The Republican journal., 1888-04-05

I SITETI1tT
far more suggestive of striped clothing and
bread and water diet than of happy home-!ife
within.
The Plaza Mayor, situated exactly in the
| center of the town. is six hundred feet square.
and its entire eastern end is occupied by the
cathedral and bishops palace. On the west
stands the casa Municip0l; on the north the
Governors palace; and on the south the oldest
house III the city-one of the most remarkable
buildings have ever seen. We tried hard to
discover something of its history; but to every
question the only reply We could obtain was Il
>iirng of Indifference and the invariabe Ouien
NHbe-"who knowS?' The richly sculptured
lacade is Of curious design and workmanship,
and in it is a stone bearing this inscription:
: Este obra mando harcerc cl
ApELANrAp" u. FRANCISCO DE MoNTEJo, !:
lno de MDXI.IX.
.--..,............ ................. ......:
which. translated reads that the Governor.
Don Francisco Montcio. caused il to be made
IN The year l1i9. The carving represents two
"oi'ierlui hnghts. armed cap--iic. with Wis
ors. hrea>t-plates and helmets. standing upon
tile shoulders Of crushed and naked figures
and Is probably intended to represent the con-
guering Spaniard> trampng upon the Indians.
No doubt it is combination of Spanish and
Indian art-the design certainly SPANISH but
aN ii was executed only five wears after the
foundation Of Merida, when the >paniar,ls
We're comparatively few and each considered
himself 1ir>t-clas> ConInt$taIor, there We're
none IN those days who prarticrd mechanic
arts Hence II is believed to be the work of
aboriginal artists. carved at Spanish dicfalon,
With their own rude Instruments.
lhl> facade Is said to have cost nearly S15,-
oa0. For hall century or more the building
has been in possession of the Pcon family
the first noble Don of that name having owned
such vast estates and controlled as many serfs,
that to this day all the ing classes Of McXi-
60 are called peons.
Ihc streets of Merida cross each other at
! right angles. and eight OF them lead out of the
Plaza Mayor-two in the direction of each
cardinal point. In every street. at the distance
OF few squares from the center, stands an
ancient gateway. arched high above the pave
meat and just hey ond are the Jarri0s, or sub
urbN. Not long ago the now diSmamled
nitrhe over each great gateway held its Christ
or saint or Virgin. before which people We're
forever kn"eling and crossing themselves.
Formerly all the streets We're distinguished
III a manner peculiar to \ ucatan-hv images
of birds or beasts set up at the corners, and
many stil retain the arcicnt sign. For eX-
| ample. the street upon which we are living is
| called La Cdile del f1ominGo, because of a
huge red llamingo painted on the corner house
Another Is known As the street of the ELEPHANT
anI the representation OF it is an exaggerated
| animal, with curved trunk aud body big as a
barrel. There is the street of the Old Woman
and on its corner is the carcature of an aged
female. with huge spectacles asride her nose.
The street OF the Two Faces has double faced
human head: and there are others equally
striking. The reason for this kindergarten
sort of nomenclature was because when the
streets were named the great mass of inhabi-
tan> We're Indians who could not read, and
| therefore printed signs would have been no
Use 10 them, but the picture of a bull, fla
mingo or an elephant they could not mistake
AS H.. ril.,n ..it, i.'s
distinguishing feature is its churches The
great cathedral, erected in 1867, is of quaint
and attractive architecture; and besides there
Is the Church OF the JesuitS, the Church and
Convent of san Crestobal, the Church and
Convent of Mcjorada. the Church of Santa
Lucia and the Virgin, the Chapes of San Juan
l'auti>ta, and of our Lady of Candelaria, the
Convent de las Mon|aS, and others too numer
Gus to mention. Though now impoverished
| and some of them in decay, number of them
still retain enough rich ornaments and vest
incit> to furnish suggestions Of former gram
delir.
Since the expulsion of the JeSuitS, nearly a
quarter of century ago, all religious process
>lons have been prohibited on the streets
much church property has changed ownership
| and even the names of streets and places have
been altered to suit the anti-Catholic times.
