two triumphal arches, part of a series of
constructions now completely ruined. It was a temple composed, as
are all structures of the kind, of two apartments, a front or
ante-chamber, and the sanctuary or holy of holies. In this case the
ante-chamber measures 59 inches in width by 2 yards and 33 inches
in length, its height being 2 yards and 30 inches from the floor to
the apex of the triangular arch that serves as ceiling. The
sanctuary is entered through a doorway 1 yard high and 18 inches
wide, and is narrower than the front apartments, measuring only 34
inches across. The whole edifice is externally 3 yards high, 4
yards 29 inches long and 4 yards wide. If we judge of the stature
of the builders by the size of the building, we may really imagine
this to have been the kingdom of Liliput, visited by Gulliver. The
triumphal arches present the same proportions as the temple I have
just described, which is by no means the earliest archaic
structure. Old people are not wanting who pretend to have seen
these _Alux-ob_, whom they describe as reaching the extraordinary
stature of 2 feet. They tell us of their habits and
mischievousness, tales which forcibly recall to our minds the
legends of "the little people" so credited among all classes of
society in Ireland. There can be no reasonable doubt but that a
very diminutive race of men, but little advanced in the arts of
civilization, dwelt on these islands and along the eastern coast
of Yucatan, and that many of the edifices, the ruins of which are
to be seen in that part of the country, are the works of their
hands, as the tradition has it.

The attempt has been made in the previous pages to bring the discoveries
of Dr. Le Plongeon and his own account of his labors and inferences into
such a form that they may be easily considered by those competent to
determine their importance and bearing. The value of the statue called
Chac-Mool, as an archaeological treasure, cannot be questioned. It is the
only remaining human figure of a high type of art, finished "in the
round" known to have been discovered in America since the occupation of
Maya territory in the 16th century.

The idols of Copan have expressive human countenances,[89-*] though they
are distorted in order to inspire awe and fear in the beholder, but no
attempt was there made to depict the grac