The Mineral argus., 1884-11-20
Ru1NED PALACES.
The Ruins of the Incas-The Native Popu
1ation of Central America.

The Ruins of the Incas-The Native Popu-
1arion of Central America.
From the Pittsburg Dispatch
A full bearded gentleman, whose face
was slightly bronzed by exposure, was
standing on the steps of the postofice,
on Fifth avenue, yesterday, with
packet of foreign letters in his hand,
when a Dispatch reporter accosted him.
The person was Mr.. Francis r. Fast,
formerly of this city, but now
Secretary of the Central Amer
lean Syndicate Company, with head
quarters in New York Mr.. Fast
is in the city on brief business visit,
but is fresh from a five months tour In
the States of Central America, having
arrived in New York only last week.
A keen observer and thorough linguist,
Mr.. Fast has wealth of experience
stored away regarding those odd little
Republics down in the tropics.
Most, or | might say all of my trav-
cling was done on the back of mule
with only servant. would travel all
day and at night, after swinging my
hammock under a tree in the public
square of the little village where l in
tended to rest, a crowd of the principal
men OF the village would gather around
and ask innumerable questions about
my country in queer, innocent fashion.
After / had told them all, they in
turn would relate the traditions OF
their ancestors; of the fabulous mines
of gold and silver; of the Spanish con-
quest, and the glory of their departed
geatness. travelled from the British
Colony of Belize to the Incas' ruins in
jhe Province of Copan, in the Repub-
lie of Honduras.
"What do you know of the reported
discovery by priest of key to the
Mexican and Central American hero
glyphics?"
"I know nothing beyond what have
read since my return to New York. ]
heard nothing of it down there. In fact
there is very little in it. 1 don't see
how any KEY can be obtained that would
unlock the Incas' mysteries. There is
no vestige of the old language left, and
/ there was no contemporaneous language
that was reduced to writing that
! [ know or ever heard Of.
/ But of these Incas' ruins, they
are wonderful. You come upon them
in the midst of morass and swamp.
Miles of magnificent columns, the wreck
of the palaces of emperors who ruled
before Cortez came. Next to the beau
ty of their ruins comes the beauty oi
their pottery, remains of which are to
be found within the walls of every
temple and palace"
] okr fl,fn
in the way of ruins that you encoun-
tered?"
"a wonderful road. The Applau
way has been the boast of antiquarians
for ages, but what do you think of q
road sixty miles long in the heart o.
Central America, constructed oyel
mountain and through morass anC
Jungle, and exquisitely paved will
square blocks of stone as compactly sci
as our Belgian blocks of to-day? One
of the Inca Emperors had that road
built expressly for his bride. so that
when she came on her bridal trip to hii
palace her mule train would have a fiji
road upon which to travel. The ira
dition says that this ruler, whose name
has been forgotten, had l 900 men fol
nearly a year working on this enter
prise. The ruins are there to show fol
the work yet, and have travelled OF
that strange thoroughfare over whose
stones, still firmly set, the tangled vines
and branches of the giant trees formed
a canopy that almost excluded the sun
shine"
"And the people lazy and dishonest,
presume?" suggested the reporter.
Lazy? Yes" replied the gentle
man. "but not dishonest. On the othe
hand, they are strictly honest. Once
month peon is sent from the mines
down to the colony for coin to pay tn
hands. He has no guard and receives
60 cents day for his services. He re
turns regularly with from $4,000 tC
So, 900 in gold in the net on the mule
back. The village is sixty miles from
the mine. The native women are th
prettiest on the continent, but they
are the most slovenly, too, may add.
Mr.. Fast will return to Centra
America, the coming fail in all proba
bility.