The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1894-11-08
oHALOEAN SWORD in MEXICO.
A Find Which May Throw Light on inc
Peopling of This Continent.


There will shortly be presented to
the savants of Europe and America
relic of antiquity rescued from the dust
of the dim dawn of human life IN the
western world, which promises to at
once throw light on the origin CT man
on the western hemisphere and prove
the open sesame to further reading OF
the early races of the earth in the far
east. In rock-hewn tomb in southern
Mexico there has been found bronze
and hammered iron sword bearing on
its blade and handle in rich inlaying
of silver characters of record aud rep
reservations of life distinctively AS
syrian and Grecian. The characters
on one side of the blade are cuneiform,
saws a writer in the St. Louis Globe
Democrat; those on the other cannot
be identified; possibly they are Hittite.
The first, fourth, sixth, eighth and
eleventh letters in the easily recognize
able cuneiform characters of Chaldean
antiquity are exactly alike as craven
upon the blade; the first, fourth, sixth,
eighth and eleventh letters in the
mystic inscription on the reverse are
also identical. 1t is in the possession
of Senior Gonzale NJ. Moliner, a de-
scendant of one of the Oldest and most
illustrious families of Spain, who is
resident in the City of Mexico. He
will soon lay it before the Smithsonian
institution in person, and until that
time it will not see the light of re-
search outside of Mexico The sword
and its scabbard of bronze are massive
and well preserved. In total length tho
sword is twenty-six and one-half inches,
with a blade Ct nineteen inches. The
roughly hammered iron blade shows
the crudity of the early days of the
iron age, but the exquisite inlaying Of
silver on the bronze bears testimony to
the cunning of the silversmiths who
wrought the weapon. To all appear
ances, and according to the inscrip-
tions, it was royal arm, for on it's
ample hilt it bears in horizontal lines
the crowned head of it's evident
wearer, while below, in cuneiform
characters on the blade, are apparently
the title and name of the sovereign.
The sword aud scabbard weigh twelve
pounds, of which the sword alone rep
resents two-thirds of the total.
The story of the discovery of this in
teresting relic is u romance. Seven
years ago curiosity dealer in the City
of Mexico purchased it for few paltry
reals from an ignorant Indian from
Merida, in the state of Yucatan, in
southern Mexico The dealer supposed
it to be nothing more than an old Roman
sword, such as were often worn by the
Spaniards at the time of the conquest
OF Mexico. The Indian said he found
it in the depths of tomb which he
had penetrated, and that, with a
bronze spoon, now also in the posses
sion of Senior Molincr, it was the only
thing of interest he had found. Tho
sword and scabbard were incrusted
with half an inch of oxidation
from their long burial, and on being
cleaned up were offered for sale to
tourists along with the customary
more or less valuable stock in trade Of
an enterprising curio dealer. For one
reason or another it remained in stock
until recently, when it by chance
caught the eye of Senior Moliner, who
has made an intelligent study of an
Equities, both in Europe and America,
and who at once bought it at curio
sale price.