After having obtained some local information respecting the structures that I wished to examine, I crossed the plain and entered this fortress, which once held the reputation of being one of the greatest of the Indian cities. I was prepared to see much that would be of the highest interest, because no change had taken place within its walls since the time when it was destroyed by Alvarado, in 1524. The site has never since that period been occupied or in any way disturbed. Upon making a slight preliminary survey of the position, it was evident that it had been chosen for a fortified inclosure, in the same manner and for the same purpose as Patinamit. Both fortresses resembled in their character the defensive encampment of Fort Ancient in Ohio. Utatlan is, with the exception of its narrow approach, surrounded by ravines. In consequence of the ground being thus confined, the original extent of the city can be easily ascertained, and it is therefore indisputable that the population maintained within the ramparts could never have been numerous. It is however observable that it must have contained buildings, temples, and sacrificial altars of considerable magnitude. The sites of many of these were still apparent and their ground plans could be traced. Portions of the walls were also standing. Parts of the altars were covered with a strong thick cement. After having walked round the exterior of the fortress, I made a series of measurements of the spaces covered by the courts of those structures which were supposed to have been temples or places set apart for the purposes of religion and instruction. I observed that some of the ground plans were similar in their proportions to those that I had noticed within some ancient earthworks near the modern city of Guatemala. The pyramidal altars or Teocalli had, in their forms and constructions, their platforms and places for idols, many points of resemblance with others that were known to have existed in Mexico.