ANTIQUITIES OF THE NORTHERN MEXICAN STATES.
THE HOME OF THE CHICHIMECS -- MICHOACAN -- TZINTZUNTZAN,
LAKE PATZCUARO, TEREMENDO -- ANICHE AND JIQUILPAN --
COLIMA -- ARMERÍA AND CUYUTLAN -- JALISCO -- TONALA,
GUADALAJARA, CHACALA, SAYULA, TEPATITLAN, ZAPOTLAN,
NAYARIT, TEPIC, SANTIAGO IXCUINTLA, AND BOLAÑOS --
GUANAJUATO -- SAN GREGORIO AND SANTA CATARINA -- ZACATECAS
-- LA QUEMADA AND TEUL -- TAMAULIPAS -- ENCARNACION, SANTA
BARBARA, CARMELOTE, TOPILA, TAMPICO, AND BURRITA -- NUEVO
LEON AND TEXAS -- COAHUILA -- BOLSON DE MAPIMI, SAN
MARTERO -- DURANGO -- ZAPE, SAN AGUSTIN, AND LA BREÑA --
SINALOA AND LOWER CALIFORNIA -- CERRO DE LAS TRINCHERAS IN
SONORA -- CASAS GRANDES IN CHIHUAHUA.
A somewhat irregular line extending across the continent from
north-east to south-west, terminating at Tampico on the gulf and at
the bar of Zacatula on the Pacific, is the limit which the progress
northward of our antiquarian exploration has reached, the results
having been recorded in the preceding chapters. The region that now
remains to be traversed, excepting the single state of Michoacan, the
home of the Tarascos, is without the limits that have been assigned to
the Civilized Nations, and within the bounds of comparative savagism.
The northern states of what is now the Mexican Republic were inhabited
at the time of the Conquest by the hundreds of tribes, which, if not
all savages, had at least that reputation among their southern
brethren. To the proud resident of Anáhuac and the southern plateaux,
the northern hordes were Chichimecs, 'dogs,' barbarians. Yet several
of these so-called barbarian tribes were probably as far advanced in
certain elements of civilization as some of the natives that have been
included among the Nahuas. They were tillers of the soil and lived
under systematic forms of government, although not apparently much
given to the arts of architecture and sculpture. Only one grand pile
of stone ruins is known to exist in the whole northern Chichimec
region, and the future discovery of others, though possible, is not, I
think, very likely to occur. Nor are smaller relics, idols and
implements, very numerous, except in a few localities; but this may be
attributed perhaps in great degree to the want of thorough
exploration. A short chapter will suffice for a description of all the
monuments south of United States territory, and in describing them I
shall treat of each state separately, proceeding in general terms from
south to north. A glance at the map accompanying this volume will show
the reader the position of each state, and each group of remains, more
clearly than any verbal location could do.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: TARASCAN MONUMENTS.]
The civilized Tarascos of Michoacan have left but very few traces in
the shape of material relics. Their capital and the centre of their
civilization was on the shores and islands of Lake Patzcuaro, where
the Spaniards at the time of the Conquest found some temples described
by them as magnificent.[X-1] Beaumont tells us that the ruins of a
'plaza de armas' belonging traditionally to the Tarascos at
Tzintzuntzan, the ancient capital, were still visible in 1776, near
the pueblo of Ignatzio, two leagues distant. Five hundred paces west
of the pueblo a wall, mostly fallen, encloses a kind of plaza,
measuring four hundred and fourteen by nine hundred and thirty feet.
The wall was about sixteen feet thick and eighteen in height, with
terraces, or steps, on the inside. In the centre were the foundations
of what the author supposes to have been a tower, and west of the
enclosed area were three heaps of stones, supposed to be burial
mounds. Two idols, one in human form, lacking head and feet, the other
shaped like an alligator, were found here, carved from a stone called
_tanamo_, much like the tetzontli. The same author says, "respecting
the ruins of the palace of the Tarascan kings, according to the
examination which I lately made of these curiosities, I may say that
eastward of this city of Tzintzuntzan, on the slope of a great hill
called Yaguarato, a hundred paces from the settlement, are seen on the
surface of the ground some subterranean foundations, which extend from
north to south about a hundred and fifty paces, and about fifty from
east to west, where there is a tradition that the palace of the
ancient kings was situated. In the centre of the foundation-stones are
five small mounds, or cuicillos, which are called stone _yacatas_, and
hewn blocks, over which an Indian guardian is never wanting, for even
now the natives will not permit these stones to be removed." "On the
shores of Lake Siraguen are found ancient monuments of the things
which served for the pleasure of the kings and nobles, with other
ruined edifices, which occur in various places."[X-2] Tzintzuntzan is
on the south-eastern shore of the lake, some leagues northward from
the modern Patzcuaro. Lyon in later times was told that the royal
palace and other interesting remains were yet to be seen on the lake
shores, but he did not visit them.[X-3]
[Sidenote: TEREMENDO AND ANICHE.]
Another early writer, Villa-Señor y Sanchez, says that in 1712 he,
with a companion, entered what seemed a cavern in a deep barranca at
Teremendo, eight leagues south-west of Valladolid, or Morelia. "There
were discovered prodigious aboriginal vaults, bounded by very strong
walls, rendered solid by fire. In the centre of the second was a bench
like the foot of an altar, where there were many idols, and fresh
offerings of copal, and woolen stuffs, and various figures of men and
animals." It was found according to this author that the builders had
constructed walls of loose stones of a kind easily melted, and then by
fire had joined the blocks into a solid mass without the use of
mortar, continuing the process to the roof. The outside of the
structure was overgrown with shrubs and trees.[X-4]
* * * * *
At Aniche, an island in Lake Patzcuaro, Mr Beaufoy discovered some
hieroglyphic figures cut on a rock; and at Irimbo about fifty miles
east of Morelia, he was shown some small mounds which the natives
called fortifications, although there was nothing to indicate that
such had been their use.[X-5] In the mountains south-east of Lake
Chapala, in the region of Jiquilpan, Sr García reports the remains of
an ancient town, and says further that opals and other precious stones
well worked have been obtained here.[X-6] Humboldt pictures a very
beautiful obsidian bracelet or ring, worked very thin and brilliantly
polished; and another writer mentions some giants' bones, all found
within the limits of Michoacan.[X-7]
* * * * *
At the time when official explorations were undertaken by Dupaix and
Castañeda in the southern parts of New Spain, it seems that officials
in some northern regions also were requested by the Spanish government
to report upon such remains of antiquity as might be known to exist.
The antiquarian genius to whom the matter was referred in Colima, then
a department of Michoacan, but now an independent state, made a
comprehensive report to the effect that he "had not been able to hear
of anything except an infinite number of edifices of ruined towns,"
and some bones and other remains apparently of little importance,
which had been taken from excavations on the hacienda of Armería and
Cuyutlan, and which seemed to have been destroyed and covered up by
volcanic eruptions. If this archæologist had found more than 'an
infinite number' of ruins, it might possibly have occurred to him to
describe some of them.[X-8] Nothing more is known of Colima
antiquities.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: PYRAMID OF TEPATITLAN.]
At Tonala, probably just across the Colima line northward in the state
of Jalisco, the report sent in reply to the inquiry just spoken of,
mentioned a hill which seemed to be for the most part artificial, and
in which excavations revealed walls, galleries, and rooms. Similar
works were said to be of frequent occurrence in that region. In
digging for the foundations of the Royal Hospital at Guadalajara,
"there was found a cavity, or subterranean vault, well painted, and
several statues, especially one which represents an Indian woman in
the act of grinding corn." It was hollow, and probably of clay. Near
Autlan, in the south-west, there were said to exist some traces of
feet sculptured in the rock, one at the ford called Zopilote, and
another on the road between Autlan and Tepanola. Near Chacala, still
further south, "there is a tank, and near it a cross well carved, and
on its foot certain ancient unknown letters, with points in five
lines. On it was seen a most devoted crucifix. Under it are other
lines of characters with the said points, which seemed Hebrew or
Syriac." This information comes from an old author, and is a specimen
of the absurd reports of the Christian gospel having been preached at
various points in these regions, which are still believed to a
considerable extent by a certain class of the people of Mexico.[X-9]
An author who wrote in 1778 states that between Guadalajara and
Sayula, and four leagues north-east of the latter town, "there is a
causeway of stone and earth, about half a league long, across the
narrowest part of a marsh, or lagoon. There is a tradition that the
gentiles built it in ancient times. On most parts of its shores this
marsh has little heaps of pottery in fragments, very wide and thick,
and there can still be found figures of large vessels, and also
foundations and traces of small houses of stone. Tradition relates
that the antiguos of different nations came here to make salt, and
that they had several bloody fights, of which many traces appear in
the shape of black transparent flints worked into arrow-points."[X-10]
Mr Löwenstern discovered near Tepatitlan, some fifty miles north-east
of Guadalajara, a pyramid described as somewhat similar to those of
Teotihuacan, but smaller, its exact dimensions not being given, but
the height being estimated at from ninety to a hundred and thirty
feet. It was built in three stories of earth, sand, and pebbles, and
bore on its summit a dome-shaped mound. The pyramid at the base was
encased with large stones; whether or not they were in hewn blocks is
not stated, but the stones lying about indicated that the whole
surface had originally borne a stone facing. The form of the base was
quadrangular, but time and the cultivation of the whole surface as a
cornfield, had modified the original form and given the structure an
octagonal conformation with not very clearly defined angles. It
requires additional evidence to prove that this supposed pyramid was
not a natural hill like Xochicalco with some artificial improvement.
