Page:Vol 1 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/471

Rh place for the frequent services which were henceforth held here.

Taking advantage of the step thus gained, the priests and their followers sought to impress upon the natives the superiority of their faith, and numbers were convinced, says Tapia, although few accepted baptism out of fear of their countrymen. There was a drought prevailing at the time, and the priests, having in vain appealed for a remedy, ascribed the evil to the anger of the gods at the presence of the worshippers of strange deities and their hateful symbols. A few days after the consecration of the altars a deputation of natives appeared at the Spanish quarters, bearing withered corn-stalks, and demanding that, since the Europeans had removed the idols to whom they prayed for rain, they should ask their god for it, so that the people might not die of hunger. Cortés reassured them, and ordered a general prayer for relief. "The following day," says Tapia, "we marched in procession to the temple, under a blazing sun." While mass was being said a cloud might be seen gathering on Mount Tepcaquilla, and "on our way back the rain fell so heavily that we had to wade in water up to our ankles." The rain continued for several days, and the harvest turned out abundant. Each party claimed the meteorological display as a direct answer to its prayer, for the Mexicans were hardly