DISCOVERY OF A BUILDING. 401 



CHAPTER XXIL 



Discovery of a Building. — Two others. — Description of the first 

 Building. — Ornaments in Stucco. — Columns. — Corridor. — Paint- 

 ings. — Central Chamber. — Altar. — Upper Story. — Stone Tab- 

 lets. — Another Building. — Mutilated Figure. — Apartments. — Al- 

 tar. — A third Building. — This City seen by the early Spanish 

 Voyagers. — Continued to be occupied after the Conquest. — Ad- 

 oratorios. — Accounts of ruined Cities in the Interior. — Return 

 Voyage. — Sea-sickness. — Nesuc. — Kancune. — Ruined Build- 

 ings. — Island of Mugeres. — Sea-birds. — Appearance of the Isl- 

 and. — A hideous Funeral Pile. — Ibises. — Lafitte. — Piratical As- 

 sociations. — Confession of a Pirate. — Visit to the Ruins. — A 

 lonely Edifice. — Grand Scene. — Corridors. — Inscriptions. — 

 Square Building. — Account of Bernal Dias. — Departure from 

 the Island. — Catoche. — Yalahao. — Ancient Mound. — El Cuyo. 

 An old Acquaintance in Misfortune. 



The next morning we finished what remained to 

 be done, and, after an early dinner, prepared to leave 

 the ruins. While the men were arranging their loads 

 I gave Doctor Cabot a direction to a point in the 

 wall, where, in measuring around it, Mr. Catherwood 

 and I had started two ocellated turkeys. He set 

 out to cut his way in a straight line with his hunt- 

 ing knife, and very soon, while sitting on the steps 

 of the Castillo, I heard him calling to me that he had 

 come upon another building which we had not seen. 

 Having occasion to economize shoe leather for the 

 walk back over the cliff, I at first hesitated about 

 going to it, but he insisted. He was so near that 

 we communicated without any particular effort of 



