The Ancient Cities of the New World

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Title: The Ancient Cities of the New World

Author: Désiré Charnay

Translator: Helen S. Conant
J. Gonino

Release date: May 15, 2014 [eBook #45656]
Most recently updated: October 24, 2024

Language: English

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THE ANCIENT CITIES OF THE NEW WORLD.

[Illustration: DÉSIRÉ CHARNAY.]

THE ANCIENT CITIES OF THE NEW WORLD.

Being Travels and Explorations in Mexico and Central America
from 1857-1882.

DÉSIRÉ CHARNAY.

With numerous Illustrations.

Translated from the French by J. Gonino and Helen S. Conant.

[Illustration]

London: Chapman and Hall,
Limited.
1887.

Charles Dickens and Evans,
Crystal Palace Press.

TO MR. PETER LORILLARD.

SIR,

When the Minister of Public Instruction entrusted me with the study of
the Ancient American Civilisations, you wished to become associated
with my labours in a truly munificent spirit. You will find in the
following pages the result of my discoveries, which, you are aware,
were attended with perfect success. I strove, during the progress of
these studies, to carry out the programme laid down by you towards the
reconstruction of civilisations that have passed away. I think I have
succeeded; and I hope to have sufficiently demonstrated that these
civilisations had but one and the same origin—that they were Toltec and
comparatively modern. If the learned world shall confirm my theory, and
success crown my endeavours; if it shall be found that I have solved
this vexed American question, so hotly controverted hitherto, it will
be mainly due to your generous support.

Pray accept the dedication of this Work as a token of my deep gratitude.

DÉSIRÉ CHARNAY.

TRANSLATORS’ NOTE.

The justification for having ventured to correct the spelling of
some proper names, and other slight emendations, is to be found in
the Author’s Preface, where he states that “he often trusted an
uncertain memory for his quotations, and that his book was written
between two expeditions.” There is more: it was deemed advisable, to
suit a restless and exacting generation, to reduce the bulk of the
volume, a task which was not undertaken without fear and trembling,
the Translator being painfully conscious of shortcomings, and that
retrenchment may have been where it should rather have expanded, and
expanded where it should have retrenched.

PREFACE TO THE ORIGINAL EDITION.

The first notice upon this work appeared in the _North American
Review_, the energetic Editor of which (Mr. A. Th. Rice) wished to be
before all his contemporaries in giving his subscribers an _aperçu_
of my labours. Unfortunately for them that publication contained
my impressions of the moment, just as I dotted them down, which,
as a natural consequence, had to be modified _pari passu_ with my
discoveries, whilst my quotations, owing to an uncertain memory, were
not much to offer readers of such intrinsic merit. A second publication
followed in the _Tour du Monde_, but although better thought out
than the first, even that was too hastily written to do justice to
the magnificent collection I now present to the public, in which the
entire design I had at heart is revealed; and if the account of my
discoveries, the issue which naturally follows, the theory I wish to
establish, are still couched in language which may appear crude and
incomplete, I ask the indulgence of my readers on the plea that this
edition received the last touch between two expeditions. On the other
hand the subject is so vast, that I only aimed at giving a broad
outline, hoping for greater leisure at some future time.

My wish has been so to write as to be easily understood by all; to
this end I have given my book the dual form of a journal as well as a
scientific account: in it I recount the history of a civilisation which
has long passed away, which is hardly known, or rather which has been
systematically misunderstood and misrepresented. My explorations led me
to the uplands of Mexico, the first establishments of the civilising
race, and enabled me to trace the Toltecs step by step to their
highest development in the various regions of Central America, and not
unfrequently to give a certain date, to re-establish historical truth.
There is nothing very extraordinary in this reconstruction, which,
at first beautifully simple, became complicated with the countless
contradictory accounts which have been published in regard to it. In
the hands of the Spanish padres, origins, however obscure, were made to
agree with the Biblical narrative both in their ponderous commentaries
and their ridiculous systems, which, starting with the confusion of
tongues, travelled on to the lost tribes of Israel, ending with the
legend which ascribes to St. Thomas the apostleship of America. Modern
historians have not been much better in this respect, and the last
century has produced a stupendous amount of the most extraordinary
publications, forming an inextricable labyrinth, of which the immense
compilation of Bancroft may serve as an example.

The cause of this confusion is twofold: first and foremost, the
destruction of nearly all the Indian documents by the conquerors; and
secondly, the small degree of interest they felt for anything that
dated before their advent. The first accounts, such as Ixtlilxochitl’s
for instance, were written from narratives more or less trustworthy,
delivered from memory by the natives, in which, as might be expected,
the most incoherent traditions are mixed up with certain historical
facts, without discrimination or the slightest spirit of criticism;
for science is but of yesterday, and archæology, anthropology, and
philology were as yet unknown. This explains why, if we except those
things which fell under their personal observation, later historians
are so infinitely superior to the ancient.

Up to the present day authentic documents have been wanting; for
without any fault or demerit on the part of the explorers, their
drawings of monuments, however carefully done, could not cope with
modern photographs and squeezes. On the other hand, each traveller
writing, it is true, from actual observation, but confining himself to
one district, could only describe a few of the principal ruins, so that
his theory respecting them was untenable when compared or applied to
the ruins of the whole country. Thus it came to pass that the various
epochs of American civilisation were dealt with as so many distinct
civilisations, producing the utmost confusion. Whereas a sound study
of American civilisation should set aside preconceived opinions and
commentaries, and confine itself to its monuments, original documents,
and such passages in ancient writers descriptive or explanatory of
the end and object of these monuments, not neglecting the powerful
aid of photography and squeezes; when a judicious and intelligent
comparison of the relation these monuments bear to one another, must
soon force the conviction that, whatever the time which divides them
or the difference in their details, they belong to one and the same
civilisation, and that of comparatively recent date—namely the Toltec.

We shall leave the question of first origins as being unnecessary for
our purpose; as also traditions, prehistoric legends, language, and
religion, confining ourselves to what may be termed history; that is,
beginning with the arrival of the cultured Toltecs in Mexico. We shall
note their establishment in the valley of Tula, their development on
the high plateaux, the disruption of their empire; how they transmitted
their industries and mechanical arts to the people who succeeded them;
and lastly, we shall follow them in their exodus and find the traces
of their civilisation everywhere on their passage and in the regions of
Central America.

With regard to my theory on the relatively recent period of American
civilisation and its Toltec origin, I am far from being the first in
upholding it, since Stephens and Humboldt affirmed it some fifty years
ago, whilst all the ancient chroniclers implied it. Is ancient Egypt
less interesting because her MSS. are now read and her origin known?
Why then should the people who raised the American monuments be less
deserving of our regard, because they built them ten centuries sooner
or ten centuries later? Does it alter the character of the monuments,
or destroy an art unknown to us hitherto?

The question of first origins has always seemed to me an idle pursuit;
and if the evolutionist doctrine is true, a perfect moral microscope
would be required to reach the remote past of man, whose countless
generations, scattered in every clime, go back to the dark period when
our rude progenitors were hardly distinguished from the brute creation.
Will it ever be possible to penetrate beyond? Besides, our ancestors
have nothing in common with the autochthones of America, whom I firmly
believe to have come from the extreme East. My reasons for this opinion
are based on the fact that their architecture is so like the Japanese
as to seem identical; that their decorative designs resemble the
Chinese; whilst their customs, habits, sculpture, language, castes,
and polity recall the Malays both in Cambodia, Annam, and Java. The
word “Lacandon,” which is the name of a tribe in Central America, is
also, according to Dr. Neis, that of a race in Indo-China, who spell
it “Lah-Canh-dong.” F. Gamier says that “the Cambodians build their
huts on piles some six or nine feet above the ground. At first sight
it might be attributed to the necessity for protecting themselves
from inundations; but as this mode of construction is found in places
where no such danger exists, it must be ascribed to the _instinct_ of
a _particular_ race” (it is the instinct of the Toltecs which caused
them to erect their edifices on esplanades and pyramids); and in his
description of the _Khmer_ monuments at Angor-Tom and Angor-Wat he
adds: “They are placed on pyramids of three to five stories high,” etc.
The analogy is also seen in the ornamentation of the buildings, where
the human figure is rudely treated, whilst great care is observable
in the other decorative designs, a point which always struck us in
American sculpture. It should also be remarked that bricks covered with
plaster, stucco decoration, cemented floors, roads, and courtyards are
common to the Malays and the Americans; whilst the corbel vault is
found in Java, Cambodia, and America. Again, some temples at Lawoe, in
Java, are built on pyramids, having a staircase on the slope leading
to the edifice, like those of the Toltecs. This resemblance has struck
every traveller, and is the more important that these monuments only
date from the fourteenth or fifteenth century, and are far removed
from those edifices which were introduced in Java by the followers of
Buddha and Brahma; but the destruction of Indian temples and Indian
beliefs was succeeded by an architectural atavism, a return to a Malay
primitive type, evidenced by the monuments at Lawoe, which I visited in
1878, a fact which I think of vital importance.

Castes are purely Asiatic and unknown among the Red Indians, but they
existed with the Toltecs, where the commonwealth was divided into
distinct classes of priests, warriors, merchants, and tillers of the
soil; whilst land was held in common, and a feudal system is apparent
with both the Toltecs and Malays. Two languages are used in Java and
Cambodia; one to address superiors, the other for the vulgar. This was
also the case with the Toltecs, and gave rise to two different written
languages. Finally, the worship of serpents as gods of wisdom, like
Quetzalcoatl, is found in India, Greece, China, Japan, and particularly
in Cambodia and Java. To us these points of resemblance are more than
mere coincidence; something better than fortuitous analogies: they
seem to point to a vast and novel field for the investigation of
archæologists.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I.
PAGE

VERA CRUZ AND PUEBLA 1

My former Mission—The present one—Why called
Franco-American—Vera Cruz—Railway from
Vera Cruz to Mexico—Warm Region—Temperate
Region—Cordova—Orizaba—Maltrata—Cold Region—Esperanza—Puebla
and Tlascala—The Old Route.

CHAPTER II.

MEXICO 17

Her New Appearance—Moral Transformation—Public Walks and
Squares—Suburbs—Railway—Monuments—Cathedral—S. Domingo—S.
Francisco—La Merced—Hats _à la_ S. Basilio—Suppression of
Religious Orders.

CHAPTER III.

THE INDIANS 35

El Salto del Agua—Netzahualcoyotl—Noche Triste—Historical
Jottings—Chapultepec—Indians—Chinampas—Legends—Anecdote—Mexican
Museum—Tizoc’s Stone, or Gladiator’s Stone—Yoke and
Sacrificial Stone—Holy War—Religious Cannibalism—American
Copper.

CHAPTER IV.

TULA 75

Journey to Tula—The Toltecs—Ancient
Historians—Origins—Peregrinations—Foundation of Tula—Toltec
Religion—Chief Deities—Art—Industry—Measurement of Time—The
Word _Calli_—Architecture.

CHAPTER V.

TULA. PYRAMID OF THE SUN. ANTIQUITIES OF TULA 93

Caryatides—Columns—Capitals—Carved
Shell—Tennis-ring—Tlachtli—Ancient Bas-reliefs—Toltecs
Portrayed—Historical Jottings—The Temple of the Frog—Indian
Vault—The Plaza—El Cerro del Tesoro.

CHAPTER VI.

PALPAN AND THE TOLTECS 104

Aspect of the Hill—Mogotes—The Toltecs
and their Building Propensities—A Toltec
House—Antiquities—Fragments—_Malacates_—Toltec Palace—Toltec
Organisation—Dress—Customs—Education—Marriage—Orders of
Knighthood—Philosophy—Religion—Future Life—Pulque—End of
the Toltec Empire—Emigration.

CHAPTER VII.

TEOTIHUACAN 128

Quotations—Pre-Toltec Civilisation—Egyptian and Teotihuacan
Pyramids Compared—General Aspect of the Pyramids—Cement
Coatings—_Tlateles_ and Pyramids—Idols and Masks—Description
by Torquemada—S. Martin’s Village—Pulque and Mezcal—S. Juan of
Teotihuacan.

CHAPTER VIII.

TEOTIHUACAN (_continued_) 141

Ruins of a Teotihuacan Palace—Cemetery—Bull-Fighting—Pits and
Quarries—Excavations—A Toltec Palace—Ants—Ancient
Tombs—Sepulchral Stone.

CHAPTER IX.

MOUNTAIN EXPLORATION 152

Travelling Companions—S. Lazarus Station—S.
Anita—Ayotla—Tlalmanalco—Tenango del Aire—Amecameca—A Badly
Lighted Town—Rateros—Monte-Sacro—Volcaneros.

CHAPTER X.

TENENEPANCO AND NAHUALAC CEMETERIES 163

The Rancho of Tlamacas—A Funeral Station—Great
Excitement—Ascent—Search—Tenenepanco—Camping—Tlacualero—
Excavations—Bodily Remains—Toys—A Beautiful Cup—A
Well-preserved Skull—Mispayantla Grotto—Amecameca—A Tumulus
Explored—Expedition to Iztaccihuatl—Nahualac—A Second Cemetery.

CHAPTER XI.

BELLOTE 183

Return to Vera Cruz—Toltec Cities—Quotations regarding
Ancient Cities—Rio Tabasco at Frontera—S. Juan Bautista—Rio
Gonzalèz—Canoas—Lagoons—Bellote Islands—_Kjœkkenmœdings_
—Temples at Bellote—Chronological and Ornamental Slabs—Las
Dos Bocas—Cortez—Rio Seco—Paraïso.

CHAPTER XII.

COMALCALCO 194

Description of Comalcalco—Fonda—Manners—Climate—Masks and
Figures—Ruins—El Blasillo—Old Palaces Visited—Bricks and
Bridges—Cemented Roads—Great Pyramid and its Monuments—Palace
Described—Vases and Jicaras—Tecomates—Towers—Bas-reliefs—Small
Pyramids and Temples—Reflexions—Disappearance of Indian
Populations—Return to S. Juan—Don Candido—El Carmen—A Rich
Wood-cutter.

CHAPTER XIII.

LAS PLAYAS AND PALENQUE 211

From S. Juan to Jonuta—S. Carlos—Indians and Alligators—Las
Playas and Catasaja—Stone Cross—Rancho at Pulente—Palenque—The
Two Slabs in the Temple of the Cross—First Engravings—Acala
and Palenque from Cortez—Letter to the King—Palenque and
Ocosingo mentioned by Juarros—Explorations—The Palace—Façade
and Pyramids—Ornamentation on the Eastern Façade—An Old
Relief Brought to Light—Palenque Artists and their Mode
of Working—Medallions and Inner Passage—Reliefs in the
Main Court—Apartments and Decorations—Inner Wing and
Restoration—Western Façade—Palace Tower.

CHAPTER XIV.

PALENQUE TEMPLES 245

Palenque a Holy City—Bas-reliefs—Rain and Fever—A Grateful
Cook—Temple of Inscriptions—Temple of the Sun—Temple of the
Cross No. 1—Temple of the Cross No. 2—Altars—Mouldings and
Photographs—Fire—Explorations—Fallen Houses—The Age of Trees
in Connection with the Ruins—Recapitulation.

CHAPTER XV.

YUCATAN, MERIDA, AND THE MAYA RACE 262

Early Account of Yucatan—First Explorers: F. Hernandez
de Cordova, Juan de Grijalva—Cortez—Railroad—Henequen
Estate—Merida—Historical Jottings—Destruction of
all the Documents by the Historian Landa—Municipal
Palace—Cathedral—The Conqueror’s House—Private Houses—Market
Place—Maya Race—Types—Manners and Customs of the
Mayas—Deformation and Tattooing—Meztizas—Dwellings—Suburbs.

CHAPTER XVI.

AKÉ AND IZAMAL 288

Departure—A Family Exploration—“Volan coché”—Tixpénal and
Tixkokob—Cenoté—Ruins of Aké—Historical Rectification—Small
Pyramid—Tlachtli—A Large Gallery—Explorations—A Strange
Theory—Picoté—Architecture of Yucatan at Different Epochs.

CHAPTER XVII.

IZAMAL EN ROUTE FOR CHICHEN 303

Expedition to Izamal and
Chichen-Itza—Brigands—Cacalchen—Market Place—Great
Pyramid—Small Pyramid and Colossal Decorative
Figures—Cemented Roads—The Convent of the Virgin at Izamal—A
Precarious Telegraph—Tunkas—Garrison—Quintana-Roo—An Old
Acquaintance—Citas—A Fortified Church—Troops—Opening a
Path—Native Entertainment—Arrival at Pisté.

CHAPTER XVIII.

CHICHEN-ITZA 323

Chichen-Itza—El Castillo—General Survey—A Maya
City—Aguilar—Historical Jottings—Montejo’s
Expedition—Historians—Their Contradictions—Chichen
Deserted—The Conqueror’s Retreat—The Nunnery—Impressions and
Photographs—Terrestrial Haloes—An Unexpected Visitor—Electric
Telegraph at Akab-Sib—Prison—Caracol—Cenotés—Ruined
Temples—The Temple of the Sacred Cenoté—Tennis-Court—Monuments
Described—Portico—Paintings—Low-reliefs—New Analogy—The
Tlalocs of Chichen and of the Uplands—Market-place—End of Our
Labours—Col.
Triconis.

CHAPTER XIX.

KABAH AND UXMAL 371

Departure for Ticul—Uayalceh—Mucuiche—Sacalun—An Old
Souvenir—Ticul—Excavations at S. Francisco—Failure—Yucatec
Vases—Entertainment at the Hacienda of Yokat—A Sermon in
Maya—Hacienda of Santa Anna—Important Remains—The Ruins
of Kabah—Monuments Surveyed—First Palace—Ornamental
Wall—Cisterns—Inner Apartments—Second Palace—Great
Pyramid—Ancient Writers Quoted—Stephens’ Drawings.

CHAPTER XX.

UXMAL 391

From Kabah to Santa Helena—A Maya Village—Uxmal—Hacienda—The
Governor’s Palace—Cisterns and Reservoirs—The Nunnery
and the Dwarf’s House—Legend—General View—“Cerro de
los Sacrificios”—Don Peon’s Charter—Stephens’ Plan and
Measurements—Friederichsthal—Conclusion—Our Return.

CHAPTER XXI.

CAMPECHE AND TENOSIQUÉ 414

From Progreso to Campeche—Incidents on Board—Carmen—Old
Acquaintances—Indian Guns—Frontera—The Grijalva—Tabasco
Pottery—Waiting—Carnival at Frontera—Julian’s
Success—Departure—Jonuta—Monte-Cristo—Difficulties at the
Custom House—Cabecera—Tenosiqué—Reminiscences—Monteros—The
Lacandones—Our Mules Come—The Usumacinta—Sea Fish—Setting
out for the Ruins—Route—Forest Camping—Second Day—Traces
of Monuments—Mule and Horse Lost—Cortez—Arroyo
Yalchilan—Provisions left Behind—Crossing the Cordillera—An
Old Montero—Traces of Lacandones—Yalchilan Pass.

CHAPTER XXII.

