a romantic legend.—how the king was overcome by the witch.—visiting the dwarf's house; its position and peculiarities.—house of the nuns; its extent and construction.—casa del gobernador.—destructive agencies at work.—at home in a royal palace.—maya arches.—tropical trees and plants.—double-headed dog of uxmal.—garapatas and the annoyance they caused.—insect pests of yucatan.—dr. le plongeon and the statue of chac-mool.—ghosts and ghost stories.—birds of yucatan.—an ancient watering-place.
archway of las monjas, uxmal.
at nine o'clock they reached the hacienda of uxmal, where they were invited to breakfast. the invitation was accepted, and immediately after the conclusion of the meal the party continued to the ruins, which were about a mile farther on. the mayordomo invited them to make the place their home as long as they were in the neighborhood. mr. burbank gave an evasive answer to the invitation, at the same time earnestly thanking their host for his courtesy. to decline absolutely might seem a rudeness, and to accept would not accord with their arrangement to live at the ruins of the ancient city.
hacienda of uxmal.
on reaching the ruins the party halted to consider what should first be investigated. doctor bronson asked the youths if they had any suggestions to make, whereupon frank intimated that he desired above everything else to visit the dwarf's house.
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"why so?" queried the doctor.
"on account of the very pretty legend connected with it," replied frank. "it is given by stephens, charnay, and others who have been here, but the best form of it is by mrs. le plongeon."
then he read the following from "new and old in yucatan:"
"'during the reign of a certain maya king there lived a woman who was both feared and respected, for she was a wonderful sorceress. a son was born to her, and he became a great favorite, for he was good and clever, though very small—in fact, a dwarf. finally he became so popular—probably the people fawned on him to please the formidable witch—that the king grew jealous, and sought his destruction by giving him difficult tasks, so that, failing, he might be accused of disobedience. but, thanks to his mother, the boy always succeeded.
"'one day the king, out of patience, ordered the boy to build in one
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night a high mound and a house on the top. the youth was at his wits' end, but went, as usual, to seek maternal aid. "oh, mother, mother! i shall surely die, for the king has ordered me to do more than i can possibly accomplish;" and he told her his trouble.
"'"never mind, my child, don't be alarmed. in the morning the house will be there."
"'it was, and from that day to this has been called the dwarf's house. the king was enraged. he sent for the dwarf. "i am greatly pleased with the house. now i want to break six cocoyoles" (small and very hard cocoanuts about the size of a walnut) "on your head, and then i will give you my daughter in marriage."
"'the dwarf declined to accept the offer on these conditions. the monarch insisted. "i want you to marry my daughter, and you must accept my conditions."
"'again the poor dwarf sought his mother in despair. "there is no hope for me now."
"oh yes, there is," replied the clever witch. "you go back to his majesty and tell him that you accede to his request provided he afterwards allows you to break six cocoyoles on his own head."
"'and to this the king publicly agreed, because he was determined to kill the dwarf with the first cocoyol.
"'then the sorceress rubbed her son's head with something that made it so hard nothing could possibly hurt it.
"'the king arrived, and the dwarf, in the presence of all the people, laid his head on a stone. with another the king broke the cocoyol on the head of his intended victim—broke all six of them—but the dwarf rose unhurt.
"'then it was the turn of the monarch to lay his proud head down, and as his scalp was not prepared, the dwarf broke his skull, and thus got rid of his enemy. the agreement had been faithfully carried out, so the public had nothing to say. the dwarf then married the princess and became king.'"
of course the marriage of the dwarf to the princess was the end of the story, and frank so intimated. as the dwarf's house was visible from where they stood—in fact it is the most prominent object as the ruins are approached—the party went to it at once.
"it stands on an artificial mound about 100 feet high," wrote fred, in describing the visit, "and therefore was quite a task for the dwarf to accomplish in a single night. do you doubt the truth of the story? well, here is the mound with the house upon it, and anywhere around here you
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may gather cocoyoles in whatever number you like. could there be any further proof needed than these facts?
dwarf's house and east wing of the casa de las monjas.
"we climbed to the top by a broad staircase of stone, and it was by no means an easy climb. the steps are narrow and some of them have become displaced, so that we were all tired enough to sit down when we reached the house. the tradition is that when the priests threw the bodies of the victims of sacrifice from the altars they rolled to the bottom of the steps without stopping. the staircase is very wide, sixty or seventy feet; and this great width, combined with the narrow steps, makes it a dangerous one to ascend. a single misstep would send one rolling downward, like the sacrificial victims.
