Page:Researches in the Central Portion of the Usumatsintla Valley.djvu/49

Rh As it is impossible to undertake any serious explorations without having previously engaged some men and procured the necessary provisions, I contented myself for the time being with the information I had gathered, and passed by the ruins without inspecting them, fully determined to organize an expedition thither, as soon as I arrived in Tenosique.

On the 23d of July, 1895, I reached Tenosique in safety, and could then say that the most difficult part of my great journey of exploration had been overcome. I succeeded in coming to an agreement with a certain Luciano Sanchez, who was the owner of pack-animals and had several men at his disposal. He expressed his willingness to accompany me with three men and the necessary animals. I was to pay one peso a day for each man and each beast and to maintain them. Owing to the wood-cutting establishments in the neighborhood, which absorb all the available men, wages are very high in Tenosique. But as Sanchez and his men showed a willing disposition and behaved well, I did not regret paying them high wages. On the 12th of August our arrangements were completed and we left Tenosique.

For about two leagues our way led us through savánas adorned with numerous nantsin-trees, which were just unfolding the splendor of their yellow blossoms. This meadow-land comes to an end not far from the little river Polevá, which, in spite of its apparent insignificance, is regarded with much apprehension, because it often rises suddenly to such a height that it can be crossed only with great difficulty, or not at all. Afterward the trail runs mostly over low mountain ranges, where it is shaded by high forest-trees and is at times very difficult. On the first day we reached the station Los Callejones, that is, "the place of the wood-roads," where we spent the night.

On the second day we proceeded as far as the Tres Champas, "the place of the three leaf huts," —chican, chan=little; pa= shelter; champa (tšampa) = little shelter, leaf huts. The huts of the montería, once established here and long since abandoned, have entirely disappeared; but an open hut still stands on the bank of the brook and affords some shelter to the traveller.

Soon after we had left Los Callejones and had ascended the hills, we saw a little lake on the right, far below us in a hollow, surrounded by walls of rock. The view of these cliffs, crowned by towering trees, with the water far below at their feet, is very impressive. This spot of natural beauty has no name, but in Mexico formations of this kind are called in general hollos, and I therefore called this particular spot El Hollo.

Some time later, about three leagues beyond Tres Champas, we found an obelisk set up to mark the boundary, bearing the name MEXICO on one side and GUATEMALA on the other, which will in future put an end