One Hundred Years in Yosemite - The Story of a Great Park and Its Friends

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Title: One Hundred Years in Yosemite - The Story of a Great Park and Its Friends
Author: Russell, Carl Parcher
Language: English
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[Illustration: Frontispiece: Yosemite Valley]

One Hundred Years in Yosemite

_The Story of a Great Park and Its Friends_

BY CARL PARCHER RUSSELL
CHIEF NATURALIST, UNITED STATES NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

_With a Foreword by Newton B. Drury_

[Illustration: Looking at the valley]

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS
_Berkeley and Los Angeles · 1947_

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS
BERKELEY AND LOS ANGELES
CALIFORNIA

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
LONDON, ENGLAND

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
BY THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS

DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF
WASHINGTON BARTLETT LEWIS
1884-1930
AND
CHARLES GOFF THOMSON
1883-1937

FOREWORD

[Illustration: Decorative border]

_The National Park Service is primarily a custodian of and trustee for
lands—lands with unique and special qualities, so distinctive as to make
their care a concern of the entire nation; lands, therefore, held under
a distinctive pattern and policy, administered according to the national
park concept._

_Yosemite National Park comprises such lands. It is, so to speak, a type
locality for the national park idea. While Yellowstone, established in
1872, was the first real national park, Yosemite Valley, in 1864, under
an act signed by President Lincoln, was transferred to the State of
California to be protected according to park principles, later to be
re-ceded to the Federal Government. Here in Yosemite many of the
national park policies and techniques of protection, administration, and
interpretation have evolved and are still evolving, within the framework
of the basic act of 1916, with its injunction to “conserve the scenery
and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife therein and to
provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means
as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.”_

_Dr. Russell’s _One Hundred Years in Yosemite_, appearing now in its new
version, gives not only a chronology of events, and the persons taking
part in them, related to this place of very special beauty and meaning.
It also portrays, in terms of human experience, the growth of a distinct
and unique conception of land management and chronicles the thoughts and
effort of those who contributed to it. It tells of the obstacles
overcome, and of the pressures, present even today, to break down the
national park concept, and turn these lands to commercial and other ends
that would deface their beauty and impair their significance._

_This book, therefore, is more than a history of Yosemite. It traces the
evolution of an idea._

_In scholarly fashion, sources of information are cited. Many of the
documents and other source materials upon which the book is based are
preserved in the Yosemite Museum, thus giving special interest to
visitors to Yosemite._

_Belief in the worth of the national park program cannot but be
strengthened by reading _One Hundred Years in Yosemite_._

Newton B. Drury,
_Director, National Park Service_

_February 13, 1947_

PREFACE

_It is the purpose of _One Hundred Years in Yosemite_ to preserve and
disseminate the true story of the discovery and preservation of
America’s first public reservation to be set aside for its natural
beauty and scientific interest._

_When the original version of this book was written in 1930, I had
recently completed the collation of manuscript diaries and
correspondence, newspaper files, old journals, hotel registers, state
and federal reports, photographs, and a variety of other pertinent
historical source materials in the library of the Yosemite Museum. This
was the material upon which the book was based. In the preface of the
book I made a plea for the contribution of additional Yosemite
memorabilia to be added to the Yosemite archives. Perhaps some of the
fine response from donors during the past sixteen years is traceable to
that plea; more likely, the increased interest in the Yosemite Museum
results from the creditable work of the park’s staff members and the
message carried by the monthly publication, _Yosemite Nature Notes_. The
notable growth of the Yosemite Museum collections and the improvement of
its exhibits and its general program of interpretive work are heartening
to all who had a hand in the establishment of the work._

_In the original version, and in bringing to the present work the
benefit of new material, I have attempted to organize the published
information which has been confirmed by the oral testimony of many
Yosemite pioneers and enriched with authentic data from unpublished
manuscripts prepared by other “old-timers” to whom I could not speak. In
order that a convenient chronology of events might be available to the
reader, an outline is appended to the book. This includes the episodes
related in the text and in addition mentions many obscure events not
treated in the narrative. It also provides ready reference to the
sources drawn upon in writing. This method of citing sources has made it
unnecessary to encumber the pages of the text with numerous footnotes.
Most of the manuscripts referred to are the property of the Yosemite
Museum. The whereabouts of other manuscripts is indicated in the
bibliography._

_To the donors of the expanding collection of source materials and to
the Yosemite staff members, also, who have accomplished so much in
organizing, interpreting, and publishing upon these materials, I am
indebted. Their interest and their labors have facilitated my present
writing, and their conscientious handling of file systems, accession
records, stored collections, and publication programs will facilitate
the work of future investigators of Yosemite history and natural
history. At the same time, their good museum practices should inspire
further public confidence in the integrity of the Yosemite program, and
the collections will continue to grow._

[Illustration: _By Ralph Anderson, NPS_
The Yosemite Museum]

_A host of friends and associates have contributed to the production of
the book. Great thanks are due my wife for her generous help and
continuous encouragement. Mrs. H. J. Taylor lent important assistance
and advice. Among the Yosemite staff members who gave valuable help,
former Park Naturalists_ _C. A. Harwell and C. Frank Brockman and former
museum-secretary, Mrs. William Godfrey, made especially important
contributions; however, the extraordinary interest of every member of
the park naturalist staff has placed me in the debt of the entire
organization. The American Association of Museums, in addition to
coöperating with the National Park Service in founding the Yosemite
Museum, has contributed directly to the production of this book by
assisting me in the collecting of rare publications and helping,
generally, in assembling Yosemite data. The Yosemite Park and Curry
Company has made available many publications and photographs. Mrs. Don
Tresidder of that organization, particularly, has given material
assistance in establishing dates and historical facts. The Sierra Club
has permitted the use of my article, “Mining Excitements East of
Yosemite,” which was first published in the _Sierra Club Bulletin_. To
David R. Brower, Editor of the _Sierra Club Bulletin_ and at the
University of California Press, I acknowledge particular indebtedness,
not only for editorial guidance in producing the book but, also, for his
historian’s sense and his basic knowledge of the Yosemite terrain and
its story. Some of his contributions to the content of the text are
acknowledged elsewhere, but his friendly help has extended to every part
of the book. Francis P. Farquhar and Ansel F. Hall, during a quarter of
a century of our friendships, have given assistance and encouragement.
Mr. Farquhar has read parts of the manuscript and made helpful
suggestions. His library has been drawn upon in the course of my work.
The more recent photographs reproduced upon the following pages are
credited to their makers, to each of whom I am deeply beholden. For use
of the very old pictures used herein, I am indebted to the Yosemite
Museum, and to Superintendent Frank Kittredge I express thanks for this
and many other helpful acts performed by him and his staff members in
furthering my efforts._

_In the sixteen years that have elapsed since _One Hundred Years in
Yosemite_ first appeared, notable changes have taken place in the
geographical boundaries of the national park, physical developments
within the reservation have, so far as possible, kept pace with
progressing modes of vacationing, and some eight million visitors have
journeyed to its wonders. A number of the historic caravansaries that
served so conspicuously during stagecoach days have been removed from
the scene, and the one-time dusty, tortuous routes of access have been
converted to safe, surfaced roads of beautiful alignment. A
world-shaking conflict has been waged, and the superlative values of the
park have emerged from that war unaffected by the demands of
“production” interests._

_Many earnest men have applied themselves in guarding the precious
values of the great reservation. Some of these conservationists have
virtually died in the harness. A growing appreciation of the work of
these men is evident, and there is notable acclaim also of the
far-sightedness of unnamed leaders who in 1864 obtained the epoch-making
legislation that gave America her first public reservation of national
park caliber._

_It has been gratifying to me to observe some practical usefulness of my
original compilation of Yosemite history, and this new version of the
work is offered with the hope that it may continue to guide public
attention to the significance of the action of pioneers who led the
world along the paths of scenic conservation. Upon the executives who
now plan and administer programs of protection and management in
Yosemite rests a responsibility that gains in magnitude in proportion to
the growing pressure exerted by the hordes of people who seek the
offerings of the park. The nation is yet in a pioneering stage in
defining Yosemite values and regulating their use. In the light of
experience of the past, it should be possible to discern some of the
path that lies ahead._

_The ability to discern even the more subtle influences affecting the
security of Yosemite and other great national parks has become a “must”
for National Park Service executives. This sensitivity has not developed
overnight, but now it approaches maturity. Director Newton B. Drury has
exercised a leadership in this regard which marks his period of service
as the apex of clear thinking on national park problems._

Carl P. Russell

_United States National Park Service_
_January 30, 1947_

_CONTENTS_

CHAPTER PAGE
I Discovery 1
II Mariposa Hills 9
III White Chief of the Foothills 15
IV Pioneers in the Valley 36
V Tourists in the Saddle 50
VI Stagecoach Days 61
VII Explorers 71
VIII Hotels and Their Keepers 92
IX East-side Mining Excitement 117
X The Interpreters 129
XI Guardians of the Scene 146
Chronology 176
Bibliography 195
Index 217

ILLUSTRATIONS

FOLLOWING PAGE
Frontispiece, by Ralph H. Anderson ii
The Yosemite Museum x
The First Drawing Made in Yosemite xviii
Mariposa in the ’Fifties 8
Joseph R. Walker 44
Maria Lebrado 44
Captain John Boling 44
Lafayette H. Bunnell 44
A Freight Outfit 44
Early Tourists in the Saddle 44
First Yosemite Photograph—“Upper Hotel” 60
The Big Tree Room 60
The Big Oak Flat Route 60
The First Automobile—July, 1900 60
Early Yosemite Buses 60
Old Tioga Road 60
New Tioga Road 60
John Conway, a Pioneer Trail Builder 76
On the First Trail to the Top of Vernal Fall 76
Mount Conness and the Observatory Camp 76
James T. Gardiner and Clarence King, Early Mappers 76
Professor Davidson (right) and the Conness Observatory 76
Present-Day Trail Work—Oiling the Eleven-Mile Trail 80
Gabriel Sovulewski in 1897 80
Mount Maclure and Its Glacier 80
Measuring the Mount Lyell Glacier 80
Ski Mountaineering Party near Mount Starr King 88
Climbing on the Three Brothers 88
Descending Lower Cathedral Spire 88
The Cosmopolitan, 1870-1932 92
The Lower Hotel, 1856-1869 92
Mill Built by John Muir in 1869 96
Glacier Point Mountain House, 1878 to date 96
Sentinel Hotel (left background), 1876 to 1938 96
The Ahwahnee Hotel, 1927 to date 96
Saddle Trip on a High Sierra Trail 96
Merced Lake High Sierra Camp, 1916 to date 96
Badger Pass Ski House 100
Ski Patrol at Work 100
Winter in the Yosemite High Sierra: Clark Range 100
Snow Gaugers Entering Tuolumne Meadows 100
Sketch map of Yosemite Region, illustrating discovery, first
entry, east-side mining excitement, and some present-day
culture 124
John Muir 148
Galen Clark 148
Colonel H. C. Benson 148
James M. Hutchings 148
Sierra Club Headquarters in Yosemite, 1898 148
William E. Colby 148
W. B. Lewis and Stephen T. Mather 164
A Presidential Party at the Grizzly Giant 164
Hetch Hetchy Valley before Inundation 164
Devils Postpile, Excluded from Yosemite in 1905 164

[Illustration: _By Thomas A. Ayres, 1855_
The First Drawing Made in Yosemite]

CHAPTER I
_DISCOVERY_

That picturesque type known as the American trapper ushered in the
opening event of Sierra Nevada history. True, the Spaniards of the
previous century had viewed the “snowy range of mountains,” had applied
the name Sierra Nevada, and even had visited its western base. But
penetration of the wild and snowy fastness awaited the coming of
Americans.

In the opening decades of the nineteenth century the entire American
West was occupied by scattered bands of trappers. From the ranks of the
“Fur Brigade” came Jedediah Strong Smith, a youthful fur trader, not yet
thirty years old but experienced in his profession and well educated for
his time. In the summer of 1826 he took his place at the head of a party
of men organized to explore the unknown region lying between Great Salt
Lake and the California coast. Smith’s leadership of this party gave him
a first place in the history of the Sierra Nevada. His party left the
Salt Lake rendezvous on August 22, 1826. A southwest course was followed
across the deserts of Utah and Nevada, penetrating the Mojave country
and the Cajon Pass. On November 27 they went into camp near Mission San
Gabriel. Smith was thus the first American to make the transcontinental
journey to California, the harbinger of a great overland human flood.

The Spanish governor of California refused to permit the party to travel
north as Smith had planned. Instead, he instructed that they should quit
California by the route used in entering. Reinforced with food,
clothing, and horses supplied by the friendly Mission San Gabriel, Smith
returned to the neighborhood of the Cajon Pass. It was not his
intention, however, to be easily deterred in his plan to explore
California. He followed the Sierra Madre to the junction of the Coast
Ranges and the Sierra Nevada and entered the San Joaquin Valley.

He found the great interior valley inhabited by large numbers of
Indians, who were in no way hostile or dangerous. There were “few beaver
and elk, deer and antelope in abundance.” Reaching one of the streams
flowing from the mountains, he determined to cross the Sierra Nevada and
return to Great Salt Lake. Smith called this stream the Wimmelche after
a tribe of Indians by that name who inhabited the region thereabouts. C.
Hart Merriam has established the fact that Smith’s “Wimmelche” is the
Kings River, and the time of his arrival there as February of 1827.
Since the passes of the Sierra in this region are never open before the
advent of summer, it is not surprising that his party failed in this
attempted crossing of the range. Authorities have differed in their
interpretation of Smith’s writing regarding his ultimate success in
traversing the Sierra, but there is little doubt that he crossed north
of the Yosemite region, perhaps as far north as the American River.

Smith was, then, the first white man known to have crossed the Sierra
Nevada. His pathfinding exploits did not take him into the limits of the
present Yosemite National Park, but because his manuscript maps were
made available to government officials who influenced later expeditions
and because he was the first to explore the mountain region of which the
Yosemite is an outstanding feature, his expedition provides the opening
story in any account of Yosemite affairs.

Smith’s explorations paved the way for a notable influx of American
trappers to the valleys west of the Sierra Nevada. Smith, in fact,
returned to California that same summer. Pattie, Young, Ogden,
Wolfskill, Jackson, and Walker all brought parties to the new fields
during the first five years following the Smith venture. Fur traders
informed the settlers in the western states of the easy life in
California and enticed them with stories of the undeveloped resources of
the Pacific slope. Pioneers were then occupying much of the country just
west of the Missouri, and a gradual tide of westward emigration brought
attention first to Oregon and then to California.

The presence of Americans in California greatly annoyed the Mexican
officials of the country. The fears of these officials were justified,
for the trappers scarcely concealed their desire to overthrow Mexican
authority and assume control themselves. To add to the threatened
confusion, revolt brewed among the Mexicans who held the land.

In 1832 Captain B. L. E. Bonneville secured leave of absence from the
United States Army and launched a private venture in exploring and
trapping. One Joseph Reddeford Walker, who had achieved fame as a
frontiersman, was engaged by Bonneville to take charge of a portion of
his command. Walker’s party of explorers was ordered to cross the desert
west of Great Salt Lake and visit California. Reliable knowledge of the
Sierra Nevada and the first inkling of the existence of Yosemite Valley
resulted from this expedition, made in 1833.

Joseph Walker, born in 1798 on the Tennessee River near the present
Knoxville, Tennessee, had moved westward with the advancing frontier in
1818 to the extreme western boundary of Missouri. There he and his
brothers rented government land near the Indian Factory, Fort Osage.
They put in a crop and during slack seasons mingled with the Osages and
the Kanzas Indians. Here Walker formed his first ideas of trade with the
Indians—ideas which bore fruit during his later experiences on the Santa
Fe Trail and with the fur brigades in the Rocky Mountains.

Early in 1831, Walker, enroute southward from his home to buy horses,
stopped at Fort Gibson in the heart of the Cherokee Nation in the
eastern part of the present Oklahoma. Several companies of the 7th U. S.
Infantry were stationed here. This circumstance brought about a sequence
of events which left permanent marks upon Walker’s personal career and
upon the history of the American West. Captain B. L. E. Bonneville was
in command of B Company of the 7th Infantry. Bonneville confided in
Walker that the government was about to place him on detached service in
order that he might conduct a private expedition into the Rocky
Mountains for furs and geographical data. He asked Walker to join him as
guide and counselor. To this proposal Walker acceded enthusiastically
and proceeded forthwith to organize the equipment and personnel needed
for the venture.

On the first of May, 1832, Bonneville and Walker led westward a caravan
of twenty wagons attended by one hundred and ten mounted trappers,
hunters, and servants from the Missouri River landing where Fort Osage
had once stood. Out upon the Kansas plains they went, up the Platte, to
the Sweetwater, and through South Pass. In the valleys of the Green and
the Snake they trapped and traded through the winter and spring of
1832-33. After the rendezvous on the Green in July, 1833, Walker was
named by Bonneville to be the leader of the now famous Walker expedition
to the Pacific.

The reports of Jedediah Smith on his trip of 1826 to California and the
much talked about adventures of Smith, as discussed by the mountain men,
seem to have been decisive factors which influenced Bonneville to
authorize this ambitious undertaking. The fact that a scant 4,000 pounds
of beaver was all he had to show for his campaign of the past year also
may have contributed to his determination to take another fling at
exploration, trapping, and the trade. Walker’s California party
consisted of fifty men, with four horses each, a year’s supply of food,
ammunition, and trade goods. Zenas Leonard and George Nidever, two free
trappers who had joined the Bonneville crowd at the Green River
rendezvous, were selected as members of the Walker party. Both were to
become conspicuous in California history by virtue of their writings.

Because Walker was the first white man to lead a party of explorers to
the brink of Yosemite’s cliffs, he is given a first place in Yosemite
history. It is worthwhile to record here some of the appraisals of
Walker, the man, made by his contemporaries and companions.

Zenas Leonard, clerk of the Walker party, wrote, “Mr. Walker was a man
well calculated to undertake a business of this kind [the California
expedition]. He was well hardened to the hardships of the
wilderness—understood the character of the Indians very well ... was
kind and affable to his men, but at the same time at liberty to command
without giving offence ... and to explore unknown regions was his chief
delight.”

Washington Irving said of Walker, “About six feet high, strong built,
dark complexioned, brave in spirit, though mild in manners. He had
resided for many years in Missouri, on the frontier; had been among the
earliest adventurers to Santa Fe, where he went to trap beaver, and was
taken by the Spaniards. Being liberated, he engaged with the Spaniards
and Sioux Indians in a war against the Pawnees; then returned to
Missouri, and had acted by turns as sheriff, trader, trapper, until he
was enlisted as a leader by Captain Bonneville.”

Hubert Howe Bancroft, the historian, estimated, “Captain Joe Walker was
one of the bravest and most skillful of the mountain men; none was
better acquainted than he with the geography or the native tribes of the
Great Basin; and he was withal less boastful and pretentious than most
of his class.”

Walker’s biographer, Douglas S. Watson, referring to Bonneville’s effort
to blame the financial failure of his western enterprises upon a
scapegoat, stated, “Whatever may have been Bonneville’s purpose in
besmirching Walker in which Irving so willingly lent himself, he has
hardly succeeded, for where one person today knows the name Bonneville,
thousands regard Captain Joseph Reddeford Walker as one of the foremost
of western explorers, worthy to be grouped with Jedediah Strong Smith
and Ewing Young as the trilogy responsible for the march of this nation
to the shores of the Pacific; the true pathfinders.”

Walker’s perseverance in completing his California journey grew out of a
solemn determination to make a personal contribution to the expansion of
the United States westward to the Pacific. His cavalcade crossed the
Great Basin west of Great Salt Lake via the valley of the Humboldt and,
passing south by Carson Lake and the Bridgeport Valley, struck westward
into the Sierra Nevada. The exact course they took across the Sierra has
been a matter of conjecture; some students have attempted to identify it
with the Truckee route, and others have maintained that no ascent was
made until the party reached the stream now known as Walker River. It
seems probable that they climbed the eastern flank of the Sierra by one
of the southern tributaries of the East Walker River. Once over the
crest of the range, they traveled west along the divide between the
Tuolumne and the Merced rivers directly into the heart of the present
Yosemite National Park.

In Leonard’s narrative is found the following very significant comment
regarding the crossing:

We travelled a few miles every day, still on top of the mountain, and
our course continually obstructed with snow hills and rocks. Here we
began to encounter in our path many small streams which would shoot
out from under these high snow-banks, and after running a short
distance in deep chasms which they have through the ages cut in the
rocks, precipitate themselves from one lofty precipice to another,
until they are exhausted in rain below. Some of these precipices
appeared to us to be more than a mile high. Some of the men thought
that if we could succeed in descending one of these precipices to the
bottom, we might thus work our way into the valley below—but on making
several attempts we found it utterly impossible for a man to descend,
to say nothing of our horses. We were then obliged to keep along the
top of the dividing ridge between two of these chasms which seemed to
lead pretty near in the direction we were going—which was west,—in
passing over the mountain, supposing it to run north and south.

Walker’s tombstone, in Martinez, California, bears the inscription,
“Camped at Yosemite Nov. 13, 1833.” Leonard’s description of their route
belies the idea of his having camped in Yosemite Valley, and the date is
obviously an error as there is reliable evidence that Walker had reached
the San Joaquin plain before this date. L. H. Bunnell in his _Discovery
of the Yosemite_ records the following regarding Walker’s route and his
Yosemite camp sites:

The topography of the country over which the Mono Trail ran, and which
was followed by Capt. Walker, did not admit of his seeing the valley
proper. The depression indicating the valley, and its magnificent
surroundings, could alone have been discovered, and in Capt. Walker’s
conversations with me at various times while encamped between
Coulterville and the Yosemite, he was manly enough to say so. Upon one
occasion I told Capt. Walker that Ten-ie-ya had said that, “A small
party of white men once crossed the mountains on the north side, but
were so guided as not to see the Valley proper.” With a smile the
Captain said, “That was my party, but I was not deceived, for the lay
of the land showed there was a valley below; but we had become nearly
barefooted, our animals poor, and ourselves on the verge of
starvation; so we followed down the ridge to Bull Creek, where,
killing a deer, we went into camp.”

Francis Farquhar, in his article, “Walker’s Discovery of Yosemite,”
analyzes the problem of Walker’s route through the Yosemite region and
shows clearly that the Walker party was not guided by Indians. He
concludes quite rightly that Bunnell was not justified in depriving
Walker of the distinction of discovering Yosemite Valley. Douglas S.
Watson, in his volume, _West Wind: The Life of Joseph Reddeford Walker_,
offers further evidence to this end.

It requires no great stretch of the imagination to visualize scouts
along the flanks of the Walker party coming out upon the brink of
Yosemite Valley and looking down in wonder upon the plunging waters of
Yosemite Falls and, perhaps, venturing to the edge of the Hetch Hetchy.
In any case we have in the 1839 account by Leonard the first authentic
printed reference to the Yosemite region. Another passage from this
narrative must be quoted here:

In the last two days travelling we have found some trees of the
Redwood species, incredibly large—some of which would measure from 16
to 18 fathom round the trunk at the height of a man’s head from the
ground.

This is the first published mention of the Big Trees of the Sierra. If
we accept Bunnell’s contention that the Walker party camped at Bull
Creek (Hazel Green), we will also agree that the party followed the old
Mono Trail of the Indians. This route would have taken them near the
Merced Grove of Big Trees. There is probably no way of determining
definitely whether the Merced Grove, the Tuolumne Grove, or both, were
seen by Walker’s men, but this incident so casually mentioned is clearly
the discovery of the famous Big Trees, and here for the first time is a
scholarly record of observations made in the present Yosemite National
Park. We may accept Leonard’s writings as the earliest document in
Yosemite history and the Walker party as the discoverer of both the
Yosemite Valley and the _Sequoia gigantea_.

[Illustration: _By Schwartz_
Mariposa in the ’Fifties]

CHAPTER II
_MARIPOSA HILLS_

Following the significant work of the early overland fur traders there
came a decade of immigration of bona fide California settlers. The same
forces that led the pioneer across the Alleghenies, thence to the
Mississippi, and from the Mississippi into Texas, explain the coming of
American settlers into California. Hard times in the East stimulated
land hunger, and California publicity agents spread their propaganda at
an opportune time. Long before railroads, commercial clubs, and real
estate interests began to advertise the charms of California, its
advantages were widely heralded by the venturesome Americans who had
visited and sensed the possibilities of the province. The press of the
nation took up the story, and the people of the United States were
taught to look upon California as a land of infinite promise, abounding
in agricultural and commercial possibilities, full of game, rich in
timber, possessed of perfect climate, and feebly held by an effeminate
people quite lacking in enterprise and disorganized among themselves.

The tide of emigration resulting from this painting of word pictures
began its surge in 1841 with the organization of the Bidwell-Bartleson
party. Other parties followed in quick succession, and many of the
pioneer fur hunters of the preceding decade found themselves in demand
as guides. The settlers came on horseback, in ox wagon, or on foot, and
with the men came wives and children. They entered the state by way of
the Gila and the Colorado, the Sacramento, the Walker, the Malheur and
the Pit, and the Truckee. Some journeyed to the Mono region east of
Yosemite and either struggled over difficult Sonora Pass just north of
the present park or tediously made their way south to Owens River and
then over Walker Pass. The Sierra Nevada experienced a new period of
exploration, and California took a marked step toward the climax of
interest in her offerings.

This pre-Mexican War, pre-gold-rush immigration takes a prominent place
in the history of the state, and the tragedy and success of its
participants provide a story of engrossing interest. They had forced
their slow way across the continent to find a permanent home beside the
western sea, and their arrival presaged the overthrow of Mexican rule in
California. The Mexican, Castro, stated before an assembly in Monterey:
“These Americans are so contriving that some day they will build ladders
to touch the sky, and once in the heavens they will change the whole
face of the universe and even the color of the stars.”

In one of the parties of settlers was a man of no signal traits, who, by
a chance discovery, was to set the whole world agog. This was James W.
Marshall, an employee of John A. Sutter of the Sacramento. On January
24, 1848, he found gold in a millrace belonging to Sutter. About a week
later the inevitable took place. California became a part of the United
States.

The news of the gold discovery spread like wildfire, and by the close of
1848 every settlement and city in America and many cities of foreign
lands were affected by the California fever. Gold seekers swarmed into
the newly acquired territory by land and by sea. The overland routes of
the fur trader and the pioneer settler found such a use as the world had
never seen. From the Missouri frontier to Fort Laramie the procession of
Argonauts passed in an unbroken stream for months. Some 35,000 people
traversed the Western wilderness and 230 American vessels reached
California ports in 1849. The western slope of the Sierra from the San
Joaquin on the south to the Trinity on the north was suddenly populous
with the gold-mad horde. On May 29, the _Californian_ of Yerba Buena
issued a notice to the effect that its further publication, for the
present, would cease because its employees and patrons were going to the
mines. On July 15 its editor returned and published an account of his
personal experiences as a gold seeker. He wrote: “The country from the
Ajuba [Yuba] to the San Joaquin, a distance of about 120 miles, and from
the base toward the summit of the mountains ... about seventy miles, has
been explored and gold found on every part.”

By 1849 the Mariposa hills were occupied by the miners, and the claims
to become famous as the “Southern Mines” were being located. Jamestown,
Sonora, Columbia, Murphys, Chinese Camp, Big Oak Flat, Snelling, and
Mariposa, all adjacent to the Yosemite region, came to life in a day.
Stockton was the immediate base of supply for these camps.

The history of Mariposa is replete with fascinating episodes. May
Stanislas Corcoran, a daughter of Mariposa, has supplied the Yosemite
Museum with a manuscript entitled “Mariposa, the Land of Hidden Gold,”
which comes from her own accomplished pen. From it the following brief
account is abstracted as an introduction to the beginnings of human
affairs in the Mariposa hills.

In 1850, Mariposa County occupied much of the state from Tuolumne County
southward. A State Senate Committee on County Subdivision, headed by P.
H. de la Guerra, determined its bounds, and a Select Committee on Names,
M. G. Vallejo, Chairman, gave it its name—a name which was first applied
by Moraga’s party in 1806 to Mariposa Creek.[1] Gradually through the
years, the original expansive unit was reduced by the creation of other
counties—Madera, Fresno, Tulare, Kings, and Kern, and parts of Inyo and
Mono counties.

Agua Fria was at first the county seat, but even in the beginning the
town of Mariposa was the center of the scene of activity. Four mail
routes of the Pony Express converged upon it. Prior to the arrival of
Americans, the Spanish Californians had scarcely penetrated the Sierra
in the county, but these uplands were well populated with Indians. One
of the strongest tribes, the Ah-wah-nee-chees, lived in the Deep Grassy
Valley (Yosemite) during the summer months and occupied villages along
the Mariposa and Chowchilla rivers in the winter.

Mariposa proved to be the southernmost of the important southern mines.
Of the people who were drawn to it during the days of the gold rush,
many were from the Southern States. They brought “libraries ... horses
from Kentucky ... silk hats, chivalry, colonels, and culture from
Virginia; and from most of the states that later became Confederate,
lawyers, doctors, writers, even painters—miners all.... Pennsylvania,
Massachusetts, New York, and Europe also sent representatives, and there
were Mexican War veterans, such as Jarvis Streeter, Commodore Stockton,
Colonel Fremont, and Capt. Wm. Howard.” By Christmas, 1849, more than
three thousand inhabitants occupied the town of Mariposa, which extended
from Chicken Gulch to Mormon Bar.

In February, 1851, a remarkable vein of gold was discovered in the
Mariposa diggings, first designated as the “Johnson vein of Mariposa,”
and extensive works were developed from Ridley’s Ferry (Bagby) to Mount
Ophir. These properties were acquired by a company having headquarters
in Paris, France, which became known as “The French Company.”

The Frémont Grant, also known as the Rancho Las Mariposas, was a vast
estate of 44,386 acres of grazing land in the Mariposa hills, which
Colonel J. C. Frémont acquired by virtue of a purchase made in 1847 from
J. B. Alvarado. It was one of several so-called “floating grants.” After
gold was discovered in the Mariposa region in 1848, Frémont “floated”
his rancho far from the original claim to cover mineral lands including
properties already in the possession of miners. The center of Frémont’s
activities was Bear Valley, thirteen miles northwest of Mariposa.
Lengthy litigations in the face of hostile public sentiment piled up
court costs and lawyer fees. However, the United States courts confirmed
Frémont’s claims, and other claimants, including the French Company,
lost many valuable holdings. Tremendous investments were made in stamp
mills, tunnels, shafts, and the other appurtenances related to the
mining towns as well as to the mines which Frémont attempted to develop.

In spite of its phenomenal but spotty productiveness, the Frémont Grant
brought bankruptcy to its owner and was finally sold at sheriff sale.
The town of Mariposa, which was on Frémont’s Rancho, became the county
seat in 1854, and the present court house was built that year. The seats
and the bar in the courtroom continue in use today, and the documents
and files of the mining days still claim their places in the ancient
vault. They constitute some of the priceless reminders of a dramatic
period in the early history of the Yosemite region. In these records may
be traced the transfer of the ownership of the Mariposa Grant from
Frémont to a group of Wall Street capitalists. These new owners employed
Frederick Law Olmsted as superintendent of the estate. He arrived in the
Sierra in the fall of 1863 to assume his duties at Bear Valley. The next
year he was made chairman of the first board of Yosemite Valley
commissioners, so actively linking the history of the Mariposa estate
with the history of the Yosemite Grant. Olmsted continued his connection
with the Mariposa Grant until Aug. 31, 1865, at which time he returned
to New York and proceeded to distinguish himself as the “father” of the
profession of landscape architecture.

His son, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., born July 24, 1870, has continued
in the Olmsted tradition. As an authority on parks, municipal
improvements, city planning and landscape architecture, and the
preservation of the American scene he has exerted a leadership
comparable to his father’s pioneering. He has entered the Yosemite
picture as National Park Service collaborator in planning and as a
member of the Yosemite Advisory Board, to which organization he was
appointed in 1928.

One of the few members of the small army of early miners in the Mariposa
region who left a personal record of his experiences was L. H. Bunnell.
His writings provide most valuable references on the history of the
beginning of things in the Yosemite region. He was present in the
Mariposa hills in 1849, and from his book, _Discovery of the Yosemite_,
we learn that Americans were scattered throughout the lower mountains in
that year. Adventurous traders had established trading posts in the
wilderness in order that they might reap a harvest from the miners and
Indians.

James D. Savage, the most conspicuous figure in early Yosemite history,
whose life story, if told in full, would constitute a valuable
contribution to Californiana, was one of these traders. In 1849 he
maintained a store at the mouth of the South Fork of the Merced, only a
few miles from the gates of Yosemite Valley. Now half a million people
each year hurry by this spot in automobiles; yet no monument, no marker,
no sign, indicates that the site is one of the most significant,
historically, of all localities in the region. It was here that the
first episode in the drama of Yosemite Indian troubles took place. The
story of the white man’s occupancy of the valley actually begins at the
mouth of this canyon in the Mariposa hills.

CHAPTER III
_WHITE CHIEF OF THE FOOTHILLS_

The entire story of very early events in the Yosemite region is pervaded
by the spirit of one individual. In spite of the fact that no historian
has chronicled the events of his brief but exciting career, the name of
James D. Savage is legendary throughout the region of the Southern
Mines. It has been the ambition of more than one writer of California
history to pin down the fables of this pioneer and to establish his true
life story on stable supports of authentic source. Scattered through the
literature of the gold days are sketchy accounts of his exploits, and
rarely narratives of firsthand experiences with his affairs may be
found. Before relating Savage definitely to Yosemite itself we shall do
well to consider his personal history.

During the beginning years of the gold excitement, his fame spread
throughout the camps and to the ports upon which the mines depended for
supplies. Savage was the subject of continual gossip, conjecture, and
acclaim. His career was short, but it was crowded with thrilling
happenings and terminated with violence in a just cause. Throughout it,
Savage was brave—a man born to lead.

Because he played a leading role in the discovery of Yosemite Valley,
national park officials have been energetic in their attempt to complete
his life story and give it adequate representation in the Yosemite
Museum. For several years, as historical material had been accumulating
there, and details of most events in the Yosemite drama unfolded and
took their proper place in the exhibits, Savage still remained a
mystery.

At last there came a Yosemite visitor who was descended from the
grandfather of James D. Savage. This lady, Ida Savage Bolles, after
learning of the local interest in her relative, communicated with yet
another relative, who today resides in the same Middle Western state
from which “Jim” Savage came. The result was that Mrs. Louise Savage
Ireland took up the challenge and devoted many months to the determining
of the California pioneer’s ancestry. To her we acknowledge indebtedness
for her persevering search, which involved considerable travel and
correspondence. Not only did she reveal the ancestry of Jim Savage, but
she located a “delightful old lady” who, as a girl, knew Jim of
California fame. This unexpected biographical material provides
firsthand information about the youth of James D. Savage such as has not
been obtained from any living Californian who knew him in his halcyon
days.

The following story of the life of the first white man to enter Yosemite
Valley, though incomplete, is much more comprehensive than anything that
has previously appeared in print, and is, we believe, gathered from
sources[2] wholly dependable.

James D. Savage was one of six children born to Peter Savage and Doritha
Shaunce. Henry C. Pratt of Virginia, Illinois, a second cousin, writes,
“My mother, Emily Savage, born in 1817, and her cousin, James Savage,
were near the same age.” This is the best approximation of his age
contained in the biographical material accumulated by Mrs. Ireland. The
parent, Peter Savage, went by ox cart and raft from Cayuga County, New
York, to Jacksonville, Morgan County, Illinois, in 1822. Sixteen years
later Peter’s family removed to Princeton, Bureau County, Illinois.

Mrs. Ireland in her quest met Mrs. Sarah Seton Porter of Princeton, who
at the time of the interview in 1928 was ninety-eight years old. Mrs.
Porter knew James D. Savage as a youth. She recalls that

Jim Savage was grown when his father, Peter, brought the family to
Princeton from Morgan County. Jim was smart as a whip, shrewd, apt in
picking up languages, such as German and French—for both tongues were
spoken here, the two races having settlements in and about Princeton.
He was vigorous and strong, had blue eyes and a magnificent physique,
loved all kinds of sports engaged in in his day, was tactful, likable,
and interesting....

Sometimes Jim would come to church, but, oh, he was such a wag of a
youth. More often than not, he would remain outside, and when he knew
time had come for prayer, he’d flick the knees of his horse and make
him kneel, too, and then wink at us inside. We couldn’t laugh of
course, but we always watched for this trick of Jim’s. He got such a
lot of fun out of doing it.

Savage took a wife, Eliza, and settled in Peru, Illinois. A daughter was
born to this union. He and his brother, Morgan, were caught in the wave
of California fever that affected many of the border settlements in the
’forties and they joined one of the overland parties in 1846. Lydia
Savage Healy, another second cousin, expresses the opinion that the
brothers joined Frémont’s third expedition. However, since it is known
that Savage’s wife and child made the start, it is evident that they
were with one of the parties of emigrants who, that year, made the
journey. Mrs. Porter, then Sarah Seton, with two brothers and a sister
drove from Princeton to Peru to bid them farewell.

On this journey, “suffering and discouragement went hand in hand.” The
wife and child did not survive the trip. Only the physically fit endured
the hardships, and among these were Savage and his brother. By what
route they entered California is not known, but S. P. Elias reports that
Savage

volunteered beneath the Bear flag and fought through the war against
the Mexicans. A member of Frémont’s battalion, he was with Frémont
both in Oregon and in California. After peace and before the discovery
of gold, and shortly after the disbanding of Frémont’s battalion, he
went to the south, settled among the Indians, and through José and
Jésus, two of the most powerful chiefs in the valley of the San
Joaquin, he established an intimacy with the principal tribes. By his
indomitable energy, capability of endurance, and personal prowess he
acquired a complete mastery over them to such an extent that he was
elected chief of several of the tribes. He obtained great influence
over the Indians of the lowlands and led them successfully against
their mountain enemies, conquering a peace wherever he forayed.

In any event, when Frémont and Pico put their signatures to the Cahuenga
peace treaty on January 13, 1847, the Mexican War, so far as California
was concerned, was at an end. Frémont’s battalion was disbanded, and we
may believe, with Elias, that James D. Savage then established his
intimacy with the principal Indian tribes of the San Joaquin.

His aptitude for “picking up languages” apparently came to the fore, for
he mastered the Indian dialect and extended his influence until it
amounted to something of a barbaric despotism. The Indians acknowledged
his authority, and he, no doubt, improved their condition. In the wars
with the mountain tribes Savage’s tactics won them victories, and he
brought about progress, generally.

Prior to the gold rush, his territory was seldom visited by whites, but
early in 1848, hardly a year subsequent to his conquest of the Indians,
there poured in that flood of miners which transformed the entire
picture. Savage adapted himself to it forthwith, and soon his name was
on the lips of everyone. When he let it be known among his Indian
followers that he would like to acquire a lot of the yellow metal, the
squaws set to work and turned the product of their labors into the lap
of the white chief. W E. Wilde writes that Savage was associated with
the Rev. James Woods in 1848 and that he and his Indians were working
the gravel deposits at what became known as Big Oak Flat. It was here
that a white Texan stabbed Luturio, one of the Indian leaders, and the
Texan in turn was killed by the Indians. Savage, knowing the
potentialities of enraged Indians, pacified them and withdrew with them
to other localities.

George H. Tinkham next throws a spotlight on Savage at Jamestown in May
(?) 1849. Cornelius Sullivan related to Tinkham that

under a brushwood tent, supported by upright poles, sat James D.
Savage, measuring and pouring gold dust into the candle boxes by his
side. Five hundred or more naked Indians, with belts of cloth bound
around their waists or suspended from their heads brought the dust to
Savage, and in return for it received a bright piece of cloth or some
beads.

Just how much gold dust Savage acquired was never reported, but that it
was an enormous amount is not to be questioned. For some two years his
army of Indian followers busied themselves in gleaning the creeks and
ravines of the foothills, and considering the facility with which gold
could be gathered it is small wonder that he was reputed to have barrels
full of it.

We learn from L. H. Bunnell, one of Savage’s intimate acquaintances of
long standing, that in 1849-1850 Savage had established his trading post
at the mouth of the South Fork of the Merced, not more than fifteen
miles below Yosemite Valley, and on the line of the present
Merced-Yosemite highway.

At this point, engaged in gold mining, he had employed a party of
native Indians. Early in the season of 1850 his trading-post and
mining camp were attacked by a band of the Yosemite Indians. This
tribe, or band, claimed the territory in that vicinity, and attempted
to drive Savage off. Their real object, however, was plunder. They
were considered treacherous and dangerous, and were very troublesome
to the miners generally.

Savage and his Indian miners repulsed the attack and drove off the
marauders, but from this occurrence he no longer deemed this location
desirable. Being fully aware of the murderous propensities of his
assailants, he removed to Mariposa Creek, not far from the junction of
the Agua Fria, and near to the site of the old stone fort. Soon after,
he established a branch post on the Fresno, where the mining prospects
became most encouraging, as the high water subsided in that stream.
This branch station was placed in charge of a man by the name of
Greeley.

This event on the South Fork constitutes the initial step in the
hostilities that were to result in Savage’s renown as the discoverer of
Yosemite Valley. Since he had remained so close to the remarkable canyon
for some months prior to the Indian attack, and because the threatening
Indians frequently boasted of a “deep valley in which one Indian is more
than ten white men,” Bunnell once asked Savage whether he had ever
entered the mysterious place. Savage’s words were: “Last year while I
was located at the mouth of the South Fork of the Merced, I was attacked
by the Yosemites, but with the Indian miners I had in my employ, drove
them off, and followed some of them up the Merced River into a canyon,
which I supposed led to their stronghold, as the Indians then with me
said it was not a safe place to go into. From the appearance of this
rocky gorge I had no difficulty in believing them. Fearing an ambush, I
did not follow them. It was on this account that I changed my location
to Mariposa Creek. I would like to get into the den of the thieving
murderers. If ever I have a chance I will smoke out the Grizzly Bears
[the Yosemites] from their holes, where they are thought to be so
secure.”

Savage built up an exceedingly prosperous business at his trading posts
on the Fresno and on Mariposa Creek. He stocked his stores with
merchandise from San Francisco Bay and exchanged the goods at enormous
profits for the gold brought in by the Indians. An ounce of gold bought
a can of oysters, five pounds of flour, or a pound of bacon; a shirt
required five ounces, and a pair of boots or a hat brought a full pound
of the precious metal. His customers included white prospectors as well
as his subservient Indians, for the white men would agree to his
exacting terms in preference to leaving their diggings to make a trip
for supplies to the growing village of Mariposa.

The Indians never questioned the rate of exchange, for to them it seemed
that their white chief was working miracles in providing quantities of
desirable food and prized raiment in return for something that was to be
had for the taking. To guarantee a continuance of cordial relations with
his Indian friends, and to cement the alliance of several tribes, Savage
had taken wives from among the young squaws of different tribes. Two of
these were called Eekino and Homut. It is not known which tribes were
represented in his household, but the wives are reported to have totaled
five. If their bridal contract was recognized by all their tribesmen, it
is not difficult to understand how Savage’s supporters numbered five
hundred.

The Mariposa Creek store retinue of whites was thrown into a state of
some agitation one fall day in 1850 when one of Savage’s wives confided
the information that the mountain Indians were combining to wipe the
whites from the hills. Confirmation of her rumor was obtained from some
of the friendly bucks who had long followed Savage. These Indians
declared that they had learned that the mountain tribe, the Yosemites,
were ready to descend upon Savage again for the purpose of plunder and
that they were maneuvering to secure the combined forces of other
tribes.

Savage did not misunderstand the threat, as did some others of the white
men. Hoping to impress the Indians with the wonders, numbers, and power
of the whites, he conceived the idea of taking some of them to that
milling base of supply, San Francisco. It is probable, too, that he
planned to put some of his great store of accumulated gold in
safekeeping on the same trip. Accordingly, he announced that he was
going to “the Bay” for a new stock of goods and invited José Juarez, a
chief of influence with the Chowchillas and Chukchansies, to accompany
him. José accepted the invitation. With them went some of Savage’s
dependable Indian friends, including a wife or two.

It was the occasion of this trip that provided the crowning touch for
Savage’s reputation among the whites of all the gold camps. The story of
the affair spread to as many localities as were represented in San
Francisco’s picturesque population at the time of the visit, and legends
of Jim Savage’s barrel of gold are handed down to this day. How large
the barrel may have been it is now impossible to ascertain, but
certainly a fabulous fortune traveled with the strange party.

They made their headquarters at the Revere House and became the
sensation of the hour.[3] The Indians arrayed themselves in gaudy finery
and gorged themselves with costly viands and considerable liquor. To the
great distress of Savage, José maintained himself in a state of
drunkenness throughout most of their stay. In order to prevent
disturbances Savage locked him up on one occasion and when he was
somewhat sobered remonstrated with him. José flew into an excited rage,
became abusive with his tongue, and finally disclosed his secret of the
war against the whites. Savage knocked him down.

The party remained to witness the celebration of the admission of
California into the Union on October 29, 1850. Savage deposited his gold
in exchange for goods to be delivered as needed, gilded his already
colorful visit with enough gambling and reckless spending to stagger the
residents, and gathered his retinue for the return journey.

José had maintained a silence and dignity ever after the violent quarrel
with his chief.

No sooner had they reached the foothill territory from which they had
traveled a fortnight before than they were greeted with news of Indian
threats. As the Fresno station maintained by Savage seemed to be in
immediate danger, the party went there at once. Numerous Indians were
about, but all seemed quiet. However, the white agents employed by
Savage revealed that the Indians were no longer trading.

Savage thereupon invited all Indians present to meet with him and
proceeded at once to conduct a peaceful confab before his store.
Addressing them he said:

“I know that some of the Indians do not wish to be friends with the
white men and that they are trying to unite the different tribes for the
purpose of a war. It is better for the Indians and white men to be
friends. If the Indians make war on the white men, every tribe will be
exterminated; not one will be left. I have just been where the white men
are more numerous than the wasps and ants; and if war is made and the
Americans are aroused to anger, every Indian engaged in the war will be
killed before the whites will be satisfied.”

Having made himself clearly understood in the Indian language he turned
to his fellow traveler, José, for confirmation of his statements
regarding the power of the whites. José stepped forward and delivered
himself of the following brief but energetic oration:

“Our brother has told his Indian relatives much that is truth; we have
seen many people; the white men are very numerous; but the white men we
saw on our visit are of many tribes; they are not like the tribe that
dig gold in the mountains.” He then gave an absurd description of what
he had seen while below, and continued: “Those white tribes will not
come to the mountains. They will not help the gold diggers if the
Indians make war against them. If the gold diggers go to the white
tribes in the big village, they give their gold for strong water and
games; when they have no more gold, the white tribes drive the gold
diggers back to the mountains with clubs. They strike them down
[referring to the police], as your white relative struck me while I was
with him. The white tribes will not go to war with the Indians in the
mountains. They cannot bring their big ships and big guns to us; we have
no cause to fear them. They will not injure us.”

His climax came as a bold argument for the immediate declaration of war
upon the whites.

Chief José Rey of the Chowchillas then contributed his plea for
immediate hostilities, and Savage withdrew before the two hostile
chiefs. Upon his return to the Mariposa Station, his appeals for
immediate preparation for war were given small hearing by the whites. A
few were inclined to scoff.

Close on the heels of the warnings, however, came news of an attack on
the Fresno store. All the whites except the messenger who had brought
the news were killed. The Mariposa Indian War was on.

Savage had gone to Horse Shoe Bend in the Merced Canyon to solicit aid.
He had hoped to find a more attentive audience there than among the
county officials at Agua Fria. In his absence his Mariposa store was
burned, its three white attendants were killed, and his wives were
carried off by the assailants.

Cassady, one of the rival traders who had scoffed at Savage’s first news
of impending disaster, was surprised in his establishment and met quick
death. Three other murderous attacks took place in the immediate
vicinity, and the whites finally leaped to the defense of their
holdings.

James Burney, the county sheriff, took a place at the head of a body of
volunteers who had banded for mutual protection. On January 6, 1851,
James D. Savage accompanied this party in an attack made upon an Indian
encampment of several hundred squaws and bucks under the leadership of
José Rey. This was the first organized movement of the whites against
the Indians of the Mariposa Hills.

By this time Governor McDougal had issued a proclamation calling for
volunteers, and the Mariposa Battalion came into existence. Savage was
made major in full command. Three companies, under John J. Kuykendall,
John Boling, and William Dill, were organized and drilled near Savage’s
ruined Mariposa store.[4] The affairs of this punitive body of men are
dealt with in another chapter. Let it here suffice to say that its
activities were especially directed against the mountain tribe of
“Grizzlies,” and that on March 25, 1851, Savage and his men entered the
mysterious stronghold, Yosemite Valley.

In 1928 it was my privilege to interview Maria Lebrado, one of the last
members of the Yosemite tribe who experienced subjection by the whites.
I eagerly sought ethnological and historical data, which was forthcoming
in gratifying abundance. Purposely I had avoided questioning the aged
squaw about Major Savage; but presently she asked, in jumbled English
and Spanish, if I knew about the “Captain” of the white soldiers. She
called him “Chowwis,” and described him as a blond chief whose light
hair fell upon his shoulders and whose beard hung halfway to his waist.
She had been much impressed by his commanding blue eyes and declared
that his shirts were always red. To this member of the mountain tribe of
Yosemite the Major was recalled as something of a thorn in her flesh.
That he was a beloved leader of the foothill tribes she agreed, but
hastened to explain that those Indians, too, were enemies of her people.
Maria is the only person I have met who had seen Savage.

For five months Savage commanded the movements of the Mariposa
Battalion. Its various units were active in the Sierra Summit region
above Yosemite, at the headwaters of the Chowchilla, and on the upper
reaches of the San Joaquin. In every encounter the Indians were defeated
and they finally sued for peace. The prowess of Savage as a mountaineer
and military leader is borne out in a letter, published in _Alta
California_ on June 12, 1851, in which the battalion’s sergeant major
describes at length for the adjutant a foray at the headwaters of the
San Joaquin:

... I am aware that you have been high up and deep in the mountains
and snow yourself, but I believe this trip ranks all others. The Major
himself has seen cañons and snow peaks this trip which he never saw
before. It is astonishing what this man can endure. Traveling on day
and night, through snow and over the mountains, without food, is not
considered fatigue to him, and as you are well aware the boys will
follow him as long as he leaves a sign.

The same _Alta_ carries a resolution, signed by men in Dill’s and
Boling’s companies, affirming in great detail their high confidence in
Savage.

In addition to his activities with the battalion in the field, Major
Savage functioned conspicuously in aiding the United States Indian
Commissioners in preparing a peace treaty. He maintained a friendly
attitude toward the oppressed Indians and, had the government made good
its promises, or had the appropriations not been absorbed elsewhere, the
tribes of the Sierra would have been more adequately provided for. The
treaty, signed April 29, 1851, does not carry the “signatures” of Tenaya
of the Yosemites or of the leader of the Chowchillas.

