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The Basket Woman
"All of these stories are so nearly true that you need not be troubled in the least about believing them." So begins author Mary Austin in the preface to her 1904 collection of "fanciful tales for children" of the myths and legends of the first peoples of the Sierra Nevada and Yosemite region.Austin, an amateur naturalist and a keen observer of human influence on the landscape, here regales us with the charming stories "The Basket Woman""The Stream That Ran Away""The Cheerful Glacier""The Christmas Tree""The Fire Bringer""The White-Barked Pine"and othersAmerican author MARY HUNTER AUSTIN (1868-1934) wrote numerous novels, poems, plays, and works of criticism, much of it centered on feminist, environmental, and multicultural issues. She is best remembered for her writing on matters concerning Native American rights and the deserts of the American Southwest.
222 pages, Library Binding
First published December 1, 1904
About the author
Mary Hunter Austin
102 books83 followersMary Hunter Austin was a prolific novelist, poet, critic, and playwright, as well as an early feminist, conservationist, and defender of Native American and Spanish-American rights and culture.
After graduating from Blackburn College in 1888, she moved with her family to California and established a homestead in the San Joaquin Valley. She married Stafford Wallace Austin In 1891 and they lived in various towns in California’s Owens Valley before separating in 1905.
One of the early nature writers of the American Southwest, her popular book The Land of Little Rain (1903) describes the fauna, flora and people of the region between the High Sierra and the Mojave Desert of southern California. She said, "I was only a month writing ... but I spent 12 years peeking and prying before I began it."
After visiting Santa Fe in 1918, Austin settled there in 1924. She helped establish The Santa Fe Little Theatre (still operating today as The Santa Fe Playhouse). She was also active in preserving the local culture of New Mexico, establishing the Spanish Colonial Arts Society in 1925.
In 1929, she co-authored a book, Taos Pueblo, with photographer Ansel Adams. It was printed in 1930 in a limited edition of only 108 copies. It is now quite rare because it included actual photographs made by Adams rather than reproductions.
She is best known for her nature classic Land of Little Rain (1903) and her play The Arrow Maker (1911).
After graduating from Blackburn College in 1888, she moved with her family to California and established a homestead in the San Joaquin Valley. She married Stafford Wallace Austin In 1891 and they lived in various towns in California’s Owens Valley before separating in 1905.
One of the early nature writers of the American Southwest, her popular book The Land of Little Rain (1903) describes the fauna, flora and people of the region between the High Sierra and the Mojave Desert of southern California. She said, "I was only a month writing ... but I spent 12 years peeking and prying before I began it."
After visiting Santa Fe in 1918, Austin settled there in 1924. She helped establish The Santa Fe Little Theatre (still operating today as The Santa Fe Playhouse). She was also active in preserving the local culture of New Mexico, establishing the Spanish Colonial Arts Society in 1925.
In 1929, she co-authored a book, Taos Pueblo, with photographer Ansel Adams. It was printed in 1930 in a limited edition of only 108 copies. It is now quite rare because it included actual photographs made by Adams rather than reproductions.
She is best known for her nature classic Land of Little Rain (1903) and her play The Arrow Maker (1911).
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 19, 2016
Mary Austin wrote The Basket Woman: A Book Of Indian Tales as a kind of sequel to her masterpiece, The Land of Little Rain. Both books deal with the things she learned, mostly from the local Paiute Indians at the nearby campoodie in the Eastern Sierras.
She lived in Independence, California, not far from Lone Pine and even closer to Manzanar, the most famous of the Japanese internment centers during World War Two. It is an area which can be strikingly beautiful; and it is rich in Indian folktales, many of which Austin tells in her books.
My favorite story is "Mahala Joe," in which a young Paiute becomes a blood brother to the son of a white rancher. When there is trouble between the Whites and the Indians, Joe takes his blood brother oath seriously and refuses to fight against his blood brother's family, for which he is made to wear a squaw's outfit for the rest of his life
She lived in Independence, California, not far from Lone Pine and even closer to Manzanar, the most famous of the Japanese internment centers during World War Two. It is an area which can be strikingly beautiful; and it is rich in Indian folktales, many of which Austin tells in her books.
