Chapter 28

[IV-19]Hist. Mag., vol. vi., pp. 57-8.[IV-20]Juarros' Hist. Guat., pp. 488-9. The ruins are situated on a rock commanding the junction of the rivers Pixcayatl and Motagua.Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 524. Ruins of the ancient capital of the Cakchiquel kings.Hassel,Mex. Guat., pp. 333, 335. 'Remarquable par les ruines de l'ancienne forteresse du même nom.'Larenaudière,Mex. et Guat., p. 266;Malte-Brun,Précis de la Géog., tom. vi., p. 470.[IV-21]Juarros' Hist. Guat., pp. 487-8;Hassel,Mex. Guat., p. 333.[IV-22]Hesse, inSivers,Mittelamerika, p. 257.[IV-23]Fuentes, inJuarros' Hist. Guat., p. 492;Hassel,Mex. Guat., p. 327.[IV-24]Wappäus,Geog. u. Stat., p. 281.[IV-25]Hesse, inSivers,Mittelamerika, p. 257.[IV-26]Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 507.[IV-27]Reichardt,Cent. Amer., p. 72.[IV-28]The distance is stated to be one fourth of a mile, one mile and a half, one league, and one league and a half by different writers.[IV-29]Juarros' Hist. Guat., pp. 382-4; his authority beingFuentes,Recopilacion, MS., tom. i., lib. iii., cap. i., and lib. xv., cap. v.;Stephens' Cent. Amer., vol. ii., pp. 147, 149-53. Juarros' account is also given inConder's Mex. Guat., vol. ii., pp. 270-1, inBradford's Amer. Antiq., p. 90, and inStephens' Cent. Amer., loc. cit. It is also used with that of Stephens to make up the description inSivers,Mittelamerika, pp. 199-200. Slight mention also inWappäus,Geog. u. Stat., p. 284;Brasseur de Bourbourg,Palenqué, p. 33;Id.,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 152, 493, 526. According to Brasseur's statement, M. Daly made drawings at Patinamit, seen by the Abbé, and to be published.[IV-30]Stephens' Cent. Amer., vol. ii., p. 146.[IV-31]'In the province of Quezaltenango, there are still to be met with the vestiges and foundations of many large fortresses, among which is the celebrated one of Parrazquin, situated on the confines of Totonicapan and Quezaltenango; and the citadel of Olintepeque, formed with all the intricacies of a labyrinth, and which was the chief defence of the important city of Xelahuh.'Juarros' Hist. Guat., pp. 485, 379. Slight mention also, probably resting on no other authority than the paragraph above quoted, inWappäus,Geog. u. Stat., p. 247;Hassel,Mex. Guat., p. 341.[IV-32]Stephens' Cent. Amer., vol. ii., pp. 171, 182-8. Mr Stephens gives, besides the engravings I have copied, and one of the other terra-cotta heads mentioned, a view of El Sacrificatorio, a ground plan showing the relative positions of the plateau, the barranca, and the projecting fortress, together with a view of El Resguardo and the other ruins in the distance. I do not reproduce them because they show no details not included in the description, which, moreover, is easily comprehended without the aid of cuts. A thorough exploration of Utatlan was made by Don Miguel Rivera y Maestre, a commissioner sent for the purpose by the Guatemalan government in 1834. His MS. report to the state authorities was seen by Mr Stephens and is described as being very full and accurate, but not containing any details outside of Stephens' account. He does not state that his plans and views were obtained from Rivera y Maestre. Juarros,Hist. Guat., pp. 86-8, 487, follows Fuentes, who described the city chiefly from historical accounts of its original condition, although it seems that he also visited the ruins. Las Casas,Hist. Apologética, MS., cap. lii., speaks of Utatlan's 'maravillosos edificios de cal y canto, de los cuales yo vide muchos.' Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 493, 120, tom. i., p. 124, speaks of Rivera y Maestre's plans in Stephens' work as incorrect, but rejoices in the prospect that M. César Daly will publish correct drawings. 'Un des palais des rois de Quiché a 728 pas géométriques de longueur et 376 de largeur.'Humboldt, inNouvelles Annales des Voy., 1827, tom. xxxv., p. 329. 'En Utlatan habia muchos y muy grandescuesó templos de sus Idolos, de maravillosos edificios, y yo vi algunos aunque muy arruinados.'Zurita, inPalacio,Carta, pp. 123-4. See also accounts of these ruins made up from Stephens and Juarros, inWappäus,Geog. u. Stat., p. 286, andReichardt,Cent. Amer., p. 72; also mention inMalte-Brun,Précis de la Géog., tom. vi., p. 470;Larenaudière,Mex. et Guat., pp. 266, 274;Galindo, inAntiq. Mex., tom. i., div. ii., pp. 73-8;Revue Amér., 1826, tom. i., pp. 353-5;Müller,Amerikanische Urreligionen, p. 462.[IV-33]Stephens' Cent. Amer., vol. ii., p. 192.[IV-34]Seep. 63of this volume.[IV-35]Stephens' Cent. Amer., vol. ii., pp. 228-32, with figures of two vases found at Huehuetenango in addition to those represented above. 'On trouve un plan des plus incorrects dans le MS. de Fuentes.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 119, 504. Mention of the ruins inId.,Palenqué, p. 34. Huehuetenango, in Lat. 15° 28´ 15´´, Long. 91° 36´ 50´´.Wappäus,Geog. u. Stat., p. 288. Engravings of four vases copied from Stephens, inLarenaudière,Mex. et Guat., p. 379, pl. 14.[IV-36]'J'ai moi-même visité les ruines d'un grande nombre de ces villes et châteaux, dont les positions sont admirablement choisies pour la défense; il en existe sur presque toutes les hauteurs qui environnent la plaine de Rabinal. Elles sont, du reste, très-nombreuses dans toutes les provinces guatémaliennes et sont une preuve de l'étendue de leur antique population.' The chief one is one league west of Rabinal.Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 125. Ruins of Cawinal,Id., p. 149. Mention of tumuli,Id., tom. i., p. 15. Mention of ruins of Tzuruya, Tzutum, Nimpokom, Cakyug, Zamaneb, and Salama.Id., tom. ii., pp. 479, 505-6. Mention of Nebah, Uspantan, Rabinal, Cavinal, Xeocok, and Nimpokom.Wappäus,Geog. u. Stat., pp. 288, 291. The ruins located by Sonnenstern,Mapa de Guat., 1859, proceeding from west to east, are as follows: Xolacul, Nebak, Hatzal, Suizul, Balbitz, Cavinal, Pacalay, Xokoc, Beleh Trak, Pikek, Xozintun, Trak Pocoma, Cakyug, Chocotoy, Chotocoy, Talam, Xubabal.[IV-37]Annual Scien. Discov., 1850, pp. 363-4.[IV-38]Stephens' Cent. Amer., vol. ii., p. 193.[IV-39]Pontelli's account with some plates was published in theCorreo de Ultramar, Paris, 1860. I have not seen the original, but what purports to be a translation of it in theCalifornia Farmer, Nov. 7, 1862, is the veriest trash, containing nothing definite respecting the location or description of the pretended discoveries.[IV-40]Stephens' Cent. Amer., vol. ii., pp. 195-7;Id.,Yuc., vol. ii., p. 201. 'Quant à l'existence d'une cité mystérieuse, habitué par des indigènes, qui vivraient au centre du Petén dans les mêmes conditions d'autrefois, c'est une croyance qu'il faut reléguer parmi les fantaisies de l'imagination. Ce conte a pris naissance au Yucatan, et les voyageurs en le recueillant, lui ont donné trop d'importance.'Morelet,Voyage, tom. ii., p. 68. Mr Otis, on the authority of a late English explorer, believes the city to be a limestone formation which has misled.Hist. Mag., vol. vi., p. 120. 'We must reject the notion of great cities existing here.'Squier, inId., vol. iv., p. 67. Its existence not improbable.Mayer's Mex. as it Was, p. 263. Such reports unfounded.Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., p. 37.[IV-41]Morelet,Voyage, tom. ii., pp. 65-8, 26. M. Morelet, by reason of sickness, was unable to make any personal explorations in Peten beyond the island. He has preserved, however, some native reports respecting the antiquities of the region. 'On trouve dans tout ce pays des ruines d'anciens édifices, comme dans le Yucathan, et des idoles en pierre.'Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1843, tom. xcvii., p. 51. 'Por aquellos montes ay muchos edificios antiguos grandiosos (como lo que oy se ven en Yucathàn) y en ellos muy grandes Idolos de piedra.'Cogolludo,Hist. Yuc., p. 700. 'It is doubtful if any monuments of note exist in the district, except on the islands, or in the immediate neighborhood of the lakes.'Squier's Cent. Amer., pp. 543-5. Mention inWappäus,Geog. u. Stat., p. 295;Humboldt, inNouvelles Annales des Voy., 1827, tom. xxxv., p. 329. 'Il n'existe dans cette île aucuns vestiges d'idoles ni de temples.'Waldeck,Voy. Pitt., pp. 69-70. Many relics and remains of idols still to be found on the island.Hassel,Mex. Guat., p. 359;Malte-Brun,Précis de la Géog., tom. vi., p. 470;Morelet's Trav., pp. 240-2;Gondra, inPrescott,Mex., tom. iii., p. 98.[IV-42]'Les Indiens, on le sait, se montrent très réservés sur tout ce qui touche à leur ancienne nationalité: quoique ces ruines fussent connues d'un grand nombre d'entre eux, pas un n'avait trahi le secret de leur existence.'Morelet,Voyage, tom. ii., pp. 66-7;Id.,Trav., pp. 241-2;Squier, inHist. Mag., vol. iv., p. 66;Wappäus,Geog. u. Stat., p. 295.[IV-43]Galindo, inAntiq. Mex., tom. i., div. ii., p. 68;Squier, inHist. Mag., vol. iv., p. 66. Mr Squier says the tower is 22 feet square at the base, instead of 22 paces as Galindo gives it. He does not state the authority on which his description rests; it seems, however, in other respects to be simply a reproduction of Galindo's account, which is also repeated inSquier's Cent. Amer., pp. 544-5. Slight mention inMorelet,Voyage, tom. ii., p. 66;Id.,Trav., p. 240;Wappäus,Geog. u. Stat., p. 295.[IV-44]Col. Mendez, whom Gov. Tut preceded at Tikal by a day or two only, visited the ruins as commissioner of the Guatemalan government, to which, after a stay of four days, he made a report. This report, so far as I know, was never published in the original Spanish; but the MS. fell into the hands of Mr Hesse, Prussian envoy to the Central American governments, and was by him translated into German and published with the plates in theZeitschrift für Allgemeine Erdkunde, 1853, tom. i., pt. iii., pp. 162-8. This translation, without the plates, and with some slight omissions of unimportant details respecting the journey, was also published inSivers,Mittelamerika, pp. 247-54, 304-8, with notes by Messrs Hesse and Sivers. This is the source of my information. Mendez revisited Tikal in 1852, without obtaining any additional information of value so far as I know. The ruins are mentioned and more or less fully described, always from the same source, inMüller,Amerikanische Urreligionen, pp. 460-2;Buschmann,Ortsnamen, pp. 115-17;Ritter, inGumprecht, tom. i., p. 3;Wappäus,Geog. u. Stat., pp. 247, 295.[IV-45]Hesse, inSivers,Mittelamerika, pp. 254-5, 308-9;Buschmann,Ortsnamen, pp. 115-16;Wappäus,Geog. u. Stat., p. 295;Müller,Amerikanische Urreligionen, p. 460.[IV-46]Henderson's Honduras, pp. 52-3; repeated inSquier's Cent. Amer., pp. 596-7.[IV-47]Froebel's Cent. Amer., p. 167.[V-1]'Le sol de l'Yucatan est encore, aujourd'hui, parsemé d'innombrables ruines, dont la magnificence et l'étendue frappent d'étonnement les voyageurs; de toutes parts, ce ne sont que collines pyramidales, surmontées d'édifices superbes, des villes dont la grandeur éblouit l'imagination, tant elles sont multipliées et se touchent de près, sur les chemins publics: enfin on ne saurait faire un pas sans rencontrer des débris qui attestent à la fois l'immensité de la population antique du Maya et la longue prospérité dont cette contrée jouit sous ses rois.' 'Nulle terre au monde ne présente aujourd'hui un champ si fécond aux recherches de l'archéologue et du voyageur.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 20, 24. 'A peine y a-t-il dans l'Yucatan une ville, une bourgade, une maison de campagne qui n'offre dans ses constructions des restes de pierres sculptées qui ont été enlevées d'un ancien édifice. On peut compter plus de douze emplacements couverts de vastes ruines.'Friederichsthal, inNouvelles Annales des Voy., 1841, tom. xcii., pp. 300-1. 'Elle est, pour ainsi dire, jonchée de ruines. Partout, dans cette partie de l'Amérique, la poésie des souvenirs parle à l'imagination.'Larenaudière,Mex. et Guat., p. 320.[V-2]The earliest modern account of Yucatan Antiquities with which I am acquainted is that written by Sr Lorenzo de Zavala, Ambassador of the Mexican Government in France, and published inAntiquités Mexicaines, tom. i., div. ii., pp. 33-5. Sr Zavala visited Uxmal several years before 1834. His communication gives a tolerably good general idea of the ruins, but it is brief, unaccompanied by drawings, and relates only to one city. It is, therefore, of little value when compared with later and more extensive works on the subject, and is mentioned in this note only as being the earliest account extant. Yet long before Zavala's visit, Padre Thomas de Soza, a Franciscan friar of the convent of Mérida, had observed the ruins during his frequent trips through the province, and he gave a slight account of them to Antonio del Rio, who mentioned it in hisDescrip. of an Ancient City, pp. 6-8.M. Frédéric de Waldeck, a French artist, visited Uxmal in 1835 during a short tour in the peninsula, and published the result of his labors in hisVoyage Pittoresque et Archéologique dans la Province d'Yucatan, Paris, 1838, large folio, with 22 steel plates and lithographic illustrations. M. de Waldeck became in some way obnoxious to the Mexican Government, which threw some obstacles in his way, and finally confiscated his drawings, of which he had fortunately made copies. Waldeck in his turn abuses the government and the people, and has consequently been unfavorably criticised. His drawings and descriptions, however, tested by the work of later visitors under better auspices, are remarkable for their accuracy so far as they relate to antiquities. The few errors discoverable in his work may be attributed to the difficulty of exploring alone and unaided ruins enveloped in a dense tropical forest. 