Itza/t e Hoe
_or THE ITZAS
Br SYLVANUS G. TiffTPT FY ~n
i
•X : bei... iii«- 4iic0ier> of America
ih*-r* Oc ia southern Mexico.
Iil< ■ In. itl parts of Huiluoi a
great iM. iBtica. which has been caU
<4 the Maya U «nay be said at tbe
acfset uititout x*g*eratiot that this
.•wiliutint had reached a heigh*
•OadM by w other peep!-* of the
• Mara *m -Uphero p io; to the corn
•t« of the white *iaa. la arct Hectare
ia ecuIptwre mad ia priatiai the
Mayas esrefied Their j .“teste were
rdrusuom of tw. mear ability, hat
.«■*■ r*«4 sad rw-arded without oe aid of in
UfaeVa 'Of prceMas- .u m as are ha*, it it to us
«*•< ! -ra'hs of (be Solar acd Vsiei rear# and
psobtM r the bag'i- of I be Mercery aid Mar
roars la addition to this they L*>. dei eloped
» cei-wdar syateoi and perfe* -d a * brctti*!o*y
wfci -h la mono of its chart. tertsik way snpe
nor n ear sea
TV the Mrini cittfT uf this people t -o U«y
«**• i-a i4i* Their star had act. The.: greai
-* cm -*» had to** abandoned and lay in ndw.
wad h*4» rwoatry was promt rated by the qua:
"*• d • scare wr nun- of petty tauer-ender:
ibxAhH, each of abuts mas waging war on
the .. fees Bte» the tw*waor> ««f the older c!t
•e*. d their ralt-it. sorb a* Paleeqoe. t'opan
«wd far » _*j*|4e seeoiv ;<• hit past
'd ft wo the tatad of iu«. *1 etr farat: rihtncr
< • c • -a Khattae pr.ruew-# acd Internet m
tdeide ore aJ so*d ft. hoie bees .uw r butory
k'tae« ’a the 4er.> and eeiijioe which overtook
>«<•• hrttiam aboriginal rtiniiitlo" seven.:
Wh* before the *pgr
-■ ' L t i-e. ~*~
—
t*t •■%«*» jr the targea*. *«mi
- tutf r the Qu>i u gulf
* *s*. af Che rwt'Md mie>
*he apma.--b « satjj»r
•*»» Inal am their amt at u,
*■ tmm anas Chi rhea fitta.
* '»■**! * Stark nr* ta its
1-Mbtua there stilt oita*
• r a »h» >«bd sradukta* of
foasaer uadlt; aid apiea
dw The Baste <~k-he« Itxa
*» Hsta aad strap* ch
aiek ' Vt-sdb aat kza
• he saar of the Kata irthr
rh * S*t«d ta the aeidabor
(••*« af she tdare. "Ttw
h»Mt af he Waits of tfe*
I'tt <f" 'heeafere ta (he
tw srnjac at (he spate; nor
fel a autre appropriate
am# hare harp applied Ut
the piare hjr mar people
Th# irhaie prxttaeola of
* a- >im m a vast tune* toor lormanoa a.tu .t
t • wrfaca «Urr One ild travel (nr
<o«i-» aad athv and sever cross river or brook.
■m -res r*a»re upon a modest spring indeed
.« t.« MflMn part, where most of the great
tamed rtties are lorated. wafer iw t feet
I. me the surface af the ground The modern
vhsabeb'i Merraar this difficulty b| met. ns
W arils and windmills, shirk afford the only
■ inne <d water supply during the dry wi
se lerralwr ta June* exrep*Ing what H'tle
safer assy ha»e been caught durizg the
tmmr wmto and stored In cisterns.
Mv trf weds and aindwilla the am ten* Ms'
a* knee nothing aad. generally speaking had
«* uut been (or the great natural reservoirs
whj-b nature had scattered hew and there
oerr the <ountry Yucatan never could hate
hers, . udoatred.
These great natural wells, or. as the Mayas
•r ><•-«. ccwotea. are found all over Yucatan.
