CHICHEN ITZA. 3 



Central-American republics, a moneyless debtor can be forced to give his services to hia 

 creditor until the debt has been worked off. Such debts are transferable, and a creditor 

 is allowed to sell his claim to a third party, who thus becomes in turn entitled to the 

 debtor's services. Under these circumstances it can be easily understood that free 

 Indian labourers are scarce in the land. 



The only important export from the country is the " Sisal hemp " of commerce, and 

 the principal industry is the cultivation of the henequen (Agave rigida) and the prepa- 

 ration of the " hemp " from the fibre of its leaves. It was found profitable to raise 

 henequen when the selling-price of the fibre was half a dollar the arroba of twenty-five 

 pounds. A few years ago a great change commenced ; principally owing to the 

 failure of the hemp-crop in Manila, partly to the great increase in the demand for 

 twine used in the reaping and binding machines when harvesting the huge wheat-crop 

 of the Western States, the " hemp " steadily rose in value until, during my stay in the 

 country, it was sold for ||3. c. 35 the arroba. As the cost of production was only 

 very slightly raised, the landowners suddenly found themselves wealthy, business rapidly 

 increased, and the capital was overrun by commercial travellers and agents of foreign 

 firms. 



There was naturally a great demand for field-labourers, but the Indian, tied to the 

 soil and usually deeply in debt to his master, reaped little benefit from the change. 



As I had need of many hands to clear the large extent of ground covered by the ruins, 

 I could not have arrived at a more unfortunate time, so far as labour was concerned. 



However, as Chichen Itza lay far away from the henequen district, I trusted that 

 my strong recommendations from the Mexican Government would ensure me sufficient 

 assistance from the local authorities, who always have a number of Indian soldiers 

 under their orders, chiefly employed as labourers. I began work with the few hands 

 I could collect in the village of Piste, and as these men returned to their homes about 

 four o'clock every day, I was for some time left to pass the nights camped alone in the 

 ruins. Then, under arrangement with the Comandante at Valladolid, small parties 

 of Indian soldiers were sent for a week at a time to work at the ruins — I of course 

 paying their wages — and for a few weeks twenty to thirty men may have been working 

 in this way ; gradually these dropped off and for many days in succession only two or 

 three men would turn up to work. I see in my notes, " for a fortnight only one man 

 has come to work, and he is employed cutting fire-wood and bringing water from the 

 'cenote " ; then for a week or more none came at all. After this matters improved for 

 a time, but during the whole of my stay I was in constant and wearisome communi- 

 cation with the local authorities, who made promise after promise and almost invariably 

 broke them. Towards the end of my stay we depended almost entirely on local 

 labourers hired at about three times the current wage. In one matter, however, I was 

 especially fortunate. I had come without any companions and found my small worries 

 and bickerings all the harder to bear on that account ; but early in March Mr. H. N. 



£2 