'Supplied with pecuniary aid by a munificent and learned Irish peer.' (Lord Kingsborough.)Foreign Quar. Rev., vol. xviii., p. 251. 'Waldeck, aumentando ó disminuyendo antojadiza y caprichosamente sus obras, las hace participar, en todos sentidos, de las no muy acreditadas cualidades de verídico, imparcial y concienzudo que aquí le conocieron.'M. F. P., inRegistro Yucateco, tom. i., p. 362.Mr. John L. Stephens, accompanied by Fred. Catherwood, artist, at the end of an antiquarian expedition through Central America, arrived at Uxmal in 1840, and began the work of surveying the city, but the sickness of Mr Catherwood compelled them to abandon the survey when but little progress had been made and return abruptly to New York. The results of their incomplete work were published inStephens' Cent. Amer., N. Y., 1841, vol. ii.Mr B. M. Norman, a resident of New Orleans, made a flying visit to Yucatan from December to March, 1841-2, and published as a resultRambles in Yucatan, N. Y., 1843, illustrated with cuts and lithographs. According to theRegistro Yucateco, tom. i., p. 372, this trip was merely a successful speculation on the part of Norman, who collected his material in haste from all available sources, in order to take advantage of the public interest excited by Stephens' travels. However this may be, the work is not without value in connection with the other authorities. 'The result of a hasty visit.'Mayer's Mex. Aztec, etc., vol. ii., p. 172. The work 'n'est qu'une compilation sans mérite et sans intérêt.'Morelet,Voyage, tom. i., p. 150. 'A valuable work.'Davis' Antiq. Amer., p. 12. 'By which the public were again astonished and delighted.'Frost's Pict. Hist. Mex., p. 77. Norman's work is very highly spoken of and reviewed at length, with numerous quotations and two plates, in theDemocratic Review, vol. xi., pp. 529-38.Mr Stephens arrived in New York on his return from his Central American tour in July, 1840, having left Yucatan in June. 'About a year' after his return he again sailed for Yucatan on October 9th and remained until the following June. This is all the information the author vouchsafes touching the date of his voyage, which was probably in 1841-2, Stephens and Norman being therefore in the country at the same time; the latter states, indeed, that they were only a month apart at Zayi. Stephens' work is calledIncidents of Travel in Yucatan, N. Y., 1843. (?) (Ed. quoted in this work, N. Y., 1858.) The drawings of this and of the previous expedition were published, with a descriptive text by Stephens, under the title ofCatherwood's Views of Ancient Monuments in Central America, N. Y., 1844, large folio, with 25 colored lithographic plates. Stephens' account was noticed, with quotations, by nearly all the reviews at the time of its appearance, and has been the chief source from which all subsequent writers, including myself, have drawn their information. His collection of movable Yucatan relics was unfortunately destroyed by fire with Mr Catherwood's panorama in New York. Critics are almost unanimous in praise of the work. 'Malgré quelques imperfections, le livre restera toujours un ouvrage de premier ordre pour les voyageurs et les savants.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Esquisses, p. 7. 'Stephens y Catherwood, por ejemplo, sin separarse de la verdad de los originales, los cópia el uno, y los describe el otro con exactitud, criterio y buena fé,'M. F. P., inRegistro Yucateco, tom. i., p. 362. 'Ce que M. Stephens a montré talent, de science et de modestie dans ses narrations est au-dessus de toute appréciation.'Dally,Races Indig., p. 14. Jones,Hist. Anc. Amer., criticises Stephens' conclusions, and his criticisms will be somewhat noticed in their proper place. See alsop. 82, note 14, of this volume.The Baron von Friederichsthal, an attaché of the Austrian Legation, spent several months in an examination of Yucatan ruins, confining his attention to Chichen Itza and Uxmal. He had with him a daguerreotype apparatus, and with its aid prepared many careful drawings. As to the date of his visit it probably preceded those of Norman and Stephens, since a letter by him, written while on his return to Europe, is dated April 21, 1841. This letter is printed in theRegistro Yucateco, tom. ii., pp. 437-43, and in theDicc. Univ., tom. x., pp. 290-3. It contains a very slight general account of the ruins, which are spoken of as 'hasta hoy desconocidas,' with much rambling speculation on their origin. On his arrival in Europe Friederichsthal was introduced by Humboldt to theAcadémie Royale des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, before which society he read a paper on his discoveries on October 1, 1841, which paper was furnished by the author for theNouvelles Annales des Voy., 1841, tom. xcii., pp. 297-314, where it was published under the title ofLes Monuments de l'Yucatan. The author proceeded to Vienna where he intended to publish a large work with his drawings, a work that so far as I know has never seen the light. 'M. de Friederichsthal a souvent été inquiété dans ses recherches; les ignorants, les superstitieux, les niais les regardaient comme dangereuses au pays.'Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1841, tom. xcii., p. 304.In 1858 M. Désiré Charnay visited Izamal, Chichen Itza, and Uxmal, taking with him a photographic apparatus. He succeeded in obtaining perfect views of many of the buildings, which were published under the titleCités et Ruines Américaines, Paris, 1863, in large folio. The text of the work is in octavo form and includes a long introduction by M. Viollet-le-Duc, French Government Architect, occupied chiefly with speculation and theories rather than descriptions. Charnay's part of the text, although a most interesting journal of travels, is very brief in its descriptions, the author wisely referring the reader to the photographs, which are invaluable as tests of the correctness of drawings made by other artists both in Yucatan and elsewhere.See also a general notice of the ruins inCogolludo,Hist. Yuc., pp. 176-7, and inGottfriedt,Newe Welt, p. 611; full account inBaldwin's Anc. Amer., pp. 125-50, from Stephens; and brief accounts, made up from the modern explorers, inMayer's Mex. Aztec, etc., vol. ii., pp. 171-3, with cut of an idol from Catherwood;Prichard's Researches, vol. v., pp. 346-8;Morelet,Voyage, tom. i., pp. 147, 191-5, 269-72;Dally,Races Indig., pp. 14-15;Warden,Recherches, pp. 68-9;Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1843, tom. xcvii., pp. 36-50, from old Spanish authorities;Müller,Amerikanische Urreligionen, pp. 460, 462;Mühlenpfordt,Mejico, tom. ii., pt. i., p. 12;Hassel,Mex. Guat., p. 267;Wappäus,Geog. u. Stat., pp. 144, 247;Baril,Mexique, pp. 128-30;Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 20-31;Davis' Antiq. Amer., pp. 512-30;Id., Ed. 1847, p. 31;Larenaudière,Mex. et Guat., pp. 320-8;Mex. in 1842, p. 75;Sivers,Mittelamerika, pp. 227, 242-7, 303-4.[V-3]The best map of Yucatan, showing not only the country's geographical features, but the location of all its ruins, is theCarte du Yucatan et des régions voisines, compiled by M. Malte-Brun from the works of Owen, Barnett, Lawrence, Kiepert, García y Cubas, Stephens, and Waldeck, and published inBrasseur de Bourbourg,Palenqué, Paris, 1866, pl. i., ii.[V-4]Fray Diego Lopez Cogolludo visited Uxmal at some time before the middle of the seventeenth century, and describes the ruins to some extent in hisHistoria de Yucathan, Mad., 1688, pp. 176-7, 193-4, 197-8. Padre Thomas de Soza, about 1786, reported to Antonio del Rio stone edifices covered with stucco ornaments, known by the natives as Oxmutal, with statues of men beating drums and dancing with palms in their hands, which he had seen in his travels in Yucatan, and which are thought to be perhaps identical with Uxmal, although the monuments are reported as being located twenty leagues south of Mérida and may be quite as reasonably identified with some other group.Rio's Description, pp. 6-7. Zavala's visit to Uxmal at some date previous to 1834 has already been spoken of innote 2. His account is calledNotice sur les Monuments d'Ushmal, inAntiq. Mex., tom. i., div. ii., pp. 33-5. M. de Waldeck left Mérida for Uxmal on May 6, 1835, arrived at the ruins on May 12, where he spent some eight days, and was interrupted in his work by the rainy season.Waldeck,Voy. Pitt., pp. 67-74, 93-104, and plates. Mr Stephens had Waldeck's work with him at the time of his second visit. He says,Yucatan, vol. i., p. 297, 'It will be found that our plans and drawings differ materially from his, but Mr Waldeck was not an architectural draughtsman;' yet the difference is only to be noted in a few plates, and is not so material as Mr Stephens' words would imply. Still, where differences exist, I give Mr Stephens the preference, because, having his predecessor's drawings, his attention would naturally be called to all the points of Waldeck's survey. Mr Stephens says further, 'It is proper to say, moreover, that Mr Waldeck had much greater difficulties to encounter than we, ... besides, he is justly entitled to the full credit of being the first stranger who visited these ruins and brought them to the notice of the public.' Mr Stephens' first visit was in June, 1840, during which he visited the ruins from the hacienda three times, on June 20, 21, and 22, while Mr Catherwood spent one day, the 21st, in making sketches. It was unfortunate that he was forced by Mr Catherwood's illness to leave Uxmal, for at this time the ground had been cleared of the forest and was planted with corn; the occasion was therefore most favorable for a thorough examination.Stephens' Cent. Amer., vol. ii., pp. 413-35, with 3 plates. Mr Norman, according to his journal, reached the ruins, where he took up his abode, on February 25, 1842, and remained until March 4, devoting thus seven days or thereabouts to his survey. His account is accompanied by several lithographic illustrations.Norman's Rambles in Yuc., pp. 154-67. Messrs Stephens and Catherwood arrived on their second visit on November 15, 1841, and remained until January 1, 1842, Mr Stephens meanwhile making two short trips away, one in search of ruins, the other to get rid of fever and ague. It is remarkable that they found no traces of Mr Friederichsthal's visit, (Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1841, tom. xcii., pp. 306-9,) which was probably in the same year.Stephens' Yucatan, vol. i., pp. 163-325, vol. ii., pp. 264-73, with many plates and cuts. Padre Carrillo, cura of Ticul, with D. Vicente García Rejon, and D. José María Fajardo, visited the ruins in March, 1845, and an account of the visit, embodying but little information, was published byL. G., inRegistro Yuc., tom. i., pp. 275-9. Another account of a visit in the same year was published byM. F. P., inId., pp. 361-70. Mr Carl Bartholomaeus Heller spent two or three days at Uxmal, April 6 to 9, 1847. His account is found inHeller,Reisen, pp. 256-65. M. Charnay's visit was in 1858, and his efforts to obtain photographic negatives and to fight the insects which finally drove him away, lasted eight days.Charnay,Ruines Amér., pp. 362-80, pl. xxxv-xlix. M. Brasseur de Bourbourg was at Uxmal in 1865, and made a report, accompanied by a plan, which was published in theArchives de la Com. Scien. du Mex., tom. ii., pp. 234, 254, as the author states in hisPalenqué, Introd., p. 24. See further on Uxmal: Description quoted from Stephens with unlimited criticisms, italics, capitals, and exclamation points, inJones' Hist. Anc. Amer., pp. 86-105, 120; description from Waldeck and Stephens, with remarks on the city's original state, inBrasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 21-3, 585; and also slight accounts made up from one or more of the authorities already cited as follows:Müller,Amerikanische Urreligionen, pp. 462, 483;Bradford's Amer. Antiq., pp. 99-103, from Waldeck;Baril,Mexique, pp. 129-30, from Del Rio;Sivers,Mittelamerika, pp. 237-41;Morelet,Voyage, tom. i., pp. 149-50, 193;Frost's Great Cities, pp. 268-81;Id.,Pict. Hist. Mex., p. 80;Album,Mex., tom. i., pp. 203-4, the last three including a moonlight view of the ruins, from Norman;Larenaudière,Mex. et Guat., pp. 321-8, with plates from Waldeck;Baldwin's Anc. Amer., pp. 131-7, with cuts, from Stephens;Foster's Pre-Hist. Races, pp. 208, 212-13, 302, 330, 398-9, from Stephens;Willson's Amer. Hist., pp. 82-6, with cuts, from Stephens;Armin,Das Heutige Mex., pp. 91-6, with cuts, from Stephens;Id.,Das Alte Mex., p. 97;Wappäus,Geog. u. Stat., p. 144;Mühlenpfordt,Mejico, tom. ii., pt. i., p. 12;Domenech's Deserts, vol. i., p. 51;Hermosa,Enciclopedia, Paris, 1857, pp. 176-7;Prescott's Mex., vol. iii., pp. 412-13;Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1843, tom. xcvii., pp. 36-7, 44.[V-5]Pronouncedooshmahl.[V-6]Cogolludo sometimes writes the name Uxumual. 'Il nous a été impossible de trouver une étymologie raisonnable à ce nom.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 21. 'Le nom d'Uxmalsignifiedu temps passé. Il ne s'applique aux ruines que parce que celles-ci sont situées sur le terrain de la hacienda d'Uxmal.'Waldeck,Voy. Pitt., p. 68;Sivers,Mittelamerika, p. 237. Possibly derived fromoxandmal, meaning 'three passages' in Maya.Heller,Reisen, p. 255. 'It was an existing inhabited aboriginal town' in 1556.Stephens' Yucatan, vol. ii., p. 272. CalledOxmutalby Soza, inRio's Description, p. 7.[V-7]Lat. 30° 22´ 86´´ (!), Long. 4´ 33´´ west of Mérida. 'Une couche très mince d'une terre ferrugineuse recouvre le sol, mais disparaît dans les environs où l'on n'aperçoit que du sable.'Friederichsthal, inNouvelles Annales des Voy., 1841, tom. xcii., p. 306. 