themselves into it, and part with life for a drop. When they feel the dark waves closing over them they doubtless repent of the rash deed, so, having taken a drink and a bath, are very grateful if any one will ladle them out. Then they crawl away like turtles, to repeat after a while the suicidal attempt. The hives of these harmless bees are most ingeniously built of clay, held together and made extremely hard by a secretion proper to the insect. Iguanas, some very large, also live in the walls of the old edifices; they and many other creatures, inhabitants of these palaces, have it all their own way, for the Indians do not kill them, though iguana-skin is sold for a fair price in Merida, where it is used to make shoes. The Indians respect them because they believe that the animals living in those ancient walls may be animated by the souls of those who formerly dwelt in these buildings.

Yucatan is so strewn with ancient ruins that there is hardly a town or village where something of the kind is not discovered in the neighborhood. Sometimes these vestiges of grandeur are remarkable for their size. This is notably the case at Izamal, a city forty-eight miles from Merida. Before the Spaniard ever thought of searching for gold in America (indeed, from time immemorial), Izamal was a place where people from all the countries roundcalled now Guatemala, Chiapas, Tabasco went in pilgrimage to worship at its temples. Four of the largest mounds, on which temples formerly stood, yet surround the central square of the city. The largest is a hundred and fifty feet high. The temple on its summit was dedicated to Kin-ich-kak-moo (fiery macaw with eyes like the sun). It was said that always at mid-day the macaw descended from heaven and burned the sacrifice offered on her altar. It is not at all improbable that the priests set fire to it from a distance by means of reflecting mirrors with which they could concentrate the rays of the sun thereon. The other mounds were also dedicated to deities. The mound on the south side of the square was occupied by the palaces of the priests.

Bishop Landa took upon himself to destroy them, building in their place a church and convent of Franciscan monks. The convent is now in a ruinous condition; it serves as barracks, occasionally as penitentiary.

Within the precincts of the church is a shrine containing an image of the Virgin

ARCHWAY OF LAS MONJAS.

Mary which is said to perform miraculous cures. Landa destroyed the images of the natives, then went to Guatemala to have a Mary made for them. The images destroyed were said to perform miracles; so did the new one put in their place. Father Cogolludo, in his History of Yucatan, says that when the statue was on its way from Guatemala to Yucatan it rained heavily, but not a drop fell on the box wherein the Holy Virgin lay, nor on the men who carried it. It was not as proof against fire, for it got burned, and another wooden image of the same lady, equally revered, occupies its place.

On the 8th of December the festival of Our Lady of Izamal is celebrated with great pomp. A large fair is also held in

the city during those days in her honor. Even merchants from neighboring States flock there, if not to kneel at the shrine of the Virgin, to worship at the altar of Mercury. Devotees on those occasions crowd the private apartment of the doll, which is also carried in solemn procession, decked in gorgeous array, and followed by a long train of worshippers.

After church service is over, all leave in a hurry and rush to the bull-fight. Many of the Indians, who know absolutely nothing about tauromachy, enter the ring to fight the bull, exposing themselves to be injured for life, or die a painful death. In this we see an ancient custom yet prevalent. The ancients sacrificed their lives to deities for any benefit received. To-day an Indian begs a favor of his patron saint, and as a proof of his deep gratitude promises to fight a bull, keep drunk a certain number of days, or do some other rash thing.

Bull-fighting in Yucatan is not like bullfighting in Spain. The ring is a double

palisade sustaining sheds covered with palm leaves, that are divided into boxes. Every one provides his own seat. The best and the worst, big and small, all attend the bull-fight. Those who, on foot, merely play with the bull, only have a henequen sack to serve as shield. Others, also on foot, are provided with poles about three feet long, having a sharp iron head, like that of an arrow, called rejon. When the people are tired of seeing the bull played with, they call for the rejoneros. Those with the spears described then come forward. Their business is to strike the bull in the nape and kill it, but it is seldom done at once. The beast is chased by two or three men, blow after blow is dealt, the blood gushing afresh each time. The first pain makes the animal furious, but the loss of blood soon weakens it, and it becomes almost harmless. Then the horsemen are called on to lasso it and drag it away. While another bull is being fetched, rockets are fired, the people applaud, the band plays, a clown mean while

