/43s" \2ni Cornell University Library F 1435.S16 1877 The Mayas, the sources of their history. 3 1924 020 440 354 Cornell University Library The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/cletails/cu31924020440354 Missing Page . THE MAYAS, THE SOURCES OF THEIR HISTORY. DR. LE PLONGEON IN YUCATAN, HIS ACCOUNT OF DISCOVERIES. BY STEPHEN SALISBURY, JR. FBOM PBOCBKDING8 OP THE AMERICAN AjfTIQUABIAN SOCIETY, OF ApHIL 26, 1876, AND APRIL 25, 1877. PEIVATELT PRINTED. WORCESTER : PRESS OF CHARLES HAMILTON. 1877. WITH TEE BESPECT8 OF THE WBITEB. CONTENTS The Mayas and the soukces of thehi History Page 3 Dk. Le Plokgeon m Yucatan, " 63 ILLUSTRATIONS. Map of Yucatan Frontispiece. Locality of Discoveries at Chichen-Itza Page 58 Statue exhumed at Chichen-Itza, " 62 Belics found with the Statue, •' 74 THE MAYAS AND THE SOURCES OF THEIR HISTORY. LProceedings of American Antiquarlaa Society, April 26, 1876.] The most comprehensive and accurate map of Yucatan is that which has been copied for this pamplilet. In the several volumes of travel, descriptive of Maya ruins, are to be found plans more or less complete, intended to illustrate special journeys, but they are only partial in their treatment of this interesting country. The Piano de Yucatan, here- with presented — the work of Sr. Dn. Santiago Nigra de San Martin — was published in 1848, and has now become ex- tremely rare. It is valuable to the student, for it designates localities abounding in ruins — those not yet critically explored, as well as those which have been more thoroughly investigated — by a peculiar mark, thus □, and it also shows roads and paths used in transportation and communication. Since its publication political changes have caused the divi- sion of the Peninsula into the States of Yucatan and Cam- peachy, which change of boundaries has called for the preparation of a new and improved map. Such an one is now being engraved at Paris and will soon be issued in this country. It is the joint production of Sr. Dn. Joaquin Hubbe and Sr. Dn. Andres Aznar P6rez, revised by Dr. C. Hermann Berendt. The early history of the central portions of the western liemispliere has particularly attracted the attention of European archasologists, and those of France have already formed learned societies engaged specifically in scientific and antiquarian investigations in Spanish Auaerica. It is to the French that credit for the initiative in this most interest- ing field of inquiry is especially due, presenting an example which can not fail to be productive of good results in ani- mating the enthusiasm of all engaged in similar studies. The Societe Am^j'icaine de France (an association, like onr ovpn, having the study of American Antiquities as a principal object, and likely to become prominent in this field of inquiry), has already been briefly mentioned by our Librarian ; but the reception of the Annuaire for 1873, and a statement of the present condition of the Society in the Journal des Orlentalistes of February 5, 1876, gives occa- sion for a more extended notice. The Society was founded in 1857 ; and among those most active in its creation were M. Brasseur de Bourbourg, M. L6on de Rosny, and M. Alfred Maury. The objects of the association, as ofiicially set forth, were, first, the publication of the works and collections of M. Aubin, the learned founder of a theory of American Archae- ology, which it was hoped would throw much light upon the hieroglyphical history of Mexico before the conquest ; * second, the publication of grammars and dictionaries of the native languages of America ; third, the foundation of * M. L'Abbe Brasseur de Bourbourg, in his Histoire des nations civilis^es cZm Mexique (Paris, 1859, vol. I. Preface), speaks of M. Aubin as the translator of the manuscript " Eistoria Tulteca," as the author of the Memoire sur l'4criture figurative et la peinture didactique des anciens Mexicains, in which he reconstructed the system of Mexican figurative writing almost entirely, and as the present owner of what remains of the celebrated Boturinl collection, and of many other historical treasures, gathered in his various travels. professorships of History, Archaeology, and American Lan- guages ; and fourth, the creation, outside of Paris, of four Museums like the Museum of Saint Germain, under the auspices of such municipalities as encourage their founda- tion, as follows : A. — MusSe mexicaine. B. — Mus6e pgruvienne et de rArafirique du Sud. C. — Musfie etlinographique de I'Amgrique du Nor'd. D. — Mus6e des Antilles. ' The list of members contains the names of distinguished archaeologists in Europe, and a foreign membership already numerous ; and it is contemplated to add to this list persons interested in kindred studies from all parts of the civilized world. The publications of the Society, and those made uuder its auspices, comprehend, among others, Essai sur le dechiffreinent de V Ecriture hieratique de V Amerique Cen- trale, by M. Leon de Rosny, President of the Society, 1 vol. in folio, with numerous plates. This work treats critically the much controverted question of the signification of Maya characters, and furnishes a key for their interpre- tation.* Also, Ghronologie hieroglyphico phonetique des Rois Azteques de 1352 d 1522, retrouvee dans diverses mappes americaines antiques, expliquee et prScedee d'une introduction sur VEcriture m.exicaine, by M. Edouard Madier do Montjau. The archaeology of the two Americas, * "In the Congress of Americanists held last July at Nancy, France, M. Leon de Rosny delivered a masterly address on the Maya hieroglyphics. He critically analyzed the attempts at decyphermniit by Brasseur de Bourbourg and H. de Charency. The Bishop de Landa first discovered a clue to their meaning. He made out seventy-one signs, which number Ilosny has increased to one hund- red and thirty-two. Rosny has also determined the order in which they should be read, as a rule from left to right, but in exceptional oases from right to left." —[The Popular Science Monthly, Xew York, May, 1876, pp. 118-119.] 2 and the ethnography of their native tribes, their lan- guages, manuscripts, ruins, tombs and monuments, fall within the scope of the Society, which it is their aim to make the school and common centre of all students of American pre-Columbian history. M. Emile Burnouf, an eminent archasologist, is the Secretary. The Archives for 1875 contain an article on the philology of the Mexican languages, by M. Aubin ; an account of a recent voyage to the regions the least known of Mexico ■and Arizona, by M. Ch. Schoebcl; the last written com- munication of M. de Waldeck, the senior among travel- lers; an article by M. Brasseur de Bourbourg, upon the language of tlie Wabi of Tehuan tepee ; and an essay by M. de Montjau, entitled Sur quelques manuscripts figuratifs mexicains, in which the translation of one of these manu- scripts, by M. Ramirez of Mexico, is examined critically, and a dift'erent version is ofl'ered. The author arrives at the startling conclusion, that we have thus far taken for veritable Mexican manuscripts, many which were written by the Spaniards, or by their order, and which do not express the sentiments of the Indians. Members of this Society, also, took an active part in the deliberations of the Congres interna- tional des Americanistes, which was held at Nancy in 1875. It was a maxim of the late Emperor Napoleon III., that France could go to war for an idea. The Spanish as dis- coverers were actuated by the love of gold, and the desire of extending the knowledge and influence of Christianity, prominently by promoting the temporal and spiritual power of the mother church. In their minds the cross and the flag of Spain were inseparably connected. The French, however, claim to be ready to explore, investigate and study, for science and the discovery of truth alone. In addition to the Commission Scientifique du Mexique of 1862, which was undertaken under the auspices of the French govern- ment, and vvliicli failed to accomplish all that was hoped, the Emperor Maximilian 1. of Mexico projected a scientific exploration of the ruins of Yucatan during his brief reign, while he was sustained by the assistance of the French. The tragic death of this monarch prevented the execution of his plans ; but his character, and his efforts for the improve- ment of Mexico, earned for this accomplished but unfortunate prince tlie gratitude and respect of students of antiquity, and even of Mexicans who were politically opposed to him.* The attention of scholars and students of American Anti- quities is particularly turned to Central America, because in that country ruins of a former civilization, and pho- netic and figurative inscriptions, still exist and await an interpretation. In Central America are to be found a great variety of ruins of a higher order of architecture than any existing in America north of the Equator. Hum- boldt speaks of these remains in the following language : " The architectural remains found in the peninsula of Yucatan testify more than those of Palenque to an aston- ishing degree of civilization. They are situated between Valladolid Merida and Campeachy."t Prescott says of this region. " If the remains on the Mexican soil are so scanty, they multiply as we descend the southeastern slope of the Cordilleras, traverse the rich valleys of Oaxaca, and pene- * Geographia de las lenguas y carta ethnografica de Mexico. By M. Orosco y Berra, Mexico, 1S64. Introiluctioii p. X. La Situation actual de la Baza indigena de Mexico. By Don Francisco Pimentel, Mexico, 1864, Dedication. t Views of Nature, page 131. 8 trate the forests of Chiapas and Yucatan. In the midst of these lonely regions, we meet with the ruins recently dis- covered of several eastern cities — Mitla, Palenque, and Itzalana or Uxmal, — which argue a higher civilization than anything yet found on the American Continent."* The earliest account in detail — as far as we know — of Mayan ruins, situated in tlie States of Chiapas and Yucatan, is preseuted in the narrative of Captain Antonio del Rio, in 1787, entitled Description of an ancient city near Palenque. His investigation was undertaken by order of the authorities of Guatemala, and the publi- cation in Europe of its results was made in 1822. In the course of his account he says, "a Franciscan, Thomas de Soza, of Merida, happening to be at Palenque, June 21, 1787, states that twenty leagues from the city of M6rida, southward, between Muna, Ticul and Noxcacab, are the remains of some stone edifices. One of them, very large, has withstood the ravages of time, and still exists in good preservation. The natives give it the name of Oxmutal. It stands on an eminence twenty yards in height, and measures two hundred yards on each fa§ade. The apartments, the exterior cor- ridor, the pillars with figures in medio relievo, decorated with serpents and lizards, .and formed with stucco, besides which are statues of men with palms in their hands, in the act of beating drums and dancing, resemble in every respect those observable at Palenque."! After speaking of the exist- ence of many other ruins in Yucatan, he says he does not consider a description necessarj'^, because the identity of the ancient inhabitants of Yucatan and Palenque is proved, in his * Conquest of Mexico, New York, 1843, vol. III., page 404. t Description of an ancient city near Palenque, page 6. 9 opinion, by tlie strange resemblance of their customs, build- ings, and acquaintance with the arts, whereof such vestiges are discernible in those monuments which the current of time has not jet swept away. The ruins of Yucatan, those of the state of Chiapas and of the Island of Gozumel, are very splendid remains, and they are all of them situated in a region where the Maya lan- guage is still spoken, substantially as at the time of the Spanish discovery.* Don Manuel Orosco y Berra, says of the Indian inhabi- tants, " their revengeful and tenacious character makes of the Mayas an exceptional people. In the other parts of Mexico the conquerors have imposed their language upon the conquered, and obliged them gradually to forget their native language. In Yucatan, on the contrary, they have preserved their language with such tenacity, that they have succeeded to a certain point in making their conquerors accept it. Pretending to be ignorant of the Spanish, although they comprehend it, they never speak but in the Maya language, obeying only orders made in that language, so that it is really the dominant language of the peninsula, with the only exception of a part of the district of Cam- peachy. "f In CogoUudo's Historia de Yucatan, the similarity of ruins throughout this territory is thus alluded to: "The incontesta- * Quadro descriptivo y comparativo de las lenguas indigenas de Mexico, by Francisco Pimentel, Mexico, 1865, p. 3. "The Maya is also still the spoken language of the Island of Carmen, the town of Monie Christo in Tobasco, and Palenque in Chiapas. With so much tenacity have the Indians preserved this language that to-day they speak no other, so that the whites find themselves obliged to learn it in order to make themselves understood." t Oeographia de las Lenguas, y Carta ethnographica de Mdxico, by Manuel Orosco y Berra, Mexico, 1864, p. 156. 10 ble analogy which exists between tlie edifices of Talenqne and the ruins of Yucatan places the latter under the sanae origin, although the visible progress of art which is apparent assigns different epochs for their construction."* So we have numerous authorities for the opinion, that the ruins in Chiapas and Yucatan were built by the same or by a kin- dred people, though at different periods of time, and that the language which prevails among the Indian population of that region at the present day, is the same which was used by their ancestors at the time of the conquest. Captain Dupaix, who visited Yucatan in 1805, wrote a description of the ruins existing there, which was published in 1834; but it was reserved for M. Frederic de Waldeck to call the attention of tlie European world to the magnificent remains of the Maya country, in his Voyage pittoresque et archaeologique dans la province de Tucatan^ pendant des annees 1834-1836, Folio, with plates, Paris, 1838. This learned centenarian became a member of the Antiqua; rian Society in 1839, and his death was notice*! at the last meeting. Following him came the celebrated Eastern travel- ler, John L. Stephens, whose interesting account of his two visits to that country in 1840 and 1841, entitled Incidents of travel in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatan, in two volumes, and Incidents of travel in Yucatan, in two volumes, is too familiar to require particular notice at this point. It may not be uninteresting to record the fact, that Mr. Stephens' voyages and explorations in Yucatan were made after the suggestion and with the advice of lion. John R. Bartlett, of Providence, R. I., a member of this * Los tres siglos de la dominacion Espanola en Yucatan. By Fr. Diego Lopez de Cogolludo, — Madrid, 1688. — Mtrida, 1846, Lib. IV., Appendix A. 11 Society, who obtained for this traveller the copy of Wal- deck's work which he used in his journeyings. Desir6 Charnay, a French traveller, published in 1863 an account entitled Cites et Ruines Americaines, accompanied by a valuable folio Atlas of plates. The writer of this report passed the winter of 1861 at Merida, the capital of the Province of Yucatan, as the guest of Don David Casares, his classmate, and was received into his father's family with a kindness and an attentive hospitality which only those who know the warmtli and sincerity of tropical courtesy can appreciate * The father, Don Manuel Casares, was a native of Spain, who had resided in Cuba and in the United States. He was a gentleman of the old school, who, in the first part of his life in Yucatan, had devoted himself to teaching, as principal of a high school in the city of Merida, but was then occupied in the management of a large plantation, upon which he resided most of the year, though his family lived in the city. He •The family of Don Manuel Casares consisted of his wife — a very active and estimable lady. — three sons and six daughters. Of the sons, the two eldest, David and Primitivo, were educated in the United States. David Casares graduated with honor at Harvard College, and after a three years course at the Ecole centrale des Arts et Manufactures ,va Paris, he passed a creditable examination for his degree. He was first employed, on his return to his own country, as Professor of Mathematics in the College of Minerva, a Jesuit Col- lege of Merida, but is now occupied in managing the plantation of his father, who died In 1864. Primitivo, the second son, studied mechanics and engineer- ing at the scientific school in Cambridge, and employed himself in several machine shops and foundi'ies id Worcester and Lowell, to prepare himself to introduce the use of machinery in his native country. He returned to his home In company with the writer, but died a year after, stricken down by fever, brought on by over-work while superintending the erection of machinery, upon one of the estates in the neighborhood of Merida. Both these men were great favorites in Cambridge and Jamaica Plain, where they resided, and are well remembered for their attractive and interesting qualities. The writer became acquainted with many of the prominent f>jmilies of Mirida and Campeachy, from whom he received hospitable courtesies and attentions ; but it would here be out of place to acknowledge personal obligations. 12 was possessed of great energy' and mucli general inforraatioti, and could speak English with ease and correctness. Being liighlj^ respected in the community, he was a man of weight and influence, the more in that he kept aloof from all political cabals, in which respect his conduct was quite exceptional. The Abb6 Brasseur de Bourbonrg, in his Histoire des nations civilizees du Mexique, acknowledges the valuable assistance furnished him by Senor Casares, whom he describes as a learned Yucateco and ancient deputy to Mexico.* Perhaps some of the impressions received, during a five months' visit, will be pardoned if inti-oduced in this report. Yucatan is a province of Mexico, very isolated and but little known. It is isolated, from its geographical jjosition, sur- rounded as it is on three sides by the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean ; and it is but little known, because its commerce is insignificant, and its communication with other countries, and even with Mexico, is infrequent. It has few ports. Approach to the coast can only be accom- plished in lighters or small boats ; while ships are obliged to lie oflT at anchor, on account of the shallowness of the water covering the banks of sand, which stretch in broad belts around the peninsula. The country is of a limestone forma- tion, and is only slightly elevated above the sea. Its general character is level, but in certain districts there are table lands ; and a mountain range runs north-easterly to the town of Maxcanu, and thence extends south-westerly to near the centre of the State. The soil is generally of but little depth, but is exceedingly fertile. • Histoire des nations civilieees du Mexique, by M. L'Abb* Brasseur de Bourbourg, vol. II.. page 578. 