the poisoned wine worked in the brain of the golden hearted and caused him to do many singular things. for instance he burned all the beautiful houses built for him by the wise men and ordered much of his treasure to be buried in the mountains and ravines. when he left tulla, he took all the bright-plumaged singing birds with him, and would only allow nineteen of the wise men to go with him.
two of these knew all about fishing, and two knew about farming, and one was a weather prophet who studied the clouds and winds, and could foretell storms, while all the rest were priests who kindled the sacred fires and taught the people the good law.
as soon as the king of tulla found he was leaving, he took an army and followed after him, laying the country waste and taking captive as many of the people as he could find. 133
"good prince, why do you not let us make war upon your and our enemy?" the warriors often asked him, but he always put his fingers in his ears and replied sadly:
"you do not understand the good law, my friend. the only way to overcome hate is with love. it is fully time for me to return to tlapalla."
he traveled on until he came to a place where there was a great tree, high and very thick. here he sat down to rest.
"bring me a mirror," he said to his servant, and when he saw his face reflected in it, he cried out:
"take it away. i am already old." then the wise men knew that the drug in the wine was making him mad again and they did not try to hinder him when he began throwing stones at the tree.
"i will make these stones stick into your bark until you look like a porcupine and the wind cannot blow them out," he said, and for a long, long time, the tree was pointed out to travelers as being enchanted, because the god of wind had hurled his wrathful breath upon it. from all accounts the tree was full of sharp rocks from top to bottom and must have looked very queer indeed.
the flute players tried to divert his attention as they marched along the wood, but he was very weary and finally sat down to rest on a stone by the roadside.
"o, thou of infinite mercy and compassion, dry the hot tears that flood and burn my face," he 134 said brokenly as he looked toward tulla. people now say that his tears marked and ate into the stone, and that the print of his hands is still to be found on it.
after he had reached a very wide river and had commanded his followers to help build a bridge across it, he was met by some men who tried to stop him.
"where are you going?" they asked, "and why do you leave your city? to whose care will you commend it, and who will do penance in it?" the golden hearted answered them firmly:
"you can in no wise hinder me, for i must go."
"but where are you going?" they insisted.
"to tlapalla," he answered.
"for what purpose are you going?"
"the sun calls me," he said.
"go then," they replied, "but leave behind all the mechanical arts, the melting of silver, the working of precious stones and of masonry, picture writing, feather work and other crafts." and then they would have robbed him, but he threw all his rich jewels into a fountain. among his tormentors was the pretended old wizard who tried to induce him to drink more wine.
"no, i can not drink it. i can not even taste it again," he said, and that night in his sleep he turned his head from side to side and tore his hair with his hands.
the next morning in passing between a volcano and the snowy mountain tops, all his servants 135 being hunchbacked, died of cold, and he had no way to get down the steep mountain side except to slide in a squatting position with his feet close together.
in one place he stopped and built a square stone court for ball play, and taught the people how to play the game. now it is said that he drew a line through the center of the court, and that made the deep gash in the mountains still to be seen.
in another place he threw a dart at a tree and pierced it in such a manner that it looked like a cross, and after that a cross was called "the tree of our life," in memory of this event. some say that he built houses with certain underground passageways where he hid picture writing and records of his teachings, and just before arriving at the water's edge, he set up and balanced a great stone so that it could be moved with one's little finger, but a whole multitude could not displace it.
no doubt you remember the village chief where the golden hearted went when he first arrived from the happy island, and also that he sent this chief a cross with a hand in the center. now that he was going home again, the golden hearted thought he would visit the chief and see how he and his people were progressing.
imagine his surprise in finding that they had dedicated a temple to him, and that in the middle of the square tower was a terra cotta statue of himself dressed as a warrior holding an arrow in his hand, and because the statue was hollow they thought it was an oracle. his name in their language 136 was cukulcan, but the common people called him "the working hand," and had great respect for a huge stone cross erected in the turreted courtyard in front of the temple, which had a big red hand in the center.
when the golden hearted went among the people, he found that they remembered everything he had told them, and that on the anniversary of his coming great crowds of people came on a pilgrimage to the oracle statue in the temple. it did no good for him to tell them that he was simply an elder brother and teacher come to give them aid in a simple, kindly way. they believed he was sent by god, and for ages after the people made pilgrimages to this shrine, and held it in very great esteem.
realizing that it was time for him to go down to the sea coast among the fishermen he had first seen, he went to the temple service one morning, and after praying before the altar, picked up a sacred tunkel and sang them a prophetic song of farewell:
"ye men of itza hearken to the tidings
listen to the forecast of this cycle's end,
four have been the ages of the world's progressing
now the fourth is ending and its end is near,
a mighty lord is coming, see you give him honor,
a potent lord approaches to whom all must bow
i, the prophet, warn you, keep in mind my boding,
men of itza mark it, and await your lord."
137
"a prophetic song of farewell"
see opposite page
138
"waste not your time in idle repining," he said in farewell, "i go for purification, but will surely come again."
he only spent time enough on the seashore to build and provision a balsa, or boat with sails, and then he said "good bye" to the fisherfolk, and sailed away toward the east with a few of the wise men for companions. just before he stepped into the boat he turned to the wise men, who were to remain and said:
"it wrings my heart to part from you, but there is need for you to stay here in order to complete the tasks already begun." as he embraced and kissed each one on the cheek he named their special duty, and had no fear that his orders would not be fully carried out.
"you must go to the son of guatamo, and tell him my work is finished."
to another he said:
"you must go about and teach in my stead. i will come again, but at another time."
it was difficult for him to persuade the fisherman not to accompany him.
"have no fear. mine is a staunch bark capable of riding the storm and stress of the angry sea. farewell, beloved, i will return to you, when the time and seasons are propitious."
the people on shore turned again and again to throw kisses to him, while the fishermen in their little boats put out to sea with him, and strained their vision to catch a last glimpse of his flower-laden balsa. 139
the wise men and priests in the temples where-ever he had been, began at once to guard the sacred fires and to watch and pray for his safe return. lest they should forget his sayings they engraved them on stone, and taught them to the people so that his name was a household word for generations. his was the only civilization known in the americas before the advent of the white men.
