Document text
Marie Garter
Anthony,
New iiexico
730 words
OLD TIMERS STORIES
Elizabeth Fountain Armendariz
(Mrs. flurelians Armendariz)
Mrs. Armendariz, who lives in the family home of her parents at Old
Messina, ushered me into a room of curios, explaining:
This is the Gadsden Museum collection which belonged to my father,
the late Albert J. Fountain Junior. I follow in his footsteps, for collect-
ing curios is my hobby. The Santos, or Saints in this case are very old,"
she said, pointing to a large glass case of statues, ranging from one to
three feet in height. Unlocking the case doors she took out a Santo and
placed it in Lly hands. "That one is a hundred years old, and was found in
a cave."
The Santo was a painted canvas stretched over a delicate frame -work
of wood.
Observe the paint," she said, "faded yet still beautiful, and the
Santo's features so easy to defiae. The Santo on the table is shrouded in
mystery; I promised the donor not to tell from whence it came."
Were you born in Old Mesilla?" I inquired.
Yes," she replied, "and I have been a teacher in the Mesilla school
for the past fifteen years. I want you to examine these articles; they were
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given to my grandparents by Juan idaria Justiniani, or the Hermit of the
Organ mountains, a Cartuchian monk. This little brass bell is the same one
he always carried, tied to the handle of his cane. These brown rosary beads,
which he gave to my grandmother, are made from the leaves of flowers. This
black rosary he gave my grandfather. Note the artistic rose design hand -carved
by the nermit."
And these?" I inquired, pointing to some odd -looking books.
:Jere written by the ermit," she replied."The brown book is written
in Spanish, and its cover is crude cowhide. The other book is written in
Italian, and is covered with sheepskin. The Hermit used to walk from the'
Organ mountains to flesilla to preach to the people. Heile is another ros-
ary much larger than the other two; it came from the Grotto of Our Lady of
Lourdes, (France) and he wore it around his waist. This ring with the
spikes in it he use for inflicting punishment upon himself. It was his way
of doing penance.
The hermit was a very religious man. The natives feared him because
they believed that he could read their minds; also predict the future. On
one of his visits to our community, I have been told, he did something very
odd. he happened to be talking to the resident priest, when two men approach-
ed, one leading a mare. The priest introduced them to the hermit. He shook
hands with one of the men but when the man with the mare proffered his hand
the hermit ignored it, saying:
'I connot shake this man's hand; not until he restores that stolen
mare to its master,'
'Is that mare stolen property?' demanded the angry priest.
The guilty Mexican bowed his head in shame as he responded in a law
voice: "Si, senor.'
The Hermit, Juan idaria Justiniani, was an Italian aristocrat, born
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Sizzario, Lomardy, Italy. come say that the Virgin ap,_eared to him and
told him to ,=.o westward, and that he followed her advice, while others
contend that he was exp..211ed from exico. At the age of 20 he made a
Ji-omise to travel to all the mountains of the world, to teach and to preach
to the horant. At first he lived in a cave at Las Vegas, and then he moved
to a cave in the Organs.
That," she said, pointing to a picture of a tall, white bearded monk,
wearin the brown hooded cape of his order, and leaning on a cane to which
a small brass bell, the one Erne had shown me, was attached, "is the Hermit.
:Ly father painted him from memory. Ihenever the natives wish to find some-
thing real bad, they pray to the Hermit to help them. For 49 years he lived
the life of a hermit, dying at the age of 69, April 17, 1868. His grave is
in the Catholic Cemetary, here, in Old ,esilla.
It seems that the emit predicted his own death. He was in the habit
of lighting a bonfire every night to say his rosary."
he told rather Baca of Las Cruces, 'there will be no fire.'
And when the bright flames, to which the people of 2iesilla had grown
accustomed, failed to appear in the eastern sky, they knew, even before they
found hifn, that the Hermit of the Organs was dead."
Mrs. Elizabeth Fountain Armendariz, Granddaughter of Col. AlbertJJ.
-ountain, Commander of the Grand Army of the riepublic June 30, 1891. Mrs.
Armendariz was born in Old Mesilla, New Mexico, Feb. 4. 1897; teacher in
Hesilla school for fifteen years; She is an artist, musician and curio col-
lector; has a painting painted by her father, and taken from the original
photograph of Mary Todd, wife of Abraham Lincoln. The original photograph is
dated, 1859, N. Y. On the lower part of the painting is the word: "Con-
sagrado," which means, consecrated.