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44 THE MAGIC OP JEWELS AND CHARMS
by
the hoof of a horse, is to be seen toward the edge of the abyss of
Padirac (dept. Lot). Here again a local legend has been evolved to
explain the imprint. We are told that the attention of both Satan and
St. Martin had been powerfully attracted to the region, each
strenuously seeking to gain possession of the souls of those who died,
Satan of course wishing to bear them off with him to the depths of the
infernal regions, while St. Martin cherished the fond hope of· bringing
them to Heaven. Unhappily the sins of the inhabitants of the region so
much outweighed their merits that the Devil was almost invariably
successful. Once upon a time, when he was riding off to his lurid
realm, bearing with him a sackful of lost souls, he met St. Martin, who
was full of grief at the fact that he himself had not a single soul to
carry heavenward. Knowing, however, that Satan was passionately fond of
gaming, he proposed that they should play a game the stake of which
should be the sackful of souls. Satan consented, trusting to his powers
of trickery, but all his deceptions proved vain, and the precious souls
became the property of the saint. Enraged at losing the stakes, the
Devil stamped on the ground, and an immense abyss opened up,
threatening to engulf St. Martin; however, the latter put up a prayer
to God, and spurred on his steed to a supreme and successful effort at
escape, but one of the hoofs struck the rock with such force that it
made an indentation therein figuring the clear outlines of a horse's
hoof.72
The Kiowa have a sacred stone whose form suggests the head and bust of a man. This image, called taimé, has long been considered a kind of palladium of the tribe. It is preserved in a box made of stiff dressed rawhide (par-flèche) and was only shown once a year, at the annual Sun Dance. As this sacred dance has not been performed since
β Ibid., p. 350.
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