2 miles (German) west of Jalacho, which lies near Maxcanú, on the road from Mérida to Campeche.Wappäus,Geog. u. Stat., p. 144. 20 leagues from Mérida, occupying an extent of several leagues.Mühlenpfordt,Mejico, tom. ii., pt. i., p. 12. 'A huit lieues de Mayapan ... dans une plaine légèrement ondulée.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 21. 'Le terrain d'Uxmal est plat dans toute l'étendue du plateau.' 'Sur le plateau d'une haute montagne.'Waldeck,Voy. Pitt., pp. 68, 70.[V-8]'Sur un diamètre d'une lieue, le sol est couvert de débris, dont quelques-uns recouvrent des intérieurs fort bien conservés.'Charnay,Ruines Amér., p. 363.[V-9]In the plan I have followed Stephens,Yucatan, vol. i., p. 165, who determined the position of all the structures by actual measurement, cutting roads through the undergrowth for this express purpose, and the accuracy of whose survey cannot be called in question. His plan is reproduced on a reduced scale inWillson's Amer. Hist., p. 83. Plans are also given inWaldeck,Voy. Pitt., pl. viii.;Norman's Rambles in Yuc., p. 155; andCharnay,Ruines Amér., introd. by Viollet-le-Duc, p. 62. These all differ very materially both from that of Stephens, and from each other; they are moreover very incomplete, and bear marks of having been carelessly or hastily prepared. 'Disposée en échiquier, où se déployaient, à la suite les uns des autres, les palais et les temples.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 21. Besides the plans, general views of the ruins from nearly the same point (qon the plan looking southward) are given by Stephens,Yucatan, vol. i., p. 305, and by Charnay,Ruines Amér., phot. 49. Norman,Rambles in Yuc., frontispiece, gives a general view of the ruins by moonlight from a point and in a direction impossible to fix, which is copied in theAlbum Mex., tom. i., p. 203, inFrost's Great Cities, p. 269, and inId.,Pict. Hist. Mex., p. 80. It makes a very pretty frontispiece, which is about all that can be said in its favor, except that it might serve equally well to illustrate any other group of American or old-world antiquities.[V-10]Charnay,Ruines Amér., phot. 49.[V-11]'No habiendo tradicion alguna que testifique los nombres propios, que en un principio tuvieron los diferentes edificios que denuncian estas ruinas, es preciso creer que los que hoy llevan, son enteramente gratuitos.'L. G., inRegistro Yuc., tom. i., p. 275. Mr Jones is positive this must have been a temple rather than a palace. 'Mr Stephens appears to be so strict a Spartan Republican, that every large, or magnificent building in the Ruined Cities, he considers to be aPalace,—he seems to have thought less of mind, than of matter.'Hist. Anc. Amer., p. 96; Waldeck,Voy. Pitt., p. 97, calls it the Temple of Fire.[V-12]In stating the dimensions of this mound, as I shall generally do in describing Uxmal, I have followed Stephens' text. His plan and both plans and text of all the other visitors vary more or less respecting each dimension. I had prepared tables of dimensions for each building from all the authorities, but upon reflection have thought it not worth while to insert them. Such tables would not enable the reader to ascertain the exact measurements, and moreover differences of a few feet cannot be considered practically important in this and similar cases. All the authorities agree on the general form and extent of this pyramidal mound. Most of them, however, refer only to the eastern front, and no one but Stephens notes the western irregularities. In giving the dimensions of the respective terraces some also refer to their bases, and others probably to their summits. Norman,Rambles in Yuc., pp. 156-7, states that the second and third terraces are each thirty feet high, while Charnay,Ruines Amér., pp. 372-3, makes the same fifteen and ten feet respectively. Waldeck's plan makes the summit platform about 240 feet long.[V-13]Jones,Hist. Anc. Amer., p. 120, says there was a stairway in the centre of each side.[V-14]Norman's dimensions are 36×272 feet; Heller's, 40×320 feet; Friederichsthal's, 38×407 feet; and Waldeck's, about 65×195 feet.[V-15]Stephens' Yucatan, vol. i., p. 175, reproduced inBaldwin's Anc. Amer., p. 132, andWillson's Amer. Hist., p. 84. The author speaks of the number of rooms as being 18, although the plan shows 24. He probably does not count the four small rooms corresponding with the recesses on the front and rear, as he also does not include their doors in his count. How he gets rid of the other two does not appear. Norman says 24 rooms, Charnay 21, and Stephens indicates 22 in the plan inCent. Amer., vol. ii., p. 428.[V-16]Friederichsthal, inNouvelles Annales des Voy., 1841, tom. xcii., p. 309, speaking of the Uxmal structures in general, says the blocks are usually 5×12 inches; Zavala, inAntiq. Mex., tom. i., div. ii., p. 34, pronounces them from 25 to 28 centimètres in length, width, and thickness.[V-17]This beam was taken to N. Y., where it shared the fate of Stephens' other relics.[V-18]Stephens favors the former theory, Waldeck and Charnay the latter, insisting that the hammock is consequently an American invention. Norman goes so far as to say that the grooves worn by the hammock-ropes are still to be seen on some of these timbers.[V-19]Waldeck,Voy. Pitt., p. 97, speaks of real or false doors made of a single stone in connection with this building, but his examination of it was very slight. Cogolludo,Hist. Yuc., p. 177, speaks of interior decorations as follows: 'Ay vn lienço en lo interior de la fabrica, que (aunque es muy dilatado) à poco mas de medio estado de vn hombre, corre por todo èl vna cornisa de piedra muy tersa, que haze vna esquina delicadissima, igual, y muy perfecta, donde (me acuerdo) avia sacado de la misma piedra, y quedado en ella vn anillo tan delgado, y vistoso, como puede ser vno de oro obrado con todo primor.'[V-20]FromStephens' Yucatan, vol. i., p. 174; also inBaldwin's Anc. Amer., p. 132. Charnay's photograph 48 shows the opposite or northern end in connection with another building.[V-21]From Stephens; one of them also inBaldwin's Anc. Amer.[V-22]A cut of this hook is also given by Norman, and by Waldeck, who,Voy. Pitt., p. 74, attempts to prove its identity with an elephant's trunk, and that it was not molded from a tapir's snout.[V-23]Charnay,Ruines Amér., phot. 46, shows the whole eastern façade. Photograph 47 gives a view on a larger scale of the portion over the principal doorway. Stephens,Yucatan, vol. i., frontispiece, represents the same front in a large plate, and in hisCent. Amer., vol. ii., p. 434, is a plate showing a part of the same. Norman gives a lithograph of the front.Rambles in Yuc., p. 158. His enlarged portion of the front from Waldeck does not belong to the Governor's House at all. 'Couvert de bas-reliefs, exécutés avec une rare perfection, formant une suite de méandres et arabesques d'un travail non moins capricieux que bizarre.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 23. Decorated with 'gros serpents entrelacés et d'anneaux en pierre.'Friederichsthal, inNouvelles Annales des Voy., 1841, tom. xcii., p. 308. 'Chiefly the meander, or the Grecian square border, used in the embroidery of the mantles and robes of Attica.'Jones' Hist. Anc. Amer., p. 98. 'The length of the upper platform (in English feet!!) is seen to correspond nearly with the number of days in the year, and the mysterious emblem of eternity, the serpent, is found extending its portentous length around the building.'Frost's Great Cities, p. 271. 'Du haut de ses trois étages de pyramides, il se dresse comme un roi, dans un isolement plein de majestueuse grandeur.' 'L'ornementation se compose d'une guirlande en forme de trapèzes réguliers, de ces énormes têtes déjà décrites, courant du haut en bas de la façade, et servant de ligne enveloppante à des grecques d'un relief très-saillant, reliées entre elles par une ligne de petites pierres en carré diversement sculptées; le tout sur un fond plat de treillis de pierre. Le dessus des ouvertures était enrichi de pièces importantes, que divers voyageurs ont eu le soin d'enlever. Quatre niches, placées régulièrement, contenaient des statues, absentes aujourd'hui.'Charnay,Ruines Amér., pp. 372-3. 'One solid mass of rich, complicated elaborately sculptured ornaments forming a sort of arabesque.' 'Perhaps it may with propriety be called a species of sculptured mosaic; and I have no doubt that all these ornaments have a symbolical meaning; that each stone is part of a history, allegory, or fable.'Stephens' Yucatan, vol. i., pp. 166, 173. 'The ornaments were composed of small square pieces of stone, shaped with infinite skill, and inserted between the mortar and stone with the greatest care and precision. About two-thirds of the ornaments are still remaining upon the façade.... The ground-work of the ornaments is chiefly composed of raised lines, running diagonally, forming diamond or lattice-work, over which are rosettes and stars; and, in bold relief, the beautiful Chinese border.'Norman's Rambles in Yuc., pp. 158-9. 'A travers ces grands méandres formés par l'appareil se montrent, ici encore, la tradition des constructions de bois par empilages, en encorbellement et le treillis. Cette construction est une des plus soignées parmi celles d'Uxmal.'Viollet-le-Duc, inCharnay,Ruines Amér., p. 70.[V-23]'La décoration du parement de cet édifice ne consiste qu'en une imitation de palissade formée de rondins de bois. Sur la frise supérieure, des tortues saillantes rompent seules les lignes horizontales.'Viollet-le-Duc, inCharnay,Ruines Amér., p. 69. Photograph 48 shows the north front of the Casa de Tortugas. Stephens,Yucatan, vol. i., p. 184, gives a plate showing the southern front. Waldeck's plan would make this building's dimensions about 60×185 feet. The column structure will be illustrated by engravings in connection with the ruins of Zayi and others.[V-24]Stephens' Yucatan, vol. i., p. 181;Norman's Rambles in Yuc., p. 156. From this rather meagre information Mr Jones proves, in a manner entirely satisfactory to himself, that the whole platform was surrounded in its original condition by a double row of columns, 230 in number, placed 10 feet apart, each 18 inches in diameter and 12 feet high, with a grand central column, 6 feet in diameter, and 60 feet high.Hist. Anc. Amer., p. 119.[V-25]'A shaft of gray limestone in an inclined position, measuring twelve feet in circumference and eight in height; bearing upon its surface no marks of form or ornament by which it might be distinguished from a natural piece.'Norman's Rambles in Yuc., p. 156. 'Une espèce de colonne ditepierre du châtiment, où les coupables devaient recevoir la punition de leurs fautes.'Charnay,Ruines Amér., p. 372. 'Una enorme columna de piedra, cuya forma semicónica le da el aire de un obelisco, aunque de base circular y sin adornos.'M. F. P., inRegistro Yuc., tom. i., p. 364.[V-26]'Double-headed cat or lynx,' cut fromStephens' Yucatan, vol. i., p. 183; andBaldwin's Anc. Amer., p. 133. 'Un autel, au centre, soutenait un tigre à deux têtes, dont les corps reliés au ventre figurent une double chimère.'Charnay,Ruines Amér., p. 372. 'Rude carving of a tiger with two heads.'Norman's Rambles in Yuc., p. 156. 'En un mismo cuerpo contiene dos cabezas de tigre de tamaño regular, vueltas hácia fuera: su actitud es la misma que la en que generalmente se representa la esfinge de la fábula; y si su excavacion no fuera tan reciente, probablemente habria corrido la suerte de otras estátuas y objetos preciosos, que à nuestra vista y paciencia han sido sacados del pais para figurar en los museos extranjeros.'M. F. P., inRegistro Yuc., tom. i., pp. 364-5. Mr Heller,Reisen, p. 259, confounds this monument with the picote.[V-27]Stephens' Yucatan, vol. i. pp. 229-32. Sr Peon, proprietor of Uxmal, believed that these excavations were originally used as granaries, not deeming the plaster sufficiently hard to resist water. 'Excavations ... with level curbings and smoothly finished inside.'Norman's Rambles in Yuc., p. 156.[V-28]Stephens' Yucatan, vol. i., pp. 253-6, with a view in the frontispiece. Although Stephens says the pyramid is only sixty-five feet high, it is noticeable that in Catherwood's drawing it towers high above the roof of the Casa del Gobernador, which is at least sixty-eight feet in height. Norman,Rambles in Yuc., p. 157, calls this a pile of loose stones, about two hundred feet square at the base, and one hundred feet high, and covered on the sides and top with débris of edifices. Friederichsthal,Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1841, tom. xcii., p. 308, says the summit platform is seventy-seven feet square.[V-29]Stephens' Yucatan, vol. i., p. 319. A distant view of this pyramid is included in Stephens' general view, p. 305, and in Charnay's photograph 49. Norman, in both plan and text, unites this pyramid at the base with that at E, and makes its height eighty feet.Rambles in Yuc., p. 157.[V-30]Stephens' Yucatan, vol. i., pp. 318-19, with view of the Casa de Palomas; cut also inId.,Cent. Amer., vol. ii., p. 426. 'Une muraille dentelée de pignons assez élevés, percés d'une multitude de petites ouvertures, qui donnent à chacun la physionomie d'un colombier.'Charnay,Ruines Amér., pp. 371-2, phot. 49. 'A wall of two hundred feet remains standing upon a foundation of ten feet. Its width is twenty-five feet; having ranges of rooms in both sides, only parts of which remain. This wall has an acute-angled arch doorway through the centre.... The top of this wall has numerous square apertures through it, which give it the appearance of pigeon-holes; and its edge is formed like the gable-end of a house, uniformly notched.'Norman's Rambles in Yuc., p. 165, with plate showing one of the peaks of the wall.