PORT OF SILAN. 



419 



CHAPTER XXIIL 



Port of Silan.—Hospitality.-— Breakfast.-— Walk along the Shore. 

 — Flamingoes.— Shooting Excursion to Punta Arenas. — Wild 

 Road. — Take Possession of a Hut. — Great Variety and im- 

 mense Numbers of Wild Fowl. — Get Stuck in the Mud. — Fla- 

 mingoes and Spoonbills. — A ludicrous Adventure. — Dissection 

 of Birds. — Return to the Port. — The Quartel. — A Catastrophe. 

 — Departure. — Village of Silan. — Gigantic Mound. — View from 

 its Top. — Another Mound. — Accounts of Herrera and CogoUu- 

 do. — The Grave of Lafitte. — Hospitality of the Padres. — De- 

 parture from Silan. — Temax.— Church and Convent. — Izamal. 

 — Fiesta of Santa Cruz. — Appearance of the City. — Mounds. — 

 Colossal Ornaments in Stucco. — Gigantic Head. — Stupendous 

 Mound. — Interior Chambers. — Church and Convent. — Built on 

 an ancient Mound. — A Legend. — A Ball. 



At daylight the next morning we crawled out 

 from the bottom of the canoa, and fomid her an- 

 chored oiF the port of Silan, which consisted of a 

 few huts built around a sandy square on a low, bar- 

 ren coast. We* gave portions of our tattered gar- 

 ments to the waves, and waded ashore. It was 

 three weeks since we had embarked ; our coast 

 voyage had been more interesting than we expect- 

 ed, but there was no part of it so agreeable as the 

 end ; we were but too happy to get rid of the dis- 

 comfort and confinement of the canoa. The pa- 

 tron went to find lodgings for us, and I followed 

 with one of the boatmen, carrying a load. A man 

 just opening the door of a sort of warehouse called 