Thus one of the pleaSanteSt squares, formerly
known rs the Plaza de Jesus. is now called
Plaza llidalgo. In the old days this park had
all tAceculnSlN quaint anu DeautlIul statue IN
the center, Which-sad to >ay-haS been replaced
by an ordinary statue Of the hero whose name
it bears and who in these patriotic days really
seems to receive more worship than the Catho-
lie Jesus.
One of Meridas most interesting etlifices is
the Old FRANCISCAN convent. 1t stands on an
eminence in the eastern part of the town, en-
closed by high wall with turrets and forms
what is now called FL Castillo. Though the
walls and towers are still erect, the ruin with
III them is irretrevable. 1t was in 1920 when
the new constitution, which a few Mexican
patriots had obtained in spain, reached the
colonies; and on the last DAY of May in that
year the Jcfe I'OiuicO of the province, Senor
Don Juan Rivas Nertiz, published it in the
plaza. The church. of course, was bound to
sustain the old order of things long as pos
>ible; and the Franciscan Friars, confident in
their hold upon the popuIace. endeavored to
suppress this demonstration of 'Liberaf' feel
ing. mob speedily gathered in the plaza
and Il NlcSican mob is a terrible thing, for un-
der strong excitement these ignorant. hot
bloode'l, Supersttious and irresponsible lower
classes are like so many lunaics. The Friars
appeared among them. craftily melting and
| urging them on. Finally tiehl-peces We're
| brought out by which the rabb!e was dispers-
ed; and then Juan Rivas, at the head of a
force. marched 20 the Franciscan convent,
forced open its doors, expelled its 300 monks
| at the point of the hayonet, and gave up the
building to destruction.
Seeing that their day was done the Superior
ami hu>t of the Brotherhood became Secuars,
or Regular priests; others turned to worldly
| pursuits: ahd of the once powerful Order.
winch really ruled the land far more than
| Spanish Hing as local potentates, not one is
| now left to wear the FRANCISCAN garb.
| Passing through the great portal of the castle
wall. we enter an overgroWn court yard. In
front is the old Convent. with its immense
| corridors and two large churches. the walls Of
all still! standing. hut windowleSS and dOorlesS.
The roofs of two of them have tumbled in, but
| the Oldest of the buildings-that identified with
the time OF the CvnIueror>, strangely enough
is best preserved. Near its antique doorway
| now stands Il blacksmith's forge, where all day
workmen are hammering at bars of red-hot
iron. Along the floors are bevys of half naked
Indians, noisily engaged in the business of
making gun car riages for artillery No doubt
these are better days for the country, since the
| overthrow of the clerical party-but mournful
| to behold is the desecration of this and other
noble buildings. Being also occupied AS bar
racks, arms are stacked along the walls, and
course) are First Squadron" 'Second Squad
| ron,' etc.; white under golden gloria, that
must once have been the pride of the place.
appears the words, "Comp'y Light Infantry"
| Remains of holy affairs are piled about in
| heaps. and upon the ruins of several groups of
| swarthy soldiers were squatted, playing cards
| or awkwar,lly repairing their dirty linen. In
| the sacristia. and in the floor near where the
| High Altar stood, We're open vaults, in which
| the bones of long-dead Monks may still be
seen, though most of them have been scattered
about in sacrilegous jest. The long refractory
where the brotherhood took their meals and
| perhaps enjoyed an occasional carouse is now
| used for stabling the mules and horses, and
| arms are stacked around the old stone fountain.
But more interesting than any of these, since
| it carries the beholder back through the centur-
| les to an unknown period, is something which
| tells of agreater and sadder fall In one of the
| lower clOisters, under the main dormitory, are
two parallel corridors. The outer one, facing
| the principal patio, has that peculiar arch
| older than Spanish or Moorish and differing
entirely from all their rules of architecture
| SO often found in the buried and ruined cities
| of Yucatan and Central America. The two
| sides rise to meet each other, and when within
| about foot of forming an apex, are covered
| by fiat layer of stones. Beyond doubt it
once formed part of one of those mysterious
| structures which have given rise to so much
| speculation, the construction of which has been
variously ascribed TO the most ancient people
of the Old World, and to lost and unknown
| races.
| In Cogolludo's account Of the conquest of
| Yucatan, it is stated that when the Spaniards
arrived at the Indian town Tihoo, (On the site
| Of which Merida now stands, they found many
"hills made by hand" or artificial mounds, and