Arizona republican., 1895-12-15
FL PAIRB MALDLH0." A Tale Of the Sierra
 M adgeS. The Mission of Spurious
 Priest. A Pile of Stones That Marks the Resting Place of Patrick
 LYnoh.

Written for THE REPUBLICAN.
 In the depths of the Sierra Madre, where the great range extends through the northern states Of Mexico, is re zion little known ito the outside world. Within it are the ruins of scores of cities of the Toltecan era; and deserted shafts, surrounded by crumbling adobe haciendas, show where the Spaniards once mined for the silver that swelled the revenues of the Iberian kings. Mining there is vel, and to the larger towns of Sonora and Chihuahua oc- casionally come long strings of mules, laden with roughly-cast ingots of sil- yer, t,he metal extracted by the rudest means from the precious ores of the an- cienl, diggings. Roads there are none and few the foreigners who have ob-i truded themselves upon the slum br0u5 existence of the natives.
 The people are primitive almost be- yond credence. Few have ever gone beyond the peaks that overlook their mountain homes Indians are they, simple and unambitious, yet win their aboriginal dialect merged into a rude idiom of Spanish and with the fetish worship of the olden Aztec days changed to a form of Catholicism. Little do they know the meaning of the Ave Maria" they humble or little do they understand of the sublime cere- monies of the Catholic faith. To them the rude images of the Virgin and child and of the crucified Saviour are in themselves things of life and power, toward whom disrespect is sacrilege h,ol ln1-O roclt If crimes.
 It was into this region and among these people that Patrick Lynch rode one spring,,ime day. He came to Guasabi with credentials from the bishop of Altar, Sonora, as a priest de,egar ed ito the charge of the mountain mission churches that had been nai5ed, centuries before in every considerable pueblo. It had not been the custom to supply a resident priest, an annual visit in the falltinle having by the church author] ies been deemed sufficient.
 Lynch wss no ordinary man, but was not 8 priest. He was an Irshman, destined by n:s parerls for holy orders and educated at the world renowned Catholic university at Maynco h. EX- pelled for some youthful though seri- ous prank, he had come To America, here acting at need as teacher, cowboy or clerk. For a number of years he lived in southern California, there add ing Ito his long list of accomplish ments a perfect knowledge of Spanish. He eventually drifted to Tombstone, where, with litle capital, he turned an occasional trick in the smuggling line yo hoa h o Mexican by-path, and then was con- ceivad the novel project with (which this narrative deals.
 His preparations were paTfaJ and h s makeup complete, Ills forged ere deltials were ample; his shaven crown, his habit, his finger upiifte1 in blessing g, all proclaimed his apostolic calling; h S dignity secured respect, his genial Irish spirit won all hearts.
 In rejoicing he was conducted to he best quarters in the town, near to the adobe cathedral" and to him at once came from miles around all in need of ghostly instruction or aid. The service of the church had Ito him no secrets He baptized, married and buried, wis t. ed the sick and taught the young, ceie- brated mass and vespers, and with an etoquence far beyond the merits of h $ knee,ing congregations, preached the word and tod of the rewards and pun ishmerls that will be found beyond the grave. His mintstrat,ons extended 10 many "a pueblo and hac e. Jda f0I leagues around and upon all he laid tribute in lthe name of Mother Church"
 Pa6ra iEran oiryoo iurbn fo-. q dana dc had made the annual tour of the region was a pursy, well-fed individual, whose energies lay rather in making 8 quick trip and in returning early to the fare and comfort of --.s religious house al Ures. He was due in the mountains al the end of the corn harvest in the month of October.
 September had come, and Lynch knowing that the Sonora priest migh soon be at hand, determined upon re treat. Not to awaken suspicion, h. star-ed as though upon a simple neighboring round, though the saddle bags the pack mules bore were no laden with missals and church utensils but with the silver, gold and jewels ht had secured in fees from his parish toners. By easy stages he intended tt travel eastward, to Sr;ke the line O the Mexican Central railway, and thu! escape to "Gringo land.''
 Padre Francisco, impiously revilins the fate that mad sent him to the noun tain wilds while his brethren lay al ease, jogged, his barefooted ''mozo trotting behind him, into Guasabi on September day, a full month before hi usual time His astonishment wa great when informed by t5he alcad that Padre Patricio had gone to Timar ez but the day before. Explanation quickly followed, and when the swarth farmers came back at eve from tn maize fields they found frenzied littl