The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-02-17
A CITY OF THE ANCIENTS.
PALENQUE, ONE Of THE WON
DERS OF THE WORLD.

of People Whose Name Even Is
Unknown.
From the Neie York Tines
Among the most interesting and extern
sive ruins of the cities of those mysterious
races who antedate the Spanish invasion of
Central America, and whose history is
carved in the symbols OF an unknown
tongue on many tablets and monuments OF
stone, are those of Palenque, which is on
the ninety-second meridian west of
Greenwich and in about IL % north lati-
tude, in Chiapas, on the border lands of old
Mexico and Yucatan.
Palenque was visited by nearly half
score of travellers before its exploration
under competent direction was attempted
in 1910 by Stephens and Catherwood. But
they reached the site at the beginning of
the rainy season, at the end of journey of
extraordinary difficulty, full of hardship
and disaster, and conducted their re-
searches under quite as discouraging condi-
tons as did any of their predecessors. Since
then there has been no effort whatever to
bring to light the archaeological riches of
this wonderful ruin.
The work of exploration was done with
extraordinary Intelligence and thorough
ness under the circumstances, and a wise
discretion was undoubtedly exercised in the
selection of the subjects for description and
illustration, but the explorers turned away
at last with hearts full of regret over their
inability to lay bare more than the most
prominent and easiest accessible features of
the vast monumental piles that
form the ruins of what must
have been the center of a dense and
intelligent, if even morally hone
lesslv degenerate, population. Ste
phens says: "We were exceedingly anxious
to make excavations, clear out the mass of
rubbish, and lay the whole platform bare,
but this was impossible. 1t was probably
paved with stones or cement, and from the
profusion of ornament in other parts there
is reason to believe that many curious and
interesting specimens may be brought to
light. This agreeable work is left for the
future traveller, who may go there better
prepared with men and materials and with
more knowledge of what Ike has to encoun-
ter"
Palenque was accidentally stumbled upon
by party Of Spaniards who were travel
ing in the Interior of Mexico in 1850 They
had wandered in search of things new and
strange into the region north of Chiapas
when they all at once found in the midst of
vast solitude ancient stone buildings. the
remains OF vast city, still embracing
from eighteen to twenty-four miles
in extent, and known to the Indians by
the name Casas de Pidras. The Indians
themselves could give no account of its
origin. To this day it is not known by
what name it was called, and the name
given toit, Palanque, is taken from the viii
lage near which the ruins stand. Two ex-
ploring parties are sent out by Spain, one
under Capt. Del Rio in 1857, the other under
Capt. Dupaix in 1S05-'6-'7, made reports
upon the Palenque ruins, which reports
were published in 1929 and 1885 respect
lively, too long after the work of explora-
ton to accomplish any desirable result.
When visited by the American explorers
the ruins were overgrown with so dense
forest of gigantic trees and tangled under
growth that person ten yards distant in
any direction could not be seen. And hay
ing no axes or shovels or spades, but only
the machete-a short, broad-bladed sword
of the Indians-with which to clear away
this accumulation of centuries of luxuriant
vegetable growth, but little, compared with
the entire task, could be accomplished.
Fine buildings, constructed of stone, with
a mortar of lime and sand, were found here,
the outer walls of which were covered with
stucco and painted. The principal of these
structures were the so-called palace. 1t
faces the east and measures 22S feet front
by $50 feet deep. 1t stands on an artificial
eleNdVlOu ~ IeeI ulRu, ON IeeG IN 'front.'
and rear, and 260 feet on each
side. This elevation was originally
faced with stone, but the crowding vegeta-
ton has left naught but the foundation
standing. The palace is not more than
twenty-five feet high, but it is rendered
very imposing by a broad projecting cornice
of stone. The front is pierced by fourteen
arched doorways, about nine feet wide each,
and the intervening piers are between six
and faaf vida Tho riorc vUh Job
main standing are ornamented with figures
i'll bas-relief and intaghO inscriptions in
hieroglYphics. In some of these the
remains Of red, blue, yellow, black,
and white pigments were dis
covered. The figures, usually drawn or
engraved in profile, are of persons, male
and female, in attitudes of worship gener-
ally, clad Enthusiastically and ornamented
with understandable headdresses. necklaces.
and jeweled regalia. Every tablet contains
an inscription in symbols of the forgotten
tongue which, if it could be read, would
probably tell the history of the picture
The palace was divided and parti-
tened by interior walls of masonry into
a multiplicity of small rooms opening upon
interior courts, of which they were four.
In one of the rooms was an elaborately
carved altar of stone; in another there
were sculptured tablets; and on the east
and west sides Of a court S0x70 feet in
area, in the northeast quarter of the palace,
were large tablets of heroglyphics, colossal
figures in relief, and smaller figures of
females, richly robed and ornamented, but
crouching in attitudes expressive of fear
and terror.
Adjoining the palace on the southeast
corner is a structure standing on pyramid
10 feet high on the slope. 1t is 76 feet long
and % feet deep, and about 50 feet high. 1t
has five doorways and six piers, all stand
ing, topped by wide cornice of stone, with
a roof that is shaped much like mansard
roof of recent architectural design. Tho
whole front is richly ornamented ia stucco,
and the corner piers are covered with HERO
glyphics. each containing ninety-six squares.
On the interior walls are three tablets of
hleroglyphic inscriptions carved in SYM
metrical lines out Of stone. One was
only about half finished when the
work was arrested forever by the
unknown catastrophe that came ''like
a thief in the night" and obliterated the
race builders and all knowledge of their
literature. The solution OF these inscrip-
tions would in all probability shed the light
of trut upon the dark mystery Of the ORR
gin and history of the ruins and their build
ers, and might re veal things that are more
interesting and important from an anthem
tic point of view than the discoveries at
Herculaneum and Pompeii The hierogly-
phics are of similar character to those
found at Copan and Quirigua, indicating
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