Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1885-10-16
CHOLULA'S PYRAMID.
ALL THAT IS LEFT 10 TELL 81.
FORMER MAeNlFleENcE,
The Present ChoIala 3 Rare Gem 81
Beauty-view from the Pyramid
a Shrine on the Azoun-
tain Toy. Z

Is situated on q plain and contains ~ OO
houses within the body Of the town end
as many more in the suburbs Its people
are well dressed and the neighboring
fields exceedingly fertile. | certify to your
majesty that from one Of the temples |
have counted more than 400 towers and
they are all the towers of temples "
To-day no trace remains Of the 10000
houses and 400 towcrs-nothing but the
great pyramid to hint Of former magnif-
cence. History has made familiar Cortez'
tragic advent into the Rome of Anahuac-
how, through the medium Of Donna Ma
rina, he discovered a plot among the
Cholulans to exterminate the hated in
vaders, and determined to make an ex-
ample of them which should strife terror
to the heart Of the nation and MAKE Non
tezuma tremble upon his throne beyond
the mountain. Treacherously assembling
all the chiefs and leading citizens in the
great square of the town. without q mo-
ments warning Cortez turned his arms
upon them and slaughtered the defense
less people by thousands. We are told
that the peaceful streets of Churultecal
were crowded with the corpses of unof-
Tending citizens, their houses and temples
all burned to the ground, and the near BY
river Atoyac ran red with blood After
this Christian work the great temple on
top of the pyramid was solemnly purified
by .Cortez' order and the standard of the
cross uplifted above the desolated city.
The present Cholula il a rare gem in
the way Of p-icturesqleness Battle
mented churches surround its grass-grown
plaza Cannon balls, bedded in all the
walls, tell of war alarms. and among its
numerous nun-forsaken converts is one
now used as a prison, where the convicts
are forever weaving sashes on primitive
hand looms. Indeed. the business Of
everybody in this isolated community
appears to be ~sash-weaving or relic hunt
ing. Each little pulqueria and fondita,
where mild native intoxicants are dis
pensed, has its collection of Toltec idols
and ancient pottery for sale among the
beverages. Ragged boys and baref0oted
maidens follow the stranger about the
streets importuning him to buy the gods
of their ancestors ve.hundred.year old
divinities of uEdoubted authenticity may
be bought for a few cents, and for 81
or SO one may purchase household gods
by the peck. and the sacred vessels once
used in their worship Frequently small
vases or glazed and colored pottery are
unearthed in excavations, Or are found in
tact in the fields and can always be
secured from their unappreciative owners
for q tritiing sum.
A we'll paved road, with steps cut in
at intervals, winds among rose bushes
and cypress trees to the top Of the pyra.
mid. On its lofty summit, among tombs
of blue and yellow tiles, Is an enormous
cross of carved stone, set close at the edge
Of the terrace aud bearing date 1855.
From this point one of the most beautiful
view in the world is obtained. and here
Humboldt made many of his astronomical
observations. No less than twenty villages
may be counted within the nearby circle
of hills; the fertile fields between look
like a gigantic checker board, roads diverge
like spiders webs, in all directions, and
the snowtopped volcanoes stand guard
over all. The church that now occupies
the site of uetzalcoatls temple is dedi-
Gated to an equally mythical divinity,
called the Nirgen de los Remedies.
Whether she wa brought to Mexico BY
one Of Cortez' soldiers, or was manufact-
ured 500 after their arrival here, is d
mooted question.
She is a small, ugly wooden dol, a bout
three feet high, evidently carved with a
rude knife, having holes gouged out for
eyes and mouth-and yet was supposed
to possess divine power TO heal all wounds
and diseases. The image was lost on that
memorable nochc triste. when the Span
iards were forced to flee from the Aztec
capital, and nothing more was heard from
her for half a century, till one day a wan.
dering Indian found her perched in the
heart of q huge maguey on top of a bar
rem mountain. The restoration Of the
image was ioyfully hailed by the Span
iards, who proceeded to build a church
upon the spot where she was found, and
in which she was installed with great
ceremony, her shrine being q century
plant of solid silver. The original image.
somewhat the worse for wear and tear.
may still be seen by anybody who cares
to make a mule back pilgrimage to that
lonely mountain. Your Correspondent
has made it, and declares that it is by no
means worth the trouble.
AS long as Spain p~rospered In Mexico,
untold sums were lavished upon this
Virgen de los Remedies. But bye.and.
bye she found a powerful rival in the
Creole Virgin, Guadalupe. When Mexi-
co.'s Washington-the brave Miguel Hi
dalgo-raised for his revolutionary stand.
ard a picture Of Guadalupe. his rebellion
assumed the character Of a crusade. After
his defeat and execution the yirgen de
los Remedies assisted in celebrating the
victory, borne about the streets Of the
City Of Mexico dressed in the full mill
tary costume of q Spanish general, every
where hailed as the %patroness of Spain
md cOnounror of hnr other calf 4ha nranlo
Virgin. The tables soon turned, however.
for when the revolutionary army finally
triumphed, the military sash was torn
from her sacred person by a bold soldier
Of the opposition, she was reviled and
rolled about in the dust, and afterward
the commanding officers made out her
passport, as for a living person, and or
dered her to leave the country. She was
restored at length to her shrine on the
mountain top, but never to the older
honors and emoluments-which TO. dav
are all bestowed upon her rival. Guada.
Iupe, the patroness Of the Indians.
There being no public-house in Che.
lula, travellers must depend upon private
hospitality, or bring with them a
luncheon from Puebla One NAV leave
the latter city early in the morning and
return at evening, a days time being
sufficient to "dop the sacred city.
delightful excursion cannot be made
the wide world over, and what rrander
dining place can be imagined than under
the giant expresses Of that mysterious