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Show FORTY YEARS AMONG THE INDIANS. 285 hope that we would be able to find the officer. Said he desired very much to hear us and asked if the padre at Chihuahua had offered his church to us. I told him he had not. He said he wished he had set the example, then he himself could invite us into his church, where a license would not be required ; but he did not like to risk being the first to open a Catholic church building to us. " But," said he, " you must come down tonight ( it was now about noon), and I will have a good lot of my people together. There is no law against friends sitting down and talking on a decent subject. I want to ask some few questions if you will answer them." I replied that we would come. We conversed for some time and the padre seemed quite interested. We were camped some three miles away, at the edge of the town. About sundown Brother Pratt and I walked down to the public square where we had appointed to meet the priest. We felt as safe as if at home in Salt Lake City. On arriving, the priest and quite an audience were awaiting us, but there was no word from the officer, so we concluded to sit and chat. A great many pertinent questions were asked and answered. The best of order prevailed and a good feel-ing was manifested. The priest said he would study our book and if he could not understand it he was willing for his people to study, and if they could see good in our doctrine, he wanted them to have the privilege of receiv-ing it. He said that he was now getting old ; that he had always worked for the good of the people, and that he did not want to keep any good thing away from them. Next morning we started back to take up our road for home. We had turned off at Tejoloquechic. On |
