Evening Star Newspaper, March 29, 1925, Page 73

ILLUSTRATED FEATURES MAGAZINE SECTION The Sunday Staf " Part 58 Pages WASHINGTON, | Ex_p_lorer Penetrates Wilds in Search of Relics of ngas One of Least Krown Sections of New World Is So Far Removed From Traveled Ways That Only Three White Men Are Said to Have Been Seen There in Eight Years—Cutting TrailsWhere Death May Come Very Quickly. BY CAPTAIN ROBERT R. BENNETT, HIRTY-THRE years go 1 hipwrecked in a three- ed schooner on the iro bhound ¢ t of Yucatan, and many adventures landed most in rags. That er, is a long story. merely mentioned as an incident luring me back to t enes and friendships of long same ne enabling m ine in a hunting 1 exp. uary ter ozreso to cheologic Last e Territor eastern coast of the wilde: found in Quintana Roo on the of the peninsula, one and least known por- tions of the New World, and in the vicinity of Puerto Morelos, where, 1 was told, two Americans and a Hol- der had be > only white men n in eigh A Mava Indian said that he could how me the h white man ch was only a mile or two distant We started on a trail that was worse than rough, and must have gone at ive miles or more when the In- aused on the edge of a lagoon ater was clear and beautiful— was reflected ue as indigo. It was about no ing a nap. Not Ahe fronds of a ing motionless, but jath, for a huge brilliant vermilion, in the air, flaunt- e M the golden brilliant flowers of foliage, pushing ch, by fo to death thousands of blos- me of of a stirred g0 w ike hed Felipe, swly. It hmaster, e New the Indian recuired the World from bel e motioned gh the and sh his way for a huge of terror in hastened rotting log. wled gingerly 1 walls of lly found 2 dim semblan nd push- ing our way along. we soon reached the edge of an exvanse of clear water, in which could be seen many fish of t hue, flashing rainbow colors ¢ slowly moved here and there. th stolid face expressionless ched roof fallen protruding in over all crept a glorious bongainvill if mocking this ev cut are nt opies, e Indian pointed and piercing beadlil of the n full flower, dence of decay A door hanging by a slender vine nd T entered. A pervaded this dark A rotting ham- nd what had the earthen | forth T raised what was human trash a g and om thi the left Who was this man? What brought n here to die? Who was mourn- & for him? What ner of his death? All these questions | bility of answe: w he was an American -on told so but that was s nothing ore to tell. He had given no nam but admitted his disgust for civilized and wished for & place t and where ginge beheld hunt- He had emploved Indians to build this b to and fro occasionally for necessities, had come » the little store that was all He did not understand the forest of Quintana Roo, but the forest un derstood him per kne one’s fear of its sov 1 has secret knowledge but makes no sign in the sunshine - dise, for o ed <miled like 1 and waited, ¢ ad seer things before a n strong men. full of hope mbition, had seen them bitten | squito, then terrible pain, | delivium, & glance fro dimming | eyes, beholding for a ent the | brilliant sunshine, the fowers, the | Weautiful lagoon, then the blac vomit, and all his thoughts were | wiped out The forest laughs, the birds #ing, the fish swim around in the lagoon. the vines put forth their love- liest flowers, the monkeys frollc in the trees and all wait patiently for the next. it was watch these only UINTANA ROO ¥ T does not | believe in lusting friendships. Like the Lorelei, it sings its song and rejoices, for it alw wins. It asks| for no love or fi . it does not | need to-—its tree, by th In- dians Che-chan, exudes a sap, and if even one drop falls on @ human skin | it burns a hole kes w terrible sore, leaving a It sends forth a fily which bites humans, par- ticularly selecting the ears, and then the tops of the ears rot away. 1 have seen many such ears. It sends mes- sengers of coral snakes, orange and black and beautiful, a bite from which means the end; centipedes, scorpions and curious creatures in shells, ltke the ends of the conch—| they are red, with one claw protrud- ing, with which they love to pinch the unsuspecting intruder, and they make & clucking noise like a setting hen. The Indians say he will die—I do mot know. Its lakes and sw contain other messen sect which bites hard actually takes out and ca a piece of flesh. Alligators and water enakes are_also among its treasured offspring. The forest is lovely, invit- ing, but to him who goes there, one word—do not linger, but push through even though carried in a hammock, and | the | D. SUNDAY MORNING, FICTION AND HUMOR MARCH 29, 192 ‘CASTILLO" Tuloom,visible for many miles aterea Quintana Roo is about half the size of Indlana ( 000 square miles), and has 10,000 Indians. A thousand years ago it had half a million. The Maya clvilization emerged from barbarism about 3,000 vears ago, and developed a remarkable civilization resulting in the building of many citles, some surrounded by walls, having palaces, towers, temples and all that goes with such a civilization. Tn 1511 the crew of a wrecked ship drifted from Jamalca in a small boat to the coast of Yucatan were seized by the M sacrificed in the usual wa: over a stone—the breast split open with an obsidian knife and the heart jerked out and, while still palpitating, offered to the gods. As an old writer says, “they were