By Pat Gracey
My friend, Winnedumah
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A friend of mine is a hiker. She is not the type one meets at the Post Office where you see young people, mostly men, with staffs and back packs. She lives locally and is a hiker.
My friend, the hiker, is very familiar with the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. Many of the peaks on that range have altitudes of thirteen to fourteen thousand feet. My friend has seen the Owens Valley from the top of Mt. Whitney, the tallest mountain in the continental United States. She’s been there – imagine! In a more humble state, I have seen Mt Whitney from the parking lot of McDonald’s in Lone Pine. It’s an awesome sight, even from the valley floor. In fact the highest and lowest altitudes in the U.S. are both in Inyo County, with Death Valley being the lowest point. History is all around us.
One day my friend asked me if I had ever seen Winnedumah. Nope. I didn’t even know what a Winnedumah was! I could see that across the Owens Valley which, in some areas, spans from six to twenty miles in width, another mountain range stands opposite the Sierra Range. It is there one will find Winnedumah. My friend has hiked to Winnedumah, who is atop the Inyo Crest at the low part of a long saddle with an altitude of 8,369 feet.
What is Winnedumah? Well, allow me to say Winnedumah was a Paiute Indian. A Paiute Indian in legend, that is. He’s tall and measures in height, 80 feet and is an ancient sentinel of the Owens Valley. I’d better mention that he is a solid granite monolith, sometimes referred to as a slender pinnacle of granite protruding skyward halfway between Mount Inyo and Mount Wacoba.
As the legend goes, the Paiutes were in a fierce battle with the Shoshone “folks” across the valley. It would appear that the tribes didn’t get along. You might say it was the Native American version of “feudin’, fussin’ and a’fightin’”.
Continuing the legend, Winnedumah was a greatly respected and powerful medicine man for the Paiutes His brother, Tinnemaha, was the Paiute Chief and greatly loved. It would seem that the tribal politics were in pretty good hands. In the thick of the battle, which had lasted many days, Winnedumah, while waiting for his brother, began to invoke the “Great Spirit”. I guess he did all right but in the process he was turned to solid stone. He refused to fall down and still stands to be respected and revered forevermore. He is known as the Winnedumah Paiute Monument.
After hearing that story I had to see, for myself, this famous Paiute which is so easily glimpsed from the area around the community of Independence, California. That is, it’s easily seen if you know where to look. Several times, while passing by, I would pull off the road and gaze toward the Inyo mountains looking for my Indian hero. No luck.
Finally, my husband said, “Why don’t we stop and get a little free information?” What a great idea! Turning left off highway 395 in downtown Independence, we drove to their local museum. He waited in the car while I entered the portals of a fine museum. In no time at all the docent brought me outside and directed my gaze to good old “Winnie” himself.
Each area has its own history: Tehachapi, the great San Joaquin Valley, the Mojave Desert, the Giant Redwoods. Equally, each tells its own story . Now, driving through Independence (population 594), I never fail to stop and greet my friend, Winnedumah. I, affectionately refer to him as “Winnie!”
P.S. – The city of Independence is a county seat for Inyo County. The Courthouse was built back in the 1920s. One would wonder why such a small community would be chosen for such an important site. Why not a larger town such as Bishop? It was explained to me that at one time Bishop was in Mono County. Later on the boundaries were changed and Bishop, with out moving an inch, became part of Inyo County. The trees in the back of that vintage courthouse in Indepedence are worth examining. Planted nearly one hundred years ago they still thrive. It’s worth a look.
