ng black insects. I made a hasty retreat, and saw a man at
the moment moving across the plaza, who asked me to his house, which
was clean and comfortable, and when Mr. Catherwood came up the women of
the house were engaged in preparing our dinner. Mr. Catherwood had just
experienced the same kind of good feeling at an Indian hut. Water, in
the Maya language, is expressed by the word _ha_, but, being that
morning rather out of practice, Mr. Catherwood had asked for _ka_,
which means fire, and the woman brought him a lighted brand. He
motioned that away, but still continued asking for _ka_, fire. The
woman went in, sat down, and made him a straw cigar, which she brought
out to him. Sitting in the broiling sun, and perishing with thirst, he
dropped his Maya, and by signs made her understand what he wanted, when
she brought him water.

Our host, who was a Meztizo and ex-alcalde, procured for us another
empty hut, which, by the time our carriers arrived, we had swept out
and made comfortable.

The situation of this rancho was on a fine open plain; the land was
good, and water abundant, though not very near at hand, the supply
being derived from an aguada, to which we sent our horses; and they
were gone so long that we determined the next morning, as the aguada
lay but little out of our road, to ride by it and water them ourselves.

From this place we intended to visit the ruins of Mankeesh, but we
learned that it would require a large circuit to reach them, and, at
the same time, we received intelligence of other ruins of which we had
not heard before, at the rancho of Yakatzib, on the road we had
intended taking. We determined for the present to continue on the route
we had marked out, and it so happened that we did not reach the ruins
of Mankeesh at all, which, according to more particular accounts
received afterward, when it was too late to profit by them, merit the
attention of the future traveller.

CHAPTER XIII.

Rancho of Jalal.--Picturesque Aguada.--Excavations made in it by the
Indians.--System of Aguadas.--Journey resumed.--Lose the Road.--An
Effort in the Maya Language.--Grove of Orange Trees.--Ruins of
Yakatzib.--Dilapidated Edifice.--Stony Sierra.--Village of
Becanchen.--Hospitality.--Sculptured Stones.--Wells.--Running
Stream of Water.--Derivation of the Word Becanchen.--Rapid Growth of
the Village.--Source of the Water of the Wells.--Accident to an
Indian.--The Party