This view is somewhat strengthened by the result of a very careful examination of the caves and ’cenotes of Yucatan made in 1895 by Mr. Henry Mercer, who records the conclusions he has come to in the following words:—Firstly, that no earlier inhabitant had preceded the builders of the ruined cities of Yucatan; secondly, that the people revealed in the caves had reached the country in geologically recent times; thirdly, that these people, substantially the ancestors of the present Maya Indians, had not developed their culture in Yucatan, but had brought it with them from somewhere else.
It was not until the 2nd July that we left the ruins and set out for Merida, and even then we were reluctant to depart and leave unexamined so much that is of interest; but our store of food had run out and we found the greatest difficulty in getting supplies in the neighbourhood. Moreover, the heavy showers and great heat made such work as we were engaged on almost impossible. During the month of May we had both suffered from malarious fever. Fortunately our attacks occurred on alternate days, so that we could each tend the other in turn, and we both made complete recovery. The difficulty in engaging labourers was never smoothed away, and was the occasion of much vexatious waste of time. During the time we were ill with fever we were altogether bereft of labourers for about a fortnight, and found the greatest difficulty in supplying ourselves with firewood and water. After this matters mended, and we were better served; but towards the end of our stay, I had again to depend solely on the villagers from Pisté, some of whom would condescend to do a short day’s work for me at about three times the current rate of wages.
To Sweet’s arrival at the most critical moment the success of my expedition was very largely due. He was keenly interested in his work, and, in spite of attacks of fever, we spent a very happy three months together. Sweet undertook all the photography, and was also of the greatest assistance in the survey; and with his ever-ready help and cheery companionship, I could make light of the numberless petty annoyances and delays which were so hard to bear when I was alone; moreover he supplied that invaluable stimulus to work which came from discussing with an intelligent companion the various problems which presented themselves for solution as the clearings widened out and the remains of the ancient city were disclosed to our view.
CHAPTER XXII. LAGUNA AND THE RIO USUMACINTA.
In December 1890 I crossed the Gulf of Mexico from Vera Cruz to Progreso in one of the Ward Line Steamers, and was then transhipped into a coasting-boat belonging to the same company, which was to take me to Frontera, at the mouth of the Tabasco river, whence I was to find my way up the stream, and inland to the ruins of Palenque. Never did I put to sea with such misgivings: it was still the season of the ’Norte,’ the fierce cold wind which sweeps down the Mississippi Valley and across Texas from the frozen lands of the North, and the vessel in which I was embarked was a stern-wheel river-steamer, with seven feet of hull under the water and twenty feet of cabins and flying-deck built up above it! The captain owned to me that he had been very nearly blown over on his last voyage down the coast, and that should he be caught in really bad weather there would be no alternative but to turn the ship’s head to the shore and pile her up on the beach. Of course this stern-wheeled barge was provided with all the orthodox certificates from a wise and protecting government, drawn up in beautiful official language, to the effect that she was a vessel properly fitted and equipped to trade between certain ports of the United States and the ports in the Mexican Gulf. When on the third or fourth day out we crossed the bar and anchored off the little town of Laguna, on the Isla del Carmen at the eastern edge of the Tabasco delta, the sky was so threatening, that I deemed discretion the better part of valour, and took all my traps ashore, determining to start up the river from Laguna instead of Frontera; and the captain endorsed my view of the weather by not venturing out of port for three days.
It was now the middle of the wood-shipping season, and Laguna was at its busiest: about twenty-three sailing-vessels—English, American, Swedish, and German—were lying off the town, and one might say roughly that twenty-three mates were feeling very hot and using strong language as the mahogany logs, which had been floated down the great river, were detached from the rafts alongside and hauled on board, and that twenty-three sea-captains were on shore on the spree.
My lodging was in the main street, at the house of a Frenchman, who also kept a sort of restaurant. Here I managed to secure a room to myself; but as one door opened on to the pavement of the street and another into the sitting-room, which also opened on to the street, and everyone seemed to walk in and out just as they felt inclined, I did not secure much privacy.
It did not take long to become acquainted with the principal inhabitants of Laguna. Two or three sea-captains dropped in to dinner, drinks were freely offered, and I was soon introduced to all their friends. Three-card Monte began, as far as I could make out, about nine o’clock in the morning, but I am not sure that in some cases it was not a continuation of the game of the night before. Play went on anywhere, sometimes with a table and chairs set out in the street; but the principal resort for gambling was the club. I never found out that any election, or even introduction, was needed to enjoy the privileges of that institution. Anyone seemed to wander in, order drinks, and play. There were three or four professional gamblers, who had come for the season, always ready to keep a bank as long as anyone had a dollar to stake; and I must add that the game seemed to be perfectly fairly conducted, with, of course, certain chances in favour of the bank, and that I never heard the slightest dispute which was not settled at once and quite amicably. Now and then a rough-looking man wandered in in his dirty shirtsleeves, and one wondered how he had become possessed of the big pile of dollars which he placed in front of him and doubled or lost with equal good temper and nonchalance. The money was probably the result of nine months’ hard work on the river or at the wood-cuttings.
On three nights in the week the military band played in the plaza, which was well kept and planted with shade-trees. The band-stand was in the centre, and on the broad walk round it circled the beauty and fashion of the town, gorgeously arrayed. Two or three girls usually walked together arm in arm in front of the father and mother, or more often the mother and some lady friend, for the men, more especially the young ones, don’t care much for the promenade, but prefer to sit round on the stone benches, smoke cigarettes, and criticize. It appeared to be quite contrary to custom or to fashion to talk to one’s young lady friends in public—that was to be done by stealth later on at the iron ’reja.’