Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, Vol. II.
by John L. Stephens · English · Gutenberg #33130 · 714,910 chars · public domain (US)
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Title: Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, Vol. II.
Author: John L. Stephens
Release date: July 10, 2010 [eBook #33130]
Most recently updated: January 6, 2021
Language: English
Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/33130
Credits: Produced by Charles Bowen, from page images provided by the Web Archive.
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Transcriber's notes:
1. Page scan source:
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2. Frontispiece (Engraving 1), Map of Mani (Engraving 35), and
Paintings (Engraving 50) are from the NYPL Digital Gallery which
provides free and open access to over 700,000 images digitized
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3. The diphthong oe is represented by [oe]
[Engraving 1: Frontispiece--Casa del Gobernador, Uxmal]
INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL
IN
YUCATAN.
BY JOHN L. STEPHENS,
AUTHOR OF "INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL IN EGYPT, ARABIA PETRAEA, AND THE
HOLY LAND," "INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL IN CENTRAL AMERICA," ETC.
ILLUSTRATED BY 120 ENGRAVINGS.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. II.
NEW YORK:
PUBLISHED BY HARPER & BROTHERS
FOR HENRY BILL.
1848.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1843, by
HARPER & BROTHERS,
In the Clerk's Office of the Southern District of New-York
CONTENTS
OF
THE SECOND VOLUME.
* * * * *
CHAPTER I.
Departure from Nohcacab.--Outfit.--Rancho of Chack.--Fright of the
Women.--Rancho of Schawill--Casa Real.--Scarcity of Water.--Visit
from the Alcalde.--Primitive Mode of obtaining Water.--A peculiar
People.--Ruins of Zayi.--Great tree-covered Mound.--The Casa
Grande.--Fortunate Discovery.--Staircase.--Doorways, &c.--Buildings on
the second Terrace.--Doorways.--Curiously ornamented Columns.--Building
on the third Terrace.--Doorways, Apartments, &c.--Stone
Lintels.--Facade of the second Range of Buildings.--Ground Plan of the
three Ranges.--The Casa Cerrada.--Doorways filled up inside with Stone
and Mortar.--Finished Apartments, also filled up.--This filling up
simultaneous with the Erection of the Building.--A Mound.--Ruined
Building.--Its Interior.--Sculptured Head, &c.--A strange
Structure.--An Archway.--Perpendicular Wall.--Stuccoed Figures and
Ornaments.--Great Terrace and Building.--Apartments, &c.--Want of
Interest manifested by the Indians in regard to these Ruins.
CHAPTER II.
Visit to a ruined Building near Chack.--A Field of Taje.--Description
of the Building.--Hornet's Nest.--Young Vulture.--Picturesque View from
the Terrace.--Well of Chack.--Exploration of its Passages.--Return to
the Rancho.--Departure from Schawill--The Camino Real.--Rancho of
Sennacte.--Wild Appearance of the Indians.--Continued Scarcity of
Water.--Another ruined City.--Two ruined Buildings.--Apartments,
Columns, &c.--High Wall.--Journey continued.--Rancho of
Sabachshe.--Casa Real.--Well--Hut of the Alcalde.--The Senora.--Ruins
of Sabachshe.--Picturesque Edifice.--Alacrity of the
Indians.--Facade.--Pilasters, Cornices, &c.--Encounter with an
Iguana.--Another Ruined Building.--The Agave Americana.--More
Ruins.--The Red Hand.--The Red Hand used as a Symbol by the North
American Indians.--Conclusions to be deduced from this
Circumstance.--Delicate Manner of doing a Service.
CHAPTER III.
Ruins of Labna.--Accounts of the Indians not to be relied
on.--Irretrievable Ruin.--Extraordinary
Structure.--Doorways.--Chambers.--Gigantic Wall, covered with Designs
in Stucco.--Death's Heads.--Human Figures in Alto Relievo.--Colossal
Figure seated.--Large Ball and Figures.--Dilapidated State of this
Structure.--An arched Gateway.--Other Buildings.--Richly ornamented
Doorway.--Courtyard.--Ornaments in Stucco.--Large
Building.--Magnificent Edifice.--Facade ornamented with sculptured
Stone.--Circular Hole leading to a subterranean Chamber.--The Ramon
Tree.--A Cave.--Conversation with the Indians.--A Ride to the
Hacienda of Tabi.--Sculptured Ornament.--Other Figures.--Visit
to a Cave.--Tree-encumbered Path.--A Vaquero.--Descent into the
Cave.--Fanciful Scene.--Return to the Rancho.--A Warm Bath.
CHAPTER IV.
Search for Ruined Cities continued.--Journey to the Rancho of
Kewick.--Ruined Building.--Lose the Road.--Set right by an
Indian.--Arrival at Kewick.--The Casa Real.--Visit from the Proprietor
of the Rancho, a full-blooded Indian.--His Character.--Visit to
the Ruins.--Garrapatas.--Old Walls.--Facades.--Imposing Scene of
Ruins.--Principal Doorway.--Apartments.--Curious Painting.--Excavating
a Stone.--A long Building.--Other Ruins.--Continued Scarcity of
Water.--Visit to a Cave, called by the Indians Actum.--A wild
Scene.--An Aguada.--Return to the Casa Real.--A Crisis in Money
Matters.--Journey to Xul.--Entry into the Village.--The
Convent.--Reception.--The Cura of Xul.--His Character.--Mingling of Old
Things with New.--The Church.--A Levee.--A Welcome Arrival.
CHAPTER V.
Journey to the Rancho of Nohcacab.--A Fountain and Seybo Tree.--Arrival
at the Rancho.--Its Appearance.--A sick Trio.--Effects of a good
Breakfast.--Visit to the Ruins.--Terrace and Buildings.--Three other
Buildings.--Character of these Ruins.--Disappointment.--Return to
Xul.--Visit to another ruined City.--Ruined Building.--An
Arch, plastered and covered with Painted Figures.--Other
Paintings.--Subterranean Well.--Return to the Village.--Journey to
Ticul.--Large Mounds.--Passage of the Sierra.--Grand View.--Arrival at
Ticul.--A Village Festival.--Ball of the Mestizas.--Costumes.--Dance
of the Toros.--Lassoing Cattle.--Ball by Daylight.--The
Fiscales.--Ludicrous Scene.--A Dance.--Love in a Phrensy.--A unique
Breakfast.--Close of the Ball.
CHAPTER VI.
Bull-fights.--Horse-race.--Bull-fighters.--Their villanous
Appearance.--Death of a Bull.--A Ball of Etiquette.--Society in
Yucatan.--Costumes at the Ball.--More Bull-fights.--A Mestiza.--Scenes
in the Bull-ring.--A Storm.--Dispersion of the Spectators.--A
Discovery.--A new Reformation in Yucatan.--Celibacy of Priests.--A
few Words about the Padres.--Arrival of Mr. Catherwood and Dr.
Cabot.--Rain.--Daguerreotyping.--"The Ancient Chronology of
Yucatan."--Don Pio Perez.--Calendar of the Ancient
Indians.--Substantially the same with that of the Mexicans.--This Fact
tends to show the common Origin of the aboriginal Inhabitants of
Yucatan and Mexico.
CHAPTER VII.
Return to Nohcacab.--Final Departure from this Village.--An Indian
Sexton.--Route.--"Old Walls."--Ruins of Sacbey.--Paved Road.--Journey
continued.--Ruins of Xampon.--Imposing Edifice.--"Old Walls," called by
Indians Xlapphak.--Ruins of Hiokowitz and Kuepak.--Zekilna.--Altar for
burning Copal.--Ancient Terrace.--Lofty stone Structure.--Remains of a
Building.--Sculptured Stones.--Platform.--Rancho of Chunhuhu.--Become
involuntary Masters of a Hut.--Its interior Arrangements.--Scarcity
of Water.--Pressing Wants.--Visit to the Ruins.--Two
Buildings.--Facade.--Ornamented Doorways.--Welcome Visiters.--Another
Building.--Plastered Front.--A Building seen from the Terrace.--Visit
to the Ruins of Schoolhoke.--Large stone Structure.--Ranges of
Buildings.--Circular Stone.--Ruined Edifice.--Representations of Human
Figures.--Return to the Rancho.--Benefits of a Rain.
CHAPTER VIII.
Journey to Bolonchen.--Bad Road.--Large Hacienda.--Imposing
Gateway.--An inhospitable Host.--Ruins of Ytsimpte.--Ruined
Edifice.--Staircase with sculptured Stones.--Square Building.--Facade
decorated with Pillars.--Ruined Walls.--Remains of a sculptured
Figure.--Character and Aspect of the Ruins.--Departure.--Arrival at the
Village of Bolonchen.--Scene of Contentment.--Wells.--Derivation of the
Word Bolonchen.--Origin of the Wells unknown.--The Cura.--Visit to an
extraordinary Cave.--Entrance to it.--Precipitous Descents.--A wild
Scene.--Rude Ladders.--Dangers of the Descent.--Indian Name of this
Cave.--A subterranean Ball-room.--Cavernous Chamber.--Numerous
Passages.--Great Number of Ladders.--Rocky Basin of Water.--Great
Depth of the Cave.--A Bath in the Basin.--Its Indian Name.--Return
to the Rocky Chamber.--Exploration of another Passage.--Another
Basin.--Indian Stories.--Two other Passages and Basins.--Seven
Basins in all.--Indian Names of the remaining five.--Want of
Philosophical Instruments.--Surface of the Country.--This Cave the
sole Watering-place of a large Indian Village.--Return.--Visit to the
Cura.--Report of more Ruins.
CHAPTER IX.
Departure from Bolonchen.--Lose the Road.--Sugar Rancho.--A new
Section of Country.--Rancho of Santa Rosa.--Annoyance from
Fleas.--Visit to the Ruins of Labphak.--A lofty Structure.--Apartments,
&c.--Staircases.--Doorways.--Interesting Discovery.--Courtyard.--Square
Building on the second Terrace.--Ornaments in Stucco.--Oblong Building
on the third Terrace.--Colossal Figures and Ornaments.--Centre
Apartment.--Tokens of recent Occupation.--Ground Plan of the lower
Range of Apartments.--Sculptured Bas-reliefs.--Builders adapted
their Style to the Materials at Hand.--Abode at the
Ruins.--Wants.--Moonlight Scene.--Painting.--Circular Holes.--Range of
Buildings.--Staircases.--Ornaments in Stucco.--Rain.--Love of the
Marvellous.
CHAPTER X.
Departure from Labphak.--Sugar Ranchos.--Hacienda of
Jalasac.--Cultivation of Sugar.--Another Rancho.--Its neat
Appearance.--Senor Trego's Establishment.--A Well.--Seybo
Trees.--Journey resumed.--Village of Iturbide.--Its Settlement and
rapid Growth.--An Acquaintance.--Oppressive Attentions.--Lunar
Rainbow.--Appearance of the Village.--Mound of Ruins.--Visit to the
Ruins of Zibilnocac.--A Well.--A long Edifice.--Lazy Escort.--An
anxious Host.--Return to the Village.--A prosperous Emigrant.--A
Dinner.--Medical Practice.--Deplorable Condition of the Country in
regard to Medical Aid.--Second Visit to the Ruins.--Front of an
Edifice.--Square Structures.--Interesting Painting.--An ancient
Well.--Mounds.--Vestiges of a great City.
CHAPTER XI.
End of Journey in this Direction.--Lake of Peten.--Probable Existence
of Ruins in the Wilderness.--Islands in the Lake of Peten.--Peten
Grande.--Mission of two Monks.--Great Idol of the Figure of a
Horse.--Broken by the Monks, who in Consequence are obliged to
leave the Island.--Second Mission of the Monks.--Sent away by
the Indians.--Expedition of Don Martin Ursua.--Arrival at the
Island.--Attacked by the Indians, who are defeated.--Don Martin takes
Possession of Itza.--Temples and Idols of the Indians.--Destroyed
by the Spaniards.--Flight of the Indians into the
Wilderness.--Preparations.--Illness of Mr. Catherwood.--Effects of
Gambling.--From the Church to the Gaming-table.--How People live at
Iturbide.--Departure.--Rancho of Noyaxche.
CHAPTER XII.
Journey resumed.--An Aguada.--The Aguadas artificial, and built by the
Aboriginal Inhabitants.--Examination of one by Senor Trego.--Its
Construction.--Ancient Wells.--Pits.--A Sugar Rancho.--Rancho of
'Y-a-Walthel.--Rancho of Choop.--Arrival at Macoba.--The
Ruins.--Lodgings in a miserable Hut.--Wells.--Ruined
Buildings.--Another Aguada.--Pits.--Astonishment of the
Indians.--Falling in Love at first Sight.--Interesting
Characters.--Departure.--Thick Undergrowth.--Rancho of Puut.--An
Incident.--Situation of the Rancho.--Water.--Ruins of Mankeesh.
CHAPTER XIII.
Rancho of Jalal.--Picturesque Aguada.--Excavations made in it by the
Indians.--System of Aguadas.--Journey resumed.--Lose the Road.--An
Effort in the Maya Language.--Grove of Orange Trees.--Ruins of
Yakatzib.--Dilapidated Edifice.--Stony Sierra.--Village of
Becanchen.--Hospitality.--Sculptured Stones.--Wells.--Running
Stream of Water.--Derivation of the Word Becanchen.--Rapid Growth of
the Village.--Source of the Water of the Wells.--Accident to an
Indian.--The Party separate.--Aguadas.--A Trogon.--Hacienda of
Zaccacal.--Visit to the Ruins.--Stone Terrace.--Circular Hole.--Two
Buildings.--Garrapatas.--Black Ants.--Return.
CHAPTER XIV.
Village of San Jose.--Thatched Church.--The Cura--A refractory
Indian.--Attachment of the Indians.--Journey to Mani.--The
Sierra.--Hacienda of Santa Maria.--A ruined Mound.--Good Road.--Arrival
at the City of Tekax.--A bloodless Revolution.--Situation and
Appearance of the City.--An interesting Meeting.--Curiosity of the
People.--Akil.--The Site of a ruined City:--Sculptured Stones.--Journey
resumed.--Arrival at Mani.--Historical Notice.--Tutul Xiu.--Embassy to
the Lords of Zotuta.--Ambassadors murdered.--Mani the first interior
Town that submitted to the Spaniards.--Scanty Supply of Water
throughout the Country.--Important Consideration.--A touching
Discovery.
CHAPTER XV.
Buying a Wardrobe.--Crowd of Loungers.--Visit to the Ruins.--A long
Edifice built by the Spaniards.--Interesting Well.--Indian Legend.--The
Mother of the Dwarf.--Exploration of the Well.--Remains of large
Mounds.--Cogolludo.--Ancient and curious Painting.--Books and ancient
Characters of the Indians burned by the Spaniards.--Archives of
Mani.--Important Documents.--Ancient Map.--Instrument endorsed
on its Back.--Important Bearing of these Documents.--What was
Uxmal?--Argument.--No Vestiges of a Spanish Town at Uxmal.--Churches
erected by the Spaniards in all their Settlements.--No Indications of a
Church at Uxmal.--Conclusions.--Suspicions of the People.--Church and
Convent.--Extensive View from the Top of the Church.
CHAPTER XVI.
Departure from Mani.--Ornithology of Yucatan.--Discoveries of Doctor
Cabot.--Village of Tixmeach.--Peto.--Church and Convent.--News
from Home.--Don Pio Perez.--Indian Almanac.--A Fragment of Maya
Manuscript.--Journey resumed.--Taihxiu.--Yaxcala.--Piste.--Arrival
at Chichen.--First Sight of the Ruins.--The Hacienda.--A strange
Reception.--Lodgings.--Situation of the Ruins.--Mr. Burke.--Magnificent
Appearance of the Ruins.--Derivation of the Word
Chichen.--Senotes.--Different from those before presented.--Mischievous
Boys.--Failure of the Corn Crop.
CHAPTER XVII.
Plan of the Ruins.--An Edifice called
Akatzeeb.--Doorways.--Apartments.--Circular Mass of
Masonry.--Mysterious Chamber.--Sculptured Stone Tablet.---Majestic
Pile of Building called the Monjas.--Hieroglyphics.--Rich
Ornaments.--Doorways, Chambers, &c.--Remains of Painting.--The Eglesia,
or Church.--Ornaments on the Facade.--Cartouches in Plaster.--Circular
Edifice called the Caracol.--Apartment.--Staircase, having on each Side
entwined Serpents.--Gigantic Head.--Doorways.--Paintings.--Building
called Chichanchob.--Ornaments.--Row of Hieroglyphics.--Another
Building.--Vestiges of Mounds and ruined Buildings.--Extraordinary
Edifice, to which the Name Gymnasium or Tennis-court is
given.--Ornamented Columns.--Sculptured Figures in Bas-relief.--Massive
Stone Rings, with entwined Serpents.--Indian Sports.--Two Ranges of
Buildings.--Procession of Tigers.--Sculptured Columns.--Figures
in Bas-relief.--Richly-carved lintel.--Paintings. The
Castillo.--Staircase.--Colossal Serpents' Heads.--Doorways.--Carved
Lintels.--Jambs ornamented with Sculptured
Figures.--Corridors.--Apartments.--Square Pillars, covered with
Sculptured Figures.--Rows of Columns.--Occupation and Abandonment of
Chichen by the Spaniards.--First Discovery of Chichen.--Senotes.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Departure from Chichen.--Village of Cawa.--Cuncunul.--Arrival at
Valladolid.--An Accident.--Appearance of the City.--Don Pedro
Baranda's Cotton Factory.--A Countryman.--Mexican Revolution.--The
Indians as Soldiers.--Adventures of a Demonio.--Character of the
People.--Gamecocks.--Difficulty of obtaining Information in regard to
the Route.--Departure for the Coast.--Party of Indians.--Village of
Chemax.--Fate of Molas the Pirate.--Discouraging Accounts.--Plans
deranged.--The Convent.--The Cura.--Population of the Village.--Its
early History.--Ruins of Coba.--Indian Sepulchre.--Relics.--A Penknife
found in the Sepulchre.
CHAPTER XIX.
Departure.--Journey to Yalahao.--Stony Road.--Arrival at the Port.--The
Sea.--Appearance of the Village.--Bridge.--Springs.--Pirates.--Scarcity
of Ramon.--The Castillo.--Its Garrison.--Don Vicente Albino.--An
Incident.--Arrangements for a Voyage down the Coast.--Embarcation.--The
Canoa El Sol.--Objects of the Voyage.--Point Moscheto.--Point
Frances.--An Indian Fisherman.--Cape Catoche.--The first Landing-place
of the Spaniards.--Island of Contoy.--Sea-birds.--Island of
Mugeres.--Lafitte.--Harpooning a Turtle.--Different Kinds of
Turtle.--Island of Kancune.--Point of Nesuc.--Sharks.--Moschetoes.--Bay
of San Miguel.--Island of Cozumel.--Rancho established by the Pirate
Molas.--Don Vicente Albino.--Mr. George Fisher.--Piratical Aspect of
the Island.--A Well.--Plantation of Cotton.--Stroll along the Shore.
CHAPTER XX.
A crippled Dog.--Island of Cozumel known to the Natives by the Name of
Cuzamil.--Discovered by Juan De Grijalva.--Extracts from the Itinerary
of his Voyage.--Towers seen by the Spaniards.--An ancient Indian
Village.--Temples.--Idols prostrated by the Spaniards.--Present State
of the Island.--Overgrown with Trees.--Terrace and Building.--Another
Building.--These Buildings probably the Towers seen by the
Spaniards.--Identical with those on the Mainland.--Ruins of a Spanish
Church.--Its History unknown.--Vanity of Human Expectations.--Opinion
of the old Spanish Writers.--Their Belief that the Cross was found
among the Indians as a Symbol of Christian Worship.--The "Cozumel
Cross" at Merida.--Platform in Front of the Church.--Square
Pillars.--Once supported Crosses.--The Cozumel Cross one of them.--The
Cross never recognised by the Indians as a Symbol of Worship.--Rare
Birds.--A Sudden Storm.--The Canoa in a Strait.--Fearful Apprehensions.
CHAPTER XXI.
Search for the Canoa.--An Iron-bound Coast.--A wild Opening.--A
sheltered Cove.--The Canoa found.--The Account of the Patron.--A Man
overboard.--Return.--Sea-shells.--Departure from Cozumel.--Coast
of Yucatan.--Square Buildings.--First Sight of the Castillo of
Tuloom.--Rancho of Tancah.--Molas.--His two Sons.--Visit to the Ruins
of Tuloom.--Buildings seen on the Way.--Magnificent Scenery.--The
Castillo.--Front View.--Grand Staircase.--Columns.--Corridors.--The Red
Hand.--The Wings of the Castillo, consisting of two Ranges.--Devices in
Stucco.--Flat Roofs.--Back View of the Castillo.--A Storm.--Sudden
Change of Feeling.--Ruined Buildings.--Square Terrace.--Picturesque
Sight.--Fragments of Tablets.--Isolated Building.--Curious
Figure.--Paintings.--Discovery of the City Wall.--Its good
Preservation.--Gateways.--Watchtowers.--Buildings.--Ceilings
constructed on a new Principle.--Onslaught of Moschetoes.
