~*/ B University of California Berkeley A LEGEND WAEM SPEINGS BY H, W. SACRAMENTO: KUSSELL & WINTEKBUKN, BOOK AND JOB PRINTEBS. 1870. Bancroft Library HIS FRIENDS AT THE SPRINOS IS AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR. A LEGEND OF WARM SPRINGS. In California, ere the priests Had spread their evangelic feasts Among the natives of her shore, And taught them Jesus to adore; When no one dreamed the hills did hold Heaps upon heaps of purest gold ; When savage Might was uncontrolled By pity or by fear of law, And crammed at will its brutal maw ; An ancient Castle reared its head Above the mountains 'round it spread, And could, so lofty was the pile, Be plainly seen for many a mile. Nature was here so desolate, It seemed as if the hand of Fate Had marked it for its bitterest hate : The mountain sides were stern and bare, And But blood was shed in many brawls, And curses filled its vaulted halls. How many years had passed away Since this great pile had seen the day, Or by whose hands its stones were laid, None knew ; but vague tradition said The Toltecs here had held their sway, And wrought most cunningly in stone, (1) In shadowy ages past and gone ; And proud the chieftain was to ?ay, That he his lineage could trace (1) "The noble religious and other edifices, still to be seen in various parts of New Spain, are referred to this people whose name, ' Toltec,' has passed into a synonyme for ' architect.' ". PKESCOTT'S MEXICO. WARM SPRINGS. 7 To that mysterious, ancient race (2) Which first gave civilizing glow To splendid Aztec Mexico. The present master was a man As fierce as one would dare to scan : Upon his savage, scowling face E'en Charity would fail to trace The faintest line that led from evil, Or showed him other than a devil. He knew no pity, no remorse ; And law with him was brutal force. His stature was a giant's height, And every muscle spoke of might ; Not one of all his numerous horde Could wield with ease his ponderous sword A sword that never felt a fear, Nor paused at sight of mercy's tear ; His bosom surged with angry ire As with pent-up volcanic fire, That nothing human could assuage Until it spent its furious rage. With dreaded arm and firm command He ruled a bold, marauding band, That ranged like wolves about the land, Staining with gore the virgin soil. And bearing off with ruthless hand The fruits of hard and honest toil, Uncaring for their victim'? pains, So long as they could count their gains. (2) Prescott says the Toltecs probably advanced from a northerly direction, but from what exact direction is uncertain, and that they entered the territory of Anahuao probably before the close of the seventh century. A LEGEND OF When wasted was their plundered store, They sallied forth in search of more ; The wretched people fled dismayed Before the havoc-making raid, For even to resist by word Was but to feel the eager sword ; And how could they, with weapons, hope Against these armored men to cope ? And so it passed from year to year. And all the land was filled with fear. But 'midst this pillaging and blood A stainless form in beauty stood Like one lone star that lights the sky When clouds are piled as mountains high The robber chieftain's only son. He sometimes had his father won From brutal deeds when he was near, And often hid the sword and spear When wassail raged and words ran high, And demons danced in every eye. Would that my muse had power to trace His perfect loveliness of face ; But vain the task to draw one line Of beauty that was all divine. So full of sympathy the child, And with such disposition mild, He was to all as much endeared As was his fiery father feared ; And sweet his voice as any bird's, And wisdom sparkled in his words. WARM SPRINGS. His very mildness was his strength, And never had there been an arm In anger raised to do him harm ; And often talked the men at length That strange it was for one so young To bear such wisdom on his tongue, And daily live in scenes of blood, And be himself so pure and good. But this to them was past belief, That he, their slaughterous, cruel chief, Should be the parent of a boy Who even a fly would not destroy; Who never spoke in angry tone, Or vexed the ear with murmuring moan. They little knew how Heaven lurks In all of nature's wondrous works, And tho' unseen by dim-eyed man, There is a God-created plan. The child grew sick from day to day, To hear the curse, to see the fray, And often longed he for the power To level to the ground each tower, And bury far from human eye The Castle and its misery. But more than this : to Heaven he prayed, That when his guilty parent paid Great nature's debt, he should have aid To make atonement for the sin In which his ancestors had been. Some half-score gloomy years rolled on, And he, the robber chieftain's son, 10 A LEGEND OF Beheld his wicked father die ; ^ Then called he all his people nigh, And told them, he was master now Of Castle, lands, and all their store; And that they knew upon his brow There was no