I cast my travelling equipments aside, and, delighted with the attentions showered upon me, and which I am happy to say were the harbingers of an unremitting series from my host, I proceeded to the house for breakfast. Entering through a well-formed arch, built of stone, smooth plastered, I passed into a large cattle-yard, which was divided into three parts by stone walls, (in this manner the whole premises were enclosed,) and ascended a small flight of steps that were carried over a long and well-cemented watering-trough for the accommodation of cattle, which extended the whole length of the front. On reaching the corridor, the walls and floor presented to me a singular appearance. Here was an odd and startling figure—the god, perhaps, of a forgotten people; and there a beautiful rosette: and even beneath my feet were pieces of carved stone and hieroglyphics that seemed as though they were striving to make me understand the story of their wonderful beginning. Within reach of the eye were to be seen the fragments and ornaments of pillars that once, possibly, embellished the palace of a proud cacique, stuck into the rude wall of the poor Indian’s hut! Lost in meditation, I was soliloquizing to myself upon the transitory nature of all human greatness, when I was suddenly aroused by stumbling over a huge—heap of beans! This brought me back at once to the world of reality, and to my welcome breakfast. This meal was served upon a clean stool; and, seated in a hammock, I made a hearty repast.
My house was one-story, built of stone from the ruins in the vicinity, with spacious corridors in front and rear. It had but four rooms, which served for an eating and sleeping room, granary, &c. At the side of the building was a deep well, to which the Indians and cattle look for their drink. The water is drawn up by means of buckets, attached by twigs to a plaited strap of the same material, passed around a cylinder, which is turned by a mule. In the revolutions, the buckets are emptied into reservoirs; and thence the water is led off by conductors to the different places where it is required. A few vegetables were growing about the premises; but little or no cultivation was perceptible. Fruits of the tropics, here, as elsewhere in this province, grow in abundance. I proceeded to the ruins almost immediately after my arrival; but their description must be reserved for another chapter.
The favorable anticipations respecting the comforts of my quarters were fully confirmed. Though the furnishing was somewhat unique, still I found myself comfortably domicileiated. A huge stone altar stood at one extremity of the room, upon which rested a cross, with curiously painted devices of sculls, boxes, ladders, knives, cocks, temples, flags, &c., the whole capped with the expressive initials of I N R I. On either side stood small boxes, containing dolls, representing saints, &c. In the corner of the room were sundry pieces of carved wood, exhibiting the figure of our Saviour crucified. The sides were filled up with tables and platforms, to carry the saints on, in the processions. Numerous wooden candlesticks were scattered about, hither and yond, intermingled with hammocks, riding equipments, &c.
CHAPTER VI.
A visit to the Ruins—Reflections—Indian Visiters—Detail of the Ruins of Chi-Chen—The Temple—The Pyramid—The Dome—The House of the Caciques—General Ruins—Mounds—Foundations—Characteristics of the Ruins—Materials and Manner of Building—The finish—Fresco paintings.
Plan of the Ruins of CHI-CHEN
It was on the morning of the 10th of February that I directed my steps, for the first time, toward the ruins of the ancient city of Chi-Chen.[[4]] On arriving in the immediate neighborhood, I was compelled to cut my way through an almost impermeable thicket of under-brush, interlaced and bound together with strong tendrils and vines; in which labor I was assisted by my diligent aid and companion, José. I was finally enabled to effect a passage; and, in the course of a few hours, found myself in the presence of the ruins which I sought. For five days did I wander up and down among these crumbling monuments of a city which, I hazard little in saying, must have been one of the largest the world has ever seen. I beheld before me, for a circuit of many miles in diameter, the walls of palaces and temples and pyramids, more or less dilapidated. The earth was strewed, as far as the eye could distinguish, with columns, some broken and some nearly perfect, which seemed to have been planted there by the genius of desolation which presided over this awful solitude. Amid these solemn memorials of departed generations, who have died and left no marks but these, there were no indications of animated existence save from the bats, the lizards, and the reptiles which now and then emerged from the crevices of the tottering walls and crumbling stones that were strewed upon the ground at their base. No marks of human footsteps, no signs of previous visiters, were discernible; nor is there good reason to believe that any person, whose testimony of the fact has been given to the world, had ever before broken the silence which reigns over these sacred tombs of a departed civilization. As I looked about me and indulged in these reflections, I felt awed into perfect silence. To speak then, had been profane. A revelation from heaven could not have impressed me more profoundly with the solemnity of its communication, than I was now impressed on finding myself the first, probably, of the present generation of civilized men walking the streets of this once mighty city, and amid
“Those temples, palaces, and piles stupendous,