VILLAGE OF NOHCACAB. 329 



out precedent in the history of the village. There 

 was a general curiosity to see us, increased by 

 knowledge of the extraordinary and unaccountable 

 purpose for which we were visiting the country. 

 The circumstance of its being a fete day had drawn 

 together into the plaza all the people of the village, 

 and an unusual concourse of Indians from the sub- 

 urbs, most of whom gathered round our door, and 

 those who dared came inside to gaze upon us as we 

 lay in our hammocks. These adventurous persons 

 were only such as were particularly intoxicated, 

 which number, however, included on that day a 

 large portion of the respectable community of Noh- 

 cacab. They seemed to have just enough of rea- 

 son left, or rather of instinct, to know that they 

 might offend by intruding upon white men, and 

 made up for it by exceeding submissiveness of man- 

 ner and good nature. 



We were at first excessively annoyed by the 

 number of visiters and the noise of the Indians with- 

 out, who kept up a continued beating on the tun- 

 kul, or Indian drum ; but by degrees our pains left 

 us, and, with the comfortable reflection that we had 

 escaped from the pernicious atmosphere of Uxmal, 

 toward evening we were again on our feet. 



The casa real is the pubhc building in every vil- 

 lage, provided by the royal government for the au- 

 dienzia and other public offices, and, Hke the cabil- 

 do of Central America, is intended to contain apart- 

 ments for travellers. In the village of Nohcacab, 



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