ent
which in appearance resembles melted lead." It does not appear that he
made a complete examination of the monuments, but he mentions three that
gained his attention, and left upon his mind a very strong impression.
"The first is a temple consecrated to the sun, chiefly excavated in the
solid rock, and having its entrance toward the east. On the archway of
the entrance are carved representations of the sun and moon.
Hieroglyphics are found in the interior. Besides the sculptured _bassi
relievi_, these stones bear hieroglyphics painted with a kind of red
varnish which remains unimpaired. The second is a great stone slab
covered with inscriptions or hieroglyphics. The third is the figure of a
wild animal sculptured on a rock or stone, of "great size."[TN-3]

THE RUINS IN YUCATAN.

The remains of ancient cities are abundant in the settled portion of
Yucatan, which lies north of the great forest. Charnay found "the
country covered with them from north to south." Stephens states, in the
Preface to his work on Yucatan, that he visited "forty-four ruined
cities or places" in which such remains are still found, most of which
were unknown to white men, even to those inhabiting the country; and he
adds that "time and the elements are hastening them to utter
destruction."

Previous to the Spanish Conquest, the region known to us as Yucatan was
called Maya. It is still called Maya by the natives among themselves,
and this is the true name of the country. Why the Spaniards called it
Yucatan is unknown, but the name is wholly arbitrary and without reason.
It is said to have arisen from an odd mistake like that which occasioned
the name given to one of the capes by Hernandez de Cordova. Being on the
coast in 1517, he met some of the natives. Their cacique said to him,
"Conex cotoch," meaning "Come to our town." The Spaniard, supposing he
had mentioned the name of the place, immediately named the projecting
point of land "Cape Cotoche," and it is called so still.

At that time the country was occupied by the people still known as
Mayas. They all spoke the same language, which was one of a closely
related family of tongues spoken in Guatemala, Chiapas, Western
Honduras, and in some other districts of Central America and Mexico.
Yucatan was then much more populous than at present. The people had more
civilization, more regular industry, and more wealth. They were much
more highly skilled in the arts of civilized life. They had c