the following saturday night found the party encamped in the very bosom of the mountains, in one of the most lovely nooks upon the surface of the earth. as they looked around upon the verdant dell, and upon the snow-capped mountains that arose in the distance, all the arid plain they had passed,—the desert of alkali, and the hills of sand—seemed like a dream, so great was the contrast between them and virginia dale. even george was enraptured, and when the children as usual gathered at evening around the fire, he declared that he would go no father but turn hermit, and hunt and fish for a living, in that lovely spot.
"i wish i could stay with you," said aggie, "but i shouldn't like to leave papa and mamma. but only look at the moon rising above that snowy peak; isn't it perfectly lovely?"
"watching the moon is all very well?" exclaimed gus, "but i would much rather hear a good story. this is the very night for a story, and a sentimental one at that. guy get your thinking-cap on, that's a good fellow!"
"oh yes, do!" assented aggie.
"i have had it tightly drawn over my ears the whole time i have been sitting here," answered guy laughing, "and the result is that i have been thinking of a story the indians tell about the first snow storm."
"oh yes! put it all off on the indians!" cried gus, "we all know what that means!"
"well, what do they say?" asked george, "that they thought it was salt, and put it into their soup, and were surprised to find that it made it watery—and nothing more?"
"now don't tease guy," interrupted aggie, "i want to know what the indians really did say, and where the first fall of snow really was."
"according to my authority," answered guy, gravely, "it took place among these very mountains. years, years ago, so many years that all remembrance of the time is now lost, and only vague reports of it remain, the snowy mountains we now see were covered with verdure, even more luxuriant than that which makes this vale so beautiful. the long leaves, and the shining silk of the corn waved in the breeze that softly played about the lofty summits, lovely flowers opened, and rich fruits ripened in the warm sunshine that ever fell upon them. the bounding deer came to the very doors of the wigwams that were so thickly placed that they seemed to form a vast city, and the very trout in the sparkling streams leaped into the hands of the happy people that inhabited this earthly paradise!"
"gracious, what a saving of fishing-tackle!" ejaculated george.
guy took no notice of this irreverent remark, but continued:
"on the very summit of yonder peak, which seems to rise at least a thousand feet above its neighbors, and where the sun shone the warmest, the grains and fruits were most luxuriant, and the deer larger and tamer than in any other place, lived an old man, the chief of all the tribes that lived between the mountains and the great ocean in the far west. the oldest men amongst the indians could not remember when he was young, and their great-grandfathers had told them that he was old when they were children. his beard was like silver, and his face bore the marks of that wisdom which can only come with age, yet his form was not bent, and his eyes were as strong as the eagle's, that soars up and looks in the face of the sun."
"wonderful man!" said gus.
"he was indeed wonderful, and the wisest man upon the earth; he knew all secrets of the land, and sea, and air, and from them he had gained the elixir that still kept the blood warm in his veins after the lapse of centuries, but he could not get from them contentment,—his soul at last wearied of the habit of clay it had worn so long, and he began a search for one worthy to be the inheritor of his wisdom, and the successor of his power, that he might lie down and be at rest.
"he found one at length, but not among the young men of his tribe, among whom he sought long and patiently. the strength of mind, the purity of soul he desired, were found only in the person of a lovely girl, the daughter of one of the bravest warriors of the mountains. to her he gave the elixir of life, and instructed her in all the secrets he had gained. lastly, he took off the robe he wore, and putting it upon her, led her out of the wigwam and declared her a priestess before all the people. soon after the great magician became a decrepit old man, the weight of his years came upon him and he died, and his body was laid upon a burning pile and consumed to ashes, while all the people mourned around it. then the priestess went to her wigwam on the high mountains and sat down and thought of the last words the dead man had said to her, 'beware of him who reigneth at the northernmost part of the earth, for if thou showest weakness or any human passion he will have dominion over thee and all thy people.' but years passed on and no human feeling agitated her. she lived alone communing with spirits, and at sundry times appearing among the people to astonish them by her wisdom which as years advanced, become a thousand times more potent than had been that of the old magician. and as her wisdom increased so also did her beauty. spirits came and took the ebony from her hair, and covered it with gold; they brought blue from the skies and prisoned it in her eyes; the white stars laid their light upon her face, and sunbeams rendered her smile so warm and tender that it gladdened all upon whom it fell.
"as i have said, she was troubled by no human feeling; but alas! she inspired what she did not feel, for all the young braves worshipped her, not only as a priestess, but as a peerless maiden, and all their awe could not destroy their love. as she knew every thing, she was of course aware of their silent devotion, but she laughed in the solitude of her wigwam, and sang:
'alstarnah must no passion own,
that mortal e'er before hath known.'
