The Portland daily press., 1872-01-29
THE PR ESS,
MONDAY MORNING. JAN. 90, 1872.
From Palenque to Peten.

some years ago, NJ. Arthur Morelet q
French gentleman of extensive scientific ac-
quirements, made up his mind to explore one
of the most secluded and unknown portions
of the earth; that vast region which lies he
tween Chiapas, Tabasco, Yucatan. and the
republic Guatemala, comprises a considerable
portion of each of those States, and marked
on the map of Central America either by n
blank, or by conjectural mountains, lakes,
and rivers.
| A weeks journey through the lagoons of
Campeachy, with their strange reptile popu-
lation and pest of insects, slowp-olng canoe
voyage, in which the wonderful forests pass
dreamily by the traveller brought NJ. Morelet
to Palenque. Such wonders of vegetation
had already been disclosed, that he prepared
for his tramp through the forest to the ruins
with composure, which, however, was occa-
sionally disturbed by what he saw, for in
stance, an drltn, whose leaves he measured.
Each was two yards in length by one and
half in breadth, and capable of afiording
shade to three persons. The density of the
forest concealed the ruins until NJ. Morelet
and his companion were close upon them;
and on ascending. a steep elevation, they
found themselves at the portal of a vast edi.
flee, until that instant hidden. There is
more mystic solemnity attached to the abso-
lutely obscure antiquity of these records of
the past, in the New World, than to even the
most venerable records of the Old. The lat
ter have an unbroken sequence of tradition
and history; they are links in the great pro-
gress of the evolution of time and events; we
understand, or think we understand them.
But these New World mysteries battle us, ex-
isting in all the unfathomable antiquity side
by side with all that is most modern, and
most full of change, evidences of extinct races
which existed, unconscious of one half the
planet, as one half the planet was of them.
The travellers found themselves in front of
the building called the Palace, of which they
took possession, and where they made their
abode for fortnight. From the platform
crowned by the vast, silent ruins, a great
ocean of tropical forest, the study of only
few of whose forms would absorb lifetime,
stretches out illimitably, and the awful sol-
tudes are peopled with the rarest and most
beautiful of creature.
They resumed their river journey after a
detour to San Geronimo and its neighbor-
hood, where the population seems to be let
ting itself sink out of existence through sheer
laziness. The hacienda life of the region
closely approaches absolute stagnation; the
stiffness of the logwood forests of Campeachy
broods over the scene. Men content them
selves with the barest necessities of life, and
the one recreation of the women is thus de-
scribed: cat sunset groups of women with
bronzed complications and floating hair, half
ncked, but glttering with tinsel, throng the
paths leading from hacienda, to bathe in the
still waters of the lagoons. They chant mel
ancholy and drowsy songs, the, melody of
which is doubtless inspired by the gloom Of
everything around though the words seem to
belong to some more fortunate cline.
San Geronimo is exceedingly fertile, yet
there is not fruit tree or useful vegetable
in the whole district. The lagoons swarm
with fish, but all that are eaten are imported.
In the midst of herds of cattle, the inhabi-
tants dine on beef salted in the United States,
and drink the nauseous water of the swamps.
And yet, these Creole Spaniards are the de-
scendants of the Conquistadores, and a Bal
boa, who knows his origin too, is a simple
herdsman.
Wonderful natural beauty, extraordinary
profusion of animal and vegetable life, ex-
treme simplicity of manners, and entire iso-
lation, physical and mental, from all the rest
of the world, on the part of the inhabitants
these are the chief characters of the romantic
place which the traveller had reached with
such difficulty, and where he had a. long and
dangerous illness. Here he made valuable
additions to his collection, for all the children
in the place were employed in finding "speci-
mens'' for him. Lizards, birds, serpents,
insects, they brought them in large numbers;
their parents dispensed them from going to
school, that they might devote themselves to
the remunerative task. The schoOmaster
vainiy demonstrated; the men actually took
to the pursuit of specimens; the women
brought the produce of their poultry-yards,
and encountered Nj. Morelet's dwelling with
their indiscriminate contributions. During
the whole OF his sojourn the only branch of
industry ever successfully introduced into
Florer fourished. The town is irregulary
built; the dwellings, for the most part are
simple huts thatched with palm leaves. The
use of chimneys and windows is unknown.
In the streets, there are neither shops nor
workmen, nor is there public market. Ev-
cry one depends on his own production, or ON
exchanges with his neighbors, for food.
If any one has need of money, he prepares
some article of domestic consumpti0n-such
as bread, chocolate, or candles and sends his
children about with them from hut to hut in
search of q purchaser. Very little suffices
for a population whose only ambition is to
live without labor. No one ever thinks of
acquiring wealth. Possession is the only ii
tie to the soil they recognize. Any one who
clears piece of ground makes use of it as
long as he pleases; and if any dispute arises
as to its ownership, it is settled by the pater-
nal fiat of the corregidor. Instead of the
sounds of the hammer and the sugar mill,
ones ears are filled constantly with the har-
mony of musical instruments. As soon as
the sun goes down, and the evening breeZes
set in, the town is full of sounds of mirth
and hilarity, which continue till the night is
far advanced. Every one having receivd the
same amount of education, and enjoying an
equal degree the privilege of doing nothing,
the most perfect equality exists in society,
which is not troubled by the pretensions of
its members on the score of birth, learning,
or fortune,