HEWERS OE STONE 



1005 



cliffs and sides streaked with the effect- 

 ive colors and tints that finally shaded 

 and melted away with the native gray 

 stone — a gorgeous landscape that nature 

 had wrought without paint or brush, but 

 produced by the imbedded minerals or 

 native pigments that through the ages 

 have slowly exuded from these castel- 

 lated mountain palisades, and which re- 

 main unfading through the centuries, 

 though exposed to the" elements, not on 

 perishable canvas, but on the everlasting 

 mountain slope, the wonder of every be- 

 holder. Long after distance made them 

 fade from view we realized that the 

 mental impression was not gone, and in 

 the gallery or chamber of imagery I 

 often seem to behold again that enchant- 

 ing masterpiece of nature's painting. 



As we continued some hours south- 

 ward we experienced a great change in 

 the temperature, for we had descended 

 rapidly from the high tableland and were 

 passing through the canyon, and the 

 narrow course was bounded by the lofty 

 rocky barriers that excluded the air and 

 seemed to attract and hold the heat. We 

 all perspired freely, with the thermome- 

 ter climbing to 115° Fahrenheit in the 

 shade, and yet I have suffered far more 

 from the heat at times in Syracuse with 

 the thermometer confined to the eighties, 

 for there is no humidity in Mexico, but 

 the air is dry, and a physician told me 

 that sunstrokes were unknown in that 

 country. 



OAXACA HAS MANY ATTRACTIONS 



The rapid and diversified change of 

 scenery, amid tropical plants, with that 

 royally grand species of cactus known as 

 the "organo," afforded constant diversion 

 for the somewhat uncomfortable traveler. 

 As we ascended again from the lowland 

 to the plateau the temperature greatly 

 improved, and before reaching Oaxaca 

 we had reached an altitude of much more 

 than 5,000 feet above sea-level and amid 

 magnificent scenery. Again the road de- 

 scends by gradual curves and soon we 

 reach the city at the terminus of the line. 



It is fortunate that the cities of Mexico 

 are provided with street cars, for the 



cobblestone-paved streets are so rough 

 that riding in a carriage, whilst it may 

 be aristocratic, is anything but com- 

 fortable, and the poorest peon who occu- 

 pies the cheapest seat in the very plain 

 and unupholstered horse car suffers far 

 less from the rough streets than the 

 richest man who is jolted over the cob- 

 blestones when riding in style in his 

 costly livery. 



Oaxaca is a city of great interest and 

 has many attractions that cannot be seen 

 elsewhere. There are some famous 

 churches, with unique and gorgeous 

 decorations, and their resplendent de- 

 signs of certain ecclesiastical wonders 

 are a fascinating source of reflection for 

 the student, who naturally seeks for a 

 psychological reason for all this strange 

 objective realism. 



We found much in these leading 

 churches that were worthy of repeated 

 visits, but there are many other charm- 

 ing objects to be seen in this most inter- 

 esting city, and the Museum, with its 

 priceless treasures of antiquities from 

 the aboriginal races of Mexico, I found 

 to be of absorbing interest, for it was 

 after all the most interesting and attract- 

 ive place for me in all Oaxaca, and it is 

 the center of attraction to every student 

 of archeology and anthropology. 



These remote people have long since 

 passed away, but here at least is a tangi- 

 ble and visible connecting link, and we 

 can study them in the light of their 

 monumental remains. In many respects 

 there are sermons in these stones, and 

 as we reflect upon them we can read 

 some of their thoughts and feelings, and 

 even religious faith, as expressed in these 

 rude and now often mysterious produc- 

 tions in clay and stone, but which were 

 once altogether intelligible and which 

 were so full of meaning to their cotem- 

 poraries. 



In fact, these are their only surviving 

 records, for the old Zapotecs and their 

 Aztec conquerors who once inhabited 

 this valley did not transmit to our gen- 

 eration a written history, with dictionary 

 and grammar ; and hence, as the sources 

 of our information are so meager, the 



