When Dreams Come True Part 34

"'Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city!'

"And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: The merchandise of gold and silver and precious stones, and of pearls and fine linen, and purple, and silk and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of bra.s.s and iron and marble. And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men....

"The fruits that thy soul l.u.s.ted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all. The merchants of these things which were made rich by her shall stand afar off ... weeping and wailing and saying: 'Alas, alas that great city, that was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls....' And every s.h.i.+p master and all the company in s.h.i.+ps, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea ... shall cry when they see the smoke of her burning, saying: 'What city is like unto this great city?'

And they shall cast dust on their heads, and weeping and wailing, cry: 'Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had s.h.i.+ps in the sea by reason of her costliness!'

"Babylon, Babylon, thine idols and graven images of G.o.ds shall be cast down and shattered utterly and forever! The voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman of whatsoever craft he be shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; and the light of a candle shall s.h.i.+ne no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee; for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations of the earth deceived!"

Babylon, Babylon, thou fair city, thou proud world, thou wonderful emanation of men's minds, thou fair wanton, thou beauteous licentious harlot of gold and gems, and white linen, and silks, and of henna, and myrrh, and frankincense, and sweet-smelling herbs, no more shall thy sons and daughters rejoice in thee and wors.h.i.+p thee! Thy gra.s.s shall be withered and thy fig trees shall cast their figs, and thy gold and silver, and thy diamonds, and rubies, and sapphires, and turquoise, and emeralds, and opals, and pearls, and topaz, shall lie scattered and in heaps for him to take who wisheth them, but none shall desire them.

No more shall thy daughters sit in the shadow of thy vines where nesteth the dove, and glorify thee in idle jest and laughter and song, and longingly wait for the coming of the night, for they shall be bereft of their silks, and their girdles, and anklets, and bracelets of gold and jewels. Thy songs and paeans of triumph and victory shall cease with the tainted stream of thy desires, and the walls of thy temples shall crumble to dust. Thy stars shall pale, and the sun and the moon shall illumine thee no longer, for the day approacheth when thy blandishments shall fail to allure.

Babylon, Babylon, thou proud city, thou who sitteth upon many waters, thou whose sway encompa.s.seth the earth, how hast thou fallen!

XL

On the afternoon of the fifth day they drew rein on a high, shelving, terracelike stretch of ground overlooking a broad valley, and almost opposite the chief Tewana village which nestled at the foot of the Sahuaripa range, running north and south until lost on the horizon.

Back of the village a cataract flung itself downward over the mountain's side into the valley, its clouds of spray reflecting innumerable rainbow tints in the suns.h.i.+ne. Great forests, abounding in wild animal life, clothed the mountain's slopes.

It was a peaceful, fruitful valley upon which they gazed; the land where Chiquita formerly dwelt. The gra.s.s grew knee-deep in the meadows.

Willows and water-birch and sycamore and alders and poplars, interspersed with pines and oaks, grew in cl.u.s.ters along the banks of the broad, rus.h.i.+ng stream that ran between them and the distant village whose low, vine-clad walls glowed golden and rose and purple and gray in the rays of the afternoon sun. The diminutive city was a ma.s.s of trees and foliage and seemed a part of the landscape; so small were the houses and so harmonious its setting. Fields of flax and melons, and beans and squash, and corn and tobacco, and small orchards and vineyards already harvested, dotted the valley close to the meadows which bordered the tree-fringed stream. Herds of horses and cattle and flocks of sheep and goats, intermingled with wild herds of deer and antelope, browsed on the meadows and slopes above the river where they stood. Wild ducks and geese and swan swam in the river, and grouse and wild turkeys and quail and plover roamed the forests and uplands. There was no promiscuous killing of wild animals allowed among the Tewana; they were shared in common like the domesticated animals. Innumerable canoes, used for fis.h.i.+ng, were drawn up on the banks of the river.

The Tewana were an independent, self-supporting people. At all seasons of the year were heard the sounds of the hand-loom and the smith's anvil--the fas.h.i.+oners of iron and precious metals. The weavers of cloth and baskets, and potters and tanners fas.h.i.+oned their wares in the open in the shade of their walls and trees.

