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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mayas, the Sources of Their History /
+Dr. Le Plongeon in Yucatan, His Account of Discoveries, by Stephen Salisbury, Jr.
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Mayas, the Sources of Their History / Dr. Le Plongeon in Yucatan, His Account of Discoveries
+
+Author: Stephen Salisbury, Jr.
+
+Release Date: August 18, 2009 [EBook #29723]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MAYAS, SOURCES OF HISTORY ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Julia Miller and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was
+produced from images generously made available by The
+Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note
+
+Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. A list of changes is
+found at the end of the text. Inconsistency in spelling and hyphenation
+has been maintained. A list of inconsistently spelled and hyphenated
+words is found at the end of the text. The use of accents on foreign
+words and the capitalization of titles in foreign languages is not
+consistent. This text maintains the original usage. Use of italics on
+titles of cited words is not consistent. This text maintains the
+original usage. Oe ligatures have been expanded.
+
+The following codes are used for characters that cannot be represented
+in the character set used for this version of the book:
+
+  [+]   Dagger
+  [++]  Double dagger
+  [C]   Capital open O
+  [)o]  Lower-case o with breve
+  [=e]  Lower-case e with macron
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Plano de Yucatan 1848]
+
+
+
+
+                         THE MAYAS,
+                THE SOURCES OF THEIR HISTORY.
+
+
+                 DR. LE PLONGEON IN YUCATAN,
+                 HIS ACCOUNT OF DISCOVERIES.
+
+
+                  BY STEPHEN SALISBURY, JR.
+
+
+  FROM PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY, OF
+             APRIL 26, 1876, AND APRIL 25, 1877.
+
+
+
+                     PRIVATELY PRINTED.
+
+
+
+                         WORCESTER:
+                 PRESS OF CHARLES HAMILTON.
+                            1877.
+
+
+
+
+[Inscribed to Mip Sargent,]
+
+_WITH THE RESPECTS OF THE WRITER._
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+THE MAYAS AND THE SOURCES OF THEIR HISTORY,              _Page_ 3
+
+DR. LE PLONGEON IN YUCATAN,                                "   53
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+MAP OF YUCATAN,                                     FRONTISPIECE.
+
+LOCALITY OF DISCOVERIES AT CHICHEN-ITZA,                _Page_ 58
+
+STATUE EXHUMED AT CHICHEN-ITZA,                           "    62
+
+RELICS FOUND WITH THE STATUE,                             "    74
+
+
+
+
+THE MAYAS
+
+AND THE SOURCES OF THEIR HISTORY.
+
+     [Proceedings of American Antiquarian Society, April 26, 1876.]
+
+
+The most comprehensive and accurate map of Yucatan is that which has
+been copied for this pamphlet. 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 _Plano de Yucatan_,
+herewith presented--the work of Sr. Dn. Santiago Nigra de San
+Martin--was published in 1848, and has now become extremely 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 [rectangular
+box], and it also shows roads and paths used in transportation and
+communication. Since its publication political changes have caused the
+division of the Peninsula into the States of Yucatan and Campeachy,
+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 Perez, revised by Dr. C. Hermann Berendt.
+
+The early history of the central portions of the western hemisphere has
+particularly attracted the attention of European archaeologists, and
+those of France have already formed learned societies engaged
+specifically in scientific and antiquarian investigations in Spanish
+America. It is to the French that credit for the initiative in this most
+interesting field of inquiry is especially due, presenting an example
+which can not fail to be productive of good results in animating the
+enthusiasm of all engaged in similar studies.
+
+The Societe Americaine de France (an association, like our own, 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 Orientalistes_ of February 5, 1876, gives occasion 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. Leon de
+Rosny, and M. Alfred Maury. The objects of the association, as
+officially set forth, were, first, the publication of the works and
+collections of M. Aubin, the learned founder of a theory of American
+Archaeology, which it was hoped would throw much light upon the
+hieroglyphical history of Mexico before the conquest;[4-*] second, the
+publication of grammars and dictionaries of the native languages of
+America; third, the foundation of professorships of History,
+Archaeology, and American Languages; 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 foundation, as
+follows:
+
+  A.--Musee mexicaine.
+  B.--Musee peruvienne et de l'Amerique du Sud.
+  C.--Musee ethnographique de l'Amerique du Nord.
+  D.--Musee 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 under its auspices, comprehend, among others, _Essai sur
+le dechiffrement de l'Ecriture hieratique de l'Amerique Centrale_, 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
+interpretation.[5-*] Also, _Chronologie hieroglyphico phonetique des
+Rois Azteques de 1352 a 1522, retrouvee dans diverses mappes americaines
+antiques, expliquee et precedee d'une introduction sur l'Ecriture
+mexicaine_, by M. Edouard Madier de Montjau. The archaeology of the two
+Americas, and the ethnography of their native tribes, their languages,
+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 archaeologist, 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. Schoebel; the last written communication of M. de
+Waldeck, the senior among travellers; an article by M. Brasseur de
+Bourbourg, upon the language of the Wabi of Tehuantepec; and an essay by
+M. de Montjau, entitled _Sur quelques manuscripts figuratifs mexicains_,
+in which the translation of one of these manuscripts, by M. Ramirez of
+Mexico, is examined critically, and a different version is offered. 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 international 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 discoverers 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 government, and
+which failed to accomplish all that was hoped, the Emperor Maximilian I.
+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 improvement of Mexico,
+earned for this accomplished but unfortunate prince the gratitude and
+respect of students of antiquity, and even of Mexicans who were
+politically opposed to him.[7-*]
+
+The attention of scholars and students of American Antiquities is
+particularly turned to Central America, because in that country ruins of
+a former civilization, and phonetic 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. Humboldt 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
+astonishing degree of civilization. They are situated between Valladolid
+Merida and Campeachy."[7-[+]] 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 penetrate the forests of Chiapas and Yucatan. In the midst
+of these lonely regions, we meet with the ruins recently discovered of
+several eastern cities--Mitla, Palenque, and Itzalana or Uxmal,--which
+argue a higher civilization than anything yet found on the American
+Continent."[8-*]
+
+The earliest account in detail--as far as we know--of Mayan ruins,
+situated in the States of Chiapas and Yucatan, is presented 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 publication 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 Merida, 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 facade. The apartments, the exterior corridor,
+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."[8-[+]] After speaking of
+the existence of many other ruins in Yucatan, he says he does not
+consider a description necessary, because the identity of the ancient
+inhabitants of Yucatan and Palenque is proved, in his opinion, by the
+strange resemblance of their customs, buildings, and acquaintance with
+the arts, whereof such vestiges are discernible in those monuments which
+the current of time has not yet swept away.
+
+The ruins of Yucatan, those of the state of Chiapas and of the Island of
+Cozumel, are very splendid remains, and they are all of them situated in
+a region where the Maya language is still spoken, substantially as at
+the time of the Spanish discovery.[9-*]
+
+Don Manuel Orosco y Berra, says of the Indian inhabitants, "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 Campeachy."[9-[+]]
+
+In Cogolludo's Historia de Yucatan, the similarity of ruins throughout
+this territory is thus alluded to: "The incontestable analogy which
+exists between the edifices of Palenque and the ruins of Yucatan places
+the latter under the same origin, although the visible progress of art
+which is apparent assigns different epochs for their construction."[10-*]
+So we have numerous authorities for the opinion, that the ruins in Chiapas
+and Yucatan were built by the same or by a kindred 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 the European world
+to the magnificent remains of the Maya country, in his _Voyage
+pittoresque et archaeologique dans la province de Yucatan, pendant des
+annees 1834-1836_, Folio, with plates, Paris, 1838. This learned
+centenarian became a member of the Antiquarian Society in 1839, and his
+death was noticed at the last meeting. Following him came the celebrated
+Eastern traveller, 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 Hon. John R.
+Bartlett, of Providence, R. I., a member of this Society, who obtained
+for this traveller the copy of Waldeck's work which he used in his
+journeyings. Desire 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 warmth and
+sincerity of tropical courtesy can appreciate.[11-*] 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 was possessed of
+great energy and much general information, and could speak English with
+ease and correctness. Being highly 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 Abbe Brasseur de Bourbourg, 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.[12-*]
+
+Perhaps some of the impressions received, during a five months' visit,
+will be pardoned if introduced in this report. Yucatan is a province of
+Mexico, very isolated and but little known. It is isolated, from its
+geographical position, surrounded 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 accomplished in lighters or small
+boats; while ships are obliged to lie off 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
+formation, 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.
+
+There are no rivers in the northern part of the 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 Merida 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 effort 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 in June 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 deg. to
+78 deg. in December and January, and from 78 deg. to 82 deg. 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 progresses 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 lose their leaves, the herbage
+dries up, and the roads become covered with a thick dust. During
+exceptionally dry seasons thousands of cattle perish from 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 agricultural, 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 intended 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 generally 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 from various openings
+purposely left. The huts have no flooring, are larger than the common
+wigwams of the northern Indians, and ordinarily contain but a single
+room. The cattle yards of the estate, called corrals, immediately join
+the residence of the proprietor, and are supplied with water by
+artificial 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
+keeps the herds together. 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 each 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, but 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 Merida 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.
+
+The peninsula is now divided into the States of Yucatan, with a
+population of 282,634, with Merida 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 liable to be
+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. In 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 an 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 races. The trade of the
+country, except local traffic, is carried on by water. Regular steam
+communication occurs monthly between New York and Progreso, 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 merchandise
+arrive by ship from France, Spain and other distant ports.
+
+The cities of Merida and Campeachy are much like Havana in general
+appearance. The former has a population 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 they are constructed in the Moorish style, with interior court yards
+surrounded with 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 celebration of a religious
+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 the enjoyments of the hour. The Catholic
+religion 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. Merida 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 walls of
+the modern houses.[18-*] 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 existing at the time of the foundation of the
+Spanish city. This mound is almost the only trace of Indian workmanship,
+in that immediate locality, which has not been removed or utilized in
+later constructions.[18-[+]] It appears that a large part of the
+building material throughout the 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, were 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
+performed 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 Guayalke was especially noticeable for its
+size, and also for the beauty and elegance of the farm house of the
+estate, which was constructed entirely of stone, and was truly palatial
+in its proportions. This building is fully described by Mr.
+Stephens.[19-*] 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 personal narrative offers a great variety of information, which
+could only be gathered by a traveller of much experience 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.[19-[+]]
+
+At various points along the route, portions of ruined edifices were seen
+but not explored. The 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 undisturbed have escaped destruction,
+in most instances, only because their materials have not been required
+in constructing modern buildings. Much 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 hand of man, more
+to be dreaded than the ravages of time.
+
+The stone edifices of Uxmal are numerous, and are generally placed upon
+artificial elevations; they are not crowded together, but are scattered
+about singly and in groups over a large extent 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 perpendicular; the
+opposite side is approached by a flight of stone steps. The building on
+the top, and the steps by 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
+perfect 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 habitable 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 Stephens and Prescott are of the
+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.[21-*] 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 Uxmal, 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 aguadas (artificial ponds) of the said place of Uxmal, and
+performed other acts of possession."[21-[+]] These facts are interesting
+as indicating actual or recent occupation; and a careful investigation
+of documents 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.
+
+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 an
+expression of indifference, and are destitute of all curiosity or
+ambition. These peculiarities are doubtless the results of the treatment
+they have received for generations. The half-breeds, or Mestizos, prefer
+to associate with the whites rather than with the Indians; and as a rule
+all the domestic service throughout the country is performed by that
+class. Mestizos often hold the position of major-domos, or
+superintendents of estates, but Indians of pure blood are seldom
+employed in any 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 sought by the whites in cases of controversy.
+The Indians are indolent and fond of spectacles, and the church 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 Jose
+Dominguez, thirty miles south-west of Merida, at a sugar rancho called
+Orkintok, the writer saw a large 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 passage into the interior,
+with an arched stone ceiling and retaining walls.[23-*] 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 precaution 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 Merida in 1542, besides "El grande de los Kues," which,
+certainly, have now disappeared; but no account of their construction
+has come down to us.[23-[+]] 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 left for others
+which they desired to build.[24-*] It is then, certainly, a plausible
+supposition that the great mounds were many of them constructed with
+passages like that at Orkintok, and that they have furnished from their
+interiors worked and squared stones, which were used in the construction
+of the modern city of Merida 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 useful 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 Honduras 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 mysterious power of the white men. When their visitors had gone they
+offered flowers to the horse, and as it is said, prepared for him many
+savory messes of poultry, such as they would 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."[25-*] At
+the hacienda of Don Manuel Casares called Xuyum, fifteen miles
+north-east from Merida, a number 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 the
+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.
+
+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 territory 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 ecclesiastics, offer the only material for our object.
+M. L'Abbe Brasseur de Bourbourg, the learned French traveller and
+Archaeologist, in his _Histoire des Nations Civilisees du Mexique et de
+l'Amerique Centrale durant les siecles anterieurs a Christophe Columb_,
+has given a very voluminous 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 contributed 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 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 Uzumacinta, 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
+occupied 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, Votan, 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 Votan was as
+great as the sensation produced later at the appearance of the
+Spaniards. Among the cities which recognized Votan as founder, Mayapan
+occupied 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 near to the date of the arrival 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 conciliated 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
+Merida. The divinity most worshipped at Tihoo was Baklum-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 30 leagues in the interior, and is called Merida, which name it
+takes on account of the beautiful buildings which it contains, 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 discovered. It is proper that what has served for the worship of
+the demon should be transformed into a temple for the service of
+God."[29-*]
+
+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 occasion might act
+together and form one. The seven succeeding 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 Tutul-Xius, began to
+rival the city of Mayapan in extent of territory and in the number of
+its vassals. The towns of Noxcacab, Kabah, Bocal and N[)o]hpat 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, were constructed, the most
+remarkable of which appeared to have been that which extends from the
+interior to the shores of the sea opposite Cozumel, upon the North-East
+coast, and the highway which led to Izamal constructed for the
+convenience of pilgrims. A long peace then reigned between the princes
+of the several principal cities, which 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 conspiracy 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 murdered. 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 offering them an
+asylum not far from Uxmal, where are now the remains of the towns
+Pockboc, Sakbache and Lebna. It is believed that the city of Mayapan was
+then rebuilt, 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 abundance 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 Abbe Brasseur
+de Bourbourg. Much of this history is accepted as correct from the
+weight of the authorities which support and corroborate it, but the
+whole subject is still an open one in the opinion of scholars and
+archaeologists.
+
+The learned Abbe 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 pertaining 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
+origin of the American people, or rather the origin of Europeans and
+Asiatics from America, made known to the world in his '_Quatre
+Lettres_.' His attempted translation 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."[32-*]
+
+Among the historical records relating to the aborigines of Spanish
+America, there is none more valuable than the manuscript of Diego de
+Landa--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 furnishes 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 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
+archaeologists 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 between 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 writings, 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
+superstitions and falsities of the devil, we burned them all; at which
+they were exceedingly sorrowful and troubled."[33-*]
+
+In Cogolludo's Historia de Yucatan, there is an account of a destruction
+of Indian antiquities by Bishop Landa, called an auto-dae-f[=e], of which
+we give a translation: "This Bishop, who has passed for an illustrious
+saint among the priests of this province, was still an extravagant
+fanatic, and so hard hearted that he became cruel. One of the heaviest
+accusations against him, which his apologists could not deny or justify,
+was the famous auto-dae-f[=e], 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 impenetrable 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.
+    27 Rolls of signs and hieroglyphics, on deer skins.
+   197 Vases, of all dimensions and figures.
+
+Other precious curiosities are spoken of, but we have no description of
+them."[34-*]
+
+Captain Antonio del Rio gives an account of another destruction of Mayan
+antiquities, at Huegetan: "The Bishop of Chiapas, Don Francisco Nunez de
+la Vega, 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 they
+were publicly burned in the square Huegetan, on our visit to that
+province in 1691."[35-*]
+
+Prescott also mentions the destruction of manuscripts and other works of
+art in Mexico: "The first 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 Anahuac, and the great depository of the national
+archives. He then caused them to be piled up in a mountain heap, as it
+was called by the Spanish writers themselves, in the market place of
+Tlatelolco, and reduced them all to ashes."[35-[+]]
+
+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 information, 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, so 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 of its characters to those of the other two, and of the
+sculptured tablets. The _Dresden Codex_ is preserved in the Royal
+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
+whatever is known of its origin. The original is written on a strip of
+_maguey_ 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."[36-*]
+
+It is probable that early manuscripts, as well as others of less
+antiquity than the above mentioned, but of great historical importance,
+yet remain buried among the archives of the many churches 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 collections in that country, would 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 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 obtaining 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 Solis 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 Hernandez 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 architectural beauty, and also to
+perceive the dress of the natives, who wore shirts and cloaks of white
+and colored cotton, with head-dresses of feathers, and were ornamented
+with ear drops and jewels of gold and silver. From this island,
+Hernandez went to Cape Catoche, which he named from the 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 Spaniards 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.
