anr Aurora cabin was found which might have been occupied byr Mark Twain. One part of the original Mark Twain cabin certainlyr did not reach Reno, according to the Mammoth Timesr of December 6, 1879. Bob Howland, who had lived with Markr Twain in Aurora, returned to their old domicile in 1879 andr took down the flagpole. He had it made into canes, which her distributed among his friends.r
r rr The truly important activity in the Esmeralda regionr prompted the building of the Sonora Pass wagon road. Ther Mono County supervisors ordered that road bonds on ther “Sonora and Mono road” be issued on November 5, 1863.r The road was projected in 1864 and opened to travel in 18681r [r 1A road of sorts crossed Sonora Pass prior to this construction work. Hittellr [Editor’s note: The Adventures of James Capen Adams, Mountaineer and Grizzly Bear Hunter, of California—dea]r (1911, p. 218) tells of Grizzly Adams’s trip through the pass with a wagon in ther spring of 1851.r ]r
r rr Bodie, in the meantime, had not given up the ghost, althoughr only a comparatively few miners occupied the camp.r From its discovery until 1877 an average of twenty votes werer polled each year. In 1878, however, the Bodie Mining Companyr made a phenomenally rich strike of gold and silver ore,r and the entire mining world was startled. Stock jumped fromr fifty cents to fifty-four dollars a share. The news swept allr Western camps like wildfire, and by 1879 Bodie’s crowd andr reputation were such that the little girl’s prayer of “Good-by,r God! I’m going to Bodie” was representative of the opinionr held by contemporaries.r
r rr Even W. S. Body, whose body had moldered in a rocky graver for nearly twenty years, was not undisturbed by the activity.r r r r r In 1871 J. G. McClinton had discovered the forgotten Bodyr grave while searching for a horse. He made no move to changer the burial site, however, until some one of Bodie’s severalr newspapers launched erroneous reports of the whereabouts ofr Body’s remains. In the fall of 1879 McClinton and Josephr Wasson exhumed the skeleton, exhibited it to Bodie’s motleyr populace, and then gave it an elaborate burial, not excludingr an eloquent address by Hon. R. D. Ferguson. Now these honoredr bones occupy a grave that is quite as neglected as the sage-grownr niche in which they originally rested, but at least theyr share a place with the other several hundred dead disposed ofr in Bodie’s forgotten cemetery.r
r rr To make Bodie’s story short, let it suffice to say that for fourr years the camp maintained the same high-pressure activity.r Men mined, milled, played, fought, and hundreds died. Somer fifty companies tunneled into Bodie Bluff and all but turnedr it inside out. Probably twenty-five millions in bullion werer conveyed in Bodie stage coaches to the railroad at Carson City,r Nevada. Perhaps an amount almost as great was sunk into ther hills by the numerous companies that carried on frenzied activityr but produced no wealth. Only the Standard and the Bodier had proved to be immensely profitable, and in 1881 the stockr market went to pieces. Bodie’s mines, one after another, closedr down. In 1887 the Standard and the Bodie consolidated andr operated sanely and profitably for some twenty years longer.r But the camp’s mad days of wild speculation and excessiver living were done. Gradually activities ceased, and a few yearsr ago the picturesque blocks of frame buildings were consumedr by flames. To meet the opportunities of 1941 some several hundredr people occupied Bodie to salvage minerals from her oldr mine dumps. But there was little progress in rebuilding ther town. It is interesting to note, however, that the Bodie Miners’r Union Hall of the ’seventies still stands. Within it Mr. and Mrs.r D. V. Cain have exhibited the relics of Bodie’s boom days.r
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r The California State Geological Survey was established inr 1860. Josiah Dwight Whitney, of Harvard University, wasr made State Geologist. He enlisted the services of several youngr men who were destined to become leaders in American geologicalr and topographical work. William H. Brewer, William Ashburner,r Chester Averill, Charles F. Hoffmann, William M. Gabb,r James T. Gardiner, and Clarence King were among ther members of the Whitney Survey. Over a period of ten yearsr they penetrated the remote and unknown canyons and climbedr the peaks of the Sierra Nevada, recording their findings andr mapping the wild terrain. They made the first contribution tor accurate and detailed knowledge of the region embraced inr the present Yosemite National Park.r
r rr In 1863, Whitney himself began studies in the Yosemiter region.1r [r 1Seer Farquhar,r 1926,r pp. 15-23.r ]r Her concludedr that the Yosemite Valley resulted fromr a sinking of a local block of the earth’s crust. His assistant,r King, recognized evidences of a glacier’s having passed throughr r r r the valley, but Whitney, although he published this fact in hisr official report, later stoutly denied it. Whitney at first believedr the domes to have risen up as great bubbles of fluid granite.r
r rr Galen Clark, while not a trained geologist, was a careful observerr and commanded considerable respect from the public.r He believedr that Yosemite Valley originated through the explosionr of close-set domes of molten rock and that water actionr then cleared the gorge of debris and left it in its present form.r
r rr King, although he was the first to observe glacier polish andr moraines in the Yosemite Valley, did not attribute any greatr part of the excavation of the valley to the glacier. He regardedr the Yosemite as a simple crack or rent in the crust of the earth.r
r rr John Muir, who followed these early students, maintainedr that ice had accomplished nearly all the Yosemite sculpturing.r
r rr H. W. Turner, on the other hand, found no reason to believer that anything other than stream action, influenced by the peculiarr rock structure, had had an important role in the originr of the valley, although he recognized that it had been the pathwayr of a glacier.r
r rr Joseph LeConte,2r [r 2r Joseph LeConte became a faculty member at the University of Californiar in 1869 and made hisr first trip to Yosemite in 1870.r Of that experience, he wrote,r “This trip was almost an era in my life.” For the rest of his life, he devoted muchr time to Sierra studies. He died suddenly in the valley, July 6, 1901. The LeConter Memorial Lodge in Yosemite Valley, built by the Sierra Club in 1903, commemoratesr his work (see Sierra Club Bulletin, 1904, 1905;r r Farquhar, 1926, pp. 30-32).r ]r r W. H. Brewer,r M. G. Macomb,3r [r 3r Lt. Montgomery Meigs Macomb, assisted by J. C. Spiller and F. O. Maxson,r explored the Yosemite region in 1878 and 1879. Their work was a part of ther program of the U. S. Geographical Surveys West of the 100th Meridian, Capt.r George M. Wheeler in charge. This program received the general direction ofr the Chief of Engineers, U. S. Army. Macomb’s field work yielded the data forr a map which was standard in the Yosemite region for many years (see U. S. Warr Dept., 1879).r ]r r George Davidson;4r [r 4r In 1879, the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey sent a reconnaissancer party into the Yosemite high country under the leadership of George Davidson.r Mount Conness was occupied on that occasion and again in 1887 and 1890 (seer p. 72;r also Davidson, 1892).r ]r r I. C. Russell,5r [r 5r The United States Geological Survey was organized in 1878 under the directionr of Clarence King. In 1882 and 1883, a thorough study was made of ther Yosemite high country west of Mono Lake. Israel C. Russell was in charge ofr this field work. Willard D. Johnson and Grove Karl Gilbert assisted him. Theser men confirmed some of the original work done by Muir and Joseph LeConter (See U. S. Geological Survey, 1883-84, pp. 31-32, 303-328; 1886-87, I; 261-394;r I. C. Russell, 1897, pp. 37-54;r Farquhar, 1926, p. 42).r ]r r George F. Becker, Willard D. Johnson,r r r r E. C. Andrews, Douglas W. Johnson, F. L. Ransome, J. N. LeConte,r A. C. Lawson, Eliot Blackwelder, Ernst Cloos, Johnr P. Buwalda, M. E. Beatty, and George D. Louderback have allr studied the geology of the Yosemite Valley or the Yosemiter region and have published the results of their work. The influencesr of the topography of the Sierra Nevada upon meteorologicalr conditions were studied and reported upon by W. A.r Glassford in the early ’nineties.r
r rr Prior to 1913, however, no one had made a comprehensiver study of the geology of the entire Yosemite region. Ideas regardingr the origin of the valley and related features were still hazy.r In 1913, at the instance of the Sierra Club, the U. S. Geologicalr Survey sent out a party of scientists to begin a systematic andr detailed investigation. These men were François E. Matthesr and Frank C. Calkins. The former was to study especially ther history of the development of the Yosemite Valley; the latter tor study the different types of rock. In the years that have elapsed,r Matthes has carried his investigations over the entire Yosemiter region and into the areas to north and south. Thus he hasr worked out quite definitely, back to its beginning, the story ofr the origin of the Yosemite and of the other valleys of the samer type in the Sierra Nevada. His conclusions, published by ther government, have stood the test of criticism by other membersr of his profession.r
r rr An extensive bibliography of the geology of Yosemite appearsr in A Bibliography of National Parks and Monumentsr West of the Mississippi River, Vol. I, 1941, pp. 95-106. Ther list of Matthes’ contributions to Yosemite literature is long.r Probably the most significant and generally useful item isr r r r r r Geologic History of the Yosemite Valley.r This is a thorough reportr on the author’s study and also contains a paper by Frank C. Calkinsr on the granitic rocks of the Yosemite region.r
r rr Indians provided the motive for the first penetration of ther whites into Yosemite Valley, but the ethnology of the regionr received scant attention during the first years of contacts withr the aborigines. Lafayette H. Bunnell, a member of the “discovery”r party of 1851, has providedr satisfying accountsr of ther primitive Ah-wah-nee-chees in the valley, and Galen Clark,r who was intimately acquainted with members of the originalr band,r r recordedr their history, customs, and traditions manyr years after his early contacts with them. In the early ’seventies,r Stephen Powersr gave to them the attention of a professionalr ethnologist, andr r Constance F. Gordon-Cummingr studied themr in the ’eighties.r
r rr In 1898, the Bureau of American Ethnology investigated ther Indians of the Tuolumne country, and William H. Holmesr published the findings. Samuel A. Barrett first published onr the geography and dialects of the Miwok (of which the Yosemiter Indians were a part) in 1908. Barrett’s work with the Miwokr continued for many years, and he is credited with severalr important papers. Alfred L. Kroeber, a leading authority onr California Indians, first published on the Miwok in 1907 andr since has published extensively on the Ah-wah-nee-chees andr all their neighbors. E. W. Gifford, who has been associated withr both Barrett and Kroeber in the ethnological work of the Universityr of California, has made important contributions to ther published history and culture of the Miwok. His first paperr on his work in the Yosemite region appeared in 1916. C. Hartr Merriam devoted careful study to the myths, folk tales, andr village sites of the Yosemite Indians early in the 1900’s, andr his published accounts appeared inr 1910r andr 1917.r Mrs. H. J. Taylor, working in Yosemite Valley, obtained much importantr data from one of the last members of the Yosemite band, Maria Lebrado,r r r r and since 1932 has published several significant items.r In 1941, Elizabeth H. Godfrey, of the Yosemite Museum staff,r compiled a popular summary of the work done on the Yosemitesr entitled,r “Yosemite Indians Yesterday and Today,”r Yosemite Nature Notes, 1941.r The Yosemite Museum collections of objectsr and documents include valuable local Indian materials,r which provide a most interesting and convincing story of ther Ah-wah-nee-chees.r
r rr In the field of biology, the Yosemite forests attracted the firstr attention of scientists. Botanists generally agree that in the Bigr Tree, the sugar pine, the yellow pine (ponderosa and Jeffrey),r the red and white firs, and the incense cedar of the Sierra is ther finest and most remarkable group of conifers in the world. Ther Big Tree (Sequoia gigantea), of course, is the most phenomenalr and claims first place, chronologically, in the scientific literature.r In the number of workers concerned with it and in ther quantity of their writings, the Big Tree also holds a respectedr place.r
r rr Among the early writers who dealt with the Big Tree grovesr of the present Yosemite National Park werer Hutchings,r r Whitney,r Asa Gray, Isaac N. Bromley, J. Otis Williams,r Muir,r Bunnell,r andr r Clark.r The latter was among the first to studyr the Sequoia groves of the Yosemite but he did not publishr for nearly half a century after he made his first observations.r Following the early announcements of the existence of ther Tuolumne, Merced, and Mariposa groves, another group ofr botanists and semiprofessional workers concentrated upon ther study of the Big Tree. Walter G. Marshall, Charles Palache,r Paul Shoup, Julius Starke, George Dollar, and W. R. Dudleyr made their contributions at this time, andr r Muirr redoubled hisr initial efforts. After the turn of the century, botanists and forestersr in numbers concentrated upon the Big Tree. Their publicationsr are too numerous to list, but special mention mustr be made of the work ofr Willis L. Jepson,r George B. Sudworth,r r r r Ellsworth Huntington, James G. Shirley, L. E Cook, and ther continued inspired writing ofr Muir.r The sequoia, oldest livingr thing, is now and always will be a fascinating subject for scientificr and philosophical study. Until a thorough investigationr of the ecology of a grove of giant sequoias has been made andr its result published, there remains a practical need for researchr in this realm.r
r rr Botanical studies other than investigations of the Big Treer were limited in the pioneer days to the work of John Muir.r In the early 1900’s, Harvey M. and Carlotta C. Hall did importantr work in the present national park, and their publishedr works continue to be dependable guides for present-day botanists.r Enid Michael, long a resident in Yosemite Valley, wasr untiring in her field studies, and her many published articlesr about the flora of the park are of importance to all investigators.r Carl W. Sharsmith has studied intensively in the highr mountain “gardens” of the park. Mary C. Tresidder publishedr a very useful guide to the trees of the park in 1932. Emil F. Ernstr has studied the forests and forest enemies in the parkr for many years. Willis L. Jepson’s work constitutes a substantialr basis for all botanical studies in Yosemite as it is for otherr parts of the state, and the investigations of LeRoy Abrams,r 1911, have been important to subsequent workers. The studiesr of George M. Wright, during his residence in the park in ther 1920’s, resulted in significant papers on life zones in Yosemiter and were the groundwork for the later important studies byr him and his associates in founding and conducting broad biologicalr surveys in the entire national park system—an undertakingr briefly described later in this chapter.r
r rr The Yosemite fauna elicited no particular attention fromr pioneers other than James Capen Adams, who in 1884 capturedr grizzly bears for exhibit purposes, andr John Muir, whor applied himself to certain bird and mammal studies quite asr enthusiastically as he did to botany and geology. In the openingr r r r years of the twentieth century, a few bird students, amongr them W. Otto Emerson, W. K. Fisher, Virginia Garland, C. A.r Keeler, M. S. Ray, and O. Widman, published on their observationsr in the present park, but not until Joseph Grinnellr initiated his publication program in 1911 did Yosemite zoologyr find reasonable representation in scientific journals. Grinnellr and his staff from ther Museum of Vertebrate Zoology of the University of Californiar began formal field work in Yosemiter in the fall of 1914 and continued through 1920 in making ar complete survey of the vertebrate natural history of the region.r Grinnell, Tracy I. Storer, Walter P. Taylor, Joseph Dixon,r Charles L. Camp, Gordon F. Ferris, Charles D. Holliger, andr Donald D. McLean participated in the work. The results ofr this survey, Grinnell and Storer’sr Animal Life in the Yosemite,r published by the University of California Press in 1924, constitutesr an exhaustive and most useful reference on the subject.r David Starr Jordan considered it the best original workr on life histories published in the West. This study, like ther geological work by Matthes, was endorsed and facilitated byr the Sierra Club.r
r rr After the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology paved the way,r wildlife studies in the park increased, and Yosemite foundr better representation in the biological literature. Most ofr the workers who had participated in Grinnell’s survey publishedr extensively. Others who made notable contributions arer Charles W. and Enid Michael, Barton W. Evermann, A. B. Howell,r Vernon Bailey, J. M. Miller, John A. Comstock, E. O. Essig,r and Edwin C. Van Dyke.r
r rr After 1920, when the National Park Service instituted ar park-naturalist program in Yosemite, the regular and seasonalr employees of the Naturalist Department made many contributionsr to the scientific knowledge of the park. Among ther permanent park naturalists who conducted biological investigationsr arer Ansel F. Hall,r Carl P. Russell, George M. Wright,r r r r C. A. Harwell, C. C. Presnall, A. E. Borell, M. E. Beatty, Jamesr Cole, C. Frank Brockman, M. V. Walker, Harry Parker, andr Russell Grater. D. D. McLean, who participated in the Grinnellr Survey, also made further contributions as a regular employeer of the Naturalist Department. Dr. H. C. Bryant, firstr as a seasonal employee and later as a regular member of ther Director’s staff, published extensively on his studies in the parkr and was influential in starting many other workers on investigationsr of biological nature.r
r rr One important development in biological research in Yosemiter had an influence on the wildlife program of the entirer National Park Service. George M. Wright, ranger and Assistantr Park Naturalist, during the late 1920’s sensed the dangersr of the uncoordinated wildlife policy of the National Park Servicer and determined that there should be better administrativer understanding of the normal biotic complex of Yosemite andr all other national parks. In 1929, Wright was placed on a fieldr status in order that he might organize a central unit of wildlifer investigators to survey the wildlife problems of the Nationalr Park Service and recommend a broad Service-wide policy ofr wildlife management. Joseph S. Dixon and Ben W. Thompsonr were employed by Wright to assist him in this undertaking.r Their work during the next several years was conducted fromr headquarters in Berkeley, California, and from Washington,r D. C. It demonstrated that a Wildlife Division was an importantr administrative adjunct in the Director’s organization. Inr 1936, Wright lost his life while in the course of his significantr work. Such progress had been made in establishing policy andr procedure that the program persisted. It holds a strategic placer in the regular administrative set-up of the Director’s office andr reaches all field areas with its guidance.r
r rr The bibliography of scientific work done in Yosemite Nationalr Park since World War I is too extensive to be includedr here. A goodly part of it is contained inr r r r A Bibliography ofr National Parks and Monuments West of the Mississippi River.r References to research projects published since the appearancer of that bibliography appear in the publications of the Yosemiter Natural History Association, particularly the monthly journal,r r Yosemite Nature Notes.r Especially significant items dealingr with wildlife policy and trends in park management are includedr in the references appended to the present volume. Inr brief, it may be said that the wildlife problems of Yosemiter National Park are now fairly well defined and that administrativer and technical practices are so aligned as to assure preservationr of the faunal and floral characteristics of the reservationr within the concept of “public enjoyment and use” of today andr tomorrow. As Director of the National Park Service, Newtonr B. Drury has said, “It is national park policy to display wildlifer in a natural manner. The normal habits of animals are interferedr with as little as possible, and artificial management isr refrained from except for protective purposes and then onlyr as a last resort. The pauperizing or domestication of the nativer animals is avoided, as is also the herding or feeding of theser animals to provide ‘shows.’ Under this policy the park is a wildlifer refuge but it is neither a circus or a zoo.”r
r rr The wildlife of Yosemite, like its forests and wildflower displays,r its renowned cliffs and waterfalls, its glacial pavements,r its meadows and valleys, and its spectacular mountaintops, hasr enthralled its lay visitors quite as it has galvanized the scientistr and technician. When Stephen T. Mather assumed the directorshipr of the national parks in 1916, he determined at ther outset to provide park visitors with the information on ther natural and historic features which they wanted. Educationalr endeavors were made a part of his projected program evenr before a staff had been organized. Surveys of outdoor educationalr methods and nature teaching as practiced in severalr European countries had been made in 1915 by C. M. Goethe,r and his reports of the success of this work had inspired a fewr r r r Americans to establish similar educational work in the Unitedr States. The California Fish and Game Commission in 1918r sent its educational director, Dr. Harold C. Bryant, into ther Sierra to reach vacationists with the message of the conservationist.r Yosemite National Park and the playground areasr about Lake Tahoe witnessed the introduction of “nature guiding”r several years prior to the inclusion of the work in ther broad field program of the National Park Service.r
r rr In 1920, Mr. Mather and some of his friends joined in supportingr this nature teaching in Yosemite, and Dr. Bryant andr Dr. Loye Holmes Miller were employed to lay the foundationr of what has continued to be an important part of the programr of the Branch of Natural History.r
r rr A personal letter from Dr. Miller, University of California,r Los Angeles, provides a firsthand account of his pioneering inr interpretive work in Yosemite:r
r rr I think John Muir was the first Yosemite guide (seer A Son of the Wilderness,r by L. M. Wolfe). We smaller folk could only strive tor emulate. My first experience in the valley involved a six-weekr period during the summer of 1917 under private auspices. Professorr M. L. Maclellan (geology) and I (biology) held a summer school forr public school teachers who were largely from Long Beach, California.r The work consisted of lectures and field trips about the valleyr floor and the trails to the rim and to Merced Lake.r
r rr During the summer of 1919 I was doing similar work at Tahoer when Mr. Stephen T. Mather came through on a flying trip. Her asked me to confer with him on the subject of Nature Guide workr in Yosemite and urged me to come at once to the valley and beginr the work there. It was late in the season and I had spent most ofr my free time for the year. Furthermore, it seemed to me thatr there should be some preparation made for the work, includingr a measure of publicity in the park guidebooks. I therefore urgedr Mr. Mather to wait until 1920 for the inauguration of an officialr Nature Guide service. He agreed and we parted with a definite planr for 1920.r
r rr In the meantime Mr. C. M. Goethe of Sacramento had becomer interested in the movement and had engaged Dr. H. C. Bryantr r r r in a tour of certain summer camps. I also urged the appointmentr of Dr. Bryant for the Yosemite work in 1920. My University scheduler was such that Dr. Bryant was able to report earlier than I. Her therefore gave the first official work in the valley. We cooperatedr in it after my arrival. I knew that I could not devote many summersr to the service because of other duties as an officer of the University.r Furthermore, it seemed to me that Dr. Bryant was just the man tor carry on to a larger field of development. I therefore urged repeatedlyr that he make a full-time activity of the movement. This endr was ultimately realized. Bryant made all the official reports of ourr work (with my endorsement). Those reports are in the files of ther Superintendent’s office in the park.r
r rr During the month of January, 1921, Dr. Bryant and I gave ourr services to the cause in an extended lecture tour through the easternr and middle western states. This effort was underwritten personallyr by Mr. Mather. The purpose and theme in this series wasr to publicize and stimulate interest in the natural history valuesr of the park and the appreciation of nature through an increasedr knowledge and understanding.r
r rr I returned to Yosemite in the summer of 1921—again in cooperationr with Dr. Bryant. The movement seemed to be well on its feetr so I withdrew at the end of that summer. We were appointed asr temporary rangers with duties informally defined. Each morningr a field trip was conducted by one or the other of us alternately, ther alternate holding office hours for questions by visitors. (Questionsr averaged 45 to the hour). In the afternoon a children’s field classr was held. In the evening we alternated with talks at Camp Curryr and the “Old Village” near Sentinel Bridge. They were busy daysr but interest was good. Week ends were devoted to overnight tripsr by one or the other of us.r
r rr At the urgent request of Mr. Ansel Hall I initiated the same typer of work at Crater Lake Park, Oregon, in 1926 and continued it inr 1927. My son, Alden Miller, was associated with me and two students,r Miss Leigh Marian Larson and Miss Ruth Randall, acted asr volunteers in charge of wildflower display. Reports of this workr should be in the Crater Lake files. During the summer we were visitedr by Mr. Mather, by Dr. John C. Merriam, and by Mr. John D.r Rockefeller and family. The interest of these men was immediater and finally bore material fruit in improvement of Crater Lake Parkr and the whole Nature Guide movement in America. Just as hadr r r r been the case at Yosemite, we were appointed as rangers. My dutiesr at Crater Lake included nature guiding, directing traffic, comfortingr crying babies, rounding up stray dogs, and a wild drive downr the mountain to Medford Hospital with a writhing appendicitisr patient and his distracted wife in the rear seat.r
r rr I have not been officially connected with the work since but haver sent many graduate students to the Yosemite Field School withr what I hope was the right point of view. My own retirement at 70r years leaves me out of the picture except in an advisory capacity.r Just last week in conference with my associates here, I urged Parkr Naturalist activity as one of the public services for which our departmentr should train young men. So you see that my interests arer still with the movement. It is a field of infinite horizon.r
r rr Sincerely yours, r
r rr Loye Millerr
r rr March 18, 1916.r
r rr Dr. H. C. Bryant, the coworker referred to by Dr. Miller, becamer Assistant Director of the National Park Service in charger of interpretive work for all national parks. To Dr. Miller’s statementr may be added Bryant’s words about interpretive work:r
r rr In the spring of 1921, through a coöperative arrangement withr the California Fish and Game Commission, the National Parkr Service instituted a free nature-guide service in Yosemite. The aimr of this service was to furnish useful information regarding trees,r wildflowers, birds, and mammals, and their conservation, and tor stimulate interest in the scientific interpretation of natural phenomena.r The means used to attain this aim were: trips afield; formalr lectures, illustrated with lantern slides or motion pictures;r ten-minute campfire talks, given alternately at the main resorts ofr the park; a stated office hour when questions regarding the naturalr history of the park could be answered; a library of dependabler reference works, and a flower show where the commoner wildflowers,r properly labeled, were displayed. Occasionally, visitingr scientists helped by giving lectures.r
r rr About this same time, a Yosemite ranger, Ansel F. Hall, conceivedr the idea of establishing a Yosemite museum to serve asr a public contact center and general headquarters for the interpretiver r r r program. Superintendent W. B. Lewis endorsed ther plan, and the old Chris Jorgenson artists’ studio was made intor a temporary museum; Hall was placed in charge as permanentr educational officer. The same year found a museum programr under way in Yellowstone National Park, where Milton P.r Skinner was made park naturalist, and in Mesa Verde Nationalr Park, where Superintendent Jesse Nusbaum organized a museumr to care for the archeological treasures brought to lightr among the ruins of prehistoric man’s abode. Glacier, Grandr Canyon, Mount Rainier, Rocky Mountain, Sequoia, and Zionr quickly organized educational programs similar to those establishedr by Yosemite and Yellowstone, and in 1923 Hall, withr headquarters in Berkeley, was designated to coordinate andr direct the interpretive work in all parks. Working with Dr.r Frank R. Oastler, Hall in 1924 organized a comprehensiver plan of educational activities and defined the objectives of ther naturalist group.r
r rr In 1924, C. J. Hamlin was president of the American Associationr of Museums. The opportunities opened by nationalr park museums were called to his attention by Hall, and ther American Association of Museums immediately investigatedr the possibilities of launching adequate museum programs inr the parks. In response to recommendations made by the Associationr and the National Park Service, the Laura Spelmanr Rockefeller Memorial made funds available with which tor construct a fireproof museum in Yosemite National Park. This,r one of the first permanent national park museums, became ther natural center around which revolves the educational programr in Yosemite. Even before the Yosemite museum installationsr had been opened to the public, demonstration of the effectivenessr of the institution as headquarters for the educationalr staff and visiting scientists convinced leaders in the Americanr Association of Museums that further effort should be mader to establish a general program of museum work in nationalr r r r parks. Additional funds were obtained from the Laura Spelmanr Rockefeller Memorial, and new museums were built inr Grand Canyon and Yellowstone national parks. Dr. Herman C. Bumpus,r who had guided the museum planning and constructionr in Yosemite, continued as the administrator representingr the association and Rockefeller interests, and Herbertr Maier was architect and field superintendent on the constructionr projects. It was Dr. Bumpus who originated the “focal-pointr museum” idea.r
r rr When the museums of Yosemite, Grand Canyon, and Yellowstoner had demonstrated their value to visitors and staff alike,r they were accepted somewhat as models for future work, andr upon the strength of their success, the Service found it possibler to obtain regular government appropriations with which tor build several additional museums in national parks and monuments.r When P.W.A. funds became available, further impetusr was given to the museum program, and a Museum Division ofr the Service was established in 1935, embracing historic areasr of the East as well as the scenic national parks. It was my privileger to serve as the first head of this unit. The work of ther Museum Division has expanded until there are more than oner hundred small national park and monument museums andr historic-house museums; more are planned for the future.r
r rr In order to stimulate balanced development of interpretiver programs, Ray Lyman Wilbur,. Secretary of the Interior, appointedr a committee of educators under the chairmanship ofr Dr. John C. Merriam to study the broad educational possibilitiesr in national parks (see Wilbur, 1929). In 1929, thisr committee recommended that an educational branch, withr headquarters in Washington, be established in the Service. Itr was further recommended that the committee continue tor function on a permanent basis as an advisory body, “whoser duty it shall be to advise the Director of National Parks onr matters pertinent to educational policy and developments.”r
r r r r rr Dr. Bryant, who since 1920 had served as a summer employeer on the Yosemite educational staff and who had been a memberr of the Committee on Study of Educational Problems in Nationalr Parks, was made head of the new branch on July 1, 1930.r Antedating the establishment of the branch by one year wasr the previously mentioned wildlife survey instituted in nationalr parks by George M. Wright, who began his career in the Nationalr Park Service as a park ranger in Yosemite in 1927.r
r rr Thus it is evident that the pioneer interpretive work doner in Yosemite projected its influence and its personnel intor the wider fields of “nature guiding” and museum programsr throughout the National Park Service. It may be shown, also,r that the educational work done by the Yosemite staff has beenr instrumental in advancing the naturalist programs in stater parks and elsewhere where out-of-door nature teaching is offeredr to the public.6r [r 6See Ralph H. Levis, 1941 and 1945; Robert C. Robinson, 1940.r ]r Some three hundred public areas andr agencies in the United States provide naturalist services modeledr on the Yosemite plan. Only ten per cent of these are in ther National Park System.r