On July 1, 1851, the Mariposa Battalion was mustered out. Major Savage
resumed his trading operations in a store on the Fresno River near
Coarse Gold. In compliance with the treaty, a reservation for the
Indians was set aside on the Fresno, and another on the Kings River. In
the fall of 1851 the Fresno store was the polling place for a large
number of voters for county officers. That winter Savage built Fort
Bishop, near the Fresno reservation, and prepared to carry on a
prosperous trade. He spoke as follows on this subject to L. H. Bunnell:

If I can make good my losses by the Indians _out_ of the Indians, I am
going to do it. I was the best friend the Indians had, and they would
have destroyed me. Now that they once more call me “Chief,” they shall
build me up. I will be just to them, as I have been merciful, for,
after all, they are but poor ignorant beings, but my losses must be
made good.

During the first months of 1852, Major Savage conducted a substantial,
if not a phenomenal, business with the miners of the Fresno and
surrounding territory, and with the Indians at the agency. No Indian
hostilities were in evidence, but a policy of excluding them from the
store proper was adhered to. The goods which they bought with their gold
dust were handed out to them through small openings left in the walls.
These openings were securely fastened at night.

Not infrequently the Indians were subjected to abusive treatment at the
hands of certain whites. The mistreatment was enough to provoke an
uprising, but with a few exceptions they remained on the reservations.
An important light on subsequent events in Savage’s life is brought out
in this statement by L. H. Bunnell:

As far as I was able to learn at the time, a few persons envied them
the possession of their Kings River reservation and determined to
“squat” upon it, after they should have been driven off. This “border
element” was made use of by an unprincipled schemer, who it was
understood was willing to accept office, when a division of Mariposa
County should have been made, or when a vacancy of any kind should
occur. But population was required, and the best lands had been
reserved for the savages. A few hangers-on, at the agencies, that had
been discharged for want of employment and other reasons, made claims
upon the Kings River reservation; the Indians came to warn them off,
when they were at once fired upon, and it was reported that several
were killed.

Further details of the deplorable act committed by the would-be
“squatters” are provided by the following news item which appeared in
the _Alta California_ of July 7, 1852:

Anticipated Indian Difficulties on King’s River

By Mr. Stelle, who came express to Stockton on the 5th inst., we have
received the annexed correspondence from

San Joaquin, (Evening,) July 2, 1852.

Editors Alta California:—A few days ago, the Indians on King’s River
warned Campbell, Poole & Co., ferrymen, twenty miles from here, to
leave, showing at the same time their papers from the Indian
Commissioners. The Indians then left, and threatened to kill the
ferrymen if on their reservation when they returned. Mr. Campbell has
been collecting volunteers, many have joined him. Major Harvey left
this evening with some eighteen or twenty men. A fine chance for the
boys to have a frolic, locate some land, and be well paid by Uncle
Sam.

These agitations and murders were denounced by Major Savage in unsparing
terms. Although the citizens of Mariposa were at the time unable to
learn the details of the affair at Kings River, which was a distant
settlement, the great mass of the people were satisfied that wrong had
been done to the Indians; however, there had been a decided opposition
by citizens generally to the establishment of two agencies in the
county, and the selection of the best agricultural lands for
reservations. Mariposa then included nearly the whole San Joaquin Valley
south of the Tuolumne.

The opponents to the recommendations of the commissioners claimed that
“The government of the United States has no right to select the
territory of a sovereign State to establish reservations for the
Indians, nor for any other purpose, without the consent of the State!”
The state legislature of 1851-1852 instructed the senators and
representatives in congress to use their influence to have the Indians
removed beyond the limits of the state.

W. W. Elliott, in his _History of Fresno County_ (1881), reveals further
details: “Sometime previous to August 16, 1852, one Major Harvey, the
first county Judge of Tulare County, and Wm. J. Campbell, either hired
or incited a lot of men, who rushed into one of the rancherias on Kings
River and succeeded in killing a number of old squaws.”

Elliott’s assertions are supported by the following news item from the
_San Francisco Daily Herald_, August 21, 1852:

Among other acts by white men calculated to excite the Indians, a
ferry was established over the San Joaquin, within an Indian
reservation, above Fort Miller, some miles above Savage’s. The
Indians, no doubt, considered this an encroachment; and from an idea
that the ferry stopped fish from ascending the river, some straggling
Indian, acting without authority from chiefs or council, spoke of this
notion about the fish at the ferry, and saying that the ferry was
within their lands, added that it would have to be broken up. The
proprietor of the ferry, assuming this as a threatened hostility, or
making a pretence of it, assembled a few willing friends, who, armed
with rifles, appeared suddenly among some Indian families while most
of the men were many miles off, peaceably at work at Savage’s, without
dreaming of danger, and without justifiable provocation the white men
fired upon the families, killing two women, as it is stated, and some
children, and wounding several others.

With such conditions prevailing on the Kings, it is small wonder that
numerous Kings Agency Indians traveled to the Fresno in order to trade
with Savage. Needless to say, this aroused the further ire of the
traders on the Kings. The white malcontents continued their agitation,
and the wronged Indians of the Kings wailed to Savage of their troubles.
Consistently with his earlier acts, wherein the public good was
involved, Major Savage attempted to pacify the Indians. He also
denounced the “squatters” with all the emphasis of his personality and
high standing. He asserted that they should be punished under the laws
which they had violated and presented the case to the Indian
Commissioners.

Harvey and the trader Campbell made common cause of denouncing Major
Savage in return. Word was sent to the Major that they dared him to set
foot in Kings River region. Upon its receipt, Savage mounted his horse
and traveled to the Kings River Agency.

The events that occurred upon his arrival have been variously described
by half a dozen writers. Elliott’s description, which agrees essentially
with Bunnell’s, is as follows:

On the 16th day of August, 1852, Savage paid a visit to the Kings
River Reservation, but previously to this Harvey declared that if
Savage ever came there he would not return alive. Arriving at the
reservation early in the forenoon, Savage found there Harvey and Judge
Marvin, and a quarrel at once ensued between Savage and Harvey, the
latter demanding of Savage a retraction of the language he had used
regarding Harvey, whereupon Savage slapped Harvey across the face with
his open hand, and while doing so, his pistol fell out of his shirt
bosom and was picked up by Marvin. Harvey then stepped up to Marvin
and said: “Marvin you have disarmed me; you have my pistol.” “No” said
Marvin, “this is Major Savage’s pistol,” whereupon Harvey, finding
Savage unarmed, commenced firing his own pistol, shooting five balls
into Savage, who fell, and died almost instantly. Marvin was standing
by all this time, with Savage’s pistol in his hands, too cowardly or
scared to interfere and prevent the murder. At this time Harvey was
County Judge of Tulare County, and one Joel H. Brooks, who had been in
the employment of Savage for several years, and who had received at
his hands nothing but kindness and favors, was appointed by Harvey,
Justice of the Peace, for the sole purpose of investigating Harvey’s
case for the killing of Savage. Of course Harvey was acquitted by
Brooks—was not even held to answer before the Grand Jury. Harvey
finally left, in mortal fear of the Indians, for he imagined that
every Indian was seeking his life to avenge the murder of Savage.
Afterwards, Harvey died of paralysis.

In 1926 the late Boutwell Dunlap unearthed 169 pages of depositions in
manuscript form, taken in a law case of 1858 in which the death of
Savage was made an issue. The incidents related by the witness under
oath are redolent of the old wild days. This testimony comes from the
same Brooks who as magistrate had acquitted Harvey. It is quoted as
follows:

Twenty-four hours after the Indians had ordered Campbell to leave,
Harvey and his company had a fight with the Indians, killing some and
whipping the balance. Savage was then an Indian agent appointed by
Wozencroft. Savage and Wozencroft made a great fuss about the American
people abusing the Indians and succeeded in getting the Commanding
General of the U.S. forces on the Pacific to send up a couple of
companies of troops to Tulare County, to take up Major Harvey and the
men that were under his command and that had assisted him in this
horrible murder of “the poor innocent savages.”

The circumstances which led to Savage’s death grew out of this
difficulty. The troops had crossed Kings River. This was some time in
August 1852 in the morning. Major Savage and Judge John G. Marvin rode
up to the door of Campbell’s trading-house. Savage called for Harvey.
Harvey stepped to the door. Savage remarked, “I understand, Major
Harvey, that you say I am no gentleman.” Harvey replies, “I have
frequently made that statement.” Savage remarked, to Harvey, “There is
a good horse, saddle, bridle, spurs and leggings which belong to me. I
fetched them, for the purpose of letting you have them to leave this
country with.” Harvey replied, “I have got a fine mule and I will
leave the country on my own animal, when I want to leave it.” Savage
called for breakfast. Savage and Marvin ate breakfast by themselves in
a brush house outside the store. After they had got through their
breakfast, Savage tied up his hair, rolled up his sleeves, took his
six-shooter out of its scabbard and placed it in front of him under
the waistband of his pantaloons. He then walked into Campbell’s store
and asked Major Harvey if he could not induce him to call him a
gentleman. Harvey told him that he had made up his mind and had
expressed his opinion in regard to that, and did not think he would
alter it. He knocked Harvey down and stamped upon him a little. They
were separated by some gentlemen in the house, and Harvey got up.
Savage says, “To what conclusion have you come in regard to my
gentlemancy?” Harvey replies, “I think you are a damned scoundrel.”
Savage knocked Harvey down again. They were again separated by
gentlemen present. As Harvey straightened himself onto his feet, he
presented a six-shooter and shot Major Savage through the heart.
Savage fell without saying anything. It was supposed that Harvey shot
him twice after he was dead, every ball taking effect in his heart.
That is all I know about the fight. I gained this information by
taking the testimony as magistrate of those who saw it.

What may have become of the court records of the so-called trial is
unknown, but a scrap of testimony by the proprietor of the house in
which the killing took place was preserved by the _San Francisco Daily
Herald_, September 3, 1852, as follows:

The People of the State of California _vs._ Walter H. Harvey, for the
killing of James D. Savage, on the 16th day of August, 1852,
contrary to the laws of the State of California, &c.

Mr. Edmunds sworn, says—“Yesterday morning Major Savage came into my
house and asked Major Harvey if he had said he was no gentleman. Major
Harvey replied he had said it. Major Savage struck Major Harvey on the
side of the head and knocked him down on some sacks of flour, and then
proceeded to kick and beat him. Judge Marvin and some one else
interfered, and Major Savage was taken off of Major Harvey. Major Savage
still had hold of Major Harvey when Major Harvey kicked him. Major
Savage then struck Major Harvey on the cheek, and knocked him down the
second time, and used him, the same as before. By some means I cannot
say, Major Savage was again taken off, and they separated. Major Savage
was in the act of attacking him again, when Major Harvey draw his pistol
and shot him.”

_Question by the Court_—Did Major Harvey shoot more than once?

_Answer_—I think he did; I found four holes in him.

_Question_—Did Major Savage knock Major Harvey down before he drew his
pistol?

_Answer_—The prisoner had been knocked down by Major Savage twice before
he drew his pistol, or made any attempt to shoot him.

Mr. Gonele sworn—corroborates the evidence of Mr. Edmunds. Mr. Knider
sworn, also does the same.

This is all the testimony given in as to the fight, Major Fitzgerald,
U.S.A., sworn, testified to some facts which induced him to think Major
Savage not a gentleman.

The Court, upon this testimony, discharged Major Harvey without
requiring bail.

So passed the leading figure in early Yosemite history. In this day of
greater appreciation of individual heroism, sacrifice, and pioneer
accomplishment in public service, how one covets unprejudiced narratives
of such lives as was that of James D. Savage! Bunnell comments feelingly
on “his many noble qualities, his manly courage, his generous
hospitality, his unyielding devotion to friends, and his kindness to
immigrant strangers.” A writer in the _Daily Herald_ of September 4,
1852, contributes more details of events that followed the murder.

Effect of Major Savage’s Death upon the Indians

We have received a letter dated August 31st. on the Indian Reservation,
Upper San Joaquin, giving some further particulars of the murder of
Major James Savage and the effect produced thereby upon the Indians. The
writer has resided among them upwards of two years, understood their
language and their habits, and for a long time assisted Major Savage in
managing them. His opinions therefore are entitled to weight. The
following extracts will show the probable effect this murder will have
on the prospects of the southern section of the State:

“You have doubtless ere this heard of the death, or rather murder, of
Major Savage upon King’s River. It has produced considerable sensation
throughout the country and is deeply regretted, for the country and the
government have lost the services of a man whom it will not be easy to
replace. He could do more to keep the Indians in subjection than all the
forces that Uncle Sam could send here. The Indians were terribly excited
at his death. Some of them reached the scene of the tragedy soon after
it occurred. They threw themselves upon his body, uttering the most
terrific cries, bathing their hands and faces in his blood, and even
stooping and drinking it, as it gushed from his wounds. It was with
difficulty his remains could be interred. The Chiefs clung to his body,
and swore they would die with their father.

“The night he was buried the Indians built large fires, around which
they danced, singing the while the mournful death chaunt, until the
hills around rang with the sound. I have never seen such profound
manifestations of grief. The young men, as they whirled wildly and
distractedly around in the dance, shouted the name of their ‘father’
that was gone; while the squaws sat rocking their bodies to and fro,
chaunting their mournful dirges, until the very blood within one curdled
with horror at the scene.

“I have not the slightest doubt that there will be a general outbreak
this winter. Just as soon as the rainy season sets in we shall have the
beginning of one of the most protracted and expensive wars the people of
California have ever been engaged in. The Indians are quiet now, but are
evidently contemplating some hostile movement. They told me, a few days
since, that their ‘father’ was gone and they would not live with the
whites any longer.

“I have studied the character of these Indians, as you know, for more
than two years, and have acquired my experience in managing them under
Savage himself. I do not speak lightly nor unadvisedly, therefore, when
I assert that no more disastrous event could have occurred to the
interests of this State, than the murder of the gallant Major Savage.”

It is possible that more details of Savage’s biography may be brought to
light, and it is with that hope, coupled with the desire to give his
memory just due, that this material is presented for public perusal.

On the Fresno River, near the site of his old trading post, rest the
bones of the “white chief.” In 1855, Dr. Leach, who had been associated
with Savage in trading with the Indians, journeyed to the Kings River,
disinterred the remains, and transferred them to their present resting
place. A ten-foot shaft of Connecticut granite, bearing the simple
inscription, “Maj. Jas. D. Savage,” marks the spot. On July 4, 1929, the
little city of Madera, California, honored the memory of Savage by
placing an inscribed plaque on a city gate. These memorials, presumably,
are the only public reminders of the importance of James D. Savage in
the history of the state.

The story of Major Savage may be concluded with a reference to his
family ties. As has been related, Californians were, until 1928, wholly
mystified about his origin. Through the researches of Louise Savage
Ireland we are made to sense the human side of his saga and are brought
to an understanding of his intimate family connections and his
faithfulness to blood ties. L. H. Savage of El Paso, Texas, writes that
his father, John W. Savage, first cousin of James D. Savage, made a vain
attempt to join the Major in California. Returning miners in 1850 told
the Illinois Savages that “Jim” invited them to come to California,
where he would make them rich. John, then a boy of nineteen years,
financed by older members of the family, shipped for the Golden State
and sailed around the Horn. Almost a year elapsed before he reached San
Francisco. There he learned that his noted relative had met death six
months before.

What became of any wealth that the Major may have amassed remains a
mystery. The Indians he struggled to protect and the lands he tried to
save for them long ago passed out of the reckoning. By way of
explanation we quote from Hutchings’ _In the Heart of the Sierras_:

The reservation on the Fresno gradually became unpopular on this
account [because the Indians craved their mountain homes], but mainly
from bad management; was afterwards abolished by the Government; and,
finally, its lands and buildings were gobbled up by sharp-sighted, if
not unprincipled men, who, like many others of that class, became rich
out of the acquisition.

One cannot but wonder what counteracting influences James D. Savage
would have exercised in the Fresno Agency business had he been permitted
to live.

CHAPTER IV
_PIONEERS IN THE VALLEY_

By March of 1851 the Indian Commissioners McKee, Barbour, and
Woozencraft were actively assembling representatives of the numerous
Sierra Indian tribes and driving sharp bargains with them to quitclaim
their lands. On March 19, 1851, the commissioners in their camp (Camp
Frémont) in the Mariposa region reached an agreement with six tribes and
proceeded to establish a reservation for them. Their report refers to
one tribe, the “Yosemetos,” who were expected at this confab but failed
to appear. The friendly Indians who signed the treaty reported that this
mountain tribe had no intentions of coming in. It was, therefore,
decided to send Major Savage and a part of his Mariposa Battalion after
them.

On the evening of March 19, the day on which the Camp Frémont treaty was
signed, Major Savage set out with the companies of Captains Boling and
Dill. Captain Kuykendall’s company had traveled to the region of the San
Joaquin and Kings rivers, in which locality the commissioners planned to
negotiate another treaty. The force under the command of Major Savage
followed a route very near that which is now known as the Wawona Road to
Yosemite Valley.

On the South Fork of the Merced, at what is now called Wawona, a Nuchu
camp was surprised and captured. Messengers sent ahead from this camp
returned with the assurance that the Yosemite tribe would come in and
give themselves up. Old Chief Tenaya of the Yosemites did come into
camp, but, after waiting three days for the others, Major Savage became
impatient and set out with the battalion to enter the much-talked-of
Yosemite retreat. When they had covered about half the distance to the
valley, seventy-two Indians were met plodding through the snow. Not
convinced that this band constituted the entire tribe, Savage sent them
to his camp on the South Fork while he pushed on to the valley. His
route again was that followed by the present Wawona road.

On March 25, 1851, the party went into camp near Bridalveil Fall. That
night around the campfire a suitable name for the remarkable valley was
discussed. Lafayette H. Bunnell, a young man upon whom the surroundings
and events had made a deeper impression than upon any of the others,
urged that it be named Yosemite, after the natives who had been driven
out. This name was agreed upon. Although the whites knew the name of the
tribe, they were apparently unaware that the Indians had another name,
Ahwahnee, for their Deep Grassy Valley.

The next morning the camp was moved to the mouth of Indian Canyon, and
the day was spent in exploring the valley. Only one Indian was found, an
ancient squaw, too feeble to escape. Parties penetrated Tenaya Canyon
above Mirror Lake, ascended the Merced Canyon beyond Nevada Fall, and
explored both to the north and to the south of the river on the valley
floor. No more Indians were discovered, and on the third day the party
withdrew from the valley. The Indians who had been gathered while the
party was on the way to the valley escaped from their guard while en
route to the Indian Commissioner’s camp on the Fresno; so this first
expedition accomplished nothing in the way of subduing the Yosemites.

In May, 1851, Major Savage sent Captain John Boling and his company back
to Yosemite to surprise the elusive inhabitants and to whip them well.
Boling followed the same route taken previously and arrived in Yosemite
on May 9. He made his first camp near the site of the present Sentinel
Bridge. Chief Tenaya and a few of his followers were captured, but the
majority of the Yosemites eluded their pursuers. It was during this stay
in Yosemite that the first letter from the valley was dispatched. On May
15, 1851, Captain Boling wrote to Major Savage of his affairs, and the
letter was published in the _Alta California_, June 12, 1851. It
follows:

On reaching this valley, which we did on the 9th inst., I selected for
our encampment the most secluded place that I could find, lest our
arrival might be discovered by the Indians. Spies were immediately
despatched in different directions, some of which crossed the river to
examine for signs on the opposite side. Trails were soon found,
leading up and down the river, which had been made since the last
rain. On the morning of the 10th we took up the line of march for the
upper end of the valley, and having traveled about five miles we
discovered five Indians running up the river on the north side. All of
my command, except a sufficient number to take care of the pack
animals, put spurs to their animals, swam the river and caught them
before they could get into the mountains. One of them proved to be the
son of the old Yosemety chief. I informed them if they would come down
from the mountains and go with me to the U. S. Indian Commissioners,
they would not be hurt; but if they would not, I would remain in their
neighborhood as long as there was a fresh track to be found; informing
him at the same time that all the Indians except his father’s people
and the Chouchillas had treated.... He then informed me that ... if I
would let him loose, with another Indian, he would bring in his father
and all his people by twelve o’clock the next day. I then gave them
plenty to eat and started him and his companion out. We watched the
others close, intending to hold them as hostages until the
despatch-bearers returned. They appeared well satisfied and we were
not suspicious of them, in consequence of which one of them escaped.
We commenced searching for him, which alarmed the other two still in
custody, and they attempted to make their escape. The boys took after
them and finding they could not catch them, fired and killed them
both. This circumstance, connected with the fact of the two whom we
had sent out not returning, satisfied me that they had no intention of
coming in. My command then set out to search for the Rancheria. The
party which went up the left toward Can-yarthia [?] found the
rancheria at the head of a little valley, and from the signs it
appeared that the Indians had left but a few minutes. The boys pursued
them up the mountain on the north side of the river, and when they had
got near the top, helping each other from rock to rock on account of
the abruptness of the mountains; the first intimation they had of the
Indians being near was a shower of huge rocks which came tumbling down
the mountain, threatening instant destruction. Several of the men were
knocked down, and some of them rolled and fell some distance before
they could recover, wounding and bruising them generally. One man’s
gun was knocked out of his hand and fell seventy feet before it
stopped, whilst another man’s hat was knocked off his head without
hurting him. The men immediately took shelter behind large rocks, from
which they could get an occasional shot, which soon forced the Indians
to retreat, and by pressing them close they caught the old Yo-semity
chief, whom we yet hold as a prisoner. In this skirmish they killed
one Indian and wounded several others.

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

On May 21, some members of the invading party discovered the fresh trail
of a small party of Indians traveling in the direction of the Mono
country. Immediate pursuit was made, and on May 22 the Yosemites were
discovered encamped on the shores of Tenaya Lake in a spot much of which
was snow-covered. They were completely surprised and surrendered without
a struggle. This was the first expedition made into the Yosemite high
country from the west, and it was on this occasion that the name Lake
Tenaya was applied by Bunnell. The old Indian chief, on being told of
how his name was to be perpetuated, sullenly remonstrated that the lake
already had a name, “Py-we-ack”—Lake of the Shining Rocks.

The Indians were on this second occasion successfully escorted to the
Fresno reservation. Tenaya and his band, however, refused to adapt
themselves to the conditions under which they were forced to live. They
begged repeatedly to be permitted to return to the mountains and to the
acorn food of their ancestors. At last, on his solemn promise to behave,
Tenaya was permitted to go back to Yosemite with members of his family.
In a short time his old followers quietly slipped away from the
reservation and joined him. No attempt was made to bring them back.

During the winter of 1851-52, no complaints against the Yosemites were
registered, but in May of 1852 a party of eight prospectors made their
way into the valley, where two of them were killed by the Indians. A
remarkable manuscript, prepared by Stephen F. Grover, a member of this
party, was obtained by Mrs. A. E. Chandler, of Santa Cruz, who in 1901
mailed it to Galen Clark. Upon Clark’s death it was turned over to the
pioneer Yosemite photographer, George Fiske. When Mr. Fiske died, the
papers were given to National Park Service officials for safekeeping in
the Yosemite Museum. Grover’s reminiscences are apparently authentically
presented and divulge much that was not recorded elsewhere. Those
familiar with Yosemite history as it has been accepted since the
appearance of Bunnell’s _Discovery of Yosemite_ will recognize a number
of incidents that are at variance with previous records.

Grover’s Narrative—A Reminiscence

On the 27th of April, 1852, a party of miners, consisting of Messrs.
Grover, Babcock, Peabody, Tudor, Sherburn, Rose, Aich, and an
Englishman whose name I cannot now recall, left Coarse Gold Gulch in
Mariposa County, on an expedition prospecting for gold in the wilds of
the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We followed up Coarse Gold Gulch into the
Sierras, traveling five days, and took the Indian trail through the
Mariposa Big Tree Grove, and were the first white men to enter there.
Then we followed the South Fork of the Merced River, traveling on
Indian trails the entire time.

On reaching the hills above Yosemite Valley, our party camped for the
night, and questioned the expediency of descending into the Valley at
all. Our party were all opposed to the project except Sherburn, Tudor,
and Rose. They over-persuaded the rest and fairly forced us against
our will, and we finally followed the old Mariposa Indian trail on the
morning of the 2nd of May, and entering the Valley on the East side of
the Merced River, camped on a little opening, near a bend in the River
free from any brush whatever, and staked out our pack mules by the
river. I, being the youngest of the party, a mere boy of twenty-two
years, and not feeling usually well that morning, remained in camp
with Aich and the Englishman to prepare dinner, while the others went
up the Valley, some prospecting, and others hunting for game. We had
no fear of the Indians, as they had been peaceable, and no outbreaks
having occurred, the whites traveled fearlessly wherever they wished
to go. Thus, we had no apprehension of trouble. To my astonishment and
horror I heard our men attacked, and amid firing, screams, and
confusion, here came Peabody, who reached camp first, wounded by an
arrow in his arm and another in the back of his neck, and one through
his clothes, just grazing the skin of his stomach, wetting his rifle
and ammunition in crossing the river as he ran to reach camp. Babcock
soon followed, and as both men had plunged through the stream that
flows from the Bridal Veil Falls in making their escape, they were
drenched to the skin.

On reaching us, Aich immediately began picking the wet powder from
Babcock’s rifle, while I with my rifle stood guard and kept the
savages at bay the best I could. (The other men, with the exception of
Sherburn, Tudor, and Rose, came rushing into camp in wild excitement.)
Rose, a Frenchman, was the first to fall, and from the opposite side
of the stream where he fell, apparently with his death wound, he
screamed to us, “’T is no use to try to save ourselves, we have all
got to die.” He was the only one of our company that could speak
Indian and we depended upon him for an interpreter. Sherburn and Tudor
were killed in their first encounter, Tudor being killed with an ax in
the hands of a savage, which was taken along with the party for
cutting wood. The Indians gathered around as near as they dared to
come, whooping and yelling, and constantly firing arrows at us. We
feared they would pick up the rifles dropped by our companions in
their flight and turn them against us, but they did not know how to
use them. As we were very hard pressed, and as the number of Indians
steadily increased, we tried to escape by the old Mariposa trail, the
one by which we entered the Valley, one of our number catching up a
sack of a few pounds of flour and another a tin cup and some of our
outer clothing and fled as best we could with the savages in hot
pursuit. We had proceeded but a short distance when we were attacked
in front by the savages who had cut off our retreat. Death staring at
us on almost every hand, and seeing no means of escape, we fled to the
bluff, I losing my pistol as I ran. We were in a shower of arrows all
the while, and the Indians were closing in upon us very fast; the
valley seemed alive with them—on rocks, and behind trees, bristling
like Demons, shrieking their war whoops, and exulting in our
apparently easy capture. We fired back at them to keep them off while
we tried to make our way forward hugging the bluff as closely as
possible. Our way was soon blocked by the Indians who headed us off
with a shower of arrows (two going through my clothing, one through my
hat which I lost), when from above the rocks began to fall on us and
in our despair we clung to the face of the bluff, and scrambling up we
found a little place in the turn of the wall, a shelf-like projection,
where, after infinite labor, we succeeded in gathering ourselves,
secure from the falling rocks, at least, which were being thrown by
Indians under the orders from their Chief. The arrows still whistled
among us thick and fast, and I fully believe—could I visit that spot
even now after the lapse of all these years—I could still pick up some
of those flint arrow points in the shelf of the rock and in the face
of the bluff where we were huddled together.

We could see the old Chief Tenieya way up in the Valley in an open
space with fully one hundred and fifty Indians around him, to whom he
gave his orders, which were passed to another Chief just below us, and
these two directed those around them and shouted orders to those on
the top of the bluff who were rolling the rocks over on us. Fully
believing ourselves doomed men, we never relaxed our vigilance, but
with the two rifles we still kept them at bay, determined to sell our
lives as dearly as possible. I recall, with wonder, how every event of
my life up to that time passed through my mind, incident after
incident, with lightning rapidity, and with wonderful precision.

We were crowded together beneath this little projecting rock (two
rifles were fortunately retained in our little party, one in the hands
of Aich and one in my own), every nerve strung to its highest tension,
and being wounded myself with an arrow through my sleeve that cut my
arm and another through my hat, when all of a sudden the Chief just
below us, about fifty yards distant, suddenly threw up his hands and
with a terrible yell fell over backwards with a bullet through his
body. Immediately, the firing of arrows ceased and the savages were
thrown into confusion, while notes of alarm were sounded and answered
far up the Valley and from the high bluffs above us. They began to
withdraw and we could hear the twigs crackle as they crept away.

It was now getting dusk and we had been since early morning without
food or rest. Not knowing what to expect we remained where we were,
suffering from our wounds and tortured with fear till the moon went
down about midnight; then trembling in every limb, we ventured to
creep forth, not daring to attempt the old trail again; we crept along
and around the course of the bluff and worked our way up through the
snow, from point to point, often feeling the utter impossibility of
climbing farther, but with an energy born of despair, we would try
again, helping the wounded more helpless than ourselves, and by
daylight we reached the top of the bluff. A wonderful hope of escape
animated us though surrounded as we were, and we could but realize how
small our chances were for evading the savages who were sure to be
sent on our trail. Having had nothing to eat since the morning before,
we breakfasted by stirring some of our flour in the tip cup, with
snow, and passing it around among us, in full sight of the smoke of
the Indian camps and signal fires all over the Valley.

Our feelings toward the “Noble Red Man” at this time can better be
imagined than described.

Starting out warily and carefully, expecting at every step to feel the
stings of the whizzing arrows of our deadly foes, we kept near and in
the most dense underbrush, creeping slowly and painfully along as best
we could, those who were best able carrying the extra garments of the
wounded and helping them along; fully realizing the probability of the
arrow tips with which we were wounded having been dipped in poison
before being sent on their message of death. In this manner we toiled
on, a suffering and saddened band of once hopeful prospectors.

Suddenly a deer bounded in sight. Some objected to our shooting as the
report of our rifle might betray us—but said I, as well die by our
foes as by starvation, and dropping on one knee with never a steadier
nerve or truer aim, the first crack of my rifle brought him down. Hope
revived in our hearts, and quickly skinning our prize we roasted
pieces of venison on long sticks thrust in the flame and smoke, and
with no seasoning whatever it was the sweetest morsel I ever tasted.
Hastily stripping the flesh from the hind quarters of the deer, Aich
and myself, being the only ones able to carry the extra burden,
shouldered the meat and we again took up our line of travel. In this
manner we toiled on and crossed the Mariposa Trail, and passed down
the south fork of the Merced River, constantly fearing pursuit. As
night came on we prepared camp by cutting crotched stakes which we
drove in the ground and putting a pole across enclosed it with brush,
making a pretty secure hiding place for the night; we crept under and
lay close together. Although expecting an attack we were so exhausted
and tired that we soon slept.

An incident of the night occurs to me: One of the men on reaching out
his foot quickly, struck one of the poles, and down came the whole
structure upon us. Thinking that our foes were upon us, our frightened
crowd sprang out and made for the more dense brush, but as quiet
followed we realized our mistake and gathering together again we
passed the remainder of the night in sleepless apprehension.

When morning came we started again, following up the river, and passed
one of our camping places. We traveled as far as we could in that
direction, and prepared for our next night to camp and slept in a big
hollow tree, still fearing pursuit. We passed the night undisturbed
and in the morning started again on our journey, keeping in the
shelter of the brush, and crossed the foot of the Falls, a little
above Crane Flat—so named by us, as one of our party shot a large
crane there while going over, but it is now known as Wawona. We still
traveled in the back ground, passing through Big Tree Grove again, but
not until we gained the ridge above Chowchilla did we feel any surety
of ever seeing our friends again.

Traveling on thus for five days, we at last reached Coarse Gold Gulch
once more, barefooted and ragged but more glad than I can express. An
excited crowd soon gathered around us and while listening to our
hair-breadth escapes, our sufferings and perils, and while vowing
vengeance on the treacherous savages, an Indian was seen quickly
coming down the mountain trail, gaily dressed in war paint and
feathers, evidently a spy on our track, and not three hours behind us.
A party of miners watched him as he passed by the settlement. E.
Whitney Grover, my brother, and a German cautiously followed him. The
haughty Red Man was made to bite the dust before many minutes had
passed.

[Illustration: Joseph R. Walker]

[Illustration: _By Joseph Dixon_
Maria Lebrado]

[Illustration: Captain John Boling]

[Illustration: Lafayette H. Bunnell]

[Illustration: _By J. T. Boysen_
A Freight Outfit]

[Illustration: _By Gustav Fagersteen_
Early Tourists in the Saddle]

My brother Whitney Grover quickly formed a company of twenty-five men,
who were piloted by Aich, and started for the Valley to bury our
unfortunate companions. They found only Sherburn and Tudor, after a
five days march, and met with no hostility from the Indians. They
buried them where they lay, with such land marks as were at hand at
that time. I have often called to mind the fact that the two men,
Sherburn and Tudor, the only ones of our party who were killed on that
eventful morning, were seen reading their Bibles while in camp the
morning before starting into the Valley. They were both good men and
we mourned their loss sincerely.

After we had been home six days, Rose, who was a partner of Sherburn
and Tudor in a mine about five miles west of Coarse Gold Gulch, where
there was a small mining camp, appeared in the neighborhood and
reported the attack and said the whole party was killed, and that he
alone escaped. On being questioned, he said he hid behind the
Waterfall and lived by chewing the leather strap which held his rifle
across his shoulders. This sounded strange to us as he had his rifle
and plenty of ammunition and game was abundant. Afterward hearing of
our return to Coarse Gold Gulch camp, he never came to see us as would
have been natural, but shortly disappeared. We thought his actions and
words very strange and we remembered how he urged us to enter the
Valley, and at the time of the attack was the first one to fall, right
amongst the savages, apparently with his death wound, and now he
appears without a scratch, telling his version of the affair and
disappearing without seeing any of us. We all believed he was not the
honest man and friend we took him to be. He took possession of the
gold mine in which he held a one-third interest with Sherburn and
Tudor, and sold it.

Years afterward, in traveling at a distance and amongst strangers, I
heard this story of our adventures repeated, as told by Aich, and he
represented himself as the only man of the party who was not in the
least frightened. I told them that “I was most thoroughly frightened,
and Aich looked just as I felt.”

Stephen F. Grover

Santa Cruz, California

The commander of the regular army garrison at Fort Miller was notified
of these events, and a detachment of the 2d Infantry under Lieutenant
Tredwell Moore was dispatched in June, 1852. Five Indians were captured
in the Yosemite Valley, all of whom were found to possess articles of
clothing belonging to the murdered men. These Indians were summarily
shot. Tenaya’s scouts undoubtedly witnessed this prompt pronouncement of
judgment, and the members of the tribe fled with all speed to their
Piute allies at Mono Lake.

The soldiers pursued the fleeing Indians by way of Tenaya Lake and
Bloody Canyon. They found no trace of the Yosemites and could elicit no
information from the Piutes. The party explored the region north and
south of Bloody Canyon and found some promising mineral deposits. In
August they returned to Tuolumne Soda Springs and then made their way
back to Mariposa by way of the old Mono Trail that passed south of
Yosemite Valley.

Upon arrival at Mariposa they exhibited samples of their ore
discoveries. This created the usual excitement, and Lee Vining with a
party of companions hastened to visit the region to prospect for gold.
Leevining Canyon, through which the Tioga Road now passes, was named for
the leader of this party.

Tenaya and his refugee band remained with the Mono Indians until late in
the summer of 1853, when they again ventured into their old haunts in
the Yosemite Valley. Shortly after they had reëstablished themselves in
their old home, a party of young Yosemites made a raid on the camp of
their former hosts and stole a band of horses which the Monos had
recently driven up from southern California. The thieves brought the
animals to Yosemite by a very roundabout route through a pass at the
head of the San Joaquin, hoping by this means to escape detection.
However, the Monos at once discovered the ruse and organized a war party
to wreak vengeance upon their ungrateful guests. Surprising the
Yosemites while they were feasting gluttonously upon the stolen horses,
they almost annihilated Tenaya’s band with stones before a rally could
be effected. Eight of the Yosemite braves escaped the slaughter and fled
down the Merced Canyon. The old men and women who escaped death were
given their liberty, but the young women and children were made captive
and taken to Mono Lake.

The story of this last act in the elimination of the troublesome
Yosemites was made known to Bunnell by surviving members of the tribe.

In 1928, when I talked with Maria, a member of the original Yosemite
tribe, her version of the massacre differed widely from the story told
by Bunnell. Through her daughter she stoutly assured me that no Indians
died in Yosemite Valley except those killed by whites and those who were
ill. I asked her how Tenaya died and where. She explained that while the
Yosemites were at Mono Lake they engaged in hand games with the Monos.
These games are stirring affairs among the Indians. A. L. Kroeber
states, “It is impossible to have seen a California Indian warmed to his
work in this game when played for stakes—provided its aim and method are
understood—and any longer justly to designate him mentally sluggish and
emotionally apathetic, as is the wont. It is a game in which not sticks
and luck, but the tensest of wills, the keenest perceptions and the
supplest of muscular responses are matched.... Seen in this light, the
contortions, gesticulations, noises, and excitement of the native are
not the mere uncontrolledness of an overgrown child, but the outward
reflexes of a powerfully surcharged intensity.”

According to Maria, it was in the heat of such a game that a quarrel
developed between Tenaya and his Mono allies. In the fight that
followed, Tenaya and five of his Yosemite braves were stoned to death.
At least, this stoning feature agrees with former accounts of the
killing. Horse stealing and a gluttonous feast in Yosemite Valley do not
figure in Maria’s story. She insists that Tom “Hutchings,” the Yosemite
Indian befriended by J. M. Hutchings, attended to the burning of the
bodies and packed the charred remains upon his own back from Mono Lake
to Hites Cove. There a great “cry” was held for two weeks; the remaining
Yosemite Indians and all their friends bewailed the loss of Chief Tenaya
and the four tribesmen.

A number of parties of miners, emboldened by the news of the disbanding
of the Yosemites, visited the valley in the fall of 1853. During 1854 no
white men are known to have entered Yosemite Valley.

By 1855 several accounts written by members of the three punitive
expeditions that had entered Yosemite had been published in San
Francisco papers. The difficulties of overcoming hostile Indians in the
search for gold were far more prominent in the minds of these writers
than the scenic wonders of the new-found valley. Nevertheless, the
mention of a thousand-foot waterfall in one of these published letters
awakened James M. Hutchings, then publishing the _California Magazine_,
to the possibilities that Yosemite presented. Hutchings organized the
first tourist party in June, 1855, and with two of the original
Yosemites as guides proceeded from Mariposa over the old Indian trail
via Wawona and Inspiration Point to the valley. Thomas Ayres, an artist,
was a member of the party and during this visit he made the first
sketches ever made in Yosemite. Ten of these original pencil drawings
are now preserved in the Yosemite Museum.

In 1853, James Alden, then a commander in the United States Navy, came
to California on a commission to settle the boundary between Mexico and
California. He remained until 1860. Some time between 1856 and 1860 he
visited Yosemite Valley. Probably on his return to San Francisco he came
upon Ayres’s work, which appealed to him as the best mementos of his
Yosemite experience, and he procured ten originals and one lithograph.
Mrs. Ernest W. Bowditch, Mrs. C. W. Hubbard, and Mrs. A. H. Eustis,
descendants of Admiral Alden and heirs to these priceless drawings, have
presented them to the Yosemite Museum, which stands near the spot where
some of them were made.

In the years that have elapsed since these drawings were created, they
have journeyed on pack mules, sailed the seas in old United States
men-of-war, jolted about in covered wagons, and at last made a
transcontinental journey to come again to the valley that gave them
birth.

[Illustration: PROVISION STORE]

CHAPTER V
_TOURISTS IN THE SADDLE_

Hutchings and his first sight-seers “spent five glorious days in
luxurious scenic banqueting” in the newly discovered valley and then
followed their Indian guides over the return trail to Mariposa. Upon
their arrival in that mountain city, they were besieged with eager
questioners, among whom was L. A. Holmes, the editor of the _Mariposa
Gazette_, which had recently been established. Mr. Holmes begged that
his paper be given opportunity to publish the first account from the pen
of Mr. Hutchings. His request was complied with, and in the _Gazette_ of
July 12, 1855, appears the first printed description of Yosemite Valley,
prepared by one uninfluenced by Indian troubles or gold fever.

Journalists the country over copied the description, and so started the
Hutchings Yosemite publicity, which was to continue through a period of
forty-seven years. Parties from Mariposa and other mining camps, and
from San Francisco, interested by Hutchings’ oral and printed accounts,
organized, secured the same Indian guides, and inaugurated tourist
travel to the Yosemite wonder spot.

Milton and Houston Mann, who had accompanied one of these sight-seeing
expeditions, were so imbued with the possibilities of serving the hordes
of visitors soon to come that they set to work immediately to construct
a horse toll trail from the South Fork of the Merced to the Yosemite
Valley. Galen Clark, who also had been a member of one of the 1855
parties, was prompted to establish a camp on the South Fork where
travelers could be accommodated. This camp was situated on the Mann
Brothers’ Trail and later became known as Clark’s Station. It is known
as Wawona now. The Mann brothers finished their trail in 1856.

Old Indian trails were followed by much of the Mariposa-Yosemite Valley
route. The toll was collected at White and Hatch’s, approximately twelve
miles from Mariposa. At Clark’s Station (Wawona), the trail detached
itself from the Indian route and ascended Alder Creek to its headwaters.
Here it crossed to the Bridalveil Creek drainage and passed through
several fine meadows, gradually ascending to the highest point on the
route above Old Inspiration Point on the south rim of Yosemite Valley.
From this point it dropped sharply to the floor of the valley near the
foot of Bridalveil Fall. The present-day Alder Creek and Pohono trails
traverse much of the old route.

Several years after the pioneer trail was built, sheep camps were
established on two of the lush meadows through which it passed. They
were known as Westfall’s and Ostrander’s. The rough shelters existing
here were frequently used by tired travelers who preferred to make an
overnight stop on the trail rather than exhaust themselves in completing
the saddle trip to the valley in one day. Usually, however, Westfall’s
or Ostrander’s were convenient lunch stops for the saddle parties.

In 1869, Charles Peregoy built a hotel, “The Mountain View House,” at
what had been known as Westfall Meadow and with the help of his wife
operated a much-praised hospice every summer until 1875, when the coming
of the stage road between Wawona and Yosemite Valley did away with the
greater part of the travel on the trail.

The Mann Brothers’ Trail, which was some fifty miles in length, was
purchased by Mariposa County and made available to public use without
charge before construction of the stage road from Mariposa had been
completed.

In 1856, the year that witnessed the completion of the Mariposa-Yosemite
Valley Trail, L. H. Bunnell, George W. Coulter, and others united in the
construction of the “Coulterville Free Trail.” Very little, if any, of
this route followed existing Indian trails. The Coulterville Trail
started at Bull Creek, to which point a wagon road already had been
constructed, and passed through Deer Flat, Hazel Green, Crane Flat, and
Tamarack Flat to the point now known as Gentry, and thence to the
valley. Its total length was forty-eight miles, of which seventeen miles
could be traveled in a carriage.

A second pioneer horse trail on the north side of the Merced began at
the village of Big Oak Flat, six miles north of Coulterville, and
followed a route north of the Coulterville Free Trail through Garrote to
Harden’s Ranch on the South Fork of the Tuolumne River, thence to its
junction with the Coulterville Trail between Crane Flat and Tamarack
Flat.

Sections of all of these early routes passed over high terrain where
deep snow persisted well into the spring. Early fall snow storms in
these vicinities sometimes contributed to the hazards of travel. The
trails found use during a relatively short season. The Merced Canyon
offered opportunity to establish a route at lower elevation, but the
difficulties of construction in the narrow gorge deterred all would-be
builders until a short time prior to the wagon-road era. The Hite’s Cove
route, which came into use in the early ’seventies, partly answered the
need for a snow-free canyon trail. Hite’s Cove, where the John Hite Mine
was located in 1861, is on the South Fork of the Merced some distance
above its confluence with the Merced River. A wagon road eighteen miles
in length made it accessible from Mariposa. Tourists using this route
stopped overnight in Hite’s Cove and then traveled twenty miles in the
saddle up the Merced Canyon to the valley.

Another means of reaching the valley on horseback via the Merced Canyon
was developed soon after wagon roads had been built. Some Yosemite
visitors, perhaps because of the poor condition of the roads at certain
seasons, elected to leave the Coulterville stage route at Dudley’s, from
where they went to Jenkins Hill on the rim of the steep walls of the
Merced gorge. Here a horse trail enabled them to descend to the bottom
of the canyon, thence up the Merced to the valley. This thirty-mile
saddle trip involved an overnight stop at Hennesey’s, situated a short
distance below the present El Portal.

Travel in the saddle, of course, was regarded by the California pioneer
with few qualms. Likewise, the conveyance of freight on the backs of
mules was looked upon as commonplace, and the success attained by those
early packers is, in this day and age, wonderful to contemplate. In
Hutchings’ _California Magazine_ for December, 1859, appears a most
interesting essay on the business of packing as then practiced among the
mountaineers of the gold camps.

Pack animals and packers have not yet passed from the Yosemite scene,
for much of the back country is, and always will be, we hope, accessible
by trail only. Government trail gangs are dependent for weeks at a time
upon the supplies brought to them upon the backs of mules. Likewise,
those who avail themselves of High Sierra Camp facilities are served by
pack trains. Present-day packing differs in no essential way from the
mode of the ’fifties, except that it is often done by Indians instead of
the old-time Mexican _mulatero_.

What one visitor of the pre-wagon days thought of the saddle trip into
Yosemite Valley may be gathered from J. H. Beadle in his _Undeveloped
West_. Beadle visited the Sierra in 1871 and approached the valley from
the north.

Thirty-seven miles from Garrote bring us to Tamarack Flat, the highest
point on the road, the end of staging, and no wonder. The remaining
five miles down into the valley must be made on horseback.

While transferring baggage—very little is allowed—to pack mules, the
guide and driver amuse us with accounts of former tourists,
particularly of Anna Dickinson, who rode astride into the valley, and
thereby demonstrated her right to vote, drink “cocktails,” bear arms,
and work the roads, without regard to age, sex, or previous condition
of servitude. They tell us with great glee of Olive Logan, who, when
told she must ride thus into the valley, tried practising on the back
of the coach seats, and when laughed at for her pains, took her
revenge by savagely abusing everything on the road. When Mrs. Cady
Stanton was here a few weeks since, she found it impossible to fit
herself to the saddle, averring she had not been in one for thirty
years. Our accomplished guide, Mr. F. A. Brightman, saddled seven
different mules for her (she admits the fact in her report), and still
she would not risk it, and “while the guides laughed behind their
horses, and even the mules winked knowingly and shook their long ears
comically, still she stood a spectacle for men and donkeys.” In vain
the skillful Brightman assured her he had piloted five thousand
persons down that fearful incline, and not an accident. She would not
be persuaded, and walked the entire distance, equal to twenty miles on
level ground. And shall this much-enduring woman still be denied a
voice in the government of the country? Perish the thought. With all
these anecdotes I began to feel nervous myself, for I am but an
indifferent rider, and when I observed the careful strapping and saw
that my horse was enveloped in a perfect network of girths, cruppers
and circingles, I inquired diffidently, “Is there no danger that this
horse will turn a somerset with me over some steep point?” “Oh, no,
sir,” rejoined the cheerful Brightman, “he is bitterly opposed to it.”

We turn again to the left into a sort of stairway in the mountain
side, and cautiously tread the stony defile downward; at places over
loose boulders, at others around or over the points of shelving rock,
where one false step would send horse and rider a mangled mass two
thousand feet below, and more rarely over ground covered with bushes
and grade moderate enough to afford a brief rest. It is impossible to
repress fear. Every nerve is tense; the muscles involuntarily make
ready for a spring, and even the bravest lean timorously toward the
mountain side and away from the cliff, with foot loose in stirrup and
eye alert, ready for a spring in case of peril. The thought is vain;
should the horse go, the rider would infallibly go with him. And the
poor brutes seem to fully realize their danger and ours, as with wary
steps and tremulous ears, emitting almost human signs, with more than
brute caution they deliberately place one foot before the other,
calculating seemingly at each step the desperate chances and intensely
conscious of our mutual peril. Mutual danger creates mutual
sympathy—everything animal, everything that can feel pain, is
naturally cowardly—and while we feel a strange animal kinship with our
horses, they seem to express a half-human earnestness to assure us
that their interest is our interest, and their self-preservative
instinct in full accord with our intellectual dread. We learn with
wonder that of all the five thousand who have made this perilous
passage not one has been injured—if injured be the word, for the only
injury here would be certain death. One false step and we are gone
bounding over rocks, ricocheting from cliffs, till all semblance of
humanity is lost upon the flat rock below. Such a route would be
impossible to any but those mountain-trained mustangs, to whom a
broken stone staircase seems as safe as an ordinary macadamized road.

At length we reach a point where the most hardy generally dismount and
walk—two hundred feet descent in five hundred feet progress. Indeed
half the route will average the descent of an ordinary staircase. Then
comes a passage of only moderate descent and terror, then another and
more terrible stairway—a descent of four hundred feet in a thousand. I
will not walk before and lead my horse, as does our guide, but trail
my long rope halter and keep him before,—always careful to keep on the
upper side of him, springing from rock to rock, and hugging the cliff
with all the ardor of a young lover. For now I am scared. All pretense
of pride is gone, and just the last thing I intend to risk is for that
horse to stumble, and in falling strike me over that fearful cliff. At
last comes a gentler slope, then a crystal spring, dense grove and
grass-covered plat, and we are down into the valley. Gladly we take
the stage, and are whirled along in the gathering twilight.

The vehicle that whirled Beadle over the flat of the valley floor was
brought to Yosemite before roads were constructed and is now exhibited
at the Yosemite Museum as “the first wagon in Yosemite Valley.”

The arrival of visitors prompted the building of shelters. The first
habitation to be constructed by white men in Yosemite was a rough shack
put up in 1855 by a party of surveyors, of which Bunnell was a member. A
company had been organized to bring water from the foot of the valley
into the dry diggings of the Mariposa estate. It was supposed that a
claim in the valley would doubly secure the water privileges.

The first permanent structure was built in 1856 by Walworth and Hite. It
was constructed of pine boards that were rived out by hand, and occupied
the site of the 1851 camp of Boling’s party (near the foot of the
present Four-Mile Trail to Glacier Point). It was known as the Lower
Hotel until 1869, when it was pulled down, and Black’s Hotel was
constructed on the spot.

In the spring of 1857, Beardsley and Hite put up a canvas-covered house
in the old village. The next year this was replaced by a wooden
structure, the planks for which had been whipsawed by hand. J. M.
Hutchings was again in the valley in 1859, and his _California Magazine_
for December of that year tells of the first photographs to be made in
Yosemite. C. L. Weed, a pioneer photographer apparently working for R.
H. Vance, packed a great instrument and its bulky equipment through the
mountains to the Yosemite scenes. Photography was just then taking its
place in American life. Mr. Weed’s first Yosemite subject was this Upper
Hotel of Beardsley and Hite. Hutchings and Weed decided on this occasion
that they must visit the fall now called Illilouette, and Hutchings
wrote:

The reader would have laughed could he have seen us ready for the
start. Mr. Beardsley, who had volunteered to carry the camera, had it
inverted and strapped at his back, when it looked more like an Italian
“hurdy gurdy” than a photographic instrument, and he like the
“grinder.” Another carried the stereoscopic instrument and the lunch;
another, the plate-holders and gun, etcetera; and as the bushes had
previously somewhat damaged our broadcloth unmentionables, we
presented a very queer and picturesque appearance truly.

