172 



INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 



trunk, which name has, perhaps not inaptly, been giv- 

 en to it by Waldeck, though it is not probable that as 

 such the sculptor intended it, for the elephant was 

 unknown on the Continent of America. This pro- 

 jecting stone appears with this combination all over 

 the facade and at the corners; and throughout all 

 the buildings it is met with, sometimes in a reversed 

 position, oftener than any other design in Uxmal. 

 It is a singular fact, that though entirely out of 

 reach, the ends of nearly all of them have been 

 broken off ; and among the many remains in every 

 part of the walls throughout the whole ruins, there are 

 but three that now exist entire. Perhaps they were 

 wantonly broken by the Spaniards ; th ough at this day 

 the Indians believe these old buildings are haunted, 

 and that all the monefatos or ornaments are anima- 

 ted, and walk at night. In the daytime, if is be- 

 lieved, they can do no harm, and for ages the In- 

 dians have been in the habit of breaking and dis- 

 figuring them with the machete, believing that so 

 doing they quiet their wandering spirits. 



The combination of the last two engravings is 

 probably intended to represent a hideous human 

 face ; the eyes and teeth appear in the first, and the 

 projecting stone is perhaps intended for the nose or 

 snout. It occupies a space in breadth equal to 

 about five feet of the wall. To present the whole 

 facade on the same scale would require an engraving 

 sixty-four times as long as this. The reader will 

 perceive how utterly unprofitable it would b^4o at- 



