d yards from it, in the midst of the forest. No traveller or
writer has ever indicated the place where it lay buried, and it is by
deciphering the meaning of some hieroglyphics and mural paintings,
that we came to a knowledge of the place. The building with tigers and
shields was simply a monument dedicated to his memory."

[Illustration: _Statue at Chichen-Itza, Yucatan, in process of
exhumation by Dr. Augustus Le Plongeon, showing the engineering process
by which it was accomplished._

DESCRIPTION OF PLATE.

7. Represents the statue of Chac-Mool uncovered at the depth of 8
meters. At the sides are seen the frame-work "of trunks of trees of 2 to
2-1/2 inches in diameter, secured with vines." The inclined plane on
which it was drawn to the surface is visible, as are some of the ten
Indian laborers, in working costume.

8. The statue has now been drawn to the upper part of the inclined
plane. The ropes of habin bark are attached to the figure. Near the
sculptured slabs at the right, already shown in 3, 5 and 6, Mrs. Le
Plongeon appears seated.

9. Shows the capstan that served to raise the statue, the size of which
is apparent by comparison with the figure of the Indian near it.

10. Apparently the same locality as 4. The method of moving the statue
over the fragments of sculpture and other impediments is shown.

11. The size and appearance of the statue, "half as large again as the
natural size," is here distinctly pictured, together with Dr. Le
Plongeon standing in the rear of his discovery. The head-dress,
trappings and sandals are clearly defined.

12. The statue is seen on the rude wagon on which it had been
transported to Piste, a distance of 3 or 4 miles. In the rear is seen
the stone church of Piste, surmounted by a cross, described in
_Charnay's Cites et Ruines Americaines_, page 336, and by Dr. Le
Plongeon, in the _Mexican Memorial_. Nearly all the small towns have
similar Churches, built from the ruins of Indian buildings. It is
probable that some of the choicest works of art, too large to be easily
destroyed, were put out of sight in the construction of these edifices
by the fanatical conquerors of the 16th century.

NOTE. The numbers of the pictures do not agree with those in the
_Mexican Memorial_.]

It appears that Dr. Le Plongeon, on his arrival in Yucatan, in 1873,
first visited Uxmal, where he made explorations and took photographs. He
then prepared himself to undertake the more difficult an