Bertha H. Smith

“ Scarce was their story told before a band of daring braves rushed to the rescue of the maiden; but though they searched till night among the rocks where the water swirls and leaps to catch the rainbow thrown there by the western sun, they found no trace of her. The maiden’s spirit had joined the forces of Po-ho-no, and could know no rest, nor be released from his hateful thrall, until by her aid another victim was drawn to his doom. Here she must stay, hidden by the mist from watchful eyes, beckoning always, tempting always, luring another soul to pay the forfeit of her own release. ”

“ The mountain lion and the grizzly roamed at will among the rocks and tangled chinquapin, fearless of arrows; the doe led her young by an open path to the river, where trout flashed their colors boldly in the sun. In the autumn the choke-cherries and manzanita berries dried upon their stems, and ripened acorns rotted to dust upon the ground after the squirrels had gathered their winter store. The homeless Ah-wah-nee-chees circled wide in passing the valley. ”

“ Obey my word, O Ten-ie-ya, and your people shall be many as the blades of grass, and none shall dare to bring war into Ah-wah-nee. But look you ever, my son, against the white horsemen of the great plains beyond; for once they have crossed the western mountains, your tribe will scatter as the dust before a desert wind, and never come together again. ”

“ The Indian, if chance brings him near this waterfall, hurries on with face averted, a vague dread in his heart; for in the meshes of the Bridal Veil hides an eerie spirit, a mischievous, evil one—Po-ho-no. In the ripple of the water as it falls among the rocks, the Indian hears Po-ho-no’s voice. In the tossing spray he sees the limp forms and waving arms of hapless victims lured by the voice to their destruction. ”

“ In the summer he fattened the bear and deer, and in the autumn he wandered through the mountains driving them from their haunts that the hunter might not return empty-handed from the chase. The smoke of his pipe spread like a soft haze through the air, sheltering the women from the sun when they went forth to gather acorns and wood for winter. ”

“ SINCE the peaks of Sky Mountains were little hills, the Ah-wah-nee-chees have lived in the deep, grassy valley the white man knows as Yo-sem-i-te. Eastward of To-co-yah, the Acorn Basket Rock, live the Mo-nos; and for a thousand years the sachems of the Ah-wah-nee-chees and the sachems of the Mo-nos smoked the pipe of peace together. ”

“ Far over the mountains Kos-soo-kah laughed loud with a hunter’s pride as he bound to his swiftest arrow all the feathers of a grouse’s wing. Sped by a hunter’s pride and a lover’s pride he leaped along the rocky trail, far in advance of the youthful braves of his band who bore among them the best of [Pg 25] the kill. Eagerly he watched the western sky, fearful lest the sun’s last kiss should tinge the brow of Tis-sa-ack before he reached the cliff whence his bow should let fly the message to the waiting one below. ”

“ At last old men came from the valley, and the young braves from the mountains bearing with them the carcasses of deer and bear.
With their hunting-knives they cut lengths of tamarack, and lashed them together with thongs of hide from the deer killed for the marriage feast. By means of this pole they would have lowered over the edge of the cliff a strong young brave but that Tee-hee-neh pushed him aside and took his place. Hers must be the voice to whisper in Kos-soo-kah’s ear the first word of hope; hers the hand to push aside the rocks that pinioned his body ”

“ Then for an instant she appeared upon her throne, her pale brow tinged with the rose glow of the sun; and he knew that she was Tis-sa-ack, the Goddess of the Valley, who shared with him the loving care of the Ah-wah-nee-chees.
Every morning now at dawn Tu-tock-ah-nu-lah [Pg 50] left his tower and sped across the valley to meet the lovely goddess of his heart’s desire. Through the day he hovered near her, gazing upon the fair form, always half hidden by billowing cloud, trying to read an answering love in her wide blue eyes. ”

“ The white man, in passing, pauses to watch the filmy cloud that hangs there like a thousand yards of tulle flung from the crest of the rocky precipice, wafted outward by the breeze that blows ever and always across the Bridal Veil Meadows. ”

“ Early in the morning Kos-soo-kah left his lodge and gathered about him the strongest of the young braves to go forth into the forest and net the grouse, and seek the bear and deer in their haunts, for this was the man’s share of the marriage feast. While his hunters strung their bows and fastened arrow-heads to the feathered shafts, Kos-soo-kah stole away for a last word with Tee-hee-neh, his bride ”

“ As he reached the base of Scho-ko-ni, the cliff that arches like the shade of an Indian cradle basket, he came suddenly upon a monster grizzly that had just crept forth from his winter cave. The grizzly knows no man for his friend; least of all, the man who surprises him at the first meal after his long [Pg 8] sleep. The rivals of Ah-wah-nee were face to face. ”

“ They made war upon the tribes that lived beyond the walls of Ah-wah-nee and never knew defeat, for none dared follow them to their rock-ribbed fastness. They were feared by all save the outcasts of other tribes, whose lawless deeds won for them a place among the Ah-wah-nee-chees. Thus the children of Ah-wah-nee increased in number and strength. ”