Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1923-09-19

prepared oy the National Geographic So
cfety, Washington D. CO
Archaeology, modern transportation
and radical government experiments
have been made bedfellows by the
opening Of new automobile road by
the socialist government of the state
of Yucatan, Mexico, leading from
Merida, the capital, to the wonderful
ruins Of Chichen TIA, which might be
termed Americas Thebes. One of the
worlds most interesting remains of
our ancient civilization is thus made
accessible to students and tourists as
a by-product to radical governments
plan to make work for laborers during
an economic depression by pushing
road construction.
In the hot, rather dry Yucatan PENN
sula, which today is little visited by
outsiders, civilization reached its high
est point on the North American con-
tinent in the years before the coming
of Europeans. After the finding of
saVages by Columbus and his immedi-
ate followers, both on the West Indian
islands and on parts of the mainland,
the discovery little later in Yucatan
Of structures built of stone, and built
well, and Of artistic carvings, came as
great surprise to the Spaniards.
While some of the structures were
In use at the time of the Spanish con-
quest, number of once great cities
had been abandoned and swallowed up
by the Jungle Some mysterious fate
had overtaken this people, the Mayas,
and only somewhat degenerate rem
nant was clinging to the works of their
more illustrious ancestors. The wholly
new regime resulted in the final extin-
guishment Of their culture.
Temples and palaces, prisons, "con-
vents" arenas for games, astronomical
observatories and monuments, all ac-
curately built of masonry and decorat-
ed with artistic carvings and hero
glyphics, are some of the sign posts
pointing to the achievements of the
Mayas and their development of Gull
ture. Archeologists state that at the
time of their mysterious decline they
were at the threshold of a true civili-
zation. Indeed, in some ways they had
surpassed in intellectual achievements
the civilization of the Egyptians and
the Babylonians.
Their Writing and Architecture.
In their system Of writing, the Mayas
had reached a most interesting point,
found among no other existing people
In the world, the transition point be-
tween picture writing, which the Chi
nese have never passed beyond, and
phonetic writing by means of an alpha
bet such as that We use.
The architectural types of the Mayas
and their decorative designs have fea-
lures so similar to some of those OF
the old world that the earlier students
OF the American ruined cities believed
that their builders had been Influenced
by Egyptians, Babylonians or Hindus.
The types of arches and certain sculp-
tured designs were compared especial
ly to those found In the great Hindu
temple of Boro-Budur in Java. 1t is
the more general opinion now, now
ever. that the works of the Mayas
were the result of culture born on
this continent and acquired by this
people in their toilsome way upward
from savagery and through barbarlsm.
The story of Yucatan in recent
times is the story of heneqGen fiber
Offhand. that doesn't seem to affect
the average American to any great ex-
tent, But 1t does affect him every
time he buys loaf of bread. The story
might be framed like that of the house
that Jack built Henequin means rea-
sonably cheap and plentiful binder
Irvine: binder Irvine makes possible the
use of harvesting machines; harvesters
cheaper grain production; cheap grain
means cheap bread; and so henequin'
and arid Yucatan, play important parts
in feeding America and the world.
The other side of the story-the
rapid development of the henequen In
dustry and the pouring of wealth INTO
Yucatan-chief1y from the grain oelI
of North America-undoubtedly played
It's part in swinging the pe~tical pen
dulum from extreme feudalism TO So
eialiSm.
Heneouen, which is sort of cactus
not unlike the century plant or the
'pulque cactus" in appearance, hau
leen grown In Yucatan since preips-