It is an autumn afternoon in 1851, and Jean Latour is lost in the New Mexico desert. He remembers his year-long trek from Cincinnati, Ohio, and a series of misadventures en route. His worldly possessions, except his books, were lost in a shipwreck in Galveston harbor. On the trip west, he injured his leg in a wagon accident and was delayed six months.
A year after leaving Mississippi, Bishop Latour and Father Vaillant rode in a wagon train into Santa Fe, but the parishioners would not accept the new bishop without confirmation from the Bishop of Durango, prompting Latour to make the journey to Durango. Father Latour is now returning from the nearly 3,000-mile round-trip to Mexico, upon which he gets lost.
Believing himself to be hopelessly lost, Latour closes his eyes. When he reopens them, he sees a juniper in the form of the cross. He kneels at the base of the juniper to make his devotions and rises refreshed.
Following his devotions, Latour’s horses smell water. He follows them for an hour until they lead him to a stream. Latour is greeted by a young woman at the stream who cannot believe that a priest has actually come to her village.
