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Article ACCOUNT OF ANCIENT MEXICAN CITIES, Page 1 of 2 →
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Account Of Ancient Mexican Cities,
ACCOUNT OF ANCIENT MEXICAN CITIES ,
By the Priest of Santa Cruz del Quiche . [ From Stephens' Travels in Central America , Chiapas , and Yutacan , 1841 ] " The Padre ' s knowledge was not confined to his own immediate neighbourhood . His first curacy was at Coban , in the province of Vera Paz ; and he told us that four leagues from that place was another ancient city , as large as Santa Cruz del Quichedeserted and desolate ,
, and almost as perfect as when evacuated by its inhabitants . He had wandered through its silent streets , and over its gigantic buildings , and its palace was as entire as that of Quiche when he first saw it . This is within two hundred miles of Guatamala , and in a district of country not disturbed by war ; yet , with all our inquiries , we had heard nothing of it . * My impression , however , of the existence of such a city is most strong . I do most earnestly hope that some future traveller will visit
it . He will not hear of it even at Guatamala , and perhaps will be told that it does not exist : nevertheless , let him seek for it , and if he do find it , he will experience sensations that seldom fall to the lot of man . But the Padre told us more : On the other side of the great traversing range of Cordilleras lies the district of Vera Paz , once called Tierra de Guerra , or land of war . Three times the Spaniards were driven back ( by the aboriginal inhabitants ) in their attempts to conquer it . . " At this day , the north-eastern section ( of the Terra de Guerra ) , bounded by the range of the Cordilleras aud the State of Chiapas , is
occupied by Candones , or unbaptized Indians , who live as their fathers did , acknowledging ho submission to the Spaniards , aiid the government of Central Ahierica does not pretend to exercise any controul over theni . But the thing that roused us was the assertion by the Padre , that four days on the road to Mexico , on the other side of the' great Sierra , Was a living city , large and populous , occupied by Indians , precisely in the same state as before the discovery Of Americui " He had heard of it many years before at the village' of Chajuland
, was told by the villagers , that from the topmost ridge of the Sierra this was distinctly visible . He was then young , and With much labour climbed to the naked summit of the Sierra , from which , at a height of ten or twelve thousand feet , he looked over an immense plain , extending to Yutacart and the Gulph of Mexico , and saw at a great distance a large city , spread over a great space , and with turrets white , arid glittering in the sun . The traditionary account of the Indians of Chajul
is , that no white man has ever reached this city ; that the inhabitants speak the Maya language , are aware that a race of strangers has conquered the whole country around , and murder any white man who attempts to enter their territory . " One look at that city were worth ten years of an every-day life . If the Padre is right , a place is left where Indians and an Indian city exist as Cortes and Alvarado found them : there are living men who can solve the mystery that hangs over the ruined cities of America ;
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Account Of Ancient Mexican Cities,
ACCOUNT OF ANCIENT MEXICAN CITIES ,
By the Priest of Santa Cruz del Quiche . [ From Stephens' Travels in Central America , Chiapas , and Yutacan , 1841 ] " The Padre ' s knowledge was not confined to his own immediate neighbourhood . His first curacy was at Coban , in the province of Vera Paz ; and he told us that four leagues from that place was another ancient city , as large as Santa Cruz del Quichedeserted and desolate ,
, and almost as perfect as when evacuated by its inhabitants . He had wandered through its silent streets , and over its gigantic buildings , and its palace was as entire as that of Quiche when he first saw it . This is within two hundred miles of Guatamala , and in a district of country not disturbed by war ; yet , with all our inquiries , we had heard nothing of it . * My impression , however , of the existence of such a city is most strong . I do most earnestly hope that some future traveller will visit
it . He will not hear of it even at Guatamala , and perhaps will be told that it does not exist : nevertheless , let him seek for it , and if he do find it , he will experience sensations that seldom fall to the lot of man . But the Padre told us more : On the other side of the great traversing range of Cordilleras lies the district of Vera Paz , once called Tierra de Guerra , or land of war . Three times the Spaniards were driven back ( by the aboriginal inhabitants ) in their attempts to conquer it . . " At this day , the north-eastern section ( of the Terra de Guerra ) , bounded by the range of the Cordilleras aud the State of Chiapas , is
occupied by Candones , or unbaptized Indians , who live as their fathers did , acknowledging ho submission to the Spaniards , aiid the government of Central Ahierica does not pretend to exercise any controul over theni . But the thing that roused us was the assertion by the Padre , that four days on the road to Mexico , on the other side of the' great Sierra , Was a living city , large and populous , occupied by Indians , precisely in the same state as before the discovery Of Americui " He had heard of it many years before at the village' of Chajuland
, was told by the villagers , that from the topmost ridge of the Sierra this was distinctly visible . He was then young , and With much labour climbed to the naked summit of the Sierra , from which , at a height of ten or twelve thousand feet , he looked over an immense plain , extending to Yutacart and the Gulph of Mexico , and saw at a great distance a large city , spread over a great space , and with turrets white , arid glittering in the sun . The traditionary account of the Indians of Chajul
is , that no white man has ever reached this city ; that the inhabitants speak the Maya language , are aware that a race of strangers has conquered the whole country around , and murder any white man who attempts to enter their territory . " One look at that city were worth ten years of an every-day life . If the Padre is right , a place is left where Indians and an Indian city exist as Cortes and Alvarado found them : there are living men who can solve the mystery that hangs over the ruined cities of America ;