Chapter I: Preface

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To those who intend to bestow upon the following pages the honor of a perusal, it may seem almost supererogatory for the author to mention, that it has formed no part of his purpose to prepare a book which should owe its leading interest to its literary merits. His life has been necessarily more devoted to the dissemination of books than to the study of their internal fabrication; he has had but slender opportunities for the cultivation of letters, and little of the preparation requisite for a task, to the results of which he now solicits the candid consideration of the public.

Circumstances, however, of which all that is worthy of detail will be found in the following pages, brought under the author’s observation a portion of our continent which was strewed with gigantic and monumental ruins of ancient cities, and which, to the several departments of Cosmogony, Archæology, and Ethnography, appeared in his eyes to be of vast importance. Impressed with this conviction, although the author left his country without the remotest intention of making a book upon any subject whatever, or even of seeing the wonderful places he has attempted to describe, yet, with very inadequate scientific qualifications—without instruments, except a knife and compass, and without a companion, save an Indian boy—entirely ignorant of the country and its people—he was enabled to explore many objects of interest and curiosity; and he has resolved to present the substance of his observations and researches, in as succinct a manner as possible, that those who are competent to avail themselves of his labors may digest and present them to the public in such a form as will most contribute to the advancement of true science.

It is, therefore, to the facts which it has been the author’s privilege to witness and reveal, and not to the garniture of those facts, that he looks, for the interest which he desires to awaken in the minds of his readers, and upon which he relies for his own justification in having for once trespassed _ultra crepidam_ into the charmed circle of literary enterprise. The almost universal curiosity which has manifested itself in every quarter through which public feeling has utterance, concerning the vast and unexplained ruins of our hemisphere, found in Central America and Yucatan, has not been, in modern times at least, excelled by that upon any subject not involving some immediate and practical interest, not even excepting the discoveries of modern antiquarians in Egypt. It is neither the author’s duty nor purpose to analyze this movement, or to discern its cause; it only concerns him to show that he had good reason for presuming that further developments of, and explorations among these mysterious relics of antiquity, could not fail to awaken some portion of that interest which the public mind, in this country at least, has already manifested.

A portion of the ruins which are noticed in detail in the following pages had never been visited, to the author’s knowledge, by any modern traveller before his arrival. Others, which had been summarily alluded to, he has portrayed as elaborately and adequately as his circumstances and scientific qualifications would admit; and, he has no hesitation in saying, far more minutely than they had ever before been described. In corroboration of these remarks, he ventures to call the reader’s attention to the chapters which include the ruins of Chi-Chen, of Kahbah, Zayi, and Uxmal, of which cities, the last only excepted—to which Mr. Stephens devotes a few sentences near the conclusion of his recent popular work upon this subject—no other published accounts, it is believed, have appeared.

The author avails himself of the present opportunity to make those acknowledgments to the people of Yucatan which could not be incorporated with propriety in the body of his work. He feels himself under grateful obligations for the uniform kindness which he received at their hands; and he begs to assure those of his American friends who may feel disposed to visit the province of Yucatan, that whatever inconveniences they may experience indirectly from an unfavorable climate and an unsettled political organization, they may count upon meeting, among the higher ranks of the Yucatecos, a kindliness of feeling and a spontaneity of hospitality which will compare favorably with their experience in any other portion of the globe.

In acknowledging his obligations to the friends who have assisted him in the preparation of these pages, he would be guilty of great injustice did he not tender his most sincere thanks to an American gentleman, who has long resided in Yucatan, to whom he is indebted for most of the facts connected with the political history of that country, which are embodied in the thirteenth chapter. The long residence of that gentleman in the country, and his evident familiarity with its political history, give the author reason to rely implicitly upon his acquaintance with the subject, as well as upon his fidelity as an historian.

The author regrets that he is not permitted to give the name of the gentleman to whose aid he is indebted for the philological remarks contained in the fourteenth chapter, which he ventures to believe will prove to the scholar and the antiquarian not the least interesting feature of the work.

It has been the author’s intention upon all occasions to acknowledge his indebtedness to any preceding or cotemporary writer in appropriate modes and places in the text, and he believes that he has seldom failed in his aim; at the same time, he feels that to Waldeck, a distinguished French traveller, who spent a number of years in Central America and Yucatan, his obligations are of a character not to be passed over without a special acknowledgment.

The illness of the writer during the time the following pages were passing through the press, must constitute his apology, should inaccuracies be found to disfigure the work.

The Map is intended to show the geographical position of the ruins, and of the towns passed through before arriving at them; and the Plans to define the relative locations of the structures, neither of them, however, is laid out with scientific exactness; it is hoped, nevertheless, they will still be found sufficiently correct to illustrate the descriptions.

If the public shall find the work now submitted to them possessed of sufficient merit to deserve their regard, or if others shall be induced, by reading it, to extend their researches in a similar direction, or shall, through its aid, eliminate one new ray of light to illumine the dark mystery of its subject, the author will feel amply compensated for the trouble he has taken, and will think himself entitled to indulge the assurance that his life has not been altogether without profit.

NEW ORLEANS, November, 1842.

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CONTENTS.

