I will here relate a personal experience which occurred in September, 1857, while out with a large party of Indians on a deer hunt in the mountains.
One day, after a long tramp, I stopped to rest by the side of a small lake about eight miles from the present site of Wawona, and I then named it Grouse Lake on account of the great number of grouse found there. Very soon a party of Indians came along carrying some deer, and stopped on the opposite side of the lake to rest and get some water. Soon after they had started again for their camp I heard a distinct wailing cry, somewhat like the cry of a puppy when lost, and I thought the Indians must have left one of their young dogs behind.
When I joined the Indians in camp that night I inquired of them about the sound I had heard. They replied that it was not a dog—that a long time ago an Indian boy had been drowned in the lake, and that every time any one passed there he always cried after them, and that no one dared to go in the lake, for he would catch them by the legs and pull them down and they would, be drowned. I then concluded that it must have been some unseen water-fowl that made the cry, and at that time I thought that the Indians were trying to impose on my credulity, but I am now convinced that they fully believed the story they told me.
Po-ho´-no Lake, the headwaters of the Bridal Veil Creek, was also thought to be haunted by troubled spirits, which affected the stream clear down into the Yosemite Valley; and the Indians believed that an evil wind there had been the cause of some fatal accidents many years ago. The word Po-ho´-no means a puffing wind, and has also been translated "Evil Wind," on account of the superstition above referred to.
LEGEND OF THE LOST ARROW.
Tee-hee´-nay was a beautiful Ah-wah´-nee maiden, said to be the most beautiful of her tribe, and she was beloved by Kos-su´-kah, a strong and valiant young brave. Valuable presents had been made to the bride's parents, and they had given their consent to an early marriage, which was to be celebrated by a great feast.
To provide an abundance of venison and other meat for this banquet, Kos-su´-kah gathered together his young companions and went into the mountains in search of game. In order that Tee-hee´-nay might know of his welfare and the success of the hunt, it was agreed between the lovers that at sunset Kos-su´-kah should go to the high rock to the east of Cho´-lak [Yosemite Falls], and should shoot an arrow into the Valley, to which should be attached a number of grouse feathers corresponding to the number of deer that had fallen before the skill of the hunters.
Photograph by Fiske.
BRIDAL VEIL FALL (PO-HO´-NO). 940 Feet.
The source of this stream is supposed by the Indians to be haunted by troubled spirits, which affect the water along its whole course. The word Po-ho´-no means a "puffing wind."