split open like a pomegranite.” Others were put at hard labor in the city now known as Tuloom, where most of them perished. The small population of Quintana Roo at the present day is accounted for by the savage nature of the Mayas when interfered with, as Mexico has done, but has ceased doing. They had to. The Mayas are unconquerable. Another reason is that the coast was continually raided by pirates. In 1613 pirates took possession of Ascension Bay. In 1642, Diego, the mulatto, sacked several cities. He was finally captured and executed in the Dry Tortugas. In 1648 and 1652 the pirate, Abraham, did the same work, and so on down to Lafitte and Molas. The last two, however, were not given to raids in Yucatan, but erected forts for defense from the French and Eng- lish, still to be seen at Yalahau and for once on the seashore the spell is Broken, It cannot hurt you, along the coast, with old cannon half buried in the. sandy besches, 4 The Spaniards were also given to terrible acts of cruelty. In 1544 Alonzo Pacheco ceme upon the scene. writes Father Bienvinid: vas not more cruel than this man.” Pacheco seized all supplies of food and with his own hands garroted or beat to death the unfortunate In- dians. He cut off the breasts of women and threw others into ponds with calabashes tied to their feet, 5o that they drowne These barbarities caused revolts on | the part of the Indians, and between | these and the raids of pirates the | Whites gradually |known as Quintana Hoo, which easily left what is now fell into the hands of the Indians, sadly reduced in number, degener: ated, who left their wonderful bulld- ings as the. habitat of the owl and the jagguar. * % % ¥ JMIT first stop atter leaving Merida was Tizimin. This village is near the border of Quintana Roo, and at the extreme end of the railroad. I presented a letter of introduction to the Presidente Municipal of Tizl- min, a very polite young man, intel- ligent and capable. The letter was from Gen. Augustin Olachea of the Mexican Army, chief of military oper- atlons In Yucatan. This young mayor showed, with considerable pride, a wooden building he had just had erected, containing about 300 seats, a stage, electric light outfit, and a motion picture machine. He was compelling every person fn the vil- lage to attend a achool here and attend educational motion ,pictures and shows, & most commendable Churchof Jercera Orden n Merida e Maya Indians dressed-up” Aucert butlding overlooking the oceat,about 300yatds | | | | | | Stories of Quin- tana Roo. Where Indians Numbered Half a Million a Thousand Years Ago and Have Now Been Reduced to Ten Thousand— Walled Cities Which Were Built at Time When Hu- man Sacrifices Were the Custom. climbed and Perhaps th night bird |an owl come from the jungle Doubtless |1 stooa jof Tuloc torth of the city wall of Tuloom Ruins rorth of Tuloom, looking thesea and I grave, immediately wanted to see his but he said the only one who knew the exact spot was away on a | Journes somewhere. 1 had to give up in | disgust | The canoa was named pro- | nounced “Shpit,” and it w e best named vessel 1 every traveled upon. but a fin gentleman than Don ".Ar-] |los Cervera, the owner, would be hard to find. The coast here is lined with reefs, and about the finest fish- ing one could find an here. We threw out trolling lines and caught several barracudas, red snappers and several others. We reached Mugeres Island while the sun was getting low. It is a won- derfully beautiful spot and chock-fuil | of piratical ror . with water blue as the Bay of s, for which it is famous. In the beautiful little har- bor of this island, which means “the island of women,” on account of the many stone images of males qun-]‘ there by Corter, was seen a small steamer from Havana, which calls about every 10 days for fish. Fleets of dozens of small fishing boats gath- er up the fish, which is packed in ice on this little steamer and tuken to Havana. On the northern end of this island is an ancient Maya stone tower, a landmark visible for many miles at sea. Turtle hunting is a large in- dustry, and around on the beaches are great heaps of turtls shells. Shortly after sunup we sighted the low coast of Cozumel Island, or Cuz- amil Island, given this name vy the which means “the iand of swallows.” “Beautiful _Cozumel,” writes Alice le Plongen. The village of San Miguel, on Cozumel Island, has a population of about 2,000, with undertaking and the first thing of the kind 1 had seen in Yucatan. The mayor had afranged for a volante, a huge, unwieldly vehicle, but heavy &nd strong. Strolling around the village, I observed a large church and was told it was 300 years old. Next to it were the ruins of an old convent. With five mules hitched to the old volante I started for the Indlan village of Sucopo, where I arrived in about two hours over a frightful voad, It was bright moonlight and this village presented a wild and beau- tiful scene. The principal man of the village invited us to dinner. A plate of canned sardines, cold cortillas, a hot but greasy broth in a large bowl of chopped-up meat, was in the center of the table and this composed the bill of fare. When I inquired for knives, forks and spoons they laughed and said they were too poor to own such things, so ezch picked out his meat swimming around In the bowl and sucked his fingers. We crawled into another Indlan village