260 



INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 



the opinion that it must have been trimmed with an in- 

 strument of metal. 



The opening under this doorway was what the al- 

 calde had intended as the mouth of the cave that led to 

 Palenque, and which, by-the-way, he had told us was 

 so completely buried in El Monte that it would re- 

 quire two days digging and clearing to reach it. Our 

 guide laughed at the ignorance prevailing in the village 

 in regard to the difficulty of reaching it, but stoutly 

 maintained the story that it led to Palenque. We could 

 not prevail on him to enter it. A short cut to Palen- 

 que was exactly what we wanted. I took off my coat, 

 and, lying down on my breast, began to crawl under. 

 When I had advanced about half the length of my 

 body, I heard a hideous hissing noise, and starting 

 back, saw a pair of small eyes, which in the darkness 

 shone like balls of fire. The precise portion of time 

 that I employed in backing out is not worth mentioning. 

 My companions had heard the noise, and the guide 

 said it was " un tigre." I thought it was a wildcat; 

 but, whatever it was, we determined to have a shot at 

 it. We took it for granted that the animal would dash 

 past us, and in a few moments our guns and pistols, 

 swords and machetes, were ready ; taking our positions, 

 Pawling, standing close against the wall, thrust under a 

 long pole, and with a horrible noise out fluttered a huge 

 turkey-buzzard, which flapped itself through the build- 

 ing and took refuge in another chamber. 



This peril over, I renewed the attempt, and holding a 

 candle before me, quickly discovered the whole extent 

 of the cave that led to Palenque. It was a chamber cor- 

 responding with the dimensions given of the outer 

 walls. The floor was encumbered with rubbish two or 

 three feet deep, the walls were covered with stuccoed 



