Hold On (Margret Malone Book 1) by Nancy Cupp

Author:Nancy Cupp [Cupp, Nancy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cloverluck Press
Published: 2017-04-27T22:00:00+00:00

25

Sam Parks

On the drive down to the valley, Sam talked about some history of the Ahwahnechee people. “There was a large Indian Nation living here for centuries. They were called the Miwok band. The tribe was divided by the Merced River.”

“Is that the river that goes through the valley? The one that makes the waterfall by the Mist Trail?”

“Yes. That waterfall is Vernal Falls, above it is Nevada Falls.”

“I tried to go to Half Dome that way, but I got lost.”

Sam chuckled, “You need to learn to follow the signs that point the way. It wouldn’t have been good to be on Half Dome in the snowstorm anyway—you’d still be up there.”

“Good thing Joseph rescued me.”

“Yes, it was. Back to the Miwok—the two tribes were the Grizzly bear group to the North and the Coyote clan to the South. It was tradition for the young men of one clan to marry a woman from the other. That way we were kept strong and healthy.”

“Where did the name Ahwahnechee come from?”

“Ah-wah-nee means deep grass valley. It became the name that was used for people from the southern clan. Ahwahnechee.”

“What does Yosemite mean?”

“There once was a young chief that got in a fight with a bear. They battled long and hard until the chief finally won the fight. He dragged the bear’s skin back to his village. The people went and got the rest of the bear and had a big feast. The young chief was then known as Yo Semite. Semite means bear.”

As they followed the twisting Tioga Road, Sam told Margret about how it came to be there. “This road was a rough path through the wilderness. It was built by men that were seeking gold. The Calvary improved it when they moved the Native People out of the area. Later it became a way for tourists to see the park. Many thousands travel on it every year now.”

“So—is it a good thing this is a National Park now?”

“Yes, I think so. Otherwise greedy men would have destroyed it trying to dig out little bits of gold. They tried to destroy it by cutting all the lumber they could, but the trees were so big, they were too difficult to handle. Men like John Muir worked hard to preserve the park. But he also wrote such beautiful words about all the wonders here, that it caused many, many tourists to come.”

“I guess everything changes.”

“Yes, but we must work hard to hold on to the things that make us who we are. They are far more valuable than all the gold that might be in the rocks.”

☙

When Sam and Margret got to the valley he dropped her off at Camp Curry. Then he went to see George Sheffield. Extending his hand, Sam said, “Hello, my name is Sam Parks. I received an E-mail saying you wanted to talk to me?”

“Oh yes! Please sit down Sam. I just have a few questions about last Monday. As you are probably are aware by now, Patty Waters was killed Monday night.

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