[V-31]Stephens' Yucatan, vol. i., p. 320; Norman,Rambles in Yuc., p. 165, speaks of this part of the ruin as 'an immense court or square, enclosed by stone walls, leading to the Nun's House,' C of the plan. He says, also, that some of the scattered mounds in this direction have been excavated and seem to have been intended originally for sepulchres.[V-32]Mr Stephens,Yucatan, vol. i., p. 320, refers to his appendix for a mention of some of the relics found in this group. The reference is probably to a note on vestiges of the phallic worship on p. 434, which from motives of modesty the author gives in Latin.[V-33]Mr Norman's statements,Rambles in Yuc., p. 166, differ materially from those of Stephens,Yucatan, vol. i., pp. 298-9. He states that the walls are only twelve feet apart, that the eastern façade only has the entwined serpents, that the western is covered with hieroglyphics, that the structure contains rooms on a level with the ground, and implies that the western ring was still perfect at the time of his visit. This building is called by Charnay the Cárcel, or Prison.[V-34]In these dimensions I have followed Mr Stephens' text, as usual in Uxmal, as far as possible. Although the Casa de Monjas has received more attention than any of the other structures, yet, strangely enough, no visitor gives all the dimensions of the buildings and terraces; hardly any two authors agree on any one dimension; and no author's text agrees exactly with his plans. Yet the figures of my text may be considered approximately correct. I append, however, in this instance a table of variations as a curiosity.Respecting the height of the buildings, except the northern, we have no figures from any reliable authority; but we know that both eastern and western are lower than the northern building and higher than the southern, whose rooms are 17 feet high on the inside, and moreover that the eastern is higher than the western.SouthNorthEastWestCourtTerraceLong.Wide.High.Long.Wide.High.Long.Wide.High.Long.Wide.High.Long.Wide.High.Circum.Stephens, Text2792642515817325821419Stephens, 1st Plan300303002516235165352401851520Stephens, 2d Plan279252602516035165352201951430Waldeck, Text22727227271763417634227172151116Waldeck, 1st Plan235272352521040210402222051360Waldeck, 2d Plan26428225271743417434234180Charnay, Text351210262262Charnay, Plan36033393332623326233262265Norman2002516246252614034251403425151100Heller26024251501703425181000[V-35]M. Waldeck,Voy. Pitt., pl. xii., presents a drawing of four of these turtles. 'Covered with square blocks of stone.'Norman's Rambles in Yuc., p. 163. 'Each tortoiseis in a square, and in the two external angles of each square is anEgg. Thetortoiseand theegg, are both National emblems.'Jones' Hist. Anc. Amer., p. 94.[V-36]Charnay,Ruines Amér., pp. 364, 368;Stephens' Yucatan, vol. i., pp. 301, 308.[V-37]Plan inStephens' Yucatan, vol. i., p. 301; reproduced inBaldwin's Anc. Amer., p. 136. Waldeck,Voy. Pitt., pl. xii., also gives a ground plan, which, so far as the arrangement of rooms and doorways is concerned, differs very widely from that of Stephens, and must be regarded as very incorrect. M. Waldeck, during his short stay in Yucatan, seems to have devoted his chief attention to sketching the sculptured façades, a work which he accomplished accurately, but to have constructed his plans from memory and imagination after leaving the country. In the preparation of the present plan he had, to aid his fancy, the supposed occupation of these buildings in former times by nuns, and he has arranged the rooms with an eye to the convenience of the priests in keeping a proper watch and guard over the movements of those erratic demoiselles.[V-38]Cut fromStephens' Yucatan, vol. i., p. 309. For some reason the sculpture is not shown. Waldeck's pl. xii. contains also a section showing the form of the arches and ceilings.[V-39]'Les linteux des portes sont en bois, comme partout à Uxmal.' 'Les intérieurs, de dimensions variées suivant la grandeur des édifices ... deux murailles parallèles, puis obliquant, pour se relier par une dalle.' 'Les salles étaient enduites d'une couche de plâtre fin qui existe encore.' 'On remarque de chaque côté de l'ouverture, à égale distance du sol et du linteau de la porte, plantés dans la muraille de chaque côté des supports, quatre crochets en pierre.'Charnay,Ruines Amér., pp. 364-6. M. Waldeck speaks of the door-tops of the western building as being composed of nine pieces of stone, perpendicular on the outside, or visible, portions, but beveled and secured by a keystone within. 'Fait de neuf pierres à coupe perpendiculaire, et point du tout à clef: je parle ici de l'aspect de cette partie du monument à l'extérieur; mais à l'intérieur, ces neuf pierres sont à clef, ce que l'absence d'enduit m'a permis de constater.'Voy. Pitt., p. 100. 'The height of the ceiling is uniform throughout.'Norman's Rambles in Yuc., p. 161. Heller,Reisen, p. 257, gives the botanical name of the zapote-wood used for lintels ascavanilla,achras sapota. Waldeck calls the woodjovillo.Voy. Pitt., p. 97. Norman spells itzuporte.[V-40]'J'ai parlé, dans le texte du présent ouvrage, des prétendues colonnes trouvées dans l'Yucatan. Les trois balustres qu'on voit dans cette planche peuvent, déplacés comme ils l'étaient, avoir donné lieu à cette erreur. En effet, en divisant ces ornements en plusieurs morceaux, on y trouvera un fût droit et une espèce de chapiteau que, d'après des idées relatives assurément fort naturelles, on place volontiers à l'extrémité supérieure du fût, au lieu de le mettre au milieu.'Waldeck,Voy. Pitt., p. 103. 'C'est un ensemble de colonnettes nouées dans le milieu trois par trois, séparées par des parties de pierres plates et les treillis qu'on rencontre si souvent; ce bâtiment est d'une simplicité relative, comparé à la richesse des trois autres.'Charnay,Ruines Amér., p. 368.[V-41]My engravings are taken fromWaldeck,Voy. Pitt., pl. xv., xvii. They are reproduced inLarenaudière,Mex. et Guat., p. 323, pl. 3, 6. The perfect accuracy of the engravings—except the seated statues—is proved by Charnay's photographs 42, 49, which show the same front, as does the view inStephens' Yucatan, vol. i., p. 305. The southern front of this building is only shown in general views inStephens' Cent. Amer., vol. ii., p. 420; repeated inArmin,Das Heutige Mex., p. 92; and inNorman's Rambles in Yuc., p. 160, which give no details.[V-42]'La décoration se compose d'une espèce de trophée en forme d'éventail, qui part du bas de la frise en s'élargissant jusqu'au sommet du bâtiment. Ce trophée est un ensemble de barres parallèles terminées par des têtes de monstres. Au milieu de la partie supérieure, et touchant à la corniche, se trouve une énorme tête humaine, encadrée à l'égyptienne, avec une corne de chaque côté. Ces trophées sont séparés par des treillis de pierre qui donnent à l'édifice une grande richesse d'effet. Les coins ont toujours cette ornementation bizarre, composée de grandes figures d'idoles superposées, avec un nez disproportionné, tordu et relevé, qui fait songer à la manière chinoise.'Charnay,Ruines Amér., pp. 366-7. The first of my engravings I take fromStephens' Yucatan, vol. i., p. 306; the same front being shown also in Charnay's photograph 38, in Waldeck's pl. xv., and inLarenaudière,Mex. et Guat., pl. 3. The second engraving is from Waldeck's pl. xvi., given also inLarenaudière,Mex. et Guat., pl. 5, inNorman's Rambles in Yuc., p. 156—where it is incorrectly stated to represent a portion of the Casa del Gobernador,—and corresponding with Charnay's photograph 39. The third cut is fromViollet-le-Duc, inCharnay,Ruines Amér., p. 65. M. Viollet-le-Duc explains the cut as follows: 'Supposons des piles ou murs de refend A; si l'on pose à la tête des piles les premiers patins B, sur lesquels, à angle droit, on embrévera les traverses C, puis les secondes pièces B', les deuxièmes traverses C' en encorbellement égalemente embérvées, et ainsi de suite, on obtient, au droit des têtes de piles ou murs de refend, des parois verticales, et, dans le sens des ouvertures, des parois inclinées arrivant à porter les filières D avec potelets intercalés. Si, d'une pile à l'autre, on pose les linteaux E en arrière du nu des pièces BB', et que sur ces linteaux on établisse des treillis, on obtiendra une construction de bois primitive, qui est évidemment le principe de la décoration de la façade de pierre du bâtiment.' This façade is 'the most chaste and simple in design and ornament, and it was always refreshing to turn from the gorgeous and elaborate masses on the other façades to this curious and pleasing combination.'Stephens' Yucatan, vol. i., p. 306. 'The eastern façade is filled with elaborate ornaments, differing entirely from the others, and better finished.'Norman's Rambles in Yuc., pp. 161-2. 'Les huit échelons dont la série forme un cône renversé, sont ornés, à chacune de leurs extrémités, d'une tête symbolique de serpent ou de dragon. La tête du Soleil qui touche à la corniche et repose sur le troisième échelon, offre deux rayons ascendants, indépendemment de ceux qui flamboient autour du masque, dont je n'ai pu deviner la signification. Les trois rayons qui se voient au dessus de la tête ont peut-être quelques rapports avec le méridien, celui du milieu indiquant le parfait équilibre.' 'Des sept masques solaires, un seul était intact.' 'L'ensemble de cette façade offre à l'heure de midi un caractère de grandeur dont il serait difficile de donner une idée.'Waldeck,Voy. Pitt., pp. 102-3.[V-43]Stephens' Yucatan, vol. i., p. 307, with plate;Charnay,Ruines Amér., phot. 43.[V-44]The illustrations of the Serpent front are inWaldeck,Voy. Pitt., pl. xiii., xviii., which latter shows some of the detached faces, or masks;Charnay,Ruines Amér., phot. 40, 41, 44; andStephens' Yucatan, vol. i., pp. 302-3. Rattlesnakes are common in this region. The proprietor proposed to build this serpent's head into a house in Mérida as a memorial of Uxmal. 'Toward the south end the head and tail of the serpents corresponded in design and position with the portion still existing at the other.'Id., vol. i., pp. 302-3. 'The remains of two great serpents, however, are still quite perfect; their heads turned back, and entwining each other, they extend the whole length of the façade, through a chaste ground-work of ornamental lines, interspersed with various rosettes. They are put together by small blocks of stone, exquisitely worked, and arranged with the nicest skill and precision. The heads of the serpents are adorned with ppluming feathers and tassels.'Norman's Rambles in Yuc., p. 162. 'Son nom lui vient d'un immense serpent à sonnettes courant sur toute la façade, dont le corps, se roulant en entrelacs, va servir de cadre à des panneaux divers. Il n'existe plus qu'un seul de ces panneaux: c'est une grecque, que surmontent six croisillons, avec rosace à l'intérieur; une statue d'Indien s'avance en relief de la façade, il tient à la main un sceptre; on remarque au-dessus de sa tête un ornement figurant une couronne.'Charnay,Ruines Amér., p. 367. 'Un ornement, imité d'une sorte de pompon en passementerie terminé par une frange, se voit au-dessus de la queue du reptile. On découvre également dans la frise ces rosettes frangées comme celles signalées dans le bâtiment de l'est.'Viollet-le-Duc, inId., p. 69. 'En voyant pour la première fois ce superbe édifice, je ne pus retenir un cri de surprise et d'admiration, tant les choses originales et nouvelles émeuvent l'imagination et les sens de l'artiste. J'ai cherché à rendre, dans ce qu'on vient de lire, mes premières impressions. Pourquoi n'avouerais-je pas qu'il s'y mêle un peu de vanité? Un pareil sentiment n'est-il pas excusable chez le voyageur qui révèle au monde civilisé des trésors archéologiques si longtemps ignorés, un style nouveau d'architecture, et une source abondante où d'autres, plus savants que lui, iront puiser un jour?'Waldeck,Voy. Pitt., p. 100.[V-45]Cut of one of these projecting curves inNorman's Rambles in Yuc., p. 162.[V-46]'The whole, loaded as it is with ornament, conveys the idea of vastness and magnificence rather than that of taste and refinement.'Stephens' Yucatan, vol. i., p. 304. 'The northern front, no doubt, was the principal one, as I judge from the remains, as well as from the fact, that it is more elevated than the others.'Norman's Rambles in Yuc., p. 161. Norman's general view of the Nunnery includes a view of this northern front, but the decorations are omitted and the turrets also. 'Chaque porte, de deux en deux, est surmontée d'une niche merveilleusement ouvragée que devaient occuper des statues diverses. Quant à la frise elle-même, c'est un ensemble extraordinaire de pavillons, où de curieuses figures d'idoles superposées ressortent comme par hasard de l'arrangement des pierres, et rappellent les têtes énormes sculptées sur les palais de Chichen-Itza. Des méandres de pierres finement travaillées leur servent de cadre et donnent une vague idée de caractères hiéroglyphiques: puis viennent une succession de grecques de grande dimension, alternées, aux angles, de carrés et de petites rosaces d'un fini admirable. Le caprice de l'architecte avait jeté çà et là, comme des démentis à la parfaite régularité du dessin, des statues dans les positions les plus diverses. La plupart ont disparu, et les têtes ont été enlevées à celles qui restent encore.'Charnay,Ruines Amér., pp. 364-5, phot. 36-7. 'Les grosses têtes forment la principale décoration des dessus de portes; les treillis sont historiés, les encorbellements empilés supprimés.'Viollet-le-Duc, inId., p. 67.

