LITERATURE.

(From the .New York Tribune.)

Incidents of Tl'lvel in Yucatan. By John L. Stephens, Author of “ Incidents of Travel in Egypt, Arabia Puree“, and the Holy Land;” “Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatan,” etc.

news.

But we must pass over these introductory pages,_and spook more definitely ofthe ruins discovered mid described. Tho first which horenched were those at Mayapan. Tth cover a great plain upon the site where, according to his- torical record, once stood the capital ofthe whole country. surrounded by a strong wall, the remains of which may still be traced through the woods. llalf buried mounds are soon scattered over its surface, the edifices that once surmounted them having with a single exception entirely disappeared.- ‘Oiieoftliele mounds was sixty foot high and one. hundred ftet squ at the base, built up solid from the plain, With a broad rcaso on each of its four sides and n plath stone platfor "fifteen feet square at the summit. Around its base, fore great distance, ware strewn sculptured stones, with danvod'figuros of men and beasts, and the hideous shapes of demons. Upon a ruined mound some thirty feet iii height was/still lound standing a circular building some twenty-live feet in height, with cornicos,douhlo columns, and the re- mains ot' paintings upon its walls. The whole peninsula onucatan was known to the natives at the time ofthe Span- ish invasion by the name of Maya, and this, too, was the. name of the language which they’usod. The capital City of Mayapan, ofwhich these are the ruins, is said to have been

‘ M: destroyed by the rebellious vassals nearly a hundred years

: {3 before the arrival of the Spaniards. Strikingaflinities oi the Maya language with those ofAsia have been discovered and pointed out by Marian, in hISflVOf'k'Ofl the subject. .

The travellers next proceeded to Uxmal, which they had visited bclbre, but imperfectly explored. It was here that

i their labours on their former visit were so abruptly termina- ted. Mr. Cntherwood has given a great number of illustra- tions, to make perfectly clear the situation,size,uppcarance, &o., ofthese most interesting remains, which Were among the most striking and important observed in the whole pen- insula. The first ruiti presented is of a building standing upon three great terraces, and three hundred and twenty-two foot in length. It is constructed wholly of stone and pro- fusely ornamented with elaborate sculpture. Over the cen— tral doorway is the grandest ornament ofthe whole—made up of the enormous figure ofa man, richly adorned and sur- rounded with smiillor figures and a great abundance ol‘char— actors, which are undoubtedly hieroglyphics, intended, it may be, as a record ofthe construction ofthe building and ofthe design oftbos'e who built it. The whole building is long and narr0w; below the cornice it‘ is plain, but above is

u ornamented with elaborate sculpture on every side. Views ofevery part ofit, taken with the utmost care by Mr. Cather— wood, are presented in Mr. Stephen‘s’s pages. The rooms

, inside Were large, and the ceiling forms it triangular arch without the key stones Out ofthe back wall Mr. Stephens, in order to discover hidden apartments, ifthere should be any, removed a large block ofstonc, and was surprised to find in the mortar left by its removal, two red prints of a man’s hand, not sculptured or eai-Ved but stamped by the living band upon the stone. These marks Mr. Stephens says he mot upon almost every, building the ruins ofwhicli he

' examined. They were always red, and always evidently ltumpod by the living band. Their constant recurrence ex— cited in him a lively curiosity as to their purpose and sig- nificance; and in the Appendix to the second volume, he publishes a letter upon the subject from Mr. Schoolcraft, a well known student of Indian character and habits. lie says that the hand is always used by the North Aiiieri 'an Indians to denote supplications to the Deity; and in the system of picture writing it stands as ii symbol for strength or mastery thence derived. Mr. Schoolcraft states that he has often met this symbol among the Indians on the Mississippi river. He observed it stamped repeatedly upon the walls ofa vil- lage temple among the Indians ol the Islands of Lake Su-