The hill is called Cerrito de Montezuma, the custom of applying this
monarch's name to every relic of antiquity being even more common in
the northern regions than in other parts of the country. The author of
_Cincinnatus' Travels_, mentions a 'mound' at Zapotlan, about fifty
miles east of Guadalajara, which is five hundred feet high. He does
not expressly state that it is artificial, and a gentleman familiar
with the locality tells me that it is not generally so regarded,
having the appearance of a natural grass-covered hill.[X-11]
In the northern part of the state, in the region of Tepic, the
Spaniards seem to have found grander temples, a more elaborate
religious system, and a civilization generally somewhat more advanced
than in most other parts of the north or north-west. Still no
well-defined architectural monuments are reported on good authority in
modern times. It is to the earlier writers that we must go for
accounts of any extensive remains, and such accounts in all cases
probably refer to the buildings which the Spaniards found still in use
among the natives; and the old writers were ready to seize upon every
scrap of rumor in this direction, that they might successfully trace
the favorite southward course of the Aztecs to Anáhuac. Hervas says
that "there have been found and still exist in Nayarit ruins of
edifices which by their form seem to be Mexican, and the natives say
that the Mexicans built them when they were in Nayarit."[X-12] This
was another of the regions where some wandering apostle preached the
gospel in aboriginal times, and the 'cross of Tepic' was one of the
celebrated Christian relics. Some wonderful foot-prints in the stone
are also among the reported relics.[X-13] A temple of hewn stone,
situated on a rocky hill, ascended by a winding road, was found at
Xuchipiltepetl by the Spanish explorers in 1841; and Villa-Señor
describes a cave where the natives were wont to worship the skeleton
of an ancient king gaily appareled and seated in state upon a
throne.[X-14] Finally Prichard informs us that "near Nayarit are seen
earthen mounds and trenches."[X-15]
[Sidenote: SANTIAGO IXCUINTLA.]
A writer in the Boletin of the Mexican Geographical Society describes
the temple at Jalisco as it was found by the first Spaniards; and
another in the _Nouvelles Annales des Voyages_ states that the village
of Jalisco, about a league from Tepic, is built on the ruins of the
ancient city, and that "in making excavations there are found utensils
of every kind, weapons and idols of the Mexican divinities."[X-16]
After all, the only definite account extant of relics found in this
part of the state is that by Sr Retes. He says that the northern bank
of the Rio Grande, or Tololotlan, contains numerous remains for three
or four hundred miles, consisting chiefly of stone and clay images and
pottery, and occurring for the most part on the elevated spots out of
the reach of inundations. The part of this region that has been most
explored, is the vicinity of Santiago Ixcuintla, twenty-five or thirty
miles from the mouth of the river. On the slope of a hill four leagues
north-west of Santiago, at the foot of Lake San Juan, was found a
crocodile of natural size carved from stone, together with several
dogs or sphinxes, and some idols, which the author deems similar to
those of the Egyptians. Human remains have been found in connection
with the other relics, and most of the latter are said to have been
sent to enrich European collections by rich foreign residents of
Tepic. The objects consist of idols in human and animal forms, axes,
and lances, the pottery being in many cases brightly colored. The cut
shows six of the thirty-eight relics pictured in the plates given by
Retes. Fig. 1, 2, are the heads of small stone idols, the first head
being only two inches in height. Fig. 3 is a head of what the author
calls a sphinx. Fig. 4 is an earthen-ware mold for stamping designs on
cloth or pottery; there are several of these represented in the
collection. Fig. 5 is an earthen jar six inches high, of a material
nearly as hard as stone. Many of the jars found are very similar to
those now made and used in the same region. Fig. 6 is an earthen idol
four inches high. Among the other objects is a flint lance-head with
notches like saw-teeth on the sides.[X-17] Similar relics, but of
somewhat ruder style and coarser material, have been found at a
locality called Abrevadero, about eighteen miles south of Santiago
towards Tepic.[X-18] At Bolaños, some distance east from Santiago, on
a northern branch of the same river, Lyon obtained, by offering
rewards to the natives, "three very good stone wedges or axes of
basalt." Bones of giants were reported at a distance of a day's
journey. At the same distance southward "there is said to be a cave
containing several figures or idols in stone."[X-19]
[Illustration: Relics from Santiago, Jalisco.]
* * * * *
[Sidenote: ANTIQUITIES OF GUANAJUATO.]
Respecting the antiquities of Guanajuato Sr Bustamante states that the
only ones in the state are some natural caves artificially improved,
as in the Cerro de San Gregorio, on the hacienda of Tupátaro; and some
earthen mounds in the plains of Bajio, proved to be burial mounds.
Under the earth and a layer of ashes the skeleton lies with its head
covered by a little brazier of baked clay, and accompanied by arrows,
fragments of double-edged knives, obsidian fragments, bird-bone
necklaces strung on twisted bird-gut, smooth stones, some small
semi-spheres of baked clay with a hole in the centre of each, and a
few grotesque idols.[X-20]
Castillo describes a small human head, brought from the mines of
Guanajuato, the material of which was a "concretion of quartz and
chalcedony for the most part, sprinkled with fine grains of gold, and
a little pyrites, of a whitish color, but partly stained red by the
oxide of iron." This head, it seems, was claimed by some to be a
petrifaction, but the author is of a contrary opinion, although he
believes there is nothing artificial about it except the mouth.[X-21]
Finally Berlandier describes two pyramids near the pueblo of Santa
Catarina, in the vicinity of the city of Guanajuato. They are square
at the base, face the cardinal points, and are built of pieces of
porphyry laid in clayey earth. The eastern pyramid is twenty-three
feet high, thirty-seven feet square at the base, with a summit
platform fifteen feet square. The corresponding dimensions of the
western mound are eighteen, thirty-seven, and fifteen feet. They are
only fifteen or twenty feet apart, and are joined by an embankment
about five feet high.[X-22]
* * * * *
[Sidenote: RUINS OF QUEMADA.]
The most important and famous ruins of the whole northern region are
those known to the world under the name of Quemada, in southern
Zacatecas. The ruins are barely mentioned by the early writers as one
of the probable stations of the migrating Aztecs; and the modern
explorations which have resulted in published descriptions were made
between 1826 and 1831, although Manuel Gutierrez, parish priest of the
locality in 1805, wrote a slight account which has been recently
published.[X-23] Capt. G. F. Lyon visited Quemada in 1826, and
published a full description, illustrated with three small cuts, in
his journal.[X-24] Gov. García of Zacatecas ordered Sr Esparza in 1830
to explore the ruins. The latter, however, by reason of other duties
and a fear of snakes, was not able to make a personal visit, but
obtained a report from Pedro Rivera who had made such a visit. The
report was published in the same year.[X-25]
Mr Berghes, a German mining engineer, connected with the famous Veta
Grande silver mines, made a survey of the ruins in 1831, for Gov.
García, and from the survey prepared a detailed and presumably
accurate plan of the works, which was afterwards published by Nebel,
and which I shall copy in this chapter. Mr Burkart, another engineer,
was the companion of Berghes, and also visited Quemada on several
other occasions. His published account is accompanied by a plan
agreeing very well with that of Berghes, but containing fewer
details.[X-26] Nebel visited Quemada about the same time.[X-27] His
plates are two in number, a general view of the ruins from the
south-west, and an interior view of one of the structures, besides
Berghes' plan. His views, so far as I know, are the only ones ever
published.[X-28]
The location is about thirty miles southward of the capital city of
Zacatecas, and six miles northward of Villanueva. The stream on which
the ruins stand is spoken of by Burkart as Rio de Villanueva, and by
Lyon as the Rio del Partido. The name Quemada, 'burnt,' is that of a
neighboring hacienda, about a league distant towards the south-west.
I do not know the origin of the name as applied to the hacienda, but
there is no evidence that it has any connection with the ruins. The
local name of the latter is Los Edificios. The only other name which I
have found applied to the place is Tuitlan. Fr Tello, in an
unpublished history of Nueva Galicia written about 1650, tells us that
the Spaniards under Capt. Chirinos "found a great city in ruins and
abandoned; but it was known to have had most sumptuous edifices, with
grand streets and plazas well arranged, and within a distance of a
quarter of a league four towers, with causeways of stone leading from
one to another; and this city was the great Tuitlan, where the Mexican
Indians remained many years when they were journeying from the
north."[X-29] This ruined city was in the region of the modern town of
Jerez, and without much doubt was identical with Quemada. Sr Gil
applies the same name to the ruins. Others without any known authority
attempt to identify Quemada with Chicomoztoc, 'the seven caves' whence
the Aztecs set out on their migrations; or with Amaquemecan, the
ancient Chichimec capital of the traditions. Gil rather extravagantly
says, "these ruins are the grandest which exist among us after those
of Palenque; and on examining them, it is seen that they were the
fruit of a civilization more advanced than that which was found in
Peru at the time of the Incas, or in Mexico at the time of
Montezuma."[X-30]
* * * * *
[Sidenote: LOS EDIFICIOS OF QUEMADA.]
