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Show J'OUHr AL OF A VOYAGE ing of our quarters and ourselves w.ith wood,. water, pro vision &c. ior the house itself cont:uned nothmg but bare walls and small grated windows, and brought to my recollection the representation of the Spanish inhabitants, as given by Dr. Moore in his travels through ~?~in, Italy, &c. This village as well as th:1t of St. Pluhp s and St. Bartholcmew, arc of the nation of Keres, many of whom do not yet speak good Spanish. · . . After we had refreshed ourselves a httle, the captam ~ent for the keys of the church: when we e.ntercd it, ~nd I was much astonished to find enclosed m mud-bnck walls, many rich paintings, and the Saint (Doming.o) as 1arge as life, elegantly ornamented with gold and s1lv~r: the captain made a slight inclination of the hc~d, and 111· timated to me, that this was the patron of the village. We then ascended into the gallery, where the choir arc ~cncr· ally placed. In an outside hall was placed another unagc of the aint, less richly ornamented, where the popu~ace repaired daily, and knelt to return thanks for bcnc~acu~ns received, or to ask new favors. Many young girls, m. tlced, chose the time of our visit to be on their knees be· fore the holy patron. Frmn the flat roof of the church we had a delightful view of the village; the Rio del Norte on our west ; the ntountains of St. Dies to the south, and the valley round the town, on which were numerous.herds of goats, sheep, and asses ; and upon the whole, th1s was one of th handsomest views jn New Mexico. Gtb Marcb, Friday.-Marchec.l down the R'1 0 del Norte on the cast side. Snow one £o ot d eep. Passed 1arge flocks of goat~. At the vi.l lage of ·' S t. I>l n·11· p ' s, cros.s · ed a bridge of eight arches, con~tructed as follows, VIZ· 1h e pillar~ made of· neat wood work, so met 11 1·1 1g similar to a crate and in the form of a keel boat, the sharp end, .0 1 r bow, to' the current ; this crate or hutment was fi.l l ed Wit l TliROCGII TilE L TERIOR PROVJ~ ES, &c. 221 stone, in which the river lodg cl sand, clay, &c. until it had become of a tolerable firm consistency. On the top of the pillars were laid pine logs~ length ways, squared on two sides, and being joincc..l pretty close, made a tolerable bridge for horse~, but would not have been very safe for carriages, as there were no hanc..l rails. On our arrival at the house of the father, w were received in a very polite and friendly manner, and before my departure, we see1ned to have been friends for years past. . During our dinner, at which we had a variety of wmes, and were entertained with music, composed of bass drums, French horns, violins an I cymbals; we likewise entered into a long and candid conversation as to the ere~ olcs~ ~herein he neither ~pared the govcrruncnt nor its adm~m~trators. As to governtnent and religion, Father Rub1 lhsplaycc..l a liberality of opinion and a f-und of know. ledge, which astonished me. lie shewed tne a stati~tical table, on which he had in a regular 1nanner taken the ~hole province of N cw Mexico, by villages, beginning at lous, on the north-west, and ending with Valencia on the south, and giving their latitude, Ion itudc, and population, ~hether natives orSpaniards,civilizcd or barbarous, Christ .. mns or Pagans, numbers, name of the nation, when con-verted how d .1• r & ? go verne , 1111 1tary rorce, clergy, salary, &c. .c. ; .m short, a complete geographical, ~tatistical and hJ.stoncal sketch of the province. Of this I wished to ob-tam a. copy , bu t pet. c e'1.v e(.l t1 1 at I . . t 1e cap tam was somewhat surprised at its having been shewn to nle. When we parted we p . · . d . f ' 1 on use to wnt to each other which I per-ormed from Chihuahua. ' . Here was an old Indian who was extremely inquisi-tive to l·now "£ S . "' I we were panmrds, to which an old g ntle-man, called D F~ · on ranc1sco, who appeared to be an inmate |
