aptain Antonio del Rio gives an account of another destruction of Mayan
antiquities, at Huegetan: "The Bishop of Chiapas, Don Francisco Nunez de
la Vega, in his _Diocesan Constitution_, printed at Rome in 1702, says,
that the treasure consisted of some large earthen vases of one piece,
closed with covers of the same material, on which were represented in
stone the figures of the ancient pagans whose names are in the calendar,
with some _chalchihuitls_, which are solid hard stones of a green color,
and other superstitious figures, together with historical works of
Indian origin. These were taken from a cave and given up, when they
were publicly burned in the square Huegetan, on our visit to that
province in 1691."[35-*]

Prescott also mentions the destruction of manuscripts and other works of
art in Mexico: "The first Arch-Bishop of Mexico, Don Juan de Zumarraga,
a name that should be as immortal as that of Omar, collected these
paintings from every quarter, especially from Tescuco, the most
cultivated capital of Anahuac, and the great depository of the national
archives. He then caused them to be piled up in a mountain heap, as it
was called by the Spanish writers themselves, in the market place of
Tlatelolco, and reduced them all to ashes."[35-[+]]

It is not then to be wondered at, that so few original Mayan manuscripts
have escaped and are preserved, when such a spirit of destruction
animated the Spanish priests at the time of the conquest. Mr. Hubert
Howe Bancroft, whom we are happy to recognize as a member of this
Society, in a systematic and exhaustive treatment of the history and
present condition of the Indians of the Pacific States, has presented a
great amount of valuable information, much of which has never before
been offered to the public; and in his wide view, he comprehends
important observations on Central American antiquities. He gives this
account of existing ancient Maya manuscripts or books. "Of the
aboriginal Maya manuscripts, three specimens only, so far as I know,
have been preserved. These are the _Mexican Manuscript No. 2_, of the
Imperial Library at Paris; the _Dresden Codex_, and the _Manuscript
Troano_. Of the first, we only know of its existence, and the
similarity of its characters to those of the other two, and of the
sculptured tablets. The _Dresden Codex_ is preserved in the Royal
Library of Dresden. The _Manuscript Troano_ was found about the year
1865, in Madrid, by the Abbe Brasseur