202 



INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 



climbed up to it, but saw only the remains of the 

 same narrow corridor and arch, and on the wall 

 were prints of the red hand. The whole country 

 was so overgrown that it was impossible to form any 

 idea of what its extent had been, but one thing was 

 certain, a large city had once stood here, and what 

 its name was no man knew. 



At this time my visit was merely intended as pre- 

 liminary, for the purpose of judging whether there 

 were any subjects for Mr. Catherwood's pencil, and it 

 was now about one o'clock. The heat was intense, 

 and sweating and covered with briers and burrs, 

 which stuck to every part of my clothes, I came out 

 into the open road, where my Indian was waiting 

 for me with the horses. We mounted immediately, 

 and continued on a gallop to the hacienda of Tan- 

 kuche, two leagues distant. 



This hacienda was a favourite with Don Simon, 

 as he had created it out of the wilderness, and the 

 entire road from the village he had made himself. 

 It was a good logwood country, and here he had 

 erected machinery for extracting the dye. In gen- 

 eral, it was the most busy place of all his haciendas, 

 but this day it seemed as if a desolating scourge had 

 swept over it. The huts of the Indians were clos- 

 ed and locked up; no barebodied children were play- 

 ing around them, and the large gate was locked. 

 We tied our horses by one of the panels, and, as- 

 cending by a flight of stone steps, entered the lanfe 

 and walked up to the house. Every door was lock- 



