The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-05-03
DOCTOR MALER'S AZTEC DISCOVERIES
IN The MEXICAN RUBBER COUNTRY.
He Finds the Region Tricky Tangled With Tropical Growths Which
Have Buried Yaxchilan, 1.-The City of Green Stones Budsil-
ba, Ell Cayo and Ell Chicozopetl.

tire stone structure was soaked with rain
and all the ceiling dripped with moisture,
my men constructed for themselves a palm
labyrinth settled myself within its walls
with my most important baggage. for tho
benches We're were very ey Convenient n ffrAs sleeping
purposes or for spreading my things upon
them.
nights alone in that solitary ruin. on ac-
count of the tigers. but fortunately we es-
capped all collision with these beasts. which
are always to be greatly feared. We were so
fortunate as to have a month Of %slorlons
weather. which greatly lessened the diff
culties of my work among the ruins. 1t gen
orally rained by night and hardly ever by
day. Even the Usumatsintla soon sank
again to a less dangerous level. but We had
another trouble 10 contend against. Our
stock of provisions had run very low. be-
cause the men. when living at some one
else,s expense. eat enormously and know no
moderation"
WORK OF EXcAvAT1No.
A little later the explorer succeeded in
getting provisions. and put in three months
Of vigorous work excavatinz the details Of
a rank. overgrown city. of which no one
before had ever discovered the general plan.
but which finally resolved itself as a series
Of terraces-not st~reets-risins ono above
another from the water front. This city
is Yaxchilian. one of the greatest thus far
examined In this region.
It'll interesting to note that IL Ar. Malers
explorations had not been made at this
time many of the most important burted
treasures ct the ancient Maya civilization
would within a few years have been lost
almost irretrievably, for the Usumatsintia
River Is slowly eating away the site of the
ancient city.
Every now and then an ancient slab or
tombstone or perhaps the whole front Of q
palace. plunges into the stream. Mr.. Mailer
came. therefore. in good season for pre-
serving at least a photographic record of
them Nor was this such an. easy task.
Most Of the ruins proved to be so over
grown with vegetation that they could
not be photographed as a whole. and even
at special moments when the sun forced its
way down through the thick foliage.
Some idea of the ENHANCEMENT in the
midst of which the archaeologists have to
work may be gained from the illustrations
of temple fronts In the Peabody Museum
report.
ALI manner Of richly decorated structures
appear in this great terrsced town of YAK
chilan-such as the substructure Of a water
tower standing in midstream: shrines and
fences scattered almost everywhere. ard
around the temples numerous stone stelae.
or great upright slabs Of stone. carved on
ancient god Ketsalkoatl. the special deity
Of the city. and the other side the figure
Of some human hero.
Some of these stelae were found to be in
a very fair state Of preservation. In spite Of
centuries of weatherlng; others AVE suf-
fered greatly from the climate and one OF
the most interesting from the work of a
band of woodcutters. who while camping
a huge caobo tree that struck the monu-
ment. knocking off a corner and forcing
the entire slab into a leaning position,
from which It Is liable at any moment 10
fail. And when it does fall It VII newt
ably strike a beautiful circular altar in
front Of it. to the ruin Of both objects.