Page:Vol 2 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/198

178 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, acting as interpreters, 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. 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