226 



INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 



Don Simon arrived from Jalacho, according to 

 promise, to pay us a visit. He was not in the habit 

 of visiting Uxmal at this season, and though less 

 fearful than other members of his family, he was 

 not without apprehensions on account of the health 

 of the place. In fact, he had suffered much himself 

 from an illness contracted there. At the hacienda 

 he found the mayoral, who had just returned with 

 me from Jalacho, ill with calentura or fever. This, 

 with the cold and rain of the Norther, did not tend 

 to restore his equanimity. We insisted on his be- 

 coming our guest, but agreed to let him off at night 

 on account of the moschetoes. His visit was a for- 

 tunate circumstance for us; his knowledge of local- 

 ities, and his disposition to forward our views, gave 

 us great facilities in our exploration of the ruins, and 

 at the same time our presence and co-operation in- 

 duced him to satisfy his own curiosity in regard to 

 some things which had not yet been examined. 



Throughout the ruins circular holes were found 

 at different places in the ground, opening into cham- 

 bers underneath, which had never been examined, 

 and the character of which was entirely unknown. 

 We had noticed them, at the time of our former 

 visit, on the platform of the great terrace ; and though 

 this platform was now entirely overgrown, and many 

 of them were hidden from sight, in opening a path 

 to communicate with the hacienda we had laid 

 bare two. The mayoral had lately discovered an- 

 other at some distance outside the wall, so perfect 



