'They are coming!'
Then we dared to brave your Council
With the message of the Maiden,
And the warning of the seabirds.

'It is well,' the Chieftain answered,
'Daughters with the eyes of springtime
And the faces of the flowers,
It is well. The Gods have marked you
With their sign upon the forehead;
You have stood before a Goddess,
And her spirit is upon you.'

Long the Old Men sat and pondered.
Well they knew the ears of children
Are attuned to hear the voices
Of the Gods and Guardian Spirits.
Well they knew that all wild creatures
Speak to man if one is worthy
To receive their friendly warning;
Knew that seabirds, swift and cunning,
See the foemen while their war boats
Still are far beyond the sea-rim.
Thus they reasoned in their council,
Then they stood before the people
While the Chieftain gave his orders.

'Beat the war drums. Call the warriors.
Man the war canoes, and station
Sentinels upon the headlands
Up the coast-land to Bolinas.
Let them light the lurid war fires,
When they see the foemen coming.'

Swiftly northward raced the sentries
In their light canoes of deerskin--
Through the narrows to Bonita,
On the ocean to Bolinas.
All was tumult in the village;
To each warrior was given
Long bows, strong bows, wrapped with sinews,
Stores of arrows, eagle feathered,
Newly tipped with sharpest flint-heads;
Stone head war clubs, wrapped with rawhide;
Shields of oakwood, tough and heavy.
Women decked the braves with feathers,
Robes of fur, and charms of seashell;
Roused their courage with the stories
Of the prowess of their Fathers;
Cheered with songs of deeds of valor
Of the heroes of the Tamals;
While the children, heavy hearted,
Watched the scene in wide-eyed wonder.

Every day the Chieftain's daughters,
As twin sentinels were standing
On the hill between the valley
And the blue expanse of ocean.

Every day they watched the Morning
Reach his rosy fingers upward,
From behind the eastern mountains,
Painting with an elfin fancy,
Crimson edges on the cloudbanks;
Then erasing and repainting
Them with gold or mauve or amber;
Always changing, as his fancy
Swayed the child to blend the colors;