Evening star., 1896-02-08

of Oaxaca, entered heartily into the spirit
of the man-hunt. He brought up group
after group of Zapotecs. typical or other
wise, TO shake hands with our party in
turn and to submit their noses to a COM
petitive examination. Nearly all of them
found difficulty in believing that anybody
would be so fcolishiy extrayagant as to
pay their expenses to Mexico enabling
them to enjoy the luxury Of being in that
city during the worldfamous coronation of
the Virgin of Guadalupe, merely out of in
terest in tie shape of their noses, and the
most effective work of the Jefe Politico
consisted in restoring confidence In tn,
rectitude of DR.. Batres's intentions con-
cern1ng them. AS a rule they were as sus-
picious and timorous as Washington col
ored boy would be If offered his expenses
and something In addition to go and
exhibit himself at night to Baltimore
medical college The group Of young men.
however, vino were polishing up silver in
front of Tlacolula church showed no un-
easiress whatsoever. They were eager to
avail themselves of so good an opportunity
to behold the coronation of the Virgin, and
they vigorously impressed upon the party
OF inspection the merits of their respec-
tive noses. One selected from this group
became the leader of the three typical Ia
potecs finally chosen, and at intervals on
our journey from Militia until we saw them
for the last time in DIR. Batres's house ii
Mexico. these Indian exhibits would file
solemnly into our presence and shake
hands tremendously all around, amusingly
dia which haunted Wang in the comic
opera
Mftla's Famous Ruins.
When our procession left Tlacolula fc.
Militia, eight miles away, the Jefe Politico
accompanied us. and in our visits to tho
ruins served as cur guide, companion and
familiar friend. At Militia we found another
hacienda converted into a hotel, where we
were comfortably accommodated.
Militia is one of the famous ancient cities
of Central America, and as q new world
ruin 1t Is in the same class in point of in
terest with PalenQue in Chiapas, UXmal in
Yucatan, and Copan IL: Honduras. Where a
vast city once stretched its streets and
raised it's temple crowned pyramids AMI
wonderful palaces now all is solitude and
desolation save for a miserable Indian viii
lsge of thatched huts, and the fast disap-
pearing remnants of three or four palaces
and a few of the countless pyramids of
ages ago. Unlike the other notable ruins
of Mexico which are overgrown and hidden
by luxuriant tropical vegetation, Militia Is
exposed to the sun and wind of desolate
barren sandy valley, in it's site resembling
more the Egyptian ruins along the Nile
than its new world neighbors. Whether
Militia was built by Zapotecs or Toltecs or
race Of men preceding both, whether it
Is 100, L. 100 or 2, 100 years old, whether the
ancestors of Its builders came from China
or Cambodia or Egypt or West Africa, or
were of American origin are questions
over WHICH the drCnaeOlOglSlS may De per
Ilitted to quarrel undisturbed. No inscrip-
tions are found here to give a clue, and
the hieroglyphics discovered in the other
Central American cities have never yet
been deciphered, but await still their Ro-
setta Stone.
Leaving the cool court yard of our adobe
hotel" with its orange and pomegranate
trees and its surprisingly harmonious mon
key and parrots, We soon reached the out
skirts of the modern Indian village ard
began to run the gauntlet of antiquity ven-
ders, composed largely of girls and boys
with ugly idols, masks and beads, collected
from palaces and tombs. Some of the chill
dren had the sweet and plaintive voices OF
the water girls of the Nile. The babies
were more attractive than the Egyptian
since their teeth were just as white, while
their eyes were not sore and Ily-infested
Ike those of the race upon the Nile which
ts cursed with ophthalmia as with an cpl
demlc After threading our way among
numerous cane-built huts and spreading
CONSERVATION among the Zapotec chill
dren of tender years We came to the first
Of ancient Mitla's exhibits, a recently exca-
waited tomb of plain stone, without ornamen-
tation or inscription Near by numerous
pyramidal mounds were scattered among the
houses. We examined one which had been
cut entirely through, and thoroughly ex-
cavated. Like many other of the Mexican
pyramids, these mounds, through the action