> Clinton Hart Merriam (December 5, 1855-March 19, 1942) was an American zoologist, ornithologist, entomologist and ethnographer.
He was born in New York City in 1855. His father, was a U.S. congressman. He studied biology and anatomy at Yale University and went on to obtain an M.D. from the School of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University in 1879. Later in life Merriam focused on studying and assisting the Native American tribes in the western United States. His contributions on the myths of central California and on ethnogeography were particularly noteworthy.
In his book, "Dawn of the World" (1910), Dr. Merriam presents tales he collected as told by Miwok elders, when there was little or no interest in the matter. The tales in his book were told by Miwok elders of Central California “after the first rains of the winter season, usually in the ceremonial roundhouse and always at night by the dim light of a small flickering fire. They constitute the religious history of the tribe . . .”
They were collected between 1890 and 1910. References to First People in this book are to half human, half animal gods that existed in ancient times, before modern people were created.
