ee cae Ba a : ‘ Te. 
: . . 
ay 34 
- them, an expedition of 150 miles down the river has been deter- 
mined on, to start on the Ist September. | | 
© August 30.—To-day we went to chugch in great state. The gov-— 
 @rnor’s seat, a large, well stuffed chair, covered with crimson, was — 
occupied by the commanding officer. The church was crowded © 
“with an attentive audience of men and women, but not a word was — 
uttered from the pulpit by the priest, who kept his back to tue 
congregation the whole time, repeating prayers and incantations. 
The band, the identical one used at the fandango, and strumming ~ 
the same tunes, played without intermission. Except the gover- 
nor’s seat.and one row of benches, there were no seats in the church. © 
Each woman dropped 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 be \ 
-» The interior of the church was decorated with some fifty crosses, © 
a great number of the most miserable paintings and wax figures, © 
and tooking 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. at 
When a favorite air was struck up, the young women, whom 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 be. 
_ seéffon week days. Indeed, on returning from church, we found — 
all the stores open, and the market women Selling their melons and — 
_ - plums as usual. 5 é 
~— The fruits of this place, musk melon, apple, and plum, are very 4 
indifferent, and would scarcely be eaten in the States. I must ex-_ 
cept, in condemning their fruit, the apricot and grapes, which grow 
in perfection. On leaving the narrow valley of the Santa F@_ 
which varies from a thousand feet to a mile or two in width, the » 
country presents nothing but barren hills, utterly incapable, both 
from soil and climate, of producing anything useful. “- 
= 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. a oe 
The population of Santa Fé is from two to four thousand, and— 
the inhabitants are, it is said, the poorest people of any town in 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 
quare is an open court, and the principal rooms open into it. They 
_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. fa id 
_. The better class of people are provided with excellent beds, but 
the lower cla ~untanned skins. The women here, as in — 
tae ea - uch before the men 
— intelligence, and knowledge of the useful arts. . The 
ae the ee ee Sleep ot 
many other parts of the world, appear to be much 
al 
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