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Show JOUltN.AL OF A VOYAGE ~f father Rubi, replied in the affirmative; but says the Indian, " they do not speak Castillian," true replied the other, but you are an lndian of the nation of Keres, arc you not ? Yes. Well the Utahs arc Indians also? Yes. But still you do not understand them, they speaking a dif~ ferent language. True replied the Indian ; well, said the old gentleman, those strangers are likewise Spa'1i.Jrds, but do not speak the same language with us. This reasoning scetncd to satisfy the poor savage, and I could not but smile at the ingenuity displayed to make him believe there was no other nation of whites but the Spaniards. Whilst at dinner, father Rubi was informed one of his parishioners was at the point of death, and wished his attendance to receive his confession. W c took our departure, but were shortly after overtaken by our friend, who after giving n1e another hearty shake of the hand, left us. Crossed the river and passed two small han1lcts and houses on the road to the village of St. Dies, opposite the tnountain of the same name, where we were received in a house of father Rubi, this 1naking part of his domains. 7tb Marrb, Saturday.-Marched at nine o'clock through a country bettc1· cultivat<'d and inhabited than any I had yet seen. Arrived at .Albuquerque, a village on the cast side of the Rio del Norte. W c were received by father A1nbrosio Guerra in a very flattering ntanner, and led into his hall. I•'rom thence, after taking some refreshIncnt, into an inner appartment, where he ordered his adopted children of the female sex, to appear, when they came in by turns, Indians of various nations, Spanish, lircnch, and finally, two young girls, who from their com.plexion I conceived to be English: on perceiving 1 noticed them, he ordered the rest to retire, many of whom were beautiful, and directed those to sit down on the sofa 'fliROUGII TilE INTEIUOH PHOVINCES, &c. 2. , beside me; tlHlS ~ituatC'd, he told n1c that they had been takrn to the cast by the Tetaus ; passed from one nation to anc,ther, until he purchased them, at that time infants, but they co~ld recollect neither their names nor language, but concludtng they were 1ny country-women, he 01 dcretl them to embrace me as a mark of their friendship, to which they appeared nothing loth ; we th n sat down to dinner, which consisted of various dishes, excellent wines, and to crown all, we wen• waited on by half a dozc'n of those beautiful girls, who likt I-Iebe at the feast of the gods., converted our wine to nectar, and '· ith their ambrosial breath shed incense on our cnps. After the cloth was removed some time, the priest beckoned me to follow him, ~nd led me into his ~' ~anctum sanctorum," where he had the rich and maj ·stic images of various saints, and 111 the midst the crucified Jesus, crowned with thorns, with rich rays of golden glory surrounding his head ; in short, the room being hung with black silk curtains, served but to augment the gloom and majesty of the scene. When hc:conceived my imagination sufliciently wrought up, he pu on a black gown and nlitre, kneeled bciorc the cross, and took hold of my hand and endeavoured gently to pull me down beside him ; on my refusal, he prayed fervently for a few minutes and then rose, laid his hands on my shoulders, and as I conceived, blcsscJ n1e. lie then said to n1e ' "You will not be a Christian; Oh ! what a pity! oh! " what a pity!" lie then threw off his robes, took me by the hand and led me out of the company smiling ; but the s:ene I had gone through had made too serious an unpressJon on my mind to be eradicated, until we took our departure, which was in an hour after, having received great marks of friendship fi·01n the father. Both above and below A buqu ... rquc, the citizens were beginning to open the canals, to let in the \\'ater of the |
