Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1885-11-07
CHOLULA'S PYRAMID.
ALL THAT IS LEFT TO TELL OF
FORMER MAGN'FiCENce.
n Present Cholula q Rare Com Of
Beauty-v Wow from the Pyramid
A Shrine on the Noun
tain Top.
fannie b. Warts letter.

a. many more in the suburbs lis people
are well dressed and the neighboring
tie DIS exceedingly fertile | certify to your
ma est, that from O e of the temples
Lave counted more than 400 towers and
they are all the towers Of temples"
Today no trace remains Of the A., 900
houses and 400 towtrs-nothing but the
great pyramid to hint Of former magnih.
ccnce. History has made fam ar ,0rtez'
tragic advent into the ONE of Anahuac-
how. through the medium of Donna Ma
rina, lie discovered q plot among the
Cholulaus to exterminate the hated in.
vaders, and determined to make an ex
amp.e OF them which should strike terror
10 the heart of the nation aud ma @ NJ IN
tezuma trelnDle upon his throne beyond
the mountain Treacherously assembiin.
q the chiefs and lradi q citizens in the
great square Of the town. without a mo-
nicnts warning Cortez turned his arms
upon them and slaughtered the defense
less people by thousands. We are tod
that the peaceful streets Of ihutu tecaI
wereGrowdcd with the corpses of unof
fend NJ citizens. their houses a Il temples
oil burucd TO the ground, and the near b
river Alto, &C ran red with bod After
this Christ an WORK the great temple on
top OF The pyramid was so!emnly purified
by CorteL order and the standard of the
cross upiifted above the desolated city.
The present thoiula is q rare gem in
the way OF piciureSqueness. Battle.
meuted churches surround its grass. grown
plaza Cannon bats. bedded in all the
walls, tell Of war s alarms, and among its
numerous nun forsaken converts is one
now used as u rison. where the cor. lets
are forever weaving sashes on primitive
hand looms JUDGED, the business of
everybody in this iso ated community
APPEARS 10 be Aash. weaving or re ic. hunt
Ing. ra'h little pulgncria and fondlta
where mid native intoxicants are Il 3
penSed has its collection Of Toltec idols
and ancient pottery for sale among the
beverages az ed boys and barefooted
ma lens follow the stranger about the
streets i~mporluning IN to buy the gods
of their ancestors rive hundred year. old
d.vinities OF uEdoub ed authenticity may
he bought for a few cents. and for 81
or ~ one nay purchase h usehold gods
by the peck. and the sac:ed ve>se s once
used in their worship frequently small
Na7es or glazed and colored pottery are
uneartled IN G cavllions or are found in
tact III The feds and can ALWAYS ne
SCI ured from their unuppreciative owners
Tor IA trl lag sum.
+ n NCitR tut l. WIN Sitt6 CRU III
at intervals wiHds among +. Sc bushes
and cy press trees to the ,op Of the pyra
mid. On It's .of Y summit, among tombs
al blue and yc low lies. is an enormous
ross OF carved stone. set c'Ose at the edg
IF the terrace aid bearing date 40
FROM this point one of ile most bsauti.ui
vi. W Ia the world is tb.ainel. anil here
lll.mb, ldt made man IF his astronomical
tbservatiuns, NO less than twenty vii ages
ma be counted within the lear by circle
# hills. tie ferli,e iei j. bet ween look
ike a gjr an icclec..er. ard. roads diverge
like spiders webs, Il ail directions. and
tie snow-icpret No.canocs stand guard
o or all. Tie church that now occupies
he site OF uetEa C att temple is dedi.
ca cd 10 IN equal, mythical divinity.
ca.iei the 'rg"n de los Remedies
Whether >he was brought to Mexico bv
one Of Iorieh' sod ers, or was manufact
ured soon after their arrival here, Is a
mooted question.
She is a small. ugly wooden dol, a bout
three feet high. evidently carved with a
rude knife. having ho cs gouged out for
eyes and mouth and yet was supposed
10 rosSe>s divine power 10 heal all wounds
and diseases The image was lost on tna
memorable nochc triSte, when the o,an
ards were forced 10 ice from the Aztec
capital. aud oth.Ig more Wa heard from
her for ha.f a Cea,u y. tai one diy a wan
dering Indian ounI her pe.ciied IN the
hear OF a huge maGuey IN TOP OF a bar
rcn mountain. The I|estorati n OF the
Image was oyfullt Ilaied b, the span
iards. who pr ce,ded TO b lid "a churc,,
upon the spot where sue was found AID
IN which she was installed with great
ceremony. her shrine being "a cent r.
plant of solid silver. The original ima.e.
g mcwhal the worse for wear and tear,
ma, still be seen by auybod who cares
to make a mule back pilgrimage to that
lonely mountain. our CORES Dondent
has made it, and declares hat IL is by NJ
means worth the trodble.
AS long as Spain pros cred in Mexico.
unto,d sums were lavished upon this
Nirgen de los hemeiios. But b e and
bye she found a owerful rival in the
Creole irgin. Guadalupe. When Mexi.
cos " ash ngton the brave Miguel Iii.
da 90 raised tor his revolutionary stand
ard a picture of'Guadalure, his re"e lion
assumed the character OF a crusade. After
his defeat and execution the lrgen de
los emedlos assisted in celebrating the
victory. borne about the streets If the
City of Mexico dressed in the full mil
tary costume OF o - anish &c eral. e cry.
where hailed as the patr0ness OF Spain
and con ueror Of her other self the REQ
Virgin. The tables so, n turned, however.
for when the revolutiO airy army nnaty
triumpbed. the military sash was torn
from her sacred person BY a bold soldier
of the opposition. she was re lied and
rolled about in the dust, and afterward
the commanding o i,cers made out her
passport as for u living person, and or
dered her 10 lea G the country. She was
restored at length to her shrine on the
mountain top. but never to the older
honors and emoluments-wh'ch to day
are all bestowed upon her rival. Guada.
lure. the patroness If the indians.
There being no public house in Chn
lula, ira e!ers must depend upon private
hospitality. or bring with them a
luncheon from Puebia One NAV leave
the latter city early in the morning aud
return at evening. a days time being
81 cient 10 do" the sacred city.
more delightful excursion cannot he made
the wide worl,i over. and what era. der
dining place q he imagined Than uider
the giant cy resses Of that mysteri us
pyramid. with the maic ess panorama
spread out below! After such q plunge
into the misty past one returns reluct-
snt'y to the commonplace. and casts
many backward glances ON the homeward
journey toward that proving place OF
neurological spooks. the one Il Ana
huac. whose white towers glisten IN the
sunset as II 1t were still the city of predic.
ton.