IN THE OLDEN TIME. 
235 
A third attempt was more successful, as maiz was used 
to form blood and flesh and fat. Xmucane ground the 
corn and cunningly concocted nine beverages, which were 
changed into the various humors of the body. This first 
successful creation was fourfold, and the names of the 
quartette were identical with those of the four chiefs who 
conducted the Quiches to Mount Hacavitz. While these 
primitive men slept, their wives were built,—not, however, 
by robbing the men, but of the remaining portion of the 
same meal. 
The celestial powers did not, however, have everything 
as they wished. The man was tolerable, but by no means 
perfect, for his teeth were defective; and he was built too 
much like the apes to carry himself erect with perfect 
safety, hence he became ruptured. But there was no 
time to try again, for they had already a rival in the 
person of Vucub-caquix, — a sort of Lucifer who imagined 
himself to be the sun, moon, and all the stars. How he 
was punished, the “Popul Yuli” tells at length; and I am 
tempted to translate literally, using the text of Ximenes, 
that my readers may judge both of the style of this sacred 
book, and also of the mode of thought and the belief 
among the Quiches at the time when Utatlan was in all 
its glory. 
“ This is, or was, the cause of the destruction of Vucub- 
caquix by the two young men. Hunahpu, so was called 
the one, and the other was called Xbalanque: these more¬ 
over were gods, and therefore that arrogance seemed evil 
to them, in that it claimed superiority to the Heart of 
Heaven; and they said, the two young men : 4 It will not 
be right to let this go on, for men will not live here on 
earth; and so we will try to shoot him with the blow-gun 
