66 



POPULAR SCIENCE MOXTIILY 



Though Agua had been quiescent for centuries and its rampages 

 were known only by the dim recitation of Indian tradition, still that 

 tradition was strong enough in the hearts of the natives to cause them 

 to warn the Spaniards who came to that country in 1524 that unless 

 they shunned the influences of this ' flower ' they would surely be slain 

 by the volcano, whose long quiescent throat had permitted the ' roses ' 

 to see the light of day as a warning to human beings that, though he 

 slept, he was by no means dead, and if aroused the Indians would suffer 

 as well as the white man. Despite this warning, the Spaniards called 

 their council under the shade of one of the very trees which bore these 

 ' flowers,' and there decided to found the city of Antigua which was to 

 be the capitol of the new state of Guatemala. Everything flourished 

 in the new city until 1541, when Agua suddenly burst forth in terrific 

 defense of his invaded sovereignty, deluging the beautiful valley with 

 fifty million cubic yards of water and mud, completely burying the city 

 from view and warning the people to no longer trespass upon the evil 

 ground. The warning was again unheeded, the city rebuilt upon the 

 old site and apparent prosperity experienced until 1773, when it was 

 shaken to ruins by the great earthquake. The capitol was then re- 

 moved to the new town of Guatemala, beyond the influences of the 

 fateful ' flower ' and has therefore never been molested since. This 



Fig. 1. A Branch of Citrus medica, showing the cup-like, delicately carved 'petals 



of the ' wooden flowers.' 



