section of the
country away from the beaten track of travel. Their sites are overspread
with the luxuriant vegetation of tropical lands, through which the
Indian's machete must carve a passage. The states in which they are
situated are notorious for anarchy and misrule, and the climate is such
that it is dangerous for those not acclimated to venture thither
during a large part of the year. So it is not strange that but few have
wandered among these ruins, and described them to the world at large.

Illustration of Map of Central America.-----------

But the accounts thus presented are interesting in the extreme, though
they have raised many questions that have thus far defied solution.
There is no doubt but what there exist large groups of ruins not yet
described, structures and monuments which might, perhaps, throw some
light on a past that now seems hopelessly lost. But the ruins thus far
described are so numerous, their similarity is so evident, that we feel
we have but little to hope from such undiscovered ruins. There are,
doubtless, richly ornamented facades, grotesquely sculptured statues,
and hieroglyphic-covered altars, but they would prove as much of an
enigma as those already known. Our only hope is that some fortunate
scholar will yet discover a key by whose aid the hieroglyphics now
known may be read. Then, but not until then, will the darkness that now
enshrouds ancient Maya civilization be dissipated.

As will be seen from a glance at the map, the most important ruins are
in the modern states of Honduras, Guatemala, Chiapas, and especially
Yucatan, the northern portion of this peninsula being literally studded
with them. The river Usumacinta and its numerous tributaries flowing in
a northern direction through Chiapas is regarded as the original home
of the civilization whose ruins we are now to describe. From whence the
tribes came that first settled in this valley is as yet an unsettled
point. We notice that we have here another instance of the influence
that fertile river valleys exert upon tribes settling therein. The
stories told us of the civilization that flourished in primitive times
in the valleys of the Euphrates and the Nile are not more wonderful--the
ruins perhaps not more impressive--than are the traditions still extant,
or the material remains fallen in picturesque ruins, of the civilization
that once on a time held sway in the Usumacinta Valley.

One of the most famous groups of ruin