The Journal of San Diego History
SAN DIEGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY QUARTERLY
Winter 1986, Volume 32, Number 1
Thomas L. Scharf, Editor
Book notes
Raymond Starr, Book Review Editor
Just Before Sunset.
By Lora L. Cline. Jacumba, Ca: J and L Enterprises. 1984. Illustrations. Maps. Appendices. Bibliography. 146 Pages. $11.95 Paperbound.
Just Before Sunset is a revised edition of Cline’s 1979 The Kwaaymii: Reflections on a Lost Culture, which describes life of the Native Americans from the Laguna Mountains. The book is very descriptive of all aspects of life: housing, trade, food gathering and preparation, hunting, social and political customs, tools and many other topics about everyday life. Cline also describes the beliefs of the Kwaaymii and the myths and legends which help perpetuate those beliefs. Maps, illustrations and several appendices add to the information about the culture. The book would appear to give a fairly thorough account of the life of the Laguna mountain Indians, but it must be remembered that the book is based almost entirely on the contribution of one informant, Tom Lucas, the “last” of the Kwaaymii. If that limitation is kept in mind, Just Before Sunset can be a useful book.