[IV-19]Hist. Mag., vol. vi., pp. 57-8.

[IV-20]Juarros' Hist. Guat., pp. 488-9. The ruins are situated on a rock commanding the junction of the rivers Pixcayatl and Motagua.Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 524. Ruins of the ancient capital of the Cakchiquel kings.Hassel,Mex. Guat., pp. 333, 335. 'Remarquable par les ruines de l'ancienne forteresse du même nom.'Larenaudière,Mex. et Guat., p. 266;Malte-Brun,Précis de la Géog., tom. vi., p. 470.

[IV-21]Juarros' Hist. Guat., pp. 487-8;Hassel,Mex. Guat., p. 333.

[IV-22]Hesse, inSivers,Mittelamerika, p. 257.

[IV-23]Fuentes, inJuarros' Hist. Guat., p. 492;Hassel,Mex. Guat., p. 327.

[IV-24]Wappäus,Geog. u. Stat., p. 281.

[IV-25]Hesse, inSivers,Mittelamerika, p. 257.

[IV-26]Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 507.

[IV-27]Reichardt,Cent. Amer., p. 72.

[IV-28]The distance is stated to be one fourth of a mile, one mile and a half, one league, and one league and a half by different writers.

[IV-29]Juarros' Hist. Guat., pp. 382-4; his authority beingFuentes,Recopilacion, MS., tom. i., lib. iii., cap. i., and lib. xv., cap. v.;Stephens' Cent. Amer., vol. ii., pp. 147, 149-53. Juarros' account is also given inConder's Mex. Guat., vol. ii., pp. 270-1, inBradford's Amer. Antiq., p. 90, and inStephens' Cent. Amer., loc. cit. It is also used with that of Stephens to make up the description inSivers,Mittelamerika, pp. 199-200. Slight mention also inWappäus,Geog. u. Stat., p. 284;Brasseur de Bourbourg,Palenqué, p. 33;Id.,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 152, 493, 526. According to Brasseur's statement, M. Daly made drawings at Patinamit, seen by the Abbé, and to be published.

[IV-30]Stephens' Cent. Amer., vol. ii., p. 146.

[IV-31]'In the province of Quezaltenango, there are still to be met with the vestiges and foundations of many large fortresses, among which is the celebrated one of Parrazquin, situated on the confines of Totonicapan and Quezaltenango; and the citadel of Olintepeque, formed with all the intricacies of a labyrinth, and which was the chief defence of the important city of Xelahuh.'Juarros' Hist. Guat., pp. 485, 379. Slight mention also, probably resting on no other authority than the paragraph above quoted, inWappäus,Geog. u. Stat., p. 247;Hassel,Mex. Guat., p. 341.

[IV-32]Stephens' Cent. Amer., vol. ii., pp. 171, 182-8. Mr Stephens gives, besides the engravings I have copied, and one of the other terra-cotta heads mentioned, a view of El Sacrificatorio, a ground plan showing the relative positions of the plateau, the barranca, and the projecting fortress, together with a view of El Resguardo and the other ruins in the distance. I do not reproduce them because they show no details not included in the description, which, moreover, is easily comprehended without the aid of cuts. A thorough exploration of Utatlan was made by Don Miguel Rivera y Maestre, a commissioner sent for the purpose by the Guatemalan government in 1834. His MS. report to the state authorities was seen by Mr Stephens and is described as being very full and accurate, but not containing any details outside of Stephens' account. He does not state that his plans and views were obtained from Rivera y Maestre. Juarros,Hist. Guat., pp. 86-8, 487, follows Fuentes, who described the city chiefly from historical accounts of its original condition, although it seems that he also visited the ruins. Las Casas,Hist. Apologética, MS., cap. lii., speaks of Utatlan's 'maravillosos edificios de cal y canto, de los cuales yo vide muchos.' Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 493, 120, tom. i., p. 124, speaks of Rivera y Maestre's plans in Stephens' work as incorrect, but rejoices in the prospect that M. César Daly will publish correct drawings. 'Un des palais des rois de Quiché a 728 pas géométriques de longueur et 376 de largeur.'Humboldt, inNouvelles Annales des Voy., 1827, tom. xxxv., p. 329. 'En Utlatan habia muchos y muy grandescuesó templos de sus Idolos, de maravillosos edificios, y yo vi algunos aunque muy arruinados.'Zurita, inPalacio,Carta, pp. 123-4. See also accounts of these ruins made up from Stephens and Juarros, inWappäus,Geog. u. Stat., p. 286, andReichardt,Cent. Amer., p. 72; also mention inMalte-Brun,Précis de la Géog., tom. vi., p. 470;Larenaudière,Mex. et Guat., pp. 266, 274;Galindo, inAntiq. Mex., tom. i., div. ii., pp. 73-8;Revue Amér., 1826, tom. i., pp. 353-5;Müller,Amerikanische Urreligionen, p. 462.

[IV-33]Stephens' Cent. Amer., vol. ii., p. 192.

[IV-34]Seep. 63of this volume.

[IV-35]Stephens' Cent. Amer., vol. ii., pp. 228-32, with figures of two vases found at Huehuetenango in addition to those represented above. 'On trouve un plan des plus incorrects dans le MS. de Fuentes.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 119, 504. Mention of the ruins inId.,Palenqué, p. 34. Huehuetenango, in Lat. 15° 28´ 15´´, Long. 91° 36´ 50´´.Wappäus,Geog. u. Stat., p. 288. Engravings of four vases copied from Stephens, inLarenaudière,Mex. et Guat., p. 379, pl. 14.

[IV-36]'J'ai moi-même visité les ruines d'un grande nombre de ces villes et châteaux, dont les positions sont admirablement choisies pour la défense; il en existe sur presque toutes les hauteurs qui environnent la plaine de Rabinal. Elles sont, du reste, très-nombreuses dans toutes les provinces guatémaliennes et sont une preuve de l'étendue de leur antique population.' The chief one is one league west of Rabinal.Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 125. Ruins of Cawinal,Id., p. 149. Mention of tumuli,Id., tom. i., p. 15. Mention of ruins of Tzuruya, Tzutum, Nimpokom, Cakyug, Zamaneb, and Salama.Id., tom. ii., pp. 479, 505-6. Mention of Nebah, Uspantan, Rabinal, Cavinal, Xeocok, and Nimpokom.Wappäus,Geog. u. Stat., pp. 288, 291. The ruins located by Sonnenstern,Mapa de Guat., 1859, proceeding from west to east, are as follows: Xolacul, Nebak, Hatzal, Suizul, Balbitz, Cavinal, Pacalay, Xokoc, Beleh Trak, Pikek, Xozintun, Trak Pocoma, Cakyug, Chocotoy, Chotocoy, Talam, Xubabal.

[IV-37]Annual Scien. Discov., 1850, pp. 363-4.

[IV-38]Stephens' Cent. Amer., vol. ii., p. 193.

[IV-39]Pontelli's account with some plates was published in theCorreo de Ultramar, Paris, 1860. I have not seen the original, but what purports to be a translation of it in theCalifornia Farmer, Nov. 7, 1862, is the veriest trash, containing nothing definite respecting the location or description of the pretended discoveries.

[IV-40]Stephens' Cent. Amer., vol. ii., pp. 195-7;Id.,Yuc., vol. ii., p. 201. 'Quant à l'existence d'une cité mystérieuse, habitué par des indigènes, qui vivraient au centre du Petén dans les mêmes conditions d'autrefois, c'est une croyance qu'il faut reléguer parmi les fantaisies de l'imagination. Ce conte a pris naissance au Yucatan, et les voyageurs en le recueillant, lui ont donné trop d'importance.'Morelet,Voyage, tom. ii., p. 68. Mr Otis, on the authority of a late English explorer, believes the city to be a limestone formation which has misled.Hist. Mag., vol. vi., p. 120. 'We must reject the notion of great cities existing here.'Squier, inId., vol. iv., p. 67. Its existence not improbable.Mayer's Mex. as it Was, p. 263. Such reports unfounded.Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., p. 37.

[IV-41]Morelet,Voyage, tom. ii., pp. 65-8, 26. M. Morelet, by reason of sickness, was unable to make any personal explorations in Peten beyond the island. He has preserved, however, some native reports respecting the antiquities of the region. 'On trouve dans tout ce pays des ruines d'anciens édifices, comme dans le Yucathan, et des idoles en pierre.'Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1843, tom. xcvii., p. 51. 'Por aquellos montes ay muchos edificios antiguos grandiosos (como lo que oy se ven en Yucathàn) y en ellos muy grandes Idolos de piedra.'Cogolludo,Hist. Yuc., p. 700. 'It is doubtful if any monuments of note exist in the district, except on the islands, or in the immediate neighborhood of the lakes.'Squier's Cent. Amer., pp. 543-5. Mention inWappäus,Geog. u. Stat., p. 295;Humboldt, inNouvelles Annales des Voy., 1827, tom. xxxv., p. 329. 'Il n'existe dans cette île aucuns vestiges d'idoles ni de temples.'Waldeck,Voy. Pitt., pp. 69-70. Many relics and remains of idols still to be found on the island.Hassel,Mex. Guat., p. 359;Malte-Brun,Précis de la Géog., tom. vi., p. 470;Morelet's Trav., pp. 240-2;Gondra, inPrescott,Mex., tom. iii., p. 98.

[IV-42]'Les Indiens, on le sait, se montrent très réservés sur tout ce qui touche à leur ancienne nationalité: quoique ces ruines fussent connues d'un grand nombre d'entre eux, pas un n'avait trahi le secret de leur existence.'Morelet,Voyage, tom. ii., pp. 66-7;Id.,Trav., pp. 241-2;Squier, inHist. Mag., vol. iv., p. 66;Wappäus,Geog. u. Stat., p. 295.

[IV-43]Galindo, inAntiq. Mex., tom. i., div. ii., p. 68;Squier, inHist. Mag., vol. iv., p. 66. Mr Squier says the tower is 22 feet square at the base, instead of 22 paces as Galindo gives it. He does not state the authority on which his description rests; it seems, however, in other respects to be simply a reproduction of Galindo's account, which is also repeated inSquier's Cent. Amer., pp. 544-5. Slight mention inMorelet,Voyage, tom. ii., p. 66;Id.,Trav., p. 240;Wappäus,Geog. u. Stat., p. 295.

[IV-44]Col. Mendez, whom Gov. Tut preceded at Tikal by a day or two only, visited the ruins as commissioner of the Guatemalan government, to which, after a stay of four days, he made a report. This report, so far as I know, was never published in the original Spanish; but the MS. fell into the hands of Mr Hesse, Prussian envoy to the Central American governments, and was by him translated into German and published with the plates in theZeitschrift für Allgemeine Erdkunde, 1853, tom. i., pt. iii., pp. 162-8. This translation, without the plates, and with some slight omissions of unimportant details respecting the journey, was also published inSivers,Mittelamerika, pp. 247-54, 304-8, with notes by Messrs Hesse and Sivers. This is the source of my information. Mendez revisited Tikal in 1852, without obtaining any additional information of value so far as I know. The ruins are mentioned and more or less fully described, always from the same source, inMüller,Amerikanische Urreligionen, pp. 460-2;Buschmann,Ortsnamen, pp. 115-17;Ritter, inGumprecht, tom. i., p. 3;Wappäus,Geog. u. Stat., pp. 247, 295.

[IV-45]Hesse, inSivers,Mittelamerika, pp. 254-5, 308-9;Buschmann,Ortsnamen, pp. 115-16;Wappäus,Geog. u. Stat., p. 295;Müller,Amerikanische Urreligionen, p. 460.

[IV-46]Henderson's Honduras, pp. 52-3; repeated inSquier's Cent. Amer., pp. 596-7.

[IV-47]Froebel's Cent. Amer., p. 167.

[V-1]'Le sol de l'Yucatan est encore, aujourd'hui, parsemé d'innombrables ruines, dont la magnificence et l'étendue frappent d'étonnement les voyageurs; de toutes parts, ce ne sont que collines pyramidales, surmontées d'édifices superbes, des villes dont la grandeur éblouit l'imagination, tant elles sont multipliées et se touchent de près, sur les chemins publics: enfin on ne saurait faire un pas sans rencontrer des débris qui attestent à la fois l'immensité de la population antique du Maya et la longue prospérité dont cette contrée jouit sous ses rois.' 'Nulle terre au monde ne présente aujourd'hui un champ si fécond aux recherches de l'archéologue et du voyageur.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 20, 24. 'A peine y a-t-il dans l'Yucatan une ville, une bourgade, une maison de campagne qui n'offre dans ses constructions des restes de pierres sculptées qui ont été enlevées d'un ancien édifice. On peut compter plus de douze emplacements couverts de vastes ruines.'Friederichsthal, inNouvelles Annales des Voy., 1841, tom. xcii., pp. 300-1. 'Elle est, pour ainsi dire, jonchée de ruines. Partout, dans cette partie de l'Amérique, la poésie des souvenirs parle à l'imagination.'Larenaudière,Mex. et Guat., p. 320.

[V-2]The earliest modern account of Yucatan Antiquities with which I am acquainted is that written by Sr Lorenzo de Zavala, Ambassador of the Mexican Government in France, and published inAntiquités Mexicaines, tom. i., div. ii., pp. 33-5. Sr Zavala visited Uxmal several years before 1834. His communication gives a tolerably good general idea of the ruins, but it is brief, unaccompanied by drawings, and relates only to one city. It is, therefore, of little value when compared with later and more extensive works on the subject, and is mentioned in this note only as being the earliest account extant. Yet long before Zavala's visit, Padre Thomas de Soza, a Franciscan friar of the convent of Mérida, had observed the ruins during his frequent trips through the province, and he gave a slight account of them to Antonio del Rio, who mentioned it in hisDescrip. of an Ancient City, pp. 6-8.