Hutchings published a woodcut made from the first photograph of the
Yosemite hostelry in November of 1859; his book, _In the Heart of the
Sierras_, again alludes to his presence in the valley when this first
photograph was taken. Naturally, students of California history have
been interested in learning more about the work of Weed, but in spite of
serious attempts to procure more information on this photographer of
1859, nothing was brought to light. It was then something of a thrill to
me to find myself in possession of an original print from the earliest
Yosemite negative. That the print is genuine seems to be a fact, and the
incidents relative to its discovery are worth the telling here.

Its donor, Arthur Rosenblatt, resided as a small boy within a few blocks
of the Hutchings San Francisco home on Pine Street. Mr. Rosenblatt and
his brothers played with the Hutchings children. In 1880 the Hutchings
home was destroyed by fire. The small boys of the neighborhood searched
the debris for objects worth saving, and Irving and Wallace Rosenblatt
salvaged a pack of large water-stained photographs. Arthur Rosenblatt
with forethought mounted these pictures in an old scrapbook. He has
cherished them through the years that have passed. In June, 1929, he
visited the Yosemite Museum and was interested in the historical
exhibits. In his study of the displayed materials, he came upon a
photographic copy of the old drawing of the “Hutchings House,” which has
been taken from _In the Heart of the Sierras_. He recognized its subject
as identical with one of the old photographs which he had preserved
since 1880. He made his find known to the park naturalist, and
immediately phoned to his San Francisco home and requested that the
scrapbook be mailed at once to the Yosemite Museum. Upon its receipt,
the old hotel photograph was segregated from the others, and comparisons
were made with the drawing in the old Hutchings book and with the
building itself. The print is obviously from the original Weed negative.

Hutchings’ visit of 1859 apparently convinced him of the desirability of
residing in Yosemite Valley. During the next few years he spared no
effort in making its wonders known to the world through his _California
Magazine_. The spirited etchings of Yosemite wonders that were
reproduced in the magazine from Weed’s photos and from Ayres’s drawings
did much to convince travelers of the magnificence of Yosemite scenery.
The stream of tourists who entered the valley grew apace in spite of the
hardships to be endured on the long journey in the saddle. Horace
Greeley was one of those who braved the discomforts in 1859 and gave his
description of the place to hundreds of thousands in the East. Greeley,
foolishly, determined to make the 57-mile saddle trip via the Mariposa
route in one day. He arrived at the Upper Hotel in Yosemite Valley at
1:00 A.M., more dead than alive, yet shortly afterward he wrote, “I know
no single wonder of Nature on earth which can claim a superiority over
the Yosemite.” His visit was made at a season when Yosemite Falls
contained but little water, and he dubbed them a “humbug,” but his
hearty praise of the general wonders played a significant part in
turning the interest of Easterners upon the new mecca of scenic beauty.

In 1864 J. M. Hutchings came to the Upper Hotel (Cedar Cottage) in the
role of proprietor. The mirth and discomfiture engendered among
Hutchings’ guests by the cheesecloth partitions between bedrooms
prompted him to build a sawmill near the foot of Yosemite Falls in order
to produce sufficient lumber to “hard finish” his hostelry. It was in
this mill that John Muir found employment for a time. The hotel was
embellished with lean-tos and porches, and an addition was constructed
at the rear in which was completely enclosed the trunk of a large
growing cedar tree. Hutchings built a great fireplace in this sitting
room and proceeded to make the novel gathering place famous as the “Big
Tree Room.”

A winter spent in the frigid shade of the south wall of Yosemite Valley
convinced the Hutchings family that their “Big Tree Room” was not a
pleasant winter habitation. They built anew and moved into the warm
sunshine of the north side of the valley. With their own hands members
of the family constructed a snug cabin among giant black oaks near the
foot of Yosemite Falls and there spent the remainder of their Yosemite
days.

Papers, letters, and photographs relating to the Yosemite experiences of
the Hutchings family have been preserved by J. M. Hutchings’ daughter,
Mrs. Gertrude Hutchings Mills, and by the family of his wife, the
Walkingtons of England. Materials generously donated from these sources
take important places in the collections of the Yosemite Museum and have
greatly aided in the preparation of this volume.

J. M. Hutchings invested heavily in the construction of the Sentinel
group of buildings and continued to be identified with the Yosemite as
publicity agent, hotel proprietor, resident, official guardian, and
unofficial champion until 1902. In that year, he met his death on the
zigzags of the Big Oak Flat Road. In the 1902 register of the hotel,
which was once the Hutchings House, is the following entry made by Mrs.
Hutchings, the second wife of J. M. Hutchings:

November 8, 1902

Today leaving Yo Semite and all I love best.

Emily A. Hutchings

Thinking that some who come here may wish to know a little about the
sad tragedy of Mr. J. Hutchings’ death, I would like to write a few
words.

Because I had never seen Yo Semite in the autumn, my dear husband
brought me here for a short holiday, on our way to San Francisco. We
started from the Calaveras Big Trees and came via Parrots Ferry, and
its beautiful gorge—the wonderful old mining center of Columbia, and
its hitherto only surface-skimmed Gold Fields—Sonora and its good
approaches, in its oiled and well graded roads—and thence to Chaffee
and Chamberlains and to Crockers and their hearty hospitality. It has
been a very pleasant experience, to see many friends on the way—most
of them honored “Old Timers,” who have been the thews and sinews of
the State, and who still hold their own in the rugged strength, which
has brought them through to 1902.

From Crockers, we started on the last day of our journey [Oct. 31,
1902], continuing through the glorious Forests of the Sierras, the
autumnal tints of which this year, have been of unusual grandeur—these
beauties all being intensified in Yo Semite.

Coming down the Grade we were impressed beyond expression, and, when
we reached the point where El Capitan first presents itself, my
Husband said, “It is like Heaven.”

There was no apparent danger near but one of the horses took fright
(probably a wild animal was at hand) and dashed away. When the Angel
of Death reached Mr. Hutchings a few moments later—under the massive
towering heights of that sun-illumined Cliff—“He” found him in the
full vigour of life and high energetic purpose—but his grief-stricken
wife prayed in vain that the ebbing tide would stay.

From the moment the sad accident was known, the greatest sympathy and
kindness were shown, loving hands gave reverent aid—and on Sunday,
Nov. 2, 1902, my dear husband was borne from the Big Tree Room and its
time honored memories. The residents of the Valley and many of the
Indians, who had long known him, followed. We laid him to rest,
surrounded by nature in Her most glorious garb, and under the peaks
and domes he had loved so well and had explored so fearlessly.

Emily A. Hutchings

Nov. 8, 1902

In 1941 and for several years thereafter, Yosemite Valley was visited by
Cosie Hutchings Mills, daughter of J. M. Hutchings, born October 5,
1867, the second white child born in the valley. Elizabeth H. Godfrey,
of the Yosemite Museum, obtained from Mrs. Mills both written and oral
statements regarding the pioneer experiences of the Hutchings family in
Yosemite. The interviews with Mrs. Mills were recorded by Mrs. Godfrey.
Her manuscript, “Chronicles of Cosie Hutchings Mills,” and Mrs. Mills’
written reminiscences are preserved in the Yosemite Museum.

[Illustration: _By C. L. Weed, 1859_
First Yosemite Photograph—“Upper Hotel”]

[Illustration: The Big Tree Room]

[Illustration: _By J. T. Boysen_
The Big Oak Flat Route]

[Illustration: _By J. T. Boysen_
The First Automobile—July, 1900]

[Illustration: Early Yosemite Buses]

[Illustration: Old Tioga Road]

[Illustration: New Tioga Road]

CHAPTER VI
_STAGECOACH DAYS_

For twenty-three years after the coming of the first sightseers,
Yosemite Valley was accessible only by horse trail. The twelve thousand
tourists, who frantically clung to their Yosemite-bound steeds during
this period, included many Easterners and Europeans not accustomed to
mountain trails. They had departed surcharged with enthusiasm but
sometimes were caustic in their expressions regarding their mode of
conveyance and the crudity of the facilities found at their disposal
both en route and in the valley. Not a few of the comments made by
visitors found their way into print. Yosemite bibliography is not
limited to items printed in English. The entire world sent
representatives to the valley during that first period of travel, and
foreign literature carried the story of Yosemite wonders quite as did
American publications. The reader may form some opinion of what the
printed word has done for Yosemite, if he will scan the titles which are
given in the bibliography appended to this volume. In addition to these,
of course, are hundreds of books and articles to which no reference has
been made in the present work.

The merchants of the towns along the routes of approach, as well as the
businessmen within the valley itself, felt the need of providing more
adequately for the greater numbers that might be brought to their
attractions. Foremost among the provisions, naturally, was the
construction of wagon roads.

To Dr. John T. McLean, the president of the Coulterville and Yosemite
Turnpike Company, belongs the honor of first making the Yosemite Valley
accessible to wheeled vehicles. The Coulterville Company was formed in
1859. It had extended its road to Crane Flat, and, at the insistence of
Dr. McLean, arranged with the Yosemite commissioners to build and
maintain a toll road to the floor of Yosemite Valley. The commissioners
had agreed that this company should have exclusive rights on the north
side of Yosemite Valley; that is, no other company was to build a road
into the valley from the north for a period of ten years. Under this
agreement, the Coulterville Road was projected in 1870 and completed to
the Merced River in 1874. The following paragraph from a letter sent by
Dr. McLean to the president of the Yosemite National Park Commission,
1899, gives interesting information on the discovery[5] of the Merced
Grove of Big Trees, as well as a statement regarding the opening of the
Coulterville Road:

While making a survey for this road a grove of big trees was
discovered, its existence not having been previously known except to
Indians before these explorations for the building of this road were
prosecuted. It was determined to carry the road directly through this
grove, which was named the Merced Grove by me because of its nearness
to the Merced River. In order to carry the proposed road through this
new-found grove of _Sequoia gigantea_ it was necessary, in order to
secure the best grades and shortest distances to Yosemite, to leave
the road already built at Hazel Green instead of at Crane Flat six
miles farther east. It was thought the greater length of road required
to start from Hazel Green and build through the Merced Grove would be
compensated by the advantage the road would have of passing through
this grove of over 50 _Sequoias_ on the way to Yosemite. The
additional cost in construction of the road by reason of this new
departure from Hazel Green instead of from Crane Flat was about
$10,000. The work of construction was vigorously prosecuted, and on
June 17, 1874, the Yosemite was first opened to travel by wheeled
vehicles over this road, on that day a number of stage coaches and
passenger and freight teams passing over it to the level of the
valley.

The Big Oak Flat and Yosemite Turnpike Company applied to extend their
road to Yosemite Valley after the commissioners had conveyed exclusive
rights to the Coulterville Road. The commissioners refused to violate
their agreement with McLean’s company, but the Big Oak Flat Company
secured the passage of an act by the state legislature, which granted
the privilege asked. In July, 1874, the Big Oak Flat Road was completed
to the floor of Yosemite. Needless to say, this second road functioned
to the everlasting detriment of the Coulterville route.

In the fall of 1874, Washburn, Chapman, Coffman and Company of Mariposa
sought the right to extend their Mariposa Road to Yosemite Valley. The
commissioners granted their request on the same terms as given to the
Coulterville Company. On July 22, 1875, amid much celebrating, the
Mariposa Road was completed to the valley floor.

The easier mode of travel introduced by this road construction, coupled
with the increased publicity from the pen and brush of enthusiasts, made
for a substantial increase in the number of Yosemite visitors. In
keeping with this wagon-road building was the steady extension of the
Central Pacific Railroad. Stockton, Modesto, Copperopolis, Berenda,
Merced, and Madera were, in turn, the terminals. Seven routes to
Yosemite made bids for the tourist travel. The Milton and Calaveras
route permitted of railroad conveyance to Milton. Those who were induced
to take the Berenda-Grants Springs route took the train to Raymond. The
Madera-Fresno Flats route afforded railroad-coach transportation to
Madera. The Modesto-Coulterville route meant leaving the rails at
Modesto. The Merced-Coulterville route involved staging from Merced. The
Mariposa route also required detraining at Merced, but the stage route
followed took travelers through Hornitos and Mariposa. Those tourists
who chose the Milton-Big Oak Flat route left the train at Copperopolis
and traveled in the stage to Chinese Camp, Priests, and into the valley
on the Big Oak Flat Road. Dodgers, pamphlets, and guidebooks furnished
by the competing towns and stage companies produced a confusion to say
the least.

The conveyances were of two types. At the height of the season, when
travel was heavy and roads dry, the Standard Concord Coach was employed.
At other times, a vehicle commonly termed a “mud wagon” was put to use.
During this era of horse-drawn vehicles, the trains of pack mules were,
of course, replaced by great freight wagons. Today, in driving over the
old wagon roads, one is led to wonder how passenger vehicles succeeded
in passing the great freight outfits.

Some years ago, in searching through the objects left in a deserted
house in the ghost town, Bodie, I came upon a manuscript describing
staging as it was practiced in that famous mining camp. What the unknown
author has to say about the business there applies to neighboring
mountain regions, and is a reminder of a phase of life of the ’eighties.

The stage coach is to California what the modern express train is to
Indiana, and people unaccustomed to mountain life can form but little
conception of the vast amount of transportation carried on by means of
coaches and freight wagons.

Even though California may truly be termed the “Eden” of America, yet
there is not a county in the state but has more or less traffic for
the stage coach, and in the northern and eastern part of the state,
especially, there is an entire network of well-graded roads,
resembling Eastern pikes. These roads are mostly owned by corporations
and, consequently, are toll roads.

Over these are run the fast stages drawn by from two to ten large
horses, and the great freight wagons drawn by from fourteen to twenty
mules.

The stage lines have divisions, as do railroads, and at the end of
each division there is a change of horses, thus giving the greatest
possible means for quick conveyance. Over each line there are
generally two stages per day, one each way. These carry passengers,
mail, and all express traffic. At each town is a Wells Fargo office,
and business is carried on in a similar manner to that of railroad
express offices. Telegraph lines are in use along the most important
roads.

The stage lines have time cards similar to railroads, and in case a
stage is a few minutes late, it causes as much anxiety as does the
delay of an O. & M. express. A crowd is always waiting at the express
office; some are there for business, others through some curiosity and
to size up the passengers.

A stage from a mining town usually contains a bar of gold bullion
worth $25,000, which is being shipped to the mint. Bullion is shipped
from each mine once a month, but people always know when this precious
metal is aboard by the appearance of a fat, burly officer perched
beside the stage-driver, with two or three double-barreled shotguns.
He, of course, is serving as a kind of scarecrow to the would-be stage
robbers.

The average fare for riding on a stage is 15 cents per mile.

The manner in which freight is transported is quite odd, especially to
a “Hoosier.” Wagons of the largest size are used. Some of these
measure twelve feet from the ground to the top of the wagon bed; then
bows and canvas are placed over this, making a total height of fifteen
feet, at least. Usually three or four of these wagons are coupled
together, like so many cars, and then drawn by from fourteen to twenty
large mules. All these are handled by a single driver. A team of this
kind travels, when heavily loaded, about fifteen miles per day, the
same being spoken of always as the slow freight. In some mining
districts, however, where business is flush, extra stages are put on
for freight alone. These are termed the fast freights. This business
involves a large capital, and persons engaged in it are known as
forwarding companies. Even the freight or express on goods from New
York is sometimes collected a hundred miles from any railroad, and so
even to those living in the remote mountain regions, this is about as
convenient, and they seem to enjoy life as well as if living in a
railroad town.

The city of Bodie has its entire freight and passenger traffic carried
as mentioned above. A short time ago its population was 10,000; there
were three daily papers and free mail delivery, and all the
improvements necessary to any modern town or city.

The prospect of a holdup always added to the thrill of staging. Yosemite
literature is not replete with road agent episodes, but highwaymen did
occasionally appear along the routes to the valley. “Black Bart,” whose
fame as a gentleman stage robber was world-wide during the early
’eighties, met his downfall in the Yosemite region on his twenty-eighth
robbery.

Black Bart was a very unusual bandit. He took no human lives. In fact,
he never fired a weapon in any of his exploits. He carried an unloaded
shotgun and bluffed, successfully, twenty-seven times. His forays began
in 1877, and his returns were such that he was enabled to reside in San
Francisco as a respected and rather dapper citizen. His absence from the
city on the occasions of his robberies was accounted for through his
story of visiting mines in which he held interests. His desire to be
well dressed and his penchant for clean linen proved his undoing. It was
a laundry mark on a handkerchief which brought about his capture after
his twenty-eighth robbery.

Not all the holdups along Yosemite roads took place in the distant past.
D. J. Foley’s _Yosemite Tourist_ for July 10, 1906, carries the
following account of a robbery that brings the melodramatic influence of
highwaymen into the very end of the period of stage coach days. It was
entitled “Five Stages Held Up by the Lone Highwayman of the Chowchilla,
An Event Full of Excitement and Interest,” and reads:

This is the story of a plain, ordinary “hold-up” of the
Raymond-Wawona-Yosemite stages; and the time was Saturday afternoon at
ten minutes of four. The place was about six miles this side of
Ahwahnee, upon the side of the Chowchilla Mountain, about a mile and a
half this side of where a similar, but less important, event took
place last August.

The point, carefully selected by the bold robber was an ideal one. The
road here is in the form of the letter _S_, flattened out, and he
selected the upper part of the letter, about all of the other parts
being visible.

The first stage was in charge of Will Palmer, one of the new drivers.
Puffing and sweating, the team of four were rounding the turn in the
road, when Walter Brode, who, with Mrs. F. J. House, occupied the
front seat, yelled: “Hold up!” For up the road a hundred or more feet
away he saw the fellow jump out from behind some brush and, with his
old 44 Winchester up to his shoulder, he was advancing toward them.
And in tones, musical and soft but determined, he said:

“Throw out that box!”

The driver was not aware of the presence of the express box, but it
was there and Mr. Seth Hart threw it out like a gentleman.

“Get out of that stage,” came the cool, determined command,
supplemented with that ugly-looking 44.

And out they got.

Then he requested one of the ladies, Miss Bowen, to “pass the hat
around,” which she did under protest.

The other stage was then about due and so he moved down the road a bit
to a point where he could keep them well “covered,” and yet not be
seen by the approaching stage. In the meantime all their hands were
up, for that big “44” was pointed their way.

Around the turn came the second stage with “Josh” Wrenn as driver. No
especial importance was attributed to the unusual sight, believing it
to be a joke. But the illusion was quickly dispelled when out rang
that soft and musical command: “Get out of the stage,” and out they
got, the vicious-looking “44” being much in evidence. He lined them up
with the others and then ordered a boy of about fifteen to “pass the
hat around.” The boy was badly scared, and justly, too, and was about
to comply with the request, when up spoke C. E. McStay, a well-known
business man of Los Angeles, who very kindly offered to take the boy’s
place. To this the robber consented, not suspecting the “job” that was
so quickly put up on him. For “job” it was, and one, too, that saved
the passengers many dollars and valuables. “I quickly thought of and
settled this proposition,” said Mr. McStay. “If that boy passes the
hat and searches us, for this is what he was ordered to do, he will
not use any discretion, and we will all be heavy losers; whereas, if I
can do that honor I shall take but little, unless I have to.” All this
and more, too, was thought out by Mr. McStay in less time than it
takes to write this, and so he acted at once, and to him is due the
credit of the “buncoing” that followed; for this mild-mannered,
soft-voiced Lone Highwayman of the Chowchilla was most thoroughly
“buncoed” in this change of “hat passers,” and he suspected it even
before the first stage was ordered to “move on.” But that’s another
story.

And so in the fullness of his nerve—it’s the real California-Los
Angeles kind, too, Mr. McStay became the apparent Chief Assistant of
the Lone Highwayman of the Chowchilla.

The third stage drove up in due time with the experience of the second
stage duplicated. The fourth wagon had a load of ladies, and he did
not order them to get out. Tho thus honored it was from this wagon
that he secured most of his coin. The passengers of the fifth wagon
“lined up” with the others. On this stage, in charge of the driver, Ed
Gordon, was a sack, for the Sugar Pine Mills, with over $500 in it.
From the zig-zag below they saw the crowd “lined up” and they,
suspecting the cause, helped the driver to hide the sack under the
cushion of the seat.

During the forty-year period which rightly may be considered as the
stagecoach era, a combination of influences were at work. Politics sadly
affected the management of the state grant (brought into existence in
1864), and sheep threatened the upper country not under the jurisdiction
of the Yosemite commissioners. A national park came into existence which
physically encompassed the state park and figuratively engulfed the
state management.

Improvements grew apace. New hotels and public camp grounds were
created; trails were built; the road system was improved and enlarged;
electricity developed; and a climax reached with the construction of a
railroad almost to the very gates of the valley. In 1907 the Yosemite
Valley Railroad changed the entire aspect of stagecoach days by bringing
its coaches to El Portal.

With the advent of this new transportation, the long stage ride was no
longer necessary, but great fleets of horsedrawn vehicles were still
employed to convey visitors from the railhead to Yosemite Valley. The
various stage companies continued to operate, but except for the Big
Tree routes, their traffic was greatly reduced. The Yosemite Valley
Railroad menaced the business of staging, but a far more ominous threat
had already appeared on the scene. Motor-driven vehicles were proving to
be a success. The automobile was introduced to Yosemite more than a
decade prior to the time when its official entry was permitted by park
regulations. The first car to climb the Yosemite grades was a Stanley
Steamer, and its driver was A. E. Holmes of San Jose. In a letter to J.
V. Lloyd, Mr. Holmes testifies as follows:

This trip was made in the month of July [1900] by way of Madera and
Raymond in a Stanley Steamer car that was manufactured just outside of
the city of Boston. I was accompanied on this trip by my brother, F.
H. Holmes.

At that time Boysen took our photographs in the Valley; one at the
foot of Yosemite Falls, and another near Mirror Lake.

The body that is shown in the photograph is not the original body that
came with the car, but one that was made just for the trip into the
Yosemite.

To what extent noisy automobiles were regarded as a menace may be sensed
upon considering the following “Instruction” posted about the park and
published with _Rules and Regulations_ during the later years of the
stagecoach era:

(4) _Bicycles._—The greatest care must be exercised by persons using
bicycles. On meeting a team the rider must stop and stand at side of
road between the bicycle and the team—the outer side of the road if on
a grade or curve. In passing a team from the rear, the rider should
learn from the driver if his horses are liable to frighten, in which
case the driver should halt, and the rider dismount and walk past,
keeping between the bicycle and the team....

(9) _Miscellaneous._—Automobiles and motor cycles are not permitted in
the park.

What the railroad did to the stagecoach, the automobile, aided by storm,
did to the railroad. On December 11, 1937, as a result of prolonged and
heavy warm rains which melted the early snow cover at elevations as high
as 10,000 feet, a flood developed in the basins of Yosemite and Tenaya
creeks, and to a lesser degree in the other Yosemite watersheds. The
notch at the top of Yosemite Falls was filled almost to the brim with
muddy water that was estimated to leap 150 feet away from the cliff at
the top. In the valley itself Yosemite Creek was half a mile wide, and
the Merced River overflowed its banks on a similar rampage. Flood scars
were clearly visible in the chutes of the valley walls nine years later.
In the Merced Canyon far below the valley several miles of both the
All-Year Highway and the Yosemite Valley Railway were destroyed.

The expense of replacing miles of twisted rails and missing roadbed, the
loss of passenger traffic to automobile travel, and finally the loss of
freight revenue when the Yosemite Sugar Pine Lumber Company sold its
major holdings, combined to put the railway out of business. In 1945,
wrecking crews took up the track, and another pioneer railroad
disappeared.

[Illustration: Horse-drawn stagecoach]

CHAPTER VII
_EXPLORERS_

The influx of travelers even in the days of horse trails and the
stagecoach brought a demand to know more of the valley and the region as
a whole. Maps were needed, and the desires of travelers for dependable
information brought survey parties into the park. The first of these,
the Geological Survey of California, was in Yosemite in the years
1863-1867. Josiah Dwight Whitney was director of the survey, and William
H. Brewer, his principal assistant. A guidebook based upon their
investigations was published in 1868. Most of the mapping was done by
Clarence King, Charles F. Hoffmann, and James T. Gardiner. King was
later to become the first director of the United States Geological
Survey and to write a dramatized account of his adventures in Yosemite
and the Sierra as one of the important contributions to the literature
of the range, _Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada_. Later mountaineers
have not always been able to find terrain hazards he described but they
have enjoyed his story, admittedly written for an armchair audience, and
have made due allowance for an aspect of greater severity that existed
in the Sierra of his day.

A party of the Wheeler Survey, under George Montague Wheeler, in general
charge of the Geographical Surveys west of the 100th Meridian, was in
Yosemite in the late ’seventies and early ’eighties and in 1883 produced
a large-scale topographic map of Yosemite Valley and vicinity. Lieut. M.
M. Macomb was responsible for the Yosemite work.

During July and August, of 1890, Professor George Davidson of the United
States Coast and Geodetic Survey, together with his assistants, occupied
the summit of Mount Conness for the purpose of closing a link in the
main triangulation which connected with the transcontinental surveys.

Large instruments and much equipment had to be transported to the summit
of the mountain by pack animals and upon the shoulders of men.

Astronomical observations were made at night, and during the daylight
hours horizontal angles were measured on distant peaks in the Coast
Ranges from which heliotropes were constantly showing toward Mount
Conness. A small square wooden observatory, 8 by 8 feet, housed the
20-inch theodolite mounted upon a concrete pier. Sixteen twisted-wire
cables fastened the observatory to the granite mountain top and kept it
from being blown away.

The officers of the Coast and Geodetic Survey party under Professor
Davidson were J. J. Gilbert, Isaac Winston, Fremont Morse, and Frank W.
Edmonds.

As a result of his own travels and surveys in the region, J. N. LeConte
prepared a map of the Sierra adjacent to Yosemite and Hetch Hetchy
valleys, which was published by the Sierra Club in 1893, and army
officers in charge of park administration did much important map making
in the 1890’s. The United States Geological Survey began its mapping of
the region embraced within the present park in 1891 and completed the
surveys in 1909. R. B. Marshall and H. E. L. Feusier surveyed the
Yosemite, Dardanelles, and Mount Lyell sheets; A. H. Sylvester and
George R. Davis, the Bridgeport Quadrangle. Operating as they did with
limited funds, their efforts spread over a vast territory, and
confronted with a short season, they inevitably made some errors on
their maps. In correct editions of these maps some ridges, lakes, and
canyons have been moved, but today’s travelers may still find lakes and
glaciers which are not on the map, and may find a few of these features
on the map but not on the ground. It is not the errors of Sierra
mapmakers, however, but the measure of success they achieved, which is
remarkable. In the higher reaches of the Sierra today it is extremely
difficult to discover, after a particularly heavy winter, which snow
field conceals a lake and which covers merely a meadow or an expanse of
ice. Nor is the Sierra itself utterly static. At least two small lakes
which formed behind dams of glacial moraine have disappeared recently
when the dams were undermined.

Perhaps the ultimate in Yosemite mapping, from the geomorphologist’s
point of view, is the Yosemite Valley Sheet, prepared by the United
States Geological Survey in coöperation with the State of California.
The map is of large scale, and the topography, the work of François E.
Matthes, is extremely accurate, giving it something of the quality of a
relief map on a plane surface. Even the overhangs of the cliffs are
depicted. The 1946 edition of this sheet falls short in that detail has
been lost through the overprinting of topographical shading.

Considered for their practical guidance to the user of Yosemite trails,
the U. S. Geological Survey maps of the back country are most important.
The 700-odd miles of maintained trails which make much of the park
accessible to the hiker and rider appear upon these topographical maps
in true relationship to the physical features through which they pass. A
useful guidebook covering the routes in and around Yosemite Valley, as
well as many of the park trails south of the Tuolumne River, is the
_Illustrated Guide to Yosemite Valley_, by Virginia and Ansel Adams. In
this volume road and trail diagrams are stylized to impart, simply and
directly, information on distances, altitudes, and relative positions.
Walter A. Starr, Jr.’s _Guide to the John Muir Trail and the High Sierra
Region_ includes a section (Part I) on the trails of the Yosemite
National Park region, and the map which accompanies it relates the high
country trails to the road systems of both the east and west slopes.
This guide, published by the Sierra Club, is kept up-to-date through the
production of frequent editions.

Early Indian Routes

Before the story of trail building within the national park is
presented, it is worthwhile to review briefly the history of the
approach routes outside the present limits of the park—the trails
followed by the Indian fighters and miners.

Most of the early routes of the white man across the Yosemite Sierra and
out of the valley itself followed Indian trails. The discovery of arrow
points and knife blades on the slopes of some of the higher Yosemite
peaks indicates that the Miwok Indians entered the high, rough country
in pursuit of game. Their regularly established trade with the Monos
also is a matter of record. Indian Canyon and the Vernal and Nevada
falls gorge of the Merced provided two much used routes out of the
valley to the east, and the Old Inspiration Point-Wawona-Fresno
Flats-Coarse Gold route gave access to the foothill country to the west.
There were other ancient routes on the valley walls accessible to an
able-bodied Indian; however, except in emergency they probably found
little use.

Walker, west-bound in 1833, followed the Miwok-Mono trail on the divide
between the Merced and Tuolumne watersheds, having reached this divide,
in all likelihood, via the maze of canyons formed by the tributaries of
the East Walker River and the feeder streams of the Tuolumne River.
White men in pursuit of eastward-fleeing Indians in 1851 penetrated to
the Tenaya Lake basin, and one party in 1852 crossed to the east side
via Bloody Canyon, as already described. This party returned to the San
Joaquin on a branch of the Mono Trail which crossed Cathedral Pass,
thence into Little Yosemite Valley, Mono Meadows, Peregoy Meadows, and
Wawona. In all these travels definite trails of the aborigines could be
followed even though many parts of the routes were buried in snow.

In the foothill region west of the park ancient Indian paths enabled
gold seekers to reach much of the terrain in which they were interested.
Barrett and Gifford (1933, p. 128) report that a Mr. Woods discovered
gold on Woods Creek near the present Jamestown, Tuolumne County, in
June, 1848, several months before the general rush of miners into the
territory of the Southern Miwok. In this locality Indian trails
connected the several rancherias near the present town, Sonora, with
similar Indian villages on the Merced. In the Tuolumne country, also, a
primitive transmountain route gave access via Sonora Pass to the favored
locality now known as Bridgeport Valley. The wagon road which was opened
here very early in the gold-rush period followed closely the route of
the Indians. That there were prehistoric lanes of travel in the high
mountains which connected the Sonora Pass and Mono (Bloody Canyon)
routes seems likely but no record of such north-south trails of the
Indians has been handed down, other than the statements made by Walker
and Leonard regarding their route from the Walker River country to the
Tuolumne-Merced divide.

The country south of the Merced drainage system was popular, both with
the Miwok and the Chukchansi, a group of the Yokuts Indians. Kroeber
(1925, pp. 446, 481-482, 526) has recorded the distribution of ancient
Miwok villages on the South Fork of the Merced, on Mariposa Creek, and
on the Chowchilla and Fresno rivers. The primitive trails which
connected these villages provided a network of lanes through the hills
well known to J. D. Savage and his contemporary forty-niners who
frequented the hills and stream courses north of the San Joaquin River.
These Indian trails became the first routes followed by the miner and
his pack outfits. A few were “improved” by their first white users to
become fairly good horse trails and later some of them were transformed
into wagon roads. Today the old routes are not easily distinguished from
the more recent logging roads which lace back and forth everywhere
through the pine country south of the park, but the investigative
motorist who will check against the maps made prior to the period of
logging at the turn of the century may identify the old routes and
follow them in exploring the country surrounding Wawona, Mariposa,
Miami, Nipinnawasee, Hites Cove, Fish Camp, Bear Valley, Hornitos, and
several other historic and prehistoric sites in the Mariposa region.

The Chukchansi, northernmost of the Yokuts, occupied the country south
of the Fresno River and at times crossed that stream and overlapped upon
the lands of the Miwok. Prior to the Yosemite Indian War with the
whites, 1850-1852, they seem to have been on friendly terms with the
Miwok. Chukchansi villages close to the border of Miwok territory
existed at Fresno Flats (near the present Oakhurst, Madera County),
Coarse Gold, Magnet, and on the San Joaquin near Hutchins. As was true
of the Miwok villages, primitive trails connected these rancherias and
extended into the country of the Chukaimina on the south and into the
Mono territory to the east. In this part of the Sierra, the Monos
claimed a goodly part of the west slope, including the present Bass Lake
region and the higher country drained by the San Joaquin and Kings
rivers. At the time of the Yosemite Indian War, these west-slope Piutes
(Monos) were allied with the Chowchillas and Chukchansi. The intricate
trail system of the densely populated belts, characterized by the Digger
pine (Upper Sonoran Zone) and the oaks and ponderosa pine (Transition
Zone), fed westward into major routes to the great San Joaquin Valley
and eastward to high passes on the crest of the Sierra. Of these
last-mentioned routes, those across Sonora Pass, Bond Pass, Buckeye
Pass, Bloody Canyon, Agnew Pass, Mammoth Pass, Mono Pass (headwaters of
the South Fork of the San Joaquin River), Pine Creek Pass, and Piute
Pass were especially important to the Indians of the Yosemite region. At
least some of these passes were traversed by horses before the advent of
the white man.

[Illustration: _By George Fiske_
On the First Trail to the Top of Vernal Fall]

[Illustration: _By Mode Wineman_
John Conway, a Pioneer Trail Builder]

[Illustration: Mount Conness and the Observatory Camp]

[Illustration: James T. Gardiner and Clarence King, early mappers]

[Illustration: Professor Davidson (right) and the Conness
Observatory]

More than a few of the Indians of the Yosemite region had, prior to the
gold rush, lived in the Spanish mission towns along the coast. Adam
Johnston, Indian agent at the time of the Yosemite Indian War, stated of
the Chowchilla and Chukchansi, “The most of them are wild, though they
have among them many who have been educated at the missions, and who
have fled from their real or supposed oppressors to the mountains. These
speak the Spanish language as well as their native tongue.” (Russell,
1931, p. 172.) As might be expected, the mountain tribes maintained
their long-established contact with the Indian population of the lower
valleys, and numerous routes led from the rancherias of the hill tribes
out upon the San Joaquin Valley and to the coast.

As we have seen, the first penetration of the Yosemite Valley by white
men was the result of miners’ activities in the Mariposa hills. In
reaching the hills and in entering the valley, the white prospectors of
the gold-rush period followed well-defined trails long used by Indians.
Within a few years after the close of hostilities with the Sierra
tribes, the events described in the chapter on early mining excitements
east of Yosemite took place. Here, also, the primitive paths of the
Indian opened the way. The sheepherder, contemporary with the miner of
the high country, also followed the trails of the Indian, and his
flocks, together with the cattleman’s herds, did their part in “grading”
the routes and making them conspicuous.

Trail Builders

When Yosemite National Park was created in 1890, the U. S. Army took
over the administration of the federal area which almost surrounded the
state reservation. To aid patrolling in the park, a full program of
exploration and mapping was launched. Capt. Alexander Rodgers, Col.
Harry G. Benson, Major W. W. Forsyth, and Lts. N. F. McClure and Milton
F. Davis made particularly important contribution to the work.

The existing fine system of trails so important to protection and
enjoyment of Yosemite National Park had its inception in the plan of the
U. S. Army. Almost at once after assuming responsibility for the care of
the park, commanding officers initiated construction of trails, and at
this juncture the location of primitive Indian trails was no longer a
prime consideration in defining routes. The story of trail building by
the U. S. Army will be told in a later part of this chapter.

It was inevitable that in the exploration for trails and passes, certain
peaks should be climbed. The first recorded ascents of Yosemite’s peaks
are attributed to members of the various survey parties. Perhaps the
first was the ascent of Mount Hoffmann in 1863 by Whitney, Brewer, and
Hoffmann. King climbed it in 1864 and with Gardiner climbed Mount
Conness that same year, following with an ascent of Mount Clark, not
without adventure, in 1866. Muir climbed Mounts Dana and Hoffmann, and
far more difficult Cathedral Peak, three years later. Probably the first
Yosemite ascent for the challenge of it by a casual tourist was that of
Mount Lyell, highest peak in the park, in 1871. According to Hutchings:

Members of the State Geological Survey Corps having considered it
impossible to reach the summit of this lofty peak, the writer was
astonished to learn from Mr. A. T. Tileston [John Boies Tileston] of
Boston, after his return to the Valley from a jaunt of health and
pleasure in the High Sierra, that he had personally proven it to be
possible by making the ascent. Incredible as it seemed at the time,
three of us found Mr. Tileston’s card upon it some ten days afterward.

Mr. Tileston, writing to his wife from Clark and Moore’s after the climb
on Mount Lyell, explained that he ascended nearly to the snow line on
August 28, 1871, and next morning “climbed the mountain and reached the
top of the highest pinnacle (‘inaccessible, according to the State
Geological Survey’) before eight.” (Tileston, 1922, pp. 89-90.)

John Muir reached the summit of Mount Lyell later that year. Muir
undoubtedly climbed in part as a response to the challenge of summits
but could hardly be considered a casual tourist.

Four years later another summit, of which Whitney had said, it “never
has been, and never will be trodden by human foot,” was ascended by a
man climbing merely for the fun of it. In 1875, George G. Anderson,
continuing where John Conway, a valley resident, had been stopped by
difficulty and danger, tackled the climb of Half Dome with ideas of his
own. According to Muir:

Anderson began with Conway’s old rope, which had been left in place,
and resolutely drilled his way to the top, inserting eye-bolts five or
six feet apart, and making his rope fast to each in succession,
resting his feet on the last bolt while he drilled a hole for the next
above. Occasionally some irregularity in the curve, or slight
foothold, would enable him to climb a few feet without the rope, which
he would pass and begin drilling again, and thus the whole work was
accomplished in less than a week.

Anderson’s climb was the beginning of a search for routes to prominent
heights in Yosemite that continues today. The fame of Yosemite’s wonders
was spreading through the world, and the advent of stage roads brought a
multitude of visitors who preferred to see the region without having to
drill to do so. It was imperative that officials in charge of the state
reservation improve and multiply the faint Indian trails in order that
eager visitors might reach the valley rim and the High Sierra beyond.

Because appropriations made by the state legislature for the use of the
Yosemite Valley Commission were too small to enable that executive body
to undertake a program of trail building, toll privileges were granted
to certain responsible individuals in return for the construction of
some of the much-needed trails. Albert Snow, John Conway, James
McCauley, Washburn and McCready, and James Hutchings were prominent in
this contractual arrangement with the Yosemite commissioners.

Two trails antedate the regime of the Yosemite Valley Commissioners—the
trail to Mirror Lake and the Vernal Fall Trail. No record exists
identifying the builders of these pioneer trails. Albert Snow, 1870,
built a horse trail from “Register Rock” on the Vernal Fall Trail, via
Clark Point, to his “La Casa Nevada” on the flat between Vernal and
Nevada falls. In 1871, John Conway, working for McCauley, started
construction of the Four Mile Trail from the base of Sentinel Rock to
Glacier Point. The project was completed in 1872. The old Mono Trail of
the Indians between Little Yosemite and Glacier Point was followed by
Washburn and McCready when they constructed their toll route here in
1872. In 1874, James Hutchings met the cost of a horse trail up Indian
Canyon, which by 1877 already had fallen into such disrepair as to make
it accessible only to hikers. The disintegration progressed rapidly, and
the “improved” aboriginal route to the north rim found use during a
comparatively few years of Yosemite tourist travel. Geographically and
topographically it has much to commend it; in the current master plan of
Yosemite National Park it is carried as the trail proposal calculated
“to provide the best all-year access to the upper country on the north
side of the valley.” Early action is expected which will place it on the
map again. The Yosemite Falls Trail, started by John Conway in 1873 and
completed to the north rim in 1877, was carried by its builder and owner
still higher to the summit of Eagle Peak, highest of the Three Brothers.
John Conway’s homemade surveying instruments used in trail building are
preserved in the Yosemite Museum.

[Illustration: _By Ralph Anderson, NPS_
Present-day Trail Work—Oiling the Eleven-Mile Trail]

[Illustration: Gabriel Sovulewski in 1897]

[Illustration: _By Ralph Anderson, NPS_
Mount Maclure and Its Glacier]

[Illustration: _By Ralph Anderson, NPS_
Measuring the Mount Lyell Glacier]

By 1882 the State Legislature initiated a program of purchasing and
maintaining the Yosemite trails which had been privately built and
operated on a toll basis. The Four Mile Trail to Glacier Point was first
on the docket. A number of the other toll trails reverted to the state
at this time through the expiration of leases. In 1886 rights to all
remaining trails and to those portions of the Coulterville and Big Oak
Flat roads within the boundary of the Yosemite Grant were purchased by
the state and made free to the public.

At the time Yosemite National Park was established a great part of the
northern section of the reservation was quite unknown except to
cattlemen, sheepmen, and a few prospectors and trappers. As previously
mentioned, the U. S. Army officers responsible for the administration of
the national park at this time opened a new era in High Sierra trail
development. From 1891 to 1914 a succession of officers, with a number
of troops of cavalry, worked with diligence and with great ingenuity in
locating trails, in contracting for their construction, and in
counteracting the forces of exploiters who looked upon this great
mountain domain as their own. At that time the back country trails were
limited to the Tioga Road, which had deteriorated to the status of a
horse trail; a trail along the southern boundary from Wawona to Crescent
and Johnson lakes and Chiquito Pass, thence to Devils Postpile; the old
Indian route from Wawona to Tuolumne Meadows via Cathedral Pass; two
trails to Hetch Hetchy and Lake Eleanor from Hog Ranch, near the present
Mather Ranger Station; and a trail from Tuolumne Meadows to Mount
Conness. This dearth of marked routes was corrected quickly. Regular
patrol routes for protective purposes were established, and the soldiers
located, marked, and supervised the construction of the trails needed in
policing the area. The large “T” blazed on the trees along the routes of
the cavalrymen remain as evidences of the Army’s activities and are
still familiar signs in much of the Yosemite back country.

By the time of the return of the Yosemite Grant and the Mariposa Grove
of Big Trees to Federal administration in 1906, the Army had worked
wonders in providing a system of trails. C. Frank Brockman (1943, p. 96)
summarizes the story as follows:

The original trail system of 1891 had been extended to include a trail
up Little Yosemite Valley to Merced Lake, Vogelsang Pass and thence
down Rafferty Creek to Tuolumne Meadows, a route that is familiar to
all High Sierra hikers of the present day. The Isberg Pass trail to
the east boundary of the park had been marked and Fernandez Pass,
farther to the south, had also been rendered accessible by a trail
that branched from the original trail along the southern boundary. The
present trail from Tuolumne Meadows up the Lyell Fork of the Tuolumne
to Donohue Pass also dates from this period. From Tuolumne Meadows a
trail also reached out into the remote northern portion of the park to
the vicinity of Glen Aulin, thence up Alkali Creek to Cold, Virginia,
and Matterhorn canyons. From the latter point this route continued
westward to Smedberg Lake, down Rogers Canyon, eventually passing
through Pleasant Valley and over Rancheria Mountain to Hetch Hetchy
Valley. The Ten Lakes area was accessible by means of a trail
originating on the Tioga Road near White Wolf, and from Hetch Hetchy
Valley trails radiated to Tiltill Mountain, Miguel Meadow, Lake
Eleanor, Vernon Lake, and up Moraine Ridge to a point near what is
today known as the “Golden Stairs,” overlooking the lower portion of
Jack Main Canyon. A route approximating the present Forsythe trail
from Little Yosemite around the southern shoulder of Clouds Rest to
Tenaya Lake had been established, and from Tenaya Lake the point now
known as Glen Aulin could be reached by the McGee Lake trail. The
routes taken by these early trails were essentially the same as those
of the present day and points mentioned will be familiar to all who
enjoy roaming about the Yosemite back country.

When the National Park Service came into existence in 1916, the broad
design of the trail system was essentially as it is at present. The more
important trails constructed during the last years of Army
administration and in the first years of the National Park Service
regime include the Tenaya zigzags built in 1911; the Glen Aulin-Pate
Valley route, 1917-1925; the Babcock Lake Trail; the Yosemite Creek-Ten
Lakes Trail; the Ledge Trail to Glacier Point, 1918; the Harden
Lake-Pate Valley Trail, 1919; Pate Valley-Pleasant Valley Trail, 1920;
and the Ottoway Lakes-Washburn Lake Trail in 1941.

Gabriel Sovulewski, who for more than thirty years supervised the
construction of Yosemite trails, once outlined for me the amazing story
of the evolution of the trail system from Indian routes and sheep trails
(Sovulewski, 1928, pp. 25-28). Mr. Sovulewski stated, “Most of these
improvements were made on my suggestion, and sometimes at my insistence,
yet it is necessary to bear in mind that the credit is not all due to
me, even though I did work hard. I share the credit with all
superintendents under whom I have served. They gave me freedom to do the
work which I have enjoyed immensely.”

Col. H. C. Benson, one of the superintendents referred to by Mr.
Sovulewski, wrote in 1924:

The successful working out of the trails and the continuation of
developing them is due largely to the loyalty and hard work of Mr.
Gabriel Sovulewski. Too much credit can not be given to this man for
the development of Yosemite National Park. (Brockman, 1943, p. 102.)

The John Muir Trail

A fitting climax to the High Sierra trails in Yosemite National Park is
found in that portion of the trail system which has been designated the
John Muir Trail. Beginning at the LeConte Lodge in Yosemite Valley, this
route follows the Merced River Trail to Little Yosemite, thence along
the ancient Indian route over Cathedral Pass to Tuolumne Meadows, up the
Lyell Fork of the Tuolumne to Donohue Pass (where the trail leaves the
national park), along the east slope to Island Pass, then back to the
headwaters of westward-flowing streams to Devils Postpile and Reds
Meadow on the San Joaquin, south to Mono Creek and other tributaries of
the South Fork of the San Joaquin, into Kings Canyon National Park at
Evolution Valley, over Muir Pass to the headwaters of the Middle Fork of
the Kings, over Mather Pass in the South Fork of the Kings, over Pinchot
Pass, Glen Pass, and into Sequoia National Park at Foresters Pass,
thence south to Mount Whitney. At Whitney Pass the route descends the
east slope until it connects with a spur of the El Camino Sierra at
Whitney Portal above the town of Lone Pine. Along the route are 148
peaks more than 13,000 feet in height. The Sierra crest, itself, is more
than 13,000 feet above the sea for eight and one-half miles adjacent to
Mount Whitney. The trail traverses one of the most extensive areas yet
remaining practically free from automobile roads.

In Sequoia National Park, the High Sierra Trail from Giant Forest to
Mount Whitney enters the John Muir Trail on Wallace Creek, a tributary
of the Kern. Thus does the John Muir Trail connect the national parks of
the Sierra, traversing in some 260 miles most of the grandest regions of
the High Sierra.

The National Park Service, the Forest Service, and the State of
California have coöperated in making the John Muir Trail a reality. The
phenomenal route had its inception during the 1914 Sierra Club Outing,
when it was suggested to officers of the club that the State of
California might well appropriate funds with which to develop trails in
the High Sierra. Upon the death of John Muir, president of the club,
appropriation bills were introduced for the purpose of creating a
memorial trail. The first appropriation of $10,000 enabled the state
engineer, Wilbur F. McClure, to explore a practical route along the
crest of the Sierra from Yosemite to Mount Whitney. McClure made two
trips into the Sierra and then conferred with the Sierra Club and
officers of the U. S. Forest Service before designating the route.
During the next twenty years several state appropriations were
forthcoming, and the federal agencies most concerned, the Forest Service
and the National Park Service, entered into the program of locating and
building the trail. The earlier explorations of Muir, Solomons, LeConte,
and numerous state and federal survey parties contributed to the success
of the undertaking. The maps of the Geological Survey greatly
facilitated the work.

While Stephen T. Mather was still Assistant Secretary of the Interior
and before the National Park Service was created, the “Mather Mountain
Party of 1916” assembled in Yosemite Valley preparatory to an inspection
of the John Muir Trail. This expedition received the support of the
Geological Survey. Frank B. Ewing, at that time an employee of the
Geological Survey, was chief guide and general manager. As an employee
of the National Park Service, he has remained in Yosemite National Park
ever since that early march along the John Muir Trail and has been a
principal party to the National Park Service trail developments
previously described. The section of the John Muir Trail in Yosemite
National Park was born and has matured under Ewing’s personal
supervision. Mr. Mather’s expedition of 1916 helped to crystallize ideas
regarding the Muir Trail and established it in the official minds and
master plans of the new National Park Service and the U. S. Forest
Service. Robert Sterling Yard, a member of the Mather party and later
editor for the new bureau, wrote a sparkling account of the expedition
(Yard, 1918). The route at that time was the same within Yosemite
National Park as it is today, but the physical condition of the trail
has improved mightily. The Mather party traveled the John Muir Trail to
Evolution Valley, beyond which the trail was described as impassable to
horses. From there the party moved westward to the North Fork of the
Kings, then south to the Tehipite Valley, Kanawyers on the South Fork,
and yet further southward to the Giant Forest. Today the Giant Forest is
more accessible from the John Muir Trail via the High Sierra Trail.

In promoting the development of the John Muir Trail and in fostering the
use of High Sierra trails, generally, the Sierra Club has ever been
preëminent among the advocates of mountaineering. Among its members are
many individuals who have contributed to the shaping of National Park
Service policies. This club, which was organized about the same time
that Yosemite National Park was created, defined its purposes: “To
explore, enjoy, and render accessible the mountain regions of the
Pacific Coast; to publish authentic information concerning them; to
enlist the support and coöperation of the people and the Government in
preserving the forests and other natural features of the Sierra Nevada.”
For nearly half a century the Sierra Club has centered its attention
upon the security and well-being of the natural attributes of Yosemite
and has worked to make those attributes known and appreciated. The
national parks, national forests, and state parks, generally, have
benefited greatly by the continuous interest of the club, and the trail
and road systems of Yosemite National Park, especially, have received
its study.

A New Emphasis on the High Country

With the completion of an all-year highway into Yosemite Valley and the
realignment of portions of the Big Oak Flat and Tioga roads, the
accessibility of Yosemite National Park to the motorist reached its
peak, and since that time serious thought has been given to modification
of the road system. The Commonwealth Club, in a comprehensive report
entitled, “Should We Stop Building New Roads into California’s High
Mountains?” concluded that accessibility had already reached, if it had
not passed, a desirable maximum, on the basis of a stand for the
preservation of mountain wilderness values made by many Sportsmen’s
organizations and the Sierra Club. The National Park Service gave
consideration, in its Yosemite Master Plan, to the abandonment and
obliteration of certain roads which were either superseded by highways
or which could be relocated to reduce any detrimental effects upon the
mountain landscape. Col. C. G. Thomson led in establishing this trend.

Studies were made by the park administration, the concessionaire, and
various organizations outside of the park of means by which present-day
visitors, who were now arriving by automobile in hurried throngs
numbering as many as 30,000 persons on a single holiday week end, might
enjoy the park to some degree at least in the manner that the pioneers
had enjoyed it. Improvement of the trails, of outlying facilities,
education in the means of trail travel, and the development of an
all-season program that would help to spread the peak of travel into a
plateau, were steps taken and which are being taken in the attempt to
halt the tendency of the public to make of Yosemite Valley an urban
“resort.”

