"The ground was entirely new; there were no guide-books or guides; the whole was
a virgin soil...At one time we stopped to cut away branches and vines which con
cealed the face of a monument, and then to dig around and bring to light a fragm
ent, a sculptured corner of which protruded from the earth. I leaned over with b
reathless anxiety while the Indians worked, and an eye, an ear, a foot, or a han
d was disentombed."
