In October 1839, American travel writer John Lloyd Stephens climbed upon a mule in the Mico Mountains of eastern Guatemala to explore an obscure land with ""volcanoes and earthquakes, torn and distracted by civil war."" Accompanied by the talented and intrepid illustrator, Frederick Catherwood, Stephens embarked on an epic journey to find and describe the lost cities of the Maya. His ""Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatan"" appeared in 1841 and was an instant success, selling an unprecendented 20,000 copies in the first three months.
