His Praise. 43 



HIS PRAISE. 



Even the desert hath a flower, 



His praise to offer up, 

 Who fashioned it in beauty there, 



And filled its fragrant cup. 



Even the desert hath a flower, 



A lily formed to breathe 

 His praise upon the glowing air, 



Sweetly at morn and eve. 



And o'er it bends the starry night, 



And from the distant sea, 

 From beaming star and throbbing wave, 



His praise makes melody. 



And yet the little desert flower, 



As far as in it lies, 

 His praise and glory spreads abroad 



As much as seas and skies ! 



E. E. Orcutt. 



AN INDIAN MYTH 



In approaching the confines of the Colorado desert this spring, 

 we found a snake story in circulation among the mountain men 

 that surpassed any similar tale that had reached my ears, and 

 which in one sense is worthy of record. The story or myth 

 seemed to lose nothing in being repeated, and the two rattle- 

 snakes—the subject of the myth— had reached the final length of 

 "forty feet and were still growing" when last heard from ! 



The Indian myth, from the first narrator (as given to him by 

 the Indians themselves) is substantially as follows: Two immense 

 rattlesnakes, measuring from sixteen to seventeen feet in length, 

 inhabit a cave in a rocky mountain on the desert, known as the 

 "mysterious mountain." This mountain is partially (and at times 

 wholly) covered by drifts of sand which are formed and whirled 

 on the mountain by the wind storms frequent in that region. For 

 eight years the mouth of this cave where the ratdesnakes live has 

 been stopped by sand, which has now been blown away, so that 

 the snakes are virtually on "free exhibition," and, it is said, will 

 not offer to disturb any one who may wish to visit them. But 

 if any one offers to disturb their majesties, the snakes will begin 

 to ratde furiously and raise a terrific sandstorm on the mountain 

 that will bury the disturber of their peace in sand. 



After the victim has been thus sufibcated, the sand will be 

 again blown away, exposing him for the delectation of their 

 palate. No Indian will ^■enture to show the cave to a white man 

 without be agrees not to offer to disturb these snakgs, and some 