r rr One of the far-reaching influences of the Yosemite naturalistr department is the Yosemite School of Field Natural History,r a summer school for the training of naturalists, where emphasisr is placed on the study of living things in their natural environment.r The school was founded in 1925 by Dr. H. C. Bryantr in answer to a demand for better trained naturalists for ther Yosemite staff. There was need for a training not furnished byr the universities. The California Fish and Game Commissionr cooperated with the National Park Service in starting thisr school program. The staff is composed of park naturalists andr the regular Yosemite ranger-naturalist force, aided by specialistsr from universities and other government bureaus. The lastr week of the field period is spent in making studies at timberline.r
r r r r rr As the name implies, emphasis is placed on field work. Ther work is of university grade, although no university credit isr offered. Graduates of this school are filling positions as naturer guides in parks and summer camps throughout the country.r Many of the naturalist and ranger-naturalist positions in ther National Park Service are held by graduates of this field school.r
r rr The Park Naturalist position in Yosemite National Parkr has been held by Ansel F. Hall, 1922-1923; Carl P. Russell,r 1923-1929; C. A. Harwell, 1929-1940; C. Frank Brockman,r 1941-1946; and now, Donald Edward McHenry. These menr and their assistants have supervised the naturalist activitiesr including the Yosemite Museum program, directed the Yosemiter School of Field Natural History, and the activities of ther Yosemite Natural History Association, including the editingr and publishing ofr r Yosemite Nature Notes.r This last-named organizationr has existed since 1924 as a society cooperating withr the National Park Service in advancing the work of the Yosemiter Naturalist Department. It is the successor of the Yosemiter Museum Association formed by Ansel E. Hall in 1920. Onr April 24, 1925, members of its advisory council and board ofr trustees defined these purposes of the Association:r
r rr These objectives in almost every particular are also the objectivesr of the Naturalist Department of Yosemite Nationalr Park. In 1937 the Congress authorized park naturalists andr other government employees to devote their regular workingr hours to the program of the Yosemite Natural History Associationr and similar “cooperating societies” in national parksr which might be designated by the Secretary of the Interior.r In effect, the Yosemite Natural History Association is an auxiliaryr of the naturalist department. For nearly twenty-fiver years it has adhered to its defined purposes, and the supportr it has given to the interpretive program has furthered researchr in the park, enriched the collections of the Yosemite Museum,r and promoted the dissemination of the Yosemite story.r
r rr The function of the interpreters has been, and their purposer must be, to enrich the mountain experience of the Yosemiter traveler and thereby demonstrate that a national park is farr more than a tourist’s way station. Upon today’s visitor andr his full awareness of national-park values the future of ther national-park concept must depend. A public which, in itsr enjoyment of the parks, comprehends the importance of “ther scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlifer therein,” will insist that they remain unimpaired.r
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r r In the bodyr r of Indian fighters who first entered Yosemiter Valley, there appears to have been but one man who sensedr the possibilities of public good to be derived from the amazingr place just discovered. A year prior to the entry of ther Mariposa Battalion, L. H. Bunnell, in climbing the trail fromr Ridley’s Ferry (Bagby) to Bear Valley, had descri[b]ed in the easternr mountains an immense cliff which, apparently, loomed,r column-like, to the very summit of the range. He lookedr upon the “awe-inspiring sight with wonder and admiration,r and turned from it with reluctance to resume the search forr coveted gold.”r
r rr When, on March 25, 1851, Bunnell stood at Inspirationr Point with other members of Savage’s command and gazedr upon the extravagance of natural wonders, he recognized “ther immensity of rock” which had, the previous year, astonishedr him from afar.r r He writes:r
r rr Haze hung over the valley—light as gossamer—and clouds partiallyr dimmed the higher cliffs and mountains. This obscurity ofr vision but increased the awe with which I beheld it, and as I looked,r a peculiar exalted sensation seemed to fill my whole being, and Ir found my eyes in tears with emotion.r
r rr He withdrew from the trail and stationed himself on a projectingr rock, where he might contemplate all that was spreadr before him. Major Savage, bringing up the rear of the column,r brought him out of his soliloquy in time to join the battalionr in its descent to the floor of the valley.r r r r The party that night discussed the business of naming ther valley as they sat about their first campfire, near the foot ofr Bridalveil Fall.r r Bunnell comments:r
r rr It may appear sentimental, but the coarse jokes of the careless,r and the indifference of the practical, sensibly jarred my more devoutr feelings, while this subject was a matter of general conversation;r as if a sacred subject had been ruthlessly profaned, or ther visible power of Deity disregarded.r
r rr Bunnell’s later discussions with residents of the Mariposar hills and his very tangible evidence in the form of personalr funds expended on the Coulterville trail to Yosemite, indicater that he was the first to strive for public recognition of ther assets available in the new scenic wonderland. Other men ofr the region were understandably slow to develop aesthetic appreciationr for that which only thrilled and produced no gold.r
r rr By 1855 rumor and conjecture regarding the mysteries of ther valley had created sufficient interest among the old residentsr and the many newcomers in the mining camps to prompt fascinationr inr J. M. Hutchingsr and his story when he returned tor Mariposa after his first “scenic banqueting” under Yosemiter walls. With the publication of the Hutchings articles and ther Ayres drawings, curiosity may be said to have become general,r and the trek to the valley was started.r
r rr The entire mountain region was, of course, public domain,r and, though it had not been surveyed, it was generally concededr that preëmption claims could be made upon it. Homesteadersr were establishing themselves in numerous mountainr valleys above the gold region, and such “squatting” was doner with the assent of state and federal officers. It is hardly surprisingr that some local aspirants laid claim to parts of Yosemiter Valley. The company that expected to develop a water projectr in 1855 was apparently the first to attempt to establish rights.r Then came the series of would-be hotel owners, whose activitiesr have been described. James C. Lamon was a mountaineerr r r r who came to Yosemite in 1859 and aided in the building ofr the Cedar Cottage. While so engaged, he established himself inr the upper end of Yosemite Valley and there developed the firstr bona fide homestead by settlement. For many years his log cabinr was a picturesque landmark in the valley, and today two orchardsr near Camp Curry serve as reminders of his pioneering.r
r rr With the advent of the ’sixties California began to recognizer the aesthetic value of some of her mountain features. Ther acclaim of leaders from the East and the expressed wonder ofr notables from abroad played a part in the development of ar state pride in the beauties of Yosemite, and, gradually, it becamer apparent that only poor statesmanship would allow privater claims to affect an area of such world-wide interest.r
r rr On March 28, 1864, Senator John Conness,1r [r 1Mount Conness,r one of the outstanding peaks in the Tuolumne Meadowsr region, was named for Senator John Conness by Clarence King, later first directorr of the United States Geological Survey, but at the time a member ofr the Whitney Survey. King and James T. Gardiner were the first to climb ther peak, making the ascent in 1864. Referring to the mountain,r r King saidr thatr because of its “firm peak with titan strength and brow so square and solid, itr seems altogether natural we should have named it for California’s statesman,r John Conness.”r ]r of California,r introduced in the U. S. Senate a bill to grant to the State ofr California tracts of land embracing the Yosemite Valley andr the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees. On May 17, his bill was reportedr out of committee. On the occasion of the debate whichr followed, Senator Conness entered into the record of Americanr conservation the first evidences of national consciousness ofr park values as we conceive of them today. He started the longr train of legislative acts which have given the United States ther world’s greatest and most successful system of national parks.r It is a fact, of course, that the Senate action of 1864 did notr create a national park but it did give Federal recognition tor the importance of natural reservations in our cultural scheme,r and charged California with the responsibility of preservingr and presenting the natural wonders of the Yosemite.r
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![]() r By J. N. LeConter r Sierra Club Headquarters in Yosemite, 1898r | r
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r Senator Conness explained to the Senate that it was the purposer of his bill “to commit them [Yosemite Valley and the Mariposar Grove of Big Trees] to the care of the authorities of thatr State for their constant preservation, that they may be exposedr to public view, and that they may be used and preserved for ther benefit of mankind. . . . The plan [of preservation] comes fromr gentlemen of fortune, of taste, and of refinement. . . . The billr was prepared by the commissioner of the General Land Office,r who also takes a great interest in the preservation both of ther Yosemite Valley and the Big Trees Grove”2r [r 2Congressional Globe, May 17, 1864, p. 2301.r ]r
r rr The bill was passed by the Senate on May 17, referred to ther House Committee on Public Lands on June 2, debated andr passed by the House on June 29, and signed by President Lincolnr on July 1, 1864. These deliberations, which designatedr the first scenic reservation for free public use, were consummatedr under the stress of waging war.r
r rr In order to eliminate friction and delays in the operation ofr legislative machinery, proponents of the Yosemite bill securedr its passage without recognition of the private claims mader by Yosemite settlers. Lamon, clearly a bona fide homesteader;r Hutchings, who had a short time before the passage of ther act purchased the Upper Hotel property; Black, the owner ofr Black’s Hotel; and Ira Folsom, interested in the Leidig property,r pressed their claims and involved the new state park inr prolonged litigation.r
r rr The State Park Act provided that the Yosemite Grant andr the Mariposa Big Trees should be managed by a board ofr commissioners, of whom the governor of the state was to ber one. On September 28, 1864, three months after the grant wasr made, Governor F. K. Low proclaimed that trespassing uponr the tracts involved must desist. His board of Yosemite commissionersr was appointed in the same proclamation.r
r rr Frederick Law Olmsted, even then an accomplished landscaper r r r r r architect, was made chairman of the board. As Brockmanr (1946, p. 106) has revealed in his article on Olmsted, the chairmanr was also the first administrative officer of the Yosemiter Grant. Olmsted’s statement of 1890 substantiates this fact: “Ir had the honor to be made chairman of the first Yosemite Commission,r and in that capacity to take possession of the Valleyr for the State, to organize and direct the survey of it and tor be the executive of various measures taken to guard the elementsr of its scenery from fires, trespassers and abuse. In ther performance of these duties I visited the Valley frequently,r established a permanent camp in it and virtually acted as itsr Superintendent.”r
r rr Legal acceptance of the gift could not be made until the nextr session of the state legislature. On April 2, 1866, the necessaryr provisions for administration were secured. The board of commissionersr made the best possible selection of a guardian, ther Yosemite pioneer, Galen Clark, and invited the settlers of ther valley to vacate their holdings.r
r rr J. M. Hutchings, as might be expected, wasr wrathy. It isr probable that James Lamon, after eight years of permanentr residence on his land, saw no justice in the act. The otherr claimants held out for what might be in it. Hutchings andr Lamon refused to surrender their property, and a test suit wasr brought against Hutchings, which was decided in his favor.r This was carried to the supreme court of the state and then tor the federal Supreme Court. In these last actions the commissionersr were sustained. That Hutchings and Lamon were deservingr of consideration and remuneration cannot be denied,r but millions of Americans are today indebted to the board ofr commissioners who pursued the case to a settlement favorabler to the people. Private titles of the type held by the Yosemiter Valley settlers would have been disastrous to all administrationr in the years that were to come.r
r rr On the other hand, Hutchings and Lamon were deservingr r r r of certain sympathy. No man had done more than J. M. Hutchingsr to call attention to the fact that the Yosemite was a wonderland,r eminently worthy of the distinction bestowed uponr it by the state. For a decade prior to the creation of the stater park, he had devoted himself to disseminating knowledge onr its “charming realities.” Much of this was done through hisr r California Magaziner and the lithographic reproductions of ther Ayres drawings. Some of it was accomplished with his volume,r Scenes of Wonder,r which ran through several editions. Ther many published testimonials of his worth as guide and informantr while operating his Hutchings House in Yosemite Valleyr indicate that his efforts to engender a public love for the placer were not spared even after his difficulties arose with the state.r And, finally, during the ten-year fight for reimbursement her lectured throughout the country, bringing home to the dwellersr in Eastern cities the fact that a phenomenally beautifulr area in California was worthy of their visit. Some of the manuscriptsr of these Eastern lectures are possessed by the Yosemiter Museum. Their text reveals none of the commercialism andr selfishness with which Hutchings sometimes has been charged.r
r rr The earnest efforts which Hutchings had expended in interestingr the public in Yosemite had not failed to create anr interest in him as well. The court had refused further considerationr of the claims of the settlers, but the state legislature,r influenced by public feeling and the expressed approval ofr the Yosemite commissioners, appropriated $60,000 to compensater the four claimants. Of this Hutchings received $24,000;r Lamon, $12,000; Black, $13,000; Folsom, $6,000, and the remainingr $5,000 was returned to the State Treasury. Because ofr this prolonged litigation, the commissioners did not secure fullr control of the grant until 1875.r
r rr To what extent such troubles would dissipate the best directedr efforts of a board of managers of any business can wellr be imagined. Further difficulties developed when road privilegesr r r r r r were granted. The state legislature failed to sustain ther position of the commissioners in the matter of exclusive rightsr for a road on the north side of the valley, and again a controversyr arose which directed heated criticism upon the managementr of the state park. Public hostility alternated with generalr indifference. The state failed to provide adequate funds withr which to accomplish the important work before the commissioners,r and the lack of a well-defined policy handicapped ther administration to a point of ruin. In 1880 a new law removedr the first board and appointed a new one.r
r rr The next decade saw important developments take placer in the park, but policies adopted were sure to displease someoner or some faction. Criticism still prevailed. Gradually ther seethings of the press brought about the development of intelligentr public interest in Yosemite affairs. Indifference wasr replaced by discriminating attention, and Yosemite administrationr arrived in a new era.r
r rr In these pages not enough has been said about John Muir.r His contributions to the preservation of Yosemite Nationalr Park, to the determination of scientific facts regarding it, andr to public understanding of its offerings place him in the frontr rank of conservationists who have been instrumental in savingr representative parts of the American heritage. The role her played as explorer, researcher, interpreter, and defender ofr the public interests in the Yosemite may well become the subjectr of another book of Muiriana; however, at this juncture, itr is only possible to relate him rather inequitably to the field ofr Yosemite administrative history.r
r rr John Muir arrived in Yosemite for the first time in 1868.r Intent upon making deliberate studies of all that fascinatedr him, he determined to remain a resident of the Yosemite region.r In order to do so, he attached himself to a sheep ranch.r He gave the first winter to work on the foothill ranch and ther next summer to herding in the Yosemite Sierra. With the intimater r r r r r acquaintance so made with sheep and their ways, he wasr destined to create a wave of public interest in Yosemite thatr would eclipse all former attentions and revolutionize the administrativer scheme.r
r rr For eight years after his first Sierra experience, John Muirr rambled over his “Range of Light.” He tarried for some timer in Yosemite Valley and was employed by J. M. Hutchings, atr times, to operate a sawmill, which Muir immortalized merelyr by inhabiting it.r
r rr Some impression of his first employment in Yosemite Valleyr and his early outlook upon the Yosemite scene may be gainedr from these paragraphs of his memoirs published by Badè3r [r 3The Life and Letters of John Muir,r I: 207-108.r ]r “I had the good fortune to obtain employment from Mr.r Hutchings in building a sawmill to cut lumber for cottages,r that he wished to build in the spring, from the fallen pinesr which had been blown down in a violent wind-storm a yearr or two before my arrival. Thus I secured employment for twor years, during all of which time I watched the varying aspectr of the glorious Valley, arrayed in its winter robes; the descentr from the heights of the booming, out-bounding avalanchesr like magnificent waterfalls; the coming and going of the nobler storms; the varying songs of the falls; the growth of frost crystalsr on the rocks and leaves and snow; the sunshine sifting throughr them in rainbow colors; climbing every Sunday to the top ofr the walls for views of the mountains in glorious array along ther summit of the range, etc.r
r rr “I boarded with Mr. Hutchings’ family, but occupied ar cabin that I built for myself near the Hutchings’ winter home.r This cabin, I think, was the handsomest building in the Valley,r and the most useful and convenient for a mountaineer. Fromr the Yosemite Creek, near where it first gathers its beaten watersr at the foot of the fall, I dug a small ditch and brought a streamr into the cabin, entering at one end and flowing out the otherr r r r with just current enough to allow it to sing and warble in low,r sweet tones, delightful at night while I lay in bed. The floorr was made of rough slabs, nicely joined and embedded in ther ground. In the spring the common pteris ferns pushed up betweenr the joints of the slabs, two of which, growing slender liker climbing ferns on account of the subdued light, I trained onr threads up the sides and over my window in front of my writingr desk in an ornamental arch. Dainty little tree frogs occasionallyr climbed the ferns and made fine music in the night, andr common frogs came in with the stream and helped to sing withr the Hylas and the warbling, tinkling water. My bed was suspendedr from the rafters and lined with libocedrus plumes,r altogether forming a delightful home in the glorious Valley atr a cost of only three or four dollars, and I was loath to leave it.”r
r rr When he was not running Hutchings’ mill, he was makingr lonely trips of discovery or guiding visitors above the valleyr walls. Perhaps Muir knew of the use he would make of ther natural history data he was gathering, but few of his associatesr sensed the fact that he would soon make the nation quickenr with new views of Yosemite values.r
r rr He first made his influence felt in the early ’seventies, whenr he began publishing on Yosemite in journals and periodicals.r His material awakened responses everywhere. On February 5,r 1876, he published an article in the Sacramento Record Unionr which was one of the initial steps in his forceful appeal tor America to save the Yosemite high country from the devastationsr of sheep and the incendiary fires of sheepherders.r
r rr It is likely that few who today enjoy the Yosemite Highr Sierra realize that sheep, “hoofed locusts,” were responsible forr the creation of Yosemite National Park. The people of California,r awakened to the danger by the warnings of Muir andr others, attempted to secure an enlargement of the state park.r Selfish local interests frustrated the plan. In 1889, John Muirr allied himself with the Century Magazine, and a plan wasr r r r launched which was designed to arouse a public sentiment thatr could not be shunted. Muir produced ther magic writings,r andr Robert Underwood Johnson, editor of the Century, securedr the support of influential men in the East. On October 1, 1890,r a law was enacted which set aside an area, larger than the presentr park, as “reserved forest lands.” Within this reserve werer the state-controlled Yosemite and Mariposa Grove grants.r
r rr The reactions of residents of the regions adjacent to ther new national park to this legislation was typical of the period.r Citizens of the counties affected could not foresee the comingr of unbroken streams of automobile traffic, which eventuallyr would bring millions of dollars to their small marts of trade.r The thought of losing some thousands of acres of taxable landr caused county seats to seethe with unrest. The local pressr painted pictures of dejected prospects and near ruin. The followingr summary of a lengthy wail from a contemporary paperr reveals the fears that prevailed:r
r rr Let us summarize the result of our analysis. On the one side, wer have 932,600 acres of land taken away from the control and user of the people at large, and of the people of Mariposa, Tuolumne,r Mono, and Fresno counties in particular, for the ostensible purposer of preserving timber, mineral deposits, and natural curiosities orr wonders within said reservation—for whose benefit, the act does notr say, but presumably for the benefit of tourists.r
r rr On the other side, we find: That the avowed object of preservingr forests appears to be only a false pretense to cover up the real objectr of the scheme, whatever it may be—that to preserve mineral depositsr will prevent untold treasures from being employed in industryr and commerce, and prevent the employment of thousands forr many years to come in the exploration of these mineral deposits—r that to preserve natural curiosities and wonders, it is not necessaryr to fling away nearly a million acres of land, when all that is necessaryr can be accomplished by attaching to each wonder as muchr land, as, through natural formation, contributes in any measurer towards its maintenance—that, if on the one hand, these claims arer respected, it will condemn hundreds of American settlers to poverty,r r r r r r if, on the other hand, these claims are bought out, it will entailr an expense of many millions on the country, whilst the claimants,r themselves, will never receive anything like the amount their propertiesr would be worth, in the course of time, if this part of ther country is left to its own development without Government interference,r and all the settlements now existing will be left to fallr into decay and ruin, or will have to be worked by a system of tenantry,r a curse, as contemporary history shows, which ought neverr be allowed to take root in our country.r
r rr The preservation of the full watershed of the Yosemite Valley isr not only a legitimate, but a desirable object; the same holds goodr with the Hetch-Hetchy Valley, or any other grand work of nature.r Every alienation of land, beyond this, is of evil.r
r rr This local feeling resulted in immediate attempts to changer the park boundaries. The first attempt was frustrated largelyr through the efforts of the Sierra Club. This organization camer into existence shortly after Yosemite National Park was createdr and has always been one of the most important agencies thatr have promoted the safety of Yosemite treasures. Its publication,r the Sierra Club Bulletin, which first appeared in 1893, is a richr source of Yosemite history. For twenty-two years John Muirr was the president of the club. His vim in leaping to the defenser of the great natural preserve was no less than had been his vigorr in working for its creation. Muir aided in the preservation ofr national monuments as well. In early May, 1903, Theodorer Roosevelt, then president, visited Yosemite via Raymond andr the Mariposa Grove. Governor George C. Pardee, Benjaminr Ide Wheeler, president of the University of California, andr John Muir were among those who interpreted the scene forr the President. Conservation matters were discussed by Muirr and the legislation which was to become famous as the Antiquitiesr Act of 1906 was given some definition at this time. It wasr truly an important occasion.r
r rr Chief among the Sierra Club defenders of Yosemite whor have carried on since the death of Muir is William E. Colby.r r r r He served forty-four years as secretary of the organization, twor years as president, and is now, as a director, a frequently soughtr source of counsel. He led the club’s summer outings for morer than three decades. Throughout this period Colby has unceasinglyr built the Sierra Club’s prestige in the field of conservation.r For the past six years he has served as a member of ther Yosemite Advisory Board, and has been in close touch withr past and current park problems.r
r rr The failure of the national government to provide fundsr with which to extinguish private claims within the park involvedr the administration in difficulties which are being feltr even yet. By 1904 relations between administrative officers andr the large number of owners of private holdings had becomer so strained that legal action was imperative. Boundary revisionsr were required. Major Hiram M. Chittenden headed the commissionr appointed to investigate possible boundary changes.r Upon the recommendation of this commission large areas onr the east and west were lopped off. In 1906 a tract on the southwestr was cut off, and since that time small changes have beenr rather numerous. Private lands still exist within the park andr constitute an ever-present source of trouble.r
r rr From the first the control of Yosemite National Park hasr been vested in the Secretary of the Interior. Immediately afterr the passage of the act of creation, military units were detailedr to take charge of all national park lands. The state retained itsr plan of administration of the original Yosemite Grant, and sor came about the dual control which for sixteen years coloredr the Yosemite administration with petty misunderstandings andr hindered progress in the maintenance of the entire region.r
r rr Galen Clark’s old ranch (Wawona) became headquarters forr the Acting Superintendent of the federal preserve. From thisr eccentric hub, patrols of cavalrymen were sent into the unboundedr wilderness area of the new preserve. A trail systemr and accurate maps did not exist. One of the first undertakingsr r r r of the early superintendents was to make the rough countryr accessible by horse trail. The topography was studied, and ar good map was prepared. Following the practice established inr Yellowstone National Park, patrolling stations were established,r and the United States Army had the safety of Yosemite’sr fauna and flora fairly within its keeping.r
r rr Since pioneer days, sheep and cattlemen had enjoyed unrestrictedr use of the excellent range which was now forbiddenr them. Naturally they were reluctant to abandon it. Their trespassr was the most formidable threat with which the troopersr were confronted, and concerted, ingenious work was necessaryr to expel the intruders. When the first culprits were taken intor custody, it was found that no law provided for their punishment.r Congress had failed to provide a penalty for the infractionr of park rules. Nothing daunted, the superintendents putr the captured herders under arrest and escorted them across ther most mountainous regions to a far boundary of the park. Therer they were liberated. The herder’s sheep were driven out of ther reserve at another distant point. By the time the herder had locatedr his animals, his losses usually were so great as to representr a more severe punishment than could have been meted out byr the court had the law applied. Several years of this practicer caused neighboring ranchers to keep their animals out of ther forbidden territory.r
r rr Captain Abram Epperson Wood was the first superintendent.r With detachments from the Fourth Cavalry he arrived inr the park on May 19, 1891, and continued in charge until hisr death in 1894. Each year the troopers came in April or May andr withdrew in the fall. During the winter two civilian rangersr attempted to patrol the area. With such inadequate winter protection,r it is small wonder that poachers grew to feel that ther wild life of the reserve was their legitimate prey. It was notr until 1896, in fact, that a determined effort was made to keepr firearms out of the park at any time of the year.r
r r r r rr For twenty-three years the Department of the Interior continuedr to call upon the War Department for assistance in administeringr Yosemite National Park. Eighteen army officersr took their turn at the helm. Some of them assumed leadershipr after some years of Yosemite experience as subordinate officers.r Others were placed in command with no previous service inr the park. Lieutenant (later Colonel) Harry C. Benson andr Major W. W. Forsyth were perhaps the most distinguished ofr the superintendents. Benson was certainly more than a superintendent;r he was an explorer, map maker, trail builder, fishr planter, and nemesis of the sheepmen. Among the subordinater officers and enlisted men a number left their mark by way ofr accomplishments. N. F. McClure and Milton F. Davis are rememberedr for their explorations and excellent map making.r William E. Breeze and W. R. Smedberg worked with McClurer and Benson in stocking the headwaters of the Yosemite riversr with trout. A. Arndt pioneered in exploration of some of ther northern sections of the park. Many others in the militaryr organizations are remembered in place names throughout ther Yosemite High Sierra.r
r rr Yosemite was fortunate in having within its National Parkr Service personnel one man, Gabriel Sovulewski,4r [r 4Gabriel Sovulewski was born in Poland in 1866; he died Nov. 29, 1938. Forr a synopsis of his work and the activities of others in the military administration,r seer r “Administrative Officers of Yosemite,” by C. Frank Brockman,r Yosemite Nature Notes (1944).r ]r who pioneeredr with these army units and who was acting superintendentr of the park in 1908-1909 and again in 1914. For thirty-fiver years Mr. Sovulewski was actively engaged in caring for Yosemite.r An unpublished manuscript on his National Park Servicer experiences is preserved in the Yosemite Museum. Within itr he comments upon the Yosemite work of United States troops.r
r rr National Parks in California, and Yosemite especially, owe muchr to the late Colonel H. C. Benson. No one who has not participatedr in those strenuous years of hard riding and incessant fighting ofr r r r natural and human obstacles can ever realize the need for indomitabler spirit and unselfish devotion to a cause that existed duringr those first years in Yosemite National Park. Sheep and cattle overranr the country. They were owned by men who knew every foot ofr the terrain. We were ordered to eliminate them. There were fewr or no trails, and maps did not exist. Reliable guides were unobtainable,r and we had more than a thousand square miles to cover.r
r rr Officers with detachments set out upon patrols that would keepr them away from our base of supplies for thirty days at a time. Manyr times rations were short, and sixteen to twenty hours of action perr day, covering sixty miles in the saddle was not unusual. Constantr hammering at the offending cattlemen continued for several years,r and at last they were convinced that they must vacate the territoryr set aside for National Park purposes. The would-be poachers andr the entire countryside were taught a moral lesson which still has itsr effect today. Some of the present-day administrative problems arer made easier because of the foundation laid in those first years ofr the park’s existence.r
r rr The duplication of effort and expense which resulted fromr the anomaly of state and federal administration within ther reserve brought about controversies which finally caused manyr Californians to conclude that their Yosemite State Grant ofr 1864 might well be placed in the hands of the federal government,r to be managed by the same officers who controlled ther surrounding national park. The Sierra Club and many civicr organizations took the lead in urging recession. Not a few citizensr felt that the proposed move was an affront to state pride.r This group proved to bean obstacle but was overcome in 1905,r when the state legislature re-ceded to the United States ther Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Big Tree Grove. A formalr acceptance by Congress brought the Yosemite State Park to anr end on August 1, 1906. Major Benson removed military headquartersr from Camp A. E. Wood (Wawona), and Fort Yosemiter came into existence on the site of the present Yosemite Lodge.r
