Page:Vol 2 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/640

620 The bodies were removed between 11 and 12 o'clock at night by a priest and the two Velascos to the church of Saint Augustine, where they were subsequently buried, the first men of the city being present at the funeral ceremony. The heads were discovered next morning on poles upon the top of the city council's building. This drew a protest from the council, coupled with a demand for their removal, which was complied with, and the heads were then nailed to the pillory as a warning.

Alonso de Ávila's house was demolished, according to the usage of the age in Latin countries; the ground was sown with salt, and a pillar erected there bearing an inscription commemorative of the crime for which the late proprietor had suffered death. The better class of the community declared the sentence unjust. The provincial of the Santo Evangelio, for himself and the council of the Franciscans in that province, in a long letter: of August 8, 1566, to the king, pronounces the charges frivolous. The audiencia was generally