13 There are no rivers in the northern part of tlie province, and only the rivers Champoton, and the Uzumacinta with its branches, in the south-western portion ; but there are several small lakes in the centre of Yucatan, and a large number of artificial ponds in the central and southern districts. The scarcity of water is the one great natural difficulty to be surmounted in most parts of the country ; but a supply can commonly be obtained by digging wells, though often at so great a depth that the cost is formidable. The result is that the number of wells is small, and in the cities of M6nda and Campeachy rain water is frequently stored in large cisterns for domestic purposes. From the existence of cenotes or ponds with an inexhaustible supply of water at the bottom of caves, and because water can be reached by digging and blasting, though with great eifort and expense, the theory prevails in Yucatan that their territory lies above a great underground lake, which offers a source of supply in those sections where lakes, rivers and springs, are entirely unknown. A very healthful tropical climate prevails, and the year is divided into the wet and the dry season, the former beginning ia J^>-r^i. and lasting until October, the latter covering the remaining portions of the year. During the dry season of 1861-2, the thermometer ranged from 75° ■to 78° in December and January, and from 78° to 82° in February, March and April. Early in the dry season vegetation is luxuriant, the crops are ripening, and the country is covered with verdure ; but as the season pro- gresses the continued drouth, which is almost uninterrupted, produces the same effect upon the external aspect of the fields and woods as a northern winter. Most of the trees loae their leaves, the herbage dries up, and the roads 3 14 become covered with a thick dust During exceptionally dry seasons thousands of cattle perish ffom the entire lack of subsistence, first having exhausted the herbage and then the leaves and shrubbery. The population of the peninsula is now about 502,- 731, four-fifths of which are Indians and Mestizos or half-breeds. The general business of the country is agri- cultural, and the territory is divided into landed estates or farms, called haciendas, which are devoted to the breeding of cattle, and to raising jenniken or Sisal hemp, and corn. Cotton and sugar are also products, but not to an extent to admit of exportation. Some of the plantations are very large, covering an area of six or seven miles square, and employing hundreds of Indians as laborers. Farm houses upon the larger estates are built of stone and lime, covered with cement, and generally occupy a central position, with private roads diverging from them. These houses, which are often very imposing and palatial, are in- tended only for the residence of the owners of the estate and their major-domos or superintendents. The huts for the Indian laborers are in close proximity to the residence of the proprietor, upon the roads which lead to it, and are gen- erally constructed in an oval form with upright poles, held together by withes of bark ; and they are covered inside and out with a coating of clay. The roofs are pointed, and also made with poles, and thatched with straw. They have no chimneys, and the smoke finds its way out frotn various openings purposely left. The huts have no flooring, are larger than the common wigwams of the nortliern Indians, and ordinarily contain but a single room. The cattle yards of the estate, called corrals, immediately join the 15 residence of the proprietor, and are supplied with water by artilicial pumping. All the horses and cattle are branded, and roam at will over the estates, (which are not fenced, except for the protection of special crops), and resort daily to the yards to obtain water. This Ijeeps the herds to- gether. The Indian laborers are also obliged to rely entirely upon the common well of the estate for their supply of water. The Indians of Yucatan are subject to a system of peonage, differing but little from slavery. The proprietor of an estate gives eacli family a hut, and a small portion of land to cultivate for its own use, and the right to draw water from the common well, and in return requires the labor of the male Indians one day in each week under superintendence. An account is kept with each Indian, in which all extra labor is credited, and he is charged for supplies furnished. Thus the Indian becomes indebted to his employer, and is held upon the estate by that bond. While perfectly free to leave his master if he can pay this debt, he rarely succeeds in obtaining a release. No right of corporal punishment is allowed by law, o'-'-t whipping is practiced upon most of the estates. The highways throughout the country are numerous, but generally are rough, and there is but little regular communication between the various towns. From the cities of Merida and Campeachy, public conveyances leave at stated times for some of the more important towns ; but travellers to other points are obliged to depend on private transportation. A railroad from M6rida to the port of Progreso , a distance of sixteen miles, was in process of being built, but the writer is not aware of its completion. 16 The peninsula is now divided into the States of Yucatan, with a population of '282,634, with M6rida for a capital, and Campeachy, with a population of 80,366, which has the city of Campeachy as its capital. The government is similar to our state governments, but is liahle to bo controlled by military interference. The States are dependent upon the central government at Mexico, and send deputies to represent them in the congress of the Republic. la the south-western part of the country there is a district very little known, which is inhabited by Indians who have escaped from the control of the whites and are called Sublevados. These revolted Indians, whose number is estimated at 139,731, carry on a barbarous war, and make au annual invasion into the frontier towns, killing the whites and such Indians as will not join their fortunes. With this exception, the safety of life and property is amply protected, and seems to be secured, not so much by the severity of the laws, as by the peaceful character of the inhabitants of all I'aces. The trade of the country, except local traffic, is car- ried on by water. Regular steam communication occurs monthly between New York andprogr-iyo the port of Merida, via Havana, and occasionally barques freighted with corn, hides, hemp and other products of the country, and also carrying a small number of passengers, leave its ports for Havana, Vera Cruz and the United States. Freight and passengers along the coast are transported in flat bottomed canoes. Occasional consignments of freight and merchan- dise ajrrive by ship frota France, Spain and other distant ports. The cities of Merida and Campeachy are much like Havana in general appearance. The former has a popula- 17 tion of 23,500, is the residence of the Governor, and contains the public buildings of the State, the cathedral — an imposing edifice, — the Bishop's palace, an ecclesiastical college, fifteen churches, a hospital, jail and theatre. The streets are wide and are laid out at right angles. The houses, which are generally of one story, are large, and built of stone laid in mortar or cement ; and tliey are constructed in the Moorish style, with interior court yards surrounded M'itli corridors, upon which the various apartments open. The windows are destitute of glass, but have strong wooden shutters ; and those upon the public streets often project like bow windows, and are protected by heavy iron gratings. The inhabitants are exceedingly hospitable, and there is much cultivated society in both Merida and Campeachy. As the business of the country is chiefly agricultural, many of the residents in the cities own haciendas in the country, where they entertain large parties of friends at the celebra- tion of a religions festival on their plantations, or in the immediate neighborhood. The people are much given to amusements, and the serious duties of life are often obliged to yield to tl>e enjoyments of the hour. The Catholic relig- ion prevails exclusively, and has a very strong hold upon the population, both white and Indian, and the religious services of the church are performed with great ceremony, business of all kinds being suspended during their observance. The aboriginal ruins, to which so much attention, has been directed, are scattered in groups through the whole peninsula. M6rida is built upon the location of the ancient town Tihoo, and the materials of the Indian town were used in its construction. Sculptured stones, which formed the ornamental finish of Indian buildings, are to be seen in the 18 walls of the modern houses.* An artificial hill, called " El Castillo," was formerly the site of an Indian temple, and is curious as the only mound remaining of all those existmg at tlie time of the foundation of the Spanish city. This mound is almost the only trace of Indian workmanship, in that imme- diate locality, which has not been removed or utilized in later constructions.f It appears that a large part of the building material throughout tlie province was taken from aboriginal edifices, and the great number of stone churches of considerable size, which have been built in all the small towns in that country, is proof of the abundance of this material. The ruins of Uxmal, said to be the most numerous and imposing of any in the province, wore visited by the writer in company with a party of sixteen gentlemen from Merida, of whom two only had seen them before. The expedition was arranged out of courtesy to the visitor, and was per- formed on horseback. The direct distance was not more than sixty miles in a southerly direction, but the excursion was so managed as to occupy more than a week, during which time the hospitality of the haciendas along the route was depended upon for shelter and entertainment. Some of the plantations visited were of great extent, and among others, that called Guayalk6 was especially noticeable for its size, and also for the beauty and ele- gance of the farm house of the estate, which was con- structed entirely of stone, and was truly palatial in its proportions. This building is fully described by Mr. * Historia de Yucatan. By CogoUudo. Merida, 1845. Lib. III., cap, VII. t Ibid. Lib. IV., cap. XII. 19 Stephens.* The works of this writer form an excellent hand-book for the traveller. His descriptions are truthful, and the drawings by Mr. Catherwood are accurate, and convey a correct idea of the general appearance of ruins, and of points of interest which were visited ; and the per- sonal narrative offers a great variety of information, whicli could only be gathered by a traveller of much ex[)erience in the study of antiquities. Such at least is the opinion of the people of that country. His works are there quoted as high authority respecting localities which he visited and described; and modern Mexican philologists and antiquaries refer to Stephens' works and illustrations with confidence in his representations, and with respect and deference for his opinions and inferences.! At various points along the route, portions of mined edifices were seen but not explored. Tlie ruins of Uxmal are distant about a mile from the hacienda buildings, and extend as far as the eye can reach. They belong to Don Simon Peon, a gentleman who, though he does not reside there, has so much regard for their preservation that he will not allow the ruins to be removed or interfered with for the improvement of the estate, in which respect he is an exception to many of the planters. Here it may be remarked, that the inhabitants generally show little interest in the antiquities of their country, and no public effort is made to preserve them. The ruins which yet remain undis- turbed have escaped destruction, in most instances, only * Travels in Cent. Am., Chiapas and Tucatan. By J. L. Stephens. New York, 1858. vol. II., page 403. t GeograpMa de las Lenguas y Carta Ethnographica de Mexico. By Manuel Orozco y Berra, Mexico, 1864, p. 100. Ibid. p. 115. Quadro descrip- tivo y comparativo de las Lenguas indigenas de Mexico. By D. Francisco Pimentel. Mexico, 1865. 'i'om. 11, p. 36. 20 because their materials have not been required in con- structing modern buildings. Mncli of the country is thinly inhabited, and parts of it are heavily wooded. It is there that the remains of a prior civilization have best escaped the Jiand of man, more to be dreaded than the ravages of time. Tlie stone edifices of Uxmal are nutnerous, and are gen- erally placed upon artificial elevations; they are not crowded together, but are scattered about singly and in groups over a large exteut of territory. The most conspicuous is an artificial pyramidal mound, upon the top of which is a stone building two stories in height, supposed to have been used as a sacrificial temple. One side of this mound is per- pendicular ; the opposite side is approached by a flight of stone steps. The building on the top, and the steps b}' which the ascent is made are in good preservation. Some of the large buildings are of magnificent proportions, and are much decorated with bas reliefs of human figures and faces in stone, and with other stone ornaments. The writer does not recollect seeing any stucco ornamentation at this place, though such material is used elsewhere. What are popularly called "House of the Governor" and "House of the Nuns," are especially remarkable for their wonderful preservation ; so that from a little distance they appear per- fect and entire, except at one or two points which look as if struck by artillery. The rooms in the ruins are of various sizes, and many of them could be made Iiabitable with little labor, on removing the rubbish which has found its way into them. The impression received from an inspection of the ruins of Uxmal was, that they had been used as public buildings, and residences of officers, priests and high dignitaries. Both 21 Stephens and Prescott are of tlie opinion that some of the ruins in this territory were built and occupied by the direct ancestors of the Indians, who now remain as slaves upon the soil where once they ruled as lords.* The antiquity of other remains evidently goes back to an earlier epoch, and antedates the arrival of the Spaniards. If the Indians of the time of the conquest occupied huts like those of the Indians of to-day, it is not strange that all vestiges of their dwellings should have disappeared. Mr. Stephens gives an interesting notice of the first formal conveyance of the property of Uxraal, made by the Spanish government in 1673, which was shown him by the present owner, in which the fact that the Indians, then, worshipped idols in some of the existing edifices on that estate, is mentioned. Another legal instrument, in 1688, describes the livery of seizin in the following words, " In virtue of the power and authority by which the same title is given to me by the said governor, and complying with its terms, I took by the hands the said Lorenzo de Evia, and he walked with me all over Uxmal and its buildings, opened and shut some doors that had several rooms (connected), cut within the space several trees, picked up fallen stones and threw them down, drew water from one of the a-gnadas (artificial ponds) of the said place of Uxmal, and perfoi'med other acts of possession."'!" These facts are interesting as indicating actual or recent occupation; and a careful investigation of docu- ments relating to the various estates, of which the greater part are said to be written in the Maya language, might throw light upon the history of particular localities. * Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, Stephens, vol. II., page 445. History of the Conquest of Mexico, Prescott, vol. III., page 370. t Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, vol. I., page 323. 4 22 The Maya Indians are shorter and stouter, and have a more delicate exterior than the North American Savages. Their hands and feet are small, and the outlines of their figures are graceful. They are capable of enduring great fatigue, and the privation of food and drink, and bear exposure to the tropical sun for hours with no covering for the head, without being in the least, affected. Their bearing evinces entire subjection and abasement, and they shun and distrust the whites. They do not manifest the cheerfulness of the negro slave, but maintain a,n expression of indifference, and are destitute of all curiosity or ambi- tion. These peculiarities are doubtless the results of the treatment they have received for generations. The half- bi-eeds, or Mestizos, prefer to associate with the whites rather than with the Indians 5 and as a rnle all the domestic service throughout the country is performed by that class. Mestizos often hold the position of major-domos, or super- intendents of estates, but Indians of pure blood are seldom employed in ^ny position of trust or confidence. They are punctilious in their observance of the forms and ceremonies of the Catholic religion, and a numerous priesthood is maintained largely by the contributions of this race. The control exercised by the clergy is very powerful, and their assistance is always soiight by the whites in cases of controversy. The Indians are indolent and fond of spectacles, and the chnrch offers them an opportunity of celebrating many feast days, of which they do not fail to avail themselves. When visiting the large estate of Chactun, belonging to Don Jcise Dominguez, thirty miles south-west of M6rida, at a sugar rancho called Orkintok, the writer saw a large 23 ruin similar to that called the "House of the Nuns" at Uxmal. It was a building of a quadrangular shape, with apartments opening on an interior court in the centre of the quadrangle. The building was in good preservation, and some of the rooms were used as depositories for corn. The visiting party breakfasted in one of the larger apartments. From this hacienda an excursion was made to Maxcanu, to visit an artificial mound, which had a pas- sage into the interior, with an arched stone ceiling and retaining walls.* This passage was upon a level with the base of the mound, and branched at right angles into other passages for hundreds of feet. Nothing appeared in these passages to indicate their purpose. The labyrinth was visited by the light of candles and torches, and the pre- caution of using a line of cords was taken to secure a certainty of egress. A thorough exploration was prevented by the obstructions of the debris of the fallen roof. Other artificial mounds encountered elsewhere had depressions upon the top, doubtless caused by the falling in of interior passages or apartments. There is no account of the excavation of Yucatan mounds for historical purposes, though Cogolludo says there were other mounds existing at M^rida in 1542, besides "El grande de los Kues," which, certainly, have now disappeared ; but no account of their construction has come down to us-t The same author also says, that, with the stone constructions of the Indian city churches and houses were built, besides the convent and church of the Mejorada, and also the church of the Franciscans, and that there was still more material * Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, Stephens, vol. I., page 212. t Historia de Yucatan, Cogolludo. Lib. HI., Cap. XI. 24 left for others which they desired to build* It is then, cer- tainly, a plausible supposition that the great mounds were many of them constructed with passages like that at Orkin- tok, and that they have furnished from their interiors worked and squared stones, which were used in the con- struction of the modern city of M^rida by the Spanish conquerors. When the Spanish first invaded Mexico and Yucatan they brought with them a small number of horses, which animals were entirely unknown to the natives, and were made use- ful not only as cavalry but also in creating a superstitious reverence for the conquerors, since the Indians at first regarded the horse as endowed with divine attributes. Cortez in his expedition from the city of Mexico to Hon- duras in 1524, passed through the State of Chiapas near the ruins called Palenque, — of which ancient city, however, no mention is made in the accounts of that expedition, — and rested at an Indian town situated upon an island in Lake Peten in Guatemala. This island was then the property of an emigrant tribe of Maya Indians; and Bernal Diaz, the historian of the expedition, says^ that "its houses and lofty teocallis glistened in the sun, so that it might be seen for a distance of two leagues." According to Prescott, " Cortez on his departure left among this friendly people one of his horses, which had been disabled by an injury in the foot. The Indians felt a reverence for the animal, as in some way connected with the mys- terious power of the white men. When their visitors had gone they ofiered flowers to the horse, and as it is said, prepared for him many savory messes of poultry, • Sistoria de Yucatan. CogoUudo. Lib. III., Cap. VII. 25 such as they woTild have administered to their own sick. Under this extraordinary diet the poor animal pined away and died. The affrighted Indians raised his effigy in stone, and placing it upon one of their teocallis, did homage to it as to a deity." * At the hacienda of Don Manuel Casares called Xuyum, fifteen miles north-east from Merida, a num- ber of cerros, or mounds, and the ruins of several small stone structures built on artificial elevations, were pointed out to the writer; and his attention was called to two sculptured heads of horses which lay upon the ground in the neighborhood of some ruined buildings. They were of the size of life, and represented, cut from solid limestone, the heads and necks of horses with the mane clipped, so that it stood up from the ridge of their necks like the mane of the zebra. The workmanship of the figures was artistic, and the inference made at the time was, that these figures had served as bas reliefs on ruins in that vicinity. On mentioning the fact of tlie existence of these figures to Dr. Carl Hermann Berendt, who was about to revisit Yucatan, in 1869, he manifested much interest in regard to them, and expressed his intention to visit this plantation when he should be in Merida. But later inquiries have failed to discover any further trace of these figures. Dr. Berendt had never seen any representation of horses upon ruins in Central America, and considered the existence of the sculptures the more noteworthy, from the fact that horses were unknown to the natives till the time of the Spanish discovery. The writer supposes that these figures were sculptured by Indians after the conquest, and that they were used as decorations upon buildings erected at the same time and by the same hands. * History of the Conquest of Mexico. Preseott, Vol. III., page 294. 