MONTE ALB AN AND Ml TLA 



399 



makes one forget such trifles. The mountains on the right are rocky 

 and are covered with yellow and green lichens. Those on the left have 

 some trees and the valley hetween is fertile, and the people — as every- 

 where in Mexico — are happy and contented. Not to be forgotten are 

 a couple of little villages where one can get pineapple cider and lemon 

 ices. 



Arriving at Mitla about noon, one is surprised at the comfortable 

 hotel with neat, airy rooms, clean beds and excellent fare. Even a 

 fastidious fault-finder could live there and. worry because he could find 

 nothing to criticize. 



After luncheon, a five minutes' walk brings us to the ruins. The 

 crude remains on Monte Alban had prepared me for a disappointment 

 at Mitla, but the first view removed any such anticipation. One can 

 hardly realize that he is gazing upon ruins so old that no one knows 

 their age or who built them. The reader will admit that Fig. 4 looks 

 more like the finished work of an up-to-date architect than a ruin. 

 This picture shows the general style of the exterior of all the Mitla 

 ruins. Everywhere there is the same elaborate ornamentation. 



The interior side of a building facing a large court is shown 

 in Fig. 3. The stair has been partially restored, but otberwise the 

 description made by Cortez applies equally well to-day. Through the 

 entrances at the head of the stairs one catches glimpses of the rooms 



FlG. 8. A WELL-PRESERVED CORNER. 



