The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-04-30
CRUCIFIXI0N IN COLORADO
HORRIBLE RELIGIOUS RITES or
THE PENITENTES.


SncriIegIous Performances TINT Throw the
Passion Plny In the Shade-victims
scourgcd TO tho Point Of Death.
From me Dsnrer " buas.
SAuuAcuE, April 1G.-Qmte m excite
ment has been produced here this week by the
horrible performances Of the Mexican Pcui-
tcntes' The most disgusting crimes that tbe
RIGHT under our very noses, ana one sickens st
the terrible details. ! do not ike to shock
stopped, and the sooner 1t Is talked about and
put cnd to the better II will be for us all. 1t
hau been announced during the week that a
man was to be crucined. But few paid any at
tention to this, not believing u possible that
such a thing could or would occur.
Non Carneros Creek, fifteen miles below here. IL
quite an extensive settlement OF N 'Xicans, en-
gaged In heardinR and farming The day was a
bright one. and your correspondent, IN com
pany with ex-MayOr Barker, went down to have
look. hardly supposing that we should see
anything extraordinary. We arrived at DIR.
Royals ranch about one one O'Clock, ana were
Informed that the fun had just commenced.
After a hasty dinner we proceeded IN the
creek, and directly back of AIR. Royals ranch,
perhaps mile from the house. The first thing
that we came upon was a group uf men that
seemed In the distance tO be surrounding three
or Tour women, with led shawls on. Approach.
ing nearer we discoN cred them to be Peuitentes.
been erected at Intervals Of perhaps $40 feet
apart. There were four. one Of thon boro he
legend, "Nisi DOminus ftustra' lest God be
with you bil Is vain); another, mi nis cruel"
(Naugnt but the cross another, " La passion Ell
cfCuu (NuUcrlug Dl 14liu); ana SUN hnOtner,
actually y lptcd in blood. "Omnia ad Del glo-
riam" (Ail things 20 the glory OF COD.
WHAT 1T MEANS.
Perhaps some OF your readers are not aware
OF the true meaning Of the word "Penitente.'
Penitento Is one who Is supposed To nave
committed some crime against society or the
church, for which, although he NAV have es-
capcU cyi law he IL vet amcnable to the
church, and must undergo selt-iinposed pun
ishnent. Penitente never does penance IN
community where he Is known. one who be-
longs here, for instance, dOns "A black mask
aud suddenly appears among strangers IN Come
jas, Iona, or some other Me xlcan town. while
Peuitents from either Of those points make
their appearance at CarnerOs. Not one Of the
eighteen at Carneros belonged there. and no
one had seen their faces or h I'D the slightest idea
from whence they came. These masks are sim
| ply black sncks drawn completely over the he ad
| aud tied at the neck. one two wore red
masks. Whether or not II was symbol OF a
different degree OF crime, We failed to ascertain.
Each Penitente wore simply n pair Of the very
| thinnest Kind Oi knit drawers. Thts, with the
mask, was their only attire. 1ney were formed
| In groups Of four or nve Pententes, and six or
seven attendants. The leader Of each band
walked before, carrying something similar to
a watchman's rattle. Another attendant fol-
| lowed. playing a small reed flute, while tho
other attenda ants chnateu in n low, mOnoto-
nous voice some words iU spanish. All-both
| Penitentes aud their attendaDts-carred an
"azote," or scourse. These were the dried
leaves Of the sOup-weed- common In this coun-
| try-nrmly braided anu twisted together into
inches. and three feet long. what we took at
| urst to be red shawls, was simply blood. They
were actually dripping aud drencued IN blood
| from head To foot. 1ney had taken sharp nInts
nnd dug them into their resh all over the BODY
until the blood fairly spurted from their bodies.
They marched slowly 10 the chant, always kept
up, and az every step gaye them fearful blows blows
! blows an eighth OF a mile. Every two or three
minutes one would fall To the ground
LIrELrss FROM Loss OF BLOOD.