26 At the town of Izamal, and also at Zilam, the writer saw gigantic artificial mounds, with stone steps leading up to a broad level space on the top. There are no remains of structures on these elevations, but it seems probable that the space was once occupied by buildings. At Izamal, which was traditionally the sacred city of the Mayas, a human face in stucco is still attached to the perpendicular side of one of the smaller cerros or mounds. The face is of gigantic size, and can be seen from a long distance. It may have been a representation of Zamna, the founder of Mayan civilization in Yucatan, to whose worship that city was especially dedicated. From this slight glance at the remains in the Mayan terri- tory we are led to say a few words about their history. In the absence of all authentic accounts, the traditions of the Mayas, and the writings of Spanish chroniclers and eccle- siastics, offer the only material for our object. M. L'Abb6 Brasseur de Bourbourg, the ' learned French traveller and Archaeologist, in his Histoire des Ifations Civilisees du Mexique et de I'Amerigue Gentrale durant les siecles antSrieurs d Christophe Columb, has given a very volumin- ous and interesting account of Mayan history prior to the arrival of Europeans. It was collected by a careful study of Spanish and Mayan manuscripts, and will serve at least to open the way for further investigation to those who do not agree with its inferences and conclusions. The well known industry and enthusiasm of this scholar have contri- buted very largely to encourage the study of American Archaeology in Europe, and his name has been most prominently associated with the later efforts of the French in the scientific study of Mexican antiquities. A brief 27 . notice of some of the marked epochs of Mayan history, as he presents them, will not perhaps be out of place in this connection. Modern investigations, in accord with the most ancient traditions, make Tobasco and the mouths of the Tobasco river, and the XJzumacinta, the first cradle of civilization in Central America. At the epoch of the Spanish invasion, these regions, and the interior provinces which bordered on them, were inhabited by a great number of Indian tribes. There was a time when the major part of the population of that region spoke a common language, and this language was either the Tzendale, spoken to-day by a great number of the Indians in the State of Chiapas, or more likely the Maya, the only language of the peninsula of Yucatan. When the Spaniards first appeared, the native population already occu- pied the peninsula, and a great part of the interior region of that portion of the continent. Learned Indians have stated, that they heard traditionally from their ancestors, that at first the country was peopled by a race which came from the east, and that their God had delivered them from the pursuit of certain others, in opening to them a way of escape by means of the sea. According to tradition, Yotan, a priestly ruler, came to Yucatan many centuries before the Christian era, and established his first residence at Nachan, now popularly called Palenque. The astonishment of the natives at the coming of Yotan was as great as the sensation produced later at the appearance of the Spaniards. Among the cities which recognized Votan as founder, Mayapan occu- pied a foremost rank and became the capital of the Yucatan peninsula; a title which it lost and recovered at various times, and kept until very ne^r to the date of the arrival 28 of the Spaniards. The ruins of Mayapan are situated in the centre of the province, about twenty-four miles from those of Uxmal. Mayapan, Tulha — situated upon a branch of the Tobasco river, — and Palenque, are considered the most ancient cities of Central America. Zamna however was revered by the Mayas as their greatest lawgiver, and as the most active organizer of their powerful kingdom. He was a ruler of the same race as Votan, and his arrival took place a few years after the building of Palenque. The first enclosure of Mayapan surrounded only the official and sacred buildings, but later this city was much extended, so that it became one of the largest of ancient America. Zamna is said to have reigned many years, and to have introduced arts and sciences which enriched his kingdom. He .was buried at Izamal, which became a shrine where multitudes of pilgrims rendered homage to this benefactor of their country. Here was established an oracle, famous throughout that whole region, which was also resorted to for the cure of diseases. Mayan chronology fixes the year 258 of the Christian era as the date when the Tutul-Xius, a princely family from Tulha, left Guatemala and appeared in Yucatan. . They con- ciliated the good will of the king of Mayapan and rendered themselves vassals of the crown of Maya. The Tutul-Xius founded Mani and also Tihoo, afterwards the modern city of M6rida. The divinity most worshipped at Tihoo was Bak- lum-Chaam, the Priapus of the Mayas, and the great temple erected as a sanctuary to this god was but little inferior to the temple of Izamal. It bore the title " Yahan-Kuna" most beautiful temple. A letter from Father Bienvenida to Philip II., speaks of this city in these terms, " The city is 29 30 leagues in the interior, and is called M6rida, which name it takes on account of the beautiful buildings which it con- tains, because in the whole extent of country which has been discovered, not one so beautiful has been met with. The buildings are finely constructed of hammered stone, laid without cement, and are 30 feet in height. On the summit of these edifices are four apartments, divided into cells like those of the monks, which are twenty feet long and ten feet wide. The posts of the doors are of a single stone, and the roof is vaulted. The priests have established a convent of St. Francis in the part which has been dis- covered. It is proper that what has served for the worship of the demon should be transformed into a temple for the service of God." * Later in history a prince named Cukulcan arrived from the west and established himself at Chichen-Itza. Owing to quarrels in the Mayan territory, he was asked to take the supreme government of the empire, with Mayapan as the capital city. By his management the government was divided into three absolute sovereignties, which upon occa- sion might act together and form one. The seven succeed- ing sovereigns of Mayapan embellished and improved the country, and it was very prosperous. At this time the city of Uxmal, governed by one of the Tutnl-Xius, began to rival the city of Mayapan in extent of territory and in the num- ber of its vassals. The towns of Noxcacab, Kabah, Bocal and Nohpat were among its dependencies. The date of the foundation of Uxmal has been fixed at A. D. 864. At this epoch, great avenues paved with stone, * Collection des Mimoires sur VAmirique, Becueil des Piices sur le Mdxique trad., par Ternaux-Compans, p. 307. 5 30 were constructed, the most remarkable of which appeared to have been that which extends from the interior to the shores of the sea opposite Oozumel, upon the North-East coast, and the highway which led to Izamal constructed for the convenience of pilgrims. A long peace then reigned be- tween the princes of the several principal cities, whicli was brought to an end by an alliance formed against the King of Mayapan. The rulers of Chichen and Uxmal dared openly to condemn the conduct of the king of Mayapan, because he had employed hirelings to protect himself against his own people, who were provoked by his tyrannical exactions, and had transferred his residence to Kimpech, upon which town and neighborhood, alone, he bestowed his royal favors. His people were especially outraged by the introduction of slavery, which had been hitherto unknown to them. A change of rulers at Mayapan failed to allay the troubles in the empire, and by a con- spiracy of the independent princes, the new tyrant of Mayapan was deposed, and he was defeated in a three days battle at the city of Mayapan. The palace was taken, and the king and his family were brutally mur- dered. The city was then given to the flames and was left a vast and desolate heap of ruins. Then one of the Tutul-Xius, prince of Uxmal, on his return, was crowned and received the title of supreme monarch of the Mayas. This king governed the country with great wisdom, extending his protection over the foreign mercenaries of the former tyrant, and ofiiering them an asylum not far from Uxmal, where are now the remains of the towns Pockboc, Sakbache and Lebna. It is believed tliat the city of Mayapan was then rebuilt, 31 and existed shorn of some of its former greatness, but later it was again the cause of dissension in the kingdom, and was again destroyed. This event is said to have occurred in A. D. 1464. Peace then reigned in Yucatan for more than twenty years, and there was a period of great abund- ance and prosperity. At the end of this time the country was subjected to a series of disasters. Hurricanes occurred, doing incalculable damage ; plagues followed with great destruction of life ; and thus began the depopulation of the peninsula. Then the Spaniards arrived, and the existence of Indian power in Yucatan came to an end. The foregoing is necessarily an abridged, hastily written, and very imperfect sketch of some of the more prominent facts connected with the supposed early history of Mayan civilization, which have been brought together with care, labor, and great elaboration, by the Abb6 Brasseur de Bourbourg. Much of this history is accepted as correct from the weight of the authorities which support and cor- roborate it, but the whole subject is still an open one in the opinion of scholars and archaeologists. The learned Abb6 is now no more, but the record of his labors exists in his published works, and in the impulse which he gave to archaeological investigations. We receive the first notice of his death from Mr. Hubert Howe Bancroft, who pays the following eloquent tribute to his memory ; " Brasseur de Bourbourg devoted his life to the study of American primitive history. In actual knowledge per- taining to his chosen subjects, no man ever equalled or approached him. Besides being an indefatigable student, he was an elegant writer. In the last decade of his life, he conceived a new and complicated theory respecting the 32 origin of the American people, or rather the Origin of Europeans and Asiatics from America, made known to the world in his ' Qaatre Lettres? His attempted trans- lation of the manuscript Troano was made in support of this theory. By reason of the extraordinary nature of the views expressed, and the author's well-known tendency to build magnificent structures on a slight foundation, his later writings were received, for the most part by critics utterly incompetent to understand them, with a "sneer, or what seems to have grieved the writer more, in silence. Now that the great Americanist is dead, while it is not likely that his theories will ever be received, his zeal in the cause of antiquarian science, and the many valuable works from his pen will be better appreciated. It will be long ere another shall undertake, with equal devotion and ability, the well nigh hopeless task." * Among the historical records relating to the aborigines of Spanish America, there is none more valuable than the manuscript of Diego de Lauda — Second Bishop of Yucatan, in 1573, — which was discovered and published by M. de Bourbourg. It contains an account of the manners and customs of the Maya Indians, a description of some of their chief towns ; and more important than all besides, it fur- nishes an alphabet, which is the most probable key that is known to us for reading the hieroglyphics which' are found upon many of the Yucatan ruins. The alphabet, though imperfect in itself, may at some future time explain, not only the inscriptions, but also the manuscripts of this ancient period. Although an attempt of its discoverer, to * The Native Races of the Paoi^c States of North America. By Hubert H. Bancroft. San Francisco, 1875. Vol. II., page 780. 33 make use of the alphabet for interpreting the characters of the manuscript Troano, has failed to -satisfy scholars, its study still engages the attention of other learned archae- ologists and antiquaries. Bishop Landa gives the following description of Mayan manuscripts or books : " They wrote their books on a large, highly decorated leaf, doubled in folds and enclosed be- tween two boards, and they wrote on both sides in columns corresponding to the folds. The paper they made of the roots of a tree, and gave it a white varnish on which one could write well. This art was known by certain men of high rank, and because of their knowledge of it they were much esteemed, but they did not practice the art in public. This people also used certain characters or letters, with which they wrote in their books of their antiquities and their sciences : and by means of these, and of figures, and by certain signs in their figures, they understood their writ- ings, and made them understood, and taught them. We found among them a great number of books of these letters of theirs, and because they contained nothing which had not supei'stitions and falsities of the devil, we burned them all; at which they were exceedingly sorrowful and troubled." * In CogoUudo's Historia de Yucatan, there is an account of a destruction of Indian antiquities by Bishop Landa, called an auto-da-fe, of which we give a translation : " This Bishop, who has passed for an illustrious saint among the priests of this province, was still an extrava- gant fanatic, and .so hard hearted that he became cruel. * Belation des choses de Yucatan. By Diego de Landa, Paris, 1864, pp. 44, 316. 84 One of the heaviest accusations against him, which his apologists could not deny or justify, was the famous auto-da-fe, in which he proceeded in a most arbitrary and despotic manner. Father Landa destroyed many precious memorials, which to-day might throw a brilliant light over our ancient history, still enveloped in an almost impenetra- ble chaos until the period of the conquest. Landa saw in books that he could not comprehend, cabalistic signs, and invocations to the devil. From notes in a letter written by the Yucatan Jesuit, Domingo Rodriguez, in 1805, we offer the following enumeration of the articles destroyed and burned. 5000 Idols, of distinct forms and dimensions. 13 Great stones, that had served as altars. 22 Small stones, of various forms. 57 Rolls of signs and hieroglyphics, on deer skins. 197 Vases, of all dimensions and figures. Otlier precious curiosities are spoken of, but we have no description of them." * Captain Antonio del Kio gives an account of another destruction of Mayan antiquities, at Huegetan ': " The Bishop of Chiapas, Don Francisco Nunez de la Yega, in his Diocesan Constitution, printed at Rome in 1702, says, that the treasure consisted of some large earthen vases of one piece, closed with covers of the same material, on which were represented in stone the figures of the ancient pagans whose names are in the calendar, with some chalchihuitls, which are solid hard stones of a green color, and other superstitious figures, together with historical works of Indian origin. These were taken from a cave and given up, when * Historia de Tuoatan. Cogolludo. Lib. VI. Appendix A, 1. 35 they were publicly burned in the square Huegetan, on our visit to that province in 1691." * Prescott also mentions the destruction of manuscripts and other works of art in Mexico : " The iirst Arch-Bishop of Mexico, Don Juan de Zumarraga, a name that should be as immortal as that of Omar, collected these paintings from every quarter, especially from Tescuco, the most cultivated capital of Anahuae, and the great depository of the national archives. He then caused thera to be piled up in a moun- tain heap, as it was called by the Spanish writers theifi- selves, in the market place of Tlatelolco, and reduced them all to ashes." t It is not then to be wondered at, that so few original Mayan manuscripts have escaped and are preserved, when such a spirit of destruction animated the Spanish priests at the time of the conquest. Mr. Hubert Howe Bancroft, whom we are happy to recognize As a member of this Society, in a systematic and exhaustive treatment of the history and present condition of the Indians of the Pacific States, has presented a great amount of valuable informa- tion, much of which has never before been offered to the public ; and in his wide view, he comprehends important observations on Central American antiquities. He gives this account of existing ancient Maya manuscripts or books. " Of the aboriginal Maya manuscripts, three specimens only, 60 far as I know, have been preserved. These are the Mexican Manuscript No. 2, of the Imperial Library at Paris; the Dresden Codex, and the Manuscript Troano. Of the first, we only know of its existence, and the similarity * Description of an ancient city near Palenque, Pago 32. t Prescott's Conquest of Mexico. "Vol. I., page 101. 36 of its characters to those of the other two, and of the scnlptured tablets. The Dresden Codex is preserved in the Eoyal Library of Dresden. The Manuscript Troano was found about the year 1865, in Madrid, by the Abbe Brasseur de Bourbourg. Its name comes from that of its possessor in Madrid, Sr. Tro y Ortolano, and nothing what- ever is known of its origin. The original is written on a strip of 'tnaguey paper, about fourteen feet long, and nine inches wide, the surface of which is covered with a whitish varnish, on which the figures are painted in black, red, blue and brown. It is folded fan-like into thirty-five folds, presenting when shut much the appearance of a modern large octavo volume. The hieroglyphics cover both sides of the paper, and the writing is consequently divided into seventy pages, each about five by nine inches, having been apparently executed after the paper was folded, so that the folding does not interfere with the written matter." * It is probable that early manuscripts, as well as others of less antiquity than the above mentioned, but of great histori- cal importance, yet remain buried among the archives of the many cliurches and convents of Yucatan ; and it is also true that a systematic search for them has never been prosecuted. A thorough examination of ecclesiastical and antiquarian col- lections in .that country, M'ould be a service to the' students of archaeology which ought not to be longer deferred. The discovery of the continent of America was made near this Peninsula, and the accounts of early Spanish voyagers contain meagre but still valuable descriptions of the country, as it appeared at the time it was first visited by * The Native Races of the Pacific States. By Hubert Howe Bancroft. Vol. II., page 771. 