"the house was evidently a place of worship, and in this respect corresponds to the teocallis of the mexicans, which we have already described. although generally known as the dwarf's house, it is frequently called the house of the prophet; and there is a tradition that prophecies were issued from it, as from the temples of ancient greece and rome.
"it is seventy feet long and twelve wide, and is covered with sculpture, some of it greatly injured by time, while the rest is well preserved. there are many hieroglyphics that form an interesting study for the archæologist. several travellers have given translations of them, and i believe
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that each one is able to demonstrate that his predecessors were all wrong. we will not attempt to decipher them, as we do not wish to run the risk of our work being overturned by the next comer.
"the building has three rooms; doctor bronson says that some of the sculptures on the walls of these rooms are masonic symbols, and he wonders if the race that erected the building were acquainted with the mystic rite. who can tell?
"lower down is a sanctuary of two small but very high-ceiled rooms, and having some fine sculpture on the outside. over the entrance of the sanctuary is the carved head of a mastodon, showing that the people were acquainted with that animal, or at all events had his correct likeness. there are masonic emblems on a cornice that extends around the sanctuary, and on the lower part of the cornice are rings cut in stone, from which curtains were suspended during the ceremonies that were performed inside the building.
"we spent an hour or more inspecting the building and its sculptures, and then gave quite a little time to the magnificent panorama that was revealed from the top of the mound; indeed we had considerable enjoyment of it while resting from the fatigue of the ascent.
"the pyramid rises from a plain, and at the elevation where we stood or sat we embraced with our eyes a wide area. all the principal buildings of uxmal were at our feet, and we looked and listened attentively while mr. burbank pointed them out.
"nearest and to the west is the casa de las monjas, or 'house of the nuns,' but whether it was really a nunnery or is only called so for convenience we are unable to say. on a broad and high terrace to the south is the casa del gobernador, or 'house of the governor,' and there is a building close by called the 'house of the turtles.' turtles did not live there, but figures of them are on the sculptures that adorn the building. there were several other heaps of ruins, of which i noted the names of only two, the 'house of the old woman,' and the 'house of the pigeons.'
"when we had finished our inspection of the dwarf's house we descended the steeply sloping pyramid, picking our way very carefully to avoid accidents. except where the stones are so thick as to afford no clinging ground for vegetation, the sides of the mound are covered with bushes, which are occasionally cut away by the proprietor of uxmal.
façade of west wing of casa de las monjas.
"we went first to the house of the nuns, which is a building about 280 feet square, with a large court-yard in the centre. there is a high gate-way on the south side by which we entered the house; the house has
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eighty-eight rooms or apartments opening into the court-yard, but no doors opening to the outside. as we entered the court our attention was drawn to the sculptures on the interior façades of the building; on one side there is a representation of two enormous serpents, so immense in size that they run the whole length of the edifice, their exact measurement being 173 feet. their bodies are twisted together, and in the spaces between the folds are many strange hieroglyphics. we seemed to be once more in india, or some other eastern country, where serpent worship once prevailed and is by no means unknown at the present day.
ground-plan of las monjas.
"mr. burbank told us that the ruins have suffered a good deal in recent years, and at the rate they are being destroyed there will be little more than a few heaps of rubbish remaining here when the next century begins. nearly every visitor to them thinks he must carry away something, and most people are not at all particular about defacing the hieroglyphics
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or other sculptures. a large quantity of stone has been taken from the ruins for building purposes at the uxmal hacienda; and the indians do not seem to have any reverence, or but very little, for the homes of their by-gone ancestors. there are the usual traditions about buried treasures in the buildings, and every little while somebody tries to find them. nothing of value has ever been discovered, but the digging that forms a necessary part of every search is a serious injury to the sculptures and walls.
"the hand of man is ably aided in the work of destruction by the tropical vegetation; around the building it is so thick that all access would soon be cut off if the rapidly growing mass were not occasionally cut away in places where paths are desired. the roof is overgrown with yuccas and other plants, that convert it into a sort of hanging garden; their roots, swelling in the crevices between the stones, are rapidly breaking down the walls and converting the whole into a shapeless mass of ruins."
