s they draw for us
are those of cities of Oriental magnificence. The system of government
they describe is that of absolute monarchy, founded on feudalism. We
will briefly glance at the remains of these "imperial cities."
Their location is seen on the map. The approach to Patinamit is very
difficult, indeed. Situated on a high table-land, it commands an almost
boundless view. On every side are immense ravines, and the only way
of entering it was by a narrow passage cut in the side of the ravine,
twenty or thirty feet deep, and not wide enough for two horsemen to ride
abreast.

Mr. Stephens mentions coming to a wall of stone, but broken and
confused. The ground beyond was covered with mounds of ruins, and in
one place he saw the foundations of two buildings, one of them being one
hundred and fifty by fifty feet. He does not give us the area covered by
the ruins, but there is nothing in his description to make us think it
very large in extent. He also quotes for us Fuentes's description of
this same place, written, however, one hundred and forty years earlier.
In this he speaks of the remains of a magnificent building, perfectly
square, each side measuring one hundred paces, constructed of hewn
stones, extremely well put together. In front of the building is a large
square, on one side of which stand the ruins of a sumptuous palace; and
near to it are the foundations of several houses.<8> He also asserts
that traces of streets could still be seen, and that they were straight
and spacious, crossing each other at right angles. Fuentes certainly had
remarkable eyes. He wrote a description of Copan which not only differs
from all accounts of modern travelers, but also from the still earlier
description by Garcia De Palacio.<9>

Patinamit means "The City," and is represented as the capital city of
the Cakchiquel "monarchy." The site of the city was certainly admirably
chosen for defense, and we have no doubt but what here was the
head-quarters of a powerful tribe of Indians; but, until scholars have
settled some very disputed points about the civilization of the Central
American nations, we must be cautious in the use of the words monarchy
and palaces as applied to these old people or these ruins.

Thirty-five or forty miles north-eastward from Patinamit we come to
the ruins of the most renowned city in Guatemala at the time of the
conquest. This was Utatlan, the Quiche capital, a city which the
Spaniards compared to Mexico