THE PASSIONISTS OF THE SOUTHWEST or The Holy Brotherhood [SOLD]

THE PASSIONISTS OF THE SOUTHWEST or The Holy Brotherhood

A Revelation of the ‘Penitentes’ 

by Alex M. Darley, Apostle of the Colorado Mexicans, 1893 Pueblo. CO

Hardback, first edition was Published in 1893.  

This reprint published by The Rio Grande Press, Inc in 1968

From the Introduction

The strange and macabre rites of the Brothers of Light was written in 1893 by the Rev. Mr. Alexander M. Darley, self-labeled as an “apostle of the Colorado Mexicans.”  Little is known of the Rev. Mr. Darley: there is some indication that he was a practitioner of the Presbyterian persuasion, a ‘missionary’ but it could just as well be that he was one of the self-ordained itinerant preachers so common around the country in the late 19th century.  Mr. Darley, whatever his denomination, was a gringo who, like most other American pioneers, found the Roman Catholic faith personally distasteful. Hence he wrote this volume from a viewpoint quite the opposite of that of  Alice Corbin Henderson in her lovely and compassionate  “Brothers of Light” published in 1937.

The Rev. Mr. Darley’s viewpoints expressed in this book may be biased, bigoted, and/or prejudiced, but they are hsitoric.  It is obvious that the Rev. Mr. Darley did actually see some of the rites he describes so vividly.  In this respect, we do not question the authenticity of his work. The Rev. Mr. Darley was obviously just simply appalled at the things he saw.  He reveals clearly, as he writes, that the idea of a simple faith pursued to self-mutilation was beyond his understanding or comprehension.  Still and all, Darley’s book is a genuine source book, little known to bibliographers and very rare indeed on the rare book market.