NO. 4 NEW ORIGINAL BOSCANA HARRINGTON . 55 



been withered, and not dry as if burned. The above, I beheve, will 

 cause the reader astonishment. 1 exercised all possible diligence, be- 

 lieving that I could discover the cause, but I could not discover it 

 through natural means. Therefore I believe that it was performed by 

 the Devil, lest many escape from his hands. Concerning the above let 

 everyone deduce what seems to him best. 



With what we have related it is easily recognized that their reports 

 on the immortality of the soul are nothing more than fabulous stories 

 and lies for deceiving the simple, causing them to believe that which 

 does not exist, and how slight must be their belief in the spiritual sub- 

 stance with which we are adorned, and this not only on the part of the 

 rudest and most ignorant ones of them, but on the part of those most 

 versed and best instructed in our holy religion. And lest anyone doubt 

 what has been said above and attribute it to my odd ideas, I shall re- 

 late 2 cases which happened in my time and at the very places where 

 I was residing. 



In the year of 1808, if I am not mistaken, finding myself a mission- 

 ary at the Mission of N. [marginal annotation : La Purisima] , a youth 

 about 23 years of age, raised with the priests from the time he was a 

 child, very well instructed in matters of religion, and a good speaker 

 of Spanish (for he served as interpreter for the priests), finding him- 

 self in a grave sickness, did not wish to subject to taking any medica- 

 ment or to receiving any of the advice which the priest gave him, but 

 the first thing that he did was to call one of their healers, who executed 

 with him all his diabolical art. Seeing that he was becoming continually 

 worse the priests exhorted him daily that he should confess and should 

 prepare himself for dying as a Christian, but the sick man intractably 

 was never willing to do so, arguing exemption from examination [on 

 the grounds] that he was still strong, and finally, that he did not ex- 

 pect to die since he had hope in his healer. The latter, seeing that his 

 lies were bringing no benefit, gave him up telling him that because he 

 had always believed the priests, his God, or better said the Devil, was 

 angry and for that reason was sending death upon him, and that he was 

 not able to cure him. When the poor fellow saw that there was no 

 remedy, he yielded to confess himself, but he did not confess with that 

 satisfaction which the priest desired, and he died shortly afterward. 



In the year of 1817 an Indian at the Mission of N. [marginal anno- 

 tation : San Juan Capistrano], like the preceding a speaker of Spanish 

 and well instructed, fell ill with a serious sickness, of which he died, 

 and though the priests, relatives and friends exhorted him much 

 indeed to confess and receive as a Christian the holy sacraments, he 

 could not be reduced, becoming when this matter was mentioned to 



