Mexico weekly ledger., 1902-02-13
ON MoNrEzUMAs GROUND.
Miss Anne Hinde Visits Scenes Ere.
quented by the Famous Mex
icsn-Art in the Republic

/ we Sllll lOiiON lnc JTdCkS %
Cortez, and have almost ''cUnquere,
the city, Mrs. Rose, my companion
has even had the experience Of pass
ing "Noche trisle," but am happl
TO say | have escaped that We wen
again yesterday to the Cathedral auC
looked upon the magnificent canop,
that covers the head Of Hidalgo. Thi
head, you remember, hung frston tn,
corner Of the old prison Of Guanajuatt
(which see every day then 1t wa
brought here and buried.
| The Cathedral stands on the very
spot where the old Aztec temple Of
| Teoealli stood. Then we went to the
Museum and saw, the very first thing
the tremendous old sacrllicial stone
that for hundreds Of years lay upor
the summit Of this temple, and upor
which so many thousands of human
lives were sacrificed, pagan and Chris
tlan. IL is carved with all kinds oi
hieroglyphics, and pictures, and has Q
deep round cavity in the center which
l imagine has settled the blood Of
many human heart. The bodyof the
victim was hurled to the foot OF the
pyramid and prepared for a carnival
repast by the savages below. We
next saw the equally as wonderful
callen-der-stone, or "Stone Of the Sun, y
which has in the center the hideous
symbol Of the sun-god, and around
this the symbols of the twenty days OF
the Aztec month. | am going to
bring home leather pillow with the
picture Of one of these stones burned
upon it. Then we saw the fragments
fthe tremendous idol of Huitzilopoch-
tie, which originally stood before the
great altar. This was the great
tutelary deity and war-god Of the
Aztees
Surrounding the Teocalli there was
an immense wall Of stone and lime
eight feet high, ornamented on the
outside by figures of serpents, raised
in relief, which gave it the name of
"the wall Of the serpents,"
Several Of the heads of these gigan-
tic animals are preserved in this
Museum.
"The Sad Indian is said to
be one Of the finest pieces of sculpture
in the Republic. 1t certainly is fasci-
mating, but anything but sad-a mer-
rer expression was never seen on the
face of "Old King Cole" himself, to
whom this Indian bears a striking
resemblance.
] shall not attempt to describe the
Academy of Fine Arts; but the tourist
is amazed to find such a large and
choice collection In this far-off land.
The contributions are by natives and
foreigners many by the very best
artists OF Europe. The subject which
impressed me far more than any other
was the horrible torture Of the brayest
of the Montezumas-Gu He
it was who, when he heard his COM
panion in torture, testifying his
anguish by his groans, exclaimed;
"And do you think then 1 am taking
my pleasure 10 my bath?' Not a
groan did he utter. He confessed
that "much gold had been thrown into
the water" but as to where and how
to find it, not one word could be
wrung from him. This same subject
is In bas-relief on the pedestal Of the
statue of Guatemoc. which stands in
the center Of the driveway out to
Chapoltedpec. Words fail me when
come to this Gibraltar Of Mexico-the
Palace Of Chapoltepec. Situated about
two miles out of the city on a very
high and rocky eminenee, it seems
that it would be impossible for a
mountain goat to scale it, much less
men weighted down with artillery;
but the American soldiers Of 1s47 un-
der Gen. Winfield Scott and Lieut..
U. S. Grant did not find it so when
they charged up these rugged sleeps
in the face of a terrible fire from the
Mexicans above. 1t is said, however,
that this struggle of defense by these
young Mexican cadets was one Of the
bravest of the war and that many,
rather than suffer death at the hands
of the Americans, hurled themselves
from the rocky summit. There is a
monument to their memory at the
base Of the hill, and as evidence of the
good will that now exists between us
and the Mexicans, on the last memo
rial day the Americans filed out in
troops and laid flowers upon the graves
of these brave Mexicans.
This was fayorite summer resi-
dence of Montezuma, and his magnih-
cent gardens stretched for miles
around the foot OF the hill The gi-
gantic expresses, more than so feet in
circumference, which were centuries
old at the time Of the conquest, still
cast their wierd and jagged shadows
over this historic hillside. One Of
them is called "Montezuma's tree.m
Surely there is no place better fitted
for meditation upon the sad destinies
Of the Indian race and the fate Of the
monarch who held his court under the
shadow OF its branches. This was also
The home OF Emperor Macmillan and
much Of the present furniture was
placed there under the direction Of
his devoted wife, the Inflated EN-
press Charlotte.
IL is now the summer residence OF
President Diaz. What a monument
is this Of the mutability Of earthly
greatness and human governments. In
what striking contrast do the charac-
tens Of the successive occupants Of this
grand old palace stand out in history,
and what vicissitudes Of fortune has
it undergone from the days Of Monte
yuma to present times. | will tell you
in my next letter Of our visit to the
tree under which Cortez sat down and
wept on the night Of July l, 1920, the
"Noche Tristen OF Spanish history.
With much love, from your daughter
ANNE
Mcdonald Going to Sumner.
4. II. Mcdonald and family will
r..o..n d. C..r....n. AZ. - ..uia. L. 4.