The GOVERNOR’S HOUSE[9] is a vast and splendid pile of ruins. It stands upon three ranges of terraces; the first of which is a slight projection, forming a finish. The great platform, or terrace above it, measures upwards of five hundred feet long, and four hundred and fifteen broad. It is encompassed by a wall of fine hewn stone thirty feet high, with angles rounded, still in good preservation. In the centre of this platform, upon which trees and vegetation grow in profusion, stands a shaft of gray limestone in an inclined position, measuring twelve feet in circumference and eight in height; bearing upon its surface no marks of form or ornament by which it might be distinguished from a natural piece. Near by is a rude carving of a tiger with two heads; also, I saw excavations near them with level curbings and smoothly finished inside, which are conjectured to have been cisterns or granaries. Along the southern edge of this platform are the remains of a range of small pillars, now broken and in confusion. Upon the north-west corner of this platform is an edifice, which was, no doubt, from its location, connected with the Governor’s House. It is the smallest of all the ruins. Its ornaments are few and plain; the most remarkable of which is a continuous line of turtles, cut from stone of about a foot square, arranged under the cornices. [Illustration: SECTION OF FAÇADE, GOVERNOR’S HOUSE. UXMAL RUINS. _Restored after Waldeck._] The south-west corner has connected with it two piles of loose stones, in the pyramidical form; one eighty, and the other a hundred feet high, the sides of the bases measuring about two hundred feet. Their tops are broad platforms, over which, and down the sides, are scattered the remains of edifices, of which these pyramids were once probably the foundations. Here we found pieces of pottery, consisting of broken pieces of vases, and supposed cooking utensils. Upon the main terrace stands another of smaller dimensions, constituting the foundation of the Governor’s House. The measurement of this terrace is three hundred and thirty-eight feet long, eighty-two broad, and thirty high, having a majestic flight of stone steps, though considerably broken at the centre, in front of the entrance. [Illustration: Decoration]