Bismarck weekly tribune., 1889-09-27

The act of dipping the hand In red liquid
and pressing it against the wall was way
Of invoking divine blessing on house and
inmates; also mark Of possession. On one
occasion very old Indian, who had liking
for us-because generally those people won't
open their lips about the customs of their
foEefathers placing his own hand over one
OF those red imprints, said: "This means my
house." In India the custom is observed yet
by devotees, who make offerings Of fruit and
flowers to the gods, asking some favor in re-
turn. They dip their hands in red pigment
and press them on the wall, 20 that their re-
quest and Offering may not be forgotten.
The most prominent object on all the edi-
fees Is great face, q conventional represen-
tatton Of the features of the American ele-
phant or mammoth. These faces, with their
large eyes, are in many places piled one
above another, but only a. few Of the great
projecting trunks remain entire In very
ancient times the Mayas venerated, a. q
symbol Of divine power, the mammoth, be-
cause 1t was the biggest creature they knew
of. It is not unlikely that the elephant wor-
ship in South Asia is an outgrowth Of the
American idea. The Mayas were not idolar
tors: they worshiped Ku, creator of the uni
verse, that they did not venture to liken to
anything known to them, though they re-
garded the sun as his representative, his mes
senger, or servant, that supplied the earth
with life and beauty.
As for serpent worship, the serpent was one
Of the emblems Of their country, and like
many other revered symbols represented an
idea, never the creator. The natives are
more idolatrous now than of old; they wor-
ship wooden images Of saints, even praying
to cheap wood cuts Of such images It mat
ters not to them whether an image be ancient
or modern. When we unearthed fine old
altar that had been buried hundreds of years,
our men entreated us to give them one Of
fifteen stone figures on which 1t was support
ed, SO that they might keep it in shrine,
and chant their Latin prayers before it.
The altar had been erected in memory of
famous warrior, that on it flowers and
fruits might be offered to his manes-a Gus
tom that has been general throughout the
world. We found the warriors mausoleum
containing his ashes-for the Mayas cremated
their dead-and his statue. This statue il
now in the national museum at Mexico;
there are plaster copies Of it at the Trocadero
In Paris, and at the Smithsonian in Washing
ton. The original was taken from us BY
force of arms after we had unearthed it with
much difficulty and at great expense. The
tomb was quadrangular; stairs on the four
sides led to the summit, where there was
the figure Of a reclining leopard with human
head, a sphinx representing the dead hero
whose name was Leopard (ChaacmoD. The
mausoleum was covered with beautiful
sculptures.
In those fresco paintings already mentioned
we see the murdered warrior (his brother
slew him) being prepared for cremation. The
body Is stretched on the ground, and close by
stands the sorrowing widow. Kneeling at
the feet, and holding them as if stretching
the limbs, is another woman. The corpse
has been opened under the ribs; near by
stands weeping youth holding the extracted
heart, while another holds between his hands
what appears to be the brain.
Having made our way into the mausoleum
we found, besides the statue, which weighed
5000 pounds, two large marble urns, the
brain having been deposited in one, the heart
in the other. just SO, the Egyptians. in
mummifying their dead, used to preserve IL
urns the internal parts Of the body.
Our Indian workmen had peculiar notions
They called statues enchanted people, and in
sisted that he who first laid hands on them
after they were exposed to the light Of day
would die within year.
We kept some Of the matter found in the
urn, desiring to have it analyzed; the rest We
burned. The men stood by, one tanning the
fire with his straw hat. Suddenly he darted
of. All the others then took to their heel
and scampered after him, not stopping till
several blocks away. When asked why they
had run, they said: "Ahl there was strona
smell of sulphur, and amid the smoke thai
arose from his charred remains we saw ths
form Of the enchanted princel"r
ALICE D. LIE PLoNaEoN.