The morning call., 1890-08-24
The CELEBRATED
RUINS OF UXhAL.
The Work of Other Hands Than
Those of Modern Ciyili-
cation.
THEIR EXTENT AND GRANDEUR.
The Ruined City by Moonlight
Weird and Beautiful Sight-Com-
mon Superstition About the Bell
Bird-Psgan Indians oftheWOod.
A Narrow Escape.

ocean lC snip canal AiS4d q IoSANAOA "a N''N
engineering staff, and young friend of
mine was the bOtanist of the party. The
survey lasted over year and then the eX-
petition returned to the United States
Barnard. the botanist, and did not return
with it, but remained in the country TO
travel. Some four months after the depart
ure of our friends we found ourselves in the
little village of Pich in Campeaehy, State
occupying the northern half of the PENN
sula Of Yucatan. We were there OIL our
way to visit the celebrated ruins of Uxmal.
In the wilderness Of Spanish America, the
alcalde, or village justice of the peace, sees
TO the wants Of the occasional traveller, so
We applied to the alcalde of Pich for guides
to UXnaI. The alcalde refused to get them
fOrus, saying that the sublevadOS rebelliOus
ones, as the Southern Mexicans call the
wild Indians were in revolt, and in cOnSe-
quence il would be unsafe to attempt the
Journey TO Uxmal Campeachy was, and
still is. very thiDly settled, and in its vast
forests several tribes of Sin dianS roamed
We felt tlat the alcaide was right III refus-
rug 10 aid us in our project; nevertheless,
we v ere not disposed to come so far to see
a Il ing and then 90 away without having
seen il. SO we made inquiries, and hudIng
man who would act as our guide Tor double
the usual pay, we set out Tor UXmal. The
road was nothing but bride path through
the forest, and so difficult that we rarely
reached the ruins and took up our quarters
in the second story OF the building called
the PalOmal when the sun dropped behind
the horizon and the dark night ui the tropics
came on.
EXAMINING THE RUINS.
We arose early in the morning and spent
the day examining the ruins. A fair de-
Seription Of the ruins OF UXlnal would Ill
many pages l shall only attempt TO give
you some idea Of their extent and grandeur.
The ruins cover an area of twelve square
miles. In that S lace are found several large
edifces still intact, and the remains OF in
Vulnerable smaller ones. l.lanas have erept
into the cracks and assures OF the walls OF
the smaller buildings and gradually pulled
them down. once down, the rapidly accu-
mulating vegetable mud OF the tropics has
buried them. Ouly the immense size Of the
blocks with which they are built has saved
the larger buildings from like destruction.
These large buildings are all situated quite
near each other in what was probably the
court quarter of the ancient city. The
MeXicanS have given names to ali these
buildings, calling them after their supposed
use or some popularity of construction.
The best preserved is Las Casa del Co
bernadOr the house Of the Governor, which
is 81 feet long and 81 feet high, with the
remains Of at least one story more Near La
Casa del GobernadoT is Ii Quartet (the
barracks, which was evidently a prison.
The largest structure is La Casa de las
Monjaz tile nunnery), which contains eighty
seven large and fifty small rooms, besides
corridors and halls. La Casa del Endno
(the house of the DWARF 10 built upon
pyramid. The upper stories have fallen
duwD, and together with the pyramid form
a hill of considerable height. 1t has received
its name because the only entrance not
now blocked up with rubbish is through
such a small door that 1t IS difficult for
full-grown man to enter. The idols and
affairs within show it 10 have been temple.
The Palomal (dove-cOte) is a plain three
story building, and gets its name from the
many lOopholes III Its walls. These are the
buildings still intact. The rank vegetation
has covered the rest of the city as COM
pletely as the ashes of Vesuvlus covering
Pompeii and Herculaneum. The age OF the
ruins cannot be determined. Trees at least
1000 years old grow on the ruins OF the
smaller buildings and the mounds formed
by the fall OF the upper stories of these
buildi ngs, but perhaps the grandfathers of
these trees grew in the same place. The
vast age of the ruins is further shown by
the tact that the Indians of the district
have no traditions concerning their origin.