37 Europeans. It may be interesting to call to mind some of the circumstances connected with their voyages, and with the first settlement of Yucatan by the Spaniards, and also to notice briefly some of the difficulties met with in obtain- ing a foot-hold in the new world. Columbus on his fourth and last voyage, in 1502, left the Southern coast of Cuba, and sailing in a South-westerly direction reached Guanaja, an island now called Bonacca, one of a group thirty miles distant from Honduras, and the shores of the western continent. From this island he sailed southward as far as Panama, and thence returned to Cuba on his way to Spain, after passing six months on the Northern coasts of Panama. In 1506 two of Columbus' companions, De Soils and Pinzon, were again in the Gulf of Honduras, and examined the coast westward as far as the Gulf of Dulce, still looking for a passage to the Indian Ocean. Hence they sailed northward, and discovered a great part of Yucatan, though that country was not then explored, nor was any landing made. The first actual exploration was made by Francisco Her- nandez de Cordova in 1517, who landed on the Island Las Mugeres. Here he found stone towers, and chapels thatched with straw, in which were arranged in order several idols resembling women — whence the name which the Island received. The Spaniards were astonished to see, for the first time in the new world, stone edifices of archi- tectural beauty, and also to perceive the dress of the natives, who wore shirts and cloaks of wliite and colored cotton, ■ with head-dresses of feathers, and were ornamented witli ear drops and jewels of gold and silver. From this island, Hernandez went to Cape Catoche, which he named from the 38 answer given him by some of the natives, who, when asked what town it was, answered, " Cotohe," that is, a house. A little farther on the Spaniards asked the name of a large town near by. The natives answered "Tectatan," "Tectatan," which means " I do not understand," and the Spaniai'ds thought that this was the name, and have ever since given to the country the corrupted name Yucatan. Hernandez then went to Campeachy, called Kimpech by the natives. He landed, and the chief of the town and himself embraced each other, and he received as presents cloaks, feathers, large shells, and sea crayfish set in gold and silver, together with partridges, turtle doves, goslings, cocks, hares, stags and other animals, which were good to eat, and bread made from Indian corn, and an abundance of tropical fruits. There was in this place a , square stone tower with steps, on the top of which there was an idol, which had at its side two cruel animals, represented as if they were desirous of devouring it. There was also a great serpent forty-seven feet long, cut in stone, devouring a lion as broad as an ox. This idol was besmeared with human blood. Champoton was next visited, where the Spaniards were received in a hostile manner, and were defeated by the natives, who killed twenty, wounded, fifty, and made two prisoners, whom they afterwards sacrificed. Cordova then returned to Cuba, and reported the discovery of Yucatan, showed the various utensils in gold and silver which he had taken from the temple at Kimpech, and declared the wonders of a country whose culture, edifices and inhabitants, were so different from all he had previously seen ; but he stated that it was necessary to conquer the natives in order to obtain gold, and the riches which were in their possession. 39 Neither Kirnpech noi- Champoton were under Mexican rule, but there was frequent traffic between the Mayas and the subjects of the empire of Anahuac. Di6go Velasquez de Leon was at that time governor of Cuba, and he planned another expedition into the rich country just discovered. Four ships, equipped and placed under the command of Juan de Grijalva, sailed, in 1518, and first stopped at the Island of Cozurael, which was then famous with the Yucatan Indians, by reason of an annual pilgrimage of which its temples were the object. In their progress along the coast, the navigators saw many small edifices, which they took for towers, but which were nothing less than altars or teocallis, erected to the gods of the sea, protectors of the pilgrims. On the fifth day a pyramid came in view, on the summit of which there was what appeared to be a tower. It was one of the temples, whose elegant and symmetrical shape made a profound impressioQ upon all. Near by they saw a great number of Indians making much noise with drums. Grijalva waited for the morrow before disembarking, and then setting his forces in battle array, marched towards the temple, where on arriving he planted the standard of Castile. Within the sanctuary he found several idols, and the traces of sacri- fice. The chaplain of the fleet celebrated mass before the astonished natives. It was the first time that this rite had been performed on the new continent, and the Indians assisted in respectful silence, although they com- prehended nothing of the ceremonies. When the priest had descended from the altar, the Indians allowed the sti-angers peaceably to visit their houses, and brought them an abundance of food of all kinds. Grijalva then sailed along 40 the coast of Yncatan. The astonishment of the Spaniards at the aspect of the elegant buildings, whose construction gave them a high idea of the civilization of the country, increased as they advanced. The architecture appeared to them mucili superior to anything they had hitherto met with in the new world, and they cried out with their commander that they had found a New Spain, which name has remained, and from Yucatan has been applied to the neighboring regions in that part of the American continent. Grijalva found the cities and villages of the South-western coast like those he had already seen, and the natives resembled those of the north and east in dress and manners. But at Champoton the Indians were, as before, hostile, and were ready to use their arms to repel peaceful advances as well as aggressions. The Spaniards succeeded however, after a bloody struggle, in gaining possession of Champoton and putting the Indians to flight. Thence Grijalva went southward to the river Tobasco, and held an interview with the Lord of Centla, who cordially received him, and presents were mutually exchanged. Still the native nobles were not slow in showing that they were troubled at the presence of the strangers. Many times they indicated with the finger the Western country, and repeated with emphasis the word, at that time mysteri- ous to Europeans, Oulhua, signifying Mexico. The fleet then sailed northward, exploring the coast of Mexico as far as Vera Cruz, visiting several maritime towns. Fran- cisco de Montejo, afterwards so celebrated in Yucatan history, was the first European to place his foot upon the soil of Mexico. Here, Grijalva's intercourse with the natives was of the most friendly description, and a system of barter was 41 established, by which in exchange for articles of Spanish manufacture, pieces of native gold, a variety of golden orna- ments enriched with precious stones, and a quantity of cotton mantles and other garments, were obtained. Intending to prosecute his discoveries further, Grijalva despatched these objects to "Velasquez at Cuba, in a ship commanded by Pedro de Alvarado, who also took charge of the side and wounded of the expedition. Grijalva himself then ascended the Mexican coast as far as Panuco (the present Tampico), whence he returned to Cuba. By tliis expedition the external form of Yucatan was exactly ascertained, and the existence of the more powerful and extensive empire of Mexico was made known. Upon the arrival of Alvarado at Cuba, bringing wonder- ful accounts of his discoveries in Yucatan and Mexico, together with the valuable curiosities he had obtained in that country, Y6lasquez was gi'eatly pleased with the results of the expedition; but was still considerably disappointed that Grijalva had neglected one of the chief purposes of his voyage, namely, that of founding a colony in the newly discovered country. Another expedition was resolved on for the purpose of establishing a permanent foot- hold in the new territory, and the command was intrusted to Hernando Cortez. This renowned captain sailed from Havana, February 19, 1519, with a fleet of nine vessels, which were to rendezvous at the Island of Cozumel. On landing, Cortez pursued a pacific course towards the natives, but endeavored to substitute the Roman Catholic religion for the idolatrous rites which prevailed in the several tem- ples of that sacred Island. He found it easier to induce the natives to accept new images than to give up those which 42 tliey had hitherto worshipped. After charging the Indians to observe the religious ceremonies which he had pre- scribed, and receiving a promise of compliance with his wishes, Cortez again sailed and doubled cape Catoche, fol- lowing the contour of the gulf as far south as the river Tobasco. Here, disembarking, notwithstanding the objec- tions of the Indians, he toolc possession of Centla, a town remarkable for its extent and population, and a centre of trade with the neighboring empire of Mexico, whence were obtained much tribute and riches. After remain- ing there long enough to engage in a sanguinary battle, wliich ended in a decisive victory for the Spaniards, Cortez reembarked and went forward to his famous conquest of Mexico. From the time when Cortez left the river Tobasco, his mind was fixed upon the attractions of the more distant land of Mexico, and not upon the prosecution of further discoveries upon the Western shores of Yucatan ; and until 1524, for a period of more than five years, this peninsula remained unnoticed by the Spaniards. Then Cortez left Mexico, which he had already subjugated, for a journey of discovery to Honduras, and for the purpose of calling to account, for insubordination and usurpation of authority, Cristoval de Olid, whom he had previously sent to that region from Vera Cruz. He received from the princes of Xicalanco and Tobasco maps and charts, giving the natural features of the country, and the limits of the various States. His march lay through the Southern boundaries of the great Mayan empire. Great were the privations of this overland march, which passed through a desolate aud uninhabited region, and near the ruins of Palenque, but none of the 43 historians of the expedition take notice of the remains. When Cortez finally arrived at Nito, a town on the border of Honduras, he received tidings of tlie death of Cristoval de Olid, and that his corning would be hailed with joy by the Spanish troops stationed there, who were now without a leader. From the arrival of Cortez at Nito, the associa- tion of his name with the province of Yucatan is at an end, and the further history of that peninsula was developed by those who afterwards undertook the conquest of that country. Francisco de Moutejo was a native of Salamanca, in Spain, of noble descent and considerable wealth. He had been among the first attracted to the new world, and accom- panied the expedition of Grijalva to Yucatan in 1518, and that of Cortez in 1519. By Cortez this captain was twice sent to Spain from Mexico, with despatches and presents for the Emperor, Charles V. In the year 1527, Montejo solicited the government of Yucatan, in order to conquer and pacificate that country, and received permission to con- quer and people the islands of Yucatan and Cozumel, at his own cost. He was to exercise the office of Governor and Captain General for life, with the title of Adelantado, which latter office at his death should descend to his heirs ane. These also apparently were not intended for practical uses. A portion, or all of the above articles , except the Cozumel flints, were enclosed in the stone urn spoken of by Dr. Le Plongeon in his Mexican Memorial. * See Relacion de las Cosas de Yucatan, de Diego de Landa. By L'Abbfe Brasseur de Bourbourg. Paris, 1864, page 327. f ? V .v,.-/. ./,.. -J,-; t w Iff' .'+.'■-.-■•.' ^>^ .../- Helivtype Printing Company. Boston. Relics fimnd in the excavation with the Statue exhumed by Dr. Augustus LePlongeon at C/iicheti-Itza, Yucatan, together with specimens of axes and spear heads from Coiumel. 75 tntion called El Museo Yucataco, founded in 1871, under tlie direction of Sr. Dn. Crecencio Carillo Ancona, and it is now managed by Sr. Dn. Juan Peon Contreras. In its col- lections are pieces of antique sculpture in stone, plaster casts and potteiy taken from ancient graves, manuscripts in the Maya language and in the Spanish, rare imprints and works relating to the peninsula. These, together with objects of natural history and samples of the various woods of the country, and a cabinet of curiosities, form a museum that promises to create and encourage a love of antiquarian research among the people, a labor which lias been the prov- ince of the Mnseo ISTacional in tlie city of Mexico. Ent it does not appear that explorations have as yet been attempted. The connection which this institution has with the statue discovered by Dr. Le Plongeon arises from the fact that in February, 1877, a commission was despatched to the neigh- borhood of the town of Pist6 by the Governor of Yucatan, imder the orders of Sr. Dn. Juan Peon Contreras, Director of the Museo Yucateco, and after an absence of a month, returned, bringing the statue concealed there by Dr. Le Plongeon, in triumph to M6rida. The commis- sion was accompanied by a military force for protection, and the progress of the returning expedition was the occasion of a grand reception in the town of Izamal, where poems anH addresses were made, which are preserved in a pamphlet of 27 pages. An account of its arrival at MSrida, on March 1, is given in the Periodica Oficial of the day following. The entrance of the statue was greeted by a procession composed of officials, societies, and children of the public schools. The streets were filled with spectators, and addresses were made and poems were recited. The following is a quotation from this article : — •' The Statue of Chac-Mool measures a little more than 9 feet in length. Its beautiful head is turned to one side in a menacing attitude, and it has a face of feiocious appearance. It is cut from a stone almost as hard as granite. Seated upon a pedestal, with its arms crossed upon the abdomen, it appears as if about to raise 76 itself in ovdev to execute a ovuel and bloody threat. This precious object of antiquity is worthy of the stuily of thoughtful men. History and archaeology in their grave and profound investigations will certainly discover some day the secret which surrounds all the precious monuments which occupy the expause of our rich soil, an evident proof of the ancient civilization of the Mayas, now attracting the attention of the Old World. The entrance of the Statue of Chac-Mool into the Capital will form an epoch in the annals of Yucatan history, and its remembrance will be accompanied by that of the worthy Governor under whose administration our Museum has been enriched with so invaluable a gift." The reception, judging from tlie article in the journal ali()ve quoted, must have been imposing. It was the inten- tion of the authorities to place the statue in the Yucatan Museitm, but this purpose was defeated by its removal to Mexico, by a government steamer, in the month of April, to enrich the National Museum of that citj. All the above proceedings took place without the consent, and ccmtrary to the wishes, of Dr. Le Plongeon, who at that time was absent from M6rida, in the Island of Cozumel, and was therefore unable to offer opposition. In order to furnish further testimony to the high estima- tion in which the statue of Chac-Mool is held in Yucatan,, the following notice, offered to the writer for publication, by Sr. Dn. Juan Peon Contreras, director of the museum referred to above, and which afterward appeared in El Pensamiento, of M6rida, of date Aug. 12, is inserted entire : — Official Statement of the Director op the Museo Yucateco. To Sr. D. AUaUSTIN DEL BIO, Provisiunal Governor of the State of Yucatan. A short historical notice of the stone image " Chac-Mool," discov- ered in the celebrated ruins of Chichen-Itza, by the learned Archjeolo- gist, Mr. Le Plongeon, to be preserved in the National Museum of Mexico, for which place it is destined. MAkida, 1877. There exist, in the deserts of Yucatan, at about 36 leagues — 108 miles 77 — from Mfirida, some very notable monumental ruins, known by the name of Chichen-Itza, whose origin is lost in the night of time. Their situ- ation, in the hostile section of revolutionary Indians fSublivadosJ, caused them to be very little visited until, to the general astonishment, au American traveller, the wise archseologist and Doctor, Mr. Augustus Le Plongeon, in company with his young and most Intelligent wife, fixed his residence among them for some months towards the end of 1874. They both gave themselves up with eagerness to making excellent pho- tographic views of what was there worthy of notice, to be sent to the ministry of protection, the depository which the law provides in order to obtain the rights of ownership. They did not limit themselves to this work. The illustrious Doctor and his wife, worthy of admiration on many accounts, supported with patient heroism the suflferiugs and risks of that very forlorn neighborhood, and passed thei r days in producing exact plans, and transferring to paper the wall paintings that are still preserved upon some of the edifices, such as Akahsib — ^(dark writings). There came a day oa which one, endowed like the visitor, had by abstruse archaeological reasoning, and by his meditation, determined the place, and, striking the spot with his foot, he said, "Here it is, here it will be found." The language of this man — better said, of this genius — will appear exaggerated. It can be decided when he has succeeded in bringing to light the interesting work which he is writing about his scientific investigations in the ruins of Yucatan. Let us finish this short preamble, and occupy ourselves with the excavation of the statue. Chac-Mool is a Maya word which means tiger. So the discoverer desired to name it, who reserved to himself the reasons for which he gave it this name. He discovered a stone base, oblong, somewhat Im- perfect, that measured 9 Spanish inches in thickness, by 5 feet 34 inches in length, and 2 feet 10 inches in width. Above it reposed in a single piece of stone the colossal image whose weight amounted to about 3,500 lbs. Its imposing and majestic attitude, and the insignia which adorned it, leads to the supposition that it was some notable leader of the time, a king, or perhaps a noble of those regions. Such deductions were hazarded as suppositions. The discoverer supposed it buried by its kindred and subjects more than 12,000 years ago. The reasons shall I attempt to give? It was reached at 8 meters in depth, not far from the manorial castle of Chichen, to which the approach is by a staircase of 90 steps, which are visible from the four cardinal points. According to the above discoverer there existed a kind of mausoleum or monument— erected to the memory of the ruler, Chac-Mool, by the queen, his wife— until it was destroyed at the time of the invasion of Chichen-Itza by the Nahuas or Toltecs, at the end of the second century of the Christian era. Even now is preserved at a short distance from the place where was exhumed the statue of Chac-Mool, a statue of stone representing a tiger, also above a quadrilateral base, which once had a 11 78 human head, and which it is presnmed surmounted the monument before tliu time of its destruction. Employini; a protection of limbs and trunlcs of trees, and providing a c;i|i.