40 A NATURALIST IN MEXICO. 



woods, came out upon a field in which stood a large 

 mound surmounted b}^ a ruined building — the House of the 

 Dwarf, or Casa del Adivino. The sides of this lofty struc- 

 ture were covered with high grass, bushes, and small trees, 

 twenty or more feet high. The mound fronted a court- 

 yard measuring one hundred and thirty feet by eighty-five. 

 The mound itself measured two hundred and thirty five 

 feet in length, and one hundred and fifty-five in width. It 

 was about eighty-eight feet in height, and one hundred feet 

 to the top of the building on its summit. It was not a true 



HOUSE OF THE DWARF. 



pyramid in form, for its ends were rounded. It was encased 

 in stone, and appeared to rise solid from the plain. At a 

 height of sixty feet was a projecting platform, on which 

 stood a building loaded with ornaments, which we after- 

 wards found were more rich and varied than those of any 

 other building in the ruins. A great doorway opened upon 

 the platform; inside this aperture were two chambers; the 

 outer one fifteen feet wide, seven feet deep, and nineteen 

 feet high, and the inner one twelve feet wide, four feet deep, 

 and eleven feet high. Both were plain, without ornament 

 of any kind. 



The steps leading to the building were all in ruins, 

 and it was dangerous to ascend them. The crown- 