CHAP. PAGE

I. Setting Out—Accommodations—Arrival at 13
Sisal—Geographical and Political view
of Yucatan—A Christening—Lady
Smokers—Off for the Interior—Merida—A
Feast-day—Christmas Eve—Christmas
Day—Conclusion of a Feast—Holy
Unction—Indian Character—Soldiers’
Return—Holy Days—Gaming

II Description of Merida, Geographical and 34
Historical—The City—Public Squares—The
Market—Trade—Habits and
Customs—Health—The Public Buildings—A
way to get a Husband—New Year Eve—New
Year Day—The City and Environs—A Touch
of Music—A Country Seat—Congress of
Yucatan—Franciscan Ruins—More
Holy-days—Cock-fighting—A Drill—The
Bishop at Home—The College—Miracles

III Mechanical Pursuits—The Circulating 53
Medium—A Ball—A Remnant of
Franciscans—Signs of Decay in the
Suburbs—The Cemetery—The Weather—A
Whole Congregation Flogged—The Wise
Men—The Gentlemen—Extra Civilities—The
Appearances of Trade—Products of the
Soil—Education—Language of the
Indians—The Ancient People—Waldeck’s
Opinion of them—The Maya Language—The
Lord’s Prayer in Maya—Grammars of that
Dialect—Difficulties in Speaking
it—Traits of the Indian Character

IV Preparations for the Interior—Outfit, 73
&c.—The Indian Boy—Departure from
Merida—Arrival at Tixcoco—Calcachen—A
Feast-day—Isamal at a distance—Arrival
there—Our Palace—A Procession—Ancient
Mounds—The Church—A striking
Indian—Wrong Impressions—Tuncax—A
Dilemma—Philosophy of the Road-side—A
Dinner—Visit to a Curate—A Touch of
Comfort—Mail Carrier—Sitax—An Indian
Alcalde—Tinum—An Allusion—Valladolid—A
Mistake rectified in time

V Festival of the Purification—A Factory 91
discovered—New Quarters—Appearance of
Public Buildings—Church—Singular
Display of Taste—Population and
Health—The Town—Its Suburbs—Monastic
Ruins—Remarkable Sonato—Amusements—The
Riband Dance—The Market
Place—Cotton—Ancient
Ruins—Difficulties of Strangers—A
Norther—Kaua—The Churlish Curate—End
of a Feast—The Route—Approach to
Chi-Chen—A Glimpse of the Ruins

VI A Visit to the Ruins—Reflections—Indian 108
Visiters—Detail of the Ruins of
Chi-Chen—The Temple—The Pyramid—The
Dome—The House of the Caciques—General
Ruins—Mounds—Foundations—Characteristics
of the Ruins—Materials and Manner of
Building—The Finish—Fresco Paintings

VII An Arrival—Unexpected Honors—Usurpation 129
of Office—Prices of Labor—Indian way
of Living—A Sonato—An
Incident—Departure—Yacaba—Sonato at
Tabi—Arrival at Sotuta—“Las Ruinas”—A
Benediction—Cantamayec—Turn
Physician—Successful Practice—The
Reward of Merit—Route to Teabo—Its
Curate—Mani—Arrival at
Ticul—Description of Ticul—The
Church—Curate—Market-place—Pretty
Women—Convent—Occupations—Health—Roads—Sugar
Estates—Ruins of
Ichmul—Departure—Cross the Cordilleras

VIII The Ruins of Kahbah—Those of 148
Zayi—Scattered Ruins—Church at
Nohcacab—The Padre—The Town—Departure
for Uxmal—Arrival at the
Hacienda—Quarters and Arrangements—The
Scenery—General Character of the Ruins
of Uxmal—The Governor’s House—The
Nuns’ House—The Pyramid—Other
Remains—Pyramids, Walls, and
Mounds—Reservoir—Moonlight

IX Introductory Facts—Ruins of Yucatan and 168
other parts of Mexico—Ruins of North
America—Mississippi and
Missouri—Look-Out Mountain—Ohio
River—Mount Joliet and others—Indian
Races—Ledyard—Bradford—Dr.
Morton—Diversity of Opinions—Pyramids
of
Egypt—Speculations—Vassalage—Comparison—Traditions—Embalming—Priesthood—
Siamese—Japanese—Astronomy and
Mythology

X Waldeck’s Remarks on Uxmal—Ancient 183
Tools—Soil and Health—Ancient
Customs—End of Time—The Coronation of
an Emperor—Religious Beliefs—Marriage
Ceremony—Infant Baptism—Origin of
those Rites—Horse
Worship—Amusements—Markets—Idols—Candidates
for Matrimony—Their Worship
Varies—Refinements

XI Departure from Uxmal—Abala—The Road—The 199
Curate’s Hacienda—Arrival at
Merida—Hotel de Diligencias—Bishop
Preaching—Strange Scenes—Parting with
José—Departure from Merida—Coach and
Passengers—Scenes of the
Road—Zibackchen—Accommodations—Arrival
at Campeachy

XII Reception at Campeachy—The City—Public 209
Buildings—The Convent—The
Market—Charity—An Ancient
Custom—Population—The
College—Foundations of the
City—Subterraneous Caverns—The
Suburbs—The Harbor—Climate and
Health—Various Ruins—The Author’s
Collection of Idols—Dr. Morton on the
Archæology of Yucatan—Other
Ruins—Reptiles and Insects—A Concealed
Nation—The Brothers Camachos

XIII Political History of Yucatan—The 224
Rochelanos—A Civil Revolution—A
Tumultuary Movement in the
Interior—Santiago Iman—Attack on
Espita—Retreat to San Fernando—Quiet
Restored for a Time—Colonel
Roqueña—Attack on Tizimin—Return of
the Troops—Attack on
Valladolid—Capitulation—Succession of
Events—A New Constitution—The New
Congress—New Party—Opinions—Physical
Incapacity for Independence—The Press
of Yucatan

XIV Remarks on American Languages in 236
general—Conflicting Opinions of
Philologists—Religious Zeal a Stimulus
that has produced the Grammars and
Vocabularies of the American
Languages—Sketch of the Grammar of the
Maya Tongue—Concluding Observations
respecting its Origin

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