a peculiar feature of
workmanship, are the so-called _teocallis_, or mounds, which here are
built of earth, and covered at the top and on the sides with a thick
layer of mortar in imitation of stone work. On one of these mounds I
found not only the sides and the platform, but even two flights of
stairs, constructed of the same apparently fragile but yet enduring
material. One of the latter was perfectly well preserved. I likewise saw
clay figures of animals covered with a similar coating of mortar or
plaster, thus imitating sculptured stone and retaining traces of having
been painted in various colors.

[Illustration: _Fig. 1.--Map of the Ruins of Cintla._]

"The reason for this singular use of cement probably is that in the
alluvial soil of this coast, no stones occur within a distance of fifty
miles and more from the sea shore; stone implements, such as axes,
chisels, grinding stones, obsidian flakes, etc., which are occasionally
found, can have been introduced solely by trade. The pottery and the
idols made of terra cotta show a high degree of perfection.

"Regarding the period down to which such earthenware was made, a broken
vase disinterred from one of the mounds in my presence may give a clue.
Its two handles represent Spaniards, with their European features,
beard, Catalonian cap, and _polainas_, or gaiters."

There is also among his papers the commencement of an address or essay
upon these ruins, written in Spanish, and this, when completed, may have
been printed in some Mexican periodical. I translate from it the
following passage, the remainder having been lost:

"Having learned that in the forests of the coast between the _barras_ of
Chiltepec and Grijalva various mounds, idols and other remains of an
earlier population had been discovered, I proceeded to that part of the
country called _Del Cajete_, and devoted six weeks to its exploration. I
soon found numerous mounds and embankments from which the present
inhabitants had gathered fragments of idols and milling stones of a form
unknown now in the vicinity.

"It very soon became apparent that these mounds were not such as those
isolated ones which are found in various parts of this country, but were
arranged in groups surrounding open spaces, _plazas_, and forming
streets, extending over an area three leagues in length by one in
breadth.

[Illustration: _Fig. 2.--The Great Temple._]

[Illustration: _Fig. 3.--Cross Section of Fig. 2, B._]

"Not a