Telegram-herald., 1891-09-09
AN IMAGE OF GOLD.
Found Conosaisd Ia "a Oad Nrexi-
can M<ns1cn-
xAs ssrsags pseoss<y 81 . vensussssns
Aza~riesA-slEz1lAx tnzagss sai6
60 Es la rss Alasag
tie Indiana


Up IN the mountains. about SAtrty
rsfles from this city. says the Chi
haAnus spcndens OF the Boston
Glooe, l. al old Catholic mission The
shzrca u s4id ~ be one of the oldest on
thu continent. having been built Just
sftsr ths sabjagation of the Aztecs
This chnrch 10 away from the usual
haunfs Of white rnen, and all the mem-
bsss are Indians Tie priest, Father
La Lumere. an Old white-haired french
man. has had charge Of the parish for
more than half century. The church
- closely gaarded and no white man
other than the prisst has ever been per-
misced 70 enter its sasrsd prseincts by
the Indiana
10 has always been supposed that the
cause Of this rigid exclusion was the
superstition Of the natives, but an ad-
vcnturesome young American artist has
the apparent madness Of the descendant
of the Montexumaa
A party of tourists went ont from
Chihnahas 10 the old village for the
purpose Of seeing the sights and tal<ipg
pictures of the Indians and old build
hgA When they were refused admis-
SION 10 the church they at once CON-
oindod that there was something there
they oughs TO zee.
They visited ne priest and tried TO
induce him to let them enter, bat he
was obdurats aud gave thsm NO sstis-
faction
In the party was . young man from
Illinois named William Morrison. He
determined at all hazards % see the In
side of the church. and at once set
about laying his plans He found that
. number of old Indians were constantly
on guard, each being relieved at stated
intervals He also found that the door
was kept locked and the key was at the
priests house, but that the windows
could be ralsed by little effort
He prepared himself with q camera
Win q fiash-nght attachment and q
bottle Of aqua arciente. or Mexican
whisky, In which no placed enough
norphine 10 produce sleep. He then
sauntered along to where the guardian
was sitting and engaged his attention.
The conversation was limited, but tho
bottle spoke for itself, and 1t was not
difficult TO induce the old man TO take
two or three drinks. Morrison then
,passed on. but soon returned. and found
The Indian fast asleep.
He quickly forced window and
gained entrance 20 the church. The in
terior was very common, but upon the
>tx>~ -oa a o-r~n s<,b.,a - ~ Vi~<vavH
which Morrison at first supposed to be
gilt but az it was the only thing in the
place that had the appearance Of value,
and a. 1t bad u peculiar luster, he gave
% . closer examination
The statue was about q foot high and
when he took hold of Il he could barely
moye.it. Strcck with its extraordmary
weight he lifted IL and found that II
weighed not less than one hundred and
fifty pounds This convinced him that
it was Of pure gold and he took a fash
light picture Of the image and altar and
made his exit
He told his story 10 the other mem
bers Of the party. and they concluded
to get the facts from Father La Lu
mare.
The old PRIEST was much surprised
when asked about the eolden statue oi
the Virgin. and st first refused to talk
but when convinced that Il had beer
seen he said that 1t was pure gold and
had been made from the idols of tho
old Aztecs when they were first con
verted.
They were induced to make Offering.
OF this kind, and when all had done sc
the gold was melted and run into the
statue. Father La Lumere refused Il
give an estimate of the value of the I'M
age. but If IL is as heavy as Morrison
thinks 1t must .be worth fully fftJ
thousand dollara Father La Lumert
said that in many of the churches o
the interior there were similar statues
but the Indians were so jealous that j
was dangerous TO attempt TO penetrate
the mysteries OF the churches
lie advised the party not to let IL b
known that they had seen the statue
for the Indians might take extrem.
measures to prevent It's becoming
known outside Of the town