drop of human gore. As Heaven loved him he loved mankind, And to his God he could avow That he had always strived to bind Sweet charity around his heart ; " But still," he said, " my tears will start, " When I recall to mind the part " My dreaded ancestors have played, " Making of others' woe a trade, u And piling up ill-gotten hoard, " Won by the cruel, needless sword. u Why should we dare to put to death " A thing that God has given breath, " Except for some most certain good ? " This horrid castle shrieks with groans, " Its vaults are filled with human bones, " And all its towers and all its stones " Are saturate with victims' blood ; u That such a guilty thing has stood " Is wondrous strange ; but shall it stand " Longer to terrify the land ? " You have well loved me ; that I feel ; ( ' My fate is yours in woe or weal ; " And when to Heaven I daily kneel, "I pray for blessing on you all. " Now heed my words : this pile should fall, WARM SPRINGS. 11 " And buried be where never man " Can see one stone of all its plan. " As wicked as your lives have been, " There is atonement for your sin ; u The Gods are merciful to those ;i Who cease to be their willing foes, " Who cast their guilt-encrusted skin, " And let the rays of virtue in. " I am your chief, and could demand " Obedience to my command ; " But let that pass ; I simply ask " That you would undertake the task " Which Heaven and Earth would have you do." Bancroft Library They parleyed not, but quickly drew Before the castle's ponderous doors, And set to work with thunderous roars, That filled the hills with echoing sound, And caught the ear for miles around. With kindling voice, and eye of fire That made the men recall his sire, The youthful chieftain led the way, As had his father to the fray. " On, on !" he cried, " shall shameless Crime, " Or all the mischief of the time, " Be overmatch for Heaven's darts " Impelled from sin-repenting hearts ? "You have done much for Evil's brood, " See what you now can do for Good ; " Strike hard, nor take contented breath, ' k Till you have sealed this monster's death !" 12 A LEGEND OP Thus urged, they poured a living tide Against the Castle's rugged side ; So furious was the contest waged, It seemed as if a battle raged, Where men were moved by impulse high, To conquer there, or there to die. Some climbed upon the topmost towers, And there essayed their maddened powers To wrench the deep-set stones from where They held their place in upper air ; While others undermined, and strove The huge foundation rocks to move ; Others again, with cunning thought, Gigantic battering engines wrought, And with persistent patience sought Some weakened spot, on which to press One last grand effort for success. With tireless force the work progressed From week to week ; when one took rest, To fill his place another sprang, While all the air with tumult rang From shouting throats and blow on blow That thundered on the granite foe. But all in vain : the Castle stood As with omnipotence endued; Its walls as firm as w T hen at first The multitude against them burst ; Its haughty towers still proudly rose Above their puny, baffled foes ; And all its broad foundation base Still held what seemed eternal place. WARM SPRINGS. 13 All labor ceased, and in its stead Despair among the people spread, For many were who boldly said That sacrifice had not been done Or else the struggle had been won ; While others spoke in under tone, 'Tvvas sacrilege to touch a stone Of that old Castle where for years An ancient house had reared its heirs, And where the holy men had stood And shed the sacrificial blood. Others were louder in their tone, And clamored for the altar-stone : " We all do know," they fiercely said, " No human sacrifice has bled u Since yonder boy our chief has been ; " The Gods are angered at such sin ; " And should it prove to be too late " Their fury to propitiate, " Prepare for pestilence and fire " Not one of as shall 'scape their ire. " And have we ventured to obey " Yon tender stripling, and to lay "Our basely sacrilegious hand " Upon a thing the Gods have planned ? " No way but one : prepare the feasts, " And quickly bring the holy priests ; " Yon stands the victim he alone " Can for the sacrilege atone, " For he it was that led us on " To all the evil we have done ; 14 A LEGEND OF " And when his blood ascends to Heaven, " We then may hope to be forgiven." " Hold off your hands," he mildly said, " Nor seek for vengeance on my head ; " Nor think I would a moment dread " The pangs of sacrificial death ; " For if by yielding of my breath " I could confer a lasting good, " You should have all my body's blood " I come, you know, of lineage high " That never yet has feared to die. " I do confess the altar-stone " Has heard no bleeding wretch's groan " Since I have filled my father's seat, " And if this be a fault, so be't ; " For I have shrank to see the knife " Encrimsoned with its victim's life ; " The holy man, with studied art, " Tear out the palpitating