Show I Ill EFH11E RUINS IN HONDURASo I After visiting the great ruins of Mltla our Interests wete centered on the ruins of Copm which we wore told are more interesting and more extensive than the former Wo traveled about three months before reaching them and nr rived at the little city of Copan late In sculpture In this court some resembling modern art some of the horrible grimaces grim-aces usually found In American ruins and others in which truces of Egyptian art was plainly marked Adjoining the west wull and near the center la a large elevation walled up with very steep steps on all sides Perhaps cciemonles were performed here but mote likely It I has beep n hanging Arden I To the south Jthls court opeun to a I lower open ronrt or terrace by four sets of steps two sets facing the south I and two sets adjoining them face the east The north and cast walls are formed by pyramids at the base of these pyramids are very sleep granite steps oboui twenty fc high The north pyramid is covered with treed l Large tiecs i have grownup and forced their way through the steps Tillspyrajnld t belog on the Incline of the hill Is I about thirty feet lower on the north side It forms the south wall of a very ipaclous lr I I K M r Irt 1 rr rrA 1 r rat Yr f 1 1 tJ fS r s h t r3 Riun of Heplaito Altar largo courts of a great temple Wo climbed a hill about thirty feet High and entered from the west aide The southern part or the tcmjJlo Is I on a lilll and the northern pan on a plain The inside measurements of the temple are about 700 feet from north to south HiD feet from east to west The Copan river Is on the east It iu small btrcain and very low In the city seasons it would probably compare with somu of our Utah rivers the Ogden or Provo rivers East of the liver and north of the temple tem-ple there are forests composed mostly of hardwood trees mahogany ebony etc Jhrge forests hu l overgrown all I the ruin but at present most of the trees have been cut out of the temple The orckfit city lay to the south and vfcf The irany mounds mark the dvclllrff places judging from the size of the mounds one would Imaylnc they had been scot palaces The walls of UK temple were made chiefly of large l cobrksiionec and lifo tar Parts hov cvei are of granite TJJP qnsjern wall those hear the river jc from fifteen to twenty feat thfolt whllo those of the other sides are nbont four or five feel thlql l No Jiewn irtoncp lOT carvings nor any uorlc of T art of any Ulnd l are In the wally About fifteen paces from the center of the uHl wall of the temple ls1 ruined tower It la 1 now about irrty feet high ind fifty feet In llamcter It Is covered with Ticoa ona bvnsh l and the skies are very ttocp It was r nior this totter that we tutored the turnpln Till court in which we ciunpcrl measiued G5s7 pgcei VlthIn this ourt me two hare pllAji of broken crockery about two wunonloads In each pile Then I ttre ninny pieces of r court that we will call the hall oC sacrl Jive which will be described later The other pyramid Is much larger and south of It Is a long luill 11x65 paces This hall leads to another hall cast of the pyramid and It opens Into a court 37xC7 paces In the cast wall of this court there Is an opening about the sloe of a small window The river Is seventy seven-ty feet below A third pyramid forms a third wall There are steps on the wcst of the room leading to an elevation that connects the three pyramids on this elevation Near the large pyramid are three small rooms about the size of ordinary bedrooms This ueem to be the only part Unit was arranged for covering J I raw x > r 4 J t 1r2 tiY L t 1 Y L c 1G i 4 yter It t < rT IL r L rt Y + rl IrL1 nu aS X F JgS WjQffiWXV J T lv I a 3 1 1 eii Awr 1 > l5 i iS flS j S 3iS TR W sfeW l f P S J tS V HUwlbift i A s i j TV S 1t T 1r n 1 r L Llr r 4L rt The Copan River the evening of April a JSU One of our I nnlmnls Kl telfeTT rco called because she I carried our cooking utensils was mh sing j I s-Ing and I went back to find her The company traveled on to the rules before j i be-fore camping they being about one I j I I mllo Horn the village It was about 11 I I oclock before I reached camp I ate a I I I dish of ice the only thing I could get I 1 I aid wont 10 bed I I Iarly In I the morjilng of the 27th I I I ors up exploring this ancient ruin Our I camp was ncar the center of one of the I I It was perhaps the guards quarters I because from this elevation a watch could be kept of the whole temple The hall of sacrifice can be entered from this elevation by descending the pyramid pyra-mid steps The proper entrance however how-ever and there Is only one Is from the west near the tower Jn this court there are four Novations1 I nr > anrjlng gardens one on the west fi n the center one on the eat tltc and one In the northeast corner The corner one has steps on earn aide The others have none On the south side near the pyru mid lie many stones two to five tin t-in length covered wh hieroglyphics We call this room the hall of sacrifice because there arc nine altars found here Before each altar there la an image deeply carved on a large granite slab rhe slabs are about ton feet high three feet wide and out and a half feet thick The sides and back are covered with elaborate deco trons and hieroglyphics hiero-glyphics The altars are about three feet high and three feet In diameter They are not exactly round the cornets cor-nets having been merely cut off The lop In curved with a groove around the edge ending in a nlteh to convey the blood to the ground Most of these altars al-tars ate In the northern part two very fine onc ue in the southern part and one the most elaboiately carved Is near the southeast corner Some of the stone from this temple have been removed I Some of the slabs like those in front of the altars In the hall of sacrifice have been carried by the villager to t their homes but now a iuard Is kept by the Government to protect these ruins These ruins alone would afford years of study to an archaeololst Very little excavating has been done Who knows but In these mounds may be found a wealth of gold and sliver or still better I the public records rec-ords of the ancient Inhabitants I concluded con-cluded that the builders of this structure struc-ture were descendants of the Nephltcs because they have the pyramids In their architecture and the Egyptian characteristics in their art We read In the Book of Mormon that Ncphl was educated III the learning of the Egyptians Egyp-tians Te did not stay loner at this place because two of our animals died and others became sick and some member of our party were Ill and there was very little food to be obtained for either man or beast j > J B FAIRBANKS I With pedition the B Y Academy Exploring Ex I r > QLY it + 1 r rt S 11 + y Llr I d n Nophito Pillar oP Warshi P |