Bullock's Six Months' 



After passing; the fine aqucducl, iiiid 

 several tumuli, (pyramids of uiibntnt 

 bricks,) our guide couduetcd us to Iho 

 site of the paliice of the aiirirut 

 caiques, or tributary kings of Tczcuco. 

 It must have i)een a noble building, far 

 surpassing any idea I had formed of 

 the architectural abilities of the aix)- 

 lig'inal Americans. It t-xtcnded for 

 three hundred feet, forming one side of 

 the great sijuare, and was placed oii 

 sloping terraces, raised one above tiic 

 other by small slops; some of these 

 terraces are still entire, and covered 

 with cement, very hard and equal in 

 l)canfy to that found in ancient Koraan 

 buildings. From what is known of tiic 

 extensive fotHidaiii.ns of this palace, it 

 must have occupied some acres of 

 ground. It was composed of huge 

 blocks of basaltic stone, of about four or 

 five feet long, and two and a half or 

 three feet thick, cut and polished with 

 the utmost exactness. 



Whilst at our dinner we were in- 

 formed that at a distance of only two 

 leagues was a place called J!ano de 

 Montezuma, and that it had formerly 

 been used as a bath by (hat monarch. 

 A gentleman of the town, Don Trinidad 

 Rosalia, offered to escort us, and in a 

 few minutes we were on horseback. It 

 is not only an extraordinary ball), but 

 still more extraordinarily placed. It is 

 a beautiful basin about twelve feet long 

 by eight wide, having a well about five 

 feet by four de(-p iti the centre, sur- 

 rounded by a paiapet or rim two feet 

 six inches higl), with a tluom; or chair, 

 BHcli as is ri'presented in ancient 

 pictures to have been used by the kings. 

 There are steps to descend into tiic 

 basin or bath ; the whole cut out of the 

 living porphyry rock with the most 

 mathematical |ij-ccision, and polished 

 in the most beautiful manner. This 

 bath commands one of the fimst pros- 

 jjccts in the AJexiean valley, including 

 the greater part of the lake of Tczcuco, 

 and the city of Mexico, from which it 

 is distant about thirty miles. 



As we descended, our guide showed 

 MH in the rock a large reservoir for sup- 

 plying with water the palace, whose 

 walls still remained eight feet high ; 

 and Hs we examint.'d farther, we found 

 that the whole mountain had been 

 Covered with palaces, temples, baths, 

 hanging gardens, 8te. yet this place has 

 never been noticed by any writer. 



I am of opiiiiiin that these were an- 

 •iqiiitfcs prior to (he discovery of Ame- 

 rica, ami erected by a people whose 



Residence in Mexico. 64,3 



history was lost even before flic building 

 of the city of Mexico. In our way- 

 down we rollefted specimens of the 

 stucco which covered the terrace, still 

 as hard and beautiful as any found at 

 Portici or Herculaneum. Don T. 

 Rosalia informed us that we had seen 

 but the commencement of the wonders 

 of the place; — that there were traces of 

 buildings to the very top still discern- 

 able;— that the mountain was perforated 

 by artificial excavations, and that a flight 

 of steps led to one near the top, which 

 he himself had eiitered, but which no 

 one as yet had courage to explore, 

 although it was believed that inmiense 

 riches were buried in it. 



What a subject for contemplation 

 does this collection of ruins present to 

 the icflocling mind! The seat of a 

 powerful monarcli, whose subjects (if 

 we niMy judge from their works,) were 

 |)robably an enlightened people, existing 

 and Rom ishing long before (he Continent 

 of America was known to Europe, and 

 yet a ])eo])le whose customs, costume, 

 religion, and nrciiitecturc, strongly re- 

 sembled tiiose of an enlightened nation 

 of Africa, which may be said to have 

 ceased to exist twenty centuries before 

 this continent was discovered. — Who 

 now can solve this difuculty ? 



THE PYRAMIDS. 



I think there can be little doul.'t that 

 these immense slruclures,wliicli vie with 

 the pyramids of i'lgyiit, were, at the 

 period we arc sp'^akiu^- of, in the same 

 state in which they are now ; and that 

 it was on ascending one of them that 

 Cortez belield the approach of the great 

 Indian army. We mounted, and rode 

 to the several small barrows that arc 

 scattered in various directions round 

 the base of tiie second, and on the 

 road to the largest pjramid ; — in some 

 places (hey form regular streets running 

 east and west. 



Not far from the great pyramid, near 

 a gate, lay an enormous stone, with a 

 lew sculiitured ornaments. It is ap- 

 parently of great antiquity. A boy 

 who hud followed us, observing that 

 we viewed it with attention, took my 

 son a little distance through a [danta- 

 tion, and showed him another of great 

 dimensions, covered with sculpture, 

 with a hole in the top — lie sujiposed it 

 a stone ol K.ieri/ice. 



We soon airi\ed at the foot of llio 

 largest pyramid, and began to ascend. 

 It was less dillii ult than we expected, 

 though, the whole way up, lime and 

 cemLUt are mixed with fallen stones. 



The 



