WEATHER MAKING, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 255 



those familiar with the Latin- American countries, is preserved 

 unchanged among their desceudauts. Interesting illustrations of it can 

 be picked up any day even as far north as Arizona and New Mexico, 

 and every traveler in Latin- America has several at his disposal. As 

 the quintessence of them all I present a clipping from the New York 

 Tribune, to which my attention was called by Dr. T. C. Mendenhall. Se 

 non e vero e ben trovato. The extract runs as follows : 



"In the departrnent of Castafias there had been no rain for nearly a 

 year, and the people were brought to such a pass that tbey were actu- 

 ally dying for thirst, to say nothing of the total destruction of all crops 

 and other agricultural industries. 



"El Pueblo Catolico, of New San Savaldor, prints a number of reso- 

 lutions promulgated by the principal alcalde of the town and department 

 of Castaiias. They are as follows : 



" ' Considering that the Sui^reme Creator has not behaved well in this 

 province, as in the whole of last year only one shower of rain fell; that 

 in this summer, notwithstanding all the processions, prayers, and 

 praises, it has not rained at all, and consequently the croi)S of Castafias, 

 on which depend the i)rosperity of the whole department, are entirely 

 ruined, it is decreed: 



"'Article 1. If within the peremptory period of eight days from the 

 date of this decree rain does not fall abundantly, no one will go to mass 

 or say i)rayers. 



" 'Art. 2. If the drought continues eight days more the churches and 

 chapels shall be burned, and missals, rosaries, and other objects of 

 devotion will be destroyed. 



" 'Art. 3. If, finally, in a third period of eight days it shall not rain, 

 all the priests, friars, nuns, and saints, male and female, will be beheaded. 

 And for the j)resent permission is given for the commission of all sorts 

 of sin in order that the Supreme Creator may understand with whom 

 he has to deal.' 



" The most remarkable feature of this affair is the fact that four days 

 after these resolutions were passed the heaviest rainfall known for years 

 was precipitated on the burning community." 



II. — Folklore Eemnants.^ 



Among the many curious remnants of folklore which we find in con- 

 nection with the subject of weather making none is more curious than 

 the idea that birds "call for rain." Whenever this expression is used 

 the evident intention is, as is well known to those who are familiar 

 with this mode of speech, to exj)ress the idea that they demand the 

 rain, and that rain is likely to follow because of this demand. For 

 instance, the call of the robin, heard so frequently, is interpreted to 

 mean, " Bring out your skillet, bring out your skillet, the rain will till 

 it." In popular estimation this is a " call for rain." This association 

 with our American robin is very general. In Maine and Massachu- 

 setts they are said to " sing for rain " (Miss F. D. Bergen). The 



' This series of associations of natural objects with weather making in the sense 

 of a weather fetich — a weather maker, not simply a weather forecaster — is taken 

 from the collections of weather proverbs made by the Signal Service and Weather 

 Bureau. 



