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Show ~20 JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE ing of our quarters and ourselves with wood, water, prOvisions &c. for the house itself contained nothing 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 Spain, Italy, &c. This village as well as th:1t of St. Philip's anJ. St. Bartholcmew, arc of the nation of Keres, many of whom do not yet speak good Spanish. After we had refreshed ourselves a little, the captain sent for the keys of the church : when we entered it, and I was xnuch astonished to find enclosed in mud-brick walls, many rich paintings, and the Saint (Domingo) as large as life, elegantly ornamented with gold and silver: the captain nmde a slight inclination of the head, and intimated to xne, that this was the patron of the village. We then ascended into the gallery, where the choir arc generally placed. In an outside hall was placed another image of the saint, less richly ornamented, where the populace 1·epaired daily, and knelt to return thanks for benefactions received, or to ask new favors. Many young girls, indeed, chose the time of our visit to be on their knees before the holy patron. Frotn the flat roof of the church we had a delightful view of the vi1Iage; the Rio del Norte on our west ; the n1ountains 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, this was one of the hanclsmnest views in New Mexico. 6th March, Friday.-Marched down the Rio del Nurtc on the cast side. Snow one foot deep. Passed large flocks of goats. At the village of St. Philip's, cross· ccl. a bridge of eight arches, constructed as follows, viz. the pillars made of neat wood work, something similar to a crate, and in the fonn of a keel boat, the sharp end, or bow, to the current ; this crate or hutment was filled with TJIROUGH TilE INTERIOR PROVINCES, &c. 22 1 stone, in which the river lodged 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 joined pretty close, tnade a tolerable bridge for horses, but would not have been very safe for carriages, as there were no hand rails. On our arrival at the house of the father, we were received in a very polite and friend! y manner, and before my departure, we sce1ned to have been friends for years past. During our dinner, at which we had a variety of wines, and were entertained with music, composed of bass drums, French horns, violins and cymbals; we likewise entered into a long and candid conversation as to the creolcs, wherein he neither spared the government nor its administrators. As to governn1ent and religion, Father Rubi displayed a liberality of opinion and a fund of knowledge, which astonished n1e. He shewed me a statistical table, on which he had in a regular n1anner, taken the whole province of New Mexico, by villages, beginning at Tous, on the north-west, and ending with Valencia on the south, and giving their latitude, longitude, and population, whether natives orSpaniards,civilizrd or barbarous, Christians or Pagans, nun1bers, name of the nation, when converted, how governed, military force, clergy, salary, &c. &c. ; in short, a complete geographical, statistical and historical sketch of the province. Of this I wished to obtain a copy, but perceived that the captain was somewhat surprised at its having been shewn to me. When we parted, we promised to write to each other, which I performed frmn Chihuahua. Here was an old Indian who was extremely inquisitive to know if we were Spaniards, to which an old gentleman, called Don Fr~ncisco, who appeared to be an inmate |