INDIAN VILLAGE AND CAMP SITES IN 

 YOSEMITE VALLEY* 



By C. Hart Mersiam 

 'OR ages before its discovery by white men Yosemite Val- 



X ley was inhabited by Indians. Owing to its isolated posi- 

 tion and the abundance of mountain trout, quail, grouse, deer, 

 bear, and other game animals, and of acorns, manzanita-berries, 

 and other vegetable foods, it supported a large population. This 

 is attested not only by the statements of the Indians themselves, 

 but also by the surprisingly large number of villages whose lo- 

 cations have been determined. These were of three kinds : ( i ) 

 permanent villages, occupied the year round, though somewhat 

 depleted in winter; (2) summer villages, occupied from May 

 to October, after which the inhabitants moved down into the 

 milder climate of Merced Canon, where there was little or no 

 snow; and (3) seasonal camps for hunting and fishing. The 

 camps were definitely located and each was regularly occupied 

 at a particular season. 



It has not always been possible to distinguish between village- 

 sites and camp-sites, but, taken collectively, I have been able, 

 with the help of resident Indians, to locate and name no less 

 than thirty-seven. All of these were in the valley proper, and 

 at least six were occupied as late as 1898. To the list I have 

 added sixteen located in the carion of the Merced from the Cas- 

 cades to Ferguson Station, six miles below El Portal, making 

 in all fifty-three villages and camps in a distance of about twen- 

 ty-two miles; and doubtless there were others which my in- 

 formants had forgotten. 



All of these people belonged to the Ahwaneeche or Ahwah'- 

 neeMew-wah,2i subtribe closely akin to the neighboring Chow- 

 chil'-la Mew-wah of Chowchilla Canon. Their language is the 



*This article was written in 1910, during which year I was able to complete the 

 list of villages from the head of Yosemite Valley to Ferguson Station on the Mer- 

 ced, about six miles below El Portal. I had previously obtained and published the 

 villages from Horseshoe Bend down the Merced as far as the territory of the tribe 

 extended, and was anxious to fill the gap between Soo-noo-koo-loon at Ferguson and 

 Se-saw'-che at Horseshoe Bend. Not having been able to do this, it seems hardly 

 worth while to defer publication longer. 