r rr For seven years the administrative organization set up by ther military continued to function. The succeeding superintendentsr r r r found their responsibilities increased considerably. Otherr r national parks were coming into existence, and a national consciencer was beginning to recognize the value of wilderness preserves.r In 1910 the American Civic Association had launchedr a campaign for the creation of a national park bureau. Presidentr Taft favored central administration of the parks, and billsr were introduced creating such a bureau. Major William T.r Littebrant was in command in Yosemite when Dr. Adolph C.r Miller, a civilian, became assistant to Secretary Lane and wasr placed in charge of the national parks. The next year troopsr did not come to Yosemite. Mark Daniels was made superintendent,r and civilian employees undertook the work that had beenr done by the troopers.r
r rr A few civilian rangers had assumed the care of the park eachr winter when troops were withdrawn. Archie O. Leonard hadr been the first of these and he remained in the service whenr the administrative change was made. In 1914 “park rangers”r came into existence under authorization of Secretary Lane.r They patrolled the park as had the troopers, but, unlike ther troopers, they remained in touch with their problems throughoutr the year.r
r rr In 1916 Congress created the National Park Service. Dr.r Miller, in the meantime, had been called to other work, andr Stephen T. Mather, who had followed Dr. Miller as assistantr to the secretary, was made Director of the National Park Service.r He was authorized by law to “promote and regulate ther federal areas known as the national parks, monuments, andr reservations.” Conservation of scenery and wild life of the areasr was declared by Congress to be a fundamental purpose of ther new organization. Mr. Mather’s first undertaking was to balkr exploitation schemes. Unfortunately, Yosemite had alreadyr been raided. In 1913 Congressman John E. Raker had introducedr a bill granting to San Francisco rights to the Hetchr Hetchy as a water reservoir. Secretary Garfield had opened ther r r r way to this move in 1908. In spite of much opposition, ther Raker Bill was passed by the House and Senate and approvedr by President Wilson. Since that time the Hetch Hetchy damr has become a reality and provides all the administrative difficultiesr and troubles that were expected.5r [r 5r r Taylor, Mrs. H. J. “Hetch Hetchy Water Flows into San Francisco.”r Yosemite Nature Notes (1934), pp. 89-91,r Badè, W. F., “The Hetch Hetchy Situation [Editorial],”r Sierra Club Bulletin, 9 (1914): 3, 174.r ]r
r rr Private holdings in Yosemite were rather large even after ther boundary changes of 1905 and 1906 were made. Timber companiesr possessing tracts of choice forest constituted the greatestr menace. Some of these private lands have been bought up, andr others have been exchanged.r
r rr During 1930 much progress was made in the acquisitionr of private holdings in the national park. There were 15,570r acres of land involved, which cost approximately $3,300,000.r Half of the cost of purchasing these lands was defrayed by Johnr D. Rockefeller, Jr., the remainder coming from the fund providedr by Congress for the acquisition of private holdings inr national parks.r
r rr The following statements regarding timber holdings in andr near Yosemite National Park are taken from the Report of ther Director of National Park Service for 1930:r
r rr It is impossible to overestimate the importance of this Yosemiter forest acquisition. It brought into perpetual Government ownershipr the finest remaining stands of sugar-pine timber in the arear and reduced the total area of private holdings in that park to 5,034r acres. This total will be materially reduced when two pending dealsr are consummated. A tract containing 640 acres is now in courser of acquisition with funds contributed by George A. Ball, of Muncie,r Indiana, as is another of about 380 acres, half the funds forr the latter transaction being contributed through the co-operationr of Dr. Don Tresidder, president of the Yosemite Park and Curryr Company.r
r rr Additional timber holdings in the Tuolumne River watershed—r fine stands of sugar and yellow pine—remain in private ownershipr r r r outside the park. One cannot help regretting that they are imperiled,r and it is hoped by all friends of these majestic forests that theyr may yet be saved.r
r rr In order that the beauty of the Big Oak Flat Road may be unimpaired,r arrangements have been made between the Sugar Piner Lumber Co., the Forest Service, the State, and the Park Service tor preserve the roadsides through selective cutting of the larger treesr and careful removal of any trees that are taken out. Particularlyr interesting and valuable stands of timber which should be preservedr untouched will be made the subject of exchanges betweenr the Forest Service and the Sugar Pine Lumber Co.r
r rr This land acquisition program was finally assured of successr in July, 1937, when legislation authorized the Secretary ofr the Interior to acquire the Carl Inn Tract, comprising somer 7,200 acres of magnificent sugar pine forest bordering the westernr boundary of the park. After a year and a half of negotiationsr with the Yosemite Sugar Pine Lumber Company, ownerr of most of the tract, agreement was reached on a price ofr $1,495,500 to be paid by the United States. The purchase wasr consummated early in 1939. Senator William Gibbs McAdoor and Representative John S. McGroarty, both of California,r were the ardent supporters who introduced the bills, S. 1791r and H.R. 5394, in their respective houses.r
r rr Policies regarding the toll roads by which tourists couldr enter the park constituted another perplexing problem withr which the young National Park Service was confronted. Ther routes had been privately constructed and were privatelyr owned and controlled by turnpike companies. Governmentr funds were not available with which to purchase them outright.r One company was persuaded to turn the Wawona Roadr over the the public in exchange for a grant for the exclusiver rights to the route during a certain number of years. The governmentr assumed responsibility for the maintenance of ther road during this period. The owners of the Coulterville Roadr could not be persuaded to agree to such a plan. As a result,r r r r that part of it which is within the park has not been maintainedr and, because of erosion, has fallen into disuse.r
r rr The Tioga Road had been constructed in 1882—1883 by ther Great Sierra Consolidated Silver Mining Company for the purposer of serving the Tioga Mine. The mining venture terminatedr in 1884 after an expenditure of $300,000 had been made.r The road had become impassable during the many years ofr neglect, but it was still the property of private owners whenr the region through which it passes became a national park.r Stephen T. Mather and some of his friends bought it privatelyr and in 1915 turned it over to the federal government. The stater of California purchased the portions of the route which werer outside of the park and extended the road eastward, down Leeviningr Canyon, so giving Yosemite a remarkable high mountainr highway, free from toll, which connects Yosemite Valleyr with the routes of the Mono basin. Tolls were also removedr from the Big Oak Flat route. Every effort was made to put allr recognized routes in the best of condition consistent with governmentr appropriations. Travel to the park grew apace, andr Yosemite had, indeed, entered a new era.r
r rr The first scheme of centralized administration of the nationalr park system was promising in theory but proved faultyr in practice. More than a few difficulties appeared on the parksr horizon. The national preserves were regarded in Washingtonr somewhat as orphans and were not receiving the specializedr attention so necessary for their proper administration. Ther introduction of Mather ideals and methods was required tor bring about coordination.r
r rr The story is told that one day in 1915 Stephen Matherr walked into the office of Secretary Lane and expressed indignationr over the way things were run in Sequoia and Yosemite.r “Steve,” said Lane, “if you don’t like the way those parks arer run, you can run them yourself.”r “Mr. Secretary, I accept the job,” was Mather’s rejoinder.r
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![]() r By J. V. Lloydr r W. B. Lewis and Stephen T. Matherr | r
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![]() r By J. N. LeConter r A Presidential Party at the Grizzly Giantrr Pardee Roosevelt Muir Wheelerr | r
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![]() r By J. N. LeConter r Hetch Hetchy Valley before Inundationr | r
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![]() r By J. N. LeConter r Devils Postpile, Excluded from Yosemite in 1905r | r
r The genial Secretary of the Interior showed him into a littler office and said, “There’s your desk, Steve; now go to work.”r With that Lane went out and closed the door, but presentlyr opened it and said, “By the way, Steve, I forgot to ask what yourr politics are.”r
r rr With such brief preliminaries did Stephen T. Mather assumer directorship of the national parks. He served through the presidentialr administrations of Wilson, Harding, and Coolidge, butr the matter of his politics was never inquired into by any party.r
r rr Stephen Mather was born on the Fourth of July, 1867, in Sanr Francisco. His ancestry traces back to Richard Mather, a Massachusettsr clergyman of the days of the Pilgrim Fathers. Stephenr T. Mather was not a scion of wealth. As a young man, he mader his way through college by selling books. He graduated fromr the University of California in 1887 and for several years wasr a newspaper reporter. Thereafter, he entered the employ ofr the Pacific Coast Borax Company and was identified with ther trade name, “Twenty-Mule Team Borax,” that became wellr known around the world. For ten years he engaged in the productionr of profits for his employers and then organized his ownr company. It was in borax that he built up his business successr and accumulated the fortune which “he later shared so generouslyr with the nation through his investments in scenic beautyr on which the people receive the dividends.”r
r rr For more than twenty-five years Stephen Mather resided inr Chicago, Illinois, but his loyalty to his native state, California,r never waned. He was the leading spirit in the organization ofr the California Society of Illinois and, as its secretary, alwaysr secured donations of a carload of choice California fruits to ber served at the Society’s annual banquets. Mather then saw to itr that these affairs were well written up by the press and telegraphedr throughout the country on the Associated Press wires.r In this publicity the spirit and motives of the present Californians,r Inc., had their birth.r
r r r r rr As might well be expected, Mather was a member of ther Sierra Club and participated in many of its summer outings.r (See Farquhar, 1925, pp. 52-53.) He became acquainted withr national park areas on these trips, and it is said that his idealr of a unified administration of the parks resulted from the intimaciesr so acquired. It was his ambition to weld the parksr into a great system and to make them easily accessible to richr and poor alike.r
r rr At the time Mather undertook his big task, there were thirteenr parks. Some of them were difficult of access and providedr few or no facilities for the accommodation of visitors. Governmentr red tape stood in the way of action in the business ofr park development, but Mather cut the red tape. When governmentr appropriations could not meet the situation, he usuallyr produced “appropriations of his own.” It was such generosityr on his part which gave the Tioga Road to the governmentr and saved large groves of Big Trees in the Sequoia Nationalr Park. In his own office it was necessary for him personally tor employ assistants. Because of the lack of government funds,r he expended twice his own salary in securing the personnelr needed to set his parks machine in operation. The nationalr benefits derived from the early Mather activity in the parksr were recognized by Congress, and that body took new cognizancer of national park matters. Larger appropriations werer made available, and Mather’s plans were put into effect.r For fourteen years he gave of his initiative and strength, asr well as his money. His ideas took material form, and the parkr system came into being as he had planned. His work was recognizedr and appreciated. In 1921 George Washington Universityr bestowed upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Law.r His alma mater, the University of California, conferred ther same degree in 1924. President W. W. Campbell on that occasionr characterized him as follows:r
r rr “Stephen Tyng Mather, mountaineer and statesman; loverr r r r of Nature and his fellow-men; with generous and farseeingr wisdom he has made accessible for a multitude of Americansr their great heritage of snow-capped mountains, of glaciers andr streams and falls, of stately forests and quiet meadows.”r In 1926 he was awarded the gold medal of the Nationalr Institute of Social Sciences for his service to the nation inr national parks development. The American Scenic and Historicalr Preservation Society awarded the Pugsley gold medalr in recognition of his national and state park work, and he wasr made an honorary member of the American Society of Landscaper Architects.6r [r 6See Report of the Secretary of the Interior, 1933, pp. 158-159, for account ofr the Stephen T. Mather Appreciation and the dedication of Mather Memorialr Plaques, presented by that organization.r ]r
r rr In the fall of 1928, Mather’s health failed. He suffered ar stroke of paralysis which forced his retirement from publicr service in January, 1929. For more than a year he fought to regainr his strength but in January, 1930, he was suddenly strickenr and died quickly. Indeed, “the world is much the poorer for hisr passing, as it is much the richer for his having lived.”r
r rr One of Mather’s first acts as Director of the National Parkr Service was to appoint a strong man to the superintendencyr of Yosemite National Park. On the staff of the Geological Surveyr was an engineer of distinction, Washington B. (“Dusty”)r Lewis. Mather appointed him to the Yosemite task and her became the first park superintendent on March 3, 1916. Ther Yosemite problems were complicated and trying from the beginning.r The park was, even then, attracting more visitors thanr had been provided for. Public demands kept steadily ahead ofr facilities that could be made available through governmentr appropriations. For more than twelve years W. B. Lewis expendedr his energy and ingenuity in bringing the great parkr through its formative stages.r
r rr Under his superintendency practically all the innovationsr which today characterize the public service of a national parkr r r r were instituted in Yosemite. Motor buses replaced horse-drawnr stages; tolls were eliminated on all approach roads; the operatingr companies were reorganized and adequate tourist occommodationsr were provided at Glacier Point and Yosemiter Valley; a modern school was provided for local children; ther housing for park employees was improved; the best of electricalr service was made available; the park road and trail systemr was enlarged greatly and improved upon; the construction ofr an all-year highway up the canyon of the Merced made ther park accessible to a degree hardly dreamed of; provision of all-yearr park facilities met the demands of winter visitors; a newr administrative center was developed; the Yosemite High Sierrar Camps were opened; and an information service was devised.r The ranger force was so organized as to make for public respectr of national park ideals and personnel. The interpretive work,r which makes for understanding of park phenomena and appreciationr of park policies, was initiated in Yosemite and has takenr a place of importance in the organization of the entire nationalr park system.r
r rr In short, the present-day Yosemite came into existence underr the hands of Lewis and his assistants. How well the demandsr of the period were met and future requirements provided forr is evidenced by the continued healthy growth and present successr of the Yosemite administrative scheme.r
r rr In the fall of 1927 Lewis was stricken by a heart attack. Her later returned to his office, but in September, 1928, it becamer apparent that he should no longer subject himself to the strainr of work at the high altitude of Yosemite Valley. He removedr to West Virginia, and there partly regained his strength. Directorr Mather then sought his services as Assistant Director of ther National Parks, and in that capacity he functioned until ther summer of 1930. His physical strength, however, failed to keepr pace with his ambitious spirit, and after another attack, her died at his home in a Washington suburb on August 28, 1930.r
r r r r rr Soon after Lewis accepted his Washington appointment,r Director Mather experienced the breakdown which broughtr about his resignation as Director. There was but one man tor be thought of in connection with filling the difficult position.r That man was Horace M. Albright, who had been Mather’sr right-hand man since the National Park Service had existed.r A native of Inyo County, California, and a graduate of the Universityr of California, he became an assistant attorney in ther Department of the Interior, Washington, D. C., in order tor advance his learning, and there took a keen interest in plansr then developing for the establishment of the National Parkr Service. He was detailed to work in connection with park problemsr and had already become familiar with them when Stephenr T. Mather assumed their directorship. The Secretary of ther Interior assigned him to Mather as a legal aid, which positionr quickly grew in responsibilities as the two men becamer acquainted. From the first, Albright was the Director’s chiefr reliance, and when the National Park Service was organized inr 1916, he was made Assistant Director. In 1917, 1918, and 1919r he aided in the creation of Mount McKinley, Grand Canyon,r Acadia,7r [r 7r At that time called Lafayette National Park and since re-named when it wasr extended to include a portion of the mainland.r ]r and Zion national parks. At twenty-nine, he was mader superintendent of the largest of all parks, Yellowstone, andr in addition shouldered the job of Field Director of the Parkr Service. In that capacity he compiled budgets, presented themr to congress, and handled general administrative problems inr the West.r
r rr Outstanding among his special interests in park problemsr was his vigorous participation in programs launched to conserver and reëstablish the native fauna of national parks. Her gained an intimate understanding of the needs of Americanr wild life and actively engaged in attempts to supply its wants.r He allied himself with such organizations as the National Geographic Society,r r r r the American Game Protective Association,r the American Forestry Association, the American Bison Society,r the American Society of Mammalogists, the Boone andr Crockett Club, the Save-the-Redwoods League, and the Sierrar Club. He became an expressive factor in American conservationr and in his own domain, the national parks, practiced whatr he preached. He recognized the importance of ecological studyr of the great wilderness areas, with the safety of which he wasr charged, and pressed into service a special investigator to workr on Yellowstone mammal problems. Later he seized upon ther opportunity to extend this research to all parks. In keepingr with his desire to assemble scientific data for the preservationr of fauna and flora, he had an ambition to popularize the naturalr sciences as exemplified in the varied park wonderlands. Her engaged actively in the development of plans for the museum,r lecture, and guide service which today distinguishes the nationalr parks as educational centers as well as pleasure grounds.r
r rr Upon the resignation of Director Mather in 1929, it was butr natural that Albright should succeed him. He entered into ther Yosemite administrative scheme by actual residence in ther park and study of its problems. From the Yosemite personnelr he drew new executives for other parks, field officers for ther service at large, and administrative assistants for his Washingtonr office. He turned to Crater Lake National Park to obtainr a superintendent who would succeed Lewis. Colonel C. G.r Thomson had distinguished himself as the chief executiver of Crater Lake and in 1929 was called to Yosemite.r
r rr Some of the developments in Yosemite for which Thomsonr was largely responsible included the construction and improvementsr of the Wawona Road and Tunnel, improvement of ther Glacier Point Road, commencement of the Big Oak Flat Roadr and Tioga Road realignment, the installation of improvedr water systems at the Mariposa Big Trees, Wawona, and Tuolumner Meadows, construction of the new Government Utilityr r r r Building, and many smaller projects. Such important landr acquisition programs as the Wawona Basin project and ther Carl Inn sugar pine addition constituted heavy administrativer responsibilities imposed upon the superintendent’s office duringr his regime. The establishment of “emergency programs,”r C.C.C., C.W.A., W.P.A., and P.W.A., greatly expanded the developmentalr activities in the park after 1938, and the inclusionr of the Devils Postpile National Monument and Joshua Treer National Monument in the Yosemite administrative schemer increased the duties of the superintendent.r
r rr In 1937, Colonel Thomson was stricken by a heart ailmentr and died in the Lewis Memorial Hospital on March 23. Inr eulogy, Frank A. Kittredge said:r
r rr “Colonel Thomson has, through his dynamic personalityr and energy and the wealth of his experience, been an influencer and inspiration not only to the thousands of Park visitors withr whom he has had personal contact, but especially to the Parkr Service itself. His keen sense of the fitness and desire for ther harmony of things in the national parks has made itself felt inr the design of every road, every structure, and every physicalr development in the Park. He recognized the importance andr practicability of restricting and harmonizing necessary roadsr and structures into a natural blending of the surroundings. Her has set a standard of beauty and symmetry in constructionr which has been carried beyond the limits of Yosemite into ther entire National Park system. The harmony of the necessaryr man-made developments and the unspoiled beauty of the Yosemiter Valley attest to the Colonel’s injection of his refinementr of thought and forceful personality, into even the everlastingr granite itself of the Yosemite he loved so well.”r
r rr In June, 1937, Lawrence Campbell Merriam, a native Californian,r was transferred to the superintendency of Yosemiter National Park. He had received a degree in forestry from ther University of California in 1921, had become a forest engineer,r r r r and had later gone into emergency conservation work in ther state parks throughout the United States. Upon the death ofr Thomson, Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes appointedr Merriam Senior Conservationist in the National Park Servicer and designated him Acting Superintendent of Yosemite.r
r rr During his four years as the chief executive of the park her renewed the service’s efforts to restore the natural appearancer of the valley, and modified the master plan to provide suitabler areas for the operators’ utilities.r
r rr In August, 1941, Merriam became Regional Director of Regionr Two, National Park Service, with headquarters at Omaha,r Nebraska. Frank A. Kittredge succeeded him in Yosemite.r
r rr During World War I, Kittredge served as an officer in ther Army Corps of Engineers and saw service in France. Afterward,r while with the Bureau of Public Roads, he was identifiedr with park work; he made the location survey of ther Going-to-the-Sun Highway in Glacier National Park, did the first roadr engineering in Hawaii National Park, and devoted his attentionr to national park road matters handled by the Bureau.r
r rr In 1927, Kittredge was appointed chief engineer of ther National Park Service and continued in that capacity for tenr years, when he was made Regional Director, Region Four, ar position involving supervision over Park Service programs inr Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Nevada, and Utah;r Glacier National Park in Montana; and the territories ofr Alaska and Hawaii. In August, 1940, he was made Superintendentr of Grand Canyon National Park, from which position her was transferred in 1941 to the chief executive position in Yosemiter National Park. In all this varied experience with ther scenic masterpieces of the national park system, Frank Kittredger maintained a sincerity of purpose in safeguarding ther natural and historic values of the parks.r
r rr As was true of Mather and Albright, succeeding directorsr of the National Park Service have taken personal interest andr r r r active part in the management of Yosemite National Park. Onr July 17, 1933, Arno B. Cammerer, formerly Associate Director,r succeeded Albright in the Washington post. During his incumbency,r 1933-1940, the national park system increased from 128r areas to 204 units, and in addition to regular appropriations,r nearly 200 million dollars was expended by the Service inr connection with the programs of the Civilian Conservationr Corps, the Public Works Administration, and the Emergencyr Relief Appropriation acts. Under Cammerer’s directorship,r five C.C.C. camps were established in Yosemite National Park.r With the help of C.C.C., C.W.A., and P.W.A., many managementr and construction projects in the park were advanced farr ahead of regular schedule. The Wawona Road tunnel projectr was completed, and notable progress was made in constructingr the Tioga and Big Oak Flat roads on modern standards. Winterr use of the park increased mightily, and the Yosemite Parkr and Curry Company developed the Badger Pass ski center inr accordance with Service plans.r
r rr Because of failing health, Gammerer resigned as Director inr 1940, and Newton B. Drury, a Californian and a member ofr the Yosemite Advisory Board, was appointed to the positionr on June 19, 1940. Since 1919, Drury had been a leader inr the movement to preserve distinctive areas for park purposes.r As executive head of the Save-the-Redwoods League, he hadr become a nationally recognized authority on park and conservationr affairs and was intimately acquainted with the problemsr of Yosemite National Park through personal study. Ther normal problems of the park and of the Service, generally, werer greatly complicated by the circumstances resulting from Worldr War II, and the years 1942-1945 were probably the most criticalr in the history of national parks. But in spite of pressurer exerted by production interests and those who sought to capitalizer on the park’s assets under the guise of “war necessity,”r the natural values of Yosemite were held inviolate. And it isr r r r to the everlasting credit of Director Drury and his staff andr associates in central offices and the field that during the yearsr of all-out warfare serious inroads were nowhere made uponr national park values.r
r rr Each year, more than a half million people benefit by ther great park’s offerings, and each year witnesses new demands forr expansion of public utilities provided by the operators and ther Government. To meet these demands and at the same timer guarantee “benefit and enjoyment” of Yosemite values forr future generations of visitors is one of the most exacting tasksr engaged in by public servants anywhere.r
r rr One hundred fourteen years have elapsed since the explorers inr Joseph Walker’s party first made their way to some point on ther north rim of Yosemite Valley and beheld a tremendous scener beneath them. It is to be hoped that the Yosemite visitor todayr will have his enjoyment of Yosemite National Park somehowr enhanced by the recorded story of the human events during ther past century, particularly by the story of the human effort thatr made Yosemite accessible to him, but not too accessible.r
r rr Yosemite, like other national parks, has its master plan.r Upon it is set down in rather definite form the conceptionr of the park staff of needs for physical improvements. This prescriptionr is reviewed by technicians and executives in centralr offices and made to delimit the maximum development necessaryr to meet the requirements of staff and public. The masterr plan also contains an analysis of the inspirational and recreationalr experiences which attract the multitude of visitors to ther park. As might be expected this analysis of Yosemite’s offeringsr points to the fact that one of the notable values of the reservationr is found in its capacity to stimulate pride in and understandingr of the heritage of natural beauty preserved within ther park’s boundaries. Another important value is indicated inr r r r the capacity of the park to serve as a repository of scientificr treasures. In this last-named role as “museum of the out-of-doors,”r Yosemite National Park reasonably may be expected tor become increasingly important as the less protected areas ofr the Sierra Nevada are more and more encroached upon byr exploiters. The exploiters are not always concerned with livestock,r minerals, or timber. The aggressiveness of those whor cater to recreation seekers—even of the recreation seekers themselves—constitutesr a force to be reckoned with, and this groupr particularly lays siege to the structure of National Park Servicer conservatism.r
r rr It is well that the visitor to this and other national parks extendr his ken. We know something of what has happened sincer 1833. But what will have happened to the Yosemite region byr the year 2033 A.D., two hundred years after white man’s firstr glimpse of the valley? Will the men of great enterprise haver built “ladders touching the sky, changing the face of the universer and the very color of the stars?” Or will there still ber a remnant of mountain sanctuary, where the handiwork ofr today’s and tomorrow’s visitors will be as hard to discern asr Joe Walker’s footsteps are to trace?r
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r rr Yosemite > Library >r 100 Years in Yosemite >r Chronology >rr r
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r r rr Editor’s note:r Documents section in the appendices is from ther first edition, published 1931 by Stanford University.r It was omitted in the second edition published in 1947—dea.r
r rr
I. EVENTS LEADING TO THE MARIPOSA INDIAN WARr
r
Letter from Adam Johnston, United States Sub-Agent, to L. Lea, Commissionerr
of Indian Affairs. Dated March 7, 1851. Published in Senate Executive Documentr
No. 4, Special Session, 1851.r
r
II. PEACE TREATY MADE WITH INDIANS OTHER THAN YOSEMITES,r
APRIL 29, 1851r
r
Thirty-second Congress, First Session, “Message from the President of the Unitedr
States Communicating Eighteen Treaties Made with Indians in California,”r
Washington, 1905.r
r
III. DEPOSITIONS REGARDING OPENING EVENTS IN THE MARIPOSAr
INDIAN WARr
r
Claim of J. D. Savage for remuneration of losses sustained through Indianr
depredations. Published in Senate Executive Document No. 4, Special Session,r
1851.r
r
IV. MUSTER ROLL OF VOLUNTEERS IN INDIAN WARr
r
Muster Roll of Mariposa Battalion. From Elliott’s History of Fresno County, 1881.r
r
V. SAVAGE’S ENTRY INTO YOSEMITE VALLEYr
r
A letter from “M,” dated April 22, 1851, and published in the Daily Altar
California, April 23, 1851.r
r
VI. BOLING’S CAPTURE OF TENAYAr
r
Boling’s letter of May 15, 1851, published in Daily Alta California, June 12, 1851.r
r
VII. BOLING’S CAPTURE OF THE YOSEMITESr
r
r Boling’s letter of May 29, 1851, published in Daily Alta California, June 14, 1851.r
r rr
VIII. CERTIFICATE OF DISBANDMENT, MARIPOSA BATTALION,r
JUNE 29, 1851r
r
From Elliott’s History of Fresno County, 1881.r
r
IX. VIOLATION OF THE PEACE TREATYr
r
Item in Daily Alta California, August 12, 1852.r
r
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r ADAM JOHNSTON TO HON. L. LEA, COMMISSIONER OF INDIANr AFFAIRS, WASHINGTON CITY1r
r rr 1Senate Executive Document No. 4,r Special Session, 1851r
r rr
Mariposa, Californiar
r
March 7, 1851r
r SIR: Since my last communication to the department I have spent most of my timer among the Indian tribes of the San Joaquin valley and those located on the tributariesr of that river, along the western side of the Sierra Nevada.r
r rr On my return from a tour through the valley of the Sacramento, I received informationr that the Indians of the San Joaquin valley were exhibiting feelings of discontent,r and occasionally committing depredations on the persons and property of ther whites. The mining region was threatened, and fears were entertained that seriousr consequences would ensue if something was not immediately done to quiet ther Indians, and put a stop to their thefts, which were becoming daily more frequent andr daring. I was solicited to go to that part of the country at the earliest possible day. Itr was thought that a few presents and fair promises might quiet them for a time—atr least until I could communicate with the department and obtain instructions for futurer action. I was then without funds, and thought the circumstances would justify me inr drawing for a small amount, and accordingly on the 15th day of November, 1850, Ir negotiated a draft on the Department of the Interior for the sum of eight hundred dollars.r A few days were occupied in selecting and purchasing proper articles for presentsr and in making other necessary arrangements, previous to leaving for theirr location. On the 21st of November I left San Francisco intending to push as rapidly asr possible to the camp of James D. Savage, situated in the mountains, on the headwatersr of the Mariposa. Mr. Savage has been for some years with the Indians ofr California, speaks the language of several tribes fluently, and possesses a powerful influencer over them. I therefore viewed his camp as the most favorable location for effectingr my purpose. and especially for obtaining facilities in opening a communicationr with the wild Indians of the mountains. Difficulty in obtaining transportation fromr Stockton to Mariposa delayed me in reaching his camp until the first of December.r Mr. Savage was then at another camp or trading post which he had recently establishedr yet further in the mountains, on a river or stream called the Fresno.r