+
+Neither Kimpech nor Champoton were under Mexican rule, but there was
+frequent traffic between the Mayas and the subjects of the empire of
+Anahuac. Diego 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 Cozumel, 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 impression 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
+sacrifice. 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 comprehended nothing of the ceremonies. When the
+priest had descended from the altar, the Indians allowed the strangers
+peaceably to visit their houses, and brought them an abundance of food
+of all kinds. Grijalva then sailed along the coast of Yucatan. 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
+much 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 mysterious to Europeans, Culhua, signifying Mexico. The fleet then
+sailed northward, exploring the coast of Mexico as far as Vera Cruz,
+visiting several maritime towns. Francisco 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
+established, by which in exchange for articles of Spanish manufacture,
+pieces of native gold, a variety of golden ornaments 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 sick 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 this
+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 wonderful accounts of his
+discoveries in Yucatan and Mexico, together with the valuable
+curiosities he had obtained in that country, Velasquez was greatly
+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 temples of that sacred Island. He found it easier to induce the
+natives to accept new images than to give up those which they had
+hitherto worshipped. After charging the Indians to observe the religious
+ceremonies which he had prescribed, and receiving a promise of
+compliance with his wishes, Cortez again sailed and doubled cape
+Catoche, following the contour of the gulf as far south as the river
+Tobasco. Here, disembarking, notwithstanding the objections of the
+Indians, he took 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 remaining
+there long enough to engage in a sanguinary battle, which 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 and uninhabited region,
+and near the ruins of Palenque, but none of the 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 the death
+of Cristoval de Olid, and that his coming 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 association 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 Montejo 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 accompanied 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 conquer 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 and successors forever. Montejo
+disposed of his hereditary property, and with the money thus raised
+embarked with about four hundred troops, exclusive of sailors, and set
+sail from Spain for the conquest of Yucatan. Landing at Cozumel, and
+afterwards at some point on the North-eastern coast of the peninsula,
+Montejo met with determined resistance from the natives; and a battle
+took place at Ake, in which one hundred and fifty Spaniards were killed,
+and nearly all the remainder were wounded, or worn out with fatigue.
+Fortunately, the Indians did not follow the retreating survivors into
+their entrenchments, or they would have exterminated the Spaniards. The
+remnants of this force next appeared at Campeachy, where they
+established a precarious settlement, and were at last obliged to
+withdraw, so that in 1535 not a Spaniard remained in Yucatan.
+
+Don Francisco de Montejo, son of the Adelantado, was sent by his father
+from Tobasco, in 1537, to attempt again the conquest of Yucatan. He made
+a settlement at Champoton, and after two years of the most disheartening
+experiences at this place, a better fortune opened to the Spaniards. The
+veteran Montejo made over to his son all the powers given to him by the
+Emperor, together with the title of Adelantado; and the new governor
+established himself at Kimpech in 1540, where he founded a city, calling
+it San Francisco de Campeachy. From thence an expedition went northward
+to the Indian town Tihoo, and a settlement was made, which was attacked
+by an immense body of natives. The small band of Spaniards, a little
+more than two hundred in all, were successful in holding their ground,
+and, turning the tide of battle, pursued their retreating foes, and
+inflicted upon them great slaughter. The Indians were completely routed,
+and never again rallied for a general battle. The conquerors founded the
+present city of Merida on the site of the Indian town, with all legal
+formalities, in January, 1542.[44-*]
+
+But though conquered the Indians were not subjugated. They cherished an
+inveterate hatred of the Spaniards, which manifested itself on every
+possible occasion, and it required the utmost watchfulness and energy
+to suppress the insurrections which from time to time broke out; and the
+complete pacification of Yucatan was not secured before the year 1547.
+
+Hon. Lewis H. Morgan, in an interesting article in the North American
+Review, entitled "_Montezuma's Dinner_," makes the statement that
+"American aboriginal history is based upon a misconception of Indian
+life which has remained substantially unquestioned to the present hour."
+He considers that the accounts of Spanish writers were filled with
+extravagancies, exaggerations and absurdities, and that the grand
+terminology of the old world, created under despotic and monarchial
+institutions, was drawn upon to explain the social and political
+condition of the Indian races. He states, that while "the histories of
+Spanish America may be trusted in whatever relates to the acts of the
+Spaniards, and to the acts and personal characteristics of the Indians;
+in whatever relates to Indian society and government, their social
+relations and plan of life, they are wholly worthless, because they
+learned nothing and knew nothing of either." On the other hand, we are
+told that "Indian society could be explained as completely, and
+understood as perfectly, as the civilized society of Europe or America,
+by finding its exact organization."[45-*] Mr. Morgan proposes to
+accomplish this result by the study of the manners and customs of Indian
+races whose histories are better known. In the familiar habits of the
+Iroquois, and their practice as to communism of living, and the
+construction of their dwellings, Mr. Morgan finds the key to all the
+palatial edifices encountered by Cortez on his invasion of Mexico: and
+he wishes to include, also, the magnificent remains in the Mayan
+territory. He would have us believe, that the highly ornamental stone
+structures of Uxmal, Chichen-Itza, and Palenque, were but joint tenement
+houses, which should be studied with attention to the usages of Indian
+tribes of which we have a more certain record, and not from
+contemporaneous historical accounts of eye witnesses.
+
+In answer to Mr. Morgan's line of argument, it may be said, that the
+agreement of early voyagers and chroniclers, of whom there is so large a
+number, as to the main facts, is strong evidence that their impressions,
+as stated, were founded upon what they saw, and not on pictures of the
+imagination. Moreover, the existing undecyphered manuscripts, together
+with the hieroglyphical and symbolical inscriptions upon buildings,
+traced in characters similar to those found in aboriginal manuscripts,
+prove that there was a literature among the Mayan and Aztec races, which
+places them in a grade of civilization far above that of communistic
+Indian tribes of which we have any record. More than all, the manuscript
+of Bishop Landa, an eye witness of expiring Mayan civilization, with its
+detailed account of the political and social relations of the Indians of
+that country, is strong testimony to the correctness of the generally
+accepted theories regarding their social and political systems. The
+truthfulness of Bishop Landa's account is attested by its conformity to
+other accounts, and to the customs and usages of the Yucatan Indians of
+to-day, as described by recent travellers. We are obliged to consider
+the argument of Mr. Morgan insufficient to destroy the common opinions
+of three centuries and a half, in so far as relates to the Maya
+Indians.
+
+Mr. Morgan also says that "the Aztecs had no structures comparable with
+those of Yucatan." If the only grounds for this statement are, that
+almost no ruins now remain in that country, and that the early accounts
+of Spanish writers, of what they themselves saw, are considered, by him,
+untrustworthy, the weight of probability seems, to the writer of this
+paper, on the contrary, to lie in quite the other direction. When Cortez
+left Havana, in 1519, he visited Cozumel, famous for its beautiful
+temples, and Centla, and certain other towns in Central America, on his
+way to Mexico. Having thus seen the wonderful structures of Central
+America, is it not strange, that the historians of that expedition, and
+Cortez himself, should be filled with wonder and amazement at what they
+found in Mexico, to a degree that disposed them to give a much more
+particular account of the Aztec palaces than of Yucatan buildings, if
+they were inferior to them in point of architecture? Mexico has since
+that time been more populous than Yucatan, and its ruins have naturally
+disappeared more rapidly in the construction of modern buildings; but
+the records of its former civilization exist in the accounts of the
+discoverers, and in the numerous relics of antiquity contained in the
+museums of Mexico, and scattered about in the archaeological collections
+of Europe and America. The celebrated calendar stone found buried in the
+_Plaza Mayor_ of Mexico, and now preserved in that city, demonstrates
+the astronomical advancement of the Aztecs in an incontrovertible
+manner, and that monument alone would establish their advanced position.
+
+The observations and conclusions of a traveller and archaeologist of
+large experience, as to the condition of Central America at the time of
+its discovery and settlement by the Spaniards, are contained in the
+valuable monograph of Dr. C. Hermann Berendt, the discoverer of the site
+of ancient Centla, who having made a special study of the antiquities of
+that country in five expeditions, each of several years duration, is
+entitled to special consideration as one who knows whereof he
+speaketh.[48-*] This writer, while he concedes the insufficiency of
+consulting the records of Spanish writers alone, thinks that archaeology
+and linguistics will at length furnish us the means of reading these
+records with positive results, as well as help us to a better
+understanding of the early history of this continent. He says "Central
+America was once the centre, or rather the only theatre of a truly
+American, that is to say, indigenous, development and civilization. It
+was suggested by Humboldt half a century ago, that more light on this
+subject is likely to be elicited, through the examination and comparison
+of what palpably remains of the ancient nations, than from dubious
+traditions, or a still more precarious speculation. And such palpable
+remains we have, in their antiquities and in their languages. Thus
+linguistic science has begun to invade the field of American ethnology:
+and let it not be forgotten that this science is as little bound, as it
+is qualified, to perform the whole task alone: archaeology must lend a
+helping hand. We must have museums, in which the plastic remains of the
+ancient American civilizations, either original, or in faithful
+imitations, shall, in as large numbers as possible, be collected, and
+duly grouped and labelled, according to the place and circumstances of
+their discovery."
+
+The plan for the study of Mayan and Central American ethnology, as
+indicated by Dr. Berendt, seems to agree most fully with the views
+entertained by some of the later writers in the publications of the
+Societe Americaine de France, and may be thus stated in brief. _First_,
+The Study of Native Languages. _Second_, The Study of the Antiquities
+themselves. _Third_, The formation of Museums, where materials for
+archaeological research may be brought together, and made accessible and
+available. From the study of aboriginal American history in this
+practical way, the most satisfactory results can not fail to be reached.
+
+In this brief hour, it would be impossible to describe and elucidate
+this interesting subject, if the ability were not wanting; but it may be
+accepted as a welcome service, that draws the attention of this Society
+to an important field, which the Societe Americaine de France, and other
+European archaeologists, are regarding with increased interest.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[4-*] M. L'Abbe Brasseur de Bourbourg, in his _Histoire des nations
+civilisees du Mexique_ (Paris, 1859, vol. I. Preface), speaks of M.
+Aubin as the translator of the manuscript "_Historia Tulteca_," as the
+author of the _Memoire sur l'ecriture 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 Boturini collection, and of many other
+historical treasures, gathered in his various travels.
+
+[5-*] "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 decypherment 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 Rosny
+has increased to one hundred 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 cases from right to left."--[The Popular Science
+Monthly, New York, May, 1876, pp. 118-119.]
+
+[7-*] _Geographia de las lenguas y carta ethnografica de Mexico._ By M.
+Orosco y Berra, Mexico, 1864. Introduction p. X. _La Situation actual de
+la Raza indigena de Mexico._ By Don Francisco Pimentel, Mexico, 1864,
+Dedication.
+
+[7-[+]] Views of Nature, page 131.
+
+[8-*] Conquest of Mexico, New York, 1843, vol. III., page 404.
+
+[8-[+]] Description of an ancient city near Palenque, page 6.
+
+[9-*] _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 Monte
+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."
+
+[9-[+]] _Geographia de las Lenguas, y Carta ethnographica de Mexico_, by
+Manuel Orosco y Berra, Mexico, 1864, p. 156.
+
+[10-*] _Los tres siglos de la dominacion Espanola en Yucatan._ By Fr.
+Diego Lopez de Cogolludo,--Madrid, 1688.--Merida, 1845, Lib. IV.,
+Appendix A.
+
+[11-*] 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_, in 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 College of Merida, but is now
+occupied in managing the plantation of his father, who died in 1864.
+Primitivo, the second son, studied mechanics and engineering at the
+scientific school in Cambridge, and employed himself in several machine
+shops and foundries in 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 families of Merida and Campeachy, from whom he received
+hospitable courtesies and attentions; but it would here be out of place
+to acknowledge personal obligations.
+
+[12-*] _Histoire des nations civilizees du Mexique_, by M. L'Abbe
+Brasseur de Bourbourg, vol. II., page 578.
+
+[18-*] _Historia de Yucatan._ By Cogolludo. Merida, 1845. Lib. III.,
+cap. VII.
+
+[18-[+]] Ibid. Lib. IV., cap. XII.
+
+[19-*] Travels in Cent. Am., Chiapas and Yucatan. By J. L. Stephens. New
+York, 1858. vol. II., page 403.
+
+[19-[+]] _Geographia de las Lenguas y Carta Ethnographica de Mexico._ By
+Manuel Orozco y Berra, Mexico, 1864, p. 100. Ibid. p. 115. _Quadro
+descriptivo y comparativo de las Lenguas indigenas de Mexico._ By D.
+Francisco Pimentel. Mexico, 1865. Tom. 11, p. 36.
+
+[21-*] Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, Stephens, vol. II., page 445.
+History of the Conquest of Mexico, Prescott, vol. III., page 370.
+
+[21-[+]] Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, vol. I., page 323.
+
+[23-*] Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, Stephens, vol. I., page 212.
+
+[23-[+]] _Historia de Yucatan._ Cogolludo. Lib. III., Cap. XI.
+
+[24-*] _Historia de Yucatan._ Cogolludo. Lib. III., Cap. VII.
+
+[25-*] History of the Conquest of Mexico. Prescott, Vol. III., page 294.
+
+[29-*] _Collection des Memoires sur l'Amerique, Recueil des Pieces sur
+le Mexique trad., par Ternaux-Compans_, p. 307.
+
+[32-*] The Native Races of the Pacific States of North America. By
+Hubert H. Bancroft. San Francisco, 1875. Vol. II., page 780.
+
+[33-*] _Relation des choses de Yucatan._ By Diego de Landa, Paris, 1864,
+pp. 44, 316.
+
+[34-*] _Historia de Yucatan._ Cogolludo. Lib. VI. Appendix A, 1.
+
+[35-*] Description of an ancient city near Palenque. Page 32.
+
+[35-[+]] Prescott's Conquest of Mexico. Vol. I., page 101.
+
+[36-*] The Native Races of the Pacific States. By Hubert Howe Bancroft.
+Vol. II., page 771.
+
+[44-*] _Historia de Yucatan._ Cogolludo. Lib. III, cap. VII.
+
+[45-*] North American Review. Boston, April, 1876. No. 251, page 265.
+
+[48-*] Remarks on the centres of ancient civilization in Central
+America, and their geographical distribution. Address before the
+American Geographical Society, by Dr. C. Hermann Berendt. New York,
+1876.
+
+
+
+
+DR. LE PLONGEON IN YUCATAN.
+
+
+HIS ACCOUNT OF DISCOVERIES.
+
+
+
+
+DR. LE PLONGEON IN YUCATAN.
+
+     THE DISCOVERY OF A STATUE CALLED CHAC-MOOL, AND THE COMMUNICATIONS
+     OF DR. AUGUSTUS LE PLONGEON CONCERNING EXPLORATIONS IN THE YUCATAN
+     PENINSULA.
+
+     [Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society, April 25, 1877.]
+
+
+The most perfect remains of a high degree of early civilization on this
+continent are to be found in ruins in the central portions of America.
+Proofs of the extraordinary advancement of the inhabitants of those
+regions, in architecture and art, at an early period, are not derived
+alone or principally from the accounts of Spanish voyagers and
+chroniclers, which agree substantially in the statements of their
+observations, but much more from the well-preserved ruins of numerous
+beautiful buildings, constructed of stone, many of them ornamented with
+bas-reliefs and hieroglyphics. In Mexico, about which Spanish historians
+of the time of Cortez and after, have written with more particularity,
+the vestiges of the civilization of the 16th or previous centuries have,
+in a great measure, been obliterated by the more complete and
+destructive subjugation suffered at the hands of the conquerors, and by
+the continuous occupation of the acquired provinces. Probably the early
+constructions of the Mexicans were not generally composed of so durable
+materials as those of the neighboring peninsula. Without discussing this
+point, the fact remains that Yucatan, together with much of the
+territory of Guatemala, Chiapas, and Tabasco, is strewn with ruins of a
+character which command the admiration and challenge the investigation
+of antiquaries. Waldeck, Stephens, Charnay, and Brasseur de Bourbourg,
+have brought these wonders of an extinct civilization to the knowledge
+of the world. Since their investigations have ceased, and until
+recently, but little has been done in this field. In 1873, however, Dr.
+Augustus Le Plongeon, a native of the island of Jersey, of French
+parentage, together with his wife, Mrs. Alice Dixon Le Plongeon, an
+English lady, attracted by the wealth of opportunity offered to them for
+archaeological study in Yucatan, visited that country, and have been and
+are still actively engaged in exploring its ruins, photographing and
+taking plans of the buildings, and in making excavations, which have
+resulted in securing to the scientific world, a masterpiece of antique
+sculpture differing essentially from all specimens known to exist of
+American aboriginal art.
