In the afternoon we went to the entrance of one of the valleys, as the Padre wished to show me the position of an Indian “adoratorio”[72] situated on the side of a steep mountain. He said he had not seen it, but had been told by his Indians what occurred there. An idol, held in much reverence by the Mams had its shrine inside, and the Alcaldes charged with the duties of the religious rites and other ceremonies relating to Indian sacerdotalism, visited it at certain seasons of the year and offered sacrifices to it. The idol had also days for the performance of penances, and there was one special day when there was a solemn feast, and turkeys were killed and eaten with peculiar observances, and the blood of the turkeys was sprinkled and offered in a manner unknown to him.
After passing through the place where the “Santo” house was erected, and before which dances and other ceremonies were still going on, we returned to the convent.
Soon after sunset an event occurred which proved that a disturbance had taken place in the interior of the earth. We were sitting inside the precincts when we were alarmed by, what was to me, a quite unknown rumbling sound amongst the adjacent mountains. At first I thought that it was caused by distant thunder reverberating amongst the valleys, but it was soon evident that the sounds were of an entirely different character.
The Padre, who was listening attentively to the noise, said, after a few moments’ pause, that it was a “Temblor” or trembling of the earth below, and that it was quite different from a “Terra Moto” or earthquake, as it never caused any harm, although it was considered to be a warning. According to my map, the nearest crater was the Volcan de Tacara, fourteen leagues away in a south-easterly direction. The deep sounds rolled like thunder beneath the massive ranges of the Sierra Madre.
When living amongst these mountains, and hearing these intimations of great volcanic movements below the surface of the ground, it can be understood how it came to pass that the superstitious and fanatical Indians living in these regions believed that the earth beneath them was peopled by evil demons capable of doing injury, who required to be propitiated, and that when seeing the expression of their anger in the fire, smoke and ashes issuing from the craters, thought it necessary to appease them by offering them their daughters. It is probable that the sacrifices known to have taken place to the volcanoes near Atitlan and Quezaltenango were also customary throughout the long range of volcanoes in this part of Central America.
When talking about the present customs of the Indians living in these sierras, the Padre said that the ancient rule of young men serving for a certain time the parents of the girl they wished to marry had ceased, and that now it was usual for an Indian to make up his mind on the subject, and then to begin his courtship by giving presents of maize, fowls, or clothing to the parents.[73] Finally he proposes to take the girl in marriage, and if they consent, he pays for her according to his means, generally about two dollars, but sometimes as much as eight dollars.
Upon the morning of our departure from Jacaltenango, whilst I was engaged in superintending the saddling of the mule and the various preparations for the day’s journey, which from the neglected state of the road was expected to be long and fatiguing, I observed Padre Robles walking rapidly backwards and forwards in front of the convent, evidently in a state of much anxiety and alarm.
Presently, when Carlos had moved to another part of the courtyard, the Padre hurried to my side and said, in a very decided tone, “Señor you must go back at once to Guatemala.” I said, “What is the meaning of this! What has happened?” He replied, “I must not tell you, but I know that if you do not go back to Guatemala you will be robbed and perhaps killed,” and, he added with a look of much distress, “they will steal your beautiful mule.” I told him that it was quite impossible that I should return to Guatemala, and that I intended to go forward. “But,” I said, “if you know anything about which I ought to be informed, you should tell me what it is that you fear.”
After some hesitation, he took me aside close to the convent wall and said, “It is this, Señor: last night my housekeeper overheard two Indians talking together in a low tone. One of them was your guide, the other was a man whom she did not know, and she listened to what they were saying. They were sitting in a corner of the courtyard, just beneath her window, and she could hear what they said. She heard them arrange a plan to rob you and to take away your mule. Their plan was this: At about an hour’s journey from this pueblo, you have to pass a long hedgerow of aloes; when you arrive at the aloes, an Indian will jump out from behind them into the road. Your guide will then come to you and say, that the man is his brother who wishes to go to Comitan, and he will ask if he may be permitted to accompany you. After you have gone on for some distance, the Indians intend to come behind you and take a favourable opportunity to attack and rob you, and, whatever happens you will certainly lose your mule.”
After walking together within the quadrangle for a few minutes to discuss the subject, I said, that I had no reason to doubt the fidelity of Carlos. He had been recommended to me by the priest at Gueguetenango as a trustworthy guide, and was considered to be a good and honest man. He had proved himself, so far, to be faithful, and was willing and careful; consequently I should still continue to place confidence in him. With respect to the conversation that had taken place, I thought that the housekeeper must have made some mistake, and had been unreasonably alarmed. In any case, however, I said it was necessary for me to proceed across the frontier. The Padre looked very unhappy, so I told him that he must not be anxious about my fate, and that I would take care to send him information about my movements. I hoped that he would soon hear of my safe arrival in Mexico. He then gave me a letter of introduction to his brother Captain Robles, who commanded the small force stationed on the frontier at Lenton.