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TAHQUITCHROCK
“From behindmy stonyfortress I lookupon the deedsof men.”
THE TAHQUITCH
MAIDEN:
A TALE OF THE
SAN JACINTOS
“THE TRIBE OF MY PEOPLE I
HAVE SEEN DIE, AND THEIR NAME HAS
BEEN FORGOTTEN. BUT I LIVE ON
& SHALL EVER LIVE, BLESSED
WITH ENDURING YOUTH
AND HAPPINESS.”
BY
PHEBE ESTELLE
SPALDING
ILLUSTRATED
PAUL ELDER & COMPANY
PUBLISHERS : SAN FRANCISCO
TO MY COMRADES
IN CLASS & FIELD
Copyright, 1911
by Paul Elder and Company
San Francisco
PREFACE
Tahquitch Mountain is one of the peaks of thecelebrated San Jacinto range. Its contour is peculiar,and on its summit is a huge rock known asTahquitch Rock. The Indians aver that this rockcovers the doorway of the deep cave in whichTahquitch (Devil) dwells. Thither, in misty legend,was borne centuries ago an Indian maidenof a tribe now unknown; and to her unwillingcompany were added later, other beautiful maidenswhom Tahquitch from time to time capturedfrom neighboring tribes.
A curious rumbling of the mountain occurs incertain of the summer months; and the Indiansbelieve that this phenomenon is caused by theviolent anger of Tahquitch when his quest for anew bride is unsuccessful, or by the restlessnessof his cave-imprisoned victims.
This legend, especially in recent years, has undergonenumerous changes of form and interpretation,until it is become one of the most interestingand significant of the many blended fanciesof the red man and the white, which go to makeup the unique poetic lore of California.
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