High Sierra camps were developed, as described elsewhere in this book.
They were visited by travelers afoot or in the saddle, and
“foot-burners” and pack outfits visited the remote regions of the park,
where no improvements upon nature are permitted other than those which a
man can carry in—and carry back out again when he leaves. The numbers of
people who are attracted to the back country have increased mightily,
but the congestion of crowds in Yosemite Valley is still great. This
fact in itself constitutes a reason for increasing the effort to
introduce visitors to the wonders of the wild high country.

David R. Brower, an officer of the Sierra Club and an ardent proponent
of rock-climbing as a sport, and an accomplished skier, has reviewed the
development of these forms of recreation in Yosemite. He has kindly
agreed to my use of the following portion of an enlightening account,
most of which has not previously appeared in print:

“To a few people—fortunately, perhaps, a very few—even a trail detracts
a little from the feeling of ‘roughing it.’ Too clearly, the foot of
man, or of mule, has trod there before them. Consequently, those who
would get especially close to nature have become skilled in woodcraft so
as to take care of themselves and have then struck off not only from the
highways and roads, but also from the horse trails and footpaths. Muir
and Anderson were pioneers in this form of recreation. A few have
carried on where they left off. Routes were found through trailless
Tenaya Canyon to the high country above; Muir Gorge, in the Grand Canyon
of the Tuolumne, presented an obstacle where the waters of that river
were confined in a narrow, vertical-walled box canyon, but it has proved
not to be an obstacle to good swimmers in periods of low water. Muir
discovered Fern Ledge and crossed it along the tremendous face of the
Yosemite Falls cliff, until he was under the upper fall itself. Charles
Michael, years later, and William Kat, to this day, followed Muir’s
footsteps and made new ones of their own on other Yosemite byways, such
as the Gunsight to the top of Bridalveil Fall, Mount Starr King, the
Lower Brother. For the most part these men, and others of similar bent,
climbed alone. Michael was almost to regret it when, on an ascent of
Piute Point, he fell a few feet, broke his leg, and was just able to
drag himself back to the valley—to climb again when the break had
knitted.

“These pioneers of the byways were limited, not by lack of enterprise,
but by lack of modern equipment and the technique for its use; both of
these required assets came to Yosemite in 1933. A year before that a
Rock-Climbing Section was formed in the Sierra Club, and its members
brought Alpine technique, which they had practiced and improved in local
metropolitan rock parks, to Yosemite. Skillfully using rope and piton
technique, and developing their balance climbing to a point where they
are able to ascend Half Dome without recourse to any artificial aids,
much less cableways, members of this and similar sections, men and women
alike, have pioneered many new routes on the valley walls, some
extremely difficult. The present total of routes to the rim, exclusive
of the trails, is forty-five. Spires and pinnacles not accessible by
other means were especially challenging. The higher and lower Cathedral
Spires were climbed in 1934 by the party of Jules M. Eichorn, Richard M.
Leonard, and Bestor Robinson. The routes for this and other climbs are
described in the Yosemite Valley section of a comprehensive ‘Climber’s
Guide to the High Sierra,’ being published serially by the Sierra Club.

[Illustration: _By D. R. Brower_
Ski Mountaineering Party near Mount Starr King]

[Illustration: _By D. R. Brower_
Climbing on the Three Brothers]

[Illustration: _By R. M. Leonard_
Descending Lower Cathedral Spire]

“Construed at present as the ultimate in technical rock-climbing was the
ascent, September 2, 1946, of the Lost Arrow by the party of Jack
Arnold, Robin Hansen, Fritz Lippmann, and Anton Nelson. The party used
more than a thousand feet of rope and many pounds of mountaineer’s
hardware. They first managed to throw a light line over the summit. Two
men remained in support at the rim. The other two went down a rope to
the notch separating the pinnacle from the valley wall, and with expert
technique were able to climb 100 feet of the rock’s outer face, nearly
3,000 sheer feet above the valley floor, until they could reach the
lower end of the line. With this they pulled rope over the summit.
Another 100 feet of climbing on that rope, with help from the men on the
rim, brought them to the top on the evening of the third day. On the
crowded, rounded summit they drilled small holes for two expansion
bolts, anchored ropes to them, and in the moonlight worked across the
gap to the rim on the airy, swinging ropes.

“Needless to say, such climbs as this should not be undertaken without
the necessary background of experience. Foolhardy attempts by the
overoptimistic to take short cuts or cross-country routes into unknown
hazards all too often result in arduous and dangerous rescue operations
by park rangers. The National Park Service requires, in Yosemite and in
other ‘mountaineering’ parks, that persons desiring to climb off the
trail register first at park headquarters, where, as a matter of the
visitor’s own protection, he can be advised whether he has the adequate
equipment or skill for his proposed undertaking, and where he announces
his destination so that rangers will know where to look for him in case
of trouble.

“If trails or cross-country routes have afforded the summer visitor a
fuller knowledge of Yosemite National Park and its hidden wild places,
certainly the improvement of access to various park areas in winter has
also increased the enjoyment of the superlative scenery for which
Yosemite was set aside as a national park in the first place.

“In the first days of winter sports in Yosemite, snowballing,
tobogganing, skating, and sliding down small hills on toe-strapped skis
was enough for the winter visitor. Snow, to Californians at least, was
novelty enough in itself. But the surge of interest in skiing as a sport
of skill that arrived after World War I, the resulting vast improvement
in ski equipment and apparel, and the winter accessibility brought about
by use of snow-removal equipment, inevitably stimulated skiers to demand
greatly improved facilities for skiing. The National Park Service,
required by law to be custodians of outstanding scenic resources for all
the people, in all seasons, for present and future enjoyment, very
properly ‘made haste slowly.’ Other areas, administered by agencies
whose obligations were less exacting, developed facilities far more
rapidly, and the pressure on the National Park Service, in Yosemite and
elsewhere, was greatly increased.

“Ski development in Yosemite involved serious scenic, economic, and
geographic considerations. The development should not damage the scenic
values for which the park was created. It should, nevertheless, be so
situated that the skier could enjoy that scenery without going far
beyond the areas in which utilities were available; otherwise, the
facilities would be used primarily by persons who wanted only to ski and
not to enjoy the Yosemite scene. Such persons could be better
accommodated elsewhere. The area developed for skiing should not be so
close to the valley rim as to be dangerous. From the concessionaire’s
standpoint, the development should make use of, and not duplicate, hotel
facilities already available; otherwise, it would not be worth the
financial risk. Where the Park Service was concerned, economically, it
should be close enough to the valley not to require excessive road
maintenance and snow removal and should not be too difficult to
administer, for the Park Service, after all, could only spend what
Congress appropriated in the annual budget. As for the man who skied in
Yosemite for the sake of skiing, his wants were simple. In the
aggregate, he wanted high and low cost accommodations built at an
elevation where the best snow lay the longest and the slopes were most
open; he wanted satisfactory uphill transportation to enable him to
spend most of his time and energy sliding down; he wanted cleared runs
and marked trails, outlying huts for touring, and excellent ski
instruction patterned after the best European ski schools. He wanted ski
competition scheduled, and long courses on which to race. He, moreover,
wanted all this in a quantity that would take care of four thousand or
more skiers on a week end, without overcrowding the facilities or
overburdening his purse.

“What could the National Park Service do? The development at Badger Pass
was the result. The ski house, upski, rope tows, Constam lift, the runs
of various types, the ski school, the cleared roads and parking area,
the ranger ski patrol, the marked touring trails, and the touring hut at
Ostrander Lake are all part of a development that is compatible with the
national park concept. Improvements will inevitably follow. In the
development so far, full enjoyment has been provided for the tens of
thousands of skiers who, although they like improvements, would still
prefer that the administrators of the national parks continue to make
haste slowly in any attempt to improve upon the natural scene.”

CHAPTER VIII
_HOTELS AND THEIR KEEPERS_

The early public interest manifested in the scenic beauties of Yosemite
prompted a few far-sighted local men of the mountains to prepare for the
influx of travelers that they felt was bound to occur. J. M. Hutchings
had no more than related his experiences of his first visit in 1855
before Milton and Huston Mann undertook the improvement of the old
Mariposa Indian trail leading to the valley. The next year Bunnell
developed a trail from the north side of the gorge. The first visitors
were from the camps of the Southern Mines, chiefly, but there were a few
from San Francisco and interior towns, as well. During those first years
of travel the few visitors expected to “rough it”; they were men and
women accustomed to the wilds, and comforts were hardly required. Yet
those pioneer hotelkeepers who had provided crude shelters found that
their establishments were patronized. Hotelkeeping takes a place very
near the beginning of the Yosemite story.

The valley was then public domain. Although unsurveyed, it was generally
conceded that homesteads within it might be claimed by whosoever
persevered in establishing rights. The prospect of great activity in
developing Frémont’s “Mariposa Estate” caused certain citizens of
Mariposa to turn their attention to Yosemite Valley as the source of a
much-needed water supply. Bunnell reveals that commercial interests had
designs upon the valley as early as 1855. A survey of the valley and the
canyon below was made in that year by L. H. Bunnell and George K.
Peterson with the idea of making a reservoir.

[Illustration: The Cosmopolitan, 1870-1932]

[Illustration: The Lower Hotel, 1856-1869]

The first house to be constructed there was built in 1856 by the company
interested in this water project. Bunnell states: “It was of white cedar
‘puncheons,’ plank split out of logs. The builders of it supposed that a
claim in the valley would doubly secure the water privileges. We made
this building our headquarters, covering the roof with our tents.”

The first permanent hotel structure was also started that year. It
became known as the “Lower Hotel.” During the next decade it and the
Upper Hotel found no competitors. At the close of the ’sixties, however,
the hotel business of Yosemite Valley flashed rather prominently in the
commerce of the state.

A volume might be written on the efforts of honest proprietors to serve
the early tourist; on the scheming of less scrupulous claimants to
capitalize on their Yosemite holdings; on the humorous reaction of
unsuspecting visitors within the early hostelries; and, finally, on the
story of later-day developments which now care for the throng that,
annually, partakes of Yosemite offerings. The full history of Yosemite
hotels is eminently worth the telling, but the present work will be
content in pointing to interesting recorded incidents in the story.

The Lower Hotel

Messrs. Walworth and Hite were the first to venture in serving the
Yosemite public. Hite was a member of that family whose fortune was made
from the golden treasure of a mine at Hite’s Cove. Walworth seems to
have left no record of his affairs or connections. The partners selected
a site opposite Yosemite Falls, very near the area that had been
occupied by Captain Boling’s camp in 1851, and set up their hotel of
planks split from pine logs. The building, started in 1856, was not
completed until the next year, and in the meantime a second
establishment was started near the present Sentinel Bridge, so the first
became, quite naturally, the “Lower Hotel.” Cunningham and Beardsley,
the same Beardsley who packed Weed’s camera in 1859, elected to finish
construction of the Lower Hotel, and they employed Mr. and Mrs. John H.
Neal to run it for them. J. C. Holbrook, the first to preach a sermon in
Yosemite, writes of his stop with Mrs. Neal in 1859: “I secured a bed,
such as it was, for my wife, in a rough board shanty occupied by a
family that had arrived a few days before to keep a sort of tavern, the
woman being the only one within fifty or sixty miles of the place. For
myself, a bed of shavings and a blanket under the branches of some trees
formed my resting place.”

A London parson in his _To San Francisco and Back_, of the late
’sixties, offers the following description of his visit to this earliest
of Yosemite hotels:

There are in it [the valley] two hotels, as they call themselves, but
the accommodation is very rough. When G—— and I were shown to our
bedroom the first night we found that it consisted of a quarter of a
shed screened off by split planks, which rose about eight or ten feet
from the ground, and enabled us to hear everything that went on in the
other “rooms,” which were simply stalls in the same shed. Ours had no
window, but we could see the stars through the roof. The door, opening
out into the forest, was fastened with cow-hinges of skin with the
hair on, and a little leather strap which hooked on to a nail. We
boasted a rough, gaping floor, but several of the other bedrooms were
only strewed with branches of arbor vitae. As a grizzly bear had
lately been seen wandering about a few hundred yards from our “hotel,”
we took the precaution of putting our revolvers under our pillows. I
dare say this was needless as the bears have mostly retired to the
upper part of the valley, a few miles off, but it gave a finish to our
toilet which had the charm of novelty. Next morning, however, seeing
the keeper of the ranch with his six-shooter in his hand, and noticing
that it was heavily loaded, I asked him why he used so much powder.
“Oh,” said he, “I’ve loaded it for bears.”

At first G—— and I were the only visitors at this house, but several
were at the other one about half a mile off, and more were soon
expected.

Cunningham, A. G. Black, P. Longhurst, and G. F. Leidig all took their
turn at operating the crude establishment. It was under the management
of Black when Clarence King arrived on his pioneer trip with the
Geological Survey of California, and one Longhurst apparently even then
anticipated future proprietorship by engaging in guiding its guests
about the valley. King describes Longhurst as “a weather-beaten
round-the-worlder, whose function in the party was to tell yarns, sing
songs, and feed the inner man.” His account, in _Mountaineering in the
Sierra Nevada_, continues:

We had chosen, as the head-quarters of the survey, two little cabins
under the pine-trees near Black’s Hotel. [Black was then owner of the
Lower Hotel.] They were central; they offered us a shelter; and from
their doors, which opened almost upon the Merced itself, we obtained a
most delightful sunrise view of the Yosemite.

Next morning, in spite of early outcries from Longhurst, and a warning
solo of his performed with spoon and fry-pan, we lay in our
comfortable blankets pretending to enjoy the effect of sunrise light
upon the Yosemite cliff and fall, all of us unwilling to own that we
were tired out and needed rest. Breakfast had waited an hour or more
when we got a little weary of beds and yielded to the temptation of
appetite.

A family of Indians, consisting of two huge girls and their parents,
sat silently waiting for us to commence, and, after we had begun,
watched every mouthful from the moment we got it successfully impaled
upon the camp forks, a cloud darkening their faces as it disappeared
forever down our throats.

But we quite lost our spectators when Longhurst came upon the boards
as a flapjack-frier, a rôle to which he bent his whole intelligence,
and with entire success. Scorning such vulgar accomplishment as
turning the cake over in mid-air, he slung it boldly up, turning it
three times, ostentatiously greasing the pan with a fine centrifugal
movement, and catching the flapjack as it fluttered down, and spanked
it upon the hot coals with a touch at once graceful and masterly.

I failed to enjoy these products, feeling as if I were breakfasting in
sacrilege upon works of art. Not so our Indian friends, who wrestled
affectionately for frequent unfortunate cakes which would dodge
Longhurst and fall into the ashes.

In 1869 A. G. Black tore down the Lower Hotel and on its site
constructed the rambling building which became known as “Black’s.”

Upper Hotel

Prior to their interest in the Lower Hotel, S. M. Cunningham and Buck
Beardsley had essayed to start a store and tent shelter on the later
site of the Cedar Cottage. Cunningham, of later Big Tree fame, dropped
this venture; so Beardsley united with G. Hite and in the fall of 1857
began the preparation of the timbers which made the frame of the Cedar
Cottage. Mechanical sawmills had not yet been brought so far into the
wilderness, and the partners whipsawed and hewed every plank, rafter,
and joist in the building. It was ready for occupancy in May, 1859.

The proprietors of the Upper Hotel fared none too well in the returns
forthcoming from guests. Ownership changed hands a number of times, and
business dwindled to a point of absolute suspension. In 1864 it was
possible for J. M. Hutchings to purchase the building and the land claim
adjoining for a very nominal price. At this time the proposed state park
was being widely talked of, and, as a matter of fact, Hutchings stepped
into the ownership of the Upper Hotel property but a few months before
the Yosemite Valley was removed from the public domain and granted to
the state to be “inalienable for all time.” Mr. Hutchings was, and is to
this day, sharply criticized by some citizens for his presumption in
purchasing public lands that had not been officially surveyed. Whatever
may have been his legal claim, it must be admitted that his was the
moral right to expect compensation for the expenditure of thousands of
dollars for physical improvements made upon his Yosemite property.

[Illustration: _By George Fiske_
Mill Built by John Muir in 1869]

[Illustration: Glacier Point Mountain House, 1878 to date]

[Illustration: _By Thomas Hill_
Sentinel Hotel (left background), 1867 to 1938]

[Illustration: _By D. R. Brower_
The Ahwahnee Hotel, 1927 to date]

[Illustration: _By Ansel Adams_
Saddle Trip on a High Sierra Trail]

[Illustration: _By Ansel Adams_
Merced Lake High Sierra Camp, 1916 to date]

Hutchings brought his family to the Upper Hotel in 1864 and assumed a
proprietorship that awakened lengthy comments from many of his
journalistic guests. Being well educated, a great lover of nature, a
journalist himself, and blessed with a generous share of sentiment, it
can be understood why some of his guests felt that “there are better
things which he could do better.” Testimonies agree that if he was not a
huge success as a resort manager, his rich fund of information and
hospitable enthusiasm more than compensated for his defects.

Charles Loring Brace visited Yosemite a few years after Hutchings became
a local character there. He stopped at the Hutchings House and later
wrote about his experience:

One of the jokes current in the Valley is to carefully warn the
traveler, before coming to this hotel, “not to leave his bed-room door
unlocked, as there are thieves about!” On retiring to his room for the
night, he discovers to his amazement, that his door is a sheet, and
his partition from the adjoining sleeping-chamber also a cotton cloth.
The curtain-lectures and bed-room conversations conducted under these
circumstances, it may be judged, are discreet. The house, however, is
clean, and the table excellent; and Hutchings himself, enough of a
character alone to make up for innumerable deficiencies. He is one of
the original pioneers of the Valley, and at the same time is a man of
considerable literary abilities, and a poet. He has written a very
creditable guidebook on the Canyon. No one could have a finer
appreciation of the points of beauty, and the most characteristic
scenes of the Valley. He is a “Guide” in the highest sense, and loves
the wonderful region which he shows yearly to strangers from every
quarter of the world. But, unfortunately, he is also hotel-keeper,
waiter, and cook—employments requiring a good deal of close, practical
attention, as earthly life is arranged. Thus we come down, very
hungry, to a delicious breakfast of fresh trout, venison, and great
pans of garden strawberries; but, unfortunately, there are no knives
and forks. A romantic young lady asks, in an unlucky moment, about the
best point of view for the Yosemite Fall. “Madam, there is but one;
you must get close to the Upper Fall, just above the mist of the
lower, and there you will see a horizontal rainbow beneath your feet,
and the most exquisite—”

Here a strong-minded lady, whose politeness is at an end, “But here,
Hutchings, we have no knives and forks!” “Oh, beg a thousand pardons,
madam!” and he rushes off; but meeting his wife on the way, she gives
him coffee for the English party, and he forgets us entirely, and we
get up good-naturedly and search out the implements ourselves. Again,
from an amiable lady, “Please, Mr. Hutchings, another cup of coffee!”
“Certainly, Madam!” When the English lady from Calcutta asks him about
some wild flowers, he goes off in a botanical and poetical
disquisition, and in his abstraction brings the other lady, with great
eagerness, a glass of water. Sometimes sugar is handed you instead of
salt for the trout, or cold water is poured into your coffee; but none
of the ladies mind, for our landlord is as handsome as he is obliging,
and really full of information.

Maria Teresa Longworth, known as Therese Yelverton, Viscountess
Avonmore, visited Yosemite in 1870, where she wrote _Zanita: A Tale of
the Yosemite_, published in 1872. She made the Hutchings’ entourage a
part of her melodrama, and Florence, eldest daughter of the Hutchingses,
was the heroine, “Zanita.” John Muir, of whom in real life the
Viscountess was enamored, was the hero, “Kenmuir.” A good analysis of
Yelverton’s relationships, actual and fictional, with the Hutchings
family and the other pioneer residents of the valley is contained in
Linnie Marsh Wolfe’s great book, _Son of the Wilderness_.

Not all of the Hutchings House features were within its walls. J. D.
Caton, who availed himself of the Hutchings hospitality in 1870, “walked
over to the foot of the Yosemite Falls and lingered by the way to pick a
market basket full of enormous strawberries in Hutchings’ garden.” One
of the first acts of the homesteaders was to plant an orchard and
cultivate the above-mentioned strawberry patch. The strawberries long
ago disappeared, but many of the one hundred and fifty apple trees still
thrive and provide fruit for permanent Yosemite residents.

During his regime of ownership, Hutchings added Rock Cottage, Oak
Cottage, and River Cottage to his caravansary. In 1874 the state
legislature appropriated $60,000 to extinguish all private claims in
Yosemite Valley, and the Hutchings interests were adjudged to be
entitled to $24,000.

Coulter and Murphy then became the proprietors of the old Hutchings
group and in 1876 they built the Sentinel Hotel. Their period of
management was brief, and the entire property passed to J. K. Barnard in
1877, who for seventeen years maintained it as the Yosemite Falls
Hotel.[6] This unit among the pioneer hostelries was torn down in
1938-1940.

Clark’s Ranch, Now Wawona

Galen Clark accompanied one of the 1855 Yosemite-bound parties that had
been inspired by Hutchings, when that pioneer related his experiences in
Mariposa. Upon his first trip to the valley over the old Indian trail
from Mariposa, he recognized in the meadows on the South Fork of the
Merced a most promising place of abode. His health had been impaired in
the gold camps; he had, in fact, been told by a physician that he could
live but a short time. The lovely vale of the Nuchu Indians offered
solace, and in April of 1857 he settled there on the site of the camp
occupied by the Mariposa Battalion in 1851. Nowhere in his writings does
Clark intimate that he expected to be overtaken by early death at the
time of his homesteading. Rather we may believe that it was with
foresight and careful plan that he erected his cabin beside the new
trail of the sight-seer and prepared to accommodate those saddle-weary
pilgrims who mounted horses at Mariposa and made their first stop with
him en route to the new mecca.

His first cabin was crude. A rough pine table surrounded by three-legged
stools facilitated his homely service. As the number of visitors
increased, Clark enlarged his ranch house. When ten years of his pioneer
hotel keeping had passed, Charles Loring Brace was among his visitors.
Brace writes:

After fourteen miles—an easy ride—we all reached Clark’s Ranch at a
late hour, ready for supper and bed.

This ranch is a long, rambling, low house, built under enormous
sugar-pines, where travelers find excellent quarters and rest in their
journey to the Valley. Clark himself is evidently a character; one of
those men one frequently meets in California—the modern anchorite—a
hater of civilization and a lover of the forest—handsome, thoughtful,
interesting, and slovenly. In his cabin were some of the choicest
modern books and scientific surveys; the walls were lined with
beautiful photographs of the Yosemite; he knew more than any of his
guests of the fauna, flora, and geology of the State; he conversed
well on any subject, and was at once philosopher, savant, chambermaid,
cook, and landlord.

From the scores of books written by early Yosemite visitors, one might
extract a great compendium of remarks on Clark and his ranch. The
proprietor, like the Grizzly Giant, was impressive. He was invariably
remembered by his guests. They wrote of his generous hospitality, his
simplicity, kindness, honesty, wit, wisdom, and unselfish devotion to
the mountains he loved. Had they known, they might have written that he
gave too freely of all his mental and physical assets and that as a
businessman he was not a success. The season of 1870 found the ownership
of his ranch divided with Edwin Moore.

Moore assumed general management, and Clark’s became known as “Clark and
Moore’s.” The ladies of Moore’s family introduced a new element in the
hospitality of the place, and for a few years it assumed an aspect of
new ambition. Extensive improvements, however, resulted in foreclosure
of mortgages, and the firm of Washburn, Coffman, and Chapman secured
ownership in 1875 and changed the name to “Wawona.”

A. P. Vivian stopped at Wawona in January, 1878, and wrote:

Although still called a “ranche,” this establishment has long ceased
to be mainly concerned with agriculture. Clark himself exists no
longer, at any rate in this locality; that individual sold his
interests some years ago to Messrs. Washburn, who “run the stage,” and
are now the “bosses of the route” between this and Merced. The ranche
is now a small but comfortable and roomy inn, and during the tourists’
season is filled to overflowing.

Besides having constructed the twenty-five miles of capital road hence
into the Yosemite Valley, Messrs. Washburn are again showing their
enterprise by making a road direct to Merced, the object of which is
to save thirty miles over the present Mariposa route.

[Illustration: _By Ralph Anderson, NPS_
Badger Pass Ski House]

[Illustration: _By Ralph Anderson, NPS_
Ski Patrol at Work]

[Illustration: _By D. R. Brower_
Winter in the Yosemite High Sierra: Clark Range]

[Illustration: _By Ralph Anderson, NPS_
Snow Gaugers Entering Tuolumne Meadows]

The Yosemite Park and Curry Company now owns and operates Wawona. It has
become one of the largest and most favorably known family resorts in the
Sierra Nevada and retains some of the flavor of its earlier years.

Black’s Hotel

A. G. Black was a pioneer of the Coulterville region. In the late
’fifties, he resided at Bull Creek on the Coulterville trail. Visitors
who entered the valley from the north during the first years of tourist
travel have left a few records of stops made at the “Black’s” of that
place. The “Black’s” of Yosemite Valley did not come into existence
until the advent of the ’sixties, when Mrs. Black is reported to have
purchased the old Lower Hotel. In 1869 this first structure was torn
down, and an elongated shedlike structure built on its site, near the
foot of the present Four-Mile Trail to Glacier Point. This was the
“Black’s” that for nineteen years served a goodly number of Yosemite
tourists. In 1888, after the opening of the Stoneman House, there was
among the commissioners “a unanimity of feeling that the old shanties
and other architectural bric-a-brac, that had long done service for
hotels and stables, and the like, should be torn down.” Black’s Hotel
was accordingly removed in the fall of 1888, and the lumber from its
sagging walls went into the construction of the “Kenneyville” property,
which stood on the present site of the Ahwahnee Hotel.

Leidig’s

The family of George F. Leidig arrived in Yosemite Valley in 1866. For a
time the old Lower Hotel was in their charge, but, when its owner, A. G.
Black, assumed its management personally, the Leidigs secured rights to
build for themselves. They selected a site just west of the old
establishment and constructed a two-story building to become known as
Leidig’s. This was in 1869. Charles T. Leidig, the first white boy to be
born in the valley, was born in the spring of that year.

Mrs. Leidig’s ability as a cook was quickly noted by visitors, and, no
doubt, the popularity of her table did much to draw patrons. Many are
the printed comments in the contemporary publications of her guests.
Here is an example:

Leidig’s is the best place in the line of hotels. Mrs. L—— attends to
the cooking in person; the results are that the food is well cooked
and intelligently served. There is not the variety to be obtained here
as in places more accessible to market. After traveling a few months
in California, a person is liable to think less of variety and more of
quality. At this place the beds are cleanly and wholesome, although
consisting of pulu mattresses placed upon slat bedsteads. This house
stands in the shadow of Sentinel Rock, and faces the great Yosemite
Fall; is surrounded with porches, making a pleasant place to sit and
contemplate the magnificence of the commanding scenery. (From Caroline
M. Churchill, 1876.)

When A. P. Vivian continued on to Yosemite in January of 1878, he found
the Leidig family in the valley and commented as follows on his winter
reception:

Our host was glad enough to see us, for tourists are very scarce
commodities at this time of the year, and he determined to celebrate
our arrival by exploding a dynamite cartridge, that we might at the
same time enjoy the grand echoes. These were doubtless extraordinary,
but I am free to confess I would rather have gone away without hearing
them than have experienced the anxiety of mind, and real risk to body,
which preceded the pleasure.

Leidig’s, with Black’s, was torn down after the Stoneman House provided
more fitting accommodations. The little chapel which had been built near
these old hotels in 1879 was moved to its present site in the Old
Village. In 1928 the picturesque old well platform and crane, which had
marked the Leidig site, was destroyed. Only a group of locust trees now
indicates where this center of pioneer activity existed.

The Cosmopolitan, 1872-1932

But the wonder—among the buildings of Yosemite—is the “Cosmopolitan,”
containing saloon, billiard hall, bathing rooms, and barber-shop,
established and kept by Mr. C. E. Smith. Everything in it was
transported twenty miles on mules; mirrors full-length, pyramids of
elaborate glassware, costly service, the finest of cues and tables,
reading-room handsomely furnished and supplied with the latest from
Eastern cities, and baths with unexceptionable surroundings, attest
the nerve and energy of the projector. It is a perfect gem. The end of
the wagon-road was twenty miles away when the enterprise began, and
yet such skill was used in mule-packing that not an article was
broken. I have not seen a finer place of resort, for its size. The
arrangements for living are such that one could spend the summer there
delightfully, and we found several tourists who remained for weeks.

The foregoing from J. H. Beadle is but one of scores of enthusiastic
outbursts from amazed tourists who wrote of their Yosemite experiences.
To say that C. E. Smith figured in early Yosemite affairs is hardly
expressive. His baths, his drinks, and the various unexpected comforts
provided by his Cosmopolitan left lasting impressions that vied with El
Capitan when it came to securing space in books written by visitors. The
ladies exclaimed over the cleanliness of the bathtubs; a profusion of
towels, fine and coarse; delicate toilet soaps, bay rum, Florida water,
arnica, court plaster; needles, thread, and buttons; and late copies of
the _Alta_ and the _Bulletin_ for fresh “bustles.” The men found joy in
“a running accompaniment of ‘brandy-cocktails,’ ‘gin-slings,’ ‘barber’s
poles,’ ‘eye-openers,’ ‘mint-julep,’ ‘Samson with the hair on,’
‘corpse-revivers,’ ‘rattlesnakes,’ and other potent combinations.”

The Cosmopolitan boasted of a certain Grand Register, a foot in
thickness, morocco-bound, and mounted with silver. Within it were the
autographs and comments of thousands of visitors both great and lowly.
The relic is now a part of the Yosemite Museum collection.[7]

Tommy Hall, the pioneer barber of Yosemite, found sumptuous quarters in
the Cosmopolitan. The old building continued to house a barber shop
until it was destroyed by fire on December 8, 1932.

La Casa Nevada

For fifteen years after the coming of visitors, the wonders of the
Merced Canyon above Happy Isles were accessible only to those hardy
mountaineers who could scramble through the boulder-strewn gorge without
the advantage of a true trail. In 1869-70 one Albert Snow completed a
horse trail from Yosemite Valley to the flat between Vernal and Nevada
falls, and there opened a mountain chalet, which was to be known as “La
Casa Nevada.” The popularity of the saddle trip to the two great falls
of the Merced was immediate, and the pioneer trail builder, John Conway,
extended the trail from Snow’s to Little Yosemite Valley the next year.
It then was usual for all tourists to ascend the Merced Canyon to La
Casa Nevada and Little Yosemite. Some hikers undertook the trip from
Little Yosemite to Glacier Point, but another fifteen years were to
elapse before Glacier Point was made accessible by a truly good horse
trail from Nevada Fall.

Snow’s was opened on April 28, 1870. One of the prized possessions of
the Yosemite Museum is a register from this hostelry, which dates from
the opening to 1875. Upon its foxed pages appear thousands of
registrations and numerous comments of more than passing interest. Among
these is a very interesting two-page manuscript by John Muir, describing
an 1874 trip to Snow’s via Glacier Point and the Illilouette. P. A. H.
Laurence, once editor of the _Mariposa Gazette_, contributed to its
value by inscribing within it an account of his visit to Yosemite Valley
in 1855, years before the chalet was built.

A party with N. H. Davis, United States Inspector General, commented
upon their destination and added: “This party defers further remarks
until some further examinations are made.” Under the date of the
original entry is a significant second autograph by a member of the
General’s party: “A preliminary examination develops an abundance of
mountain dew.”

A great pile of broken containers, which had once held the “mountain
dew,” is about the only remnant of La Casa Nevada which may be viewed by
present-day visitors, for the chalet was destroyed by fire in the early
’nineties.

Peregoy’s

Another pioneer hotel is represented in the Yosemite Museum collections
by a register.[8] It was known as the Mountain View House and occupied a
strategic spot on the old horse trail from Clark’s to Yosemite Valley.
Its site is known to present-day visitors as Peregoy Meadows, and the
remains of the log building now repose quite as they fell many years
ago. The hospitality of its keepers, Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Peregoy,
was utilized by those travelers who, coming from Clark’s, took lunch
there, or by those who departed from the valley via Glacier Point and
made it an overnight stopping place.

The Mountain View House register indicates that guests were entertained
as early as the fall of 1869. It was not, however, until the spring of
1870 that the little resort made a bid for patronage. Its capacity for
overnight accommodation was sixteen; so it is not surprising that a
number of writers of the ’seventies were forced to record, in their
published Yosemite memoirs, that they arrived late and sat around the
kitchen stove all night. In June of 1872, fifty-six tourists were
overtaken by a snowstorm in the neighborhood of Peregoy’s. It is to be
surmised that on that night even the little kitchen did not accommodate
the overflow.

The construction of the Wawona road in 1875 revised the route of all
Yosemite travel south of the Merced. Peregoy’s was left far from the
line of travel and no longer functioned in the scheme of Yosemite
resorts.

The Harris Camp Grounds

By 1878, the demand for recognition of private camping parties
introduced the idea of public camp grounds in Yosemite. Large numbers of
visitors were bringing their own conveyances and camping equipment so as
to be independent of the hostelries. The commissioners set aside a part
of the old Lamon property in the vicinity of the present Ahwahnee Hotel
as the grounds upon which to accommodate the new class of visitors. Mr.
A. Harris was granted the right to administer to the wants of the
campers. He grew fodder for their animals, offered stable facilities,
sold provisions, and rented equipment. The Harris Camp Ground was the
forerunner of the present-day housekeeping camps and public auto camps,
which accommodate, by far, the greater number of Yosemite visitors.

An exceedingly interesting register, kept for the comments of campers of
that day, was recently presented to the Yosemite Museum by the
descendants of Harris. For ten years Yosemite campers recorded their
ideas of Yosemite, its management, and particularly the kindness of
Harris, upon its pages. The following is representative:

Yosemite Valley,
Tuesday, July 20th, 1880

We have tented in the Valley and been contented too.
So would like to add a chapter to this _bible_ for review
Of campers who come hither for study or for fun
In this Valley—of God’s building the grandest ’neath the sun.
When you come into the Valley—for information go
To the owner of this Record, and directly he will show
You where to go, and how to go, and what to see when there
And will sell you all things needful, at prices that are fair.
Like Moses in the wilderness, he’ll furnish food and drink
For all the tribes that come to him—cheaper than you’d think.
His bread is not from Heaven—but San Francisco Bay
And that is next thing to it—so San Franciscans say.
The water that he gives you—running through granite rock
Is the same as that which Moses gave his wonder-stricken flock.
If you ask him where to angle—he’ll tell you—on the sly
Down in the Indian Camp—with silver hook and fly.
In a word this Mr. Harris is a proper kind of man,
And as a friend to campers in the Valley—leads the van.

Wm. B. Lake
Fred W. Lake
San Francisco

E. D. Lake
Nat Webb
Sacramento

If the reader thinks this poetry—don’t judge me by the style,
For ’tis the kind that rhymsters make to peddle by the mile.
W B L

It may be said that from the Harris service grew the idea of camp
rental, which was first practiced by the commissioners in 1898 and is
now a recognized business of the housekeeping-camps department of the
present operators in the park.

Glacier Point Mountain House

After the construction of Snow’s trail to Little Yosemite in 1871, some
good mountaineers made the Glacier Point trip via Little Yosemite and
the Illilouette basin. Prior to this time, J. M. Hutchings had been
guiding parties of hikers to the famous Point over a most hazardous
trail, which he had blazed up the Ledge and through the Chimney.
Occasional references to a shack at Glacier Point indicate that Peregoy
had made some attempt to locate there about the same time that his
Mountain View House of Peregoy Meadows was opened for business. However,
the real claim for Glacier Point patronage came from one James McCauley,
who in 1870-1871 met the expense of building a horse trail from Black’s
and Leidig’s over a four-mile route up the 3,200-foot cliff to the
famous vantage point. This new route was at first a toll trail. For
sixty years it has been climbed and descended by countless thousands of
riders and hikers. It has been known as the Four-Mile Trail for more
than half a century, and it was not until 1929 that its grades, surveyed
and built by John Conway, were changed by more skilled engineers.

It is likely that McCauley, owner of the Four-Mile Trail, made use of
the insufficient little building on Glacier Point while his trail was in
the making. Few records regarding the “shack” or his later Mountain
House are to be found, but Lady C. F. Gordon-Cumming wrote on the tenth
of May, 1878: “The snow on the upper trail [Four-Mile] had been cleared
by men who are building a rest-house on the summit.” After arriving at
Glacier Point, she records: “The cold breeze was so biting that we were
thankful to take refuge, with our luncheon-basket, in the newly built
wooden house.” Later, “On our way down through the snow-cuttings, we had
rather an awkward meeting with a long file of mules heavily laden with
furniture—or rather, portions of furniture—for the new house.”

It is believed that the first firefall from Glacier Point was the work
of James McCauley in 1871 or 1872. He sold his trail to the state. His
Mountain House was operated on a lease basis from the commissioners. One
of his visitors of the early ’eighties was Derrick Dodd, who concocted
something of a classic in the way of Glacier Point stories. It is too
good to pass into oblivion.

DERRICK DODD’S TOUGH STORY

As a part of the usual programme, we experimented as to the time taken
by different objects in reaching the bottom of the cliff. An ordinary
stone tossed over remained in sight an incredibly long time, but
finally vanished somewhere about the middle distance. A handkerchief
with a stone tied in the corner, was visible perhaps a thousand feet
deeper; but even an empty box, watched by a field-glass, could not be
traced to its concussion with the Valley floor. Finally, the landlord
appeared on the scene, carrying an antique hen under his arm. This, in
spite of the terrified ejaculations and entreaties of the ladies, he
deliberately threw over the cliff’s edge. A rooster might have gone
thus to his doom in stoic silence, but the sex of this unfortunate
bird asserted itself the moment it started on its awful journey into
space. With an ear-piercing cackle that gradually grew fainter as it
fell, the poor creature shot downward; now beating the air with
ineffectual wings, and now frantically clawing at the very wind, that
slanted her first this way and then that; thus the hapless fowl shot
down, down, until it became a mere fluff of feathers no larger than a
quail. Then it dwindled to a wren’s size, disappeared, then again
dotted the sight a moment as a pin’s point, and then—it was gone!

After drawing a long breath all round, the women folks pitched into
the hen’s owner with redoubled zest. But the genial McCauley shook his
head knowingly, and replied:

“Don’t be alarmed about that chicken, ladies. She’s used to it. She
goes over that cliff every day during the season.”

And, sure enough, on our road back we met the old hen about half up
the trail, calmly picking her way home!

In 1882, the Glacier Point road was built. Traffic to the Mountain House
was, of course, doubled by the coming of those who would not walk or
ride a horse up steep trails. Glacier Point trails did not fall into
disuse, however. On the contrary, attempts were made to make them more
attractive. Anderson’s Trail from Happy Isles to Vernal Fall was
constructed at great loss to its builder in 1882. The present
Eleven-Mile Trail from Nevada Fall to Glacier Point was built in 1885.
In spite of the variety of routes offered, it was planned as early as
1887 to provide a passenger lift to the famous vantage-point. The plan
progressed as far as the making of a preliminary survey. Accommodations
at the point remained unchanged until 1917, when the Glacier Point Hotel
was built by the Desmond Park Service Company adjacent to the Mountain
House. The two structures function as a unit of the Yosemite Park and
Curry Company operation.

The John Degnan Bakery and Store

The Degnan concession in the “Old Village” is not and never was a hotel
or lodge. However, it has catered to Yosemite tourists since 1884 and is
the oldest business in the park. John Degnan, an Irishman, built his
first Yosemite cabin on the site of the present Degnan store. Soon
thereafter, on the occasion of a spring meeting of the Yosemite Valley
Commissioners, of which the governor of the state was a member, Mr.
Degnan appeared before the managing body to obtain the privilege of
building a suitable home. The board listened to his plea, and the
Governor observed, “He seems to be the kind of man we want as an
all-year resident—one who will take care of the place when it needs
care.” Mr. Degnan, in an interview with a National Park Service official
in 1941, stated, “After that meeting the Commissioners came over to my
cabin, and the Governor then assigned to me the land which I now occupy,
extending from the road to the cliff.”

Mrs. Degnan, who was a party to all of Mr. Degnan’s pioneering in
Yosemite Valley, met the tourists’ demand for bread. Gradually, her
bakery expanded until her ovens could turn out one hundred loaves at a
baking. The business and the home grew as did the Degnan family. Mary
Ellen Degnan, one of the several children born to Mr. and Mrs. Degnan,
now manages the modern store and restaurant which evolved from the
pioneer venture.

The record of John Degnan’s activities in Yosemite National Park stands
as ample testimony to the accuracy of the governor’s appraisal, “He
seems to be the kind of man we want.” He was a respected party to much
of the early physical improvement in and about the valley and to the
general growth and development of facilities and services.

Mrs. Degnan died Dec. 17, 1940, and Mr. Degnan’s death occurred on Feb.
27, 1943.

The Stoneman House

The demand for more pretentious accommodations than those afforded by
the pioneer hotels of Yosemite was met in 1887, when the state built a
four-story structure that would accommodate about 150 guests. The
legislature in 1885 appropriated $40,000 to be expended on this
building. Another $5,000 was secured for water supply and furniture. A
site near the present Camp Curry garage was selected, and the building
contract let to Carle, Croly, and Abernethy. Upon its completion J. J.
Cook, who had been managing Black’s Hotel, was placed in charge.

The bulky structure was not beautiful architecturally, and the first few
years of its existence demonstrated that its design was faulty. In 1896
the Stoneman House burned to the ground.

Camp Curry

Mr. and Mrs. D. A. Curry originated an idea in tourist service which
rather revolutionized the scheme of hostelry operation in Yosemite and
other national parks. The Currys came to Yosemite in 1899. They were
teachers who had turned their summer vacations into profitable
management of Western camping tours in such localities as Yellowstone
National Park. Their first venture in Yosemite involved use of seven
tents and employment of one paid woman cook. The services of several
college students were secured in return for summer expenses. The site
chosen for that first camp is the area occupied by Camp Curry.

Success of the hotel-camp plan was immediately apparent. The first year
292 people registered at the resort. However, success was not attained
without striving. The camp was dependent upon freight-wagon service
requiring two weeks to make the round trip to Merced. Sometimes even
this service failed.

Informal hospitality has always characterized Camp Curry. Popular
campfire entertainments have been a feature from the beginning. In one
of the first summers in Yosemite, D. A. Curry revived the firefall,[9]
which it is presumed originated with James McCauley, of the Mountain
House. Employees from Camp Curry were occasionally sent to Glacier Point
to build a fire and push it off for a special party. This was done more
and more frequently, until it became a nightly occurrence. Mr. Curry’s
“Hello,” his “All’s well,” and “Farewell,” delivered with remarkable
volume, won for him the appellation, “The Stentor of Yosemite.”

The coming of the Yosemite Valley Railroad in 1907 gave a powerful new
impetus to the growth of Camp Curry. Automobile travel, of course,
provided the climax. In 1915 the camp provided accommodations for one
thousand visitors. Today, it maintains nearly 500 tents and 200 bungalow
and cabin rooms.

The successful operations of the Curry business induced would-be
competition. Camp Yosemite, later known as Camp Lost Arrow, was started
in 1901 near the foot of Yosemite Falls. It continued to function until
1915. Camp Ahwahnee, at the foot of the Four-Mile Trail, was established
in 1908 and continued for seven years. The Desmond Park Service Company
secured a twenty-year concession to operate camps, stores, and
transportation service in 1915. This company purchased the assets of the
Sentinel Hotel, Camp Lost Arrow, and Camp Ahwahnee. The two camps were
discontinued, and a new venture made in the present Yosemite Lodge. The
Desmond Company prevailed until 1920, when reorganization took place,
and it became the Yosemite National Park Company.

The Curry Camping Company maintained its substantial position through
all of the years of varying fortunes of its less substantial
contemporaries. In 1925, the Yosemite Park and Curry Company was formed
by the consolidation of the Curry Company and the Yosemite National Park
Company. The new organization has contracted with the government to
perform all services demanded by the public in the park. Some 1,250
people are employed during the summer months, and the investment in
tourist facilities totals $5,500,000.

David A. Curry did not live to witness the realization of all his plans.
However, prior to his death in 1917, the march of progress had so
advanced as to make evident the place of leadership the Curry operation
was to maintain. “Mother” Curry, as “Manager Emeritus,” still devotes
personal attention to the business of the pioneer hotel-camp but the
active management is in the hands of persons trained by her and her
daughter, Mary Curry Tresidder. Her son-in-law, Dr. Donald B. Tresidder,
until 1943 actively managed the operations and still retains the
presidency of the extensive Yosemite Park and Curry Company, which has
grown from the modest start made in 1899.

Big Trees Lodge

The Yosemite National Park Company in 1920 established a tent camp in
the upper section of the Mariposa Grove, which consisted of a rustic
central building constructed around the base of the tree, Montana, and a
group of cabins and tents. The camp persisted in this form until 1932,
when it was razed by the Yosemite Park and Curry Company, and a new
lodge was built near Sunset Point in the Grove. In its design the new
building reflects the charm of pioneer structures of the Sierra Nevada.

High Sierra Camps

In 1923, Superintendent Lewis advocated the creation of a service that
would enable the hiker to enjoy the wonders of the Yosemite high country
and yet be free from the irksome load of blankets and food necessary to
the success of a trip away from the established centers of the park. T.
E. Farrow, of the Yosemite Park Company, projected tentative plans for a
series of “hikers’ camps,” and in the fall of 1923 I was dispatched on a
journey of reconnaissance for the purpose of locating camp sites in the
rugged country drained by the headwaters of the Merced and Tuolumne. The
sites advocated were Little Yosemite, Merced Lake,[10] Boothe Lake, the
Lyell Fork (Mount Lyell), Tuolumne Meadows,[10] Glen Aulin, and Tenaya
Lake.[10] In 1924, these sites, with the exception of Lyell Fork and
Glen Aulin, were occupied by simple camps, consisting of a mess and cook
tent, a dormitory tent for women, and a dormitory tent for men.
Attendants and cooks were employed for each establishment. With two
exceptions, the camps were removed from roads, and equipment and
supplies were of necessity packed in on mules. Yet it was possible to
offer the facilities of these high mountain resorts at a very low price,
and it became apparent that saddle parties, as well as hikers, would
take advantage of them. Consequently they have become known as High
Sierra Camps.

The camp beside the White Cascade at Glen Aulin was established in 1927
and has been very popular. In 1938, the Tenaya Lake Camp was moved to a
beautiful location in a grove of hemlocks on May Lake, just east of
Mount Hoffmann. New trails were built to make this spot more readily
accessible from the Snow Creek Trail and from Glen Aulin. The Boothe
Lake Camp, after a few years of operation, was abandoned in favor of a
new camp near the junction of the Vogelsang, Rafferty Creek, and Lyell
Fork trails. In 1940, this camp was rebuilt on the banks of Fletcher
Creek. The Tuolumne Meadows Lodge is now the only one of these camps
situated on a road. Each camp has a setting of a distinctive mountain
character on lake or stream. All the camps represent a joint effort on
the part of the National Park Service and the concessionaire to
encourage and assist travel beyond the roads, where the visitor may
appreciate the wild values of the park which he can hardly observe from
the highways.

The Ahwahnee Hotel, 1927 to Date

The Yosemite Park and Curry Company opened the Ahwahnee in 1927. Its
interior has received quite as much study as has its exterior
architectural values.

California Indian patterns have been used throughout the hotel in many
ways. In the lobby, six great figures, set in multiple borders, rendered
in mosaic, give color and interest to the floor. In the downstairs
corridor and the dining room, other borders and simpler Indian motifs
are rendered in acid-etched cement. Painted Indian ornaments play a
number of different roles in the building.

In the main lounge the great beams have been related to the contents of
the room with borders, spots, and panels of Indian motifs in the colors
that appear in the rugs and furniture coverings, while the entire mantel
end of the room serves as a bond between the ceiling and the floor with
a composite of Indian figures built into one great architectural
structure. At the top of each of the ten high windows is a panel of
stained glass, each one different, the series forming a rhythmical
frieze that bands the room. They are all composed of Indian patterns.

The arts of the whole world have been called together to give the
Ahwahnee character and color. There are Colonial furniture, pottery, and
textiles; furniture, cottons and linen, lights, and a clock from
England; cottons from Norway; and irons from Flanders; more iron and
furniture and fabrics from France; embroideries from Italy; rugs from
Spain; designs from Greece and designs from Turkey; rugs, jars, and
tiles, silks and cottons from Persia; more rugs from the Caucasus and
tent strips from Turkestan; porcelains and paintings from China; the
sturdy Temmoku ware from Japan; fabrics from Guatemala; terra cotta from
Mexico, and so back to California, whence comes the basic motif of the
whole, the Indian design.

On June 23, 1943, the Ahwahnee Hotel was taken over by the United States
Navy and operated as a hospital. It functioned as the Naval Special
Hospital until its formal decommissioning on December 15, 1945, and
6,752 patients were treated, the greatest number at one time being 853.
A large and varied naval staff was assigned to duty at the Ahwahnee,
including officers, nurses, Waves, and enlisted men. Representatives of
the American Red Cross, Veterans’ Administration, and the United States
Employment Service also participated in the hospital program. The
Ahwahnee as a hospital became an adequately equipped and functioning
rehabilitation center, capable of handling full programs of physical
training, occupational therapy, and educational work. The department of
occupational therapy, especially, was recognized as outstanding among
service hospitals. The program of rehabilitation extended to the
out-of-doors, both summer and winter.

[Illustration: Half Dome]

CHAPTER IX
_EAST-SIDE MINING EXCITEMENT_

Frequently each summer, those who climb to the Sierra crest within the
Yosemite National Park come upon the remains of little “cities” near the
mountaintops. Because the story of these deserted towns, now within the
boundaries of the park is so interwoven with the story of Mono mining
affairs in general, this chapter will of necessity take some account of
the events of the Mono Basin, immediately east of Yosemite.

The first white men to visit the Mono country were undoubtedly the
American trappers, followed shortly afterward by the explorers and
immigrants. The first records of mineral finds in this region, however,
are those that pertain to Lieutenant Tredwell Moore’s Indian-fighting
expedition to the Yosemite in June, 1852 (see p. 46), which crossed the
Sierra at the northern Mono Pass and brought back samples of gold ore.
The miners who soon followed and, with a few others, continued to work
in the Mono region, were apparently unthought-of by their former
associates west of the Sierra.

John B. Trask, in his report on mines and mining in California, made to
the legislature of California in 1855, says: “In my report of last year,
it was stated that the placer ranges were at that time known to extend
nearly to the summit ridge of the mountains; but this year it has been
ascertained that they pass beyond the ridge and are now found on the
eastern declivity, having nearly the same altitude as those occurring on
the opposite side. Within the past season, many of these deposits have
been examined, and thus far are found to be equally productive with
those of similar ranges to the west, and, with a favorable season
ensuing, they will be largely occupied.” It is probable that Trask’s
statements were based on reports of the work done by Lee Vining’s party.

