nrscovERY 



293 



Grinding the Arsenic 



The milling process is rendered necessary so as to 

 ensure a uniform sample, for the arsenic deposited in 

 the chambers nearest the furnace is much denser than 

 that in those farthest away. The mills used consist 

 of two granite stones, dressed on the works, one of 

 which is superimposed on the other and slowly rotated 

 b}- means of a steam-engine or water-wheel. The 

 arsenic is fed in at the top and the finished product is 

 collected in barrels underneath. 



The mills activated by means of a water-wheel are 

 particularl}- interesting from an antiquarian point of 

 view, for there is just such a mill illustrated by means 

 of a woodcut in Agricola's De Re MetaUica, the first 

 Latin edition of which appeared in 1556. This work 

 was translated by H. C. and L. H. Hoover and pub- 

 lished by The Mining Magazine in 1912. 



The arsenic thus produced and sold by the ton is 

 the white oxide, and is largely used in the manu- 

 facture of sheep dip, weed killer, and fruit sprays, to 

 mention but three of its many uses. The arsenic from 

 Devon and Cornwall is in constant demand on account 

 of its uniform good quality, though it has to meet very 

 severe competition from abroad, where it can be pro- 

 duced somewhat more cheaply than is possible in this 

 ■country. 



Much has been written about the dangers incurred 

 b}^ the workmen on an arsenic works, but this appears 

 to be greatly exaggerated and, generally speaking, they 

 are a fine, healthy set of men. 



An Aztec Secret Society 



By Lewis Spence 



Aulhnr nj ■• Tits Gods of Mexico" 



Those very human and sympathetic apostles whom 

 devout Spain shipped to pagan Mexico soon after its 

 conquest by Hernando Cortes early in the sixteenth 

 century quickl}- discovered that it was not so much 

 a religion from which they had to wean the native 

 mind as an elaborate ritual mingled with magical 

 practice. The dusk of magic which shadowed the 

 bizarre crowded cities could almost be felt by these 

 brave priests. It was easy enough to combat an 

 idolatry regarding the higher conception of which the 

 people had only loose ideas and legendar}' glimmerings. 

 But the more popular devil-worship which accompanied 

 it had a far stronger hold on the native affections. 

 The Aztec was enthralled by it ; his whole life from the 

 cradle to the grave was ordered by its inevitable and 

 .ghastly provisions. 



No sooner had the Mexican aristocracv been ac- 



counted for by slaughter or conversion than a significant 

 change took place in the tendency and character of the 

 native faith. The Aztec priesthood, realising that if 

 its doctrines were to survive at all it must make a 

 powerful appeal to the mass mind of the nation, threw 

 every ounce of energy into the task of shaping the 

 superstitions of the lower orders into a deadly instru- 

 ment of vengeance against the whites. In this new 

 movement magic of a repellent kind was joined with 

 political conspiracy against Spanish supremacy, and 

 the extraordinary cult thus developed came to be 

 known as Nagualism, whose chief deity was Satan 

 himself, if we are to credit the writings of those who 

 opposed it and laboured untiringly for its destruction. 



Local Brotherhoods 



This mysterious secret society had branches in all 

 parts of the country and its members were classed in 

 varying degrees, initiation into which was granted only 

 after prolonged and rigorous e.xperience. Local brother- 

 hoods or lodges were organised and there were certain 

 recognised centres of the cult. At each of these places 

 was stationed a high priest or master magician, who 

 had beneath his authority often as many as a thousand 

 lesser priests, and who exercised control over a large 

 district. The priesthood of this diabolic guild was 

 handed down from father to son. The highest grade 

 appears to have been that of Xochimilca or " Flower- 

 weaver," probably because its members possessed the 

 faculty of deceiving the senses of votaries by strange and 

 pleasant visions induced by potent drugs, as, for 

 instance, the peyotl, a plant of the genus Cocolia, which 

 resembles garlic. Like the kava of the PoljTiesians, it 

 was first masticated and then placed in a wooden 

 mortar, where it was left to ferment. Another plant 

 employed by the Nagualists for the purpose of inducing 

 ecstatic visions was the oloUithqui, from the seeds of 

 which a liniment was crushed and rubbed over the 

 body after being mixed with the ashes of spiders, 

 scorpions, and other noxious insects. 



All Christian ceremonies celebrated by the friars 

 were at once annulled by the Nagualist priesthood. 

 If a child were baptised with the holy water, it was 

 immediately carried to the cave or secret meeting-place 

 of the Nagualists, where the rite was " reversed " by 

 the aid of black magic. This was effected by endowing 

 the child with a nagual or animal guardian, a totem ^ 

 protector, which was regarded as its spiritual guide 

 and mentor, to whom in all the difficulties and per- 

 plexities of life it must turn for advice and instruction. 

 These animal guardians were selected according to the 

 dates against which their pictures appeared in the 



1 A totem is the natural object, such as an animal, taken by 

 primitive and semi-primitive peoples as the emblem of their 

 clan or fellowship. 