The question of their orig receives a par
til answer in row of elephant heads on
the facade of La Casa del GObernador.
The builders must have been AsiaticS.
THE FIRST DAY AT UxAL.
Barnard and | were so nlucn pleased with
our first days stay at Uxal that We resolved
to stay week. We spent our time explor-
ing the ruins, hunting, fishing, and botanic
ing. The forest was full OF game and rare
plants, the river Of fish, and We were always
fnding something Of interest among the
ruins. In a little closet III the Casa de las
NUnja jas We found great earthenware box
and our hearts beat fast as we opened L.
half expecting 10 find treasure, but it was
full OF skulls and bones. On the fourth
day Of our visit, while hunting, we dis
covered a temple which the guide said he
had never heard of before. 1t sat in a
little ravine aud a bunch of mahogany
trees hid both the ravine and the temple.
The discovery was accidental. We were pur-
suing a wounded turkey and it ran into the
hollow and right into the temple. 1t was
very dim in the ravine and We lighted some
torches of touch-wood and entered the
strange ediice. We found ourselves in a
low, studded room about seventy feet long
and forty feet wide. From the center Of
the end opposite the door long, narrow
altar projected far into the room, almost
reaching to the middle. Upon the end of it
sat stone image Of boa-constrictOr
coiled, his head raised in a threatening at
titude above the coils. 1t was very well
executed and startlingly life-like. Where
the altar joined the wall was round black
hole reaching back into a cavity whose
depth we could not ascertain. Over the
altar was a chimney which once gave exit
to sacIifcial fires. Beside the altar was a
closet with a narrow door. The building
was plainly a temple, and from the Image
ON the altar and the bas-relief on the wall:
representing professions OF Serpents and
men worshping them, we concluded that il
=; . temple of the SERPENT
A WOUNDED TURKEY.
The wounded turkey had crept into the
black hole IN the rear of the altar, and al
though we peered into the darkness and
listened we could see and hear nothing. We
returned to Uxmal, anG, after we had eaten
our supper. climbed to the ton of the House
OF the Dwarf. and sat there to watch the
moon rise. There can be no more glorious
slgGt tndn moOnrlse at Uxmal. Red and
huge the moon hung in the heavens, shin
ing brightly on the ruined city. The an
Gent buildings cleaned in the light The
pool by the Casa lie las Monias shone like
a silver platter. while the immense trees
cast their ink-black shadows on the white
landscape. 1t was weird and beautiful
sight, and we sat there so attuned to the
spirit OF the hour that we would not have
been surprised to see some dead citizen OF
tue place appear before us, when, clear and
deep, bell began to ring in the forest near
by. Dong, dong. dong, 1t rang and was
STILL Such an uncanny thing l had nevel
heard. That weird ringing in this ghostl>
place set our hearts beating. Jose, the
guide, ciutched me by the arm and said il
terrified whisper. "HaIk, it is the blessed
San Antonio ringing the passing bell fol
some one about to die. Holy mother, grant
tiat II be not one of US. had been told
OF me campanerO or Dell-bird, but | had
never heard one before, and it was small
wonder tiiat had not, since they are very
rare and dwell in the most solitary nlaces.
Even the traeker of the forest, although he
may sometimes hear its solemn tolling in
the distance, seldom sees this STRANGE hird
Jose had expressed the common s1peTsti.
ti0n regarding them.
THE CASA DE LAS MoNJAs
Tie campaDero toled for a few moments
and stopped, and again Jose clutched ms
by the arm and pointed toward the Cas-
de las MoDjls. There, standing on the
edge of the little artificial lake, their darl
shadows falling on its mo0nlit waters, were
three men, and as we looked at them other;
filed out Of the Casa ana Joined them unit
fifteen men stood beside the pool. "Suble
vados-pagan Indians Of the woods" wills
pered Jose; !" we must fly 1t is of then
that San Antonio warned us. Let us fly
for their blood or ours must be shed THU
night" The sublevados were performing
lamentations over the pool and stood will
hands raised over their heads, but we die