r rr I remained at his camp on the Mariposa for a few days; but, as he did not return, Ir procured an Indian guide and proceeded to the Fresno, where I found him in ther midst of numerous wild and rather war-like Indians. The Indians in that region arer quite numerous and rather war-like, quite fine looking, especially the “Chowchille” andr “Chook-chancy” tribes. The most of them are wild, though they have among themr r many who have been educated at the missions, and who have fled from their real orr supposed oppressors to the mountains. These speak the Spanish language as well asr their native tongue, and have intermarried with the wild tribes. Many of the tribes arer therefore in a rather doubtful state—rather inclined toward barbarism, than to cherishr such ideas of civilization as they may have acquired. This may be said of all the tribesr inhabiting the western side of the Sierra Nevada, along the whole valley of the Sanr Joaquin.r
r rr Mr. Savage has done much to open communication with the Indians of California,r and to keep them on terms of friendship with the Americans. He had often told themr before I reached Mariposa, of the Great Father at Washington; that he had sent a manr to see them, who would talk with them and make them a few presents. They werer therefore expecting me for some time before I reached them. On my arrival on ther Fresno the Indians there seemed greatly gratified, and dispatched couriers to the otherr tribes announcing the fact that I had reached them. I remained on the Fresno severalr days during which time I had various interviews with the chiefs, braves, and men ofr authority among their respective tribes, the most powerful of which is the Chouchille.r In an interview with the chief of that tribe on one occasion, he said to me:r
r rr “This is our country; why do the Americans come here? They are good and brave,r but they come upon the land of my people. What do they intend to do? I want tor know, and must know, right now.”r
r rr I was not exactly prepared for so imperious a demand, but made such explanationsr as seemed to satisfy his majesty. After some time he said,r
r rr “Heretofore my people did not permit any stranger to pass over our country or stopr in it, except Mr. Savage—he made us many presents;” and he added, “If you will maker us presents, too, you may remain in our country awhile.”r
r rr I endeavored to explain my mission; told him that the Great Father had sent me tor talk with them, and to make them some presents as a token of his friendship and regardr for them, but that they must not expect many presents at this time.r
r rr At the close of our talk the chiefs seemed fully satisfied, and assured me that theirr people should not steal or commit any depredations on the Americans. At the samer time, they told me they should not control others. I set Christmas day as the time forr a general meeting; and as my presents were limited, it was my intention to procurer some beef cattle and make a feast for them.r
r rr I left Fresno with the prospect of at least being able to arrest hostilities until ther commissioners (of whose appointment I had then heard) should arrive. In the meantimer I visited the rancherias or villages, of other surrounding tribes. They all professedr great friendship for the Americans, when at the same time they contemplatedr hostilities, as I had before been secretly informed. I of course conferred with them inr such manner as seemed to me best calculated to arrest their designs. My efforts, however,r were of no avail, as there was doubtless a general understanding among the variousr tribes that they should commence a predatory war, at an appointed time, all alongr the valley of the San Joaquin, if not along the entire base of the Sierra Nevada, fromr r the northern to the southern boundary of the State. As an evidence of this, murdersr and robberies were committed simultaneously at various points.r
r rr The first serious depredations committed in this region were on the Fresno, and inr the very camp which I had but a few days before left. On the 17th of December aboutr five hundred Indians assembled at the camp on the Fresno, and murdered Mr.r Savage’s clerk and two other men—one alone escaping, through the efforts of ther chief. I was then at the Mariposa. Soon after hearing of this outbreak we also discoveredr that all of the Indians in that vicinity had suddenly disappeared. Every dayr brought news of thefts and murders in various parts of the valley. This establishedr beyond doubt the fact that a general hostility existed. I had obtained information thatr the Indians declared open war upon the whites, and every day’s report confirmed ther fact.r
r rr On the 20th day of December I left the Mariposa, with thirty-five men to bury ther murdered men on the Fresno, and, if possible, to punish the Indians. We expected tor meet them there, not only in considerable numbers, but to some extent fortified. Ourr force being small, we thought it necessary to take them by surprise. In order to do so,r we must travel all night, which we did, and reached the Fresno about daylight, butr found no Indians there. The destruction of property, however, and the bodies of ther dead before us, filled with arrows, presented a horrible scene. We immediately proceededr to inter the remains of the deceased. Our force being small, we concluded notr to pursue the Indians further into the mountains, but to return that evening on ourr way back to Mariposa. This determination was perhaps fortunate for us, as I haver since learned the Indians were not far distant, knew of our arrival, and intended to attackr us that night, had we remained on the ground.r
r rr On reaching Mariposa we learned that most of the Indians in the valley had hurriedlyr taken their women and children to the mountains. This is always looked uponr as a sure indication of hostilities.r
r rr Knowing the meager force of the United States troops here and having no authorityr to call upon them, I immediately repaired to the seat of government to ask aid fromr the State.r
r rr My communication to the governor (a copy of which I herewith transmit) was laidr before the legislature, and that body acted as promptly as possible in furnishing aidr and protection to the mining region of this country. Two hundred volunteers, underr authority of the State, are at this time encamped within a few miles of this place. Theyr are ordered by the governor to await the arrival of the commissioners, who desire tor make an effort for peace before opening the campaign. I have been in company withr the commissioners for the last few days, during which time we met several of the morer friendly Indians, of the few who yet remain in the valley. Some of them have been inducedr to go to the mountains for the purpose of inducing the wild tribes to meet ther commissioners near this point. I fear, however, even if they can be induced to comer in, which I doubt, no good can be accomplished with the hostile Indians until they arer severely dealt with. In the first place, they are entirely ignorant as to the strength ofr r the Americans. So rapidly have the whites emigrated into this country, that but few ofr the mountain Indians have any idea of their number. They see the miners amongr them, and believe the whites have moved their camps from the old camping groundsr upon their own. Others who know something of the numbers in various towns andr cities here, look upon San Francisco, Sacramento, and the United States, as about ther same size. The commissioners entertained some hopes of effecting a peace, but I amr satisfied that nothing can be done, for some time to come, with many of the mountainr tribes. They are now in the valleys and cations of the mountains, living on animalsr and provisions plundered from the whites and if not subdued before the snows leaver the Sierra Nevada, they will doubtless give the government much trouble, and in allr probability a protracted war.r
r rr Again: if a treaty could be effected, my opinion is, it will not be respected by eitherr Indians or Americans. The Indians are notoriously treacherous and thievish, andr doubtless will continue their depredations. On the other hand, many of the whites inr this region have lost either property or friends by the Indians, and openly declare theyr will shoot down any and all Indians they meet with, whether a treaty be made or not.r
r rr There is one way, and one alone, by which peace can be maintained between ther whites and the Indians here; and that is, by establishing a line of small fortificationsr along the valley of the San Joaquin. Let the Indian agent of such district reside at ar post of this kind, and punish the white man who murders an Indian, as promptly as anr Indian who would commit the same crime. In my opinion, about five posts of thisr kind, with from ten to twenty soldiers and a few extra stands of arms, would be sufficientr to maintain order and peace throughout this border. Some such regulation,r under the present state of society here, is in my opinion indispensable.r
r rr I have obtained some of the Indian language of the San Joaquin valley, and otherr matters of interest, which I will transmit with the present mail.r
r rr I have the honor to remain, your most obedient servant, &c.r
r rr ADAM JOHNSTONr
r r rr A TREATY OF PEACE AND FRIENDSHIP, APRIL 29, 1851r
r rr 2Thirty-second Congress, First Session,r “Message from the President of the United Statesr Communicating Eighteen Treaties Made with Indians in California,” Washington, 1905, pp. 1-69. Readr June 7, 1852, and, with the documents and treaties, referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs, andr ordered to be printed in confidence for the use of the Senate; injunction of secrecy removed Januaryr 18, 1905; ordered reprinted January 19, 1905.r
r rr Made and concluded at Camp Barbour, on the San Joaquin River, California, betweenr Redick McKee, George W. Barbour, and O. M. Woozencraft, commissionersr thereto especially appointed on the part of the United States, and the undersignedr r chiefs, captains, and head men of the tribes or bands of Indians now in council at thisr camp, known as the Howechees, Chookchances, Chowchillas, Pohoneechees, andr Nookchoos, which five tribes or bands acknowledge Naiyakqua as their principalr chief; also the Pitoatchees, Cansons, Toomnas, Tallinches, and Poskesas, which fiver tribes or bands acknowledge Tomquit as their principal chief; also the Wachaets,r Itachees, Choenemnees, Chokimenas, Wewahches, and Notonotos, which six tribes orr bands acknowledge Pasqual as their principal chief.r
r rr ARTICLE 1.—The said tribes or bands acknowledge themselves jointly and severally,r under the exclusive jurisdiction, authority, and protection of the United States,r and hereby bind themselves to refrain hereafter from the commission of all crimes ofr hostility or aggression toward the Government or citizens thereof, and to live on termsr of peace and friendship among themselves and all other Indian tribes, which are now,r or may hereafter come, under the protection of the United States.r
r rr ART. 2—Lest the peace and friendship hereby established between the Unitedr States and the said tribes should be interrupted by the misconduct of individuals, it isr expressly agreed that for injuries on either side no private revenge or retaliation shallr take place or be attempted; that instead thereof complaint shall be made by the partyr aggrieved to the other, through the Indian Agent of the United States in their district,r whose duty it shall be to investigate, and if practicable, to adjust the difficulty; or inr case of acts of violence being committed upon the person or property of a citizen ofr the United States, by an Indian or Indians. belonging to, or harbored by, either of saidr tribes or bands, the party or parties charged with the commission of the crime, shallr be promptly delivered up to the civil authorities of the State of California for trial; andr in case the crime has been committed by a citizen or citizens of the United States,r upon the person or property of an Indian or Indians of either of said tribes, the agentr shall take all proper measures to bring the offender or offenders to trial in the samer way.r
r rr INDIANS QUITCLAIM THEIR LANDSr
r rr ART. 3—The said tribes or bands here by jointly and severally relinquish and foreverr quitclaim to the United States all the right, title, claim, or interest of any kind,r they or either of them have, or ever had, to lands or soil in California.r
r rr ART. 4—To promote the improvement of said tribes or bands, it is hereby stipulatedr and agreed, that the following district of country in the State of California shall be,r and is hereby set apart forever for the sole use and occupancy of the aforesaid tribesr of Indians, to wit: Beginning at a point in the middle of the Chowchilla River, near anr old Indian rancheria, called Tahaleel, and immediately at the junction of the first twor mainforks of said river, in the foot-hills, running thence in a straight line in a southwesterlyr direction to the top of the point of the Table Mountains, on the San Joaquinr River, being the first high hill or mountain above and adjoining the valley in which ther camp known as Camp Barbour is established, on the southside of the San Joaquinr River; continuing thence a straight line in the same southwesterly direction to ther r eastern base of what is known as the Line or Lost Mountain, on the south side ofr King’s River; continuing thence in a line in the same direction to the middle of ther Cowier River, generally known as the first of the Four-creeks; thence down the middler of said stream to a point fifteen miles distant, in a straight line from where the firstr line strikes it; thence back to the middle of the Chowchilla River, to a point fifteenr miles distant, in a straight line from where the first line strikes it; thence back to ther middle of the Chowchilla River, to a point fifteen miles distant in a straight line fromr the starting point as aforesaid, on said river, the said line from the Cowier River, orr first of the Four-creeks, to be so run as to cross King’s, San Joaquin, and Fresnor Rivers, at the distance of fifteen miles in a straight line from where the first-mentionedr line herein crosses each one of said rivers, and from where the last-mentioned liner strikes the Chowchilla River, up the middle of said stream to the beginning. To haver and to hold the said district of country, for the sole use and occupancy of said Indianr tribes forever. Provided, that there is reserved to the Government of the United States,r the right of way over any portion of said territory, and the right to establish and maintainr any military post or posts, public buildings, school-houses, houses for agents,r teachers, and such others as they may deem necessary for their use or the protectionr of the Indians; and provided further that said tribes of Indians, or any portion ofr them, shall at all times have the privilege of the country east of the aforesaid districtr and between the waters of the Chowchilla and Cowier Rivers, or first of the Four-creeks,r to the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, to hunt, and to gather fruit,r acorns, etc., but in no event are they, or any of them to remove or settle their familiesr beyond the limits of the first described district or boundary of lands, without the permissionr of the Government of the United States through their duly authorized agent,r and also that the said tribes shall never sell or dispose of the right or claim to any partr thereof, except to the United States; nor shall they ever lease to, or permit, white menr to settle, work or trade on any part thereof, without the written permission of ther Indian Agent for the district; and it is also expressly understood that the Mono or wildr portion of the tribes herein provided for, which are still out in the mountains, shall,r when they come in, be incorporated with their respective bands, and receive a fair andr equal interest in the lands and provisions hereinafter stipulated to be furnished for ther whole reservation; and the tribes above named pledge themselves to use their influencer and best exertions to bring in and settle the said Monos at the earliest possibler day; and when the Yosemite tribe comes in, they shall in like manner be associatedr with the tribes or bands under the authority of Naiyakqua.r
r rr ART. 5—To aid the said tribes or bands in their subsistence while removing to, andr making their settlement on, said reservation, the United States, in addition to the numerousr and valuable presents made to them at this council, will furnish them, free ofr charge, 500 head of beef cattle, to average in weight 500 pounds, and 260 sacks ofr flour, 100 pounds each, during each of the years 1851 and 1852, to be divided amongr them by the agent, according to their respective numbers.r
r rr ART. 6—As early as convenient, after the ratification of this treaty by ther President and Senate, in consideration of the premises, and with a sincere desire tor encourage said tribes in acquiring the arts and habits of civilized life, the Unitedr States will also furnish them with the following articles to be divided among them byr the agent according to their respective numbers and wants, during each of the twor years succeeding the said ratification, viz:r
r rr Two pairs strong pantaloons and two red flannel shirts for each man and boy; oner linsey gown for each woman and girl; 3,000 yards calico and 3,000 yards brown sheetings;r 30 pounds Scotch thread; 6 dozen pairs scissors, assorted; 1 gross thimbles and 5r needles, assorted; one 2 1/2 pt. Mackinaw blanket for each man and woman over 15r years of age; 3,000 pounds iron and 800 pounds steel. And in like manner in the firstr year for the permanent use of the said tribes and as their joint property, viz: 75 broodr mares and 3 stallions; 150 milch cows and 3 bulls; 12 yoke of work cattle, with yokes,r chains, etc.; 12 work mules and horses; 30 plows (10 large and 20 small); 30 sets plowr harness for horses or mules; seeds of all proper kinds for planting and sowing; 100r chopping axes; 100 hatchets, 300 mattocks or picks; 300 garden or corn hoes, 100r spades; 15 grindstones; 3 United States flags (one for each principal chief).r
r rr The stock enumerated above and the product thereof shall be marked or brandedr with such letters as will at all times designate the same to be the property of the saidr tribes, and no part or portion thereof shall be killed, exchanged, sold, or otherwiser parted with, without the consent and direction of the agent.r
r rr ART. 7.—The United States will also employ and settle among said tribes, at orr near their town or settlement, one practical farmer, who shall act as superintendent, orr director of agricultural operations, to reside at some central point and to have two assistants,r also of practical knowledge and industrious habits; one carpenter, or workerr in wood, to direct and aid in the construction of houses, repairing floors, etc.; oner blacksmith, to reside at some central point; three principal school-teachers, and asr many assistant teachers as the President may deem proper, to instruct said tribes inr reading, writing, etc.; and in the domestic arts of sewing, house-keeping, etc., uponr the manual labor system; all the above-named workmen and teachers to be maintainedr and paid by the United States, for the period of five years and as long thereafter as ther President may deem advisable; the United States will also erect suitable school-houses,r shops, and dwellings for the accommodation of the school-teachers and mechanicsr above specified, and for the protection of the public property.r
r rr These articles to be binding on the contracting parties when ratified and confirmedr by the President and Senate of the United States.r
r rr In testimony whereof the parties have hereunto signed their names and fixed theirr seals this 29th day of April, Anno Domini 1851.r
r rr Signed and sealed and delivered, after being fully explained in presence ofr
r rr
JOHN McKEE, Secretaryr
r JOHN HAMILTON, Interpreterr r ADAM JOHNSTON, Agentr r r C. D. KEYS, Capt. 3d Art’y, Escortr r W. S. KING, Ass’t Surg. U.S.A.r r I. H. LANDRAM, Lieut. 3d Art’yr r H. J. G. GIGSON, 2nd Lieut. 3dArt’yr r N. H. M. LEAN, Lieut. 2nd Inf’tr r T. H. A. MARSr |
r (Signed), REDICK MCKEE, G. W. BARBOUR, O. M. WOOZENCROFTr
r rr For and in behalf of the Howechais—Nai-yak-qua, No-cheel, Chal-wak-chee, Por-sa,r Po-qui.r
rr For and in behalf of the Chookchaney—Co-tum-si, Tim-oh, Sa-wa-lui, A-chat-a-wa,r Mi-e-wal.r
rr For an in behalf of the Chowchillas—Po-ho-leel, E-keen-o, Kay-o-ya, A-pem-shee,r Cho-no-hal-ma.r
rr For and in behalf of the Pohonoeeches—Po-tol, Chee-ko, Mooch-ca-te, Ho-has-see,r Cow-wal.r
rr For and in behalf of the Nookchoos—Pan-wach-ee, Ket-ta, Mullu-ee, Taw-wich,r Wal-lin.r
rr For and in behalf of the Pitcachees—Tom-quit, Ya-ko-wal, Too-tro-mi, Cho-lul,r Ne-sa-plo.r
rr For and in behalf of the Capoos —Domingo Perez, Tom-mas, Jose Antonio.r
rr For and in behalf of the Toomaneh—Hat-chu-too, Tap-pa, Po-sha.r
rr For and in behalf of the Tallinchy—Cho-kate, Pal-lo-koosh, How-il-me-na, So-kuch.r
rr For and in behalf of the Poskesas—Ko-shish, Ko-itch, Cop-pi, Wo-wal.r
rr For and in behalf of the Wachahets—Pasqual, Wa-keen, Jose Antonio.r
rr For and in behalf of the Itaches—Wa-too, A-por-trai, To-hai-chee.r
rr For and in behalf of the Choenemnes—Wau-toi-ki, Ho-let-tee, Ta-ween.r
rr For and in behalf of the Chokimenas—Ko-heel, Tra-ta-it-se, Woh-ton.r
rr For and in behalf of the Notohotos—Pasqual.r
rr For and in behalf of the Narmelches — Pasqual.r
rr The above Indian names are signed by an “X,” his mark.r
r r rr ADAM JOHNSTON, UNITED STATES SUB-AGENT FOR THE VALLEY OFr SAN JOAQUIN, TO COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS3r
r rr 3Senate Executive Document No. 4, Special Session, 1851.r
r rr
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIAr
r
December 3, 1851r
r SIR: In accordance with the laws and regulations in regard to “depredations ofr Indians on the property of white persons,” I herewith transmit a claim of Major Jamesr D. Savage for remuneration. The facts set forth in the application are known to me tor be true. I was near to the place at the time the murders and robbery were committedr among the Indians residing on the Little Mariposa. On hearing of this outbreak onr the Fresno, I immediately repaired to the spot, where I found the bodies of the murderedr men and had them interred. The house was stripped of everything valuable,r and safe broken open and robbed of its contents. Major Savage had applied to mer some time previous for a license to trade with those Indians. I did not then give himr formal license, but gave him permission to go on and erect his trading-house inr Fresno, and to trade with the Indians until I could visit that part of the country. Ir therefore supposed he was “lawfully within the Indian country.” I had only reachedr the neighborhood at the time of the outbreak and was visiting the Indians on the Littler Mariposa. On this occurrence all the Indians of that region fled to the mountains, andr a predatory war was the result. Since treaties have been entered into in that region, Ir have inquired of the Indians engaged in the robbery in regard to the cause. They acknowledger the act, but say they were “hungry, and their heads got bad.” I submit ther claim for consideration and directions.r
r rr Respectfully, your obedient servant,r
r rr
ADAM JOHNSTONr
r
United States Sub-Agent for the Valley of the San Joaquinr
r JAMES D. SAVAGE TO ADAM JOHNSTON,4 UNITED STATES SUB-AGENT,r VALLEY OF SAN JOAQUINr
r rr 4Ibid.r
r rr October, 1851r
r rr
To ADAM JOHNSTON,r
r
U. S. Indian Agent, Valley of San Joaquin:r
r The undersigned respectfully represents to you that on or about the 6th day ofr r October, A. D. 1850, after obtaining your consent to erect a trading-house on ther headwaters of the Fresno river, for the purpose of trading with the Indians on saidr stream, I have erected a house for my goods, and a corral for my cattle, and continuedr to do business on said stream until about the 17th day of December, A. D., 1850,r when the Chouchilla, Chookchuney, and Pohuniche tribes or bands of Indians broker out, killing my clerk, Mr. Greely, a Mr. Stiffner, and Mr. James Kennedy, and robbedr my store of all goods, broke open my iron safe and abstracted a large amount ofr money and valuable papers, and destroyed all of my furniture and property.r
r rr The losses sustained by me were as follows:r
r rrr rr
rr Goods and provisions actually on hand, which
r were taken and destroyed by the Indians$13,000 r Money in my safe 5,000 r Iron safe 150 r Two riding-mules, at $150 each 300 r Twelve head of work-oxen 900 r Two fine horses 300 r One house, furniture and fixtures 1,000 r Two canvas tents and fixtures 500 r At the same time at my tent on the Little Mariposa,
r sixteen mules, at $100 each1,600 r r Forty head of beef cattle, at $60 each 2,400 r r ——— r Making in all the sum of 25,150
r r The undersigned further represents that all of the above-named property was takenr by force, with an intent to steal, and that the property was appropriated by the saidr Indians to their own use.r
r rr JAMES D. SAVAGEr
r rr I, James D. Savage, being duly sworn, do solemnly aver that all of the matters andr things set forth in the foregoing statement are true, and that neither myself, representative,r attorney, nor agent, has violated the provisions of the law by seeking or attemptingr to obtain private satisfaction or revenge in the premises.r
r rr J. D. SAVAGEr
r rr Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 21st day of October, A. D. 1851.r
r rr
ADAM JOHNSTON,r
r
United Stater Sub-Agent, Valley of the San Joaquinr
r I, Anthony Brown, do solemnly swear in the presence of Almighty God, that I wasr at the house of James D. Savage, on the Fresno river, on or about the 17th day ofr December, A. D. 1850, when the Indians of the Chouchilla, Chook-chuney, andr Pohuniche tribes or bands commenced the robbery and massacre as above stated byr James D. Savage; that Mr. Greely, Mr. Stiffner, and Mr. Kennedy were killed by saidr Indians in my presence, and that I narrowly escaped with my life after having my armr broken, my head fractured, and being elsewhere hurt; that the attack was unprovoked,r and the property was taken by force, with an intent to steal, or be otherwise maliciouslyr destroyed; that all of the matters and things set forth in the statement of Mr.r James D. Savage are true in every particular.r
r rr A. S. BROWNr
r rr Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 21st day of October, 1851.r
r rr
ADAM JOHNSTON,r
r
United States Sub-Indian Agentr
r I, William H. Hays, being duly sworn, depose and say: That I was at the house ofr James D. Savage, on the Little Mariposa, about the 17th day of December, A. D.r 1850, and know that the forty head of beef cattle and nine mules mentioned in ther claim of James D. Savage were stolen by the Indians, as stated by him. Deponent furtherr states that he was familiar with the business of Mr. James D. Savage, and hasr been at his store, on the Fresno, before the robbery and massacre alluded to above;r that he is satisfied that the attack and robbery were unprovoked, and that the goodsr were taken by force, with an intent to steal, and that his property was maliciously destroyedr by the Indians.r
r rr WILLIAM H. HAYSr
r rr Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 21st day of October, A. D. 1851.r
r rr
ADAM JOHNSTON,r
r
U. S. Sub-Indian Agent, Valley of San Joaquinr
r MUSTER ROLL, MARIPOSA BATTALION5r
r rr 5From Elliott’s History of Fresno County, 1881.r
r rr Muster Roll of a Volunteer Battalion under the command of Major James D. Savage,r mustered into the service of the State of California by James Burney, Sheriffr of Mariposa, pursuant to an order from his excellency, the Governor of the State ofr California, bearing date January 24, 1851, at Aqua Frio, February 10, 1851:r
r r1. James D. Savage, Major | 5. Francis Laumiester, Quartermaster and Commissary |
2. M. B. Lewis, Adjutant | 6. Theodore Wilson, Quartermaster Sergeant |
3. A. Brunston, Sergeant | 7. Vincent Haylix, Guide |
4. Robert E. Russell, Sergeant-Major |
r COMPANY Ar
r rr
1. Kuykendall, John I., Captain, 36, Harris County, Texasr
2. Scott, John I., First Lieutenant, 30, Clark County, Alabamar
3. Rodgers, Thomas T., Second Lieutenant, 46, Red River County, Texasr
4. Smith, Elisha M., Second Brevet, 25, Steuben County, NewYorkr
5. Hector, M. Forbz, Ordnance Sergeant, 40, Monterey, Californiar
6. Aldrich, Julius, Private, 24, Southwich, Massachusettsr
7. Bell, George, Private, 26, Camdon County, Massachusettsr
8. Blanchard, Aaron, Private, 29, Calais, Vermontr
9. Brison, James, Private, 21, Boston, Massachusettsr
10. Brundidge, V. D., Private, 21, Steuben County, New Yorkr
11. Burnham, H., Privater
12. Barrett, Joseph, Private, 20, New York Cityr
13. Burgess, Joseph, Private, 34, Erie County, New Yorkr
14. Criper, Henry, Private, 34, St. Louis, Missourir
15. Crookshank, Wm. T., Private, 28, Troy, New Yorkr
16. Cheoiles, Henry, Private, 27, New York Cityr
17. Dudley, Wm., Private, 34, City of Yorkr
18. Davis, Walter L., Private, 28, District of James Town [Jamestown], U.C.r
19. Ellis, John, Private, 23, Boston, Massachusettsr
20. Fulton, Francis, Private, 21r
21. Folsome, Daniel, Private, 21, Norfolk County, Massachusettsr
22. Freeman, Wm. F., Private, 21, Charles Town, Massachusettsr
23. French, Clent, Private, 25, Steuben County, New Yorkr
24. Fearon, Samuel, Private, 23, New York Cityr
25. Green, Wm., Private, 29, Covington, Rhode Islandr
26. Gidian, Charles, Private, 23, Philadelphia (a black boy)r
r
27. Gosmer, Joseph, Private, 29, St. Louis, Missourir
28. Hugh, Martin, Private, 25, Neward [Newark], New Jerseyr
29. Hill, Richard, Private, 32, Australiar
30. Hill, R. E., Private, 32, Australiar
31. Huffman, Henry A., Private, 25, Clark County, Ohior
32. Hunter, Bob, Private, 38, Lion [Leon] County, Texasr
33. Herman, John, Private, 30, Philadelphiar
34. Hazelrig, Charles, Private, 20, Genesee, Iowar
35. Hunter, William C., Private, 26, St. Louis, Missourir
36. Isham, Claburn, Private, 30, Faning [Fannin] County, Texasr
37. James, John, Private, 29, St. Landre Parish, Louisianar
38. Leach, Lewis (Dr.), Private, 28, St. Louis, Missourir
39. Leander, Joseph, Private, 25, Albany, New Yorkr
40. Luker, Wm., Privater
41. Lewis, Samuel H., Private, 22, Jasper County, Texasr
42. Loyd, Sim M., Private, 30, Leon County, Texasr
43. McSlay, Andrew, Private, 38, Harris County, Texasr
44. McKey, Thomas, Private, 28, New Orleans, Louisianar
45. McFadden, O. P., Private, 24, Cass County, Texasr
46. Myers, Charles P., Private, 26, Monmouth, New Jerseyr
47. Milhouse, Gustavis, Private, 25, Santa Barbara, Californiar
48. Miller, R. F., Private, 18, Lamar County, Texasr
49. McKenzie, David, Private, 21, Travis County, Texasr
50. McCloud, Wm., Privater
51. O’Donel, Joseph, Private, 30, Californiar
52. Pilkington, Mathew, Private, 34, Buffalo, New Yorkr
53. Puples, A. H., Private, 28, Cado [Caddo] Parish, Louisianar
54. Potter, James W., Private, 32, Hanson, Mainer
55. Petchford, Washington, Private, 19, Holms [Holmes] County, Mississippir
56. Robertson, W. W., Private, 25, Cass County, Texasr
57. Rheem, Charles W., Private, Carlisle, Pennsylvaniar
58. Riley, John S., Private, 30, Franklin, Mississippir
59. Stone, Samuel S., Private, 22, Lexington, Missourir
60. Seybola, Conrad, Private, 23, Newton, Texasr
61. Selar, John, Private, 28, Natchez, Mississippir
62. Smith, Hyram C., Private, 18, Genesee, New Yorkr
63. Stone, John E., Private, 19, Henderson County, Kentuckyr
64. Small, Wm. B., Private, 32, Boston, Massachusettsr
65. Still, Vendell, Private, 28, New Orleans, Louisianar
66. Sutton, John D., 34, [Lawrence] County, Ohior
67. Thomas, Isaac P., Private, 25, Dallas County, Texasr
68. Wilson, Robert, Private, 26, New Orleans, Louisianar
r
69. Wright, Wm., Private, 28, Morgan County, Illinoisr
70. Westcott, Varnum, Private, 25, Jefferson County, New Yorkr
r COMPANY Br
r rr
1. Bowling [Boling], John, Captainr
2. Chandler, Reuben T., First Lieutenantr
3. Gilbert, Thomas J., Second Lieutenantr
4. Hancock, Thomas J., Second Brevetr
5. Hawkins, John J., First Sergeantr
6. Gray, James, First Corporal. All the time.r
7. Adams, Edward S., Second Corporal. All the time.r
8. Allen, Joseph A., Privater
9. Anderson, Philip, Privater
10. Bradly, Thomas N., Privater
11. Black, Norman, Privater
12. Black, John C., Privater
13. Burnell, Lafayette H., Privater
[Editor’s note: Lafayette H. Bunnell—dea]r
r
14. Brooks, Israel H., Third Corporal. All the time.r
15. Brown, Wm. P., Privater
16. Blakey, Everett C., Privater
17. Berdon, Joseph S., Privater
18. Chambers, James H., Privater
19. Crenshaw, George H., Privater
20. Crenshaw, Wm. A., Privater
21. Cameron, Alexander M., Third Sergeant. All the time.r
22. Clark, Francis B., Private. Place taken by R. McKee Mar. 20th.r
23. Chase, George, Privater
24. Drinkwater, Nelson, Privater
25. Davis, Wm. H., Privater
26. Edmunson, John C., Privater
27. Fermon, Edward, Privater
28. Flanegan, Patrick, Privater
29. Folsome, Joseph B., Privater
30. Ford, George M., Privater
31. Fisher, Wm. P., Privater
32. Fairchilds, John, Privater
33. Gordon, Ennis B., Second Sergeant. All the time.r
34. Graham, Jesse J., Private. A. D. Fireball [Firebaugh] substituted Mar. 10th.r
35. Gray, Augustus A., Privater
36. Hill, Pembleton, Private. Place taken by G. W. Camronr
37. Howard, Wm. H., Private [Editor’s note: William H. Howard—dea]r
38. Hall, Robert L., Private. Time served out by P. Husseryr
r
39. Houghton, Edward W., Privater
40. Hale, Johnson B., Privater
41. Hunt, John L., Privater
42. Hayes, Wm H., Privater
43. Kerr, John C., Privater
44. Kerney, James, Privater
45. Lendrum, George, Privater
46. Lyles, Isaac, Privater
47. Lloyd, George W., Privater
48. Lustor, Sterling H., Privater
49. Lowring, James, Private. Time served out by Clint French.r
50. McKenney, Andrew, Privater
51. McKenney, James M., Privater
52. McGarrah, James, Privater
53. Miller, John I., Privater
54. Morris, Thomas, Privater
55. Mallard, Charles W., Private. Time served out by Joseph Young.r
56. Nolin, Joseph, Privater
57. O’Neill, John, Privater
58. Peirpont, Daniel L., Privater
59. Perry, Willis C., Privater
60. Roundtree, Wm., A., Privater
61. Rankin, John I., Privater
62. Rainbolt, Peter A., Privater
63. Roane, James H., Fourth Corporalr
64. Stracy, Alpha H., Privater
65. Slaughter, Edward J., Privater
66. Spencer, Champion H., Privater
67. Starkey, Jesse S., Privater
68. Shaw, John B., Privater
69. Stone, Thomas H., Privater
70. Shepherd, Joseph, Private. (Feb. 10th)r
71. Tannihill, Benjamin H., Fourth Sergeantr
72. Thompson, Robert H., Privater
r COMPANY Cr
r rr
1. Dill, William, Captain, 30, Texasr
2. Ferrell, Hugh W., First Lieutenant, 21, Beauford [Beaufort] District, Southr
