406 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 



figure is carved being split through the middle by 

 some unequal pressure of the great superincumbent 

 wall. The top of the outer part was worm-eaten 

 and decayed, probably from the trickling of water, 

 which, following some channel in the ornaments, 

 touched only this part ; all the rest was sound and 

 solid. 



The subject is a human figure standing upon a 

 serpent. The face was scratched, worn, and oblit- 

 erated, the headdress was a plume of feathers, and 

 the general character of the figure and ornaments 

 was the same with that of the figures found on the 

 walls at Palenque. It was the first subject we had 

 discovered bearing such a striking resemblance in 

 details, and connecting so closely together the build- 

 ers of these distant cities. 



But the great interest of this lintel was the car- 

 ving. The beam covered with hieroglyphics at 

 Uxmal was faded and worn. This was still in ex- 

 cellent preservation ; the lines were clear and dis- 

 tinct ; and the cutting, under any test, and without 

 any reference to the people by whom it was exe- 

 cuted, would be considered as indicating great skill 

 and proficiency in the art of carving on wood. 

 The consciousness that the only way to give a true 

 idea of the character of this carving was the pro- 

 duction of the beams themselves, determined me to 

 spare neither labour nor expense to have them trans- 

 ported to this city ; and when we had finished our 

 whole exploration, we were satisfied that these were 



