358 



INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL 



CHAPTER XXI. 



Departure from the Ruins.— Bad Road. — An Accident. — Arrival at the Village. 

 — A Funeral Procession.— Negotiations for Purchasing Palenque. — Making 

 Casts. — Final Departure from Palenque.— Beautiful Plain.— Hanging Birds'- 

 nests.— A Sitio.— Adventure with a monstrous Ape.— Hospitality of Padres.— 

 Las Playas. — A Tempest. — Moschetoes. — A Youthful Merchant. — Alligators. 

 — Another Funeral.— Disgusting Ceremonials. 



Among the Indians who came out to escort us to the 

 village was one whom we had not seen before, and 

 whose face bore a striking resemblance to those de- 

 lineated on the walls of the buildings. In general the 

 faces of the Indians were of an entirely different char- 

 acter, but he might have been taken for a lineal de- 

 scendant of the perished race. The resemblance was 

 perhaps purely accidental, but we were anxious to pro- 

 cure his portrait. He was, however, very shy, and un- 

 willing to be drawn. Mr. Catherwood, too, was worn 

 out, and in the confusion of removing we postponed it 

 upon his promising to come to us at the village, but 

 we could not get hold of him again. 



We left behind our kitchen furniture, consisting of 

 the three stones which Juan put together the first day 

 of our residence, vessels of pottery and calabashes, and 

 also our beds, for the benefit of the next comer. Ev- 

 erything susceptible of injury from damp was rusty or 

 mouldy, and in a ruinous condition ; we ourselves 

 were not much better ; and with the clothes on our 

 backs far from dry, we bade farewell to the ruins. We 

 were happy when we reached them, but our joy at 

 leaving them burst the bounds of discretion, and broke 

 out into extravagances poetical, which, however, fortu- 