CHAPTER XXII.
Discovery of a Building.--Two others.--Description of the first
Building.--Ornaments in Stucco.--Columns.--Corridor.--Paintings.--
Central Chamber.--Altar.--Upper Story.--Stone Tablets.--Another
Building.--Mutilated Figure.--Apartments.--Altar.--A third
Building.--This City seen by the early Spanish Voyagers.--Continued to
be occupied after the Conquest.--Adoratorios.--Accounts of ruined
Cities in the Interior.--Return Voyage.--Sea-sickness.--Nesuc.--
Kancune.--Ruined Buildings.--Island of Mugeres.--Sea-birds.--Appearance
of the Island.--A hideous Funeral Pile.--Ibises.--Lafitte.--Piratical
Associations.--Confession of a Pirate.--Visit to the Ruins.--A
lonely Edifice.--Grand Scene.--Corridors.--Inscriptions.--Square
Building.--Account of Bernal Dias.--Departure from the Island.--
Catoche.--Yalahao.--Ancient Mound.--El Cuyo.--An old Acquaintance in
Misfortune.
CHAPTER XXIII.
Port of Silan.--Hospitality.--Breakfast.--Walk along the Shore.--
Flamingoes.--Shooting Excursion to Punta Arenas.--Wild Road.--Take
Possession of a Hut.--Great Variety and immense Numbers of Wild
Fowl.--Get Stuck in the Mud.--Flamingoes and Spoonbills.--A ludicrous
Adventure.--Dissection of Birds.--Return to the Port.--The Quartel.--A
Catastrophe.--Departure.--Village of Silan.--Gigantic Mound.--View
from its Top.--Another Mound.--Accounts of Herrera and Cogolludo.--The
Grave of Lafitte.--Hospitality of the Padres.--Departure from
Silan.--Temax.--Church and Convent.--Izamal.--Fiesta of Santa
Cruz.--Appearance of the City.--Mounds.--Colossal Ornaments in
Stucco.--Gigantic Head.--Stupendous Mound.--Interior Chambers.--Church
and Convent.--Built on an ancient Mound.--A Legend.--A Ball.
CHAPTER XXIV.
Departure for Merida.--The Road.--Cacalchen.--Hacienda of Ake.--The
Ruins.--Great Mound called the Palace.--Immense Staircase.--Grand
Approach.--Columns.--No Remains of a Building on the Mound.--Other
Mounds.--Interior Chamber.--A Senote.--Rude and Massive Character of
these Ruins.--End of Journey among ruined Cities.--Number of Cities
discovered.--Of the Builders of the American Cities.--Opinion.--Built
by the Ancestors of the present Race of Indians.--Reply to Arguments
urged against this Belief.--Absence of Tradition.--Unparalleled
Circumstances which attended the Conquest.--Unscrupulous Policy of the
Spaniards.--Want of Tradition not confined to Events before the
Conquest.--Nor peculiar to American Ruins.--Degeneracy of the
Indians.--Insufficiency of these Arguments.--Farewell to Ruins.
CHAPTER XXV.
Departure.--Arrival at Merida.--Old Acquaintances.--Giraffes.--Aspect
of the Political Horizon.--The great Question of the Revolution
undecided.--Nomination of Deputies to the Mexican Congress.--Santa
Ana's Ultimatum.--Dissensions.--Pitiable Condition of the
State.--Cause of the Convulsions of the Southern Republics.--State
Rights.--Preparations for Departure from the Country.--Invasion of
Yucatan.--Parting with Friends.--Embarcation for Havana.--Arrival
there.--A Paseo.--The Tomb of Columbus.--Passage Home.--Conclusion.
ENGRAVINGS. VOL. II.
1. Frontispiece.
2. Front of the Casa Grande at Zayi
3. Facade of the farthest Building at Zaji
4. Ground Plan of the Casa Grande
5. Terrace and Building
6. Terrace and Building
7. Ruined Building
8. Building at Sabachshe
9. Building at Sabachshe
10. Pyramidal Mound and Building at Labna
11. Arched Gateway
12. Interior Front of Gateway
13. Portion of a Facade
14. Casa Real of Kewick
15. Doorway at Kewick
16. Curious Painting
17. Front of a Building
18. Building at Sacbey
19. Building at Xampon
20. Building at Chunhuhu
21. A Doorway
22. A Building
23. A Building
24. Entrance to a Cave at Bolonchen
25. Principal Staircase in the Cave
26. Section of the Cave
27. A grand Structure
28. Ground Plan
29. Bas-reliefs
30. Building at Zibilnocac
31. An Aguada
32. Building at Macoba
33. An Aguada
34. System of Aguadas
35. Map of Mani
36. Senote at Chichen
37. The Akatzeeb
38. Sculptured Stone Tablet
39. End Facade of the Monjas
40. Front of the Monjas
41. The Eglesia, or Church
42. The Caracol, a Circular Edifice
43. The Casa Colorada
44. Hieroglyphics
45. Picturesque View
46. Gymnasium, or Tennis Court
47. Sculptured Entwined Serpents
48. An Edifice
49. Figures in Bas-relief
50. Paintings
51. The Castillo
52. Staircase, with colossal Serpents' Heads
53. Sculptured Figure
54. An Apartment
55. Rows of Columns and Castillo
56. Port of Yalahao
57. Island of Cozumel
58. Square Building
59. Front View of the Castillo of Tuloom
60. Back View of the Castillo
61. An isolated Edifice
62. Plan of the City Wall
63. A Watch-tower
64. A Building
65. A Building
66. An Adoratorio
67. A lonely Edifice
68. Immense Mound
69. Gigantic Head
70. Mound called El Palacio
INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL
IN
YUCATAN.
CHAPTER I.
Departure from Nohcacab.--Outfit.--Rancho of Chack.--Fright of the
Women.--Rancho of Schawill--Casa Real.--Scarcity of Water.--Visit
from the Alcalde.--Primitive Mode of obtaining Water.--A peculiar
People.--Ruins of Zayi.--Great tree-covered Mound.--The Casa
Grande.--Fortunate Discovery.--Staircase.--Doorways, &c.--Buildings on
the second Terrace.--Doorways.--Curiously ornamented Columns.--Building
on the third Terrace.--Doorways, Apartments, &c.--Stone
Lintels.--Facade of the second Range of Buildings.--Ground Plan of the
three Ranges.--The Casa Cerrada.--Doorways filled up inside with Stone
and Mortar.--Finished Apartments, also filled up.--This filling up
simultaneous with the Erection of the Building.--A Mound.--Ruined
Building.--Its Interior.--Sculptured Head, &c.--A strange
Structure.--An Archway.--Perpendicular Wall.--Stuccoed Figures and
Ornaments.--Great Terrace and Building.--Apartments, &c.--Want of
Interest manifested by the Indians in regard to these Ruins.
On the twenty-fourth of January we left Nohcacab. It was a great relief
to bid farewell to this place, and the only regret attending our
departure was the reflection that we should be obliged to return. The
kindness and attentions of the padrecito and his brother, and, indeed,
of all the villagers, had been unremitted, but the fatigue of riding
twelve miles every day over the same ground, and the difficulty of
procuring Indians to work, were a constant source of annoyance; besides
which, we had a feeling that operated during the whole of our journey:
wherever we were taken ill we became disgusted with the place, and were
anxious to leave it.
We were setting out on a tour which, according to the plan laid out,
embraced a circuit of ruins, and required us to revisit Nohcacab,
although our return would be only to make it a point of departure in
another direction.
In consequence of this plan we left behind all our heavy luggage, and
carried with us only the Daguerreotype apparatus, hammocks, one large
box containing our tin table service, a candlestick, bread, chocolate,
coffee, and sugar, and a few changes of clothing in pestaquillas.
Besides Albino and Bernaldo we had a puny lad of about fifteen, named
Barnaby, a much smaller pattern than either of the others, and all
three together were hardly equal in bulk to one fairly developed man.
We were all provided with good horses for the road. Mr. Catherwood had
one on which he could make a sketch without dismounting; Dr. Cabot
could shoot from the back of his. Mine could, on an emergency, be
pushed into a hard day's journey for a preliminary visit. Albino rode a
hard-mouthed, wilful beast, which shook him constantly like a fit of
the fever and ague, and which we distinguished by the name of the
trotter. Bernaldo asked for a horse, because Albino had one, but,
instead of riding, he had to put a strap across his forehead and carry
his own luggage on his back.
We were about entering a region little or not at all frequented by
white men, and occupied entirely by Indians. Our road lay through the
ruins of Kabah, a league beyond which we reached the rancho of Chack.
This was a large habitation of Indians, under the jurisdiction of the
village of Nohcacab. There was not a white man in the place, and as we
rode through, the women snatched up their children, and ran from us
like startled deer. I rode up to a hut into which I saw a woman enter,
and, stopping at the fence, merely from curiosity, took out a cigar,
and, making use of some of the few Maya words we had picked up, asked
for a light, but the door remained shut. I dismounted, and before I had
tied my horse the women rushed out and disappeared among the bushes. In
one part of the rancho was a casa real, being a long thatched hut with
a large square before it, protected by an arbour of leaves, and on one
side was a magnificent seybo tree, throwing its shade to a great
distance round.
On leaving this rancho we saw at a distance on the left a high ruined
building standing alone amid a great intervening growth of woods, and
apparently inaccessible. Beyond, and at the distance of four leagues
from Nohcacab, we reached the rancho of Schawill, which was our first
stopping-place, on account of the ruins of Zayi in its immediate
neighbourhood. This place also was inhabited exclusively by Indians,
rancho being the name given to a settlement not of sufficient
importance to constitute a village. The casa real, like that at Chack,
was a large hut, with mud walls and a thatched roof. It had an open
place in front about a hundred feet square, enclosed by a fence made of
poles, and shaded by an arbour of palm leaves. Around the hut were
large seybo trees. The casa real is erected in every rancho of Indians
expressly for the reception of the cura on his occasional or perhaps
barely possible visits, but it is occupied also by small dealers from
the villages, who sometimes find their way to these ranchos to buy up
hogs, maize, and fowls. The hut, when swept out, and comparatively
clear of fleas, made a large and comfortable apartment, and furnished
ample swinging room for six hammocks, being the number requisite for
our whole retinue.
This place was under the parochial charge of our friend the cura of
Ticul, who, however, owing to the multiplicity of his other
occupations, had visited it but once. The padrecito had sent notice of
our coming, and had charged the people to be in readiness to receive
us. Immediately on our arrival, therefore, Indians were at hand to
procure ramon for the horses, but there was no water. The rancho had no
well, and was entirely dependant on that of Chack, three miles distant.
For two reals, however, the Indians undertook to procure us four
cantaros, one for each horse, which would serve for the night. In the
evening we had a formal visit from the alcalde and his alguazils, and
half the village besides.
Although we had been some time in the country, we regarded this as
really the beginning of our travels; and though the scenes we had met
with already were not much like any we had ever encountered before, our
first day's journey introduced us to some that were entirely new. The
Indians assembled under the arbour, where they, with great formality,
offered us seats, and the alcalde told us that the rancho was poor, but
they would do all they could to serve us. Neither he nor any other in
the place spoke a word of Spanish, and our communications were through
Albino. We opened the interview by remonstrating against the charge of
two reals for watering our horses, but the excuse was satisfactory
enough. In the rainy season they had sources of supply in the
neighbourhood, and these were perhaps as primitive as in any other
section of the habitable world, being simply deposites of rain-water in
the holes and hollows of rocks, which were called sartenejas. From the
rocky nature of the country, these are very numerous; during the rainy
season they are replenished as fast as they are exhausted, and at the
time of our visit, owing to the long continuance of the rains, they
furnished a sufficient supply for domestic use, but the people were not
able to keep horses or cows, or cattle of any kind, the only animals
they had being hogs. In the dry season this source of supply failed
them; the holes in the rocks were dry, and they were obliged to send to
the rancho of Chack, the well of which they represented as being half a
mile under ground, and so steep that it was reached only by descending
nine different staircases.
This account saved them from all imputation of churlishness in not
giving our horses water. It seemed strange that any community should be
willing to live where this article of primary necessity was so
difficult to be obtained, and we asked them why they did not break up
their settlement and go elsewhere; but this idea seemed never to have
occurred to them; they said their fathers had lived there before them,
and the land around was good for milpas. In fact, they were a peculiar
people, and I never before regretted so much my ignorance of the Maya
language. They are under the civil jurisdiction of the village of
Nohcacab, but the right of soil is their own by inheritance. They
consider themselves bitter off than in the villages, where the people
are subject to certain municipal regulations and duties, or than on the
haciendas, where they would be under the control of masters.
Their community consists of a hundred labradores, or working men; their
lands are held and wrought in common, and the products are shared by
all. Their food is prepared at one hut, and every family sends for its
portion, which explained a singular spectacle we had seen on our
arrival; a procession of women and children, each carrying an earthen
bowl containing a quantity of smoking hot broth, all coming down the
same road, and dispersing among the different huts. Every member
belonging to the community, down to the smallest pappoose, contributed
in turn a hog. From our ignorance of the language, and the number of
other and more pressing matters claiming our attention, we could not
learn all the details of their internal economy, but it seemed to
approximate that improved state of association which is sometimes heard
of among us; and as theirs has existed for an unknown length of time,
and can no longer be considered merely experimental, Owen or Fourier
might perhaps take lessons from them with advantage.
They differ from professed reformers in one important particular--they
seek no converts. No stranger is allowed, upon any consideration, to
enter their community; every member must marry within the rancho, and
no such thing as a marriage out of it had ever occurred. They said it
was impossible; it could not happen. They were in the habit of going to
the villages to attend the festivals; and when we suggested a
supposable case of a young man or woman falling in love with some
village Indian, they said it might happen; there was no law against it;
but none could _marry_ out of the ranch. This was a thing so little
apprehended that the punishment for it was not defined in their penal
code; but being questioned, after some consultation they said that the
offender, whether man or woman, would be expelled. We remarked that in
their small community constant intermarriages must make them all
relatives, which they said was the case since the reduction of their
numbers by the cholera. They were, in fact, all kinsfolk, but it was
allowable for kinsfolk to marry except in the relationship of brothers
and sisters. They were very strict in attendance upon the ceremonies of
the Church, and had just finished the celebration of the carnival two
weeks in advance of the regular time; but when we corrected their
chronology, they said they could celebrate it over again.
Early in the morning we set out for the ruins of Zayi, or Salli. At a
short distance from the rancho we saw in an overgrown milpa on our left
the ruins of a mound and building, so far destroyed that they are not
worth presenting.
After proceeding a mile and a half we saw at some distance before us a
great tree-covered mound, which astonished us by its vast dimensions,
and, but for our Indian assistants, would have frightened us by the
size of the trees growing upon it. The woods commenced from the
roadside. Our guides cut a path, and, clearing the branches overhead,
we followed on horseback, dismounting at the foot of the Casa Grande.
It was by this name that the Indians called the immense pile of white
stone buildings, which, buried in the depths of a great forest, added
new desolation to the waste by which they were surrounded. We tied our
horses, and worked our way along the front. The trees were so close
that we could take in but a small portion of it at once. If we had
encountered these woods at Kabah, where we had such difficulties in
procuring Indians, we should have despaired of being able to accomplish
anything, but, fortunately so far, where our labours were great we had
at hand the means of performing them.
We were at no loss what to do, our great object now being to economize
time. Without waiting to explore the rest of the ground, we set the
Indians at work, and in a few minutes the stillness of ages was broken
by the sharp ringing of the axe and the crash of falling trees. With a
strong force of Indians, we were able, in the course of the day, to lay
bare the whole of the front.
Dr. Cabot did not arrive on the ground till late in the day, and,
coming upon it suddenly from the woods, when there were no trees to
obstruct the view, and its three great ranges and immense proportions
were visible at once, considered it the grandest spectacle he had seen
in the country.
[Engraving 2: Front of the Casa Grande at Zayi]
The plate opposite represents the front of this building. The view was
taken from a mound, at the distance of about five hundred feet,
overgrown and having upon it a ruined edifice. In clearing away the
trees and undergrowth, to this mound we discovered a pila, or stone,
hollowed out, and filled with rain-water, which was a great acquisition
to us while working at these ruins.
The plate represents so much of the building as now remains and can be
presented in a drawing.
It has three stories or ranges, and in the centre is a grand staircase
thirty-two feet wide, rising to the platform of the highest terrace.
This staircase, however, is in a ruinous condition, and, in fact, a
mere mound, and all that part of the building on the right had fallen,
and was so dilapidated that no intelligible drawing could be made of
it; we did not even clear away the trees. The engraving represents all
that part which remains, being the half of the building on the left of
the staircase.
The lowest of the three ranges is two hundred and sixty-five feet in
front and one hundred and twenty in depth. It had sixteen doorways,
opening into apartments of two chambers each. The whole front wall has
fallen; the interiors are filled with fragments and rubbish, and the
ground in front was so encumbered with the branches of fallen trees,
even after they had been chopped into pieces and beaten down with
poles, that, at the distance necessary for making a drawing, but a
small portion of the interior could be seen. The two ends of this range
have each six doorways, and the rear has ten, all opening into
apartments, but in general they are in a ruinous condition.
The range of buildings on the second terrace was two hundred and twenty
feet in length and sixty feet in depth, and had four doorways on each
side of the grand staircase, Those on the left, which are all that
remain, have two columns in each doorway, each column being six feet
six inches high, roughly made, with square capitals, like Doric, but
wanting the grandeur pertaining to all known remains of this ancient
order. Filling up the spaces between the doorways are four small
columns curiously ornamented, close together, and sunk in the wall.
Between the first and second and third and fourth doorways a small
staircase leads to the terrace of the third range. The platform of this
terrace is thirty feet in front and twenty-five in the rear. The
building is one hundred and fifty feet long by eighteen feet deep, and
has seven doorways opening into as many apartments. The lintels over
the doorways are of stone.
[Engraving 3: Facade of the farthest Building at Zayi]
The exterior of the third and highest range was plain; that of the two
other ranges had been elaborately ornamented; and, in order to give
some idea of their character, I present opposite a portion of the
facade of the second range. Among designs common in other places is the
figure of a man supporting himself on his hands, with his legs expanded
in a curious rather than delicate attitude, of which a small portion
appears on the right of the engraving; and again we have the "large and
very well constructed buildings of lime and stone" which Bernal Dias
saw at Campeachy, "with figures of _serpents_ and of idols painted on
the walls."
[Engraving 4: Ground Plan of the Casa Grande]
The following engraving represents the ground plan of the three ranges,
and gives the dimensions of the terraces. The platforms are wider in
front than in the rear; the apartments vary from twenty-three to ten
feet, and the north side of the second range has a curious and
unaccountable feature. It is called the Casa Cerrada, or closed house,
having ten doorways, all of which are blocked up inside with stone and
mortar. Like the well at Xcoch, it had a mysterious reputation in the
village of Nohcacab, and all believed that it contained hidden
treasure. Indeed, so strong was this belief, that the alcalde Segundo,
who had never visited these ruins, resolved to take advantage of our
presence; and, according to agreement in the village, came down with
crowbars to assist us in breaking into the closed apartments and
discovering the precious hoard. The first sight of these closed-up
doorways gave us a strong desire to make the attempt; but on moving
along we found that the Indians had been beforehand with us. In front
of several were piles of stones, which they had worked out from the
doorways, and under the lintels were holes, through which we were able
to crawl inside; and here we found ourselves in apartments finished
with walls and ceilings like all the others, but filled up (except so
far as they had been emptied by the Indians) with solid masses of
mortar and stone. There were ten of these apartments in all, 220 feet
long and ten feet deep, which being thus filed up, made the whole
building a solid mass; and the strangest feature was that the filling
up of the apartments must have been simultaneous with the erection of
the buildings, for, as the filling-in rose above the tops of the
doorways, the men who performed it never could have entered to their
work through the doors. It must have been done as the walls were built,
and the ceiling must have closed over a solid mass. Why this was so
constructed it was impossible to say, unless the solid mass was
required for the support of the upper terrace and building; and if this
was the case, it would seem to have been much easier to erect a solid
structure at once, without any division into apartments.
