The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-07-09
A MAGNETIC YOUNG GIRL,
The Power. Maria Teresa Urea. Has
Over the Mexican People.

The Power Maria Teresa Urea Has
Over the Mexican People.
The young Mexican girl. Maria Teresa
Urea. who il devoutly believed by the Mex
lean Catholics to be endowed with divine
powers. Is now somewhere among the YaQui
Indians. in Sonora. Mexico. and, although
they are the fiercest tribe In that republic
and irreconcilable in their hostility to the
whites they revere her as a priestess and
obey her as If she were their queen. There
Is something strange about Santa Teresa,
as they cali her. She is a modest, unas-
Stunning Mexican girl. the daughter Of q
small farmer In Sonora. with very little
education. but at an early age she devel-
oped remarkable hypnotic or meemerlc pow
ers, which cause the ignorant peasants to
look upon her as more man human. A
touch of her hand Is believed to be cure
for every mortal evil and one OF her pray
ers OF intercession passport TO paradise
She does not claim divine power but con-
fesses that she does not understand the
source OF her influence. Her family were
Catholics, but she has never been strict In
her observance OF her religious duties. At
the same time she recognizes that there Is
something within her that gives her the
unusual influence that she enjoys.
In 1886 I saw her at FL Paso. q plain
looking girl Of q or % years. In a speckied
calico dress and coarse shoes. with black
shawl thrown over her head. Her hair fell
In two hraide 10 her waist and she looked
much younger than she really was. She
was then living under the care Of a gen.
tleman named Agurre. the editor OF the
Mexican paper at FL Paso, having been
compelled TO leave Mexico by the authori-
ties, who accused her OF trying TO inciss
revolution. A band of fanatics some
how got a notion that she to be the
mother OF Montezuma. the long looked for
Mexican Messiah, who Is TO iiberaie the
poems from servitude and restore the
splendor Of the empire that Cortex plum
dered and overthrow. Restless and dssat
istied politicians took advantage Of the ma
MIA. and: in the name of Saint Teresa, or
ganized revolution in Sonora and attack
ed the customhouse and barracks at No
gales.
Mr.. Aguirre may have given the move
snent some encouragement. for he IL an
exile, and - ''wanred' by the Mexican po-
lice. But l was assured that Teresa was
not Involved In any way. Trustworthy pc D.
pie told me that she was just an ordinary
sort OF girl, without any special force of
character or intellect. but possessed az
mysterious power like that Of the mag
netic girl who came out OF Georgia a few
years ago and seemed "a have the strength
Of locomotive In her slender fingers.
Santa Teresa has some such physical pc
culiarity. which gives her nesmerie In
fluence over people 10 whom 1t may be
applied and she has cured hundreds Of
sick and lame and blind. The M@xicans
hang her portrait over their little shrines
beside that Of the Virgin Mary hut when
we talked with her she laughed ar yhe xug-
gestlon ;hag she TO be the mother Of
the redeerner Of the Aztec race. she IL
now living among the Yaaui Indians In an
obscure mountain village in sonora which
is constantly visited by pilgrims and sick
people in search Of her healing power
William Curtis Washington letter.