One of their dances, called Ixtol, is especially interesting, being a vestige of sun-worship. Men and women take part in the dance; provided the number of each is equal, it matters not how many. All have on masks, anciently well made, to-day mere square pieces of deer-skin with three holes cut for eyes and mouth. Often these holes are so much awry as to produce a most ludicrous appearance, and none can guess what the features beneath may be like. All wear sandals. The women have necklaces, principally of large red beads, and ear-rings, formerly nose rings too, but since the conquest these have been prohibited. The chief, or master, as they call him, wears a circular cap, stuck all round with peacocks' feathers, making a lofty waving head-dress. front of him, from his waist, hangs a representation of the sun. In its centre is an eye, inclosed by a triangle, from which depends a large tongue. All these things are symbols of a most ancient freemasonry. One carries a white flag with a sun painted on it and a man and woman worshipping it. Another has a sacatan, a kind of drum, used also in Africa; another a flute; another a sistrum, a sacred instrument among the ancient Egyptians. With the sistrum he beats time for the dancers. In the other hand he has a small threetailed whip, calling to mind the Egyptian flagellum of Osiris. This is to chastise the dancers if they step badly. A necklace of large sea-shells hangs half-way to his waist.

Each dancer has in the left hand a fan made of turkey feathers, with the bird's claw for handle. In the right hand each has a sistrum, not quite like those used by the Egyptians, but exactly like those of Central Africa, as described by Du Chaillu. Those in Yucatan are made of small calabashes, ornamentally painted, and secured to the handle by pieces of bamboo: they have pebbles inside to rattle. The flag is held upright by the bearer or planted in the ground. Beneath it sits the drummer, cross-legged, his drum on the ground before him. Close to the flag-staff stands the master, the conductor, and the flute-play

There is a pig's-head festival, now much fallen into disuse. At a certain season of the year the head is cooked, decorated with many-colored ribbons and flowers, and, with an orange between its jaws, placed upon an altar prepared for the occasion by a man who dances meanwhile. In this manner it is borne by a procession of people to some chosen individual. Various other presents are also given, such as fowls, cigars, sweet-bread, and so forth. The more numerous the gifts, the worse it is for the recipient, because on the following year he is expected to give just twice the amount received.

An instrument called tunkul is used for all sacred ceremonies. It is a piece of the trunk of a tree about a yard long, and one-third in diameter. On one side it has a long mouth, nearly from one extreme to the other, through which the trunk is hollowed out. On the opposite side are two oblong tongues, that start from the extremes and almost meet in the middle, being only separated by the thickness of a carpenter's saw. To play on it they put the mouth on the ground, and the tongues, like two long keys, are struck with sticks whose points are covered with India rubber that makes them rebound, so that the sound may not be veiled or confused. It is like a great rumbling in the earth, and when the wind is favorable can be heard five or six miles off. "The word tunkul means 'to be worshipping.' This instrument was also used by the Aztecs and other people of these regions, "* and reminds *Crecencio Carillo Ancona, Canon.

us of the war drum used in Africa to call the tribes together, mentioned both by Du Chaillu and Stanley. There are some very beautiful tunkuls in the Museum of Antiquities at Mexico.

The natives of Yucatan always carry infants, their own and those of the whites also, astride their hip, as the people of Hindostan also do. In Yucatan there is a ceremony for first placing the child thus, called heetzmek. A godmother is chosen when the child is about four months old, and the baby is placed astride her hip. Thus holding it, she walks round the

profound respect for the heetzmek naylan (heetzmek godmother), the child being taught to kiss her hand.

The people of Yucatan in general are very superstitious. When the Indians, and many mestizos, suffer from a disease that they don't understand, they straightway imagine themselves bewitched, and. that a hmen (wise man) can cure them.

This "wise man" professes to know all about medicinal herbs, and since he understands sorcery, his people have profound faith in him, and he is called to the aid of the bewitched. The rogue, ut