The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-11-19

otehsiis u various kinds There were
as" pieces or Jade ara Ohsidian.
II iS now know the ruins are scat
tered over an area Of about SOC. 600.
acres, and that they includ. NOT ONLY
THESE mounds. but Ui-htv mon !.
liinentS and the remains Of q great
eity.
h City OF Quirigu.A
Cur first knowledge of this citv |
came about 20 years ago. when the |
stephens expedition went trough
Central America, and . man named
Ca~therwood saw some Of the ruins.
We learned more about i in 1883,
"hen Alfred i. MAudslcy made his
way through this region and photo .
Eraphed some Of the monuments.
II real work Of excavation, how
ever. was begun just about two years
ago, hen the St. Louis Society of the
Archaeological Institute decided To do
some work IN Guatemala, n at the
instance of Victor NJ. Cutter, manager
Of h Guatemala division Of the Unit
ted FrnIt Company. came t. Ouirigua
and began their work here. The Unit
ed Frnlt Company has aided them IN
their work. ~.rantin" them Is acres
OF land. which contained tn. most I'M
pOrtant parts Of the ruined city, and
forming what Is to be known as Qui-
rlSua park.
- AAt ii'S(l etIAt xt / h
tons are now going on. They are I'M
der the charge Of Or. Edgar l.. Kew
EFT and Prof. Sylvarus &. Morley,
who have gangs OF natives at work.
They are now u~ncovcrinS what was
once tho great temple city Of the
MayaDs, and they nave already cleared
away the jungle over 8 great part Of
the tract They have cut down ma
hogOny and other trees, and are now
digging up monuments SO gigantic
that they REMIND one OF the mighty
statues OF the upper Nile.
Thirteen Mighty Monuments.
Before I describe the city itself. let
me tell you something about these
mighty monuments. There are thir-
teen OF them which have been already
uncovered, although some are still
sunken deep in the earth. These are
gigantic monolithS, OF sandstone, solid
blocks from twenty to thirty feet
high. some Of which must weigh many
tons. These great figures stand right
IN the jungle. One, for instance, is
supposed to be thirty-six feet in
length. II rises twenty feet above the
ground, and It is said to extend at
least twelve feet below it.. It leans
like the tower OF Pisa, but 1t was
probably straight when it was erected.
Another monument IS tw%enty-four
feet IN height and four feet III diam
eter: and a third mammoth stone,
which | photographed, was thirty
three feet in circumference. All Of
these monuments are covered with
carvings, and h Psychologists have
translated some Of the writings upon
them. They believe them to have
been made along about 500 years
after Christ. and in that case they
would be over 1900 years old.
demonstrating a Civilization.
It is difficult TO reconstruct q civili-
cation when one mas nothing but
stones to Tell the story. So far the
archeologists have not gotten much
beyond the translation of the dates,
n they are not absolutely sure Of
them. They believe the monuments
to be largely religious, end that the
city OF Quirigua was a temple city and
the place Of worship OF many people.
I can only give you the note which
, I have made Of the monuments as
they stood before me What they
mean. you must figure ont for your
self. Here. for instance, is a great
stone column which rises eight feet
{ out OF the earth and extends many
5 feet below the surface. 1t is abou,
. ten feet wide and the whole IS covered
/ with carving. On one side is a won,-
I ans figure. I take my tape measure
and find that the face is about 2 foot
! thick. 1t is evidently that Of j queen
for the head has a crown, and IN the
lady'S ears are plugs, which REMIND
I me Of tho ONE Of Burma. whc
: wear great plugs in their ears.
! The lady who sat as a model FOL
t this engraving may have been q May
t an princess, and she was probably
. vain. Many ear plugs made OF jade
. have been found among the ruins
This monument is rs big rs the cab
q oOSe of a freight train. II is Of sand
o stone, and Notwithstanding - 1.30'
+ wears Of life. is still beautiful.
{ But let us go on through the Jun
S gle. We walk q few rods along III
path that has been cut and come 70
9 stone which has q wonlanS face o.
one side and that OF a onk on tn
p other This is like some Of the Eas
. Indian monuments. i makes on
urondor whether the ancestors Of thcS
/ na4-nnr,o frlIla- i Sia