collar or necklace sustaining a medallion with
his name. In the figure that adorns the facade of the palace he is
represented sitting, and under his feet are to be seen the bodies
of three personages, two men and one woman, flayed. Unhappily these
also have been mutilated by the hand of time or of iconoclasts.
They are headless, but I entertain no doubt as to whom they were
intended to represent, _Huuncay_, _Chaacmol_ and the queen, his
wife. It is worthy of notice that while the phallic emblems are to
be seen in great profusion in every other building at Uxmal, there
is not a single trace of them in or on the "House of the Governor,"
or its appurtenances.

Yucatan being in a state of political effervescence, we determined
to visit the islands of Mugeres and Cozumel, on the East coast of
Yucatan, taking our chance of falling into the hands of the Indians
and being murdered.

Accordingly, on the 20th of October, 1876, we embarked on board the
"Viri," a small coasting sloop, and with the mists of the evening,
the houses of Progreso faded from our view and were lost in the
haze of the horizon. Contrary winds retarded our journey and
obliged us to cast anchor near shore every night. It was not until
after ten tiresome days that we, at last, saw the dim outline of
Mugeres island rise slowly over the waves. As we drew near, the
tall and slender forms of the cocoa trees, gracefully waving their
caps of green foliage with the breeze, while their roots seemed to
spring from the blue waters of the ocean, indicated the spot where
the village houses lay on the shore under their umbrage. Seen at a
distance, the spot presents quite a romantic aspect. The island is
a mere rock, elevated only a few feet above the level of the sea,
six miles long and about one-half a mile wide in its widest parts.
In some places it is scarcely 200 steps across. The population
consists of 500 souls, more or less. Its principal industry is
fishing. For Indian corn and beans--the staple articles of food
throughout Yucatan--they depend altogether on the main land;
vegetables of any kind are an unknown luxury, notwithstanding there
are some patches of good vegetable land in the central part. The
island possesses a beautiful and safe harbor; at one time it was
the haven where the p