Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1858-01-06

and great age, prove to the world that great
empire existed here at a very remote period |
of time, and that this empire teemed with an |
immense population, people skilled in the |
mechanical arts, and in advanced state of cul- |
tivation. The most extensive ruins are to be !
found at Uxmal and Palenque, in the south |
east of Mexico. At Uxmal are immense pyr-
amiis, coated with stone, and quadrangular
stone edifices and terraces. The highest of
these pyramids is 130 feet, and on the summit |
it supports q temple; one of the facades of
the temple are four human figures cut in stone, !
with great ezactness and elegance. The hands
are crossed upon the breast, the head is COW
cred with something like helmet, about the
neck is a garment Of the skin of an alligator,
and over each body is figure of deaths
head and bones.
At Palenque-a city OF great extent-are i'm
mepse ruins, with the remains of royal pal
ace. One temple, that of Copan, $40 feet by
$50, and supposed to have been as large as st.
Peters at Rome. Another temple OF great di
mensions is here, having entrance hy por-
tico one hundred feet long and ten feet broad
it stands on an elevation OF sixty feet. The
pillars of the portico adorned with hero
glyphcs and other devices. Different objects
Of worship have been nfound-representation
of the gods who were worshpped IN this coun-
try. These temples, with fourteen large build
! ings, and many other objects of curiosity,
stand here as monuments of ancient greatness,
to remind us of the remote origin OF a mighty
empire. The city has been described as the
Thebes of America, and travellers have sup
| posed that it must have been sixty miles in
circumference, and contained population of
| 3 3,O00, ,000 souls.
! Centuries must have elapsed, and dynasties
succeeded each other, before such orders of
architecture were introduced, and a great
/ length Of time must have passed before an
! empire would become sufficiently powerful to
/ erect such temples, and possess city of such
| vast extent. In looking back to the past we
! feel interested in the imagination that this
! people once in the MONDAY of glory, enjoying
| al! the fruits and luxurieS of an advanced civ
! iIization; but when we behold these ruins,
| melancholy reflection must at once seize our
| minds. On the ground where once nations
met in their strength and power, wild beasts
/ now roam, and vcnomous serpents wend their
way and over these vast cities, where once
the busy hum of industry and the voice of
me.rimcnt resounded, grows the vast cedar,
on whose branches the owl chattcrs discordant
notes and the bat sleeps at meridian. In this
country is exhibited the largest pyramid in
the world-that of Colua, near Puebla. 1t
covers 4t acres, and is 2a0 feet high, on its
summit was a temple, and in the interior has
been discovered vault, rooted with beams Of
wood, containing skeletons and idols; several
smaller pyramids surrounded this large one.
Il appears to have been formed by cutting a
hill into an artificial shape. It's dimensions
are immense, being nearly three miles in cir
cumference, and about 400 feet high. 1t is
divided into terraces and slopes, covered with
platforms, stages and bastions, elevated, one
above the other, and formed with large
/, stones sEillfully cut and jointed with ce-
ment In some respects the style of architec-
ture resembles the Gothic, being massive and
, durable, while in other respects it resembles
, the Egyptian-vet the general construction.
E manner and style OF architecture is different
from anything hitherto described in the world
In Egypt, hieroglyphics on stone denote re-
markable events, which no one has yet been
able to decipher.
a dark shade rests on the antiquities o
, America, and {. few rays of light enliven the
gloom. We have ancient history 10 inform
9 US Of the events of Egypt-how that empire
f was founded and how it prospered and fell
: we have the same record of Babylon, 'Niuevah
: Greece, Rome, and Carthage; but not the
least information have we relative to thosI
= who erected these cities, what people ant
{ whence they came; not ray of light to dis
! pei the dark gloom which seems TO rest on tht
: earliest history of America.
b Architecture, sculpture, painting, and al
] the arts that adorn civilized life, have flour
. iShed in this country, at period far remote
. There is evidence sufficient to prove that thes'
: cities were in ruins at least siEfeea eigttecl
? hundred vears ago. In Palenque are the re
n mains Of an altar, over which grows on i'm
: mense cedar, whose powerful roots eEsh:in'
f it. The whole city is overgrown with mahog
e any and cedar trees, of enormous size. TIT
y ccncentric circles of some of these trees-th
4 well known cycles for year-have been coun
h ted. which showed they were more than oO
:. years old, and there were indications of anoth
;. cr generation of trees havsng sprung up be
. fore them. How few reflect on the fact tha
n America is an old dominion-the seat OF al
> ancient, mighty empire. These facts are o
8 pening themselves every day to tue eyes o
the astonished world, and it is to be hope'
i. that the spirit of inquiry, which seems at pres
ent to animate all classes of learned men
:, NAV throw light on the early history of thi
remarkable region.