From these portions of the ruins I worked my way through the wild thicket, by which they are surrounded, to the north side of the main building, in the centre of which I found a flight of small stone steps, overgrown with bushes and vines, which I cut away, and made an ascent by pulling myself up to the summit, a distance of forty feet. This platform is an oblong square, one hundred by seventy-five feet. Here a range of rooms were found, occupying about two-thirds of the area; the residue of the space probably formed a promenade, which is now filled up with crumbling ruins, covered with trees and grass. These rooms varied in size; the smallest of which measured six by ten, and the largest six by twenty-two feet.
The most of these rooms were plastered, or covered with a fine white cement, some of which was still quite perfect. By washing them, I discovered fresco paintings; but they were much obliterated. The subjects could not be distinguished. On the eastern end of these rooms is a hall running transversely, four feet wide, (having the high angular ceiling,) one side of which is filled with a variety of sculptured work, principally rosettes and borders, with rows of small pilasters; having three square recesses, and a small room on either side. Over the doorways of each are stone lintels three feet square, carved with hieroglyphics both on the front and under side. The western end of these rooms is in almost total ruins. The northern side has a flight of stone steps, but much dilapidated, leading to the top; which, probably, was a look-out place, but is now almost in total ruins. The southern range of rooms is much broken; the outside of which yet shows the elaborate work with which the whole building was finished.
I vainly endeavored to find access to the interior of the main building. I discovered two breaches, caused, probably, by the enormous weight of the pile, and in these apertures I made excavations; but could not discover any thing like apartments of any description. It seemed to be one vast body of stone and mortar, kept together by the great solidity of the outer wall, which was built in a masterly manner, of well-formed materials. The angles were finished off with circular blocks of stones, of a large and uniform size.
In a northwest direction from the hacienda, of which mention has already been made, are the ruins of a house which, owing, probably, to its having been constructed without any artificial foundation, is still in good preservation. It bears but little resemblance to any of its fellows. It contains eighteen rooms, the largest of which measures eight by twenty-four feet, arranged in double rows, or ante-rooms, and lighted only by a single doorway. They all have the high angular ceilings, like the other buildings, which enclose as much space as the rooms themselves. Those fronting the south are the most remarkable, the inner doorways having each a stone lintel of an unusually large size, measuring thirty-two inches wide, forty-eight long, and twelve deep; having on its inner side a sculptured figure of an Indian in full dress, with cap and feathers, sitting upon a cushioned seat, finely worked; having before him a vase containing flowers, with his right hand extended over it, his left resting upon the side of the cushion—the whole bordered with hieroglyphics. The front part of this lintel contains two rows of hieroglyphics.
The building is irregular, having a projection in the centre, on one side, of eight feet; on the other, of four feet. It measures one hundred and fifty feet long, forty-three wide, and twenty high; flat roof, unbroken, and filled with trees and grass to the whole extent. The outside and partition walls have a uniform thickness of three feet.
Among other ruins contiguous to those already described, I discovered two detached piles about two rods apart. They were erected upon foundations of about twenty feet in height, which were surrounded and sustained by well-cemented walls of hewn stone, with curved angles, measuring two hundred and forty feet around them, parts of which were in good preservation. We ascended to the platform of the one in the best condition, in the centre of which stands the ruins of a building measuring twenty-one by forty feet; the west front being quite perfect, and shows sculptured work along the whole extent of its façade. The only accessible part was a hall, having a range of hieroglyphics the whole length over the doorways, the rooms of which were in total ruins. Across these halls were beams of wood, creased as if they had been worn by hammock-ropes.
In a line with these ruins and the temple are numerous mounds, covered with loose stones and vegetation. Between these and the temple are the ruins of a mass of foundation-work, about forty feet high; the top of which is covered with piles of crumbling stones, and ruins of a structure that once adorned it. These stones were of an immense size, some square, some round; and the others either plain, hewn, or sculptured. Among these there are two even larger than the rest, and similar to those found at the base of the Pyramid. Likewise, among these ruins I found pillars, beautifully worked with figures and ornamental lines; some of which are standing, apparently, in their original position. Also, upright blocks, six feet high and two thick, of each of which one surface was covered with hieroglyphics. Near by were six square fragments of pillars, at uniform distances apart from each other. These, too, were sculptured with ornaments and hieroglyphics. Nothing could be seen of these ruins from the base of the structure, as they were buried among trees, and overgrown with long grass and shrubs.
Besides those we have attempted to describe, there are other ruins of which some remains of walls are standing; and contiguous thereto lie immense piles of worked stone, which, though presenting no new feature in the architecture of these buildings, yet serve to give a more adequate idea of the size and grandeur of this great city. In my walks in the vicinity, extending miles in every direction, I have seen broken walls and mounds, fragments of columns, and carved and sculptured stone, some of which were of as extraordinary dimensions as any that I have noticed, deeply imbedded in the soil, and wholly disconnected with any other structure; though they were, without doubt, the remains of splendid and extensive edifices.
The following general characteristics of all these ruins may not be thought impertinent to my subject, by those who have had the curiosity to follow me thus far in the details:—
They are situated upon a plain of many miles in circumference, nearly in the centre of the province; upwards of one hundred miles from the sea, and away from all water communication. They have no apparent order, or laying-out of streets, as the plan shows; but that they bear evidence of a people highly skilled in the mechanical arts, as also in a portion of the sciences, must be conclusive to my readers.