Page:Here and there in Yucatan - miscellanies (IA herethereinyucat00lepl 0).djvu/92

 seventy feet we descend a strong, rough ladder twenty feet long, placed against a very precipitous rock. Not the faintest glimmer of daylight reaches that spot. After a while we stand on the brink of a perpendicular precipice, the bottom of which is strongly illuminated through a hole in the surface rock more than 200 feet above. Standing on the verge of this awful pit in the dim light, the rocks and crags seem to take on most grotesque shapes. We go down into the great hole by a ladder eighty feet high, twelve wide; and, reaching the bottom, are as yet but at the mouth of the cave, which, by the bye, is called Xtacunbil Xunan (the hidden lady); because, say the Indians, a lady was stolen from her mother and hidden there by her lover. Now, to our right, we find a narrow passage, and soon another ladder; the darkness is intense; the descent continuous, though irregular, like a series of hills and dales; ladders being placed against the steepest places.

After an exhausting journey we reach a vast chamber, from which crooked passages lead in various directions to wells, seven in all, each named according to its peculiar kind of water. One, always warm, is called chocohá (hot water); another, Oɔelhá (milky water); and Akabhá (dark water). About 400 paces away from the chamber, passing through