that it is of that length. The principal
_Peten_ or island (the court where the King lives) must be more than
half a league long and is a high island from which many hills are seen
all around. The situation is very pleasant on account of these hills
being in sight, as well as the five _Petens_ which the lake encloses,
so that from the said _Petun_ any one is seen who comes across the lake
from a distance from any one of the four directions, as well as those
who go fishing on the lake...."

The Lake neither Rises nor Falls. "I asked them why they had their
houses so close to the shore of the lake, and if they had any trouble
with its risings and fallings. They told me that they had no trouble,
since the lake never rose or fell. From this it is inferred that
it is also true that no river enters it or flows out of it on the
surface,--either of rapid or gentle current, as many who speak of this
lake try to show; since, if such a stream entered it, or left it, it
could not fail to increase with the freshets, as in dry times to grow
smaller; although we should not be able to deny the hidden and
subterranean connection of this lake with other neighboring lakes,
because of its permanent preservation of level...."

The Temples of Tayasal Described by Avendano. "In order to worship the
... idols[2.3] there are nine very large buildings, made in the form of
the churches of this Province,--all new, with traces of others which
had been burned, although they built them again, as I saw in the case
of two which had been rebuilt. All such buildings have a wall about a
yard and a half high and of the thickness of six quarters; the bench or
seat all around, which stands out from the middle inwards, is three
quarters thick and the rest, which stands out above, is three quarters
thick; so that both together form two rows of seats around the said
churches, and all repainted and polished."

The Palace of Canek, Chief of the Itzas. "Of this same workmanship is
the hall[2.4] which the King or Ah Canek has as a vestibule to his
house, in which he receives his guests as he did us, although in
addition it has the floor covered with bitumen and polished, which the
said temples do not have. At the entrance of the said hall stands a
large stone table more than two yards long and proportionally broad,
placed on stone columns, with twelve seats of the same around it for
the priests. This is the table of sacrifice, which they call in their
lang