enda to
see one of our horses which had a sore back. The hacienda was deserted,
but the sound of violins led me to the place where the Indians were
congregated. Preparations were making on a large scale for the evening
feast. The place looked like a butcher's shambles, for they had cut up
what had once composed eight turkeys, two hogs, and I do not know how
many fowls. The women were all busy; Chaipa Chi was lady-patroness, and
up to her elbows in tortillas.

I walked on to the campo santo, for the purpose of carrying away two
skulls which I had selected and laid aside on the charnel pile at the
time of the funeral. I had taken some precautions, for the news of the
carrying off the bones from San Francisco had created some excitement
among the Indians all over the country; and as I had to pass a long row
of huts, I had procured two calabazas, or gourds, for drinking cups,
which I carried in a pocket-handkerchief, and intended to throw away in
the graveyard, and substitute the skulls. On reaching the pile,
however, I found that other hands had been upon it. The skulls I had
selected had been displaced and mingled with the others, so that I
could not identify them. I examined the whole heap, but could recognise
only the huge skull of an African and that of the woman I had seen dug
up. The latter was the skull of a full-blooded Indian, but it had been
damaged by the crowbar; besides, I had seen all her bones and her very
flesh taken piecemeal out of the grave; I had heard so much of her that
she seemed an acquaintance, and I had some qualms of conscience about
carrying her skull away. In fact, alone in the stillness and silence of
the place, something of a superstitious feeling came over me about
disturbing the bones of the dead and robbing a graveyard. I should
nevertheless, perhaps, have taken up two skulls at random, but, to
increase my wavering feeling, I saw two Indian women peeping at me
through the trees, and, not wishing to run the risk of creating a
disturbance on the hacienda, I left the graveyard with empty hands. The
majoral afterward told me that it was fortunate I had done so, for that
if I had carried any away, it would have caused an excitement among the
Indians, and perhaps led to mischief.

The account of our residence at Uxmal is now drawing to a close, and it
is time to bring before the reader the remainder of the ruins; but
before doing so I shall make one remark in regard to the work of Mr.
Waldeck