When Juana lifted the seaweed poultice from the baby’s scorpion bite, what did she find?

In Steinbeck's The Pearl, Juana employs the age-old technique of applying a poultice made of seaweed to baby Coyotito's swollen shoulder. As Steinbeck notes, it is as good a remedy as any other and is one that Juana and Kino can afford on their meager budget. Lifting the blanket from Coyotito's shoulder, his mother discovers what seems to be an account of the nearly magical properties of the newly discovered pearl. Jauna had attempted...

In Steinbeck's The Pearl, Juana employs the age-old technique of applying a poultice made of seaweed to baby Coyotito's swollen shoulder. As Steinbeck notes, it is as good a remedy as any other and is one that Juana and Kino can afford on their meager budget. Lifting the blanket from Coyotito's shoulder, his mother discovers what seems to be an account of the nearly magical properties of the newly discovered pearl. Jauna had attempted to suck to poison from her son's shoulder and before applying the poultice was dismayed to see the shoulder was still swollen. Kino and Juana feared a medical doctor would be needed to save their son.

Almost immediately after Kino's discovery of the pearl, Juana lifts the blanket from her son's shoulder and discovers that the swelling was going down in Coyotito's shoulder and it appeared the poison was also leaving his body. It is in that moment that relief floods over both parents.