M. Frédéric de Waldeck, a French artist, visited Uxmal in 1835 during a short tour in the peninsula, and published the result of his labors in hisVoyage Pittoresque et Archéologique dans la Province d'Yucatan, Paris, 1838, large folio, with 22 steel plates and lithographic illustrations. M. de Waldeck became in some way obnoxious to the Mexican Government, which threw some obstacles in his way, and finally confiscated his drawings, of which he had fortunately made copies. Waldeck in his turn abuses the government and the people, and has consequently been unfavorably criticised. His drawings and descriptions, however, tested by the work of later visitors under better auspices, are remarkable for their accuracy so far as they relate to antiquities. The few errors discoverable in his work may be attributed to the difficulty of exploring alone and unaided ruins enveloped in a dense tropical forest. 'Supplied with pecuniary aid by a munificent and learned Irish peer.' (Lord Kingsborough.)Foreign Quar. Rev., vol. xviii., p. 251. 'Waldeck, aumentando ó disminuyendo antojadiza y caprichosamente sus obras, las hace participar, en todos sentidos, de las no muy acreditadas cualidades de verídico, imparcial y concienzudo que aquí le conocieron.'M. F. P., inRegistro Yucateco, tom. i., p. 362.

Mr. John L. Stephens, accompanied by Fred. Catherwood, artist, at the end of an antiquarian expedition through Central America, arrived at Uxmal in 1840, and began the work of surveying the city, but the sickness of Mr Catherwood compelled them to abandon the survey when but little progress had been made and return abruptly to New York. The results of their incomplete work were published inStephens' Cent. Amer., N. Y., 1841, vol. ii.

Mr B. M. Norman, a resident of New Orleans, made a flying visit to Yucatan from December to March, 1841-2, and published as a resultRambles in Yucatan, N. Y., 1843, illustrated with cuts and lithographs. According to theRegistro Yucateco, tom. i., p. 372, this trip was merely a successful speculation on the part of Norman, who collected his material in haste from all available sources, in order to take advantage of the public interest excited by Stephens' travels. However this may be, the work is not without value in connection with the other authorities. 'The result of a hasty visit.'Mayer's Mex. Aztec, etc., vol. ii., p. 172. The work 'n'est qu'une compilation sans mérite et sans intérêt.'Morelet,Voyage, tom. i., p. 150. 'A valuable work.'Davis' Antiq. Amer., p. 12. 'By which the public were again astonished and delighted.'Frost's Pict. Hist. Mex., p. 77. Norman's work is very highly spoken of and reviewed at length, with numerous quotations and two plates, in theDemocratic Review, vol. xi., pp. 529-38.

Mr Stephens arrived in New York on his return from his Central American tour in July, 1840, having left Yucatan in June. 'About a year' after his return he again sailed for Yucatan on October 9th and remained until the following June. This is all the information the author vouchsafes touching the date of his voyage, which was probably in 1841-2, Stephens and Norman being therefore in the country at the same time; the latter states, indeed, that they were only a month apart at Zayi. Stephens' work is calledIncidents of Travel in Yucatan, N. Y., 1843. (?) (Ed. quoted in this work, N. Y., 1858.) The drawings of this and of the previous expedition were published, with a descriptive text by Stephens, under the title ofCatherwood's Views of Ancient Monuments in Central America, N. Y., 1844, large folio, with 25 colored lithographic plates. Stephens' account was noticed, with quotations, by nearly all the reviews at the time of its appearance, and has been the chief source from which all subsequent writers, including myself, have drawn their information. His collection of movable Yucatan relics was unfortunately destroyed by fire with Mr Catherwood's panorama in New York. Critics are almost unanimous in praise of the work. 'Malgré quelques imperfections, le livre restera toujours un ouvrage de premier ordre pour les voyageurs et les savants.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Esquisses, p. 7. 'Stephens y Catherwood, por ejemplo, sin separarse de la verdad de los originales, los cópia el uno, y los describe el otro con exactitud, criterio y buena fé,'M. F. P., inRegistro Yucateco, tom. i., p. 362. 'Ce que M. Stephens a montré talent, de science et de modestie dans ses narrations est au-dessus de toute appréciation.'Dally,Races Indig., p. 14. Jones,Hist. Anc. Amer., criticises Stephens' conclusions, and his criticisms will be somewhat noticed in their proper place. See alsop. 82, note 14, of this volume.

The Baron von Friederichsthal, an attaché of the Austrian Legation, spent several months in an examination of Yucatan ruins, confining his attention to Chichen Itza and Uxmal. He had with him a daguerreotype apparatus, and with its aid prepared many careful drawings. As to the date of his visit it probably preceded those of Norman and Stephens, since a letter by him, written while on his return to Europe, is dated April 21, 1841. This letter is printed in theRegistro Yucateco, tom. ii., pp. 437-43, and in theDicc. Univ., tom. x., pp. 290-3. It contains a very slight general account of the ruins, which are spoken of as 'hasta hoy desconocidas,' with much rambling speculation on their origin. On his arrival in Europe Friederichsthal was introduced by Humboldt to theAcadémie Royale des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, before which society he read a paper on his discoveries on October 1, 1841, which paper was furnished by the author for theNouvelles Annales des Voy., 1841, tom. xcii., pp. 297-314, where it was published under the title ofLes Monuments de l'Yucatan. The author proceeded to Vienna where he intended to publish a large work with his drawings, a work that so far as I know has never seen the light. 'M. de Friederichsthal a souvent été inquiété dans ses recherches; les ignorants, les superstitieux, les niais les regardaient comme dangereuses au pays.'Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1841, tom. xcii., p. 304.

In 1858 M. Désiré Charnay visited Izamal, Chichen Itza, and Uxmal, taking with him a photographic apparatus. He succeeded in obtaining perfect views of many of the buildings, which were published under the titleCités et Ruines Américaines, Paris, 1863, in large folio. The text of the work is in octavo form and includes a long introduction by M. Viollet-le-Duc, French Government Architect, occupied chiefly with speculation and theories rather than descriptions. Charnay's part of the text, although a most interesting journal of travels, is very brief in its descriptions, the author wisely referring the reader to the photographs, which are invaluable as tests of the correctness of drawings made by other artists both in Yucatan and elsewhere.

See also a general notice of the ruins inCogolludo,Hist. Yuc., pp. 176-7, and inGottfriedt,Newe Welt, p. 611; full account inBaldwin's Anc. Amer., pp. 125-50, from Stephens; and brief accounts, made up from the modern explorers, inMayer's Mex. Aztec, etc., vol. ii., pp. 171-3, with cut of an idol from Catherwood;Prichard's Researches, vol. v., pp. 346-8;Morelet,Voyage, tom. i., pp. 147, 191-5, 269-72;Dally,Races Indig., pp. 14-15;Warden,Recherches, pp. 68-9;Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1843, tom. xcvii., pp. 36-50, from old Spanish authorities;Müller,Amerikanische Urreligionen, pp. 460, 462;Mühlenpfordt,Mejico, tom. ii., pt. i., p. 12;Hassel,Mex. Guat., p. 267;Wappäus,Geog. u. Stat., pp. 144, 247;Baril,Mexique, pp. 128-30;Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 20-31;Davis' Antiq. Amer., pp. 512-30;Id., Ed. 1847, p. 31;Larenaudière,Mex. et Guat., pp. 320-8;Mex. in 1842, p. 75;Sivers,Mittelamerika, pp. 227, 242-7, 303-4.

[V-3]The best map of Yucatan, showing not only the country's geographical features, but the location of all its ruins, is theCarte du Yucatan et des régions voisines, compiled by M. Malte-Brun from the works of Owen, Barnett, Lawrence, Kiepert, García y Cubas, Stephens, and Waldeck, and published inBrasseur de Bourbourg,Palenqué, Paris, 1866, pl. i., ii.

[V-4]Fray Diego Lopez Cogolludo visited Uxmal at some time before the middle of the seventeenth century, and describes the ruins to some extent in hisHistoria de Yucathan, Mad., 1688, pp. 176-7, 193-4, 197-8. Padre Thomas de Soza, about 1786, reported to Antonio del Rio stone edifices covered with stucco ornaments, known by the natives as Oxmutal, with statues of men beating drums and dancing with palms in their hands, which he had seen in his travels in Yucatan, and which are thought to be perhaps identical with Uxmal, although the monuments are reported as being located twenty leagues south of Mérida and may be quite as reasonably identified with some other group.Rio's Description, pp. 6-7. Zavala's visit to Uxmal at some date previous to 1834 has already been spoken of innote 2. His account is calledNotice sur les Monuments d'Ushmal, inAntiq. Mex., tom. i., div. ii., pp. 33-5. M. de Waldeck left Mérida for Uxmal on May 6, 1835, arrived at the ruins on May 12, where he spent some eight days, and was interrupted in his work by the rainy season.Waldeck,Voy. Pitt., pp. 67-74, 93-104, and plates. Mr Stephens had Waldeck's work with him at the time of his second visit. He says,Yucatan, vol. i., p. 297, 'It will be found that our plans and drawings differ materially from his, but Mr Waldeck was not an architectural draughtsman;' yet the difference is only to be noted in a few plates, and is not so material as Mr Stephens' words would imply. Still, where differences exist, I give Mr Stephens the preference, because, having his predecessor's drawings, his attention would naturally be called to all the points of Waldeck's survey. Mr Stephens says further, 'It is proper to say, moreover, that Mr Waldeck had much greater difficulties to encounter than we, ... besides, he is justly entitled to the full credit of being the first stranger who visited these ruins and brought them to the notice of the public.' Mr Stephens' first visit was in June, 1840, during which he visited the ruins from the hacienda three times, on June 20, 21, and 22, while Mr Catherwood spent one day, the 21st, in making sketches. It was unfortunate that he was forced by Mr Catherwood's illness to leave Uxmal, for at this time the ground had been cleared of the forest and was planted with corn; the occasion was therefore most favorable for a thorough examination.Stephens' Cent. Amer., vol. ii., pp. 413-35, with 3 plates. Mr Norman, according to his journal, reached the ruins, where he took up his abode, on February 25, 1842, and remained until March 4, devoting thus seven days or thereabouts to his survey. His account is accompanied by several lithographic illustrations.Norman's Rambles in Yuc., pp. 154-67. Messrs Stephens and Catherwood arrived on their second visit on November 15, 1841, and remained until January 1, 1842, Mr Stephens meanwhile making two short trips away, one in search of ruins, the other to get rid of fever and ague. It is remarkable that they found no traces of Mr Friederichsthal's visit, (Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1841, tom. xcii., pp. 306-9,) which was probably in the same year.Stephens' Yucatan, vol. i., pp. 163-325, vol. ii., pp. 264-73, with many plates and cuts. Padre Carrillo, cura of Ticul, with D. Vicente García Rejon, and D. José María Fajardo, visited the ruins in March, 1845, and an account of the visit, embodying but little information, was published byL. G., inRegistro Yuc., tom. i., pp. 275-9. Another account of a visit in the same year was published byM. F. P., inId., pp. 361-70. Mr Carl Bartholomaeus Heller spent two or three days at Uxmal, April 6 to 9, 1847. His account is found inHeller,Reisen, pp. 256-65. M. Charnay's visit was in 1858, and his efforts to obtain photographic negatives and to fight the insects which finally drove him away, lasted eight days.Charnay,Ruines Amér., pp. 362-80, pl. xxxv-xlix. M. Brasseur de Bourbourg was at Uxmal in 1865, and made a report, accompanied by a plan, which was published in theArchives de la Com. Scien. du Mex., tom. ii., pp. 234, 254, as the author states in hisPalenqué, Introd., p. 24. See further on Uxmal: Description quoted from Stephens with unlimited criticisms, italics, capitals, and exclamation points, inJones' Hist. Anc. Amer., pp. 86-105, 120; description from Waldeck and Stephens, with remarks on the city's original state, inBrasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 21-3, 585; and also slight accounts made up from one or more of the authorities already cited as follows:Müller,Amerikanische Urreligionen, pp. 462, 483;Bradford's Amer. Antiq., pp. 99-103, from Waldeck;Baril,Mexique, pp. 129-30, from Del Rio;Sivers,Mittelamerika, pp. 237-41;Morelet,Voyage, tom. i., pp. 149-50, 193;Frost's Great Cities, pp. 268-81;Id.,Pict. Hist. Mex., p. 80;Album,Mex., tom. i., pp. 203-4, the last three including a moonlight view of the ruins, from Norman;Larenaudière,Mex. et Guat., pp. 321-8, with plates from Waldeck;Baldwin's Anc. Amer., pp. 131-7, with cuts, from Stephens;Foster's Pre-Hist. Races, pp. 208, 212-13, 302, 330, 398-9, from Stephens;Willson's Amer. Hist., pp. 82-6, with cuts, from Stephens;Armin,Das Heutige Mex., pp. 91-6, with cuts, from Stephens;Id.,Das Alte Mex., p. 97;Wappäus,Geog. u. Stat., p. 144;Mühlenpfordt,Mejico, tom. ii., pt. i., p. 12;Domenech's Deserts, vol. i., p. 51;Hermosa,Enciclopedia, Paris, 1857, pp. 176-7;Prescott's Mex., vol. iii., pp. 412-13;Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1843, tom. xcvii., pp. 36-7, 44.

[V-5]Pronouncedooshmahl.