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casa del gobernador.
the next spot of interest was the casa del gobernador, which has been alluded to in fred's account of the view from the top of the pyramid. our friends went there and found not only an extensive ruin, but what was of practical importance, the servants that had been sent on in advance from merida with the cart and camping equipments. they had already taken possession of the best rooms in the house, and were clearing them out for occupation.
one room served for kitchen and servants' quarters, and the other for parlor, dining-saloon, dormitory, salon de conversacion, reception-room, library, café, art-gallery, and wardrobe. a flat stone made a very fair table, and other stones served in place of chairs; hammocks were slung by means of ropes from one wall to another, and altogether the place was comfortable enough for a temporary home.
the kitchen apparatus was not extensive, but it sufficed for the preparation of satisfactory meals, doubtless rendered appetizing by the exercise
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which the strangers were getting in the open air. in the middle of the day it was too hot to wander about a great deal; the time was passed in writing, reading, or possibly in the siesta, for which all tropical and semi-tropical countries are more or less famed.
ground-plan of casa del gobernador.
it fell to frank to speak of the governor's house, which he did as follows:
"the governor's house, or royal palace, as it is also called, is on the uppermost of three terraces (it could not well be on either of the lower ones), and is 322 feet long by 39 in depth. the building is about 25 feet high, and had a flat roof. some of the ceilings were supported by triangular arches, and others by beams; the beams have rotted away and disappeared, but the stone arches remain intact. the roof was originally covered with cement. the ancient mayas seem to have possessed a very good quality of cement; but it was hardly equal to that of some of the eastern nations.
"the top of the building is overgrown with yuccas and other plants, just like the house of the nuns, and from the top of each of the three towers small trees shoot high into the air. there is not much ornament on the lower part of the walls, but the upper portion is profusely decorated; it is thought that the walls, as high as the cornice, about ten feet from the base, were covered with stucco or cement; and this has been removed by the climate, or possibly torn off during the wars that may have prevailed here.
"the cornice runs around the building just above the three door-ways that give entrance to the place. above this cornice the whole wall is covered with sculpture, and i can best describe it by copying what was written by stephens nearly fifty years ago: 'there is no rudeness or barbarity in the design or proportions; on the contrary, the whole wears an air of architectural symmetry and grandeur; and as the stranger ascends the steps and casts a bewildered eye along its open and desolate doors, it is hard to believe that he sees before him the work of a face in whose epitaph, as written by historians, they are called ignorant of art, and said to have perished in the rudeness of savage life. if it stood at this day on its
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grand artificial terrace in hyde park, or the garden of the tuileries, it would form a new order, i do not say equalling, but not unworthy to stand side by side with, the remains of egyptian, grecian, and roman art.'
"one of the interesting features of the governor's house and other buildings of uxmal is the 'maya arch,' which is formed without a key-stone. the sides are built up with stones projecting one beyond the other, and a flat stone is laid across the top. in spite of its violation of the principles on which builders say the arch is based, the work of the mayas has withstood the ravages of time to a remarkable degree. specimens of this arch are found here in the governor's house, and in other parts of uxmal;
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in fact they can be seen at palenque, chichen-itza, and other historic places in yucatan and neighboring countries. the archway of las monjas is an admirable specimen of this work, and we send you a photograph of it so that you may judge for yourself.
statue of double-headed dog, uxmal.
"there was formerly a stone figure here representing a double-headed dog, but it has been carried away. it was found in a mound of earth at the corner of the second terrace, and not far from the house of the turtles. while we were walking about the terrace mr. burbank cautioned us not to fall into one of the ancient reservoirs, or storehouses, which are much easier to enter than to leave. they are a sort of stone jug on a colossal scale—vaults or cisterns ten or twelve feet square and as many deep, with an opening two feet across at the top.
"a friend of his fell into one of these jugs while incautiously walking about. he was stout in figure, and slipped into the hole, with no surrounding space to spare. when they came to get him out it was necessary for him to remove the greater part of his clothing in order that he could be hoisted from his prison; and even then the work was not accomplished until the sides of the opening had been greased. at any rate, that's the story mr. burbank told us.
decorations over door-way of casa del gobernador.
"we have mentioned the house of the turtles, which is so called on account of a row of turtles ornamenting its façade. it is on the corner of the second terrace, and is supposed to have been the kitchen of the palace. fred thinks that if it was really a kitchen the ornamentation will go far to prove that the governor, whoever he was, had a fondness for turtle soup, like a good many governors of modern times. wouldn't it be funny if turtle soup should prove to have had its origin in yucatan? doctor bronson says that though the yucateos may have had the article, they did not invent it, as turtle soup was known to the ancient romans many centuries ago."
frank and fred found that a residence in a royal palace had its drawbacks, especially when night came and the bats appeared in large numbers. furthermore, there were lizards and other creeping things in great abundance, and some of them were especially repulsive.
