Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-03-28
capital of Tenochtitlan there, and after
ward changed its name to Mexico, after
their war god

capital Of Tenochtitlan there. and after
ward changed its name to Mexico, after
their war god.
Although engaging in the practice Of
idol Worship and being the greatest prac-
titioners OF human sacrifice in all his
tory, the Aztecs were yet a people who
recognized a lord Of the universe and ad-
dressed him in their prayers as the God
by whom We live" that knowest all
thoughts and giveth all gifts" 1.-The invis-
ible. incorporeaL one God Of perfection
and purity, under whose wings we find
our sure defense" They had feast in
which they mixed blood with -four and
baked it into cakes. which they passed to
all the people. who ate 1t with evidences of
repentance and humility. declaring It to be
the flesh Of the Deity. The head and lips
Of their children were touched with
water as they were given their names
In the exodus of the Israelites from
Egypt. They. as we'll as many other
peoples in Mexico, had their story of Eve
and the serpent, Of Noah and the deluge.
of the immaculate conception and other
biblical beliefs. differing only as much as
one would expect them to differ in thou
sand years Of re-telling.
The Conquistadors are responsible for
the loss Of the history of the remarkable
peoples who
History Of People inhabited Mex
Destroyed by Torch. turtles I ''1 before ta
Cortez came. His historian declares that
they found the Mayas possessed of many
historical works, books relating to such
sciences as astronomy medicine, geology,
and theology, and OF a spoken
and written language which permitted
them to express the most delicate shades
Of thought What treasures may have
persisted when a bigot's torch burned the
literature of Mayan civilization:
One is ever and anon stumbling upon
reminders that some things were done
by the prehistoric Mexicans that cannot
be done in the boosted days Of enlighten-
ment Of the twentieth century; IempeI-
them They made filigree work with out
soldering to q perfection not now ap-
preached. It was the Mexican Indian
who discovered that the female cochineal
could be used in making indigo rivaling
the Tyrian purple. and only the tar bar
rel of the modern synthetic chemist has
produced a substitute for 1t. The Indians
Of central Mexico were able 10 make
wooden SerapeS that WOulo turn any
tropical shower
The auaintness of the country adds much
to it's charm and its romance. At Cuautla
one alights at the Oldest railroad station
in the world. 1t was once cnurcn. Al
Jalapa he may set his watch by the old
est clock in America. In Cuernavaca he
may see a dynamite tree, whose Seds
burst with a loud report and make 1t
dangerous for the bystander. At Lake
TeNcoco he finds the natives catching
and eating the repulsive-looking larval
lizard known as the aXoloth. which be-
comes sexually mature, but never passes
out of the larval state--a condition eX-
istent nowhere else, and also a condition
still unexplained. At other places he
finds the natives gather species of fly
eggs and make caviar from them. The
flies themselves are caught. mashed up
and wrapped in corn husks and sold as a
sort Of chili-concarne
T0mOrrOw-MExICO
XV.-ARCHEOLOGlC RESEARCH.