[V-6]Cogolludo sometimes writes the name Uxumual. 'Il nous a été impossible de trouver une étymologie raisonnable à ce nom.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 21. 'Le nom d'Uxmalsignifiedu temps passé. Il ne s'applique aux ruines que parce que celles-ci sont situées sur le terrain de la hacienda d'Uxmal.'Waldeck,Voy. Pitt., p. 68;Sivers,Mittelamerika, p. 237. Possibly derived fromoxandmal, meaning 'three passages' in Maya.Heller,Reisen, p. 255. 'It was an existing inhabited aboriginal town' in 1556.Stephens' Yucatan, vol. ii., p. 272. CalledOxmutalby Soza, inRio's Description, p. 7.

[V-7]Lat. 30° 22´ 86´´ (!), Long. 4´ 33´´ west of Mérida. 'Une couche très mince d'une terre ferrugineuse recouvre le sol, mais disparaît dans les environs où l'on n'aperçoit que du sable.'Friederichsthal, inNouvelles Annales des Voy., 1841, tom. xcii., p. 306. 2 miles (German) west of Jalacho, which lies near Maxcanú, on the road from Mérida to Campeche.Wappäus,Geog. u. Stat., p. 144. 20 leagues from Mérida, occupying an extent of several leagues.Mühlenpfordt,Mejico, tom. ii., pt. i., p. 12. 'A huit lieues de Mayapan ... dans une plaine légèrement ondulée.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 21. 'Le terrain d'Uxmal est plat dans toute l'étendue du plateau.' 'Sur le plateau d'une haute montagne.'Waldeck,Voy. Pitt., pp. 68, 70.

[V-8]'Sur un diamètre d'une lieue, le sol est couvert de débris, dont quelques-uns recouvrent des intérieurs fort bien conservés.'Charnay,Ruines Amér., p. 363.

[V-9]In the plan I have followed Stephens,Yucatan, vol. i., p. 165, who determined the position of all the structures by actual measurement, cutting roads through the undergrowth for this express purpose, and the accuracy of whose survey cannot be called in question. His plan is reproduced on a reduced scale inWillson's Amer. Hist., p. 83. Plans are also given inWaldeck,Voy. Pitt., pl. viii.;Norman's Rambles in Yuc., p. 155; andCharnay,Ruines Amér., introd. by Viollet-le-Duc, p. 62. These all differ very materially both from that of Stephens, and from each other; they are moreover very incomplete, and bear marks of having been carelessly or hastily prepared. 'Disposée en échiquier, où se déployaient, à la suite les uns des autres, les palais et les temples.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 21. Besides the plans, general views of the ruins from nearly the same point (qon the plan looking southward) are given by Stephens,Yucatan, vol. i., p. 305, and by Charnay,Ruines Amér., phot. 49. Norman,Rambles in Yuc., frontispiece, gives a general view of the ruins by moonlight from a point and in a direction impossible to fix, which is copied in theAlbum Mex., tom. i., p. 203, inFrost's Great Cities, p. 269, and inId.,Pict. Hist. Mex., p. 80. It makes a very pretty frontispiece, which is about all that can be said in its favor, except that it might serve equally well to illustrate any other group of American or old-world antiquities.

[V-10]Charnay,Ruines Amér., phot. 49.

[V-11]'No habiendo tradicion alguna que testifique los nombres propios, que en un principio tuvieron los diferentes edificios que denuncian estas ruinas, es preciso creer que los que hoy llevan, son enteramente gratuitos.'L. G., inRegistro Yuc., tom. i., p. 275. Mr Jones is positive this must have been a temple rather than a palace. 'Mr Stephens appears to be so strict a Spartan Republican, that every large, or magnificent building in the Ruined Cities, he considers to be aPalace,—he seems to have thought less of mind, than of matter.'Hist. Anc. Amer., p. 96; Waldeck,Voy. Pitt., p. 97, calls it the Temple of Fire.

[V-12]In stating the dimensions of this mound, as I shall generally do in describing Uxmal, I have followed Stephens' text. His plan and both plans and text of all the other visitors vary more or less respecting each dimension. I had prepared tables of dimensions for each building from all the authorities, but upon reflection have thought it not worth while to insert them. Such tables would not enable the reader to ascertain the exact measurements, and moreover differences of a few feet cannot be considered practically important in this and similar cases. All the authorities agree on the general form and extent of this pyramidal mound. Most of them, however, refer only to the eastern front, and no one but Stephens notes the western irregularities. In giving the dimensions of the respective terraces some also refer to their bases, and others probably to their summits. Norman,Rambles in Yuc., pp. 156-7, states that the second and third terraces are each thirty feet high, while Charnay,Ruines Amér., pp. 372-3, makes the same fifteen and ten feet respectively. Waldeck's plan makes the summit platform about 240 feet long.

[V-13]Jones,Hist. Anc. Amer., p. 120, says there was a stairway in the centre of each side.

[V-14]Norman's dimensions are 36×272 feet; Heller's, 40×320 feet; Friederichsthal's, 38×407 feet; and Waldeck's, about 65×195 feet.

[V-15]Stephens' Yucatan, vol. i., p. 175, reproduced inBaldwin's Anc. Amer., p. 132, andWillson's Amer. Hist., p. 84. The author speaks of the number of rooms as being 18, although the plan shows 24. He probably does not count the four small rooms corresponding with the recesses on the front and rear, as he also does not include their doors in his count. How he gets rid of the other two does not appear. Norman says 24 rooms, Charnay 21, and Stephens indicates 22 in the plan inCent. Amer., vol. ii., p. 428.

[V-16]Friederichsthal, inNouvelles Annales des Voy., 1841, tom. xcii., p. 309, speaking of the Uxmal structures in general, says the blocks are usually 5×12 inches; Zavala, inAntiq. Mex., tom. i., div. ii., p. 34, pronounces them from 25 to 28 centimètres in length, width, and thickness.

[V-17]This beam was taken to N. Y., where it shared the fate of Stephens' other relics.

[V-18]Stephens favors the former theory, Waldeck and Charnay the latter, insisting that the hammock is consequently an American invention. Norman goes so far as to say that the grooves worn by the hammock-ropes are still to be seen on some of these timbers.

[V-19]Waldeck,Voy. Pitt., p. 97, speaks of real or false doors made of a single stone in connection with this building, but his examination of it was very slight. Cogolludo,Hist. Yuc., p. 177, speaks of interior decorations as follows: 'Ay vn lienço en lo interior de la fabrica, que (aunque es muy dilatado) à poco mas de medio estado de vn hombre, corre por todo èl vna cornisa de piedra muy tersa, que haze vna esquina delicadissima, igual, y muy perfecta, donde (me acuerdo) avia sacado de la misma piedra, y quedado en ella vn anillo tan delgado, y vistoso, como puede ser vno de oro obrado con todo primor.'

[V-20]FromStephens' Yucatan, vol. i., p. 174; also inBaldwin's Anc. Amer., p. 132. Charnay's photograph 48 shows the opposite or northern end in connection with another building.

[V-21]From Stephens; one of them also inBaldwin's Anc. Amer.

[V-22]A cut of this hook is also given by Norman, and by Waldeck, who,Voy. Pitt., p. 74, attempts to prove its identity with an elephant's trunk, and that it was not molded from a tapir's snout.

[V-23]Charnay,Ruines Amér., phot. 46, shows the whole eastern façade. Photograph 47 gives a view on a larger scale of the portion over the principal doorway. Stephens,Yucatan, vol. i., frontispiece, represents the same front in a large plate, and in hisCent. Amer., vol. ii., p. 434, is a plate showing a part of the same. Norman gives a lithograph of the front.Rambles in Yuc., p. 158. His enlarged portion of the front from Waldeck does not belong to the Governor's House at all. 'Couvert de bas-reliefs, exécutés avec une rare perfection, formant une suite de méandres et arabesques d'un travail non moins capricieux que bizarre.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 23. Decorated with 'gros serpents entrelacés et d'anneaux en pierre.'Friederichsthal, inNouvelles Annales des Voy., 1841, tom. xcii., p. 308. 'Chiefly the meander, or the Grecian square border, used in the embroidery of the mantles and robes of Attica.'Jones' Hist. Anc. Amer., p. 98. 'The length of the upper platform (in English feet!!) is seen to correspond nearly with the number of days in the year, and the mysterious emblem of eternity, the serpent, is found extending its portentous length around the building.'Frost's Great Cities, p. 271. 'Du haut de ses trois étages de pyramides, il se dresse comme un roi, dans un isolement plein de majestueuse grandeur.' 'L'ornementation se compose d'une guirlande en forme de trapèzes réguliers, de ces énormes têtes déjà décrites, courant du haut en bas de la façade, et servant de ligne enveloppante à des grecques d'un relief très-saillant, reliées entre elles par une ligne de petites pierres en carré diversement sculptées; le tout sur un fond plat de treillis de pierre. Le dessus des ouvertures était enrichi de pièces importantes, que divers voyageurs ont eu le soin d'enlever. Quatre niches, placées régulièrement, contenaient des statues, absentes aujourd'hui.'Charnay,Ruines Amér., pp. 372-3. 'One solid mass of rich, complicated elaborately sculptured ornaments forming a sort of arabesque.' 'Perhaps it may with propriety be called a species of sculptured mosaic; and I have no doubt that all these ornaments have a symbolical meaning; that each stone is part of a history, allegory, or fable.'Stephens' Yucatan, vol. i., pp. 166, 173. 'The ornaments were composed of small square pieces of stone, shaped with infinite skill, and inserted between the mortar and stone with the greatest care and precision. About two-thirds of the ornaments are still remaining upon the façade.... The ground-work of the ornaments is chiefly composed of raised lines, running diagonally, forming diamond or lattice-work, over which are rosettes and stars; and, in bold relief, the beautiful Chinese border.'Norman's Rambles in Yuc., pp. 158-9. 'A travers ces grands méandres formés par l'appareil se montrent, ici encore, la tradition des constructions de bois par empilages, en encorbellement et le treillis. Cette construction est une des plus soignées parmi celles d'Uxmal.'Viollet-le-Duc, inCharnay,Ruines Amér., p. 70.

[V-23]'La décoration du parement de cet édifice ne consiste qu'en une imitation de palissade formée de rondins de bois. Sur la frise supérieure, des tortues saillantes rompent seules les lignes horizontales.'Viollet-le-Duc, inCharnay,Ruines Amér., p. 69. Photograph 48 shows the north front of the Casa de Tortugas. Stephens,Yucatan, vol. i., p. 184, gives a plate showing the southern front. Waldeck's plan would make this building's dimensions about 60×185 feet. The column structure will be illustrated by engravings in connection with the ruins of Zayi and others.

[V-24]Stephens' Yucatan, vol. i., p. 181;Norman's Rambles in Yuc., p. 156. From this rather meagre information Mr Jones proves, in a manner entirely satisfactory to himself, that the whole platform was surrounded in its original condition by a double row of columns, 230 in number, placed 10 feet apart, each 18 inches in diameter and 12 feet high, with a grand central column, 6 feet in diameter, and 60 feet high.Hist. Anc. Amer., p. 119.

[V-25]'A shaft of gray limestone in an inclined position, measuring twelve feet in circumference and eight in height; bearing upon its surface no marks of form or ornament by which it might be distinguished from a natural piece.'Norman's Rambles in Yuc., p. 156. 'Une espèce de colonne ditepierre du châtiment, où les coupables devaient recevoir la punition de leurs fautes.'Charnay,Ruines Amér., p. 372. 'Una enorme columna de piedra, cuya forma semicónica le da el aire de un obelisco, aunque de base circular y sin adornos.'M. F. P., inRegistro Yuc., tom. i., p. 364.

[V-26]'Double-headed cat or lynx,' cut fromStephens' Yucatan, vol. i., p. 183; andBaldwin's Anc. Amer., p. 133. 'Un autel, au centre, soutenait un tigre à deux têtes, dont les corps reliés au ventre figurent une double chimère.'Charnay,Ruines Amér., p. 372. 'Rude carving of a tiger with two heads.'Norman's Rambles in Yuc., p. 156. 'En un mismo cuerpo contiene dos cabezas de tigre de tamaño regular, vueltas hácia fuera: su actitud es la misma que la en que generalmente se representa la esfinge de la fábula; y si su excavacion no fuera tan reciente, probablemente habria corrido la suerte de otras estátuas y objetos preciosos, que à nuestra vista y paciencia han sido sacados del pais para figurar en los museos extranjeros.'M. F. P., inRegistro Yuc., tom. i., pp. 364-5. Mr Heller,Reisen, p. 259, confounds this monument with the picote.

[V-27]Stephens' Yucatan, vol. i. pp. 229-32. Sr Peon, proprietor of Uxmal, believed that these excavations were originally used as granaries, not deeming the plaster sufficiently hard to resist water. 'Excavations ... with level curbings and smoothly finished inside.'Norman's Rambles in Yuc., p. 156.

[V-28]Stephens' Yucatan, vol. i., pp. 253-6, with a view in the frontispiece. Although Stephens says the pyramid is only sixty-five feet high, it is noticeable that in Catherwood's drawing it towers high above the roof of the Casa del Gobernador, which is at least sixty-eight feet in height. Norman,Rambles in Yuc., p. 157, calls this a pile of loose stones, about two hundred feet square at the base, and one hundred feet high, and covered on the sides and top with débris of edifices. Friederichsthal,Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1841, tom. xcii., p. 308, says the summit platform is seventy-seven feet square.

[V-29]Stephens' Yucatan, vol. i., p. 319. A distant view of this pyramid is included in Stephens' general view, p. 305, and in Charnay's photograph 49. Norman, in both plan and text, unites this pyramid at the base with that at E, and makes its height eighty feet.Rambles in Yuc., p. 157.

