The mission was a village of tame Indians, whose ancestors had been “Christianized,” by Fray Ignacio’s Jesuit predecessor.  But the Jesuits had been expelled from South America nearly half a century before.  My host belonged to the order of St. Francis.  The spiritual guide, as well as the earthly providence of his flock, he managed their affairs in this world and prepared them for the next.  And they seemed nothing loath.  A more listless, easy-going community than the Indians of the Happy Valley it were difficult to imagine.  The men did little but smoke, sleep, and gamble.  All the real work was done by the women, and even they took care not to over-exert themselves.  All were short-lived.  The women began to age at twenty, the men were old at twenty-five and generally died about thirty, of general decay, said the priest.  In my opinion of pure laziness.  Exertion is a condition of healthy existence; and the most active are generally the longest lived.

Nevertheless, Fray Ignacio was content with his people.  They were docile and obedient, went regularly to church, had a great capacity for listening patiently to long sermons, and if they died young they got so much the sooner to heaven.

All the same, Fray Ignacio was not so free from care as might be supposed.  He had two anxieties.  The Happy Valley was so far untrue to its name as to be subject to earthquakes; but as none of a very terrific character had occurred for a quarter of a century he was beginning to hope that it would be spared any further visitations for the remainder of his lifetime.  A much more serious trouble were the occasional visits of bands of wild Indians—­Indios misterios, he called them; what they called themselves he had no idea.  Neither had he any definite idea whence they came; from the other side of the Cordilleras, some people thought.  But they neither pillaged nor murdered—­except when they were resisted or in drink, for which reason the father always kept his aguardiente carefully hidden.  Their worst propensity was a passion for white girls.  There were two or three mestizo families in the village, some of whom were whiter, or rather, less coppery than the others, and from these the misterios would select and carry off the best-looking maidens; for what purpose Fray Ignacio could not tell, but, as he feared, to sacrifice to their gods.

When I heard that these troublesome visitors generally numbered fewer than a score, I asked why, seeing that the valley contained at least a hundred and fifty men capable of bearing arms, the raiders were not resisted.  On this the father smiled and answered, that no earthly consideration would induce his tame Indians to fight; it was so much easier to die.  He could not even persuade the mestizoes to migrate to a safer locality.  It was easier to be robbed of their children occasionally than to move their goods and chattels and find another home.

I asked Fray Ignacio whether he thought these robbers of white children were likely to pay him a visit soon.