Carolinar
3. Russell, F. W., Second Lieutenant, 22, Fulton, Missourir
4. Fletcher, Crawford, Second Brevet, 26, Jackson, Mississippir
5. Bishop, S. A., First Sergeant, 25, Halloway [Callaway] County, Missourir
r
6. Taylor, George, Second Sergeant, 27, Augusta, Virginiar
7. Wingfield, A. A., Third Sergeant, 25, Johnson County, Missourir
8. Durlle, R. G., Fourth Sergeant, 24, Antonia County, New Yorkr
9. Lee, H., First Corporal, 24, Fulton County, New Yorkr
10. Kirkpatrick. I., Second Corporal, 29, Will County, Illinoisr
11. Carson, William, Third Corporal, 21, Augusta County, Virginiar
12. Reynolds, I. S., Fourth Corporal, 25, Columbia County, New Yorkr
13. Burry, E. J., Private, 22, Englandr
14. Bachman, B. F., Private, 21, Lancaster, Pennsylvaniar
15. Barrow, Julian, Private, 35, Francer
16. Coy, J., Private, 23, San Jose, Californiar
17. Canfield, C. T., Private, 39, New York Cityr
18. Coy, Mathew, Private, 21, San Jose, Californiar
19. Chandelera, Private, 40, Santa Fe, New Mexicor
20. Draper, William, Private, 21, Johnson County, Missourir
21. Ecleston, Robert, Private, 21, New York Cityr
[Editor’s note: Robert Eccleston—dea]r
r
22. Fifer, M. W., Private, 28, New York Cityr
23. Gray, J. F., Private, 22, Fulton County, Missourir
24. Godkin, Thomas, Private, 25, New York Cityr
25. Hart, James W., Private, 20, Callaway County, Missourir
26. Hodgson, John, Private, 32, York, Englandr
27. Huchett, A. C., Private, 39, Francer
28. Jones, J. W., Private, 24, Englandr
29. John, A., Private, 19, Francer
30. Kenny, Thomas B., Private, 28, Petersburg, Virginiar
31. Long, Thomas A., Private, 20, Jackson County, Missourir
32. Lewis, Henry D., Private, 29, Henry County, Missourir
33. McGathy, James C., Private, 24, Bonce County, Illinoisr
34. McGathy, James S., Private, 25, Bonce County, Illinoisr
35. McEwing, Felix, Private, 24, Montgomery County, Missourir
36. McVicker, Henry, Private, 40, Pennsylvaniar
37. Prather, George, Private, 19, Linn County, Missourir
38. Pate, Francis, Private, 27, Harrison County, Texasr
39. Poittesin, Arista, Private, 37, Francer
40. Parkinson, John, Private, 29, New Yorkr
41. Randolph, Wm. F., Private, 20 [Fauquier] County, Virginiar
42. Rail, Edmond, Private, 20, Cooper County, Missourir
43. Rodgers, Charles A., Private, 24, Fulton County, Missourir
44. Soto, Jose, Private, 19, Calaway [Callaway] County, Missourir
45. Sims, Parris, Private, 48, St. Clair County, Missourir
46. Slavin, Charles S., Private, 27, Patterson County, Virginiar
47. Smith, James, Private, 23, New Yorkr
r
48. Saucer, Ferdinand, Private, 43, Francer
49. Stevens, Elbert C., Private, 24, Collinville Cityr
50. Simeon, Augustus, Private, 29, Francer
51. Talbott, Thomas J., Private, 22, Cooper County, Missourir
52. Valentine, Charles T., Private, 30, Aberdeen County, Mississippir
53. Varney, George, Private, 26, Perkatgues County, Missourir
54. Winfield, Charles R., Private, 25, LaFayette County, Missourir
55. Winters, John D., Private, 31, York County, Pennsylvaniar
r RECAPITULATIONr
r rStaffs, Surgeon, Quartermaster, and Adjutant | 7 |
Company A | 70 |
Company B | 72 |
Company C | 55 |
—— | |
Battalion rank and file | 204 |
r P.S. Russell and Hayhr detached from Captain Dills’ Company.r
r r r rr A LETTER6 FROM “M,” PUBLISHED APRIL 23, 1851r
r rr 6Daily Alta California, San Francisco, April 23, 1851.r
r rr SAN JOSÉ, April 22, 1851r
r rr MESSRS. EDITORS: I have just had a conversation with Judge Lewis, ther Adjutant of Maj. Savage’s Battallion of mounted Volunteers, and Lieut. Brooks of ther same Battallion, who are recently from the seat of the Indian war in Mariposa County.r From them I learn the following particulars: On the 19th of March Major Savage,r with Captains Bowling and Dill’s Companies started from Camp No. 3 for the headr waters of the Merced river to subdue the Yo Semites and Neuch-Teus who refused tor come into the treaty made with the tribes in that vicinity by the Indian Commissionersr at Camp Frémont. The volunteers after three days march arrived in the neighborhoodr of the Indians and on the morning of the fourth day surprised the Neuch-Teus andr took them prisoners. The march was over rugged mountains and through deep defilesr covered with snows and was one of considerable exposure and hardship. The commandr upon the 21st marched all day and during the night until about 4 o’clock on ther morning of the 22d, some forty-five miles, when the troops arrived at the South Forkr of the Merced river about seven miles above the rancheria of the Neuch-Teus. Duringr the march the volunteers were without food and marching continually through ther r snow. Upon arriving at the stream above mentioned, the pack train was left with ar guard who succeeded by removing the snow in procuring a few rushes for the animals.r The volunteers, after resting a few moments took up the line of march for ther rancheria, where they arrived about seven in the morning of the 23d.r
r rr This part of the march was exceedingly difficult and dangerous. It lay along a deepr canyon and a part of it had to be made through the water and a part over precipitousr cliffs covered with snow and ice. Major Savage had with him an Indian boy from ther Chowchilla tribe who had married a Neuch-Teus wife who was living in the rancheriar at this time. He told the boy that in case the Neuch-Teus attempted to run from ther rancheria the whole of them would be killed. The boy was much alarmed at this, wentr a short distance ahead of the volunteers, and by creeping on his hands and kneesr through the bushes managed to get within a short distance of the rancheria beforer being discovered by the Indians. He communicated to them what Savage had told himr and finding themselves entrapped surrendered without showing any disposition tor fight and without a gun being fired. Almost the first question asked by Pan-Wache,r their Chief, was whether Savage was there? When Savage answered in their own languager that he was, the Chief came out and met the Major who told the Chief the objectr for which they had come. The Major told him that he had before said that somer day the white people would come for them and that now since his Indians were enemiesr of the whites he had come to kill them all unless they could consent to live liker good Indians.r
r rr These Indians as well as most of the tribes on this side of the Sierra’s believe inr wizards and witches. A man distinguished for his superior knowledge and power isr regarded as a wizard. The Major told the Chief that three wizards had been sent tor the Indian country by the great wizard of the white men to make the Indians presents,r to learn them how to till the soil and live like the whites, and that the great wizardr wanted all the Indians to be good and honest and to come out of the mountains and resider on the plains, and that the white people were very numerous, and if the Indiansr did not do as the three wizards desired the great wizard would tell the white men tor kill all of the Indians. The chief replied that he had heard at different times the samer thing that was now told him but that he did not believe it was true—since he (Savage)r had come and told him he believed it true and would go with him. The volunteersr having selected camping ground about two miles from the rancheria, sent up for ther mules, and the next day made preparation to march against the Yo Semitees, livingr about twenty-five miles distant, on the middle fork of the Merced. In the mean timer an Indian courier had been dispatched by Maj. Savage to the Indians informing themr of his approach to their country and the objects of his mission, with a request that ther chief, Yo Semite [Tenaya], together with his tribe should come into the camp. Ther chief obeyed the summons but brought none of his tribe with him except two sons.r Upon arriving he made many excuses for not bringing with him his people, amongr which were that they were all good Indians—that they never stole animals nor killedr white men—that it was now in the dead of winter and the snows deep—that they werer r well supplied with acorns and living happy and contented. These Indians, nevertheless,r have committed numerous depredations about Burn’s Diggings and Mariposar and the assertions of their goodness and peaceable intentions obtained no credence,r and the chief and his people were peremptorily ordered to be in camp within threer days. Major Savage, doubting whether Yo Semitee would obey the order, started onr the morning of the 25th with a part of his command and three days’ provisions for ther Middle Fork. On the way he met the Yo Semitees coming in, but still doubtingr whether they were all on the road, he pushed forward through the snows, and a snowr storm, to the rancheria, taking with him the chief. Upon arriving there he found ar large quantity of acorns put up in cribs which he destroyed, as well as their huts. Her found also a very old Indian and his wife, the father and mother of Yosemitee, whor had been left behind to perish or to take care of themselves as best they could. Theyr were living in a cave in which was kindled a small fire, but will doubtless perish duringr the winter. The Major had a large pile of wood carried to them, and acorns, butr they were old, decrepid, and Yo-Semitee [Tenaya] remarked that he had thrown themr away and must leave them since they could not travel and take care of themselves.r
r rr Quite a number of Indian tracks led toward the Sierras and upon inquiry it was ascertainedr that they were those of some Monas, a tribe of Indians living the other sider of the Sierras, and whilst on a visit last fall were caught this side by early snows, andr unable to return. Upon learning that the Yo Semitees were likely to have difficulties,r they became alarmed and started for their tribe. The Monas are nearly white and arer much superior, mentally and physically, to the Indians this side of the mountains.r Maj. Savage despatched Yo Semitee [Tenaya] on their trail to bring them back, butr after traveling several hours he was unable to overtake them. During the night ther snow fell to the depth of three or four feet which obliterated all trace of their footsteps.r Being satisfied that no more Indians were in that quarter, the command commencedr the march back. The snows impeded their progress very much, and ther volunteers were obliged to go in advance of their animals and break a path in order tor get them along. On the march several animals became exhausted from the want ofr food and from fatigue, and were left on the road. Upon returning for them the nextr day, they were found dead. Upon arriving in camp, the Volunteers with the Indiansr started for the headquarters on the Fresno, on the 29th. The rancheria of the Yor Semitees is described as being in a valley of surpassing beauty, about 10 miles inr length and one mile broad. Upon either side are high perpendicular rocks, and atr each end through which the Middle Fork runs, deep cations, the only accessible entrancesr to the Valley. The forest trees, such as pine, fir, red wood and cedar, are ofr immense height and size. There is a species of pine tree here from which exudes ar sacharine substance nearly resembling in looks and taste brown sugar. The Indiansr gather and use it as an article for food, and Judge Lewis informs me that excepting ar slight piney taste, it cannot be distinguished from common brown sugar. On the firstr day of April the whole command arrived at the head quarters of the regulars on ther Fresno, and the Indians were turned over to the Commissioners. The Commissionersr declined treating with them until the Chow-Chillas came in, but furnished them with ar supply of food and some clothing.r
r rr Judge Lewis and Lieut. Brooks left Camp No. 4 on the Fresno on the 13th of April,r upon which day the regulars started for Cassady’s on the San Joaquin, and Maj.r Savage with his command on an expedition against the Chow-chillas. This, the mostr powerful of the Indian tribes in California, is believed to have at its command 1,000r warriors. A portion of the Pyanches [Piutes] from the other side of the Sierras arer known to be allied with them and other tribes this side of the mountains. A hard fightr is anticipated with them since they have refused all overtures of peace and have committedr the most daring robberies and unprovoked murders in the neighborhood of finer and coarse Gold Gulches. Large quantities of snow have fallen since the expeditionr started, which will render the march exceedingly difficult, and perhaps defeat the ultimater success of the troops. However, the Major and the officers and the men underr him will not turn back for any ordinary difficulties, and we may expect soon to hear ofr the complete subjection of the Chow-chillas. The next treaty will be made with ther Indians at some point on the San Joaquin. The best of feeling exists between the regularr and volunteer forces, and in the course of a month it is believed that the Indianr difficulties will be satisfactorily settled from the Calaveras to the Tulare Lake, openingr to miners some of the best mining and agricultural districts in the State. May futurer success attend the negotiations with the Indians, and the volunteers receive the meedr of praise which they deserve, and the money which they have earned by numerousr hardships incident to a border warfare carried on in the snow hills in mid-winter.r
r rr M.r
r r r r rr BOLING’S LETTER ABOUT MAJOR SAVAGE’S BATTALION7r
r rr 7Daily Alta California, San Francisco, June 12, 1851.r
r rr We publish below two more letters touching the movements of the battalion ofr State troops under Major Savage—one from Captain Bowling and the other from ther Sergeant Major of the command.r
r rr
MERCED RIVER, YO-SEMETY VILLAGEr
r
May 15, 1851r
r Major Savager
r rr SIR: On reaching this valley, which we did on the 9th inst. I selected for our encampmentr the most secluded place that I could find, lest our arrival might be discoveredr by the Indians. Spies were immediately despatched in different directions, somer of which crossed the river to examine for signs on the opposite side. Trails were soonr found, leading up and down the river, which had been made since the last rain. Onr r the morning of the tenth we took up the line of march for the upper end of the valley,r and having traveled about five miles we discovered five Indians running up the riverr on the north side. All of my command, except a sufficient number to take care of ther pack animals put spurs to their animals, swam the river and caught them before theyr could get into the mountains. One of them proved to be the son of the old Yo-Semetyr chief. I informed them if they would come down from the mountains and go with mer to the United States Indian Commissioners, they would not be hurt; but if they wouldr not, I would remain in their neighborhood as long as there was a fresh track to ber found; informing him at the same time that all the Indians except his father’s peopler and the Chou-Chillas had treated, and that you were then after the Chou-chillas withr two companies of volunteers, determined upon chasing them as long as a track couldr be found in the mountains, and that all the Indians which had been treated with werer well satisfied with their situation. He then informed me that we had been discoveredr by their spies and that we would not have got so close had they have known we couldr run over the river so quick on horseback, and that if I would let him loose with anotherr Indian, he would bring in his father and all his people by twelve o’clock the nextr day. I then gave him plenty to eat and started him and his companion out. Wer watched the others close intending to hold them as hostages until the despatch-bearersr returned. They appeared well satisfied and we were not suspicious of them, in consequencer of which one of them escaped. We commenced searching for him, whichr alarmed the other two still in custody, and they attempted to make their escape. Ther boys took after them and finding they could not catch them, fired and killed themr both. This circumstance connected with the fact of the two whom we had sent out notr returning, satisfied me that they had no intention of coming in. My command then setr out to search for the Rancheria. The party which went up the left towards Canyarthiar found the rancheria at the head of a little valley, and from the signs it appeared thatr the Indians had left but a few minutes. The boys pursued them up the mountain onr the north side of the river, and when they had got near the top, helping each otherr from rock to rock on account of the abruptness of the mountains; the first intimationr they had of Indians being near was a shower of huge rocks which came tumblingr down the mountain, threatening instant destruction. Several of the men were knockedr down, and some of them rolled and fell some distance before they could recover,r wounding and bruising them generally. One man’s gun was knocked out of his handr and fell seventy feet before it stopped, whilst another man’s hat was knocked off hisr head without hurting him. The men immediately took shelter behind large rocks, fromr which they could get an occasional shot, which soon forced the Indians to retreat, andr by pressing them close they caught the old Yo-semity chief, whom we yet hold as ar prisoner. In this skirmish they killed one Indian and wounded several others.r
r rr You are aware that I know this old fellow well enough to look out well for him,r least by some stratagem he makes his escape. I shall aim to use him to the best advantager in pursuing his people. I send down a few of my command with the pack animalsr for provisions; and I am satisfied if you will send me ten or twelve of old Pon-watchez’r best men I could catch the women and children and thereby force the men to come in.r The Indians I have with me have acted in good faith and agree with me in this opinion.r
r rr
I have the honor to be, very respectfully,r
r
Your most obedient servant,r
r
JOHN BOWLING*r
r *Mr. Hal Barnett of Stockton, relative of John Boling, writes under date ofr December 4, 1931: “As far as we know, John Boling always spelled his name andr signed his name “Boling,” and his grandchildren spell their name “Boling.”r
r r r rr ANOTHER LETTER ABOUT SAVAGE’S BATTALION8r
r rr 8Daily Alta California, San Francisco, June 14, 1851.r
r rr Subjoined is the last of the letters descriptive of the expedition of the State troopsr against the Indians. It is a letter from Captain Bowling to Colonel Barbour, Indianr Commissioner:r
r rr FRESNO RIVER, May 29, 1851r
r rr SIR: You will no doubt have learned from my report of the 12th inst., to Majorr Savage, that we were at that time in close pursuit of the Yosemitie tribes of Indians,r that in a slight brush with them we captured their famous chief, and that at this stager of the proceedings the further success of our proceedings was materially affected fromr the necessity of having to replenish our stock of provisions, which was at a distance ofr over one hundred miles from our encampment. Notwithstanding the number of ourr party being reduced to twenty-two men, by the absence of the detachments necessaryr to escort with safety the pack train, we continued the chase with such rapidity, thatr we forced a large portion of the Indians to take refuge in the plains with friendlyr Indians, while the remainder sought to conceal themselves among the rugged cliffs inr the snowy regions of the Sierra Nevada.r
r rr Thus far I have made it a point to give as little alarm as possible. After capturingr some of them I set a portion at liberty, in order that they might assure the others thatr if they come in they would not be harmed. Notwithstanding the treachery of the oldr chief, who contrived to lie and deceive us all the time, his grey hairs saved the boysr from inflicting on him that justice which would have been administered under otherr circumstances. Having become satisfied that we could not persuade him to come in, Ir determined on hunting them, and if possible running them down, lest by leaving themr in the mountains, they should form a new settlement and a place of refuge for other illr disposed Indians, who might do mischief and retreat to the mountains, and finally enticer off those who are quiet and settled in the reserve. On the 20th the train of packr animals and provisions arrived, accompanied by a few more men than the party whichr went out after provisions, and Ponwatchi, the chief of the Nuch-tucs tribe with twelver of his warriors.r
r rr On the morning of the 21st we discovered the trail of a small party of Indians travelingr in the direction of the Mono’s country. We followed this trail until 2 o’clockr next day, 22d when one of the scouting parties reported a rancheria near at hand.r Almost at the same instant a spy was discovered watching our movements. We mader chase after him immediately, and succeeded in catching him before he arrived at ther rancheria, and we also succeeded in surrounding the ranch and capturing the whole ofr them. This chase in reality was not the source of amusement which it would seem tor be when anticipated. Each man in the chase was stripped to his drawers, in which situationr all hands ran at full speed at least four miles, some portion of the time over andr through snow ten feet deep, and in the four mile heat all Ponwatchi gained on my boysr was only distance enough to enable them to surround the rancheria while my men ranr up in front. Two Indians strung their bows and seized their arrows, when they werer told if they did not surrender they would be instantly killed.r
r rr They took the proper view of this precaution and immediately surrendered. Ther inquiry was made of those unfortunate people if they were then satisfied to go with us;r their reply was, they were more than willing, as they could go to no other place. Fromr all we could see and learn from those people we were then on the main range of ther Sierra Nevada. The snow was in many places more than ten feet deep, and generallyr where it was deep the crust was sufficiently strong to bear a man’s weight, which facilitatedr our traveling very much. Here there was a large lake completely frozen over,r which had evidently not yet felt the influence of the spring season. The trail which wer were bound to travel lay along the side of a steep mountain so slippery that it was difficultr to get along barefoot without slipping and falling hundreds of yards. This placer appeared to be their last resort or place where they considered themselves perfectlyr secure from the intrusion of the white man. In fact those people appear to look uponr this place as their last home, composed of nature’s own materials, unaided by the skillr of man.r
r rr The conduct of Pon-watchi and his warriors during this expedition, entitled himr and them to much credit. They performed important service voluntarily and cheerfully,r making themselves generally useful, particularly in catching the scattered Indiansr after surprising a rancheria. Of the Yosemities, few, if any, are now left in the mountains.r Our prisoners say they have all gone down to Cypriano’s people.r
r rr It seems that their determined obstinacy is entirely attributable to the influence ofr their chief, whom we have a prisoner, among others of his tribe, and whom we intendr to take care of. They have now been taught the double lesson, that the white manr would not give up the chase without the game, and at the same time, if they wouldr come down from the mountains and behave themselves, they would be kindly treated.r
r rr Since I have had those Indians in the service with me, and seen the interest theyr take in trying to bring all others to terms, taking into consideration the good faith inr which they have acted, all the men with me who have been witnesses to their goodr conduct, are satisfied that if the general government furnishes them promptly, asr agreed, and bad-disposed white men are kept from among them, peace and quiet willr soon be restored and maintained by the Indians.r
r rr I have the honor to be, very respectfully,r
r rr
Your most obed’t serv’t,r
r
JOHN BOWLING, Capt. Comp’y Br
r TO COL. G. W. BARBOURr
r r rr AT THE CAMP OF DISBANDMENT9r
r rr 9From Elliott’s History of Fresno County, 1881.r
r rr June 29, 1851r
r rr I certify on honor, that the entire force of volunteers under command of Majorr James D. Savage, was honorably discharged on the evening of the aforesaid first dayr of July, 1851. By order of James D. Savage, Major Commanding. Pursuant to ther previous order of his excellency, John McDougal.r
r rr
Given under my hand,r
r
M. B. LEWIS, Mustering Officerr
r The Camp of Disbandment was at Buckeye Creek, about halfway betweenr Bridgeport and Mariposa.r
r r rr 10Daily Alta California, San Francisco, August 12, 1852.r
r rr The Stockton Journal says that Maj. Fitzgerald arrived at that city last Sunday, withr ninety dragoons from Benicia, and left the same day for the neighborhood of the Fourr Creeks. His object is to be present at the grand council of Indians summoned to meetr on the 15th of this month, low down on the Tulare Valley, for the purpose of having ar talk. This council was convoked by Dr. Wozencraft to adjust and settle the difficultiesr r between the whites and Indians, caused by the doings of a certain Mr. Harveyr who recently attacked a rancheria of Indians and killed a number of them. The warr belt has been sent to all the tribes, and a general spirit is exhibited by all Indians tor join and prosecute a war against the whites. It is to avoid this melancholy result, as itr surely would be deplorable, that Dr. Wozencraft has summoned this council of ther Indians together. It is not to be denied that a few restless spirits in Mariposa countyr have fomented this state of things, by not only disregarding the treaties made with ther Indians, but by also trampling on their acknowledged rights, and setting at naughtr every principle of justice and humanity.r
r r r rr Next: Chronologyr •r Contentsr •r Previous: Guardiansr
r r rr
r rr
r rr http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/one_hundred_years_in_yosemite/documents.htmlr
r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r rr
r rr Yosemite > Library >r 100 Years in Yosemite >r Chronology >rr r
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r r rr Next: Bibliographyr •r Contentsr •r Previous: Documentsr
r r rr The following outline of the history of the Yosemite region cites the originalr sources of information used in preparing this book. References are to the pagesr of publications and manuscripts appearing in ther bibliographyr which follows.r Items cited frequently are abbreviated:r
r rrr r rr
rr SCB Sierra Club Bulletin, 1893 to date.r r r USNPS Annual Report, United States National Park Service.r r r USWD Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers, United States Warr Department.r r r YNP Report of the Acting Superintendent, 1882-1914, Yosemite Nationalr Park.r r r YNHA r r Yosemite Nature Notes, Yosemite Natural History Association, 1922r to date.r r r YVC Biennial Report, Yosemite Valley Commissioners, 1867-1904.r
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r Garces entered Tulare Valley and named the interior range “Sierra de San Marcos.”r Bancroft, 1884, p. 291;r Farquhar, 1928, p. 56.r
rr Name “Sierra Nevada” applied to mountains that now carry the name,r by Padre Pedro Font.r Font, map;r Farquhar, 1928, p. 55.r
r rr Moraga Expedition explored lower course of Merced River and gave it the namer “Merced.”r Richman, p. 465;r Farquhar, 1928, p. 58.r
r rr Jedediah Smith brought first party of trappers from the East.r Crossed near Cajon Pass in November.r Dale, p. 183;r Merriam, 1923, p. 228.r
r rr J. R. Walker crossed present Yosemite National Park with a party of trappers.r Leonard, Z., p. 174;r Bancroft, 1885, p. 390;r Farquhar, 1942, pp. 35-49;r Watson, p. 57.r
r rr Bartleson party was first of immigrants. Crossed Sonora Pass and probably sawr Calaveras Grove.r Bidwell;r Bancroft, 1886, p. 268.r
r rr First wagons brought across the Sierra by Stephens-Townsend-Murphy party.r Bancroft, 1886, p. 445.r
r rr J. B. Alvarado conveyed “Mariposa Grant” to J. C. Frémont for $3,000.r California Supreme Court.r
r rr Sierra gold discovery.r Tinkham, p. 59.r
r rr Rush to “Southern Mines” (Mariposa region).r Bunnell, p. 315.r
rr Tuolumne County organized.r Coy, 1923, p. 288.r
rr Mariposa County established.r Coy, 1823, p. 161.r
rr Joseph Screech discovered Hetch Hetchy Valley.r Hoffmann, p. 370.r
rr J. D. Savage forced to abandon trading station at mouth of South Fork of Merced.r Bunnell, p. 15.r
rr Indians attack Savage’s Fresno River store and his Mariposa Creek Station, Dec.r Bunnell, pp. 22, 23.r
r r r r rr Organization of Mariposa Battalion under J. D. Savage.r Bunnell, p. 29.r
rr Battalion marched toward mountain stronghold of Indians, March 19. Elliott,r p. 179r
rr Chief Tenaya and a part of Yosemite tribe surrendered to advancing whites,r March 25. Marvin;r Bunnell, p. 52.r
rr Battalion viewed Yosemite Valley from Inspiration Point, March 25.r Namer “Yosemite Valley” applied.r Bunnell, pp. 53, 61.r
rr Yosemite Valley and Merced Canyon to Nevada Fall explored by men with Savage,r March 26.r Bunnell, p. 72.r
rr Battalion withdrew from Yosemite without having found more Indians, March 27.r Bunnell, p. 91.r
rr Second entry to Yosemite made by Capt. John Boling’s Company, May 9.r Bunnell, p. 142;r Boling, June 12;r Kuykendall, p. 9.r
rr First letter dispatched from valley, May 15.r Boling, June 12;r Kuykendall, p. 9.r
rr Boling captured Yosemite Indians at Tenaya Lake, May 22. Indians werer escorted to Fresno Reservation, but in winter Tenaya and his family werer permitted to return to the mountains.r Boling, June 14;r Kuykendall, p. 10;r Bunnell, p. 228.r
r rr r Eight prospectors entered valley May 2, and two were killed by Indians.r Russell, 1926, p. 332.r
rr Lt. Tredwell Moore entered Yosemite with detachment of 2d Infantry in June.r Bunnell, p. 275;r Elliott, p. 172;r Hutchings, 1862, p. 75.r
rr Yosemite Indians took refuge with Mono Indians and were not found by soldiers.r Elliott, p. 172.r
rr In August Lt. Moore found promising mineral deposits east of Sierra crest.r Bunnell, p. 277.r
rr Mariposa Grove discovered by party of prospectors.r Elliott, p. 172;r Russell, 1926, p. 332;r YNHA, 1929, p. 51.r
r rr Yosemite Indians left Monos and returned to Yosemite, but stole horses, andr Monos nearly annihilated the Yosemites for their treachery.r Bunnell, pp. 275, 291;r Hutchings, 1862, p. 75.r Eyewitness account at variance withr Bunnell’s (see p. 47).r
rr A number of parties of prospectors entered Yosemite Valley in the fall of 1853.r Bunnell, p. 295.r
r rr James Capen Adams visited Yosemite to capture grizzlies, which he trained.r Hittell, T. H., p. 196.r
r rr J. M. Hutchings organized first party of sightseers to enter Yosemite. First Yosemiter pictures made by T. A. Ayres in June.r Bunnell, p. 304;r Hutchings, 1862, p. 77;r Hutchings, 1886, p. 79;r YNHA, 1944, pp. 21-25.r
rr Trail from South Fork (Wawona) built to Yosemite Valley by Milton and Houstonr Mann. Finished in 1856.r Bunnell, p. 304;r Brockman, 1943, pp. 53-54.r
rr Galen Clark engaged in surveying ditch to supply water to Mariposa Frémontr Grant.r Foley, p. 108.r
r r r rr First house, a shack, built in Yosemite Valley by surveyors, including Bunnell.r (Use of Yosemite Valley as a reservoir contemplated.)r Bunnell, p. 304;r Country Gentleman;r Whitney, 1870, p. 18.r
r rr “Coulterville Free Trail” from Bull Creek to Yosemite built by G. W. Coulter and Bunnell.r Bunnell, p. 315.r
rr T. A. Ayres made second trip to Yosemite and matte more pencil drawings.r Bunnell, p. 310;r Farquhar, 1926, p. 111;r Ayres.r
rr “Lower Hotel,” first permanent structure, built by Walsworth and Hite at baser of Sentinel Rock.r Bunnell, p. 309.r
r rr Rush of miners from Tuolumne, over Mono Trail, to Mono Diggings;r Tom McGee, of Big Oak Flat, perhaps blazed Mono Trail.r Bodie Standard, March 1, 1879;r Wasson;r Hodgdon.r
rr Beardsley and Hite put up canvas-covered house at Cedar Cottage site. Galenr Clark settled at what is now Wawona, and with Milton Mann explored Mariposar Grove.r Bunnell, p. 310;r Bunnell, p. 310;r Brace, p. 85;r Foley, p. 102.r
r rr “Upper Hotel” (Cedar Cottage) built. Operated by Mr. and Mrs. John H. Neal.r Bunnell, p. 310.r Hutchings, 1886, p. 101.r J. L. Cogswell party visited Tuolumne Grove of Big Trees.r YNHA, 1937, pp. 60-63.r
r rr W. S. Body located mineral deposits in region that later became famous as Bodie.r Wasson, p. 5.r
rr First photograph made in Yosemite by C. L. Weed. Subject was Upper Hotel.r Hutchings, 1886, p. 101;r YNHA, 1929, p. 75.r [Editor’s note:r Charles Leander Weed’s first photograph, taken June 18, 1859 was of Yosemite Falls,r not what was latter known as the Upper Hotel, which was photographed 3 days later—dea.]r
rr James C. Lamon preëmpted and took up permanent residence in Yosemite.r Hutchings, 1886, p. 134;r Corcoran, 1925.r
r rr “Sheepherder Mine” (Tioga Mine) located.r Bodie Daily Free Press, September 10, 1881.r
rr California State Geological Survey established, with Prof. Josiah Dwight Whitneyr in charge.r Whitney, 1865, p. ix;r Farquhar, 1925, pp. 15-23.r
r rr Nine Bactrian camels taken to Nevada urines. Stopped in Calaveras Grove enr route.r Farquhar, 1925, p. 26.r
rr Mono County established. Coy, p. 182.r
rr C. E. Watkins, pioneer photographer, visited Yosemite Valley.r YNHA, 1936, pp. 17-18.r
r rr State Geological Survey made expedition to region between upper Merced andr Tuolumne rivers.r Whitney, 1865, p. 13.r
rr Artist Albert Bierstadt made first trip to Yosemite.r YNHA, 1944, pp. 49-51.r
r r r r rr J. M. Hutchings took over Upper Hotel, and it became known as “Hutchingsr House.” Calif. Legis., p. 323;r Hutchings, 1886, p. 102.r
rr Sonora Pass wagon road improved to serve Bodie, etc.r Wasson. p. 59.r
rr Florence Hutchings was the first white child to be born in Yosemite.r Hutchings, 1886, p. 144.r
rr Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Big Trees granted to California as public trust.r Grant contained 48.6 square miles. Board of eight commissioners created,r Frederick Law Olmsted, chairman. Galen Clark, guardian.r U. S. Congress, p. 3444;r YVC, 1877, p. 5;r Matthews, 1906. pp. 382-387;r YNHA, 1946, p. 107.r
rr I. W. Raymond, of Central American Steamship Transit Co., New York City,r advocated to Senator Conness of California that the Yosemite Valley and ther Mariposa Grove be reserved as a State Grant for public enjoyment. The membersr of a proposed board of commissioners were recommended byr Raymond and Conness jointly.r Raymond, 1864;r Farquhar, 1926, p. 77.r
