fis Praise. 43 
HLS PRAILSE. 
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 ! 
ee OLGUIE, 
ZINC OLNIDLAIN DEV T A. 
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 rattlesnakes 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 rattle 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 suffocated, the sand will be 
again blown away, exposing him for the delectation of their 
palate. No Indian will venture to show the cave to a white man 
without he agrees not to offer to disturb these snakes, and some 
