188G.] NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 3 77 



for our time, labor, and expenses, and has declined to make 

 amends in any way ; and we have as yet failed to obtain any 

 redress through our own, (he American government. 



During anotlier stay at Chichen, we opened a larger mauso- 

 leum that had been built over the remains of a wise man and 

 soothsayer. In the urn that contained the remains we found a 

 large square talisman of jade stone, having a human face carved 

 on it, surrounded by signs and characters that mean Cay" Can- 

 CHi (a name), the high-priest of the sun. As a hole was 

 pierced through the stone, we may presume that it was worn by 

 the priest. 



Besides the urn and a statue, we found in that mausoleum 182 

 conoidal pillars, some painted blue, others red, averaging from 

 2J feet to 4 feet in height. Also 12 serpent heads, exquisitely 

 sculptured and ])ainted in bright colors. These and the pillars 

 were probably objects from some temple destroyed in very remote 

 times. 



The 12 serpent heads recall to mind the 12 gods that, accord- 

 ing to Herodotus, wore said to have ruled over Egypt before the 

 time of their first human king, Menes ; and would seem to cor- 

 respond to 12 heads that we find in the same edifice where we 

 see the Creation tableau, already described. The decorations 

 on the outside of that building are chiefly representations of the 

 face of the mastodon, and between the eyes of 12 of those faces 

 there is a human face surrounded by an aureola or halo, life-size, 

 intended, no doubt, for portraits of ancient rulers. 



Although we have made remarkable and gratifying discoveries, 

 they are nothing compared to what we might yet do under favor- 

 able circumstances. We wish to continue the work, but cannot 

 unless aided. Of the grand buildings in Chichen and Uxmal, 

 we have made perfect moulds, photographs, and plans, at a large 

 outlay of time, labor, and capital, for during twelve years we 

 have spent $50,000 on the work. 



The moulds that we made of the antique sculptures are stored 

 in New York City. With them, fac-similes of tiie ancient 

 temples and palaces could be made, so that, although each year 

 that passes leaves those structures more destroyed, the ancient 

 works of art will not be lost, since from our moulds they can be 

 reproduced in plaster or terra-cotta and studied without the in- 

 convenience of dwelling in dense forests where leopards chase the 

 agile deer, and venomous reptiles and insects lurk on every side. 



If, on the other hand, some scholars should prefer to study 

 in situ, why not establish in Yucatan, amidst the stupendous 

 remains of a great and surprising civilization, a school for their 

 study, and for that of the Maya language, one of the most 

 .ancient forms of speech, coeval with, if not anterior to the San- 



