1892 
Iteatlan 
(Jalisco) 
June 
Franciscan 
Cloister 
arms up thus . In doing this their serape would slip 
down so their flowing white costume showed out picturesquely among 
• ' * , *■ > h- : ( . 
the brilliantly colored forms about and against 1310 open portal of 
the church which looked black as night with a few faintly glimmer- 
. * ' . ' ’ * ■ 
ing candles by the altar. Out over the hushed mass came the notes 
, ' * f f ' * ( •r i \ ' ' i 
of the organ at first lew, but gradually rising to full power and 
completing the spell of an Impressive scene. 
It chanced that the morning was a specially bright one after a 
torrent of rain and the freshness of the air urns specially exalting 
V ‘Jt 
to the spirits and put one in a mood to appreciate the strange ro¬ 
mantic scene. 
In this church are hung two old pictures, portraits of two of 
tho first priests who attempted to convert these Indians and were 
killed by them. The portraits have a broad background on which are 
represented various episodes of their work among the Indians with 
their death all in the crudest style, but recall the fascinating 
story of the early conquerors. 
Joining on this church as a long extension at one side are the 
old cloisters of the Franciscan monks, who owned the plaee before the 
drums of the revolutionists beat the funeral march of all such organ¬ 
izations in Mexico, 
The law also steps in to prohibit the passage of religious pro¬ 
cessions through the public streets, thus depriving the church of 
half its display, I attended service held to honor the raising of 
the corpus which was once carried through the streets and every 
knee bent, be it of believer or unbeliever. This day it was carried 
around inside the walls of tho cloister patio through a dense mass 
of kneeling women and a sprinkling of men. 
These Indians speak the o-to-mif-ti language. 
71 
