When the World Was Young

When the World Was Young By Henry F. Kirkham (Ol TRETCHED across many miles of southern Utah are natural ^\ wonder spots that, for fantastic outline and splendid coloring, ^^^ cannot be excelled by any similar place in the world. It would seem, indeed, that a giant sculptor had exercised his art in the creation and used a rainbow for his pigments — Bryce, Cedar Breaks, Zion, the Grand Canyon of the Colorado, and a host of others too numer- ous to mention. But it is not the color, alone, that impresses the beholder the most. Rather it is the almost uncanny resemblance that many of these wonders bear to the work of human hands that bewilders the imagination,- — cathedral spires, vast natural bridges, pulpit rocks, and a variety of marvelous carvings that look like fabled creatures of ancient legends. ; It is useless to argue that these strange images are but the result of natural agencies; the tireless effort of erosion extending over countless centuries. No! the picture is too real, the effect too start- ling, for such a puerile explanation. For miles away ran the gigantic palisade on which I gazed. Each stone in place as level as the work of a master-mason. And within this vast walled city, the gaunt pillars, the mute ruins of what could have been nothing less than some very temple of departed gods. You could almost visualize the time it once stood complete and grand; when full and splendid life dwelt therein and lived and loved as only gods could love. Tell me not, O scoffer, that dull, insensate chance ever forged this exquisite masterpiece! "You are right, mortal, chance never did!" — By my side sat a spritely fairy, laughing as the sound of tinkling bells — "I repeat, chance never did. Who should know better than I, I who dwelt nearby when this same temple housed as merry a collection of ex- alted souls as ever trod this mundane soil? "And because of your faith, mortal, will I tell you the tale thereof, and so shall your spirit be at peace." * * * * "Light, the god of the sun-lit places, moved blithely down the winding mountain trail. The world was young in those days and good to look upon. Also, this fair god was very much in love, so that the raptures of his soul colored all the earth with the glamour of his own entrancing beauty. For was not he even bent that very

818 IMPROVEMENT ERA moment upon a tryst with the loveliest of the lovely — beautiful Spring. "And as he ran swiftly to meet his beloved, he sang of things of love and the burden of his songs was thus: ' 'I, who dwell in the granite hills, Kiss the fair lips of radiant Spring; Girt in a mantle of clouds is she — Softer far than rainbow wing.' "Now all of this apostrophe was true, for lovely Spring was ever the song on the lips of lovers everywhere. Moreover she dwelt in a palace of crystal salt and her eyes were as the deep blue of the great lake, and her face as the creamy whiteness of the salt spray. Also, Light, himself, was certainly not bad to look upon, — straight as an arrow and tall as the pines of the eternal hills. Besides, did he not dwell in a great fortress of enduring granite — the castle of a thousand halls? "And who can tell of the rapture of that tryst or the sweet words, like the whispering of summer zephyrs, that fell from the lips of these immortal gods? Suffice it to say that, presently, Light, glowing as the sun at noon-time, brought Spring, soft as the harvest moon, to his castle of the thousand halls. Indeed, the very stars sang together and all the feathered songsters, for this was a joyful day to the children of earth when the world was young. "But the fair gods left their shattered castle of the thousand halls."

WHEN THE WORLD WAS YOUNG 819 "There was one, however, who did not join gladly in the universal praise, one who dwelt in the dark places and whose very soul was consumed with bitter envy by reason of this happiness. Dark was his name and darker was his nature. For countless ages he had looked with evil desire upon beautiful Spring and sought her for his own, and now was his spirit filled with anguish and his thought with dark plans for revenge. "And so he brooded, within the shadows, meditating a snare. And out of that brooding came a plan and the nature of it was this: First he summoned his several allies — The North Wind, the Torrid Rain, the Biting Frost. This trio he sent forth, and this was the manner of their going: With bluster and rattle, North Wind did shake the granite walls of that Castle Hall wherein Light abode, while Torrid Rain beat incessantly thereon, and Biting Frost in- dustriously smote with his sharp spear upon the rocky face. A million years, perhaps, were they so engaged and great damage did they accomplish. "And at the end of this period, Dark sent forth other enemies. Fire, he who dwelt in the deep places, and Thunder, armed with his bolts of lightning. The mission of Fire was, of course, to consume the foundations and make a heat as of a great furnace. To Thunder was assigned the final task, for when it chanced that Light, dis- turbed by all this unseemly racket, should venture forth to inquire the reasons thereof, then was Thunder to launch his bolts — and so would Dark have his revenge complete and arrive at his own sinful desires. "As Dark had planned so it came to pass. Light, awakened from his dream of bliss, came forth, Thunder launched the bolts. But, alas! blinded by the exceeding brightness of the beautiful god, miscarried in his aim, so that the bolt fell, not upon the head of Lieht, but upon the head of Dark who stood nearby to glory in th: fall of his enemy. And straightway was Dark converted into that strange statue of stone upon which you now gaze, O mortal. But the fair gods left their shattered castle of the thousand halls to return to the realms of the immortals." Be Tolerant Each man is a unit and counts as one A man is a man. no matter his creed. In God's flawless plan here below. If in quest of truth he's sincere. Naked, and helpless and hungry we come. Research and knowledge all error shall weed. And leave dross behind when we go. At last truth alone will appear. Park City, Utah H. GRAEHL