292 



INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 



we crossed the plaza, the moon lighted up the ven- 

 erable front of the convent, and for the last time I 

 slept within its walls. 



The next morning I bade farewell to the cura, 

 with an understanding, that as soon as Doctor Ca- 

 bot was able to return, the good padre would ac- 

 company him to finish his interrupted visit to us at 

 Uxmal. My time at Ticul had not been lost. Be- 

 sides exploring the ruins of San Francisco, I had re- 

 ceived accounts of others from the cura, which prom- 

 ised to add greatly to the interest of our expedition. 



That I might take a passing view of one of these 

 places on my return to Uxmal, I determined to go 

 back by a different road, across the sierra, which 

 rises a short distance from the village of Ticul. The 

 ascent was steep, broken, and stony. The whole 

 range was a mass of limestone rock, with a few 

 stunted trees, but not enough to afford shade, and 

 white under the reflection of the sun. In an hour 

 I reached the top of the sierra. Looking back, my 

 last view of the plain presented, high above every- 

 thing else, the church and convent which I had left. 

 I was an hour crossing the sierra, and on the other 

 side my first view of the great plain took in the 

 church of Nohcacab, standing like a colossus in the 

 wilderness, the only token to indicate the presence 

 of man. Descending to the plain, I saw nothing 

 but trees, until, when close upon the village, the 

 great church again rose before me, towering above 

 the houses, and the only object visible. 



