Page:Researches in the Central Portion of the Usumatsintla Valley.djvu/37

Rh I had photographed them, I quickly put the vessels back in their places. Luxuriantly tall maize surrounded the huts, but there was a space left in which bloomed the beautiful yellow Simpalxochitl and the Espuelas — red dotted with white. There was also a little bed of Yerba buena.

Having thoroughly explored the huts, we intended to continue our journey in the hope of finding inhabited dwellings; but unfortunately the paths branched off in such a manner and were so ill-defined that we were puzzled which way to turn. We therefore decided to return to our camping-place, but not without taking a small supply of young maize ears, elotl, which, when boiled with salt, are an agreeable vegetable. As payment we left a mirror and a red silk handkerchief by the incense vessels. And as we crossed a large ant hill of yellow earth, I made several distinct impressions upon it with my shoes, thinking that if the Indians should come this way they would doubtless notice that strangers had been here and would wish to have intercourse with them. Once more embarked in our frail crafts, we visited the waterfall and slowly rowed past the small islands in this part of the lake, to our camp, where those guarding it had in the mean time somewhat improved the huts and cooked our evening meal.

On September 5th we undertook a thorough exploration of the lake in all directions. This time taking the right hand, that is, following the northern shore, we came to a canal overhung by trees, through which we pushed our way as well as we could. It led to an extremely picturesque, large western basin, a long narrow arm of which branches off in a northwesterly direction (Plate V, 6). This part of the lake is also surrounded on all sides by mountains. The most beautiful vegetation extends close to the water's edge, while in several places perpendicular cliffs rise to a height of twenty to thirty metres (Plate V, 3). We rowed all round this extension, especially examining the cliffs to see if they might not disjilay pictorial representations of some kind. The indigenous vegetation developed on these often fantastically piled up rocks is of special interest. Many of the rarest orchids, bromelia- and agave-varieties, which are seldom met with elsewhere, were here just now at the height of their gorgeous bloom. After the exploration of this extension, we passed back into the transverse arm, which is also diversified by cliffs and islets, in order directly to enter a larger western or southwestern extension, which we likewise explored to its end. I had brought my little camera with me to take small views of the most beautiful spots, although convinced that it is impossible for photography alone to convey an adequate idea of the incomparable, ever-varying beauty of these sheets of water set in vegetation untouched by the hand of man. Small flocks of black aquatic birds, which my men called cuervos de agua (water-ravens), were stirred up here and there by the approach of our cayucos. Strange to say, we did not see a single duck or other species of water-fowl. Probably the birds stay away during the rainy season, because