Prevod
V južnem delu Kalifornije, blizu meje z Arizono, leži znamenita Dolina smrti — sušna, alkalna ravnica, obdana s strmimi gorami in ležeča pod morsko gladino. Dolga leta so verjeli, da noben človek ne more prečkati te puščave in ostati živ, saj se konji do kolen pogrezajo v zamete sodnega prahu; vode ni, čeprav popotnik potrebuje obilo pijače; vročina pa je strašna. Živali, ki poginejo v okolici, se mumificirajo, a ne razpadejo, in domnevajo, da na ravnici ležijo obeljeni ostanki marsikaterega nepremišljenega ali nevednega iskalca rudnega bogastva. Na vzhodni strani Mrtve gore štrlijo obeljene skale, ki so od daleč videti kot postave, zavite v rjuhe, in Indijanci pravijo, da so to duhovi njihovih bratov.
V osrčju te puščave naj bi bile razvaline puebla oziroma vasi, čeprav njena oblika in velikost nakazujeta, da je bila zgrajena za nekaj posameznikov, ne pa za pleme ali družino. Pred davnimi časi, pripoveduje zgodba, je bil ta kraj groze lepo in rodovitno kraljestvo, ki mu je vladala lepa, a muhasta kraljica. Svojim podložnikom je ukazala, naj ji zgradijo palačo, ki bo prekašala palače njenih sosedov, Aztekov, in leta so se trudili, da bi ustvarili dom, vreden nje, ter od daleč vlekli kamenje in les. V strahu, da ji starost, nesreča ali bolezen ne bi preprečila dočakati uresničitve svojih sanj, je k delu prignala toliko podložnikov, da je bilo njeno pleme domala zasužnjeno.
V svoji neučakanosti in brezsrčnosti je ukazala celo lastni hčeri, naj se pridruži nosačem, in ko je delavcem v opoldanski vročini začel pešati korak, je stopala mednje in bičala njihove gole hrbte. Ker je bila kraljevska oblast sveta, se niso pritoževali, ko pa je udarila hčer, se je dekle obrnilo, odvrglo breme kamenja in slovesno preklelo mater in njeno kraljestvo; nato se je, premagano od vročine in utrujenosti, zgrudilo na tla in umrlo. Zaman sta bila kraljičino kesanje in žalovanje. Sonce je zasijalo s slepečo svetlobo in žgočo vročino, rastlinje je ovenelo, živali so izginile, potoki in vodnjaki so se posušili, nazadnje pa je nesrečnica izdihnila na vročični postelji, ne da bi ji kdo lajšal zadnje trenutke, saj je bilo tudi njeno ljudstvo mrtvo. Napol dokončana palača stoji sredi tega opustošenja in včasih se zdi, da se oddaljenim opazovalcem dvigne pred oči v spreminjajočem se prividu, ki se poigrava vzdolž obzorja.
Izvirnik
In the southern part of California, near the Arizona line, is the famous Death Valley--a tract of arid, alkaline plain hemmed in by steep mountains and lying below the level of the sea. For years it was believed that no human being could cross that desert and live, for horses sink to their knees in drifts of soda dust; there is no water, though the traveller requires much drink; and the heat is terrific. Animals that die in the neighborhood mummify, but do not decay, and it is surmised that the remains of many a thoughtless or ignorant prospector lie bleached in the plain. On the east side of Dead Mountain are points of whitened rock that at a distance look like sheeted figures, and these, the Indians say, are the ghosts of their brethren.
In the heart of this desert is said to be the ruin of a pueblo, or village, though the shape and size of it suggest that it was made for a few persons rather than for a tribe or family. Long ago, the tale runs, this place of horrors was a fair and fertile kingdom, ruled by a beautiful but capricious queen. She ordered her subjects to build her a mansion that should surpass those of her neighbors, the Aztecs, and they worked for years to make one worthy of her, dragging the stones and timbers for miles. Fearing lest age, accident, or illness should forbid her to see the ending of her dream, she ordered so many of her subjects to assist that her tribe was reduced to practical slavery.
In her haste and heartlessness she commanded her own daughter to join the bearers of burdens, and when the toilers flagged in step in the noonday heat she strode among them and lashed their naked backs. As royalty was sacred, they did not complain, but when she struck her daughter the girl turned, threw down her load of stone, and solemnly cursed her mother and her kingdom; then, overcome by heat and weariness, she sank to the earth and died. Vain the regrets and lamentations of the queen. The sun came out with blinding heat and light, vegetation withered, animals disappeared, streams and wells dried up, and at last the wretched woman gave up her life on a bed of fever, with no hand to soothe her dying moments, for her people, too, were dead. The palace, half-completed, stands in the midst of this desolation, and sometimes it seems to lift into view of those at a distance in the shifting mirage that plays along the horizon.
