1894 
Mount 
Zempoatlepec 
1 i 
Mitla 
(Oaxaca) 
did the man himself. We travelled east from. Oaxaca and about 6 miles 
out passed El Tule where stands the huge cypress tree of well known 
size. 
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M ' • ♦ ‘ , | 
June 28th* Altitude 5450 feet* Today our progress was much better 
than yesterday’s, and we made about 20 miles up the valley to the vill¬ 
age of Mitla where are located the famous ruins. This is said to have 
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9 
been the residence of the high priest of the Zapotecos in the time of 
the arrival of Cortez in Mexico. The king, or political chief, lived 
far to the SW beyond the present City of Oaxaca. 
The present village of Mitla is an insignificant collection of 
wattled huts and small adobe houses. The ruins show a high degree of 
designing skill. On the west side of the ruins is a mound-like eleva¬ 
tion made of adobe bricks which was flat cm top and approached by a 
flight of dressed stone steps on the east side (from side of main ruins). 
A Catholic chapel is on the top of this mound now. the largest and best 
preserved house is now roofless as are all the others. The buildings 
are all one story and were built of a mixture of adobe mud and rough 
stones as the main part of the heavy walls, but were faced outside with 
very accurately dressed stone in various grecques. These patterns are 
mainly worked out by the use of small stcmes worked down to almost brick¬ 
like form, but in other places the pattern is out in the face of massive 
r ' ’ • " > • c , n • . • * 1 * «• • - t r • •' '* 1 , • . 
stones. Each of the main buildings is entered by three broad low door¬ 
ways side by side in middle of building and the doors are capped by mas¬ 
sive, accurately squared and finished stones. Those over the 3 doors 
of the best preserved building measure as follows* 
The doors under 
these were 6 ft. 
8 inches high. 
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