Old Mission Stories of California | Page 8

their feet, and
stepped quickly to the couch. There they saw a surprising change in the
countenance of the old woman: her eyes, bright and unclouded as they
had been before, now looked at them recognisingly, although they still
bore the weighty, thoughtful expression; her mouth, now partly open,
was full of resolve, and the lips were just shaping the words she was
about to speak, as the two approached:
"Itatli, I heard the words you have spoken this evening, and I, alone,
understand them. You know not what manner of men were those you
saw; you know not, indeed, whether they be men or angels. I will tell
you. They are men like ourselves, but they come from afar. Listen, my
children," she continued, her voice growing in power and volume, "I
will disclose to you what I have never revealed to any one of our
people. About two seasons of rain after I had foretold the future of our
tribe, when the last lake should have become entirely dry, I had a
revelation of what was to befall all the Indians of this great land, that
far surpassed anything I had ever before prophesied. I saw, as in a
vision, the great blue sea sparkling in the sun, the little waves rolling
softly to the shore, to break into lines of white foam on the sands of the
beach at my feet. I was alone, but was not afraid, although I had never
before seen the sea, either in my visions or in real life; yet I knew at
once what it was. While I gazed at the water, and watched the waves
rushing up to my feet, I felt, all at once, as though an unseen power was
impelling me to look up. I raised my head and gazed out over the water,
and there I saw, far away, a great white object that looked like an
immense bird. I knew, as I know all things that occur in my visions,
this was a ship.
"Presently, the unseen power, as though whispering in my ear, revealed

to me that the ship was full of men from a far country, coming to settle
in our land, and that they would subdue the Indians, killing many,
taking others captive, and making them work for their masters; and that,
later, after many years, the Indians would vanish from the land which
had been theirs since the time when Ouiot was on this earth. Then the
vision faded slowly from my sight, and I seemed to enter a luminous
mist as I felt myself impelled to walk. After what, in my trance, seemed
many hours, I came out of the mist on to a level stretch of land, through
which flowed a large river. There were mountains on the north,
reaching for many miles, and from the west, which was lowland as far
as the eye could see, came the cool afternoon sea wind. In the middle of
the plain was a great tall house, white with a red roof, and at one end
hung some bells in openings made for them in the wall. All around
were a great many houses of brush, much like this we are in, and
outside and in were crowds of Indians working like bees, at all kinds of
toil, doing many things, too, that we never do, such as planting fields
with seeds, and gathering the harvest when it was ripe; making cloth
for clothes, such as you, my son, saw those strange men wearing. Then
they were making jars and dishes of clay, and weaving baskets, such as
we use."
"Suddenly, a little time before sunset, while they were at their busiest,
the bells in the big white house began to ring. Every one stopped
working and stood facing the building. Then, as the bells were ringing,
they bowed their heads. At this moment, I heard, again, the voice which
yet was not a voice, revealing to me the meaning of the scene before
my eyes. 'Behold,' I seemed to hear, 'the final end of the Indians of this,
land! See the fate which is awaiting them! All these peoples and tribes,
and others far to the north and south of here, will be brought together
into places like unto this. They will be made to work at these white
men's tasks; give up their own wild, free life in the open country; give
up their old customs; give up their own god, even, to pray to the God of
their masters. And thus will it be for many years, until the Indians
disappear forever; for, after a time, they will grow fewer and fewer
until not one shall be left in the whole land which once they owned.'
Then what seemed a deep