by Justin Kerson (Author), Eloy Bida (Illustrator), Paul Nylander (Designed by)
In 1818, in the foothills of present-day Marin County, lived the Miwok. They were peaceful hunter-gatherers who had many villages in the land stretching from Sonoma County to San Francisco. They possessed a vast knowledge of their environment.
Tamalpais and Falling Rock were childhood friends who fell in love. When Tam became sick with severe asthma during a pollen bloom, her father, Chief Marin, declared a contest for a medicinal herb, with Tam's hand in marriage as the prize.
Falling Rock, deeply concerned for Tam's health, embarked on a quest to find the root. Ignoring the rules of the contest, he set out alone. He rescued captured men from a rival tribe and reached the Emerald Falls. Despite initial failures, Falling Rock dove into the pool, rode a turtle to the bottom, and retrieved the Elecampane Root.
Falling Rock and Tamalpais' story is a twining tale of two lovers whose souls skipped together amongst many lives. This is the story of just one of their lives.