The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1929-10-09
Lindbergh's New Adventure

SoNOAS AAAiSa L-sfSIS - 1850 '1.sHN - - NNAS1
Of adventure such as enc used 70 find only in the fiction
OF the old Jules Verne tales and III dime novels In a day
when flying still was III no more practical stage than the
misadvcntlrc Of Darius Green ana his FLYING machine.
There is a fascination and a great deal of romance about
those air VOYAGES or discovery over the ancient land Of
the Mayas. locating in tho dense lulcleS infested with
wild beasts, boa constructors and crocodile. the ruins of
the ancient and mysterious civilization OF a people who
must III their day have been III tho same stage OF &C.
yelopmcnt as the Chincsc. tho Claidcans and the
Egyptians of prehistoric times.
The discovery Of ono site @. ruins indication. the place
OF one Of the ancient cities WIS tho lure TO the new
empriso Of the colonel. Now ic goes darting high oyer
the jungle wilderness. fcrretinc out the dllspsdatcd
temples ara palaces Of the vanished race, possibly to con-
tribute finds of amazing interest and information to tho
archaeology OF Yuca.an. Qulntana Roo. Guatemala. Hon
duraS and British Honduras. The news story out OF Mi
ami, Tuesday, indicates what a magnificent adventure
this search has become. with Mrs. Lindbcrgh and scicn-
fists along to magnify tho interest of it.
They taxi down out Of the air as natives flee from the
scene iii hystcric alarm and they land Oh an aligator-in-
tested lagoon. OIL tho banks Of which Mrs. Lindbcrgh serves
an explorers scaat lunch. Or they circle the jungle at
another point and discover all isolated deep river not on
any map and giving no indication CT human life along
Its course. The radio operator sends cut the thrilling in
formation that ruins have been located and that the
scientists arc "all bet up The tops Of two snow-whitc
StA4IANo lNAt 1A VI NA~# J"a-~ "AANNA $500 "s
other trace of the builders and inhabitants Of the van
isi,cd eras OF possibly the time OF Christ. And a pyramid
more than 100 feet h.s. shows out OF tho tangc Of trop-
ical foliage.
Colonel Lindbergh is not, however. a pioneer in this
quest Of the secret OF the Mayan juagles. Exploration Of
the Yucatan wilderness has been going on for several
decades. DR.. Sylvanus G. Morley has been uncovcring
vast cities buried III the jungle. as the head Of the Car
negic Institution project. He and his expedition now arc
unrkinC M Cl1ics,nn-Ttva holy ritv EuEillcan Gnd Of tho
Feathercd Serpent, which in its time was a place Of APP
parently T. square miles. OF a quartz: Of a million Of in
habitants. and capital OF the mysterious Mayas. One of
its temples, it is estimated. would in this day cost $32-
100000 to build. This city and 60 others, VIC are told by
the archacologists seeking the key to the secrets o.
these vast dead cities, has lain silent and buried in the
Jungle 1000 years. Dr.. Edward H. Thompson already has
spent 80 years OIL cxcavatinc the city and he describes it
rs four times the size OF Chicago.
The buildings arc amazing specimens of architecture
exquisite and incredible. with those silaky motifs and
ornaments which predominant in the Aztec, Incan and
Magyar style Of cdificc. imparting a weird character to
them. Their carvings arc intricate aid fantastic. while
there is no evidence that the builders had aught in i'm
PIGMENTS of a higher degree of efficiency than stone axes
and hammers and clisols Of flint and calcitc.
The engineering problems are as stepped in mystery
rs those CT the Egyptian pyramids. Tremendously large
stones are worked into the walls. Great. steps ascend to
the tops of some OF the temples end castles and palaces,
which a. Of skyscraper bulk. The buildings are de-
ocribed as no hit-or-miss structures. but well-balanccd
edificcs from the engineering and architectural point Of
view. They are imposing and amazingly beautiful.
What became Of the builders, Of this wonderful race
whose civilization was a mixture evidently Of savagery.
superstition and arts on a scale to stagser the mind and
olightly comprehensive only TO the phantasy? That is
the riddle at which Drs. Thompson and Morely are delv-
Ing In the jungle and on which the debased posterity Of
the vanished people can shed little light by their legends
and dim traditions. One must resort to fantastic guesses
70 formulate q theory. such as was recently advanced by
one scientist. that the Mayas were wiped out by an over
whelming development Of insect life against which they
had no means Of fighting. There are at present, 1t is
said, almost a sufficiency Of pests in the jungles to make
The theory plausible.
II is into this maze Of mystery. where the silence Of
colossal temples. the gloom Of the jungle twilight and an
Isolation II which ferccious ,asts reign undisturbed are
the guardians Of a fascinating chronological secret. that
Colonel Lindbergh has been intrigued by his complex
tor adventure that is useful as well as romantic. May
his aid proSe OF real assistance to the scientists who would
unveil the fasc rating riddle, even II they cannot solve it.