The latest information about the statue exhumed at Chichen Itza must be discouraging to those solicitous for the careful conservation of this work of art. _La Revista de Mérida_ of May 31, 1877, has this quotation from a Mexican newspaper:--
“LA PATRIA _has the following paragraph copied from the_ EPOCA, _which ought to attract the attention of all interested. ‘The notable statue of Chac-Mool, which was received in the capital of Yucatan with so great demonstrations of jubilee, and with unaccustomed pomp, has remained in our city since its arrival, some days ago, abandoned in a small square, afar off and dirty, where the small boys of the neighborhood amuse themselves by pelting it. If Sr. Dn. Augustin del Rio had known the little value that would have been placed upon his gift, it is certain that he would have guarded there [at Yucatan] his king and his records, about which no one here concerns himself.’_”
How much of the above unfavorable criticism on the neglect of this archæological treasure by the central government, is due to the political bias of the source of this information, cannot be determined. We can, however, protest against any want of appreciation of a monument of past history in this manner lost to the State of Yucatan and to the discoverer, Dr. Le Plongeon, by the arbitrary exercise of official authority.
[58-*] Stephens’ Travels in Yucatan, Vol. II., page 303.
[59-*] The hostile Indians (_sublivados_) so often spoken of by Dr. Le Plongeon in his communications, are a body of revolted natives, variously estimated at from 50,000 to 140,000. They are called Indians of _Chan-Santa-Cruz_, from the name of their chief town, in the south-eastern part of the peninsula. During political troubles in 1847, a formidable rising of Indians against the whites took place in Yucatan, which has not yet been subdued. Nearly every year the frontier towns and plantations bordering upon the territory of these rebels, suffer from their attacks; their inhabitants are slain and their property is destroyed. So formidable is this enemy that at one time their soldiers, said to be supplied with English arms, advanced to within 15 miles of the city of Mérida. As matters stand to-day, about two-fifths of the territory of the state is in their power, and a large number of the best plantations in the peninsula are deserted.