Page:Young Folks History Of Mexico.pdf/361

Rh of "the gymnasium," are great stone rings set in the wall. Similar ones have been found in Mexico, and it is supposed that they were used in games of ball. They are four feet in diameter, and thirteen inches thick, with a sculptured border of entwined serpents.

Among these ruins, which are the remains of the once rich and flourishing capital of the Itzaes—Chichen-Itza, the Itza city—men have labored for years striving to discover the secrets they contain. The celebrated explorer, Dr. Le Plongeon, here discovered a beautiful monolith, the largest statue ever unearthed in this country. It was called by him Chaac-mol, and now reposes in the museum at the capital of Mexico, an object of curiosity and speculation to the student of American archæology. The same intrepid explorer and his devoted wife have made tracings of the mural paintings and photographs of all the hieroglyphs; occupations which cost them years of labor.

The ruins of Uxmal (pronounced Oosh-mal), situated about fifty miles south of the present capital of Yucatan, Merida, are not less famous and interesting than those of Chichen-Itza. There are many magnificent piles scattered over a large area. The most conspicuous building is that called the "House of the Governor," standing on the uppermost of three ranges of terraces, the first of which is five hundred and seventy-five feet long. The front wall is towards the east, and is three hundred and twenty-two feet in length; the facade is smooth and without ornament to the tops of the doorways, but the cornice above is one mass of rich and elaborately sculptured ornaments. It forms a perfect sculptured mosaic, with the added interest that each stone contains a history; for these sculptures are hieroglyphs, and preserve an allegory or part of a historical record. Eleven doorways open into a double series of rooms, the principal ones being sixty feet long