The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1908-03-07
GROSSLY MEAN LIE ANSWERED.
Continued from Page H.

language. He made it possible for all historians of
Gucatan who after him. to read the Maya
codices. in fact, he saved the language from obi
Won. He did more. He wrote the History of Yu-
catan, or "Reacion de las Casos de Yucatan" in
which he describes the country. the traditions. the
manners. customs, etc. of the people; in fact made
known to the world all it possesses of information
of the pre-Columbian Yucatecas. The Spanish edi-
ton of this great work, edited by priest Liable
Brassew de Bourbourg in 1854, is now on my desk,
and [ propose to use it to give the lie to the cal
umnies against the bishop On page 81 of his his
tory we read: GAS their scrolls or character wri-
tings contained nothing that did of super
stition and lies of the devil we burnt them ALL at
which the natives grieved most keenly and
greatly panied" That the call" here referred only
to the picture-writing in particular village we
know from what is said page 355: "Ihe history
and the authorities able to quote from
certain ancient writings not very we'll understood
by the people but only by the sons grandsons of
the priests of their gods" Many of these scrolls
existed and seen by Lzana, who wrote In 1926,
and, moreover. there were many of these writings
found among the Itzas of Peteu when the people
were driven out of Yucatan in 1897. Landa before
ordering the destruction of these particular picture
writings, doubt, he a scholar, examined
them carefully, and finding they only incen-
tives to idoatry and superstition ordered them de-
stroyed. On the strength of this PASSAGE from
Landa's own history is built up, by scrbbling big
OTIS the charge that the bishops and priests of Yu-
catsn destroyed all the manuscripts and early writ
ings of the Mayas. Landa rendered an immense
service to historic science when he compiled his adj
mirable observations and preserved for the char
acters of the Maya alphabet This alphabet IS the
KEY to the inscriptions the monuments of Cen
trail America and without it these early monuments
would remain for all time great an enigma as the
Egyptian hieroglyphcs before the discovery of the
Rosetta stone and the splendid triumphs of Cham
pollion.
BANCROFT AND DISRAELI.
The tn ouooue, or the you're another" method
Of attack is only permissible under great provoca
ton The provocation is here. Now how is 1t we
never hear word of the bulky accumulation OF
manuscripts and documents, covering a period OF
100 wears found in Santa Fe by the Americans
when they took possession of the city. Bancroft IN
his introduction to his History of Arizona and
New Mexico" charges the United States govern
ment with being contributory agent, by It's indlt-
ference to the destruction of most valuable docu-
ments on the early history of the tribes of the
southwest He states that one thousand valuable
documents were destroyed. from time to time, by
American officials and that in 1870, during the
rule of Governor Pile, most valuable archives were
sold for wrapping paper Remember these archives
and documents were written by Spanish missionary
priests and Spanish governors of New Mexico. and
were seized bv the American commanders and Off
ciaIs when they entered Santa Fe. What Catholic
writer ever brings charge of vandalism against
this Protestant Governor Pile holds Protestant
ism responsible for this wanton onslaught on the
honor of historical literature
Now listen to Jacob Disraeli, father of the great
English commoner. In his "Curiosties of Lltera-
ture y mage 10. we read: "The destruction of IL
hreries in the reign of Henry VIII at the dissolu
ton of the monasteres, was irreparabe calam-