Democratic enquirer. [volume] (M'arthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1867-1873, 1868-11-26

him understand Better comment upon
the nsesof The religious slaughter-housesl 1
Of the Toltecs has not come 70 hand.
The height Of the House Of tho Sun, as
II WAS called by the ancients, is 800 feet +
nerpendiculafly, and its line of base is 6Sa
iaet ,NorthwestuSrdl by q fhort road,
amon6 broken tszontle. is the seeondpyra-
mid fhe House ofthe Moon IA feet highEf
n is here and nearby that the finest re-
mains are discernible. We saw upon the
way thereto the ruins of some ancient
steps, built Of tapetate or calcmeous. earth
of q hard kind, along with tezontle and
cement. The steps seemed to belong 70 o
considerable base structure, supposed 70 |
be part Of the palace of king AZ tum-
ulns yery near to the House ofthe Moon the
most formidible antiquity of theplace was
brought TO light many years ago, but
has been still further revealed by the or
ders Of Maximilian's archeologists. II, g |
the halfiength figure of an idol, 10 or ~ |
feet high and about four feet broad, and
cut out Of a solid block of gray granite
| The face, OF which the nose is half gone,
Wns doubtless very neatly chiseled out, and
there is hint of Egypt in the general
mood of the idol, with none of the Sphlnx's
meaning in its gross frontispiece, This
1 WAS in all likelihood the veritable Meztll,
| or Goddess of the Moon, the Titee's Casta
Diva No researches have yet come across
| the God of the Sun, Tonatricli, and
there are no apparent openings IN the
House of the Sun by which one can pierce
Into mysteries Not SO, however, with
LLo Malinche, the name which the
peasants have given to the Moon idol, after
the Indian wife of Cortes, and the famous
mountain, for long years haunted by the
Plateados, or silger-mounted freebooters.
Rioht behind the hollow wherein stands
La Malinche are two caves, which bear an
4 immemorial character to the peasants OF
the neighborhood. Nothing could induce
our superstititious guide to enter them \
but procuring candles, and accepting tne
volunteer service Of another Indian, we
managed to get through one OF the open
ines on hands and knees. We had
been promised the sight of lofty ball
or saloon, for some distance groping;
Int no such hall came TO view. Both caves
were thoroughly explored, without other
result than informing ourselves that they
are about 80 and rs feet inward, with
brief galleries, and do not impress us as
being ancient excavations. In the same
way we entered another cave in the second
terrace of the House of the Moon, having
been previously told by the guide that II
ended in something like an abyss. We
, found il about 80 or IS feet in gradual
incline, terminating in well of about ~
feet Deep and regularly walled around;
but neither in this nor in the other caves
/ do the stones or dirt present any SPECIAL
/ tokens of antiquity, beyond the well walls
described, the particular use of which still
remains mystery.
The number of tumuli around the pyra-
mius have suggested TO travellers that their
Q vicinity formed the Micoutl. or way OF
s the Dead In the language of the Affects;
: but the presence of such large quantities
: of building material, both here and around'
has as plausibly suggested that Ieotinua-
= can was an ancient city. The amplitude OF
l. its valley, and the presence OF stream
g that inToltec days may have been valua,
Il BILE river in country where perennial
Q streams are scarce, go to help the
s Thought that this was indeed Teotihuacan,
+ or, what is probably the same, the
J. town of the gods. Clayijero writes that IN
e the Sun pyramid dwelt four great priests
y who dressed as meanly as monks, and fec
D on yatole or corn-gruel and Furthermore
1t thew sang hymns eqery night, and morti
o fed themselves by shedding their blood OIL
If the temple stones, wreaking out betimes
e eyery SYLLABLE of their suffering upon the
Is torn hearts of their victims, just as theli
,s successors the inquisitors did when they
o m the bonfires of the faith. The sacri.
{, fees To Tonactrictli could not have beer
o more cruel than those of Torrequemado.
q Our guides solution of the pyramidal
e mystery is strange enough to be told. he
d ycuches that the people who built the
Ii Moon house or Meztli-Istacual we're thu
4, children of Adam and not of Noah; tina
s, LONG AGO believing the world was to b
te drowned, their King heaped up his treas
We ure in the hearts of those pyramids; am
ne moreover that the treasures are still there
TX as o great many Of the Indians believe :
III This simple story seems to be In part IN
IN obscuration of q more authentic legend
At the end of every cycle Of 81 years tn
he ancient Indians indulged regular and p
IT, ous fear that the world would come to a
th end, if they did not pray and kill; hrt
nd were put out in oil dwellings, and the
ee commenced solemn procession to th
be pyramids of the Sun upon which th
Dr. briests and leaders of the multitude reste
de until the pleiades assembled the zenitf
ch when captive was slain, and woode
m. shield un6n his breast being inhamed b
' q fiction. the new fire was lighted, the PEI
m Die prayed and reioiced and the world wi
IN saved. Here is another amusing legen
rec that Omecihuati, wife of the god
ia children and good wishes, gave biri
ng 10 o flint knife, which her other enrage
nd offspring dashed to earth, whence sprur
he from the flint fragments 600 warrior
sat who begged their mother to allow the
has to create men for slaves. But she SCI
cal them to tie Hell-god, who would give the
bit the bone of a man who had perished in Il
= general destruction, and this bone sprin
his led with their blood, would produce h
owl man pair Xolotl, one of the heroes pr
inc cured the bone, and sure enough boy At
nd- girl were born, who, being fed on the mi
gh of thistles, begun o recreation OF manlln
ian So far, 80 good; but the wor
nd was without sun or moon. L!
ian warriors therefore met on q
lar plain of Teotihuacan, kindled an immenl
is fire, and vowed that the hero who jump
i've INTO it would be made a Sun. Nanahui
let zin Immediately leaped into the tiame al
ar descended into hell, and in short III
ills afterwards the sun rose in the Easts@ln I
ian same way, but by q less effectual fire al
or heroism, the Moon rose. According
The these stories of the childhood race, t
Be- sun and moon were both made in Teo
To- huacan, town Of the gods, of whose hi
E. worship the pyramids bear witness, to Il
ect day. 80
cd, Before leaving the pyramids, we w
ide surrounded by crowd of Indians "
Dre brought us the antiquities which they b
as gathered in the course of tillage. One
it these is o true stone idol, somewhat Int
nj than a foot long, and as ugly as may be.
gas One-half of an obsidian knife. some p
ing phyry mugs, and an earthern saucer, {
,as .n az, aoo1Iacl;op. hut the ch