The Legends of San Francisco | Page 5

foemen,
In a mighty fleet of warboats;

Every summer came the foemen,
Came and fought and then retreated.
In his tepee sat the Chieftain
With the Old Men, wise in counsel;

All their hearts were solely troubled -
Every summer brought the
foemen,
Those bronze men of fearless courage,
Waxing stronger
every season -
Long they counseled with each other;
Would the
foemen come and conquer?
Could the Tamals long withstand them?

Thus they questioned in the Council
While they planned their last
defenses.
To the Council came the sisters,
Yana fair, and Tana fearless,

Twins, and daughters of the Chieftain,
Came and stood before the
wise men,
Came and bowed their heads and waited.
Well the wise men knew the sisters,
Maidens blooming into women,

Loved them for their grace and beauty,
For the joy they radiated,

For the charm that emanated
From their chaste and gentle spirits,

As the perfume that is wafted
From the rose buds newly opened.
Yet the Wise Men gave no welcome,
Turned their eyes from Maids to
Chieftain.
"Why, my Daughters, have you ventured
Into this, the
warrior's council?
Well you know it is forbidden;
Neither man nor
woman enters
When the warriors plan for battle."
"Let us speak," the Maidens answered,
"For we bring a warning
message.
As we wandered on the ridges
Gathering the golden
poppies
To adorn our Mother's tepee,
We were talking of the
danger
From the foemen of the Northland,
When a Maiden stood
before us,
Strangely fair, with golden tresses,
Eyes of deep blue like
the lupins,

Dressed in garlands made of poppies.
Hand in hand we
stood and wondered,
Till the lovely apparition
Smiled and caused
our fears to vanish.
'I am the Spirit of the Country,'
Said the Maiden

of the Poppies,
'And I choose you, my Twin Daughters,
For the
beauty of your bodies,
And the worth of soul within you,
As the
saviors of your people,
As the guardians of my harbor.
Take the
message to your Chieftain,
That the foe comes from the Northland;

Yet they shall not harm your people
If you stand upon the hilltop

With the talisman I give you.
Take this Magic Iris with you,
Guard
it well for every petal
Has a charm that brings an answer
To a
prayer that is unselfish,
To a prayer for all the people
That will live
around your harbor.
Never, while you guard the hilltop,
Shall a foe
invade your country.
Petals three there are; three wishes
Shall be
granted when you make them.'
Then the Poppy Maiden vanished,

And we hastened to our village.
Hand in hand, we ran so swiftly

That our feet but touched the flowers;
While above our heads the wild
ducks
Flying southward clamored hoarsely,
'They are coming; They
are coming!'
Sea gulls, winging from the ocean,
Shrieked their
warning, 'They are coming!'
Then we dared to brave your Council

With the message of the Maiden,
And the warning of the seabirds.
'It is well,' the Chieftain answered,
'Daughters with the eyes of
springtime
And the faces of the flowers,
It is well. The Gods have
marked you
With their sign upon the forehead;
You have stood
before a Goddess,
And her spirit is upon you.'
Long the Old Men sat and pondered.
Well they knew the ears of
children
Are attuned to hear the voices
Of the Gods and Guardian
Spirits.

Well they knew that all wild creatures
Speak to man if one
is worthy
To receive their friendly warning;
Knew that seabirds,
swift and cunning,
See the foemen while their war boats
Still are far
beyond the sea-rim.
Thus they reasoned in their council,
Then they
stood before the people
While the Chieftain gave his orders.
'Beat the war drums. Call the warriors.
Man the war canoes, and
station
Sentinels upon the headlands
Up the coast-land to Bolinas.


Let them light the lurid war fires,
When they see the foemen
coming.'
Swiftly northward raced the sentries
In their light canoes of deerskin -

Through the narrows to Bonita,
On the ocean to Bolinas.
All was
tumult in the village;
To each warrior was given
Long bows, strong
bows, wrapped with sinews,
Stores of arrows, eagle feathered,

Newly tipped with sharpest flint-heads;
Stone head war clubs,
wrapped with rawhide;
Shields of oakwood, tough and heavy.

Women decked the braves with feathers,
Robes of fur, and charms of
seashell;
Roused their courage with the stories
Of the prowess of
their Fathers;
Cheered with songs of deeds of valor
Of the heroes of
the Tamals;
While the children, heavy hearted,
Watched the scene
in wide-eyed wonder.
Every day the Chieftain's daughters,
As twin sentinels were standing

On the hill between the valley
And the blue expanse of ocean.
Every day they watched the Morning
Reach his rosy fingers upward,

From behind the eastern mountains,
Painting with an elfin fancy,

Crimson edges on the cloudbanks;
Then erasing and repainting

Them with gold or mauve or amber;
Always changing, as his fancy

Swayed the child to blend the colors;
Till Old Father Sun uprising,

Drove his elfin son to shelter
From the dazzle of his presence.
All day long the faithful sisters
Stood upon the ridge and waited -

Waited while the Sun ascended,
Crossed the zenith, then descended

On his daily westward journey.
Watched him sink into the ocean

As a molten globe of metal;
While the fleecy clouds above him

Caught afire, and blazed in beauty,
Radiating flaming colors

Through the changing clouds, and lighting

O'er the purple sea a
pathway
Glinting in a golden glory.
Evening came, and still they waited -
While the heavenly dome

turned purple,
And the twinkling stars were