The life these people led, free from the hara.s.sing cares and anxieties of the White man, was almost ideal. During the spring and summer months they tended their fields, and after the harvests were gathered in the autumn and the surplus produce stored in public granaries, they engaged in the chase; hunting only with the bow and spear--camping in the open, in the forests and plains until the advent of winter. During the ensuing months, until the coming of spring, the children were instructed by their parents in the industrial arts; taught the traditions of their people, and how to read and write, and to observe the courses of the stars and to forecast the weather and predict the nature of the seasons.

With the coming of the seedtime, they entered the fields with their elders and learned to sow and tend and reap the crops.

Thus, by the time the child had attained the age of sixteen, he was thoroughly conversant with all that was necessary to meet the demands of life. He became an independent, self-supporting unit, while his constant contact with nature not only revealed the latter's secrets and the laws governing natural phenomena, but developed him physically and spiritually as only nature can. All orphaned children were adopted by the different families, and consequently, there were no outcasts or poor and ignorant among the people.

Every house was surrounded by a small plot of ground sufficient to supply the family with fruit, poultry, grain and vegetables; from two to three acres in extent. Their herds were held in common and permitted to run at will like the deer; requiring but little care.

The Tewana only produced enough to feed and clothe themselves. The use of money was forbidden among them, and trade and barter limited practically to the individual who, desiring something particular from his neighbor, procured the latter an equivalent in return.

They regarded material things as merely a means to an end, and considered it a disgrace for any one to acc.u.mulate wealth; for it was noted that one's spiritual development declined in the same ratio that his material possessions increased. Like the land, they held the forests and minerals and waters and animals in common. These were the sacred things, the gift of nature, and could not be bartered or sold. In their eyes, only the depraved soul of a peddler ever could have conceived the idea of turning them into merchandise. Naturally it had taken centuries of evolution to create this att.i.tude--but they had attained. There was, however, no need of wealth. Since they enjoyed the earth's natural resources in common, there was enough and an abundance for all; placing the high and the low on a footing of material equality.

Four months' energetic labor was all that was required to produce the annual necessities of life, allowing the individual the greater portion of his days to devote to the development of his natural capacities.

There were no idlers, the women sharing the responsibilities of life the same as the men. All contributed their services to that which was required for the good of the community; the maintenance of aqueducts and roads in the towns and the guarding of the herds. Aside from these slight duties, the individual was free to follow the bent of his desires. Those who refused to contribute such services were driven from the community and became nomads, but such instances were rare; all preferring to enjoy the benefits which civilization, combined with the greatest amount of liberty, bestowed upon the individual.

Opposite the chief _pueblo_, on the same side of the river occupied by themselves, stood the ruins of another town in a fair state of preservation. It differed greatly in appearance from the one opposite.

It was compactly built, resembling more a modern Mexican town than the pure type of Indian _pueblo_. In answer to the Captain's inquiries concerning it, Chiquita smiled and said: "Originally there were sixty _pueblos_, averaging from two to three thousand inhabitants each; the number of inhabitants to which the size of our towns are limited. Owing to the new ideas that were introduced among us by the priests and traders that were permitted to visit us from time to time, many of our people sought to establish a new order of things; like that prevailing throughout the greater part of the world to-day. But in order that I may make clear what I am about to say, I must first tell you, that the Tewana are as quick to recognize and encourage talent and genius as were the ancient Greeks--that there are many artists among my people who have developed their arts to a high degree of perfection--poets, painters, sculptors and musicians.

"These artists, especially, became imbued with the new ideas, and instead of continuing to create for art's sake only, as had been the custom of their fathers, embellis.h.i.+ng their houses and articles of use with their artistic creations, or spreading their poetry and music and national sagas abroad after the manner of the Minnesingers of old, they, with the others who had become affected, began to adopt new customs--to build churches and temples in which to wors.h.i.+p and preserve their arts, and sought to introduce money and taxation and all that they entail among the people in order that the new inst.i.tutions might be maintained.

"The disaffection became widespread, affecting about half the people.

