The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1894-12-07
The Canon of
the White Horse.

HIS canon ought to have
4g. q history, Pablo" I said
TH0RRH to the guide, as, supper
lSIf finished, leaned back on
GS) my blankets and dreamily
lM gazed at the scene before
SE us. 1t was a summer
night-a night in the South.
west where nights are perfect. The
moon was at the full, and not a cloud
was in the sky to obscure her radi-
ance or the light of the myriad stars
which bore her company. The abr
was cool and bracing, yet balmy. and
there was just enough breeze to lull
ones spirits and cause him to forget
the world and indulge in fanciful
reveries, such as only Southern
breezes inspire.
We had pitched Or camp on one
of the sloping hills on the south side
of the canon, where a little stream of
clear, sweet water rippled from
spring in a ravine down into the
canon below. Above US was the sigh
ing, odorous forest of juniper and
pinon; below was q little stretch of
velvety grass, extending clear to the
floor of the canon, on both sides of
the little stream. Right and left
stretched the canon itself, its walls,
precipitous for the most part, rising
grandly, hundreds of feet high on
each side.
"It is beautiful, Pablo" I continued.
SIT must have a history of some kind;
or a story-no?
"Si, Senior, that it has-ay, that it
has," answered the Mexican, lighting
fresh cigarette and putting at it re-
hectively q moment "Would the
senior hear it?'
"By all means, Pablo; go ahead
And here is Pablo's story, as nearly
as can translate it, (for he spoke in
Spanish):
"Does the senior see the cliff on the
other side, how high it is? That Is
the Cliff of the White Horse-it is
many hundred feet high, and straight
up and down. And at the top, when
the moon is a little higher, the senior
will see the White Horse. It is a
great white rock on the edge of the
cliff, and by clear moonlight it looks
like white horse. It has not always
been there, and now, they say, on the
anniversaries of CERTAIN days, the
ghost of old Don Fernando comes and
rides it along the edge Of the canon.
Doh L OI, Sty. May TIE
blessed saints hf.ve mercy upon himp'
calculated Pablo, crossing himself.
MANY years ago, Don Fernando
Cortez-he was grandson, or some
thing, of the great Cortez-lived over
above, beyond the canon several miles,
Don Fernando was rich, and lived in
grand house, and had many servants
and slaves. He was a great enter
tainer, was Don Fernandez, and peo-
pie used to come many miles-hun-
dreds, thousands, yes-to his grand
dinners and balls.
HE was not a good man. No. He
was cruel master, and hard with all
his people, and made them all hate
him. He was kind to only two living
creatures; one of these was his beau
tiful daughter, the Lady Ysabel-the
other was his great white stallion,
the largest and feetest horse in all
the country. These two the old Don
toved as bis two eyes, and well he
might-yeS. The Lady YsabeI was
not only beautiful, but she was kind
and good, and all the people loved
her as much IS they hated the Don,
which was great deal. She had
golden hair, and eyes like the sky,
and it is said the birds listened when
she sang. And the horse-ay, he was
wonderful. He was as big as three
ordinary horses, and his tread shook
the ground. He had a long, white
name, and eyes that flashed fire, and
was almost as much feared as the
old Don, who alone dared go near
him.
1.-The Lady Ysabel had many suit
ors. The wea1thiest and most aristo-
cratic men in all the country came to
sue for her hand many of them from
far.off California, and some. it is
said, came even from Spain. But the
Lady Ysabel would have none of
them. She loved her pony, and her
dogs and birds, and her people; but
a man, no. One after another came.
but she turned them all away. So,
after few years the old Don became
tired of what he called her foolish
ness and swore she should marry.
lected for her.
''This grieved the Lady Ysabel very
much; for not only did she not love
any of those who had offered them
selves to her, but her heart was al
ready given-given to one of her
fathers poems, young man named
Jose, whom she had helped nurse
through a terrible illness. Him she
used to meet by stealth, nearly every
night, unbeknown to any but them
selves. But, one night, when the
Lady Ysabel's wedding day was near
at hand, she and her lover were seen
together, and the story came to the
ears of the old Don.
"He started to find them, swearing
to kill them both; but they had been
warned, and had taken two of the
fieetest horses in the stables and fed.
With mad haste the Don saddled his
white stallion and pursued them.
They had taken their way over the
hills, blindly, but some instinct led
the Don to follow the direction they