Arizona weekly citizen., 1888-04-28
LIFE AMONG THE MEXIcANs
En Route to the Famous Cavern of Casa- huamtipa. Scenes in Southern Mexico.

AAo'S-tiS A1 tnis queer State or MOrel(
 should not ffil to visit tbe cavern ,
 Cacshusmilps, whose actual wonder
 surpsss anything found by Sinbad, th
 Sailor. or all descriptions ot the fable
 sbodes Of the Genm. IL hes in ths
 rugged mountain range about thirt
 miles southwest of tne state csDit.
 Cuernsvacs, and is Of 60 unknown n e,
 tent, having us yet been explored onI
 to the distance of ten or twelve miles.
 Until 6 comparatively recen; perio
 the great cave was known only to th
 Indians alone, or if the early SpaniGri
 had heard anything about It, its exi-
 Ienoe was entirely forgotten, Some ]
 years ago. s noted criminal for whor
 the country Was being secured, sough
 1t ss place ot refuge. and ID huutinl
 for him the cavern was re-discovered
 Although in former days It may hay,
 been used as place of worship, by Iol
 tees, Tlahuicas, or some other vanishe,
 people, superstItlous fears have ksp
 the modern Indians of msny generation.
 as Tar away from It as possible; since al
 the natives roundabout firmly believ,
 that within iis shining reccsses
 THE EVIL SPIRIT HAS HIS DWELLING,
 in the form of goat with horns and
 long beard, who guards the entrance tC
 his subterranesn abode And, true enough, just inside that vast and gloomy
 palace there IS such figure, surrounded
 by many other myterIou., gigantic and
 most extraordinary forms, which it Is scarcely possible to believe are only the fantastic productions of the waters that. through slow centuries. has been trick ling, drop by drop, from the lofty roof. The few natives who, from any cause, have ventu:ed within the portal aud be- held these appaEitiOns. brought bach such wild tales to theIr oFedqlJus com psniOns, That even the neigh OOrhOOd Of the enchanted mountain has been care fully avoided, especially a. night, and people spoke of it ID whispers.
 But several celebrated travellers have visited the place; snd few years Ggo great cavaloBde of Mexican notables, headed by the President, made a pil. grimage here, meeting with numerous accidents and adventures. Perhaps the best description Of the cavern ever gwen Is that by one of the party, St nor Antonio Cubss, we'll known Mexicsn geoVrsph- CT and ststIstician, in hIs Una EKcur- sion de Ia CRyerns de Cacahusmilps."
 As Is usually the case. Ihe iDfoIma- tion concerning the cavern that eau be obtained in it's yicinsge is scaBty iu- deed, the people whereabouts being in- ierested only in keeping st 8 respectful distance, But Mexico is not singular in tbis respect. In the course of my life I have met many kentuckisns, and-hav- ing always great curiosity concerning the one wonder of that state-I have said to each aud every one of them: II suppose you have visited the Mammoth Osve?' And. actually, have never yet seen 6 person from Kentucky who replied in the affirmative. though most of them hvowed their attention Of dong the cave ''someiimer IL is the way Os the world, you ku0~, to p1: of inyesti- gstIng things close 6t hand. though oth- CTS cross the ocean tO see them. Even General Morgan, late American Minister in Mexico, cOEfesses tO hsving Gweit lonS within twenty mils- cf the Pyra- mids of GiZeh, yet left Egypt without ever having seen themi
 Of course our CuernHv6cq acq1aint- ances endesvOred 10 dIssusde Us from the journey, telling us disoOu- aging tales of
 "PERILs BY SEA AND PERILs BY LAND" in the shape of rashing rivers to DG forded sad robbers hidden in lonely gorges of the mountains, but we long ago learned that those expeditions which are easy of accomplishment, and which all the world has made, are generally not worth the making. With consider able difficulty. ve induced several snia- bly, disposed Americans, exilCs, like our selves, tO make up party, which WAS joined by two young Ger man ladies. resident Italian and his wife, and a charming MeTisang. attended by several of her male relatives.
 The cavern Can ba reached only on horseback; end ss DO hotel accOmmo- istions are obtainable. blankets, p5Ovis- ion, etc, for several days had tO be 'toted," besides lot of colored lights and fireworks iha. our Mexican friends insisted upon taking. UI;b which to illuminate the crystal walls of lhe i3- terior. to the imminent danger of the donkey upon whose back they were packed, and which we mOmeEtsrily eI- pected to see ascending skyward in small particles, like the dog Sycamore that swallowed the fire crackers.
 As mentioned h pTeviOus letter, this old. old city lies HbUu: four thousand 'eet above the sec, on q spur of land L.. .eHHaH by two bgrrsuc.s, or ravInes, of yreat length and dizzy depth. Because Df It's natural sItuBtIon tine ancient io- ] lsbilsnts (whsn the town WAS known as The FlOwe!-surroundsd') 1 considered themselves perfectly secure l rom the assaults Ot any enemy. And | indeed CuauhnRhuRc was one Of the 1 most difficult captures Ot all the Span l sh invasion, held in the embrace of l hese two stupeaduous gulleys and | packed by SD impossible mountain. l While the rest of Mexico wss falling | nto the hands of the greedy COnquis- sdores. its citiZens (the peaceful Tlshu- cas) went calmly about their business, | believing their ancient stronghold Im- | )regnable. But alasi
 HEX REcKoSED WITHOUT THEIR HOST, lsving had DO previous experience with | Christian" warriors. l ibink it wRs m I be spring of l52l, while preparations were going on for the final investment ,f the Aztec capital, that the Spanish I Irmy, purely for lhe pleasure uf the COZ luest and the hope of finding gold. con ,luded to attack unCffertirg Cuerusvhcb. For long time they could make no being completely beiiled Sy he deep rayines that encOmpssseG the owu, At last, while searchiug m vsin or bridge or mesus Co make one, some If the Ioldiers found two treee. which lad happened to tall acr ss the narrow st portion of the sUysmai chsnnel ID uch s way that theIr t'pmos, branches ested insecurely upon one side and heir roots on the other. Over this per lous pathway the intrepid rsscal- crawl d, aon all fours," st the risk ot their ives, rallied on the other side and cap ured the ssionished town.
 confess I never ccCid believe this tory. ss told by the old chroniclers, un- Il I had viewed the rayinC myself. per isps at the very spot where the eouquer- ITS crossed, Then readily ssw that. hough hazardous, it vas possible Tor hem to have accomplished li; out no me need doubt that as the books say, numbers of them fell off, through dlzzl- iess, and were dashed ID pieces on the