The White Cloud and my father did all in their power to persuade the renegades, as they were called, to return to the old ways again; maintaining that G.o.d dwelt in the open, not in temples, and that the works of man which entailed the burden of taxation for their maintenance, depriving man of his freedom, were not worth retaining.

That it was not economy, but extravagance to maintain them, and an unnecessary waste of energy; for the instant man, in his material evolution, goes beyond the procuring of the necessities of life, he becomes immeshed in the creations of his own world and a slave to them.

But in vain. They refused to listen to the wisdom of their words and only laughed in answer to their pleadings. Whereupon, the most terrible battles ensued; costing the lives of fifty thousand of our best fighting men and women; for among us, the women, like the men, are warriors, and quite as capable of self-defense. They likewise take part in all our games. In fact, they receive the same training in all things as the men in order that they may be equally fitted to bear the responsibilities of citizens.h.i.+p.

"Our women are trained for battle, not particularly to make warriors of them, but for the same reason that the Greeks placed athletics before all else. Not that they considered athletics superior to the other arts and sciences, but without physical perfection, they realized there could be no proper mental poise, no balance between mind and body. When you see our youth, our young men and women, contest for the honors in our games and military exercises you'll realize the truth of this. The entire nation gathers together once a year to witness these sports and exercises and judge the skill of the contestants. No Olympic games ever surpa.s.sed them. You shall see wonderfully beautiful men and women, the result of their training. Men and women who grow naturally from the ground up, like the tree or the flower. Believe me, your people don't know what it is to really live, to taste of the true joys of life; they only exist.

"Owing to the terrific loss we sustained during the rebellion, we were forced to make terms with the Mexican Government and pay an annual tribute like the rest of her people. It was my first introduction to battle. I don't think I shall ever forget those terrible days of slaughter. No quarter was shown, for we knew that defeat meant the extermination of our race. There ought to be about a hundred thousand of us left," she continued. "Twenty _pueblos_, in all were destroyed, and may their ruins long continue to stand as monuments of the folly of men!"

"But how about your schools and hospitals and asylums and prisons?"

asked the Captain.

"Men who lead natural lives have no need of such things," she answered.

"Nature is all sufficient and has provided all things for man's proper development. The man or woman who can not instruct a child in the things that are worth knowing and necessary to meet the demands of life, is a barbarian and only half civilized. Once a man becomes civilized, the civilizing process ends. A man's spiritual growth is not dependent upon his inventions, his sciences or his arts, but is a thing apart from mental growth. If this were not so, his hope of ultimate deliverance would be a delusion. Contagious diseases were unknown to us until introduced among us by white men. As for criminals, they are very rare among us. When all men have an equal opportunity in life there is no incentive to commit crime. Acts that are the result of sudden fits of pa.s.sion, are not the acts of criminals, but the righting of a supposed wrong done the individual. But even these are rare. Should any one transgress the law, he is punished, not imprisoned. Only a fool would go to the trouble and expense of keeping a man imprisoned. A delinquent is punished so severely that he will not transgress the law a second time; for a second serious offense against society is punished usually with death. From what I have told you, you can gather that we are not the savages the world imagines men to be who lead a natural existence. You can see how easily we, with our knowledge and theirs, could lead them to the light."

"Is there nothing between the picture your people present and the world we know?"

"Nothing! What else could there be? After the final apprais.e.m.e.nt of things has been taken and they have been weighed in the balance and adjudged, this is the condition that must confront mankind, for no other condition offers man such unlimited scope for the development of his higher nature. What you see is the true picture of the delivered man.

The Golden Age, or the Garden of Eden is no myth. Men once were free and remained so until they gave way to desire and established for themselves a world of delusion in which there is no permanency either of thought or possession. The traditions of all nations and all peoples, from time immemorial, tell of this state when men were free. They also predict the destruction of present-day society. The Utopias and Golden Ages depicted by poets and dreamers, though beautiful to dwell upon in fancy, are of the tissue of dreams. They will not bear a.n.a.lysis. They are merely other names for different forms of bondage; the same old romantic fallacies which we are forever meeting in works of fiction."

"And how long shall the world we know continue until the new dispensation comes to pa.s.s?"