Ta-. ace usually shout 1M feet in diameter, or
. j • era muhr. aad about 7* feet in depth to
the nd of tnr water. Geologists say that
is rant«a are places where the limestone
r««. which everywhere covers the surface
at «uratan. haa become weakened by the
of aabferraaeaa waters ana has cai
laps'd of l«a own weight, forming great sink
boom tar natural wells on a large scale. And
a. r* II Is clear why the ancient inhabitants
af l niches tu* as named their city. In the
».iw of t'jrir aaaderiags. the general trend
*al which was aurthward. the Itzas. entering
Ya ataa (rva the south, finally reached the
. pi remote*, around which Chichen Iua late'
was le.itt. but which then waa probably noth
tag but wilderness. Mere the striking contrast
•4 «d--d by such aa abundance of water in a
■ sue try so generally parched could not fail to
bar— slimmed their attention The plar« mat
i.a.-e ufsmad ta the thirsty wanderers a God
gtsen rite for (he iocs'too of their nea home.
Hi right of discover* they claimed the place,
aad tv the city which crew up around the cen
wtvw 'hey gate the same of Chichen Itza. ‘ The
Mwwtb of the Weds of the Itsas "
The two rroolM U Cttlrhri Itu have been
k»w* by the Mayas from lime immemorial
a> the Ceaate Crande mad the Ccnote Sacra
■» *ue large ('rant* and tk* Barren Ceaote. re
lye’i.py The first of these unly la former
av used for the water supply of the
•4‘t. >he Sacred Ceeote being reserved for re
<igtaas war esdusiiely It Is the Utter, bow
etwr. sad tbs rvUgtous observances held in
• awsrtlao with It. which gave the city Its
Lady character' From far and near all over
fwcatsa. aad prihably even from points more
were made to the Sacred
It aswsas to have been the most holy
of the Maya people, comparable only
tm Usportaare ta the Mohammedan Mecca and
<W "briatlan Jerusalem fa time of drought
af all kiado wore thrown into it—
. aad la rases of extremity even 11*
I oacrtficoa.
Itxa today is somewhat changed In
i 'rua the time when pilgrims came
corn far aad aaar to appease with human sac
i'fire the wrath of offeadod deities. Now the
-ny Mew hurled ta a thick Jungle, which hit
steadily won Ms wsy Into the very heart of
the Jady |4es Colonnades have been over
I'ams aad pyramids covered with trees to
their summit. courts have been loot In a
taagie of thorn and creepers; and palace*
utrtppid of their sculptured embellishment.
Iewuialioa baa spread everywhere in the
aak* at the eacroscblag vegetation
Me the Vowighcr a Little Ad
vice aa ta Whan ta Make
' tJoa't," aaid tuehr * ram to bit
hwpefwi yooog oepbew, "make any
maielMi daedal ow a bee you're tired
Whew we're turd we want to get tbo
gai Mina aattltd aad we re ready to
o»eLe warnaaina* to gtre cay. r.nd
.Le -the? ceaa It cere to get the bet
t#t <-e «e
Unde Hiram to His Nephew
T/tf CA5772.10 Qfi CASTJ.T
f/YO v/£tv or r/t£ ffO/ft/A 5 Qtf ST0rtA5Tf/?Y
To % isit the ancient city now. one jolts for
5 long and weary miles in a two-wheeled cov
ered ait drawn by three mules over the rough
er kind of a highway imaginable. This pres
ent Mu-onvenieoce fortunately is not to be one
of long standing. A new and straight road Is
about <• be built and an automobile service to
•he ruins probably established, which will
shorten the present length of the trip from
Jour hours to about half an hour. Now. how
ever this ride from Citas, the nearest railroad
point seems interminable. The road, so
all h1 by courtesy only, winds through the im
p«ne'rabie bush, which everywhere in the nat
•ral state covers northern Yucatan. Through
this the creaking cart finds a dubious way mile
e.t-e mile until every muscle in one's body
groans an agonized protest. Finally, when it
seem? thai the limit of physical endurance has
been reached, the cart suddenly lurches around
a sharp turn in the road and as if by magic
the lofty Castillo flashes into view, towering
ugh above the plain and the rest of the city
!n its lonelj- magnificence.
