"Dr. Le Plongeon made an extensive and careful study of Mayapan, which is supposed to have been founded by the Mayas in the fifth century. There was a constant warfare for centuries between the rulers of Mayapan and Uxmal, and the fortunes of war alternated from one to the other. According to the chronicles, King Cocom of Mayapan, with all his sons but one, was murdered by his nobles in 1446, nearly a hundred years before the Spaniards conquered the country, and fifty years before America was discovered by Columbus. When the Spaniards came they found Mayapan in ruins, and the early Spanish writers obtained the traditions concerning it from the people in the surrounding country.
"The Mayas say that the first man of the human race was made out of earth and grass, the former supplying his flesh and bones, and the latter his skin."
At this point Frank asked if the "greenness" of many members of the race was attributable to their grassy origin, as given by the Mayas. Fred dismissed the question as trifling and irrelevant, and then the history proceeded.
"Dr. Le Plongeon was convinced that the Mayas had a knowledge of astronomy, as he found two stone columns on the platform of the mound with a line marked in the pavement between them. These columns, or stelæ, are perfectly 'Oriented' according to the points of the compass, and by means of them the hour of the day could be told, and also the time of the sun's declination. The apparatus was similar to that of the ancient Egyptians and Chaldeans; the Mayas divided their astronomical year into twelve months of thirty days each, and added five days when the sun reached its greatest declination and was said to be 'at rest.'
"The doctor found in the ruins of Mayapan a stone slab bearing inscriptions which referred to the god of fire; these inscriptions seem to have been identical with those of the ancient Egyptians for their sun god, and of the Assyrians for their corresponding deity. Certainly it is a very curious circumstance that these people, so far apart in time and distance, seem to have hit upon the same form of worship and of astronomical calculations.
"We will leave Mayapan now and turn to another ruined city called Aké. These ruins are about the same distance from Merida as those of Mayapan, the former lying to the east and the latter to the south. They are on a hacienda belonging to Don Alvaro Peon, who is always ready to facilitate the visit of any one who desires to explore the ruins.
SCULPTURED HEAD OF YUCATAN.
"The ruins include those of several large buildings, which are presumed to have been palaces, a small pyramid and a large one, together with some other structures, all grouped around an open space or plaza. In the centre of this plaza is a stone pillar called a picoté; and what do you suppose was its use?