"It is obvious from all this, that these poor people are in fact slaves under another name; and it is no wonder that La Perouse found the resemblance painfully striking between their condition and that of the negro slaves of the West Indies. Sometimes, although rarely, they attempt to break their bonds and escape into their original haunts. But this is of rare occurrence, as, independently of the difficulty of escaping, they are so simple as to believe that they have hardly the power to do so after being baptised, regarding the ceremony of baptism as a sort of spell which could not be broken. Occasionally, however, they overcome all imaginary and real obstacles and effect their escape. In such cases, the runaway is immediately pursued, and as it is always known to which tribe he belongs, and as, owing to the enmity subsisting among the tribes, he will not be received by another, he is almost always found and surrendered to the pursuers by his pusillanimous countrymen. When brought back to the mission he is always first flogged and then has an iron clog attached to his legs, which has the effect of preventing his running away and marking him out, _in terrorem_, to others."[34] Additional testimony in regard to the evil practices of the Mexican padres may be found in the delightful volumes of Madame Calderon de la Barca, entitled "Life in Mexico," and published in 1842. "Alas!"--exclaims this sprightly lady,--speaking of the wholesome reforms introduced by the viceroy Revilla-Gigedo among the Mexican monks,--"alas! could his excellency have lived to these our degenerate days, and beheld certain monks, of a certain order, drinking _pulque_ and otherwise disporting themselves;--nay, seen one, as we but just now did from our window, strolling along the street by lamp-light, with an Indian girl tucked under his arm!" The author of this slight but significant passage--an American lady of the highest character and wife of the first minister sent by Spain to Mexico,--cannot be flippantly contradicted by critics who would impute to her either prejudice or ignorance.