212 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 



bourhood, and he had a large house in the village, 

 at which we stopped. My object in coming to this 

 place was to visit La Cueva de Maxcanu, or the 

 Cave of Maxcanu. In the evening, when notice 

 was given of my intention, half the village was ready 

 to join me, but in the morning my volunteers were 

 not forthcoming, and I was reduced to the men 

 procured for me by Don Lorenzo. From the time 

 consumed in getting the men together and procuring 

 torches, cord, &c, I did not get off till after nine 

 o'clock. Our direction was due east till we reached 

 the sierra, ascending which through a passage over- 

 grown with woods, at eleven o'clock we arrived at 

 the mouth, or rather door, of the cueva, about a 

 league distant from the village. 



I had before heard so much of caves, and had 

 been so often disappointed, that I did not expect 

 much from this ; but the first view satisfied me in 

 regard to the main point, viz., that it was not a nat- 

 ural cave, and that, as had been represented to me, 

 it was hecha a mano, or made by hand. 



La Cueva de Maxcanu, or the Cave of Maxcanu, 

 has in that region a marvellous and mystical repu- 

 tation. It is called by the Indians Satun Sat, which 

 means in Spanish El Laberinto or El Perdedero, the 

 Labyrinth, or place in which one may be lost. Not- 

 withstanding its wonderful reputation, and a name 

 which alone, in any other country, would induce a 

 thorough exploration, it is a singular fact, and ex- 

 hibits more strikingly than anything I can mention 



