HUMAN SACRIFICES. 



185 



from making the least movement. The head priest then 

 approached, and with a knife made of flint cut an aper- 

 ture in the breast, and tore out the heart, which, yet pal- 

 pitating, he offered to the sun, and then threw it at the 

 feet of the idol. If the idol was gigantic and hollow, it 

 was usual to introduce the heart of the victim into its 

 mouth with a golden spoon. If the victim was a prisoner 

 of war, as soon as he was sacrificed they cut off the head 

 to preserve the scull, and threw the body down the steps, 

 when it was taken up by the officer or soldier to whom 

 the prisoner had belonged, and carried to his house to 

 be dressed and served up as an entertainment for his 

 friends. If he was not a prisoner of war, but a slave 

 purchased for the sacrifice, the proprietor carried off the 

 body for the same purpose. In recurring to the barba- 

 rous scenes of which the spot had been the theatre, it 

 seemed a righteous award that the bloody altar was 

 hurled down, and the race of its ministers destroyed. 



It was fortunate for us, in the excited state of the 

 country, that it was not necessary to devote much time 

 to an examination of these ruins. In 1834 a thorough 

 exploration had been made under a commission from 

 the government of Guatimala. Don Miguel Rivera y 

 Maestre, a gentleman distinguished for his scientific and 

 antiquarian tastes, was the commissioner, and kindly 

 furnished me with a copy of his manuscript report to 

 the government, written out by himself. This report m t 

 full and elaborate, and I have no doubt is the result of 

 a thorough examination, but it does not refer to any 

 objects of interest except those I have mentioned. He 

 procured, however, the image of which ,a front and side 

 view appear in the engraving opposite, and which, 

 without my venturing to express a wish for it, he kind- 

 ly gave to me. It is made of baked clay, very hard, 



Vol. II.— A a 



