"It is a block of porphyry," said Fred, "like a huge millstone, three feet high and ten feet across. All around the sides are relief figures representing captives being held by the hair of the head. There are fifteen of these groups, and they are said to represent fifteen victories gained by one of the emperors over as many neighboring States. A symbol in the corner of the panel of each group shows what city or State is represented. The stone was made about the year 1486 of our era, but its complete history is unknown.
SACRIFICIAL COLLAR.
"Tizoc was the emperor whose deeds the stone commemorates, and it is sometimes called Tizoc's Stone in consequence of this fact. The Stone of Sacrifice is sometimes confounded with the Gladiatorial Stone, which was generally placed in the courts of the temples, and was the scene of a gladiatorial combat. Mr. Charnay, in 'Ancient Cities of the New World,' says the captive, if a man of distinction, was tied to this stone and allowed to fight with several opponents in succession; and if he succeeded in defeating them all he was permitted to escape. They took good care not to let this happen very often, as the numbers were against him; and, furthermore, he had only a wooden sword ornamented with feathers, while his enemies had weapons of obsidian, which were sharp as steel. When he was vanquished, as he generally was, he was immediately stretched on the Gladiatorial Stone or on the Stone of Sacrifice. A wooden collar was placed across his neck to prevent his struggling, and five priests held his head and limbs. Then a sixth priest, who wore a scarlet mantle, opened the breast of the victim with a sharp knife of itzli, or obsidian, tore out the heart, held it up to the sun for a moment, and then cast it at the feet of the divinity to whom the temple was dedicated.
THE FORM OF SACRIFICE.
"While this was going on the multitude knelt in adoration of the divinity. The body of the victim was thrown down from the stone to the people, by whom it was divided to be served up at their feasts. The difference between sacrifice on the Gladiatorial Stone and the Stone of Sacrifice was that the latter was on the top of the temple, where everybody could see it, while the former was in the court of the edifice, and only accessible to a select few.