This imposing structure, the highest in Yu
catan, rises 78 feet above the plain. The
pyramid on which the temple stands is 195
J**t long on each side at the base and covers
about an acre of ground.
The Castillo would seem to have been the
• enter of the ancient city, and probably Its
• hief sanctuary. To the north lies the Sacred
i'eno’e and tlie causeway, just mentioned.
eadiug to it. On the east Is a vast group of
buildings, colonnades, courts and pyramids.
The City of a Thousand Columns,” as some
one has picturesquely described It. Due west
Is the group of structures known as the Ball
Court. To the south for half a mile or more,
si altered through the jungle, are pyramids,
courts, temples and palaces. The central lo
cation of the Castillo with reference to all of
'bese. as well as its great size and command
ng height, argue strongly that it was the
• hief sanctuary of the Holy City.
Another interesting group of structures at
■'hichen Itza. perhaps slightly less sacred In
* baracter than the Castillo, Is the so-called
' Kail Court." mentioned above as lying Just
west of the Castillo. This, group is composed
of two parallel masses of solid masonry, each
272 feet long, 27 feet high and 16 feet wide,
placed 119 feet apart from each other. These
two great walls, for such they really are, form
a court nearly 100 feet long by 119 feet wide.
High on the side of each at the middle point
from end to end there is attached a stone
ring four feet in diameter with a hole through
it. These rings are fastened to thnlr respec
tive walls by tenons of. stone, and are so
placed that the surface of each is perpendicu
lar to the vertical face of the wall. The ar
rangement is very similar to the baskets in
our modern game of basket ball, except that
at ("hichen Itza the "baskets" have their open
ings perpendicular to the ground, while in our
game the openings in the baskets are parallel
with the ground. To make a basket at the
' hichen Itza court a somewhat horizontal
•hrow. as in baseball, was necessary, while
nowadays It is a toss that wins the goal.
At the open ends of the court formed by
these two walls stand temples, which in effect
inclose the area, definitely marking its boun
daries. On top of the east wail, at its south
ern end. there is a beautiful temple, which
affords a commanding view of the entire court.
This has been called "The House of the
Tigers.” because of a frieze of stalking tigers,
which is sculptured In alto-relievo around the
“W» often hear It said that it’s a
good thing when in doubt about any
thing to sleep on it, and this is sound
advice. The general theory of the
benefits to be derived from sleeping
on a question Is that sleep clarifies the
mind, but In coming to a settlement
about a thing the most important ad
vantage that we find In sleeping on
it lies in the renewed strength that
sleep gives os. It renews our cour
age, makes us ready not to give way
but to stand up and fight and fit and
able to light.
“Don’t be in a terrible hurry to set
tle things. Stevey. anyway. There are
times when you must s’~ike when the
Iron is hot, but as a general proposi
tion don’t be Impatient to get things
settled; it's the man able to keep
cool and wait and let the other fel
low do the worrying that generally
gets the biggest piece of the cake
“We may meet occasionally a man
of high and unbroken continuous
V/£W Of T££fPL£ CAllOJ C/Z/C/fA/YC/ZQS
pasvopajva or r/f£ MAm arcr/c»r/v jtza
outside of the building. This temple contains
also on the walls of an interior room, an elab
orate mural painting representing an attack
by some enemy upon a city, perhaps Chichen
Itza itself, and its defense by the inhabitants.
Some of the poses taken by the combatants in
the conflict are extremely realistic; such as in
the throwing of ,'avelins. the swinging of war
clubs, and the like. This bit of mural decora
tion in The House of The Tigers at Chichen
Itza probably marks the high-water mark of
aboriginal painting in the Western Hemi
sphere; at least it is superior to everything
else that has survived.
The identification of these two great walls
and the temples associated with them, as a
ball court, rests on firm historic foundation.