called Odzceh at about § e'clock in the morning, It was & wild, wretched place, and the square was lit up by flaring lights with groups of Indians in highly colored blankets and bare legs all shivering and teeth chattering in the early dawn, [ went with a letter of introduc- tion to the head man, who was in a hammock suspended in a _dismal, damp, cold, old bullding, and crawl- ing out he insisted that I immediate- ly get in and snatch an hour or two of sleep, which I did, having vague dreams and suffering from the cold. I awakened about 7, stiff and sore, and was compelled to eat some vile Stuft for breakfast, hot water in milk with a little coffee, cold cortillas and hot beans making an awful mess. I tried to get warm, but slmply could net and shivered as with the ague. Razor-backed pigs and bad smell- ing cows were running around in the little plaza. -There was a small tram- way of about 2-foot gauge Tun- ning through the thick forest from Odzceh to El Cuyo. A flat car with small wheels ran over this road, drawn by a mule. Two Indlans sat on the front seat, one operating a brake and ope driving the mule, while three stores, a customs house and ppst office. They recently erected a radio station, and I sent 2 message home which never was received. * ¥ ¥ X HE sea around Cozumel s also as blue as that of the Bay of Na- ples. A beautifu] lagoon is found about 4 or 5 miles south of San Miguel, 20 or 30 feet deep and clear as air. I found the very spot where I had stood 33 years ago to dive off into this beautiful sheet of water. The rulns of Tuloom are about 40 miles southwest of Cozumel, or the comst of Yucatan, and, landing there, 1 had to walk perhaps a mile to a hut within the walls of this ancient city, where lives Isidro Sauri, put there by the Mexican governmunt to keep the bulldings clear of vegestation and generally oversee the place. These ruins are visited by very few per- sons, owing to their inaccessibility. 1 approached Tuloom from the sea; the sun was rising and its rays lit up the Moorish-looking city. I recalled I sat at the back end on one rear seat having a most uncomfortable wooden back. It could make about 15 miles an hour. * * X % (CROSSING the Rio Largotos, T ar- rived at El Cuyo, nestling in a grove of cocoanut palms on the north- ern coast. It is a beautiful spot. A short distance north on the beach & huge three-masted schooner had been wrecked, blown there by a terrific storm last January. There is a lighthouse at this little port, built upon a large Indian mound, I had expected 2 good night's rest here, but was aroused at 1 o'clock in the morning to take a small sailing sloop or canoa for the Islands of Mu- geres and Cozumel. The country around her€ abounds in stories of pirates. A man on the Island of Contoy told me of a huge collection of gold and silver coins, taken from the pirates. I expressed a desire to pur- chase a few of these, but he sald he could not see the man because he was drunk. I suggested some one else in the household, but he said that they were |the words of Juan Diaz, chaplair: of the away. He further insisted that Lafitte, |Grijalva expedition, o the pirate, was buried over on the coast, ! wrote: “We perceived a city so large ard the the priests w Erastus wrote t Tato monume As Tuloo g The Umbrella. LL sorts of decorating Eleph als are andles of umbr las. | smart in most tic plaid high vogue, with a of plaid » And u plaid silk umbrel artening sight —a good ¢ times a bord sed with a plab a painted plaid wood or compos! handle s u Crystal ball nd ferrule end silk umbrellas Tassels or th hung from umbre combination is kid with has a black a dle and f of black hands and w that carr rella awhile rella this one sees a for women sort of handle u men think easiest to to have a losing umbrell perhaps there are eno who demand this old-time ape to keep It going. parti conven A Dangerous Job. to places, but G Army Air S only one who risk by falling in order to take pictures, vs Popular Science. With three small motion pictura cameras strapped to his beit and a parachute on his back, this daring photographer, a senfor instructor in parachute jumping, leaps from tha wing of a Martin bombe As he falls, e looks about hi calmly, taking photographs of bits of scenery or other objects of interest If the parachute opens properly and he lands safely, he then has for sals several photographs that are of usual value and interest. Anti-Fog Device. 'HE fogging of show window they are of the boxed-in tyr may be prevented by placing a flat glass or porcelain dish contalning calcium chioride in the window. This chemical substance quickly absorbs moisture from the air with the re- sult that the moisture in prevented from congealing against the outside glass, says Popular Science. The contents of the ¢lshes must be renewed every two or three days, and the moist calcium chloride thorough! dried, after which it may be uscd again naker of to be Shoe Alaskan Sponge Field? ‘WO live spouges were attached to the anchor rope of the mine tend er Leo when drawn from the water off Chichagoff, Alaska. Capt. Ce Davis tested the temperaturs of the sea 20 fathoms down and found it was 18 degre warmer than that of the surface. ews of the sponge dis- covery aroused almost as much ex- citement as did the old-time gold craze. Fishermen sought dlving out- fits to explore the submerged rocks for sponge beds.