HEALING IMAGES. 253 



remained faithful to the Spaniards in all the 

 North. It was during that exciting period 

 that the padre of another Pueblo took refuge 

 among them. Being besieged by their neigh- 

 bors and their communication with the wa- 

 ter entirely cut off, they applied for advice 

 to the reverend padre, who bade them not de- 

 spair, as he had it in his power to supply them 

 with water. He then began to pray very fer- 

 vently, after which he opened a vein in each 

 of his arms, from whence there flowed two 

 such copious streams of water that all fears 

 of being reduced by thirst were completely 

 allayed ! 



It is a part of the superstitious bUndness of 

 these people to beheve that every one of their 

 legion of canonized saints possesses the power 

 of performing certain miracles; and their aid 

 is generally invoked on all occasions of sick- 

 ness and distress. The kindest office, there- 

 fore, that the friends of a sick person can per- 

 form, is to brinar forward the image o£ some 



--, — .^ „^ — j3 — 



those saints whose _ ^ 



been satisfactorily tested. The efficacy of 

 these superstitious remedies will not be diffi- 

 cult to account for, when the powerful influ- 

 ence of the imagination upon disease is taken 



into consideration. 



The images of patron saints are never put 

 in such general requisition, however, as in 

 seasons of severe drought. The priests, be- 

 ing generally expert at guessmg the approach 

 of a pluvial period, take good care not to 

 make confident promises till they have sub- 



22 