At any rate, in 1857 it became known among the miners of the Mother Lode
that rich deposits had been found at “Dogtown” and Monoville, and a rush
from the Tuolumne mines resulted. The Mono Trail from Big Oak Flat,
through Tamarack Flat, Tenaya Lake, Tuolumne Meadows, and Bloody Canyon,
following in general an old Indian route, was blazed at this time and
came into great use. The Sonora Pass route was used also, and it was
over this trail that the discoverer of the famous Bodie district, later
to become the center of all Mono mining, made his way.

It is not my purpose, however, to write the history of Mono County, or
even to make this a lengthy story of Mono mining camps. Rather would I
present a concise account of the origin of the relics found by Sierra
enthusiasts, and, incidentally, tell something about the astonishing
town of Bodie.

The name Tioga and the beautiful region which its mention suggests are
now familiar to thousands who annually drive over the route that bisects
Yosemite National Park. The original location of the mineral deposit now
known as the Tioga Mine was made in 1860. Consequently, it is here that
our present chronicle of Yosemite summit events should begin. In 1874,
William Brusky, a prospector, came upon a prospect hole, shovel, pick,
and an obliterated notice at this place. The notice indicated that the
mine had been located as “The Sheepherder” in 1860. It was presumed by
Brusky that the original locators were returning to Mariposa or Tuolumne
from Mono Diggings, Bodie, or Aurora when they made the find. He
flattered the claim by supposing that “the original locators probably
perished, as it is not likely that they would abandon so promising a
claim”; he relocated it as the “Sheepherder.”

In 1878, E. B. Burdick, Samuel Baker, and W. J. Bevan organized the
Tioga District. Most of the mines were owned by men of Sonora, although
some Eastern capital was interested. The district extended from King’s
Ranch, at the foot of Bloody Canyon, over the summit of the Sierra and
down the Tuolumne River to Lembert’s Soda Springs. It was eight miles in
extent from north to south. At one time there were 350 locations in the
district. Bennetville (now called Tioga) was headquarters for the Great
Sierra Mining Company offices, which concern was operating the old
Sheepherder as the “Tioga Mine.”

The company apparently suffered from no lack of funds, and operations
were launched on a grand scale. Great quantities of supplies and
equipment were packed into the camp at enormous expenditure of labor and
money. At first the place was accessible only via the Bloody Canyon
trail, and Mexican packers contracted to keep their pack animals active
on this spectacular mountain highway. A trail was then built from the
busy camp of Lundy, and that new route to Tioga proved most valuable.
The _Homer Mining Index_ of March 4, 1882, describes the packing of
heavy machinery up 4,000 feet of mountainside to Tioga in winter:

The transportation of 16,000 pounds of machinery across one of the
highest and most rugged branches of the Sierra Nevada mountains in
mid-winter, where no roads exist, over vast fields and huge
embankments of yielding snow and in the face of furious wind-storms
laden with drifting snow, and the mercury dancing attendance on zero,
is a task calculated to appall the sturdiest mountaineer; and yet J.
C. Kemp, manager of the Great Sierra Consolidated Silver Company of
Tioga, is now engaged in such an undertaking, and with every prospect
of perfect success at an early day—so complete has been the
arrangement of details and so intelligently directed is every
movement. The first ascent, from Mill Creek to the mouth of Lake
Canyon, is 990 feet, almost perpendicular. From that point to the
south end of Lake Oneida, a distance of about two miles, is a rise of
845 feet, most of it in two hills aggregating half a mile in distance.
The machinery will probably be hoisted straight up to the summit of
Mount Warren ridge from the southwest shore of Lake Oneida, an almost
vertical rise of 2,160 feet. From the summit the descent will be made
to Saddlebags Lake, thence down to and along Lee Vining Creek to the
gap or pass in the dividing ridge between Lee Vining and Slate creeks,
and from that point to Tunnel, a distance of about one mile, is a rise
of about 800 feet—most of it in the first quarter of a mile. The
machinery consists of an engine, boiler, air-compressor, Ingersoll
drills, iron pipe, etc., for use in driving the Great Sierra tunnel.
It is being transported on six heavy sleds admirably constructed of
hardwood. Another, or rather, a pair of bobsleds, accompanies the
expedition, the latter being laden with bedding, provisions, cooking
utensils, etc. The heaviest load is 4,200 pounds. Ten or twelve men,
two mules, 4,500 feet of one-inch Manila rope, heavy double block and
tackle, and all the available trees along the route are employed in
“snaking” the machinery up the mountain—the whole being under the
immediate supervision of Mr. Kemp, who remains at the front and
personally directs every movement. It is expected that all the sleds
will be got up into Lake Canyon today, and then the work will be
pushed day and night, with two shifts of men. Meantime, the tunnel is
being driven day and night, with three shifts of men under Jeff
McClelland.

Such difficulties prompted the Great Sierra Mining Company to construct
the Tioga Road, that they might bring their machinery in from the west
side of the Sierra. The road was completed in 1883 at a cost of $64,000.

In 1884, one of those “financial disasters” which always seem to play a
part in mining-camp history overtook the Great Sierra Mining Company,
and all work was dropped. Records show that $300,000 was expended at
Tioga, and there is no evidence that their ore was ever milled.

Persons who have climbed into that interesting summit region above
Gaylor Lakes have no doubt pondered over the origin of the picturesque
village of long-deserted rock cabins clustered about a deep mine shaft.
This is the Mount Dana Summit Mine, one of the important locations of
the Tioga District. Its owners were determined to operate in winter, as
well as in summer. In the _Homer Mining Index_, Lundy, of October 30,
1880, we are told that the superintendent of this mine visited Lundy and
employed skilled miners to spend the winter there. In December of the
same year one of them descended to Bodie to obtain money with which to
pay those miners. “He got tripped up on Bodie whisky and was drunk for
weeks. Some of the miners returned to Lundy from the Summit Mine. The
distance is but seven miles, but they were two days making the trip and
suffered many hardships.” Later F. W. Pike took charge of the Summit
Mine, but no record appears to have been handed down of the final demise
of the camp.

Another camp of the main range of the Sierra that received much notice
and actually produced great wealth was Lundy, situated but a few miles
north of Tioga. Prior to 1879, W. J. Lundy was operating a sawmill at
the head of Lundy Lake. His product helped to supply Bodie’s enormous
demand for timber. In the spring of 1879, William D. Wasson took his
family to Mill Canyon, near Lundy Lake, and engaged in prospecting. He
was followed by C. H. Nye and L. L. Homer, who located rich veins of
ore. J. G. McClinton, of Bodie, investigated and was persuaded by what
he found to bring capital to the new camp at once. Homer District was
organized at Wasson’s residence at Emigrant Flat, in Mill Creek Canyon,
September 15, 1879. Prior to this time the region was included in the
Tioga District, but because the books of the Tioga recorder were kept at
an inconvenient point, a new district was formed. L. L. Homer, for whom
the district was named, bowed down by “financial troubles,” committed
suicide in San Francisco a few months later.

It is worthy of mention that in 1881 the Sierra Telegraph Company
extended its line from Lundy to Yosemite Valley, where it made
connection with Street’s line to Sonora.

A trail was built from Tioga over the divide from Leevining Canyon into
Lake Canyon, thence down Mill Creek Canyon to Lundy. In 1881 Archie
Leonard, renowned as a Yosemite guide and ranger, put on a ten-horse
saddle train between Lundy and Yosemite. The trip was made in a day and
a half, and the fare was $8.00 one way.

Reports of the State Mining Bureau indicate that something like
$3,000,000 was taken from the May Lundy Mine. The town of Lundy proved
to be substantial for many years, and the _Homer Mining Index_, printed
there, is the best of all the newspapers that were produced in the
ephemeral camps of Mono. Something of the spirit of mining-camp
journalism may be gathered from the following note taken from a
December, 1850, number of the _Index_:

The _Index_ wears a cadaverous aspect this week. It is the unavoidable
result of a concatenation of congruous circumstances. The boss has
gone to Bodie on special business. The devil has been taking medicine,
so that his work at the case has been spasmodic and jerky. The
printing office is open on all sides, and the snow flies in wherever
it pleases. In the morning everything is frozen solid. Then we thaw
things out, and the whole concern is deluged with drippings. It is
hard to set type under such conditions. When the office is dry, it is
too cold to work. When it is warm, the printer needs gum boots and
oilskins. In fact, it has been a hell of a job to get this paper out.

Like the other camps, Lundy is now defunct. The May Lundy Mine has not
operated for some years, and the building of a dam has raised Lundy Lake
so that a part of the townsite is submerged.

Another old camp that many Yosemite fishermen and hikers come upon is
the aggregation of dwellings about the “Golden Crown.” At the very head
of Bloody Canyon, within Mono Pass, are to be found sturdily built log
cabins in various stages of decay. From the _Homer Mining Index_ it has
been possible to glean occasional bits of information regarding this old
camp. It is stated in an 1880 number of the _Index_ that Fuller and Hayt
(or Hoyt) discovered large ledges of antimonial silver there in 1879.
The _Mammoth City Herald_ of September 3, 1879, contains a glowing
account of the wealth to be obtained from the “Golden Crown,” as the
mine was christened, and predicts that thousands of men will be working
at the head of Bloody Canyon within one year. The _Mammoth City Herald_
of August 27, 1879, under the heading, “Something Besides Pleasure in
Store for Yosemite Tourists,” contains an enthusiastic letter regarding
these prospects.

When one observes the great number of mining claims staked out
throughout the summit region about White Mountain, Mount Dana, Mount
Gibbs, and Kuna Peak, it is not surprising to learn that some Yosemite
Valley businessmen ventured to engage in the gamble. Albert Snow,
proprietor of the famous La Casa Nevada between Vernal and Nevada falls,
owned a mine in Parker Canyon; and A. G. Black, of Black’s Hotel, owned
the Mary Bee Mine on Mount Dana.

Some twenty miles south of the Tioga District, in a high situation quite
as spectacular in scenic grandeur as any of the camps of the main range
of the Sierra, was Lake District, in which Mammoth and Pine City
flourished for a time—a very brief time.

In June of 1877, J. A. Parker, B. N. Lowe, B. S. Martin, and N. D. Smith
located mineral deposits on Mineral Hill at an altitude of 11,000 feet.
Lake District was organized here that same summer. Activity was not
great until 1879, when great riches seemed inevitable, and a rush of
miners swelled the population of Mammoth and Pine City. A mill was built
for the reduction of ores that were not in sight, and two printing
establishments cut each other’s throats, the _Mammoth City Herald_,
first on the ground, and the _Mammoth City Times_.

For a time hope was high. J. S. French built a toll trail from Fresno to
Mammoth City. French’s saddle trains met the Yosemite stages at Fresno
Flats, and traveled to Basaw (or Beasore) Meadows, Little Jackass
Meadows, Sheep Crossing, Cargyle Meadow, Reds Meadow, through Mammoth
Pass, and then to Mammoth City, a distance of fifty-four miles.
Livestock to supply the Mammoth markets was driven from Fresno Flats
over this trail, also.

The first winter after propaganda had inveigled capital to take a chance
on Mammoth, all activities persisted through the winter. Like those
hardy men who suffered the hardships of winter on Mount Dana, the
inhabitants of Mammoth contended with great difficulties.

After the winter of 1879-80, it became apparent that the Mammoth
enterprise was unwarranted. The mill, constructed with such optimism,
was poorly built. Had it been mechanically perfect, the fate of the camp
would have been no better, for the expected ore was not forthcoming.
Mammoth was another of those camps which engulfed capital and produced
little or nothing. In the winter of 1880-81 the place closed.

Benton, Bodie, and Aurora are quite removed from the area likely to be
reached by Sierra travelers, yet to close this account without some
mention of their birth, growth, and death would be to omit some of the
most important affairs of Mono mining. The first settlement in the
region immediately south of Mono was made by George W. Parker, who
located the Adobe Meadows in 1860. In 1861 E. C. Kelty sent “Black”
Taylor, a partner of the discoverer of Bodie District, to winter some
cattle in Hot Springs Valley, where he was killed by Indians. William
McBride entered the region in 1853 and engaged in ranching. Float rock
was found in October, 1863, by Robinson and Stuart in the foothills of
the White Mountains, east of Benton. In February, 1864, these men
organized the Montgomery District and succeeded in attracting some
attention to their find. The region flourished for a season, but soon
declined and became deserted. A few very rich deposits existed, but
there seem to have been no continuous veins.

[Illustration: SKETCH MAP OF YOSEMITE REGION
SHOWING EARLY ROUTES & CENTERS, & WITH PRESENT-DAY PLACE NAMES
INCLUDED FOR REFERENCE.]

EXPLANATION OF SKETCH MAP OF YOSEMITE REGION

DISCOVERY

In 1833 the Joseph Walker party crossed the Sierra, entering the
Yosemite National Park region from the northeast and approximately
following the route shown (Green Creek-Glen Aulin-present Tioga
Road route). Several members looked into Yosemite Valley on a
scouting trip from a camp along the Merced-Tuolumne divide. The
party discovered the Big Trees (Tuolumne or Merced groves).

FIRST ENTRY

In 1849-50 J. D. Savage maintained a trading post and mining camp below
Yosemite Valley at the confluence of the Merced and its South
Fork. In the spring of 1850 this station was attacked by Indians.

Savage then removed his post to a safer location on Mariposa Creek. In
December, 1850, Indians destroyed this post and murdered those in
charge. Savage had established a branch store on the Fresno River,
and this station was also burned in December, 1850.

As a result the white settlers organized a volunteer company to punish
the Indians. A camp of 500 Indians was found on a tributary of the
San Joaquin River. The savages were routed.

Governor McDougal then authorized organization of the Mariposa
Battalion. On March 19, 1851, they set out for Yosemite
(Mariposa-Wawona-Old Inspiration Point). The Battalion’s first
Yosemite Valley camp was near Bridalveil Creek. Their second was
at Indian Canyon. They explored the valley to the vicinity of Snow
Creek Falls and the foot of Nevada Fall.

Later in 1851 Captain Boling and party returned to Yosemite to make
final disposition of the Indians (Fort Miller-Mariposa-Wawona).
After two weeks of scouting they located the Indians at Tenaya
Lake (via Indian Canyon). The entire tribe was captured and
brought to the reservation on the Fresno River. Old Chief Tenaya
was later permitted to take his family back to Yosemite. Other
members of his tribe soon ran away to join him.

In 1852, eight prospectors entered the valley and two of them were
killed by the Yosemites. As a result regular soldiers from Fort
Miller, under Lt. Moore, made a third expedition to Yosemite. They
followed the fleeing Indians to Mono Lake (Tenaya Lake-Soda
Springs-Mono Pass) but captured none of them. On Moore’s return
(Soda Springs-Little Yosemite-Glacier Point vicinity-Wawona) to
Mariposa he exhibited mineral specimens found in the summit region
and Lee Vining was induced to go to the region to prospect. In
1853, according to Bunnell, wrathy Mono Indians, trailing stolen
horses, came over the mountains and ended all Yosemite Indian
troubles by virtually exterminating Tenaya’s band. But Maria
Lebrado, a survivor, denied this (see p. 47).

EAST-SIDE MINING EXCITEMENT

In 1857, five years after Lt. Moore’s findings, word reached miners west
of the range that rich placers had been found at Mono Diggings
(Monoville). A rush from the Tuolumne Region followed. This
excitement lasted but a few years.

In 1860 the Sheepherder Mine was located at Tioga. A prospect hole,
shovel, pick, and obliterated notice were found in 1874 by William
Breuschi, who relocated the lode. The Tioga District was organized
October 18, 1878.

In 1859, Brodigan, Doyle, Garraty, and W. S. Body had located rich
ground at Bodie. By 1879 there were 8,000 people in Bodie. More
than $24,000,000 has been produced here.

In 1879 the Homer District was organized at Lundy, on ground discovered
by C. H. Nye.

In 1882-83 a wagon road, following the old alignment of the present
Tioga Road, was built from Crockers to Bennetville (Tioga) in
order that machinery might be brought up the west slope. Road
construction cost $64,000, and approximately another $300,000 was
spent on development at Tioga. The mine never produced.

PRESENT-DAY CULTURE

The sketch map also shows the Yosemite National Park Boundary as of
1946. The boundaries at one time included Mount Ritter and the
present Devils Postpile National Monument.

“Cherokee Joe” found lead ore in a long, low granite hill, which rises
abruptly out of the valley west of the White Range, and it was here that
Benton started in 1865. James Larne built the first house, and soon the
camp became quite populous. Like the others, it attracted a printer, and
for a time the _Mono Weekly Messenger_ flaunted taunts at neighboring
camps and exploited the virtues and possibilities of Benton. Like the
others, too, the camp failed, and the printer moved, this time to
Mammoth, where he founded the short-lived _Mammoth City Herald_.

When, in the late ’seventies, the turbulent town of Bodie was attaining
its reputation as a tough place, a newspaper of Truckee, California,
quoted the small daughter in a Bodie-bound family as having offered the
following prayer: “Good-by, God! I’m going to Bodie.” An editor of one
of the several Bodie papers rejoined that the little girl had been
misquoted. What she really said was, “Good, by God! I’m going to Bodie.”

According to accounts printed when excitement at Bodie was high, the
discoverer of the Bodie wealth, W. S. Body, came to California on the
sloop _Matthew Vassar_ in 1848. He had lived in Poughkeepsie, New York,
and there left a wife and six children. In November, 1859, Body,
Garraty, Doyle, Taylor, and Brodigan crossed Sonora Pass to test the
Mono possibilities. On their way back to the west side of the mountains,
they dug into placer ground in a gulch on the east side of Silver Hill,
one of those now pock-marked hills just above Bodie.

The partners apparently remained on the ground and equipped themselves
to work their claims. In March, 1860, Body and “Black” Taylor went to
Monoville for supplies, and en route were overtaken by a severe
snow-storm. Body became exhausted, and Taylor attempted to carry him but
was forced to wrap a blanket around him and leave him. Taylor returned
to their cabin, obtained food, and then wandered about all night in a
vain search for his companion. It was not until May that Body’s body was
found, when it was buried on the west side of the black ridge southwest
of the present town. Taylor’s fate has already been mentioned.

Other miners came into the vicinity, and at a meeting, with E. Green
presiding, “Body Mining District” was organized. Subsequent usage
changed “Body” to “Bodie.” In the summer of 1860, prospectors located
lodes a few miles north of Bodie that were destined to put the Bodie
find “in the shade” for some years to come. This was the Aurora
discovery, upon which the Esmeralda District, organized in 1860,
centered. Aurora forged ahead and became a wildly excited camp, but its
bloody career was little more than a drunken orgy. The rich ores which
had induced extravagance and wild speculation disappeared when shafts
had been sunk about one hundred feet, and the “excitement” came to a
sudden end.

It is worthy of note that the first board of county supervisors of the
county of Mono met in Aurora, June 13, 1861. By 1864 it was discovered
that the camp was some miles within the state of Nevada; so Bridgeport
was named the county seat. Just before the move was made, a substantial
courthouse had been built in Aurora, and the old building still stands.
E. A. Sherman, first editor of the _Esmeralda Star_ of Aurora, journeyed
to the Eastern States prior to 1863-64, and took with him a fifty-pound
specimen of rich Aurora ore. This chunk of rock had been sold and resold
at mining-camp auctions to swell the Sanitary Fund, the Civil War “Red
Cross.” Thousands of dollars were added to the fund by this one
specimen, just as had been done through repeated sale of the celebrated
Austin (Nevada) sack of flour.

Mr. Sherman met Mr. Davis of the Pilgrim Society in Plymouth,
Massachusetts, and exchanged the Aurora ore for a piece of Plymouth
Rock. This fragment of Plymouth Rock was brought back to Aurora, and
when the Mono County courthouse was built there, the Plymouth Rock
fragment was placed in the cornerstone. The fifty-pound chunk of Aurora
ore still may be seen in the Plymouth Society’s venerable museum.

Mark Twain at one time resided in Aurora and engaged in his humorous
exaggerations. His cabin there, which even in 1878, when Wasson wrote
his _Bodie and Esmeralda_, had become somewhat mythical, was recently
located and moved to Reno, Nevada, where it is now exhibited. At any
rate, an Aurora cabin was found which might have been occupied by Mark
Twain. One part of the original Mark Twain cabin certainly did not reach
Reno, according to the _Mammoth Times_ of December 6, 1879. Bob Howland,
who had lived with Mark Twain in Aurora, returned to their old domicile
in 1879 and took down the flagpole. He had it made into canes, which he
distributed among his friends.

The truly important activity in the Esmeralda region prompted the
building of the Sonora Pass wagon road. The Mono County supervisors
ordered that road bonds on the “Sonora and Mono road” be issued on
November 5, 1863. The road was projected in 1864 and opened to travel in
1868.[11]

Bodie, in the meantime, had not given up the ghost, although only a
comparatively few miners occupied the camp. From its discovery until
1877 an average of twenty votes were polled each year. In 1878, however,
the Bodie Mining Company made a phenomenally rich strike of gold and
silver ore, and the entire mining world was startled. Stock jumped from
fifty cents to fifty-four dollars a share. The news swept all Western
camps like wildfire, and by 1879 Bodie’s crowd and reputation were such
that the little girl’s prayer of “Good-by, God! I’m going to Bodie” was
representative of the opinion held by contemporaries.

Even W. S. Body, whose body had moldered in a rocky grave for nearly
twenty years, was not undisturbed by the activity. In 1871 J. G.
McClinton had discovered the forgotten Body grave while searching for a
horse. He made no move to change the burial site, however, until some
one of Bodie’s several newspapers launched erroneous reports of the
whereabouts of Body’s remains. In the fall of 1879 McClinton and Joseph
Wasson exhumed the skeleton, exhibited it to Bodie’s motley populace,
and then gave it an elaborate burial, not excluding an eloquent address
by Hon. R. D. Ferguson. Now these honored bones occupy a grave that is
quite as neglected as the sage-grown niche in which they originally
rested, but at least they share a place with the other several hundred
dead disposed of in Bodie’s forgotten cemetery.

To make Bodie’s story short, let it suffice to say that for four years
the camp maintained the same high-pressure activity. Men mined, milled,
played, fought, and hundreds died. Some fifty companies tunneled into
Bodie Bluff and all but turned it inside out. Probably twenty-five
millions in bullion were conveyed in Bodie stage coaches to the railroad
at Carson City, Nevada. Perhaps an amount almost as great was sunk into
the hills by the numerous companies that carried on frenzied activity
but produced no wealth. Only the Standard and the Bodie had proved to be
immensely profitable, and in 1881 the stock market went to pieces.
Bodie’s mines, one after another, closed down. In 1887 the Standard and
the Bodie consolidated and operated sanely and profitably for some
twenty years longer. But the camp’s mad days of wild speculation and
excessive living were done. Gradually activities ceased, and a few years
ago the picturesque blocks of frame buildings were consumed by flames.
To meet the opportunities of 1941 some several hundred people occupied
Bodie to salvage minerals from her old mine dumps. But there was little
progress in rebuilding the town. It is interesting to note, however,
that the Bodie Miners’ Union Hall of the ’seventies still stands. Within
it Mr. and Mrs. D. V. Cain have exhibited the relics of Bodie’s boom
days.

CHAPTER X
_THE INTERPRETERS_

The superlative qualities of the scenic features and such outstanding
biological characteristics as the forests of the Yosemite region
compelled the interest of scientists as soon as the area received wide
mention in the press. The miners’ concern with mineral values directed
the attention of mining engineers upon the sections both east and west
of Yosemite Valley. As early as 1853 Professor John B. Trask attempted
to explain the geology of the Tuolumne-Merced watersheds.

The California State Geological Survey was established in 1860. Josiah
Dwight Whitney, of Harvard University, was made State Geologist. He
enlisted the services of several young men who were destined to become
leaders in American geological and topographical work. William H.
Brewer, William Ashburner, Chester Averill, Charles F. Hoffmann, William
M. Gabb, James T. Gardiner, and Clarence King were among the members of
the Whitney Survey. Over a period of ten years they penetrated the
remote and unknown canyons and climbed the peaks of the Sierra Nevada,
recording their findings and mapping the wild terrain. They made the
first contribution to accurate and detailed knowledge of the region
embraced in the present Yosemite National Park.

In 1863, Whitney himself began studies in the Yosemite region.[12] He
concluded that the Yosemite Valley resulted from a sinking of a local
block of the earth’s crust. His assistant, King, recognized evidences of
a glacier’s having passed through the valley, but Whitney, although he
published this fact in his official report, later stoutly denied it.
Whitney at first believed the domes to have risen up as great bubbles of
fluid granite.

Galen Clark, while not a trained geologist, was a careful observer and
commanded considerable respect from the public. He believed that
Yosemite Valley originated through the explosion of close-set domes of
molten rock and that water action then cleared the gorge of debris and
left it in its present form.

King, although he was the first to observe glacier polish and moraines
in the Yosemite Valley, did not attribute any great part of the
excavation of the valley to the glacier. He regarded the Yosemite as a
simple crack or rent in the crust of the earth.

John Muir, who followed these early students, maintained that ice had
accomplished nearly all the Yosemite sculpturing.

H. W. Turner, on the other hand, found no reason to believe that
anything other than stream action, influenced by the peculiar rock
structure, had had an important role in the origin of the valley,
although he recognized that it had been the pathway of a glacier.

Joseph LeConte,[13] W. H. Brewer, M. G. Macomb,[14] George Davidson,[15]
I. C. Russell,[16] George F. Becker, Willard D. Johnson, E. C. Andrews,
Douglas W. Johnson, F. L. Ransome, J. N. LeConte, A. C. Lawson, Eliot
Blackwelder, Ernst Cloos, John P. Buwalda, M. E. Beatty, and George D.
Louderback have all studied the geology of the Yosemite Valley or the
Yosemite region and have published the results of their work. The
influences of the topography of the Sierra Nevada upon meteorological
conditions were studied and reported upon by W. A. Glassford in the
early ’nineties.

Prior to 1913, however, no one had made a comprehensive study of the
geology of the entire Yosemite region. Ideas regarding the origin of the
valley and related features were still hazy. In 1913, at the instance of
the Sierra Club, the U. S. Geological Survey sent out a party of
scientists to begin a systematic and detailed investigation. These men
were François E. Matthes and Frank C. Calkins. The former was to study
especially the history of the development of the Yosemite Valley; the
latter to study the different types of rock. In the years that have
elapsed, Matthes has carried his investigations over the entire Yosemite
region and into the areas to north and south. Thus he has worked out
quite definitely, back to its beginning, the story of the origin of the
Yosemite and of the other valleys of the same type in the Sierra Nevada.
His conclusions, published by the government, have stood the test of
criticism by other members of his profession.

An extensive bibliography of the geology of Yosemite appears in _A
Bibliography of National Parks and Monuments West of the Mississippi
River_, Vol. I, 1941, pp. 95-106. The list of Matthes’ contributions to
Yosemite literature is long. Probably the most significant and generally
useful item is _Geologic History of the Yosemite Valley_. This is a
thorough report on the author’s study and also contains a paper by Frank
C. Calkins on the granitic rocks of the Yosemite region.

Indians provided the motive for the first penetration of the whites into
Yosemite Valley, but the ethnology of the region received scant
attention during the first years of contacts with the aborigines.
Lafayette H. Bunnell, a member of the “discovery” party of 1851, has
provided satisfying accounts of the primitive Ah-wah-nee-chees in the
valley, and Galen Clark, who was intimately acquainted with members of
the original band, recorded their history, customs, and traditions many
years after his early contacts with them. In the early ’seventies,
Stephen Powers gave to them the attention of a professional ethnologist,
and Constance F. Gordon-Cumming studied them in the ’eighties.

In 1898, the Bureau of American Ethnology investigated the Indians of
the Tuolumne country, and William H. Holmes published the findings.
Samuel A. Barrett first published on the geography and dialects of the
Miwok (of which the Yosemite Indians were a part) in 1908. Barrett’s
work with the Miwok continued for many years, and he is credited with
several important papers. Alfred L. Kroeber, a leading authority on
California Indians, first published on the Miwok in 1907 and since has
published extensively on the Ah-wah-nee-chees and all their neighbors.
E. W. Gifford, who has been associated with both Barrett and Kroeber in
the ethnological work of the University of California, has made
important contributions to the published history and culture of the
Miwok. His first paper on his work in the Yosemite region appeared in
1916. C. Hart Merriam devoted careful study to the myths, folk tales,
and village sites of the Yosemite Indians early in the 1900’s, and his
published accounts appeared in 1910 and 1917. Mrs. H. J. Taylor, working
in Yosemite Valley, obtained much important data from one of the last
members of the Yosemite band, Maria Lebrado, and since 1932 has
published several significant items. In 1941, Elizabeth H. Godfrey, of
the Yosemite Museum staff, compiled a popular summary of the work done
on the Yosemites entitled, “Yosemite Indians Yesterday and Today,”
_Yosemite Nature Notes_, 1941. The Yosemite Museum collections of
objects and documents include valuable local Indian materials, which
provide a most interesting and convincing story of the Ah-wah-nee-chees.

In the field of biology, the Yosemite forests attracted the first
attention of scientists. Botanists generally agree that in the Big Tree,
the sugar pine, the yellow pine (ponderosa and Jeffrey), the red and
white firs, and the incense cedar of the Sierra is the finest and most
remarkable group of conifers in the world. The Big Tree (_Sequoia
gigantea_), of course, is the most phenomenal and claims first place,
chronologically, in the scientific literature. In the number of workers
concerned with it and in the quantity of their writings, the Big Tree
also holds a respected place.

Among the early writers who dealt with the Big Tree groves of the
present Yosemite National Park were Hutchings, Whitney, Asa Gray, Isaac
N. Bromley, J. Otis Williams, Muir, Bunnell, and Clark. The latter was
among the first to study the Sequoia groves of the Yosemite but he did
not publish for nearly half a century after he made his first
observations. Following the early announcements of the existence of the
Tuolumne, Merced, and Mariposa groves, another group of botanists and
semiprofessional workers concentrated upon the study of the Big Tree.
Walter G. Marshall, Charles Palache, Paul Shoup, Julius Starke, George
Dollar, and W. R. Dudley made their contributions at this time, and Muir
redoubled his initial efforts. After the turn of the century, botanists
and foresters in numbers concentrated upon the Big Tree. Their
publications are too numerous to list, but special mention must be made
of the work of Willis L. Jepson, George B. Sudworth, Ellsworth
Huntington, James C. Shirley, L. F. Cook, and the continued inspired
writing of Muir. The sequoia, oldest living thing, is now and always
will be a fascinating subject for scientific and philosophical study.
Until a thorough investigation of the ecology of a grove of giant
sequoias has been made and its result published, there remains a
practical need for research in this realm.

Botanical studies other than investigations of the Big Tree were limited
in the pioneer days to the work of John Muir. In the early 1900’s,
Harvey M. and Carlotta C. Hall did important work in the present
national park, and their published Works continue to be dependable
guides for present-day botanists. Enid Michael, long a resident in
Yosemite Valley, was untiring in her field studies, and her many
published articles about the flora of the park are of importance to all
investigators. Carl W. Sharsmith has studied intensively in the high
mountain “gardens” of the park. Mary C. Tresidder published a very
useful guide to the trees of the park in 1932. Emil F. Ernst has studied
the forests and forest enemies in the park for many years. Willis L.
Jepson’s work constitutes a substantial basis for all botanical studies
in Yosemite as it is for other parts of the State, and the
investigations of LeRoy Abrams, 1911, have been important to subsequent
workers. The studies of George M. Wright, during his residence in the
park in the 1920’s, resulted in significant papers on life zones in
Yosemite and were the groundwork for the later important studies by him
and his associates in founding and conducting broad biological surveys
in the entire national park system—an undertaking briefly described
later in this chapter.

The Yosemite fauna elicited no particular attention from pioneers other
than James Capen Adams, who in 1854 captured grizzly bears for exhibit
purposes, and John Muir, who applied himself to certain bird and mammal
studies quite as enthusiastically as he did to botany and geology. In
the opening years of the twentieth century, a few bird students, among
them W. Otto Emerson, W. K. Fisher, Virginia Garland, C. A. Keeler, M.
S. Ray, and O. Widman, published on their observations in the present
park, but not until Joseph Grinnell initiated his publication program in
1911 did Yosemite zoölogy find reasonable representation in scientific
journals. Grinnell and his staff from the Museum of Vertebrate Zoölogy
of the University of California began formal field work in Yosemite in
the fall of 1914 and continued through 1920 in making a complete survey
of the vertebrate natural history of the region. Grinnell, Tracy I.
Storer, Walter P. Taylor, Joseph Dixon, Charles L. Camp, Gordon F.
Ferris, Charles D. Holliger, and Donald D. McLean participated in the
work. The results of this survey, Grinnell and Storer’s _Animal Life in
the Yosemite_, published by the University of California Press in 1924,
constitutes an exhaustive and most useful reference on the subject.
David Starr Jordan considered it the best original work on life
histories published in the West. This study, like the geological work by
Matthes, was endorsed and facilitated by the Sierra Club.

After the Museum of Vertebrate Zoölogy paved the way, wildlife studies
in the park increased, and Yosemite found better representation in the
biological literature. Most of the workers who had participated in
Grinnell’s survey published extensively. Others who made notable
contributions are Charles W. and Enid Michael, Barton W. Evermann, A. B.
Howell, Vernon Bailey, J. M. Miller, John A. Comstock, E. O. Essig, and
Edwin C. Van Dyke.

After 1920, when the National Park Service instituted a park-naturalist
program in Yosemite, the regular and seasonal employees of the
Naturalist Department made many contributions to the scientific
knowledge of the park. Among the permanent park naturalists who
conducted biological investigations are Ansel F. Hall, Carl P. Russell,
George M. Wright, C. A. Harwell, C. C. Presnall, A. E. Borell, M. E.
Beatty, James Cole, C. Frank Brockman, M. V. Walker, Harry Parker, and
Russell Grater. D. D. McLean, who participated in the Grinnell Survey,
also made further contributions as a regular employee of the Naturalist
Department. Dr. H. C. Bryant, first as a seasonal employee and later as
a regular member of the Director’s staff, published extensively on his
studies in the park and was influential in starting many other workers
on investigations of biological nature.

One important development in biological research in Yosemite had an
influence on the wildlife program of the entire National Park Service.
George M. Wright, ranger and Assistant Park Naturalist, during the late
1920’s sensed the dangers of the uncoördinated wildlife policy of the
National Park Service and determined that there should be better
administrative understanding of the normal biotic complex of Yosemite
and all other national parks. In 1929, Wright was placed on a field
status in order that he might organize a central unit of wildlife
investigators to survey the wildlife problems of the National Park
Service and recommend a broad Service-wide policy of wildlife
management. Joseph S. Dixon and Ben W. Thompson were employed by Wright
to assist him in this undertaking. Their work during the next several
years was conducted from headquarters in Berkeley, California, and from
Washington, D. C. It demonstrated that a Wildlife Division was an
important administrative adjunct in the Director’s organization. In
1936, Wright lost his life while in the course of his significant work.
Such progress had been made in establishing policy and procedure that
the program persisted. It holds a strategic place in the regular
administrative set-up of the Director’s office and reaches all field
areas with its guidance.

The bibliography of scientific work done in Yosemite National Park since
World War I is too extensive to be included here. A goodly part of it is
contained in _A Bibliography of National Parks and Monuments West of the
Mississippi River_. References to research projects published since the
appearance of that bibliography appear in the publications of the
Yosemite Natural History Association, particularly the monthly journal,
_Yosemite Nature Notes_. Especially significant items dealing with
wildlife policy and trends in park management are included in the
references appended to the present volume. In brief, it may be said that
the wildlife problems of Yosemite National Park are now fairly well
defined and that administrative and technical practices are so aligned
as to assure preservation of the faunal and floral characteristics of
the reservation within the concept of “public enjoyment and use” of
today and tomorrow. As Director of the National Park Service, Newton B.
Drury has said, “It is national park policy to display wildlife in a
natural manner. The normal habits of animals are interfered with as
little as possible, and artificial management is refrained from except
for protective purposes and then only as a last resort. The pauperizing
or domestication of the native animals is avoided, as is also the
herding or feeding of these animals to provide ‘shows.’ Under this
policy the park is a wildlife refuge but it is neither a circus or a
zoo.”

The wildlife of Yosemite, like its forests and wildflower displays, its
renowned cliffs and waterfalls, its glacial pavements, its meadows and
valleys, and its spectacular mountaintops, has enthralled its lay
visitors quite as it has galvanized the scientist and technician. When
Stephen T. Mather assumed the directorship of the national parks in
1916, he determined at the outset to provide park visitors with the
information on the natural and historic features which they wanted.
Educational endeavors were made a part of his projected program even
before a staff had been organized. Surveys of outdoor educational
methods and nature teaching as practiced in several European countries
had been made in 1915 by C. M. Goethe, and his reports of the success of
this work had inspired a few Americans to establish similar educational
work in the United States. The California Fish and Game Commission in
1918 sent its educational director, Dr. Harold C. Bryant, into the
Sierra to reach vacationists with the message of the conservationist.
Yosemite National Park and the playground areas about Lake Tahoe
witnessed the introduction of “nature guiding” several years prior to
the inclusion of the work in the broad field program of the National
Park Service.

In 1920, Mr. Mather and some of his friends joined in supporting this
nature teaching in Yosemite, and Dr. Bryant and Dr. Loye Holmes Miller
were employed to lay the foundation of what has continued to be an
important part of the program of the Branch of Natural History.

A personal letter from Dr. Miller, University of California, Los
Angeles, provides a firsthand account of his pioneering in interpretive
work in Yosemite:

I think John Muir was the first Yosemite guide (see _A Son of the
Wilderness_, by L. M. Wolfe). We smaller folk could only strive to
emulate. My first experience in the valley involved a six-week period
during the summer of 1917 under private auspices. Professor M. L.
Maclellan (geology) and I (biology) held a summer school for public
school teachers who were largely from Long Beach, California. The work
consisted of lectures and field trips about the valley floor and the
trails to the rim and to Merced Lake.

During the summer of 1919 I was doing similar work at Tahoe when Mr.
Stephen T. Mather came through on a flying trip. He asked me to confer
with him on the subject of Nature Guide work in Yosemite and urged me
to come at once to the valley and begin the work there. It was late in
the season and I had spent most of my free time for the year.
Furthermore, it seemed to me that there should be some preparation
made for the work, including a measure of publicity in the park
guidebooks. I therefore urged Mr. Mather to wait until 1920 for the
inauguration of an official Nature Guide service. He agreed and we
parted with a definite plan for 1920.

In the meantime Mr. C. M. Goethe of Sacramento had become interested
in the movement and had engaged Dr. H. C. Bryant in a tour of certain
summer camps. I also urged the appointment of Dr. Bryant for the
Yosemite work in 1920. My University schedule was such that Dr. Bryant
was able to report earlier than I. He therefore gave the first
official work in the valley. We coöperated in it after my arrival. I
knew that I could not devote many summers to the service because of
other duties as an officer of the University. Furthermore, it seemed
to me that Dr. Bryant was just the man to carry on to a larger field
of development. I therefore urged repeatedly that he make a full-time
activity of the movement. This end was ultimately realized. Bryant
made all the official reports of our work (with my endorsement). Those
reports are in the files of the Superintendent’s office in the park.

During the month of January, 1921, Dr. Bryant and I gave our services
to the cause in an extended lecture tour through the eastern and
middle western states. This effort was underwritten personally by Mr.
Mather. The purpose and theme in this series was to publicize and
stimulate interest in the natural history values of the park and the
appreciation of nature through an increased knowledge and
understanding.

I returned to Yosemite in the summer of 1921—again in coöperation with
Dr. Bryant. The movement seemed to be well on its feet so I withdrew
at the end of that summer. We were appointed as temporary rangers with
duties informally defined. Each morning a field trip was conducted by
one or the other of us alternately, the alternate holding office hours
for questions by visitors. (Questions averaged 45 to the hour). In the
afternoon a children’s field class was held. In the evening we
alternated with talks at Camp Curry and the “Old Village” near
Sentinel Bridge. They were busy days but interest was good. Week ends
were devoted to overnight trips by one or the other of us.

At the urgent request of Mr. Ansel Hall I initiated the same type of
work at Crater Lake Park, Oregon, in 1926 and continued it in 1927. My
son, Alden Miller, was associated with me and two students, Miss Leigh
Marian Larson and Miss Ruth Randall, acted as volunteers in charge of
wildflower display. Reports of this work should be in the Crater Lake
files. During the summer we were visited by Mr. Mather, by Dr. John C.
Merriam, and by Mr. John D. Rockefeller and family. The interest of
these men was immediate and finally bore material fruit in improvement
of Crater Lake Park and the whole Nature Guide movement in America.
Just as had been the case at Yosemite, we were appointed as rangers.
My duties at Crater Lake included nature guiding, directing traffic,
comforting crying babies, rounding up stray dogs, and a wild drive
down the mountain to Medford Hospital with a writhing appendicitis
patient and his distracted wife in the rear seat.

I have not been officially connected with the work since but have sent
many graduate students to the Yosemite Field School with what I hope
was the right point of view. My own retirement at 70 years leaves me
out of the picture except in an advisory capacity. Just last week in
conference with my associates here, I urged Park Naturalist activity
as one of the public services for which our department should train
young men. So you see that my interests are still with the movement.
It is a field of infinite horizon.
Sincerely yours,
Loye Miller

March 18, 1946.

Dr. H. C. Bryant, the coworker referred to by Dr. Miller, became
Assistant Director of the National Park Service in charge of
interpretive work for all national parks. To Dr. Miller’s statement may
be added Bryant’s words about interpretive work:

In the spring of 1921, through a coöperative arrangement with the
California Fish and Game Commission, the National Park Service
instituted a free nature-guide service in Yosemite. The aim of this
service was to furnish useful information regarding trees,
wildflowers, birds, and mammals, and their conservation, and to
stimulate interest in the scientific interpretation of natural
phenomena. The means used to attain this aim were: trips afield;
formal lectures, illustrated with lantern slides or motion pictures;
ten-minute campfire talks, given alternately at the main resorts of
the park; a stated office hour when questions regarding the natural
history of the park could be answered; a library of dependable
reference works, and a flower show where the commoner wildflowers,
properly labeled, were displayed. Occasionally, visiting scientists
helped by giving lectures.

About this same time, a Yosemite ranger, Ansel F. Hall, conceived the
idea of establishing a Yosemite museum to serve as a public contact
center and general headquarters for the interpretive program.
Superintendent W. B. Lewis endorsed the plan, and the old Chris
Jorgenson artists’ studio was made into a temporary museum; Hall was
placed in charge as permanent educational officer. The same year found a
museum program under way in Yellowstone National Park, where Milton P.
Skinner was made park naturalist, and in Mesa Verde National Park, where
Superintendent Jesse Nusbaum organized a museum to care for the
archeological treasures brought to light among the ruins of prehistoric
man’s abode. Glacier, Grand Canyon, Mount Rainier, Rocky Mountain,
Sequoia, and Zion quickly organized educational programs similar to
those established by Yosemite and Yellowstone, and in 1923 Hall, with
headquarters in Berkeley, was designated to coördinate and direct the
interpretive work in all parks. Working with Dr. Frank R. Oastler, Hall
in 1924 organized a comprehensive plan of educational activities and
defined the objectives of the naturalist group.

In 1924, C. J. Hamlin was president of the American Association of
Museums. The opportunities opened by national park museums were called
to his attention by Hall, and the American Association of Museums
immediately investigated the possibilities of launching adequate museum
programs in the parks. In response to recommendations made by the
Association and the National Park Service, the Laura Spelman Rockefeller
Memorial made funds available with which to construct a fireproof museum
in Yosemite National Park. This, one of the first permanent national
park museums, became the natural center around which revolves the
educational program in Yosemite. Even before the Yosemite museum
installations had been opened to the public, demonstration of the
effectiveness of the institution as headquarters for the educational
staff and visiting scientists convinced leaders in the American
Association of Museums that further effort should be made to establish a
general program of museum work in national parks. Additional funds were
obtained from the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial, and new museums
were built in Grand Canyon and Yellowstone national parks. Dr. Herman C.
Bumpus, who had guided the museum planning and construction in Yosemite,
continued as the administrator representing the association and
Rockefeller interests, and Herbert Maier was architect and field
superintendent on the construction projects. It was Dr. Bumpus who
originated the “focal-point museum” idea.

When the museums of Yosemite, Grand Canyon, and Yellowstone had
demonstrated their value to visitors and staff alike, they were accepted
somewhat as models for future work, and upon the strength of their
success, the Service found it possible to obtain regular government
appropriations with which to build several additional museums in
national parks and monuments. When P.W.A. funds became available,
further impetus was given to the museum program, and a Museum Division
of the Service was established in 1935, embracing historic areas of the
East as well as the scenic national parks. It was my privilege to serve
as the first head of this unit. The work of the Museum Division has
expanded until there are more than one hundred small national park and
monument museums and historic-house museums; more are planned for the
future.

In order to stimulate balanced development of interpretive programs, Ray
Lyman Wilbur, Secretary of the Interior, appointed a committee of
educators under the chairmanship of Dr. John C. Merriam to study the
broad educational possibilities in national parks (see Wilbur, 1929). In
1929, this committee recommended that an educational branch, with
headquarters in Washington, be established in the Service. It was
further recommended that the committee continue to function on a
permanent basis as an advisory body, “whose duty it shall be to advise
the Director of National Parks on matters pertinent to educational
policy and developments.”

Dr. Bryant, who since 1920 had served as a summer employee on the
Yosemite educational staff and who had been a member of the Committee on
Study of Educational Problems in National Parks, was made head of the
new branch on July 1, 1930. Antedating the establishment of the branch
by one year was the previously mentioned wildlife survey instituted in
national parks by George M. Wright, who began his career in the National
Park Service as a park ranger in Yosemite in 1927.

Thus it is evident that the pioneer interpretive work done in Yosemite
projected its influence and its personnel into the wider fields of
“nature guiding” and museum programs throughout the National Park
Service. It may be shown, also, that the educational work done by the
Yosemite staff has been instrumental in advancing the naturalist
programs in state parks and elsewhere where out-of-door nature teaching
is offered to the public.[17] Some three hundred public areas and
agencies in the United States provide naturalist services modeled on the
Yosemite plan. Only ten per cent of these are in the National Park
System.

One of the far-reaching influences of the Yosemite naturalist department
is the Yosemite School of Field Natural History, a summer school for the
training of naturalists, where emphasis is placed on the study of living
things in their natural environment. The school was founded in 1925 by
Dr. H. C. Bryant in answer to a demand for better trained naturalists
for the Yosemite staff. There was need for a training not furnished by
the universities. The California Fish and Game Commission coöperated
with the National Park Service in starting this school program. The
staff is composed of park naturalists and the regular Yosemite
ranger-naturalist force, aided by specialists from universities and
other government bureaus. The last week of the field period is spent in
making studies at timberline.

As the name implies, emphasis is placed on field work. The work is of
university grade, although no university credit is offered. Graduates of
this school are filling positions as nature guides in parks and summer
camps throughout the country. Many of the naturalist and
ranger-naturalist positions in the National Park Service are held by
graduates of this field school.

The Park Naturalist position in Yosemite National Park has been held by
Ansel F. Hall, 1922-1923; Carl P. Russell, 1923-1929; C. A. Harwell,
1929-1940; C. Frank Brockman, 1941-1946; and now, Donald Edward McHenry.
These men and their assistants have supervised the naturalist activities
including the Yosemite Museum program, directed the Yosemite School of
Field Natural History, and the activities of the Yosemite Natural
History Association, including the editing and publishing of _Yosemite
Nature Notes_. This last-named organization has existed since 1924 as a
society coöperating with the National Park Service in advancing the work
of the Yosemite Naturalist Department. It is the successor of the
Yosemite Museum Association formed by Ansel F. Hall in 1920. On April
24, 1925, members of its advisory council and board of trustees defined
these purposes of the Association:

1. To gather and disseminate information regarding birds, mammals,
flowers, trees, Indians, history, geology, trails, scenic features,
and other subjects so well exemplified by Nature in Yosemite National
Park and elsewhere in the Sierra Nevada.

2. To develop and enlarge the Yosemite Museum (in coöperation with the
National Park Service) and to establish subsidiary units, such as the
Glacier Point Lookout and branches of similar nature.

3. To contribute in every way possible to the development of the
educational activities of the Yosemite Nature Guide Service.

4. To publish (in coöperation with the National Park Service)
_Yosemite Nature Notes_, a periodical containing articles of
scientific interest concerning the matters referred to in this
statement of purposes.

5. To promote scientific investigation along the lines of greatest
popular interest and to publish from time to time bulletins or
circulars of a nontechnical nature.

6. To maintain in Yosemite Valley a library containing works of
historical, scientific, and popular interest.

7. To study the living conditions, past and present, of the remaining
Indians of the Yosemite region, for the purpose of preserving their
arts, customs, and legends.

8. To strictly limit the operations, business, property, and assets of
the association to purposes which shall be scientific and educational,
in order that the association shall not be organized, constituted, or
operated for profit, and so that no part of the net income of the
association shall inure to the benefit of any member or other party
thereto.

These objectives in almost every particular are also the objectives of
the Naturalist Department of Yosemite National Park. In 1937 the
Congress authorized park naturalists and other government employees to
devote their regular working hours to the program of the Yosemite
Natural History Association and similar “coöperating societies” in
national parks which might be designated by the Secretary of the
Interior. In effect, the Yosemite Natural History Association is an
auxiliary of the naturalist department. For nearly twenty-five years it
has adhered to its defined purposes, and the support it has given to the
interpretive program has furthered research in the park, enriched the
collections of the Yosemite Museum, and promoted the dissemination of
the Yosemite story.

The function of the interpreters has been, and their purpose must be, to
enrich the mountain experience of the Yosemite traveler and thereby
demonstrate that a national park is far more than a tourist’s way
station. Upon today’s visitor and his full awareness of national-park
values the future of the national-park concept must depend. A public
which, in its enjoyment of the parks, comprehends the importance of “the
scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife therein”
will insist that they remain unimpaired.

CHAPTER XI
_GUARDIANS OF THE SCENE_

In the body of Indian fighters who first entered Yosemite Valley, there
appears to have been but one man who sensed the possibilities of public
good to be derived from the amazing place just discovered. A year prior
to the entry of the Mariposa Battalion, L. H. Bunnell, in climbing the
trail from Ridley’s Ferry (Bagby) to Bear Valley, had descried in the
eastern mountains an immense cliff which, apparently, loomed,
column-like, to the very summit of the range. He looked upon the
“awe-inspiring sight with wonder and admiration, and turned from it with
reluctance to resume the search for coveted gold.”

When, on March 25, 1851, Bunnell stood at Inspiration Point with other
members of Savage’s command and gazed upon the extravagance of natural
wonders, he recognized “the immensity of rock” which had, the previous
year, astonished him from afar. He writes:

Haze hung over the valley—light as gossamer—and clouds partially
dimmed the higher cliffs and mountains. This obscurity of vision but
increased the awe with which I beheld it, and as I looked, a peculiar
exalted sensation seemed to fill my whole being, and I found my eyes
in tears with emotion.

He withdrew from the trail and stationed himself on a projecting rock,
where he might contemplate all that was spread before him. Major Savage,
bringing up the rear of the column, brought him out of his soliloquy in
time to join the battalion in its descent to the floor of the valley.