The Cerro de los Edificios is a long narrow isolated hill, the summit
of which forms an irregular broken plateau over half a mile in length
from north to south, and from one hundred to two hundred yards wide,
except at the northern end, where it widens to about five hundred
yards. The height of the hill is given by Lyon as from two to three
hundred feet, but by Burkart at eight to nine hundred feet above the
level of the plain. In the central part is a cliff rising about thirty
feet above the rest of the plateau. From the brow the hill descends
more or less precipitously on different sides for about a hundred and
fifty feet, and then stretches in a gentler slope of from two to four
hundred yards to the surrounding plain. On the slope and skirting the
whole circumference of the hill, except on the north and north-east,
are traces of ancient roads crossing each other at different angles,
and connected by cross roads running up the slope with the works on
the summit. Berghes' plan of Quemada is given on the following page,
on which the roads spoken of are indicated by the dotted lines marked
H, H, H, etc. This plan and Burkart's plan and description are the
only authorities for the existence of the roads running round the
hill, Lyon and other visitors speaking only of those that diverge from
it; but it is probable that Berghes' survey was more careful and
thorough than that of the others, and his plan should be accepted as
good authority, especially as the other accounts agree with it so far
as they go.[X-31]
[Illustration: Plan of the Ruins at Quemada.]
One of the roads, which turns at a right angle round the south-western
slope, has traces of having been enclosed or raised by walls whose
foundations yet remain; and from it at a point near the angle a raised
causeway ninety-three feet wide extends straight up the slope
north-eastward to the foot of the bluff. The walls supposed to have
raised those south-western roads are not spoken of by Burkart or shown
on his plan; Lyon speaks of certain walls here which he considers
those of an enclosed area of some six acres. From a point near the
junction of the road and causeway three raised roads, paved with rough
stones extend, according to Lyon, in perfectly straight lines S.W.,
S.S.W., and S.W. by S. The first terminates in an artificial mound
across the river towards the hacienda of Quemada;[X-32] the second
extends four miles to the Coyote Rancho; and the third is said by the
natives to terminate at a mountain six miles distant. Two similar
roads thirteen or fourteen feet wide extend from the eastern slope of
the hill, one of them crossing a stream and terminating at a distance
of two miles in a cuicillo, or heap of stones. Burkart found some
evidence that the heap constituted the ruins of a regular structure or
pyramid; and Rivera locates the cuicillo on the summit of the Sierra
de Palomas. He also speaks of a road running west from the
north-western part of the hill to the small hills of San Juan, on the
Zacatecas road. Of the other roads radiating from the hill I have no
farther information than the fact that they are laid down in the
plan.[X-33]
At all points in the whole circumference where the natural condition
of the slope is not in itself a sufficient barrier to those seeking
access to the summit plateau, the brow of the hill is guarded by walls
of stone, marked B on the plan for the northern portions, and
indicated generally by the black lines in the south. Indeed the
northern end of the mesa, where the approach is somewhat less
precipitous than elsewhere, is continuously guarded by such a wall,
from nine to twelve feet thick and high, enclosing an irregular
triangular area with sides of about four hundred and fifty yards: this
area being divided by another wall into two unequal portions.
The most numerous and extensive ruins are on the southern portion of
the hill, where a larger part of the uneven surface is formed into
platforms or terraces by means of walls of solid masonry. One of these
supporting walls is double--that is, composed of two walls placed in
contact side by side, one having been completed and plastered before
the other was begun, the whole structure being twenty-one feet high
and of the same thickness.[X-34] On the platforms thus formed are a
great number of edifices in different degrees of dilapidation. Any
attempt on my part to describe these edifices in detail from the
information afforded by the authorities available could not be
otherwise than confusing and unsatisfactory. There is probably no ruin
in our territory, the verbal description of which would present so
great difficulties, even if the accounts of the original explorers
were perfectly comprehensive, as they are not; for perhaps more than
three fourths of the structures shown on the plan are not definitely
spoken of by any author. I will, however, give as clear a description
as possible, referring the reader to the plan and to one view which I
shall copy, the only satisfactory one ever published.
Near each end of the wide causeway already mentioned are two
comparatively small masses of ruins. One of them appears to have been
a square stone building thirty-one feet square at the base and of the
same height; the others, now completely in ruins, may perhaps have
been of similar dimensions, so far as may be judged by the débris. In
the centre of the causeway, perhaps at F of the plan, although
described as nearer the bluff, is a heap of stone over a star-shaped
border or pavement. On the lower part of the mesa, at the extreme
southern end and also near the head of the causeway, at A iv of the
plan, is a quadrangular space measuring two hundred by two hundred and
forty feet,[X-35] and bounded, at least on the north and east, by a
stone terrace or embankment four or five feet high and twenty feet
wide, the width of which is probably to be included in the dimensions
given.[X-36] Mr Burkart states that near the inner edge of this
terrace is a canal a foot deep and wide, covered with stone flags. On
the outer edge of the terrace, on the eastern side, stands a wall
eight feet thick and eighteen feet high. Mr Lyon thinks the other
sides were always open, but Burkart speaks of the wall as having
originally enclosed the square, and having been torn down on three
sides, which seems much more probable. At one point on the eastern
terrace stands a round pillar nineteen feet in circumference and of
the same height as the wall, or eighteen feet. There are visible
traces of nine other similar pillars, seemingly indicating the former
presence of a massive column-supported portico.
Adjoining this enclosure on the east, with only a narrow passage
intervening, is another, R of the plan, measuring according to
Burkart's measurement, which agrees very nearly with that of Berghes,
one hundred by one hundred and thirty-eight feet,[X-37] with walls
still perfect, eighteen feet high and eight feet thick, in connection
with which no terraces are mentioned, although Rivera speaks of steps
on the west. Within the walls, twenty-three feet from the sides and
nineteen and a half from the ends, is a line of eleven pillars--Lyon
says fourteen, and Rivera ten--each seventeen feet in circumference
and of the same height as the walls. There can be little doubt that
these columns once sustained a roof. Mr Berghes in one of his
excavations in 1831 is said, by Nebel, to have found an ancient roof
supported by a column, and showing exactly the method followed by the
builders. The roof was made of large flat stones, covered with mortar
and supported by beams. It is not quite clear how an excavation on
the hill could show such a room, but there is little room to doubt
that the roof-structure was similar to that described. Near this
second enclosure--and west of it, as is said, but that would be hardly
possible--Rivera speaks of a circular ruin sixteen and a half feet in
diameter, with five steps leading up to the summit, on which some
apartments were still traceable.
From the level platform in front of the two main structures described,
a causeway, beginning with a stairway and guarded at the sides by
walls for much of its length, leads northward up the slope. About
three hundred yards in this direction, possibly at the point marked F
on this causeway, is a pyramid in perfect preservation, about fifty
feet square at the base, also fifty feet high, with a flat summit.
Near this is another pyramid, only twelve feet square and eighteen
feet high, but standing on a terrace fifty by one hundred feet. Two
bowl-shaped circular pits, eight feet in diameter, with fragments of
pottery and traces of fire; a square building ten by eight feet on the
inside, with walls ten feet high; and a simple mound of stones eight
feet high, are the miscellaneous remains noted in this part of the
hill.
The most extensive and complicated ruins are found between the steep
central height and the western brow of the hill, where there is a
perpendicular descent of a hundred and fifty feet. On this central
height itself there are no ruins, but passing nearly round its base
are terraced roads twenty-five feet wide, with perpendicular walls
only partially artificial. Of the extensive group of monuments on the
platform of the south-western base of the central height, only the
portion about A ii, of the plan, has been definitely described, and
the description, although clear enough in itself, does not altogether
agree with the plan. Here we have a square enclosure similar to the
one already described in the south at A iv. Its sides are one hundred
and fifty feet, bounded by a terrace three feet high and twelve feet
wide, with steps in the centre of each side. Back of the terrace on
the east, west, and south sides stand walls eight or nine feet in
thickness and twenty feet high. The north side of the square is
bounded by the steep side of the central cliff, in which steps or
seats are cut in some parts in the solid rock, and in others built up
with rough stones. In the centre of this side, and partially on the
terrace, is a truncated pyramid, with a base of thirty-eight by
thirty-five feet, and nineteen feet high, divided into several
stories--five according to Nebel's drawing, seven according to Lyon's
statement.[X-38]
In front of the pyramid, and nearly in the centre of the square,
stands a kind of altar or small pyramid seven feet square and five
feet high. A very clear idea of this square is given in the following
cut from Nebel's drawing. It presents an interior view from a point on
the southern terrace. The pyramid in five stories, the central altar,
the eastern terrace with its steps, and standing portions of the walls
are all clearly portrayed. The view, however, disagrees very
essentially with the plan in representing extensive remains northward
from the enclosure on the upper slope, where, according to Berghes'
plan, no ruins exist. There is an entrance in the centre of the
eastern wall, another in the western, and two on the south. These
entrances do not seem to be in the form of doorways, but extend,
according to the drawing, to the full height of the walls. That on the
east is thirty feet wide and leads to an adjoining square with sides
of two hundred feet and walls still perfect. The arrangement of these
two adjoining squares is much like that of those at A iv in the south,
but in the northern structures there are no pillars to be seen.
[Illustration: Interior of Los Edificios.]
The opening through the western wall leads to the entrance to a cave,
reported to be of great extent, but not explored by any visitor on
account of the ruined condition of the passage leading to it--or, as
Gutierrez says, because the wind issues constantly from the entrance
with such force that no one can enter with lights. The mouth of the
subterranean passage is on the brink of the western precipice; the
walls were plastered, and the top supported by cedar beams. Strangely
enough the structure at A iii, so clearly defined on the plan, is not
described at all. It seems to be very similar to the enclosures
described.