+
+Dr. Le Plongeon is an enthusiast in his chosen career, that of an
+archaeologist and an explorer. Without the energy and strong imagination
+he has displayed, he would not, alone and unassisted, have braved the
+dangers and privations of a prolonged residence in the wilds, surrounded
+by perils from exposure to a tropical climate, and from the dangerous
+proximity of hostile savages. All that can be learned of the life of
+this investigator is, that he was educated at Paris, and in 1849 went to
+California as an engineer, and there laid out the town of Marysville.
+Then he visited Peru, and travelled with Mr. Squire and took photographs
+of ruins. He came to New York in 1871, with three valuable paintings,
+which he had procured in Peru, two of them said to be Murillo's, and the
+other the work of Juan del Castillo, Murillo's first master. A long
+account of these pictures appears in the "New York Evening Mail" of
+March 2, 1871. He took them to England in the same year, and is said to
+have sold them to the British Museum. Since his residence in Yucatan,
+both the Doctor and Mrs. Le Plongeon have been engaged in archaeological
+studies and explorations among the ruins of Chichen-Itza, Uxmal, and
+Ake, and they have also visited other ruins in the eastern part of
+Yucatan, together with those of the once famous islands of Cozumel and
+Mugeres, and have there pursued the same system of investigation. They
+are at present at Belize, British Honduras, where this explorer is
+awaiting a reply to his appeal, as an American citizen, to our Minister
+at Mexico for redress for the loss of the statue which he had
+discovered, and which has been removed by the government to Mexico,
+without his knowledge or consent, to be there placed in the National
+Museum. The writer is in possession of many of Dr. Le Plongeon's letters
+and communications, all of them in English, and very interesting to
+antiquarian students. It is regretted that the shortness of time since
+receiving the more important of these documents will prevent doing
+justice to the very elaborate and extended material which is at hand;
+but it is with the hope that interest and cooperation may be awakened in
+Dr. Le Plongeon and his labors, that this crude and unsatisfactory
+statement, and imperfect and hasty reference to his letters, is
+presented.
+
+The conspicuous results of Dr. Le Plongeon's active and successful
+labors in the archaeological field, about which there can be no
+controversy, are the wonderful statue which he has disinterred at
+Chichen-Itza, and a series of 137 photographic views of Yucatan ruins,
+sculptures and hieroglyphics. All of the photographs are similar to
+those which appear in heliotype, diminished in size, as illustrations of
+this paper. They consist of portraits of Dr. Le Plongeon and of his
+wife; 8 photographs of specimen sculpture--among them pictures of men
+with long beards; 7 photographs of the ruins of Ake, showing the
+arrangement of so-called _Katuns_--the Maya method of chronology; 12
+photographs of Yucatan Indians; 60 photographs of the ruins of Uxmal;
+and 48 photographs of the ruins of Chichen-Itza, including twelve views
+relating to the discovery of a statue called Chac-Mool. These pictures,
+and the relics found in the excavation from which the statue was
+exhumed, as well as the discovered statue, are valuable acquisitions,
+and establish a strong claim to the gratitude of the scientific world.
+Besides these articles, the original head and feet of a female idol in
+plaster, from the Island of Mugeres, have been discovered by Dr. Le
+Plongeon, which have not yet been brought to public notice. Of this
+antique figure Dr. Le Plongeon says, in a letter to the writer: "Whilst
+at Mugeres Island I had the good fortune to find the statue of one of
+the priestesses of the shrine of the Maya Venus, whose ruins stand at
+the southernmost end of the island, on the very brink of the cliff. It
+was entire, but the men, not knowing how to handle this object, when
+first disinterred broke it to pieces. I was only able to save the face
+and feet. They are full of interest, not only artistically speaking, but
+also historically, inasmuch as they seem to prove the ancient relations
+that existed between the people of Mayapan and the inhabitants of the
+west coast of Africa. The teeth, like those of Chac-Mool, are filed like
+a saw. This was the custom among persons of high rank in Mayapan, as it
+is even to-day with some of the African tribes, whilst the sandals are
+exact representations of those found on the feet of the _Guanches_, the
+early inhabitants of the Canary Islands, whose mummies are yet
+occasionally met with in the caves of Teneriffe and the other isles of
+the group. These relics, I am certain, are the last of high art to be
+found on the Island of Mugeres. The sea is fast eating the base of the
+promontory where stands the shrine. Part of it has already fallen into
+the sea, and in a few years not a stone will remain to indicate the
+place where stood this altar."
+
+The photographs relating to the discovery of the statue of Chac-Mool are
+found in a series of twelve pictures, herewith presented in the plates
+which follow. It is upon this discovery, as will be seen from his
+_Mexican Memorial_, that Dr. Le Plongeon has relied more than upon any
+other result of his labors, for fame and remuneration. The statue was
+exhumed, according to the account in the _Mexican Memorial_, in
+consequence of interpretations of certain mural tablets and
+hieroglyphics, which the discoverer and his able coadjutor, Mrs. Le
+Plongeon, found in the building shown in the pictures 1 and 2 on the
+opposite page, upon the south-east wall of the so-called
+Gymnasium,[58-*] which Dr. Le Plongeon says was erected by the queen of
+Itza, to the memory of Chac-Mool, her husband. As may be seen from a
+careful inspection of the picture, the stone building is decorated by a
+belt of tigers, with an ornament separating them, which may have been
+the "totem."
+
+[Illustration: _Decorated Building at Chichen-Itza, Yucatan, and the
+external appearance of the place whence the Statue was exhumed by Dr.
+Augustus Le Plongeon._
+
+DESCRIPTION OF PLATE.
+
+1. Represents the building at the southern extremity of the eastern wall
+of the so-called Gymnasium described by Stephens--Travels in Yucatan,
+vol. II., page 308. It is supposed by Dr. Le Plongeon to have been a
+monument to the chieftain Chac-Mool.
+
+2. This picture shows the upper portion of the same edifice, in which
+were found "the mural paintings, bas-reliefs and other signs," which
+gave a clue to the discovery of the statue.
+
+3. Shows probably the locality where the statue was excavated. The same
+sculptured slabs that appear in picture 8 in the foreground on the
+right, are seen resting against a mound, in their supposed original
+position, and serve to indicate the identity of the localities. In the
+rear of the slabs is probably the heap of stones forming the pedestal
+for the stone figure of a tiger spoken of in the "_Mexican Memorial_."
+
+4. This is probably another view in the immediate neighborhood. Among
+the scattered debris is the sculptured head of a serpent, with open
+jaws.
+
+5. Represents the sculptured slabs, which are seen also in pictures 3, 6
+and 8. They are of unequal width, but the length and thickness was
+probably the same in each.
+
+6. Another view of the sculptured slabs. The first shows a bird of prey;
+this is apparently a tiger. Both of them hold in their grasp objects of
+a similar character.
+
+NOTE. Several of these pictures are described in the _Mexican Memorial_,
+but are there differently numbered.]
+
+The exact spot whence this statue was exhumed cannot be certainly
+stated, though among the plates which represent the discovery are two
+which may reasonably be supposed to exhibit the locality. One of
+these pictures shows the sculptured slabs which may have decorated the
+mound where the excavation was made, and which again appear on the side
+of the opening through which the statue is seen emerging. The slabs are
+elaborately wrought, and represent, the one a tiger holding something in
+his paw, and the other a bird of prey, with talons similarly employed.
+
+During the early portion of his residence and explorations at
+Chichen-Itza, Dr. Le Plongeon was assisted by Government troops, who
+acted as a guard against hostile Indians--_sublivados_[59-*]--as these
+ruins lie outside the limits of territory considered safe for
+occupation; and though this protection was soon withdrawn, and the
+discoverer was obliged to rely solely upon arms furnished to his
+laborers, still he was not disheartened by the dangers of his
+undertaking, nor dissuaded by the appeals of his friends from
+persevering in his labors.
+
+The first object discovered at this place, as will be learned from the
+_Mexican Memorial_, was a long stone, half interred among the others,
+which proved to be the base of a sculptured reclining tiger, of much
+the same size, proportions and execution as the statue of Chac-Mool, as
+is apparent from a photograph of the tiger in the general collection.
+The head, of human form, which was wanting, was afterwards found at some
+distance, in a pile of carved stones. The next objects that appeared
+were the bas-reliefs, presumably those pictured in 3, 5, 6 and 8. The
+mound of stones where the excavation was made was, according to Dr. Le
+Plongeon, the pedestal that supported the effigy of the tiger. Work was
+commenced at the top of the heap of stones, which were rudely thrown
+together, rendering the labor difficult and dangerous. An excavation was
+made measuring 7 meters in depth, which was protected by a trestle-work,
+and at this depth a rough calcareous stone urn was secured which
+contained a little dust, and upon it a coarse earthen cover. This was
+near the head of the statue, which then appeared. The work of liberating
+the statue required a deepening of the trench 1-1/2 meters more. A
+picture in heliotype copied from a series of six photographs, showing
+the various positions assumed by the figure during the process of
+excavation, can be consulted upon the second page following. This work
+of art was raised by Dr. Le Plongeon, with the assistance of his wife
+and ten Indian laborers, by his own ingenuity, and without other
+engineering apparatus than he had contrived from the trees and vines,
+making use also of the bark, from which he constructed ropes. Dr. Le
+Plongeon, in a private letter to the writer, says, "The statue is carved
+out of a single block of beautifully white and homogeneous limestone. It
+is naked, and the peculiar ornament suspended by a ribbon tied on the
+back of the neck, that is seen on the chest, is the distinctive mark of
+high rank. This same ornament is seen on the chests of all the
+personages who were entitled to carry three feathers on their heads. The
+band that composes the head-dress was formed of pieces of an octagonal
+shape, joined together, and is fastened by ribbons also on the back of
+the head. The figure had bracelets and garters of feathers, and the
+sandals, quite different from those used by the present inhabitants of
+the country, were tied to the feet and legs, and resemble those found on
+the mummies of the _Guanehes_, the ancient inhabitants of the Canary
+Islands. There were no ear laps, but square tablets appear in place of
+the ears, on which are hieroglyphics giving the name, condition, &c.,
+&c., of the personage represented by the statue. It is not an idol, but
+a true portrait of a man who has lived an earthly life. I have seen him
+represented in battle, in councils, and in court receptions. I am well
+acquainted with his life, and the manner of his death. The scientific
+world owes much to Mrs. Le Plongeon for the restoration of the mural
+paintings where his history and the customs of his people are portrayed;
+and where Stephens has been unable to see more than a few figures, she
+has discovered the history of a people and of their leaders."
+
+"The name, Chac Mool, or Balam, and the names of his two brothers,
+_Huuncay_ and _Aac_, the latter the builder of the 'House of the
+Governor' at Uxmal, are not given by us at random. They are 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 person represented on these monuments is known to us by
+name, since either over the head or at the feet, the name is written. We
+have tracings of the mural paintings as seen on the walls of the inner
+chamber of the monument raised by the queen of Itza to the memory of her
+husband, Chac-Mool. Stephens mistook it for a shrine where the winners
+at the games of ball were wont to make offerings to the presiding idol.
+In your paper you have copied part of his description of that monument.
+But the statue of Chac-Mool was not exhumed in it as you assert, but
+four hundred yards from it, in the midst of the forest. No traveller or
+writer has ever indicated the place where it lay buried, and it is by
+deciphering the meaning of some hieroglyphics and mural paintings,
+that we came to a knowledge of the place. The building with tigers and
+shields was simply a monument dedicated to his memory."
+
+[Illustration: _Statue at Chichen-Itza, Yucatan, in process of
+exhumation by Dr. Augustus Le Plongeon, showing the engineering process
+by which it was accomplished._
+
+DESCRIPTION OF PLATE.
+
+7. Represents the statue of Chac-Mool uncovered at the depth of 8
+meters. At the sides are seen the frame-work "of trunks of trees of 2 to
+2-1/2 inches in diameter, secured with vines." The inclined plane on
+which it was drawn to the surface is visible, as are some of the ten
+Indian laborers, in working costume.
+
+8. The statue has now been drawn to the upper part of the inclined
+plane. The ropes of habin bark are attached to the figure. Near the
+sculptured slabs at the right, already shown in 3, 5 and 6, Mrs. Le
+Plongeon appears seated.
+
+9. Shows the capstan that served to raise the statue, the size of which
+is apparent by comparison with the figure of the Indian near it.
+
+10. Apparently the same locality as 4. The method of moving the statue
+over the fragments of sculpture and other impediments is shown.
+
+11. The size and appearance of the statue, "half as large again as the
+natural size," is here distinctly pictured, together with Dr. Le
+Plongeon standing in the rear of his discovery. The head-dress,
+trappings and sandals are clearly defined.
+
+12. The statue is seen on the rude wagon on which it had been
+transported to Piste, a distance of 3 or 4 miles. In the rear is seen
+the stone church of Piste, surmounted by a cross, described in
+_Charnay's Cites et Ruines Americaines_, page 336, and by Dr. Le
+Plongeon, in the _Mexican Memorial_. Nearly all the small towns have
+similar Churches, built from the ruins of Indian buildings. It is
+probable that some of the choicest works of art, too large to be easily
+destroyed, were put out of sight in the construction of these edifices
+by the fanatical conquerors of the 16th century.
+
+NOTE. The numbers of the pictures do not agree with those in the
+_Mexican Memorial_.]
+
+It appears that Dr. Le Plongeon, on his arrival in Yucatan, in 1873,
+first visited Uxmal, where he made explorations and took photographs. He
+then prepared himself to undertake the more difficult and dangerous
+visit to Chichen-Itza. While there, the discovery of the statue,
+Chac-Mool, was made, and it was excavated in the manner described by the
+discoverer in the last pages of the _Mexican Memorial_. Dr. Le Plongeon
+had formed a design of sending the statue and certain bas-reliefs,
+together with plans and photographs, to the Centennial Exhibition, and
+had prepared these articles for removal, when a sudden revolution
+occasioned the disarming of his Indian laborers, who for some time had
+served for a protection, and all further operations were suspended, as
+longer residence in that exposed region without arms was sheer madness.
+It was at that time that Dr. Le Plongeon wrote the following Memorial to
+the Mexican President, Senor Don Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada, which is
+given nearly entire, as it makes a statement of his claims and wishes,
+and contains very important information concerning the discovery of the
+statue, and gives an idea of his method of exploration.
+
+The account here given of experiences resulting in a discovery so
+surprising, must interest even those sceptical in regard to the progress
+in art of the American aborigines; and it must also be remembered that,
+almost without exception, late as well as early travellers in this
+region have become enthusiastic and imaginative when brought into
+contact with these monuments of a measureless past,[63-*]--none of them
+more so, perhaps, than Brasseur de Bourbourg, whose works nevertheless
+contain a mine of most valuable information aside from hypotheses.
+
+Accompanying the Memorial, a set of photographs, some of them similar to
+those copied in heliotype, was sent to Mexico for the information of the
+President, but the numbers in the last pages of that paper, referring to
+the special set of photographs, do not correspond to the pictures
+presented here, as there were no means of verifying the subjects, except
+from the descriptions.
+
+     NOTE.--It will be observed that Dr. Le Plongeon's spelling of the
+     word _Chac-Mool_, differs from that adopted by the writer in
+     deference to prevailing usage in Yucatan. The discoverer always
+     spells the word _Chaacmol_, although in the long letter to the
+     writer, on the subject of Maya antiquities, introduced at the close
+     of this paper, the more usual spelling has been adopted by the
+     printer, contrary to the text of Dr. Le Plongeon.
+
+     MEMORIAL PRESENTED TO THE MEXICAN GOVERNMENT, AND AFTERWARDS
+     PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF YUCATAN, APRIL 19 AND 21,
+     1876.
+
+     _To the President of the Mexican Republic_,
+
+     SENOR DON SEBASTIAN LERDO DE TEJADA.
+
+     Sir:
+
+     I, AUGUSTUS LE PLONGEON, Doctor in Medicine, member of the Academy
+     of Sciences of the State of California, of the Microscopical
+     Society of San Francisco, of the Philological Society of New York,
+     corresponding member of the Geographical and Statistical Society of
+     Mexico; and of various other scientific societies of Europe, of the
+     United States of America, and of South America; citizen of the
+     United States of America; resident at present in Merida, Capital of
+     the State of Yucatan, to you, with due respect, say: Since the year
+     1861 I am dedicated to the iconology of American antiquities, with
+     the object of publishing a work that may make known to the world
+     the precious archaeological treasures that the regions of the
+     so-called new world enclose, nearly unknown to the wise men of
+     Europe, and even to those of America itself, and thus follow the
+     perigrinations of the human race upon the planet that we inhabit.
