diff options
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 4 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62702-0.txt | 9287 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62702-0.zip | bin | 198866 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62702-h.zip | bin | 2671331 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62702-h/62702-h.htm | 9647 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62702-h/images/cover.jpg | bin | 202972 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62702-h/images/i_004.jpg | bin | 81459 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62702-h/images/i_039.jpg | bin | 224924 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62702-h/images/i_064.jpg | bin | 187450 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62702-h/images/i_065a.jpg | bin | 155440 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62702-h/images/i_065b.jpg | bin | 141071 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62702-h/images/i_102.jpg | bin | 123314 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62702-h/images/i_112.jpg | bin | 211963 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62702-h/images/i_113.jpg | bin | 219671 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62702-h/images/i_240.jpg | bin | 257986 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62702-h/images/i_241.jpg | bin | 257213 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62702-h/images/i_endpaper.jpg | bin | 120082 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62702-h/images/i_frontispiece.jpg | bin | 256242 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62702-h/images/i_title.jpg | bin | 20926 -> 0 bytes |
21 files changed, 17 insertions, 18934 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d2df2ea --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #62702 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/62702) diff --git a/old/62702-0.txt b/old/62702-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 5f6960c..0000000 --- a/old/62702-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9287 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's The City of the Sacred Well, by Theodore Arthur Willard - -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/license - - -Title: The City of the Sacred Well - -Author: Theodore Arthur Willard - -Release Date: July 19, 2020 [EBook #62702] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CITY OF THE SACRED WELL *** - - - - -Tim Lindell, Robert Tonsing, 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.) - - - - - - - - - - THE CITY OF THE - SACRED WELL - - -[Illustration: “A last forward swing and the bride of Yum Chac hurtles -far out over the well.”] - - - - - THE CITY OF THE - SACRED WELL - - BEING A NARRATIVE OF THE DISCOVERIES AND - EXCAVATIONS OF EDWARD HERBERT THOMPSON - IN THE ANCIENT CITY OF CHI-CHEN - ITZA WITH SOME DISCOURSE ON THE - CULTURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF - THE MAYAN CIVILIZATION AS - REVEALED BY THEIR ART - AND ARCHITECTURE, HERE - SET DOWN AND ILLUSTRATED - FROM - PHOTOGRAPHS - - BY - T. A. WILLARD - - [Illustration] - - THE CENTURY CO. - NEW YORK & LONDON - - - - - Copyright, 1926, by - THE CENTURY CO. - - 360 - - Printed in U. S. A. - - - - - PREFACE - - -This book is primarily an attempt to recount the many thrilling -experiences of Edward Herbert Thompson in his lifelong quest for -archæological treasures in the ancient and abandoned city of Chi-chen -Itza, for centuries buried beneath the jungle of Yucatan. - -As a boy Mr. Thompson—or Don Eduardo, as he is affectionately known -to the natives about the Sacred City—sat in his snug New England home -and read of the adventures of Stephens in Yucatan, descriptions of the -old Maya civilization, and the legends concerning the Sacred Well at -Chi-chen Itza. Then and there he determined that his life-work should -be the uncovering of the age-old secrets of the ancient city. - -When still a mere youth he was appointed by the President of the United -States as the first American Consul to Yucatan, the appointment having -been urged by the American Antiquarian Society and the Peabody Museum -of Harvard University, both of which were anxious to have a trained -investigator on the peninsula. - -Enthusiastically Mr. Thompson undertook his double mission. For over -twenty-five years he remained at his post as consul. During this long -period, sometimes at the head of regularly organized expeditions under -the auspices of American archæological institutions, at other times -with only his faithful native followers, he discovered ruined cities -until then unknown to the world and carried on exhaustive researches -among those already discovered. - -At last Mr. Thompson resigned the consular office, in order to carry -on the various scientific undertakings that required all his time and -energy. Chief among these was the search for relics that for hundreds -of years had lain buried in the mud at the bottom of the Sacred Well. - -Many and many a night, under the gorgeous moonlight of Yucatan or -by some cozy fireside in the States, I have listened entranced, as -the hours glided by, to the true tales Don Eduardo tells of his -experiences or of the customs and the folk-lore of the country. I know -intimately this lovable, modest, blue-eyed six-footer, this dreamer -and adventurer, gray-haired now but still with the heart of a boy. I -know him better, perhaps, than does any other man, and if I do not -write down the things he has told me they will never be written, for -Don Eduardo will not do it. Therefore I have asked and received his -permission to write, from memory and from his notes and my own, this -book, which he has read and corrected. - -It is a faithful account of the many valuable archæological finds he -has made, but, though written as if Don Eduardo himself were speaking, -it inevitably lacks the color and fire of his word-of-mouth narrative. -It contains, further, such description of the Maya culture and history -as may help the reader to understand this ancient civilization. The -writer hopes that it may be acceptable to the avid reader of travel -and adventure, and there is also the timid hope that it may be of some -little educational value to the serious-minded reader, to the end that -he may feel that he has not wasted time on a mere “yarn.” - - T. A. WILLARD. - - - - - ACKNOWLEDGMENT - - -The author is indebted, for information and assistance, to many good -friends in Yucatan, but chiefly to Señor Juan Martinez H., to the late -Teoberto Maler, and to Mr. and Mrs. William James for their timely -hospitality. - -The books and writings of the old priests, as well as current books on -the Maya era, also have been of much aid. - - T. A. W. - - - - - CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - - I YUCATAN, THE LAND OF THE MAYAS 3 - - II THE CHURCH OF SAN ISIDRO AND ITS FRAGRANT LEGEND 24 - - III THE FIRST AMERICANS 32 - - IV DON EDUARDO’S FIRST VIEW OF THE CITY OF THE SACRED WELL 49 - - V THE ANCIENT CITY 58 - - VI AN IDLE DAY IN THE JUNGLE 88 - - VII THE SACRED WELL 97 - - VIII SIXTY FEET UNDER WATER 118 - - IX TWO LEGENDS 150 - - X THE CONQUEST 166 - - XI THE FINDING OF THE DATE-STONE 179 - - XII THE CONSTRUCTION OF MAYA BUILDINGS 189 - - XIII STORY-TELLERS OF YUCATAN 198 - - XIV FORGOTTEN MICHAEL ANGELOS 211 - - XV THE TOMB OF THE HIGH PRIEST 236 - - XVI THE LEGEND OF THE SACRIFICIAL PILGRIMAGE 261 - - XVII THIRTY YEARS OF DIGGING 278 - - APPENDIX 285 - - - - - LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - - - A last forward swing and the bride of Yum Chac hurtles far out - over the well _Frontispiece_ - - FACING PAGE - The Nunnery, the only three-storied structure in the Sacred City 64 - - The second story of the Nunnery 65 - - All that remains of the third story of the Nunnery. Several - inscribed stones built hit or miss into the wall were - doubtless taken from the older city 65 - - El Castillo, the Temple of Kukul Can, on its great pyramid, - is the center of the Sacred City and the largest edifice 112 - - Looking down into the Sacred Well. Because of the size of the - well and the fringe of trees about it, the whole scene - cannot be photographed 113 - - A sculpture in bas-relief showing a warrior-priest in ceremonial - attire, representing the Maya hero-god Kukul Can, the plumed - serpent 240 - - A religious ceremony depicted in the Temple of Bas-Reliefs. This - is but a small section from the interior walls, which - contain more than eighty figures 241 - - - - - THE CITY OF THE - SACRED WELL - - - - - CHAPTER I - - YUCATAN, THE LAND OF THE MAYAS - - -Imagine yourself the sole owner of a plantation within which lies a -city more than twelve square miles in area; a city of palaces and -temples and mausoleums; a city of untold treasures, rich in sculptures -and paintings. Would you not feel shamefully wealthy? And does it not -seem strange that Don Eduardo, the master of such a plantation, takes -the fact of his ownership with apparent calmness? - -But, before your fancy carries you too far, let me tell you a little -more about this remarkable city, which may dampen your ardor for -ownership, but which only increases its value in Don Eduardo’s eyes. -It is a dead city. Its thousands of inhabitants perished or abandoned -it nobody knows how long ago—probably before Columbus first saw the -shores of America. And it is in the heart of Yucatan, where Mexico, -ending like the upflung tail of a huge fish, juts into the gulf, while -Cuba serves as a sentinel a hundred and fifty miles to the eastward. - -The Treasure City, the City of the Sacred Well, with the queer-sounding -name of the Chi-chen Itza (pronounce it Chee´chen Eet-za´), is for the -most part overgrown with tropical jungle. Its treasures are valuable -only to the antiquarian. - -Early in our conversations about the City of the Sacred Well, Don -Eduardo told me that because at the time of his purchase the plantation -was well within the territory dominated by the dreaded Sublevados, -the rebellious Maya Indians, no planter dared live in or even visit -the region for long, and so he was able to secure the land from its -absentee owners cheap, as plantation prices run in Yucatan. - -[Illustration: THE ANCIENT CITY OF CHI-CHEN ITZA IS AT NO GREAT -DISTANCE FROM THE UNITED STATES.] - -“My life-interest has been American archæology,” he said, “and I came -first to Yucatan, thirty years ago, to explore its ruins and relics of -an ancient civilization. Even before that I had read of the immense -Sacred Well at Chi-chen Itza—a well as wide as a small lake and deep -enough to hold a fifteen-story building—and had made up my mind that -I would be the man who some day made it yield up its secrets. For a -long time I tried to persuade various wealthy Americans to finance the -undertaking, but organizing a stock company to raise sunken galleons -along the Spanish Main would be a simple task as compared with my -difficulties in promoting what seemed a will-o’-the-wisp project. At -last, however, I did succeed.” - -But I am ahead of my story. - -The trip from New York to the City of the Sacred Well requires but -a week and may now be accomplished luxuriously, whereas my earlier -journeys over the same route were anything but comfortable. Mr. John -L. Stephens, who was sent to Yucatan by the United States Government -in 1841, describes, in his interesting book “Incidents of Travel in -Yucatan,” the difficulties of travel which he met. They might have -daunted any spirit less courageous than his. His four volumes, although -written nearly eighty years ago, retain their pristine freshness and -are still authoritative. I recommend them heartily to the reader. - -On any Thursday the traveler destined for the City of the Sacred Well -may board at New York a Ward Line steamer bound for Progreso, the only -port of Yucatan. The liner stops over at Havana, and a day and a night -after leaving that hectic city one awakes in the early dawn to the -deep-chanted tones of a sailor who is casting the lead. “Four fathoms,” -he cries; then, “Three fathoms,” and finally the engines are hushed and -out goes the anchor. Through the port-hole is seen a lighthouse and -behind it a faint, foggy vista of low-lying sandy shore. - -By the time the unhurried ritual of arising has been performed and one -appears on deck all is flooded with brilliant sunshine. The sky above -is a cloudless cobalt blue. The day is hot, but the sea-breeze keeps it -from being uncomfortably so. One senses, nevertheless, in some subtle -way, that he is actually in the tropics. So shallow is the water that -ocean-going vessels may not safely approach to within less than five -miles of the rather uninspiring port of Progreso, marked by several -long piers jutting into the sea and the aforementioned lighthouse. -Passengers and goods must be taken off in lighters or in small boats. -On approaching the shore one sees rows of pelicans sitting alongside -the wharves—the most serious and sad-looking birds imaginable. They -remind one of the rows of Glooms frequently portrayed by one of our -cartoonists in the daily newspaper comic strip. - -There is little reason for tarrying in Progreso, even though it is -the third most important seaport in Mexico. It is from here that the -henequen of Yucatan is shipped, and the cultivation of this cactus-like -plant, from whose fiber rope and twine are made, constitutes the chief -enterprise of the province. Two railroads, one narrow-gauge, the other -standard, cover the twenty-four miles between Progreso and the lovely -city of Mérida, capital of Yucatan. Oddly enough, the fare is higher -on the narrower, longer, and poorer road than on the road of standard -gauge. The latter is modern in every respect and provided with coaches -and locomotives imported from the United States. The daily Peniche -Express starts on time and arrives in the same fashion. - -The Grand Hotel at Mérida is the customary stopping-place for all -foreigners and is a very good and well-operated institution. It faces -the beautiful tree-lined Plaza Hidalgo, but is, unfortunately, located -close to a number of churches and a cathedral whose cracked bells -are rung mightily at various hours and particularly when one wishes -to sleep. As a result, persons not yet hardened to this venerable -Spanish-American custom are likely to have a broken night’s slumber. - -Mérida is a city of 63,000 people and is modern in many respects. It -is hot there in the sun but cool in the shade, for there is always a -breeze from the perpetually blowing trade-wind. The city is healthful, -well paved, electrically lighted, and excellently served with street -cars, and it has many handsome buildings and residences. Its population -varies all the way from the pure Castilian, through the Mestizos, to -the Mayas or full-blooded Indians. Almost every night a band plays in -one of the several plazas or parks. North-American airs are favored -and I have heard them much more badly played by musicians in our own -land than here under the tropical moonlight, in a setting of rarely -beautiful and fragrant flowers. During the band concert daintily clean -Indian girls, in their voluminous embroidered dresses or _huipiles_ -and embroidered sandals, circle about. In another circle stroll their -Indian beaux in high-heeled sandals and starched white cotton suits. -The ladies of the upper class, dressed in the Spanish or European -manner, are driven slowly about the plaza in their automobiles. -Formerly carriages—the sort we call, or did call, landaus—were used, -but the automobile has displaced these and in so doing has destroyed -half the charm of the scene. Nevertheless it is still charming. The -romance of it may be guaranteed to put a thrill into the cold heart of -the loan shark from Chicago. It alone is worth the trip to Yucatan and -it cannot be described; it has to be experienced at first hand. - -During the month of February there is a carnival in Mérida, ending with -a fancy-dress ball for the four hundred socially elect. The carnival -rivals the Mardi Gras of New Orleans and is enthusiastically celebrated -by the whole populace. The floats and decorations are quite as costly -and tasteful as any seen in the New Orleans celebration. One year I -happened to be in Mérida at the time of the carnival and through the -kindly assistance of my good friends Mr. and Mrs. James I received -an invitation to the ball. This gorgeous affair would have compared -creditably to any similar festivity in New York. - -The ball took place at the palatial home of a wealthy Yucateco. This -house is built in the usual Yucatan fashion. In front is a large -doorway guarded by a heavy wrought-iron grill or gate. On each side -of the doorway are the living-quarters, consisting of a dining-room -and what we should call a living-room. These rooms form the front of a -quadrangular structure surrounding a patio in which are flower beds, -fountains, and tiled walks. Around the inner wall of the quadrangle is -a promenade wide enough for several people to walk abreast and this -is roofed over, the tile roof being supported by pillars and arches -of Moorish type. The wings and rear section of the house contain the -chambers for the family and guests, the kitchen, and the servants’ -quarters. I imagine that this particular residence had cost not much -less than a million dollars. The interior is finished in Italian marble -and luxuriously furnished in the Parisian manner. - -And this is by no means the most palatial residence in the capital. -The wealthy people of Yucatan spend much of their time in Europe and -their homes show the effect. The houses have beautiful tiled floors and -the walls are frequently frescoed or covered with excellent paintings; -yet as a rule the rooms are somewhat bare of furniture. One building -particularly worthy of mention is the most ancient in Mérida, erected -in 1549 by Don Francisco Montejo, the Spanish conqueror of Yucatan. On -its façade is a grotesque Indian-Moorish representation of two armored -knights trampling on prostrate Indians, while below is a stone tablet -bearing the name of Montejo and the date of building. - -Recently an American club was started in the city, with a membership -of several Americans, three or four Britons, and the remainder -Yucatecos who speak English; and some do speak it fluently. The club -is predominantly masculine, as the only ladies who attend are those -who have lived at some time or other in the States and have acquired -our customs. As a rule the women of Yucatan observe the old Spanish -custom of seclusion. Girls are not permitted to go out with young men. -A girl’s lover may spend the evening standing before the barred window -of his inamorata’s home, conversing with her and strumming upon his -mandolin or guitar for her edification. If he is finally accredited as -a suitor, he is permitted to enter the house and sit in a stiff-backed -chair across the room from his sweetheart, but Mamma and Auntie and -all the other ladies of the family are there, too, to insure decorous -behavior. - -The population of Yucatan is chiefly composed of the native Indians or -Mayas. They are simple, kindly people and capable of development, for -they are highly intelligent. To the best of our knowledge they are the -direct descendants of the early Mayas, who in culture and achievements -compare favorably to the people of ancient Egypt. Some of the wealthy -Yucatecos are descendants of the old Maya nobility and still retain the -original names denoting noble birth. But many descendants of Maya kings -of old are now sunk in poverty. - -Most of the present-day Mayas speak a language which has developed -little from its primitive syllabic form. The Japanese, many of whom -are found in Yucatan nowadays, learn the Maya tongue easily. In fact, -many Japanese and Maya words are identical in sound, but as far as I -know they have absolutely no kindred meaning. Some theorists have even -advanced the idea that the similarity in form and construction of the -Japanese and Maya languages indicates a common prehistoric origin. But -there is scant proof of this, inasmuch as all primitive languages are -syllabic in form. - -The Maya is short in stature but surprisingly sturdy. A native will -carry a load of a hundred pounds for fifteen miles without showing -signs of undue fatigue. The carrier supports the load on his back and -it is held in place with a band or strap passed around the forehead. -Occasionally the carriers stop and let down the loads, but never for -more than a few moments. An Indian porter will trot upstairs with a -trunk which an ordinary mortal could hardly budge and which, alone, he -contrives somehow to lift upon his back. I remember seeing two Indians -carry a piano, supported on poles, for a distance of two blocks, with -their customary gliding shuffle when carrying a burden. Had they at any -time fallen out of step the piano must surely have been wrecked. This -shuffle or trot is half-way between a walk and a run and it eats up -distance. - -Not uncommonly the Mayas are handsome, with regular, delicate -features. Some of the young women are very beautiful, even judged by -North-American standards. They are mature at twelve years of age and, -like the women of so many races of the tropics, they wither or grow -fat at a comparatively early age. The color of the skin is about that -of a good summer coat of tan, though possibly a bit more reddish in -hue. Dress the average Maya in our mode and put him on any street in -our country and he would pass without comment. On closer inspection he -might be said to be of foreign ancestry, but certainly he would not be -mistaken for a negro. - -These people, descendants of a truly great race, are decidedly superior -to all other native American peoples. Their mentality is of a fairly -high order. At first, in my visits to Yucatan, I had no knowledge of -either the Spanish or the Maya tongue and when I had only natives for -companions I was compelled to communicate with them by sign language -made up on the spur of the moment. Even in the jungle my companions -always understood my directions easily and carried them out correctly. - -The ordinary, every-day dress of the native men is a pair of -white-cotton trousers ending half-way between knee and ankle. We should -have difficulty in defining them either as long or as short. The upper -garment is a short-sleeved undershirt, and the ensemble is topped off -with almost any kind of straw hat. Usually they also wear a short -blue-and-white-striped apron fastened about the waist. Wide belts are -popular—the wider the better. Frequently the men go barefoot, but -more often wear sandals, fastened with twine about the ankle, a string -passing from the front of the sole and between the first and second -toes. When working in the fields the men sometimes discard apron and -trousers, wearing only a breech-clout and hat. Sometimes they let their -hair grow long so that it falls over their faces and then even the hat -is discarded. On Sundays and feast-days the more affluent, at least, -blossom out in starched white trousers and jacket and high-heeled -wooden sandals. - -The women customarily wear a _huipile_, which garment is neither a -Mother-Hubbard nor a nightgown, but belongs, evidently, to the same -genus or species. At any rate, it is sufficiently modest. It has a -slightly low neck and short sleeves and reaches half-way from the knee -to the ground. Beneath this is the _pic_, a white underskirt tied -about the waist with a draw-string. Over all is worn the rebozo, a -kind of shawl, and the native woman feels much ashamed if seen without -this useless garment. Sandals may or may not be worn. The costume is -always essentially the same. Sometimes the _huipile_ is ornately and -beautifully embroidered at the neck and on the sleeves. I am told that -a girl will spend a year in embroidering a single _huipile_ for her -hope-chest. The garment is of ancient origin and I have seen murals in -the ruined temples, painted centuries ago, which show women in just -such embroidered garments, and at work making tortillas, which are -still the main article of food in this land. - -Many of the Maya women wear gorgeously embroidered sandals or slippers. -The hair is done up in a knot at the nape of the neck and tastefully -fastened with a ribbon. Gold chains with various sorts of pendants, -such as medallions of the Virgin Mary or crosses, are very popular. -Frequently the Maya belle wears several of these chains. And they -_must_ be solid gold; plated stuff or alloy may not be worn. It simply -isn’t done. In her native costume the Maya girl is very pretty and -picturesque, but in European dress she resembles only a shapeless -bundle tied in the middle. - -The Mayas are all very clean; the daily bath for men, women, and -children is universal. A sort of wooden trough serves as a bath-tub as -well as the family wash-tub. The bather pours the water over his body -and makes a little water go a long way, because water must be carried -by hand, usually from a distant well. For a man, even the humblest, to -come home at the end of the day and find his bath unprepared is just -cause for a rumpus with his wife. Clean bodies and clean clothes are -characteristic of the Maya and much of the generally considered more -civilized world might well take a lesson from him in this respect. - -The women stay at home and attend to their household tasks and take -care of their numerous children while the men work in the fields. -This custom is universal even among the laboring people, and it is -noteworthy because nearly everywhere else in the world both women and -men work in the fields. In fact, in many countries the man does the -most resting. - -The Maya men are exceptionally fond of children and a widow with -children stands an excellent chance of finding a stepfather for her -brood. It is not uncommon for a man of twenty to marry a widow twice -his age, chiefly for the sake of a ready-made family. Incidentally, the -unmarried Maya maiden with a child or two, especially if the children -are boys, is somewhat more likely to find a husband than her virgin -sister. The fact that there may be some question as to the paternity of -her offspring is of small consequence in the eyes of her prospective -husband. But once married, she may accept no attentions from men other -than her spouse. The husband may and does shoot on sight any cavalier -found hanging around her. It used to be the custom to suspend a string -of shells near the door, and one did not enter a house without giving -due warning by shaking the string. A man did not enter at all unless -the men of the family were present. - -Maya nature is that same human nature found the world over. If abused, -these people can be ugly and vengeful. Treated in a reasonably decent -manner, they are kindly, generous, hospitable, and scrupulously honest. -Personally, I have never been cheated nor overcharged by a native. I -suppose that as more and more tourists come to Yucatan the invidious -custom of fleecing the traveler will be established here as it has been -everywhere else. - -As has been said, water is scarce in this land, and frequently the -women have to go long distances for even a jugful; yet they are always -willing to share their supply with any one. The wayfarer is never -turned away from their doors thirsty or hungry, even though he consume -the last drop of water or bit of food in the house. - -The Indian met anywhere, in the woods or on the trail, invariably -removes his hat and voices a polite greeting. There were employed at -Chi-chen Itza, during much of Don Eduardo’s work, about one hundred -Indians. It was their pleasant habit each evening about sunset to pass -in line before the hacienda and bid us good night. The ceremony took -place as they were returning from the little near-by church,—for all -the natives at that time were good Catholics,—and we saw no more of -them until dawn, which was our hour for beginning work. - -The modern Maya is devout, but he takes his religion placidly, leaving -it to his spiritual adviser to tell him what to do or believe. In -nearly every native hut is a shrine before which are dutifully observed -the articles of faith—the faith of his conquerors who took away his -galaxy of gods and substituted Catholicism. - -The Maya home is built much as it was in ancient times. It usually -consists of but one large rectangular room. The foundation is of -stone held together with plaster called _zac-cab_, which means “white -earth.” The walls are of poles or of stone plastered with _zac-cab_. -The roof is peaked and thatched with straw or with stiff palm-like -leaves. The door is of wood and there is sometimes a window, barred -but without glass. A wooden cover may be inserted from within to close -this opening when desired. No matter how poor the Maya family, there is -always a flower garden in the rear of the house. If his domain is very -limited, the garden of the Maya may be reduced to what may be grown in -a large-sized Standard-Oil can. - -Within, the Maya home is very simple. There are no beds as in ancient -times; the native has adopted a Spanish innovation, seeking his rest -in a hammock suspended from wooden pegs set in the wall. The hammocks -are taken down when not in use. A simple stool or two, a bench or a -chest, possibly a table, and the ever-present shrine constitute the -furniture. Not infrequently there is an American-made sewing-machine. -The kitchen is outside, in another smaller building, and the stove -consists merely of a crude stone oven or heap of stones. The bath-room -and laundry, where there is a wooden trough to hold water, also is -outdoors. At meal-times the family sits on stools about a pot or vessel -containing the pièce de résistance, and the use of fingers is not -frowned upon. - -The natives not resident in the towns or cities are for the most -part employed on the haciendas, the majority of which are engaged in -the raising of henequen. A few years ago there appeared a series of -magazine articles, under some such heading as “Barbarous Mexico,” -describing in the most approved yellow-journal style the cruelty and -tyranny of the Mexican planters. I suppose there really are some -isolated cases of cruelty, but in general the treatment of native -workers by the plantation-owners leaves little to criticize. The -native is free to leave one employer to seek another. His pay is good -and he certainly is not overworked. On nearly every hacienda ample -provision is made for entertainment and the fiestas and dances so -dear to his heart. Many native families have lived and labored on -one plantation for several generations—a fair indication that they -are not ill-treated. One of the atrocities recited in the magazine -articles just mentioned was the tying of an Indian to a post, where he -was whipped severely. The whipping-post has existed, but its use was -fostered by the Indians themselves and was reserved for the habitual -drunkard or him who repeatedly abused his wife and children. Possibly a -similar course of treatment might be beneficial to some citizens of the -United States. - -There was one unfortunate event, however, which reflected no credit on -the natives, but for which they were far less to blame than a certain -class of whites. Not long ago the creed of bolshevism was spread among -these poor credulous people by a Rumanian fanatic, resulting in the -murder of several plantation-owners and the burning of several estates. -A few Indians at Don Eduardo’s hacienda, who had for some time failed -to pay the slight rental required of them, became unruly and the master -ordered them to pay up or leave. In reprisal they set fire to his -house, Casa Real, and all the out-buildings, destroying many priceless -antiquities intended for an American museum of archæology. The house -has been rebuilt, but the lost treasures can never be replaced. The -Indians also drove off all Don Eduardo’s stock and took everything in -the way of valuables that was portable. - -Don Eduardo, in relating his experiences as a plantation-owner, once -said: - -“A certain residue of Indians were never conquered by the Spaniards, -nor have they ever been subdued by the Mexican Government; and they pay -no taxes. They are called Sublevados and I have been warned ever since -I came to Chi-chen Itza that some day the Sublevados would go on the -war-path and wipe me and my hacienda clean off the map. - -“Eventually I became tired of waiting for them to visit me and enjoy -the friendly reception I had prepared for them, which included, among -other things, the fortifying of the Great Pyramid. So I decided to -make a little reconnaissance. Traveling south into their own country, -I lived for some time in their villages, where they still practise the -ancient Maya rites and incantations, even though there is a slight -veneer of Catholicism among them. Since then I have traveled many times -into the Sublevado territory; in fact, have been made a chief of the -tribe by solemn bond and ritual. I have found them a peaceful, friendly -lot of ignorant Indians, unlikely to do any harm as long as they are -left to their own devices and in their present habitat.” - -The Maya is happy-go-lucky, improvident, and usually lazy. He dearly -loves a good time, a good story, and a good joke, especially if it is -of the practical variety in which the other fellow is the butt. He is -very fond of fiestas and dances. - -The native dances are quite different from ours. The men and women sit -close to the walls of the hut or inclosure, sometimes on chairs but -more often on stools. On important occasions, the music is furnished -by violins, guitars, and perhaps some wind-instruments. But always -there is one musician with a long gourd containing stones, which is -shaken in time to the music, producing a hollow _chuck-a-chuck_, -_chuck-a-chuck_ sound. Sometimes the only instrument is a flageolet. -The music is always in a minor key and is without pause or period or -end. A girl—any girl—gets up and proceeds to the center of the floor, -where she shuffles about for perhaps a minute. Then from the other end -of the room some man, who may be a stranger to the girl, comes forth -and shuffles about in front of her. They do not touch each other. They -gyrate rather slowly and move in circles, always facing each other. -When either becomes weary, he or she retires and another takes up the -dance. If the room is sufficiently large there may be as many as three -couples dancing continuously in this manner. The dancers do not smile -nor appear to be enjoying the occasion; yet they must derive pleasure -from it, for throughout the country dances are held frequently. - -Knowing the Mayas of to-day, and their customs, it is interesting -to follow their history back to the earliest times of which there -is authentic record, and from there, through legends and scraps of -knowledge, into their most ancient past. For four centuries we may -trace them backward through well-known history. For still another -century the record is fairly clear. Back of that is only legend, with -here and there some startling, incontrovertible fact to prove their -antiquity. The flickering light of our knowledge becomes dimmer and -dimmer. We know a date in their history about one hundred years before -Christ, but on what preceded that no feeblest ray falls to enlighten -our ignorance. - -To one man, long since departed, we owe a great debt. But for him, our -knowledge of the ancient Mayas would be almost nil, and it is only by a -lucky chance that what he wrote was not lost to us. This man, Diego de -Landa, was Bishop of Yucatan (1573-79), and he came to America on the -heels of the Spanish conquerors. His manuscript,—almost our only guide -to Maya antiquity and known as “Relacion de las Cosas de Yucatan,”—lay -hidden in Madrid for nearly three hundred years ere it was discovered -and published. - -To show how little the Mayas have changed in four centuries I am going -to quote from Landa, using a very free translation but endeavoring -to preserve his meaning. I hope the reader will bear in mind that the -following is a description of the Mayas of the sixteenth century and is -chiefly interesting when compared with the Mayas of to-day: - - The Indians of Yucatan are well built, tall and robust. They - are generally bow-legged, because mothers customarily carry - infants astride their hips. It is considered a mark of beauty - to be cross-eyed. The heads and foreheads are flat, having been - bound in infancy. Their ears are pierced for ear-rings and are - torn by the sacrifices. The men do not have beards and it is - said the mothers burn their boys’ faces with hot cloths so that - hair does not grow. Some do have beards, but these are very - stiff, like the bristles of a pig. The men permit the hair of - the head to grow long except on top, where they burn it off. - Thus the hair of the crown is short, but the remainder is long - and is braided and wound like a wreath around the head, leaving - a small tail in the back as tassels or tufts. - - Their dress is a strip of cloth about as wide as a hand and - wound several times about the waist, with one end hanging in - front and the other in the back. The women adorn these ends - curiously with feathers. They wear large square blankets, which - they fasten to their shoulders, and sandals of hemp or deerskin. - - They bathe a great deal and do not try to hide their nudity - from the women, except with their hands. The men use mirrors - and the women do not. The expression for cuckoldom is that the - wife has put the mirror in her husband’s hair above the occiput. - - Their houses are roofed with straw or palm-leaves and the roof - has a considerable slant. They put a wall lengthwise through - the middle of the house and in it some doors. In the back half - are the beds and the other section is whitewashed and is the - reception room for guests. This room is like a porch, the whole - front being open and without a door. The roof over this part of - the house extends well down over the walls, to keep out sun - and rain. The common people build the houses of the chiefs and - house-breaking is considered a grave crime. Beds are made of - small rods with a mat and cotton blankets on top. In summer the - men especially sleep in the open room or porch, on mats. - - All the people unite in cultivating the fields of the chief - and supplying food to his household. In hunting, fishing, or - bringing salt, a share is always given to the chief. If the - chief dies he is succeeded by his eldest son, but his other - descendants are respected and helped. The subordinate chiefs - help in all things, according to their stations. The priests - live from their offices and from the offerings given to them. - The chiefs rule the town, settle disputes, and govern all - affairs. The principal chiefs travel a great deal and take much - company with them. They visit rich people, where they arrange - the affairs of the villages, transacting their principal - business at night. - - The Indians tattoo their bodies, believing that they become - more valiant thereby. The process is painful, as the designs - are painted on the body and then pricked in with a small - poniard. Because of the pain the tattooing is done only a - little at a time, and also because the tattooed part becomes - inflamed and matterated, causing sickness. Those who are not - tattooed are ridiculed. The natives like to be flattered and - they like to imitate the Castilian graces and customs and - to eat and drink as we do. They are fond of sweet odors and - employ bouquets of flowers and sweet-smelling herbs. They are - accustomed to paint their faces and bodies red, which does not - improve their appearance but which they consider beautifying. - - They are very dissolute in getting drunk, from which follow - many evils such as murder, arson, rape and incest.... They - are fond of recreation, especially of dances and of plays - containing many jokes and witticisms. They sometimes become - servants for a time in a Spanish household just to absorb - the conversation and customs and these are later artfully - represented in native plays. - - Their musical instruments are small kettle-drums played with - the hand and another drum made of hollow wood, played with - a wooden stick containing on the end a ball made of the milk - of a certain tree [rubber]. They have long, slender trumpets - fashioned from hollow sticks with gourds fastened at one end. - Another instrument is made from a whole turtle-shell, which is - played with the palm of the hand and emits a melancholy sound. - They have whistles and flutes of reed or bones of the deer and - from large snail-shells. These instruments are played for their - war-dances. One of these dances is called _co-lom-che_, meaning - reed. A large circle of men is formed. Two go into the center. - One has a handful of darts and while dancing in an upright - position he casts the darts with all his strength at the second - dancer, who dances in a squatting position, from which he - deftly catches each dart with a small stick. After the darts - are all thrown, these two dancers return to their original - places in the circle and two new dancers advance to the center - and repeat the dart-throwing. There is another war-dance in - which about eight hundred men take part. They carry flags and - the tempo is slow. They dance the whole day without stopping - and during the whole day not one man gets out of step. In no - case do the men dance with the women. - - There are many occupations but the people most incline toward - trading, taking salt, clothing, and slaves to the lands of Ulna - and Tabasco, where they exchange for cocoa and counters of - stone which are their money. With these coins they buy slaves, - or the chiefs wear them as jewels at feasts. They have other - counters and jewelry made of certain shells. These are carried - in purses made of network. In the markets are all manner of - goods. They loan money without usury and pay their debts with - good-will. Some Indians are potters and carpenters who are - well paid for the idols of wood and clay which they make. - There are surgeons—or, rather, wizards—who cure with herbs - and incantations. Above all, there are laborers and those who - plant and gather the corn and other produce which they store in - granaries to be sold in season. They have no mules or oxen. - - The Indians have the good custom of helping one another in - all their work. In working the land they do nothing from the - middle of January to April except gather manure and burn it. - Then come the rains and they plant the fields, using a small - pointed stick to poke holes into the ground in each of which - they deposit five or six seeds which grow very rapidly in this - rainy season. They also congregate in groups of about fifty for - hunting or fishing. - - When going on a visit, the Indian takes a present to his host - and the host gives the guest a present of proportionate value. - They are generous and hospitable. They give food and drink to - all who come to their houses. - - They take much pride in their lineage, especially if they are - descendants of some ancient family of Mayapan and they boast of - the distinguished men who have been of their family. The whole - name of the father is always borne by his sons, but not by - his daughters. But the children, both sons and daughters, are - called by the compound names of father and mother, in which the - name of the father is the given name and that of the mother the - surname. Thus the son of Chel and Chan would be Na-Chan-Chel, - which means son of Chel by his wife Chan. A stranger coming to - a village, especially if he be poor, will be received in all - kindness by any family of his name. Men and women of the same - name do not marry, for this is considered very wrong. - - - - - CHAPTER II - - THE CHURCH OF SAN ISIDRO AND ITS FRAGRANT LEGEND - - -“One particularly lovely Sunday morning, some time after taking up -my abode at Chi-chen Itza,” says Don Eduardo, “I was awakened, as on -other occasions, by the softly melodious chiming of the bells in my -little church on the hill. As I lay in my hammock, idly listening to -the pleasant sound, I could distinguish the different tones of the -several bells and it was a pleasant thought to me to know that I had -equipped the little church with bells having a superior quality of -tone. The sound of them was indeed delightful because while church -bells in Yucatan are as plentiful as millionaires in Pittsburgh, they -are usually cracked and raucous. - -“It was still early when I stood before my manor and turned my gaze -eastward toward the little stone church perched cozily on a near-by -gently sloping hillside. Both my manor and the little church had for -many years been in ruins, unused. Extensive repairs had just been -completed on both, to make them habitable. Here and there one of my -Indians, or a whole family, dressed in their Sunday best, were already -churchward bound, and the chimes continued softly to remind the -laggard of his duty. The red rim of the sun was just peeping over the -horizon behind the church, while the birds in every tree and thicket -were voicing their welcome to this glorious new day. A lazy, blissful -breeze laden with the mingled scents of a thousand tropic blossoms -ruffled the tree-tops. Before me stretched a vista of wildly beautiful -country-side with no sign of the handiwork of man other than the little -church. No towering peaks, no gushing streams, no bottomless cañons -greeted my eye; merely a terrain that is just saved from being flat. -Yet it is all divinely lovely—a study in green and blue with here and -there a spot of flaming color. The cloudless sky was of so clear and -vivid a blue that I was tempted to stand on tiptoe and take down a -handful. Foliage of some sort covered every inch of ground and was of -every imaginable shade of green, from the shadowed purple-green where -the rising sun had not penetrated, to the pale green of some of the -tree-tops, turned golden in the first slanting rays. A gorgeous parrot -flashed from tree to tree and disappeared and by his flight brought my -eye to rest on a riot of flame-flower high up in a distant tree. - -“The sudden silence of the bells warned me that if I too intended to -go to church there was no time to lose. My little stone church is -not without fame, for in its then-abandoned sacristy that remarkable -traveler and historian John L. Stephens made his abode when he visited -my City of the Sacred Well. It was here that he wrote his notes on ‘The -Ruined City of Chi-chen Itza.’ Though it has been repaired, it looks -almost as he left it one cloudy Sunday morning nearly eighty years ago. -Its cut-stone walls and bell-tower are the same, but its old roof, -bowed with age, has been replaced with a fine new thatch of palm. - -“San Isidro is the patron saint of the plantation—for no -well-organized plantation is without its patron saint, whose image is -venerated by all the natives there employed. The image of San Isidro -in this little church on the hill at Chi-chen Itza is of unknown -antiquity and is believed to be possessed of miraculous powers which -are constantly manifested. Veneration for the image, together with -the attraction of the three-belled chimes swinging in their places -in the tiny tower, makes the little church a sacred spot not only -to the people of my hacienda but likewise to the inhabitants of the -near-by village of Pisté and the region for many miles around. Has not -the sacred image and the big stone baptismal font been used by the -archbishop himself? Was not Mat-Ek healed, who was blinded for many -months by the vapor from the _ikeban_ plant, blown into his eyes by the -wind while he was gathering his crops? Was he not given back his sight -in less than a week after he had prayed for aid and kissed the feet of -San Isidro? And did not Mat-Ek, in token of his gratitude, have made an -eye of pure silver and give it to the sainted image—an eye which now -hangs over the altar for all to see? What more can you ask? - -“The church was filled to overflowing in token of a great and special -day, for it is only occasionally that the regularly ordained priest -comes all the way from Valladolid, and confessions, christenings, and -marriage bans await his coming. - -“As the congregation slowly drifts into place, the gentle rustling -of the unstarched _huipiles_ and _pics_ of the women and the louder -rustling of the stiffly starched trousers and jackets of the men sound -remarkably like the lapping of summer wavelets upon a sandy beach. The -soft laughter of the children outside the building, mingled with the -restrained voices of admonishing Indian elders, all combine to create -an atmosphere in perfect accord with the surroundings and the low-toned -service. Within the chapel many candles of wild beeswax give forth -soft lights and heavy odors which, mingling with the fragrant smoke of -incense, fall with pleasant, soporific effect upon the congregation. - -“The chimes ring their tuneful, familiar message—a message come down -the centuries since the Child of Bethlehem was born in a manger; a -message brought across the seas to this little stone church, by some -unknown, long-departed padre. The solemn peals roll out and up to those -gray old temples of another faith, wherein the sacred music of the -ancient Mayas, the sound of _tunkul_, or priestly drum, and _dzacatan_, -once beat in pulsing chorus. These sound symbols of the Sacred Cross -are wafted to the altars, still standing, of the Sacred Serpent, whose -creed once reigned supreme over this land. - -“The beloved priest begins the age-old intoned creed and as the -service lengthens through the chants, singing, and sermon, there -comes a penetrating, strangely sweet odor. Stronger and stronger it -grows, filling the church and floating out into the morning air. The -worshipers nod their heads. ‘The _xmehen macales_ have blossomed; -God is good to us,’ they murmur. Six graceful, big-leafed plants -like large calla-lilies had been placed upon the altar, among other -flowering plants. And as I look, the six white buds of these lilies, -each slenderly sheathed in green, open slowly to the light, revealing -blooms of creamy white. They open in unison, as if at the bidding of an -unheard voice. To me it is startling, uncanny. And here is the story -about them that met my eager questions at the close of the service: - -“Francisco Tata de las Fuentas, caballero of Castile, blue-eyed and -yellow-haired, was fair of skin as a Saxon. In his youth he was as hot -of blood and of head as a Gascon and traveled the pace with the best -and worst of Castile and all the adjoining provinces. His offerings to -Venus, to Bacchus, and to the little gods of chance were so fervid and -frequent that they soon caused his real castle in Castile to become -as those common ones of the air. And his broad lands on the banks of -the Guadiana passed to more careful guardians. When nothing remained -to him but his horse, Selim, he betook himself with Hernan Cortes to -New Spain. Here, under Cortes, he learned discretion bought by hard -experience, so that he acquired some wealth. With Francisco de Montejo, -trusted friend and lieutenant of Cortes, he came to Yucatan, received a -royal grant of land with many natives, and took to himself a wife, the -lovely and virtuous daughter of a native chief or _batab_. - -“Time passed and he was gathered to his fathers, leaving an only -child, a son named for him. The second Francisco Fuentes inherited -the father’s fair skin and bold blue eyes, as well as the gorgeous -gold-and-silver trappings of the once fiery Selim, not to mention half -a dozen big plantations, houses and lands in Valladolid and Mérida, and -scores of minor holdings in several other towns and villages. - -“This Francisco Fuentes, or Pancho as his friends called him, had -two sons and a daughter. The sons were stalwart, upstanding fellows, -recalling in their stature and temper their Spanish ancestry, but -showing in their brown skins the admixture of native blood of mother -and grandmother. - -“Maria, the one beloved daughter, had the plump figure and the sweet -temper of her mother, but her proud little head was covered with a -wealth of yellow hair and her eyes were of clearest blue, the dauntless -eyes of the first Francisco. And now Maria, the idol of her father and -worshiped by her brothers, darling of the whole village, was slowly -dying; wasting away with a strange fever that could not be abated. -By day her body was cool and her brain clear, but with the setting -sun came the fever that defied all skill of physicians and nurses. At -midnight her frail, fair form was shaken with ague and burned with a -fever almost to sear the hands of those who ministered to her as she -tossed in delirium. Wasted to a shadow, Maria seemed beckoned by the -Grim Reaper. - -“The sun again touched the western horizon. The sorrowing family, -father and brothers, were at her bedside. Friends and neighbors -gathered to watch over the last hours of the helpless little sufferer, -for there seemed no hope. A knock sounded at the door, hesitant, timid, -as of supplication. - -“‘It is but one of the beggars who constantly impose on Maria,’ said a -sharp-tongued watcher, peering through the window into the dusk. - -“Maria, restlessly turning in her hammock in an inner room, heard the -knocking and the words of the watcher. - -“‘I think,’ whispered she, ‘it is old X-Euan, come for some milk I -promised her for her orphan grandchild. Fill with milk the clean flask -which is on the shelf behind the door and give it to her.’ - -“Old X-Euan took the flask of milk, but from her lips did not come the -whining thanks of the mendicant. Instead, from beneath the tattered -folds of her shawl, she brought forth a vase of strange antique make, -in which was growing a broad-leafed plant with a single swelling bud at -its center. Handing the plant to the watcher, the old Maya woman said: - -“‘Take this to Maria; place it close by her with the blessing of one -to whom she has done as her kind heart, guided by God, has told her to -do.’ In her voice was a note of command which brought obedience from -those who heard. Old X-Euan departed, but some—those who were nearest -and so should have seen clearest—insisted that a faint glow like a -halo enveloped her head. - -“The hour of twilight had passed. The dreaded time of the quickened -pulse and panting delirium had come. Maria lay tossing in her hammock. -Close by her the virgin petals of the flower began slowly to unfold. -A fragrance, at first almost imperceptible, was wafted through the -room. As the blossom opened to full bloom and its perfume permeated the -sick-room, the restless turnings, the feverish mutterings grew less and -less and at last ceased altogether. A dewy moisture appeared on Maria’s -pallid forehead and she sank into deep, refreshing slumber. - -“Amid the rejoicing there was a note of awed wonder, for in the very -center of the flower the beautiful calyx seemed to have taken the fever -heat that was Maria’s, and as her fever abated the heat in the heart of -the flower increased, until at midnight it was almost incandescent. - -“A week passed. Each night, so the watchers told, the flower took to -itself the heat of the fever, while Maria, feverless, slept soundly. -And on the morning of the eighth day she was convalescent. But the -beautiful blossom was but a withered, brown, shapeless nothing. - -“‘_La flor de la calentura_ has performed its task,’ exclaimed the -joyful natives, but Maria, lovely once more with returning strength, -said, ‘Alas! _La flor de la calentura_, the flower that saved my life, -is dead.’ - -“And thus it was told by Maria to her grandchildren and retold by them -to their grandchildren and is now known by every one in the region. -Surely it must be true! Why shouldn’t it be? At any rate, it is -accepted as literally by my Indians as the less pleasing story of Jonah -and the whale.” - - - - - CHAPTER III - - THE FIRST AMERICANS - - -It has been said that civilization is but a layer-cake of eras—a -building up of strata, with the brute state at the bottom. Layer upon -layer, each succeeding generation adds its small bit of culture or -knowledge, until a golden age is finally reached. And, sadly enough, -from that age of enlightenment, the hope of the world, there has always -been a rapid decline, until centuries later, perhaps, again begins the -tedious gradual uplift. - -And the story of man’s rise and fall, in the passing of the ages, -usually is buried in the earth, to be laid bare to our eyes if we have -but the patience to find and the ability to understand. Just as a good -woodsman can read from a scratch on a tree or a faint footprint on the -ground things not obvious to the untrained observer, our men of science -have developed remarkable expertness in divining the history of bygone -eras from the scanty traces that remain. From a skull, centuries buried -in a cave, they reconstruct the Neanderthal man. The fragments of an -earthen pot tell them the degree of culture and the period of him who -once supped from the vessel. - -Wherever there are caves there is the likelihood of uncovering vestiges -of aboriginal life, for primitive men everywhere used caverns, either -as temporary shelters or as permanent abodes. Beneath the cave floor -may be the evidence of many generations of men—the relics buried in -layers one upon another as the discarded and broken implements of one -generation were trampled underfoot and submerged under the charred -embers and rubbish of the succeeding one. - -The written record of the Mayas gives but little clue to their -origin and no indication at all of their descent from more barbarous -ancestors. Did these people, already of a high state of culture, -immigrate from some other land? If so, were they the first comers or -did they find the country even then inhabited? Or were their ancestors -natives of this region for hundreds of centuries before them? - -Yucatan is a land of caverns, veritably a honeycomb of caves, and -eagerly the paleontologist rolled up his sleeves, shouldered his -shovel, and set out to find the answer to these vexing questions. -The answer was found and is conclusive but disappointing. Beyond the -question of a doubt, the Mayas brought with them their culture, and -they were the first inhabitants of this country. Whence they came, or -how, or why; from what race they sprang, we know not and probably never -shall know. A few conflicting legends of their arrival as recorded in -some old Maya writings constitute the sum total of our knowledge on -this point. - -Many intricately derived meanings of the name _Maya_ have been offered. -The most obvious, however, is the direct translation. _Ma_ means -“not” and _ya_ means “emotion,” “grief,” “tiresome,” or “difficult.” -The combination means, “not arduous,” “not severe.” We know that the -Mayas frequently alluded to their country as the Land of the Deer and -the Land of the Wild Turkey— _U-Lumil-Ceh_, _U-Lumil-Cutz_. “Maya,” -therefore, may quite likely have been descriptive of the region as a -pleasant, comfortable place of residence. Juan Martinez, who knows the -Indian and the language, present and past, as no one else, once said to -me: “Work and grief are synonymous to the native mind. Work is grief to -the Indian; therefore a land of no grief and no sorrow may well mean -a land of no work.” However, any explanation of the derivation of so -ancient a name is little more than surmise. - -According to one myth, the Mayas came over the sea from the east, under -the leadership of a hero-deity, Itzamna; hence the name “Itzas” as -applied to a part, at least, of the Mayas. In the Maya books Itzamna is -represented as an old man with one tooth and a sunken jaw. His glyph or -sign is his pictured profile, together with a sign of night, the sign -of food, and two or three feathers. - -The more credible legend refers to an immigration from the west or -north, under a chieftain named Kukul Can. There are reasons for -believing that this legend may be founded upon fact. It is mentioned -in several of the most ancient of the surviving Maya records and in -the testimony of a number of well-versed natives at the time of the -Conquest. Farther up the coast, north of Vera Cruz, is another branch -of the Maya family called the Huastecs, while in Central America, -through Honduras, Guatemala, and even in Costa Rica, are present-day -Maya tribes and ruins of ancient Maya civilization. Also, there is a -close similarity between the Kukul Can legend and the Aztec annals, -indicating a common origin. Everything points to the probability of a -remote great migration of their common ancestors from the north. - -The Aztec tradition is particularly interesting and describes the -arrival by boat of several different tribes at the mouth of the Panuco -River, which spot the Aztecs called Panatolan, meaning “where one -arrives by sea.” The expedition was headed by the supreme leader, -Mexitl, chief of the Mexicans, with whom were other chieftains and -their followers. They traveled on down the coast as far as Guatemala, -and some turned back and settled at various places along the shore. -On this journey an intoxicating drink was originated by one Mayanel, -whose name means “clever woman.”[1] There is a possibility that “Maya” -is derived from her name. At any rate, one tribal chief, Huastecatl, -imbibed too freely and cast aside his garments while intoxicated. His -shame was so great when he realized what he had done that he gathered -his tribe, the Huastecas, and returned with them to Panatolan and -settled there. - -Landa says in his book that some old men of Yucatan related to him -the story, handed down for many generations, that the first settlers -had come from the east by water. These voyagers were ones “whom God -had freed, opening for them twelve roads to the sea.” If there is any -truth in this tradition, these progenitors may have been one of the -lost tribes of Israel. An interesting side light on this hypothesis -is the distinctly Semitic cast of countenance of some of the ancient -sculptures and murals found at Chi-chen Itza and in other old Maya -cities. The dignity of face and serene poise of these carved or painted -likenesses is strikingly Hebraic.[2] - -While we are in the field of conjecture, we may as well consider the -old Greek myth of the lost continent of Atlantis. From the geological -point of view, it is not impossible. The whole of Yucatan is low and -was once the bottom of the sea, as is indicated by its surface rock -and sand. Furthermore, the stretching out of the Antilles as though to -form a bridge with the Azores, and the shallowness of the intervening -Atlantic Ocean, lends plausibility to the idea that there may have been -a cataclysmic upheaval of the ocean-bed during some past era, and not -long ago, geologically speaking—an upheaval which created the land of -Yucatan and caused what was land to the eastward to sink beneath the -level of the Atlantic. What is more natural to suppose than that in -some prehistoric period the lost continent of Atlantis did exist and -proved an easy means of passage between Europe and America? - -The mist-enshrouded history of the migrations of ancient people, the -crossing and recrossing of their pilgrimages and of their blood, is a -fascinating study, but one which tells us comparatively little that may -be crystallized into fact. And so, in these various speculations as to -the origin of the Mayas, no theory contains enough weight of evidence -to warrant the assumption that it is the right one. It is, however, -pretty clearly established from the ancient Maya writings and legends -that there were two main immigrations, the greater one coming from the -west or north and the lesser one from the east. - -Emerging at last from the purely legendary, we reach the middle ground -where the history of the Mayas is still unrecorded but where the word -of mouth, as handed down from father to son, is more precise and -has some relation to definite dates. Then we suddenly step over the -threshold into the historical era. - -The first recorded date, which corresponds to 113 B.C., is -on a statuette from the ancient city of Tuxtla, and there is some -doubt as to whether our reading of this date is correct. The next -inscription corresponds to 47 A.D., and here we are on sure -ground. A monument in northern Guatemala contains a date prior to -160 A.D., at which point the ancient Maya Codices take up -the history of the race and carry it on to the time of the Conquest. -And even at this early time, the Mayas had hieroglyphic writings -and were skilled in stone-carving and the erection of massive works -of architecture. With the written Chronicles, the many hieroglyphed -stones,—“precious stones,” I like to call them,—and the history of -progress as indicated by the different periods of architecture and -sculpture, we are able to verify and correlate most of the subsequent -dates. - -The written Maya records, without which our task of piecing together -anything of their history would be almost impossible, are among the -most interesting and valuable remains of this bygone civilization. The -records are of two kinds. The first, the Codices, are the original -texts, written in hieroglyphics. The second, the Chilan Balam, are -written in the Maya language but with Spanish characters, and are -chiefly transcripts from the more ancient records. - -Only three hieroglyphic Codices have survived, and they are known -respectively as the Dresden Codex, the Perez Codex, and the -Tro-Cortesianus. All are in European museums and many facsimile -reproductions have been made of them for use in other museums and -libraries. These manuscripts are painstakingly illuminated by hand, -in colors, and were done with some sort of brush, possibly of hair -or feathers. They are done on paper or, rather, a sort of cardboard -which has been given a smooth white surface through the application -of a coating of fine lime. The body of the paper is made of the fiber -of the maguey plant. The manuscript is folded like a Japanese screen -or a railway time-table. According to early accounts, some of these -records were also made on tanned or otherwise prepared deerskin and -upon bark. None of the hide or bark records has ever been found by -present-day explorations. It is known that the Mayas had many records -concerning religious history, religious rites and ceremonies, medicine, -and astronomy. The Spanish priests caused all of the Maya writings they -could find to be gathered together and burned, in the fanatical belief -that they were serving the church by so doing. - -If only their bigotry had vented itself in some other way, how much -these old manuscripts might have told us! Apropos of the burning of -the priceless documents Landa says, “We collected all the native books -we could find and burned them, much to the sorrow of the people, and -caused them pain.” - -[Illustration: A PAGE FROM THE PEREZ CODEX, DESCRIBING AN ECLIPSE OF -THE SUN. THIS ANCIENT MANUSCRIPT ILLUMINATED IN COLOR IS NOW IN THE -LIBRARY OF PARIS] - -The group of books called the Chilan Balam, which are chiefly -ideographic transcripts of the more ancient works, written in the Maya -tongue but in Spanish characters, probably were made surreptitiously -by some of the educated natives soon after the Conquest. There are -sixteen of these books still extant. The meaning of this Maya name, -_Chilan Balam_, is interesting. _Chi_ means “mouth”; _lan_ indicates -action. Therefore _Chilan_ is “mouth action,” or “speech.” _Balam_ -is synonymous for either “tiger” or “ferocity.” But the tiger was -worshiped as a deity and the combination of the words, _Chilan Balam_, -means “Speech of the Gods.” The Maya priests were sometimes called by -the name, indicating that they were the mouthpieces of the gods, and -doubtless these records took their name from the priestly appellation. - -The individual books of the Chilan Balam are known by the names of -the villages in which they were found, and in a few cases the name of -the village may have been derived from the presence of the book. The -most important of these books are Nabula, Chun-may-el (which means -“something of the first” or “original”), Kua, Man, X-kutz-cab, Ixil, -Tihosuco, and Tixcocob. - -Just when these books were written is not known, but there is evidence -that the book of Mani was written prior to 1595 and the book of Nabula -tells of an epidemic which occurred in 1663. While teaching the -natives to write the Maya language in Spanish characters, Bishop Landa -employed a rather original method, which is our only key to reading -these writings and which serves as our only clue to the more ancient -hieroglyphs. The ancient Maya writings were purely picture writings, -but to some extent the hieroglyphs had lost their original picture -significance and had come to have a somewhat symbolic meaning. - -In arranging the so-called Maya alphabet (which was first used by the -priests in writing out the prayers for the Mayas), Landa employed a -very ingenious method and one that was practical at the time. He took -the Spanish alphabet and beginning with “A” he asked the educated -Indian to draw the character for him in which the sound of “A” was -predominant. Naturally, after many attempts by the Indian to furnish -such a character he finally selected the hieroglyph _ac_, which is a -picture of a turtle’s head and which in Maya means “turtle” or “dwarf” -or something having a slow movement. Next he took the letter “B” and -eventually chose the character _be_, which means “road,” “walk,” “run,” -and consists of the picture of a footprint. Therefore—not to go into a -lengthy description of the system—he had “A” from _ac_, “B” from _be_, -etc. With this extemporized alphabet the priests were able to write out -the Catholic prayers in such a way that the Indian could repeat them in -Spanish by using the sound of the first part of his hieroglyph for the -sound of each Spanish letter. - -It may be seen from the foregoing that Landa’s alphabet cannot be used -for translating Maya, for when the hieroglyphs are made to represent -the sounds of the Spanish alphabet the result does not indicate the -original connection of a Maya word with its glyph. This fact was a -great disappointment among archæologists, who at first expected to -translate the Maya Codices by the use of the Landa alphabet. Their -hopes, however, were short-lived and they even pronounced Landa an -impostor. On the contrary, he has unintentionally given us what is -almost a Rosetta Stone. - -The Codices, I fear, will never yield a connected story, as they are -written in a stenographic or shorthand style consisting of disconnected -sentences. - -Many of the stones, or _stelæ_, may contain history, and as soon as -we know the meanings of, possibly, a thousand glyphs we shall be able -to make a decided advance in the art of reading the books. Landa in -his book explains not the Maya glyphs but the way the priests used -these Maya characters for religious purposes. For example, he says -_Ma-in-kati_ means “I do not want,” represented in the ancient Maya by -three simple glyphs. Written as the priests had arranged, with a glyph -for each sound of a Spanish letter, the result is a combination of five -glyphs, which, if given their original Maya pictured meanings, leads to -the rather surprising knowledge that “no dead animal was seen at this -place,” or, literally, “not see tail [animal] death place.” - -Besides the Codices and the Chilan Balam, which together are frequently -alluded to as the Maya Chronicles, there are some other documents such -as titles to land, records of surveys, etc. There is a unique history -of the Conquest, written by a contemporary native chief called Na Kuk -Pech, whose name means “house of the feathered wood-tick.” The story -was written in the native language, by means of Spanish characters, and -has been translated recently by Señor Juan Martinez, whose profound -knowledge of the Maya language has eminently fitted him for this task. - -The history of Chi-chen Itza is of especial interest because this was -the Holy City, the Mecca of all the ancient Maya people. According -to the Maya Chronicles, one or several tribes set out from a place -called Nonual, in 160 A.D., and apparently spent many years -in aimless wandering, arriving finally, in 241 A.D., at a -place they named Chac Nouitan. Then follows a gap in our knowledge and -the next we learn of these people is that in 445 A.D., while -they were residing at a place called Bak-Halal, they heard of Chi-chen -Itza. It is clear that Chi-chen Itza was already an inhabited city at -that time. Soon after this, these tribes moved to Chi-chen Itza, where -they lived until about 600 A.D., when, for some unaccountable -reason, they abandoned it utterly and migrated to the land of Chan Kan -Putun. And this residence was in turn abandoned two hundred and sixty -years later, because of some calamity; one Chronicle speaks of a great -fire. - -For nearly a hundred years, to quote from the Chronicles, “the Itzas -lived in exile and great distress under the trees and under the -branches.” Then, some of them reëstablished Chi-chen Itza in 950 -A.D., while others founded the city of Uxmal or went to -Mayapan. The second residence lasted for some two hundred years. About -1200 A.D., the Itzas, under the ruler Ulumil, invaded the city -of Mayapan and at about this same time Chi-chen Itza was attacked and -depopulated by foreigners—in all probability the Nahuas (Mexicans), -who came down from the north. The last event alluded to in the -Chronicles is the coming of the Spaniards under Montejo, who found the -Mayas already decadent and their cities long ruined and abandoned. - -We have no authentic description of the actual condition of Chi-chen -Itza when the Spaniards came, but it is known with certainty that Tiho -(place of the five temples), one of the ancient cities, the site of the -modern city of Mérida, was in ruins. The temples were dilapidated and -overgrown with vegetation and great trees were rooted in the walls. The -few inhabitants living around these ruins knew virtually nothing of the -founders of the city, nor of those who had lived there when it was in -its prime. - -At the coming of the Spaniards to Chi-chen Itza, about 1541, the city -was inhabited by a few people who were, I think, nothing more than -campers—inferior people using as shelters the buildings which they had -found there and of whose history they were quite ignorant. - -While it has no place in this book, the last known migration of some of -the Mayas is interesting and it is certain that a considerable number -emigrated between the years 1450 and 1451 southward to Lake Peten,[3] -where they built a city on an island and there they survived, together -with their ancient culture, until conquered in 1697 by the Spaniards, -who destroyed all their temples and books and perforce made either good -Christians or “good Indians” of all the inhabitants. - -Landa says, under the heading, “Various Misfortunes Experienced in -Yucatan in the Century before the Conquest”: - - These people had over twenty years of abundance and health - and multiplied greatly. All of the land looked like one town - and they built many temples which can be seen to-day in all - parts; and crossing the mountains, one can see through the - leaves of the trees sides of houses and buildings wonderfully - constructed. After all this happiness, one evening in the - winter a wind arose about six o’clock and increased until it - became a hurricane of the Four Winds.[4] This wind tore out the - large trees, made a great slaughter of all kinds of game, tore - down all the high houses, which, as they were thatched with - straw and had fire inside against the cold, caught fire. Great - numbers of people were burned and those that escaped were torn - to pieces by falling trees. - - This hurricane lasted until noon of the next day. Some who - lived in small houses escaped—the young people who were just - married, who were accustomed to build small houses in front of - those of their parents or parents-in-law, where they lived the - first years. - - Thus this land then lost its name, which was U-Lumil-Ceh, - U-Lumil-Cutz, Land of the Deer, Land of the Wild Turkey, and - was without trees. The trees now seen all appear to have been - planted at the same time, as they are all of the same height, - and, looking at this land from some spot, it seems as though it - had been trimmed off with shears. - - Those who escaped felt encouraged to rebuild and cultivate the - land and they again multiplied greatly, having fifteen years of - health and good weather and the last year was the most fruitful - of all. At the time of harvest, there came upon the land some - contagious fevers which lasted twenty-four hours. After the - fever the victim would swell up and burst open, being full of - worms, and of this pestilence many people died leaving the - fruit ungathered. - - After this pestilence there was another sixteen good years - in which they renewed their passions and ravagings. In this - way one hundred and fifty thousand men died in battle. After - this massacre they were more calm and made peace and rested - for twenty years. Then came another pestilence. Large pimples - formed and they rotted the body and emitted offensive odors in - a way that the members fell off by pieces within four or five - days. - - This plague has passed more than fifty years ago, the massacres - of the wars twenty years before that; the pestilence of the - swelling and worms sixteen years before the wars; and the - hurricane another sixteen years before that and twenty-two - years after the destruction of Mayapan, which, according to - this record, makes one hundred twenty-five years since the - destruction. Thus by the wars and other punishments which - God sent, it is a wonder there are as many people as are now - living, although there are not many. - -This quaint account by Landa sheds some light upon the condition of the -Mayas during the century preceding the Spanish invasion and indicates -that the golden age of the race had occurred not many centuries before. - -The legendary history of the coming of the Mayas to Chi-chen Itza is -alluded to by Landa in several passages. He states: - - It is the opinion among the Indians that with the Itzas who - populated Chi-chen Itza, there reigned a great man called Kukul - Can, and the principal temple of the city is called Kukul Can. - They say he entered from the west, that he was very genteel, - and that he had neither wife nor children. After he left - Chi-chen Itza he was considered in Mexico one of their gods and - called Quetzal Coatl and in Yucatan they also had him for a god. - -In another place Landa says: - - The ancient Indians say that in Chi-chen Itza reigned three - brothers. This was told to them by their ancestors. The three - brothers came from the west and they reigned for some years in - peace and justice. They honored their god very much and thus - built many buildings and beautiful, especially one. These men, - they say, lived without wives and in great honesty and virtue, - and during this time they were much esteemed and obeyed by - all. After a time one of them failed, who had to die, although - some of the Indians said he went to Bak-halal. The absence of - this one, no matter how he went, was felt so much by those who - reigned after him that they began to be licentious and formed - habits dishonorable and ungovernable, and the people began to - hate them in such a way that they killed them, one after the - other, and destroyed and abandoned the city. - -Virtually the same stories are contained in a document found at -Valladolid and dated 1618, which goes on to state that the newer part -of Chi-chen Itza was built about 1200 A.D. - -The ancient city consists of two parts, the southern, which is ruined -to such as extent that it contains almost no standing edifices, and the -newer city built to the north, which contains many buildings—some of -them almost perfectly preserved. I believe that much of the older city -was built at least a thousand years prior to most of the buildings in -the newer city, and there is ample evidence to substantiate the belief -that the old city was ruthlessly robbed of its carvings and cut stones -for use in the construction of the new. - -The Nahuatl influence is seen in the newer buildings. It is thought -that Chi-chen Itza reached the height of its civil power, though not -its artistic supremacy, after it had been conquered by the Aztec -warriors from the north, and the native inhabitants were reduced to -slavery and driven by their masters to the speedy building of many -temples—an undertaking which they would have gone about in much more -leisurely fashion had there been no compulsion. - -Don Pedro Aguilar, one of the earliest historians of Yucatan, states -that six hundred years before the coming of the Spaniards the Mayas -were the vassals of the Aztecs and were forced by them to construct -remarkable edifices such as those found at Chi-chen Itza and Uxmal. - -Herbert Spinden, in his admirable little book “Ancient Civilizations of -Mexico,” has most happily drawn an analogy between the traits of the -Mayas and Aztecs and the similar traits of the old Greeks and Romans. -The Mayas were like the Greeks, the creative race, while the Aztecs -were primarily warriors, as were the Romans. - -Just what was the impulse which led these people to undertake the -mighty works they accomplished,—whether it was religious fervor or -plain fear,—we do not know. We do know that their age of greatest -progress was within the era of verifiable history. We know that they -built many large cities; and that there was a large population; -Chi-chen Itza was a city of at least two hundred thousand inhabitants, -and some archæologists believe that at one time its population numbered -no less than a million. - -During their supreme period they built great pyramids and marvelous -temples. They wrote books and set up intricately carved record-stones. -They brought the whole of Yucatan into a federation of government that -held the people together in a unity which has few parallels in the -history of the human race. They evolved a calendar which is ingenious, -complicated, and amazingly correct. They read the heavens and knew the -planets and their seasons and changes. They displayed in all they did a -genius to invent and an ability to execute which cause us to rate their -culture very high; and this culture is all the more wonderful because -it was purely original and cut off by an ocean on each side from any -contact with the rest of the world. - - - - - CHAPTER IV - - DON EDUARDO’S FIRST VIEW OF THE CITY OF THE SACRED WELL - - -Don Eduardo has described to me his first trip to Chi-chen Itza, and -his impressions, which are somewhat as follows if my notes and memory -do not err: - -“I had traveled all of a hot and dusty day, on horseback, through the -jungle and over animal trails. In many places my Indian guide, who went -afoot, had to lead my horse over or around the huge stones that blocked -our path. After the first few miles I was painfully aware that running -blithely from my city into Mérida, for forgotten trifles or even for -sorely needed supplies, was another of my pleasant fancies thoroughly -punctured. - -“Darkness overtook us ere we reached our journey’s end, and the ensuing -coolness was delightfully refreshing even though the dark slowed our -already snail-like progress. Just when I had abandoned all hope of -making further headway, the moon sailed majestically into view—a -gorgeous full moon in a perfect Yucatan night, lighting every object -softly, gently, with a caressing touch so lacking in the masculine -directness of Old Sol. A more lovely silver and black-velvet night -I have never seen. Truly, the moon magic of Yucatan is no less than -divine stage-craft which subtly wafts one completely away from the Land -of Things as They Are and into the Realm of Enchantment. I should -not have been surprised to meet the March Hare, Lancelot, Gulliver, -Scheherezade, or Helen of Troy. In fact, I was prepared to stop and -chat with any of them and offer a bite from the one remaining cake of -chocolate in my pocket. - -“Sometime, and most reluctantly, I suppose I must go the way of all -flesh. If so, then by all means let it be in the full glory of a -Yucatan moon and the going will not be unpleasant. - -“For days I had been traveling, first by train, then by _volan_,—that -satanic contrivance which leaves one bruised and bumped from head -to foot,—and finally in the saddle, dozing over the head of a -somnambulant horse. - -“Even the witchery of the moonlight could not long hold alert my -fatigued body and mind. On and on we plodded, hour after hour. -Midnight passed and how many more hours I do not know, when I heard -an exclamation in the vernacular, from my guide. Startled out of a -half-conscious dream I came erect in the saddle. - -“My Indian was earnestly pointing up and ahead. I raised my eyes and -became electrically, tinglingly awake. There, high up, wraith-like in -the waning moonlight, loomed what seemed a Grecian temple of colossal -proportions, atop a great steep hill. So massive did it seem in the -half-light of the approaching morning that I could think of it only as -an impregnable fortress high above the sea, on some rocky, wave-dashed -promontory. As this mass took clearer shape before me with each -succeeding hoof-beat of my weary steed, it grew more and more huge. I -felt an actual physical pain, as if my heart skipped a few beats and -then raced to make up the loss. - -“Thus for the first time I viewed the Great Pyramid of Kukul Can, now -called El Castillo—the Castle. And I shall always be glad that I -had the good fortune to get my first glimpse of it in this fashion. -Times without number I have since passed and repassed this grand old -structure, yet never have I walked in its shadow without a quickening -of the pulse or without recalling undimmed the vision of that moonlit -night. And, as I look back through my years of intimate companionship -with my City of the Sacred Well, it seems to me that moonlit nights -are linked inextricably with nearly all the important events that have -there befallen me—or, at least, with those which are pleasant in -retrospect. - -“By the time I had dismounted and unsaddled my horse my Indian was -already curled up and fast asleep. The poor horse was, I think, in -sound slumber the minute his feet came to a halt. But for me, weary as -I was, sleep was out of the question. I must see more of this magic -city. Reaching the foot of the steep ascent, I crawled painfully up -what had obviously once been a tremendous stairway, now overgrown with -small trees and shrubs. At the end of a breathless climb I reached a -narrow, level stone ledge eighty feet above the ground and faced the -north door of the temple—the temple of the great god Kukul Can. This -sheer pile of perfectly joined masonry pierced by a forty-foot doorway -within whose sides I could dimly discern intricate and fantastically -carved bas-reliefs; this time-grayed temple of a forgotten faith, -viewed there in the silence and solitude of eerie moonlight—is it -to be wondered at if my knees shook just a little and if I glanced -apprehensively over my shoulder awaiting the terrible, majestic wrath -of the god whose temple was profaned by the eyes of an unbeliever? - -“On my eminence I turned slowly and gazed out over the dead city. Here -and there, some near by and some at a distance, were a dozen other -pyramids surmounted by buildings. A few seemed well preserved, others -were in picturesque ruins, all ghostly white in the moonlight, except -where a doorway or a shadow stood out in inky blackness. I could see -the long shadow of that old temple we call the ‘Nunnery.’ The stillness -was broken only by the monotonous hum of hidden cicadas; or was it the -distant beat of phantom _tunkuls_, or sacred drums, warning that the -ancient God of the Feathered Serpent did but sleep and might at any -moment awake? - -“And then my eyes were caught and held by a broad raised roadway -leading straight away from the temple toward a vast black pool -overgrown with trees. Breathless, frozen to the spot, I could only look -and look, for in a blinding flash I realized that I was gazing at the -Sacred Way, and at its end the Sacred Well in whose murky depths even -then might lie the pitiful bones of many once lovely maidens sacrificed -to appease a grim god. What untold treasures this grisly well might -hide! What tragedies had been enacted at its brink! - -“I descended and as I walked along the Sacred Way I thought of the -thousands, millions perhaps, of times this worn thoroughfare had been -trodden in bygone ages where all was now desolate. Here was I, a grain -of dust moving where kings and nobles of countless centuries before had -trod, and where, for all I know, kings and nobles may again tread long -years after I am still a grain of dust but moveless. - -“At the brink of the well I peered into the blackness and continued to -gaze into its depths, picturing in my mind’s eye the awesome ceremonies -it had witnessed. The chant of death begins, swelling softly over the -slow pulsing of the drums. The solemn procession leaves the holy temple -of Kukul Can and the funeral cortège advances along the broad raised -avenue of the Sacred Way, toward the Sacred Well, the dwelling-place of -Noh-och Yum Chac, the terrible Rain God who must be placated by human -sacrifice. The corn in the fields is withering, crying for rain. If -the anger of Yum Chac be not appeased famine will follow and the dread -Lord of Death, Ah Puch—he of the grinning, sightless skull—will walk -abroad in the land. - -“Slowly, slowly the cortège draws near. At its head is the high priest, -clad in ceremonial vestments and elaborate feathered head-dress, -as befits the pontiff of the Feathered Serpent. And what is this -embroidered bower borne so reverently by sturdy, sun-browned lesser -priests? Is it a bier, a stately catafalque? Is the pitiful victim -already dead? Ah, no! she moves, beautiful, flawless—the most lovely -maiden to be found in the land. Through every city and village and -country-side, for weeks and weeks, a thousand priests have sought her, -this fairest flower of Maya maidenhood. Her face is pale. She knows the -supreme honor that is hers—she who is to become so soon the bride of -the Rain God. But there is terror in those lovely eyes, a benumbing, -cold fear of the Unknown. - -“And behind them, filling the whole of the Sacred Way, come the king, -the nobles, the great warriors and many priests. Already on the far -side of the Sacred Well is gathered a silent, grave-faced multitude, -the whole populace of the city and pilgrims from afar. - -“The high priest enters the little temple at the brink of the well. The -dirge ceases, the drums are stilled. He performs his devotions to the -Rain God. He lights the sacred incense-burners and the fragrant blue -vapor floats, curling, upward. Again the slowly chanted dirge starts, -to the muted beating of the drums. He lights a basket of sweet-smelling -copal incense, holds it aloft, and casts it into the well. The chant -grows louder, the drums beat faster. - -“Two powerful _nacons_, or lesser priests, lift the maiden from her -couch, their muscular brown arms forming a sling in which she lies as -lightly as a leaf on the bosom of a stream. They advance with her to -the edge of the well. The pitiless sun glares down into her upturned -fear-stricken eyes and she throws one slender arm over her face. Her -gauzy garments reveal the tender flesh and adolescent contours of a -girl in her early teens. - -“Slowly the _nacons_ swing the feather-light body backward and forward -to the beat of the drums and the rhythm of the dirge; forward and -backward in an ever wider sweep, while the drums and chant swell to a -roar. At a sign from the high priest the drums are suddenly stilled; -the chant ends in a high-pitched wail. A last forward swing and the -bride of Yum Chac hurtles far out over the well. Turning slowly in the -air, the lithesome body falls faster and faster till it strikes the -dark water seventy feet below. - -“An echoing splash and all is still. Only the widening ripples are -left. The child bride has found favor in the eyes of her lord, the -great god Noh-och Yum Chac. - -“Thus I imagined the sacrifice at the Sacred Well—a sacrifice enacted -not once but hundreds of times through many centuries. Thus has it been -handed down in a dozen Maya legends and I wondered whether this grim -old well really held at its far murky bottom the relics of the ancient -rites or, after all, the sacrifices were mere myths founded on some -trivial event, which grew and grew with each telling. - -“Granting that such sacrifices had been, every vestige of evidence -might well have disintegrated into nothingness a thousand years before -my time. Assuming even that at the bottom of this watery pit was -all I sought, what a mad venture it was for one lone man with but a -little money and no great mechanical skill to attempt to recover these -evidences! - -“And yet my faith was strong. I felt that my quest was not to be in -vain and that somehow I would make the well yield up its treasures. At -least I must attempt the feat or continue to be haunted by the idea all -the rest of my life. - -“My wearied brain could no longer sustain these speculations. My whole -tired body knew but one desire—sleep. Yet I did not wish to sleep in -this gruesome place. Half a mile farther on I should find the Casa -Real, the old manor-house that was to be my home. Wearily I strove -toward it in the failing moonlight. - -“At last I approached the main arched gateway of the corral, built -more than two hundred years ago. It was boldly outlined in the pale -moonlight, while here and there were long jet shadows cast by some -broken portion of a wall or by some partially burned but upright trunk -of a great tree. All was desolation, as in the case of the ancient -temples, but a newer desolation, for this manor had been built less -than seventy years before. As I pushed my way over broken stones a -cloud came over the moon and I stumbled full upon what seemed at first -the vertebræ of a huge fish. The cloud passed as I halted and an -involuntary shudder gripped me as I looked down on the whitened bones -of a human skeleton. A little to one side on a slight elevation lay the -severed skull; and just beyond was still another and yet another. Ah, -yes! I knew the tragic story, but had not expected to be met with so -brutal a reminder of it. - -“The former inhabitants of this once beautiful hacienda had all been -massacred, many years before, by the Sublevados, the untamed tribes of -Maya Indians living some miles to the south. These savages had slain -every living creature on the estate and had left the several buildings -in smoldering ruins. Even at the present time the Sublevados are still -untamed and I have often been warned of the menace of a similar fate. - -“I turned and gazed at the old gateway under which I had so recently -passed—a gateway, so the records say, built in June, 1721. Under it -also had passed long lines of weeping captives, and there are men -living who remember the event. These poor captives were laden with the -booty taken from the villages of Tunkas and Dzitas as they were urged -on by their Sublevado captors in their terrible journey to Chan Santa -Cruz, the distant Sublevado stronghold. And only the vigorous men with -trades and the young women were spared for the journey, while the -other prisoners were ruthlessly murdered. Of the prisoners left alive -for the journey those who fell by the wayside were despatched with a -stroke of the machete and left where they fell. I later found many of -their pitiful skeletons. - -“Poor boys and girls! What heart-pangs they must have felt; what -scalding tears must have fallen on the stone flags as they passed -beneath this old arch! Their pangs were soon stilled and the tears -they spilled quickly dried, for they all soon came to that tranquil -rest which is for eternity. Their lives were like the meteor that -flashes for a moment in the sky and is then forever snuffed out. ‘Cigar -stubs that the God of Night tosses away’ is the native vernacular for -meteors. The souls of these wretched youths and maidens seem to have -been no less carelessly tossed away by the God of the Night. - -“I sank down upon the corridor of my new-old home, too utterly fatigued -in mind and body to care what army of horrid phantoms might there -abide. Let graveyards yawn and specters dance, let witches ride; loose -Beelzebub and all his imps, but let me sleep! - -“And so I did until awakened by a torrid sun burning down upon me -through what once had been a roof.” - - - - - CHAPTER V - - THE ANCIENT CITY - - -“I arose cautiously, expecting to find an ache in every bone and -muscle, and was agreeably surprised to discover myself without an ache -or a pain, though a little stiff. Apparently the hot sun had baked -all pains away. In a shady place near by sat my Indian, not sleeping, -apparently not even thinking, but just doing nothing at all, an art in -which he was an adept. - -“I was conscious of an earnest desire for two things,—a bath and -breakfast,—and I wanted a great deal of both. Without much difficulty, -in sign language, I made my wishes clear to the native and he conducted -me a distance of half a mile or so, not to the Sacred Well but to -another well or cenote called Tol-oc, which is about two hundred feet -to the left of the road leading to the village of Pisté. How he knew so -definitely the location of the well is a mystery to me. - -“This great cool, crystal-clear pool was the water-supply of the -ancient city. A wide flight of steps, now much broken, leads into -its depths and the lower steps are at present actually some distance -beneath the surface of the water. On the stone rim of the sides of the -pool are deep grooves, worn in olden times by the ceaseless raising and -lowering of rope-suspended water-jugs or gourds. And can’t you picture -the women of old Chi-chen Itza in a constant stream passing from dawn -till dusk along the road to the well of Tol-oc?—the servant glad -to escape for a time the sharp tongue of her mistress; the wrinkled, -toothless crone to whom a trip to the well means an opportunity to -exchange the latest gossip; the comely young matron anxious to get back -to her household tasks; the belle of the neighborhood, on her way to -the well, light-heartedly swinging her empty water-jug and bantering -those who pass. This is a phase of life as old as communal existence. -One may see the same scene enacted to-day almost anywhere south of the -Rio Grande or in Spain, Egypt, or the Orient. - -“As I swam about in the pool fresh vigor flowed into my veins, and I -emerged with an increased craving for breakfast. When I reached the -hacienda I found my Indian had anticipated this and while the repast -he provided might not have appealed to a pampered appetite, I found it -a Lucullian feast; and my guide proved no mean trencherman, either, -although I suspect he had fortified himself with no less heartening a -meal two hours earlier, when he found me asleep. - -“While he performed the housewifely task of doing the dishes, which -consisted of throwing away the big green leaves we used as plates, I -sat in the shade of a magnificent old _yax-che_—the sacred tree of -the Mayas—and puffed my favorite and most disreputable pipe. Sitting -somewhere in the shade around Chi-chen Itza is the most pleasant -occupation in the universe, for there is a perpetual breeze and no -matter how hot the sun, one is always cool and comfortable in the -shade. Sitting thus is the favorite and major occupation of the native, -and the white man can very easily acquire the habit. - -“As I sat there, at peace with the world, my experiences of the -previous night seemed unreal—the fantasmagoria of a fevered dream and, -much as I enjoyed this shady spot where I sat, the ancient city called -me. - -“Taking the Indian with me, I returned to make a superficial -examination of the place. My newly acquired estate of about thirty-six -square miles included the abandoned, dilapidated manor, corrals, and -other buildings. And within its boundaries lie the Sacred Well and -all of the ancient ruins and temples that are still standing, not to -mention many others which are now covered with debris. It also includes -several Indian villages. Chi-chen Itza is really two cities. The more -ancient is overgrown by a thick forest and its location is indicated -only by an occasional grassy, thicket-covered mound out of which grow -great trees and whose sides are covered with scattered carved stones. -The newer city is clearly defined by the buildings which are still -standing. The whole, including the older and the newer city, covers an -area of about twelve square miles. - -“There is no apparent plan in the situation of the various structures, -although most of them are arranged in such a way that their openings -avoid the direct rays of the sun at midday. The city was built in this -location because of the two great wells and the lesser one, which I -am sure are not the work of men, although they may have been altered -or enlarged. In all probability there were no definite and continuous -streets; with the exception of the Via Sacra or Sacred Way, there is -little or no evidence of what might be called a city street. - -“I reason that there was little need for streets, because there were no -beasts of burden, nor vehicular traffic. Loads were transported upon -the backs of men, just as they are largely transported at the present -time. The ancient builders did construct very good narrow, ballasted -stone roads which led into Chi-chen Itza from various directions, but -they were roads for human feet to travel. Surely the architects of -these wonderful buildings; these people who knew much of astronomy and -who could count into prodigious figures had the intelligence to lay -out their cities in blocks and squares if any particular advantage or -convenience were to be gained thereby! - -“The only evident plan is that the present buildings, which are temples -and perhaps palaces for the kings and those of high religious or noble -rank, are centrally located. Beyond these for miles about are the -remains of small rectangular foundations, evidently the sites of what -were once the dwelling-places of the large population of the city. - -“In the area which I designate as new Chi-chen Itza are twelve -buildings in an almost perfect state of preservation, as though built -no more than twenty or thirty years ago. Ten of them are still covered -with their original ponderous stone roofs and are entirely habitable. -These structures alone might house a considerable population. I have -lived for months at a time in one or another of them and have found -them to be delightfully comfortable and cool. Indeed, these elevated -Maya temples are the most ideal living-quarters, much to be preferred -to the usual house built upon level ground. Although they contain no -windows, they are well lighted by the reflected sunlight striking -through the doorways upon the white limestone floors. - -“Passing across what is now a lovely flower garden in the rear of my -home,—which is no other than the building in whose broken corridor I -spent my first night,—my guide and I came at no great distance upon -a rise of ground where are situated two most interesting groups of -buildings. The first one, a massive structure on our right, bears the -curious name Akab Tzib, ‘House of the Writing in the Dark.’ It is one -of the few buildings which has no sub-base or plinth of artificially -heaped earth or stone to give it elevation. It is built upon the -natural ground-level, which, however, is somewhat higher at this point -than the surrounding terrain. And it stands sheer on the edge of a -depression in the ground some four hundred feet across. - -“It is possible that this depression represents the site of an ancient -quarry from which the stone for the building of the city was taken, -or it may be simply a natural hollow caused by the caving in of the -soft limestone surface rock. The front of Akab Tzib stretches a -distance of one hundred and seventy-six feet and in depth the building -is forty-eight feet. The structure is low, the façade rising only -to a height of eighteen feet. The walls, however, are capable of -withstanding a siege. They are of great thickness and constructed of -perfectly joined rectangular stones, the surfaces of which are dressed -and polished to smoothness. The expanse of the west wall is broken by -a shallow recess in the center which divides the wall into three equal -sections, with the middle section recessed or offset by a depth of -about three feet. - -“This central part is pierced by three square-cut doorways. John L. -Stephens, who visited the temple more than eighty years ago, says that -in the middle section of the interior was a great stairway that led to -the roof. It has since collapsed and is now but a heap of stones and -dust. Apparently it was about forty-five feet wide. Knowing the Maya -custom, which was common, of erecting one structure on top of another, -we may surmise that this stairway was probably a sort of flying arch -and intended as a means of reaching a second temple to be built on top -of the low, massive-walled Akab Tzib. For some unknown reason the upper -temple was never erected. Many interesting theories have been advanced -as to why the architects abandoned their original plan. On each side -of what was once the stairway are doors leading into chambers. Besides -these entrances there are seven handsome doorways along the western -façade of the building. In all, there are eighteen rooms or apartments. - -“The whole massive structure is an unsolved mystery. Over the doorway -of a small, dim chamber in the southeastern part of the building is -a carved lintel on which is depicted in bas-relief the seated figure -of a priest or a god, wearing a feathered head-dress and with a long -nose-plug protruding from the nostrils. The figure is seated on a -throne and holds in its hand the ceremonial _caluac_ or baton of rank. -In front of the figure, at its feet, is a graceful brazier containing -what was probably a burnt offering of some sort—copal or incense. On -each side of this well-carved picture are double rows of hieroglyphs, -the meaning of which is unknown. There are no other carvings, glyphs, -or pictures in the entire building. This fact is hard to understand, -because these ancient builders usually inscribed every available -surface. In one room is a large depression in the floor, and in the -center of the building is what appears to be a solid mass of masonry -forty-four by thirty feet and reaching clear to the ceiling. Perhaps it -contains hidden and secret chambers; that remains to be found out. - -“Of one thing, however, I am reasonably sure: the carved lintel was -not inscribed nor originally designed for its present position, but -was taken bodily from some earlier structure, probably one of the now -leveled temples of the older Chi-chen Itza. It represents the period -of the highest Mayan art, which occurred before the domination of the -Nahuatls, who swept down from the north some centuries later. I believe -this building was not erected until after the abandonment of Chi-chen -Itza, the long residence at Chan Kan Putun, the return to Chi-chen -Itza, and the enslavement of the Mayas by the Nahuatls. Very likely it -is the most recently built of all the present monuments in the city, -and the one carved piece in it, the lintel, was taken from an older -building without reference to the significance of the glyphs. From this -lintel is derived the name of the temple, for Akab Tzib means literally -‘House of the Writing in the Dark.’ - -“Leaving Akab Tzib, we walk for the distance of a city block or so -through dense shrubbery and over an old stone fence, built perhaps -eighty years ago, and come to a most interesting building called La -Casa de las Monjas or the Nunnery. It is what might be called rambling, -yet is of exquisite architectural harmony and richly ornamented, in -utter contrast to the building we have just left. It is one of the -most wonderfully carved edifices of this old civilization to be found -anywhere in Yucatan. It spreads out for an eye-filling distance of two -hundred and twenty-eight feet, the center part of the huge pile rising -for nearly ninety feet, in three separate tiers, each smaller than the -one below it. Stretching away on each side of this center portion are -one- and two-story annexes. - -[Illustration: The Nunnery, the only three-storied structure in the -Sacred City.] - -[Illustration: The second story of the Nunnery.] - -[Illustration: All that remains of the third story of the Nunnery. -Several inscribed stones built hit or miss into the wall were doubtless -taken from the older city.] - -“How well its name fits this grimly beautiful old building is a matter -of conjecture. We know that the Maya priesthood was dominant in all -matters and that the lives of the people seem to have been governed by -a constant devotion to their pantheon of gods and especially to the -all-great Kukul Can. Their ceremonies were numerous and elaborate. -Doubtless there were many priests and perhaps priestesses. Long -training must have been required in the amazing and intricate rituals. -And the ancient historians relate that it was the custom to sequester -certain girls or women belonging to religious orders. It is not -unlikely that this vast building of many rooms and annexes, which seems -more fitted to be a place of residence than a temple, may have been -the abode of Mayan monks or nuns, or possibly a training school for -novitiates. Some believe it to have been the king’s palace. - -“Not the least perplexing thing about La Casa de las Monjas is the -plain evidence that what now meets our eyes as a symmetrical whole -is, in fact, the result of several different periods of building. The -principal structure has been built in stages—for all the world as a -swallow year after year builds one nest on top of the previous one. -And the annexes evidently were built at various times, as the need for -them arose. The whole base of the building is buried in debris, which -detracts from the true and lovely lines of the architecture. I have -excavated a trench part-way around, to clear out this rubbish, and -the trench reveals the fact that La Casa de las Monjas has served as a -dwelling-place for many people, or that many lived near by even long -after the place had lost its sacred significance and its very name and -purpose were no longer known. - -“Without danger of contradiction, I think we may in fancy reconstruct -this Nunnery, in the order of its building. The first structure was -a single, rectangular unit about one hundred feet in length. A later -builder caused it to be entirely filled with great stones and rubble -and cement, so that it formed a solid base or foundation. More masonry -was then erected to the same height, on three sides, to enlarge this -base area, and upon the whole was erected a building ninety feet long -and one third as wide, leaving a flat promenade twenty-five feet wide -all around, from which there is a delightful view of the surrounding -country. We have dug through the masonry of the sub-structures and -into the old, original building which was filled in with stone-work -to provide a support for the later and upper buildings, so that our -theories are substantiated that far at least. - -“To reach the second structure, whose floor is thirty-four feet -above-ground, a great stone stairway of forty steps was erected, up -which twenty men might march abreast. If they were men of our day they -must surely come tumbling down again, for the steps are each nine -inches high but with very narrow treads, built for bare-footed or -sandaled folk and not for clodhopper boots or shoes. - -“A third and still smaller structure—now little more than a jumble -of stones, except for a part of one façade and a doorway—was built -atop the second temple and served by another grand and steep stairway, -a continuation of the first. This topmost temple was rich in carved -stones, taken, in all probability, from the oft-ravaged older city. -The various annexes were built on to or adjacent to the first and -largest building. All this the reader will see from the illustrations -opposite page 65 and page 69. The custom of enlarging Maya temples by -such methods as just described was not uncommon. Perhaps it indicated -growing power or population. Surely it indicated long residence. - -“The main building, constituting the second story, has five doorways on -the south side and one doorway at each end, and contains many chambers -and intercommunicating doorways. The end rooms extend clear across -the building. The central rooms are long and narrow, each with three -doorways. There are also very many shallow alcoves, scarcely more than -niches, which may have contained idols or scrolls—some say books. The -center portion is solid masonry, which originally may have contained -apartments later filled with stone to provide support for the third -story. - -“The entire rambling structure is ornamented with symbolistic carvings -and murals in a profusion of designs, many of them of matchless -beauty in inspiration and execution. The façade of the main building -is twenty-five feet in height, with two handsome stone cornices -extending its whole length. The eastern façade in particular is crowded -with ornamentation. The dominant motif is the face of the god Kukul -Can—symbolic masks with upturned snouts which some observers have -called ‘elephant trunks.’ The same masks are seen again and again in -all these old ruins, but in many cases the projecting snouts have been -broken off by vandals; indeed, a special zeal has at some time been -devoted to this particular destruction. Linking the masks and carrying -the whole in a carefully planned and balanced decorative series are -geometrical designs and figures. Above the broad band of the upper -cornice and carved in deep relief are geometrical stone screens not -inferior to those of the Moors or of India. - -“Over the main doorway are two bands of small, undeciphered -hieroglyphs, above which project six bold and gracefully curved -ornaments. From them, we may imagine, once hung a costly curtain, heavy -with embroidery. And still higher above the doorway, interrupting the -geometrical sculptures of the whole façade, is a horseshoe-shaped -frame within which may still be seen a badly defaced seated figure -with feathered head-dress. The lintels over the classic doorways are -of huge perfectly cut and polished stones, each bearing a multiplicity -of clear-cut glyphs which, like many things in this City of the Sacred -Well, tenaciously hold their secrets. - -“The Nunnery stands a monument of grace and beauty whose charm is -at once evident to any beholder, and doubly so to him who perceives -how closely in every line and dimension, yet how subtly, it accords -with our modern ideas and rules of good design. But nowhere else -in the world is there anything like it. Unique, distinctive, it is -characteristic only of this ancient culture. The cut facing page 65, -representing one of the best of my many photographic attempts, tells -all that a photograph can, but it cannot begin to convey the beauty -of this masterpiece. In the great main hall were once many colorful -paintings upon the walls and ceilings, still indicated by bits of color -here and there or by an interrupted broad band of black or red. And in -the various rooms were paintings, nearly all now obliterated. They seem -to have reached quite lately their critical age, for many that were -almost perfect as recently as twenty years ago are faded or chipped -now. In a few years they will be gone forever, and for this reason I -have taken pains to obtain the most faithful possible copies of all of -them. These Maya paintings represent several periods of culture. Some -are childishly crude. Many are of an excellence of line and balance -and color not inferior to the best of modern art. Some even are drawn -in a most pleasingly free and sketchy manner which so exquisitely -portrays an idea without unnecessary detail that one almost expects -to see scrawled in the lower right hand corner the signature of some -well-known modern artist. - -“The eastern or ground-level portion of the added basic structure -contains many rooms entered by way of six wide outer doorways. - -“Near the main building are two smaller detached ones, the more -interesting being known as the Iglesia or Church. It is small in -comparison with the bulk of La Casa de las Monjas, being but twenty-six -feet long, half as wide, and thirty-two feet high. It has three -cornices and the principal decoration consists of two seated human -figures over the doorway. Hardly a square inch of its surface is -undecorated. Formerly it was stuccoed, or plastered, and painted. Much -of the original color still clings to the crevices and interstices of -its carved walls and it is evident that new layers of stucco were added -from time to time and new paint in appropriate colors. Such layers of -stucco and color may be seen where the stone has been chipped, with the -colors sometimes varying from those of the early coats. - -“The carvings again portray the mask of Kukul Can, with interlinking -geometrical designs. A single doorway gives access to the interior, -once rich in murals, and the bright sunshine striking upon the white -floor floods the whole room with clear light. Close to the ceiling are -traces of a row of medallions which originally contained hieroglyphs. - -“Another building of about the same size is similarly finished and -decorated with the mask of Kukul Can. It contains several small rooms. -The entire wall of one apartment has been removed, by not very ancient -builders, for the prosaic purpose of making a stone fence. In passing I -might mention also that a good-sized pit has been made near one side of -the grand stairway of La Casa de las Monjas, it being easier to get cut -stone in this way than to quarry it. - -“No great amount of labor would be required to put this group of -buildings in nearly its pristine condition. Nearly all the stones that -have fallen lie where they fell and could easily be replaced. Near -the grand stairway lie many sculptured images of serpents, birds, and -animals, of massive size and carved in full relief. These formed the -balustrade and might be replaced even though some are missing. I have -no doubt that when the debris at the base of the buildings is removed -new archæological treasures will be revealed. - -“As an interesting bit of authentic history, the main building was -occupied by the soldiers of Montejo, who were besieged there by the -enraged native populace. They escaped by night, through the rear of the -buildings, by means of a ruse. The besiegers did not discover until -dawn that the enemy had fled many hours before. - -“Just when one decides that there is nothing new to surprise him, -in this old city, he comes upon something else to puzzle his brain, -spurring his curiosity into vain excursions after the why and wherefore -of it all. - -“We leave the unexplainable Casa de las Monjas and, walking westward -less than a hundred yards, stand before the Caracol or Snail-shell, -which is entirely unlike any other building in the City of the Sacred -Well or in all of Yucatan. This curious structure, we imagine, was -either a watch-tower or an astronomical observatory—though it may have -served a quite different purpose. It is round and built on a terrace -two hundred feet square of cut stone, twenty feet in height. Above -this is a second stone terrace, twelve feet high. These terraces have -sheer vertical sides, but much fallen stone and debris have gathered -about them. From the west a stairway forty-five feet wide leads to the -first terrace; it was once bordered with great stone balusters in the -form of tremendous entwined serpents, their heads on the ground, their -bodies forming the balustrade and ending at the top in rattles. The -same sort of device is found again and again in Maya architecture. A -second similar stairway leads to the upper terrace and the door of the -building. A projecting ornamented cornice caps each terrace. - -“At the top of the second stairway was once some large object which -Stephens thought was an idol, and here was uncovered a hieroglyphed -monument bearing the longest inscription yet found in the city. The -round tower is forty feet in diameter and forty feet high, with two -concentric walls, each two and a half feet thick. The inner wall -incloses a circular chamber at the center of which is a core of small -diameter, solid except for a winding stairway at its center, extending -from the ground-level to the height of the double walls. There is -also a passage, now almost obliterated, piercing the lower terrace and -connecting with this winding stairway. The building at the top of the -double walls has a deep-jutting five-tiered cornice above which rises -another and smaller single-walled tower, surrounded by a promenade or -ledge, not unlike the balcony of a lighthouse, at the height of the -cornice. - -“The space between the outer and the inner wall provides an arched -chamber five feet wide and one hundred feet in circumference. The inner -chamber also is arched and is eight feet wide. The usual Maya arch -construction is employed, the arch beginning at a height of ten feet -and being about twenty-four feet at the peak. The upper ruined tower, -about twenty feet high, contained a stone-lined passage facing due -west which might have been used as a line of sight for astronomical -observations. - -“The outer walls are pierced by four openings—windows or doorways, -whichever they may have been—corresponding to the four points of the -compass. Similar openings occur in the inner wall but, curiously, they -are exactly forty-five degrees out of line with the openings in the -outer wall. One of the most novel features in the construction are -the many wooden beams placed horizontally between the inner and outer -shells of masonry. As these are set in the masonry, it is evident that -they are an original and integral part of the building, probably put -there to help support the stone-work during construction. Many have -stood the test of time and are still stanch and firm. They are hewn -from the famous sapote tree, whose wood of steel-like hardness alone -could have endured through the centuries. There is no ornamentation -within the building, nor upon its walls, and the construction is pure -Maya except that it is round where all else is square. - -“The curious edifice is on high ground and its construction leads -inevitably to the idea of a watch-tower. Its builders knew in their -time quite as much about astronomy as did any contemporary race—if -not more. The periods of sun, moon, and planets they knew with great -accuracy. For these reasons I like to think that their priests and -sages came to this tower, making divinations from the stars and -laboriously charting their positions and courses. Possibly they were -panic-stricken by an occasional eclipse of moon or sun, which they -called _chi-bal-kin_, ‘the moon or sun devoured by serpents or other -beings.’ - -“But perhaps this tower was no more than a military precaution, a -place where solitary watchers by day and night constantly scanned -the horizon. Maybe it was merely the local police station or fire -department from which could be seen any undue disturbance or the -outbreak of a conflagration. I shall leave it to you to make your own -conclusions, which may be quite as near to or as far from the actual -fact as my own, over which I have puzzled backward and forward for many -years. - -“To the north a distance of four hundred feet is the so-called Red -House, or Chich-an Chob, the latter name meaning ‘strong, clean house.’ -The name Red House is derived from the fact that the antechamber or -vestibule across the front of the building has a broad painted band of -red running about its four walls. This is the best-preserved building -of all my city; scarcely a stone is missing. Its four walls face -exactly the four points of the compass; its main entrance is in the -western wall, while the eastern wall is unbroken. It now rises from a -lovely grassy terrace, slightly sloping from the vertical and about -twelve feet high by sixty feet long, faced with large stone blocks -and having rounded corner stones at each of the four sloping edges -of the pyramidal form. Extending around the top of the terrace is a -regular Maya cornice, or projecting coping. Approaching the western -entrance is a stone stairway, twenty feet wide, of sixteen high and -shallow cut-stone steps—a staircase as distinctly Mayan as the mask -of Kukul Can. And this stairway is as perfect to-day as the day it was -finished, not a stone out of place or broken. It seems incredible that -it could have lain there so many centuries at the mercy of the tropical -wilderness and of passing vandals and have suffered not at all. - -“Chich-an Chob deceives one at first glance, seeming to rise to a -stately height because of its twenty-eight foot façade. The roof, -however, is but twenty feet above the floor. The false front is -nevertheless very lovely, being made of stone latticework which -skilfully weaves with geometrical designs the ever-present elongated -masks of the great Kukul Can, with the upturned snouts unbroken. -The construction throughout is pure Mayan of the highest period, -typical of many buildings seen in the southern part of Yucatan and -particularly at Palenque. Three square-cut, high doorways give access -to a shallow vestibule running the length of the building. Back of -this is a wall with three more doorways, each opening into a separate -chamber. A frieze of hieroglyphs cut in the stones somewhat above the -doors completely encircles the walls of the vestibule. All of the -interior walls are plastered and painted and have been replastered and -repainted many times. The outer walls up to the stone latticework are -quite plain, the cornices or moldings are unadorned, and except for the -absence of pillars it could pass for a gem of Doric architecture. Its -very simplicity is a pleasing contrast to the Nunnery; yet it is no -less distinctly Mayan. - -“Two hundred feet beyond Chich-an Chob is a level terrace, or pyramid, -sixty-four feet square, which supports a small three-chambered temple -with an entrance to the south. One end has fallen in, but two of the -chambers are in good repair. This temple, so far as I know, is nameless -and at present is of no special interest. Clustered near by, to the -right, are several smaller pyramids whose buildings are merely heaped -ruins. Some of these contain tombs. Probably all were burial-places of -great men. The principal pyramid of this group contains the tomb of the -high priest and it is the scene of one of my most thrilling adventures.” - -The story of the exploration of the high priest’s tomb, alluded to by -Don Eduardo, is very interesting and will be related in another chapter. - -In about the center of the City of the Sacred Well is El Castillo, -whose imposing bulk is by far the greatest of all of the silent old -structures of this ancient metropolis. Don Eduardo has told us that -this huge pile struck him speechless when he came upon it suddenly in -the moonlight upon his first introduction to Chi-chen Itza. He is not -the only one who has been struck dumb by the first sight of the rugged -and beautiful temple, high and huge above its surroundings. Coming back -from the States one year, I made the acquaintance, on the boat, of a -middle-aged American and his charming daughter, who with some others -composed a small party bound for Mérida, the capital of Yucatan. As I -had been to Chi-chen Itza many times, I naturally, in my talk with this -gentleman, was enthusiastic over the idea of showing him the ruined -city, and finally the whole party decided to go there. We arrived at -the little town of Dzitas, where the gentlemen on horseback, I on an -ambling mule, and the rest in _volans_ set out for the City of the -Well. All the way the members of the party took turns in joking me -about my pet city and my stories concerning it. I was in every sense -the tail of the procession, as my mule had decided ideas of its own, -as mules have, and would travel no faster than a slow walk; but the -rest of the party were not traveling on a bed of roses and there was -no unwillingness to stop and wait for me while they composed ironical -witticisms. - -When we came near to Chi-chen Itza I ranged my mule alongside the -gentleman who was leader in the heckling. I did this knowing that we -would travel almost to the Great Pyramid of El Castillo and then, at a -sharp turn to the right, view it completely and suddenly. - -My friend was in the middle of another verbal dig when the sight smote -him. His mouth simply remained open. I have not yet heard the last of -his apologies for his previous jesting remarks and I find my revenge -very sweet. - -The pyramid, or terrace, on which El Castillo stands is two hundred -feet square and rises to a height of seventy-five or eighty feet. The -exact height is rather difficult to measure because of the debris at -the bottom. The top of the terrace has a level surface, or platform, -sixty feet square, upon which stands the temple. The four sides of the -pyramid rise steeply at an angle of fifty degrees and the pyramid is -terraced, each terrace being nine feet high, with a narrow horizontal -offset. The rises are faced with cut stone beautifully paneled. Each of -the four pyramid faces is vertically bisected by a wide stone stairway -more gentle in its incline than the angle of the pyramid itself but -still very long and steep. The stairs start at the top flush with the -ledge upon which the temple stands and draw away farther and farther, -as they descend, from the plane of the pyramid face, with an increasing -ratio of projection so that at the bottom they project an appreciable -distance beyond the pyramid base. Thus the stairways pleasingly break -the monotony of line—which is good art and good architecture. Like all -Maya stairways, they have narrow treads and high risers. - -The cult of Kukul Can, indicated everywhere in the City of the Sacred -Well, nowhere attains so overshadowing an importance as here in this -vast temple. Each of the four corners of the pyramid is bounded by the -huge undulating body of a stone serpent, extending from the ground -clear to the top of the pyramid. Each undulation of the serpent’s body -marks a terrace or gradient and to lift a single stone section of one -of these mammoth serpents would be a task for a dozen men. Everywhere -on the horizontal levels of the terraces springs up each year a thick -growth of grasses as high as a tall man’s head. - -The principal stairway, facing the north, is guarded at the base by -two huge heads of feathered serpents, jaws open, fangs displayed, -and forked tongues extended. And each of these heads, excepting only -the forked tongue, is hewn from a single solid block of stone, with -every crotalic detail perfectly carved. The bodies belonging to these -serpent heads, conventionalized into two broad, flat bands, extend up -the mound, one on each side of the stairway, to the principal entrance -of the temple. On the narrow platform and forming the main doorway of -this holy of holies are two more immense monolithic serpent heads, -now partially destroyed. They are used as pillars trisecting into -three parts the great forty-foot doorway. The conventionalized and -foreshortened head of the serpent forms the base of the column and the -foreshortened tail forms the capital which is, in its own way, no less -a worthy architectural creation than the Greek Corinthian column, with -its capital of acanthus leaves. - -The triply vaulted ceiling rests upon great sapote beams supported by -three-foot-thick walls and massive square-faced, paneled stone pillars. -This sapote wood, called _ya_ by the natives, is dark red in color and -turns chocolate brown with age and exposure. It is nearly as heavy -as iron and is very hard. In many ways it resists the action of the -tropical elements better than metal, and insects seem to produce no -effect upon its adamantine surface. These beams are wondrously carved -and with few exceptions have faithfully sustained the tremendous weight -of stone put upon them. Only a few have broken with age, so that but -a part of the façade of the temple has fallen. For a thousand years, -at least, they have stood and at the time of the Conquest in 1540 they -were in much the same condition in which we now find them. - -In front of the main doorway originally stood a great stone table -with an intricately carved surface. It was supported by curious -Atlantean stone figures and some of these strange male caryatids were -bearded. Other figures on piers and columns within the temple also are -bearded—with one exception the only bearded figures portrayed in this -whole city which was inhabited by a beardless race. Close examination -shows, however, that the carved figures wear masks and it is the masks -which are bearded. This fact only enhances the mystery, pointing to the -possibility of a still more ancient past and of ritualistic traditions -so remote in their beginnings that all memory of their original meaning -has faded and only the ritual or empty shell remains of what was once -living fact. Analogous are some of the archaic Greek rituals and -Druidical rites. - -Who were the prototypes of these bearded figures? Were they the -mysterious, blue-eyed, fair-skinned people clad in armor who were -supposed to have once landed at Tamoclan near Tampico? Norsemen? Or -were they the old Atlanteans whose country Plato says “sank in one day -and one night beneath the waves of the ocean”? - -Of the many marvelous carvings and paintings in this temple I shall say -more in another chapter. - -Doubtless upon the wide level roof of the temple were performed -religious rites,—solemn invocations to the sun and the like,—for, -throughout, this edifice leaves one with the impression that its -character was purely religious. There are no warlike scenes pictured, -only solemnity and high reverence for the great gods. - -Lying within the shadow of El Castillo are the broken remains of -another building, called the Temple of the Tigers. It takes its name -from a frieze of bas-reliefs which is one of the outstanding treasures -of the lost art of the Mayas. In these wonderful carvings the sculptor -has perfectly caught the feline vigor and grace of the American jaguar. -No doubt he had a first-hand knowledge of jaguars, which were very -plentiful then and still abound in this vicinity if one wishes to -go to the trouble of looking for them. To the Mayas the jaguar was -the “Protector of the Fields” because he lay in wait for the deer in -the open and cultivated spaces. It was the custom of the natives to -put some gift or friendly token in the corner of the field for this -god-like beast. Probably his very life was sacred as are those of many -animals in India. - -The Tiger Temple is built on a pyramid base with a stairway up the -side approaching a wide doorway which is divided by pillars into -three parts. Much of the sustaining pyramid has crumbled away, or -been removed, leaving the building perched on a sheer wall of roughly -cemented rubble as viewed from one side. The façade is thirty-five -feet long and twenty-two feet high and at each side of the entrance is -a great serpent’s head. Each of these monoliths weighs several tons -and is carved with amazing skill; every feature and scale is flawless -and they are painted or enameled, the colors being still visible if -not vivid. The head of each is green, while eyes and open mouth are -red. The scales end with the head, and the remainder of the body, -elaborately feathered, rises in a graceful cylindrical column, with -the tail now broken but originally projecting upward along the face -of the building and terminating in well-defined rattles. A portion -of the front roof has fallen, due to the breaking of wooden lintels -supporting the mass of stone of which it was composed, but fortunately -the serpents’ heads and the door columns are unharmed. - -All of the interior walls are solidly painted with battle scenes, -scenes of domestic life, and pictures of sacrificial pageants. Many -of the colors are as brilliant as the day they were laid on these -smooth walls, although the wonderful paintings have been much marred -by vandals. The many figures, each in a different posture, each -group differently clothed or armed, and all cleverly drawn, in good -proportion, and elaborately colored, are capable of holding the most -casual observer by the hour and are a never-ending delight to the -enthusiast. - -The Tiger Temple is in every way the prize exhibit among the -various edifices of the Sacred City, not for its size but for the -craftsmanship and charm of its every detail. And yet I must make one -small reservation, for just back and at the base of the Tiger Temple -is a small, almost ruined building, nameless, lacking a roof and a -front, yet containing on its three still standing walls and what little -remains of a ceiling more than eighty sculptured figures. There are -warriors in armor of metal, hide, and wood; priests in ceremonial -vestments; kings and chieftains. The various figures are distinct -and different from one another and the features are individual, -doubtless recognizable if we but knew the great men in whose likeness -they were carved. Each figure is identified by its own personal and -distinguishing sign, or mark, usually placed overhead. Vivid paint or -enamel was painstakingly applied to the sculpture and in many places it -is still pronounced. - -Some of the work is crude, other parts exquisitely refined, indicating -that it is not all the work of one man. I am told by those well versed -in stone-carving and the making of bas-reliefs that even with modern -stone-cutting tools it would take one man at least twenty years -to accomplish this work. For lack of a better name I always call -this wonderful roofless place the Temple of Bas-Reliefs. When first -observed, the sculptured walls look merely like a variegated patchwork. -In order to see it at its best one should arrive at about ten o’clock -in the morning, at which time the shadows cast by the background bring -out all the raised parts in strong contrast and the whole procession -of priests and warriors marches clearly before one’s eyes. The south -wall, however, can be seen at its best only for a short time soon after -sunrise and it is well worth the discomfort of early rising. Very -probably there was an arrangement of smooth-faced, light-reflecting -pillars in this building which caused all the walls to stand out in -bold relief. - -In the middle of the floor and facing the entrance squats a stone -jaguar. Perhaps upon his broad, flat back may have been placed holy -offerings to the gods. - -The fallen front of this temple was once supported by two finely carved -and painted square columns, still majestically erect, and remindful of -those other ancient temples of Greece and Egypt. - -And now we come to what is perhaps the most curious thing in the whole -metropolis. The Tiger Temple, the Temple of Bas-Reliefs, and two other -buildings surrounded a great inclosure having a flat paved floor -four hundred and twenty feet long, bounded on the sides by smooth, -perpendicular walls more than twenty feet high and thirty feet thick. - -A hundred feet from the northern extremity of this extraordinary court -and facing it is a building consisting of a single chamber. Its front -wall is lacking, but arising from the rubbish are two ornamented round -columns which were evidently the supports for the wall. The whole -interior of the building, from floor to peak, is covered with worn and -faded bas-reliefs. In the center of the rear wall is the perfect figure -of a man, bearded and with decidedly Hebraic features. - -At the opposite end of the court and a hundred feet back from it is a -building extending nearly the entire width of the court. The roof of -this structure has fallen, but the remains of sculptured square columns -are visible. - -And on the two side walls of the court, on the precise middle line, -were mounted two great carved stone rings, like millstones, twenty feet -above the floor. Each ring is beautifully carved with the entwined -bodies of serpents. The rings are four feet in diameter and a foot -thick, and the hole in each is one foot seven inches in diameter. One -of these rings is still mounted in the masonry of the wall, while its -counterpart once on the adjacent wall has fallen, but, happily, is -unbroken. - -A very similar court and similar rings have been found at Uxmal, -another ancient Maya city of Yucatan. - -Obviously this court was intended for some public game and it has -therefore been given the name of the Tennis-court or Gymnasium. In -an account of the diversions of Montezuma, given by Herrera, who -accompanied Cortes, is the following illuminating description: - - The Emperor took much delight in seeing the game of ball which - the Spaniards have since prohibited due to the mischief which - often happens at the game. By the Aztecs this game was called - _tlachtli_—being like our tennis. The ball was made from the - gum of a tree that grows in hot countries, which, after having - holes made in it, distills great white drops that soon harden - and being worked and molded together, this material turns as - black as pitch.[5] The balls made thereof, although quite - hard and heavy to the hand, did bound and fly as well as our - footballs and there was no need to blow them, nor did they use - staves. They struck the ball with any part of the body as it - happened or as they could most conveniently. Sometimes he lost - who touched it with any other part but his hips, which was - looked upon among them as very dexterous and for the purpose - that the ball might rebound better they fastened a piece of - stiff leather on to their hips. They might strike the ball - every time it rebounded, which it would do several times one - after another, in so much that it looked as if it had been - alive. They played in parties, so many on each side, for a load - of mantles or what the gamesters could afford. They also played - for gold and feather work and sometimes they played themselves - away. The place where they played was a ground room, long, - narrow and high and higher at the sides than at the ends. They - kept the walls plastered and smooth, also the floor. On the - side walls they fixed certain stones like those used in a mill, - with a hole quite through the middle. The hole was just as big - as the ball and he who could strike it through thereby won the - game, and in token of its being an extraordinary success which - rarely happened, he had the right to the cloaks of all the - lookers-on. - - It was very pleasant to see that as soon as ever the ball was - in the hole, those standing by took to their heels, running - away with all their might to save their cloaks, laughing and - rejoicing, while others scoured after them to secure their - cloaks for the winner, who was obliged to offer some sacrifice - to the idol of the Court and to the stone whose hole the ball - had passed. - - Every Court had a temple day where at midnight they performed - certain ceremonies and enchantments on the two walls and on the - middle of the floor, singing certain songs or ballads, after - which a priest of the Great Temple went with some of their - religious men to bless it. He uttered some words, threw the - ball about the court four times (towards the four points of - the compass) and then it was consecrated and might be played - in, but not before. - - The owner of the Court, who was also a lord, never played - without making some offering and performing some ceremony to - the Idol of the Game, which shows how superstitious they were - even in their diversions. - -This account which has come down to us will save much head-scratching -on the part of future archæologists as to the purpose of the unique -court and its carved millstones. - -The Gymnasium or Tennis-court and the buildings surrounding it were not -pure Mayan, but were unquestionably introduced under the Nahuatl or -Aztec régime. - -Nearly all of the remaining buildings are in too bad a condition to -yield much of further interest until careful digging and replacing -of fallen parts can restore them to some semblance of their original -form. One such fallen temple on a great pyramid is now marked only -by four nine-foot pillars whose square sides are chiseled with -queer bearded figures, some of whom carry what I can only call a -“rabbit-stick”—evidently some sort of ceremonial staff or wand. These -pillars were unquestionably the front of an immense temple whose wooden -lintels have given way, letting fall the whole edifice. In front of -this ruin were several stone tables, and apparently they stretched at -one time, end to end, clear across the base of the pyramid. The tables -were of various heights and consisted of stone slabs six inches thick -and about three feet wide. They were supported by grotesque dwarfish -Atlantean figures with upraised hands, the palms held flat and on a -level with their heads. While grotesque, these figures have much -dignity and sureness of line. Originally they were brightly painted. - -The tables have been so disarranged that it is impossible to tell what -was their original position or even to guess at their purpose. The -temple faced west, as indicated by the broken stairway leading up to -it. In the midst of the debris lies a fractured serpent column nearly -five feet in length, with a stone tongue projecting two feet from its -fanged lips. The column rising from the serpent’s head is two feet in -diameter and its capital was the creature’s tail. The broken outlines -of a rear chamber reached through a vestibule just behind the serpent -column measure thirty-six by fifteen feet. The doorway of the chamber -has square-cut, sculptured jambs. - -A few hundred feet to the north is the ruined Temple of the Cones. -Strewn all about are large cone-shaped stones like big projectiles, but -cut and carved. It is thought that they formed some sort of ornamental -frieze. Some are handsomely sculptured. There are also in this vicinity -figures of the Chac Mool type—an animal body, usually a jaguar, with -the head of a man. - -Some distance to the right of El Castillo are the ruins of what must -have been a very important temple. They occupy a great irregular mound -some six hundred feet long and are bordered by several pyramids and -other ruins of varied character. The largest of the pyramids is fifty -feet high and stands in the northwest corner of the group of ruins. -All that remains of it are columns, but there are almost a forest of -them, some round, some square. We have called this ruin the Temple of -Columns. It seems as though here must have been an elaborate plaza of -temples, colonnades, and sunken courts. Even now archæologists from -the Carnegie Foundation of Washington, D.C., are at work in reclaiming -this portion of the Sacred City from the jungle, clearing the debris -and working out the jig-saw puzzle of replacing each fallen stone in -its rightful position. - -Everywhere for miles one comes upon huddled debris-covered mounds and -carved stones. In the very heart of the jungle is the overgrown ruin -of a tremendous pyramid and temple, while here and there unexpected -columns rise amid the trees. More than thirty such ruins have been -counted, choked by rank jungle growth—palaces, no doubt, of high -priests and mighty chieftains. And I think sadly as I view them that -the study of archæology is long and time is fleeting. - - - - - CHAPTER VI - - AN IDLE DAY IN THE JUNGLE - - -Several thousands of years before that sturdy Scotch engineer John -MacAdam gave to the world the broken-rock road surface known as -“macadam,” which has done so much to make communication easier, roads -were built in Yucatan that embodied all of his sound principles of -road-making. And MacAdam lived and died without ever having heard -of them. In fact, he had been sleeping beneath the green sod of his -native kirk for at least a decade before Europe or North America knew -that these old roads of Yucatan existed. The thoroughness and good -engineering of their construction rival the famous roads of the Roman -Empire or of present-day highways. - -In ancient times Chi-chen Itza and all the great and lesser cities of -the Yucatan peninsula were linked by a network of smooth, hard-surfaced -highways. The Mayas of to-day call these old roads _zac-be-ob_, or -white ways. The name is of ancient origin, used, perhaps, by the -very builders themselves and no doubt these roads were like ribbons -stretching mile after mile through field and forest and deserving -quite as much the appellation of “White Way” as any of our blazing -night-lighted thoroughfares. - -But alas! they are no longer white, no longer even distinguishable as -roads for any great distance, but are buried beneath matted roots and -brown earth. And this land which once had the best roads on earth -became a place where until recently good roads were unknown, where -every cow-path was called _camino real_ or royal road but was decidedly -unregal. - -Don Eduardo has painstakingly studied the old highways and for the rest -of this chapter I will merely repeat what he has so often told me: - -“The old roads, each and every one, went down to bed-rock, and upon that -solid foundation was built up a ballast of broken limestone, with the -larger stones at the bottom. As the surface of the road was reached, -smaller stones were used and the crevices were filled in. And the whole -face of the road was given a smooth, hard coating of a mortar cement of -lime and finely sifted white earth, known then and to-day as _zac-cab_. -The hard-pan of Yucatan is limestone ledge rock and as a rule it is not -very far beneath the surface soil. Often in the building of roads the -first layer or ballast consisted of large boulders, not merely tumbled -in haphazard, but carefully placed and with the interstices filled in -with smaller stones, painstakingly fitted and hammered into place. Thus -a firm anchorage was provided that has held through the centuries. -The second and third courses, each of smaller boulders and stones, -were quite as carefully placed. The final course was constructed of -stones the size of a bushel basket and smaller, wedged together with -rock fragments. Within a foot or so of the desired road-level, rock -fragments from the size of an egg to that of a small walnut were -leveled in, a grouting made, and the whole pounded until a hard, level -surface was obtained. Mortar or cement was then applied in a thin -coating and when this had hardened sufficiently gangs of stout-muscled -laborers armed with smooth, fine-grained polishing-stones rubbed the -plastic surface until it became compacted into a polished flatness -almost as smooth-coated as tile and nearly as hard. - -“The majority of the stones used were not quarried but were isolated -boulders rounded by erosion and stained with iron from the ‘red earth’ -in which they are usually found. Seldom was any rock used which could -easily be cut and used for the construction of buildings or temples. - -“These old highways—what a tremendous labor they must have been! What -miles and miles of carrying the stones to build them! And nothing but -man-power to move the huge boulders. Centuries, perhaps, were spent in -the building, and millions of sweating men. - -“Their traffic problems did not concern vehicles, not even horses -nor other beasts of burden. The roads were built for travelers afoot -and the burden-carriers were men, traveling in single file as human -carriers do the world over. And yet there must have been much traffic, -for some of these roads are twenty-five feet in width, so that four -files of men with their loads could easily pass, two lines going one -way and two in the opposite direction. - -“The largest and longest of these ancient roadways connects Chi-chen -Itza with the once important cities of Uxmal and Tiho. It is -twenty-five feet wide. The long road from Chi-chen Itza to ancient -Zac-ci (now Valladolid) and the unnamed but important towns between -Zac-ci and Lake Co-ba, is bifurcated again and again into more and more -narrow highways, resembling creeks flowing together to form eventually -a mighty river. - -“What a picture these forgotten roads must have been in the golden -age of the Mayas!—pulsing with life, crowded with water-carriers, -venders, idlers, pious pilgrims, nobles with their retinues, farmers -bringing their produce to the city, itinerant craftsmen, rich men, -beggarmen, thieves; a cheerful jostling of motley and purple; a riot of -color and of all the things men buy and sell. - -“Came a squad of soldiers, crystal-tipped lances glinting in the -sunlight; or a solemn procession of priests and devotees with sacred -whistles shrilling or the boom of the _tunkul_, while the laughing -crowd parted and made silent obeisance to the holy ones. - -“Along the sides of the road every now and then are low raised -platforms, or elevations, which have lost all semblance of their -pristine contours, so that one can only guess at their purpose. It -has been suggested that they were originally hollowed out and were -_holtunes_, hollow stones, or water-reservoirs, where the traveler -might quench his thirst. My own examination of them convinces me -that they were, for the major part at least, nothing more than -resting-places where the carrier might deposit his load, letting -slip the band from about his forehead which held the burden on his -shoulders. And well he might rest, this ancestor of the present sturdy -Maya, for he bore just as incredibly heavy burdens for as incredibly -long distances. - -“There is a striking similarity in the practical engineering of the -Maya roadways and the construction of the stone terraces upon which the -temples were built. One day, bent upon the study of such construction -and to verify certain conclusions I had reached, I had recourse to -a deep excavation made in the base mound or pyramid of an important -fallen structure which is located some distance north of the Great -Pyramid of El Castillo. This excavation, so some of the natives told -me, had been made by a ‘stranger’ (white man), short of body but -thick-set and very powerful. He was, they said, ‘a very positive man, -with a long gray beard, and this was so long ago that few are now alive -who remember.’ No one who has ever seen and known the late Doctor Le -Plongeon, intrepid investigator and discoverer of the famous monumental -‘Chac Mool’ figure, could fail to recognize the faithfulness of this -native description. And from all his years of labor Doctor Le Plongeon -evolved a Mayan theology which is either inspired or the result of -a mentality unhinged by too great labor. Certainly it seems to be -imagination run wild, with little of fact to bear it out. It is no less -than tragic, for never did archæologist drive himself to more herculean -effort than did Le Plongeon. - -“To resume my story, this excavation was like a deep chasm, bisecting -the crowning platform and going clear down to bed-rock, and thus it -fitted perfectly my purpose. Nearly forty years had passed since Le -Plongeon made the excavation, and Nature had done her best with wind -and rain and vegetation to heal the wound. Loosened material from -the sides of the cut had fallen in, providing an excellent bed for -climbing vines, saplings, and big-leafed plants. The roots of big -trees, no longer supported by the stones, had given way and the trees -had fallen, bridging with their trunks the crevice. Vines, saplings, -and flowering plants grew up and twined about and embraced the bridging -tree trunks, so that one would scarcely know without close scrutiny -that an excavation had been made. The two tree trunks which lay side by -side, bridging the space overhead, were both of hardwood. One was a -_yax-nic_, light-colored and with bark of silver gray, while the other -was a _chac-ti_, dark red and with loose-held bark, in decay separating -from the trunk in long, curling ribbons. - -“Near me were many big spiders, flat, crab-like and motionless, yet -with bright pin-point eyes that seemed fiercely awake, waiting and -watching for whatever prey might come to their nipper-like jaws. -Their long legs and still longer caliper-pointed antennæ lay sprawled -flat against the tree trunks so close that on casual inspection the -creatures might pass for bits of tree fungus. Small lizard-like -reptiles, with beautiful diamond-like eyes and heads as ugly as sin, -sprinted up and down the tree trunks and under and over the branches, -skilfully avoiding the spiders and other dangers. Both spiders and tiny -lizards on the _yax-nic_ trunk were gray in color, blending perfectly -with the bark surface, while those on the _chac-ti_ trunk were dull -red to match the bark—an example of natural camouflage or protective -coloring as striking as any I have ever seen. - -“Out came the powerful pocket magnifying-glass which I always carry. -While looking at a gorgeous little insect decked in gold and green, I -became aware of a commotion in the _yax-nic_ tree and turned the lens -in that direction. What I saw was a fearsome-looking head and a body -that was no less than an walking horror. The head seemed to be all jaws -and glittering eyes—deep, powerful grinding mandibles that worked like -steel-cutting shears; eyes lidless, unblinking, bulging, and coldly -cruel. And the whole body and pointed legs were incased in gray armor -of metallic luster. It was with a sigh of relief that I laid down the -lens and realized that I had been gazing only at a spider and not some -antediluvian monster. Except for the comforting fact of relativity of -size between man and these creatures, I doubt if there ever existed -three more terrifying animals than the crab-like spider, _chin-tun_, -the tiny crested lizard, _hu_, and the giant-armored ant, _choch_, -whose sting is worse than that of the scorpion, often producing fever -and sometimes death. - -“Directly overhead, between the fallen trees, I could see growing at -the top of the mound the thorny _katzin_, one long branch of which -swayed over the brink of the man-made chasm. And almost at the very tip -of this branch hung the pensile nest of an oriole, with the brilliant -feathered male singing his lungs out beside it. The gold-and-black -plumage against the green leaves and the glossy jet-black Spanish moss -of which the nest was made produced a picture that Gauguin would surely -have longed to put on canvas. Suddenly his song ended in a high-pitched -scream, as a brown hawk swooped from the sky and clutched not the bird -but the nest. With one scaly talon the pirate gripped the neck of the -nest, while with the other he tore at its woven bottom. He worked like -a flash, but my revolver flashed yet more quickly and effectively. The -mother bird and the eggs, I think, were saved, but the nest was sadly -in need of the work of an expert in oriole nest-repairing and I imagine -it was some time before the master of the house recovered sufficiently -from his fright to resume his liquid melody. At least I heard no more -from him that day, although every other bird in the neighborhood -immediately dropped what he was doing and came over to view the damage -and condole with or congratulate the victims of the assault, so that it -was a full ten minutes before the jungle resumed its habitual quiet -and the averted tragedy was sufficiently forgotten for the near-by -_dzaypkin_, or tree cicada, to resume his not unmusical note that -sounds like a muted automobile siren. - -“I had outlined my work for the morrow, selected the place where the -shovel should follow out the prodigious work of Le Plongeon, gone these -many years. I had even snapped the rubber band back on my note-book -and was turning my thoughts luncheonward when almost between my feet -I heard a frightened squeak and saw a small brown rabbit dart from -the opening under the stone ledge on which I was sitting and scurry -into the adjoining underbrush at a speed incredible even for a much -frightened bunny. - -“This looked promising and I concluded to sit a while longer and wait -developments. Only a few seconds elapsed before there emerged from the -same hole the blunt ophidian head of an enormous boa-constrictor. The -unpleasant creature came out uncertainly and the ugly head wavered -about nearly on a level with my knees and much too close for comfort. -Boas, I think, have not a very keen power of scent. This one, at least, -seemed to take up the trail of the rabbit with some difficulty. Yet I -can believe, too, that that particular rabbit got over the ground so -quickly that he left no scent whatever. Or it is possible that the near -presence of an unseen human being bewildered the scent faculties of the -huge snake. - -“You may be sure that I had kept very, very still, trying to believe -what has so often been told me—that few jungle creatures recognize man -by his form alone as long as he remains silent and motionless. At any -rate, the big reptile finally started in the general direction taken by -the rabbit, which no doubt was several hundred miles away by that time -if he had maintained his initial rate of travel. Apparently the same -idea came to the boa, for he soon reappeared and, still heedless of my -presence, passed almost between my legs and reëntered what appeared -to be his permanent home, on the ground floor of the pyramid, in the -interstices between the big stones which formed its base. - -“After making sure that he had entirely gone in and, figuratively -speaking, closed the door after him, I took his measurements from -observations on certain stone projections he had passed. He was not -less than sixteen and a half feet long. Deciding that I had had quite -enough adventure for one morning, I bade the spot adieu and went home -to lunch.” - - - - - CHAPTER VII - - THE SACRED WELL - - -Yucatan has a peculiar geological structure. The soil is usually very -thin, and beneath it is porous limestone rock. Owing to the thinness of -the soil, vegetation, prolific as it is, does not grow high and the few -large trees grow only where the bed-rock has in some way been broken, -thus providing depth of soil for the roots. - -The limestone foundation is of minute sea-shells, for it was all once -sea-bottom; and this porous rock is very subject to erosion, so that -the whole peninsula is honeycombed with subterranean streams and -channels and caves, while every here and there are natural wells, -or cenotes. Some, like the two greater wells at Chi-chen Itza, are -very wide and deep; others are tiny. Nowhere is the elevation above -sea-level great, and many of these natural wells extend down to -sea-level and are fed by seepage from the sea. Others, of course, are -partly fed by surface drainage and nearly all provide an inexhaustible -supply of water. Indeed, I believe that it would be practically -impossible to provide any pumping equipment which would drain the huge -Sacred Well. - -In the case of nearly all these wells, except those very close to the -sea-coast, the water does not contain salt or minerals evident to the -taste, as the limestone rock is a perfect filter. The water, however, -as might be expected in this tropical setting, is fairly alive with -animalcula. One soon becomes accustomed to such fleshy nourishment in -his beverage and ceases to find it unpleasant. - -In the dry season the cenotes provide virtually the only water-supply, -because there are almost no lakes or surface streams. Owing to the -porosity of the rock, moisture sinks into the earth very rapidly and in -only a little while after a heavy rain the ground is again quite dry. -To-day, as in ancient times, life is dependent upon the natural wells -and it is easy to see why the city of Chi-chen Itza was located as it -is. On every hacienda, the manor is built adjacent to a cenote. So, -too, are the villages. While cenotes are not rare, still they are not -common enough to provide a convenient water-supply for the majority of -the populace. - -In Mérida the wealthy inhabitants have cenotes upon their grounds, -providing delightful places to bathe. And around them many pretty -grottos or underground chambers have been hollowed out from the rock -by artificial means, where it is always cool and where the families -resort in the heat of the day. Cenotes are often found in the jungle -and sometimes are ideal places for hunting. Where the well has sloping -walls or a reasonably good path down to the water, it is sure to be -patronized by wild animals of all kinds. Many cenotes contain fish, -especially catfish. - -One device employed in olden times and still used to augment the -water-supply is a shallow reservoir, or cistern, called a chultun -(stone calabash), which fills with water in the rainy season and tides -over, to a certain extent, the arid months. But it is usually a dry -hole before the dry season is far advanced. These rain-cisterns are -of all sizes and shapes. There are a few ruined cities, like Uxmal, -which had no cenotes or other natural water-supply and which must have -depended solely upon the impounded water of many chultuns. - -The inexhaustible natural wells were early utilized by the Spanish -plantation-owners, who in the irrigation of their fields employed the -noria, that ancient, rather clumsy big wheel with water-buckets or -dippers fastened to its periphery. It is in operation to-day in Yucatan -just as it is in Spain and the Levant. - -At Chi-chen Itza are three main cenotes and some lesser ones. The -Sacred Well was called “Chen Ku” (_Chen_ means “well”) and was never -called _dzonot_, or cenote, which gives the impression that the great -well may have been made by human effort or at least was thus enlarged. -Perhaps, however, this idea that human agency was employed in its -construction may have arisen mostly from the fact of its circular form -and perpendicular sides, which may quite logically have been the work -of Nature alone, or Nature aided by man. De Sander speaks of this well -as having been formed in part by man, and I think his theory is not -improbable. But surely the great well is, for the most part, a work of -Nature. - -Tol-oc, the next largest well in the Sacred City, was the main source -of potable water. In ancient times a stone stairway led down into its -waters. To-day the upper steps are gone, but one can see a clearly -defined line of chiseled steps some three feet or more beneath the -surface and adjacent to these is distinguishable another line of steps. -Don Eduardo thinks the stairway originally consisted of a broad flight -leading from the top of the well down to the water-level and that at -its base was a narrow stone platform. It is impossible to determine -now how wide the stairway was, or whether or not his surmise is correct -that there was a platform at the bottom. - -His conclusions were made several years ago, when the water in the well -was unusually low. The fact that the rise and fall of the water-level -in this cenote bears little if any relation to local rain-fall leads -to the belief that its principal source is far distant and comes down -through some permeable rock strata, until by reason of a rock fault -it gushes up into the well of Tol-oc. Overhanging the wall are large -trees, orchid-covered, whose delicate perfume floats down to meet the -water. There are orchids here that would quickly make a fortune for a -New York florist. - -At first sight the water seems dust-covered and turgid, but the dust -on the surface is only pollen from the orchids and the big lilies that -cluster against the cliff-like walls. It is therefore good, clean, and -deeply poetic dust, and beneath the surface the water is crystal clear -and cold as any bubbling New England spring. To bathe in Tol-oc is an -unalloyed joy. - -The large cenote of X-Katum also is on the outskirts of the city and -is famous among the natives to-day for the purity and softness of its -water. It has no recorded history nor traditions, but the worn grooves -in the solid stone of its brink, where ropes have raised and lowered -countless jars for countless centuries, is testimony more eloquent than -words. - -The many other cenotes in and around the city all contain very pure -water and are apparently inexhaustible. Around them are the remains -in stone and mortar of what were surely important structures. Near -the cenote of Yula, which is almost six miles from the center of the -ancient city, Don Eduardo was fortunate enough to uncover a large stone -tablet, one side of which is entirely filled with clear, minutely -carved hieroglyphs. - -The Via Sacra—the causeway, once so straight and smooth, leading to -the Sacred Well—is now in bad condition, its outline dulled by time. -Great trees border it and their branches arch overhead, while their -roots have raised and broken the smooth avenue until it no longer -resembles a road. Smaller trees are rooted in the roadway itself. - -The Sacred Well is a great pit, with sheer stone sides which are -slightly irregular. Its form is elliptical, almost circular. At the -side nearest the Great Pyramid is a small ruined sanctuary where the -last rites were performed before a maiden was thrown into the well to -become the bride of the Rain God. The ground for some distance about -this sanctuary was paved with stones. The Sacred Well, at whose bottom -dwelt Yum Chac, the Rain God, is more than one hundred and sixty feet -wide and as one gazes down its vertical sides, the drop to the water -seems tremendous; indeed it is fully seventy feet. - -The sheer wall of the well is laminated, split horizontally into two -thousand bands or strata of limestone, of various widths. Some of these -bands appear hardly thicker than a sheet of paper, others as wide as -a house is high, and every lamination is separated from its neighbor -by a sandwich filling of thin lime-powder. The striated appearance is -very striking, because the laminations are dead black except where -vines, trees, and orchids or other parasitic plants or fungi cling -to and lend color to the surface. The layers of lime-dust between the -strata of rock are either pure white or cream-colored. The powder -has a hard-packed coherency, but the elements—sun, wind, and rain -together—loosen enough of it so that the plants and the surface of the -water are always covered with a thin film of dust. All about the edge -of the well is a fringe of trees, and a surprising amount of vegetation -has found a root-hold between the rock laminations of the perpendicular -walls. - -[Illustration: THIS PLAN INDICATES THE GENERAL SHAPE AND SIZE OF THE -SACRED WELL AND THE LOCATION OF THE SHRINE OF THE LAST RITES] - -The placid water of the pool is jade-green, due partly to the great -depth, and partly, I believe, to traces of certain salts or solubles -in the water, although I cannot speak with certainty on this point, as -I have never subjected it to chemical analysis. I have tried many, many -times to get a really good photograph of the Sacred Well and have come -to the conclusion that only the motion camera, or an airplane view can -ever succeed in reproducing the sight. The “still” photograph, taken -from the brink, shows either an expanse of wall and little water or -much water and little wall. For this reason the illustration opposite -page 116 fails to show the whole well and does not begin to do justice -to this most interesting, historic spot. - -As Don Eduardo and I sat on the crumbling walls of the shrine, at the -very brink of the Sacred Well, he told me of his famous undertaking, -now so successfully carried out—the removal of the ancient treasures -from the very bottom of the Sacred Well. - -“For many years,” he said, “the thought of exploring the bottom of the -Sacred Well had filled my mind. I thought about it by day and dreamed -about it by night. It became a mania which would not let me rest and -earned for me the reputation of being a little queer in the head. A -thousand times I had gone over in my mind the practical ways and means -that might be employed. Draining, dredging, or diving—it must be -one of these three. I early became convinced that probably the well -could not be drained, and certainly not with the slender finances at -my command. I concluded at last that it could be dredged, and with -comparatively simple equipment consisting of a stiff-legged derrick -with a hand windlass, a long boom which might be swung out over the -well, and a steel orange-peel buck-scoop, or bucket. - -“Simple as the undertaking sounds, it was beset at every turn with -difficulties. The equipment, especially contrived and designed, was -easily ordered in the United States and put aboard ship. Getting it -ashore at Progreso, where it had to be unloaded five miles out and -lightered to shore, was the first hard job. Loading it on flat-cars -and finally unloading it at Dzitas, sixteen miles from my city, was -no less difficult. With only native assistance, without trucks or -anything adequate on wheels, and over the poorest excuse for a road, -the equipment was moved piecemeal, until, after months of the hardest -work I have ever done, it was all piled beside the Sacred Well. - -“Assembling the machinery was a task of shorter duration but no less -strenuous. I would at that time have given gladly some years of my -life for the services, for a few hours, of one or two brawny, profane, -and competent Yankee ‘riggers.’ Time and again, before the cumbersome -outfit was completely in place, I expected it to topple into the well -or fall upon me and my Indians. - -“At last all was ready. My Indians, about thirty in number, each had -his appointed task. The most trusted were to man the windlass and the -turning of the boom from whose projecting end hung the cable-suspended -dredging-scoop. The boom was swung out until it extended far over the -well. I gave the signal and the steel bucket descended, disappeared -under the green water, and at last came to rest on the bottom. Slowly -the boom was swung back toward the brink of the pit and stopped. Eager -hands manned the windlass to raise the bucket. Seemingly endless feet -of wet cable were wound about the drum before the filled bucket -broke the surface of the water. Up and up it rose, until it was on a -level with our heads; then it was swung in by the boom and lowered to -the spot which I had selected, where every precious scoopful should -be minutely and painstakingly examined on the sorting-tables I had -erected. No treasure must slip through our hands; nothing must be -damaged by careless handling. Anything perishable must be immediately -treated with the preservatives which were ready and waiting. My -hands trembled, in spite of my effort to control them, as I emptied -the contents of the scoop upon the sorting-tables, for soon I must -be either ‘that clever chap who recovered the treasures from the -Sacred Well in Yucatan’ or else the prize idiot of the whole Western -Hemisphere. - -“I went over the muck, spreading it out, examining every bit of it, and -found nothing; not a trace of anything interesting. It might just as -well have come from any cesspool. - -“Again the winch revolved, its ratchets clinking against the brake. The -big scoop, with its hungry steel lips wide open, plunged into the still -water. The Sacred Well seemed sullen in the reflection of a black cloud -overhead, as though determined to the very last to withhold its secrets. - -“And so it was, day after day. The winch rolled and unrolled its cable -of steel and its manila ropes. The triple-pointed steel jaws dived into -the soft, yielding muck many feet below the surface of the well, and -came dripping up to deposit their burden. And day after day I found -nothing but ill-smelling rotted leaves and a few stones, prevented from -sinking into the mud by rotting tree branches which had fallen into -the well and which, when not too decayed to stand the bite of the steel -jaws, were brought up by the dredge. Sometimes whole trees were brought -up and their weight made our steel cable sing like the string of a bass -viol as the sodden mass was swung underneath the surface to free as -much of it as possible and so reduce the weight before raising it clear -of the water and dropping it again in another part of the pool where it -sank with a splash and swirl of water. - -“At times the dredge, working between two entangled trees, was caught -as in a trap and we experienced very real difficulties and dangers in -freeing it. When the whole mass could be raised to the surface, agile -natives with axes and machetes always managed to get down to it and, -clinging precariously to cable and bucket, free it from its rotting -incubus. For hours at a time we labored with such delaying obstacles, -but always in the end the winch again rolled out its cable and then -coiled it up with nothing but a mouthful of the mucky bed of the pool. - -“Several times we brought up the skeletons of deer or of wild hogs and -once the tangled skeletons of a jaguar and a cow, mute evidence of a -long-past forest tragedy—the cow feeding quietly, probably at night; -the spring of the hungry forest cat and the agonized, purposeless -flight of the bleeding quarry with the clawing jungle beast clinging -to it; the last frantic leap into the well where both were doubtless -stunned or killed by the seventy-foot drop to the surface of the water. - -“Then, for a long while, finds even as interesting as these ceased. -Absolutely nothing was brought up but mud and leaves, leaves and -mud, with an occasional stone thrown in for good measure. My high -hopes dwindled to nothing and became less than nothing. The work was -interminable, nauseating. Doggedly I kept at it, however, determined -not to stop until the absolute rock bottom of the well was reached. I -tried not to let my Indians see that I was discouraged, but they did -see it nevertheless and I think wondered every day how much longer the -crazy stranger would persist in his foolishness and pay them high wages -for bringing up mud, useless even as fertilizer, from the bottom of an -abandoned well. - -“But Fate was even then preparing a pleasant surprise, for one day when -things seemed darkest—a gloomy, rainy day when everything was soggy -and sodden with moisture—the dredge brought up what first appeared -to be two ostrich eggs, cream-colored and oval against the black mud -in which they rested. These proved to be balls of copal incense and -they revived at once my waning hopes. We had several times previously -brought up fragments of earthenware which seemed to be of ancient -origin and probably were, but I could not permit myself any illusions -about them. Similar ancient potsherds are not uncommon on the surface -of the ancient city. A boy ... some boy ... this year ... ten years -ago ... a hundred years or ten centuries ago ... might have taken up -a potsherd and skittered it into the well. Boy nature has not changed -through the centuries and certainly no boy with a nice, flat chip of a -water-jug at hand could have resisted the urge to see it skip far down -and across the water of this big pool. And so the potsherds we brought -up might well be ancient without having been long buried in the well. - -“But the balls of copal, or aromatic resin, left no doubt. Surely they -were thrown into the Sacred Well as an offering to the Rain God in -those long-past centuries when Chi-chen Itza was a great and holy city, -the Mecca of the Mayas! With the evidence that this day brought forth -came the conviction that the long siege was at an end and that it was -merely a question of time before other and more important treasures -would be brought to light. They proved to my satisfaction that the -well did really have a religious significance in the olden days and -therefore the legends concerning it were doubtless true in the main. - -“From that time on, nearly every shovelful contained some trove—balls -of copal incense or baskets that had been filled with plastic copal. -The basket-work had nearly all rotted away, but the deep impress of -its weaving still remained on the masses of hardened copal. There were -tripod vessels often filled with copal and rubber incense; wooden -fragments of various forms and of unknown use but indicating the skill -of some ancient craftsman. And among these wooden things were several -pieces of wood made in the form of an old-fashioned English bill-hook -or of a pruning-knife. My natives looked at them as they came up from -the sacred pool and called them machetes of wood, but my heart sang -with joy as I viewed them. No sword of damask steel, no Toledo blade -could compare in historical value to these simple wooden implements, -for they were, in the most primitive form, those strange weapons of the -ancient Mayas and kindred races which the eye of the twentieth century -had never previously beheld except in pictured form. These wooden -weapons were dart-throwers— the _hul-che_ of the Mayas; the _atlatl_ -of the Nahuatls. They are pictured many times upon the walls of the old -temples. Warriors are shown in every attitude of throwing the dart from -the _hul-che_. - -“The _hul-che_, or throwing-stick, of the Mayas is in its most -primitive form more elemental than the bow and arrow, more elemental -even than the _yun-tun_, or sling, for throwing stones. The first -ones we brought up from the well were so near the birth-type that the -hook was actually formed by the natural twist of the wood where the -branch had been cut from the parent stem. In ages past, some jungle -man, lacking a club and needing a weapon, pulled up a sapling that -had attached at its root a secondary branch. As he gave the sapling a -downward whirl, the secondary branch flew off at a tangent and straight -as an arrow. Thus, probably, came the idea of the _hul-che_. - -“It is a singular and interesting fact that the _hul-che_, so -universally used by the Mayas and their contiguous neighbors, is almost -exactly duplicated by the bone or ivory throwing-stick of the Eskimos, -while there are absolutely no traces of its use by the Aztecs or other -northern Mexican peoples. In those dim ages when the human race was -young—those ages as vague to us in outline and substance as the clouds -that float across the sky—the _hul-che_ and not the bow was the common -weapon of battle and the chase. Then we must suppose some great gelid -cataclysm blotted out all humans throughout a whole region, leaving an -ethnic break between the two extremes. Gradually the break was filled -in by intrusive fragmentary races having no knowledge of the arts and -weapons that had been before, leaving only the extremes, the arctic -and the tropic, with their descent of man and his arts unbroken. - -“Later on I was to have the keen pleasure of finding several votive and -ceremonial examples of the _hul-che_ representing the highest artistic -development. Possibly they are the very ones which served as models for -the carvings showing such weapons in the hands of stately priests and -other figures portrayed upon the walls and square stone columns of my -Sacred City. - -“While the Mayas seem never to have used the bow and arrow, their -neighbors to the north did. Possibly the Mayas actually preferred the -more primitive and possibly more powerful weapon in whose use they -were very expert, holding it in the hand with the hooked portion down -and resting the feathered end of the dart upon it. The shaft of the -dart lay between the fingers grasping the _hul-che_, with the pointed -arrow-head even with the wrist. A powerful overhand motion of the arm -or a side swing and release of the dart sent it hurtling through the -air, and legend says that the dart thus thrown by a strong man might be -driven clear through the body of a deer. - -“When these weapons of wood were brought up from the Sacred Well they -seemed to be in as good condition as on the day, centuries before, -when they were cast into the water; but almost immediately upon being -exposed to the air they began to decompose and it was only by treating -them immediately with preservatives that I was able to save them. - -“With the copal balls and baskets and the wooden objects, we also -brought up great quantities of rubber incense and rubber objects. The -early legendary people who are supposed to have settled Yucatan were -called Hulmecas, which means literally ‘rubber people,’ and the name -was derived from the extensive use of rubber in their religious and -public rites; just as the Sapotecas, or ‘sapote people,’ are so called -to this day because of their extensive use of the sapote tree and -its fruits and derivatives. So says the gifted historian Torquemade, -following much the same line of reasoning as other writers, who say -that the name of the tribe called Olmecas was derived from their -general term or name for their chief or overlord. - -“Whatever the answers to these mooted questions of etymology may be, -it has become evident, from the finds brought up from the Sacred Well, -that the Mayas were users of rubber in various ingenious ways. Many -of the masses of copal which I raised from the well bore, imbedded -at or near the surface, nodules or small cylinders of rubber, and in -some cases wooden splinters still protruded from the rubber insets. -Obviously both the splinters and the rubber portions were intended as -lighters for the copal, and this evidence substantiates Torquemade’s -statement: ‘They light the fires in their vessels containing the copal -used in their sacrificial ceremonies with rubber.’ - -“Upon several of the balls or masses of copal, as found either in their -original baskets or vases or without their containers, small figures of -rubber, built around the wooden splinters, were placed in a standing -position. At times the legs of these little rubber grotesques were half -buried in the copal. Evidently they were merely more elaborate forms of -lighters or fuses. - -“One day when the dredge came up with its customary load of decayed -leaves and silt and one of my natives had, as usual, pushed his arms, -clear to the elbows, into the oozy mass, he leaped back with a cry of -terror. We all clustered about him to see what was amiss. Silently he -pointed to the head of a small dark-colored serpent with a white-ringed -neck, which stood up menacingly from amidst the muck. It was precisely -of the shape, size, and appearance of a small and extremely poisonous -viper which is native to Yucatan. Some seconds elapsed before we became -convinced that it was, after all, made of rubber. Although made by -hands dead, possibly, ere Christ was born, it turned sinuously in our -fingers as we drew it from the mud. It has retained the elasticity of -vulcanized rubber, a substance reinvented by Goodyear in modern times. -After its centuries of immersion it would surely have shriveled and -crumpled to bits if it had been long exposed to the air. I took no -chances, but at once put it in a rubber-preserving fluid. - -“A number of dolls were found, made of wood and adorned with plastic -copal and rubber. They are perfectly formed and artistically colored -and decorated. Several have movable arms and legs, with joints made of -rubber. - -“There was evidence that human nature has not changed—that there -were cheats and dishonest sharpers then as now. Some of the copal -balls, instead of being clear, heavy, and pure throughout, as were -the majority, had a perfect exterior appearance but within were a -conglomeration of leaves, sticks, and rubbish—evidently the skimming -or residue from the melting-pot. Doubtless some ancient and not too -honest profiteer grew wealthy through their fabrication. - -[Illustration: El Castillo, the Temple of Kukul Can, on its great -pyramid, is the center of the Sacred City and the largest edifice.] - -[Illustration: Looking down into the Sacred Well. Because of the size -of the well and the fringe of trees about it, the whole scene cannot be -readily photographed.] - -“Weight for weight, I imagine we accumulated ten times as many -potsherds as all other specimen material combined. At times a large -portion of the silt in the dredge seemed to consist of terra-cotta -grains—an indication of the enormous number of earthenware vessels -which must have been hurled into the well. Probably for centuries -the custom was observed of casting into the pool these containers -filled with burning incense or copal. Very likely some, heated by -the flaming incense, disintegrated almost at once when they struck -the cold water, while others lasted for a time and finally crumbled -into dust. But to furnish all this red-gray mud and burnt earth-silt -an almost incalculable number of vases and jars and basins must have -been required. Luckily, by no means all of them were destroyed or even -broken beyond repair. Scores were saved entirely whole and among them -are many strange and interesting ones. - -“The range in pattern and workmanship of potsherds is wide. The larger -vessels or fragments of them—cinerary urns and incense-holders—were -generally of a coarse, granular biscuit mass, well turned but unevenly -burned. They are capable, however, of withstanding a considerable -degree of heat. Between this class and a hard slate-gray ware almost as -thin and fine as porcelain, are many grades and numerous interesting -forms, such as well-made models of human heads, manikins, animals, -reptiles,—especially crocodiles,—grotesque Atlantean figures, and -tripodal temple vessels used in the sacrificial ceremonies, to hold -votive offerings or viands. - -“Not always did we have such good fortune in our dredging. At times -the soft upper layers of mud caved into the pits we had excavated and -we spent many days and weeks in hauling up this mud before we again -reached the treasure-level. - -“And then, one day, the dredge brought up a perfect skull, bleached -and polished to whiteness. Examination showed it to be that of a young -girl. Later came other skulls and human bones, scores of them. Most of -the skeletons were those of youthful maids, but every now and then one -was raised which had the breadth of shoulders, the thick skull, and the -heavy frame of a powerful man—no doubt some mighty warrior sacrificed -in the flower of his vigor, sent to grace the court of the Rain God. - -“I remember as if it were but yesterday finding in the mud raised by -the dredge a pair of dainty little sandals, evidently feminine, once -worn by some graceful, high-born maid. These more than the bleached -skulls and bones, more than any other of the finds, brought home to -me the pathos and tragedy of those ancient, well-intentioned, and -cruelly useless sacrifices. Frequently bits of cotton fabric were -brought up, perfectly preserved but carbonized. My own theory was, and -still is, that the copal incense, falling upon the robe of the victim, -together with the substance with which the body was painted ere it was -sacrificed, exuded an oil which penetrated the fabric and gradually -carbonized it, thus preserving it. These specimens of cloth, many of -which are lovely in design and texture, are, I believe, the only relics -of ancient Maya fabrics in the world to-day. - -“Detached skeletons were raised until we had upward of ninety, and -at sight of the whitened bones my heart was wrung with pity for the -young creatures whose lives had been snuffed out just when living was -sweetest. Our finds proved conclusively that the statements made to -Landa in 1565 by the natives were true—that both maids and warriors -had been frequently sacrificed to the god of the well. - -“The female skeletons were those of girls ranging in age from fourteen -to twenty. The first one we raised and completely assembled had a -small, thin-walled skull, with the sutures almost separate. The -skull was delicate, shapely, with small, regular, perfect teeth. The -sympathetic imagination without effort clothed the naked bones with -flesh and substance, so that one saw instantly the graceful, lovely, -high-bred maiden and the last solemn act that had stilled the poor -girlish body, clad in all its finery and left to sink into the ooze at -the bottom of this terrible pit. - -“By comparing the female skulls with those of modern Mayas, obtained -from the cemeteries of several villages, I came to the conclusion that -there was no appreciable variation or difference. These century-old -skulls might pass as typical crania of pure-blooded young Maya women of -to-day. - -“The male skulls are a contrast to the female ones. Some are relatively -large, thick-walled, with protuberant surfaces, receding foreheads, and -prognathic jaws. Evidently their possessors were ferocious, primitive, -almost gorilla-like—not of the same race which bred the girl-brides of -the Rain God. Again this tallies with the tradition that the warriors -sacrificed were captives—fighting-men of high renown, who, after being -made drunk with _bal-che_ (the sacred mead of the Mayas), were hurled -into the well as fit offerings to the deity. - -“Some years before the time of which I am speaking I had the good -fortune to discover in a sealed stone-walled grave the now famous Sabua -skull. I had to work on it for three days, with atomizer and glue -water, because the skull, which was perfect in shape, was no more than -lime-dust which would crumble at the least touch. By this treatment I -saved it and it is to-day a priceless museum piece kept under glass. In -view of this experience it seemed strange, almost uncanny, to see these -perfect skulls and bones come from the well, so wonderfully preserved -that they required no other treatment than cleansing and rubbing with -a weak solution of formalin to render them ready for packing and -shipment. In the Sacred Well, big and gruesome as it is, are no large -reptiles, no saurians, no fish which would or could tear apart a human -body or gnaw or crush the bones. I know this to be true, in spite of -the local traditions which speak of huge serpents and strange animals -to be seen about the well and to be unpleasantly encountered should one -be so foolish as to roam about in its vicinity at midnight. I have been -that foolish many times and have never met anything of the sort. On the -contrary, in the glorious moonlight of Yucatan the big pool has for me -an even greater lure than it has in the sunlight. - -“As the excavations in the well became deeper and deeper we passed -from mud to powdered limestone, which became more and more compact -until we reached a marl-like bed into which the steel-lipped bucket bit -with difficulty, finally making almost no impression at all. It became -obvious that, although we had by no means dredged the whole well, -we had literally reached the end of our rope as far as dredging was -concerned. I was convinced that further work of the sort would bring us -many more finds, but I was quite as certain that they would not differ -greatly in character or variety from those already accumulated. - -“I could not quarrel with our good fortune thus far. I felt well -repaid, even if we should discover nothing else, for all my effort and -expense. My highly speculative venture had amply justified itself. -I had proved conclusively the history of the Sacred Well. But our -dredging operations, together with soundings made from time to time, -indicated clearly that the bottom of the well was very uneven—a series -of hummocks; almost a miniature mountain range. And in the pockets -between those hummocks, where our dredge could not reach, might there -not be other treasures?—objects heavier and smaller in size than -anything we had yet found; things which, because of their weight, would -sink through the mud to the very bottom of the well. - -“Never could I leave the spot until, by some means or other, this last -and final ghost was laid.” - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - - SIXTY FEET UNDER WATER - - -We had reached the stage where it was very slow work for the dredge to -get even a mouthful of the stiff, almost shale-like bottom of the well, -but, while we brought up fewer treasures than previously, I was not -ready to discard the derrick and dredge as long as the bucket brought -up any finds whatever. - -“To facilitate the work at this stage, a plan which I had long -considered was put into effect. We built a big flat-bottomed scow, -crude but serviceable, and capable of holding ten scoopfuls of muck -from the dredge. The scow was constructed, right on the brink of the -well, of logs and such other materials as we had at hand. Then we -lowered it, by means of the derrick, until it floated easily seventy -feet below, on the still surface of the water. - -“I fancy if the grim old Rain God, Noh-och Yum Chac, the Indra of -the Mayas, was enraged when the dredge first began to rob him of his -long-held treasures, the presence of this clumsy craft, as it tipped -and yawed on its slow seventy-foot descent to the water, must surely -have excited him to frenzy. Yet inexorably we continued our quest, -undaunted by the thought of the god’s wrath and determined to strip him -of every secret. We moored the craft, by a long rope, to a projecting -stone knob on the sheer wall of the well, so that it was directly over -the area where the dredge had been working. Our system was to lower -the bucket, raise it, and pour its dripping contents upon the scow, and -this we continued to do until we had heaped upon the boat ten buckets -of bottom mud. Loaded to its capacity, the scow was drawn to a narrow -sandy shelf or beach which had formed at one side of the well. Then we -transferred and examined the load, handling ten buckets from the dredge -in about the same length of time it had taken us previously to dispose -of one. And thus, for a while, the dredge was made to work profitably -even under the increasing scarcity of ‘pay dirt.’ - -“During this phase of our labor we accumulated a great quantity of -potsherds, copal, and rubber nodules. Each time the filled scow came -to the little beach, the big toads retreated into their rocky cavities -amidst the roots and the myriad eyes that usually shone in these -twilight depths became invisible. Only the iguanas and the lizards in -the branches of the cork-trees that shadowed the tiny beach remained -sleepily undisturbed, while the little painted tortoises on the -half-submerged logs or branches floating near by became so accustomed -to the sight of the scow that they stayed brazenly in their places and -eyed the proceedings without fear. - -“As the work went on, the tailing or discard from our dredge began -to spread out and extend our little beach until it became a solid -peninsula jutting out into the well and making our labors easier by -providing much-needed footing and elbow-room. - -“Long hours I spent gazing over the side of the scow, waiting for -the dredge to come up with its load, and while I waited I glimpsed -fascinating highlights of a hitherto unknown world—a world with its -tragedies, grotesqueries, and surprises; a world in which humans -took no part; one unseen until then by human eyes. Drifting past on -the turgid waters were curious jelly-like formless creatures and tiny -water-insects, some moving slowly as with effort, others like an arrow -in shape and speed. Here was a plethora of twisting, darting, gyrating -forms of life, all intent on the one object of preserving life—that -bitter jest of Nature who instils in us each, great or small, the -belief that our own particular and individual existence is of amazing -import when she herself values it so lightly. - -“Floating on the water were many small red worms no larger round than -a pin and perhaps a quarter of an inch long. As one floated lazily by, -a small red ant, blown or fallen from the land above, struck the water -and instantly was attacked by the worm. The struggle was titanic but -brief and the worm, which was more slender than its victim, simply -swallowed the ant—body, struggling legs, and all. As the swallowing -continued the body of the worm became almost transparent and I could -easily follow the journey of his dinner inside, until diner and dinner -drifted out of sight. - -“Close by the cliff-like wall of the pool was a school of tiny -jet-black catfish—pouts, we used to call them in New England when -I was a lad. They were but a few days beyond the egg state and were -carefully herded by a portly, motherly old catfish. Her inclination -evidently was toward dignified, unhurried movement, well tempered with -complete repose, but the erratic and swift excursions of her hundred -or more infants kept her on the qui vive to head off their ceaseless -turnings and dashes, for they seemed possessed to venture into the -outer and unknown world, even as other infants since time began. To add -to her trials, the whole school was more or less surrounded by tadpoles -just as black and even more lively than the baby fishes. They seemed -not to have nor to require any motherly care and, like impudent street -gamins, they delighted in teasing and leading astray the more tenderly -nurtured youngsters. Slyly they tried to swallow the little fishes, -tail first, in their sucker-like mouths, and were dissuaded only by the -wrathful dash of Mother Catfish. - -“It was during this time, which I call the intermediate stage of the -work, that many of our specimens of lighter weight were obtained. Among -them are pieces of gourds, copal fragments, parts of wooden objects, -and bones, all wonderfully preserved in this colossal silo—for the -Sacred Well is in many respects like a silo. Some of the potsherds and -wooden objects, and even a few of the gourds, had been covered with a -thick white paint, almost as hard as enamel, and upon the surface of -this the artists of old had worked and drawn figures and hieroglyphs -similar to those found in the Codices. Some of the finest pieces of -ancient fabrics were recovered at this time. The gradual caving in of -the mud about the cavity we had scooped out permitted these fabrics to -slip gently into the hole and to be brought up unharmed by the steel -lips of our dredge. They are all carefully preserved and are the only -authentic specimens of their kind known to archæological science. I -deem them among the most important of my treasures from the well. - -“There came up ropes and cords, both of bark and fiber, and curiously -knotted masses of copal; images carved from light wood and covered with -rubber and copal; and always bones and more bones, of maidens and -warriors. - -“At last the dredge bit only on rock and boulders, against which the -steel jaws made no headway. Again and again the bucket came up empty -and with its jaws twisted and bent. - -“If the first stage—the beginning of the work, when the steel bucket -first plunged into the still water of the pit—was exciting, I found -myself now laboring under a still greater emotion, for the time had -come which I had long foreseen, when the dredge unaided by human hands -could accomplish nothing more. There must be hands at the bottom of the -well—not the dead hands of pitiful maidens, but live hands of sturdy -men to explore every inch of the uneven rocky bottom. From dredging -with windlass and bucket, we must pass to a season of deep-sea diving -with all the paraphernalia of diving-suits and hose and air-pumps. - -“What could be more interesting, more romantic than to go down under -sixty feet of water to the very bottom of this grim pit?—to tread -the corridors of the most sacred and abysmal abode of the Rain God? -I might possibly remain at the bottom, myself, a modern sacrifice to -the ancient deity, but I was willing to take that chance; for nothing -could now keep from the world the treasures already recovered from the -well and if I perished in the attempt at further discoveries, my effort -would be, as a whole, not in vain. It was almost like trying to push -aside the veil that separates living man from the nether world. Who -might say but that the ancient people spoke the truth when they said -that the entrance to the habitation of the Rain God was guarded by -huge serpents and that none might pass but those expressly summoned -by the god, to carry out his mandates? Or might there not live in that -deep ooze slimy-bodied monsters of the antediluvian era, to which the -passing of the centuries was but as the passing of hours? This was -no time for speculation. I did not crave to serve as a brontosaurian -breakfast, yet I must know the bottom of this well. - -“Long hours and many days must be spent down on the bed-rock, under -high water-pressure, in total darkness and in a temperature but little -above freezing. My hands must explore the cracks and crevices and -corners and pits where the dredge could not enter, and each find must -be carried to the bucket and placed carefully within it, to be raised -later. - -“I went over every detail of the plan with great care, for not only -my own life but the lives of others depended upon its practicability. -A hitch, an unforeseen obstacle, a piece of bungling, and one or -more of us would never return alive to the sunlight. I was prepared -for this part of the business, having become an experienced deep-sea -diver back in the United States. But diving under bright skies in open -water spaces bathed to some depth by clear sunlight reflected from the -sandy sea-bottom is not at all the same as descending into turgid, -green, almost opaque water confined by high-cliffed walls overgrown -with mighty trees and festooned with huge vines twisting and turning -like giant serpents. I knew it to be very different from and far -more dangerous than clearing off the barnacles and seaweed from the -clean-lined bodies of United States cruisers and lighthouse tenders. - -“Early one bright morning my crew who worked the windlass and managed -the bucket stood grouped about the derrick. The winch which had so -long rattled and clanged as the steel jaws of the dredge opened and -plunged down to their task, was silent and motionless; but its silence, -like that of the men grouped about, seemed to be a sort of watchful -waiting rather than the lazy inertia that comes with a holiday hiatus. -The cogged wheels were hooked introspectively, as it were, but the -jaws of the bucket hung loosely open like those of a school-boy, agape -with interest and wonder. On the refuse-built level space between the -derrick and the examination platforms were strewn strange-looking suits -of armor, canvas-lined and metal-covered, piles of rope and rubber -hose, canvas-covered rope ladders, a small but powerful air-pump, and -divers other things. Yes, even the divers themselves, for he who was -to be my aide in this undertaking had come under contract from the -sponge-banks of Florida with his striker, or pump attendant, and all -the necessary equipment. Both men were Greeks, young, lithe, handsome -as Apollo himself. All that day we spent assembling, testing, and -getting everything ready for actual diving operations early the next -morning. As fast as the apparatus was put in order we placed it on the -scow, which had been scoured and cleaned and was now transformed into -an ideal diver’s craft. Before nightfall the air-pump was securely -fixed on the scow, the air-tubes and life-lines were in place, and the -rope ladder dangled over the side and disappeared into the green water. -From its bottom rung I should, on the morrow, step off into the unknown. - -“The morning of the next day was heavy with clouds that soon broke in -a deluge—a three-day norther that kept us all under cover except for -a diurnal excursion when the Greeks and I and my native striker went -to the edge of the well and from there carefully scanned the scow to -make sure our equipment was weathering the storm. Luckily, the entire -apparatus, pump and all, was almost amphibious by nature and habit, and -so far as the eye could see the wetting was doing no damage. - -“Dawn of the fourth day was clear and bright and the leaves and grass, -even the sky, seemed to have been washed clean by the long rain. After -a hasty breakfast we hurried to the well and descended via the air -route, in the dredge bucket, to the rain-soaked, water-covered deck -of the scow. We bailed out the water and sponged off the deck, on -which we then laid out with minute care the two rubber-lined canvas -diving-suits, making sure that there were no holes through which -the compressed air could issue in lines of silver bubbles into the -surrounding water. Our wrists were carefully soaped and we stepped -into the clumsy uniforms, forcing our hands through the tight-fitting -rubber wristlets. The neck-bands were adjusted and the copper helmets, -cloth-lined and with glassed goggle eyes, were put over our heads and -securely fastened. Then came a necklace of lead plates and finally -heavy metal-soled boots. - -“A trial puff of air from the pump, a touch of the valves in the -helmets, and we were ready to call on Noh-och Yum Chac at the bottom of -the Sacred Well. With a final hand-clasp all around and with my Indians -looking very awed and solemn, I waddled to the edge of the craft and -clambered down the rope ladder about as gracefully as a turtle falling -off a log. - -“I must confess that as I loosed my hold of the last rung and went -swirling down into the watery darkness my heart beat far faster than -could be reasonably accounted for by the increasing water-pressure; -and my mind, like that of a drowning person, reviewed at lightning -speed all the errors of commission and omission of my whole life. But -almost automatically I took the precautions of every experienced diver, -making sure that the air-line and life-line were free and clear of -obstacles. Almost at once the weak, greenish light faded into utter -blackness. Once or twice during the descent my lines brushed against -some sunken tree roots or branches and I was instantly alert, for in -such encounters there is always an element of real danger. These woody -projections were, however, quite rotten and with no more strength than -soaked punk, and fortunately always broke off at the mere touch of the -stout rope. - -“Meanwhile, as I went down and down, at a distance of every ten feet or -so I felt acute pains in my ears, as though sharp objects were being -thrust into them. By adjusting the valves in the helmet and opening -wide my mouth, I succeeded in equalizing the air-pressure on the ears, -causing a sound like the exhaust of a motorcycle on the ear-drums but -relieving the pain. Once I was at the bottom, the helmet valves alone -required attention; for only by opening them frequently is fresh air -forced down from the pump and the vitiated air expelled. - -“I had reached the bottom but a moment before I sensed that the Greek -diver had also descended and was close beside me. He had waited only -long enough, before joining me, to make sure my native pump attendant -was handling my air-supply properly. The darkness was complete, a -perfect blindfold, but I reached out and touched the Greek so that we -might be sure of our relative locations and not get our lines entangled. - -“Standing upon the uneven, rocky bottom of the well, I was thrilled -with the knowledge that I stood where no living man had stood since -time began. I think I felt much the same high elation that must have -filled Peary and Shackleton at the end of their respective dashes to -the polar caps. - -“I had foreseen the need of light and had provided myself with the -very latest and best submarine electric light obtainable. What any -illuminant could do, this light would do. But what light can force its -beams through a lake of chocolate-colored porridge? Our lights were of -not the slightest use in this grim old water-pit and we had to depend -entirely upon the sense of touch. And this sense served us well, for -under constant use our finger-tips grew highly sensitive. The palpi in -the skin whorls and curves became so responsive that we were frequently -able to distinguish the form and texture of the objects we touched and -even got so far as to guess at colors, although we made many wrong -hazards. - -“Another modern invention which we carried at the bottom of the -well was the submarine telephone. It operated satisfactorily, but -we found little use for it, as it was less bothersome merely to -give the required number of tugs on the signal rope when we wanted -to communicate with those above. The Greek and I found also that by -touching the metal fronts of our helmets we could converse easily with -each other. The voice tones were muffled, but with a little practice we -had no trouble in understanding each other. I even recollect hearing -the chattering of the strong white teeth of my Hellenic companion. The -water was very cold and every time we came to the surface after our -daily two hours of immersion our lips were blue and our bodies covered -with goose-flesh and trembling with chill. Coffee, very hot and very -strong, was our first requisite. - -“The water-pressure at a depth of sixty feet is considerable, and -both the air-tubes and life-lines were buoyed in several places by -tightly corked quart bottles. When drawn up after the day’s work, the -lower ones were always half full of water, in spite of the fact that -the empty bottles had been corked as tightly as possible before being -lowered into the water. This will give some idea of the tremendous -pressure. - -“This pressure, offset by a corresponding pressure of air in the -diving-suit, affects in a peculiar manner the movements of the diver. -In spite of my necklace of leaden plates and my two-inch lead soles, -I seemed to weigh nothing at all. A slight stamp of my foot upon the -bottom would take me soaring upward perhaps ten feet in the water, -and I would then come slowly down to rest two yards from my original -position. It took good judgment to land in any precise spot, because -it was so very easy to overshoot the mark. It seemed as though one -real leap would carry me clear to the surface of the well and perhaps -entirely up the cliff-like sides. - -“On one occasion I became so interested in the finds on the bottom -of the well that I quite forgot to let out the accumulated air by -means of the helmet valves. I had been working diligently, feeling -along the silt-filled cracks of the rocky bottom; then, satisfied -with my examination, I gave a stamp of my foot and started upward. -But my diving-suit was so filled with compressed air that I turned in -the water topsyturvy and finally hit the bottom of the scow feet up, -with a resounding thump of my metal soles which almost caused a panic -among the natives on the deck of the craft. Meanwhile I swung around -turtle-wise from under the boat, found the rope ladder, and started to -climb over the side. My henchmen, pallid with fear, were pumping for -dear life, while I, at the side of the boat but below their line of -vision, opened wide the helmet valves to prevent them from blowing me -up like a toy balloon. When I appeared over the side they all crowded -around me and Juan Mis, my faithful old servant, took my helmet-encased -head in both his hands and peered eagerly through the thick glass -insets. ‘God be praised, he is laughing!’ shouted Juan, and they all -chuckled with happy relief, while I sat on the gunwale and was divested -of my cumbersome habiliments. - -“Our first task was to discover the nature of the stone objects that -had so often cramped the jaws of our dredge and strained its chains, -costing us hours of hard work in repairs. The fact that the dredge -had never secured a sufficient purchase on any of these stones to -bring them to the surface led me to surmise that the majority were -smooth-faced and probably hieroglyphed. Mere rocks or boulders rarely -were so smooth that the steel bucket could not grip them and bring them -up after a trial or two. - -“By feeling over the bottom of the well with my hands, I located the -stones one after another and found my surmise correct. We managed to -fasten chains about them and by means of the derrick raised them from -their watery bed. One by one the heavy, wondrously carved stones were -hauled up through sixty feet of water and up another seventy feet until -they rested upon the brink of the well. One great stone was a perfectly -sculptured statue of a seated god or priest which reminded me of ‘The -Thinker,’ by Rodin. - -“The next day we again descended into the well, this time not in search -of large objects such as carved stones, but rather in quest of small -things lying in the silt between the humps and in the crevices at the -bottom. - -“I remember distinctly my sensations as my fingers touched upon curious -small objects like coins, small nuts, and rings. I could hardly -contain my curiosity as I tucked them into my pouch, and my eagerness -to get up to light and air to examine them was almost irresistible. -When I had collected perhaps twenty or thirty I gave the signal and -started upward. Before my diving-dress had been more than half removed -I plunged my chilled fingers into the dripping pouch and drew out -beautiful embossed rings, small bells of copper, and several bells -of pure gold. There were bells and ornaments and medallions of gold -repoussé and gold filagree, of exquisite design and craftmanship. There -were lovely carved jade beads and other objects of jade. Just as truly -as any mining prospector, I had struck gold, but gold tremendously -more valuable than his raw nuggets; for, whatever might be the mere -intrinsic value of my golden finds, each bit was in reality beyond -price. - -“This was but the beginning. We now had at our command two means of -bringing up the treasure. The big carved stones having been removed -from the well, the dredge could again be used, or we could don the -diving-suits. In many instances the Greek and I directed from the -bottom the work of the dredge. The golden objects brought up, if simply -thrown into the goldsmith’s melting-pot, would net several hundreds -of thousands of dollars in bullion—dividend enough, if one were -sufficiently sordid of mind, to justify all my investment of time, -effort, and money in the undertaking. - -“One particularly wet and dreary day the dredge had worked all morning -long, in a monotonous round in which nothing of value was brought -up. Toward lunch-time I had about decided to send the men to their -quarters for the rest of the day, to let them recover from their -half-drowned state. Just then the men at the receiving-platform gave -a shout that brought me running. For several blissful minutes we were -busy picking lovely little copper bells from the black ooze. The rain -was forgotten. Bearers were sent to bring our lunch, and eagerly we -sent the steel bucket down again. And again it came up with a pudding -of mud plentifully plummed with copper bells. All afternoon we plied -the dredge, and nearly every load contained more copper bells, of all -sizes and shapes, none larger than our old-fashioned sleigh-bells and -many much smaller. In fact, they so resembled sleigh-bells that I could -not rid my mind of the idea that they were modern bells used for barter -and exchange, like the hawks’ bells of Spain. At the end of the day -we had piled up over two hundred of these curious specimens of Maya -workmanship, and even the most cursory examination showed them to be of -genuine ancient origin. - -“We carried the bells to the plantation house, where all the servants -looked with awe and wonder at _los cascabeles de los antiguos_, -the bells of the ancient people. From that time on hardly a day -passed that we did not add a handful of copper bells to our growing -collection. The bells are mainly capsule-shaped or spherical. Some -still have a carbon core within, showing clearly the method by which -they were molded. Very rarely did the bells contain clappers or -rattles, and this fact supports the tradition that the ancient people -believed that all things had life and souls. By removal of the clappers -the bells were ‘killed,’ made mute forever, and their souls, thus -released, entered the realm of Ah Puch, the God of Death. Incidentally, -the portraits of Ah Puch show him with anklets of bells. - -“Certain of the larger copper bells have rope-like designs embossed -on them, while others are fashioned like animals and birds and the -grinning heads of Cheshire cats. Some represent the heads of foxes or -of the anteater, showing unmistakably the long, tapering snout. - -“Intermingled with the bells were copper circlets like finger rings, -and curious flat copper ferrules, from a fourth to three quarters of an -inch thick and about an inch long. - -“One day we brought up a handful of small masks, about an inch long -and half an inch wide, made of thin, well-worked copper. By a strange -coincidence they came to us on the very day of a modern native carnival -when every one wears a mask. My Indians commented upon the fact and -seriously debated whether Yum Chac had not sent them up to us in -remembrance of the day. And it is a fact that no other masks of the -kind were found previously, nor have any been found since. - -“Specimens of well-modeled hard copper chisels were recovered at -various times. Some are small, others of the customary size and shape -of modern chisels, but with the heads burred, showing much use. All of -the copper chisels, rings, and masks have the reddish color of pure -copper, but many of the bells, particularly the smaller ones of round -sleigh-bell shape, are of a color indicating copper alloyed with silver -or tin. Some of the other bells contain a considerable percentage of -gold, which may be either a natural admixture from the ore itself or an -alloy added by the ancient artisans. - -“One of the most prized treasures was brought up one day while visitors -were present—Mr. and Mrs. James of Mérida and Dr. Marston Tozzer, now -professor of American archæology at Harvard University, who knows the -Mayas intimately and has lived among them and shared their huts and -hammocks. We were all standing at the edge of the Great Well when the -dredge bucket heaved itself from the roiling swells of green water. As -it came up toward the level of our eyes we saw dangling precariously -from one of its fangs a gray, nondescript article which some one in the -party facetiously remarked must be a cast-off overshoe of the Rain God. -We all laughed at the witticism and then stopped short as the bucket -swung around, bringing the object into plainer view, and we discovered -it be a large copper disk covered with figures in repoussé and -representing the Sun God. My heart was in my mouth for fear it would -drop off and sink back into the well before my eager hands could reach -it, but grasp it I did after what seemed an age of waiting. It is so -beautifully and intricately worked, so fine in artistry that I deem it -one of the most priceless of all these antiques. What it loses by not -being pure gold is more than compensated for by its mass of exquisite -ornamentation. - -“From copper to gold, so John Hays Hammond once told me, is but a short -step and one likely to be bridged at any unexpected moment, and this I -found to be the case in the Sacred Well. - -“One fine day I discovered, among the several copper bells brought up -by the dredge, one small round bell of pure gold, shining as bright and -clear as if newly molded. After that every day was literally a golden -day with finds of yellow gold—golden bells of all shapes and sizes, -some as small as a pea, others large and heavy. And these gold bells -were all more or less flattened, as though they had been struck with a -hammer or even mauled with a sledge. Some were so flattened that the -shape of the clapper within was outlined on the outer side of the bell. -The clappers were, like the bells themselves, made of pure gold, but -most of the smaller bells, like our previous finds of copper ones, had -been ‘killed’ by having the clapper removed. - -“Many disks of gold were brought up, which are covered with finely -worked figures in repoussé, while around the outer edges are characters -and symbols and sometimes hieroglyphs. Some of these disks were -originally flat and others have curving surfaces like breastplates. A -few are plain or nearly so, but the majority are completely covered -with incised work. One disk, a mask, is two thirds the actual size -of a human face and represents a face with the eyes closed. Upon the -closed eyelid is engraved a symbol of unknown meaning. Another disk of -solid gold is eleven inches in diameter and weighs nearly a pound. It -contains no carving or design and I judge it to have been some sort of -temple basin or standard. - -“Among the golden objects are two very handsome tiaras representing -entwined feathered serpents, worked partly in repoussé and partly in -filagree. There are also a number of emblematic figures, dancing frogs -and monkeys, and several queer objects like brooches. They are from one -to three inches high and very thick. There are objects like sandals -and objects similar to candlesticks. Some of the latter are of copper, -gold-plated. I found, too, a considerable amount of gold-leaf nearly as -fine and pure as that of to-day. - -“Also among the golden treasures are several specimens that look like -the heads of canes. These I believe to have been the tops of the -official wands or emblems of authority—the _caluac_ pictured many -times upon the walls of the temples. - -“I found virtually no silver and no metals other than those mentioned, -except iron pyrites. This substance, backed with hard-baked clay or -stone, was used for mirrors, and I found large fragments of several -such mirrors with the mirror surface of iron pyrites still bright and -shiny. One metal object about three inches in diameter is white like -silver, absolutely uncorroded, and seemingly as hard and refractory as -tin alloy or hard steel. I do not know yet what the metal is, but shall -know as soon as it can be examined by metallurgists. Can it be that -rare, indestructible metal, platinum? - -“And with all the precious objects I have taken by force from the Rain -God I am very sure that I have wrested from him not a tenth of his -jealously held treasure. There are many, many more golden ornaments -hid away in the recesses of the uneven floor of the pit, and many, many -things even more priceless than gold to the antiquarian. - -“All this I leave to the engineer of a future day—and I say engineer -advisedly, for it is going to be an engineering task to strip the -old well of all it holds. It will first have to be dredged over its -whole area, not with the crude hand-operated device which I have used, -but with more powerful and modern, mechanically operated equipment. -Then a huge, specially designed diving-bell will be required, so that -men may work under it quite protected from the water and with ample -illumination. - -“Among the treasures we found are three sacrificial knives. One is -perfect, while the flint blades of the other two are broken close -to the hilt. I am inclined to think that the two broken ones were -purposely broken or ‘killed’ before being thrown into the well and that -the perfect one was not cast into the pit but fell in by accident. -These knives have intricately worked and fluted handles of gold. The -one which is unbroken is especially lovely—a bit of perfect artistry -worthy of a Cellini. - -“One golden bowl is nine inches in diameter, and we obtained several -smaller ones about three inches in diameter. These, I think, were -temple dishes used by the high priests. The several gold disks of the -Sun God vary from seven to eleven inches in diameter. And we recovered -forty flat gold washers about an inch and a fourth in diameter, each -with a hole in the center. Regarding the use to which they were put -I have no clue and can only surmise that they were fastened to the -garments of priests or of sacrificial victims. - -“The several brooches, as indicated by the designs upon them, were used -for personal adornment. The finger rings are peculiar in that they -have an enlarged face like a signet-ring, but the enlarged portion is -designed to fit at the side of the finger, rather than on top, and this -enlarged part always contains a pictured face. - -“There are many golden figures of animals and insects, the most -interesting being frogs with exaggerated flat feet, such as are found -in the graves of Puerto Rico. Among the great quantity of other -articles, too numerous to describe here, are twelve plain disks of gold -which I imagine are blanks, originally intended by the goldsmith for -some craftsman to ornament with designs, but for some reason or other -thrown into the Sacred Well in their uncompleted state. - -“Many of the larger golden objects, apparently, were not ‘killed’ -before being offered to the Rain God, but nearly all the smaller -articles of gold were crushed. Most of these have since been -painstakingly straightened into their original shapes. - -“Of the pottery vessels, very few were recovered unbroken. Some, as I -have said, were containers for copal and rubber incense. Others, I am -led to believe, contained the ancient libation of _bal-che_ or sacred -mead which was thrown into the pool together with the captive warrior -victims. This fermented drink made of rainwater, wild honey, and the -bark of the _yax_ tree, according to tradition, was for men only. Women -were never permitted to taste it nor to be present at the ceremonies -where it was used as a libation to the gods. The narrow-necked vessel -in which it was contained was called a _pool_ and had a flat clay -stopper fastened to the neck with cords of bark. We brought up several -of the necks of such containers with the stoppers still held in the -orifices by the bark binding. - -“Several of the open vessels with tripod legs are glazed with red -inside and out; others have a blue lining, and many were red on the -outer surface but left the natural clay color upon the inside. The legs -were either rounded and hollow, containing rattle pellets, or thin and -solid. They are often fashioned as the heads of alligators or as human -grotesques. Many large flat vessels and shallow circular dishes, some -nine inches in diameter, were found, of the same design and finish as -those I have unearthed in ancient graves in Labna and other old Maya -cities. - -“The ancient devotees seem to have been especially partial to a certain -cylindrical vessel about six inches in diameter and nine inches high. -These were often of thin structure and covered with designs and -hieroglyphs or bearing the outlined figures of some deity surrounded -with the conventional symbols of his attributes. - -“A large circular earthenware pan, seven inches in diameter and with -a long, thick handle which frequently ended in a carved head, was in -common use as an incense-burner. It was rarely made of well-kilned -ware and was evidently intended only for brief service. We found many -broken utensils of this sort, but only one perfect specimen, which -is exceptional in that it is of better-kilned material and of most -artistic workmanship. Its pleasing outline is ornamented with openwork -spaces intended to give needed draft to the burning copal in its -basin. Nearly all the incense-burners of this type have hollow legs -containing burned clay pellets evidently designed to produce a rattling -sound at religious dances and rituals. - -“The mortuary urns are large vessels ornamented with the likeness of a -human figure surrounded with a conventional design. The figure usually -bears upon its back a vase-like receptacle doubtless designed to -receive and preserve the ashes of the dead. I do not know whether these -urns were empty when thrown into the well or actually contained human -ashes. I hope this point may be settled by laboratory examination. - -“The finding of copal and the intimate association of the copal masses -with the potsherds and unbroken earthenware vessels, leaves no doubt -as to the use and purpose of both. The employment of copal resin as -a medicament and as a sacred offering seems to have occurred almost -simultaneously with the appearance of man upon the peninsula of -Yucatan. In the primitive rock sculptures in the famous cave of Loltum -is shown the burning of copal as a religious rite, while the earthen -vessels found in the cave contain the blackened residue of burnt -copal—a residue that, despite its antiquity and long inhumation, gives -forth, when burned, the characteristic odor of copal resin, a fragrance -not to be mistaken for any other. The copal tree, anciently known as -_psom_, still grows sparsely in nearly every part of Yucatan and in -ancient times it was carefully cultivated, while the gathering of the -resin partook of the nature of a religious ceremony. One of the early -Spanish chroniclers says: - - _Psom_ is the name of a tree from which the natives take out a - certain kind of resin-like incense which they burn before their - idols and in their houses. We Spaniards took advantage of this - resin to cure many diseases and we called it copal, which is a - Mexican word. - -“The first piece of copal we found was nearly round and about the size -of a baseball. The resin when fresh is light in weight and almost -transparent, but time and the pressure of water at the bottom of the -well have given our copal specimens the general lack-luster appearance -of the bog-butter found in the lacustrine deposits of Switzerland. -Several hundreds of these copal masses were brought up in round or oval -form and many with the marks on them of wicker containers or baskets. -One of the largest of these copal specimens, weighing several pounds, -was thus incased, some portions of the basket fabric still clinging to -the copal. Evidently the copal was still plastic when placed in the -baskets. A number of the copal nodules had been wrapped in leaves, the -veined imprint of which upon the copal surface is so clear that I doubt -not that any good botanist would be able to identify the tree or vine -from which they were plucked. - -“Quantities of bark were brought up which have upon the inner surface -pellets of copal arranged in the conventional symbol or prayer for -rain. Several of the copal masses are molded in the semblance of human -figures or faces, many of them fantastic or grotesque. Many are in the -form of frogs and some of these frogs hold a small ball of rubber in -their mouths. - -“Gourds of all kinds we brought up—small tree gourds which broke even -under the most careful handling and which were preserved with the -utmost difficulty; _leks_ or big gourds, some measuring a foot across -and with a two-gallon capacity; gourds cracked and mended with bark -lacing, just as they are still mended and used by the Mayas of to-day; -gourds coated with the same whitish enamel used on terra-cotta vessels -and painted or hieroglyphed. The gourds were undoubtedly used not only -as containers for liquids but for other things such as corn and beans, -as they are used by the modern Mayas. None of these gourds was found -with a top or stopper in it, but we brought up separately many of the -top sections which had been removed to permit the hollowing out of the -gourd. Some still had an inch or two of stem left on them purposely -to provide a handle and were undoubtedly used as covers or stoppers. -Possibly some of these gourds with their contents of food or drink were -originally sealed before being cast into the well. - -“Among the wooden objects, the _hul-che_, which I have previously -described, is the most interesting, and our finds in the well represent -the whole history of the development of this weapon, from its most -primitive bill-hook appearance to its most finished and ornamented -ceremonial form. - -“The highest stage in the development of the _hul-che_ is represented -by two specimens from the well. One represents an entwined serpent, its -fangs at the hook; in its now hollow eye-sockets probably were once -glittering eyeballs of jade. The shaft of the second specimen is formed -of human figures and is fronted with a fine mosaic or mask of burnished -gold. The whole weapon is as elaborately and minutely carved and -inlaid as the finest example of Japanese wood-carving. And we found -the stone-headed darts which were used with the _hul-che_. They are -pictured clearly on the walls of the temples, but an actual dart or any -part of one had never been found before we raised our specimens from -the well. Any one may now view them in the Peabody Museum at Harvard -University—some without the stone heads but showing the cleft in the -wooden shaft into which the head was fitted. There are also several of -the sharp stone dart-heads, made of common chert and flint. A few are -beautifully formed and fashioned of translucent chalcedony, jasper, and -even jade. These specimens represent the highest known development of -ancient stone point-work of the American continents and probably of the -whole world. - -“Portions of lance-poles were found, and stone lance-points. Some of -these, like the beautiful dart-points, still carry traces of the hard -black bitumen—possibly hardened copal—that once fastened the stone -point to its wooden shaft. - -“Wooden objects shaped like the incisors of a jaguar and bearing -fragments of handsome mosaics encrusted on them are probably parts of -what were once jaguar head-masks. Other similar objects are plated with -gold—portions of golden jaguar-masks. Parts of large trough-shaped -wooden objects are doubtless the remnants of shields. The wood is -Yucatan cedar, light and easily worked, yet resistant to the destroying -effect of weather and insects. All of the wooden objects required quick -and skilful application of preservatives, for, while they had about -the consistency of wet punk when they came from the water, even a few -moments’ exposure to the air would have been sufficient to crumble them -into dust. Happily, I was fully prepared for this contingency, and not -a single important wooden find was lost or injured for lack of proper -treatment. - -“Next to the _hul-che_, the most important of the wooden treasures is -the _caluac_, the wand, scepter, or symbolic badge of high priesthood -or nobility. Many times upon the temple walls are pictured dignitaries -holding this device, as a king might hold a scepter or a bishop his -crook. The general form is that of a forked rabbit-stick. It may be -significant that the figure portrayed carrying the _caluac_ is never -depicted as carrying also the _hul-che_, and perhaps the _caluac_ may -be a ceremonial weapon, symbolic substitute for the _hul-che_. Whatever -its purpose, we have several specimens. Some are nearly perfect and -there are several sizes. The most common of these finds is about half -an inch thick by three inches wide and twenty-four inches long. - -“In addition to the wooden dolls and figures I have previously -mentioned, I obtained a curious ritual rattle inlaid with mosaics, and -several spatulas somewhat like Japanese praying-sticks. The spatulas -are thin and about three inches wide by seven in length. Both faces -show traces of the same hard white enamel found on several of the -gourds and potsherds. The faint characters on these spatulate wooden -objects are so precisely like those in the Dresden Codex that one might -readily believe them the work of the same artist. - -“That phallic rites were practised in some, if not all, sections of the -peninsula is indicated by a phallus, well carved from hardwood, which -we brought up from the well. It was recovered from the deeper layers -of the well-bottom, and this fact precludes any chance that it is a -later intrusive artifact. Some distance to the south of El Castillo -lies a straggling line of large stone phalli, evidently taken from -some portion of the ruined city by early Spanish settlers and then -abandoned by the roadside. The House of the Phalli in old Chi-chen Itza -further emphasizes the fact that the cult here existed and there are -unmistakable evidences in the ancient ruins of Uxmal. - -“The several wooden labrets, or lip- or cheek-plugs, are of some dark, -hard wood, possibly _circicote_ or ebony. The frontal surface is a -sunken panel on which is usually carved in relief the figure of a -plumed warrior. The carving in many cases is as fine as that on the -best cameos and is brought out by red pigment. Slight traces of green -are indicated, also, following the same general scheme as the large -carvings on the temple walls, where green and yellow pigments are used -to indicate respectively jade and golden objects or ornaments. That -these colors have withstood centuries of immersion is truly remarkable; -I doubt much if any of our modern colorings would have the same lasting -qualities. - -“Now I come to the last and perhaps most important of our -finds—various objects of jade. We brought up from the very lowest part -of the well seven jade plaques or tablets, broken but later fitted -together with almost no parts missing. They measure, approximately, -three by four inches, and are well carved with cameo-like designs of -Maya deities. Of similar design and length, but only two inches wide, -are nine additional plaques. - -“Of jade personal ornaments we recovered a hundred and sixty large, -handsome carved beads and pendants of varying sizes. These are nearly -all perfect. There are seventy carved jade ear, nose, and labret -ornaments, from two inches in diameter down to half an inch. They are -all well cut and polished. Among the loveliest specimens are fourteen -jade globes or balls, an inch and a half in diameter. These are -beautifully polished and several of them are finely carved with human -figures and other designs. - -“The most prized of all the jade objects is a figurine four inches wide -and of like height. It represents a seated figure of the Palenquin -type, with an elaborate head-dress, and is probably the finest figurine -of the Maya era which has ever been found. It is of flawless jade, -perfectly carved and polished, and absolutely unharmed by its centuries -at the bottom of the well. It alone is worth, a thousand times over, -the hard years of my life spent in solving the mysteries of the great -green water-pit whence it came. - -“I have purposely left the mention of the jade finds to the very last, -for they are the culmination of our discoveries, treasures which, -instead of enlightening our ignorance, only add another unanswerable -riddle, another intriguing enigma. - -“These plaques and ornaments, green, gray, or black; this wonderful -figurine—all are of genuine jade, and jade is simply not indigenous -in America. Despite all seeking and all investigation, not one single -outcropping vein of jade has been found on the American continents, not -even an elementary nodule or crystal. Nephrite, or near-jade, and soft -serpentine are common to both North and South America, but the jade -of the ancient Maya cities is real jade, as easily distinguishable -from nephrite as a real diamond from ordinary glass. Furthermore, I -have never found, nor have I seen, any similar objects taken from the -ancient Maya cities which are of nephrite, though the present-day -Indians, particularly in northern Mexico, file out objects of soft -serpentine and sell them to the gullible tourist as _chalchuitl_. -The Nahuatl word _chalchuitl_ originally meant nephrite or American -jade—near-jade—but even before the coming of the Spaniards the word -had become prostituted to mean almost any greenish stone. - -“To the ancient Mayas jade was very precious—immeasurably more -valuable than gold (sun metal), of which they had great store—even -as in China to-day one may pay thousands of dollars for a string of -perfect jade beads. The following authentic tale concerning Cortes -and Montezuma illustrates the point. The story was recorded by one of -Montezuma’s followers and has the ring of truth: - -“Although Montezuma was, toward the last, virtually the prisoner of -Cortes, he was for a long time treated not as a prisoner but as an -honored guest. Cortes and Montezuma were accustomed to play each day a -native game which in many ways resembles chess, and both became much -interested. It was their further custom at the close of each day’s game -to present each other with some gift. - -“At the close of one day’s game the Aztec monarch presented Cortes with -several large disks of gold and silver handsomely worked. Cortes was -greatly pleased and so expressed himself. Montezuma smiled and said: -‘The gift of to-morrow shall be such that to-day’s gift will seem in -value and preciousness, when compared with it, as no more than a single -stone tile of the roadway.’ - -“As may be supposed, the mighty Cortes spent a sleepless night in -anticipation of the priceless gift he was to receive. At length the -morrow came and the game was played to a long-drawn finish. The gift -of Cortes to Montezuma does not matter, but the royal treasurer of -Montezuma brought in on a golden salver the royal gift, four small -carved jade beads. The bitter disappointment of Cortes was so great -that he could scarcely conceal it, but Montezuma had acted in good -faith, for jade had throughout the Aztec ages possessed an intrinsic -value far above that of gold and silver. - -“So far as I can learn, the ancient Mayas considered silver of slight -value, and they esteemed gold or sun metal more for its adaptability -and malleability and its supposedly sacred origin than for its monetary -value. It was an object of barter simply because of its utility in -adornment and as a temple metal. Possibly copper may have had nearly as -great a value in the eyes of these ancient people. - -“Of all the jade objects we recovered, not more than a fifth are -unbroken, and the broken jade ornaments were broken not by chance or -accident but deliberately and by a practised hand. The fractures are -not the result of a casual crushing blow, but of the splitting or -cleaving impact from a sharp-edged instrument guided by a deft hand, so -that the jade was broken but not pulverized or marred. Like so many of -the relics from the well, they had been killed, just as the bottoms of -terra-cotta vessels were punctured and weapons were broken so that the -departing soul of him who died might be accompanied by the souls of the -material objects he had most loved or used during his earthly life. And -when the departed souls completed the long journey and at last stood -before the almighty Hunal Ku, the supreme god in the heavens, each -would wear the souls of his earthly jewels and have at hand the souls -of his earthly implements. - -“Although virtually all of the ancient rites and beliefs are unknown to -the modern Mayas, this one belief has persisted in an esoteric fashion. -Many years ago I attended the funeral of a young Maya woman whose -husband had been devoted to her. Her burial attire was of the richest -the family could possibly afford, the _huipile_ and _pic_ wonderfully -embroidered of _xoc-bui-chui_ (embroidery of the counted threads). Her -slippers of pink silk also were elaborately embroidered. Long slits had -been cut in both _pic_ and _huipile_ where they would not be noticed, -and the soles of the slippers each had three longitudinal slits cut -in them. When I asked the old grandfather why this had been done, he -professed ignorance and would only reply that it was the custom among -his people. But when I told the old _H’men_ of Ebtun what I had seen, -and of my conviction regarding it, he admitted that I was right and -that the ancient belief and custom have been handed down through the -generations, although the subject is never discussed with the Catholic -clergy. - -“Always since that time and the finding of the jade in the great well -I have thought of these lovely stones as ‘soul jewels,’ although, -according to the Maya belief, their souls are departed. - -“Unfortunately, some of the finds from the well were stolen. How many I -do not know—not a great many, I think. But these things are priceless -and it is cause for grief that even the least of them should fail to -reach a safe place of exhibition. One of my natives abstracted some -gold from the finds and had it melted up and made into a chain before -we detected him. Later I found, also, that one of my straw bosses had -been bribed by another archæologist to secrete and hand over for a -price whatever of the finds he could. While I shall never know just -what the sum of these losses was, it could not have been great, because -no finds were brought up except in my presence, and every find that -came under my eye was catalogued and accounted for.” - - - - - CHAPTER IX - - TWO LEGENDS - - -On one of Don Eduardo’s trips into the country of the Sublevados he -chanced across an old Indian, the troubadour of his tribe. This man -had a wonderful store of ancient traditions and legends and was an -excellent spinner of tales. As nothing pleased him more than to sit -by the hour and tell his stories to Don Eduardo—a most interested -audience—they spent many pleasant days together. The following legend, -especially, remains fresh in Don Eduardo’s memory and seems to me -worthy of being recorded ere it dies for lack of appreciative ears. - - - IX-LOL-NICTE - - My grandfather told me this, as his grandfather related it - to him, and so on back through many grandfathers; and before - that—who knows? There was in the north of this great land a - city, and this city existed a thousand years before the coming - of the white man. The dwellers in the land were called the - children of Kukul Can. Afterward the Itzas, who were a mighty - people, discovered this city and dwelt about the edge of its - Sacred Well for many _katuns_.[6] But before the time of the - Itzas, the first dwellers had come to this land in big canoes, - from the land of the mountains of fire. They were led by a - great and wise man who aided them to build the city. The name - of this man is written in stone in the ruins of the city. - - In the city was a high-born maiden, a princess named for a - flower, for on the very night she was born, when the goddess - Ixchel caressed her beautiful mother and placed in her loving - arms a tiny girl child, the _zac nicte_ tree growing on the - terraced platform of the big house on the hill burst into - bloom for the first time and the tiny princess was named for - its flowers, Ix-Lol-Nicte—She the Flower of Sweet Perfume. - Each year thereafter the _zac nicte_ tree, the Mayflower tree - of the Mayas, flourished and brought forth its fragrant snowy - blossoms. Each year the princess grew in comeliness until she - became the most graceful, lovely maid that eyes ever rested - upon. Sixteen Mays had the _zac nicte_ tree been crowned with - blossoms and sixteen Mays had passed since the girl-child was - born to the beautiful mother in the great house on the hill. - - As the summer passed, the trunk and branches of the _zac nicte_ - turned to ashy gray, but its leaves remained green and its - blossoms lingered in masses of white fragrance. So beautiful - had the maid become that it seemed the greatest honor in all - the land must be hers. She must become the bride of Noh-och - Yum Chac, the Rain God, whose palace is at the bottom of the - Sacred Well. Surely the god would be pleased with her, for - never had he had a bride half so fair. The time was at hand - for the wedding of the water-god and a mortal maid. The god, - who controlled the vase of waters, the dew, and the rain, and - at whose will the corn grew luxuriously or withered and died, - must be mollified. Each year, if it became evident the Rain God - was angry with his people, the most beautiful maiden in the - land was chosen to be thrown into the well, to sink quickly to - his watery home and become his favorite handmaiden and win his - forgiveness for her people. - - Ix-Lol-Nicte grew in loveliness, and yet no man had seen her, - nor had she looked upon the face of any man, save only those of - the trusted household retainers. The home of the princess, with - its carved stone walls, thick and massive, loomed majestically - above the palm-thatched homes of the common people. In the - spacious garden was a riot of tropic flowers, exotic shrubs, - and twisting vines, giving forth wave upon wave of sweet - perfume. Among the trees of grateful shade was the _yax-nic_, - whose bark is used to make the drink of the gods and whose - clusters of lilac blooms formed a perfect background for the - vivid flame of the _copte_ tree. - - Care-free, with no thought of the future to darken her - innocent pleasures, the princess drifted happily about the - garden, with only the companionship of the wild creatures - that peopled the inclosure. And they sensed with unerring - intuition the gentleness of her presence and bared not against - her claw, fang, nor sting. In the sunny garden the little wild - honey-bees, shining black like bits of jet, clung to her glossy - tresses, loath to leave her fragrant presence. The big, lazy - black-and-yellow butterflies lit fearlessly upon her shoulders, - fanning her lovingly with their slowly opening and closing - wings. The _bec-etch-ok_, the bird of a hundred songs, seemed - to save for her his choicest selections as she wandered along - the garden paths. - - Her first knowledge of sadness came with the death of her - pet fawn which had fed upon a poisonous vine that grew in - the garden undetected by the servants and gardeners. All day - she sat in the shade of a big sapote tree, thinking of her - little dead pet. Suddenly she heard a sound in the forest - depths beyond the garden and she looked up to see a youth - chasing a wild fawn which bounded over the undergrowth and - into the garden, coming close to her as though beseeching her - protection, and she stood up and kept the youth from further - pursuit. Not knowing her to be a princess, he was very angry - with her for spoiling the chase and called down upon her the - curses of Cacunam, god of the hunters. - - But the princess was not at all alarmed, because, not knowing - the ways of men, she did not realize that the wrath of a man is - a very dreadful thing to a woman. - - “Beautiful boy,” she said, “why do you chase the baby deer? - Go find Ek Balam, the black jaguar, or Noh-och Ceh, the giant - grandfather deer who lives in the deep forest! No brave man - would hunt such a defenseless little creature as a fawn.” - - The lad, who was of her own age, hung his head and was ashamed. - Abashed by her imperious manner, he felt that one far superior - addressed him, yet his pride was stung. Flinging back his head, - he gazed at her with flashing eyes and said: - - “I come of a line of great warriors and I will show you I can - fight even the wild _tzimin_ or the _chacmool_ [tiger].” So - saying, he rushed off through the forest and was gone. - - A jungle pheasant gave its staccato whistle in the forest - depths and all was still. For the first time in her life the - princess felt loneliness creep over her, for she had not wished - the youth to rush away. - -“Thus do the gods of our people upset the plans of man,” said the -story-teller, as he paused to roll and light a corn-husk cigarette. -Looking up with a quizzical smile, he said, “Is it not so with the -gods of the white people?” I assured him heartily and from personal -experience that the plans of mice and men, white or otherwise, do have -a peculiar faculty for going awry. - -With his fag burning freely, he continued the legend: - - The memory of this meeting kept coming before the eyes of the - youth and a strange restlessness possessed him, so that even - the excitement of the chase no longer gave him pleasure. He - himself knew not what had bewitched him and he fancied that - he suffered from some fever. But ever the beautiful form and - flowerlike face of the maid floated before his eyes. Asleep or - awake, it was the same; he could not banish the lovely vision. - He did not know her to be a princess, but he knew the big house - on the hill and that nobility dwelt there. - - At length he went to his uncle, the great _ah-kin-mai_, the - high priest, and said: - - “Tell me: am I not also of noble birth, like those who live on - the hill in the big house?” - - His uncle regarded him curiously, for he was a wise as well - as a very learned man and well he knew that when a youth asks - about those of a house, he is not interested in any of the - inmates but the maid who dwells there. - - “Be still, my son,” said he. “Forget that you have asked this - question. The people on the hill are of the royal house, while - you are but the son of a chief. Does the bird in the high - tree-top know who is on the ground below? So it is with men.” - - The youth turned silently away and from then on held his own - counsel, for he knew that the high priest, his uncle, held - no thought of love or romance in his breast. But the next - day he warily scaled the hill beyond the city walls, vowing - in his heart that he would at least gaze once more upon the - maid who had woven about him so potent a spell. As he reached - the hilltop there was nothing to see but the tall, rough tree - trunks and the heavy branches. The tree under whose shade the - lovely maid had sat but yesterday was there, but its branches - sheltered only a gay-plumaged motmot perched on the lowest - branch, jeering at him with its raucous voice. A weight lay - heavy on his heart. - - “Hateful bird! Pitiless sun! Unfriendly forest!” thought he. - Was it possible the gods might be angry because he dared to - invade the privacy of the big house on the hill? He turned - sadly to depart, but determined to come again even though the - gods be wroth. He had taken but a few steps when a sweet voice - directly behind him asked mockingly: - - “Do you hunt the baby deer to-day? Or, perchance, the bluebird, - that sings so sweetly in the tree-tops?” The boy turned at the - first word and his courage returned, for the evil bird had - flown, the sun was never more glorious, and the forest suddenly - seemed friendly. - - “I hunt a rare flower that grows high up in the dwellings of - men,” he replied, “and there is joy in my heart now, for at - last I have found it.” - - The maid did not answer, for she was unused to the ways of men - and of flatteries, but she sat down under the tree where she - had sat before and said: - - “Tell me, handsome youth, are the people who dwell in the city - below as good to look upon as you?” - - The youth did not know what to say or answer, for he realized - at once how far above him the maiden must be to dare ask such - a question, and how closely guarded she must be to know so - little of the dwellers of the city. But this only increased his - determination to come again and again, until the heart of the - girl should respond to the beating of his own. - - In a short time a path was worn up the hillside and through - the forest, and often the birds looked down upon the lovers as - they spoke of the plans of the girl’s family that she become - the bride of the Rain God. The princess had been taught that to - be called to serve in the subterranean palace of the god was - the greatest honor and happiness that could come to any maiden, - whether high-born or of lowly birth. Until now, until the - coming of this youth, she had accepted eagerly the possibility - of becoming the bride of the Rain God. But of late her heart - had grown strangely chilled whenever she thought of this honor - that might be hers. - - Meanwhile, the youth, who came from a family noted for its - energy and decision, bided his time and kept his own counsel. - His plan was formed. The princess must not be sacrificed to the - grim keeper of the Sacred Well, whether god or devil. He would - steal her away and bear her off to some distant province before - ever she could be chosen for the Rain God. He dared not tell - the princess of his plan, for he knew her awe and fear of the - gods. But to himself he said: - - “Surely if I take her away before the day of the choosing, that - will not be opposing the will of the gods, for they will not - yet have spoken their decree.” - - Now Ix-Ek [Brunette], daughter of the great war chief Ek-Chac - [Dark Red One], was as beautiful to the eye and in outward - semblance as gentle as Ix-Lol-Nicte. It had been rumored that - the high honor of serving the Rain God in his deep home might - be hers. Those who knew her best, who knew the workings of her - artful mind and cruel heart, shook their heads and said in - secret: - - “Surely the gods who can read the minds and what is in the - hearts of men, even as _H’men_ the high priest, does with the - ills of the body by means of his magic crystal—surely they - will never choose Ix-Ek!” - - But Ix-Ek knew nothing and cared less about the secret - whisperings. The desire to be the chosen of the gods became - stronger and stronger in her heart as she perceived that - Ix-Lol-Nicte was a rival for that coveted honor. And the hour - for the final choice drew nearer and nearer. - - It was by the merest chance that the handsome youth passed - within the sight of Ix-Ek. At once it came to her like a bolt - from the blue that she did not in the least want to serve the - Rain God in his damp abode, and that the only happiness in - the world for her was to bask in the tempestuous adoration of - this unknown youth. Artfully she found a way to know him and - to make it seem that he had sought her of his own volition. - To him, unused to the wiles that an artful woman ever has at - her command, she seemed so tender and compassionate that he, - knowing nothing of her passion,—for who can see the moon when - the sun is shining?