The top of this building commanded a grand view, no longer of a dead
plain, but of undulating woodlands. Toward the northwest, crowning the
highest hill, was a lofty mound, covered with trees, which, to our now
practised eyes, it was manifest shrouded a building, either existing or
in ruins. The whole intervening space was thick wood and underbrush,
and the Indians said the mound was inaccessible. I selected three of
the best, and told them that we must reach it; but they really did not
know how to make the attempt, and set out on a continuation of the road
by which we had reached the ruins, and which led us rather from than to
the mound. On the way we met another Indian, who turned back with us,
and a little beyond, taking his range, he cut through the woods to
another path, following which a short distance, he again struck through
the woods, and, all cutting together, we reached the foot of a stony
hill covered with the gigantic maguey, or Agave Americana, its long
thorny points piercing and tearing all that touched them. Climbing up
this hill with great toil, we reached the wall of a terrace, and,
climbing this, found ourselves at the foot of the building.
It was in a ruinous condition, and did not repay us for the labour; but
over the door was a sculptured head with a face of good expression and
workmanship. In one of the apartments was a high projection running
along the wall; in another a raised platform about a foot high; and on
the walls of this apartment was the print of the red hand. The doorway
commanded an extensive view of rolling woodland, which, with its livery
of deep green, ought to have conveyed a sensation of gladness, but,
perhaps from its desolation and stillness, it induced rather a feeling
of melancholy. There was but one opening in the forest, being that made
by us, disclosing the Casa Grande, with the figures of a few Indians
still continuing their clearings on the top.
In front of the Casa Grande, at the distance of five hundred yards, and
also visible from the top, is another structure, strikingly different
from any we had seen, more strange and inexplicable, and having at a
distance the appearance of a New-England factory.
[Engraving 5: Terrace and Building]
The engraving which follows represents this building. It stands on a
terrace, and may be considered as consisting of two separate
structures, one above the other. The lower one, in its general
features, resembled all the rest. It was forty feet front, low, and
having a flat roof, and in the centre was an archway running through
the building. The front is fallen, and the whole so ruined that nothing
but the archway appears in the engraving. Along the middle of the roof,
unsupported, and entirely independent of everything else, rises a
perpendicular wall to the height of perhaps thirty feet. It is of
stone, about two feet thick, and has oblong openings through it about
four feet long and six inches wide, like small windows. It had been
covered with stucco, which had fallen off, and left the face of rough
stone and mortar; and on the other side were fragments of stuccoed
figures and ornaments. An Indian appears before it in the act of
killing a snake, with which all the woods of Yucatan abound. Since we
began our exploration of American ruins we had not met with anything
more inexplicable than this great perpendicular wall. It seemed built
merely to puzzle posterity.
These were the only buildings in this immediate neighbourhood which had
survived the wasting of the elements; but, inquiring among the Indians,
one of them undertook to guide me to another, which he said was still
in good preservation. Our direction was south-southwest from the Casa
Grande; and at the distance of about a mile, the whole intermediate
region being desolate and overgrown, we reached a terrace, the area of
which far exceeded anything we had seen in the country. We crossed it
from north to south, and in this direction it must have been fifteen
hundred feet in length, and probably was quite as much in the other
direction; but it was so rough, broken, and overgrown, that we did not
attempt to measure it.
[Engraving 6: Terrace and Building]
On this great platform was the building of which the Indian had told
us; I had it cleared, and Mr. Catherwood drew it the next day, as it
appears in the engraving opposite. It measures one hundred and
seventeen feet in front, and eighty-four feet deep, and contains
sixteen apartments, of which those in front, five in number, are best
preserved. That in the centre has three doorways. It is twenty-seven
feet six inches long, by only seven feet six inches wide, and
communicates by a single doorway with a back room eighteen feet long
and five feet six inches wide. This room is raised two feet six inches
above the one in front, and has steps to ascend. Along the bottom of
the front room, as high as the sill of the door, is a row of small
columns, thirty-eight in number, attached to the wall.
In several places the great platform is strewed with ruins, and
probably other buildings lie buried in the woods, but without guides or
any clew whatever, we did not attempt to look for them.
Such, so far as we were able to discover them, are the ruins of Zayi,
the name of which, to the time of our visit, had never been uttered
among civilized men, and, but for the notoriety connected with our
movements, would probably be unknown at this day in the capital of
Yucatan. Our first accounts of them were from the cura Carillo, who, on
the occasion of his only visit to this part of his curacy, passed a
great portion of his time among them.
It was strange and almost incredible that, with these extraordinary
monuments before their eyes, the Indians never bestowed upon them one
passing thought. The question, who built them? never by any accident
crossed their minds. The great name of Montezuma, which had gone beyond
them to the Indians of Honduras, had never reached their ears, and to
all our questions we received the same dull answer which first met us
at Copan, "Quien sabe?" "Who knows?" They had the same superstitious
feelings as the Indians of Uxmal; they believed that the ancient
buildings were haunted, and, as in the remote region of Santa Cruz del
Quiche, they said that on Good Friday of every year music was heard
sounding among the ruins.
There was but one thing connected with the old city that interested
them at all, and that was the subject of a well. They supposed that
somewhere among these ruins, overgrown and lost, existed the fountain
which had supplied the ancient inhabitants with water; and, believing
that by the use of our instruments its site could be discovered, they
offered to cut down all the trees throughout the whole region covered
by the ruins.
CHAPTER II.
Visit to a ruined Building near Chack.--A Field of Taje.--Description
of the Building.--Hornet's Nest.--Young Vulture.--Picturesque View from
the Terrace.--Well of Chack.--Exploration of its Passages.--Return to
the Rancho.--Departure from Schawill.--The Camino Real.--Rancho of
Sennacte.--Wild Appearance of the Indians.--Continued Scarcity of
Water.--Another ruined City.--Two ruined Buildings.--Apartments,
Columns, &c.--High Wall.--Journey continued.--Rancho of
Sabachshe.--Casa Real.--Well.--Hut of the Alcalde.--The Senora.--Ruins
of Sabachshe.--Picturesque Edifice.--Alacrity of the
Indians.--Facade.--Pilasters, Cornices, &c.--Encounter with an
Iguana.--Another Ruined Building.--The Agave Americana.--More
Ruins.--The Red Hand.--The Red Hand used as a Symbol by the North
American Indians.--Conclusions to be deduced from this
Circumstance.--Delicate Manner of doing a Service.
The next morning, while Mr. Catherwood was engaged in drawing the
building represented in the last engraving, Dr. Cabot and myself set
out to visit the one which we had passed in coming from the rancho of
Chack.
In the suburbs of the rancho we turned off to the right by a path,
which we followed for some distance on horseback, when it changed its
direction, and we dismounted. From this place our guides cut a path
through the woods, and we came out upon a large field of taje, being
long stems growing close together, eight or ten feet high, straight,
and about half an inch thick, having a yellow flower on the top, which
is a favourite food for horses. The stems, tied up in bundles three or
four inches thick, are used for torches. On one side of this field we
saw the high building before referred to, and on the other side was a
second not visible before. A bird which the doctor wished to procure
lighted on a tree growing upon the latter, and we went to it, but found
nothing of particular interest, and struck across the field of taje for
the former. This taje was as bad as the woods to walk through, for it
grew so high as to exclude every breath of air, and was not high enough
to be any protection against the sun.
The building stood on the top of a stony hill, on a terrace still firm
and substantial. It consisted of two stories, the roof of the lower one
forming the platform in front of the upper, and had a staircase, which
was broken and ruined. The upper building had a large apartment in the
centre, and a smaller one on each side, much encumbered with rubbish,
from one of which we were driven by a hornet's nest, and in another a
young vulture, with a hissing noise, flapped its plumeless wings and
hopped out of the door.
The terrace commanded a picturesque view of wooded hills, and at a
distance the Casa Grande, and the high wall before presented. They were
perhaps three or four miles distant. All the intermediate space was
overgrown. The Indians had traversed it in all directions in the dry
season, when there was no foliage to hide the view, and they said that
in all this space there were no vestiges of buildings. Close together
as we had found the remains of ancient habitations, it seemed hardly
possible that distinct and independent cities had existed with but such
a little space between, and yet it was harder to imagine that one city
had embraced within its limits these distant buildings, the extreme
ones being four miles apart, and that the whole intermediate region of
desolation had once swarmed with a teeming and active population.
Leaving this, we toiled back to our horses, and, returning to the road,
passed through the rancho, about a mile beyond which we reached the
pozo, or well, the accounts of which we had heard on our first arrival.
Near the mouth were some noble seybo trees, throwing their great
branches far and wide, under which groups of Indians were arranging
their calabashes and torches, preparing to descend; others, just out,
were wiping their sweating bodies. At one moment an Indian disappeared,
and at the next another rose up out of the earth. We noticed that there
were no women, who, throughout Yucatan, are the drawers of water, and
always seen around a well, but we were told that no woman ever enters
the well of Chack; all the water for the rancho was procured by the
men, which alone indicated that the well was of an extraordinary
character. We had brought with us a ball of twine, and made immediate
preparations to descend, reducing our dress as near as possible to that
of the Indians.
Our first movement was down a hole by a perpendicular ladder, at the
foot of which we were fairly entered into a great cavern. Our guides
preceded us with bundles of taje lighted for torches, and we came to a
second descent almost perpendicular, which we achieved by a ladder laid
flat against the rock. Beyond this we moved on a short distance, still
following our guides, and still descending, when we saw their torches
disappearing, and reached a wild hole, which also we descended by a
long rough ladder. At the foot of this the rock was damp and slippery,
and there was barely room enough to pass around it, and get upon
another ladder down the same hole, now more contracted, and so small
that, with the arms akimbo, the elbows almost touched on each side. At
this time our Indians were out of sight; and in total darkness, feeling
our way by the rounds of the ladder, we cried out to them, and were
answered by distant voices directly underneath. Looking down, we saw
their torches like moving balls of fire, apparently at an interminable
distance below us.
At the foot of this ladder there was a rude platform as a
resting-place, made to enable those ascending and descending to pass
each other. A group of naked Indians, panting and sweating under the
load of their calabashes, were waiting till we vacated the ladder
above; and even in this wild hole, with loads on their backs, straps
binding their foreheads, and panting from fatigue and heat, they held
down their torches, and rendered obeisance to the blood of the white
man. Descending the next ladder, both above and below us were torches
gleaming in the darkness. We had still another ladder to descend, and
the whole perpendicular depth of this hole was perhaps two hundred
feet.
From the foot of this ladder there was an opening to the right, and
from it we soon entered a low, narrow passage, through which we crawled
on our hands and knees. With the toil and the smoke of the torches the
heat was almost beyond endurance. The passage enlarged and again
contracted, descending steeply, and so low that the shoulders almost
touched the roof. This opened upon a great chasm at one side, and
beyond we came to another perpendicular hole, which we descended by
steps cut in the rock. From this there was another low, crawling
passage, and, almost stifled with heat and smoke, we came out into a
small opening, in which was a basin of water, being the well. The place
was crowded with Indians filling their calabashes, and they started at
the sight of our smoky white faces as if El Demonio had descended among
them. It was, doubtless, the first time that the feet of a white man
had ever reached this well.
On returning we measured the distance. Doctor Cabot going before with a
line of about a hundred feet, in the wild and broken passages being
soon out of sight, and sometimes out of hearing. I followed, with an
Indian winding up the line, while I made notes. I had two Indians with
long bundles of lighted sticks, who, whenever I stopped to write,
either held them so far off as to be of no use, or else thrust them
into my face, blinding the eyes with smoke and scorching the skin. I
was dripping as if in a vapour-bath; my face and hands were black with
smoke and incrusted with dirt; large drops of sweat fell upon my book,
which, with the dirt from my hands, matted the leaves together, so that
my notes are almost useless. They were, no doubt, imperfect, but I do
not believe that, with the most accurate details, it is possible to
convey a true idea of the character of this cave, with its deep holes
and passages through a bed of solid rock, and the strange scene
presented by the Indians, with torches and calabashes, unmurmuring and
uncomplaining, at their daily task of seeking, deep in the bowels of
the earth, one of the great elements of life.
The distance, as we traversed it, with its ladders, ascents and
descents, winding and crawling passages, seemed a full half league, as
represented by the Indians. By measurement it was not quite fifteen
hundred feet, which is about equal to the length of the Park fronting
on Broadway. The perpendicular depth to the water I am not able to
give, but some idea may be formed of these passages from the fact that
the Indians did not carry their calabashes on their shoulders, because,
with the body bent, they would strike against the roof or roll over the
head; but the straps across the forehead were let out so long that the
calabashes rested below the hips, and in crawling on the hands and feet
their loads did not rise above the line of the back.
And this well was not, as at Xcoch, the occasional resort of a
straggling Indian, nor the mere traditionary watering-place of an
ancient city. It was the regular and only supply of a living
population. The whole rancho of Chack was entirely dependant upon it,
and in the dry season the rancho of Schawill, three miles distant.
The patient industry of such a people may well be supposed to have
reared the immense mounds and the great stone structures scattered all
over the country. We consumed a calabash of water in washing and
quenching our thirst, and as we rode back to the rancho of Schawill,
came to the conclusion that an admission into the community of this
exclusive people was no great privilege, when it would entail upon the
applicant, for six months in the year, a daily descent into this
subterraneous well.
We arrived at the rancho in good season. Mr. Catherwood had finished
his drawing, and Bernaldo was ready with his dinner. We had nothing to
detain us, ordered carriers forthwith for our luggage, and at half past
two we were in the saddle again in search of ruined cities.
The reader has some idea of the caminos reales of this country, and
they were all like English turnpikes compared with that upon which we
entered on leaving this rancho. In fact, it was a mere path through the
woods, the branches of the trees being trimmed away to a height barely
sufficient to admit of an Indian passing under with a load of maize on
his back. We were advised that it would be very difficult to get
through on horseback, and were obliged to keep dodging the head and
bending the body to avoid the branches, and at times we were brought to
a stand by some overhanging arm of a tree, and obliged to dismount.
At the distance of two leagues we reached the rancho of Sannacte, the
Indians of which were the wildest people in appearance we had yet seen.
As we rode through, the women ran away and hid themselves, and the men
crouched on the ground bareheaded, with long black hair hanging over
their eyes, gazing at us in stupid astonishment. The same scarcity of
water still continued. The rancho was entirely destitute; it had no
pozo or well of any kind, either ancient or modern, and the inhabitants
procured their whole supply from the village of Sabachshe, two leagues,
or six miles, distant! This supply, too, was brought daily on the backs
of Indians; but again in this arid and destitute region was still
another evidence of ancient population--another desolate and ruined
city.
[Engraving 7: Ruined Building]
Beyond the outskirts of the rancho was a large clearing for a milpa,
within which, naked and exposed to full view, were two ancient
buildings. The milpa was enclosed by a fence, and was overgrown with
taje. We tied our horses to the stems of the taje, and, leaving them
eating the flowers, followed a path which led between the two
buildings. The engraving which follows represents the one on the left.
It stands on a terrace, still strong and substantial, and, fortunately,
clear of trees, though many were growing on the top. It has five
apartments; the facade above the cornice is fallen, and between the
doorways are fragments of small columns set in the wall. On the other
side of the milpa was another edifice, holding aloft a high wall, like
that we had seen at Zayi, extraordinary in its appearance and
incomprehensible in its uses and purposes. From the tact and facility
we had now acquired, a short time sufficed for our examination of this
place, and, with one more added to our list of ruined cities, we
mounted, and resumed our journey.
At half past five we reached the rancho of Sabachshe, lying on the
camino real from Ticul to Bolonchen, and inhabited entirely by Indians.
The casa real stood on an elevation in an open place; it was thatched
with palm leaves, had mud walls, and an arbour before it, and a table
and benches within. Altogether, it was better in appearance and
furniture than the others we had encountered, which, as we afterward
learned, was owing to the circumstance that, besides its regular uses,
it was intended for the residence of the mistress on her annual visits
to the rancho. But much more interesting and important was the fact,
that this rancho was distinguished by a well, the sight of which was
more grateful to us than that of the best hotel to the traveller in a
civilized country. We were scratched with thorns, and smarting with
garrapata bites, and looked forward to the refreshment of a bath. Very
soon our horses had the benefit of it, the bath being in that country,
where the currycomb and brush are entirely unknown, the only external
refreshment these animals ever get. The well was built by the present
owner, and formerly the inhabitants were dependant entirely upon the
well at Tabi, six miles distant! Besides its real value, it presented a
curious and lively spectacle. A group of Indian women was around it. It
had no rope or fixtures of any kind for raising water, but across the
mouth was a round beam laid upon two posts, over which the women were
letting down and hoisting up little bark buckets. Every woman brought
with her and carried away her own bucket and rope, the latter coiled up
and laid on the top of her head, with the end hanging down behind, and
the coil forming a sort of headdress.
Near the well was the hut of the alcalde, enclosed by a rude fence, and
within were dogs, hogs, turkeys, and fowls, which all barked, grunted,
gobbled, and cackled together as we entered. The yard was shaded by
orange-trees loaded with ripe and unusually large fruit. Under one of
them was a row of twenty or thirty wild boars' jaws and tusks, trophies
of the chase, and memorials attesting the usefulness of the barking
dogs. The noise brought the alcalde to the door, a heavy and infirm old
man, apparently rich, and suffering from the high living indicated by
his hogs and poultry; but he received us with meekness and humility. We
negotiated forthwith for the purchase of some oranges, and bought
thirty for a medio, stipulating that they should all be the largest and
best on the trees; after which, supporting himself by his cane, he
hobbled on to the casa real, had it swept out, and assigned Indians to
attend upon us. If he wanted alacrity himself, he infused it into his
people, and made up for all deficiencies by unqualified personal
deference and respect. It was a fine evening, and we spread our
supper-table under the arbour. The old alcalde remained with us, and a
group of Indians sat on the steps, not like the proud and independent
race of Schawill, but acknowledging themselves criados, or servants,
bound to obey the orders of their mistress. La senora was, in their
eyes, a miniature print of Queen Victoria, but skill in the use of
figures may arrive at the value of at least this part of her
possessions. There were fifty-five labradores, or labouring men, under
an obligation to plant and harvest ten micates of maize for her benefit
Each micate produces ten cargas, or loads, making in all five hundred
and fifty, which, at three reals per carga, gives as the revenue this
lady comes regularly to collect, about two hundred dollars per annum;
but this gives more power than lands or money to any amount in our
country could give; and the labradores being all free and independent
electors, fifty-five votes could always be calculated upon in an
emergency for the side of principle and la senora.
Having made our arrangements for the next day, we went into the hut and
shut the door. Some time afterward the old alcalde sent in to ask
permission to go home, as he was very sleepy, which we graciously
granted, and, by his direction, three or four Indians swung their
little hammocks under the arbour, to be at hand in case we should need
anything. During the night we found it extremely cold and, with the
little covering we had brought, could hardly keep ourselves
comfortable.
Early in the morning we found a large gathering round the house to
escort us to the ruins. In the suburbs of the rancho we turned off to
the left, and passed among the huts of the Indians, almost smothered by
weeds, and having at the doors rude boxes of earth set up on posts, for
vegetables to grow in out of the reach of the hogs.
Crossing the fence of the last hut, we entered a thick growth of trees.
As if instinctively, every Indian drew his machete, and in a few
minutes they cut a path to the foot of a small building, not rich in
ornament, but tasteful, having some shades of difference from any we
had seen, overgrown by trees, and beautifully picturesque. On one
corner of the roof a vulture had built her nest, and, scared away at
our approach, hovered over our heads, looking down upon us as if
amazed. We gave directions, all the Indians fell to work, and in a few
minutes the small terrace in front was cleared. I had not expected so
many Indians, and, not knowing what occasion I might have for their
services told them that I did not need so great a number, and should
only pay those whom I had engaged. All stopped, and when the purport of
my words was explained to them, said that made no difference; they
immediately set to work again, and the machete fell with a rapidity
unparalleled in our experience. In half an hour space enough was
cleared for Mr. Catherwood to set up his camera lucida. The same
alertness was shown in preparing a place for him to stand in, and half
a dozen stood ready to hold an umbrella for his protection against the
sun.
[Engraving 8: Building at Sabachshe]
The plate opposite represents the front of the building. Its design is
tasteful and even elegant, and when perfect it must have presented a
fine appearance. It has a single doorway, opening into a chamber
twenty-five feet long by ten wide. Above the door is a portion of plain
masonry, and over this a cornice supporting twelve small pilasters,
having between them the diamond ornament, then a massive cornice, with
pilasters and diamond work, surmounted by another cornice, making in
all four cornices; an arrangement we had not previously met with.
While Mr. Catherwood was making his drawing, the Indians stood around
under the shade of the trees, looking at him quietly and respectfully,
and making observations to each other. They were a fine-looking race.
Some of them, one tall old man particularly, had noble Roman faces, and
they seemed to have more respectability of appearance and character
than was consistent with the condition of men not wearing pantaloons.
AH at once an enormous iguana, or lizard, doubled the corner of the
building, ran along the front, and plunged into a crevice over the
door, burying his whole body, but leaving the long tail out. Among
these unsophisticated people this reptile is a table delicacy, and here
was a supper provided for some of them. Machetes flew out, and, cutting
down a sapling with a crotch in it, they rested it against the wall,
and, standing in the crotch, pulled upon the tail; but the animal held
on with his feet as if a part of the building. All the Indians, one
after the other, had a pull at the tail, but could not make him budge.
