The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-06-24
RELICS OF PAST AGE
 IN MEXICAN JUNGLES
Government Ethno1ogist Tells William E. Curtis of Unexp1ored Ruins Skill of Builders Great. Little Information of Prehistoric Peoples
 Can Be Cleaned by Scientists.
William E. Curtis Special. in Chicago
 DaeArA

William E. Curtis Special. in Chicago
 Record Herald.
 Washington, June fs--When I asked Professor Holmes, chief of the bureau of ethnology, why he did not send an expedition to the Isthmus of Tehuan' tepec to explore the great ruined city which has been recently discovered in the jungles of the State of Chiapas. ne replied that he had neither the men nor the money.
 '-The entire force of the bureau" he said "is occupied within the limits of this country, and we are able to do only a small portion of what we would like to do in the line of our work. We can not spare any men or money to carry on explorations in foreign countries particularly in countries that will not permit us to bring away any of the archaeological treasures that we may find. Mexico has law. which Is very strictly enforced, prohibiting the ex- port of relics from the ruins in that Re- public and all other objects of arch geological interest. Of course, we have no right to complain. because the Mexicans have museums of their own and they naturally prefer to keep all evidences of their prehistoric arts and industries. We would do that ourselves if we were in their place. but at the same time, such law is rather dis couraging to foreign explorers"
 "You made an exploration of the ruins at Palenaue in YucatanT"
 "Yes. went down in 1898 on Allison Armour's yacht in the interest of the Field Museum of Chicago and spent three months around Paienaue I would like very much to go again and explore the newly discovered cities. for there is no field more fascinating to the archaeologist. but. as I have said. this bureau has all 1t can attend to at home The Smithsonian Institute could send Ia nartv if it has the funds, and the Car negie Institute. Doubtless the Mexican government would he very glad to havs them do SO"
 Professor Holmes has never heard of the ruins reported to have recently been discovered by a party of tie-cut- ters from the Pan-American Railway which I wrote about recently in let ter from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec but he says that they are located in a { part of Mexico which is known to con tain many ruins similar to those de- scrIhed but hSs never been explored
 "who built those cities% I asked
 eThe people who built them have vanished" replied Professor Holmes Although their descendants undoubt- edly still occupy the country. the par ticular tribe or tribes cannot be iden- tiled. They have lost the arts and the industries of their progenitors and their traditions go back only few generations While that section of Mexico was undoubtedly more denseiy nonuIated at that time than now. do not believe tho number of inhabitants was as great as Is pouplarfv supposed The eArIy estimates were based upon visits to centers of population, without considering that the vast exoanse of Chianas was very thinlv settled. There are now about 500.000 inhabitants in what Is known among archaeoiogists as the Maya area--that Is. the States of Yucatan and Chiapas, which were orig irallv occuried bv the Maya race. Of the present inhabitants. at least S0o.- aboriginal language and that only. This proves that very little outside in- fluence has ever been exerted upon them They have been very generally converted to the Catholic religion by missionary priests, but they still prac- tice their ancient pagan rites and un- doubtedly retain something of theiv ancient beliefs-much more than would be suspected by casual travellers in that region.
 ''Mr. Tozzer of Harvard under the direction of Charles F. Bowditch the well known authority on the Elypic writings of the ancients. has spent several years in the Maya country with a view to learning whether there are left any traces of the ancient GUS toms and beliefs and especially If the present inhabitants have any knowl- edge of the system of writing used by their forefathers. Although no report has been published, it is understood that his researches have not been re- warded with any great measure of sue cess. Among the living inhabitants or the region the past is blank. They can remember their grandfathers. put they know of nothing back Of them. Their traditions are exceedingly limit ed and unsatisfactory Formerly the records of the nation were kept oy the priesthood. They alone had a knowledge of the history of their peo- ple They alone were familiar with the past, and, unfortunately, they were the first objects of the wrath Of the Spaniards. Their heathenish rltes I'm, mediately excited the Indignation oi the monks and priests who accom- panied the Conquistadores. and they were not only mastered. but every vestige of their religion was wiped out and-the records were destroyeo' lneli temples and altars were the ITS, points of attack. The invasion ol America by the Spaniards had many of the features of religious crusade.
 This is the chief reason why we know so little about the prehistoric neople of Spanish-America and then civilization. The only evidence Is found in the reports made by the
 -s--4. ,,,bo annoupautad thA ConuuiS-