great slaughter was made among the
Spaniards, and, to save the lives of those who remained, the adelantado
retreated to the fortifications. One hundred and fifty of the
conquerors were dead; nearly all the rest were wounded, and if the
Indians had attacked them in their retreat they would have perished to
a man.

Unable to hold out any longer, they took advantage of a night when the
Indians were off their guard, and making sallies in the evening so as
to keep them awake, that weariness might afterward overtake them, as
soon as all was still they tied a dog to the clapper of a bell-rope;
putting some food before him, but out of his reach, and with great
silence marched out from the camp. The dog, when he saw them going,
pulled the cord in order to go with them, and afterward to get at the
food. The Indians, supposing that the Spaniards were sounding the
alarm, remained quiet, waiting the result, but a little before
daylight, perceiving that the bell did not cease ringing, they drew
near the fortification, and found it deserted. In the mean time the
Spaniards escaped toward the coast, and in the meager and disconnected
accounts of their dangers and escape, it is, perhaps, not surprising
that we have none whatever of the buildings, arts, and sciences of the
fierce inhabitants of Chichen.

I shall close with one general remark. These cities were, of course,
not all built at one time, but are the remains of different epochs.
Chichen, though in a better state of preservation than most of the
others, has a greater appearance of antiquity; some of the buildings
are no doubt older than others, and long intervals may have elapsed
between the times of their construction.

The Maya manuscript places the first discovery of Chichen within the
epochs corresponding with the time between A.D. 360 and A.D. 432. From
the words used, it may be understood that the discovery was then made
of an actual existing city, but it is a fair construction of these
words to suppose that nothing more is meant than a discovery of what
the words Chi-chen import, viz., the mouths of wells, having reference
to the two great senotes, the discovery of wells being, among all
primitive people, and particularly in the dry region of Yucatan, an
event worthy to be noted in their history.

One of these senotes I have already mentioned; the other I did not
visit till the afternoon preceding our departure from Chichen. Setting
out from the Castillo, at some dist