Zahuris (or Zahories)
French people who had traveled in Spain frequently had curious
tales to tell concerning the Zahuris people who were so
keen-sighted that they could see streams of water and veins of
metal hidden in the earth and could indicate the whereabouts
of buried treasure and the bodies of murdered persons.
Explanations were offered on natural lines. It was said that
these men knew where water was to be found by the vapors aris1703
ing at such spots, and that they were able to trace mines of gold,
silver, and copper by the particular herbs growing in their
neighborhood. But to the Spaniards, such explanations were
unsatisfactory; they persisted in believing that the Zahuris were
gifted with supernatural faculties, that they were in rapport
with demons, and that, if they wished, they could, without any
physical aid, read thoughts and discover secrets that were as a
sealed book to the grosser senses of ordinary mortals. The
Zahuris were said to have red eyes, and in order to be a Zahuri
it was necessary to have been born on a Good Friday.
