Yucatan is one of the most interesting States of Mexico, owing to the
splendid ancient palaces and temples of once grand cities, now hidden
in the forests. That country also presents great attractions for
geologists and botanists, as well as naturalists, who there find rare
and beautiful birds, insects, and reptiles.
There are no rivers on the surface of the land, but in many parts it
is entirely undermined by extensive caverns, in which are basins of
water fed by subterranean currents. The caverns are delightfully cool
even at midday, and the fantastic forms of some of the stalactites and
stalagmites are a never-ending source of interest. There are long
winding passages and roomy chambers following one after another for
great distances, with here and there some chink in the stony vault
above, through which a sunbeam penetrates, enabling us to see to the
right and left openings leading to untrodden places in the bowels of
the earth. As few of these caves have been explored, the wildest
accounts are given by the natives concerning the dark recesses where
only wild beasts seek shelter. Before venturing far in, it is
advisable to secure one end of a ball of twine at the entrance, and
keep the ball in hand; nor is it safe to go without lanterns or
torches, lest we step into some yawning chasm or deep water. The
leader of one party suddenly saw a very dark spot just before him; he
jumped over, instead of stepping on it, and told the others to halt.
Examination proved the dark patch to be a pit that seemed bottomless.
Awe-inspiring as are the interiors of some of these caves, they are
frequently most beautiful. The natural pillars are often grand in
dimensions and sparkling with various hues, while stalactites and
stalagmites sometimes resemble familiar objects with astonishing
perfection. It is, however, not advisable to place implicit confidence
in accounts of the natives, for the reality, no matter how beautiful,
can hardly be equal to what the vivid imagination of the Indian has
pictured. Anything bearing the least resemblance to a woman is called
"a most beautiful Virgin Mary." Fantastic flutings become "an organ,"
and a level rock "an altar." Only once we were not disappointed, when,
having been told to look for a pulpit, we found one that appeared as
if man must have fashioned it, supported on a slender pyramidal base,
the upper part very symmetrical, and ornamented with a perfect
imitation of bunches of grapes and other fruit.
As I have already said, in these caves are sheets of water, some very
large, others only a few feet in circumference, fed by subterranean
currents. When the water is clear and sweet, it is peopled by a kind
of bagre, a blind fish called by the natives _tzau_, also a species of
_Silurus_. But there are likewise medicinal and thermal waters, by
bathing in which many people claim to have been cured of most painful
and obstinate diseases.
Strange stories are told of some of these waters. Of one it is said
that those who approach it without holding their breath fall dead.
People who live near the place swear it is so, and say the water
appears to boil on such occasions. From the thermal waters, in some
cases 100 feet below the soil, and without means of access except by
buckets let down through an opening in the rock, warm vapors issue at
early morn, but when the sun is high the water is cool and pleasant to
drink.
The name _senote_ is given to all these deposits of water, also to
some immense natural circular wells from 50 to 300 feet in diameter.
The walls are more or less perpendicular, generally covered with
tropical vegetation. The current in some is swift, but no inlets or
outlets are visible. The water is deliciously pure and sweet, much
better than that of wells opened by man in the same country. These
enormous deposits generally have a rugged path, sometimes very steep,
leading to the water's edge, but daring natives throw themselves from
the brink, afterward ascending by stout roots that hang like ropes
down the walls, the trees above sucking through these roots the
life-sustaining fluid more than a hundred feet below.
In the west part of Yucatan is a village called _Bolonchen_ (nine
wells), because in the public square there are nine circular openings
cut through a stratum of rock. They are mouths of one immense cistern,
if natural or made by hand the natives do not know, but in times of
drought it is empty, which shows that it is not supplied by any
subterranean spring. Then the people depend entirely on water found in
a cave a mile and a half from the village; it is perhaps the most
remarkable cavern in the whole country. The entrance is magnificently
wild and picturesque. It is necessary to carry torches, for the way is
dark and dangerous. After advancing sixty or seventy feet we descend a
strong but rough ladder twenty feet long, placed against a very
precipitous rock. Not the faintest glimmer of daylight reaches that
spot; but after a while we stand on the brink of a perpendicular
precipice, the bottom of which is strongly illuminated through a hole
in the surface rock more than 200 feet above. Standing on the verge of
this awful pit in the dim light, the rocks and crags seem to take on
most weird shapes. We go down into the great hole by a ladder eighty
feet high and twelve wide, and, reaching the bottom, are as yet but at
the mouth of the cave, which, by the bye, is called _Xtacunbi Xunan_
(the hidden lady), because, say the Indians, a lady was stolen from
her mother and hidden there by her lover. Now, to our right, we find a
narrow passage, and soon another ladder; the darkness is intense and
the descent continuous, though irregular, like a series of hills and
dales, ladders being placed against the steepest places.
After an exhausting journey we reach a vast chamber, from which
crooked passages lead in various directions to wells, seven in all,
each named according to the peculiar kind of water. One, always warm,
is called _Chocohá_ (hot water); another, _O[c]ihá_* (milky water), and
_Akabhá_ (dark water). About 400 paces away from the chamber, passing
through a very narrow, close passage, there is a basin of red water
that ebbs and flows like the sea, receding with the south wind,
increasing with the northwest.
*Transcriber's note: [c] denotes upside-down 'c' in original.
To reach the most distant well, we go down yet one more ladder, the
seventh. On one side of it there is a perpendicular wall, on the other
a yawning gulf, so when one of the steps, merely round sticks tied
with withes, gave way beneath our feet, we tightly grasped the stick
above. Having reached the bottom of the ladder, we crawl on our hands
and feet through a broken, winding passage about 800 feet long, then
see before us a basin of crystalline water, and how thirsty we are!
This basin is 1,400 feet from the mouth of the cave, and about 450
feet below the earth's surface. Several hundred people during five
months in every year depend entirely on that source for all the water
they use. With their frail pitchers and flaring torches they wend
their way, gasping for breath, through the intricate passages, and
reaching the water, are so profusely perspiring that they must wait
before quenching their thirst. The way back is even harder, and they
are tired and loaded; yet these people are such lovers of cleanliness
that on their arrival at their poor huts, before tasting food, they
will use some of the water that has cost them so much, to bathe their
smoke-begrimed skin. As several women once fainted in the cave, men
generally fetch the water now.
Yucatan is, and has been for ages past, quite free from earthquakes,
while all surrounding countries are from time to time convulsed. This
immunity may be due to the vast caverns and numerous great wells
existing throughout the land. Pliny the Elder was of opinion that if
numerous deep wells were made in the earth to serve as outlets for the
gases that disturb its upper strata, the strength of the earthquakes
would be diminished, and if we may judge by Yucatan, Pliny was right
in his conjectures. After him, other scientists who have carefully
studied the subject have expressed the same opinion with regard to the
efficacy of large wells.