On the slopes of the ground in front of one of the temples I saw a large and rudely carved statue, which in consequence of its form and manner of sculpture is of much importance. There is reason to believe that it was intended to represent Quetzalcoatl, an Indian god, a mythical or real personage, who, for many reasons connected with Palenque, requires to have an especial consideration given to him. It is a distinctive characteristic of this statue, that the features are essentially different from those of the Indians whose figures are to be seen upon the altars of the temples and within the courts and corridors of the monastery. These have receding foreheads and sharply defined prominent faces, quite unlike the present races in Central America, but in a marked degree resembling the tribes of the North American Indians, who had the custom of flattening the heads of their children. The statue by my measurement, was a few inches more than eight feet in height, exclusive of the lower part of the stone, which tapered off in such a manner as to show that it had been originally placed upright and fixed in the ground. The feet stood on a base upon which was carved the hieroglyph which probably denoted the name. The forehead was low and straight. The face was completely different in type and expression, from that of any known race of Indians. The head was surmounted by a kind of high tiara. The left hand held in front of the figure a small head, in the same position as in the little figure at Ocosingo.