The party that night discussed the business of naming the valley as they
sat about their first campfire, near the foot of Bridalveil Fall.
Bunnell comments:

It may appear sentimental, but the coarse jokes of the careless, and
the indifference of the practical, sensibly jarred my more devout
feelings, while this subject was a matter of general conversation; as
if a sacred subject had been ruthlessly profaned, or the visible power
of Deity disregarded.

Bunnell’s later discussions with residents of the Mariposa hills and his
very tangible evidence in the form of personal funds expended on the
Coulterville trail to Yosemite, indicate that he was the first to strive
for public recognition of the assets available in the new scenic
wonderland. Other men of the region were understandably slow to develop
aesthetic appreciation for that which only thrilled and produced no
gold.

By 1855 rumor and conjecture regarding the mysteries of the valley had
created sufficient interest among the old residents and the many
newcomers in the mining camps to prompt fascination in J. M. Hutchings
and his story when he returned to Mariposa after his first “scenic
banqueting” under Yosemite walls. With the publication of the Hutchings
articles and the Ayres drawings, curiosity may be said to have become
general, and the trek to the valley was started.

The entire mountain region was, of course, public domain, and, though it
had not been surveyed, it was generally conceded that preëmption claims
could be made upon it. Homesteaders were establishing themselves in
numerous mountain valleys above the gold region, and such “squatting”
was done with the assent of state and federal officers. It is hardly
surprising that some local aspirants laid claim to parts of Yosemite
Valley. The company that expected to develop a water project in 1855 was
apparently the first to attempt to establish rights. Then came the
series of would-be hotel owners, whose activities have been described.
James C. Lamon was a mountaineer who came to Yosemite in 1859 and aided
in the building of the Cedar Cottage. While so engaged, he established
himself in the upper end of Yosemite Valley and there developed the
first bona fide homestead by settlement. For many years his log cabin
was a picturesque landmark in the valley, and today two orchards near
Camp Curry serve as reminders of his pioneering.

With the advent of the ’sixties California began to recognize the
aesthetic value of some of her mountain features. The acclaim of leaders
from the East and the expressed wonder of notables from abroad played a
part in the development of a state pride in the beauties of Yosemite,
and, gradually, it became apparent that only poor statesmanship would
allow private claims to affect an area of such world-wide interest.

On March 28, 1864, Senator John Conness,[18] of California, introduced
in the U. S. Senate a bill to grant to the State of California tracts of
land embracing the Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees.
On May 17, his bill was reported out of committee. On the occasion of
the debate which followed, Senator Conness entered into the record of
American conservation the first evidences of national consciousness of
park values as we conceive of them today. He started the long train of
legislative acts which have given the United States the world’s greatest
and most successful system of national parks. It is a fact, of course,
that the Senate action of 1864 did not create a national park but it did
give Federal recognition to the importance of natural reservations in
our cultural scheme, and charged California with the responsibility of
preserving and presenting the natural wonders of the Yosemite.

[Illustration: John Muir]

[Illustration: _By George Fiske_
Galen Clark]

[Illustration: Colonel H. C. Benson]

[Illustration: James M. Hutchings]

[Illustration: _By J. N. LeConte_
Sierra Club Headquarters in Yosemite, 1898]

[Illustration: _By Ansel Adams_
William E. Colby]

Senator Conness explained to the Senate that it was the purpose of his
bill “to commit them [Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of Big
Trees] to the care of the authorities of that State for their constant
preservation, that they may be exposed to public view, and that they may
be used and preserved for the benefit of mankind.... The plan [of
preservation] comes from gentlemen of fortune, of taste, and of
refinement.... The bill was prepared by the commissioner of the General
Land Office, who also takes a great interest in the preservation both of
the Yosemite Valley and the Big Trees Grove.”[19]

The bill was passed by the Senate on May 17, referred to the House
Committee on Public Lands on June 2, debated and passed by the House on
June 29, and signed by President Lincoln on July 1, 1864. These
deliberations, which designated the first scenic reservation for free
public use, were consummated under the stress of waging war.

In order to eliminate friction and delays in the operation of
legislative machinery, proponents of the Yosemite bill secured its
passage without recognition of the private claims made by Yosemite
settlers. Lamon, clearly a bona fide homesteader; Hutchings, who had a
short time before the passage of the act purchased the Upper Hotel
property; Black, the owner of Black’s Hotel; and Ira Folsom, interested
in the Leidig property, pressed their claims and involved the new state
park in prolonged litigation.

The State Park Act provided that the Yosemite Grant and the Mariposa Big
Trees should be managed by a board of commissioners, of whom the
governor of the state was to be one. On September 28, 1864, three months
after the grant was made, Governor F. K. Low proclaimed that trespassing
upon the tracts involved must desist. His board of Yosemite
commissioners was appointed in the same proclamation.

Frederick Law Olmsted, even then an accomplished landscape architect,
was made chairman of the board. As Brockman (1946, p. 106) has revealed
in his article on Olmsted, the chairman was also the first
administrative officer of the Yosemite Grant. Olmsted’s statement of
1890 substantiates this fact: “I had the honor to be made chairman of
the first Yosemite Commission, and in that capacity to take possession
of the Valley for the State, to organize and direct the survey of it and
to be the executive of various measures taken to guard the elements of
its scenery from fires, trespassers and abuse. In the performance of
these duties I visited the Valley frequently, established a permanent
camp in it and virtually acted as its Superintendent.”

Legal acceptance of the gift could not be made until the next session of
the state legislature. On April 2, 1866, the necessary provisions for
administration were secured. The board of commissioners made the best
possible selection of a guardian, the Yosemite pioneer, Galen Clark, and
invited the settlers of the valley to vacate their holdings.

J. M. Hutchings, as might be expected, was wrathy. It is probable that
James Lamon, after eight years of permanent residence on his land, saw
no justice in the act. The other claimants held out for what might be in
it. Hutchings and Lamon refused to surrender their property, and a test
suit was brought against Hutchings, which was decided in his favor. This
was carried to the supreme court of the state and then to the federal
Supreme Court. In these last actions the commissioners were sustained.
That Hutchings and Lamon were deserving of consideration and
remuneration cannot be denied, but millions of Americans are today
indebted to the board of commissioners who pursued the case to a
settlement favorable to the people. Private titles of the type held by
the Yosemite Valley settlers would have been disastrous to all
administration in the years that were to come.

On the other hand, Hutchings and Lamon were deserving of certain
sympathy. No man had done more than J. M. Hutchings to call attention to
the fact that the Yosemite was a wonderland, eminently worthy of the
distinction bestowed upon it by the state. For a decade prior to the
creation of the state park, he had devoted himself to disseminating
knowledge on its “charming realities.” Much of this was done through his
_California Magazine_ and the lithographic reproductions of the Ayres
drawings. Some of it was accomplished with his volume, _Scenes of
Wonder_, which ran through several editions. The many published
testimonials of his worth as guide and informant while operating his
Hutchings House in Yosemite Valley indicate that his efforts to engender
a public love for the place were not spared even after his difficulties
arose with the state. And, finally, during the ten-year fight for
reimbursement he lectured throughout the country, bringing home to the
dwellers in Eastern cities the fact that a phenomenally beautiful area
in California was worthy of their visit. Some of the manuscripts of
these Eastern lectures are possessed by the Yosemite Museum. Their text
reveals none of the commercialism and selfishness with which Hutchings
sometimes has been charged.

The earnest efforts which Hutchings had expended in interesting the
public in Yosemite had not failed to create an interest in him as well.
The court had refused further consideration of the claims of the
settlers, but the state legislature, influenced by public feeling and
the expressed approval of the Yosemite commissioners, appropriated
$60,000 to compensate the four claimants. Of this Hutchings received
$24,000; Lamon, $12,000; Black, $13,000; Folsom, $6,000, and the
remaining $5,000 was returned to the State Treasury. Because of this
prolonged litigation, the commissioners did not secure full control of
the grant until 1875.

To what extent such troubles would dissipate the best directed efforts
of a board of managers of any business can well be imagined. Further
difficulties developed when road privileges were granted. The state
legislature failed to sustain the position of the commissioners in the
matter of exclusive rights for a road on the north side of the valley,
and again a controversy arose which directed heated criticism upon the
management of the state park. Public hostility alternated with general
indifference. The state failed to provide adequate funds with which to
accomplish the important work before the commissioners, and the lack of
a well-defined policy handicapped the administration to a point of ruin.
In 1880 a new law removed the first board and appointed a new one.

The next decade saw important developments take place in the park, but
policies adopted were sure to displease someone or some faction.
Criticism still prevailed. Gradually the seethings of the press brought
about the development of intelligent public interest in Yosemite
affairs. Indifference was replaced by discriminating attention, and
Yosemite administration arrived in a new era.

In these pages not enough has been said about John Muir. His
contributions to the preservation of Yosemite National Park, to the
determination of scientific facts regarding it, and to public
understanding of its offerings place him in the front rank of
conservationists who have been instrumental in saving representative
parts of the American heritage. The role he played as explorer,
researcher, interpreter, and defender of the public interests in the
Yosemite may well become the subject of another book of Muiriana;
however, at this juncture, it is only possible to relate him rather
inequitably to the field of Yosemite administrative history.

John Muir arrived in Yosemite for the first time in 1868. Intent upon
making deliberate studies of all that fascinated him, he determined to
remain a resident of the Yosemite region. In order to do so, he attached
himself to a sheep ranch. He gave the first winter to work on the
foothill ranch and the next summer to herding in the Yosemite Sierra.
With the intimate acquaintance so made with sheep and their ways, he was
destined to create a wave of public interest in Yosemite that would
eclipse all former attentions and revolutionize the administrative
scheme.

For eight years after his first Sierra experience, John Muir rambled
over his “Range of Light.” He tarried for some time in Yosemite Valley
and was employed by J. M. Hutchings, at times, to operate a sawmill,
which Muir immortalized merely by inhabiting it.

Some impression of his first employment in Yosemite Valley and his early
outlook upon the Yosemite scene may be gained from these paragraphs of
his memoirs published by Badè.[20]

“I had the good fortune to obtain employment from Mr. Hutchings in
building a sawmill to cut lumber for cottages, that he wished to build
in the spring, from the fallen pines which had been blown down in a
violent wind-storm a year or two before my arrival. Thus I secured
employment for two years, during all of which time I watched the varying
aspect of the glorious Valley, arrayed in its winter robes; the descent
from the heights of the booming, out-bounding avalanches like
magnificent waterfalls; the coming and going of the noble storms; the
varying songs of the falls; the growth of frost crystals on the rocks
and leaves and snow; the sunshine sifting through them in rainbow
colors; climbing every Sunday to the top of the walls for views of the
mountains in glorious array along the summit of the range, etc.

“I boarded with Mr. Hutchings’ family, but occupied a cabin that I built
for myself near the Hutchings’ winter home. This cabin, I think, was the
handsomest building in the Valley, and the most useful and convenient
for a mountaineer. From the Yosemite Creek, near where it first gathers
its beaten waters at the foot of the fall, I dug a small ditch and
brought a stream into the cabin, entering at one end and flowing out the
other with just current enough to allow it to sing and warble in low,
sweet tones, delightful at night while I lay in bed. The floor was made
of rough slabs, nicely joined and embedded in the ground. In the spring
the common pteris ferns pushed up between the joints of the slabs, two
of which, growing slender like climbing ferns on account of the subdued
light, I trained on threads up the sides and over my window in front of
my writing desk in an ornamental arch. Dainty little tree frogs
occasionally climbed the ferns and made fine music in the night, and
common frogs came in with the stream and helped to sing with the Hylas
and the warbling, tinkling water. My bed was suspended from the rafters
and lined with libocedrus plumes, altogether forming a delightful home
in the glorious Valley at a cost of only three or four dollars, and I
was loath to leave it.”

When he was not running Hutchings’ mill, he was making lonely trips of
discovery or guiding visitors above the valley walls. Perhaps Muir knew
of the use he would make of the natural history data he was gathering,
but few of his associates sensed the fact that he would soon make the
nation quicken with new views of Yosemite values.

He first made his influence felt in the early ’seventies, when he began
publishing on Yosemite in journals and periodicals. His material
awakened responses everywhere. On February 5, 1876, he published an
article in the _Sacramento Record Union_ which was one of the initial
steps in his forceful appeal to America to save the Yosemite high
country from the devastations of sheep and the incendiary fires of
sheepherders.

It is likely that few who today enjoy the Yosemite High Sierra realize
that sheep, “hoofed locusts,” were responsible for the creation of
Yosemite National Park. The people of California, awakened to the danger
by the warnings of Muir and others, attempted to secure an enlargement
of the state park. Selfish local interests frustrated the plan. In 1889,
John Muir allied himself with the _Century Magazine_, and a plan was
launched which was designed to arouse a public sentiment that could not
be shunted. Muir produced the magic writings, and Robert Underwood
Johnson, editor of the _Century_, secured the support of influential men
in the East. On October 1, 1890, a law was enacted which set aside an
area, larger than the present park, as “reserved forest lands.” Within
this reserve were the state-controlled Yosemite and Mariposa Grove
grants.

The reactions of residents of the regions adjacent to the new national
park to this legislation was typical of the period. Citizens of the
counties affected could not foresee the coming of unbroken streams of
automobile traffic, which eventually would bring millions of dollars to
their small marts of trade. The thought of losing some thousands of
acres of taxable land caused county seats to seethe with unrest. The
local press painted pictures of dejected prospects and near ruin. The
following summary of a lengthy wail from a contemporary paper reveals
the fears that prevailed:

Let us summarize the result of our analysis. On the one side, we have
932,600 acres of land taken away from the control and use of the
people at large, and of the people of Mariposa, Tuolumne, Mono, and
Fresno counties in particular, for the ostensible purpose of
preserving timber, mineral deposits, and natural curiosities or
wonders within said reservation—for whose benefit, the act does not
say, but presumably for the benefit of tourists.

On the other side, we find: That the avowed object of preserving
forests appears to be only a false pretense to cover up the real
object of the scheme, whatever it may be—that to preserve mineral
deposits will prevent untold treasures from being employed in industry
and commerce, and prevent the employment of thousands for many years
to come in the exploration of these mineral deposits—that to preserve
natural curiosities and wonders, it is not necessary to fling away
nearly a million acres of land, when all that is necessary can be
accomplished by attaching to each wonder as much land, as, through
natural formation, contributes in any measure towards its
maintenance—that, if on the one hand, these claims are respected, it
will condemn hundreds of American settlers to poverty, if, on the
other hand, these claims are bought out, it will entail an expense of
many millions on the country, whilst the claimants, themselves, will
never receive anything like the amount their properties would be
worth, in the course of time, if this part of the country is left to
its own development without Government interference, and all the
settlements now existing will be left to fall into decay and ruin, or
will have to be worked by a system of tenantry, a curse, as
contemporary history shows, which ought never be allowed to take root
in our country.

The preservation of the full watershed of the Yosemite Valley is not
only a legitimate, but a desirable object; the same holds good with
the Hetch-Hetchy Valley, or any other grand work of nature. Every
alienation of land, beyond this, is of evil.

This local feeling resulted in immediate attempts to change the park
boundaries. The first attempt was frustrated largely through the efforts
of the Sierra Club. This organization came into existence shortly after
Yosemite National Park was created and has always been one of the most
important agencies that have promoted the safety of Yosemite treasures.
Its publication, the _Sierra Club Bulletin_, which first appeared in
1893, is a rich source of Yosemite history. For twenty-two years John
Muir was the president of the club. His vim in leaping to the defense of
the great natural preserve was no less than had been his vigor in
working for its creation. Muir aided in the preservation of national
monuments as well. In early May, 1903, Theodore Roosevelt, then
president, visited Yosemite via Raymond and the Mariposa Grove. Governor
George C. Pardee, Benjamin Ide Wheeler, president of the University of
California, and John Muir were among those who interpreted the scene for
the President. Conservation matters were discussed by Muir and the
legislation which was to become famous as the Antiquities Act of 1906
was given some definition at this time. It was truly an important
occasion.

Chief among the Sierra Club defenders of Yosemite who have carried on
since the death of Muir is William E. Colby. He served forty-four years
as secretary of the organization, two years as president, and is now, as
a director, a frequently sought source of counsel. He led the club’s
summer outings for more than three decades. Throughout this period Colby
has unceasingly built the Sierra Club’s prestige in the field of
conservation. For the past six years he has served as a member of the
Yosemite Advisory Board, and has been in close touch with past and
current park problems.

The failure of the national government to provide funds with which to
extinguish private claims within the park involved the administration in
difficulties which are being felt even yet. By 1904 relations between
administrative officers and the large number of owners of private
holdings had become so strained that legal action was imperative.
Boundary revisions were required. Major Hiram M. Chittenden headed the
commission appointed to investigate possible boundary changes. Upon the
recommendation of this commission large areas on the east and west were
lopped off. In 1906 a tract on the southwest was cut off, and since that
time small changes have been rather numerous. Private lands still exist
within the park and constitute an ever-present source of trouble.

From the first the control of Yosemite National Park has been vested in
the Secretary of the Interior. Immediately after the passage of the act
of creation, military units were detailed to take charge of all national
park lands. The state retained its plan of administration of the
original Yosemite Grant, and so came about the dual control which for
sixteen years colored the Yosemite administration with petty
misunderstandings and hindered progress in the maintenance of the entire
region.

Galen Clark’s old ranch (Wawona) became headquarters for the Acting
Superintendent of the federal preserve. From this eccentric hub, patrols
of cavalrymen were sent into the unbounded wilderness area of the new
preserve. A trail system and accurate maps did not exist. One of the
first undertakings of the early superintendents was to make the rough
country accessible by horse trail. The topography was studied, and a
good map was prepared. Following the practice established in Yellowstone
National Park, patrolling stations were established, and the United
States Army had the safety of Yosemite’s fauna and flora fairly within
its keeping.

Since pioneer days, sheep and cattlemen had enjoyed unrestricted use of
the excellent range which was now forbidden them. Naturally they were
reluctant to abandon it. Their trespass was the most formidable threat
with which the troopers were confronted, and concerted, ingenious work
was necessary to expel the intruders. When the first culprits were taken
into custody, it was found that no law provided for their punishment.
Congress had failed to provide a penalty for the infraction of park
rules. Nothing daunted, the superintendents put the captured herders
under arrest and escorted them across the most mountainous regions to a
far boundary of the park. There they were liberated. The herder’s sheep
were driven out of the reserve at another distant point. By the time the
herder had located his animals, his losses usually were so great as to
represent a more severe punishment than could have been meted out by the
court had the law applied. Several years of this practice caused
neighboring ranchers to keep their animals out of the forbidden
territory.

Captain Abram Epperson Wood was the first superintendent. With
detachments from the Fourth Cavalry he arrived in the park on May 19,
1891, and continued in charge until his death in 1894. Each year the
troopers came in April or May and withdrew in the fall. During the
winter two civilian rangers attempted to patrol the area. With such
inadequate winter protection, it is small wonder that poachers grew to
feel that the wild life of the reserve was their legitimate prey. It was
not until 1896, in fact, that a determined effort was made to keep
firearms out of the park at any time of the year.

For twenty-three years the Department of the Interior continued to call
upon the War Department for assistance in administering Yosemite
National Park. Eighteen army officers took their turn at the helm. Some
of them assumed leadership after some years of Yosemite experience as
subordinate officers. Others were placed in command with no previous
service in the park. Lieutenant (later Colonel) Harry C. Benson and
Major W. W. Forsyth were perhaps the most distinguished of the
superintendents. Benson was certainly more than a superintendent; he was
an explorer, map maker, trail builder, fish planter, and nemesis of the
sheepmen. Among the subordinate officers and enlisted men a number left
their mark by way of accomplishments. N. F. McClure and Milton F. Davis
are remembered for their explorations and excellent map making. William
F. Breeze and W. R. Smedberg worked with McClure and Benson in stocking
the headwaters of the Yosemite rivers with trout. A. Arndt pioneered in
exploration of some of the northern sections of the park. Many others in
the military organizations are remembered in place names throughout the
Yosemite High Sierra.

Yosemite was fortunate in having within its National Park Service
personnel one man, Gabriel Sovulewski,[21] who pioneered with these army
units and who was acting superintendent of the park in 1908-1909 and
again in 1914. For thirty-five years Mr. Sovulewski was actively engaged
in caring for Yosemite. An unpublished manuscript on his National Park
Service experiences is preserved in the Yosemite Museum. Within it he
comments upon the Yosemite work of United States troops.

National Parks in California, and Yosemite especially, owe much to the
late Colonel H. C. Benson. No one who has not participated in those
strenuous years of hard riding and incessant fighting of natural and
human obstacles can ever realize the need for indomitable spirit and
unselfish devotion to a cause that existed during those first years in
Yosemite National Park. Sheep and cattle overran the country. They
were owned by men who knew every foot of the terrain. We were ordered
to eliminate them. There were few or no trails, and maps did not
exist. Reliable guides were unobtainable, and we had more than a
thousand square miles to cover.

Officers with detachments set out upon patrols that would keep them
away from our base of supplies for thirty days at a time. Many times
rations were short, and sixteen to twenty hours of action per day,
covering sixty miles in the saddle was not unusual. Constant hammering
at the offending cattlemen continued for several years, and at last
they were convinced that they must vacate the territory set aside for
National Park purposes. The would-be poachers and the entire
countryside were taught a moral lesson which still has its effect
today. Some of the present-day administrative problems are made easier
because of the foundation laid in those first years of the park’s
existence.

The duplication of effort and expense which resulted from the anomaly of
state and federal administration within the reserve brought about
controversies which finally caused many Californians to conclude that
their Yosemite State Grant of 1864 might well be placed in the hands of
the federal government, to be managed by the same officers who
controlled the surrounding national park. The Sierra Club and many civic
organizations took the lead in urging recession. Not a few citizens felt
that the proposed move was an affront to state pride. This group proved
to be an obstacle but was overcome in 1905, when the state legislature
re-ceded to the United States the Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Big
Tree Grove. A formal acceptance by Congress brought the Yosemite State
Park to an end on August 1, 1906. Major Benson removed military
headquarters from Camp A. E. Wood (Wawona), and Fort Yosemite came into
existence on the site of the present Yosemite Lodge.

For seven years the administrative organization set up by the military
continued to function. The succeeding superintendents found their
responsibilities increased considerably. Other national parks were
coming into existence, and a national conscience was beginning to
recognize the value of wilderness preserves. In 1910 the American Civic
Association had launched a campaign for the creation of a national park
bureau. President Taft favored central administration of the parks, and
bills were introduced creating such a bureau. Major William T.
Littebrant was in command in Yosemite when Dr. Adolph C. Miller, a
civilian, became assistant to Secretary Lane and was placed in charge of
the national parks. The next year troops did not come to Yosemite. Mark
Daniels was made superintendent, and civilian employees undertook the
work that had been done by the troopers.

A few civilian rangers had assumed the care of the park each winter when
troops were withdrawn. Archie O. Leonard had been the first of these and
he remained in the service when the administrative change was made. In
1914 “park rangers” came into existence under authorization of Secretary
Lane. They patrolled the park as had the troopers, but, unlike the
troopers, they remained in touch with their problems throughout the
year.

In 1916 Congress created the National Park Service. Dr. Miller, in the
meantime, had been called to other work, and Stephen T. Mather, who had
followed Dr. Miller as assistant to the secretary, was made Director of
the National Park Service. He was authorized by law to “promote and
regulate the federal areas known as the national parks, monuments, and
reservations.” Conservation of scenery and wildlife of the areas was
declared by Congress to be a fundamental purpose of the new
organization. Mr. Mather’s first undertaking was to balk exploitation
schemes. Unfortunately, Yosemite had already been raided. In 1913
Congressman John E. Raker had introduced a bill granting to San
Francisco rights to the Hetch Hetchy as a water reservoir. Secretary
Garfield had opened the way to this move in 1908. In spite of much
opposition, the Raker Bill was passed by the House and Senate and
approved by President Wilson. Since that time the Hetch Hetchy dam has
become a reality and provides all the administrative difficulties and
troubles that were expected.[22]

Private holdings in Yosemite were rather large even after the boundary
changes of 1905 and 1906 were made. Timber companies possessing tracts
of choice forest constituted the greatest menace. Some of these private
lands have been bought up, and others have been exchanged.

During 1930 much progress was made in the acquisition of private
holdings in the national park. There were 15,570 acres of land involved,
which cost approximately $3,300,000. Half of the cost of purchasing
these lands was defrayed by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., the remainder
coming from the fund provided by Congress for the acquisition of private
holdings in national parks.

The following statements regarding timber holdings in and near Yosemite
National Park are taken from the Report of the Director of National Park
Service for 1930:

It is impossible to overestimate the importance of this Yosemite
forest acquisition. It brought into perpetual Government ownership the
finest remaining stands of sugar-pine timber in the area and reduced
the total area of private holdings in that park to 5,034 acres. This
total will be materially reduced when two pending deals are
consummated. A tract containing 640 acres is now in course of
acquisition with funds contributed by George A. Ball, of Muncie,
Indiana, as is another of about 380 acres, half the funds for the
latter transaction being contributed through the co-operation of Dr.
Don Tresidder, president of the Yosemite Park and Curry Company.

Additional timber holdings in the Tuolumne River watershed—fine stands
of sugar and yellow pine—remain in private ownership outside the park.
One cannot help regretting that they are imperiled, and it is hoped by
all friends of these majestic forests that they may yet be saved.

In order that the beauty of the Big Oak Flat Road may be unimpaired,
arrangements have been made between the Sugar Pine Lumber Co., the
Forest Service, the State, and the Park Service to preserve the
roadsides through selective cutting of the larger trees and careful
removal of any trees that are taken out. Particularly interesting and
valuable stands of timber which should be preserved untouched will be
made the subject of exchanges between the Forest Service and the Sugar
Pine Lumber Co.

This land acquisition program was finally assured of success in July,
1937, when legislation authorized the Secretary of the Interior to
acquire the Carl Inn Tract, comprising some 7,200 acres of magnificent
sugar pine forest bordering the western boundary of the park. After a
year and a half of negotiations with the Yosemite Sugar Pine Lumber
Company, owner of most of the tract, agreement was reached on a price of
$1,495,500 to be paid by the United States. The purchase was consummated
early in 1939. Senator William Gibbs McAdoo and Representative John S.
McGroarty, both of California, were the ardent supporters who introduced
the bills, S. 1791 and H.R. 5394, in their respective houses.

Policies regarding the toll roads by which tourists could enter the park
constituted another perplexing problem with which the young National
Park Service was confronted. The routes had been privately constructed
and were privately owned and controlled by turnpike companies.
Government funds were not available with which to purchase them
outright. One company was persuaded to turn the Wawona Road over the
public in exchange for a grant for the exclusive rights to the route
during a certain number of years. The government assumed responsibility
for the maintenance of the road during this period. The owners of the
Coulterville Road could not be persuaded to agree to such a plan. As a
result, that part of it which is within the park has not been maintained
and, because of erosion, has fallen into disuse.

The Tioga Road had been constructed in 1882-1883 by the Great Sierra
Consolidated Silver Mining Company for the purpose of serving the Tioga
Mine. The mining venture terminated in 1884 after an expenditure of
$300,000 had been made. The road had become impassable during the many
years of neglect, but it was still the property of private owners when
the region through which it passes became a national park. Stephen T.
Mather and some of his friends bought it privately and in 1915 turned it
over to the federal government. The state of California purchased the
portions of the route which were outside of the park and extended the
road eastward, down Leevining Canyon, so giving Yosemite a remarkable
high mountain highway, free from toll, which connects Yosemite Valley
with the routes of the Mono basin. Tolls were also removed from the Big
Oak Flat route. Every effort was made to put all recognized routes in
the best of condition consistent with government appropriations. Travel
to the park grew apace, and Yosemite had, indeed, entered a new era.

The first scheme of centralized administration of the national park
system was promising in theory but proved faulty in practice. More than
a few difficulties appeared on the parks horizon. The national preserves
were regarded in Washington somewhat as orphans and were not receiving
the specialized attention so necessary for their proper administration.
The introduction of Mather ideals and methods was required to bring
about coördination.

The story is told that one day in 1915 Stephen Mather walked into the
office of Secretary Lane and expressed indignation over the way things
were run in Sequoia and Yosemite.

“Steve,” said Lane, “if you don’t like the way those parks are run, you
can run them yourself.”

“Mr. Secretary, I accept the job,” was Mather’s rejoinder.

[Illustration: _By J. V. Lloyd_
W. B. Lewis and Stephen T. Mather]

[Illustration: _By J. N. LeConte_
A Presidential Party at the Grizzly Giant Pardee Roosevelt Muir
Wheeler]

[Illustration: _By J. N. LeConte_
Hetch Hetchy Valley before Inundation]

[Illustration: _By J. N. LeConte_
Devils Postpile, Excluded from Yosemite in 1905]

The genial Secretary of the Interior showed him into a little office and
said, “There’s your desk, Steve; now go to work.” With that Lane went
out and closed the door, but presently opened it and said, “By the way,
Steve, I forgot to ask what your politics are.”

With such brief preliminaries did Stephen T. Mather assume directorship
of the national parks. He served through the presidential
administrations of Wilson, Harding, and Coolidge, but the matter of his
politics was never inquired into by any party.

Stephen Mather was born on the Fourth of July, 1867, in San Francisco.
His ancestry traces back to Richard Mather, a Massachusetts clergyman of
the days of the Pilgrim Fathers. Stephen T. Mather was not a scion of
wealth. As a young man, he made his way through college by selling
books. He graduated from the University of California in 1887 and for
several years was a newspaper reporter. Thereafter, he entered the
employ of the Pacific Coast Borax Company and was identified with the
trade name, “Twenty-Mule Team Borax,” that became well known around the
world. For ten years he engaged in the production of profits for his
employers and then organized his own company. It was in borax that he
built up his business success and accumulated the fortune which “he
later shared so generously with the nation through his investments in
scenic beauty on which the people receive the dividends.”

For more than twenty-five years Stephen Mather resided in Chicago,
Illinois, but his loyalty to his native state, California, never waned.
He was the leading spirit in the organization of the California Society
of Illinois and, as its secretary, always secured donations of a carload
of choice California fruits to be served at the Society’s annual
banquets. Mather then saw to it that these affairs were well written up
by the press and telegraphed throughout the country on the Associated
Press wires. In this publicity the spirit and motives of the present
Californians, Inc., had their birth.

As might well be expected, Mather was a member of the Sierra Club and
participated in many of its summer outings. (See Farquhar, 1925, pp.
52-53.) He became acquainted with national park areas on these trips,
and it is said that his ideal of a unified administration of the parks
resulted from the intimacies so acquired. It was his ambition to weld
the parks into a great system and to make them easily accessible to rich
and poor alike.

At the time Mather undertook his big task, there were thirteen parks.
Some of them were difficult of access and provided few or no facilities
for the accommodation of visitors. Government red tape stood in the way
of action in the business of park development, but Mather cut the red
tape. When government appropriations could not meet the situation, he
usually produced “appropriations of his own.” It was such generosity on
his part which gave the Tioga Road to the government and saved large
groves of Big Trees in the Sequoia National Park. In his own office it
was necessary for him personally to employ assistants. Because of the
lack of government funds, he expended twice his own salary in securing
the personnel needed to set his parks machine in operation. The national
benefits derived from the early Mather activity in the parks were
recognized by Congress, and that body took new cognizance of national
park matters. Larger appropriations were made available, and Mather’s
plans were put into effect.

For fourteen years he gave of his initiative and strength, as well as
his money. His ideas took material form, and the park system came into
being as he had planned. His work was recognized and appreciated. In
1921 George Washington University bestowed upon him the honorary degree
of Doctor of Law. His alma mater, the University of California,
conferred the same degree in 1924. President W. W. Campbell on that
occasion characterized him as follows:

“Stephen Tyng Mather, mountaineer and statesman; lover of Nature and his
fellow-men; with generous and farseeing wisdom he has made accessible
for a multitude of Americans their great heritage of snow-capped
mountains, of glaciers and streams and falls, of stately forests and
quiet meadows.”

In 1926 he was awarded the gold medal of the National Institute of
Social Sciences for his service to the nation in national parks
development. The American Scenic and Historical Preservation Society
awarded the Pugsley gold medal in recognition of his national and state
park work, and he was made an honorary member of the American Society of
Landscape Architects.[23]

In the fall of 1928, Mather’s health failed. He suffered a stroke of
paralysis which forced his retirement from public service in January,
1929. For more than a year he fought to regain his strength but in
January, 1930, he was suddenly stricken and died quickly. Indeed, “the
world is much the poorer for his passing, as it is much the richer for
his having lived.”

One of Mather’s first acts as Director of the National Park Service was
to appoint a strong man to the superintendency of Yosemite National
Park. On the staff of the Geological Survey was an engineer of
distinction, Washington B. (“Dusty”) Lewis. Mather appointed him to the
Yosemite task and he became the first park superintendent on March 3,
1916. The Yosemite problems were complicated and trying from the
beginning. The park was, even then, attracting more visitors than had
been provided for. Public demands kept steadily ahead of facilities that
could be made available through government appropriations. For more than
twelve years W. B. Lewis expended his energy and ingenuity in bringing
the great park through its formative stages.

Under his superintendency practically all the innovations which today
characterize the public service of a national park were instituted in
Yosemite. Motor buses replaced horse-drawn stages; tolls were eliminated
on all approach roads; the operating companies were reorganized and
adequate tourist accommodations were provided at Glacier Point and
Yosemite Valley; a modern school was provided for local children; the
housing for park employees was improved; the best of electrical service
was made available; the park road and trail system was enlarged greatly
and improved upon; the construction of an all-year highway up the canyon
of the Merced made the park accessible to a degree hardly dreamed of;
provision of all-year park facilities met the demands of winter
visitors; a new administrative center was developed; the Yosemite High
Sierra Camps were opened; and an information service was devised. The
ranger force was so organized as to make for public respect of national
park ideals and personnel. The interpretive work, which makes for
understanding of park phenomena and appreciation of park policies, was
initiated in Yosemite and has taken a place of importance in the
organization of the entire national park system.

In short, the present-day Yosemite came into existence under the hands
of Lewis and his assistants. How well the demands of the period were met
and future requirements provided for is evidenced by the continued
healthy growth and present success of the Yosemite administrative
scheme.

In the fall of 1927 Lewis was stricken by a heart attack. He later
returned to his office, but in September, 1928, it became apparent that
he should no longer subject himself to the strain of work at the high
altitude of Yosemite Valley. He removed to West Virginia, and there
partly regained his strength. Director Mather then sought his services
as Assistant Director of the National Parks, and in that capacity he
functioned until the summer of 1930. His physical strength, however,
failed to keep pace with his ambitious spirit, and after another attack,
he died at his home in a Washington suburb on August 28, 1930.

Soon after Lewis accepted his Washington appointment, Director Mather
experienced the breakdown which brought about his resignation as
Director. There was but one man to be thought of in connection with
filling the difficult position. That man was Horace M. Albright, who had
been Mather’s right-hand man since the National Park Service had
existed. A native of Inyo County, California, and a graduate of the
University of California, he became an assistant attorney in the
Department of the Interior, Washington, D. C., in order to advance his
learning, and there took a keen interest in plans then developing for
the establishment of the National Park Service. He was detailed to work
in connection with park problems and had already become familiar with
them when Stephen T. Mather assumed their directorship. The Secretary of
the Interior assigned him to Mather as a legal aid, which position
quickly grew in responsibilities as the two men became acquainted. From
the first, Albright was the Director’s chief reliance, and when the
National Park Service was organized in 1916, he was made Assistant
Director. In 1917, 1918, and 1919 he aided in the creation of Mount
McKinley, Grand Canyon, Acadia,[24] and Zion national parks. At
twenty-nine, he was made superintendent of the largest of all parks,
Yellowstone, and in addition shouldered the job of Field Director of the
Park Service. In that capacity he compiled budgets, presented them to
congress, and handled general administrative problems in the West.

Outstanding among his special interests in park problems was his
vigorous participation in programs launched to conserve and reëstablish
the native fauna of national parks. He gained an intimate understanding
of the needs of American wild life and actively engaged in attempts to
supply its wants. He allied himself with such organizations as the
National Geographic Society, the American Game Protective Association,
the American Forestry Association, the American Bison Society, the
American Society of Mammalogists, the Boone and Crockett Club, the
Save-the-Redwoods League, and the Sierra Club. He became an expressive
factor in American conservation and in his own domain, the national
parks, practiced what he preached. He recognized the importance of
ecological study of the great wilderness areas, with the safety of which
he was charged, and pressed into service a special investigator to work
on Yellowstone mammal problems. Later he seized upon the opportunity to
extend this research to all parks. In keeping with his desire to
assemble scientific data for the preservation of fauna and flora, he had
an ambition to popularize the natural sciences as exemplified in the
varied park wonderlands. He engaged actively in the development of plans
for the museum, lecture, and guide service which today distinguishes the
national parks as educational centers as well as pleasure grounds.

Upon the resignation of Director Mather in 1929, it was but natural that
Albright should succeed him. He entered into the Yosemite administrative
scheme by actual residence in the park and study of its problems. From
the Yosemite personnel he drew new executives for other parks, field
officers for the service at large, and administrative assistants for his
Washington office. He turned to Crater Lake National Park to obtain a
superintendent who would succeed Lewis. Colonel C. G. Thomson had
distinguished himself as the chief executive of Crater Lake and in 1929
was called to Yosemite.

Some of the developments in Yosemite for which Thomson was largely
responsible included the construction and improvements of the Wawona
Road and Tunnel, improvement of the Glacier Point Road, commencement of
the Big Oak Flat Road and Tioga Road realignment, the installation of
improved water systems at the Mariposa Big Trees, Wawona, and Tuolumne
Meadows, construction of the new Government Utility Building, and many
smaller projects. Such important land acquisition programs as the Wawona
Basin project and the Carl Inn sugar pine addition constituted heavy
administrative responsibilities imposed upon the superintendent’s office
during his regime. The establishment of “emergency programs,” C.C.C.,
C.W.A., W.P.A., and P.W.A., greatly expanded the developmental
activities in the park after 1933, and the inclusion of the Devils
Postpile National Monument and Joshua Tree National Monument in the
Yosemite administrative scheme increased the duties of the
superintendent.

In 1937, Colonel Thomson was stricken by a heart ailment and died in the
Lewis Memorial Hospital on March 23. In eulogy, Frank A. Kittredge said:

“Colonel Thomson has, through his dynamic personality and energy and the
wealth of his experience, been an influence and inspiration not only to
the thousands of Park visitors with whom he has had personal contact,
but especially to the Park Service itself. His keen sense of the fitness
and desire for the harmony of things in the national parks has made
itself felt in the design of every road, every structure, and every
physical development in the Park. He recognized the importance and
practicability of restricting and harmonizing necessary roads and
structures into a natural blending of the surroundings. He has set a
standard of beauty and symmetry in construction which has been carried
beyond the limits of Yosemite into the entire National Park system. The
harmony of the necessary man-made developments and the unspoiled beauty
of the Yosemite Valley attest to the Colonel’s injection of his
refinement of thought and forceful personality, into even the
everlasting granite itself of the Yosemite he loved so well.”

In June, 1937, Lawrence Campbell Merriam, a native Californian, was
transferred to the superintendency of Yosemite National Park. He had
received a degree in forestry from the University of California in 1921,
had become a forest engineer, and had later gone into emergency
conservation work in the state parks throughout the United States. Upon
the death of Thomson, Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes
appointed Merriam Senior Conservationist in the National Park Service
and designated him Acting Superintendent of Yosemite.

During his four years as the chief executive of the park he renewed the
service’s efforts to restore the natural appearance of the valley, and
modified the master plan to provide suitable areas for the operators’
utilities.

In August, 1941, Merriam became Regional Director of Region Two,
National Park Service, with headquarters at Omaha, Nebraska. Frank A.
Kittredge succeeded him in Yosemite.

During World War I, Kittredge served as an officer in the Army Corps of
Engineers and saw service in France. Afterward, while with the Bureau of
Public Roads, he was identified with park work; he made the location
survey of the Going-to-the-Sun Highway in Glacier National Park, did the
first road engineering in Hawaii National Park, and devoted his
attention to national park road matters handled by the Bureau.

In 1927, Kittredge was appointed chief engineer of the National Park
Service and continued in that capacity for ten years, when he was made
Regional Director, Region Four, a position involving supervision over
Park Service programs in Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Nevada,
and Utah; Glacier National Park in Montana; and the territories of
Alaska and Hawaii. In August, 1940, he was made Superintendent of Grand
Canyon National Park, from which position he was transferred in 1941 to
the chief executive position in Yosemite National Park. In all this
varied experience with the scenic masterpieces of the national park
system, Frank Kittredge maintained a sincerity of purpose in
safeguarding the natural and historic values of the parks.

As was true of Mather and Albright, succeeding directors of the National
Park Service have taken personal interest and active part in the
management of Yosemite National Park. On July 17, 1933, Arno B.
Cammerer, formerly Associate Director, succeeded Albright in the
Washington post. During his incumbency, 1933-1940, the national park
system increased from 128 areas to 204 units, and in addition to regular
appropriations, nearly 200 million dollars was expended by the Service
in connection with the programs of the Civilian Conservation Corps, the
Public Works Administration, and the Emergency Relief Appropriation
acts. Under Cammerer’s directorship, five C.C.C. camps were established
in Yosemite National Park. With the help of C.C.C., C.W.A., and P.W.A.,
many management and construction projects in the park were advanced far
ahead of regular schedule. The Wawona Road tunnel project was completed,
and notable progress was made in constructing the Tioga and Big Oak Flat
roads on modern standards. Winter use of the park increased mightily,
and the Yosemite Park and Curry Company developed the Badger Pass ski
center in accordance with Service plans.

Because of failing health, Cammerer resigned as Director in 1940, and
Newton B. Drury, a Californian and a member of the Yosemite Advisory
Board, was appointed to the position on June 19, 1940. Since 1919, Drury
had been a leader in the movement to preserve distinctive areas for park
purposes. As executive head of the Save-the-Redwoods League, he had
become a nationally recognized authority on park and conservation
affairs and was intimately acquainted with the problems of Yosemite
National Park through personal study. The normal problems of the park
and of the Service, generally, were greatly complicated by the
circumstances resulting from World War II, and the years 1942-1945 were
probably the most critical in the history of national parks. But in
spite of pressure exerted by production interests and those who sought
to capitalize on the park’s assets under the guise of “war necessity,”
the natural values of Yosemite were held inviolate. And it is to the
everlasting credit of Director Drury and his staff and associates in
central offices and the field that during the years of all-out warfare
serious inroads were nowhere made upon national park values.

Each year, more than a half million people benefit by the great park’s
offerings, and each year witnesses new demands for expansion of public
utilities provided by the operators and the Government. To meet these
demands and at the same time guarantee “benefit and enjoyment” of
Yosemite values for future generations of visitors is one of the most
exacting tasks engaged in by public servants anywhere.

Two Hundred Years

One hundred fourteen years have elapsed since the explorers in Joseph
Walker’s party first made their way to some point on the north rim of
Yosemite Valley and beheld a tremendous scene beneath them. It is to be
hoped that the Yosemite visitor today will have his enjoyment of
Yosemite National Park somehow enhanced by the recorded story of the
human events during the past century, particularly by the story of the
human effort that made Yosemite accessible to him, but not too
accessible.

Yosemite, like other national parks, has its master plan. Upon it is set
down in rather definite form the conception of the park staff of needs
for physical improvements. This prescription is reviewed by technicians
and executives in central offices and made to delimit the maximum
development necessary to meet the requirements of staff and public. The
master plan also contains an analysis of the inspirational and
recreational experiences which attract the multitude of visitors to the
park. As might be expected this analysis of Yosemite’s offerings points
to the fact that one of the notable values of the reservation is found
in its capacity to stimulate pride in and understanding of the heritage
of natural beauty preserved within the park’s boundaries. Another
important value is indicated in the capacity of the park to serve as a
repository of scientific treasures. In this last-named role as “museum
of the out-of-doors,” Yosemite National Park reasonably may be expected
to become increasingly important as the less protected areas of the
Sierra Nevada are more and more encroached upon by exploiters. The
exploiters are not always concerned with livestock, minerals, or timber.
The aggressiveness of those who cater to recreation seekers—even of the
recreation seekers themselves—constitutes a force to be reckoned with,
and this group particularly lays siege to the structure of National Park
Service conservatism.

It is well that the visitor to this and other national parks extend his
ken. We know something of what has happened since 1833. But what will
have happened to the Yosemite region by the year 2033 A.D., two hundred
years after white man’s first glimpse of the valley? Will the men of
great enterprise have built “ladders touching the sky, changing the face
of the universe and the very color of the stars?” Or will there still be
a remnant of mountain sanctuary, where the handiwork of today’s and
tomorrow’s visitors will be as hard to discern as Joe Walker’s footsteps
are to trace?

[Illustration: Big tree]

_CHRONOLOGY_

The following outline of the history of the Yosemite region cites the
original sources of information used in preparing this book. References
are to the pages of publications and manuscripts appearing in the
bibliography which follows. Items cited frequently are abbreviated:

SCB _Sierra Club Bulletin_, 1893 to date.
USNPS _Annual Report_, United States National Park Service.
USWD _Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers_, United States War
Department.
YNP _Report of the Acting Superintendent_, 1892-1914, Yosemite
National Park.
YNHA _Yosemite Nature Notes_, Yosemite Natural History Association,
1922 to date.
YVC _Biennial Report_, Yosemite Valley Commissioners, 1867-1904.

_CHRONOLOGY, WITH SOURCES_

1776

Garces entered Tulare Valley and named the interior range “Sierra de San
Marcos.” Bancroft, 1884, p. 291; Farquhar, 1928, p. 56.

Name “Sierra Nevada” applied to mountains that now carry the name, by
Padre Pedro Font. Font, map; Farquhar, 1928, p. 55.

1806

Moraga Expedition explored lower course of Merced River and gave it the
name “Merced.” Richman, p. 465; Farquhar, 1928, p. 58.

1826

Jedediah Smith brought first party of trappers from the East. Crossed
near Cajon Pass in November. Dale, p. 183; Merriam, 1923, p. 228.

1833

J. R. Walker crossed present Yosemite National Park with a party of
trappers. Leonard, Z., p. 174; Bancroft, 1885, p. 390; Farquhar,
1942, pp. 35-49; Watson, P. 57.

1841

Bartleson party was first of immigrants. Crossed Sonora Pass and
probably saw Calaveras Grove. Bidwell; Bancroft, 1886, p. 268.

1844

First wagons brought across the Sierra by Stephens-Townsend-Murphy
party. Bancroft, 1886, p. 445.

1847

J. B. Alvarado conveyed “Mariposa Grant” to J. C. Frémont for $3,000.
California Supreme Court.

1848

Sierra gold discovery. Tinkham, p. 59.

1850

Rush to “Southern Mines” (Mariposa region). Bunnell, p. 315.

Tuolumne County organized. Coy, 1923, p. 288.

Mariposa County established. Coy, 1923, p. 161.

Joseph Screech discovered Hetch Hetchy Valley. Hoffmann, p. 370.

J. D. Savage forced to abandon trading station at mouth of South Fork of
Merced. Bunnell, p. 15.

Indians attack Savage’s Fresno River store and his Mariposa Creek
Station, Dec. Bunnell, pp. 22, 23.

1851

Organization of Mariposa Battalion under J. D. Savage. Bunnell, p. 29.

Battalion marched toward mountain stronghold of Indians, March 19.
Elliott, p. 179

Chief Tenaya and a part of Yosemite tribe surrendered to advancing
whites, March 25. Marvin; Bunnell, p. 52.

Battalion viewed Yosemite Valley from Inspiration Point, March 25. Name
“Yosemite Valley” applied. Bunnell, pp. 53, 61.

Yosemite Valley and Merced Canyon to Nevada Fall explored by men with
Savage, March 26. Bunnell, p. 72.

Battalion withdrew from Yosemite without having found more Indians,
March 27. Bunnell, p. 91.

Second entry to Yosemite made by Capt. John Boling’s Company, May 9.
Bunnell, p. 142; Boling, June 12; Kuykendall, p. 9.

First letter dispatched from valley, May 15. Boling, June 12;
Kuykendall, p. 9.

Boling captured Yosemite Indians at Tenaya Lake, May 22. Indians were
escorted to Fresno Reservation, but in winter Tenaya and his
family were permitted to return to the mountains. Boling, June 14;
Kuykendall, p. 10; Bunnell, p. 228.

1852

Eight prospectors entered valley May 2, and two were killed by Indians.
Russell, 1926, p. 332.

Lt. Tredwell Moore entered Yosemite with detachment of 2d Infantry in
June. Bunnell, p. 275; Elliott, p. 172; Hutchings, 1862, p. 75.

Yosemite Indians took refuge with Mono Indians and were not found by
soldiers. Elliott, p. 172.

In August Lt. Moore found promising mineral deposits east of Sierra
crest. Bunnell, p. 277.

Mariposa Grove discovered by party of prospectors. Elliott, p. 172;
Russell, 1926, p. 332, YNHA, 1929, p. 51.

1853

Yosemite Indians left Monos and returned to Yosemite, but stole horses,
and Monos nearly annihilated the Yosemites for their treachery.
Bunnell, pp. 275, 291; Hutchings, 1862, p. 75. Eyewitness account
at variance with Bunnell’s (see p. 47).

A number of parties of prospectors entered Yosemite Valley in the fall
of 1853. Bunnell, p. 295.

1854

James Capen Adams visited Yosemite to capture grizzlies, which he
trained. Hittell, T. H., p. 196.

1855

J. M. Hutchings organized first party of sightseers to enter Yosemite.
First Yosemite pictures made by T. A. Ayres in June. Bunnell, p.
304; Hutchings, 1862, p. 77; Hutchings, 1886, p. 79; YNHA, 1944,
pp. 21-25.

Trail from South Fork (Wawona) built to Yosemite Valley by Milton and
Houston Mann. Finished in 1856. Bunnell, p. 304; Brockman, 1943,
pp. 53-54.

Galen Clark engaged in surveying ditch to supply water to Mariposa
Frémont Grant. Foley, p. 108.

First house, a shack, built in Yosemite Valley by surveyors, including
Bunnell. (Use of Yosemite Valley as a reservoir contemplated.)
Bunnell, p. 304; _Country Gentleman_; Whitney, 1870, p. 18.

1856

“Coulterville Free Trail” from Bull Creek to Yosemite built by G. W.
Coulter and Bunnell. Bunnell, p. 315.

T. A. Ayres made second trip to Yosemite and made more pencil drawings.
Bunnell, p. 310; Farquhar, 1926, p. 111; Ayres.

“Lower Hotel,” first permanent structure, built by Walworth and Hite at
base of Sentinel Rock. Bunnell, p. 309.

1857

Rush of miners from Tuolumne, over Mono Trail, to Mono Diggings; Tom
McGee, of Big Oak Flat, perhaps blazed Mono Trail. _Bodie
Standard_, March 1, 1879; Wasson; Hodgdon.

Beardsley and Hite put up canvas-covered house at Cedar Cottage site.
Galen Clark settled at what is now Wawona, and with Milton Mann
explored Mariposa Grove. Bunnell, p. 310; Brace, p. 85; Foley, p.
102.