r rr First appropriation made for administration of Yosemite Grant.r Calif Statutes;r YVC, p. 7.r
r rr John Muir made his first trip to Yosemite.r Badè, 1924, I, p. 185;r YNHA, 1938;r Wolfe, 1945, pp. 117-122.r
r rr George F. Leidig built “Leidig’s Hotel” near Lower Hotel.r Churchill, 1876, p. 138;r Vivian, p. 376;r Calif. Legis., pp. 164, 208, 210;r Leidig;r YNHA, 1930, p. 4.r
rr Mr. and Mrs. A. G. Black removed Lower Hotel and built “Black’s Hotel” on itsr site.r Hutchings, 1886, p. 101.r
rr Edwin Moore acquired half interest in Clark’s station, and it became known asr “Clark & Moore’s.”r Ellsworth, p. 44;r Greenwood, p. 313;r Lester, p. 170.r
rr Mountain View House (Peregoy’s) built on Wawona-Yosemite Valley trail.r YNHA, 1829, p. 71.r
rr Central Pacific built from Sacramento to Stockton. Ingram.r
r rr Albert Snow built trail to flat between Vernal and Nevada falls. Calif.r Legis, p. 170;r Minturn, p. 264;r Lester, p. 197.r
rr Central Pacific built to Modesto.r Ingram.r
rr Copperopolis branch of Central Pacific built.r Ingram.r
rr Joseph LeConte made his first trip to Yosemite.r LeConte, 1903, p. 247.r
rr La Casa Nevada was built by Albert Snow above Vernal Fall.r Buckley, p. 25;r YNHA, 1930, p. 4.r
rr John Muir explored the Grand Canyon of the ‘Toolumne.r SCB, 1924;r Farquhar, 1926, pp. 96-97.r
r rr Peregoy built a stopping place at Glacier Point. Peregoy Hotel Register.r
rr John Conway built trail from La Casa Nevada to Little Yosemite; he attemptedr the ascent of Half Dome.r Russell, 1926, p. 340.r
rr Central Pacific built to Berenda. Ingram.r
r r r rr Conway started work on Four Mile Trail to Glacier Point (completed in 1872).r Russell, 1926. p. 510;r Kneeland, p. 82.r
rr Mount Lyell climbed by J. B. Tileston, Aug. 29 (first ascent).r Tileston, pp. 89-90.r
r r rr Central Pacific built to Merced. Ingram.r
rr Stage road built on north side of Yosemite Valley by Conway.r Calif. Legis., p. 198;r Russell, 1926, p. 310.r
rr Earthquake in Yosemite.r Kneeland, p. 88.r
r rr Eagle Peak Trail built to foot of Upper Yosemite Fall by Conway.r Russell, 1926, p. 310.r
rr J. C. Smith built his “Cosmopolitan” bath house and saloon in Yosemite Valley.r Russell, 1931, p. 207;r YNHA, 1933, p. 1;r Cosmopolitan House.r
r rr Coulterville Road built to valley floor. (Known as “J. T. McLeans Road.”)r Hutchings, 1886, p. 288;r U. S. Senate;r YNHA, 1930, pp. 73-74;r 1943, pp. 59-60.r
rr Big Oak Flat route completed to Yosemite Valley by Yosemite Turnpike andr Road Company.r Hutchings, 1886, p. 335;r U. S. Senate;r YNHA, 1943, p. 60.r
rr Wood road built from “Hutchings” up the south side of the valley.r Calif. Legis., p. 340.r
rr State of California purchased private claims in Yosemite Valley.r Calif. Legis., p. 351;r YVC, 1877-78, p. 16.r
r rr George W. Coulter and A. J. Murphy leased former Hutchings property,r YVC, 1877-78, p. 10.r
rr Harlow Street erected telegraph line from Sonora to Yosemite Valley. A liner was built from Yosemite to Bodie also.r Bodie Daily Free Press, January 29, 1881;r Hutchings, 1886, p. 358;r Morris, Paul.r
rr Wawona Road built to floor of Yosemite Valley.r U. S. Senate;r YVC, 1874-75;r YNHA, 1813, pp. 60-61.r
rr George G. Anderson made first ascent of Half Dome.r Hutchings, 1886, p. 457;r Leonard, R. M., 1937. p. 40.r
rr Public School provided for Yosemite.r Mariposa County, May, 1875;r YNP, 1809, p. 50;r Hutchings, 1886, p. 355.r
rr Washburn Brothers purchased Clark & Moore’s. Place has been called “Wawona”r since. Vivian, p. 370;r r Stornoway, p. 72.r
r rr Sentinel Hotel built by Coulter and Murphy. Known as Yosemite Falls Hotelr for many years. Calif. Legis., p. 238;r Jones.r
rr John Muir’s first article onr devastation of Sierra by sheepr was published.r Farquhar, 1925, p. 30;r Badè, 1923-24, 2:58-59.r
r rr J. K. Barnard took over “Coulter and Murphy’s”r (Sentinel Hotel).r Blake, p. 119;r YVC, 1877-78, p. 14;r Jones.r
r r r r rr John L. Murphy settled at Tenaya Lake (exact date doubtful).r Jackson, pp. 109-171;r Hutchings, 1886, p. 481.r
rr High Sierra country surveyed by Lieut. M. M. Macomb of Wheeler Survey.r USWD.r
rr Bodie and Lundy mining excitement reached height. Tioga came into prominence.r Bodie Daily Free Press, Dec. 29, 1880;r Whitney, H. A.r
rr A. Harris established first public campgrounds in Yosemite Valley.r Harris Register;r Calif. Legis., p. 232;r Hutchings, 1886, p. 355.r
rr Tunnel in Big Tree of Tuolumne Grove made in June.r Marshall, p. 341.r
rr Mountain House built at Glacier Point.r r Gordon-Cumming, p. 174.r
r rr Homer District (Lundy) organized. Was discovered by C. H. Nye.r Mammoth City Herald, Sept. 24, 1819;r Homer Mining Index, 1880.r
rr Yosemite chapel built by Sunday School Union.r Hutchings, 1886, p. 355;r Glass, pp. 114-118.r
r rr Legislation ousted Board of Yosemite Commissioners. New board appointedr J. M. Hutchings guardian.r YVC, 1880, p. 3.r
rr Charles D. Robinson, artist, maintained studio in the valley (1880-1890).r YNHA, 1944, pp. 38-40.r
rr L. H. Bunnell, of Yosemite discovery party, publishedr Discovery of the Yosemite Valley.r
r rr Silver found on Mount Hoffmann. Mount Hoffmann Mining District organized,r but amounted to nothing.r YNHA, 1925, p. 83.r
rr Tunnel cut through Wawona Tree.r YNHA, 1925, p. 83.r
r rr “Anderson Trail” (Happy Isles to bridge below Vernal Fall) built.r Calif. Legis., pp. 311, 367;r YVC, 1880-82, p. 5.r
rr Construction of Tioga Road started. (Completed in 1883 at cost of $62,000).r Calif. State Mineralogist;r U. S. Senate.r
rr Great Sierra Consolidated Silver Mining Company (Tioga Mine) incorporated.r Calif. State Mineralogist.r
rr John Conway built road to Glacier Point. Conway.r
r rr President Hayes with party of twelve visited Yosemite Valley.r
r rr Tioga Mine closed after expenditure of $300,000 and no production.r Calif. State Mineralogist.r
rr Mr. and Mrs. John Degnan established bakery and store, the oldest businessr among Yosemite concessions.r USNPS, 1941, p. 9;r Degnan, p. 1.r
rr Hutchings removed as guardian, and W. E. Dennison appointed.r YVC, 1883-84, p. 14.r
r r r r rr Legislature appropriated $40,000 to build Stoneman House.r YVC, 1885-86, p. 6.r
rr John B. Lembert took up homestead in Tuolumne Meadows.r r Stornoway, p. 64;r Farquhar, 1925, pp. 40-41;r YNP, 1903, p. 23.r
rr “Echo Wall Trail” (Nevada Fall to Glacier Point) built.r YVC, 1885-86, p. 9.r
rr Log Cabin built in Mariposa Grove.r YVC, 1885-86, p. 10.r
r rr John L. Murphy preëmpted 160 acres at Tenaya Lake.r YNP, 1903, p. 23.r
r rr Mark L. McCord made guardian.r YVC, 1887-88.r
rr A tramway to Glacier Point considered and surveyed.r Calif. Legis., p. 341.r
r rr Stoneman House leased to J. J. Cook.r YVC, 1887-88, p. 14;r Calif. Legis., pp. 263, 336;r r Stornoway, p. 24.r
rr Commissioners removed Black’s and Leidig’s hotels.r Calif. Legis., p. 210;r YVC, 1887-88, p. 17.r
r rr Galen Clark again made guardian.r YVC, 1888-90, p. 5.r
rr Mirror Lake dam built to increase area of lake.r YVC, 1889-90, p. 5.r
r rr Yosemite National Park created, Oct. 1.r John Muir’s writingsr were important in bringing this about.r YVC, 1889-90, p. 27.r
r rr Capt. A. E. Wood, first Acting Superintendent, arrived with federal troops tor administer park, May 19;r headquarters at Wawona.r YNP, 1891, p. 3;r YNHA, 1944, p. 54.r
rr First telephones installed in Yosemite Valley.r YVC, 1881-92, p. 6.r
r rr Sierra Club organized, with John Muir as president, to aid effort to secure federalr administration of entire Yosemite region.r SCB, 1893.r
rr First plant of trout (rainbow) made in Yosemite by California Fish and Gamer Commission.r YNP, 1893, p. 8;r YNHA, 1934, p. 58.r
rr Sierra Forest Reservation established, Feb.r SCB, 1896, pp. 257-259.r
r rr Capt. G. H. G. Gale made Acting Superintendent.r YNP, 1894.r
r rr Capt. Alex. Rodgers appointed Acting Superintendent.r YNP, 1895.r
rr Wawona fish hatchery erected. Operated by state.r YNP, 1895, p. 5.r
r r r r rr Stoneman House destroyed by fire, Aug. 24.r YVC, 1895-96, p. 9.r
rr Lt. Col. S. B. M. Young appointed Acting Superintendent.r YNP, 1896;r Farquhar, 1926, p. 109.r
rr First effort made to keep firearms out of park.r YNP, 1896, p. 4.r
r rr Miles Wallace made guardian.r YVC, 1897-98.r
rr Wooden stairs at Vernal Fall removed and replaced by rock steps.r YVC, 1897-98,r p. 6.r
rr Capt. Alex. Rodgers again made Acting Superintendent.r YNP, 1897.r
r rr Camps rented to visitors by state.r YVC, 1897-98, p. 5.r
rr Archie O. Leonard, first civilian park ranger.r YVC, 1897-98, p. 12;r YNP, 1898, p. 3.r
rr Both J. W. Zevely, special inspector,r and Capt. J. E. Caine were acting superintendents.r YNP, 1898.r
r rr Lt. Wm. Forse and Capt. E. F. Wilcox were acting superintendents.r YNP, 1850.r
rr Curry Camping Company established.r Tresidder, D. B.;r Tresidder, M. C., MS;r YNP, 1908, p. 12.r
rr Chris Jorgensen maintained artist’s studio in the valley (1899-1518).r YNHA, 1944, pp. 94-97.r
r rr Major L. J. Rucker, Acting Superintendent.r YNP, 1900.r
rr Holmes brothers, of San Jose, drove first auto into Yosemite. Holmes.r
r rr Camp Yosemite (Lost Arrow) established.r YVC, 1901-02, p. 6;r YNP, 1908, p. 12;r 1910, p. 12;r Tresidder, D. B., p. 35.r
rr Major L. A. Craig, Acting Superintendent.r YNP, 1901.r
rr First of the annual outings of the Sierra Club took place in Tuolumne Meadows.r Farquhar, 1925, pp. 52-53.r
r rr Power plant at Happy Isles built by state.r YVC, 1901-02, p. 4.r
rr Major O. L. Hein, Acting Superintendent.r YNP, 1902.r
rr J. M. Hutchings killed on Big Oak Flat Road near Yosemite Valley, Oct. 31.r Foley, p. 6;r Godfrey, 1941, MS, p. 14.r
rr Harry Cassie Best established artist studio in valley.r (Maintained business until his death, 1936.)r YNHA, 1945, pp. 42-44.r
r rr Leconte Memorial Lodge built in Yosemite Valley by Sierra Club.r SCB, 1904, pp. 66-69;r 1905, pp. 176-180.r
rr San Francisco’s first application for use of Hetch Hetchy denied byr Secretary Hitchcock, U. S. Dept. of Interior, 1908, 1910, 1914.r
rr George T. Harlow, guardian.r YVC, 1903-04.r
r r r rr U. S. Weather Bureau installed instruments in Yosemite.r YVC, 1903-04, p. 7.r
rr Lt. Col. Jos. Garrard, Acting Superintendent.r YNP, 1903.r
rr John Muir, Theodore Roosevelt, and Gov. George C. Pardee discuss Yosemiter Grant recession in Yosemite.r Badè, 1923-1924, 2:355.r
r rr Major John Bigelow became Acting Superintendent.r YNP, 1904.r
rr Arboretum established, and first plans for a Yosemite Museum made at Wawona.r YNP, 1904, p. 20;r YNHA, 1930, pp. 17-18.r
r rr Area of Yosemite National Park reduced.r Mount Ritter region and Devils Postpile eliminated.r Yosemite Park Commission;r YNP, 1905, p. 5;r 1906, p. 8.r
rr Capt. H. C. Benson, Acting Superintendent.r YNP, 905;r SCB, 1925, pp. 175-179.r
rr Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove re-ceded to United States.r Superintendent’s headquarters (Major H. C. Benson)r moved to Yosemite Valley.r YNP, 1905, pp. 5-6;r 1906, p. 6;r Badè, 1923-1924, 2:355.r Colby, 1938, pp. 11-19.r
rr Last “hold “up”r of a Yosemite stage (Raymond-Wawona run).r Yosemite Tourist, 1906.r
r rr Yosemite Valley Railroad opened to travel.r YNP, 1907, p. 5;r Radcliffe; Bartlet.r Del Portal, the railroad hotel at El Portal, shown inr Williams, p. 143.r
rr Extensive telephone system installed in park.r YNP, 1907, p. 8.r Yosemite cemetery given permanent marking with boundary of trees.r YNHA, 1932, pp. I-4.r
r rr Hetch Hetchy rights granted to San Francisco.r YNP, 1908, p. 14.r
rr Camp Ahwahnee established at foot of Sentinel Rock by W. M. Sell.r YNP, 1908, pp. 11, 12;r Tresidder, D. B., p. 37.r
rr Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Co. built telegraph line from El Portal tor Sentinel Hotel.r YNP, 1908, p. 9.r
rr Supervisor Gabriel Sovulewski, Acting Superintendent, Oct. 25r (to April 27, 1909).r YNP, 1909, p. 5.r
r rr Major W. W. Forsyth, Acting Superintendent.r YNP, 1909.r
r rr Death of Galen Clark, March 24, age 96.r YNP, 1510, p. 15;r 1911, p. 8.r
r rr Tenaya Lake Trail completed.r YNP, 1910, p. 10;r 1911, p. 8.r
rr Devils Postpile made a national monument by President Taft.r SCB, 1912, pp. 170-173, 226-227.r
rr Galen Clark Memorial Seat built.r YNP, 1911, p. 12.r
r rr Yosemite hospital built by U. S. troops.r YNP, 1812, p. 12;r Tresidder, D. B., p. 157.r Sierra Club purchased Soda Springs property at Tuolumne Meadows.r Farquhar, 1926, p. 58.r r r
r rr Major William T. Littebrant, Acting Superintendent.r YNP, 1913.r
rr Automobiles admitted to Yosemite Valley.r YNP, 1913, p. 12.r
rr Raker Act authorized use of Hetch Hetchy Valley as reservoir;r approved by President Wilson, Dec. 19.r Farquhar, 1926, p. 39;r Johnson, R. U., pp. 307-313;r Wolfe, 1945, pp. 339-316.r
r rr Civilian employees replaced the military in administration of Yosemite.r Mark Daniels, first superintendent.r USNPS, 1816, p. 4;r Calif. State Mineralogist, p. 61.r
rr Museum of Vertebrate Zoölogy, University of California,r began 5-year field study of animal life in Yosemite,r which culminated in publication of 752-page treatise.r r Grinnell and Storer;r YNHA, 1924, p. 2.r
rr John Muir died in a Los Angeles hospital, December 24.r Badè, 1923-1924, II, pp. 390-391.r
r rr Parsons Lodge built by Sierra Club in Tuolumne Meadows.r SCB, 1916, pp. 84-85.r
rr First appropriation for the John Muir Trail approved by Governor Johnson.r Rensch, 1933, p. 484;r Wolfe, 1915, p. 364.r
rr Yosemite Lodge established in Yosemite Valley.r Tresidder, D. B., p. 87.r Stephen T. Mather purchased Tioga Road and presented it to U. S. Government.r Farquhar, 1926, p. 94.r
rr Mather became assistant to Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the Interior.r Albright, 1929, pp. 50-51;r Cramton, 1929, p. 13.r
rr Yosemite horse-drawn stages replaced by motor stages.r Tresidder, D. B., p. 33.r
rr R. B. Marshall made superintendent of all national parks.r USNPS, 1916, p. 5.r
r rr National Park Service Act passed August 25. Stephen T. Mather made Director.r USNPS, 1916, p. 81;r 1917, p. 1;r Farquhar, 1926, p. 63.r
rr W. B. Lewis made Superintendent of Yosemite National Park.r USNPS, 1916;r Farquhar, 1926, p. 114.r
rr Tuolumne Meadows Lodge installed;r also Tenaya and Merced camps opened.r Tresidder, D. B., p. 76.r
r rr Stephen T. Mather became first Director, National Park Service.r Albright, 1929, p. 12;r Cramton, 1929, p. 13.r
rr Glacier Point Hotel completed.r USNPS, 1917, p. 59;r Tresidder, D. B., p. 61.r
rr Wawona Road and Glacier Point Branch turned over to federal government.r USNPS, 1917, p. 62.r
rr Parts of park opened to grazing.r USNPS, 1917, p. 153.r
rr Modern school buildings constructed.r USNPS, 1920, p. 257.r
rr David A. Curry dies;r Mrs. Curry continues operation of Camp Curry. Tresidder,r Mary C., DIS.r
r rr Cascade power plant completed at cost of $215,000.r USNPS, 1917, pp. 61, 143;r 1918, pp. 45, 134.r
rr Ledge Trail built.r USNPS, 1918, p. 47.r
r r r r rr First airplane landed in Yosemite Valley;r May 27. Lt. J. S. Kroll, pilot, alone.r USNPS, 1919, pp. 183, 190.r
rr LeConte Memorial Lectures instituted.r USNPS, 1919, p. 194.r
r rr Construction started on all-year highway up Merced Canyon.r USNPS, 1920, p. 110.r
rr Rangers’r Club House built.r USNPS, 1920, pp. 113, 250.r
rr Yosemite National Park Co. founded.r USNPS, 1920, p. 248.r
rr Yosemite educational work started by H. C. Bryant, A. F. Hall, L. H. Miller,r and Enid Michael.r Yosemite Museum planned.r USNPS, 1920, pp. 113, 245, 253;r Hall, 1980;r YNHA, 1932, pp. 2-3.r
rr California valley elk brought to Yosemite.r USNPS, 1920, p. 250;r 1821, p. 196.r
rr Big Trees Lodge built at Mariposa Grove.r Tresidder, D. B., p. 72.r
r rr First Yosemite Museum installations made.r USNPS, 1921, pp. 72, 196, 202;r Yosemite Park Naturalist, July, 1921;r Hall, 1930.r
r rr Yosemite Educational Department created.r USNPS, 1922, pp. 113, 115;r 1923, p. 20.r
rr r Yosemite Nature Notesr first published (mimeographed through 1924, thenr printed).r YNHA, 1925, p. 1.r
r rr Hikers’ camps installed.r USNPS, 1923, p. 54;r 1924, pp. 37, 109;r YNHA, 1923;r Tresidder, D. B., p. 80;r Adams, 1940, pp. 79-83;r Russell, 1925.r
rr Educational Department for all national parks created. Yosemite Park Naturalist;r USNPS, 1923, p. 20;r 1925, p. 19;r 1926, p. 7;r Burns, N. J., pp. 4-25.r
r rr Hoof and mouth disease epidemic in Yosemite deer.r USNPS, 1924, pp. 36, 108;r 1925, pp. 6, 93;r 1926, p. 14.r
rr New administration center and village developed.r USNPS, 1924, pp. 37, 108;r 1925, p. 87.r
r rr Yosemite Park and Curry Co. formed by consolidation of Curry Camping Co.r and Yosemite National Park Co.r Tresidder, D. B., p. 37;r USNPS, 1925, p. 27.r
rr Yosemite School of Field Natural History organized.r USNPS, 1925, pp. 11, 90;r YNHA, 1925, pp. 9-10, 16, 66.r
rr Glacier Point branch of Yosemite Museum opened. Yosemite Park Naturalist,r June, 1925,r YNHA, 1925, p. 55.r
r rr All-year highway dedicated July 31.r USNPS, 1926, pp. 30, 102.r
rr Yosemite Museum opened, May 29.r USNPS, 1924, pp. 8, 105;r 1925, pp. 12, 89;r 1926, pp. 31, 99;r YNHA, 1924, 1926, p. 95.r
r r r r rr Ahwahnee Hotel opened by Yosemite Park and Curry Co.r USNPS, 1926, pp. 31, 101.r
r rr Board of expert advisors, Frederick Law Olmsted, Duncan McDuffie, and Johnr P. Buwalda, appointed by authority of Congress to study and assist in the solutionr of Yosemite problems.r USNPS, 1828, p. 173.r
rr Maria Lebrado, one of the last of the original Yosemite Indians,r givesr firsthand account of Yosemite Valley discovery.r YNHA, 1928, pp. 41-46;r 1929, pp. 69-70, 85-86.r
rr Wildlife research in national parks instituted by George M. Wright, of Yosemiter naturalist organization.r YNHA, 1929, p. 66;r Russell, 1939, p. 10;r Wright, Dixon, and Thompson.r
rr W. B. Lewis transferred to Washington; became Assistant Director, Nationalr Park Service. E. P. Leavitt designated Acting Superintendent.r YNP, 1929.r
r rr A hospital, which after the death of Assistant Director Lewis, 1930, was namedr the W. B. Lewis Memorial Hospital, was constructed in Yosemite Valley at costr of $50,000.r USNPS, 1929, p. 144.r
rr Col. C. G. Thomson appointed Superintendent.r YNP, 1929.r
r rr Stephen T. Mather dies, January 22. Story.r
rr “Live Indian Exhibit” instituted on Yosemite Museum grounds; project mader possible by the coöperation of the Yosemite Natural History Association.r
rr Maggie Howard, “Ta-bu-ce” of the Monos was engaged to demonstrate modes ofr Indian life.r USNPS, 1930, p. 168;r YNHA, 1933, pp. 14-16.r
rr Sugar pine forest on west side of park acquired through private gift and governmentr appropriation.r YNHA, 1930, pp. 65-66.r
rr W. B. Lewis died August 28 in Chevy Chase, Maryland.r USNPS, 1931.r
rr High Sierra snow surveys organized on consolidated basis.r Brockman, 1946, pp. 105 -109;r YNHA, 1927, p. 19;r Russell, 1928, pp. 36-38.r
r rr Marjorie Montgomery Ward presented $4,000 with which to develop a livingr exhibit of native flowers at the rear of the Yosemite Museum.r USNPS, 1931;r YNHA, 1931, p. 64;r 1932, pp. 4-5.r
rr Research Reserves established (White Mountain, Boundary Hill, and Swampr Lake).r USNPS, Master Plan, 1942, Sheet 7, map;r YNHA, 1927, pp. 46-48.r
rr Glacier measurements instituted in the Yosemite High Sierra.r YNHA, 1934, pp. 44-46;r 1935, pp. 9396;r 1942, pp. 89-91.r
r rr Wawona Basin, 8,785 acres, added to Yosemite National Park. Half of the fundsr required were donated; the Department of Interior was authorized by Congressr to match the donation with federal funds.r USNPS, 1932, p. 61.r
rr Mariposa Grove Museum established.r USNPS, 1932, p. 63;r YNHA, 1932, p. 4.r
r r r rr Big Trees Lodge constructed in Mariposa Grove at Sunset Point. Earlier tentr camp eliminated from upper grove.r USNPS, 1932, p. 64.r
rr Cosmopolitan House, built in 1843, destroyed by fire, Dec. 8.r YNHA, 1933, pp. 1-2.r
rr Sierra Club Rock-Climbing Section organized.r Leonard, R. M., 1938, p. ii.r
r rr Devils Postpile National Monument placed under supervision of the superintendent,r Yosemite National Park.r YNHA, 1835, pp. 45-57.r
rr Tule elk herd (27 animals) removed from Yosemite Valley to Owens Valley, eastr of Sierra.r YNHA, 1933, pp. 107-109.r
rr Arno B. Cammerer made Director of National Park Service upon resignation ofr Horace M. Albright.r USNPS, 1933, p. 153.r
rr Wawona Road and tunnel dedicated June 10, 1933.r YNP, 1933, p. 1.r
rr “Emergency programs,”r C.C.C., C.W.A., and P.W.A. advanced the constructionr and management projects of the park. Five C.C.C. camps were established atr Wawona, Crane Flat, and Eleven Mile Meadow.r YNP, 1933, pp. 26-32.r r
r rr First ascent of Higher Cathedral Spire, April 15;r Lower Cathedral Spire, August 25.r Leonard, R. M., 1934, p. 178.r
rr Hetch Hetchy water flows into San Francisco.r YNHA, 1934, pp. 89-91;r YNP, 1935, pp. 11-12.r
rr Radio replaced mountain telephone lines in Yosemite administration.r YNP,r 1934, p. 11.r
rr Outdoor church bowl in Yosemite Valley improved by C.C.C.r YNP, 1934.r r
r rr Ski house built at Badger Pass by Yosemite Park and Curry Co.r YNP, 1936, p. 6.r
r rr Thomas Moran art collection acquired by the Yosemite Museum.r YNP, 1936, p. 4;r YNHA, 1936, pp. 57-64;r 1944, pp. 64-68.r
rr Yosemite Museum acquired 198 oil and water-color paintings by the Yosemiter artist, Chris Jorgensen.r YNP, 1937, p. 7.r
rr First ski ascent of Mount Lyell, March 2, by Bestor Robinson, David R. Brower,r Lewis F. Clark, Boynton S. Kaiser, and Einar Nilsson.r Brower, 1838, pp. 40-45.r
rr Harry Cassie Best dies in San Francisco, October 14. Virginia Best Adams andr Ansel Adams take over operation of Best Studio, Yosemite Valley.r YNHA,r 1936, p. 88a, back cover;r 1945, p. 44.r
r rr Lawrence C. Merriam appointed to superintendency in June following death ofr C. G. Thomson.r YNP, 1937, p. 2;r YNHA, 1937, pp. 36-38.r
r rr Hetch Hetchy Dam enlarged by addition of 85 feet to its height.r YNP, 1938, p. 9.r
rr Tenaya Lake High Sierra Camp removed and new camp established at May Lake.r YNP, 1938, p. 14.r
r r r rr President Franklin D. Roosevelt visited Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove,r July 15.r YNP, 1939, p. 6.r
rr Sentinel Hotel, River Cottage, and Ivy Cottage torn down in Dec.r YNP, 1939, p. 21.r
rr Gabriel Sovulewski died Nov. 29.r YNP, 1939, p. 11.r r
r rr Vegetation type map of the park prepared by Branch of Forestry, National Parkr Service.r USNPS, Master Plan, 1942, two maps and key.r
rr Newton B. Drury appointed to Yosemite Advisory Board, Feb. 24.r YNP, 1939, p. 10.r
r rr Newton B. Drury appointed Director of the National Park Service in June, whenr Arno B. Cammerer requested that he be relieved of his duties as Director forr reasons of health.r USNPS, 1940, p. 204.r
rr Tioga Road, Crane Flat to McSwain Meadows, and Big Oak Flat Road, fromr Crane Flat to El Portal Road, constructed on modern standards; opened withr ceremonies, June 23.r YNP, 1940, p. 1.r USNPS, Master Plan, 1942.r
rr Cedar Cottage (Upper Hotel) and Oak Cottage razed.r YNP, 1941, pp. 3-4;r 1942, p. 6.r
rr C. A. Harwell vacated the Yosemite Park Naturalist position Sept. 7.r YNHA, 1941, p. 37.r
rr Ski-touring accommodations provided at Ostrander Lake, under slopes of Horser Ridge.r YNP, 1941, p. 2.r
rr William E. Colby appointed to membership on Yosemite Advisory Board effectiver November 15.r Maulding, Mrs. J. Atwood.r
rr Mrs. John Degnan, pioneer park operator, died Dec 15.r YNP, 1941, p. 9.r
r rr Arno B. Cammerer, Director of National Park Service, 1933-1940, died April 30.r USNPS, 1942.r
rr C. Frank Brockman appointed Yosemite Park Naturalist, Mar. 27.r YNHA, 1941, p. 37.r
rr Bear-feeding programs in Yosemite Valley discontinued.r YNP, 1941, p. 3.r
rr Superintendent Lawrence C. Merriam appointed Regional Director, Nationalr Park Service, Region Two (Omaha, Nebraska), July 31. Frank A. Kittredger transferred from Grand Canyon National Park to the Yosemite superintendency,r Aug. 1.r YNP, 1842, pp. 1, 5.r
rr Cosie Hutchings Mills visited Yosemite Valley, Aug. to, after absence of 42 years.r YNHA, 1941, p. 111;r 1942, pp. 37-40.r
r rr Yosemite School of Field Natural History and Junior Nature School discontinuedr for duration of war.r YNHA, 1942, p. 30;r YNP, 19.12, p. 7.r
rr Activities of C.C.C. in Yosemite National Park discontinued in July.r YNP, 1943, p. 1.r
rr U. S. Army Signal Corps units utilized National Park Service facilities at Wawonar and Badger Pass as special summer training schools.r YNP, 1943, p. 1;r 1944, pp. 1-2; 1945, p. 2.r
r r r rr Armed-forces men who came to Yosemite National Park for recreation or conditioningr totaled 23,272 in the fiscal year ending June 30. (This total reachedr 89,686 during the war years.)r YNP, 1943, p. 1;r 1944, p. 2.r
rr J. N. LeConte appointed Collaborator, Yosemite Advisory Board.r YNP, 1943, p. 2.r
r rr Ranger-naturalist program discontinued as a war measure.r YNHA, 1943, pp. 46-47.r
rr Death of Dr. H. C. Bumpus, of the National Park Service Advisory Board, June 21.r YNHA, 1943, pp. 97-101.r
rr Death of John Degnan, pioneer resident and operator, Feb. 27.r Mary Ellen Degnan, daughter, continued operation of Degnan store.r YNP, 1943, p. 10.r
rr Death of Mrs. Mabel Sweetman Boysen, longtime operator and resident, May 10.r YNP, 1943, p. 11.r
rr Ahwahnee Hotel converted to hospital use by U. S. Navy, June 23 (to Dec. 15,r 1945).r YNP, 1944, p. 1;r YNHA, 1946, p. 15;r Yosemite Park and Curry Co., 1946, pp. 1-76.r
rr Death of Chief Ranger Forest S. Townsley, Aug. 11.r YNP, 1944, p. 6;r YNHA, 1943, p. 75.r
r rr Transfer of Acting Chief Ranger John H. Wegner to Sequoia and Kings Canyonr national parks.r YNHA, 1944, pp. 32-33.r
rr Oscar A. Sedergren appointed Chief Ranger.r YNHA, 1944, pp. 37-38.r
rr M. E. Beatty, Associate Park Naturalist, transferred to Glacier National Park,r Montana.r M. V. Walker appointed vice Beatty.r YNHA, 1944, pp. 58, 60.r
r rr First consideration given to the removal of some of the physical developmentsr from Yosemite Valley and the establishment of new centers of operations inr less precious localities.r Vint, 1945.r
rr Elizabeth H. Godfrey, a student and writer of Yosemite history, transferred fromr Yosemite to Region Four, National Park Service.r YNHA, 1945, p. 97.r
rr Meadows and vista restoration program initiated in Yosemite Valley.r YNP, 1945, p. 10.r
rr Yosemite Valley Railway abandoned August 27.r YNP, 1946, p. 5.r
r rr Park Naturalist C. Frank Brockman resigns from National Park Service.r YNHA, 1946, pp. 110-111.r
rr Lost Arrow ascended by Jack Arnold, Anton Nelson, Fritz Lippmann, and Robin Hansen,r September 2.r YNHA, 1946, pp. 113-116;r Brower, 1946, pp. 121-122.r
rr Constam T-bar lift for skiers constructed at Badger Pass in fall.r YNP, 1947.r
r rr Maggie Howard, “Ta-bu-ce,”r a principal character in Yosemite Indian demonstration,r died at Mono Lake. Kittredge, 1947.r
r r r rr Next: Bibliographyr •r Contentsr •r Previous: Documentsr
r r rr
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r rr http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/one_hundred_years_in_yosemite/chronology.htmlr
r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r rr
r rr Yosemite > Library >r 100 Years in Yosemite >r Bibliography >rr r
r
r r rr Next: Indexr •r Contentsr •r Previous: Chronologyr
r r rr The following references are to pertinent titles in the bibliography of Yosemiter history. A comprehensive bibliography is to be found in the Yosemite section,r pages viii to 134, ofr A Bibliography of National Parks and Monuments West of the Mississippi River,r National Park Service, Western Museum Laboratories,r Berkeley, California, 1941. No attempt has been made here to list all itemsr descriptive of the park.r
r rr [Editor’s note: in the following references “mim.” refers tor articles and books printed with ar mimeograph machine, a largely obsolete low-cost, low-volume printing process that uses a stencil duplicator—dea.]r
r r r rr
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r Adams, Ansel.r Sierra Nevada: The John Muir Trail [“Transmission of emotionalr experience”] (Berkeley, 1938), 50 plates.r
r rr Adams, Virginia, and Ansel Adams.r Illustrated Guide to Yosemite Valley (Sanr Francisco, 1940), 128 pp., illus., maps.r
r rr r Albright, Horace M.r “How the National Park Service Came into Being: A Reminiscence,”r American Civic Annual, 1929, pp. 9-12.r
r rr ——. “Yosemite on the Way to Protection,” American Civic Annual, 1929, pp.r 23-25.r
r rr American Motorist.r “Yosemite Motor-Conquered,” September, 1916, p. 37.r
r rr American Planning and Civic Association.r Portfolio on the national park andr monument system (Washington, D. C., n.d.), four booklets, 32 pp. each.r
r rr Anonymous.r Mono County (F. W. McIntosh, Reno, 1908), 96 pp., illus.r
r rr Archibald, J. F. “A Cavalry March to the Yosemite,” Illustrated American, November,r 1896.r
r rr Ayers, Thomas A.r Original pencil drawings made in Yosemite Valley, 1855 andr 1856 (Yosemite Museum exhibits).r
r rr Badè, W. F.r “The Hetch Hetchy Situation [editorial],” Sierra Club Bulletin, 9r (1914). 3, 174-176.r
r rr ——. “John Muir in Yosemite,” Natural History, March-April, 1920.r
r rr ——.r The Life and Letters of John Muirr (2 vols., Boston and New York, 1924).r
r rr Bailey, C. A.r “The Vantage Points of Yosemite,” Sunset, April, 1899.r
r rr ——. “Unfrequented Paths of Yosemite,” Overland Monthly, July, 1886, pp.r 88-92.r
r rr Bancroft, Hubert Howe.r Tourists’ Guide (1871).r
r rr ——. History of California, I, 1542-1800 (San Francisco, 1884), 744 pp.; III.r 1825-1840 (1885), 792 pp.; IV, 1840-1845 (1886).r
r rr Barrus, C.r “In the Yosemite with John Muir,” The Craftsman, December, 1913.r
r rr Bartlet, L.r “By Rail to the Yosemite,” Pacific Monthly, June, 1907, pp. 730-738.r
r rr Beadle, J. H.r The Undeveloped West (Philadelphia, 1873), 824 pp., illus.r
r rr r Beatty, M. E.r “History of the Firefall,” Yosemite Nature Notes, 1934, pp. 41-43.r
r rr r ——. “Glaciers of Yosemite,” Yosemite Nature Notes, 1934, pp. 44-46.r
r r r rr ——.r “A Brief Story of the Geology of Yosemite Valley,”r Yosemite Nature Notes, 1943, pp. 33-40.r
r rr ——.r r “Bears of Yosemite,”r Yosemite Nature Notes, 1943, pp. 1-16.r
r rr r Beatty, M. E., and C. A. Harwell.r “Birds of Yosemite,” Yosemite Nature Notes,r 1938, pp. 1-36.r
r rr Belden, C. J.r “The Tioga Road across the Sierra Nevada,” Geographical Review,r June, 1919.r
r r r r rr Bell, Major Horace.r Reminiscences of a Ranger (Santa Barbara, 1927), 500 pp.,r illus.r
r rr Bidwell, John.r John Bidwell’s Trip to California, 1841 (St. Louis, 1842), 32 pp.r
r rr ——. “First Emigrant Main to California,” Century Magazine, November, 1890.r
r rr Blackwelder, Eliot.r “Pleistocene Glaciation in the Sierra Nevada and Basinr Ranges” Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer., 42 (1931), 865-922.r
r rr Blake, Mary E.r On the Wing (Boston, 1883), 236 pp.r
r rr Boddam-Whetham, J. W.r Western Wanderings (London, 1874), 364 pp., illus.r
r rr Bodie Daily Free Press, November 3, 1879; January 26, 1884.r
r rr Bodie Standard, November 7, 1877; June 6, 1881.r
r rr Boling, Captain John.r r “Letter from Yosemite Valley,” Alta California, June 12,r 1851.r
r rr ——.r r “Letter from Camp on Fresno River,” Alta California, June 14, 1851.r
r rr r Bolles, Ida Savage.r “Sidelights on Major James Savage,” Yosemite Nature Notes,r 1929, pp. 15-16.r
r rr
r rr r Borell, Adrey E.r “History of Fishing in Yosemite,” Yosemite Nature Notes,r 1934. pp. 57-60.r
r rr Bowles, Samuel.r Our New West (New York, 1868), 524 pp., illus.r
r rr Brace, Charles Loring.r The New West (New York, 1868), 374 pp.r
r rr Branson, I. R.r Yosemite against Corporation Greed (Aurora, Neb., 1909), 30 pp.r
r rr Breitenstein, A. J.r “The Park-to-Park Highway,” New West, May, 1917, pp.r 17-20.r
r rr Brewer, William H.r Up and Down California in 1860-1864r (Yale University Press, New Haven, 1930).r
r rr Brewster E. T.r Life and Letters of J. D. Whitney (Boston, 1909), 412 pp.r
r rr Brockman, C. Frank.r “Contributions of the Naturalist to Winter Recreation,”r Proceedings, Second Park Naturalist Conference (Washington, D. C.), pp. 74-80 [mim.].r
r rr r ——. “Little Change in Yosemite’s Glaciers,” Yosemite Nature Notes, 1942,r pp. 89-91.r
r r r rr r ——. “Administrative Officers of Yosemite,” Yosemite Nature Notes, 1944, pp.r 53-57.r
r rr ——.r r “Principal Waterfalls of the World and Their Relation to Those in Yosemiter National Park,” Yosemite Nature Notes, 1945, pp. 1-32.r
r rr r ——. “Yosemite and the Mother Lode Country,” Yosemite Nature Notes, 1946,r pp. 81-85.r
r rr r ——. “The ‘Why’ of Some Surveys,” Yosemite Nature Notes, 1946, pp. 57-61.r
r rr ——. “The Great Sierra Snow Survey,” Natural History, March, 1946, pp. 105-109.r
r r r r r rr ——.r r “Broadleaved Trees of Yosemite National Park,” Yosemite Nature Notes,r 1947. pp. 1-40.r
r rr Bromley, I. H.r “The Big Trees and the Yosemite,” Scribner’s Monthly, January,r 1872.r
r r r r rr Brower, David R. “Beyond the Skiways,” Sierra Club Bulletin, 23 (1938): 2, 40-45.r [First ski ascent of Mount Lyell.]r
r rr ——. “Winter Sports Dilemma,” Sierra Club Bulletin, 31 (1946): 5, 6-7.r
r rr ——. “Lost Arrow,” Sierra Club Bulletin, 31 (1946): 6, 121-122.r
r rr ——. “Skiing the Sky-Land,” American Ski Annual, 1947, pp. 49-59.r
r r r rr r Bryant, Harold C.r “A School for Nature Guides,” Yosemite Nature Notes, 1925,r pp. 9-10, 16.r
r rr r ——. “Recollections,” Yosemite Nature Notes, 1932.r
r rr ——. andr Wallace W. Atwood, Jr.r Research and Education in the Nationalr Parks (Washington, D. C., 1932), pp. 1-66.r
r rr r ——. “A Nature Preserve [Research Reserve] for Yosemite,” Yosemite Nature Notes,r 1927, pp. 46-48.r
r rr ——. “Trails and Trail Use,” Proceedings of Eighth Appalachian Trail Conference,r 1938, pp. 26-30.r
r rr Bryce, James.r National Parks—The Need of the Future. University and historicalr addresses (1913), 434 pp.r
r rr Buckley, J. M.r r Two Weeks in the Yosemite and Vicinity (New York, 1884), 36 pp.r
r rr Bunnell, L. H.r r Discovery of the Yosemite (Chicago, 1880), 332 pp., portrait, map.r
r rr Burns, J.r “Yosemite,” in T. Cook’s Letters from the Sea and Foreign Lands (1873),r 124 pp.r
r rr Burns, N. J.r Field Manual for Museums (National Park Service, Washington,r D. C., 1941), xii+426 pp.r
r rr Burroughs, John.r “The Spell of the Yosemite,” Century Magazine (Nov., 1910),r pp. 47-53.r
r rr California Alpine Club.r Trails (San Francisco, 1920 to date).r
r rr California Fish and Game Commission.r California Fish and Game (Sacramento,r 1914 to date).r
r rr California Legislature.r Investigations of Yosemite Commissioners; Assemblyr Hearings, 1889, 430 pp.r
r rr California State Board of Trade.r Yosemite Valley: History, Description andr Statement of Conditions Relative to the Proposed Recession to the Nationalr Government, Circular 13 (Sacramento, 1904), 34 pp., map.r
r rr California State Mineralogist.r Report, 1888, pp. 367-371.r
