The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1888-02-16
CHOLULA'S PYRAMID.
ALL THAT is LEFT TO TELL OF
FORMER MAeNlFIcsNcE.
The Present CholuIa a Rare Gem OF
Beauty-View from the Pyramid
A Shrine on the Noun
tain Top. 4
Fannie B. Wards Letter.


Churultecal (the ancient name of Cholula)
is situated on plain and contains 20, 900
houses within the body of the town and
as many more in the suburbs Its people
are well dressed and the neighboring
helds exceedingly fertile. certify to your
ma esty that from one of the temples
have counted more than 400 towers and
they are all the towers of temples.
To-day no trace remains of the 40 900
houses and 400 tOwcrs-nothing but the
great pyramid to hint of former magnii-
cenCe. History has made familiar CorteZ'
tragic advent into the Rome of Anahuac-
how, through the medium of Donna Ma
rlna, he discovered a plot among the
ChOlulans to exterminate the hated in
vaders and determined to make an eX
ample of them which should strike terror
to the heart of the nation and make NJ on
teZuma tremble upon his throne beyond
the mountain. Treacherously assembling
all the chiefs and leading citizens in the
great square of the town. without mo-
ments warning COrteZ turned his arms
| upon them and slaughtered the defense
less people by thousands We are told
that the peaceful streets of ChuTultecal
| were crowded with the corpses of unof-
Tending citizens, their houses and temples
all burned to the ground and the near by
river Atoyac ran red with blood After
this Christian work the great temple on
top of the pyramid was solemnly purified
by COrtez order and the standard of the
cross uplifted above the desolated city.
The present Cholula is rare gem in
the way of pictureSqueness. Battle
mented churches surround its grass grown
plaza Cannon balls, bedded in all the
walls, tell of wars alarms, and among it's
numerous nun forsaken converts is one
now used as a prison, where the convicts
are forever weaving sashes on primitive
no Ind hI1ciT of
| everybody in this isolated community
| appears to be sash-weaving or relic hunt
ing Each little pulqueria and fondita,
where mild native intoXiCantS are dis
| pensed, has its collection of TOltec idols
and ancient pottery for sale among the
beverages. Ragged boys and barefooted
maidens follow the stranger about the
| streets importuning him to buy the gods
of their ancestors Fivehuudred-year- old
divinities of uIdoubted authenticity may
be bought for a few cents and for 81
or So one may purchase household gods
by the peck, and the sacred veSse's once
used in their worship Frequently small
vases or glazed and colored pottery are
unearthed in excavations, or are found in
tact in the fields and can always be
secured from their unappreciative owners
for tri1ling sum.
A we'll paved road, with steps cut in
at intervals, winds among rose bushes
and cypress trees to the top of the pyra-
mid. On its lofty summit, among tOmbs
of blue and yellow tiles. is an enormous
cross of carved stone, set close at the edge
of the terrace and bearing date 1866
From this point one of the most beautiful
view in the world is obtained, and here
Humboldt made many of his astronomical
observations. No less than twenty villages
may be counted within the near by circle
of hills: the fertile fields between look
Ito oin TO- oh al hos rH
like spiders webs, in all directions, and
the snow-topped volcanoes stand guard
o er ALL The church that now occupies
the site of { uetza,coatls temple is dedi-
Gated to an equally mythical divinity,
called the Nirgen de los Remedies.
Whether she was brought to Mexico by
one of Cortez' soldiers or was manufact
ured soon after their arrival here, is a
mooted question.
She is small, ugly wooden doll, bout
three feet high, evidently carved with a
rude knife, having holes gouged out for
eyes and mouth-and yet was supposed
to possess divine power to heal all wounds
and diseases The image was lost on that
memorable noche triste, when the Span
iards were forced to flee from the Aztec
capital, and nothing more was heard from
her for half century, till one day wan
dering Indian found her perched in the
heart of huge maguey on top of a bar
rem mountain. The restoration of the
image was joyfully hailed by the Span
iards, who proceeded to build a church
upon the spot where she was found, and
in which she was installed with great
ceremony, her shrine being a century
plant of solid silver. The original image
somewhat the worse for wear and tear
may still be seen by anybody who cares
to make mule back pilgrimage to that
lonely mountain. Your correspondent
no m To- iC bIrn
means worth the trouble.
AS long as Spain prOspered in Mexico,
untold sums were lavished upon this
Virgen de los Remedies. But byeand
bye she found a powerful rival in the
Creole Virgin, Guadalupe When Next
cos Washington-the brave Miguel Hi
dalgo-raised for his revolutionary stand
ard a picture of Guadalupe, his rebellion
assumed the character of a crusade. After
his defeat and execution the irgen de
los Remedies assisted in celebrating the
victory, borne about the streets of the
City of Mexico dressed in the full mill
tary costume of a Spanish general, every
where hailed as the patroness of Spain
and ccnqueror of her other self. the Creole
Virgin. The tables soon turned, however,
for when the revolutionary army finally
triumphed, the military sash was torn
from her sacred person by a bold soldier
of the opposition, she was reviled and
rolled ABOUT IN the dust, ana afterWard
the commanding officers made out her
passport, as for living person, and or
dered her to leave the country. She was
restored at length to her shrine on the
mountain top, but never to the older
honors and emoluments-which to day
are all bestowed upon her rival, Guada-
lupe, the patroness of the Indians
There being no publichouse in Cho-
lula, travellers must depend upon private
hospitality, or bring with them a
luncheon from Puebla. One may leave
the latter city early in the morning and
return at evening days time being
sufficient to "do" the sacred city A
more delightful excursion cannot be made
the wide world over, and what grander