4G A NATURALIST IN MEXICO. 



the natives. This building was very much in ruins, but 

 enough remained to show that it once contained a large 

 courtyard in its center. Several other ruined buildings lay 

 buried among the underbrush, but they were in such a fallen 

 condition that it was useless to make astudy of them. 



Such was Uxmal,one of the most interesting of the ruins 

 of Central America. Ruin and decay have been steadily 

 at work, and before many years have passed, this famous 

 relic of the ancient Mayas will be a thing of the past. Over 

 all the buildings a rank vegetation is struggling for the 

 mastery, and the end is inevitable. Uxmal is probably 

 better known to the general public than any other of the 

 Yucatan ruins, on account of the published writings of 

 Stevens, LePlongeon, Charnay, Norman, Waldeck, and 

 others. It was with many regrets that we entered our 

 volans, and saw the ruined city disappear from our view. 



Animal life was remarkably rare about the ruins. A 

 few bats, insects, dead moUusks, and occasionally a fly- 

 catcher, were all we saw. It is quite possible that during 

 the rainy season, life is much more abundant. 



Lunch was taken at the Hacienda of Uxmal. Here I 

 saw many sculptured figures which had been taken from the 

 ruins. Among others was a large sculptured ornament, 

 representing a double headed lynx, with the bodies joined 

 together in the middle. It was carved from one piece of 

 stone, and must have been a tremendous undertaking. The 

 sculpture, however, was rude and uncouth, as were all the 

 ornaments at Uxmal. 



At four o'clock we again entered our volans and started 

 for Ticul, arriving there late in the evening. Our ride over 

 the Sierra was something of an experience, for we went gal- 

 loping down the steep slopes, the volan swaying from side 

 to side in a way most i^larming to weak nerves. A very 

 noticeable feature of Yucatan evenings was the silence which 



