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ONG Before the discovery of America
there flourished in southern Mexico
Guatemala and parts of Honduras a
great civilization which has heen call
ed the Maya It may be said at the
outset without exaggeration that this
civilization had reached a height
equalled by no other people of the
western hemisphere prior to the com
ing of the white man In architecture
in sculpture and in printing the
Mayas excelled Their priests were
astronomers of no mean ability hav
ing observed and recorded without the aid of in
struments of precision such as are known to us
the lengths of the Solar and Venus years and
probably the lengths of the Mercury and Mara
fears In addition to this they had developed
i calendar system and perfected a chronology
which in some of its characteristics was supe
rior to our own
The the ancient glory of this people had long
ilnce departed when Hernando Cortez first
same in contact with them on the coast of Yu
tatan In 1519 Their star had set Their great
ist cities had been abandoned and lay in ruins
nd their country waa prostrated by the quar
rels of a score or more of petty Independent
jhleftalns each of whom waa waging war on
the other Even the memory of the older cit
ies of their culture such as Palenque Copan
nd Quiniqua for example seems to have pass
ed from the mind of men their former existence
forgotten Famine pestilence and internecino
strife are al said to have been contributory
causes to the decay and eclipse which overtook
thiB brilliant aboriginal civilization several
centuries before the Span
ish first set foot in the new
world
Probably the largest and
certainly the most magnifi
cent of the ruined cities
which the Spanish conquer
ors found on their arrival in
Yucatan was Chichen Itza
around which even in its
desolation there still clus
ter a thousand traditions of
former sanctity and splen
dor The name Chichen Itza
is Maya and means Chi
mouth Chen wells and Itza
the name of the Maya tribe
who lived in the neighbor
hood of the place The
Mouth of the Wells of the
Itzas therefore iB the
meaning of the name nor
could a more appropriate
quo have been applied to
the place by any people
The whole peninsula of
Fucatan Is a vast limestone formation with Ut
ile or no surface water One may travel for
miles and miles and never cross river or brook
or even chance upon a modest spring Indeed
in the northern part where most of the great
ruined cities are located water is fully 70 feet
below the surface of the ground The modern
Inhabitants overcome this difficulty by means
of wells and windmills which afford the only
source of water Bupply during the dry sea
son December to June excepting what little
rain water may have been caught during the
rainy months and stored In cisterns
But of wella and windmills the ancient May
as knew nothing and generally speaking had
It not been for the great natural reservoirs
which nature had scattered here and there
aver the country Yucatan never could have
been colonized
These great natural wells or as the Mayas
sail them cenotes are found all over Yucatan
They are usually about 150 feet In diameter or
sometimes more and about 70 feet in depth to
the level of the water Geologists say that
these cenotes are places where the limestone
crust -which everywhere covers the surface
of Yucatan has become weakened by the
washing of subterranean waters and has cal
lapsed of Its own weight forming great sink
holes or natural wells on a large scale And
now It is clear why the ancient Inhabitants
of Chichen Itza so named their city In the
course of their wanderings the general trend
of which was northward the Itzas entering
Yucatan from the south finally reached the
two cenotes around which Chichen Itza later
was built but which then was probably noth
ing but wilderness Here the striking contrast
afforded by such an abundance of water in a
country so generally parched could not fail to
have attracted their attention The place must
have seemed to the thirsty wanderers a God
given site for the location of their new home
By right of discovery they claimed the place
and to the city which grew up around the cen
otes they gave the name of Chichen Itza The
Mouth of the Wella of the Itzas
The two cenotes at Chichen Itza have been
known by the Mayas from time Immemorial
b the Cenote Grande and the Cenote Sacra
or the large Cenote and the Sacren Cenote re
spectively The first of these only in former
times was used for the water supply of the
city the Sacred Cenote being reserved for re
ligious use exclusively It is the latter how
ever and the religious observances held In
connection with it which gave the city Its
holy character From far and near all over
Yucatan and probably even from points more
distant pilgrimages were made to the Sacred
Cenote It seems to have been the most holy
shrine of the Maya people comparable only
In Importance to the Mohammedan Mecca and
the Christian Jerusalem In time of drought
offerings of all kinds were thrown into it
treasures and in cases of extremity even liv
ing human sacrifices
Chichen Itza today is somewhat changed in
appearance from the time when pilgrims came
from far and near to appease with human sac
rifice the wrath of offended deities Now the
city lies burled in a thick jungle which has
steadily won Its way Into the very heart of
the holy place Colonnades have been over
