The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-07-07
THE SUN WORSHIPERs.
a Stone Roadway Built by Them 1900
Feet Up Mound.
From the San Francisco Gail.


From the San Francisco Call
Charles j. Wimple, one of the wealthiest
miners of Mexico, is a recent arrival in the
city. To a representative of the Call he
told the folio wing wonderful story:
~ on have asked me to give an account
OF the interesting mountain my friend,
Jesse u. Grant, and myself saw during our
trip through Mexico en- route to this city.
Well, that mountain is at once one of the
most gigantic exhibitions of mans handi-
work, and something almost beyond Gre
dence were we not already familiar with
the works of the Aztecs
Just imagine valley forty by thirty
miles IN area, and from its center rising d
mound over 1900 feet in hight. Then you
can realize the first effect created upon our
minds when we came before the hill | am to
describe. My foreman was with US, and
had partly prepared us for the surprise, but
we had treated his story with incredulous
remarks, and had by no means suspected he
had but given a modest description of the
mound.
1--WE gazed at the top and allowed our
eyes TO follow tue winnings of road down
to the base. We went around the base and
conjectured it was about 10 miles in cir
conference. Then we started for the sum
NIT. 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 a foun-
dalton and an inside wall at the same
time. The outer edge of the road was I'M
guarded. These stones weigh all the way
up to ton each and are not cemented. The
roadway is as level as a floor, and is Gov
cred with broken pieces of earthenware
water vessels
Half way up the mountain is an altar
cut in solid rock; in the niche is boulder
which must weigh at least six tons. The
boulder is of different stone from that used
in the walls. The rocks in the walls are
dressed by skilled workmen, but are not
polished. We saw no inscriptions; in fact,
we had no time tC spare in making a search
ing investigation. We did look for arrow
heads or other warlike implements to satisfy
ourselves that the mound had not been used
for defensive or offensive purposes. Nor was
there any evidence to prove that the road
way had been built for the purpose of wit
Messing bull fights and other sports in the
valley. l could only conclude the Aztec
sun worshipers expended years of labor on
the hill in order that they might have an
appropriate place to celebrate their impos-
ing festivals, inasmuch as the roadway was
strewn with broken earthenware, and those
sctons of bygone and notable race were
known to carry, at sunrise, large quantities
OF water IN earthenware Jars to an emil
nence, and there pour out the liquid and
smash the vessels
when We descended we brought with us
number of small sea shells which had
petrified, and if you look at these on my
table you will see how they have been per-
forated by the Indians. We again took a
long look at the mountain and saw it was
oblong in shape, and that the upward road
commenced on the eastern side. | have
travelled on both sides of the mountains
from British Columbia to Central America
and on either side of the Sierra Madres
where the clitf-dwellers have left such re-
markable mementos of their skill and GUS
toms, but have never witnessed anything
so wonderful and magnificent as the mound
which | have been telling you about.
1.-THE valley is about 600 feet above the
sea level, and is about seventy miles from
the coast. 1t is situated in Sonora, between
the cities of Altar and Magdalena, and near
the Magdalena river. We called the curl
osity Palisade mountain, and it is well
named.