684 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. II. No. 47. 



The Congress, to express its respectful 

 regrets in this matter to President Diaz, 

 appointed a special commission of four, el 

 Excelentisimo Sr. D. Justo Zaragoza, a 

 delegate from Spain, Dr. George Bruce Hal- 

 sted, a delegate from the United States, 

 and two delegates from Mexico. 



This commission visited the President in 

 the National Palace, and to its brief ad- 

 dress, prepared and delivered bj'^ the chair- 

 man, an appreciative answer was returned, 

 and both were read in the next general ses- 

 sion of the Congress. This session began 

 at 4 o'clock on October 15th, in the same 

 hall, once the chapel of the oldest university 

 on this continent, San Ildefonso, now mod- 

 estly called Escuela Preparatoria, though 

 the people cling to the old name. 



Sr. Julio Zarate read the minutes of the 

 preceding meeting, and then the general 

 secretary, Sr. Trinidad Sanchez Santos, read 

 an account of the work of organization, 

 which began last April. 



At 21 of the 23 meetings of ' la junta or- 

 ganizadora ' Sr. Lie. Joaquin Baranda, Sec- 

 retary of Justice and Public Instruction, 

 presided. 



This may give some hint of how much 

 the Congress owes to this truly enlight- 

 ened man, founder also of the Anthropo- 

 logical Museum, which for its age is unsur- 

 passed. The junta sent special invitations 

 to eminent scientists. 



From special gifts and offerings of men 

 of science the junta made a highly valuable 

 collection, particularly important for the 

 study of the pre-Columbian period in 

 America. 



With the object of itself making a 

 worthy conti'ibution, the junta had transla- 

 ted twenty-seven of a precious collection of 

 songs of the aborigines found in a MS. of 

 the Biblioteca Nacional. Arrangements 

 were made for an excursion of the delegates 

 to visit the ruins of Teotihuacan and Mitla, 

 those worthy monuments of antiquity. 



Following this reading, the President of 

 the Congress, Joaquin Baranda, occupied 'la 

 tribuna.' He praised the Congress at 

 Stockholm for determining, in accordance 

 with true scientific method, to meet in 

 Mexico and study at first hand, objectively, 

 the monuments of American antiquity. 

 He enumerated mth erudition the archseo- 

 logical treasures of Mexico, from the north- 

 ern frontier to Yucatan, and especially 

 those in and immediately about the beau- 

 tiful capital. He referred to the Calendar 

 Stone, reflection of the astronomical ac- 

 quu-ements of the Aztecs and the cele- 

 brated Cross of Palenque, mj'sterious sculp- 

 ture of the Mayas, a seeming prophecy of 

 Christianity, though long before Christ. 



He spoke of the codices, maps, records of 

 tribute to the antique monarchs, now being 

 studied with more enthusiasm than ever, 

 before. He spoke of Humboldt, from the 

 peak of Chimborazo enveloping America in 

 that profound regard which made him her 

 scientific discoverer. He finished by wel- 

 coming the delegates in the name of the 

 people and the National Goverment, which 

 rejoices to aid whatever signifies progress. 



Sr. Lie. Ignacio Mariscal, secretario de 

 relaciones exteriores, in the name of the 

 President of the Republic, then declared 

 the Congress open. 



That evening at 8 o'clock a banriuet was 

 given by the City Council to the American- 

 ists in the Municipal Palace. There were 

 200 guests, and the newspapers stated the 

 cost of the banquet at six thousand dollars. 



The whole floor from the very entrance 

 was carpeted and heavily strewn with nat- 

 ural cut flowers, on which the guests trod. 

 The records of this City Council date back 

 to 1524, the first minutes being signed by 

 Hernan Cortes, the 'conquistador.' Elec- 

 tricity, gas and M'ax made a blended liglit 

 in the beautiful dining hall. The floral 

 decorations were, of course, superb. 



The first after-dinner speech was by Sr. 