-t;iu with ropes made from the baric of the grapevine, by force of perseverance the learned LePlongeon vpas able to land upon the surface of the soil the most noteworthy archaeological treasure which has been discovered to this day in Yucatan. Ignorant of the laws of the country, this American traveller thought that he might at once call himself the proprietor of the statue, and suc- f-eefl'fl in briiiiring it, in 15 days, as far as the uninhabited town of I'iste wo i.iiles from the ruins, upon a wagon constructed for the pur- pose, liidinj; it in the neighborhood of the above town, while he informed himself about his supposed rights. The indefatigable traveller came to MSrida, where, in the meantime the Government of the State asserted that the statue was the general property of the nation and not that of the discoverer. Leaving for a better opportunity the questions relative to it, Dr. Le Plongeon oceu|iled himself in visiting other ruins, busying himself between the island of Cozumel and that of Miigeres, until peace should be eslablished in the State, and the Sr. General Guerra should be nomi- nated Provisional Governor. At the suggestion of the subscriber the Governor allowed the trans- portation of this statue to the Museo Yucateco, and the Director of the Museo, in compliance with his duty, counting upon the assistance of an armed force necessary for an expedition of such a dangerous character, left this capital February 1, 1877, to the end of securing the preservation of an object so important to the ancient history of the country. Over- coming the thousand ditliculties that presented themselves in opening a road of 6 leagues that was known to the birds alone, over a surface covered with mounds and inequalities, he constructed a new wagon on which the colossal statue was dragged along by more than 150 Indians, in turn, who, in their fanatical superstition, asserted that, during the late hours of the night there came from the mouth of the figure the words "Conext Conexl" which signifies in their language, "Let us go ! Let us go !" Upon the 26th of the same month and year, the historical and monu- mental city of Izaraal received with enthusiastic demonstrations the statue of the king Chac-Mool. Brilliant compositions referring to it were read, which, in a printed form, will accompany it for the archives of the Museo National. When it arrived at Mfirida it had a no less lively reception on the morning of the 1st of March, 1877. A little later it was received into the Museo Yucateco upon the same rustic wagon on which it had traversed the leagues of almost Inacces- sible country from Plstg to Oitas, from where begins the broad road. 79 It was intended to suri-ound it with a wooden fence upon which should be engraved this inscription in golden letters : — •'CHA.C-MOOL The discovery of the Wise arcli^ologist. Mr. Le Plon>!eon, in the ruins of Chiclien-Itza. General Prolaslo QUerra being Governor of tlie State of Yucatan. It was brought to the Museo Yucateco on tlie 1st of March, 1877, by Juan Peon'Contreras, Direclor of the Museum." Still later, at the decision of the Governor of the State, Sr. D. Angustin del Rio, its transfer to the National Museum of Mexico was permitted, where so notable an archaeological monument will show to better advantage, leaving in its place a copy in plaster, made by a skilful Yucatan artist. The Director of the Museo Yucateco, JUAN PEON CONTRERAS. M^RIDA, 1877. Note. The unexpected arrival and early return to Vera Cruz of the national war steamer Libertad, which conducted the recovered statue to the Department of State, gave no time in which a copy of it could be taken in this capital, the Government of the State reserving the right to ask of the President of the Republic, who resides in Mexico, to send such a copy to the Museo Yucateco, as a just compensation. PEON CONTRERAS. April 6, 1877. After the defeat of Dr. Le Plongeon's cherished hopes of exhibiting his statue at Philadelpliia, tliis traveller passed his time in investigations among the islands of the east coast of the Peninsula, particularly those of Mugeres and Cozu- mel. His observations there — as well as much additional information regarding the architecture of Chichen-Itza and Tlxmal, and his deductions therefrom — are contained in a communication to the Minister of the United States at Mexico, and are here given in abstract, as throwing light upon the discoveries that have been made, and the infer- ences which have been drawn from them. This appeal contains a statement of the wrongs suffered by Dr. Le Plongeon in being prevented from removing his 80 statue and other discoveries from the country ; and also a demand for redress and compensation, as an American citi- zen, for the seizure and appropriation, in the first instance by the government of Yucatan, and afterwards by the supreme government at Mexico, of the work of art which he had brought to h'ght. Tliis etateraent, with the corres- pondence which accompanies it, is intended also to be oifered to the consideration of the President of the United States for such action as may be considered proper in the premises. The extracts made are those only which relate to the investigations of Dr. Le Plongeon in the course of his travels ; for although great sympathy is due him for his misfortunes and disa])pointments, a legal statement of his wrongs cannot be discussed in this paper. Extracts fkom aComjidkication of Dr. Le Plongeon to The Honor- able John W. Fuster, Minister of the United States at Mexico, dated Island of Cozumel, May 1, 1877. Chichen-Itza is situated In the territories occnpled by subjects of Don Crecencio Poot, Chief of Chan-Santa-Cruz. In 1847, this chief and others refused to aclsnowledge any longer their allegiance to the Mexi- can Government, and seceded, declaring war to the knife to the white Inhabitants of Yucatan. Since that time they have conquered a portion of that State, and hold peaceful possession of the best towns. They have destroyed the principal cities of the east and sonth. These are now reduced to mere villages with few inhabitants. The churches in ruins, mostly converted into fortresses, the houses abandoned by their dwellers, invaded by rank vegetation, a refuge for bats, owls, and other prowling animals, are crumbling to the ground every day more and more, no one daring to make repairs, lest the Indians should burn and destroy them again. For leagues around the country i.s deserted. Only a few venturesome spirits have plucked up heart to establish farms where the soil is the richest. They cultivate them with armed servants, so great is their dread of their fierce enemies. Three miles fiom Pistfi, one of the most advanced posts on the eastern frontier, and beyond the military lines, stand the ruins of Chichen Itza. There lay buried, since probably 5000 years, that superb statue, together with other most precious relics, at eight meters under ground, amidst thick forests, unknown to the whole world, not only to the mod- ern, but also to the comparatively ancient, for it has escaped destruction from the hands of the natives. A people, starting from the vicinity 81 of Palenque, invaded all the regions west and south of what, in our days, is called the Yucatan Peninsula, arriving at Bacalar. From that place, following the coast, they ravaged the eastern part of the country, and at or about the beginning of the Christian era laid siege to the cities of the hohj and wise men (Itzaes),the seat of a very advanced civil- ization, where arts, sciences and religion flourished. After a weary and protracted defence, and many hard-fought battles, the beautiful capital fell at last into the power of the invaders. There, in the impulse of their ignorance, in the heat of their wrath, they destroyed many objects of art. They vented their rage most particularly on the efHgies and portraits of the ancient kings and rulers of the vanquished, when and where they could find them, decapitating most and breaking a great many of the beautiful statues wrought by their subjects in their honor, as mementoes by which they remembered and venerated their memories. Chaacmol, whose hiding place they ignored, as they did that of his elder brother, Huuncay, whose statue is still where his friends deposited it, 12 meters under the surface of the ground, escaped the fury of the en- raged iconoclasts. Not so, however, the efHgies and emblems that adorned and surmounted the monuments raised to perpetuate the remem- brance of their most beneficent government, and the love they professed for their people. Even these monuments themselves were afterwards disgraced, being used as places for histrionic performances. The places of concealment of these and other most precious relics, amongst them probably the libraries of the H-Menes or learned and wise men, yet to be excavated, were revealed to my wife and myself on de- ciphering some hieroglyphics, mural paintings and bas-reliefs. On the 5th of January, 187G, I conducted the statue of Chaacmol on the road to yitas, and at about a quarter of a mile from Pist6, that is to say, far enough to put it out of the reach of mischief from the soldiers of the post, I placed it in a thicket about 50 yards from the road. There, with the help of Mrs. Le Plongeon, I wrapped it in oil-cloth, and carefully built over it a thatched roof, in order to protect it from the in- clemencies of the atmosphere. Leaving it surrounded by a brush fence, we carefully closed the boughs on the passage that led from the road to the place of concealment, so that a casual traveller, ignorant of the existence of such an object, would not even suspect it. Many a day our only meal has consisted of a hard Indian cake and a bit of garlic and water. The queen of Itza is represented under the efl3gy of an ara, eating a human neart, on several bas-reliefs that adorned the monuments she raised to the beloved of her own heart, Chaacmol. The scene of his death is impressively portrayed on the walls which the queen caused to be raised to the memory of her husband, in the two exquisite rooms, the ruins of which are yet to be seen upon the south end of the east wall of the gymnasium. Those rooms were a shrine indeed, but a shrine where the conjugal love of the queen alone worshipped the memory of her 82 departed lover. She adorned the outer walls with his effigies, his totem- tiger, and his shield and coat of arms between tiger and tiger. Whilst on an admirably polished stucco that covers the stones in the Interior of the rooms she had his deeds, his and her own life in fact, with the customs of the time, painted in beautiful life-like designs, superbly- drawn and sweetly colored. The history of the twin brothers is there faithfully portrayed. There is also a life-like likeness, painted in bril- liant colors, of Chaacmol. Unhappily such precious works of art have been much defaced, more than by time, by the impious hands of ignorant and vain fools, who have thought their names of greater interest to the world than the most remarkable drawings on which they have inscribed them. Chaacmol is there represented full of wrath, the hand clinched in an altercation with his younger brother, Aac. This latter, after cowardly murdering the friend of his infancy with thrusts of his lance — one under his right shoulder blade, another in his left lung, near the region of the heart, and the third in the lumbar region — fled to Uxnial in order to escape the vengeance of the queen, who cherished their young chieftain who had led them so many times to victory. At their head he had con- quered all the surrounding nations. Their kings and rulers had come from afar to lay their sceptres and their hearts at the feet of their pretty and charming queen. Even white and long beai'ded men had made her presents and offered her their tributes and homage. He had raised the fame of their beautiful capital far above, that of any other cities in Mayapan and Xibalba. He had opened the country to the com- merce of the whole world, and merchants of Asia and Africa would bring their wares and receive in exchange the produce of their factories and of their lands. In a word, he had made Chlchen a great metropolis in whose temples pilgrims from all parts came to worship and even offer their own persons as a sacriflce to the Almighty. There also came the wise men of the" world to consult the S-Menes, whose convent, together with their astronomical observatory, may be seen at a short distance from the government palace and museum. This curious story, yet unknown to the world, was revealed to my wife and myself, as the work of restoring the paintings advanced step by step, and also ft-om the careful study of the bas-reliefs which adorn the room at the base of the monument. You can see photographs of these bas-reliefs in the album I forwarded to the Ministry of Public Instruction. We have also in our possession the whole collection of tracings of the paintings in tlie funeral chamber. Motul is a pretty town of 4uOO inhabitants, situated about 10 leagues from Mfirida. Having never suffered from the Indians it presents quite a thriving appearance. Its productions consist principally in the making henequen bags and the raising of cattle. At the time of the Spanish conquest it was the site of an important settlement, if we may judge from the number of mounds and other edifices scattered in its vicinity. 83 All are in a very nilnoiis condilion, having been demolished to obtain materials for the buildings of the modern village and the construction of fences. It was among these ruins that, for the first time in Yucatan, I gazed upon the incontestable proofs that tlie worsliip of the phallus had once been in vogue among some of the inhabitants of the Penin- sula. 1 discovered emblems of that worship, so common with the natives of Hindoslan and Egypt and other parts of the world, on the Eastern side of a very ruinous pyramid, raised on a plot of ground, in the outskirts of this village. Since then, I have often met with these emblems of the religious rites of the Nahuas and Caras, and vphilst as at Uxmal, they stare at the traveller from every ornament of the buildings and are to be found in every court-yard and public place, it is a remarkable fact that they are to be met with nowhere in the edifices of Chichen- Itza. There can be no possible doubt that different races or rather nations practicing distinct religious rites inhabited the country at different epochs and destroyed each other by war. So at the time of tlie arrival of the Spaniards the monuments of Chichen-Itza were in ruins and were loolsed upon with awe, wonder and respect, by the inhabitants of the country, wlien the city of Uxmal was thickly peopled. There cannot be any reasonable doubt that the Nahuas, the invaders and destroyers of the Itza metropolis, introduced the phallic worship into Yucatan. 1'he monuments of Uxmal do not date from so remote an antiquity as those of Chichen, notwithstanding that Uxmal was a large city when Chichen was at the height of its glory. Some of its most ancient edifices have been enclosed with new walls and ornamentation to suit the taste and fancy of the conquerors. These inner edifices belong to a very ancient period,- and among the debris I have found the head of a bear exquisitely sculptured out of a block of marble. It is in an unfinished state. When did bears inhabit the peninsula ? Strauge to say, the Maya does not furnish the name for the bear. Yet one-third of this tongue is pure Greek. Who brought the dialect of Homer to America f Or who took to Greece that of the Mayas ? Greek is the offspring of Sanscrit. Is Maya? or are they coeval? A clue for ethnologists to follow the migra- tions of the human family on this old continent. Did the bearded men whose portraits are carved on the massive pillars of the fortress at Chicheu-Itza, belong to the Mayan nations ? The Maya language is not devoid of words from the Assyrian. We made up our minds to visit Ak6, the place where the Spaniards escaping from Chichen took refuge in the first days of the conquest. The land where these rnins stand forms a part of the hacienda of Ake. It belongs to Don Bernardo Peon, one of the wealthiest men of the country, but on account of the insalubrity of the climate it is to-day well nigh abandoned. Only a few Indian servants, living in a constant dread of the paludean fevers that decimate their families, remained to take care of the scanty herds of cattle and horses which fortn now the whole 84 wealth of the farm. In the first days of March we arrived at the gate of the farm-house. The Majordomo had received orders to put himself and his men at our disposal. The ruined farm-house lies at the foot of a Cyclopean structure. From the veranda, rising majestically in bold relief against the sky, is to be seen the most interesting and best pre- served monument of Ak6, composed of three platforms superposed. They terminate in an immense esplanade crowned by three rows of 12 columns each. These columns, formed of huge square stones roughly hewn, and piled one above the other to a height of 4 meters, are the Katuns that served to record certain epochs in the history of the nation, and indicate in this case an antiquity of at lea.st 6760 years. The monu- ments of Ake are peculiar, and the only specimens of their kind to be found among these ruined cities. They are evidently the handiwork of a herculean and uncouth race — the enormous height of each step in the staircase proves it — of that race of giants whose great bones and large skulls are now and then disinterred, and whose towering forms, surmounted by heads disproportionately small, we have seen pictured on the walls of Ohichen-Itza, They recalled forcibly to our minds the antique Guanches, the ancient inhabitants of the Canary Islands, whose gigantic mummies are yet found in the sepulchral caverns of Teneriffe, and whose peculiar sandals with red straps so closely resemble those seen on the feet of Chaacmol. The edifices of Ak6 are composed of large blocks of stone, generally square, often oblong in shape, super- posed, and held together merely by their enormous weight, without the aid of mortar or cement of any sort. We did not tarry in this strange city more than eight days. The malaria of the place very seriously affected the health of my wife, and obliged us to hasten back to Tixko- kob. We brought with us the photograph views, and phins of the prin- cipfd buildings, regretting not to perfect our work by a complete survey of the whole of them, scattered as they are over a large extent of ground. Our investigations in Uxmal revealed to our minds some Interesting facts in the lives of the three brothers of the tradition. In Chichen we discovered the place of concealment of the two brothers Huuncay and Chaacmol. That of the third brother, Aac, was not to be found. Yet I was certain it must exist somewhere. Many persons who are not acquainted with the customs and religious beliefs of those ancient peo- ple have questioned me on the strange idea of burying such l)eautiful objects of art at so great a depth, yet the reason is very simple. The nations that inhabited the whole of Central America— the Mayas, the Nahuas, the Caras or Carians— had, with the Siamese even of to-day, and the Egyptians of old, many notions in common concerning the immor- tality of the soul, and its existence after its earthly mission was accom- plished. They believed that the sentient and intelligent principle, pixan, which inhabits the body, survived the death of that body, and was bound to return to earth, and live other and many mundane existences; 85 but that between each separate existence that pixan went to a place of delight, Caan, where it enjoyed all sorts of bliss for a proportionate time, and as a reward for the good actions it had done while on earth. Passing to a place of punishment, Metnal, it suffered all kinds of evils during also a certain time in atonement for its sins. Then it was to return and live again among men. But as the material body was perishable, they made effigies in perfect resemblance to it. These were sometimes of wood, sometimes of clay, and sometimes of stone, accord- ing to the wealth or social position of the individual ; and after burning the body, the ashes were enclosed in the statue or in urns that they placed near by. Around and beside these were arranged the weapons and the ornaments used by the deceased, if a warrior ; the tools of his trade ; if a mechanic ; and books, if a priest or learned man, in order that they should find them at hand when the pixan should come back and animate the statue or image. To return to our investigations at tJxmal. On examining the orna- ments on the cornice of the Eastern front of the monument known as " The House of the Governor, " I was struck with their similarity to those which adorn the most ancient edifice of Chichen and whose con- struction, I judge, dates back 12,000 years. But what most particularly called my attention were the hieroglyphics that surrounded a sitting figure placed over the main entrance in the centre of the building. There were plainly to me the names of Huuncay and Chaacmol, and on both sides of the figure, now headless, the name of the individual it was intended to represent, Aac, the younger brother and murderer. And on the North-west corner of the second terrace was his private residence, a very elegant structure of a most simple and graceful archi- tecture, ornamented with his totem. I afterwards found a pillar written with his name in hieroglyphics and a bust of marble very much defaced. Around the neck is a collar or necklace sustaining a medallion with his name. In the figure that adorns the fa9ade of the palace he is represented sitting, and under his feet are to be seen the bodies of three personages, two men and one woman, flayed. Unhappily these also have been mutilated by the hand of time or of iconoclasts. They are headless, but I entertain no doubt as to whom they were intended to represent, Huuncay, Chaacmol and the queen, his wife. It is worthy of notice that while the phallic emblems are to be seen in great profusion in every other building at Uxmal, there is not a single trace of them in or on the " House of the Governor," or its appurtenances. Yucatan being in a state of political effervescence, we determined to visit the islands of Mugeres and Cozumel, on the East coast of Yucatan, taking our chance of falling into the hands of the Indians and being murdered. Accordingly, on the 20th of October, 1876, we embarked on board the " Viri," a small coasting sloop, and with the mists of the evening, the houses of Progreso faded from our view and were lost in the haze of 12 86 the horizon. Contrary winds retarded ourjoarney and obliged ns to cast anchor near shore every night. It was not until after ten tiresome days that we, at last, saw the dim outline of Mugeres island rise slowly over the waves. As we drew near, the tall and slender forms of the cocoa trees, gracefully waving their caps of green foliage with the breeze, while their roots seemed to spring from the blue waters of the ocean, indicated the spot where the village houses lay on the shore under their umbrage. Seen at a distance, the spot presents quite a romantic aspect. The island is a mere rock, elevated only a few feet above the level of the sea, six miles long and about one-half a mile wide in its widest parts. In some places it is scarcely 200 steps across. The population consists of 500 souls, more or less. Its principal indus- try is fisliing. For Indian corn and beans — the staple articles