[128-2]
In Peru the child was immersed in the fluid, the priest exorcised the
evil and bade it enter the water, which was then buried in the
ground.[128-3] In either country sprinkling could take the place of
immersion. The Cherokees believe that unless the rite is punctually
performed when the child is three days old, it will inevitably
die.[128-4]
As thus curative and preservative, it was imagined that there was water
of which whoever should drink would not die, but live forever. I have
already alluded to the Fountain of Youth, supposed long before Columbus
saw the surf of San Salvador to exist in the Bahama Islands or Florida.
It seems to have lingered long on that peninsula. Not many years ago,
Coacooche, a Seminole chieftain, related a vision which had nerved him
to a desperate escape from the Castle of St. Augustine. "In my dream,"
said he, "I visited the happy hunting grounds and saw my twin sister,
long since gone. She offered me a cup of pure water, which she said came
from the spring of the Great Spirit, and if I should drink of it, I
should return and live with her forever.
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