12 FIELD AND FOREST. 



thicker and rounder at the great bend, cut out of a single mass of stone 

 of the hardest and toughest description, such as syenite, diorite, basalt, 

 &c, sculptured with raised lines and figures, and often smoothed to a 

 polish. The number of these seems to be very great as if almost it 

 were a piece of household furniture. The form, there is good reason 

 to believe as may be seen further on, seems to have been derived from 

 that of a large snake holding its tail in its mouth, but in every case 

 the opening is wide enough to admit of the ring being passed over a 

 man's head, resting on his shoulders and around his neck. Its great 

 resemblance to the ordinary horse cellar is suggested to every one and 

 has originated the speculation that its use was a clog on the neck of a 

 slave to prevent escape. But the ease with which it can be removed, 

 and the brittle nature of the material, readily broken by a sharp blow 

 with a stone, deprives that speculation of any force. The idea has 

 been gaining ground in Europe and this country that this ring was 

 used for strangling the victim in human sacrificing. 



The Deity worshipped in the countries above named, as well as in 

 Mexico, was the Sun, and in all of them the captives taken in war, or 

 criminals otherwise secured were offered up on the altars usually built 

 on the top of great artificial mounds of a pyramidal form. The pic- 

 torial representation of the scene as it was witnessed in Mexico shows a 

 human being stretched lengthwise on the table or- altar of sacrifice with 

 face upwards, and whilst the extremities were held fast by the attend- 

 ant priests the High priest with a sharp obsidian knife cut through 

 the ribs and sternum, quickly extracting the heart from the chest, and 

 held it up to the god of Day in sight of the multitude assembled at 

 the foot of the pyramid. 



There is nothing, however, in these pictures to show the use of the 

 collar for strangulation, and the first definite information conveyed to 

 us on the subject, accompanied a specimen of large size and great 

 weight in form of the letter U, sent from Guatemala. The donor 

 Capt. J. M. Dow, of the Pacific Mail Steamship service understood 

 from the Bishop of Guatemala, that he knew from tradition or from 

 the MS. narratives, deposited in his diocese, trom the ancient Cath- 

 olic friars who came over with the Spanish Conquerors, that the pur- 

 pose for which these implements were employed was as above inti- 

 mated . 



There is a history of Yucatan by one of these missionary fathers, 



