LOVE OF THE MARVELLOUS. 



169 



The next day the rain contmued, and the major 

 domo left us, taking with him nearly all the Indians. 

 This put an end to the clearing, Mr. Gather wood 

 had a recurrence of fever, and in the intervals of 

 sunshine Dr. Cabot and myself worked with the Da- 

 guerreotype. 



In the mean time, from the difficulty of procuring 

 water and necessaries, we found our residence at 

 these ruins uncomfortable. Our Indians, whom we 

 had engaged to carry our luggage, complained of the 

 detention, and, to crown our troubles, the owner of 

 the olla came, and insisted upon having it returned. 

 Mr. Gather wood, too, was unable to work, the 

 woods were wet with the rain, and we considered 

 it advisable to change the scene. There is no place 

 which we visited that we were so reluctant to leave 

 unfinished, and none that better deserved a month's 

 exploration. It remains a rich and almost unbroken 

 field for the future explorer, and, that he may have 

 something to excite his imagination, and, at the 

 same time, to show that the love of the marvellous 

 is not confined to any one country, I may add that, 

 upon the strength of a letter of mine to a friend in 

 the interior, giving an account of the discovery of 

 this place, and mentioning the vestiges of six build- 

 ings, we found, on our return to Merida, that these 

 six had gone on accumulating, and had not been 

 fairly brought to a stop till they had reached six 

 hundred ! 



Vol. II.— Y . 15 



