ery expert, one of our horsemen was so struck with the
splendour of their appearance in the sun, that he came back at full
speed to Cortez, to tell him that the walls of the houses were of
silver."

Our best view was obtained in the afternoon, when the edifice was in
shade, but so broken and confused were the ornaments that a distinct
representation could not be made even with the Daguerreotype, and the
only way to make out all the details was near approach by means of a
ladder; we had all the woods to make one of, but it was difficult for
the Indians to make one of the length required; and when made it would
have been too heavy and cumbersome to manage on the narrow platform in
front. Besides, the wall was tottering and ready to fall. One portion
was already gone in a perpendicular line from top to bottom, and the
reader will see in the engraving that on a line with the right of the
centre doorway the wall is cracked, and above is gaping, and stands
apart more than a foot all the way to the top. In a few years it must
fall. Its doom is sealed. Human power cannot save it; but in its ruins
it gave a grand idea of the scenes of barbaric magnificence which this
country must have presented when all her cities were entire. The
figures and ornaments on this wall were painted; the remains of bright
colours are still visible, defying the action of the elements. If a
solitary traveller from the Old World could by some strange accident
have visited this aboriginal city when it was yet perfect, his account
would have seemed more fanciful than any in Eastern story, and been
considered a subject for the Arabian Nights' Entertainments.

[Engraving 11: Arched Gateway]

At the distance of a few hundred feet from this structure, in sight at
the same time as we approached it, is an arched gateway, remarkable for
its beauty of proportions and grace of ornament The plate opposite
represents this gateway. On the right, running off at an angle of
thirty degrees, is a long building much fallen, which could not be
comprehended in the view. On the left it forms an angle with another
building, and on the return of the wall there is a doorway, not shown
in the engraving, of good proportions, and more richly ornamented than
any other portion of the structure. The effect of the whole combination
was curious and striking, and, familiar as we were with ruins, the
first view, with the great wall towering in front, created an
impression that is not