The ornaments of temples and palaces are mostly composed of hieroglyphics, highly adorned, of the emblems of religious rites, of statues of great men and priests, surrounded by many embellishments. In Uxmal the columns are representations of the phallus-worship of the Nahuas. In Chichen the base is formed by the head of Kukulcan, the shaft by the body of the serpent, with its feathers beautifully carved to the very chapter. On the chapters of the columns that support the portico, at the entrance of the castle in Chichen-Itza, may be seen the carved figures of long-bearded men, with upraised hands, in the act of worshipping sacred trees. They forcibly recall to the mind the same worship in Assyria, as seen on the slabs found by Layard in the ruins of Nineveh, now in the Assyrian gallery of the British Museum. No one can form an exact idea of the monuments of Mayapan by reading mere descriptions. It is necessary to either examine the buildings themselves (and this is not quite devoid of danger, since the most interesting are situated in territories forbidden to white men, and occupied by the hostile Indians of Chan-Santa-Cruz, who since 1849 wage war to the knife on the inhabitants of Yucatan, and have devastated the greatest part of that State), or to study my magnificent collection of photographs where they are most faithfully portrayed; that can be done with more ease, without running the risk of losing one’s life.