of food throughout Yucatan — they depend altogether on the main land ; vege- tables of any kind are an unknown luxury, notwithstanding there are some patches of good vegetable land in the central part. The island possesses a beautiful and safe harbor; at one time it was the haven where the pirates that infested the West Indian seas were wont to seek rest from their hazardous calling. Their names are to be seen to-day rudely carved on the sapote beams that form the lintels of the doorways of the antique shrine whose ruins crown the southernmost point of the island. It is to this shrine of the Maya Venus that as far down as the Spanish conquest, pilgrims repaired yearly to offer their prayers and votive presents to propitiate that divinity. Cogolludo tells us that it was on her altar that the priest who accompanied the adventurers who first landed at the island, after destroying the efligies of the Goddess and of her companions and replacing them by a picture of the Virgin Mary, celebrated mass for the first time on those coasts in presence of a throng of astonished natives. They gave to the island the name of Mugeres (women). I was told that formerly many of the votive offerings had been disinterred from the saud in front of the building. The soil at that place is profusely strewn with fragments of images wrought in clay, represent- ing portions of the human body. I was myself so fortunate as to fall in with the head of a priestess, a beautiful piece of workmanship, moulded according to the most exact proportions of Grecian art. It had formed part of a brazier that had served to burn perfumes on the altar near which I found it. I happened to use part of that vase to hold some live coals, and notwithstanding the many years that had elapsed since it had last served, a most sweet odor arose and filled the small building. I had read in Cogolludo that in olden times, on the main land, opposite to the island of Mugeres, was the city of Ekab. I was desirous of visiting its ruins, but no one could indicate their exact position. They did not even know of the name. They spoke of Meco, 'of Nisucte, of Kankun, of extensive ruins of buildings in that place, where they 87 provide themselves with hewn wtoues. After much delay I was able to obtain a boat and men. We set sail for Meco, the nearest place situated ou another island close to the shores of the main land. There I found a ruined edilice surrounded by a wall forming an inclosure, adorned with rows of small columns. In the centre of the inclosure an altar. The edifice, composed of two rooms, is built on a graduated pyramid com- posed of seven andenes. This building is without a doubt an ancient temple. We next visited Nisuct§. There we found the same sort of monuments but built on a large scale. These places have merely been shrines visited by the pilgrims on their way to and from the altar of Venus. The main point of importance gained in visiting these ruins was that this whole coast had been inhabited by a race of dwarfs and lliat these edifices were their work. We had seen their portraits carved on the pillars of the fortress at Chichen-Itza. We had seen also their pictures among the several paintings. We had heard of the Indian tradition, very current among the natives, that many of the monuments of Yucatan had been constructed by the Alux-ob. But not until we visited these places and entered their houses, did we become satisfied of the fact of their existence that till then we had considered a myth. Kankun, where the ruins of numerous houses cover a great extent of ground, rnnst have been the real site of Elcab. The dwarfish inhabitants of these cities must have been a very tolerant sort of people in religious matters, since in the same temple, nay on the very same altar, we have found side by side the phallic emblems with the image of Kttkulcan. Our explorations in that part of the country were at an end. We were beginning to grow tired of our fish diet, and looked with anxiety for an opportunity to continue our voyage to the island of Cozujnel. This island, called by the ancient Mayas Gozmil (place for swallows), was the rendezvous of Indian pilgrims who flocked thither every year to pay homage at the numerous temples, tlie ruins of wliich are to be found in the thick forests that now cover it. The expected opportunity offer- ing we reached the village of San Miguel February 3, 1877. Cozumel is a beautiful island of about 45 miles in length and 12 in breadth. The fertility of its soil is evinced by the luxuriant growth of the thick and impenetrable forests of valuable timber that have sprung up since its abandonment by its former inhabitants and which serve either for purposes of building or ornamentation. Cocoa-nuts, plantains, bananas, pineapples, ananas and other tropical fruits grow abundantly. Vanilla, yams, sweet potatoes and vegetables of all kinds can be produced in plenty, while honey and wax, the work of wild harmless bees, and copal are gathered on the trees. The tobacco, which is to-day the article that engrosses the mind and monopolizes the attention of the planters, is of a superior quality, emulating the Cuban production. On the other hand the thickets are alive with pheasants, quail, pigeons, wild pigs and other descriptions of game. The waters swarm with the most excellent 88 fish and innumerable turtles sport in the lagoons, while cnrlews, snipe, ducks and other aquatic fowls flock on their shores ; and not the least of the gifts with which the muuiflcient hand of nature has so bountifully endowed this delicious oasis of the ocean is its delightful and soft, yet invigorating, climate, that makes well uigh useless the art of the phy- sician. At some epoch it is evident that the whole Island was under cultiva- tion, which is proved by the stone fences that divide it into small par- cels or farms like a checker-board. The island, like the whole of the Yucatan peninsula, has evidently been upraised from the bottom of the sea by the action of volcanic fires, and the thin coating of arable loam of surprising fertility which covers a substratum of calcareous stones, is the result of the accumulation of detriti, mixed with the residuum of animal and vegetable life of thousands of years. The greater part of this island is as yet archa^ologically unexplored. I have no doubt that thorough explorations in the depths of its forests and of the caves would bring to light very interesting relics, which would repay the trouble and expense. Rough and rude as is the con- struction of the monuments of the island, the architecture possesses the same character as that of the more elaborate edifices on the main land. The same de.sign of entablature, with some little difl'erence in the cornice, the same triangular arch, the same shaped rooms — long and narrow, but all on a miniature scale. They seem more like dolls' houses than dwellings for man. One of the best preserved of these singular buildings was visited, and two other constructions, consisting of inde- pendent and separate arches, the only ones we ever met with in onr rambles in Yucatan. The edifice formed at one time, with the two triumphal arches, part of a series of constructions now completely ruined. It was a temple composed, as are all structures of the kind, of two apartments, a front or ante-<'.hamber, and the sanctuary or holy of holies. In this case the ante-chamber measures 59 inches in width by 2 yards and 3.S inches in length, its height being 2 yards and 30 inches from the floor to the apex of the triangular arch that serves as ceiling. The sanctuary is entered through a doorway 1 yard high and 18 inches wide, and is narrower than the front apartments, measuring only 34 inches across. The whole edifice Is externally 3 yards high, 4 yards 29 Inches long and 4 yards wide. If we judge of the stature of the builders by the size of the building, we may really imagine this to have been the kingdom of Liliput, visited by Gulliver. The triumphal arches present the same proportions as the temple I have just described, which is by no means the earliest archaic structure. Old people are not wanting who pretend to have seen these Alux-ob, whom they describe as reaching the extraordinary stature of 2 feet. They tell us of their habits and mischlevousnoss, tales which forcibly recall to our minds the legends of "the little people" so credited among all classes of society in Ireland. There can be no reasonable doubt but that a very diminu- tive race of men, but little advanced in the arts of civilization, dwelt on 89 these islands and along the eastern coast of Yucatan, and that many of the edifices, the ruins of which are to be seen in that part of the coun- try, are the works of their hands, as the tradition has it. The attempt has been made in the previous pages to bring the discoveries of Dr. Le Plongeon and his own account of his labors and inferences into such a form that they may be easily considered by those comjietent to determine their importance and bearing. The value of the statue called Chac-Mool, as an arcliEeological treasure, cannot be ques- tioned. It is the only remaining liuman figure of a high type of art, finished "in the round" known to have . been discovered iu America since the occupation of Maya terri- tory in the 16th century. The idols of Copan have expressive human countenances,* though they are distorted in order to inspire awe and fear in the beliolder, but no attempt was there made to depict the graceful proportions of the nude figure. They stand per- pendicularly, carved from solid blocks of stone, and are from 10 to 15 feet in height. The figures upon them are bas- reliefs, occupying generally only f of the lengtli of the front, while the back of the block is a straiglit surface and is covered with emblems and hieroglyphics. The sculp- tures of Palenquef have many of them much artistic beauty, but they are all of them attached figures, as it is believed are also the beautiful statnes of Nin- eveh, f Even the slightest touching makes a figure "in relief." This statue from Chichen-Itza has all the appear- ance of being intended as tlie likeness of a man, and much skill is shown in the delineation of the proportions. It is entirely detached, and reposes upon a base carved from the same block of stone as the figure, which gives it a higlier rank in sculpture than any other in America, of which we have ocular proof at this day. It is a noteworthy circum- stance in tlie controversy regarding the seizure of the statue * Stephens' Travels in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatan, vol. I., page 158. t M. vol. II., page 349. J Encyclopaedia Britannica. Boston, 1859 : Article Sculpture. 90 by the Yucatan Government, and afterwards by that of Mexico, that no doubt in regard to its authenticity, so far as is known to the writer, lias been expressed on the part of those who would naturally be the best judges of objects found in their own country. Among the Le Plongeon photographs of sculptures from Uxmal is a head in demi- relief, which resembles in the lineaments of the face those of this statue so much as to offer a striking likeness, and this agrees with the theory of the intimate connection of Chichen-Itza and Uxmal, adopted in the communication to Hon. J. W. Foster. Diego de Landa, second Bishop of Yucatan, in his account of that country written in 1566, speaks of two similar statues observed by him at tlie same locality, Chichen-Itza, which place he speaks of as famous for its ruins* His description is : ''I found there sculptured lions, vases, and other objects, fashioned with so much skill that no one would be tempted to declare that tliat people made them without instruments of metal. There I found also two men sculptured, each made of a single stone, and girded according to the usage of the Indians. They held their heads in a peculiar manner, and had ear-rings in their ears, as the Indians wear them, and a point formed a projection behind the neck, which entered a deep hole in the neck, and thus adorned the statue was complete." He also speaks of the practice of burying articles used by the dead with their ashes,! and he says: "As regards Seigneurs and people of superior con- dition, they burn their remains, and deposit their ashes in large urns. They then build temples over them, as one sees was anciently done, by what is found at Izamal."| Tlie statue discovered seems to resemble those spoken of by Landa in all tiie peculiarities mentioned. He also refers to the custom among the women of filing the teeth like a saw, which was considered by them to be ornamental. § * Relacioii de las Cosas de Yucatan, de Diego de Landa. By L. Abb6 Brasseur de Bourboiu-g. Paris, 1864, page 347. t W. 197. J Id. 199. §Id. 183. 91 A remark to Dr. Le Plongeon about the statues above de- scribed drew from him the following statement: " We have seen the remnants of the statues you referred to as men- tioned by Landa; some one has broken them to pieces." Ho also speaks of the resemblance of the statue he discovered to those of ancient Egypt, from the careful finish of the head and the lesser degree of attention bestowed on the other parts of the body. Dr. Le Plongeon has stated in the first of tlie three com- munications contained in this paper, that from his interpreta tion of mural paintings and hieroglyphics in the building upon tlie the South-East wall of the G-yranasium at Chichen- Itza, he was induced to make the excavation which resulted in his discovery. Elsewhere we learn that in the same])uild- ing, and also on the tablets about the ears of the statue, he was able to read the name Chac-Mool, &c., &c. (Chaac or Chac in Maya means cliieftain, Mol or Mool means paw of an animal.) He says that the names he gives, " were written on the monuments where represented, written in characters just as intelligible to my wife and myself, as this paper is to you in latin letters. Every personage represented on these monuments is known by name, since either over the head or at the feet the name is written." He also states that he knows where the ancient books of the H-Menes lie buried, as well as other statues. The discovery of one of these hidden books would be a service of priceless value. A perusal of the communications contaiued in this paper lead to the impression that their writer accepts many of the theories advanced by Brasseur de Bourbourg, that he is a believer in the interpretations of Landa, and that he thinks he has been able to establish a system which enables him to read Maya inscriptions. Dr. Le Plongeon has been accompanied and assisted in all his labors by his accomplished wife, and he has frequently stated that a great part of the credit for the results achieved is due to her intelligent judgment and skilful execution. 92 His last date is from Belize, British Honduras, September 1. In that letter he announces the preparation of a paper for the Royal Geographical Society of Loudon, in which he says he shall give his researches in extenso. After four years of toil and exposure to danger, and after a large expenditure of money paid for services in opening roads, clearing ruins, and making excavations, Dr. Le Plon- geon finds himself deprived of all the material results of his labors and sacrifices which could secure him an adequate return. We hope that he m&,y soon receive just and satis- factory treatment from the government, and a fitting recog- nition and remuneration from the scientific world. In judging of the subject here presented, the reader will bear in mind that facts substantiated should not be rejected, even if the theories founded on them advance beyond the light of present information. In August, Dr. Le Plongeon sent the following letter with the request that it should be published in a form which would allow of its presentation to the Congres International dts Americanistes, which would be held at Luxembourg in the month of September. It was printed in the Boston Daily Advertiser, in the issues of Sept. 3d and 4th, and is now repeated in the same type in this connection. The spelling of the name Chac-Mool in the letter was changed by the writer from that employed in the text by Dr. Le Plongeon, which is invariably Chaacmol; a liberty taken in conse- quence of the unanimous preference in favor of the spelling Chac-Mool shown in all the written or printed articles from Yucatan relating to this discovery, which have come to our observation. Copies of the letter were sent to Luxem- bourg, and also to the Bureau of the Soci6t6 des Am6ri- canistes at Paris. LeI'TEU FllOiM Dr. ]jE Plonohon. Island of cozumel, Yiicata>', 1 communication neld by tlie merchants of Chlcben June 15, 1877. ) wim the traders trom Asia and Africa; ot the po- Siephen SalUburu,,jr.,esq., IToroester. Mass..— Hieness of couitiers and sracef.ilness of the Dear Sir,— ....The London Times uf Wednesday, q„een; of the refinement or the court; ofthefu- Januarv 3, 1877, contams views on the projected neral i-eremonies, and of the ways ihey disposed congress of the so-caUea Americanists, that is ex- of the dead; of the terrible invasions of barbarous peotedto be held at Luxembourg in Sepieraber Nahua tribes; of the destruction, at their hands, next. Was the writing intended tor a damper? of the beauiitul metropolis (Jhichen-Itza, the cen- It so, it did not miss its aim. It must have frozen tre of civilization, the emporium of the countries to the very core the enthusiasm of the many comprised between the eastern shores of Maya- dreamers and speculators on the prehistoric na- pan and the western of Xibalba; of the tlons that inhabited this western continent, as subsequent decadence of the nations; of for me, I felt Its chill even under the burning rays their internal strife during long ages. of the tropical sun of Yucatan, notwithstanding I Forhere, in reckoning time, we must not count by am,or ought to be, well inured to them during the centuries but millenaries. We do not, in thus four years that my wife and myself are rambling speaking, indulge in conjectures— for, verily, the mong the mined cities of the Mayas. study of the walls leaves no room for supposition True, I am but a cool searchei of the stupen- lo him who quietly investigates and compares, dous monuments of the mighty races that are no How far Mrs. Le Plongeon and myself have more, but have left the history of their passage im been able to interpret i he mural paintings, bas- earth written on the stones of the palaces of their reliefs, sculptures and hieroglyphics, the results rulers, upon the temples of their gods. The glow- of our labors show. (Some of them have been ing fires of enthusiasm do not oveiheat lately published in the "Illustration Hispano- my imagination, even if the handiwork Americana" of Madrid.) The excavating of the of the ancient artists an 1 architects— magnificent statue of tbs Itza king, if the science of the Itza fl^il/enes— wise Cbac-Mool, buried about five thousand men, fill my heart with a surprise akin to admiia- years ago by his wife, the queen of tion. Since four years we ask the stnnes to dis- Chichen, at eight metres under ground close the secrets they conceal. The portraits of (that statue has just been wrenched from our the ancient kings, those of the men with long hands by the Mexican government, witnout even beards, who seem to have held high offices an apology, but the photographs may be seen among these people, have become familiarized at the residence of Mr. Henry Dixon, No. 112Al- with us, and we with them. At times they appear bany street, Kegent park, London, and the en- to our eyes to be not quite devoid of life, not en- gravings of it in the "Ilustracion HIspano-Amer- lirely deaf to our voice. Not unfrequently the Icana"); the knowledge of the place where lies that meaning of some sculpture, of some character, of of Huuncay. the elder brot^er of Chac-Mool, in- some painting,— till then obscure, unintelligible, terred at twelve metres under the s-irface— of the puzzling, — all of a sudden becomes clear, ea.=^y to site where the H-Menes hid their libraries con- understand, full of meaning. taming the history of their nation— ihe knowledge Many a strange story of human greatness and and sciences they had attained, would of itself be pride, of human, petty and degrading passions, an answer to Professor Mommsen's ridiculous as- weakness and imperfections, has ibus been di- sertion, that we are anxious to find what cannot vul;red to us;— while we were also told of thn cus- 6c knoum, or what would be useless if discovered, toms of the people; of the scientific acquirements It is not the place here to refute the learned pro- of the if-Afenes ; of the religious rites observed by fes.