Omaha daily bee., 1903-03-01
SILL WORSHIP AZTEC GODS
Mexican Indians stll Devoted to Long
Forgotten shrines
STRANGE TALES HEARD BY EXPLORER
TeObert Mailer Gives some Account OF
the Peabody Museum of His work
So Fruitful of ArchaeOIO-
gfcal Results.

exploration Of the ruined cities Of Central
America. once the seats Of Aztec ~civiliza-
ton destroyed by Cortez nearly FIVE cen
turtles ago, in the recently published report
Of MIR. Teobert Mailer, who for several years
has been conducting researches mong these
ancient ruins in the interests Of the Pea
body Museum OF Archaeology and Ethnology
at Harvard university. and whose fully illus
trated account OF what he mas seen and
found is shortly to be issued as one Of the
publications Of that institution.
DR.. Maler's explorations stretched over
three years. and were carried on mainly In
the Usumatsintla valley. in southern Mex
leo. Among the long-forgotten cities which
Mr.. Mailer visited were Yaxchilan, literally
the CITY Of the Green Stones" FL Cayo,
the place Where the Banks are Strewn
with Stones" Budsilha. or Smoking
Water" from the mist arising from an ad-
jacent waterfall; FL Chile. 30 called from
the herb from which chile sauce Is made;
Anaite. named for the white lilies that
flourish on the banks OF the river. and FL
Chicoxapote. named from a tree which pro-
duces a well known Mexican cbewing gum.
These cities are all hidden In the tropical
Jungle, some entirely unknown even to the
wandering woodcutters and gum collectors,
and Others visited only by mysterious bands
Of Indians who still com to make occa-
sional sacrifices on their fallen affairs.
Definite Results Extensive.
III definite results Of Mr.. Maler's inves-
LEGATIONS were the study and photograph
ing OF some twenty stelae. or carved mono
lithes, on which are represented many Of
the scenes Of Aztec daily life, in particular
their religious rites; the restoration Of be-
tween twenty and thirty ruined buildings
temples, tombs and communal dwellings.
and the examination Of nearly fifty carved
and painted lintels, many OF them exca-
waited from long-accumulated debris and
never before noted by the modern explorer.
In many cases the expedition has preserved
the record Of objects that in another cen
fury would have entirely vanished, for the
changing course Of the Usumatsintla tides
has already eaten away the former water
front of some of the cities.
Tenasique. where Mr.. Mailer made his
preparations for ~plunging into the Mexican
wilderness. is a small town ABOUT FIVE DAYS
sail from the Gulf OF Mexico up the Usu-
nnatsintla, which here flows between mod
ern Mexico and Guatemala. From here to
Fl Csyo. the first Of the ruined cities, was
another four days journey, overland, with
camp e~quipage, cameras, servants and pack
animals. BudsiIha is not far from EI Cayo,
and La Mar-another town visited by Mr..
Maler@s in the same neighborhOod. but
the two are separated by a tangie OF trop-
zeal vegetation through which the explorers
made their way only with the greatest Diff
Guilty. Interesting finds were made In all
these places-in FL Cayo. for example. the
figure Of a god that dates back, perhaps.
to the very earliest period Of the city yet
which had evidently been worshiped even
up to our own times. as was shown by the
presence OF several broken incense vessels
In the tumble-down room In which the
image was discovered
Outlines Of a City.
At La Mar there still remained suHcient
evidence Of its ancient structures to recon
struct a very good picture Of one of the
smaller cities Of the Aztec period. The
architectural center OF the city, II was
found, was formed by two temples. now in
ruins. which crowned two pyramids. one
facing TO the east and the other to the west.
Between the pyramids was a wide plaza
bordered on the north and south by smaller
buildings. The plaza was originally ornA-
mented with stelae, one Of which, although
serving only to adorn 30 small a city as La
Mar. is a splendid specimen Of the best con-
temporary Aztec sculpture.
1t has been suggested that Yaxchflan, the
most important OF the ancient cities which
Mr.. Mailer visited. may have been the town
referred to by Cortez in a letter TO his mas
ter. the Emperor Charles ", although Mr..
Mailer himself rather doubts the identihca-
tion. TIL ruins have been visited in mod
ern times by more than one explorer. and
in 1882, when the city was visited by Mr..
Desire Charney, q French srchaeologist,
whose expedition was supported by funds
q Rwnnn hNg hn.1n - e. -
American millionaire, Lorillard, in whose
honor Mr.. Charney called the place "Loril-
lard City" Mr.. Mailer. however, has sue
ceeded not only in uneovering numerous
hitherto unnoted sculptured stone monu-
ments from the debris that now oyernows
its terraces and e~splanades, but also in dis
covering certain important temples.
Getting Up the River.
There must have been heavy raintalIs In
distant Guatemala and eastern Chiapas,"
says DR.. Mailer in the new Peabody museum
report. describing his approach 20 Yaxchi-
Ian, for the Usumatsintla was excessively
high, having risen to the very edge Of the
high banks, which made progress up the
river exceedingly dificult. since the poles
by which the eayuco is propelled could not
reach the hard bottom. Under such circum-
stances forked branches are made fast TO
the end of the poles. and with these 'hor-
quotas the men seize the overhanging
branches OF the trees and shrubs and push
the cayuco forward. while those not occu-
pied with the poles grasp the branches. IL
possible. with their hands, and pull with
all their might. This procedure is exceed
ingly labOrious, and progress is slow. In
this manner IL took US a day and a half 10
overcome the short distance between Anaite
and YaXchilan. When the river is in this
condition no one attempts TO go upstream.
the labor and the danger are too great. In
point Of fact, we had a terrible struggle.
We had to force our way through branches
OF trees projecting out Of the water, and
often we had 10 use our maehetes TO remove
the obstacles impeding our way. In spite
Of all our eXertions We were frequently
whirled round by the force Of the current
and carried downstream. Masses Of trees
which reached far out into the river could
not be surmounted. nor powerful rapids
overcome, without two or three successive
attempts"
Evidences of HerOism.
When we rested az night, " he continues.
we fastened our esyuco 70 the branches Of
a great chimon and protected ourselves and
our baggage as well as We could with oiled
cloths against the heavy night rains. II