When the Spanish first came to Mexico they
found the natives playing a game of ball, which
was of sufficient importance to have a spe
cial court or ground set apart for its exclu
sive use. Several of the early Spanish writers
have described the game in some detail, and
all agree as to its having played an important
part in the life of the people. One chronicler
has it that the object of the game was to
strike the ball so that it would pass through
the opening in the stone ring above mentioned
as an important feature of the Chichen Itza
court. He adds that the feat was one of con
siderable dexterity, since the ball could not
be hit »ith the bands, but that the hips or
other parts of the body had to be used instead.
This rule of the game very materially in
creased the difficulty in making a "Maya bas
ket;” so much so, in fact, we are told, that
the lucky player making this winning stroke
had forfeit to him as a reward for his skill all
the clothing and ornaments of the spectators.
At such times, the chronicler concludes, the
spectators were wont tc- scatter in all direc
tions without loss of time, hoping thus to es
cape paying the penalty, but that the friends
of the lucky player immediately gave chase
and endeavored to exact the full forfeit.
Although the name Ball Court has been giv
en to this group of temples at Chichen Itza.
it should not be supposed on that account,
that this great court was built primarily for
sport. Such an explanation of its fundamental
purpose is incompatible with any conception
which the American aborigine ever seems to
have entertained. To the Itza people the chief
function of their Ball Court was doubtless a
religious one. Games played there, if not
actually held in connection with religious fes
tivals, were at least sufficiently religious in
their meaning as to completely overshadow
the element of sport as we understand the
term. That a game was played in which com
petition and skill entered in cannot be doubt
ed in the face of contemporaneous evidence,
and to this extent perhaps tne Mexican Ball
Courts were athletic fields; but it must not be
forgotten for a moment that its true signifi
cance was religious, and that the games which
were played there probably were held only in
connection with religious festivals. It is not
improbable, however, that the Aztecs were
breaking away from the religious feature of
sport at the time of the Spanish Conquest, but
that "The Holy Men of the Itzas,” as the peo
ple of Chichen Itza are sometimes called in
the early manuscripts, had taken any such a
radical step Is little short of Inconceivable, so
religious in character was the whole Maya
civilization.
To the east of the Castillo lie a great group
of courts, pyramids and colonnades. "The City
of a Thousand Columns.’' already mentioned.
courage, but not often; the biggest of
men hare heart sag at times, though
they may not show It; we are all hu
man and much alike under the skin
if that’s any comfort to you; we all
hare our moods; times when we are
buoyant and happy and times when
we are low In spirits and depressed.
“Don't, Sterey. settle things when
you are feeling low and dissplrited.
You’ll take a different view when you
come back, as you inevitably will, to
the summit
’’Let your decisions be made.
BI//ID/AO CAIjLBD r/ff/GLft5/A, OP CJil/Pm
Here desolation is wide
spread. it seems as
though an earthquake
must have shaken the
Itza capital at some
time.
How after row of col
umns have been over
turned and now lie pros
trate within a foot of
their original positions.
Perhaps a capital or
a drum here and there
is broken, but for the
most part the stones lie just where they fell.
In its entirety this section of the city must
have presented an iiu[losing appearance, being
literally a forest of columns surrounding and
connecting the various courts. As to the use
of these great colonnades, tradition and his
tory are equally silent. Some think that they !
were the law courts of the ancient city, where
justice was administered and punishment
meted out. Others say that they were the
market places, where the produce of the sur
rounding country was bought and sold. This
latter explanation has one strong recommenda
tion in its favor in that the descendants of
the builders of the ancient city of Yucatan,
the present Maya Indians, still hold their mar
kets under the portals surrounding the plazas
in the towns and villages throughout the coun
try today.
South of the Cenote Grande there are a num
ber of well-preserved structures, most of them
presenting beautifully sculptured facades. Tc
these fanciful names have been given, which
probably have little or nothing to do with
the original uses o? the buildings. One large
structure, for example, has been called “The
Akabtzlb." The name is Maya and means
"The House of the Dark Writing.'* This build*i
ing was so called, because of the fact that i
over one of Its interior doorways there is a |
lintel inscribed with hieroglyphs. This lintel i
is so placed that the hieroglyphics can. only \
be seen by artificial light, hence the name,
"The House of the Dark Writing.** Nearby is j
a round tower, with but one exception the
only structure of its kind in the Maya area.
