From the ocean rolled the rain-clouds, Came unceasingly the rain-clouds. Black and heavy were the rain-clouds, Lighted only by the flashes Of the lightning playing in them. Fell the rain as falls the torrents In the waterfalls of rivers, Fell through days of murky darkness, Fell through nights of inky blackness, Fell for days and nights unnumbered. Waters covered plains and valleys. On the coast the sea was rising, Flooding all the lower country, Creeping up the mountain foothills; Still the rains in floods descended. Up the slopes of Tamalpais Climbed the people of the Tamals, While behind them crept the waters, Covering the hills and mountains. One by one the peaks were swallowed In the flood of rising waters. On the gray and sullen waters Floated logs and trees uprooted; On the trunks and in the branches Cowered creatures of the forests, Then the people prayed the Spirit-- Prayed the Father in the Heavens-- That he save his tribe, the Tamals, Ere the waters rise above them; And the Spirit heard their pleading, Sent the Albatross and Beaver, Giant messengers from Heaven, As the Saviors of the Tamals. Albatross came from the westward, Through the lightning of the storm-clouds, Growing larger, coming nearer, Till the thunder of his pinions Echoed from the cliffs above them, Then he rested on the waters. From the eastward came the Beaver, Swimming through the turbid waters, Growing, growing, ever growing, Till he had become a Giant, On whose back the tribe of Tamals Could find refuge from the waters. Then a voice spoke from the storm-clouds, Spoke in mighty tones of thunder: 'I have heard your prayer, Oh Tamals; You shall live, and shall re-people All the world with men and women. I will give to them the spirit Of the Albatross who searches Distant seas on tireless pinions. I will give to them the wisdom Of the Beaver who with patience Labors, building and constructing. On the Albatross and Beaver You shall ride, until the waters Shall return to their own borders.' On the Albatross and Beaver All the Tamals rode in safety, While the swirling deluge covered All the foothills and the mountains. Then the northwind, dry and scorching, Drove the rain-clouds to the ocean, And the sun-rays, piercing through them, Glinted on the troubled waters. Came the peak of Tamalpais As an island to the surface; Down the slopes the flood receded Baring forests to the sunlight, Then the grass-lands of the valleys And the old familiar coastline.