LORILLARD TOWN 430

Paso Yalchilan—Another Mule Lost—An Anxious Night—A
Wild Boar—Encampment—Upper Usumacinta—No Canoes—A
Difficulty—Deliverance—Surprise—A Mysterious Traveller—A
Canoe—Fever—Down Stream—A Votive Pillar—Ruins—I
Meet with a Stranger—General View of Lorillard—A
Reminiscence—Stephens’ “Phantom City”—Extent of the Ruins
Unknown—Temple—Idol—Fortress—Our Dwelling Palace—Great
Pyramid—Second Temple—Stone Lintels and Two Kinds of
Inscriptions—Our Return—Lacandones.

CHAPTER XXIII.

PETEN, TAYASAL, TIKAL, AND COPAN 459

Departure from Peten—The River—The Sierra—Sacluc or
Libertad—Cortez’ Route—Marzillo’s Story—Flores—Ancient
Tayasal—Conquest of Peten—Various Expeditions—The
Town Captured—The Inhabitants Disappear—Monuments
Described—Tikal—Early Explorers—Temples—Bas-reliefs on
Wood—Retrospection—Bifurcation of the Toltec Column at
Tikal—Tikal—Toltecs in Guatemala—Coban—Demolition of
Copan—Quetzalcoatl—Transformation of Stone Altar Bas-reliefs
into Monolith Idols—End of an Art Epoch—Map of Toltec
Migrations.

CHAPTER XXIV.

TUMBALA. S. CRISTOBAL. MITLA 482

Return to Tenosiqué—S. Domingo del Palenque
Revisited—Departure for S. Cristobal—First Halt—No
Tamenes—Setting out alone for Nopa—Bad Roads—No
Food—Monkeys—Three Days Waiting at S. Pedro—The
_Cabildo_—Hostile Attitude of the Natives—The Porters
Arrive—They make off in the Night—From S. Pedro to Tumbala—Two
Nights in the Forest—Tumbala—The Cura—Jajalun—Chilon—Citala—A
Dominican Friar—Cankuk—Tenejapa—S.
Cristobal—Valley of Chiapas—Tuxtla—Santa
Lucia—_Marimba_—Tehuantepec—Totolapa—Oaxaca—Santa Maria del
Tule—Ruins of Mitla.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGE

A VIEW OF VERA CRUZ AND THE FORT OF SAN JUAN OF ULLOA 3

VIEW OF PUEBLA, TAKEN FROM ALTO 9

TWO PANORAMAS OF PUEBLA 13

CHURCH OF SAN DOMINGO 17

EL SAGRARIO 27

CLOISTER OF THE CONVENT OF LA MERCED 32

MEXICAN MONKS 34

EL SALTO DEL AGUA (FOUNTAIN) 35

TREE OF THE NOCHE TRISTE, AT POPOTLAN 38

CHAPULTEPEC 44

CHARCOAL AND BATTEAS VENDORS 45

MEXICAN WATER-CARRIER 49

MEXICAN TORTILLERA AND STRAW MAT SELLERS 51

COURT IN THE MEXICO MUSEUM 57

TEOYAOMIQUI, GOD OF DEATH AND WAR 60

THE STONE OF THE SUN, OR OF TIZOC, MEXICO MUSEUM 61

THE TEMALACATL, OR GLADIATORIAL STONE (FROM RAMIREZ MS.) 63

WRONG AND RIGHT SACRIFICIAL COLLARS 68

HUMAN SACRIFICES 74

ANCIENT INDIAN POTTERY 75

EXTRACTING PULQUE 77

TOLTEC POTTERY 82

TLALOC, FROM A PIECE OF POTTERY 83

TOLTEC CROSSES 86

QUETZALCOATL, UNDER HIS BEST-KNOWN ATTRIBUTES 87

COTTON SPINNING 89

CALLI, IN PROFILE 91

CAPITAL, FOUND AT TULA 92

THE PYRAMID OF THE SUN, TULA 93

TOLTEC CARYATID, TULA 94

PARTS OF A COLUMN, TULA 95

TENNIS-RING, TULA 95

WARRIOR’S PROFILE, FOUND AT TULA 97

TOLTEC BAS-RELIEFS 99

YOUNG GIRLS OF TULA 102

RUINS OF A TOLTEC HOUSE 104

GROUND PLAN OF FIRST TOLTEC HOUSE UNEARTHED AT TULA
(FROM LEMAIRE) 105

PLAN OF THE HILL AT TULA (ANCIENT PALPAN) 106

GROUND PLAN OF TOLTEC PALACE UNEARTHED AT TULA (LEMAIRE) 107

VIEW OF RUINED TOLTEC PALACE 109

FEMALE DANCERS AND TECUHTLIS (FROM RAMIREZ MS. AND
FATHER DURAN) 114

YOUNG TOLTEC GIRL (FROM MODERN INDIAN TYPES AND FATHER
DURAN’S “HIST. DE LAS INDIAS”) 117

INDIAN KING (DRAWN FROM CLAVIGERO, RAMIREZ MS. AND
FATHER DURAN) 123

MURAL PAINTING OF TOLTEC HOUSE 127

PYRAMIDS OF SUN AND MOON TEOTIHUACAN 128

TERRA-COTTA MASKS AND HEADS FOUND AT TEOTIHUACAN 133

ROAD TO S. MARTIN 135

CHURCH OF S. JUAN, TEOTIHUACAN 137

MILE-STONE, OR VOTIVE COLUMN, TEOTIHUACAN 140

RUINS OF A PALACE, TEOTIHUACAN 141

GROUND PLAN OF PRINCIPAL RUINS OF TEOTIHUACAN 143

GROUND PLAN OF TOLTEC PALACE AT TEOTIHUACAN 145

VOTIVE STONES, TEOTIHUACAN 149

TOLTEC SEPULCHRAL STONE, TEOTIHUACAN 151

RUINS OF TLALMANALCO 152

SANTA ANITA CANAL 155

AMECAMECA 157

HACIENDA OF TOMACOCO 160

VOLCANEROS (MINERS) 162

BURIAL-GROUND, TENENEPANCO 163

POPOCATEPETL AND PICO DEL FRAILE 165

VASES FOUND AT TENENEPANCO 169

CARICATURE OF TECUHTLI-KNIGHT (KNIGHT OF THE EAGLE) 171

BOTTOM OF ENAMELLED CUP FOUND IN THE BURIAL-GROUND 173

CARTS, CHILDREN’S TOYS 175

VASES OF BURIAL-GROUND UNEARTHED AT NAHUALAC 177

POND OF NAHUALAC 182

QUAY OF S. JUAN BAUTISTA 183

CANOA (BOAT) OF S. JUAN 185

RANCHO AT BELLOTE 187

TEMPLE BAS-RELIEF, BELLOTE 189

TERRA-COTTA MASK, FOUND AT BELLOTE 193

VIRGIN FOREST NEAR COMALCALCO 194

PLAN OF GREAT PYRAMID AT COMALCALCO 197

BAYS OF RUINED PALACE, COMALCALCO 198

SECTION OF RUINS AT COMALCALCO 199

RUINS OF PALACE 201

ORNAMENTATION OF SOUTH-EAST TOWER, COMALCALCO 204

REMAINS OF TOWER NO. 2, AND ENTRANCE OF SUBTERRANEOUS
HALL 205

BAS-RELIEF OF WEST TOWER, COMALCALCO 210

S. DOMINGO DEL PALENQUE 211

MOULDINGS IN THE TEMPLE OF THE CROSS NO. 1 215

SCULPTURED STONES, TEMPLE OF THE CROSS NO. 1 217

OUR KITCHEN AT PALENQUE, IN ONE OF THE CORRIDORS 223

PLAN OF PALACE AT PALENQUE (NORTH SIDE) 225

BASEMENT OF PYRAMID IN THE PALACE OF PALENQUE 226

THE PALACE, OUTER FAÇADE, PALENQUE 227

SCULPTURED FIGURE ON PILLAR 230

MEDALLION IN PASSAGE OF EAST WING OF THE PALACE 231

HUGE BAS-RELIEFS IN THE PALACE COURT, PALENQUE 232

SMALL BUILDING TO THE SOUTH OF THE PALACE COURT 233

FRAGMENT OF DECORATION SHAPED LIKE A TAU, SURROUNDING
NICHES IN THE CORRIDORS AND APARTMENTS OF THE PALACE 235

FRIEZE DECORATION OF BUILDING SOUTH OF THE COURT 235

FRAGMENT OF DECORATION OVER A DOOR 235

RESTORATION OF INNER WING OF THE PALACE 237

EASTERN FAÇADE OF INNER WING OF THE PALACE, PALENQUE 239

TOWER IN THE PALACE 241

THE PALACE, WESTERN FAÇADE 243

MEDALLION IN PASSAGE OF INNER WING 244

TEMPLE OF INSCRIPTIONS, PALENQUE 245

TEMPLE OF THE SUN, PALENQUE 250

JAPANESE TEMPLE 251

SCULPTURED SLABS OF SANCTUARY, IN THE TEMPLES OF PALENQUE 253

SCULPTURED SLABS IN THE TEMPLE OF THE CROSS NO. 2 255

RUINS TO THE NORTH OF THE PALACE 257

STAIRCASE INSCRIPTIONS 261

MUNICIPAL PALACE AND SQUARE, MERIDA 262

MAP 264

PANORAMIC VIEW OF MERIDA 267

MONTEJO’S HOUSE, MERIDA 272

CATHEDRAL 273

DON ALVARO PEON’S HOUSE 276

FRUIT SELLERS 277

MAYA TYPES 279

MEZTIZOS’ HOUSE 283

A STREET IN MERIDA 285

HACIENDA OF ASCORRA 287

VOLAN COCHÉ 288

PLAN OF THE RUINS OF AKÉ 294

SMALL PYRAMID OF AKÉ 295

GREAT PYRAMID AND GALLERY OF AKÉ 297

PILLARS OF THE GREAT GALLERY OF AKÉ 299

CEMENTED BAS-RELIEF OF AKÉ 302

SQUARE OF TUNKAS 303

GREAT PYRAMID, KINICH-KAKMÓ, AT IZAMAL 307

SOUTH SIDE OF HUNPICTOK PYRAMID AT IZAMAL (AFTER STEPHENS) 309

COLOSSAL HEAD FORMING BASEMENT OF PYRAMID AT IZAMAL 311

MARKET PLACE OF IZAMAL 313

CENOTÉ OF XCOLAC 317

CHURCH AND SQUARE, CITAS 322

EL CASTILLO OF CHICHEN-ITZA 323

ORNAMENTATION OF THE UPPER STORY OF THE NUNNERY,
CHICHEN-ITZA 334

MAIN FAÇADE OF THE NUNNERY OF CHICHEN-ITZA 335

NORTHERN FAÇADE OF THE NUNNERY OF CHICHEN-ITZA 338

LEFT WING OF THE NUNNERY OF CHICHEN-ITZA 339

FAÇADE OF EL CASTILLO, CHICHEN-ITZA 342

TOLTEC COLUMN IN THE CASTILLO 343

TOLTEC COLUMN AT TULA 343

YUCATEC CAPITAL AT CHICHEN-ITZA 344

DOOR-POSTS IN THE CASTILLO, CHICHEN-ITZA 345

BAS-RELIEFS FROM PILLARS OF SANCTUARY OF CHICHEN-ITZA 347

BAS-RELIEFS WITH INSCRIPTIONS, AKAB-SIB PALACE AT CHICHEN-ITZA 349

CHICHAN-CHOB, PRISON OF CHICHEN-ITZA 351

SACRED CENOTÉ, OF CHICHEN-ITZA 355

SMALL TEMPLE IN THE TENNIS-COURT OF CHICHEN-ITZA 359

BAS-RELIEF IN HALL OF TENNIS-COURT OF CHICHEN-ITZA 362

TIGERS’ BAS-RELIEFS ON PORTION OF TENNIS-COURT OF CHICHEN-ITZA 363

DOOR-POSTS OF HALL IN THE TENNIS-COURT OF CHICHEN-ITZA 364

TIZOC’S STONE, IN MEXICO 365

STATUE OF TLALOC FOUND AT CHICHEN-ITZA 366

STATUE OF TLALOC OF TLASCALA (IN THE MUSEUM OF MEXICO) 367

SECOND PALACE OF KABAH 371

YUCATEC AND TEOTIHUACAN VASES 375

TRIUMPHAL ARCH OF KABAH (FROM STEPHENS) 379

RUINS OF FIRST PALACE OF KABAH 381

SHOWING STEPS AND INTERIOR OF FIRST PALACE OF KABAH 383

NORTH-WEST SIDE OF PYRAMID OF KABAH 385

BAS-RELIEFS AT KABAH (FROM STEPHENS) 389

HACIENDA OF UXMAL 391

THE GOVERNOR’S PALACE, UXMAL 395

PORTION OF THE GOVERNOR’S PALACE, UXMAL 398

PLAN OF NUNNERY OF UXMAL (FROM STEPHENS) 399

NORTH WING FAÇADE OF THE NUNNERY OF UXMAL 400

SHOWING DETAILS OF EASTERN FAÇADE OF THE NUNNERY, UXMAL 402

THE DWARF’S HOUSE OF UXMAL 403

GENERAL VIEW OF THE RUINS OF UXMAL 407

INSCRIPTION OF THE GOVERNOR’S PALACE, UXMAL 413

CAMPECHE 415

HOTEL GRIJALVA AT FRONTERA 419

TERRA-COTTA IDOLS OF TABASCO 421

A BIT OF TENOSIQUÉ 423

THE USUMACINTA AT PASO YALCHILAN 428

DON PÉPÉ MORA 429

ENCAMPMENT AT PASO YALCHILAN 430

LACANDON CHIEF AND LACANDON TYPES 433

VOTIVE PILE OF LORILLARD 435

MAP TAKEN FROM THE GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY 437

PLAN OF FIRST TEMPLE AT LORILLARD 439

IDOL IN LACANDON TEMPLE 440

FIRST TEMPLE AT LORILLARD CITY 441

LACANDON VASES FOUND AT LORILLARD CITY 443

MODEL OF ANCIENT TEMPLE 445

PLAN OF PALACE WE INHABITED AT LORILLARD 446

SECOND TEMPLE OF LORILLARD 448

SCULPTURED LINTEL AT LORILLARD 449

STONE LINTEL, SACRIFICE TO CUKULCAN, LORILLARD CITY 451

SCULPTURED LINTEL AT LORILLARD 457

LIBERTAD 459

FLORES, LAKE OF PETEN 465

ALTAR PANEL IN THE TEMPLE OF THE SUN OF TIKAL 467

TEMPLE AND STELÆ OF TIKAL (FROM ALFRED MAUDSLAY) 469

QUETZALCOATL AT COPAN 470

IDOLS OF COPAN (FROM STEPHENS) 471

MONOLITH IDOL OF COPAN (FROM STEPHENS) 476

GUATEMALTO-TOLTEC ALTAR OF COPAN (STEPHENS) 477

OTHER SIDE OF SAME ALTAR 477

ALTAR INSCRIPTION OF COPAN 479

INSCRIPTION OF LORILLARD CITY 479

STELA OF TIKAL (FROM A. MAUDSLAY) 480

INTERIOR OF AN APARTMENT IN THE GRAND PALACE OF MITLA-OAXACA 482

SNUFF-BOX TORTOISE (_Cinostemon Leucostomum_) 484

TEHUANTEPEC WOMEN 497

PLAN OF CHIEF PALACE OF MITLA 502

SECTION OF PRINCIPAL HALL OF THE PALACE 503

GREAT HALL RESTORED (MITLA) 503

GENERAL VIEW OF RUINS OF MITLA 505

GREAT PALACE OF MITLA-OAXACA 509

SOUTH SIDE OF FOURTH PALACE OF MITLA 511

TERRA-COTTA MASK FOUND AT MITLA 512

[Illustration: MEXICO.

MAP OF
TOLTEC MIGRATIONS
after the Explorations of
DÉSIRÉ CHARNAY]

THE ANCIENT CITIES

OF THE NEW WORLD.

CHAPTER I.

VERA CRUZ AND PUEBLA.

When I started for Mexico in 1880, I already knew something of the
country, having, in the year 1857, been sent out as delegate for my
Government to explore parts of it. At that time I was rich in hopes and
full of grand intentions, but poor in knowledge and light of purse, and
I soon learnt that the work I had undertaken was of so difficult and
complicated a character, that the whole thing was beyond my powers;
and, finding that from want both of money and of technical knowledge I
was unable to carry out the great schemes I had imagined, I contented
myself with simply photographing some of the monuments as I visited
them, without even venturing to add any comment thereto. Now all was
different. Better prepared in every way: with additional knowledge,
backed by influential supporters, and with the aid of numerous
documents which I had collected, I felt I might reasonably hope to
be able to throw some light on one of the most obscure corners of the
history of man.

But at the very moment when the Minister of Public Instruction, on
the advice of the Commission for Missions and Travels, was again
entrusting me with the exploration of Mexico, that I might study
its monuments, it so chanced that a rich American, Mr. Lorillard,
of New York, was also minded to fit out a scientific expedition for
the same purpose, and that I was the man he had fixed upon to direct
it. The latter had already set apart a considerable sum of money for
the expedition, so that I found myself placed in a somewhat delicate
position, for, by refusing Mr. Lorillard, I should have risked a
dangerous competition in the very country and the very places I was
to explore; and, by accepting, I should have seemed to give up my
nationality, and to deprive my own country of many precious documents
and interesting collections. I felt myself, therefore, fortunate in
being able to combine the two rival expeditions, and, under the name of
a Franco-American Mission, to carry out the important work, and in this
I was assisted by the unparalleled generosity of Mr. Lorillard, who
gave up to France all the fruits of my labour, my researches, and my
discoveries. It was under such circumstances that I started on the 26th
of March, 1880, and taking New York on my way, to pay my respects to my
generous sleeping-partner, I reached Vera Cruz at the end of April.

The aspect of Vera Cruz, seen from the sea, is anything but pretty,
consisting of a monotonous line of houses, blackened by heavy rain
and the driving _Norte_. Built on a sandy shore, surrounded by barren
hills stripped of all vegetation, and low-lying lagoons, Vera Cruz
may safely be pronounced the most unhealthy place in Mexico. Yellow
fever is never absent from its shores, and with every new batch of
immigrants it becomes epidemic and violent in the extreme, fastening
on the new-comers with unusual severity. We learnt that to our cost, at
the time of the war of intervention, when our soldiers were literally
decimated by this fearful scourge. It became necessary to replace the
white troops by negro battalions, the latter withstanding better than
Europeans the fury of the epidemic.

[Illustration: A VIEW OF VERA CRUZ AND THE FORT OF SAN JUAN OF ULLOA.]

