DESCRIPTION OF COPAN BY GALINDO. 599 
the foot of the same figure drawn to the right. In front of the figure, at a distance 
of 3 yards, there is a table or altar with the corner toward the figure, the upper part 
being straight. The other 3 sides of the obelisk are curiously wrought. 
Near by there is a stone (figure No. 8), almost spherical in shape, surrounded 
by a belt, its horizontal diameter being 1 yard 28 inches, while its smallest or per- 
pendicular diameter is 1 yard 6 inches. In the upper part there is a small circular 
cavity crossed by a serpentine line. I wonder what whim of art this could be? 
There is also here, fallen and in ruins, the head of a gigantic alligator or lizard, 
between the jaws of which there is placed the half body of a monstrous figure, whose 
face is human, but with the claws or feet of an animal. 
On the other side of the Copan River, on a hill in front of the windows, and at 
a distance of half a league or more from the latter, there is a monumental stone, 
now fallen and broken into 2 parts, a small piece of its head being missing [Stela 
12 at Group 3]. Although it stands on a commanding site, at its back there is, at 
a certain distance, a still higher mountain. 
This obelisk, like all the others, is parallelepipedal in shape. It was standing 
with one of its wider sides overlooking the windows, that is to say, west 29° 15’ 
north, surrounded by a pavement a little higher than the ground, 8 yards long, 
extending from the northeast to the southwest, being from 4 to 5 yards wide. 
This obelisk, monumental stone, or column was not a perfect parallelepiped, 
as its width and thickness gradually diminish from top to bottom, and although 
its actual total length was 3 yards 28 inches, its greatest width at the top is 24 
inches, and at the bottom it is only 22 inches wide. In the upper part the greatest 
thickness of the obelisk is 19 inches, and at the bottom it is only 16 inches. The 
stone was buried to the depth of 24 inches, and the 12 inches from that point to the 
squares of its inscription are smooth. On the two widest faces of the column there 
are 48 squares in 4 perpendicular rows of 12 each. On the other 2 sides there are 
52 squares, also in 4 rows, 2 on each side. The 4 lower squares of the widest faces 
are 9 inches square, their width upward being the same, but their height gradually 
diminishes until the height of the 4 lower squares of the same faces is only 6.5 inches. 
The same is true of the 2 thick sides of the obelisk, where the 4 lower squares have 
a width of 8 inches and a height of 7 inches, the width continuing uniform upward, 
but the height diminishes gradually, inasmuch as the upper squares become equal 
to those of the other two faces at a height of 6.5 inches. The margin makes the 
difference in the size of the column. ‘The red paint which covers this stone and 
causes the common people to call it painted is so well mixed that even now it is 
noticeable throughout the entire surface, and seems to constitute an essential part 
of the obelisk. 
Upon a hill, at a point even more prominent than the one referred to, and about 
2 leagues distant west of the windows, there is another monumental stone [Stela 
10 at Group 12]. This obelisk is smaller than the one just described, and is com- 
pletely fallen. Its height from the bottom of the squares is 24 inches, its total length 
being 3 yards 20 inches. It is rectangular in all its parts and contains 72 squares, 
arranged in 8 perpendicular rows of g each. On the two widest sides of the obelisk, 
that is to say, those which are 24 inches wide, the squares and their characters 
are very distinct and marked. On the other 2 narrower faces, the 2 rows of squares 
can scarcely be distinguished, and the characters are confused for lack of space. 
These letters, signs, or characters, like most of the others which have been noticed, 
are painted red. 
Many piles of fallen edifices are found in all the neighboring country. Half 
a league to the north of the western boundary of the city there are immense quarries, 
forming great precipices and ravines, from which the ancient architects obtained 
