El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-03-28


identical spot where once stood an alb
original temple; with evidences every
where of prehistoric civilizations dat
ing back so far that even tradition IS
mute concerning them; with prehistoric
past and living present commingled in
the blood of its people. united in the
names of its cities, its mountains and
its lakes; with no middle class among
its people; Mexico, from the Rio Grande
to the Suchiate, from Yucatan to lower
California, is indeed a land of romance.
a. country of contrasts.
A Past of UncOunted Centuries.
Uncounted centuries parade their re-
spectiye types before the traveller Of
the Mexican highways. When he
reaches Mexico City in a modern, cleo
trio lighted Pullman, he is met at the
train by a cargador who carries his
baggage on his back exactly as the
Aztec forefather carried his burden in
the days when neither the horse nor the
OK were at his command. The carga-
dor carries the baggage to hotel
which was built bys Spanish grandee
and afterward became the palace of
an emperor. The sleepy donkey of the
past trots along the same street with
the motor car OF the present. The pal
| aice OF imperial MOntezuma is now the
castle of republican Diaz, and over
looks a modern Yankee amusement pal
ace.
Esffigies of Judas Iscariot, to be crush
ed to pieces, blown to atoms, or hang
ed by the neck till dead are sold in
| the same stores as Paris gowns and
American art ware. The bull ring,
built Of concrete and American steel,
is within earshot Of the magnificent
American colony. and the sound Of per-
| fervid cheering, as the fayorite mat
| ador executes a brilliant pass and the
! band responds with a diana, may be
waited into the very precincts OF the
embassy Of the United States. The
Sacred mountain of Amecameca casts
| it's benediction over modern Amerl-
| can railroad yard. Ignorant Octegena-
rian Indians, who know less OF Ben
jamin Franklin than their sorrowfuI
| looking dogs know of the 1S1 holl-
days on the Mexican calendar, peddIe
! newspapers on the streets Often one
| beholds ali human progress at sin
gle sweep of the eye-a modern auto
! mobile, railroad train, a carriage.
an OK cart. a caravan of .donkeys. and
a band of laden Indians, all within
the distance of a single city block
Ancient of Years.
And then Mexico is ancient Cen
| turtles before Christopher Columbus
opened his eyes upon the world he was
destined to enlarge. there was IN the
prehistoric city of Palenque a marble
| tablet depicting cross with wor-
SINNERS before it Generations before
| Europe dreamed there was land De-
yond the sea- Chinese inscriptions
were being placed on pyramids in Mex
leo which are half as large as those OF
Egypt, and of design which tells OF
/ the kinship of their builders TO the
| people of the land of the Pharaohs
! These pyramids were built by the
| compass" long before Aristotle nad
! proyed that the earth is round Cit
| les had been built and were flourish
! ing centuries before Eric the Red
| sighted Cape Farewell Aztec astrono-
mers had built an observatory on the
Hill Of the Star at Churubusco'
where Americans now play gol1 ana
tennis. long before Europe boosted OF
/ the first one at Uranienborg- Ma
1inche. the Indian slave girl who was
/, presented to Cortez and became his
I mistress and interpreter, had borne
| him a son many a year before little
Virginia Pare's first small cry was
heard on Roanoke Island Mexico
had a university before Elihu Yale,
John Harvard, or William and Mary
| were born, and a hospital before
| ed on the map.
RACK Into the Uncharted Past.
How far back into the uncharted
mast the existence of Mexico dates,
mortal man does not know. There
| is a growing belief to the effect that
the cradle of the race is to be found
| in the southern part of Mexico II
i is conceded generally that there were
civilizations in Mexico before the Toll
hot m
| their advent into the land about 64S
A D. The capital of the Toltec ma
ton is said to have been upon the site
Of the present struggling Indian VII
large known as Tula, which is only two
hours ride from this city. 1t was
here that Quetzalcoatl, the fair god,
appeared among the Toltecs and taught
them the arts of husbandry and war,
and the, sailed away in a boat built
of snake skins. promising to return
some day Tradition says the fair
god was the reincarnation of St
Thomas. while history believes he was
some ship wrecked Viking who had
been blown across the sea- After his
departure he was deified. many monu-
ments were erected to his memory anu
altar fires kept burning for him.
One of the first things Qortez learned
was the story of Quetzalcoatl, and ne
( Immediately assumed the role Oh tue
! departed god
The Drink of the TOltecs.
The Toltecs dwelt in the country OF
Anahuac until the eleventh century,
/ ard then, like the Arabs, folded their
tents and silently stole away There
is a tradition. however, that in the
reign of Tepancaltzin, eighth king OF
the Toltecs, Papantzin. his kinsman,.
having seen field mouse gnaw hole
in the center of a growing maguey or
century plant, tasted the juice that
flowed from the plant He was so
delighted with 1t that he sent some of
it to his imperial kinsman by his
beautiful daughter Xochitl- The king
was so delighted with the pulque and
so pleased with the girl that he
placed her in his harem- To this day
there are pulquerias- saloons for the
dispensing of pulque-to be found in
every town and city where pulque is
sold. which bear the name La Hermo-
sa Xochitl", which means beautiful
Flower.
The Invading Chichimecs.
After the Toltecs came the Chichi-
mecs barbaric horde from the north
west It is generally believed that
they were the people who gave to the