+
+     With so important an object, I visited the different countries of
+     the American Continent, where I could gather the necessary
+     information to carry through my work, already commenced, and in
+     part published, "The Vestiges of the human race in the American
+     Continent since the most remote times."
+
+     The New York Tribune published part of my discourse before the
+     Geographical Society of New York, on the "Vestiges of Antiquity,"
+     in its Lecture Sheet No. 8 of 1873.
+
+     After traversing the Peruvian Andes, the Glaciers of Bolivia, and
+     the Deserts of the North and North-East part of the Mexican
+     Republic, in search of the dwellings of their primitive
+     inhabitants, I resolved to visit Yucatan, in order to examine at
+     leisure the imposing ruins that cover its soil, and whose imperfect
+     descriptions I had read in Stephens, Waldeck, Charnay, Brasseur de
+     Bourbourg, and others.
+
+     The atmospheric action, the inclemencies of the weather, and more
+     than all, the exuberant vegetation, aided by the impious and
+     destructive hand of ignorant iconoclasts, have destroyed and
+     destroy incessantly these _opera magna_ of an enlightened and
+     civilized generation that passed from the theatre of the world some
+     twelve thousand years ago, if the stones, in their eloquent
+     muteness, do not deceive. And unless the few treasures that yet
+     remain, in a state of more or less perfect preservation, be
+     gathered and saved, they will before long disappear completely, and
+     with them the last traces of the high civilization, the artistic
+     and scientific culture attained by the architects and other artists
+     that worked and raised them, under the protection of enlightened
+     potentates, lovers of all that was grand, and of everything that
+     could glorify their country.
+
+     The results of my investigations, although made in territories
+     forbidden to the whites, and even to pacific Indians obedient to
+     Mexican authority; surrounded by constant dangers, amid forests,
+     where, besides the wild beasts, the fierce Indians of
+     Chan-Santa-Cruz lay in ambush for me; suffering the pangs of
+     hunger, in company with my young wife Alice Dixon Le Plongeon, have
+     surpassed my most flattering hopes. To-day I can assert, without
+     boasting, that the discoveries of my wife and myself place us in
+     advance of the travellers and archaeologists who have occupied
+     themselves with American antiquities.
+
+     Returning however to civilization with the hope of making known to
+     the scientific world the fruit of our labors, I am sorry to find
+     myself detained by prohibitive laws that I was ignorant of, and
+     which prevent me from presenting the unmistakable proofs of the
+     high civilization and the grandeur, of ancient America; of this old
+     Continent of Professor Agassiz and other modern geologists and
+     archaeologists.
+
+     These laws, sanctioned by an exclusive and retrogressive
+     government, have not been revoked up to the present time by the
+     enlightened, progressive and wise government that rules the
+     destinies of the Mexican Republic, and they are a barrier that
+     henceforth will impede the investigation of scientific men, among
+     the ruins of Yucatan and Mexico. It is in effect a strange fact,
+     that while autocratic governments, like those of Turkey, Greece,
+     and Persia, do not interpose difficulties--that of Turkey to Dr.
+     Henry Schliemann, after discovering the site of the celebrated Troy
+     and the treasures of King Priam, to his carrying his _findings_ and
+     presenting them to the civilized world; that of Greece to General
+     Cesnola's disposing in New York of his collection of Phoenician
+     antiquities (the only one in the world), found in the tombs of the
+     Island of Cyprus. Nor did even that of Persia think of preventing
+     Mr. George Smith, after he had disinterred from among the ruins of
+     Nineveh, the year before last, the libraries of the kings of
+     Assyria, from carrying the precious volumes to the British Museum,
+     where they are to be found to-day. I alone, a free citizen of a
+     Republic, the friend of Mexico, after spending my fortune and time,
+     see myself obliged to abandon, in the midst of the forests, the
+     best and most perfect works of art of the sculptor, up to the
+     present time known in America, because the government of this
+     Nation reclaims as its own, objects found in the midst of forests,
+     at great depths below the surface of the earth, and of whose
+     existence it was not only ignorant, but was even unsuspicious.
+
+     The photographs of these objects, and of the places where they were
+     found, are all that, with plans, and tracings of most interesting
+     mural paintings, I can now present: and that after so many
+     expenses, cares, and dangers, unless you, Mr. President,
+     considering the historical importance of my discoveries and works,
+     as an illustrious man, a lover of progress, and the glory of his
+     country, in the name of the nation authorize me to carry my
+     _findings_ and photographs, plans and tracings, to that great
+     concourse of all nations to which America has just invited every
+     people of the earth, and which will be opened shortly in
+     Philadelphia; and with them the material proofs of my assertion
+     that America is the cradle of the actual civilization of the world.
+
+     Leaving New York on the 29th of July, 1873, we, Mrs. Le Plongeon
+     and myself, arrived, on the 6th of August, at Progreso. We remained
+     in Merida from that date, studying the customs of the country,
+     acquiring friends, and preparing to fulfil the mission that had
+     brought us to Yucatan, (viz: the study of its ruins), until the 6th
+     of November, 1874. At that epoch the epidemic of small-pox, that
+     has made such ravages in Merida, and is yet active in the interior
+     villages of the Peninsula, began to develop itself. Senor D.
+     Liborio Irigoyen, then Governor, knowing that I was about to visit
+     the towns of the east, to seek among their inhabitants the
+     traditions of the past, if they yet existed, or at least among
+     their customs some of those of the primitive dwellers of those
+     lands, begged me to scatter among them the vaccine, to ward off, as
+     much as possible, the terrible scourge that threatened them. I
+     accepted the commission, and to the best of my power I have
+     complied with it, without any remuneration whatever. After
+     examining the principal cities of the east of the State--Tunkas,
+     Cenotillo, Espita and Tizimin--gathering notes upon their commerce,
+     the occupations of their inhabitants, the productions of the
+     places, etc., etc., remaining in them more or less time, we finally
+     arrived at Valladolid on the 20th of May, 1875. This city, that
+     was at one time among the most important of the State, is seen
+     to-day almost reduced to ruins by the invasions of the Indians of
+     Chan-Santa-Cruz. It is situated on the frontier of the enemy's
+     country, some twelve leagues from the celebrated ruins of
+     Chichen-Itza--the objective point of my journey to these regions.
+     During my perigrinations through the east, I had, more than once,
+     opportunity to observe the profound terror that the inhabitants, as
+     well _meztizos_ and Indians as the whites, have, not without
+     reason, of their fierce neighbors.
+
+     In view of the dangers that awaited us, I thought proper to write
+     to my good friend, General Don Guillermo Palomino, sub-inspector of
+     the military posts of Yucatan; so that, without prejudice to the
+     service, he should give orders to the commander of the post of
+     Piste, distant one league from the ruins of Chichen, to succor us
+     in case we should need his aid.
+
+     General Palomino, understanding the importance of my undertaking,
+     interested himself in the result. He wrote to Don Filipe Diaz,
+     chief of the military line of the east, so that he should give
+     orders to his subaltern, the commander of the advance-post of
+     Piste, that in case of necessity he should furnish my wife and
+     myself the protection we might need while in Chichen.
+
+     After many delays, owing now to one thing, now to another, but more
+     particularly to the alarming reports that the Indians, or at least
+     their emissaries and spies, prowled about the neighborhood, we at
+     last started on the march in the direction of Piste on the 21st of
+     September, 1875.
+
+     Colonel Diaz was about to visit the posts under his command. This
+     gentleman, as much to respect the orders of his superior as to give
+     me a proof of his appreciation of my person, resolved to accompany
+     us to Chichen with part of his forces. He did so, leaving
+     Valladolid protected by a company of his battalion, and another of
+     the 18th regiment of the line which at the time was stationed in
+     that city. Arrived at the village of [C]itas, we learned that the
+     old footpath, the only one that had ever existed between this point
+     and Piste, four leagues distant, was entirely closed up,
+     impassable, consequently, for horsemen.
+
+     Colonel Don Jose Coronado, who, from esteem, had also wished to
+     accompany us, offered to go forward with a part of the company, and
+     some Indians, to re-open the road, and make it ready. His offer
+     accepted, he departed, and a few days later we were able to
+     continue our march to Piste, not meeting in the transit other
+     annoyance than the roughness of the road, the roots and tree trunks
+     that had obstructed it having been removed.
+
+     So, on the 27th of September, after a tedious march of six hours in
+     the thicket, we reached the advance-post of Piste.
+
+     Piste, ten years ago, was a pretty village, built amid forests,
+     around a senote of thermal waters, surrounded by most fertile
+     lands, which the industrious dwellers cultivated. Suddenly, on a
+     certain Sunday (election day), when they were entertained at the
+     polls, the ominous war-cry of the Indians of Chan-Santa-Cruz fell
+     upon their ears. Few were the villagers that, taking refuge in the
+     bush, escaped the terrible _machete_ of their enemies. Of this
+     village only the name remains. Its houses roofless, their walls
+     crumbled, are scarcely seen beneath the thick green carpet of
+     convolvulus, and cowage (mecuna). These overspread them with their
+     leaves and beautiful petals, as if to hide the blood that once
+     stained them, and cause to be forgotten the scenes of butchery they
+     witnessed. The church alone, sad and melancholy, without doors, its
+     sanctuaries silent, its floor paved with the burial slabs of the
+     victims, surrounded by parapets, yet stands in the midst of the
+     ruined abodes of those who used to gather under its roof; it is
+     to-day converted into a fortress. The few soldiers of the post are
+     the only human beings that inhabit these deserts for many leagues
+     around; its old walls, its belfry, widowed of its bells, are all
+     that indicates to the traveller that Piste once was there.
+
+     After resting, we continued our march to Chichen, whose grand
+     pyramid of 22 meters 50 centimeters high, with its nine _andenes_,
+     could be seen from afar amidst the sea of vegetation that
+     surrounded it, as a solitary lighthouse in the midst of the ocean.
+     Night had already fallen when we reached the _Casa principal_ of
+     the _hacienda of Chichen_, that Colonel Coronado had had cleaned to
+     receive us.
+
+     At dawn on the following day, 28th, Colonel Diaz caused parapets to
+     be raised and the house to be fortified. He placed his advance
+     sentinels and made all necessary arrangements to avoid a surprise
+     from the Indians, and to resist them in case of attack. For my part
+     I immediately commenced work. From the descriptions made by the
+     travellers who had preceded me and that I had read, I believed
+     fifteen days or three weeks would be sufficient for me to
+     investigate all the ruins. But on the 12th of October, Colonel Diaz
+     having received notice that the Indians were probably preparing an
+     attack, sent to bring me from the ruins, to communicate to me the
+     news that he had to march immediately. I had really scarcely
+     commenced my studies, notwithstanding I had worked every day from
+     sunrise to sunset, so many and so important were the monuments
+     that, very superficially, my predecessors had visited.
+
+     I resolved to remain with my wife, and continue our investigations
+     until they should be completed, in spite of the dangers that
+     surrounded us. I made known my unalterable resolution to Colonel
+     Diaz, asking him only to arm a few of the Indians that remained
+     with me, for I did not wish even a single soldier of the post of
+     Piste to accompany me. Leaving my instruments of geodesy and
+     photography at the ruins, I made the church of Piste my
+     head-quarters, where we went every night to sleep, returning always
+     at daylight to Chichen, one league distant.
+
+     It would be too long to give here the details of my work and
+     investigations. Enough to say, that from the 28th of September,
+     1875, when I began to study the monuments, up to the 5th of
+     January, 1876, when, learning of the prohibitive laws I have
+     already mentioned, and that on account of the better requirements
+     of the service I was to disarm my men, I interrupted my works; that
+     is to say, in one hundred days I have made scrupulously exact plans
+     of the principal edifices, discovering that their architects made
+     use, in those remote times, of the metrical measure with its
+     divisions. I have made five hundred stereoscopic views, from which
+     I have selected eighty, equal to those that accompany this writing;
+     I have discovered hieroglyphics which I have caused to reappear
+     intact, and taken photographs of some that are said to be a
+     prophecy of the establishment of the electric telegraph between
+     _Saci_ (Valladolid of to-day), and _Ho_ (Merida); I have restored
+     mural paintings of great merit for the drawing, and for the history
+     they reveal; I have taken exact tracings of the same which form a
+     collection of twenty plates, some nearly one meter long; I have
+     discovered bas-reliefs which have nothing to envy in the
+     bas-reliefs of Assyria and Babylon; and, guided by my
+     interpretations of the ornaments, paintings, &c., &c., of the most
+     interesting building in Chichen (historically speaking), I have
+     found amidst the forest, eight meters under the soil, a statue of
+     Chaacmol, of calcareous stone, one meter, fifty-five centimeters
+     long, one meter, fifteen centimeters in height, and eighty
+     centimeters wide, weighing fifty kilos, or more; and this I
+     extracted without other machine than that invented by me, and
+     manufactured from trunks of trees with the _machete_ of my Indians.
+     I have opened two leagues of carriage road to carry my findings to
+     civilization; and finally I have built a rustic cart in which to
+     bring the statue to the high road that leads from [C]itas to
+     Merida. This statue, Mr. President, the only one of its kind in the
+     world, shows positively that the ancient inhabitants of America
+     have made, in the arts of drawing and sculpture, advances, equal at
+     least to those made by the Assyrian, Chaldean and Egyptian artists.
+
+     I will pause a moment to give you an idea of my works that concern
+     said statue, and soon bring to an end this writing. Guided, as I
+     have just said, by my interpretations of the mural paintings,
+     bas-reliefs, and other signs that I found in the monument raised to
+     the memory of the Chief Chaacmol, by his wife, the Queen of
+     Chichen, by which the stones speak to those who can understand
+     them, I directed my steps, inspired perhaps also by the instinct of
+     the archaeologist, to a dense part of the thicket. Only one Indian,
+     Desiderio Kansal, from the neighborhood of Sisal-Valladolid,
+     accompanied me. With his _machete_ he opened a path among the
+     weeds, vines and bushes, and I reached the place I sought. It was a
+     shapeless heap of rough stones. Around it were sculptured pieces
+     and bas-reliefs delicately executed. After cutting down the bush,
+     and clearing the spot, it presented the aspect which the plates No.
+     1 and 2 represent. A long stone, half interred among the others,
+     attracted my attention. Scraping away the earth from around it,
+     with the _machete_ and the hand, the effigy of a reclining tiger
+     soon appeared; plate No. 3 represents it. But the head was wanting.
+     This, of human form, I had the happiness to find, some meters
+     distant, among a pile of other carved stones.
+
+     My interpretations had been correct; everything I saw proved it to
+     me. I at once concentrated all my attention at this spot. Hunting
+     among the debris, I came across the bas-reliefs seen in plates 4,
+     2, and 5, which confirmed my conclusions. This pile of stones had
+     been in times past the pedestal that supported the effigy of the
+     dying tiger with a human head, which the Toltecs had thrown down
+     when they invaded Chichen, at the beginning of the Christian era.
+
+     With great exertion, aided by levers, my ten men again put these
+     bas-reliefs in the place they anciently occupied, and which plate
+     No. 1 shows.
+
+     Resolved to make an excavation at this spot, I commenced my work at
+     the upper part of the heap. I was not long in comprehending the
+     difficulty of the task. The pedestal, as in all the later monuments
+     which were raised in Chichen, was of loose stones, without mortar,
+     without cement of any kind. For one stone that was removed, a
+     hundred fell. The work was hence extremely dangerous. I possessed
+     no tools, nor machines of any description. I resorted to the
+     _machete_ of my Indians, the trees of the forest, and the vines
+     that entwine their trunks. I formed a frame-work to prevent the
+     falling of the stones.
+
+     This frame-work appears in plates 6, 7 and 8. It is composed of
+     trunks of trees of two to two-and-a-half inches in diameter,
+     secured with vines. In this way I was able to make an excavation
+     two meters, fifty centimeters square, to a depth of seven meters. I
+     then found a rough sort of urn of calcareous stone; it contained a
+     little dust, and upon it the cover of a coarse earthen pot, painted
+     with yellow ochre. (This cover has since been broken). It was
+     placed near the head of the statue, and the upper part, with the
+     three feathers that adorn it, appeared among loose stones, placed
+     around it with great care. Colonel D. Daniel Traconis, who had that
+     day come to visit, and bring me a few very welcome provisions, was
+     present when it was discovered. I continued the work with
+     precaution, and had the satisfaction, after excavating
+     one-and-a-half meters more, to see the entire statue appear.
+
+     Contemplating this admirable specimen of ancient art, seeing the
+     beauty of the carving of its expressive face, I was filled with
+     admiration! Henceforth the American artists could enter into
+     competition with those of Assyria and Egypt! But, on considering
+     its enormous weight, its colossal form (it is half as large again
+     as the natural size), I felt myself overwhelmed with dismay. How to
+     raise it from the profound bed where it had been deposited, five
+     thousand years ago, by its friends and the artificers, who with
+     excessive care raised the pedestal around it! I had no machines,
+     not even ropes. Only ten Indians accompanied me. The enterprise
+     was difficult; but when man wishes, he conquers difficulties, and
+     smooths all obstacles.
