Tales of Aztlan; The Romance of a Hero of Our Late Spanish-American War, Incidents of Interest from the Life of a Western Pioneer and Other Tales
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THE BIRTH OF ARIZONA. (AN ALLEGORICAL TALE.)
On the summit of a mountain I staked my claim; in the shade of abalsam-spruce I built my hut.
When the south wind that rises on the desert climbs to the mountain'sridge and rustling among silvery needles, rattles the cones on boughsand twigs--the tree-giant whispers with resinous breath, bemoaning thefate of a prehistoric civilization, and lisps of the mystery andromance of a humanity long extinct, mourning for races forgotten andvanished.
Alone--unrivaled in her weird, wild grandeur stands Arizona where spiryrock-ribbed giants stab an emerald, opal-tinted sky, and terraced mesasof wondrous amber hue form natural stairways, that grandly wrought werecarved step after step, through successive epochs of erosion, affordingthus an easy ascent to the rugged profile of this land of the WesternHemisphere. All this is of historic record in stony cypher of geologyindelibly engraved by time on the rocky walls of deepest canyons, astraceable from the primordial archaean to our present era, the age ofman.
In tremor-spasms of terrestrial creation, 'midst chaotic fiery turmoilof volcanos, out of the depth of globe-encircling waters, from the wombof Universe--Eternity--came the Almighty Word, and then was born fairArizona.
Fraught with golden prophecy was her horoscope, cast by fate's oraclefor her birthday fell under the sign of the scorpion when in the pathof planets Venus contended with the Earth for first place of ascendencyto the second house of the heavens.
High above the tidal wave rose Arizona, as fleecy clouds float in therays of Apollo's sun-torch when at eventide his flaming chariot plungesinto unfathomed depths of the Pacific Ocean.
With her first breath this daughter of Columbia, born of gods, clamoredfor aid. Neptune was first among the planets to heed the plaintive cryand held her to his breast, with fond caresses.
The grandest canyon on the face of earth with flowing streams andlimpid crystals he gave her as a birthday present.
These crystals rare are famed as Arizona diamonds now.
Bright, lovely Venus, the sister of Earth, a shining planet, gave theruby-red garnet, her pledge of love and Arizona hid it in her bosom.There shall you find it, if worthy so you be, in the hearts of happymaidens.
Saturn gave her his ring of amethysts and Uranus the greenishmalachite, of buoyant hope the emblem. This, in time, was changed tocopper, the king of all commercial metals.
Mars gave the bloodstone. From it came soldiers bold, heroes who foughtApaches and the Spaniard.
The winged Mercury on passing tossed her two stones, most precious; thelodestone and a Blackstone. The lodestone was a stone of grit. WhenArizona placed it in her crib thence came the lucky prospector whosinks his shafts through earth and rock in search of mineral treasure.
Then opened she the Blackstone and lo, from it arose the men ofeloquence who aided by retainers fight keenly in continued terms fororder, law and justice with weapons that are mightier than the swordwhich giveth glory, eternal rest and immortality to heroes only whom itsmiteth.
Behold, a shadow now fell on the Earth and as a serpent coils andcreeping stretches forth its slimy length, it came apace.
Foreboding evil it announced the knight-errant of never-ending space, awicked comet. To Arizona gave he playthings many: the rattlesnake,hairy tarantelas and stinging scorpions, horned toads and centipedes, ascented hydrophobia-cat, the Gila monster, a Mexican and the Apache;also a thorny cactus plant.
Anon the tricky Hassayampa rose from his source. On mischief bent heoverflowed his bed, teasing the infant Arizona. He worried her, poordearie--dear till she shed tears and nature adding to the gush ofwaters there flowed a brackish stream away; now named Saltriver and onits banks nested the Phoenix.
From Elysium in his chariot descended then the sungod to nurse hisinfant daughter. He dried the Hassayampa's bed in the hot desert sandand where man-like, incautiously he scorched the hem of Arizona'sdress--where now lies Yuma--there the temperature rose ten degreeshotter than hades; but luckily since then it has cooled off as much.
The happy maiden smiled with joy as Apollo kissed her long and often.He took the turquoise from the skies, an emblem of unfaltering faith.It and a lock of shining hair he gave her. That hid she in her rockybed where it became gold of the mint; the filthy lucre of unworthinessand avarice, a blessing when in charity bestowed; a boon as the rewardof honest labor!
With lengthening shadows Luna, night's gentle goddess came, a full milenearer to Arizona than to other lands beaming her softest rays over thesleeping child. Under the lunar kisses woke Arizona and stored themoonshine in her gown. That nature has transformed to silver; servingthe poor man as his needed coin.
In sadness waned the moon, for caught between the horns of a dilemmashe had no wealth left to endow the infant with. Intemperate habits hadthe goddess always, was often full and now reduced to her last quarter,but that was waning fast and her man's shadow also growing less. Hersemi-transparent stone, alas! had given she long since to California,but this proudest of all daughters of the seas did not appreciate thekindly gift. She cast it on the white sands of her beaches where it isgathered by the thankful tourist who shouts exultantly, delighted withhis find:
The moonstone, climate, atmosphere, The only things free-gratis here-- Eureka! I have found!