The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-02-27

this one may look down into a beauti- ful stream nearly a thousand feet be- low Some of the wall has fallen about
 midway Of the crescent, and the stone slabs that have been displaced here can
 be seen hundreds Of feet below, the de cline being so steep that they rolled far.
 Across the only roadway that leads
 from the highlands to this wonderful mountain top can be seen a deep ditch
 on whose sides stand the well preserved
 pillars upon which fWere swung the
 drawbrldges, and this side of the wall
 Is much thicker and stronger than the
 others. while a number of strongly built
 towers guard the entrance or roadway
 to the drawbridge.
 In one end of a room situated near
 the south side by attention was attrace-
 td to a very small ''tunnelr' as the
 guide called it, an opening oval-shaped
 and just large enough for a human be-
 ing to squeeze through. The guide,
 who probably knew as little about it as
 l. repeated a legend current among his
 people to the effect that the Aztec med
 icine men compelled untried warriors to
 go through this tunnel some one hun
 dred feet long. in order to test their nerves.
 Near this small tunnel which, by the
 way, looks to me to have been vent or
 sluice for running ores or metals into a large cemented receptacle tc be seen
 at its end, there is a sure enough tun- nel about seven feet high from vault to floor? The walls are well built with the same kind of stone slabs and the floor looks as though it had been cemented. A number of fallen slabs from a cop ing overhead prevented our entrance to this mysterious place, and must con fess that under certain conditions I like to see fallen slabs, before ancient, unex- piored Aztec tunnels. An old gentle
 man, seventy-one years of age, whom I men on the train later. informed me that at one time he and five other brave young men had attempted to explore this place. Three remained at the en- trance while the other three cautiously felt their way, lighted matches in hand. They had gone some sixty feet when one of the explorers called out to the others to come in and see the wonderful looking objects that stood near the walls. The sound of this young mans voice was so startling that "a sudden gust of wind,' as he expressed it, ex- tinguished the light, and then-well,
 they reached open air again and lived to tell the tale to their progeny.
 I Some shepherds, who had at different times lost their sheep, spoke in lowered voice of two-headed man who used to
 be seen emerging from this tunnel, but 1 they asserted that since the entrance
 had been filled by the falling stone he had not been seen, but loud, unearthly murmurings had been heard coming from the bowels of the mountain. We found many broken obsidian arrow 1 heads here and some pieces of obsidian 1 knives.
 l It would be hard to describe with a pen the wonders of this castle or fort ress; they are too many. A trip to the place would well repay the expense, and l I am. satisfied the visitor would come away declaring Tepexe Viejo to be the most wonderful of Mexico's many won ders,
 Stephens and Catherwood write of
 more than forty-four ancient ruins dis
 covered by Lord Kinsborough and 1 themselves. Le Plongeon, Du Paix and Desire Charnay have written interest ling volumes describing their discoveries and experiences; Leopoldo Batres and 1 William Niven have furnished valuable l data about Mount Albans and other 1 historical points. Why have they re- mained silent about Tepexe yiejo? i Why is that spot so close to the city of the Montezumas neglected, unexplored? I There may be found valuable data that may enfightep us about. Aztec genealo- Igy.-Mexican Herald.