al constructed for the
convenience of pilgrims. A long peace then reigned between the princes
of the several principal cities, which was brought to an end by an
alliance formed against the King of Mayapan. The rulers of Chichen and
Uxmal dared openly to condemn the conduct of the king of Mayapan,
because he had employed hirelings to protect himself against his own
people, who were provoked by his tyrannical exactions, and had
transferred his residence to Kimpech, upon which town and neighborhood,
alone, he bestowed his royal favors. His people were especially outraged
by the introduction of slavery, which had been hitherto unknown to them.
A change of rulers at Mayapan failed to allay the troubles in the
empire, and by a conspiracy of the independent princes, the new tyrant
of Mayapan was deposed, and he was defeated in a three days battle at
the city of Mayapan. The palace was taken, and the king and his family
were brutally murdered. The city was then given to the flames and was
left a vast and desolate heap of ruins.

Then one of the Tutul-Xius, prince of Uxmal, on his return, was crowned
and received the title of supreme monarch of the Mayas. This king
governed the country with great wisdom, extending his protection over
the foreign mercenaries of the former tyrant, and offering them an
asylum not far from Uxmal, where are now the remains of the towns
Pockboc, Sakbache and Lebna. It is believed that the city of Mayapan was
then rebuilt, and existed shorn of some of its former greatness, but
later it was again the cause of dissension in the kingdom, and was again
destroyed. This event is said to have occurred in A. D. 1464. Peace then
reigned in Yucatan for more than twenty years, and there was a period of
great abundance and prosperity. At the end of this time the country was
subjected to a series of disasters. Hurricanes occurred, doing
incalculable damage; plagues followed with great destruction of life;
and thus began the depopulation of the peninsula. Then the Spaniards
arrived, and the existence of Indian power in Yucatan came to an end.

The foregoing is necessarily an abridged, hastily written, and very
imperfect sketch of some of the more prominent facts connected with the
supposed early history of Mayan civilization, which have been brought
together with care, labor, and great elaboration, by the Abbe Brasseur
de Bourbourg. Much of this history is accepted as correct from the
weight of the authorities whic