The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-08-12

that night they put him back in a
prison, where | was brought to visit
him by the padre, Ignatio, his cousin
and my Godfather. l remember that
he was shut up in a dirty place, so hot
that it was difficult to breath, and that
there were some drunken Mexican
soldiers outside the door, who now and
| again threatened to make an end of us
Indian dogs.
My Godfather, the priest Ignatio
confessed my father in a corner of the
cell, and took something from his hand.
| Then my father called me to him and
kissed me, and with his own fingers for
few moments hung about my neck
that thing which the priest had taken
from him, only to remove it again and
give it to Ignatio for safekeeping, say
ing: See that the boy has it, and its
story with it, when he comes of age"
Now my father kissed me again,
blessing me in the name of God, and
as he did so great tears ran down his
face. Then the priest Ignatio took me
away, and / never saw my father any
more, for the soldiers shot him next
morning, and threw his body into the
hole that they had dug to receive it.
After this my godfather, cousin, and
namesake took me and my mother to
the little town Of Tiapa, of which he
was priest but she soon died of a.
broken heart
In Tiapa we lived in the best house
in the town, for it was built if stone
and placed upon a bank overhanging a
beautiful river, with water that was
always clear as glass, however much
it rained, which ran a hundred feet or
more below the windows.
About Tiapa there is little more to
say, except that the people for the
most part were thieves and such great
sinners that my cousin would not
shrive many of them, even on their
deathbeds.
There was a church however, of
which the roof was overgrown with the
most beautiful orchids, and the roads
were so bad that except in the dry
season it was difficult to travel either
to or from the town.
Here in this forgotten place I grew
up, but not without education, as might
! have been expected, seeing that my
cousin, the priest, was a good scholar,
and did all that he could to keep me
out of mischief.
When 1 was about fifteen years Of
age, of a sudden a desire took hold of
me to become a priest 1t was in this
wise: One Sunday evening I sat in the
church at Tiapa, looking now at the
sprays of orchid flowers that swung to
and fro in the breeze outside the win
dow, and now at the votive pictures on
the walls, offerings made by men who
had called upon their patron saints in
the hour of danger and been rescued
by them, here from fire, there from
murderers, and here again from
drowning; rude and superstitious
daubs, but doubtless acceptable to
God, who could see in them the piety
and gratitude of those that out of their
penury had caused them to be painted.
AS / sat thus idly, my godfather, the
good priest, began to preach. Now it
CHANGED that two nights before there
had been dreadful murder in Tiapa.
Three travellers and boy, the son of
one of them, passing from San Chris
tobel to the coast, stopped to spend the
night at house near our own. With
them they had a mule load of dollars.
the price of the merchandise that they
had sold at San Christobel which
some of our fellow townsmen, half
breeds of wicked life, determined to
steal.
Accordingly, to the number of ten.
they broke into the house where the
travellers lodged, and meeting with re-
sistance, cut down the three of them
with machetes, and possessed them
selves of the silver. Just as they were
leaving, one of them perceived a boy
hiding beneath bed, and. dragging
him out. they killed him also. lest he
should bear witness against them.
Now those who had done this wicked
deed were We'll known in the town.
still none We're arrested, for they
bribed the officers with part OF their
booty, and my godfather, seeing some
of them present in the church, took for