At length two of them contrived to get hold together, and, while
pulling with all their strength, the tail came off by the roots, a foot
and a half long in their hands. The animal was now more out of their
reach than before, his whole body being hidden in the wall; but he
could not escape. The Indians picked away the mortar with their
machetes, and enlarged the hole until they got his hind legs clear,
when, griping the body above the legs, they again hauled; but, though
he had only the fore legs to hold on with, they could not tear him out.
They then untied the ropes of their sandals, and, fastening them above
the hind legs, and pulling till the long body seemed parting like the
tail, they at length dragged him out. They secured him by a gripe under
the fore part of the body, cracked his spine, and broke the bones of
his fore legs so that he could not run; pried his jaws open, fastened
them apart with a sharp stick so that he could not bite, and then put
him away in the shade. This refined cruelty was to avoid the necessity
of killing him immediately, for if killed, in that hot climate he would
soon be unfit for food; but, mutilated and mangled as he was, he could
be kept alive till night.
[Engraving 9: Building at Sabachshe]
This over, we moved on in a body, carrying the iguana, to the next
building, which was situated in a different direction, about a quarter
of a mile distant, and completely buried in woods. It was seventy-five
feet long, and had three doorways, leading to the same number of
apartments. A great part of the front had fallen; the plate opposite
represents that which remains. With some slight difference in the
detail of ornament, the character is the same as in all the other
buildings, and the general effect pleasing. Growing on the roof are two
maguey plants, Agave Americana, in our latitude called the century
plant, but under the hot sun of the tropics blooming every four or five
years. There are four species of this plant in Yucatan: the maguey,
from which is produced the pulque, a beverage common in all the Mexican
provinces, which, taken in excess, produces intoxication; the henneken,
which produces the article known in our markets as Sisal hemp; the
sabila, with which the Indian women wean children, covering the breast
with the leaf, which is very bitter to the taste; and the peta, having
leaves twice as large as the last, from which a very fine white hemp is
made. These plants, in some or all of their varieties, were found in
the neighbourhood of all the ruins, forming around them a pointed and
thorny wall, which we were obliged to cut through to reach the
buildings.
While Mr. C. was engaged in drawing this structure, the Indians told us
of two others half a league distant. I selected two of them for guides,
and, with the same alacrity which they had shown in everything else,
nine volunteered to accompany me. We had a good path nearly all the
way, until the Indians pointed out a white object seen indistinctly
through the trees, again uttering, with strong gutturals, the familiar
sound of "Xlap-pahk," or old walls. In a few minutes they cut a path to
it. The building was larger than the last, having the front ornamented
in the same way, much fallen, though still presenting an interesting
spectacle. As it was not much overgrown, we set to work and cleared it,
and left it for another, in regard to which I formed some curious
expectations, for the Indians described it as _very new_. It lay on the
same path, to the left in returning to the rancho, and separated from
us by a great field of taje, through which we were obliged to cut a
path for several hundred yards to the foot of the terrace. The walls
were entire and very massive; but climbing up it, I found only a small
building, consisting of but two apartments, the front much fallen, and
the doors filled up, but no sign or token distinguishing it as _newer_
or more modern; and I now learned, what I might have done before by a
little asking, that all they meant by their description of it was, that
it was the newest known to them, having been discovered but twelve
years before, accidentally, on clearing the ground for a milpa, until
which time it was as much unknown to them as to the rest of the world.
This intelligence gave great weight to the consideration which had
often suggested itself before, that cities may exist equal to any now
known, buried in the woods, overgrown and lost, which will perhaps
never be discovered.
On the walls of this desolate edifice were prints of the "mano
colorado," or red hand. Often as I saw this print, it never failed to
interest me. It was the stamp of the living hand; it always brought me
nearer to the builders of these cities, and at times, amid stillness,
desolation, and ruin, it seemed as if from behind the curtain that
concealed them from view was extended the hand of greeting. These
prints were larger than any I had seen. In several places I measured
them with my own, opening the fingers to correspond with those on the
wall. The Indians said it was the hand of the master of the building.
The mysterious interest which, in my eyes, always attached to this red
hand, has assumed a more definite shape. I have been advised that in
Mr. Catlin's collection of Indian curiosities, made during a long
residence among our North American tribes, was a tent presented to him
by the chief of the powerful but now extinct race of Mandans, which
exhibits, among other marks, two prints of the red hand; and I have
been farther advised that the red hand is seen constantly upon the
buffalo robes and skins of wild animals brought in by the hunters on
the Rocky Mountains, and, in fact, that it is a symbol recognised and
in common use by the North American Indians of the present day. I do
not mention these as facts within my own knowledge, but with the hope
of attracting the attention of those who have opportunities and
facilities for investigation; and I suggest the interesting
consideration that, if true, the red hand on the tent and the buffalo
robes points back from the wandering tribes in our country to the
comparatively polished people who erected the great cities at the
south; and if true that it is at this day used as a sign or symbol by
our North American Indians, its meaning can be ascertained from living
witnesses, and through ages of intervening darkness a ray of light may
be thrown back upon the now mysterious and incomprehensible characters
which perplex the stranger on the wall of the desolate southern
buildings.
On my return to the rancho I learned the cause of the extraordinary
attention shown us, which, though we had received it as a matter of
course, and no more than what, for some unknown reasons, was justly due
to us, had, nevertheless, somewhat surprised us. Our movements in that
neighbourhood were matters of some notoriety. Albino's preliminary
visit and our intentions had reached the ears of the senora, and the
evening before our arrival orders from her had arrived at the rancho
for all the Indians to put themselves at our command; and this delicate
manner of doing us a service is one of the many acts of kindness I have
to acknowledge to the citizens of Yucatan. The old alcalde again waited
till he became sleepy, when he asked permission to go to his hut, and
four or five Indians again hung up their hammocks under the arbour.
CHAPTER III.
Ruins of Labna.--Accounts of the Indians not to be relied
on.--Irretrievable Ruin.--Extraordinary
Structure.--Doorways.--Chambers.--Gigantic Wall, covered with Designs
in Stucco.--Death's Heads.--Human Figures in Alto Relievo.--Colossal
Figure seated.--Large Ball and Figures.--Dilapidated State of this
Structure.--An arched Gateway.--Other Buildings.--Richly ornamented
Doorway.--Courtyard.--Ornaments in Stucco.--Large
Building.--Magnificent Edifice.--Facade ornamented with sculptured
Stone.--Circular Hole leading to a subterranean Chamber.--The Ramon
Tree.--A Cave.--Conversation with the Indians.--A Ride to the
Hacienda of Tabi.--Sculptured Ornament.--Other Figures.--Visit
to a Cave.--Tree-encumbered Path.--A Vaquero.--Descent into the
Cave.--Fanciful Scene.--Return to the Rancho.--A Warm Bath.
The next morning we set out for the ruins of Labna. Our road lay
southeast, among hills, and was more picturesque than any we had seen
in the country. At the distance of a mile and a half we reached a field
of ruins, which, after all we had seen, created in us new feelings of
astonishment. It was one of the circumstances attending our exploration
of ruins in this country, that until we arrived on the ground we had no
idea of what we were to meet with. The accounts of the Indians were
never reliable. When they gave us reason to expect much we found but
little, and, on the other hand, when we expected but little a great
field presented itself. Of this place even our friend the cura Carillo
had never heard. Our first intelligence of ruins in this region was
from the brother of the padrecito at Nohcacab, who, however, had never
seen them himself. Since our arrival in the country we had not met with
anything that excited us more strongly, and now we had mingled feelings
of pain and pleasure; of pain, that they had not been discovered before
the sentence of irretrievable ruin had gone forth against them; at the
same time it was matter of deep congratulation that, before the doom
was accomplished, we were permitted to see these decaying, but still
proud memorials of a mysterious people. In a few years, even these will
be gone; and as it has been denied that such things ever were, doubts
may again arise whether they have indeed existed. So strong was this
impression that we determined to fortify in every possible way our
proofs. If anything could have added to the interest of discovering
such a new field of research, it was the satisfaction of having at our
command such an effective force of Indians. No time was lost, and they
began work with a spirit corresponding to their numbers. Many of them
had hachas, or small axes, and the crash of falling trees was like the
stirring noise of felling in one of our own forests.
[Engraving 10: Pyramidal Mound and Building at Labna]
The plate opposite represents a pyramidal mound, holding aloft the most
curious and extraordinary structure we had seen in the country. It put
us on the alert the moment we saw it. We passed an entire day before
it, and, in looking back upon our journey among ruined cities, no
subject of greater interest presents itself to my mind. The mound is
forty-five feet high. The steps had fallen; trees were growing out of
the place where they stood, and we reached the top by clinging to the
branches; when these were cleared away, it was extremely difficult to
ascend and descend. The maguey plants cut down in making the clearing
appear fallen on the steps.
A narrow platform forms the top of the mound. The building faces the
south, and when entire measured forty-three feet in front and twenty
feet in depth. It had three doorways, of which one, with eight feet of
the whole structure, has fallen, and is now in ruins. The centre
doorway opens into two chambers, each twenty feet long and six feet
wide.
Above the cornice of the building rises a gigantic perpendicular wall
to the height of thirty feet, once ornamented from top to bottom, and
from one side to the other, with colossal figures and other designs in
stucco, now broken and in fragments, but still presenting a curious and
extraordinary appearance, such as the art of no other people ever
produced. Along the top, standing out on the wall, was a row of death's
heads; underneath were two lines of human figures in alto relievo (of
which scattered arms and legs alone remain), the grouping of which, so
far as it could be made out, showed considerable proficiency in that
most difficult department of the art of design. Over the centre
doorway, constituting the principal ornament of the wall, was a
colossal figure seated, of which only a large tippet and girdle, and
some other detached portions, have been preserved. Conspicuous over the
head of this principal figure is a large ball, with a human figure
standing up beside it, touching it with his hands, and another below it
with one knee on the ground, and one hand thrown up as if in the effort
to support the ball, or in the apprehension of its falling upon him. In
all our labours in that country we never studied so diligently to make
out from the fragments the combinations and significance of these
figures and ornaments. Standing in the same position, and looking at
them all together, we could not agree.
Mr. Catherwood made two drawings at different hours and under a
different position of the sun, and Dr. Cabot and myself worked upon it
the whole day with the Daguerreotype. With the full blaze of a vertical
sun upon it, the white stone glared with an intensity dazzling and
painful to the eyes, and almost realizing the account by Bernal Dias in
the expedition to Mexico, of the arrival of the Spaniards at Cempoal.
"Our advanced guard having gone to the great square, the buildings of
which had been lately whitewashed and plastered, in which art these
people are very expert, one of our horsemen was so struck with the
splendour of their appearance in the sun, that he came back at full
speed to Cortez, to tell him that the walls of the houses were of
silver."
Our best view was obtained in the afternoon, when the edifice was in
shade, but so broken and confused were the ornaments that a distinct
representation could not be made even with the Daguerreotype, and the
only way to make out all the details was near approach by means of a
ladder; we had all the woods to make one of, but it was difficult for
the Indians to make one of the length required; and when made it would
have been too heavy and cumbersome to manage on the narrow platform in
front. Besides, the wall was tottering and ready to fall. One portion
was already gone in a perpendicular line from top to bottom, and the
reader will see in the engraving that on a line with the right of the
centre doorway the wall is cracked, and above is gaping, and stands
apart more than a foot all the way to the top. In a few years it must
fall. Its doom is sealed. Human power cannot save it; but in its ruins
it gave a grand idea of the scenes of barbaric magnificence which this
country must have presented when all her cities were entire. The
figures and ornaments on this wall were painted; the remains of bright
colours are still visible, defying the action of the elements. If a
solitary traveller from the Old World could by some strange accident
have visited this aboriginal city when it was yet perfect, his account
would have seemed more fanciful than any in Eastern story, and been
considered a subject for the Arabian Nights' Entertainments.
[Engraving 11: Arched Gateway]
At the distance of a few hundred feet from this structure, in sight at
the same time as we approached it, is an arched gateway, remarkable for
its beauty of proportions and grace of ornament The plate opposite
represents this gateway. On the right, running off at an angle of
thirty degrees, is a long building much fallen, which could not be
comprehended in the view. On the left it forms an angle with another
building, and on the return of the wall there is a doorway, not shown
in the engraving, of good proportions, and more richly ornamented than
any other portion of the structure. The effect of the whole combination
was curious and striking, and, familiar as we were with ruins, the
first view, with the great wall towering in front, created an
impression that is not easily described.
[Engraving 12: Interior Front of Gateway]
The gateway is ten feet wide, passing through which we entered a thick
forest, growing so close upon the building that we were unable to make
out even its shape; but, on clearing away the trees, we discovered that
this had been the principal front, and that these trees were growing in
what had once been the area, or courtyard. The doors of the apartments
on both sides of the gateway, each twelve feet by eight, opened upon
this area. Over each doorway was a square recess, in which were the
remains of a rich ornament in stucco, with marks of paint still
visible, apparently intended to represent the face of the sun
surrounded by its rays, probably once objects of adoration and worship,
but now wilfully destroyed. The plate opposite represents this front
The buildings around the area formed a great irregular pile, measuring
in all two hundred feet in length. The plan was different from that of
any we had seen, but, having so many subjects to present, I have not
had it engraved.
Northeast from the mound on which the great wall stands, and about one
hundred and fifty yards distant, is a large building, erected on a
terrace, and hidden among the trees growing thereupon, with its front
much ruined, and having but few remains of sculptured ornaments. Still
farther in the same direction, going through the woods, we reach the
grand, and, without extravagance, the really magnificent building
represented in the frontispiece to this volume. It stands on a gigantic
terrace, four hundred feet long and one hundred and fifty feet deep.
The whole terrace is covered with buildings. The front represented
measures two hundred and eighty-two feet in length. It consisted of
three distinct parts, differing in style, and perhaps erected at
different times. At a distance, as seen indistinctly through the trees,
we had no idea of its extent. We came upon it at the corner which
appears on the right in the engraving. Our guide cut a path along the
front wall, and stopping, as we did, to look at the ornaments, and
entering the apartments as we went along, the building seemed immense.
[Engraving 13: Portion of a Facade]
The whole long facade was ornamented with sculptured stone, of which,
large as the engraving is, the details cannot appear; but, to give some
idea of their character, a detached portion is represented up the
engraving opposite, and, I ought at the same time to remark, is perhaps
the most curious and interesting of any. It is at the left end of the
principal building, and in the angle of the corner are the huge open
jaws of an alligator, or some other hideous animal, enclosing a human
head.
The reader will form some idea of the overgrown and shrouded condition
of this building from the fact that I had been at work nearly the whole
day upon the terrace, without knowing that there was another building
on the top. In order to take in the whole front at one view, it was
necessary to carry the clearing back some distance into the plain, and
in doing this I discovered the upper structure. The growth of trees
before it was almost equal to that on the terrace, or in any part of
the forest. The whole had to be cleared, the trees thrown down upon the
terrace, and thence dragged away to the plain. This building consists
of single narrow corridors, and the facade is of plain stone, without
any ornaments.
The platform in front is the roof of the building underneath, and in
this platform was a circular hole, like those we had seen at Uxmal and
other places, leading to subterraneous chambers. This hole was well
known to the Indians, and had a marvellous reputation; and yet they
never mentioned it until I climbed up to examine the upper building.
They said it was the abode of el dueno de la casa, or the owner of the
building. I immediately proposed to descend, but the old Indian begged
me not to do so, and said apprehensively to the others, "Who knows but
that he will meet with the owner!" I immediately sent for rope,
lantern, and matches; and, absurd as it may seem, as I looked upon the
wild figures of the Indians standing round the hole, and their earnest
faces, it was really exciting to hear them talk of the owner. As there
was a difficulty in procuring rope, I had a sapling cut and let down
the hole, by means of which I descended with a lantern. The news of my
intention and of the preparations going on had spread among the
Indians, and all left off work and hurried to the spot. The hole was
about four feet deep, and, just as my head sunk below the surface, I
was startled by an extraordinary scratching and scampering, and a huge
iguana ran along the wall, and escaped through the orifice by which I
had entered.
The chamber was entirely different in shape from those I had seen
before. The latter were circular, and had dome-shaped ceilings. This
had parallel walls and the triangular-arched ceiling; in fact, it was
in shape exactly like the apartments above ground. It was eleven feet
long, seven wide, and ten high to the centre of the arch. The walls and
ceiling were plastered, and the floor was of cement, all hard and in a
good state of preservation. A centipede was the only tenant after the
evasion of the iguana.
While I was making these measurements, the Indians kept up a low
conversation around the hole. A mystery hung around it, transmitted to
them by their fathers, and connected with an indefinable sense of
apprehension. This mystery might have been solved at any time in five
minutes, but none of them had ever thought of doing it, and the old man
begged me to come out, saying that if I died they would have to answer
for it. Their simplicity and credulity seem hardly credible. They had
all sense enough to take their hands out of the fire without being
told, but probably to this day they believe that in that hole is the
owner of the building. When I came out they looked at me with
admiration. They told me that there were other places of the same kind,
but they would not show them to me, lest some accident should happen;
and as my attempt drew them all from work, and I could not promise
myself any satisfactory result, I refrained from insisting.
This chamber was formed in the roof of the lower building. That
building contained two corridors, and we had always supposed that the
great interval between the arches of the parallel corridors was a solid
mass of masonry. The discovery of this chamber brought to light a new
feature in the construction of these buildings. Whether the other
roofs, or any of them, contained chambers, it is impossible to say. Not
suspecting anything of the kind, we had made no search for them, and
they may exist, but with the holes covered up and hidden by the growth
and decay of vegetation. Heretofore I had inclined to the opinion that
the subterraneous chambers I had met with were intended for cisterns or
reservoirs of water. The position of this in the roof of a building
seemed adverse to such an idea, as, in case of a breach, the water
might find its way into the apartment below.
At the foot of the terrace was a tree, hiding part of the building.
Though holding trees in some degree of reverence, around these ruined
cities it was a great satisfaction to hear them fall. This one was a
noble ramon, which I had ordered to be cut down, and being engaged in
another direction, I returned, and found that the Indians had not done
so, and they said it was so hard that it would break their axes. These
little axes seemed hardly capable of making any impression upon the
trunk, and I gave them directions, perhaps still more barbarous to cut
away the branches and leave the trunk. They hesitated, and one of them
said, in a deprecating tone, that this tree served as food for horses
and cattle, and their mistress had always charged them not to cut down
such. The poor fellow seemed perplexed between the standing orders of
the rancho and the special instructions to do what I required.
The ramon tree was growing out of the mouth of a cave, which the
Indians said was an ancient well. I should perhaps not have observed
it, but for the discussion about cutting down the tree. I had no great
disposition for another subterraneous scramble, but descended the
cavity or opening for the purpose of taking a bird's-eye view of the
mouth. On one side was a great ledge of stone projecting as a roof, and
under this was a passage in the rock, choked up by masses of fallen
stone. It was impossible to continue if I had been so disposed, but
there was every reason to believe that formerly there had been some
wild passage through the rocks as at Xcoch and Chack, which led to a
subterraneous deposite of water, and that this had been one of the
sources from which the ancient inhabitants procured their supply.
From the number of Indians at our command, and their alacrity in
working, we had been enabled to accomplish much in a very short time.
In three days they finished all that I required of them. When I
dismissed them, I gave a half dollar extra to be divided among
seventeen, and as I was going away Bernabe exclaimed, "Ave Maria, que
gracias dan a vd." "Ave Maria, what thanks they give you."
The evening closed with a general gathering of the Indians under the
arbour in front of the casa real. Before setting out in the morning the
alcalde asked me whether I wished them to assemble for the purpose of
talking with them, and we had provided for their entertainment a sheep
and a turkey, to which Bernaldo had devoted the day. At sundown all was
ready. We insisted upon seating the old alcalde on a chair. Bernaldo
served out meat and tortillas, and the alcalde presided over the agua
ardiente, which, as it was purchased of himself, and to prove that it
was not bad, he tasted before serving the rest, and took his share
afterward. Supper over, we began our conversation, which consisted
entirely of questions on our part and answers on theirs, a manner of
discourse even in civilized life difficult to be kept up long. There
was no unwillingness to give information, but there was a want of
communicativeness which made all intercourse with them unprofitable and
unsatisfactory. In fact, however, they had nothing to communicate; they
had no stories or traditions; they knew nothing of the origin of the
ruined buildings; these were standing when they were born; had existed
in the time of their fathers; and the old men said that they had fallen
much within their own memory. In one point, however, they differed from
the Indians of Uxmal and Zayi. They had no superstitious feelings with
regard to the ruins, were not afraid to go to them at night, or to
sleep in them; and when we told them of the music that was heard
sounding among the old buildings of Zayi, they said that if it were
heard among these, they would all go and dance to it.
