Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1893-03-02
.ern wall Of the canyon and brought out
e, etronp relief fhe banded colors Of the


! ern wall Of the canyon and brought out
in strong relief the banded colors OF the
lime, sandstone and slate. The sky was
all aaame, and flood Of sunlight
poured over into the abyss, and tho
glowing, radiant orb appeared. The
people raised mighty shout, bowed
their heads before the god in prayer for
few moments and disappeared within
their houses. The day had begun in
Atzlan.
Kulcan stood beside the high priest,
neither of them joining in the welcoming
shouts nor the prayers of the populsce
as the sun rose. The eyes Of the young
er man were 30 blinded with tears that
he saw nothing of the scene, while lie en-
deayored to control his emotions. Be-
fore him stretched canyon less than q
mile in width at its widest part and mar
rowing to few feet in places, the eye
being lost in its sharp turns. Through
it ran stream about forty feet wide,
with many shallow fords, making curve
about the city and sinking into danger
ous quicksands at the western extrem-
ity. The walls Of the canyon, two thou
sand feet high above the city and sink.
ing to seven hundred feet at the western
end, had been terraced by the floods into
huge steps, upon which the ruined cliff
housls stood, one row above another.
Stairways and ladders were carved in
the rocky walls, giving access to the
heights above, although these were now
only used by venturesome urchins.
This city was built in huge circle
three thousand feet in diameter, form
ing, in fact, one continuous structure,
with large open courtin the center full
of fruit trees and garden plots. This
gigantic tenement contained nesrly a
thousand rooms, having in its eastern e9.
tremity seven stories Of apartments. It
was built in o regular and beautiful al
ternation of large and small square cut
stones laid in white mortar, or, more
strictly speaking, gypsum cement. There
had been in earlier times no doors OK
windows upon the ground floor, and the
entrance had been effected by ladders,
hundreds of which leaned against the
walls and protruded from the roofs; but
now few large doorways opened into
the fields outside the city.
The successive stories were set back,
one behind the other, leaving the high
est tier single line of apartments, each
story being reached by short ladders.
The houses were three rooms deep, OPEN
ing on the interior court, and connect
ing BY trnpdoors with the rooms below.
There were innuinerable trapdoors in
the roofs, through which the ends Of
the ladders appeared, pointing in every
direction, giving the-city the comical as
pect of forest of leaning bean poles.
Up the ladders children and even dogs
ran with ease and agility.
On the western end of the city the
houses were only one story in height,
imparting to the whole the appearance
of an amphitheater or vast fortress.
Within the court, toward the western
end, stood the temple. the highest build
ing of all. from the roof of which rose
the smoke of the perpetual fire. :.
All about the outskirts, and also with
in the court, were pleasant gardens and
fields cultivated to high degree by
irrigation. In places on the cliffs the
terraces had been converted into gardens.
walled and faced with neat masonry,
and with raised edges to hold water
upon the surface. to which the water
pipes ran.
Through the outer walls of the houses
projected for foot or two the cedar
poles forming the floors, and in some in
stances they were carried out far enough
to form balconies, upon which grew
trailing plants with great scarlet flowers
blazing in the spring sunlight in riotous
rivalry of color with the burning cliffs.
In this great beehive dwelt two thou
sand souls, one family above another,
the roof Of one forming the floor and
yard of the next above, the humblest
dwelling in the highest tiers, for the
mobiles and wealthy citizens, as matter
of course, were averse to climbing and
preferred to be near the ground, where
opportunities for communion or display
were greater.
AL this lay before the young priest as
he stood and strove with his emotions,
and such was the scene that greeted Gill
bert's eyes in the depths below him when
he awoke from slumber.