Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1888-07-28

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the pride and pomp of the Conquistadores
as they stood here with sword and halbred,
crucitix and blood-red banner.
! From Cabo de Catoche we proceeded to
the island of Cozumel, which lies directly
/ south some 20 miles, and is historically
one of the most interesting spots on this
side of the world. 1t was discovered by
Grijalva in 1918, and Cortez set sail for it
during the following year. To the natives,
Its -Cozumel-signifed "Place of
Swallows" 1t is about so miles long, and
is now almost uninhabited, covered with a
dense growth of trees ana tangled creep
eIs.
Having followed in the wake of Mon
tejo's feet, We landed precisely where his
! 400 soldiers came ashore-where Cortez
had rendezvoued eight years beforehand
stood in the very spot where the Spaniards
/ took possession of the place by planting
their royal standard and shouting "Espana
Espana viva Espana p
Diaz says: "There was on this island
temple and some hideous idols, to which
all the Indians of the neighboring dis
tricts used frequently to go in solemn pro-
cesson." Of course the conquerors lost no
time in pitching out these gods and setting
up the cross in their places. The Spaniards
boosted that ON this island they found
cities composed of stone houses, white
and lofty" They reported "there were so
many such stone edifices that they were
amazing, and the greatest wonder was that,
having no use of any metal, the people
were able to raise such structures, which
seem to have been temples"
! Many vestiges Of the ancient population
are still easily accessible. Not more than
200 feet from the sea, visible above the
tops from the decks of passing vessels,
/ Is a magnificent relic. 1t is a structure 16
! feet square standing on a terrace, with ex-
] terror Of plain stone, succeed and PAINTED,
traces Of the latter being clearly distin-
guishable. 1t has steps on all four sides
/ leading up to four doorways that face the
cardinal points and open into narrow cor
ridors encompassing small room.
\ little farther south and some six hun
! dred feet inland stands another building,
also on a raised terrace, consisting of a
single apartment having two doorways and
1 is ten feet, and under the queer trian-
Z SNilsb dlNll stlC lltt ltliidliIS vi
Doubtless their ruined temples lie bur-
ried in the deep woods, visited only by
venomous serpents and birds of gorgeous
| plumage, unknown even to the lazy In
/ dians who sometimes come to hunt turtles
along the shore, almost under the shadow
of these mighty works of their ancestors.
| Escorted by a couple of natives our party
went little way into the forest to view a
! Spanish church, whose history, though
comparatively modern, is as obscure as the
oldest temples whose worship it supplanted.
1t is two hundred feet deep by seventy
I feet front. Bits of plastering still adhere
to its crumbling walls, and along the base
/ runs line of painted ornaments The
/ great altar yet stands but is covered with
creepcrs, among which grows sturdy
cactus tree Of the nopal variety. When
it was buill, 10y whom, OF why abandoned,
there is nobody to-day in New Spain who
can tell you. Not even tradition clines
to II, except one which serves to show
/ the ignorance Of the coEquerers regarding
! the true value of these discoveries. 1t
seems that Bonito Perez, a priest who
came over with Griialva, solicited from
the Spanish King the bishopric of this
island; while at the same time a more dis
tinguished ecclesiastic was asking for that
of the island of Cuba. The King adj
vanced the latter to what he considered
the higher honor of the bishopric of this
island, and put off poor Perez with what
was supposed to be the insignificant see of
Colhua," or Mexico-which soon became
one of the richest bishoprics in the world.
A little way north of Cozumel, and
about six miles from the coast. is Isla
Muieres (Woman's Island), which is only
about six miles long by half mile wide.
Some of Cortez' soldiers went ashore here
and found four temples in the town, the
idols in which represented female figures
OF colossal size-hence its name. Here
DIR. lie Plongeon discovered terra Gotta
female figure which had once formed the
front of an incense-burner, and is of ex-
cellent workmanship, the more valuable
because OF the extreme rarity of ceramic
works in 4ucatau and its islands.
In the northern end of Muieres are the
remains of remarkable stone temple. its
interior divided into corridors and the
triangular arch of its ceiling giving evil
dence of the same builders as those on
the main land Mr.. ODER says: "a
happy confirmation Of the statement of
Diaz that these people burned incense
was made here. Desiring to varnish some
negatives in order to carry them safely
home, | put some live Goals into the
bottom of an incepsc-burner picked up
here), and went into the shrine to pro
tect it from the wind when, 10 slight
vapor arose from among the Goals, and
sweet, delicious perfume again filled the
antique shrine, as in the days of its
splendor, when devotee5 and pilgrims from
afar used to make their offerings and burn
the mixture, carefully prepared of styrax,
copal and other aromatic resins, on the
altar of the goddess"
| wish | could picture to you the singl-
lar beauty of this bit of land, encompassed
by the blue-green waves of the gulf. In
agine small, sandy beach, with a rocky
coast..on either side. Mangrove and cocoa
nut trees grow to the waters edge, except
where broken by tiny clearings surround
! ing the palm-leaf hut of some lonely fish
| erman. We approached the nearest clear
ing and found a sun-dried Indian squatted
under an arbor matched with palm, busily
| repairing an old net, while his wife and
half-grown boys We're weaving new ones
from sisal hemp
1t was intensely hot, and millions of
sand-fiies made life intolerable The fam
lily we had raided charitably gave us each
hammock to rest in, 4 leaf of palm with
which to defend ourselves, fresh-picked
cocoanut, and drink of tepid water from
the nearby spring. Thus refreshed, we
lay at ease and looked about us. Near the
shore were immense focks of sea-birds on
the piles Of turtle enclosure, and over
head lowered cloud Of white ibises All
along the beach were strewn the rotting
carcasses of turtles covered with swarms
of flies, actually heaving with corruption.
Turtle-catching is quite business here.
Three kinds abound in these waters-the
Cahuamo, whose eggs serve for food, and
which Is useful besides only for its oil
! the Tortuga, of which the meat as we'll as
the eggs are eaten, which also produces
! oil, and whose shell is worth % cents per
pound; and the Karc, whose she'll sells
| for So per pound.