My favorite story is "Mahala Joe," in which a young Paiute becomes a blood brother to the son of a white rancher. When there is trouble between the Whites and the Indians, Joe takes his blood brother oath seriously and refuses to fight against his blood brother's family, for which he is made to wear a squaw's outfit for the rest of his life
... Under the slack usage of the tribe, Mahala Joe as he came to be known, might have thrown aside his woman's gear without offense, but he had the courage to wear it to his life's end. He kept his sentence as he kept his vow, and yet it is certain that Walter [his blood brother] never knew.
June 18, 2009
Again another book in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Mary Austin moved to the Eastern Sierra, lived, and wrote about the area. This book is a collection of short stories and each one is a jewel. Better than her book Land of Little Rain.
May 2, 2017
I love Mary Austin's writing style, and would like to read more books by her. She describes nature beautifully. I actually read some of the stories aloud (to the cats!) for the sound of the language. The book is about a boy named Alan and his friendship with a Paiute woman named Basket Woman, who tells him stories. My favorite story is "The Cheerful Glacier." In it Austin personifies a glacier, and describes its life cycle. I would love to see that story made into a picture book.
The only stories I have a problem with are the first two, in which Basket Woman tells him about how happily and peacefully the Paiutes lived before the white man came, and then shows him how they were starved and forced to hide while they were at war with the white man. Later, while Alan is in town with his mother, he sees Paiutes looking listless, impoverished, begging, and he concludes that "Do you know, I think the Indians are a great deal better off as they are now." His mother agrees. I had to keep telling myself that this book was originally written in 1904, and such was the belief then.
The only stories I have a problem with are the first two, in which Basket Woman tells him about how happily and peacefully the Paiutes lived before the white man came, and then shows him how they were starved and forced to hide while they were at war with the white man. Later, while Alan is in town with his mother, he sees Paiutes looking listless, impoverished, begging, and he concludes that "Do you know, I think the Indians are a great deal better off as they are now." His mother agrees. I had to keep telling myself that this book was originally written in 1904, and such was the belief then.
March 1, 2020
This book really showed its age and was a disappointment after Land of Little Rain which was is a poetic classic. Nevertheless, I loved the previous book I read of hers so much, I am excited to read more. This one just didn't strike a chord with me.
December 15, 2023
Interesting because it was written last century in the aughts by a white woman who was a botanist and could see what was happening to the land and indigenous communities. A voice that pointed out a lot for her time. And some captivating descriptions of plants in their habitats.
August 2, 2024
This is one book I just could not finish reading.
February 15, 2012
Of course I liked it.
One of the stories was kind of an unexpected bridge to my time in Death Valley, eight years ago. I worked then leading programs through a house called Scotty's Castle, and the theme of my program was story telling. In the first room we entered on the programs was a metal hanging piece of art showing an Indian man running with a torch. Sometime during my time there, I learned that the original guides to the house used to tell visitors that the picture represented an Indian story about a young man bringing fire to his people. I read that story in this collection. Who knows whether it was a Paiute story, a Mary Austin story, or both, or something altogether different. It was neat to come across.
One of the stories was kind of an unexpected bridge to my time in Death Valley, eight years ago. I worked then leading programs through a house called Scotty's Castle, and the theme of my program was story telling. In the first room we entered on the programs was a metal hanging piece of art showing an Indian man running with a torch. Sometime during my time there, I learned that the original guides to the house used to tell visitors that the picture represented an Indian story about a young man bringing fire to his people. I read that story in this collection. Who knows whether it was a Paiute story, a Mary Austin story, or both, or something altogether different. It was neat to come across.
September 24, 2008
Though this set of short stories doesn't have the flow of her other work, I really enjoyed the environmentalist overtones embodied in abiotic systems, as exemplified in "The Cheerful Glacier." She also promotes a vision of how it could have been had whites in the west used a little less gunpowder. Ecologically accurate and fem-centered, this book is good for a trip up Hwy 395. When you turn on 120, switch to Enid Michaels.
October 27, 2014
By "Indian" refers to people who are Native American not people from the subcontinent of India.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews