In the Land of the Grasshopper Song: Two Women in the Klamath River Indian Country in 1908-09

by Mary Ellicott Arnold and Mabel Reed

Book Overview

In 1908 two young women--the authors of this book--accepted Indian Service appointments as field matrons for the Karok Indians in the Klamath and Salmon River country of northern California. Although the area had been the scene of a gold rush some fifty years earlier, they write in the foreword, "the social life of the Indian--what he believed and the way he felt about things--was very little affected by white influence. The older Indians still had...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0803267037
• ISBN13: 9780803267039
• Release Date: November 1980
• Publisher: Bison Books
• Length: 313 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A story from home...

Mary and Mabel wandered into my part of northern california to be schoolteachers. From their story you can see how they knew nothing of what the territory was like, how the people were, or any local customs. They seemed to have a vague sense that it was a 'wild' land. They fit in amazingly well in a land where killing another person meant you had to pay that persons family $100 and law was either non-existant or uneffective. They seem to throughly enjoy themselves and set to learn the culture around them and teach what they can. Surprises are around every corner, from rattlesnakes to mountain lions to injun devils. Surprises such as their trusted friend telling them he couldn't go into one town because he had to 'pay $500 last time.'A great story that is easy to read and gives a glimpse of the hidden corner of northern california where the hupa, yurok and karuk indians reside.

A One Of A Kind Wonder!

A wonderful book, refreshing and entertaining. Written not as a memoir but as though you are there in real time (the ladies wrote their ideas down while living there). There are very few books of this kind which is too bad. If you liked this one, I can also recommend "a school teacher in old alaska", another excellent book.

Joy to read. 2 Edwardian ladies Indian adventures.

If you've ever visited extreme northern California you can appreciate their courage even more.

Living with, and learning from, the Karok Indians in 1908.

Two white women move to the remote Karok Indian country of Northern California in 1908, to become teachers on the Indian reservation there. They are unique in their curiosity, intelligence and self-reliance. It's rough country, but they enter into a connection with the local native, and white, population that leads to their learning more, perhaps, than they taught. Low key, funny, full of stories, and depicting an era that's past, it's a window on another world. I have a friend who borrowed the book years ago and couldn't find another copy, who recently asked me if she could photocopy the whole book! It's that kind of book