| antly situated village we were hospitably entertained by the 
_ leading citizen of the place, Don Carlos Diaz, who kindly 
secured the men and animals necessary for continuing our trip 
to the base of the mountains. 
Following neglected roadways and obscure trails 
through dense tropical foreaes “and over a meadow region of 
great beauty from which the blue mountain ridge of qumbala was 
always in view, a ride of thirty-five miles brought us to the 
romantic village of Santo Domingo del Palenque. On the fol- 
lowing day a ride of eight miles to the southwest, through 
dense and magnificent forests and across low foot hilis and 
fresh mountain streams, brought us to the base of the mountain 
Slopes. Here we began at once to encounter ruined walls, road- 
ways, bridges and temples, and after @ rough, precipitous climb 
of half a mile up the side of the unique cascades of the Otolum 
we reached the great ruin called the Palace. In this place we 
encamped four days, making such examinations of the numerous 
remarkable ruins as the time would permit. On the 8th day of 
February rain set in, and our ride back to the village was 
through one of the heaviest down-pours encountered in many years 
of travel. | 
| | Reaching the village of Catasaha it was found that the 
heavy rains had flooded the meadows and it was with much diffi- 
culty and by wading the deeper channels that we reached the 
border of the lagoon proper. Here our friend Don Carlos had 
provided a canoe, and by dark we were in our launch and 
threading our way down the crooked branches to the Usumacinta. 