—impulsively confided to her his love for - Ix-Lol-Nicte. And Ix-Ek, concealing the jealousy that seethed - in her heart, that she might better work out her terrible - design, sweetly promised to aid him in securing his heart’s - desire. - - As silently as the poisonous yellow spider of the jungle spins - and spins its web, so did Ix-Ek spin her web of deceit and - falsehood to bring the choice of the gods upon Ix-Lol-Nicte - and thus separate her by death from the youth upon whom Ix-Ek - had set her own evil heart. The jealous rage of an unscrupulous - woman knows no bounds, obeys no laws, sacred or otherwise, and - stops at nothing. So Ix-Ek schemed in secret and acted upon her - plan. - - Just as the plans of the youth were perfected, even to the - litter that was to bear Ix-Lol-Nicte away with him, and stout - bearers, men of his own service, the high priest announced that - the day of the choosing had arrived and that all who were to - participate in the ceremony were to be in instant readiness. - The young man knew that as one of the _hul-che_ bearers and - especially appointed guard to the king he must be present at - the ceremony. Failure on his part to be on hand, by an ancient, - unchangeable law meant degradation for his entire family beyond - all pardon and for himself enslavement. - - On the great square before the Pyramid of Sacrifice stood the - platform of Noh-och Can, the Great Serpent, where would be - enacted the ceremony of choosing the betrothed of the Rain - God. At the very center of the platform was a massive seat, - or throne of carved stone, used in this ceremony since the - earliest days of the Sacred City. Over the seat was a gorgeous - gold-embroidered canopy with a circular opening in the top, so - that the rays of the sun might shine directly upon the person - seated there. - - This was in the month of the New Sun. The early summer rains - had passed, though every now and then a fleecy cloud swam - through the azure and obscured the direct brightness of Ich-Kin - [the Eye of Day], Earth was at its best, covered everywhere - with a tender verdure accustomed to plentiful moisture and now - suffering the first pangs of thirst which might wither and - parch it should the Rain God not relent. - - At a given point in the solemn rites, the high priest would - call one beautiful maid after another to occupy the sacred seat - and the one upon whom the unclouded sun shone longest was the - choice of the gods for betrothal to the Rain God. Thus Ich-Kin, - the greatest of the gods, would choose the virgin bride for - his brother, the Rain God. - - A vast crowd from the city and from far regions had gathered to - witness the majestic ceremony. An oppressive stillness was over - all, and in the silence was the solemn feeling of the nearness, - the very presence of the gods as they awaited the choosing of - their lovely mortal handmaiden. - - Shattering the stillness came the shrill, weird notes of the - flute and the keening of the sacred whistle, mingled with the - rolling boom of the drum as the multitude joined in the slow - chant of the ritual music, rolling out in a mighty sea of sound. - - At length the high priest raised his hand and the music ceased. - Taking a vase of fragrant smoldering incense, he approached - with measured pace to each of the four corners of the platform, - symbolizing the four corners of the earth, and as he came to - each corner he wafted the smoke of the incense toward each of - the symboled _Bacabes_ who support the four corners of the - earth upon their faithful shoulders and asked, by invocation, - their blessing upon this ancient ceremony. - - Four times he did this and then announced that the gods were - favorable. The priestly blower of the sacred trumpet blew two - long blasts from his great conch-shell, and as the echo died - away, Ix-Lol-Nicte descended from her curtained palanquin and, - trembling from head to foot, walked toward the throne. She - was attired in a long pure-white robe, adorned only at the - throat and hem with the exquisite embroidery of the counted - threads, worked by the temple nuns. Clusters of _chan-cala_, - black and shining as jet beads,—the color worn in honor of the - West God,—lay against her fluttering breast. Before her went - attendants, scattering large white and yellow blossoms, flowers - of the gods of North and South. - - Slowly, with graceful dignity, unfaltering yet fearful, she - approached the great stone chair. In her heart she prayed - desperately that the choice of the gods might not fall upon - her, for how could her adoration turn even to an immortal god - when before her eyes was the beloved image of the mortal youth - of the hillside? - - Upon her the throng gazed with wondering eyes. Beauty had been - expected, but not this vision of virginal loveliness—a maid - upon whom even the gods must gaze with rapturous and humble - admiration! As she seated herself upon the throne it seemed - to the onlookers as if the gods had already endowed her with - sacred attributes, and an involuntary sigh came from each bosom - in the dense throng. - - Again the high priest raised his hand, and now the drum alone - beat in pulsing cadence to the movement of the _caluac_ or - scepter which he held. Seated before the maiden was the - _Uinic-xoco_, or counter, who recorded the beats of the drum. - At length the _caluac_ in the hands of the high priest came - to rest, the drum ceased to beat, and Ix-Lol-Nicte with her - attendants left the platform. - - Then came Ix-Ek, and she too was beautiful; as vivid as the - scarlet berries that shone upon her breast. A murmur of - admiration came from the onlookers and Ix-Ek turned and gazed - at them disdainfully, for to her these people were as the dust - underfoot. She bore herself with haughty pride, and if she felt - any fear her bearing did not show it. A short time before, she - had craved the honor of becoming the bride of the Rain God, but - now she was passionately enamoured of a mortal youth and she - was pulsating with the love that filled her heart. Whatever the - honor, she no longer wished that sleep in which the eye of life - is forever closed. - - Once more the high priest raised his hand, the drum-beats - ceased, and the people silently returned to their homes. The - solemn ceremony of the choosing was over, but the choice of the - gods, by ancient custom, might not be made known until ten days - had passed. - - With heavy heart the young man returned to his father’s house, - for he had seen not even the tiniest cloud pass over the face - of the sun while his adored Ix-Lol-Nicte sat in the great stone - chair. It seemed inevitable that she would be the choice of - the gods and the thought was as a knife in his breast. As he - lay upon his couch, stricken with anguish, there came to him a - messenger from Ix-Ek, saying: - - “Come to me. I will help you and yet not anger the gods, for I - know that Ix-Lol-Nicte was chosen.” - - Swiftly he went to the house of Ix-Ek and shook the string of - hollow shells before the curtained entrance. At the first sound - Ix-Ek stood beside him, brilliantly beautiful in her rich garb, - her cheeks flushed and eyes bright with excitement. Even the - love-blinded and despairing lover of Ix-Lol-Nicte gazed at her, - spellbound for a moment with admiration, before his poignant - grief once more engulfed him and he listened in hopeless - silence while she spoke. - - “You must tell Ix-Lol-Nicte that if she is really chosen she - must hold her body straight and like an arrow, so that it will - enter the water as the jade-tipped dart from the _hul-che_,” - she said. “I know the under priests who are to hold her at - the brink of the well and fling her in. I will tell them that - the gods have whispered to the high priest that the Rain God - desires no new bride this year and that they are to fling her - carefully so that her body shall not turn in the air but shall - cleave the water like an arrow. Thus she shall come again to - the surface, unharmed. Be you ready to rescue her and it will - seem merely as though the Rain God had refused the sacrifice. - Fear not. I know the priests and they will do as I say. Is not - my father their chief, with power of life and death over them? - Have no fear; they will obey me without question.” - - Hope returned to the heart of the youth and he called down the - blessing of heaven upon Ix-Ek, his ears dulled to the serpent - hiss of her voice, his sight unheeding the crafty, cruel - glitter of her eyes. And that night he haunted the forest close - by the royal abode of Ix-Lol-Nicte, while the Ox-ppel-Ek, the - stars of the Three Marys, like white sentinels, gazed down - upon him in pity as he gave the familiar signal, the cry of - the night-bird. Soon the white-robed, weeping Ix-Lol-Nicte was - locked in his arms. And when she could speak she whispered - between her sobs: - - “Let this be our last farewell. It is the will of the gods - and I must go quickly, for since the choosing I am watched - continually.” - - Kneeling at her feet, the youth told her of the plan of Ix-Ek - and she was convinced by his eager young eloquence. Her stifled - sobs ceased and the flame of hope warmed her and calmed her - fears, for her faith in her lover was as great as her love for - him. - - Alone once more and without the reassuring nearness and vital - strength of the boy, her fears returned and she distrusted - Ix-Ek, because the intuition of a woman often reaches where - the reasoning of a man fails to penetrate, and in her heart - the maid knew that Ix-Ek sought only to destroy her. But she - resolved to say nothing to her lover to dim his hope, and to - trust only that the gods, knowing all that was in her breast - and that she could never serve the Rain God with a whole heart, - would in their all-seeing beneficence refuse her pitiful - sacrifice. - - When ten days had passed, the high priest announced that - Ix-Lol-Nicte was in truth the choice of the gods, and soon came - the fateful day. Ix-Ek, aided by the nether gods and guided - by Hun-Ahau, the arch-fiend himself, carried out her evil - plan. She had seen and instructed the two brawny _nacons_ who - were to cast Ix-Lol-Nicte into the Sacred Well, but instead - of directing them as she had promised the youthful lover of - Ix-Lol-Nicte, she told them that the high priest had had a - vision and unless Ix-Lol-Nicte were accepted by the Rain God, - priests and all would die before sunset; and she urged them - to fling the maid with all their strength so that she should - turn again and again in the air and strike the water with fatal - impact. - - The sturdy, slow-witted under priests, befuddled by the words - of Ix-Ek, did not, as was the custom, fling the slight form of - the victim far out toward the center of the well, but let fall - the tender body of Ix-Lol-Nicte so that it struck the terrible - rocky side of the pit. A mutilated, bloody corpse at last sank - beneath the green waters. - - Her lover, standing at the brink of the well beside the covered - bower of the king and poised to dive into the water to aid - Ix-Lol-Nicte the moment her lovely head should reappear above - the surface, saw her body strike the rocks. Turning like a - flash, he rushed to Ix-Ek and threw her far out into the well - as one would throw a small stone. Then he leaped upon the two - dazed under priests and dragged them over the brink so that all - three fell like plummets into the watery pit. - - Horror overwhelmed the high priest and all others who stood - there. They knew that a portentous thing had happened and that - the wrath of the gods would swiftly be upon them. Enormous - clouds, as black as the berries upon the dead breast of - Ix-Lol-Nicte, came rushing from the four corners of the horizon - and surged high up in the heavens, meeting as one. A single - bolt of lurid lightning split the firmament and entered the - Sacred Well, and the thunder made the rock walls shudder and - the whole earth to tremble. The Rain God, angered that his - people had turned the sacred sacrifice into a day of evil, - caused the heavens to pour down upon them such a deluge that - hundreds were swept into the well and battered to death on its - jagged, rocky sides or drowned in its depths. - - Others fled, to escape the wrath of the gods, but few reached - the shelter of their homes. - - When the terrible storm was at last over, only a few houses - were left and a decimated population. The big _zac nicte_ tree, - which had blossomed for the first time when Ix-Lol-Nicte was - born, now lay upon the ground, its gray trunk split and torn - and its lovely fragrant blossoms bruised and crushed. But if - one had looked closely he might have seen that the heart of - the tree had been eaten out by a big, dark worm with stripes - of brilliant red, red and vivid as the carmine berries on the - breast of Ix-Ek. - -The old man—soothsayer, story-teller, wizard of Zactun—also told the -legend of Xkan-xoc, the forest bird, choosing his words carefully, -with long waits between puffs of his husk-wrapped cigarette; and -the measured cadence of his voice, together with the white magic of -midnight moonlight, made his stories live and clothed his legendary -characters with flesh and blood for the enchanted eyes of the listener. - - - XKAN-XOC, THE FOREST BIRD - - There was a time when the wrath of the Rain God was over the - land. He had sent the dry wind to work his will and all the - country of the Mayas lay parching and dying. The leaves of - vines and shrubs and trees first twisted and contorted in - their agony of thirst and then crumbled away. The black earth - turned to dust, blown about by the winds, and the red earth was - baked as hard as the tiles in the roadway. The old men, wise - with the knowledge of years and many famines, and whose ears - knew the inner meaning of small sounds which most people think - insignificant, said that the deep earth cried out and groaned - in its hot anguish. - - The _ah-kin_, priest of the Rain God, who lived at the verge of - the Sacred Well, told his people that the mighty God of Rain - was displeased because more copal incense had not been burned - at his shrine, and that he must be appeased at once or no corn, - no beans, no peppers would grow in the whole land. - - A new maid must be sent to him, one so beautiful that he would - wish to keep her as his bride and his gratitude would be shown - by gentle and frequent rains that would revive the dying maize. - The mortal messenger must be the loveliest virgin in all the - country, without a flaw, absolutely without the slightest - blemish on any part of her body. Her voice must be as sweet as - that of _Xkoke_, the wood-thrush, so that the sound of it as - she spoke to the god in behalf of her people might be as music - to his ears. - - The great and wise men met in council,—the king, the lords, - the priests, the mighty warriors,—and picked men, hundreds of - them, were sent to comb the country-side and the cities and the - depths of the forest to find a fitting bride for the god. There - was not a maid in Yucatan or even in lands far to the south - upon whose face one or another of these ambassadors would not - look. And only a few maidens, those of surpassing beauty, would - be sent to the sacred city for the ceremony of the choosing. - - From the humble house of her father in the depths of the Tiger - Forest came Xkan-xoc, carried swiftly on a flower-decked - litter, borne by strong young men, the sons of nobles. Garlands - of flowers and sweet-scented herbs shaded her from the heat - of the sun. Her thirst was quenched with the milk of new corn - and wild honey. Her food was especially prepared by the vestal - virgins of the temple. - - And upon the day of the choosing her _pic_ and _huipile_ were - made of shining, soft tree-cotton, lustrous as the wings of - a sea-bird, that clung to her slender gracefulness. Glinting - green stones hung pendent from her ears, while about the lovely - slender column of her neck were entwined many small fretted - chains of gleaming sun metal. Her eyes were big and dark like - those of a fawn; her voice as soft and sweet as the dawn breeze - swaying the fronds of the _cocoyal_ palm or ruffling the petals - of the hibiscus flower. Tiny sandals of softest doeskin covered - her feet as she was led to the temple to be prepared for the - sacrifice. - - The high priest donned his vestments, the lesser priests - brought rich votive offerings and baskets of incense, both - copal and rubber. The king and his guard of noble _hul-che_ - bearers took their stations and all the people of the city - gathered at the edge of the Well. - - The first dulcet tones of the sacred flute were heard from the - temple of Kukul Can at the far end of the Sacred Way and the - shrilling of the sacred whistles joined with the flutes and the - reverberating boom of the _tunkul_, the sacred drum. A sudden - silence, a strange ominous stillness—then was heard from - the depths of the temple the wailing of all the white-robed - virgins. And swiftly the news traveled. Xkan-xoc cannot be sent - as the messenger to the Rain God, for, in preparing her for the - ceremony, the vestal virgins have discovered a tiny mole or - birthmark upon her breast, which had been overlooked previously. - - The ceremony stopped and the people dispersed with heavy - hearts, for Xkan-xoc might not be sent to the Rain God, and - beside her all other beautiful maidens seemed unlovely. Another - maid must be selected for the sacrifice and how might the Rain - God be moved by a bride, however lovely, after seeing the - divinely fair Xkan-xoc? - - - - - CHAPTER X - - THE CONQUEST - - -In “The Fair God” General Lew Wallace has given a somewhat fanciful but -in the main faithful description of the conquest of Montezuma and the -Aztecs by Cortes and his Spanish knights and men-at-arms. - -The conquest of the Mayas is a similar story of blood and plunder in -which the Mayas, although far outnumbering the Spaniards, were no -match for the superior knowledge and weapons of the white men. And, as -always, where the flag of Spain went the church followed close behind -and consolidated and held the conquered as arms alone never could have -done. - -Bishop Landa says that Gerónimo de Aguilar with some companions was -the first to try his luck in Yucatan. He and his men took part in the -destruction of the city of Darien in 1511. He accompanied another -leader, Valdivia, in a caravel from Santo Domingo. They ran aground at -a place called Viboras, on the coast of Jamaica, and the ship was lost -with all but twenty men. Aguilar and Valdivia with the few survivors -set out in a small boat without sails and without food and were -thirteen days at sea, before, by chance, they reached Yucatan. In that -time half of the little band died of starvation. - -Upon reaching land they fell into the hands of a bad Maya chief; he -immediately sacrificed Valdivia and four others to the native gods, and -the people feasted upon their bodies. Aguilar, his chief lieutenant, -Guerrero, and four or five others were left to fatten for a subsequent -sacrifice, but they escaped and reached another tribe which was at war -with the bad chief. Here they were kept as slaves, and though they were -mercifully treated, nearly all of them died of disease except Aguilar -and Guerrero. The former was a good Christian, according to Bishop -Landa’s account, and kept his prayer-book, and in 1517 he returned -to Spain with Hernan Cortes. Guerrero, however, appears to have been -less pious; he allied himself with a native chief and together they -conquered many native tribes. Guerrero taught the natives how to fight -and how to build fortifications. He conducted himself like an Indian, -painting his body, letting his hair grow long, and wearing ear-rings, -and married the daughter of a chief. It is thought he became an -idolator. - -In 1517 Francisco Hernandez de Córdoba set sail from Santiago de Cuba -with three ships, for the purpose, some say, of obtaining new slaves -for the mines. Others say he went to discover new land. He arrived at -length at the island of Mujeres (women), which name he gave it because -of the native goddesses of the island—Aixchel, Ixche-beliax, Ixhunie, -and Ixhunieta. The Spaniards were surprised to find the women fully -clothed and to see buildings of stone and articles of gold. The latter -they took with them. Sailing into the bay of Campeche, they landed upon -the coast of Yucatan on the Sunday of Lazarus and called the place of -their arrival Lazarus. They were well received by the natives, who were -struck with awe and wonderingly touched the beards and persons of the -strangers. - -Near the sea the Spaniards beheld a square stone monument with steps -leading up to it on all four sides. On the summit was a stone idol, -with the figures of two wild animals gnawing at his flanks, and a huge -stone serpent in the act of swallowing a leopard. All were smeared -with blood from frequent sacrifices. A little way inland was the city -of Champoton, which the chief would not permit the Spaniards to enter, -bringing forth his warriors against them. This saddened Francisco -Hernandez, but he put his forces in order and caused the artillery of -his ships to be fired. - -The natives, however, did not cease their attack, although the noise -and smoke and fire of cannon must have been terrifying to them who had -never seen nor heard such things before. The bloodshed was terrible, -for the natives died in hundreds, but still they pressed on, driving -the Spaniards back to their ships. Of the Spaniards, twenty were -killed, fifty wounded, and two taken alive who were later sacrificed. -Hernandez himself received thirty-three wounds. - -Returning to Cuba, he told Diego Velasquez, the governor, of the -richness of the land and of the abundance of gold, and Velasquez -despatched his nephew, Juan de Grijalva, with four ships and two -hundred men, on May 1, 1518, to undertake the conquest of Yucatan. One -of the ships was commanded by Francisco de Montejo. They cruised along -the whole coast and finally attempted to besiege the city of Champoton -again, but with no better fortune than their predecessors. One Spaniard -was killed and fifty wounded, among them Grijalva. - -When the Spaniards returned to Cuba Hernan Cortes became greatly -excited upon hearing the news of so much land and such riches and -determined to conquer the country in the name of God and his king. He -outfitted eleven ships, the largest being of one hundred tons. Among -their captains was Francisco de Montejo. There were five hundred men in -the expedition, horses, war-gear, and goods for trading or ransom. - -On the voyage one ship was thought to be lost, and with the ten -remaining vessels an attack was made on the city of Cotoch, which was -captured and plundered. Later the ship that was thought to be lost -rejoined the rest. Cruising down the coast from northern Yucatan, the -fleet came to the inhabited island of Cuzmil. - -The natives, seeing so many ships and so many soldiers, abandoned the -place and fled inland. After despoiling the city, the Spaniards made a -foray into the hinterland and came upon the wife of the chief and her -children. They conversed with her by the aid of a native interpreter -and treated her kindly. Many gifts were bestowed upon her and her -children and she was induced to send word to the chief and bring him -before them. When he came, he too was well treated and presented with -gifts. - -The chief ordered all the dwellers to return to their homes and all -of the loot that the Spaniards had taken was restored to its owners -and confidence and friendship were established. The natives became -converted to Christianity and the image of the Virgin was set up to -replace the old stone idols. From the Indians Cortes learned that some -white men were near by, in the power of a barbarous native chief. The -friendly Indians were afraid to venture into the domain of the chief, -but Cortes finally induced them to deliver the following letter by -stealth to the white men: - - NOBLE SIRS: - - I left Cuba with eleven armed ships and five hundred Spaniards - and arrived here at Cuzmil, from where I write you this letter. - Those of this island have assured me that there are on this - land five or six cruel men and in all very similar to us. I do - not know how to give or say other descriptions, but by these - I guess and am sure you are Spaniards. I and these nobles who - came with me to discover and populate these lands, request - you that within six days after receiving this you come to us - without other delay or excuse. If you come we shall all know - one another and we shall reward the good work that from you - this fleet receives. I send a brig in which to come and two - ships for security. - -This letter was carried by the natives, concealed in their hair, and -it reached Aguilar, of whom I have previously spoken. He was not able, -however, to make connection with the ships Cortes had sent and after -six days the brig and its convoy ships returned to Cuzmil and Cortes -immediately set sail with his whole fleet. Soon after embarking, one -of the ships was damaged and the whole fleet returned to Cuzmil while -repairs were made. The following day Aguilar arrived, having crossed -the sea between Cuzmil and the mainland in a canoe. He cried for joy at -finding his countrymen and knelt down and thanked God. He was taken, -naked as he came, to Cortes, who clothed him and received him kindly. -He told of his privations and of Guerrero, but it was not possible to -reach the latter, who was then eighty leagues inland. - -With Aguilar, who was an excellent interpreter, Cortes again preached -the worship of the Cross and made a great impression upon the -inhabitants of Cuzmil. The fleet upon its return voyage touched at -Campeche and at Tabasco, where the inhabitants gave to Cortes an Indian -woman who was afterward called Marina. She came from Jalisco, was the -daughter of noble parents, and had been stolen when small and sold as a -slave in Tabasco and later in other cities. Thus she knew the language -and much of the condition of the country. - -After his arrival in Cuba, Cortes and the governor determined to send -Montejo to the Spanish court, to carry to the king his fifth of the -treasure resulting from the expedition and to secure a grant for the -conquest and settlement of Yucatan. When Montejo reached Spain, Bishop -Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca was prime minister, with full power over -New Spain. The reports rendered to the minister by Diego Velasquez, -governor of Cuba, were by no means in praise of Cortes, and as a result -Montejo, his emissary, found himself in a most unfavorable position. -It was only after seven years of what must have been heartbreaking -delay that he persuaded the president of the council and Pope Adrian -to approve the mission. The king had been long absent in Flanders, but -now an audience with his Majesty was granted and Montejo succeeded -in clearing Cortes and in getting the king’s grant for the conquest -of Yucatan, and with it the title for himself of governor of the new -province. - -As soon as possible he outfitted three ships and sailed with five -hundred men. His destination was the island of Cuzmil, which was safely -reached and where he was well received by the Christianized natives. -After a brief time he went to the mainland, where his first act was -to plant the flag of Spain with the words, “In the name of God, I take -possession of this land for God and the King of Castile.” He then -sailed down the coast to the city of Conil. The natives were greatly -alarmed and sent word throughout the country of the advent of the -Spanish. All of the chiefs for some distance about were persuaded to -visit Montejo, who received them with honor and respect. But one chief -of great strength was accompanied by a negro servant, who carried, -concealed, a cutlass, and at a favorable moment the chief seized the -weapon and tried to assassinate Montejo, who defended himself while his -men disarmed the native. - -This event was disquieting; Montejo realized that in spite of his -conference with the natives, they were unfriendly and that it would be -unwise to risk his little army against their combined strength. And -so he weighed anchor and proceeded farther down the coast, seeking -the largest sea-coast city, which proved to be Tecoh. Here, either by -friendly overtures or by threats, he gained permission to establish -a city which he intended to make the capital of his new dominion. -Traveling about the country, he came upon Chi-chen Itza, which seemed -to him an ideal location, probably because of its stone buildings and -its plentiful water-supply. He at once set about the task of making -it habitable. Houses of wood with thatched roofs were put up and with -the assistance of friendly natives he began the task of subduing -surrounding tribes, placing some one or another of his men in charge of -the villages as they were conquered, until he had two or three thousand -natives in his power. - -By this time the natives awoke to the fact that they were fast becoming -slaves to the Spaniards, and rebellion set in everywhere. For a time -Montejo with his men was able, by cruel and bloody treatment, to keep -the people in subjection; but at last they forced him to draw in all -his forces to Chi-chen Itza, where they besieged him. Each day the -armed and mailed Spaniards took heavy toll of their besiegers; and each -day the Indians were reinforced, while the Spaniards counted every -victory a defeat which lost them even a few in killed or wounded. And -the food-supply was nearly exhausted. - -Finally Montejo perceived that he and his men must escape and return to -the island of Cuzmil or they would all be slain. Through the day they -wearied the native besiegers with skirmish and sortie and that night -they tied a famished dog to a rope attached to a bell and just out of -reach placed some food. All night the dog tried in vain to reach the -food and all night the natives heard the sound of the bell and thought -the Spaniards were preparing a night attack. But the wily Montejo and -his followers had escaped from the rear of the ancient “Nunnery” and it -was several hours before the besiegers discovered what had happened. - -Not knowing which road the fleeing enemy had taken, the Indians set -out at once by all the roads to the sea-coast. Some of them actually -caught up with the retreating forces, but were too few in number to -attack successfully. The Spaniards reached safely the town of Zilan and -the Christianized tribe of the Cheles (Bluebirds) and from there they -easily made their way to Ticoh, where they were secure for some months. - -Montejo saw that conquest to the southward was blocked, and, with the -aid of the friendly Cheles and taking the chief of the town of Zilan -and two young nobles, the sons of a still greater chief, he traveled -with his force up the coast, the young natives of his escort obtaining -safe conduct for him through the various tribes. Thus he reached -Mexico, which was held by the iron hand of Cortes. - -Montejo was next sent to Honduras as viceroy, but the project of -subduing Yucatan seems always to have been his dream. Some years later -he went to the city of Chiapa and from there despatched his son, at the -head of an expedition, to Yucatan, in a further effort to conquer it. -The younger Montejo had in the meantime traveled through Mexico and -even into lower California and had been made viceroy of Tabasco. - -In the years since the attempt of the elder Montejo to subdue the -Mayas, Yucatan had suffered greatly, first from internecine strife -and then from a famine, so that the younger Montejo found almost no -organized resistance. The city of Champoton, where the Spaniards had -twice suffered defeat under Hernandez de Córdoba and under Grijalva, -and where the first Montejo had not dared to risk a conflict, now -offered no battle at all. From there the younger Montejo went to -Campeche and established friendly relations, so that with the aid of -Champoton and Campeche, gained by promises of rich rewards, he reached -the city of Tiho, meeting with almost no resistance. - -Here he established his capital, renaming the city Mérida, and so -it has remained to the present time as the seat of government of -Yucatan. The army of a few hundred men was quartered in Mérida and the -subjugation of the country was carried on from there. Captains were -sent to different towns as local governors. The young Montejo sent -his cousin of the same name to Valladolid, to govern that important -city and subdue the surrounding territory. When things had pretty -well settled down, the elder Montejo came from Chiapa, first taking -up residence in Campeche, which he renamed San Francisco in honor of -himself. A little later he moved on to Mérida and became governor in -fact, as well as in name, of the land of Yucatan. - -The rule of the Spaniards was exceedingly brutal for some years, but -it is believed that most of their cruelties were committed without -the knowledge of Montejo and certainly not at his command. There -is the well-worn excuse that the conquerors were few in number and -the conquered numerous, and that diabolical treatment was sometimes -necessary, to hold the masses in check. Rebels were burned alive and -hanged in great numbers. The important people in the town of Yobain -were gathered together in a large house and locked in stocks, then the -house was set on fire, so that all perished horribly. - -Diego de Landa himself saw a tree upon which were hanging many Indian -women from whose feet their little children had been hanged. In another -city two Indian women, one a maid, the other newly married, were hanged -for no other reason than that they were beautiful and the Spanish -captain feared that his men might seek their favor and thereby stir up -trouble with the natives. - -Perhaps the greatest cruelty of all was the deportation of the natives -of the thickly populated provinces of Cochua and Chectemal. Hands and -arms and legs were lopped off. Women had their breasts severed and, -with gourds tied to their feet, were thrown into the lagoons. Children -were stabbed because they could not walk as fast as their captors, and -men, women, and children were slain without excuse. - -Because of this treatment the native population decreased very rapidly -and the towns and cities were abandoned. A serious outbreak occurred in -Valladolid, where the natives slew seventeen Spaniards and four hundred -natives who were servants of the Spanish. Hands and feet of the slain -were sent through the country as a signal for a general uprising, but -none took place. - -Evidently the priesthood complained to the king regarding the -atrocities that were being committed and of the making of servants -or virtually slaves of many of the natives. An edict from the king -deprived all governors of native servants. Montejo was impeached and -sent to Mexico for a hearing, and from there to the royal council at -Madrid. And there he died, as Landa says, “full of days and work.” - -The younger Montejo left the imposing gubernatorial mansion which his -father had built in Mérida and resided for some time in the city merely -as a private citizen, much respected by all. After a time he went to -Guatemala and then returned to Spain, where he eventually died after a -prolonged illness. - -As has been said, the church followed close upon the heels of the -conquerors and there seems to have been little love lost between the -priests and the soldiery, both jealous of power and wealth. With the -forces of the elder Montejo was only one cleric, Francisco Hernandez, -chaplain of the expedition, who later attributed the failure of the -venture to the lack of priests. Before the real conquest by Montejo -the younger, it became necessary for Antonio de Mendoza, who was -viceroy of all New Spain, to carry out the orders he had long before -received from Queen Juana to the effect that priests should be sent to -Yucatan—one of the conditions upon which the province had been granted -to Montejo. - -Mendoza had no choice but to send priests from other Spanish -possessions under his command, as there were none in Yucatan. For this -duty Fray Jacobo de Testera, who held a high clerical office in Mexico, -volunteered. In 1531 he and three other priests arrived at Champoton -and, having asked leave of the Indians to enter the country, made an -auspicious beginning. But they soon lost the good-will of the natives -because they insisted on burning the idols, and, on finding they were -making no progress, became disgruntled and returned to Mexico. In 1536 -another band of friars essayed the task of Christianizing Yucatan, but -after proselyting for two years they returned to more settled Spanish -dominions. - -The conquest actually effected, after the founding of Valladolid in -1541 and Mérida in 1542, a church was built in the latter city and in -1544 Bishop Bartolomé de las Casas and his Dominican friars came to -Yucatan and gradually spread the creed of the Cross throughout the -land. But while we speak of the conquest as becoming an accomplished -fact with the founding of the two principal cities of Valladolid and -Mérida, it was not until more than eighty years later that the whole -country was pacified, and during this time the Itzas in the southern -part of the country remained unconquered and un-Christianized. These -eighty years constitute a long period of guerilla warfare and sporadic -attempts on the part of the Spaniards to conquer the stubborn Itzas -and efforts of the priests to convert them, and, throughout, showed a -lack of concord between the military and the church. At one time two -native Christians set up claims as pope and bishop respectively and -gained a considerable following. - -As has been mentioned earlier in this work, some of the Maya -tribes never were conquered; they do not, to this day, pay taxes -to or otherwise concern themselves with the Government of Mexico. -Catholicism, generously mixed with the old paganism, has, however, -permeated their villages. - -Whatever we may think now of the means and methods followed by the -old padres in bringing the heathen to the Christian faith, we can -but admire and reverence their motives, for no earthly reward could -possibly compensate for the incredible hardships despite which these -zealots persevered. Only a stanch, all-abiding faith, supreme over -mundane things, could have carried on. - - - - - CHAPTER XI - - THE FINDING OF THE DATE-STONE - - -“Always in my earlier days in my City of the Sacred Well,” says Don -Eduardo, “the question was in my mind as to the age of the city. Every -carved stone I found, I scanned eagerly for some clue and I should say, -perhaps, right here, that while we can often gain only an inkling of -the meaning of the Maya hieroglyphs and in some cases no understanding -at all, the date-glyphs are plain sailing. We can read them, I think, -as readily as we would read dates written in English. With but a little -training any one may do this. - -“But though I looked on engraved stones by the hundreds, there were -no dates. Again and again I questioned the natives: ‘When do you think -these buildings were erected and who built them?’ Invariably came the -patient answer, ‘_Quien sabe?_’—‘Who knows?’ - -“Among these Indians was an old fellow whose face hauntingly reminds -me of an ancient picture of a Hebrew patriarch that I have seen in -some forgotten place. One day we were clearing the brush from a gentle -terrace to make ready for the planting of corn. I called the attention -of my overseer to several mounds upon a large near-by terrace, telling -him that we must surely dig into them as soon as we could find time, -to see if they contained any relics. Suddenly my grizzled patriarch -straightened up and gazed at the mounds and then came over to me, -saying as he pointed to the tallest of the mounds, ‘That one has in it -a stone book written by my fathers.’ Here at last was something, of -no value, possibly, but better far than the eternal ‘_Quien sabe?_’ -Eagerly I asked him how he came by this idea and he said that in the -days of his great, great grandfather this temple mound was known as -Mul-huun-tunich, the Hill of the Stone Book. He said that he had been -told this by his father and his grandsire had told his father and a -high priest had so told his grandfather. I could get no more out of -him, but he stuck doggedly to this brief tale. - -“I had passed the mound several times and now I gazed at it with fresh -interest. It was covered with a tangled growth of vines and thicket -and well-grown trees, reminding me of what some philosopher has so -truly said—that the most perfect works of men are soon covered by -forests which grow an inch a day. If this mound had ever been a stately -edifice, all semblance had long since passed. The bat or serpent might -find a cavity in its ruined space, but if any carving of god or hero -were to be found, it was well hidden from my prying eyes. - -“At once I began the task of clearing away the young growth and the -stumps of what had been sizable trees and beneath these were other -decaying tree stumps. In this ruined area, which is perhaps three -thousand feet to the south of the Great Pyramid of El Castillo, is a -terrace, rising about twenty feet above the general level. On this -terrace, which once had smooth, sloping sides, are ruined buildings -with a bit here and there still standing, surrounded with shapeless -heaps of fallen stone. The hill of the stone book, as it was called by -my old Indian, was on the northeastern edge of this terrace, pyramidal -in form and sharply defined. - -“My better judgment told me I was wasting time in heeding the vaporings -of the old Indian while more important tasks waited, but my interest -and curiosity were touched and I urged my men to strenuous effort, -resisting with difficulty the temptation to dig at once into the -center of the mound. We cleared the undergrowth in patches and burned -it, so that the valuable timber would not be injured by the heat, nor -the stones in the mound calcined. While most of the men were thus -engaged I selected a few picked workers and we began the excavation -of the pyramidal mound. We found not only trees growing above buried -stumps, but charred stumps even below these. My old Indian examined -carefully the cuts upon these deep-buried stumps and logs and said that -these marks had not been made by ax, hatchet, machete, or any modern -implement that he had ever seen. In all probability this earliest -felling was done before the coming of the white man with his cutting -edges of metal. - -“I wondered who could have cut down the big trees around the pyramid. -How could trees have been permitted to grow here or have been burned -so close to buildings inhabited or in use? Evidently the burning and -cutting, ancient as it might have been, had yet been done many, many -years after the structure was abandoned. - -“At last we had a space cleared all around the base of the mound and we -sorted over the loose stones, looking for inscriptions, but came across -nothing of unusual interest. We found the mound to be four-sided and -truncated, with broad steps leading up all four sides and with the -principal stairway facing the west. The pyramid was in ruins and the -upper outline obliterated. Close to the base of the main stairway we -uncovered a semi-recumbent stone figure, part man and part animal, of -the so-called Chac Mool type. It was still firmly cemented in place -and, like the stairway, faced the west. Just in front of this stone -figure we unearthed a small elaborately carved stone urn of pineapple -pattern, and a similar urn was dug up just to the rear of the Chac Mool -figure. The Chac Mool and the incense urns were much marred and pitted -by erosion, and the finding of charcoal in fragments and granules all -about indicated that a deliberate effort had been made to destroy these -priceless things. - -“Gradually we cleared the earth and fallen stones and mortar from the -main staircase. Many nests of lovely mauve-colored wood-doves were -destroyed as we felled the trees. We saved as many as we could, but for -several hours the mournful cries of the bereaved feathered creatures -sounded from the neighboring forest like the wails of the departed -spirits of those who had lived and died beside this old, old temple. - -“On the southern slope a huge _chaib_, a species of boa-constrictor, -beautifully marked with splashes of green and brown, was awakened from -its slumbers deep in some rocky cavity of the pyramid and came surging -down the mound with watchful head held high and graceful body bending -the bushes in its path as it disappeared into the thicket below. - -“The bees of Yucatan are kindly and have no sting, but the wasps -more than make up for the impotence of the bees. The most venomous -wasps, the _x-hi-chac_, build flat nests that cling as closely and -unobtrusively to the tree trunks as porous plasters. One of the trees -we felled contained such a nest. Lightning is slow compared with -the speed of these insects, and I, personally, would just about as -willingly be struck by lightning as to encounter the sting of the -_x-hi-chac_. I think lightning would be less painful. Several of the -men were badly stung and while I gave them first aid by applying -ammonia to their hurts, and provided drinks of a refreshing nature, the -victims spent a sleepless, feverish night. They were weak and in low -spirits in the morning, but we resumed our task nevertheless. - -“Clearing the way a step at a time, we finally reached a level, -well-built platform at a height of thirty feet. At the rear of the -platform was the jagged outlined wall of what had been a small temple -and directly before it were two large Atlantean figures of unusual -type. I had seen many squat stone figures in and about the city but -never before such large ones or figures carved with such fierce -grandeur of expression. They were intricately carved and highly -conventionalized. Each was garbed in an embossed head-dress, breast -pendants, loincloth, and sandals. Every detail was clearly worked, even -to the carved strands of rope holding the sandals—sandals bearing -a striking resemblance to those worn by the prehistoric or archaic -Gauchos of the Canary Islands, which again suggests the plausibility of -Plato’s Lost Atlantis. - -“And as we cleared the debris away it became evident that these massive -figures, so stiff and majestic, had originally sustained the front -or façade of the temple. My curiosity and excitement had now reached -a point where every slight delay was nerve-racking and the two grim -guardians seemed to me like silent keepers of age-old secrets, ready -to come to life and destroy the prying humans who dared invade their -sacred domain. - -“Little by little we removed the earth and rubbish. Slowly we -progressed between the colossal figures, excavating with great -difficulty the compacted mortar and stone which had fallen and become -almost as a single stone. About three feet back of the statues was a -huge stone covered with inscriptions. Was it the stone book? I cast -aside all philosophic calmness and dropped to my knees, clawing away -with my bare hands at the debris which obscured the inscriptions, until -my nails were broken and my fingers bleeding. - -“Here indeed was the Huun-tunich, the Stone Book, the Rosetta Stone of -my ancient, lovely, and forgotten City of the Sacred Well! I am not -ashamed of the fever of excitement which possessed me and communicated -itself to my wondering Indians, who had not the slightest idea why the -mad white man should become so wrought up over the finding of merely -another stone with queer writings on it. But, then, what matter! White -men are always a little insane, anyway, and one never knows what folly -they will attempt next. - -“With sharpened twigs I cleaned out all the incised lines, until the -inscription on the exposed face stood forth clearly. Not till then did -I attempt to read it. And there, among the glyphs I could not at once -decipher, my eye caught a date-sign fairly jumping out to meet me. -Cycle Ten, Katun Two, Tun Nine, Uinal One—in other words, 600 A. -D.! - -“It had been my secret hope that somewhere, somehow, I should be able -to find an authentic date in Chi-chen Itza, some inscription which had -eluded the eyes of other searchers. The Chronicles mention various -dates in connection with the ancient city, but this added proof was -needed to carry us over the threshold from probability into the realm -of incontrovertible fact, just as the finds in the Sacred Well proved -for us the veracity of the legends. - -“This date-stone does not by any means indicate that the city was -founded in 600 A. D., but that this particular temple, -whatever its purpose may have been, was built or dedicated at that -time. Imagine some terrible catastrophe befalling the United States, -wiping out all our people and leaving our cities to fall in ruins and -become covered with forests with the passing of hundreds of years. Then -imagine an archæologist, even one as mad as myself, digging into these -ruins and coming upon that block of granite which now stands over the -entrance to the New York Corn Exchange and tells us in unmistakable -terms when the building was erected. His find would be of tremendous -historical value—a definite date standing out clearly from the misty -past. But still he would not know nor have any clear idea of the date -of the founding of New Amsterdam and no clue to the interesting history -of those sturdy Dutch patroons who first built a village at the mouth -of the Hudson. - -“And so it is with my Sacred City. There is not in all the world a -metropolis living or dead more mysterious, more dowered with romance. -Its age, its origin, even the racial identity of its builders, are -each and all sunk in mystery so profound that I doubt if we shall ever -fathom them. - -“I was so elated over my discovery that I at once promised double pay -to each man for the month and declared that we would have a fiesta -that all would remember for miles around and describe in later years -to their sons. I tried to tell them how important was our find, but -the double pay and the fiesta were much more eloquent to them than any -words I could utter. I singled out the old Indian whose great, great -grandfather had passed down the tale of the stone book. His face was -as impassive as the faces of the stone gods about us, as befitted his -dignity, but I could see it cost him a tremendous effort not to shout -with glee and dance about like a small boy, and he gloried in the fact -that he had not led me astray. Drawing his bent frame erect, he said, -‘Did I not say so and did my great grandfather ever lie?’ - -“Careful measurements showed that the stone had been the lintel of the -doorway. Each end had rested upon and was securely cemented to the -heads and supporting upraised arms of the huge Atlantean figures, thus -forming an integral portion of the main temple entrance. This is not an -unusual Mayan arrangement and, as previously mentioned, there is in the -Akzab Tzib, or House of the Writing in the Dark, a similar lintel but -without a date. - -“A very long time must have elapsed since the abandonment of this -temple. A seed of the _chac-te_ tree was carried by the winds or the -birds and dropped in the entrance, a little to one side of the center. -This tree is of extremely hard wood and it grows slowly. It grew to a -sapling and at last into a big tree whose roots by their upward thrust -toppled over the central portion of the façade. The lintel fell to the -ground, but its fall was softened by the pile of powdered mortar and -stone which had already sifted down, and fortunately the priceless -relic was unbroken. Time passed; the big tree died and decayed. All -this we know by the casts of the gnarled roots left in the grouting -beneath the temple platform. Once again fertile Nature planted a seed -under the tablet, carried to its earthy bed down under the fallen -stones by some rodent or fruit-eating bat. And this was the seed of the -_yax-nic_—a tree as hard as iron and as long-lived as its predecessor. -It too grew to great size and its roots tilted the stone tablet to one -side and, finally dying, left its epitaph written in root-casts or -molds. Again ever-vigilant Mother Nature planted a seed, this time of -a tree of soft, quick-growing wood, and the roots encircled the tablet -as in a mighty hand; and thus we found it when we cut down the tree. -Fortunately, the previous trees, which exude an acidic sap, had done -the tablet no harm and the last tree had by its clasp rather protected -the tablet than harmed it. And how easily Nature might have contrived, -with her cycles of life, for the destruction of this treasure! - -“The day passed and darkness came, but I could not leave the spot. I -dismissed my Indians and took the photographic cloth from my camera and -covered the tablet and then piled over it some pliant boughs of trees. -But, like the youth who lingers over his adieus to his sweetheart, I -uncovered the stone again and sat beside it until the moon was bright -overhead. My vagrant fancy carried me back over the centuries and I -saw smooth highways crossing and recrossing, and along these highways -populous cities with the towering outlines of massive temples and the -carved edifices of kings and nobles. I could hear the soft, silvery -laughter of women bearing water-jugs, as they met in groups along the -tree-shaded avenues, and there were merchants and bearers of burdens -traveling to and fro from the market-places, and resplendent warriors -and haughty peers and solemn priests. And there was the scent of -incense smoke and a high, clear voice was chanting the invocation to -Kukul Can.... - -“I was aroused by the voice of one of my Indians, a quaint fellow who -always addressed me as Ah Kin (High Priest)—why I do not know. ‘Ah -Kin,’ said he, ‘Master, the voices of the birds are stilled; your -food is cold and untasted; I beseech you to come and eat.’ I arose -and went with him, but I could not eat; and all night, as I tossed -in my hammock, I saw the tablet and its every inscription as clearly -as though it were actually before my eyes, and early in the morning -I was back at its resting-place. That day we carefully raised it and -replaced it firmly upon the heads and upraised arms of the impassive -stone guardians—serene, majestic figures that have witnessed a mighty -civilization and its passing into the dust of oblivion. Once again -their arms hold the graven tablet as of old, but their mute lips which -might tell so much are silent and in their changeless gaze is the -haunting, immutable introspection of the Sphinx.” - - - - - CHAPTER XII - - THE CONSTRUCTION OF MAYA BUILDINGS - - -Whoever views the pyramids along the Nile is inevitably intrigued as to -how they were built—how the massive stones were transported and placed -in their elevated positions. And likewise at Chi-chen Itza one is bound -to speculate as to how the heavy stone-work was transported from its -quarries, how it was so intricately carved, and by what predetermined -plans it was erected into buildings which have stood for centuries, -defying tropical nature. - -I have found the Sacred City an absorbing topic upon which to ponder, -fitting together the known facts and drawing upon imagination to piece -in the gaps, until the mental picture of the building of its ancient -temples is an unbroken fabric. My own visualization of the process -of building a Maya temple is no doubt faulty in many respects, and I -have no wish to precipitate an archæological controversy by claiming -it to be hole-proof; I offer it merely for the sake of the reader who -has not the opportunity to create his own vision of the subject from a -first-hand view of these ancient edifices. - -Imagine an army of workers—a hundred, yes, a thousand times as many as -would be employed in the erection of a great modern building,—short, -squat, powerful, sun-browned men, sweating at their task of quarrying -and moving huge stone blocks. - -In the quarries the blocks for the monolithic serpent heads, the column -sections, and all the larger pieces used in the building are being -channeled from the solid ledge rock, or from isolated boulders, by -the _pa-tunich_, or quarry master, and his many assistants. The ring -of blows struck with stone or wooden mallets upon chisels tipped with -flint or calcite attests their industry. Some workers do not use the -mallet and chisel, but score the soft limestone ledge with flint-bladed -hatchets, while others ply long wooden poles as wedges and levers. On -the quarry floor the master stone-cutters are squaring and smoothing -the rough blocks and laying against them, from time to time, their -wooden gauges, satisfied only when the stones are smooth and square and -of the right dimensions. Under the finished stones are inserted wooden -rollers and about them are knotted cables made of fiber or of tough -vines, and long lines of men grasp the cables and bend their backs to -the task of hauling the big blocks from the quarry to the building site. - -Lines of men like toiling ants carry on their shoulders baskets of -earth and stones. Slowly the terrace or substructure is built up to the -first level, its sides faced with smooth stones, and each side bisected -with a broad stairway. And up to this level is built an inclined -roadway for the workers and their burdens. And slowly, up and up, grows -terrace after terrace, each smaller than the preceding one, and the -pyramid takes shape, leaving a flat stone platform at the top upon -which the temple will be erected. Here the _pol-tunich_, the master -stone-mason, and his artisans are busy in the finishing of the stones -and in their intricate carving. Flint-edged hammers are used to work -the grosser outlines, but the finer details are worked out with more -delicate implements—gouging-tools of flint and calcite and keen-edged -chisels of polished nephrite. Such a chisel Don Eduardo dug up near the -base of one of the temples. - -The finished stones, one by one, are dragged up the long inclined -roadway, to the floor-level of the temple, and put into their places -under the direction of the master builder. Stone upon stone, the walls -take shape and the column sections are set in place. Then come the -workers in mortar. Every crevice is filled and the column sections -firmed into place with small stone wedges and thick lime mortar. With -a cement-like plaster of sifted lime and white earth mixed with water -and the juices of the _chi-chibe_ plant, the workmen fill each crack in -the walls and columns and burnish it to stony hardness and exceeding -smoothness. - -Next come the sculptors—men of renown, artists famed for their skill, -who spend months and years with knives of obsidian, nephrite and -flint chisels, and tiny cutting-tools of copper and calcite. At last -the stone-and-mortar surfaces are covered with deep-carved masks and -portraits and battle scenes and hieroglyphs and friezes, until scarcely -a square inch of plain surface remains. With pencils of red _chac-ti_ -wood and with soft-plumed brushes dipped in brilliant pigments the -carvings are further adorned—various shades of brown, the blue-green -of the sacred quetzal bird, the emerald of the forest, the azure of -the cloudless sky, the ultramarine of the deep sea, the gold of the -noonday sun, the velvet blackness of a cloudy night, twilight purples -in the long shadows of trees reflected in the pool of the Sacred Well, -the gray of aged stone that has battled for countless years with -the elements; vermilion of the turkey-head blossom, the rusty hue of -red-earth dust. From triple-vaulted roof to temple floor the colors are -applied with consummate artistry. - -Speaking of the tools used by the sculptors, the finds of Don -Eduardo throw a new light upon this previously puzzling subject. -Many cutting-edges and rejects of flint and calcite have been found. -Some archæologists have stated that chisels of metal were not used, -and probably these were but little employed, yet from the Sacred -Well were raised several small hard copper chisels. There can be no -doubt, to judge from the shape and the marks upon them, that they are -chisels. One of Don Eduardo’s most precious finds is a nephrite chisel -discovered at the base of the Great Pyramid. Concerning it he says: - -“While working one day around the base of the Great Pyramid of -El Castillo, taking measurements and digging below the surface -accumulations to get at the base line of the structure, I came upon -a curiously shaped fragment of worked stone—heavy, close-grained, -and dark green in color. Closer inspection showed it to be the edged -portion of a cutting-tool. - -“The unbroken tool must have been of the typical celt type, about six -inches long and three inches wide at the cutting-edge, tapering to a -rounded head. The part found was rather less than a half of the whole, -but nevertheless the more interesting and important part because it -contained the polished cutting-edge. It was an unusual find, indeed. -Stone points and cutting-edges of local material, like flint and -calcite, are not uncommonly encountered in favored places after heavy -rains that wash away the earth covering and expose them to view, but -tools fashioned from costly, imported material like nephrite were -rarely used and were not carelessly cast aside when broken, for even -the fragments had their value and could be worked over into smaller -implements or into ornaments. - -“The location in which this broken nephrite chisel was found, no less -than the chisel itself, has an antiquarian bearing. Here was not only -an authentic museum piece, but testimony as to its use, for clearly the -chisel was used in making the sculptures of El Castillo and was lost -there in the course of the work. - -“Nephrite, or kidney-stone, was used in prehistoric, ancient, mediæval, -and later times as a remedy for kidney diseases. It was taken, of -course, in pulverized form. In prehistoric times nephrite was as -needful to the skilled artisan as tempered tool steel is to the modern -craftsman. Nephrite was found in lands far distant from the Mayas; and -pieces of unworked nephrite were bartered and sold, as was nephrite -dust. This dust packed on a rawhide surface became an effective -abrasive for shaping and polishing the nephrite tool. Nephrite carried -by ancient ways of commerce, by barter and trade and conquest and -plunder, reached the Mayas to a limited extent. I have no doubt its -value to these ancients was greater than that of gold.” - -Century after century has passed and the work of these amazing -craftsmen still stands, even to the hair lines of the lintel carvings -and the faint traces of pigment still clinging to the smooth walls. The -epitaph is imperishable, even though the names of the artists, like -their very bones, have vanished. - -Those who directed the work of temple-building not only built well, -but had an eye to efficiency, also. No stone was wasted; rejects, -fragments too small for carving or fashioning into building blocks—all -were utilized as filling or ballast for the terraces. The stone chips -from the mason’s hammer and chisel were used as grouting. Even the -stone-dust was collected and sifted and mixed, in the ratio of three to -one, with powdered lime, plant juice, and water, to make mortar. When -the temple was completed to the point where the sculptors and painters -took up their task, the inclined roadway was removed. - -Then when the massive temple, smooth-walled and roof-crowned, stood -complete on its serrated pyramid of receding terraces; when the broad -stairways were finished and the undulating stone serpents and the -paneled terrace faces all were perfectly aligned and the whole majestic -structure appeared as frosted silver against the velvet blue of the -sky—then only did the master builder consider his work complete. - -With the exception of the Snail-shell or Watch-tower, all of the Maya -buildings are rectangular. None are lofty, all are massive. Yet in -all respects they are excellent in their architecture, of appropriate -dimensions, symmetrical, and well constructed. Stones are fitted with -infinite pains. Many have even been drilled. It has been shown that -sharpened bird bones twirled about on the stone were employed as -drills. Stones having drilled holes of six inches or more in depth are -not uncommon. Mortar, plaster stucco, and cement were as good as or -better than similar materials of the present time and were expertly -applied. The use of pigments as understood by these ancient artisans -is a lost art and it is doubtful if we have any colors as durable and -unfading. - -Monolithic columns of great size, chiefly of serpent-head motif, are -found everywhere. Built-up columns, both square and round, were used. -Inlays, mosaics, and stone screens, bas-reliefs, full reliefs, murals, -panels, cornices, balustrades, sills, lintels,—virtually the whole -gamut of architectural design and embellishment known to the best of -ancient or modern architecture,—were known and used by these builders -isolated by two oceans from any foreign influence. - -Lintels were made of stone and of sapote, that iron-hard wood of -Yucatan which defies the wear and tear of time like the teak of the -Orient. - -In one respect Mayan architecture might be considered inexpert, from -the standpoint of our present knowledge of building construction, -and that is their method of roofing their structures and of building -arches. Like the old Greeks, they did not know how to build an arch -employing a keystone. Only by gradually receding courses of stone -did they achieve an arch having a capstone instead of a keystone. -The result, in the building of a roof, was a steep-pitched affair, -comparatively low at the eaves and high at the peak. The vertical -rise from eaves to peak was usually as great as the distance from -floor to eaves. Being of stone, this roof was of great weight. Where a -considerable expanse of roof was needed, the triple-vaulted arch was -used. The Maya arch is not ungraceful, even though it is massive. - -In the Nunnery, or La Casa de las Monjas, we see successive stages of -building where a part of an edifice is filled in with rock to provide -a foundation for a superstructure erected later. This, too, is a very -common practice of the old builders and gives the impression that no -very well-thought-out plans were employed. I think, however, that -none of these buildings was built without a predetermined plan, which -was probably drawn out upon some substance in great detail, so that -priests and king as well as the builders knew the size and shape and -mode of decoration before the building was started. Moreover, people so -skilful at drawing and with so considerable a mathematical knowledge -might surely have been able to produce in some simple form the plans of -these structures. The stones are too well fitted, the dimensions of the -buildings too well proportioned, the orientation too accurate to have -been the result of chance. Everything bespeaks foreordination, careful -planning carried through to completion. - -In several of the other ancient cities are found curiously carved -stelæ, monolithic slabs of stone resembling the totem-poles of Alaska. -These are elaborately sculptured with human figures and glyphs. Many -are carved with amazing skill. In his book John L. Stephens describes -a number of these stelæ and his descriptions are accompanied by -the faithful drawings of Catherwood, made directly from first-hand -observation and often with great difficulty. Frequently a small altar -is found before these monuments. There is considerable reason to -believe, from legend and the ancient Chronicles, that they were the -date-records erected every twenty years, and if we could but read the -hieroglyphs we might learn the important happenings in each score of -years. - -From a close study of the architecture of the buildings and their -decorations it is clear that there were several stages of culture. -Mayan architecture and art followed the rise and fall of the nation, -becoming more and more refined up to the golden age represented in the -temples of old Chi-chen Itza, gradually deteriorating in the newer -temples, improving again under the influence of the Nahuatl conquerors, -and sinking into utter desuetude several hundred years before the -coming of the Spaniards. - -The story of the Mayas furnishes one more epic in the history of the -human race; one more cycle of rise and fall; one more meteor flash -of brilliancy followed by the darkness of oblivion. There have been -in every part of the world similar instances of this groping toward -knowledge and culture and their slow achievement, to be followed by -decline and savagery, as though the life of a nation were a thing of -nature which, like a tree or an animal, flourishes a brief while, then -withers and dies. - -Is the twentieth century an exception to the age-old rule? Have our -ability to commit our knowledge to the printed page and our great -advance in the science of transportation set at naught the old rule? Or -will our civilization also crumble with the passing of the years? - - - - - CHAPTER XIII - - STORY-TELLERS OF YUCATAN - - -In wet weather the archæologist may take either a well-earned rest or -he may busy himself with cataloguing and packing the trophies of his -trusty pick and shovel. - -“One day when the rain and the Evil Wind conspired to keep us indoors,” -says Don Eduardo, “I found it much more interesting to listen to the -yarns of the Indians than to work at routine tasks. All I can say in -self-defense is that in Yucatan the subtle contagion of ‘mañana’ does -get into one’s blood. - -“My Indians are all very superstitious. They believe whole-heartedly in -witches and elves, and if one digs deep enough he finds a good deal of -veneration for several deities not mentioned in the Bible. One of these -is Balam, the jaguar, known in ancient times as the lord and protector -of the fields. - -“These simple folk believe in ghosts which walk amid the ruins of the -Sacred City, and they believe in all manner of fortune-telling and -divination. They are particularly partial to crystal-gazing, using a -crystal called _zaz-tun_. - -“Among my Indians was Bat Buul, a little old fellow with twinkling -eyes black as the seeds of the _jabin_ fruit, and ears that actually -wagged when he became excited in telling a story. His big thick-lipped, -sensual mouth was ever ready to laugh heartily at a joke, even though -the joke chanced to be on Bat Buul himself. Old as he was, he had still -the supple quickness of a boy. - -“Bat Buul, whose name means ‘bean ax,’ was a native of the neighboring -village of Pisté and he was famous as a raconteur in a land where good -tellers of stories are highly esteemed. More often than not he was the -hero of the stories he told, and as he warmed up to the telling, he -would become tremendously excited and his black eyes would snap and -burn with the intensity of his narration. - -“One of his best stories, that of the _xtabay_ or forest lorelei, has -the sweet flavor of those wonderful old Greek myths of nymphs and -satyrs and of gods come down from Mount Olympus for a holiday. - -“Often one sees glimmering gossamer flecks twisting, twirling as -they scurry onward, aimlessly borne by a vagrant breeze. They look -like a flock of diaphanous butterflies, but in reality they are the -flying seeds of a climbing vine. The vine bears a slender, delicate, -snowy flower and the seed-case is an olive-green oval pod filled -with thousands of seeds. The seed mass is bisected within the pod by -a light, silky membrane. As the ripening progresses the pod becomes -chestnut in color and at last bursts open. The membrane with the seeds -clinging to it falls out, but is brought up short in its descent by -a thin filament that remains attached to the lower end of the pod. -The fall detaches the seeds from the membrane, or they are soon blown -clear, to be carried at the will of the wind. Each of the tiny seeds -has a transparent wing or tissue. - -“Curiously, the two halves of the dried seed-pod are perfect natural -combs, which are much used by native women, who believe that use of -these combs supplied by Nature herself preserves the natural color and -luster of the hair. The natives far and wide speak of them as the combs -of the _xtabay_—forest nymphs, dryads, or lorelei—and many, like Bat -Buul, claim to have seen the nymphs combing their silken tresses. In -the old days, also, the native belles used the combs, thinking thereby -to capture some of the elusive beauty of the mythical forest maidens. - -“Before I proceed with Bat Buul’s story there is one other explanation -necessary to a full understanding of the tale. Far in the hinterlands -of Yucatan are Maya Indians still called the Unbaptized Ones and these -natives wear always about their necks chains of gold and in their ears -big hoops of gold wondrously adorned with filagree. The men, even -more commonly than the women, wear these ornaments, which is strange, -for among those natives who are at all civilized the men seldom wear -ear-rings or neck-chains, though these adornments are popular with the -women. - -“But the belief is common over the whole peninsula that by wearing a -gold chain with a sacred relic or crucifix pendent from it one will be -protected from danger. Men engaged in hazardous occupations such as the -making of fireworks for fiestas and religious celebrations; butchers, -and those who work with mad white men digging in haunted cities -will tell you that such a chain is a potent charm against evil and -sudden danger. Gallants occasionally wear chains of this sort, as do -goldsmiths—rather out of vanity than for defense against ill-fortune. -Always, when worn by men, the neck chains are hidden under the shirt. - -“Bat Buul, who, on his own admission, has tried his hand at almost -everything, is a goldsmith by trade, a maker of rockets when and -if these are required, and a beau gallant at all times. Naturally, -then, he wears a solid-gold chain of extra length and weight, with a -solid-gold cross at the end which has been blessed by the Archbishop of -Yucatan in the cathedral of Mérida. - -“On this rainy day Bat Buul was resting luxuriously, ensconced upon a -_cauche_ in the store of Monica, in his natal village of Pisté. As I -entered the store after my three-mile ride in the rain from Chi-chen -Itza, Bat Buul was holding forth to an eager group of listeners. In -his hand was a thimble glass of that aromatic beverage _xtavantum_ -and evidently it was not his first. He nodded to me as I joined the -audience, but did not pause in his talk. It was evident that he -determined to outdo himself for my benefit, being reasonably certain -that if pleased, I would do the gentlemanly thing in the way of -refreshment for all hands. As we would say in Americanese, ‘He was -going strong.’ I give you his story as nearly as I can in his own words: - -“‘I, Bat Buul, am a man of great will-power. I say it—yes, and it is -so. I am not large of body, but I am great of heart and very strong. -There are those who have sought to prove my strength and they have -found it to be so. I do not say these things boastfully, for only vain -and cackling fools do that, and if I do say it, I am no fool. No man -can deceive me long—no, and no woman, either. Many have tried, but few -have succeeded, albeit most of those who have succeeded have been women. - -“‘But it is not given to man that he should be hard of heart and -unbelieving toward women. No; many women have liked me; some have loved -me, and because of this my heart is ever soft to all women; that is—’ -here Bat Buul swallowed an entire thimble tumblerful of the perfumed -liquor and gazed at us benevolently—‘that is, toward all _handsome_ -women. - -“‘Well, sir, one day I started for the deepest part of the forest where -I had some _chac-ti_ logs that I had cut and left to dry for charcoal -which I needed to make powder for my rockets. I had nearly reached the -point on the road to Chi-chen Itza where one turns to enter the deep -forest, when I noticed that I was beside the place where grow the ghost -flowers which come up in the night and wither in a day. I stopped for a -moment to look at them, for have I not told you many times that I love -the beautiful things of the forest? Then it was I heard a soft, sweet -sound like the notes of a bird very, very far away calling to its mate -or like a reed flute played by one who is sad.’ - -“The old man paused and deliberately rolled and lighted a corn-husk -cigarette. No one spoke. I have learned that it never pays to urge the -native story-teller to get on with his narrative; story-telling is a -rite which must be performed just so, and the artistic temperament -resents any interruption not of its own making. - -“At length Bat Buul resumed: - -“‘I looked around me and saw a beautiful woman sitting under a tree. -She was the most beautiful woman I have ever seen and she was crooning -to herself, and all the while she was combing her long, shining black -hair. Suddenly she looked up and saw me with her big, velvet eyes -that held a brightness like some deep, cool forest pool upon which the -sunlight falls between the leaves. But she said nothing and continued -to sing softly in that sweet, far-away voice of hers, while her rounded -arms slowly rose and fell as the comb slipped through her glorious -hair, so soft and fine that the little breezes one could scarcely feel -rippled and floated its tendrils. - -“‘I went slowly closer to her and said quietly, in a way that I have -of my own, “My handsome one, why are you out here so lonely and all by -yourself?” I meant to say more, but she rose and moved a little away -from me. Yet her eyes shone more brightly and she stopped singing and -said ever so softly and sweetly, “Oh, Bat Buul!” Then she moved farther -away. She was—how shall I say?—not thin, not fat, but plump like the -wild partridge, and she moved as lightly as feather down. Yes, she -seemed to float, so effortless was her retreat. Well, have I not said -that my heart is soft toward a handsome woman? And so I followed her, -even though she led me quite away from where my _chac-ti_ logs were -drying in the sun. - -“‘She said nothing, but again began to hum a tiny, wistful, haunting -melody and as she glided on she turned her head this way and that to -glance at a plant or to inhale the perfume of a flower. And ever she -kept an eye on me that seemed to invite me on and on. - -“‘Farther and farther we went from my logs, and deeper and deeper into -the forest, and she seemed to grow more lovely at each step. Suddenly -I found that I had walked right into a thorny clump of _tynbins_ and -the _tynbin_ ants were swarming over me with their stings like the -pricking of red-hot needles, while she, on the other side, was as cool -and fresh as though she had but stepped from her morning bath. - -“‘And then I began to wonder, although the pain of the stings was -very great. And when a man begins to wonder he is safe, for then he -usually finds out why he is in trouble. “Ah,” I thought, “when I first -saw this lovely maid she was sitting under a tree, combing her hair, -and she called to me.” And I remembered it was a _benote_, the tree -that the _xtabays_ ever seek for shade as they sit and sing and comb -their lovely hair and try to bring venturesome men to an awful death. -“And so the Xtabay of Pisté has tried to play with Bat Buul this day. -Poor thing! we shall see!” But all of this I said very softly to -myself, for I am a wily man when dealing with women. Then, as if still -unsuspecting, I worked my way out of the thicket. As she turned to -elude me again, quick as lightning I slipped my long gold chain from -my neck, hiding the crucifix in the palm of my hand. I know women and, -after all, the _xtabay_ is a woman, and a good-looking one at that. - -“‘Then I stopped as if in surprise and said as I held up the chain, -“I wonder who dropped this beautiful chain.” The _xtabay_ stopped -singing and looked back at me. Just then a ray of sunlight touched the -chain and made it glitter. And the sweet creature came up to me with -unsuspecting curiosity and leaned close to look at the chain. Ah, I am -the one who knows women! So quickly that she hardly saw the flash, I -tossed the loop of the chain over her head so that it rested about her -neck, and then held up the sacred cross so that she could see it. For a -whole minute she stood perfectly still, then she began to tremble. Her -eyes filled with big, glistening tears and she looked at me piteously -and said with a sighing sob, “Oh, Bat Buul!” - -“‘I felt sorry for her, for I am not heartless and she was one to melt -even the hardest heart, _xtabay_ or no _xtabay_. Yet I gave her only -an unrelenting look and an answer that left her hopeless, for I said -to her: “Things found by the roadside and unclaimed belong to him who -finds them there. That is the law and the custom; and, pray, who is -there to claim you from me?” She made no answer, but only bowed her -head and cried the harder. Then I gave a little tug at the chain and -said, “Come on home,” and she followed without a word of protest and -with great glistening tears dripping from her lovely eyes. - -“‘And leading her in this fashion, I passed the big _tanauha_ where -all the animals of the forest drink their fill even in the driest -season. I passed the rock where little Pol Mis was slain by Ek Balam, -the jaguar—black pagan that he is! And we came to the _benote_ tree -with its green fruit like big arrow-heads standing sharp against the -sky—the very tree where I first saw this entrancing nymph who now -followed me like a dog on a leash. When we reached the tree she stopped -and looked at me with pleading agony in her eyes, such a look as I -never hope to see again upon the face of any woman and she said, “Oh, -Bat Buul!” and then again, “Oh, Bat Buul!” and in her voice was the -sound of strangled tears. A man does not like that sound, ever, for it -either hardens his heart and makes him more cruel than he should be or -it turns his heart to water and causes him to be more gentle than is -just and right. - -“‘So I stopped and looked at her. I did not want to, but I could not -help it; and as I looked I knew that she was more beautiful than any -woman that ever lived, even though she were an _xtabay_ and without a -soul, as the priest tells us. She was marvelously formed—not thin, not -fat. Her flesh was as soft as a child’s, yet she was graceful and quick -in her movements. She was all that a woman should be. She seemed like -a bird just ready to fly. And, as I looked, I thought, “What will my -friends say and what will the priest say and do?” Her eyes, filled with -terror, pleaded with me more strongly than any words could have done. - -“‘Ah, Señor, I have the big heart! I took off the chain of gold and -covered the crucifix in the palm of my hand and released her. For a -moment she did not move and I thought she hesitated and looked at me -as though she were really sorry to be free. I was a young man then and -not bad-looking, and even an _xtabay_ may know what it is to love. She -began to move slowly away, with light gliding steps. Then she stopped -and said to me in the voice of the wood-dove talking to its mate, -“Good-by, my Bat Buul.” - -“‘I could not move, but stood there spellbound and looked at her, and -soon she reached the _benote_ tree where the shadows now lay thick and -dark. Here she paused and looked at me long and tenderly; and there -was no longer terror in her eyes, but, it seemed to me, only regret at -our parting. And the sun, which was just slipping beneath the horizon, -cast for a long moment a spell of gold that gleamed upon her glossy -hair like the sheen of light on polished ebony or the glint of many -tiny bits of bright metal; and this is queer, for her hair was like my -_chac-ti_ wood after it has been burned very long. - -“‘Deeper and longer grew the shadows, and at last I could no longer see -her. I leaned a little forward and I was conscious that I was breathing -hard as though I had run a long distance, and still I seemed to hear -faintly the low, sweet song that she had crooned when first I saw her; -and at last even that faded into stillness. I do not know how long I -stood there, but it was almost dusk when I turned to retrace my steps. -I was a long way from home. As I slowly turned about, I saw something -at my feet that shone like dark metal. It was the seed-pod of the -_xtabay_ plant, which women sometimes use to comb their hair, and I was -about to kick it carelessly aside when I heard a voice, “Oh, Bat Buul!” -Just a whisper it was from far off in the forest. Then I knew it was -_her_ comb and I put it in my pocket, for she was a handsome woman and -I could not throw the comb away. I have the comb to-day, although this -happened long ago, when I was young and foolish.’ - -“Bat Buul paused and sat very still, his eyes seeming to look beyond -us and back into the past. He did not touch the refilled glass beside -him, even though he knew that the patron was paying for it and that by -drinking it speedily he might quickly obtain another. At last he said, -with a twinkle in his eye and more to himself than to his audience: - -“‘I should like to see that _xtabay_ again; perhaps I should act -differently. And, then, perhaps I should act the same, for my heart is -still kind to women, especially if they are handsome women.’ - - • • • • • - -“As I have said before, one of the most interesting things I have -encountered in Yucatan is the native custom of story-telling. Usually -the teller of stories is an old man or an old woman with a wide -repertoire of folk-lore. Ghosts, giants, fairies; mythical animals such -as white jaguars; miraculous humans, and the ancient gods—all appear -in these tales, which are told with amazing skill. A little group of -Indians will gather about the story-teller almost anywhere, in the -courtyard of a house or in the public square of a town, and they will -sit by the hour as the speaker goes on without pause from one weird -tale to another. - -“I understand that in the near-by hamlet of Dzitas there is now a -motion-picture theater and the telling of stories has been largely -supplanted by the ‘movies,’ more’s the pity. - -“The children are, of course, eager for stories, and nearly every -village has some kindly old woman willing to entertain the children -with oft-told tales. Such was X’Leut Cauich. X’Leut Cauich was old, -very old, and yet, even though the outer wrappings, the casings of her -mind and soul, were wrinkled with age, her mind and seemingly her soul -remained undeniably very young. - -“‘T is ever said that youth seeks youth as sparks fly upward, and the -saying is a true one. Just so surely as old X’Leut seated herself -comfortably before the _koben_, or three-stone fireplace, in her -_na_ (palm-thatched house) and started to make with colored threads -and shining needle, on snow-white cotton cloth, the beautiful native -embroidery “_xoc-bui-chui_,” just so surely would the children of -the neighborhood spring up as if by magic from the very ground about -her and beg for a story. And old X’Leut, because she was a born -story-teller, never dreamed of denying them. - -“Bit Euan; Phil Canul with his three brothers, all seemingly of an -age; Pol Cocom with his big, soft eyes and harelip; Pablo Perez and -his sister, white of skin, children of the Spanish storekeeper—all -sat crouching, cross-legged, sprawling, each after the manner of his -people, around old X’Leut, listening, motionless, with eager eyes and -intent expression, to the words slowly spoken, clearly uttered, as they -fell from her aged lips. - -“For them, and for old X’Leut as well, the outer world—the prosaic -world about the palm-thatched _na_—no longer existed—only the Wizard -Potters as they worked, with swiftly moving hands and fingers, the -magic clay, making the enchanted vessels of an ancient people. - -“She told them of Aluxob ‘The Little People,’ how they searched in -the deep-down caves for the _kat_, the _kut_, and the _ki_, the tiny -crystals and the clays that the Wizard Potters used in the making -of the ancient vessels. She talked with her eyes, her lips, and her -hands. With agile feet alternately moving she showed how the ancient -people revolved the shallow wooden disks as the potters of other lands -work, with their hands, their revolving wheels. She told them of these -vessels—vessels with magic worked into their very substance so that -at night they changed into living things called Burro Kat and Hunab -Pob; living things that tormented by their doings late night wanderers, -thieves and drunkards; bad people generally; even children who, -disobeying their parents, stayed out late at night or ran away from -home. - -“Then, as X’Leut finished, rolled up her _xoc-bui-chui_, poked the -fire in the three-stone fireplace, and started the water to boiling in -the earthen kettle, each man-child, introspectively brooding, hurried -homeward to ask of his astonished mother if there was anything that he -could do to put the house in order before night came. Ah! a guileful -woman was old X’Leut, with her ever-young soul and nimble hand! A joy -to the children and a solace to the tired mothers.” - - - - - CHAPTER XIV - - FORGOTTEN MICHAEL ANGELOS - - -As I have said, the art of the Mayas, and of Chi-chen Itza -particularly, represents several periods of culture. Some of the oldest -examples of architecture, stone point-work, carvings, and murals, as -well as temple ornaments and personal trinkets display the greatest -artistry of design and craftsmanship. - -Evidently art progressed until a golden age dawned, comparable in -its way to the golden age of Greece. Just as Pericles and Praxiteles -chiseled into stone a marvelous grace and beauty which later sculptors -have never been able to excel, so these old Maya dreamers and creators -have left behind them things more lovely than those of succeeding -generations. - -Gradually the golden Mayan age waned. Creative genius became more -scarce. Sense of harmony and soaring imagination were dimmed. Technique -itself became poorer. - -And then came the renaissance—the period of Nahuatl influence when -Chi-chen Itza probably reached its pinnacle of civic importance and -new temples and palaces were built thick and fast. Art was encouraged -and new genius arose, akin to that of the ancient masters, yet showing -everywhere the influence of the Nahuatl invasion. But while the new art -attained a high degree of excellence, it failed to reach the perfection -of the older culture. - -It is rather difficult to assign to a given period any building as -a whole, or any piece of workmanship, because the older city was so -frequently robbed of its art treasures in the construction of the newer -city. Columns and cut stones and lintels were torn from the older and -perhaps then nearly ruined buildings to be used in the newer edifices. -As in the House of the Writing in the Dark, we see a lintel of such -extraordinary beauty as compared with the rest of the structure that -it cries aloud its story of ravishment from a nobler and older temple. -Apparently the later builders cared nothing for the beauty of this -stone, but took it simply because in size it was appropriate for their -purpose. - -In speaking of the three eras of Mayan culture in Chi-chen Itza, it -is at least reasonable to suppose that the most ancient preceded the -coming of the Itzas to the city; legend says there was a flourishing -city here before the influx of the Itzas. The second period includes -the rise and decline of art under the Itzas, ending with the -Nahuatl-Aztec dominance. The third period approaches oblivion—the -centuries following the decay of the Maya nations when “campers,” as -Don Eduardo calls them, inhabited sparsely the old cities, and these -people built nothing of permanence and despoiled much of the old art, -knowing nothing of the past history and grandeur of the walls which -provided a better shelter than they could build. The little of artistic -merit which they created—if indeed, they created anything—is crude -and inferior to the work of their ancestors. “Campers” probably lived -in the Sacred City for two or three centuries preceding the coming of -Montejo and until his advent. - -All that remains of the first period is the nearly obliterated old -Chi-chen Itza, where future exploration may bring to light many -treasures. Add to these the precious carvings that have obviously been -taken from the old city for the building of the newer city. - -The second period is represented by the many temples and buildings, -several in an almost perfect state of preservation, in the newer -Chi-chen Itza, and the finds in the Sacred Well. - -The third period is represented only in the waste and debris left by -the “campers” in and about the structures of the preceding periods. - -One striking characteristic of Mayan art is the skill of the ancient -sculptor or painter in portraying the human figure and especially -the human physiognomy. The faces in murals, friezes, and bas-reliefs -are expressive, individual, full of character—the faces of men of -intellect and purpose. Nearly always these portraits in stone or -paint seem to have a sort of sublimity: an earnestness of mien, an -inscrutability, and withal an utter lack of pompousness. None but -great artists could so have caught the real character of the person -portrayed. Mayan art is a decided step ahead of the art of the -Egyptians, and beside it the Buddhas of the Orient seem insipid. There -are, of course, grotesque figures and the many hieroglyphs which, it -must be remembered, are not portraits but have been conventionalized -into symbols far in advance of the original and more primitive -picture-writing. - -One of the most intriguing things is the constant recurrence of the -mask of Kukul Can, often conventionalized to fit the particular wall of -a building, frieze, or mural where it is used. And always it is shown -with a long upturned snout which some casual observer has called an -elephant’s trunk. - -To go a bit afield, G. Elliot Smith’s “Elephants and Ethnologists” -takes up this subject of the elephant’s head. He believes that several -elaborately carved columns or stelæ in Copan, another Mayan city, -possibly more ancient than Chi-chen Itza, present credible pictures -of elephants’ heads with the keepers or mahouts beside them. These -carvings have caused considerable discussion; some stoutly maintain -that they portray the elephant and others say the motif is derived -from the tapir or from the head of the blue macaw. At any rate, the -appearance is that of an elephant, but very likely is intended for the -mask and nose of the great Maya hero-god Kukul Can. - -Of the many murals in the Sacred City, those in the Temple of the -Tigers are the most interesting. On the opposite page is a reproduction -of the scene on the west wall; it is from a tracing done twenty-five -years ago by Teoberto Maier, of whom I shall later give further -account. Much of the lower part of the mural has since been defaced -by vandals or has chipped away through natural causes. The colors are -vivid and the battle action enthralling. Of the many human figures no -two are in the same pose. At the upper right is the Itza king or ruler, -protected by his king of serpents spitting fire and venom at the enemy. -A little lower down, and in front, is the chief Itza general with his -protecting serpent, and all about are warriors armed with _hul-ches_, -darts, and shields. At the extreme left is the opposing general with -his king of serpents and his warriors.[7] Near the bottom at the -left are the Itza notables holding a consultation, and at the bottom, -center, is the time-keeper with his calendar wheel. - -Facing page 221 is an enlarged view of just a bit of this scene which, -because of its larger size, gives a better idea of the technique of the -painter. - -Another part of the battle scene, covering the east wall, depicts the -invading army coming over the mountains to attack the Itzas. At the -left in the picture is an Itza general or ruler, supported as usual -by his beneficent Ahau Can or king of serpents. He is identified -as belonging to the Itzas by his typical Itzan costume. The figure -with the symbolized protecting serpent is similar to many others to -be seen elsewhere in Chi-chen Itza, in paintings and bas-reliefs. A -little lower down is his commanding general, also with a protecting -serpent, and all about are the Itza warriors, now, due to mutilation, -indicated only by the heads of their spears, pointing upward toward -the enemy. In the upper right-hand corner of the painting is an Itzan -horn-blower, standing upon a temple. His nationality is evidenced by -the knee-protectors he wears. - -The invaders wear an entirely different style of clothing and their -armament is not like that of the Itzas. For example, although they use -the _hul-che_, their shields are rectangular—a shape never seen in -Chi-chen Itza nor in the whole Maya area. Still more striking is the -peculiarity of their head-dresses of three blue feathers with yellow -tips surmounting the regular feathered head-gear. It is significant -that Don Eduardo, some years ago in the excavation of a temple, -uncovered a gigantic painted head having a head-dress of three blue -feathers with yellow tips. The stone containing the picture of the -head was found upside down, and from the situation in which it was -discovered it had evidently been so placed originally and had not -fallen or been displaced. The reversed position of the head was the -Maya method of conveying the information that this foe was conquered. - -Evidently the painting in the Tiger Temple was executed to commemorate -the victory over the invaders of the blue feathers, and the other -temple which Don Eduardo excavated also was decorated with murals that -indicated victory. - -On each of the shields of the invaders is shown a curious red symbol -which indirectly gives a clue to the nationality of these foreigners. -In the central part of the state of Vera Cruz are found the remains of -a highly cultured people, the Totanacs. The descendants of this ancient -clan still reside in the neighborhood and their language contains many -Mayan words. Because of the peculiarity of the design, as shown on the -engraving of a clay Totanac facing page 225, there can be no doubt -that it is the same identically as appears on the shields in the Tiger -Temple. The same peculiar design occurs frequently upon the ancient -Totanac sculptures and pottery. - -The Totanacs are neighbors to another tribe just to the north, the -Huastecas, who spoke the pure Maya language and were a part of the -Maya brotherhood. It seems probable either that they were left behind -in the great Maya migration from the west or that their country was -originally the home of those Mayas who later emigrated to Yucatan under -the leadership of the mighty Kukul Can. - -Either supposition might be correct, for it was in this locality that -the now famous Tuxtla statuette was found which bears the earliest -date ever discovered in this part of the world—113 B. C. The -earliest date-stone in Chi-chen Itza is the one found by Don Eduardo -and its date is more than seven hundred years later. During the -interval between the two, or even before, the emigration to Yucatan -from the west might have occurred. - -Another curious thing in the Tiger Temple painting is the fact that the -invaders are shown coming over mountains. Northern Yucatan contains -no mountains, not even a high hill. But in the state of Vera Cruz -there are mountains. There is little to substantiate any theory that -the people of the Sacred City invaded Vera Cruz and it is much more -probable that the Totanacs were the invaders. - -In passing, another hypothesis of the ethnology of the Mayas is that -they were descendants of the Toltecas, a peaceful and cultured people -who inhabited Mexico proper before they were driven southward by the -Nahuatl or Aztec tribes. In various places in Mexico, Toltecan remains -have been found similar in construction and design to those in the Maya -areas. Yucatan may have been the final stopping-place of these people, -but as they moved ever southward, bands dropped out along the road, and -settled. - -It is known that many years later Aztec soldiers marched clear around -the rim of the Gulf of Mexico and through the jungles to Chi-chen -Itza, which was their final destination. Their influence is very -evident in the buildings in newer Chi-chen Itza. - -Because many of the murals in the Sacred City have reached the critical -point of deterioration in the last decade or so, I have made a point of -photographing as many of them as possible. Much of the photography has -employed the color-separation process. All told, I have taken upward -of a thousand photographs, and in addition I have made a large number -of drawings or tracings where it was impossible to use the camera. A -number of murals which were clear and perfect during my earlier trips -to Yucatan, some eighteen years ago, are now entirely faded or chipped -off. - -From a minute study of the paintings I am reasonably sure that the -artists of this past age waited until the walls of a building were -completed and the inner surface had been covered with a thin, hard -stucco, then they painted the whole wall-surface to an even tone of -color, usually a light olive green. Upon this the outlines of their -pictures were sketched, either with red chalk or some soft red stone. -The outlines were then intensified with a brush dipped in red pigment. -From the character of the brush-marks I judge the brushes to have -been made of hair or feathers. The next step was the laying in of the -colors, the pigment being mixed with some sort of varnish that dried -and permitted other colors to be superimposed. - -For example, take the figure of a man. After the outline was completed, -the whole figure was painted flesh color. When this was dry, further -outlining within the figure was done. Then another color was laid over -the shield, clothing, and other portions. Some details of the shield -might then be ornamented with still another color, and another would be -laid on the bosses of the shield and perhaps several colors put into -the head-dress. Wherever the red outlines were painted over, yet were -needed for completion of the work, new red outlines were painted in. - -Facing page 220 [Transcriber: missing] is the reproduction of a tracing -I have made of a red outline, showing as faithfully as possible the -beginning and ending of each brush-mark. It is in the same free-hand -style used by the modern painter. - -Bas-relief work was much used in the Sacred City and for this type -of art the cracks between the stone-work were filled in with stucco -to give an even surface and then the whole surface was polished. The -artist cut his designs into both stone and stucco. I cannot say how -this work was laid out, but it is reasonable to suppose that it was -outlined in red chalk and pigment much as murals were. The incised -work is from a quarter to half an inch deep and the figures stand -out boldly, especially when the direction of the light is from a -particularly favorable angle. - -The projecting part of each relief was painted in identically the same -manner as murals, one color after another being superimposed. A notable -example of this type of art is found in the Temple of Bas-Reliefs, -which is just back of the mound of the Tiger Temple, and is unique in -the fact that it is situated upon level ground and not upon a pyramid. - -Of this building there is still standing the right wall, nearly all -the back wall, a fragment of the left wall, and about a fourth of the -ceiling. The colors upon the bas-reliefs, with which walls and ceiling -are covered, are quite clear except upon the left wall, where for some -reason they are much faded but still distinguishable. On the ceiling -the colors are remarkably distinct, especially several tones of blue. -I recollect that my uncle, who painted the “Spirit of Seventy-Six,” -once told me that blue is a fugitive color and that there is no such -thing as permanent blue, which, he jokingly remarked, is the reason why -painters use a pigment called “permanent blue.” The prevailing shade -of blue used in these bas-reliefs is what artists of to-day would term -indigo blue in various tones. - -Appropriate coloring has been used throughout. The flesh is -flesh-colored; garments, war-gear, everything is properly colored. In -these as in nearly all the bas-reliefs, the incisions or background -are colored a deep red, originally, I judge, as brilliant as Chinese -vermilion but now mostly faded to a brick red. - -These walls represent the very pinnacle of Maya art. There is nothing -of antiquarian interest upon the American continents that excels or -even approaches them. The figures are not stiff and unlifelike as -are Egyptian figures. On the contrary, they are uncannily faithful -portrayals of men in action. They are about three feet high, and on -these walls are more than eighty figures of kings, gods, priests, and -warriors. Many, particularly the priests, are clad in most wonderful -and elaborate vestments. The warriors are more simply clothed and all -carry _hul-ches_ such as were actually found in the Sacred Well. Upon -the back of each fighting man is a quiver holding five darts. Each -dart bears the individual mark of its owner, so that if retrieved it -might be returned to him. - -The bas-reliefs depict six different scenes, and each runs completely -about the room. Separating each scene from the one above it is the -conventionalized body of a great serpent. - -In all of this work I have discovered but one female figure. Below this -figure is an ornamental border about eight inches high on which are -engraved flowers and small human figures in curious acrobatic postures. - -The front portion of the roof is now fallen in, but I surmise that -originally the illumination of the building was such as to bring out -the relief work most prominently. - -At present one gets a much better impression of this work at about ten -o’clock in the morning than at any other period of the day. - -In the National Museum at Washington, there is a reproduction of these -bas-reliefs, but this modern work has scarcely caught the spirit of the -old Maya artists. It should be the immediate aim of archæologists to -preserve or duplicate the bas-reliefs in the most faithful manner, for -the sake of posterity, for I doubt if we shall ever uncover anything -finer in American antiquity. - -Teoberto Maler spent a great deal of time in making photographs, -drawings, and tracings of the old Maya murals and reliefs, and the -world owes him a debt of gratitude for the minute care he took and the -faithfulness of his reproductions. Maler, who is now deceased, was no -mean antiquarian. He was also an artist and a man of most peculiar -personality. - -For several years his more or less undirected exploration was done -for the Peabody Museum, and then he fell out with the heads of that -institution and thereafter worked as a free-lance. For years his -livelihood was derived by selling information, photographs, and -drawings to dilettant antiquarians. So many of these failed to pay him -for such services that the poor fellow became suspicious of virtually -every one who attempted to be friendly with him. I called on him four -times before I could even get him to talk about archæology. But I -always took several bottles of beer with me, so he became more cordial; -and as I was especially careful not to question him in any way to -indicate an interest in his work, he finally thawed out completely. - -An Austrian by birth, he had accompanied the ill-fated Maximilian -to Mexico and had finally drifted southward into Yucatan, where he -centered his interest on archæology. - -One day he presented me with about twenty photographs from his -collection, which I was happy to have, although some were discards. -Seeing the sincerity of my gratitude, he offered to show me some -things which he said had never been seen by any one else. Among these -treasures was his excellent tracing of the battle scene in the Tiger -Temple. The next day I asked him with some trepidation if I might make -a copy of the tracing. He was quite willing and when I suggested that -I would travel to Mérida to get some tracing-paper for the purpose he -produced a whole roll of it. I spent an entire week making this tracing -and several others, Maler working beside me and helping for several -hours each day. - -I tried to pay him when the work was completed, but he would never -accept a penny, saying I was the only man who had ever come to him -without trying to get something for nothing, and he repeated this -remark, I have been told, to other people. He told me he trusted only -two men in the world. Naturally, I was very glad to have won his regard. - -One day, some years later, he showed me several golden ornaments which -I afterward found had come in some devious way from the Sacred Well. I -fortunately made some photographs and drawings of them, for the next -year, when I asked to see them again, Maier no longer had them. Some he -had evidently sold to a museum abroad and the remainder he had disposed -of otherwise. - -Maler had a foolish hatred for Don Eduardo and called him “falsifier -Thompson,” but the latter had no such feeling toward Maler; in fact, -one can scarcely imagine Don Eduardo’s hating anybody. - -During one of my visits Maler promised me that the following year -we should make a two weeks’ journey into the interior of Yucatan, -where he had discovered a temple unknown to the world which contained -some marvelous murals. He said that he had discovered an underground -entrance to the temple and when he left he had covered up the entrance -and planted shrubbery over it so that it would remain hidden from -archæologists. At that time I made a tracing of one of his drawings, -showing a wall of this temple on which is depicted a water scene, -with a volcano spouting fire and smoke, buildings falling into the -water, people drowning, and a figure dressed like a warrior, paddling -away from the scene, in a boat. Maler was a firm believer in the Lost -Atlantis theory and contended that this picture represented the -destruction of Atlantis. It was an obsession with him that nothing from -this secret temple should come into the possession of what he termed -“that infamous museum.” - -I shall always regret that Maler died before I was able to make the -intended trip with him to this hidden temple, as the knowledge of its -location died with him. - -Teoberto Maler, soldier of fortune, artist, archæologist, and eccentric -misanthrope, yet at heart kindly and lovable, died of a fever three -years ago, in his adopted land of Yucatan. All of his personal -belongings were taken over by the Austrian consul, and I am told that -except for his numerous photographs and drawings there was nothing -among them of value. - -Among the modern inventions which the antiquarian has to be thankful -for, place first in the list the camera, which makes possible faithful -reproductions, frequently under most unfavorable conditions. Compare -modern photography with the difficulties that beset Catherwood, who -made the exceptionally fine engravings with which Stephens’s books are -illustrated. Catherwood did his work nearly eighty years ago, using a -“camera obscura,” a rather clumsy device which projects an image on a -screen so that it may be traced. In making a single tracing Catherwood -worked for hours at a stretch in the tropic heat, beset by insect -pests, whereas to-day a few moments with a camera would be sufficient. - -One of the interesting things shown in the old murals and bas-reliefs -is the diversity of costumes. The dress of the figures varies from the -simple wide belt, with flaps hanging down front and back, to the very -elaborate vestments of the priests. To the belt might be fastened -armor of heavy quilted cotton or of wood or even of metal. - -The costume of the warrior always included an ornate feathered -head-dress and there was wide variation in these head-ornaments. In -some cases they were made of wood in the shape of a bird or other -animal and the surface was covered with a thin layer of metal such -as beaten copper or gold or with well-tanned deerskin or of finely -woven cotton fabric embroidered with feather-work. From the top of the -head-dress, feathers sometimes descended in graceful curves clear to -the ground. The entire head, wings, and tail of a bird were often a -part of the head-gear. The head-gear of kings and nobles was decorated -with the feathers of the sacred quetzel, or bird of paradise. On a few -of the pictured head-ornaments, one or more serpents’ heads are seen, -and these may have been a symbol of rank or the coat of arms, so to -speak, of a certain family. In other cases the front of the head-piece -shows the face or mask of some deity, often the face of Kukul Can. - -Fastened about the warrior’s neck is often a cape of cotton fabric -so heavily embroidered with feathers that it appears to consist of -feathers alone. Some of these capes or tunics are covered with metal -scales to ward off the thrust of spear or dart. The Maya love of finery -is indicated by the ubiquitous string of jade beads about the neck, -ending in a heavy jade pendant or medallion. Such beads are worn by -many of the pictured figures. - -Around the warrior’s waist is a wide, embroidered belt supporting an -ornamented apron. Protectors of feather-work surround the knees, and -upon the wrists are curious wristlets. Sandals are made of deerskin or -heavy felt and are decorated with geometrical figures; they are laced -in front and frequently have high sides like a shoe. Both deerskin and -felt sandals have been found in the Sacred Well. A band is worn around -each ankle, with feathers projecting from the front. This band is -purely decorative and has no connection with the sandal. - -Usually the fighting-man is shown either holding five darts in his left -hand or having that number of darts in a quiver on his back. In his -right hand he grasps the _hul-che_. - -Some of the figures have their arms almost entirely obscured by bands -covered with feathers. Other figures wear cloaks or mantles fastened -at the throat and reaching nearly to the ground. These are generally -embroidered heavily with the feather-work so dear to the ancient Mayas. - -Figures are also shown wielding the formidable spear tipped with flint. -Some of the spear-heads taken from the Sacred Well are from eight to -nine inches long and two to three inches wide, and razor-edged. Spears -were usually gaily decorated with feathers attached to the shaft where -it joined the head. In the bas-reliefs is shown, also, a spear-head -with serrated edges. For fighting at close quarters the battle-ax was -used. It consisted of one or several stones or of a metal blade fitted -into a wooden helve. - -In addition to the armor worn there were shields. Some of the shields -were built to fit closely the back and sides of the warrior and -were fastened to the broad band of his belt. Other shields, carried -in the usual manner, were made and ornamented in several different -ways. Usually the base was wood, embossed with metal, studded with -jewels or ornamented with feathers. I was fortunate enough to be -with Don Eduardo at one time during the dredging of the well and had -the thrill of picking from the muck of the dredge the golden section -of a shield-front, which had been a large round ornamented disk of -considerable size, embellished with carvings of flowers and scrolls. - -The net also was used in battle and, as shown in the bas-reliefs, -was carried by the spear-thrower, in his left hand. Very likely it -was effective in stopping the thrust of a spear. Or—who knows?—it -may have been used to entangle the enemy in the manner of the Roman -gladiator armed with net and trident. - -The warriors went into battle to the resounding blare of horns, and -trumpets were used to signal troops in action. There were whole -companies of horn-blowers, each man provided with a horn nearly as tall -as himself. Horns and horn-blowers are clearly shown in the murals of a -second-story room in La Casa de las Monjas. - -Our information obtained from a study of the bas-reliefs and murals -and from the articles retrieved from the Sacred Well and other finds -checks with remarkable closeness the writings of Landa, whose sources -of knowledge were chiefly legend and the old Maya writings. Landa says: - - They had for their defense round shields which they made of - split reeds woven round and adorned with deer-skins. They had - jackets padded with cotton and filled with salt. These were of - two thicknesses or layers of padding and extremely strong. - - Some of the chiefs and captains had helmets of wood. They went - to war with plumage and tiger and jaguar skins on—those that - had them. They always had two captains, one hereditary and - perpetual, the other selected with much ceremony for a term of - three years. - - On the roads and passes they erected defenses of twigs and wood - and sometimes of stone for their archers.[8] If they captured - some distinguished man, they sacrificed him, because they did - not want to leave alive anyone who might later harm them. - - They had hatchets of certain metal which they fastened into - handles of wood and these served them as arms and also as - instruments to cut wood. These they sharpened by pounding with - a stone to harden them as the metal was virginally soft. They - had small, short lances with points of hard flint. - - In their earth there was not discovered until now any kind - of metal with which they might make implements with which to - work on their numerous edifices. However, not having metals, - they found in the earth flint with which they made materials - for their lances which they used in their wars; and the knives - for sacrifice were made from flint which the priests had - selected.[9] - - They had a certain kind of white brass with admixture of gold - from which they made their hatchets for different functions and - also hawk-shells and a certain kind of small chisel with which - they made their idols. The brass and other plates of metal and - hard copper plates they used to barter for things from Tabasco - for their idols, trading back and forth. - -In the illustration following page 232 may be seen the more elaborate -costume of the priests. This illustration of a small section of the -back wall of the Temple of the Bas-Reliefs represents a religious -ceremony. The whole wall is covered with figures of priests and -warriors paying devotion to Ahau Can, the king of serpents. - -The Great Serpent looms majestically over and about the high priest, -who is decked in gorgeous apparel. Mask and helmet cover his face and -head, and from his body intricate scrolls extend in all directions, -denoting the words or chant to which he is giving voice. In his hand -he holds a shield over the surface of which the body of the protecting -serpent undulates. From the mouth of the Great Serpent issue scrolls of -red and yellow, which may be words or venom. - -Perhaps one may realize from this sculpture how keen was the decorative -sense of these ancient people. It was ever seeking an outlet for -expression. The undecorated space on wall or ceiling must have seemed -to the Maya artist an inartistic space. He crowded his areas with -ornamentation, yet with so nice a balance, so true a harmony that he -achieved a perfect result without giving an impression of congestion. - -Other figures show the use of ear- and nose-ornaments and of labrets -made of thin disks of gold and of highly polished jade. - -Finally, there are the wonderfully worked ornaments of fine flint, -flawless and shaped curiously like the parts of a bishop’s crozier. - -In the Tiger Temple is a frieze near the top of the wall, extending -clear around the four sides, which shows a procession of jaguars. It -is a thing of sheer beauty, for the artist has caught in his paintings -the very nature of the beast. There he is, in all his slinking, lithe, -feline ferocity, conventionalized but losing nothing of his character. - -Above and below the row of jaguars is an ornamentation of -conventionalized serpent motif which is graceful, accentuating the -litheness and grace of the huge cats. The whole frieze is done on a -surface of stone polished to such smoothness that it conveys the idea -of white marble worked by the hand of an old Italian master. - -Another remarkable mural was upon a stone which was found by Sylvanus -Morley in the debris of a partially ruined temple in old Chi-chen Itza -which he named the Temple of the Owls. It is so named from the fact -that many of the fallen columns bear sculptures of owls. For a number -of reasons I believe that this is one of the earlier temples, built -when Maya art was at its best, and I was thrilled at the quality of -workmanship on the stone. The colors were much faded and the entire -picture too faint for the camera. I found first, in cleaning the -corners or unimportant parts by washing in water, that the paint would -stand almost any sort of gentle rubbing. In fact, the only way it could -be destroyed was by scraping it off with an edged tool. Washing showed -that the colors were somewhat more vivid when the stone was wet and it -occurred to me that it could be treated in much the same manner as an -old oil painting, which may be greatly revivified by cleaning and then -applying a coat of varnish. - -Acting on this assumption, I first cleaned the stone with a weak -solution of hydrochloric acid, which had no effect on the pigments -but did remove much dirt. The next question was varnish. I had some -turpentine and a few other chemicals but no varnish. And then I thought -of the copal incense that Don Eduardo had taken from the Sacred Well. -I took a ball of this and scraped off the calcined outer surface. The -remainder of the copal I broke up and placed in an earthen bowl which -also came from the well. Then I added a little turpentine and heated -the mixture over a slow fire until the copal was melted. Finally I -strained the liquid through a piece of cloth and had an excellent -transparent copal varnish. I tried it out on several unimportant stones -and found that it gave a fine surface gloss. I then applied it very -carefully to the painted stone I had discovered, first to the blue -border and then to the whole surface. I was overjoyed, when the varnish -had dried, to find the colors magically restored, several of them -being nearly as bright, I think, as when originally applied, perhaps a -thousand years before. - -It was now a simple matter to obtain excellent photographs and I took -several, both in black and white and with color separations. - -This stone, which I named the Stone of Kukul Can, told a complete -story. It represented the long-nosed god, the particular deity of the -Sacred City, emerging from the mouth of a serpent, just as shown in the -old Maya books and in many other places. In other words, it depicted -the birth of Kukul Can, the feathered-serpent god. Below the serpent -and the figure of the god was shown the bowl of the earth, or the -archaic representation of the earth. Here and there were cacao pods, -from which was obtained chocolate—then as now an important article of -food, a highly prized delicacy among the Mayas and other races. Cacao -is one of the fruits the Mayas thought to have been brought them by -Kukul Can. - -The god held in his hands emblems of life and generation. Above -were the celestial heaven and the zodiac. At right and left were -the hieroglyphs of the sun and planets. On the upper margin was an -inscription. The whole was majestic and exquisitely done. It indicated -all of the good things of life,—prosperity and plenty,—bestowed upon -his people by the mighty god Kukul Can, born of a serpent. - -When I had finished photographing and studying this extraordinary -stone, I wrapped it carefully and stored it in Don Eduardo’s hacienda, -where it was later ruined when the hacienda was burned by unruly -Indians. - -This lost stone was an excellent example of the older and finer Maya -art and a careful comparison of it, as photographed, with the pages -of the Perez Codex, one of the few remaining ancient Maya books (now -in the National Library in Paris), shows its similarity to the work -therein displayed. The portraits of Kukul Can are identical. The -hieroglyphs have the same peculiarities of shading, due to the stroke -of the brush being heavier on one side than on the other. If the artist -who painted the Stone of Kukul Can did not also illuminate some of the -Maya books, he at least belonged to the same period and the same school -of artists. I am sure that the great work of Mr. Morley of the Carnegie -Foundation, which is now going on at Chi-chen Itza, will uncover many -more stones similar to this one and it will be demonstrated that many -of the Maya books were produced in the ancient city. - -Very frequently in the murals or the bas-reliefs, where figures of -men are shown, the glyph representing the man’s name appears above -his portrait. Thus we have “Mr. Can,” or, in English, “Mr. Snake,” as -in the second cut opposite page 112. Above him is the carving of a -serpent. This gentleman has the conventional nose- and ear-ornaments -and over his head is the double feather of a warrior. From his mouth -issues a scroll representing speech. Other figures are “Mr. Duck,” “Mr. -Phallus,” etc. - -In one of the Codices is shown an eclipse of the sun. It is remarkably -well drawn in colors.[10] At the top of the page is what may be called -the text, which we are not able to read although we know many of the -characters. Directly below is the celestial band, representing sun, -moon, and planets. Dependent from this band are three hieroglyphs of -the sun in the heavens. The central figure is the sun, and wings at -left and right mean movement of that body, or day and night. Under each -of these figures is a bird in the act of devouring the sun. The word -for eclipse in Maya is _chi-bal-kin_, literally “mouth-action sun,” -or “bitten sun,” and it was the ancient belief, which persisted until -fairly recent times, that at the time of an eclipse the sun was bitten -by a serpent or by birds or other creatures. - -Beneath each picture representing the devouring of the sun are the -date-glyphs. - -An interesting colored mural from the ceiling of La Casa de las Monjas -shows a warrior standing upon a pyramidal structure. In his left hand -is the _hul-che_ and in his right a shield and battle-ax. He has just -shot two lances to which are fastened firebrands, which have passed -over a walled inclosure and are intended to set fire to the buildings -within. In one corner of this picture is a building representing the -Iglesia (one of the annexes of the Nunnery) or a similar structure, -as denoted by the mask of Kukul Can sticking out from the wall of the -building. In the foreground, at the left, is a mammoth head-dress, -which may be explained by the fact that it was not uncommon for the -Maya artist to make a picture and then to introduce into the foreground -large figures entirely out of proportion to the remainder of the -picture. - -As for full-relief carving, one need only see the serpent columns of El -Castillo or the Tiger Temple, and the serpent balustrades, to know that -the Maya artists were fully as skilful at such work as in producing -bas-relief and murals. - -Among the pottery, incense-burners, and funerary urns discovered at -Chi-chen Itza are frequently exceptionally fine examples of ceramic -art. A vase of a substance like alabaster found by Don Eduardo is a -thing of matchless beauty. - -Of metal-work in gold and copper there are many pieces indicating -great skill and artistry. Jade ornaments such as beads and plaques are -exquisitely worked and perfectly polished. - -Of stone point-work, heads of darts and spears, and blades of -battle-axes, as well as cutting-tools and weapons, nothing has been -found in America which can compare to the Maya work. The sacrificial -knives found in the well are peerless in their artistry. - -The art of the Mayas shows the greatest variety in media, style, -and technique. Even casual observation of that in the Sacred City -shows that many different painters and sculptors were employed; yet -everywhere painted or carved figures are natural, true to life, the -proportions perfect. The best are comparable to those of ancient -Greece; the worst, though crude, are never stiff and mechanical like -those of Egyptian art. - -Unfortunately there are no statues like the Memnon of Thebes nor the -Apollo Belvidere, for the Mayas did not produce statuary or monolithic -carving, with the few rare exceptions of Chac Mool figures and serpent -columns. Rather their effort was toward detail and precision of figure -and design. Some of the carvings are so minute that they are hard -to see easily without a magnifying-glass. We can only wonder at the -exceptional ability of this ancient people to originate, imitate, and -express in stone or pigment or by the goldsmith’s or the lapidary’s -art. - - - - - CHAPTER XV - - THE TOMB OF THE HIGH PRIEST - - -José Alvarado, once a common mine laborer, an ordinary peon, became the -Silver King of Mexico, so fabulously rich that he offered to pay off -the whole national debt of Mexico. His offer was declined by Porfirio -Diaz, then President of Mexico. Alvarado inherited from a hard-working -father a meager silver-mine and he took up the arduous working of this -mine upon the decease of his parent, gaining from his toil scarcely -enough to pay for his scant frijoles, chiles, and tortillas, until -chance led him aside and caused him to strike his crowbar into an -obscure cliff, a mountain of virgin silver. - -“Some of my finds in the Sacred City,” says Don Eduardo, “have been -as much a matter of sheer chance as that of José Alvarado. And if the -truth be told, I fancy a good many pioneer operations, scientific -or otherwise, depend largely on Dame Fortune—or Lady Luck, as I -understand she is now called in the States. - -“Earlier in life I gave rather less credit to chance and more to -scientific deduction, and once I made a discovery in the Sacred City -which followed so closely my calculated prediction that I concluded -I had evolved a formula which, so far as this special class of -work was concerned, would eliminate chance entirely. I went at the -work of excavation with a new vim and mounting enthusiasm. It was -hard, back-breaking toil for me, digging and heavy lifting, yet -I was sure of my diagnosis, certain of final triumph. I kept on -digging,—endlessly, so it seemed, but with hope unflagging,—until -suddenly I brought up against a solid ledge of living rock. It could -not be explained away. To me it seemed to say, ‘Well, here I am -and here I have always been, and your wise deductions, your clever -calculations—where are they now?’ And to prove to me further that I -must not ignore the little gods of chance, as I returned dejected and -crestfallen along the deep trench, my crowbar accidentally struck a -projecting limestone fragment which fell to the bottom of the trench, -disclosing a dark cavity, within which were a rich find of pottery and -a most interesting skeleton. But for the chance dislodgment of the -stone, I should have missed the object of my search. - -“While I was engaged in some excavation in the building called -Chich-an-chob (literally, “The Strong, Clean House,” called now the -Red House) a small but unusually high mound to the southwest of the -building was often in my line of vision. Although I could only guess -at its outline through the thick growth of tall trees and matted vines -that covered its sides, the little I could make out of its peculiar -form excited my interest and kept it in my thoughts. - -“Eventually the progress of the work brought me to it and I had the -opportunity to obtain at least an approximate idea of its structure. -I found it to have been originally a small but well-built shrine or -temple crowning a steep-terraced pyramid, but now converted by time -and disintegration into a mere conical mound. The greatest factor in -the decomposition of the shrine, as in the case of many others, was -not wind and weather but the wrenching apart of the stone-work by the -growing roots of trees. - -“The temple itself was similar in plan to the great edifice which -towers above Chi-chen Itza. In fact, it was El Castillo in miniature -but differing in several important details, among which were corner -and lateral stelæ or carved stone monuments, the rear ones bearing -inscriptions which seemed to place the shrine in a different category -from any of the other buildings I had examined in the Sacred City. Like -huge El Castillo, this miniature temple has a main stairway facing the -northeast, and similarly the approach is guarded by twin serpent heads, -each a finely carved monolith. Protruding from the massive heads -are forked tongues extending for some little distance. The serpent -bodies, conventionalized into wide, flat bands, serve as balustrades, -extending one on each side of the wide, steep stairway, clear to the -temple platform. The big blocks of stone and masonry, fallen from the -temple level, had rolled down these stairs and carried away most of the -stairway, leaving just enough of the handsome, carefully cut steps and -balustrade to indicate what had once been a perfect thing. Indeed, the -stairway is no longer usable, although a few of the steps remain in -place, and the difficult ascent is made by grasping projecting roots of -trees and stone fragments and treading in the gashes left in the mound -by the avalanche of rock masses from above. - -“Gaining the crown of the pyramid, we found there massive serpent -columns corresponding to those encountered on the plain below. Well -carved, artistic, they were half buried in the fallen walls of the -temple, while one of the impressive capitals of the now famous serpent -columns, consisting of the conventionalized rattles of the rattlesnake, -lay precariously balanced on the very edge of the platform. Its twin -companion had long since crashed down the steep incline and its great -bulk lay amid the debris and matted growth at the base of the mound. - -“In clearing away the forest growth and surface accumulations on the -top of the mound, we uncovered the capstones of four large square -columns which had once supported the triple-vaulted arched roof of the -inner chamber. These capstones indicated by the almost effaced carvings -on them that the columns beneath probably were covered with carvings. -Believing these to be of real importance, as well as a safe guide to -follow in the work of excavation, we began carefully to clear the space -about them, and as fast as the column faces were cleared and cleansed -I made plaster casts or molds of their wonderfully carved surfaces. -When we at last reached the floor-surface of the chamber, we gave these -ancient columns an opportunity to dry out thoroughly, after their -centuries of accumulated dampness, before we continued work in their -vicinity. - -“Being a dyed-in-the-wool New England Yankee as well as an antiquarian, -I have, naturally, evolved some mechanical aids for my particular line -of work in the thirty years I have been at it. Among these contrivances -is an instrument which has proved most useful in detecting subterranean -cavities near the surface. The device consists of an octagonal bar of -steel with a tuning-fork at one end. The other end flares out into a -protuberance like the bulb of an onion. By tapping with this crude -instrument, using it as long experience has taught me, I have often -been able to locate burial vaults and other cavities which I might -otherwise have overlooked. - -“After the floor of the shrine had been cleared I sounded the whole -area with my steel stethoscope and it indicated a large, deep cavity -about midway between the first line of columns. - -“The floor was made of heavy cut stones, smoothly joined, and with our -simple tools it was something of an undertaking to loosen and remove -one of these large blocks. But at last we did raise it and found, -beneath, a square cavity about four feet wide. At first the depth -could not be determined, because the cavity was completely filled -with crisscrossed roots. None was thicker than a pencil and most were -thread-like, but all were so intertwined that they virtually formed a -solid mass. My helpers looked doubtfully at this yellow, spongy mass of -unknown depth. ‘Who knows what strange underground poisonous creatures -may be hidden in this sickly mass of yellow and brown?’ they asked. - -“A stout pole was laid across the cavity and a rope tied to it so -that it dangled down into the hole. Finally two of my bravest workers -were persuaded to descend the rope, each clinging to it and wielding -a dexterous machete with his free hand, hacking away at the spongy -mesh of roots. Hardly had they warmed to the work when one of them, in -heaving up a root mass, found himself covered with large red scorpions. -Angry at being so rudely ejected from their habitation, they crawled -over him with upraised, menacing tails, and several did sting him. -Both men came popping out of the hole in record time and I at once -administered antidotes, from my medicine case, to the man who had been -stung and sent him back to the plantation house for the remainder of -the day. Another man took his place and the work proceeded, but more -cautiously. - -[Illustration: A sculpture in bas-relief showing a warrior-priest in -ceremonial attire, representing the Maya hero-god Kukul Can, the plumed -serpent.] - -[Illustration: A religious ceremony depicted in the Temple of -Bas-Reliefs. This is but a small section from the interior walls, which -contain more than eighty figures.] - -“We had just about finished getting out the root masses when there came -from the cavity two terrified yells and two even more terrified men. -When they had quieted down enough to talk intelligently they said that -after cutting away a root mass, the last one on the bottom, and tying -it to the rope so that those above might raise it, they had perched on -a projecting ledge and lighted cigarettes, waiting for the rope to be -lowered again. As it came down between them and rested on what they -supposed was the bottom of the pit below them, they saw the bottom -heave into a writhing mass and out of it rose the head of a big snake -with shining eyes and jaws that yawned at them wickedly. As one man -they climbed the rope and scrambled into the open. I think they would -have rolled down the side of the mound and kept rolling right up to -the plantation house if I had not grabbed and held them. Eventually -their fright subsided and was replaced by curiosity and they stayed on -willingly enough. - -“Nobody seemed particularly anxious to go down into the pit, so I -thought it might be just as well to make some long-range observations -before starting any hand-to-hand encounter with whatever was down -there. A reflecting mirror threw a shaft of clear, strong sunlight into -the well or shaft and my field binoculars, adjusted to a short-distance -focus, revealed to me the coiled body of an amazingly large snake. As -the shaft of light played about, the big fellow raised his head, waved -it uncertainly, and then dropped it again. To judge from the size -of the head and the shape of the body, the snake evidently was not a -crotalid, or rattler, but rather some species of boa. Boas are not very -difficult to handle, especially if you would just as soon have your boa -dead. This particular representative of the boa family was, apparently, -sleeping off a hearty meal and was still rather torpid, and it was no -trick at all to kill him. - -“When brought to the surface, the deceased proved to be a _chaib_, a -kind of boa noted for its beautiful skin, handsomely marked with large -mottles—greenish yellow and chocolate brown. Our victim was fourteen -feet long and had a maximum diameter of eight inches. From his skin, -native tanners made me a money-belt and a very comfortable pair of -slippers. The _chaib_ is not poisonous and I have never heard of a case -where a human being has been attacked by one as South American and -African boas are said to attack. Nevertheless this snake bears an evil -reputation among the Mayas, who believe that a nursing mother crossing -its path becomes powerless in its coils and that the reptile sucks the -milk from her breasts, though it does not otherwise harm her. - -“After disposing of the snake we resumed operations in the shaft. We -discovered that some emanation of a gaseous nature or perhaps a fine -dust from the roots produced a violent headache, much like that caused -by the fumes of dynamite. I remembered that quarrymen find relief from -dynamite-fume headaches by drinking strong, hot coffee, and similarly -we found this beverage an effective remedy for our headaches. - -“Cleared of invading roots, the cavity was now really a cavity. -Descending hand over hand by the rope a full twelve feet from the -level floor of the temple, I found myself standing on what seemed to -be an accumulation of little stones and plaster, intermixed with small -bones which I took to be those of animals that had been the prey of -the _chaib_. There was a good deal of parchment-like material lying -about, which I thought at first was cast-off skin of the big boa, but -which was actually an epidermal root-covering sifted down from above. -Standing at the bottom of the square shaft and looking up at the -vertical walls, I saw that each wall-surface was built up of a myriad -of small cut blocks of tan-colored limestone, so smoothly polished as -to suggest marble. It was unlike any ancient wall-surface I had ever -seen. The stones were not inserted in mortar like Florentine wall -mosaics; neither were they built up into high relief, like the famous -walls of tombs and chambers at Mitla. Rather, each tier of small stones -was cut to a bevel, with the upper or horizontal surface projecting -some two inches beyond the face of the tier above. - -“As nearly as I can describe it, the effect was like the siding, -or clapboards, on a house, supposing that the siding were put on -upside down, thick side uppermost. The stones were cut with exceeding -niceness, and each wall section, though simple, combined with the -others to form a most artistic whole. At the four corners, where the -lateral bands would have met, they were intercepted by vertical stone -bands about four inches wide, running from bottom to top of the shaft. - -“At the time I could spare only a passing interest in these walls, -for in the debris beneath my feet were fragments of pottery and -a projecting human jaw-bone. We painstakingly removed the stone -fragments and mortar-dust. Working with trowel, spatula, and -whisk-broom, I found that the chamber contained the disordered remains -of two graves. - -“Evidently one grave had originally been superimposed on the other, -and the contents of the two had been thrown together by the force of -falling debris from above. The two graves, I think, were once square -and separated by stone slabs. Here I found fragments of pottery and -splintered human bones, brittle with age and gnawed by rodents. -Reconstructing the scene from the fragments, I surmise that each grave -contained, besides its human remains, a small, shallow tripod vessel, -the outer surface of which was burnished with red pigment, and a deeper -gourd-like vessel. I believe that the shallow dish contained food and -that the deeper one was filled with drink of some sort—very likely -_sacca_ or _bal-che_, both of which the ancient Mayas believed were -acceptable to the soul of the departed and to the gods. - -“The skeletons were so broken and disturbed that beyond the fact that -they were two in number and that the bones were so old they were -fragile as pipe-stems, nothing else was casually to be noticed. The -finding of skeletal remains and of funerary urns made it clear beyond -dispute that this building was a mausoleum, a tomb of kings or of -priests. - -“I carefully collected all of this fragmentary material and sent it -aloft to be preserved for future study. Then I made measurements of the -chamber and jotted them down in my note-book. This being done, I turned -my attention to the stone floor of the tomb. My steel stethoscope -indicated that below there was a still deeper cavity. With much -careful effort we pried up the stone floor-slabs, disclosing another -grave. Apparently this burial-vault had suffered but slightly from -the concussions and disturbances which had all but destroyed the two -upper graves. The walls and bottom were lined with thin slabs of stone -covered with mortar. Much of the mortar had flecked off and lay spread -out unevenly over the various objects in the grave, but no serious -harm had been done either to the skeletal remains or to the funerary -vessels. The bones, however, had been gnawed and dragged out of place -by rodents. - -“A shallow earthen vessel was found in the grave, of the customary -small tripod type, painted red, with a blue line around the rim. A -bowl-shaped vessel, gray-colored and smooth, was placed at the right -of the skeleton, and both vessels were half filled with sifted mortar. -Even though the bones were somewhat disarranged, it was plain that the -human remains had been buried with the knees drawn up to the chin, and -the arms placed over them, with hands clasped. I found the hunched-up -remains reclining upon their right side. Whether the body had been so -buried or had been buried in a sitting position and had later toppled -over, is a matter for conjecture. If this grave or the others had ever -held anything of perishable nature it had completely disappeared. - -“When the vault had been cleared, I resorted once more to my crude -stethoscope, which left no doubt of a still further cavity. Raising the -floor-slabs, we discovered a grave similar to grave Number Three, but -the contents were interesting variations. The usual tripod vessel was -there and also the bowl-shaped container, but the bottom inner surface -of the tripodal receptacle was cross-hatched with deep-cut lines, -and beside it was a large tripod vessel containing a caking of hard -material that proved to be copal incense of finest quality. It was so -altered by time that it was crystallized, almost fossilized, but when a -small portion was burned it gave off the familiar copal fragrance. - -“In one corner of the vault, almost hidden under mortar-dust, was a -little heap of verdigris. This proved to be a number of copper bells, -like our sleigh-bells in shape but very much smaller, like the bells -brought up from the Sacred Well. The outer bells in the heap were so -oxidized that they simply flaked away when we tried to clean them, -but the inner ones retained their shape and finish even after they -were washed and cleaned. Copper bells played an important part in the -rituals and in the economic life of the ancient Mayas and of their -successors, even down to almost modern times. That old and faithful -chronicler Padre Cogolludo says of the olden people: ‘The monies they -used were copper bells and valuable according to their size.’ But the -probable reason for the presence of bells in this tomb is the fact that -in still older history bells were a part of the regalia of Ah Puch, -the God of Death, and were attached as anklets to his person. He is so -shown in the many hieroglyphs of him. - -“The skeletal remains in this grave seemed to point to a re-burial. -Either the bones were taken from another tomb and re-interred here or -else they were cleared of their integuments and flesh prior to burial. -I say this because they were found in a queer bundle-like heap, with no -reference to their relative anatomical positions. - -“In all of these graves were found traces of wood-ashes, but no signs -of burned or calcined bones to bear out any theory of cremation. - -“Once again the steel stethoscope was put to use and again it told us -that we had not struck bottom. The floor of the fourth opened up into a -fifth grave, deeper than any of the preceding ones and more free from -accumulations. It contained pottery and a mingled heap of bones, as -the grave above had done. But in one corner, just where we had found -copper bells in the grave above, we discovered what looked like a dusty -pile of glass, which proved to be a handful of beautifully polished and -glistening rock-crystal beads some of which were handsomely fluted. -This find was the first recorded one of rock-crystal beads or pendants -in Yucatan. And amid the dust and debris on the floor we recovered a -dozen or more perfectly cut and artfully shaped jade beads of small -size. They were found either just above the surface or buried in a -fine ash deposit which may have destroyed somewhat their original -luster. Even so, they are valuable specimens, especially because of the -surroundings. - -“The floor of this fifth and last of the several graves was on a -level with the base of the pyramid, and I concluded, therefore, that -it rested upon ledge-rock formation and that we had now reached the -end of our search. In fact, I had noted an upward tilt in the ledge -rock and had wondered why we had not already encountered it in the -shaft. The ancient builders very wisely took advantage of these rises -and outcroppings of ledge rock, in placing their buildings, so as to -save filling-material and the labor otherwise required to give the -structures a solid foundation. - -“Judge of my surprise, despite my silent prediction, when the -tuning-fork device again signaled, ‘Good-sized cavity below’! It took -more than a casual glance to find the seams in the floor of the crypt, -so closely were the stones fitted, and we had considerable difficulty -in dislodging and raising them. Instead of a sixth and similar tomb we -encountered a flight of steps hewn out of the living rock. - -“We had spent many days of constant back-breaking labor in the -excavation of the five graves, the noting of data, the preparation of -the specimens, and the packing of them in cases. Incidentally, the -deeper we went, the greater was our danger of cracked skulls from -falling stones and we had all taken to wearing stiff, high-crowned, -wide-brimmed Mexican sombreros. The high crowns we stuffed with -_pochote_ (tree-cotton). We covered our shoulders with thick pads of -gunny-sack, worn like a cape. When not working we threw the flaps back -over our shoulders. Occasionally a stone did fall, striking harmlessly -upon our improvised helmets and padded shoulders. If, however, it -chanced to hit a naked leg there was a howl of mingled pain and rage, -followed by words of unmingled Maya expletive. Such accidents happened -but rarely and the whole undertaking went through without a single -serious mishap. - -“Each day, as the work progressed and we went farther and farther down, -the light from above became more and more feeble, except when the sun -was at the zenith, and much of our work had to be done by candlelight. -When we came to the flight of steps we found it so choked with ashes, -lime-dust, small bits of stone, potsherds, and charcoal, each in -quantity in the order indicated, that at first we could obtain no -idea of the dimensions of the chamber below. From the contour of the -roof-stones I judged it was not large, but it was so filled with debris -that I had to enter it feet foremost and lie upon my side to fill the -wicker baskets with material and pass them back to one of my helpers, -who in turn passed them on. Thus from one to another they passed, -until they could be hoisted up to daylight, where trusted hands and -experienced eyes separated the dross and placed the remainder in field -safety-boxes for my later inspection. - -“In this manner, an endless chain of filled baskets went up and empty -ones came down to one man in the mysterious vault, lying on his back, -half naked, dripping with sweat, and plastered with grime, but now and -then smiling seraphically as he caught the gleam of a shining jade -jewel or a finely worked bit of flint. He could not see clearly for -more than an instant at a time, for when he was not blinded by sweat -the alkaline ash-dust smote his eyes, and the two at times combined to -make him fairly writhe. And he would not have changed places with a -king, for every once in a while he came upon something more precious to -him than kingly possessions. - -“At first this work progressed very slowly for, perforce, I was the -only worker in the heaped-up chamber, my head and shoulders in the -flickering light of wild wax-candles while the rest of my body was -buried in the darkness of unknown centuries, my high-booted feet -crowding against who knows what noxious cave creatures. - -“The mass of material, though hard-packed by time, was mostly -wood-ashes; and once these were loosened, a heavy booted foot or even a -sandaled one might injure some priceless museum specimen. And so for -a while I preferred to work alone in the confined space. At last I had -cleared away the accumulation above the second step of the stairway, -and I worked a clear space about the third step, using only my bare -hands, a sculptor’s spatula, and a whisk-broom. Even the trowel was -tabooed. Finally a sufficient space was cleared for my two most trusted -aides, Manuel and Pedro, to work beside me and then the work progressed -more rapidly. - -“For several days things went along in this manner, with our interest -and curiosity mounting hourly, so that all who worked with me, down to -the last peon, grew feverishly excited and food and drink became mere -irritating interruptions. And each day added to our hoard of potsherds, -human bones, and shining jade. - -“To this day I cannot think of that strange chamber without wonder. -Neither can I account for the presence of the material which so nearly -filled it. That it was a depository for the contents of previous -burial-places, is, I think, a fact beyond a doubt. Ashes, half-burned -fragments, even pieces of smooth wall-finish foreign to this particular -chamber, potsherds and jade ornaments—all lead to this conclusion. At -first I thought that the place had been a crematory, but I was soon -convinced that this could not have been so. - -“As the work went forward the outline of the chamber became well -defined. The opening was relatively high and wide and I could stand -there almost erect. The passage, however, narrowed quickly like a -funnel, ending in a dead wall. The week was drawing to a close and with -it, so it appeared, our task. The work within that deep-down, badly -ventilated shaft was not too pleasant. The air was close; the place -was frightfully hot, and the big wax candles, dim and smoky, did not -tend to make the place more comfortable. - -“We three—Manuel, Pedro, and I—were stripped to the waist and looked -more like chimney-sweeps than delvers after scientific lore. The work -seemed so nearly at an end that we kept doggedly on, the boys digging -and sifting while I stopped frequently to make notes. Late in the day, -all seemed finished except for a few isolated ash-heaps and a big flat -stone that leaned again the very end of the wall. - -“Heaving a sigh of relief and wiping away the layer of grime and sweat -from my eyes, I said, ‘Well, boys, there’s nothing left but to haul -away that big flat stone and sweep up the ashes behind it on the chance -that there are some beads or small objects in the mess; then we’ll take -a few measurements and call the job finished.’ I grasped the stone -slab with both hands and pulled it toward me. It yielded so suddenly -that I fell back with it; and my companions likewise fell back, for, -instead of uncovering a pile of ashes, it disclosed a big, circular, -pitch-black hole and from that unsuspected, terrible hole came a long, -soughing rush of cold, damp wind. Our candles went out at once, leaving -us in inky blackness. The cold wind chilled our overheated bodies. -I was left with an insecure foothold too near the opening to dare a -movement in the dark. The two natives were simply glued to their places -in sheer terror. - -“Finally Pedro spoke. ‘It is the mouth of hell,’ he said, and I heard -his teeth chatter as he said it. Even then, with my feet so placed on -the sloping wall-space and my body so inclined on the sloping floor -that it seemed as if an incautious move might slide me smoothly into -that black hole and through it into Eternity, I felt a pleased interest -in Pedro’s statement, for to the ancient Mayas, hell, called by them -Metnal, was not a burning pit of fire and brimstone but a dank, cold -place where lost souls, benumbed with chill, struggled forever in -thick, dark mud. The words of Pedro, coming so spontaneously from the -heart and coinciding so nearly with the ancient belief, the belief of -his ancestors, caused me to wonder. - -“For the moment, however, it suited my purpose to have the more -Christian idea prevail and I did some rapid missionary work, saying -reprovingly in the native tongue, ‘_Ehen_, Pedro! What did Padre Ortiz -say about the hot flames of an ever-burning hell? It is a cold wind and -not a hot flame that comes from this hole.’ My logic evidently appealed -to them and freed them of a superstitious fear and they became once -more calm and resourceful. - -“Working slowly and carefully in the utter darkness, we managed to -block up the hole with our wide-brimmed hats and we held them in place -by toppling the big flat stone against them. I was then able to get to -my feet and relight our candles. By long experience in subterranean -work, cave explorations, and descents into ancient cisterns, I have -learned to take certain basic precautions. As one of these, I wear -about my neck, hanging from a stout cord of deerskin, an air-tight -metal case within which are a glass vial of proof alcohol and some -wax matches. By this means I am freed of the vexation of damp matches -and a futile blue line of phosphorescence when a light is quickly and -urgently needed. I also carry invariably in such work a small Davy -lamp and a hundred-foot steel tape. - -“The lamp is a safeguard against possible gas explosions. Lighting -it, I once more uncovered the hole, and once more the rush of cold -air began. I waited until the air-currents had balanced themselves -as nearly as they were likely to do and then proceeded to a further -examination of the hole. The orifice was about thirty inches in -diameter and after piercing the rock for about two feet it opened into -a cavity of unknown size and depth. I could, of course, have dropped a -stone into the cavity and timed its fall, gaining at least some idea -of the depth. But I wanted to take no chance of breaking anything -of antiquarian interest which might be there. Instead, I fastened -the lantern to the end of the steel tape and slowly lowered it into -the hole, but the thickness of the two-foot wall between me and the -perpendicular descent prevented me from seeing what was discovered by -the lantern as it went down. So I had the two boys hold tight to my -legs while I squirmed through the orifice until, head down, I could -sway freely above the pit. The convulsive hold on my legs assured me -that I should not drop down the hole suddenly if the boys could prevent -it, so I turned my entire attention to the void beneath me. - -“By feeling the tape nicks as the lantern rested on the bottom of -the pit I found the depth was almost exactly fifty feet. By swinging -my body and the tape with the lantern at the end like a pendulum I -ascertained that the cavity was bottle-shaped and about twenty feet -wide at the bottom. I also ascertained that it was quite dry, the air -pure in it and the ventilation perfect. This seemed to be all of the -data necessary for the moment, so I had the boys pull me back to terra -firma and then cautioned them to say nothing whatever about our latest -discovery. And so we returned to the upper air and the scent of orchids -and to a hearty supper. - -“That night, when I knew the men were resting and chatting before -taking to their guitars and their hammocks, I sent for Manuel—wise, -level-headed, dependable, my trusted companion through long years of -this sort of work. I said to him, ‘Manuel, to-morrow is going to be a -very interesting day even for old-timers like you and me and we shall -not often see and handle that which I hope we shall discover to-morrow. -Now, I want you to see Juan Cancio, Mathildé Uh, and José Uh. I will -see Pedro and his brother. Tell Juan, Mathildé, and José to meet us -here at five o’clock in the morning with their machetes, with their -water-gourds filled and with dinner in the _sabucan_. And, Manuel, tell -each of them that a shut mouth catches no flies. We may find something -and we may find nothing but piled earth, and if the latter we do not -want the other men laughing at us behind our backs.’ - -“Early the next morning we hastened toward the mound and with us went -stout ropes, block and tackle, shovels, and all the necessary tools -for six men. We slid down the rope into the shaft and then made our -way down the stairway into the funnel-shaped chamber. Here we fixed -a strong post and attached to it a double block and tackle, with the -several necessary ropes, so that all of us could safely descend and -ascend the fifty-foot bottle beyond the small, dark orifice. With a -lighted miner’s lamp on my head and my Davy lamp preceding me by ten -feet, I placed my foot in a noose in one of the ropes, swung myself -through the orifice, and hung over the pit. Between my teeth was my -sharp hunting knife which I always carry in this fashion in entering a -subterranean reservoir. - -“My plans were well made and it was my intention to be lowered slowly -that I might study these grim walls as I descended. I had gone down -less than half the distance when I began to turn and whirl in the air -like a dancing dervish, with the difference that the dervish whirls on -solid ground, to the prayerful cries of his brethren, and he can stop -when he wishes, while I whirled in mid-air in darkness and silence, -like some dead celestial sphere and as powerless to stop. In our haste -we had forgotten to take the kinks out of the new ropes we were using -and my rope was avenging itself by beginning to unkink as my weight was -felt on its twisted strands. For a few seconds I could do nothing but -hang on dizzily. Meanwhile the rapidly twisting rope had caught and -jammed in the block, serving as a brake and had entirely checked my -downward progress. - -“Suddenly a coil of rope from above fell loosely on my shoulders and -aroused me to my danger. The men above, not knowing what was going -on below in the darkness, were steadily paying out the rope and if -the choked block became suddenly free, there was nothing to prevent -my falling headlong through that terrible blackness to whatever was -below. Hurriedly looping the rope as best I could, to insure my present -safety, I yelled to the men above, and a voice came down to me, -sounding thick and flat in that black space. - -“‘What is it, Master?’ the voice said. - -“‘Listen,’ I replied, as steadily as I could. ‘Do exactly as I tell -you, for my life is at stake!’ - -“‘We will do it, Master,’ answered the voice. - -“‘Haul up the slack of the rope until I tell you to stop.’ - -“‘I hear you, Master,’ and the snake-like coils began to recede, to -grow small, and finally to disappear. The slack had been taken up. -‘What now, Master?’ came the voice and I knew from the tension in it -that the sight of the slack rope had told its own story. - -“‘Send me down Manuel and José.’ (They were the lightest and most agile -of the men.) I had no more than spoken before they came sliding down -the other ropes and shortly I was descending as slowly and carefully as -I had planned to do, until the pilot light of the lamp touched ground -beneath me, standing as firmly erect as though placed by unseen hands. -I glanced at the two men beside me on the ropes and we all nodded our -heads approvingly. - -“Below, clearly seen in the light of the lamp, was a pure-white vessel -which had fallen apart, and from it streamed gleaming, shining objects. -We landed as carefully as though stepping on a mound of eggs. Before -taking our feet from the nooses we called to the men above to make -the ropes fast and to be ready for our signals. Leaving the lantern -standing as it was and no longer troubled by air-currents, we lit -our candles. Directly in the center of the pit was a large mound and -crowning it was the white vase, made of translucent material like -alabaster, carved from a solid block and engraved with a leaf design -in highly conventionalized meanders, combined with geometrical designs -around the rim and sides. It was broken into several pieces, but these -were large and the whole was quickly and easily fitted together into -the original shape. - -“The vase, which had a capacity of about a quart, contained a quantity -of exquisite jade beads and pendants, a large plaque with surfaces -richly carved and representing conventionalized human figures with -religious regalia, a polished jade globe over an inch in diameter -and shining clear in spite of the ages of dust, oblong pendants, and -thin, minutely carved ear-ornaments. This was but a tenth of what the -vessel had once held. The rest we found later in the heaped-up material -beneath it. - -“At a signal anxiously expected, the other men came swirling down -the ropes like firemen sliding down a brass pole to answer an alarm. -Then we all went to work. Each of the men had had long experience in -similar labors under my supervision. Occasionally was heard a swift -intake of breath and a man would hold up some interesting find and then -settle back to his task. While they worked I made notes, numbered the -specimens, and helped to pack them in the safety-boxes. Thus the work -went on. Occasionally we had to stop to kill a _tzeentum_, a big, flat, -crab-like spider. _Tzeentum_ spiders can give an ugly sting producing -a fever hard to subdue, and at times they seem to swarm out of hidden -crevices. By reason of their flat bodies and quick movements, killing -them is not always easy. - -“We found temple vases, incense-burners, tripod vessels, cylindrical -urns, some of which are perfect, others marred, and many broken. We -obtained fragments of large, hard-baked earthen vessels of complicated -design. Unbroken, these must have been at least thirty-six inches -high. We secured, also, chipped flints of fine workmanship and of -unknown use. All these and many other finds came to us from this mound, -and after it had been gone over carefully by hand and had then been -screened we decided we had left nothing of value and as with one mind -we began to think of supper. Pedro swarmed up one of the ropes hand -over hand, followed by his brother, and they hoisted the specimen cases -and tools. The rest of the workers followed one by one. I was the last -to leave the mysterious burial-chamber, which seemed to name itself by -occult suggestion ‘The Sepulcher of the High Priest.’ And as I left -its dark depths behind me, the mysterious atmosphere, which no one, -probably, will ever be able to dissipate, seemed to cling to me. - -“When we arrived at the top of the square-walled shaft it was eleven -o’clock at night and all the people of the plantation were there, -anxiously awaiting us. The families of the men who accompanied me were -in a hysterical state. Ropes had been brought and an attempt was about -to be made at our rescue. With our specimen cases held aloft and in the -midst of a rejoicing crowd we returned to the plantation house and soon -the noise died away and we all slept. - -“I am asked why I call this shrine upon the mound with the crypt -beneath it the Temple of the High Priest. That is a fair question. - -“I believe there comes to most sentient beings, after protracted -periods of intense observation and deep interest in a given subject, a -certain mental domination over the subject beyond a mere recognition -of the facts which have been encountered. One becomes possessed of a -clarity of vision not psychic but reaching farther than cold logic. -Call it intuition or what not; it so frequently arrives at the right -answer, spanning the gap that cannot be spanned by the chain of facts, -that I have great respect for it when it is honest, genuine, and -strongly felt. - -“As I left behind me the black depths of the pit, its haunting mystery -seemed to permeate me. I had had the same strange feeling come over -me before, in research work among the burial-places of Labna and also -during and after my discovery of the ruined city of Xkickmook. Never -had it been so potent, so definite as when I ascended this wonderful -old burial-shaft and came into the moonlight of the living world. - -“The feeling, impressive beyond words, was undoubtedly intensified by -the vision of the treasures I had so recently seen and handled: the -beautiful alabaster-like vase above all comparison with anything of its -kind hitherto found in the whole Maya area; the remarkable terra-cotta -votive urns nearly three feet high, each bearing the mask of a god -surrounded with sacred ornaments; the elaborate incense-burners and -other extraordinary pottery; the big, polished, globular beads of -jade; the carved jade plaque; the labrets, ear- and nose-ornaments; -the tubular rosettes; the thin disks of polished jade; the wonderfully -worked, flawless ornaments of flint, shaped like the parts of the -crozier of a bishop. - -“And linked with these in my mind’s eye were the deeply paneled -surfaces of walls and columns, everywhere in the Sacred City, depicting -god-like personages with all the regalia of exalted priesthood: -neck-chains of big globular beads, breast-plaques of finely carved -design, ear- and nose-ornaments, and, grasped in the hand of these -dignitaries, a staff crowned with an object resembling the crozier of a -bishop. - -“To me these pictures and the finds we had just made dovetailed -perfectly. Beyond dispute, too, is that fact that many ancient races -placed at the side of the departed those things which were most used -in life and which they would, presumably, want first in the hereafter. -The old Phœnicians, the Egyptians, the Scythians, the Norsemen, the -Eskimos, the redskins of the North and West, the Pueblos and the -Nahuatls, and the Incas and pre-Incas—all followed this custom. And I -know at first hand that the Mayas were no exception, for I have found -well-defined graves, never previously disturbed—graves containing -child skeletons with toys beside them; graves of women in which were -bone needles and spinning-whorls of terra-cotta or worked stone; graves -where beside the thick bones of once-powerful men were found flint -lance-heads and heads of darts for the _hul-che_ and knife-points of -obsidian. - -“Beyond question I had uncovered the last resting-place of a priest -obviously of very high rank. Reason and logic and facts carry us thus -far. But those five hidden graves, each guarding the one below and -blocking the way to the deep secret passage and the pit at its end -wherein lay the sacred relics of the arch-priest—how may these be -explained? It is here that the mysterious assurance came to me—the -sure intuition, if you will—that this was not merely the tomb of a -great priest but the tomb of _the_ great priest, the tomb of the great -leader, the tomb of the hero-god, Kukul Can, he whose symbol was the -Feathered Serpent. Evidence is lacking, I can offer no scientific -proof, and yet I am certain that ultimately further discoveries in the -Sacred City will bear out my intuitive belief.” - - - - - CHAPTER XVI - - THE LEGEND OF THE SACRIFICIAL PILGRIMAGE - - -Within the province of Mani the water-holes, the _satenejas_, were dry. -For many weeks no rain had fallen and the growing corn had withered and -died. The people were perishing of hunger and thirst and Ah Pula Xia, -overlord of the province, saw that something must be done and swiftly -or the tribe of Mani would be no more. - -And so he caused the great summons to be sounded, the command to every -man, women, and child in the whole province to appear before him—the -command that had not been heard for twenty years. The _uliche_, -drumsticks with heads of rubber, striking upon the _tunkul_, caused -the earth to tremble with the loud booming of the summons, while -swift-footed _holpopes_, or runners, carried the message to the most -distant parts of the nation. - -At the appointed time Ah Pula ascended to his kingly seat under the -spreading shade of the great _yax-che_, the sacred tree of the Mayas, -and grouped around him were his councilors and chiefs; the _ah-kin_, -the high priest, the _kulel_, the aged prime minister, the _nacon_, -chief of the warriors. Behind each of their leaders were grouped the -officers of lesser grades, each clad in his richest vestments and -holding the badge of his office. And flanking these nobles were the -_tupiles_, or guardians of the law, in long lines; and each bore the -white wand, insignia of their authority. Beyond, as far as the eye -could see, clear to the horizon where the level plain met the forest, -were massed the commoners, the whole nation of Mani. - -Slowly Ah Pula, the _batab_, rose from his throne, and as he rose -the tall lances, the great battle-swords, and the _hul-ches_ clashed -together in one mighty salutation like the sound of giant trees -crashing to earth in a hurricane. - -The gaze of the _batab_ roved over the assembled multitude and with one -hand upraised he commanded silence. - -“O friends and councilors, sons and brothers! Those armed for war and -ever ready to defend the province! Priests of the Sun, who bring to -us the words of our gods and transmit to them our prayers! Listen to -my words and listen closely, that your answering thoughts may be well -chosen and weighty, light-bringing and life-giving. Thus and thus only -may we survive the calamity that threatens. - -“Five times have the seasons come and gone. Five times have we planted -our fields of corn since the strange white men came to our land. We -did not invite them nor seek them. They sought us, these strange white -men coming in strange craft from a far land. They came and we did not -welcome them as did the Cheles and the Peches, nor did we meet them as -enemies when the Cupules, the Cochuahes, and the Cocomes fought against -them. Three times while they were here we planted and gathered abundant -harvests. Three times have we planted our fields since their departure. -Twice we have failed to gather enough even for seed for the following -season and the last planting, the third one, is now parched and dying. - -“How, then, shall we feed our people? How shall we fill the breasts of -the nursing mothers and warm the cooling blood of the aged and feeble? -In this time of need even the wisest and strongest require the wisdom -and counsel of their brothers.” - -Ah Pula Xia the king sat once more upon his throne, that ancient seat -of authority shaped in the form of a jaguar. Turning, he said to the -_ah-kin_, the high priest, in measured words, “O Father of the Temple, -Brother of the Sun, tell us from the store of thy sacred knowledge and -from thy god-given wisdom, why have the gods been deaf to our prayers? -What have we done that they have forsaken us and left us to be scourged -so sorely?” - -The pontiff, tall, spare, and lined of feature, with eyes burning -bright in their deep sockets, rose from his seat and faced the king. -His words came forth so clear and simply that even the youngest and the -dullest of his hearers could not fail to hear and, hearing, understand: - -“O Batab, ruler! O Halach Uinic, father of thy people, hear what the -outraged gods say through my lips to thee and thy people: - -“‘Unknown beings from a strange land and worshiping pagan gods have -polluted this earth with their tread, have deafened our ears with their -foreign tongue and defiled our temples with prayers to other gods. -They have entered as guests into your towns and villages and you have -received them. They have lived in your homes and you have suffered it. -Your servants, at your command, have given them food and drink. - -“‘The gods of our fathers are slow to wrath. They waited in patience -your repentance, but you repented not. Then did the gods turn against -you their wrath. With quarrels and dissensions they divided the evil -white men. With pestilence and strange diseases they decimated them. -Smitten by enemies, harassed by insects, and poisoned by reptiles, -these white men faded in strength and numbers, until the few that still -lived returned to the unknown land whence they came. - -“‘All this was by the command of your gods, the gods that now you have -forgotten. But though the serpent passes, his trail still remains. -Because of these things that you have done the gods are punishing you. -They have forbidden the clouds to form and they have forbidden the -rain to fall. They have forbidden the grain to germinate and the roots -to sprout in forest or field. They have caused hosts of insects to -devastate your stores and eat up your substance. They have brought upon -you terrible diseases that your wise men and physicians cannot cure.’ - -“You ask what can be done to appease the anger of the gods. Now, the -knowledge has come to me, through the ancient records and writings -handed down from high priest to high priest since time began, that once -before in the history of our people was the wrath of the gods, and -especially the wrath of Yum Chac, the Rain God, kindled against us when -we forgot his precepts and disobeyed his teachings. - -“In that olden time beautiful maidens were sent to him as messengers, -to plead for his forgiveness and to carry with them rich offerings of -viands, flowers, and precious jewels. Thus was his ire appeased and -fecundity restored to this unhappy land. - -“My words are these: ‘Let us follow the ancient example. Let us go in -solemn procession with maidens as chaste and lovely as the opening -buds of the white pitahaya, to carry our plea to the god, and with our -prayers let us send food and drink in fine vessels, the ripest fruit, -the fattest grain, and our richest jewels. Thus may we hope to avert -the divine wrath and restore to life our starving nation.’” - -The _kulel_, the prime minister, then stepped forward. His form was -bent, his hair gray, and his face seamed with lines of deep thought. -His voice, though low and calm, was heard distinctly amid the crowding -ranks of the common people. - -Said he, “O Batab, ruler of the people, we have listened to the words -of our pontiff and his words befit his high office. We listen to them -with the respect due him as high priest and as the mouthpiece of the -gods. To hear these words and the command they convey, is to obey -without question. - -“He who is ordered by those above to go upon a journey, surely goes -if he is faithful. But he who goes upon such a journey without -due preparation is not a good servant, for, by reason of his -unpreparedness, he may be delayed, led astray, or otherwise impeded in -carrying out the will of his master. - -“Therefore let us think what this act of expiation requires us to do, -and then consider how to do it with the least delay and without waste -of life and effort. What we seek to gain is evident, for we all feel -the pangs of hunger and have seen our nearest and dearest fade away -and die. We have seen the grain and the fruit wither. We have seen our -scant stores devoured by clouds of insects. We have seen our people -wander into the deep forest seeking food and they have never returned. - -“What we most desire is to appease the dread anger of our gods, that we -may have once again food and health and happiness. - -“We are all agreed that we must make sacrifice at the Sacred Well, -the Chen Ku of Chi-chen Itza. The question is, then, how shall we -reach the Sacred Well and how shall we make our sacrifice? The way is -long, full of thorns, and covered with sharp stones. The thorns are -the lance-points and the stones the pointed darts of the Cocomes, the -Cochuahes, and the Cupules, our ancient enemies, through whom we must -pass to reach the well. Either we must gain their permission to pass in -peace and friendship or we must push our way through them by force of -arms. - -“My voice is for peace with these our lifelong enemies. I have said.” - -Then came the _nacon_, the chief of all the fighting men, powerful, -thick-set and sturdy. As he arose the warriors clashed their weapons in -a deafening roar and then all were silent, awaiting his words. - -“O Batab, ruler,” he said, “we have listened with reverence to the -words of our high priest, with awe and submission to the words of our -gods that came from his lips. We have heard with respect the measured, -temperate wisdom of our aged _kulel_. He has said that we must not -delay our sacrifice and yet his voice is for peace. - -“I, too, say that we must not delay, but why need we who are among -the greatest and strongest in the land, ask of any one permission to -sacrifice and worship? Who gave the Cocomes the right to say who may -worship in the temples or make sacrifice at the Sacred Well? Is not -Chi-chen Itza the holy city of the gods, our gods as well as theirs? - -“Let us open wide the path to and from the Sacred City and keep it open -with the points of our spears, the keen edges of our swords, and the -swift terror of our _hul-ches_. I have spoken.” - -The _batab_, with the _ah-kin_, the _kulel_, and the _nacon_ turned -toward the assembled people and the _batab_ cried in tones that rolled -over the thickly packed mass and beyond into the trees of the forest: - -“What is your voice? What is the word of my people?” - -With a noise like thunder came the mighty chorus: - -“We want food! We are dying. We go into the forest to dig for roots to -fill our empty stomachs and we find none. The land is accursed and even -the birds no longer fly over it and the snakes even no longer burrow -within it.” - -The _batab_ pondered deeply and long, then raised his head and said: - -“This we will do: We will first ask of the Cocomes that they allow our -people to pass to make sacrifice at the Sacred Well. If they consent we -will make a great pilgrimage and a sacrifice that shall be remembered -through the ages to come, for it will be the seal of friendship and -of peace between old and bitter enemies. If they refuse us their -permission to pass freely and to make our sacrifice, we will then take -that right, as they of old took it, by force, and by force we will hold -it for all time. - -“Now, this very night we will send the message to the Cocomes, so that -we may know without delay what course to follow. Until then let each of -you in his own way so prepare that whatever comes we shall be ready. - -“At once, summon the swiftest runners to take the message to Nachi -Cocom, Batab of Zotuta, and through him to his allies, the Cupules and -the Cochuahes!” - -Nachi Cocom, Batab of Zotuta, King of the Cocomes and leader of allied -provinces, sat in his great council chamber. About him were his chiefs -and nobles and those of his allies, the Cupules and the Cochuahes. Upon -the high walls of the council chamber were war-banners and trophies of -many hard-won battles. On broad wooden platforms, one at each end of -the building, were heaped the captured weapons, war-masks, and armor of -those who had fought against the Cocomes or their allies and lost. - -Gathered around the entrance were keen-eyed warriors armed with -lances and swords and _hul-ches_. Lounging but watchful, they first -gave the warning, high-pitched and long, that echoed through the city -and carried even to the houses nestled in the fringe of the forest: -“_Hek-utal le macoboo!_ Here come strangers!” Down the winding path -came the messengers from the Batab of Mani, carrying his word to Nachi -Cocom, Batab of Zotuta. - -The messengers were three brothers, picked men, _holpopes_ all three; -good men to look upon and worthy of their office. For Mayas they were -tall but well proportioned and lithe, as supple as young jaguars. -Wide of brow and clear-eyed they were. None could doubt their fitness -to be the messengers of the king. Striding up to where the Batab of -Zotuta and those of his council sat, each fearlessly and proudly made -his obeisance and gave his salute—the sign of a _holpope_ bringing a -message. To the chief _holpope_, the eldest and tallest of the three -brothers, the _batab_ said, “Welcome, _holpope_, and those with you. -Speak!” - -Said the chief _holpope_: - -“To thee, O Batab of Zotuta, I bring a message from the Batab of Mani -and thus runs the message: - -“‘To the Batab of Zotuta and its provinces I, Batab of Mani and its -provinces, send greeting. - -“‘We are brothers, in that we were both born and are nourished from the -same earth-mother, this land of Mayab. Therefore I, Ah Pula Xia, Batab -of Mani, do now and by these my chosen messengers send to you, Nachi -Cocom, Batab of Zotuta, this brotherly greeting and with it a brother’s -request: - -“‘The gods have smitten us sorely for our sins, you and me and all our -people. I, Batab of Mani, with my people desire to make peace with our -god by a pilgrimage of atonement and solemn rites of sacrifice, that we -may once more receive the blessing of the Rain God, your god and ours. - -“‘We have had our brothers’ quarrels, but the quarrels of brothers can -be forgotten. We have had our hard-fought battles, but wars that have -been fought are things of the past, things to forget. To-day we are -scourged together, you and I and all our people. Let us, then, forget -the past with its bitter memories and come together like brothers, -forgiving and forgiven. Let us unite in a great and solemn pilgrimage -of atonement and sacrifice to the angered god, in his temple at the -Sacred Well of Chi-chen Itza. Thus will his wrath be appeased. The -rains will follow the clouds in the heavens and fecundity will come -once more to the earth, now sterile, baked, and dead. - -“‘For this we ask your word and your promise that my people may pass -undisturbed and unharmed to pray in the temples and to make sacrifice -to the Rain God in the Sacred Well at Chi-chen Itza. I and my people -await your answer.’” - -Nachi Cocom sat motionless in thought, neither asking nor receiving -counsel from those about him; and such was their fear and awe of this -indomitable and cruel ruler that none dared speak as he sat with crafty -eyes staring at the ground before him. At last he raised his head and -fixed the messengers with his inscrutable gaze and said: - -“Messengers from the Batab of Mani, listen closely and carefully that -your words to him be my words to you. - -“‘From the Batab of Zotuta to the Batab of Mani, greetings! You say -that we are brothers, in that this land of Mayab is our common mother. -You say that we are together and alike scourged by an outraged god. -These things are true. The land, our common mother, has felt the curse -of the white man’s tread. By this act was she violated and we, her -sons, permitted it—you by acquiescence, I by impotence. - -“‘But all this is past, you say, and we must now find means to avert -the disaster which threatens to overwhelm us both—a calamity that can -be avoided only by a pilgrimage and sacrifice to Noh-och Yum Chac at -the Sacred Well of Chi-chen Itza. - -“‘_Be wale!_—so let it be! - -“‘You say that brothers quarrel and then forgive; that the war that is -ended may be forgotten.’ - -“Now,” and here he bent forward and spoke in deep earnestness, while -about his thin lips wreathed a twisted smile that made those who knew -him well recoil in terror, “tell my brother, Ah Pula, Batab of Mani, to -send his pilgrims, the maiden messengers, the sacrificial offerings, -and the priests, when and how he wishes. When they come they will -find me and my people ready and waiting to give them warm welcome. No -spear shall be cast, no weapon raised against them. We will guard the -pilgrims and send them on their way to worship and to make sacrifice to -that god with whom they so urgently wish to make peace—to your god and -our god, for are we not the offspring of a common mother? - -“They will need to bring neither food nor arms, for I, Nachi Cocom, -and my people will provide these things. Thus can your people come on -more quickly to ask the forgiveness of the god for traitorous acts, -snake-like deceptions, and cowardly submission to strange white men. - -“I have spoken. Messengers of Mani, eat, drink, rest, and then -speed back the word of Nachi Cocom to—” and here again he smiled -sardonically—“to his brother Ah Pula Xia.” - -Thereupon the _batab_ rose and departed, and his councilors likewise -left the chamber. - -But the chief councilor spoke in a whisper to his brother, leader of -the warriors, and said: - -“No man may know but the _batab_ himself what thoughts are deep buried -in his mind, but I know and fear that thin-lipped smile, and as he -spoke to the messengers of Mani a strange feeling came over me like -_ek muyal_, the black cloud. I had a fear of something, intangible but -terrible; something he is planning that will bring down upon us the -annihilating wrath of the gods.” - -“Brother,” his companion answered, “do not voice such thoughts nor even -think them. I have forgotten that you spoke. Remember that the will of -the _batab_ is supreme. We may not question it. I also felt your fear, -but say no more!” - -Swiftly, tirelessly the messengers of Mani sped on their homeward -journey; over sunlit plains, threaded by the smooth worn paths of the -jaguar and the wild boar; through cool forests whose shade beckoned -enticingly; past wells of crystal-clear water where thirst cried to be -quenched. But they stopped not at all until, as the sun sank slowly -down into the west, they passed between the great parched corn-fields -of Mani and at last reached the palace of the _batab_. - -So quickly had the _holpopes_ returned that the _batab_ said of them, -“They are birds, not men.” - -And the _nacon_ answered: “If they are birds, then are they eagles, -for these three _holpopes_ in the battle with the Uitzes killed three -warriors and took three prisoners.” - -The _batab_ cast an approving glance at the deep-chested, thin-flanked -young _holpopes_ and said: - -“Let it be proclaimed from the temple that for their services in time -of peace and for their brave acts in battle these three brothers shall -henceforth be of the eagles and shall bear the regalia and wear the -mask of the eagle in the sacred rites.” And so it was from that time -on. The three brothers, known as the Three Eagles, wore the feathers -and mask of the eagle in the sacred festivals and until after the -coming of the later white men the figures of the Three Eagles were to -be seen carved upon the walls of a temple in Mani. - -Great was the enthusiasm and greater the joy at the message sent by the -Batab of Zotuta to the Batab of Mani and the tale of the warm welcome -given to the _holpopes_ and the warmer one promised to the pilgrims. - -Ah! could they but have seen the venomous look and the twisted smile -that was hidden behind the unctuous softness of those pleasant-sounding -words! - -In the province of the Cocomes great preparation was made for the -expected guests. At frequent intervals along their destined path -from one village to another were placed arches made of saplings tied -together and bent to the ground. Those at the entrance of each village -were adorned with fresh vines and bright flowers until the curve of -the arch was a solid mass of green leaves and fragrant blossoms. There -were scarlet clusters of _cutz-pol_, or turkey-head, white _sac-nute_ -blooms, the frail blue jungle morning-glory, and the golden trumpets of -the _xkan-tol_ flower. - -As the pilgrims reached each new village the head men and the most -beautiful maids of the district came to meet and welcome them, the -head men with the symbols of their authority and the maidens with -gourds of cool _sacca_ to quench the thirst of the travelers. And with -songs of welcome they invited the tired but happy pilgrims to rest and -then to feast in the village. As they neared Zotuta, where dwelt the -_batab_, he and his councilors came forth to welcome them. The whole -city, even to its most distant outskirts, was seething with the hum of -preparation. Wild turkeys, wild pigs, green corn, big tubers, white, -flaky, and succulent—all were being cooked underground with heated -stones and surrounded with fragrant herbs after the manner and custom -handed down from ancient times. - -On came the pilgrims, heralded by groups of children and women singing -and chanting words of welcome. At the feet of the pilgrims were strewn -clusters of flowers and along the way were bowls of incense, so that -the fragrant smoke pleased their nostrils. First came the priests and -the nobles. Then came the lovely maidens chosen to be the messengers -to the great god at the bottom of the Sacred Well, and these girl -brides of the god were carried upon litters richly adorned and smoothly -transported by trained bands of bearers. After them came the devotees, -their arms filled with rich offerings. And last came captive warriors, -men of fighting renown, esteemed for their valor to be worthy of -sacrifice to the Rain God. - -Thus with solemn joy and chanted welcome the pilgrims entered Zotuta, -not only as pilgrims on a sacred mission but as an embassy bearing -offerings of peace and good-will between brothers long estranged but -now reconciled and reunited by the god to whom they would soon offer -prayer and joint sacrifice at the Sacred Well. - -Soon came the feasting, the religious games, and at last the solemn -ritual of the Sacred Dance. The hours passed too pleasantly and sweetly -to be heeded, until drooping lids could no longer stay open and the -pilgrims were conducted to the group of houses that had been set aside -for their use. - -In the cool darkness that precedes the first gleam of dawn, that -time when the whole world sleeps, the Cocomes in the houses beyond -the palm-thatched dwellings where the pilgrims lay and the pilgrims -themselves—all were buried deep and sound in slumber. Then silent, -shadowy forms swiftly surrounded the quiet houses where the pilgrims -rested in fancied security. - -Red tongues of flame, smokeless because of the dry materials upon which -they fed, shot up from each house corner and like snakes crawled along -the thatched roofs. Before the sleepers could arouse to their danger -the big structures were roaring and crackling, each a huge funeral pyre. - -Shrill shrieks of women, hoarse cries of men, choking, gasping moans, -frenzied prayers, imprecations, and inarticulate sounds filled the -morning air and the barred doors and burning roof-poles were shaken -furiously. - -The voice of Nachi Cocom of the crafty eyes and the thin-lipped cruel -smile was heard above the crackling of the flames and the shrieks of -the dying pilgrims. His black eyes glittered venomously, like the eyes -of a deadly serpent when it strikes home its fangs, but his voice was -smooth and oily as he said: - -“_Ehen!_ pilgrims, brothers, brothers of a common mother! How fares -it? It would seem to me, standing here and looking on, that you have -changed your minds and that you are making sacrifice to Yum Kax, god -of fire, and not to Yum Chac, god of rain! But what does it matter, -brothers of a common mother? Both are gods and both are worshiped by -brothers that spring from a common mother. You are now saved the -trouble of visiting the Sacred Well.” - -As he said these words, as if by a common signal, the blazing roofs -sank slowly in, the cries of agony ceased, and shortly all was still. - -Once again the _batab_ spoke and the twisted smile was on his lips as -he said: - -“Rest now in peace, brothers. This is the warm welcome that I promised -you. Long years ago, I promised you such a welcome, but you had -forgotten. And Nachi Cocom never forgets.” - -The _batab_ turned and strode from the place, the baleful glitter still -in his eyes, but the populace—people of Zotuta and those from distant -villages, drawn by the pilgrimage and the feasting—fled from the -city, and many rushed into the jungles and were never seen again. Only -the soldiers of the _batab_, with callous obedience to their orders, -remained to watch over the smoldering funeral pyres. - -It is said that the Rain God, incensed at this act, deserted the Sacred -Well with all his court and, leaving the land and the people to their -fate, made his home in a far distant and unknown region. The people, -abandoned by their god, ended by fighting with one another like rabid -animals. The shrine on the brink of the Sacred Well was no longer -carefully tended, and it fell gradually into ruins, piece by piece. -The beautiful carved cornices and roof-stones were wedged apart by -the growing roots of trees and toppled into the still, dark waters -below. When, in after years, the white men came again they found a few -miserable Mayas living in carelessly made huts under the shadow of -the great ruined city, and these natives shunned the Sacred Well and -believed it to be haunted. - -Thus passed the power and majesty of mighty chieftains and thus died -the Maya nations. - - - - - CHAPTER XVII - - THIRTY YEARS OF DIGGING - - -Right here in America, only a short journey from the United States and -closer to them than our Panama Canal, are the remains of at least sixty -ancient ruined cities—marvelous places about which we know almost -nothing, nor of the people who built them. - -We know infinitely more of the ancient Egyptians—of their buildings, -their customs, their beliefs, their history, and their writings. -Virtually every hieroglyphed surface left by them which has been -uncovered has been pored over by many archæologists and its meaning -deciphered beyond question. - -For a hundred years antiquarians from every civilized land have spent -their lives in studying the ancient empire of the Nile. Millions of -dollars have been expended in scientific, minutely careful exploration. -No slightest clue to further knowledge has been ignored, and tons of -books, written in every language, have been printed, so that the man on -the street anywhere may go to his nearest library and, if he will, read -all there is to know on the subject. - -And here at our very door, on our own continent, are the remains of -an early culture not one whit less interesting than the Valley of the -Kings. Possibly it is not so old, but on the other hand it is more -steeped in mystery because of our profound ignorance. We know next -to nothing about it: who were its builders; where they came from; -their history, creeds, or customs. We can read but a few scraps of -the writings of which they left such an abundance—enough, in all -probability, to fill in many of the empty spaces in our knowledge if -we but had the power to decipher them and extract their meaning. Even -our hard-won and sadly limited information concerning this culture has -never been given to the general public. To get it one must read Spanish -and French and German, as well as English, and the average public -library contains possibly three or four books on the subject. - -Until last year no well-planned, completely equipped exploration backed -by ample finances had ever been undertaken. Archæologists have delved -in many of the ancient Maya cities—puny expeditions pressed for time -and cash. The work backed by the Peabody Museum has been the most -consistent, but even that has suffered often from lack of finances, and -much of Don Eduardo’s work has been done at his own expense. - -Happily, I think the American public and American antiquarians are -waking up to the neglected opportunity. The expedition sent out by -the Carnegie Foundation is most promising. It has well-laid plans; -it is under the leadership of Sylvanus G. Morley, a thorough-going -archæologist and one of the foremost in knowledge of the ancient Maya -culture. He has made the study of the subject his life-work and has -achieved fame through his finds in the Maya area. He has uncovered -many important date-stones and is the most eminent authority in this -specialized activity. - -The new exploration is being carried on at Chi-chen Itza on a big -scale and most methodically; and, best of all, it is prepared to -continue twenty years if necessary, to the ultimate completion of its -work. Fallen temples will be rebuilt, stone by stone. Every scrap of -knowledge that can be extracted from the excavations and study of what -is already uncovered will be noted and correlated. There can be no -question that this work will add very largely to antiquarian lore. - -I await with eagerness the delving into what Don Eduardo calls “old -Chi-chen Itza,” the completely ruined and tree-covered part of the -ancient city, which lies to the south of the newer and less damaged -buildings, for it is there that the most ancient architecture and the -noblest carvings are to be found and, with them, other remains of the -highest Maya culture—the relics of that earlier golden age which had -already fallen to decay before the Nahuatl dominance resulted in the -buildings of a lower order in the newer city. - -The Spanish conquerors discovered many of the ancient cities and wrote -about them in their annals; and the world promptly forgot about them -for two hundred years. Then vague stories about them began to drift -back to civilization, carried by adventurous wanderers who had seen or -heard of them. At the end of two hundred years we knew considerably -less about early Mayan culture than was known by Landa and Cogolludo -and the other Spanish padres who followed in the wake of the conquering -Spanish flag. It remained for Stephens to lead the way once again -and show us the wonder and mystery of the old cities. The great Von -Humboldt came and was deeply impressed. Le Plongeon labored like ten -men for years and tragically broke under the strain, leaving little to -advance the world’s knowledge from the much that he discovered. Then -came Maler and knowledge of a hidden city—knowledge lost to the world -when he died. - -To Don Eduardo must be given credit for bringing to light in the past -thirty years the things which gave a real forward impetus to this -particular phase of American archæology. Many of his finds, consigned -to the Peabody Museum, are not yet accessible to the general public, -having been held in reserve by that institution, doubtless for sound -reasons which are unknown to me. For thirty years Don Eduardo has -followed unswervingly the ambitious, adventurous dream of his boyhood. -Literally, he has followed the rainbow to its end and unearthed the pot -of gold. His dream was to make the Sacred Well yield up its treasures. -That he has done and more. - -Edward Thompson—or Don Eduardo, as I have called him through these -pages, because that is the name by which I have known him so long and -well—is no richer in a material sense than if he had never raised -the fabulous treasure from the great Sacred Well of Chi-chen Itza. -But he has had what money cannot buy: a life of notable achievement; -a cherished dream realized to the full; a thousand gorgeous memories, -each packed with such adventure and thrill as we less favored folk have -never experienced. - -He has made the well of sacrifice yield its secrets. The skeletons of -the girl brides of the Rain God; the bones of sacrificed warriors; -the copal incense and the religious vessels; the jade ornaments and -objects of gold; the _hul-ches_; the sacrificial knives—each is a link -in the chain of evidence which makes fact out of legend. His finds -prove the existence of the ancient belief in the Rain God and the fact -that sacrifices were made to him. They prove that this great water-pit -actually was the Sacred Well. They make plausible the legend that -Chi-chen Itza was the Sacred City, the center of the cult of Kukul Can. - -The finding of the date-stone, by Don Eduardo, may, to the casual -reader, seem insignificant, but from the scientific point of view it -is tremendously important, for it gives us one more indisputable fact. -From it we know that the city existed in the seventh century, A. -D. We do not know how much older than that it is actually or how -long it flourished thereafter. There remains the incontrovertible -date from which we may, in time, proceed forward or back to a further -knowledge. - -His discovery and excavation of the Tomb of the High Priest is a -brilliant achievement. It lays bare more facts and opens up new avenues -for speculation. Time alone can prove whether it is, as Don Eduardo so -sincerely believes, the tomb of the hero-god, the great leader, Kukul -Can, around whom all Mayan theology revolves. - -And now Don Eduardo is no longer in his first youth. He is still far -from decrepit, but the time has come when it is fitting for him to -step aside from the active and strenuous work of exploration and he -has leased all his holdings, including the Casa Real, to the Carnegie -expedition. I know that he takes a profound pleasure in the feeling -that this expedition is going to finish thoroughly and completely what -he has so ably started and carried on under handicaps that will not -beset the newer work. - -To the layman Don Eduardo’s achievements may seem small as against -thirty years of ceaseless endeavor, but do not forget the days and -weeks and months of profitless effort that must be spent in this sort -of work. It does not move forward like the building of a railroad, the -manufacture of goods, or the planting and reaping of fields. - -Thirty years are well spent if their labor helps in the least to shed -even a feeble ray on the nearly obliterated pages of the past. And each -rising sun brings fresh the hope that to-day will be the day of a great -discovery, the finding of a key that will unlock the door to knowledge -concerning a wonderful people whose monuments are to us as a few torn -pages of some master manuscript without beginning or end, but still of -such absorbing interest that one cannot rest until the missing pages -are found. - -As antiquarian thirst grows—as it surely must, for few things in -the world contain a deeper human interest than antiquity—attention -will certainly turn more and more to the still unsolved mystery of -ancient American and, particularly, Mayan culture. Instead of one great -scientific exploration there will be scores. Each of the ruined cities -is worthy of research. There are magnificent temples to be restored; -priceless finds to be bared; and that vexing riddle to be completely -solved—the clear reading of the Maya glyphs. - -And with all of this must come inevitably the tourist to a new -and delightful land, and through him will grow a new and keener -appreciation of America. - - - - - APPENDIX - - LIST OF MORE IMPORTANT GOLD AND JADE OBJECTS FOUND - IN THE SACRED WELL - - -One basin of fine gold, twelve inches in diameter with shallow rounding - bottom. About a pound in weight. - -Four other basins, bowls or cups, smaller in size, uncarved, but of - massive material and very artistic in contour. - - None of the above basins were twisted, cut or broken. - -Seven gold disks, embossed or beaten, about ten inches in diameter. - -Eight gold disks, embossed or beaten, about eight inches in diameter. - -Seventeen gold disks, embossed or beaten, about six inches in diameter. - -Ten gold disks, embossed or beaten, small sizes. - -One handsome _penache_, forehead band or tiara, over eight inches long - by four inches wide, of beautiful openwork, the design being entwined - serpents with plumed head-dress. - - This is the finest piece of gold work ever found in the Maya area. - -Eleven reptile and animal figures, probably brooches and similar - ornaments; all massive gold and finely worked. Frogs, bat-like - figures and monkey-like objects, most of them cast (not beaten work), - massive and of pure gold. - -Fourteen small gold objects shaped like candlesticks. - -Ten human or monkey-like figures of gold. - -Twenty gold rings, mostly of thin but pure gold. - -Sixty other objects of unknown use but of gold material. - -One hundred bells of various sizes but all gold, even to the clappers. - -Forty other unclassified objects, either of pure gold or of gold - and bronze; sandals, disks, ferrule-like objects, pieces and strips - evidently portions of shields and regalia ornaments. - -Forty gold washers or scales, one and a quarter inches in diameter, - with holes in the center. - -One solid-gold mask seven inches in diameter, the eyes closed as if in - sleep or in death and over the right eyelid the same kind of slanting - cross that we often see carved on the so-called elephants’ trunks. - -One gold _hul-che_ (throwing-stick) of entwined serpents. - -Seven jade plaques or tablets, broken but restored, three inches by - four inches. - -Nine jade tablets, two inches by four inches by one quarter inch thick. - The jade tablets were evidently broken intentionally before being - thrown into the well. - -One hundred sixty beautifully carved large jade beads and pendants of - large size, virtually perfect. - -Seventy carved jade ear-ornaments, nose- and labret ornaments, from two - inches in diameter down to one half inch, all finely cut and - polished. - -Fourteen jade globes, one and a half inches in diameter, all very - finely polished and several finely carved with well-executed figures - and other designs. - -One small but very finely worked and polished jade figurine, four - inches wide and four inches high. It represents a seated figure of - the Palenquin type with elaborate head-dress. It is perfect and is - one of the finest, if not the finest figure found in the Maya area. - -Many hundreds of small jade beads of all sizes and shapes, all - polished; many of them artistically carved and shaped. - -One flint-bladed sacrificial knife with the handle formed of golden - entwined serpents. It is the only perfect one taken from the Sacred - Well and probably the only authentic and perfect knife of this kind - in any museum on the American continents. At least it is the only one - in the Peabody Museum. - -Several parts of other knives, such as handles, flint blades, etc. - -Many beautiful flint spear-heads worth many times their weight in gold, - worked down to the thickness of a steel spear-head with edges as - sharp as a razor, the finest ever found anywhere in the world. - -A thousand other articles of great value to archæology. - - - - - INDEX - - - Agriculture in Yucatan, 6 - - Aguilar, Gerónimo de, first of the Spanish conquerors, 166, 167, 170 - - Akab Tzib, or House of the Writing in the Dark, 62, 63, 64 - - Alphabet of Landa for employing Maya glyphs to denote Spanish - letters, 41, 42 - - Alvarado, José, Silver King of Mexico, 235 - - Ancient cities, condition of at time of Spanish Conquest, 43, 44 - - Animal figures and carvings recovered from Sacred Well, 135, 137 - - Annexes, unnamed temples near Nunnery, 69, 70 - - Arches, Maya, 195 - - Atlantean figures, 78, 79, 85, 86 - - Atlantis theory of Mayan ethnology, 36 - - - _Bal-che_, an ancient intoxicating beverage, 115, 137, 244 - - Balustrades with serpent motif, 77, 78, 80, 238 - - Bas-reliefs and full-relief works, 79, 80, 81, 82, 219, 220, 221, - 224, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230, 32, 233, 234 - - Bas-Reliefs, Temple of, 81, 82, 219, 220, 221, 228, 229, 230 - - Beams, sapote, 78 - - Bells of copper from High Priest’s Tomb, 246 - - Bells of copper and gold recovered from Sacred Well, 131, 132 - - Boa-constrictors, 95, 96, 182, 241, 242 - - Bolshevism among natives, 17 - - Bowls and disks of gold recovered from Sacred Well, 133, 134 - - Brooches recovered from Sacred Well, 135 - - - _Caluacs_ or ceremonial wands, 135, 143 - - Caracol, or Snail-shell, 71, 72, 73 - - Carnegie Expedition in Chi-chen Itza, 87, 279, 280 - - Casa Real, home and estate of Don Eduardo, - Ancient gateway, 55, 56, 57 - First view by Don Eduardo, 55, 56 - Looting by unruly natives, 17 - Size of estate, 60 - - Caves, 33, 97, 139 - - Cenotes (see Wells), 135, 143 - - Chac Mool figures, 82, 182 - - Chich-an Chob, Red House, or Strong, Clean House, 73, 74, 75 - - Chilan Balam, Maya writings in Spanish characters, 37, 38, 40 - - Chi-chen Itza, - Arrangement of buildings, 60, 61 - Distinction between old and new cities, 47, 60, 280 - Lack of streets, 60, 61 - Location and how to get there, 3, 5 - Montejo’s military headquarters, 172, 173 - Retreat of Spaniards from, 70, 71, 173 - - Chisels, - Recovered from Sacred Well, 132, 133 - Of nephrite found near Great Pyramid, 192, 193 - - Chronicles, Maya, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42 - - Church, or Iglesia, 69, 70 - - Cisterns, 98, 99 - - Codices, Maya, rare books written in hieroglyphs, 37, 38, 39, 232 - - Conquest of Yucatan by Spaniards, a brief history, 166 to 178 - - Construction of Maya temples, 189 to 197 - - Copal, 107, 108, 110, 111, 112, 113, 119, 121, 139, 140, 142, 246 - - Copper and gold objects recovered from Sacred Well, 131 to 137 - - Córdoba, Francisco de Hernandez, commander of second Spanish - expedition to Yucatan, 167, 168 - - Cortes, Hernan, commander of Fourth Spanish expedition to Yucatan, - 146, 147, 169, 170, 171, 174, 175 - - Costume and arms of ancient Mayas, 20, 22, 227, 228, 229 - - Costume of modern Mayas, 11, 12 - - Cotton, 248 - - Cruelties of Spanish conquerors, 175, 176 - - Cuzmil, ancient city of, 169, 170 - - - Dances, native ancient, 22 - - Dances, native modern, 18, 19 - - Dates, earliest recorded Mayan, 37 - - Date-stone of Chi-chen Itza, 184, 185 - - Deities of the Mayas, - God of Death, 53, 246 - Rain God, 53, 54, 55 - - Disks and bowls of gold recovered from Sacred Well, 133, 134 - - Diving operations in Sacred Well, 118 to 131 - - Dredging of Sacred Well, 55, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, - 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 117, 118, 119, 122, 123, 124, 125 - - - Earthen jars from High Priest’s Tomb, 257 - - El Castillo, or the Great Pyramid of Kukul Can, 50, 51, 75, 76, 77, - 78, 79 - - Elephant head controversy, 214 - - Embroidery, 12 - - - Fabrics recovered from Sacred Well, 121, 144 - - Fiestas, ancient Maya, 21, 22 - - Finds in Sacred Well, 107 to 115, 121, 129 to 146 - - Fuentes, Francisco de las, lieutenant of Montejo, 28 - - - Geological formation of Yucatan, 97 - - Gold and copper objects recovered from Sacred Well, 131 to 137 - - Gold, value (compared with jade) to ancient Mayas, 146, 147 - - Golden Age of Maya Art, 211, 212 - - Gourds and gourd implements, 121, 140, 141 - - Great Pyramid of Kukul Can, or El Castillo, 50, 51, 75, 76, 77, 78, - 79 - - Grijalva, Juan de, commander of third Spanish expedition to Yucatan, - 168 - - Gymnasium, or Tennis-court, 82, 83, 84, 85 - - - Henequen, from which rope and twine are made, 6 - - Hieroglyphs, 41, 42, 213, 214 - - Homes, ancient Maya, 20, 21 - - Homes, modern Maya, 15, 16 - - Homes in Mérida, 8, 9 - - House of the Writing in the Dark, Akab Tzib, 62, 63, 64 - - _Hul-che_, or throwing-stick, 108, 109, 110 - - Humor, Maya sense of, 18 - - - Iglesia, or Church, 69, 70 - - “Incidents of Travel in Yucatan,” by John L. Stephens, 5 - - Itzamna, mythical founder of race, 34 - - - Jade, value (compared with gold) to ancient Mayas, 146, 147 - - Jade from High Priest’s Tomb, 247, 249, 257 - - Jade recovered from Sacred Well, 130, 141, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148 - - Jewelry, modern Mayan, 13, 200, 201 - - - Knives, sacrificial, recovered from Sacred Well, 136 - - Kukul Can, hero deity of the Itzas, 34, 46, 50, 217, 260 - - - La Casa de las Monjas, or the Nunnery, 52, 64 to 69, 227, 233 - - Lance poles and other wooden objects recovered from Sacred Well, 141, - 142, 143 - - Landa Alphabet for employing Maya glyphs to denote Spanish letters, 41 - - Landa, Diego de, 19 - - Legends, - Itzamna, 34 - Ix-lol Nicte, 150 to 163 - Kukul Can, 34 - _La flor de Calentura_, 24 to 31 - Lorelei, 198 to 207 - Misfortunes of Mayas prior to the Conquest, 44 to 47 - Present of jade from Montezuma to Cortes, 146, 147 - Sacrificial pilgrimage, 261 to 276 - Wizard Potters, 207 to 210 - Xkan-xoc, 163 to 165 - - Le Plongeon, Maya archæologist, 92 - - Lintels, 63, 64, 195 - - - Maler, Teoberto, 214, 221, 222, 223, 224 - - Marital customs of modern Mayas, 14 - - Masks of copper and gold recovered from Sacred Well, 132 - - Maya Chronicles, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43 - - Maya Codices, rare books written in hieroglyphs, 37, 38, 39, 232 - - Maya, derivation of name, 33, 34 - - Maya language, 10 - - Mayas, ancient, - Costumes and arms, 20, 21, 22, 227, 228 - Dances, 21, 22 - Deities, 54, 55, 246 - Homes, 20, 21 - Music, 21, 22 - Occupations, 22 - Physical characteristics, 20 - Pride in genealogy, 23 - Tattooing, 21 - - Mayas, modern, - Cleanliness, 13 - Costume, 11, 12 - Dances, 18, 19 - Homes, 15, 16 - Honesty, 14 - Hospitality, 14, 15 - Humor, 18 - Improvidence, 18 - Jewelry, 13, 200, 201 - Language, 10 - Laziness, 18 - Marital customs, 14 - Music, 18, 19 - Physical characteristics, 10, 11 - Religious outlook, 15 - Treatment by plantation-owners, 16, 17 - Unconquered tribes (Sublevados), 17, 18 - - Mayas, earliest mythical wanderings, 34, 35, 36 - Later legendary history, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47 - - Mayapan, invasion of, 43, 46 - - Medallions recovered from Sacred Well, 133, 134, 137 - - Mérida, capital of Yucatan, - American Club, 9 - Ball, 8 - Carnival, 8 - Description of, 6, 7, 8 - Homes, 8, 9 - Palace of Montejo, 9 - - Monoliths, 78, 79, 80 - - Montejo, Francisco de, 169, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175 - Retreat from Chi-chen Itza, 70, 173, 174 - - Montejo the Younger, 174, 175, 176, 177 - - Montezuma, King of the Aztecs, 146, 147 - - Mortuary urns, 139 - - Murals, 80, 81, 82, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 224, 225, 226, 227, - 228, 229 - - Music, native ancient, 21, 22 - - Music, native modern, 18, 19 - - - Nahuatls, 43, 47 - - Nahuatl influence on Maya culture and art, 47, 64, 197, 211, 212, - 217, 218 - - Names of persons indicated in murals and bas-reliefs, 232, 233 - - Nunnery, or La Casa de las Monjas, 52, 64 to 69, 227, 233 - - - Padres, coming of, 176, 177 - - Phallic cult, 143, 144 - - Physical characteristics of ancient Mayas, 20 - - Physical characteristics of modern Mayas, 10, 11 - - Pigments used by ancient Mayas, 191, 192, 194, 195, 220 - - Plaster or stucco used in Maya buildings, 191 - - Pottery and potsherds, 107, 113, 119, 136, 138, 139, 244, 245, 246, - 247, 257, 258, 259 - - Progreso, only seaport of Yucatan, 73, 74, 75 - - - Relacion de las Cosas de Yucatan, the book by Diego de Landa, 19, 20 - - Rings recovered from Sacred Well, 130, 132, 137 - - Roads, ancient construction, 89, 90, 91 - Location, 60, 61, 88, 90 - - Rock-crystal beads from High Priest’s Tomb, 247 - - Rubber finds in the Sacred Well, 110, 111, 112 - - - Sabua skull, 115, 116 - - Sacca, an intoxicating drink, 245 - - Sacred Way, linking the Sacred Well and Temple of Kukul Can, 52, 53, - 54, 55, 97 to 102 - - Sacred Well, - Diving operations in, 122 to 149 - Dredging, 59, 103 to 122 - Finds in, 107 to 149 - - Sacrifice of maidens, 53 to 55 - - Sacrificial knives recovered from Sacred Well, 136 - - San Isidro, Church of, 24 - - Sandals recovered from Sacred Well, 114 - - Sapote beams, 78 - - Scorpions, 240, 241 - - Semitic features of some ancient Mayan sculptures and murals, 35, 36, - 83 - - Serpents, 95, 96, 182, 241, 242 - - Serpent balustrades and monoliths, 78, 79, 80, 238, 239 - - Skeletal remains in Tomb of the High Priest, 244, 245, 246, 247 - - Skeletons from Sacred Well, 114, 115, 116, 121 - - Snail-shell, or Caracol, 71, 72, 73 - - Sounding device for discovery of hidden cavities, 239, 240 - - Spiders, 257 - - Stairways, 74, 77, 78, 190, 238 - - Stelæ, 196, 214 - - Stephens, John L., American traveler and writer on Yucatan, 5 - - Stone point-work of ancient Mayas, 141, 142, 226, 234 - - Strong, Clean House, Red House or Chich-an Chob, 73, 74, 75 - - Sublevados, unconquered tribes, 17, 18 - - - Tattooing in ancient times, 21 - - Temple of Columns, 86, 87 - - Temple of Cones, 86 - - Temple of Owls, 230 - - Temples in Chi-chen Itza, - Annexes, unnamed temples near Nunnery, 69, 70 - - Temples in Chi-chen Itza, - Construction of, 189 to 197 - Great Pyramid of Kukul Can, or El Castillo, 50, 51, 75, 76, 77, 78, - 79 - Iglesia or Church, 69, 70 - House of the Writing in the Dark, Akab Tzib, 62, 63, 64 - Nunnery, or La Casa de las Monjas, 52, 64 to 69, 227, 233 - Red House, Strong Clean House, or Chich-an Chob, 73, 74, 75 - Snail-shell or Caracol, 71, 72, 73 - Temple of Bas-Reliefs, 81, 82, 219, 220, 221, 228, 229, 230 - Temple of Columns, 86, 87 - Temple of Cones, 86 - Temple of Owls, 230 - Tiger Temple, 79, 80, 81, 214, 215, 216 - Unnamed Temples, 87 - - Tennis-court, or Gymnasium, 82, 83, 84, 85 - - Tiger Temple, 79, 80, 81, 214, 215, 216 - - Throwing-stick or _hul-che_, 108, 109, 110 - - Tomb of the High Priest, 75, 236 to 260 - - Tools used in construction of Maya buildings, 190 to 197 - - Totanacs, 215, 216, 217 - - Treatment of an ancient painted stone to restore its colors, and the - story it tells, 230, 231, 232 - - Treatment of natives by plantation-owners, 16, 17 - - Tuxtla statuette, 37 - - - Ulumil, chieftain of the Itzas, 43 - - Unconquered tribes (Sublevados), 17, 18 - - Unnamed Temples in Chi-chen Itza, 87 - - Uxmal, founding of, 43 - - - Vase of alabaster-like substance from High Priest’s Tomb, 256, 257 - - Velasquez Diego, Governor of Cuba, 168, 171 - - - Wasps, 182, 183 - - Wells or cenotes, - Chen ku (see Sacred Well) - General, 97, 98, 99 - Tol-oc, 58, 59, 99, 100 - X-Katum, 100 - Yula, 101 - - Whipping-post, 16, 17 - - Wooden objects recovered from Sacred Well, 141, 142, 143, 144 - - - Xtavantum, an intoxicating Maya beverage, 201 - - -+----------------------------------------------------------------------+ -| FOOTNOTES: | -| | -| [1] The suffix “el” added to any Maya word denotes action. In the | -| glyph sign this often was indicated by adding the wing of a bird to | -| the main hieroglyph; therefore “Mayanel” was an active woman, hence | -| very clever.—_Author._ | -| | -| [2] In an article written for “Harper’s Magazine,” by Mr. Edward | -| Huntington, reference is made to the Jewish cast of features of | -| the modern Mayas, and I have often noticed the similarity. One | -| prominent writer on Yucatan considers the possibility of Jewish | -| origin for the Mayas as being the most substantial of the several | -| theories I have mentioned.—_Author._ | -| | -| [3] Peten: “Something surrounding an island.” | -| | -| [4] “The Four Winds” is a Maya expression. | -| | -| [5] The Spanish Conquerors, as will be seen from this description, | -| were not previously familiar with rubber. | -| | -| [6] A _katun_ is a little less than twenty years. | -| | -| [7] The protecting serpent does not necessarily indicate that the | -| invaders were Mayas or believers in the cult of Kukul Can; it | -| merely points out the “big man” or leader. | -| | -| [8] By “archers” Landa doubtless meant fighting-men armed with the | -| _hul-che_. | -| | -| [9] Several sacrificial knives were found in the Sacred Well. | -| | -| [10] Shown on page 39. | -| | -+----------------------------------------------------------------------+ - - -Transcriber’s Notes: - - - Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). - - Blank pages have been removed. - - Advertisements have been moved to the back. - - Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. - - Some spelling and hyphenation variations have been made consistent. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The City of the Sacred Well, by -Theodore Arthur Willard - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CITY OF THE SACRED WELL *** - -***** This file should be named 62702-0.txt or 62702-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/2/7/0/62702/ - -Tim Lindell, Robert Tonsing, 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.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, -set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to -copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to -protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project -Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you -charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you -do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the -rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose -such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and -research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do -practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is -subject to the trademark license, especially commercial -redistribution. - - - -*** START: FULL LICENSE *** - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project -Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at -http://gutenberg.org/license). - - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy -all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. -If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the -terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or -entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement -and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" -or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the -collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an -individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are -located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from -copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative -works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg -are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project -Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by -freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of -this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with -the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by -keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project -Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in -a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check -the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement -before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or -creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project -Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning -the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United -States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate -access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently -whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, -copied or distributed: - -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/license - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived -from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is -posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied -and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees -or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work -with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the -work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 -through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the -Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or -1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional -terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked -to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the -permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any -word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or -distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than -"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version -posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), -you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a -copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon -request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other -form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided -that - -- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is - owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he - has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the - Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments - must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you - prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax - returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and - sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the - address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to - the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." - -- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or - destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium - and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of - Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any - money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days - of receipt of the work. - -- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set -forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from -both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael -Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the -Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm -collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain -"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or -corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual -property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a -computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by -your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with -your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with -the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a -refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity -providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to -receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy -is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further -opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER -WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO -WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. -If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the -law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be -interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by -the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any -provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance -with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, -promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, -harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, -that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do -or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm -work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any -Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. - - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers -including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists -because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from -people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. -To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation -and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 -and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. - - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive -Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at -http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent -permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. -Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered -throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at -809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email -business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact -information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official -page at http://pglaf.org - -For additional contact information: - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To -SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any -particular state visit http://pglaf.org - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. -To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate - - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm -concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared -with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project -Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. - - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. -unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily -keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. - - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: - - http://www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/old/62702-0.zip b/old/62702-0.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 6f00528..0000000 --- a/old/62702-0.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62702-h.zip b/old/62702-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index c81db59..0000000 --- a/old/62702-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62702-h/62702-h.htm b/old/62702-h/62702-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index ff6820d..0000000 --- a/old/62702-h/62702-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9647 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> - -<head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - the City of the Sacred Well, by Theodore Arthur Willard—A Project Gutenberg eBook - </title> - <style type="text/css"> - body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; - } - - h1, h2, h3 { - text-align: center; - clear: both; - } - - h1 { - margin-top: 10%; - margin-bottom: 5%; - font-size: 300%; - } - - h2 { - margin-top: 5%; - margin-bottom: 2%; - font-size: x-large; - font-weight: normal; - page-break-before: avoid; - } - - h3 { - margin-top: 3%; - margin-bottom: 1%; - font-weight: normal; - } - - blockquote { font-size: 0.9em; } - - .nopage { page-break-before: avoid; } - - /* === h2 Subheading === */ - p { - margin-top: .5em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .5em; - text-indent: 1em; - } - - /* === Continuation after illo or poetry === */ - p.noindent { - text-indent: 0; - margin-left: 0%; - } - - p.hang { - text-align: justify; - text-indent: -1em; - padding-left: 1em; - } - - p.inset { - margin-left: 1em; - } - - /* === look like h2 === */ - .ph2 { - margin-top: 20%; - font-size: x-large; - font-weight: normal; - font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0; - line-height: 1.5em; - } - - div.titlepage { - text-align: center; - page-break-before: always; - page-break-after: always; - } - - div.titlepage p { - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0em; - font-weight: bold; - line-height: 1.5; - margin-top: 3em; - } - - /* === Required for epub breaks === */ - div.chapter { - clear: both; - margin-top: 10%; - page-break-before: always; - } - - hr { width: 35%; margin: 1% 32.5%; clear: both; } - hr.tb { width: 45%; margin: 3% 27.5%; } - hr.page { width: 65%; margin: 5% 17.5%; } - - /* === Fonts === */ - .xsmall {font-size: x-small;} - .small {font-size: small;} - .large {font-size: large;} - .xlarge {font-size: x-large;} - .xxlarge {font-size: xx-large;} - .smcap { font-variant: small-caps; } - - /* === Alignment === */ - .mt2 { margin-top: 2%; } - .mt10 { margin-top: 10%; } - .mb2 { margin-bottom: 2%; } - .mb10 { margin-bottom: 10%; } - .mb20 { margin-bottom: 20%; } - .center { text-align: center; } - .right { text-align: right; margin-right: 2%; } - - /* === Page #s === */ - .pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ - /* visibility: hidden; */ - right: 1%; - font-size: x-small; - background-color: inherit; - color: silver; - text-indent: 0; - text-align: right; - position: absolute; - border: thin solid silver; - padding: .1em .2em; - font-style: normal; - font-variant: normal; - font-weight: normal; - text-decoration: none; - } - - /* === Lists === */ - ul { - list-style-type: none; - text-align: left; - display:inline-block; - } - - ul.index { list-style-type: none; } - li.ifrst { - margin-top: 1em; - text-indent: -1.7em; - padding-left: 1.7em; - } - - li.indx { - margin-top: .25em; - text-indent: -1.7em; - padding-left: 1.7em; - } - - li.isub2 { - text-indent: -1em; - padding-left: 2em; - } - - ul.spaced li { padding-top: 1%; } - - /* === Tables === */ - table { - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; - min-width: 75%; - } - - .tdl { - text-align: justify; - padding-left: 1.6em; - text-indent: -1.6em; - } - - .tdr { - padding-left: 1em; - vertical-align: bottom; - } - - .tdr div { text-align: right; } - .chapnum div { text-align: right; } - - .chapnum { - padding-right: 2%; - vertical-align: top; - } - - /* === Footnotes === */ - .footheader { - font-size: 150%; - text-align: center; - text-decoration: underline; - } - .footnotes { border: dashed 1px; } - .footnote { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; - font-size: 0.9em; - } - - .footnote .label { - position: absolute; - right: 84%; - text-align: right; - } - - .fnanchor { - vertical-align: super; - font-size: .8em; - text-decoration: none; - } - - /* === Images === */ - .figcenter { - margin: 3% auto 2% auto; - text-align: center; - page-break-inside: avoid; - } - - .caption { - margin-top: 1%; - font-size: small; - font-weight: bold; - } - - img { - max-width: 100%; - height: auto; - } - - /* === Transcriber's notes === */ - .transnote { - background-color: #E6E6FA; - color: black; - font-size: smaller; - padding: 0.5em; - margin-bottom: 5em; - font-family: sans-serif, serif; - } - - /* === Display format overrides === */ - @media screen, print - { - p.drop-cap { text-indent: 0; } - .drop-cap:first-letter { - float: left; - margin-right: 0.05em; - font-size: 270%; - line-height: 0.85em; - } - } - - @media handheld - { - body { margin: 0; } - - p.drop-cap { text-indent: 0; } - .drop-cap:first-letter { - float: left; - margin: -0.3em 0 0 0; - font-size: 270%; - } - - /* Hide chapter dividers */ - hr.page { - display: none; - page-break-before: always; - } - } - - </style> -</head> - -<body> - - -<pre> - -Project Gutenberg's The City of the Sacred Well, by Theodore Arthur Willard - -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/license - - -Title: The City of the Sacred Well - -Author: Theodore Arthur Willard - -Release Date: July 19, 2020 [EBook #62702] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CITY OF THE SACRED WELL *** - - - - -Tim Lindell, Robert Tonsing, 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.) - - - - - - -</pre> - - - <div class="figcenter"> - <img id="coverpage" src="images/cover.jpg" alt="" width="668" height="1000" /> - </div> - - <hr class="page" /> - <div class="ph2 mb20">THE CITY OF THE<br />SACRED WELL</div> - - <hr class="page" /> - <div class="figcenter" id="i_frontis"> - <img src="images/i_frontispiece.jpg" width="487" height="700" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">“A last forward swing and the bride of Yum Chac hurtles - far out over the well.”</div> - </div> - - <hr class="page" /> - <div class="titlepage"> - <h1>THE CITY OF THE<br /> - SACRED WELL</h1> - - <div> - BEING A NARRATIVE OF THE DISCOVERIES<br /> - AND EXCAVATIONS OF EDWARD HERBERT<br /> - THOMPSON IN THE ANCIENT CITY<br /> - OF CHI-CHEN ITZA WITH SOME<br /> - DISCOURSE ON THE CULTURE<br /> - AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE<br /> - MAYAN CIVILIZATION AS<br /> - REVEALED BY THEIR<br /> - ART AND ARCHITECTURE,<br /> - HERE SET DOWN AND<br /> - ILLUSTRATED FROM<br /> - PHOTOGRAPHS</div> - - <div class="mt2 mb10">BY<br /> - <span class="xlarge">T. A. WILLARD</span></div> - - <div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/i_title.jpg" width="150" height="155" alt="" /> - </div> - - <div class="mt10"><span class="xlarge">THE CENTURY CO.</span><br /> - <span class="large">NEW YORK & LONDON</span></div> - </div> - - <hr class="page" /> - <div class="titlepage"> - <div class="mt10">Copyright, 1926, by<br /> - <span class="smcap">The Century Co.</span><br /> - 360</div> - - <div class="mt10">Printed in U. S. A.</div> - </div> - - <hr class="page" /> - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_v">v</span></p> - <h3>PREFACE</h3> - - <p>This book is primarily an attempt to recount the many thrilling - experiences of Edward Herbert Thompson in his lifelong quest for - archæological treasures in the ancient and abandoned city of Chi-chen - Itza, for centuries buried beneath the jungle of Yucatan.</p> - - <p>As a boy Mr. Thompson—or Don Eduardo, as he is affectionately known - to the natives about the Sacred City—sat in his snug New England home - and read of the adventures of Stephens in Yucatan, descriptions of the - old Maya civilization, and the legends concerning the Sacred Well at - Chi-chen Itza. Then and there he determined that his life-work should - be the uncovering of the age-old secrets of the ancient city.</p> - - <p>When still a mere youth he was appointed by the President of the United - States as the first American Consul to Yucatan, the appointment having - been urged by the American Antiquarian Society and the Peabody Museum - of Harvard University, both of which were anxious to have a trained - investigator on the peninsula.</p> - - <p>Enthusiastically Mr. Thompson undertook his double mission. For over - twenty-five years he remained at his post as consul. During this long - period, sometimes at the head of regularly organized expeditions under - the auspices of American archæological institutions, at other times - with only his faithful native followers, he discovered ruined cities - until then unknown to the world and carried on exhaustive researches - among those already discovered.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_vi"></a>vi</span></p> - - <p>At last Mr. Thompson resigned the consular office, in order to carry - on the various scientific undertakings that required all his time and - energy. Chief among these was the search for relics that for hundreds - of years had lain buried in the mud at the bottom of the Sacred Well.</p> - - <p>Many and many a night, under the gorgeous moonlight of Yucatan or - by some cozy fireside in the States, I have listened entranced, as - the hours glided by, to the true tales Don Eduardo tells of his - experiences or of the customs and the folk-lore of the country. I know - intimately this lovable, modest, blue-eyed six-footer, this dreamer - and adventurer, gray-haired now but still with the heart of a boy. I - know him better, perhaps, than does any other man, and if I do not - write down the things he has told me they will never be written, for - Don Eduardo will not do it. Therefore I have asked and received his - permission to write, from memory and from his notes and my own, this - book, which he has read and corrected.</p> - - <p>It is a faithful account of the many valuable archæological finds he - has made, but, though written as if Don Eduardo himself were speaking, - it inevitably lacks the color and fire of his word-of-mouth narrative. - It contains, further, such description of the Maya culture and history - as may help the reader to understand this ancient civilization. The - writer hopes that it may be acceptable to the avid reader of travel - and adventure, and there is also the timid hope that it may be of some - little educational value to the serious-minded reader, to the end that - he may feel that he has not wasted time on a mere “yarn.”</p> - - <div class="large right">T. A. WILLARD.</div> - - <hr class="page" /> - <p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_vii"></a>vii]</span></p> - <h3>ACKNOWLEDGMENT</h3> - - <p>The author is indebted, for information and assistance, to many good - friends in Yucatan, but chiefly to Señor Juan Martinez H., to the late - Teoberto Maler, and to Mr. and Mrs. William James for their timely - hospitality.</p> - - <p>The books and writings of the old priests, as well as current books on - the Maya era, also have been of much aid.</p> - - <div class="large right">T. A. W.</div> - - <hr class="page" /> - <div class="chapter" id="CONTENTS"> - <h2>CONTENTS</h2> - </div> - - <table summary="Contents"> - <tbody> - <tr> - <td class="chapnum xsmall"><div>CHAPTER</div></td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr xsmall"><div>PAGE</div></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapnum"><div>I</div></td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_I" title="Go to chapter 1">Yucatan, the Land of the Mayas</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><div>3</div></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapnum"><div>II</div></td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_II" title="Go to chapter 2">The Church of San Isidro and Its Fragrant Legend</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><div>24</div></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapnum"><div>III</div></td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_III" title="Go to chapter 3">The First Americans</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><div>32</div></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapnum"><div>IV</div></td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV" title="Go to chapter 4">Don Eduardo’s First View of the City of the Sacred Well</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><div>49</div></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapnum"><div>V</div></td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_V" title="Go to chapter 5">The Ancient City</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><div>58</div></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapnum"><div>VI</div></td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI" title="Go to chapter 6">An Idle Day in the Jungle</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><div>88</div></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapnum"><div>VII</div></td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII" title="Go to chapter 7">The Sacred Well</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><div>97</div></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapnum"><div>VIII</div></td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII" title="Go to chapter 8">Sixty Feet Under Water</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><div>118</div></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapnum"><div>IX</div></td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX" title="Go to chapter 9">Two Legends</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><div>150</div></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapnum"><div>X</div></td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_X" title="Go to chapter 10">The Conquest</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><div>166</div></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapnum"><div>XI</div></td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI" title="Go to chapter 11">The Finding of the Date-Stone</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><div>179</div></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapnum"><div>XII</div></td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII" title="Go to chapter 12">The Construction of Maya Buildings</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><div>198</div></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapnum"><div>XIII</div></td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII" title="Go to chapter 13">Story-Tellers of Yucatan</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><div>198</div></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapnum"><div>XIV</div></td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV" title="Go to chapter 14">Forgotten Michael Angelos</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><div>211</div></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapnum"><div>XV</div></td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV" title="Go to chapter 15">The Tomb of the High Priest</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><div>236</div></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapnum"><div>XVI</div></td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI" title="Go to chapter 16">The Legend of the Sacrificial Pilgrimage</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><div>261</div></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapnum"><div>XVII</div></td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII" title="Go to chapter 17">Thirty Years of Digging</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><div>278</div></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapnum"><div> </div></td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#APPENDIX" title="Go to Appendix">Appendix</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><div>285</div></td> - </tr> - </tbody> - </table> - - <hr class="page" /> - <div class="chapter" id="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS"> - <h2>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> - </div> - - <table summary="List of Illustrations"> - <tbody> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#i_frontis">A last forward swing and the bride of Yum Chac hurtles - far out over the well</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><div><i>Frontispiece</i></div></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <th class="tdl"> </th> - <th class="tdr"><div class="tdr xsmall">FACING PAGE</div></th> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#i_064">The Nunnery, the only three-storied structure in the Sacred City</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><div>64</div></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#i_065a">The second story of the Nunnery</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><div>65</div></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#i_065b">All that remains of the third story of the Nunnery. Several - inscribed stones built hit or miss into the wall were - doubtless taken from the older city</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><div>65</div></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#i_112">El Castillo, the Temple of Kukul Can, on its great pyramid, - is the center of the Sacred City and the largest edifice</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><div>112</div></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#i_113">Looking down into the Sacred Well. Because of the size of - the well and the fringe of trees about it, the whole scene - cannot be photographed</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><div>113</div></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#i_240">A sculpture in bas-relief showing a warrior-priest in ceremonial - attire, representing the Maya hero-god Kukul Can, the plumed serpent</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><div>240</div></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#i_241">A religious ceremony depicted in the Temple of Bas-Reliefs. - This is but a small section from the interior walls, which contain more than eighty figures</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><div>241</div></td> - </tr> - </tbody> - </table> - - <hr class="page" /> - <div class="chapter" id="CHAPTER_I"> - <div class="xxlarge center"><b>THE CITY OF THE<br />SACRED WELL</b></div> - <span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_3"></a>3</span> - <h2 class="nopage">CHAPTER I<br /> - <span class="small">YUCATAN, THE LAND OF THE MAYAS</span></h2> - </div> - - <p class="drop-cap">IMAGINE yourself the sole owner of a plantation within which lies a - city more than twelve square miles in area; a city of palaces and - temples and mausoleums; a city of untold treasures, rich in sculptures - and paintings. Would you not feel shamefully wealthy? And does it not - seem strange that Don Eduardo, the master of such a plantation, takes - the fact of his ownership with apparent calmness?</p> - - <p>But, before your fancy carries you too far, let me tell you a little - more about this remarkable city, which may dampen your ardor for - ownership, but which only increases its value in Don Eduardo’s eyes. - It is a dead city. Its thousands of inhabitants perished or abandoned - it nobody knows how long ago—probably before Columbus first saw the - shores of America. And it is in the heart of Yucatan, where Mexico, - ending like the upflung tail of a huge fish, juts into the gulf, while - Cuba serves as a sentinel a hundred and fifty miles to the eastward.</p> - - <p>The Treasure City, the City of the Sacred Well, with the queer-sounding - name of the Chi-chen Itza (pronounce it Chee´chen Eet-za´), is for the - most part overgrown<span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">4</span> with tropical jungle. Its treasures are valuable - only to the antiquarian.</p> - - <p>Early in our conversations about the City of the Sacred Well, Don - Eduardo told me that because at the time of his purchase the plantation - was well within the territory dominated by the dreaded Sublevados, - the rebellious Maya Indians, no planter dared live in or even visit - the region for long, and so he was able to secure the land from its - absentee owners cheap, as plantation prices run in Yucatan.</p> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i_004"> - <img src="images/i_004.jpg" width="600" height="400" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">THE ANCIENT CITY OF CHI-CHEN ITZA IS AT NO GREAT - DISTANCE FROM THE UNITED STATES.</div> - </div> - - <p>“My life-interest has been American archæology,” he said, “and I came - first to Yucatan, thirty years ago, to explore its ruins and relics of - an ancient civilization. Even before that I had read of the immense - Sacred Well<span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">5</span> at Chi-chen Itza—a well as wide as a small lake and deep - enough to hold a fifteen-story building—and had made up my mind that - I would be the man who some day made it yield up its secrets. For a - long time I tried to persuade various wealthy Americans to finance the - undertaking, but organizing a stock company to raise sunken galleons - along the Spanish Main would be a simple task as compared with my - difficulties in promoting what seemed a will-o’-the-wisp project. At - last, however, I did succeed.”</p> - - <p>But I am ahead of my story.</p> - - <p>The trip from New York to the City of the Sacred Well requires but - a week and may now be accomplished luxuriously, whereas my earlier - journeys over the same route were anything but comfortable. Mr. John - L. Stephens, who was sent to Yucatan by the United States Government - in 1841, describes, in his interesting book “Incidents of Travel in - Yucatan,” the difficulties of travel which he met. They might have - daunted any spirit less courageous than his. His four volumes, although - written nearly eighty years ago, retain their pristine freshness and - are still authoritative. I recommend them heartily to the reader.</p> - - <p>On any Thursday the traveler destined for the City of the Sacred Well - may board at New York a Ward Line steamer bound for Progreso, the only - port of Yucatan. The liner stops over at Havana, and a day and a night - after leaving that hectic city one awakes in the early dawn to the - deep-chanted tones of a sailor who is casting the lead. “Four fathoms,” - he cries; then, “Three fathoms,” and finally the engines are hushed and - out goes the anchor. Through the port-hole is seen a lighthouse<span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">6</span> and - behind it a faint, foggy vista of low-lying sandy shore.</p> - - <p>By the time the unhurried ritual of arising has been performed and one - appears on deck all is flooded with brilliant sunshine. The sky above - is a cloudless cobalt blue. The day is hot, but the sea-breeze keeps it - from being uncomfortably so. One senses, nevertheless, in some subtle - way, that he is actually in the tropics. So shallow is the water that - ocean-going vessels may not safely approach to within less than five - miles of the rather uninspiring port of Progreso, marked by several - long piers jutting into the sea and the aforementioned lighthouse. - Passengers and goods must be taken off in lighters or in small boats. - On approaching the shore one sees rows of pelicans sitting alongside - the wharves—the most serious and sad-looking birds imaginable. They - remind one of the rows of Glooms frequently portrayed by one of our - cartoonists in the daily newspaper comic strip.</p> - - <p>There is little reason for tarrying in Progreso, even though it is - the third most important seaport in Mexico. It is from here that the - henequen of Yucatan is shipped, and the cultivation of this cactus-like - plant, from whose fiber rope and twine are made, constitutes the chief - enterprise of the province. Two railroads, one narrow-gauge, the other - standard, cover the twenty-four miles between Progreso and the lovely - city of Mérida, capital of Yucatan. Oddly enough, the fare is higher - on the narrower, longer, and poorer road than on the road of standard - gauge. The latter is modern in every respect and provided with coaches - and locomotives imported from the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">7</span> United States. The daily Peniche - Express starts on time and arrives in the same fashion.</p> - - <p>The Grand Hotel at Mérida is the customary stopping-place for all - foreigners and is a very good and well-operated institution. It faces - the beautiful tree-lined Plaza Hidalgo, but is, unfortunately, located - close to a number of churches and a cathedral whose cracked bells - are rung mightily at various hours and particularly when one wishes - to sleep. As a result, persons not yet hardened to this venerable - Spanish-American custom are likely to have a broken night’s slumber.</p> - - <p>Mérida is a city of 63,000 people and is modern in many respects. It - is hot there in the sun but cool in the shade, for there is always a - breeze from the perpetually blowing trade-wind. The city is healthful, - well paved, electrically lighted, and excellently served with street - cars, and it has many handsome buildings and residences. Its population - varies all the way from the pure Castilian, through the Mestizos, to - the Mayas or full-blooded Indians. Almost every night a band plays in - one of the several plazas or parks. North-American airs are favored - and I have heard them much more badly played by musicians in our own - land than here under the tropical moonlight, in a setting of rarely - beautiful and fragrant flowers. During the band concert daintily clean - Indian girls, in their voluminous embroidered dresses or <i>huipiles</i> - and embroidered sandals, circle about. In another circle stroll their - Indian beaux in high-heeled sandals and starched white cotton suits. - The ladies of the upper class, dressed in the Spanish or European - manner, are driven slowly about the plaza in their automobiles.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">8</span> - Formerly carriages—the sort we call, or did call, landaus—were used, - but the automobile has displaced these and in so doing has destroyed - half the charm of the scene. Nevertheless it is still charming. The - romance of it may be guaranteed to put a thrill into the cold heart of - the loan shark from Chicago. It alone is worth the trip to Yucatan and - it cannot be described; it has to be experienced at first hand.</p> - - <p>During the month of February there is a carnival in Mérida, ending with - a fancy-dress ball for the four hundred socially elect. The carnival - rivals the Mardi Gras of New Orleans and is enthusiastically celebrated - by the whole populace. The floats and decorations are quite as costly - and tasteful as any seen in the New Orleans celebration. One year I - happened to be in Mérida at the time of the carnival and through the - kindly assistance of my good friends Mr. and Mrs. James I received - an invitation to the ball. This gorgeous affair would have compared - creditably to any similar festivity in New York.</p> - - <p>The ball took place at the palatial home of a wealthy Yucateco. This - house is built in the usual Yucatan fashion. In front is a large - doorway guarded by a heavy wrought-iron grill or gate. On each side - of the doorway are the living-quarters, consisting of a dining-room - and what we should call a living-room. These rooms form the front of a - quadrangular structure surrounding a patio in which are flower beds, - fountains, and tiled walks. Around the inner wall of the quadrangle is - a promenade wide enough for several people to walk abreast and this - is roofed over, the tile roof being supported by pillars and arches - of Moorish type. The wings and rear section of the house contain the - chambers for the family and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">9</span> guests, the kitchen, and the servants’ - quarters. I imagine that this particular residence had cost not much - less than a million dollars. The interior is finished in Italian marble - and luxuriously furnished in the Parisian manner.</p> - - <p>And this is by no means the most palatial residence in the capital. - The wealthy people of Yucatan spend much of their time in Europe and - their homes show the effect. The houses have beautiful tiled floors and - the walls are frequently frescoed or covered with excellent paintings; - yet as a rule the rooms are somewhat bare of furniture. One building - particularly worthy of mention is the most ancient in Mérida, erected - in 1549 by Don Francisco Montejo, the Spanish conqueror of Yucatan. On - its façade is a grotesque Indian-Moorish representation of two armored - knights trampling on prostrate Indians, while below is a stone tablet - bearing the name of Montejo and the date of building.</p> - - <p>Recently an American club was started in the city, with a membership - of several Americans, three or four Britons, and the remainder - Yucatecos who speak English; and some do speak it fluently. The club - is predominantly masculine, as the only ladies who attend are those - who have lived at some time or other in the States and have acquired - our customs. As a rule the women of Yucatan observe the old Spanish - custom of seclusion. Girls are not permitted to go out with young men. - A girl’s lover may spend the evening standing before the barred window - of his inamorata’s home, conversing with her and strumming upon his - mandolin or guitar for her edification. If he is finally accredited as - a suitor, he is permitted to enter the house and sit in a stiff-backed - chair across the room from his sweetheart, but Mamma and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">10</span> Auntie and - all the other ladies of the family are there, too, to insure decorous - behavior.</p> - - <p>The population of Yucatan is chiefly composed of the native Indians or - Mayas. They are simple, kindly people and capable of development, for - they are highly intelligent. To the best of our knowledge they are the - direct descendants of the early Mayas, who in culture and achievements - compare favorably to the people of ancient Egypt. Some of the wealthy - Yucatecos are descendants of the old Maya nobility and still retain the - original names denoting noble birth. But many descendants of Maya kings - of old are now sunk in poverty.</p> - - <p>Most of the present-day Mayas speak a language which has developed - little from its primitive syllabic form. The Japanese, many of whom - are found in Yucatan nowadays, learn the Maya tongue easily. In fact, - many Japanese and Maya words are identical in sound, but as far as I - know they have absolutely no kindred meaning. Some theorists have even - advanced the idea that the similarity in form and construction of the - Japanese and Maya languages indicates a common prehistoric origin. But - there is scant proof of this, inasmuch as all primitive languages are - syllabic in form.</p> - - <p>The Maya is short in stature but surprisingly sturdy. A native will - carry a load of a hundred pounds for fifteen miles without showing - signs of undue fatigue. The carrier supports the load on his back and - it is held in place with a band or strap passed around the forehead. - Occasionally the carriers stop and let down the loads, but never for - more than a few moments. An Indian porter will trot upstairs with a - trunk which an ordinary mortal could hardly budge and which, alone, he - contrives somehow <span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">11</span>to lift upon his back. I remember seeing two Indians - carry a piano, supported on poles, for a distance of two blocks, with - their customary gliding shuffle when carrying a burden. Had they at any - time fallen out of step the piano must surely have been wrecked. This - shuffle or trot is half-way between a walk and a run and it eats up - distance.</p> - - <p>Not uncommonly the Mayas are handsome, with regular, delicate - features. Some of the young women are very beautiful, even judged by - North-American standards. They are mature at twelve years of age and, - like the women of so many races of the tropics, they wither or grow - fat at a comparatively early age. The color of the skin is about that - of a good summer coat of tan, though possibly a bit more reddish in - hue. Dress the average Maya in our mode and put him on any street in - our country and he would pass without comment. On closer inspection he - might be said to be of foreign ancestry, but certainly he would not be - mistaken for a negro.</p> - - <p>These people, descendants of a truly great race, are decidedly superior - to all other native American peoples. Their mentality is of a fairly - high order. At first, in my visits to Yucatan, I had no knowledge of - either the Spanish or the Maya tongue and when I had only natives for - companions I was compelled to communicate with them by sign language - made up on the spur of the moment. Even in the jungle my companions - always understood my directions easily and carried them out correctly.</p> - - <p>The ordinary, every-day dress of the native men is a pair of - white-cotton trousers ending half-way between knee and ankle. We should - have difficulty in defining<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">12</span> them either as long or as short. The upper - garment is a short-sleeved undershirt, and the ensemble is topped off - with almost any kind of straw hat. Usually they also wear a short - blue-and-white-striped apron fastened about the waist. Wide belts are - popular—the wider the better. Frequently the men go barefoot, but - more often wear sandals, fastened with twine about the ankle, a string - passing from the front of the sole and between the first and second - toes. When working in the fields the men sometimes discard apron and - trousers, wearing only a breech-clout and hat. Sometimes they let their - hair grow long so that it falls over their faces and then even the hat - is discarded. On Sundays and feast-days the more affluent, at least, - blossom out in starched white trousers and jacket and high-heeled - wooden sandals.</p> - - <p>The women customarily wear a <i>huipile</i>, which garment is neither a - Mother-Hubbard nor a nightgown, but belongs, evidently, to the same - genus or species. At any rate, it is sufficiently modest. It has a - slightly low neck and short sleeves and reaches half-way from the knee - to the ground. Beneath this is the <i>pic</i>, a white underskirt tied - about the waist with a draw-string. Over all is worn the rebozo, a - kind of shawl, and the native woman feels much ashamed if seen without - this useless garment. Sandals may or may not be worn. The costume is - always essentially the same. Sometimes the <i>huipile</i> is ornately and - beautifully embroidered at the neck and on the sleeves. I am told that - a girl will spend a year in embroidering a single <i>huipile</i> for her - hope-chest. The garment is of ancient origin and I have seen murals in - the ruined temples, painted centuries ago, which show women in just - such embroidered garments, and at work making<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">13</span> tortillas, which are - still the main article of food in this land.</p> - - <p>Many of the Maya women wear gorgeously embroidered sandals or slippers. - The hair is done up in a knot at the nape of the neck and tastefully - fastened with a ribbon. Gold chains with various sorts of pendants, - such as medallions of the Virgin Mary or crosses, are very popular. - Frequently the Maya belle wears several of these chains. And they - <em>must</em> be solid gold; plated stuff or alloy may not be worn. It simply - isn’t done. In her native costume the Maya girl is very pretty and - picturesque, but in European dress she resembles only a shapeless - bundle tied in the middle.