370 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 



claiming the site of another lost and deserted city. 

 Moving on, again, through openings in the trees, we 

 had a glimpse of a great stone edifice, with its front 

 apparently entire. We had hardly expressed our 

 admiration before we saw another, and at a few 

 horses' length a third. Three great buildings at 

 once, with facades which, at that distance, and by 

 the imperfect glimpses we had of them, showed no 

 imperfection, and seemed entire. We were taken 

 by surprise. Our astonishment and wonder were 

 again roused ; and we were almost as much excited 

 as if this was the first ruined city we had seen. 



Our guides cut a path for us, and with great dif- 

 ficulty we went on till we found ourselves at the 

 foot of an overgrown terrace in front of the nearest 

 building. Here we stopped ; the Indians cleared a 

 place for our horses, we secured them, and, climbing 

 up a fallen wall of the terrace, out of which large 

 trees were growing, came out upon the platform, and 

 before us was a building with its walls entire, its 

 front more fallen, but the remains showing that it 

 had once been more richly decorated than any at 

 Uxmal. We crossed the terrace, walked up the 

 steps, and entering its open doors, ranged through 

 every apartment. Then we descended the back 

 terrace, and rose upon a high mound, having a great 

 stone staircase different from anything we had seen, 

 and, groping our way among the trees, passed on to 

 the next ; and the third presented a facade almost 

 entire, with trees growing before it and on the top, 