The ruins on the northern part of the plateau are similar in character
to those in the south, but fewer in number. Among them are square
terraced enclosures like those already mentioned; a pyramid with
sloping sides, and eighteen feet square at the summit; a square
building sixteen feet square at the base and sixteen feet high; and
two parallel stone mounds thirty feet long.
On the lower southern slopes the foundation-stones of numerous
buildings are found, and many parts of the adjoining plain are strewn
with stones similar to those employed in the construction of the
edifices above. There is now no water on the hill, but there are
several tolerably perfect tanks, with a well, and what seem to be the
remains of aqueducts.
The material of which all the works described are built is the gray
porphyry of this and the neighboring hills, and Burkart states that
the building-stone of Los Edificios was not quarried in the hill on
which they stand, but brought from another across the valley. The
nature of the stone permits it to be very easily fractured into slabs,
and those employed in the buildings are of different sizes, but rarely
exceeding two or three inches in thickness and not hewn. They are laid
in a mortar of reddish clay mixed with straw, in which one visitor
found a corn-husk. The mortar, according to Burkart, is of an inferior
quality,--although others represent it as very good--and on the outer
walls and in all exposed situations is almost entirely washed out.
Except this washing-out of the mortar, time and the elements have
committed but slight ravages at Quemada, the dilapidation of the
buildings being due for the most part to man's agency, since most of
the buildings of the neighboring hacienda have been constructed of
blocks taken from Los Edificios. Lyon found some evidence that the
walls were originally plastered and whitened.
A large circular stone from ten to thirteen feet in diameter and from
one to three in thickness, according to different observers, on the
surface of which were sculptured representations of a hand and foot,
was found at the western base of the hill, or as Burkart says, at the
eastern base. The editor of the _Museo Mexicano_ also speaks of a
sculptured turtle bearing the figure of a reed, the Aztec _acatl_. No
other miscellaneous relics whatever have been found. Nothing
resembling inscriptions, hieroglyphics, or even architectural
decorations, is found in any part of the ruins. Obsidian fragments,
arrow and spear heads, knives, ornaments, heads and idols of terra
cotta and stone, pottery whole or in fragments, human remains and
burial deposits, some or all of which are strewn in so great abundance
in the vicinity of most other American ruins, are here utterly
wanting; or at least the only exceptions are a few bits of porphyry
somewhat resembling arrow-heads, and some small bits of pottery found
by Lyon in the circular pit on the summit.
* * * * *
The works which have been described naturally imply the existence in
this spot at some time in the past of a great city of the plain, of
which the Cerro de los Edificios was at once the fortified citadel and
temple. The paved causeways may be regarded as the principal streets
of the ancient city, on which the habitations of the people were built
of perishable material, or as constructed for some purely religious
purpose not now understood. Mr Burkart suggests that the land in the
vicinity was once swampy, and the causeways were raised to ensure a
dry road. An examination of their foundation should settle that
point, as a simple pavement of flat stones on the surface of a marsh
would not remain permanently in place. As simple roads, such
structures were hardly needed by barefooted or sandaled natives,
having no carriages or beasts of burden; and it seems most reasonable
to believe that they had a connection with religious rites and
processions, serving at the same time as main streets of a city.
The ruins of Quemada show but few analogies to any of the southern
remains, and none whatever to any that we shall find further north. As
a strongly fortified hill, bearing also temples, Quemada bears
considerable resemblance to Quiotepec in Oajaca; and possibly the
likeness would be still stronger if a plan of the Quiotepec
fortifications were extant. The massive character, number, and extent
of the monuments show the builders to have been a powerful and in some
respects an advanced people, hardly less so, it would seem at first
thought, than the peoples of Central America; but the absence of
narrow buildings covered by arches of overlapping stones, and of all
decorative sculpture and painting, make the contrast very striking.
The pyramids, so far as they are described, do not differ very
materially from some in other parts of the country, but the location
of the pyramids shown in the drawing and plan within the enclosed and
terraced squares seems unique. The pillars recall the roof structures
of Mitla, but it is quite possible that the pillars at Quemada
supported balconies instead of roofs; indeed, it seems improbable that
these large squares were ever entirely covered. The walls of Los
Edificios are higher as a rule than those of other American ruins, and
the absence of windows and regular doorways is noticeable. The total
want of idols in structures so evidently built, at least partially,
for religious purposes, is also a remarkable feature, as is the
absence of the usual pottery, implements, and weapons. The peculiar
structure, several times repeated, of two adjoining quadrangular
spaces enclosed, or partially so, by high walls, and one of them
formed by a low terrace into a kind of square basin, containing
something like an altar in its centre, is a feature not elsewhere
noted. There can hardly be any doubt that these and other portions of
the Edificios were devoted to religious rites.
While Quemada does not compare as a specimen of advanced art with
Uxmal and Palenque, and is inferior so far as sculpture and decoration
are concerned to most other Nahua architectural monuments, it is yet
one of the most remarkable of American ruins, presenting strong
contrasts to all the rest, and is well worthy of a more careful
examination than it has ever yet received. Such an examination is
rendered comparatively easy by the accessibility of the locality, and
would, I have no doubt, be far from unprofitable in an antiquarian
point of view. Los Edificios, like Copan and Palenque, have, so far as
has yet been ascertained, no place in the traditional annals of the
country, yet they bear no marks of very great antiquity; that is,
there is more reason to class them with Xochicalco, Quiotepec, Monte
Alban, and the fortified towns of Vera Cruz, than with the cities of
Yucatan and Chiapas, or even the pyramids of Teotihuacan and Cholula.
* * * * *
At San Juan Teul, nearly a hundred miles southward from Quemada, the
Spaniards found a grand aboriginal temple when they first came to this
part of the country; and Frejes, an early writer, says, "there are
ruins of a temple and of dwellings not far from the present pueblo."
There is, however, no later information respecting this group of
remains. At a place called Tabasco, about fifty miles from Quemada,
Esparza mentions the discovery of some stone axes. No other
antiquities have been definitely reported in the state of Zacatecas,
although Arlegui tells us that the early missionaries were much
troubled, and hindered in their work of conversion by the constant
discovery of idols and temples concealed in the mountains.[X-39]
* * * * *
[Sidenote: AGUASCALIENTES AND SAN LUIS POTOSÍ.]
I have no record of any relics of antiquity in the state of
Aguascalientes: San Luis Potosí has hardly proved a more fruitful
field of archæological research. Mayer gives a cut representing a
stone axe from this state; Cabrera reports some ancient tombs, or
cuicillos,--which he calls _cuiztillos_; the word being written
differently by different authors, and as applied to different
states--in the suburbs of the city of San Luis Potosí; and according
to a newspaper report two idols and a sacrificial basin, cut from a
concrete sandstone, were found in the sierra near the city and brought
to New Orleans. One of the idols was of life size, had two faces and a
hole for the insertion of a torch in its right hand; the basin was two
feet in diameter, and held by intertwined serpents.[X-40]
* * * * *
In southern Tamaulipas relics are quite abundant and of a nature very
much the same as that of those which have already been described south
of the Rio Pánuco, the boundary line between Tamaulipas and Vera Cruz.
At Encarnacion, in the vicinity of Tampico, Mr Furber reports the
stone idol shown in front and profile view in the cut. The sculpture
is described as rude, and with the idol, three feet high, were dug up
several implements and utensils.[X-41] Near a small salt lake between
Tula and Santa Barbara, Mr Lyon found a ruined pyramidal mound of hard
earth or clay, faced with flat unhewn stones, with similar stones
projecting and forming steps leading up the slope on one side. This
pyramid is thirty paces in circumference at the base, and is divided
by a terrace into two stories, the lower of which is twenty feet high,
and the upper in its present state ten feet. Some stone and
terra-cotta images have been taken from this mound, and another much
smaller but similar structure is reported to exist somewhere in the
same vicinity.[X-42]
[Illustration: Idol from Tamaulipas.]
On the Tamissee River, which flows into Tampico Bay, traces of ancient
towns have been found in two localities near the Carmelote Creek. They
consist of scattered hewn blocks of stone, covered with vegetable mold
and overgrown with immense trees and rank vegetation. At one of these
localities the remains include seventeen large earthen mounds, with
traces of a layer of mortar at the bottom. In them have been found
broken pottery, rudely carved images of natural size in sandstone, and
idols and heads in terra cotta. Mr Norman gives cuts representing two
of these heads.[X-43]
[Sidenote: TOPILA REMAINS.]
In the south-western part of the state, in the Topila hills, near a
creek of the same name, is a large group of remains at a locality
known as Rancho de las Piedras. Mr Norman, who spent a week in their
examination, is the only authority for these remains, and as he was
obliged to work alone and unaided, his examination was necessarily
superficial. Over an area several miles square the ground is strewn
with hewn blocks of stone and fragments of pottery and obsidian. Many
of the blocks bear decorative sculptured figures. A female face carved
from a block of fine dark reddish sandstone, was brought away by Mr
Norman and presented to the New York Historical Society. It is shown
in the cut. The face is of life size, very symmetrical in its form,
and of a Grecian type. Another monument sketched by the explorer was a
stone turtle, six feet long, with a human head. The sculpture,
especially of the turtle's shell, is described as very fine; the whole
rests on a large block of concrete sandstone, and is called by the
finder the American Sphinx. This relic was somewhat damaged, but the
features of the human face seemed of a Caucasian rather than a native
type.
[Illustration: Stone Face--Topila Ruins.]
