1894 
Obatitlan 
poor rather than exert themselves, ^he houses were of wattle or mud 
and wattle walls roofed with steep thatches of grass or palm leaves. 
Dirt floors and unglazed windows with a familiar grouping of dogs, pigs. 
chickens, and naked children were the most salient features of the 
plaoes we passed. Throughout this district it is common for children 
of both sexes of the lower people to run about perfectly naked until 
they are several years old and many are half-naked until they reach 12 
or 14 years. All along the route the low woods showed marvellously 
beautiful masses of foliage and many flowering shrubs and trees while 
palms were common. 
As we drove along through the narrow road out through the vegetation 
•i** -■» #* ■ • • * ■ i 
it was amusing to see the alacrity with which all of the horsemen we met 
, . v • 
^ * I ■ * V- 
gave us the right of way. Our driver seemed duly impressed with the im¬ 
portance of his position and would give an imperious wave of the hand 
to the horsemen and the latter at once spurred their horses into the 
dense thicket until we had passed. At dusk we drove into Otatitlan, 
known locally as the Santuario from the fact that a so-oal led holy figure 
of Christ is in the church here. This figure is life size and carved of 
wood and represents Christ on the cross. It is said to have been found 
here floating down the river on a raft from some mysterious source and 
is greatly venerated by all the Indians of this region who make pilgrim¬ 
ages here the first of May each year, from a hundred miles or more, to 
pay devotions here. A fine church is built to contain the image and at 
the time of my visit $7,000. were being spent in painting and decorating 
the church in preparation for the coming pilgrimage udien the Bishop end 
various of the clergy would appear here. I was informed that the gifts 
of the Indian pilgrims here each year amount to the neighborhood of 
$20,000. The Indians here attribute many wonderful things to this image. 
One story is to the effeot that a oertain woman had been told that the 
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