Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1889-09-07
MARvrLs OF OLD MrxICo.
A search For Montesuma's Treasure
The Moving of q Orvat MOnolith.


Extensive excavations are being made
near the city OF Mexico, nj . place on the
outskirts of the wilderness known ss the
Pedregal, or Stony Ground, which In for
iner years was noted as a hannt ofbrigands,
and II even now considered rs resort fof
dangerous characters.
The object OF the excavations, which are
being made by private associations, IL to
recover treasures Of gold and jewels sup.
posed to be hidden there by Montexuma ut
The time Of the Spanish conquest.
Senor Mercado, one Of the party engaged
In this work, lineal descendant Of the
last Aztec emperor, Cuantemac, says tina.
he has in his possession bleroglyphfc docu-
ments which convince him that II WAS In
the Pedregal that Montezuma hid his
treasures. among other things huge
golden sun. a few weeks ago valuable
black pearl was found. and also an emerald,
near some skeletons discovered In subter-
ranean passage.
The excavations are described ~ very
remarkable, having already disclosed a
subtcrranean staircase, winding passages
and vaults, jaw bones and skelesons desti :
tute of teeth. thus, according to Senor Mcr-
cado, proving beyond question that the
Indians buried were pure Aztecs. He
estimates the value Of the buried treasure
at not less than $20,OOO,OO0, but says that
others engaged i'm the work of hunting the
treasure put 1t at s3O0,OOO,OD. The fore
most arch@logists are OF the opinion that
something may be found, and that the In
trinsic value OF the things buried by Mon
tezuma are surpassed by their historical
importance. II has been held by some that
Montczuma hid his treasures In Lake Tox-
COCO, and much has been done there In the
way Of dredging, but nothing has been
found Scnor Batres, tho great native
archGologlst, II interested In this search,
and people high In authority are said to be
lending their aid.
dispatch from tho City of Mexico says
that the removal of tho great monolIth. the
Goddess of Water, from the ancient Toltec
city of Teotihuacan IL attracting wide
spread attention. The top of tho statue Is
below the surface Of the surrounding plain,
and IT Is ten feet deeper in the ground. 1t
IL of granite, contains 2d2l cubic feet OF
solid rock, and 100 pounds per cubic foot Is
low estimate for u. MIR. Batres
estimates its weight at twenty-five tons.
A temporary railroad track nearly
three miles long will be laid from
the station on the Mexican railroad.
Its age IL supposed To bc about 400 years.
Its square shape and severely grim Toltec
features all bespeaks its ffth century
sculpture. In clearing away the rubbish
that had accumulated around the goddess,
the mouth of n tunnel was uncovered. 1t
Is nearly seven feet high, and runs straight
back into the mound about sixty feet, and
has four side tunnels Of little length. In
its roof, sides, bottom--in fact, everywhere
are to be found fragments of pottery,
boncs obsidian, etc. The ground was COW
cred with q smooth coating of pure lime
mortar. Traces of steps or terraces are
seen on all Its sides.
Tho Indians at first made strenuous
objections To the removal Of the goddess.
They said that its mission was to guard the
treasures Of the sacred city, but they finally
gave u reluctant consent.