Page:Don Coronado through Kansas.djvu/49

38 38 A FAITHFUL DISCAL.BD. "barefooted," otherwise a monk who must go without covering for the feet. The original Spanish account of this man says he was with Plzarro in Peru, had witnessed the death of Atahulpa, the conquered king of the Incas, and had walked barefooted from there to the city of Mexico. Just contemplate the wonder- ful endurance of this man! Look at the map and learn that -coming from Curzco, the then capital of Peru, which would now be located in Bolivia, and remember that Peru had a population of thirty mDlion when she fell and comprised most of the continent of South America. It was 1,000 mUes to the equator; so from there to the capital of New Spain he walked thirty-five degrees north and about thirty degrees west, or about 4,500 mUes, so is there any wonder that he was honored? This seems incredible and hardly reasonable, but anyway he was a faithful "Discaled" as will appear by his travels undertaken after reaching New Spain, _ Like Peter the Hermit, also a Frenchman who harangued all Europe to induce the Christians to go and take the Holy Land from the Mohammedans and succeeded to a greater extent than any other religious crusade; Father Marcos -Vsras just as devout and sin- cere in the cause of converting the Indians. Upon arriving In the capital city and owing to the extraordinary feat of Pizarro Brothers capturing a nation of thirty millions with a handful of men, this holy father was extended every courtesy by the pow- ers, tiiat were, fpr it must be remembered that the Aiiwa of the magnificent outcome hiadi hardly circu- laiied, hencfe the great respect shown the ni^w arrival.