+
+     After some sleepless nights (the idea of being unable to present my
+     discoveries to the world did not let me rest), I resolved to open
+     the pedestal on the east side, form an inclined plane, construct a
+     capstan, make ropes with the bark of the _habin_ (a tree that grows
+     in these woods), and extract, by these means, my gem from the place
+     where it lay.
+
+     Plate 6 represents the opening made, and the inclined plane, the
+     lower part of which only reaches to the shoulder of the statue,
+     which is seen in the bottom of the excavation. Its depth is known
+     by comparing the height of the Indian standing near the statue, and
+     the one who is placed at a third part of the inclined plane.
+
+     Plate No. 7 represents the statue of Chaacmol at the moment of its
+     arrival at the upper part of the plane on the surface of the earth;
+     the cables of the _habin_ bark which served to extract it; the
+     construction of the capstan; and the profundity of the excavation.
+
+     Plate No. 8 represents the capstan that served me to raise the
+     statue, the size of which you may know, Sr. President, comparing it
+     with your servant and the Indians who aided at the work. The trunk
+     of a tree, with two hollowed stones, were the fundamental pieces of
+     the machine. These rings of stone were secured to the trunk with
+     vines. Two forked poles, whose extremities rest at each side of the
+     excavation, and the forked sticks tied up to the superior ring
+     embracing it, served as _arc-boutant_ in the direction where the
+     greatest force was to be applied. A tree-trunk, with its fork,
+     served as a fulcrum around which was wound the cable of bark. A
+     pole placed in the fork served as lever. It is with the aid of this
+     rustic capstan that my ten men were able to raise the heavy mass to
+     the surface in half an hour.
+
+     But my works were not to end there. True, the statue was on the
+     surface of the earth, but it was surrounded by debris, by ponderous
+     stones, and trunks of trees. Its weight was enormous compared with
+     the strength of my few men. These on the other hand worked by
+     halves. They always had the ear attentive to catch the least sound
+     that was perceived in the bush. The people of Crecencio Poot might
+     fall upon us at any moment, and exterminate us. True, we had
+     sentinels, but the forest is thick and immense, and those of
+     Chan-Santa-Cruz make their way through it with great facility.
+
+     Open roads there were none, not even to carry the statue of
+     Chaacmol to civilization if I had the means of transport.
+
+     Well, then, I had resolved that, cost what it might, the world
+     should know my statue--my statue, that was to establish my fame
+     forever among the scientific circles of the civilized world. I had
+     to carry it, but, alas! I calculated without the prohibitive
+     laws.... Sr. President, to-day, with grief I write it, it is buried
+     in the forests, where my wife and myself have concealed it. Perhaps
+     the world will only know it by my photographs, for I have yet to
+     open three long leagues of road to conduct it to [C]itas, and the
+     moment is already approaching when the doors of the American
+     Exhibition will open.
+
+     With all that, I have faith in the justice, intelligence, and
+     patriotism of the men who rule the destinies of the Mexican
+     Republic.
+
+     Will the man who, to place his country at the height of other
+     civilized nations, has known how to improvise, in less than three
+     months, an astronomical commission, and send it to Japan to observe
+     the transit of Venus, will he permit, I ask, the greatest discovery
+     ever made in American archaeology, to remain lost and unknown to the
+     scientific men, to the artists, to the travellers, to the choicest
+     of the nations that are soon to gather at Philadelphia? No! I do
+     not believe it! I do not wish to, I cannot believe it!
+
+     These difficulties, I had conquered! Plate No. 9 proves how, having
+     found the means of raising the statue from the depth of its
+     pedestal, I knew also how to make it pass over the debris that
+     impeded its progress. My few men armed with levers were able to
+     carry it where there was a rustic cart made by me with a _machete_.
+
+     With rollers and levers I was able to carry it over the sculptured
+     stones, its companions, that seemed to oppose its departure. But
+     with rollers and levers alone I could not take it to Piste, four
+     kilometers distant, much less to [C]itas, distant from Piste
+     sixteen kilometers; it needed a cart and that cart a road.
+
+     Sr. President, the cart has been made, the road has been opened
+     without any expense to the State. In fifteen days the statue
+     arrived at Piste, as proved by plate 11. Senor D. Daniel Traconis,
+     his wife and their young son, who had come to visit us, witnessed
+     the triumphal entrance of the Itza Chieftain Chaacmol, at Piste,
+     the first resting place on the road that leads from Chichen to
+     Philadelphia. I have opened more than three kilometers of good cart
+     road of five to six meters in width, from Piste toward [C]itas; but
+     for reasons that it is out of place to refer to here, and which I
+     have not been able up to the present time to alter, for they do not
+     depend on me, I have seen myself compelled to hurriedly abandon my
+     works on the 6th of the present month of January.
+
+     I have come with all speed to Merida, from which place I direct to
+     you the present writing; but until now, having to contend against
+     inertia, I have obtained nothing.
+
+     In view of the preceding relation, and finding myself in
+     disposition to make, before the scientific world, all the
+     explanations, amplifications and reports, that may be desired, upon
+     the grand discoveries that I have made in my investigations in the
+     ruins of Chichen;--among others, the existence of long-bearded men
+     among the inhabitants of the Peninsula 12,000 years ago, plate
+     12;--I conclude, asking you, Sr. President, to be pleased to
+     concede to me:--
+
+     1st. To carry the statues of Chaacmol, and some bas-reliefs that
+     have relation to the story of that Chieftain, and are represented
+     in the plates 4 and 5, together with my mural tracings, plans and
+     photographs, to the approaching Exposition of Philadelphia.
+
+     2nd. To name me one of the members of the Mexican Commission to
+     that Exposition, for I am the only person who can give the
+     information and explanations that may make known the celebrated
+     monuments of Chichen-Itza, and the importance that they have in the
+     prehistoric history of the human race in America.
+
+     3rd. To authorize my work and investigations in the ruins of
+     Yucatan, where I hope to make other discoveries equally and even,
+     perhaps, more important, than those made by me up to the present
+     date, ordering that the aid of armed force be afforded me for my
+     protection and that of my wife, whenever our investigations are
+     made in places where life is endangered by hostile Indians.
+
+     4th. That among the objects which the Mexican nation have to send
+     to the Exposition of Philadelphia, a place be reserved to me,
+     sufficient for the statues, bas-reliefs, drawings, photographs and
+     plans that have caused this petition.
+
+     5th. That in consequence of the short time that remains before the
+     opening of said Exposition, and the amount that yet remains for me
+     to do, particularly the opening of a cart road of 13 kilometers in
+     a thick forest in a country where all resources are wanting, you
+     may have the goodness to consider this petition at your earliest
+     convenience, which grace I doubt not to obtain from the illustrious
+     Chief Magistrate of the Nation to whom I have the honor of
+     subscribing myself.
+
+     AUG^{TUS} LE PLONGEON, M. D.
+
+     MERIDA, January 27, 1876.
+
+     NOTE. The references to plates in this paper do not agree with the
+     numbers on the helioscopic illustrations.
+
+Before leaving Chichen-Itza, at about the date of the above _Memorial_,
+the statue, as has been already stated, was concealed in the forest near
+the town of Piste, carefully protected from the weather by Dr. and Mrs.
+Le Plongeon, and an answer from the Mexican Government was eagerly
+awaited. After long delay, a simple refusal to allow the statue to be
+exported was the only reply. Dr. Le Plongeon then prepared his
+photographs and a small collection of relics for shipment to the United
+States, to be offered at the Centennial Exhibition of 1876. These
+interesting offerings were accompanied by a letter to the President of
+the Centennial Commission, recounting the great disappointment of not
+being able to send the statue, but entreating a careful consideration of
+the pictures. The letter was dated Merida, August 30, 1876. By
+unfortunate delays and misunderstandings, the articles above mentioned
+never reached their destination, and in March of the present year were
+purchased by the writer.
+
+The relics are interesting specimens of pottery and of the ornaments or
+weapons that were found with the statue, whose excavation has been
+described by the discoverer himself. The Jade Points and Flints are very
+carefully wrought, and suggest rather the idea of selection as symbols
+than of ordinary warlike implements. A portion or all of the articles
+mentioned, together with ashes, were found in a stone urn, and are shown
+on the opposite page.[74-*]
+
+[Illustration: _Relics found in the excavation with the Statue exhumed
+by Dr. Augustus Le Plongeon at Chichen-Itza, Yucatan, together with
+specimens of axes and spear heads from Cozumel._
+
+DESCRIPTION OF PLATE.
+
+A picture of the relics found by Dr. Le Plongeon with the statue which
+he exhumed at Chichen-Itza. They were intended for exhibition at
+Philadelphia, together with the photographs which have been mentioned,
+but failed in reaching their destination. It is not supposed that the
+above were the only or the most valuable of the curiosities found in
+connection with the statue.
+
+The three pieces of pottery bear the original labels, "_From the
+Mausoleum of the chieftain Chaac-mol (tiger,) Chichen-Itza. At least
+5000 years old. Augustus Le Plongeon, M. D._" They were found near the
+head of the statue. The dish on the left stands on three short legs,
+perforated so that an object might be suspended from it, and the larger
+dish has similar legs, without perforation. The bowl at the right is
+decorated with tracings and other embellishments.
+
+Below are axes and flint spears from the Island of Cozumel. Next follow
+fossil shells, collected by Mrs. Alice Le Plongeon from an excavation at
+Chichen-Itza, which may be useful in a scientific point of view.
+
+The Jade Points are beautiful specimens, and may have been used for
+ceremonial purposes. The arrow-heads are of flint, very carefully
+finished, and have minute grooves at the base. 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_.]
+
+Merida, the capital of the State of Yucatan, has an institution
+called _El Museo Yucateco_, founded in 1871, under the direction of Sr.
+Dn. Crecencio Carillo Ancona, and it is now managed by Sr. Dn. Juan Peon
+Contreras. In its collections are pieces of antique sculpture in stone,
+plaster casts and pottery 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 has been the
+province of the Museo Nacional in the city of Mexico. But 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 neighborhood of the town of Piste by the Governor of Yucatan,
+under 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 Merida. The commission
+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 and addresses were made, which are preserved
+in a pamphlet of 27 pages. An account of its arrival at Merida, on March
+1, is given in the _Periodico 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 ferocious 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
+     itself in order to execute a cruel and bloody threat. This precious
+     object of antiquity is worthy of the study 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 expanse 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 the article in the journal above quoted,
+must have been imposing. It was the intention of the authorities to
+place the statue in the Yucatan Museum, 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 city.
+
+All the above proceedings took place without the consent, and contrary
+to the wishes, of Dr. Le Plongeon, who at that time was absent from
+Merida, in the Island of Cozumel, and was therefore unable to offer
+opposition.
+
+In order to furnish further testimony to the high estimation 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 Merida, of date Aug. 12, is inserted entire:--
+
+     OFFICIAL STATEMENT OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE MUSEO YUCATECO.
+
+     _To Sr. D. AUGUSTIN DEL RIO_,
+
+     _Provisional Governor of the State of Yucatan._
+
+     A short historical notice of the stone image "Chac-Mool,"
+     discovered in the celebrated ruins of Chichen-Itza, by the learned
+     Archaeologist, Mr. Le Plongeon, to be preserved in the National
+     Museum of Mexico, for which place it is destined.
+
+     MERIDA, 1877.
+
+     There exist, in the deserts of Yucatan, at about 36 leagues--108
+     miles--from Merida, some very notable monumental ruins, known by
+     the name of Chichen-Itza, whose origin is lost in the night of
+     time. Their situation, in the hostile section of revolutionary
+     Indians (_Sublivados_), caused them to be very little visited
+     until, to the general astonishment, an American traveller, the wise
+     archaeologist 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 photographic 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
+     sufferings and risks of that very forlorn neighborhood, and passed
+     their days in producing exact plans, and transferring to paper the
+     wall paintings that are still preserved upon some of the edifices,
+     such as _Akabsib_--(dark writings).
+
+     There came a day on 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
+     imperfect, that measured 9 Spanish inches in thickness, by 5 feet
+     3-1/2 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 human head, and which it is presumed
+     surmounted the monument before the time of its destruction.
+
+     Employing a protection of limbs and trunks of trees, and providing
+     a capstan with ropes made from the bark of the grapevine, by force
+     of perseverance the learned Le Plongeon was 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 succeeded in bringing it, in 15 days, as far as the
+     uninhabited town of Piste, two miles from the ruins, upon a wagon
+     constructed for the purpose, hiding it in the neighborhood of the
+     above town, while he informed himself about his supposed rights.
+     The indefatigable traveller came to Merida, 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 occupied himself in visiting other ruins, busying
+     himself between the Island of Cozumel and that of Mugeres, until
+     peace should be established in the State, and the Sr. General
+     Guerra should be nominated Provisional Governor.
+
+     At the suggestion of the subscriber the Governor allowed the
+     transportation 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. Overcoming the thousand
+     difficulties 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 "_Conex! Conex!_" which signifies in their language, "Let
+     us go! Let us go!"
+
+     Upon the 26th of the same month and year, the historical and
+     monumental city of Izamal 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 Merida 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 6 leagues of almost
+     inaccessible country from Piste to [C]itas, from where begins the
+     broad road. It was intended to surround it with a wooden fence
+     upon which should be engraved this inscription in golden letters:--
+
+     "CHAC-MOOL
+
+     The discovery of the wise archaeologist, Mr. Le Plongeon, in the
+     ruins of Chichen-Itza.
+
+     General Protasio Guerra being Governor of the State of Yucatan. It
+     was brought to the Museo Yucateco on the 1st of March, 1877, by
+     Juan Peon Contreras, Director of the Museum."
+
+     Still later, at the decision of the Governor of the State, Sr. D.
+     Augustin 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.
+
+     MERIDA, 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 Philadelphia, this traveller passed his time in investigations
+among the islands of the east coast of the Peninsula, particularly those
+of Mugeres and Cozumel. His observations there--as well as much
+additional information regarding the architecture of Chichen-Itza and
+Uxmal, 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 inferences 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 statue and other
+discoveries from the country; and also a demand for redress and
+compensation, as an American citizen, 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 light. This statement, with the correspondence which
+accompanies it, is intended also to be offered 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 disappointments, a legal
+statement of his wrongs cannot be discussed in this paper.
+
+
+     EXTRACTS FROM A COMMUNICATION OF DR. LE PLONGEON TO THE HONORABLE
+     JOHN W. FOSTER, MINISTER OF THE UNITED STATES AT MEXICO, DATED
+     ISLAND OF COZUMEL, MAY 1, 1877.
+
+     Chichen-Itza is situated in the territories occupied by subjects of
+     Don Crecencio Poot, Chief of Chan-Santa-Cruz. In 1847, this chief
+     and others refused to acknowledge any longer their allegiance to
+     the Mexican 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 south. 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 is 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 from Piste, 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 modern, but also to the comparatively
+     ancient, for it has escaped destruction from the hands of the
+     natives. A people, starting from the vicinity 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 holy and wise men_ (Itzaes), the seat of a very advanced
+     civilization, 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 effigies 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
+     enraged iconoclasts. Not so, however, the effigies and emblems that
+     adorned and surmounted the monuments raised to perpetuate the
+     remembrance 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 deciphering some hieroglyphics, mural paintings and bas-reliefs.
+
+     On the 5th of January, 1876, I conducted the statue of Chaacmol on
+     the road to [C]itas, and at about a quarter of a mile from Piste,
+     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 inclemencies 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 effigy of an _ara_,
+     eating a human heart, 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 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 brilliant 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 Uxmal 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 conquered 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 bearded 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
+     commerce 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 Chichen a
+     great metropolis in whose temples pilgrims from all parts came to
+     worship and even offer their own persons as a sacrifice to the
+     Almighty. There also came the wise men of the world to consult the
+     _H-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 from 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
+     the funeral chamber.
+
+     Motul is a pretty town of 4000 inhabitants, situated about 10
+     leagues from Merida. 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. All are in a very ruinous
+     condition, 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 the worship of the phallus had
+     once been in vogue among some of the inhabitants of the Peninsula.
+     I discovered emblems of that worship, so common with the natives of
+     Hindostan 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 whilst
+     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 the arrival of the Spaniards the monuments of Chichen-Itza were
+     in ruins and were looked upon with awe, wonder and respect, by the
+     inhabitants of the country, when 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. The 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? Strange 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? 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 migrations of the human family on this old continent.
+     Did the bearded men whose portraits are carved on the massive
+     pillars of the fortress at Chichen-Itza, belong to the Mayan
+     nations? The Maya language is not devoid of words from the
+     Assyrian.