1858

“Upper Hotel” (Cedar Cottage) built. Operated by Mr. and Mrs. John H.
Neal. Bunnell, p. 310; Hutchings, 1886, p. 101.

J. L. Cogswell party visited Tuolumne Grove of Big Trees. YNHA, 1937,
pp. 60-63.

1859

W. S. Body located mineral deposits in region that later became famous
as Bodie. Wasson, p. 5.

First photograph made in Yosemite by C. L. Weed. Subject was Upper
Hotel. Hutchings, 1886, p. 101; YNHA, 1929, p. 75.

James C. Lamon preëmpted and took up permanent residence in Yosemite.
Hutchings, 1886, p. 134; Corcoran, 1925.

1860

“Sheepherder Mine” (Tioga Mine) located. _Bodie Daily Free Press_,
September 10, 1881.

California State Geological Survey established, with Prof. Josiah Dwight
Whitney in charge. Whitney, 1865, p. ix; Farquhar, 1925, pp.
15-23.

1861

Nine Bactrian camels taken to Nevada mines. Stopped in Calaveras Grove
en route. Farquhar, 1925, p. 26.

Mono County established. Coy, p. 182.

C. E. Watkins, pioneer photographer, visited Yosemite Valley. YNHA,
1936, pp. 17-18.

1863

State Geological Survey made expedition to region between upper Merced
and Tuolumne rivers. Whitney, 1865, p. 13.

Artist Albert Bierstadt made first trip to Yosemite. YNHA, 1944, pp.
49-51.

1864

J. M. Hutchings took over Upper Hotel, and it became known as “Hutchings
House.” Calif. Legis., p. 323; Hutchings, 1886, p. 102.

Sonora Pass wagon road improved to serve Bodie, etc. Wasson, p. 59.

Florence Hutchings was the first white child to be born in Yosemite.
Hutchings, 1886, p. 144.

Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Big Trees granted to California as public
trust. Grant contained 48.6 square miles. Board of eight
commissioners created, Frederick Law Olmsted, chairman. Galen
Clark, guardian. U. S. Congress, p. 3444; YVC, 1877, p. 5;
Matthews, 1906, pp. 382-387; YNHA, 1946, p. 107.

I. W. Raymond, of Central American Steamship Transit Co., New York City,
advocated to Senator Conness of California that the Yosemite
Valley and the Mariposa Grove be reserved as a State Grant for
public enjoyment. The members of a proposed board of commissioners
were recommended by Raymond and Conness jointly. Raymond, 1864;
Farquhar, 1926, p. 77.

1866

First appropriation made for administration of Yosemite Grant. _Calif.
Statutes_; YVC, p. 7.

1868

John Muir made his first trip to Yosemite. Badè, 1924, I, p. 185; YNHA,
1938; Wolfe, 1945, pp. 117-122.

1869

George F. Leidig built “Leidig’s Hotel” near Lower Hotel. Churchill,
1876, p. 138; Vivian, p. 376; Calif. Legis., pp. 164, 208, 210;
Leidig; YNHA, 1930, p. 4.

Mr. and Mrs. A. G. Black removed Lower Hotel and built “Black’s Hotel”
on its site. Hutchings, 1886, p. 101.

Edwin Moore acquired half interest in Clark’s station, and it became
known as “Clark & Moore’s.” Ellsworth, p. 44; Greenwood, p. 313;
Lester, p. 170.

Mountain View House (Peregoy’s) built on Wawona-Yosemite Valley trail.
YNHA, 1929, p. 71.

Central Pacific built from Sacramento to Stockton. Ingram.

1870

Albert Snow built trail to flat between Vernal and Nevada falls. Calif.
Legis., p. 170; Minturn, p. 264; Lester, p. 197.

Central Pacific built to Modesto. Ingram.

Copperopolis branch of Central Pacific built. Ingram.

Joseph LeConte made his first trip to Yosemite. LeConte, 1903, p. 247.

La Casa Nevada was built by Albert Snow above Vernal Fall. Buckley, p.
25; YNHA, 1930, p. 4.

John Muir explored the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne. SCB, 1924;
Farquhar, 1926, pp. 96-97.

1871

Peregoy built a stopping place at Glacier Point. Peregoy Hotel Register.

John Conway built trail from La Casa Nevada to Little Yosemite; he
attempted the ascent of Half Dome. Russell, 1926, p. 340.

Central Pacific built to Berenda. Ingram.

Conway started work on Four Mile Trail to Glacier Point (completed in
1872). Russell, 1926, p. 340; Kneeland, p. 82.

Mount Lyell climbed by J. B. Tileston, Aug. 29 (first ascent). Tileston,
pp. 89-90.

1872

Central Pacific built to Merced. Ingram.

Stage road built on north side of Yosemite Valley by Conway. Calif.
Legis., p. 198; Russell, 1926, p. 340.

Earthquake in Yosemite. Kneeland, p. 88.

1873

Eagle Peak Trail built to foot of Upper Yosemite Fall by Conway.
Russell, 1926, p. 340.

J. C. Smith built his “Cosmopolitan” bath house and saloon in Yosemite
Valley. Russell, 1931, p. 207; YNHA, 1933, p. 1; Cosmopolitan
House.

1874

Coulterville Road built to valley floor. (Known as “J. T. McLean’s
Road.”) Hutchings, 1886, p. 288; U. S. Senate; YNHA, 1930, pp.
73-74; 1943, pp. 59-60.

Big Oak Flat route completed to Yosemite Valley by Yosemite Turnpike and
Road Company. Hutchings, 1886, p. 335; U. S. Senate; YNHA, 1943,
p. 60.

Wood road built from “Hutchings” up the south side of the valley. Calif.
Legis., p. 340.

State of California purchased private claims in Yosemite Valley. Calif.
Legis., p. 351; YVC, 1877-78, p. 16.

1875

George W. Coulter and A. J. Murphy leased former Hutchings property.
YVC, 1877-78, p. 10.

Harlow Street erected telegraph line from Sonora to Yosemite Valley. A
line was built from Yosemite to Bodie also. _Bodie Daily Free
Press_, January 29, 1881; Hutchings, 1886, p. 358; Morris, Paul.

Wawona Road built to floor of Yosemite Valley. U. S. Senate; YVC,
1874-75; YNHA, 1843, pp. 60-61.

George G. Anderson made first ascent of Half Dome. Hutchings, 1886, p.
457; Leonard, R. M., 1937, p. 40.

Public School provided for Yosemite. Mariposa County, May, 1875; YNP,
1909, p. 10; Hutchings, 1886, p. 355.

Washburn Brothers purchased Clark & Moore’s. Place has been called
“Wawona” since. Vivian, p. 370; Stornoway, p. 72.

1876

Sentinel Hotel built by Coulter and Murphy. Known as Yosemite Falls
Hotel for many years. Calif. Legis., p. 238; Jones.

John Muir’s first article on devastation of Sierra by sheep was
published. Farquhar, 1925, p. 30; Badè, 1923-24, 2: 58-59.

1877

J. K. Barnard took over “Coulter and Murphy’s” (Sentinel Hotel). Blake,
p. 119; YVC, 1877-78, p. 14; Jones.

1878

John L. Murphy settled at Tenaya Lake (exact date doubtful). Jackson,
pp. 109-171; Hutchings, 1886, p. 481.

High Sierra country surveyed by Lieut. M. M. Macomb of Wheeler Survey.
USWD.

Bodie and Lundy mining excitement reached height. Tioga came into
prominence. _Bodie Daily Free Press_, Dec. 29, 1880; Whitney, H.
A.

A. Harris established first public campgrounds in Yosemite Valley.
Harris Register; Calif. Legis., p. 232; Hutchings, 1886, p. 355.

Tunnel in Big Tree of Tuolumne Grove made in June. Marshall, p. 341.

Mountain House built at Glacier Point. Gordon-Cumming, p. 174.

1879

Homer District (Lundy) organized. Was discovered by C. H. Nye. _Mammoth
City Herald_, Sept. 24, 1879; _Homer Mining Index_, 1880.

Yosemite chapel built by Sunday School Union. Hutchings, 1886, p. 355;
Glass, pp. 114-118.

1880

Legislation ousted Board of Yosemite Commissioners. New board appointed
J. M. Hutchings guardian. YVC, 1880, p. 3.

Charles D. Robinson, artist, maintained studio in the valley
(1880-1890). YNHA, 1944. pp. 38-40.

L. H. Bunnell, of Yosemite discovery party, published _Discovery of the
Yosemite Valley_.

1881

Silver found on Mount Hoffmann. Mount Hoffmann Mining District
organized, but amounted to nothing. YNHA, 1925, p. 83.

Tunnel cut through Wawona Tree. YNHA, 1925, p. 83.

1882

“Anderson Trail” (Happy Isles to bridge below Vernal Fall) built. Calif.
Legis., pp. 311, 367; YVC, 1880-82, p. 5.

Construction of Tioga Road started. (Completed in 1883 at cost of
$62,000). Calif. State Mineralogist; U. S. Senate.

Great Sierra Consolidated Silver Mining Company (Tioga Mine)
incorporated. Calif. State Mineralogist.

John Conway built road to Glacier Point. Conway.

1883

President Hayes with party of twelve visited Yosemite Valley.

1884

Tioga Mine closed after expenditure of $300,000 and no production.
Calif. State Mineralogist.

Mr. and Mrs. John Degnan established bakery and store, the oldest
business among Yosemite concessions. USNPS, 1941, p. 9; Degnan, p.
1.

Hutchings removed as guardian, and W. E. Dennison appointed. YVC,
1883-84, p. 14.

1885

Legislature appropriated $40,000 to build Stoneman House. YVC, 1885-86,
p. 6.

John B. Lembert took up homestead in Tuolumne Meadows. Stornoway, p. 64;
Farquhar, 1925, pp. 40-41; YNP, 1903, p. 23.

“Echo Wall Trail” (Nevada Fall to Glacier Point) built. YVC, 1885-86, p.
9.

Log Cabin built in Mariposa Grove. YVC, 1885-86, p. 10.

1886

John L. Murphy preëmpted 160 acres at Tenaya Lake. YNP, 1903, p. 23.

1887

Mark L. McCord made guardian. YVC, 1887-88.

A tramway to Glacier Point considered and surveyed. Calif. Legis., p.
341.

1888

Stoneman House leased to J. J. Cook. YVC, 1887-88, p. 14; Calif. Legis.,
pp. 263, 336; Stornoway, p. 24.

Commissioners removed Black’s and Leidig’s hotels. Calif. Legis., p.
210; YVC, 1887-88, p. 17.

1889

Galen Clark again made guardian. YVC, 1889-90, p. 5.

Mirror Lake dam built to increase area of lake. YVC, 1889-90, p. 5.

1890

Yosemite National Park created, Oct. 1. John Muir’s writings were
important in bringing this about. YVC, 1889-90, p. 27.

1891

Capt. A. E. Wood, first Acting Superintendent, arrived with federal
troops to administer park, May 19; headquarters at Wawona. YNP,
1891, p. 3; YNHA, 1944, p. 54.

First telephones installed in Yosemite Valley. YVC, 1891-92, p. 6.

1892

Sierra Club organized, with John Muir as president, to aid effort to
secure federal administration of entire Yosemite region. SCB,
1893.

First plant of trout (rainbow) made in Yosemite by California Fish and
Game Commission. YNP, 1893, p. 8; YNHA, 1934, p. 58.

1893

Sierra Forest Reservation established, Feb. SCB, 1896, pp. 257-259.

1894

Capt. G. H. G. Gale made Acting Superintendent. YNP, 1894.

1895

Capt. Alex. Rodgers appointed Acting Superintendent. YNP, 1895.

Wawona fish hatchery erected. Operated by state. YNP, 1895, p. 5.

1896

Stoneman House destroyed by fire, Aug. 24. YVC, 1895-96, p. 9.

Lt. Col. S. B. M. Young appointed Acting Superintendent. YNP, 1896;
Farquhar, 1926, p. 109.

First effort made to keep firearms out of park. YNP, 1896, p. 4.

1897

Miles Wallace made guardian. YVC, 1897-98.

Wooden stairs at Vernal Fall removed and replaced by rock steps. YVC,
1897-98, p. 6.

Capt. Alex. Rodgers again made Acting Superintendent. YNP, 1897.

1898

Camps rented to visitors by state. YVC, 1897-98, p. 5.

Archie O. Leonard, first civilian park ranger. YVC, 1897-98, p. 12; YNP,
1898, p. 3.

Both J. W. Zevely, special inspector, and Capt. J. E. Caine were acting
superintendents. YNP, 1898.

1899

Lt. Wm. Forse and Capt. E. F. Wilcox were acting superintendents. YNP,
1890.

Curry Camping Company established. Tresidder, D. B.; Tresidder, M. C.,
MS; YNP, 1908, p. 12.

Chris Jorgensen maintained artist’s studio in the valley (1899-1918).
YNHA, 1944, PP 94-97.

1900

Major L. J. Rucker, Acting Superintendent. YNP, 1900.

Holmes brothers, of San Jose, drove first auto into Yosemite. Holmes.

1901

Camp Yosemite (Lost Arrow) established. YVC, 1901-02, p. 6; YNP, 1908,
p. 12; 1910, p. 12; Tresidder, D. B., p. 35.

Major L. A. Craig, Acting Superintendent. YNP, 1901.

First of the annual outings of the Sierra Club took place in Tuolumne
Meadows. Farquhar, 1925, pp. 52-53.

1902

Power plant at Happy Isles built by state. YVC, 1901-02, p. 4.

Major O. L. Hein, Acting Superintendent. YNP, 1902.

J. M. Hutchings killed on Big Oak Flat Road near Yosemite Valley, Oct.
31. Foley, p. 6; Godfrey, 1941, MS, p. 14.

Harry Cassie Best established artist studio in valley. (Maintained
business until his death, 1936.) YNHA, 1945, pp. 42-44.

1903

LeConte Memorial Lodge built in Yosemite Valley by Sierra Club. SCB,
1904, pp. 66-69; 1905, pp. 176-180.

San Francisco’s first application for use of Hetch Hetchy denied by
Secretary Hitchcock, U.S. Dept. of Interior, 1908, 1910, 1914.

George T. Harlow, guardian. YVC, 1903-04.

U. S. Weather Bureau installed instruments in Yosemite. YVC, 1903-04, p.
7.

Lt. Col. Jos. Garrard, Acting Superintendent. YNP, 1903.

John Muir, Theodore Roosevelt, and Gov. George C. Pardee discuss
Yosemite Grant recession in Yosemite. Badè, 1923-1924, 2: 355.

1904

Major John Bigelow became Acting Superintendent. YNP, 1904.

Arboretum established, and first plans for a Yosemite Museum made at
Wawona. YNP, 1904, p. 20; YNHA, 1930, pp. 17-18.

1905

Area of Yosemite National Park reduced. Mount Ritter region and Devils
Postpile eliminated. Yosemite Park Commission; YNP, 1905, p. 5;
1906, p. 8.

Capt. H. C. Benson, Acting Superintendent. YNP, 1905; SCB, 1925, pp.
175-179.

Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove re-ceded to United States.
Superintendent’s headquarters (Major H. C. Benson) moved to
Yosemite Valley. YNP, 1905, pp. 5-6; 1906, p. 6; Badè, 1923-1924,
2: 355; Colby, 1938, pp. 11-19.

Last “hold up” of a Yosemite stage (Raymond-Wawona run). Yosemite
Tourist, 1906.

1907

Yosemite Valley Railroad opened to travel. YNP, 1907, p. 5; Radcliffe;
Bartlet. Del Portal, the railroad hotel at El Portal, shown in
Williams, p. 143.

Extensive telephone system installed in park. YNP, 1907, p. 8.

Yosemite cemetery given permanent marking with boundary of trees. YNHA,
1932, pp. 1-4.

1908

Hetch Hetchy rights granted to San Francisco. YNP, 1908, p. 14.

Camp Ahwahnee established at foot of Sentinel Rock by W. M. Sell. YNP,
1908, pp. 11, 12; Tresidder, D. B., p. 37.

Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Co. built telegraph line from El Portal
to Sentinel Hotel. YNP, 1908, p. 9.

Supervisor Gabriel Sovulewski, Acting Superintendent, Oct. 25 (to April
27, 1909). YNP, 1909, p. 5.

1909

Major W. W. Forsyth, Acting Superintendent. YNP, 1909.

1910

Death of Galen Clark, March 24, age 96. YNP, 1910, p. 15; 1911, p. 8.

1911

Tenaya Lake Trail completed. YNP, 1910, p. 10; 1911, p. 8.

Devils Postpile made a national monument by President Taft. SCB, 1912,
pp. 170-173, 226-227.

Galen Clark Memorial Seat built. YNP, 1911, p. 12.

1912

Yosemite hospital built by U. S. troops. YNP, 1912, p. 12; Tresidder, D.
B., p. 157.

Sierra Club purchased Soda Springs property at Tuolumne Meadows.
Farquhar, 1926, p. 58.

1913

Major William T. Littebrant, Acting Superintendent. YNP, 1913.

Automobiles admitted to Yosemite Valley. YNP, 1913, p. 12.

Raker Act authorized use of Hetch Hetchy Valley as reservoir; approved
by President Wilson, Dec. 19. Farquhar, 1926, p. 39; Johnson, R.
U., pp. 307-313; Wolfe, 1945, pp. 339-346.

1914

Civilian employees replaced the military in administration of Yosemite.
Mark Daniels, first superintendent. USNPS, 1916, p. 4; Calif.
State Mineralogist, p. 61.

Museum of Vertebrate Zoölogy, University of California, began 5-year
field study of animal life in Yosemite, which culminated in
publication of 752-page treatise. Grinnell and Storer; YNHA, 1924,
p. 2.

John Muir died in a Los Angeles hospital, December 24. Badè, 1923-1924,
II, pp. 390-391.

1915

Parsons Lodge built by Sierra Club in Tuolumne Meadows. SCB, 1916, pp.
84-85.

First appropriation for the John Muir Trail approved by Governor
Johnson. Rensch, 1933, p. 484; Wolfe, 1945, p. 364.

Yosemite Lodge established in Yosemite Valley. Tresidder, D. B., p. 37.

Stephen T. Mather purchased Tioga Road and presented it to U. S.
Government. Farquhar, 1926, p. 94.

Mather became assistant to Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the Interior.
Albright, 1929, pp. 10-11; Cramton, 1929, p. 13.

Yosemite horse-drawn stages replaced by motor stages. Tresidder, D. B.,
p. 33.

R. B. Marshall made superintendent of all national parks. USNPS, 1916,
p. 5.

1916

National Park Service Act passed August 25. Stephen T. Mather made
Director. USNPS, 1916, p. 81; 1917, p. 1; Farquhar, 1926, p. 63.

W. B. Lewis made Superintendent of Yosemite National Park. USNPS, 1916;
Farquhar, 1926, p. 114.

Tuolumne Meadows Lodge installed; also Tenaya and Merced camps opened.
Tresidder, D. B., p. 76.

1917

Stephen T. Mather became first Director, National Park Service.
Albright, 1929, p. 12; Cramton, 1929, p. 13.

Glacier Point Hotel completed. USNPS, 1917, p. 59; Tresidder, D. B., p.
61.

Wawona Road and Glacier Point Branch turned over to federal government.
USNPS, 1917, p. 62.

Parts of park opened to grazing. USNPS, 1917, p. 153.

Modern school buildings constructed. USNPS, 1920, p. 237.

David A. Curry dies; Mrs. Curry continues operation of Camp Curry.
Tresidder, Mary C., MS.

1918

Cascade power plant completed at cost of $215,000. USNPS, 1917, pp. 61,
143; 1918. pp. 45, 134.

Ledge Trail built. USNPS, 1918, p. 47.

1919

First airplane landed in Yosemite Valley, May 27. Lt. J. S. Krull,
pilot, alone. USNPS, 1919, pp. 183, 190.

LeConte Memorial Lectures instituted. USNPS, 1919, p. 194.

1920

Construction started on all-year highway up Merced Canyon. USNPS, 1920,
p. 110.

Rangers’ Club House built. USNPS, 1920, pp. 113, 250.

Yosemite National Park Co. founded. USNPS, 1920, p. 248.

Yosemite educational work started by H. C. Bryant, A. F. Hall, L. H.
Miller, and Enid Michael. Yosemite Museum planned. USNPS, 1920,
pp. 113, 245, 253; Hall, 1930; YNHA, 1932, pp. 2-3.

California valley elk brought to Yosemite. USNPS, 1920, p. 250; 1921, p.
196.

Big Trees Lodge built at Mariposa Grove. Tresidder, D. B., p. 72.

1921

First Yosemite Museum installations made. USNPS, 1921, pp. 72, 196, 202;
Yosemite Park Naturalist, July, 1921; Hall, 1930.

1922

Yosemite Educational Department created. USNPS, 1922, pp. 113, 115;
1923, p. 20.

_Yosemite Nature Notes_ first published (mimeographed through 1924, then
printed). YNHA, 1925, p. 1.

1923

Hikers’ camps installed. USNPS, 1923, p. 54; 1924, pp. 37, 109; YNHA,
1923; Tresidder, D. B., p. 80; Adams, 1940, pp. 79-83; Russell,
1925.

Educational Department for all national parks created. Yosemite Park
Naturalist; USNPS, 1923, p. 20; 1925, p. 10; 1926, p. 7; Burns, N.
J., pp. 4-25.

1924

Hoof and mouth disease epidemic in Yosemite deer. USNPS, 1924, pp. 36,
108; 1925, pp. 6, 93; 1926, p. 14.

New administration center and village developed. USNPS, 1924, pp. 37,
108; 1925, p. 87.

1925

Yosemite Park and Curry Co. formed by consolidation of Curry Camping Co.
and Yosemite National Park Co. Tresidder, D. B., p. 37; USNPS,
1925, p. 27.

Yosemite School of Field Natural History organized. USNPS, 1925, pp. 11,
90; YNHA, 1925, pp. 9-10, 16, 66.

Glacier Point branch of Yosemite Museum opened. Yosemite Park
Naturalist, June, 1925, YNHA, 1925, p. 55.

1926

All-year highway dedicated July 31. USNPS, 1926, pp. 30, 102.

Yosemite Museum opened, May 29. USNPS, 1924, pp. 8, 105; 1925, pp. 12,
89; 1926, pp. 31, 99; YNHA, 1924, 1926, p. 95.

1927

Ahwahnee Hotel opened by Yosemite Park and Curry Co. USNPS, 1926, pp.
31, 101.

1928

Board of expert advisors, Frederick Law Olmsted, Duncan McDuffie, and
John P. Buwalda, appointed by authority of Congress to study and
assist in the solution of Yosemite problems. USNPS, 1928, p. 173.

Maria Lebrado, one of the last of the original Yosemite Indians, gives
firsthand account of Yosemite Valley discovery. YNHA, 1928, pp.
41-46; 1929, pp. 69-70, 85-86.

Wildlife research in national parks instituted by George M. Wright, of
Yosemite naturalist organization. YNHA, 1929, p. 66; Russell,
1939, p. 10; Wright, Dixon, and Thompson.

W. B. Lewis transferred to Washington; became Assistant Director,
National Park Service. E. P. Leavitt designated Acting
Superintendent. YNP, 1929.

1929

A hospital, which after the death of Assistant Director Lewis, 1930, was
named the W. B. Lewis Memorial Hospital, was constructed in
Yosemite Valley at cost of $50,000. USNPS, 1929, p. 144.

Col. C. G. Thomson appointed Superintendent. YNP, 1929.

1930

Stephen T. Mather dies, January 22. Story.

“Live Indian Exhibit” instituted on Yosemite Museum grounds; project
made possible by the coöperation of the Yosemite Natural History
Association.

Maggie Howard, “Ta-bu-ce” of the Monos was engaged to demonstrate modes
of Indian life. USNPS, 1930, p. 168; YNHA, 1933, pp. 14-16.

Sugar pine forest on west side of park acquired through private gift and
government appropriation. YNHA, 1930, pp. 65-66.

W. B. Lewis died August 28 in Chevy Chase, Maryland. USNPS, 1931.

High Sierra snow surveys organized on consolidated basis. Brockman,
1946, pp. 105-109; YNHA, 1927, p. 19; Russell, 1928, pp. 36-38.

1931

Marjorie Montgomery Ward presented $4,000 with which to develop a living
exhibit of native flowers at the rear of the Yosemite Museum.
USNPS, 1931; YNHA, 1931, p. 64; 1932, pp. 4-5.

Research Reserves established (White Mountain, Boundary Hill, and Swamp
Lake). USNPS, Master Plan, 1942, Sheet 7, map; YNHA, 1927, pp.
46-48.

Glacier measurements instituted in the Yosemite High Sierra. YNHA, 1934,
pp. 44-46; 1935, pp. 93-96; 1942, pp. 89-91.

1932

Wawona Basin, 8,785 acres, added to Yosemite National Park. Half of the
funds required were donated; the Department of Interior was
authorized by Congress to match the donation with federal funds.
USNPS, 1932, p. 61.

Mariposa Grove Museum established. USNPS, 1932, p. 63; YNHA, 1932, p. 4.

Big Trees Lodge constructed in Mariposa Grove at Sunset Point. Earlier
tent camp eliminated from upper grove. USNPS, 1932, p. 64.

Cosmopolitan House, built in 1873, destroyed by fire, Dec. 8. YNHA,
1933, p. 1-2.

Sierra Club Rock-Climbing Section organized. Leonard, R. M., 1938, p.
ii.

1933

Devils Postpile National Monument placed under supervision of the
superintendent, Yosemite National Park. YNHA, 1935, pp. 45-57.

Tule elk herd (27 animals) removed from Yosemite Valley to Owens Valley,
east of Sierra. YNHA, 1933, pp. 107-109.

Arno B. Cammerer made Director of National Park Service upon resignation
of Horace M. Albright. USNPS, 1933, p. 153.

Wawona Road and tunnel dedicated June 10, 1933. YNP, 1933, p. 1.

“Emergency programs,” C.C.C., C.W.A., and P.W.A. advanced the
construction and management projects of the park. Five C.C.C.
camps were established at Wawona, Crane Flat, and Eleven Mile
Meadow. YNP, 1933, pp. 26-32.

1934

First ascent of Higher Cathedral Spire, April 15; Lower Cathedral Spire,
August 25. Leonard, R. M., 1934, p. 178.

Hetch Hetchy water flows into San Francisco. YNHA, 1934, pp. 89-91; YNP,
1935, pp. 11-12.

Radio replaced mountain telephone lines in Yosemite administration. YNP,
1934, p. 11.

Outdoor church bowl in Yosemite Valley improved by C.C.C. YNP, 1934.

1935

Ski house built at Badger Pass by Yosemite Park and Curry Co. YNP, 1936,
p. 6.

1936

Thomas Moran art collection acquired by the Yosemite Museum. YNP, 1936,
p. 4; YNHA, 1936, pp. 57-64; 1944, pp. 64-68.

Yosemite Museum acquired 198 oil and water-color paintings by the
Yosemite artist, Chris Jorgensen. YNP, 1937, p. 7.

First ski ascent of Mount Lyell, March 2, by Bestor Robinson, David R.
Brower, Lewis F. Clark, Boynton S. Kaiser, and Einar Nilsson.
Brower, 1938, pp. 40-45.

Harry Cassie Best dies in San Francisco, October 14. Virginia Best Adams
and Ansel Adams take over operation of Best Studio, Yosemite
Valley. YNHA, 1936, p. 88_a_, back cover; 1945, p. 44.

1937

Lawrence C. Merriam appointed to superintendency in June following death
of C. G. Thomson. YNP, 1937, p. 2; YNHA, 1937, pp. 36-38.

1938

Hetch Hetchy Dam enlarged by addition of 85 feet to its height. YNP,
1938, p. 9.

Tenaya Lake High Sierra Camp removed and new camp established at May
Lake. YNP, 1938, p. 14.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt visited Yosemite Valley and Mariposa
Grove, July 15. YNP, 1939, p. 6.

Sentinel Hotel, River Cottage, and Ivy Cottage torn down in Dec. YNP,
1939, p. 21.

Gabriel Sovulewski died Nov. 29. YNP, 1939, p. 11.

1939

Vegetation type map of the park prepared by Branch of Forestry, National
Park Service. USNPS, Master Plan, 1942, two maps and key.

Newton B. Drury appointed to Yosemite Advisory Board, Feb. 24. YNP,
1939, p. 10.

1940

Newton B. Drury appointed Director of the National Park Service in June,
when Arno B. Cammerer requested that he be relieved of his duties
as Director for reasons of health. USNPS, 1940, p. 204.

Tioga Road, Crane Flat to McSwain Meadows, and Big Oak Flat Road, from
Crane Flat to El Portal Road, constructed on modern standards;
opened with ceremonies, June 23. YNP, 1940, p. 1. USNPS, Master
Plan, 1942.

Cedar Cottage (Upper Hotel) and Oak Cottage razed. YNP, 1941, pp. 3-4;
1942, p. 6.

C. A. Harwell vacated the Yosemite Park Naturalist position Sept. 7.
YNHA, 1941, p. 37.

Ski-touring accommodations provided at Ostrander Lake, under slopes of
Horse Ridge. YNP, 1941, p. 2.

William E. Colby appointed to membership on Yosemite Advisory Board
effective November 15. Maulding, Mrs. J. Atwood.

Mrs. John Degnan, pioneer park operator, died Dec. 15. YNP, 1941, p. 9.

1941

Arno B. Cammerer, Director of National Park Service, 1933-1940, died
April 30. USNPS, 1942.

C. Frank Brockman appointed Yosemite Park Naturalist, Mar. 27. YNHA,
1941, p. 37.

Bear-feeding programs in Yosemite Valley discontinued. YNP, 1941, p. 3.

Superintendent Lawrence C. Merriam appointed Regional Director, National
Park Service, Region Two (Omaha, Nebraska), July 31. Frank A.
Kittredge transferred from Grand Canyon National Park to the
Yosemite superintendency, Aug. 1. YNP, 1942, pp. 1, 5.

Cosie Hutchings Mills visited Yosemite Valley, Aug. 20, after absence of
42 years. YNHA, 1941, p. 111; 1942, pp. 37-40.

1942

Yosemite School of Field Natural History and Junior Nature School
discontinued for duration of war. YNHA, 1942, p. 30; YNP, 1942, p.
7.

Activities of C.C.C. in Yosemite National Park discontinued in July.
YNP, 1943, p 1.

U. S. Army Signal Corps units utilized National Park Service facilities
at Wawona and Badger Pass as special summer training schools. YNP,
1943, p. 1; 1944, pp. 1-2; 1945, p. 2.

Armed-forces men who came to Yosemite National Park for recreation or
conditioning totaled 23,272 in the fiscal year ending June 30.
(This total reached 89,686 during the war years.) YNP, 1943, p. 1;
1944, p. 2.

J. N. LeConte appointed Collaborator, Yosemite Advisory Board. YNP,
1943, p. 2.

1943

Ranger-naturalist program discontinued as a war measure. YNHA, 1943, pp.
46-47.

Death of Dr. H. C. Bumpus, of the National Park Service Advisory Board,
June 21. YNHA, 1943, pp. 97-101.

Death of John Degnan, pioneer resident and operator, Feb. 27. Mary Ellen
Degnan, daughter, continued operation of Degnan store. YNP, 1943,
p. 10.

Death of Mrs. Mabel Sweetman Boysen, longtime operator and resident, May
10. YNP, 1943, p. 11.

Ahwahnee Hotel converted to hospital use by U. S. Navy, June 23 (to Dec.
15, 1945). YNP, 1944, p. 1; YNHA, 1946, p. 75; Yosemite Park and
Curry Co., 1946, pp. 1-76.

Death of Chief Ranger Forest S. Townsley, Aug. 11. YNP, 1944, p. 6;
YNHA, 1943, p. 75.

1944

Transfer of Acting Chief Ranger John H. Wegner to Sequoia and Kings
Canyon national parks. YNHA, 1944, pp. 32-33.

Oscar A. Sedergren appointed Chief Ranger. YNHA, 1944, pp. 37-38.

M. E. Beatty, Associate Park Naturalist, transferred to Glacier National
Park, Montana. M. V. Walker appointed _vice_ Beatty. YNHA, 1944,
pp. 58, 60.

1945

First consideration given to the removal of some of the physical
developments from Yosemite Valley and the establishment of new
centers of operations in less precious localities. Vint, 1945.

Elizabeth H. Godfrey, a student and writer of Yosemite history,
transferred from Yosemite to Region Four, National Park Service.
YNHA, 1945, p. 97.

Meadows and vista restoration program initiated in Yosemite Valley. YNP,
1945, p. 10.

Yosemite Valley Railway abandoned August 27. YNP, 1946, p. 5.

1946

Park Naturalist C. Frank Brockman resigns from National Park Service.
YNHA, 1946, pp. 110-111.

Lost Arrow ascended by Jack Arnold, Anton Nelson, Fritz Lippmann, and
Robin Hansen, September 2. YNHA, 1946, pp. 113-116; Brower, 1946,
pp. 121-122.

Constam T-bar lift for skiers constructed at Badger Pass in fall. YNP,
1947.

1947

Maggie Howard, “Ta-bu-ce,” a principal character in Yosemite Indian
demonstration, died at Mono Lake. Kittredge, 1947.

_BIBLIOGRAPHY_

The following references are to pertinent titles in the bibliography of
Yosemite history. A comprehensive bibliography is to be found in the
Yosemite section, pages viii to 134, of _A Bibliography of National
Parks and Monuments West of the Mississippi River_, National Park
Service, Western Museum Laboratories, Berkeley, California, 1941. No
attempt has been made here to list all items descriptive of the park.

Adams, Ansel. _Sierra Nevada: The John Muir Trail_ [“Transmission of
emotional experience”] (Berkeley, 1938), 50 plates.

Adams, Virginia, and Ansel Adams. _Illustrated Guide to Yosemite Valley_
(San Francisco, 1940), 128 pp., illus., maps.

Albright, Horace M. “How the National Park Service Came into Being: A
Reminiscence,” _American Civic Annual_, 1929, pp. 9-12.

——. “Yosemite on the Way to Protection,” _American Civic Annual_, 1929,
pp. 23-25.

_American Motorist._ “Yosemite Motor-Conquered,” September, 1916, p. 37.

American Planning and Civic Association. Portfolio on the national park
and monument system (Washington, D. C., n.d.), four booklets, 32
pp. each.

Anonymous. _Mono County_ (F. W. McIntosh, Reno, 1908), 96 pp., illus.

Archibald, J. F. “A Cavalry March to the Yosemite,” _Illustrated
American_, November, 1896.

Ayres, Thomas A. Original pencil drawings made in Yosemite Valley, 1855
and 1856 (Yosemite Museum exhibits).

Badè, W. F. “The Hetch Hetchy Situation [editorial],” _Sierra Club
Bulletin_, 9 (1914): 3, 174-176.

——. “John Muir in Yosemite,” _Natural History_, March-April, 1920.

——. _The Life and Letters of John Muir_ (2 vols., Boston and New York,
1924).

Bailey, C. A. “The Vantage Points of Yosemite,” _Sunset_, April, 1899.

——. “Unfrequented Paths of Yosemite.” _Overland Monthly_, July, 1886,
pp. 88-92.

Bancroft, Hubert Howe. _Tourists’ Guide_ (1871).

——. _History of California_, I, 1542-1800 (San Francisco, 1884), 744
pp.; III, 1825-1840 (1885), 792 pp.; IV, 1840-1845 (1886).

Barrus, C. “In the Yosemite with John Muir,” _The Craftsman_, December,
1912.

Bartlet, L. “By Rail to the Yosemite.” _Pacific Monthly_, June, 1907,
pp. 730-738.

Beadle, J. H. _The Undeveloped West_ (Philadelphia, 1873), 824 pp.,
illus.

Beatty, M. E. “History of the Firefall,” _Yosemite Nature Notes_, 1934,
pp. 41-43.

——. “Glaciers of Yosemite,” _Yosemite Nature Notes_, 1934, pp. 44-46.

——. “C. E. Watkins, One of the Early Photographers of Yosemite,”
_Yosemite Nature Notes_, 1936, pp. 17-18.

——. “A Brief Story of the Geology of Yosemite Valley,” _Yosemite Nature
Notes_, 1943, pp. 33-40.

——. “Bears of Yosemite,” _Yosemite Nature Notes_, 1943, pp. 1-16.

Beatty, M. E., and C. A. Harwell. “Birds of Yosemite,” _Yosemite Nature
Notes_, 1938, pp. 1-36.

Belden, C. J. “The Tioga Road across the Sierra Nevada,” _Geographical
Review_, June, 1919.

Bell, Major Horace. _Reminiscences of a Ranger_ (Santa Barbara, 1927),
500 pp., illus.

Bidwell, John. _John Bidwell’s Trip to California_, 1841 (St. Louis,
1842), 32 pp.

——. “First Emigrant Train to California,” _Century Magazine_, November,
1890.

Blackwelder, Eliot. “Pleistocene Glaciation in the Sierra Nevada and
Basin Ranges,” _Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer._, 42 (1931), 865-922.

Blake, Mary E. _On the Wing_ (Boston, 1883), 236 pp.

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June 12, 1851.

——. “Letter from Camp on Fresno River,” _Alta California_, June 14,
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Borell, Adrey E. “History of Fishing in Yosemite,” _Yosemite Nature
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Brewster, E. T. _Life and Letters of J. D. Whitney_ (Boston, 1909), 412
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Brockman, C. Frank. “Contributions of the Naturalist to Winter
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——. “Little Change in Yosemite’s Glaciers,” _Yosemite Nature Notes_,
1942, pp. 89-91.

——. “Development of Transportation to Yosemite,” _Yosemite Nature
Notes_, 1943, pp. 49-63, 69-72, 76-79, 81-86, 91-96, 101-103.

——. “Administrative Officers of Yosemite,” _Yosemite Nature Notes_,
1944, pp. 53-57.

——. “Principal Waterfalls of the World and Their Relation to Those in
Yosemite National Park,” _Yosemite Nature Notes_, 1945, pp. 1-32.

——. “Yosemite and the Mother Lode Country,” _Yosemite Nature Notes_,
1946, pp. 81-85.

——. “The ‘Why’ of Snow Surveys,” _Yosemite Nature Notes_, 1946, pp.
57-61.

——. “The Great Sierra Snow Survey,” _Natural History_, March, 1946, pp.
105-109.

——. “Introduced Trees in Yosemite National Park” [Landmarks of pioneer
activities], _Yosemite Nature Notes_, 1946, pp. 90-92.

——. “Principal Administrative Officers of Yosemite: Frederick Law
Olmsted,” _Yosemite Nature Notes_, 1946, pp. 106-110.

——. “Broadleaved Trees of Yosemite National Park,” _Yosemite Nature
Notes_, 1947, pp. 1-40.

Bromley, I. H. “The Big Trees and the Yosemite,” _Scribner’s Monthly_,
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Brower, David R. “Beyond the Skiways,” _Sierra Club Bulletin_, 23
(1938): 2, 40-45. [First ski ascent of Mount Lyell.]

——. “Winter Sports Dilemma,” _Sierra Club Bulletin_, 31 (1946): 5, 6-7.

——. “Lost Arrow,” _Sierra Club Bulletin_, 31 (1946): 6, 121-122.

——. “Skiing the Sky-Land,” _American Ski Annual_, 1947, pp. 49-59.

Brower, David R., with Richard M. Leonard, “A Climber’s Guide to the
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1925, pp. 9-10, 16.

——. “Recollections,” _Yosemite Nature Notes_, 1932.

—— and Wallace W. Atwood, Jr. _Research and Education in the National
Parks_ (Washington, D. C., 1932), pp. 1-66.

——. “A Nature Preserve [Research Reserve] for Yosemite,” _Yosemite
Nature Notes_, 1927, pp. 46-48.

——. “Trails and Trail Use,” _Proceedings of Eighth Appalachian Trail
Conference_, 1938, pp. 26-30.

Bryce, James. National Parks—The Need of the Future. University and
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portrait, map.

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1910), pp. 47-53.

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California Fish and Game Commission. _California Fish and Game_
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_Century Magazine._ Editorial, “The Care of the Yosemite Valley,”
January, 1890.

——. Editorial, “Amateur Management of the Yosemite Scenery,” September,
1890.

Chamberlain, A. “Scenery as a National Asset,” _Outlook_, May, 1910, pp.
157-169.

Chamberlain, Newell D. _The Call of Gold: True Tales of the Gold Road to
Yosemite_ (Mariposa, 1936), 184 pp., illustrations, maps.

Chapman, C. E. _History of California: The Spanish Period_ (New York,
1921), 528 pp., illus.

Chase, J. S. _Yosemite Trails_ (Boston and New York, 1911), 354 pp.,
illus.

Churchill, C. M. _Over the Purple Hills_ (Denver, 1876), 336 pp., illus.

——. _The Big Trees of California_ (Redondo, Calif., 1907), 104 pp.,
illus.

Clark, Galen. _Indians of the Yosemite Valley and Vicinity_ (Yosemite,
1904), 110 pp., illus.

——. _The Yosemite Valley: Its History, Characteristic Features, and the
Theories Regarding Its Origin_ (Yosemite Valley [Nelson L.
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——. “Yosemite: Past and Present,” _Sunset_, April, 1909, pp. 394-396.

Clark, W. A. “Automobiling in Yosemite Valley,” _Overland Monthly_,
August, 1902, pp. 104-110.

Clarke, Clinton C. “Story of Building the Pacific Crest Trailway,
1932-1942,” bulletin of the Pacific Crest Trail System Conference,
Pasadena, Calif., 1942, pp. 1-6.

——. _The Pacific Crest Trailway_ (Pasadena, Calif.: Pacific Crest Trail
System Conference, 1945), 126 pp., maps.

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1929), 452 pp., illus.

Clemens, Samuel L. _Roughing It_ (Hartford, 1872), 592 pp., illus.

Cloos, Ernst. “Structure of the Sierra Nevada Batholith,” in _Guidebook
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Coffman, John D. “How Much and What Kind of Forest Land Should Be
Devoted Exclusively to Recreation and Aesthetics?” _Journal of
Forestry_ (February, 1937), pp. 210-214.

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Bulletin_, 5 (1904): 1, 66-69, illus.

——. “The Sierra Club,” _Forestry and Irrigation_, August, 1905, pp.
391-393.

——. “The Soda Springs Purchase,” _Sierra Club Bulletin_, 8 (1912): 4,
272-274.

——. “The John Muir Trail,” _Sierra Club Bulletin_, 10 (1916): 1, 86-92.

——. “Yosemite and the Sierra Club,” _Sierra Club Bulletin_, 23 (1938):
2, 11-19.

——. “Yosemite’s Fatal Beauty,” _National Parks Magazine_ (January-March,
1947), pp. 4-11.

Cole, James E. “Origin of the Name, ‘Yosemite,’” _Yosemite Nature
Notes_, 1936, pp. 49-54.

——. “Museum [Yosemite] Scientific Collections,” _Yosemite Nature Notes_,
1936, pp. 27-32, 37-40.

Commonwealth Club of California. “Should We Stop Building New Roads into
California’s High Mountains?” _The Commonwealth_ 12 (June 2,
1936): 22, 325-386, illus.

Cone, Mary. _Two Years in California_ (Chicago, 1876), 238 pp., illus.

Conway, John. Time Book, Glacier Point Road Construction (in Yosemite
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Cook, Lawrence F. _The Giant Sequoias of California_ (Washington, D. C.,
1942), 28 pp., illus.

——. “Forest Fire Prevention,” _Yosemite Nature Notes_, 1945, pp. 57-61.

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1925.

——. “Mariposa, the Land of Hidden Gold” (MS in Yosemite Museum).

_Cornhill Magazine_, “Early Spring in California,” April, 1883.

Cosmopolitan House. Grand Register, 1873. [A massive record of visitors
during the stagecoach days. Lent to the Yosemite Museum by the
Utter family.]

_Country Gentleman_, October 9, 1856.

Coy, O. C. _California County Boundaries_ (Sacramento, 1923), 336 pp.,
maps.

——. _Gold Days_, of the series “California” (Los Angeles, 1929), 382
pp., illus.

Cramton, Louis C. “The National Parks under Stephen T. Mather,”
_American Civic Annual_, 1929, pp. 13-16.

Crane, Agnes. “Staging to the Yosemite,” _Leisure Hour_, August, 1883.

Crocker, H. S. and Co. _Yosemite Illustrated in Colors_ (San Francisco,
1890).

Crofutt, G. A. _Trans-continental Tourist’s Guide_ (New York, 1872), 224
pp.

——. _New Overland Tourist and Pacific Coast Guide_ (1878), 322 pp.,
illus.

Curtis, W. B. “Our National Parks and Reservations,” _Annals, American
Academy of Political and Social Science_, March, 1910, pp. 15-24.

Dale, H. C. _The Ashley-Smith Explorations, 1822-1829_ (A. H. Clark Co.,
1918), 352 pp., 3 pls.

Daniels, M. “The National Parks of California,” _California’s Magazine_,
July, 1915.

Davidson, G. “The Occupation Of Mount Conness,” _Overland Monthly_,
February, 1892.

Degnan, Mary Ellen. “Early Day Experiences in Yosemite” (MS [1941] in
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Dequille, Dan. “The Perils of the High Sierras,” _Overland Monthly_,
March, 1887, pp. 311-322.

Dickensen, Luella. _Reminiscences of a Trip Across the Plains in 1846,
and Early Days in California_ [Yosemite Valley in 1854] (San
Francisco, 1904), 118 pp.

Dixon, Joseph S. “A Study of the Life History and Food Habits of Mule
Deer in California,” _California Fish and Game_, 20 (1934): pp.
181-282, 315-354.

Doerr, John E. “An Appraisal of the Winter Use in Snow Areas of the
National Park Service,” MS, pp. 1-10, with tabular summary of
character of areas, extent of use, accommodations, and
installations of winter sports facilities, pp. 1-8 [Yosemite, pp.
8-10 of “Appraisal,” and p. 8 of Summary], 1946.

Drury, Aubrey. _California: An Intimate Guide_ (New York, 1935)
[Yosemite region, pp. 408-418, 445-478].

Drury, Newton B. “Preserving the Native Landscape in California,”
_National Parks Bulletin_, 15 (1940): 68, 11-15.

——. “Half a Century and the National Parks,” _Park Service Bulletin_
(September-October, 1940), pp. 1-6.

——. “The National Parks in Wartime” (Chicago: National Park Service,
1943; included with “Justifications for Appropriations for the
Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1944”), pp. 1-14, mimeographed [see
also _American Forests_ (August, 1943), pp. 374-378, 411, for
another article, same title].

——. “What the War Is Doing to National Parks and Where They Will Be at
Its Close,” _Living Wilderness_, 9 (1944): pp. 11-15.

——. “National Park Service Grazing Policy,” _National Parks Magazine_
(July-September, 1944), pp. 16-17.

——. “The National Park Service: The First Thirty Years,” _American
Planning and Civic Annual_ (1945), pp. 29-37.

——. “Policy of the National Park Service Regarding Winter Use,” Memo. of
March 21, 1946, mimeographed, pp. 1-3.

Dudley, W. R. “Report on the Big Trees of California,” U. S. Dept. of
Agriculture, Div. of Forestry, Bulletin 28, 1900, pp. 1-30,
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Dumbell, K. E. M. _Seeing the West_ (New York, 1920), 206 pp., illus.

Elliott, Wallace W. _History of Fresno County, California_ (San
Francisco, 1881), 246 pp., illus.

Ellsworth, Rodney Sydes. _The Giant Sequoia_ (Oakland, 1924), 168 pp.,
illus.

Ernst, Emil F. “The Cause of Ghost Forests in Yosemite,” _Yosemite
Nature Notes_, 1936, pp. 25-27.

Evans, Willis A. “Fishes of Yosemite National Park,” _Yosemite Nature
Notes_, 1944, pp. 1-20.

Farquhar, Francis P. “Northward over the John Muir Trail,” _Sierra Club
Bulletin_, 11 (1920): 1, 34-48.

——. “Exploration of the Sierra Nevada,” _California Historical Society
Quarterly_, March, 1925.

——. “Colonel Benson,” _Sierra Club Bulletin_, 12 (1925): 2, 175-179.

——. _Place Names of the High Sierra_ (Sierra Club, San Francisco, 1926),
128 pp.

——. “Spanish Discovery of the Sierra Nevada,” _Sierra Club Bulletin_, 13
(1928): 1, pp. 54-61.

——. “Frémont in the Sierra Nevada,” _Sierra Club Bulletin_, 15 (1930):
1, pp. 73-95.

——. “Walker’s Discovery of Yosemite,” _Sierra Club Bulletin_, 27 (1942):
4, pp. 35-49.

——. “Jedediah Smith and the First Crossing of the Sierra Nevada,”
_Sierra Club Bulletin_, 28 (1943): 3, 35-52.

Finck, H. T. _The Pacific Coast Scenic Tour_ (1890), 310 pp., illus.

Foley, D. J. _Foley’s Yosemite Souvenir & Guide_ [Galen Clark’s
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Font, Pedro. Mapa del Viage que Hizo el P. F. Pedro Font a Monterey, y
puerto de San Francisco; y del Viage que Hizo el P. F. Francisco
Garces por El Rio Colorado hasta su Desemboque, y para arrira
Hasta P. F. Petrus Font fecit Tubutama anno 1770. [Original in
Seville; copy in Yosemite Museum.]

Fountain, Paul. _The Eleven Eaglets of the West_ (New York, 1906), 362
pp.

Fry, Walter, and John R. White. _Big Trees_ (Stanford University Press,
1930), 114 pp., illus.

Fryxell, F. M. “The Thomas Moran Art Collection of the National Parks,”
_Yosemite Nature Notes_, 1936, pp. 57-60.

——. “A Painter of Yosemite” [Chris Jorgensen], _The American
Scandinavian Review_, winter, 1939, pp. 329-333, illus.

Garfield, J. R. Decision of Secretary of Interior Garfield, May 11,
1908, approving the application of San Francisco for the Hetch
Hetchy reservoir site, in Proceedings before the Secretary of the
Interior in re Use Of Hetch Hetchy Reservoir Site in the Yosemite
National Park by the City of San Francisco (Washington, D. C.,
1910), pp. 1-6.

Glass, Alfred. “Brief History of the Village Chapel,” _Yosemite Nature
Notes_, 1945, pp. 114-118.

Glassford, W. A. “Climate of California and Nevada,” 51st U. S.
Congress, 2d Session, Ex. Doc. 287, Appendix 67 (Washington, D.
C., 1891), pp. 333-356.

Gleadell, W. H. “Yosemite Memories,” _Electric Magazine_, December,
1896.

Godfrey, Elizabeth H. “Chronicles of Cosie Hutchings Mills” (1941 MS in
Yosemite Museum), pp. 1-14.

——. “Yosemite Indians Yesterday and Today,” _Yosemite Nature Notes_,
1941, pp. 49-72.

——. “Thumbnail Sketches of Yosemite Artists” [T. A. Ayres, Thomas Hill,
Charles D. Robinson, Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Moran, William
Keith, Chris Jorgensen, Gunnar M. Widforss, Harry C. Best,
Ferdinand Burgdorff], _Yosemite Nature Notes_, 1944, pp. 21-97,
_passim_; 1945, pp. 37-76, _passim_.