^or's sayings; nor is it worth while. Yet I the ftins (priests) ; of their impostures, and Of the should like to know if he would refufe as Mse- superstitlon they inculcated to the masse=; of the less the treasures of King Priam necause made ot 9i gold that beloDRS to the archaic times— what of creation. The pxploratton of ihe tnonuments gold does not? Or, if he would turn up his no?e of past generations, all bearing the pecuiiantles, at the wealth of Agamennnon because he linnws the idiosyncracies of the huilfers, has convinced that the gold and precious stones that o.oinpo?e it me that the energies of human mind and intellect were wrought by artificers who lived four thou- are the same in all times. They come sand years ago, sliould Dr. Scbliemann leel in- forth in proportion to the requirements clmed lo offer thera to him. What says Mr. of the part they are to represent Mommsen? in the great drama ot life, the means in the stu- Besides mv dlFcovery of the statues, bas-reliefs, pendous mechanism of the universe bet eg always etc., etc., which would be worth many thousands perfectly and wisely adapted to the ends. It is of pounds sterling to— if the Mexican government therefore absurd to .ludge of mental attainments did not rob Ihem from — the discoverers, the study of man in different epochs and circumstances by o± the works of generations that have preceded us comparison with our actual civilization. Forme affords me ihe pleasure of following the tracks ot the teachings of archaeology are these: "Tempera the human mind through the long vista of ages, to niutantur, mores etiam in illis; sicut ante hommi discover that its pretended progress and develop- etiam man^nt anima et mens." ment are all imaginary, at least on earth. T have Alchemists have gone out ot fashion, thank been unable to the present day to trace it. I really Ood ! Would that the old sort of antiquaries, who pee no difference between the civilized man of to- lo=e their time, and cause others to lose theirs day and the civilized man of five thousand years also, in discussing idle speculations, might ago. I do not perceive that the human mind is follow suit. History requires facts.— these endowed in our' times with powers superior facts, proofs. These proofs are not to those it possessed in ages gone by, to be found in the few works of the travellers that but clearly discern tliat these pow- have hastily visited the monuments that strew the ers are directed in different channels, soil of Central America, Mexico and Peru, and Will Professor Mommsen pretend that this 'S also given of them descriptions more orless accurate— Mse/css after being found ? Man today is the same very of ten erroneous — with appreciations .always as man was when these monuments, which cause affected by their individual prejudices. The cus- the wonder of the modern traveller, were reared, toms and attainments of all sorts of the nations Is he not influenced by the same instincts, the that have lived on the western continent, before same wants, the same aspirations, the same men- it was America, must be stui lied it view of the tal and physical diseases? monumeots they have left ; or of the photographs, I consider mankind alike to the waters ot the tracings of mural paintings, etc., etc., which are ocean; their surface is ever changing, while in as good as the originals themselves. Kot even the their depihs i« the same eternal, unchangeable writings ot the chroniclers of the time of the stillness and calm. So man superficially. He re- Spanish conquest can be implicitly relied upon, fleets Ihe images of times and circumstances. His The writers on the one hand were in all cases intellect develops and expands only according to blinded by their religious fanaticism; in many by the necessities of the moment and place. As the their ignorance; on the other, the people who in- waves, he cannot pass the boundaries assigned to habited the country at the time of tne arrival of him by the unseen, impenetrable Power to which the conquerors were not the builders ot the all things are .'ubservient. He is irresistibly im- ancient monuments. Many of these were then in pulsed toward his inevitable goal— the grave, ruins ana looked upon by the inhabitants, as they There, as far as he positively knows, all his pow- are today, with respect a d awe. True, many ers are silenced. But from there also be sees of the habits and customs ot the an- springing new forms of life that have to fulhl, cients, to a certain extent, existed in their turn, their destiny in the great laboratory yet among them; but disSgured, distorted 95 by time, and tbe new modes of thintlnpr and ]iv- I will not speals here at length of the monu- Ing introduced by the invaders ; while, strauge lo ments of Peru, that dunns eight years I have dili- sa.v, the language remained unaltered. Even to- gently explored; for, with but few exceptions, day, in many places in Yucatan tbe descendants they dwindle into insigniflcance when compared of the Spanish conquerors have forgotten the na- with the majestic structures reared by the Mayas, live tongue of thei- sires, and only speak jV/aya, the Cara«, or Cariaus, and other nations of Central the idiom of the vanquished. Traditions, relig- America, and become, therefore, devoid of inter- ious rites, superstitious practices, dances, weie est in point of architecture and antiquitv; except- handed down from generation to generation, ing, however, the ruins of Tiahuanaco, that were But, as the sciences were of old the privilege of already ruins at tbe time of the foundation of the the few, the colleges and temples of learning hav- Incas' empire, in the eleventh century of our eraj ing been destroyed at the downfall of Chichen, and so old that the memory of the builders was the knowledge was imparted by the fathers to lost In the abysm of time. Tbe Indians used to ^their sons, under the seal of the utmost secrecy, say that these were The work of giants who lived Through the long vista of geneiations, notwi'h- before the sun shone in the heavens. It is well standing the few books that existed at tbe time of known that tbe Incas had no writing characters or the conquest, and were n great pait destroyed by hieroglyphics. The monuments raised by Bisop Landa and other fanatical monk*, the learn- their hands do not afford anv clew to ing of the ff-il/enes hecarae adulterated in passing their hi-tory. Dumb walls merely, their from mouth to mouth, merely committed mutism leaves large scope 'to imagination, to memory, and was at last lost and and one may conjecture any but the right changed into the many ridiculous notions and thing. Of the historical records of that powerful strange practices said to have been consigned but short-lived dynasty we have nothing left but afterward to these writings. thefe»v imperfect and rotten Qwip^^us which are Withal the knowledge of reading those books occasionally disinterred from the huacas. was retained by some ot the descendants of tbe If we desire to know anything about the civil H-Menes. I would not take upon myself to assert laws and policy, the religious rites and ceremonies positively that some of the inhabitants of of the Incas, their scanty scientific attainments, Feten— the Diace where the Itzas took refuge at and their very few and rude artistic attempts, we the beginning of the Christian era after the de- are obliged to recur to the "Comentarios reales" etmction of their city— are not still in possession of Garcilasso de la Vega, to the Dicadas of Her- of tbe secret. Atall events, I was toid that people rera, to Zarata and other writers ot the time ot who could read the Maya j>ic-/mM)i (books), and to the conquest of Peru by Francisco Pizarro. None whom the deciphering of the CToo/i (letters) ai d of them — Montesmos excepted — try to shed the flguretive characters was known, existed as any light on the origin of Manco-Ceapac and far back a? forty years ago, but Kept their knowl- that of his sister and wite, Mama-Oello, nor edge a secret, lest they should be persecuted bv on the state of the country before their arrival at the priests as wizards and their precious volume Cuzco. wrenched from fhein and destroyed. Tbe Indians I have been most happy in my researches into bold them yet in great veneration. I amieadyto tbe histoiy of this founder of tbe Inca dynasty, give full credit to this assertion, tor during my whom many consider a mere my :hical being. In rambles and explorations in Peru aud Bolivia I was the library of the British Museum I came across repeatedly informed that people existed ensconced an old Spanish manuscript, written by a, Jesuit in remote nooks of the Andes, who could interpret father, A. Anilla, under, as he asserts, the dicta- the quippus (string writing) aod yet made u>e of tion ot a cercain Catdri, an ex-(/uippucamayoe,— them to register their tHiuily records, keep account archive-keeper, of their droves ot llamas and other pi ojierty. Writin_>; now from memory, far away from my 96 booltp, nocep,ii1arp, etc., etc., left torsafe-lieeiinjr diiilcf^tg of che Aryan nations previous to their in tlie hands of a fiiend in Merida, Ido noi le- fepaialion, I would not pretend to impuen the member the number of ibe catiilogue. Eut it Is grand discovery of Mr. Lopez. But I can positive- easy to look for "Las lidus de los hombres iliti- ly a-scrt ihat expressions are not wanting in the trei 'lela covipcniu de Jesus en las I'rovutcios I'ernvlan tongue that bear as strong a farnily re- del Peru," where I have read of the origin of semblance to the dialects spoken in tlie Sandwich Manco-reapac, of his wanderings fi cm ihe;ea Islands and Tahiti, where I resided a few month-, coasts to those ol the lake of Titicaca, and hence as the ruins of Tiahuanaco to those of Eaft*r through the country till at last he ariived at the Island, that are oraposed of stones not to le village ot Cuzco, whero he was kindly received by found tO'lay in that place. When I visited it I ihe inhabitants and established himself. This was struck with the perfect similitude of the MS. also speaks of the history ot his ancestors, of structures found there and the colossal statues, their arrival at Turobes after leaving their homes which forcibly recalled to my mind those said by In the countries of the north in search of some lost Pinelo to have existed in Tiahuanaco even relatives,of their slow progress towaid the South, at the time of the Spanish conquest, and the vain inquiries about their friends, etc.. This similarity in the buildings and etc. Now that I have studied part of the history language of the people separated by of the Mayas and become acquainted with their such obstacles as the deep water of the Faciiic, customs, as pictured in the mural paintings that hundi eds ot miles apart, cannot be attributed to adoru the \^lls of the inner room a mere ca-ual coincidence. To my mind it plainly of the monument raised to the memory shows that communications at some epoch or of Chac-Mool by the Queen of Itza, his wife, on other have existed between these countries. On the south end of the east wall of the gymnasium, this particular point I have a theory of my own, at Chichen (the tracings of these paintings ate in which I think I can sustain by plausible facts, uot our power), and also in the traditions and customs speculative ; but this is not the place to indulge in of their descendants, by comparing tliem with theories. I will, therefore, refrain from intruding those of the Quichuas, I cannot but believe that mine on your readers. On the other hand, they IMancn"s ancestors emigrated from Xibalba or are welcome to see it in the discourse 1 have pro- Mayapan, carrying with them the notions of the nounced before the American (Jeographical So- motber country, which they inculcated to their ciety ol New York in January, 1873, which has g-ons and grandson>, and introduced them among been published in the New York Tribune, lecture the tribes that submitted to their sway. sheet No. 8. Let it be remembered that the Quicbua was not The Quichua contains also many words that the luother- tongue of the Ineas, who in court seem closely allied to the dialects spoken by the spoke a language unknown to the common people, nations inhabiting the reeiuns called today They, for political motives, and particularly to ot- Central America and the Maya tongue, story the feuds that existed between the inhabi- It would not be surprising that some tants of the different provinces of their vast do- colony emigrating from these coun- mi'nions, ordered the Quichua to be taught to and tries should have reached the beautiful learned by everybody, and to be regarded as the valiey of Cuzco, and established themselves in it, tongue ot Ttahuardinsii jju. Their subjects, from in times so remote that we have no tradition even however distant parts of the empire could then of the event. It is well known that the Quichua, also undeivtand each other, and came with time was the language of the inhabitants of Ihe valley to consider themselves as members of the same if Cuzco exclusively before It became generaliied family. in Tialmantiniityu, and it is today the place I have bestowed some attention upon the study where iu is spoten ^\ith more perfection and of the Quichua. Not being acquainted with the purity. 97 In answer to tbe question, if man came from to tlie image lie had replaced, wi'li si^ns ot rc- the older (?) worUI ot Asia,— and if so liow, tliere spect and veneration, on the table— "is very old; are several points to consider, ana not the least very great tliinfr,—on]y very wise men and saints important relates to the relative iniiquity of the are allowed to toucliit." Attermuch ado aud coax- continents. You are well aware that geologists, ing, lie at last told me, .n a voice as lull ot rever- naturalists and other scientists are not wanting ence as a Brahmin would in uttering the sacred ■who, with the late FrofesFor Agas^iz, sustain that word 0-a-um, tliat the meaning ot the inscription this western continent is as old, if njt cldei , than was Fo. Asia and Europe, or Afjioa. Leavins.' this ques- Some faimlies of Indians, that live in the re- tion to he settled by him wno may accomplish it, mote So^sones (small valleys ot the Andcs\ sport I will repeat here what I have sustained long ago: even today a cue as the inhabitants ot that the American races are aiitochthunous, and the Celestial emuire, and the people have had many thousand years ago relations with in Eten. a, small ydlage near Pinra, the inhabitants of the other parts of speak a language unknown to their neighbors, and the earth just as we have them today. This are said to easily hold' converse witu f lie coolies fact lean prove by the mural paintinj^s and has- of the vicinage. When and how did this inter- reliefs, ana more than all by the portraits of men course exist, is rather difflcult to answer. 1 am with long beards that are to be seen in Chichen even timorous to insinuate it, lest the believers in Itza, not to speak of the Maya tongue, which con- the chronology of the Bible, who make the worhi tarns expressions from nearly every language a little more than 5800 years old, should come spoken m olden times (to this point I will recur down upon me, and, after pouiingupon my hum- hertafter), and.alto by the sma'l statues of turn- hie self their most damning anathemas, consign baya (a mixture of silver and copper) found me, at the dictate;- ot their sectarian charity, to in the huacas ot Chimu, near Trujillo on the that place over the door ot which Dante read,— Peruvian coast, aud by tho:e of the val'ey of l-enne si v4 tra la iierdiita serite. Chincha. Lasciate o^i speriinza voi cti' entr.ite. These statues, which seem to belong to a very And yet mine is not the fault if reason tells me ancient date, generally represent a man seated that the climate ot Tiahuanaco, situated near the cross-legeed on ihe back ot a turtle. The head is shores of the lake of Titicaca, 13,500 feet above the shaved, except the top, where the hair is left to sea.must not have always been what it is now, grow, and is plaited Chinese fashion. Not unfre- otherwise the ground around it, and for many quently the arms are extended, tbe hands rest miles barren, would not have been able upon pillars inscribed with characters much re- to support the population of a large city. Today sembling Chinese. I have had one of these curious it produces merely a few ocas (a kind of small po- objectslong in my possession. Notwittistanding tato that is p'-eserved frozen), and yields scanty being much worn by time and the salts con- crops of maize and beans. Tiahuanaco Tnay^ at tained in the earth, it was one of the most peifect some distant period, have enjoyed the privilege of I have seen. It was found in tbe valley of Ohio- being a seaport. Nothing opposes this supposi- cha. 1 showed it one day to a learned Chinaman, tion. On one hand, it is a well-knovvn tact that, and was quite amused in watching his face while owing to the conical motion of the earth, the wa- he examined the image. His features betrayed so ters retreat continually from the. western coasts vividly the different emotions that preyed upon of America, which rise at a certain known ratio his mind,— curiosity, surprise, awe, superrtitious eveiy cen'uiy. On the other hand, the bank of fear. I asked him if he understood the characters oysters and other marine shells and debris, engraved on the pillars? "Yes," said he, "these are found on the slopes of tbeAndes to near their the ancient leiters used In China before the in- summit", obviouslv in licate that at some time or vemi n of those in usage today. Thai"— pointing other the sea has covered them. 98 Wlieu was tliat? I will leave to sectarians to quest, and where the Spaniards letreate-i for compute, lest, the reckoning should carry us back safety alter the defeat Ihey suffered ac the to that time when the space between Tiahuanaco hands ot the dwellers of the country near and Easter Island was dry land, and the valleys the ruins of Chichen-Itza, is to be seen and plains now lying under the waters an immense huildini; composed of three ot the Pacinc swarmed with industri- superposed platforms. The upper one forms a ous, intelligent human beings, were strewn terrace supporting tliree rows ot twelve columns, with cities and villas, yielded luxuriant crops Each column is composed of eight large square to tne inhabitants, and the figure should show stones, piled one upon the other, without cement, that people lived there before the creation of the to a height of four metres, and indicate a lapse ot woild. I recoil with horror at the mere idea ot 160 years in the life of the nation. These stones are, being even suspected of insinuating such an he- or were, called Katun. Every twenty years, amid retical doctilne. the rejoicings of the ) eopie, another stone was But a the builders of the strange structures on added to those already piled up, and a new era or Easter Island have had, then, communications epoch was recorded in the history and life of the with the rearers ol Tiahuanaco by ?ant7. then we people. Alter seven of these stones had thus been may easily account for the many coincidences placed— that is to say, after a lapse of 1*1 years— which exist between the laws, religious rites, they began the ^/taw-A'aiun, or King Katun, when soience?,— astionomical and others,— customs, a small stone was added every four years on one mnnumeiits.langu ges, and even dresses, of the of the corners of the uppermost, and at tne end of inhabitants of this "Western continent, and those the twenty years ot tne Ahau-Kaiun,vi\Va great of Asia and Africa. Hence the similarity of many ceremonies and feasting, the crowning stone was Asiatic and American notions. Hence, also, the placed upon the supporting small ones. (The generalized idea ot a deluge among men, whosi photograpos of this monument can be seen at the traditions remount to the time when the waters house of Mr. H. Dixon.) Kow, as I have said, we that covered the plains of America, Europe, Af- have thirty-six columns composed of eight stones, rica anil Asia lett their beds, invaded tbe portions each representing a period of twenty years, which of the globe they now occupy, and destroyed their would give us a total of 57C0 years since the first inhabitants. Katun was placed on the terrace to the lime whch Since that time, when, of course, all communl- the city was abandoned, shortly after the Spanish cations were cut between tue few individuals that conquest. escaped the cataclysm by taking refuge on the On the northeast of the great pyramid at highlands, their intercourse has been renewed at Chichen-Itza, at a short distance from this monii- differentand very remote epochs— a tact that I meut, can be seen the graduated pyramid that once can easily prove. upon a time supported the main temple of the But, why should we lose ourselves in the mazes city dedicated to Kukalcan (the winged serpent), of supposition, where we run a fair chance of the protecting divinity of ttie place. On three wandering astray, when we may recur to the mon- sides the structure is surrounded by a massive unients of Yucatan? These are unimpeachable wall about five metres high and eight wide on tlie witnesses that the renmsula was inhabited by top. On that wall are to be se n the columns of civilized people many thousand years ago, even the Katuns. The rank vegetation has invaded before the lime ascribed by the Mosaic records to every part of tbe building, and thrown many ot tbe creation. the columns to the ground. I began to clear the Among the ruins of Ak6, a city unique in Yuca- trees from the pyramid, but was unable to finish tan for its strange arcliitecture, evidently built by work because ot the disarming of my workmen, giant-, whose bones are now and then disinterred, owing to a revolution that a certain Teodosio a city that was inhabited at tbe time of the con- Canto had initiated against the govemoieni of 99 Yucatan. I counted as moiiy as one hundvecl and portance. All In Uxmal proclaims the decadency of tweniy columns, but got urert o£ pushing myway art, tne relaxation of morals, the depravity throuarh the nearly impenetrable thicket, where 1 of customs, the lewdness of the in- could see many more amouff the shrubs. habitants. In Chichen they represent the life- Those I counted would £ive an aggregate of givingpovver of the universe under the emblems 19,200 years,— quite a respectable old age, of the Sun and Kukulcan. In Uxmal they wor- eveu for the life of a, nation. This shipped the pballus, which is to be seen every- is plainly corroborated bv the other means where, in the courts, in the ornaments of tbe tem- of recknniDg the antiquity of the monuments, — pies, in the residences of the priests and priest- such as the wear of the stones by meteorological esses, in all the monuments except the house of influences, or the thickness of the stratum of the the governor, built by Aac, tbe younger brother rich loam, the result of the decay of vegetable and assassin of Chac-Mool. life, accumulated on the roofs and terraces ot the The edifices of Uxmal are evidently con- buildings, not to speak of their position respecting structed with le.ss art and knowledge than those the pole-star and the declination of the magnetic of Chichen. The latter remain whole and nearly needle. intact, except in those places where the hand of The architecture of the Ma.