</p> - - <p>The Mayas are all very clean; the daily bath for men, women, and - children is universal. A sort of wooden trough serves as a bath-tub as - well as the family wash-tub. The bather pours the water over his body - and makes a little water go a long way, because water must be carried - by hand, usually from a distant well. For a man, even the humblest, to - come home at the end of the day and find his bath unprepared is just - cause for a rumpus with his wife. Clean bodies and clean clothes are - characteristic of the Maya and much of the generally considered more - civilized world might well take a lesson from him in this respect.</p> - - <p>The women stay at home and attend to their household tasks and take - care of their numerous children while the men work in the fields. - This custom is universal even among the laboring people, and it is - noteworthy because nearly everywhere else in the world both women and - men work in the fields. In fact, in many countries the man does the - most resting.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">14</span></p> - - <p>The Maya men are exceptionally fond of children and a widow with - children stands an excellent chance of finding a stepfather for her - brood. It is not uncommon for a man of twenty to marry a widow twice - his age, chiefly for the sake of a ready-made family. Incidentally, the - unmarried Maya maiden with a child or two, especially if the children - are boys, is somewhat more likely to find a husband than her virgin - sister. The fact that there may be some question as to the paternity of - her offspring is of small consequence in the eyes of her prospective - husband. But once married, she may accept no attentions from men other - than her spouse. The husband may and does shoot on sight any cavalier - found hanging around her. It used to be the custom to suspend a string - of shells near the door, and one did not enter a house without giving - due warning by shaking the string. A man did not enter at all unless - the men of the family were present.</p> - - <p>Maya nature is that same human nature found the world over. If abused, - these people can be ugly and vengeful. Treated in a reasonably decent - manner, they are kindly, generous, hospitable, and scrupulously honest. - Personally, I have never been cheated nor overcharged by a native. I - suppose that as more and more tourists come to Yucatan the invidious - custom of fleecing the traveler will be established here as it has been - everywhere else.</p> - - <p>As has been said, water is scarce in this land, and frequently the - women have to go long distances for even a jugful; yet they are always - willing to share their supply with any one. The wayfarer is never - turned away from their doors thirsty or hungry, even though he consume - the last drop of water or bit of food in the house.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">15</span></p> - - <p>The Indian met anywhere, in the woods or on the trail, invariably - removes his hat and voices a polite greeting. There were employed at - Chi-chen Itza, during much of Don Eduardo’s work, about one hundred - Indians. It was their pleasant habit each evening about sunset to pass - in line before the hacienda and bid us good night. The ceremony took - place as they were returning from the little near-by church,—for all - the natives at that time were good Catholics,—and we saw no more of - them until dawn, which was our hour for beginning work.</p> - - <p>The modern Maya is devout, but he takes his religion placidly, leaving - it to his spiritual adviser to tell him what to do or believe. In - nearly every native hut is a shrine before which are dutifully observed - the articles of faith—the faith of his conquerors who took away his - galaxy of gods and substituted Catholicism.</p> - - <p>The Maya home is built much as it was in ancient times. It usually - consists of but one large rectangular room. The foundation is of - stone held together with plaster called <i lang="myn">zac-cab</i>, which means “white - earth.” The walls are of poles or of stone plastered with <i lang="myn">zac-cab</i>. - The roof is peaked and thatched with straw or with stiff palm-like - leaves. The door is of wood and there is sometimes a window, barred - but without glass. A wooden cover may be inserted from within to close - this opening when desired. No matter how poor the Maya family, there is - always a flower garden in the rear of the house. If his domain is very - limited, the garden of the Maya may be reduced to what may be grown in - a large-sized Standard-Oil can.</p> - - <p>Within, the Maya home is very simple. There are no beds as in ancient - times; the native has adopted a Spanish<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">16</span> innovation, seeking his rest - in a hammock suspended from wooden pegs set in the wall. The hammocks - are taken down when not in use. A simple stool or two, a bench or a - chest, possibly a table, and the ever-present shrine constitute the - furniture. Not infrequently there is an American-made sewing-machine. - The kitchen is outside, in another smaller building, and the stove - consists merely of a crude stone oven or heap of stones. The bath-room - and laundry, where there is a wooden trough to hold water, also is - outdoors. At meal-times the family sits on stools about a pot or vessel - containing the pièce de résistance, and the use of fingers is not - frowned upon.</p> - - <p>The natives not resident in the towns or cities are for the most - part employed on the haciendas, the majority of which are engaged in - the raising of henequen. A few years ago there appeared a series of - magazine articles, under some such heading as “Barbarous Mexico,” - describing in the most approved yellow-journal style the cruelty and - tyranny of the Mexican planters. I suppose there really are some - isolated cases of cruelty, but in general the treatment of native - workers by the plantation-owners leaves little to criticize. The - native is free to leave one employer to seek another. His pay is good - and he certainly is not overworked. On nearly every hacienda ample - provision is made for entertainment and the fiestas and dances so - dear to his heart. Many native families have lived and labored on - one plantation for several generations—a fair indication that they - are not ill-treated. One of the atrocities recited in the magazine - articles just mentioned was the tying of an Indian to a post, where he - was whipped severely. The whipping-post has existed, but its use was - fostered by the Indians themselves <span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">17</span>and was reserved for the habitual - drunkard or him who repeatedly abused his wife and children. Possibly a - similar course of treatment might be beneficial to some citizens of the - United States.</p> - - <p>There was one unfortunate event, however, which reflected no credit on - the natives, but for which they were far less to blame than a certain - class of whites. Not long ago the creed of bolshevism was spread among - these poor credulous people by a Rumanian fanatic, resulting in the - murder of several plantation-owners and the burning of several estates. - A few Indians at Don Eduardo’s hacienda, who had for some time failed - to pay the slight rental required of them, became unruly and the master - ordered them to pay up or leave. In reprisal they set fire to his - house, Casa Real, and all the out-buildings, destroying many priceless - antiquities intended for an American museum of archæology. The house - has been rebuilt, but the lost treasures can never be replaced. The - Indians also drove off all Don Eduardo’s stock and took everything in - the way of valuables that was portable.</p> - - <p>Don Eduardo, in relating his experiences as a plantation-owner, once - said:</p> - - <p>“A certain residue of Indians were never conquered by the Spaniards, - nor have they ever been subdued by the Mexican Government; and they pay - no taxes. They are called Sublevados and I have been warned ever since - I came to Chi-chen Itza that some day the Sublevados would go on the - war-path and wipe me and my hacienda clean off the map.</p> - - <p>“Eventually I became tired of waiting for them to visit me and enjoy - the friendly reception I had prepared for them, which included, among - other things, the fortifying<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">18</span> of the Great Pyramid. So I decided to - make a little reconnaissance. Traveling south into their own country, - I lived for some time in their villages, where they still practise the - ancient Maya rites and incantations, even though there is a slight - veneer of Catholicism among them. Since then I have traveled many times - into the Sublevado territory; in fact, have been made a chief of the - tribe by solemn bond and ritual. I have found them a peaceful, friendly - lot of ignorant Indians, unlikely to do any harm as long as they are - left to their own devices and in their present habitat.”</p> - - <p>The Maya is happy-go-lucky, improvident, and usually lazy. He dearly - loves a good time, a good story, and a good joke, especially if it is - of the practical variety in which the other fellow is the butt. He is - very fond of fiestas and dances.</p> - - <p>The native dances are quite different from ours. The men and women sit - close to the walls of the hut or inclosure, sometimes on chairs but - more often on stools. On important occasions, the music is furnished - by violins, guitars, and perhaps some wind-instruments. But always - there is one musician with a long gourd containing stones, which is - shaken in time to the music, producing a hollow <em>chuck-a-chuck</em>, - <em>chuck-a-chuck</em> sound. Sometimes the only instrument is a flageolet. - The music is always in a minor key and is without pause or period or - end. A girl—any girl—gets up and proceeds to the center of the floor, - where she shuffles about for perhaps a minute. Then from the other end - of the room some man, who may be a stranger to the girl, comes forth - and shuffles about in front of her. They do not touch each other. They - gyrate rather slowly and move in circles, always facing<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">19</span> each other. - When either becomes weary, he or she retires and another takes up the - dance. If the room is sufficiently large there may be as many as three - couples dancing continuously in this manner. The dancers do not smile - nor appear to be enjoying the occasion; yet they must derive pleasure - from it, for throughout the country dances are held frequently.</p> - - <p>Knowing the Mayas of to-day, and their customs, it is interesting - to follow their history back to the earliest times of which there - is authentic record, and from there, through legends and scraps of - knowledge, into their most ancient past. For four centuries we may - trace them backward through well-known history. For still another - century the record is fairly clear. Back of that is only legend, with - here and there some startling, incontrovertible fact to prove their - antiquity. The flickering light of our knowledge becomes dimmer and - dimmer. We know a date in their history about one hundred years before - Christ, but on what preceded that no feeblest ray falls to enlighten - our ignorance.</p> - - <p>To one man, long since departed, we owe a great debt. But for him, our - knowledge of the ancient Mayas would be almost nil, and it is only by a - lucky chance that what he wrote was not lost to us. This man, Diego de - Landa, was Bishop of Yucatan (1573-79), and he came to America on the - heels of the Spanish conquerors. His manuscript,—almost our only guide - to Maya antiquity and known as “Relacion de las Cosas de Yucatan,”—lay - hidden in Madrid for nearly three hundred years ere it was discovered - and published.</p> - - <p>To show how little the Mayas have changed in four centuries I am going - to quote from Landa, using a very<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">20</span> free translation but endeavoring - to preserve his meaning. I hope the reader will bear in mind that the - following is a description of the Mayas of the sixteenth century and is - chiefly interesting when compared with the Mayas of to-day:</p> - - <blockquote> - <p>The Indians of Yucatan are well built, tall and robust. They - are generally bow-legged, because mothers customarily carry - infants astride their hips. It is considered a mark of beauty - to be cross-eyed. The heads and foreheads are flat, having been - bound in infancy. Their ears are pierced for ear-rings and are - torn by the sacrifices. The men do not have beards and it is - said the mothers burn their boys’ faces with hot cloths so - that hair does not grow. Some do have beards, but these are - very stiff, like the bristles of a pig. The men permit the hair - of the head to grow long except on top, where they burn it off. - Thus the hair of the crown is short, but the remainder is long - and is braided and wound like a wreath around the head, leaving - a small tail in the back as tassels or tufts.</p> - - <p>Their dress is a strip of cloth about as wide as a hand and - wound several times about the waist, with one end hanging in - front and the other in the back. The women adorn these ends - curiously with feathers. They wear large square blankets, which - they fasten to their shoulders, and sandals of hemp or deerskin.</p> - - <p>They bathe a great deal and do not try to hide their nudity - from the women, except with their hands. The men use mirrors - and the women do not. The expression for cuckoldom is that the - wife has put the mirror in her husband’s hair above the occiput.</p> - - <p>Their houses are roofed with straw or palm-leaves and the roof - has a considerable slant. They put a wall lengthwise through - the middle of the house and in it some doors. In the back half - are the beds and the other section is whitewashed and is the - reception room for guests. This room is like a porch, the whole - front being open and without a door. The roof over this part of - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">21</span> - the house extends well down over the walls, to keep out sun - and rain. The common people build the houses of the chiefs and - house-breaking is considered a grave crime. Beds are made of - small rods with a mat and cotton blankets on top. In summer the - men especially sleep in the open room or porch, on mats.</p> - - <p>All the people unite in cultivating the fields of the chief - and supplying food to his household. In hunting, fishing, or - bringing salt, a share is always given to the chief. If the - chief dies he is succeeded by his eldest son, but his other - descendants are respected and helped. The subordinate chiefs - help in all things, according to their stations. The priests - live from their offices and from the offerings given to them. - The chiefs rule the town, settle disputes, and govern all - affairs. The principal chiefs travel a great deal and take much - company with them. They visit rich people, where they arrange - the affairs of the villages, transacting their principal - business at night.</p> - - <p>The Indians tattoo their bodies, believing that they become - more valiant thereby. The process is painful, as the designs - are painted on the body and then pricked in with a small - poniard. Because of the pain the tattooing is done only a - little at a time, and also because the tattooed part becomes - inflamed and matterated, causing sickness. Those who are not - tattooed are ridiculed. The natives like to be flattered and - they like to imitate the Castilian graces and customs and - to eat and drink as we do. They are fond of sweet odors and - employ bouquets of flowers and sweet-smelling herbs. They are - accustomed to paint their faces and bodies red, which does not - improve their appearance but which they consider beautifying.</p> - - <p>They are very dissolute in getting drunk, from which follow - many evils such as murder, arson, rape and incest.... They - are fond of recreation, especially of dances and of plays - containing many jokes and witticisms. They sometimes become - servants for a time in a Spanish household just to absorb - the conversation and customs and these are later artfully - represented in native plays.</p> - - <p>Their musical instruments are small kettle-drums played with - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">22</span> - the hand and another drum made of hollow wood, played with - a wooden stick containing on the end a ball made of the milk - of a certain tree [rubber]. They have long, slender trumpets - fashioned from hollow sticks with gourds fastened at one end. - Another instrument is made from a whole turtle-shell, which is - played with the palm of the hand and emits a melancholy sound. - They have whistles and flutes of reed or bones of the deer and - from large snail-shells. These instruments are played for their - war-dances. One of these dances is called <i lang="myn">co-lom-che</i>, meaning - reed. A large circle of men is formed. Two go into the center. - One has a handful of darts and while dancing in an upright - position he casts the darts with all his strength at the second - dancer, who dances in a squatting position, from which he - deftly catches each dart with a small stick. After the darts - are all thrown, these two dancers return to their original - places in the circle and two new dancers advance to the center - and repeat the dart-throwing. There is another war-dance in - which about eight hundred men take part. They carry flags and - the tempo is slow. They dance the whole day without stopping - and during the whole day not one man gets out of step. In no - case do the men dance with the women.</p> - - <p>There are many occupations but the people most incline toward - trading, taking salt, clothing, and slaves to the lands of Ulna - and Tabasco, where they exchange for cocoa and counters of - stone which are their money. With these coins they buy slaves, - or the chiefs wear them as jewels at feasts. They have other - counters and jewelry made of certain shells. These are carried - in purses made of network. In the markets are all manner of - goods. They loan money without usury and pay their debts with - good-will. Some Indians are potters and carpenters who are - well paid for the idols of wood and clay which they make. - There are surgeons—or, rather, wizards—who cure with herbs - and incantations. Above all, there are laborers and those who - plant and gather the corn and other produce which they store in - granaries to be sold in season. They have no mules or oxen.</p> - - <p>The Indians have the good custom of helping one another in - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">23</span> - all their work. In working the land they do nothing from the - middle of January to April except gather manure and burn it. - Then come the rains and they plant the fields, using a small - pointed stick to poke holes into the ground in each of which - they deposit five or six seeds which grow very rapidly in this - rainy season. They also congregate in groups of about fifty for - hunting or fishing.</p> - - <p>When going on a visit, the Indian takes a present to his host - and the host gives the guest a present of proportionate value. - They are generous and hospitable. They give food and drink to - all who come to their houses.</p> - - <p>They take much pride in their lineage, especially if they are - descendants of some ancient family of Mayapan and they boast of - the distinguished men who have been of their family. The whole - name of the father is always borne by his sons, but not by - his daughters. But the children, both sons and daughters, are - called by the compound names of father and mother, in which the - name of the father is the given name and that of the mother the - surname. Thus the son of Chel and Chan would be Na-Chan-Chel, - which means son of Chel by his wife Chan. A stranger coming to - a village, especially if he be poor, will be received in all - kindness by any family of his name. Men and women of the same - name do not marry, for this is considered very wrong.</p> - </blockquote> - - <hr class="page" /> - <div class="chapter" id="CHAPTER_II"> - <span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_24"></a>24</span> - <h2>CHAPTER II<br /> - <span class="small">THE CHURCH OF SAN ISIDRO AND ITS FRAGRANT LEGEND</span></h2> - </div> - - <p class="drop-cap">“ONE particularly lovely Sunday morning, some time after taking up - my abode at Chi-chen Itza,” says Don Eduardo, “I was awakened, as on - other occasions, by the softly melodious chiming of the bells in my - little church on the hill. As I lay in my hammock, idly listening to - the pleasant sound, I could distinguish the different tones of the - several bells and it was a pleasant thought to me to know that I had - equipped the little church with bells having a superior quality of - tone. The sound of them was indeed delightful because while church - bells in Yucatan are as plentiful as millionaires in Pittsburgh, they - are usually cracked and raucous.</p> - - <p>“It was still early when I stood before my manor and turned my gaze - eastward toward the little stone church perched cozily on a near-by - gently sloping hillside. Both my manor and the little church had for - many years been in ruins, unused. Extensive repairs had just been - completed on both, to make them habitable. Here and there one of my - Indians, or a whole family, dressed in their Sunday best, were already - churchward bound, and the chimes continued softly to remind the - laggard of his duty. The red rim of the sun was just peeping over the - horizon behind the church, while the birds in every tree and thicket - were voicing their welcome to this glorious new day. A lazy, blissful - breeze laden with the mingled scents of a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">25</span> thousand tropic blossoms - ruffled the tree-tops. Before me stretched a vista of wildly beautiful - country-side with no sign of the handiwork of man other than the little - church. No towering peaks, no gushing streams, no bottomless cañons - greeted my eye; merely a terrain that is just saved from being flat. - Yet it is all divinely lovely—a study in green and blue with here and - there a spot of flaming color. The cloudless sky was of so clear and - vivid a blue that I was tempted to stand on tiptoe and take down a - handful. Foliage of some sort covered every inch of ground and was of - every imaginable shade of green, from the shadowed purple-green where - the rising sun had not penetrated, to the pale green of some of the - tree-tops, turned golden in the first slanting rays. A gorgeous parrot - flashed from tree to tree and disappeared and by his flight brought my - eye to rest on a riot of flame-flower high up in a distant tree.</p> - - <p>“The sudden silence of the bells warned me that if I too intended to - go to church there was no time to lose. My little stone church is - not without fame, for in its then-abandoned sacristy that remarkable - traveler and historian John L. Stephens made his abode when he visited - my City of the Sacred Well. It was here that he wrote his notes on ‘The - Ruined City of Chi-chen Itza.’ Though it has been repaired, it looks - almost as he left it one cloudy Sunday morning nearly eighty years ago. - Its cut-stone walls and bell-tower are the same, but its old roof, - bowed with age, has been replaced with a fine new thatch of palm.</p> - - <p>“San Isidro is the patron saint of the plantation—for no - well-organized plantation is without its patron saint, whose image is - venerated by all the natives there employed. <span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">26</span>The image of San Isidro - in this little church on the hill at Chi-chen Itza is of unknown - antiquity and is believed to be possessed of miraculous powers which - are constantly manifested. Veneration for the image, together with - the attraction of the three-belled chimes swinging in their places - in the tiny tower, makes the little church a sacred spot not only - to the people of my hacienda but likewise to the inhabitants of the - near-by village of Pisté and the region for many miles around. Has not - the sacred image and the big stone baptismal font been used by the - archbishop himself? Was not Mat-Ek healed, who was blinded for many - months by the vapor from the <i lang="myn">ikeban</i> plant, blown into his eyes by the - wind while he was gathering his crops? Was he not given back his sight - in less than a week after he had prayed for aid and kissed the feet of - San Isidro? And did not Mat-Ek, in token of his gratitude, have made an - eye of pure silver and give it to the sainted image—an eye which now - hangs over the altar for all to see? What more can you ask?</p> - - <p>“The church was filled to overflowing in token of a great and special - day, for it is only occasionally that the regularly ordained priest - comes all the way from Valladolid, and confessions, christenings, and - marriage bans await his coming.</p> - - <p>“As the congregation slowly drifts into place, the gentle rustling - of the unstarched <i lang="myn">huipiles</i> and <i lang="myn">pics</i> of the women and the louder - rustling of the stiffly starched trousers and jackets of the men sound - remarkably like the lapping of summer wavelets upon a sandy beach. The - soft laughter of the children outside the building, mingled with the - restrained voices of admonishing Indian<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">27</span> elders, all combine to create - an atmosphere in perfect accord with the surroundings and the low-toned - service. Within the chapel many candles of wild beeswax give forth - soft lights and heavy odors which, mingling with the fragrant smoke of - incense, fall with pleasant, soporific effect upon the congregation.</p> - - <p>“The chimes ring their tuneful, familiar message—a message come down - the centuries since the Child of Bethlehem was born in a manger; a - message brought across the seas to this little stone church, by some - unknown, long-departed padre. The solemn peals roll out and up to those - gray old temples of another faith, wherein the sacred music of the - ancient Mayas, the sound of <i lang="myn">tunkul</i>, or priestly drum, and <i lang="myn">dzacatan</i>, - once beat in pulsing chorus. These sound symbols of the Sacred Cross - are wafted to the altars, still standing, of the Sacred Serpent, whose - creed once reigned supreme over this land.</p> - - <p>“The beloved priest begins the age-old intoned creed and as the - service lengthens through the chants, singing, and sermon, there - comes a penetrating, strangely sweet odor. Stronger and stronger it - grows, filling the church and floating out into the morning air. The - worshipers nod their heads. ‘The <i lang="myn">xmehen macales</i> have blossomed; - God is good to us,’ they murmur. Six graceful, big-leafed plants - like large calla-lilies had been placed upon the altar, among other - flowering plants. And as I look, the six white buds of these lilies, - each slenderly sheathed in green, open slowly to the light, revealing - blooms of creamy white. They open in unison, as if at the bidding of an - unheard voice. To me it is startling, uncanny. And here is the story - about them that met my eager questions at the close of the service:</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">28</span></p> - - <p>“Francisco Tata de las Fuentas, caballero of Castile, blue-eyed and - yellow-haired, was fair of skin as a Saxon. In his youth he was as hot - of blood and of head as a Gascon and traveled the pace with the best - and worst of Castile and all the adjoining provinces. His offerings to - Venus, to Bacchus, and to the little gods of chance were so fervid and - frequent that they soon caused his real castle in Castile to become - as those common ones of the air. And his broad lands on the banks of - the Guadiana passed to more careful guardians. When nothing remained - to him but his horse, Selim, he betook himself with Hernan Cortes to - New Spain. Here, under Cortes, he learned discretion bought by hard - experience, so that he acquired some wealth. With Francisco de Montejo, - trusted friend and lieutenant of Cortes, he came to Yucatan, received a - royal grant of land with many natives, and took to himself a wife, the - lovely and virtuous daughter of a native chief or <i lang="myn">batab</i>.</p> - - <p>“Time passed and he was gathered to his fathers, leaving an only - child, a son named for him. The second Francisco Fuentes inherited - the father’s fair skin and bold blue eyes, as well as the gorgeous - gold-and-silver trappings of the once fiery Selim, not to mention half - a dozen big plantations, houses and lands in Valladolid and Mérida, and - scores of minor holdings in several other towns and villages.</p> - - <p>“This Francisco Fuentes, or Pancho as his friends called him, had - two sons and a daughter. The sons were stalwart, upstanding fellows, - recalling in their stature and temper their Spanish ancestry, but - showing in their brown skins the admixture of native blood of mother - and grandmother.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">29</span></p> - - <p>“Maria, the one beloved daughter, had the plump figure and the sweet - temper of her mother, but her proud little head was covered with a - wealth of yellow hair and her eyes were of clearest blue, the dauntless - eyes of the first Francisco. And now Maria, the idol of her father and - worshiped by her brothers, darling of the whole village, was slowly - dying; wasting away with a strange fever that could not be abated. - By day her body was cool and her brain clear, but with the setting - sun came the fever that defied all skill of physicians and nurses. At - midnight her frail, fair form was shaken with ague and burned with a - fever almost to sear the hands of those who ministered to her as she - tossed in delirium. Wasted to a shadow, Maria seemed beckoned by the - Grim Reaper.</p> - - <p>“The sun again touched the western horizon. The sorrowing family, - father and brothers, were at her bedside. Friends and neighbors - gathered to watch over the last hours of the helpless little sufferer, - for there seemed no hope. A knock sounded at the door, hesitant, timid, - as of supplication.</p> - - <p>“‘It is but one of the beggars who constantly impose on Maria,’ said a - sharp-tongued watcher, peering through the window into the dusk.</p> - - <p>“Maria, restlessly turning in her hammock in an inner room, heard the - knocking and the words of the watcher.</p> - - <p>“‘I think,’ whispered she, ‘it is old X-Euan, come for some milk I - promised her for her orphan grandchild. Fill with milk the clean flask - which is on the shelf behind the door and give it to her.’</p> - - <p>“Old X-Euan took the flask of milk, but from her lips did not come the - whining thanks of the mendicant. Instead, from beneath the tattered - folds of her shawl, she<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">30</span> brought forth a vase of strange antique make, - in which was growing a broad-leafed plant with a single swelling bud at - its center. Handing the plant to the watcher, the old Maya woman said:</p> - - <p>“‘Take this to Maria; place it close by her with the blessing of one - to whom she has done as her kind heart, guided by God, has told her to - do.’ In her voice was a note of command which brought obedience from - those who heard. Old X-Euan departed, but some—those who were nearest - and so should have seen clearest—insisted that a faint glow like a - halo enveloped her head.</p> - - <p>“The hour of twilight had passed. The dreaded time of the quickened - pulse and panting delirium had come. Maria lay tossing in her hammock. - Close by her the virgin petals of the flower began slowly to unfold. - A fragrance, at first almost imperceptible, was wafted through the - room. As the blossom opened to full bloom and its perfume permeated the - sick-room, the restless turnings, the feverish mutterings grew less and - less and at last ceased altogether. A dewy moisture appeared on Maria’s - pallid forehead and she sank into deep, refreshing slumber.</p> - - <p>“Amid the rejoicing there was a note of awed wonder, for in the very - center of the flower the beautiful calyx seemed to have taken the fever - heat that was Maria’s, and as her fever abated the heat in the heart of - the flower increased, until at midnight it was almost incandescent.</p> - - <p>“A week passed. Each night, so the watchers told, the flower took to - itself the heat of the fever, while Maria, feverless, slept soundly. - And on the morning of the eighth day she was convalescent. But the - beautiful blossom was but a withered, brown, shapeless nothing.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">31</span></p> - - <p>“‘<i lang="fr">La flor de la calentura</i> has performed its task,’ exclaimed the - joyful natives, but Maria, lovely once more with returning strength, - said, ‘Alas! <i lang="fr">La flor de la calentura</i>, the flower that saved my life, - is dead.’</p> - - <p>“And thus it was told by Maria to her grandchildren and retold by them - to their grandchildren and is now known by every one in the region. - Surely it must be true! Why shouldn’t it be? At any rate, it is - accepted as literally by my Indians as the less pleasing story of Jonah - and the whale.”</p> - - <hr class="page" /> - <div class="chapter" id="CHAPTER_III"> - <span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_32"></a>32</span> - <h2>CHAPTER III<br /> - <span class="small">THE FIRST AMERICANS</span></h2> - </div> - - <p class="drop-cap">IT has been said that civilization is but a layer-cake of eras—a - building up of strata, with the brute state at the bottom. Layer upon - layer, each succeeding generation adds its small bit of culture or - knowledge, until a golden age is finally reached. And, sadly enough, - from that age of enlightenment, the hope of the world, there has always - been a rapid decline, until centuries later, perhaps, again begins the - tedious gradual uplift.</p> - - <p>And the story of man’s rise and fall, in the passing of the ages, - usually is buried in the earth, to be laid bare to our eyes if we have - but the patience to find and the ability to understand. Just as a good - woodsman can read from a scratch on a tree or a faint footprint on the - ground things not obvious to the untrained observer, our men of science - have developed remarkable expertness in divining the history of bygone - eras from the scanty traces that remain. From a skull, centuries buried - in a cave, they reconstruct the Neanderthal man. The fragments of an - earthen pot tell them the degree of culture and the period of him who - once supped from the vessel.</p> - - <p>Wherever there are caves there is the likelihood of uncovering vestiges - of aboriginal life, for primitive men everywhere used caverns, either - as temporary shelters or as permanent abodes. Beneath the cave floor - may be the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">33</span> evidence of many generations of men—the relics buried in - layers one upon another as the discarded and broken implements of one - generation were trampled underfoot and submerged under the charred - embers and rubbish of the succeeding one.</p> - - <p>The written record of the Mayas gives but little clue to their - origin and no indication at all of their descent from more barbarous - ancestors. Did these people, already of a high state of culture, - immigrate from some other land? If so, were they the first comers or - did they find the country even then inhabited? Or were their ancestors - natives of this region for hundreds of centuries before them?</p> - - <p>Yucatan is a land of caverns, veritably a honeycomb of caves, and - eagerly the paleontologist rolled up his sleeves, shouldered his - shovel, and set out to find the answer to these vexing questions. - The answer was found and is conclusive but disappointing. Beyond the - question of a doubt, the Mayas brought with them their culture, and - they were the first inhabitants of this country. Whence they came, or - how, or why; from what race they sprang, we know not and probably never - shall know. A few conflicting legends of their arrival as recorded in - some old Maya writings constitute the sum total of our knowledge on - this point.</p> - - <p>Many intricately derived meanings of the name <em>Maya</em> have been offered. - The most obvious, however, is the direct translation. <i lang="myn">Ma</i> means - “not” and <i lang="myn">ya</i> means “emotion,” “grief,” “tiresome,” or “difficult.” - The combination means, “not arduous,” “not severe.” We know that the - Mayas frequently alluded to their country as the Land of the Deer and - the Land of the Wild Turkey<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">34</span>— <i lang="myn">U-Lumil-Ceh</i>, <i lang="myn">U-Lumil-Cutz</i>. “Maya,” - therefore, may quite likely have been descriptive of the region as a - pleasant, comfortable place of residence. Juan Martinez, who knows the - Indian and the language, present and past, as no one else, once said to - me: “Work and grief are synonymous to the native mind. Work is grief to - the Indian; therefore a land of no grief and no sorrow may well mean - a land of no work.” However, any explanation of the derivation of so - ancient a name is little more than surmise.</p> - - <p>According to one myth, the Mayas came over the sea from the east, under - the leadership of a hero-deity, Itzamna; hence the name “Itzas” as - applied to a part, at least, of the Mayas. In the Maya books Itzamna is - represented as an old man with one tooth and a sunken jaw. His glyph or - sign is his pictured profile, together with a sign of night, the sign - of food, and two or three feathers.</p> - - <p>The more credible legend refers to an immigration from the west or - north, under a chieftain named Kukul Can. There are reasons for - believing that this legend may be founded upon fact. It is mentioned - in several of the most ancient of the surviving Maya records and in - the testimony of a number of well-versed natives at the time of the - Conquest. Farther up the coast, north of Vera Cruz, is another branch - of the Maya family called the Huastecs, while in Central America, - through Honduras, Guatemala, and even in Costa Rica, are present-day - Maya tribes and ruins of ancient Maya civilization. Also, there is a - close similarity between the Kukul Can legend and the Aztec annals, - indicating a common origin.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">35</span> Everything points to the probability of a - remote great migration of their common ancestors from the north.</p> - - <p>The Aztec tradition is particularly interesting and describes the - arrival by boat of several different tribes at the mouth of the Panuco - River, which spot the Aztecs called Panatolan, meaning “where one - arrives by sea.” The expedition was headed by the supreme leader, - Mexitl, chief of the Mexicans, with whom were other chieftains and - their followers. They traveled on down the coast as far as Guatemala, - and some turned back and settled at various places along the shore. - On this journey an intoxicating drink was originated by one Mayanel, - whose name means “clever woman.”<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> There is a possibility that “Maya” - is derived from her name. At any rate, one tribal chief, Huastecatl, - imbibed too freely and cast aside his garments while intoxicated. His - shame was so great when he realized what he had done that he gathered - his tribe, the Huastecas, and returned with them to Panatolan and - settled there.</p> - - <p>Landa says in his book that some old men of Yucatan related to him - the story, handed down for many generations, that the first settlers - had come from the east by water. These voyagers were ones “whom God - had freed, opening for them twelve roads to the sea.” If there is any - truth in this tradition, these progenitors may have been one of the - lost tribes of Israel. An interesting side light on this hypothesis - is the distinctly Semitic cast of countenance of some of the ancient - sculptures and murals <span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">36</span>found at Chi-chen Itza and in other old Maya - cities. The dignity of face and serene poise of these carved or painted - likenesses is strikingly Hebraic.<a id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p> - - <p>While we are in the field of conjecture, we may as well consider the - old Greek myth of the lost continent of Atlantis. From the geological - point of view, it is not impossible. The whole of Yucatan is low and - was once the bottom of the sea, as is indicated by its surface rock - and sand. Furthermore, the stretching out of the Antilles as though to - form a bridge with the Azores, and the shallowness of the intervening - Atlantic Ocean, lends plausibility to the idea that there may have been - a cataclysmic upheaval of the ocean-bed during some past era, and not - long ago, geologically speaking—an upheaval which created the land of - Yucatan and caused what was land to the eastward to sink beneath the - level of the Atlantic. What is more natural to suppose than that in - some prehistoric period the lost continent of Atlantis did exist and - proved an easy means of passage between Europe and America?</p> - - <p>The mist-enshrouded history of the migrations of ancient people, the - crossing and recrossing of their pilgrimages and of their blood, is a - fascinating study, but one which tells us comparatively little that may - be crystallized into fact. And so, in these various speculations as to - the origin of the Mayas, no theory contains enough weight of evidence - to warrant the assumption that it is the right one. It is, however, - pretty clearly established <span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">37</span>from the ancient Maya writings and legends - that there were two main immigrations, the greater one coming from the - west or north and the lesser one from the east.</p> - - <p>Emerging at last from the purely legendary, we reach the middle ground - where the history of the Mayas is still unrecorded but where the word - of mouth, as handed down from father to son, is more precise and - has some relation to definite dates. Then we suddenly step over the - threshold into the historical era.</p> - - <p>The first recorded date, which corresponds to 113 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>, is - on a statuette from the ancient city of Tuxtla, and there is some - doubt as to whether our reading of this date is correct. The next - inscription corresponds to 47 <span class="smcap">a.d.</span>, and here we are on sure - ground. A monument in northern Guatemala contains a date prior to - 160 <span class="smcap">a.d.</span>, at which point the ancient Maya Codices take up - the history of the race and carry it on to the time of the Conquest. - And even at this early time, the Mayas had hieroglyphic writings - and were skilled in stone-carving and the erection of massive works - of architecture. With the written Chronicles, the many hieroglyphed - stones,—“precious stones,” I like to call them,—and the history of - progress as indicated by the different periods of architecture and - sculpture, we are able to verify and correlate most of the subsequent - dates.</p> - - <p>The written Maya records, without which our task of piecing together - anything of their history would be almost impossible, are among the - most interesting and valuable remains of this bygone civilization. The - records are of two kinds. The first, the Codices, are the original - texts, written in hieroglyphics. The second, the Chilan Balam, are - written in the Maya language but<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">38</span> with Spanish characters, and are - chiefly transcripts from the more ancient records.</p> - - <p>Only three hieroglyphic Codices have survived, and they are known - respectively as the Dresden Codex, the Perez Codex, and the - Tro-Cortesianus. All are in European museums and many facsimile - reproductions have been made of them for use in other museums and - libraries. These manuscripts are painstakingly illuminated by hand, - in colors, and were done with some sort of brush, possibly of hair - or feathers. They are done on paper or, rather, a sort of cardboard - which has been given a smooth white surface through the application - of a coating of fine lime. The body of the paper is made of the fiber - of the maguey plant. The manuscript is folded like a Japanese screen - or a railway time-table. According to early accounts, some of these - records were also made on tanned or otherwise prepared deerskin and - upon bark. None of the hide or bark records has ever been found by - present-day explorations. It is known that the Mayas had many records - concerning religious history, religious rites and ceremonies, medicine, - and astronomy. The Spanish priests caused all of the Maya writings they - could find to be gathered together and burned, in the fanatical belief - that they were serving the church by so doing.</p> - - <p>If only their bigotry had vented itself in some other way, how much - these old manuscripts might have told us! Apropos of the burning of - the priceless documents Landa says, “We collected all the native books - we could find and burned them, much to the sorrow of the people, and - caused them pain.”</p> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i_039"> - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">39</span> - <img src="images/i_039.jpg" width="483" height="700" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">A PAGE FROM THE PEREZ CODEX, DESCRIBING AN ECLIPSE OF - THE SUN. THIS ANCIENT MANUSCRIPT ILLUMINATED IN COLOR IS NOW IN THE - LIBRARY OF PARIS</div> - </div> - - <p>The group of books called the Chilan Balam, which are chiefly - ideographic transcripts of the more ancient works, <span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">40</span>written in the Maya - tongue but in Spanish characters, probably were made surreptitiously - by some of the educated natives soon after the Conquest. There are - sixteen of these books still extant. The meaning of this Maya name, - <i lang="myn">Chilan Balam</i>, is interesting. <i lang="myn">Chi</i> means “mouth”; <i lang="myn">lan</i> indicates - action. Therefore <i lang="myn">Chilan</i> is “mouth action,” or “speech.” <i lang="myn">Balam</i> - is synonymous for either “tiger” or “ferocity.” But the tiger was - worshiped as a deity and the combination of the words, <i lang="myn">Chilan Balam</i>, - means “Speech of the Gods.” The Maya priests were sometimes called by - the name, indicating that they were the mouthpieces of the gods, and - doubtless these records took their name from the priestly appellation.</p> - - <p>The individual books of the Chilan Balam are known by the names of - the villages in which they were found, and in a few cases the name of - the village may have been derived from the presence of the book. The - most important of these books are Nabula, Chun-may-el (which means - “something of the first” or “original”), Kua, Man, X-kutz-cab, Ixil, - Tihosuco, and Tixcocob.</p> - - <p>Just when these books were written is not known, but there is evidence - that the book of Mani was written prior to 1595 and the book of Nabula - tells of an epidemic which occurred in 1663. While teaching the - natives to write the Maya language in Spanish characters, Bishop Landa - employed a rather original method, which is our only key to reading - these writings and which serves as our only clue to the more ancient - hieroglyphs. The ancient Maya writings were purely picture writings, - but to some extent the hieroglyphs had lost their original<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">41</span> picture - significance and had come to have a somewhat symbolic meaning.</p> - - <p>In arranging the so-called Maya alphabet (which was first used by the - priests in writing out the prayers for the Mayas), Landa employed a - very ingenious method and one that was practical at the time. He took - the Spanish alphabet and beginning with “A” he asked the educated - Indian to draw the character for him in which the sound of “A” was - predominant. Naturally, after many attempts by the Indian to furnish - such a character he finally selected the hieroglyph <i lang="myn">ac</i>, which is a - picture of a turtle’s head and which in Maya means “turtle” or “dwarf” - or something having a slow movement. Next he took the letter “B” and - eventually chose the character <i lang="myn">be</i>, which means “road,” “walk,” “run,” - and consists of the picture of a footprint. Therefore—not to go into a - lengthy description of the system—he had “A” from <i lang="myn">ac</i>, “B” from <i lang="myn">be</i>, - etc. With this extemporized alphabet the priests were able to write out - the Catholic prayers in such a way that the Indian could repeat them in - Spanish by using the sound of the first part of his hieroglyph for the - sound of each Spanish letter.</p> - - <p>It may be seen from the foregoing that Landa’s alphabet cannot be used - for translating Maya, for when the hieroglyphs are made to represent - the sounds of the Spanish alphabet the result does not indicate the - original connection of a Maya word with its glyph. This fact was a - great disappointment among archæologists, who at first expected to - translate the Maya Codices by the use of the Landa alphabet. Their - hopes, however, were short-lived and they even pronounced Landa an - impostor. On<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">42</span> the contrary, he has unintentionally given us what is - almost a Rosetta Stone.</p> - - <p>The Codices, I fear, will never yield a connected story, as they are - written in a stenographic or shorthand style consisting of disconnected - sentences.</p> - - <p>Many of the stones, or <i lang="la">stelæ</i>, may contain history, and as soon as - we know the meanings of, possibly, a thousand glyphs we shall be able - to make a decided advance in the art of reading the books. Landa in - his book explains not the Maya glyphs but the way the priests used - these Maya characters for religious purposes. For example, he says - <i lang="myn">Ma-in-kati</i> means “I do not want,” represented in the ancient Maya by - three simple glyphs. Written as the priests had arranged, with a glyph - for each sound of a Spanish letter, the result is a combination of five - glyphs, which, if given their original Maya pictured meanings, leads to - the rather surprising knowledge that “no dead animal was seen at this - place,” or, literally, “not see tail [animal] death place.”</p> - - <p>Besides the Codices and the Chilan Balam, which together are frequently - alluded to as the Maya Chronicles, there are some other documents such - as titles to land, records of surveys, etc. There is a unique history - of the Conquest, written by a contemporary native chief called Na Kuk - Pech, whose name means “house of the feathered wood-tick.” The story - was written in the native language, by means of Spanish characters, and - has been translated recently by Señor Juan Martinez, whose profound - knowledge of the Maya language has eminently fitted him for this task.</p> - - <p>The history of Chi-chen Itza is of especial interest because this was - the Holy City, the Mecca of all the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">43</span> ancient Maya people. According - to the Maya Chronicles, one or several tribes set out from a place - called Nonual, in 160 <span class="smcap">a.d.</span>, and apparently spent many years - in aimless wandering, arriving finally, in 241 <span class="smcap">a.d.</span>, at a - place they named Chac Nouitan. Then follows a gap in our knowledge and - the next we learn of these people is that in 445 <span class="smcap">a.d.</span>, while - they were residing at a place called Bak-Halal, they heard of Chi-chen - Itza. It is clear that Chi-chen Itza was already an inhabited city at - that time. Soon after this, these tribes moved to Chi-chen Itza, where - they lived until about 600 <span class="smcap">a.d.</span>, when, for some unaccountable - reason, they abandoned it utterly and migrated to the land of Chan Kan - Putun. And this residence was in turn abandoned two hundred and sixty - years later, because of some calamity; one Chronicle speaks of a great - fire.</p> - - <p>For nearly a hundred years, to quote from the Chronicles, “the Itzas - lived in exile and great distress under the trees and under the - branches.” Then, some of them reëstablished Chi-chen Itza in 950 - <span class="smcap">a.d.</span>, while others founded the city of Uxmal or went to - Mayapan. The second residence lasted for some two hundred years. About - 1200 <span class="smcap">a.d.</span>, the Itzas, under the ruler Ulumil, invaded the city - of Mayapan and at about this same time Chi-chen Itza was attacked and - depopulated by foreigners—in all probability the Nahuas (Mexicans), - who came down from the north. The last event alluded to in the - Chronicles is the coming of the Spaniards under Montejo, who found the - Mayas already decadent and their cities long ruined and abandoned.</p> - - <p>We have no authentic description of the actual condition of Chi-chen - Itza when the Spaniards came, but<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">44</span> it is known with certainty that Tiho - (place of the five temples), one of the ancient cities, the site of the - modern city of Mérida, was in ruins. The temples were dilapidated and - overgrown with vegetation and great trees were rooted in the walls. The - few inhabitants living around these ruins knew virtually nothing of the - founders of the city, nor of those who had lived there when it was in - its prime.</p> - - <p>At the coming of the Spaniards to Chi-chen Itza, about 1541, the city - was inhabited by a few people who were, I think, nothing more than - campers—inferior people using as shelters the buildings which they had - found there and of whose history they were quite ignorant.</p> - - <p>While it has no place in this book, the last known migration of some of - the Mayas is interesting and it is certain that a considerable number - emigrated between the years 1450 and 1451 southward to Lake Peten,<a id="FNanchor_3" href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> - where they built a city on an island and there they survived, together - with their ancient culture, until conquered in 1697 by the Spaniards, - who destroyed all their temples and books and perforce made either good - Christians or “good Indians” of all the inhabitants.</p> - - <p>Landa says, under the heading, “Various Misfortunes Experienced in - Yucatan in the Century before the Conquest”:</p> - - <blockquote> - <p>These people had over twenty years of abundance and health - and multiplied greatly. All of the land looked like one town - and they built many temples which can be seen to-day in all - parts; and crossing the mountains, one can see through the - leaves of the trees sides of houses and buildings wonderfully - constructed. After all this happiness, one evening in the - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">45</span> - winter a wind arose about six o’clock and increased until it - became a hurricane of the Four Winds.<a id="FNanchor_4" href="#Footnote_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> This wind tore out the - large trees, made a great slaughter of all kinds of game, tore - down all the high houses, which, as they were thatched with - straw and had fire inside against the cold, caught fire. Great - numbers of people were burned and those that escaped were torn - to pieces by falling trees.</p> - - <p>This hurricane lasted until noon of the next day. Some who - lived in small houses escaped—the young people who were just - married, who were accustomed to build small houses in front of - those of their parents or parents-in-law, where they lived the - first years.</p> - - <p>Thus this land then lost its name, which was U-Lumil-Ceh, - U-Lumil-Cutz, Land of the Deer, Land of the Wild Turkey, and - was without trees. The trees now seen all appear to have been - planted at the same time, as they are all of the same height, - and, looking at this land from some spot, it seems as though it - had been trimmed off with shears.</p> - - <p>Those who escaped felt encouraged to rebuild and cultivate the - land and they again multiplied greatly, having fifteen years of - health and good weather and the last year was the most fruitful - of all. At the time of harvest, there came upon the land some - contagious fevers which lasted twenty-four hours. After the - fever the victim would swell up and burst open, being full of - worms, and of this pestilence many people died leaving the - fruit ungathered.</p> - - <p>After this pestilence there was another sixteen good years - in which they renewed their passions and ravagings. In this - way one hundred and fifty thousand men died in battle. After - this massacre they were more calm and made peace and rested - for twenty years. Then came another pestilence. Large pimples - formed and they rotted the body and emitted offensive odors in - a way that the members fell off by pieces within four or five - days.</p> - - <p>This plague has passed more than fifty years ago, the massacres - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">46</span> - of the wars twenty years before that; the pestilence of the - swelling and worms sixteen years before the wars; and the - hurricane another sixteen years before that and twenty-two - years after the destruction of Mayapan, which, according to - this record, makes one hundred twenty-five years since the - destruction. Thus by the wars and other punishments which - God sent, it is a wonder there are as many people as are now - living, although there are not many.</p> - </blockquote> - - <p>This quaint account by Landa sheds some light upon the condition of the - Mayas during the century preceding the Spanish invasion and indicates - that the golden age of the race had occurred not many centuries before.</p> - - <p>The legendary history of the coming of the Mayas to Chi-chen Itza is - alluded to by Landa in several passages. He states:</p> - - <blockquote> - <p>It is the opinion among the Indians that with the Itzas who - populated Chi-chen Itza, there reigned a great man called Kukul - Can, and the principal temple of the city is called Kukul Can. - They say he entered from the west, that he was very genteel, - and that he had neither wife nor children. After he left - Chi-chen Itza he was considered in Mexico one of their gods and - called Quetzal Coatl and in Yucatan they also had him for a god.</p> - </blockquote> - - <p>In another place Landa says:</p> - - <blockquote> - <p>The ancient Indians say that in Chi-chen Itza reigned three - brothers. This was told to them by their ancestors. The three - brothers came from the west and they reigned for some years in - peace and justice. They honored their god very much and thus - built many buildings and beautiful, especially one. These men, - they say, lived without wives and in great honesty and virtue, - and during this time they were much esteemed and obeyed by - all. After a time one of them failed, who had to die, although - some of the Indians said he went to Bak-halal. The absence of - this one, no matter how he went, was felt so much by those who - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">47</span> - reigned after him that they began to be licentious and formed - habits dishonorable and ungovernable, and the people began to - hate them in such a way that they killed them, one after the - other, and destroyed and abandoned the city.</p> - </blockquote> - - <p>Virtually the same stories are contained in a document found at - Valladolid and dated 1618, which goes on to state that the newer part - of Chi-chen Itza was built about 1200 <span class="smcap">a.d.</span></p> - - <p>The ancient city consists of two parts, the southern, which is ruined - to such as extent that it contains almost no standing edifices, and the - newer city built to the north, which contains many buildings—some of - them almost perfectly preserved. I believe that much of the older city - was built at least a thousand years prior to most of the buildings in - the newer city, and there is ample evidence to substantiate the belief - that the old city was ruthlessly robbed of its carvings and cut stones - for use in the construction of the new.</p> - - <p>The Nahuatl influence is seen in the newer buildings. It is thought - that Chi-chen Itza reached the height of its civil power, though not - its artistic supremacy, after it had been conquered by the Aztec - warriors from the north, and the native inhabitants were reduced to - slavery and driven by their masters to the speedy building of many - temples—an undertaking which they would have gone about in much more - leisurely fashion had there been no compulsion.</p> - - <p>Don Pedro Aguilar, one of the earliest historians of Yucatan, states - that six hundred years before the coming of the Spaniards the Mayas - were the vassals of the Aztecs and were forced by them to construct - remarkable edifices such as those found at Chi-chen Itza and Uxmal.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">48</span></p> - - <p>Herbert Spinden, in his admirable little book “Ancient Civilizations of - Mexico,” has most happily drawn an analogy between the traits of the - Mayas and Aztecs and the similar traits of the old Greeks and Romans. - The Mayas were like the Greeks, the creative race, while the Aztecs - were primarily warriors, as were the Romans.</p> - - <p>Just what was the impulse which led these people to undertake the - mighty works they accomplished,—whether it was religious fervor or - plain fear,—we do not know. We do know that their age of greatest - progress was within the era of verifiable history. We know that they - built many large cities; and that there was a large population; - Chi-chen Itza was a city of at least two hundred thousand inhabitants, - and some archæologists believe that at one time its population numbered - no less than a million.</p> - - <p>During their supreme period they built great pyramids and marvelous - temples. They wrote books and set up intricately carved record-stones. - They brought the whole of Yucatan into a federation of government that - held the people together in a unity which has few parallels in the - history of the human race. They evolved a calendar which is ingenious, - complicated, and amazingly correct. They read the heavens and knew the - planets and their seasons and changes. They displayed in all they did a - genius to invent and an ability to execute which cause us to rate their - culture very high; and this culture is all the more wonderful because - it was purely original and cut off by an ocean on each side from any - contact with the rest of the world.</p> - - <hr class="page" /> - <div class="chapter" id="CHAPTER_IV"> - <span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_49"></a>49</span> - <h2>CHAPTER IV<br /> - <span class="small">DON EDUARDO’S FIRST VIEW OF THE CITY OF THE SACRED WELL</span></h2> - </div> - - <p class="drop-cap">DON EDUARDO has described to me his first trip to Chi-chen Itza, and - his impressions, which are somewhat as follows if my notes and memory - do not err:</p> - - <p>“I had traveled all of a hot and dusty day, on horseback, through the - jungle and over animal trails. In many places my Indian guide, who went - afoot, had to lead my horse over or around the huge stones that blocked - our path. After the first few miles I was painfully aware that running - blithely from my city into Mérida, for forgotten trifles or even for - sorely needed supplies, was another of my pleasant fancies thoroughly - punctured.</p> - - <p>“Darkness overtook us ere we reached our journey’s end, and the ensuing - coolness was delightfully refreshing even though the dark slowed our - already snail-like progress. Just when I had abandoned all hope of - making further headway, the moon sailed majestically into view—a - gorgeous full moon in a perfect Yucatan night, lighting every object - softly, gently, with a caressing touch so lacking in the masculine - directness of Old Sol. A more lovely silver and black-velvet night - I have never seen. Truly, the moon magic of Yucatan is no less than - divine stage-craft which subtly wafts one completely away from the Land - of Things as They Are and into the Realm of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">50</span> Enchantment. I should - not have been surprised to meet the March Hare, Lancelot, Gulliver, - Scheherezade, or Helen of Troy. In fact, I was prepared to stop and - chat with any of them and offer a bite from the one remaining cake of - chocolate in my pocket.</p> - - <p>“Sometime, and most reluctantly, I suppose I must go the way of all - flesh. If so, then by all means let it be in the full glory of a - Yucatan moon and the going will not be unpleasant.</p> - - <p>“For days I had been traveling, first by train, then by <i lang="myn">volan</i>,—that - satanic contrivance which leaves one bruised and bumped from head - to foot,—and finally in the saddle, dozing over the head of a - somnambulant horse.</p> - - <p>“Even the witchery of the moonlight could not long hold alert my - fatigued body and mind. On and on we plodded, hour after hour. - Midnight passed and how many more hours I do not know, when I heard - an exclamation in the vernacular, from my guide. Startled out of a - half-conscious dream I came erect in the saddle.</p> - - <p>“My Indian was earnestly pointing up and ahead. I raised my eyes and - became electrically, tinglingly awake. There, high up, wraith-like in - the waning moonlight, loomed what seemed a Grecian temple of colossal - proportions, atop a great steep hill. So massive did it seem in the - half-light of the approaching morning that I could think of it only as - an impregnable fortress high above the sea, on some rocky, wave-dashed - promontory. As this mass took clearer shape before me with each - succeeding hoof-beat of my weary steed, it grew more and more huge. I - felt an actual physical pain, as if my heart skipped a few beats and - then raced to make up the loss.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">51</span></p> - - <p>“Thus for the first time I viewed the Great Pyramid of Kukul Can, now - called El Castillo—the Castle. And I shall always be glad that I - had the good fortune to get my first glimpse of it in this fashion. - Times without number I have since passed and repassed this grand old - structure, yet never have I walked in its shadow without a quickening - of the pulse or without recalling undimmed the vision of that moonlit - night. And, as I look back through my years of intimate companionship - with my City of the Sacred Well, it seems to me that moonlit nights - are linked inextricably with nearly all the important events that have - there befallen me—or, at least, with those which are pleasant in - retrospect.</p> - - <p>“By the time I had dismounted and unsaddled my horse my Indian was - already curled up and fast asleep. The poor horse was, I think, in - sound slumber the minute his feet came to a halt. But for me, weary as - I was, sleep was out of the question. I must see more of this magic - city. Reaching the foot of the steep ascent, I crawled painfully up - what had obviously once been a tremendous stairway, now overgrown with - small trees and shrubs. At the end of a breathless climb I reached a - narrow, level stone ledge eighty feet above the ground and faced the - north door of the temple—the temple of the great god Kukul Can. This - sheer pile of perfectly joined masonry pierced by a forty-foot doorway - within whose sides I could dimly discern intricate and fantastically - carved bas-reliefs; this time-grayed temple of a forgotten faith, - viewed there in the silence and solitude of eerie moonlight—is it - to be wondered at if my knees shook just a little and if I glanced - apprehensively over my shoulder awaiting the terrible, majestic wrath - of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">52</span> god whose temple was profaned by the eyes of an unbeliever?</p> - - <p>“On my eminence I turned slowly and gazed out over the dead city. Here - and there, some near by and some at a distance, were a dozen other - pyramids surmounted by buildings. A few seemed well preserved, others - were in picturesque ruins, all ghostly white in the moonlight, except - where a doorway or a shadow stood out in inky blackness. I could see - the long shadow of that old temple we call the ‘Nunnery.’ The stillness - was broken only by the monotonous hum of hidden cicadas; or was it the - distant beat of phantom <i lang="myn">tunkuls</i>, or sacred drums, warning that the - ancient God of the Feathered Serpent did but sleep and might at any - moment awake?</p> - - <p>“And then my eyes were caught and held by a broad raised roadway - leading straight away from the temple toward a vast black pool - overgrown with trees. Breathless, frozen to the spot, I could only look - and look, for in a blinding flash I realized that I was gazing at the - Sacred Way, and at its end the Sacred Well in whose murky depths even - then might lie the pitiful bones of many once lovely maidens sacrificed - to appease a grim god. What untold treasures this grisly well might - hide! What tragedies had been enacted at its brink!</p> - - <p>“I descended and as I walked along the Sacred Way I thought of the - thousands, millions perhaps, of times this worn thoroughfare had been - trodden in bygone ages where all was now desolate. Here was I, a grain - of dust moving where kings and nobles of countless centuries before had - trod, and where, for all I know, kings and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">53</span> nobles may again tread long - years after I am still a grain of dust but moveless.</p> - - <p>“At the brink of the well I peered into the blackness and continued to - gaze into its depths, picturing in my mind’s eye the awesome ceremonies - it had witnessed. The chant of death begins, swelling softly over the - slow pulsing of the drums. The solemn procession leaves the holy temple - of Kukul Can and the funeral cortège advances along the broad raised - avenue of the Sacred Way, toward the Sacred Well, the dwelling-place of - Noh-och Yum Chac, the terrible Rain God who must be placated by human - sacrifice. The corn in the fields is withering, crying for rain. If - the anger of Yum Chac be not appeased famine will follow and the dread - Lord of Death, Ah Puch—he of the grinning, sightless skull—will walk - abroad in the land.</p> - - <p>“Slowly, slowly the cortège draws near. At its head is the high priest, - clad in ceremonial vestments and elaborate feathered head-dress, - as befits the pontiff of the Feathered Serpent. And what is this - embroidered bower borne so reverently by sturdy, sun-browned lesser - priests? Is it a bier, a stately catafalque? Is the pitiful victim - already dead? Ah, no! she moves, beautiful, flawless—the most lovely - maiden to be found in the land. Through every city and village and - country-side, for weeks and weeks, a thousand priests have sought her, - this fairest flower of Maya maidenhood. Her face is pale. She knows the - supreme honor that is hers—she who is to become so soon the bride of - the Rain God. But there is terror in those lovely eyes, a benumbing, - cold fear of the Unknown.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">54</span></p> - - <p>“And behind them, filling the whole of the Sacred Way, come the king, - the nobles, the great warriors and many priests. Already on the far - side of the Sacred Well is gathered a silent, grave-faced multitude, - the whole populace of the city and pilgrims from afar.</p> - - <p>“The high priest enters the little temple at the brink of the well. The - dirge ceases, the drums are stilled. He performs his devotions to the - Rain God. He lights the sacred incense-burners and the fragrant blue - vapor floats, curling, upward. Again the slowly chanted dirge starts, - to the muted beating of the drums. He lights a basket of sweet-smelling - copal incense, holds it aloft, and casts it into the well. The chant - grows louder, the drums beat faster.</p> - - <p>“Two powerful <i lang="myn">nacons</i>, or lesser priests, lift the maiden from her - couch, their muscular brown arms forming a sling in which she lies as - lightly as a leaf on the bosom of a stream. They advance with her to - the edge of the well. The pitiless sun glares down into her upturned - fear-stricken eyes and she throws one slender arm over her face. Her - gauzy garments reveal the tender flesh and adolescent contours of a - girl in her early teens.</p> - - <p>“Slowly the <i lang="myn">nacons</i> swing the feather-light body backward and forward - to the beat of the drums and the rhythm of the dirge; forward and - backward in an ever wider sweep, while the drums and chant swell to a - roar. At a sign from the high priest the drums are suddenly stilled; - the chant ends in a high-pitched wail. A last forward swing and the - bride of Yum Chac hurtles far out over the well. Turning slowly in the - air, the lithesome body falls faster and faster till it strikes the - dark water seventy feet below.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">55</span></p> - - <p>“An echoing splash and all is still. Only the widening ripples are - left. The child bride has found favor in the eyes of her lord, the - great god Noh-och Yum Chac.</p> - - <p>“Thus I imagined the sacrifice at the Sacred Well—a sacrifice enacted - not once but hundreds of times through many centuries. Thus has it been - handed down in a dozen Maya legends and I wondered whether this grim - old well really held at its far murky bottom the relics of the ancient - rites or, after all, the sacrifices were mere myths founded on some - trivial event, which grew and grew with each telling.</p> - - <p>“Granting that such sacrifices had been, every vestige of evidence - might well have disintegrated into nothingness a thousand years before - my time. Assuming even that at the bottom of this watery pit was - all I sought, what a mad venture it was for one lone man with but a - little money and no great mechanical skill to attempt to recover these - evidences!</p> - - <p>“And yet my faith was strong. I felt that my quest was not to be in - vain and that somehow I would make the well yield up its treasures. At - least I must attempt the feat or continue to be haunted by the idea all - the rest of my life.</p> - - <p>“My wearied brain could no longer sustain these speculations. My whole - tired body knew but one desire—sleep. Yet I did not wish to sleep in - this gruesome place. Half a mile farther on I should find the Casa - Real, the old manor-house that was to be my home. Wearily I strove - toward it in the failing moonlight.</p> - - <p>“At last I approached the main arched gateway of the corral, built - more than two hundred years ago. It was boldly outlined in the pale - moonlight, while here<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">56</span> and there were long jet shadows cast by some - broken portion of a wall or by some partially burned but upright trunk - of a great tree. All was desolation, as in the case of the ancient - temples, but a newer desolation, for this manor had been built less - than seventy years before. As I pushed my way over broken stones a - cloud came over the moon and I stumbled full upon what seemed at first - the vertebræ of a huge fish. The cloud passed as I halted and an - involuntary shudder gripped me as I looked down on the whitened bones - of a human skeleton. A little to one side on a slight elevation lay the - severed skull; and just beyond was still another and yet another. Ah, - yes! I knew the tragic story, but had not expected to be met with so - brutal a reminder of it.</p> - - <p>“The former inhabitants of this once beautiful hacienda had all been - massacred, many years before, by the Sublevados, the untamed tribes of - Maya Indians living some miles to the south. These savages had slain - every living creature on the estate and had left the several buildings - in smoldering ruins. Even at the present time the Sublevados are still - untamed and I have often been warned of the menace of a similar fate.</p> - - <p>“I turned and gazed at the old gateway under which I had so recently - passed—a gateway, so the records say, built in June, 1721. Under it - also had passed long lines of weeping captives, and there are men - living who remember the event. These poor captives were laden with the - booty taken from the villages of Tunkas and Dzitas as they were urged - on by their Sublevado captors in their terrible journey to Chan Santa - Cruz, the distant Sublevado stronghold. And only the vigorous men with - trades and the young women were spared for the journey, while<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">57</span> the - other prisoners were ruthlessly murdered. Of the prisoners left alive - for the journey those who fell by the wayside were despatched with a - stroke of the machete and left where they fell. I later found many of - their pitiful skeletons.</p> - - <p>“Poor boys and girls! What heart-pangs they must have felt; what - scalding tears must have fallen on the stone flags as they passed - beneath this old arch! Their pangs were soon stilled and the tears - they spilled quickly dried, for they all soon came to that tranquil - rest which is for eternity. Their lives were like the meteor that - flashes for a moment in the sky and is then forever snuffed out. ‘Cigar - stubs that the God of Night tosses away’ is the native vernacular for - meteors. The souls of these wretched youths and maidens seem to have - been no less carelessly tossed away by the God of the Night.</p> - - <p>“I sank down upon the corridor of my new-old home, too utterly fatigued - in mind and body to care what army of horrid phantoms might there - abide. Let graveyards yawn and specters dance, let witches ride; loose - Beelzebub and all his imps, but let me sleep!</p> - - <p>“And so I did until awakened by a torrid sun burning down upon me - through what once had been a roof.”</p> - - <hr class="page" /> - <div class="chapter" id="CHAPTER_V"> - <span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_58"></a>58</span> - <h2>CHAPTER V<br /> - <span class="small">THE ANCIENT CITY</span></h2> - </div> - - <p class="drop-cap">“I AROSE cautiously, expecting to find an ache in every bone and - muscle, and was agreeably surprised to discover myself without an ache - or a pain, though a little stiff. Apparently the hot sun had baked - all pains away. In a shady place near by sat my Indian, not sleeping, - apparently not even thinking, but just doing nothing at all, an art in - which he was an adept.</p> - - <p>“I was conscious of an earnest desire for two things,—a bath and - breakfast,—and I wanted a great deal of both. Without much difficulty, - in sign language, I made my wishes clear to the native and he conducted - me a distance of half a mile or so, not to the Sacred Well but to - another well or cenote called Tol-oc, which is about two hundred feet - to the left of the road leading to the village of Pisté. How he knew so - definitely the location of the well is a mystery to me.</p> - - <p>“This great cool, crystal-clear pool was the water-supply of the - ancient city. A wide flight of steps, now much broken, leads into - its depths and the lower steps are at present actually some distance - beneath the surface of the water. On the stone rim of the sides of the - pool are deep grooves, worn in olden times by the ceaseless raising and - lowering of rope-suspended water-jugs or gourds. And can’t you picture - the women of old Chi-chen Itza in a constant stream passing from dawn - till dusk<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">59</span> along the road to the well of Tol-oc?—the servant glad - to escape for a time the sharp tongue of her mistress; the wrinkled, - toothless crone to whom a trip to the well means an opportunity to - exchange the latest gossip; the comely young matron anxious to get back - to her household tasks; the belle of the neighborhood, on her way to - the well, light-heartedly swinging her empty water-jug and bantering - those who pass. This is a phase of life as old as communal existence. - One may see the same scene enacted to-day almost anywhere south of the - Rio Grande or in Spain, Egypt, or the Orient.</p> - - <p>“As I swam about in the pool fresh vigor flowed into my veins, and I - emerged with an increased craving for breakfast. When I reached the - hacienda I found my Indian had anticipated this and while the repast - he provided might not have appealed to a pampered appetite, I found it - a Lucullian feast; and my guide proved no mean trencherman, either, - although I suspect he had fortified himself with no less heartening a - meal two hours earlier, when he found me asleep.</p> - - <p>“While he performed the housewifely task of doing the dishes, which - consisted of throwing away the big green leaves we used as plates, I - sat in the shade of a magnificent old <i lang="myn">yax-che</i>—the sacred tree of - the Mayas—and puffed my favorite and most disreputable pipe. Sitting - somewhere in the shade around Chi-chen Itza is the most pleasant - occupation in the universe, for there is a perpetual breeze and no - matter how hot the sun, one is always cool and comfortable in the - shade. Sitting thus is the favorite and major occupation of the native, - and the white man can very easily acquire the habit.</p> - - <p>“As I sat there, at peace with the world, my experiences <span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">60</span>of the - previous night seemed unreal—the fantasmagoria of a fevered dream and, - much as I enjoyed this shady spot where I sat, the ancient city called - me.</p> - - <p>“Taking the Indian with me, I returned to make a superficial - examination of the place. My newly acquired estate of about thirty-six - square miles included the abandoned, dilapidated manor, corrals, and - other buildings. And within its boundaries lie the Sacred Well and - all of the ancient ruins and temples that are still standing, not to - mention many others which are now covered with debris. It also includes - several Indian villages. Chi-chen Itza is really two cities. The more - ancient is overgrown by a thick forest and its location is indicated - only by an occasional grassy, thicket-covered mound out of which grow - great trees and whose sides are covered with scattered carved stones. - The newer city is clearly defined by the buildings which are still - standing. The whole, including the older and the newer city, covers an - area of about twelve square miles.</p> - - <p>“There is no apparent plan in the situation of the various structures, - although most of them are arranged in such a way that their openings - avoid the direct rays of the sun at midday. The city was built in this - location because of the two great wells and the lesser one, which I - am sure are not the work of men, although they may have been altered - or enlarged. In all probability there were no definite and continuous - streets; with the exception of the Via Sacra or Sacred Way, there is - little or no evidence of what might be called a city street.</p> - - <p>“I reason that there was little need for streets, because there were no - beasts of burden, nor vehicular traffic. Loads were transported upon - the backs of men, just as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">61</span> they are largely transported at the present - time. The ancient builders did construct very good narrow, ballasted - stone roads which led into Chi-chen Itza from various directions, but - they were roads for human feet to travel. Surely the architects of - these wonderful buildings; these people who knew much of astronomy and - who could count into prodigious figures had the intelligence to lay - out their cities in blocks and squares if any particular advantage or - convenience were to be gained thereby!</p> - - <p>“The only evident plan is that the present buildings, which are temples - and perhaps palaces for the kings and those of high religious or noble - rank, are centrally located. Beyond these for miles about are the - remains of small rectangular foundations, evidently the sites of what - were once the dwelling-places of the large population of the city.</p> - - <p>“In the area which I designate as new Chi-chen Itza are twelve - buildings in an almost perfect state of preservation, as though built - no more than twenty or thirty years ago. Ten of them are still covered - with their original ponderous stone roofs and are entirely habitable. - These structures alone might house a considerable population. I have - lived for months at a time in one or another of them and have found - them to be delightfully comfortable and cool. Indeed, these elevated - Maya temples are the most ideal living-quarters, much to be preferred - to the usual house built upon level ground. Although they contain no - windows, they are well lighted by the reflected sunlight striking - through the doorways upon the white limestone floors.</p> - - <p>“Passing across what is now a lovely flower garden in the rear of my - home,—which is no other than the building<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">62</span> in whose broken corridor I - spent my first night,—my guide and I came at no great distance upon - a rise of ground where are situated two most interesting groups of - buildings. The first one, a massive structure on our right, bears the - curious name Akab Tzib, ‘House of the Writing in the Dark.’ It is one - of the few buildings which has no sub-base or plinth of artificially - heaped earth or stone to give it elevation. It is built upon the - natural ground-level, which, however, is somewhat higher at this point - than the surrounding terrain. And it stands sheer on the edge of a - depression in the ground some four hundred feet across.</p> - - <p>“It is possible that this depression represents the site of an ancient - quarry from which the stone for the building of the city was taken, - or it may be simply a natural hollow caused by the caving in of the - soft limestone surface rock. The front of Akab Tzib stretches a - distance of one hundred and seventy-six feet and in depth the building - is forty-eight feet. The structure is low, the façade rising only - to a height of eighteen feet. The walls, however, are capable of - withstanding a siege. They are of great thickness and constructed of - perfectly joined rectangular stones, the surfaces of which are dressed - and polished to smoothness. The expanse of the west wall is broken by - a shallow recess in the center which divides the wall into three equal - sections, with the middle section recessed or offset by a depth of - about three feet.</p> - - <p>“This central part is pierced by three square-cut doorways. John L. - Stephens, who visited the temple more than eighty years ago, says that - in the middle section of the interior was a great stairway that led to - the roof.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">63</span> It has since collapsed and is now but a heap of stones and - dust. Apparently it was about forty-five feet wide. Knowing the Maya - custom, which was common, of erecting one structure on top of another, - we may surmise that this stairway was probably a sort of flying arch - and intended as a means of reaching a second temple to be built on top - of the low, massive-walled Akab Tzib. For some unknown reason the upper - temple was never erected. Many interesting theories have been advanced - as to why the architects abandoned their original plan. On each side - of what was once the stairway are doors leading into chambers. Besides - these entrances there are seven handsome doorways along the western - façade of the building. In all, there are eighteen rooms or apartments.</p> - - <p>“The whole massive structure is an unsolved mystery. Over the doorway - of a small, dim chamber in the southeastern part of the building is - a carved lintel on which is depicted in bas-relief the seated figure - of a priest or a god, wearing a feathered head-dress and with a long - nose-plug protruding from the nostrils. The figure is seated on a - throne and holds in its hand the ceremonial <i lang="myn">caluac</i> or baton of rank. - In front of the figure, at its feet, is a graceful brazier containing - what was probably a burnt offering of some sort—copal or incense. On - each side of this well-carved picture are double rows of hieroglyphs, - the meaning of which is unknown. There are no other carvings, glyphs, - or pictures in the entire building. This fact is hard to understand, - because these ancient builders usually inscribed every available - surface. In one room is a large depression in the floor, and in the - center of the building is what appears to be a solid mass<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">64</span> of masonry - forty-four by thirty feet and reaching clear to the ceiling. Perhaps it - contains hidden and secret chambers; that remains to be found out.</p> - - <p>“Of one thing, however, I am reasonably sure: the carved lintel was - not inscribed nor originally designed for its present position, but - was taken bodily from some earlier structure, probably one of the now - leveled temples of the older Chi-chen Itza. It represents the period - of the highest Mayan art, which occurred before the domination of the - Nahuatls, who swept down from the north some centuries later. I believe - this building was not erected until after the abandonment of Chi-chen - Itza, the long residence at Chan Kan Putun, the return to Chi-chen - Itza, and the enslavement of the Mayas by the Nahuatls. Very likely it - is the most recently built of all the present monuments in the city, - and the one carved piece in it, the lintel, was taken from an older - building without reference to the significance of the glyphs. From this - lintel is derived the name of the temple, for Akab Tzib means literally - ‘House of the Writing in the Dark.’</p> - - <p>“Leaving Akab Tzib, we walk for the distance of a city block or so - through dense shrubbery and over an old stone fence, built perhaps - eighty years ago, and come to a most interesting building called La - Casa de las Monjas or the Nunnery. It is what might be called rambling, - yet is of exquisite architectural harmony and richly ornamented, in - utter contrast to the building we have just left. It is one of the - most wonderfully carved edifices of this old civilization to be found - anywhere in Yucatan. It spreads out for an eye-filling distance of two - hundred and twenty-eight feet, the center part of the huge pile rising - for nearly ninety feet, in three separate tiers, each <span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">65</span>smaller than the - one below it. Stretching away on each side of this center portion are - one- and two-story annexes.</p> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i_064"> - <img src="images/i_064.jpg" width="600" height="395" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">The Nunnery, the only three-storied structure in the - Sacred City.</div> - </div> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i_065a"> - <img src="images/i_065a.jpg" width="500" height="340" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">The second story of the Nunnery.</div> - </div> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i_065b"> - <img src="images/i_065b.jpg" width="500" height="313" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">All that remains of the third story of the Nunnery. - Several inscribed stones built hit or miss into the wall were doubtless - taken from the older city.</div> - </div> - - <p>“How well its name fits this grimly beautiful old building is a matter - of conjecture. We know that the Maya priesthood was dominant in all - matters and that the lives of the people seem to have been governed by - a constant devotion to their pantheon of gods and especially to the - all-great Kukul Can. Their ceremonies were numerous and elaborate. - Doubtless there were many priests and perhaps priestesses. Long - training must have been required in the amazing and intricate rituals. - And the ancient historians relate that it was the custom to sequester - certain girls or women belonging to religious orders. It is not - unlikely that this vast building of many rooms and annexes, which seems - more fitted to be a place of residence than a temple, may have been - the abode of Mayan monks or nuns, or possibly a training school for - novitiates. Some believe it to have been the king’s palace.</p> - - <p>“Not the least perplexing thing about La Casa de las Monjas is the plain - evidence that what now meets our eyes as a symmetrical whole is, - in fact, the result of several different periods of building. The - principal structure has been built in stages—for all the world as a - swallow year after year builds one nest on top of the previous one. - And the annexes evidently were built at various times, as the need for - them arose. The whole base of the building is buried in debris, which - detracts from the true and lovely lines of the architecture. I have - excavated a trench part-way around, to clear out this rubbish, and - the trench reveals the fact that La Casa de las Monjas has served as a - dwelling-place for many people, or that many lived near by even long - after the place had lost its sacred<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">66</span> significance and its very name and - purpose were no longer known.</p> - - <p>“Without danger of contradiction, I think we may in fancy reconstruct - this Nunnery, in the order of its building. The first structure was - a single, rectangular unit about one hundred feet in length. A later - builder caused it to be entirely filled with great stones and rubble - and cement, so that it formed a solid base or foundation. More masonry - was then erected to the same height, on three sides, to enlarge this - base area, and upon the whole was erected a building ninety feet long - and one third as wide, leaving a flat promenade twenty-five feet wide - all around, from which there is a delightful view of the surrounding - country. We have dug through the masonry of the sub-structures and - into the old, original building which was filled in with stone-work - to provide a support for the later and upper buildings, so that our - theories are substantiated that far at least.</p> - - <p>“To reach the second structure, whose floor is thirty-four feet - above-ground, a great stone stairway of forty steps was erected, up - which twenty men might march abreast. If they were men of our day they - must surely come tumbling down again, for the steps are each nine - inches high but with very narrow treads, built for bare-footed or - sandaled folk and not for clodhopper boots or shoes.</p> - - <p>“A third and still smaller structure—now little more than a jumble - of stones, except for a part of one façade and a doorway—was built - atop the second temple and served by another grand and steep stairway, - a continuation of the first. This topmost temple was rich in carved - stones, taken, in all probability, from the oft-ravaged<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">67</span> older city. - The various annexes were built on to or adjacent to the first and - largest building. All this the reader will see from the illustrations - opposite <a href="#i_065a">page 65</a> and page 69 [missing]. The custom of enlarging Maya temples by - such methods as just described was not uncommon. Perhaps it indicated - growing power or population. Surely it indicated long residence.</p> - - <p>“The main building, constituting the second story, has five doorways on - the south side and one doorway at each end, and contains many chambers - and intercommunicating doorways. The end rooms extend clear across - the building. The central rooms are long and narrow, each with three - doorways. There are also very many shallow alcoves, scarcely more than - niches, which may have contained idols or scrolls—some say books. The - center portion is solid masonry, which originally may have contained - apartments later filled with stone to provide support for the third - story.</p> - - <p>“The entire rambling structure is ornamented with symbolistic carvings - and murals in a profusion of designs, many of them of matchless - beauty in inspiration and execution. The façade of the main building - is twenty-five feet in height, with two handsome stone cornices - extending its whole length. The eastern façade in particular is crowded - with ornamentation. The dominant motif is the face of the god Kukul - Can—symbolic masks with upturned snouts which some observers have - called ‘elephant trunks.’ The same masks are seen again and again in - all these old ruins, but in many cases the projecting snouts have been - broken off by vandals; indeed, a special zeal has at some time been - devoted to this particular destruction. Linking the masks and carrying - the whole in a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">68</span> carefully planned and balanced decorative series are - geometrical designs and figures. Above the broad band of the upper - cornice and carved in deep relief are geometrical stone screens not - inferior to those of the Moors or of India.</p> - - <p>“Over the main doorway are two bands of small, undeciphered - hieroglyphs, above which project six bold and gracefully curved - ornaments. From them, we may imagine, once hung a costly curtain, heavy - with embroidery. And still higher above the doorway, interrupting the - geometrical sculptures of the whole façade, is a horseshoe-shaped - frame within which may still be seen a badly defaced seated figure - with feathered head-dress. The lintels over the classic doorways are - of huge perfectly cut and polished stones, each bearing a multiplicity - of clear-cut glyphs which, like many things in this City of the Sacred - Well, tenaciously hold their secrets.</p> - - <p>“The Nunnery stands a monument of grace and beauty whose charm is - at once evident to any beholder, and doubly so to him who perceives - how closely in every line and dimension, yet how subtly, it accords - with our modern ideas and rules of good design. But nowhere else - in the world is there anything like it. Unique, distinctive, it is - characteristic only of this ancient culture. The cut facing <a href="#i_065a">page 65</a>, - representing one of the best of my many photographic attempts, tells - all that a photograph can, but it cannot begin to convey the beauty - of this masterpiece. In the great main hall were once many colorful - paintings upon the walls and ceilings, still indicated by bits of color - here and there or by an interrupted broad band of black or red. And in - the various rooms were paintings, nearly all now obliterated. They seem - to have<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">69</span> reached quite lately their critical age, for many that were - almost perfect as recently as twenty years ago are faded or chipped - now. In a few years they will be gone forever, and for this reason I - have taken pains to obtain the most faithful possible copies of all of - them. These Maya paintings represent several periods of culture. Some - are childishly crude. Many are of an excellence of line and balance - and color not inferior to the best of modern art. Some even are drawn - in a most pleasingly free and sketchy manner which so exquisitely - portrays an idea without unnecessary detail that one almost expects - to see scrawled in the lower right hand corner the signature of some - well-known modern artist.</p> - - <p>“The eastern or ground-level portion of the added basic structure - contains many rooms entered by way of six wide outer doorways.</p> - - <p>“Near the main building are two smaller detached ones, the more - interesting being known as the Iglesia or Church. It is small in - comparison with the bulk of La Casa de las Monjas, being but twenty-six - feet long, half as wide, and thirty-two feet high. It has three - cornices and the principal decoration consists of two seated human - figures over the doorway. Hardly a square inch of its surface is - undecorated. Formerly it was stuccoed, or plastered, and painted. Much - of the original color still clings to the crevices and interstices of - its carved walls and it is evident that new layers of stucco were added - from time to time and new paint in appropriate colors. Such layers of - stucco and color may be seen where the stone has been chipped, with the - colors sometimes varying from those of the early coats.</p> - - <p>“The carvings again portray the mask of Kukul Can,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">70</span> with interlinking - geometrical designs. A single doorway gives access to the interior, - once rich in murals, and the bright sunshine striking upon the white - floor floods the whole room with clear light. Close to the ceiling are - traces of a row of medallions which originally contained hieroglyphs.</p> - - <p>“Another building of about the same size is similarly finished and - decorated with the mask of Kukul Can. It contains several small rooms. - The entire wall of one apartment has been removed, by not very ancient - builders, for the prosaic purpose of making a stone fence. In passing - I might mention also that a good-sized pit has been made near one side - of the grand stairway of La Casa de las Monjas, it being easier to get cut - stone in this way than to quarry it.</p> - - <p>“No great amount of labor would be required to put this group of - buildings in nearly its pristine condition. Nearly all the stones that - have fallen lie where they fell and could easily be replaced. Near - the grand stairway lie many sculptured images of serpents, birds, and - animals, of massive size and carved in full relief. These formed the - balustrade and might be replaced even though some are missing. I have - no doubt that when the debris at the base of the buildings is removed - new archæological treasures will be revealed.</p> - - <p>“As an interesting bit of authentic history, the main building was - occupied by the soldiers of Montejo, who were besieged there by the - enraged native populace. They escaped by night, through the rear of the - buildings, by means of a ruse. The besiegers did not discover until - dawn that the enemy had fled many hours before.</p> - - <p>“Just when one decides that there is nothing new to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">71</span> surprise him, - in this old city, he comes upon something else to puzzle his brain, - spurring his curiosity into vain excursions after the why and wherefore - of it all.</p> - - <p>“We leave the unexplainable Casa de las Monjas and, walking westward less - than a hundred yards, stand before the Caracol or Snail-shell, which - is entirely unlike any other building in the City of the Sacred Well - or in all of Yucatan. This curious structure, we imagine, was either a - watch-tower or an astronomical observatory—though it may have served a - quite different purpose. It is round and built on a terrace two hundred - feet square of cut stone, twenty feet in height. Above this is a second - stone terrace, twelve feet high. These terraces have sheer vertical - sides, but much fallen stone and debris have gathered about them. From - the west a stairway forty-five feet wide leads to the first terrace; it - was once bordered with great stone balusters in the form of tremendous - entwined serpents, their heads on the ground, their bodies forming the - balustrade and ending at the top in rattles. The same sort of device is - found again and again in Maya architecture. A second similar stairway - leads to the upper terrace and the door of the building. A projecting - ornamented cornice caps each terrace.</p> - - <p>“At the top of the second stairway was once some large object which - Stephens thought was an idol, and here was uncovered a hieroglyphed - monument bearing the longest inscription yet found in the city. The - round tower is forty feet in diameter and forty feet high, with two - concentric walls, each two and a half feet thick. The inner wall - incloses a circular chamber at the center of which is a core of small - diameter, solid except for a winding stairway at its center, extending - from the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">72</span> ground-level to the height of the double walls. There is - also a passage, now almost obliterated, piercing the lower terrace and - connecting with this winding stairway. The building at the top of the - double walls has a deep-jutting five-tiered cornice above which rises - another and smaller single-walled tower, surrounded by a promenade or - ledge, not unlike the balcony of a lighthouse, at the height of the - cornice.</p> - - <p>“The space between the outer and the inner wall provides an arched - chamber five feet wide and one hundred feet in circumference. The inner - chamber also is arched and is eight feet wide. The usual Maya arch - construction is employed, the arch beginning at a height of ten feet - and being about twenty-four feet at the peak. The upper ruined tower, - about twenty feet high, contained a stone-lined passage facing due - west which might have been used as a line of sight for astronomical - observations.</p> - - <p>“The outer walls are pierced by four openings—windows or doorways, - whichever they may have been—corresponding to the four points of the - compass. Similar openings occur in the inner wall but, curiously, they - are exactly forty-five degrees out of line with the openings in the - outer wall. One of the most novel features in the construction are - the many wooden beams placed horizontally between the inner and outer - shells of masonry. As these are set in the masonry, it is evident that - they are an original and integral part of the building, probably put - there to help support the stone-work during construction. Many have - stood the test of time and are still stanch and firm. They are hewn - from the famous sapote tree, whose wood of steel-like hardness alone - could have endured through the centuries. There is no ornamentation - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">73</span>within the building, nor upon its walls, and the construction is pure - Maya except that it is round where all else is square.</p> - - <p>“The curious edifice is on high ground and its construction leads - inevitably to the idea of a watch-tower. Its builders knew in their - time quite as much about astronomy as did any contemporary race—if - not more. The periods of sun, moon, and planets they knew with great - accuracy. For these reasons I like to think that their priests and - sages came to this tower, making divinations from the stars and - laboriously charting their positions and courses. Possibly they were - panic-stricken by an occasional eclipse of moon or sun, which they - called <i lang="myn">chi-bal-kin</i>, ‘the moon or sun devoured by serpents or other - beings.’</p> - - <p>“But perhaps this tower was no more than a military precaution, a - place where solitary watchers by day and night constantly scanned - the horizon. Maybe it was merely the local police station or fire - department from which could be seen any undue disturbance or the - outbreak of a conflagration. I shall leave it to you to make your own - conclusions, which may be quite as near to or as far from the actual - fact as my own, over which I have puzzled backward and forward for many - years.</p> - - <p>“To the north a distance of four hundred feet is the so-called Red - House, or Chich-an Chob, the latter name meaning ‘strong, clean house.’ - The name Red House is derived from the fact that the antechamber or - vestibule across the front of the building has a broad painted band of - red running about its four walls. This is the best-preserved building - of all my city; scarcely a stone is missing. Its four walls face - exactly the four points of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">74</span> compass; its main entrance is in the - western wall, while the eastern wall is unbroken. It now rises from a - lovely grassy terrace, slightly sloping from the vertical and about - twelve feet high by sixty feet long, faced with large stone blocks - and having rounded corner stones at each of the four sloping edges - of the pyramidal form. Extending around the top of the terrace is a - regular Maya cornice, or projecting coping. Approaching the western - entrance is a stone stairway, twenty feet wide, of sixteen high and - shallow cut-stone steps—a staircase as distinctly Mayan as the mask - of Kukul Can. And this stairway is as perfect to-day as the day it was - finished, not a stone out of place or broken. It seems incredible that - it could have lain there so many centuries at the mercy of the tropical - wilderness and of passing vandals and have suffered not at all.</p> - - <p>“Chich-an Chob deceives one at first glance, seeming to rise to a - stately height because of its twenty-eight foot façade. The roof, - however, is but twenty feet above the floor. The false front is - nevertheless very lovely, being made of stone latticework which - skilfully weaves with geometrical designs the ever-present elongated - masks of the great Kukul Can, with the upturned snouts unbroken. - The construction throughout is pure Mayan of the highest period, - typical of many buildings seen in the southern part of Yucatan and - particularly at Palenque. Three square-cut, high doorways give access - to a shallow vestibule running the length of the building. Back of - this is a wall with three more doorways, each opening into a separate - chamber. A frieze of hieroglyphs cut in the stones somewhat above the - doors completely encircles the walls of the vestibule. All of the - interior walls are<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">75</span> plastered and painted and have been replastered and - repainted many times. The outer walls up to the stone latticework are - quite plain, the cornices or moldings are unadorned, and except for the - absence of pillars it could pass for a gem of Doric architecture. Its - very simplicity is a pleasing contrast to the Nunnery; yet it is no - less distinctly Mayan.</p> - - <p>“Two hundred feet beyond Chich-an Chob is a level terrace, or pyramid, - sixty-four feet square, which supports a small three-chambered temple - with an entrance to the south. One end has fallen in, but two of the - chambers are in good repair. This temple, so far as I know, is nameless - and at present is of no special interest. Clustered near by, to the - right, are several smaller pyramids whose buildings are merely heaped - ruins. Some of these contain tombs. Probably all were burial-places of - great men. The principal pyramid of this group contains the tomb of the - high priest and it is the scene of one of my most thrilling adventures.”</p> - - <p>The story of the exploration of the high priest’s tomb, alluded to by - Don Eduardo, is very interesting and will be related in another chapter.</p> - - <p>In about the center of the City of the Sacred Well is El Castillo, - whose imposing bulk is by far the greatest of all of the silent old - structures of this ancient metropolis. Don Eduardo has told us that - this huge pile struck him speechless when he came upon it suddenly in - the moonlight upon his first introduction to Chi-chen Itza. He is not - the only one who has been struck dumb by the first sight of the rugged - and beautiful temple, high and huge above its surroundings. Coming back - from the States one year, I made the acquaintance, on the boat,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">76</span> of a - middle-aged American and his charming daughter, who with some others - composed a small party bound for Mérida, the capital of Yucatan. As I - had been to Chi-chen Itza many times, I naturally, in my talk with this - gentleman, was enthusiastic over the idea of showing him the ruined - city, and finally the whole party decided to go there. We arrived at - the little town of Dzitas, where the gentlemen on horseback, I on an - ambling mule, and the rest in <i lang="myn">volans</i> set out for the City of the - Well. All the way the members of the party took turns in joking me - about my pet city and my stories concerning it. I was in every sense - the tail of the procession, as my mule had decided ideas of its own, - as mules have, and would travel no faster than a slow walk; but the - rest of the party were not traveling on a bed of roses and there was - no unwillingness to stop and wait for me while they composed ironical - witticisms.</p> - - <p>When we came near to Chi-chen Itza I ranged my mule alongside the - gentleman who was leader in the heckling. I did this knowing that we - would travel almost to the Great Pyramid of El Castillo and then, at a - sharp turn to the right, view it completely and suddenly.</p> - - <p>My friend was in the middle of another verbal dig when the sight smote - him. His mouth simply remained open. I have not yet heard the last of - his apologies for his previous jesting remarks and I find my revenge - very sweet.</p> - - <p>The pyramid, or terrace, on which El Castillo stands is two hundred - feet square and rises to a height of seventy-five or eighty feet. The - exact height is rather difficult to measure because of the debris at - the bottom. The top of the terrace has a level surface, or platform,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">77</span> - sixty feet square, upon which stands the temple. The four sides of the - pyramid rise steeply at an angle of fifty degrees and the pyramid is - terraced, each terrace being nine feet high, with a narrow horizontal - offset. The rises are faced with cut stone beautifully paneled. Each of - the four pyramid faces is vertically bisected by a wide stone stairway - more gentle in its incline than the angle of the pyramid itself but - still very long and steep. The stairs start at the top flush with the - ledge upon which the temple stands and draw away farther and farther, - as they descend, from the plane of the pyramid face, with an increasing - ratio of projection so that at the bottom they project an appreciable - distance beyond the pyramid base. Thus the stairways pleasingly break - the monotony of line—which is good art and good architecture. Like all - Maya stairways, they have narrow treads and high risers.</p> - - <p>The cult of Kukul Can, indicated everywhere in the City of the Sacred - Well, nowhere attains so overshadowing an importance as here in this - vast temple. Each of the four corners of the pyramid is bounded by the - huge undulating body of a stone serpent, extending from the ground - clear to the top of the pyramid. Each undulation of the serpent’s body - marks a terrace or gradient and to lift a single stone section of one - of these mammoth serpents would be a task for a dozen men. Everywhere - on the horizontal levels of the terraces springs up each year a thick - growth of grasses as high as a tall man’s head.</p> - - <p>The principal stairway, facing the north, is guarded at the base by - two huge heads of feathered serpents, jaws open, fangs displayed, - and forked tongues extended. And each of these heads, excepting only - the forked tongue, is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">78</span> hewn from a single solid block of stone, with - every crotalic detail perfectly carved. The bodies belonging to these - serpent heads, conventionalized into two broad, flat bands, extend up - the mound, one on each side of the stairway, to the principal entrance - of the temple. On the narrow platform and forming the main doorway of - this holy of holies are two more immense monolithic serpent heads, - now partially destroyed. They are used as pillars trisecting into - three parts the great forty-foot doorway. The conventionalized and - foreshortened head of the serpent forms the base of the column and the - foreshortened tail forms the capital which is, in its own way, no less - a worthy architectural creation than the Greek Corinthian column, with - its capital of acanthus leaves.</p> - - <p>The triply vaulted ceiling rests upon great sapote beams supported by - three-foot-thick walls and massive square-faced, paneled stone pillars. - This sapote wood, called <i>ya</i> by the natives, is dark red in color and - turns chocolate brown with age and exposure. It is nearly as heavy - as iron and is very hard. In many ways it resists the action of the - tropical elements better than metal, and insects seem to produce no - effect upon its adamantine surface. These beams are wondrously carved - and with few exceptions have faithfully sustained the tremendous weight - of stone put upon them. Only a few have broken with age, so that but - a part of the façade of the temple has fallen. For a thousand years, - at least, they have stood and at the time of the Conquest in 1540 they - were in much the same condition in which we now find them.</p> - - <p>In front of the main doorway originally stood a great stone table - with an intricately carved surface. It was supported by curious - Atlantean stone figures and some of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">79</span> these strange male caryatids were - bearded. Other figures on piers and columns within the temple also are - bearded—with one exception the only bearded figures portrayed in this - whole city which was inhabited by a beardless race. Close examination - shows, however, that the carved figures wear masks and it is the masks - which are bearded. This fact only enhances the mystery, pointing to the - possibility of a still more ancient past and of ritualistic traditions - so remote in their beginnings that all memory of their original meaning - has faded and only the ritual or empty shell remains of what was once - living fact. Analogous are some of the archaic Greek rituals and - Druidical rites.</p> - - <p>Who were the prototypes of these bearded figures? Were they the - mysterious, blue-eyed, fair-skinned people clad in armor who were - supposed to have once landed at Tamoclan near Tampico? Norsemen? Or - were they the old Atlanteans whose country Plato says “sank in one day - and one night beneath the waves of the ocean”?</p> - - <p>Of the many marvelous carvings and paintings in this temple I shall say - more in another chapter.</p> - - <p>Doubtless upon the wide level roof of the temple were performed - religious rites,—solemn invocations to the sun and the like,—for, - throughout, this edifice leaves one with the impression that its - character was purely religious. There are no warlike scenes pictured, - only solemnity and high reverence for the great gods.</p> - - <p>Lying within the shadow of El Castillo are the broken remains of - another building, called the Temple of the Tigers. It takes its name - from a frieze of bas-reliefs which is one of the outstanding treasures - of the lost art of the Mayas. In these wonderful carvings the sculptor<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">80</span> - has perfectly caught the feline vigor and grace of the American jaguar. - No doubt he had a first-hand knowledge of jaguars, which were very - plentiful then and still abound in this vicinity if one wishes to - go to the trouble of looking for them. To the Mayas the jaguar was - the “Protector of the Fields” because he lay in wait for the deer in - the open and cultivated spaces. It was the custom of the natives to - put some gift or friendly token in the corner of the field for this - god-like beast. Probably his very life was sacred as are those of many - animals in India.</p> - - <p>The Tiger Temple is built on a pyramid base with a stairway up the - side approaching a wide doorway which is divided by pillars into - three parts. Much of the sustaining pyramid has crumbled away, or - been removed, leaving the building perched on a sheer wall of roughly - cemented rubble as viewed from one side. The façade is thirty-five - feet long and twenty-two feet high and at each side of the entrance is - a great serpent’s head. Each of these monoliths weighs several tons - and is carved with amazing skill; every feature and scale is flawless - and they are painted or enameled, the colors being still visible if - not vivid. The head of each is green, while eyes and open mouth are - red. The scales end with the head, and the remainder of the body, - elaborately feathered, rises in a graceful cylindrical column, with - the tail now broken but originally projecting upward along the face - of the building and terminating in well-defined rattles. A portion - of the front roof has fallen, due to the breaking of wooden lintels - supporting the mass of stone of which it was composed, but fortunately - the serpents’ heads and the door columns are unharmed.</p> - - <p>All of the interior walls are solidly painted with battle <span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">81</span>scenes, - scenes of domestic life, and pictures of sacrificial pageants. Many - of the colors are as brilliant as the day they were laid on these - smooth walls, although the wonderful paintings have been much marred - by vandals. The many figures, each in a different posture, each - group differently clothed or armed, and all cleverly drawn, in good - proportion, and elaborately colored, are capable of holding the most - casual observer by the hour and are a never-ending delight to the - enthusiast.</p> - - <p>The Tiger Temple is in every way the prize exhibit among the - various edifices of the Sacred City, not for its size but for the - craftsmanship and charm of its every detail. And yet I must make one - small reservation, for just back and at the base of the Tiger Temple - is a small, almost ruined building, nameless, lacking a roof and a - front, yet containing on its three still standing walls and what little - remains of a ceiling more than eighty sculptured figures. There are - warriors in armor of metal, hide, and wood; priests in ceremonial - vestments; kings and chieftains. The various figures are distinct - and different from one another and the features are individual, - doubtless recognizable if we but knew the great men in whose likeness - they were carved. Each figure is identified by its own personal and - distinguishing sign, or mark, usually placed overhead. Vivid paint or - enamel was painstakingly applied to the sculpture and in many places it - is still pronounced.</p> - - <p>Some of the work is crude, other parts exquisitely refined, indicating - that it is not all the work of one man. I am told by those well versed - in stone-carving and the making of bas-reliefs that even with modern - stone-cutting tools it would take one man at least twenty years - to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">82</span> accomplish this work. For lack of a better name I always call - this wonderful roofless place the Temple of Bas-Reliefs. When first - observed, the sculptured walls look merely like a variegated patchwork. - In order to see it at its best one should arrive at about ten o’clock - in the morning, at which time the shadows cast by the background bring - out all the raised parts in strong contrast and the whole procession - of priests and warriors marches clearly before one’s eyes. The south - wall, however, can be seen at its best only for a short time soon after - sunrise and it is well worth the discomfort of early rising. Very - probably there was an arrangement of smooth-faced, light-reflecting - pillars in this building which caused all the walls to stand out in - bold relief.</p> - - <p>In the middle of the floor and facing the entrance squats a stone - jaguar. Perhaps upon his broad, flat back may have been placed holy - offerings to the gods.</p> - - <p>The fallen front of this temple was once supported by two finely carved - and painted square columns, still majestically erect, and remindful of - those other ancient temples of Greece and Egypt.</p> - - <p>And now we come to what is perhaps the most curious thing in the whole - metropolis. The Tiger Temple, the Temple of Bas-Reliefs, and two other - buildings surrounded a great inclosure having a flat paved floor - four hundred and twenty feet long, bounded on the sides by smooth, - perpendicular walls more than twenty feet high and thirty feet thick.</p> - - <p>A hundred feet from the northern extremity of this extraordinary court - and facing it is a building consisting of a single chamber. Its front - wall is lacking, but arising from the rubbish are two ornamented round - columns<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">83</span> which were evidently the supports for the wall. The whole - interior of the building, from floor to peak, is covered with worn and - faded bas-reliefs. In the center of the rear wall is the perfect figure - of a man, bearded and with decidedly Hebraic features.</p> - - <p>At the opposite end of the court and a hundred feet back from it is a - building extending nearly the entire width of the court. The roof of - this structure has fallen, but the remains of sculptured square columns - are visible.</p> - - <p>And on the two side walls of the court, on the precise middle line, - were mounted two great carved stone rings, like millstones, twenty feet - above the floor. Each ring is beautifully carved with the entwined - bodies of serpents. The rings are four feet in diameter and a foot - thick, and the hole in each is one foot seven inches in diameter. One - of these rings is still mounted in the masonry of the wall, while its - counterpart once on the adjacent wall has fallen, but, happily, is - unbroken.</p> - - <p>A very similar court and similar rings have been found at Uxmal, - another ancient Maya city of Yucatan.</p> - - <p>Obviously this court was intended for some public game and it has - therefore been given the name of the Tennis-court or Gymnasium. In - an account of the diversions of Montezuma, given by Herrera, who - accompanied Cortes, is the following illuminating description:</p> - - <blockquote> - <p>The Emperor took much delight in seeing the game of ball which - the Spaniards have since prohibited due to the mischief which - often happens at the game. By the Aztecs this game was called - <i lang="myn">tlachtli</i>—being like our tennis. The ball was made from the - gum of a tree that grows in hot countries, which, after having - holes made in it, distills great white drops that soon harden - and being worked and molded together, this material turns as - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">84</span> - black as pitch.<a id="FNanchor_5" href="#Footnote_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> The balls made thereof, although quite - hard and heavy to the hand, did bound and fly as well as our - footballs and there was no need to blow them, nor did they use - staves. They struck the ball with any part of the body as it - happened or as they could most conveniently. Sometimes he lost - who touched it with any other part but his hips, which was - looked upon among them as very dexterous and for the purpose - that the ball might rebound better they fastened a piece of - stiff leather on to their hips. They might strike the ball - every time it rebounded, which it would do several times one - after another, in so much that it looked as if it had been - alive. They played in parties, so many on each side, for a load - of mantles or what the gamesters could afford. They also played - for gold and feather work and sometimes they played themselves - away. The place where they played was a ground room, long, - narrow and high and higher at the sides than at the ends. They - kept the walls plastered and smooth, also the floor. On the - side walls they fixed certain stones like those used in a mill, - with a hole quite through the middle. The hole was just as big - as the ball and he who could strike it through thereby won the - game, and in token of its being an extraordinary success which - rarely happened, he had the right to the cloaks of all the - lookers-on.</p> - - <p>It was very pleasant to see that as soon as ever the ball was - in the hole, those standing by took to their heels, running - away with all their might to save their cloaks, laughing and - rejoicing, while others scoured after them to secure their - cloaks for the winner, who was obliged to offer some sacrifice - to the idol of the Court and to the stone whose hole the ball - had passed.</p> - - <p>Every Court had a temple day where at midnight they performed - certain ceremonies and enchantments on the two walls and on the - middle of the floor, singing certain songs or ballads, after - which a priest of the Great Temple went with some of their - religious men to bless it. He uttered some words, threw the - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">85</span> - ball about the court four times (towards the four points of - the compass) and then it was consecrated and might be played - in, but not before.</p> - - <p>The owner of the Court, who was also a lord, never played - without making some offering and performing some ceremony to - the Idol of the Game, which shows how superstitious they were - even in their diversions.</p> - </blockquote> - - <p>This account which has come down to us will save much head-scratching - on the part of future archæologists as to the purpose of the unique - court and its carved millstones.</p> - - <p>The Gymnasium or Tennis-court and the buildings surrounding it were not - pure Mayan, but were unquestionably introduced under the Nahuatl or - Aztec régime.</p> - - <p>Nearly all of the remaining buildings are in too bad a condition to - yield much of further interest until careful digging and replacing - of fallen parts can restore them to some semblance of their original - form. One such fallen temple on a great pyramid is now marked only - by four nine-foot pillars whose square sides are chiseled with - queer bearded figures, some of whom carry what I can only call a - “rabbit-stick”—evidently some sort of ceremonial staff or wand. These - pillars were unquestionably the front of an immense temple whose wooden - lintels have given way, letting fall the whole edifice. In front of - this ruin were several stone tables, and apparently they stretched at - one time, end to end, clear across the base of the pyramid. The tables - were of various heights and consisted of stone slabs six inches thick - and about three feet wide. They were supported by grotesque dwarfish - Atlantean figures with upraised hands, the palms held flat and on a - level with their heads. While grotesque, these<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">86</span> figures have much - dignity and sureness of line. Originally they were brightly painted.</p> - - <p>The tables have been so disarranged that it is impossible to tell what - was their original position or even to guess at their purpose. The - temple faced west, as indicated by the broken stairway leading up to - it. In the midst of the debris lies a fractured serpent column nearly - five feet in length, with a stone tongue projecting two feet from its - fanged lips. The column rising from the serpent’s head is two feet in - diameter and its capital was the creature’s tail. The broken outlines - of a rear chamber reached through a vestibule just behind the serpent - column measure thirty-six by fifteen feet. The doorway of the chamber - has square-cut, sculptured jambs.</p> - - <p>A few hundred feet to the north is the ruined Temple of the Cones. - Strewn all about are large cone-shaped stones like big projectiles, but - cut and carved. It is thought that they formed some sort of ornamental - frieze. Some are handsomely sculptured. There are also in this vicinity - figures of the Chac Mool type—an animal body, usually a jaguar, with - the head of a man.</p> - - <p>Some distance to the right of El Castillo are the ruins of what must - have been a very important temple. They occupy a great irregular mound - some six hundred feet long and are bordered by several pyramids and - other ruins of varied character. The largest of the pyramids is fifty - feet high and stands in the northwest corner of the group of ruins. - All that remains of it are columns, but there are almost a forest of - them, some round, some square. We have called this ruin the Temple of - Columns. It seems as though here must have been an elaborate plaza of - temples, colonnades, and sunken courts.