A third attempt was more successful, as maiz was used to form blood and flesh and fat. Xmucane ground the corn and cunningly concocted nine beverages, which were changed into the various humors of the body. This first successful creation was fourfold, and the names of the quartette were identical with those of the four chiefs who conducted the Quichés to Mount Hacavitz. While these primitive men slept, their wives were built,-not, however, by robbing the men, but of the remaining portion of the same meal.

The celestial powers did not, however, have everything as they wished. The man was tolerable, but by no means perfect, for his teeth were defective; and he was built too much like the apes to carry himself erect with perfect safety, hence he became ruptured. But there was no time to try again, for they had already a rival in the person of Vucub-caquix, -a sort of Lucifer who imagined himself to be the sun, moon, and all the stars. How he was punished, the "Popul Vuh" tells at length; and I am tempted to translate literally, using the text of Ximenes, that my readers may judge both of the style of this sacred book, and also of the mode of thought and the belief among the Quichés at the time when Utatlan was in all its glory.

"This is, or was, the cause of the destruction of Vucubcaquix by the two young men. Hunahpu, so was called the one, and the other was called Xbalanque: these moreover were gods, and therefore that arrogance seemed evil to them, in that it claimed superiority to the Heart of Heaven; and they said, the two young men : 'It will not be right to let this go on, for men will not live here on earth; and so we will try to shoot him with the blow-gun

(cerbatana) when he is eating: we will shoot him and disable him; and then will be dispersed his riches, his precious stones, and his emeralds, which are the foundation of his greatness;' and so said the youths, each one with his blowgun on his shoulder. Now, that Vucub-caquix had two sons the elder was called Sipacua, and the second was called Cabracan, and their mother was named Chimalmat. She was the wife of Vucub-caquix. And that son of his, Sipacua, whose pasture-ground was great mountains, that one moreover in one night before dawn made the mountain called Hunahpupecul, Yaxcanulmucamob, Hulisnab, because in a night Sipacua made a mountain; and his brother Cabracan (this is, of two feet) used to move and shake the mountains both great and small. And so moreover these two sons of Vucub-caquix became proud; and thus said Vucub-caquix: Know ye that I am the sun.' 6 And I am the maker of the earth,' said Sipacua; and I,' said Cabracan, am he who moves the earth, I will demolish all the world.' And thus the sons of Vucub-caquix became arrogant even as their father was arrogant; and this seemed evil in the sight of the two youths, Hunahpu and Xbalanque. Nevertheless our first fathers and mothers were not yet created, and thus the two youths plotted the death of Vucub-caquix, of Sipacua, and of Cabracan,

"And here follows the telling of the blow the two youths gave to Vucub-caquix, and how each one was destroyed by his arrogance.

"This Vucub-caquix had a tree of nances, because that was his only food; and every day he climbed the tree to eat the fruit. This Hunahpu and Xbalanque had observed that it was his food; and they lay in ambush, the two

youths, under the tree hidden among the leaves of the grass. And then came Vucub-caquix; and while he was yet climbing the tree, Hunahpu fired a shot which was well aimed, and hit him in the jaw; then, groaning, he fell to the ground. And as soon as Hunahpu saw Vucub-caquix fall, he sprang with the greatest promptitude to catch him. Then Vucub-caquix seized Hunahpu's arm and tore it off at the shoulder; and then Hunahpu let Vucub-caquix go; and so the youths had the best of it, for they were not beaten by Vucub-caquix, who ran home carrying Hunahpu's arm, but holding his broken jaws.

"What has happened to you?' said Chimalmat to her husband Vucub-caquix.

"What has happened? But two devils shot me with a blow-gun and unhinged my jaw; they knocked out all my teeth, and how they ache! But I have here the arm of one of them. Put it in the smoke over the fire against they come for it, the two devils!' said Vucubcaquix. And then she hung up the arm of Hunahpu.

"But in the mean while Hunahpu and Xbalanque were consulting as to what was to be done; and having taken counsel, they went to speak to an ancient man whose hair was white, and an old woman who in truth was very old; and so great was the age of the couple that they walked bent double. The old man was called Saquinimac, and the old woman was called Saquinimatzitz. And the two youths said to the old man and the old

"Come with us to get our arm at the house of Vucubcaquix. We will go behind you, as if we were your grandchildren whose father and mother were dead; and if they question you, say that we are in your company,

and that you are travelling about extracting the maggot that eats the grinders and other teeth; and so Vucubcaquix will look upon us as mere lads, and we will advise you what to do further.' Thus spoke the two youths.

"It is well,' said the elders; and then they came to the corner of Vucub-caquix's house, where he was reclining on his throne. And then they went on, the two elders, and the two boys playing behind them, and they went under the house of Vucub-caquix, who was groaning with the pain of his teeth. When he saw them, the

elders and the boys, he asked,

"Whence come you, grandparents?

"We, lord, are going to seek our remedy.'

"How are you seeking your remedy? Are these your sons who are with you?'

"No, lord, they are our grandchildren; but we have had compassion on them so far as to give them a bit of tortilla,' the elders replied.

"Just then the lord had a very sharp twinge of toothache, so that he could hardly speak; and he begged them to have pity on him.

"What is it that you do; what do you cure?' said the

lord.

"Sir, our cure,' said the elders, 'is to extract the maggot from the teeth; and we cure eye-troubles, and likewise broken bones.'

"Well, if this is true, cure my toothache; for I am without rest, and cannot sleep, and my eyes trouble me also, since the two devils shot me, and so I cannot eat. Now have compassion on me, for all my teeth are rattling about!'

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'Surely, sir, it is a maggot which injures you; we will pull out your teeth and put others in their place.'

Oh! perhaps that won't succeed; but I can't eat without my teeth and eyes.'

"And they replied,

"We will put others in their place; we will put in ground bone.'

"But this ground bone was only white corn.

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“It is well,' said the lord; pull them out and put them in order.'

And

"And then they took out the teeth of Vucub-caquix; and it was only white corn that they put in the place of teeth, and the kernels of corn shone in his mouth. And his countenance fell, and he never more appeared a lord; but they took out all his teeth, and left his mouth smarting. when they cured the eyes of Vucub-caquix, they tore out the pupils. Then they took away all his money, and he did not know it; for he was no longer great nor arrogant. And this was done by the counsel of Hunahpu and Xbalanque.

"And Vucub-caquix died, and then Hunahpu took his arm; and also Chimalmat died, the wife of Vucub-caquix; and so was lost all the treasure of Vucub-caquix. Then the doctor took all the precious stones which had puffed him up with pride here on earth. The old man and old woman who did these things were divine; and when they took his arm, they put it in its place, and it reunited and was well. And they did these things only to cause the death of Vucub-caquix because his pride seemed an evil thing to them. So did the two youths, and it was thus done by the command of the Heart of Heaven."