Report of the Naval committee to the House of representatives, August, 1850, in favor of the establishment of a line of mail steamships to the western coast of Africa, and thence via the Mediterranean to London; . ins. The left-hand side was more per-fect, and we could see that the building must have beenelaborately ornamented, and must, indeed, have been agrand sight when entire. The building was constructedentirely of stone; up to the cornice, which ran entirelyaround, the fagade presented a solid mass of ornamenta-tion. One ornament which was very conspicuous, andwhich attracted our eye at
Report of the Naval committee to the House of representatives, August, 1850, in favor of the establishment of a line of mail steamships to the western coast of Africa, and thence via the Mediterranean to London; . ins. The left-hand side was more per-fect, and we could see that the building must have beenelaborately ornamented, and must, indeed, have been agrand sight when entire. The building was constructedentirely of stone; up to the cornice, which ran entirelyaround, the fagade presented a solid mass of ornamenta-tion. One ornament which was very conspicuous, andwhich attracted our eye at oiice, was over the center door-way, and while very much in ruins, yet enough of it wasleft for us to make out its general character. It representeda figure seated upon a throne, which must have been sup-ported by an ornament of some kind, but which had nowfallen. The head-dress was lofty, and from it proceeded 42 A NATURALIST IN MEXICO. plumes which fell symmetrically on each side, and touchedthe ornament on which the feet of the figure rested. Another ornament which was seen about the ruinsmore frequently than any other, consisted of a stone pro-jecting from the wall one foot and seven inches, and in the. EOOII IN THE HOUSE OF THE GOVEKNOK. shape of a coiled elephants trunk. This projecting stonewas seen in many places about the building, and especiallyon the corners. It was always associated with, andformed part of another, consisting of scroll-work andsquares, and was probably intended to convey some idea,either historical or mythical, to the people wh3 inhabitedthis city. In fact, everything about these ornamentsseemed to point to the fact that they were hieroglyphics,intended to represent the history of these strange people. The rear elevation of this building was a solid wall,without doorways or openings of any kind. The two ends ELABORATE SCULPTURE. 43 were thirty-nine feet deep, and had each a single sculptured ornaments were very much simpler on theends an
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