axes.

Illustration of Child Training.--------------

A third part of this same collection refers to the Mexican customs. In
this cut we have represented the training of a boy at the different ages
of four, six, thirteen and fourteen years of age. The little round marks
number the years of his age. The little elliptical-shaped figures show
the number of tortullas the child is allowed at a meal. The boy is
trained to carry and make various things, to row a boat, and to fish.

Illustration of Migration Chart.-----------

The most interesting of Mexican picture-writings is the record of their
wanderings. This was formerly supposed to represent their migrations
from Asia--but is now known to refer only to their wanderings in the
Valley of Mexico. De Lafield, in his "Antiquities of America," gives a
full representation of this picture-writing. Bancroft's "Native Races,"
Vol. II, pp. 548-49, give a very good reduced copy. We will not attempt
to reproduce it all. This cut represents the beginning of it. A man
is seen crossing a stream in a boat. The figure behind him may mean an
island, on which are represented some pueblos and human figures. On
the opposite bank of the stream, to which the footsteps lead, is the
hieroglyphic of Culhuacan, "the curved mountain." The year date of this
movement is "one tecpatl." The character within that of Culhuacan is
Huitzilopochtli, their national god. The flakes issuing from his mouth
signify that he is guiding them. The principal figures about this map
are the hieroglyphic names of various places where they stopped, and the
time spent at each place.

The Mayas seem to have been further advanced in the art of writing than
their Nahua neighbors. Specimens of their hieroglyphic writings have
been given in the preceding chapter. The hopes of our scholars were
greatly raised when, in 1863, the announcement was made that there had
been discovered, in Madrid, a Maya alphabet, which, it was expected,
would unlock the mysterious tablets just mentioned.

The alphabet thus discovered is represented in the next cut. It will
be seen that some of the letters have a number of different forms. This
discovery was hailed as of the greatest importance, and a number of
scholars at once set about to decipher the tablets. They were speedily
undeceived. The alphabet is, practically, of no help whatever. Prof.
Valentine even goes so far as to declare that this alphabet was not of
native origin.