Part 3 (1/2)
The exact spot whence this statue was exhumed cannot be certainly stated, though among the plates which represent the discovery are two which may reasonably be supposed to exhibit the locality. One of these pictures shows the sculptured slabs which may have decorated the mound where the excavation was made, and which again appear on the side of the opening through which the statue is seen emerging. The slabs are elaborately wrought, and represent, the one a tiger holding something in his paw, and the other a bird of prey, with talons similarly employed.
During the early portion of his residence and explorations at Chichen-Itza, Dr. Le Plongeon was a.s.sisted by Government troops, who acted as a guard against hostile Indians--_sublivados_[59-*]--as these ruins lie outside the limits of territory considered safe for occupation; and though this protection was soon withdrawn, and the discoverer was obliged to rely solely upon arms furnished to his laborers, still he was not disheartened by the dangers of his undertaking, nor dissuaded by the appeals of his friends from persevering in his labors.
The first object discovered at this place, as will be learned from the _Mexican Memorial_, was a long stone, half interred among the others, which proved to be the base of a sculptured reclining tiger, of much the same size, proportions and execution as the statue of Chac-Mool, as is apparent from a photograph of the tiger in the general collection.
The head, of human form, which was wanting, was afterwards found at some distance, in a pile of carved stones. The next objects that appeared were the bas-reliefs, presumably those pictured in 3, 5, 6 and 8. The mound of stones where the excavation was made was, according to Dr. Le Plongeon, the pedestal that supported the effigy of the tiger. Work was commenced at the top of the heap of stones, which were rudely thrown together, rendering the labor difficult and dangerous. An excavation was made measuring 7 meters in depth, which was protected by a trestle-work, and at this depth a rough calcareous stone urn was secured which contained a little dust, and upon it a coa.r.s.e earthen cover. This was near the head of the statue, which then appeared. The work of liberating the statue required a deepening of the trench 1-1/2 meters more. A picture in heliotype copied from a series of six photographs, showing the various positions a.s.sumed by the figure during the process of excavation, can be consulted upon the second page following. This work of art was raised by Dr. Le Plongeon, with the a.s.sistance of his wife and ten Indian laborers, by his own ingenuity, and without other engineering apparatus than he had contrived from the trees and vines, making use also of the bark, from which he constructed ropes. Dr. Le Plongeon, in a private letter to the writer, says, ”The statue is carved out of a single block of beautifully white and h.o.m.ogeneous limestone. It is naked, and the peculiar ornament suspended by a ribbon tied on the back of the neck, that is seen on the chest, is the distinctive mark of high rank. This same ornament is seen on the chests of all the personages who were ent.i.tled to carry three feathers on their heads. The band that composes the head-dress was formed of pieces of an octagonal shape, joined together, and is fastened by ribbons also on the back of the head. The figure had bracelets and garters of feathers, and the sandals, quite different from those used by the present inhabitants of the country, were tied to the feet and legs, and resemble those found on the mummies of the _Guanehes_, the ancient inhabitants of the Canary Islands. There were no ear laps, but square tablets appear in place of the ears, on which are hieroglyphics giving the name, condition, &c., &c., of the personage represented by the statue. It is not an idol, but a true portrait of a man who has lived an earthly life. I have seen him represented in battle, in councils, and in court receptions. I am well acquainted with his life, and the manner of his death. The scientific world owes much to Mrs. Le Plongeon for the restoration of the mural paintings where his history and the customs of his people are portrayed; and where Stephens has been unable to see more than a few figures, she has discovered the history of a people and of their leaders.”
”The name, Chac Mool, or Balam, and the names of his two brothers, _Huuncay_ and _Aac_, the latter the builder of the 'House of the Governor' at Uxmal, are not given by us at random. They are written on the monuments where represented, written in characters just as intelligible to my wife and myself, as this paper is to you in latin letters. Every person represented on these monuments is known to us by name, since either over the head or at the feet, the name is written. We have tracings of the mural paintings as seen on the walls of the inner chamber of the monument raised by the queen of Itza to the memory of her husband, Chac-Mool. Stephens mistook it for a shrine where the winners at the games of ball were wont to make offerings to the presiding idol.
In your paper you have copied part of his description of that monument.
But the statue of Chac-Mool was not exhumed in it as you a.s.sert, but four hundred yards from it, in the midst of the forest. No traveller or writer has ever indicated the place where it lay buried, and it is by deciphering the meaning of some hieroglyphics and mural paintings, that we came to a knowledge of the place. The building with tigers and s.h.i.+elds was simply a monument dedicated to his memory.”
[Ill.u.s.tration: _Statue at Chichen-Itza, Yucatan, in process of exhumation by Dr. Augustus Le Plongeon, showing the engineering process by which it was accomplished._
DESCRIPTION OF PLATE.
