14J2I INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 



the serpent forms part. Between the two principal per- 

 sonages is a remarkable cartouche, containing two hie- 

 roglyphics well preserved, which reminded us strong- 

 ly of the Egyptian method of giving the names of the 

 kings or heroes in whose honour monuments were erect- 

 ed. The headdresses are remarkable for their curious 

 and complicated form ; the figures have all breastplates, 

 and one of the two principal characters holds in his 

 hand an instrument, which may, perhaps, be considered 

 a sceptre ; each of the others holds an object which can 

 be only a subject for speculation and conjecture. It 

 may be a weapon of war, and, if so, it is the only thing 

 of the kind found represented at Copan. In other 

 countries, battle-scenes, warriors, and weapons of war 

 are among the most prominent subjects of sculpture ; 

 and from the entire absence of them here there is rea- 

 son to believe that the people were not warlike, but 

 peaceable, and easily subdued. 



The other courtyard is near the river. By cutting 

 down the trees, we discovered the entrance to be on 

 the north side, by a passage thirty feet wide and about 

 three hundred feet long. On the right is a high range 

 of steps rising to the terrace of the river wall. At the 

 foot of this are six circular stones, from eighteen inches 

 to three feet in diameter, perhaps once the pedestals of 

 columns or monuments now fallen and buried. On the 

 left side of the passage is a high pyramidal structure, 

 with steps six feet high and nine feet broad, like the 

 side of one of the pyramids at Saccara, and one hun- 

 dred and twenty-two feet high on the slope. The top 

 is fallen, and has two immense Ceiba trees growing out 

 of it, the roots of which have thrown down the stones, 

 and now bind the top of the pyramid. At the end of 

 the passage is the area or courtyard, probably the great 



