A TOLTEC BABYLON. 63 
overtopped and almost hidden by a hang¬ 
ing mesquite bush. At the base of both 
hills was a series of mounds extending as 
far as the eye could reach. I almost 
fear to place an estimate on their num¬ 
ber, nor can I positively say they repre¬ 
sented buildings at all. In all or nearly 
all other mounds there is some sign of 
the house walls protruding through the 
debris; here I found none, but they 
closely resemble the other mounds ex¬ 
cept in this respect. Everything goes to 
show that these people were on the de¬ 
fensive, and that defense was often neces¬ 
sary. The ruins looked very much older 
than any others I had visited, but that 
can in a measure be accounted for, I 
think, by the sandy character of the dis¬ 
trict. Nothing makes an abandoned 
building or other work of man look so 
