The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1880-06-12
The Pyramid of Cholula, Mexico.

The pyramid of teOcGAi (house OF
God) of Cholula is, l believe, the larg-
est in the world. Its length is 1, 423 feet,
its perpendicular height III feet, and
its base, which is square, covers nearly
forty-four acres! In shape it is trun-
Gated cone, the area of the platform on
the truncated summit being over an
acre. If there is any doubt as to the
use OF the pyramids in Egypt, there is
not the slightest as to that of the teocalh
of Cholula, for the Spaniards found
there the great temple of the mighty
god Quetzacoati, who was supposed to
have stopped here for twenty years on
his way to the coast, and to have taught
the ancient Toltecs the arts of civiliza-
ton. In a sumptuous temple on the
top of this pyramid the image of the
god used to stand with golden and jew
eled ornaments, while around him were
the holy undying fires that had blazed
from time immemorial. The sides of
the pyramid face toward the north,
south, east and west, and four terraces
originally ran round the hill. At pres
ent it is so overgrown with brushwood
that it looks like natural hill, and
these terraces have almost disappeared.
1t is still moot point whether the py-
ramid is altogether artificial, or wheth-
er there is not core of natural hill.
Where the road that is now cut across
one side lays the hill open, it is alto
gether artificial, made of adobes or I'M
baked bricks, exactly like those used in
building the Indians huts at the pres
ent day. And without for moment
wishing to give an opinion upon a SUBJ
ject that even Humboldt had his doubts
about, may suggest that it is probably
altogether artificial, since the country is
almost dead level.
When Cortez stood on the teocaZk in
1919 what a different sight met his gaze
cent mountains were then as grand
as now, but Popocatepeti was then in
activity and deserved its name of the
smoking mountain. Fields, too, OF
maize, of magney, and groves of cactus
lay at his feet as they do now, but 9TH
erwise all is changed. In 1919 magnif-
cent forests covered the country; in
1880 but one forest tree is to be seen.
Then superb temple, glowing with
gold and jewels, excited the loathing of
the conqueror. Now a little Roman
Catholic chapel stands dedicated to Our
Lady of Les Remedies, ON the same spot
where the temple formerly was. A SOL
itary priest comes from Puebla to cele-
brate mass where formerly thousands of
Aztec mobiles used to PROSTATE them
selves before their deity. Then Cortez
looked down on a great town with at
least two hundred temples; now the Wis
itor sees a few adobe huts, but almost as
many churches. On my visit l counted
fifty in sight, and got tired; how many
more there were some more patient OBJ.
server may discover. The Spaniards
made it a point to build a Christian
church wherever pagan temple had
stood, so that now, when the popula-
ton has died out or removed, the effect
is startling, for nothing but the churches
remain. 1t was here that the Spaniards
first massacred the inhabitants, pre-
tending that conspiracy was on foot
against them, and thus began the sys-
TEN that has handed down to posterity
the names of the Spanish conquerors as
a synonym for cruelty.-Cor. NY. Sun,