1st. To carry the statues of Chaacmol, and some bas-reliefs that
have relation to the story of that Chieftain, and are represented
in the plates 4 and 5, together with my mural tracings, plans and
photographs, to the approaching Exposition of Philadelphia.
2nd. To name me one of the members of the Mexican Commission to
that Exposition, for I am the only person who can give the
information and explanations that may make known the celebrated
monuments of Chichen-Itza, and the importance that they have in the
prehistoric history of the human race in America.
3rd. To authorize my work and investigations in the ruins of
Yucatan, where I hope to make other discoveries equally and even,
perhaps, more important, than those made by me up to the present
date, ordering that the aid of armed force be afforded me for my
protection and that of my wife, whenever our investigations are
made in places where life is endangered by hostile Indians.
4th. That among the objects which the Mexican nation have to send
to the Exposition of Philadelphia, a place be reserved to me,
sufficient for the statues, bas-reliefs, drawings, photographs and
plans that have caused this petition.
5th. That in consequence of the short time that remains before the
opening of said Exposition, and the amount that yet remains for me
to do, particularly the opening of a cart road of 13 kilometers in
a thick forest in a country where all resources are wanting, you
may have the goodness to consider this petition at your earliest
convenience, which grace I doubt not to obtain from the illustrious
Chief Magistrate of the Nation to whom I have the honor of
subscribing myself.
AUG^{TUS} LE PLONGEON, M. D.
MÉRIDA, January 27, 1876.
NOTE. The references to plates in this paper do not agree with the
numbers on the helioscopic illustrations.
Before leaving Chichen-Itza, at about the date of the above _Memorial_,
the statue, as has been already stated, was concealed in the forest near
the town of Pisté, carefully protected from the weather by Dr. and Mrs.
Le Plongeon, and an answer from the Mexican Government was eagerly
awaited. After long delay, a simple refusal to allow the statue to be
exported was the only reply. Dr. Le Plongeon then prepared his
photographs and a small collection of relics for shipment to the United
States, to be offered at the Centennial Exhibition of 1876. These
interesting offerings were accompanied by a letter to the President of
the Centennial Commission, recounting the great disappointment of not
being able to send the statue, but entreating a careful consideration of
the pictures. The letter was dated Mérida, August 30, 1876. By
unfortunate delays and misunderstandings, the articles above mentioned
never reached their destination, and in March of the present year were
purchased by the writer.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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