Vera Cruz can scarcely be said to possess a harbour, having only an
indifferent anchorage, in which ships are far from safe. Fort St. Juan
affords the only shelter, but in bad weather vessels frequently break
from their moorings, and are thrown or driven on to the coast. A storm
here is synonymous with north wind, and when it blows no words can give
an adequate idea of its violence; it is not a straightforward, honest
tempest, such as every good manner knows how to cope with, but it comes
in terrific and sudden squalls, carrying whirlwinds of sand, which
penetrate the best-closed houses; consequently, on the first indication
of its approach, every dwelling is securely fastened, barges are taken
in and chained up, vessels lower their double anchors, the harbour
becomes empty, all work is suspended, and the place wears the aspect of
a deserted city. The thermometer falls suddenly, the porter, with teeth
chattering, wraps himself in his blanket, a woollen overcoat is quickly
substituted for the ordinary white holland jacket, and every one goes
about shivering with cold. The pier is soon hidden by the huge waves
raised by the disturbed element, in the harbour vessels get foul of one
another, and steamers to avoid shipwreck get up steam, ready to take
their station outside.

Vera Cruz welcomed us with one of these strong north winds, which
obliged us to stay for three days in the roadstead, unable to leave
our steamer; and when I _did_ land, I was so glad, so happy at once
more feeling the ground under my feet, that I failed to notice, as I
had done before, the very uncomfortable pavement of the town, which
consists of sharp pointed stones; but just as a sheep has a portion of
his fleece torn from him by every bramble he passes by, so does every
traveller leave some portion of his individuality in every country
which he visits—and on seeing again the places he has known before, he
thinks to himself that he will be welcomed by the same impressions,
the same friendships, nay, the same adventures as before will be
there. He believes he will find everything exactly as he left it, he
looks forward to shaking hands with a particular friend, to revisiting
a certain spot, to entering a certain house, whose kind inmates had
always had a warm welcome for him. He arrives, but the scene is
changed, the old well-remembered spot is laid waste, the house a heap
of ruins, friends dead, and Time, alas! has done its fatal work.

After two-and-twenty years’ absence, I eagerly looked forward to
shaking hands with the friends I had left. The returning traveller
looks back on two-and-twenty years as but a day; to him it seems but
yesterday that he left the place; every one will, of course, know
him again; every one will come forward and warmly welcome him back.
Heaven help him! The quarter of a century, which he has hardly taken
into account, has in reality weighed heavily on him, as upon all; even
should he be fortunate enough to recognise a few acquaintances, they
have completely forgotten him, and like Rip Van Winkle, he seems to
awake from a hundred years’ sleep—to find all changed, and everything
about him strange and new. In my own case, the only friend I found was
the oldest of all, whom I thought I was never likely to see again. But
it was not until I had told him my name that he recognised me; for
at first he saw nothing but a perfect stranger standing before him.
I inquired after A—he was no more; and B?—dead; and C?—dead also. I
stopped, I was afraid to go on. It was under the burden of impressions
such as these that I found myself once more in Vera Cruz.

And yet Vera Cruz, situated at the extremity of the Mexican gulf, is
not commonplace, but rather an Eastern city, and her origin is marked
everywhere; in her cupolas, painted white, pink, and blue, her flat
terraces, and ornaments mostly of a pyramidal form. But cities live
longer than men, and I found Vera Cruz rejuvenated, younger and more
animated than of yore.

A slight breath of French activity seems to have crossed the seas and
to pervade everything. The houses are freshly painted, the steeples
whitewashed, cupolas enamelled, and new blocks of houses and monuments
meet the eye in all directions. The square, which was formerly squalid
and intersected by watercourses, is now a charming place, paved with
marble and planted with trees, in which squirrels and ouertitis gambol
and play the whole day long. The centre is occupied by a fountain, and
the sides by arcades, giving access to magnificent _cafés_, beautiful
shops, the Cathedral and the Town Hall inlaid with gleaming tiles.

In the day-time the shade is deep and the air cool, whilst in the
evening numerous loungers and fair women, their hair chequered with
phosphorescent _cucuyos_, fill the green walks, and give it the
appearance of a huge hot-house. Vera Cruz, to those who are used to
its climate, is a very pleasant abode, and though in some respects not
so desirable as many European cities, life here, on account of the
great heat, is easier, fuller, more satisfying. Wines are not dearer
than in Paris; fish is both plentiful and excellent; tropical fruit of
every kind is to be found in the market, as well as all the feathered
tribe, varying from the laughing-bird and the parrot to the beautiful
red and green Aras of Tabasco. Add to this the constant incoming and
outgoing of every nation in the universe, eliciting a daily interchange
of news with the outer world, and in a sense annihilating the distance
which divides you from the mother country. Then, too, there is the
Gulf with its blue waters, tempting to the most delightful dives man
ever had; the jetty, which, insignificant though it be, is none the
less a favourite resort, where in the evening people go for a little
fresh air, beneath a magnificent canopied sky; and where in the day
they can watch on the horizon the white sail disappearing out of sight.
Picture to yourself this marvellous sky, filled with innumerable noisy
sea-birds and small black vultures dotting it at a dizzy height,
whilst far below, hoary, venerable pelicans, quite at home in the
harbour, from long habit seem to spend their lives in diving and
rising solemnly, then come and perch on the Custom House flag, with a
grotesque kind of dignity, as though conscious of having fully done
what was expected of them.

But the great feature about Vera Cruz is the innumerable flights
of black vultures, which fill the streets, and cover every roof
and pinnacle. They are so tame as to be scarcely disturbed by the
passers-by, and when servants throw out house refuse, there follows a
general rush and a fearful fight, in which dogs take part, without,
however, always getting the best of it. These dogs, like those of
Constantinople, are the ædiles of both town and country, which without
them would be intolerable.

Beyond Mexico Gate, a fine public walk, planted with large cocoa-trees,
leads to a suburb which has within the last few years grown into a
little town; it is the great rendezvous for sailors and coolies who
come to dance and flirt with the damsels of the place, and the evening
is generally wound up with a hot dispute with their less favoured
companions.

The coast along the Atlantic is a vast sandy plain, diversified by
marshes peopled with herons, wild ducks, iguanas, and serpents,
which are almost impervious from thickets of aromatic shrubs and
wild flowers, in the midst of which tower magnificent trees; but the
sound of no voice ever breaks on this wilderness in which lurks the
_malaria_, save the hoarse cry of a wild animal, the passing of an
eagle-fisher, or the whirling of a vulture in quest of some easy prey.

The journey from Vera Cruz to Mexico is now performed by railway, which
has replaced the once cumbrous diligence, and traffic has increased to
such an extent that the English Railway Company is unable to convey
inland goods which have come by sea.

We start on our journey with an escort, even now a necessary
precaution, for five-and-twenty years have not modified the manners of
the natives, and highway robbers are still a flourishing institution in
Mexico.

Pressing westward, we go through the sandy, marshy zone, and leaving
behind us Tejeria, Soledad, Paso Ancho, and Paso del Macho, we reach
the famous Chiquihuite bridge, when a glorious region succeeds to the
flat country and parched vegetation of the coast; we continue to ascend
through grander and grander scenery and more luxurious vegetation,
having on our left the river Atoyac with its precipitous course,
between deep ravines, and presently we come in sight of the iron
viaduct, which is considered one of the best works on the line.

Still pressing upwards we reach the temperate zone, where we find
coffee, tobacco, and banana plantations, spreading their broad green
leaves under the shade of great trees which shelter them against the
fierce heat of the sun; while little houses, embowered in orange-groves
and creepers, peep out coquettishly from leaf and foliage.

And now the grand outlines of the Sierra are about us, and at every
bend of the road charming views unfold before our enraptured gaze; a
dazzling light colours all things with the richest tints, and Orizaba
rears its magnificent head straight before us. Orizaba is, with the
Popocatepetl, the highest mountain in Mexico; its snowy peak is visible
for many a mile at sea. At its foot may be seen the city of the same
name, extending over a large area, with her numerous and once gorgeous
churches, now falling into decay, amidst a vast plateau, circled
by mighty mountains, once gleaming with volcanic fires and grand
summits. Mills and factories, greatly on the increase, are worked by
water-power, which is brought by aqueducts or mountain torrents.

After Orizaba, the road becomes very steep; we enter the gorges of
Infiernillo (small hell), where, along roads coasting deep ravines
and unfathomable precipices, spanned by stupendous bridges, we reach
Maltrata, where the train stops to change engines, when we ascend the
heights, or _cumbres_, leading to the plateau.

[Illustration: VIEW OF PUEBLA, TAKEN FROM ALTO.]

And now the road opens out in long windings, rounding the steepest
declivities; bridges and tunnels succeed each other with dazzling
rapidity, and the huge engine puffs and hisses, sending out long,
curling volumes of white smoke over the most glorious landscape; and
our journey, which has lasted three hours, brings us to Esperanza,
at an elevation of some 1,200 metres,[1] and here we breakfast at
an excellent buffet. After Esperanza, the country becomes a dreary,
monotonous, dusty plain, contrasting painfully with the brilliant
colouring of the warm zone; not a tree is to be seen, hardly any
vegetation; some rare fields of stunted maize and wheat, a few
meagre cactuses, with here and there a white hacienda, are the only
indications that this forlorn region is not wholly uninhabited.
Nevertheless, the monotony of this immense plain is relieved by the
grand outline of mountains which bound the horizon, and the sand
mounds, which are visible everywhere, give the landscape a peculiar and
somewhat severe aspect.

The railway, strange to say, has deprived this region of its few
inhabitants, and steam has done away with the _arriero_ and the long
lines of heavy carts, panting mules, and muleteers in picturesque
costumes, and the tinkling bells of _madinas_ (mules heading the
trains) are no more.

Then, also, these dusty roads were enlivened by the presence of
small cottages, whence the cheerful hand-clapping of _tortilleros_
reminded the hungry traveller that here his honest hunger might be
appeased, during which the muleteer would ogle or distribute somewhat
questionable compliments among the belles of the district; all is gone,
even to the _meson_, in whose vast courtyard weary mules were put up
for the night. The cottage has left no trace behind, the walls of the
_meson_ are a mass of ruins, and the courtyard deserted.

And now we travel in a north-west direction; we pass Huamantla,
round Malinche, and leave Puebla some twenty leagues on our left,
and crossing Apizaco we reach the Llanos of Apam, famed for its
_pulque_, or Mexican wine, which is made of the juice of aloes (_Agave
Americana_), to be found everywhere; but Apam pulque is as superior
to other pulque as Chambertin is superior to ordinary claret. Aloe
plantations are everywhere to be seen, and at each station a huge train
calls daily for the casks full of the liquor so dear to Mexicans.
This intoxicating beverage is not tempting in appearance, for it
is yellowish, thick and stringy, with a most repulsive smell, yet
when a taste for it has been acquired even Europeans drink it with
pleasure after a day’s trip. Here I am reminded how much the railway
has destroyed the picturesqueness of the road. If in former times the
traveller went over the ground at a slower pace, he had leisure to
linger over the plain, admire the mountain round which the railway
now twines, to stop at Amozoc, a time-honoured haunt of brigands;
and though he missed Tlascala, the faithful ally of Cortez, and the
hereditary enemy of Mexico, he had the opportunity of visiting Puebla
de los Angeles, which lies at the very foot of great Malintzi or
Malinche, faced by the snowy peaks of Iztaccihuatl and Popocatepetl.

The city of Puebla de los Angeles was founded by the Spaniards soon
after the conquest, on the site of an insignificant village a few miles
east of Cholula. After Mexico, which it rivals by the beauty of its
edifices, it is the most important city of New Spain. Like ancient
Cholula, she is remarkable for the number and the magnificence of her
sacred buildings, the multitude of her priests, and the pomp of her
religious ceremonies, and her cathedral, in an architectural point of
view, ranks as high as that of Mexico, whilst her treasures are perhaps
even more considerable than those of her rival—her grand chandelier of
massive silver having alone cost £14,000. The innumerable steeples of a
hundred churches, and the gleaming cupolas, give a remarkable character
to the panorama of this city, which has sustained many a siege, while
her last defence under Ortega was simply heroic.

In the time of the diligence the road led to ancient _Cholula_, and the
traveller had the opportunity of visiting her pyramid, on which stands
the temple dedicated to Quetzacoatl, “God of the air,” who was pleased
to dwell among men, and, during his visit in Cholula, which extended
over twenty years, he taught the Toltecs the arts of peace, a better
form of government, and a more spiritualised religion, in which the
only sacrifices were the fruits and flowers of the season. It was in
honour of this benevolent deity that this stupendous mound was erected.
The date of its erection is unknown, for it was found there when the
Aztecs entered the plateau; but it has been variously ascribed to the
Olmecs, the Toltecs, and even to a race of giants, who wished to save
themselves from another deluge. Clavigero observes very naturally, that
the builders were rather stupid in taking so much trouble to raise an
artificial mound, when they had within reach the highest mountains in
the world where to take refuge in any such emergency.[2] It had the
truncated, pyramidal form of the Mexican _teocalli_ (temple), its four
sides facing the cardinal points, and divided into the same number of
terraces. The original outlines, however, have been effaced by the
action of time, while the growth of shrubs and wild flowers, which
cover its surface, gives it the appearance of one of those symmetrical
elevations thrown up by Plutonic agency rather than the work of man.
The height of this pyramid is 60 metres;[3] its base, which is square,
covers about forty-four acres, and the platform on its truncated summit
embraces more than one. Cholula was of great antiquity, and was founded
by the primitive race which occupied the land before the Aztecs. At the
time of the conquest it was one of the most populous and flourishing
cities of New Spain. “Nothing could be more grand than the view which
met the eye from the truncated summit of the pyramid. Towards the
north stretched the bold barrier of porphyry rock which nature has
reared round the valley of Mexico, with the huge Popocatepetl and
Iztaccihuatl standing like two sentinels to guard the entrance of this
enchanted region. Far away to the south was seen the conical head of
Orizaba soaring high into the clouds, and nearer, the barren, though
beautifully shaped Sierra de Malinche, throwing its broad shadows over
the plains of Tlascala. Three of these volcanoes, higher than the
highest peak in Europe, and shrouded in snows which never melt under
the fierce sun of the tropics, at the foot of the spectator the
sacred city of Cholula, with its bright towers and pinnacles sparkling
in the sun, reposing amidst gardens and verdant groves. Such was the
magnificent prospect which met the eye of the conquerors, and may
still, with slight change, meet that of the modern traveller, as he
stands on the broad plateau of the pyramid and his eye wanders over the
fairest portion of the beautiful plateau of Puebla.”[4]

[Illustration: PANORAMA OF PUEBLA.]

Cholula was the holy city of Anahuac, the Mecca, Jerusalem, and Rome
of the Indians; in it the kindred races had temples of their own, and
ministers for the service of the deity to whom they were consecrated.
The sanctity of the place brought pilgrims from the furthest corners
of Anahuac, who came to offer up their devotions at the shrine of
Quetzacoatl and other divinities. Here Quetzacoatl had dwelt, and
on his departure for the countries of the East, he had bidden his
followers to keep fast his teaching, promising that he and his
descendants would return, to reign again over them. This remarkable
legend, which was popular with all the Indian tribes, was one of the
most powerful auxiliaries of the Spanish conquerors, in whom the simple
Indians thought they recognised the lofty stature, noble mien, clear
complexion, and blue eyes, of the deity they had so long expected.

But talking of Cholula has made us forget that the train is going to
start: the guards, hurrying in every direction to look for us, summon
us into our carriages, the signal is given, and we speed away.

And now we notice on the platform of every station, detachments of
soldiers, with large felt hats, trimmed with silver ribbons and
tassels, whilst their horses, ready saddled, are stationed close by.
In spite of their baggy trousers and slouching hats, these men have a
military bearing, which shows them to be a picked body of troops, and
in fact they are the “rural guard,” lately formed, but already of the
greatest service; thanks to their vigilant intelligence, the country
is almost safe. This guard is recruited among the class described as
“having no occupation and no permanent abode,” and the Government gave
proof of its sagacity when it availed itself of this turbulent element,
which after having been the scourge of the country, now keeps it quiet.
It is a case of setting a thief to catch a thief; for the “rural,”
acquainted for twenty miles round with all the “old customers,” whose
accomplice he used to be, knows better than any one how to track an
escaped convict, or discover a secret haunt; and thanks to telegraphs
and railroads, _pronunciamentos_ have gone out of fashion, nipped in
the bud before they are given time to assume any large proportions.

From Apam, where we got out to look at the view, we proceed to Palma;
then Otumba, where Cortez, a few days after his evacuation of Mexico,
obtained a great victory over the Aztecs, in which their chief was
slain; and leaving Teotihuacan with its pyramids on the left, we reach
Mexico and St. Cosme Station.

[Illustration: CHURCH OF SAN DOMINGO. (_See p. 30._)]

CHAPTER II.

MEXICO.

Mexico has undergone a still greater change than Vera Cruz. The large
square, which used to be ill-paved and empty, has become a fine garden,
planted with eucalyptus trees, which have grown wonderfully during the
last twelve years, some measuring seven feet in girth and over 100 feet
in height. Beneath the shade of these beautiful trees stretch beautiful
gardens and green turf, whilst the centre is occupied by the Zocalo,
a pavilion, in which every evening very fair concerts are given,
attended by the Mexican society.

Spacious houses in modern style have been constructed at different
points of the city; new districts have arisen on the site once occupied
by convents; pretty squares are distributed about, and the Paseo Nuevo,
which was to extend as far as Chapultepec, is one which the proudest
cities in the world might envy. But will it ever be completed? At
present, it only reaches the imposing monument erected in honour of
Christopher Columbus, which every Frenchman should admire as coming
from Paris and the work of a Frenchman. The immediate area round Mexico
has been completely transformed by lines of railroad and tramways; in
places once occupied by fetid water or marshy ground, pretty villas
and flower gardens are now to be seen, whilst on the other side of
the Paseo, to the right and left of S. Cosme, the smaller suburbs
are extending so fast that they will soon join the main city. Should
Americans come—and a goodly number are here already—all this land, now
almost valueless, would in a few years double and treble in price.

But what is still more remarkable is the moral transformation: a new
life seems to animate Mexico: education, trade, industry, and public
works, have received great development; security has increased, a
public conscience has been awakened, ideas have become more liberal,
change of power is now effected without disturbance, whilst formerly
it was preceded, accompanied and followed by the ever-recurring
_pronunciamentos_; a feeling of good-fellowship begins to penetrate
all classes, and Government House is in a true sense the House of
the people, being filled from early morning by friends, employés,
or petitioners. Every one is free to come and go, without let or
hindrance, all are received by the Governor without having to ask an
audience, and every one is welcomed with the greatest affability,
as I can from personal experience amply testify. To give an idea how
far the spirit of patriotism was roused by the war of intervention, I
will quote the words of a deputy, who, on my preliminary bill being
submitted to Congress, which had been agreed to between the Government
and myself respecting my excavations and their export, rushed into
the tribune to speak against its adoption. “Gentlemen,” he cried, “I
feel savage, beside myself, almost idiotic, when the interests of
our country are at stake.” The speaker was right in his description
of himself, for the removal of a few fragments from the soil of the
Republic was not deserving of such an outburst.

