Page:Travels in Mexico and life among the Mexicans.djvu/71

Rh their ruins. These caves, where the rivers appear to the light of day, are called cenotes. There are many in Yucatan, and in Merida are several, utilized as bathing-places,—most refreshing resorts in the heat of day. The cenote at Mucuyché is a cavern, perhaps forty feet deep, broken down at one side, forming an arch of limestone with every shape of stalagmite and stalactite, the roof full of holes, in which were the nests of hundreds of swallows and hornets, A flight of stone steps leads from the delightful garden above, and some avocado pears and coco palms growing at the bottom thrust their crowns above the general level of the ground. The water is clear and very deep at the east end of the cave, with many fish in it,—"cenote fish,"—which are said to be blind, like those in the Mammoth Cave. Roots of trees hang pendent in clusters, behind which lizards and iguanas dart along the ledges; swallows circle in dense masses about the arch, forming a complete ring, and making a deafening whirring noise with their wings. The way to the cave was past the great front corridor above the cattle-yard,—all cattle-yards of Yucatan are in front of, and immediately adjoining, the dwellings of the proprietors,—past the well, where pretty mestizas were drawing water, and through a garden full of orange and lemon trees.

Our delays made our driver impatient, and he plied the lash upon those unhappy mules more furiously, if possible, than before, urging them with his tongue, likewise, by shouting, "Mula! Mula!" and clucking so strongly with his lips that I thought some of the braces had cracked, and looked out. The cart was banged over rocks and into holes, the mules going at a full trot, and on level road at a gallop, and our half-reclining position was anything but pleasant.

The vegetation hitherto had been the same, low trees and bushes, but the mimosas grew taller as we went on. At one point on the road we stopped to examine an Indian mound, and found broken sculptures and blocks of limestone scattered about through the bushes, indicating that we were in the field of ruins to which appertained the great dead city. From its summit we looked over a wide extent of plain, flat as a table, with only