he post are
the only human beings that inhabit these deserts for many leagues
around; its old walls, its belfry, widowed of its bells, are all
that indicates to the traveller that Piste once was there.

After resting, we continued our march to Chichen, whose grand
pyramid of 22 meters 50 centimeters high, with its nine _andenes_,
could be seen from afar amidst the sea of vegetation that
surrounded it, as a solitary lighthouse in the midst of the ocean.
Night had already fallen when we reached the _Casa principal_ of
the _hacienda of Chichen_, that Colonel Coronado had had cleaned to
receive us.

At dawn on the following day, 28th, Colonel Diaz caused parapets to
be raised and the house to be fortified. He placed his advance
sentinels and made all necessary arrangements to avoid a surprise
from the Indians, and to resist them in case of attack. For my part
I immediately commenced work. From the descriptions made by the
travellers who had preceded me and that I had read, I believed
fifteen days or three weeks would be sufficient for me to
investigate all the ruins. But on the 12th of October, Colonel Diaz
having received notice that the Indians were probably preparing an
attack, sent to bring me from the ruins, to communicate to me the
news that he had to march immediately. I had really scarcely
commenced my studies, notwithstanding I had worked every day from
sunrise to sunset, so many and so important were the monuments
that, very superficially, my predecessors had visited.

I resolved to remain with my wife, and continue our investigations
until they should be completed, in spite of the dangers that
surrounded us. I made known my unalterable resolution to Colonel
Diaz, asking him only to arm a few of the Indians that remained
with me, for I did not wish even a single soldier of the post of
Piste to accompany me. Leaving my instruments of geodesy and
photography at the ruins, I made the church of Piste my
head-quarters, where we went every night to sleep, returning always
at daylight to Chichen, one league distant.

It would be too long to give here the details of my work and
investigations. Enough to say, that from the 28th of September,
1875, when I began to study the monuments, up to the 5th of
January, 1876, when, learning of the