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">87</span> Even now archæologists from - the Carnegie Foundation of Washington, D.C., are at work in reclaiming - this portion of the Sacred City from the jungle, clearing the debris - and working out the jig-saw puzzle of replacing each fallen stone in - its rightful position.</p> - - <p>Everywhere for miles one comes upon huddled debris-covered mounds and - carved stones. In the very heart of the jungle is the overgrown ruin - of a tremendous pyramid and temple, while here and there unexpected - columns rise amid the trees. More than thirty such ruins have been - counted, choked by rank jungle growth—palaces, no doubt, of high - priests and mighty chieftains. And I think sadly as I view them that - the study of archæology is long and time is fleeting.</p> - - <hr class="page" /> - <div class="chapter" id="CHAPTER_VI"> - <span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_88"></a>88</span> - <h2>CHAPTER VI<br /> - <span class="small">AN IDLE DAY IN THE JUNGLE</span></h2> - </div> - - <p class="drop-cap">SEVERAL thousands of years before that sturdy Scotch engineer John - MacAdam gave to the world the broken-rock road surface known as - “macadam,” which has done so much to make communication easier, roads - were built in Yucatan that embodied all of his sound principles of - road-making. And MacAdam lived and died without ever having heard - of them. In fact, he had been sleeping beneath the green sod of his - native kirk for at least a decade before Europe or North America knew - that these old roads of Yucatan existed. The thoroughness and good - engineering of their construction rival the famous roads of the Roman - Empire or of present-day highways.</p> - - <p>In ancient times Chi-chen Itza and all the great and lesser cities of - the Yucatan peninsula were linked by a network of smooth, hard-surfaced - highways. The Mayas of to-day call these old roads <i lang="myn">zac-be-ob</i>, or - white ways. The name is of ancient origin, used, perhaps, by the - very builders themselves and no doubt these roads were like ribbons - stretching mile after mile through field and forest and deserving - quite as much the appellation of “White Way” as any of our blazing - night-lighted thoroughfares.</p> - - <p>But alas! they are no longer white, no longer even distinguishable as - roads for any great distance, but are buried beneath matted roots and - brown earth. And this<span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">89</span> land which once had the best roads on earth - became a place where until recently good roads were unknown, where - every cow-path was called <i lang="es">camino real</i> or royal road but was decidedly - unregal.</p> - - <p>Don Eduardo has painstakingly studied the old highways and for the rest - of this chapter I will merely repeat what he has so often told me:</p> - - <p>“The old roads, each and every one, went down to bed-rock, and upon that - solid foundation was built up a ballast of broken limestone, with the - larger stones at the bottom. As the surface of the road was reached, - smaller stones were used and the crevices were filled in. And the whole - face of the road was given a smooth, hard coating of a mortar cement of - lime and finely sifted white earth, known then and to-day as <i lang="myn">zac-cab</i>. - The hard-pan of Yucatan is limestone ledge rock and as a rule it is not - very far beneath the surface soil. Often in the building of roads the - first layer or ballast consisted of large boulders, not merely tumbled - in haphazard, but carefully placed and with the interstices filled in - with smaller stones, painstakingly fitted and hammered into place. Thus - a firm anchorage was provided that has held through the centuries. - The second and third courses, each of smaller boulders and stones, - were quite as carefully placed. The final course was constructed of - stones the size of a bushel basket and smaller, wedged together with - rock fragments. Within a foot or so of the desired road-level, rock - fragments from the size of an egg to that of a small walnut were - leveled in, a grouting made, and the whole pounded until a hard, level - surface was obtained. Mortar or cement was then applied in a thin - coating and when this had hardened sufficiently gangs of stout-muscled - laborers <span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">90</span>armed with smooth, fine-grained polishing-stones rubbed the - plastic surface until it became compacted into a polished flatness - almost as smooth-coated as tile and nearly as hard.</p> - - <p>“The majority of the stones used were not quarried but were isolated - boulders rounded by erosion and stained with iron from the ‘red earth’ - in which they are usually found. Seldom was any rock used which could - easily be cut and used for the construction of buildings or temples.</p> - - <p>“These old highways—what a tremendous labor they must have been! What - miles and miles of carrying the stones to build them! And nothing but - man-power to move the huge boulders. Centuries, perhaps, were spent in - the building, and millions of sweating men.</p> - - <p>“Their traffic problems did not concern vehicles, not even horses - nor other beasts of burden. The roads were built for travelers afoot - and the burden-carriers were men, traveling in single file as human - carriers do the world over. And yet there must have been much traffic, - for some of these roads are twenty-five feet in width, so that four - files of men with their loads could easily pass, two lines going one - way and two in the opposite direction.</p> - - <p>“The largest and longest of these ancient roadways connects Chi-chen - Itza with the once important cities of Uxmal and Tiho. It is - twenty-five feet wide. The long road from Chi-chen Itza to ancient - Zac-ci (now Valladolid) and the unnamed but important towns between - Zac-ci and Lake Co-ba, is bifurcated again and again into more and more - narrow highways, resembling creeks flowing together to form eventually - a mighty river.</p> - - <p>“What a picture these forgotten roads must have been in the golden - age of the Mayas!—pulsing with life,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">91</span> crowded with water-carriers, - venders, idlers, pious pilgrims, nobles with their retinues, farmers - bringing their produce to the city, itinerant craftsmen, rich men, - beggarmen, thieves; a cheerful jostling of motley and purple; a riot of - color and of all the things men buy and sell.</p> - - <p>“Came a squad of soldiers, crystal-tipped lances glinting in the - sunlight; or a solemn procession of priests and devotees with sacred - whistles shrilling or the boom of the <i lang="myn">tunkul</i>, while the laughing - crowd parted and made silent obeisance to the holy ones.</p> - - <p>“Along the sides of the road every now and then are low raised - platforms, or elevations, which have lost all semblance of their - pristine contours, so that one can only guess at their purpose. It - has been suggested that they were originally hollowed out and were - <i lang="myn">holtunes</i>, hollow stones, or water-reservoirs, where the traveler - might quench his thirst. My own examination of them convinces me - that they were, for the major part at least, nothing more than - resting-places where the carrier might deposit his load, letting - slip the band from about his forehead which held the burden on his - shoulders. And well he might rest, this ancestor of the present sturdy - Maya, for he bore just as incredibly heavy burdens for as incredibly - long distances.</p> - - <p>“There is a striking similarity in the practical engineering of the - Maya roadways and the construction of the stone terraces upon which the - temples were built. One day, bent upon the study of such construction - and to verify certain conclusions I had reached, I had recourse to - a deep excavation made in the base mound or pyramid of an important - fallen structure which is located some distance north of the Great - Pyramid of El Castillo.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">92</span> This excavation, so some of the natives told - me, had been made by a ‘stranger’ (white man), short of body but - thick-set and very powerful. He was, they said, ‘a very positive man, - with a long gray beard, and this was so long ago that few are now alive - who remember.’ No one who has ever seen and known the late Doctor Le - Plongeon, intrepid investigator and discoverer of the famous monumental - ‘Chac Mool’ figure, could fail to recognize the faithfulness of this - native description. And from all his years of labor Doctor Le Plongeon - evolved a Mayan theology which is either inspired or the result of - a mentality unhinged by too great labor. Certainly it seems to be - imagination run wild, with little of fact to bear it out. It is no less - than tragic, for never did archæologist drive himself to more herculean - effort than did Le Plongeon.</p> - - <p>“To resume my story, this excavation was like a deep chasm, bisecting - the crowning platform and going clear down to bed-rock, and thus it - fitted perfectly my purpose. Nearly forty years had passed since Le - Plongeon made the excavation, and Nature had done her best with wind - and rain and vegetation to heal the wound. Loosened material from - the sides of the cut had fallen in, providing an excellent bed for - climbing vines, saplings, and big-leafed plants. The roots of big - trees, no longer supported by the stones, had given way and the trees - had fallen, bridging with their trunks the crevice. Vines, saplings, - and flowering plants grew up and twined about and embraced the bridging - tree trunks, so that one would scarcely know without close scrutiny - that an excavation had been made. The two tree trunks which lay side by - side, bridging the space overhead, were both of hardwood. <span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">93</span>One was a - <i lang="myn">yax-nic</i>, light-colored and with bark of silver gray, while the other - was a <i lang="myn">chac-ti</i>, dark red and with loose-held bark, in decay separating - from the trunk in long, curling ribbons.</p> - - <p>“Near me were many big spiders, flat, crab-like and motionless, yet - with bright pin-point eyes that seemed fiercely awake, waiting and - watching for whatever prey might come to their nipper-like jaws. - Their long legs and still longer caliper-pointed antennæ lay sprawled - flat against the tree trunks so close that on casual inspection the - creatures might pass for bits of tree fungus. Small lizard-like - reptiles, with beautiful diamond-like eyes and heads as ugly as sin, - sprinted up and down the tree trunks and under and over the branches, - skilfully avoiding the spiders and other dangers. Both spiders and tiny - lizards on the <i lang="myn">yax-nic</i> trunk were gray in color, blending perfectly - with the bark surface, while those on the <i lang="myn">chac-ti</i> trunk were dull - red to match the bark—an example of natural camouflage or protective - coloring as striking as any I have ever seen.</p> - - <p>“Out came the powerful pocket magnifying-glass which I always carry. - While looking at a gorgeous little insect decked in gold and green, I - became aware of a commotion in the <i lang="myn">yax-nic</i> tree and turned the lens - in that direction. What I saw was a fearsome-looking head and a body - that was no less than an walking horror. The head seemed to be all jaws - and glittering eyes—deep, powerful grinding mandibles that worked like - steel-cutting shears; eyes lidless, unblinking, bulging, and coldly - cruel. And the whole body and pointed legs were incased in gray armor - of metallic luster. It was with a sigh of relief that I laid down the - lens and realized that I had been gazing<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">94</span> only at a spider and not some - antediluvian monster. Except for the comforting fact of relativity of - size between man and these creatures, I doubt if there ever existed - three more terrifying animals than the crab-like spider, <i lang="myn">chin-tun</i>, - the tiny crested lizard, <i lang="myn">hu</i>, and the giant-armored ant, <i lang="myn">choch</i>, - whose sting is worse than that of the scorpion, often producing fever - and sometimes death.</p> - - <p>“Directly overhead, between the fallen trees, I could see growing at - the top of the mound the thorny <i lang="myn">katzin</i>, one long branch of which - swayed over the brink of the man-made chasm. And almost at the very tip - of this branch hung the pensile nest of an oriole, with the brilliant - feathered male singing his lungs out beside it. The gold-and-black - plumage against the green leaves and the glossy jet-black Spanish moss - of which the nest was made produced a picture that Gauguin would surely - have longed to put on canvas. Suddenly his song ended in a high-pitched - scream, as a brown hawk swooped from the sky and clutched not the bird - but the nest. With one scaly talon the pirate gripped the neck of the - nest, while with the other he tore at its woven bottom. He worked like - a flash, but my revolver flashed yet more quickly and effectively. The - mother bird and the eggs, I think, were saved, but the nest was sadly - in need of the work of an expert in oriole nest-repairing and I imagine - it was some time before the master of the house recovered sufficiently - from his fright to resume his liquid melody. At least I heard no more - from him that day, although every other bird in the neighborhood - immediately dropped what he was doing and came over to view the damage - and condole with or congratulate the victims of the assault, so that it - was a full ten minutes before the jungle<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">95</span> resumed its habitual quiet - and the averted tragedy was sufficiently forgotten for the near-by - <i lang="myn">dzaypkin</i>, or tree cicada, to resume his not unmusical note that - sounds like a muted automobile siren.</p> - - <p>“I had outlined my work for the morrow, selected the place where the - shovel should follow out the prodigious work of Le Plongeon, gone these - many years. I had even snapped the rubber band back on my note-book - and was turning my thoughts luncheonward when almost between my feet - I heard a frightened squeak and saw a small brown rabbit dart from - the opening under the stone ledge on which I was sitting and scurry - into the adjoining underbrush at a speed incredible even for a much - frightened bunny.</p> - - <p>“This looked promising and I concluded to sit a while longer and wait - developments. Only a few seconds elapsed before there emerged from the - same hole the blunt ophidian head of an enormous boa-constrictor. The - unpleasant creature came out uncertainly and the ugly head wavered - about nearly on a level with my knees and much too close for comfort. - Boas, I think, have not a very keen power of scent. This one, at least, - seemed to take up the trail of the rabbit with some difficulty. Yet I - can believe, too, that that particular rabbit got over the ground so - quickly that he left no scent whatever. Or it is possible that the near - presence of an unseen human being bewildered the scent faculties of the - huge snake.</p> - - <p>“You may be sure that I had kept very, very still, trying to believe - what has so often been told me—that few jungle creatures recognize man - by his form alone as long as he remains silent and motionless. At any<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">96</span> - rate, the big reptile finally started in the general direction taken by - the rabbit, which no doubt was several hundred miles away by that time - if he had maintained his initial rate of travel. Apparently the same - idea came to the boa, for he soon reappeared and, still heedless of my - presence, passed almost between my legs and reëntered what appeared - to be his permanent home, on the ground floor of the pyramid, in the - interstices between the big stones which formed its base.</p> - - <p>“After making sure that he had entirely gone in and, figuratively - speaking, closed the door after him, I took his measurements from - observations on certain stone projections he had passed. He was not - less than sixteen and a half feet long. Deciding that I had had quite - enough adventure for one morning, I bade the spot adieu and went home - to lunch.”</p> - - <hr class="page" /> - <div class="chapter" id="CHAPTER_VII"> - <span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_97"></a>97</span> - <h2>CHAPTER VII<br /> - <span class="small">THE SACRED WELL</span></h2> - </div> - - <p class="drop-cap">YUCATAN has a peculiar geological structure. The soil is usually very - thin, and beneath it is porous limestone rock. Owing to the thinness of - the soil, vegetation, prolific as it is, does not grow high and the few - large trees grow only where the bed-rock has in some way been broken, - thus providing depth of soil for the roots.</p> - - <p>The limestone foundation is of minute sea-shells, for it was all once - sea-bottom; and this porous rock is very subject to erosion, so that - the whole peninsula is honeycombed with subterranean streams and - channels and caves, while every here and there are natural wells, - or cenotes. Some, like the two greater wells at Chi-chen Itza, are - very wide and deep; others are tiny. Nowhere is the elevation above - sea-level great, and many of these natural wells extend down to - sea-level and are fed by seepage from the sea. Others, of course, are - partly fed by surface drainage and nearly all provide an inexhaustible - supply of water. Indeed, I believe that it would be practically - impossible to provide any pumping equipment which would drain the huge - Sacred Well.</p> - - <p>In the case of nearly all these wells, except those very close to the - sea-coast, the water does not contain salt or minerals evident to the - taste, as the limestone rock is a perfect filter. The water, however, - as might be expected<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">98</span> in this tropical setting, is fairly alive with - animalcula. One soon becomes accustomed to such fleshy nourishment in - his beverage and ceases to find it unpleasant.</p> - - <p>In the dry season the cenotes provide virtually the only water-supply, - because there are almost no lakes or surface streams. Owing to the - porosity of the rock, moisture sinks into the earth very rapidly and in - only a little while after a heavy rain the ground is again quite dry. - To-day, as in ancient times, life is dependent upon the natural wells - and it is easy to see why the city of Chi-chen Itza was located as it - is. On every hacienda, the manor is built adjacent to a cenote. So, - too, are the villages. While cenotes are not rare, still they are not - common enough to provide a convenient water-supply for the majority of - the populace.</p> - - <p>In Mérida the wealthy inhabitants have cenotes upon their grounds, - providing delightful places to bathe. And around them many pretty - grottos or underground chambers have been hollowed out from the rock - by artificial means, where it is always cool and where the families - resort in the heat of the day. Cenotes are often found in the jungle - and sometimes are ideal places for hunting. Where the well has sloping - walls or a reasonably good path down to the water, it is sure to be - patronized by wild animals of all kinds. Many cenotes contain fish, - especially catfish.</p> - - <p>One device employed in olden times and still used to augment the - water-supply is a shallow reservoir, or cistern, called a chultun - (stone calabash), which fills with water in the rainy season and tides - over, to a certain extent, the arid months. But it is usually a dry - hole before the dry season is far advanced. These rain-cisterns<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">99</span> are - of all sizes and shapes. There are a few ruined cities, like Uxmal, - which had no cenotes or other natural water-supply and which must have - depended solely upon the impounded water of many chultuns.</p> - - <p>The inexhaustible natural wells were early utilized by the Spanish - plantation-owners, who in the irrigation of their fields employed the - noria, that ancient, rather clumsy big wheel with water-buckets or - dippers fastened to its periphery. It is in operation to-day in Yucatan - just as it is in Spain and the Levant.</p> - - <p>At Chi-chen Itza are three main cenotes and some lesser ones. The - Sacred Well was called “Chen Ku” (<i lang="myn">Chen</i> means “well”) and was never - called <i lang="myn">dzonot</i>, or cenote, which gives the impression that the great - well may have been made by human effort or at least was thus enlarged. - Perhaps, however, this idea that human agency was employed in its - construction may have arisen mostly from the fact of its circular form - and perpendicular sides, which may quite logically have been the work - of Nature alone, or Nature aided by man. De Sander speaks of this well - as having been formed in part by man, and I think his theory is not - improbable. But surely the great well is, for the most part, a work of - Nature.</p> - - <p>Tol-oc, the next largest well in the Sacred City, was the main source - of potable water. In ancient times a stone stairway led down into its - waters. To-day the upper steps are gone, but one can see a clearly - defined line of chiseled steps some three feet or more beneath the - surface and adjacent to these is distinguishable another line of steps. - Don Eduardo thinks the stairway originally consisted of a broad flight - leading from the top of the well down to the water-level and that at - its base<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">100</span> was a narrow stone platform. It is impossible to determine - now how wide the stairway was, or whether or not his surmise is correct - that there was a platform at the bottom.</p> - - <p>His conclusions were made several years ago, when the water in the well - was unusually low. The fact that the rise and fall of the water-level - in this cenote bears little if any relation to local rain-fall leads - to the belief that its principal source is far distant and comes down - through some permeable rock strata, until by reason of a rock fault - it gushes up into the well of Tol-oc. Overhanging the wall are large - trees, orchid-covered, whose delicate perfume floats down to meet the - water. There are orchids here that would quickly make a fortune for a - New York florist.</p> - - <p>At first sight the water seems dust-covered and turgid, but the dust - on the surface is only pollen from the orchids and the big lilies that - cluster against the cliff-like walls. It is therefore good, clean, and - deeply poetic dust, and beneath the surface the water is crystal clear - and cold as any bubbling New England spring. To bathe in Tol-oc is an - unalloyed joy.</p> - - <p>The large cenote of X-Katum also is on the outskirts of the city and - is famous among the natives to-day for the purity and softness of its - water. It has no recorded history nor traditions, but the worn grooves - in the solid stone of its brink, where ropes have raised and lowered - countless jars for countless centuries, is testimony more eloquent than - words.</p> - - <p>The many other cenotes in and around the city all contain very pure - water and are apparently inexhaustible. Around them are the remains - in stone and mortar of what<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">101</span> were surely important structures. Near - the cenote of Yula, which is almost six miles from the center of the - ancient city, Don Eduardo was fortunate enough to uncover a large stone - tablet, one side of which is entirely filled with clear, minutely - carved hieroglyphs.</p> - - <p>The Via Sacra—the causeway, once so straight and smooth, leading to - the Sacred Well—is now in bad condition, its outline dulled by time. - Great trees border it and their branches arch overhead, while their - roots have raised and broken the smooth avenue until it no longer - resembles a road. Smaller trees are rooted in the roadway itself.</p> - - <p>The Sacred Well is a great pit, with sheer stone sides which are - slightly irregular. Its form is elliptical, almost circular. At the - side nearest the Great Pyramid is a small ruined sanctuary where the - last rites were performed before a maiden was thrown into the well to - become the bride of the Rain God. The ground for some distance about - this sanctuary was paved with stones. The Sacred Well, at whose bottom - dwelt Yum Chac, the Rain God, is more than one hundred and sixty feet - wide and as one gazes down its vertical sides, the drop to the water - seems tremendous; indeed it is fully seventy feet.</p> - - <p>The sheer wall of the well is laminated, split horizontally into two - thousand bands or strata of limestone, of various widths. Some of these - bands appear hardly thicker than a sheet of paper, others as wide as - a house is high, and every lamination is separated from its neighbor - by a sandwich filling of thin lime-powder. The striated appearance is - very striking, because the laminations are dead black except where - vines, trees, and orchids or other<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">102</span> parasitic plants or fungi cling - to and lend color to the surface. The layers of lime-dust between the - strata of rock are either pure white or cream-colored. The powder - has a hard-packed coherency, but the elements—sun, wind, and rain - together—loosen enough of it so that the plants and the surface of the - water are always covered with a thin film of dust. All about the edge - of the well is a fringe of trees, and a surprising amount of vegetation - has found a root-hold between the rock laminations of the perpendicular - walls.</p> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i_102"> - <img src="images/i_102.jpg" width="550" height="426" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">THIS PLAN INDICATES THE GENERAL SHAPE AND SIZE OF THE - SACRED WELL AND THE LOCATION OF THE SHRINE OF THE LAST RITES</div> - </div> - - <p>The placid water of the pool is jade-green, due partly to the great - depth, and partly, I believe, to traces of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">103</span> certain salts or solubles - in the water, although I cannot speak with certainty on this point, as - I have never subjected it to chemical analysis. I have tried many, many - times to get a really good photograph of the Sacred Well and have come - to the conclusion that only the motion camera, or an airplane view can - ever succeed in reproducing the sight. The “still” photograph, taken - from the brink, shows either an expanse of wall and little water or - much water and little wall. For this reason the illustration opposite - <a href="#i_113">page 113</a> fails to show the whole well and does not begin to do justice - to this most interesting, historic spot.</p> - - <p>As Don Eduardo and I sat on the crumbling walls of the shrine, at the - very brink of the Sacred Well, he told me of his famous undertaking, - now so successfully carried out—the removal of the ancient treasures - from the very bottom of the Sacred Well.</p> - - <p>“For many years,” he said, “the thought of exploring the bottom of the - Sacred Well had filled my mind. I thought about it by day and dreamed - about it by night. It became a mania which would not let me rest and - earned for me the reputation of being a little queer in the head. A - thousand times I had gone over in my mind the practical ways and means - that might be employed. Draining, dredging, or diving—it must be - one of these three. I early became convinced that probably the well - could not be drained, and certainly not with the slender finances at - my command. I concluded at last that it could be dredged, and with - comparatively simple equipment consisting of a stiff-legged derrick - with a hand windlass, a long boom which might be swung out over the - well, and a steel orange-peel buck-scoop, or bucket.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">104</span></p> - - <p>“Simple as the undertaking sounds, it was beset at every turn with - difficulties. The equipment, especially contrived and designed, was - easily ordered in the United States and put aboard ship. Getting it - ashore at Progreso, where it had to be unloaded five miles out and - lightered to shore, was the first hard job. Loading it on flat-cars - and finally unloading it at Dzitas, sixteen miles from my city, was - no less difficult. With only native assistance, without trucks or - anything adequate on wheels, and over the poorest excuse for a road, - the equipment was moved piecemeal, until, after months of the hardest - work I have ever done, it was all piled beside the Sacred Well.</p> - - <p>“Assembling the machinery was a task of shorter duration but no less - strenuous. I would at that time have given gladly some years of my - life for the services, for a few hours, of one or two brawny, profane, - and competent Yankee ‘riggers.’ Time and again, before the cumbersome - outfit was completely in place, I expected it to topple into the well - or fall upon me and my Indians.</p> - - <p>“At last all was ready. My Indians, about thirty in number, each had - his appointed task. The most trusted were to man the windlass and the - turning of the boom from whose projecting end hung the cable-suspended - dredging-scoop. The boom was swung out until it extended far over the - well. I gave the signal and the steel bucket descended, disappeared - under the green water, and at last came to rest on the bottom. Slowly - the boom was swung back toward the brink of the pit and stopped. Eager - hands manned the windlass to raise the bucket. Seemingly endless feet - of wet cable were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">105</span> wound about the drum before the filled bucket - broke the surface of the water. Up and up it rose, until it was on a - level with our heads; then it was swung in by the boom and lowered to - the spot which I had selected, where every precious scoopful should - be minutely and painstakingly examined on the sorting-tables I had - erected. No treasure must slip through our hands; nothing must be - damaged by careless handling. Anything perishable must be immediately - treated with the preservatives which were ready and waiting. My - hands trembled, in spite of my effort to control them, as I emptied - the contents of the scoop upon the sorting-tables, for soon I must - be either ‘that clever chap who recovered the treasures from the - Sacred Well in Yucatan’ or else the prize idiot of the whole Western - Hemisphere.</p> - - <p>“I went over the muck, spreading it out, examining every bit of it, and - found nothing; not a trace of anything interesting. It might just as - well have come from any cesspool.</p> - - <p>“Again the winch revolved, its ratchets clinking against the brake. The - big scoop, with its hungry steel lips wide open, plunged into the still - water. The Sacred Well seemed sullen in the reflection of a black cloud - overhead, as though determined to the very last to withhold its secrets.</p> - - <p>“And so it was, day after day. The winch rolled and unrolled its cable - of steel and its manila ropes. The triple-pointed steel jaws dived into - the soft, yielding muck many feet below the surface of the well, and - came dripping up to deposit their burden. And day after day I found - nothing but ill-smelling rotted leaves and a few stones, prevented from - sinking into the mud by rotting<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">106</span> tree branches which had fallen into - the well and which, when not too decayed to stand the bite of the steel - jaws, were brought up by the dredge. Sometimes whole trees were brought - up and their weight made our steel cable sing like the string of a bass - viol as the sodden mass was swung underneath the surface to free as - much of it as possible and so reduce the weight before raising it clear - of the water and dropping it again in another part of the pool where it - sank with a splash and swirl of water.</p> - - <p>“At times the dredge, working between two entangled trees, was caught - as in a trap and we experienced very real difficulties and dangers in - freeing it. When the whole mass could be raised to the surface, agile - natives with axes and machetes always managed to get down to it and, - clinging precariously to cable and bucket, free it from its rotting - incubus. For hours at a time we labored with such delaying obstacles, - but always in the end the winch again rolled out its cable and then - coiled it up with nothing but a mouthful of the mucky bed of the pool.</p> - - <p>“Several times we brought up the skeletons of deer or of wild hogs and - once the tangled skeletons of a jaguar and a cow, mute evidence of a - long-past forest tragedy—the cow feeding quietly, probably at night; - the spring of the hungry forest cat and the agonized, purposeless - flight of the bleeding quarry with the clawing jungle beast clinging - to it; the last frantic leap into the well where both were doubtless - stunned or killed by the seventy-foot drop to the surface of the water.</p> - - <p>“Then, for a long while, finds even as interesting as these ceased. - Absolutely nothing was brought up but mud and leaves, leaves and - mud, with an occasional stone<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">107</span> thrown in for good measure. My high - hopes dwindled to nothing and became less than nothing. The work was - interminable, nauseating. Doggedly I kept at it, however, determined - not to stop until the absolute rock bottom of the well was reached. I - tried not to let my Indians see that I was discouraged, but they did - see it nevertheless and I think wondered every day how much longer the - crazy stranger would persist in his foolishness and pay them high wages - for bringing up mud, useless even as fertilizer, from the bottom of an - abandoned well.</p> - - <p>“But Fate was even then preparing a pleasant surprise, for one day when - things seemed darkest—a gloomy, rainy day when everything was soggy - and sodden with moisture—the dredge brought up what first appeared - to be two ostrich eggs, cream-colored and oval against the black mud - in which they rested. These proved to be balls of copal incense and - they revived at once my waning hopes. We had several times previously - brought up fragments of earthenware which seemed to be of ancient - origin and probably were, but I could not permit myself any illusions - about them. Similar ancient potsherds are not uncommon on the surface - of the ancient city. A boy ... some boy ... this year ... ten years - ago ... a hundred years or ten centuries ago ... might have taken up - a potsherd and skittered it into the well. Boy nature has not changed - through the centuries and certainly no boy with a nice, flat chip of a - water-jug at hand could have resisted the urge to see it skip far down - and across the water of this big pool. And so the potsherds we brought - up might well be ancient without having been long buried in the well.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">108</span></p> - - <p>“But the balls of copal, or aromatic resin, left no doubt. Surely they - were thrown into the Sacred Well as an offering to the Rain God in - those long-past centuries when Chi-chen Itza was a great and holy city, - the Mecca of the Mayas! With the evidence that this day brought forth - came the conviction that the long siege was at an end and that it was - merely a question of time before other and more important treasures - would be brought to light. They proved to my satisfaction that the - well did really have a religious significance in the olden days and - therefore the legends concerning it were doubtless true in the main.</p> - - <p>“From that time on, nearly every shovelful contained some trove—balls - of copal incense or baskets that had been filled with plastic copal. - The basket-work had nearly all rotted away, but the deep impress of - its weaving still remained on the masses of hardened copal. There were - tripod vessels often filled with copal and rubber incense; wooden - fragments of various forms and of unknown use but indicating the skill - of some ancient craftsman. And among these wooden things were several - pieces of wood made in the form of an old-fashioned English bill-hook - or of a pruning-knife. My natives looked at them as they came up from - the sacred pool and called them machetes of wood, but my heart sang - with joy as I viewed them. No sword of damask steel, no Toledo blade - could compare in historical value to these simple wooden implements, - for they were, in the most primitive form, those strange weapons of the - ancient Mayas and kindred races which the eye of the twentieth century - had never previously beheld except in pictured form. These wooden - weapons were dart-throwers<span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">109</span>— the <i lang="myn">hul-che</i> of the Mayas; the <i lang="myn">atlatl</i> - of the Nahuatls. They are pictured many times upon the walls of the old - temples. Warriors are shown in every attitude of throwing the dart from - the <i lang="myn">hul-che</i>.</p> - - <p>“The <i lang="myn">hul-che</i>, or throwing-stick, of the Mayas is in its most - primitive form more elemental than the bow and arrow, more elemental - even than the <i lang="myn">yun-tun</i>, or sling, for throwing stones. The first - ones we brought up from the well were so near the birth-type that the - hook was actually formed by the natural twist of the wood where the - branch had been cut from the parent stem. In ages past, some jungle - man, lacking a club and needing a weapon, pulled up a sapling that - had attached at its root a secondary branch. As he gave the sapling a - downward whirl, the secondary branch flew off at a tangent and straight - as an arrow. Thus, probably, came the idea of the <i lang="myn">hul-che</i>.</p> - - <p>“It is a singular and interesting fact that the <i lang="myn">hul-che</i>, so - universally used by the Mayas and their contiguous neighbors, is almost - exactly duplicated by the bone or ivory throwing-stick of the Eskimos, - while there are absolutely no traces of its use by the Aztecs or other - northern Mexican peoples. In those dim ages when the human race was - young—those ages as vague to us in outline and substance as the clouds - that float across the sky—the <i lang="myn">hul-che</i> and not the bow was the common - weapon of battle and the chase. Then we must suppose some great gelid - cataclysm blotted out all humans throughout a whole region, leaving an - ethnic break between the two extremes. Gradually the break was filled - in by intrusive fragmentary races having no knowledge of the arts and - weapons that had been before, leaving only the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">110</span> extremes, the arctic - and the tropic, with their descent of man and his arts unbroken.</p> - - <p>“Later on I was to have the keen pleasure of finding several votive and - ceremonial examples of the <i lang="myn">hul-che</i> representing the highest artistic - development. Possibly they are the very ones which served as models for - the carvings showing such weapons in the hands of stately priests and - other figures portrayed upon the walls and square stone columns of my - Sacred City.</p> - - <p>“While the Mayas seem never to have used the bow and arrow, their - neighbors to the north did. Possibly the Mayas actually preferred the - more primitive and possibly more powerful weapon in whose use they - were very expert, holding it in the hand with the hooked portion down - and resting the feathered end of the dart upon it. The shaft of the - dart lay between the fingers grasping the <i lang="myn">hul-che</i>, with the pointed - arrow-head even with the wrist. A powerful overhand motion of the arm - or a side swing and release of the dart sent it hurtling through the - air, and legend says that the dart thus thrown by a strong man might be - driven clear through the body of a deer.</p> - - <p>“When these weapons of wood were brought up from the Sacred Well they - seemed to be in as good condition as on the day, centuries before, - when they were cast into the water; but almost immediately upon being - exposed to the air they began to decompose and it was only by treating - them immediately with preservatives that I was able to save them.</p> - - <p>“With the copal balls and baskets and the wooden objects, we also - brought up great quantities of rubber incense and rubber objects. The - early legendary people<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">111</span> who are supposed to have settled Yucatan were - called Hulmecas, which means literally ‘rubber people,’ and the name - was derived from the extensive use of rubber in their religious and - public rites; just as the Sapotecas, or ‘sapote people,’ are so called - to this day because of their extensive use of the sapote tree and - its fruits and derivatives. So says the gifted historian Torquemade, - following much the same line of reasoning as other writers, who say - that the name of the tribe called Olmecas was derived from their - general term or name for their chief or overlord.</p> - - <p>“Whatever the answers to these mooted questions of etymology may be, - it has become evident, from the finds brought up from the Sacred Well, - that the Mayas were users of rubber in various ingenious ways. Many - of the masses of copal which I raised from the well bore, imbedded - at or near the surface, nodules or small cylinders of rubber, and in - some cases wooden splinters still protruded from the rubber insets. - Obviously both the splinters and the rubber portions were intended as - lighters for the copal, and this evidence substantiates Torquemade’s - statement: ‘They light the fires in their vessels containing the copal - used in their sacrificial ceremonies with rubber.’</p> - - <p>“Upon several of the balls or masses of copal, as found either in their - original baskets or vases or without their containers, small figures of - rubber, built around the wooden splinters, were placed in a standing - position. At times the legs of these little rubber grotesques were half - buried in the copal. Evidently they were merely more elaborate forms of - lighters or fuses.</p> - - <p>“One day when the dredge came up with its customary<span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">112</span> load of decayed - leaves and silt and one of my natives had, as usual, pushed his arms, - clear to the elbows, into the oozy mass, he leaped back with a cry of - terror. We all clustered about him to see what was amiss. Silently he - pointed to the head of a small dark-colored serpent with a white-ringed - neck, which stood up menacingly from amidst the muck. It was precisely - of the shape, size, and appearance of a small and extremely poisonous - viper which is native to Yucatan. Some seconds elapsed before we became - convinced that it was, after all, made of rubber. Although made by - hands dead, possibly, ere Christ was born, it turned sinuously in our - fingers as we drew it from the mud. It has retained the elasticity of - vulcanized rubber, a substance reinvented by Goodyear in modern times. - After its centuries of immersion it would surely have shriveled and - crumpled to bits if it had been long exposed to the air. I took no - chances, but at once put it in a rubber-preserving fluid.</p> - - <p>“A number of dolls were found, made of wood and adorned with plastic - copal and rubber. They are perfectly formed and artistically colored - and decorated. Several have movable arms and legs, with joints made of - rubber.</p> - - <p>“There was evidence that human nature has not changed—that there - were cheats and dishonest sharpers then as now. Some of the copal - balls, instead of being clear, heavy, and pure throughout, as were - the majority, had a perfect exterior appearance but within were a - conglomeration of leaves, sticks, and rubbish—evidently the skimming - or residue from the melting-pot. Doubtless some ancient and not too - honest profiteer grew wealthy through their fabrication.</p> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i_112"> - <img src="images/i_112.jpg" width="600" height="402" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">El Castillo, the Temple of Kukul Can, on its great - pyramid, is the center of the Sacred City and the largest edifice.</div> - </div> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i_113"> - <img src="images/i_113.jpg" width="600" height="397" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">Looking down into the Sacred Well. Because of the size - of the well and the fringe of trees about it, the whole scene cannot be - readily photographed.</div> - </div> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">113</span></p> - - <p>“Weight for weight, I imagine we accumulated ten times as many - potsherds as all other specimen material combined. At times a large - portion of the silt in the dredge seemed to consist of terra-cotta - grains—an indication of the enormous number of earthenware vessels - which must have been hurled into the well. Probably for centuries - the custom was observed of casting into the pool these containers - filled with burning incense or copal. Very likely some, heated by - the flaming incense, disintegrated almost at once when they struck - the cold water, while others lasted for a time and finally crumbled - into dust. But to furnish all this red-gray mud and burnt earth-silt - an almost incalculable number of vases and jars and basins must have - been required. Luckily, by no means all of them were destroyed or even - broken beyond repair. Scores were saved entirely whole and among them - are many strange and interesting ones.</p> - - <p>“The range in pattern and workmanship of potsherds is wide. The larger - vessels or fragments of them—cinerary urns and incense-holders—were - generally of a coarse, granular biscuit mass, well turned but unevenly - burned. They are capable, however, of withstanding a considerable - degree of heat. Between this class and a hard slate-gray ware almost as - thin and fine as porcelain, are many grades and numerous interesting - forms, such as well-made models of human heads, manikins, animals, - reptiles,—especially crocodiles,—grotesque Atlantean figures, and - tripodal temple vessels used in the sacrificial ceremonies, to hold - votive offerings or viands.</p> - - <p>“Not always did we have such good fortune in our dredging. At times - the soft upper layers of mud caved into the pits we had excavated and - we spent many days<span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">114</span> and weeks in hauling up this mud before we again - reached the treasure-level.</p> - - <p>“And then, one day, the dredge brought up a perfect skull, bleached - and polished to whiteness. Examination showed it to be that of a young - girl. Later came other skulls and human bones, scores of them. Most of - the skeletons were those of youthful maids, but every now and then one - was raised which had the breadth of shoulders, the thick skull, and the - heavy frame of a powerful man—no doubt some mighty warrior sacrificed - in the flower of his vigor, sent to grace the court of the Rain God.</p> - - <p>“I remember as if it were but yesterday finding in the mud raised by - the dredge a pair of dainty little sandals, evidently feminine, once - worn by some graceful, high-born maid. These more than the bleached - skulls and bones, more than any other of the finds, brought home to - me the pathos and tragedy of those ancient, well-intentioned, and - cruelly useless sacrifices. Frequently bits of cotton fabric were - brought up, perfectly preserved but carbonized. My own theory was, and - still is, that the copal incense, falling upon the robe of the victim, - together with the substance with which the body was painted ere it was - sacrificed, exuded an oil which penetrated the fabric and gradually - carbonized it, thus preserving it. These specimens of cloth, many of - which are lovely in design and texture, are, I believe, the only relics - of ancient Maya fabrics in the world to-day.</p> - - <p>“Detached skeletons were raised until we had upward of ninety, and - at sight of the whitened bones my heart was wrung with pity for the - young creatures whose lives had been snuffed out just when living was - sweetest. Our<span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">115</span> finds proved conclusively that the statements made to - Landa in 1565 by the natives were true—that both maids and warriors - had been frequently sacrificed to the god of the well.</p> - - <p>“The female skeletons were those of girls ranging in age from fourteen - to twenty. The first one we raised and completely assembled had a - small, thin-walled skull, with the sutures almost separate. The - skull was delicate, shapely, with small, regular, perfect teeth. The - sympathetic imagination without effort clothed the naked bones with - flesh and substance, so that one saw instantly the graceful, lovely, - high-bred maiden and the last solemn act that had stilled the poor - girlish body, clad in all its finery and left to sink into the ooze at - the bottom of this terrible pit.</p> - - <p>“By comparing the female skulls with those of modern Mayas, obtained - from the cemeteries of several villages, I came to the conclusion that - there was no appreciable variation or difference. These century-old - skulls might pass as typical crania of pure-blooded young Maya women of - to-day.</p> - - <p>“The male skulls are a contrast to the female ones. Some are relatively - large, thick-walled, with protuberant surfaces, receding foreheads, and - prognathic jaws. Evidently their possessors were ferocious, primitive, - almost gorilla-like—not of the same race which bred the girl-brides of - the Rain God. Again this tallies with the tradition that the warriors - sacrificed were captives—fighting-men of high renown, who, after being - made drunk with <i lang="myn">bal-che</i> (the sacred mead of the Mayas), were hurled - into the well as fit offerings to the deity.</p> - - <p>“Some years before the time of which I am speaking<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">116</span> I had the good - fortune to discover in a sealed stone-walled grave the now famous Sabua - skull. I had to work on it for three days, with atomizer and glue - water, because the skull, which was perfect in shape, was no more than - lime-dust which would crumble at the least touch. By this treatment I - saved it and it is to-day a priceless museum piece kept under glass. In - view of this experience it seemed strange, almost uncanny, to see these - perfect skulls and bones come from the well, so wonderfully preserved - that they required no other treatment than cleansing and rubbing with - a weak solution of formalin to render them ready for packing and - shipment. In the Sacred Well, big and gruesome as it is, are no large - reptiles, no saurians, no fish which would or could tear apart a human - body or gnaw or crush the bones. I know this to be true, in spite of - the local traditions which speak of huge serpents and strange animals - to be seen about the well and to be unpleasantly encountered should one - be so foolish as to roam about in its vicinity at midnight. I have been - that foolish many times and have never met anything of the sort. On the - contrary, in the glorious moonlight of Yucatan the big pool has for me - an even greater lure than it has in the sunlight.</p> - - <p>“As the excavations in the well became deeper and deeper we passed - from mud to powdered limestone, which became more and more compact - until we reached a marl-like bed into which the steel-lipped bucket bit - with difficulty, finally making almost no impression at all. It became - obvious that, although we had by no means dredged the whole well, - we had literally reached the end of our rope as far as dredging was - concerned. I was convinced that further work of the sort would bring us - many more<span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">117</span> finds, but I was quite as certain that they would not differ - greatly in character or variety from those already accumulated.</p> - - <p>“I could not quarrel with our good fortune thus far. I felt well - repaid, even if we should discover nothing else, for all my effort and - expense. My highly speculative venture had amply justified itself. - I had proved conclusively the history of the Sacred Well. But our - dredging operations, together with soundings made from time to time, - indicated clearly that the bottom of the well was very uneven—a series - of hummocks; almost a miniature mountain range. And in the pockets - between those hummocks, where our dredge could not reach, might there - not be other treasures?—objects heavier and smaller in size than - anything we had yet found; things which, because of their weight, would - sink through the mud to the very bottom of the well.</p> - - <p>“Never could I leave the spot until, by some means or other, this last - and final ghost was laid.”</p> - - <hr class="page" /> - <div class="chapter" id="CHAPTER_VIII"> - <span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_118"></a>118</span> - <h2>CHAPTER VIII<br /> - <span class="small">SIXTY FEET UNDER WATER</span></h2> - </div> - - <p class="drop-cap">WE had reached the stage where it was very slow work for the dredge to - get even a mouthful of the stiff, almost shale-like bottom of the well, - but, while we brought up fewer treasures than previously, I was not - ready to discard the derrick and dredge as long as the bucket brought - up any finds whatever.</p> - - <p>“To facilitate the work at this stage, a plan which I had long - considered was put into effect. We built a big flat-bottomed scow, - crude but serviceable, and capable of holding ten scoopfuls of muck - from the dredge. The scow was constructed, right on the brink of the - well, of logs and such other materials as we had at hand. Then we - lowered it, by means of the derrick, until it floated easily seventy - feet below, on the still surface of the water.</p> - - <p>“I fancy if the grim old Rain God, Noh-och Yum Chac, the Indra of - the Mayas, was enraged when the dredge first began to rob him of his - long-held treasures, the presence of this clumsy craft, as it tipped - and yawed on its slow seventy-foot descent to the water, must surely - have excited him to frenzy. Yet inexorably we continued our quest, - undaunted by the thought of the god’s wrath and determined to strip him - of every secret. We moored the craft, by a long rope, to a projecting - stone knob on the sheer wall of the well, so that it was directly over - the area where the dredge had been working. <span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">119</span>Our system was to lower - the bucket, raise it, and pour its dripping contents upon the scow, and - this we continued to do until we had heaped upon the boat ten buckets - of bottom mud. Loaded to its capacity, the scow was drawn to a narrow - sandy shelf or beach which had formed at one side of the well. Then we - transferred and examined the load, handling ten buckets from the dredge - in about the same length of time it had taken us previously to dispose - of one. And thus, for a while, the dredge was made to work profitably - even under the increasing scarcity of ‘pay dirt.’</p> - - <p>“During this phase of our labor we accumulated a great quantity of - potsherds, copal, and rubber nodules. Each time the filled scow came - to the little beach, the big toads retreated into their rocky cavities - amidst the roots and the myriad eyes that usually shone in these - twilight depths became invisible. Only the iguanas and the lizards in - the branches of the cork-trees that shadowed the tiny beach remained - sleepily undisturbed, while the little painted tortoises on the - half-submerged logs or branches floating near by became so accustomed - to the sight of the scow that they stayed brazenly in their places and - eyed the proceedings without fear.</p> - - <p>“As the work went on, the tailing or discard from our dredge began - to spread out and extend our little beach until it became a solid - peninsula jutting out into the well and making our labors easier by - providing much-needed footing and elbow-room.</p> - - <p>“Long hours I spent gazing over the side of the scow, waiting for - the dredge to come up with its load, and while I waited I glimpsed - fascinating highlights of a hitherto unknown world—a world with its - tragedies, grotesqueries, <span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">120</span>and surprises; a world in which humans - took no part; one unseen until then by human eyes. Drifting past on - the turgid waters were curious jelly-like formless creatures and tiny - water-insects, some moving slowly as with effort, others like an arrow - in shape and speed. Here was a plethora of twisting, darting, gyrating - forms of life, all intent on the one object of preserving life—that - bitter jest of Nature who instils in us each, great or small, the - belief that our own particular and individual existence is of amazing - import when she herself values it so lightly.</p> - - <p>“Floating on the water were many small red worms no larger round than - a pin and perhaps a quarter of an inch long. As one floated lazily by, - a small red ant, blown or fallen from the land above, struck the water - and instantly was attacked by the worm. The struggle was titanic but - brief and the worm, which was more slender than its victim, simply - swallowed the ant—body, struggling legs, and all. As the swallowing - continued the body of the worm became almost transparent and I could - easily follow the journey of his dinner inside, until diner and dinner - drifted out of sight.</p> - - <p>“Close by the cliff-like wall of the pool was a school of tiny - jet-black catfish—pouts, we used to call them in New England when - I was a lad. They were but a few days beyond the egg state and were - carefully herded by a portly, motherly old catfish. Her inclination - evidently was toward dignified, unhurried movement, well tempered with - complete repose, but the erratic and swift excursions of her hundred - or more infants kept her on the qui vive to head off their ceaseless - turnings and dashes, for they seemed possessed to venture into the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">121</span> - outer and unknown world, even as other infants since time began. To add - to her trials, the whole school was more or less surrounded by tadpoles - just as black and even more lively than the baby fishes. They seemed - not to have nor to require any motherly care and, like impudent street - gamins, they delighted in teasing and leading astray the more tenderly - nurtured youngsters. Slyly they tried to swallow the little fishes, - tail first, in their sucker-like mouths, and were dissuaded only by the - wrathful dash of Mother Catfish.</p> - - <p>“It was during this time, which I call the intermediate stage of the - work, that many of our specimens of lighter weight were obtained. Among - them are pieces of gourds, copal fragments, parts of wooden objects, - and bones, all wonderfully preserved in this colossal silo—for the - Sacred Well is in many respects like a silo. Some of the potsherds and - wooden objects, and even a few of the gourds, had been covered with a - thick white paint, almost as hard as enamel, and upon the surface of - this the artists of old had worked and drawn figures and hieroglyphs - similar to those found in the Codices. Some of the finest pieces of - ancient fabrics were recovered at this time. The gradual caving in of - the mud about the cavity we had scooped out permitted these fabrics to - slip gently into the hole and to be brought up unharmed by the steel - lips of our dredge. They are all carefully preserved and are the only - authentic specimens of their kind known to archæological science. I - deem them among the most important of my treasures from the well.</p> - - <p>“There came up ropes and cords, both of bark and fiber, and curiously - knotted masses of copal; images carved from light wood and covered with - rubber and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">122</span> copal; and always bones and more bones, of maidens and - warriors.</p> - - <p>“At last the dredge bit only on rock and boulders, against which the - steel jaws made no headway. Again and again the bucket came up empty - and with its jaws twisted and bent.</p> - - <p>“If the first stage—the beginning of the work, when the steel bucket - first plunged into the still water of the pit—was exciting, I found - myself now laboring under a still greater emotion, for the time had - come which I had long foreseen, when the dredge unaided by human hands - could accomplish nothing more. There must be hands at the bottom of the - well—not the dead hands of pitiful maidens, but live hands of sturdy - men to explore every inch of the uneven rocky bottom. From dredging - with windlass and bucket, we must pass to a season of deep-sea diving - with all the paraphernalia of diving-suits and hose and air-pumps.</p> - - <p>“What could be more interesting, more romantic than to go down under - sixty feet of water to the very bottom of this grim pit?—to tread - the corridors of the most sacred and abysmal abode of the Rain God? - I might possibly remain at the bottom, myself, a modern sacrifice to - the ancient deity, but I was willing to take that chance; for nothing - could now keep from the world the treasures already recovered from the - well and if I perished in the attempt at further discoveries, my effort - would be, as a whole, not in vain. It was almost like trying to push - aside the veil that separates living man from the nether world. Who - might say but that the ancient people spoke the truth when they said - that the entrance to the habitation of the Rain God was guarded by - huge serpents and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">123</span> that none might pass but those expressly summoned - by the god, to carry out his mandates? Or might there not live in that - deep ooze slimy-bodied monsters of the antediluvian era, to which the - passing of the centuries was but as the passing of hours? This was - no time for speculation. I did not crave to serve as a brontosaurian - breakfast, yet I must know the bottom of this well.</p> - - <p>“Long hours and many days must be spent down on the bed-rock, under - high water-pressure, in total darkness and in a temperature but little - above freezing. My hands must explore the cracks and crevices and - corners and pits where the dredge could not enter, and each find must - be carried to the bucket and placed carefully within it, to be raised - later.</p> - - <p>“I went over every detail of the plan with great care, for not only - my own life but the lives of others depended upon its practicability. - A hitch, an unforeseen obstacle, a piece of bungling, and one or - more of us would never return alive to the sunlight. I was prepared - for this part of the business, having become an experienced deep-sea - diver back in the United States. But diving under bright skies in open - water spaces bathed to some depth by clear sunlight reflected from the - sandy sea-bottom is not at all the same as descending into turgid, - green, almost opaque water confined by high-cliffed walls overgrown - with mighty trees and festooned with huge vines twisting and turning - like giant serpents. I knew it to be very different from and far - more dangerous than clearing off the barnacles and seaweed from the - clean-lined bodies of United States cruisers and lighthouse tenders.</p> - - <p>“Early one bright morning my crew who worked the windlass and managed - the bucket stood grouped about<span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">124</span> the derrick. The winch which had so - long rattled and clanged as the steel jaws of the dredge opened and - plunged down to their task, was silent and motionless; but its silence, - like that of the men grouped about, seemed to be a sort of watchful - waiting rather than the lazy inertia that comes with a holiday hiatus. - The cogged wheels were hooked introspectively, as it were, but the - jaws of the bucket hung loosely open like those of a school-boy, agape - with interest and wonder. On the refuse-built level space between the - derrick and the examination platforms were strewn strange-looking suits - of armor, canvas-lined and metal-covered, piles of rope and rubber - hose, canvas-covered rope ladders, a small but powerful air-pump, and - divers other things. Yes, even the divers themselves, for he who was - to be my aide in this undertaking had come under contract from the - sponge-banks of Florida with his striker, or pump attendant, and all - the necessary equipment. Both men were Greeks, young, lithe, handsome - as Apollo himself. All that day we spent assembling, testing, and - getting everything ready for actual diving operations early the next - morning. As fast as the apparatus was put in order we placed it on the - scow, which had been scoured and cleaned and was now transformed into - an ideal diver’s craft. Before nightfall the air-pump was securely - fixed on the scow, the air-tubes and life-lines were in place, and the - rope ladder dangled over the side and disappeared into the green water. - From its bottom rung I should, on the morrow, step off into the unknown.</p> - - <p>“The morning of the next day was heavy with clouds that soon broke in - a deluge—a three-day norther that kept us all under cover except for - a diurnal excursion<span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">125</span> when the Greeks and I and my native striker went - to the edge of the well and from there carefully scanned the scow to - make sure our equipment was weathering the storm. Luckily, the entire - apparatus, pump and all, was almost amphibious by nature and habit, and - so far as the eye could see the wetting was doing no damage.</p> - - <p>“Dawn of the fourth day was clear and bright and the leaves and grass, - even the sky, seemed to have been washed clean by the long rain. After - a hasty breakfast we hurried to the well and descended via the air - route, in the dredge bucket, to the rain-soaked, water-covered deck - of the scow. We bailed out the water and sponged off the deck, on - which we then laid out with minute care the two rubber-lined canvas - diving-suits, making sure that there were no holes through which - the compressed air could issue in lines of silver bubbles into the - surrounding water. Our wrists were carefully soaped and we stepped - into the clumsy uniforms, forcing our hands through the tight-fitting - rubber wristlets. The neck-bands were adjusted and the copper helmets, - cloth-lined and with glassed goggle eyes, were put over our heads and - securely fastened. Then came a necklace of lead plates and finally - heavy metal-soled boots.</p> - - <p>“A trial puff of air from the pump, a touch of the valves in the - helmets, and we were ready to call on Noh-och Yum Chac at the bottom of - the Sacred Well. With a final hand-clasp all around and with my Indians - looking very awed and solemn, I waddled to the edge of the craft and - clambered down the rope ladder about as gracefully as a turtle falling - off a log.</p> - - <p>“I must confess that as I loosed my hold of the last rung and went - swirling down into the watery darkness<span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">126</span> my heart beat far faster than - could be reasonably accounted for by the increasing water-pressure; - and my mind, like that of a drowning person, reviewed at lightning - speed all the errors of commission and omission of my whole life. But - almost automatically I took the precautions of every experienced diver, - making sure that the air-line and life-line were free and clear of - obstacles. Almost at once the weak, greenish light faded into utter - blackness. Once or twice during the descent my lines brushed against - some sunken tree roots or branches and I was instantly alert, for in - such encounters there is always an element of real danger. These woody - projections were, however, quite rotten and with no more strength than - soaked punk, and fortunately always broke off at the mere touch of the - stout rope.</p> - - <p>“Meanwhile, as I went down and down, at a distance of every ten feet or - so I felt acute pains in my ears, as though sharp objects were being - thrust into them. By adjusting the valves in the helmet and opening - wide my mouth, I succeeded in equalizing the air-pressure on the ears, - causing a sound like the exhaust of a motorcycle on the ear-drums but - relieving the pain. Once I was at the bottom, the helmet valves alone - required attention; for only by opening them frequently is fresh air - forced down from the pump and the vitiated air expelled.</p> - - <p>“I had reached the bottom but a moment before I sensed that the Greek - diver had also descended and was close beside me. He had waited only - long enough, before joining me, to make sure my native pump attendant - was handling my air-supply properly. The darkness was complete, a - perfect blindfold, but I reached out and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">127</span> touched the Greek so that we - might be sure of our relative locations and not get our lines entangled.</p> - - <p>“Standing upon the uneven, rocky bottom of the well, I was thrilled - with the knowledge that I stood where no living man had stood since - time began. I think I felt much the same high elation that must have - filled Peary and Shackleton at the end of their respective dashes to - the polar caps.</p> - - <p>“I had foreseen the need of light and had provided myself with the - very latest and best submarine electric light obtainable. What any - illuminant could do, this light would do. But what light can force its - beams through a lake of chocolate-colored porridge? Our lights were of - not the slightest use in this grim old water-pit and we had to depend - entirely upon the sense of touch. And this sense served us well, for - under constant use our finger-tips grew highly sensitive. The palpi in - the skin whorls and curves became so responsive that we were frequently - able to distinguish the form and texture of the objects we touched and - even got so far as to guess at colors, although we made many wrong - hazards.</p> - - <p>“Another modern invention which we carried at the bottom of the - well was the submarine telephone. It operated satisfactorily, but - we found little use for it, as it was less bothersome merely to - give the required number of tugs on the signal rope when we wanted - to communicate with those above. The Greek and I found also that by - touching the metal fronts of our helmets we could converse easily with - each other. The voice tones were muffled, but with a little practice we - had no trouble in understanding each other. I even recollect hearing - the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">128</span> chattering of the strong white teeth of my Hellenic companion. The - water was very cold and every time we came to the surface after our - daily two hours of immersion our lips were blue and our bodies covered - with goose-flesh and trembling with chill. Coffee, very hot and very - strong, was our first requisite.</p> - - <p>“The water-pressure at a depth of sixty feet is considerable, and - both the air-tubes and life-lines were buoyed in several places by - tightly corked quart bottles. When drawn up after the day’s work, the - lower ones were always half full of water, in spite of the fact that - the empty bottles had been corked as tightly as possible before being - lowered into the water. This will give some idea of the tremendous - pressure.</p> - - <p>“This pressure, offset by a corresponding pressure of air in the - diving-suit, affects in a peculiar manner the movements of the diver. - In spite of my necklace of leaden plates and my two-inch lead soles, - I seemed to weigh nothing at all. A slight stamp of my foot upon the - bottom would take me soaring upward perhaps ten feet in the water, - and I would then come slowly down to rest two yards from my original - position. It took good judgment to land in any precise spot, because - it was so very easy to overshoot the mark. It seemed as though one - real leap would carry me clear to the surface of the well and perhaps - entirely up the cliff-like sides.</p> - - <p>“On one occasion I became so interested in the finds on the bottom - of the well that I quite forgot to let out the accumulated air by - means of the helmet valves. I had been working diligently, feeling - along the silt-filled cracks of the rocky bottom; then, satisfied - with my examination, I gave a stamp of my foot and started<span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">129</span> upward. - But my diving-suit was so filled with compressed air that I turned in - the water topsyturvy and finally hit the bottom of the scow feet up, - with a resounding thump of my metal soles which almost caused a panic - among the natives on the deck of the craft. Meanwhile I swung around - turtle-wise from under the boat, found the rope ladder, and started to - climb over the side. My henchmen, pallid with fear, were pumping for - dear life, while I, at the side of the boat but below their line of - vision, opened wide the helmet valves to prevent them from blowing me - up like a toy balloon. When I appeared over the side they all crowded - around me and Juan Mis, my faithful old servant, took my helmet-encased - head in both his hands and peered eagerly through the thick glass - insets. ‘God be praised, he is laughing!’ shouted Juan, and they all - chuckled with happy relief, while I sat on the gunwale and was divested - of my cumbersome habiliments.</p> - - <p>“Our first task was to discover the nature of the stone objects that - had so often cramped the jaws of our dredge and strained its chains, - costing us hours of hard work in repairs. The fact that the dredge - had never secured a sufficient purchase on any of these stones to - bring them to the surface led me to surmise that the majority were - smooth-faced and probably hieroglyphed. Mere rocks or boulders rarely - were so smooth that the steel bucket could not grip them and bring them - up after a trial or two.</p> - - <p>“By feeling over the bottom of the well with my hands, I located the - stones one after another and found my surmise correct. We managed to - fasten chains about them and by means of the derrick raised them from<span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">130</span> - their watery bed. One by one the heavy, wondrously carved stones were - hauled up through sixty feet of water and up another seventy feet until - they rested upon the brink of the well. One great stone was a perfectly - sculptured statue of a seated god or priest which reminded me of ‘The - Thinker,’ by Rodin.</p> - - <p>“The next day we again descended into the well, this time not in search - of large objects such as carved stones, but rather in quest of small - things lying in the silt between the humps and in the crevices at the - bottom.</p> - - <p>“I remember distinctly my sensations as my fingers touched upon curious - small objects like coins, small nuts, and rings. I could hardly - contain my curiosity as I tucked them into my pouch, and my eagerness - to get up to light and air to examine them was almost irresistible. - When I had collected perhaps twenty or thirty I gave the signal and - started upward. Before my diving-dress had been more than half removed - I plunged my chilled fingers into the dripping pouch and drew out - beautiful embossed rings, small bells of copper, and several bells - of pure gold. There were bells and ornaments and medallions of gold - repoussé and gold filagree, of exquisite design and craftmanship. There - were lovely carved jade beads and other objects of jade. Just as truly - as any mining prospector, I had struck gold, but gold tremendously - more valuable than his raw nuggets; for, whatever might be the mere - intrinsic value of my golden finds, each bit was in reality beyond - price.</p> - - <p>“This was but the beginning. We now had at our command two means of - bringing up the treasure. The big carved stones having been removed - from the well, the dredge could again be used, or we could don the - diving-suits. <span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">131</span>In many instances the Greek and I directed from the - bottom the work of the dredge. The golden objects brought up, if simply - thrown into the goldsmith’s melting-pot, would net several hundreds - of thousands of dollars in bullion—dividend enough, if one were - sufficiently sordid of mind, to justify all my investment of time, - effort, and money in the undertaking.</p> - - <p>“One particularly wet and dreary day the dredge had worked all morning - long, in a monotonous round in which nothing of value was brought - up. Toward lunch-time I had about decided to send the men to their - quarters for the rest of the day, to let them recover from their - half-drowned state. Just then the men at the receiving-platform gave - a shout that brought me running. For several blissful minutes we were - busy picking lovely little copper bells from the black ooze. The rain - was forgotten. Bearers were sent to bring our lunch, and eagerly we - sent the steel bucket down again. And again it came up with a pudding - of mud plentifully plummed with copper bells. All afternoon we plied - the dredge, and nearly every load contained more copper bells, of all - sizes and shapes, none larger than our old-fashioned sleigh-bells and - many much smaller. In fact, they so resembled sleigh-bells that I could - not rid my mind of the idea that they were modern bells used for barter - and exchange, like the hawks’ bells of Spain. At the end of the day - we had piled up over two hundred of these curious specimens of Maya - workmanship, and even the most cursory examination showed them to be of - genuine ancient origin.</p> - - <p>“We carried the bells to the plantation house, where all the servants - looked with awe and wonder at <i lang="es">los cascabeles de los antiguos</i>, - the bells of the ancient people. From<span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">132</span> that time on hardly a day - passed that we did not add a handful of copper bells to our growing - collection. The bells are mainly capsule-shaped or spherical. Some - still have a carbon core within, showing clearly the method by which - they were molded. Very rarely did the bells contain clappers or - rattles, and this fact supports the tradition that the ancient people - believed that all things had life and souls. By removal of the clappers - the bells were ‘killed,’ made mute forever, and their souls, thus - released, entered the realm of Ah Puch, the God of Death. Incidentally, - the portraits of Ah Puch show him with anklets of bells.</p> - - <p>“Certain of the larger copper bells have rope-like designs embossed - on them, while others are fashioned like animals and birds and the - grinning heads of Cheshire cats. Some represent the heads of foxes or - of the anteater, showing unmistakably the long, tapering snout.</p> - - <p>“Intermingled with the bells were copper circlets like finger rings, - and curious flat copper ferrules, from a fourth to three quarters of an - inch thick and about an inch long.</p> - - <p>“One day we brought up a handful of small masks, about an inch long - and half an inch wide, made of thin, well-worked copper. By a strange - coincidence they came to us on the very day of a modern native carnival - when every one wears a mask. My Indians commented upon the fact and - seriously debated whether Yum Chac had not sent them up to us in - remembrance of the day. And it is a fact that no other masks of the - kind were found previously, nor have any been found since.</p> - - <p>“Specimens of well-modeled hard copper chisels were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">133</span> recovered at - various times. Some are small, others of the customary size and shape - of modern chisels, but with the heads burred, showing much use. All of - the copper chisels, rings, and masks have the reddish color of pure - copper, but many of the bells, particularly the smaller ones of round - sleigh-bell shape, are of a color indicating copper alloyed with silver - or tin. Some of the other bells contain a considerable percentage of - gold, which may be either a natural admixture from the ore itself or an - alloy added by the ancient artisans.</p> - - <p>“One of the most prized treasures was brought up one day while visitors - were present—Mr. and Mrs. James of Mérida and Dr. Marston Tozzer, now - professor of American archæology at Harvard University, who knows the - Mayas intimately and has lived among them and shared their huts and - hammocks. We were all standing at the edge of the Great Well when the - dredge bucket heaved itself from the roiling swells of green water. As - it came up toward the level of our eyes we saw dangling precariously - from one of its fangs a gray, nondescript article which some one in the - party facetiously remarked must be a cast-off overshoe of the Rain God. - We all laughed at the witticism and then stopped short as the bucket - swung around, bringing the object into plainer view, and we discovered - it be a large copper disk covered with figures in repoussé and - representing the Sun God. My heart was in my mouth for fear it would - drop off and sink back into the well before my eager hands could reach - it, but grasp it I did after what seemed an age of waiting. It is so - beautifully and intricately worked, so fine in artistry that I deem it - one<span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">134</span> of the most priceless of all these antiques. What it loses by not - being pure gold is more than compensated for by its mass of exquisite - ornamentation.</p> - - <p>“From copper to gold, so John Hays Hammond once told me, is but a short - step and one likely to be bridged at any unexpected moment, and this I - found to be the case in the Sacred Well.</p> - - <p>“One fine day I discovered, among the several copper bells brought up - by the dredge, one small round bell of pure gold, shining as bright and - clear as if newly molded. After that every day was literally a golden - day with finds of yellow gold—golden bells of all shapes and sizes, - some as small as a pea, others large and heavy. And these gold bells - were all more or less flattened, as though they had been struck with a - hammer or even mauled with a sledge. Some were so flattened that the - shape of the clapper within was outlined on the outer side of the bell. - The clappers were, like the bells themselves, made of pure gold, but - most of the smaller bells, like our previous finds of copper ones, had - been ‘killed’ by having the clapper removed.</p> - - <p>“Many disks of gold were brought up, which are covered with finely - worked figures in repoussé, while around the outer edges are characters - and symbols and sometimes hieroglyphs. Some of these disks were - originally flat and others have curving surfaces like breastplates. A - few are plain or nearly so, but the majority are completely covered - with incised work. One disk, a mask, is two thirds the actual size - of a human face and represents a face with the eyes closed. Upon the - closed eyelid is engraved a symbol of unknown meaning. Another disk of - solid gold is eleven inches in diameter and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">135</span> weighs nearly a pound. It - contains no carving or design and I judge it to have been some sort of - temple basin or standard.</p> - - <p>“Among the golden objects are two very handsome tiaras representing - entwined feathered serpents, worked partly in repoussé and partly in - filagree. There are also a number of emblematic figures, dancing frogs - and monkeys, and several queer objects like brooches. They are from one - to three inches high and very thick. There are objects like sandals - and objects similar to candlesticks. Some of the latter are of copper, - gold-plated. I found, too, a considerable amount of gold-leaf nearly as - fine and pure as that of to-day.</p> - - <p>“Also among the golden treasures are several specimens that look like - the heads of canes. These I believe to have been the tops of the - official wands or emblems of authority—the <i lang="myn">caluac</i> pictured many - times upon the walls of the temples.</p> - - <p>“I found virtually no silver and no metals other than those mentioned, - except iron pyrites. This substance, backed with hard-baked clay or - stone, was used for mirrors, and I found large fragments of several - such mirrors with the mirror surface of iron pyrites still bright and - shiny. One metal object about three inches in diameter is white like - silver, absolutely uncorroded, and seemingly as hard and refractory as - tin alloy or hard steel. I do not know yet what the metal is, but shall - know as soon as it can be examined by metallurgists. Can it be that - rare, indestructible metal, platinum?</p> - - <p>“And with all the precious objects I have taken by force from the Rain - God I am very sure that I have wrested from him not a tenth of his - jealously held treasure. <span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">136</span>There are many, many more golden ornaments - hid away in the recesses of the uneven floor of the pit, and many, many - things even more priceless than gold to the antiquarian.</p> - - <p>“All this I leave to the engineer of a future day—and I say engineer - advisedly, for it is going to be an engineering task to strip the - old well of all it holds. It will first have to be dredged over its - whole area, not with the crude hand-operated device which I have used, - but with more powerful and modern, mechanically operated equipment. - Then a huge, specially designed diving-bell will be required, so that - men may work under it quite protected from the water and with ample - illumination.</p> - - <p>“Among the treasures we found are three sacrificial knives. One is - perfect, while the flint blades of the other two are broken close - to the hilt. I am inclined to think that the two broken ones were - purposely broken or ‘killed’ before being thrown into the well and that - the perfect one was not cast into the pit but fell in by accident. - These knives have intricately worked and fluted handles of gold. The - one which is unbroken is especially lovely—a bit of perfect artistry - worthy of a Cellini.</p> - - <p>“One golden bowl is nine inches in diameter, and we obtained several - smaller ones about three inches in diameter. These, I think, were - temple dishes used by the high priests. The several gold disks of the - Sun God vary from seven to eleven inches in diameter. And we recovered - forty flat gold washers about an inch and a fourth in diameter, each - with a hole in the center. Regarding the use to which they were put - I have no clue<span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">137</span> and can only surmise that they were fastened to the - garments of priests or of sacrificial victims.</p> - - <p>“The several brooches, as indicated by the designs upon them, were used - for personal adornment. The finger rings are peculiar in that they - have an enlarged face like a signet-ring, but the enlarged portion is - designed to fit at the side of the finger, rather than on top, and this - enlarged part always contains a pictured face.</p> - - <p>“There are many golden figures of animals and insects, the most - interesting being frogs with exaggerated flat feet, such as are found - in the graves of Puerto Rico. Among the great quantity of other - articles, too numerous to describe here, are twelve plain disks of gold - which I imagine are blanks, originally intended by the goldsmith for - some craftsman to ornament with designs, but for some reason or other - thrown into the Sacred Well in their uncompleted state.</p> - - <p>“Many of the larger golden objects, apparently, were not ‘killed’ - before being offered to the Rain God, but nearly all the smaller - articles of gold were crushed. Most of these have since been - painstakingly straightened into their original shapes.</p> - - <p>“Of the pottery vessels, very few were recovered unbroken. Some, as I - have said, were containers for copal and rubber incense. Others, I am - led to believe, contained the ancient libation of <i lang="myn">bal-che</i> or sacred - mead which was thrown into the pool together with the captive warrior - victims. This fermented drink made of rainwater, wild honey, and the - bark of the <i lang="myn">yax</i> tree, according to tradition, was for men only. Women - were never permitted to taste it nor to be present at the ceremonies - where it was used as a libation to the gods. The narrow-necked <span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">138</span>vessel - in which it was contained was called a <em>pool</em> and had a flat clay - stopper fastened to the neck with cords of bark. We brought up several - of the necks of such containers with the stoppers still held in the - orifices by the bark binding.</p> - - <p>“Several of the open vessels with tripod legs are glazed with red - inside and out; others have a blue lining, and many were red on the - outer surface but left the natural clay color upon the inside. The legs - were either rounded and hollow, containing rattle pellets, or thin and - solid. They are often fashioned as the heads of alligators or as human - grotesques. Many large flat vessels and shallow circular dishes, some - nine inches in diameter, were found, of the same design and finish as - those I have unearthed in ancient graves in Labna and other old Maya - cities.</p> - - <p>“The ancient devotees seem to have been especially partial to a certain - cylindrical vessel about six inches in diameter and nine inches high. - These were often of thin structure and covered with designs and - hieroglyphs or bearing the outlined figures of some deity surrounded - with the conventional symbols of his attributes.</p> - - <p>“A large circular earthenware pan, seven inches in diameter and with - a long, thick handle which frequently ended in a carved head, was in - common use as an incense-burner. It was rarely made of well-kilned - ware and was evidently intended only for brief service. We found many - broken utensils of this sort, but only one perfect specimen, which - is exceptional in that it is of better-kilned material and of most - artistic workmanship. Its pleasing outline is ornamented with openwork - spaces intended <span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">139</span>to give needed draft to the burning copal in its - basin. Nearly all the incense-burners of this type have hollow legs - containing burned clay pellets evidently designed to produce a rattling - sound at religious dances and rituals.</p> - - <p>“The mortuary urns are large vessels ornamented with the likeness of a - human figure surrounded with a conventional design. The figure usually - bears upon its back a vase-like receptacle doubtless designed to - receive and preserve the ashes of the dead. I do not know whether these - urns were empty when thrown into the well or actually contained human - ashes. I hope this point may be settled by laboratory examination.</p> - - <p>“The finding of copal and the intimate association of the copal masses - with the potsherds and unbroken earthenware vessels, leaves no doubt - as to the use and purpose of both. The employment of copal resin as - a medicament and as a sacred offering seems to have occurred almost - simultaneously with the appearance of man upon the peninsula of - Yucatan. In the primitive rock sculptures in the famous cave of Loltum - is shown the burning of copal as a religious rite, while the earthen - vessels found in the cave contain the blackened residue of burnt - copal—a residue that, despite its antiquity and long inhumation, gives - forth, when burned, the characteristic odor of copal resin, a fragrance - not to be mistaken for any other. The copal tree, anciently known as - <i lang="myn">psom</i>, still grows sparsely in nearly every part of Yucatan and in - ancient times it was carefully cultivated, while the gathering of the - resin partook of the nature of a religious ceremony. One of the early - Spanish chroniclers says:</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">140</span></p> - - <blockquote> - <p><i lang="myn">Psom</i> is the name of a tree from which the natives take out a - certain kind of resin-like incense which they burn before their - idols and in their houses. We Spaniards took advantage of this - resin to cure many diseases and we called it copal, which is a - Mexican word.</p> - </blockquote> - - <p>“The first piece of copal we found was nearly round and about the size - of a baseball. The resin when fresh is light in weight and almost - transparent, but time and the pressure of water at the bottom of the - well have given our copal specimens the general lack-luster appearance - of the bog-butter found in the lacustrine deposits of Switzerland. - Several hundreds of these copal masses were brought up in round or oval - form and many with the marks on them of wicker containers or baskets. - One of the largest of these copal specimens, weighing several pounds, - was thus incased, some portions of the basket fabric still clinging to - the copal. Evidently the copal was still plastic when placed in the - baskets. A number of the copal nodules had been wrapped in leaves, the - veined imprint of which upon the copal surface is so clear that I doubt - not that any good botanist would be able to identify the tree or vine - from which they were plucked.</p> - - <p>“Quantities of bark were brought up which have upon the inner surface - pellets of copal arranged in the conventional symbol or prayer for - rain. Several of the copal masses are molded in the semblance of human - figures or faces, many of them fantastic or grotesque. Many are in the - form of frogs and some of these frogs hold a small ball of rubber in - their mouths.</p> - - <p>“Gourds of all kinds we brought up—small tree gourds which broke even - under the most careful handling and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">141</span> which were preserved with the - utmost difficulty; <i lang="myn">leks</i> or big gourds, some measuring a foot across - and with a two-gallon capacity; gourds cracked and mended with bark - lacing, just as they are still mended and used by the Mayas of to-day; - gourds coated with the same whitish enamel used on terra-cotta vessels - and painted or hieroglyphed. The gourds were undoubtedly used not only - as containers for liquids but for other things such as corn and beans, - as they are used by the modern Mayas. None of these gourds was found - with a top or stopper in it, but we brought up separately many of the - top sections which had been removed to permit the hollowing out of the - gourd. Some still had an inch or two of stem left on them purposely - to provide a handle and were undoubtedly used as covers or stoppers. - Possibly some of these gourds with their contents of food or drink were - originally sealed before being cast into the well.</p> - - <p>“Among the wooden objects, the <i lang="myn">hul-che</i>, which I have previously - described, is the most interesting, and our finds in the well represent - the whole history of the development of this weapon, from its most - primitive bill-hook appearance to its most finished and ornamented - ceremonial form.</p> - - <p>“The highest stage in the development of the <i lang="myn">hul-che</i> is represented - by two specimens from the well. One represents an entwined serpent, its - fangs at the hook; in its now hollow eye-sockets probably were once - glittering eyeballs of jade. The shaft of the second specimen is formed - of human figures and is fronted with a fine mosaic or mask of burnished - gold. The whole weapon is as elaborately and minutely carved and - inlaid as the finest example of Japanese wood-carving. And we<span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">142</span> found - the stone-headed darts which were used with the <i lang="myn">hul-che</i>. They are - pictured clearly on the walls of the temples, but an actual dart or any - part of one had never been found before we raised our specimens from - the well. Any one may now view them in the Peabody Museum at Harvard - University—some without the stone heads but showing the cleft in the - wooden shaft into which the head was fitted. There are also several of - the sharp stone dart-heads, made of common chert and flint. A few are - beautifully formed and fashioned of translucent chalcedony, jasper, and - even jade. These specimens represent the highest known development of - ancient stone point-work of the American continents and probably of the - whole world.</p> - - <p>“Portions of lance-poles were found, and stone lance-points. Some of - these, like the beautiful dart-points, still carry traces of the hard - black bitumen—possibly hardened copal—that once fastened the stone - point to its wooden shaft.</p> - - <p>“Wooden objects shaped like the incisors of a jaguar and bearing - fragments of handsome mosaics encrusted on them are probably parts of - what were once jaguar head-masks. Other similar objects are plated with - gold—portions of golden jaguar-masks. Parts of large trough-shaped - wooden objects are doubtless the remnants of shields. The wood is - Yucatan cedar, light and easily worked, yet resistant to the destroying - effect of weather and insects. All of the wooden objects required quick - and skilful application of preservatives, for, while they had about - the consistency of wet punk when they came from the water, even a few - moments’ exposure to the air would have been sufficient to crumble them - into dust.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">143</span> Happily, I was fully prepared for this contingency, and not - a single important wooden find was lost or injured for lack of proper - treatment.</p> - - <p>“Next to the <i lang="myn">hul-che</i>, the most important of the wooden treasures is - the <i lang="myn">caluac</i>, the wand, scepter, or symbolic badge of high priesthood - or nobility. Many times upon the temple walls are pictured dignitaries - holding this device, as a king might hold a scepter or a bishop his - crook. The general form is that of a forked rabbit-stick. It may be - significant that the figure portrayed carrying the <i lang="myn">caluac</i> is never - depicted as carrying also the <i lang="myn">hul-che</i>, and perhaps the <i lang="myn">caluac</i> may - be a ceremonial weapon, symbolic substitute for the <i lang="myn">hul-che</i>. Whatever - its purpose, we have several specimens. Some are nearly perfect and - there are several sizes. The most common of these finds is about half - an inch thick by three inches wide and twenty-four inches long.</p> - - <p>“In addition to the wooden dolls and figures I have previously - mentioned, I obtained a curious ritual rattle inlaid with mosaics, and - several spatulas somewhat like Japanese praying-sticks. The spatulas - are thin and about three inches wide by seven in length. Both faces - show traces of the same hard white enamel found on several of the - gourds and potsherds. The faint characters on these spatulate wooden - objects are so precisely like those in the Dresden Codex that one might - readily believe them the work of the same artist.</p> - - <p>“That phallic rites were practised in some, if not all, sections of the - peninsula is indicated by a phallus, well carved from hardwood, which - we brought up from the well. It was recovered from the deeper layers - of the well-bottom, and this fact precludes any chance that it<span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">144</span> is a - later intrusive artifact. Some distance to the south of El Castillo - lies a straggling line of large stone phalli, evidently taken from - some portion of the ruined city by early Spanish settlers and then - abandoned by the roadside. The House of the Phalli in old Chi-chen Itza - further emphasizes the fact that the cult here existed and there are - unmistakable evidences in the ancient ruins of Uxmal.</p> - - <p>“The several wooden labrets, or lip- or cheek-plugs, are of some dark, - hard wood, possibly <i lang="myn">circicote</i> or ebony. The frontal surface is a - sunken panel on which is usually carved in relief the figure of a - plumed warrior. The carving in many cases is as fine as that on the - best cameos and is brought out by red pigment. Slight traces of green - are indicated, also, following the same general scheme as the large - carvings on the temple walls, where green and yellow pigments are used - to indicate respectively jade and golden objects or ornaments. That - these colors have withstood centuries of immersion is truly remarkable; - I doubt much if any of our modern colorings would have the same lasting - qualities.</p> - - <p>“Now I come to the last and perhaps most important of our - finds—various objects of jade. We brought up from the very lowest part - of the well seven jade plaques or tablets, broken but later fitted - together with almost no parts missing. They measure, approximately, - three by four inches, and are well carved with cameo-like designs of - Maya deities. Of similar design and length, but only two inches wide, - are nine additional plaques.</p> - - <p>“Of jade personal ornaments we recovered a hundred and sixty large, - handsome carved beads and pendants of varying sizes. These are nearly - all perfect. There<span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">145</span> are seventy carved jade ear, nose, and labret - ornaments, from two inches in diameter down to half an inch. They are - all well cut and polished. Among the loveliest specimens are fourteen - jade globes or balls, an inch and a half in diameter. These are - beautifully polished and several of them are finely carved with human - figures and other designs.</p> - - <p>“The most prized of all the jade objects is a figurine four inches wide - and of like height. It represents a seated figure of the Palenquin - type, with an elaborate head-dress, and is probably the finest figurine - of the Maya era which has ever been found. It is of flawless jade, - perfectly carved and polished, and absolutely unharmed by its centuries - at the bottom of the well. It alone is worth, a thousand times over, - the hard years of my life spent in solving the mysteries of the great - green water-pit whence it came.</p> - - <p>“I have purposely left the mention of the jade finds to the very last, - for they are the culmination of our discoveries, treasures which, - instead of enlightening our ignorance, only add another unanswerable - riddle, another intriguing enigma.</p> - - <p>“These plaques and ornaments, green, gray, or black; this wonderful - figurine—all are of genuine jade, and jade is simply not indigenous - in America. Despite all seeking and all investigation, not one single - outcropping vein of jade has been found on the American continents, not - even an elementary nodule or crystal. Nephrite, or near-jade, and soft - serpentine are common to both North and South America, but the jade - of the ancient Maya cities is real jade, as easily distinguishable<span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">146</span> - from nephrite as a real diamond from ordinary glass. Furthermore, I - have never found, nor have I seen, any similar objects taken from the - ancient Maya cities which are of nephrite, though the present-day - Indians, particularly in northern Mexico, file out objects of soft - serpentine and sell them to the gullible tourist as <i lang="myn">chalchuitl</i>. - The Nahuatl word <i lang="myn">chalchuitl</i> originally meant nephrite or American - jade—near-jade—but even before the coming of the Spaniards the word - had become prostituted to mean almost any greenish stone.</p> - - <p>“To the ancient Mayas jade was very precious—immeasurably more - valuable than gold (sun metal), of which they had great store—even - as in China to-day one may pay thousands of dollars for a string of - perfect jade beads. The following authentic tale concerning Cortes - and Montezuma illustrates the point. The story was recorded by one of - Montezuma’s followers and has the ring of truth:</p> - - <p>“Although Montezuma was, toward the last, virtually the prisoner of - Cortes, he was for a long time treated not as a prisoner but as an - honored guest. Cortes and Montezuma were accustomed to play each day a - native game which in many ways resembles chess, and both became much - interested. It was their further custom at the close of each day’s game - to present each other with some gift.</p> - - <p>“At the close of one day’s game the Aztec monarch presented Cortes with - several large disks of gold and silver handsomely worked. Cortes was - greatly pleased and so expressed himself. Montezuma smiled and said: - ‘The gift of to-morrow shall be such that to-day’s gift<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">147</span> will seem in - value and preciousness, when compared with it, as no more than a single - stone tile of the roadway.’</p> - - <p>“As may be supposed, the mighty Cortes spent a sleepless night in - anticipation of the priceless gift he was to receive. At length the - morrow came and the game was played to a long-drawn finish. The gift - of Cortes to Montezuma does not matter, but the royal treasurer of - Montezuma brought in on a golden salver the royal gift, four small - carved jade beads. The bitter disappointment of Cortes was so great - that he could scarcely conceal it, but Montezuma had acted in good - faith, for jade had throughout the Aztec ages possessed an intrinsic - value far above that of gold and silver.</p> - - <p>“So far as I can learn, the ancient Mayas considered silver of slight - value, and they esteemed gold or sun metal more for its adaptability - and malleability and its supposedly sacred origin than for its monetary - value. It was an object of barter simply because of its utility in - adornment and as a temple metal. Possibly copper may have had nearly as - great a value in the eyes of these ancient people.</p> - - <p>“Of all the jade objects we recovered, not more than a fifth are - unbroken, and the broken jade ornaments were broken not by chance or - accident but deliberately and by a practised hand. The fractures are - not the result of a casual crushing blow, but of the splitting or - cleaving impact from a sharp-edged instrument guided by a deft hand, so - that the jade was broken but not pulverized or marred. Like so many of - the relics from the well, they had been killed, just as the bottoms of - terra-cotta vessels were punctured and weapons were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">148</span> broken so that the - departing soul of him who died might be accompanied by the souls of the - material objects he had most loved or used during his earthly life. And - when the departed souls completed the long journey and at last stood - before the almighty Hunal Ku, the supreme god in the heavens, each - would wear the souls of his earthly jewels and have at hand the souls - of his earthly implements.</p> - - <p>“Although virtually all of the ancient rites and beliefs are unknown to - the modern Mayas, this one belief has persisted in an esoteric fashion. - Many years ago I attended the funeral of a young Maya woman whose - husband had been devoted to her. Her burial attire was of the richest - the family could possibly afford, the <i lang="myn">huipile</i> and <i lang="myn">pic</i> wonderfully - embroidered of <i lang="myn">xoc-bui-chui</i> (embroidery of the counted threads). Her - slippers of pink silk also were elaborately embroidered. Long slits had - been cut in both <i lang="myn">pic</i> and <i lang="myn">huipile</i> where they would not be noticed, - and the soles of the slippers each had three longitudinal slits cut - in them. When I asked the old grandfather why this had been done, he - professed ignorance and would only reply that it was the custom among - his people. But when I told the old <i lang="myn">H’men</i> of Ebtun what I had seen, - and of my conviction regarding it, he admitted that I was right and - that the ancient belief and custom have been handed down through the - generations, although the subject is never discussed with the Catholic - clergy.</p> - - <p>“Always since that time and the finding of the jade in the great well - I have thought of these lovely stones as ‘soul jewels,’ although, - according to the Maya belief, their souls are departed.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">149</span></p> - - <p>“Unfortunately, some of the finds from the well were stolen. How many I - do not know—not a great many, I think. But these things are priceless - and it is cause for grief that even the least of them should fail to - reach a safe place of exhibition. One of my natives abstracted some - gold from the finds and had it melted up and made into a chain before - we detected him. Later I found, also, that one of my straw bosses had - been bribed by another archæologist to secrete and hand over for a - price whatever of the finds he could. While I shall never know just - what the sum of these losses was, it could not have been great, because - no finds were brought up except in my presence, and every find that - came under my eye was catalogued and accounted for.”</p> - - <hr class="page" /> - <div class="chapter" id="CHAPTER_IX"> - <span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_150"></a>150</span> - <h2>CHAPTER IX<br /> - <span class="small">TWO LEGENDS</span></h2> - </div> - - <p class="drop-cap">ON one of Don Eduardo’s trips into the country of the Sublevados he - chanced across an old Indian, the troubadour of his tribe. This man - had a wonderful store of ancient traditions and legends and was an - excellent spinner of tales. As nothing pleased him more than to sit - by the hour and tell his stories to Don Eduardo—a most interested - audience—they spent many pleasant days together. The following legend, - especially, remains fresh in Don Eduardo’s memory and seems to me - worthy of being recorded ere it dies for lack of appreciative ears.</p> - - <h3>IX-LOL-NICTE</h3> - - <blockquote> - <p>My grandfather told me this, as his grandfather related it - to him, and so on back through many grandfathers; and before - that—who knows? There was in the north of this great land a - city, and this city existed a thousand years before the coming - of the white man. The dwellers in the land were called the - children of Kukul Can. Afterward the Itzas, who were a mighty - people, discovered this city and dwelt about the edge of its - Sacred Well for many <i lang="myn">katuns</i>.<a id="FNanchor_6" href="#Footnote_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> But before the time of the - Itzas, the first dwellers had come to this land in big canoes, - from the land of the mountains of fire. They were led by a - great and wise man who aided them to build the city. The name - of this man is written in stone in the ruins of the city.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">151</span></p> - - <p>In the city was a high-born maiden, a princess named for a - flower, for on the very night she was born, when the goddess - Ixchel caressed her beautiful mother and placed in her loving - arms a tiny girl child, the <i lang="myn">zac nicte</i> tree growing on the - terraced platform of the big house on the hill burst into - bloom for the first time and the tiny princess was named for - its flowers, Ix-Lol-Nicte—She the Flower of Sweet Perfume. - Each year thereafter the <i lang="myn">zac nicte</i> tree, the Mayflower tree - of the Mayas, flourished and brought forth its fragrant snowy - blossoms. Each year the princess grew in comeliness until she - became the most graceful, lovely maid that eyes ever rested - upon. Sixteen Mays had the <i lang="myn">zac nicte</i> tree been crowned with - blossoms and sixteen Mays had passed since the girl-child was - born to the beautiful mother in the great house on the hill.</p> - - <p>As the summer passed, the trunk and branches of the <i lang="myn">zac nicte</i> - turned to ashy gray, but its leaves remained green and its - blossoms lingered in masses of white fragrance. So beautiful - had the maid become that it seemed the greatest honor in all - the land must be hers. She must become the bride of Noh-och - Yum Chac, the Rain God, whose palace is at the bottom of the - Sacred Well. Surely the god would be pleased with her, for - never had he had a bride half so fair. The time was at hand - for the wedding of the water-god and a mortal maid. The god, - who controlled the vase of waters, the dew, and the rain, and - at whose will the corn grew luxuriously or withered and died, - must be mollified. Each year, if it became evident the Rain God - was angry with his people, the most beautiful maiden in the - land was chosen to be thrown into the well, to sink quickly to - his watery home and become his favorite handmaiden and win his - forgiveness for her people.</p> - - <p>Ix-Lol-Nicte grew in loveliness, and yet no man had seen her, - nor had she looked upon the face of any man, save only those of - the trusted household retainers. The home of the princess, with - its carved stone walls, thick and massive, loomed majestically - above the palm-thatched homes of the common people. In the - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">152</span> - spacious garden was a riot of tropic flowers, exotic shrubs, - and twisting vines, giving forth wave upon wave of sweet - perfume. Among the trees of grateful shade was the <i lang="myn">yax-nic</i>, - whose bark is used to make the drink of the gods and whose - clusters of lilac blooms formed a perfect background for the - vivid flame of the <i lang="myn">copte</i> tree.</p> - - <p>Care-free, with no thought of the future to darken her - innocent pleasures, the princess drifted happily about the - garden, with only the companionship of the wild creatures - that peopled the inclosure. And they sensed with unerring - intuition the gentleness of her presence and bared not against - her claw, fang, nor sting. In the sunny garden the little wild - honey-bees, shining black like bits of jet, clung to her glossy - tresses, loath to leave her fragrant presence. The big, lazy - black-and-yellow butterflies lit fearlessly upon her shoulders, - fanning her lovingly with their slowly opening and closing - wings. The <i lang="myn">bec-etch-ok</i>, the bird of a hundred songs, seemed - to save for her his choicest selections as she wandered along - the garden paths.</p> - - <p>Her first knowledge of sadness came with the death of her - pet fawn which had fed upon a poisonous vine that grew in - the garden undetected by the servants and gardeners. All day - she sat in the shade of a big sapote tree, thinking of her - little dead pet. Suddenly she heard a sound in the forest - depths beyond the garden and she looked up to see a youth - chasing a wild fawn which bounded over the undergrowth and - into the garden, coming close to her as though beseeching her - protection, and she stood up and kept the youth from further - pursuit. Not knowing her to be a princess, he was very angry - with her for spoiling the chase and called down upon her the - curses of Cacunam, god of the hunters.</p> - - <p>But the princess was not at all alarmed, because, not knowing - the ways of men, she did not realize that the wrath of a man is - a very dreadful thing to a woman.</p> - - <p>“Beautiful boy,” she said, “why do you chase the baby deer? - Go find Ek Balam, the black jaguar, or Noh-och Ceh, the giant - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">153</span> - grandfather deer who lives in the deep forest! No brave man - would hunt such a defenseless little creature as a fawn.”</p> - - <p>The lad, who was of her own age, hung his head and was ashamed. - Abashed by her imperious manner, he felt that one far superior - addressed him, yet his pride was stung. Flinging back his head, - he gazed at her with flashing eyes and said:</p> - - <p>“I come of a line of great warriors and I will show you I can - fight even the wild <i lang="myn">tzimin</i> or the <i lang="myn">chacmool</i> [tiger].” So - saying, he rushed off through the forest and was gone.</p> - - <p>A jungle pheasant gave its staccato whistle in the forest - depths and all was still. For the first time in her life the - princess felt loneliness creep over her, for she had not wished - the youth to rush away.</p> - </blockquote> - - <p>“Thus do the gods of our people upset the plans of man,” said the - story-teller, as he paused to roll and light a corn-husk cigarette. - Looking up with a quizzical smile, he said, “Is it not so with the - gods of the white people?” I assured him heartily and from personal - experience that the plans of mice and men, white or otherwise, do have - a peculiar faculty for going awry.</p> - - <p>With his fag burning freely, he continued the legend:</p> - - <blockquote> - <p>The memory of this meeting kept coming before the eyes of the - youth and a strange restlessness possessed him, so that even - the excitement of the chase no longer gave him pleasure. He - himself knew not what had bewitched him and he fancied that - he suffered from some fever. But ever the beautiful form and - flowerlike face of the maid floated before his eyes. Asleep or - awake, it was the same; he could not banish the lovely vision. - He did not know her to be a princess, but he knew the big house - on the hill and that nobility dwelt there.</p> - - <p>At length he went to his uncle, the great <i lang="myn">ah-kin-mai</i>, the - high priest, and said:</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">154</span></p> - - <p>“Tell me: am I not also of noble birth, like those who live on - the hill in the big house?”</p> - - <p>His uncle regarded him curiously, for he was a wise as well - as a very learned man and well he knew that when a youth asks - about those of a house, he is not interested in any of the - inmates but the maid who dwells there.</p> - - <p>“Be still, my son,” said he. “Forget that you have asked this - question. The people on the hill are of the royal house, while - you are but the son of a chief. Does the bird in the high - tree-top know who is on the ground below? So it is with men.”</p> - - <p>The youth turned silently away and from then on held his own - counsel, for he knew that the high priest, his uncle, held - no thought of love or romance in his breast. But the next - day he warily scaled the hill beyond the city walls, vowing - in his heart that he would at least gaze once more upon the - maid who had woven about him so potent a spell. As he reached - the hilltop there was nothing to see but the tall, rough tree - trunks and the heavy branches. The tree under whose shade the - lovely maid had sat but yesterday was there, but its branches - sheltered only a gay-plumaged motmot perched on the lowest - branch, jeering at him with its raucous voice. A weight lay - heavy on his heart.</p> - - <p>“Hateful bird! Pitiless sun! Unfriendly forest!” thought he. - Was it possible the gods might be angry because he dared to - invade the privacy of the big house on the hill? He turned - sadly to depart, but determined to come again even though the - gods be wroth. He had taken but a few steps when a sweet voice - directly behind him asked mockingly:</p> - - <p>“Do you hunt the baby deer to-day? Or, perchance, the bluebird, - that sings so sweetly in the tree-tops?” The boy turned at the - first word and his courage returned, for the evil bird had - flown, the sun was never more glorious, and the forest suddenly - seemed friendly.</p> - - <p>“I hunt a rare flower that grows high up in the dwellings of - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">155</span> - men,” he replied, “and there is joy in my heart now, for at - last I have found it.”</p> - - <p>The maid did not answer, for she was unused to the ways of men - and of flatteries, but she sat down under the tree where she - had sat before and said:</p> - - <p>“Tell me, handsome youth, are the people who dwell in the city - below as good to look upon as you?”</p> - - <p>The youth did not know what to say or answer, for he realized - at once how far above him the maiden must be to dare ask such - a question, and how closely guarded she must be to know so - little of the dwellers of the city. But this only increased his - determination to come again and again, until the heart of the - girl should respond to the beating of his own.</p> - - <p>In a short time a path was worn up the hillside and through - the forest, and often the birds looked down upon the lovers as - they spoke of the plans of the girl’s family that she become - the bride of the Rain God. The princess had been taught that to - be called to serve in the subterranean palace of the god was - the greatest honor and happiness that could come to any maiden, - whether high-born or of lowly birth. Until now, until the - coming of this youth, she had accepted eagerly the possibility - of becoming the bride of the Rain God. But of late her heart - had grown strangely chilled whenever she thought of this honor - that might be hers.</p> - - <p>Meanwhile, the youth, who came from a family noted for its - energy and decision, bided his time and kept his own counsel. - His plan was formed. The princess must not be sacrificed to the - grim keeper of the Sacred Well, whether god or devil. He would - steal her away and bear her off to some distant province before - ever she could be chosen for the Rain God. He dared not tell - the princess of his plan, for he knew her awe and fear of the - gods. But to himself he said:</p> - - <p>“Surely if I take her away before the day of the choosing, that - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">156</span> - will not be opposing the will of the gods, for they will not - yet have spoken their decree.”</p> - - <p>Now Ix-Ek [Brunette], daughter of the great war chief Ek-Chac - [Dark Red One], was as beautiful to the eye and in outward - semblance as gentle as Ix-Lol-Nicte. It had been rumored that - the high honor of serving the Rain God in his deep home might - be hers. Those who knew her best, who knew the workings of her - artful mind and cruel heart, shook their heads and said in - secret:</p> - - <p>“Surely the gods who can read the minds and what is in the - hearts of men, even as <i lang="myn">H’men</i> the high priest, does with the - ills of the body by means of his magic crystal—surely they - will never choose Ix-Ek!”</p> - - <p>But Ix-Ek knew nothing and cared less about the secret - whisperings. The desire to be the chosen of the gods became - stronger and stronger in her heart as she perceived that - Ix-Lol-Nicte was a rival for that coveted honor. And the hour - for the final choice drew nearer and nearer.</p> - - <p>It was by the merest chance that the handsome youth passed - within the sight of Ix-Ek. At once it came to her like a bolt - from the blue that she did not in the least want to serve the - Rain God in his damp abode, and that the only happiness in - the world for her was to bask in the tempestuous adoration of - this unknown youth. Artfully she found a way to know him and - to make it seem that he had sought her of his own volition. - To him, unused to the wiles that an artful woman ever has at - her command, she seemed so tender and compassionate that he, - knowing nothing of her passion,—for who can see the moon when - the sun is shining?—impulsively confided to her his love for - Ix-Lol-Nicte. And Ix-Ek, concealing the jealousy that seethed - in her heart, that she might better work out her terrible - design, sweetly promised to aid him in securing his heart’s - desire.</p> - - <p>As silently as the poisonous yellow spider of the jungle spins - and spins its web, so did Ix-Ek spin her web of deceit and - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">157</span> - falsehood to bring the choice of the gods upon Ix-Lol-Nicte - and thus separate her by death from the youth upon whom Ix-Ek - had set her own evil heart. The jealous rage of an unscrupulous - woman knows no bounds, obeys no laws, sacred or otherwise, and - stops at nothing. So Ix-Ek schemed in secret and acted upon her - plan.</p> - - <p>Just as the plans of the youth were perfected, even to the - litter that was to bear Ix-Lol-Nicte away with him, and stout - bearers, men of his own service, the high priest announced that - the day of the choosing had arrived and that all who were to - participate in the ceremony were to be in instant readiness. - The young man knew that as one of the <i lang="myn">hul-che</i> bearers and - especially appointed guard to the king he must be present at - the ceremony. Failure on his part to be on hand, by an ancient, - unchangeable law meant degradation for his entire family beyond - all pardon and for himself enslavement.</p> - - <p>On the great square before the Pyramid of Sacrifice stood the - platform of Noh-och Can, the Great Serpent, where would be - enacted the ceremony of choosing the betrothed of the Rain - God. At the very center of the platform was a massive seat, - or throne of carved stone, used in this ceremony since the - earliest days of the Sacred City. Over the seat was a gorgeous - gold-embroidered canopy with a circular opening in the top, so - that the rays of the sun might shine directly upon the person - seated there.</p> - - <p>This was in the month of the New Sun. The early summer rains - had passed, though every now and then a fleecy cloud swam - through the azure and obscured the direct brightness of Ich-Kin - [the Eye of Day], Earth was at its best, covered everywhere - with a tender verdure accustomed to plentiful moisture and now - suffering the first pangs of thirst which might wither and - parch it should the Rain God not relent.</p> - - <p>At a given point in the solemn rites, the high priest would - call one beautiful maid after another to occupy the sacred seat - and the one upon whom the unclouded sun shone longest was the - choice of the gods for betrothal to the Rain God. Thus Ich-Kin, - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">158</span> - the greatest of the gods, would choose the virgin bride for - his brother, the Rain God.</p> - - <p>A vast crowd from the city and from far regions had gathered to - witness the majestic ceremony. An oppressive stillness was over - all, and in the silence was the solemn feeling of the nearness, - the very presence of the gods as they awaited the choosing of - their lovely mortal handmaiden.</p> - - <p>Shattering the stillness came the shrill, weird notes of the - flute and the keening of the sacred whistle, mingled with the - rolling boom of the drum as the multitude joined in the slow - chant of the ritual music, rolling out in a mighty sea of sound.</p> - - <p>At length the high priest raised his hand and the music ceased. - Taking a vase of fragrant smoldering incense, he approached - with measured pace to each of the four corners of the platform, - symbolizing the four corners of the earth, and as he came to - each corner he wafted the smoke of the incense toward each of - the symboled <i lang="myn">Bacabes</i> who support the four corners of the - earth upon their faithful shoulders and asked, by invocation, - their blessing upon this ancient ceremony.</p> - - <p>Four times he did this and then announced that the gods were - favorable. The priestly blower of the sacred trumpet blew two - long blasts from his great conch-shell, and as the echo died - away, Ix-Lol-Nicte descended from her curtained palanquin and, - trembling from head to foot, walked toward the throne. She - was attired in a long pure-white robe, adorned only at the - throat and hem with the exquisite embroidery of the counted - threads, worked by the temple nuns. Clusters of <i lang="myn">chan-cala</i>, - black and shining as jet beads,—the color worn in honor of the - West God,—lay against her fluttering breast. Before her went - attendants, scattering large white and yellow blossoms, flowers - of the gods of North and South.</p> - - <p>Slowly, with graceful dignity, unfaltering yet fearful, she - approached the great stone chair. In her heart she prayed - desperately that the choice of the gods might not fall upon - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">159</span> - her, for how could her adoration turn even to an immortal god - when before her eyes was the beloved image of the mortal youth - of the hillside?</p> - - <p>Upon her the throng gazed with wondering eyes. Beauty had been - expected, but not this vision of virginal loveliness—a maid - upon whom even the gods must gaze with rapturous and humble - admiration! As she seated herself upon the throne it seemed - to the onlookers as if the gods had already endowed her with - sacred attributes, and an involuntary sigh came from each bosom - in the dense throng.</p> - - <p>Again the high priest raised his hand, and now the drum alone - beat in pulsing cadence to the movement of the <i lang="myn">caluac</i> or - scepter which he held. Seated before the maiden was the - <i lang="myn">Uinic-xoco</i>, or counter, who recorded the beats of the drum. - At length the <i lang="myn">caluac</i> in the hands of the high priest came - to rest, the drum ceased to beat, and Ix-Lol-Nicte with her - attendants left the platform.</p> - - <p>Then came Ix-Ek, and she too was beautiful; as vivid as the - scarlet berries that shone upon her breast. A murmur of - admiration came from the onlookers and Ix-Ek turned and gazed - at them disdainfully, for to her these people were as the dust - underfoot. She bore herself with haughty pride, and if she felt - any fear her bearing did not show it. A short time before, she - had craved the honor of becoming the bride of the Rain God, but - now she was passionately enamoured of a mortal youth and she - was pulsating with the love that filled her heart. Whatever the - honor, she no longer wished that sleep in which the eye of life - is forever closed.</p> - - <p>Once more the high priest raised his hand, the drum-beats - ceased, and the people silently returned to their homes. The - solemn ceremony of the choosing was over, but the choice of the - gods, by ancient custom, might not be made known until ten days - had passed.</p> - - <p>With heavy heart the young man returned to his father’s house, - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">160</span> - for he had seen not even the tiniest cloud pass over the face - of the sun while his adored Ix-Lol-Nicte sat in the great stone - chair. It seemed inevitable that she would be the choice of - the gods and the thought was as a knife in his breast. As he - lay upon his couch, stricken with anguish, there came to him a - messenger from Ix-Ek, saying:</p> - - <p>“Come to me. I will help you and yet not anger the gods, for I - know that Ix-Lol-Nicte was chosen.”</p> - - <p>Swiftly he went to the house of Ix-Ek and shook the string of - hollow shells before the curtained entrance. At the first sound - Ix-Ek stood beside him, brilliantly beautiful in her rich garb, - her cheeks flushed and eyes bright with excitement. Even the - love-blinded and despairing lover of Ix-Lol-Nicte gazed at her, - spellbound for a moment with admiration, before his poignant - grief once more engulfed him and he listened in hopeless - silence while she spoke.</p> - - <p>“You must tell Ix-Lol-Nicte that if she is really chosen she - must hold her body straight and like an arrow, so that it will - enter the water as the jade-tipped dart from the <i lang="myn">hul-che</i>,” - she said. “I know the under priests who are to hold her at - the brink of the well and fling her in. I will tell them that - the gods have whispered to the high priest that the Rain God - desires no new bride this year and that they are to fling her - carefully so that her body shall not turn in the air but shall - cleave the water like an arrow. Thus she shall come again to - the surface, unharmed. Be you ready to rescue her and it will - seem merely as though the Rain God had refused the sacrifice. - Fear not. I know the priests and they will do as I say. Is not - my father their chief, with power of life and death over them? - Have no fear; they will obey me without question.”