CHAPTER lY. 



On the morning following our arrival in Ticul, Senor 

 Fajada provided three volans. with drivers, to convey us to 

 the ruins of Uxmal. We left Ticul about 7 o'clock, passing 

 through the southern portion of the town, which was com- 

 posed of native huts. As we sped along, the inhabitants 

 came out to look at us. The town was soon left behind, 

 and we entered the scrubbily-wooded portion of the coun- 

 try. Our road ran along the base of the Sierra for several 

 leagues, but finally turned north and crossed the range of 

 hills at an elevation of about two hundred and twenty-five 

 feet. We passed several haciendas, at one of which we 

 stopped for water. Here we shot our first humming-birds 

 i^Lampoj-nis Prevosti). Flycatchers and grackles were very 

 common, and several small warblers were seen, but we had 

 not time enough to procure them. 



The ascent of the Sierra was steep, broken, and stony; 

 the whole range was a mass of limestone rock, with a few 

 stunted trees, not numerous enough to afford shade, and 

 white under the reflection of the sun. In three-quarters of 

 an hour we reached the top. Looking back, our last view 

 of the plain presented a long stretch of scantily-wooded, 

 level country, and high above everything else a group of 

 cocoa-palms near a large hacienda. The only people we 

 met was a hunting party of natives, who had shot a young 

 doe. About 11 o'clock we reached the Hacienda of Uxmal 

 (pronounced Ush-mahl). 



This hacienda stood in the midst of the plain, with its 

 cattle-yard, tanks, and cieba trees. Stopping but a few 

 minutes, to procure a guide for the ruins, we continued on 

 our journey, and in fifteen minutes, emerging from the 



