Asheville daily citizen., 1894-11-27
CHALDEAN SWORD IN MEXICO.
A Find Which May Throw Light on the
Peopling of This Continent.

a tInu NntCn MAY lhrOW LlKht on tno
Peopllng 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 ut
once throw light on the origin of 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-hcwn 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 and rep
rcsenta,ions of life distinctively AS
syrian and Grccian. The characters
on one side of the blade are cunciform,
SAYS writer in the st. Louis Globe
Democrat; those on the other cannot
be identified; possibly they are IIittite
The first fourth, sixth, eighth and
eleventh letters in the easily recogniz-
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 Scnor Gonzale NJ. Molincr, de-
scendant Of one of the oldest and most
illustrious families of Spain, who Is
resident in the City of Mexico. lie
will soon lay it before the Smithsonian
institution in person, and until that
time 1t WI not see the light of re-
search outside of Mexico. The sword
and its scabbard of bronze are massive
and well pres 'rvrd. In total length the
sword istwcnty-siX an 0ne-half inches,
with blade tf nineteen inches. The
roughly hammered iron blade shows
the crudity of the early days of the
iron &c, but the exquisite inlaying OF
silver on the bronze bears testimony to
the cunning OF the silversmiths who
wrought the weapon. To all appear
anccs, and according to the inscrip-
tions it was royal arm, for on its
ample hiE it bears in horizontal lines
the crowned head of its evident
wcarer, while below, in cunciform
characters on the blade, are apparently
the title and name of the sovereign.
The sword and scabbard weigh twelve
pounds, of which the sword alone rep
rescnts two-thirds of the total,
The story of the discovery of this in
tcrcsting relic is 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 Iucatan, In
southern Mexico. The dealer supposed
it to be nothing more than an old Roman
sword. such as were often Worn by the
| Spaniurds 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 Il
bronze spoon, now also in the possess
sion of Scnor Molincr it was the only
thing Of interest he had found The
sword and scabbard were incrustcd
with half an inch of oXidization
from their long burial, and on being
cleaned mp were offered for sale to
tourists along with the customary
more or less valuable stock in trade of
an cnterprising curio dealer. For one
reason or another it remained in stock
until recently, when it by chance
caught the eye of Scnor Molincr, who
has made an intelligent study of an.
tiquities, both in Europe and America.