There were other vestiges and mounds, all, however, in a ruinous
condition. The last day, while Mr. Catherwood was finishing at Labna, I
rode with Bernaldo to the hacienda of Tabi, two leagues distant, which,
and those of Xcanchakan, already presented in these pages, and Vayalke,
belonging to the Senora Joaquina Peon, where we stopped on our first
visit to Uxmal, were distinguished as the three finest in Yucatan.
Before the gate were some noble seybo trees, and near it a tiendicita,
or small shop, supplied with articles adapted to the wants of the
Indians appertaining to the hacienda. The great yard was lined with
buildings, among which were the church and an enclosure for a
bullfight, prepared for a festival which was to commence the next day.
In the wall of the hacienda were sculptured ornaments from the ruins of
ancient buildings. At the foot of the steps was a double-headed eagle,
well carved, holding in his claws a sort of sceptre, and underneath
were the figures of two tigers four feet high. In the back of the house
was a projecting stone figure, with its mouth open, an uncomfortable
expression of face, arms akimbo, and hands pressing the sides, as if in
a qualmish state. It was used as a water-spout, and a stream was
pouring out of the mouth. The buildings from which these stones were
taken were near the hacienda, but were mere piles of ruins. They had
furnished materials for the construction of the church, walls, and all
the edifices on the hacienda.
Besides this there was a great cave, of which I had heard in Merida
from the owner, who said he had never visited it, but wished me to do
so, and he would read my description of it. The major domo was an
intelligent Mestizo, who had been at the cave, and confirmed all the
accounts I had heard of it, of sculptured figures of men and animals,
pillars, and a chapel of rock under the earth. He furnished me with a
vaquero as a guide and a relief horse, and, setting out, a short
distance from the hacienda we turned into a tree-encumbered path, so
difficult to pass through that, before we had gone far, it seemed quite
reasonable in the owner to content himself with reading our description
of this cave, without taking the trouble to see it for himself. The
vaquero was encased in the equipments with which that class ride into
the woods after cattle. His dress was a small, hard, heavy straw hat,
cotton shirt, drawers, and sandals; over his body a thick jacket, or
overall, made of tanned cowhide, with the sleeves reaching below his
hands, and standing out as if made of wood; his saddle had large
leather flaps, which folded back and protected his naked legs, and
leather stirrup flaps to protect his feet. Where he dashed through the
bushes and briers unharmed, my thin blues got caught and torn; but he
knew what garrapatas were, and said with emphasis, "Estos chicos son
muy Demonios." "Those little ones are the very d----l." At the distance
of a league we reached the cave and, tying our hones, descended by a
great chasm to the depth of perhaps two hundred feet, when we found
ourselves under a great shelf of overhanging rock, the cavern being
dark as we advanced, but all at once lighted up from beyond by a
perpendicular orifice, and exhibiting in the background magnificent
stalactites, picturesque blocks and fragments of rock, which, in the
shadows of the background, assumed all manner of fantastic shapes, and,
from their fancied resemblance, had been called the figures of men and
animals, pillars and chapels. I saw at once that there was another
disappointment for me; there were no monuments of art, and had never
been anything artificial; but the cave itself, being large and open,
and lighted in several places by orifices above, was so magnificent
that, notwithstanding the labour and disappointment, I did not regret
my visit. I passed two hours in wandering through it, returned to the
hacienda to dine, and it was after dark when I reached the rancho, and
for the last time had the benefit of its well in the shape of a warm
bath. Throughout Yucatan, every Indian, however poor, has, as part of
the furniture of his hut, a bano, or sort of bathing-tub; and, next to
making tortillas, the great use of a wife is to have warm water ready
for him when he returns from his work. We had not the latter
convenience, but at this place, for a medio, we had the alcalde's bano
every evening. It was a wooden dug-out, flat bottomed, about three feet
long, eighteen inches wide, three or four inches deep, and bathing in
it was somewhat like bathing in the salver of a tea-table, but, covered
as we were constantly with garrapata bites, mere ablution was as
grateful as a Turkish or Egyptian bath.
CHAPTER IV.
Search for Ruined Cities continued.--Journey to the Rancho of
Kewick.--Ruined Building.--Lose the Road.--Set right by an
Indian.--Arrival at Kewick.--The Casa Real.--Visit from the Proprietor
of the Rancho, a full-blooded Indian.--His Character.--Visit to
the Ruins.--Garrapatas.--Old Walls.--Facades.--Imposing Scene of
Ruins.--Principal Doorway.--Apartments.--Curious Painting.--Excavating
a Stone.--A long Building.--Other Ruins.--Continued Scarcity of
Water.--Visit to a Cave, called by the Indians Actum.--A wild
Scene.--An Aguada.--Return to the Casa Real.--A Crisis in Money
Matters.--Journey to Xul.--Entry into the Village.--The
Convent.--Reception.--The Cura of Xul.--His Character.--Mingling of Old
Things with New.--The Church.--A Levee.--A Welcome Arrival.
The next morning we resumed our journey in search of ruined cities. Our
next point of destination was the rancho of Kewick, three leagues
distant. Mr. Catherwood set out with the servants and luggage, Dr.
Cabot and myself following in about an hour. The Indians told us there
was no difficulty in finding the road, and we set out alone. About a
mile from the rancho we passed a ruined building on the left,
surmounted by a high wall, with oblong apertures, like that mentioned
at Zayi as resembling a New-England factory. The face of the country
was rolling, and more open than any we had seen. We passed through two
Indian ranchos, and a league beyond came to a dividing point, where we
found ourselves at a loss. Both were mere Indian footpaths, seldom or
never traversed by horsemen, and, having but one chance against us, we
selected that most directly in line with the one by which we had come.
In about an hour the direction changed so much that we turned back,
and, after a toilsome ride, reached again the dividing point, and
turned into the other path. This led us into a wild savanna surrounded
by hills, and very soon we found tracks leading off in different
directions, among which, in a short time, we became perfectly
bewildered. The whole distance to Kewick was but three leagues; we had
been riding hard six hours, and began to fear that we had made a
mistake in turning back, and at every step were going more astray. In
the midst of our perplexities we came upon an Indian leading a wild
colt, who, without asking any questions, or waiting for any from us,
waved us back, and tying his colt to a bush, led us across the plain
into another path, following which some distance, he again struck
across, and put us into still another, where he left us, and started to
return to his colt. We were loth to lose him, and urged him to continue
as our guide; but he was impenetrable until we held up a medio, when he
again moved on before us. The whole region was so wild that even yet we
had doubts, and hardly believed that such a path could lead to a
village or rancho; but, withal, there was one interesting circumstance.
In our desolate and wandering path we had seen in different places, at
a distance, and inaccessible, five high mounds, holding aloft the ruins
of ancient buildings; and doubtless there were more buried in the
woods. At three o'clock we entered a dense forest, and came suddenly
upon the casa real of Kewick, standing alone, almost buried among
trees, the only habitation of any kind in sight; and, to increase the
wondering interest which attended every step of our journey in that
country, it stood on the platform of an ancient terrace, strewed with
the relics of a ruined edifice. The steps of the terrace had fallen and
been newly laid, but the walls were entire, with all the stones in
place. Conspicuous in view was Mr. Catherwood with our servants and
luggage, and, as we rode up, it seemed a strange confusion of things
past and present, of scenes consecrated by time and those of every-day
life, though Mr. Catherwood dispelled the floating visions by his first
greeting, which was an assurance that the casa real was full of fleas.
We tied our horses at the foot of the terrace, and ascended the steps.
The casa real had mud walls and a thatched roof, and in front was an
arbour. Sitting down under the arbour, with our hotel on this ancient
platform, we had seldom experienced higher satisfaction on reaching a
new and unknown field of ruins, though perhaps this was owing somewhat
to the circumstance of finding ourselves, after a hot and perplexing
ride, safely arrived at our place of destination. We had still two
hours of daylight; and, anxious to have a glimpse of the ruins before
night, we had some fried eggs and tortillas got ready, and while making
a hasty meal, the proprietor of the rancho, attended by a party of
Indians, came to pay us a visit.
[Engraving 14: Casa Real of Kewick]
This proprietor was a full-blooded Indian, the first of this ancient
but degraded race whom we had seen in the position of land-owner and
master. He was about forty-five years old, and highly respectable in
his appearance and manners. He had inherited the land from his fathers,
did not know how long it had been transmitted, but believed that it had
always been in his family. The Indians on the rancho were his servants,
and we had not seen in any village or on any hacienda men of better
appearance, or under more excellent discipline. This produced on my
mind a strong impression that, indolent, ignorant, and debased as the
race is under the dominion of strangers, the Indian even now is not
incapable of fulfilling the obligations of a higher station than that
in which his destiny has placed him. It is not true that he is fit only
to labour with his hands; he has within him that which is capable of
directing the labour of others; and as this Indian master sat on the
terrace, with his dependants crouching round him, I could imagine him
the descendant of a long line of caciques who once reigned in the city,
the ruins of which were his inheritance. Involuntarily we treated him
with a respect we had never shown to an Indian before; but perhaps we
were not free from the influence of feelings which govern in civilized
life, and our respect may have proceeded from the discovery that our
new acquaintance was a man of property, possessed not merely of acres,
and Indians, and unproductive real estate, but also of that great
desideratum in these trying times, ready money; for we had given Albino
a dollar to purchase eggs with, who objected to it as too large a coin
to be available on the rancho, but on his return informed us, with an
expression of surprise, that the master had changed it the moment it
was offered to him.
Our hasty dinner over, we asked for Indians to guide us to the ruins,
and were somewhat startled by the objections they all made on account
of the garrapatas. Since we left Uxmal the greatest of our small
hardships had been the annoyance of these insects; in fact, it was by
no means a small hardship. Frequently we came in contact with a bush
covered with them, from which thousands swarmed upon us, like moving
grains of sand, and scattered till the body itself seemed crawling. Our
horses suffered, perhaps, more than ourselves, and it became a habit,
whenever we dismounted, to rasp their sides with a rough stick. During
the dry season the little pests are killed off by the heat of the sun,
and devoured by birds, but for which I verily believe they would make
the country uninhabitable. All along we had been told that the dry
season was at hand, and they would soon be over; but we began to
despair of any dry season, and had no hopes of getting rid of them.
Nevertheless, we were somewhat startled at the warning conveyed by the
reluctance of the Indians; and when we insisted upon going, they gave
us another alarming intimation by cutting twigs, with which, from the
moment of starting, they whipped the bushes on each side, and swept the
path before them.
Beyond the woods we came out into a comparatively open field, in which
we saw on all sides through the trees the Xlap-pahk, or old walls, now
grown so familiar, a collection of vast remains and of many buildings.
We worked our way to all within sight. The facades were not so much
ornamented as some we had seen, but the stones were more massive, and
the style of architecture was simple, severe, and grand. Nearly every
house had fallen, and one long ornamented front lay on the ground
cracked and doubled up as if shaken off by the vibrations of an
earthquake, and still struggling to retain its upright position, the
whole presenting a most picturesque and imposing scene of ruins, and
conveying to the mind a strong image of the besom of destruction
sweeping over a city. Night came upon us while gazing at a mysterious
painting, and we returned to the casa real to sleep.
Early the next morning we were again on the ground, with our Indian
proprietor and a large party of his criados; and as the reader is now
somewhat familiar with the general character of these ruins, I select
from the great mass around only such as have some peculiarity.
[Engraving 15: Doorway at Kewick]
The first is that represented in the plate opposite. It had been the
principal doorway, and was all that now remained of a long line of
front, which lay in ruins on the ground. It is remarkable for its
simplicity, and, in that style of architecture, for its grandeur of
proportions.
The apartment into which this door opened had nothing to distinguish it
from hundreds of others we had seen, but in the corner one was the
mysterious painting at which we were gazing the evening before, when
night overtook us. The end wall had fallen inward; the others remained.
The ceiling, as in all the other buildings, was formed by two sides
rising to meet each other, and covered within a foot of the point of
junction by a flat layer of stones. In all the other arches, without a
single exception, the layer was perfectly plain; but this had a single
stone distinguished by a painting, which covered the whole surface
presented to view. The painting itself was curious; the colours were
bright, red and green predominating; the lines clear and distinct, and
the whole was more perfect than any painting we had seen. But its
position surprised us more than the painting itself; it was in the most
out-of-the-way spot in the whole edifice, and but for the Indians we
might not have noticed it at all. Why this layer of stones was so
adorned, or why this particular stone was distinguished above all
others in the same layer, we were unable to discover, but we considered
that it was not done capriciously nor without cause; in fact, we had
long been of opinion that every stone in those ancient buildings; and
every design and ornament that decorated them, had some certain though
now inscrutable meaning.
[Engraving 16: Curious Painting]
The following engraving represents this painting. It exhibits a rude
human figure, surrounded by hieroglyphics, which doubtless contain the
whole of its story. It is 30 inches long by 18 inches wide, and the
prevailing colour is red. From its position in the wall, it was
impossible to draw it without getting it out and lowering it to the
ground, which I was anxious to accomplish, not only for the sake of the
drawing, but for the purpose of carrying it away. I had apprehensions
that the proprietor would make objections, for both he and the Indians
had pointed it out as the most curious part of the ruins; but,
fortunately, they had no feeling about it, and were all ready to assist
in any way we directed. The only way of getting at it was by digging
down through the roof; and, as usual, a friendly tree was at hand to
assist us in the ascent. The roof was flat, made of stone and mortar
cemented together, and several feet in thickness. The Indians had no
crowbar, but loosening the mortar with their machetes, and prying apart
the stones by means of hard wood saplings with the points sharpened,
they excavated down to the layer on the top of the arch. The stone
lapped over about a foot on each side, and was so heavy that it was
impossible to hoist it out of the hole; our only way, therefore, was to
lower it down into the apartment. The master sent some Indians to the
rancho to search for ropes, and, as a measure of precaution, I had
branches cut, and made a bed several feet thick under the stone. Some
of the Indians still at work were preparing to let it fall, when Dr.
Cabot, who was fortunately on the roof at the time, put a stop to their
proceedings.
The Indians returned with the rope, and while lowering the stone one of
the strands broke, and it came thundering down, but the bed of branches
saved the painting from destruction.
The proprietor made no objections to my carrying it away, but it was
too heavy for a mule-load, and the Indians would not undertake to carry
it on their shoulders. The only way of removing it was to have it cut
down to a portable size; and when we left, the proprietor accompanied
me to the village to procure a stonecutter for that purpose, but there
was none in the village, nor any chance of one within twenty-seven
miles. Unable to do anything with the stone, I engaged the proprietor
to place it in an apartment sheltered from rain; and, if I do not
mistake the character of my Indian friend and inheritor of a ruined
city, it now lies subject to my order; and I hereby authorise the next
American traveller to bring it away at his own expense, and deposite it
in the National Museum at Washington.
[Engraving 17: Front of a Building]
I shall present but one more view from the ruins of Kewick. It is part
of the front of a long building, forming a right angle with the one
last referred to. The terraces almost join, and though all was so
overgrown that it was difficult to make out the plan and juxtaposition,
the probability is that they formed two sides of a grand rectangular
area. The whole building measures two hundred and thirty feet in
length. In the centre is a wide ruined staircase leading to the top.
The plate opposite represents half of the building to the line of the
staircase, the other half being exactly similar. The whole could not be
drawn without carrying back the clearing to some distance, and
consuming more time than we thought worth while to devote to it. Below
the cornice the entire edifice is plain; and above it is ornamented the
whole length with small circular shafts set in the wall.
The remaining ruins of Kewick we left as we found them. Fallen
buildings and fragments of sculptured stone strew the ground in every
direction; but it is impossible to give the reader an idea of the
impression produced by wandering among them. For a brief space only we
broke the stillness of the desolate city, and left it again to solitude
and silence. We had reason to believe that no white man had ever seen
it, and probably but few will ever do so, for every year is hurrying it
on to more utter destruction.
The same scarcity of water which we had found all over this region,
except at Sabachshe, exists here also. The source which supplied the
ancient city had engaged the attention of its Indian proprietor, and
while Mr. Catherwood was drawing the last building, the Indians
conducted us to a cave, called in their language Actum, which they
supposed was an ancient well. The entrance was by a hole under an
overhanging rock, passing through which by means of a tree, with
branches or crotches to serve as steps, we descended to a large
platform of rock. Overhead was an immense rocky roof, and at the brink
of the platform was a great cavern, with precipitous sides, thirty or
forty feet deep, from which the Indians supposed some passage opened
that would lead to water. As we flared our torches over the chasm, it
presented a scene of wildness and grandeur which, in an hour of
idleness, might have tempted us to explore it; but we had more than
enough to occupy our time.
Coming out from the cave, we went on to the aguada, which was nearly a
league distant. It was a small, muddy pond, with trees growing on the
sides and into the water, which, in any other country, would be
considered an unfit watering-place for beasts. The proprietor and all
the Indians told us that in the dry season the remains of stone
embankments were still visible, made, as they supposed, by the ancient
inhabitants. The bank was knee deep with mud; a few poles were laid out
on supporters driven into the mud, and along these the Indians walked
to dip up water. At the time our horses were brought down to drink; but
they had to be watered out of the calabashes or drinking-cups of the
Indians.
At two o'clock, we returned to the casa real. We had "done up" another
ruined city, and were ready to set out again; but we had one serious
impediment in the way. I have mentioned that on our arrival at this
place we gave Albino a dollar, but I omitted to say that it was our
last. On setting out on this journey, we had reduced our personal
luggage to hammocks and petaquillas, the latter being oblong straw
baskets without fastenings, unsafe to carry money in, and silver, the
only available coin, was too heavy to carry about the person. At
Sabachshe we discovered that our expenses had overrun our estimates,
and sent Albino back to Nohcacab with the keys of our money trunk, and
directions to follow us in all haste to this place. The time calculated
for his overtaking us had passed, and he did not come. We should have
thought nothing of a little delay but for our pressing necessities.
Some accident might have happened to him, or the temptation might have
been too strong. Our affairs were approaching a crisis, and the
barbarism of the people of the country in matters of finance was
hurrying it on. If we wanted a fowl, food for horses, or an Indian to
work, the money must be ready at the moment. Throughout our journey it
was the same; every order for the purchase of an article was null
unless the money accompanied it. Brought up under the wings of credit,
this system was always odious to us. We could attempt nothing on a
liberal and enlightened scale, were always obliged to calculate our
means, and could incur no expense unless we had the money to defray it
on the spot. This, of course, trammelled enterprise, and now, on a mere
miscalculation, we were brought suddenly to a stand still. On counting
the scattering medios of private stock, we found that we had enough to
pay for transporting our luggage to the village of Xul, but if we
tarried over the night and Albino did not come, both ourselves and our
horses must go without rations in the morning, and then we should have
no means of getting away our luggage. Which of the two to choose?
Whether it was better to meet our fate at the rancho, or go on to the
village and trust to fortune?
In this delicate posture of affairs, we sat down to one of Bernaldo's
best miscellaneous preparations of fowls, rice, and frigoles, and
finished the last meal that we were able to pay for. This over, we had
recourse to a small paper of Havana cigars, three in number, containing
the last of our stock, reserved for some extraordinary occasion.
Satisfied that no occasion could offer when we should be more in need
of extraneous support, we lighted them and sat down under the arbour,
and, as the smoke rolled away, listened for the tread of the trotter.
It was really perplexing to know what to do; but it was very certain
that if we remained at the rancho, as soon as a medio was not
forthcoming the moment it was wanted we were undone. Our chance would
be better at the village, and we determined to break up and go on.
Leaving special charge for Albino to follow, at three o'clock we set
out. The proprietor accompanied us, and at half past five we made a
dashing entry into the village of Xul, with horses, and servants, and
carriers, and just one solitary medio left.
The casa real was the poorest we had seen in the country, and, under
any circumstances, it was not the place for us, for, immediately on
dismounting, it would be necessary to order ramon and maize for the
horses, and the money must follow the order. There was a crowd of
gaping loungers around the door, and if we stopped at this place we
should be obliged to expose ourselves at once, without any opportunity
of telling our story to advantage, or of making friends.
On the opposite side of the plaza was one of those buildings which had
so often sheltered us in time of trouble, but now I hesitated to
approach the convent. The fame of the cura of Xul had reached our ears;
report said that he was rich, and a moneymaking man, and odd. Among his
other possessions, he was lord of a ruined city which we proposed to
visit, particularly interesting to us from the circumstance that,
according to the accounts, it was then inhabited by Indians. We wished
to procure from him facilities for exploring this city to advantage,
and doubted whether it would be any recommendation to his favour as a
rich man to begin our acquaintance by borrowing money of him.
But, although rich, he was a padre. Without dismounting, I rode over to
the convent. The padre came out to meet me, and told me that he had
been expecting us every day. I dismounted, and he took my horse by the
bridle, led him across the corridor, through the sala, and out to the
yard. He asked why my companions did not come over, and, at a signal in
a few minutes their horses followed mine through the sala.
