The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-12-03
STAND OF SAVAGERY
NATIVES OF YUCATAN DETER
MINED TO DEFEND THEIR
HOMES FROM MEXICO
ANCIENT TEMPLES as FORTS

The Mayas at the Time of the Dis
covery of America in an Adj
vRnced State of CiviIization-The
Greatest Pyramid Builders of the
World, With the Exception of the
Egyptians.
Behind the massive stone walls of huge
prehistoric fortresses, reared 1000 years
or more ago, the descendants of the
Egyptians Of America-the pyramid-build-
ing Mayas of Yucatan-are awaiting the
approach of the armed expedition sent
against them by the Mexican government
Theirs is the last stand of savagery
against civilization on this continent, and
for more than one reason the outcome of
the conflict will be awaited with interest
The regions inhabited by these wild people
are as yet to so great an extent unex-
plored, the enormous structures uplifted
upon pyramids which serve them as mill
tary- refugees are so very ancient and Of
such mysterious origin and the resistance
Of the tribes to vsubjugation by white au-
thorfty has been so successful hitherto
that an atmosphere of veritable romance
may be said to enveiop the situation
Meanwhile a fleet of twenty-four light
draught boats has been sent up the Pondo
river, carrying troops to attack the ma
tfves. who are obstructing the commercial
development Of the country by interfer-
Ing with the gathering of dyewoods and
in other ways.
Extensive portions OF the peninsula of
Yueatan remain unknown to the geogra-
pher simply because the holdest explorers
have not dared to venture into them for
fear Of the fierce and warlike inhabitants
Several tribes Of the, latter have defed
the authority of the government of Mexi-
CO for more than three-quarters of a CEN
fury, holding the temples and palaces
Of their forefathers by force Of arms
and maintaining feud against all corners,
white or red. OF these strongholds the
most important is that of Puloom, oft
seen but never visited by civilized travel
ers. 1t stands on a high bluff in full
view Of the sea-a frowning outpost Of
savage domination. The structure is of
immense size and many centuries ago it
was the strongest place held by the
Mayas, whose descendants keep watch
from it's battIements today
ANCIENT CIVILIZATION.
The status of the ancient Mayas at the
time Of the discovery of America was
much like that of the Egyptians imme-
diately before the dawn of history in the
old world. In respect to civilization they
were considerably ahead of any other
people on the American continent They
were traders and navigators, building YES
sells Of large size and maintaining a COM
merce with Cuba and Florida. Their arts
were highly developed and their architec-
ture was Of so notable a character that
at the present time thousands of, square
miles of the territory they once occupied
are jotted with the ruins of their towns
Indeed. in that country the traveller is
seldom out of sight of some massive
structure Of antiquity, and in one case a
mountain 1000 feet high has been COM
pletely remodeled by artifce into a sys-
tenn Of pyramids and terraces.
Some of these buildings, like the edi-
fee of Puloon, are so we'll preserved as
to serve the purpose of fortresses most
admirably even now. The period OF their
construction no man knoweth, but many
of them undoubtedly date back to an
epoch centuries earlier than the arrival Of
Columbus. In that mysterious theater
of vanished Maya civilization are found
the remains Of ffty-one cities. while a
greater number probably are hidden be-
meath the tropical forests and In the I'M
explored region of the east and south.
In the north are IzomaI, AXE and Myua-
pan; in the central region are Uxmal.
Xaba and nineteen other ruined towns
OF notable extent. In the east is the mar
VelouS Chichen-Itza-a group of huge
buildings set upon a series Of pyramids
RUINS OF GREATNESS.
There is something extremely pictur-
esque and even weird about the notion of
a race Of savages lurking in the half
ruined fortresSes and palaces built In
dim antiquity by their civilized ancestors
Some day, doubtless. these mysterious
retreats will be explored, but meanwhile
Yucatan cities afford q sufficiently at
tractive field for chronological study. The
country has almost no surface water
nearly all of the streams running under
ground. In places the roofs Of these sub
terranean rivers are perforated by the
disintegration OF the limestone strata
forming natural wells or sinks 100 feet or
more in depth, the water In which can be
reached, in many cases. by ropes or lad
ders. In olden times every such well, or
group of wells was encircled by buildings
enormous in size and richer in barbarous
sculpture than any others in old America
Many of these clusters of edifices had
ceased to be occupied or used before the
invasion by the Spaniards, and even at
that epoch some of them were already
overgrown with dense forests.
Barring the Egyptians. the ancient
Mayas of Yucaton seem to have been
the greatest pyramid builders the world
ever saw. Sometimes they shaped entira
hills to serve as supports for temples
OF groups of shrines. but ordinarily they
would take q small elevation and add