HEWERS OF STONE 



1007 



cotemporaneous works that have come 

 down to us are all the more prized, even 

 for the remotest' suggestions of truth 

 that they may contain concerning an ex- 

 tinct race that long ago had attained to 

 a high degree of civilization, but whose 

 origin and history are involved in so 

 much uncertainty. All may easily repeat 

 the same stereotyped questions that have 

 been asked by the most earnest students 

 of this science; but who can answer 

 them? 



It is true that in the market-place we 

 may see some strikingly interesting speci- 

 mens of the Zapotecan race, for these 

 hardy, plump, bronzed Indian women are 

 the lineal descendants, and, though cen- 

 turies intervene, in many respects they 

 are no improvement upon their remote 

 ancestors, but have even retrograded, so 

 far as personal ambition, enterprise, and 

 achievement are concerned. Of course 

 they have risen in the scale of civilization 

 and are free from all barbaric practices, 

 and are averse to warlike customs and 

 would recoil with utter abhorrence from 

 the shocking cannibalism involved in the 

 worship of their forefathers. Perhaps 

 even their physical resemblances are 

 rather superficial and less marked than 

 their contrasts, for the changed condi- 

 tions and inevitable admixture of differ- 

 ent races would cause a variation in the 

 type. 



THE DRIVE TO MiTlvA 



We left Oaxaca at an early hour in 

 the morning that we started for Mitla, 

 in order to escape the rough carriage 

 ride over the cobblestone streets. We 

 took the trolley for several miles, as far 

 as Tule, famous for the big tree, the 

 largest of which I have any knowledge, 

 with sufficient diameter for several stage 

 coaches to drive through abreast if the 

 center of the tree were hewn out, and 

 there would still be wood enough on 

 either side to support this mammoth 

 giant of the flora kingdom. 



It is a long drive,. about 30 miles; but 

 I had an excellent carriage, drawn by five 

 horses well matched; and a much-trav- 

 eled Englishman from Manchester, and 



with this interesting companion the way 

 never seemed monotonous nor uncom- 

 fortable. In this I was agreeably sur- 

 prised, for it had been described as 

 beyond the endurance of the ordinary 

 traveler, and many were deterred from 

 undertaking the journey owing to these 

 unfavorable reports. 



I have often thought it would be a 

 great relief to the traveling public if 

 some of the chronic grumblers remained 

 at home, or else were muzzled, for they 

 do so much to disturb the peace of mind 

 and to afflict the souls of others by tell- 

 ing of all the known evils that exist in 

 the various cities you visit. In no part 

 of the world during some years of travel 

 did I meet such pronounced members of 

 this class as when traveling through the 

 Republic of Mexico. They never made 

 the way natural and easy, but exceed- 

 ingly difficult and dangerous by their 

 tales of woe, and in every city they would 

 tell you of the insanitary condition of 

 the open sewers, of the smallpox that 

 was raging, and how unsafe it was to 

 take a street car or enter any church, 

 store, or public place, and that severe 

 colds and pneumonia were very preva- 

 lent, and that the latter was generally 

 fatal for Americans, owing to the exces- 

 sive altitude of nearly all the cities on 

 the high tableland. I can imagine the 

 terrible strain upon nervous people ; and 

 yet there is no escape from this thought- 

 less class, who, either from habit or 

 limited interests, force this unsolicited 

 information upon you. They would en- 

 dure similar inconveniences of travel at 

 home as a matter of course and without 

 a word of complaint. They will race 

 and endure clouds of dust when touring 

 in the motor car at home, and all for 

 pleasure, and call it fun ; but to pass 

 through a Httle dust in southern Mexico 

 to see some of the interesting ruins of 

 the world is too much for their endur- 

 ance. In fact, they lack the enthusiasm 

 of the genuine traveler and intelligent 

 observer, and especially of the real stu- 

 dent of mankind in the past, for some 

 dust is inseparable from all archeological 

 research, and the great explorers whO' 



