Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-10-16
The Ruins of PapantIa.
from the New Orleans Democrat. ]

FROM the New orleans OemOcrat.i
Within but three days voyage from
New Orleans, over the generally placid
waters of the Mexican Gulf, are situated
the ruins of one of the grandest cities
ever built by man. For miles huge blocks
of carved stone, truncated pyramids upon
which once arose tall temples adorned
with long granite columns, meet the OBJ
servers eye on all sides, as he stands on
the spot that once was the site of pop
ulous Indian capital.
These remains of past greatness are
known by the name of the ruins of Pa
pantla, and are situated in the state of
Vera Cruz, Mexico, about one and half
days journey from the little port Of Tux
pan on the Gulf coast.
While the greater portion of The lnte-
rior of Mexico is strewn with the ruins of
once large and populous cities, those
found at Papantla betray higher order
of architecture, cover more area, and the
biographical inscriptions on the col
umns and obelisks found in its vicinity,
indicate graater degree of civilization
and enlightment in the builders than is
found in others of the numerous ruins
that are spread broadcast over the
country
On the grand plateau of Anahuac, in
the valley of Mexico, several ruins of
great antiquity have been discovered and
have been carefully examined by well
known Mexican and foreign archaeol-
osists All these ruins are supposed to
belong to the era of the Toltecs, highly
civilized aud enlightened race of people,
| whose very name indicates their favorite
| industry; for the word Toltec means
architect Yet the ruins of their great
centres Of population do not betray as
| high grade of mechanical skill, OF arch
| itectural knowledge and eff perfected
system of hieroglyhical or sign writing,
as the remains Of either Papantla in Vera
Cruz or Palenque in Chipas.
The scientists who have examined these
ruins, do not hesitate to assert
that they belong to a much NOR e ancient
epoch, and that they evince higher de-
gree of civilization in the builders than
anv other of the numerous ruins found
| within the wide limits of the Mexican
republic.
| 1t is probable that long before Babylon
and Ninevah arose from the level Of the
vast plains of the east, and before Luxor
and Karnac were built, that these great
cities weee the fiourisng capitals of two
grand Indians nation.
| While the natives of the level plateau
still possess tradition of the Toltees, the
Chichemees and the other numerous Ma
hualtac nations, no tradition, nor legion
is extant among the wandering aberigi-
mes of the coast, relating to the once
proud Indian city Papanlta.
When the hosts of the great Monte
yuma swept over the high mountain bar
riers that separate the temperate regions
of the interior from the low, sultry lands
of the coast, and devastated the tropical
country that is washed by the waters OF
the gulf, the ruins of Papantla attracted
their attention. But the only answer the
Astecs could obtained from their new
subjects, when they questioned them as
TO the ruins was s'they were here when
our forefathers first entered the country
When the victorious Spaniards had torn
the Asttc banner from the summit Of the
pyramid, and leveled the tall towers and
stately temples of Tenochtitlan with the
surrounding waters of the Texcucan
lake, their squadrons examined and
explored the country in all directions
They discovered the ruins of Papantla
a priest wEo went with the expedition
wrote description OF them Il was pub
lished IN Mexico $50 years ago; yet the
ruins to-day present exactly the same .ap-
pearance they did then. for scarcely q
stone has been fallen or column been
overthrown since the good Spanish father
visited the spot.
Situated in a vast and primeval forest
amid huge trees that for many centuries
have looked down over the scene, the
ruins of this city, of remote antiquity
have excited but little curiosity among
the simple people who reside in its vicini
ty. Although several American traveller.
have visited the place and have published