282 



INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 



language, the mountain from which water flows, which 

 first induced him to select this spot as the site for the 

 capital ; and the ruined cathedral, on the spot where 

 Juan Godines first said mass. The fountain is a large 

 natural basin of clear and beautiful water, shaded by- 

 trees, under which thirty or forty Indian women were 

 washing. The walls of the cathedral were standing, 

 and in one corner was a chamber filled with the sculls 

 and bones of those destroyed by the inundation from the 

 volcano. 



After breakfast we visited the church, which was 

 very large, and more than two hundred years old ; its 

 altar is rich in ornaments of gold and silver, among 

 which is a magnificent crown of gold, studded with dia- 

 monds and emeralds, presented by one of the Philips to 

 the Virgin, to whom the church was consecrated. Re- 

 turning to the house, I found that Padre Alcantra had 

 prepared for me a visit from a deputation of Indians, 

 consisting of the principal chiefs and women, descend- 

 ants of caciques of the Mexican auxiliaries of Alvara- 

 do, calling themselves, like the Spaniards, Conquista- 

 dores, or Conquerors ; they entered, wearing the same 

 costumes which their ancestors had worn in the time 

 of Cortez, and bearing on a salver covered with vel- 

 vet a precious book bound in red velvet, with silver 

 corners and clasp, containing the written evidence 

 of their rank and rights. It was written on parch- 

 ment, dated in 1639, and contained the order of 

 Philip the First, acknowledging them as conquerors, 

 and exempting them, as such, from the tribute paid by 

 the native Indians. This exemption continued until 

 the revolution of 1825, and even yet they call them- 

 selves descendants of the conquerors, and the head of 

 the Indian aristocracy. The interest which I felt in 



