34 ' Ex. Doc. No, 4L 



them^ an expedition of 150 miles down the river has been deter- 

 jnined on, to start on the 1st September. 



Mugnst 30, — To-day we went to church in great state. The gov- 

 ernor's seat, a large, well stuffed chair, covered with crimson, ^yas 

 occupied by the commanding officer. The church was crowded 

 with an attentive audience of men and women, but not a word ^^as 

 uttered from the pulpit by the priest, who kept his back to t 



ae 



) 



congregation the whole time, repeating prayers and incantations. 

 The band, the identical 6\\% used at the fandango, and strumming 

 the same tunes, played without intermission. Except the gover- 

 nor's scat and one row of benches, there were no seats in the church. 

 Each woman drbpped on her knees on the bare floor as she entered^ 

 and only exchanged this position for a seat on the ground at long 

 -intervals, announced by the tinkle of a small bell. 



The interior of the church was decorated with some fifty crosses, 

 a great number of the most miserable paintings and wax fif>-ures, 

 and looking glasses trimmed with pieces of tinsel. 



The priest, a very grave, respectable looking person, of fair com- 

 plexion, commenced the service by sprinkling holy water over the 

 congregation^; when abreast of any high official person he extended 

 his silver water spout and gave, him a handful. 



When a favorite air was struck up, the young women, w^hom we 

 recognised as having figured at the fandango, counted their beads, 

 tossed their heads, and crossed themselves to the time of the music. 

 All appeared to have just left their work to come to church. 

 There was no fine dressing nor personal display that will not he » 

 seen on week days. Indeed, on returning from church, we found 

 all the. stores open, and the market women selling their melons and 

 plums as usual. 



^ 



-^j 



The fruits of this place, musk melon, apple, and plum, are very 

 indifferent, and would scarcely be eaten in the States. I must ex-* 

 cept, in condemning their fruit, the apricot and grapes, which o-row 

 in perfection. On leaving the narrow valley of the Santa*' Fe, 

 which varies from a thousand feet to a mile or two in width thet 

 country presents nothing but barren hills, utterly incapable, both 



s: useful. 



from soil and climate, of producing anythin 



The valley is entirely cultivated by irrigation, and is now, as will 

 be seen on the sketch, covered with corn. Five miles below the 

 town, the stream disappears in the granitic sands ■' . 



^ The population of Santa Fe is from two to four thousand, and 

 the inhabitants are, it is said, the poorest people of any town ii the 

 province. The houses are of mud bricks, in the Spanish style, 

 generally of one story, and built on a square. The interior of the 

 square is an open court, and the principal rooms open Into it TheV 

 are forbidding in appearance from the outside, but nothing can ex- 

 ceed the comfort and convenience of the interior.. The thick walls 

 make them cool in summer and warm in winter 



The better class of people are provided with 'excellent beds, but 

 the lower class sleep on un anned skins. The women here as in 

 many other parts o the world appear to be much before he men 

 m refinement, intelligence, and knowledge of the useful art' The 



