Durango semi-weekly herald., 1906-04-05


Republic. Up to today we nave
days too cool for comfort, and the
warm sun and air scented with
orange blossoms Is pleasant relief.
With us is party Of tourists and al
though the afternoon Is warm, no
time is lost In seeing" the town.
The first place we are directed are |
the Borda Gardens, an enclosure of |
are surrounded by a wall OF masonry |
and the walks are mostly of stone |
through shaded hooks. There are !
numerous fountains and swimming |
pools, now for the use OF ducks and |
geese. all OF masonry. The tropical
growth of trees. oranges, bananas, cy-
press. etc. furnish complete shade
interlocked as they are with well
trimmed vines. A couple of hours
are passed before we realize it.
On our return we visit the cathe-
dral which was begun In 1873. the
Franciscan church. In 1875 and the
Shrine of Guadalupe In 1898. These
are among the oldest churches In the
Republic and were freqnented by Cor
teZ.
One more building and we are
through for the day--the city hall.
once the palace of Cortcz which was
finished in 153l. A guide shows you
some of the furniture In vogue at that
time and famous rooms are pointed
out
1t was al this place that Macmillan
| and Carlotta had their country seat,
and tomorrow we will take walk to
their summer home, which is now pre-
| served as a resort and 25 cents cnarg-
| ed those seeking admission.
After nights rest we are ready
for the burros, which are in waiting
| to the Alacomulco hacienda, the prop
erty of Cortez which still remains in
| the family of his descendants, the
present owner being the Duke of Ter
ranova and Monteleone, remarkable
instance OF property descending foT
long centuries in the same family,
| The hacienda is remarkable from tne
|
mill that was built by Cortez Is still
in operation-the same stone rolls
and fed by the same old treadway.
| After watching several small Mexi-
| can boys wading In the juice bare
footed, skimming and taking out the
broken pieces OF cane before boiling
we are through with Mexican sugar.
The same process of refining Is In
| vogue as that of centuries ago The
! boiled product Is placed in settling
| Jars one over the other through whlcn
the liquid drips. This Is repeated
| several times, each time reducing the
product 10 finer grade. When ready
for sugar II is a coarse aud sandy
loan complexion, 1t is SAID the mill
pays a profit of about 100000 year,
hence no effort is made to improve
upon the system.
Returning from the hacienda dinner
is ready and late in the afternoon we
enjoy a walk across a deep b irancca
| over a solid stone bridge to the In
dian village of st. Anthony where
the inhabitants are engaged in the
manufacture of pottery. Ii Is here
we obtain the fines. specimens Of pot
terry In the Republic ard very reason
able too A mile beyond the one
street village are ..ie beautiful falls
of ST. Anthony, the waters leaping
over the high preciplce and down and
over the tops OF trees, distance OF
| over 100 feet. II was In these Sc
cluded spots Montezuma and his
chieftains took day off-before the
visitation of Cortez. When Cortez
came Cuernavaca was already re-
sort and In that April day, 1921, when
he marched over the hill Ii was in no
sense as discoverer. merely desiring
to grab a good thing as 1t were:
In the immediate vicinity of Cuer-
navaca are ruins thousands of years
old and compare favorably with those
In the Mancos country.
| Tepozteco. the pre-AZtec castle
whose ruins are about 20 minutes
walk from the station of Ell Parque,
may have been the robbers roost OF
some feudal baron, who from this
eyrie on the mountain side overlooked
the valley. The ruins themselves. re-
markable examples of solid and time
defying masonry, snow that the early
architects of this region appreciated
the beauties of scenery. No donjon
keep of the Alps or Alpine overlook
n fairer landscape.
AT Xochiltepec, 25 kilometers west
of the state capital, on the summit OF
a little ridge, are the prehistoric
ruins of Xochicalco. by Humboldt be-
| lieved to be a fortified or military col
| ony of the Aztecs to overawe and
maintain their authority among the
| hill tribes of the western slope. These
| ruins are evidently what is left to us
| of a well constructed and important
city; probably this was the capital
OF some ancient principallty which
was conquered, fortified and colonized
by the Aztecs at the height of their
power.
The carving here is perhaps better
t,, -