heart, " And hold it dripping to the sun, " When all the horrid rite was done; (1) " And I have thought the Gods would hear " A suppliant voice if 'twere sincere, " And that such bloodshed was amiss " If man were better than he is. " And so, I've strived to urge you on (1) "They led him (the victim) to the sacrificial stone, a huge block of jaspar, with its upper surface somewhat convex. On this the prisoner was stretched, Five priests secured his head and his limbs: while the sixth, clad in a scarlet mantle, emblamatic of his bloody office, dexterously opened tne breast of the wretched victim with a sharp razor of itztli, a volcanic substance hard as flint, and. inserting his hand in the wound, tore out the palpitating heart. The minister of death, first holding this up towards the sun. an object of worship throughout Anahuac, cast it at the feet of the deity to whom the temple was devoted, while the multitudes below prostrated themselves in humble adoration." PIIESCOTT'S MEXICO. WARM SPRINGS. 15 " To worthier deeds than those agone, " To lead you from an evil way " That made a night of every day, " And as of all a fitting crown " To tear this baleful Castle down. " Have you no faitli ? Is't vain to deem " The Father who is all supreme, " Has blest the labor you have wrought u Tho' it as yet has come to naught? " O, fainting hearts, that thus would yield " When sheltered by your Father's shield ! " If still you wish your victim's life, " He stands prepared to feel the knife ; " But first, I ask you all to kneel, u And make with me a last appeal." All discord ceased ; not e'en a word In whispered murmur now was heard; The men encircled him around, And prostrate bowed them to the ground, While thus upon the quiet air The chief outpoured his soul in prayer: " Father of Light ! Thou all Supreme, " Before whose Majesty we seem " As motes that speck the Sun-God's beam ; " Thou great Omnipotent, whose reign u Is o'er creation's vast domain ; " Who mov'st the world as with a breath, " Who givest life, and sendest death ; " Thou Purity without a stain, " Thou Perfect Perfectness ; O, deign 6 A LEGEND OF " To see us kneeling not in vain ! " My people all are gathered here " With hearts oppressed and full of fear, u But censure not their lack of faith, " Nor whelm them in thy mighty wrath ; " Remember, Father, what control " Is requisite to cleanse the soul " That has been fouled by deeds of years, " And never knew repentant tears ; " And think, Thou only speckless One, " Of what their willing hands have clone " To beat to earth that monster thins; o *' Which still outspreads its Condor wing. (1) " As for myself, I feel as sure u As that Thy goodness will endure, " That Thou wilt lend Thy needed aid " To that vain effort we have made. " Thou hast not fashioned nature strong " To cope alone with giant wrong, " Wherefore, Great Father, do we call " Myself, my people, one and all !" He scarce had ended, when a sound Of thunder rolled along the ground ; The earth quaked wildly to arid fro As if in last convulsive throe ; The mountains swayed as they would fall, And sickness seized the hearts .of all ; The Castle rocked, then toppl?>'er, It crashed to earth and was no more. (1) "Flapping from 9ut their Condor wings "Invisible Woe." POE. WARM SPRINGS. 17 The opening ground the ruins drank, As down and down they deeper sank, Till naught was left, not even a tile, Of all that man-defying pile. And on the once accursed spot Springs bubbled up with waters hot, And flowed adown the barren hills In myriad vapor-wreathed rills. The people being seized with awe And wild amaze at what they saw, The chief, in soothing accent, said, " Fill not your wondering souls with dread ; " These waters have been sent from Heaven, " Bathe in the tide and be forgiven." Then did they, shouting, quickly lave Their bodies in the healing wave, And kneeled before the saintly one By whom such marvels had been done. But, as they knelt, a halo spread In brightest glory 'round his" head, And swift as rushing of the storm A mighty cloud enclosed his form. And bore him upward to the skies Before their wonder-gazing eyes. Soon flowers sprang from out the ground And shed delicious fragrance round ; The trees took on a fresher green, And 'midst their waving boughs were seen Great multitudes of beauteous birds, 18 A LEGEND OF WARM SPRINGS. That blessed the ear with tuneful words. No wrathful voice disturbed the air, But all was peace from morn till even, And people flocked in numbers there, To breathe the joy of such a Heaven. The halt and lame and crippled came, To bathe their torture-ridden frame, And wondered and rejoiced as they Felt their diseases washed away, And knew that glorious Health again Coursed swift along their every vein. And when in after years the priests Came with the Cross to spread their feasts Upon our California shore, And teach men Jesus to adore, They blessed these Springs, and said that they Should live, and never feel decay, Till Earth itself should pass away. A 2.