[Illustration: Colossal Head--Topila Ruins.]
The Topila ruins include twenty mounds, both circular and square, from
six to twenty-five feet in height, built of earth and faced with
uniform blocks of sandstone, eighteen inches square and six inches
thick. The facings had for the most part fallen, and that invariably
inward in the smaller mounds, indicating perhaps their original use as
tombs. Many of the blocks are scattered through the forest in places
where the mounds had entirely disappeared. Of all the mounds only one
has any trace of a terrace, and in that one it is very faint; and
there is no evidence that mortar was employed in laying the stones.
The largest covered about two acres, and bore on its summit a wild
fig-tree one hundred feet high. At its base is a circular wall of
stone, the top of which is even with the surface of the
ground--perhaps a well--and which is filled with stones and broken
pottery. Its top is covered with a circular stone four feet and nine
inches in diameter and seven inches thick, with a hole in its centre
and some ornamental lines sculptured on its upper surface. Another
round stone, twelve feet in diameter and three feet thick, on the
front of which is carved a colossal human head, is shown in the cut.
The author speaks vaguely of "vast piles of broken and crumbling
stones, the ruins of dilapidated buildings, which were strewed over a
vast space;" and his cuts of the relics which I have copied show in
the background, not included in my copies, regular walls of hewn
stone. Mr Norman regards this group as the remains of a great city,
the site of which is now covered by a heavy forest. In another
locality, seven miles further north-west on the Topila Creek, and a
few miles from the Pánuco River, is another group of circular mounds,
one of them twenty-five feet high, and the lower portions faced with
flat hewn stones. Hewn blocks of various forms and sizes are also
scattered about the locality, but none of them are sculptured.[X-44]
Lyon tells us that "remains of utensils, statues, weapons, and even
skeletons," have been often found in digging for the foundations of
new buildings in the vicinity of Tampico, or Tamaulipas. He made
drawings, which he did not publish, of two very perfect basalt idols,
and mentioned also some bone carvings and terra-cotta idols found in
this region.[X-45] In northern Tamaulipas I find only one mention of
aboriginal monuments, and that at Burrita, about twenty miles east
from Matamoras, respecting which locality Berlandier says, "on a small
hill which is seen two or three hundred paces from the rancho of
Burrita are found in abundance (as the rancheros say) the bones of
ancient peoples."[X-46]
[Sidenote: BOLSON DE MAPIMI.]
[Sidenote: BURIAL CAVES.]
Nuevo Leon, adjoining Tamaulipas on the west, is another of the states
within whose limits no antiquities have been reported; and in Texas on
the north almost the same absence of aboriginal remains is to be
remarked, although one group of rock-inscriptions will be noted in a
future chapter at Rocky Dell creek, in the north-western part of the
state bordering on New Mexico. In the region bordering on the valley
known as the Bolson de Mapimi, comprising parts of the states of
Coahuila, Durango, and Chihuahua, the natives at some time in the past
seem to have deposited their dead in natural caves, and several of
these burial deposits of great extent have been discovered and
reported. None of them are accurately located by any traveler or
writer, nor is it possible to tell in which of the three states any
one of them should be described. As antiquities, however, these burial
caves do not require a long notice. The one of which most has been
written is that discovered by Juan Flores in 1838. The entrance to the
cave was at the foot of a hill, and within were seated round the walls
over a thousand mummies "dressed in fine blankets, made of the fibres
of lechuguilla, with sandals, made of a species of liana, on their
feet, and ornamented with colored scarfs, with beads of seeds of
fruits, polished bones, &c.," as Wizlizenus says. Mühlenpfordt tells
us that Flores to find this cave traveled eastward from the Rancho San
Juan de Casta, which is eighty-six leagues northward from Durango.
Another traveler heard of several of these caves, and that the remains
found were of gigantic size. Mayer gives a report that in latitude 27°
28´ there are a multitude of caverns excavated from solid rock,
bearing inscribed figures of animals and men, the latter dressed like
the ancient Mexicans. Some of them were described by Fr Rotéa as
fifteen by thirty feet, and identical probably with Chicomoztoc, the
famous 'seven caves.' A writer in _Silliman's Journal_, referring
perhaps to the same cave, extends the number of mummies from a
thousand to millions, and speaks of necklaces of marine shells. Mr
Wilson locates one of these mummy-deposits on the western slope of a
high mountain overlooking the ancient pueblo of Chiricahui, in
Chihuahua probably. Several rows of bodies, dried and shrunken but not
decayed, were exposed by an excavation for saltpetre. Each body sewn
up in a strong well-woven cloth, and covered again with sewn
palm-leaves, lay on its back on two sticks, with knees drawn up to
chin, and feet toward the mouth of the cavern. The cave was a hundred
feet in circumference and thirty or forty feet high, and the bottom
for a depth of twenty feet, at least, was composed of alternate
layers of bodies, and of earth and pebbles. The preservation is
thought to be attributable to the dryness of the air and the presence
of saltpetre. Parts of the mummies, of the wrapping-cloths, bone beads
and beads of blue stone, with parts of a belt and tassels, were
presented to the California Academy of Natural Sciences in July, 1864.
Sr Avila describes two of these caves situated in the vicinity of San
Lorenzo, about thirty-five leagues west of Parras, in Coahuila. One
had to be entered from the top by means of ropes, and the other had
some of its rocks artificially cut and painted. In both of these
deposits bones were found instead of mummies, but they were as in the
other cases wrapped in cloth and gaily decked with beads, sticks, and
tassels. Hair was found on some of the heads, and a white hand was
noticed frequently painted on the walls. Padre Alegre speaks of the
existence of caves in this region, with human remains, and painted
characters on the cliffs. Respecting the latter, Padre Ribas says "the
cliffs of that hill and of the caves were marked with characters and a
kind of letters, formed with blood, and in some places so high that
nobody but the devil could have put them there, and so permanent that
neither the rains nor winds had erased or diminished them."[X-47]
Besides the burial caves, the only account I find of any antiquities
in the state of Coahuila, is contained in the following quotation, of
rather doubtful authenticity, perhaps, respecting some remains on the
hacienda of San Martero, about twenty-six miles from Monclova. "The
spot bears every appearance of having once been a populous city.
Stone foundations are to be seen, covering many acres. Innumerable
columns and walls rise up in every direction, composed of both
limestone and sandstone. The columns are built in a variety of shapes,
some round, others square, and bear every imprint of the work of human
hands.... For miles in the vicinity, the basin is covered with broken
pottery of burnt clay, fantastically painted and ornamented with a
variety of inexplicable designs."[X-48]
* * * * *
[Sidenote: REMAINS IN LA BREÑA.]
In Durango, besides the sepulchral deposits alluded to, Ribas in his
standard and very rare work on the 'triumphs of the faith' in the
northern regions, mentions the existence of idols, columns, and the
ruins of habitations at Zape, in the central part of the state; and
Larios tells us that in the vicinity of the church which was being
built in his time, there were found at every step burial vases,
containing ashes and human bones, stones of various colors, and, most
wonderful of all, statues or images of men and animals, one resembling
a priest.[X-49] At San Agustin, between the city of Durango and San
Juan del Rio, Arlegui notes the existence of some bones of giants. The
good padre did not rely in making his statement on mere reports, but
saw with his own eyes a jaw-tooth which measured over eight inches
square, and belonged to a jaw which must, according to his
calculations, have measured nine feet and a half in the
semicircle.[X-50] In the volcanic region extending south-eastward from
the city of Durango, known as La Breña, there are large numbers of
very curious natural caves, the bottoms of which are covered with a
thick layer of fine dust, containing much saltpetre. In this dust, Sr
José Fernando Ramirez discovered various antiquarian relics, which he
deposited in the National Museum of Mexico. The only one specially
mentioned was a very small stone turtle, not over half an inch in
diameter, very perfectly carved from a hard material. The region of La
Breña has always been a land of mystery popularly supposed to contain
immense concealed treasure, the localities of the deposits being
marked by small heaps of stones which occurred frequently in
out-of-the-way places not covered by the torrent of lava. Most of
these stone heaps, perhaps altars or burial places of the ancient
inhabitants, have been destroyed by the treasure-seekers, always
without yielding the sought-for deposits of gold or silver. The only
other relics of aboriginal times in La Breña are certain small
cup-shaped excavations in the living rock, supposed to have been used
originally for offerings to the deities worshiped by the
natives.[X-51]
* * * * *
I find no record of any ancient monuments in Sinaloa, and across the
gulf in the state of Lower California, with the exception of some
idols, said to have been brought to the priests by the natives they
were attempting to convert, and a smooth stone about six feet long,
bearing a kind of coat of arms and some inscribed characters,[X-52]
the only accounts of antiquities relate to cave and cliff paintings
and inscriptions, which have never been copied, and concerning which
consequently not much can be said. Clavigero says that the Jesuits
found, between latitude 27° and 28°, "several great caves excavated in
living rock, and painted with figures of men and women decently clad,
and of several kinds of animals. These pictures, though rude,
represented distinctly the objects. The colors employed in them were
obtained, as may be plainly seen, from the mineral earths which are
found about the volcano of Virgenes." The paintings were not the work
of the natives found in possession of the country, at least so the
Spaniards decided, and it was considered remarkable that they had
remained through so many centuries fresh and uninjured by time. The
colors were yellow, red, green, and black, and many designs were
placed so high on cliffs that it seemed necessary to some of the
missionaries to suppose the agency of the giants that were in 'those
days.' Indeed, giants' bones were found on the peninsula, as in all
other parts of the country, and the natives are said to have had a
tradition that the paintings were the work of giants who came from the
north. Clavigero mentions one cave whose walls and roof formed an arch
resting on the floor. It was about fifteen by eighty feet, and the
pictures on its walls represented men and women dressed like Mexicans,
but barefooted. The men had their arms raised and spread apart, and
one woman wore her hair loose and flowing down her back, and also had
a plume. Some animals were noted both native and foreign. One author
says they bore no resemblance to Mexican paintings. A series of red
hands are reported on a cliff near Santiago mission in the south, and
also, towards the sea, some painted fishes, bows, arrows, and obscure
characters. A rock-inscription near Purmo, thirty leagues from
Santiago, seemed to the Spanish observer to contain Gothic, Hebrew,
and Chaldean letters. From all that is known of the Lower California
rock-paintings and inscriptions, there is no reason to suppose that
they differ much from, or at least are superior to, those in the New
Mexican region, of which we shall find so many specimens in the next
chapter. It is not improbable that these ruder inscriptions and
pictures exist in the southern country already passed over, to a much
greater extent than appears in the preceding pages, but have remained
comparatively unnoticed by travelers in search of more wonderful or
perfect relics of antiquity.[X-53]
[Sidenote: CERRO DE LAS TRINCHERAS.]
