The record-union., 1898-01-19
OLDEST AMERICAN CITY !.
REMARKABLE DISCOVERIES
MADE AT COPAN.
The Mysterious City Of Honduras
Remains of Great Temples
and Palaces.

The Central American explorer
George Byron Gordon, contributes an
article entitled The Mysterious City
of Honduras" to the January "Centu-
ry." This gives an account of the re-
cent remarkable discoveries made at
Copan. Mr. Gordon says:
Hidden away among the mountains
Of Honduras, in a beautiful valley
which, even in that little-traveled coun-
try, where remoteness is characters
tic attribute of places, is unusually Sc
cluded, Copan is one of the greatest
mysteries of the ages. After the puo-
lication Gin 1870 of Stephens account
of his visit TO the ruins, which made
them known for the first time TO the
world the interest awakened by his
graphic description, and the drawings
that accompanied it from the skillful
pencil or Catherwood, relapsed; and
until within the last decade writer's
on the subject Of American archaeolo-
gy were dependent entirely for infor-
nation concerning Copan upon the writ
ings of Stephens, which We're regarded
by many with skepticism and mistrust.
Not only do the recent explorations
confirm the account given by Stephens
as regards the magnitude and import
ance of the ruins, but the collection or
relics now in the Peabody Museum is
sufficient to convince the most Skeptlcal
that here are the remains of city, un-
known to history, as remarkable ana
as worthy of our careful consideration
as any of the ancient centerS of clvlll-
zation in the Old World. Whatever the
origin of its people, this old city is
distinctly American-the growth OF
American soil and environment. The
gloomy forest, the abode Of monkeys
and jaguars, which clothed the valley
at the time of Stephens visit, was in
great part destroyed about thirty years
ago by a colony from Guatemala, who
came TO plant in the fertile soil of the
valley the tobacco for which, much
more than for the ruins, that valley is
famous throughout Central America to-
day. They left the trees that grew
upon the higher structures, forming
picturesque grove, a remnant of which
still remains-a few cedars and ceibas
of gigantic proportions, clustered about
the ruins of the temples. shrouding
them in a somber shade, and sending
unexplored chambers and vaults ana
galleries of the vast edifices.
The area comprised within the limits
of the old city consists of level plain
seven or eight miles long and two miles
wide al the greatest. This plain is COW
cred with the remains of stone houses,
doubtless the habitations OF the
wealthy The streets, squares ana
courtyards were paved with stone, or
with white cement made from lime ana
powdered rock, and the drainage was
accomplished by means of covered ca
nails and underground sewers built or
stone and cement. On the slopes of the
mountains, too, are found numerous
ruins; and even on the highest peaks
fallen columns and ruined structures
may be seen.
On the right bank of the Copan River
in the midst of the city, stands the prin-
cipal group of structures-the temples,
palaces and buildings of a public char
acter. These form part of what has
been called, for want of better name,
the Main Structure-a vast, irregular
pile arising from the plain in steps and
terraces of masonry, and terminating
in several great pyramidal elevations,
each topped by the remains of temple
which. before our excavations were be-
gun, looked like a huge pile of frag-
ments bound together by the roots OF
trees, while the slopes of the pyramids,
and the terraces and pavements below,
are strewn with the ruins of these su-
perb edifices. This huge structure, un-
like great pyramids of Egypt, is not the
1oG
accordance with preconceived plan and
for a specific purpose, but is rather the
complex result of long process of de-
velopment, corresponding to the growth
of culture, and keeping pace with the
expanding tastes of the people or the
demands of their national life. Its sides
face the four cardinal points: its great
est length from north to south is about
eight hundred feet, and from east TO
west it measured originally nearly as
much, but part of the eastern side has
been carried away by the swift current
of the river which flows directly against
it, The interior of the structure is thus
exposed in the form of cliff one hum
dred and twenty feet high, presenting
a complicated system Of buried walls
and floors down to the waters edge
doubtless the remains of older buildings,
occupied for a time, and abandoned to
serve as foundations for more elaborate
structures. Excavations have also
brought to light. beneath the founda-
tions. of buildings now occupying the
surface, not only the filled chambers
and broken walls of older structures,
but sculptured monuments as well. The
theory of development, though it cannot
be set aside, seems inadequate to ex-
plain this curious circumstance; and
yet there is just enough difference be-
tween these art relics and those of later
date to Indicate change in style and
treatment. Whether or not this change
continues in regular sequence lower
down has not yet been determined. II,
as I am inclined to believe, we shall find,
away down in the lower levels the rude,
beginnings from which the culture of the
later period developed, we shall have
pretty conclusive evidence not only that
Copan is the oldest of the Maya cities.
but that the Copan Valley itself, with
the immediate vicinity, was the cradle
of the Maya civilization.
Monks of High Degree.
The Pope has received in private au-
diauce fha hbea of tho famous hhay