"and this she would sing over and over to herself, that she might keep the words of the magician in mind. but after the lapse of many years, she one day ceased to sing, for alstarnah felt the most powerful of all human passions—she loved."
"i'm glad of that!" ejaculated gus, "just paid her out for keeping up that monotonous drone so long."
"oh! don't interrupt!" cried aggie, impatiently, "who did she love, guy?"
"the young chief, gervassen, who had come many thousand miles from the burning plains of the far south, to behold the renowned priestess of the mountains. as alstarnah excelled all women in beauty and wisdom, so did he all men in beauty and strength. he was as tall and slender as the mountain pine, and his face was as fair to look upon as the great star that hung above the north king's palace. he came to the mountains with great pomp, for a thousand of his enemies pursued him, and he slew them all with the masses of rock that he hurled down upon them. see, there they lie now like mighty castles in ruins.
"when the priestess, alstarnah, saw this man she thought no more of the magician's words or of her own power, but gloried in the beauty that had been given her, and said, 'he will surely love me, for there is not upon all the earth a woman as fair.'
"and her words were true, gervassen did love her, and more bold than all the rest, entreated her to be his wife. with great joy she placed her hand in his, but at the moment she was about to speak, she felt an icy wind blow over her and a voice exclaim: 'beware of the king of the north! pity thy people!'
"she fled to her wigwam in terror, and for days refused to admit the chieftain, who stood without pleading for an answer but at length she ventured to glance at him through a tiny hole in the buffalo hide that formed the walls of her tent, and in an instant all her love for her people and all fear of the warning voice vanished, and she promised to be gervassen's bride.
"again came the icy wind and the voice, but so infatuated was she that they failed to turn her from her purpose, although her lover asked the meaning of them. she trembled as she told him that years before there had been a tremendous battle waged between the king of the north and the forces of the great magician. that the latter had finally triumphed, after a terrible struggle, and after yielding one important point to his enemy, which was, that if the magician or any of his successors yielded to human passion, the help of the spirits should be withdrawn from them, and their dominion and people left to the power of the terrible north king.
"'it cannot be that he exists,' returned the warrior, 'else he would have endeavored to enter the land over which my tribe is scattered, and never, never has one of his subjects been seen or heard of upon it.'
"in spite of all her wisdom, this reasoning of gervassen convinced alstarnah, who soon after stood up before all the people and bade them farewell, saying that she was going to dwell in the wigwam of the mighty chieftain, gervassen.
"then she took her lover's hand and began the descent of the charmed mountain, followed by all her people, who were weeping and wailing, and entreating that she would come back to them. but still she went on, but only slowly, because of the great press of people around her; and suddenly an icy wind passed over them, and all fell to the earth shivering and terror-stricken, for they had never felt cold before, and they looked up to the mountain, and lo! upon the very summit, at the door of the deserted wigwam, stood a terrible figure, clothed in white, and having a face as white as his robes, and his hair was like the long crystals that hang from the roofs of caves that the water goes through, and his eyes were like two great diamonds, white, yet blazing like the sun. over his head he waved a sceptre, and as fast as he waved, great flakes of whiteness came out of the clouds and covered all the mountain tops, and came nearer and nearer to the frightened people.
"'it is the terrible north king,' they cried. 'see, he is throwing his arrows upon us.'
"'i will return,' cried alstarnah, filled with remorse. 'i will return and save my people.'
"but once more she heard the voice as it wailed 'too late! too late!' and the icy wind came and arrested her returning footsteps, for it chilled her to ice by the side of gervassen, for whom she had dared so much. then he and all the people were filled with still greater terror and turned to flee down the mountains, but the snow flakes—the deadly arrows of the north king, came faster and faster, falling before as well as behind them, clogging the feet and chilling the life-blood of the people alstarnah had betrayed.
"first, gervassen fell, almost at the side of alstarnah: then, one by one, all the rest of the people sank down and were buried by the soft, white snow, until at last not one remained to tell of the verdure that once crowned the mountains where the north king still reigns, or of the people he slew with terrible arrows of snow, like those he still loves to throw in derision upon any daring traveler that attempts to invade his dominions."
"and that is the story of the first snow storm."
"i'll tell you what, guy," commented george, "you won't tell stories about facts, i know, but you make up for it when you have fancies to deal with."
guy laughed, saying, "he supposed there was no harm in that."
and little aggie said, as she bade him good-night, "i guess you will be forgiven even if there is, guy. and i am sure i shall never look at these mountains or see snow again without thinking of your story."