1 porior. -

’- Besides this principal house at Uxuial, called the Cassa del Gobornador, were five others. scarcely inferior to it in magnificence. It would be useless, of course, to attempt to follow our author in his descriptions ofthese ruins or oftliosc which he after-wards found. Ho proceeded next to Jalaclio, whore he saw a splendid annual fair with bull fights and other feles. Here he also found. vast mounds with ruined edifices and a. great number of remarkable monuments, and ho visited and explored a curious and wonderful Labyrinth called the Cave of Mexicana, composed ofintcrveiiing pas- sagol running in every direction, with galleries, am, many of which he penetrated till his way was blocked up by masses ofearth which had fallen in. He found here and at Uxmul, and’indeed at several other places which he visited, a great number of subterraneous chambers, which were pro~

' -babjy- used by the original inhabitants as cisterns to supply tho cities with water. At Ticnl were found other ruins, with vases containing very curious and interesting sculptured figures and hicroglyphics upon their sides. One ofthe most wonderful buildings soon at anitil, where our travellers spent some time, is that called the House ofthe Dwarf, suin- ding upon a lofty mound, and measuring two hundred and thirty feetiu length, one hundred and fifty in width, and eighty in perpendicular heighth—its shape being pyramidal. The crowning structure is a long and narrow building, pre- senting, even in its decay, a most elegant and tasteful ar- rangement ofornainents. Upon the Walls are sculptured the emblems ofLifo and Death in such a way as to confirm Mr. Stephens in the belief that it was erected for the practice of the worship prevalent among the Egyptians and other Eas- tern nations. The Padre Cogallndo, from whose work Mr. Stephens has before quoted, contains an interestingr notice of this stupendous structure, and ofthe use to which it u as lpplied. ’

He says that he once ascended the steps, and that “ when he attempted to descend ho repented; his sight failed him, and he was in Some danger.” He adds “ that in the apart— montl ofthe building were the idols, and that there they made sacrifices ofmeii, women and children. Beyond doubt this lofty building was a great “Theocalis,” the great temple ofidols worshipped by the people of anuil, consecrated by their most mysterious rites, the holiest oftheir holy places.” “The High Priest had in his hand it large, broad, and sharp knife, made offlint. Another Priest carried a wooden col- lar wrought like a snake. The persons to be sacrificed were conducted one by one up the steps, stark naked, and as soon as laid on the stone, had the collar put upon their neck, and the four Priests took holtl ofthe hands and feet. Then the High Priest, with wonderful dexterity, ripped up the breast, tore out the heart, rocking, with his hands, and showed it to Sun, offering him the heart and steam that came from it. Then he turned to the Idol and threw it in his face, which done, he kicked the body down the steps, and it never stopped till it come to the bottom because they were very upright ;” and “ one who had been a Priest and hand been

. have not this practice—lucus a non lucendo.

converted, said that when they tore out the heart of the wretched person sacrificed, it did heat so strongly, that he took it up from the ground three or four times till it cooled by degrees,and then he threwth body, still moving, down the steps.” In all the long catalogue ofsuperstitious rites that darken the page of man’s history, I cannot imagine a picture more horribly exciting than that of the Indian Priest, with his white dress and long hair, clothed with gore, per- forming his murderous sacrifices at this lofty height, in full VIIW ofthe people throughout the whole extent ofthe city.

PRACTICE OF FLATTENING THE HEAD AMONGST THE INDIAN TRIBES.

Among primitive nations, it is not uncommon to find them attempting to improve nature’s handiwork, by some peculiar method of distortion. We will pass over the Chinese and Europeans. They condoscoiid to control the feet‘aud waist; our friends here have a nobler aim, and set to work on the head. (In that part of the coast, more particlarly known as tho north-west, it is universal with the women to incise the lower lip, and by gradual distention, to iiiserta piece of1 wood ofno small dimensions, even to upwards of two inches“ imlorigth'. ‘When this is removed, a second month is expo-i

