outside of the village and sent the
guide to prepare the people for our coming. There had recently been
considerable talk among the Mexicans of the wild people in the deep
gorges, called barrancas, and it was with no little anticipation that
I approached the country now immediately before us. There were no
Mexicans living in Cusarare, nor in the country ahead of us; in fact,
with the exception of the small mining camp in Barranca de Cobre,
there were none within fifty miles to the south, and almost an equal
distance from east to west.

Indian pueblos throughout Mexico are almost abandoned for the greater
part of the year. I refer, of course, only to those which have not
yet become Mexican settlements. The first thing the missionaries in
the early times had to do was to force the Indians to leave their
scattered ranches and form a pueblo. To make a place a pueblo they
had to build a church. The Indians were pressed into service to erect
the building, and kept at work, if necessary, by a troop of soldiers
who often accompanied the missionaries and in this way assisted them
in spreading the gospel.

From the missionaries' point of view this was a very practical
arrangement; but the purpose of having the Indians remain in the
villages has not been accomplished to this day. Only the native-chosen
authorities, who are obliged to reside there during their term of
office, form something like a permanent population in the pueblos. The
natives come together only on the occasion of feasts, and on Sundays,
to worship in the way they understand it. Someone who knows the short
prayer, generally the gobernador, mumbles it, while the congregation
cross themselves from time to time. If no one present knows the prayer,
the Indians stand for a while silently, then cross themselves, and
the service is over.

After church they meet outside for the second purpose that brings them
to the village, namely, the transaction of whatever judicial business
may be on hand, generally the adjustment of a theft, a marriage, etc.

I arrived in the pueblo on a Sunday, and a great many Indians had come
in. Easter was approaching, and every Sunday during Lent, according
to early missionaries' custom, the so-called "Pharisees" make their
appearance. These are men who play an important part in the Easter
festival, which always lasts several days. They paint their faces
hideously, tog themselves up with feathers on their sombreros, and
carry wooden sword