The highways throughout the country are numerous, but generally are rough, and there is but little regular communication between the various towns. From the cities of Mérida and Campeachy, public conveyances leave at stated times for some of the more important towns; but travellers to other points are obliged to depend on private transportation. A railroad from Mérida to the port of Progreso, a distance of sixteen miles, was in process of being built, but the writer is not aware of its completion.
The peninsula is now divided into the States of Yucatan, with a population of 282,634, with Mérida for a capital, and Campeachy, with a population of 80,366, which has the city of Campeachy as its capital. The government is similar to our state governments, but is liable to be controlled by military interference. The States are dependent upon the central government at Mexico, and send deputies to represent them in the congress of the Republic. In the south-western part of the country there is a district very little known, which is inhabited by Indians who have escaped from the control of the whites and are called Sublevados. These revolted Indians, whose number is estimated at 139,731, carry on a barbarous war, and make an annual invasion into the frontier towns, killing the whites and such Indians as will not join their fortunes. With this exception, the safety of life and property is amply protected, and seems to be secured, not so much by the severity of the laws, as by the peaceful character of the inhabitants of all races. The trade of the country, except local traffic, is carried on by water. Regular steam communication occurs monthly between New York and Progreso, the port of Mérida, via Havana, and occasionally barques freighted with corn, hides, hemp and other products of the country, and also carrying a small number of passengers, leave its ports for Havana, Vera Cruz and the United States. Freight and passengers along the coast are transported in flat bottomed canoes. Occasional consignments of freight and merchandise arrive by ship from France, Spain and other distant ports.
The cities of Mérida and Campeachy are much like Havana in general appearance. The former has a population of 23,500, is the residence of the Governor, and contains the public buildings of the State, the cathedral—an imposing edifice,—the Bishop’s palace, an ecclesiastical college, fifteen churches, a hospital, jail and theatre. The streets are wide and are laid out at right angles. The houses, which are generally of one story, are large, and built of stone laid in mortar or cement; and they are constructed in the Moorish style, with interior court yards surrounded with corridors, upon which the various apartments open. The windows are destitute of glass, but have strong wooden shutters; and those upon the public streets often project like bow windows, and are protected by heavy iron gratings. The inhabitants are exceedingly hospitable, and there is much cultivated society in both Mérida and Campeachy. As the business of the country is chiefly agricultural, many of the residents in the cities own haciendas in the country, where they entertain large parties of friends at the celebration of a religious festival on their plantations, or in the immediate neighborhood. The people are much given to amusements, and the serious duties of life are often obliged to yield to the enjoyments of the hour. The Catholic religion prevails exclusively, and has a very strong hold upon the population, both white and Indian, and the religious services of the church are performed with great ceremony, business of all kinds being suspended during their observance.
The aboriginal ruins, to which so much attention has been directed, are scattered in groups through the whole peninsula. Mérida is built upon the location of the ancient town Tihoo, and the materials of the Indian town were used in its construction. Sculptured stones, which formed the ornamental finish of Indian buildings, are to be seen in the walls of the modern houses.[18-*] An artificial hill, called “El Castillo,” was formerly the site of an Indian temple, and is curious as the only mound remaining of all those existing at the time of the foundation of the Spanish city. This mound is almost the only trace of Indian workmanship, in that immediate locality, which has not been removed or utilized in later constructions.[18-†] It appears that a large part of the building material throughout the province was taken from aboriginal edifices, and the great number of stone churches of considerable size, which have been built in all the small towns in that country, is proof of the abundance of this material.
The ruins of Uxmal, said to be the most numerous and imposing of any in the province, were visited by the writer in company with a party of sixteen gentlemen from Mérida, of whom two only had seen them before. The expedition was arranged out of courtesy to the visitor, and was performed on horseback. The direct distance was not more than sixty miles in a southerly direction, but the excursion was so managed as to occupy more than a week, during which time the hospitality of the haciendas along the route was depended upon for shelter and entertainment. Some of the plantations visited were of great extent, and among others, that called Guayalké was especially noticeable for its size, and also for the beauty and elegance of the farm house of the estate, which was constructed entirely of stone, and was truly palatial in its proportions. This building is fully described by Mr. Stephens.[19-*] The works of this writer form an excellent hand-book for the traveller. His descriptions are truthful, and the drawings by Mr. Catherwood are accurate, and convey a correct idea of the general appearance of ruins, and of points of interest which were visited; and the personal narrative offers a great variety of information, which could only be gathered by a traveller of much experience in the study of antiquities. Such at least is the opinion of the people of that country. His works are there quoted as high authority respecting localities which he visited and described; and modern Mexican philologists and antiquaries refer to Stephens’ works and illustrations with confidence in his representations, and with respect and deference for his opinions and inferences.[19-†]
At various points along the route, portions of ruined edifices were seen but not explored. The ruins of Uxmal are distant about a mile from the hacienda buildings, and extend as far as the eye can reach. They belong to Don Simon Peon, a gentleman who, though he does not reside there, has so much regard for their preservation that he will not allow the ruins to be removed or interfered with for the improvement of the estate, in which respect he is an exception to many of the planters. Here it may be remarked, that the inhabitants generally show little interest in the antiquities of their country, and no public effort is made to preserve them. The ruins which yet remain undisturbed have escaped destruction, in most instances, only because their materials have not been required in constructing modern buildings. Much of the country is thinly inhabited, and parts of it are heavily wooded. It is there that the remains of a prior civilization have best escaped the hand of man, more to be dreaded than the ravages of time.
