The Indians of the Yosemite Valley and vicinity have a great fund of mythological lore, which has been handed down verbally from generation to generation for hundreds of years, but they are very reluctant to speak of these legends to white people, and it is extremely difficult to get reliable information on the subject. Moreover, the Indians most familiar with them have not a sufficient knowledge of the English language to be able to express their ideas clearly.
Many Yosemite legends have been published at different times and in various forms, and it is probable that most of them have had at least a foundation in real Indian myths, but many are obviously fanciful in some particulars, and it is impossible to tell how much is of Indian origin and how much is due to poetic embellishment. When asked about some of these legends, many years ago, one of the old Yosemite Indians remarked contemptuously, "White man too much lie."
On the other hand, red men as well as white men are sometimes given to romancing, and I have known of cases where "legends" would be manufactured on the spur of the moment by some young Indian to satisfy an importunate and credulous questioner, to the keen but suppressed amusement of other Indians present.
It will therefore be seen that this subject is surrounded with some difficulty, and it must not be understood that the legends here given are vouched for as of wholly Indian origin. Some of them, notably those of the Tul-tok´-a-na and the second legend of Tis-sa´-ack, have been accepted by eminent ethnologists, and are believed to be purely aboriginal, while others have doubtless been somewhat idealized in translation and in the course of numerous repetitions.
The legend of To-tau-kon-nu´-la and Tis-sa´-ack is made up of fragments of mythological lore obtained from a number of old Indians at various times during the past fifty years. It varies somewhat from other legends which have been published regarding these same characters, but it is well known that the Indians living in Yosemite in recent years are of mixed tribal origin and do not all agree as to the traditional history of the region, nor the names of the prominent scenic features, nor even of the Valley itself. And this largely accounts for the fact that some of the legends do not harmonize with each other in details or in sentiment. All of them, however, are picturesque, and they certainly give an added interest to the natural beauties and wonders with which they are associated.
LEGEND OF TO-TAU-KON-NU´-LA AND TIS-SA´-ACK.
Innumerable moons and snows have passed since the Great Spirit guided a little band of his favorite children into the beautiful vale of Ah-wah´-nee [Yosemite Valley], and bid them stop and rest from their long and weary wanderings, which had lasted ever since they had been separated by the great waters from the happy land of their forefathers in the far distant El-o´-win (West).
Photograph by Boysen.
MARY.
Daughter of Captain John, one of the last Chiefs of the Yosemites.
Here they found food in abundance for all. The rivers gave them plenty of la-pe´-si (trout). They found in the meadows sweet ha´-ker (clover), and sour yu-yu-yu-mah (oxalis) for spring medicine, and sweet toon´-gy and other edible roots in abundance. The trees and bushes yielded acorns, pine nuts, fruits and berries. In the forests were herds of he´-ker (deer) and other animals, which gave meat for food and skins for clothing and beds. And here they lived and multiplied, and, as instructed by their medicine men, worshipped the Great Spirit which gave them life, and the sun which warmed and made them happy.