tail is a sharp curved point like a thorn, which becomes hard when the animal has attained its full growth. "If killed in this state, and carefully opened, a small bunch of seeds, similar to those of the passion-flower, about an inch long, attached to ramifying fibres, is found in the intestines: these grains being sown, will produce a plant like the gourd, which will bear a fruit resembling small pompions, as yellow and brilliant as gold; the seeds of which, sown again, will bring forth similar fruit, but of much larger size." Were these seeds to bring forth grasshoppers, it might be accounted for. It may, indeed, occur to the reader, that the chapuli must first have swallowed these seeds; but Francisco de Fuentes assures us, on the unimpeachable testimony of Tomas de Melgar, a venerable priest, and Don Domingo Juarros is satisfied of its correctness, that this vegetable spawn is actually produced from the intestines of the insect; and the said priest, having sown the seeds, found the result to accord precisely with the above statement. We commend the chapuli to the especial attention of the learned naturalists of Europe.

To the west of the alcaldia-mayor of Chimaltenango, between Suchiltepec and Escuintla on the south, and Totonicapan and Vera Paz on the north, lies the province of

SOLOLA.

This alcaldia was formed by the union of the two separate corregimientos of Atitan and Tecpanatitlan, or Sololá, which are still considered as distinct districts. It is of small extent, but populous; lying between lat 14° 25′ and 15° 10′ N., and long 92° 46' and 93° 46′ W.; the population amounts to 43,000

souls. The district of Sololà, which includes the eastern part of the province, was included in the ancient kingdom of Kachiquel. Nuestra Se ora de la Asuncion de Solola, the head town, was the ancient Tecpanatitlan, the residence of one of the royal house of the Kachiquels. It is situated on the summit of an elevated ridge, in a cold climate, about twenty-eight leagues from Guatimala. The inhabitants, who amount to upwards of 5,000, are Indians, chiefly artisans and mechanics.

Santa Cruz del Quiché, in this district, is the modern representative of the once large and opulent capital of the sovereigns of Quich, the city of Utatlan. It is situated on an extensive and very fertile plain, is moderately populous, and contains a Dominican priory. Such is all the information which Juarros is able to communicate respecting the modern village; but "that indefatigable writer, Francisco de Fuentes, who went to Quiché for the purpose of collecting information, partly from the antiquities of the place, and partly from manuscripts," gives the following description of the ancient city. It stood nearly in the situation which Santa Cruz now occupies, and the latter is supposed to have been originally a suburb. The city was surrounded by a deep ravine, which formed a natural fosse, leaving only two very narrow roads as entrances, which were defended by the castle. The centre of the city was occupied by the royal palace, which was surrounded by the houses of the nobility, the extremities being inhabited by the plebeians. The streets were very narrow. The alcazar, or palace, in the opinion of Torquemada, could compete in magnificence with that of Montezuma at Mexico, or that of the Incas at Cuzco. It was constructed of hewn stone of various colours. The frout extended 376 paces from east to west, and it was 728 paces in depth. There were six principal divisions. The first contained lodgings for a numerous troop of

lancers, archers, and other troops, constituting the royal body guard; the second was assigned to the princes and relations of the king; the third, to the monarch himself; the fourth and fifth were occupied by the queens and royal concubines; and the sixth was the residence of the king's daughters, and other females of the blood royal. The third division, appropriated to the use of the king, contained distinct suites of apartments for the morning, the evening, and night. In one of the saloons stood the throne, under four canopies of feathers.* In this part of the palace were the treasury, the tribunals of justice, and the armory, together with gardens, aviaries, and menageries. The female apartments were of great extent; and attached to them were gardens, baths, and places for breeding geese,† which were kept for the sole purpose of furnishing feathers for ornamental furniture. The castle of the Atalaya (watch-tower) was a remarkable structure, four stories in height.

