And Horns on the Toads Page: 35
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CURANDEROS OF SOUTH TEXAS
been God returned to earth. Don Pedro has been adequately
presented by Ruth Dodson,' and I shall not attempt a second
review of the subject here. But I will add one more story to the
many that are known about Don Pedro. An aged Mexican citi-
zen still living in Falfurrias tells of once being a disbeliever.
But he had become afflicted with an illness that made him lose
weight and become progressively weaker. The doctors had
given up trying to find a cure, and he had finally gone to Don
Pedro. The latter gave him crushed leaves of the lengua de vaca
(cow's tongue), an herb that grows in South Texas. Don Pedro
ordered him to brew this into a tea, drink it, and go to bed. He
would then fall into a deep sleep during which he would dream
that he was dead; but he would not die. These directions the
fellow carried out faithfully; he drank the tea, fell into the sleep
as predicted, and apparently willed himself back to life. When
he awoke he was well and completely cured, and has lived
many years since in good health. When asked if he still believed
in Don Pedro, the old fellow assumed a look as if I had uttered
sacrilege, and murmured: "Sil Era Dios" (Yes! He was God).
He is only one of the many Mexican people of Texas who are
waiting for the day when the Catholic church will canonize
Don Pedro. Miss Dodson relates in her article "Folk-Curing
Among the Mexicans"2 how Don Pedro acquired the power to
recetar, meaning literally to prescribe. In the exercise of his
duty as a pastor (a shepherd) Don Pedro suffered a terrible
accident that left him lying unconscious and alone for many
days. It was at this time that God appeared to him and
bestowed upon him the power to prescribe. God not only healed
him but ordered him to devote himself to helping suffering
humanity, which he did for more than twenty-five years.
Don Pedro was a curandero among curanderos. He not only
cured hundreds of people but passed on the power to recetar to
a favored few who today still practice in South Texas. These
carry on his special powers. On each of their altars, an essential
piece of equipment for every curandero, is a picture of Don85
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And Horns on the Toads (Book)
Volume of folk stories and tall tales about the horned toad and other Texas folklore. The index begins on page 235.
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Boatright, Mody Coggin. And Horns on the Toads, book, 1959; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc38856/m1/48/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Press.