The sun., 1908-01-26

out Of Arizona and New MEXICO by the
Northern Indians
~Now | got hold Of a very intelligent
Maya one day and from my treating him
like a civilized human being guess he came
to the conclusion was decent and limbered
up some about his race | asked him what
the traditions OF his people were about
those ruins.
aHe told me q lot Of things. but as near
~ he could come on tho ruins was that his
people had come into Yuoatan, according
to their calendars and transmitted records.
about three thousand years before Cortez,
and that whom they caEno there they found
these ruins very much in the condition
that they're In now. and that 20 save the
trouble OF building new habitations they
lust occupied these. and they never had an
idea who built them.
They're certainly astonishing. There
are pyramids there q hundred or two hun
dred feet high. just solid carving; and
stranger vet, where you see break in the
wall OF the temple that's perched on top
You'll find that when new dynasty OF race
came in they just made a new set OF cary
inRs with their own symbols slapped 'em
on over tho old ones and put the grout IN
between. and II hardened TO the consistency
Of iron.
But time is wearing them down. and az
the foot OF every temple is great MS
Of broken stone carving r1bble and cement.
The vegetation is the strongest agent. In
growing up through these temples. and it's
only a matter Of time when they crumble
to pieces. but tell you they were built to
stand the acid.
THE most impressive thing l saw there.
think. was down in a big room in temple
that the wise men say was devoted to the
instruction of young ladies'. TO judge
from the carvings they taught things that
are not included in the curriculum OF modern
schools. except, ! believe in arudimsntary
and expurgated way, In Chicago.
This room was an immense place. with
i,tLa SORT Of chapels at the back and on
the sides, with the beams Of an indestriCt-
ibl- sOrt Of wood called zapOte still inset
over the doors. These were ancient pOr-
tiare vo'es. appa rsntly showing that the
rhuDelS he'd al SJtne tluc hesn smut ON ny
curtriHs.
al + u1d the walls Of this place a dado
had ,pt made. on ne smooth plaster, by
tn. irpI ints Of 3 irls' hands, that had been
dipped in dye red, blue. green. yellow.
There they an were with the lines of the
palms as Clear as they are in your hand or
fuiue.
# tell yOu il gave me a solemn thought
or TWO. the living hands of these women,
who were probably as beautiful "a some
- heir descendants Of to-day. OF more so.
stretched out there in the gloom Of that
place with the ruirs Of those superb temples
oil tuinbled ia wr-Ok aud dust just outside
the door. To think. You know. that the
owners OF those hands, 40 shapely, 50 dainty.
40 little and 50 dimpled and altogether
fascinating 80 really alive, shOuld nave
been dust and ashes for God knows how
many Thousand years. Think Of the sights
they saw and the lives they lived, probably
cent vries before Cleopatra took old Mark
Antony mOtorbOatinR up the Nile.
I'm not specially long on poetry, but
did recall THAT verse Of BrOwnings:
Dear. dead women with such hair. too.
What = b' come Of all the gold
I-pd to hand and kiss their bosOms'
feel chilly aud grown Old,
-Anyhow. | pulled myself together and
got out my sheath knife and carefully cut
around one Of the hands, a wine red one
and when I'd cut away through the plaster
and down TO the stone ] tried as gently a.
could 10 pry the panel on. / was going
tn bring It home and have It mounted n
crmen, and frame II.
i thought TO myself the thing seemed
so alive that honestly | almost wanted
to stop chiselling and sdIeeZe it-that "
eyer got her to New York I'd have that much,
at least. Of the oldest girl anywhere. and a
girl that had graduated from a good old
fashioned school and knew something
besides the shops But as sooD as tried
to PRIV her OF she orJmbled into small pieces
and fell down at my feet.
And the blow hnOst killed father Talk
about She after the fire. IL was just nv
tuck, aud I've sort Of hankered after that
girl ever since TO tell you the truth.
Yes | will tt's getting little cold
here. But make it light, and leave out the
lemon peel.
mysterious. mysterious. You feel IL the
minute YOU get into the country. and the
feeling stays with you after you leave IT,.
Mystery OF every sort. IT'S in the air
somehow. You're face TO face with big
interrogation point, with mystery behind II
s'Thara thn nf "a piViiZg
zion as OlN as Noah, so eloquent OF busy
human life that you can almost hear II
Put it's only almost Not record, nc
history; not even sound. reliable tradition
you see
And the people are mysterious. You
ride along in the interior at night and see
in the moonlight ahead Of you a long line
Of whiteclad Mayas. like ghosts. moving
along the road with the huge terra Gotta
water jars on their shoulders. And when
your mules get you there. the whole com
pany has vanished. gone-not trace or q
sound Of thsIn. only the spectral stiffness
the forest looming black on either hand
and the road stretching out before you silver
white under the moon.
Rumble along, and a minute later look
back and there is the long. white, nOselesh
line again. IL Is all just like that.
"Or you will pass some matched hut il
the mountain country In the dead OF night
and sse the light shining out between the
STICKS gnAt Tue walls are inhue Oh allu near
the low incantatiOns. It's weird enough
II is the old religion, and they have to prac-
tise il by stealth. for they are all down In the
census as good Catholics.
Il have heen told that further in the
interior they are still going on in the good
old way--the whole figure, human sacri-
fices and all. and | haven't a doubt it's
true Certainly there are places there
where even the mandate OF President
Diaz doesn't go. and that's saying a lot
for II there was ever an absolute dictator
on earth it's PorArio Diaz--for tunately
for Mexico.
But some OF these interior districts are
as undiscovered as Mexico itself was a
thousand years ago. Regiments OF Mexi-
can troops have been sent TO subiugate
them, and no straggler Of them all ever
came back TO tell what became Of his fell
lows. They Just vanished to a man. That's
all Not a sound. not trace.
@And the answer TO all questions and all
wonderinRs about them is just the over
arChing blue sky and the eternal silence
Mystery, mystery, mystery.
4No. No more. I'm going to get motor
cab and hunt up the steamheatedest hotel
III New York"
200 SEA ANENONES