260 



INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 



In the yards of some houses on a street at the 

 rear of the casa real were the remains of large 

 mounds. In the wall round the square of the church 

 was a large circular upright stone, like those here- 

 tofore called picotes, or whipping-posts, and our 

 guide told us that in the suburbs there were other 

 mounds ; but, without leaving the streets, we saw 

 enough to satisfy us that Mani stood on the site of 

 an ancient town of the same general character with 

 all the others. 



Returning to the casa real, we found a new guar- 

 da, who came into office rather more intoxicated 

 than their predecessors in going out. Albino had 

 inquired of the cacique for the ancient relics of 

 which we had heard accounts, and the Indians 

 brought a copy of CogoUudo, wrapped up and treas- 

 ured with great care in the casa real. This did not 

 astonish us much, and they opened the book and 

 pointed out a picture, the only one in it, being a 

 representation of the murder of the ambassadors of 

 Tutul Xiu ; and while we were looking at it they 

 brought out and unrolled on the floor an old paint- 

 ing on cotton cloth, being the original from which 

 Cogolludo had the engraving made. The design 

 was a coat of arms bordered with the heads of the 

 murdered ambassadors, one of which has an arrow 

 fixed in the temple, intended to represent the am- 

 bassador who had his eyes put out with this weap- 

 on. In the centre is a tree growing out of a box, 

 representing the sapote tree at Zotuta, under which 



