Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1908-03-19
Bureau Of Ethnology Making In
vestigation.
DR.. Fewkes Prepares Interesting re-
port Showing what the AbOrigines
Knew nnd Did--A rssh n Biological
objects Studied.


investigators, and comparatively little IS
now known OF the culture of the pre-
historic races that inhabited it. says the
Washington correspondent of the Boston
transcript. Under the auspices of the
Smithsonian Institution. DR.. j. Walter
Fewkes Of the bureau of American eth
nology was sent into this field to engage
in some comparative studies on these
early peoples. He was to determine II
possible whether or not they bore any
relationship to the ancient tribes whose
monuments are in some cases still stand
ing north OF the Rio Grande and within
the area Of the United states. Although
the investigations were not extensive
enough 20 warrant definite conclusion,
Dr. Fewkcs has embodied in a prclim
mary report just published in connection
with n report of the bureau to the
Smithsonian Institution, many interest
ing and some original observations on
what these advanced ahorigines knew
and did A half dozen ruins we're visit
ed. and large number of archaeology
cal objects studied In regard to the
early history Of the region, DR.. Fewkcs
says:
when fernando Cortcs disombarSed
his little army Of invasion in what IS
now the state Of Vera cruz, he found
it inhabited by aborisnes of compare
lively high culture. The inhabitants
called themselves Totonac, and their ter
rtory was known as Totonacapan. The
conqucror WAS not long in discovering
that the Totonac were subjects of Mon
tezlima. great ruler in the mountains
TO whom they unwillnelv paid tribute.
and that they chafed under his yoke.
Shortly after landing Cortos visited their
settlements at Quauistlan and Gem
poala. near the former Of which he laid
the foundation of n city that he called
Villa Rica de Ia Vera cruz. the Rich
Town OF the True Cross. He was we'll
received by the Inhabitants of these
cities making friends with those men
toned and thirty other dependent puo-
bios, whose aid greatly facilitated his
march to the interior Of Mexico. But
this friendship Of the natives of Gem
poala and their settlements for Cortes
was not shared by all the Indians Of
the Mexican gulf coast. In tho valleys
Of the Panuco and Tamesi rivers, that
is. in what Is now northern Vera Cruz
and southern Tamaulipas, dwelt the So
call Huaxtec people. They had popu-
| lous towns, having reached n high de-
gree of culture, and they had never been
conquered by the Aztec. At first they
resisted the Spaniards but subsequently
were subdued by Cortes, and their main
| city, called Chila situated on the Panu-
co river, about fifteen miles from its
mouth. and certain other settlements on
lagoons of the Tamesi. near the present
| Tl,o
survivors of these villages who escaped
slavery or massacre fed to the noun
tain. where their DESCENDANTS. hereft of
ancestral arts. lost much of their cul-
ture and settled In new localites.'
One of the most important of these
| forgotten cities was Cempoalan. At the
time of the Spanish conquest carly in
! the sixteenth century it was SO strkin,
a metropolis that & excited the admira-
ton of the Europeans, and from its
many temples and large buildings was
called Sevla. Its streets and plazas
were said to have swarmcd with people,
one student estimating its population at
thirty thousand After the conquest It
declined rapidly. and the number of its
inhabitants so dwndled that in $3.50 an
authority says there We're only thirty
houses in which people lived, and In 1900
only one or two remained on the old
site. most of the survivors having been
distributed into new congregations by
the all powerful Vlceroy. The adjacent
forests and exuberant tropical vegeta-
ton rapidly grew over the deserted
buildings of tho once populous city. 50
that in few generations It had become
a place OF the past
Thus It remained until not n genera
ton ago n Mexican lady, a collector OF
land shells. called attention to these
ruins of n past civilization hidden in the
forests An investigator was sent out
and in 1891 the Mexican government had
a survey made or the vast buildings
and models constructed for exhibition
which are now In the National Museum
IN Mexico city. Since then. however
they have again been practically ne
elected, SO that Or. Fewkes's party. If
order to make a study Of the ancient
abandoned city, was forced to cut It.
way through the forests with machetos
The found guarded by underbrush tbs
fallen remains Of n metropolis over q
mile square. but the main buildings. and
those best preserved, were crowded into
n limited area. on every side in this
neighhorhood. If vegetation permitted
were encountered evidences of former
human occupation. Not only did mound:
and pyramids rise on all sides. but plas
tered walls and fragments of concerted
roadbeds lined with rows of stone set II
cement. not unlike curbs were seen.
Dr. Fewkcs says: so far as can be
determined. the four buildings of OLE
Cempoalan now standing are pyramids
tho bases of former temples. They arr
constructed OF concrete core made o
water-worn stones laid in lines one
above another and faced with concrete
Wherever this superficial covering has
fallen, especially on the stairways, rows
OF stones are clearly seen. The sur
faces of these buildings were originally
highly polished. So smoothly that /
was supposed by ono Of the soldiers o
Cortes that tho walls were covered witt
plates of silver These walls were deco
rated with yellow and red paintings
traces OF which are still visible, especial
~ In places not exposed TO the weather
Two typical forms Of buildings are rep
resented in Cempoalan, one circular. thu
other rectangular. Both types have
stairways with massive illustrates OF
one side"
On one of the largest Of these massive
foundations rose the Temple of the Air
supposed to have been dedicated to tn
plumed serpent, or god of the air
Around II are crowded many smalle
3 mounds, indicating houses once posslbl!
$ inhabited by priests. quarter of
distant mi