Still we were not entirely at ease. In Yucatan, as in Central America,
it is the custom for a traveller, whether he alights at the casa real,
convent, or the hacienda of a friend, to buy ramon and maize for his
horses; and it is no lack of hospitality in the host, after providing a
place for the beasts, to pay no more attention to them. This might have
brought on a premature explanation; but presently four Indians
appeared, each with a great back-load of ramon. We ventured to give a
hint about maize, and in a moment all anxiety about our horses was at
an end, and we had the whole evening to manage for ourselves.
Don Jose Gulielmo Roderigues, the cura of Xul, was a Guachapino, or
native of Old Spain, of which, like all the old Spaniards in the
country, he was somewhat proud. He was educated a Franciscan friar; but
thirty years before, on account of the revolutions and the persecution
of his order, he fled from Spain, and took refuge in Yucatan. On the
destruction of the Franciscan Convent in Merida, and the breaking up of
the Franciscan monks, he secularized, and entered the regular church;
had been cura of Ticul and Nohcacab; and about ten years before had
been appointed to the district of Xul. His curacy was one of those
called beneficiaries; _i.e._, in consideration of building the church,
keeping it in repair, and performing the duties and services of a
priest, the capitation tax paid by the Indians, and the fees allowed
for baptism, marriages, masses, salves, and funeral services, after
deducting one seventh for the Church, belonged to himself personally.
At the time of his appointment, the place now occupied by the village
was a mere Indian rancho. The land comprehended in his district was, in
general, good for maize, but, like all the rest of that region, it was
destitute of water, or, at least, but badly supplied. His first object
had been to remedy this deficiency, to which end he had dug a well two
hundred feet deep, at an expense of fifteen hundred dollars. Besides
this, he had large and substantial cisterns, equal to any we had seen
in the country, for the reception of rain-water; and, by furnishing
this necessary of life in abundance, he had drawn around him a
population of seven thousand.
But to us there was something more interesting than this creation of a
village and a population in the wilderness, for here, again, was the
same strange mingling of old things with new. The village stands on the
site of an aboriginal city. In the corner of the plaza now occupied by
the cura's house, the yard of which contains the well and cisterns,
once stood a pyramidal mound with a building upon it. The cura had
himself pulled down this mound, and levelled it so that nothing was
left to indicate even the place where it stood. With the materials he
had built the house and cisterns, and portions of the ancient edifice
now formed the walls of the new. With singular good taste, showing his
practical turn of mind, and at the same time a vein of antiquarian
feeling, he had fixed in conspicuous places, when they answered his
purpose, many of the old carved stones. The convent and church occupied
one side of the plaza; along the corridor of the former was a long seat
of time-polished stones taken from the ruins of an ancient building,
and in every quarter might be seen these memorials of the past,
connecting links between the living and the dead, and serving to keep
alive the memory of the fact, which, but for them, would in a few years
be forgotten, that on this spot once stood an ancient Indian city.
But the work upon which the padre prided himself most, and which
perhaps, did him most credit, was the church. It was one of the few the
erection of which had been undertaken of late years, when the time had
gone by for devoting the labour of a whole village to such works; and
it presents a combination of simplicity, convenience, and good taste,
in better keeping with the spirit of the age than the gigantic but
tottering structures in the other villages, while it is not less
attractive in the eyes of the Indians. The cura employed an amanuensis
to write out a description of the church, as he said, for me to publish
in my work, which, however, I am obliged to omit, mentioning only that
over the principal altar were sixteen columns from the ruins at the
_rancho_ of Nohcacab, which were the next we proposed to visit.
During the evening we had a levee of all the principal white
inhabitants, to the number of about six or eight. Among them was the
proprietor of the _rancho_ and ruins of Nohcacab, to whom we were
introduced by the cura, with a tribute to our antiquarian, scientific,
and medical attainments, which showed an appreciation of merit it was
seldom our good fortune to meet with. The proprietor could give us very
little information about the ruins, but undertook to make all the
necessary arrangements for our exploration of them, and to accompany us
himself.
At that moment we stood upon a giddy height. To ask the loan of a few
dollars might lower us materially. The evening was wearing away without
any opportunity of entering upon this interesting subject, when to our
great satisfaction, we heard the clattering of horses' hoofs, and
Albino made his appearance. The production of a bag of dollars fixed us
in our high position, and we were able to order Indians for the rancho
of Nohcacab the next day. We finished the evening with a warm bath in a
hand-basin, under the personal direction of the cura, which relieved
somewhat the burning of garrapata bites, and then retired to our
hammocks.
CHAPTER V.
Journey to the Rancho of Nohcacab.--A Fountain and Seybo Tree.--Arrival
at the Rancho.--Its Appearance.--A sick Trio.--Effects of a good
Breakfast.--Visit to the Ruins.--Terrace and Buildings.--Three other
Buildings.--Character of these Ruins.--Disappointment.--Return to
Xul.--Visit to another ruined City.--Ruined Building.--An Arch,
plastered and covered with Painted Figures.--Other
Paintings.--Subterranean Well.--Return to the Village.--Journey to
Ticul.--Large Mounds.--Passage of the Sierra.--Grand View.--Arrival at
Ticul.--A Village Festival.--Ball of the Mestizas.--Costumes.--Dance
of the Toros.--Lassoing Cattle.--Ball by Daylight.--The
Fiscales.--Ludicrous Scene.--A Dance.--Love in a Phrensy.--A unique
Breakfast.--Close of the Ball.
Early the next morning we set out for the rancho of Nohcacab, three
leagues distant. The proprietor had gone before daylight, to receive us
on the ground. We had not gone far when Mr. C. complained of a slight
headache, and wishing to ride moderately, Dr. Cabot and myself went on,
leaving him to follow with the luggage. The morning air was fresh and
invigorating, and the country rolling, hilly, and picturesque. At the
distance of two leagues we reached what was called a hebe, or fountain.
It was a large rocky basin, about ninety feet in circumference and ten
feet deep, which served as a receptacle for rain-water. In that dry
country it was a grateful spectacle, and beside it was a large seybo
tree, that seemed inviting the traveller to repose under its branches.
We watered our horses from the same waccal, or drinking cup, that we
used ourselves and felt strongly tempted to take a bath, but, with our
experience of fever and ague, were afraid to run the risk. This
fountain was a league from the rancho to which we were going, and was
the only watering-place for its inhabitants.
At nine o'clock we reached the rancho, which showed the truth of the
Spanish proverb, "La vista del amo engorda el caballo;" "The sight of
the master fattens the horse." The first huts were enclosed by a
well-built stone wall, along which appeared, in various places,
sculptured fragments from the ruins. Beyond was another wall, enclosing
the hut occupied by the master on his visits to the rancho, the
entrance to which was by a gateway formed of two sculptured monuments
of curious design and excellent workmanship, raising high our
expectations in regard to the ruins on this rancho, and sustaining the
accounts we had heard of them.
The proprietor was waiting to receive us, and, having taken possession
of an empty hut, and disposed of our horses, we accompanied him to look
over the rancho. What he regarded as most worth showing was his tobacco
crop, lying in some empty huts to dry, which he contemplated with great
satisfaction, and the well, which he looked at with as much sorrow. It
was three hundred and fifty-four feet deep, and even at this great
depth it was dry.
While we were thus engaged, our baggage carriers arrived with
intelligence that Mr. Catherwood was taken ill, and they had left him
lying in the road. I immediately applied to the proprietor for a coche
and Indians, and he, with great alacrity, undertook to get them ready;
in the mean time I saddled my horse and hastened back to Mr.
Catherwood, whom I found lying on the ground, with Albino by his side,
under the shade of the tree by the fountain, with an ague upon him,
wrapped up in all the coverings he could muster, even to the
saddle-cloths of the horses. While he was in this state, two men came
along, bestriding the same horse, and bringing sheets and ponchas to
make a covering for the coche; then came a straggling line of Indians,
each with a long pole, and withes to lash them together; and it was more
than an hour before the coche was ready. The path was narrow, and lined
on each side with thorn bushes, the spikes of which stuck in the naked
flesh of the Indians as they carried the coche, and they were obliged
to stop frequently and disentangle themselves. On reaching the rancho I
found Doctor Cabot down with a fever. From the excitement and anxiety
of following Mr. Catherwood under the hot sun, and now finding Doctor
Cabot down, a cold shivering crept over me, and in a few minutes we
were all three in our hammocks. A few hours had made a great change in
our condition; and we came near bringing our host down with us. He had
been employed in preparing breakfast upon a large scale, and seemed
mortified that there was no one to do it justice. Out of pure good
feeling toward him, I had it brought to the side of my hammock. My
effort made him happy, and I began to think my prostration was merely
the reaction from over-excitement; and by degrees what I began to
please our host I continued for my own satisfaction. The troubles of my
companions no longer disturbed me. My equanimity was perfectly
restored, and, breakfast over, I set out to look at the ruins.
Ever since our arrival in Yucatan we had received courtesies and
civilities, but none more thorough than those bestowed by our host of
Nohcacab. He had come out with the intention of passing a week with us,
and the Indians and the whole rancho were at our service as long as we
chose to remain.
Passing through one of the huts, we soon came to a hill covered with
trees and very steep, up which the proprietor had cut, not a mere
Indian path, but a road two or three yards wide, leading to a building
standing upon a terrace on the brow of the hill. The facade above the
cornice had fallen, and below it was of plain stone. The interior was
entire, but without any distinguishing features. Following the brow of
this hill, we came to three other buildings, all standing on the same
range, and without any important variations in the details, except that
in one the arch had no overlapping stone, but the two sides of the
ceiling ran up to a point, and formed a complete angle. These, the
Indian told as, were the only buildings that remained. That from which
the pillars in the church at Xul were taken was a mere mass of ruins. I
was extremely disappointed. From the accounts which had induced us to
visit this place, we had made larger calculations. It was the first
time I had been thoroughly disappointed. There were no subjects for the
pencil, and, except the deep and abiding impression of moving among the
deserted structures of another ruined and desolate city, there was
nothing to carry away. The proprietor seemed mortified that he had not
better ruins to show us, but I gave him to understand that it was not
his fault, and that he was in no wise to blame. Nevertheless, it was
really vexatious, with such good-will on his part, and such a troop of
Indians at command, that there was nothing for us to do. The Indians
sympathized in the mortification of their master, and, to indemnify me,
told me of two other ruined cities, one of which was but two leagues
from the village of Xul.
I returned and made my report, and Mr. Catherwood immediately proposed
a return to the village. Albino had given him an alarming account of
the unhealthiness of the rancho, and he considered it advisable to
avoid sleeping there a single night. Doctor Cabot was sitting up in his
hammock, dissecting a bird. A recurrence of fever might detain us some
time, and we determined on returning immediately to Xul. Our decision
was carried into execution as promptly as it was made and, leaving our
luggage to the care of Albino, in half an hour, to the astonishment of
the Indians and the mortification of the proprietor, we were on our way
to the village.
It was late in the evening when we arrived, but the cura received us as
kindly as before. During the evening I made inquiries for the place of
which the Indians at the rancho had told me. It was but two leagues
distant, but of all who happened to drop in, not one was aware of its
existence. The cura, however, sent for a young man who had a rancho in
that direction, and who promised to accompany me.
At six o'clock the next morning we started, neither Mr. Catherwood nor
Doctor Cabot being able to accompany me. At the distance of about two
leagues we reached an Indian rancho, where we learned from an old woman
that we had passed the path leading to the ruins. We could not prevail
on her to go back and show us the way, but she gave us a direction to
another rancho, where she said we could procure a guide. This rancho
was situated in a small clearing in the midst of the woods, enclosed by
a bush fence, and before the door was an arbour covered with palm
leaves, with little hammocks swinging under it, and all together the
picture of Indian comfort.
My companion went in, and I dismounted, thinking that this promised a
good stopping-place, when, looking down, I saw my pantaloons brown with
garrapatas. I laid hold of a twig, intending to switch them off, and
hundreds fell upon my hand and arm. Getting rid of those in sight as
well as I could, and mounting immediately, I rode off, hoping most
earnestly not to find any ruins, nor any necessity of taking up our
abode in this comfortable-seeming rancho.
We were fortunate in finding at this place an Indian, who, for reasons
known to himself and the wife of the master, was making a visit during
the absence of the latter at his milpa; but for which we should not
have been able to procure a guide. Retracing our steps, and crossing
the camino real, we entered the woods on the other side, and tying our
horses, the Indian cut a path up the side of a hill, on the top of
which were the ruins of a building. The outer wall had fallen, leaving
exposed to view the inner half of the arch, by which, as we approached
it, my attention was strongly attracted. This arch was plastered and
covered with painted figures in profile, much mutilated, but in one
place a row of legs remained, which seemed to have belonged to a
procession, and at the first glance brought to my mind the funeral
processions on the walls of the tombs at Thebes. In the triangular wall
forming the end of the room were three compartments, in which were
figures, some having their heads adorned with plumes, others with a
sort of steeple cap, and carrying on their heads something like a
basket; and two were standing on their hands with their heels in the
air. These figures were about a foot high, and painted red. The drawing
was good, the attitudes were spirited and life-like, and altogether,
even in their mutilated state, they were by far the most interesting
paintings we had seen in the country.
Another apartment had been plastered and covered with paintings, the
colours of which were in some places still bright and vivid. In this
apartment we cornered and killed a snake five feet long, and as I threw
it out at the door a strong picture rose up before me of the terrific
scenes which most have been enacted in this region; the cries of wo
that must have ascended to Heaven when these sculptured and painted
edifices were abandoned, to become the dwelling-place of vultures and
serpents.
There was one other building, and these two, my guide said were all,
but probably others lie buried in the woods. Returning to our horses,
he led me to another extraordinary subterraneous well, which probably
furnished water to the ancient inhabitants. I looked into the mouth,
and saw that the first descent was by a steep ladder, but had no
disposition to explore it.
In a few minutes we mounted to return to the village. Ruins were
increasing upon us, to explore which thoroughly would be the work of
years; we had but months, and were again arrested by illness. For some
days, at least, Mr. Catherwood would not be able to resume work. I was
really distressed by the magnitude of what was before us, but, for the
present, we could do nothing, and I determined at once to change the
scene. The festival of Ticul was at hand, and that night it was to open
with el bayle de las Mestizas, or the Mestiza ball. Ticul lay in our
return route, nine leagues from the village of Xul, but I determined to
reach it that evening. My companion did not sympathize in my humour;
his vaquero saddle hurt him, and he could not ride faster than a walk.
I had need to economize all my strength; but I took his hard-trotting
horse and uneasy saddle, and gave him mine. Pushing on, at eleven
o'clock we reached Xul, where I had my horse unsaddled and washed,
ordered him a good mess of corn, and two boiled eggs for myself. In the
mean time, Mr. Catherwood had a recurrence of fever and ague, and my
horse was led away; but the attack proved slight, and I had him brought
out again. At two o'clock I resumed my journey, with a sheet, a
hammock, and Albino. The heat was scorching, and Albino would have
grumbled at setting out at this hour, but he, too, was ripe for the
fiesta of Ticul.
In an hour we saw in the woods on our right large mounds, indicating
that here, too, had once stood an ancient city. I rode in to look at
them, but the buildings which had crowned them were all fallen and
ruined, and I only gained an addition to the stock of garrapatas
already on hand. We had not heard of these ruins at the village, and,
on inquiring afterward, I could find no name for them.
At the distance of three leagues we commenced ascending the sierra, and
for two hours the road lay over an immense ledge of solid rock. Next to
the Mico Mountain, it was the worst range I ever crossed, but of
entirely different character; instead of gullies, and holes, and walls
of mud, it consisted of naked, broken rock, the reflection of the sun
upon which was intense and extremely painful to the eyes. In some
places it was slippery as glass. I had crossed the sierra in two
different places before, but they were comparatively like the passage
of the Simplon with that of San Bernard or San Gothard across the Alps.
My horse's hoofs clattered and rang at every step, and, though strong
and sure-footed, he stumbled and slid in a way that was painful and
dangerous to both horse and rider; indeed, it would have been an
agreeable change to be occasionally stuck in the mud. It was impossible
to go faster than a walk, and, afraid that night would overtake us, in
which case, as there was no moon, we might lose our way, I dismounted
and hurried on, leading my horse.
It was nearly dark when we reached the top of the last range. The view
was the grandest I had seen in the country. On the very brink stood the
church of La Hermita, below the village of Oxcutzcab, and beyond a
boundless wooded plain, dotted in three places with villages. We
descended by a steep and stony path, and, winding along the front of La
Hermita, came upon a broad pavement of stones from the ruined buildings
of an aboriginal town. We passed under an imposing gateway, and,
entering the village, stopped at the first house for a draught of
water, where, looking back, we saw the shades of night gathering over
the sierra, a token of our narrow escape. There were ruined mounds in
the neighbourhood, which I intended to look at in passing, but we had
still four leagues to make, and pushed on. The road was straight and
level, but stony, and very soon it became so dark that we could see
nothing. My horse had done a hard day's work, and stumbled so that I
could scarcely keep him from falling. We roused the barking dogs of two
villages, of which, however, I could distinguish, nothing but the
outline of their gigantic churches, and at nine o'clock rode into the
plaza of Ticul. It was crowded with Indians, blazing with lights, and
occupied by a great circular scaffold for a bull-ring, and a long,
enclosed arbour, from the latter of which strains of music gave notice
that the bayle de las Mestizas had already begun.
Once more I received a cordial welcome from the cura Carillo; but the
music from the arbour reminded me that the moments of pleasure were
fleeting. Our trunks had been ordered over from Nohcacab, and, making a
hurried toilet, I hastened to the ball-room, accompanied by the padre
Brizena; the crowd outside opened a way, Don Philippe Peon beckoned to
me as I entered, and in a moment more I was seated in one of the best
places at the bayle de las Mestizas. After a month in Indian ranchos,
that day toiling among ruins, almost driven to distraction by
garrapatas, clambering over a frightful sierra, and making a journey
worse than any sixty miles in our country, all at once I settled down
at a fancy ball, amid music, lights, and pretty women, in the full
enjoyment of an armchair and a cigar. For a moment a shade of regret
came over me as I thought of my invalid friends, but I soon forgot
them.
The enramada, or enclosure for the ball-room, was an arbour about one
hundred and fifty feet long and fifty feet wide, surrounded by a
railing of rude lattice-work, covered with costal, or hemp bagging, as
a protection against the night air and sun, and lighted by lamps with
large glass shades. The floor was of hard cement; along the railing was
a row of chairs, all occupied by ladies; gentlemen, boys, and girls,
children and nurses, were sitting promiscuously on the floor, and Don
Philippe Peon, when he gave me his chair, took a place among them. El
bayle de las Mestizas was what might be called a fancy ball, in which
the senoritas of the village appeared as las Mestizas, or in the
costume of Mestiza women: loose white frock, with red worked border
round the neck and skirt, a man's black hat, a blue scarf over the
shoulder, gold necklace and bracelets. The young men figured as
vaqueros, or major domos, in shirt and pantaloons of pink striped
muslin, yellow buckskin shoes, and low, round-crowned, hard-platted
straw hat, with narrow brim rolled up at the sides, and trimmed with
gold cord and tassels. Both costumes were fanciful and pretty, but at
first the black hat was repulsive. I had heard of the sombreros negros
as part of the Mestiza costume, and had imagined some neat and graceful
fabric of straw; but the faces of the girls were so soft and mild that
even a man's hat could not divest them of their feminine charm.
Altogether the scene was somewhat different from what I expected, more
refined, fanciful, and picturesque.
To sustain the fancy character, the only dance was that of the toros. A
vaquero stood up, and each Mestiza was called out in order. This dance,
as we had seen it among the Indians, was extremely uninteresting, and
required a movement of the body, a fling of the arms, and a snapping of
the fingers, which were at least inelegant; but with las Mestizas of
Ticul it was all graceful and pleasing and there was something
particularly winning in the snapping of the fingers. There were no
dashing beauties, and not one who seemed to have any idea of being a
belle; but all exhibited a mildness, softness, and amiability of
expression that created a feeling of promiscuous tenderness. Sitting at
ease in an arm-chair, after my sojourn in Indian ranchos, I was
particularly alive to these influences. And there was such a charm
about that Mestiza dress. It was so clean, simple, and loose, leaving
"Every beauty free
To sink or swell as Nature pleases."
The ball broke up too soon, when I was but beginning to reap the fruit
of my hard day's work. There was an irruption of servants to carry home
the chairs, and in half an hour, except along a line of tables in front
of the audiencia, the village was still. For a little while, in my
quiet chamber at the convent, the gentle figures of las Mestizas still
haunted me, but, worn down by the fatigues of the day, I very soon
forgot them.
