434 



INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 



head on tombstones with us. It is two feet wide across 

 the wings, and has a stone staple behind, about two feet 

 long, by which it was fastened in the wall. It had been 

 removed by Don Simon entire, with the intention of 

 setting it up as an ornament on the front of his haci- 

 enda. 



It was our purpose to present full drawings of the 

 exterior of this building, and, in fact, of all the others. 

 The plate opposite represents one division, with its sculp- 

 tured ornaments, or what I have called mosaic. # As at 

 Copan, Mr. Catherwood was obliged to make several 

 attempts before he could comprehend the subject so as 

 to copy the characters. The drawing was begun late 

 in the afternoon, was unfinished when we left to return 

 to the hacienda, and, unfortunately, Mr. C. was never 

 able to resume it. It is presented in the state given by 

 the last touches of the pencil on the spot, wanting many 

 of the minute characters with which the subject was 

 charged, and without any attempt to fill them in. The 

 reader will see how utterly insufficient any verbal de- 

 scription must be, and he will be able to form from it 

 some idea of the imposing exterior of the building. 

 The exterior of every building in Uxmal was orna- 

 mented in the same elaborate manner. The part rep- 

 resented in the engraving embraces about twenty feet 

 of the Casa de] Gobernador. The whole exterior of 

 this building presents a surface of seven hundred feet ; 

 the Casa de las Monjas is two thousand feet, and the 

 extent of sculptured surface exhibited by the other build- 

 ings I am not able to give. Complete drawings of the 

 whole would form one of the most magnificent series 

 ever offered to the public, and such it is yet our hope 

 one day to be able to present. The reader will be able 

 to form some idea of the time, skill, and labour required 

 * Since the above was in type it has been determined not to give the engraving. 