one of the worst annoyances of their visit to uxmal was that whenever they moved about they became covered with garapatas. the garapata is a tick so small that it is hardly perceptible to the naked eye, but it is capable of making a bite or sting like that of a red ant or a hot needle. frank and fred were reminded of their troubles in ceylon, when they became covered with land-leeches in their journey to adam's peak. mr. burbank told them that the best antidote to the garapatas was to rub
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one's body with petroleum before venturing where the insects abounded, and that they should change their clothing every time they came in from a walk.
here is frank's note concerning these pests of yucatan:
"they cause a frightful itching, and whenever the fangs of the insect break off in the skin, and they do so very often, the wound is liable to fester and be some time in healing. their attentions are not confined to humanity; they attack dogs and other animals, and the poor creatures are sometimes killed by them. m. charnay gives an account of how a pet dog belonging to the wife of the consul at merida suffered from the bites
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of these insects while out one day in the country. the little animal rolled on the grass and howled in agony, but the garapatas kept on with their biting as though it was all fun to them."
an unwelcome visitor.
fred asked mr. burbank how many kinds of insects, troublesome and otherwise, yucatan could boast, but the gentleman was unable to say with any exactness. "there is enough of them to go around," said he, "among the whole population, and some varieties go around with surprising activity when the heat and languor of the climate are considered. and if you camp out and sleep on the ground you may quite possibly be roused by a snake trying to get into bed with you and coiling around your arm or leg."
our young friends were especially ambitions to discover a statue or some other interesting relic of the by-gone race, and so make themselves distinguished as explorers. but their inquiries as to the possibility and advisability of such a proceeding were greatly discouraged when they learned of the experience of dr. le plongeon.
statue of chac-mool.
"you doubtless saw the statue of chac-mool, the god of fire, in the museum at the capital?" said mr. burbank.
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"certainly," replied fred.
"well," continued mr. burbank, "dr. le plongeon found that statue at chichen-itza, where he made extensive excavations at his own expense. it was nine feet in length—too large to be hidden in his coat-pocket, or in any other ordinary way—and therefore he could not take it out of the country. the government claims all antiquities, no matter by whom they are found, and the officials immediately took possession of dr. le plongeon's 'find,' and paid no attention to his protest.
"the same explorer dug up a statue here in the summer of 1881, and describes it as the finest ever discovered in central america. he and his wife were working alone when the treasure was unearthed, and with the recollections of the chac-mool experience before them, they immediately covered up the precious discovery, and removed all trace of their work.
"learning wisdom by their experience, i would advise against any serious expenditure of time and money in exploring the remains of uxmal or any other of the sixty or more ruined cities of yucatan. if you find anything of value it will go into the hands of the mexican government and adorn the museum at the national capital. antiquities of no value can be taken to new york or elsewhere after paying certain duties upon them for exportation."
frank and fred thought the advice excellent, and thanked mr. burbank for it. they confined their investigations to making sketches and photographs of the sculptures, and measuring the buildings and the apartments in them. they did not undertake any digging operations, and listened calmly to the stories of the natives concerning the vast amount of treasures supposed to be concealed in the ruins of the buildings.
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it may be remarked here that the natives were very unwilling to remain around the ruins at night, and all of them who could do so hurried to the hacienda of uxmal immediately after sunset. they believe that the ghosts of the former occupants revisit the ruins at night, and treat with great severity any one whom they find there.
in support of their belief they told several stories of how indians who had ventured to spend the night in the ruins had disappeared and no trace of them had ever been found. in other cases their dead bodies were found in some of the rooms of the old buildings, and in each instance the marks on their throats showed that they had been strangled at the hands of the ghosts. a dead indian was found in a tree-top, where it was impossible to have climbed, or been placed by human hands; the inference was that the ghosts had killed the rash man, and then carried his body into the tree-top as a warning to future intruders.
for cooking and drinking purposes our friends obtained water from a small pond, or aguada, which is supposed to have been the watering-place of uxmal in the days of its glory. it is now partly overgrown with aquatic plants, and is a favorite haunt of the birds, or, rather, one of their haunts, as there are several ponds in the neighborhood of the ruins.
by skilful use of a shot-gun, which formed part of their outfit, the youths obtained several ornithological specimens, which they carefully skinned and preserved. like the majority of tropical birds, their plumage was brilliant, that of the crimson flycatcher being especially so. coots were numerous, and formed an agreeable addition to the bill of fare of uxmal, though our friends were unanimous in the belief that the coots of yucatan were far behind their namesakes of the northern states in the matter of edibility.
