El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-08-29

that his statue was getting buried in
the sand If the monarch MOulu olg II
out. he was told that he might expect
an immense reward ThoJhmes took
Dains 10 obey the request thus con-
veyed, and erected the tablet TO COM
memorate the Circumstance
Giant Making Was General
Or. J. Walter Fewkes. OF the govern
ment Bureau Of Ethnology, says that
the BabylOniGns and other anclents Of
the Euphrates Valley were not inferior
10 the Egyptians in the production OF
stone giants Most remarkable. indeed,
is the extent in which such images are
scattered all over the world. In the
buried cities Of Ceylon are many colos-
sci statues Of Buddha-one Of them,
recumbent being cut out OF solid rock,
and. together with the pillow and
couch on which the figure rests. mea-
surfing A feet in length Buddha, of
course. was a man; having been defied,
he is appropriately represented by stone
ina Ses whose huge size indicate his
mighty power.
stone Tiger of Mexico City.
At the gretaJ ruin known as Zim-
babwe. in South Africa, IS a remark
able platform with sOapstone pedestals
supporting gigantic stone birds No
body knows that what they mean
Equally mysterious is the significance
Of the huge stone tiger recently dug
10 incidental TO excavations made in
the street behind the great cathedral
Of the city of Mexico But this ca
thedral occupies the site Of the ancient
temple Of the AZtecs, which was stand
ing when CorteZ arrived, and doubtless
the tiger was associated in some way
with the religion Montezuma knew.
The most mysterious of all stone
giants bar none are those of Easter
Island volcanic rock in the Pacific
Ocean. 200 miles due west from the
South American coast, and situated
nearly on the line Of the Tropic Of
Capricorn. The nearest land is 100
milestO the westward Although only
Is miles long by miles wide, this is
land had formerly population of some
thing like 10000 souls, it is believed.
Great Stone Platforms.
The voyager who approached Easter
Island 400 years ago would have beheld,
placed at intervals along the shore,
great platforms Of hewn stones. and on
them rows Of stone statues, which their
faces toward the sea On one Of these
platforms he might have counted fff-
teen such giants. from 40 TO 90 feet in
height their heads surmOunted by huge
cylindrical crowns Of red volcanic tufa
Today the Platforms remain. but all Of
the statues have been thrown down and
lie scattered about.
It was formerly supposed that the
stone giants were gods, worshipped as
idols, but il has been ascertained that
they represented chiefs and others dis
IN : uAsLAcu persons some OF them are
evidently females. The figures. each
having the form of the upper half of a
human being, are Of gray lava
In front Of each platform is a wide
paved space, apparently designed to af--l
ford standing room for considerable
Beneath the platforms
are chambers filled with skeletons
evidently communal sepulchers. TO
which the bodies OF the dead were
consigned being wrapped in dried
grass and laid with their heads to-
ward the ocean
Many other statues are found in
various stages Of completion in the
luarries which served as workshops
for turning them out These quar- I
RES are on the inside Of the crater Of !
an extinct volcano. There the cliffs /
nave been cut into terraces by the Z
and here and there one {
ices stone giant half finished. or in !
,ther cases nearly ready 10 receive the I
inal touches Others again are merely
out on the rocky walls. as a !
preliminary TO beginning the work of 4
sculpture Inside the crater are
llnety-three statues, 40 of which are
inlshed and ready to be conveyed to
heir platforms on the coast.
The labor involved in the process of
transportation must have been enorm-
JUS, inasmuch as the stone giants.
Weighing from u to 30 tons each, had