"Until men overcome the fear of death! Then shall they be born anew and come into their rightful heritage. Then shall they grasp the spiritual significance of the Golden Age as voiced by the Prophet: When first the foundations of the Earth were laid; when the morning stars sang together and all the Sons of G.o.d shouted for joy, for we are they!"

XLI

On either side of the village, forming a vast semicircle, stood innumerable lodges and hogans, temporary structures erected by the inhabitants of the other villages, who had come to show homage to the Princess and the White Chief, as the Captain was called.

While gazing in the direction of the village which was too far distant for them to distinguish more than an indistinct outline of objects, they beheld two dark columns of hors.e.m.e.n issue forth from the center of the great semicircle of lodges and move slowly in their direction. Chiquita guessed their meaning. As a child she had witnessed the ceremony when her father, the Whirlwind, was proclaimed Chief of the nation.

Without pausing, they came trailing across the valley in two separate columns, thousands of hors.e.m.e.n and women, the men on the right hand, the women on the left; all riding bareback with simple _riatas_ twisted around the horse's lower jaw. Save for their sandals and the skins of the panther and ocelot and jaguar, the Mexican leopard, which they wore clasped at the left shoulder by a golden, jeweled clasp, and which fell diagonally down across the body to the right knee, leaving the arms and shoulders and the greater part of the body bare and the left leg exposed to the hip, the women were as naked as the men who wore sandals and loin-skins only. Heavy clasps and bracelets and girdles of gold and silver, set with pearls and opals, and turquoise and topaz, and emeralds and sapphires, adorned their arms and waists.

Among the Tewana there was no distinction in authority between man and woman. Like the Amazons of old, the women carried long steel-tipped lances and s.h.i.+elds and bows and quivers of arrows slung across their backs as did the men. The head of each Cacique or Chieftain of a hundred warriors or Amazons was adorned with a circlet of gold with a clasp of precious stones on the left side of the head holding a single eagle's feather that slanted downward across the left shoulder.

On they came, the half-wild horses prancing and plunging and snorting and neighing, their manes and the long black hair and braids of the men and women flying in the breeze; the lance tips and jewels and their naked, bronze bodies flas.h.i.+ng and glistening in the sun; a wonderful, wild, picturesque, barbaric pageant, a voice from the past; magnificent specimens of manhood and womanhood; free men, exemplifying the fullness of life--the life that is worth living. The jewels and precious metals which they wore represented incredible wealth, but were regarded by them as objects of beauty only, for these were the Tewana, the people, who for the sake of freedom, had trampled material wealth under foot; had held Montezuma in check and resisted the encroachments of the Spaniard ever since the days of Cortez, knowing themselves to be a superior people and of more ancient origin.

A wild, weird chant that rolled and swelled in great undulatory waves of melody down the long lines of warriors, was borne to them on the breeze.

The whole valley was filled with the song, the hills and mountains, reverberating and resounding, echoed back the refrain.

"'Tis the ancient chant of the kings!" explained Chiquita. "Of course we no longer go to war thus. Nevertheless, it is the ancient rite that must be performed so long as the Tewana remain a nation."

Nearer and nearer drew the advancing host, the volume of sound swelling and increasing, until splas.h.i.+ng through the river and sweeping up the slope to where they stood, the leaders drew rein before them, and raising their lances on high, a mighty shout burst from the throats of the warriors, interrupting the song. Again and again the valley and mountains echoed and reverberated with the prolonged shouts and acclamations until the chant was taken up once more.

An eagle with widespread wings soared above them in the blue of heaven and seemed to accompany them as they swept along between the lines in the direction of the village; each company of warriors and Amazons, without interrupting the chant, raising their lances in salute as they pa.s.sed. There was no doubt in the minds of the Tewana regarding Captain Forest's ability to rule as they gazed upon the man and the horse he rode. He was as tall and deep chested as the Whirlwind, while his piercing, hawklike gaze and face shone with the strength and determination of one born to command. The Chestnut tossed his great white mane in the air and neighed and plunged and curveted between the lines.

Truly the White Cloud had read the future well--the White Chief had come with the Princess.