The moment be fell an attendant would PICK
| up ms sco,rge ana beat him with an his might
on his bare body. He would again stagger TO
his ieet aud ag.tn andy the scourse a. long Is
frYft IA n oil f1tt4
| same operation " 4 repcnted n before. Orca-
sionaly they would roll tbrir scOuIges, wet with
| Themselves with renewed Ni-or. when one got
very weak from loss Of blood the attendants
| held tim up ana kept up the m.rch In the pro-
! cessiOn, whil. another o1at nm ns they walked
| along. one lcniienie mad u iOs cnalni round
| each ankle, and the attendants, 10 V .Iy the mo-
| notvnN, would jrag hlul 'er tue cactus plants
| snd sharp stones oy these ch ms. Occasionally
they would jerk tim almost clear from the
| ground, and always keep up Their music. Anot1
| er hnd his rus. from the wrist u aooys the
| elbow, found around and round closely with
| rawnIde thongs, IN such manner $ to COM
! pletcly stop the circulrtiJn ana tom the ankle
| To above the Knee IN tnc sane tx. The Inc of
march was genoralV from the Lower cross to a
log cabin. where n rely OF PeDitvntes awaited
the re.uIn Of each p-rty.
Before We 70 oheu tue CarneIos two had died
| from the effects of the scuur.lug, aud from a
genllen. IA VINO left there to-day we he ar that
three more ale not likely 1" recover. We were
! told while there, 10y one or two outsiders, that
one was nailed TO a cross up the gulch, and out
OF sight from wnere We were, out we were not
!
Nails had been driven through his HANDS aud
feet, and he was actually cruciaed. Last year,
| upon TINS came SPOT, man was crucihed also.
lie lived twelve hours, but WAS not taken down
ana buried Tor two or tnree DAYS, for fear he
might not be quite dead. Now this IS not rO-
nance, Us every word can DO substantlated.
Mayor Barker witnessed these performances
mltn ~ se'i Ar hclpuShatlie anu ui9 VIE, anu
Alrs. R'val. We were the unl, Americans upon
the ground inst day. these things took place
within u mile Of IA well-tfayellsd road, ma In
slshl ~ two or three ranches. Not one ranch
man dare nteri,+- or object la the least to this
business, a. his stOca ana houses and oarns are
Il tntlr mercy.
is CIVILIZATION A FAILURE?
And this IN Colorddo-tnis bright, particular
Crntcnnia str, that aspifes 10 rank by the slide
Of New York. Massachusetts,. and PenusylNdnia
In lo,O aud ISL Anne leans - road were snooked
at what they termed the sacrilesious perform
anccs Of the Passion PLAY " at Operammergau
III the lower BlyaIian Abs. That simply
play-,his is reality. Tn re was no scpurgn!
.>Or bloOd-lettins there, while here the fact Of
murder, ana that OF the most cold bloOded
brutal, aud deliberate DESCRIPTION, stares us u
the IA c, and dares us to help ourselves. IL
man walks INTO a drug store and swallows 4
de OF laudauum, he Is quickly pumped OUT
nDi,ns rOlc,lS. II a Chininan invites you around
10 his house 10 witness "hari-kdri" cas- nee
are speedily taken To prevent hlm-yet tn
have the same religious % rights that Ties,
people have. And we shuduer at the recital Vi
u Spanish bull-l. hit.
And these people are Americana Their vot,
counts one alongsde OF Henry lard Dsecher''
been raised under the ,au)w ot the stars anC
stripes, and are, to all inteh and purposes free
born American cliZeus. We sllpOse them en-
! titled to religious linert' and action. aud 50 the,
are; but 1t would strike an uuprej JUDGED mint
that this Is pretty broad INTERPRETATION.
Mayor Barker got red hot. lilo says he car
| now understand now ~ lliudOO casts Limsel
before Jusgernaut In a spasm OF religious on
thusiasm. II there mad only been ave more o
him." he said, he would have eXtempOrized
| little religion OF another sort, aud cleaned GU
| the crowd. The question is now-what's % b,
| done about tn II L. no one to DlameI l. Their
no law 10 prevent a recurrence ot suca scenes n
| open day, and cannot the law he interpre ed NJ
la
scope? We refer tue matter to Gov Koutt au,
| Judge ii illett.
The Careful Mother and the Model Boy.