of Yucatan Indians; 60 photographs of the ruins of Uxmal;
and 48 photographs of the ruins of Chichen-Itza, including twelve views
relating to the discovery of a statue called Chac-Mool. These pictures,
and the relics found in the excavation from which the statue was
exhumed, as well as the discovered statue, are valuable acquisitions,
and establish a strong claim to the gratitude of the scientific world.
Besides these articles, the original head and feet of a female idol in
plaster, from the Island of Mugeres, have been discovered by Dr. Le
Plongeon, which have not yet been brought to public notice. Of this
antique figure Dr. Le Plongeon says, in a letter to the writer: "Whilst
at Mugeres Island I had the good fortune to find the statue of one of
the priestesses of the shrine of the Maya Venus, whose ruins stand at
the southernmost end of the island, on the very brink of the cliff. It
was entire, but the men, not knowing how to handle this object, when
first disinterred broke it to pieces. I was only able to save the face
and feet. They are full of interest, not only artistically speaking, but
also historically, inasmuch as they seem to prove the ancient relations
that existed between the people of Mayapan and the inhabitants of the
west coast of Africa. The teeth, like those of Chac-Mool, are filed like
a saw. This was the custom among persons of high rank in Mayapan, as it
is even to-day with some of the African tribes, whilst the sandals are
exact representations of those found on the feet of the _Guanches_, the
early inhabitants of the Canary Islands, whose mummies are yet
occasionally met with in the caves of Teneriffe and the other isles of
the group. These relics, I am certain, are the last of high art to be
found on the Island of Mugeres. The sea is fast eating the base of the
promontory where stands the shrine. Part of it has already fallen into
the sea, and in a few years not a stone will remain to indicate the
place where stood this altar."

The photographs relating to the discovery of the statue of Chac-Mool are
found in a series of twelve pictures, herewith presented in the plates
which follow. It is upon this discovery, as will be seen from his
_Mexican Memorial_, that Dr. Le Plongeon has relied more than upon any
other result of his labors, for fame and remuneration. The statue was
exhumed, according to the account in the _Mexican Memorial_, in
consequence of interpretations of certain mural tablets and
h