182 



INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 



existed among all Eastern nations. The Indians 

 call this stone the Picote, or whipping-post. 



At a distance of sixty feet in a right line beyond 

 this was a rude circular mound, about six feet high. 

 We had used it as a position from wdiich to take a 

 Daguerreotype view of the front of the building, and, 

 at the instance of the Cur a Carillo, who came to 

 pay us a visit, we determined to open it. It was a 

 mere mass of earth and stones ; and, on digging dow^n 

 to the depth of three or four feet, a sculptured mon- 

 ument was discovered, which is represented in the 

 engraving that follows. It was found standing on 

 its feet, in the position represented in the engraving. 

 It is carved out of a single block of stone, and meas- 

 ures three feet two inches in length and two feet in 

 height. It seems intended to represent a double-head- 

 ed cat or lynx, and is entire with the exception of one 

 foot, which is a little broken. The sculpture is rude. 

 It was too heavy to carry away. We had it raised to 

 the side of the mound for Mr. Catherwood to draw, 

 and probably it remains there still. The picote, or 

 great stone, before referred to, appears in the engra- 

 ving in the distance. 



Why this monument had been consigned to the 

 strange place in which it was discovered we were 

 at a loss to conjecture. This could never have 

 been its original destination. It had been formally 

 and deliberately buried. In my opinion, there is 

 but one way of accounting for it. It had been one 

 of the many idols worshipped by the people of Ux- 



