PARICUTIN—-GONZALEZ AND FOSHAG 225 
In the minds of many of the simple people of the region, the tragedy 
that overtook Parangaricutiro and Paricutin is related to events that 
had their beginnings many years before. When the Tarascans sep- 
arated to form diverse villages, the town of Parangaricutiro, which 
became the important center of the area and the town of greatest 
influence, bought lands from the other villages. Paricutin sold some 
in Rancho Tepacua, near the parcels of Cuiytitziro and Quitzocho, but 
the boundaries were never well defined and Parangaricutiro took 
more land than they had bought (said those of Paricutin). There 
resulted such a deep feeling of animosity that those of one village 
hardly dared pass on the lands of the other. This led to numerous 
altercations on the disputed lands, in one of which Nicolas Toral, of 
Paricutin, lost his life, almost at the very spot where the new volcano 
was to break forth. 
The ecclesiastical authorities of the Municipio, desirous that the 
dispute should cease and the two villages live in harmony, placed 
upon the Cerro del Horno, a huge rock high up on the slopes of Mount 
Tancitaro, a large wooden cross with plaque of silver, facing Rancho 
Tepacua. A solemn mass was held at its dedication, attended by a 
large assemblage of people from many miles around. And so some 
days passed in peace. But one day it was discovered that the cross 
had been chopped down and had disappeared. The council of pa- 
triarchs, or Teréptich, who gather periodically to deliberate matters 
of common interest and to augur the signs for the future, considered 
this event with dark forebodings and prognosticated a punishment 
without equal, a punishment that would cause their ruin and misery. 
BEFORE THE VOLCANO 
In the lands of Rancho Tepacua there existed for many years a small 
hole. Both Dionisio Pulido and his brother Dolores mentioned it as 
having existed all during their tenure of the land. Each year they 
cast dirt and debris into this cavity, but it showed no appreciable signs 
of becoming filled. Sra. Severiana Murilla, now an old lady, recalls 
how as a child, more than 50 years ago, she played about this small pit. 
She remembered it well for two reasons: first, because her father 
warned her to avoid the spot, saying that it was the entrance to an 
old Spanish mine (although no mining activity has been recorded in 
the area); and second, because one frequently heard subterranean 
noises, as if made by falling rocks, near the hole. Further, they amused 
themselves around the hole because it emitted a pleasant warmth. 
Early February is the season of Barbecho, the first plowing of the 
year, in preparation for the season’s sowing. At this time the vil- 
lagers are in their fields busily engaged in their various tasks. On 
February 5 the first premonition of the impending disaster was no- 
