1002 THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



feet at the base, and at the top 75 feet 

 by 60 feet. Four terraces, built one 

 above the other at a distance of six and 

 a half feet, surround the structure. Nar- 

 row flights of steps run up to the top 

 at each end and one wide flight in the 

 center. This temple is believed to have 

 been built for offering up sacrifices. 



Across the valley, and directly oppo- 

 site, is another and similar temple, but 

 larger, and with houses built on top. To 

 the south of this is another large mass 



of ruins, surrounded by a high wall and 

 the ground paved with stones. The na- 

 tives are full of superstitions concerning 

 these mountains, but tradition has it that 

 the inhabitants of Guihengola were 

 driven away 300 years ago. 



Many other remnants of an older 

 civilization can be observed on the isth- 

 mus, where today the blending of ancient 

 customs and semi-civilized natives with 

 twentieth-century progress and hustle is 

 very curious to observe. 



HEWERS OF STONE 

 By Jeremiah Zimmerman, D.D., LL.D. 



THE ruins of Mitla are the most 

 beautiful, the most interesting, 

 and best preserved ruins in the 

 Republic of Mexico, although they are 

 not the most extensive. Years before 

 the conveniences of modern travel, ex- 

 plorers were attracted to them, so that 

 the world has become somewhat familiar 

 with these unique and remarkable struc- 

 tures. It is partly due to their marked 

 distinctive character, their isolation in 

 the solitude of the remote end of the 

 valley, bounded by the mountains, and 

 owing to the utter lack of information 

 as to their origin, so far as their builders 

 are concerned, and the time of their 

 construction that travelers have been 

 tempted to indulge in extravagant lan- 

 guage when referring to the Mitlan 

 ruins. 



The extensive mural decorations of 

 mosaic fretwork is almost as perfect as 

 when finished, many centuries ago; but 

 there is no written language there, no 

 inscriptions that shed light on these un- 

 known problems, for all is as mute as the 

 Sphinx of Egypt, and even the records 

 that the ancient race transmitted to their 

 posterity, and which would be of incalcu- 

 lable value to us, were utterly destroyed, 

 with few exceptions, by their conquerors 

 as being the works of the devil who 

 unfortunately has been made responsible 



for too many human, and also inhuman, 

 shortcomings, as well as the scapegoat 

 for some of the worst crimes of history. 



In this article I shall endeavor to give 

 a description of these wonderful ruins, 

 based upon personal observation and the 

 information gained from that able and 

 painstaking explorer, William H. Holmes. 



Most of the difficulties that once pre- 

 vented the ordinary traveler from visit- 

 ing Mitla have been overcome by the 

 extraordinary progress in transportation, 

 for now we can ride in a rather com- 

 fortable train, and even in a parlor car, 

 to within 30 miles of the ruins, and the 

 chief engineer of the Southern Railroad 

 informed me that a branch road had been 

 contemplated and would soon be con- 

 structed as far as Mitla. The railfoad 

 traverses a section of country that has 

 many attractions, descending from the 

 altitude of more than 7,000 feet at 

 Puebla until it reaches a point where the 

 bed of the road is only 1,768 feet above 

 sea-level, where for several hours we 

 run through the great canyon. 



A GORGEOUS LANDSCAPE 



There are features in the picturesque 

 scenery above the road that make a last- 

 ing impression, and as memory takes us 

 back I see again the mountains standing 

 out in imposing grandeur, the rocky 



