MASSIVE CHARACTER OF THESE RUINS. 443 



a tree I descended into a dark chamber fifteen feet 

 long and ten wide, of rude construction, and of which 

 some of the stones in the wall measured seven feet 

 in length. This is called Akabna, casa obscura, or 

 dark house. Near this is a senote, with the remains 

 of steps leading down to water, which once supplied 

 the ancient citj. The ruins cover a great extent, 

 but all were overgrown, and in a condition too ruin- 

 ous to be presented in a drawing. They were ru- 

 der and more massive than all the others we had 

 seen, bore the stamp of an older era, and more than 

 any others, in fact, for the first time in the country, 

 suggested the idea of Cyclopean remains ; but even 

 here we have a gleam of historic fight, faint, it is 

 true, but, in my mind, sufficient to dispel all unsettled 

 and wavering notions. 



In the account of the march of Don Francisco 

 Montejo from the coast, presented in the early part 

 of these pages, it is mentioned that the Spaniards 

 reached a town called Ake, at w^hich they found 

 themselves confronted by a great multitude of armed 

 Indians. A desperate battle ensued, which lasted 

 two days, and in which the Spaniards were victo- 

 rious, but gained no easy triumph. 



There is no other mention of Ake, and in this 

 there is no allusion whatever to the buildings, but 

 from its geographical position, and the direction of 

 the line of march of the Spanish army from the coast, 

 I have little doubt that their Ake was the place now 

 known by the same name, and occupied by the ruins 



