The Colfax gazette. [volume] (Colfax, Wash.) 1893-1932, 1901-10-25


used for mixing chemicals and drugs
A gargoyle shaped like serpent's head
was found In the ruins Of Copan, whic0
were pre-eminently the most remark
able yet discovered.
The quarries from which the stone
both for building and sculpture was
taken were in a ridge to the northeast
of the ruins. The site of Copan is OH
the river Copan, twelve miles from the
frontier of Guatemala. The valley of
Copan has a level of 1000 feet in alti-
tude and Is shut in by mountains 5000
feet in height. The upper slopes are
covered with pine forests, but the foot
hills and plains are clothed with an i'm
penetrable growth of low trees and
brush
The principal ruins are grouped
around what is called the main struc-
ture, vast irregular pile rising from
the plain in steps and terraces and ter
minating in great terraced elevations,
each topped by the remains of a tenn
pie. The summit of the highest of
these is about $50 feet above the level
of the river. Each of these elevations
is crowned, but only the foundations
and parts of the lower walls now re
main in position. The place where each
stood is a heap of fragments, and the
slopes of the pyramids and the terraces
| and pavements below are strewn with
the ruins of superb edifices. The walls
| of the buildings and the outer casing of
the pyramids and terraces are built Of
stone, neatly cut, fiat faced, in the
shape of oblong blocks, which are laid
In parallel rows, occasionally with NOR
tar, but generally without.
Mr.. Howard Sawyer Reed, a member
of the commission from the republic Of
Honduras, says:
THE government of Honduras is
aware of the immense value of the
ruins within its territory. The extent
of these ruins is as yet unknown. Of
ten while hunting in the forests Of
Honduras / have picked up strings Of
exquisitely carved beads and once
found a rare piece of jade with faces
cut on it as we now cut a diamond to
add to it's luster. On another occasion
when hunting in the region north Of
the upper Chemilicon river | found the
ruins Of a city without q name seven
miles in length. This ruin is in the de-
partment of western Santa Barbara.
Adjoining this department is that Of
COpan. 1t is impossible for scientists
to say from what race the people who
built these wonderful ruins sprung, but
the pottery gives evidence Of Magyar
origin. The marbles, sculptures, ce-
ments, utensils, obsidian knives, CHS
els, etc, show them to have been peO-
pie far advanced in the arts and sci
cnceS. Copan is reached by seven days
travel on muleback from the gulf of
Honduras. The ruins which have been
eXcavated in the valleys of the Uloa
and ChemilicOn give evidence of In
dian origin, while those in COpan indi-
cate high degree of civilization and
closely resemble the excavations made
in Egypt and the more ancient Greek
cities and t0mbS. A museum will be
established at Tagucigalpa in which all
the valuable excavations will be kept
for further investigation. The Uloa val
ley includes the entire plain watered by
the UlOa and ChemilicOn rivers, an
area of less than a thousand square
miles. Throughout this entire region
there have been picked up pieces Of
jade, carved pendants and other things
which denote a cultivated and artistic
people.
Whatever the condition or the race
the people may have been who lived IL
this region, they, with all their tradi-
tons, seem to have quickly disappeared
before Spanish oppression, but from all
the remains found in Copan and the
ruined cities of the Yucatan and Chi
apaS the dominating influences IN
dOubtedly point to the existence of the
Magyar race. The stone of which Copan
and many other cities were built is
trachyte. The sculptured columns and
monolithical monuments of Copan have
given these ruins a distinctive char
| acter. Six Of these columns still stand
| on the grand plaza which has been I'M
earthed by various explorers. In the
valley of the Uloa and the Chemilicon
| Is place called Playa de los Muertos
| (ShOre of the Dead. Here Is a series