+
+     We made up our minds to visit Ake, the place where the Spaniards
+     escaping from Chichen took refuge in the first days of the
+     conquest. The land where these ruins 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 form now the whole 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 preserved monument of Ake, 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 least 5760 years. The monuments 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 Chichen-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 Ake
+     are composed of large blocks of stone, generally square, often
+     oblong in shape, superposed, 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 Tixkokob. We brought with us the
+     photograph views, and plans of the principal 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 people have questioned me on the strange
+     idea of burying such beautiful 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 immortality of the soul,
+     and its existence after its earthly mission was accomplished. 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; 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, according 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 Uxmal. On examining the
+     ornaments 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
+     construction, 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 architecture,
+     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 facade 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 the horizon. Contrary winds retarded our journey and
+     obliged us 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 industry is
+     fishing. For Indian corn and beans--the staple articles of food
+     throughout Yucatan--they depend altogether on the main land;
+     vegetables 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
+     effigies 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
+     sand in front of the building. The soil at that place is profusely
+     strewn with fragments of images wrought in clay, representing
+     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 provide themselves with hewn stones. After
+     much delay I was able to obtain a boat and men. We set sail for
+     Meco, the nearest place situated on another island close to the
+     shores of the main land. There I found a ruined edifice 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 composed of seven
+     _andenes_. This building is without a doubt an ancient temple. We
+     next visited Nisucte. 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 that 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, must have been the
+     real site of _Ekab_. 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 _Kukulcan_.
+
+     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
+     Cozumel. This island, called by the ancient Mayas _Cozmil_ (place
+     for swallows), was the rendezvous of Indian pilgrims who flocked
+     thither every year to pay homage at the numerous temples, the ruins
+     of which are to be found in the thick forests that now cover it.
+     The expected opportunity offering 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 fish and innumerable turtles sport in the lagoons, while
+     curlews, snipe, ducks and other aquatic fowls flock on their
+     shores; and not the least of the gifts with which the munificent
+     hand of nature has so bountifully endowed this delicious oasis of
+     the ocean is its delightful and soft, yet invigorating, climate,
+     that makes well nigh useless the art of the physician.
+
+     At some epoch it is evident that the whole island was under
+     cultivation, which is proved by the stone fences that divide it
+     into small parcels 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
+     archaeologically 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 construction 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 design of entablature, with some little difference 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 independent and separate arches, the only ones we
+     ever met with in our 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-chamber, and the sanctuary or holy of holies. In this case the
+     ante-chamber measures 59 inches in width by 2 yards and 33 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
+     mischievousness, 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 diminutive race of men, but little advanced in the arts of
+     civilization, dwelt on 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 country, 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 competent to
+determine their importance and bearing. The value of the statue called
+Chac-Mool, as an archaeological treasure, cannot be questioned. It is the
+only remaining human figure of a high type of art, finished "in the
+round" known to have been discovered in America since the occupation of
+Maya territory in the 16th century.
+
+The idols of Copan have expressive human countenances,[89-*] though they
+are distorted in order to inspire awe and fear in the beholder, but no
+attempt was there made to depict the graceful proportions of the nude
+figure. They stand perpendicularly, 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 2/3 of the length of the front,
+while the back of the block is a straight surface and is covered with
+emblems and hieroglyphics. The sculptures of Palenque[89-[+]] have many
+of them much artistic beauty, but they are all of them attached figures,
+as it is believed are also the beautiful statues of Nineveh.[89-[++]]
+Even the slightest touching makes a figure "in relief." This statue from
+Chichen-Itza has all the appearance of being intended as the 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 higher rank in sculpture than
+any other in America, of which we have ocular proof at this day. It is a
+noteworthy circumstance in the controversy regarding the seizure of the
+statue 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, has 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 the
+same locality, Chichen-Itza, which place he speaks of as famous for its
+ruins.[90-*] 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 that 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,[90-[+]] and he says: "As regards Seigneurs
+and people of superior condition, 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."[90-[++]]
+
+The statue discovered seems to resemble those spoken of by Landa in all
+the 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.[90-Sec.]
+
+A remark to Dr. Le Plongeon about the statues above described drew from
+him the following statement: "We have seen the remnants of the statues
+you referred to as mentioned by Landa; some one has broken them to
+pieces." He 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 the three communications
+contained in this paper, that from his interpretation of mural paintings
+and hieroglyphics in the building upon the South-East wall of the
+Gymnasium at Chichen-Itza, he was induced to make the excavation which
+resulted in his discovery. Elsewhere we learn that in the same building,
+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
+chieftain, 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 contained 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. 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 London, 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 Plongeon finds himself deprived of all
+the material results of his labors and sacrifices which could secure him
+an adequate return. We hope that he may soon receive just and
+satisfactory treatment from the government, and a fitting recognition
+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 des 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 consequence 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 Luxembourg, and also to the Bureau of
+the Societe des Americanistes at Paris.
+
+
+     LETTER FROM DR. LE PLONGEON.
+
+     ISLAND OF COZUMEL, YUCATAN,}
+     June 15, 1877.             }
+
+     _Stephen Salisbury, jr., esq., Worcester, Mass.:_--
+
+     Dear Sir,-- ... The London Times of Wednesday, January 3, 1877,
+     contains views on the projected congress of the so-called
+     Americanists, that is expected to be held at Luxembourg in
+     September next. Was the writing intended for a damper? If so, it
+     did not miss its aim. It must have frozen to the very core the
+     enthusiasm of the many dreamers and speculators on the prehistoric
+     nations that inhabited this western continent. As for me, I felt
+     its chill even under the burning rays of the tropical sun of
+     Yucatan, notwithstanding I am, or ought to be, well inured to them
+     during the four years that my wife and myself are rambling among
+     the ruined cities of the Mayas.
+
+     True, I am but a cool searcher of the stupendous monuments of the
+     mighty races that are no more, but have left the history of their
+     passage on earth written on the stones of the palaces of their
+     rulers, upon the temples of their gods. The glowing fires of
+     enthusiasm do not overheat my imagination, even if the handiwork of
+     the ancient artists and architects--if the science of the Itza
+     _H-Menes_--wise men, fill my heart with a surprise akin to
+     admiration. Since four years we ask the stones to disclose the
+     secrets they conceal. The portraits of the ancient kings, those of
+     the men with long beards, who seem to have held high offices among
+     these people, have become familiarized with us, and we with them.
+     At times they appear to our eyes to be not quite devoid of life,
+     not entirely deaf to our voice. Not unfrequently the meaning of
+     some sculpture, of some character, of some painting,--till then
+     obscure, unintelligible, puzzling,--all of a sudden becomes clear,
+     easy to understand, full of meaning.
+
+     Many a strange story of human greatness and pride, of human, petty
+     and degrading passions, weakness and imperfections, has thus been
+     divulged to us;--while we were also told of the customs of the
+     people; of the scientific acquirements of the _H-Menes_; of the
+     religious rites observed by the _kins_ (priests); of their
+     impostures, and of the superstition they inculcated to the masses;
+     of the communication held by the merchants of Chichen with the
+     traders from Asia and Africa; of the politeness of courtiers and
+     gracefulness of the queen; of the refinement of the court; of the
+     funeral ceremonies, and of the ways they disposed of the dead; of
+     the terrible invasions of barbarous Nahua tribes; of the
+     destruction, at their hands, of the beautiful metropolis
+     Chichen-Itza, the centre of civilization, the emporium of the
+     countries comprised between the eastern shores of Mayapan and the
+     western of Xibalba; of the subsequent decadence of the nations; of
+     their internal strife during long ages. For here, in reckoning
+     time, we must not count by centuries but millenaries. We do not, in
+     thus speaking, indulge in conjectures--for, verily, the study of
+     the walls leaves no room for supposition to him who quietly
+     investigates and compares.
+
+     How far Mrs. Le Plongeon and myself have been able to interpret the
+     mural paintings, bas-reliefs, sculptures and hieroglyphics, the
+     results of our labors show. (Some of them have been lately
+     published in the "Illustration Hispano-Americana" of Madrid.) The
+     excavating of the magnificent statue of the Itza king, Chac-Mool,
+     buried about five thousand years ago by his wife, the queen of
+     Chichen, at eight metres under ground (that statue has just been
+     wrenched from our hands by the Mexican government, without even an
+     apology, but the photographs may be seen at the residence of Mr.
+     Henry Dixon, No. 112 Albany street, Regent park, London, and the
+     engravings of it in the "Ilustracion Hispano-Americana"); the
+     knowledge of the place where lies that of Huuncay, the elder
+     brother of Chac-Mool, interred at twelve metres under the
+     surface--of the site where the _H-Menes_ hid their libraries
+     containing the history of their nation--the knowledge and sciences
+     they had attained, would of itself be an answer to Professor
+     Mommsen's ridiculous assertion, that we are anxious to find what
+     _cannot be known_, or what would be _useless_ if discovered. It is
+     not the place here to refute the learned professor's sayings; nor
+     is it worth while. Yet I should like to know if he would refuse as
+     _useless_ the treasures of King Priam because made of gold that
+     belongs to the archaic times--what gold does not? Or, if he would
+     turn up his nose at the wealth of Agamemnon because he knows that
+     the gold and precious stones that compose it were wrought by
+     artificers who lived four thousand years ago, should Dr. Schliemann
+     feel inclined to offer them to him. What says Mr. Mommsen?
+
+     Besides my discovery of the statues, bas-reliefs, etc., etc., which
+     would be worth many thousands of pounds sterling to--if the Mexican
+     government did not rob them from--the discoverers, the study of the
+     works of generations that have preceded us affords me the pleasure
+     of following the tracks of the human mind through the long vista of
+     ages to discover that its pretended progress and development are
+     all imaginary, at least on earth. I have been unable to the present
+     day to trace it. I really see no difference between the civilized
+     man of today and the civilized man of five thousand years ago. I do
+     not perceive that the human mind is endowed in our times with
+     powers superior to those it possessed in ages gone by, but clearly
+     discern that these powers are directed in different channels. Will
+     Professor Mommsen pretend that this is also _useless_ after being
+     found? Man today is the same as man was when these monuments, which
+     cause the wonder of the modern traveller, were reared. Is he not
+     influenced by the same instincts, the same wants, the same
+     aspirations, the same mental and physical diseases?
+
+     I consider mankind alike to the waters of the ocean; their surface
+     is ever changing, while in their depths is the same eternal,
+     unchangeable stillness and calm. So man superficially. He reflects
+     the images of times and circumstances. His intellect develops and
+     expands only according to the necessities of the moment and place.
+     As the waves, he cannot pass the boundaries assigned to him by the
+     unseen, impenetrable Power to which all things are subservient. He
+     is irresistibly impulsed toward his inevitable goal--the grave.
+     There, as far as he positively knows, all his powers are silenced.
+     But from there also he sees springing new forms of life that have
+     to fulfil, in their turn, their destiny in the great laboratory of
+     creation. The exploration of the monuments of past generations, all
+     bearing the peculiarities, the idiosyncracies of the builders, has
+     convinced me that the energies of human mind and intellect are the
+     same in all times. They come forth in proportion to the
+     requirements of the part they are to represent in the great drama
+     of life, the means in the stupendous mechanism of the universe
+     being always perfectly and wisely adapted to the ends. It is
+     therefore absurd to judge of mental attainments of man in different
+     epochs and circumstances by comparison with our actual
+     civilization. For me the teachings of archaeology are these:
+     "Tempora mutantur, mores etiam in illis; sicut ante homini etiam
+     manent anima et mens."
+
+     Alchemists have gone out of fashion, thank God! Would that the old
+     sort of antiquaries, who lose their time, and cause others to lose
+     theirs also, in discussing idle speculations, might follow suit.
+     History requires facts,--these facts, proofs. These proofs are not
+     to be found in the few works of the travellers that have hastily
+     visited the monuments that strew the soil of Central America,
+     Mexico and Peru, and given of them descriptions more or less
+     accurate--very often erroneous--with appreciations always affected
+     by their individual prejudices. The customs and attainments of all
+     sorts of the nations that have lived on the western continent,
+     before it was America, must be studied in view of the monuments
+     they have left; or of the photographs, tracings of mural paintings,
+     etc., etc., which are as good as the originals themselves. Not even
+     the writings of the chroniclers of the time of the Spanish conquest
+     can be implicitly relied upon. The writers on the one hand were in
+     all cases blinded by their religious fanaticism; in many by their
+     ignorance; on the other, the people who inhabited the country at
+     the time of the arrival of the conquerors were not the builders of
+     the ancient monuments. Many of these were then in ruins and looked
+     upon by the inhabitants, as they are today, with respect and awe.
+     True, many of the habits and customs of the ancients, to a certain
+     extent, existed yet among them; but disfigured, distorted by time,
+     and the new modes of thinking and living introduced by the
+     invaders; while, strange to say, the language remained unaltered.
+     Even today, in many places in Yucatan the descendants of the
+     Spanish conquerors have forgotten the native tongue of their sires,
+     and only speak _Maya_, the idiom of the vanquished. Traditions,
+     religious rites, superstitious practices, dances, were handed down
+     from generation to generation. But, as the sciences were of old the
+     privilege of the few, the colleges and temples of learning having
+     been destroyed at the downfall of Chichen, the knowledge was
+     imparted by the fathers to their sons, under the seal of the utmost
+     secrecy. Through the long vista of generations, notwithstanding the
+     few books that existed at the time of the conquest, and were in
+     great part destroyed by Bishop Landa and other fanatical monks, the
+     learning of the _H-Menes_ became adulterated in passing from mouth
+     to mouth, merely committed to memory, and was at last lost and
+     changed into the many ridiculous notions and strange practices said
+     to have been consigned afterward to these writings.
+
+     Withal the knowledge of reading those books was retained by some of
+     the descendants of the _H-Menes_. I would not take upon myself to
+     assert positively that some of the inhabitants of Peten--the place
+     where the Itzas took refuge at the beginning of the Christian era
+     after the destruction of their city--are not still in possession of
+     the secret. At all events, I was told that people who could read
+     the Maya _pic-huun_ (books), and to whom the deciphering of the
+     _Uooh_ (letters) and the figurative characters was known, existed
+     as far back as forty years ago, but kept their knowledge a secret,
+     lest they should be persecuted by the priests as wizards and their
+     precious volume wrenched from them and destroyed. The Indians hold
+     them yet in great veneration. I am ready to give full credit to
+     this assertion, for during my rambles and explorations in Peru and
+     Bolivia I was repeatedly informed that people existed ensconced in
+     remote nooks of the Andes, who could interpret the _quippus_
+     (string writing) and yet made use of them to register their family
+     records, keep account of their droves of llamas and other
+     property.
+
+     I will not speak here at length of the monuments of Peru, that
+     during eight years I have diligently explored; for, with but few
+     exceptions, they dwindle into insignificance when compared with the
+     majestic structures reared by the Mayas, the Caras, or Carians, and
+     other nations of Central America, and become, therefore, devoid of
+     interest in point of architecture and antiquity; excepting,
+     however, the ruins of Tiahuanaco, that were already ruins at the
+     time of the foundation of the Incas' empire, in the eleventh
+     century of our era, and so old that the memory of the builders was
+     lost in the abysm of time. The Indians used to say that these were
+     the work of giants who lived _before the sun shone in the heavens_.
+     It is well known that the Incas had no writing characters or
+     hieroglyphics. The monuments raised by their hands do not afford
+     any clew to their history. Dumb walls merely, their mutism leaves
+     large scope to imagination, and one may conjecture any but the
+     right thing. Of the historical records of that powerful but
+     short-lived dynasty we have nothing left but the few imperfect and
+     rotten _quippus_ which are occasionally disinterred from the
+     _huacas_.
+
+     If we desire to know anything about the civil laws and policy, the
+     religious rites and ceremonies of the Incas, their scanty
+     scientific attainments, and their very few and rude artistic
+     attempts, we are obliged to recur to the "Comentarios reales" of
+     Garcilasso de la Vega, to the _Decadas_ of Herrera, to Zarata and
+     other writers of the time of the conquest of Peru by Francisco
+     Pizarro. None of them--Montesinos excepted--try to shed any light
+     on the origin of _Manco-Ceapac_ and that of his sister and wife,
+     _Mama-Oello_, nor on the state of the country before their arrival
+     at Cuzco.
+
+     I have been most happy in my researches into the history of this
+     founder of the Inca dynasty, whom many consider a mere mythical
+     being. In the library of the British Museum I came across an old
+     Spanish manuscript, written by a Jesuit father, A. Anilla, under,
+     as he asserts, the dictation of a certain _Catari_, an
+     ex-_quippucamayoe_,--archive-keeper.
