"Much has been done in recent years to throw light upon the history of the ancient races of the east, but comparatively little interest has been taken, even by American archaeologists and scientists, in the ancient and marvelous civilization whose traces are to be found scattered over our continent, particularly in Central America and Mexico. That a civilization once flourished in these regions, much higher than any of the Spanish conquerors found upon their arrival, there can be no doubt. By far the most important work that has been done among the remains of the old Maya civilization has been carried on by the Peabody Museum of Harvard College, through a series of expeditions it has sent to the buried city now called Copan, in Spanish Honduras. In a beautiful valley near the borderland of Guatemala, surrounded by steep mountains and watered by a winding river, the hoary city lies wrapped in the sleep of ages. The ruins at Copan, although in a more advanced state of destruction than those of the Maya cities of Yucatan, have a general similarity to the latter in the design of the buildings and in the sculptures, while the characters in the inscriptions are essentially the same. It would seem, therefore, that Copan was a city of the Mayas; but if so it must have been one of their most ancient settlements, fallen into decay long before the cities in Yucatan reached their prime. The Maya civilization was totally distinct from the Aztec or Mexican; it was an older and also a much higher civilization. "So far the Peabody expeditions have confined their attention to the temples and palaces, and though for several seasons quite a little army of natives has been engaged in excavating, yet the work that has been accomplished amounts to little in comparison with that which remains to be done. To clear the main structure alone will be the work of years. Could the vast structures be restored, our greatest buildings would seem as pygmies in comparison; and certainly no city of the modern world could boast such a profuseness and richness of carved and sculptured ornamentations." --Henry C. Walsh, _in Harper's Weekly, October_, 1897. INDIANS ALL OF ONE ORIGIN. Mr. Bradford in his researches into the origin of the red race, adopts the following conclusions in regard to the ancient occupants of North America: "That they were all of the same origin, branches of the same race and possessed of similar customs and institutions. "That they were populous and occupied a great extent of territory. "That they had arrived at a considerable degree of civilization, were associated in large communities and lived in extensive cities. "That they possessed the use of many of the metals, such as lead, copper, gold, and silver, and probably the art of working in them.