ve where the water is but a short distance from the
mouth, and the passage is wide, it shows the difficulty, without any
knowledge of the use of instruments, of fixing on the surface the
precise point over the water in the other caves, which have long,
narrow, and winding passages.

In the yards of some houses on a street at the rear of the casa real
were the remains of large mounds. In the wall round the square of the
church was a large circular upright stone, like those heretofore called
picotes, or whipping-posts, and our guide told us that in the suburbs
there were other mounds; but, without leaving the streets, we saw
enough to satisfy us that Mani stood on the site of an ancient town of
the same general character with all the others.

Returning to the casa real, we found a new guarda, who came into office
rather more intoxicated than their predecessors in going out. Albino
had inquired of the cacique for the ancient relics of which we had
heard accounts, and the Indians brought a copy of Cogolludo, wrapped up
and treasured with great care in the casa real. This did not astonish
us much, and they opened the book and pointed out a picture, the only
one in it, being a representation of the murder of the ambassadors of
Tutul Xiu; and while we were looking at it they brought out and
unrolled on the floor an old painting on cotton cloth, being the
original from which Cogolludo had the engraving made. The design was a
coat of arms bordered with the heads of the murdered ambassadors, one
of which has an arrow fixed in the temple, intended to represent the
ambassador who had his eyes put out with this weapon. In the centre is
a tree growing out of a box, representing the sapote tree at Zotuta,
under which the murder was committed, and which, the Indians say, is
still standing. This tree I shall have occasion to mention again
hereafter. The painting had evidently been executed by an Indian, and
probably very near the time of the occurrence which it was intended to
commemorate. Cogolludo refers to it as an ancient and interesting relic
in his time, and, of course, it is much more so now. It is an object of
great reverence among the Indians of Mani. In fact, throughout our
whole journeyings, either in Central America or Yucatan, it was the
first and only instance in which we met with any memorial in the hands
of the Indians, tending to keep alive the memory of any event in their
history; but this must not be imputed to them