At daylight the next morning the ringing of bells and firing of rockets
announced the continuance of the fiesta; high mass was performed in the
church, and at eight o'clock there was a grand exhibition of lassoing
cattle in the plaza by amateur vaqueros. These were now mounted, had
large vaquero saddles, spurs to match, and each was provided with a
coil of rope in hand; bulls of two years old were let loose in the
plaza, with the bull-ring to double round, and every street in the
village open to them. The amateurs rode after them like mad, to the
great peril of old people, women, and children, who scampered out of
the way as well as they could, but all as much pleased with the sport
as the bull or the vaqueros. One horse fell and hurt his rider, but
there were no necks broken.
This over, all dispersed to prepare for the bayle de dia, or ball by
daylight. I sat for an hour in the corridor of the convent, looking out
upon the plaza. The sun was beaming with intense heat, and the village
was as still as if some great calamity had suddenly overtaken it. At
length a group was seen crossing the plaza: a vaquero escorting a
Mestiza to the ball, holding over her head a red silk umbrella to
protect her from the scorching rays of the sun; then an old lady and
gentleman, children, and servants, a complete family group, the females
all in white, with bright-coloured scarfs and shawls. Other groups
appeared crossing in other directions, forming picturesque and pleasing
spectacles in the plaza. I walked over to the arbour. Although in broad
daylight, under the glare of a midday sun, and shaded only on one side
by hemp bagging, as the Mestizas took their seats they seemed prettier
than the night before. No adjustment of curtain light was necessary for
the morning after the ball, for the ladies had retired at an early
hour. The black hat had lost its repugnant character, and on some it
seemed most becoming. The costumes of the vaqueros, too, bore well the
light of day. The place was open to all who chose to enter, and the
floor was covered with Indian women and children, and real Mestizoes in
cotton shirts, drawers, and sandals; the barrier, too, was lined with a
dense mass of Indians and Mestizoes, looking on good-humouredly at this
personification of themselves and their ways. The whole gathering was
more informal and gayer, and seemed more what it was intended to be, a
fiesta of the village.
The bayle de dia was intended to give a picture of life at a hacienda,
and there were two prominent personages, who did not appear the evening
before, called fiscales, being the officers attendant upon the ancient
caciques, and representing them in their authority over the Indians.
These wore long, loose, dirty camisas hanging off one shoulder, and
with the sleeves below the hands; calzoncillos, or drawers to match,
held up by a long cotton sash, the ends of which dangled below the
knees; sandals, slouching straw hats, with brims ten or twelve inches
wide, and long locks of horse hair hanging behind their ears. One of
them wore awry over his shoulder a mantle of faded blue cotton cloth,
said to be an heirloom descended from an ancient cacique, and each
flourished a leather whip with eight or ten lashes. These were the
managers and masters of ceremonies, with absolute and unlimited
authority over the whole company, and, as they boasted, they had a
right to whip the Mestizas if they pleased.
As each Mestiza arrived they quietly put aside the gentleman escorting
her, and conducted the lady to her seat. If the gentleman did not give
way readily, they took him by the shoulders, and walked him to the
other end of the floor. A crowd followed wherever they moved, and all
the time the company was assembling they threw everything into laughter
and confusion by their whimsical efforts to preserve order.
At length they undertook to clear a space for dancing, backing the
company in a summary way as far as they could go, and then taking the
men and boys by the shoulder, and jamming them down upon the floor.
While they were thus engaged, a stout gentleman, of respectable
appearance, holding some high office in the village, appeared in the
doorway, quietly lighting another straw cigar, and as soon as they saw
him they desisted from the work they had in hand, and, in the
capricious and wanton exercise of their arbitrary power, rushed across,
seized him, dragged him to the centre of the floor, hoisted him upon
the shoulders of a vaquero, and, pulling apart the skirts of his coat,
belaboured him with a mock vigour and earnestness that convulsed the
whole company with laughter. The sides of the elevated dignitary shook,
the vaquero shook under him, and they were near coming down together.
This over, the rogues came directly upon me. El Ingles had not long
escaped their eye. I had with difficulty avoided a scene, and my time
seemed now to have come. The one with the cacique's mantle led the way
with long strides, lash raised in the air, a loud voice, and his eyes,
sparkling with frolic and mischief, fastened upon mine. The crowd
followed, and I was a little afraid of an attempt to hoist me too on
the shoulders of a vaquero; but all at once he stopped short, and,
unexpectedly changing his language, opened upon me with a loud harangue
in Maya. All knew that I did not understand a word he said, and the
laugh was strong against me. I was a little annoyed at being made such
a mark, but, recollecting the achievement of our vernacular at
Nohcacab, I answered him with an English oration. The effect was
instantaneous. He had never before heard a language that he could not
understand, bent his ear earnestly, as if by close attention he could
catch the meaning, and looked up with an air of real perplexity that
turned the laugh completely against him. He began again, and I answered
with a stanza of Greek poetry, which had hung by me in some
unaccountable way; this, again, completely silenced him, and he dropped
the title Ingles, put his arms around my neck, called me "amigo," and
made a covenant not to speak in any language but Castilian.
This over, he ordered the music to commence, planted a vaquero on the
floor, and led out a Mestiza to dance, again threw all the bystanders
into confusion, and sat down quietly on the floor at my feet. All the
Mestizas were again called out in order, presenting the same pretty
spectacle I had seen the evening before. And there was one whom I had
noticed then, not more than fifteen, delicate and fragile, with eyes so
soft and dovelike that it was impossible to look upon them without a
feeling of tenderness. She seemed sent into the world to be cherished
and cared for, and closeted like the finest china, the very emblem of
purity, innocence, and loveliness; and, as I had learned, she was the
child of shame, being the crianza, or natural daughter, of a gentleman
of the village; perhaps it was that she seemed so ill fitted to buffet
with contumely and reproach that gave such an indescribable interest to
her appearance; but, fortunately, brought up in her father's house, she
may go through life without meeting an averted face, or feeling that a
stain rests upon her name.
As may be supposed, the presence of this senorita on the floor did not
escape the keen eyes of the mercurial fiscal. All at once he became
excited and restless, and, starting to his feet, gazed at her for a
moment as if entranced by a vision, and then, as if carried away by his
excitement, and utterly unconscious of what he was about, he pushed
aside the vaquero who was dancing with her, and, flinging his sombrero
on the ground, cried out in a tone of ecstacy, "Voy baylar con vd, mi
corazon!" "I am going to dance with you, my heart!" As he danced, his
excitement seemed to increase; forgetting everything around him, the
expression of his face became rapt, fixed, intense; he tore off his
cacique's mantle, and, dancing toward her, spread it at the lady's
feet. This seemed only to excite him more; and, as if forgetful of
everything else, he seized the collar of his camisa and, dancing
violently all the time, with a nervous grasp, tugged as if he meant to
pull it over his head, and throw all that he was worth at her feet.
Failing in this, for a moment he seemed to give up in despair, but all
at once he thrust his hands under the long garment, seized the sash
around his waist, and still dancing with all his might, unwound it,
and, moving up to her with mingled grace, gallantry, and desperation,
dropped it at her feet, and danced back to his place. By this time his
calzoncillos, kept up by the sash, were giving way. Grasping them
furiously, and holding them up with both hands, as if by a great
effort, he went on dancing with a desperate expression of face that was
irresistibly ludicrous.
During all this time the company was convulsed with laughter, and I
could not help remarking the extreme modesty and propriety of the young
lady, who never even smiled or looked at him, but, when the dance was
ended, bowed and returned to her seat. The poor fiscal stood gating at
the vacant place where she had stood, as if the sun of his existence
had set. At length he turned his head and called out "amigo," asked if
there were any such Mestizas in my country; if I would like to take her
home with me; then said that he could not spare this one, but I might
take my choice of the others; insisting loudly upon my making a
selection, and promising to deliver any one I liked to me at the
convent.
At first I supposed that these fiscales were, like the vaqueros, the
principal young men of the village, who, for that day, gave themselves
up to frolic and fun, but I learned that these were not willing to
assume such a character, but employed others known to them for wit and
humour, and, at the same time, for propriety and respectability of
behaviour. This was a _matador de cochinos_, or pig butcher, of
excellent character, and _muy vivo_, by which may be understood "a
fellow of infinite wit and humour." The people of the village seemed to
think that the power given him to whip the Mestizas was the extremity
of license, but they did not consider that, even for the day, they put
him on equal terms with those who, in his daily walks, were to him as
beings of another sphere; for the time he might pour out his tribute of
feeling to beauty and attraction, but it was all to be regarded as a
piece of extravagance, to be forgotten by all who heard it, and
particularly by her to whom it was addressed. Alas, poor matador de
cochinos!
According to the rules, the mantle and sash which he had thrown at the
feet of the lady belonged to her, and he was obliged to appeal to the
charity of the spectators for money to redeem them. In the mean time
the dance continued. The fiscales, having once taken ground as dancers,
were continually ordering the vaqueros to step aside, and taking their
places. At times, too, under the direction of the fiscales, the idle
vaqueros seated themselves on the ground at the head of the arbour, and
all joined in the hacienda song of the vaqueria, in alternate lines of
Maya and Castilian. The chorus was led by the fiscales, with a noise
that drowned every other sound; and while this boisterous merriment was
going on, the light figures of the Mestizas were moving in the dance.
At twelve o'clock preparations were made for a dejeuner a la
fourchette, dispensing, however, with knives and forks. The centre of
the floor was cleared, and an enormous earthen jar, equal in capacity
to a barrel, was brought in, containing frigoles, or black beans fried.
Another vessel of the same size had a preparation of eggs and meat, and
near them was a small mountain of tortillas, with all which it was the
business of the Mestizas to serve the company. The fiscal did not
neglect his amigo, but led to me one of whom I had expressed my opinion
to him in confidence, and who brought in the palm of her hand a layer
of tortillas, with frigoles in the centre, and turned up at the sides
by means of the fingers, so as to prevent the frigoles from escaping.
An attempt to acknowledge the civility was repressed by the fiscal, who
crowded my hat over my eyes, saying that they passed no compliments on
the haciendas, and we were all Indians together. The tortillas, with
the frigoles in them, were not easy to hold without endangering my only
pair of white pantaloons. I relieved myself by passing them over the
railing, where any number of Indians stood ready to receive them; but I
had hardly got rid of this when another Mestiza brought another
portion, and while this engaged my one hand a third placed tortillas
with eggs in the other, and left me afraid to move; but I contrived to
pass both handfuls over the railing. Breakfast over, the dancing was
resumed with new spirit. The fiscales were more amusing than ever; all
agreed that the ball was muy allegre, or very gay, and I could not but
notice that, amid all this motley company and extraordinary license,
there was less noise than in a private drawing-room at home. At two
o'clock, to my great regret, the ball of las Mestizas broke up. It was
something entirely new, and remains engraven on my mind as the best of
village balls.
CHAPTER VI.
Bull-fights.--Horse-race.--Bull-fighters.--Their villanous
Appearance.--Death of a Bull.--A Ball of Etiquette.--Society in
Yucatan.--Costumes at the Ball.--More Bull-fights.--A Mestiza.--Scenes
in the Bull-ring.--A Storm.--Dispersion of the Spectators.--A
Discovery.--A new Reformation in Yucatan.--Celibacy of Priests.--A
few Words about the Padres.--Arrival of Mr. Catherwood and Dr.
Cabot.--Rain.--Daguerreotyping.--"The Ancient Chronology of
Yucatan."--Don Pio Perez.--Calendar of the Ancient
Indians.--Substantially the same with that of the Mexicans.--This Fact
tends to show the common Origin of the aboriginal Inhabitants of
Yucatan and Mexico.
In the afternoon commenced the first bull-fight. The bull-fights of
Ticul had a great reputation throughout the country. At the last, a
toreador was killed, which gave a promise of something exciting. The
young men of the village still appeared in character as vaqueros, and
before the fight they had a horse-race, which consisted in riding
across the ring, one at a time, in at one door and out at the other,
and then racing in the same way through the either two doors. It was a
fine opportunity for exhibiting horses and horsemanship, and was a sort
of pony scamper.
After these came the toreadores, or bull-fighters, who, to do them
justice, were by far the worst-looking men I saw in the country, or
anywhere else, except, perhaps, the libellous representatives of the
twelve apostles in the feet-washing scene, at which I was once a
spectator in Jerusalem. They were of a mixed blood, which makes,
perhaps, the worst race known, viz., the cross of the Indian and
African, and called Pardos. Their complexion is a black tinge laid upon
copper, and, not satisfied with the bountiful share of ugliness which
nature had given them, these worthies had done something for themselves
in the way of costume, which was a vile caricature of the common
European dress, with some touches of their own elegant fancy.
Altogether, I could imagine that they had fitted themselves out with
the unclaimed wardrobe of deceased hospital patients. Their horses,
being borrowed by the committee of arrangements, with the understanding
that if killed they were to be paid for, were spavined, foundered,
one-eyed, wretched beasts. They had saddles covered with scarlet
cloths, enormous spurs with rowels six inches long, and murderous
spears discoloured with old stains of blood. The combination of
colours, particularly the scarlet, was intended to frighten the bull,
and all together they were almost enough to frighten el demonio.
The races over, the amateur vaqueros led in the first bull, having two
real vaqueros at hand for cases of emergency. The toreadores charged
upon him with spears brandished, and presenting a vivid picture of the
infernals let loose; after which they dismounted and attacked him on
foot. The bull was brought to bay directly under our box, and twice I
saw the iron pass between his horns, enter the back of his neck with a
dull, grating sound, and come out bloody, leaving a ghastly wound. At
the third blow the bull staggered, struggled to sustain himself on his
feet, but fell back on his haunches, and, with a feeble bellow, rolled
over on his side; blood streamed from his mouth, his tongue hung out on
the ground covered with dust, and in a few moments he was dead. The
amateurs tied his hind legs, ropes were fastened to the saddles of two
horsemen, others took hold, and as the carcase was dragged across the
ring, a fair and gentle-voiced neighbour said, in a tone of surprise,
"Dos caballos y seis Christianos!" "Two horses and six Christians!"
I omit the rest. From the bull-fight we again went to the ball, which,
in the evening, was the bayle del etiquette, no gentleman being
admitted without pantaloons. Society in Yucatan stands upon an
aristocratic footing. It is divided into two great classes: those who
wear pantaloons, and those who do not; the latter, and by far the most
numerous body, going in calconcillos, or drawers. The high-handed
regulation of the ball of etiquette was aimed at them, and excluded
many of our friends of the morning; but it did not seem to give any
offence, the excluded quietly taking their places at the outside of the
railing. El matador de cochinos, or the pig butcher, was admitted in
drawers, but as assistant to the servants, handing refreshments to the
ladies he had danced with in the morning. The whole aspect of things
was changed; the vaqueros were in dress suits, or such undress as was
not unbecoming at a village ball. The senoritas had thrown aside their
simple Mestiza dresses, and appeared in tunicas, or frocks, made to fit
the figure or, rather, to cut the figure in two. The Indian dances had
disappeared, and quadrilles and contra-dances, waltzes and gallopades,
supplied their place. It wanted the piquancy of the bayle de las
Mestizas; the young ladies were not so pretty in their more fashionable
costume. Still there was the same gentleness of expression, the dances
were slow, the music low and soft, and, in the quiet and decorum of
all, it was difficult to recognise the gay and tumultuous party of the
morning, and yet more difficult to believe that these gentle and, in
some cases, lovely faces, had been but a few hours before lighted up
with the barbarous excitement of the bull-ring.
At ten the next day there was another bull-fight, then a horse-race
from the plaza down the principal street to the house of Don Philippe
Peon; and in the afternoon yet another bull-fight which opened for me
under pleasant circumstances. I did not intend to go, had not secured a
seat, and took my place in a box so full that I was obliged to stand up
by the door. In front was one of the prettiest of the Mestizas of the
ball; on her right was a vacant seat, and next to this sat a padre, who
had just arrived at the village. I was curious to know who could be the
proprietor of the vacant seat, when the gentleman himself (an
acquaintance) entered, and asked me to take it. I did not require much
urging and, in taking it, turned first to the padre to acknowledge my
good fortune in obtaining it, which communication I thought he did not
receive quite as graciously as he might have done. The corrida opened
bravely; bulls were speared, blood flowed and men were tumbled over. I
had never taken so much pleasure in the opening scenes; but a storm was
gathering; the heavens put on black; clouds whirled through the air;
the men stood up, seeming anxious and vexed, and the ladies were uneasy
about their mantillas and headdresses. Darkness increased, but man and
beast went on fighting in the ring, and it had a wild and strange
effect, with the black clouds scudding above us, to look from the
fierce struggle up to the sea of anxious faxes on the other side of the
scaffold, and beyond, over the top, to the brilliant arch of a rainbow
illuminating with a single line the blackness of the sky. I pointed out
the rainbow to the lady as an indication that there would be no rain;
but the sign disappeared, a furious gust of wind swept over the frail
scaffold, the scalloped papers fluttered, shawls and handkerchief flew,
a few drops of rain fell, and in three minutes the Plaza de Toros was
empty. I had no umbrella to offer the lady; some ill-natured person
carried her off; and the matador de cochinos extended his poncha over
my head, and escorted me to a house, where I made a great discovery,
which everybody in the village knew except myself. The lady, whom I had
supposed to be a senorita, was a comprometida, or compromised, or, to
speak precisely, she was the compagnera of the padre who sat on the
other side of me.
I have omitted to mention that a great change, or, as it is sometimes
called in the country, a new reformation, is now going on in Yucatan,
not like the reformations got up by disorganizing laymen, which have,
at times, convulsed the whole Christian world, but peculiar and local,
and touching only the domestic relations of the padres. It may be known
to many of my readers that in the early ages of the Catholic Church
priests were not forbidden to marry. In process of time the pope, to
wean them from wordly ties, enjoined celibacy, and separation where
marriage had already taken place. The priests resisted, and the
struggle threatened to undermine the whole fabric of church government;
but the pope prevailed, and for eight centuries, throughout those
countries in which the spiritual domination of Rome is acknowledged, no
priest has been allowed to marry. But in Yucatan this burden was found
too heavy to be borne. Very early, from the necessity growing out of
local position, some special indulgences had been granted to the people
of this country, among which was a dispensation for eating meat on fast
days; and, under the liberal spirit of this bull, or of some other that
I am not aware of, the good padres have relaxed considerably the
tightness of the cord that binds them to celibacy.
I am about making a delicate and curious communication. It may be
considered an ill-natured attack upon the Catholic Church; but as I
feel innocent of any such intention, this does not trouble me. But
another consideration does. I have a strong liking to padres. I have
received from them nothing but kindness, and wherever I have met with
them I have found friends. I mean barely to mention the subject and
pass on, though I am afraid that by this preface I am only calling more
particular attention to it. I would omit it altogether, but it forms so
striking a feature in the state of society in that country, that no
picture can be complete without it. Without farther preface, then, I
mention, but only for the private ear of the reader, that, except at
Merida and Campeachy, where they are more immediately under the eyes of
the bishop, the padres throughout Yucatan, to relieve the tedium of
convent life, have compagneras, or, as they are sometimes called,
_hermanas politicas_, or sisters-in-law; or, to speak with the
precision I particularly aim at, the proportion of those who have to
those who have not is about as the proportion in a well-regulated
community of married to unmarried men.
I have now told the worst; the greatest enemy of the padres cannot say
more. I do not express any opinion of my own upon this matter, but I
may remark that with the people of the country it is no impeachment of
a padre's character, and does not impair his usefulness. Some look upon
this arrangement as a little irregular, but in general it is regarded
only as an amiable weakness, and I am safe in saying that it is
considered a recommendation to a village padre, as it is supposed to
give him settled habits, as marriage does with laymen, and, to give my
own honest opinion, which I did not intend to do, it is less injurious
to good morals than the by no means uncommon consequences of celibacy
which are found in some other Catholic countries. The padre in Yucatan
stands in the position of a married man, and performs all the duties
pertaining to the head of a family. Persons of what is considered
respectable standing in a village do not shun left-hand marriage with a
padre. Still it was to us always a matter of regret to meet with
individuals of worth, and whom we could not help esteeming, standing in
what could not but be considered a false position. To return to the
case with which I set out: the padre in question was universally spoken
of as a man of good conduct, a sort of pattern padre for correct,
steady habits; sedate, grave, and middle-aged, and apparently the last
man to have had an eye for such a pretty compagnera. The only comment I
ever heard made was upon his good fortune, and on that point he knows
my opinion.
The next day Mr. Catherwood and Doctor Cabot arrived. Both had had a
recurrence of fever, and were still very weak. In the evening was the
carnival ball, but before the company had all arrived we were again
scattered by the rain. All the next day it was more abundant than we
had seen it in the country, and completely destroyed all the proposed
gayeties of the carnival.