sed,rivallingin dimensions the first. And even this prac-(

tice has its fashion and variety. The‘custom of compres- sing the head in ‘inliincy is not practised here extetlSlve'ly- On the coast it is limited to a space of about one hllufllh‘ll and seventy miles, extending between Cape Flat-[cry ailid Capo Look-out. lulaiid,it extends up the Loluiuhia tel: it; first rapids, or one hundred and lortyyntlcs, and is cbeb 6“ at the falls on the Vanlamette. II! this small compasfl'illelc are several tribes having this one distinctive badge. “1058 with whom travellers are most likely to come in contact are the Chenooka, Clatsaps, Killiniooks, Cline—hee—lees, and Sblukntats. We first witnessed the practice in the house Ol Choonamis, a cliiefoftlie C'neiiooks. The infant, very 600“ after birth, is placed horizontally on a small wooden cradles wrapped up iii a fur, and lasliiiigs are repeatedly passed across it, so as to render the body nearly motionless. Al the top ofthe cradle is a well, rather below the level of the rest, in which the head is sunk, and compresses are fitted In between the head and the extremity ofthe box, till the re- quired pressure is produced. The compresses were of bps- ket Work, and some were ornamented with bells I imagine the children do not suffer much. . We saw one placed in the machine. It cried at first, as a baby iii England would when put in a cradle, but a little rocking soon quieted it. '1 he practice would not appear to be prejudicial to the develop- ment of the mind ; and the testimony oftliosc long acquaint- ed with these people support this opinion. As a tiatiulb “‘9 first thing that struck us was their facility in picking up our words, even to short sentences, and repeating the whole tole- rany correctly. Their pronunciation is also good, though the intonation ofour respective languages is widely different. The women are always plying their fingers over some bus- ket work, or constructing mats. Fortiicrly both sexes spent much of their time in curving riidc'figurcs ofiiieii or animals; but their communication with Europeans is yearly rubbing cfl'sonie old custom. They are fond ofcolours; the women constructshowy leggings, with cloth and beads, and the men often display gaudy shot-belts, and other articlesof the chase. Like all liidians, they are paticntin the pursuit of an object. They will dub away at a tree for months, till it be- CU‘lleS a canoe, and then sell it for three blankets. ‘ They are exceedingly lax iii morals, and attached to spirits; yet we have foirnil them undeviatiugly honest. Their forms of religion would appear few. In their liousestliey have some few wooden images, and to imply their functions point to heaven. Parental :ifi'cction would not appear strong. Abor- tion is much practised. They have usually very few chil-

dren. Those they display some affection for, which is often inu‘ifi'ercntly met by the offspring. Towards their dead they exhibit the greatest respect. After death the body is placed in acanoe, wrapped up in mats ; the whole is then covered over, and the worldly property of the deceased is placed near him. They will not allow strangers to approach the place of sepulture. Curiosity must be gratified at a respect- ful distance. The entombed bodies are placed in open spa- ces in the woods, often near a footpath; but we were not allowed to oversth the road towards them. As they adv vaiice iii life, the flattening becomes gradually removed, thus fe‘w persons of forty or fifty have a very coii‘ipressed head. The children often have heads twice as broad as long, but nothing like this have Iseen in advanced life. The compression is carried to a‘ greater excess in persons of high rank or caste than in others; thus, the chiefs and their wives have the flattest heads. Slaves and theirchildren are not permitted the practice. The operation is usually coni- pleted under a year. The Indians called Flatheads live on the upper branches of the river, and, we were informed, It is, however, not quite confined to the Coluiiibia.+—Belc}iei"s Voyage round the I’Vorld.

THE OAK—CURIOUS EXPERIMENT.——'I‘ake an acorn, at

this time of the your, tie a string around it in sticli a way

that, when suspended, the blunt eiid ofthe acorn, where the;.

cup was, is upwards. Hang it thus prepared in the inside} ofn bottle, or hyacinth glass, containing a little water, tnkiiigf care that the acorn does not reach the water within an inch ;l wrap the bottle all over in flannel, so as to keep it dark and?

. . . [ \Vfll'lll, and put lt II) a/ “’ul‘ll) place. Ill three 01' IOIII‘ VV'OBkBl

the acorn will have swollen, its coat will have burst, and a pedestrian excursion, by an American woman,

commemorates“.