* 'The Indians are said to have distinguished the degrees of sovereignty among their chiefs by the throne itself. That of Utatlan, which was the first in rank, was placed under four canopies, formed of feathers, each of different colours and of different sizes, fixed one within the other. The throne of Kachiquel, or Guatimala, had three canopies; and that of Atitlan, or Zutugil, had but two.-JUARROS, p. 164.

+ This is obviously a mistake, chargeable, we suspect, not on the historian, but his translator. Humboldt says, "The goose is the only one of the birds of our poultry-yards which is no where to be found in the Spanish colonies of the New Continent."(Pol. Essay, vol. iii. p. 56.) The turkey, called in Mexico, totolin and huexolotl, is probably meant. Cortes relates, that several thousands of these birds were fed in the poultry-yards of the castles of Montezuma. They were formerly found wild on the ridge of the cordilleras from Panama to New England. The ancient Mexicans had also tame ducks, which they annually plucked, as the feathers were an important article of commerce.

That of Resguardo (defence-probably the citadel is meant) was five stories high: it extended 188 paces in front, and was 230 feet in depth. From this description, these castles would seem to have resembled the Mexican teocallies, and the stories were possibly terraces. It is impossible to gather from this vague account, what remains yet exist of the " palaces, castles, and temples," of this Indian metropolis. Utatlan, Juarros says, was indisputably the most magnificent and opulent city, not only of Quiché, but of the whole kingdom of Guatimala. As such, its site would especially deserve to be examined by future travellers. Of the Indians of this district, some speak the Quiché, and some the Kachiquel dialect.

The capital of the Zutugil kingdom was Atitlan, "otherwise called Atziquinixai, which, in the Quiché dialect, means the eagle's house; a name originating in the practice of their kings, who, when they took the field, wore, as a distinguishing device, a large plume of the quetzal's feathers in the form of an eagle." This extensive city, Juarros says, was in a position strongly defended by natural bulwarks, among steep, hanging rocks, on the border of the lake of the same name, which protected it on the south side. Its site is occupied by the village of Santiago Atitan (corrupted or softened, apparently, from Atitlan), the chief place in the district of the same name, which comprises the western part of the province of Solola. It stands on the south side of the lake, in a mild and healthy climate, 28 leagues W. of Guatimala, and contains upwards of 2,000 Indian inhabitants. The village was anciently a mission of the Franciscans, and one of the earliest founded in the province: the convent was rebuilt about the middle of the last century. Atitlan is shorn, however, of all its ancient splendour. If there are any remains of the Indian capital, Juarros does not mention them.

The lake of Atitan is one of the largest in Guati

'mala, being eight leagues in length from east to west, and more than four leagues from north to south. It is entirely surrounded by mountains and rocks of irregular form. "From its margin there is no gradation of depth, but the banks are precipitous, and the bottom has not been found with a line of 300 fathoms. Several rivers discharge themselves into it, and it receives all the waters that descend from the mountains; but there is no perceptible channel by which this great influx is carried off. The water is fresh, and so cold, that in a few minutes it benumbs and swells the limbs of those who attempt to swim in it. The only fish caught in it are crabs, and a species of small fish about the size of the little finger (pepescas?). These are in such countless myriads, that the inhabitants of all the ten surrounding villages carry on a considerable fishery for them. The communication between one village and another is carried on by canoes. According to this account, (which will require, however, to be verified,) this lake would seem to be one of the most remarkable phenomena in the country. In the absence of all specific information with regard to its elevation and other circumstances, it would be idle to frame a conjecture as to its origin, or the probable communication of its waters with some other reservoir. The fish which it contains, are the same as are found in the lake Amatitan. May there not be some connexion between these, at least the fathomless one, and the Volcan de Agua? Near the village of Atitan is a mineral spring of sour water, " which "exudes in the form of dew from the rock, and trickles into a channel, forming a stream sufficient to fill small vessels. On account of its medicinal virtues, it is in great request, and is sent to distant parts: it is an excellent remedy for nephritic complaints, and cures the swellings in the throat, so common in this kingdom, where the complaint is called bosio, and more vulgarly guëguëcho. The water

VOL. II.

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