^as is unlike that of man has been busy; the former have s^ufliered any other people of what Is called tbe Old World, much from the nclemencies of the atmosphere, li resembles only itselt. And, notwithstanding and from the ignorance and vaudalistic prOj'ensi- that Mayapan, from the most remote times, was ties of the visi^ois. I have been present at the de- visited by tiavellers from Asia and Africa, by the struction of magnificent walls where the wise and learned men who came from abroad to ruins stand. Some prefer to destroy consult the H-Menes ; notwithstanding, also, the these relics of past ages, rather than to pick invasion of the JJahnas and the visitation of the up with more ease the stones that strew the pilgrims, tbe Maya art of building remained pecu- soil in every direction. liar and uncbanged, and their language was The ornaments ot temples and palaces are mc^t- adopted by their conquerors. The Nahuas, ly composed of hierOf;lyphics, highly adorned, of after destroying the city of ihe wise meu,estab- the emblems of religious rites, of statues ot great llshed themselves in Uxmal, on account of its men and priests, surrounded by many embellisb- strategic position, in the midst of a plain In- ments. In Uxmal the columns are representa- closed by hills easily defended. To embellish that tions of the phallus-worship ot the Nahuas. In city, where dwelt the foes of Chichen, they copied Chichen the base is formed by the head of Ku- the complex ornamentation of tbe most ancient kulcan, the shaft by the body of the serpent, with building of that metropolis, — the palace and its feathers beautifully carved to the very chap- museum,— disdaining the chastity, the simplicity, ter. On the chapters ot the columns that support the beautiful and tasteful elegance of the monu- the portico, at the entrance ot the castle in Chich- nierts of the latter period. These, of graceful and en-Uza, may be seen the carved figures of long- airy proportiobs, are utterly devoid of the pro- beardea men, with upraised hands, in tbe act of fusion and complexity of ornamentation and de- worshippinc sacred trees. They forcibly recall to sign that overload the palaces and temples of the mind the same worshio in Assyria, as seen on Uxmal. When gazing on the structures of that the slabs found by Layard in tbe ruins ot ciiy, and comparing them with those of Chichen, Nineveh, now in the Assyrian gallery of the it seemed that I was contemplating alow-born, British Museum. No one can form an exact idea illiterate man, on whom Fortune, in one of her of the monuments ot Mavapan by rearline mere strange freaks, has smiled, and who imagines that descriptions. It is necessary to either examine by bedecking himself with gaudy habiliments and the buildings th mselves (and this is not quite de- , shining jewelry he acquires knowledge and im- void of danger, since the most interesting are 100 situated in territories forbitUlen to white men, and eto ployed at tbe same time a kind of pictorial writ- occupied by the hostile Indians of Chan-Santa- ing;, something not unlike our rebus. They also Cruz, who tince 1849 wajje war to the knife on the would record domestic and public life-customs, inhabitants of Yucatan, and have devastated the religious worship and ceremonies, funeral rites, greatest part ot that State), or to study my mag- court receptions, battles, etc., etc., just as we do uificent collection of photographs whce they are in our paintings and engravings, portraying them most faithfully portrayed; that can be done with with superior art and perfect knowledge of draw- more ea^e, without running the risk of losing mg and colors, which also had tbeir accepted and one's life. acknowledged meaning. These we have alreatly It is said that the deciphering of the American partly deciphered, and now understand, hieroglypnics is a rather desperate enterprise, be- I have said it was my firm conviction that cau^e we have uo Kosetta stone with a bilingual among the inhabitants of Peten— nay, nerchance, in'^cription. I humbly beg to differ from also, of Chan-Santa-Cruz— some one may be found that opinion; at least as regards the who is still possessed of the knowledge of reading inscriptions on the walls ot the monuments of the ancient P(t'-/aa(?'i. But the Indians are any- Mayapan. In the first instance, the same Un- thiig but communicative, and they are at all guage, with but few alterations, that was used by times unwilling to reveal to the white men wliat- Ihe biiilde s '^f these edifices is today commonly ever may have been imparted to them by their spoken by the inhabitants of Yucatan and Peten, fathers. To keep these ihings a secret ^they con- and we have books, giammars and dictionaries sider a sacred duty. They even refuse to make compibd bv the Franciscan friars m the first known the medicinal properties of certain plants, years of the conquest, translated m Spanish, wbile they are willing, provided they feel a liking French and Engli-h. We do nr)t, therefore, re- for you, or are asked by a person whom they re- quire an Americ.^nRosetta stone to be discoveied. spect or love, to applv these plants, prepared by Secondly, if it is undeniable tbat Bishop Landa them, to heal the bite of a rattlesnake, tarantula, consigned to the flames all the books ot the Mayas or any of the many venomous animals that abound that happened to fall into his hands, it is also true in their forests. that by a singular freak he preserved us, in great During the many years that I have been among part at least, the Maya alphabet in his work, "Las the Indians of all paits of Ameiica,— now with Cosas de Yucatan," discovered Dy Bras-seur de the civilized, now amidst those that inhabit the Bourbourc in the national library of JIadiid. The woods far away from the commerce of people,— Americanists owe much to the researches of the strange to say, recipiocal sympathy and good feel- abb6. I consider his works as deserving abetter ing have always existed between us; they receijtion than they have ever had from have invariably ceased to consider me a ftranger, the scientific world at large. It is true that This singular attractive feeling has often caused he is no respecter of Mosaic chronology,— them to open their hearts; and to it 1 owe the and who can be m presence of the monuments of knowledge ot many curious facts and traditions Central America? Reason commands, and we that otherwise I should never have known, must submit to evidence and truth! I have care- This unknown power did not fail me in Espiia, a fully compared the characters of said manuscript Jtretty little town in the eastern part of Yucatan, with those engraved upon the stones in Chichen, where I received from a very old Indian not only which I photographed, and found them alike, the intelligence that forty years ago men still ex- Some on the frontispieces of the palaces and tem- isted who could read the ancient Maya writing, pies differ, it is true, but do not our ornamented but also a clue to decipher the insciiptions on the capital letters from the small? Their deciphering buildings, may give a little more trouble. Conversing with some friends in Espita about the The Mayas, besides using their alphabet, ancient remains to be found in that vicinity, they ofleieil to show me oi;e of tue most inle e^tnlK "Oli jes! I lia 1 a fiicnd in A'aei (ValliKloUa relics ot olden times. A_ few days later they ush- today),— he died forty years ago or so,— a very, ered iuto luy presence u venerable old Indian, verv old man. His vaine was Manuel Alayon. His hairs « ere sray, his ejes blue with aae. The He used to tell us all about these enchanted late curate of the place, Senor Dominguez, who houses. He had a, book that none hut he could departed this life at the respectable age of ninety, read, which contained many things about them, was wont to say that he had, since a child, and as We u^-ed lo gaiher at nis house at night to listen long as he could remember, always known Ma- to the leading ot that book." riano Chabl6, the same old man. They give him "Where is ihe book now, father?" 150 years at least ; yet he enjoys perfect health; "Don't Snow. Alayon died. No one ever knew still works at his trade (he is a potter); is In per- what became of the sacred hook. At'terwaids feet possession of his mental faculties, and of an came the insurrection of the Indians, and the old unerring memory. Having lost his wife, of about friends also died." the same age as himself, but a snort time oefore "Do you rember what the book said?" my interview witii him, he complained of feeling "Now, one of the things comes to my mind. It lonely, and thought that as soon as the year of said that there was a very old house called the mourning was over lie would take another witeto Akab-sibj and in that house a writing, which re- himseir. It was a Sunday morning that we met aitedthat a day would come wlien the Inhabitants for the first time. He had been to church, assisted of Sad would converse with those of Ho { Merida] at mass. There the recollection of his departed by means of a cord, that would be stretched by life-companion had assailed him and filled his old people not belonging to the country" heart with sadness,— anl he had called to his When Ilieard this, the idea occurred to me that relief ::nother acquaiutauee— rum— to help him to the old fellow was auietly having hi.s little hit ut dispel bis sorrow. Sundry draughts had made fun at my expense. In order to be sure of It I in- him quite talkative. He was i the right condition quired :— to open his bosom to a sympaihlztrg friend, — so "What do you say, father? How can that be ? I was to him already. The libation Do yju imagine how people forty leagues apart I offered with him to the manes of can converse by means of a cord?" his regretted mate unsealed his lips. After a Bat when my interlocutor answered that he few desultory questions, with the object of test- could not either know or imagine bow that could ing his memory and intelligence, wih great cau- be done, and particularly when my friends as- tion I began to inquire about the points I had sured me that ChablS had no idea of the electric more atheart—"o wit, to gather all possible Infor- telegraph, I then became convinced of his good mation and traditions upon the ruins of Chichen- faith, and began to ponder on the sti ange dis- Itza I was about to visit. The old man spoke only closure we had just listened to. The old man soon Maya; and mv friend Cipiiano Rivas, well versed rose to take his departure, and 1 invited him to In that language, was my interpreter, not being call again, when he had not been to church and myself suflSciently proficient in it to hold a long consoled himself with his spiritual friend, in or- conversation. der that I might be able to take his portrait. He "Father," said I, "have you ever been in Chi- repeated his visit a few days later, as Chen? Do you know anything about the big requested. I took his portrait, and asked Louses that are said to exist there?" him again about the monuments of Cnichen. "I have nevei been in Ihichen, and of my own But, alas! that day his lips were sealed, or his knowledge know nolhing of those big houses; but memoiy failed, or his Indian secrecy had rt- lemember what the old men used to say about turned. He knew nothing of them; had never them when 1 was young." been there; did not remember what the old men "And what «as that, pray. Will you tell me?" said ot the enchai.ted himies when he was young. 102 except that the place bad been enchanted for and also by the solitary zigzag seen about the mahy, many years, and ihat it was not eood to middle o£ the cord-tollowing its direction— mdi- sleep Dear them, because the A7afi-jja7c-j/ttm, the eating a half-way station. Then the electric tele- lord of the old walls, nould be angry at the iutru- graph, thai, we consider the discovery par excel- sion, and chastise the oilender by disease and icmee of tbe nineteenth century, was known of the deatii wiihin theyear. ancient Itza sages 5000 or ) 0,000 years ago. Ah, Some months later 1 arrived at Chichen. The Nihil iwvum sub sol em: And in that slab we revelation of the old man recurred vividly to my have a clue to the deciphering of the Maya in- mind. I immediately went in quest ot the build- scnptlons,- an Amencan Rosetta stone. Inj; he had meniioned-the Akab-slb. [This name i will now say a few woids of that language tliat literally mea.m—Akab, dark, mysteiious; sift, to has survived unaltered through the vicissi write. But we beli ve that anciently it was called tudes ot the nations that sioke ^;ca6-si&; that is, vl/caft, to run in a hurry ; siT), to it thousands of years ago, and is yet the write.] We had some trouble in tlnding ir, con- general tongue in Yucatan— the Maya. There cealed and conlounded a- it was among the tall can be no doubt that this is one of the most an- trees of the forest, its roof supporting a dense cient languages on earth. It was used by a peoj le thicket. We visited its eighteen rooms in search tbat lived at least 6000 years ago, as proved by the of the precious inscription, and at length discov- Katuns, to record the history of their rulers, 1 he ered it on Ihe lintel ol an inner doorway in dogmas of their religion, on the walls of their pal- the roo.u situated at the south end of the edifice, aces, on the fa9ades of their temples. The dust of ages was thick upon it. and so' con- In a lecture delivered last year before the Amer- cealed the characters as to make them well-nigh ican Geographical Society of New York, Dr. C. H. invisible. With care I washed the slab, then with Berendt has shown that the Maya was spoken, black crayon darkened its surface until the in- with its different dialects, by the Inhahitauts of taglio letters appeared in while on a dark back- Mayapan and Xibalba and the other nations ot ground. (The photographs of this inscription can Central America south of Anahuac. He ought to be seen at Mr. H. Dixon's.) be a good authority on the subject, having dedi- While thus emnloye) Mrs. Le Plongeon stood by cated some years m Yucatan to its study, my side, studying the characters as they gradually The Maya, containing words from almost every appeared more and more distinct. Toourasion- language, ancient or modem, is well woith the Ishment we soon discovered the cord mentioned atiention of philologists. And since, as Professor by Chabl6. It started from the mouth of a face Max Muller said, philology is the shining light (which represents the people of Saci), situated that is to illuminate the darkness of ethnology, near the right-hand upper coiuer of the slab, then besides the portraits of the bearded men dlscov- runs through its whole length in a slanting ered by me in Chichen, tho-e of the princes and direction and terminates at the ear of another priests, and the beautiful statue of Chac-Mool, head (the inhabitants of Ho). The inclined direc- which serve to determine the different types, may tion of the cord or line indicates the topographi- be a guide to discover whence man and eiviliza- cal position of the respective cities- Saci (Valla^ tion came to America, if the American races can dolid) — beiig more elevated above the level of the be proved not to be autochihonous. Notwithstand- sea than Ho (Mcrlda). But imagine now our ing a few guttural sounds, the Mayais soft, pliant, amazement at noticing the stranga fact that the rich in diction and expression; even every shade mode of communication that Chabl6 ignored was of thought may he expressed. by means of electric currents! Yes, of elec- ....... tricitv! This tact is plainly indicated by the four Whence, then, are the Maya language and the Z'Rzaghnes, lepresentiug the lightning, coming Mayas? I should like to learn from the Auieii- from the four cardinal points and couveiging lo- canists who are soon to congregate in Luxeui - ward a ceuire near the upper or starting station, bourg. Augustus Le rLONGEON, M.n. 103 NOTK. Tlie omission (as indicated) at the close of Dr. Le Plongeon's letter is a repetition of what he has previously ^tated in other communications, in re- gard lo the many foreign words found in the Maya Uinguage, and that the Greek is there largely represented. Then the question arises, who brought this language to Mayapan? He continues: "The customs, religion, architecture of tliis country, have nothing in common with those of Greece. Who carriec" the Maya to the country of Helen? Was it the Caras or Carians, who have left traces of their existence in many countries of America? They are the most ancient navigators known. They roved the seas long before the Phoeni- cians. They landed on the North-East coasts of Africa, thence they entered the Mediterranean, wliere they became dreaded as pirates, and afterwards estab- lished themselves on the shores of Asia Minor. Whence came they? What was their origin? Nobody knows. They spoke a language unknown to the Greeks, who laughed at the way they pronounced their own idiom. Were they emigrants from this Western continent? Was not the tunic of white linen, that required no fastening, used by the Ionian women, according to Herodotus, the same as the uipil ol the Jluya females of today even, introduced by them among tlie inhabitants of some of the Mediterranean isles?" The latest information al)Out the stattie exluimed at Chichen Itza must be discouraging to those solicitous for the careful conservation of this work of art. La Revista de Merida of May 31, 187T, has this quotation from a Mexican newspaper : — " A SHAMEFUL FACT." "La Pateia has the, following paragrajjh copied from the Epoca, which ought to attract the atte,nti(in of all interested. ' The notable statue of Chac- MooU loliichicas received in the capital of Yucatan with so great demonstra- tions of jubilee, and with unaccustomed pomp, has remained in our city since its arrival, some days ago, abandoned in a small square, afar off and dirty, where the small boys of the neighborhood amuse themselves by pelting it. If Sr. Dn. Augustin del I!io had known the little value that would have been placed upon his gift, it is certain that he would have guarded there [at Yucatan] his king and his records, about which no one here concerns himself.'" How much of the above unfavorable criticism on the neg- lect of this archteological treasure by the central government, is due to the political bias of the source of this information, cannot be determined. We can, however, protest against any want of appreciation of a monutnent of past history in this manner lost to the State of Yucatan and 'to tlie dis- coverer, Ur. Le Plougcon, by the arbitrary exercise of official authority.