We had one clear day, which we devoted to taking Daguerreotype
likenesses of the cura and two of the Mestizas; and, besides the great
business of balls, bull-fights, Daguerreotyping, and superintending the
morals of the padres, I had some light reading in a manuscript
entitled, "Antigua Chronologia Yucateca," "Ancient Chronology of
Yucatan; or, a simple Exposition of the Method used by the Indians to
compute Time." This essay was presented to me by the author, Don Pio
Perez, whom I had the satisfaction of meeting at this place. I had been
advised that this gentleman was the best Maya scholar in Yucatan, and
that he was distinguished in the same degree for the investigation and
study of all matters tending to elucidate the history of the ancient
Indians. His attention was turned in this direction by the circumstance
of holding an office in the department of state, in which old documents
in the Maya language were constantly passing under his eyes.
Fortunately for the interests of science and his own studious tastes,
on account of some political disgust he withdrew from public life, and,
during two years of retirement, devoted himself to the study of the
ancient chronology of Yucatan. It is a work which no ordinary man would
have ventured to undertake; and, if general reputation be any proof,
there was no man in the country so competent, or who could bring to it
so much learning and research. It adds to the merit of his labours
that, in prosecuting them, Don Pio stood alone, had none to sympathize
with him, knew that the attainment of the most important results would
not be appreciated, and had not even that hope of honourable
distinction which, in the absence of all other prospects of reward,
cheers the student in the solitary labours of his closet.
The essay explains at large the principles imbodied in the calendar of
the ancient Indians. It has been submitted for examination (with other
interesting papers furnished me by Don Pio, which will be referred to
hereafter) to a distinguished gentleman, known by his researches into
Indian languages and antiquities, and I am authorized to say that it
furnishes a basis for some interesting comparisons and deductions, and
is regarded as a valuable contribution to the cause of science.
The essay of Don Pio contains calculations and details which would not
be interesting to the general reader; to some, however, even these
cannot fail to be so, and the whole is published in the Appendix.[1] I
shall refer in this place only to the result. From the examination and
analysis made by the distinguished gentleman before referred to, I am
enabled to state the interesting fact, that the calendar of Yucatan,
though differing in some particulars, was substantially the same with
that of the Mexicans. It had a similar solar year of three hundred and
sixty-five days, divided in the same manner, first, into eighteen
months of twenty days each, with five supplementary days; and,
secondly, into twenty-eight weeks of thirteen days each, with an
additional day. It had the same method of distinguishing the days of
the year by a combination of those two series, and the same cycle of
fifty-two years, in which the years, as in Mexico, are distinguished by
a combination of the same series of thirteen, with another of four
names or hieroglyphics; but Don Pio acknowledges that in Yucatan there
is no certain evidence of the intercalation (similar to our leap year,
or to the Mexican secular addition of thirteen days) necessary to
correct the error resulting from counting the year as equal to three
hundred and sixty-five days only.
It will be seen, by reference to the essay, that, besides the cycle of
fifty-two years common to the Yucatecans and Mexicans, and, as Don Pio
Perez asserts (on the authority of Veytia), to the Indians of Chiapas,
Oaxaca, and Soconusco, those of Yucatan had another age of two hundred
and sixty, or of three hundred and twelve years, equal to five or six
cycles of fifty-two years, each of which ages consisted of thirteen
periods (called Ajau or Ajau Katun) of twenty years each, according to
many authorities, but, in Don Pio's opinion, of twenty-four years.
The fact that though the inhabitants of Yucatan and Mexico speak
different languages, their calendar is substantially the same, I regard
as extremely interesting and important, for this is not like a
similarity of habits, which may grow out of natural instincts or
identity of position. A calendar is a work of science, founded upon
calculations, arbitrary signs, and symbols, and the similarity shows
that both nations acknowledged the same starting points, attached the
same meaning to the same phenomena and objects, which meaning was
sometimes arbitrary, and not such as would suggest itself to the
untutored. It shows common sources of knowledge and processes of
reasoning, similarity of worship and religious institutions, and, in
short, it is a link in a chain of evidence tending to show a common
origin in the aboriginal inhabitants of Yucatan and Mexico. For this
discovery we are indebted to Don Pio Perez.
CHAPTER VII.
Return to Nohcacab.--Final Departure from this Village.--An Indian
Sexton.--Route.--"Old Walls."--Ruins of Sacbey.--Paved Road.--Journey
continued.--Ruins of Xampon.--Imposing Edifice.--"Old Walls," called by
Indians Xlapphak.--Ruins of Hiokowitz and Kuepak.--Zekilna.--Altar for
burning Copal.--Ancient Terrace.--Lofty stone Structure.--Remains of a
Building.--Sculptured Stones.--Platform.--Rancho of Chunhuhu.--Become
involuntary Masters of a Hut.--Its interior Arrangements.--Scarcity
of Water.--Pressing Wants.--Visit to the Ruins.--Two
Buildings.--Facade.--Ornamented Doorways.--Welcome Visiters.--Another
Building.--Plastered Front.--A Building seen from the Terrace.--Visit
to the Ruins of Schoolhoke.--Large stone Structure.--Ranges of
Buildings.--Circular Stone.--Ruined Edifice.--Representations of Human
Figures.--Return to the Rancho.--Benefits of a Rain.
On the fourteenth of February we returned to Nohcacab. We had sent
Albino before to make all our necessary arrangements, and on the
fifteenth we took our final leave of this village. We had no regret; on
the contrary, it was pleasant to think that we should not return to it.
Our luggage was again reduced to the smallest possible compass:
hammocks, a few changes of clothes, and Daguerreotype apparatus, all
the rest being forwarded to meet us at Peto. The chief of our Indian
carriers was a sexton, who had served out his time, an old neighbour in
the convent, whom we had never seen sober, and who was this morning
particularly the reverse.
[Engraving 18: Building at Sacbey]
To understand our route it will be necessary for the reader to consult
the map. On setting out our direction was again south, and again our
road was over the sepulchres of cities. At the distance of two miles we
saw "old walls" on an eminence at the right; a little farther three
ruined buildings on the same side of the road; and beyond these we came
to the ruins of Sacbey. These consist of three buildings, irregularly
disposed, one of which is represented in the engraving opposite. It
faces the south, measures fifty-three feet front by twelve feet six
inches deep, and has three small doorways. Another, a little farther
south, is about the size of the former, and has three apartments, with
two columns in the centre doorway. The third is so ruined that its plan
could not be made out.
Near as they were to the village, the padrecito had never seen them.
They stand about a hundred feet from the path, but so completely buried
among the trees, that, though I had visited them before under the
guidance of an Indian, I passed now without observing them.
A short distance beyond is one of the most interesting monuments of
antiquity in Yucatan. It is a broken platform or roadway of stone,
about eight feet wide and eight or ten inches high, crossing the road,
and running off into the woods on both sides I have before referred to
it as called by the Indians Sacbey, which means, in the Maya language,
a paved way of pure white stone. The Indians say it traversed the
Country from Kabah to Uxmal; and that on it couriers travelled, bearing
letters to and from the lords of those cities, written on leaves or the
bark of trees. It was the only instance in which we had found among the
Indians anything like a tradition, and the universality of this legend
was illustrated by the circumstances attending our arrival. While we
were standing upon the road, an old Indian came up from the other
direction, bending under a load, who, in crossing it, stopped, and,
striking his stick against the stones, uttered the words Sacbey, and
Kabah, and Uxmal. At the same time our carriers came up, the old sexton
at their head, who, depositing his burden upon the ancient road,
repeated Sacbey, and then favoured us with an oration, in which we
could only distinguish Kabah and Uxmal.
It had been my intention to explore thoroughly the route of this
ancient road, and, if possible, trace it through the woods to the
desolate cities which it once connected, and it was among the vexations
of our residence at Nohcacab that we had not been able to do so. The
difficulty of procuring Indians to work, and a general recurrence of
sickness, rendered it impossible. We could not tell how much time might
be required; the whole country was overgrown with trees; in some places
the track was but faintly marked, and in others it might be lost
altogether. It remains, therefore, an unbroken ground for the future
explorer.
[Engraving 19: Building at Xampon]
Again passing "old walls" on each side of the load, at the distance of
two leagues we reached Xampon, where stand the remains of an edifice
which, when entire, must have been grand and imposing, and now, but for
the world of ruins around, might excite a stranger's wonder. Its form
was rectangular, its four sides enclosing a hollow square. It measured
from north to south eighty feet, and from east to west one hundred and
five. Two angles only remain, one of which is represented in the plate
opposite. It stood alone, and an Indian had planted a milpa around it.
From this "old walls" were again visible, which the Indians called
Kalupok.
Beyond we saw at a distance two other places, called Hiokowitz and
Kuepak, ruined and difficult of access, and we did not attempt to reach
them.
It added to the effect of the ruins scattered in this region, that they
were not on a camino real, but on a little-frequented milpa path, in
some places so overgrown that we found it difficult to force a passage.
The heat was intense; we exhausted our waccals of water, and as there
was no stream or fountain, our only chance of a supply was from a
deposite of rain-water in the hollow of some friendly rock.
At two o'clock we reached a small clearing, in which stood an arbour of
leaves, and under it a rude cross, facing the road; beyond, on the
left, was an overgrown path, which, for the first time in many years,
had been opened for me on a former occasion, to enable me to visit the
ruins of Zekilna.
This place had been the object of one of my bootless visits from
Nohcacab. The account I had heard was of an apartment containing an
altar for burning copal, with traces of its use as left by the ancient
inhabitants. When I had arrived where it was necessary to turn off, it
was some time before the Indian could discover any signs of a path; and
when found, he had to clear every step of the way. By that time my
views on the subject of ruined cities had become practical, and,
perceiving the discomfort and hardship that must attend an exploration
in so desolate a place, I did most earnestly hope that the path would
lead to nothing that might require a second visit. I dismounted, and
leading my horse as the Indian cleared the way, we came to a broken,
stony ascent, climbing up which I discovered that we were upon the top
of an ancient terrace. A fine alamo tree was growing on the terrace,
under which I tied my horse, and descending on the other side, we
crossed a closely-wooded hollow, which, from the excessive heat, I
supposed to be between two mounds. In a few moments I found myself
ascending the side of a lofty stone structure, on the top of which were
the remains of a large building, with its walls fallen, and the whole
side of the mound strewed with sculptured stones, a scene of
irrecoverable ruin. Descending on the other side of this structure, we
reached a broad platform, in a good state of preservation, with trees
growing upon it, without brush or underwood, but so teeming with
insects and large black ants that it was necessary to step from stone
to stone, and avoid touching the ground. Running off lengthwise from
this terrace was a small building, which the Indian pointed out as
containing the altar and copal. Passing the first door, he went on to
the second, put his head in cautiously, and, without entering, drew
back. Going in, I found an apartment differing in nothing from the most
ordinary we had seen in the country. For some time I could not get the
Indian to enter, and when he did, standing in the doorway, and looking
around cautiously, he waved his finger horizontally, according to the
manner of the Indians, to indicate that there was nothing. Fortunately,
however, I learned that the road we had left led to the ruins of
Chunhuhu; and it shows the difficulty I had in ascertaining the
juxtaposition of places, that though this was one of the places which I
intended to visit, until this man mentioned it I had not been able to
learn that it lay in the same neighbourhood. I determined at once to
continue on, and it was what I saw on that occasion that now put our
whole body in motion in this direction.
To return. It was late in the afternoon when we reached the savanna of
Chunhuhu, and rode up to the hut at which I had tied my horse on my
former visit.
The hut was built of upright poles, had a steep projecting roof
thatched with palm leaves, and the sides protected by the same
material; as we stopped in front, we saw a woman within mashing maize
for tortillas, which promised a speedy supper. She said her husband was
away; but this made no difference to us, and, after a few more words,
we all entered, the woman at the moment bolting for the door, and
leaving us in exclusive possession. Very soon, however, a little boy,
about eight years old, came down and demanded the maize, which we were
loth to give up, but did not consider ourselves authorized to retain.
Albino followed him, in hopes of persuading the woman to return; but as
soon as she caught a glimpse of him she ran into the woods.
The hut of which we thus became the sudden and involuntary masters was
furnished with three stones for a fireplace, a wooden horse for
kneading maize upon, a comal for baking tortillas, an earthen olla, or
pot, for cooking, three or four waccals, or gourds, for drinking-cups,
and two small Indian hammocks, which also were demanded and given up.
Besides these, there was a circular dining-table about a foot and a
half in diameter, supported by three pegs about eight inches high, and
some blocks of wood about the same height for seats. Overhead;
suspended from the rafters, were three large bundles of corn in the
husk and two of beans in the pod; and on each string, about a foot
above these eatables, was half a calabash or squash, with the rounded
side up, like the shade over a lamp, which, besides being ornamental,
filled the office of a rat-trap; for these vermin, in springing from
the rafters to reach the corn and beans, would strike upon the
calabash, and fall to the ground.
Being provided for ourselves, we next looked to our horses. There was
no difficulty about their food, for a supply of corn had fallen into
our hands, and the grass on the savanna was the best pasture we had
seen in the country; but we learned, to our dismay, from the little
boy, who was the only person we saw, that there was no water. The place
was worse supplied than any we had yet visited. There was neither well,
cueva, nor aguada, and the inhabitants depended entirely upon the
rain-water collected in the hollows of the rocks. As to a supply for
four horses, it was utterly out of the question. Any long stay at this
place was, of course, impossible; but immediate wants were pressing.
Our horses had not touched water since morning, and, after a long, hot,
and toilsome journey, we could not think of their going without all
night.
The little boy was hovering about the rancho in charge of a naked
sister some two years old, and commissioned, as he told us himself, to
watch that we did not take anything from the hut. For a medio he
undertook to show me the place where they procured water, and, mounting
his little sister upon his back, he led the way up a steep and stony
hill I followed with the bridle of my horse in my hand, and, without
any little girl on my back, found it difficult to keep up with him. On
the top of the hill were worn and naked rocks, with deep hollows in
them, some holding perhaps as much as one or two pails of water. I led
my horse to one of the largest. He was always an extraordinary water
drinker, and that evening was equal to a whole temperance society. The
little Indian looked on as if he had sold his birthright, and I felt
strong compunctions; but, letting the morrow take care of itself, I
sent up the other horses, which consumed at a single drinking what
might, perhaps, have sufficed the family a month.
In the mean time our own wants were not slight. We had been on the road
all day; and had eaten nothing. Unluckily, the old sexton had taken for
his load the box containing our table furniture and provisions for the
road, and we had not seen him since we left him at Sacbey. All the
other carriers had arrived. I had hired them to remain with us and work
at the ruins, and then carry the luggage to the next village. Part of
my contract was to feed them, and, knowing the state of things, they
scattered in search of supplies, returning, after a long absence, with
some tortillas, eggs, and lard. We had the eggs fried, and would,
perhaps, have been content but for our vexation with the sexton. While
we were swinging in our hammocks, we heard his voice at a distance, and
presently he entered in the best humour possible, and holding up his
empty bottle in triumph.
The next morning at daylight we sent Albino with the Indians to begin
clearing around the ruins, and after breakfast we followed. The path
lay through a savanna covered with long grass, and at the distance of a
mile we reached two buildings, which I had seen before, and were the
inducement to this visit.
[Engraving 20: Building at Chunhuhu]
The first is that represented in the plate opposite. It stands on a
substantial terrace, but lower than most of the others. The front is
one hundred and twelve feet long, and when entire must have presented a
grand appearance. The end on the left in the engraving has fallen,
carrying with it one doorway, so that now only four appear. The doorway
was the largest and most imposing we had seen in the country, but,
unfortunately, the ornaments over it were broken and fallen. In the
centre apartment the back corridor is raised, and the ascent to it is
by three steps.
[Engraving 21: A Doorway]
All the doorways were plain except the centre one (the second to the
left in the engraving), which is represented in the plate opposite. It
is in a dilapidated condition, but still presents bold and striking
ornaments. Even on this scale, however, the details of the sitting
figures above the cornice do not appear.
While we were engaged in making a clearing in front of this building,
two young men came down upon the terrace from the corner that was
fallen, and apparently from the top of the building, with long guns,
the locks covered with deer-skin, and all the accoutrements of
cacadores, or hunters. They were tall, fine-looking fellows, fearless
and frank in appearance and manner. Dr. Cabot's gun was the first
object that attracted their attention, after which they laid down their
guns, and, as if for the mere sport of swinging their machetes, were
soon foremost in making the clearing. When this was finished, Mr. C.
sat up his camera lucida, and though at first all gathered round, in a
few minutes he was left with only the two brothers, one of them holding
over him an umbrella to protect him from the sun.
Except the little boy and the woman, these were the first persons we
had seen within speaking distance. We were so pleased with their
appearance that we proposed to one of them to accompany us in our
search after ruins. The elder was quite taken with the idea of
rambling, but soon said, with a rather disconsolate tone, that he had a
wife and children. His hermanito, or younger brother, however, had no
such ties, and would go with us. We made an agreement on the spot; and
nothing can show more plainly the sense which we entertained of the
security of travelling in Yucatan. In Central America we never dared to
take a man into our service without strong recommendations, for he
might be a robber or an assassin. These men we had never heard of till
they came upon us with their guns. Their manly bearing as hungers
inspired confidence, and the only suspicious circumstance was that they
were willing to take us without references; but we found afterward that
they had both known us at Nohcacab. The one whom we engaged was named
Dimas, and he continued with us until we left the country.
[Engraving 22: A Building]
On the same line, and but a short distance removed, though on a lower
terrace, is another building, measuring eighty-five feet in front,
which is represented in the plate opposite. It had a freshness about it
that suggested the idea of something more modern than the others. The
whole was covered with a coat of plaster but little broken, and it
confirmed us in the opinion we had entertained before, that the fronts
of all the buildings had been thus covered.
Our meeting with these young men was a fortunate circumstance for us in
exploring these ruins. From boyhood their father had had his rancho on
the savanna, and with their guns they had ranged over the whole country
for leagues around.
From the terrace of the first building we saw at a distance a high
hill, almost a mountain, on the top of which rose a wooded elevation
surrounding an ancient building. There was something extraordinary in
its position, but the young men told us it was entirely ruined, and,
although it was then but eleven o'clock, if we attempted to go to it,
we could not return till after dark. They told us, also, of others at
the distance of half a league, more extensive, and some of which, they
said, were, in finish and preservation, equal to these.
At one o'clock Doctor Cabot and myself, under the guidance of Dimas,
set out to look for them. It was desperately hot. We passed several
huts, and at one of them asked for some water; but it was so full of
insects that we could barely taste it. Dimas led us to the hut of his
mother, and gave us some from a vessel in which the insects had settled
to the bottom.
Beyond this we ascended the spur of a high hill, and coming down into a
thickly-wooded valley, after the longest half league we ever walked, we
saw through the trees a large stone structure. On reaching it, and
climbing over a broken terrace, we came to a large mound faced on all
sides with stone, which we ascended, and crossing over the top, looked
down upon an overgrown area, having on each side a range of ruined
buildings, with their white facades peering through the trees; and
beyond, at a distance, and seemingly inaccessible, was the high hill
with the ruins on the top, which we had seen from the terrace of the
first building. Hills rose around us on every side, and, for that
country, the scene was picturesque, but all waste and silent. The
stillness of the grave rested upon the ruins, and the notes of a little
flycatcher were the only sounds we heard.
[Engraving 23: A Building]
The ruins in sight were much more extensive than those we had first
visited, but in a more ruinous condition. We descended the mound to the
area in front, and, bearing down the bushes, passed in the centre an
uncouth, upright, circular stone, like that frequently referred to
before, called the picote, or whipping-post, and farther on we reached
an edifice, which Mr. Catherwood afterward drew, and which is
represented in the engraving opposite. It is thirty-three feet in
front, and has two apartments, each thirteen feet long by eight feet
six inches deep, and conspicuous in the facade are representations of
three uncouth human figures, in curious dresses, with their hands held
up by the side of the head, supporting the cornice.
These ruins, Dimas told us, were called Schoolhoke, but, like the
others, they stand on what is called the savanna of Chunhuhu; and the
ruined building on the top of the hill, visible from both places, seems
towering as a link to connect them together. What the extent of this
place has been it is impossible to say. Returning, overtaken by night,
and in apprehension of rain, we were an hour and a half, which would
make the two, by the path we took, at least five miles apart, though
much nearer in a straight line. Supposing the two piles of ruins to
have formed part of the same city, there is reason to believe that it
once covered as much ground and contained as many inhabitants as any
that has yet been presented.
The first intelligence I received of the existence of these ruins was
from Cocom, who, the reader may remember, was our guide at Nohpat; and
this is all that I am able to communicate in regard to their history.
We returned to the rancho worn down with fatigue, just in time to
escape a violent rain. This brought within, as an accompaniment to the
fleas of the night before, our carriers and servants, and we had eleven
hammocks, in close juxtaposition, and through the night a concert of
nasal trombones, with Indian variations. The rain continued all the
next day, and as no work could be done, Mr. Catherwood took advantage
of the opportunity to have another attack of fever. We were glad of
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