thrown and pyramids covered with trees to
their summit courts have been lost In a
tangle of thorn and creepers and palaces
stripped of their sculptured embellishment
Desolation has spread everywhere In the
wake of the encroaching vegetation
ffO VW Of TSt A0rAS Off StOAASTWY
To visit the ancient city now one jolts for
15 long and weary miles In a two wheeled cov
ered cart drawn by three mules over the rough
est kind of a highway imaginable This pres
ent Inconvenience fortunately Is not to be one
of long standing A new and straight road is
about to be built and an automobile service to
the ruins probably established which will
shorten the present length of the trip from
four hours to about half an hour Now how
ever this ride from Cltas the nearest railroad
point seems Interminable The road so
called by courtesy only winds through the Im
penetrable bush which everywhere In the nat
ural state covers northern Yucatan Through
this the creaking cart finds a dubious way mile
after mile until every muscle in ones body
groans an agonized protest Finally when it
seems that 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
high above the plain and the rest of the city
In Its lonely magnificence
Thia imposing structure the higheat in Yu
catan rises 78 feet above the plain The
pyramid on which the temple stands la 195
feet long on each side at the base and covers
about an acre of ground
The Castillo would seem to have been the
center of the ancient city and probably lt3
chief sanctuary To the north Ilea the Sacred
Cenote and the causeway just mentioned
leading to it On the east is a vast group of
buildings colonpades 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
scattered through the jungle are pyramids
courts temples and palaces The central lo
cation of the Castillo with reference to all of
these as well as Its great size and command
ing height argue strongly that It waa the
chief sanctuary of the Holy City
Another interesting group of structures at
Chichen Itza perhaps slightly less sacred in
character than the Castillo is the so called
Ball Court mentioned above as lying just
west of the Castillo This group Is composed
of two parallel masses of solid masonry aach
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 300 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 thlr respec
tive walls by tenons of stone and are so
placed that the surface of each 13 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 Chichen 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
Chichen Itza court a somewhat horizontal
throw 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 wall 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
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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 Javelins the swinging of war
clubs and the like This bit of mural decora
tion in The House of The Tigers at Chichen
Itza probably markB 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 with the hands 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 to 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 i3 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 witli 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 significance-
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
i
fist
Here desolation is wide
spread It seems as
though an earthquake
must luve shaken the
Itza capital at some
time
Row 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 He just where they felL
In its entirety thia section of the city must
have presented an imposing 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 To
these fanciful names have been given which
probably have little or nothing to do with
the original uses of 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
ing was so called because of the fact that
over one of its Interior doorways there is a
lintel inscribed with hieroglyphs This lintel
is so placed that the hieroglyphics can only
be seen by artificial light hence the name
The Houbo of the Dark Writing Nearby is
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
The above are only a few of the many struc
tures at Chichen Itza But In all directions tot
several miles the brush Is strewn with ruins
Crumbling walla 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
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 as well
THE SIGH FOR LEISURE
Lives there the man who has not sighed for
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 as labor Faithfulness will dignify and
beautify even drudgery no matter what the
work Is provided It la honest if It Is done well
it commands our instinctivo respect Besides
If we did not all have to work so hard to keei
alive the Jails would -have standing room only
Thackerays Kindness of Heart
Thackeray was the gentlest satin
1st that ever lived As editor of the
Cornhill he could hardly bring him
self to reject a MSfor fear of hurting
his would be contributors The story
of his actually paying for contribu
tions that he never printed in order
to conceal the fact that he had reject
ed them may be true or false We d
not remember exactly how the evi
dence points But even if it be 3
story such stories are not told of men
made of the stern stuff of the Thack
eray commonly misknown
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OWES
Fviifi
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