Sergeant Herandez was the first to see the picked over pile of bones. "Barbarians," he spat."

"That is quite enough Sergeant," commanded Lieutenant Gabriel Rodriquez Jose Morga, as he too rode a skittish mount up to gaze down on the on the obvious remains of what had once been a proud Andalusian stallion.

"It is true that our Indians have not all accepted the sacraments of Christ, nor the promise of becoming subjects of the Crown of Spain, but our methods are not to criticize. We are to lead, to teach, to persuade. Forgive them, they know not what they do."

"Well I'd like to kill them for this barbaric act."

" Sergeant I Again I caution you on letting your emotions run rampant."

" What are we to do when these wild savages continually steal away our willing neophyte workers from the mission, or take our horses to eat, sir?"

"Convince them. Run them to earth, shackle them with stocks around their necks, flog them if necessary, chain them so they won't escape, work them until they drop. I know it's a hard task we have accepted, but eventually we can make them see the goodness of accepting Christianity."

"Amen. Do you know Lieutenant, I have heard that the heathens undertakers are men dressed as women, and that the dead are buried with the body of a dog? "
You see! You see, they know not what they do, Sergeant. Killing them is no lesson. For a blasphemy as dire as that, mutilation is the only answer. A man dressed as a woman, indeed," he sniffed, while removing his fawn-skin gloves.

"Well, enough of feeling sorry for our hard life. Do you realize what the day is Sergeant?"
"No sir."

"This is the day of Epiphany, the visit of the Magi to the infant Jesus. In honor of this blessed occasion we will camp by the river, there, which I, Lieutenant Gabriel Rodriquez Jose Morga will name El Rio de Los Santos Reyes -the river of kings."

"And those mountains over there? What will you call them, sir?"
"Mountains? Oh yes. They are just a sierra. That will do."

"But surely Lieutenant, look at the mantle of snow that caresses the serrated peaks, does not this deserve a more meaningful title?"

"Sergeant, again and again you show your peasant stupidity. That is not snow you see in the distance. It merely is white rock. Observe the gravel here at your feet."

"Yes, your most noble and wise and holy excellency."