+
+     Writing now from memory, far away from my books, notes, plans,
+     etc., etc., left for safe-keeping in the hands of a friend in
+     Merida, I do not remember the number of the catalogue. But it is
+     easy to look for "_Las vidas de los hombres ilustres de la compania
+     de Jesus en las Provincias del Peru_," where I have read of the
+     origin of Manco-Ceapac, of his wanderings from the sea coasts to
+     those of the lake of Titicaca, and hence through the country till
+     at last he arrived at the village of Cuzco, where he was kindly
+     received by the inhabitants and established himself. This MS. also
+     speaks of the history of his ancestors, of their arrival at Tumbes
+     after leaving their homes in the countries of the north in search
+     of some lost relatives, of their slow progress toward the South,
+     and the vain inquiries about their friends, etc., etc. Now that I
+     have studied part of the history of the Mayas and become acquainted
+     with their customs, as pictured in the mural paintings that adorn
+     the walls of the inner room of the monument raised to the memory of
+     Chac-Mool by the Queen of Itza, his wife, on the south end of the
+     east wall of the gymnasium, at Chichen (the tracings of these
+     paintings are in our power), and also in the traditions and customs
+     of their descendants, by comparing them with those of the Quichuas,
+     I cannot but believe that Manco's ancestors emigrated from Xibalba
+     or Mayapan, carrying with them the notions of the mother country,
+     which they inculcated to their sons and grandsons, and introduced
+     them among the tribes that submitted to their sway.
+
+     Let it be remembered that the Quichua was not the mother-tongue of
+     the Incas, who in court spoke a language unknown to the common
+     people. They, for political motives, and particularly to destroy
+     the feuds that existed between the inhabitants of the different
+     provinces of their vast dominions, ordered the Quichua to be taught
+     to and learned by everybody, and to be regarded as the tongue of
+     _Ttahuantinsuyu_. Their subjects, from however distant parts of the
+     empire could then also understand each other, and came with time to
+     consider themselves as members of the same family.
+
+     I have bestowed some attention upon the study of the Quichua. Not
+     being acquainted with the dialects of the Aryan nations previous
+     to their separation, I would not pretend to impugn the grand
+     discovery of Mr. Lopez. But I can positively assert that
+     expressions are not wanting in the Peruvian tongue that bear as
+     strong a family resemblance to the dialects spoken in the Sandwich
+     Islands and Tahiti, where I resided a few months, as the ruins of
+     Tiahuanaco to those of Easter Island, that are composed of stones
+     not to be found today in that place. When I visited it I was struck
+     with the perfect similitude of the structures found there and the
+     colossal statues, which forcibly recalled to my mind those said by
+     Pinelo to have existed in Tiahuanaco even at the time of the
+     Spanish conquest. This similarity in the buildings and language of
+     the people separated by such obstacles as the deep water of the
+     Pacific, hundreds of miles apart, cannot be attributed to a mere
+     casual coincidence. To my mind it plainly shows that communications
+     at some epoch or other have existed between these countries. On
+     this particular point I have a theory of my own, which I think I
+     can sustain by plausible facts, not speculative; but this is not
+     the place to indulge in theories. I will, therefore, refrain from
+     intruding mine on your readers. On the other hand, they are welcome
+     to see it in the discourse I have pronounced before the American
+     Geographical Society of New York in January, 1873, which has been
+     published in the New York Tribune, lecture sheet No. 8.
+
+     The Quichua contains also many words that seem closely allied to
+     the dialects spoken by the nations inhabiting the regions called
+     today Central America and the Maya tongue. It would not be
+     surprising that some colony emigrating from these countries should
+     have reached the beautiful valley of Cuzco, and established
+     themselves in it, in times so remote that we have no tradition even
+     of the event. It is well known that the Quichua was the language of
+     the inhabitants of the valley of Cuzco exclusively before it became
+     generalized in _Ttahuantinsuyu_, and it is today the place where it
+     is spoken with more perfection and purity.
+
+     In answer to the question, if man came from the older (?) world of
+     Asia,--and if so how, there are several points to consider, and not
+     the least important relates to the relative antiquity of the
+     continents. You are well aware that geologists, naturalists and
+     other scientists are not wanting who, with the late Professor
+     Agassiz, sustain that this western continent is as old, if not
+     older, than Asia and Europe, or Africa. Leaving this question to be
+     settled by him who may accomplish it, I will repeat here what I
+     have sustained long ago: that the American races are autochthonous,
+     and have had many thousand years ago relations with the inhabitants
+     of the other parts of the earth just as we have them today. This
+     fact I can prove by the mural paintings and bas-reliefs, and more
+     than all by the portraits of men with long beards that are to be
+     seen in Chichen Itza, not to speak of the Maya tongue, which
+     contains expressions from nearly every language spoken in olden
+     times (to this point I will recur hereafter), and also by the small
+     statues of tumbaya (a mixture of silver and copper) found in the
+     huacas of Chimu, near Trujillo on the Peruvian coast, and by those
+     of the valley of Chincha.
+
+     These statues, which seem to belong to a very ancient date,
+     generally represent a man seated cross-legged on the back of a
+     turtle. The head is shaved, except the top, where the hair is left
+     to grow, and is plaited Chinese fashion. Not unfrequently the arms
+     are extended, the hands rest upon pillars inscribed with characters
+     much resembling Chinese. I have had one of these curious objects
+     long in my possession. Notwithstanding being much worn by time and
+     the salts contained in the earth, it was one of the most perfect I
+     have seen. It was found in the valley of Chincha. I showed it one
+     day to a learned Chinaman, and was quite amused in watching his
+     face while he examined the image. His features betrayed so vividly
+     the different emotions that preyed upon his mind,--curiosity,
+     surprise, awe, superstitious fear. I asked him if he understood the
+     characters engraved on the pillars? "Yes," said he, "these are the
+     ancient letters used in China before the invention of those in
+     usage today. That"--pointing to the image he had replaced, with
+     signs of respect and veneration, on the table--"is very old; very
+     great thing,--only very wise men and saints are allowed to touch
+     it." After much ado and coaxing, he at last told me, in a voice as
+     full of reverence as a Brahmin would in uttering the sacred word
+     O-A-UM, that the meaning of the inscription was _Fo_.
+
+     Some families of Indians, that live in the remote _bolsones_ (small
+     valleys of the Andes), sport even today a cue as the inhabitants of
+     the Celestial empire, and the people in Eten, a small village near
+     Piura, speak a language unknown to their neighbors, and are said to
+     easily hold converse with the coolies of the vicinage. When and how
+     did this intercourse exist, is rather difficult to answer. I am
+     even timorous to insinuate it, lest the believers in the chronology
+     of the Bible, who make the world a little more than 5800 years old,
+     should come down upon me, and, after pouring upon my humble self
+     their most damning anathemas, consign me, at the dictates of their
+     sectarian charity, to that place over the door of which Dante
+     read,--
+
+       Perme si va tra la perduta gente.
+           *     *     *     *     *
+       Lasciate ogni speranza voi ch' entrate.
+
+     And yet mine is not the fault if reason tells me that the climate
+     of Tiahuanaco, situated near the shores of the lake of Titicaca,
+     13,500 feet above the sea, must not have always been what it is
+     now, otherwise the ground around it, and for many miles barren,
+     would not have been able to support the population of a large city.
+     Today it produces merely a few _ocas_ (a kind of small potato that
+     is preserved frozen), and yields scanty crops of maize and beans.
+     Tiahuanaco _may_, at some distant period, have enjoyed the
+     privilege of being a seaport. Nothing opposes this supposition. On
+     one hand, it is a well-known fact that, owing to the conical motion
+     of the earth, the waters retreat continually from the western
+     coasts of America, which rise at a certain known ratio every
+     century. On the other hand, the bank of oysters and other marine
+     shells and debris, found on the slopes of the Andes to near their
+     summits, obviously indicate that at some time or other the sea has
+     covered them.
+
+     When was that? I will leave to sectarians to compute, lest the
+     reckoning should carry us back to that time when the space between
+     Tiahuanaco and Easter Island was dry land, and the valleys and
+     plains now lying under the waters of the Pacific swarmed with
+     industrious, intelligent human beings, were strewn with cities and
+     villas, yielded luxuriant crops to the inhabitants, and the figure
+     should show that people lived there before the creation of the
+     world. I recoil with horror at the mere idea of being even
+     suspected of insinuating such an heretical doctrine.
+
+     But if the builders of the strange structures on Easter Island have
+     had, then, communications with the rearers of Tiahuanaco by _land_,
+     then we may easily account for the many coincidences which exist
+     between the laws, religious rites, sciences,--astronomical and
+     others,--customs, monuments, languages, and even dresses, of the
+     inhabitants of this Western continent, and those of Asia and
+     Africa. Hence the similarity of many Asiatic and American notions.
+     Hence, also, the generalized idea of a deluge among men, whose
+     traditions remount to the time when the waters that covered the
+     plains of America, Europe, Africa and Asia left their beds, invaded
+     the portions of the globe they now occupy, and destroyed their
+     inhabitants.
+
+     Since that time, when, of course, all communications were cut
+     between the few individuals that escaped the cataclysm by taking
+     refuge on the highlands, their intercourse has been renewed at
+     different and very remote epochs--a fact that I can easily prove.
+
+     But, why should we lose ourselves in the mazes of supposition,
+     where we run a fair chance of wandering astray, when we may recur
+     to the monuments of Yucatan? These are unimpeachable witnesses that
+     the Peninsula was inhabited by civilized people many thousand years
+     ago, even before the time ascribed by the Mosaic records to the
+     creation.
+
+     Among the ruins of Ake, a city unique in Yucatan for its strange
+     architecture, evidently built by giants, whose bones are now and
+     then disinterred, a city that was inhabited at the time of the
+     conquest, and where the Spaniards retreated for safety after the
+     defeat they suffered at the hands of the dwellers of the country
+     near the ruins of Chichen-Itza, is to be seen an immense building
+     composed of three superposed platforms. The upper one forms a
+     terrace supporting three rows of twelve columns. Each column is
+     composed of eight large square stones, piled one upon the other,
+     without cement, to a height of four metres, and indicate a lapse of
+     160 years in the life of the nation. These stones are, or were,
+     called _Katun_. Every twenty years, amid the rejoicings of the
+     people, another stone was added to those already piled up, and a
+     new era or epoch was recorded in the history and life of the
+     people. After seven of these stones had thus been placed--that is
+     to say, after a lapse of 140 years--they began the _Ahau-Katun_, or
+     King Katun, when a small stone was added every four years on one of
+     the corners of the uppermost, and at the end of the twenty years of
+     the _Ahau-Katun_, with great ceremonies and feasting, the crowning
+     stone was placed upon the supporting small ones. (The photographs
+     of this monument can be seen at the house of Mr. H. Dixon.) Now, as
+     I have said, we have thirty-six columns composed of eight stones,
+     each representing a period of twenty years, which would give us a
+     total of 5760 years since the first Katun was placed on the terrace
+     to the time when the city was abandoned, shortly after the Spanish
+     conquest.
+
+     On the northeast of the great pyramid at Chichen-Itza, at a short
+     distance from this monument, can be seen the graduated pyramid that
+     once upon a time supported the main temple of the city dedicated to
+     _Kukulcan_ (the winged serpent), the protecting divinity of the
+     place. On three sides the structure is surrounded by a massive wall
+     about five metres high and eight wide on the top. On that wall are
+     to be seen the columns of the Katuns. The rank vegetation has
+     invaded every part of the building, and thrown many of the columns
+     to the ground. I began to clear the trees from the pyramid, but was
+     unable to finish work because of the disarming of my workmen, owing
+     to a revolution that a certain Teodosio Canto had initiated against
+     the government of Yucatan. I counted as many as one hundred and
+     twenty columns, but got tired of pushing my way through the nearly
+     impenetrable thicket, where I could see many more among the shrubs.
+
+     Those I counted would give an aggregate of 19,200 years,--quite a
+     respectable old age, even for the life of a nation. This is plainly
+     corroborated by the other means of reckoning the antiquity of the
+     monuments,--such as the wear of the stones by meteorological
+     influences, or the thickness of the stratum of the rich loam, the
+     result of the decay of vegetable life, accumulated on the roofs and
+     terraces of the buildings, not to speak of their position
+     respecting the pole-star and the declination of the magnetic
+     needle.
+
+     The architecture of the Mayas is unlike that of any other people of
+     what is called the Old World. It resembles only itself. And,
+     notwithstanding that Mayapan, from the most remote times, was
+     visited by travellers from Asia and Africa, by the wise and learned
+     men who came from abroad to consult the _H-Menes_; notwithstanding,
+     also, the invasion of the Nahuas and the visitation of the
+     pilgrims, the Maya art of building remained peculiar and unchanged,
+     and their language was adopted by their conquerors. The Nahuas,
+     after destroying the city of the wise men, established themselves
+     in Uxmal, on account of its strategic position, in the midst of a
+     plain inclosed by hills easily defended. To embellish that city,
+     where dwelt the foes of Chichen, they copied the complex
+     ornamentation of the most ancient building of that metropolis,--the
+     palace and museum,--disdaining the chastity, the simplicity, the
+     beautiful and tasteful elegance of the monuments of the latter
+     period. These, of graceful and airy proportions, are utterly devoid
+     of the profusion and complexity of ornamentation and design that
+     overload the palaces and temples of Uxmal. When gazing on the
+     structures of that city, and comparing them with those of Chichen,
+     it seemed that I was contemplating a low-born, illiterate man, on
+     whom Fortune, in one of her strange freaks, has smiled, and who
+     imagines that by bedecking himself with gaudy habiliments and
+     shining jewelry he acquires knowledge and importance. All in Uxmal
+     proclaims the decadency of art, the relaxation of morals, the
+     depravity of customs, the lewdness of the inhabitants. In Chichen
+     they represent the life-giving power of the universe under the
+     emblems of the Sun and Kukulcan. In Uxmal they worshipped the
+     phallus, which is to be seen everywhere, in the courts, in the
+     ornaments of the temples, in the residences of the priests and
+     priestesses, in all the monuments except the house of the governor,
+     built by Aac, the younger brother and assassin of Chac-Mool.
+
+     The edifices of Uxmal are evidently constructed with less art and
+     knowledge than those of Chichen. The latter remain whole and nearly
+     intact, except in those places where the hand of man has been busy;
+     the former have suffered much from the inclemencies of the
+     atmosphere, and from the ignorance and vandalistic propensities of
+     the visitors. I have been present at the destruction of magnificent
+     walls where the ruins stand. Some prefer to destroy these relics of
+     past ages, rather than to pick up with more ease the stones that
+     strew the soil in every direction.
+
+     The ornaments of temples and palaces are mostly composed of
+     hieroglyphics, highly adorned, of the emblems of religious rites,
+     of statues of great men and priests, surrounded by many
+     embellishments. In Uxmal the columns are representations of the
+     phallus-worship of the Nahuas. In Chichen the base is formed by the
+     head of Kukulcan, the shaft by the body of the serpent, with its
+     feathers beautifully carved to the very chapter. On the chapters of
+     the columns that support the portico, at the entrance of the castle
+     in Chichen-Itza, may be seen the carved figures of long-bearded
+     men, with upraised hands, in the act of worshipping sacred trees.
+     They forcibly recall to the mind the same worship in Assyria, as
+     seen on the slabs found by Layard in the ruins of Nineveh, now in
+     the Assyrian gallery of the British Museum. No one can form an
+     exact idea of the monuments of Mayapan by reading mere
+     descriptions. It is necessary to either examine the buildings
+     themselves (and this is not quite devoid of danger, since the most
+     interesting are situated in territories forbidden to white men,
+     and occupied by the hostile Indians of Chan-Santa-Cruz, who since
+     1849 wage war to the knife on the inhabitants of Yucatan, and have
+     devastated the greatest part of that State), or to study my
+     magnificent collection of photographs where they are most
+     faithfully portrayed; that can be done with more ease, without
+     running the risk of losing one's life.
+
+     It is said that the deciphering of the American hieroglyphics is a
+     rather desperate enterprise, because we have no Rosetta stone with
+     a bilingual inscription. I humbly beg to differ from that opinion;
+     at least as regards the inscriptions on the walls of the monuments
+     of Mayapan. In the first instance, the same language, with but few
+     alterations, that was used by the builders of these edifices is
+     today commonly spoken by the inhabitants of Yucatan and Peten, and
+     we have books, grammars and dictionaries compiled by the Franciscan
+     friars in the first years of the conquest, translated in Spanish,
+     French and English. We do not, therefore, require an American
+     Rosetta stone to be discovered. Secondly, if it is undeniable that
+     Bishop Landa consigned to the flames all the books of the Mayas
+     that happened to fall into his hands, it is also true that by a
+     singular freak he preserved us, in great part at least, the Maya
+     alphabet in his work, "Las Cosas de Yucatan," discovered by
+     Brasseur de Bourbourg in the national library of Madrid. The
+     Americanists owe much to the researches of the abbe. I consider his
+     works as deserving a better reception than they have ever had from
+     the scientific world at large. It is true that he is no respecter
+     of Mosaic chronology,--and who can be in presence of the monuments
+     of Central America? Reason commands, and we must submit to evidence
+     and truth! I have carefully compared the characters of said
+     manuscript with those engraved upon the stones in Chichen, which I
+     photographed, and found them alike. Some on the frontispieces of
+     the palaces and temples differ, it is true, but do not our
+     ornamented capital letters from the small? Their deciphering may
+     give a little more trouble.