But it is the privilege of the young ever to exaggerate, and Mexico
is as yet in her youth. The public press is just started, and there
are but two independent papers, the admirably conducted Republican
_Moniteur_ and the _Nineteenth Century_, which give any profits. All
the others are paid by the Government, are short-lived, and disappear
one after another, to reappear under new names and take up with a
different party. And yet there is no lack of talent, the drawback
is in the difficulty of communications. The heavy postal charges (a
letter from one village to another costs one shilling), the ignorance
and indifference of the masses about political events, are the main
causes which prevent any newspaper from succeeding. The only interest
evinced in politics is at the time of the elections, and even in these,
Mexicans take very little interest, knowing beforehand that it will not
much matter to them, and that their burden will hardly be made lighter.
It may be safely predicted that the Indians will not be roused from
their apathy until they are better educated, and until they discover
that they have a direct interest in mixing in politics—for which they
are eminently qualified—and if their vast majority be considered, they
would undoubtedly contribute a large contingent, whilst their industry,
their intelligent quickness to seize everything, coupled with a
natural talent of adaptation, would soon raise them to the foremost
ranks in the army, politics, the bar and science, as may even now be
seen in the few who have had the privilege of education; nor would this
be difficult, for they now stand on a perfect footing of equality with
the Mexicans, for unlike most conquerors, jealous to preserve their
nationality, the modern Mexicans repudiate their Spanish descent and
are proud to call themselves Indians. But what is to be the outcome of
it all? Will the Indian, forgetting his humble and thrifty aspirations,
thirst, like the Mexican, after Government employment, which, whilst
it keeps him idle, unfits him for commercial and industrious pursuits?
He has lived hitherto under laws harsh and severe for him alone;
is there no fear that once free, he will plunge into the vices of
freed men, rather than put on the virtues of civilised people? If we
are to borrow our experience from the past, this would be the case,
since when, shortly after the conquest, he lived under milder laws,
the effect was to sink him into such an appalling condition of moral
depravity as to move the good Franciscan monk Sahagun to say of him:
“We ought not perhaps to be surprised at finding among them the usual
shortcomings which belong to their country, since the Spaniards who
live here, and especially the American born, are in no way better than
the Indians. Even the natives of Spain, after a few years in this
country, are quite altered, and I have always ascribed this change to a
difference of climate and latitude. It is humiliating to our feelings
as Christians,” exclaims Sahagun, “to reflect that the Indians of olden
time, wise in their generation, knew how to remedy evils peculiar to
the soil, by means of practices which were their safeguard, whereas we
succumb to our evil propensities; the result of which is that we see
a new generation, Indian as well as Spanish, rising around us, which
it is difficult to manage or to save. Parents have not that authority
they ought to have over their offspring to guard them against their
natural proclivities. The ancient dwellers of this soil were far better
inspired when they abandoned the education of their children to public
authority, which replaced paternal rights. Unfortunately this method
was tainted by idolatrous and superstitious practices; but were these
to be eliminated and the ancient method introduced afresh among the
Indo-Spanish people, a great public good would undoubtedly follow,
which would relieve the Government of many difficulties now pressing
upon it. As it is we hardly know how to deal with those reared in our
schools, who, finding themselves no longer checked by the fear and
discipline of former, nor the severity of pagan times, do not care
to learn and are indifferent to admonition; very different in this
respect from their Aztec forefathers. At first, following their ancient
practice, which placed the youth of both sexes in buildings within the
enclosure of their temples, in which they were drilled in monastic
discipline, and taught to reverence their gods and obey the laws of
their country, we tried to bring them up in our establishments, and
to this end we collected them in buildings adjoining our houses, in
which they were accustomed to rise in the middle of the night to sing
the matins of Our Lady, and recite the ‘Hours’ at early dawn; they
were also required to beat themselves with stripes and to spend some
time of the day in mental exercises, but as they were not compelled as
in pagan times to do any manual labour, as their natural aspirations
seemed to demand, and as moreover they were better fed and more mildly
treated than their student ancestors, they soon learnt and fell into
evil ways. We also directed our attention to the women to see whether
it were possible to place them in convents, as in heathen times, and
with this end in view we made them Christian nuns, and imposed on them
perpetual vows; convents and retreats were erected, in which they were
taught their religious duties and the art of reading and writing. Such
as had shown themselves proficient in these pursuits and were possessed
besides of becoming dignity and decorum, were chosen to preside over
these establishments as guides and teachers of Christianity and purity
of life[5]. At first we fondly hoped, as in the men’s case, that they
would become worthy and spotless nuns, but we were mistaken, experience
having shown that, for the present at least, they were incapable of so
much perfection, and convents and conventicles had to be abolished, and
we have to confess that the time has not yet come for repeating the
experiment.”

The passage just quoted is suggestive of many things.

A deplorable change for the worse is already observable in the
character of the Indians of Tabasco and Chiapas since the Suffrage
Bill, which by making them partly independent of the whites, has also
made them idle, insolent, treacherous, and depraved. A sad look-out
for times to come. But even granting that all happens for the best, is
there much probability that the Indian will have time to develop his
natural resources before the Anglo-Saxon invasion shall have confined
him for ever to the lower ranks in the social scale?

However that may be, Mexico, although bent on progress, seems only
to receive her notions second-hand. Eager for action, every new idea
or advance which has received a trial with other nations, is sure to
be promptly adopted, without any inquiry whether it is applicable,
suitable, or useful, among a people wholly unprepared to receive
them; and this total impossibility of legislating for half savages
and illiterate people made a deputy say one day to me: “We have a
constitution fit for angels, whereas we ought to have one fit for
asses.”

What happens? The Mexicans at present enjoy perfect liberty, which
they use to stop the action of the Government, and as each department
is entirely independent, the lowest clerk is able to stop the whole
machinery. Most Mexicans have, or wish to have, Government employment,
leaving to foreigners the development of their national wealth;
banking, trade, and the working of their rich mines are, with few
exceptions, in the hands of Spaniards, French, English, and Americans.
The latter are swarming in; and, save Vera Cruz, all the railways are
American.

Very few Mexicans have been found willing to risk their capital
in these important enterprises, being satisfied with receiving a
premium, or joining the companies as employés. What will happen? It
would be a strange and novel phenomenon to see a superior (?) race
disappearing before an inferior one. Be that as it may, it is certain
that on the day when the Anglo-Americans shall be able to dispense
with the services of the Mexican, they will not scruple to thrust him
aside, careful however to keep the Indians of the Highlands, now a
docile, frugal, hard-working people, whom they will use for mining and
agricultural purposes, as well as for the construction of railways. But
this is not yet. The absorption will come, however—gradually, silent,
peaceful—a slow, easy death, but a sure death nevertheless.

Yet it would be a matter for regret that this attractive people, open
to every new idea of progress, eager to distinguish themselves, as
shown a hundred times in the defence of their liberties, should be
swallowed up by the Saxon element. The “Timeo Danaos dona ferentes”
is surely applicable here, and Mexico should beware of her powerful
neighbour—_Caveant Consules_.

Mexico has a great wealth of monuments, palatial houses, and churches,
the finest of which is the Cathedral, occupying the northern side
of the Place d’Armes, with the Palace to the east, the Houses of
Parliament to the south, and the Portal de las Damas on the western
side. It was erected on the site of the sumptuous temple dedicated to
_Huitzilopochtli_, the war god and the patron deity of the Aztecs,
whose altars reeked with the blood of human hecatombs in every city of
the empire. The first stone for this church was laid in the reign of
Philip II., and the canonicate of Archbishop Pedro Moya de Contreras.
The foundations, which extended as far as the north side of the
old temple, embracing the whole space now taken up by the courts,
were carried on under the energetic supervision of Alonzo Perez de
Castañeda. The work required for these foundations, owing to the
unsteady, marshy nature of the soil, was so enormous that in 1615 the
walls only rose to some twenty feet above the ground. Philip III., on
being informed of the difficulties which retarded the work begun by his
father, sent a plan drawn by his own architect, which was to simplify
the original one, and accelerate the completion of the church.

The principal sacristy was finished in 1623; the vaults in the middle
nave were completed between 1623 and 1665. In 1667, the interior of the
Cathedral being quite finished, the inauguration took place. The choir,
however, was only completed in 1730, when the rich and marvellous
balustrade, which divides the choir from the sanctuary, executed by
Macao, was put up. This balustrade, composed of bronze and silver,
which has all the appearance of burnished gold, is most striking in its
general effect.

The expenses of this church (completed in 1791) amounted to 2,446,000
piastres, or £489,200. Seen from the square, the edifice has the
imposing appearance of churches of the latter portion of the sixteenth
century. The façade, though simple, is very imposing, and contrasts
favourably with the other sacred edifices in the city; three doors
intervene between Doric columns and open into the middle and lateral
naves. Over the main door two stories superimposed and ornamented with
Doric and Corinthian pilasters, support a most elegant steeple, crowned
by three statues, representing the theological virtues. On each side,
towers, severe in design, and topped by cupolas, rise to the height
of 78 metres.[6] The interior is one mass of gold. The choir, which
is immense, occupies the principal nave, and, by means of a costly
composite gallery, is made to join the main altar, designed after St.
Peter’s in Rome. The two lateral naves, destined for the congregation,
have no choir or seats of any kind, and Mexican ladies, who are very
regular in their attendance at church, are satisfied with kneeling
or sitting on the damp stones of the pavement, whether from zeal or
because it would not be “good form” not to do so, remains doubtful,
whereas it is quite certain that their delicate constitution demands a
less dangerous practice. The few men who are ever seen in the interior
of a church generally stand; most, however, remain outside talking to
one another, and waiting for the ladies, who on coming out reward them
for their patience by a bewitching look or a graceful inclination of
the head.

Among the works of art possessed by the Cathedral, may be mentioned a
small picture by Murillo, known as the “Virgin of Belen,” not a good
specimen of the great master. The priests attached to the church look
upon it, however, as their most precious jewel; to this may be added
the “Assumption of the Virgin,” of massive gold, weighing 1,116 ounces;
a silver lamp hanging before the sanctuary, which cost £16,000; the
tabernacle of massive silver valued at £32,000, besides diamonds,
rubies, emeralds, amethysts, pearls, and sapphires in shoals, and a
vast quantity of gold and silver vases, representing fabulous sums of
money.

On the wall of the left tower to the west, may be seen the famous Aztec
calendar, found on the 17th December, 1700, whilst the new esplanade
of Impedradillo was being constructed. By order of the Viceroy it was
carefully encased and preserved in the steeple wall, and has proved to
be one of the most precious monuments of Indian antiquity. Antonio de
Gama, in a masterly treatise, explained the objects to which it was
devoted, and poured a flood of light on the astronomical science of the
Aborigines and their mythology. His work has been criticised, however,
by Valentine of New York, and both are impugned by Chavero of Mexico,
whilst others pass a severe judgment on all three. So true is it, that
archæological, like other questions, are ever open to hot dispute.

The Sagrario is a huge chapel close to the Cathedral, used for
marriages, christenings, and burial services. The host is exposed at
all times on the altar for the veneration of the faithful. The Sagrario
deserves a passing note, for though vicious in taste, it has such
a wealth of ornamentation and sculpture, as to make one forget the
defects of its style considered as a whole. It is from the Sagrario
that the last sacrament used to be carried to comfort the rich and
powerful, in a gilt carriage, or beneath a gorgeous daïs, amidst a
cortège of priests, who preceded and followed it, its presence being
announced by the ringing of a silver bell. At its approach the traffic
and movement of the town was suspended; every one, no matter the state
of the weather, humbly knelt down in dust or mud; all were expected
to join the procession and accompany the host to the house of the
dying; the viceroy himself was not exempted from this formality, and
chroniclers tell us that many were the times when he was thus compelled
to head the marching column.

[Illustration: EL SAGRARIO.]

But that was in the good old time, which I am old enough to have
seen, when priests and monks, their heads covered with huge hats,
_à la_ Don Basilio, filled the streets with their portly, dignified
figures, their faces ever open to a smile. That time has gone by; monks
and priests, shorn of their dress and privileges, have disappeared
and become private citizens. The Church on that occasion was not
proceeded against by slow degrees; the Government, feeling at home
in a country peculiarly religious and Catholic, decreed on the same
day the suppression of all religious communities, the confiscation
of their goods, and the disestablishment of the Church, and though a
large majority mildly protested, nobody cared; not so the monks and
priests, who whirled anathemas and fulminated the _excommunicatio
maxima_ against whomsoever should lend a hand to the demolition of
the convents—nay, even against those who would be found bold enough
to pass through the streets thus opened on ecclesiastical property.
The Leperos, however, engaged in these demolitions, had recourse to
an ingenious device to nullify the spiritual thunderbolts of their
ancient patrons. They bedizened themselves with amulets, scapularies,
and chaplets as a protection against the wiles of the devil, and thus
attired they proceeded gaily to the destruction of cell and chapel,
whilst weeping dueñas, indignant at being witnesses of such sacrilege,
poured out their unavailing supplications.

The excitement lasted but a week, and the Leperos thought so little of
it that they did not refrain from bearing away to their housewives the
wainscoting of the religious houses, and the newly made streets were
used like any others.

But it will be asked, what of the monks? Most have become citizens and
taken wives, and are now heads of families; some have gone into exile;
whilst others are business men. I have even met a few, who, having
turned Protestants, were employed as guides by the Boston and New York
Biblical Missions. As for the clergy, contrary to the received opinion
that on being deprived of their emoluments and tithes they would be
richer than before, they have become as poor as their vows require, as
humble as they profess, reading their services as heretofore to crowded
congregations, and every one is or seems to be satisfied.

But to return to our edifices. The Church and Convent of S. Domingo
(Dominick) stands in Custom House Square, blocked up at all times
by carriages, carts, mules, and a motley crowd. At this point, when
_pronunciamentos_ were the rule, rebels used to take their stand,
and sheltered behind the high steeples of the church, shot at their
fellow-citizens lodged on the azoteas (flat roofs) of the neighbouring
houses. They did their work so often and so well that the desolation
of these cloisters is complete. The pictures which once were their
chief ornament are mostly in holes, and the walls blackened with shot
and powder. S. Domingo has the hardly enviable privilege of having
been the seat of the Inquisition. Here, in 1646, the terrible tribunal
celebrated its first _auto-da-fè_, when forty-eight persons were burnt
at the stake. These human sacrifices, which were only abolished at the
beginning of this century, were not better than the revolting practices
of the Aztecs, save that Catholic priests were content to burn their
victims without eating them, but to make up for this they branded them
with eternal infamy.

The Convent of S. Francisco, which at one time extended over fifteen
acres of ground, is situated between the street bearing the same name
and S. Juan de Latran y Zuletta Street. It is intersected by beautiful
cloisters, courts, and gardens, and was formerly the most important
as well as the richest convent in Mexico: having two churches, the
interiors of which were adorned with gigantic altars of finely-carved
gilt wood; three exquisite chapels, and elegant cloisters covered with
pictures, thus forming one of the most remarkable monuments in Mexico.
But alas! all that wealth is gone, the ruthless hand of democracy
has pulled down cell and chapel; streets run in places once occupied
by its altars; its flower-beds are turned into a nursery-garden,
and its silent cells are tenanted by poor families, whose women and
children fill the air with their shrill and discordant voices. All that
remains is the façade, with its magnificent gate—a curious mixture of
Renaissance pilasters, covered with figures in high relief, surmounted
with composite capitals, divided by niches adorned with statues,
besides a marvellous wealth of ornamentation, not in the best taste,
but highly finished. Their chief interest, however, lies in their
being the work of the Indians, rather than the production of a Spanish
chisel. Indians, according to Mendieta, were no contemptible artists;
“with tools made of tin and copper, they could cut not only metals, but
the hardest substances. They carved their vessels of gold and silver,
with their metallic chisels, in a very delicate manner. They imitated
the figures of animals, and could mix the metals in such a manner, that
the feathers of a bird, or the scales of a fish, should be alternately
of gold and silver.”

They worked the various stones and alabasters with _guijarros_ (a
tool made of silex and flint), in the construction of their public
buildings, entrances and angles of which were frequently ornamented
with images, sometimes of their fantastic and hideous deities.
Sculptured images were so numerous, that the foundations of the
Cathedral in the Plaza Mayor are said to be entirely composed of
them.[7] They also painted from nature, birds, fish, and landscape, and
after their conversion to Christianity, says Mendieta, they
reproduced admirably our images and reredos from Flanders and Italy.

[Illustration: CLOISTER OF THE CONVENT OF LA MERCED.]

The religion of the Aztecs imposed upon their followers certain forms,
in their delineation of the human figure, or the personification of the
Deity, which they were not permitted to discard; this explains why we
find so many rude images side by side with the most exquisite work of
ornamentation.

But to return. No one would stop to look at the Convent de la _Merced_
were it not for its cloisters, the finest in Mexico; they are composed
of white, slender columns, in Moorish style, with indented arches,
forming galleries which surround a paved court, the centre of which is
occupied by an insignificant fountain.

The Convent stands in the middle of a densely populated suburb, forming
a striking contrast to the tumult and hubbub outside. The feeling of
profound desolation which is felt at gazing on these walls is beyond
description, for the silence is only broken in the rare intervals when
an _aguador_ comes to fill his _cantaros_ and _chochocoles_ (earthen
pots and jars) at the fountain. The white picturesque tunic of the
monks which relieved the solitude of these endless galleries has for
ever disappeared, and now its vast passages only give access to empty
cells.

The walls of the galleries are covered with innumerable pictures, the
figures in which are of life-size, representing martyrs of the order
of S. Domingo and its most celebrated saints. They are not pleasant
to look at, presenting to the eye nothing but distortions, funeral
piles and dislocations; all the tortures, in fact, which the perverted
ingenuity of man has devised to harass his fellow-creatures. Among
them, some are lifting to heaven their gory heads, whose blood is
streaming down to their feet, whilst others are stretching out their
freshly-stunted arms and calcined limbs. At no time can the priests of
Huitzilopochtli have sanctioned more harrowing suffering, or consented,
in their religious frenzy, to more revolting practices.

The Convent de la Merced used to possess a good library, and many
precious manuscripts of Indian antiquity; but the superstitious
ignorance of the monks allowed it to fall into decay, and documents
of highest interest to the historian and archæologist were used as
waste-paper or consigned to the flames.

The choir of this church had one hundred seats of carved oak, and was
considered one of the finest in the world. The Government is converting
the church into a library, which, when completed, is expected to be one
of the finest monuments of the city.

Among buildings of public usefulness, the School of Mines, El Salto del
Agua, Chapultepec Military College, the Art Academy, and the Museum may
be mentioned.

[Illustration: MEXICAN MONKS.]

[Illustration: EL SALTO DEL AGUA (FOUNTAIN).]

CHAPTER III.

THE INDIANS.

El Salto del Agua—Netzahualcoyotl—Noche triste—Historical
Jottings—Chapultepec—Indians—Chinampas—Legends—Anecdote—Mexican
Museum—Tizoc’s Stone, or Gladiator’s Stone—Yoke and
Sacrificial Stone—Holy War—Religious Cannibalism—American
Copper.

El Salto del Agua is the only monumental fountain in Mexico; it stands
in the centre of a low suburb removed from the chief thoroughfares, and
terminates the aqueduct which brings from Chapultepec (“grasshopper’s
hill”) an abundant supply of water to Mexico. El Salto del Agua is an
oblong building, with a very mediocre façade; a wide spread-eagle in
the centre supports the escutcheon bearing the arms of the city. On
each side twisted columns with Corinthian capitals bear two symbolical
figures, representing Europe and America, besides eight half-broken
vases.

