The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1895-10-25

~ Nm e AOA
large lustrous black eyes; her dark
hair fell about her like a cloud, as If
to hide so much glory. She was very
much excited, and spoke quickly.
"YOu ask, Jason, the hardest task
that even an enchantress may perform.
| could move yonder mountain with less
difficulty. The power to tame the fire.
breathing bulls and put the dragon to
sleep were child's play to me. But now
you ask what will tax all my powers.
Nevertheless, it shall be done! But not
at the cost you mention. Not so much
as one day shall be taken from your
life, but Aeson shall live!"
She ceased, and as he thanked her all
the hire OF her being seemed to vanish
She was as sweet and gentle as the sum-
mer wind. To lock at her no n would
have believed her capable of an evil
thought, much less of a deed of horror.
Then she went from his apartment.
When the next full moon occurred,
at midnight, when all were wrapt in
sinmber, Medea stepped forth from the
palace. She was attired in black, AND
she strobe swiftly till she came to the
center OF a forest. Great rocks cast
deep shadows, and the trees rustled and
tneir murmurings were reverberated
from the caverns. Passing quickly from
this dense foliage, she came to a clear
Ing, circular in shape, on which the
moon and stars shone with wonderful
clearness.
For a moment the enchantress stood
with face upturned and arms raised,
silent, mi not a sound Of living or
moving creatures could be heard. Then
she addressed her lamentations to the
moon and the stars, to Hecate, the god
dess OF TIE underworld: to Tellus, the
goddess of the earth, by whose power
herbs full of charm and potent for en-
chantment grow. She called upon the
gods OF land and sea; she invoked the
power of river, stream, lake, wood and
cavern; she called upon the mountains
the valleys, upon the mighty winds
n upon the vapors.
Then she implored Pluto and Prosper
pine to spare the life that she wished
TO prolong; and as she spoke the stars
shone brighter, the winds began to sigh
moan, the leaves of the trees to
rustic. And suddenly from on high a
chariot of gold and precious gems de-
scended to her, borne by winged SER
penis. Medea entered her car, and in
a moment more was out of sight of
T%hessaly.
The chariot bore her to distant lands,
where man had never put his foot,
where nature had unbounded sway.
There she gathered herbs, such as she
knew how to use, and for nine days
she was so occupied. During this time
she entered no dwelling and spoke to
no mortal being. Then she returned to
Thessaly, to the clearing in the woods.
There she erected two affairs, one to
Hecate, the other to Hebe, the goddess
of youth.
A black sheep was then sacrificed,
and libations of milk and wine were
poured upon it. Aeson was then led
forth, and having thrown him into a
deep sleep by a charm, Medea laid him
upon a bed of herbs.
With flowing hair she moved three
times around the affairs, calling upon
the gods of the underworld. and dip
ping burning twigs into the blood on
the affairs and leaving them there to
burn. The caldron with it's magic con-
tents was then prepared. She put in it
the magic herbs that she had gathered,
seeds and flowers, stone from the far
East and sand from the shore of Ocean.
Then she added hoar-frost, gathered by
moonlight; the head and wings of a
screech owl; the entrails of a wolf;
fragments of shells of tortoises; the
liver Of stays and the head and beak of
a crow.
All these things, from animals ten
acious of life and things that never die,
and many more dark, secret concoc-
tions were pat into the caldron, till at
last, the contents boiling over, the grass
around took on the vivid green of early
spring, and the dry olive-twig with
which the mixture was stirred began to
grow green, and to shoot forth leaves,
and suddenly was heavy with ripe
olives.
Then, when Medea saw that all was
ready, she approached King Aeson.
Taking her knife, the same that had
slain her brother. she cut the throat Of
the eyed king, and when the blood had
run out she poured into the wound the
contents from the caldron. Quickly the
wound healed, leaving no traces behind.
In a few moments the white hair grew
dark, the blood surged to the cheeks,
the emaciated looks disappeared and
Aeson rose, a young man.