</p> - - <p>Hope returned to the heart of the youth and he called down the - blessing of heaven upon Ix-Ek, his ears dulled to the serpent - hiss of her voice, his sight unheeding the crafty, cruel - glitter of her eyes. And that night he haunted the forest close - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">161</span> - by the royal abode of Ix-Lol-Nicte, while the Ox-ppel-Ek, the - stars of the Three Marys, like white sentinels, gazed down - upon him in pity as he gave the familiar signal, the cry of - the night-bird. Soon the white-robed, weeping Ix-Lol-Nicte was - locked in his arms. And when she could speak she whispered - between her sobs:</p> - - <p>“Let this be our last farewell. It is the will of the gods - and I must go quickly, for since the choosing I am watched - continually.”</p> - - <p>Kneeling at her feet, the youth told her of the plan of Ix-Ek - and she was convinced by his eager young eloquence. Her stifled - sobs ceased and the flame of hope warmed her and calmed her - fears, for her faith in her lover was as great as her love for - him.</p> - - <p>Alone once more and without the reassuring nearness and vital - strength of the boy, her fears returned and she distrusted - Ix-Ek, because the intuition of a woman often reaches where - the reasoning of a man fails to penetrate, and in her heart - the maid knew that Ix-Ek sought only to destroy her. But she - resolved to say nothing to her lover to dim his hope, and to - trust only that the gods, knowing all that was in her breast - and that she could never serve the Rain God with a whole heart, - would in their all-seeing beneficence refuse her pitiful - sacrifice.</p> - - <p>When ten days had passed, the high priest announced that - Ix-Lol-Nicte was in truth the choice of the gods, and soon came - the fateful day. Ix-Ek, aided by the nether gods and guided - by Hun-Ahau, the arch-fiend himself, carried out her evil - plan. She had seen and instructed the two brawny <i lang="myn">nacons</i> who - were to cast Ix-Lol-Nicte into the Sacred Well, but instead - of directing them as she had promised the youthful lover of - Ix-Lol-Nicte, she told them that the high priest had had a - vision and unless Ix-Lol-Nicte were accepted by the Rain God, - priests and all would die before sunset; and she urged them - to fling the maid with all their strength so that she should - turn again and again in the air and strike the water with fatal - impact.</p> - - <p>The sturdy, slow-witted under priests, befuddled by the words - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">162</span> - of Ix-Ek, did not, as was the custom, fling the slight form of - the victim far out toward the center of the well, but let fall - the tender body of Ix-Lol-Nicte so that it struck the terrible - rocky side of the pit. A mutilated, bloody corpse at last sank - beneath the green waters.</p> - - <p>Her lover, standing at the brink of the well beside the covered - bower of the king and poised to dive into the water to aid - Ix-Lol-Nicte the moment her lovely head should reappear above - the surface, saw her body strike the rocks. Turning like a - flash, he rushed to Ix-Ek and threw her far out into the well - as one would throw a small stone. Then he leaped upon the two - dazed under priests and dragged them over the brink so that all - three fell like plummets into the watery pit.</p> - - <p>Horror overwhelmed the high priest and all others who stood - there. They knew that a portentous thing had happened and that - the wrath of the gods would swiftly be upon them. Enormous - clouds, as black as the berries upon the dead breast of - Ix-Lol-Nicte, came rushing from the four corners of the horizon - and surged high up in the heavens, meeting as one. A single - bolt of lurid lightning split the firmament and entered the - Sacred Well, and the thunder made the rock walls shudder and - the whole earth to tremble. The Rain God, angered that his - people had turned the sacred sacrifice into a day of evil, - caused the heavens to pour down upon them such a deluge that - hundreds were swept into the well and battered to death on its - jagged, rocky sides or drowned in its depths.</p> - - <p>Others fled, to escape the wrath of the gods, but few reached - the shelter of their homes.</p> - - <p>When the terrible storm was at last over, only a few houses - were left and a decimated population. The big <i lang="myn">zac nicte</i> tree, - which had blossomed for the first time when Ix-Lol-Nicte was - born, now lay upon the ground, its gray trunk split and torn - and its lovely fragrant blossoms bruised and crushed. But if - one had looked closely he might have seen that the heart of - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">163</span> - the tree had been eaten out by a big, dark worm with stripes - of brilliant red, red and vivid as the carmine berries on the - breast of Ix-Ek.</p> - </blockquote> - - <p>The old man—soothsayer, story-teller, wizard of Zactun—also told the - legend of Xkan-xoc, the forest bird, choosing his words carefully, - with long waits between puffs of his husk-wrapped cigarette; and - the measured cadence of his voice, together with the white magic of - midnight moonlight, made his stories live and clothed his legendary - characters with flesh and blood for the enchanted eyes of the listener.</p> - - <h3>XKAN-XOC, THE FOREST BIRD</h3> - - <blockquote> - <p>There was a time when the wrath of the Rain God was over the - land. He had sent the dry wind to work his will and all the - country of the Mayas lay parching and dying. The leaves of - vines and shrubs and trees first twisted and contorted in - their agony of thirst and then crumbled away. The black earth - turned to dust, blown about by the winds, and the red earth was - baked as hard as the tiles in the roadway. The old men, wise - with the knowledge of years and many famines, and whose ears - knew the inner meaning of small sounds which most people think - insignificant, said that the deep earth cried out and groaned - in its hot anguish.</p> - - <p>The <i lang="myn">ah-kin</i>, priest of the Rain God, who lived at the verge of - the Sacred Well, told his people that the mighty God of Rain - was displeased because more copal incense had not been burned - at his shrine, and that he must be appeased at once or no corn, - no beans, no peppers would grow in the whole land.</p> - - <p>A new maid must be sent to him, one so beautiful that he would - wish to keep her as his bride and his gratitude would be shown - by gentle and frequent rains that would revive the dying maize. - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">164</span> - The mortal messenger must be the loveliest virgin in all the - country, without a flaw, absolutely without the slightest - blemish on any part of her body. Her voice must be as sweet as - that of <i lang="myn">Xkoke</i>, the wood-thrush, so that the sound of it as - she spoke to the god in behalf of her people might be as music - to his ears.</p> - - <p>The great and wise men met in council,—the king, the lords, - the priests, the mighty warriors,—and picked men, hundreds of - them, were sent to comb the country-side and the cities and the - depths of the forest to find a fitting bride for the god. There - was not a maid in Yucatan or even in lands far to the south - upon whose face one or another of these ambassadors would not - look. And only a few maidens, those of surpassing beauty, would - be sent to the sacred city for the ceremony of the choosing.</p> - - <p>From the humble house of her father in the depths of the Tiger - Forest came Xkan-xoc, carried swiftly on a flower-decked - litter, borne by strong young men, the sons of nobles. Garlands - of flowers and sweet-scented herbs shaded her from the heat - of the sun. Her thirst was quenched with the milk of new corn - and wild honey. Her food was especially prepared by the vestal - virgins of the temple.</p> - - <p>And upon the day of the choosing her <i lang="myn">pic</i> and <i lang="myn">huipile</i> were - made of shining, soft tree-cotton, lustrous as the wings of - a sea-bird, that clung to her slender gracefulness. Glinting - green stones hung pendent from her ears, while about the lovely - slender column of her neck were entwined many small fretted - chains of gleaming sun metal. Her eyes were big and dark like - those of a fawn; her voice as soft and sweet as the dawn breeze - swaying the fronds of the <i lang="myn">cocoyal</i> palm or ruffling the petals - of the hibiscus flower. Tiny sandals of softest doeskin covered - her feet as she was led to the temple to be prepared for the - sacrifice.</p> - - <p>The high priest donned his vestments, the lesser priests - brought rich votive offerings and baskets of incense, both - copal and rubber. The king and his guard of noble <i lang="myn">hul-che</i> - bearers took their stations and all the people of the city - gathered at the edge of the Well.</p> - - <p>The first dulcet tones of the sacred flute were heard from the - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">165</span> - temple of Kukul Can at the far end of the Sacred Way and the - shrilling of the sacred whistles joined with the flutes and the - reverberating boom of the <i lang="myn">tunkul</i>, the sacred drum. A sudden - silence, a strange ominous stillness—then was heard from - the depths of the temple the wailing of all the white-robed - virgins. And swiftly the news traveled. Xkan-xoc cannot be sent - as the messenger to the Rain God, for, in preparing her for the - ceremony, the vestal virgins have discovered a tiny mole or - birthmark upon her breast, which had been overlooked previously.</p> - - <p>The ceremony stopped and the people dispersed with heavy - hearts, for Xkan-xoc might not be sent to the Rain God, and - beside her all other beautiful maidens seemed unlovely. Another - maid must be selected for the sacrifice and how might the Rain - God be moved by a bride, however lovely, after seeing the - divinely fair Xkan-xoc?</p> - </blockquote> - - <hr class="page" /> - <div class="chapter" id="CHAPTER_X"> - <span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_166"></a>166</span> - <h2>CHAPTER X<br /> - <span class="small">THE CONQUEST</span></h2> - </div> - - <p class="drop-cap">IN “The Fair God” General Lew Wallace has given a somewhat fanciful but - in the main faithful description of the conquest of Montezuma and the - Aztecs by Cortes and his Spanish knights and men-at-arms.</p> - - <p>The conquest of the Mayas is a similar story of blood and plunder in - which the Mayas, although far outnumbering the Spaniards, were no - match for the superior knowledge and weapons of the white men. And, as - always, where the flag of Spain went the church followed close behind - and consolidated and held the conquered as arms alone never could have - done.</p> - - <p>Bishop Landa says that Gerónimo de Aguilar with some companions was - the first to try his luck in Yucatan. He and his men took part in the - destruction of the city of Darien in 1511. He accompanied another - leader, Valdivia, in a caravel from Santo Domingo. They ran aground at - a place called Viboras, on the coast of Jamaica, and the ship was lost - with all but twenty men. Aguilar and Valdivia with the few survivors - set out in a small boat without sails and without food and were - thirteen days at sea, before, by chance, they reached Yucatan. In that - time half of the little band died of starvation.</p> - - <p>Upon reaching land they fell into the hands of a bad Maya chief; he - immediately sacrificed Valdivia and four others to the native gods, and - the people feasted upon<span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">167</span> their bodies. Aguilar, his chief lieutenant, - Guerrero, and four or five others were left to fatten for a subsequent - sacrifice, but they escaped and reached another tribe which was at war - with the bad chief. Here they were kept as slaves, and though they were - mercifully treated, nearly all of them died of disease except Aguilar - and Guerrero. The former was a good Christian, according to Bishop - Landa’s account, and kept his prayer-book, and in 1517 he returned - to Spain with Hernan Cortes. Guerrero, however, appears to have been - less pious; he allied himself with a native chief and together they - conquered many native tribes. Guerrero taught the natives how to fight - and how to build fortifications. He conducted himself like an Indian, - painting his body, letting his hair grow long, and wearing ear-rings, - and married the daughter of a chief. It is thought he became an - idolator.</p> - - <p>In 1517 Francisco Hernandez de Córdoba set sail from Santiago de Cuba - with three ships, for the purpose, some say, of obtaining new slaves - for the mines. Others say he went to discover new land. He arrived at - length at the island of Mujeres (women), which name he gave it because - of the native goddesses of the island—Aixchel, Ixche-beliax, Ixhunie, - and Ixhunieta. The Spaniards were surprised to find the women fully - clothed and to see buildings of stone and articles of gold. The latter - they took with them. Sailing into the bay of Campeche, they landed upon - the coast of Yucatan on the Sunday of Lazarus and called the place of - their arrival Lazarus. They were well received by the natives, who were - struck with awe and wonderingly touched the beards and persons of the - strangers.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">168</span></p> - - <p>Near the sea the Spaniards beheld a square stone monument with steps - leading up to it on all four sides. On the summit was a stone idol, - with the figures of two wild animals gnawing at his flanks, and a huge - stone serpent in the act of swallowing a leopard. All were smeared - with blood from frequent sacrifices. A little way inland was the city - of Champoton, which the chief would not permit the Spaniards to enter, - bringing forth his warriors against them. This saddened Francisco - Hernandez, but he put his forces in order and caused the artillery of - his ships to be fired.</p> - - <p>The natives, however, did not cease their attack, although the noise - and smoke and fire of cannon must have been terrifying to them who had - never seen nor heard such things before. The bloodshed was terrible, - for the natives died in hundreds, but still they pressed on, driving - the Spaniards back to their ships. Of the Spaniards, twenty were - killed, fifty wounded, and two taken alive who were later sacrificed. - Hernandez himself received thirty-three wounds.</p> - - <p>Returning to Cuba, he told Diego Velasquez, the governor, of the - richness of the land and of the abundance of gold, and Velasquez - despatched his nephew, Juan de Grijalva, with four ships and two - hundred men, on May 1, 1518, to undertake the conquest of Yucatan. One - of the ships was commanded by Francisco de Montejo. They cruised along - the whole coast and finally attempted to besiege the city of Champoton - again, but with no better fortune than their predecessors. One Spaniard - was killed and fifty wounded, among them Grijalva.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">169</span></p> - - <p>When the Spaniards returned to Cuba Hernan Cortes became greatly - excited upon hearing the news of so much land and such riches and - determined to conquer the country in the name of God and his king. He - outfitted eleven ships, the largest being of one hundred tons. Among - their captains was Francisco de Montejo. There were five hundred men in - the expedition, horses, war-gear, and goods for trading or ransom.</p> - - <p>On the voyage one ship was thought to be lost, and with the ten - remaining vessels an attack was made on the city of Cotoch, which was - captured and plundered. Later the ship that was thought to be lost - rejoined the rest. Cruising down the coast from northern Yucatan, the - fleet came to the inhabited island of Cuzmil.</p> - - <p>The natives, seeing so many ships and so many soldiers, abandoned the - place and fled inland. After despoiling the city, the Spaniards made a - foray into the hinterland and came upon the wife of the chief and her - children. They conversed with her by the aid of a native interpreter - and treated her kindly. Many gifts were bestowed upon her and her - children and she was induced to send word to the chief and bring him - before them. When he came, he too was well treated and presented with - gifts.</p> - - <p>The chief ordered all the dwellers to return to their homes and all - of the loot that the Spaniards had taken was restored to its owners - and confidence and friendship were established. The natives became - converted to Christianity and the image of the Virgin was set up to - replace the old stone idols. From the Indians Cortes learned that some - white men were near by, in the power of a barbarous native chief. The - friendly Indians were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">170</span> afraid to venture into the domain of the chief, - but Cortes finally induced them to deliver the following letter by - stealth to the white men:</p> - - <p class="noindent smcap">Noble Sirs:</p> - - <blockquote> - <p>I left Cuba with eleven armed ships and five hundred Spaniards - and arrived here at Cuzmil, from where I write you this letter. - Those of this island have assured me that there are on this - land five or six cruel men and in all very similar to us. I do - not know how to give or say other descriptions, but by these - I guess and am sure you are Spaniards. I and these nobles who - came with me to discover and populate these lands, request - you that within six days after receiving this you come to us - without other delay or excuse. If you come we shall all know - one another and we shall reward the good work that from you - this fleet receives. I send a brig in which to come and two - ships for security.</p> - </blockquote> - - <p>This letter was carried by the natives, concealed in their hair, and - it reached Aguilar, of whom I have previously spoken. He was not able, - however, to make connection with the ships Cortes had sent and after - six days the brig and its convoy ships returned to Cuzmil and Cortes - immediately set sail with his whole fleet. Soon after embarking, one - of the ships was damaged and the whole fleet returned to Cuzmil while - repairs were made. The following day Aguilar arrived, having crossed - the sea between Cuzmil and the mainland in a canoe. He cried for joy at - finding his countrymen and knelt down and thanked God. He was taken, - naked as he came, to Cortes, who clothed him and received him kindly. - He told of his privations and of Guerrero, but it was not possible to - reach the latter, who was then eighty leagues inland.</p> - - <p>With Aguilar, who was an excellent interpreter, Cortes<span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">171</span> again preached - the worship of the Cross and made a great impression upon the - inhabitants of Cuzmil. The fleet upon its return voyage touched at - Campeche and at Tabasco, where the inhabitants gave to Cortes an Indian - woman who was afterward called Marina. She came from Jalisco, was the - daughter of noble parents, and had been stolen when small and sold as a - slave in Tabasco and later in other cities. Thus she knew the language - and much of the condition of the country.</p> - - <p>After his arrival in Cuba, Cortes and the governor determined to send - Montejo to the Spanish court, to carry to the king his fifth of the - treasure resulting from the expedition and to secure a grant for the - conquest and settlement of Yucatan. When Montejo reached Spain, Bishop - Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca was prime minister, with full power over - New Spain. The reports rendered to the minister by Diego Velasquez, - governor of Cuba, were by no means in praise of Cortes, and as a result - Montejo, his emissary, found himself in a most unfavorable position. - It was only after seven years of what must have been heartbreaking - delay that he persuaded the president of the council and Pope Adrian - to approve the mission. The king had been long absent in Flanders, but - now an audience with his Majesty was granted and Montejo succeeded - in clearing Cortes and in getting the king’s grant for the conquest - of Yucatan, and with it the title for himself of governor of the new - province.</p> - - <p>As soon as possible he outfitted three ships and sailed with five - hundred men. His destination was the island of Cuzmil, which was safely - reached and where he was well received by the Christianized natives. - After a brief<span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">172</span> time he went to the mainland, where his first act was - to plant the flag of Spain with the words, “In the name of God, I take - possession of this land for God and the King of Castile.” He then - sailed down the coast to the city of Conil. The natives were greatly - alarmed and sent word throughout the country of the advent of the - Spanish. All of the chiefs for some distance about were persuaded to - visit Montejo, who received them with honor and respect. But one chief - of great strength was accompanied by a negro servant, who carried, - concealed, a cutlass, and at a favorable moment the chief seized the - weapon and tried to assassinate Montejo, who defended himself while his - men disarmed the native.</p> - - <p>This event was disquieting; Montejo realized that in spite of his - conference with the natives, they were unfriendly and that it would be - unwise to risk his little army against their combined strength. And - so he weighed anchor and proceeded farther down the coast, seeking - the largest sea-coast city, which proved to be Tecoh. Here, either by - friendly overtures or by threats, he gained permission to establish - a city which he intended to make the capital of his new dominion. - Traveling about the country, he came upon Chi-chen Itza, which seemed - to him an ideal location, probably because of its stone buildings and - its plentiful water-supply. He at once set about the task of making - it habitable. Houses of wood with thatched roofs were put up and with - the assistance of friendly natives he began the task of subduing - surrounding tribes, placing some one or another of his men in charge of - the villages as they were conquered, until he had two or three thousand - natives in his power.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">173</span></p> - - <p>By this time the natives awoke to the fact that they were fast becoming - slaves to the Spaniards, and rebellion set in everywhere. For a time - Montejo with his men was able, by cruel and bloody treatment, to keep - the people in subjection; but at last they forced him to draw in all - his forces to Chi-chen Itza, where they besieged him. Each day the - armed and mailed Spaniards took heavy toll of their besiegers; and each - day the Indians were reinforced, while the Spaniards counted every - victory a defeat which lost them even a few in killed or wounded. And - the food-supply was nearly exhausted.</p> - - <p>Finally Montejo perceived that he and his men must escape and return to - the island of Cuzmil or they would all be slain. Through the day they - wearied the native besiegers with skirmish and sortie and that night - they tied a famished dog to a rope attached to a bell and just out of - reach placed some food. All night the dog tried in vain to reach the - food and all night the natives heard the sound of the bell and thought - the Spaniards were preparing a night attack. But the wily Montejo and - his followers had escaped from the rear of the ancient “Nunnery” and it - was several hours before the besiegers discovered what had happened.</p> - - <p>Not knowing which road the fleeing enemy had taken, the Indians set - out at once by all the roads to the sea-coast. Some of them actually - caught up with the retreating forces, but were too few in number to - attack successfully. The Spaniards reached safely the town of Zilan and - the Christianized tribe of the Cheles (Bluebirds) and from there they - easily made their way to Ticoh, where they were secure for some months.</p> - - <p>Montejo saw that conquest to the southward was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">174</span> blocked, and, with the - aid of the friendly Cheles and taking the chief of the town of Zilan - and two young nobles, the sons of a still greater chief, he traveled - with his force up the coast, the young natives of his escort obtaining - safe conduct for him through the various tribes. Thus he reached - Mexico, which was held by the iron hand of Cortes.</p> - - <p>Montejo was next sent to Honduras as viceroy, but the project of - subduing Yucatan seems always to have been his dream. Some years later - he went to the city of Chiapa and from there despatched his son, at the - head of an expedition, to Yucatan, in a further effort to conquer it. - The younger Montejo had in the meantime traveled through Mexico and - even into lower California and had been made viceroy of Tabasco.</p> - - <p>In the years since the attempt of the elder Montejo to subdue the - Mayas, Yucatan had suffered greatly, first from internecine strife - and then from a famine, so that the younger Montejo found almost no - organized resistance. The city of Champoton, where the Spaniards had - twice suffered defeat under Hernandez de Córdoba and under Grijalva, - and where the first Montejo had not dared to risk a conflict, now - offered no battle at all. From there the younger Montejo went to - Campeche and established friendly relations, so that with the aid of - Champoton and Campeche, gained by promises of rich rewards, he reached - the city of Tiho, meeting with almost no resistance.</p> - - <p>Here he established his capital, renaming the city Mérida, and so - it has remained to the present time as the seat of government of - Yucatan. The army of a few hundred men was quartered in Mérida and the - subjugation <span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">175</span>of the country was carried on from there. Captains were - sent to different towns as local governors. The young Montejo sent - his cousin of the same name to Valladolid, to govern that important - city and subdue the surrounding territory. When things had pretty - well settled down, the elder Montejo came from Chiapa, first taking - up residence in Campeche, which he renamed San Francisco in honor of - himself. A little later he moved on to Mérida and became governor in - fact, as well as in name, of the land of Yucatan.</p> - - <p>The rule of the Spaniards was exceedingly brutal for some years, but - it is believed that most of their cruelties were committed without - the knowledge of Montejo and certainly not at his command. There - is the well-worn excuse that the conquerors were few in number and - the conquered numerous, and that diabolical treatment was sometimes - necessary, to hold the masses in check. Rebels were burned alive and - hanged in great numbers. The important people in the town of Yobain - were gathered together in a large house and locked in stocks, then the - house was set on fire, so that all perished horribly.</p> - - <p>Diego de Landa himself saw a tree upon which were hanging many Indian - women from whose feet their little children had been hanged. In another - city two Indian women, one a maid, the other newly married, were hanged - for no other reason than that they were beautiful and the Spanish - captain feared that his men might seek their favor and thereby stir up - trouble with the natives.</p> - - <p>Perhaps the greatest cruelty of all was the deportation of the natives - of the thickly populated provinces of Cochua and Chectemal. Hands and - arms and legs were lopped off. Women had their breasts severed and, - with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">176</span> gourds tied to their feet, were thrown into the lagoons. Children - were stabbed because they could not walk as fast as their captors, and - men, women, and children were slain without excuse.</p> - - <p>Because of this treatment the native population decreased very rapidly - and the towns and cities were abandoned. A serious outbreak occurred in - Valladolid, where the natives slew seventeen Spaniards and four hundred - natives who were servants of the Spanish. Hands and feet of the slain - were sent through the country as a signal for a general uprising, but - none took place.</p> - - <p>Evidently the priesthood complained to the king regarding the - atrocities that were being committed and of the making of servants - or virtually slaves of many of the natives. An edict from the king - deprived all governors of native servants. Montejo was impeached and - sent to Mexico for a hearing, and from there to the royal council at - Madrid. And there he died, as Landa says, “full of days and work.”</p> - - <p>The younger Montejo left the imposing gubernatorial mansion which his - father had built in Mérida and resided for some time in the city merely - as a private citizen, much respected by all. After a time he went to - Guatemala and then returned to Spain, where he eventually died after a - prolonged illness.</p> - - <p>As has been said, the church followed close upon the heels of the - conquerors and there seems to have been little love lost between the - priests and the soldiery, both jealous of power and wealth. With the - forces of the elder Montejo was only one cleric, Francisco Hernandez, - chaplain of the expedition, who later attributed the failure of the - venture to the lack of priests. Before the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">177</span> real conquest by Montejo - the younger, it became necessary for Antonio de Mendoza, who was - viceroy of all New Spain, to carry out the orders he had long before - received from Queen Juana to the effect that priests should be sent to - Yucatan—one of the conditions upon which the province had been granted - to Montejo.</p> - - <p>Mendoza had no choice but to send priests from other Spanish - possessions under his command, as there were none in Yucatan. For this - duty Fray Jacobo de Testera, who held a high clerical office in Mexico, - volunteered. In 1531 he and three other priests arrived at Champoton - and, having asked leave of the Indians to enter the country, made an - auspicious beginning. But they soon lost the good-will of the natives - because they insisted on burning the idols, and, on finding they were - making no progress, became disgruntled and returned to Mexico. In 1536 - another band of friars essayed the task of Christianizing Yucatan, but - after proselyting for two years they returned to more settled Spanish - dominions.</p> - - <p>The conquest actually effected, after the founding of Valladolid in - 1541 and Mérida in 1542, a church was built in the latter city and in - 1544 Bishop Bartolomé de las Casas and his Dominican friars came to - Yucatan and gradually spread the creed of the Cross throughout the - land. But while we speak of the conquest as becoming an accomplished - fact with the founding of the two principal cities of Valladolid and - Mérida, it was not until more than eighty years later that the whole - country was pacified, and during this time the Itzas in the southern - part of the country remained unconquered and un-Christianized. These - eighty years constitute a long period of guerilla warfare and sporadic - attempts on the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">178</span> part of the Spaniards to conquer the stubborn Itzas - and efforts of the priests to convert them, and, throughout, showed a - lack of concord between the military and the church. At one time two - native Christians set up claims as pope and bishop respectively and - gained a considerable following.</p> - - <p>As has been mentioned earlier in this work, some of the Maya - tribes never were conquered; they do not, to this day, pay taxes - to or otherwise concern themselves with the Government of Mexico. - Catholicism, generously mixed with the old paganism, has, however, - permeated their villages.</p> - - <p>Whatever we may think now of the means and methods followed by the - old padres in bringing the heathen to the Christian faith, we can - but admire and reverence their motives, for no earthly reward could - possibly compensate for the incredible hardships despite which these - zealots persevered. Only a stanch, all-abiding faith, supreme over - mundane things, could have carried on.</p> - - <hr class="page" /> - <div class="chapter" id="CHAPTER_XI"> - <span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_179"></a>179</span> - <h2>CHAPTER XI<br /> - <span class="small">THE FINDING OF THE DATE-STONE</span></h2> - </div> - - <p class="drop-cap">“ALWAYS in my earlier days in my City of the Sacred Well,” says Don - Eduardo, “the question was in my mind as to the age of the city. Every - carved stone I found, I scanned eagerly for some clue and I should say, - perhaps, right here, that while we can often gain only an inkling of - the meaning of the Maya hieroglyphs and in some cases no understanding - at all, the date-glyphs are plain sailing. We can read them, I think, - as readily as we would read dates written in English. With but a little - training any one may do this.</p> - - <p>“But though I looked on engraved stones by the hundreds, there were - no dates. Again and again I questioned the natives: ‘When do you think - these buildings were erected and who built them?’ Invariably came the - patient answer, ‘<i lang="es">Quien sabe?</i>’—‘Who knows?’</p> - - <p>“Among these Indians was an old fellow whose face hauntingly reminds - me of an ancient picture of a Hebrew patriarch that I have seen in - some forgotten place. One day we were clearing the brush from a gentle - terrace to make ready for the planting of corn. I called the attention - of my overseer to several mounds upon a large near-by terrace, telling - him that we must surely dig into them as soon as we could find time, - to see if they contained any relics. Suddenly my grizzled patriarch - straightened up and gazed at the mounds and then came<span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">180</span> over to me, - saying as he pointed to the tallest of the mounds, ‘That one has in it - a stone book written by my fathers.’ Here at last was something, of - no value, possibly, but better far than the eternal ‘<i lang="es">Quien sabe?</i>’ - Eagerly I asked him how he came by this idea and he said that in the - days of his great, great grandfather this temple mound was known as - Mul-huun-tunich, the Hill of the Stone Book. He said that he had been - told this by his father and his grandsire had told his father and a - high priest had so told his grandfather. I could get no more out of - him, but he stuck doggedly to this brief tale.</p> - - <p>“I had passed the mound several times and now I gazed at it with fresh - interest. It was covered with a tangled growth of vines and thicket - and well-grown trees, reminding me of what some philosopher has so - truly said—that the most perfect works of men are soon covered by - forests which grow an inch a day. If this mound had ever been a stately - edifice, all semblance had long since passed. The bat or serpent might - find a cavity in its ruined space, but if any carving of god or hero - were to be found, it was well hidden from my prying eyes.</p> - - <p>“At once I began the task of clearing away the young growth and the - stumps of what had been sizable trees and beneath these were other - decaying tree stumps. In this ruined area, which is perhaps three - thousand feet to the south of the Great Pyramid of El Castillo, is a - terrace, rising about twenty feet above the general level. On this - terrace, which once had smooth, sloping sides, are ruined buildings - with a bit here and there still standing, surrounded with shapeless - heaps of fallen stone.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">181</span> The hill of the stone book, as it was called by - my old Indian, was on the northeastern edge of this terrace, pyramidal - in form and sharply defined.</p> - - <p>“My better judgment told me I was wasting time in heeding the vaporings - of the old Indian while more important tasks waited, but my interest - and curiosity were touched and I urged my men to strenuous effort, - resisting with difficulty the temptation to dig at once into the - center of the mound. We cleared the undergrowth in patches and burned - it, so that the valuable timber would not be injured by the heat, nor - the stones in the mound calcined. While most of the men were thus - engaged I selected a few picked workers and we began the excavation - of the pyramidal mound. We found not only trees growing above buried - stumps, but charred stumps even below these. My old Indian examined - carefully the cuts upon these deep-buried stumps and logs and said that - these marks had not been made by ax, hatchet, machete, or any modern - implement that he had ever seen. In all probability this earliest - felling was done before the coming of the white man with his cutting - edges of metal.</p> - - <p>“I wondered who could have cut down the big trees around the pyramid. - How could trees have been permitted to grow here or have been burned - so close to buildings inhabited or in use? Evidently the burning and - cutting, ancient as it might have been, had yet been done many, many - years after the structure was abandoned.</p> - - <p>“At last we had a space cleared all around the base of the mound and we - sorted over the loose stones, looking for inscriptions, but came across - nothing of unusual<span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">182</span> interest. We found the mound to be four-sided and - truncated, with broad steps leading up all four sides and with the - principal stairway facing the west. The pyramid was in ruins and the - upper outline obliterated. Close to the base of the main stairway we - uncovered a semi-recumbent stone figure, part man and part animal, of - the so-called Chac Mool type. It was still firmly cemented in place - and, like the stairway, faced the west. Just in front of this stone - figure we unearthed a small elaborately carved stone urn of pineapple - pattern, and a similar urn was dug up just to the rear of the Chac Mool - figure. The Chac Mool and the incense urns were much marred and pitted - by erosion, and the finding of charcoal in fragments and granules all - about indicated that a deliberate effort had been made to destroy these - priceless things.</p> - - <p>“Gradually we cleared the earth and fallen stones and mortar from the - main staircase. Many nests of lovely mauve-colored wood-doves were - destroyed as we felled the trees. We saved as many as we could, but for - several hours the mournful cries of the bereaved feathered creatures - sounded from the neighboring forest like the wails of the departed - spirits of those who had lived and died beside this old, old temple.</p> - - <p>“On the southern slope a huge <i lang="myn">chaib</i>, a species of boa-constrictor, - beautifully marked with splashes of green and brown, was awakened from - its slumbers deep in some rocky cavity of the pyramid and came surging - down the mound with watchful head held high and graceful body bending - the bushes in its path as it disappeared into the thicket below.</p> - - <p>“The bees of Yucatan are kindly and have no sting,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">183</span> but the wasps - more than make up for the impotence of the bees. The most venomous - wasps, the <i lang="myn">x-hi-chac</i>, build flat nests that cling as closely and - unobtrusively to the tree trunks as porous plasters. One of the trees - we felled contained such a nest. Lightning is slow compared with - the speed of these insects, and I, personally, would just about as - willingly be struck by lightning as to encounter the sting of the - <i lang="myn">x-hi-chac</i>. I think lightning would be less painful. Several of the - men were badly stung and while I gave them first aid by applying - ammonia to their hurts, and provided drinks of a refreshing nature, the - victims spent a sleepless, feverish night. They were weak and in low - spirits in the morning, but we resumed our task nevertheless.</p> - - <p>“Clearing the way a step at a time, we finally reached a level, - well-built platform at a height of thirty feet. At the rear of the - platform was the jagged outlined wall of what had been a small temple - and directly before it were two large Atlantean figures of unusual - type. I had seen many squat stone figures in and about the city but - never before such large ones or figures carved with such fierce - grandeur of expression. They were intricately carved and highly - conventionalized. Each was garbed in an embossed head-dress, breast - pendants, loincloth, and sandals. Every detail was clearly worked, even - to the carved strands of rope holding the sandals—sandals bearing - a striking resemblance to those worn by the prehistoric or archaic - Gauchos of the Canary Islands, which again suggests the plausibility of - Plato’s Lost Atlantis.</p> - - <p>“And as we cleared the debris away it became evident that these massive - figures, so stiff and majestic, had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">184</span> originally sustained the front - or façade of the temple. My curiosity and excitement had now reached - a point where every slight delay was nerve-racking and the two grim - guardians seemed to me like silent keepers of age-old secrets, ready - to come to life and destroy the prying humans who dared invade their - sacred domain.</p> - - <p>“Little by little we removed the earth and rubbish. Slowly we - progressed between the colossal figures, excavating with great - difficulty the compacted mortar and stone which had fallen and become - almost as a single stone. About three feet back of the statues was a - huge stone covered with inscriptions. Was it the stone book? I cast - aside all philosophic calmness and dropped to my knees, clawing away - with my bare hands at the debris which obscured the inscriptions, until - my nails were broken and my fingers bleeding.</p> - - <p>“Here indeed was the Huun-tunich, the Stone Book, the Rosetta Stone of - my ancient, lovely, and forgotten City of the Sacred Well! I am not - ashamed of the fever of excitement which possessed me and communicated - itself to my wondering Indians, who had not the slightest idea why the - mad white man should become so wrought up over the finding of merely - another stone with queer writings on it. But, then, what matter! White - men are always a little insane, anyway, and one never knows what folly - they will attempt next.</p> - - <p>“With sharpened twigs I cleaned out all the incised lines, until the - inscription on the exposed face stood forth clearly. Not till then did - I attempt to read it. And there, among the glyphs I could not at once - decipher, my eye caught a date-sign fairly jumping out to meet<span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">185</span> me. - Cycle Ten, Katun Two, Tun Nine, Uinal One—in other words, 600 A. - D.!</p> - - <p>“It had been my secret hope that somewhere, somehow, I should be able - to find an authentic date in Chi-chen Itza, some inscription which had - eluded the eyes of other searchers. The Chronicles mention various - dates in connection with the ancient city, but this added proof was - needed to carry us over the threshold from probability into the realm - of incontrovertible fact, just as the finds in the Sacred Well proved - for us the veracity of the legends.</p> - - <p>“This date-stone does not by any means indicate that the city was - founded in 600 A. D., but that this particular temple, - whatever its purpose may have been, was built or dedicated at that - time. Imagine some terrible catastrophe befalling the United States, - wiping out all our people and leaving our cities to fall in ruins and - become covered with forests with the passing of hundreds of years. Then - imagine an archæologist, even one as mad as myself, digging into these - ruins and coming upon that block of granite which now stands over the - entrance to the New York Corn Exchange and tells us in unmistakable - terms when the building was erected. His find would be of tremendous - historical value—a definite date standing out clearly from the misty - past. But still he would not know nor have any clear idea of the date - of the founding of New Amsterdam and no clue to the interesting history - of those sturdy Dutch patroons who first built a village at the mouth - of the Hudson.</p> - - <p>“And so it is with my Sacred City. There is not in all the world a - metropolis living or dead more mysterious,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">186</span> more dowered with romance. - Its age, its origin, even the racial identity of its builders, are - each and all sunk in mystery so profound that I doubt if we shall ever - fathom them.</p> - - <p>“I was so elated over my discovery that I at once promised double pay - to each man for the month and declared that we would have a fiesta - that all would remember for miles around and describe in later years - to their sons. I tried to tell them how important was our find, but - the double pay and the fiesta were much more eloquent to them than any - words I could utter. I singled out the old Indian whose great, great - grandfather had passed down the tale of the stone book. His face was - as impassive as the faces of the stone gods about us, as befitted his - dignity, but I could see it cost him a tremendous effort not to shout - with glee and dance about like a small boy, and he gloried in the fact - that he had not led me astray. Drawing his bent frame erect, he said, - ‘Did I not say so and did my great grandfather ever lie?’</p> - - <p>“Careful measurements showed that the stone had been the lintel of the - doorway. Each end had rested upon and was securely cemented to the - heads and supporting upraised arms of the huge Atlantean figures, thus - forming an integral portion of the main temple entrance. This is not an - unusual Mayan arrangement and, as previously mentioned, there is in the - Akzab Tzib, or House of the Writing in the Dark, a similar lintel but - without a date.</p> - - <p>“A very long time must have elapsed since the abandonment of this - temple. A seed of the <i lang="myn">chac-te</i> tree was carried by the winds or the - birds and dropped in the entrance, a little to one side of the center. - This tree is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">187</span> of extremely hard wood and it grows slowly. It grew to a - sapling and at last into a big tree whose roots by their upward thrust - toppled over the central portion of the façade. The lintel fell to the - ground, but its fall was softened by the pile of powdered mortar and - stone which had already sifted down, and fortunately the priceless - relic was unbroken. Time passed; the big tree died and decayed. All - this we know by the casts of the gnarled roots left in the grouting - beneath the temple platform. Once again fertile Nature planted a seed - under the tablet, carried to its earthy bed down under the fallen - stones by some rodent or fruit-eating bat. And this was the seed of the - <i lang="myn">yax-nic</i>—a tree as hard as iron and as long-lived as its predecessor. - It too grew to great size and its roots tilted the stone tablet to one - side and, finally dying, left its epitaph written in root-casts or - molds. Again ever-vigilant Mother Nature planted a seed, this time of - a tree of soft, quick-growing wood, and the roots encircled the tablet - as in a mighty hand; and thus we found it when we cut down the tree. - Fortunately, the previous trees, which exude an acidic sap, had done - the tablet no harm and the last tree had by its clasp rather protected - the tablet than harmed it. And how easily Nature might have contrived, - with her cycles of life, for the destruction of this treasure!</p> - - <p>“The day passed and darkness came, but I could not leave the spot. I - dismissed my Indians and took the photographic cloth from my camera and - covered the tablet and then piled over it some pliant boughs of trees. - But, like the youth who lingers over his adieus to his sweetheart, I - uncovered the stone again and sat beside it until the moon was bright - overhead. My vagrant<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">188</span> fancy carried me back over the centuries and I - saw smooth highways crossing and recrossing, and along these highways - populous cities with the towering outlines of massive temples and the - carved edifices of kings and nobles. I could hear the soft, silvery - laughter of women bearing water-jugs, as they met in groups along the - tree-shaded avenues, and there were merchants and bearers of burdens - traveling to and fro from the market-places, and resplendent warriors - and haughty peers and solemn priests. And there was the scent of - incense smoke and a high, clear voice was chanting the invocation to - Kukul Can....</p> - - <p>“I was aroused by the voice of one of my Indians, a quaint fellow who - always addressed me as Ah Kin (High Priest)—why I do not know. ‘Ah - Kin,’ said he, ‘Master, the voices of the birds are stilled; your - food is cold and untasted; I beseech you to come and eat.’ I arose - and went with him, but I could not eat; and all night, as I tossed - in my hammock, I saw the tablet and its every inscription as clearly - as though it were actually before my eyes, and early in the morning - I was back at its resting-place. That day we carefully raised it and - replaced it firmly upon the heads and upraised arms of the impassive - stone guardians—serene, majestic figures that have witnessed a mighty - civilization and its passing into the dust of oblivion. Once again - their arms hold the graven tablet as of old, but their mute lips which - might tell so much are silent and in their changeless gaze is the - haunting, immutable introspection of the Sphinx.”</p> - - <hr class="page" /> - <div class="chapter" id="CHAPTER_XII"> - <span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_189"></a>189</span> - <h2>CHAPTER XII<br /> - <span class="small">THE CONSTRUCTION OF MAYA BUILDINGS</span></h2> - </div> - - <p class="drop-cap">WHOEVER views the pyramids along the Nile is inevitably intrigued as to - how they were built—how the massive stones were transported and placed - in their elevated positions. And likewise at Chi-chen Itza one is bound - to speculate as to how the heavy stone-work was transported from its - quarries, how it was so intricately carved, and by what predetermined - plans it was erected into buildings which have stood for centuries, - defying tropical nature.</p> - - <p>I have found the Sacred City an absorbing topic upon which to ponder, - fitting together the known facts and drawing upon imagination to piece - in the gaps, until the mental picture of the building of its ancient - temples is an unbroken fabric. My own visualization of the process - of building a Maya temple is no doubt faulty in many respects, and I - have no wish to precipitate an archæological controversy by claiming - it to be hole-proof; I offer it merely for the sake of the reader who - has not the opportunity to create his own vision of the subject from a - first-hand view of these ancient edifices.</p> - - <p>Imagine an army of workers—a hundred, yes, a thousand times as many as - would be employed in the erection of a great modern building,—short, - squat, powerful, sun-browned men, sweating at their task of quarrying - and moving huge stone blocks.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">190</span></p> - - <p>In the quarries the blocks for the monolithic serpent heads, the column - sections, and all the larger pieces used in the building are being - channeled from the solid ledge rock, or from isolated boulders, by - the <i lang="myn">pa-tunich</i>, or quarry master, and his many assistants. The ring - of blows struck with stone or wooden mallets upon chisels tipped with - flint or calcite attests their industry. Some workers do not use the - mallet and chisel, but score the soft limestone ledge with flint-bladed - hatchets, while others ply long wooden poles as wedges and levers. On - the quarry floor the master stone-cutters are squaring and smoothing - the rough blocks and laying against them, from time to time, their - wooden gauges, satisfied only when the stones are smooth and square and - of the right dimensions. Under the finished stones are inserted wooden - rollers and about them are knotted cables made of fiber or of tough - vines, and long lines of men grasp the cables and bend their backs to - the task of hauling the big blocks from the quarry to the building site.</p> - - <p>Lines of men like toiling ants carry on their shoulders baskets of - earth and stones. Slowly the terrace or substructure is built up to the - first level, its sides faced with smooth stones, and each side bisected - with a broad stairway. And up to this level is built an inclined - roadway for the workers and their burdens. And slowly, up and up, grows - terrace after terrace, each smaller than the preceding one, and the - pyramid takes shape, leaving a flat stone platform at the top upon - which the temple will be erected. Here the <i lang="myn">pol-tunich</i>, the master - stone-mason, and his artisans are busy in the finishing of the stones - and in their intricate carving. Flint-edged hammers are used to work - the grosser outlines, but the finer details are<span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">191</span> worked out with more - delicate implements—gouging-tools of flint and calcite and keen-edged - chisels of polished nephrite. Such a chisel Don Eduardo dug up near the - base of one of the temples.</p> - - <p>The finished stones, one by one, are dragged up the long inclined - roadway, to the floor-level of the temple, and put into their places - under the direction of the master builder. Stone upon stone, the walls - take shape and the column sections are set in place. Then come the - workers in mortar. Every crevice is filled and the column sections - firmed into place with small stone wedges and thick lime mortar. With - a cement-like plaster of sifted lime and white earth mixed with water - and the juices of the <i lang="myn">chi-chibe</i> plant, the workmen fill each crack in - the walls and columns and burnish it to stony hardness and exceeding - smoothness.</p> - - <p>Next come the sculptors—men of renown, artists famed for their skill, - who spend months and years with knives of obsidian, nephrite and - flint chisels, and tiny cutting-tools of copper and calcite. At last - the stone-and-mortar surfaces are covered with deep-carved masks and - portraits and battle scenes and hieroglyphs and friezes, until scarcely - a square inch of plain surface remains. With pencils of red <i lang="myn">chac-ti</i> - wood and with soft-plumed brushes dipped in brilliant pigments the - carvings are further adorned—various shades of brown, the blue-green - of the sacred quetzal bird, the emerald of the forest, the azure of - the cloudless sky, the ultramarine of the deep sea, the gold of the - noonday sun, the velvet blackness of a cloudy night, twilight purples - in the long shadows of trees reflected in the pool of the Sacred Well, - the gray of aged stone that has battled for countless<span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">192</span> years with - the elements; vermilion of the turkey-head blossom, the rusty hue of - red-earth dust. From triple-vaulted roof to temple floor the colors are - applied with consummate artistry.</p> - - <p>Speaking of the tools used by the sculptors, the finds of Don - Eduardo throw a new light upon this previously puzzling subject. - Many cutting-edges and rejects of flint and calcite have been found. - Some archæologists have stated that chisels of metal were not used, - and probably these were but little employed, yet from the Sacred - Well were raised several small hard copper chisels. There can be no - doubt, to judge from the shape and the marks upon them, that they are - chisels. One of Don Eduardo’s most precious finds is a nephrite chisel - discovered at the base of the Great Pyramid. Concerning it he says:</p> - - <p>“While working one day around the base of the Great Pyramid of - El Castillo, taking measurements and digging below the surface - accumulations to get at the base line of the structure, I came upon - a curiously shaped fragment of worked stone—heavy, close-grained, - and dark green in color. Closer inspection showed it to be the edged - portion of a cutting-tool.</p> - - <p>“The unbroken tool must have been of the typical celt type, about six - inches long and three inches wide at the cutting-edge, tapering to a - rounded head. The part found was rather less than a half of the whole, - but nevertheless the more interesting and important part because it - contained the polished cutting-edge. It was an unusual find, indeed. - Stone points and cutting-edges of local material, like flint and - calcite, are not uncommonly encountered in favored places after heavy - rains<span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">193</span> that wash away the earth covering and expose them to view, but - tools fashioned from costly, imported material like nephrite were - rarely used and were not carelessly cast aside when broken, for even - the fragments had their value and could be worked over into smaller - implements or into ornaments.</p> - - <p>“The location in which this broken nephrite chisel was found, no less - than the chisel itself, has an antiquarian bearing. Here was not only - an authentic museum piece, but testimony as to its use, for clearly the - chisel was used in making the sculptures of El Castillo and was lost - there in the course of the work.</p> - - <p>“Nephrite, or kidney-stone, was used in prehistoric, ancient, mediæval, - and later times as a remedy for kidney diseases. It was taken, of - course, in pulverized form. In prehistoric times nephrite was as - needful to the skilled artisan as tempered tool steel is to the modern - craftsman. Nephrite was found in lands far distant from the Mayas; and - pieces of unworked nephrite were bartered and sold, as was nephrite - dust. This dust packed on a rawhide surface became an effective - abrasive for shaping and polishing the nephrite tool. Nephrite carried - by ancient ways of commerce, by barter and trade and conquest and - plunder, reached the Mayas to a limited extent. I have no doubt its - value to these ancients was greater than that of gold.”</p> - - <p>Century after century has passed and the work of these amazing - craftsmen still stands, even to the hair lines of the lintel carvings - and the faint traces of pigment still clinging to the smooth walls. The - epitaph is imperishable, even though the names of the artists, like - their very bones, have vanished.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">194</span></p> - - <p>Those who directed the work of temple-building not only built well, - but had an eye to efficiency, also. No stone was wasted; rejects, - fragments too small for carving or fashioning into building blocks—all - were utilized as filling or ballast for the terraces. The stone chips - from the mason’s hammer and chisel were used as grouting. Even the - stone-dust was collected and sifted and mixed, in the ratio of three to - one, with powdered lime, plant juice, and water, to make mortar. When - the temple was completed to the point where the sculptors and painters - took up their task, the inclined roadway was removed.</p> - - <p>Then when the massive temple, smooth-walled and roof-crowned, stood - complete on its serrated pyramid of receding terraces; when the broad - stairways were finished and the undulating stone serpents and the - paneled terrace faces all were perfectly aligned and the whole majestic - structure appeared as frosted silver against the velvet blue of the - sky—then only did the master builder consider his work complete.</p> - - <p>With the exception of the Snail-shell or Watch-tower, all of the Maya - buildings are rectangular. None are lofty, all are massive. Yet in - all respects they are excellent in their architecture, of appropriate - dimensions, symmetrical, and well constructed. Stones are fitted with - infinite pains. Many have even been drilled. It has been shown that - sharpened bird bones twirled about on the stone were employed as - drills. Stones having drilled holes of six inches or more in depth are - not uncommon. Mortar, plaster stucco, and cement were as good as or - better than similar materials of the present time and were expertly - applied. The use of pigments as understood by<span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">195</span> these ancient artisans - is a lost art and it is doubtful if we have any colors as durable and - unfading.</p> - - <p>Monolithic columns of great size, chiefly of serpent-head motif, are - found everywhere. Built-up columns, both square and round, were used. - Inlays, mosaics, and stone screens, bas-reliefs, full reliefs, murals, - panels, cornices, balustrades, sills, lintels,—virtually the whole - gamut of architectural design and embellishment known to the best of - ancient or modern architecture,—were known and used by these builders - isolated by two oceans from any foreign influence.</p> - - <p>Lintels were made of stone and of sapote, that iron-hard wood of - Yucatan which defies the wear and tear of time like the teak of the - Orient.</p> - - <p>In one respect Mayan architecture might be considered inexpert, from - the standpoint of our present knowledge of building construction, - and that is their method of roofing their structures and of building - arches. Like the old Greeks, they did not know how to build an arch - employing a keystone. Only by gradually receding courses of stone - did they achieve an arch having a capstone instead of a keystone. - The result, in the building of a roof, was a steep-pitched affair, - comparatively low at the eaves and high at the peak. The vertical - rise from eaves to peak was usually as great as the distance from - floor to eaves. Being of stone, this roof was of great weight. Where a - considerable expanse of roof was needed, the triple-vaulted arch was - used. The Maya arch is not ungraceful, even though it is massive.</p> - - <p>In the Nunnery, or La Casa de las Monjas, we see successive stages of - building where a part of an edifice is filled in with rock to provide - a foundation for a superstructure <span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">196</span>erected later. This, too, is a very - common practice of the old builders and gives the impression that no - very well-thought-out plans were employed. I think, however, that - none of these buildings was built without a predetermined plan, which - was probably drawn out upon some substance in great detail, so that - priests and king as well as the builders knew the size and shape and - mode of decoration before the building was started. Moreover, people so - skilful at drawing and with so considerable a mathematical knowledge - might surely have been able to produce in some simple form the plans of - these structures. The stones are too well fitted, the dimensions of the - buildings too well proportioned, the orientation too accurate to have - been the result of chance. Everything bespeaks foreordination, careful - planning carried through to completion.</p> - - <p>In several of the other ancient cities are found curiously carved - stelæ, monolithic slabs of stone resembling the totem-poles of Alaska. - These are elaborately sculptured with human figures and glyphs. Many - are carved with amazing skill. In his book John L. Stephens describes - a number of these stelæ and his descriptions are accompanied by - the faithful drawings of Catherwood, made directly from first-hand - observation and often with great difficulty. Frequently a small altar - is found before these monuments. There is considerable reason to - believe, from legend and the ancient Chronicles, that they were the - date-records erected every twenty years, and if we could but read the - hieroglyphs we might learn the important happenings in each score of - years.</p> - - <p>From a close study of the architecture of the buildings and their - decorations it is clear that there were several <span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">197</span>stages of culture. - Mayan architecture and art followed the rise and fall of the nation, - becoming more and more refined up to the golden age represented in the - temples of old Chi-chen Itza, gradually deteriorating in the newer - temples, improving again under the influence of the Nahuatl conquerors, - and sinking into utter desuetude several hundred years before the - coming of the Spaniards.</p> - - <p>The story of the Mayas furnishes one more epic in the history of the - human race; one more cycle of rise and fall; one more meteor flash - of brilliancy followed by the darkness of oblivion. There have been - in every part of the world similar instances of this groping toward - knowledge and culture and their slow achievement, to be followed by - decline and savagery, as though the life of a nation were a thing of - nature which, like a tree or an animal, flourishes a brief while, then - withers and dies.</p> - - <p>Is the twentieth century an exception to the age-old rule? Have our - ability to commit our knowledge to the printed page and our great - advance in the science of transportation set at naught the old rule? Or - will our civilization also crumble with the passing of the years?</p> - - <hr class="page" /> - <div class="chapter" id="CHAPTER_XIII"> - <span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_198"></a>198</span> - <h2>CHAPTER XIII<br /> - <span class="small">STORY-TELLERS OF YUCATAN</span></h2> - </div> - - <p class="drop-cap">IN wet weather the archæologist may take either a well-earned rest or - he may busy himself with cataloguing and packing the trophies of his - trusty pick and shovel.</p> - - <p>“One day when the rain and the Evil Wind conspired to keep us indoors,” - says Don Eduardo, “I found it much more interesting to listen to the - yarns of the Indians than to work at routine tasks. All I can say in - self-defense is that in Yucatan the subtle contagion of ‘mañana’ does - get into one’s blood.</p> - - <p>“My Indians are all very superstitious. They believe whole-heartedly in - witches and elves, and if one digs deep enough he finds a good deal of - veneration for several deities not mentioned in the Bible. One of these - is Balam, the jaguar, known in ancient times as the lord and protector - of the fields.</p> - - <p>“These simple folk believe in ghosts which walk amid the ruins of the - Sacred City, and they believe in all manner of fortune-telling and - divination. They are particularly partial to crystal-gazing, using a - crystal called <i lang="myn">zaz-tun</i>.</p> - - <p>“Among my Indians was Bat Buul, a little old fellow with twinkling - eyes black as the seeds of the <i lang="myn">jabin</i> fruit, and ears that actually - wagged when he became excited in telling a story. His big thick-lipped, - sensual mouth was ever ready to laugh heartily at a joke, even<span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">199</span> though - the joke chanced to be on Bat Buul himself. Old as he was, he had still - the supple quickness of a boy.</p> - - <p>“Bat Buul, whose name means ‘bean ax,’ was a native of the neighboring - village of Pisté and he was famous as a raconteur in a land where good - tellers of stories are highly esteemed. More often than not he was the - hero of the stories he told, and as he warmed up to the telling, he - would become tremendously excited and his black eyes would snap and - burn with the intensity of his narration.</p> - - <p>“One of his best stories, that of the <i lang="myn">xtabay</i> or forest lorelei, has - the sweet flavor of those wonderful old Greek myths of nymphs and - satyrs and of gods come down from Mount Olympus for a holiday.</p> - - <p>“Often one sees glimmering gossamer flecks twisting, twirling as - they scurry onward, aimlessly borne by a vagrant breeze. They look - like a flock of diaphanous butterflies, but in reality they are the - flying seeds of a climbing vine. The vine bears a slender, delicate, - snowy flower and the seed-case is an olive-green oval pod filled - with thousands of seeds. The seed mass is bisected within the pod by - a light, silky membrane. As the ripening progresses the pod becomes - chestnut in color and at last bursts open. The membrane with the seeds - clinging to it falls out, but is brought up short in its descent by - a thin filament that remains attached to the lower end of the pod. - The fall detaches the seeds from the membrane, or they are soon blown - clear, to be carried at the will of the wind. Each of the tiny seeds - has a transparent wing or tissue.</p> - - <p>“Curiously, the two halves of the dried seed-pod are perfect natural - combs, which are much used by native<span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">200</span> women, who believe that use of - these combs supplied by Nature herself preserves the natural color and - luster of the hair. The natives far and wide speak of them as the combs - of the <i lang="myn">xtabay</i>—forest nymphs, dryads, or lorelei—and many, like Bat - Buul, claim to have seen the nymphs combing their silken tresses. In - the old days, also, the native belles used the combs, thinking thereby - to capture some of the elusive beauty of the mythical forest maidens.</p> - - <p>“Before I proceed with Bat Buul’s story there is one other explanation - necessary to a full understanding of the tale. Far in the hinterlands - of Yucatan are Maya Indians still called the Unbaptized Ones and these - natives wear always about their necks chains of gold and in their ears - big hoops of gold wondrously adorned with filagree. The men, even - more commonly than the women, wear these ornaments, which is strange, - for among those natives who are at all civilized the men seldom wear - ear-rings or neck-chains, though these adornments are popular with the - women.</p> - - <p>“But the belief is common over the whole peninsula that by wearing a - gold chain with a sacred relic or crucifix pendent from it one will be - protected from danger. Men engaged in hazardous occupations such as the - making of fireworks for fiestas and religious celebrations; butchers, - and those who work with mad white men digging in haunted cities - will tell you that such a chain is a potent charm against evil and - sudden danger. Gallants occasionally wear chains of this sort, as do - goldsmiths—rather out of vanity than for defense against ill-fortune. - Always, when worn by men, the neck chains are hidden under the shirt.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">201</span></p> - - <p>“Bat Buul, who, on his own admission, has tried his hand at almost - everything, is a goldsmith by trade, a maker of rockets when and - if these are required, and a beau gallant at all times. Naturally, - then, he wears a solid-gold chain of extra length and weight, with a - solid-gold cross at the end which has been blessed by the Archbishop of - Yucatan in the cathedral of Mérida.</p> - - <p>“On this rainy day Bat Buul was resting luxuriously, ensconced upon a - <i lang="myn">cauche</i> in the store of Monica, in his natal village of Pisté. As I - entered the store after my three-mile ride in the rain from Chi-chen - Itza, Bat Buul was holding forth to an eager group of listeners. In - his hand was a thimble glass of that aromatic beverage <i lang="myn">xtavantum</i> - and evidently it was not his first. He nodded to me as I joined the - audience, but did not pause in his talk. It was evident that he - determined to outdo himself for my benefit, being reasonably certain - that if pleased, I would do the gentlemanly thing in the way of - refreshment for all hands. As we would say in Americanese, ‘He was - going strong.’ I give you his story as nearly as I can in his own words:</p> - - <p>“‘I, Bat Buul, am a man of great will-power. I say it—yes, and it is - so. I am not large of body, but I am great of heart and very strong. - There are those who have sought to prove my strength and they have - found it to be so. I do not say these things boastfully, for only vain - and cackling fools do that, and if I do say it, I am no fool. No man - can deceive me long—no, and no woman, either. Many have tried, but few - have succeeded, albeit most of those who have succeeded have been women.</p> - - <p>“‘But it is not given to man that he should be hard of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_202">202</span> heart and - unbelieving toward women. No; many women have liked me; some have loved - me, and because of this my heart is ever soft to all women; that is—’ - here Bat Buul swallowed an entire thimble tumblerful of the perfumed - liquor and gazed at us benevolently—‘that is, toward all <em>handsome</em> - women.</p> - - <p>“‘Well, sir, one day I started for the deepest part of the forest where - I had some <i lang="myn">chac-ti</i> logs that I had cut and left to dry for charcoal - which I needed to make powder for my rockets. I had nearly reached the - point on the road to Chi-chen Itza where one turns to enter the deep - forest, when I noticed that I was beside the place where grow the ghost - flowers which come up in the night and wither in a day. I stopped for a - moment to look at them, for have I not told you many times that I love - the beautiful things of the forest? Then it was I heard a soft, sweet - sound like the notes of a bird very, very far away calling to its mate - or like a reed flute played by one who is sad.’</p> - - <p>“The old man paused and deliberately rolled and lighted a corn-husk - cigarette. No one spoke. I have learned that it never pays to urge the - native story-teller to get on with his narrative; story-telling is a - rite which must be performed just so, and the artistic temperament - resents any interruption not of its own making.</p> - - <p>“At length Bat Buul resumed:</p> - - <p>“‘I looked around me and saw a beautiful woman sitting under a tree. - She was the most beautiful woman I have ever seen and she was crooning - to herself, and all the while she was combing her long, shining black - hair. Suddenly she looked up and saw me with her big, velvet<span class="pagenum" id="Page_203">203</span> eyes - that held a brightness like some deep, cool forest pool upon which the - sunlight falls between the leaves. But she said nothing and continued - to sing softly in that sweet, far-away voice of hers, while her rounded - arms slowly rose and fell as the comb slipped through her glorious - hair, so soft and fine that the little breezes one could scarcely feel - rippled and floated its tendrils.</p> - - <p>“‘I went slowly closer to her and said quietly, in a way that I have - of my own, “My handsome one, why are you out here so lonely and all by - yourself?” I meant to say more, but she rose and moved a little away - from me. Yet her eyes shone more brightly and she stopped singing and - said ever so softly and sweetly, “Oh, Bat Buul!” Then she moved farther - away. She was—how shall I say?—not thin, not fat, but plump like the - wild partridge, and she moved as lightly as feather down. Yes, she - seemed to float, so effortless was her retreat. Well, have I not said - that my heart is soft toward a handsome woman? And so I followed her, - even though she led me quite away from where my <i lang="myn">chac-ti</i> logs were - drying in the sun.</p> - - <p>“‘She said nothing, but again began to hum a tiny, wistful, haunting - melody and as she glided on she turned her head this way and that to - glance at a plant or to inhale the perfume of a flower. And ever she - kept an eye on me that seemed to invite me on and on.</p> - - <p>“‘Farther and farther we went from my logs, and deeper and deeper into - the forest, and she seemed to grow more lovely at each step. Suddenly - I found that I had walked right into a thorny clump of <i lang="myn">tynbins</i> and - the <i lang="myn">tynbin</i> ants were swarming over me with their stings<span class="pagenum" id="Page_204">204</span> like the - pricking of red-hot needles, while she, on the other side, was as cool - and fresh as though she had but stepped from her morning bath.</p> - - <p>“‘And then I began to wonder, although the pain of the stings was - very great. And when a man begins to wonder he is safe, for then he - usually finds out why he is in trouble. “Ah,” I thought, “when I first - saw this lovely maid she was sitting under a tree, combing her hair, - and she called to me.” And I remembered it was a <i lang="myn">benote</i>, the tree - that the <i lang="myn">xtabays</i> ever seek for shade as they sit and sing and comb - their lovely hair and try to bring venturesome men to an awful death. - “And so the Xtabay of Pisté has tried to play with Bat Buul this day. - Poor thing! we shall see!” But all of this I said very softly to - myself, for I am a wily man when dealing with women. Then, as if still - unsuspecting, I worked my way out of the thicket. As she turned to - elude me again, quick as lightning I slipped my long gold chain from - my neck, hiding the crucifix in the palm of my hand. I know women and, - after all, the <i lang="myn">xtabay</i> is a woman, and a good-looking one at that.</p> - - <p>“‘Then I stopped as if in surprise and said as I held up the chain, - “I wonder who dropped this beautiful chain.” The <i lang="myn">xtabay</i> stopped - singing and looked back at me. Just then a ray of sunlight touched the - chain and made it glitter. And the sweet creature came up to me with - unsuspecting curiosity and leaned close to look at the chain. Ah, I am - the one who knows women! So quickly that she hardly saw the flash, I - tossed the loop of the chain over her head so that it rested about her - neck, and then held up the sacred cross so that she could see it. For a - whole minute she stood perfectly still, then<span class="pagenum" id="Page_205">205</span> she began to tremble. Her - eyes filled with big, glistening tears and she looked at me piteously - and said with a sighing sob, “Oh, Bat Buul!”</p> - - <p>“‘I felt sorry for her, for I am not heartless and she was one to melt - even the hardest heart, <i lang="myn">xtabay</i> or no <i lang="myn">xtabay</i>. Yet I gave her only - an unrelenting look and an answer that left her hopeless, for I said - to her: “Things found by the roadside and unclaimed belong to him who - finds them there. That is the law and the custom; and, pray, who is - there to claim you from me?” She made no answer, but only bowed her - head and cried the harder. Then I gave a little tug at the chain and - said, “Come on home,” and she followed without a word of protest and - with great glistening tears dripping from her lovely eyes.</p> - - <p>“‘And leading her in this fashion, I passed the big <i lang="myn">tanauha</i> where - all the animals of the forest drink their fill even in the driest - season. I passed the rock where little Pol Mis was slain by Ek Balam, - the jaguar—black pagan that he is! And we came to the <i lang="myn">benote</i> tree - with its green fruit like big arrow-heads standing sharp against the - sky—the very tree where I first saw this entrancing nymph who now - followed me like a dog on a leash. When we reached the tree she stopped - and looked at me with pleading agony in her eyes, such a look as I - never hope to see again upon the face of any woman and she said, “Oh, - Bat Buul!” and then again, “Oh, Bat Buul!” and in her voice was the - sound of strangled tears. A man does not like that sound, ever, for it - either hardens his heart and makes him more cruel than he should be or - it turns his heart to water and causes him to be more gentle than is - just and right.</p> - - <p>“‘So I stopped and looked at her. I did not want<span class="pagenum" id="Page_206">206</span> to, but I could not - help it; and as I looked I knew that she was more beautiful than any - woman that ever lived, even though she were an <i lang="myn">xtabay</i> and without a - soul, as the priest tells us. She was marvelously formed—not thin, not - fat. Her flesh was as soft as a child’s, yet she was graceful and quick - in her movements. She was all that a woman should be. She seemed like - a bird just ready to fly. And, as I looked, I thought, “What will my - friends say and what will the priest say and do?” Her eyes, filled with - terror, pleaded with me more strongly than any words could have done.</p> - - <p>“‘Ah, Señor, I have the big heart! I took off the chain of gold and - covered the crucifix in the palm of my hand and released her. For a - moment she did not move and I thought she hesitated and looked at me - as though she were really sorry to be free. I was a young man then and - not bad-looking, and even an <i lang="myn">xtabay</i> may know what it is to love. She - began to move slowly away, with light gliding steps. Then she stopped - and said to me in the voice of the wood-dove talking to its mate, - “Good-by, my Bat Buul.”</p> - - <p>“‘I could not move, but stood there spellbound and looked at her, and - soon she reached the <i lang="myn">benote</i> tree where the shadows now lay thick and - dark. Here she paused and looked at me long and tenderly; and there - was no longer terror in her eyes, but, it seemed to me, only regret at - our parting. And the sun, which was just slipping beneath the horizon, - cast for a long moment a spell of gold that gleamed upon her glossy - hair like the sheen of light on polished ebony or the glint of many - tiny bits of bright metal; and this is queer, for her hair was like my - <i lang="myn">chac-ti</i> wood after it has been burned very long.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_207">207</span></p> - - <p>“‘Deeper and longer grew the shadows, and at last I could no longer see - her. I leaned a little forward and I was conscious that I was breathing - hard as though I had run a long distance, and still I seemed to hear - faintly the low, sweet song that she had crooned when first I saw her; - and at last even that faded into stillness. I do not know how long I - stood there, but it was almost dusk when I turned to retrace my steps. - I was a long way from home. As I slowly turned about, I saw something - at my feet that shone like dark metal. It was the seed-pod of the - <i lang="myn">xtabay</i> plant, which women sometimes use to comb their hair, and I was - about to kick it carelessly aside when I heard a voice, “Oh, Bat Buul!” - Just a whisper it was from far off in the forest. Then I knew it was - <em>her</em> comb and I put it in my pocket, for she was a handsome woman and - I could not throw the comb away. I have the comb to-day, although this - happened long ago, when I was young and foolish.’</p> - - <p>“Bat Buul paused and sat very still, his eyes seeming to look beyond - us and back into the past. He did not touch the refilled glass beside - him, even though he knew that the patron was paying for it and that by - drinking it speedily he might quickly obtain another. At last he said, - with a twinkle in his eye and more to himself than to his audience:</p> - - <p>“‘I should like to see that <i lang="myn">xtabay</i> again; perhaps I should act - differently. And, then, perhaps I should act the same, for my heart is - still kind to women, especially if they are handsome women.’</p> - - <hr class="tb" /> - - <p>“As I have said before, one of the most interesting things I have - encountered in Yucatan is the native custom<span class="pagenum" id="Page_208">208</span> of story-telling. Usually - the teller of stories is an old man or an old woman with a wide - repertoire of folk-lore. Ghosts, giants, fairies; mythical animals such - as white jaguars; miraculous humans, and the ancient gods—all appear - in these tales, which are told with amazing skill. A little group of - Indians will gather about the story-teller almost anywhere, in the - courtyard of a house or in the public square of a town, and they will - sit by the hour as the speaker goes on without pause from one weird - tale to another.</p> - - <p>“I understand that in the near-by hamlet of Dzitas there is now a - motion-picture theater and the telling of stories has been largely - supplanted by the ‘movies,’ more’s the pity.</p> - - <p>“The children are, of course, eager for stories, and nearly every - village has some kindly old woman willing to entertain the children - with oft-told tales. Such was X’Leut Cauich. X’Leut Cauich was old, - very old, and yet, even though the outer wrappings, the casings of her - mind and soul, were wrinkled with age, her mind and seemingly her soul - remained undeniably very young.</p> - - <p>“‘T is ever said that youth seeks youth as sparks fly upward, and the - saying is a true one. Just so surely as old X’Leut seated herself - comfortably before the <i lang="myn">koben</i>, or three-stone fireplace, in her - <i lang="myn">na</i> (palm-thatched house) and started to make with colored threads - and shining needle, on snow-white cotton cloth, the beautiful native - embroidery “<i lang="myn">xoc-bui-chui</i>,” just so surely would the children of - the neighborhood spring up as if by magic from the very ground about - her and beg for a story. And old X’Leut, because she was a born - story-teller, never dreamed of denying them.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_209">209</span></p> - - <p>“Bit Euan; Phil Canul with his three brothers, all seemingly of an - age; Pol Cocom with his big, soft eyes and harelip; Pablo Perez and - his sister, white of skin, children of the Spanish storekeeper—all - sat crouching, cross-legged, sprawling, each after the manner of his - people, around old X’Leut, listening, motionless, with eager eyes and - intent expression, to the words slowly spoken, clearly uttered, as they - fell from her aged lips.</p> - - <p>“For them, and for old X’Leut as well, the outer world—the prosaic - world about the palm-thatched <i lang="myn">na</i>—no longer existed—only the Wizard - Potters as they worked, with swiftly moving hands and fingers, the - magic clay, making the enchanted vessels of an ancient people.</p> - - <p>“She told them of Aluxob ‘The Little People,’ how they searched in - the deep-down caves for the <i lang="myn">kat</i>, the <i lang="myn">kut</i>, and the <i lang="myn">ki</i>, the tiny - crystals and the clays that the Wizard Potters used in the making - of the ancient vessels. She talked with her eyes, her lips, and her - hands. With agile feet alternately moving she showed how the ancient - people revolved the shallow wooden disks as the potters of other lands - work, with their hands, their revolving wheels. She told them of these - vessels—vessels with magic worked into their very substance so that - at night they changed into living things called Burro Kat and Hunab - Pob; living things that tormented by their doings late night wanderers, - thieves and drunkards; bad people generally; even children who, - disobeying their parents, stayed out late at night or ran away from - home.</p> - - <p>“Then, as X’Leut finished, rolled up her <i lang="myn">xoc-bui-chui</i>, poked the - fire in the three-stone fireplace, and started the water to boiling in - the earthen kettle, each man-child, introspectively brooding, hurried - homeward to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_210">210</span> ask of his astonished mother if there was anything that he - could do to put the house in order before night came. Ah! a guileful - woman was old X’Leut, with her ever-young soul and nimble hand! A joy - to the children and a solace to the tired mothers.”</p> - - <hr class="page" /> - <div class="chapter" id="CHAPTER_XIV"> - <span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_211"></a>211</span> - <h2>CHAPTER XIV<br /> - <span class="small">FORGOTTEN MICHAEL ANGELOS</span></h2> - </div> - - <p class="drop-cap">AS I have said, the art of the Mayas, and of Chi-chen Itza - particularly, represents several periods of culture. Some of the oldest - examples of architecture, stone point-work, carvings, and murals, as - well as temple ornaments and personal trinkets display the greatest - artistry of design and craftsmanship.</p> - - <p>Evidently art progressed until a golden age dawned, comparable in - its way to the golden age of Greece. Just as Pericles and Praxiteles - chiseled into stone a marvelous grace and beauty which later sculptors - have never been able to excel, so these old Maya dreamers and creators - have left behind them things more lovely than those of succeeding - generations.</p> - - <p>Gradually the golden Mayan age waned. Creative genius became more - scarce. Sense of harmony and soaring imagination were dimmed. Technique - itself became poorer.</p> - - <p>And then came the renaissance—the period of Nahuatl influence when - Chi-chen Itza probably reached its pinnacle of civic importance and - new temples and palaces were built thick and fast. Art was encouraged - and new genius arose, akin to that of the ancient masters, yet showing - everywhere the influence of the Nahuatl invasion. But while the new art - attained a high degree of excellence, it failed to reach the perfection - of the older culture.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_212">212</span></p> - - <p>It is rather difficult to assign to a given period any building as - a whole, or any piece of workmanship, because the older city was so - frequently robbed of its art treasures in the construction of the newer - city. Columns and cut stones and lintels were torn from the older and - perhaps then nearly ruined buildings to be used in the newer edifices. - As in the House of the Writing in the Dark, we see a lintel of such - extraordinary beauty as compared with the rest of the structure that - it cries aloud its story of ravishment from a nobler and older temple. - Apparently the later builders cared nothing for the beauty of this - stone, but took it simply because in size it was appropriate for their - purpose.</p> - - <p>In speaking of the three eras of Mayan culture in Chi-chen Itza, it - is at least reasonable to suppose that the most ancient preceded the - coming of the Itzas to the city; legend says there was a flourishing - city here before the influx of the Itzas. The second period includes - the rise and decline of art under the Itzas, ending with the - Nahuatl-Aztec dominance. The third period approaches oblivion—the - centuries following the decay of the Maya nations when “campers,” as - Don Eduardo calls them, inhabited sparsely the old cities, and these - people built nothing of permanence and despoiled much of the old art, - knowing nothing of the past history and grandeur of the walls which - provided a better shelter than they could build. The little of artistic - merit which they created—if indeed, they created anything—is crude - and inferior to the work of their ancestors. “Campers” probably lived - in the Sacred City for two or three centuries preceding the coming of - Montejo and until his advent.</p> - - <p>All that remains of the first period is the nearly obliterated <span class="pagenum" id="Page_213">213</span>old - Chi-chen Itza, where future exploration may bring to light many - treasures. Add to these the precious carvings that have obviously been - taken from the old city for the building of the newer city.</p> - - <p>The second period is represented by the many temples and buildings, - several in an almost perfect state of preservation, in the newer - Chi-chen Itza, and the finds in the Sacred Well.</p> - - <p>The third period is represented only in the waste and debris left by - the “campers” in and about the structures of the preceding periods.</p> - - <p>One striking characteristic of Mayan art is the skill of the ancient - sculptor or painter in portraying the human figure and especially - the human physiognomy. The faces in murals, friezes, and bas-reliefs - are expressive, individual, full of character—the faces of men of - intellect and purpose. Nearly always these portraits in stone or - paint seem to have a sort of sublimity: an earnestness of mien, an - inscrutability, and withal an utter lack of pompousness. None but - great artists could so have caught the real character of the person - portrayed. Mayan art is a decided step ahead of the art of the - Egyptians, and beside it the Buddhas of the Orient seem insipid. There - are, of course, grotesque figures and the many hieroglyphs which, it - must be remembered, are not portraits but have been conventionalized - into symbols far in advance of the original and more primitive - picture-writing.</p> - - <p>One of the most intriguing things is the constant recurrence of the - mask of Kukul Can, often conventionalized to fit the particular wall of - a building, frieze, or mural where it is used. And always it is shown - with a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_214">214</span> long upturned snout which some casual observer has called an - elephant’s trunk.</p> - - <p>To go a bit afield, G. Elliot Smith’s “Elephants and Ethnologists” - takes up this subject of the elephant’s head. He believes that several - elaborately carved columns or stelæ in Copan, another Mayan city, - possibly more ancient than Chi-chen Itza, present credible pictures - of elephants’ heads with the keepers or mahouts beside them. These - carvings have caused considerable discussion; some stoutly maintain - that they portray the elephant and others say the motif is derived - from the tapir or from the head of the blue macaw. At any rate, the - appearance is that of an elephant, but very likely is intended for the - mask and nose of the great Maya hero-god Kukul Can.</p> - - <p>Of the many murals in the Sacred City, those in the Temple of the - Tigers are the most interesting. On the opposite page is a reproduction [missing] - of the scene on the west wall; it is from a tracing done twenty-five - years ago by Teoberto Maier, of whom I shall later give further - account. Much of the lower part of the mural has since been defaced - by vandals or has chipped away through natural causes. The colors are - vivid and the battle action enthralling. Of the many human figures no - two are in the same pose. At the upper right is the Itza king or ruler, - protected by his king of serpents spitting fire and venom at the enemy. - A little lower down, and in front, is the chief Itza general with his - protecting serpent, and all about are warriors armed with <i lang="myn">hul-ches</i>, - darts, and shields. At the extreme left is the opposing general with - his king of serpents and his<span class="pagenum" id="Page_215">215</span> warriors.<a id="FNanchor_7" href="#Footnote_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> Near the bottom at the - left are the Itza notables holding a consultation, and at the bottom, - center, is the time-keeper with his calendar wheel.</p> - - <p>Facing page 221 [missing] is an enlarged view of just a bit of this scene which, - because of its larger size, gives a better idea of the technique of the - painter.</p> - - <p>Another part of the battle scene, covering the east wall, depicts the - invading army coming over the mountains to attack the Itzas. At the - left in the picture is an Itza general or ruler, supported as usual - by his beneficent Ahau Can or king of serpents. He is identified - as belonging to the Itzas by his typical Itzan costume. The figure - with the symbolized protecting serpent is similar to many others to - be seen elsewhere in Chi-chen Itza, in paintings and bas-reliefs. A - little lower down is his commanding general, also with a protecting - serpent, and all about are the Itza warriors, now, due to mutilation, - indicated only by the heads of their spears, pointing upward toward - the enemy. In the upper right-hand corner of the painting is an Itzan - horn-blower, standing upon a temple. His nationality is evidenced by - the knee-protectors he wears.</p> - - <p>The invaders wear an entirely different style of clothing and their - armament is not like that of the Itzas. For example, although they use - the <i lang="myn">hul-che</i>, their shields are rectangular—a shape never seen in - Chi-chen Itza nor in the whole Maya area. Still more striking is the - peculiarity of their head-dresses of three blue feathers with yellow - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_216">216</span>tips surmounting the regular feathered head-gear. It is significant - that Don Eduardo, some years ago in the excavation of a temple, - uncovered a gigantic painted head having a head-dress of three blue - feathers with yellow tips. The stone containing the picture of the - head was found upside down, and from the situation in which it was - discovered it had evidently been so placed originally and had not - fallen or been displaced. The reversed position of the head was the - Maya method of conveying the information that this foe was conquered.</p> - - <p>Evidently the painting in the Tiger Temple was executed to commemorate - the victory over the invaders of the blue feathers, and the other - temple which Don Eduardo excavated also was decorated with murals that - indicated victory.</p> - - <p>On each of the shields of the invaders is shown a curious red symbol - which indirectly gives a clue to the nationality of these foreigners. - In the central part of the state of Vera Cruz are found the remains of - a highly cultured people, the Totanacs. The descendants of this ancient - clan still reside in the neighborhood and their language contains many - Mayan words. Because of the peculiarity of the design, as shown on the - engraving of a clay Totanac facing page 225 [missing], there can be no doubt - that it is the same identically as appears on the shields in the Tiger - Temple. The same peculiar design occurs frequently upon the ancient - Totanac sculptures and pottery.</p> - - <p>The Totanacs are neighbors to another tribe just to the north, the - Huastecas, who spoke the pure Maya language and were a part of the - Maya brotherhood. It seems probable either that they were left behind - in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_217">217</span> great Maya migration from the west or that their country was - originally the home of those Mayas who later emigrated to Yucatan under - the leadership of the mighty Kukul Can.</p> - - <p>Either supposition might be correct, for it was in this locality that - the now famous Tuxtla statuette was found which bears the earliest - date ever discovered in this part of the world—113 B. C. The - earliest date-stone in Chi-chen Itza is the one found by Don Eduardo - and its date is more than seven hundred years later. During the - interval between the two, or even before, the emigration to Yucatan - from the west might have occurred.</p> - - <p>Another curious thing in the Tiger Temple painting is the fact that the - invaders are shown coming over mountains. Northern Yucatan contains - no mountains, not even a high hill. But in the state of Vera Cruz - there are mountains. There is little to substantiate any theory that - the people of the Sacred City invaded Vera Cruz and it is much more - probable that the Totanacs were the invaders.</p> - - <p>In passing, another hypothesis of the ethnology of the Mayas is that - they were descendants of the Toltecas, a peaceful and cultured people - who inhabited Mexico proper before they were driven southward by the - Nahuatl or Aztec tribes. In various places in Mexico, Toltecan remains - have been found similar in construction and design to those in the Maya - areas. Yucatan may have been the final stopping-place of these people, - but as they moved ever southward, bands dropped out along the road, and - settled.</p> - - <p>It is known that many years later Aztec soldiers marched clear around - the rim of the Gulf of Mexico<span class="pagenum" id="Page_218">218</span> and through the jungles to Chi-chen - Itza, which was their final destination. Their influence is very - evident in the buildings in newer Chi-chen Itza.</p> - - <p>Because many of the murals in the Sacred City have reached the critical - point of deterioration in the last decade or so, I have made a point of - photographing as many of them as possible. Much of the photography has - employed the color-separation process. All told, I have taken upward - of a thousand photographs, and in addition I have made a large number - of drawings or tracings where it was impossible to use the camera. A - number of murals which were clear and perfect during my earlier trips - to Yucatan, some eighteen years ago, are now entirely faded or chipped - off.</p> - - <p>From a minute study of the paintings I am reasonably sure that the - artists of this past age waited until the walls of a building were - completed and the inner surface had been covered with a thin, hard - stucco, then they painted the whole wall-surface to an even tone of - color, usually a light olive green. Upon this the outlines of their - pictures were sketched, either with red chalk or some soft red stone. - The outlines were then intensified with a brush dipped in red pigment. - From the character of the brush-marks I judge the brushes to have - been made of hair or feathers. The next step was the laying in of the - colors, the pigment being mixed with some sort of varnish that dried - and permitted other colors to be superimposed.</p> - - <p>For example, take the figure of a man. After the outline was completed, - the whole figure was painted flesh color. When this was dry, further - outlining within the figure was done. Then another color was laid over<span class="pagenum" id="Page_219">219</span> - the shield, clothing, and other portions. Some details of the shield - might then be ornamented with still another color, and another would be - laid on the bosses of the shield and perhaps several colors put into - the head-dress. Wherever the red outlines were painted over, yet were - needed for completion of the work, new red outlines were painted in.</p> - - <p>Facing page 220 [Transcriber: missing] is the reproduction of a tracing - I have made of a red outline, showing as faithfully as possible the - beginning and ending of each brush-mark. It is in the same free-hand - style used by the modern painter.</p> - - <p>Bas-relief work was much used in the Sacred City and for this type - of art the cracks between the stone-work were filled in with stucco - to give an even surface and then the whole surface was polished. The - artist cut his designs into both stone and stucco. I cannot say how - this work was laid out, but it is reasonable to suppose that it was - outlined in red chalk and pigment much as murals were. The incised - work is from a quarter to half an inch deep and the figures stand - out boldly, especially when the direction of the light is from a - particularly favorable angle.</p> - - <p>The projecting part of each relief was painted in identically the same - manner as murals, one color after another being superimposed. A notable - example of this type of art is found in the Temple of Bas-Reliefs, - which is just back of the mound of the Tiger Temple, and is unique in - the fact that it is situated upon level ground and not upon a pyramid.</p> - - <p>Of this building there is still standing the right wall, nearly all - the back wall, a fragment of the left wall, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_220">220</span> about a fourth of the - ceiling. The colors upon the bas-reliefs, with which walls and ceiling - are covered, are quite clear except upon the left wall, where for some - reason they are much faded but still distinguishable. On the ceiling - the colors are remarkably distinct, especially several tones of blue. - I recollect that my uncle, who painted the “Spirit of Seventy-Six,” - once told me that blue is a fugitive color and that there is no such - thing as permanent blue, which, he jokingly remarked, is the reason why - painters use a pigment called “permanent blue.” The prevailing shade - of blue used in these bas-reliefs is what artists of to-day would term - indigo blue in various tones.</p> - - <p>Appropriate coloring has been used throughout. The flesh is - flesh-colored; garments, war-gear, everything is properly colored. In - these as in nearly all the bas-reliefs, the incisions or background - are colored a deep red, originally, I judge, as brilliant as Chinese - vermilion but now mostly faded to a brick red.</p> - - <p>These walls represent the very pinnacle of Maya art. There is nothing - of antiquarian interest upon the American continents that excels or - even approaches them. The figures are not stiff and unlifelike as - are Egyptian figures. On the contrary, they are uncannily faithful - portrayals of men in action. They are about three feet high, and on - these walls are more than eighty figures of kings, gods, priests, and - warriors. Many, particularly the priests, are clad in most wonderful - and elaborate vestments. The warriors are more simply clothed and all - carry <i lang="myn">hul-ches</i> such as were actually found in the Sacred Well. Upon - the back of each fighting man is a quiver holding five<span class="pagenum" id="Page_221">221</span> darts. Each - dart bears the individual mark of its owner, so that if retrieved it - might be returned to him.</p> - - <p>The bas-reliefs depict six different scenes, and each runs completely - about the room. Separating each scene from the one above it is the - conventionalized body of a great serpent.</p> - - <p>In all of this work I have discovered but one female figure. Below this - figure is an ornamental border about eight inches high on which are - engraved flowers and small human figures in curious acrobatic postures.</p> - - <p>The front portion of the roof is now fallen in, but I surmise that - originally the illumination of the building was such as to bring out - the relief work most prominently.</p> - - <p>At present one gets a much better impression of this work at about ten - o’clock in the morning than at any other period of the day.</p> - - <p>In the National Museum at Washington, there is a reproduction of these - bas-reliefs, but this modern work has scarcely caught the spirit of the - old Maya artists. It should be the immediate aim of archæologists to - preserve or duplicate the bas-reliefs in the most faithful manner, for - the sake of posterity, for I doubt if we shall ever uncover anything - finer in American antiquity.</p> - - <p>Teoberto Maler spent a great deal of time in making photographs, - drawings, and tracings of the old Maya murals and reliefs, and the - world owes him a debt of gratitude for the minute care he took and the - faithfulness of his reproductions. Maler, who is now deceased, was no - mean antiquarian. He was also an artist and a man of most peculiar - personality.</p> - - <p>For several years his more or less undirected exploration <span class="pagenum" id="Page_222">222</span>was done - for the Peabody Museum, and then he fell out with the heads of that - institution and thereafter worked as a free-lance. For years his - livelihood was derived by selling information, photographs, and - drawings to dilettant antiquarians. So many of these failed to pay him - for such services that the poor fellow became suspicious of virtually - every one who attempted to be friendly with him. I called on him four - times before I could even get him to talk about archæology. But I - always took several bottles of beer with me, so he became more cordial; - and as I was especially careful not to question him in any way to - indicate an interest in his work, he finally thawed out completely.</p> - - <p>An Austrian by birth, he had accompanied the ill-fated Maximilian - to Mexico and had finally drifted southward into Yucatan, where he - centered his interest on archæology.</p> - - <p>One day he presented me with about twenty photographs from his - collection, which I was happy to have, although some were discards. - Seeing the sincerity of my gratitude, he offered to show me some - things which he said had never been seen by any one else. Among these - treasures was his excellent tracing of the battle scene in the Tiger - Temple. The next day I asked him with some trepidation if I might make - a copy of the tracing. He was quite willing and when I suggested that - I would travel to Mérida to get some tracing-paper for the purpose he - produced a whole roll of it. I spent an entire week making this tracing - and several others, Maler working beside me and helping for several - hours each day.</p> - - <p>I tried to pay him when the work was completed, but he would never - accept a penny, saying I was the only<span class="pagenum" id="Page_223">223</span> man who had ever come to him - without trying to get something for nothing, and he repeated this - remark, I have been told, to other people. He told me he trusted only - two men in the world. Naturally, I was very glad to have won his regard.</p> - - <p>One day, some years later, he showed me several golden ornaments which - I afterward found had come in some devious way from the Sacred Well. I - fortunately made some photographs and drawings of them, for the next - year, when I asked to see them again, Maier no longer had them. Some he - had evidently sold to a museum abroad and the remainder he had disposed - of otherwise.</p> - - <p>Maler had a foolish hatred for Don Eduardo and called him “falsifier - Thompson,” but the latter had no such feeling toward Maler; in fact, - one can scarcely imagine Don Eduardo’s hating anybody.</p> - - <p>During one of my visits Maler promised me that the following year - we should make a two weeks’ journey into the interior of Yucatan, - where he had discovered a temple unknown to the world which contained - some marvelous murals. He said that he had discovered an underground - entrance to the temple and when he left he had covered up the entrance - and planted shrubbery over it so that it would remain hidden from - archæologists. At that time I made a tracing of one of his drawings, - showing a wall of this temple on which is depicted a water scene, - with a volcano spouting fire and smoke, buildings falling into the - water, people drowning, and a figure dressed like a warrior, paddling - away from the scene, in a boat. Maler was a firm believer in the Lost - Atlantis theory and contended that this picture represented <span class="pagenum" id="Page_224">224</span>the - destruction of Atlantis. It was an obsession with him that nothing from - this secret temple should come into the possession of what he termed - “that infamous museum.”</p> - - <p>I shall always regret that Maler died before I was able to make the - intended trip with him to this hidden temple, as the knowledge of its - location died with him.</p> - - <p>Teoberto Maler, soldier of fortune, artist, archæologist, and eccentric - misanthrope, yet at heart kindly and lovable, died of a fever three - years ago, in his adopted land of Yucatan. All of his personal - belongings were taken over by the Austrian consul, and I am told that - except for his numerous photographs and drawings there was nothing - among them of value.</p> - - <p>Among the modern inventions which the antiquarian has to be thankful - for, place first in the list the camera, which makes possible faithful - reproductions, frequently under most unfavorable conditions. Compare - modern photography with the difficulties that beset Catherwood, who - made the exceptionally fine engravings with which Stephens’s books are - illustrated. Catherwood did his work nearly eighty years ago, using a - “camera obscura,” a rather clumsy device which projects an image on a - screen so that it may be traced. In making a single tracing Catherwood - worked for hours at a stretch in the tropic heat, beset by insect - pests, whereas to-day a few moments with a camera would be sufficient.</p> - - <p>One of the interesting things shown in the old murals and bas-reliefs - is the diversity of costumes. The dress of the figures varies from the - simple wide belt, with flaps hanging down front and back, to the very - elaborate vestments of the priests. To the belt might be fastened<span class="pagenum" id="Page_225">225</span> - armor of heavy quilted cotton or of wood or even of metal.</p> - - <p>The costume of the warrior always included an ornate feathered - head-dress and there was wide variation in these head-ornaments. In - some cases they were made of wood in the shape of a bird or other - animal and the surface was covered with a thin layer of metal such - as beaten copper or gold or with well-tanned deerskin or of finely - woven cotton fabric embroidered with feather-work. From the top of the - head-dress, feathers sometimes descended in graceful curves clear to - the ground. The entire head, wings, and tail of a bird were often a - part of the head-gear. The head-gear of kings and nobles was decorated - with the feathers of the sacred quetzel, or bird of paradise. On a few - of the pictured head-ornaments, one or more serpents’ heads are seen, - and these may have been a symbol of rank or the coat of arms, so to - speak, of a certain family. In other cases the front of the head-piece - shows the face or mask of some deity, often the face of Kukul Can.</p> - - <p>Fastened about the warrior’s neck is often a cape of cotton fabric - so heavily embroidered with feathers that it appears to consist of - feathers alone. Some of these capes or tunics are covered with metal - scales to ward off the thrust of spear or dart. The Maya love of finery - is indicated by the ubiquitous string of jade beads about the neck, - ending in a heavy jade pendant or medallion. Such beads are worn by - many of the pictured figures.</p> - - <p>Around the warrior’s waist is a wide, embroidered belt supporting an - ornamented apron. Protectors of feather-work surround the knees, and - upon the wrists are curious wristlets. Sandals are made of deerskin or<span class="pagenum" id="Page_226">226</span> - heavy felt and are decorated with geometrical figures; they are laced - in front and frequently have high sides like a shoe. Both deerskin and - felt sandals have been found in the Sacred Well. A band is worn around - each ankle, with feathers projecting from the front. This band is - purely decorative and has no connection with the sandal.</p> - - <p>Usually the fighting-man is shown either holding five darts in his left - hand or having that number of darts in a quiver on his back. In his - right hand he grasps the <i lang="myn">hul-che</i>.</p> - - <p>Some of the figures have their arms almost entirely obscured by bands - covered with feathers. Other figures wear cloaks or mantles fastened - at the throat and reaching nearly to the ground. These are generally - embroidered heavily with the feather-work so dear to the ancient Mayas.</p> - - <p>Figures are also shown wielding the formidable spear tipped with flint. - Some of the spear-heads taken from the Sacred Well are from eight to - nine inches long and two to three inches wide, and razor-edged. Spears - were usually gaily decorated with feathers attached to the shaft where - it joined the head. In the bas-reliefs is shown, also, a spear-head - with serrated edges. For fighting at close quarters the battle-ax was - used. It consisted of one or several stones or of a metal blade fitted - into a wooden helve.</p> - - <p>In addition to the armor worn there were shields. Some of the shields - were built to fit closely the back and sides of the warrior and - were fastened to the broad band of his belt. Other shields, carried - in the usual manner, were made and ornamented in several different - ways. Usually the base was wood, embossed with metal, studded<span class="pagenum" id="Page_227">227</span> with - jewels or ornamented with feathers. I was fortunate enough to be - with Don Eduardo at one time during the dredging of the well and had - the thrill of picking from the muck of the dredge the golden section - of a shield-front, which had been a large round ornamented disk of - considerable size, embellished with carvings of flowers and scrolls.</p> - - <p>The net also was used in battle and, as shown in the bas-reliefs, - was carried by the spear-thrower, in his left hand. Very likely it - was effective in stopping the thrust of a spear. Or—who knows?—it - may have been used to entangle the enemy in the manner of the Roman - gladiator armed with net and trident.</p> - - <p>The warriors went into battle to the resounding blare of horns, and - trumpets were used to signal troops in action. There were whole - companies of horn-blowers, each man provided with a horn nearly as tall - as himself. Horns and horn-blowers are clearly shown in the murals of a - second-story room in La Casa de las Monjas.</p> - - <p>Our information obtained from a study of the bas-reliefs and murals - and from the articles retrieved from the Sacred Well and other finds - checks with remarkable closeness the writings of Landa, whose sources - of knowledge were chiefly legend and the old Maya writings. Landa says:</p> - - <blockquote> - <p>They had for their defense round shields which they made of - split reeds woven round and adorned with deer-skins. They had - jackets padded with cotton and filled with salt. These were of - two thicknesses or layers of padding and extremely strong.</p> - - <p>Some of the chiefs and captains had helmets of wood. They went - to war with plumage and tiger and jaguar skins on—those that - had them. They always had two captains, one hereditary - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_228">228</span> and - perpetual, the other selected with much ceremony for a term of - three years.</p> - - <p>On the roads and passes they erected defenses of twigs and wood - and sometimes of stone for their archers.<a id="FNanchor_8" href="#Footnote_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> If they captured - some distinguished man, they sacrificed him, because they did - not want to leave alive anyone who might later harm them.</p> - - <p>They had hatchets of certain metal which they fastened into - handles of wood and these served them as arms and also as - instruments to cut wood. These they sharpened by pounding with - a stone to harden them as the metal was virginally soft. They - had small, short lances with points of hard flint.</p> - - <p>In their earth there was not discovered until now any kind - of metal with which they might make implements with which to - work on their numerous edifices. However, not having metals, - they found in the earth flint with which they made materials - for their lances which they used in their wars; and the knives - for sacrifice were made from flint which the priests had - selected.<a id="FNanchor_9" href="#Footnote_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a></p> - - <p>They had a certain kind of white brass with admixture of gold - from which they made their hatchets for different functions and - also hawk-shells and a certain kind of small chisel with which - they made their idols. The brass and other plates of metal and - hard copper plates they used to barter for things from Tabasco - for their idols, trading back and forth.</p> - </blockquote> - - <p>In the illustration following page 241 may be seen the more elaborate - costume of the priests. This illustration of a small section of the - back wall of the Temple of the Bas-Reliefs represents a religious - ceremony. The whole wall is covered with figures of priests and - warriors paying devotion to Ahau Can, the king of serpents.</p> - - <p>The Great Serpent looms majestically over and about <span class="pagenum" id="Page_229">229</span>the high priest, - who is decked in gorgeous apparel. Mask and helmet cover his face and - head, and from his body intricate scrolls extend in all directions, - denoting the words or chant to which he is giving voice. In his hand - he holds a shield over the surface of which the body of the protecting - serpent undulates. From the mouth of the Great Serpent issue scrolls of - red and yellow, which may be words or venom.</p> - - <p>Perhaps one may realize from this sculpture how keen was the decorative - sense of these ancient people. It was ever seeking an outlet for - expression. The undecorated space on wall or ceiling must have seemed - to the Maya artist an inartistic space. He crowded his areas with - ornamentation, yet with so nice a balance, so true a harmony that he - achieved a perfect result without giving an impression of congestion.</p> - - <p>Other figures show the use of ear- and nose-ornaments and of labrets - made of thin disks of gold and of highly polished jade.</p> - - <p>Finally, there are the wonderfully worked ornaments of fine flint, - flawless and shaped curiously like the parts of a bishop’s crozier.</p> - - <p>In the Tiger Temple is a frieze near the top of the wall, extending - clear around the four sides, which shows a procession of jaguars. It - is a thing of sheer beauty, for the artist has caught in his paintings - the very nature of the beast. There he is, in all his slinking, lithe, - feline ferocity, conventionalized but losing nothing of his character.</p> - - <p>Above and below the row of jaguars is an ornamentation of - conventionalized serpent motif which is graceful, accentuating the - litheness and grace of the huge<span class="pagenum" id="Page_230">230</span> cats. The whole frieze is done on a - surface of stone polished to such smoothness that it conveys the idea - of white marble worked by the hand of an old Italian master.</p> - - <p>Another remarkable mural was upon a stone which was found by Sylvanus - Morley in the debris of a partially ruined temple in old Chi-chen Itza - which he named the Temple of the Owls. It is so named from the fact - that many of the fallen columns bear sculptures of owls. For a number - of reasons I believe that this is one of the earlier temples, built - when Maya art was at its best, and I was thrilled at the quality of - workmanship on the stone. The colors were much faded and the entire - picture too faint for the camera. I found first, in cleaning the - corners or unimportant parts by washing in water, that the paint would - stand almost any sort of gentle rubbing. In fact, the only way it could - be destroyed was by scraping it off with an edged tool. Washing showed - that the colors were somewhat more vivid when the stone was wet and it - occurred to me that it could be treated in much the same manner as an - old oil painting, which may be greatly revivified by cleaning and then - applying a coat of varnish.</p> - - <p>Acting on this assumption, I first cleaned the stone with a weak - solution of hydrochloric acid, which had no effect on the pigments - but did remove much dirt. The next question was varnish. I had some - turpentine and a few other chemicals but no varnish. And then I thought - of the copal incense that Don Eduardo had taken from the Sacred Well. - I took a ball of this and scraped off the calcined outer surface. The - remainder of the copal I broke up and placed in an earthen bowl which - also<span class="pagenum" id="Page_231">231</span> came from the well. Then I added a little turpentine and heated - the mixture over a slow fire until the copal was melted. Finally I - strained the liquid through a piece of cloth and had an excellent - transparent copal varnish. I tried it out on several unimportant stones - and found that it gave a fine surface gloss. I then applied it very - carefully to the painted stone I had discovered, first to the blue - border and then to the whole surface. I was overjoyed, when the varnish - had dried, to find the colors magically restored, several of them - being nearly as bright, I think, as when originally applied, perhaps a - thousand years before.</p> - - <p>It was now a simple matter to obtain excellent photographs and I took - several, both in black and white and with color separations.</p> - - <p>This stone, which I named the Stone of Kukul Can, told a complete - story. It represented the long-nosed god, the particular deity of the - Sacred City, emerging from the mouth of a serpent, just as shown in the - old Maya books and in many other places. In other words, it depicted - the birth of Kukul Can, the feathered-serpent god. Below the serpent - and the figure of the god was shown the bowl of the earth, or the - archaic representation of the earth. Here and there were cacao pods, - from which was obtained chocolate—then as now an important article of - food, a highly prized delicacy among the Mayas and other races. Cacao - is one of the fruits the Mayas thought to have been brought them by - Kukul Can.</p> - - <p>The god held in his hands emblems of life and generation. Above - were the celestial heaven and the zodiac. At right and left were - the hieroglyphs of the sun and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_232">232</span> planets. On the upper margin was an - inscription. The whole was majestic and exquisitely done. It indicated - all of the good things of life,—prosperity and plenty,—bestowed upon - his people by the mighty god Kukul Can, born of a serpent.</p> - - <p>When I had finished photographing and studying this extraordinary - stone, I wrapped it carefully and stored it in Don Eduardo’s hacienda, - where it was later ruined when the hacienda was burned by unruly - Indians.</p> - - <p>This lost stone was an excellent example of the older and finer Maya - art and a careful comparison of it, as photographed, with the pages - of the Perez Codex, one of the few remaining ancient Maya books (now - in the National Library in Paris), shows its similarity to the work - therein displayed. The portraits of Kukul Can are identical. The - hieroglyphs have the same peculiarities of shading, due to the stroke - of the brush being heavier on one side than on the other. If the artist - who painted the Stone of Kukul Can did not also illuminate some of the - Maya books, he at least belonged to the same period and the same school - of artists. I am sure that the great work of Mr. Morley of the Carnegie - Foundation, which is now going on at Chi-chen Itza, will uncover many - more stones similar to this one and it will be demonstrated that many - of the Maya books were produced in the ancient city.</p> - - <p>Very frequently in the murals or the bas-reliefs, where figures of - men are shown, the glyph representing the man’s name appears above - his portrait. Thus we have “Mr. Can,” or, in English, “Mr. Snake,” as - in the second cut opposite page 112 [missing]. Above him is the carving of a - serpent. This gentleman has the conventional nose- and ear-ornaments - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_233">233</span>and over his head is the double feather of a warrior. From his mouth - issues a scroll representing speech. Other figures are “Mr. Duck,” “Mr. - Phallus,” etc.</p> - - <p>In one of the Codices is shown an eclipse of the sun. It is remarkably - well drawn in colors.<a id="FNanchor_10" href="#Footnote_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> At the top of the page is what may be called - the text, which we are not able to read although we know many of the - characters. Directly below is the celestial band, representing sun, - moon, and planets. Dependent from this band are three hieroglyphs of - the sun in the heavens. The central figure is the sun, and wings at - left and right mean movement of that body, or day and night. Under each - of these figures is a bird in the act of devouring the sun. The word - for eclipse in Maya is <i lang="myn">chi-bal-kin</i>, literally “mouth-action sun,” - or “bitten sun,” and it was the ancient belief, which persisted until - fairly recent times, that at the time of an eclipse the sun was bitten - by a serpent or by birds or other creatures.</p> - - <p>Beneath each picture representing the devouring of the sun are the - date-glyphs.</p> - - <p>An interesting colored mural from the ceiling of La Casa de las Monjas - shows a warrior standing upon a pyramidal structure. In his left hand - is the <i lang="myn">hul-che</i> and in his right a shield and battle-ax. He has just - shot two lances to which are fastened firebrands, which have passed - over a walled inclosure and are intended to set fire to the buildings - within. In one corner of this picture is a building representing the - Iglesia (one of the annexes of the Nunnery) or a similar structure, - as denoted by the mask of Kukul Can sticking out from the wall of the - building. In the foreground, at the left, is a mammoth head-dress, - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_234">234</span>which may be explained by the fact that it was not uncommon for the - Maya artist to make a picture and then to introduce into the foreground - large figures entirely out of proportion to the remainder of the - picture.</p> - - <p>As for full-relief carving, one need only see the serpent columns of El - Castillo or the Tiger Temple, and the serpent balustrades, to know that - the Maya artists were fully as skilful at such work as in producing - bas-relief and murals.</p> - - <p>Among the pottery, incense-burners, and funerary urns discovered at - Chi-chen Itza are frequently exceptionally fine examples of ceramic - art. A vase of a substance like alabaster found by Don Eduardo is a - thing of matchless beauty.</p> - - <p>Of metal-work in gold and copper there are many pieces indicating - great skill and artistry. Jade ornaments such as beads and plaques are - exquisitely worked and perfectly polished.</p> - - <p>Of stone point-work, heads of darts and spears, and blades of - battle-axes, as well as cutting-tools and weapons, nothing has been - found in America which can compare to the Maya work. The sacrificial - knives found in the well are peerless in their artistry.</p> - - <p>The art of the Mayas shows the greatest variety in media, style, - and technique. Even casual observation of that in the Sacred City - shows that many different painters and sculptors were employed; yet - everywhere painted or carved figures are natural, true to life, the - proportions perfect. The best are comparable to those of ancient - Greece; the worst, though crude, are never stiff and mechanical like - those of Egyptian art.</p> - - <p>Unfortunately there are no statues like the Memnon<span class="pagenum" id="Page_235">235</span> of Thebes nor the - Apollo Belvidere, for the Mayas did not produce statuary or monolithic - carving, with the few rare exceptions of Chac Mool figures and serpent - columns. Rather their effort was toward detail and precision of figure - and design. Some of the carvings are so minute that they are hard - to see easily without a magnifying-glass. We can only wonder at the - exceptional ability of this ancient people to originate, imitate, and - express in stone or pigment or by the goldsmith’s or the lapidary’s - art.</p> - - <hr class="page" /> - <div class="chapter" id="CHAPTER_XV"> - <span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_236"></a>236</span> - <h2>CHAPTER XV<br /> - <span class="small">THE TOMB OF THE HIGH PRIEST</span></h2> - </div> - - <p class="drop-cap">JOSÉ ALVARADO, once a common mine laborer, an ordinary peon, became the - Silver King of Mexico, so fabulously rich that he offered to pay off - the whole national debt of Mexico. His offer was declined by Porfirio - Diaz, then President of Mexico. Alvarado inherited from a hard-working - father a meager silver-mine and he took up the arduous working of this - mine upon the decease of his parent, gaining from his toil scarcely - enough to pay for his scant frijoles, chiles, and tortillas, until - chance led him aside and caused him to strike his crowbar into an - obscure cliff, a mountain of virgin silver.</p> - - <p>“Some of my finds in the Sacred City,” says Don Eduardo, “have been - as much a matter of sheer chance as that of José Alvarado. And if the - truth be told, I fancy a good many pioneer operations, scientific - or otherwise, depend largely on Dame Fortune—or Lady Luck, as I - understand she is now called in the States.