According to historians of the conquest, El Salto del Agua, and
the Aqueduct which it terminates, replaced the ancient aqueduct of
Montezuma, constructed by Netzahualcoyotl, King of Tezcuco, between the
years 1427 and 1440. At that time it was brought through an earthen
pipe to the city, along a dyke constructed for the purpose, and that
there might be no failure in so essential an article, a double course
of pipes in stone and mortar was laid. In this way a column of water
the size of a man’s body was conducted into the heart of the capital,
where it fed fountains and reservoirs of the principal mansions.[8]

Since the name of Netzahualcoyotl has been mentioned, it may not be out
of place to give a brief account of a prince whose accomplishments,
character, and adventurous life, would make him a fit hero for romance
rather than the subject of sober history. He was descended from the
Toltecs, of whom we shall speak later. He ruled over the Acolhuans or
Tezcucans, as they were generally called, a nation of the same family
as the Aztecs, whom it preceded on the plateau, and whom it rivalled
in power and surpassed in intellectual activity. He was himself at
once king, poet, philosopher, and lawgiver, and was a munificent
patron of letters, and _Tezcuco_ was, in his time, the meeting-place
of all that was intelligent in Anahuac, as was Athens in the days of
Pericles, Florence and Rome under the Medicis. Netzahualcoyotl held a
conspicuous place among the bards of Anahuac, for the tender pathos
of his verse, the elegance and rich colouring of his style, and the
tinge of melancholy which pervades most of his writings. His large and
enlightened mind could not accept the superstitions of his countrymen,
still less the sanguinary rites of the Aztecs; his humane temper shrank
from their cruel rites, and he endeavoured to recall his people to the
more pure and simple worship of their forefathers. But he shared the
fate of men far in advance of their time, and had to yield before their
ignorance and fanaticism, contenting himself with publicly avowing his
faith and nobler conception of the deity. He built a temple in the
usual pyramidal form, to the “_Unknown God, the Cause of Causes_.”

Though Netzahualcoyotl was of a benevolent disposition, he was strict
in the administration of the laws, even against his own children;
indeed, he put to death his two sons for having appropriated other
people’s booty. Many anecdotes are told of the benevolent interest he
took in his subjects, amongst whom he delighted to wander in disguise,
and, like Haroun-al-Raschid, entered freely in conversation with them,
thus ascertaining their individual wants. His last days were spent in
the pursuit of astronomical studies and the contemplation of the future
life. He died full of days after a reign of nearly fifty years, during
which he had freed his country from a foreign tyrant, breathed new
life into the nation, renewed its ancient institutions, and seen it
advancing towards a higher standard of civilisation; and he saw his end
approach with the same serenity that he had shown alike in misfortune
and in prosperity. Such is the very imperfect account of a prince who
was the glory of his nation; whose muse, by turns, invited men to enjoy
the passing hour, or bade them beware of the vanity of all earthly
pleasures, teaching them to look beyond the grave for things that will
endure.

But before we go on to Chapultepec, we must call at Tacuba, and visit
the famous _Ahuahuete_, a kind of cypress, under whose shelter Cortez,
on the night of July 1, 1520, came to rest his weary limbs and mourn
over the cause which had so greatly imperilled his safety and that of
his troops, as to make imperative the evacuation of Mexico, in which
many of his most trusty veterans were sacrificed. The night was called
on this account _Noche triste_, “Melancholy night.”

[Illustration: TREE OF THE NOCHE TRISTE, AT POPOTLAN.]

But to explain. We will give a short sketch of the causes which
brought about this sad event, quoting largely from Father Duran,
Ramirez, and Sahagun:

“It was in the month of May, the Mexican _toxcatl_, when it was common
for the Aztecs to celebrate their great annual festival in honour of
their war-god _Huitzilopochtli_, which was commemorated by sacrifice,
religious songs and dances, in which all the nobility engaged,
displaying their magnificent gala costumes, with their brilliant
mantles of feather-work, sprinkled with precious stones, and their
necks, arms, and legs ornamented with collars and bracelets of gold.
Alvarado, whom Cortez had left as lieutenant of his forces, during his
expedition against his formidable enemy, Narvaez, was now petitioned
by the Indian caciques to be allowed to perform their rites. Alvarado
acquiesced on condition that on this occasion there should be no
human sacrifice, and that they should come without weapons; he and
his soldiers, meanwhile, attended as spectators, some of them taking
station at the gates, as if by chance. They were all fully armed,
but as this was usual, it excited no suspicion; but as soon as the
festival, which was held in the court of the great temple, had fairly
begun, and the Mexicans were engrossed by the exciting movement of
the dance, and their religious chants, Alvarado and his followers,
at a concerted signal, rushed with drawn swords on their defenceless
victims. Unprotected by armour or weapon of any kind, they were hewn
down without resistance by their pitiless and bloodthirsty assailants.
Some fled to the gates, but were thrust back by the pikes of the
soldiers; some were able to scale the walls; others, penetrating the
sanctuary of the temple, fell on the pavement and simulated death. The
pavement ran with streams of blood, ‘like water in a heavy shower,’
and the ground was strewn with the mutilated limbs of the dead.
The Spaniards, not content with slaughtering their victims, rifled
them of their precious ornaments. On this sad day were sacrificed
more than six hundred men, the flower of the Mexican nobility; not
a family of note but had to mourn the loss of a near relation. The
tidings of this horrible butchery filled the nation with stupefaction
and dismay; they could hardly believe their senses. Every feeling of
long-smothered hostility and rancour now burst forth in a cry for
vengeance. The respect for the person of their sovereign made them
desist from further attempts to storm the fortress. But they threw up
works around the Palace to prevent the Spaniards from getting out.
They suspended the market, to preclude the possibility of their enemy
obtaining supplies. This accomplished, they quietly sat down, waiting
for the time when famine would deliver the hated foreigner into their
hands. The situation of the Spaniards seemed desperate, when they were
relieved from their gloomy apprehensions by the return of Cortez, who
with his comrades had succeeded in utterly crushing Narvaez. It was
not too soon: a few days more and the garrison must have surrendered
from lack of provisions, and still more from want of water. Alvarado
was subjected to a cross-examination by Cortez, who contented himself
with administering some words of reproof, and ordering him to his
post; for the city again rose to arms. In this terrible strait, Cortez
sent to the Aztec Emperor to request him to mediate with his subjects.
Meanwhile the Spaniards endeavoured to effect a retreat out of a city
thoroughly roused against them. This they accomplished under cover of
a dark, drizzling night, after a fearful carnage and much bloodshed,
lasting over several days; when the Spanish troops, accompanied by
their Tlascalan allies, abandoned a city which had been so lately the
scene of their triumphs, and each soldier, loaded with as much gold
and jewels as he could carry, made for the gates. All was hushed in
silence; no danger seeming to arrest their march, they were beginning
to hope that a few hours would see them beyond the missiles of the
enemy. But, as they drew near the bridges of Tlascopan Street, they
were assailed by thousands of Mexicans, and amidst a fearful tumult
and destructive confusion, followed by shouts of impotent rage from
the combatants and moans from the severely wounded, in which the best
among the Spaniards lay buried in the murky waters of the canals, or
fallen under the axes of the Mexicans, the Spanish leaders, followed
by the disordered remnant of their troops, were allowed to defile to
an adjacent village called _Popotla_, where Cortez, on beholding their
thinned ranks and deplorable condition, gave vent to the anguish of his
soul.

Cortez’ fame has been much overrated; he was fortunate rather than
great, for he was powerfully assisted at the very outset by the
friendly attitude of the Indians, who welcomed in him the Deliverer
long foretold in their legends, who was to rescue them from the
thraldom and heavy burdens imposed upon them by the Aztec monarchs,
to enable them to carry on their warlike enterprises and policy of
annexation. He was helped, moreover, by two intelligent interpreters,
Aguilar and Marina, in his intercourse with the natives; Marina
proving subsequently a devoted friend, and a faithful and skilful
negotiator with the Indians. It is equally certain that, from purely
selfish motives of personal convenience and policy, as also to gratify
the cruel rapacity of his followers, he not only allowed, but even
ordered acts of bloodshed and treachery which must for ever stain
his character. His courage cannot be doubted; yet his conduct in the
expedition to Honduras, his pusillanimity on his return, argue a poor
politician; whilst the revolting massacres at Cholula and Mexico sink
into shade when compared with the murder of Guatemozin. Las Casas, who
knew him well, calls him “that fellow;” which term of reproach is more
opprobrious than a worse epithet.

But these things have detained us too long already; let us now proceed
to Chapultepec, one of the most delightful spots in the Mexican valley.
Two roads, the Paseo Nuevo and the tramway, lead to it; we will take
the latter as shorter and cheaper, which, starting from the Place
d’Armes, goes through Belen gate, and sets us down at the very entrance
of the Castle. Chapultepec, “grasshopper hill,” is a volcanic hill some
1,625 feet long, and 100 feet high, covered with luxurious vegetation,
crowned with groves of cypresses, _ahuahuetes_, some of which are
seventy-five feet in diameter, and seem to defy the decay of ages.[9]

The view from the windows of the Palace, which stands on the top of
the hill, embracing the valley of Mexico, is one of the finest in the
world. In the highly rarefied atmosphere of these upper regions, even
distant objects have a brilliancy of colouring and a distinctness of
outline which enables one to take in the details of this marvellous
panorama, studded with towns and hamlets, the white walls of which,
together with the tops of porphyry rocks, glimmer in the rays of the
sun. Stretching far away at their feet are seen noble forests of oak,
sycamore, and cedar, whilst beyond, cultivated fields, beautiful
gardens, lakes, and lagoons, girdle the valley around. Looking towards
Mexico, the spectator has behind him the low chain de las Cruces; on
his right, to the south, Pedregal and the Ajuscean hills; before him,
to the east, the grand snowy tops of Popocatepetl, “the hill of smoke,”
and Iztaccihuatl, “White Woman,” from its bright robe of snow; on his
left to the north, Cerro Gordo, and nearer, the Sierra Guadalupe, where
stands the most celebrated sanctuary of Mexico, dedicated to the Virgin.

This chapel rises on the site once occupied by the famous temple of
Toci—the mother of a god—whose altars were thronged all times by
multitudes of devotees. To induce the Indians to welcome the Virgin
Mary as their tutelar divinity, the priests took care to represent her
with a dark complexion and the courtly robes worn by noble Mexican
maidens in their time of prosperity. The story of the Aztec Virgin is
so characteristic of the sanguinary instincts of the people who raised
her to the rank of a deity, that we will tell it.

The Mexicans, after a series of wanderings and adventures, during
which they endured all the hardships of a migratory life, succeeded at
length in establishing themselves on the muddy islets of the principal
lake, in the year 1325. Here they raised a temple to their war-god,
Huitzilopochtli, on whose altars human sacrifices were offered.
Prisoners were generally reserved for this purpose, but in times of
public calamity the god required the best of the land. It is told how
on one occasion, the oracle of Huitzilopochtli demanded that a Royal
Princess should be sacrificed to him; and how the Aztec monarch sent
to one of his vassals, the King of Colhuacan, to petition for one of
his daughters to become the mother of the tutelar god—and as such share
with him divine honours. The King of Colhuacan, flattered by the honour
reserved for his daughter, unable besides to refuse, confided the young
Princess to the care of the Aztec envoys, who escorted her with great
pomp to the city where she was sacrificed, her skin being taken off
after death to clothe the young priest who was to represent the deity
in this solemnity. The cruelty was carried so far as to invite the
father to be present at the bitter mockery of his child’s deification;
he came, penetrated the sanctuary, but at first the gloom of the temple
did not let him see anything, until he was given a copal-gum torch, the
flame of which bursting up suddenly revealed the horrible picture of
the young priest standing close to the idol and receiving the homage of
the multitude. The skin fitted so tightly that the monarch recognised
his daughter’s mask, and almost mad with grief he fled the temple to
mourn for his murdered child.[10]

[Illustration: CHAPULTEPEC.]

The Mexican valley was occupied successively by various tribes, which
advancing from the north and north-west, entered the country towards
the end of the seventh century. The first and most remarkable of these,
both from the mildness of their character and the degree of their
civilisation, were the Toltecs, who occupied Chapultepec as early as
the eighth century, and established their capital at _Tula_, north of
the Mexican valley, whose name _Toltec_ was synonymous with architect.
After a time, a rude tribe, the _Chichemecs_, entered the territory and
were soon followed by other races, amongst which were the _Aztecs_ or
_Mexicans_, and the _Acolhuans_ or _Tezcucans_. Some of these obtained
leave from Xolotl, King of the Chichemecs, to settle on Chapultepec,
which in the course of time became a royal residence, and a royal
burial-place, whilst its rocks were made to transmit to posterity the
features of the Mexican monarchs, Azayacoatl and the two Montezumas,
together with the sons of the last Aztec emperor; two statues of this
monarch and his father were to be seen as late as the last century,
when they were destroyed by order of the Government.

[Illustration: CHARCOAL AND BATTEAS VENDORS.]

Father Duran tells how Montezuma I. had himself and his first minister
sculptured. Feeling that his end was drawing near, he summoned the
doughty warrior Tlacael, who for three reigns had shown his valour on
the field of battle and his wisdom in council: “Brother Tlacael,” said
the monarch, “it would be well that our names and persons should be
graven on the rock of Chapultepec, and thus pass to posterity.” “Your
wish, most noble king, shall instantly be obeyed.” And calling together
the most renowned sculptors, Tlacael imparted to them the royal
command. In a few days two bas-reliefs were executed, so striking in
resemblance, and so exquisite in workmanship, as to surprise Montezuma
himself.

The Castle, which was built by the Viceroy Galvaez at the close of the
seventeenth century, was transformed into a Military School by the
Government in 1841; Maximilian during his short reign altered it, and
made it his favourite residence. The Palace is once more occupied by
the Military College, whose pupils have shown themselves worthy of it,
by their heroic defence at the time of the American war. An observatory
has been lately built, at the expense of the Government.

But it is time to return to Mexico, where we shall find the Indian
pretty much what he was three or four hundred years ago. This arises
from his having been subjected, from the earliest times, to Aztec rule
and the severe discipline of its priests and afterwards to the still
more cruel and unjust yoke of the Spaniards, who, by depriving him of
civil rights and all his goods, degraded him to the low rank he now
occupies. Before the conquest the people was divided in three distinct
and almost equally honourable classes, land proprietors, warriors, and
merchants; but the conquerors, reserving for themselves all these good
things, restricted the Indians to the occupations of _macehual_ (tiller
of the ground), or _tamene_ (porter), that is, a beast of burden, used
by marching armies or merchants in their distant expeditions; and,
although all careers are now opened to him, he is slow to avail himself
of his newly-acquired privileges.

As an _aguador_, he still conveys water to every household, in jars,
which he carries one behind, the other in front, supported by leather
thongs covering his head; as a vendor he brings coals in nets made of
aloe strings; his earthenware, poultry, eggs, vegetables, in _huacales_
or cases made of twigs, kept together by strings; and, indeed, his
tools, kitchen utensils and the like, are the same as he formerly used.
The only alteration he has made in his costume has been to adopt nether
garments, but in the Uplands he dispenses with this and is satisfied
with his _maxtli_, “broad band.” He has not varied his diet, nor the
manner of preparing it; the staple of his food is still Indian corn,
which he grinds with a _metate_, granite roller, or bakes into flat
cakes, _tortillas_, in _comals_, or baking ovens. His vegetables he
seasons highly, and on days of festival he adds to this simple fare
a turkey when he is well-to-do, a piece of pork when poor; his drink
is the _pulque_, the invention of which dates nearly four hundred
years back; his _jacal_, or hut, composed of sticks lined with clay,
roofed with aloe leaves, measuring at the basement some seven or ten
feet square, is exactly the jacal of ancient chroniclers, without any
pavement, hardly any furniture, save some few images of saints, which
have replaced the terra-cotta household divinities.

In former times, when he lived on the lagoons, with no right to the
land, which was held by his enemies, he satisfied his hunger with
frogs and serpents, to be found in the marshes, salamanders, flies
and flies’ eggs, _ahuatli_, which latter were made into cakes, a dish
which was adopted by the Spaniards; and, when further pressed by want
and dearth, he invented _chinampas_, those floating gardens which so
much surprised the conquerors. Chinampas were rafts of reeds, rushes,
and other fibrous materials, which, tightly knit together, formed a
sufficient basis for the heaps of black mud which the natives drew
up from the bottom of the lake. Gradually islands were formed, some
reaching two or three hundred feet in length, and three or four feet in
depth, with a very rich soil, on which the thrifty Indian raised maize
and vegetables for himself and flowers for the market, his prince, and
his gods. Some of these chinampas were firm enough to allow the growth
of small trees, and to have a hut for the owner, who, with a long pole
resting on the sides or the bottom of the shallow basin, could change
his position at pleasure, whether to move from an unpleasant neighbour
or take his family on board, and moved on like some enchanted island
over the water. In later times these floating gardens increased to such
an extent that they completely girdled the city around with flowers and
verdure, when every morning early numbers of boats, richly freighted,
would be seen to glide through the canals and file out towards Plaza
Mayor.[11] Mexico, since the diminution of the lake, has become a high
and dry city of the main land, with its centre nearly a league distant
from the water; chinampas are no more; small flower-beds, divided by
narrow causeways, where the Indian still mans his canoe, are all that
remain of the floating gardens of olden time. Should the traveller wish
to study the natives, he should go on market days toward the road which
leads out of S. Cosme, by which great numbers both of men and women
enter the city, their legs and backs bent under burdens heavier
sometimes than an animal could carry. Indian women wear a dark woollen
petticoat, striped with yellow, red, and green, and a piece of the
same stuff, with an opening for the head, covers the bust and completes
the costume. Notwithstanding their rags, some are not wanting in good
looks, whilst most are well made, and were they cleanly and better
dressed, many would be found strikingly pretty.

[Illustration: MEXICAN WATER-CARRIER.]

[Illustration: MEXICAN TORTILLERA AND STRAW MAT SELLERS.]

I only speak of young girls, for the old, covered with dirt rather
than rags, are generally to be seen reeling under the influence of
pulque. It is not too much to say that the Indian has retained all
his primitive vices, and has added thereto those given him by his
conquerors. Though he still preserves some of his popular legends, it
is quite a chance if he understands anything about them; for in olden
times, these were kept and transmitted by the upper classes, which have
long ceased to exist, and the modern Indian knows absolutely nothing of
his past history.

And here, to illustrate my meaning, I may be permitted to give an
example of this marvellous ignorance, even regarding recent events. I
happened to be in a village situated on Lake Chalco, when a number of
Indians of both sexes, dressed up in old, ludicrous European costumes,
got into boats and landed a short distance further, entering the
village amidst a population which came out to meet them, with cries,
hootings and blows, finally forcing them to re-embark. It was evident
to me that this represented an invasion, which had been successfully
repulsed, referring perhaps to the war of intervention, but though
I asked, no one was able to enlighten me, contenting themselves
with repeating “Francia, Francia.” At last an old man said that the
masquerade commemorated an incident in the Spanish war of 1808, during
the first empire. And on my expressing my astonishment at the ignorance
of the actors about a subject they represented every year: “Are your
common people much wiser when they sing their Latin Mass?” objected my
American friend. I felt that I was answered, and I was silent.

