The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-02-16
STRANGE STONE DEITIES
ADVENTURE AND ROMANCE FOUND
IN A CENTRAL AMERICAN JUNGLE.
TeObert MaIer's Researches in Behalf
OF the Peabody Museum in the
Usumatsintla Valley.


UsumatsintIa Valley.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass, Feb. ia remark
ably interesting story of adventure. with
strong thread Of romance and many anus
ing happenings as asides, is told in the re-
port of the researches which Teobert Mall
er, the distinguished German explorer, has
made among the prehistoric ruins of the
Usumatsintla valley, Central America. for
the Peabody Museum of American Archae-
ology and Ethnology at Harvard. Mr..
Mailer spent the whole of the-years 1898 and
1899 travelling and excavating. making many
sketches and securing a large number Of
excellent photographs which add vividness
TO the printed account of his work.
The Usumatsintla valley lies close to
where Mexico touches Guatemala and the
path to it is rough and lonely. Mr.. Mailer
found some difficulty in making the author
tiles on whom we must depend more or less
for aid understand his errand, and, when
he had succeeded in that, found it hard TO
get satisfactory guides and native assist
ance for his expeditions but the excellent
results he accomplished evidently repaid
him for all of his hardshps, and his pains
taking studies have added much that is of
value to what is becoming more generally
recognized as the most important archae-
illogical work of to-day.
With considerable difficulty Mailer and
his party penetrated the wilderness
through which the Chinikiha river runs, in
search of a large ruined city which they
found especially hard to rediscover \be-
cause of the thick underground which
smOthered it completely as the result of
forest fires Indeed, it became necessary to
send for the most experienced of the old
mountaineers from village at some dis
lance before any trace of the ancient build
ings and monuments could be discovered.
Then, Mailer records, with true scientific
pathos, he found that woodcutters had
busted themselves about the place in a
manner quite uncalled for by archaeology.
had taken out from a great pyramid a slab
covered with inscriptions, and, finding it
too heavy to carry off with them, had left
| it lying nearby, after they had Clipped
pieces off from it as "specimines, serious
ly injured for any information it might
give
DESTRUCTIVE NATIVES.
Indeed, he had frequent reason to COM
plain of the ruthless destructiveness of
previous visitors-natives, no doubt-whose
only interest in the old temples they broke
into came from a suspicion of superstition
, that they might be treasure houses. An
amusing note of the explorer says that the
honest woodcutters'' apologized for their
meddling at one place by saying that they
could not foresee that some time he would
70
evidence that one of the ''mozos'' once
found a particularly perfect sculptured
stone which he carried off to sell, only to
get discouraged at its weight and the posi-
bIity of not being paid for it after ALL and
hid it in some unknown part of the jungle.
These must have been the petty annoy
! ances of the expeditions, however, for some
of the difficulties encountered were very
real physical disresses. In order to secure
pictures of one spot it was necessary to tie
ropes to the trees which fringed the top Of
the steep walls of a ravine and, descend
| ing by them carry the delicate photograph
! ic apparatus to the rocks below. Once.
while camping in the open, the piercing
screams Of panther at midnight terror
lied Mr.. Maler's native companions, whom
he describes as mot exactly heroes"
Again, a river W as crossed only by sending
one man over on a hastily built raft and
following him in rude boat which, by
good fortune, the advance guard had found
concealed on the further bank.
Perhaps the most trying experience Of
which Mr. Mailer tells was incident to a
trip he made TO the long since forgotten
Lake of Petha There he found some re-
markable painted rocks from which he de-
termined to copy the designs. Scarcely had
| he finished his tracings from the dizzy
perch afforded by a projecting stone when
his men warned him of the approach of an
| Indian boat. As soon as the newcomer spied
| Mr.. Mailer he set up a terrified cutlery in
broken Spanish, saying that the rock was
sacred and that he must leave it. Finally
pacified the native was induced to take the
exploring party to the nearest Indian set
Element, which he did by the most nerve
racking path he knew, apparently, leading
them through a large waterfall. a
bridge made of a fallen tree-trunk sub
merged in the violent stream, and across
another bridge of similar construction
which, however, by way of variety, was
suspended high above the water.
BEAUTIFUL STONE CARVING.
The most important ruins which Mr.. Nal
er examined were those at Piedras Negras,
| in which he found many beautiful pieces Of
stone work and a large number of we'll
preserved inscriptions. 1t was the second
time he had visited the place and he was
the better equipped for his work there.
The hills and valleys are here strewn
with the remains of old buildings, chief
among them a great acropolis to which a
monumental stairway leads. On a broad
terrace are the ruins of a pyramid once
connected with a large temple, in front Of
which now lie the fragments of eight ste
lac, or monumental stones, and of a lesser
temple Among the fallen stones was a sac
rificial table, broken and worn by centuries
of storm and rain, but interesting in its
partial destruction. The great slab of rock
rested upon three square pillars, each Of
which was deliberately carved, and the
whole affair had TO be carefully cleaned
and the surrounding forest growth cleared
away to procure the excellent photograph