The Ahwahneechees: A Story of the Yosemite Indians
Bingaman JW. 1966. The Ahwahneechees: A Story of the Yosemite Indians. End-Kian Publishing Company
Little more than a century has passed since invading white miners first incurred the wrath of Yosemite Indians. The Mariposa Indian War of the early 1850’s brought a good deal of notice to certain Indian chiefs and subchiefs among the hostiles; lurid tales regarding these Indians spread through the hills. A limited literature also grew up around some of the storied people and places — a literature which, generally, was colored by the hateful bias maintained by many of the land-hungry whites. Moderately decent proposals made by U. S. Indian agents for the settlement of Indian pleas brought many criticisms by California politicians, abusive charges were hurled against the mediators, and on occasion, white champions of the Indians’ plea were murdered in cold blood. Under conditions of tension, ethnological considerations "went by the board", and very few, indeed, were the tribesmen who became distinct individuals in the printed record of the day. In other words, not many of the Yosemite Indians of a hundred years ago can at this late date be identified as remembered personalities.