The stone edifices of Uxmal are numerous, and are generally placed upon artificial elevations; they are not crowded together, but are scattered about singly and in groups over a large extent of territory. The most conspicuous is an artificial pyramidal mound, upon the top of which is a stone building two stories in height, supposed to have been used as a sacrificial temple. One side of this mound is perpendicular; the opposite side is approached by a flight of stone steps. The building on the top, and the steps by which the ascent is made are in good preservation. Some of the large buildings are of magnificent proportions, and are much decorated with bas reliefs of human figures and faces in stone, and with other stone ornaments. The writer does not recollect seeing any stucco ornamentation at this place, though such material is used elsewhere. What are popularly called “House of the Governor” and “House of the Nuns,” are especially remarkable for their wonderful preservation; so that from a little distance they appear perfect and entire, except at one or two points which look as if struck by artillery. The rooms in the ruins are of various sizes, and many of them could be made habitable with little labor, on removing the rubbish which has found its way into them.
The impression received from an inspection of the ruins of Uxmal was, that they had been used as public buildings, and residences of officers, priests and high dignitaries. Both Stephens and Prescott are of the opinion that some of the ruins in this territory were built and occupied by the direct ancestors of the Indians, who now remain as slaves upon the soil where once they ruled as lords.[21-*] The antiquity of other remains evidently goes back to an earlier epoch, and antedates the arrival of the Spaniards. If the Indians of the time of the conquest occupied huts like those of the Indians of to-day, it is not strange that all vestiges of their dwellings should have disappeared. Mr. Stephens gives an interesting notice of the first formal conveyance of the property of Uxmal, made by the Spanish government in 1673, which was shown him by the present owner, in which the fact that the Indians, then, worshipped idols in some of the existing edifices on that estate, is mentioned. Another legal instrument, in 1688, describes the livery of seizin in the following words, “In virtue of the power and authority by which the same title is given to me by the said governor, and complying with its terms, I took by the hands the said Lorenzo de Evia, and he walked with me all over Uxmal and its buildings, opened and shut some doors that had several rooms (connected), cut within the space several trees, picked up fallen stones and threw them down, drew water from one of the aguadas (artificial ponds) of the said place of Uxmal, and performed other acts of possession.”[21-†] These facts are interesting as indicating actual or recent occupation; and a careful investigation of documents relating to the various estates, of which the greater part are said to be written in the Maya language, might throw light upon the history of particular localities.
The Maya Indians are shorter and stouter, and have a more delicate exterior than the North American Savages. Their hands and feet are small, and the outlines of their figures are graceful. They are capable of enduring great fatigue, and the privation of food and drink, and bear exposure to the tropical sun for hours with no covering for the head, without being in the least affected. Their bearing evinces entire subjection and abasement, and they shun and distrust the whites. They do not manifest the cheerfulness of the negro slave, but maintain an expression of indifference, and are destitute of all curiosity or ambition. These peculiarities are doubtless the results of the treatment they have received for generations. The half-breeds, or Mestizos, prefer to associate with the whites rather than with the Indians; and as a rule all the domestic service throughout the country is performed by that class. Mestizos often hold the position of major-domos, or superintendents of estates, but Indians of pure blood are seldom employed in any position of trust or confidence. They are punctilious in their observance of the forms and ceremonies of the Catholic religion, and a numerous priesthood is maintained largely by the contributions of this race. The control exercised by the clergy is very powerful, and their assistance is always sought by the whites in cases of controversy. The Indians are indolent and fond of spectacles, and the church offers them an opportunity of celebrating many feast days, of which they do not fail to avail themselves.
When visiting the large estate of Chactun, belonging to Don José Dominguez, thirty miles south-west of Mérida, at a sugar rancho called Orkintok, the writer saw a large ruin similar to that called the “House of the Nuns” at Uxmal. It was a building of a quadrangular shape, with apartments opening on an interior court in the centre of the quadrangle. The building was in good preservation, and some of the rooms were used as depositories for corn. The visiting party breakfasted in one of the larger apartments. From this hacienda an excursion was made to Maxcanu, to visit an artificial mound, which had a passage into the interior, with an arched stone ceiling and retaining walls.[23-*] This passage was upon a level with the base of the mound, and branched at right angles into other passages for hundreds of feet. Nothing appeared in these passages to indicate their purpose. The labyrinth was visited by the light of candles and torches, and the precaution of using a line of cords was taken to secure a certainty of egress. A thorough exploration was prevented by the obstructions of the débris of the fallen roof. Other artificial mounds encountered elsewhere had depressions upon the top, doubtless caused by the falling in of interior passages or apartments. There is no account of the excavation of Yucatan mounds for historical purposes, though Cogolludo says there were other mounds existing at Mérida in 1542, besides “El grande de los Kues,” which, certainly, have now disappeared; but no account of their construction has come down to us.[23-†] The same author also says, that, with the stone constructions of the Indian city churches and houses were built, besides the convent and church of the Mejorada, and also the church of the Franciscans, and that there was still more material left for others which they desired to build.[24-*] It is then, certainly, a plausible supposition that the great mounds were many of them constructed with passages like that at Orkintok, and that they have furnished from their interiors worked and squared stones, which were used in the construction of the modern city of Mérida by the Spanish conquerors.