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Rh room. The neighborhood, of course, was anything but fragrant; yet he drove out a couple of sheep, chickens and turkeys from a corner—arranged our saddles for chairs on the earthen—and we were soon enjoying a refreshing lunch of tortillias and pulqué.

After the shower had passed we again sallied forth, and reaching the marshy flats, amused ourselves with watching the operations of Ignacio, instead of making war ourselves upon the delicate birds. After wandering about for some time without starting game, Ignacio at last perceived a flock alight a hundred yards to the north of him. He dismounted immediately—waved his hand to us to remain quiet—crouched behind the bull, and putting the animal in motion, in the direction of the birds, they both crept on together until within gunshot. Here, by a twitch at his tail, the beast was stopped, and began munching the tasteless grass as eagerly as if gratifying a relishing appetite. Ignacio then slowly raised his head to a level with the bull's spine and surveyed the field of battle, while the birds paddled about the fens unconscious of danger. Although evidently within good shooting distance, the tio discovered that he had not precisely got a raking range; and therefore, again dodging behind his rampart, put the bull in motion for the required spot. This attained, he levelled his gun on the animal's back and fired—honest Sancho never stirring his head from the grass! Several birds fell, while the rest of the flock, seeing nothing but an unbelligerent bull, scarcely flew more than a dozen yards before they alighted again—and thus, the conspiring beast and sportsman sneaked along, from shot to shot, until nearly the whole flock was bagged!

The result of the afternoon's work was a plentiful platter, around which we gathered in the hospitable dwelling of L——; and not the least entertainment of the evening was a song from the "tio," and a wild dance called "the Zopilote," which he accomplished after several supplementary tumblers of capital pulqué.

13th October. Although our researches in this neighborhood are finished, we can to-day get no conveyance to Mexico. There is not a vehicle to be had in the town; the boats do not leave until to-morrow, and I feel indisposed to undergo the fatigue and exposure of a day's journey on horseback over the plains between the lakes.

I have therefore resolved to wait for the Indian canoes, and, in the meantime, will connect some sketches of interesting ruins that I find in memoranda made by me during the study of various authors who have written on American and Mexican antiquities.

I do so, because the works in which these subjects are discussed are exceedingly expensive, and rarely to be found either in this country or in Europe; and I desire, moreover, to show how completely the whole of this country has, at one time, been covered with an active and intelligent population, the only hints of whose history are left in the ruins of their splendid architecture.