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Show I 23] I 38 • • yepast, which we washed ?own with ~Jel~cious water from the little arroya that flow.s by the village of C1en.ega. . . h a little while we reached Agua Fr.Ia, and soon came m s1ght of the city of Santa Fe. By the roadside we saw many cortejos, some half shaded with cotton-wood trees and surrounded by corn :fields. Soon ~~ort Marcy came in view, and our glori·ous flag, with its graceful stripes, playing in the wind; and before the sun· went down we found ourselves once more in the capital of New Mexico. October 3.-We employt.d the day in packing up our colJection. of minerals, bird skins, and the like, in order to send th em on to the department as soon as possible. . I called on Colonel Doniphan, and spoke to him with regard to the procuring of an escort through the country of the Navajoes· he most willingly offered me every facility, and proposed giving me a letter to Colonel Jackson, who was now near Cibolleta, and he would furnish the escort. In the evening we visited Fort Marcy. It is situated on a prominent point of the bluffs commanding the city. The distance of the centre of this work,· from the flag -staff in the p~aza is but. 664 yards. The whole of the interior is defiladed from all the surrollnding ~eights within range; 10 .guns may be brought to bear upon the City. The slopes are revetted with adobes. The blockhouse and mag<lzine are c?ns~ructed of pine logs one foot square~. The onl.y approachable point Is guarded by the block-house, whiclt also assists to protect the en trance of thr. fort. October 4.-We were ea..rly awakened with the ringing of the· ~ampanetas, summoning the good citizens of Santa Fe to m.orn-mg. mass at the. par.roquia, ~r parish church. I had a grea~ . desue to see the Intenor of this church which with the "Capilla de los Soldados," are said to be the' two olu'est churches in the.· place, and were doubtless those alluded to by Pik" wl~en he says "the: r. erea tw o c h nrc h es, t h e .magn1' fi t:ence of who_s,e steeples form" a s~r.kxng contrast to the . miserable appearance of the houses." punng the noon service I attended the church. The women, veiled m their ~ebozas, sat,, after the Turkish fashion, on the bare ground to the r1ght hand s1de of the aisle. The men stood up, except when the ceremony of the church required them to kneel. They. ~ep~ on the 1.eft hanJ side of the church. The body of the bui]dmg IS long and narrow; the roof lofty; the ground plan of the form. of a cros.s. Near the .altar were two wax figures the s~ze of life :~presen~mg hood~d friars, with shaved heads, except a crown of . obrtl hair that encircled the head like a wreath. One was dre~sed In ue and the other in h't • th · with k . w I e; eu garments long and flowing,. was notted g•:dJe~ around the waist. The wall back of the altar C , co1vered Wtth InnumPrable mirrors, oil paintings and bright o.ore( tapestry F h · h · d ' tinged b h · . ro~ ~ Ig wm ow a flood of crimson light,.. altar rfh t .e curtam It passed through, poured down upon the. ful · e mcense smoke curled about in the rays and in grace-prie~~~ v~sh:~:~~i:11' ~en~ mu.ch _beauty to the gr~up ~round the. -wa·"..,'. tape rs b urn.m g a adb i·t e'dld 1 0 nch· garments. There were many. ' n WI music, from unseen mvsicians, fel • • 39 • [ 23] p1easant 1y upon th e ear, and was frequently mingled with the sound of the tinkling bell. . October 5.-The plaza was now our place of daily promenade, as -one sees more of character displayed in t.h~ mh~rket pl;ce t~:~n a! an other public assembly. No one. can visit t 1s coun ry WI ~ou berng struck with, the inveterate hab1t of the people for gambling. The word " mo.nte" is one of the first a stranger learns. In t~e ket place by the road side, nay, almost averywhere, you wtll smeea rthe" vill~nos" seate. d around, in little gr. oup. s, deeply absorbed in their games. But, although. they ?arry this v1ce ~o great excess, they are extremely temperate 10 theu meats and dnnk. The t.erm borrachon (drunkard) is considered one of t~e most opprobnous epithets in their language.. · . . .. The Spanish women make excellent bread, and great q~anht1~s are exposed for sale in the plaza. I understand that the flour IS sifted by hand, and, instead of yeast, th:y uE.e the dough from : previou;-:; day's mixing. One kmd of flour IS qUite coarse and dark, this sells in Taos for $2 50 the fan ega, ( 144 pou~ds.) In the evening I made a sketch of th~ parroqUia, alth_ough mud walls are not generally remarkable; stdl, the great stz.e of ~h e building, compared with those around, produces an 1mposmg effFecotr. t Marcy is seen lying cl~se on the top. of a h1' g h bl u ff , an d behind it rises the tops of magnificent .moun tams .. The house of Padre Ortiz, on the nght hand side o_f the churc~ , has a. fine portail.in front, being one of the best dwelhng houses 1n the city. • S d d " October 6.-This morning I visited the '.'Capella de lo~ ol a os, or military chapel. I was told that tlhs chapel wa~ m u~e some . fourteen years ago,.and was the richest church in New Mex1c?. It was dedicated to "Nuestra Senora de la luz," (our lady of ltght;) in the fa<;ade, above the doot, the~e is a large rectangular sl.ab ~~ freestone elaborately carved. It represents "our .lady of hght in the act of rescuing . a human bemg from. the Jaws o~ Satan, whilst angels are crowning her; the whole IS executed 10 ba~so relieve: One here finds human bones and sculls scattered about the church; these belonged to wealthy in.dividuals who could afford to purchase the privilege of being deposited beneath the floor of a building in which so many orisons would be off.ered to ~eav:en , hoping that these praye~s would procure abso~ut10n for their sms. But a few year~ ago the roof of the church fellw; no more prayers have since then been offt:red there, and the wealthy have not even found a quiet resting place. . . To-day I gained much information with refere~1ce t? the rums of Pecos hut it does not differ from the accounts given In that excellent ~ork called "Commerce of the Prairies," by Gre.gg .. I .asked how it happened that the old church should have been budt II? the form of a cross and was told that it was erected under the direction of the Jes~its, who founded schools there, ~nd who l~b.ored much to rec.laim the Pecos Indians from theu super.stltiOns • .Strange what influence these swperstitions have on enhghten,ed , |