Only one monument is known in Sonora, and that only through newspaper
reports. It is known as the Cerro de las Trincheras, and is situated
about fifty miles south-east of Altar. An isolated conical hill has a
spring of water on its summit, also some heaps of loose stones. The
sides of the cerro are encircled by fifty or sixty walls of rough
stones; each about nine feet high and from three to six feet thick,
occurring at irregular intervals of fifty to a hundred feet. Each
wall, except that at the base of the hill, has a gateway, but these
entrances occur alternately on opposite sides of the hill, so that to
reach the summit an enemy would have to fight his way about
twenty-five times round the circumference. One writer tells us that
Las Trincheras were first found--probably by the Spaniards--in 1650;
according to another, the natives say that the fortifications existed
in their present state long before the Spaniards came; and finally Sr
C. M. Galan, ex-governor of Sinaloa and Lower California, a gentleman
well acquainted with all the north-western region, informs me that
there is much doubt among the inhabitants of the locality whether the
walls have not been built since the Spanish Conquest. Sonora also
furnished its quota of giants' bones.[X-54]
* * * * *
There are three or four localities in the state of Chihuahua where
miscellaneous remains are vaguely mentioned in addition to the burial
caves already referred to in the extreme south-east. Hardy reports a
cave near the presidio of San Buenaventura, from which saltpetre is
taken for the manufacture of powder, and in which some arrows have
been found, with some curious shoes intended for the hoof of an
animal, arranged to be tied on heel in front, with a view of
misleading pursuers. The cave is very large, and the natives have a
tradition of a subterranean passage leading northward to the Casas
Grandes, over twenty miles.[X-55] Lamberg mentions the existence of
some remains at Corralitos, and announces his intention to explore
them.[X-56] García Conde says that ancient works are found at various
points in the state, specifying, however, only one of them, which
consists of a spiral parapet wall encircling the sides of a hill from
top to bottom, near the cañon of Bachimba.[X-57]
* * * * *
[Sidenote: CASAS GRANDES OF CHIHUAHUA.]
One celebrated group of ruins remains to be described in this
chapter--the Casas Grandes of northern Chihuahua. These ruins are
situated on the Casas Grandes River,--which, flowing northward,
empties into a lake near the United States boundary,--about midway
between the towns of Janos and Galeana, and one hundred and fifty
miles north-west of the city of Chihuahua. They are frequently
mentioned by the early writers as a probable station of the migrating
Aztecs, but these early accounts are more than usually inaccurate in
this case. Robertson found in a manuscript work a mention of the Casas
Grandes as "the remains of a paltry building of turf and stone,
plastered over with white earth or lime."[X-58] Arlegui, in his
_Chrónica_, speaks of them as "grand edifices all of stone well-hewn
and polished from time immemorial." So nicely joined were the blocks
of stone that they seemed to have been 'born so,' without the slightest
trace of mortar; but the author adds that they might have been joined
with the juice of some herbs or roots.[X-59] Clavigero, who claims to
have derived his information from parties who had visited the
ruins,--since the hostile attitude of the Apaches at the time of his
own residence in the country made a visit impracticable--was the first
to give any definite idea of these monuments, although he also falls
into several errors. He says: "This place is known by the name of
Casas Grandes on account of a vast edifice still standing, which
according to the universal tradition of the people was built by the
Mexicans in their pilgrimage. This edifice is constructed according to
the plan of those in New Mexico, that is composed of three stories and
a terrace above them, without doors in the lower story. The entrance
to the edifice is in the second story; so that a ladder is
required."[X-60]
Sr Escudero examined the ruins in 1819, and describes them as "a group
of rooms built with mud walls, exactly oriented according to the four
cardinal points. The blocks of earth are of unequal size, but placed
with symmetry, and the perfection with which they have lasted during a
period which cannot be less than three hundred years shows great skill
in the art of building. It is seen that the edifice had three stories
and a roof, with exterior stairways probably of wood. The same class
of construction is found still in all the independent Indian towns of
Moqui, north-east from the state of Chihuahua. Most of the rooms are
very small with doors so small and narrow that they seem like the
cells of a prison."[X-61] A writer in the _Album Mexicano_, who
visited the Casas Grandes in 1842, wrote a description which is far
superior to anything that preceded it.[X-62] Mr Hardy visited the
place, but his account affords very little information;[X-63] and Mr
Wizlizenus gives a brief description evidently drawn from some of the
earlier authorities and consequently faulty.[X-64] Finally Mr Bartlett
explored the locality in 1851, and his description illustrated with
cuts is by far the most satisfactory extant. From his account and that
in the _Album_ most of the following information is derived.[X-65]
[Illustration: Casas Grandes--Chihuahua.]
The ruined casas are about half a mile from the modern Mexican town of
the same name, located in a finely chosen site, commanding a broad
view over the fertile valley of the Casas Grandes or San Miguel river,
which valley--or at least the river bottom--is here two miles wide.
This bottom is bounded by a plateau about twenty-five feet higher, and
the ruins are found partly on the bottom and partly on the more
sterile plateau above. They consist of walls, generally fallen and
crumbled into heaps of rubbish, but at some points, as at the corners
and where supported by partition walls, still standing to a height of
from five to thirty feet above the heaps of débris, and some of them
as high as fifty feet, if reckoned from the level of the ground. The
cuts on this and the opposite pages represent views of the ruins from
three different standpoints, as sketched by Mr Bartlett.
[Sidenote: CASAS GRANDES.]
[Illustration: Casas Grandes--Chihuahua.]
The material of the walls is sun-dried blocks of mud and gravel, about
twenty-two inches thick, and of irregular length, generally about
three feet, probably formed and dried in situ. Of this material and
method of construction more details will be given in the following
chapter on the New Mexican region, where the buildings are of a
similar nature. The walls are in some parts five feet thick, but were
so much damaged at the time of Mr Bartlett's visit that nothing could
be ascertained, at least without excavation, respecting their finish
on either surface. The author of the account in the _Album_ states
that the plaster which covers the blocks is of powdered stone, but
this may be doubted. There is no doubt, however, that they were
plastered on both interior and exterior, with a composition much like
that of which the blocks were made; Escudero found some portions of
the plaster still in place, but does not state what was its
composition. The remains of the main structure, which was rectangular
in its plan, extend over an area measuring about eight hundred feet
from north to south, and two hundred and fifty from east to
west.[X-66] Within this area are three great heaps of ruined walls,
but low connecting lines of débris indicate that all formed one
edifice, or were at least connected by corridors. On the south the
wall, or the heaps indicating its existence, is continuous and
regular; of the northern side nothing is said; but on the east and
west the walls are very irregular, with many angles and projections.
* * * * *
[Illustration: Ground Plan--Casas Grandes.]
The ground plan of the whole structure could not be made out, at least
in the limited time at Mr Bartlett's disposal. He found, however, one
row of apartments whose plan is shown in the cut. Each of the six
shown is ten by twenty feet, and the small structure in the corner of
each is a pen rather than a room, being only three or four feet high.
In the _Album_, the usual dimensions of the rooms are given as about
twelve and a half by sixteen and a half feet; one very perfect room,
however, being a little over four feet square. Bartlett found many
rooms altogether too small for sleeping apartments, some of great
size, whose dimensions are not given, and several enclosures too large
to have been covered by a roof, doubtless enclosed courtyards. One
portion of standing wall in the interior had a doorway narrower at the
top than at the bottom, and two circular openings or windows above it.
The explorer of 1842 speaks of doorways long, square, and round, some
of them being walled up at the bottom so as to form windows.
* * * * *
Not a fragment of wood or stone remained in 1851; nor could any holes
in the walls be found which seemed to have held the original
floor-timbers; and consequently there was no way of determining the
number of stories. In 1842, however, a piece of rotten wood was found,
over a window as it seems; and the people in the vicinity said they
had found many beams. No traces of any stairway was, however, visible.
No doubt the earlier accounts spoke of wooden stairways, or ladders,
because such means of entrance were commonly used in similar and more
modern buildings in New Mexico; later writers converted the
conjectures of the first visitors into actual fact; hence the
galleries of wood and exterior stairways spoken of by Wizlizenus and
others.
