The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-06-13
TREE FEARED BY MEXICANS.
Many Fatal Accidents Have Happened
 Under It.

Under It.
 Because of the many fatal accidents that have occurred under a, huge tree that grows in the Haciendita ranch, in the Zamora district, Michoacan, peas- ants of the region are growing more and more superstitious about it's SUD- posed fatal omen and they begin to call it "arbol n1aldito" (cursed tree).
 The tree is supposed to be over 75 tyears old, says the Mexican Herald, and is said to have been planted by a. man who, because of his numerous crimes and his forgetfulness of the Divine law, was swallowed up the earth. That man, according to tradi-
 tion, was un hombre muy malo. He never went to mass, never confessed, did not have the image of a saint in his house, did not carry rosary a.
 round his neck and never made the sign of the cross. There twas not a beg gar in the town who had ever receiv- ed "tlaco chiquito' Gold coins eauiva- lent to IF cents) from him. He never gave anything for the Church and
 never took off his hat when he met a
 "padrecitc" on the street.
 l It was rumored that he was re- sponsible for many murders and other atrocious crimes, but he was never in Ijail, neither could he be incarcerated, because he had 8 compact with the | devil, and whenever he invoked his satanic majesty the latter rendered him either invisible to human eyes or smaller than an ant, so that he could easily escape danger. He had no friends nor relatives, because he was summed by all
 One thing he loved; birds and trees. He planted numerous trees and fed big f1ocks of birds that knew him and came to his home every morning to threw in the patio.
 Many years ago-and this is we'll remembered by the peasants: it was Good Friday everybody in town had attended the religious services of the morning and were going to their homes when terrific noise was ; heard. They rushed to the street iwhere it came from to find out what ! it was, and saw how the earth had opened under the cursed mans feet. He was enveloped by thick flames and, smoke and disappeared beneath thesurface of the earth. This was con- sidered a most deserved punishment. While the faithful were in the church 1 the cursed man was loafing- around, and having see big cruifix upon the altar erected on the street, as was done in those days, he placed a burn- ing cigarette in the lips of the image, Scarcely had he made eight or ten steps when he was engulfed by the in- ferno.
 That very day all the trees that he planted, except the cursed one, dried up, and all the birds he had fed died. An attempt was made to cut down the tree that had not dried up, but the man who made the attempt drop ped dead upon stepping upon the shadow of it's foliage. The mans body had to be left there; to be eaten up by the crows, because nobody had the courage to approach and remove it.
 Since that day numerous persons have met a tragic death under that tree. A pedestrian who went under it for shade on hot summer day was bitten by a snake and died in two hours. Three men on different oc- casions sought shelter from rain under it's branches, and were struck by lightning. A woman who was hang ing some clothes to dry from the trunk of the tree, was attacked and killed by a billy goat that came from