Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-02-28

outside of Mexico City. and carved and
moved into the city, where it graced the
great temple which stood on the site OF
the present Cathedral of Mexico. The
marvel is how they were able to trans
port this huge stone across a broken
country and over many water courses and
canals to its final resting place.
When the SpaniardS came to Mexico
they RACED the Aztec temple to the
ground. and until the seventeenth century
the stone lay buried in front of what is
now the Mexican White House. 1t was
then dug up: but the church. fearful that
it would be the means OF leading the In
dams Of Mexico back to their idolatry.
ordered it reburied, but not before much
damage had been done to it by devout
Indians who stoned it on frequent Occa-
sions. The stone was dug up again in
1900, and was cemented on the western
tower of the cathedral, where it remained
exposed to the elements and to vandals
until 1855 when 1t was taken to the
National Museum. Here it is kept as one
of the priceless relics Of a great civiIiza-
ton, Of which we have only traces today.
X
1t is said that this great stone was
placed in a horizontal position in the
eighth house
Dedication Preceded of, the great
Coming of Columbus. Mexico It's
dedication is said to have taken place in
1881, eleven years before the discovery
of America by Columbus. The reignlng
sovereign. King AxayacatI, invited all
the friendly nations to take part in its
dedication Thirteen priests. represent
ing the thirteen principal gods OF Mexico
Zone for each year Of the quarter CYCLE,
armed with their obsidian knives, pre-.
pared for the human sacrifices by Which
the stone should be dedicated
Seven hundred and twenty-cight cap
tiyes who had been taken prisoners in
great battle were to be sacrificed dur
ing the celebration. The king himself
led off these sacrificial ceremonies. At
sunrise a priest with a smoking pot of
incense marched around the stone four
times and then shattered the incense pot
upon the surface of the great 'monolith.
Whereupon the king assembled the stone
plucked from the breast of each victim
his bleeding and. quivering heart. held
1t to the stone, and then threw 1t into
the stone vase which is still preserved
tinued the sacrifices until -fifty-two prts-
oners had died by his hand. After this
each one Of the thirteen priests took
his turn in the work OF completing the
historian, says that the king drank of the
blood and ate of the flesh of the victims
of the sacrifice, and that his death soon
thereafter was direct result of the eX-
cesses Of that occasion.
The Aztecs not only subdivided their
years, but their years were in turn SUBJ
divisions of cycles. The cycle consisted
of f1fty-twO years, and was subdivided
into quarter cycles Of thirteen years each.
These quarter cycles were subdividedr into
three four-year periods with one year
over at the end of each quarter cycle.
The group Of four years was named
Rabbit" Reed" Flint and House."
and these were repeated in each group
during the cycle. In this way the quarter
cycle would end with the same year with
which it began. and the succeeding quar-
ter cycle would begin with the next year,
and SO on through the entire cycle. A
similar arrangement was laid out for the
months and days of the year, and the AZ
tee probably had less trouble to interpret
his calendar than the modern American.