The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-01-01
OUR MEXICAN LETTER.
From tho Ruins WHO Makes - Trip Over
- Rough Mountain Road.
fSDccial COrrespOndcnce

STATE OF DURANGO, Mex, Dec. b
Since writing my last, in which ] men
toned some ruins, i have discovered from
the old man who showed us that, that
there are many other ruins hidden in
various places, but which are entirely I'M
known TO the explorers as yet, for two
reasons. This part Of Mexico is less I'M
derstOOd and has been less explored than
any of the other districts on account OF
the extreme dislike of the natives to for
cign encroachment of any Kind or even
presence, ana when the secret of any such
place Is known the natives conceal it AZ
long rs possible. Besides, all this part Of
the country has for many years been so
Overrun with robbers that few people who
had the temcrity TO try to go through
them ever came away again.
The old man told US that some twelve
years agoa man with quite a party and with
strange accOutrcmenk passed through
there looking at everything. and report
has it that he was hunting for ruins, but
as those who knew of this place and
others, thought he was hunting for
precious metals, they made it their bust
ness to mislead him as far as they could.
From descriptions, | imagine it must have
been the French explorer, Chenet, who
spent so many profitable years in this
country. The presence was too recent to
have been Humboldt, and it was doubtless
this patient Frenchman. IL is a pity he
missed these ruins, which would have
doubtless afforded him more valuable in
sight into the subject he wa studying.
After we left the the old mans hut,
where we received the truest kind If hos
pitality. we started boldly along, up the
mountains, for the most part doing our
travelling on foot, az it was all the animals
could do TO drag the vehicles along. 1t
was amusing TO hear the cook, or Moo,
swear in Mexican "a some unusual jerk
would put the dishes or water jars OF
some other of his W part Of the load to
iingling. He could not utter a word
while in motion, so he would stand still
with his hands upstretched and call down
all the vengeance of the whole calendar
of saints upon the road, the driver, the
carriage and / think on US also.
At last we reached a level spot where
we could rest for dinner, and while the
MozO was preparing it, and moaning over
the fact that a small jar containing a
ccntipedc and scorpion had got broken
and the alcohol had soaked into q box Of
crackers, the little woman and myself
wandered to one side and looked at the
magnificent scene spread ont around us,
above and below Us. Mountains, preci-
pices and frightful ravines in every direc-
ton, v hich looked all the more abrupt
from the distance.
After dinner We pushed on rs far as our
straining beasts could 90, and then camped
for the night in a little valley scarcely
large enough to turn the wagon around in.
After the inevitable putting up of those
pretty crimps we sat for a moment by the
fire, for il was cold enough to make one
not only pleasant, but necessary. The
little woman said;
IL see something up there that looks
like two points Of fire.
\ glance showed me what it was-a
jaguar or panther; but ! turned it OF
carclcssly and persuaded her TO wrap up
warmly and sleep in the wagon, "A the
ground was too cold; and then | kept
piling on wood little by little all that long
night and watching, with my rifle in hand
and my pistols by my side, for any move
toward us Of the brute. IL moved about
restlessly, and yet never came nearer, and
when daylight came it disappeared alto
gcther. EDWARD NILO.