This is called "The Caraco.” Caracol is the
Spanish word for snail, and since the interior
circular corridor and spiral stairway of this
structure bear some remote resemblance to the
convolutions of a snail shell, the name was
applied to the building. The Manjos (Spanish
for monastery) is perhaps the most beautiful !
building at Chichen Itza. It Is composite, !
showing three different periods of construction, i
The above are only a few of the many strnc- j
tures at Chichen Itza. But in all directions for J
several miles the brush is strewn with ruins.
Crumbling walls and jungle-ridden courts are
to be encountered on every side: disintegration
so far advanced that these once splendid pal
aces and temples are now but little more than
shapeless mounds of fallen masonry. The total
area covered by ruins which may be assigned ‘
to this center of primitive population has been j
estimated by some as high as ten square miles. ;
That larger Maya cities yet remain to be dis
covered now seem highly improbable so thor
oughly has the general exploration of the area
been done. Consequently we may affirm with
but little hesitation that “The Holy City of the
Itzas'* was the largest and most important of
the Maya civilization and probably of abor
iginal America aa well.
THE SIGH FOR LEISURE.
Lives there the man who has not sighed lor
leisure? And lives there the man who in his
more sober moments, has not been honestly
glad that he must work? Human nature, which
sweetens under toil, sours In leisure. And It Is
by no means sure that the fall from Innocence
which first brought work into the world “and
all our woe" was not bringing salvation dis
guised aa labor. Faithfulness will dignify and
beautify even drudgery; no Lnatter what the
work is, provldecf it is honest, if it is done well
it commards our instinctive respect. Besides,
if we did not all have to work so hard to keep
alive the jails would have standing room only.
Stevey, not when you are tired or de
pressed but when you are fit and
strong, and pride and habit will make
you live up to their "
His Trade-Mark.
“I wish yon didn’t have such a flat
and plebeian nose, papa," said the
aristocratic young daughter of the
plain old merchant
“That’s the mark of the grindstone,
my dear.” replied the plodding old
mao.
From a hungry newsboy on the
streets of Y.'asbington to the presiden
cy of the youngest republic in the
world is the remarkable record of
Dick Ferris of Los Angeles. Coinci
dentally with the revolution in Mexico
headed by Madero there broke out a
revolt against Mexican authority in
Lower California and one of those who
encouraged it and helped to finance it
was Ferris. A filibustering expedition
fitted out by Ferris left Sail Francisco
for Lower California and without
much of a struggle the weakened au
tbority of Mexico was overthrown and
the republic of Lower California cre
ated. Of this new republic Ferris ha*
been elected president.
Ferris was a “newsy” on the streets
of Washington twenty years ago and
found the battle of life a hard one.
One cold night after he had sold a pa
per or two on a street car he was in
jured while stepping oft and one of
his arms was broken. One of those
who took an Interest in the lad was the late Frank Hatton, a passenger on the
oar and then the publisher of a Washington paper. He had the boy removed
to a hospital and later took such an In terest in him that he provided means
for his education. Ferris was a quick and ambitious youth and turned out
a credit to his benefactor.
After leaving school he turned his attention to the stage. He formed a
stock company in Minneapolis which proved the foundation of his fortune.
Later he went to Los Angeles, where his theatrical ventures proved success
ful. He then turned his attention to other venture*, investing heavily in oil
and fruit orchards, and rapidly accumulated wealth.
Last fall he entered the arena of politics and was a candidate for lieutenant
governor on an independent ticket. Now he finds himself the president of a
full-fledged republic, which may not prove ephemeral
COOKE DECLARED NOT GUILTY
Edgar S. Cooke, who was found not
guilty of embezzling $24,000 from the
Big Four railway, was formerly local
treasurer of the road In Cincinnati
and was well known in railroad cir
cles. The belief is that the judge's
charge helped to free Cooke, Judge
Hunt declaring the testimony of Mrs.
Ford and of Warriner only made them
equally guilty if Cooke were guilty.
