DESCRIPTION OF THE RUINS.

153

company us, but she ran into the hut.
Beyond this we
reached a wall of stones, but broken and confused. We
tied our horses in the shade of trees, and commenced ex-
ploring on foot. The ground was covered with mounds
of ruins. In one place we saw the foundations of two
houses, one of them about a hundred feet long by fifty
feet broad. It was one hundred and forty years since
Fuentes published the account of his visit; during that
time the Indians had carried away on their backs stones
to build up the modern village of Tecpan Guatimala,
and the hand of ruin had been busily at work. We in-
quired particularly for sculptured figures; our guide
knew of two, and after considerable search brought us
to them. They were lying on the ground, about three
feet long, so worn that we could not make them out,
though on one the eyes and nose of an animal were
distinguishable. The position commanded an almost
boundless view, and it is surrounded by an immense ra-
vine, which warrants the description given of it by Fu-
entes. In some places it was frightful to look down
into its depths. On every side it was inaccessible, and
the only way of reaching it was by the narrow passage
through which we entered, its desolation and ruin add-
ing another page to the burdened record of human con-
tentions, and proving that, as in the world whose his-
tory we know, so in this of whose history we are igno.
rant, man's hand has been against his fellow. The sol-
itary Indian hut is all that now occupies the site of the
ancient city; but on Good Friday of every year a sol-
emn procession of the whole Indian population is made
to it from the village of Tecpan Guatimala, and, as our
guide told us, on that day bells are heard sounding un-
der the earth.

Descending by the same narrow passage, we trav-
VOL. II.-U

ersed the ravine and ascended on the other side. Our guide put us into the road that avoided the town, and we set off on a gallop.

rance.

Don Saturnino possessed the extremes of good temper, simplicity, uprightness, intelligence, and perseveEver since I fell in with him he had been most useful, but this day he surpassed himself; and he was so well satisfied with us as to declare that if it were not for his wife in Costa Rica, he would bear us company to Palenque. He had an engagement in Guatimala on a particular day; every day that he lost with us was so much deducted from his visit to his relatives; and at his earnest request we had consented to pass a day with them, though a little out of our road. We reached the molina in time to walk over the mill. On the side of the hill above was a large building to receive grain, and below it an immense reservoir for water in the dry season, but which did not answer the purpose intended. The mill had seven sets of grindstones, and working night and day, ground from seventy to ninety negases of wheat in the twenty-four hours, each negas being six arobas of twenty-five pounds. The Indians bring the wheat, and each one takes a stone and does his own grinding, paying a rial, twelve and a half cents, per negas for the use of the mill. Flour is worth about from three dollars and a half to four dollars the barrel.

Don Saturnino was one of the best men that ever lived, but in undress there was a lankness about him that was ludicrous. In the evening, as he sat on the bed with his thin arms wound around his thin legs, and we reproved him for his sacrilegious act in cutting open the cotton cloth, his little eyes twinkled, and Mr. C. and I laughed as we had not before laughed in Central America.

But in that country one extreme followed close upon

ANOTHER EARTHQUAKE.

155

another. At midnight we were roused from sleep by that movement which, once felt, can never be mistaken. The building rocked, our men in the corridor cried out "temblor," and Mr. C. and I at the same moment exclaimed " an earthquake!" Our cartarets stood transversely. By the undulating movement of the earth he was rolled from side to side, and I from head to foot. The sinking of my head induced an awful faintness of heart. I sprang upon my feet and rushed to the door. In a moment the earth was still. We sat on the sides of the bed, compared movements and sensations, lay down again, and slept till morning.

Early in the morning we resumed our journey. Unfortunately, the gray mule was no better. Perhaps she would recover in a few days, but we had no time to wait. My first mule, too, purchased as the price of seeing Don Clementino's sister, which had been a most faithful animal, was drooping. Don Saturnino offered me his own, a strong, hardy animal, in exchange for the latter, and the former I left behind, to be sent back and turned out on the pasture-grounds of Padre Alcantra. There were few trials greater in that country than that of being obliged to leave on the road these tried and faithful companions.

To Patzum our road was the same as the day before. Before reaching it we had difficulty with the luggage, and left at a hut on the road our only cartaret. Leaving Patzum on the left, our road lay on the high, level table of land, and at ten o'clock we came to the brink of a ravine three thousand feet deep, saw an immense abyss at our feet, and opposite, the high, precipitous wall of the ravine. Our road lay across it. At the very commencement the descent was steep. As we advanced the path wound fearfully along the edge of the

precipice, and we met a caravan of mules at a narrow place, where there was no room to turn out, and we were obliged to go back, taking care to give them the outside. All the way down we were meeting them; perhaps more than five hundred passed us, loaded with wheat for the mills and cloths for Guatimala. In meeting so many mules loaded with merchandise, we lost the vague and indefinite apprehensions with which we had set out on this road. We were kept back by them more than half an hour, and with great labour reached the bottom of the ravine. A stream ran through it; for some distance our road lay in the stream, and we crossed it thirty or forty times. The sides of the ravine were of an immense height. In one place we rode along a perpendicular wall of limestone rock smoking with spontaneous combustion.

At twelve o'clock we commenced ascending the opposite side. About half way up we met another caravan of mules, with heavy boxes on their sides, tumbling down the steep descent. They came upon us so suddenly that our cargo-mules got entangled among them, turned around, and were hurried down the mountain. Our men got them disengaged, and we drew up against the side. As we ascended, toward the summit, far above us, were rude fortifications, commanding the road up which we were toiling. This was the frontier post of Los Altos, and the position taken by General Guzman to repel the invasion of Carrera. It seemed certain death for any body of men to advance against it; but Carrera sent a detachment of Indians, who clambered up the ravine at another place, and attacked it in the rear. The fortifications were pulled down and burned, the boundary lines demolished, and Los Altos annexed to Guatimala. Here

LOSING A GOOD FRIEND.

157

we met an Indian, who confirmed what the muleteers had told us, that the road to Santiago Atitan, the place of residence of Don Saturnino's relatives, was five leagues, and exceedingly bad, and, in order to save our luggage-mules, we resolved to leave them at the village of Godines, about a mile farther on. The village consisted of but three or four huts, entirely desolate; there was not a person in sight. We were afraid to trust our mozos alone; they might be robbed, or they might rob us themselves; besides, they had nothing to eat. We were about at the head of the Lake of Atitan. It was impossible, with the cargo-mules, to reach Santiago Atitan that day; it lay on the left border of the lake; our road was on the right, and it was agreed for Don Saturnino to go on alone, and for us to continue on our direct road to Panachahel, a village on the right border opposite Atitan, and cross the lake to pay our visit to him. We were advised that there were canoes for this purpose, and bade farewell to Don Saturnino with the confident expectation of seeing him again the next day at the house of his relatives; but we never met again.

At two o'clock we came out upon the lofty table of land bordering the Lake of Atitan. In general I have forborne attempting to give any idea of the magnificent scenery amid which we were travelling, but here forbearance would be a sin. From a height of three or four thousand feet we looked down upon a surface shining like a sheet of molten silver, enclosed by rocks and mountains of every form, some barren, and some covered with verdure, rising from five hundred to five thousand feet in height. Opposite, down on the borders of the lake, and apparently inaccessible by land, was the town of Santiago Atitan, to which our friend was wend