Santa Fe weekly gazette. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 185?-1859, 1856-11-08
Written for the Snta Fe Gasette.)
TIE MoUNTATN-lAKI LEGEND.
Chapl.


their clustering heads apft lies Lovely and
placid lake of no great magnitude, believed by |
many to be the source oltwo rivers. The Pc
cos AMI the Santa Fe. 1t sleeps in solitary
mountain grandeur; its ppose being only dis.
turhed by the foot of civIlation, when visited
ny the curious or found by the hunter in hot
pursuit Of the black.tall deer, or grizzly bear.
1t is asserted by some thIt formerly the speck.
led mountain trout leap and basked on Its
CLASSY waters, but now 10 traces of the Gnnv
tribe can be found, Except for the altitude of
Its position, being from breo to four thousand
Ieet above the city of Sata Fe, this suall lake
wodld attract bat ttlc nti1e, were it not for
legend which throws around it charm and
lends il an euchantmcnt.
Many years ago, us tie story runs. a short
time aI!cr the spaniards had retakcn Santa Fe
from the indians and restabli,hed themselves
Ia New Mexico, epanis cavalier fond VI the
;nl.e, in pursuit VI gauh, when wcarcl and
burning With thirst came Nldenly upon thi,
taounIAn lake; having qucn'hed his thirst, he
stretched himself upon its brlers and tell into
aWololpd Il sleep. What lGmlh oftimq he slept
ls not known, but upon hl Swakins, 4 being
Of supernatural loyeliness and beauty was
bcndiog over a0d gazing aiOn him.
Eunplured with her cNrms, his frst i'm.
pulse vas to seize upon md ut oncy bear hu
to his SGn!a Fe home; bit she diyining his
thoughts, bade him fVrbearaud touch her not,
but yield to her wishes, or Use she would fore.
YER vanish from his presenoe Awed and sub.
duel into submission by hg noble aud lofty
bearing he at once submitted to her will.
Bidding him rise, she conducted lin to the
waters edge and beckoned lin to leap, and at
the signal they both p!unsd into the luxe and
down through its deep clar waters they des
ccnded. The losCentaypaael to be downward
through watery regions, hov far our cavalier
could not tell, for soon bcel into drowaing
insensibillty and lost all consciousness. When
he re5ained his CONSCIOUSNESS, he found him.
se,f in a new world u0dcllelth the bottom Of
thc lake. What seemed atnngc, was, that this
Underground world should resemble in all it,
natural features exactly tie one tfoa which ht
had descended. lie found himself lying upo
The borders Of Ike mo.ntGn lake, anl til,
the same mountains, the sane forests, the sHm
vallIeS, rivers and stream dts mark ID the cOun
try as those that characterized the cn,irons =
round Santa Fe. Such WIS the p.liko simi
l,tude Of nature in every ftaturc grand or anal
'hat ha imagined that wa.t had trauspirCd wa
4 dream.
He looked a.ouci in search Of thai bong
face that had beamei UPON lin with such 10
'e'lnesSi uus " h'u N"hIbucu' AiOuo'hE hlh
self as from n dream he commenced his jourue
in th1 direction Of Santa 70, but before he ha
travelled mile, be heard the bleating Of shee
and the lowing Of cattle. Can | be still in
' dream? he mentally exclaimed, can there /
|" locks Of sheep and herds Of cattle in the,
{ wilds yet onward he pressed TIL the mus
Q of a shepherds pipe broke upon bis car! N
= founded he followed On and suddenly at lit
. turn he came in full view CT on immense Aot
Of sheep and goats browsing on The mOuuta
side, out leapt the ever faithful shepherd dc
: and barked, and soon the shepherd whose NJ,
sic he had heard discovered himself. The she
herd on discovering the auje of his dogs
:, larm, beckOned the watchiul animal away, al
u thinking nothing strange Of our cavaliers app
! arance made sudden turn round projectil
J. rock, descended a deep rayine and disGvpeare
d Our cavalier to reasure himself that he exste
+ and that what he had seen and heard were re
10 lities closed and rubbed lis eyes, and stamp
u on the earth, and finding that he and the oLje,
n around him had an actual existence he aga
examined the great natural features Of the g
untry with view to ascertain if it could
J. New Mexico.
Those eternal mountains which ever have, q
: always will constitute the great landmarks
this mountain land rose up before him as u
luistakcable witnesses Of iSs identity. 'Rea
then must be myself and those eternal 1t
marks testify that an in the Santa le moi
4" tainS Of New Mexico, ii mistake not on II
terday passed this same spot and it was t
troi by the foot vf man or docks, but now il
>. beaten with sheep tras rs il these mounta
v. had been covered with IlOcks for years. Yh
he trails, the unarmod shepherd, his dog and 4,
y. Of sheep and goats must be- au apparlion c,
jured up by the ea9hantress Of the lake v
which to allure mo into the nower of our