How we cite our quotes: (Book.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"Only last year the Indian pueblo of San Fernandez de Taos murdered and scalped the American Governor and some dozen other whites." (P.25)
There's no question that the American settlers have some deep-seated fears about angering the Native Americans whose land they've, uh, stolen. Stories about bloody raids are pretty common all over New Mexico, and people seem to watch their backs whenever a large group of Native Americans is around.
Quote #2
"And the silver of the Spanish was really Moorish, was it not? If not actually of Moorish make, copied from their design." (1.4.7)
Father Latour is willing to give credit where credit's due. He's perfectly aware that the African "Moorish" people were the first to perfect the techniques of melting silver. Father Vaillant doesn't like the thought that anything non-white could be involved in the making of a church bell, but then again, he's a lot more closed-minded than Latour when it comes to this stuff.
Quote #3
"Those Indians are of a sullen disposition. If I were to have dealings with them, they would suspect my motives." (2.1.27)
Father Vaillant is very wary of dealing with Native Americans because he knows how suspicious they are of white people—and with good freaking reason. If he is going to approach them to bring them the word of God, he wants to make sure that there's no possible personal benefit he could get from the encounter. That's why he'll never ask for money or make any trades with these people, because he wants to gain their trust in order to make them into Catholic believers.