7. Represents the statue of Chac-Mool uncovered at the depth of 8 meters. At the sides are seen the frame-work ”of trunks of trees of 2 to 2-1/2 inches in diameter, secured with vines.” The inclined plane on which it was drawn to the surface is visible, as are some of the ten Indian laborers, in working costume.
8. The statue has now been drawn to the upper part of the inclined plane. The ropes of habin bark are attached to the figure. Near the sculptured slabs at the right, already shown in 3, 5 and 6, Mrs. Le Plongeon appears seated.
9. Shows the capstan that served to raise the statue, the size of which is apparent by comparison with the figure of the Indian near it.
10. Apparently the same locality as 4. The method of moving the statue over the fragments of sculpture and other impediments is shown.
11. The size and appearance of the statue, ”half as large again as the natural size,” is here distinctly pictured, together with Dr. Le Plongeon standing in the rear of his discovery. The head-dress, trappings and sandals are clearly defined.
12. The statue is seen on the rude wagon on which it had been transported to Piste, a distance of 3 or 4 miles. In the rear is seen the stone church of Piste, surmounted by a cross, described in _Charnay's Cites et Ruines Americaines_, page 336, and by Dr. Le Plongeon, in the _Mexican Memorial_. Nearly all the small towns have similar Churches, built from the ruins of Indian buildings. It is probable that some of the choicest works of art, too large to be easily destroyed, were put out of sight in the construction of these edifices by the fanatical conquerors of the 16th century.
NOTE. The numbers of the pictures do not agree with those in the _Mexican Memorial_.]
It appears that Dr. Le Plongeon, on his arrival in Yucatan, in 1873, first visited Uxmal, where he made explorations and took photographs. He then prepared himself to undertake the more difficult and dangerous visit to Chichen-Itza. While there, the discovery of the statue, Chac-Mool, was made, and it was excavated in the manner described by the discoverer in the last pages of the _Mexican Memorial_. Dr. Le Plongeon had formed a design of sending the statue and certain bas-reliefs, together with plans and photographs, to the Centennial Exhibition, and had prepared these articles for removal, when a sudden revolution occasioned the disarming of his Indian laborers, who for some time had served for a protection, and all further operations were suspended, as longer residence in that exposed region without arms was sheer madness.
It was at that time that Dr. Le Plongeon wrote the following Memorial to the Mexican President, Senor Don Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada, which is given nearly entire, as it makes a statement of his claims and wishes, and contains very important information concerning the discovery of the statue, and gives an idea of his method of exploration.
The account here given of experiences resulting in a discovery so surprising, must interest even those sceptical in regard to the progress in art of the American aborigines; and it must also be remembered that, almost without exception, late as well as early travellers in this region have become enthusiastic and imaginative when brought into contact with these monuments of a measureless past,[63-*]--none of them more so, perhaps, than Bra.s.seur de Bourbourg, whose works nevertheless contain a mine of most valuable information aside from hypotheses.
Accompanying the Memorial, a set of photographs, some of them similar to those copied in heliotype, was sent to Mexico for the information of the President, but the numbers in the last pages of that paper, referring to the special set of photographs, do not correspond to the pictures presented here, as there were no means of verifying the subjects, except from the descriptions.
NOTE.--It will be observed that Dr. Le Plongeon's spelling of the word _Chac-Mool_, differs from that adopted by the writer in deference to prevailing usage in Yucatan. The discoverer always spells the word _Chaacmol_, although in the long letter to the writer, on the subject of Maya antiquities, introduced at the close of this paper, the more usual spelling has been adopted by the printer, contrary to the text of Dr. Le Plongeon.
MEMORIAL PRESENTED TO THE MEXICAN GOVERNMENT, AND AFTERWARDS PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF YUCATAN, APRIL 19 AND 21, 1876.
_To the President of the Mexican Republic_,
SENOR DON SEBASTIAN LERDO DE TEJADA.
Sir:
I, AUGUSTUS LE PLONGEON, Doctor in Medicine, member of the Academy of Sciences of the State of California, of the Microscopical Society of San Francisco, of the Philological Society of New York, corresponding member of the Geographical and Statistical Society of Mexico; and of various other scientific societies of Europe, of the United States of America, and of South America; citizen of the United States of America; resident at present in Merida, Capital of the State of Yucatan, to you, with due respect, say: Since the year 1861 I am dedicated to the iconology of American antiquities, with the object of publis.h.i.+ng a work that may make known to the world the precious archaeological treasures that the regions of the so-called new world enclose, nearly unknown to the wise men of Europe, and even to those of America itself, and thus follow the perigrinations of the human race upon the planet that we inhabit.
With so important an object, I visited the different countries of the American Continent, where I could gather the necessary information to carry through my work, already commenced, and in part published, ”The Vestiges of the human race in the American Continent since the most remote times.”
The New York Tribune published part of my discourse before the Geographical Society of New York, on the ”Vestiges of Antiquity,”
in its Lecture Sheet No. 8 of 1873.