The herald., 1895-02-17

the year 1879 A. d. and now built in the
cathedral of the City of Mexico. For two
centuries this immense calendar, with
other objects of heather worship, lay hid.
den in the ruins of their temples that had
been destroyed by fire. as it was finally
discovered in 1890, when the Spanish
Viceroy ordered it built in the sacred edi-
| flee at Mexico.
This calendar is IL feet in diameter and
made OF a piece OF basalt OF immense
weight. 1t gives a clear idea of the divis
ion of time as understood by the Aztecs,
into cycles, years and days. Fifty-two
years constituted a cycle, 365 days yedr,
Of which were five unlucky days, that
were utilized to make them still more I'M
lucky for those who were selected as vic
tins for human sacrifice. Each year had
eighteen months and twenty days each, and
the months four weeks and five days each.
The days were designated by such high
sounding names as Monkey" Rain, "
Sea Animal" etc. The tribe believed
that great catastrophe would occur at
the end of each cycle. When the unlucky
five days in the year approached they de-
stroyed everything they possessed tore
their garments and gave themselves up to
despair, as they considered that they had
no further use for any earthly comforts
| When the time for the human sacrifice
arrived, a procession moved to the top of
hill, six miles south of the city. At
midnight fire was kindled by rubbing
sticks of wood over the breast of the
human victim. The body of this victim
was thrown to the flames, and when five
lives had been burned everybody Shouted
with joy and delight, and the surviving
Aztecs returned to their houses COM
menced season of house cleaning and
replaced all the broken pots und pans and
ruined clothes with new ones
Aside from their barbarous religious
practices, the members of the tribe we're
| gifted with certain amount OF civiliza-
| ton not found among others. They had
the greatest respect for women, who ruled
their homes peacefully, and who were &C.
cupied mostly in the cultivation Of flowers
and ornamentation.
Among the women was a set of
nuns who were called priestesses, and
| who at the age of II or Is retired to the
teocalli, where their hair was cut and
where they dressed in white. Their life
was one of abstinence and toll, and their
| actions and movements were guarded in
| daytime by lady superior, and at night
by old men. They assisted at the re-
ligious dances, adorned their hands and
feet with feathers, and painted their
| cheeks red to a point that would cause
envy in the hearts of the variety actresses.
They had peculiar manner of painting
their faces on days of penance, when they
| pricked their ears until they bled and
used the blood as rouge"
Such were the Aztecs in 1900, after
little more than century of life in their
new land, and they were soon conquered
| by the Mexicans and lost their identity
| and nationality.
One of the floats will represent some
scene in the conquests of Cortes, whose
life was SO replete with exciting and TO-
mantle Incl ents that it will not be diff
cult for the artist to present most real
istic picture.
| Fernando Cortes was certainly n self
made man. He was born in 1885 at Me-
dellin, Spain, and at an early age de-
veloped taste for military tactics rather
than for the study of science. He entered
the army with the intention OF serving
under the great Captain Gonsalvo of Cor
dova, but met with an accident that pre-
vented his wish, and as soon as he had
| recovered from his illness he went on a
tour of adventure to the West Indies.
| From 1904 to 1911 he travelled in the In
dies and in that year accompanied Diego
Velasquez to Cuba, of which he subse-
quently became Alcalde., In connection
with his residence in Cuta is bit of ro-
nance. 1t is claimed that Cortes fell in