It is difficult to determine where the idea originated that the
structure had three stories; for the walls still standing in places to
a height of fifty feet, notwithstanding the wear of three centuries at
least, would certainly indicate six or seven stories rather than
three. These high walls are always in the interior, and the outer
walls are in no part of a sufficient height to indicate more than one
story. The general idea of the structure in its original condition,
formed from the descriptions and views, is that of an immense central
pile--similar to some of the Pueblo towns of New Mexico, and
particularly that of Taos, of which a cut will be given in the
following chapter--rising to a height of six or seven stories, and
surrounded by lower houses built about several courtyards, and
presenting on the exterior a rectangular form. Notwithstanding the
imperfect exploration of this ruin and its advanced state of
dilapidation, the reader of the following chapter will not fail to
understand clearly what this Casa Grande was like when still
inhabited; for there is no doubt that this building was used for a
dwelling as well as for other purposes, and this may be regarded as
the first instance in the northward progress of our investigation
where any remains of authentic aboriginal dwellings have been met.
[Illustration: Ground Plan--Casas Grandes.]
[Sidenote: BROKEN POTTERY.]
About one hundred and fifty yards west of the main building and
somewhat higher on the plateau, are seen the foundations of another
structure of similar nature and material, indicating a line of small
apartments built round an interior court, according to the ground plan
shown in the cut, the whole forming a square with sides of about one
hundred and fifty feet. There are some other heaps in the vicinity
which may very likely represent buildings, of whose original forms,
however, they convey no idea, besides some remains of what seemed to
Mr Bartlett to be very evidently those of modern Spanish buildings.
Between the two buildings described there are three mounds or heaps of
loose stones each about fifteen feet high, which have not been opened.
Escudero, followed by García Conde, states that throughout an extent
of twenty leagues in length and ten leagues in width in the valleys of
the Casas Grandes and Janos, mounds are found in great numbers--over
two thousand, as estimated in the _Album_--and that such as have been
opened have furnished painted pottery, metates, stone axes, and other
utensils. One visitor thought that one of the mounds presented great
regularity in its form and had a summit platform.
[Illustration: Pottery from Casas Grandes.]
[Illustration: Pottery from Casas Grandes.]
[Illustration: Pipe from Casas Grandes.]
Escudero and Hardy report the existence of an aqueduct or canal which
formerly brought water from a spring to the town. The following cut
shows specimens of broken pottery found in connection with the ruins.
The ornamentation is in black, red, or brown, on a white or reddish
ground. The material is said to be superior in texture to any
manufactured in later times by the natives of this region. The whole
valley for miles around is strewn with such fragments. Unbroken
specimens of pottery are not abundant, as is naturally the case in a
country traversed continually by roving bands of natives to whom it is
easier to pick up or dig out earthen utensils than to manufacture or
buy them. Three specimens were however found by Mr Bartlett, and are
shown in the cut. Mr Hardy also sketched a vase very similar to the
first figure of the cut, and he speaks of "good specimens of earthen
images in the Egyptian style, which are, to me at least, so perfectly
uninteresting, that I was at no pains to procure any of them."
According to the _Album_, some idols had been found by the inhabitants
among other relics, and the women claimed to have discovered a
monument of antiquity which was of practical utility to themselves, as
well as of interest to archæologists--namely, a jar filled with bear's
grease! The pipe shown in the cut, has a suspiciously modern look,
although included in Bartlett's plate of Chihuahuan antiquities.
[Sidenote: FORTRESS AT CASAS GRANDES.]
The inhabitants pointed out to Bartlett, on the top of a high
mountain, some ten miles south-west of the ruins described, what they
said was a stone fortress of two or three stories. Escudero describes
this monument, which he locates at a distance of only two leagues, as
a watch-tower or sentry-station on the top of a high cliff; and says
that the southern slope of the hill has many lines of stones at
irregular intervals, with heaps of loose stones at their extremities.
This is probably, in the absence of more definite information the more
credible account. The _Album_ represents this monument as a fortress
built of great stones very perfectly joined, though without the aid of
mortar. The wall is said to be eighteen or twenty feet thick, and a
road cut in the rock leads to the summit. At this time, 1842, the
works were being destroyed for the stone they contained. Clavigero
speaks of the hill works as "a fortress defended on one side by a high
mountain, and on other sides by a wall about seven feet thick, the
foundations of which yet remain. There are seen in this fortress
stones as large as millstones; the beams of the roofs are of pine, and
well worked. In the centre of the vast edifice is a mound, built as it
seems, for the purpose of keeping guard and watching the enemy."
Clavigero evidently confounds the two groups of ruins, and from his
error, and a similar one by others, come the accounts which represent
the Casas Grandes as built of stone. He mentions obsidian mirrors
among the relics dug up here, probably without any authority. The cut
from Bartlett shows a stone metate found among the ruins.
[Illustration: Metate from Casas Grandes.]
So far as any conclusions or comparisons suggested by this Chihuahuan
ruin are concerned, they may best be deferred to the end of the
following chapter. The Casas Grandes, and the ruins of the northern or
New Mexican group, should be classed together. They were the work of
the same people, at about the same epoch.
FOOTNOTES:
[X-1] _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. iv., p. 58.
[X-2] _Beaumont_, _Crón. Mechoacan_, MS., pp. 45-6. Ihuatzio, probably
the true name of the town called by Beaumont Ignatzio, 'recuerda por
sus antiguedades (la Pirámide aun no destruida, que les servia de
plaza de armas: otras _Yácatas_, ó sepulcros de sus Reyes: las
reliquias de una torre que fabricó su primer fundador antes venir los
Españoles, y la _via_, calle ó camino de _Queréndaro_, que comunicaba
con la Capital) tristes memorias de la grandeza michuacana.'
_Michuacan_, _Análisis Estad., por J. J. L._, p. 166.
[X-3] _Lyon's Journal_, vol. ii., pp. 71-2. 'Some relics of the
Tarascan architecture are said to be found at this place, but we do
not possess any authentic accounts or drawings of them.' _Mayer's Mex.
Aztec, etc._, vol. ii., p. 291. Mention in _Mühlenpfordt_, _Mejico_,
tom. ii., pt. ii., p. 369; _Wappäus_, _Geog. u. Stat._, p. 167.
[X-4] _Villa-Señor y Sanchez_, _Theatro_, tom. ii., pp. 70-1; mention
in _Hassel_, _Mex. Guat._, p. 154.
[X-5] _Beaufoy's Mex. Illustr._, p. 199.
[X-6] _Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin_, 2da época, tom. iv., p. 559.
[X-7] _Humboldt_, in _Antiq. Mex._, tom. i., div. ii., p. 30, suppl.,
pl. vii., fig. 13; _Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin_, tom. viii., p. 558.
[X-8] _Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin_, 2da época, tom. iii., p. 277.
[X-9] _Gutierrez_, in _Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin_, 2da época, tom.
iii., pp. 277-80.
[X-10] _Rico_, in _Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin_, 2da época, tom. iii., p.
183.
[X-11] _Löwenstern_, _Mexique_, pp. 265-7, 280, 344; _Id._, in
_Nouvelles Annales des Voy._, 1840, tom. lxxxvi., pp. 119-20; _Id._,
in _Lond. Geog. Soc., Jour._, vol. xi., p. 104; _Cincinnatus'
Travels_, p. 259.
[X-12] _Hervás_, _Catálogo_, tom. i., p. 311.
[X-13] _Florencia_, _Origen de los Santuarios_, p. 8; _Padilla_,
_Conq. N. Galicia_, MS., pp. 217-19.
[X-14] _Acazitli_, in _Icazbalceta_, _Col. de Doc._, tom. ii., pp.
313-14; _Villa-Señor y Sanchez_, _Theatro_, tom. ii., pp. 269-70.
[X-15] _Nat. Hist. Man_, vol. ii., p. 515.
[X-16] _Gil_, in _Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin_, tom. viii., p. 496;
_Ternaux-Compans_, in _Nouvelles Annales des Voy._, 1842, tom. xcv.,
p. 295; same account in _Mofras_, _Explor._, tom. i., p. 161.
[X-17] _Retes_, in _Museo Mex._, 2da época, tom. i., pp. 3-6.
[X-18] _Id._, p. 6.
[X-19] _Lyon's Journal_, vol. i., pp. 322-3.
[X-20] _Bustamante_, in _Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin_, tom. i., pp. 56-7.
[X-21] _Castillo_, in _Id._, 2da época, tom. iv., pp. 107-8.
[X-22] _Berlandier and Thovel_, _Diario_, p. 25.
[X-23] _Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin_, 2da época, tom. iii., pp. 278-9,
preceded by an account quoted from Torquemada.
[X-24] _Lyon's Journal_, vol. i., pp. 225-44.
[X-25] _Esparza_, _Informe_, pp. 56-8. The same report also published
in 1843, in the _Museo Mex._, tom. i., p. 185, et seq., with some
remarks by the editor, who saw the ruins in 1831. The article also
includes a quotation from _Frejes_, _Conquista de Zacatecas_, an
attempt to clear up the origin and history of the ruined city, and a
plate reduced from Nebel.
[X-26] _Burkart_, _Aufenthalt_, tom. ii., pp. 97-105.
[X-27] _Viaje._ His Mexican trip began in 1831, _Soc. Géog.,
Bulletin_, tom. xv., No. 95, p. 141, and Burkart met him in Zacatecas
some time before 1834.
