The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1904-10-14
LONG LOST
CITY FOUND
Ruins OF an Ancient
Mexican People
Discovered.

| of Vera Cruz, a month ago. Is regarde,
| by archaeologists as an event of tn
first Importance. The site of the cit!
has been sought for three hundre,
years, and expedition after expedition
had been sent into the table lands o
Vera Cruz for the purpose OF locating
1t, but without success.
Yet, strange as it may seem, Teayc
has never been without inhabitants
The Otomite Indians have never
abandonded the seat of power OF their
ancestors. but their savage character
has heretofore kept explorers from
penetrating to their capital.
Teayo was found unexpectedly. The
discovery was made by a party OF
American engineers sent out to pros
pect for minerals. A friendly Otomit,
guide was enabled to take them tc
Teayo by representing them to be en-
emies of the Mexicans, which is n pas
port to the favor OF the Otomite In
dams.
For fourteen days they travelled
through mountains almost unknown
even to MeXicans, at times finding 1t
necessary to use machetes to cut their
way through the jungle. While the dis
lance from Mexican centres was not
great, the obstacles to travel made the
journey one of many hardships.
There were dangers from wild beasts
to guard against, as the region abounds
with tigers, lions and large serpents,
such as the Cuatro narices, which the
natives gravely assert attains a length
of thirty feet and a girth of one foot,
and, besides having the power to kill
by construction, is more venemous than
the rattlesnake.
This party of Americans were the
first representatives of modern civii-
cation to enter the Otomite city of my
stery. Those who composed the party
We're George Lowell Roberts, mining
engineer; Herbert Gray, assayer; +. L..
Won Roncan, coal expert; and Law
renee MacGregor, interpreter.
The most interesting of the ruins as
yet encountered is the sacriticial tower,
pyramidal structure of quadrangular
form, which rises to a height of sixty
five feet above the ground. The sub
structure extends forty feet below the
soil.
According to tradition the structure
in the days of Otomite civilization rose
much higher, terminating in point at
the top.
If tradition is right, the original ex-
IRENE altitude was approximately 200
feet marking it the most elevated
structure of its kind built in Mexico
There is no doubt that it was con-
siderably more than 100 feet above the
soil at one time, as is indicated by the
about the country in it's vicinity and
evidently detached from it. At the
level of the ground the north and south
sides have a width of Go feet and the
east and west sides, 10 feet. The width
of the stairs on the east side is so feet
at the ground and 20 feet at the sum-
NIT.
The ancient Otomites, according to
tradition, constructed a vast system of
underground thoroughfares, abodes and
vaults. The subterranean works have
been compared with the Catacombs in
magnitude and the Cretan Labyrinth
in intricacy.
The tower was said to be the key to
.
with sculptured walls are numerous.
Some of the corridors have been filled
with skeletons of victims of religious
rites, of criminals, of Aztecs taken cap
tive and executed, and of Spaniards and
MeXicans sacrificed on the summit of
the tower, by the Otomites of the last
five hundred years.
If the traditions of the handful of
savages who comprise the surviving
remnant of the Otomite nation are
true, the subterranean features of Teayo
will prove Of great interest. Thus, at
n distance Of seven miles from INhuat-
Ian there is an opening in the side of
precipice which tradition says Is the
mouth of "A tunnel that penetrates the
seven miles of hills and mountains in
teryening between Teayo and the pre-
cipice and was constructed for the pur-
pose OF providing the Otomites, or at
least the imperial family. with a means
of exit from the capital in case OF
danger,
An attempt was made 10 investigate
the tunnel many years ago by the Oto-
mites, but water was encountered al "A
short distance from the entrance, A
party Is now being organized % make
a SECOND attempt 10 explore II,
Sculptures found In Teayo are said
10 show that the ancient Otomiles were
far IN advance ~ the Aztoos and Mayaa
IN art. The expressions OF tho human
flcr az represented ou stone by Aztec
ana Maya #ulplnrs We're Primitive as
compares WIN those wrought by tho
pt0WltrH
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