224 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1946 
recounted to us by the actual eyewitnesses. It is remarkable that, in 
spite of the tremendous shock and overwhelming fear induced by this 
sudden apparition, there is so little apparent distortion in their 
observations. 
Michoacan is one of the southwestern States of Mexico, lying due 
west of Mexico City and touching the Pacific Ocean. It les in part 
on the Mexican Plateau, in part in the Tierra Caliente. It is also one 
of the most beautiful States of Mexico, and owes much of its attraction 
to its pine-clad volcanic hills, and its lakes formed by dams of ancient 
lava flows. Although the region contains numerous dead volcanoes, 
it has had but one active volcano in historic times—Jorullo, which 
began in 1759 in much the same manner as Paricutin Volcano, 
One of the most fertile portions of this region was the municipality 
of San Juan Parangaricutiro, which included, besides the seat of the 
Municipio, Parangaricutiro, the villages of Paricutin, Angahuan, 
Zirosto, Zacan, and others. The area consists of small, rich valleys, 
devoted to the cultivation of maize, between volcanic ridges and cones 
covered with forests of pine. As is usual in these regions of Michoa- 
ean, the tillable lands are privately owned, but the forest lands belong, 
in large part, to the villages, and being sources of lumber and turpen- 
tine, are an important asset to the community. 
The region is inhabited by Tarascan Indians, an indigenous popu- 
lation who have clung persistently to their own language and customs. 
They are an industrious, deeply religious, yet valiant people, with an 
innate knowledge of nature such as one finds in a people deeply 
attached to the soil. 
Three kilometers south of Parangaricutiro and two kilometers south- 
east of Parfcutin lay the valley of Rancho Tepacua. Its southern 
border is the lower slopes of Mount Tancitaro, 3,845 meters high, and 
the highest point in Michoacan. Its northern border is the ridge called 
Jaratiro. Between these two mountain areas passed the road from 
Uruapan to Paricutin. As is the custom in this region the owners of ~ 
the farms live in the villages, the farms themselves being occupied only 
temporarily at intervals. The workers travel each day with their 
oxen and tools from the village to the fields, or to the forest, returning 
in the evening to their homes. 
Between Jaratiro and the foot of Tancitaro, and about 114 miles 
from Paricutin Village, lay two rich parcels of land. One, Quitzocho, 
belonged to the town of Parangaricutiro; the other, Cuiyutziro, to the 
town of Paricutin. A stone fence separated these two parcels of land 
and formed the boundary between the two towns. A large rock, called 
the Piedra del Sol, was also a boundary marker and a landmark. 
Quitzocho was the property of Barbarino Gutiérrez; Cuiyutziro, that 
of Dionisio Pulido, 