The Indian is fond of money, his delight is to hoard, yet he is no
better for it, as regards his daily life; he has all the instinct
of a miser without its benefit; for your miser enjoys his money, he
visits it by stealth, spends his time in counting, in contemplating it,
whereas the Indian buries his hoardings out of sight; the satisfaction
of knowing that he is rich is all-sufficient for him, and he does not
care for the things which his gold would procure. The Valley of Oaxaca,
which for generations supplied the world with cochineal, is supposed
to have millions of money buried underground. During my residence
there, I knew a man who, it was rumoured, was fond of hoarding; on one
occasion he received some £200 for ingots and cochineal, and two days
after asked me for the loan of four shillings. “Well, but what have you
done with the money you got two days since?” I asked. “Esta colocado,
Señor.” “It’s invested” (stowed underground). This secretive instinct,
however, is not confined to the Indian, it is to be found among all
conquered and persecuted races: serfs under Louis XIV. hid away both
their bread and their money; the inhabitants of Indo-China and others
only pay their taxes under pressure of the stick. It may be that the
thrifty habit of our own middle classes, their wish to hoard for the
mere sake of it, their aversion to part with it for any purpose of
public good, which forms such a striking contrast to our Transatlantic
fellow-citizens, is attributable to this instinct, which still survives
when the need for it has long ceased to exist. We are, alas, but
the freedmen of yesterday, whereas Americans have now long enjoyed
the blessings of free institutions, and have besides the enormous
advantage of trying them in an entirely new country. Untrammelled alike
by traditions or the bonds which still fetter us, they are able to
work out their benevolent or brilliant schemes, confident that their
intelligence and their industry will lead them to new paths of progress
and prosperity.

With the Indian this same instinct borders on fanaticism: the man who
finds a treasure covers it up again carefully, not dreaming of making
use of it; should he have a confidant, the latter will starve, nay,
go through torture, rather than betray his friend. And here I cannot
resist the temptation of telling an anecdote related to me by a Mexican
friend bearing on the subject: A well-to-do Indian, who lived not far
from Mexico, had a daughter whom a Frenchman was willing to marry, in
the hope of inheriting the old man’s fortune, which was supposed to
amount to some £20,000. Like most Indians, he died intestate, when
a search was made for his money, but none could be found. His only
available property was his cottage and garden. The deceased was known
to have had a wretchedly poor friend, the confidant of all his secrets.
He was immediately applied to, and subjected to numerous questions
by the heirs regarding the money, and to induce him to speak, they
offered the quarter, nay, the half of the hidden treasure, but he
still refused; at last they thought of making him drunk, hoping that
what they had been unable to obtain would be effected by pulque. He
was made comfortable, when he became very confiding, so confiding that
the expectant heir fully believed that a moment more would see him
the happy recipient of the long-treasured-up secret, but the poor man
suddenly stopped, horrified at what he was going to say, seeming to see
his friend’s ghost before him, reproaching him for his disloyalty.

We shall not be taking leave of the Indian if we pay a visit to the
Museum, where Aztec pottery, Aztec jewellery, Aztec kings, and Aztec
gods will remind us of him everywhere. The Mexican Museum cannot
be called rich, in so far that there is nothing remarkable in what
the visitor is allowed to see. After reading the glowing accounts
regarding Mexican manufacture and their marvellous objects of art,
it was natural that I should be anxious to see the jewels, stuffs,
manuscripts, and above all the paintings made with birds’ feathers,
representing domestic scenes, and the portraits of Aztec monarchs, but
I saw nothing in the two large rooms devoted to Mexican antiquities.
I was told that the Museum was not in working order, that nothing was
classified, that more space was being prepared in which the precious
objects now shut up in numerous cases would be laid out for the benefit
of the public. It may be so. For the present, we have to content
ourselves with a collection of obsidian, marble, and porphyry heads; a
number of large yokes, beautifully carved, besides several pieces of
jade, rock-crystal, and bars of gold. As for the long rows of so-called
“ancient vases,” there is not one that is not imitation. This I know to
my cost, for with a credulity which subsequent events hardly justified,
I no sooner was told that these vases were of great antiquity, than I
immediately ordered three hundred to be cast from them, which I caused
to be placed in the Trocadéro during the Paris Exhibition; but on an
expert in such matters seeing them, he at once detected and exposed the
fraud, and in my disappointment it was not much comfort to reflect,
that with half the money expended on these comparatively worthless
objects, I might have bought, close to Mexico, a whole collection
of vases of undoubted antiquity. It is a curious circumstance, that
Mexicans, even the best informed among them, as well as foreigners,
should so often be victimised by vulgar forgers of antiquities, who
trade on the passions of the collector and the gullibility of the
public; and that such things cannot be done in Europe without immediate
detection, can only arise from the superior knowledge of our savants,
and the greater facility afforded them of observing, classifying, and
comparing the productions of all the civilised nations of the world,
in the numerous collections with which our museums, both public and
private, abound. In my own case, after my excavations, I never could
have been so grossly imposed upon by pottery modern in shape, over
which ancient bas-reliefs had been incongruously reproduced, forming
a monstrous medley of things old and new, without any originality
whatever. Their history is this: the manufacture was carried out on a
large scale at Tlatiloco, a Mexican suburb, between 1820 and 1828, and
the author must have realised an enormous fortune, if we are to judge
from the quantity which he sent broadcast into the world—most museums,
nearly all private collections are infested with them, whilst a great
number are even now bought by the unwary. The thing was done in this
way. Vases of every shape were chosen, without much thought or care,
relying on the ignorance and the stupidity of the public; every form
was used, whether a common water-jug, a flat or round vase, a rude or
shapely jar, and by means of ancient moulds found in vast quantities in
the whole area of the valley, heads, images, tiny figures, whistles,
geometrical designs, palm-leaves, etc., were inlaid on the object,
which had a simple, double, or treble twisted handle according to its
size; it was a tripod with a gaping mouth, or topped with arabesque,
when the occasion served. Variety was its distinctive merit; and when
completed this fine work of art was buried some twelve months or more
to impress upon it the hand of time, and thus prepared was launched on
its course.

[Illustration: COURT IN THE MEXICO MUSEUM.]

I trust that these few observations will serve as a warning to people,
and save them from experience as costly as my own. Having now relieved
my conscience, we will go back to the Museum and look at what I
consider the finest portion, namely the court, planted with beautiful
palm-trees, shrubs, and flowers, amongst which may be seen the most
interesting specimens of the whole collection. First and foremost
is a statue of a man lying on his back, holding a cup with both hands
and pressing it against his body. It was found at Chichen-Itza, in
Yucatan, by Leplongeon, an American explorer, who was obliged to
part with it in favour of the Mexican Government, in virtue of the
law which declares all antiquities to be national property. Next to
this in interest come two other statues, like it in all respects: one
discovered at Tlascala, the other marked “unknown.” This similarity of
objects of art found among the populations of the plateaux and those of
the Yucatan peninsula seems to point to identity of worship among those
tribes. Sanchez, the director of the Museum, believes this statue to be
Tetzcatzoncatl, god of wine; but Perez and Dr. Hamy are of opinion that
it represents Tlaloc, god of rain, in which view I coincide. However
that may be, we will speak of it at greater length when we come to
Chichen-Itza, where it was unearthed. On the second plan, to the left,
stands the Tlascalan Tlaloc, and behind it Quetzalcoatl, “the feathered
serpent,” tutelar deity of the Toltecs, and worshipped by all American
tribes; he came to have many names, and was represented under various
forms, according to his multifarious attributes. He was the Zoroaster
of Anahuac; “under him the earth produced fruits and flowers of its own
accord. An ear of Indian corn was as much as a man could carry. The air
was filled with perfumes and the sweet melody of birds,” etc.

[Illustration: TEOYAOMIQUI, GOD OF DEATH AND WAR.]

[Illustration: THE STONE OF THE SUN, OR OF TIZOC, MEXICO MUSEUM.]

At the extremity of the court, to the left, we find a block of
serpentine with a magnificent head beautifully sculptured, marked in
the catalogue as “the rising moon,” but which Bustamente thinks to be
Temascaltoci, the goddess who presided over ablutions, and Chavero, one
of the many forms under which Quetzalcoatl was represented. In the same
line with these stands a huge block, having a hideous figure of Death,
Teoyaomiqui (a goddess), besides a vast number of divinities, ranging
over the whole Indian Olympus, collected under the gallery at the
furthest extremity of the court, most of which are frightful, and would
give a poor idea of Aztec talent, did we not know that they are all
specimens of hieratic art, and as such were not permitted to vary in
shape or design. And now we come to _Tizoc’s_ stone, or _Temalacatl_,
the sun’s stone, one of the most interesting in the collection, and
connected with a bloody episode which is reported by most historians.
It would have been broken up for paving the square, like many other
monuments of this kind found on the same spot and about the same time,
had not Canon Gamboa arrested the work of destruction, and caused the
stone to be placed in the north-west side of the churchyard, where
it was left undisturbed until 1824, when it was transferred to the
University for a short time, and finally placed in the middle of the
court of the New Museum. This monument is a block of trachyte, oblong
in shape, measuring over eight feet in diameter, thirty-one feet in
circumference, and some two feet six inches in depth. The surface is
ornamented with two figures, portrayed in fifteen different attitudes,
recalling the victories of the Emperor Tizoc. Two women are seen among
the vanquished, from which it would appear that the Salic Law was
not in force among the Indians. In every one of these groups Tizoc is
represented holding by the hair the vanquished, who, in a supplicating
posture, seems to ask for mercy. Over each figure may be seen a
hieroglyph, expressive of the conquered city represented by her chief.
The surface of the stone is occupied by an image of the sun, having in
the centre a hole some six inches deep, which is connected with a tube
terminating on the upper circumference. This hole is supposed to have
been made by the Spaniards in their attempt to split the stone, which
was so fortunately stopped by Canon Gamboa, but not before they had
mutilated every face of the different groups. This supposition seems
borne out by the fact that it was not likely the original makers would
have bored a hole right through the bassi-relievi, and thus deface
their own work.

The _Temalacatl_, or “gladiatorial stone,” as it was called by the
Spaniards, must not be confused with the _Techcatl_, or “stone of
sacrifice.” The former was always to be found in the courts of the
Temple, placed over a basement varying in bulk according to the size of
the stone, from which the captive, particularly if he happened to be a
man of distinction, was allowed to fight against a number of enemies in
succession; but, besides the inequality of numbers, he was furnished
only with a wooden sword ornamented with feathers along the blade,
whereas his adversaries had weapons of obsidian, “as sharp as steel.”
If he succeeded in defeating them all, as did occasionally happen, he
was allowed to escape, but if vanquished he was dragged to the stone,
the upper surface of which was somewhat convex to receive the victim;
on this the prisoner was stretched, five priests securing his head and
his limbs, while a sixth, clad in a scarlet mantle, dexterously opened
the breast of the victim with a sharp knife, and inserting his hand
in the wound, tore out the heart, and holding it up first towards the
sun—a god common to all—cast it at the face or the feet of the divinity
to whom the temple was dedicated, whilst the multitudes knelt in
humble adoration at the foot of the stone or pyramid ready to receive
the body, which was hurled down by the priests, and which the people
divided among themselves, to have it served up in an entertainment in
honour of the particular god they were celebrating.

[Illustration: THE TEMALACATL, OR GLADIATORIAL STONE, FROM RAMIREZ MS.]

The sacrifice ceremonial, whether from the summit of the Temple or from
the gladiatorial stone, was exactly the same, save that the latter,
standing but a few feet from the ground, allowed the whole city to
witness the ghastly details of the sight. These stones were perfectly
plain or beautifully sculptured, like the one under notice, according
to the teocalli it was destined for, or the degree and importance of
the donor. The temalacatl or stone of Montezuma I., which up to the
present time has not been found, is supposed to lie buried under the
“Plaza de las Armas” in Mexico. Besides these, there was a smaller
circular stone, the _Cuauhxicalli_, “eagle’s cup,” so called from
the hearts of the victims being thrown into the hole situated in the
centre, and which now, by a curious contrast, is used as a drinking
trough by pigeons and small birds.[12]

The last Montezuma would have also erected a Temalacatl, for which a
huge block of stone was transported from Aculco, beyond Lake Chalco,
but in crossing a bridge which traversed one of the canals, the
supports gave way, and the gigantic mass was precipitated into the
water, where it still lies.

A military point of honour, as understood among the western nations of
Europe, was so deeply rooted in the Indian warriors that they would
suffer death rather than be guilty of any act that could lower them
in the estimation of their fellow-citizens. With the Mexicans and
Tlaxcaltecs, a soldier, if unfortunate enough to be made a prisoner,
was reserved for sacrifice, especially if he happened to be of superior
rank; to be ransomed was deemed unworthy and a disgrace. A few years
before the arrival of the Spaniards, the Uexotzincas, the Tlaxcaltecs
and the Mexicans were at war with each other. In one of the frequent
skirmishes between the rival nations, it happened that a Tlaxcaltec
chief, by name Tlahuicole, was captured. His fame as a warrior had
spread far and wide; his prowess was so well known that few cared
to measure their strength with his, or feel the weight of his huge
tomahawk, which a man of common stature could hardly lift. But one
day, in the heat of pursuit, he got far ahead of all his companions,
when he was waylaid in a morass, immediately surrounded, placed in a
cage, and conveyed to Mexico amidst the rejoicings of the enemy. He
was brought to the Emperor Moteuhçoma, who, on hearing his name, not
only spared his life but offered him his liberty, and treated him with
marked distinction. But Tlahuicole refused everything, and besought
the Emperor to devote him to the gods according to custom. Seeing that
he could not be prevailed upon to accept any offer, however brilliant,
Moteuhçoma gave orders that he should be tied on the gladiatorial
stone and that some of his best soldiers should fight him, whilst he
himself, with a numerous retinue, witnessed the scene. Tlahuicole
killed successively eight men, and wounded upwards of twenty; but he
succumbed at last, and was carried off to be offered to the war-god
Huitzilopochtli.[13]

But to return: this temalacatl clearly belongs to Tizoc, for his
portrait is seen on the edge of the stone, whilst a speckled leg (he
is supposed to have had varices) is sculptured above his image. The
monument, however, like the great temple, may have been completed by
his successor Ahuitzotl between 1484-1486.

Human sacrifices were made even more revolting by cannibalism, which
from the Aztecs spread among all the surrounding nations, and were
adopted by the populations with which they were at war by way of
reprisals. The more humane chiefs, such as Netzahualcoyotl, king of
Texcuco, tried to oppose this barbarous custom; but they were obliged
to yield before the ignorance of the people and the fanaticism of
the priests, who seeing that the supply of prisoners of war began to
fail, clamoured for more, and urged on the monarchs the necessity of
sacrificing their own subjects, on the ground that they would be more
easily obtained; that they would be fresher, more acceptable, and
in the same condition as children and slaves. In the year 1454, the
country was visited by a horrible famine, and the priests declared
that the celestial wrath could only be appeased by regular and numerous
sacrifices; to obtain which a treaty was entered into by the three
allied kings of Mexico, Texcuco, and Tlacopan with the three republics
of Tlascala, Huezotzinco, and Cholula, by which they agreed that their
troops should engage to fight on the first days of each month, on the
territory between Cuantepec and Ocelotepec, and thus supply themselves
with human victims. The men engaged in these encounters received
the terrible name of “enemies of the house,” whilst these monthly
affrays are known in history as the “Holy War.” It was not on the
circular Temalacatl that victims were sacrificed, but on the dreadful
_Techcatl_, “stone of sacrifice,” which was 6 ft. 6 in. long by 3 ft. 3
in. wide, and about 3 ft. high, so as to enable the officiating priests
to have a thorough command over their victim. At the dedication of the
great temple of Huitzilopochtli in 1486, the prisoners who for some
years had been reserved for this solemn occasion, were drawn up and
ranged in files, forming a procession along the narrow causeways two
miles long, when the number sacrificed is almost beyond belief, and
is variously estimated at 80,000 and 200,000. The massacre lasted four
days, and was begun by the kings of Mexico, Texcuco, Tacuba, and the
Minister Tlacael, until they were relieved by the priests. However, the
number of victims immolated has no doubt been much exaggerated.[14]

It is difficult to reconcile these revolting usages with a people
that had made great advance in civilisation. American writers have
tried to palliate the abominable practices of their ancestors, on the
ground that they shared them in common with every other nation in
the early stage of their history. In their eyes the Aztecs, if not
commendable, were at least pardonable, and Orozco y Berra says that
“human sacrifices originate from an error of the mind rather than from
evil disposition; that it is the result of an exaggerated religious
feeling, and not a real desire to do evil. That this institution,
if philosophically considered, is not deserving of the intempestive
lamentations of a few sentimental moralists.”[15] “The horror I feel,”
he adds, “for the revolting abuse of human sacrifice, yields to what I
feel for utter impiety; I will go further, and say that I prefer human
sacrifice to atheism, as I prefer the ignorant negro who bows before
his fetish, to a free-thinker.” Obviously Orozco is animated with the
same spirit as his ancestors. An Aztec of the olden time would have
adduced better reasons, for he held that to be sacrificed on the altar
of his god was even more glorious than to die in battle, since it
ensured him a speedy passage into paradise; and as the enemy was never
slain if there were a chance of taking him alive, the number of those
who disappeared was a fixed quantity. The same argument is urged in
favour of cannibalism, but it is at least doubtful if it ever existed
as an institution among other civilised nations. Men, however cruel,
do not feed on one another, unless obliged by an absolute necessity;
and cannibalism, which no doubt existed with all primitive populations,
only continued among those who were deprived of sufficient space
where they could hunt and feed their flocks, and who were reduced to
a scanty supply of roots and herbs for their subsistence. This was
observed among the Caraïbs at the time of the Conquest; in the islands
of the Pacific, in Australia, where the soil is so poor, that although
cannibalism prevails, the increase of population has to be kept down,
and the recent introduction of pigs in the islands has diminished but
not eradicated this ancient practice, which has never flourished with
races provided with bears, reindeer, horses, and herds. This usage,
which at first was a necessity, became a sacred tradition with the
Aztecs, with whom religion was all-powerful; it directed the State,
presided over the minutest details of domestic life, and as the
influence of the priests was unbounded, peasants and princes had to bow
their necks to their tyranny. They cannot be called cannibals, however,
in the coarsest sense of the word, for they did not feed on human flesh
to gratify their appetite, but as a duty, and in obedience to their
religion; and during the long and terrible siege of Mexico not a single
case of cannibalism is recorded against them by ancient authorities.
Whence did they derive this religious practice? Not from the nations
of the ancient continent with whom they have so much in common, for
at that time cannibalism was no longer practised among the nomadic
tribes of Eastern Asia; nor from Japan or China, where the people had
always lived on the produce of the soil; it is probable that they
received it from the Caraïbs of the Antilles and the Polynesian races
of the Pacific, who made them forget the mild teachings and higher
civilisation of the Toltecs.

[Illustration: WRONG SACRIFICIAL COLLAR.]