</p> - - <p>“Earlier in life I gave rather less credit to chance and more to - scientific deduction, and once I made a discovery in the Sacred City - which followed so closely my calculated prediction that I concluded - I had evolved a formula which, so far as this special class of - work was concerned, would eliminate chance entirely. I went at the - work of excavation with a new vim and mounting enthusiasm. It was - hard, back-breaking toil for me, digging and heavy<span class="pagenum" id="Page_237">237</span> lifting, yet - I was sure of my diagnosis, certain of final triumph. I kept on - digging,—endlessly, so it seemed, but with hope unflagging,—until - suddenly I brought up against a solid ledge of living rock. It could - not be explained away. To me it seemed to say, ‘Well, here I am - and here I have always been, and your wise deductions, your clever - calculations—where are they now?’ And to prove to me further that I - must not ignore the little gods of chance, as I returned dejected and - crestfallen along the deep trench, my crowbar accidentally struck a - projecting limestone fragment which fell to the bottom of the trench, - disclosing a dark cavity, within which were a rich find of pottery and - a most interesting skeleton. But for the chance dislodgment of the - stone, I should have missed the object of my search.</p> - - <p>“While I was engaged in some excavation in the building called - Chich-an-chob (literally, “The Strong, Clean House,” called now the - Red House) a small but unusually high mound to the southwest of the - building was often in my line of vision. Although I could only guess - at its outline through the thick growth of tall trees and matted vines - that covered its sides, the little I could make out of its peculiar - form excited my interest and kept it in my thoughts.</p> - - <p>“Eventually the progress of the work brought me to it and I had the - opportunity to obtain at least an approximate idea of its structure. - I found it to have been originally a small but well-built shrine or - temple crowning a steep-terraced pyramid, but now converted by time - and disintegration into a mere conical mound. The greatest factor in - the decomposition of the shrine, as in the case of many others, was - not wind and weather but<span class="pagenum" id="Page_238">238</span> the wrenching apart of the stone-work by the - growing roots of trees.</p> - - <p>“The temple itself was similar in plan to the great edifice which - towers above Chi-chen Itza. In fact, it was El Castillo in miniature - but differing in several important details, among which were corner - and lateral stelæ or carved stone monuments, the rear ones bearing - inscriptions which seemed to place the shrine in a different category - from any of the other buildings I had examined in the Sacred City. Like - huge El Castillo, this miniature temple has a main stairway facing the - northeast, and similarly the approach is guarded by twin serpent heads, - each a finely carved monolith. Protruding from the massive heads - are forked tongues extending for some little distance. The serpent - bodies, conventionalized into wide, flat bands, serve as balustrades, - extending one on each side of the wide, steep stairway, clear to the - temple platform. The big blocks of stone and masonry, fallen from the - temple level, had rolled down these stairs and carried away most of the - stairway, leaving just enough of the handsome, carefully cut steps and - balustrade to indicate what had once been a perfect thing. Indeed, the - stairway is no longer usable, although a few of the steps remain in - place, and the difficult ascent is made by grasping projecting roots of - trees and stone fragments and treading in the gashes left in the mound - by the avalanche of rock masses from above.</p> - - <p>“Gaining the crown of the pyramid, we found there massive serpent - columns corresponding to those encountered on the plain below. Well - carved, artistic, they were half buried in the fallen walls of the - temple, while one of the impressive capitals of the now famous serpent<span class="pagenum" id="Page_239">239</span> - columns, consisting of the conventionalized rattles of the rattlesnake, - lay precariously balanced on the very edge of the platform. Its twin - companion had long since crashed down the steep incline and its great - bulk lay amid the debris and matted growth at the base of the mound.</p> - - <p>“In clearing away the forest growth and surface accumulations on the - top of the mound, we uncovered the capstones of four large square - columns which had once supported the triple-vaulted arched roof of the - inner chamber. These capstones indicated by the almost effaced carvings - on them that the columns beneath probably were covered with carvings. - Believing these to be of real importance, as well as a safe guide to - follow in the work of excavation, we began carefully to clear the space - about them, and as fast as the column faces were cleared and cleansed - I made plaster casts or molds of their wonderfully carved surfaces. - When we at last reached the floor-surface of the chamber, we gave these - ancient columns an opportunity to dry out thoroughly, after their - centuries of accumulated dampness, before we continued work in their - vicinity.</p> - - <p>“Being a dyed-in-the-wool New England Yankee as well as an antiquarian, - I have, naturally, evolved some mechanical aids for my particular line - of work in the thirty years I have been at it. Among these contrivances - is an instrument which has proved most useful in detecting subterranean - cavities near the surface. The device consists of an octagonal bar of - steel with a tuning-fork at one end. The other end flares out into a - protuberance like the bulb of an onion. By tapping with this crude - instrument, using it as long experience has taught me, I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_240">240</span> have often - been able to locate burial vaults and other cavities which I might - otherwise have overlooked.</p> - - <p>“After the floor of the shrine had been cleared I sounded the whole - area with my steel stethoscope and it indicated a large, deep cavity - about midway between the first line of columns.</p> - - <p>“The floor was made of heavy cut stones, smoothly joined, and with our - simple tools it was something of an undertaking to loosen and remove - one of these large blocks. But at last we did raise it and found, - beneath, a square cavity about four feet wide. At first the depth - could not be determined, because the cavity was completely filled - with crisscrossed roots. None was thicker than a pencil and most were - thread-like, but all were so intertwined that they virtually formed a - solid mass. My helpers looked doubtfully at this yellow, spongy mass of - unknown depth. ‘Who knows what strange underground poisonous creatures - may be hidden in this sickly mass of yellow and brown?’ they asked.</p> - - <p>“A stout pole was laid across the cavity and a rope tied to it so - that it dangled down into the hole. Finally two of my bravest workers - were persuaded to descend the rope, each clinging to it and wielding - a dexterous machete with his free hand, hacking away at the spongy - mesh of roots. Hardly had they warmed to the work when one of them, in - heaving up a root mass, found himself covered with large red scorpions. - Angry at being so rudely ejected from their habitation, they crawled - over him with upraised, menacing tails, and several did sting him. - Both men came popping out of the hole in record time and I at once - administered antidotes, from my medicine case, to the man who had been - stung and <span class="pagenum" id="Page_241">241</span>sent him back to the plantation house for the remainder of - the day. Another man took his place and the work proceeded, but more - cautiously.</p> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i_240"> - <img src="images/i_240.jpg" width="481" height="600" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">A sculpture in bas-relief showing a warrior-priest in - ceremonial attire, representing the Maya hero-god Kukul Can, the plumed serpent.</div> - </div> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i_241"> - <img src="images/i_241.jpg" width="600" height="439" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">A religious ceremony depicted in the Temple of - Bas-Reliefs. This is but a small section from the interior walls, which - contain more than eighty figures.</div> - </div> - - <p>“We had just about finished getting out the root masses when there came - from the cavity two terrified yells and two even more terrified men. - When they had quieted down enough to talk intelligently they said that - after cutting away a root mass, the last one on the bottom, and tying - it to the rope so that those above might raise it, they had perched on - a projecting ledge and lighted cigarettes, waiting for the rope to be - lowered again. As it came down between them and rested on what they - supposed was the bottom of the pit below them, they saw the bottom - heave into a writhing mass and out of it rose the head of a big snake - with shining eyes and jaws that yawned at them wickedly. As one man - they climbed the rope and scrambled into the open. I think they would - have rolled down the side of the mound and kept rolling right up to - the plantation house if I had not grabbed and held them. Eventually - their fright subsided and was replaced by curiosity and they stayed on - willingly enough.</p> - - <p>“Nobody seemed particularly anxious to go down into the pit, so I - thought it might be just as well to make some long-range observations - before starting any hand-to-hand encounter with whatever was down - there. A reflecting mirror threw a shaft of clear, strong sunlight into - the well or shaft and my field binoculars, adjusted to a short-distance - focus, revealed to me the coiled body of an amazingly large snake. As - the shaft of light played about, the big fellow raised his head, waved - it uncertainly, and then dropped it again. To judge from<span class="pagenum" id="Page_242">242</span> the size - of the head and the shape of the body, the snake evidently was not a - crotalid, or rattler, but rather some species of boa. Boas are not very - difficult to handle, especially if you would just as soon have your boa - dead. This particular representative of the boa family was, apparently, - sleeping off a hearty meal and was still rather torpid, and it was no - trick at all to kill him.</p> - - <p>“When brought to the surface, the deceased proved to be a <i lang="myn">chaib</i>, a - kind of boa noted for its beautiful skin, handsomely marked with large - mottles—greenish yellow and chocolate brown. Our victim was fourteen - feet long and had a maximum diameter of eight inches. From his skin, - native tanners made me a money-belt and a very comfortable pair of - slippers. The <i lang="myn">chaib</i> is not poisonous and I have never heard of a case - where a human being has been attacked by one as South American and - African boas are said to attack. Nevertheless this snake bears an evil - reputation among the Mayas, who believe that a nursing mother crossing - its path becomes powerless in its coils and that the reptile sucks the - milk from her breasts, though it does not otherwise harm her.</p> - - <p>“After disposing of the snake we resumed operations in the shaft. We - discovered that some emanation of a gaseous nature or perhaps a fine - dust from the roots produced a violent headache, much like that caused - by the fumes of dynamite. I remembered that quarrymen find relief from - dynamite-fume headaches by drinking strong, hot coffee, and similarly - we found this beverage an effective remedy for our headaches.</p> - - <p>“Cleared of invading roots, the cavity was now really<span class="pagenum" id="Page_243">243</span> a cavity. - Descending hand over hand by the rope a full twelve feet from the - level floor of the temple, I found myself standing on what seemed to - be an accumulation of little stones and plaster, intermixed with small - bones which I took to be those of animals that had been the prey of - the <i lang="myn">chaib</i>. There was a good deal of parchment-like material lying - about, which I thought at first was cast-off skin of the big boa, but - which was actually an epidermal root-covering sifted down from above. - Standing at the bottom of the square shaft and looking up at the - vertical walls, I saw that each wall-surface was built up of a myriad - of small cut blocks of tan-colored limestone, so smoothly polished as - to suggest marble. It was unlike any ancient wall-surface I had ever - seen. The stones were not inserted in mortar like Florentine wall - mosaics; neither were they built up into high relief, like the famous - walls of tombs and chambers at Mitla. Rather, each tier of small stones - was cut to a bevel, with the upper or horizontal surface projecting - some two inches beyond the face of the tier above.</p> - - <p>“As nearly as I can describe it, the effect was like the siding, - or clapboards, on a house, supposing that the siding were put on - upside down, thick side uppermost. The stones were cut with exceeding - niceness, and each wall section, though simple, combined with the - others to form a most artistic whole. At the four corners, where the - lateral bands would have met, they were intercepted by vertical stone - bands about four inches wide, running from bottom to top of the shaft.</p> - - <p>“At the time I could spare only a passing interest in these walls, - for in the debris beneath my feet were fragments of pottery and - a projecting human jaw-bone. We<span class="pagenum" id="Page_244">244</span> painstakingly removed the stone - fragments and mortar-dust. Working with trowel, spatula, and - whisk-broom, I found that the chamber contained the disordered remains - of two graves.</p> - - <p>“Evidently one grave had originally been superimposed on the other, - and the contents of the two had been thrown together by the force of - falling debris from above. The two graves, I think, were once square - and separated by stone slabs. Here I found fragments of pottery and - splintered human bones, brittle with age and gnawed by rodents. - Reconstructing the scene from the fragments, I surmise that each grave - contained, besides its human remains, a small, shallow tripod vessel, - the outer surface of which was burnished with red pigment, and a deeper - gourd-like vessel. I believe that the shallow dish contained food and - that the deeper one was filled with drink of some sort—very likely - <i lang="myn">sacca</i> or <i lang="myn">bal-che</i>, both of which the ancient Mayas believed were - acceptable to the soul of the departed and to the gods.</p> - - <p>“The skeletons were so broken and disturbed that beyond the fact that - they were two in number and that the bones were so old they were - fragile as pipe-stems, nothing else was casually to be noticed. The - finding of skeletal remains and of funerary urns made it clear beyond - dispute that this building was a mausoleum, a tomb of kings or of - priests.</p> - - <p>“I carefully collected all of this fragmentary material and sent it - aloft to be preserved for future study. Then I made measurements of the - chamber and jotted them down in my note-book. This being done, I turned - my attention to the stone floor of the tomb. My steel stethoscope - indicated that below there was a still deeper<span class="pagenum" id="Page_245">245</span> cavity. With much - careful effort we pried up the stone floor-slabs, disclosing another - grave. Apparently this burial-vault had suffered but slightly from - the concussions and disturbances which had all but destroyed the two - upper graves. The walls and bottom were lined with thin slabs of stone - covered with mortar. Much of the mortar had flecked off and lay spread - out unevenly over the various objects in the grave, but no serious - harm had been done either to the skeletal remains or to the funerary - vessels. The bones, however, had been gnawed and dragged out of place - by rodents.</p> - - <p>“A shallow earthen vessel was found in the grave, of the customary - small tripod type, painted red, with a blue line around the rim. A - bowl-shaped vessel, gray-colored and smooth, was placed at the right - of the skeleton, and both vessels were half filled with sifted mortar. - Even though the bones were somewhat disarranged, it was plain that the - human remains had been buried with the knees drawn up to the chin, and - the arms placed over them, with hands clasped. I found the hunched-up - remains reclining upon their right side. Whether the body had been so - buried or had been buried in a sitting position and had later toppled - over, is a matter for conjecture. If this grave or the others had ever - held anything of perishable nature it had completely disappeared.</p> - - <p>“When the vault had been cleared, I resorted once more to my crude - stethoscope, which left no doubt of a still further cavity. Raising the - floor-slabs, we discovered a grave similar to grave Number Three, but - the contents were interesting variations. The usual tripod vessel was - there and also the bowl-shaped container, but the bottom inner surface - of the tripodal receptacle was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_246">246</span> cross-hatched with deep-cut lines, - and beside it was a large tripod vessel containing a caking of hard - material that proved to be copal incense of finest quality. It was so - altered by time that it was crystallized, almost fossilized, but when a - small portion was burned it gave off the familiar copal fragrance.</p> - - <p>“In one corner of the vault, almost hidden under mortar-dust, was a - little heap of verdigris. This proved to be a number of copper bells, - like our sleigh-bells in shape but very much smaller, like the bells - brought up from the Sacred Well. The outer bells in the heap were so - oxidized that they simply flaked away when we tried to clean them, - but the inner ones retained their shape and finish even after they - were washed and cleaned. Copper bells played an important part in the - rituals and in the economic life of the ancient Mayas and of their - successors, even down to almost modern times. That old and faithful - chronicler Padre Cogolludo says of the olden people: ‘The monies they - used were copper bells and valuable according to their size.’ But the - probable reason for the presence of bells in this tomb is the fact that - in still older history bells were a part of the regalia of Ah Puch, - the God of Death, and were attached as anklets to his person. He is so - shown in the many hieroglyphs of him.</p> - - <p>“The skeletal remains in this grave seemed to point to a re-burial. - Either the bones were taken from another tomb and re-interred here or - else they were cleared of their integuments and flesh prior to burial. - I say this because they were found in a queer bundle-like heap, with no - reference to their relative anatomical positions.</p> - - <p>“In all of these graves were found traces of wood-ashes, <span class="pagenum" id="Page_247">247</span>but no signs - of burned or calcined bones to bear out any theory of cremation.</p> - - <p>“Once again the steel stethoscope was put to use and again it told us - that we had not struck bottom. The floor of the fourth opened up into a - fifth grave, deeper than any of the preceding ones and more free from - accumulations. It contained pottery and a mingled heap of bones, as - the grave above had done. But in one corner, just where we had found - copper bells in the grave above, we discovered what looked like a dusty - pile of glass, which proved to be a handful of beautifully polished and - glistening rock-crystal beads some of which were handsomely fluted. - This find was the first recorded one of rock-crystal beads or pendants - in Yucatan. And amid the dust and debris on the floor we recovered a - dozen or more perfectly cut and artfully shaped jade beads of small - size. They were found either just above the surface or buried in a - fine ash deposit which may have destroyed somewhat their original - luster. Even so, they are valuable specimens, especially because of the - surroundings.</p> - - <p>“The floor of this fifth and last of the several graves was on a - level with the base of the pyramid, and I concluded, therefore, that - it rested upon ledge-rock formation and that we had now reached the - end of our search. In fact, I had noted an upward tilt in the ledge - rock and had wondered why we had not already encountered it in the - shaft. The ancient builders very wisely took advantage of these rises - and outcroppings of ledge rock, in placing their buildings, so as to - save filling-material and the labor otherwise required to give the - structures a solid foundation.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_248">248</span></p> - - <p>“Judge of my surprise, despite my silent prediction, when the - tuning-fork device again signaled, ‘Good-sized cavity below’! It took - more than a casual glance to find the seams in the floor of the crypt, - so closely were the stones fitted, and we had considerable difficulty - in dislodging and raising them. Instead of a sixth and similar tomb we - encountered a flight of steps hewn out of the living rock.</p> - - <p>“We had spent many days of constant back-breaking labor in the - excavation of the five graves, the noting of data, the preparation of - the specimens, and the packing of them in cases. Incidentally, the - deeper we went, the greater was our danger of cracked skulls from - falling stones and we had all taken to wearing stiff, high-crowned, - wide-brimmed Mexican sombreros. The high crowns we stuffed with - <i lang="myn">pochote</i> (tree-cotton). We covered our shoulders with thick pads of - gunny-sack, worn like a cape. When not working we threw the flaps back - over our shoulders. Occasionally a stone did fall, striking harmlessly - upon our improvised helmets and padded shoulders. If, however, it - chanced to hit a naked leg there was a howl of mingled pain and rage, - followed by words of unmingled Maya expletive. Such accidents happened - but rarely and the whole undertaking went through without a single - serious mishap.</p> - - <p>“Each day, as the work progressed and we went farther and farther down, - the light from above became more and more feeble, except when the sun - was at the zenith, and much of our work had to be done by candlelight. - When we came to the flight of steps we found it so choked with ashes, - lime-dust, small bits of stone, potsherds, and charcoal, each in - quantity in the order<span class="pagenum" id="Page_249">249</span> indicated, that at first we could obtain no - idea of the dimensions of the chamber below. From the contour of the - roof-stones I judged it was not large, but it was so filled with debris - that I had to enter it feet foremost and lie upon my side to fill the - wicker baskets with material and pass them back to one of my helpers, - who in turn passed them on. Thus from one to another they passed, - until they could be hoisted up to daylight, where trusted hands and - experienced eyes separated the dross and placed the remainder in field - safety-boxes for my later inspection.</p> - - <p>“In this manner, an endless chain of filled baskets went up and empty - ones came down to one man in the mysterious vault, lying on his back, - half naked, dripping with sweat, and plastered with grime, but now and - then smiling seraphically as he caught the gleam of a shining jade - jewel or a finely worked bit of flint. He could not see clearly for - more than an instant at a time, for when he was not blinded by sweat - the alkaline ash-dust smote his eyes, and the two at times combined to - make him fairly writhe. And he would not have changed places with a - king, for every once in a while he came upon something more precious to - him than kingly possessions.</p> - - <p>“At first this work progressed very slowly for, perforce, I was the - only worker in the heaped-up chamber, my head and shoulders in the - flickering light of wild wax-candles while the rest of my body was - buried in the darkness of unknown centuries, my high-booted feet - crowding against who knows what noxious cave creatures.</p> - - <p>“The mass of material, though hard-packed by time, was mostly - wood-ashes; and once these were loosened, a heavy booted foot or even a - sandaled one might injure<span class="pagenum" id="Page_250">250</span> some priceless museum specimen. And so for - a while I preferred to work alone in the confined space. At last I had - cleared away the accumulation above the second step of the stairway, - and I worked a clear space about the third step, using only my bare - hands, a sculptor’s spatula, and a whisk-broom. Even the trowel was - tabooed. Finally a sufficient space was cleared for my two most trusted - aides, Manuel and Pedro, to work beside me and then the work progressed - more rapidly.</p> - - <p>“For several days things went along in this manner, with our interest - and curiosity mounting hourly, so that all who worked with me, down to - the last peon, grew feverishly excited and food and drink became mere - irritating interruptions. And each day added to our hoard of potsherds, - human bones, and shining jade.</p> - - <p>“To this day I cannot think of that strange chamber without wonder. - Neither can I account for the presence of the material which so nearly - filled it. That it was a depository for the contents of previous - burial-places, is, I think, a fact beyond a doubt. Ashes, half-burned - fragments, even pieces of smooth wall-finish foreign to this particular - chamber, potsherds and jade ornaments—all lead to this conclusion. At - first I thought that the place had been a crematory, but I was soon - convinced that this could not have been so.</p> - - <p>“As the work went forward the outline of the chamber became well - defined. The opening was relatively high and wide and I could stand - there almost erect. The passage, however, narrowed quickly like a - funnel, ending in a dead wall. The week was drawing to a close and with - it, so it appeared, our task. The work within that deep-down, badly - ventilated shaft was not too pleasant.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_251">251</span> The air was close; the place - was frightfully hot, and the big wax candles, dim and smoky, did not - tend to make the place more comfortable.</p> - - <p>“We three—Manuel, Pedro, and I—were stripped to the waist and looked - more like chimney-sweeps than delvers after scientific lore. The work - seemed so nearly at an end that we kept doggedly on, the boys digging - and sifting while I stopped frequently to make notes. Late in the day, - all seemed finished except for a few isolated ash-heaps and a big flat - stone that leaned again the very end of the wall.</p> - - <p>“Heaving a sigh of relief and wiping away the layer of grime and sweat - from my eyes, I said, ‘Well, boys, there’s nothing left but to haul - away that big flat stone and sweep up the ashes behind it on the chance - that there are some beads or small objects in the mess; then we’ll take - a few measurements and call the job finished.’ I grasped the stone - slab with both hands and pulled it toward me. It yielded so suddenly - that I fell back with it; and my companions likewise fell back, for, - instead of uncovering a pile of ashes, it disclosed a big, circular, - pitch-black hole and from that unsuspected, terrible hole came a long, - soughing rush of cold, damp wind. Our candles went out at once, leaving - us in inky blackness. The cold wind chilled our overheated bodies. - I was left with an insecure foothold too near the opening to dare a - movement in the dark. The two natives were simply glued to their places - in sheer terror.</p> - - <p>“Finally Pedro spoke. ‘It is the mouth of hell,’ he said, and I heard - his teeth chatter as he said it. Even then, with my feet so placed on - the sloping wall-space and my body so inclined on the sloping floor - that it seemed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_252">252</span> as if an incautious move might slide me smoothly into - that black hole and through it into Eternity, I felt a pleased interest - in Pedro’s statement, for to the ancient Mayas, hell, called by them - Metnal, was not a burning pit of fire and brimstone but a dank, cold - place where lost souls, benumbed with chill, struggled forever in - thick, dark mud. The words of Pedro, coming so spontaneously from the - heart and coinciding so nearly with the ancient belief, the belief of - his ancestors, caused me to wonder.</p> - - <p>“For the moment, however, it suited my purpose to have the more - Christian idea prevail and I did some rapid missionary work, saying - reprovingly in the native tongue, ‘<i lang="myn">Ehen</i>, Pedro! What did Padre Ortiz - say about the hot flames of an ever-burning hell? It is a cold wind and - not a hot flame that comes from this hole.’ My logic evidently appealed - to them and freed them of a superstitious fear and they became once - more calm and resourceful.</p> - - <p>“Working slowly and carefully in the utter darkness, we managed to - block up the hole with our wide-brimmed hats and we held them in place - by toppling the big flat stone against them. I was then able to get to - my feet and relight our candles. By long experience in subterranean - work, cave explorations, and descents into ancient cisterns, I have - learned to take certain basic precautions. As one of these, I wear - about my neck, hanging from a stout cord of deerskin, an air-tight - metal case within which are a glass vial of proof alcohol and some - wax matches. By this means I am freed of the vexation of damp matches - and a futile blue line of phosphorescence when a light is quickly and - urgently needed. I also carry<span class="pagenum" id="Page_253">253</span> invariably in such work a small Davy - lamp and a hundred-foot steel tape.</p> - - <p>“The lamp is a safeguard against possible gas explosions. Lighting - it, I once more uncovered the hole, and once more the rush of cold - air began. I waited until the air-currents had balanced themselves - as nearly as they were likely to do and then proceeded to a further - examination of the hole. The orifice was about thirty inches in - diameter and after piercing the rock for about two feet it opened into - a cavity of unknown size and depth. I could, of course, have dropped a - stone into the cavity and timed its fall, gaining at least some idea - of the depth. But I wanted to take no chance of breaking anything - of antiquarian interest which might be there. Instead, I fastened - the lantern to the end of the steel tape and slowly lowered it into - the hole, but the thickness of the two-foot wall between me and the - perpendicular descent prevented me from seeing what was discovered by - the lantern as it went down. So I had the two boys hold tight to my - legs while I squirmed through the orifice until, head down, I could - sway freely above the pit. The convulsive hold on my legs assured me - that I should not drop down the hole suddenly if the boys could prevent - it, so I turned my entire attention to the void beneath me.</p> - - <p>“By feeling the tape nicks as the lantern rested on the bottom of - the pit I found the depth was almost exactly fifty feet. By swinging - my body and the tape with the lantern at the end like a pendulum I - ascertained that the cavity was bottle-shaped and about twenty feet - wide at the bottom. I also ascertained that it was quite dry, the air - pure in it and the ventilation perfect. This seemed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_254">254</span> to be all of the - data necessary for the moment, so I had the boys pull me back to terra - firma and then cautioned them to say nothing whatever about our latest - discovery. And so we returned to the upper air and the scent of orchids - and to a hearty supper.</p> - - <p>“That night, when I knew the men were resting and chatting before - taking to their guitars and their hammocks, I sent for Manuel—wise, - level-headed, dependable, my trusted companion through long years of - this sort of work. I said to him, ‘Manuel, to-morrow is going to be a - very interesting day even for old-timers like you and me and we shall - not often see and handle that which I hope we shall discover to-morrow. - Now, I want you to see Juan Cancio, Mathildé Uh, and José Uh. I will - see Pedro and his brother. Tell Juan, Mathildé, and José to meet us - here at five o’clock in the morning with their machetes, with their - water-gourds filled and with dinner in the <i lang="myn">sabucan</i>. And, Manuel, tell - each of them that a shut mouth catches no flies. We may find something - and we may find nothing but piled earth, and if the latter we do not - want the other men laughing at us behind our backs.’</p> - - <p>“Early the next morning we hastened toward the mound and with us went - stout ropes, block and tackle, shovels, and all the necessary tools - for six men. We slid down the rope into the shaft and then made our - way down the stairway into the funnel-shaped chamber. Here we fixed - a strong post and attached to it a double block and tackle, with the - several necessary ropes, so that all of us could safely descend and - ascend the fifty-foot bottle beyond the small, dark orifice. With a - lighted miner’s lamp on my head and my Davy lamp preceding<span class="pagenum" id="Page_255">255</span> me by ten - feet, I placed my foot in a noose in one of the ropes, swung myself - through the orifice, and hung over the pit. Between my teeth was my - sharp hunting knife which I always carry in this fashion in entering a - subterranean reservoir.</p> - - <p>“My plans were well made and it was my intention to be lowered slowly - that I might study these grim walls as I descended. I had gone down - less than half the distance when I began to turn and whirl in the air - like a dancing dervish, with the difference that the dervish whirls on - solid ground, to the prayerful cries of his brethren, and he can stop - when he wishes, while I whirled in mid-air in darkness and silence, - like some dead celestial sphere and as powerless to stop. In our haste - we had forgotten to take the kinks out of the new ropes we were using - and my rope was avenging itself by beginning to unkink as my weight was - felt on its twisted strands. For a few seconds I could do nothing but - hang on dizzily. Meanwhile the rapidly twisting rope had caught and - jammed in the block, serving as a brake and had entirely checked my - downward progress.</p> - - <p>“Suddenly a coil of rope from above fell loosely on my shoulders and - aroused me to my danger. The men above, not knowing what was going - on below in the darkness, were steadily paying out the rope and if - the choked block became suddenly free, there was nothing to prevent - my falling headlong through that terrible blackness to whatever was - below. Hurriedly looping the rope as best I could, to insure my present - safety, I yelled to the men above, and a voice came down to me, - sounding thick and flat in that black space.</p> - - <p>“‘What is it, Master?’ the voice said.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_256">256</span></p> - - <p>“‘Listen,’ I replied, as steadily as I could. ‘Do exactly as I tell - you, for my life is at stake!’</p> - - <p>“‘We will do it, Master,’ answered the voice.</p> - - <p>“‘Haul up the slack of the rope until I tell you to stop.’</p> - - <p>“‘I hear you, Master,’ and the snake-like coils began to recede, to - grow small, and finally to disappear. The slack had been taken up. - ‘What now, Master?’ came the voice and I knew from the tension in it - that the sight of the slack rope had told its own story.</p> - - <p>“‘Send me down Manuel and José.’ (They were the lightest and most agile - of the men.) I had no more than spoken before they came sliding down - the other ropes and shortly I was descending as slowly and carefully as - I had planned to do, until the pilot light of the lamp touched ground - beneath me, standing as firmly erect as though placed by unseen hands. - I glanced at the two men beside me on the ropes and we all nodded our - heads approvingly.</p> - - <p>“Below, clearly seen in the light of the lamp, was a pure-white vessel - which had fallen apart, and from it streamed gleaming, shining objects. - We landed as carefully as though stepping on a mound of eggs. Before - taking our feet from the nooses we called to the men above to make - the ropes fast and to be ready for our signals. Leaving the lantern - standing as it was and no longer troubled by air-currents, we lit - our candles. Directly in the center of the pit was a large mound and - crowning it was the white vase, made of translucent material like - alabaster, carved from a solid block and engraved with a leaf design - in highly conventionalized meanders, combined with geometrical designs - around the rim and sides. It was broken into several pieces, but<span class="pagenum" id="Page_257">257</span> these - were large and the whole was quickly and easily fitted together into - the original shape.</p> - - <p>“The vase, which had a capacity of about a quart, contained a quantity - of exquisite jade beads and pendants, a large plaque with surfaces - richly carved and representing conventionalized human figures with - religious regalia, a polished jade globe over an inch in diameter - and shining clear in spite of the ages of dust, oblong pendants, and - thin, minutely carved ear-ornaments. This was but a tenth of what the - vessel had once held. The rest we found later in the heaped-up material - beneath it.</p> - - <p>“At a signal anxiously expected, the other men came swirling down - the ropes like firemen sliding down a brass pole to answer an alarm. - Then we all went to work. Each of the men had had long experience in - similar labors under my supervision. Occasionally was heard a swift - intake of breath and a man would hold up some interesting find and then - settle back to his task. While they worked I made notes, numbered the - specimens, and helped to pack them in the safety-boxes. Thus the work - went on. Occasionally we had to stop to kill a <i lang="myn">tzeentum</i>, a big, flat, - crab-like spider. <i lang="myn">Tzeentum</i> spiders can give an ugly sting producing - a fever hard to subdue, and at times they seem to swarm out of hidden - crevices. By reason of their flat bodies and quick movements, killing - them is not always easy.</p> - - <p>“We found temple vases, incense-burners, tripod vessels, cylindrical - urns, some of which are perfect, others marred, and many broken. We - obtained fragments of large, hard-baked earthen vessels of complicated - design. Unbroken, these must have been at least thirty-six inches - high. We secured, also, chipped flints of fine workmanship <span class="pagenum" id="Page_258">258</span>and of - unknown use. All these and many other finds came to us from this mound, - and after it had been gone over carefully by hand and had then been - screened we decided we had left nothing of value and as with one mind - we began to think of supper. Pedro swarmed up one of the ropes hand - over hand, followed by his brother, and they hoisted the specimen cases - and tools. The rest of the workers followed one by one. I was the last - to leave the mysterious burial-chamber, which seemed to name itself by - occult suggestion ‘The Sepulcher of the High Priest.’ And as I left - its dark depths behind me, the mysterious atmosphere, which no one, - probably, will ever be able to dissipate, seemed to cling to me.</p> - - <p>“When we arrived at the top of the square-walled shaft it was eleven - o’clock at night and all the people of the plantation were there, - anxiously awaiting us. The families of the men who accompanied me were - in a hysterical state. Ropes had been brought and an attempt was about - to be made at our rescue. With our specimen cases held aloft and in the - midst of a rejoicing crowd we returned to the plantation house and soon - the noise died away and we all slept.</p> - - <p>“I am asked why I call this shrine upon the mound with the crypt - beneath it the Temple of the High Priest. That is a fair question.</p> - - <p>“I believe there comes to most sentient beings, after protracted - periods of intense observation and deep interest in a given subject, a - certain mental domination over the subject beyond a mere recognition - of the facts which have been encountered. One becomes possessed of a - clarity of vision not psychic but reaching farther than cold logic. - Call it intuition or what not; it so frequently<span class="pagenum" id="Page_259">259</span> arrives at the right - answer, spanning the gap that cannot be spanned by the chain of facts, - that I have great respect for it when it is honest, genuine, and - strongly felt.</p> - - <p>“As I left behind me the black depths of the pit, its haunting mystery - seemed to permeate me. I had had the same strange feeling come over - me before, in research work among the burial-places of Labna and also - during and after my discovery of the ruined city of Xkickmook. Never - had it been so potent, so definite as when I ascended this wonderful - old burial-shaft and came into the moonlight of the living world.</p> - - <p>“The feeling, impressive beyond words, was undoubtedly intensified by - the vision of the treasures I had so recently seen and handled: the - beautiful alabaster-like vase above all comparison with anything of its - kind hitherto found in the whole Maya area; the remarkable terra-cotta - votive urns nearly three feet high, each bearing the mask of a god - surrounded with sacred ornaments; the elaborate incense-burners and - other extraordinary pottery; the big, polished, globular beads of - jade; the carved jade plaque; the labrets, ear- and nose-ornaments; - the tubular rosettes; the thin disks of polished jade; the wonderfully - worked, flawless ornaments of flint, shaped like the parts of the - crozier of a bishop.</p> - - <p>“And linked with these in my mind’s eye were the deeply paneled - surfaces of walls and columns, everywhere in the Sacred City, depicting - god-like personages with all the regalia of exalted priesthood: - neck-chains of big globular beads, breast-plaques of finely carved - design, ear- and nose-ornaments, and, grasped in the hand of these - dignitaries, a staff crowned with an object resembling the crozier of a - bishop.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_260">260</span></p> - - <p>“To me these pictures and the finds we had just made dovetailed - perfectly. Beyond dispute, too, is that fact that many ancient races - placed at the side of the departed those things which were most used - in life and which they would, presumably, want first in the hereafter. - The old Phœnicians, the Egyptians, the Scythians, the Norsemen, the - Eskimos, the redskins of the North and West, the Pueblos and the - Nahuatls, and the Incas and pre-Incas—all followed this custom. And I - know at first hand that the Mayas were no exception, for I have found - well-defined graves, never previously disturbed—graves containing - child skeletons with toys beside them; graves of women in which were - bone needles and spinning-whorls of terra-cotta or worked stone; graves - where beside the thick bones of once-powerful men were found flint - lance-heads and heads of darts for the <i lang="myn">hul-che</i> and knife-points of - obsidian.</p> - - <p>“Beyond question I had uncovered the last resting-place of a priest - obviously of very high rank. Reason and logic and facts carry us thus - far. But those five hidden graves, each guarding the one below and - blocking the way to the deep secret passage and the pit at its end - wherein lay the sacred relics of the arch-priest—how may these be - explained? It is here that the mysterious assurance came to me—the - sure intuition, if you will—that this was not merely the tomb of a - great priest but the tomb of <em>the</em> great priest, the tomb of the great - leader, the tomb of the hero-god, Kukul Can, he whose symbol was the - Feathered Serpent. Evidence is lacking, I can offer no scientific - proof, and yet I am certain that ultimately further discoveries in the - Sacred City will bear out my intuitive belief.”</p> - - <hr class="page" /> - <div class="chapter" id="CHAPTER_XVI"> - <span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_261"></a>261</span> - <h2>CHAPTER XVI<br /> - <span class="small">THE LEGEND OF THE SACRIFICIAL PILGRIMAGE</span></h2> - </div> - - <p class="drop-cap">WITHIN the province of Mani the water-holes, the <i lang="myn">satenejas</i>, were dry. - For many weeks no rain had fallen and the growing corn had withered and - died. The people were perishing of hunger and thirst and Ah Pula Xia, - overlord of the province, saw that something must be done and swiftly - or the tribe of Mani would be no more.</p> - - <p>And so he caused the great summons to be sounded, the command to every - man, women, and child in the whole province to appear before him—the - command that had not been heard for twenty years. The <i lang="myn">uliche</i>, - drumsticks with heads of rubber, striking upon the <i lang="myn">tunkul</i>, caused - the earth to tremble with the loud booming of the summons, while - swift-footed <i lang="myn">holpopes</i>, or runners, carried the message to the most - distant parts of the nation.</p> - - <p>At the appointed time Ah Pula ascended to his kingly seat under the - spreading shade of the great <i lang="myn">yax-che</i>, the sacred tree of the Mayas, - and grouped around him were his councilors and chiefs; the <i lang="myn">ah-kin</i>, - the high priest, the <i lang="myn">kulel</i>, the aged prime minister, the <i lang="myn">nacon</i>, - chief of the warriors. Behind each of their leaders were grouped the - officers of lesser grades, each clad in his richest vestments and - holding the badge of his office. And flanking these nobles were the - <i lang="myn">tupiles</i>, or guardians of the law,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_262">262</span> in long lines; and each bore the - white wand, insignia of their authority. Beyond, as far as the eye - could see, clear to the horizon where the level plain met the forest, - were massed the commoners, the whole nation of Mani.</p> - - <p>Slowly Ah Pula, the <i lang="myn">batab</i>, rose from his throne, and as he rose - the tall lances, the great battle-swords, and the <i lang="myn">hul-ches</i> clashed - together in one mighty salutation like the sound of giant trees - crashing to earth in a hurricane.</p> - - <p>The gaze of the <i lang="myn">batab</i> roved over the assembled multitude and with one - hand upraised he commanded silence.</p> - - <p>“O friends and councilors, sons and brothers! Those armed for war and - ever ready to defend the province! Priests of the Sun, who bring to - us the words of our gods and transmit to them our prayers! Listen to - my words and listen closely, that your answering thoughts may be well - chosen and weighty, light-bringing and life-giving. Thus and thus only - may we survive the calamity that threatens.</p> - - <p>“Five times have the seasons come and gone. Five times have we planted - our fields of corn since the strange white men came to our land. We - did not invite them nor seek them. They sought us, these strange white - men coming in strange craft from a far land. They came and we did not - welcome them as did the Cheles and the Peches, nor did we meet them as - enemies when the Cupules, the Cochuahes, and the Cocomes fought against - them. Three times while they were here we planted and gathered abundant - harvests. Three times have we planted our fields since their departure. - Twice we have failed to gather enough even for seed for the following - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_263">263</span>season and the last planting, the third one, is now parched and dying.</p> - - <p>“How, then, shall we feed our people? How shall we fill the breasts of - the nursing mothers and warm the cooling blood of the aged and feeble? - In this time of need even the wisest and strongest require the wisdom - and counsel of their brothers.”</p> - - <p>Ah Pula Xia the king sat once more upon his throne, that ancient seat - of authority shaped in the form of a jaguar. Turning, he said to the - <i lang="myn">ah-kin</i>, the high priest, in measured words, “O Father of the Temple, - Brother of the Sun, tell us from the store of thy sacred knowledge and - from thy god-given wisdom, why have the gods been deaf to our prayers? - What have we done that they have forsaken us and left us to be scourged - so sorely?”</p> - - <p>The pontiff, tall, spare, and lined of feature, with eyes burning - bright in their deep sockets, rose from his seat and faced the king. - His words came forth so clear and simply that even the youngest and the - dullest of his hearers could not fail to hear and, hearing, understand:</p> - - <p>“O Batab, ruler! O Halach Uinic, father of thy people, hear what the - outraged gods say through my lips to thee and thy people:</p> - - <p>“‘Unknown beings from a strange land and worshiping pagan gods have - polluted this earth with their tread, have deafened our ears with their - foreign tongue and defiled our temples with prayers to other gods. - They have entered as guests into your towns and villages and you have - received them. They have lived in your homes and you have suffered it. - Your servants, at your command, have given them food and drink.</p> - - <p>“‘The gods of our fathers are slow to wrath. They<span class="pagenum" id="Page_264">264</span> waited in patience - your repentance, but you repented not. Then did the gods turn against - you their wrath. With quarrels and dissensions they divided the evil - white men. With pestilence and strange diseases they decimated them. - Smitten by enemies, harassed by insects, and poisoned by reptiles, - these white men faded in strength and numbers, until the few that still - lived returned to the unknown land whence they came.</p> - - <p>“‘All this was by the command of your gods, the gods that now you have - forgotten. But though the serpent passes, his trail still remains. - Because of these things that you have done the gods are punishing you. - They have forbidden the clouds to form and they have forbidden the - rain to fall. They have forbidden the grain to germinate and the roots - to sprout in forest or field. They have caused hosts of insects to - devastate your stores and eat up your substance. They have brought upon - you terrible diseases that your wise men and physicians cannot cure.’</p> - - <p>“You ask what can be done to appease the anger of the gods. Now, the - knowledge has come to me, through the ancient records and writings - handed down from high priest to high priest since time began, that once - before in the history of our people was the wrath of the gods, and - especially the wrath of Yum Chac, the Rain God, kindled against us when - we forgot his precepts and disobeyed his teachings.</p> - - <p>“In that olden time beautiful maidens were sent to him as messengers, - to plead for his forgiveness and to carry with them rich offerings of - viands, flowers, and precious jewels. Thus was his ire appeased and - fecundity restored to this unhappy land.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_265">265</span></p> - - <p>“My words are these: ‘Let us follow the ancient example. Let us go in - solemn procession with maidens as chaste and lovely as the opening - buds of the white pitahaya, to carry our plea to the god, and with our - prayers let us send food and drink in fine vessels, the ripest fruit, - the fattest grain, and our richest jewels. Thus may we hope to avert - the divine wrath and restore to life our starving nation.’”</p> - - <p>The <i lang="myn">kulel</i>, the prime minister, then stepped forward. His form was - bent, his hair gray, and his face seamed with lines of deep thought. - His voice, though low and calm, was heard distinctly amid the crowding - ranks of the common people.</p> - - <p>Said he, “O Batab, ruler of the people, we have listened to the words - of our pontiff and his words befit his high office. We listen to them - with the respect due him as high priest and as the mouthpiece of the - gods. To hear these words and the command they convey, is to obey - without question.</p> - - <p>“He who is ordered by those above to go upon a journey, surely goes - if he is faithful. But he who goes upon such a journey without - due preparation is not a good servant, for, by reason of his - unpreparedness, he may be delayed, led astray, or otherwise impeded in - carrying out the will of his master.</p> - - <p>“Therefore let us think what this act of expiation requires us to do, - and then consider how to do it with the least delay and without waste - of life and effort. What we seek to gain is evident, for we all feel - the pangs of hunger and have seen our nearest and dearest fade away - and die. We have seen the grain and the fruit wither. We have seen our - scant stores devoured by clouds of insects.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_266">266</span> We have seen our people - wander into the deep forest seeking food and they have never returned.</p> - - <p>“What we most desire is to appease the dread anger of our gods, that we - may have once again food and health and happiness.</p> - - <p>“We are all agreed that we must make sacrifice at the Sacred Well, - the Chen Ku of Chi-chen Itza. The question is, then, how shall we - reach the Sacred Well and how shall we make our sacrifice? The way is - long, full of thorns, and covered with sharp stones. The thorns are - the lance-points and the stones the pointed darts of the Cocomes, the - Cochuahes, and the Cupules, our ancient enemies, through whom we must - pass to reach the well. Either we must gain their permission to pass in - peace and friendship or we must push our way through them by force of - arms.</p> - - <p>“My voice is for peace with these our lifelong enemies. I have said.”</p> - - <p>Then came the <i lang="myn">nacon</i>, the chief of all the fighting men, powerful, - thick-set and sturdy. As he arose the warriors clashed their weapons in - a deafening roar and then all were silent, awaiting his words.</p> - - <p>“O Batab, ruler,” he said, “we have listened with reverence to the - words of our high priest, with awe and submission to the words of our - gods that came from his lips. We have heard with respect the measured, - temperate wisdom of our aged <i lang="myn">kulel</i>. He has said that we must not - delay our sacrifice and yet his voice is for peace.</p> - - <p>“I, too, say that we must not delay, but why need we who are among - the greatest and strongest in the land, ask of any one permission to - sacrifice and worship? Who gave the Cocomes the right to say who may - worship in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_267">267</span> the temples or make sacrifice at the Sacred Well? Is not - Chi-chen Itza the holy city of the gods, our gods as well as theirs?</p> - - <p>“Let us open wide the path to and from the Sacred City and keep it open - with the points of our spears, the keen edges of our swords, and the - swift terror of our <i lang="myn">hul-ches</i>. I have spoken.”</p> - - <p>The <i lang="myn">batab</i>, with the <i lang="myn">ah-kin</i>, the <i lang="myn">kulel</i>, and the <i lang="myn">nacon</i> turned - toward the assembled people and the <i lang="myn">batab</i> cried in tones that rolled - over the thickly packed mass and beyond into the trees of the forest:</p> - - <p>“What is your voice? What is the word of my people?”</p> - - <p>With a noise like thunder came the mighty chorus:</p> - - <p>“We want food! We are dying. We go into the forest to dig for roots to - fill our empty stomachs and we find none. The land is accursed and even - the birds no longer fly over it and the snakes even no longer burrow - within it.”</p> - - <p>The <i lang="myn">batab</i> pondered deeply and long, then raised his head and said:</p> - - <p>“This we will do: We will first ask of the Cocomes that they allow our - people to pass to make sacrifice at the Sacred Well. If they consent we - will make a great pilgrimage and a sacrifice that shall be remembered - through the ages to come, for it will be the seal of friendship and - of peace between old and bitter enemies. If they refuse us their - permission to pass freely and to make our sacrifice, we will then take - that right, as they of old took it, by force, and by force we will hold - it for all time.</p> - - <p>“Now, this very night we will send the message to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_268">268</span> the Cocomes, so that - we may know without delay what course to follow. Until then let each of - you in his own way so prepare that whatever comes we shall be ready.</p> - - <p>“At once, summon the swiftest runners to take the message to Nachi - Cocom, Batab of Zotuta, and through him to his allies, the Cupules and - the Cochuahes!”</p> - - <p>Nachi Cocom, Batab of Zotuta, King of the Cocomes and leader of allied - provinces, sat in his great council chamber. About him were his chiefs - and nobles and those of his allies, the Cupules and the Cochuahes. Upon - the high walls of the council chamber were war-banners and trophies of - many hard-won battles. On broad wooden platforms, one at each end of - the building, were heaped the captured weapons, war-masks, and armor of - those who had fought against the Cocomes or their allies and lost.</p> - - <p>Gathered around the entrance were keen-eyed warriors armed with - lances and swords and <i lang="myn">hul-ches</i>. Lounging but watchful, they first - gave the warning, high-pitched and long, that echoed through the city - and carried even to the houses nestled in the fringe of the forest: - “<i lang="myn">Hek-utal le macoboo!</i> Here come strangers!” Down the winding path - came the messengers from the Batab of Mani, carrying his word to Nachi - Cocom, Batab of Zotuta.</p> - - <p>The messengers were three brothers, picked men, <i lang="myn">holpopes</i> all three; - good men to look upon and worthy of their office. For Mayas they were - tall but well proportioned and lithe, as supple as young jaguars. - Wide of brow and clear-eyed they were. None could doubt their fitness - to be the messengers of the king. Striding up to where the Batab of - Zotuta and those of his council<span class="pagenum" id="Page_269">269</span> sat, each fearlessly and proudly made - his obeisance and gave his salute—the sign of a <i lang="myn">holpope</i> bringing a - message. To the chief <i lang="myn">holpope</i>, the eldest and tallest of the three - brothers, the <i lang="myn">batab</i> said, “Welcome, <i lang="myn">holpope</i>, and those with you. - Speak!”</p> - - <p>Said the chief <i lang="myn">holpope</i>:</p> - - <p>“To thee, O Batab of Zotuta, I bring a message from the Batab of Mani - and thus runs the message:</p> - - <p>“‘To the Batab of Zotuta and its provinces I, Batab of Mani and its - provinces, send greeting.</p> - - <p>“‘We are brothers, in that we were both born and are nourished from the - same earth-mother, this land of Mayab. Therefore I, Ah Pula Xia, Batab - of Mani, do now and by these my chosen messengers send to you, Nachi - Cocom, Batab of Zotuta, this brotherly greeting and with it a brother’s - request:</p> - - <p>“‘The gods have smitten us sorely for our sins, you and me and all our - people. I, Batab of Mani, with my people desire to make peace with our - god by a pilgrimage of atonement and solemn rites of sacrifice, that we - may once more receive the blessing of the Rain God, your god and ours.</p> - - <p>“‘We have had our brothers’ quarrels, but the quarrels of brothers can - be forgotten. We have had our hard-fought battles, but wars that have - been fought are things of the past, things to forget. To-day we are - scourged together, you and I and all our people. Let us, then, forget - the past with its bitter memories and come together like brothers, - forgiving and forgiven. Let us unite in a great and solemn pilgrimage - of atonement and sacrifice to the angered god, in his temple at the - Sacred Well of Chi-chen Itza. Thus will his wrath be appeased.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_270">270</span> The - rains will follow the clouds in the heavens and fecundity will come - once more to the earth, now sterile, baked, and dead.</p> - - <p>“‘For this we ask your word and your promise that my people may pass - undisturbed and unharmed to pray in the temples and to make sacrifice - to the Rain God in the Sacred Well at Chi-chen Itza. I and my people - await your answer.’”</p> - - <p>Nachi Cocom sat motionless in thought, neither asking nor receiving - counsel from those about him; and such was their fear and awe of this - indomitable and cruel ruler that none dared speak as he sat with crafty - eyes staring at the ground before him. At last he raised his head and - fixed the messengers with his inscrutable gaze and said:</p> - - <p>“Messengers from the Batab of Mani, listen closely and carefully that - your words to him be my words to you.</p> - - <p>“‘From the Batab of Zotuta to the Batab of Mani, greetings! You say - that we are brothers, in that this land of Mayab is our common mother. - You say that we are together and alike scourged by an outraged god. - These things are true. The land, our common mother, has felt the curse - of the white man’s tread. By this act was she violated and we, her - sons, permitted it—you by acquiescence, I by impotence.</p> - - <p>“‘But all this is past, you say, and we must now find means to avert - the disaster which threatens to overwhelm us both—a calamity that can - be avoided only by a pilgrimage and sacrifice to Noh-och Yum Chac at - the Sacred Well of Chi-chen Itza.</p> - - <p>“‘<i lang="myn">Be wale!</i>—so let it be!</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_271">271</span></p> - - <p>“‘You say that brothers quarrel and then forgive; that the war that is - ended may be forgotten.’</p> - - <p>“Now,” and here he bent forward and spoke in deep earnestness, while - about his thin lips wreathed a twisted smile that made those who knew - him well recoil in terror, “tell my brother, Ah Pula, Batab of Mani, to - send his pilgrims, the maiden messengers, the sacrificial offerings, - and the priests, when and how he wishes. When they come they will - find me and my people ready and waiting to give them warm welcome. No - spear shall be cast, no weapon raised against them. We will guard the - pilgrims and send them on their way to worship and to make sacrifice to - that god with whom they so urgently wish to make peace—to your god and - our god, for are we not the offspring of a common mother?</p> - - <p>“They will need to bring neither food nor arms, for I, Nachi Cocom, - and my people will provide these things. Thus can your people come on - more quickly to ask the forgiveness of the god for traitorous acts, - snake-like deceptions, and cowardly submission to strange white men.</p> - - <p>“I have spoken. Messengers of Mani, eat, drink, rest, and then - speed back the word of Nachi Cocom to—” and here again he smiled - sardonically—“to his brother Ah Pula Xia.”</p> - - <p>Thereupon the <i lang="myn">batab</i> rose and departed, and his councilors likewise - left the chamber.</p> - - <p>But the chief councilor spoke in a whisper to his brother, leader of - the warriors, and said:</p> - - <p>“No man may know but the <i lang="myn">batab</i> himself what thoughts are deep buried - in his mind, but I know and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_272">272</span> fear that thin-lipped smile, and as he - spoke to the messengers of Mani a strange feeling came over me like - <i lang="myn">ek muyal</i>, the black cloud. I had a fear of something, intangible but - terrible; something he is planning that will bring down upon us the - annihilating wrath of the gods.”</p> - - <p>“Brother,” his companion answered, “do not voice such thoughts nor even - think them. I have forgotten that you spoke. Remember that the will of - the <i lang="myn">batab</i> is supreme. We may not question it. I also felt your fear, - but say no more!”</p> - - <p>Swiftly, tirelessly the messengers of Mani sped on their homeward - journey; over sunlit plains, threaded by the smooth worn paths of the - jaguar and the wild boar; through cool forests whose shade beckoned - enticingly; past wells of crystal-clear water where thirst cried to be - quenched. But they stopped not at all until, as the sun sank slowly - down into the west, they passed between the great parched corn-fields - of Mani and at last reached the palace of the <i lang="myn">batab</i>.</p> - - <p>So quickly had the <i lang="myn">holpopes</i> returned that the <i lang="myn">batab</i> said of them, - “They are birds, not men.”</p> - - <p>And the <i lang="myn">nacon</i> answered: “If they are birds, then are they eagles, - for these three <i lang="myn">holpopes</i> in the battle with the Uitzes killed three - warriors and took three prisoners.”</p> - - <p>The <i lang="myn">batab</i> cast an approving glance at the deep-chested, thin-flanked - young <i lang="myn">holpopes</i> and said:</p> - - <p>“Let it be proclaimed from the temple that for their services in time - of peace and for their brave acts in battle these three brothers shall - henceforth be of the eagles and shall bear the regalia and wear the - mask of the eagle<span class="pagenum" id="Page_273">273</span> in the sacred rites.” And so it was from that time - on. The three brothers, known as the Three Eagles, wore the feathers - and mask of the eagle in the sacred festivals and until after the - coming of the later white men the figures of the Three Eagles were to - be seen carved upon the walls of a temple in Mani.</p> - - <p>Great was the enthusiasm and greater the joy at the message sent by the - Batab of Zotuta to the Batab of Mani and the tale of the warm welcome - given to the <i lang="myn">holpopes</i> and the warmer one promised to the pilgrims.</p> - - <p>Ah! could they but have seen the venomous look and the twisted smile - that was hidden behind the unctuous softness of those pleasant-sounding - words!</p> - - <p>In the province of the Cocomes great preparation was made for the - expected guests. At frequent intervals along their destined path - from one village to another were placed arches made of saplings tied - together and bent to the ground. Those at the entrance of each village - were adorned with fresh vines and bright flowers until the curve of - the arch was a solid mass of green leaves and fragrant blossoms. There - were scarlet clusters of <i lang="myn">cutz-pol</i>, or turkey-head, white <i lang="myn">sac-nute</i> - blooms, the frail blue jungle morning-glory, and the golden trumpets of - the <i lang="myn">xkan-tol</i> flower.</p> - - <p>As the pilgrims reached each new village the head men and the most - beautiful maids of the district came to meet and welcome them, the - head men with the symbols of their authority and the maidens with - gourds of cool <i lang="myn">sacca</i> to quench the thirst of the travelers. And with - songs of welcome they invited the tired but happy pilgrims to rest and - then to feast in the village. As they<span class="pagenum" id="Page_274">274</span> neared Zotuta, where dwelt the - <i lang="myn">batab</i>, he and his councilors came forth to welcome them. The whole - city, even to its most distant outskirts, was seething with the hum of - preparation. Wild turkeys, wild pigs, green corn, big tubers, white, - flaky, and succulent—all were being cooked underground with heated - stones and surrounded with fragrant herbs after the manner and custom - handed down from ancient times.</p> - - <p>On came the pilgrims, heralded by groups of children and women singing - and chanting words of welcome. At the feet of the pilgrims were strewn - clusters of flowers and along the way were bowls of incense, so that - the fragrant smoke pleased their nostrils. First came the priests and - the nobles. Then came the lovely maidens chosen to be the messengers - to the great god at the bottom of the Sacred Well, and these girl - brides of the god were carried upon litters richly adorned and smoothly - transported by trained bands of bearers. After them came the devotees, - their arms filled with rich offerings. And last came captive warriors, - men of fighting renown, esteemed for their valor to be worthy of - sacrifice to the Rain God.</p> - - <p>Thus with solemn joy and chanted welcome the pilgrims entered Zotuta, - not only as pilgrims on a sacred mission but as an embassy bearing - offerings of peace and good-will between brothers long estranged but - now reconciled and reunited by the god to whom they would soon offer - prayer and joint sacrifice at the Sacred Well.</p> - - <p>Soon came the feasting, the religious games, and at last the solemn - ritual of the Sacred Dance. The hours passed too pleasantly and sweetly - to be heeded, until drooping lids could no longer stay open and the - pilgrims<span class="pagenum" id="Page_275">275</span> were conducted to the group of houses that had been set aside - for their use.</p> - - <p>In the cool darkness that precedes the first gleam of dawn, that - time when the whole world sleeps, the Cocomes in the houses beyond - the palm-thatched dwellings where the pilgrims lay and the pilgrims - themselves—all were buried deep and sound in slumber. Then silent, - shadowy forms swiftly surrounded the quiet houses where the pilgrims - rested in fancied security.</p> - - <p>Red tongues of flame, smokeless because of the dry materials upon which - they fed, shot up from each house corner and like snakes crawled along - the thatched roofs. Before the sleepers could arouse to their danger - the big structures were roaring and crackling, each a huge funeral pyre.</p> - - <p>Shrill shrieks of women, hoarse cries of men, choking, gasping moans, - frenzied prayers, imprecations, and inarticulate sounds filled the - morning air and the barred doors and burning roof-poles were shaken - furiously.</p> - - <p>The voice of Nachi Cocom of the crafty eyes and the thin-lipped cruel - smile was heard above the crackling of the flames and the shrieks of - the dying pilgrims. His black eyes glittered venomously, like the eyes - of a deadly serpent when it strikes home its fangs, but his voice was - smooth and oily as he said:</p> - - <p>“<i lang="myn">Ehen!</i> pilgrims, brothers, brothers of a common mother! How fares - it? It would seem to me, standing here and looking on, that you have - changed your minds and that you are making sacrifice to Yum Kax, god - of fire, and not to Yum Chac, god of rain! But what does it matter, - brothers of a common mother? Both are gods and both are worshiped by - brothers that spring from a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_276">276</span> common mother. You are now saved the - trouble of visiting the Sacred Well.”</p> - - <p>As he said these words, as if by a common signal, the blazing roofs - sank slowly in, the cries of agony ceased, and shortly all was still.</p> - - <p>Once again the <i lang="myn">batab</i> spoke and the twisted smile was on his lips as - he said:</p> - - <p>“Rest now in peace, brothers. This is the warm welcome that I promised - you. Long years ago, I promised you such a welcome, but you had - forgotten. And Nachi Cocom never forgets.”</p> - - <p>The <i lang="myn">batab</i> turned and strode from the place, the baleful glitter still - in his eyes, but the populace—people of Zotuta and those from distant - villages, drawn by the pilgrimage and the feasting—fled from the - city, and many rushed into the jungles and were never seen again. Only - the soldiers of the <i lang="myn">batab</i>, with callous obedience to their orders, - remained to watch over the smoldering funeral pyres.</p> - - <p>It is said that the Rain God, incensed at this act, deserted the Sacred - Well with all his court and, leaving the land and the people to their - fate, made his home in a far distant and unknown region. The people, - abandoned by their god, ended by fighting with one another like rabid - animals. The shrine on the brink of the Sacred Well was no longer - carefully tended, and it fell gradually into ruins, piece by piece. - The beautiful carved cornices and roof-stones were wedged apart by - the growing roots of trees and toppled into the still, dark waters - below. When, in after years, the white men came again they found a few - miserable Mayas living in carelessly made huts under the shadow of - the great ruined city, and these<span class="pagenum" id="Page_277">277</span> natives shunned the Sacred Well and - believed it to be haunted.</p> - - <p>Thus passed the power and majesty of mighty chieftains and thus died - the Maya nations.</p> - - <hr class="page" /> - <div class="chapter" id="CHAPTER_XVII"> - <span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_278"></a>278</span> - <h2>CHAPTER XVII<br /> - <span class="small">THIRTY YEARS OF DIGGING</span></h2> - </div> - - <p class="drop-cap">RIGHT here in America, only a short journey from the United States and - closer to them than our Panama Canal, are the remains of at least sixty - ancient ruined cities—marvelous places about which we know almost - nothing, nor of the people who built them.</p> - - <p>We know infinitely more of the ancient Egyptians—of their buildings, - their customs, their beliefs, their history, and their writings. - Virtually every hieroglyphed surface left by them which has been - uncovered has been pored over by many archæologists and its meaning - deciphered beyond question.</p> - - <p>For a hundred years antiquarians from every civilized land have spent - their lives in studying the ancient empire of the Nile. Millions of - dollars have been expended in scientific, minutely careful exploration. - No slightest clue to further knowledge has been ignored, and tons of - books, written in every language, have been printed, so that the man on - the street anywhere may go to his nearest library and, if he will, read - all there is to know on the subject.</p> - - <p>And here at our very door, on our own continent, are the remains of - an early culture not one whit less interesting than the Valley of the - Kings. Possibly it is not so old, but on the other hand it is more - steeped in mystery because of our profound ignorance. We know next - to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_279">279</span> nothing about it: who were its builders; where they came from; - their history, creeds, or customs. We can read but a few scraps of - the writings of which they left such an abundance—enough, in all - probability, to fill in many of the empty spaces in our knowledge if - we but had the power to decipher them and extract their meaning. Even - our hard-won and sadly limited information concerning this culture has - never been given to the general public. To get it one must read Spanish - and French and German, as well as English, and the average public - library contains possibly three or four books on the subject.</p> - - <p>Until last year no well-planned, completely equipped exploration backed - by ample finances had ever been undertaken. Archæologists have delved - in many of the ancient Maya cities—puny expeditions pressed for time - and cash. The work backed by the Peabody Museum has been the most - consistent, but even that has suffered often from lack of finances, and - much of Don Eduardo’s work has been done at his own expense.</p> - - <p>Happily, I think the American public and American antiquarians are - waking up to the neglected opportunity. The expedition sent out by - the Carnegie Foundation is most promising. It has well-laid plans; - it is under the leadership of Sylvanus G. Morley, a thorough-going - archæologist and one of the foremost in knowledge of the ancient Maya - culture. He has made the study of the subject his life-work and has - achieved fame through his finds in the Maya area. He has uncovered - many important date-stones and is the most eminent authority in this - specialized activity.</p> - - <p>The new exploration is being carried on at Chi-chen<span class="pagenum" id="Page_280">280</span> Itza on a big - scale and most methodically; and, best of all, it is prepared to - continue twenty years if necessary, to the ultimate completion of its - work. Fallen temples will be rebuilt, stone by stone. Every scrap of - knowledge that can be extracted from the excavations and study of what - is already uncovered will be noted and correlated. There can be no - question that this work will add very largely to antiquarian lore.</p> - - <p>I await with eagerness the delving into what Don Eduardo calls “old - Chi-chen Itza,” the completely ruined and tree-covered part of the - ancient city, which lies to the south of the newer and less damaged - buildings, for it is there that the most ancient architecture and the - noblest carvings are to be found and, with them, other remains of the - highest Maya culture—the relics of that earlier golden age which had - already fallen to decay before the Nahuatl dominance resulted in the - buildings of a lower order in the newer city.</p> - - <p>The Spanish conquerors discovered many of the ancient cities and wrote - about them in their annals; and the world promptly forgot about them - for two hundred years. Then vague stories about them began to drift - back to civilization, carried by adventurous wanderers who had seen or - heard of them. At the end of two hundred years we knew considerably - less about early Mayan culture than was known by Landa and Cogolludo - and the other Spanish padres who followed in the wake of the conquering - Spanish flag. It remained for Stephens to lead the way once again - and show us the wonder and mystery of the old cities. The great Von - Humboldt came and was deeply impressed. Le Plongeon labored like ten - men for years and tragically broke under the strain, leaving<span class="pagenum" id="Page_281">281</span> little to - advance the world’s knowledge from the much that he discovered. Then - came Maler and knowledge of a hidden city—knowledge lost to the world - when he died.</p> - - <p>To Don Eduardo must be given credit for bringing to light in the past - thirty years the things which gave a real forward impetus to this - particular phase of American archæology. Many of his finds, consigned - to the Peabody Museum, are not yet accessible to the general public, - having been held in reserve by that institution, doubtless for sound - reasons which are unknown to me. For thirty years Don Eduardo has - followed unswervingly the ambitious, adventurous dream of his boyhood. - Literally, he has followed the rainbow to its end and unearthed the pot - of gold. His dream was to make the Sacred Well yield up its treasures. - That he has done and more.</p> - - <p>Edward Thompson—or Don Eduardo, as I have called him through these - pages, because that is the name by which I have known him so long and - well—is no richer in a material sense than if he had never raised - the fabulous treasure from the great Sacred Well of Chi-chen Itza. - But he has had what money cannot buy: a life of notable achievement; - a cherished dream realized to the full; a thousand gorgeous memories, - each packed with such adventure and thrill as we less favored folk have - never experienced.</p> - - <p>He has made the well of sacrifice yield its secrets. The skeletons of - the girl brides of the Rain God; the bones of sacrificed warriors; - the copal incense and the religious vessels; the jade ornaments and - objects of gold; the <i lang="myn">hul-ches</i>; the sacrificial knives—each is a link - in the chain of evidence which makes fact out of legend. His finds<span class="pagenum" id="Page_282">282</span> - prove the existence of the ancient belief in the Rain God and the fact - that sacrifices were made to him. They prove that this great water-pit - actually was the Sacred Well. They make plausible the legend that - Chi-chen Itza was the Sacred City, the center of the cult of Kukul Can.</p> - - <p>The finding of the date-stone, by Don Eduardo, may, to the casual - reader, seem insignificant, but from the scientific point of view it - is tremendously important, for it gives us one more indisputable fact. - From it we know that the city existed in the seventh century, A. - D. We do not know how much older than that it is actually or how - long it flourished thereafter. There remains the incontrovertible - date from which we may, in time, proceed forward or back to a further - knowledge.</p> - - <p>His discovery and excavation of the Tomb of the High Priest is a - brilliant achievement. It lays bare more facts and opens up new avenues - for speculation. Time alone can prove whether it is, as Don Eduardo so - sincerely believes, the tomb of the hero-god, the great leader, Kukul - Can, around whom all Mayan theology revolves.</p> - - <p>And now Don Eduardo is no longer in his first youth. He is still far - from decrepit, but the time has come when it is fitting for him to - step aside from the active and strenuous work of exploration and he - has leased all his holdings, including the Casa Real, to the Carnegie - expedition. I know that he takes a profound pleasure in the feeling - that this expedition is going to finish thoroughly and completely what - he has so ably started and carried on under handicaps that will not - beset the newer work.</p> - - <p>To the layman Don Eduardo’s achievements may seem<span class="pagenum" id="Page_283">283</span> small as against - thirty years of ceaseless endeavor, but do not forget the days and - weeks and months of profitless effort that must be spent in this sort - of work. It does not move forward like the building of a railroad, the - manufacture of goods, or the planting and reaping of fields.</p> - - <p>Thirty years are well spent if their labor helps in the least to shed - even a feeble ray on the nearly obliterated pages of the past. And each - rising sun brings fresh the hope that to-day will be the day of a great - discovery, the finding of a key that will unlock the door to knowledge - concerning a wonderful people whose monuments are to us as a few torn - pages of some master manuscript without beginning or end, but still of - such absorbing interest that one cannot rest until the missing pages - are found.</p> - - <p>As antiquarian thirst grows—as it surely must, for few things in - the world contain a deeper human interest than antiquity—attention - will certainly turn more and more to the still unsolved mystery of - ancient American and, particularly, Mayan culture. Instead of one great - scientific exploration there will be scores. Each of the ruined cities - is worthy of research. There are magnificent temples to be restored; - priceless finds to be bared; and that vexing riddle to be completely - solved—the clear reading of the Maya glyphs.</p> - - <p>And with all of this must come inevitably the tourist to a new - and delightful land, and through him will grow a new and keener - appreciation of America.</p> - - <hr class="page" /> - <div class="chapter" id="APPENDIX"> - <span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_285"></a>285</span> - <h2>APPENDIX<br /> - <span class="small">LIST OF MORE IMPORTANT GOLD AND JADE OBJECTS FOUND IN THE SACRED WELL</span></h2> - </div> - - <p class="hang">One basin of fine gold, twelve inches in diameter with shallow rounding - bottom. About a pound in weight.</p> - - <p class="hang">Four other basins, bowls or cups, smaller in size, uncarved, but of - massive material and very artistic in contour.</p> - - <p class="inset">None of the above basins were twisted, cut or broken.</p> - - <p class="hang">Seven gold disks, embossed or beaten, about ten inches in diameter.</p> - - <p class="hang">Eight gold disks, embossed or beaten, about eight inches in diameter.</p> - - <p class="hang">Seventeen gold disks, embossed or beaten, about six inches in diameter.</p> - - <p class="hang">Ten gold disks, embossed or beaten, small sizes.</p> - - <p class="hang">One handsome <i lang="myn">penache</i>, forehead band or tiara, over eight inches long - by four inches wide, of beautiful openwork, the design being entwined - serpents with plumed head-dress.</p> - - <p class="inset">This is the finest piece of gold work ever found in the Maya area.</p> - - <p class="hang">Eleven reptile and animal figures, probably brooches and similar - ornaments; all massive gold and finely worked. Frogs, bat-like - figures and monkey-like objects, most of them cast (not beaten work), - massive and of pure gold.</p> - - <p class="hang">Fourteen small gold objects shaped like candlesticks.</p> - - <p class="hang">Ten human or monkey-like figures of gold.</p> - - <p class="hang">Twenty gold rings, mostly of thin but pure gold.</p> - - <p class="hang">Sixty other objects of unknown use but of gold material.</p> - - <p class="hang">One hundred bells of various sizes but all gold, even to the clappers.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_286">286</span></p> - - <p class="hang">Forty other unclassified objects, either of pure gold or of gold - and bronze; sandals, disks, ferrule-like objects, pieces and strips - evidently portions of shields and regalia ornaments.</p> - - <p class="hang">Forty gold washers or scales, one and a quarter inches in diameter, - with holes in the center.</p> - - <p class="hang">One solid-gold mask seven inches in diameter, the eyes closed as if in - sleep or in death and over the right eyelid the same kind of slanting - cross that we often see carved on the so-called elephants’ trunks.</p> - - <p class="hang">One gold <i lang="myn">hul-che</i> (throwing-stick) of entwined serpents.</p> - - <p class="hang">Seven jade plaques or tablets, broken but restored, three inches by - four inches.</p> - - <p class="hang">Nine jade tablets, two inches by four inches by one quarter inch thick. - The jade tablets were evidently broken intentionally before being - thrown into the well.</p> - - <p class="hang">One hundred sixty beautifully carved large jade beads and pendants of - large size, virtually perfect.</p> - - <p class="hang">Seventy carved jade ear-ornaments, nose- and labret ornaments, from two - inches in diameter down to one half inch, all finely cut and polished.</p> - - <p class="hang">Fourteen jade globes, one and a half inches in diameter, all very - finely polished and several finely carved with well-executed figures - and other designs.</p> - - <p class="hang">One small but very finely worked and polished jade figurine, four - inches wide and four inches high. It represents a seated figure of - the Palenquin type with elaborate head-dress. It is perfect and is - one of the finest, if not the finest figure found in the Maya area.</p> - - <p class="hang">Many hundreds of small jade beads of all sizes and shapes, all - polished; many of them artistically carved and shaped.</p> - - <p class="hang">One flint-bladed sacrificial knife with the handle formed of golden - entwined serpents. It is the only perfect one taken from the Sacred - Well and probably the only authentic and perfect knife of this kind - in any museum on the American continents. At least it is the only one - in the Peabody Museum.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_287">287</span></p> - - <p class="hang">Several parts of other knives, such as handles, flint blades, etc.</p> - - <p class="hang">Many beautiful flint spear-heads worth many times their weight in gold, - worked down to the thickness of a steel spear-head with edges as - sharp as a razor, the finest ever found anywhere in the world.</p> - - <p class="hang">A thousand other articles of great value to archæology.</p> - - <hr class="page" /> - <div class="chapter" id="INDEX"> - <span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_289"></a>289</span> - <h2>INDEX</h2> - </div> - - <ul class="index"> - <li class="ifrst">Agriculture in Yucatan, <a href="#Page_6">6</a></li> - <li class="indx">Aguilar, Gerónimo de, first of the Spanish conquerors, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_170">170</a></li> - <li class="indx">Akab Tzib, or House of the Writing in the Dark, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></li> - <li class="indx">Alphabet of Landa for employing Maya glyphs to denote Spanish - letters, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a></li> - <li class="indx">Alvarado, José, Silver King of Mexico, <a href="#Page_235">235</a></li> - <li class="indx">Ancient cities, condition of at time of Spanish Conquest, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a></li> - <li class="indx">Animal figures and carvings recovered from Sacred Well, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a></li> - <li class="indx">Annexes, unnamed temples near Nunnery, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></li> - <li class="indx">Arches, Maya, <a href="#Page_195">195</a></li> - <li class="indx">Atlantean figures, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a></li> - <li class="indx">Atlantis theory of Mayan ethnology, <a href="#Page_36">36</a></li> - <li class="ifrst"><i>Bal-che</i>, an ancient intoxicating beverage, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_244">244</a></li> - <li class="indx">Balustrades with serpent motif, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_238">238</a></li> - <li class="indx">Bas-reliefs and full-relief works, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, - <a href="#Page_219">219</a>, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>, - <a href="#Page_224">224</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>, - <a href="#Page_229">229</a>, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a></li> - <li class="indx">Bas-Reliefs, Temple of, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>, - <a href="#Page_221">221</a>, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>, <a href="#Page_230">230</a></li> - <li class="indx">Beams, sapote, <a href="#Page_78">78</a></li> - <li class="indx">Bells of copper from High Priest’s Tomb, <a href="#Page_246">246</a></li> - <li class="indx">Bells of copper and gold recovered from Sacred Well, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_132">132</a></li> - <li class="indx">Boa-constrictors, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>, - <a href="#Page_242">242</a></li> - <li class="indx">Bolshevism among natives, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li> - <li class="indx">Bowls and disks of gold recovered from Sacred Well, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a></li> - <li class="indx">Brooches recovered from Sacred Well, <a href="#Page_135">135</a></li> - <li class="ifrst"><i>Caluacs</i> or ceremonial wands, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a></li> - <li class="indx">Caracol, or Snail-shell, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li> - <li class="indx">Carnegie Expedition in Chi-chen Itza, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_279">279</a>, <a href="#Page_280">280</a></li> - <li class="indx">Casa Real, home and estate of Don Eduardo,</li> - <li class="isub2">Ancient gateway, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li> - <li class="isub2">First view by Don Eduardo, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Looting by unruly natives, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Size of estate, <a href="#Page_60">60</a></li> - <li class="indx">Caves, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a></li> - <li class="indx">Cenotes (see Wells), <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a></li> - <li class="indx">Chac Mool figures, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a></li> - <li class="indx">Chich-an Chob, Red House, or Strong, Clean House, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a></li> - <li class="indx">Chilan Balam, Maya writings in Spanish characters, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a></li> - <li class="indx">Chi-chen Itza,</li> - <li class="isub2">Arrangement of buildings, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Distinction between old and new cities, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_280">280</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Lack of streets, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Location and how to get there, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Montejo’s military headquarters, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Retreat of Spaniards from, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a></li> - <li class="indx">Chisels,</li> - <li class="isub2">Recovered from Sacred Well, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Of nephrite found near Great Pyramid, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>, <a href="#Page_193">193</a></li> - <li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_290">290</span>Chronicles, Maya, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, - <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a></li> - <li class="indx">Church, or Iglesia, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></li> - <li class="indx">Cisterns, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a></li> - <li class="indx">Codices, Maya, rare books written in hieroglyphs, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, - <a href="#Page_232">232</a></li> - <li class="indx">Conquest of Yucatan by Spaniards, a brief history, <a href="#Page_166">166</a> to <a href="#Page_178">178</a></li> - <li class="indx">Construction of Maya temples, <a href="#Page_189">189</a> to <a href="#Page_197">197</a></li> - <li class="indx">Copal, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>, - <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>, - <a href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a href="#Page_246">246</a></li> - <li class="indx">Copper and gold objects recovered from Sacred Well, <a href="#Page_131">131</a> to <a href="#Page_137">137</a></li> - <li class="indx">Córdoba, Francisco de Hernandez, commander of second Spanish - expedition to Yucatan, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a></li> - <li class="indx">Cortes, Hernan, commander of Fourth Spanish expedition to Yucatan, - <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, - <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, <a href="#Page_175">175</a></li> - <li class="indx">Costume and arms of ancient Mayas, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>, - <a href="#Page_229">229</a></li> - <li class="indx">Costume of modern Mayas, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_12">12</a></li> - <li class="indx">Cotton, <a href="#Page_248">248</a></li> - <li class="indx">Cruelties of Spanish conquerors, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a></li> - <li class="indx">Cuzmil, ancient city of, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>, <a href="#Page_170">170</a></li> - <li class="ifrst">Dances, native ancient, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li> - <li class="indx">Dances, native modern, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></li> - <li class="indx">Dates, earliest recorded Mayan, <a href="#Page_37">37</a></li> - <li class="indx">Date-stone of Chi-chen Itza, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>, <a href="#Page_185">185</a></li> - <li class="indx">Deities of the Mayas,</li> - <li class="isub2">God of Death, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_246">246</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Rain God, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a></li> - <li class="indx">Disks and bowls of gold recovered from Sacred Well, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a></li> - <li class="indx">Diving operations in Sacred Well, <a href="#Page_118">118</a> to <a href="#Page_131">131</a></li> - <li class="indx">Dredging of Sacred Well, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, - <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, - <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, - <a href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, - <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_125">125</a></li> - <li class="ifrst">Earthen jars from High Priest’s Tomb, <a href="#Page_257">257</a></li> - <li class="indx">El Castillo, or the Great Pyramid of Kukul Can, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>, - <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, - <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a></li> - <li class="indx">Elephant head controversy, <a href="#Page_214">214</a></li> - <li class="indx">Embroidery, <a href="#Page_12">12</a></li> - <li class="ifrst">Fabrics recovered from Sacred Well, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a></li> - <li class="indx">Fiestas, ancient Maya, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li> - <li class="indx">Finds in Sacred Well, <a href="#Page_107">107</a> to <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>, - <a href="#Page_129">129</a> to <a href="#Page_146">146</a></li> - <li class="indx">Fuentes, Francisco de las, lieutenant of Montejo, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li> - <li class="ifrst">Geological formation of Yucatan, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></li> - <li class="indx">Gold and copper objects recovered from Sacred Well, <a href="#Page_131">131</a> to <a href="#Page_137">137</a></li> - <li class="indx">Gold, value (compared with jade) to ancient Mayas, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a></li> - <li class="indx">Golden Age of Maya Art, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>, <a href="#Page_212">212</a></li> - <li class="indx">Gourds and gourd implements, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a></li> - <li class="indx">Great Pyramid of Kukul Can, or El Castillo, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>, - <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, - <a href="#Page_79">79</a></li> - <li class="indx">Grijalva, Juan de, commander of third Spanish expedition to Yucatan, <a href="#Page_168">168</a></li> - <li class="indx">Gymnasium, or Tennis-court, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a></li> - <li class="ifrst">Henequen, from which rope and twine are made, <a href="#Page_6">6</a></li> - <li class="indx">Hieroglyphs, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a></li> - <li class="indx">Homes, ancient Maya, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a></li> - <li class="indx">Homes, modern Maya, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_16">16</a></li> - <li class="indx">Homes in Mérida, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_9">9</a></li> - <li class="indx">House of the Writing in the Dark, Akab Tzib, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></li> - <li class="indx"><i>Hul-che</i>, or throwing-stick, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a></li> - <li class="indx">Humor, Maya sense of, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li> - <li class="ifrst">Iglesia, or Church, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></li> - <li class="indx">“Incidents of Travel in Yucatan,” by John L. Stephens, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li> - <li class="indx">Itzamna, mythical founder of race, <a href="#Page_34">34</a></li> - <li class="ifrst"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_291">291</span>Jade, value (compared with gold) to ancient Mayas, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, - <a href="#Page_147">147</a></li> - <li class="indx">Jade from High Priest’s Tomb, <a href="#Page_247">247</a>, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>, <a href="#Page_257">257</a></li> - <li class="indx">Jade recovered from Sacred Well, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, - <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a></li> - <li class="indx">Jewelry, modern Mayan, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>, <a href="#Page_201">201</a></li> - <li class="ifrst">Knives, sacrificial, recovered from Sacred Well, <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li> - <li class="indx">Kukul Can, hero deity of the Itzas, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>, - <a href="#Page_260">260</a></li> - <li class="ifrst">La Casa de las Monjas, or the Nunnery, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a> to <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, - <a href="#Page_233">233</a></li> - <li class="indx">Lance poles and other wooden objects recovered from Sacred Well, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, - <a href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a></li> - <li class="indx">Landa Alphabet for employing Maya glyphs to denote Spanish letters, <a href="#Page_41">41</a></li> - <li class="indx">Landa, Diego de, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></li> - <li class="indx">Legends,</li> - <li class="isub2">Itzamna, <a href="#Page_34">34</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Ix-lol Nicte, <a href="#Page_150">150</a> to <a href="#Page_163">163</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Kukul Can, <a href="#Page_34">34</a></li> - <li class="isub2"><i>La flor de Calentura</i>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a> to <a href="#Page_31">31</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Lorelei, <a href="#Page_198">198</a> to <a href="#Page_207">207</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Misfortunes of Mayas prior to the Conquest, <a href="#Page_44">44</a> to <a href="#Page_47">47</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Present of jade from Montezuma to Cortes, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Sacrificial pilgrimage, <a href="#Page_261">261</a> to <a href="#Page_276">276</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Wizard Potters, <a href="#Page_207">207</a> to <a href="#Page_210">210</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Xkan-xoc, <a href="#Page_163">163</a> to <a href="#Page_165">165</a></li> - <li class="indx">Le Plongeon, Maya archæologist, <a href="#Page_92">92</a></li> - <li class="indx">Lintels, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_195">195</a></li> - <li class="ifrst">Maler, Teoberto, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>, - <a href="#Page_224">224</a></li> - <li class="indx">Marital customs of modern Mayas, <a href="#Page_14">14</a></li> - <li class="indx">Masks of copper and gold recovered from Sacred Well, <a href="#Page_132">132</a></li> - <li class="indx">Maya Chronicles, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, - <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a></li> - <li class="indx">Maya Codices, rare books written in hieroglyphs, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, - <a href="#Page_232">232</a></li> - <li class="indx">Maya, derivation of name, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a></li> - <li class="indx">Maya language, <a href="#Page_10">10</a></li> - <li class="indx">Mayas, ancient,</li> - <li class="isub2">Costumes and arms, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, - <a href="#Page_228">228</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Dances, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Deities, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_246">246</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Homes, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Music, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Occupations, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Physical characteristics, <a href="#Page_20">20</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Pride in genealogy, <a href="#Page_23">23</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Tattooing, <a href="#Page_21">21</a></li> - <li class="indx">Mayas, modern,</li> - <li class="isub2">Cleanliness, <a href="#Page_13">13</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Costume, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_12">12</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Dances, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Homes, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_16">16</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Honesty, <a href="#Page_14">14</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Hospitality, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_15">15</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Humor, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Improvidence, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Jewelry, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>, <a href="#Page_201">201</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Language, <a href="#Page_10">10</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Laziness, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Marital customs, <a href="#Page_14">14</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Music, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Physical characteristics, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Religious outlook, <a href="#Page_15">15</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Treatment by plantation-owners, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Unconquered tribes (Sublevados), <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li> - <li class="indx">Mayas, earliest mythical wanderings, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Later legendary history, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, - <a href="#Page_47">47</a></li> - <li class="indx">Mayapan, invasion of, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a></li> - <li class="indx">Medallions recovered from Sacred Well, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a></li> - <li class="indx">Mérida, capital of Yucatan,</li> - <li class="isub2">American Club, <a href="#Page_9">9</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Ball, <a href="#Page_8">8</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Carnival, <a href="#Page_8">8</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Description of, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_8">8</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Homes, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_9">9</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Palace of Montejo, <a href="#Page_9">9</a></li> - <li class="indx">Monoliths, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a></li> - <li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_292">292</span>Montejo, Francisco de, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, - <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, <a href="#Page_175">175</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Retreat from Chi-chen Itza, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a></li> - <li class="indx">Montejo the Younger, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a></li> - <li class="indx">Montezuma, King of the Aztecs, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a></li> - <li class="indx">Mortuary urns, <a href="#Page_139">139</a></li> - <li class="indx">Murals, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>, - <a href="#Page_216">216</a>, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>, <a href="#Page_218">218</a>, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>, - <a href="#Page_225">225</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, - <a href="#Page_228">228</a>, <a href="#Page_229">229</a></li> - <li class="indx">Music, native ancient, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li> - <li class="indx">Music, native modern, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></li> - <li class="ifrst">Nahuatls, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a></li> - <li class="indx">Nahuatl influence on Maya culture and art, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>, - <a href="#Page_211">211</a>, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>, - <a href="#Page_217">217</a>, <a href="#Page_218">218</a></li> - <li class="indx">Names of persons indicated in murals and bas-reliefs, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>, <a href="#Page_233">233</a></li> - <li class="indx">Nunnery, or La Casa de las Monjas, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a> to <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, - <a href="#Page_233">233</a></li> - <li class="ifrst">Padres, coming of, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a></li> - <li class="indx">Phallic cult, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a></li> - <li class="indx">Physical characteristics of ancient Mayas, <a href="#Page_20">20</a></li> - <li class="indx">Physical characteristics of modern Mayas, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a></li> - <li class="indx">Pigments used by ancient Mayas, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>, - <a href="#Page_220">220</a></li> - <li class="indx">Plaster or stucco used in Maya buildings, <a href="#Page_191">191</a></li> - <li class="indx">Pottery and potsherds, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, - <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>, - <a href="#Page_247">247</a>, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a></li> - <li class="indx">Progreso, only seaport of Yucatan, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a></li> - <li class="ifrst">Relacion de las Cosas de Yucatan, the book by Diego de Landa, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a></li> - <li class="indx">Rings recovered from Sacred Well, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a></li> - <li class="indx">Roads, ancient construction, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_91">91</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Location, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a></li> - <li class="indx">Rock-crystal beads from High Priest’s Tomb, <a href="#Page_247">247</a></li> - <li class="indx">Rubber finds in the Sacred Well, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a></li> - <li class="ifrst">Sabua skull, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a></li> - <li class="indx">Sacca, an intoxicating drink, <a href="#Page_245">245</a></li> - <li class="indx">Sacred Way, linking the Sacred Well and Temple of Kukul Can, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, - <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a> to <a href="#Page_102">102</a></li> - <li class="indx">Sacred Well,</li> - <li class="isub2">Diving operations in, <a href="#Page_122">122</a> to <a href="#Page_149">149</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Dredging, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a> to <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Finds in, <a href="#Page_107">107</a> to <a href="#Page_149">149</a></li> - <li class="indx">Sacrifice of maidens, <a href="#Page_53">53</a> to <a href="#Page_55">55</a></li> - <li class="indx">Sacrificial knives recovered from Sacred Well, <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li> - <li class="indx">San Isidro, Church of, <a href="#Page_24">24</a></li> - <li class="indx">Sandals recovered from Sacred Well, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li> - <li class="indx">Sapote beams, <a href="#Page_78">78</a></li> - <li class="indx">Scorpions, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>, <a href="#Page_241">241</a></li> - <li class="indx">Semitic features of some ancient Mayan sculptures and murals, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, - <a href="#Page_83">83</a></li> - <li class="indx">Serpents, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>, - <a href="#Page_242">242</a></li> - <li class="indx">Serpent balustrades and monoliths, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>, - <a href="#Page_239">239</a></li> - <li class="indx">Skeletal remains in Tomb of the High Priest, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>, - <a href="#Page_247">247</a></li> - <li class="indx">Skeletons from Sacred Well, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></li> - <li class="indx">Snail-shell, or Caracol, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li> - <li class="indx">Sounding device for discovery of hidden cavities, <a href="#Page_239">239</a>, <a href="#Page_240">240</a></li> - <li class="indx">Spiders, <a href="#Page_257">257</a></li> - <li class="indx">Stairways, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>, - <a href="#Page_238">238</a></li> - <li class="indx">Stelæ, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a></li> - <li class="indx">Stephens, John L., American traveler and writer on Yucatan, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li> - <li class="indx">Stone point-work of ancient Mayas, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>, - <a href="#Page_234">234</a></li> - <li class="indx">Strong, Clean House, Red House or Chich-an Chob, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a></li> - <li class="indx">Sublevados, unconquered tribes, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li> - <li class="ifrst">Tattooing in ancient times, <a href="#Page_21">21</a></li> - <li class="indx">Temple of Columns, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a></li> - <li class="indx">Temple of Cones, <a href="#Page_86">86</a></li> - <li class="indx">Temple of Owls, <a href="#Page_230">230</a></li> - <li class="indx">Temples in Chi-chen Itza,</li> - <li class="isub2">Annexes, unnamed temples near Nunnery, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></li> - <li class="isub2"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_293">293</span>Construction of, <a href="#Page_189">189</a> to <a href="#Page_197">197</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Great Pyramid of Kukul Can, or El Castillo, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>, - <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, - <a href="#Page_79">79</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Iglesia or Church, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></li> - <li class="isub2">House of the Writing in the Dark, Akab Tzib, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Nunnery, or La Casa de las Monjas, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a> to <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, - <a href="#Page_233">233</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Red House, Strong Clean House, or Chich-an Chob, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Snail-shell or Caracol, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Temple of Bas-Reliefs, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>, - <a href="#Page_221">221</a>, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>, <a href="#Page_230">230</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Temple of Columns, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Temple of Cones, <a href="#Page_86">86</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Temple of Owls, <a href="#Page_230">230</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Tiger Temple, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>, - <a href="#Page_215">215</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Unnamed Temples, <a href="#Page_87">87</a></li> - <li class="indx">Tennis-court, or Gymnasium, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a></li> - <li class="indx">Tiger Temple, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>, - <a href="#Page_215">215</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216</a></li> - <li class="indx">Throwing-stick or <i>hul-che</i>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a></li> - <li class="indx">Tomb of the High Priest, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>, <a href="#Page_236">236</a> to <a href="#Page_260">260</a></li> - <li class="indx">Tools used in construction of Maya buildings, <a href="#Page_190">190</a> to <a href="#Page_197">197</a></li> - <li class="indx">Totanacs, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>, <a href="#Page_217">217</a></li> - <li class="indx">Treatment of an ancient painted stone to restore its colors, and the - story it tells, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_232">232</a></li> - <li class="indx">Treatment of natives by plantation-owners, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li> - <li class="indx">Tuxtla statuette, <a href="#Page_37">37</a></li> - <li class="ifrst">Ulumil, chieftain of the Itzas, <a href="#Page_43">43</a></li> - <li class="indx">Unconquered tribes (Sublevados), <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li> - <li class="indx">Unnamed Temples in Chi-chen Itza, <a href="#Page_87">87</a></li> - <li class="indx">Uxmal, founding of, <a href="#Page_43">43</a></li> - <li class="ifrst">Vase of alabaster-like substance from High Priest’s Tomb, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>, <a href="#Page_257">257</a></li> - <li class="indx">Velasquez Diego, Governor of Cuba, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a></li> - <li class="ifrst">Wasps, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a></li> - <li class="indx">Wells or cenotes,</li> - <li class="isub2">Chen ku (see Sacred Well)</li> - <li class="isub2">General, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Tol-oc, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a></li> - <li class="isub2">X-Katum, <a href="#Page_100">100</a></li> - <li class="isub2">Yula, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li> - <li class="indx">Whipping-post, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li> - <li class="indx">Wooden objects recovered from Sacred Well, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, - <a href="#Page_144">144</a></li> - <li class="ifrst">Xtavantum, an intoxicating Maya beverage, <a href="#Page_201">201</a></li> - </ul> - - <div class="footnotes"> - <div class="footheader"><b>FOOTNOTES:</b></div> - - <div class="footnote"> - <p><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[1]</a> The suffix “el” added to any Maya word denotes action. In - the glyph sign this often was indicated by adding the wing of a bird - to the main hieroglyph; therefore “Mayanel” was an active woman, hence - very clever.—<i>Author.</i></p> - </div> - - <div class="footnote"> - <p><a id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2" class="label">[2]</a> In an article written for “Harper’s Magazine,” by Mr. - Edward Huntington, reference is made to the Jewish cast of features - of the modern Mayas, and I have often noticed the similarity. One - prominent writer on Yucatan considers the possibility of Jewish origin - for the Mayas as being the most substantial of the several theories I - have mentioned.—<i>Author.</i></p> - </div> - - <div class="footnote"> - <p><a id="Footnote_3" href="#FNanchor_3" class="label">[3]</a> Peten: “Something surrounding an island.”</p> - </div> - - <div class="footnote"> - <p><a id="Footnote_4" href="#FNanchor_4" class="label">[4]</a> “The Four Winds” is a Maya expression.</p> - </div> - - <div class="footnote"> - <p><a id="Footnote_5" href="#FNanchor_5" class="label">[5]</a> The Spanish Conquerors, as will be seen from this - description, were not previously familiar with rubber.</p> - </div> - - <div class="footnote"> - <p><a id="Footnote_6" href="#FNanchor_6" class="label">[6]</a> A <i>katun</i> is a little less than twenty years.</p> - </div> - - <div class="footnote"> - <p><a id="Footnote_7" href="#FNanchor_7" class="label">[7]</a> The protecting serpent does not necessarily indicate that - the invaders were Mayas or believers in the cult of Kukul Can; it - merely points out the “big man” or leader.</p> - </div> - - <div class="footnote"> - <p><a id="Footnote_8" href="#FNanchor_8" class="label">[8]</a> By “archers” Landa doubtless meant fighting-men armed with - the <i>hul-che</i>.</p> - </div> - - <div class="footnote"> - <p><a id="Footnote_9" href="#FNanchor_9" class="label">[9]</a> Several sacrificial knives were found in the Sacred Well.</p> - </div> - - <div class="footnote"> - <p><a id="Footnote_10" href="#FNanchor_10" class="label">[10]</a> Shown on page 39.</p> - </div> - </div> - - <div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/i_endpaper.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="465" /> - </div> - - <div class="transnote mt10"> - <div class="large center mb2"><b>Transcriber’s Notes:</b></div> - <ul class="spaced"> - <li>Blank pages have been removed.</li> - <li>Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected.</li> - <li>There are several references to illustrations that do not exist in the source, these are marked as “[missing]”.</li> - </ul> - </div> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The City of the Sacred Well, by -Theodore Arthur Willard - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CITY OF THE SACRED WELL *** - -***** This file should be named 62702-h.htm or 62702-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/2/7/0/62702/ - -Tim Lindell, Robert Tonsing, 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.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, -set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to -copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to -protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project -Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you -charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you -do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the -rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose -such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and -research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do -practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is -subject to the trademark license, especially commercial -redistribution. - - - -*** START: FULL LICENSE *** - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project -Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at -http://gutenberg.org/license). - - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy -all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. -If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the -terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or -entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement -and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" -or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the -collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an -individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are -located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from -copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative -works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg -are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project -Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by -freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of -this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with -the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by -keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project -Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in -a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check -the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement -before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or -creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project -Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning -the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United -States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate -access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently -whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, -copied or distributed: - -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/license - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived -from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is -posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied -and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees -or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work -with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the -work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 -through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the -Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or -1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional -terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked -to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the -permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any -word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or -distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than -"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version -posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), -you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a -copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon -request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other -form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided -that - -- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is - owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he - has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the - Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments - must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you - prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax - returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and - sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the - address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to - the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." - -- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or - destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium - and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of - Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any - money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days - of receipt of the work. - -- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set -forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from -both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael -Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the -Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm -collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain -"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or -corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual -property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a -computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by -your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with -your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with -the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a -refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity -providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to -receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy -is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further -opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER -WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO -WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. -If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the -law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be -interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by -the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any -provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance -with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, -promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, -harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, -that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do -or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm -work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any -Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. - - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers -including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists -because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from -people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. -To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation -and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 -and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. - - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive -Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at -http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent -permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. -Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered -throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at -809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email -business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact -information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official -page at http://pglaf.org - -For additional contact information: - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To -SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any -particular state visit http://pglaf.org - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. -To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate - - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm -concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared -with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project -Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. - - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. -unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily -keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. - - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: - - http://www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - - -</pre> - -</body> -</html> diff --git a/old/62702-h/images/cover.jpg b/old/62702-h/images/cover.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 173a7b0..0000000 --- a/old/62702-h/images/cover.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62702-h/images/i_004.jpg b/old/62702-h/images/i_004.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index e421dd9..0000000 --- a/old/62702-h/images/i_004.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62702-h/images/i_039.jpg b/old/62702-h/images/i_039.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 2c4e313..0000000 --- a/old/62702-h/images/i_039.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62702-h/images/i_064.jpg b/old/62702-h/images/i_064.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index c008259..0000000 --- a/old/62702-h/images/i_064.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62702-h/images/i_065a.jpg b/old/62702-h/images/i_065a.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 7f7b22c..0000000 --- a/old/62702-h/images/i_065a.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62702-h/images/i_065b.jpg b/old/62702-h/images/i_065b.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index d6642d8..0000000 --- a/old/62702-h/images/i_065b.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62702-h/images/i_102.jpg b/old/62702-h/images/i_102.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 718f7c5..0000000 --- a/old/62702-h/images/i_102.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62702-h/images/i_112.jpg b/old/62702-h/images/i_112.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index ca3dacd..0000000 --- a/old/62702-h/images/i_112.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62702-h/images/i_113.jpg b/old/62702-h/images/i_113.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index b3467da..0000000 --- a/old/62702-h/images/i_113.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62702-h/images/i_240.jpg b/old/62702-h/images/i_240.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 92d9886..0000000 --- a/old/62702-h/images/i_240.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62702-h/images/i_241.jpg b/old/62702-h/images/i_241.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 875903b..0000000 --- a/old/62702-h/images/i_241.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62702-h/images/i_endpaper.jpg b/old/62702-h/images/i_endpaper.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index b40d825..0000000 --- a/old/62702-h/images/i_endpaper.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62702-h/images/i_frontispiece.jpg b/old/62702-h/images/i_frontispiece.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 7120032..0000000 --- a/old/62702-h/images/i_frontispiece.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62702-h/images/i_title.jpg b/old/62702-h/images/i_title.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index d2ec617..0000000 --- a/old/62702-h/images/i_title.jpg +++ /dev/null |
