626 The Manuscript Troano. [ August, 
teen feet long and nine inches wide, the surface of which is covered 
with a white paint or varnish on which the characters and figures 
are painted in black, red, blue and brown. It is folded fan-like 
into thirty-five folds, presenting when the folds are pressed together 
the apvearance of an ordinary octavo volume. The hieroglyphics 
and figures cover both sides of the paper comprising seventy 
pages, the writing and painting of the figures having been 
apparently executed, after the paper was folded, so that the fold- 
ing does not interfere with the writing. 
A slight examination of this manuscript is sufficient to con- 
vince any one at all familiar with Landa’s characters that those 
used here are substantially the same, be the significations what 
they may. On almost every page are to be found columns of 
characters agreeing precisely with those given by him as repre- 
renting the Maya days. Are they used on account of the signifi- 
cation of the words they represent, as Brasseur supposed, oF 
simply to designate days ? 
The determination of this point must be one important step 
toward ascertaining the object and contents of the work. 
Another prominent feature of the manuscript is the great num- 
ber of numerals or numeral characters—short straight lines and 
dots—found on every plate. These, together with the columns 
of day characters, constitute fully one half the written portion of 
the work; hence if we can ascertain the method in which, and 
the object for which, these were used, sufficient will have been 
learned to indicate, beyond doubt, the character of the work, and 
will render the task of deciphering the hieroglyphs much easier 
than to work at them blindly, 
Assuming that the reader is familiar with what has already 
been written upon this subject, I will at once proceed with what I 
believe to be the correct explanation of the use of these two 
classes of characters in this manuscript, and which I believe 'S the 
key that will ultimately unlock its mysteries. 
As I shall have occasion to refer very frequently to the Maya 
calendar, and cannot, without occupying too much space, Sd 
here a full explanation of it, I refer the reader to the following 
easily accessible works: “ Bancroft’s Native Races,” Vol. 1, an 
Dr. Valentini’s article in the Proceedings American Antiquariat 
Society, giving here only the following brief summary : 
