Part 1 (1/2)
The Story of the Innumerable Company, and Other Sketches.
by David Starr Jordan.
PREFATORY NOTE.
This volume is made up of separate sketches, historical or allegorical, having in some degree a bond of union in the idea of ”the higher sacrifice.”
I am under obligations to Professor William R. Dudley for the use of a photograph of a record of Father Serra. This was secured through the kindness of the late Father Casanova, of Monterey.
PALO ALTO, CAL., June 1, 1896.
_Men told me, Lord, it was a vale of tears Where Thou hast placed me, wickedness and woe My twain companions whereso I might go; That I through ten and threescore weary years Should stumble on beset by pains and fears, Fierce conflict round me, pa.s.sions hot within, Enjoyment brief and fatal but in sin.
When all was ended then should I demand Full compensation from thine austere hand: For, 'tis thy pleasure, all temptation past, To be not just but generous at last._
_Lord, here am I, my threescore years and ten All counted to the full; I've fought thy fight, Crossed thy dark valleys, scaled thy rocks' harsh height, Borne all the burdens Thou dost lay on men With hand unsparing threescore years and ten.
Before Thee now I make my claim, O Lord,-- What shall I pray Thee as a meet reward?_
_I ask for nothing. Let the balance fall!
All that I am or know or may confess But swells the weight of mine indebtedness; Burdens and sorrows stand transfigured all; Thy hand's rude buffet turns to a caress, For Love, with all the rest. Thou gavest me here, And Love is Heaven's very atmosphere, Lo, I have dwelt with Thee, Lord. Let me die.
I could no more through all eternity._
THE STORY OF THE INNUMERABLE COMPANY.
There was once a great mountain which rose from the sh.o.r.e of the sea, and on its flanks it bore a mighty forest. Beyond the crest of the mountain were ridges and valleys, peaks and chasms, springs and torrents. Farther on lay a sandy desert, which stretched its monotonous breadth to the sh.o.r.e of a wide, swift river. What lay beyond the river no one knew, because its sh.o.r.es were always hid in azure mist.
Year by year there came up from the sh.o.r.e of the sea an Innumerable Company. Each one must cross the mountain and the forest, faring onward toward the desert and the river. And this was one condition of the journey--that whosoever came to the river must breast its waters alone. Why this was so, no one could tell; nor did any one know aught of the land beyond. For of the mult.i.tude who had crossed the river not one had ever returned.
As time went on there came to be paths through the forest. Those who went first left traces to serve as guides for those coming after. Some put marks on the trees; some built little cairns of stones to show the way they had taken in going around great rocks. Those who followed found these marks and added to them. And many of the travelers left little charts which showed where the cliffs and chasms were and by what means one could reach the hidden springs. So in time it came to pa.s.s that there was scarcely a tree on the mountain which bore not some traveler's mark; there was scarcely a rock that had not a cairn of stones upon it.
In early times there was One who came up from the sea and made the journey over the mountain and across the desert by a way so fair that the memory of it became a part of the story of the forest. Men spoke to each other of his way, and many wished to find it out, that haply they might walk therein. He, too, had left a Chart, which those who followed him had carefully kept, and from which they had drawn help in many times of need.
The way he went was not the shortest way, nor was it the easiest. The ways that are short and easy lead not over the mountain. But his was the most _repaying_ way. It led by the n.o.blest trees, the fairest outlooks, the sweetest springs, the greenest pastures, and the shadow of great rocks in the desert. And the chart of his way which he left was very simple and very plain--easy to understand. Even a child might use it. And, indeed, there were many children who did so.
On this chart were the chief landmarks of the region--the mountain with its forest, the desert with its green oases, the paths to the hidden springs. But there were not many details. The old cairns were not marked upon it, and when two paths led alike over the mountain, there was no sign to show that one was to be taken rather than the other.
Not much was said as to what food one should take, or what raiment one should wear, or by what means one should defend himself. But there were many simple directions as to how one should act on the road, and by what signs he should know the right path. One ought to look upward, and not downward; to look forward, and not backward; to be always ready to give a helping hand to his neighbor: and whomsoever one meets is one's neighbor, he said.
As to the desert, one need not dread it; nor should one fear the river, for the lands beyond it were sweet and fair. Moreover, one should learn to know the forest, that he might choose his course wisely. And this knowledge each one should seek for himself. For, as he said, ”If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.”
There were many who followed his way and gave heed to his precepts.
The path seemed dangerous at times, especially at the outset; for it lay along dizzy heights, through tangled underwood, and across swollen torrents. But after a while all these were left behind. The way pa.s.sed on between cleft rocks, into green pastures, and by still waters; and in the desert were sweet springs which gave forth abundantly.
But some who tried to follow him said that his Chart was not explicit enough. Every step in the journey, they contended, should be laid out exactly; for to travel safely one should never be left in doubt.
Now, it chanced that on the slope of the mountain there was a huge granite rock, which stood in the midst of the way. Some of the travelers pa.s.sed to the right of it, while others turned to the left.
Strangely enough, the Chart said nothing concerning this rock. No hint was given as to how one should pa.s.s by it.