The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1880-05-27
Yucatan's Antiquities.

Yucatan's Antiquities.
Although a number of American and
European archeologists have visited the
ruined cities of the peninsula of Yucatan,
none of them, with the exception of DR..
August LIE Plongeon and Mrs. LIE Plon-
eeon. have spent any length of time ex-
cavating the ruins. DR.. LIE Plongeon
and his wife went from New York to the
city of Merida in the year 1873, and re-
NAMED there until 1877. During that
time they were successful in nnearthing
the famous "Chaac- Moll" statue which
is now in the National Museum of the
City of Mexico. DR.. LIE Plongeon and
Mrs. LIE Plongeon were in New York yes
terday, and the World reporter was sent
to interview them on the subject of an
tiquities in Yucatan.
DR.. LIE Plongeon spoke at some length
of his own and his wife's experiences at
Chicken Itza, Uxmal and Mayapan, and
said: "When We arrived at Merida I
wrote to the Governor of the Province
asking him if We might visit the ruins,
which were then in the hands of the rev.
olutionists, who were fighting against the
Federal authorities of Mexico, to which
the Governor replied that if we dared 60
we were welcome, and placed at my dis
posal 100 soldiers as ody.guard. With
this force and sixteen picked workmen
we went into the country and began our
explorations. We kept the troops with
us until they began to grumble at the
DELAYS and wanted to know when we
would get through. Isaid that we had
not begun yet, and sent them back to
Merida so that we could continue our
work in peace. A long time was spent
in deciphering hieroglyphics on the walls
of the buildings, and from these we were
directed to the artificial mound where the
statue of Chaac-Moll was buried. As
soon as we had unearthed it I wrote to
Pedro de Tejada, then President of Mex
leo, and asked his permission to take the
statue to the Exposition at Philadelphia.
Six months elasped before received
reply, which told me that according to
law passed about the year 1927 we could
not remove any Of the relics from the
country, so after all our labors and ex.
penditure of money the Mexican govern
ment took the statue without giving us
any recompense."
'sIs this prohibitory law still in force ?"
eyes; for when the Emperor Maxi
milan was dethroned all the laws made
by him were set aside and declared an
nulled and void. This revived the old
laws, among which was one on which they
seized our statue. When we came
home I tried TO get, at least, some re-
compense from the Mexican government
for the time and money spent, butup to
the present time we have not succeeded.
Secretary Evarts wrote to our Minister at
Mexico asking him to assist US by every
proper means in his power. Even this
did not help US, although the law is in
our favor, for Article 1856 of the Civil
Code of Yucatan reads: when the OBJ
jects discovered be interesting to science
or art the State may take them by pay
ing their just value, which will be divi-
dend according to what is said in Articles
854 and $780, which says one.half shall
belong to the finder and the other half to
the owner of the land"
"What, then, have you to show as the
results of your labor?"
'Mme. De Plongeon and myself took
photographs of all the ruins we visited,
and we also made tracings of the mural
paintings"
AS the doctor spoke he went to large
trunk and presently returned with large
roll which contained number of the
tracings. "These," he said, Eve got after
four months of hard work and many
dangers and privations. The rolls, as
he unfolded them, showed figures of men
and women and drawings of houses. The
drawings are of a higher order than those
of the ancient Egyptians, but have the
same want perspective. Snakes, mon
keys and pigs are represented, and one
of the drawings was a peculiar animal
having a head not unlike that of a horse,
the upper portions of the body being
like that ofa kangaroo, and the lower
part like large gorilla, minus the tail.
None of the murals, bas.reliefs or carvings
show that horses were used. The soldiers
fought with weapon like the Zulu as
sega, and carried shields. Many of them
are represented as wearing breastplates
and sandals. The costumes of the la
dies and priests must have been very
elaborate. Hats of extraordinary pro-
portions, with feather trimming, decked
the heads of all the distinguished ladies,
and feather cloaks we're worn by the
priests and high dignitaries.
After placing the tracings in order,
DR.. LIE Plongeon said that they told the
story of the life of Chaac- Moll, who was
not god but great general, afterwards
slain by his brother Aac. 10 any one
who is familiar with the story of Isis and
Osiris in Egyptian mythology they only
have to call Osiris Chaac-Moll-the tiger,
and who always carries shield covered
with the skin of q spotted tiger; Isis,
Kiuich-Kakmo; Typhon, Aac, and Ho-
rus, Huuncay. The last tracery of the
series represents the dead Chaac- Moll
with terrible cut across his body which
almost sewers it in two. To the right of
the body stands his wife, Kinich Kakmo,
holding his heart in her hand. Kneeling
at his feet is his half-sister; standing at
her back is his eldest son Huuncay (who
afterwards killed Aac,) holding the ban
dage which is to bind up the wound:
After hin, comes Chaac- -Moll's second