The Legends of San Francisco By George W. (George Walter) Caldwell The Maid of Tamalpais. This she told me in the firelightAs I sat beside her campfire, In a grove of giant redwoods, On the slope of Tamalpais.Old she was, and bent and wrinkled, Lone survivor of the Tamals, Ancient tribe of Indian people, Who have left their name and legendOn the mountain they held sacred.On the ground she sat and brooded, With a blanket wrapped around her-Sat and gazed into the campfire.On her bronze and furrowed features, On her hair of snowy whiteness, Played the shadows and the firelight.Long she gazed into the embers, And I feared I had offendedIn the question I had asked her.Then she spoke in measured accents, Slowly, with a mournful cadence, And long intervals of silence."You have asked me why my peopleWill not climb Mount Tamalpais-Why we hold the mountain sacred.I am old, and when the RavenCalls my spirit to the Father, None will know the ancient story, Sacred legend of the Tamals.Therefore, I will tell the story, I will tell and you shall write it, Else it will be lost forever;I will tell it that the palefaceMay respect our sacred mountain.""In the morning of creationAll the world was covered overWith the flood of troubled waters.Only Beaver and the TurtleSwam about upon the surface.Beaver said, 'I'm very weary.'Turtle said, 'Dive to the bottom.'Beaver dove and brought up gravel, Laid it on the back of Turtle;Dove again and brought a pebble, Then another and another.Pebbles grew to rocks and boulders, As a peak above the waters-Thus was Mount Diablo fashioned.Beaver sat upon the mountain, Gazing out across the waters;Saw a single feather floating;Feather grew into an Eagle;Eagle flew and sat by Beaver.Long they talked about creation, Counseled, planned, and reconsidered, Then they moulded clay with tules;Beaver placed his hair upon it, Eagle breathed into its nostrilsThus Coyote was created. We are delighted to publish this classic book as part of our extensive Classic Library collection. Many of the books in our collection have been out of print for decades, and therefore have not been accessible to the general public. The aim of our publishing program is to facilitate rapid access to this vast reservoir of literature, and our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades. The contents of the vast majority of titles in the Classic Library have been scanned from the original works. To ensure a high quality product, each title has been meticulously hand curated by our staff. Our philosophy has been guided by a desire to provide the reader with a book that is as close as possible to ownership of the original work. We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful classic work, and that for you it becomes an enriching experi