Arizona weekly enterprise., 1888-01-07
THE PYRAMIDS OF MEXICO.
Dedicated to the Sun and Moon The
 Fury of the Franciscan.

Mexico Cor. New Orleans Times Democratl
 At distance the pyramids present no evidence of their artificial origin. ap- bearing rather like isolated hills, GOV cred with nopales and scanty growth of vegetation It is only on closer sur vey, when you make the laborious ascent of the larger mounds that you discover unmistakable signs of their being the handiwork of man, in spite of the efforts nature has made to claim them as her own. The principal monu- ments are the pyramids, tunuli and fortress.
 Of the two pyramids the larger was dedicated to the sun and the smaller to the moon. They were once divided into four stor es or terraces, although time mas long since destroyed the lines ,of di- ys on. The mater al compos: nq them IS a mixture of st ne, mud, tepetal and tezonti, the two latter be ng volcanic stones of q l orous nature, and the whole structure was formerly covered with pla ter or stucco of lime and sand of redd sh color, like that which is said to cover the ruins of Palenque.
 At intervals, while following the up- ward path, one finds eS tensive rents in the thick layers of earth and yeget lti0n which have accumulated during past ages, and then the composition of these stupend Jus works masonry is plainly revealed Remains of spacious stair case leading up to the teocalli may also be seen. Tradition says that both pyramids are hollow, but hitherto all efforts to excavate them have proved fru tless. In Metztli or the Moon, there Is hole looking t-ward the south and situated up about two-thirds of its height, which IS prolonged into a kind of gallery. extending, however, only comparatively short distance; the walls are covered with unburnt brick, and at the further end there Is we'll.
 The foregoing facts we were obliged to take upon trust, as the narrowness of the opening and our cumbersome female attire prevented us from exploring in person the mysteries of the interior We were more fortunate, however, in Investigating an excavation in one of the tumuli situated near the pyram q the Moon, which after cons dera0le amount of scrambling we suc oeeded in entering. We found spacious gallery with small rooms at the side and inter sected by another gallery in such a man. her as to form a cross. Directly in front of this opening there stands huge piece of hewn stone, some ten feet in height, upon which large, round face is rudely carved. This relic of an ii ut was supposed to have been 1 hurled down from the posit on 1t for merly occupied upon the pyramid of the Moon.
 A little further on, at the end of kind of plafuela is anothr r co!os al blC ok of stone upon which is @ rough representation of what might be con- sidered the moon. Both pyramids were formerly crowned by statues of the di- whites to wh ch they were dedicated; i; that which adorned the Sun being GOV cred by plates of furnished gold, which reflected the first beams of the king of day. These figures are said to have been eXtant at the me the Spaniards entered the country, but they soon be- came prey to the unsuitable cupidity of the conquerors, whose thirst for gold made them sacrifice every consideration ill order to gratiTy this passion
 Owing to the fury of the Franciscan, Zumarraga, none of the antiquities of Te2ochtitlan were allowed to escape de- struction, if they chanced to fall within his reach, and the idols of San Juan de Teotihuacan shared the universal doom The pyramid of Tanat.nh, or the Sun, is lo0 feet high and 6S2 feet long at the base, comparing favorably with the great pyramid of Cheops in Egypt, the latter being 44S feet high and FPS at the base. The view obtained from the summit is sufficient reward for the la Dor of climbing its steep sides. To the southeast lies the land of Tlascala, so intimately associated with the conquest !; little further to the south the plains of Apam and Peubla de las Angeles. while to the west tower those giant mountains that guard the valley of Mexico.