Desiring to make the subject known before the lecture season was over, en desespoir de cause, I asked Dr. John Stoughton Newbury, of the School of Mines at Columbia College, if he could give me a chance to present the subject before the members of the New York Academy of Science. I had no hope of a favorable answer; but to my great surprise Professor Newbury received my offer enthusiastically. Mrs. Le Plongeon lectured on the monuments of Yucatan on the 2nd of March last, at Columbia College. Let the ladies and gentlemen who were present say if the facts and views presented to them were of sufficient interest to command their attention. A lady, Mrs. Francis B. Arnold, residing at 21 West 12th Street, New York, was so pleased that she asked Mrs. Le Plongeon to lecture at her own house to a select party of friends. Let again the ladies and gentlemen who were present at Mrs. Arnold's house, say if there is nothing worth seeing and studying in the remains of ancient American civilization.
Let Mrs. Arnold and Dr. Newbury accept our heartfelt-thanks for affording us an opportunity of presenting ancient America to a few appreciative minds, if no more.
Mrs. Le Plongeon and I have written two works on Yucatan. One is: "Monuments of Mayax, and their historical teachings." The other: "Yucatan, its ancient palaces and modern cities; life and customs of the Aborigines." We have offered them to several publishing houses, but the same answer has been given by all. "There is no money in the publication of such books; American readers do not care for this subject."
Notwithstanding such rebuffs, I made up my mind to present to American readers some of the historical facts that have been brought to light by deciphering the bas-reliefs and mural inscriptions, by means of the ancient hieratic Maya alphabet discovered by me. I offer them in this small volume that I take pleasure in dedicating to Mr. Pierre Lorillard, as the most worthy of it among the Americans, for his generous help to students of American archæology.
| Ancient Maya Hieratic alphabet according to mural inscriptions. | Egyptian Hieratic alphabet according to Messrs. Champollion le Jeune and Bunsen. |
If the perusal of this book fails to awaken in this country an interest in ancient American civilization and history, then I will follow the advice said to have been given by Jesus of Nazareth to his disciples when sending them on their mission of spreading the gospel among the nations: "And whomsoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet...." St. Mark, chap. vi., verse 11—for I shall consider it useless to spend more time, labor, and money on the subject in the United States, remembering the fate of Professor Morse, when he asked Congress for permission to introduce his electric telegraph in this country.
In this small book (which two of the most prominent firms in New York have positively refused to publish believing it to be a bad speculation), I present only such facts as can be proved by the works of well-known writers ancient and modern, and by the inscriptions carved on stone by the Maya learned men and historians. It is for you, Reader, to judge if they are worthy your consideration.
ILLUSTRATIONS.[[1]]
| PAGE. | |
| Symbolical stone found in the Mausoleum of high pontiff Cay at Chichen. | [19] |
| View of the pyramid called "House of the Dwarf," at Uxmal, | [34] |
| Ground plan of the Sanctuary, | [35] |
| Ground plan of the Temple of Mysteries, | [36] |
| Part of cornice surrounding the Sanctuary, | [39] |
| Cross bones and skeletons carved on the cornice of the Sanctuary, | [39] |
| Part of a statue with apron on which is sculptured the image of an extended hand. (From Uxmal.) | [40] |
| Symbolical slab with title of the high pontiff, | [45] |
| Symbols from the turret dedicated to the high pontiff Cay in the palace of King Can, at Uxmal, | [65] |
| Tableau of the creation, from the east façade of the palace at Chichen-Itza, | [72] |
| Prince Coh in battle (from mural paintings at Chichen-Itza), | [78] |
| Prince Coh's body laid out for cremation (from mural paintings at Chichen-Itza), | [80] |
| Slab from Prince Coh's Mausoleum, at Chichen, leopard eating the heart of his enemies, | [85] |
| Dying leopard with human head, from Prince Coh's Mausoleum at Chichen-Itza, | [86] |
| Priest of Osiris making an offering (from the tombs of Thebes), | [86] |
Statue of Prince Coh, found in his Mausoleum at Chichen-Itza, now in the National Museum in the City of Mexico, | [87] |
| Slab from Prince Coh's Mausoleum at Chichen, representing Queen Moo, under the figure of a macaw, eating the heart of her enemies, | [88] |
| Tableau of the Mastodon worship, at Chichen, | [93] |
| Small terra cotta heads from British Honduras, | [104] |
| Sculptures on monolith gate at Tiahuanuco (Peru), from a model in the museum of the Long Island Historical Society in Brooklyn, | [104] |
| Bas-reliefs from small room at the foot of Prince Coh's monument at Chichen-Itza, | [115], [118] |
| Symbols of lower Egypt (from Sir Gardner Wilkinson's works on Egypt), | [115] |
| Plate XVII, part II. of Troano M.S., | [116] |
| Plate XXV. part II. of Troano M.S., head dress of mother Earth, | [118] |
| Maps of the Maya Empire, | [120] |
| Yaxche, sacred tree of the Mayas, | [124] |
| Plate VI., part II. of Troano M.S., | [126] |
| Worship of sacred tree (Papaya) from a Mexican M.S., in the library of the British Museum, | [134] |
| Plate XXIV., part I., Troano M.S., | [137] |
| Sons of King Can, represented under the symbol of deer-heads, totem of the country, plate XVI, part II. of Troano M.S., | [139] |