Page:Here and there in Yucatan - miscellanies (IA herethereinyucat00lepl 0).djvu/76

 Tulum (castle), a grand old castle towers on the brink of a precipitous cliff against which the waves dash with fury. It serves as a good landmark to mariners, being the highest point along the coast. That spot also presents the wildest scenery in the country, its iron-bound coast reminding us of the south end of Cozumel, though much grander and more wild.

The ancient city was surrounded on three sides by a wall that had watch-towers at the corners. There are two gateways in the north and south walls; one in the east. This fortification was composed of rough, flat stones, laid upon each other without mortar or cement, and varied in thickness between seven and twelve feet. The high precipitous cliff forms a sea wall, 1,500 feet long, on the east side. The Spanish historians inform us that among the Mayas the Ruler and his nobles had their dwellings all inclosed by a great wall in the centre of the city, the rest of the people living outside. From their works we also learn that when the conquerors, under command of Captain Grijalva, crossed from Cozumel, they saw, toward sunset, a burg so large that "Seville would not have appeared better." There was a very lofty tower, and on the shore a crowd of natives, bearing standards that