Printer is his superior in one respect :——-Tho field ofletters, the garden of Science and the very fountain of learning, are in his range and immeasurany under his controuln With scarcely an exception, there is not one of the prolesh‘lon that a good man might not be proud to take by the hand as an associate and a friend, or that the statesman might not take into his counsel withisatisfaction to himself and benefit to the world.”

Tn: I’llssrsstppt.—-But what words shall describe the Mississippi, great father of rivers, who (praise be to Heaven) has no young children like him! An enormous ditch, some- times two or three miles wide, running liquid mud six miles uti hour: its strong and frothy current choked and obstructed everywhere by huge logs and whole forest trees; now twin- ing themselves together in great rafts, li'om the interstices of which a sedgy, lazy foam works up, to float upon the water’s top; new rolling post like monstrous bodies,their tangled rootsslinwiiig like matted hair; now glancing singly by like giant leeches; and now writhing round and round in the vortex of some small Whirlpool, like wounded snakes. The banks low, the trees dwarfish, tho marshes swarming with frogs, the wretched cabins few anti far apart, their in— mates hollow-chucked and pale, the weather very hot, mos- quitoos penetrating into every crack and crevice ofthe boat,

mud and slime on everything . nothing pleasant initsaspect, but the linl'liiless lightning which flickers every night upon the dark horizon. For two days we toiled tip this foul stream, striking constantly against the floating timber, or stopping to avoid those more dangerous obstacles, the snags or sawvers, which we the hidden trunks of trees that have their rdots below the tide. Looking down upon the filthy river after dark, it seemed to be alive \vitli monsters, as these black masses rolled upon the surface, or came starting up again, head first, when the boat, in ploughing her way among a shoal ofsueh obstructions, droyo a few among them for the moment under water. Sometimes the engine stopped during a long interval; and then, before her and beliiiid,aiid gathering close about her on all Sides, were so many ofthese ill-favoured obstacles, that she was lairly hern- motfin—tlio centre ofa floating island; and was constrain- ed to pause until they parted somewhere, as dark clouds will do before the wind, and opened by degrees a channel out—Dickens’s ./]mcricmi JVoles.

HEALTH or AMERICAN FEMALES—The followingremarks on the health ol'tlic Auicricaii Females are from the pen of Dr. Harvey Lindsey, ofVVashingtouz—

“Not only is the average health of our country-women much less robust than that enjoyed by corresponding classes in Europe, and particularly in Great Britain, but is mlich more infirm than that ofthe other sex in our own country: 1 mean after making due allowances for those diseases and :ifi'ections peculiar to their situation and dutiesiii society. With respect to their inferiority in point ol‘vigor, strength, and robustness, to the women of Englnnd,as well as of the continent, I believe there is not one dissenting voice among those who have enjoyed the most ample opportunity for comparison, and whose attention has been attracted to the subject. The European hasa much tnore florid and-health- fnl complexion—a much more vigourous person, and is capa— ble ofeiidnring much more fatigue and exposure, and of per- fol‘ll'lilig much harder labor. The slei:det‘,and delicate, and li‘agile form—the pale, sallow and anen conipleXIon, which are so common among us, are comparatively seldom seen abroad. The feats of peilestriatiisrn which are almost daily performed in England, even by ladies of rank and fortune, would appear almost incredible to our feeble and sedentary country-women. As an illustration of this remark, it is men- tioned by a recent traveller, iii his letters from England, that while staying a few days at the house ofa friend in the in- terior of the country, it was proposed one morning that the family, including the ladies, should make a call upon a friend who lived about five miles distant. They accordingly started on loot, without any remark being made as to the mode of locomotion, as ifit- were an ordinary occurrence; and on their way home were so little fatigued, as to be de- strous of making a digression of some two or three miles, in order to exhibit some picturesque view which they thought would be interesting to their guest as a stranger. Such a would be an

o c .-.

little white paint will make its appearance at the end oppo- event to be talked of for life.”

