DISCOVERY OF PALENQUE. 295 



in the midst of a vast solitude ancient stone buildings, 

 the remains of a city, still embracing from eighteen to 

 twenty-four miles in extent, known to the Indians by 

 the name of Casas de Piedras. From my knowledge 

 of the country I am at a loss to conjecture why a party 

 of Spaniards were travelling in that forest, or how they 

 could have done so. I am inclined to believe rather 

 that the existence of the ruins was discovered by the 

 Indians, who had clearings in different parts of the 

 forest for their corn-fields, or perhaps was known to 

 them from time immemorial, and on their report the 

 inhabitants were induced to visit them. 



The existence of such a city was entirely unknown ; 

 there is no mention of it in any book, and no tradition 

 that it had ever been. To this day it is not known by 

 what name it was called, and the only appellation given 

 to it is that of Palenque, after the village near which 

 the ruins stand. 



The news of the discovery passed from mouth to 

 mouth, was repeated in some cities of the province, and 

 reached the seat of government ; but little attention was 

 paid to it, and the members of the government, through 

 ignorance, apathy, or the actual impossibility of occu- 

 pying themselves with anything except public affairs, 

 took no measures to explore the ruins, and it was not 

 till 1786, thirty years subsequent to the discovery, that 

 the King of Spain ordered an exploration ; on the third 

 of May, 1787, Captain Antonio del Rio arrived at the 

 village, under a commission from the government of 

 Guatimala, and on the fifth he proceeded to the site of 

 the ruined city. In his official report he says, on ma- 

 king his first essay, owing to the thickness of the woods, 

 and a fog so dense that it was impossible for the men 

 to distinguish each other at five paces' distance, the 



