08-20-2021, 08:58 AM
Discovery of the Yosemite & The Indian War of 1851 by Lafayette Houghton Bunnell
In the winter of 1850-1851, the Mariposa Battalion chased a band of Indians across the Sierra Nevada Mountain range. The battalion had been formed for just this action after the Indians had burned and looted several trading posts which resulted in several deaths. Major James Savage led the battalion due to his knowledge of the Indian ways, because he was married to several Indian women and because he owned the trading posts. The result of the chase led Savage and his men, which included the author, to be the first non-Native Americans to step into the Yosemite Valley.
Bunnell was awed by the experience and couldn't wait to write about it. This book, published originally in 1892 was put together to collate his various articles and clear up misconceptions other explores had written and to set the record straight. It's a very straight forward narrative. Bunnell does claim credit for naming the valley, although he spelled it 'Yosemity'. Bunnel also named Lake Tenaya after the Indian chief the Mariposa Battalion had pursued and recently captured. When Chief Tenaya was told of this honor, Chief Tenaya said the lake already had a name. And what was the honor since he would never be allowed to see the lake again after he was sent to the reservation?
There is a lot of sadness in reading the book from a modern perspective. The Indians weren't very highly thought of and it was only right of the whites to take their land. But Bunnell, who didn't think much of Native Americans, still felt they were being screwed by the government an made and effort to bring this up.
It was an interesting look into the early exploration of the valley.
In the winter of 1850-1851, the Mariposa Battalion chased a band of Indians across the Sierra Nevada Mountain range. The battalion had been formed for just this action after the Indians had burned and looted several trading posts which resulted in several deaths. Major James Savage led the battalion due to his knowledge of the Indian ways, because he was married to several Indian women and because he owned the trading posts. The result of the chase led Savage and his men, which included the author, to be the first non-Native Americans to step into the Yosemite Valley.
Bunnell was awed by the experience and couldn't wait to write about it. This book, published originally in 1892 was put together to collate his various articles and clear up misconceptions other explores had written and to set the record straight. It's a very straight forward narrative. Bunnell does claim credit for naming the valley, although he spelled it 'Yosemity'. Bunnel also named Lake Tenaya after the Indian chief the Mariposa Battalion had pursued and recently captured. When Chief Tenaya was told of this honor, Chief Tenaya said the lake already had a name. And what was the honor since he would never be allowed to see the lake again after he was sent to the reservation?
There is a lot of sadness in reading the book from a modern perspective. The Indians weren't very highly thought of and it was only right of the whites to take their land. But Bunnell, who didn't think much of Native Americans, still felt they were being screwed by the government an made and effort to bring this up.
It was an interesting look into the early exploration of the valley.
As a matter of fact, my anger does keep me warm