HISTORY OF THE SPANISH CONQUEST OF YUCATAN AND OF THE ITZAS

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sixty leagues long. If it is true that it surrounds the above thirty
_Petens_, it is not improbable that it is of that length. The principal
_Peten_ or island (the court where the King lives) must be more than
half a league long and is a high island from which many hills are seen
all around. The situation is very pleasant on account of these hills
being in sight, as well as the five _Petens_ which the lake encloses,
so that from the said _Petun_ any one is seen who comes across the lake
from a distance from any one of the four directions, as well as those
who go fishing on the lake...."


The Lake neither Rises nor Falls. "I asked them why they had their
houses so close to the shore of the lake, and if they had any trouble
with its risings and fallings. They told me that they had no trouble,
since the lake never rose or fell. From this it is inferred that
it is also true that no river enters it or flows out of it on the
surface,--either of rapid or gentle current, as many who speak of this