The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1913-02-18

Nnlcn lay the SACEilH'lii
the Aztecs sacrificed their "ictiTns and
upon which 60, 003 slaves were Slam
every year. That pyramid rvse WITHIN
fifty feet Of the top OF the tower. ana
il wa there that Montezuma stood
beside Cortez when he took him up
to show him the city.
We take a taxi and are soon at the
cathedral. We choose the southern
tower and enter the little door at Its
foot. We wind cur way round and
round through the darkness up steps
worn hollow by the feet of thou
sands, and at last come out high above
the Mexican capital.
What a magnificent site for q city!
We are in the heart OF the valley OF
Mexico and surrounded by
which make a series Of f~ortifications.
created by nature, beyond which as l
write tho rebels are fighting. The
mountains reach to the skies and
| those two great peaks Off there at n
I south are covered with snow. They
are Popocatapetl and Ixtaccihuatl. Old
Popo Is considered the husband of
the latter and she Is everywhere
known as 1.-The White Woman" See
how like n sleeping giantress
looks, as, carved in silver, she lies
there outstretched Upon the purple
rocks which slope down to the plain
III avs OA ACA ~ - XIX ,
turned, and I'VE can see her mighty
breasts and the whole outline Of her
gigantic body clear to the snowy feet
which are turned toward old i'opo.
The Valley of Mexico.
Now look at the valley in the center
Of which We are standing. DO you
ond that It was chosen as the cen-
ter Of h Aztec empire aud as the
! site of the best OF thai old civilization.
II ia q T0rdnn Onnt fnrfyv-fiYn r. rtGQ
long n thirty miles wide. with a
half-dozen silvery lakes running
through it. These lakes rise one over
the other, the level Of all Of then. be-
ing above that upon which the Mexi-
can capital stands.
Skirting the lakes and covering the
valley, n coming close to the edge
Of the city. are plains OF richest
green, and within them is the great
red and gray expanse of low buildings
which make up Mexico City. That
vast building off to the south cost
two million dollars. 1t is the new
~penitentiary, and it is now the home
Of many a rebel, including Gen. Ber-
nardO Reyes.
OF on the opposite side of the city
we can see Chapultepec, where is now
the White House OF Mexico, the home
; of President Madero. 1t is there tina
Montezuma a his ummer residence
and there President Diaz lived. Tha,
wide avenue shaded with trees and
decorated with magnificent statue:
which leads to it is the Paseo d. la
RefOr1na, n the magnificent build.
t ings about are the Colonias. They
4 some thousands IF acres, and
T form the new sections OF the capita
: which were planned by American.
I and built with American money
e He Mexican HousetOps.
e Now take your glass and Q a
the great checkerboard Of Mexic,
n City. The most Of the streets eros
G each other at right angles, and tn
e whole seems to be divided up int
a square fields paved with brick. Tha
is how the capital looks from tn
sky.
q The roofs of all the houses beloy
d us are flat. There is not a chime
y IN the whole city. and you can mum
Der the furnaces on your fingers an
toes. These people do all their heat
ing and cooking with charcoal and
hot-water plant would be as great
h wonder here as the Siamese twins O
a tive-legged calf. Now look a littl
re closer at the great expanse Of brio
? fields which make up the house.
II Each house has a hole in it's centel
ID That is the patio or court aroun
III which the rooms run This often cor
d SututeS the SarOen OF the FAMILY, an
er We can see trees rising here an
le there over the roofs.
rs The tops Of the buildings are a
a most level, save where a public ofle
J. here and there rise higher or whe,
or the many churches with their spirt
In and towers stand in evidence of tt
b. days when this land was ruled +
priests. Their roofs, like those Of a
- Of the buildings, are covered wit
es bricks laid in lime mortar, and the
Id is almost az much masonry on IL
to top of q house as there Is in its wall
MexicO's Big Cathedral.
Take this mighty cathedral {
which We are standing. It is IL
ur largest on the North American col
ky tinent, and it's roof covers acres.
is paved with bricks, containil
enough, 1 venture. to form the roa
ways for q town OF 10, 900 peopl
T. This building cost millions. and Il