site the water. This point is the root; the acorn is now

THE GREATEST or MEN HAVE BEEN TRAINED UP To

changingr its nature and becoming an oak; still, however, itluwoax WITH THEIR tummy—1f there' is an encouraging

must be stationed in the dark, still it must be kept clear of( the water, and so it must continue till the young root is at) least linlfaii inch long. Then the water may he allowed 101 rise higher; but it is only when from the neck ofthe root n5 little point begins to turn upwards that it is safe to allow the water to touch it. ,At that time the acorn has ceased to be an acorn, and really become a young oak, for the little point directing itself upwards is the beginning ofthat trunk which a century later may form the timber ofa frigate. As soon; as this little stem begins to shoot, the oak will require a dose ofliglit, a little every day; and it also yearns for more food," so that its roof, which is in reality its mouth, must be allow-,t ed to touch the water and to drink it. After these events‘: have come to pass, the little creature breathes, and must( have air; digests, and must have light; sucks grecdily, and i must have fresh water given to its root, which, however, should never be permitted to be wholly covered; just tlie,‘ point where the stem begins should always be kept out of. the water. The pet having been brought to this its first state of existence must be put in the window. At first it will be a stout thread, whitish,anrl covered with tiny scales; then the scales will expand a little, and the end will become greener. Next will appear some little leaves, hair will be— gin to grow, veins will begin to branch, the old ‘ scales will fall off, and by slow degrees the leaves will arrange them- selves upon the stem, each unlbltling from the bosom ofthe other. And thus, out of a little starch and gum, for the acorn was not much more, manifold parts will be curiously pro— duced by the wondrous creative powers of nature—Gar- dencrs’ Citron.

NEWSPAPER REPoa’rnas.-—\Vliat most extraordinary men are these reporters ofthe English newspapers! Surely it? there be any class ofiiidividuiils who are entitled tcthe iip- pellation 0fCOSlllOPOlIf68, it is these, who pursue their avo- catiotis in all countries iiidifl'erently, and accommodate them— selves nt will to the ti'ianners at all classes of society; their fluency of style as writers is only surpassed by their facility oflangunge in conversation, and their attainments in classi— cal and polite literature only by their profound knowledge ofthe world, acquired by an early introduction into its bust— ling sceiics. The activity, energy, and courage which they occasionally display iii the pursuit of.inlormatinn are truly remarkable. Isaw them, during the three days at Paris, mingled with caiiaille and gauiiiis behind the barriers, whilst the initraillo was flying in all directions, and the desperate cuirassiers Were dashing their fierce horses against those seethineg feeble bulwarks. There stood they,d0ttitig down their observations in their pocket-hooks as uiiconcernedly as if reporting tlis proceedings ofa i'elorin meeting in Fins— bury-squni'e.——Borrow’s Bible in Spain.

PRINTERS.—A writer in the Mobile Herald, who has been for sixteen years connected with the public press, holds the following deserved conin'iendatory language of the members ofthe craft. None who have had an opportunitv ofjudging will fail to admit the justiiess of his remarks—Ho says:— “In all our experience, and we have visited iii thntvtime four'difi'ereiit governtiicuts born the one under which we were born and educated, we have always found amanr printers not only more intelligence, but more liboi‘ulity (if opinion, more of that noble and high-tiiinded cast of princi— ple that looks with a forgiving eye, as well upon the fruilties of erriug humanity as upon the jars and contentions that, grow out ol'eitber religion or politics, than any other class of men, not excepting the teachers ofthe religion of the Bible themselves, or the statesmen who thunder in the serials. Printers have a sort of freemasonry with the whole world. Conversant not only with events that are transpiring in their own neighbourhood, but over the whole universe, their occupation and the peculiar province in which they move, are all calculated to bring within the scope oftlieir vision and the circle oftbeir interests, the opinions and the feelings ofthe entire family of man. It is a similar coriimu- nity'ot interests and a personal converse with the whole World that make the honest tor a wholessouled man, afriend