Part 7 (1/2)

”Pu-si'-na, and Chuk'-ka (the squirrel and the acorn-cache), a tall, sharp needle, with a smaller one at its base, just east of Cathedral Rock.... The savages... imagined here a squirrel nibbling at the base of an acorn granary.

”Loi'-a, Sentinel Rock.

”Sak'-ka-du-eh, Sentinel Dome.

”Cho'-lok (the fall), Yosemite Fall. This is the generic word for 'fall.'

”Ma'-ta (the canon), Indian canon. A generic word, in explaining which the Indians hold up both hands to denote perpendicular walls.

”Ham'-mo-ko (usually contracted to Ham'-moak),... broken debris lying at the foot of the walls.

”U-zu'-mai-ti La'-wa-tuh (grizzly bear skin), Glacier Rock... from the grayish, grizzled appearance of the wall.

”Cho-ko-nip'-o-deh (baby-basket), Royal Arches. This... canopy-rock bears no little resemblance to an Indian baby-basket. Another form is cho-ko'-ni,... literally... 'dog-house.'

”Pai-wai'-ak (white water?), Vernal Fall.

”Yo-wai-yi, Nevada Fall. In this word is detected the root of Awaia, 'a lake' or body of water.

”Tis-se'-yak, South Dome. [See legend elsewhere.]

”To-ko'-ye, North Dome, husband of Tisseyak. [See legend elsewhere.]

”Shun'-ta, Hun'-ta (the eye), Watching Eye.

”A-wai'-a (a lake), Mirror Lake.

”Sa-wah' (a gap), a name occurring frequently.

”Wa-ha'-ka, a village which stood at the base of Three Brothers; also the rock itself. This was the westernmost village in the valley.

”There were nine villages in Yosemite Valley and... formerly others extending as far down as the Bridal Veil Fall, which were destroyed in wars that occurred before the whites came.”

(3) The explanation given above is that made by Mr. Stephen Powers, in Vol. 3, U. S. Geographical and Geological Survey of the Rocky Mountain region, Part 2, Contributions to North American Ethnology, 1877.

Legend of Tu-Tok-A-Nu'-La (El Capitan) Yosemite Valley

Here were once two little boys living in the valley who went down to the river to swim. After paddling and splas.h.i.+ng about to their hearts'

content, they went on sh.o.r.e and crept up on a huge boulder which stood beside the water. They lay down in the warm suns.h.i.+ne to dry themselves, but fell asleep. They slept so soundly that they knew nothing, though the great boulder grew day by day, and rose night by night, until it lifted them up beyond the sight of their tribe, who looked for them everywhere.

The rock grew until the boys were lifted high into the heaven, even far up above the blue sky, until they sc.r.a.ped their faces against the moon.

And still, year after year, among the clouds they slept.