[Illustration: RIGHT SACRIFICIAL COLLAR.]

We give the drawings of two yokes: No. 1 is the yoke which up to the
present time has been universally accepted as that used for securing
the victim during the sacrifice, of which several specimens are to be
seen in Mexican museums and in our own Trocadéro, but which, owing
to the cylindrical shape of the arch, measuring some sixteen inches
in height by about seven in width, we maintain could never have been
used for the purpose assigned to it; whereas No. 2, which we claim to
have unearthed, answers in our opinion exactly to the requirements of
a yoke for such a purpose. It is almost the width of the Techcatl,
and is concave on its lower surface, which makes it a perfect fit
for a convex stone; it has, moreover, a round hollow in the centre,
sufficiently large to steady a man’s neck, so that the priest had only
to apply this yoke to prevent any movement, when, to use Father Duran’s
expression, he let fall his sharp silex knife and the victim opened
“like a pomegranate.”[16]

Notwithstanding the assertion of most historians respecting the work
of the Aborigines, it is difficult to account how with the tools they
were acquainted with they could cut not only the hardest substances,
but also build the numerous structures which are still seen in Mexico
and Central America, together with the sculptures, bas-reliefs,
statues, and inscriptions like those we reproduce. These monuments
were innumerable, of all dimensions, and according to Leon y Gama,[17]
there was no town or settlement which did not possess on the stones of
its walls, on the rocks of its mountains, the year of its foundation,
its origin, and the history of its progress engraved in symbols and
characters which could only be read by the Indians themselves. It
is all the more inexplicable that they should have only used stone
implements, that copper was abundant, and that they knew how to temper
and make it nearly as hard as steel. The method employed by stone
sculptors, however, has in all probability been lost.

Clavigero[18] says that stone was worked with tools of hard stone; that
copper hatchets were used by carpenters, and also to cultivate the soil
and to fell trees; and Mendieta writes that both carpenters and joiners
used copper tools, but that their work was not so beautiful as that of
the sculptors on stone who had silex implements.[19]

Some historians have proved to their own satisfaction that copper
was unknown to the Indians; but had they taken the trouble to read,
however slightly, any authority on the subject, they would have paused
before they advanced a theory which is entirely at variance with all
writers, both ancient and modern. It is an ascertained fact that very
rich copper-mines have been worked since the Conquest;[20] and in 1873,
whilst sinking a shaft in a copper-mine at Aguila, in the State of
Guerrero, the miner lost suddenly the vein; and on examining the cause
of the accident an excavation was found 4 ft. 4 in. long, 4 ft. 9 in.
deep, and over 3 ft. wide, in which was a rich copper vein from 2 to 4
in. in thickness. The engineer, Felipe Lorainzar, could see no sign of
iron or powder having been used, but the walls showed marks of fire;
and both the copper ore and the rock in which it was embedded, were
shattered and split in various places. In the rubbish were found 142
stones of different dimensions, shaped like hammers and wedges, the
edges of which were blunt or broken; these stones were of a different
substance from the surrounding rock, clearly indicating that the mine
had originally been worked by the natives.[21]

Copper was likewise found in Chili, Columbia, Chihuahua, and in New
Mexico. Before the Conquest, the Indians procured lead and tin from
the mines of Tasco, but copper was the metal used in mechanic arts.
Hatchets, arms, and scissors were made of copper found in the mountains
of Zocatollan. The letters of Cortez tell us that among the taxes
paid by the conquered people, figured copper hatchets and lingots of
the same metal, which were paid every eighty days. Bernal Diaz[22]
says that in his second expedition with Grijalva, the inhabitants of
Goatzacoalco brought them upwards of six hundred copper hatchets in
three days, having wood handles exquisitely painted, and so polished
that “we thought at first they were gold.” Copper was also found in
Venezuela, where, at the present day, jewels of copper, or mixed
with gold, crocodiles, lizards, and frogs are found. We procured
some and placed them in the Trocadéro, having the same dimensions as
those in Central America. Those we found on our first visit to Mitla,
are thin, shaped like a _tau_, and hardly 4 in. long. Dupaix found
similar hatchets at Mitla, and he thinks they were used as currency, a
supposition all the more probable, that an Indian from Zochoxocotlan,
near Oaxaca, found an earthen pot containing twenty-three dozen of
these taus, but differing slightly from each other both in size and
thickness. We read in Torquemada,[23] that copper tablets, varying
in thickness and shaped like a tau, were used as currency in various
regions, and that they contained a large proportion of gold.

Gumesindo Mendoza mentions copper scissors in the Mexican Museum which
were found to contain 97·87 lead, 100 copper, 213 platinum, 100 tin,
and infinitesimal quantities of gold and zinc. On removing the oxide
which covered them the bronze looked like red gold, its density being
equal to 8.815; it is harder than copper and breaks under strong
pressure, the broken part showing a fine granulation, like steel; but
its hardness is less than carburetted iron and insufficient for the use
it was intended for.

Humboldt says that Peruvian scissors contained 94 lead, 100 copper,
6 platinum, 100 tin, and that their specific weight was 8·815; other
scissors analysed by Ramirez yielded 90 lead, 100 copper, 10 platinum,
and 100 tin. It seems almost impossible that the Indians should not
have used these admirable bronze scissors to build palaces, sculpture
their idols and the images of their kings, which are still visible on
the porphyry rocks of Chapultepec; and if it is denied that they were
able to carve such hard substances, they must be credited with having
easily worked the calcareous stones of Chiapas and Yucatan.

The American tribes had reached the transition epoch between the
polished stone and the bronze period, which was marked by considerable
progress in architecture and some branches of science. With them this
period lasted longer than in the old world, owing to their never having
come in contact with nations of a higher civilisation and possessed of
better tools. Their only scientific data in the past were traditions
which, if we believe their apologists, were carefully preserved and
developed; but they have nearly all been lost, and great uncertainty
must for ever rest upon the degree of their scientific progress; for it
is equally impossible to accept either the wild theories of the good
Abbé Brasseur, who sees in the Troano and Chilmalpoca codices, a whole
system of geology dating ten thousand years back, as it is impossible
to accept the childish dreams of Leplongeon, who credits the Mayas
with every discovery down to the electric telegraph; nor yet those
who maintain that without astronomical instruments (since they were
unacquainted with glass) the Aztecs had discovered the composition of
the sun and the transit of Venus. It seems as futile to make the Nahuas
the inventors of everything as to rank them with mere savages. The
religion of a people is a sure index of the degree of its culture; we
know that the moral code and religion of the Toltecs showed wonderful
growth towards all the essentials of a high civilisation, for religion
in its early stage is but a gross fetishism, of which the head of the
family is the priest, who performs before his household god the simple
ceremonies he learnt from his forefathers. But as the tribe rises
in importance his duties become more complicated, and he is willing
to lay down his priestly office in favour of a poet or prophet, who,
whilst the warriors are engaged in warfare and other avocations,
shall pray for the welfare of the tribe and expound the wishes of the
deity, receiving for his services part of the booty or the produce of
the chase, and later, have his share of the land under cultivation.
He soon adopts a dress so as to be distinguished from the warriors
and the people; and as the number of priests increases, offerings are
multiplied; a more imposing ceremonial replaces the simple worship of
former days, temples and chapels are built, the image of the god is
placed in the sanctuary, and only approached by the high priest, who
becomes the sole interpreter between god and man. The former is now
given numerous personalities, according to his various attributes, and
the simple fetish of an early epoch develops in process of time into
a mighty host, frequently numbering upwards of three thousand deities
like the Aztec Olympus, for whose service a numerous priesthood and
great wealth are required, implying a high degree of civilisation.

That there should be great uncertainty upon questions resting chiefly
on vague traditions is natural enough, but that the same should be the
case with matters that admitted of easy proof seems unaccountable; as,
for instance, the name of Montezuma, in whose intimacy the Spaniards
lived several months; yet of the twenty-three chroniclers who wrote
about him, two call him Motecuhzoma, three Montezuma, and the remaining
eighteen spell his name in as many different ways.

And here we will take leave of the Aztecs, whose history has been so
admirably written by Prescott. My object in writing about them was to
give some idea, however slight, of this people, in order to prepare
the reader to follow me in my investigations respecting the far more
ancient civilisation of the Toltecs—a civilisation which from them
passed to the Aztecs, the Nahua tribes, and the people of Central
America; the remains of which are still to be seen, whilst its stones
will compose, together with chroniclers and historians, the foundation
of our work.

[Illustration: HUMAN SACRIFICES.]

[Illustration: ANCIENT INDIAN POTTERY.]

CHAPTER IV.

TULA.

Journey to Tula—The Toltecs—Ancient
Historians—Origins—Peregrinations—Foundation of Tula—Toltec
Religion—Chief Divinities—Art—Industry—Measurement of Time—The
Word _Calli_—Architecture.

The journey to Tula, capital of the Toltecs, our next destination, is
performed partly by railway and partly by diligence over a distance of
some sixteen leagues north of Mexico. The valley in this month (August)
is at its best; immense plantations of Indian corn give it the aspect
of a green sea, whilst a grand range of mountains and lofty summits
bound it at the horizon. We go through the Tejan district, stopping a
few minutes at Tacuba, where the old cypress of the “Melancholy night”
is again pointed out to us. Our next station is Atzacapotzalco, once
an independent state; then Tlanepantla. The country, as far as the
eye can reach, presents nothing but the same plantations, the same
hamlets, the same poor squalid huts, whilst here and there a few
Indians in tatters, and swarms of naked children, gaze at us stupidly
as we speed along. Now we come to a fortress-like church, formerly
used as a stronghold by the Pronunciados; we notice for the first time
some stunted poplars, some rare willow-trees, and by-and-by hedges
of prickly pear, and now that we are in the diligence, the country
somewhat changes; instead of long stretches of green maize, we have
immense plantations of aloe, which to my mind, whether viewed from
afar or near, are never a picturesque feature in the landscape. It is
a wonder how we advance at all, for the wheels of our carriage almost
disappear in the ruts of the worst road I ever travelled upon; I am
confident that nothing has been done to it since the day it was opened.
We cross a muddy river, when, with cracking of whip and galloping
horses, we enter a village shaded by great ash-trees, and draw up
before a respectable-looking inn, where we take up our quarters, for we
are in Tula, once the brilliant capital of the Toltecs, but now reduced
to a small straggling town numbering some 1,500 souls.

The Toltecs, as was stated before, were one of the Nahuan tribes,
which from the seventh to the fourteenth century spread over Mexico
and Central America. Their existence has been denied by various modern
historians, although all American writers agree that the numerous bands
which followed them in the country received their civilisation from
them. It must be admitted, however, that our knowledge rests chiefly
on traditionary legends full of anachronisms, transmitted to us by the
nations that came after them; but it will be our care to fill up the
enormous discrepancies to be met with at almost every page, by the
monuments it has been our good fortune to bring to light. Two writers,
Ixtlilxochitl and Mariano Veytia, have written about this people: the
first in his “Historia Chichemeca” and “Relaciones,” the second in
his “Historia Antigua de Mejico;” the latter being more explicit, it
is from him that we will chiefly borrow, without neglecting, however,
other chroniclers. Both made use of the same documents, drew from the
same sources, the traditionary legends of their country; and Veytia,
besides his own, had access to Botturini’s valuable collection of
Mexican manuscripts, so that he was well acquainted with American
antiquities. Ixtlilxochitl, on the other hand, as might be expected,
in writing the history of his ancestors, whose language he understood
and whose hieroglyphs he could decipher, is inspired by patriotic zeal;
and it will be found that these historians have just claims to our
admiration for the compass of their inquiries, and the sagacity with
which they conducted them.

[Illustration: EXTRACTING PULQUE.]

A third writer, Ramirez, by far the most illustrious of those who have
treated the same subject, speaking of the two historians who preceded
him, says: “I am not claiming infallibility for our historians, yet
it must surely be conceded that, if no credence is given to our own,
the same measure must be meted out to all the traditions of other
countries, for neither Diodorus, Josephus, Livy, Tacitus, nor other
historians, are able to bring the array of documents with which our
history abounds in support of their assertions. I have purposely
omitted Herodotus, the most curious and instructive among ancient
historians, because modern discoveries and modern criticism have
cleared him from the unjust attacks of Plutarch. A history is true and
highly instructive, although it may contain absurd propositions, if it
faithfully transmits the traditions, the belief, and the customs of a
people; as it may be absolutely false, although relating facts which
seem natural and probable, but are only the invention of the author.
Mexican history and biography, like those of other nations, are founded
on tradition and historical documents; than which none are better
authenticated or more trustworthy.”

We think Ramirez proves his case, and, in writing these chapters, we
will not be more critical than he is.[24]

Veytia,[25] like all historians of that time, places the primitive
home of the Toltecs in Asia, to make his account agree with Genesis,
where it is said that after the destruction of the Babylonian Tower,
“The Lord scattered the sons of men upon the face of all the earth.”
According to him, they crossed Tartary and entered America through
the Behring Straits, by means of large flat canoes, and square rafts
made of wood and reeds; the former are described, and called _acalli_,
“water houses,” in their manuscripts. Directing their course southward,
they built their first capital, _Tlapallan_, “coloured,” subsequently
_Huehue-Tlapallan_, to distinguish it from a later _Tlapallan_.
Huehue-Tlapallan was the cradle whence originated the various tribes
which peopled America. Each tribe was called after the father or chief
of the family, who was also its ruler; hence came the _Olmecs_, from
Olmecatl; the _Xicalancas_, from Xicalantl, etc.; it is uncertain
whether the _Chichemecs_ derived their appellation from Cichen, the
man, or Chichen, the town in Yucatan.[26]

The Toltecs, by the common consent of historians, were the most
cultured of all the Nahua tribes, and better acquainted with the mode
of perpetuating the traditions of their origin and antiquities. To them
is due the invention of hieroglyphs and characters, which, arranged
after a certain method, reproduced their history on skins of animals,
on aloe and palm-leaves, or by knots of different colours, which they
called _nepohualtzitzin_, “historical events,” and also by simple
allegorical songs. This manner of writing history by maps, songs, and
knots, was handed down from father to son, and thus has come to us.[27]

Tlacatzin was the next city they built; and here, after thirteen
years of warfare, they separated from the main body of the nation
and migrated some seventy miles to the south, where in 604 they
founded Tlapallanco, “small Tlapallan,” in remembrance of their first
capital. But the arrival of fresh immigrants caused them to remove
further south, and, under the command of their wise man, _Hueman_,[28]
“the Strong Hand,” who is endowed with _power_, _wisdom_, and
_intelligence_, the Toltecs set out in 607, and marked their progress
by building Jalisco, where they remained eight years; then Atenco,
where they were five years; and twenty years at Iztachuexuca. In after
times other Nahuan tribes followed them by different routes, as the
ruins in New Mexico and the Mexican Valley everywhere attest.

Las Casas Grandes, the settlements in the Sierra Madre, the ruins
of Zape, of Quemada, recalling the monuments at Mitla, others in
Queretaro, together with certain features in the building of temples
and altars, which remind one of the Mexican manuscripts from which the
Toltec, Aztec, and Yucatec temple was built, make it clear that the
civilising races came from the north-west; and Guillemin Tarayre,[29]
like ourselves, sees in the _calli_ the embryo of the _teocalli_, which
developed into the vast proportions of the pyramidal mounds found at
Teotihuacan, Cholula, in Huasteca, Misteca, Tabasco, and Yucatan.

The next city built by the Toltecs was Tollatzinco, where they
remained sixteen years; and finally settled at Tollan or Tula, which
became their capital. The date of its foundation is variously given;
Ixtlilxochitl sets it down at 556, Clavigero 667, and Veytia assigns
713 A.D. as the probable date. In our estimation, this divergence of
opinion confirms rather than invalidates the existence of this people.

When the Aztecs reached Anahuac, Atzacapotzalco, Colhuacan, and
Texcuco were small flourishing states. They had inherited from the
Toltecs many useful arts, their code of morals, philosophy and
religion, which in their turn they taught the Aztecs, so that the
institutions and customs of these different tribes were common to all;
and in default of documents which have been lost, we ascribe nearly all
the historians of the Conquest relate of the Aztecs, whom they found
the dominant race, as applicable to the Toltecs, the fountain of all
progress both on the plateaux and in Central America, where we shall
follow them. As for the Aztecs, who settled for the first time on the
Mexican lake at the beginning of the fourteenth century, they were at
that period nothing but a rude, barbarous tribe, and to the last day of
their political existence they remained a military caste.

Among the ruins to be found at Tula are those of an unfinished temple
called _Quetzali_, consisting of pillars in the shape of serpents, the
heads of which form the basement and the tails the capital.

Some writers, amongst whom is Botturini, think the Toltecs were
preceded by the Olmecs and Xicalancas on the territories of Tlaxcala,
Huexcotzinco, and Puebla, when, after years of inter-tribal conflict,
they settled in the Yucatan peninsula. But we have found in several
Indian writers, that at the coronation of _Chalchiuhtlanetzin_, “bright
stone,” King of the Toltecs, the Olmecs and Xicalancas came to swear
allegiance and submit to his authority; and there is nothing to make
one suppose that they were compelled to leave the country, for they
seem to have amalgamated so well with the new-comers that their very
name was merged in theirs, although they retain the memory of their
origin even to this day. “_There can be no doubt_,” says Veytia,
“_that some of these people_ (Toltecs) _established themselves in
Yucatan_”[30]—a remarkable passage, which we find confirmed at every
step. According to the same authority, they built Tula in six years,
when, to avoid the personal jealousy of the Caciques, they petitioned
for the second son of King Huehue-Tlapallan, whom they proclaimed their
ruler under the name of _Chalchiuhtlanetzin_.

[Illustration: TOLTEC POTTERY.]

All the Toltecs did was excellent, graceful, and delicate; exquisite
remains of their buildings covered with ornamentation, together with
pottery, toys, jewels, and many other objects are found throughout New
Spain, for, says Sahagun,[31] “they had spread everywhere.” Both Veytia
and Ixtlilxochitl[32] ascribe a common origin to the Nahua, Toltec,
Acolhuan, and Mexican tribes. “The Toltecs were good architects and
skilled in mechanic arts; they built great cities like Tula, the ruins
of which are still visible; whilst at Totonac they erected palaces of
cut stone, ornamented with designs and human figures, recalling their
chequered history.” “At Cuernavaca” (probably Xochicalco), he adds,
“were palaces entirely built of cut stone, without mortar, beams,
girders, or wood of any kind.” Torquemada speaks of the Toltecs in
the same terms, observing that “they were supposed to have come from
the west, and to have brought with them maize, cotton, seeds, and the
vegetables to be found in this country; that they were cunning artists
in working gold, precious stones, and other curiosities.”[33] On the
other hand, Clavigero thinks “they were the first nation mentioned
in American traditions, and justly celebrated among the Nahuas, for
their culture and mechanic skill; and that the name _Toltec_ came to
be synonymous for architect and artificer.”[34] Quotations might be
multiplied _ad infinitum_, but the foregoing will suffice to prove the
existence of this people and their peculiar genius.

[Illustration: TLALOC, FROM A PIECE OF POTTERY.]

