HOTELS WERE pretty primitive things in the early days in Yosemite. Folks leavin’ the Hutchings House, which stood close to where the Sentinel Bridge is, would often josh with visitors comin’ in. They’d tell ‘em that if they put up at that particular hotel (and they had no choice) they should watch out for thieves and always be careful to lock their doors. Much to their surprise when they checked in at the hostelry they would find that the rooms were separated by walls made out of thin muslin cloth and that there were no such conveniences as doors!

“They used to have some mighty interestin’ shadow shows on those muslin walls until John Muir got enough wood sawed so they could nail up some real walls!”