The hand or the thumb as a signet possesses a specific individuality. The lines on the surface of the thumb, as also on the finger-tips, form a definite pattern; and there is some reason for believing that it is perpetuated, with slight modifications, as an element of heredity. But apart from this, the individual hand is replete with character when carefully studied; and the impress of the native hand on dress and buildings attracted the notice of Stephens in his exploration of the antiquities of Central America. The skulls and complete mummies recovered from Peruvian tombs show them to pertain to a small race; and the impress of the little hand made on the mummies with red pigment recalls the _mano-colorado_ described by Stephens as a common feature amid the ruins of Uxmall: the impression of a living hand, but so small that it was completely hid under that of the traveller or his companion. It afterwards stared them in the face, as he says, on all the ruined buildings of the country; and on visiting a nameless ruin beyond Sabachtsché, in Yucatan, Stephens remarks: “On the walls of the desolate edifice were prints of the _mano-colorado_, or red hand. Often as I saw this print, it never failed to interest me. It was the stamp of the living hand. It always brought me nearer to the builders of these cities; and at times, amid stillness, desolation, and ruin, it seemed as if from behind the curtain that concealed them from view was extended the hand of greeting. The Indians said it was the hand of the master of the building.” CHAPTER III THE WILLING HAND