[X-28] Other accounts containing no additional information, and made
up, except one or two, from the authorities already mentioned:--_Gil_,
in _Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin_, tom. viii., pp. 441-2; _Mayer's Mex. as
it Was_, pp. 240-6; _Id._, _Mex. Aztec, etc._, vol. ii., pp. 317-23,
Lyon's description and Nebel's plate; _Id._, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._,
vol. vi., p. 581; _Bradford's Amer. Antiq._, pp. 90-5; _Mühlenpfordt_,
_Mejico_, tom. ii., pt. ii., p. 492; _Wappäus_, _Geog. u. Stat._, p.
204; _Frost's Pict. Hist. Mex._, pp. 58-66; _Id._, _Great Cities_, pp.
304-12, cuts; _Rio_, _Beschreib. einer alt. Stadt_, appendix, pp.
70-5.
[X-29] _Tello_, _Fragmentos_, in _Icazbalceta_, _Col. de Doc._, tom.
ii., p. 344.
[X-30] _Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin_, tom. viii., pp. 441-2, 496;
_Frejes_, in _Museo Mex._, tom. i., pp. 186-9; _Lyon's Journal_, vol.
i., p. 243.
[X-31] The explanation of the plan by the lettering given in Nebel's
work is as follows: A i., A ii., A iii., A iv. Temples and structures
connected therewith. B. Enclosing walls. C. Walls supporting terraces.
D. Pyramids in the interior of temples. E. Isolated Pyramids. F. Ruins
of dwellings. G. Stairways. H. Ancient roads. J. Kind of a 'plaza de
armas.' K. Fortifications. L. Small stairways leading to the court of
the temple. M. A small altar. N. Ancient foundations. O. Batteries in
the form of flat roofs (azotéas). P. Modern cross on the summit of the
hill. Q. Well. R. Large hall with 11 columns to support the roof. S.
Two columns. T. Rock. U. Stream.
[X-32] Rivera, pp. 56-8, says that the causeway leading toward the
hacienda runs S.E.
[X-33] _Frejes_, in _Museo Mex._, tom. i., p. 186, speaks of 'tres
calzadas de seis varas de ancho que por líneas divergentes corren al
mediodía algunas leguas hasta perderse de vista.'
[X-34] _Lyon._ According to the _Museo Mex._, tom. i., p. 187, it is 5
or 6 varas high and 10 thick.
[X-35] Burkart gives the dimensions as 194 by 232 Rhenish feet,
somewhat larger than English feet; Rivera says 35 or 40 varas square.
This author also noticed on the slope of the hill before reaching the
steepest part, a pyramid about 20 feet high and 11 feet square, now
truncated but apparently pointed in its original condition. This was
probably the heap of stones mentioned above.
[X-36] Burkart implies that the terrace extends entirely round the
square, forming a sunken basin 4 or 5 feet deep; and this is probably
the case, as it agrees with the plan of some other structures on the
hill.
[X-37] Lyon says 137 by 154 feet; Rivera, 50 to 60 varas, with walls 8
to 9 varas high.
[X-38] Burkart gives the dimensions of the pyramid as 30 feet square
and 30 feet high; and of the altar in front as 6 feet square and 6
feet high.
[X-39] 'Tiene este pueblo [Teul] por cabeza un cerro al principio
cuadrado como de peña tajada, y arriba otro cerro redondo, y encima
del primero hay tanta capacidad que caben mas de veinte mil indios....
En este monte estaba una sala, en donde estaba su ídolo, que llamaban
el Teotl ... tiene más una pila de losas de junturas de cinco varas de
largo y tres de ancho, y mas ancha de arriba que de abajo.... Esta
pila tiene dos entradas; la una en la esquina que mira al Norte, con
cinco gradas, y la otra que mira en esquina al Sur, con otras cinco:
no lejos de esta pila, como dos tiros de arcabuz, están dos
montecillos que eran los osarios de los indios que sacrificaban.'
_Tello_, in _Icazbalceta_, _Col. de Doc._, tom. ii., pp. 362-4; _Id._,
in _Beaumont_, _Crón. Mechoacan_, MS., p. 300; description of the
temple, _Gil_, in _Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin_, tom. viii., p. 497;
mention of ruins, _Frejes_, in _Museo Mex._, tom. i., p. 186; stone
axes, _Esparza_, _Informe_, p. 7; concealed temples and idols,
_Arlegui_, _Chrón. Zacatecas_, p. 95.
[X-40] _Mayer's Mex. as it Was_, p. 98; _Cabrera_, in _Soc. Mex.
Geog., Boletin_, 2da época, tom. iv., p. 24; _Annual Scien. Discov._,
1850, p. 361.
[X-41] _Furber's Twelve Months Volunteer_, pp. 387-8.
[X-42] _Lyon's Journal_, vol. i., pp. 141-2.
[X-43] _Norman's Rambles by Land and Water_, pp. 169-70.
[X-44] _Norman's Rambles by Land and Water_, pp. 121-37.
[X-45] _Lyon's Journal_, vol. i., pp. 21, 28, 114. Mention of
Tamaulipas antiquities from Norman and Lyon, in _Mayer's Mex. Aztec,
etc._, vol. ii., pp. 207-9; _Id._, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. vi.,
p. 581. Newspaper account of some relics of Christianity, in
_Cronise's California_, p. 30.
[X-46] _Berlandier and Thovel_, _Diario_, p. 151.
[X-47] _Wizlizenus' Tour_, pp. 69, 70. This author says the bodies are
supposed to belong to the Lipans. _Mühlenpfordt_, _Mejico_, tom. ii.,
pt. ii., p. 518; _Severn's Journal_, vol. xxx., p. 38; _Mayer's Mex.
as it Was_, pp. 239-40; _Id._, _Mex. Aztec, etc._, vol. ii., p. 333;
_Silliman's Jour._, vol. xxxvi., p. 200; _Cal. Acad. Nat. Sciences_,
vol. iii., pp. 160-1; _Pac. Monthly_, vol. xi., p. 783; _Nouvelles
Annales des Voy._, 1839, tom. lxxxi., pp. 126-7; _Lemprière's Notes in
Mex._, p. 135; _Avila_, in _Album Mex._, tom. i., pp. 465-8; _Alegre_,
_Hist. Comp. de Jesus_, tom. i., p. 418; _Ribas_, _Hist. de los
Triumphos_, p. 685.
[X-48] _Donnavan's Adven._, pp. 30-1.
[X-49] _Larios_, in _Alegre_, _Hist. Comp. de Jesus_, tom. ii., pp.
54-5; _Ribas_, _Hist. de los Triumphos_, p. 583; _Orozco y Berra_,
_Geografía_, p. 318.
[X-50] _Arlegui_, _Chrón. Zacatecas_, pp. 6, 67.
[X-51] _Ramirez_, _Noticias Hist. de Durango_, pp. 6-9; _Id._, in
_Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin_, tom. v., pp. 10-11.
[X-52] _Doc. Hist. Mex._, série iv., tom. v., pp. 213, 254.
[X-53] _Clavigero_, _Storia della Cal._, tom. i., pp. 107-9; _Doc.
Hist. Mex._, série iv., tom. v., pp. 213, 254; _Taylor_, in _Cal.
Farmer_, Dec. 21, 1860, Nov. 22, 1861, Jan. 10, 1862; _Hesperian_,
vol. iii., p. 530.
[X-54] _San Francisco Evening Bulletin_, July 16, 1864; _Cal. Farmer_,
March 20, 1863, April 4, 1862; _Doc. Hist. Mex._, série iii., tom.
iv., pp. 626-7.
[X-55] _Hardy's Trav._, p. 467.
[X-56] _Lamberg_, in _Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin_, tom. iii., p. 25.
[X-57] _García Conde_, _Ensayo sobre Chihuahua_, p. 74.
[X-58] _Robertson's Hist. Amer._, vol. i., p. 269.
[X-59] _Arlegui_, _Chrón. Zacatecas_, pp. 104-5. Same in _Padilla_,
_Conq. N. Galicia_, MS., pp. 484-5.
[X-60] _Clavigero_, _Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom. i., p. 159;
_Heredia y Sarmiento_, _Sermon_, pp. 89-90.
[X-61] _Escudero_, _Noticias Estad. del Estado de Chihuahua_, pp.
234-5; repeated in _García Conde_, _Ensayo sobre Chihuahua_, p. 74;
_Orozco y Berra_, _Geografía_, pp. 110-11.
[X-62] _Album Mex._, tom. i., pp. 374-5.
[X-63] _Hardy's Trav._, pp. 465-6.
[X-64] _Wizlizenus' Tour_, pp. 59-60.
[X-65] _Bartlett's Pers. Nar._, vol. ii., pp. 347-64. Other compiled
accounts may be found in _Mayer's Mex. Aztec, etc._, vol. ii., p. 339;
_Armin_, _Das Heutige Mex._, pp. 269-70; _Möllhausen_, _Tagebuch_, pp.
312-13; _Mühlenpfordt_, _Mejico_, tom. ii., pt. ii., p. 525;
_Thümmel_, _Mexiko_, p. 347; _Ranking's Hist. Researches_, pp. 282-3;
_Wappäus_, _Geog. u. Stat._, p. 216; _Willson's Amer. Hist._, p. 561;
_Gordon's Ancient Mex._, vol. i., p. 105; _Gregory's Hist. Mex._, p.
71.
[X-66] Although the dimensions in the _Album_ are given as 414 by 1380
feet, probably including some structures reckoned by Bartlett as
detached.