——. “Joseph N. LeConte,” _Yosemite Nature Notes_, 1946, pp. 66-69.

Godfrey, William C. “Among the Big Trees in the Mariposa Grove,”
_Yosemite Nature Notes_, 1929, pp. 37-50 [illus. with 15 original
pen and ink drawings].

Goethe, C. M. “Nature Guides,” _Survey_, 44 (April, 1920): 145.

——. “Yosemite Nature Guides,” _Sierra Club Bulletin_, 11 (1921): 2,
167-170.

Gompertz, H. M. “A Closer Acquaintance with Yosemite,” _Sunset_, 1900.

Gordon-Cumming, Constance F. _Granite Crags of California_ (Edinburgh,
1886), 374 pp., illus.

Graves, J. A. _California Memories_ (Los Angeles, 1930), 330 pp., illus.

Greeley, Horace. _Recollections of a Busy Life_ (New York, 1868), 624
pp.

Greenwood, Grace. _New Life in New Lands_ (New York, 1873), 414 pp.

Grinnell, Joseph, and Tracy Irwin Storer. _Animal Life in the Yosemite_
(University of California Press, 1924), xviii + 752 pp., map and
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Gunnison, A. _Rambles Overland_ (1884), 246 pp.

Hall, Ansel F. _Guide to Yosemite_ (San Francisco, 1920), 98 pp.

—— (Ed.). _Handbook of Yosemite National Park_ (New York, 1921), 348
pp., illus.

——. “The Early Days in Yosemite,” _California Historical Society
Quarterly_, January, 1923.

——. “The Educational Development of Yosemite National Park,” _Sierra
Club Bulletin_, 11 (1923): 4, 411-416.

——. “Educational Activities in National Parks,” _Proc. First Pan Pacific
Conf._ (Washington, D. C., 1927), pp. 397-413.

——. _Yosemite Valley: An Intimate Guide_ (Berkeley, 1929), 80 pp.

——. Letter, 1930, to C. P. Russell concerning Yosemite Museum History
(in Yosemite Museum).

Hall, Harvey N., and Carlotta C. Hall. _A Yosemite Flora_ (San
Francisco, 1912), 282 pp.

Hamilton, E. H. “The New Yosemite Railroad,” _Cosmopolitan Magazine_,
September, 1907.

Hamlin, Chauncey J. “Yosemite Museum Formally Presented to Park
Service,” _Yosemite Nature Notes_, 1926, p. 95.

——. “Studying Nature in Place,” _Proc. First Pan Pacific Conf._
(Washington, D. C., 1927), pp. 435-443.

Hanna, Phil Townsend. “Yosemite Re-born,” _Touring Topics_, July, 1926,
pp. 16-19.

_Harper’s Magazine._ “The Yosemite Valley,” May, 1866, pp. 697-708,
illus., map.

Harris Yosemite Camp Grounds, Register of Yosemite Campers, 1878.

Harwell, C. A. “The Stephen Tyng Mather Appreciation Memorial Plaque
Dedication,” _Yosemite Nature Notes_, 1932, p. 1.

——. “Beginning of Nature Guiding,” _Yosemite Nature Notes_, 1932, pp.
2-3.

Hildebrand, Joel H. “A Nation of Onlookers?” [Advocates that skiers get
away from “the merry-go-round of packed slope and ski tow.”]
_American Ski Annual_, 1945-46, pp. 145-150.

Hill, H. A. “A Trip to Yosemite Valley,” _Penny Monthly_, July, 1871.

Hittell, J. S. _The Resources of California_ (San Francisco, 1867), 462
pp.

——. _Bancroft’s Pacific Coast Guide Book_ (San Francisco, 1882), 270
pp., illus.

——. _Hittell’s Hand-book of Pacific Coast Travel_ (San Francisco, 1887),
264 pp., illus.

Hittell, T. H. _The Adventures of James Capen Adams_ (San Francisco,
1860), 378 pp., illus.

——. _History of California_ (San Francisco, 1897), 982 pp.

Hodgdon, T. J. MS by C. P. Russell on interview with Mr. Hodgdon (in
Yosemite Museum).

Hoffmann, C. F. “Notes on Hetch Hetchy Valley,” _Proceedings California
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Holder, C. F. “Famous Basaltic Columns,” _Scientific American_, February
2, 1901.

Holmes, A. E. Letter to J. V. Lloyd (in Yosemite Museum).

_Homer Mining Index_ (Lundy), June 12, 1880; July 22, 1882.

Howard of Glossop, Winifred Mary (De Lisle) Howard. _Journal of a Tour
in the United States, Canada, and Mexico_ (London, 1897), 356 pp.,
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Huber, Walter L. “The John Muir Trail,” _Sierra Club Bulletin_, 15
(1930): 1, 37-46.

Hudson, T. S. _A Scamper through America_ (New York, 1882), 290 pp.

Huntington, E. _The Secret of the Big Trees_ (1913), 24 pp., illus.

Hussey, John A. “Discovery of the Tuolumne Grove of Big Trees,”
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Hutchings, J. M. _Scenes of Wonder and Curiosity in California_ (San
Francisco, 1862), 268 pp., illus.

——. _In the Heart of the Sierras_ (Oakland, Calif., 1886), 496 pp.,
illus.

——. _Souvenir of California_ (San Francisco, 1894), 102 pp., illus.

Hutchinson, J. S. “A New Link in the John Muir Trail,” _Sierra Club
Bulletin_, 11 (1923): 4, 357-367.

Huth, Hans. “The Evolution of Preservationism in Europe,” _Journal of
the American Society of Architectural Historians_ (July-October,
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Ingram, K. C. Letter to C. P. Russell (in Yosemite Museum) regarding
Southern Pacific records of railroad building.

Irving, Washington. _The Rocky Mountains_ (Philadelphia, 1837). Two
vols., frontis., maps.

Jackson, Helen Hunt. _Bits of Travel at Home_ (Boston, 1878), 414 pp.

James, Harlean. _Romance of the National Parks_ (New York, 1939), xiv +
240 pp., illus.

Jeffers, L. R. “Memories of the Mountains of California,” _Scribner’s
Magazine_, May, 1919.

——. _The Call of the Mountains_ (1922).

Johnson, Clifton. _Highways and Byways of the Pacific Coast_ (1907), 324
pp., illus.

Johnson, Robert U. _Remembered Yesterdays_ (Boston, 1923), 624 pp.,
illus.

Johnstone, E. McD. _West by South, Half South_ (Buffalo, 1890), 98 pp.,
illus.

Jones, Fannie Crippen. “The Barnards in Yosemite” (MS in Yosemite
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King, Clarence. _Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada_ (Boston, 1872),
292 pp. [Several subsequent eds., the latest edited by F. P.
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Kittredge, Frank A. “Trails of the National Parks,” _American Civic
Annual_, 1931, pp. 18-22.

——. “His [Col. C. G. Thomson’s] Contribution to the National Parks,”
_Yosemite Nature Notes_, 1937, pp. 37-38.

——. “Yosemite During the War Years,” _Yosemite Nature Notes_, 1946, pp.
73-77.

——. “The National Park Service: The Thirtieth Anniversary,” _Yosemite
Nature Notes_, 1946, pp. 86-88.

——. “Death of Maggie Howard, ‘Tabuce,’ Participant in Yosemite Indian
Demonstration, Yosemite Interpretive Program,” Memo.,
Superintendent to Director, January 29, 1947, 2 pp.

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illus.

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84-89.

Kroeber, A. L. “California Place Names of Indian Origin,” _University of
California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology_, 12
(1916): 2, 31-69.

——. “Indians of Yosemite,” in _Handbook of Yosemite National Park_
(Ansel F. Hall, ed.; New York, 1921), pp. 49-73.

——. “Handbook of the Indians of California,” Bulletin 78, Bureau
American Ethnology (Washington, D. C., 1925).

Kuykendall, R. S. _Early History of Yosemite Valley_ (Washington, D. C.,
1919).

Kyle, C. W. _Yosemite: The World’s Wonderland_ (1915).

Laidlaw, Walter. “A Camping Tour to Yosemite,” _Outlook_, June 5, 1897,
pp. 319-324.

Layton, G. I. _Two Years in the Life of the Felon, Grovenor I. Layton,
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LeConte, J. N. _Alpina Americana, No. 1: The High Sierra of California_
(American Alpine Club, New York, 1907).

——. “The Soda Springs Property in the Tuolumne Meadows,” _Sierra Club
Bulletin_, 9 (1913): 1, 36-39.

LeConte, Joseph. _A Journal of Ramblings through the High Sierras of
California by the “University Excursion Party”_ (San Francisco,
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illus.]

——. “Rough Notes of a Yosemite Camping Trip,” _Overland Monthly_,
October, November, December, 1885.

——. “Yosemite,” _Sunset_, 2 (1899): 119-120, illus.

——. The Autobiography of Joseph LeConte (1903), 338 pp., illus.

Leidig, Charles T. “The Leidig Family in California” (MS).

——. “President Roosevelt’s Visit to Yosemite in May, 1903” [a report by
the President’s guide and cook], 4 pp., 1941, typed MS in Yosemite
Museum.

Leonard, Richard M. “Piton Technique on the Cathedral Spires,”
_Appalachia_, December, 1934, p. 178.

——. “Rock Climbing in Yosemite,” _Sierra Club Bulletin_, 23 (1938): 2,
116-119.

——. “Use of Wilderness Areas,” _American Planning and Civic Annual_,
1939, pp. 227-231.

Leonard, Richard M., and David R. Brower. “A Climber’s Guide to the High
Sierra: Part IV, Yosemite Valley,” _Sierra Club Bulletin_, 25
(1940): 1, 41-63.

Leonard, Richard M., et al. _Mountain Records of the Sierra Nevada_
(Sierra Club, San Francisco, 1937), 118 pp. (mim.).

Leonard, Zenas. _Leonard’s Narrative, 1831-1836_ (Cleveland, 1904), 318
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FOOTNOTES

[1]The first legislature of the state appointed a committee to report on
the derivation and definition of the names of the several counties
of California. The report is dated April 16, 1850, and from it is
quoted the following:

“In the month of June, 1806 (in one of their yearly excursions to
the valley of the rushes—Valle de los Tulares—with a view to hunt
elks), a party of Californians pitched their tents on a stream at
the foot of the Sierra Nevada, and whilst there, myriads of
butterflies, of the most gorgeous and variegated colors, clustered
on the surrounding trees, attracted their attention, from which
circumstance they gave the stream the appellation of Mariposa. Hence
Mariposa River, from which the county (also heavily laden with the
precious metal) derives its poetical name.”

[2]Foremost among the references is L. H. Bunnell’s _Discovery of the
Yosemite_, published in 1880. Bunnell was closely associated with
Savage during three of his most active years in the Mariposa region;
his account is intimate and rich in detail and unprejudiced. We
catch an interesting glimpse of Savage, the ’forty-niner, through
the pages also of George H. Tinkham’s _California Men and Events_.
Something additional of his gold mining and trading is gleaned from
the writings of W. E. Wilde and S. P. Elias. Elliott’s _History of
Fresno County_ contributes a number of authenticated incidents, and
J. M. Hutchings reveals matters regarding influences that
undoubtedly figured in his tragic death. United States Senate
documents record his official dealings with the Indians; L. A.
Winchell gives some information on his enemies; contemporary
newspapers describe his meeting with death; and finally _Depositions
from the Papers of Geo. W. Wright, One of Two First Congressmen from
California_, provides papers pertaining to the Court of Claims,
1858, in which appears sworn testimony regarding the shooting of
Savage. This last paper formed a part of the Boutwell Dunlap
Collection.

[3]Bell (1927) records that the photographer, Vance, made pictures of
Savage and his Indians on this occasion.

[4]A muster roll of the Mariposa Battalion appears in Elliott, 1881, and
in Russell, 1931, pp. 186-191.

[5]The Walker party, 1833, may have been the first to see the Merced
Grove. See p. 8. See also Wegner, J. H., _Yosemite Nature Notes_
(1930), p. 67.

[6]See Fannie Crippen Jones, “The Barnards in Yosemite,” MS in Yosemite
Museum.

[7]See Harwell, C. A., _Yosemite Nature Notes_, 1933, Vol. XII, No. 1.

[8]See Taylor, Mrs. H. J., _Yosemite Nature Notes_ (1929).

[9]Beatty, M. E. “History of the Firefall,” _Yosemite Nature Notes_
(1934), pp. 41-43; and Yosemite Park and Curry Co., 1940, _The
Firefall, Explanation and History_, Yosemite National Park, pp. 1-5.

[10]Camps at these spots first were established in the days of the
Desmond Park Service Company, 1916-1918.

[11]A road of sorts crossed Sonora Pass prior to this construction work.
Hittell (1911, p. 218) tells of Grizzly Adams’s trip through the
pass with a wagon in the Spring of 1854.

[12]See Farquhar, 1926, pp. 15-23.

[13]Joseph LeConte became a faculty member at the University of
California in 1869 and made his first trip to Yosemite in 1870. Of
that experience, he wrote, “This trip was almost an era in my life.”
For the rest of his life, he devoted much time to Sierra studies. He
died suddenly in the valley, July 6, 1901. The LeConte Memorial
Lodge in Yosemite Valley, built by the Sierra Club in 1903,
commemorates his work (see _Sierra Club Bulletin_, 1904, 1905;
Farquhar, 1926, pp. 30-32).

[14]Lt. Montgomery Meigs Macomb, assisted by J. C. Spiller and F. O.
Maxson, explored the Yosemite region in 1878 and 1879. Their work
was a part of the program of the U. S. Geographical Surveys West of
the 100th Meridian, Capt. George M. Wheeler in charge. This program
received the general direction of the Chief of Engineers, U. S.
Army. Macomb's field work yielded the data for a map which was
standard in the Yosemite region for many years (see U. S. War Dept.,
1879).

[15]In 1879, the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey sent a
reconnaissance party into the Yosemite high country under the
leadership of George Davidson. Mount Conness was occupied on that
occasion and again in 1887 and 1890 (see p. 72; also Davidson,
1892).

[16]The United States Geological Survey was organized in 1879 under the
direction of Clarence King. In 1882 and 1883, a thorough study was
made of the Yosemite high country west of Mono Lake. Israel C.
Russell was in charge of this field work. Willard D. Johnson and
Grove Karl Gilbert assisted him. These men confirmed some of the
original work done by Muir and Joseph LeConte (See U. S. Geological
Survey, 1883-84, pp. 31-32, 303-328; 1886-87, I: 261-394; I. C.
Russell, 1897, pp. 37-54; Farquhar, 1926, p. 42).

[17]See Ralph H. Lewis, 1941 and 1945; Robert C. Robinson, 1940.

[18]Mount Conness, one of the outstanding peaks in the Tuolumne Meadows
region, was named for Senator John Conness by Clarence King, later
first director of the United States Geological Survey, but at the
time a member of the Whitney Survey. King and James T. Gardiner were
the first to climb the peak, making the ascent in 1864. Referring to
the mountain, King said that because of its “firm peak with titan
strength and brow so square and solid, it seems altogether natural
we should have named it for California’s statesman, John Conness.”

[19]_Congressional Globe_, May 17, 1864, p. 2301.

[20]_The Life and Letters of John Muir_, I: 207-208.

[21]Gabriel Sovulewski was born in Poland in 1866; he died Nov. 29,
1938. For a synopsis of his work and the activities of others in the
military administration, see “Administrative Officers of Yosemite,”
by C. Frank Brockman, _Yosemite Nature Notes_ (1944).

[22]Taylor, Mrs. H. J. “Hetch Hetchy Water Flows into San Francisco.”
_Yosemite Nature Notes_ (1934), pp. 89-91, Badè, W. F., “The Hetch
Hetchy Situation [Editorial],” _Sierra Club Bulletin_, 9 (1914): 3,
174.

[23]See Report of the Secretary of the Interior, 1933, pp. 158-159, for
account of the Stephen T. Mather Appreciation and the dedication of
Mather Memorial Plaques, presented by that organization.

[24]At that time called Lafayette National Park and since re-named when
it was extended to include a portion of the mainland.

_INDEX_

The following entries refer particularly to narrative pages. For further
references, see under appropriate date in Chronology.

_INDEX_

A
Abrams, LeRoy, 134
Acknowledgments, ix-xi
Adams, James Capen, 127, 134, 180
Adams, Virginia and Ansel, 73, 191
Administration, Yosemite, 146-175
Agua Fria, first Mariposa County seat, 12, 20, 24
Ahwahnee, Indian name for Yosemite Valley, 37.
_See also_ Camp Ahwahnee
Ahwahnee Hotel, 101, 115-116
Airplane, first in Yosemite Valley, 188
Albright, Horace M., biographical notes, 169-170
All-Year Highway, 86, 169-170, 188-189
_Alta California_, quoted, 26, 28, 38-39;
another use, 103
American Association of Museums, x-xi.
_See also_ Yosemite Museum
American [Planning and] Civic Association, 161
Anderson, George G., 79;
Trail of, 109
Arboretum, Wawona, 187
Aurora, mining town, 124, 127
Automobiles in Yosemite, 69
Ayres, Thomas, Yosemite sketches by, 48, 58, 147, 181

B
Badè, W. F., writings of, 153-154
Badger Pass, 91, 173, 191, 193
Ball, George A., 162
Barnard, J. K., 98.
_See also_ Sentinel Hotel
Barrett, Samuel A., 132
Beadle, J. H., quoted, 53-55, 103
Beardsley, Buck, 96
Beardsley and Hite. _See_ Upper Hotel
Beatty, M. E., 131, 136, 193
Bennetville. _See_ Tioga
Benson, Col. Harry C., 77, 159, 160;
quoted, 83
Benton, California, 124
Best, Harry C., 186, 191
Bierstadt, Albert, 181
Big Oak Flat: Trail, 52;
Road, 164-170
Big Oak Flat and Yosemite Turnpike Company, 63
Big Tree Room, 58
Big Trees: discovery, 8;
Mariposa Grove, 8;
Merced Grove, 8, 62;
writings about, 133-134;
Tuolumne Grove, 184
Big Trees Lodge, 113, 189, 191
Bigelow, Maj. John, 187
Black, A. G., 95, 96
Black Bart. _See_ Highwaymen
Black’s Hotel: Bull Creek, 101;
Yosemite Valley, 56, 96, 101, 123-128 _passim_
Bloody Canyon, 46, 74, 118, 119
Bodie: boom days of, 64-65, 118, 124;
mining district organized, 126;
relics, 128
Body, W. S., 125, 127
Boling, Captain John: and Mariposa Battalion, 25, 36, 180;
first entrance into Yosemite Valley of, 37;
first letter from Yosemite Valley by, 38, 180;
quoted, 38-39;
second entrance into Yosemite Valley of, 180
Bolles, Ida Savage, 16
Botanical studies in Yosemite, 133-134
Boutwell Dunlap collection, 16 n., 30
Bowditch, Mrs. Ernest W., 48
Boysen, J. T., 69, 193
Brace, Charles Loring, 97, 99;
quoted, 97-98, 99-100
Brewer, William H., 71, 78, 129, 130
Brockman, C. Frank, x, 136, 144;
quoted on trails, 82
Brooks, Joel H., investigated Savage killing, 30-32
Brower, David R., xi;
quoted, 87-91
Brusky, William, 118
Bryant, H. C., 136, 138-143 _passim_;
quoted, 140
Bumpus, H. C., 142, 193
Bunnell, L. H.: quoted on Walker, 7;
writings of, 14, 16;
quoted on Savage, 19-20;
quoted on mistreatment of Indians, 27;
and naming of Yosemite Valley, 37;
and naming of Tenaya Lake, 39;
Yosemite Valley surveyed by, 92;
trail built by Coulter and, 92;
and first house built in Yosemite, 55, 93;
quoted on first view of Yosemite, 146;
quoted on aesthetic appreciation of Yosemite, 147;
influence on Yosemite reservation, 147
Bureau of American Ethnology, 132
Burney, James, with volunteer Indian fighters, 24
Buwalda, John P., 131, 190

C
Cain, Mr. and Mrs. D. V., 128
Caine, Capt. J. E., 186
California Fish and Game Commission, 138, 140, 143, 185
_California Magazine._ _See_ J. M. Hutchings
California State Geological Survey, 71, 129.
_See also_ J. D. Whitney
Calkins, F. C., 131
Cammerer, Arno B., 173
Camp Ahwahnee, 112
Camp Curry, 111-113
Camp Lost Arrow, 112
Camp Yosemite, 112
Campbell, William J., and mistreatment of Indians, 28, 29
Camps, High Sierra. _See_ High Sierra Camps
Carl Inn Tract, 163, 171
Caton, J. D., quoted, 98
Cedar Cottage. _See_ Upper Hotel
Central Pacific Railroad, 63, 182
Chandler, Mrs. A. E., 40
Chapel, Yosemite Valley, 102
Chittenden, Hiram M., 157
Church Bowl, Yosemite, 191
Churchill, Caroline M., quoted, 102
Civilian Conservation Corps, 191, 192
Clark, Galen: papers of, 40;
established station now known as Wawona, 50-51;
as geologist, 130;
writings of, 133;
first Yosemite guardian, 150;
as surveyor, 180;
death of, 187;
memorial to, 187
Clark and Moore’s Hotel, 100
Clark’s (Galen) Ranch: as a resort, 99-101;
as headquarters, U. S. Army, 157.
_See also_ Wawona
Coarse Gold, 26
Colby, William E., 156-157
Cole, James E., 136
Commonwealth Club of California, 86
Conness, Mount, 72, 148
Conness, Senator John, 148
Conway, John, trail builder, 79, 80, 104, 108, 182, 183
Cook, J. J., 111
Cook, L. F., 134
Corcoran, May Stanislas, 11
Cosmopolitan saloon, 103-104
Coulter, George W., 52
Coulter and Murphy, 98.
_See also_ Sentinel Hotel
Coulterville: Trail, 52, 181;
Road, 53, 62, 63, 163-164
Coulterville and Yosemite Turnpike Company, 61, 62
Craig, Maj. L. A., 186
Cunningham, S. W., 93-96 _passim_
Curry, Mr. and Mrs. D. A., 111-113

D
Daniels, Mark, 161, 188
Davidson, Professor George, 71-72, 130
Davis, Milton F., 77, 159
Deer, hoof and mouth disease epidemic in, 189
Degnan’s bakery and store, 110
Del Portal Hotel, 187
Dennison, W. E., 184
Desmond Park Service Company, 109, 112
Devils Postpile, 171, 187
Dill, William, 25, 36
Dixon, Joseph, 135
Dodd, Derrick, 108-109
Drury, Newton B.: quoted, vii-viii;
and National Park Service wildlife policy, 137;
and Save-the-Redwoods League, 173;
appointed to Yosemite Advisory Board, 173;
Director, National Park Service, xii, 173-174

E
Eagle Peak Trail, 80
Earthquake in Yosemite Valley, 183
Echo Wall Trail, 185
Education Department. _See_ Yosemite Education Department, and
Park Naturalists
Electric power plant: Cascades, 168;
Happy Isles, 186
Eleven-Mile Trail, 104, 109
Elias, S. P., 16 n;
quoted, 17
Elk, California Valley: introduced into Yosemite, 189;
removed, 191
Elliott’s _History of Fresno County_, 16 n;
quoted, 29, 30
El Portal, 68.
_See_ All-Year Highway
Ernst, Emil, 134
Esmeralda Mining District, 126
Ethnological studies, 132-133
Eustis, Mrs. A. H., 49
Ewing, Frank B., 85
Exploration of Yosemite, 71-91

F
Farquhar, Francis P.: acknowledgment to, xi;
evaluation of Walker’s discovery of Yosemite, 7
Farrow, T. E., 113-114
Firefall, Glacier Point, 108, 112
First mountaineering ascents: Cathedral Peak, 78;
Mount Clark, 78;
Mount Conness, 78;
Mount Dana, 78;
Mount Hoffmann, 78;
Mount Lyell, 78, 191;
Half Dome, 79;
Cathedral Spires, 88;
routes on valley walls, 88;
Lost Arrow, 89
Fish. _See_ California Fish and Game Commission
Fiske, George, photographer, 40
Flood, Yosemite, 69-70
Foley, D. J., quoted, 66-68
Force, Lieut. Wm., 186
Forsyth, Major W. W., 77, 159
Fort Miller, 29, 46
Fort Yosemite, 160
Four-Mile Trail, 80-81, 108
Frémont, John Charles: visit to Yosemite region, 12;
home in Bear Valley, 13;
and Frémont Grant, 13;
Bear Flag party of, 18
French Company, the, 12, 13
Fresno Flats, 123, 124

G
Gale, Capt. G. H. G., 185
Gardiner, James T., 71, 78, 148 n
Garrard, Lt. Col. Jos., 187
Geological studies, 129-132
Gifford, E. W., 132
Glacier measuring, 190
Glacier Point: Mountain House, 107-109;
Hotel, 109;
passenger lift proposal, 109;
Road, 109, 170
Godfrey, Elizabeth H., x, 60, 133, 193
Goethe, C. M., 137, 138
Gold discovery, influence on Yosemite history, 10-13
Golden Crown Mine, 122
Gordon-Cumming, Lady, quoted, 108
Government Center, 189
Grazing: permitted in Yosemite, 188.
_See also_ Yosemite National Park, exploitation of
Great Sierra Mining Company, 119, 120
Greeley, Horace, 58
Grinnell, Joseph, 135
Grover, Stephen F., 40;
quoted, 40-45
Guidebooks, 73-74, 89

H
Habitation, first in Yosemite, 55, 93
Hall, Ansel F., xi, 135;
and establishment of Yosemite Museum, 140-141, 144
Hall, Harvey M. and Carlotta C., 134
Hall, Tommy, 104
Hamlin, C. J., and establishment of Yosemite Museum, 141
Harlow, Geo. T., 186
Harris, A., and Harris Camp Grounds, 106-107
Harvey, Walter H.: and death of Savage, 30-32;
and mistreatment of Indians, 28, 29
Harwell, C. A., x, 136, 144
Hein, Maj. O. L., 186
Hetch Hetchy Valley:
rights granted to San Francisco, 161, 187, 188;
as a reservoir, 161-162;
fight for preservation of, 162 n, 186;
discovery of, 179;
dam enlarged, 191
High Sierra Camps, 87, 113-115, 167, 191
High Sierra snow surveys, 190
High Sierra trails, 81, 82, 83-85
Highwaymen:
Black Bart, 66;
of the Chowchilla, 66-68
Hite, John, 52
Hite’s Cove route, 52, 93
Hoffmann, Charles F., 71, 78
Holbrook, J. C., quoted, 94
Holmes, A. E., quoted, 69
Holmes, L. A., editor, _Mariposa Gazette_, 50
Homer, L. L., 121
Homer Mining District, 121
_Homer Mining Index_, 119, 121, 122;
quoted, 119-120, 122
Hospital. _See_ Lewis Memorial Hospital, Ahwahnee Hotel (U. S.
Navy), and Yosemite Hospital (U. S. Army)
Hotels. _See_ Ahwahnee, Barnard’s, Big Trees Lodge, Black’s, Camp
Ahwahnee, Camp Curry, Camp Lost Arrow, Camp Yosemite,
Cedar Cottage, Clark and Moore’s, Clark’s Ranch,
Cosmopolitan, Coulter and Murphy, Del Portal, Glacier
Point, Harris Camp Grounds, High Sierra Camps, Hutchings
House, La Casa Nevada, Leidig’s, Lower, Oak Cottage,
Peregoy’s, River Cottage, Rock Cottage, Sentinel, Stoneman
House, Tuolumne Meadows Lodge, Upper, Wawona, Yosemite
Falls, Yosemite Lodge
Hotels and their keepers, 92-116
Howard, Maggie, 190, 193
Hubbard, Mrs. C. W., 48
Huntington, Ellsworth, 134
Hutchings, Emily A., quotation from, 59-60
Hutchings, Florence, 182
Hutchings, James Mason:
writings of, 16, 50, 56, 57;
quoted, 35, 56, 78;
and first interest in Yosemite, 48, 56, 80, 91, 96-98;
Yosemite publicity, 50, 147, 151;
home in Yosemite of, 57, 98;
as hotel proprietor, 58;
as guardian of Yosemite Grant, 59, 152, 184;
death of, 59;
and trails, 80;
and litigation concerning Yosemite holdings, 96, 98, 149-152;
orchard, 98;
as guide, 107
“Hutchings,” Tom, 48
Hutchings House: applied to Cedar Cottage, Oak Cottage, River
Cottage, Rock Cottage, Sentinel Hotel, Upper Hotel, which
see

I
Indian Canyon Trail, 80
Indian Commissioners, 36
Indian exhibit in Yosemite, 190, 193
Indian trails, 74-77
Indian tribes of Yosemite region:
Ah-wah-nee-chees, 12, 132;
Chowchillas, 22, 76, 77;
Chukchansi, 22, 75, 76, 77;
Miwoks, 74, 75, 76, 132;
Mono, 46, 47, 76;
Nuchu, 36, 99;
Southern Miwok, 75;
Yokuts, 75, 76
Indians of Yosemite region:
first clash between whites and, 24-25;
murders preceding Yosemite Indian War by, 24;
and Mariposa Indian War, 24;
treaties with, 26;
reservations for, 26, 28, 35, 36, 40;
mistreatment of, 27, 28;
effect of Savage’s death upon, 33-34;
dealings with Indian agents, 36;
Wawona campsite of Nuchus, 36, 99
Indians of Yosemite Valley:
attack on Savage’s trading post, 24;
participation in Mariposa Indian War, 24;
and failure to sign treaty, 26, 36;
first surrender to whites, 36;
return to Yosemite Valley, 40;
attack on prospectors, 40-45;
strife with Mono Indians, 46-48;
second surrender to whites, 180;
interview with last survivor of original band of, _see_
Lebrado
Ireland, Louise Savage, 16, 34

J
Jepson, Willis L., 133, 134
John Muir Trail, 83-85
Johnson, Robert Underwood, editor of _Century Magazine_, 155
Johnston, Adam, quoted, 77
Jorgensen, Chris, 186, 191
Juarez, Chief José, 22-24

K
Kat, William, 88
Kemp, J. C., 119
“Kenneyville” property, 101
King, Clarence:
as geologist, 71, 129;
as mountaineer, 78;
as mapper, 95, 148 n;
quoted, 95-96
Kittredge, Frank A.:
acknowledgment to, xi;
quoted, 171;
biographical notes, 172-173
Kroeber, A. L.:
cited, 75;
writings of, 132
Kuykendall, John J., 25, 36

L
La Casa Nevada, 80, 104-105
Lake, W. B., quoted, 106-107
Lake Mining District, 123
Lamon, James C., first homesteader, 147-150 _passim_
Lebrado, Maria, last survivor of Yosemites, 25, 47-48
LeConte, J. N., 72, 84, 130, 182, 193
LeConte, Joseph:
as geologist, 130;
first Yosemite trip, 205;
memorial lectures, 188
LeConte Memorial Lodge, 83, 130, 186
Ledge Trail, 107, 188
Leevining Canyon, 46, 122
Leidig, G. F., 95, 101
Leidig’s Hotel, 101-103
Lembert, John B., 119, 185.
_See also_ Tuolumne Soda Springs
Leonard, Archie, 122, 161
Leonard, Richard M., 89
Leonard, Zenas:
as trapper, 4-5;
clerk of Walker party, author of earliest Yosemite document,
5, 6-7, 8
Lewis, Washington B., biographical notes, 167-169
Lewis Memorial Hospital, 190
Littebrant, Major William T., 161
Little Yosemite Trail, 104
Lodges. _See_ Hotels
Longhurst, Peter, 95
Lower Hotel, 56, 93-96
Lundy, 119, 121, 122
Lundy, W. J., 121

M
McCauley, James:
and Glacier Point Mountain House, 108-109;
originator of firefall, 108;
trail builder, 79, 80, 107-108
McClure, Lieut., N. F., 77, 159
McCord, Mark L., 185
McDuffie, Duncan, and Yosemite Advisory Board, 190
McHenry, Donald Edward, 144
McLean, Dr. John T., 61, 62, 63;
quoted, 62
Macomb, Lieut. M. M., 71, 130
Mammoth City, 123, 124
Mammoth City-Fresno Trail, 123-124
_Mammoth City Herald_, 123, 125
_Mammoth City Times_, 123
Mann Brothers, Houston and Milton, 50, 51, 92
Maps, 71-73, 77
Maria, last of Yosemites. _See_ Lebrado
Mariposa:
history of, 11, 179;
origin of name, 11-12 n;
pioneers of, 11-12
Mariposa Battalion, 25-26, 36
Mariposa-El Portal-Yosemite Valley Road. _See_ All-Year Highway
Mariposa Estate, 13, 92, 179
_Mariposa Gazette_ and first printed description of Yosemite, 50
Mariposa Grove of Big Trees:
in State Park, 148-149;
discovery, 180;
explored by Galen Clark, 181;
log cabin, 185;
Museum, 190
Mariposa-Hite’s Cove Road, 52
Mariposa [Indian] Trail, 51, 52, 99
Mariposa Indian War. _See_ Indians of Yosemite Valley
Mariposa-Wawona-Yosemite Valley Road, 63
Marshall, James W., 10
Marshall, R. B., 72, 188
Marvin, Judge John G., 30, 31, 32
Master Plan of Yosemite National Park, 80, 86, 174-175
Mather, Stephen T.:
Mountain Party of 1916, 85;
and John Muir Trail, 85;
and National Park Service educational program, 137-138;
appointed Director of National Park Service, 161;
Tioga Road purchased by, 164;
biographical notes, 164-167, 168-173 _passim_
Matthes, François E., 73, 131
May Lundy Mine, 122
Memorials:
J. D. Savage placque, 35;
LeConte Lodge, 130;
Galen Clark seat, 187;
LeConte lectures, 188;
Parsons Lodge, 188;
Lewis Hospital, 190
Merced Grove of Big Trees, 8
Merced-Wawona Road, 101
Merriam, C. Hart, 132
Merriam, John C., 142
Merriam, Lawrence C., 171-172, 192
Michael, Charles, 88
Michael, Enid, 134-135, 189
Miller, Adolph C., 161
Miller, Loye H., 138;
quoted, 138-140
Mills, Cosie Hutchings (Mrs. Gertrude Hutchings), 59, 60
Mining Districts. _See_ Bodie, Esmeralda, Homer, Lake, Montgomery,
Mount Hoffmann, Tioga
Mono Diggings, 118
Mono Indians, strife with Yosemites, 46-48
Mono region mining, 117-128
Mono Trail, 46, 74, 118
_Mono Weekly Messenger_, 125
Monoville, 118
Montgomery Mining District, 124
Moore, Edwin, 100
Moore, Lieut. Tredwell:
and attack on Yosemite Indians, 46;
Mono explorations of, 46, 117
Moran, Thomas, art collection, 191
Motor vehicles. _See_ Automobiles
Mountain View House. _See_ Peregoy’s
Mountaineering, 26, 78-79, 87-89;
National Park Service policy on, 89.
_See also_ First mountaineering ascents
Mount Dana Summit Mine, 120-121
Mount Hoffmann Mining District, 184
Muir, John:
as mountaineer, 78, 79, 88;
quoted, 79;
as explorer, 84, 182;
death, 84, 188;
as geologist, 130;
writings, 133-134, 155, 183;
as teacher of Yosemite values, 138, 152-156;
as sheepherder in Yosemite, 152-153;
“lumbering operation” of, 153;
in the employ of Hutchings, 153-154;
quoted on his Yosemite cabin by Badè, 153-154.
_See also_ Sierra Club
Muir Trail. _See_ John Muir Trail
Murphy, John L., 184, 185
Museum of Vertebrate Zoölogy, University of California, 135

N
Nature guiding, 138-141
Neal, Mr. and Mrs. John H., 94
Nuchu Indian camp, 36, 99

O
Oak Cottage, 98
Oastler, Frank R., 141
Olmsted, Frederick Law (elder):
as superintendent of Mariposa Estate, 13;
as chairman, first Board of Yosemite Commissioners, 13, 149;
quoted, 149
Olmsted, Frederick Law (younger):
as National Park Service Collaborator, 14;
appointed to Yosemite Advisory Board, 14
Orchards in Yosemite Valley:
Hutchings’, 98;
Lamon’s, 148
Ostrander Lake Ski Hut, 91, 192
Ostrander’s, 51

P
Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Co., 187
Packing (animals), 53, 87
Pardee, Gov. Geo. C., 187
Park Naturalists of Yosemite, 144
Parker, Harry C., 136
Parsons Memorial Lodge, 188
Passes used by Indians, 76
Peregoy, Charles E., 51, 105, 107
Peregoy’s Hotel, 51, 105-106
Photographs, first of Yosemite Valley, 56-57
Pilgrim Society, 126
Pine City, 123
Porter, Mrs. Sarah Seton, 17
Presidents visiting Yosemite:
Theodore Roosevelt, 156, 187;
Hayes, 184;
Franklin D. Roosevelt, 192
Presnall, C. C., 136
Private lands. _See_ Yosemite National Park, private lands

R
Radio communications, 191
Railroads:
Central Pacific, 63;
connections with stage routes, 63;
Yosemite Valley, 68, 69-70
Raker, John E., 161-162
Rangers, 158;
organization of, 161;
club house, 189
Raymond, I. W., and Yosemite Grant, 182
Research Reserves, 190
River Cottage, 98
Road policy:
and realignment, 86;
obliteration, 86;
and mountain wilderness values, 86
Roads. _See_ All-Year Highway, Big Oak Flat, Coulterville, El
Portal-Yosemite Valley, Glacier Point, Mariposa-Hite’s
Cove, Mariposa-Wawona-Yosemite Valley, Sonora Pass, Tioga,
Wawona-Merced
Robinson, Charles D., 184
Rock Cottage, 98
Rockefeller, John D., Jr., 162
Rockefeller, Laura Spelman Memorial. _See_ Yosemite Museum
Rodgers, Capt. Alexander, 77, 185
Roosevelt, Theodore, and Antiquities Act of 1906, 156
Rosenblatt, Arthur, 57
Rucker, Maj. L. J., 186
Russell, Carl P., 135, 144
Russell, I. C., 130

S
Saddle parties, 50-60
_San Francisco Daily Herald_, quoted, 29, 32, 33-34
Savage, James D.:
as trader, 14;
trading posts, 14, 19, 20-21, 23, 24, 25, 26;
role as discoverer of Yosemite Valley, 15;
boyhood, 17;
marriage, 17, 21;
arrival in California, 18;
champion of Indians, 18, 29;
intimacy with Indians, 18, 21;
as white chief of the foothills, 18-35;
associated with Rev. James Woods, 19;
Bunnell quoted on, 19-20;
quoted, 20, 27;
trouble with Indians, 21-27;
described by old Indian, 25;
in command of the Mariposa Battalion, 25, 36, 146;
aid to Indian agents, 26;
as military leader and trailfinder, 26, 75;
quarrel with Harvey, 30-32;
death of, 30-35;
burial, 34
School, Yosemite Valley public, 183
Second U. S. Infantry. _See_ Lieut. Tredwell Moore
Sell, W. M., 187.
_See also_ Camp Ahwahnee
Sentinel Hotel, 98, 112
_Sequoia gigantea._ _See_ Big Trees
Sharsmith, Carl W., 134
Sheepherder Mine. _See_ Tioga Mine
Sheepmen, trails used by, 77
Sherman, E. A., editor, _Esmeralda Star_, 126
Shirley, James C., 134
Sierra Club:
acknowledgment to, xi;
and mapping, 72;
and trails, 84, 85-86;
outings, 84, 186;
purposes, 86, 156;
Rock-Climbing Section, 88;
lodges, 130, 186, 188;
and U. S. Geological Survey, 131;
and study of fauna, 135;
and John Muir, 156;
and creation of Yosemite National Park, 156;
and Antiquities Act, 156;
and William E. Colby, 156-157;
and Yosemite recession, 160, 185;
Soda Springs property of, 187
_Sierra Club Bulletin_, xi, 156
Sierra Telegraph Company, 121
Skiing, 90-91, 173, 191, 193
Smedberg, W. R., 159
Smith, C. E., 103
Smith, Jedediah S.:
in ranks of “Fur Brigade,” 1;
trip to California by, 1, 2;
first white to cross Sierra Nevada, 2, 179
Snow, Albert, 79, 104, 123;
trail built by, 80, 104
Snow surveys of High Sierra, 190
Sonora Pass:
Road, 127;
Trail, 10, 75, 76, 80, 118
Southern Mines, 11
Sovulewski, Gabriel, 159, 187;
quoted, 83, 159-160;
death of, 159, 192
Stagecoach days, 61-70
Stagecoaches:
types of, 64;
replaced in Yosemite by automobiles, 69
Staging, unknown author quoted on, 64-65
Starr, W. A., Jr., guidebook, 73-74
Stoneman House, 101, 111
Storer, Tracy I., 135
Street, Harlow, 183
Sudworth, George B., 133
Survey parties, 71-73
“Ta-bu-ce.” _See_ Howard, Maggie

T
Taylor, Mrs. H. J., x, 132
Telegraph lines, 183, 187
Telephone:
first in Yosemite, 185;
first adequate system in Yosemite, 187
Tenaya, Chief of the Yosemites:
first surrender to whites, 36;
captured by whites, 37, 39;
death of, 46-48;
and Mono Indians, 46-48.
_See also_ Indians of Yosemite Valley
Tenaya Lake:
origin of name, 39;
trail, 46, 187;
and John L. Murphy claim, 184, 185
Thomson, Col. Charles G., 86, 170-171
Tileston, John Boies, 78
Tinkham, George G.:
quoted, 19;
writings of, 16 n
Tioga (settlement), 118, 119
Tioga-Lundy Trail, 121-122
Tioga Mine (Sheepherder), 118, 119
Tioga Mining District, 119, 120, 121
Tioga Road, 81, 120, 164, 170, 192
Toll roads, policy, 163
Toll trails, policy, 79, 80-81, 82, 163
Trading posts. _See_ Savage
Trail policy, 87
Trails. _See_ Anderson’s, Big Oak Flat, Coulterville, Eagle Peak,
Echo Wall, Eleven-Mile, Four-Mile, High Sierra, Hite’s
Cove, Indian Canyon, John Muir, Ledge, Little Yosemite,
Mammoth City-Fresno, Mariposa, Mono, Sonora Pass, Tenaya
Lake, Tioga-Lundy, Yosemite Falls
Trask, John B., 129;
quoted, 117
Tresidder, Donald B., 113, 162;
Mary Curry, xi, 113, 134
Tuolumne Grove of Big Trees, 8, 181, 184
Tuolumne Meadows Lodge, 114, 188
Tuolumne Meadows Soda Springs, 119;
purchased by Sierra Club, 187
Tuolumne Meadows trail, 46
Turner, H. W., 130
Twain, Mark, 127

U
U. S. Army:
pioneer activity in Yosemite, 77-78;
in charge of Yosemite National Park, 77, 157-161;
and building of trails, 78;
Wawona headquarters, 157, 185;
and Fort Yosemite, 160;
and Yosemite Arboretum, 187;
first plans for Yosemite Museum made by, 187;
Signal Corps in Yosemite, 192
U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, 72
U. S. Forest Service and John Muir Trail, 84, 85
U. S. Geological Survey, 71, 72, 73, 85, 131
U. S. National Park Service:
administration of Yosemite, vii-viii, 161-175 _passim_;
and trails, 84;
establishment of, 161
U. S. Navy and Special Hospital (Ahwahnee Hotel), 116
U. S. Weather Bureau, 187
Upper Hotel, or Hutchings House, 56, 57, 58, 93, 96-99;
Big Tree Room, 58

V
Vegetation type map, 192
Vining, Lee, 46
Vivian, A. P., quoted, 100-101, 102

W
Wagon:
first, 55, 179;
freight, 64;
mud, 64
Walker, Joseph R.:
with Bonneville, 3, 4, 5;
biographical notes, 3-8;
discovery of Yosemite by, 5, 6-8;
grave, 7;
discoverer of Big Trees, 8
Walker, M. V., 136
Wallace, Miles, 186
Walworth and Hite Hotel, 56, 93
Ward, Marjorie Montgomery, 190
Wartime problems in Yosemite, xii, 116, 149, 173-174, 192, 193
Washburn, Coffman, Chapman, and Company’s:
Mariposa Road, 63;
Wawona Hotel, 99-101
Watkins, C. E., 181
Wawona:
U. S. Army headquarters, 157, 160;
as a Nuchu Indian campsite, 36;
Galen Clark’s ownership, 50-51;
Hotel, 99-101;
Fish Hatchery, 185;
first Yosemite museum planned for, 187.
_See also_ Clark’s Ranch, Clark and Moore’s
Wawona basin, acquisition of, 190
Wawona Road, 170, 191
Wawona Tree, 184
Wawona Tunnel, 170, 191
Weed, C. L., photographs by, 55-56
Westfall’s, 51
Wheeler Survey, 71
Whitney, Josiah D., 71, 78, 129-130;
quoted, 79
Wilbur, Ray Lyman, 142
Wilcox, Capt. E. F., 186
Wildlife studies, 134-137
Winchell, L. A., writings of, 16 n
Winter sports, 90-91, 173
Wolfe, Linnie Marsh, 98
Wood, Capt. Abram Epperson, 158
Wright, George M., 134, 135, 136, 143

Y
Yelverton, Therese, Viscountess Avonmore, 98
Yosemite Advisory Board, 14, 157, 173, 190, 193
Yosemite Chapel, 102, 184
Yosemite Church Bowl, 191
Yosemite Commissioners, Board of:
first chairman, 13, 149;
action on road rights, 62-63, 151-152;
failure of legislation to support, 63, 151-152;
action on trails, 79;
action on homestead claims by, 149-152;
effect upon, of National Park bill, 157;
termination of authority of, 160
Yosemite Education Department:
origin of, 137-145;
objectives, 137-138;
and Yosemite Arboretum, 187.
_See also_ Yosemite Museum, Yosemite Natural History
Association, _Yosemite Nature Notes_, Yosemite School of
Field Natural History
Yosemite Falls Hotel. _See_ Sentinel Hotel
Yosemite Falls Trail, 80
Yosemite Grant. _See_ Yosemite State Park
Yosemite Hospital (U. S. Army), 187
Yosemite Lodge, 112, 188
Yosemite Master Plan, 80, 86, 174-175
Yosemite Museum:
acknowledgments to, ix-xi;
and story of Savage, 15;
and Ayres sketches, 48-49;
exhibits in, 104, 133;
organization of, 141-145, 189;
first plans made at Wawona, 187;
new building opened, 189;
Glacier Point branch of, 189;
Garden, 190;
“Live Indian Exhibit,” 190;
and Thomas Moran Collection, 191;
and Chris Jorgensen paintings, 191
Yosemite Museum Association, 144
Yosemite National Park:
exploitation of region of, vii-viii, 154-156, 158, 160,
161-162, 175, 180, 181;
private lands, 149-151, 157, 162-163;
established, 154-157;
State Park within, 155;
championed by Sierra Club, 156-157;
military in charge, 157-161;
boundary revision of, 157, 187
Yosemite National Park Company, 112, 113
Yosemite Natural History Association, 137, 144-145
Yosemite Naturalist Department, 144-145
_Yosemite Nature Notes_, ix, 144
Yosemite Park and Curry Company:
acknowledgment to, xi;
and Wawona Hotel, 101;
and Glacier Point Hotel, 109;
origin, 112-113;
and Big Trees Lodge, 113;
and High Sierra Camps, 114;
and Ahwahnee Hotel, 115-116
Yosemite School of Field Natural History, 143-144, 192
Yosemite State Park, 148-150, 154-155, 160, 182;
first appropriations for, 151, 152;
established, 155;
encompassed by National Park, 155;
re-ceded to United States, 160
Yosemite Sugar Pine Lumber Company and Carl Inn tract, 70, 162-163
_Yosemite Tourist_, D. J. Foley quoted in, 66-68
Yosemite Valley:
reserved as State Park, vii, 155, 182;
re-ceded to United States, vii, 160;
discovery by whites, 5, 6-8;
origin of name, 37;
as proposed reservoir site, 92, 147;
homesteads in, 148-151;
dual management of, 157, 160
Yosemite Valley Railroad:
built, 68, 187;
flooded, 69-70;
abandoned, 70
Young, Col. S. B. M., 185, 186

Z
Zevely, J. W., 186

One Hundred Years in Yosemite

is a clear story—sometimes dramatic, sometimes humorous, always
fascinating—of the struggles of the many men who brought about the
development of a great national park from an unknown wilderness. It is
an account of the men who first battled with Yosemite Indians, of those
who excited the curiosity of the first tourists and played critical
roles in heralding the valley of waterfalls, the back-country haven of
peaks, glacial lakes, and Big Trees.

To this narrative is added the story behind the later works of men in
the valley—its trails, roads, hotels, camps, climbs, and ski runs, and
the tale of the legislative battles over fixing the park’s boundaries
and preventing the overdevelopment and ruin of an irreplaceable scenic
treasure.

This is not a guidebook to Yosemite, but a story of men who made
possible the existence and enjoyment of the great park we know today—a
story which can immeasurably increase the visitor’s enjoyment of
Yosemite. For those who would pursue this aspect of Californiana
further, there is appended the most nearly complete of published
bibliographies on Yosemite.

Dr. Russell was for many years the Yosemite Park Naturalist, charged
with representing Yosemite to the public. He is now Chief Naturalist of
the National Park Service. His long list of publications has established
him as an authority in this field.

ONE HUNDRED YEARS
IN YOSEMITE
CARL PARCHER RUSSELL
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
PRICE, $3.75

_Other Books of Californiana
from the University of California Press_

THE LOS ANGELES STAR, 1851-1864.
By William B. Rice. Edited by John Walton Caughey.
FRANCIS DRAKE AND THE CALIFORNIA INDIANS, 1579.
By Robert F. Heizer. 52 pages. Illustrated. 1947.
THE REDWOODS OF COAST AND SIERRA
By James Clifford Shirley. 84 pages. 24 plates. Fourth edition,
1947. Boards, $2.00. Paper $1.00
MANUAL OF SKI MOUNTAINEERING.
Edited by David Brower. 228 pages. Frontispiece and 25 text
illustrations. Second edition, second printing, 1947. $2.50
AN ILLUSTRATED MANUAL OF PACIFIC COAST TREES.
By Howard E. McMinn and Evelyn Maino. 410 pages. Illustrated. Second
edition, third printing, 1947. $4.00
A SCOTCH PAISANO: HUGO REID’S LIFE IN CALIFORNIA, 1832-1852, Derived
from His Correspondence.
312 pages. Illustrated. 1939. $2.50
CORONADO’S QUEST: THE DISCOVERY OF THE SOUTHWESTERN STATES.
By A. Grove Day. 420 pages. Illustrations, map. 1940. $5.00
CITY OF THE GOLDEN ‘FIFTIES.
By Pauline Jacobson. 290 pages. Illustrated. 1938. $3.00

Transcriber’s Notes

—Silently corrected a few typos.

—Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook
is public-domain in the country of publication.

—In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by
_underscores_.

*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "One Hundred Years in Yosemite - The Story of a Great Park and Its Friends" ***

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