The Delta independent., 1890-02-25
AZTEC CIVILIZATION.
Vast Tracts of Old Mexico Waiting to Be
Explored.
Ruins of Many Ancient citls. Of Large Pop.
ulation Already Discovered Veg
station the Bar to Research De-
vslopment by Northern People.

o1at1on AI1eaoV Obcovereo-Irop1cal veg
station the Bar to Rssearch-Rapid De-
velopment by Northern People.
A good many American people are
not very we'll informed about our
sister republic Mexico. They imagine
that it is small country, when as
matter OF fact it is one-fourth the size
OF our own, and is larger than any
country in Europe excepting Russia.
1t is, however, singularly undeveloped.
This fact is admitted by its own most
patriotic citizens. Mr.. Arturo De Or
tiega, wealthy planter and land
owner OF Chiapas, who is on visit to
New York speaking of this fact, said:
There are vast tracts OF my country
which have never been explored. and
others which were explored long ago
but Of which the records have been
lost or even the memory forgotten.
In Sonora and chihuahua are valleys,
mountains. lakes and rivers which ap-
pear upon no map. There are min
eral deposits as rich as any in Califor-
mia or Colorado, which were worked
with great profit in the last century,
but which are absolutely forgotten to-
day.
''This condition of affairs is largely
due to the long struggle between the
Mexicans on the one side and the Apa-
ches and Comanches on the other.
While in the long run the Indians were
vanquished, and even driven out OF the
country into the United States, or else
converted into peaceful inhabitants,
yet the struggle made those states un-
popular, and drove many OF their best
inhabitants into the states further
south; so that it may be questioned If
they have the same population to-day
within 10 per cent as they had 100
years ago. So strong was this feeling
and its consequent movement that
many towns were abandoned, SO that
1t is not an uncommon sight to find
churches and haciendas utterly desert
ed and going to ruin in these portions
OF the Mexican republic. In the south
ern part OF Mexico are still larger
tracts OF land.
'.My own state OF Chiapas is good
illustration of this. 1t is vast state
with q very small population and with
such varied scenery and such an inn
measurable amount of vegetation that
1t is almost impossible to travel more
than a mile or two a day unless it be
upon the old road or: along water
courses which are SO important feat
ure in our geography. The Mexican
people are not so adventurous nor us
inquisitive as their northern neigh
bors. They have devoted very littlo
time to exploring Chiapas or the other
southern states OF Mexico.
'.Even with the little that had been
done, it had been found that all these
provinces were once the scene of a civ
iIization whose population. towns and
cities were much more numerous than
those of to-day. To what race they
belonged, whether Aztec or Toltec,
Kichean. Kichequilan or Gutilhan, we
know little or nothing. We do know
that they had attained to a moderately
high civiliz .tion, had halls. plazas,
city walls and great monuments. and
that their people had learned to work
many of the metals, both precious and
common. Thus far in my state the
remnants OF no less than twelve cities
have been discovered, each one OF
which must have represented popu-
lation OF more than 100000.
I'VE have in Mexico a large num-
Der of scientific societies, which have
done good work in studying these
remains and in collecting various OBJ
jects from the ruins. Besides these
societies. large number OF priests and
monks have devoted their leisure time
to similar pursuits, and have gathered
collections OF antiques iram this Mexi-
can past running from one TO several
thousand in number. The difficulty
involved IL easily conceived when you
remember that In single year the
vegetable growth Of our fertile soil
will form so impenetrable a barrier
as to require the use Of heavy knives
and hatchets for a person to make his
way through it. The descriptions OF
the awful African forests made by STAN
ley describe with equal fidelity the for
est formations of southern Mexico.
I'm the past five years there has
been perceptible change for the bet
ter. A great many Americans have
come into our country, bringing with
them their characteristic energy and
restlessness, and at the same time we
have had a considerable influx OF inn
migrants from Spain, Portugal, Italy
and the Mediterranean lands. Very
states. the majorities having settled in
our cities or in the central or southern
provinces OF the nation. They have
already signalized their advent by
opening up large pieces OF uncleared
lands, and by constructing roads into
hitherto inaccessible territory. The
result in the next five years is bound
TO be the discovery of numberless dead
cities and vast increase in our knowl-
edge OF prehistoric Mexico"