Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1921-03-28

around her head, hanging out the
freshly washed and now snowy
trousers worn by the Penitente.
The Via Dolorusa,
! Women and girls kept coming
up the path bearing dishes of food
to the morada. it was decided that
! two of the party so back to Don
P-'s house and bring lunch for
| the rest, We sat in the sun and
waited, and waited, and waited,
and out of the lnurada came 81
! lently procession with five white
| clad figures in the lead. Three fla
gellantes, they were, whose backs
were already raw and cut, though
not bleeding until the first lash
was laid on, with the heavy amole
whips they bore.
/ Two men draped in white sheets,
| backs bowed low, heads in black
mask sacks, approached the heavy
/ cross, some fifteen feet long, that
leant against the stationary
cross in front of the morada door,
| Frustrated themselves, kissed il
and then one shouldercd the cross
/ and the procession started with
the pitero in the lead-a woman
carrying a saint draped in black.
a boy with n pail OF brine, another
| who guided the cross when the
| bowed figure could not see, and
| one who chanted.
A Spectator Faints.
There was no one to watch this
White-robed penitential procession
| in the bright sunlight but our
| 1,
| some small boys hiding behind the
| Cedars, and three horsemCn who
| appeared far above on the noun
| tain, AS the cross bearer and the
| flagellantes toiled up the steep path
| to CalvariO. the bearer stumbled
/ and fell PROSTATE and they laid the
great cross upon him so that he
was pinned to the path with it. The
blood was flowing fast now from
the backs of the men whipping
themselves and dripping on the |
ground from the soaked trousers. |
The spectacle will never be for
gotten by those who saw it then. !
There was no sound from the suf- |
ferers. ,
At the cross they made a pill |
grimage on their knees, and then
turned to so, back; it was terrific, |
and before they had reached the |
foot of the hill one member Of our |
party gasped. stood up took a step |
OF two, gasping for water" faint
ed dead away. Everything else was
forgotten while first aid was given |
and it was ten minutes before she
recovered consciousness. ... . |
oaaunal a 9 II tnnk bDlIrg |
for water to come from a house |
materialized from thin air. the |
chief Penitentes came uD from the
morada to offer help. asking us to
bring Ia nobrecita enferma' into
the morada to rest. We felt that
the accident had won us their sym
patty rather than antagonizlng !
them.
One of the cowboys who came !
down from the hilltop said that
| he had lived among Penitentes for
| ten years but that this was the |
| first time that he had ever man
aged to see the flagellantes. We !
were so worn with the emotional
experience of the last hour that we
, all went to the little stream for
lunch and a rest. The canyon was
most picturesque. with the russell
tapestried mountain. the wildly
colored rocks and the rugged fore
ground.
| Each Hour Commemorated.
The afternoon service was one
which has been seen by many; a
| procession of the entire flock with
the pitero advancing backwards
| before the throng, who stopped
every ten PAGES or SO, the major
| ity kneeling while the responsive |
singing was joined in by all. the
fourteen stages made by Christ
on the way to Calvary were thus
covered. The afternoon had cloud
ed over and the wind blew unmer-
cifully from every direction.
We followed the people into the
morada and there heard an ad-
dress in beautiful Spanish by the
magnificent looking Joseph rs
| we called him, who told simply
and with great dignity and clear
ness the story of Jesus last hours
! from the time of the last supper
to the crucifixion. His voice was
low and thrilling in its earnest
reverence.
Other Torture.
The afternoon had turned cold
and dark, and we huddled on the
lhill. Everyone dispersed. Not ten |
minutes later a new party came
out from the morada's secret room. |
| Three bowed figures draped in
white sheets, their heads black
masked, walked painfully into the |
morada for a moment only. They |
lreappeared and as the wind blew
the winding sheets we saw that the |
legs of the Penitentes were bound |
with tight thongs to stop circula- |
ton. PiterO in advance, and with |
two men accompanying them,
they toiled up the trail towards
the cemetery.
Quite number of people fol-
lowed them on the hillside, at a |
discreet distance I was at one |
time about a hundred feet away |
and could see the swollen feet of
the leader turning purple. A miles
walk over thorny rocky ground; |
and many times he fell and had to |
be helped again to his feet to stag |
ger on in a painful way. Either he |
must have been very bad that
year or was Unusually unholy, |
Unlike the early European frater-
mites, all of this penance is done |
in secret and with no outcries. We
were the only ones who saw that
dismal, dramatic procession. the
black and white figures, the wild |
gray sky, the whole sad threaten
ing atmospheric, -.
Supper in the long dining room
of our hosts home; a rest on his
feather beds. and we were off |
again, nine of us piled in the car.
for the other end of the village |
and the morada. Many people |
were hurrying up the path to Las
Tipiah1as We loft fine oar around |