The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-10-31
A RUINED CITY OF PALACES
The Wonders Of Deserted Uxmal, an Ancient Mexican
Capital.

that spoke mere eloqusmtly ito tn
arnaglnatSon reian amy sermon, and owe
all the dead silence of the dead, th
ean6e of utter loneliness and the brood
ing spirit of the past. 1t was beauti
full, but yet so drear. We did not dan
to speak aloud: we only whispered, ami
our whispers seemed to rum from cour
to court. till they were lost in tn
vaulted chambers beyond. We locke
down these vacant rooms, and il
imagination they recalled the day
When they had echoed With the peals o
merry laughter, as beautiful womel
and noble men sat along the long table
while some gorgeous feast was at IL
height; when the soft night air, heav.
wilt the perfume of the lilies. gentA,
stole in under the easements, and th'
song of the nightingale, sweet from {
full heart of love, could be heard in TN
distant weed; and dhe whisper of TIL
haT off forests mingled With the sflver1
Uu}liElg drops of q hundred tiny foun
tains.
PERHAPS THE GYMNASIUM.
Walking a short distance from tll'
| base of the greet triple terrace we came
I to two massive walls. or oblong pile
I of masonry, much fOreshortenei by
I their position. They appeared to be thC
only structures among an the ruins
that were built directly upon the leYe
/ ground. AT the base of one of the walls
we noticed the remains of a. number OF
sculptured serpents, and also what
| seemed to have once been a stairway
| leading to the top The presence oil
! large stone rings set i'm the walls, or
| opposing sides, seemed to indicate that
! these walls We're the remains of what
! had probably been am arena or large
gymnasium The length of each wall
was go feet, and they we're 20 feet nigh
and 20 feet thick. Here it probably was
that this ancient people c0nGreGated tc
watch the sports of their mightiest ath-
! leteS.
Leaving the walls we next went ito a
great structure we mad noticed looming
up in the distance. 1t was the ruins OF
a great quadrangle. which could very
appropriately be called the Quadrangle?
OF the Mine Gables. But the natives call
it the House of the Pigeons, and in
truth 1T did look as we slowly APP
preached it like a series of monStrOuS
pigerel lofts. These ancient builders GER
ta5nly did not lack originality and bold
ness.
MARVEL AFTER MARVEL
eve found ourselves constantly en-
CoInteTing the marvellous, and pausing
in amazement before structures that
are destined to remain riddles for all
time. Only eight of the pinnacles We're
left standing. Each of the gables We're
perforated with upward of thirty rec
tangular, window like openings, arrauy-
ed with varied spacing, in seven lhori-
zontal rows. From the face of these
gable-ll1e piles We saw projecting
stores which were all that was left of
What at one thine must have been bold
and effective groups of sculpture, and
there can be little doubt that this CO
lOsSal comb of masonry was fr1ilt solely
for the purpose of eInbelliShing the
building and d1olding aloft its sculp-
tuT'ed ornaments.
measured $50 feet from east to west,
and $50 feet from north to south. The
rear portion was in a very advanced
state of ruin and was penetrated by an
aGclh similar to the one in FRONT The
greater portion of the structure was in
a very badly decayed condition.
GRANDEST OF ALL STRUCTURES.
Beyond the quadrangle we tramped
to one of the grandest structures in all
that ruined city. 1t was the great
truncated pyramid that we had seen
from our camp. This magnificent work
rose 70 feet in the air and was 200 by
500 feet at the base. At the top was q
summit platform rs feet square, with a
narrow terrace extending all around
the pyramid Is feet below the crest. We
climbed to the top and looked with
feeling of emotion over that vast eX-
panse of decayed grandeur.
There, before our gaze. stretched
out the ruined city, majestic and su-
preme even in its desolation. There
the ruined temples stood, as they had
staring from age to age out across the
changing land. mute reminders of
what once was and what must be the
fate of all things. And as we stood
there the frst shadows of evening be-
gan to creep up Presently the pale
CLEANS of the rising moon shone over
the crumbling remains, and we sat
down on the rocky ledge to enjoy the
beautiful scene.
at was a wonderful thing to think
for how many countless centuries the
dead orb above and the dead city be-
low had thus gazed each upon the
other, and in the utter solitude of space
poured forth each to each the tale of
it's lost life and departed glory. Softly
the wierd light fell, and minute by
minute the quiet shadows crept across
the grass grown courts, like the spirits
of old priests haunting the habitations
of their worship. Minute by minute the
long shadows grew. till finally the scene
changed. and there, in the full glow of
the southern moon, the massive struc-
ture stood out in bold relief, telling
more plainly than any words its story
of fallen pride and stricken splendor.
"For a long time we sat there, and
as we gazed a dense mist arose from
the distant swamp. One by one it en-
yeioped the lettering temples. which in
that intense gloom seemed nodding to
each other, and they seemed to say:
Behold us, undying and all sublime!
haunts US from age to age,
and deep down in our depths are bur-
led the secret of this mysterious land
Many changes have we seen, and with
sorrow have we made acquaintance.
for long dead are the people that once
called this dreary place their home For
untold centuries have we been here.
but our day is not yet. From age to
age are we destined TO thus stand,
over the chances of unborn
time. and waiting for that hour when
we. too, shall be gathered in, and our
existence be but a tradition of the
past
eve spent several weeks among these
wonderful remains, and then moved on
to Chicken-ItZa'