Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1890-10-03

OLD HEAVEN SCAIERS.
A Mould Higher than EiffeI Tower Seen
by a Mexican Miner and Built by the
Hand of Man

Mound Higher than EiffeI Tower Seen
by Mexican Miner and Built by the
Hand of Man
Charles j. Wimple, one of the wealth
lest miners of Mexico. is a recent arrival
IN San Francisco To representative of
the Call of that city he told the following
wonderful story: You have asked me to
give an account of the interesting noun
tain my friend, Jesse d. Grant. and my
self saw during our trip through Mexico en-
route to this city. Well, the mountain Is
at once one Of the most gigantic exhibit
tons of man 5 handiwork and something
almost beyond Credence were we not al
ready familiar with the works of the Az
tees. Just imagine valley forty or fifty
miles in area, and from its center arising
a mound over l 200 feet in he ght. 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 sur
prise. but we had treated his story with
IncredulouS remarks, and had by no means
suspected he had but given modest des-
crirtion of the mound.
I'VE gazed to the top and allowed our
eyes to follow the windings of aroad down
to the base. We went around the base
and cOnjectured that it was about one and
a half miles In circumference Then we
started for the summit The roadway was
built of solid rock clear to the pinnacle
and was from thirty to foA ty feet in width
A wall of solid rock formed foundation
and an inside wall at the same time. The
stones weigh all the way up to ton each
and are not cemented. The roadway is as
level as a floor, and is covered with broken
pieces of earthenware Nater-vesSeS.
Half way up the mountain is an altar
cut in solid rock; in the niche is a 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 were
dressed by skilled workmen, but are not
polished. We saw no inscriptions; in fact
we bad no time to spare in making a
searching lnVeSti~. ton. We did look for
arrowheads or other warlike implements
to satisfy ourselves that the mound had
not been used for defensive or offensive
purpose.
Nor was there any evidence to prove
that the roadway ha0 been built for he
purpose of witnessing bull-fghts and other
sports in the valley. could only CON
clude the Aztec sun-worshiperS expended
Years of labor upon the bill in order that
they might have an appropriate place to
celebrate their imposing festivals, mas
much as the road way was strewn with
broken earthenware, and those sciOns of a
bygone and notabl. race were known to
carry at sunrise large quantities of water
on earthenware jars to an eminence and
there pour out the liquid and smash the
vessels.
when we descended we brought with
us number of small sea shells which had
petrifed 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
Obong 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 cliff dwellers have left such re-
markable mementOs of their skill and
customs, but have never witnessed any
thing so won leriu and magnificent as
the mound which have been telling you
about
The valley is about 800 feet above the
sea level. and is about seventy miles from
the coast. 1t is situated in Sonora. be-
tween the cities of Alter and Magdalena
and near the Magdalena river We called
the curiosity Pallsade Mountain, and it is
well named.