244 
GUATEMALA. 
they said it. Great desire had Cabracan in his heart to 
eat of it. Then they turned the bird on the fire and 
seasoned it. Now it was brown, and the fat of the 
birds ran out, and the savor was delectable; so Cabracan 
was most eager to eat them, and his mouth watered, and 
the saliva dropped from it, because of the delicious smell 
the birds gave out. And then he asked them, — 
“ fc ' What is this your food ? Truly it is an appetizing 
odor I smell; give me a bit. 7 
“ He spoke, and then was given a bird to Cabracan 
for his destruction; and he quickly finished the bird. 
And then they went on, and came to the birthplace 
of the sun, where was that great mountain. But Cab¬ 
racan was now sickened, and he had no strength in his 
hands and feet, because of that earth which they had 
put on the bird he ate ; and now he could no longer 
do anything to the mountains, nor could he overturn 
them. So the youths tied his hands behind him, and 
likewise tied his feet together, and threw him on the 
ground and buried him. So was Cabracan conquered 
by Hunahpu and Xbalanque alone. It is not possible 
to tell the feats these youths did here on earth. 77 
The author of the “Popul Vuh,” however, goes on to 
tell of some of the wonders they did in Xibalbay, — 
which Ximenes considers hell, — and my readers would 
find the story very amusing ; but I have translated per¬ 
haps enough to show the ideas of the Quiches ten cen¬ 
turies ago. 
The Quiche kings had removed their capital from 
Izmachi to Gumarcah,— afterwards called Utatlan,— 
not far from the modern Spanish town of Santa Cruz 
del Quiche ; and it was the poor remains of this city, 
