| Show beautiful glacial gorge charmed indian hunters it was in march 1851 that a group of pioneers organized as the mariposa battalion followed the trail of a band of yosemite indians into the valley to avenge the deaths of settlers killed by the indians in in i raids on savages trading post near Marl mariposa posa early day historians record that the discovery of the magnificent ent glacial gorge so thrilled members of the battalion that they gave up their indian hunt and went back to mariposa to spread the news of what they had seen according to a writer in the los angles times they told of sheer walls ol oi granite rising from to feet on either side of a wide gorge roaring down from dizzy heights over the perpendicular cliffs were six of the most spectacular waterfalls gatei falls iver seen by man one of them the highest in the world in the valley below the merced river wound its swift way through lush meadows carpeted with wild flowers and through groves of majestic pine fir cedar and oak tries ahwahnee deep grassy valley the indians called it A melodious name expressive of the distant roar of the falls the whisper of the wind through the forest and the mag ent solemnity of the place they had other mystic names too for the mighty granite monoliths that towered above the valley and for the waterfalls but to the mari copa battalion it was yosemite full grown grizzly bear named for the tribe of indians who inhabited it |
