Mohave County miner., 1890-11-22
the sum woesarpTas.
a sssas Ifeaawsy fsaiit w Thani 1890
Peel Up kSeand.

Charles j. Wimple. one Of the wealth.
Vet miners Of Mexico. II recent arr
rial In San Francisco. To 9 Fepresen-
tasive Of the CaA he told ths following
weadsrful story.
You have asked me to give an &C.
eonnt Of the interesting mountain my
friend, Jesse d. Grant. and myself saw
during our trip through Mexico en-
route 10 this city. Well. that noun
tain 10 at once one OF the most gigantic
exhibitions OF mans handlwork, and
something almost beyond credence
were we not already familiar with the
works Of the Aztecs.
Just imagine o valley forty by
thirty miles 10 area. and from lis CEN
ter rising mound over /, 200 feet in
height Then you can realize the first
effect created upon our minds. when
We came before the bill l am 10 de-
scribe. My foreman was with gis, and
had partly prepared US for the SUR
prise. but we bad treated his story
with incrednlous remarks. and had by
no means suspected he had but given
q modest description OF the mound.
I'VE gazed TO the top aud allowed
our eyes to follow the windings Of a
road down 10 the base. We went
around the base and conjectured II was
about one and half miles in circuni.
ference. Then we started !or the sum-
init. The roadway was built Of solid
rock clear to the pinnacle. and was
from thirty to forty feet In width. A
wall Of solid rock formed foundation
and an inside wall Mt tbs saane time.
The outer edge Of the road was IN.
guarded. These stones weigh all the
way up TO o ton each. and are not
cemented. The roadway is As level as
q noor. and Is covered with broken
pieces OF earthenware water vessels.
Half way up the mountain is an
altar cut In solid rock; In the niche is q
bowlder which must weigh at least six
tons. The bowider is OF different stone
from that used in the walls. The rocks
Ia the walls are dressed by skilled
workmen, but arc not polished. We
saw no inscriptions; In fact, we had no
time 10 spare in making searching
investigation. We did look for srrow-
heads or other warlike implements TO
satisfy ourselves that the mounds bad
not been used for defensive or offensive
purposes Nor was there any evidences
to prove that the roadway had been
built for the purpose Of witnessing bull
fights and other sports in the valley. |
could only conclude that the Aztec siin
worshipers expended years Of labor on
the bill 10 order that they might have
IN appropriate place to celebrate their
imposing festivals. inasmuch as the
roadway was strewn with broken
earthenware, aud those scions OF a
bygone and notable race were known
10 carry al sunrise large quantities of
water in earthenware jars to an erai.
nence and then pour out the liquid and
smash the vessels.
When we descended we brought
with us number OF small sea shells
which had petrided. and II you look at
these on my table you win see how
they have been perforated by the In
dians. We again took long look AT
the mountain and saw IL was oblong in
shape and that the upward road COM
menoed on the eastern side. l have
travelled on both sides Of the mountains
from British Columbia TO Central
America aud on either side OF the
Sierra Madres where the clif-dwellers
have left such remarkable mementos
of their skill and customs, but | have
never witnessed anything 90 wonder
ful and magnificent as the mound
which I have been telling you abouE.
THE valley Is about GOO feet above
the sea level, and Ia about seventy miles
from the coast 1t is SITUATED Ia Sonora.
between the cities of Altar and Magda-
lena, aud near the Maedalena river.
We called the curiosity Palisade moun.
tain, and Is well named