[V-30]Stephens' Yucatan, vol. i., pp. 318-19, with view of the Casa de Palomas; cut also inId.,Cent. Amer., vol. ii., p. 426. 'Une muraille dentelée de pignons assez élevés, percés d'une multitude de petites ouvertures, qui donnent à chacun la physionomie d'un colombier.'Charnay,Ruines Amér., pp. 371-2, phot. 49. 'A wall of two hundred feet remains standing upon a foundation of ten feet. Its width is twenty-five feet; having ranges of rooms in both sides, only parts of which remain. This wall has an acute-angled arch doorway through the centre.... The top of this wall has numerous square apertures through it, which give it the appearance of pigeon-holes; and its edge is formed like the gable-end of a house, uniformly notched.'Norman's Rambles in Yuc., p. 165, with plate showing one of the peaks of the wall.

[V-31]Stephens' Yucatan, vol. i., p. 320; Norman,Rambles in Yuc., p. 165, speaks of this part of the ruin as 'an immense court or square, enclosed by stone walls, leading to the Nun's House,' C of the plan. He says, also, that some of the scattered mounds in this direction have been excavated and seem to have been intended originally for sepulchres.

[V-32]Mr Stephens,Yucatan, vol. i., p. 320, refers to his appendix for a mention of some of the relics found in this group. The reference is probably to a note on vestiges of the phallic worship on p. 434, which from motives of modesty the author gives in Latin.

[V-33]Mr Norman's statements,Rambles in Yuc., p. 166, differ materially from those of Stephens,Yucatan, vol. i., pp. 298-9. He states that the walls are only twelve feet apart, that the eastern façade only has the entwined serpents, that the western is covered with hieroglyphics, that the structure contains rooms on a level with the ground, and implies that the western ring was still perfect at the time of his visit. This building is called by Charnay the Cárcel, or Prison.

[V-34]In these dimensions I have followed Mr Stephens' text, as usual in Uxmal, as far as possible. Although the Casa de Monjas has received more attention than any of the other structures, yet, strangely enough, no visitor gives all the dimensions of the buildings and terraces; hardly any two authors agree on any one dimension; and no author's text agrees exactly with his plans. Yet the figures of my text may be considered approximately correct. I append, however, in this instance a table of variations as a curiosity.

Respecting the height of the buildings, except the northern, we have no figures from any reliable authority; but we know that both eastern and western are lower than the northern building and higher than the southern, whose rooms are 17 feet high on the inside, and moreover that the eastern is higher than the western.

[V-35]M. Waldeck,Voy. Pitt., pl. xii., presents a drawing of four of these turtles. 'Covered with square blocks of stone.'Norman's Rambles in Yuc., p. 163. 'Each tortoiseis in a square, and in the two external angles of each square is anEgg. Thetortoiseand theegg, are both National emblems.'Jones' Hist. Anc. Amer., p. 94.

[V-36]Charnay,Ruines Amér., pp. 364, 368;Stephens' Yucatan, vol. i., pp. 301, 308.

[V-37]Plan inStephens' Yucatan, vol. i., p. 301; reproduced inBaldwin's Anc. Amer., p. 136. Waldeck,Voy. Pitt., pl. xii., also gives a ground plan, which, so far as the arrangement of rooms and doorways is concerned, differs very widely from that of Stephens, and must be regarded as very incorrect. M. Waldeck, during his short stay in Yucatan, seems to have devoted his chief attention to sketching the sculptured façades, a work which he accomplished accurately, but to have constructed his plans from memory and imagination after leaving the country. In the preparation of the present plan he had, to aid his fancy, the supposed occupation of these buildings in former times by nuns, and he has arranged the rooms with an eye to the convenience of the priests in keeping a proper watch and guard over the movements of those erratic demoiselles.

[V-38]Cut fromStephens' Yucatan, vol. i., p. 309. For some reason the sculpture is not shown. Waldeck's pl. xii. contains also a section showing the form of the arches and ceilings.

[V-39]'Les linteux des portes sont en bois, comme partout à Uxmal.' 'Les intérieurs, de dimensions variées suivant la grandeur des édifices ... deux murailles parallèles, puis obliquant, pour se relier par une dalle.' 'Les salles étaient enduites d'une couche de plâtre fin qui existe encore.' 'On remarque de chaque côté de l'ouverture, à égale distance du sol et du linteau de la porte, plantés dans la muraille de chaque côté des supports, quatre crochets en pierre.'Charnay,Ruines Amér., pp. 364-6. M. Waldeck speaks of the door-tops of the western building as being composed of nine pieces of stone, perpendicular on the outside, or visible, portions, but beveled and secured by a keystone within. 'Fait de neuf pierres à coupe perpendiculaire, et point du tout à clef: je parle ici de l'aspect de cette partie du monument à l'extérieur; mais à l'intérieur, ces neuf pierres sont à clef, ce que l'absence d'enduit m'a permis de constater.'Voy. Pitt., p. 100. 'The height of the ceiling is uniform throughout.'Norman's Rambles in Yuc., p. 161. Heller,Reisen, p. 257, gives the botanical name of the zapote-wood used for lintels ascavanilla,achras sapota. Waldeck calls the woodjovillo.Voy. Pitt., p. 97. Norman spells itzuporte.

[V-40]'J'ai parlé, dans le texte du présent ouvrage, des prétendues colonnes trouvées dans l'Yucatan. Les trois balustres qu'on voit dans cette planche peuvent, déplacés comme ils l'étaient, avoir donné lieu à cette erreur. En effet, en divisant ces ornements en plusieurs morceaux, on y trouvera un fût droit et une espèce de chapiteau que, d'après des idées relatives assurément fort naturelles, on place volontiers à l'extrémité supérieure du fût, au lieu de le mettre au milieu.'Waldeck,Voy. Pitt., p. 103. 'C'est un ensemble de colonnettes nouées dans le milieu trois par trois, séparées par des parties de pierres plates et les treillis qu'on rencontre si souvent; ce bâtiment est d'une simplicité relative, comparé à la richesse des trois autres.'Charnay,Ruines Amér., p. 368.

[V-41]My engravings are taken fromWaldeck,Voy. Pitt., pl. xv., xvii. They are reproduced inLarenaudière,Mex. et Guat., p. 323, pl. 3, 6. The perfect accuracy of the engravings—except the seated statues—is proved by Charnay's photographs 42, 49, which show the same front, as does the view inStephens' Yucatan, vol. i., p. 305. The southern front of this building is only shown in general views inStephens' Cent. Amer., vol. ii., p. 420; repeated inArmin,Das Heutige Mex., p. 92; and inNorman's Rambles in Yuc., p. 160, which give no details.

[V-42]'La décoration se compose d'une espèce de trophée en forme d'éventail, qui part du bas de la frise en s'élargissant jusqu'au sommet du bâtiment. Ce trophée est un ensemble de barres parallèles terminées par des têtes de monstres. Au milieu de la partie supérieure, et touchant à la corniche, se trouve une énorme tête humaine, encadrée à l'égyptienne, avec une corne de chaque côté. Ces trophées sont séparés par des treillis de pierre qui donnent à l'édifice une grande richesse d'effet. Les coins ont toujours cette ornementation bizarre, composée de grandes figures d'idoles superposées, avec un nez disproportionné, tordu et relevé, qui fait songer à la manière chinoise.'Charnay,Ruines Amér., pp. 366-7. The first of my engravings I take fromStephens' Yucatan, vol. i., p. 306; the same front being shown also in Charnay's photograph 38, in Waldeck's pl. xv., and inLarenaudière,Mex. et Guat., pl. 3. The second engraving is from Waldeck's pl. xvi., given also inLarenaudière,Mex. et Guat., pl. 5, inNorman's Rambles in Yuc., p. 156—where it is incorrectly stated to represent a portion of the Casa del Gobernador,—and corresponding with Charnay's photograph 39. The third cut is fromViollet-le-Duc, inCharnay,Ruines Amér., p. 65. M. Viollet-le-Duc explains the cut as follows: 'Supposons des piles ou murs de refend A; si l'on pose à la tête des piles les premiers patins B, sur lesquels, à angle droit, on embrévera les traverses C, puis les secondes pièces B', les deuxièmes traverses C' en encorbellement égalemente embérvées, et ainsi de suite, on obtient, au droit des têtes de piles ou murs de refend, des parois verticales, et, dans le sens des ouvertures, des parois inclinées arrivant à porter les filières D avec potelets intercalés. Si, d'une pile à l'autre, on pose les linteaux E en arrière du nu des pièces BB', et que sur ces linteaux on établisse des treillis, on obtiendra une construction de bois primitive, qui est évidemment le principe de la décoration de la façade de pierre du bâtiment.' This façade is 'the most chaste and simple in design and ornament, and it was always refreshing to turn from the gorgeous and elaborate masses on the other façades to this curious and pleasing combination.'Stephens' Yucatan, vol. i., p. 306. 'The eastern façade is filled with elaborate ornaments, differing entirely from the others, and better finished.'Norman's Rambles in Yuc., pp. 161-2. 'Les huit échelons dont la série forme un cône renversé, sont ornés, à chacune de leurs extrémités, d'une tête symbolique de serpent ou de dragon. La tête du Soleil qui touche à la corniche et repose sur le troisième échelon, offre deux rayons ascendants, indépendemment de ceux qui flamboient autour du masque, dont je n'ai pu deviner la signification. Les trois rayons qui se voient au dessus de la tête ont peut-être quelques rapports avec le méridien, celui du milieu indiquant le parfait équilibre.' 'Des sept masques solaires, un seul était intact.' 'L'ensemble de cette façade offre à l'heure de midi un caractère de grandeur dont il serait difficile de donner une idée.'Waldeck,Voy. Pitt., pp. 102-3.

[V-43]Stephens' Yucatan, vol. i., p. 307, with plate;Charnay,Ruines Amér., phot. 43.

[V-44]The illustrations of the Serpent front are inWaldeck,Voy. Pitt., pl. xiii., xviii., which latter shows some of the detached faces, or masks;Charnay,Ruines Amér., phot. 40, 41, 44; andStephens' Yucatan, vol. i., pp. 302-3. Rattlesnakes are common in this region. The proprietor proposed to build this serpent's head into a house in Mérida as a memorial of Uxmal. 'Toward the south end the head and tail of the serpents corresponded in design and position with the portion still existing at the other.'Id., vol. i., pp. 302-3. 'The remains of two great serpents, however, are still quite perfect; their heads turned back, and entwining each other, they extend the whole length of the façade, through a chaste ground-work of ornamental lines, interspersed with various rosettes. They are put together by small blocks of stone, exquisitely worked, and arranged with the nicest skill and precision. The heads of the serpents are adorned with ppluming feathers and tassels.'Norman's Rambles in Yuc., p. 162. 'Son nom lui vient d'un immense serpent à sonnettes courant sur toute la façade, dont le corps, se roulant en entrelacs, va servir de cadre à des panneaux divers. Il n'existe plus qu'un seul de ces panneaux: c'est une grecque, que surmontent six croisillons, avec rosace à l'intérieur; une statue d'Indien s'avance en relief de la façade, il tient à la main un sceptre; on remarque au-dessus de sa tête un ornement figurant une couronne.'Charnay,Ruines Amér., p. 367. 'Un ornement, imité d'une sorte de pompon en passementerie terminé par une frange, se voit au-dessus de la queue du reptile. On découvre également dans la frise ces rosettes frangées comme celles signalées dans le bâtiment de l'est.'Viollet-le-Duc, inId., p. 69. 'En voyant pour la première fois ce superbe édifice, je ne pus retenir un cri de surprise et d'admiration, tant les choses originales et nouvelles émeuvent l'imagination et les sens de l'artiste. J'ai cherché à rendre, dans ce qu'on vient de lire, mes premières impressions. Pourquoi n'avouerais-je pas qu'il s'y mêle un peu de vanité? Un pareil sentiment n'est-il pas excusable chez le voyageur qui révèle au monde civilisé des trésors archéologiques si longtemps ignorés, un style nouveau d'architecture, et une source abondante où d'autres, plus savants que lui, iront puiser un jour?'Waldeck,Voy. Pitt., p. 100.

[V-45]Cut of one of these projecting curves inNorman's Rambles in Yuc., p. 162.

[V-46]'The whole, loaded as it is with ornament, conveys the idea of vastness and magnificence rather than that of taste and refinement.'Stephens' Yucatan, vol. i., p. 304. 'The northern front, no doubt, was the principal one, as I judge from the remains, as well as from the fact, that it is more elevated than the others.'Norman's Rambles in Yuc., p. 161. Norman's general view of the Nunnery includes a view of this northern front, but the decorations are omitted and the turrets also. 'Chaque porte, de deux en deux, est surmontée d'une niche merveilleusement ouvragée que devaient occuper des statues diverses. Quant à la frise elle-même, c'est un ensemble extraordinaire de pavillons, où de curieuses figures d'idoles superposées ressortent comme par hasard de l'arrangement des pierres, et rappellent les têtes énormes sculptées sur les palais de Chichen-Itza. Des méandres de pierres finement travaillées leur servent de cadre et donnent une vague idée de caractères hiéroglyphiques: puis viennent une succession de grecques de grande dimension, alternées, aux angles, de carrés et de petites rosaces d'un fini admirable. Le caprice de l'architecte avait jeté çà et là, comme des démentis à la parfaite régularité du dessin, des statues dans les positions les plus diverses. La plupart ont disparu, et les têtes ont été enlevées à celles qui restent encore.'Charnay,Ruines Amér., pp. 364-5, phot. 36-7. 'Les grosses têtes forment la principale décoration des dessus de portes; les treillis sont historiés, les encorbellements empilés supprimés.'Viollet-le-Duc, inId., p. 67.

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