r rr California, Statutes of, chap. dxxxvi, 1865-66.r
r rr California Supreme Court.r Frémont Decision (Burnett). Case of Biddle Boggs vs. Merced Mining Company, 14th California Report,r January term, 1858.r
r rr Century Magazine. Editorial, “The Care of the Yosemite Valley,” January, 1890.r
r rr ——. Editorial, “Amateur Management of the Yosemite Scenery,” September,r 1890.r
r rr Chamberlain, A.r “Scenery as a National Asset,” Outlook, May, 1910, pp. 157-169.r
r rr Chamberlain, Newell D.r r The Call of Gold: True Tales of the Gold Road to Yosemiter (Mariposa, 1936), 184 pp., illustrations, maps.r
r rr Chapman, C. E.r History of California: The Spanish Period (New York, 1921),r 528 pp., illus.r
r rr Chase, J. S.r r Yosemite Trails (Boston and New York, 1911), 354 pp., illus.r
r rr Churchill, C. M.r r Over the Purple Hills (Denver, 1876), 336 pp., illus.r
r rr ——. The Big Trees of California (Redondo, Calif., 1907), 104 pp., illus.r
r r r r rr Clark, Galen.r r Indians of the Yosemite Valley and Vicinityr (Yosemite, 1904), 110r pp., illus.r
r rr ——.r r The Yosemite Valley: Its History, Characteristic Features, and the Theories Regarding Its Originr (Yosemite Valley [Nelson L. Slater], 1910), 108 pp.,r illus.r
r rr ——.r “Yosemite: Past and Present,”r Sunset, April, 1909, pp. 394-396.r
r rr Clark, W. A.r “Automobiling in Yosemite Valley,” Overland Monthly, August,r 1902, pp. 104-110.r
r rr Clarke, Clinton C.r “Story of Building the Pacific Crest Trailway, 1932-1942,”r bulletin of the Pacific Crest Trail System Conference, Pasadena, Calif., 1942,r pp. 1-6.r
r rr ——. The Pacific Crest Trailway (Pasadena, Calif.: Pacific Crest Trail Systemr Conference, 1945), 126 pp., maps.r
r rr Cleland, R. G.r Pathfinders, of the series, “California” (Los Angeles, 1929), 452r pp., illus.r
r rr r Clemens, Samuel L.r Roughing It (Hartford, 1872), 592 pp., illus.r r
r rr Cloos, Ernst.r “Structure of the Sierra Nevada Batholith,” in Guidebook 16,r International Geological Congress (Washington, D. C., 1932), pp. 40-45, map,r bibliog.r
r rr Coffman, John D.r “How Much and What Kind of Forest Land Should Be Devotedr Exclusively to Recreation and Aesthetics?” Journal of Forestry (February,r 1937), pp. 210-214.r
r rr Colby, William E.r “The Completed LeConte Memorial Lodge,” Sierra Club Bulletin, 5 (1904): 1, 66-69, illus.r
r rr ——. “The Sierra Club,” Forestry and Irrigation, August, 1905, pp. 391-393.r
r rr ——. “The Soda Springs Purchase,” Sierra Club Bulletin, 8 (1912): 4, 272-274.r
r rr ——. “The John Muir Trail,” Sierra Club Bulletin, 10 (1916): 1, 86-92.r
r rr ——. “Yosemite and the Sierra Club,” Sierra Club Bulletin, 23 (1938): 2, 11-19.r
r rr ——. “Yosemite’s Fatal Beauty,” National Parks Magazine (January-March,r 1947), pp. 4-11.r
r rr r Cole, James E.r “Origin of the Name, ‘Yosemite,’”r Yosemite Nature Notes, 1936,r pp. 49-54.r
r rr r ——. “Museum [Yosemite] Scientific Collections,” Yosemite Nature Notes, 1936,r pp. 27-32. 37-40.r
r rr Commonwealth Club of California.r “Should We Stop Building New Roads into California’s High Mountains?”r The Commonwealth 12 (June 2, 1936):r 22, 325-386, illus.r
r rr Cone, Mary.r Two Years in California (Chicago, 1876), 238 pp., illus.r
r rr Conway, John.r Time Book, Glacier Point Road Construction (in Yosemite Museum).r
r rr Coon, Lawrence F.r The Giant Sequoias of California (Washington, D. C., 1942),r 28 pp., illus.r
r rr r ——. “Forest Fire Prevention,” Yosemite Nature Notes, 1945, pp. 57-61.r
r rr Corcoran, May Stanislas.r “Wilderness Odds,” Oakland Tribune, July 5, 1925.r
r rr ——. “Mariposa, the Land of Hidden Gold” (MS in Yosemite Museum).r
r rr Cornhill Magazine, “Early Spring in California,” April, 1883.r
r rr Cosmopolitan Houser Grand Register, 1873. [A massive record of visitors duringr the stagecoach days. Lent to the Yosemite Museum by the Utter family.]r
r rr Country Gentleman,r October 9, 1856.r [Editor’s note:r the correct date is October 8, 1856—dea.]r
r r r r rr Coy, O. C.r California County Boundaries (Sacramento, 1923), 336 pp., maps.r
r rr ——. Gold Days, of the series “California” (Los Angeles, 1929), 382 pp., illus.r
r rr Cramton, Louis C.r “The National Parks under Stephen T. Mather,”r American Civic Annual, 1929, pp. 13-16.r
r rr Crane, Agnes.r “Staging to the Yosemite,” Leisure Hour, August, 1883.r
r rr Crocker, H. S. and Co.r Yosemite Illustrated in Colors (San Francisco, 1890).r
r rr Crofutt, G. A.,r Trans-continental Tourist’s Guide (New York, 1872), 224 pp.r
r rr ——. New Overland Tourist and Pacific Coast Guide (1878), 322 pp., illus.r
r rr Curtis, W. B.r “Our National Parks and Reservations,”r Annals, American Academy of Political and Social Science,r March, 1910, pp. 15-24.r
r rr Dale, H. C.r The Ashley-Smith Explorations, 1822-1829 (A. H. Clark Co., 1918),r 352 pp., 3 pls.r
r rr Daniels, M.r “The National Parks of California,” California’s Magazine, July,r 1915.r
r rr Davidson, G.r “The Occupation of Mount Conness,” Overland Monthly, February,r 1892.r
r rr Degnan, Mary Ellen.r “Early Day Experiences in Yosemite” (MS [1941] in Yosemiter Museum).r
r rr DeQuille, Dan.r “The Perils of the High Sierras,” Overland Monthly, March,r 1887, pp. 311-322.r
r rr Dickensen, Luella.r Reminiscences of a Trip Across the Plains in 1846, and Earlyr Days in California [Yosemite Valley in 1854] (San Francisco, 1904), 118 pp.r
r rr Dixon, Joseph S.r “A Study of the Life History and Food Habits of Mule Deer in California,”r California Fish and Game, 20 (1934): pp. 181-282, 315-354.r
r rr Doerr, John E.r “An Appraisal of the Winter Use in Snow Areas of the Nationalr Park Service,” MS, pp. 1-10, with tabular summary of character of areas,r extent of use, accommodations, and installations of winter sports facilities,r pp. 1-8 [Yosemite, pp. 8-10 of “Appraisal,” and p. 8 of Summary], 1946.r
r rr Drury, Aubrey.r California: An Intimate Guide (New York, 1935) [Yosemite region,r pp. 408-418, 445-478].r
r rr Drury, Newton B.r “Preserving the Native Landscape in California,”r National Parks Bulletin, 15 (1940): 68, 11-15.r
r rr ——. “Half a Century and the National Parks,”r Park Service Bulletin (September-October,r 1940), pp. 1-6.r
r rr ——. “The National Parks in Wartime”r (Chicago: National Park Service, 1943;r included with “Justifications for Appropriations for the Fiscal Year Endingr June 30, 1944[”]), pp. 1-14, mimeographed [see also American Forests (August,r 1943, pp. 374-378, 411, for another article, same title].r
r rr ——.r “What the War Is Doing to National Parks and Where They Will Be at Its Close,”r Living Wilderness, 9 (1944): pp. 11-15.r
r rr ——. “National Park Service Grazing Policy,”r National Parks Magazine (July-September,r 1944), pp. 16-17.r
r rr ——.r “The National Park Service: The First Thirty Years,”r American Planning and Civic Annual (1945), pp. 29-37.r
r rr ——. “Policy of the National Park Service Regarding Winter Use,”r Memo. of March 21, 1946, mimeographed, pp. 1-3.r
r rr Dudley, W. R.r “Report on the Big Trees of California,” U.S. Dept. of Agriculture,r Div. of Forestry, Bulletin 28, 1900, pp. 1-30, illus., maps.r
r rr Dumbell, K. E. M.r r Seeing the West (New York, l920), 206 pp., illus.r
r r r r rr Elliot, Wallace W.r r History of Fresno County, California (San Francisco, 1881),r 246 pp., illus.r
r rr Ellsworth, Rodney Sydes.r The Giant Sequoia (Oakland, 1924), 168 pp., illus.r
r r r rr r Evans, Willis A.r “Fishes of Yosemite National Park,” Yosemite Nature Notes,r 1944, pp. 1-20.r
r rr Farquhar, Francis P.r “Northward over the John Muir Trail,” Sierra Club Bulletin,r 11 (1920): 1, 34-48.r
r rr ——.r “Exploration of the Sierra Nevada,”r California Historical Society Quarterly,r March, 1925.r
r rr ——. “Colonel Benson,” Sierra Club Bulletin, 12 (1925): 2, 175-179.r
r rr ——.r Place Names of the High Sierrar (Sierra Club, San Francisco, 1926), 128 pp.r
r rr ——. “Spanish Discovery of the Sierra Nevada,” Sierra Club Bulletin, 13 (1928):r 1, pp. 54-61.r
r rr ——. “Frémont in the Sierra Nevada,” Sierra Club Bulletin, 15 (1930): 1, pp.r 73-95r
r rr ——. “Walker’s Discovery of Yosemite,” Sierra Club Bulletin, 27 (1942): 4, pp.r 35-49.r
r rr ——. “Jedediah Smith and the First Crossing of the Sierra Nevada,”r Sierra Club Bulletin, 28 (1943): 3, 35-52.r
r rr Finck, H. T.r The Pacific Coast Scenic Tour (1890), 310 pp., illus.r
r rr Foley, D. J.r Foley’s Yosemite Souvenir & Guide [Galen Clark’s description of explorationr of the Mariposa Grove] (1915), 116 pp., illus.r
r rr Font, Pedro.r Mapar del Viage que Hizo el P. F. Pedro Font a Monterey, y puertor de San Francisco; y del Viage que Hizo el P. F. Francisco Garces por El Rior Colorado hasta su Desemboque, y para arrira Hasta P. F. Petrus Font fecitr Tubutama anno 1770. [Original in Seville; copy in Yosemite Museum.]r
r rr Fountain, Paul.r The Eleven Eaglets of the West (New York, 1906), 362 pp.r
r rr Fry, Walter, and John R. White.r Big Trees (Stanford University Press, 1930),r 114 pp., illus.r
r r r rr ——. “A Painter of Yosemite [Chris Jorgensen],[”]r The American Scandinavian Review, winter, 1939, pp. 329-333, illus.r
r rr Garfield, J. R.r Decision of Secretary of Interior Garfield, May 11, 1908, approvingr the application of San Francisco for the Hetch Hetchy reservoir site, inr Proceedings before the Secretary of the Interior in re Use of Hetch Hetchyr Reservoir Site in the Yosemite National Park by the City of San Franciscor (Washington, D. C., 1910), pp. 1-6.r
r rr r Glass, Alfred.r “Brief History of the Village Chapel,” Yosemite Nature Notes,r 1945, pp. 114-118.r
r rr Glassford, W. A.r “Climate of California and Nevada,” 51st U. S. Congress, 2dr Session, Ex. Doc. 287, Appendix 67 (Washington, D. C., 1881), pp. 333-356.r
r rr Gleadell, W. H.r r “Yosemite Memories,” Electric Magazine, December, 1896.r
r rr Godfrey, Elizabeth H.r “Chronicles of Cosie Hutchings Mills” (1941 MS inr Yosemite Museum), pp. 1-14.r
r rr ——.r r “Yosemite Indians Yesterday and Today.”r Yosemite Nature Notes, 1941,r pp-49-72.r
r r r r rr ——. “Thumbnail Sketches of Yosemite Artists”r [T. A. Ayres, Thomas Hill,r Charles D. Robinson, Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Moran, William Keith,r Chris Jorgensen,r Gunnar M. Widforss, Harry C. Best, Ferdinand Burgdorff],r r Yosemite Nature Notes, 1944, pp. 21-97, passim;r r 1945, pp. 37-76, passim.r
r rr r ——.” “Joseph N. LeConte,” Yosemite Nature Notes, 1946, pp. 66-69.r
r rr r Godfrey, William C.r “Among the Big Trees in the Mariposa Grove,”r Yosemite Nature Notes, 1929, pp. 37-50r [illus. with 15 original pen and ink drawings].r
r rr Goethe, C. M.r “Nature Guides,” Survey, 44 (April, 1920): 145.r
r rr ——. “Yosemite Nature Guides,” Sierra Club Bulletin, 11 (1921): 2, 167-170.r
r rr Gompertz, H. M.r “A Closer Acquaintance with Yosemite,” Sunset, 1900.r
r rr Gordon-Cumming, Constance F.r r Granite Crags of Californiar (Edinburgh, 1886),r 374 pp., illus.r
r rr Graves, J. A.r California Memories (Los Angeles, 1930), 330 pp., illus.r
r rr Greeley, Horace.r Recollections of a Busy Life (New York, 1868), 624 pp.r
r rr Greenwood, Grace.r New Life in New Lands (New York, 1873), 414 pp.r
r rr Grinnell, Joseph,r andr Tracy Irwin Storer.r Animal Life in the Yosemite (Universityr of California Press, 1924), xviii+752 pp., map and illus.r
r rr Gunnison, A.r Rambles Overland (1884), 246 pp.r
r rr Hall, Ansel F.r Guide to Yosemite (San Francisco, 1920), 98 pp.r
r rr ——. (Ed.).r r Handbook of Yosemite National Park (New York, 1921), 348 pp.,r illus.r
r rr ——. “The Early Days in Yosemite,”r California Historical Society Quarterly,r January, 1923.r
r rr ——. “The Educational Development of Yosemite National Park,”r Sierra Club Bulletin, 11 (1923): 4, 411-416.r
r rr ——. “Educational Activities in National Parks,”r Proc. First Pan Pacific Conf.r (Washington, D. C., 1927), pp. 397-413.r
r rr ——.r r Yosemite Valley: An Intimate Guide (Berkeley, 1929), 80 pp.r
r rr ——. Letter, 1930, to C. P. Russell concerning Yosemite Museum History (inr Yosemite Museum).r
r rr Hall, Harvey N., and Carlotta C. Hall.r A Yosemite Flora (San Francisco,r 1912), 282 pp.r
r rr Hamilton, E. H.r “The New Yosemite Railroad,” Cosmopolitan Magazine, September,r 1907.r
r r r rr ——. “Studying Nature in Place,” Proc. First Pan Pacific Conf. (Washington,r D. C., 1927), pp. 435-443.r
r rr Hanna, Phil Townsend.r “Yosemite Re-born,” Touring Topics, July, 1926, pp.r 16-19.r
r rr Harper’s Magazine. “The Yosemite Valley,” May, 1866, pp. 697-708, illus., map.r
r rr Harris Yosemite Camp Grounds,r Register of Yosemite Campers, 1878.r
r r r rr r ——. “Beginning of Nature Guiding,” Yosemite Nature Notes, 1932, pp. 2-3.r
r rr Hildebrand, Joel H.r “A Nation of Onlookers?” [Advocates that skiers get awayr from “the merry-go-round of packed slope and ski tow.”] American Ski Annual,r 1945-46, pp. 145-150.r
r rr Hill, H. A.r “A Trip to Yosemite Valley,” Penny Monthly, July, 1871.r
r r r r rr r Hittell, J. S.r The Resources of California (San Francisco, 1867), 462 pp.r
r rr ——. Bancroft’s Pacific Coast Guide Book (San Francisco, 1882), 270 pp., illus.r
r rr ——. Hittell’s Hand-book of Pacific Coast Travel (San Francisco, 1887), 264 pp.,r illus.r
r rr Hittell, T. H.r Adventures of James Capen Adams (San Francisco, 1860), 378 pp.,r illus.r
r rr ——. History of California (San Francisco, 1897), 982 pp.r
r rr Hodgdon, T. J.r MS by C. P. Russell on interview with Mr. Hodgdonr (in Yosemite Museum).r
r rr Hoffmann, C. F.r “Notes on Hetch Hetchy Valley,”r Proceedings California Academy of Natural Sciences,r 3 (1868): 5, 368-870.r
r rr Holder, C. F.r “Famous Basaltic Columns,” Scientific American, February 2, 1901.r
r rr Holmes, A. E.r Letter to J. V. Lloyd (in Yosemite Museum).r
r rr Homer Mining Index (Lundy), June 12, 1880; July 22, 1882.r
r rr Howard of Glossop, Winifred Mary (De Lisle) Howard.r Journal of a Tour in the United States, Canada, and Mexicor (London, 1897), 356 pp., illus.r
r rr Huber, Walter L.r “The John Muir Trail,” Sierra Club Bulletin, 15 (1930): 1,r 37-46.r
r rr Hudson, T. S.r A Scamper through America (New York, 1882), 290 pp.r
r rr Huntington, E.r The Secret of the Big Trees (1913), 24 pp, illus.r
r r r rr Hutchings, J. M.r r Scenes of Wonder and Curiosity in California (San Francisco,r 1862), 268 pp., illus.r
r rr ——.r r In the Heart of the Sierras (Oakland, Calif., 1886), 496 pp., illus.r
r rr ——. Souvenir of California (San Francisco, 1894), 102 pp., illus.r
r rr Hutchinson, J. S.r “A New Link in the John Muir Trail,” Sierra Club Bulletin, 11r (1923): 4, 357-367.r
r rr Huth, Hans.r “The Evolution of Preservationism in Europe,”r Journal of the American Society of Architectural Historiansr (July-October, 1941), pp. 5-12r [Yosemite on pp. 5, 12].r
r rr Ingram, K. C.r Letter to C. P. Russell (in Yosemite Museum) regarding Southernr Pacific records of railroad building.r
r rr Irving, Washington.r r The Rocky Mountains (Philadelphia, 1837). Two vols.,r frontis., maps.r
r rr Jackson, Helen Hunt.r Bits of Travel at Homer (Boston, 1878), 414 pp.r
r rr James, Harlean.r Romance of the National Parks (New York, 1939), xiv + 240 pp., illus.r
r rr Jeffers, L. R.r “Memories of the Mountains of California,” Scribner’s Magazine,r May, 1919.r
r rr ——. The Call of the Mountains (1922).r
r rr Johnson, Clifton.r Highways and Byways of the Pacific Coast (1907), 324 pp.,r illus.r
r rr Johnson, Robert U.r r Remembered Yesterdays (Boston, 1923), 624 pp., illus.r
r rr Johnstone, E. McD.r West by South, Half South (Buffalo, 1890), 98 pp., illus.r
r rr Jones, Fannie Crippen.r “The Barnards in Yosemite” (MS in Yosemite Museum).r
r rr King, Clarence.r r Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada (Boston, 1872), 292 pp.r [Several subsequent eds., the latest edited by F. P. Farquhar (New York, 1935,r 2d printing, 1946), 320 pp., illus.]r
r r r r rr Kittredge, Frank A.r “Trails of the National Parks,” American Civic Annual,r 1931, pp. 18-22.r
r r r rr r ——. “Yosemite During the War Years,”r Yosemite Nature Notes, 1946, pp. 73-77.r
r r r rr ——. “Death of Maggie Howard, ‘Tabuce,’ Participant in Yosemite Indianr Demonstration, Yosemite Interpretive Program,” Memo., Superintendent tor Director, January 29, 1947, 2 pp.r
r rr Kneeland, Samuel.r r The Wonders of the Yosemite Valley (1872), 98 pp., illus.r
r rr Knowlton, E.r “Yosemite on Foot,” Overland Monthly, July, 1870, pp. 84-89.r
r rr Kroeber, A. L.r “California Place Names of Indian Origin,”r University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology,r 12 (1916): 2, 31-69.r
r rr ——.r “Indians of Yosemite,”r in Handbook of Yosemite National Parkr (Ansel F. Hall, ed.; New York, 1921), pp. 49-73.r
r rr ——.r r “Handbook of the Indians of California,”r Bulletin 78, Bureau American Ethnology (Washington, D. C., 1925).r
r rr Kuykendall, R. S.r r Early History of Yosemite Valley (Washington, D. C., 1919).r
r rr Kyle, C. W.r Yosemite: The World’s Wonderland (1915).r
r rr Laidlaw, Walter.r “A Camping Tour to Yosemite,” Outlook, June 5, 1897, pp.r 319-324r
r rr Layton, G. I.r Two Years in the Life of the Felon, Grovenor I. Layton, Lynchedr at Sonora, 1852 (A. R. Orton, 1852), 40 pp., illus.r
r rr LeConte, J. N.r Alpina Americana, No. 1: The High Sierra of California (Americanr Alpine Club, New York, 1907).r
r rr ——. “The Soda Springs Property in the Tuolumne Meadows,”r Sierra Club Bulletin, 9 (1913): 1. 36-39.r
r rr LeConte, Joseph.r r A Journal of Ramblings through the High Sierras of Californiar by the “University Excursion Party”r (San Francisco, 1875). [Reprinted,r Sierra Club Bulletin, 3 (1900): 1, pp. 1-107. New ed., San Francisco, The Sierrar Club, 1930, xviii + 152 pp., illus.]r
r rr ——. “Rough Notes of a Yosemite Camping Trip,”r Overland Monthly, October, November, December, 1885.r
r rr ——. “Yosemite,” Sunset, 2 (1899): 119-120, illus.r
r rr ——.r The Autobiography of Joseph LeConte (1903), 338 pp., illus.r
r rr Leidig, Charles T.r “The Leidig Family in California” (MS).r
r rr ——. “President Roosevelt’s Visit to Yosemite in May, 1903” [a report by ther President’s guide and cook], 4 pp., 1941, typed MS in Yosemite Museum.r
r rr Leonard, Richard M.r “Piton Technique on the Cathedral Spires,” Appalachia,r December, 1934, p. 178.r
r rr ——. “Rock Climbing in Yosemite,” Sierra Club Bulletin, 23 (1938): 2, 116-119.r
r rr ——. “Use of Wilderness Areas,” American Planning and Civic Annual, 1939,r pp. 227-231.r
r r r rr Leonard, Richard M.,r et al. Mountain Records of the Sierra Nevadar (Sierra Club, San Francisco, 1937), 118 pp. (mim.).r
r r r r rr Leonard, Zenas.r r Leonard’s Narrative, 1831-1836 (Cleveland, 1904), 318 pp.,r illus.r
r rr Lester, J. E.r r The Yo-Semite (an address, Providence, 1873), 40 pp.r
r rr ——.r The Atlantic to the Pacificr (Boston, 1873), 366 pp.r
r rr Lewis, Ralph H.r “A Survey of National Park Service Museums,” Museum News,r 19 (1941): 7, 10-12.r
r rr ——. “Park Museums-State and Local” [Part I, Trailside Museums; Part II,r Historic House Museums; Part III, Museums in the Survey], Museum News,r 23 (1945): 10, 7-12; 11, 7-12.r
r rr Lewis, W. B.r “Yosemite as a Playground,” California Forestry, June, 1917, pp.r 12-13.r
r rr ——. “Yosemite Timber Lands Saved,”r American Civic Annual, 2 (1930), 7-9.r
r rr Littell’s Living Age, “The Yo-Hamite Valley of California,” January, 1860.r
r r r rr Lockwood, J. A.r “Uncle Sam’s Troopers in the National Parks of California,”r Overland Monthly, April, 1899, pp. 365-368.r
r rr r Logan, Olive.r “Does It Pay to Visit Yosemite?” Galaxy, October, 1870.r
r rr Ludlow, F. H.r “Seven Weeks in the Great Yosemite,” Atlantic Monthly, June,r 1864.r
r rr McLellan, R. Guy.r The Golden State (1874).r
r r r rr Mammoth City Herald, July 9, 1879-February 12, 1881.r
r rr Mariposa County.r Minutes of Board of County Supervisors (Mariposa Courthouse).r
r rr Mariposa Gazette, ”‘Old Timers’ Convention in Yosemite,” June 24 and July 1,r 1943.r
r rr Marshall, W. G.r Through America (1881), 424 pp.r
r rr Marvin, John G.r “Account of the Yosemite Expedition,” Alta California, Aprilr 23, 1851.r
r rr Mather, Stephen T.r “The New Yosemite,” California Forestry, September, 1917,r pp. 38-39.r
r rr ——. “Administration of the National Parks of the United States,”r Proc. First Pan Pacific Conference (Washington, D. C., 1927) pp. 447-452.r
r rr Matthes, François E.r “Studying the Yosemite Problem,” Sierra Club Bulletin,r 9 (1914), 3, 136-147.r
r rr ——.r r Geologic History of the Yosemite Valley,r U.S.G.S. Prof. Paper 160 (Washington,r D. C., 1930), 138 pp., illus., maps.r
r rr ——.r r “John Muir and the Glacial Theory of Yosemite,”r Sierra Club Bulletin,r 23 (1938): 2, 9-10.r r
r rr Matthews, Albert.r “The Word Park in the United States,”r Publications of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts,r 8 (1906): pp. 373-399 [development of ther Yosemite Park idea, pp. 382-387].r
r rr Maulding, Mrs. J. Atwood.r Letter to William E. Colby from Director of Personnel,r Department of Interior, October 19, 1940, copy in National Park Servicer files.r
r rr Meinecke, E. P.r “The Skier and His Government” [in minutes, Section on Forestsr and Recreation, Commonwealth Club, June 25, 1941], pp. 1-5, mim.r
r r r r r rr Merriam, C. Hart.r r The Dawn of the World: Myths and Weird Tales Told by the Mewan Indians of Californiar (Cleveland, 1910). 274 pp., illus., bibliog.r
r rr ——.r r “Indian Village and Camp Sites in Yosemite Valley,”r Sierra Club Bulletin,r 10 (1917): 2, [202]-209.r
r rr ——. “Route of Jedediah S. Smith in 1826,”r California Historical Society Quarterly,r October, 1923, pp. 228-236.r
r rr Merrill, George P.r The First One Hundred Years of American Geology (Yaler University Press, 1924), 774 pp.r
r rr Michael. Enid.r “A Distributional List of Yosemite Birds,” Bulletin 2,r Yosemite Natural History Association, 1927, pp. 1-15.r
r rr r ——. “The Common Nesting Birds of Yosemite Valley,” Yosemite Nature Notes,r 1930, pp. 41-64.r
r rr r ——. “Nature Garden a New Feature of Yosemite Museum,”r Yosemite Nature Notes, 1932, pp. 4-5.r
r rr ——.[See also Yosemite section, U. S. National Park Service, Bibliography,r 1941.]r
r rr Miller, G. C.r “A Pioneer of the Yosemite,”r Overland Monthly, April, 1910, pp. 390-391.r
r rr Mills, Cosie Hutchings [Mrs. Gertrude Hutchings Mills].r r Letter to Mrs. Elizabeth Godfrey: reminiscences of pioneer days in Yosemite Valley.r (MS in Yosemiter Museum.)r
r rr Mills, E. A.r “Touring in Our National Parks,” Country Life in America, January,r 1913, pp. 33-36.r
r rr Minturn, William. Travels West (London, 1877), 396 pp.r
r rr Moffitt, James.r “History of the Yosemite Elk Herd,”r California Fish and Game,r 20 (1935): pp. 37-51.r
r rr Morris, Mrs. J. E.r A Pacific Coast Vacation (New York, 1901). 256 pp., illus.r
r rr Morris, Paul.r “Big Oak Flat Road—Historic,” San Francisco Examiner (April 19,r 1925), p. A-15.r
r rr Motor West. “The Motor Conquest of Yosemite National Park,” September 15,r 1916.r
r rr Muir, John.r r “The Treasures of the Yosemite,”r Century Magazine, August, 1890,r pp. 483-500, illus., maps.r
r rr ——.r r “Features of Proposed Yosemite National Park,”r Century Magazine,r September, 1890, pp. 656-667.r
r rr ——.r r Picturesque Californiar (1888-1891), 10 vols., illus.r
r rr ——. “The Yosemite National Park,” Atlantic Monthly, August, 1899, pp. 145-152.r
r rr ——.r r The Mountains of Californiar (1894), 382 pp., illus.r
r rr ——.r r Our National Parksr (1909), 382 pp., illus.r
r rr ——.r “The Endangered Valley: The Hetch Hetchy Valley in the Yosemite National Park,”r Century Magazine, January, 1909, pp. 464-469, illus.r [Reprintedr in Scribner’s Magazine, November, 1909, andr Sierra Club Bulletin, January, 1916.]r
r rr ——. “Galen Clark,” Sierra Club Bulletin, 7 (1910): 4, 215-220, illus.r
r rr ——.r r My First Summer in the Sierrar (1911), 354 pp.r
r rr ——.r r The Yosemiter (1912), 284 pp., illus.r
r rr ——.r Letters to a Friend, 1866-1879r (Boston, 1915), 194 pp.r
r rr ——.r r “Studies in the Sierra,”r Sierra Club Bulletin, 9-11 (1915-1921).r
r r r r rr ——.r “The Creation of Yosemite National Park: Letters of John Muir to Robert Underwood Johnson,”r Sierra Club Bulletin, 29 (1944) 5, 49-60r [with notes by Wm. E. Colby].r
r rr Murphy T. D.r Three Wonderlands of the American West (1912), 180 pp., illus.r Nation Magazine. “Preservation of the Yosemite Valley,” February 6, 1890.r
r rr ——. “The Yosemite Recession,” April 27, 1905.r
r rr National Parks Association.r “Newton B. Drury is New Director of the Nationalr Park Service [Editorial],” National Parks Bulletin, 15 (1940): 68, 16.r
r r r rr Olmsted, Frederick Law.r “Government Preservation of Natural Scenery,”r Brookline, Mass., March 8, 1890r [a leaflet; reprinted, Sierra Club Bulletin, 29 (1944):r 5, 61-66].r
r rr Out West Magazine. “Yosemite for the People,” August, 1902 [editorial].r
r rr ——. “The Big Trees,” 1904 [editorial].r
r rr Outlook. “A National Park Service,” February 3, 1912, p. 246.r
r rr Patterson, J. E.r “Life History of Recurvia milleri,r the Lodgepole Pine Needle-Miner, in the Yosemite National Park, California,”r Journal of Agricultural Research, 21 (1921): 3, 127-143.r
r rr Peck, J. K.r r The Seven Wonders of the New World (1885), 320 pp.r
r rr Peregoy Hotel Register, 1869-1874 (in Yosemite Museum).r
r r r rr Pierrepont, Edward.r Fifth Avenue to Alaska (1884) 330 pp.r
r rr Porter, T. C.r Impressions of America (1899), 242 pp., illus.r
r rr r Presnall, C. C.r “The Lost Arrow Nature Trail,” Yosemite Nature Notes, 1929,r pp. 109-112.r
r rr r ——. “Indian Picture Writing in Yosemite,” Yosemite Nature Notes, 1930,r p. 94.r
r rr r ——. “Indian Rancherias Found,” Yosemite Nature Notes, 1930, pp. 107-108.r
r rr r ——. “Translating the Autobiography of a Big Tree,” Yosemite Nature Notes,r 1933, pp- 5-7.r
r rr Proctor, A. Phimister.r An Ascent of Half Dome in 1884,r Grabhorn Press, San Francisco, 1945, 20 pp.r [reprinted in Sierra Club Bulletin, 31 (1946): 6, 1-9].r
r rr Radcliffe, Corwin.r “Rad’s Ramblings,” Merced Sun-Star, June 14, 15, 18, 19,r 1926.r
r rr Raymond, I. W.r Letter of February 20, 1864, to Senator John Conness, Recordsr of United States Public Land Office, National Archives, Washington, D. C.r
r rr Rensch, H. E., and Ethel G. Rensch.r Historic Spots its California, I: The Southern Counties,r Stanford University Press, 1932, pp. 93-106, bibliog.;r II: Valley and Sierra Counties,r Stanford University Press, 1933, xxiii+598 pp.r
r rr Reynolds, G. E.r Guardians of Our National Parks, compiled from Stockton Record,r 1923-1924.r
r rr Rhoda, J.r “Uncle Sam in the Yosemite,”r Overland Monthly, June, 1918, pp. 590-594.r
r rr Richardson, A. D.r Beyond the Mississippi (1867), 572 pp., illus.r
r rr Richman, I. B.r California under Spain and Mexico, 1535-1847r (Boston and New York, 1911), 542 pp., illus., maps, plans, charts.r
r r r r rr Rider, Fremont.r Rider’s California (1925), 668 pp., illus.r
r rr Robinson, C. D.r “Painting a Yosemite Panorama,” Overland Monthly, September,r 1893, pp. 243-256.r
r rr Robinson, L. N. R.r Our Trip to the Yosemite Valley (London, 1883), 38 pp.r
r rr Robinson, Robert C.r “A Nation-wide Public Naturalist Survey,”r Proceedings Second Park Naturalist Conference, National Park Servicer (Washington, D. C.,r 1940), pp. 25-33 (mim.).r
r rr Roorback, E. J.r “Night on Glacier Point,” Overland Monthly, October, 1906, pp.r 207-211.r
r rr Russell, Carl P.r “Hiker’s Camps of Yosemite National Park,”r Yosemite Natural History Association, Bulletin 1r (1925), 12 pp., maps.r
r rr r ——. “Yosemite Discoverers Immortalized,”r Yosemite Nature Notes, 1925, pp.r 43-45, illus.r
r rr ——.r r “Early Years in Yosemite,”r California Historical Society Quarterly, 5r (1926): 4.r
r rr ——.r “Sierra Nevada Winter Journeys [cross-country skiing],” Sunset, January,r 1928.r
r r r rr r ——. “Tribute to G. E. Reynolds of the Stockton Record,”r Yosemite Nature Notes, 1928, pp. 64-65.r
r rr ——. “Two Interviews With Maria Lebrado, Last of the Original Yosemiter Indians” (1929), (MS in Region Four Headquarters, National Park Service, Sanr Francisco).r
r rr ——. One Hundred Years in Yosemite: The Romantic Story of Early Human Affairs in the Central Sierra Nevada,r Stanford University Press, 1931, 242 pp.,r illus.r
r rr ——. “Seasonal Migration of Mule Deer,”r Ecological Monographs, 2 (1932),r 1-46.r
r rr ——. “The History and Status of Interpretive Work in National Parks,”r Regional Review, July, 1939, pp. 7-14.r
r rr r ——. “Dr. Herman Carey Bumpus, 1862-1943,”r Yosemite Nature Notes, 1943.r pp. 97-101.r
r rr Russell, Israel C.r Glaciers of North America (Boston, 1897) [glaciers of ther Sierra Nevada, pp. 37-54].r
r rr Russell, R. E.r r Letter from Headquarters, Camp Fresno, May 17, 1851, Alta California,r June 12, 1851.r
r rr Sawyer, Mrs. W. C.r “A Camping Trip to the Yosemite Valley,” Chautauqua,r August, 1893.r
r rr Schlagintweit, R. von.r Californien: Land und Leute (1871), 386 pp., illus.r
r rr Schmeckebier, L. F.r “The National Parks from the Scientific and Educationalr Side,” Popular Science Monthly, June, 1912, pp. 531-547.r
r rr Senn, Nicholas.r Our National Recreation Parks (1904), 148 pp., illus.r
r rr Sexton, Lucy Foster.r The Foster Family (1925).r
r rr Seyd, Ernest.r California and Its Resources (London, 1858).r
r r r r r r r r rr Shay, John C.r Twenty Years in the Backwoods of California (Boston, 1923), 142r pp.r
r rr Shinn, Charles Howard.r Mining Camps, American Frontier Government (Newr York, 1885), 316 pp.r
r rr Shirley, James C.r r The Redwoods of Coast and Sierra (University of Californiar Press, 1937; 4th rd., 1947), 84 pp., illus.r
r rr Sierra Club Bulletin (San Francisco, 1893 to date).r
r rr ——. John Muir Memorial Number, 10 (1916): 1, 131 pp., illus.r
r rr ——. “The Sierra Club and Yosemite,” 10 (1917): 2, 135-145.r
r rr Smith, Bertha H.r Yosemite Legends (1901), 64 pp.r
r rr Smith, Grant H.r “Bodie, the Last of the Old-Time Mining Camps,”r California Historical Society Quarterly, March, 1925, pp. 64-80, illus.r
r r r rr Solomons, Theodore S.r “After Forty Years,” Sierra Club Bulletin, 18 (1933): 1,r 20-23.r
r rr ——. “The Beginnings of the John Muir Trail,”r Sierra Club Bulletin, 25r (1940): 1, 28-40.r
r r r rr r ——. “The Story of Campgrounds in Yosemite Valley,”r Yosemite Nature Notes,r 1937, pp. 81-84.r
r rr Spencer, Jeannette Dyerr (ed.). Ahwahnee, Yosemite National Park, Calif.r [An account of the history and furnishings of the Ahwahnee Hotel.]r (San Francisco, 1935), 32 pp., illus.r
r rr Starr, Walter A., Jr.r Guide to the John Muir Trail and the High Sierra Regionr (Sierra Club, San Francisco, 1934), ix+ 146 pp., map [2d ed., 2d printing, 1946].r
r rr Spencer, Julian H.r r Indian Tribes of Sequoia National Park Region (Nationalr Park Service, Berkeley, 1935), 30 pp. (mim.).r
r rr Stockton Record. 1924 to date, “Out-o’-Doors Section.”r
r rr Stoddard, C. A.r Beyond the Rockies (1894), 214 pp., illus.r
r rr Stoddard, C. W.r “In Yosemite Shadows,” Overland Monthly, August, 1869, pp.r 105-112.r
r rr r Stornoway, Lewis.r Yosemite: Where to Go and What to Do (1888).r
r rr Story, Isabelle F.r “Plans for Memorials to Stephen T. Mather,”r American Civic Annual, 1931, pp. 44-46.r
r rr Strother, F.r “The Yosemite in Winter,” Country Life in America,r January, 1909,r pp. 262-264.r
r rr Sumner, E. Lowell.r “The Biology of Wilderness Protection,” Sierra Club Bulletin,r 27 (1942): 4, 14-21.r
r rr Taylor, Benjamin F.r Between the Gates (Chicago, 1878, 1883, 1886), 292 pp.,r illus.r
r rr Taylor, F. J.r The Yosemite Trip Book (1926).r
r r r rr ——.r r “The Return of the Last Survivor,”r University of California Chronicle,r January, 1931, pp. 85-88.r
r rr ——.r r “The Death of the Last Survivor,”r University of California Chronicle,r January, 1932, pp. 51-55.r
r r r r rr r ——.r “The Cemetery in Yosemite Valley,” Yosemite Nature Notes,r 1932, pp. 1-4, illus.r
r rr r ——.r “Hetch Hetchy Water Flows into San Francisco,”r Yosemite Nature Notes,r 1934, pp. 89-91.r
r rr r Taylor, Katherine Ames.r Lights and Shadows of Yosemite (1926).r
r rr r ——. Yosemite Tales and Trails (San Francisco, 1934), 78 pp., illus.r r
r rr Taylor, Ray W.r Hetch Hetchy: The Story of San Francisco’s Struggle to Provide a Water Supplyr (1926).r
r rr Thayer, James B.r A Western Journey with Mr. Emerson (1884), 142 pp.r
r rr Thomson, Charles G.r “Hiding Yosemite’s Visitors,” American Civic Annual,r 1932, pp. 26-36.r
r rr r ——. “Conservation in the National Parks,”r Yosemite Nature Notes, 1935, pp.r 1-5.r
r rr r ——. “Ecology of the Wawona Road,”r Yosemite Nature Notes, 1937, pp. 38-39.r
r rr ——. “The Place of National Parks in the State Plan,”r American Planning and Civic Annual, 1937, pp. 240-243.r
r rr Tileston, John Boies.r Letters of John Boies Tileston (privately printed, Boston,r 1922), 138 pp.r
r rr Tinkham, George H.r California Men and Events, 1769-1890 (Stockton, 1915).r
r rr Tissandier, A.r r Six mois aux Etats Unis (1886), 298 pp.r
r rr Tolson, Hillory A.r (Comp.).r Laws Relating to the National Park Service, the National Parks and Monumentsr (Washington, D. C., 1933), 318 pp.r
r rr Tomilson, E. T.r Four Boys in the Yosemite (1911), 406 pp.r
r rr r Torrey, Bradford.r “On Foot in the Yosemite,”r Atlantic Monthly, August, 1910,r pp. 228-237.r
r rr Tresidder, Donald B.r “The National Parks: A Public Health Problem” (MS inr Yosemite Museum).r
r rr Tresidder, Mary Curry.r “D. A. Curry” (MS in Yosemite Museum).r
r rr ——. The Trees of Yosemiter (Stanford University Press, 1932), 134 pp.r
r rr Tripp, Stephen T.r “Memorandum Regarding Churches in Yosemite,” 1941, pp.r 1-3, MS in Yosemite Museum.r
r rr Truman, Ben C.r Tourists’ Illustrated Guide, California (1883), maps, illus.r
r rr Tuolumne County, History of (1882).r
r rr Turrill, Charles B.r California Notes (1876), 232 pp., illus.r
r rr United States Congress.r Chap. clxxxvi of the statutes at large,r passed at 30th Congress, Session 1, 1864.r
r rr ——.r [The Yosemite Reservation and the Yellowstone National Park Act],r Congressional Globe (June 30, 1872), p. 697.r
r rr United States Department of the Interior.r “Decision of the Secretary of the Interior[”]r [on Lake Eleanor and Hetch Hetchy Valley reservoir sites],r Sierra Club Bulletin, 6 (1908): 4, 321-329.r
r rr ——.r Proceedings before the Secretary of the Interior in re Use of Hetch Hetchy Reservoir Siter (Washington, 1910).r
r rr ——. “Hetch Hetchy Valley, Yosemite National Park,”r inr Annual Report [1913]r (Washington, D. C., 1914), 1: 90-93.r
r rr ——. National Parks Portfolio (1917), 260 pp., illus.r
r rr United States Geological Survey.r Fifth Annual Report (1883-84), pp. 31-32,r 302-328.r
r rr ——. Eighth Annual Report, 1 (1886-87), 261-394.r
r r r r rr United States National Park Service.r Annual reports, 1916-1932 (Washington,r D. C.); 1933 to date, in Annual Report of Secretary of the Interior.r
r rr ——. “Superintendent Thomson Succumbs,”r Park Service Bulletin, 7 (1937): 1-3.r
r rr ——.r Proceedings Second Park Naturalists Conference (Washington, D. C.,r 1940), 368 pp. (mim.).r
