{"collection":"Native American","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/nam/ca/lly/index.htm","path":"nam/ca/lly/index.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/nam/ca/lly/index.htm","text":"This short book about Yosemite Valley and its original inhabitants was\nwritten early in the 20th century.\nOf particular interest are the photographs, which are all in the public domain;\nwhile not as gorgeous as those taken in later years by Ansel Adams,\nthey adequately convey the magnificent landscape.\nThis book has a few factual inaccuracies, but only because of the\nlimits of contemporary knowledge.\nFor instance, at the time of writing, Ribbon Falls was thought to be\nthe highest waterfall in the world; today we know that Angel Falls\nin Venezuela has this distinction.\nAlso, the small but signficant survival of Chinese Redwoods was likewise\nunknown at the time, so we can today qualify the statement\nthat this tree only exists in California.\nHowever, for the most part this book is fairly accurate; in particular,\nthe geological description is not obsolete.\nThe core of this book is a description of the beliefs and material\nculture of the Miwok of Yosemite, and the disgraceful history\nof their ejection from the valley.\nThe historical and ethnographic information is fairly accurate;\nin contrast, the information on religion is the thinnest part of this book.\nWilson writes of a 'Great Spirit';\nas far as I know, this is not a part of Miwok beliefs.\nThere is no concept of an overarching deity.\nRather, Miwok mythology revolves around\nCoyote and the other animal-people inhabitants of the dreamtime.","title":"The Lore and the Lure of the Yosemite Index","type":"page"}