This short book about Yosemite Valley and its original inhabitants was
written early in the 20th century.
Of particular interest are the photographs, which are all in the public domain;
while not as gorgeous as those taken in later years by Ansel Adams,
they adequately convey the magnificent landscape.
This book has a few factual inaccuracies, but only because of the
limits of contemporary knowledge.
For instance, at the time of writing, Ribbon Falls was thought to be
the highest waterfall in the world; today we know that Angel Falls
in Venezuela has this distinction.
Also, the small but signficant survival of Chinese Redwoods was likewise
unknown at the time, so we can today qualify the statement
that this tree only exists in California.
However, for the most part this book is fairly accurate; in particular,
the geological description is not obsolete.
The core of this book is a description of the beliefs and material
culture of the Miwok of Yosemite, and the disgraceful history
of their ejection from the valley.
The historical and ethnographic information is fairly accurate;
in contrast, the information on religion is the thinnest part of this book.
Wilson writes of a 'Great Spirit';
as far as I know, this is not a part of Miwok beliefs.
There is no concept of an overarching deity.
Rather, Miwok mythology revolves around
Coyote and the other animal-people inhabitants of the dreamtime.
