In their eagerness to extend conversion the friars found themselves altogether too few for the task undertaken, and as soon as their older pupils revealed sufficient knowledge of religion and of Spanish, they were impressed into the service. At first they accompanied the ministers in their tours through the districts, to preach and establish doctrinas,[1] acting as interpreters,[2] or delivering under their eyes the sermon already learned. Afterward they were sent forth alone to impart the lessons acquired, and war against idolatry, often with a zeal that brought martyrdom. This devout spirit had been well inculcated among the children, and even the youngest did good work at their homes and in the neighborhood. On the way to the convent one day the scholars met a procession of natives, brazenly parading the living representative of an idol. In a twinkling they were upon him, and before the skirmish ended he had been stoned to death.[3] Regular raids were also made on the temples. At Tezcuco, for instance, the friars themselves led a procession amid chants to the famous chief teocalli, and after breaking the idols to pieces they fired the
- ↑ Indian towns and villages newly converted to Christianity, to which parochial organization has not been given.
- ↑ These preaching interpreters were employed formany decades, since friars were continually arriving from Spain, who knew not the language, or who entered into new districts. Mestizos gradually supplanted the pure Indians as interpreters. Many of these aids were taught Latin, partly as a mark of favor. Mendieta, Hist. Ecles., 413-14.
- ↑ It occurred during the Ometochtli festival at Tlascala, and not wholly to the satisfaction of the friars, who sought to avoid similar extreme measures. Motolinia, Hist. Ind., 214-16.
was held. Ixtlilxochitl, Hor. Crueldades, 77, confounds it with the informal meeting of 1524, wherein the Flemings were consulted on conversion methods. Others, like Vetancurt, assume the year 1525, and Zamacois guesses at June 1526. But the letters of Father Valencia, acting governor Aguilar, and Alonso de Castillo, speak clearly of a formal meeting of friars and officials held in September to October 1526, to consider matters touching the Indians. Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., ii. 155-7, 202-3, 545-53. Lorenzana calls it Junta Apostólica, and observes that title of Concilio Provincial, as applied by some writers, is wrong. Concilios Prov., 1555-65, iv. 8. It was attended by Cortés, 19 representative friars, including no doubt Dominicans, 5 clergymen, and 3 jurists, some say 5 or 6. Vetancur, Chron., 6, Trat. Mex., 22; Gonzalez Dávila, Teatro Ecles., i. 20; Panes, in Monumentos Domin. Exp., MS., 63. Beaumont, who argues hard for June 1526 as the time, sides with Torquemada for the convent church of San Francisco as the place, contrary to Vetancurt, who names San José chapel. Crón. Mich., iii. 223-4.
