276 



INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 



is held out in the same stiff position. The vase is 

 four ajjd a half inches high, and five inches in di- 

 ameter. It is of admirable w^orkmanship, and real- 

 izes the account given by Herrera of the markets 

 at the Mexican city of Tlascala. " There w^ere 

 goldsmiths, feather-men, barbers, baths, and as good 

 earthenware as in Spain!' 



It was not yet considered safe for me to return to 

 Uxmal, and the sight of these vases induced me to 

 devote a {qw days to excavating among the ruins. 

 The cura took upon himself the v^hole burden of 

 making arrangements, and early in the morning 

 we were on the ground with Indians. Amid the 

 great waste of ruins it was difficult to know what 

 to do or where to begin. In Egypt, the labours 

 of discoverers have given some light to subse- 

 quent explorers, but here all was dark. My great 

 desire was to discover an ancient sepulchre, which 

 we had sought in vain among the ruins of Uxmal. 

 These were not to be looked for in the large mounds, 

 or, at all events, it was a work of too much labour 

 to attempt opening one of them. At length, after a 

 careful examination, the cura selected one, upon 

 which we began. 



It was a square stone structure, with sides four 

 feet high, and the top was rounded over with earth 

 and stones bedded in it. It stood in a small milpa, 

 or corn-field, midway between two high mounds, 

 which had evidently been important structures, and 

 from its position seemed to have some direct con- 



