El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-05-03

y EEXICO CITY. May 3.-MexicO
MI might be called a land Of blood
- = II was so in the days Of the
Aztecs. It was so many times during
the days Of the Spaniards, and it has
been so during these terrible days Of
Nadero and Huerta- In this letter I
write of the bloody times OF the past
I have just come from the National
museum where have photographed
the Sacrificial stone which was IN
use when COrteZ came, and which was
one Of the blOOdiest shrines upon
earth.
worlds Greatest Battle-Ground
say bloody shrine, and mean It
This stone. so small that II would NOT
FIN the parlor Of a fiat renting IOr $50
a month. has been the site OF NOR e
battles than any other spot d us
size in the world Upon II nave no" -
streams OF blood greater than those OF
the recent war between Bulgaria anu
Turkey and all the deaths OF Jne pres
ent revolution here are notnlns N
COMPARISON with those VINO nave uleu
on this block of granite II was upon
81 that the Spaniards saw the Azuecs
kin their captured brothers
The fight between the SpanlardS anu
the Mexicans was at its height Wnen
Corfez saw the Aztec priests led4 me
Spanish captives up the steps q t-Le
mighty mound which stood Just aDgN e
IL
them upon it. preparatory 10 cuLllnS
ont fbeir hearts. The captiTes were
sstriuDed to their waists ana CoIle1
could tell them BY the conIEasL OF - CllelL
skins against those OF LneL1 CoP+0l
me Snaniards' heads were adorned
with feathers, and they were mace 20
dance as they went mp As sCoA .
49, we're stripped, their naked DO0ieS
Tre-e laid upon this stone Then came
q flash Of the knife and a MOLLelit
later the priests held up tnelI pLOOGSS
hearts and threw them to IhaL noIILu
IDOL the Aztec god Of war, Wnlcn you
nav see here against the wall In TINS
same museum -,1-;-,e,
an +be history of these ancient times.
rTbev are finding new tablets bearing
1,faronlvDhics and the exploration -
going on among the rulneq cues =
far south as Guatemala 1 nave a.
ready written of the Work our arch-
eoIoEicaI society IS DONG at luLL-5 10
That relates 10 the Mayans- Inc -
+ervs came later and we nave DSll5I
1870 ZION as TO them. Their records
show that 1900 captives were AllLeu
On this sacrificial stone N one cay
That was shortly before Coiunous as.
covered America The prisoners were
selected by lot. and they formed a pro-
Cession about two miles long IN one
~ +ba buildings near the TeocaIl, the
great altar OF the A1SsSs,. o66 I-y,IIe
iards with CorteZ found lS6,gOO shILLsl
taken from those who had oeen mus
EiIIed. Among them were men. Wo-
men and children
on the Sacrificial stone
Fut let me tell you how the stone
1,oIzs We know it is authentic, lot
4be records say that It was thrown
down nv CorteZ, and thus became a
Tart of the ruins of MOntezuma's capl-
TaI That was over 400 years ago Ihe
stone Law buried for more than three
centuries but about IUy years ago II
zvas dug I'D. and the authorities or
dered ii to be broken to pieces, that II
might be used for paving the city one
of the priests objected, however, ana
if was saved
There is nothing that brings one
closer TO the Aztecs. The stone IS per
fsctIv round. and its rim is covered
Nth carvings In the center OF the
ION is a hole as big as a tin wash
basin. with a. groove running out 70
the rim That hole was used 70 eaten
the blood OF the victims which flowed
over through the groove into a great
stone bowl which also Is here TO De
seen 4-.
their sacrifices. and the most dis
ffDguished Of the captives were often
given a chance to fight for their lives
Separate and apart from the stone or
sacrifice was a gladiatOrial stone with
a ring in its top, upon which the cap
tive stripped TO the skin, fought IN
der the eyes OF the king and other
SPECTATORS He was chained to the
stone and given q wooden sword and
shield Thus equipped he cOntended
with q soldier. who was armed with a
sword Of obsidian, a glasslize sub
stance made from a kind Of volcanic