PREFACE. 



In his " Incidents of Travel in Central America, 

 Chiapas, and Yucatan," the author intimated his in- 

 tention to make a more thorough exploration of the 

 ruins of the latter country. That intention has 

 since been carried into effect, and the following 

 pages are the result. They describe, as the au- 

 thor has reason to believe, the most extensive jour- 

 ney ever made by a stranger in that peninsula, 

 and contain the account of visits to forty-four ruin- 

 ed cities, or places in which remains or vestiges 

 of ancient population were found. The existence 

 of most of these ruins was entirely unknown to 

 the residents of the capital ; • — but few had ever 

 been visited by white inhabitants; - — they were des- 

 olate, and overgrown with trees. For a brief space 

 the stillness that reigned around them was broken, 

 and they were again left to solitude and silence. 

 Time and the elements are hastening them to utter 

 destruction. In a few generations, great edifices, 



