Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1884-09-18
RUINED PALACES.
The Ruins of the Incas-The Native EoDu-
IatiOn Of Central America.

The Ruins of the Incas-The Native Ropu-
latiOn Of Central America.
Pittsburg Dispatch.
A full-bearded gentleman, whose face
was slightly bronzed by exposure, was
standing on the steps of the Post Office,
on Fifth avenue, yesterday, with a pac-
ket 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 Cen
trail American Syndicate Company, with
headquarters in New York. Mr.. Fast is
in the city on a brief business visit, but
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 a wealth Of experience stored away
regarding those odd little Republics
down in the tropics.
"AIost, or I might say all, of my travel
ing was done on the back of a mule with
only a servant. would travel all day,
and at night, after swinging my hammock
under tree In the public square of the
little village where I intended to rest, a
crowd of the principal men Of the village
would gather around and ask innumer-
able questions about my country in a
| queer, innocent fashion. After l had told
them all, they in turn would relate the
/ traditions of their ancestors; of the tabu-
/ lous mines Of gold and silver; Of the
| Spanish conquest, and til glory Of their
! departed greatness. L travelled from the
/ British Colony Of Belize to the Incas'
ruins in the Province of COpan, in the
! Republic of Honduras"
"What do you know of the reported
| discovery by a priest Of a key to the Mex
! lean aud Central American hierOgly-
| phics?"
Il know nothing beyond what I have
! read since 1 returned to New York, I
! heard nothing of it down there. In fact
| [ think there is very little in it. 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 COtempOraneOus language
that was reduced to writing that 1 know
CT ever heard of. But Of these 1ncas'
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
beauty of their ruins comes the beauty Of
/ their pottery, remains Of which are to
| be found within the walls Of every tenn
pie and palace"
''What was the most striking thing in
/ the way Of ruins that you encOunteredr'
"a wonderful road. The Appian way
| has been the boast of antiQuarians for
1 ages D4g W-4e+g -AC CtA SAA-A--- "a q 100
sixty miles long in the heart of Central
! America, constructed over mountain and
! through mOrass and jungle, and exquisite
/ " paved with square blocks Of stone as
/ compactIy set as our Belgian blocks Of
/ to-day? One of the Inca EmperOTs had
/ that road built expressly for his bride, go
/ that when she came on her bridal trip to
! his palace her mule train would have
! fit road upon which to travel. The ira
! ditiOn says that this ruler, whose name
! has been forgotten, had 1000 men for
nearly year working Onthis enterprise.
! The ruins are there to show for the
work yet, and I travelled on 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 sunlight"
"And the people lazy and dishonest, 1
! presume2' suggested the reporter.
"LaZy? Yes" replied the gentleman,
"but not dishonest. On the other hand,
they are strictly honest. Once a month
a peon is sent from the mines down to
the colony for coin to pay the hands. He
has no guard and receives so cents a day
for his services. He returns regularly
with from 81 900 to 5000 In gold In the
net on the mules back. The village is
so miles from the mine. The native
/ women are the prettiest on the continent
but they are the most slOVenly, too, I
may add" Mr.. Fast will return to Cen
trail America the coming Fall In all prob
ability.