Cooke was the last of those indict
ed in connection with the $643,000
shortage of Charles L. Warriner, Cin
cinnati treasurer of the road, to be
tried. First Warriner, indicted on nu
merous charges, pleaded guilty to one
charging the embezzlement of $5,000.
He was sentenced to six years in
prison.
Then Mrs. Jeannette Stewart-Ford.
accused of blackmailing Warriner,
was tried in February, 1910. The
jury in her case disagreed. Finally,
after many delays, Cooke succeeded
in having his case brought into court
and the most sensational trial of the series ensued. Cooke sat impassive as the
tortcal verdict was read, but Mrs. Cooke, who had been at his side for days,
buried her face in her hands and then approached the jurors and shook each
one by the hand. Later Cooke's face brightened and. with tears of joy in his
eyes, he clasped the hand of his attorney, Charles W. Baker, and approached
the attaches of the court.
“I told you I would not be around here long after the jury went out,” he
said with a broad smile.
An indictment against Cooke for having received $100 of stolen money
still remains, but it Is not probable that any action will be taken by the prose
cutor.
According to one of the jurors a verdict could have been returned a con
siderable time before it was reported, but the jurymen were interested in
reading the letters from Cooke to Mrs. Ford which were offered in evidence.
It is understood that the jury was unable to find any actual evidence of
Cooke’s having embezzled money and that the destruction of the cash books
which he kept had great weight with the jurors.
GOULD OUT AS ROAD’S HEAD
The recent abdication of George
Gould from the presidency of the Mis
souri Pacific the keynote of the fam
ily's great system of roads, was a con
fession that the fight of nineteen
years with himself on one side and
Harriman, the New York Central,
Pennsylvania, Baltimore & Ohio and
other'big railroads on the other, has
ended in defeat. In the language of
Wall street, “they've got” George
Gould.
The fight against George Gould wai
waged ever since his father died in
December, 1892, with Intermission
His first heavy battle was when he
met Edward H. Harriman and Edwin
Hawley in a fight for control of the
Colorado Fuel and Iron company ir
1902. Without much difficulty he
worsted them, but that fight was to
have great influence on his future ca
reer, for it was then that he began
the feud with Harriman that with
rare intervals of truce lasted until the letters death and even afterward
through the survival of the Harriman tradition.
The next time Gould and Harriman joined battle was in 1903. Gould
planned, as his father had planned, to be the owner of the first transcontin
ental system and in 1903 he made the boast that within 18 months he would
have his system from ocean to ocean complete. But the interests opposed
to him were too powerful and his moves were checkmated. The panic of
1907 sent four of his roads into the hands of receivers—the Western Mary
Ia)d the Wabash-Pittsburg Terminal, the Wheeling & Lake Erie and the In
ternational & Great Northern. Still he did not give up. But after this the
fight on his side was a losing one and for more than a year it was the be
lief in Wall street that the end of his control of the Missouri Pacific was in
•sight.
PROMINENT WESTERN SENATOR
It is said that the Pacific Coast Dem-*
ocrats may offer Francis G. Newlands,
United States from Nevada, as a can
didate for the presidential nomination.
Mr. Newlands. who is now serving
his second term in the senate, is a
Mississipplan and was born in the old
city of Natchez in the summer of 1848,
He entered Yale college in 1863, dur
ing the civil war, and remained until
the middle of his Junior year in 1866;
later he studied law at what is now
the George Washington university,
was admitted to the bar in Washing
ton and went to San Francisco to prac
tice. He removed his office to Reno,
Nevada, in 1888, and since has been
recognized as one of the ablest and
most influential leaders in his stats.
He served ten years in the house
of representatives and was a member
of the Democratic minority of the
committees on irrigation. foreign
affairs, banking and currency and
ways and means, wnere ne was awe to participate actively In the most im
portant legislation of the period and did his share in framing two tariff law
and a currency law, and was the author of the existing reclamation act w hich
he introduced in the house of representatives March 14, 1898 entitled "A
bill for the construction of reservoirs in the arid regions.” Mr Newlanri
is a protectionist Democrat and has been a long and persistent advocate r.i
the free coinage of silver. ••