+
+     The Mayas, besides using their alphabet, employed at the same time
+     a kind of pictorial writing, something not unlike our _rebus_. They
+     also would record domestic and public life-customs, religious
+     worship and ceremonies, funeral rites, court receptions, battles,
+     etc., etc., just as we do in our paintings and engravings,
+     portraying them with superior art and perfect knowledge of drawing
+     and colors, which also had their accepted and acknowledged meaning.
+     These we have already partly deciphered, and now understand.
+
+     I have said it was my firm conviction that among the inhabitants of
+     Peten--nay, perchance, also, of Chan-Santa-Cruz--some one may be
+     found who is still possessed of the knowledge of reading the
+     ancient _Pic-huun_. But the Indians are anything but communicative,
+     and they are at all times unwilling to reveal to the white men
+     whatever may have been imparted to them by their fathers. To keep
+     these things a secret they consider a sacred duty. They even refuse
+     to make known the medicinal properties of certain plants, while
+     they are willing, provided they feel a liking for you, or are asked
+     by a person whom they respect or love, to apply these plants,
+     prepared by them, to heal the bite of a rattlesnake, tarantula, or
+     any of the many venomous animals that abound in their forests.
+
+     During the many years that I have been among the Indians of all
+     parts of America,--now with the civilized, now amidst those that
+     inhabit the woods far away from the commerce of people,--strange to
+     say, reciprocal sympathy and good feeling have always existed
+     between us; they have invariably ceased to consider me a stranger.
+     This singular attractive feeling has often caused them to open
+     their hearts; and to it I owe the knowledge of many curious facts
+     and traditions that otherwise I should never have known. This
+     unknown power did not fail me in Espita, a pretty little town in
+     the eastern part of Yucatan, where I received from a very old
+     Indian not only the intelligence that forty years ago men still
+     existed who could read the ancient Maya writing, but also a clue to
+     decipher the inscriptions on the buildings.
+
+     Conversing with some friends in Espita about the ancient remains to
+     be found in that vicinity, they offered to show me one of the most
+     interesting relics of olden times. A few days later they ushered
+     into my presence a venerable old Indian. His hairs were gray, his
+     eyes blue with age. The late curate of the place, Senor Dominguez,
+     who departed this life at the respectable age of ninety, was wont
+     to say that he had, since a child, and as long as he could
+     remember, always known Mariano Chable, the same old man. They give
+     him 150 years at least; yet he enjoys perfect health; still works
+     at his trade (he is a potter); is in perfect possession of his
+     mental faculties, and of an unerring memory. Having lost his wife,
+     of about the same age as himself, but a short time before my
+     interview with him, he complained of feeling lonely, and thought
+     that as soon as the year of mourning was over he would take another
+     wife to himself. It was a Sunday morning that we met for the first
+     time. He had been to church, assisted at mass. There the
+     recollection of his departed life-companion had assailed him and
+     filled his old heart with sadness,--and he had called to his relief
+     another acquaintance--rum--to help him to dispel his sorrow. Sundry
+     draughts had made him quite talkative. He was in the right
+     condition to open his bosom to a sympathizing friend,--so I was to
+     him already. The libation I offered with him to the _manes_ of his
+     regretted mate unsealed his lips. After a few desultory questions,
+     with the object of testing his memory and intelligence, with great
+     caution I began to inquire about the points I had more at heart--to
+     wit, to gather all possible information and traditions upon the
+     ruins of Chichen-Itza I was about to visit. The old man spoke only
+     Maya; and my friend Cipriano Rivas, well versed in that language,
+     was my interpreter, not being myself sufficiently proficient in it
+     to hold a long conversation.
+
+     "Father," said I, "have you ever been in Chichen? Do you know
+     anything about the big houses that are said to exist there?"
+
+     "I have never been in Chichen, and of my own knowledge know nothing
+     of those big houses; but remember what the old men used to say
+     about them when I was young."
+
+     "And what was that, pray. Will you tell me?"
+
+     "Oh yes! I had a friend in _Saci_ (Valladolid today),--he died
+     forty years ago or so,--a very, very old man. His name was Manuel
+     Alayon. He used to tell us all about these enchanted houses. He had
+     a book that none but he could read, which contained many things
+     about them. We used to gather at his house at night to listen to
+     the reading of that book."
+
+     "Where is the book now, father?"
+
+     "Don't know. Alayon died. No one ever knew what became of the
+     sacred book. Afterwards came the insurrection of the Indians, and
+     the old friends also died."
+
+     "Do you remember what the book said?"
+
+     "Now, one of the things comes to my mind. It said that there was a
+     very old house called the _Akab-sib_, and in that house a writing,
+     which recited that _a day would come when the inhabitants of Saci
+     would converse with those of Ho [Merida] by means of a cord, that
+     would be stretched by people not belonging to the country_."
+
+     When I heard this, the idea occurred to me that the old fellow was
+     quietly having his little bit of fun at my expense. In order to be
+     sure of it I inquired:--
+
+     "What do you say, father? How can that be? Do you imagine how
+     people forty leagues apart can converse by means of a cord?"
+
+     But when my interlocutor answered that he could not either know or
+     imagine how that could be done, and particularly when my friends
+     assured me that Chable had no idea of the electric telegraph, I
+     then became convinced of his good faith, and began to ponder on the
+     strange disclosure we had just listened to. The old man soon rose
+     to take his departure, and I invited him to call again, when he had
+     not been to church and consoled himself with his spiritual friend,
+     in order that I might be able to take his portrait. He repeated his
+     visit a few days later, as requested. I took his portrait, and
+     asked him again about the monuments of Chichen. But, alas! that day
+     his lips were sealed, or his memory failed, or his Indian secrecy
+     had returned. He knew nothing of them; had never been there; did
+     not remember what the old men said of the enchanted houses when he
+     was young, except that the place had been enchanted for many, many
+     years, and that it was not good to sleep near them, because the
+     _Xlab-pak-yum_, the lord of the old walls, would be angry at the
+     intrusion, and chastise the offender by disease and death within
+     the year.
+
+     Some months later I arrived at Chichen. The revelation of the old
+     man recurred vividly to my mind. I immediately went in quest of the
+     building he had mentioned--the _Akab-sib_. [This name literally
+     means--_Akab_, dark, mysterious; _sib_, to write. But we believe
+     that anciently it was called _Alcab-sib_; that is, _Alcab_, to run
+     in a hurry; _sib_, to write.] We had some trouble in finding it,
+     concealed and confounded as it was among the tall trees of the
+     forest, its roof supporting a dense thicket. We visited its
+     eighteen rooms in search of the precious inscription, and at length
+     discovered it on the lintel of an inner doorway in the room
+     situated at the south end of the edifice. The dust of ages was
+     thick upon it and so concealed the characters as to make them
+     well-nigh invisible. With care I washed the slab, then with black
+     crayon darkened its surface until the intaglio letters appeared in
+     white on a dark background. (The photographs of this inscription
+     can be seen at Mr. H. Dixon's.)
+
+     While thus employed Mrs. Le Plongeon stood by my side, studying the
+     characters as they gradually appeared more and more distinct. To
+     our astonishment we soon discovered the cord mentioned by Chable.
+     It started from the mouth of a face (which represents the people of
+     Saci), situated near the right-hand upper corner of the slab, then
+     runs through its whole length in a slanting direction and
+     terminates at the ear of another head (the inhabitants of Ho). The
+     inclined direction of the cord or line indicates the topographical
+     position of the respective cities--Saci (Valladolid)--being more
+     elevated above the level of the sea than Ho (Merida). But imagine
+     now our amazement at noticing the strange fact that the mode of
+     communication that Chable ignored was ... by means of electric
+     currents! Yes, of electricity! This fact is plainly indicated by
+     the four zigzag lines, representing the lightning, coming from the
+     four cardinal points and converging toward a centre near the upper
+     or starting station, and also by the solitary zigzag seen about
+     the middle of the cord--following its direction--indicating a
+     half-way station. Then the electric telegraph, that we consider
+     _the discovery par excellence_ of the nineteenth century, was known
+     of the ancient Itza sages 5000 or 10,000 years ago. Ah, _Nihil
+     novum sub solem!_ And in that slab we have a clue to the
+     deciphering of the Maya inscriptions,--an American Rosetta stone.
+
+     I will now say a few words of that language that has survived
+     unaltered through the vicissitudes of the nations that spoke it
+     thousands of years ago, and is yet the general tongue in
+     Yucatan--the Maya. There can be no doubt that this is one of the
+     most ancient languages on earth. It was used by a people that lived
+     at least 6000 years ago, as proved by the Katuns, to record the
+     history of their rulers, the dogmas of their religion, on the walls
+     of their palaces, on the facades of their temples.
+
+     In a lecture delivered last year before the American Geographical
+     Society of New York, Dr. C. H. Berendt has shown that the Maya was
+     spoken, with its different dialects, by the inhabitants of Mayapan
+     and Xibalba and the other nations of Central America south of
+     Anahuac. He ought to be a good authority on the subject, having
+     dedicated some years in Yucatan to its study.
+
+     The Maya, containing words from almost every language, ancient or
+     modern, is well worth the attention of philologists. And since, as
+     Professor Max Muller said, philology is the shining light that is
+     to illuminate the darkness of ethnology, besides the portraits of
+     the bearded men discovered by me in Chichen, those of the princes
+     and priests, and the beautiful statue of Chac-Mool, which serve to
+     determine the different types, may be a guide to discover whence
+     man and civilization came to America, if the American races can be
+     proved not to be autochthonous. Notwithstanding a few guttural
+     sounds, the Maya is soft, pliant, rich in diction and expression;
+     even every shade of thought may be expressed.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+     Whence, then, are the Maya language and the Mayas? I should like to
+     learn from the Americanists who are soon to congregate in
+     Luxembourg.
+
+     AUGUSTUS LE PLONGEON, M.D.
+
+     NOTE. The omission (as indicated) at the close of Dr. Le Plongeon's
+     letter is a repetition of what he has previously stated in other
+     communications, in regard to the many foreign words found in the
+     Maya language, 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 this country,
+     have nothing in common with those of Greece. Who carried 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 Phoenicians. They landed on the North-East coasts of Africa,
+     thence they entered the Mediterranean, where they became dreaded as
+     pirates, and afterwards established 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_ of the Maya females of to-day even,
+     introduced by them among the inhabitants of some of the
+     Mediterranean isles?"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The latest information about the statue exhumed 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, 1877, has this quotation
+from a Mexican newspaper:--
+
+     "A SHAMEFUL FACT."
+
+     "LA PATRIA _has the following paragraph copied from the_ EPOCA,
+     _which ought to attract the attention of all interested. 'The
+     notable statue of Chac-Mool, which was received in the capital of
+     Yucatan with so great demonstrations 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 Rio 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 neglect of this
+archaeological 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 monument
+of past history in this manner lost to the State of Yucatan and to the
+discoverer, Dr. Le Plongeon, by the arbitrary exercise of official
+authority.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[58-*] Stephens' Travels in Yucatan, Vol. II., page 303.
+
+[59-*] The hostile Indians (_sublivados_) so often spoken of by Dr. Le
+Plongeon in his communications, are a body of revolted natives,
+variously estimated at from 50,000 to 140,000. They are called Indians
+of _Chan-Santa-Cruz_, from the name of their chief town, in the
+south-eastern part of the peninsula. During political troubles in 1847,
+a formidable rising of Indians against the whites took place in Yucatan,
+which has not yet been subdued. Nearly every year the frontier towns and
+plantations bordering upon the territory of these rebels, suffer from
+their attacks; their inhabitants are slain and their property is
+destroyed. So formidable is this enemy that at one time their soldiers,
+said to be supplied with English arms, advanced to within 15 miles of
+the city of Merida. As matters stand to-day, about two-fifths of the
+territory of the state is in their power, and a large number of the best
+plantations in the peninsula are deserted.
+
+A friend, Sr. Dn. Andres Aznar Perez, of Merida, a gentleman of large
+public spirit and much knowledge of this subject, informs the writer
+that "the principal Indian leaders in the revolution of 1847, were the
+cruel Cicilio Chi', and Jacinto Pat, the latter assassinated for his
+sympathy with the whites. Crecencio Poot (spoken of by Dr. Le Plongeon),
+is one of their later leaders. I am well convinced that the revolt of
+our Indians will never be brought to an end by force, as has been thus
+far pretended. I call this unfortunate race noble, and well it deserves
+the title if we follow dispassionately the sufferings it has had to
+endure from the remote times of the conquest until the present, with
+habits so moderate, so frugal, so mild, that only the inhuman treatment
+of civil as well as religious authorities has been able to exasperate
+them. Theirs have been always the sufferings, the labors--never the
+enjoyments--that accompany enlightenment and healthy morality." An
+extended and unprejudiced account of this rebellion has just been
+published at Merida, called "_Historia de las Revoluciones de Yucatan_,"
+by Sr. D. Serapio Baqueiro, in two volumes, which covers a period from
+1840 to 1864. For years a constant military surveillance of the main
+avenues of approach from the eastern and south-eastern sections of the
+state has been maintained at a great expense to the government without
+affording adequate protection against periodical hostile incursions.
+
+[63-*] This idea was better expressed by our learned associate, Mr.
+Haven, in Proceedings of this Society, No. 55, page 56, in commenting
+upon the works of Brasseur de Bourbourg.
+
+[74-*] See Relacion de las Cosas de Yucatan, de Diego de Landa. By
+L'Abbe Brasseur de Bourbourg. Paris, 1864, page 327.
+
+[89-*] Stephens' Travels in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatan, vol.
+I., page 158.
+
+[89-[+]] Id. vol. II., page 349.
+
+[89-[++]] Encyclopaedia Britannica. Boston, 1859: _Article_ Sculpture.
+
+[90-*] Relacion de las Cosas de Yucatan, de Diego de Landa. By L. Abbe
+Brasseur de Bourbourg. Paris, 1864, page 347.
+
+[90-[+]] Id. 197.
+
+[90-[++]] Id. 199.
+
+[90-Sec.] Id. 183.
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note
+
+
+The following typographical errors were corrected:
+
+  Page  Error
+  7     of this region. changed to of this region,
+  11    Cites et Ruines Americaines changed to Cites et Ruines Americaines
+  14    a thick dust changed to a thick dust.
+  21    a guadas changed to aguadas
+  Fn. 29-*  sur le Mexique changed to sur le Mexique
+  57    discovery of the statute changed to discovery of the statue
+  58    1 Represents changed to 1. Represents
+  58    3 Shows changed to 3. Shows
+  58    5 Represents changed to 5. Represents
+  Ill. 1  LePlongeon changed to Le Plongeon
+  62    7 Represents changed to 7. Represents
+  62    9 Shows changed to 9. Shows
+  62    10 Apparently changed to 10. Apparently
+  Ill. 2  LePlongeon changed to Le Plongeon
+  71    Plate No 7 changed to Plate No. 7
+  74    was dated Meri a, changed to was dated Merida
+  77    oblong. changed to oblong,
+  79    wise archaeologist. changed to wise archaeologist,
+  88    munificient changed to munificent
+  91    upon the the changed to upon the
+  93    rambling mong changed to rambling among
+  94    respect a d changed to respect and
+  95    Bisop Landa changed to Bishop Landa
+  96    particularly to destory changed to particularly to destroy
+  96    that the Quichua, changed to that the Quichua
+  96    valley if Cuzco changed to valley of Cuzco
+  99    nclemencies changed to inclemencies
+  99    buildings th mselves changed to buildings themselves
+  100   commerce of people. changed to commerce of people,
+  101   Do you rember changed to Do you remember
+
+The following words were inconsistently spelled and hyphenated:
+
+  3d / 3rd
+  &tc / etc.
+  cenote / senote
+  Chaac-mol / Chaacmol / Chac-Mool / Chac Mool
+  Cukulcan / Kukulcan
+  debris / debris
+  l'Ecriture / l'Ecriture
+  Merida / Merida
+  north-east / northeast
+  Orosco / Orozco
+  Senor / Senor
+  south-eastern / southeastern
+  Tabasco / Tobasco
+  to-day / today
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mayas, the Sources of Their
+History / Dr. Le Plongeon in Yucatan, His Account of Discoveries, by Stephen Salisbury, Jr.
+
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