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Magic Stones and Electric Gems: Roland

A mass of calcareous stone in a village called Piada de Roland, situated in the commune of Toufailles (dept. Tarn-et-Garonne), France, shares with some other similar stones in this region the curious name of Roland's Foot (Piada de Roland). The one preserved in Toufailles measures 70 cm. X 47 cm. X 50 cm., and bears a natural imprint having the form of a foot. Legend accounts for this by the tale that the hero Roland once jumped from this stone to another at Sept Albres and in taking this tremendous leap thrust his foot down so strongly upon its support as to leave an imprint on the solid rock. For a time the "Piada de Roland" was kept in a cow-house--not a remarkably honorable place of deposit--but after the death of one of the cows a sorcerer advised the stone should be broken and removed, as a precautionary measure; this is said to have happened but thirty years ago, showing how deeply rooted such superstitious ideas are among the peasantry in out-of-the-way parts of France. Another rock-imprint, this time simulating that made 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. The Kiowa have a sacred stone whose form suggests the head and bust of a man. This image, called taime, has long been considered a kind of palladium of the tribe. It is preserved in a box made of stiff dressed rawhide (parfleche) and was only shown once a year, at the annual Sun Dance. As this sacred dance has not been performed since 1887, the taime of the Kiowa has not been viewed by mortal eye since that time, not even the custodian of the treasure having the privilege of opening the box, except on the occasion of the ceremonial dance above mentioned. Whether this stone has been rudely fashioned into its present shape, or whether its natural form suggested its use as a simulacrum of some deity, has not been determined; it is evidently not of meteoric origin as were many of the curiously shaped stones venerated as images of the gods in ancient times, in both Europe and Asia.