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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



mid a raised causeway, 25 feet wide and 

 macadamized, extends northward 300 

 yards or more to the Sacred Well. 



THE SACRED WEEL INTO WHICH PRISON- 

 ERS AND MAIDENS WERE THROWN 



This was the Sacred Way, and in 

 times of pestilence and drought solemn 

 processions of priests, devotees with of- 

 ferings, and victims for the sacrifice 

 wound between the snake-head columns 

 down the long, steep stairway of the 

 temple and along the Sacred Way to the 

 dreadful Sacred W r ell (see page 591). 

 The weird music of the flute and the 

 shrill notes of the whistle mingled with 

 the droning boom of the sacred drum as 

 the priests, the devotees with their offer- 

 ings, and the nobles grouped themselves 

 on the brink of the well. 



Then from the platform beside the 

 shrine the offerings from far and near 

 were tossed in, and finally the prisoners 

 of war and beautiful maidens, drugged 

 with the sacred ambrosia Balche, were 

 thrown into the jade-colored waters as 

 expiatory offering to an offended deity. 



Could this deep old limestone water- 

 pit, the Sacred Well, be given a tongue 

 and made to tell what it had seen, what 

 world romance could equal it ! 



Several hundred feet to the west of 

 the Castle Temple, and on the same ter- 

 race with it, rest two great parallel moles 

 of solid masonry (see page 592), each 

 275 feet long, 34 feet wide, and 25 feet 

 high. 



Between these moles is the Ceremonial 

 Court. This level cemented space was 

 probably the theater for the performance 

 of certain rites and games of a ceremo- 

 nial character, like the Aztec game dedi- 

 cated to Tlaloc. 



This belief is borne out by the fact 

 that at a distance of 6 feet from the level 

 upper surface of the mole two great 

 rings of stone were firmly fixed by means 

 of tongues into the perpendicular wall 

 surface directly opposite each other. 



One of these rings had either fallen 

 out of its place by its own weight, or 

 more probably was dug out by native 

 honey seekers, and now lies prostrate, 

 but whole, on the ground beneath. The 

 other yet stands out boldly from the 



sheer wall surface, and the entwined ser- 

 pents carved on its annular faces are still 

 clearly visible. 



To the north and south of these great 

 moles are the half-ruined remains of two 

 small temple structures (see page 594). 

 Shrine-like, they seem to guard the en- 

 trance to the Ceremonial Court ; but they 

 themselves, their carved walls and col- 

 umns time worn and beaten, are fully 

 exposed to the wear of the elements. 



THE TEMPEE OE THE TIGERS 



On the southern end of the eastern 

 mole rests an edifice, like a casket hold- 

 ing jewels, that in time, as the fact be- 

 comes known, will be in itself the object 

 of distant pilgrimages. 



It is known as the Temple of the Ti- 

 gers (see page 595) from the zone band 

 of handsomely designed, artistically exe- 

 cuted jaguars that, alternating with 

 shields, ornaments the southern face. 



Of course, it is understood that the 

 term "tiger" is a misnomer as applied to 

 the great Felidae in America; the jaguar 

 and not the tiger is meant. The term 

 "tigre," meaning tiger, was probably first 

 carelessly given by Spanish adventur- 

 ers to the jaguar from Asia, and the 

 name was thus wrongly perpetuated in 

 America. 



The entire front of the Temple of the 

 Tigers has disappeared. Fractured and 

 wedged apart by the growing tree roots 

 at the apex of the roof, the overweight 

 of the richly carved facade toppled it 

 over into the space beneath, where it still 

 lies in a formless mass. 



Two large serpent columns, with open 

 jaws and bulbous teeth, are still in place. 

 These once helped to sustain the fallen 

 fagade, and probably served as the mass- 

 ive fulcrum that tossed the mass of 

 stone and lime free from the platform in 

 front down on the level floor of the Cere- 

 monial Court. These, like all the other 

 serpent columns, are carved in the con- 

 ventionalized crotalid shape and covered 

 with the conventional quetzal plumes. 



The square end pilasters of the outer 

 entrance to the inner chamber are en- 

 tirely covered with sculptures in low re- 

 lief. Like those upon the pilasters and 

 columns of the Castle Temple, the prin- 