r rr ——.r A Bibliography of National Parks and Monuments West of the Mississippi River,r Vol. I (Western Museum Laboratories, Berkeley, 1941, mim.).r
r rr ——. “Interview with John Degnan, December 13, 1941” (MS in Yosemite Museum),r 8 pp.r
r rr ——. “Interpretive Plan, Yosemite,” in Yosemite National Park Master Plan,r Development Outline, sheets 1-5, map (1942).r
r rr ——. Yosemite National Park Master Plan [A “conservative device” for regulatingr physical developments. It is kept up to date. Copies are filed in the park,r in the Region Four Office, San Francisco, and in the office of the Director, Nationalr Park Service.]r
r rr United States Senate.r Report of Commission on Roads in Yosemite Nationalr Park, 1899, Senate Document No. 155, 56th Congress, 1900.r
r rr United States War Department.r Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers,r 1879, Appendix oo, pp. 2144-2210, 2233-2238.r
r rr Van Name, W. G.r The Yosemite National Park: How Its Boundaries Have Beenr Trimmed (privately printed, January, 1924), 8 pp., maps.r
r rr Vint, Thomas C.r “Post War Possibilities for the Sierra Slope Parks: Yosemite, Kings Canyon, Sequoia”r [a proposal to view as one problem the national parks of the Sierra Nevada],r Report submitted to the Director, April 13, 1945, 14r pp., map.r
r rr Vivian, A. P.r Wanderings in the Western Land (London, 1878), 426 pp., illus.r
r r r rr r ——. “Yosemite: Type Locality for Recent Mammals,”r Yosemite Nature Notes,r 1945, p. 52.r
r r r rr r ——. “Reptiles and Amphibians of Yosemite National Park,”r Yosemite Nature Notes, 1946, pp. 1-48.r
r rr Wasson, Joseph.r Account of the Important Revival of Mining Interests in Bodie and Esmeralda Districtsr (San Francisco, 1878), 60 pp., maps and sketches.r
r rr Watson, Douglas S.r West Wind: The Life Story of Joseph Reddeford Walkerr (privately printed, Percy H. Booth, Los Angeles, 1934), 112 pp., map.r
r rr Webb, William Seward.r California and Alaska (1891), 268 pp., illus.r
r rr r Wegner, J. H.r “Evidence of an Old Indian Tail Located,”r Yosemite Nature Notes, 1930. p. 67.r
r rr Westergreen, E. E.r “Cutting Corners to the Coast (Tioga Road),” Motor,r October, 1915.r
r rr Whitney, H. A.r “Mineral Resources of Mono County,”r in Report of State Mineralogist, 1888.r
r rr Whitney, J. D.r Geological Survey of California, Vol. I: Geology (1865).r
r rr ——. The Yosemite Guide-Book (1868, 1870; pocket eds., 1872, 1874), 134 pp.,r maps.r
r r r r rr Wilbur, Ray Lyman.r “What the National Parks Mean to the People of Ther United States,” American Civic Annual, 1929, pp. 5-8.r
r rr Wiley, W. H., and S. K. Wiley.r The Yosemite, Alaska, and the Yellowstoner (1893), 230 pp., illus.r
r rr Willard, E. P.r “In Camp at Yosemite,” Western Monthly, October, 1869.r
r rr Williams, John A.r Yosemite and Its High Sierra (Tacoma and San Francisco,r 1914), 146 pp., illus., maps.r
r rr r Wineman, Mode.r “Camera Studies of California National Parks,”r Yosemite Nature Notes, 1927, pp. 9-12r [the author’s work in Yosemite, 1902.r Representative prints and enlargements of the Wineman photographs are preservedr in the Yosemite Museum].r
r rr Wiseley, J. L.r “The Yosemite Valley,” Harper’s Magazine, May, 1866.r
r rr Wolfe, Linnie Marsh (ed.).r John of the Mountains (Boston, 1938), xxii+458 pp.r
r rr ——. Son of the Wilderness: The Life of John Muirr (New York, 1945), xvii+364 pp.r
r rr Woods, Daniel B.r “Southern Mines [Mariposa and Tuolumne counties],” inr Sixteen Months at the Gold Diggings (New York, 1851), pp. 77-166.r
r rr Wright, George M., Joseph S. Dixon,r andr Ben W. Thompson.r r Fauna of the National Parks of the United States:r A Preliminary Survey of Faunal Relations in National Parksr (Washington, 1933), 158 pp., illus.r
r rr Yard, Robert Sterling.r “Director of the Nation’s Playgrounds,”r Sunset, September, 1916, p. 27, illus.r
r rr ——. “The Unforgotten Story of Hetch Hetchy,”r American Forests, December, 1934, pp. 567-569, illus.r
r rr ——.r The John Muir Trail: A Brief Account of the Mather Mountain Party’s Outing of 1916r (Washington, D. C., 1918), 94 pp. (mim.), 46 photographicr prints.r
r rr Yeager, Door G.r Your Western National Parks (New York, 1947), illus., maps.r
r rr r Yosemite Natural History Association.r Yosemite Nature Notes (Yosemite, July, 1922, to date).r
r rr Yosemite National Park.r Report of the Acting Superintendent, 1892-1914, andr Report of the Superintendent, 1916 to date.r
r rr Yosemite Park and Curry Company.r r “The Firefall: Explanation and History”r (pamphlet printed in Yosemite, 1940), 6 pp.r
r rr ——. History of the United States Naval Special Hospitalr (Yosemite National Park, 1946), 76 pp.r
r rr Yosemite Park Commission.r Report, Revision of Park Boundaries, 1904.r
r rr Yosemite Park Naturalist.r Monthly Reports, July, 1921, to date.r
r rr Yosemite Touristr [D. J. Foley’s newspaper],r “Highway Robbery on Chowchilla Mountain,” July 10, 1906.r
r rr Yosemite Valley Commissioners.r Biennial Report, 1867-1904.r
r r r rr Next: Indexr •r Contentsr •r Previous: Chronologyr
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r rr http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/one_hundred_years_in_yosemite/bibliography.htmlr
r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r rr
r rr Yosemite > Library >r 100 Years in Yosemite >r Index >rr r
r
r r rr Contentsr •r Previous: Bibliographyr
r r rr The following entries refer particularly to narrativer pages. For further references, see under appropriater date in Chronology.r
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Abrams, LeRoy, 134r
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Acknowledgments, ix-xir
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Adams, James Capen, 127, 134, 180r
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Adams, Virginia and Ansel, 73, 191r
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Administration, Yosemite, 146-175r
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Agua Fria, first Mariposa County seat,r
12, 20, 24r
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Ahwahnee, Indian name for Yosemiter
Valley, 37. See also Camp Ahwahneer
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Ahwahnee Hotel, 101, 115-116r
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Airplane, first in Yosemite Valley, 188r
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Albright, Horace M., biographicalr
notes, 169-170r
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All-Year Highway, 86, 169-170, 188-189r
r
Alta California, quoted, 26, 28, 38-39;r
another use, 103r
r
American Association of Museums, x-xi. See also Yosemite Museumr
r
American [Planning and] Civic Association,r
161r
r
Anderson, George G., 79; Trail of, 109r
r
Arboretum, Wawona, 187r
r
Aurora, mining town, 124, 127r
r
Automobiles in Yosemite, 69r
r
Ayres, Thomas, Yosemite sketches by,r
48, 58, 147, 181r
r
Badè, W. F., writings of, 153-154r
r
Badger Pass, 91, 173, 191, 193r
r
Ball, George A., 162r
r
Barnard, J. K., 98. See also Sentinel Hotelr
r
Barrett, Samuel A., 132r
r
Beadle, J. H., quoted, 53-55, 103r
r
Beardsley, ]luck, 96r
r
Beardsley and Hire. See Upper Hotelr
r
Beatty, M. E., 131, 136, 193r
r
Bennetville. See Tiogar
r
Benson, Col. Harry C., 77, 159, 160;r
quoted, 83r
r
Benton, California, 124r
r
Best, Harry C., 186, 191r
r
Bierstadt, Albert, 181r
r
Big Oak Flat: Trail, 52; Road, 164-170r
r
Big Oak Flat and Yosemite Turnpiker
Company, 63r
r
Big Tree Room, 58r
r
Big Trees: discovery, 8; Mariposar
Grove, 8; Merced Grove, 8, 62; writingsr
about, 133-134; Tuolumne Grove, 184r
r
Big Trees Lodge, 113, 189, 191r
r
Bigelow, Maj. John, 187r
r
Black, A. G., 95, 96r
r
Black Bart. See Highwaymenr
r
Black’s Hotel: Bull Creek, 101; Yosemiter
Valley, 56, 96, 101, 123-128 passimr
r
Bloody Canyon, 46, 74, 118, 119r
r
Bodie: boom days of, 64-65, 118, 124;r
mining district organized, 126; relics,r
128r
r
Body, W. S., 125, 127r
r
Boling, Captain John: and Mariposar
Battalion, 25, 36, 180; first entrancer
into Yosemite Valley of, 37; first letterr
from Yosemite Valley by, 38, 180;r
quoted, 38-39; second entrance intor
Yosemite Valley of, 180r
r
Bolles, Ida Savage, 16r
r
Botanical studies in Yosemite, 133-134r
r
Boutcell Dunlap collection, 16 n., 30r
r
Bowditch, Mrs. Ernest W., 48r
r
Boysen, J. T, 69, 193r
r
Brace, Charles Loring, 97, 99; quoted,r
97-98, 99-100r
r
Brewer, William H., 71, 78, 129, 130r
r
Brockman, C. Frank, x, 136, 144;r
quoted on trails, 82r
r
Brooks, Joel H., investigated Savager
killing, 30-32r
r
r
r
r
r
Brower, David R., xi; quoted, 87-91r
r
Brusky, William, 118r
r
Bryant, H. C., 136, 138-143 passim;r
quoted, 140r
r
Bumpus, H. C., 142, 193r
r
Bunnell, L. H.: quoted on Walker, 7;r
writings of, 14, 16; quoted on Savage,r
19-20; quoted on mistreatmentr
of Indians, 27; and naming of Yosemiter
Valley, 37; and naming ofr
Tenaya Lake, 39; Yosemite Valleyr
surveyed by, 92; trail built by Coulterr
and, 92; and first house built inr
Yosemite, 55, 93; quoted on firstr
view of Yosemite, 146; quoted onr
aesthetic appreciation of Yosemite,r
147; influence on Yosemite reservation,r
147r
r
Bureau of American Ethnology, 132r
r
Burney, James, with volunteer Indianr
fighters, 24r
r
Buwalda, John P., 131, 190r
r
Cain, Mr. and Mrs. D. V., 128r
r
Caine, Capt. J. E., 186r
r
California Fish and Game Commission,r
138, 140, 143, 185r
r
California Magazine. See J. M. Hutchingsr
r
California State Geological Survey,r
71, 129. See also J. D. Whitneyr
r
Calkins, F. C., 131r
r
Cammerer, Arno B., 173r
r
Camp Ahwahnee, 112r
r
Camp Curry, 111-113r
r
Camp Lost Arrow, 112r
r
Camp Yosemite, 112r
r
Campbell, William J., and mistreatmentr
of Indians, 28, 29r
r
Camps, High Sierra. See High Sierrar
Campsr
r
Carl Inn Tract, 163, 171r
r
Caton, J. D., quoted, 98r
r
Cedar Cottage. See Upper Hotelr
r
Central Pacific Railroad, 63, 182r
r
Chandler, Mrs. A. E., 40r
r
Chapel, Yosemite Valley, 102r
r
Chittenden, Hiram M., 157r
r
Church Bowl, Yosemite, 191r
r
Churchill, Caroline M.. quoted, 102r
r
Civilian Conservation Corps, 191, 192r
r
Clark, Galen: papers of, 40; establishedr
station now known as Wawona,r
50-51; as geologist, 130; writingsr
of, 133; first Yosemite guardian,r
150; as surveyor, 180; death of, 187;r
memorial to, 187r
r
Clark and Moore’s Hotel, 100r
r
Clark’s (Galen) Ranch: as a resort, 99-101;r
as headquarters, U. S. Army,r
157. See also Wawonar
r
Coarse Gold, 26r
r
Colby, William E., 156-157r
r
Cole, James E., 136r
r
Commonwealth Club of California, 86r
r
Conness, Mount, 72, 148r
r
Conness, Senator John, 148r
r
Conway, John, trail builder, 79, 80,r
104, 108, 182, 183r
r
Cook, J. J., 111r
r
Cook, L. F., 134r
r
Corcoran, May Stanislas, 11r
r
Cosmopolitan saloon, 103-104r
r
Coulter, George W, 58r
r
Coulter and Murphy, 98. See also Sentinel Hotelr
r
Coulterville: Trail, 52, 181; Road, 53,r
62, 63, 163-164r
r
Coulterville and Yosemite Turnpiker
Company, 61, 62r
r
Craig, Maj. L. A:, 186r
r
Cunningham, S. W., 93-96 passimr
r
Clary, Mr. and Mrs. D. A., 111-113r
r
Daniels, Mark, 161, 188r
r
Davidson, Professor George, 71-72, 130r
r
Davis, Milton F., 77, 139r
r
Deer, hoof and mouth disease epidemicr
in, 189r
r
Degnan’s bakery and Store, 110r
r
Del Portal Hotel, 187r
r
Dennison, W. E., 184r
r
Desmond Park Service Company, 109,r
112r
r
Devils Postpile, 171, 187r
r
Dill, William, 25, 36r
r
Dixon, Joseph, 135r
r
Dodd, Derrick, 108-109r
r
r
r
r
Drury, Newton B.: quoted, vii-viii;r
and National Park Service wildlifer
policy, 137; and Save-the-Redwoodsr
League, 173; appointed to Yosemiter
Advisory Board, 173; Director, Nationalr
Park Service, xii, 173-174r
r
Eagle Peak Trail, 80r
r
Earthquake in Yosemite Valley, 183r
r
Echo Wall Trail, 185r
r
Education Department. See Yosemiter
Education Department, and Parkr
Naturalistsr
r
Electric power plant: Cascades, 168;r
Happy Isles, 186r
r
Eleven-Mile Trail, 104, 109r
r
Elias, S. P., 16 n; quoted, 17r
r
Elk, California Valley: introduced intor
Yosemite, 189; removed, 191r
r
Elliott’s History of Fresno County, 16 n;r
quoted, 29, 30r
r
El Portal, 68. See All-Year Highwayr
r
Ernst, Emil, 134r
r
Esmeralda Mining District, 126r
r
Ethnological studies, 132-133r
r
Eustis, Mrs. A. H., 49r
r
Ewing, Frank B., 85r
r
Exploration of Yosemite, 71-91r
r
Farquhar, Francis P.: acknowledgmentr
to, xi; evaluation of Walker’s discoveryr
of Yosemite, 7r
r
Farrow, T. E., 113-114r
r
Firefall, Glacier Point, 108, 112r
r
First mountaineering ascents: Cathedralr
Peak, 78; Mount Clark, 78;r
Mount Conness, 78; Mount Dana,r
78; Mount Hoffmann, 78; Mountr
Lyell, 78, 191; Half Dome, 79;r
Cathedral Spires, 88; routes on valleyr
walls, 88; Lost Arrow, 89r
r
Fish. See California Fish and Gamer
Commissionr
r
Fiske, George, photographer, 40r
r
Flood, Yosemite, 69-70r
r
Foley, D. J., quoted, 66-68r
r
Force, Lieut. Wm., 186r
r
Forsyth, Major W. W., 77, 159r
r
Fort Miller, 29, 46r
r
Fort Yosemite, 160r
r
Four-Mile Trail, 80-81, 108r
r
Frémont, John Charles: visit to Yosemiter
region, 12; home in Bear Valley,r
13; and Fremont Grant, 13; Bearr
Flag party of, 18r
r
French Company, the, 12, 13r
r
Fresno Flats, 123. 124r
r
Gale, Capt. G. H. G., 185r
r
Gardiner, James T., 71, 78, 148 nr
r
Garrard, Lt. Col. Jos., 187r
r
Geological studies, 129-132r
r
Gifford, E. W., 132r
r
Glacier measuring, 190r
r
Glacier Point: Mountain House, 107-109;r
Hotel, tog; passenger lift proposal,r
109; Road, 109, 170r
r
Godfrey, Elizabeth H., x, 60, 133, 193r
r
Goethe, C. M., 137, 138r
r
Gold discovery, influence on Yosemiter
history, 10-13r
r
Golden Crown Mine, 122r
r
Gordon-Cumming, Lady, quoted, 108r
r
Government Center, 189r
r
Grazing: permitted in Yosemite, 188.r
See also Yosemite National Park,r
exploitation ofr
r
Great Sierra Mining Company, 119,r
120r
r
Greeley, Horace, 58r
r
Grinnell, Joseph, 135r
r
Grover, Stephen F., 40; quoted, 40-45r
r
Guidebooks, 73-74, 89r
r
Habitation, first in Yosemite, 55, 93r
r
Hall, Ansel F., xi, 135; and establishmentr
of Yosemite Museum, 140-141,r
144r
r
Hall, Harvey M. and Carlotta C., 134r
r
Hall, Tommy, 104r
r
Hamlin, C. J., and establishment ofr
Yosemite Museum, 141r
r
Harlow, Geo. T, 186r
r
Harris, A., and Harris Camp Grounds,r
106-107r
r
Harvey, Walter H.: and death of Savage,r
30-62; and mistreatment of Indians,r
28, 29r
r
r
r
r
Harwell, C. A., x, 136, 144r
r
Hein, Maj. O. L., 186r
r
Hetch Hetchy Valley: rights grantedr
to San Francisco, 161, 187, 188; as ar
reservoir, 161-162; fight for preservationr
of, 162 n, 156; discovery of,r
179; dam enlarged, 191r
r
High Sierra Camps, 87, 113-115, 167,r
191r
r
High Sierra snow surveys, 190r
r
High Sierra trails, 8,, 82, 83-85r
r
Highwaymen: Black Bart, 66; of ther
Chowchilla, 66-68r
r
Hite, John, 52r
r
Hite’s Cove route, 52, 93r
r
Hoffmann, Charles F., 71, 78r
r
Holbrook, J. C., quoted. 94r
r
Holmes, A. E., quoted, 69r
r
Holmes, L. A., editor, Mariposa Gazette,r
50r
r
Homer, L. L., 121r
r
Homer Mining District, 121r
r
Homer Mining Index, 119, 121, 122;r
quoted, 119-120, 122r
r
Hospital. See Lewis Memorial Hospital,r
Ahwahnee Hotel (U. S. Navy),r
and Yosemite Hospital (U. S. Army)r
r
Hotels. See Ahwahnee, Barnard’s, Bigr
Trees Lodge, Black’s, Camp Ahwahnee,r
Camp Curry, Camp Lost Arrow,r
Camp Yosemite, Cedar Cottage,r
Clark and Moore’s, Clark’s Ranch,r
Cosmopolitan, Coulter and Murphy,r
Del Portal, Glacier Point, Harrisr
Camp Grounds, High Sierra Camps,r
Hutchings House, La Casa Nevada,r
Leidig’s, Lower, Oak Cottage, Peregoy’s,r
River Cottage, Rock Cottage.r
Sentinel, Stoneman House, Tuolumner
Meadows Lodge, Upper, Wawona,r
Yosemite Falls, Yosemiter
Lodger
r
Hotels and their keepers, 92-116r
r
Howard, Maggie, 190, 193r
r
Hubbard, Mrs. C. W, 48r
r
Huntington, Ellsworth, 134r
r
Hutchings, Emily A., quotation from,r
59-60r
r
Hutchings, Florence, 182r
r
Hutchings, James Mason: writings of,r
16, 50, 56, 57; quoted, 35, 56, 78;r
and first interest in Yosemite. 48, 56,r
80, 91, 96-98; Yosemite publicity, 50,r
147, 151; Home in Yosemite of, 57,r
98; as hotel proprietor, 58; as guardianr
of Yosemite Grant, 59, 152, 184;r
death of, 59; and trails, 80; and litigationr
concerning Yosemite holdings,r
96, 98, 149-152; orchard, 98;r
as guide, 107r
r
“Hutchings,” Tom, 48r
r
Hutchings House: applied to Cedarr
Cottage, Oak Cottage, River Cottage,r
Rock Cottage, Sentinel Hotel,r
Upper Hotel, which seer
r
Indian Canyon Trail, 80r
r
Indian Commissioners, 36r
r
Indian exhibit in Yosemite, 190, 193r
r
Indian trails, 74-77r
r
Indian tribes of Yosemite region: Ah-wah-nee-chees,r
12, 132; Chowchillas,r
22, 76, 77; Chukchansi, 22, 75, 76, 77;r
Miwoks, 74, 75, 76, 132; Mono, 46,r
47, 76; Nuchu, 36, 99; Southern Miwok,r
75; Yokuts, 75, 76r
r
Indians of Yosemite region: first clashr
between whites and, 24-25; murdersr
preceding Yosemite Indian War by,r
21; and Mariposa Indian War, 21;r
treaties with, 26; reservations for.r
26, 28, 35, 36, 40; mistreatment of,r
27, 28; effect of Savage’s death upon,r
33-34; dealings with Indian agents,r
36; Wawona campsite of Nuchus,r
36, 99r
r
Indians of Yosemite Valley: attack onr
Savage’s trading post, 21; participationr
in Mariposa Indian War, 24;r
and failure to sign treaty, 26, 36;r
first surrender to whites, 36; returnr
to Yosemite Valley, 40; attack onr
prospectors, 10-45; strife with Monor
Indians, 46-48; second surrender tor
whites, 180; interview with last survivorr
of original band of, see Lebrador
r
Ireland, Louise Savage, 16, 34r
r
Jepson, Willis L.. 133, 134r
r
John Muir Trail, 83-85r
r
Johnson, Robert Underwood, editorr
of Century Magazine, 155r
r
Johnston, Adam, quoted, 77r
r
Jorgensen, Chris, 186, 191r
r
Juarez, Chief Jose, 22-24r
r
Kat, William, 88r
r
Kemp. J. C., 119r
r
“Kenneyville” property, 101r
r
King. Clarence: as geologist, 71, 129;r
as mountaineer, 78; as mapper, 95.r
148 n; quoted, 95-96r
r
Kittredge, Frank A.: acknowledgmentr
to, xi; quoted, 171; biographicalr
notes, 172-173r
r
Kroeber, A. L.: cited, 75; writings of,r
132r
r
Kuykendall, John J.. 25, 36r
r
La Casa Nevada, 80, 104-105r
r
Lake. W. B.. quoted, 106-107r
r
Lake Mining District, 123r
r
Lamon, James C., first homesteader,r
147-150 passimr
r
Lebrado, Maria, last survivor of Yosemites,r
25, 47-48r
r
LeConte, J. N., 72, 84, 130, 182, 193r
r
LeConte, Joseph: as geologist, 130;r
first Yosemite trip, 205; memorialr
lectures, 188r
r
LeConte Memorial Lodge. 83, 130, 186r
r
Ledge Trail, 107, 188r
r
Leevining Canyon, 46, 122r
r
Leidig, G. F., 95, 101r
r
Leidig’s Hotel, 101-103r
r
Lembert, John B., 119, 185. See alsor
Tuolumne Soda Springsr
r
Leonard, Archie, 122, 161r
r
Leonard, Richard M., 89r
r
Leonard, Zenas: as trapper, 4-5; clerkr
of Walker party, author of earliestr
Yosemite document, 5, 6-7, 8r
r
Lewis, ‘Washington B., biographicalr
notes, 167-169r
r
Lewis Memorial Hospital, 190r
r
Littebrant, Major William T. 161r
r
Little Yosemite Trail, 104r
r
Lodges. See Hotelsr
r
Longhurst, Peter, 95r
r
Lower Hotel, 56, 93-96r
r
Lundy, 119, 121, 112r
r
Lundy, W. J., 121r
r
McCauley, James: and Glacier Pointr
Mountain House, 108-109; originatorr
of firefall, 108; trail builder, 79,r
80, 107-108r
r
McClure, Lieut., N. F.. 77, 159r
r
McCord, Mark L., 185r
r
McDuffie, Duncan, and Yosemite Advisoryr
Board, 190r
r
McHenry, Donald Edward, 144r
r
McLean, Dr. John T, 61, 62, 63;r
quoted, 62r
r
Macomb, Lieut. M. M., 71, 130r
r
Mammoth City, 123, 124r
r
Mammoth City-Fresno Trail, 123-124r
r
Mammoth City Herald, 123, 125r
r
Mammoth City Times, 123r
r
Mann Brothers, Houston and Milton,r
50, 51, 92r
r
Maps, 71-73, 77r
r
Maria, last of Yosemites. See Lebrador
r
Mariposa: history of, 11, 179; origin ofr
name, 11-12 n; pioneers of, 11-12r
r
Mariposa Battalion, 25-26, 36r
r
Mariposa-El Portal-Yosemite Valley Road.r
See All-Year Highwayr
r
Mariposa Estate, 13, 92. 179r
r
Mariposa Gazette and first printed descriptionr
of Yosemite, 50r
r
Mariposa Grove of Big Trees: in Stater
Park, 148-149; discovery, 180; exploredr
by Galen Clark, 181; logr
cabin, 185; Museum, 190r
r
Mariposa-Hite’s Cove Road, 52r
r
Mariposa [Indian] Trail, 51, 52, 99r
r
Mariposa Indian War. See Indians ofr
Yosemite Valleyr
r
Mariposa-Wawona-Yosemite Valleyr
Road, 63r
r
Marshall, James W, 10r
r
Marshall, R. B.. 72, 188r
r
Marvin, Judge John G.. 30, 31, 32r
r
Master Plan of Yosemite Nationalr
Park, 80, 86, 171-175r
r
Mather, Stephen T: Mountain Partyr
of 1916, 85; and John Muir Trail,r
85; and National Park Service educationalr
program, 137-138; appointedr
Director of National Parkr
Service, 161; Tioga Road purchasedr
by, 164; biographical notes,r
164-167, 168-173 passimr
r
Matthes, François E., 73, 131r
r
May Lundy Mine, 122r
r
Memorials: J. D. Savage placque, 35;r
LeConte Lodge, 130; Galen Clark seat, 187;r
LeConte lectures, 188; Parsons Lodge, 188;r
Lewis Hospital, 190r
r
Merced Grove of Big Trees, 8r
r
Merced-Wawona Road, 10,r
r
Merriam, C. Hart, 132r
r
Merriam, John C., 142r
r
Merriam, Lawrence C., 171-172, 192r
r
Michael, Charles, 88r
r
Michael, Enid, 134-135, 189r
r
Miller, Adolph C., 161r
r
Miller, Loye H., 188; quoted, 138-140r
r
Mills, Cosie Hutchings (Mrs. Gertruder
Hutchings), 59, 60r
r
Mining Districts. See Bodie, Esmeralda,r
Homer, Lake, Montgomery,r
Mount Hoffmann, Tiogar
r
Mono Diggings, 118r
r
Mono Indians, strife with Yosemites,r
46-48r
r
Mono region mining, 117-128r
r
Mono Trail, 46, 74, 118r
r
Mono Weekly Messenger, 125r
r
Monoville, 118r
r
Montgomery Mining District, 124r
r
Moore, Edwin, 100r
r
Moore, Lieut. Tredwell: and attackr
on Yosemite Indians, 46; Mono explorationsr
of, 46, 117r
r
Moran, Thomas, art collection, 191r
r
Motor vehicles. See Automobilesr
r
Mountain View House. See Peregoy’sr
r
Mountaineering, 26, 78-79, 87-89;r
National Park Service policy on,r
89. See also First mountaineeringr
ascentsr
r
Mount Dana Summit Mine, 120-121r
r
Mount Hoffmann Mining District, 184r
r
Muir, John: as mountaineer, 78, 79,r
88; quoted, 79; as explorer, 84, 182;r
death, 84, 188; as geologist, 130;r
writings, 133-134, 155, 183; asr
teacher of Yosemite values, 138,r
152-156; as sheepherder in Yosemite,r
152-153; “lumbering operation”r
of, 153; in the employ of Hutchings,r
153-154; quoted on his Yosemiter
cabin by Badè, 153-154. See alsor
Sierra Clubr
r
Muir Trail. See John Muir Trailr
r
Murphy, John L., 184, 185r
r
Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, Universityr
of California, 195r
r
r
r
Nature guiding, 138-141r
r
Neal, Mr. and Mrs. John H., 94r
r
Nuchu Indian camp, 36, 99r
r
Oak Cottage, 98r
r
Oastler, Frank R., 141r
r
Olmsted, Frederick Law (elder): asr
superintendent of Mariposa Estate,r
13; as chairman, first Board of Yosemiter
Commissioners, 13, 149;r
quoted, 149r
r
Olmsted, Frederick Law (younger): asr
National Park Service Collaborator,r
14; appointed to Yosemite Advisoryr
Board, 14r
r
Orchards in Yosemite Valley: Hutchings’,r
98; Lamon’s, 148r
r
Ostrander Lake Ski Hut, 91, 192r
r
Ostrander’s, 51r
r
Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Co.,r
187r
r
Packing (animals), 53, 87r
r
Pardee, Gov. Geo. C., 187r
r
Park Naturalists of Yosemite, 144r
r
Parker, Harry C., 136r
r
Parsons Memorial Lodge, 188r
r
Passes used by Indians, 76r
r
Peregoy, Charles E., 51, 105, 107r
r
Peregoy’s Hotel, 51, 105-106r
r
Photographs, first of Yosemite Valley,r
56-57r
r
Pilgrim Society, 126r
r
r
r
r
Pine City, 123r
r
Porter, Mrs. Sarah Seton, 17r
r
Presidents visiting Yosemite: Theodore Roosevelt, 156, 187;r
Hayes, 184;r
Franklin D. Roosevelt, 192r
r
Presnall, C. C., 136r
r
Private lands. See Yosemite Nationalr
Park, private landsr
r
Radio communications, 191r
r
Railroads: Central Pacific, 63; connectionsr
with stage routes, 63; Yosemiter
Valley, 68, 69-70r
r
Raker, John E., 161-162r
r
Rangers, 158; organization of, 161;r
club house, 189r
r
Raymond, I. W., and Yosemite Grant,r
182r
r
Research Reserves, 190r
r
River Cottage, 98r
r
Road policy: and realignment, 86; obliteration,r
86; and mountain wildernessr
values, 86r
r
Roads. See All-Year Highway, Big Oakr
Flat, Coulterville, El Portal-Yosemiter
Valley, Glacier Point, Mariposa-Hite’s Cove,r
Mariposa-Wawona-Yosemite Valley,r
Sonora Pass, Tioga,r
Wawona-Mercedr
r
Robinson, Charles D., 184r
r
Rock Cottage, 98r
r
Rockefeller, John D., Jr., 162r
r
Rockefeller, Laura Spelman Memorial.r
See Yosemite Museumr
r
Rodgers, Capt. Alexander, 77, 185r
r
Roosevelt, Theodore, and Antiquitiesr
Act of 1906, 156r
r
Rosenblatt, Arthur, 57r
r
Rucker, Maj. L. J., 186r
r
Russell, Carl P., 135, 144r
r
Russell, I. C., 130r
r
Saddle parties, 50-60r
r
San Francisco Daily Herald, quoted,r
29, 32, 33-34r
r
Savage, James D.: as trader, 14; tradingr
posts, 14, 19, 20-21, 23, 24, 25, 26;r
role as discoverer of Yosemite Valley,r
15; boyhood, 17; marriage, 17,r
r
21; arrival in California, 18; championr
of Indians, 18, 29; intimacyr
with Indians, 18, 21; as white chiefr
of the foothills, 18-35; associatedr
with Rev. James Woods, 19; Bunnellr
quoted on, 19-20; quoted, to, 27;r
trouble with Indians, 21-27; describedr
by old Indian, 25; in commandr
of the Mariposa Battalion, 25,r
36, 146; aid to Indian agents, 26; asr
military leader and trailfinder, 26,r
75; quarrel with Harvey, 30-32;r
death of, 30-35; burial, 34r
r
School, Yosemite Valley public, 183r
r
Second U. S. Infantry. See Lieut. Tredwellr
Moorer
r
Sell, W. M., 187. See also Camp Ahwahneer
r
Sentinel Hotel, 98, 112r
r
Sequoia giganlea. See Big Treesr
r
Sharsmith, Carl W., 134r
r
Sheepherder Mine. See Tioga Miner
r
Sheepmen, trails used by, 77r
r
Sherman, E. A., editor, Esmeraldar
Star, 126r
r
Shirley, James C., 134r
r
Sierra Club: acknowledgment to, xi;r
and mapping, 72; and trails, 84, 85-86;r
outings, 84, 186; purposes, 86,r
156; Rock-Climbing Section, 88;r
lodges, 130, 186, 188; and U. S. Geologicalr
Survey, 131; and study ofr
fauna, 135; and John Muir, 156; andr
creation of Yosemite National Park,r
156; and Antiquities Act, 156; andr
William E. Colby, 156-157; and Yosemiter
recession, 160, 185; Sodar
Springs property of, 187r
r
Sierra Club Bulletin, xi, 156r
r
Sierra Telegraph Company, 121r
r
Skiing, 90-91, 173, 191, 193r
r
Smedberg, W. R., 159r
r
Smith, C. E., 103r
r
Smith, Jedediah S.: in ranks of “Fur Brigade,” 1;r
trip to California by, 1,r
2; first white to cross Sierra Nevada,r
2, 179r
r
Snow, Albert, 79, 104, 123; trail builtr
by, 80, 104r
r
r
r
r
Snow surveys of High Sierra. 190r
r
Sonora Pass: Road, 127; Trail, 10, 75,r
76, 80, 118r
r
Southern Mines, 11r
r
Sovulewski, Gabriel, 159, 187; quoted,r
83, 159-160; death of, 189, 192r
r
Stagecoach days, 61-70r
r
Stagecoaches: types of, 61: replaced inr
Yosemite by automobiles, 69r
r
Staging, unknown author quoted on,r
61-65r
r
Starr, W. A., Jr., guidebook, 73-74r
r
Stoneman House, 101, 111r
r
Storer, Tracy I., 135r
r
Street, Harlow, 183r
r
Sudworth. George B., 133r
r
Survey parties, 71-73r
r
“ Ta-bu-ce.” See Howard, Maggier
r
Taylor, Mrs. H. J., x, 132r
r
Telegraph lines. 183, 187r
r
Telephone: first in Yosemite, 185; firstr
adequate system in Yosemite, 187r
r
‘Tenaya, Chief of the Yosemites: firstr
surrender to whites, 36; captured byr
whites, 37, 39; death of, 46-48; andr
Mono Indians, 46-48. See also Indiansr
of Yosemite Valleyr
r
Tenaya Lake: origin of name, 39; trail,r
46, 187; and John L. Murphy claim,r
184, 185r
r
Thomson, Col. Charles G., 86, 170-171r
r
Tileston, John Boies, 78r
r
Tinkham, George G.: quoted, 19;r
writings of, 16 nr
r
Tioga (settlement), 118, 119r
r
Tioga-Lundy Trail, 121—122r
r
Tioga Mine (Sheepherder), 118. 119r
r
Tioga Mining District, 19, 120, 121r
r
Tioga Road, 81, 120, 164, 170, 95r
r
Toll roads, policy, 163r
r
‘Toll trails, policy, 79. 80-81, 85, 163r
r
Trading posts. See Savager
r
Trail policy, 87r
r
Trails. See Anderson’s, Big Oak Flat,r
Coulterville, Eagle Peak, Echo Wall,r
Eleven-Stile, Four-Mile, High Sierra,r
Hite’s Cove, Indian Canyon,r
John Muir, Ledge, Little Yosemite,r
Mammoth City-Fresno, Mariposa,r
Mono, Sonora Pass, Tenaya Lake.r
‘Tioga-Lundy, Yosemite Fallsr
r
Trask, John B., 129; quoted, 117r
r
Tresidder, Donald B., 113, 162; Maryr
Curry, xi, 113, 134r
r
Tuolumne Grove of Big Trees, 8, 181,r
181r
r
Tuolumne Meadows Lodge. 114, 188r
r
Tuolumne Meadows Soda Springs, 119;r
purchased by Sierra Club, 187r
r
Tuolumne Meadows trail, 46r
r
Turner, H. W., 130r
r
Twain, Mark, 127r
r
U. S. Army: pioneer activity in Yosemite,r
77-78; in charge of Yosemiter
National Park, 77, 157-161; andr
building of trails, 78; Wawona headquarters,r
157, 185; and Fort Yosemite,r
160; and Yosemite Arboretum,r
187; first plans for Yosemite Museumr
made by, 187; Signal Corps in Yosemite,r
192r
r
U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, 72r
r
U. S. Forest Service and John Muir Trail, 84, 85r
r
U. S. Geological Survey, 71, 72, 73, 85,r
131r
r
U. S. National Park Service: administrationr
of Yosemite, vii-viii, 161—175r
passim; and trails, 84; establishmentr
of, 161r
r
U. S. Navy and Special Hospital (Ahwahneer
Hotel), 116r
r
U. S. Weather Bureau, 187r
r
Upper Hotel, or Hutchings House, 56.r
57, 58, 93, 96—99; Big Tree Room, 58r
r
Vegetation type map, 192r
r
Vining, Lee. 46r
r
Vivian, A. P., quoted, 100-101, 102r
r
Wagon: first, 55, 179; freight, 64; mud,r
64r
r
Walker, Joseph R.: with Bonneville, 3,r
4, 5; biographical notes, 3-8: discoveryr
of Yosemite by, 5, 6-8; grave,r
7; discoverer of Big Trees, 8r
r
Walker, M. V., 136r
r
Wallace, Miles, 186r
r
Walworth and Hite Hotel, 56, 93r
r
Ward, Marjorie Montgomery, 190r
r
Wartime problems in Yosemite, xii,r
116, 149, 173-174, 192, 193r
r
Washburn, Coffman, Chapman, andr
Company’s: Mariposa Road, 63;r
Wawona Hotel, 9g-101r
r
Watkins, C. E., 181r
r
Wawona: U. S. Army headquarters,r
157, 160; as a Nuchu Indian campsite,r
36; Galen Clark’s ownership,r
50-51; Hotel, 99-101; Fish Hatchery,r
185; first Yosemite museum plannedr
for, 187. See also Clark’s Ranch,r
Clark and Moore’sr
r
Wawona basin, acquisition of, 190r
r
Wawona Road, 170, 191r
r
Wawona ‘Dee, 184r
r
Wawona Tunnel, 170, 191r
r
Weed, C. L., photographs by, 55-56r
r
Westfall’s, 51r
r
Wheeler Survey, 71r
r
Whitney, Josiah D., 71, 78, 129-130;r
quoted, 79r
r
Wilbur, Ray Lyman, 142r
r
Wilcox, Capt. E. F., ,86r
r
Wildlife studies, 134-137r
r
Winchell, L. A., writings of, 16 nr
r
Winter sports, 90—91, 173r
r
Wolfe. Linnie Marsh, 98r
r
Wood, Capt. Abram Epperson, 158r
r
Wright, George M., 131, 135, 136, 143r
r
Yelverton, Therese, Viscountess Avonmore,r
98r
r
Yosemite Advisory Board, 14, 157, 173,r
190, 193r
r
Yosemite Chapel, 102, 184r
r
Yosemite Church Bowl, 191r
r
Yosemite Commissioners, Board of:r
first chairman, 13, 149: action onr
road rights, 62-63, 151-152; failurer
of legislation to support, 63, 151-152;r
action on trails, 79; action onr
homestead claims by, 149-152; effectr
upon, of National Park bill, 157;r
termination of authority of, 160r
r
Yosemite Education Department: originr
of, 137-145; objectives, 137-138:r
and Yosemite Arboretum, 187. Seer
also Yosemite Museum, Yosemiter
Natural History Association,r
Yosemite Nature Notes, Yosemite Schoolr
of Field Natural Historyr
r
Yosemite Falls Hotel. See Sentinel Hotelr
r
Yosemite Falls Trail, 80r
r
Yosemite Grant. See Yosemite Stater
Parkr
r
Yosemite Hospital (U. S. Artny), 187r
r
Yosemite Lodge, 112, 188r
r
Yosemite Master Plan, 80, 86, 174-175r
r
Yosemite Museum: acknowledgmentsr
to, ix-xi; and story of Savage, 15r
and Ayres sketches, 48-49; exhibitsr
in, lof, 133; organization of, 141-145,r
189; first plans made at Wawona,r
187; new building opened,r
189; Glacier Point brands of, 189;r
Garden, 190; “Live Indian Exhibit;r
190; and Thomas Moran Collection,r
191; and Chris Jorgensen paintings,r
191r
r
Yosemite Museum Association, 144r
r
Yosemite National Park: exploitationr
of region of, vii-viii, 151-156, 158,r
160, 161-162, 175, 180, 181; privater
lands, 149-151, 157, 162-163; established,r
154-159; State Park within,r
155; championed by Sierra Club,r
156-157; military in charge, 157-161;r
boundary revision of, 157, 187r
r
Yosemite National Park Company,r
112, 113r
r
Yosemite Natural History Association,r
137, 144-145r
r
Yosemite Naturalist Department, 144-,15r
r
Yosemite Nature Notes, ix, 144r
r
Yosemite Park and Curry Company:r
acknowledgment to, xi; and Wawonar
Hotel, 101; and Glacier Pointr
Hotel, 109; origin, 112-113; andr
Big Trees Lodge, 113; and Highr
Sierra Camps, 114; and Ahwahneer
Hotel, 115-116r
r
r
r
r
r
Yosemite School of Field Natural History,r
143-144, 192r
r
Yosemite State Park, 148-150, 154-155,r
160, 182; first appropriations for,r
151, 152; established, 155; encompassedr
by National Park, 155; recededr
to United States, 160r
r
Yosemite Sugar Pine Lumber Companyr
and Carl Inn tract, 70, 162-163r
r
Yosemite Tourist, D. J. Foley quotedr
in, 66-68r
r
r
Yosemite Valley: reserved as Stater
Park, vii, 155, 182; re-ceded tor
United States, vii, 160; discovery byr
whites, 5, 6-8; origin of name, 87;r
as proposed reservoir site, 92, 147;r
homesteads in, 148-151; dual managementr
of, 157, 160r
r
Yosemite Valley Railroad: built, 68,r
187; flooded, 69-70; abandoned, 70r
r
Young, Col. S. B. M., 185, 186r
r
Zevely, J. W, 186r
r
r Contentsr •r Previous: Bibliographyr
r r rr
r rr
r rr http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/one_hundred_years_in_yosemite/book_index.htmlr
r r r r r r rr
r rr Yosemite > Library >r 100 Years in Yosemite >rr r r
r
r r rr
r
![]() |
Woodcut from title page ofr
r the first edition (1931) | r
r
r
![]() r Carl and Betty Russellr r 1925 (NPS)r r (so much for Prohibition)r r |
r Dr. Russell served in several regional positions in the NPS,r including NPS Chief Naturalist, regional director,r and Yosemite National Park Superintendent.r Dr. Russell retired from the park service in 1957 andr died June 19, 1967.r Besides several editions ofr One Hundred Years in Yosemite,r he wroter r Guns on the Early Frontiersr in 1957,r and, published posthumously,r r Firearms, Traps and Tools of the Mountain Men.r
r rr For more information see ther r WSU Libraries’ biographical sketch.r WSU Special Collections is the depository for his papers.r More Russell papers are in the Bancroft Library.r See also John Bingaman’s biographical sketch inr r Chapter 23 of Guardians of the Yosemite (1961)r
r rr r
r
![]() r Carl P. Russellr |
r Ther Documents section in the appendices is from ther first edition (pp. 170-202), published 1931 by Stanford University.r It was omitted in the second edition published in 1947.r The second edition also omitsr several photographsr that were in the 1931 edition.r The third edition (1957) is the last edition edited by Dr. Russell.r
r rr
Digitized by Dan Anderson, December 2004,r
from a personal copy.r
These files may be used for any non-commercial purpose,r
provided this notice is left intact.r
r
—Dan Anderson, www.yosemite.ca.usr
r
r
r
r
One Hundred Years in Yosemiter
![]() r by Carl P. Russell (Paperback, 1992)r r r r Buy this book at Amazon.comr r | r
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r rr http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/one_hundred_years_in_yosemite/r
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