Their law of succession was somewhat curious: each king was to rule
one of their centuries of fifty-two years; if he lived beyond it he
was required to give up the crown to his son, and, in case of death,
a joint regency took the reins of government for the remaining years.
Their sacred book, _teomoxtli_, contained both their annals and their
moral code. It is conjectured, with what evidence is uncertain, that
they worshipped an “unknown god,” perhaps the origin of the “unknown
god” to whom the King of Texcuco raised an altar. Their principal
deities, however, were _Tonacatecuhtli_, the “Sun” and the “Moon,”
to whom temples were first erected; to these they added _Tlaloc_,
god of rain, and _Quetzalcoatl_, god of air and wisdom.[35] Tlaloc,
according to Torquemada, was the oldest deity known, for when the
Acolhuans, who followed the Chichemecs, arrived in the country, he
was found on the highest summit of the Texcucan mountain.[36] His
paradise, called _Tlalocan_, was a place of delight, an Eden full of
flowers and verdure; whilst the surrounding hills were called “Tlaloc
mounts.”[37] He was emphatically the god of many places, of many
names, and numerous personifications; as Popocatepetl he presided over
the formation of clouds and rain, he was the “world-fertiliser,” the
“source of favourable weather,” sometimes represented dark in colour,
his face running with water to signify a rich yielding soil; he carried
a thunderbolt in his right hand, a sign of thunder and lightning;
whilst his left held a tuft of variegated feathers, emblem of the
different hues of our globe; his tunic was blue hemmed with gold, like
the heavens after rain. His wife, _Chalchiuhtlicue_, goddess of waters,
was represented wearing a blue petticoat, the colour of the mountain
Iztaccihuatl when seen at a distance, which was sacred to her.

Most historians mention Quetzalcoatl, at first a generic name, whom
posterity endowed with every virtue and deified.[38] His great temple
was at Tula, but he was also worshipped in Yucatan under the name of
_Cukulcan_,[39] having the same meaning with Quetzalcoatl. He had
travelled thither with a branch of the Toltecs, which, advancing
from west to east, had taken Tabasco on their way, and occupied the
peninsula earlier than a second branch, which entered the country by
a southern route, under the command of their chief _Tutulxiu_, and
became the rival and enemy of the first, whose reigning family were
the _Cocomes_, “auditors.” The worship of Quetzalcoatl extended on
the plateaux and in the peninsula, where the chiefs claimed to be
descended from him. The symbol by which he is best known is “feathered
serpent;” but he was severally called _Huemac_,[40] the “Strong Hand,”
the “white-bearded man,” his mantle studded with crosses, or dressed
in a tiger’s skin; “god of air,” when he was the companion of Tlaloc,
whose path he swept, causing a strong wind to prevail before the rainy
season; and also a youthful, beardless man, etc. The various attributes
of Quetzalcoatl and Tlaloc developed according to the people, the
country, and epoch. Such transformations have been observed among all
nations: in India the great Agni was at first but the spark produced by
rubbing two pieces of wood together, which became cloud, dawn, the sun,
the flash, Indra, etc. With the Greeks, Apollo was the god of light,
poetry, music, medicine, etc. The Christian religion presents the same
phenomenon; for we have the Ancient of Days, the Dove, the Lamb, the
Vine. Thus Tlaloc, god of rain, is sometimes seen on ancient vases, his
eyes circled with paper, his face running with water; or as an embryo
cross, a perfect cross; and again in the form of a man lying on his
back, supporting a vase to collect rain. The latter representation is
found in Mexico, Tlaxcala, and Yucatan. Several writers[41] mention
that crosses were found throughout Mexico, Yucatan, and Tabasco, being
another and later personification of Tlaloc. They have all been lost;
but we reproduce those found by us, presenting various distinct forms.
The _cultus_ of the cross is of great antiquity and almost universal,
for we find it in Greece, in India, on pottery of the Bronze Period
(the suastica); whilst among the Slaves it was, as in America, the god
of storm and rain.

[Illustration: TOLTEC CROSSES.

No. 1, Serpent’s Cross. No. 2, Cross seen on Quetzalcoatl’s Tunic
and on the Palaces at Mitla. No. 3, Mayapan Cross. No. 4, Cross of
Teotihuacan. Nos. 5 and 7, Crosses in the Temples of Palenque. No.
6, Cross met with in the Temples of Lorillard City.]

The same may almost be said of the serpent.[42] It was reverenced in
Egypt, in America, and is found at the beginning of Genesis; whilst
in the north-west of India, the _Nagas_ were serpent worshippers,
whose great ancestor _Naga_ was supposed to have been present at the
Creation as Genius of the Ocean. He was the god of wisdom, the titular
deity of mankind; and we find him at Bœroe-Bœdor, in Java, beautifully
sculptured on a bas-relief, where Buddha is seen crossing the seas
on a lotus-wreath, whilst close to him two immense serpents (Nagas)
are raising their heads towards him in token of reverence. He is also
worshipped in Cambodia, and his image is reproduced on the magnificent
monuments of Angcor-Tom.

[Illustration: QUETZALCOATL, UNDER HIS BEST-KNOWN ATTRIBUTES.]

The festival which was celebrated in honour of Quetzalcoatl during the
_teoxihuitl_, “sacred year,” was preceded by a severe fasting of eighty
days, during which the priests devoted to his service were subjected
to horrible penances. He reigned successively at Izamal, in Yucatan,
Chichen-Itza, and Mayapan, under the name of _Cukulcan_. To this god
were ascribed the rites of confession and penance.

[Illustration: COTTON SPINNING.]

The religion of the Toltecs was mild, like their disposition; no human
blood ever stained their altars, their offerings consisting of fruits,
flowers, and birds; nevertheless, their laws, which were the same for
all classes, were stringent and severe. Polygamy was forbidden, and
kings themselves were not allowed concubines, whilst their priests were
deserving of the respect which was shown them from prince and peasant
alike. They had sculptors, mosaists, painters, and smelters of gold and
silver; and by means of moulds knew how to give metals every variety
of shape; their jewellers and lapidaries could imitate all manner of
animals, plants, flowers, birds, etc. Cotton was spun by the women, and
given a brilliant colouring both from animal and mineral substances;
it was manufactured of every degree of fineness, so that some looked
like muslin, some like cloth, and some like velvet. They had also the
art of interweaving with these the delicate hair of animals and birds’
feathers, which made a cloth of great beauty. Ixtlilxochitl[43] is
afraid to pursue the panegyric of this people, lest it should appear
exaggerated. Their calendar was adopted by all the tribes of Anahuac
and Central America; it divided the year into eighteen months of twenty
days each, adding five intercalary days to make up the full number of
three hundred and sixty-five days; these belonged to no month, and were
regarded as unlucky. Both months and days were expressed by peculiar
signs; and as the year has nearly six hours in excess of three hundred
and sixty-five days, they provided for this by intercalating six days
at the end of four years, which formed leap year. _Tlapilli_, “knots,”
were cycles of thirteen years; four of these cycles was a century,
which they called _xiuhmolpilli_, “binding up of knots,” represented by
a quantity of reeds bound together. Besides the “bundle” of fifty-two
years, the Toltecs had a larger cycle of one hundred and four years,
called “a great age,” but not much used. The whole system rested
on the repetition of the signs denoting the years, enabling one by
means of dots to determine accurately to what cycle or what century
each year belonged. And as these signs stood differently in each
cycle, confusion was impossible; for the century being indicated by a
number showing its place in the cycle, the dots would make it easy to
determine to what age any given year belonged, according to its place
at knot first, second, third, or fourth. Thus for instance, the year
_tecpatl_ “flint,” _calli_ “house,” _tochtli_ “rabbit,” and _acatl_
“reed,” beginning the great cycle, would have one, five, nine, thirteen
dots in the first series; four, eight, twelve, in the second; three,
seven, fourteen, in the third; and two, six, ten, in the fourth series,
which would come first in the new cycle, and the latter having its
appropriate sign would enable one to see at once that “Flint” 12 was
the twelfth year in the second series of the first cycle or century;
that “Flint” 2 was the second year in the fourth series of the first
cycle, etc. Example:

TLAPILLI.

FIRST SERIES. SECOND SERIES.

1. Flint 6. House 10. House 1. House
. ... ..... .
... .....

2. House 7. Rabbit 11. Rabbit 2. Rabbit
.. . . . . . . . . . . ..
. . . . . . . .

3. Rabbit 8. Reed 12. Reed 3. Reed
... .... ...... ...
.... ......

4. Reed 9. Flint 13. Flint 4. Flint, etc.
.. . . . . . . . . . . . . ....
.. . . . . . . . . . .

5. Flint.
.....

It will be seen later that the hieroglyph _calli_ is the outline of the
Toltec palace and temple, the foundation of his architecture, which
never varies, and which we shall find in all monuments, whether we
travel north or south, on the plateaux or in the lowlands; so that
had everything else been destroyed, we might nevertheless pronounce
with safety that all the monuments in North America were of Toltec
origin. The genius of a nation, like that of an individual, has
generally one dominant note, traceable through the various expressions
of her art. India has _topes_ and _pagodas_, Egypt _sphinxes_ and
hypostyle chambers, Greece three orders of columns. North America has
only a plain wall ending with two projecting cornices having an upright
or slanting frieze, more or less ornamented but of no appreciable
difference.

A description of the ceremonies which took place at the end of
every great cycle, will find here a natural place, and enable us to
understand subsequent events.

[Illustration: CALLI, IN PROFILE.]

The Aztecs celebrated their great festival of the new fire at the end
of each century of fifty-two years, called by Sahagun _toxiuilpilli_,
and by others _xiuhmolpilli_. As the end of the century drew near they
were filled with apprehension, for if the fire failed to be rekindled,
a universal dissolution was expected to follow. In their despair
at such a contingency they threw away their idols, destroyed their
furniture and domestic utensils, and suffered all fires to go out. A
lofty mountain near Iztapalapan, some two leagues from Mexico, was
the place chosen for kindling the new fire, which was effected by the
friction of two sticks placed on the breast of the victim. The fire was
soon communicated to a funeral pile, on which the body of the victim
was placed and consumed. This ceremony always took place at midnight,
and as the light mounted up towards heaven shouts of joy burst forth
from the multitudes who covered the hills, the house-tops, and terraces
of the temples, their eyes directed towards the mountain of sacrifice.
Couriers, with torches lighted at the blazing fire, rapidly bore them
to the inhabitants of the surrounding districts, whilst every part of
the city was lighted with bonfires. The following days were given up to
festivity, the houses were cleansed and whitewashed, the broken vessels
were replaced by new ones, and the people dressed in their gayest
apparel. If we except human sacrifice, this must have been a Toltec
ceremony.[44]

[Illustration: CAPITAL, FOUND AT TULA.]

[Illustration: THE PYRAMID OF THE SUN, TULA.]

CHAPTER V.

TULA. PYRAMID OF THE SUN. ANTIQUITIES OF TULA.

Tula extended over a plain intersected by a muddy river winding round
the foot of Mount Coatepetl, which commanded the city. The modern town
occupies but a small proportion of the area of the ancient capital, and
the few antiquities that adorn the plaza were found in clearing the
river of some of its mud or whilst ploughing the adjacent fields.

[Illustration: TOLTEC CARYATID, TULA.]

[Illustration: PARTS OF A COLUMN, TULA.]

[Illustration: TENNIS-RING, TULA.]

First in order are three fragments of caryatides: one, a gigantic
statue which we reproduce, is about 7 ft. high; the head and upper
part of the body below the hips are wanting, the legs are 1 ft. 3 in.
in diameter, and the feet 4 ft. long. The two embroidered bits below
the waist were no doubt the ends of the royal _maxtli_, the exact copy
of which we shall see later on bas-reliefs in Chiapas, Palenque, and
Lorillard City. The greaves, of leather bands, are passed between the
toes and fastened on the instep and above it by large knots, recalling
the Roman _cacles_. This statue is of black basalt, like all the other
fragments; and although exceedingly rude and archaic in character, is
not wanting in beauty in some of its details. Next comes a column in
two pieces, lying on the ground, having a round tenon which fitted
closely into the mortise and ensured solidity; it is the only specimen
we have found where such care had been bestowed. The carving on the
outward portion of the column consists of feathers or palms, whilst
the reverse is covered with scales of serpents arranged in parallel
sections. This fragment answers Sahagun’s description about the
columns of a temple dedicated to Quetzalcoatl, already mentioned,
where rattle-snakes formed the ornamentation. It is also interesting
from the fact that we shall see a similar column at Chichen-Itza in a
temple of the same god. Here also among other fragments I noticed a
Greek column with a Doric capital, but on which I dare not pronounce
definitely, although there is nothing else in the place denoting
Spanish influence. All we can say is that it shows the marvellous
building instinct of the Toltecs, and that we found some remains of a
like description in the Yucatan peninsula. By far the most interesting
object seen here, on account of the study and the archæological issues
it entails, is a large carved stone ring about 6 ft. 5 in. in diameter,
having a hole in the centre some 10 in. in circumference, evidently
a tennis-ring. Tennis, _tlacheo_, _tlachtli_, was first known in
Anahuac and transmitted to the Chichemecs, Acolhuans, and Aztecs by
the Toltecs, who carried it with them to Tabasco, Yucatan, Uxmal, and
Chichen; and in the latter place we found a perfect tennis-court with
one ring still in place.

We must turn to Torquemada[45] for full particulars respecting this
national game, which was played in buildings of so typical a character
as to be easily recognised. It consists of two thick parallel walls 32
ft. high, at a distance of 98 ft. from each other, having a ring fixed
in the walls 22 ft. high, as seen in our cut; whilst at each extremity
of the court stood a small temple in which preliminary ceremonies
were performed before opening the game. It was played with a large
india-rubber ball; the rules required the player to receive it behind,
not to let it touch the ground, and to wear a tight-fitting leather
suit to make the ball rebound. But the greatest feat was to send the
ball through the ring, when a scramble, a rush, and much confusion
followed, the winner having the right to plunder the spectators of
their valuables. Sending the ball through the ring required so much
dexterity, that he who succeeded was credited with a bad conscience
or supposed to be doomed to an early death. Tennis seems to have
been in such high repute with the Indians that it was not confined
to individuals, but also played between one city and another, and
accompanied, says Veytia, by much betting, when they staked everything
they possessed, even their liberty. But this writer errs in ascribing
the game to the Aztecs in honour of their god Huitzilopochtli, as we
shall show.

[Illustration: WARRIOR’S PROFILE, FOUND AT TULA.]

Among other objects which we found at Tula is a large curiously-carved
shell of mother-of-pearl; the carving recalls Tizoc’s stone, and
notably the bas-reliefs at Palenque and Ocosinco in Chiapas; also two
bas-reliefs, one in a rock outside the town, the other, by far the
most valuable, in the wall of a private house, but very old and much
injured, representing a full-face figure and another in profile; their
nose, beard, and dress are similar to those described by Veytia[46]
in the following passage: “The Toltecs were above middle height, and
owing to this they could be distinguished in later times from the other
aborigines. Their complexion was clear, their hair thicker than the
nations who followed them, although less so than the Spaniards. This is
still observable among the few who remain claiming Toltec descent.”

These remains are priceless in every respect because of their analogy
and intimate connection with all those we shall subsequently discover,
forming the first links in the chain of evidence respecting our theory
of the unity of American civilisation, which it is our object to prove
in the course of this work.

On beholding these caryatides, the question naturally arises as to what
monument they were intended for; and in turning to Veytia,[47] we read
that under the Emperor Mitl (979-1035) the Toltecs reached the zenith
of their power; that their empire extended over one thousand miles,
bordering on the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans; and that the population
was so dense as to cause the soil to be cultivated on the highest
mountains, whilst an influential priesthood performed the sacred rites
within innumerable sanctuaries. The great cities of the high plateaux
were Teotihuacan and Cholula, as later Palenque, Izamal, and Cozumel
were those of the warm region. This emperor, jealous of the flourishing
state and religious superiority of Teotihuacan, “the habitation of the
gods,” wished to set up a new and rival deity for the veneration of his
people; to this end he chose the songstress of the marsh, the “Frog,”
whom he presented as the goddess of waters. And that the new deity
should be ushered in with due pomp and solemnity, he had a magnificent
temple built in her honour, and her gold statue placed within the
temple, covered with emeralds, the size of a palm, and cunningly worked
so as to imitate nature. Up to that time, temples had been large
mounds erected on the summits of mountains, like that of Tlaloc, or
on artificial pyramids like that of Teotihuacan, where the idols were
exposed to the elements; that of the Frog was the first which was
built with stones and given a _rectangular shape_, having a _kind of
solid vault_ (boveda), also of stone, _which by a skilful arrangement
covered the whole edifice_.[48] Here, then, we have a very plain
description of the Indian vault, the Yucatec vault, a vault we have
observed in the north and the whole extent of our Toltec journey; seen
by Guillemin Tarayre in the tombs at Las Casas Grandes, mentioned by
Ixtlilxochitl as the distinguishing feature in the monuments of Toluca
and Cuernavaca, and by Humboldt at Cholula in the following passage:
“On visiting the interior of the pyramid, I recognised a mortuary
chamber, having the bricks of the ceiling so arranged as to diminish
the pression of the roof. As the aborigines were unacquainted with the
vault, they provided for it by placing horizontally and in gradual
succession very large bricks, the upper slightly overlapping the
lower, and in this way replaced the Gothic vault.”[49] This remarkable
writer further says, that “Yucatan and Guatemala are countries where
the people had come from Atylan and reached a certain degree of
civilisation.”[50] Far greater would have been his appreciation, had
his investigations been directed to the Toltecs and Central America,
where the overlapping vault was introduced by them in all public
edifices, temples, and palaces. With the testimony of these writers, we
may consider the vault question definitely settled.

[Illustration: TOLTEC BAS-RELIEFS.]

The town, or rather the plaza, with its diminutive garden, planted
with a few consumptive shrubs and flowers, with its porticoes giving
access to the Town Hall, the Law Courts, the Church and shops, only
gets animated on Sundays and market-days, when the population of the
surrounding districts pours in for the purpose of buying or selling.
Except meat, all articles are sold on the ground, spread on plantain
leaves or clean cloths; where vendors dispose themselves in long rows
about the plaza, offering their goods, crockery, and fruit. Customers
stand about in groups, surveying the animated scene, enjoying a little
gossip, or trying to drive a hard bargain; whilst Indian matrons ply
from one vendor to another in almost silent dignity, accompanied
by their daughters, who look at this and handle that, sometimes
with the intention of buying, often to exchange a few words with
the merchant or an acquaintance. Some look quite pretty, with their
glorious eyes, their long hair reaching below the waist in two long
plaits, with glass or stone beads around their necks; their scanty
costume leaving uncovered their shapely arms, necks, and ankles. On
looking at them, I seem to myself to be carried back a thousand years
amidst that grand old race whose ruins I am here to study. Further on,
under a monumental ash-tree, primitive kitchens have been set up, round
which a dense throng of customers, settled on the ground, are enjoying
their _tortillas_, or when they are well-to-do, their portion of black
beans, _frijoles_, pork or turkey, in _jicaras_, the whole highly
seasoned with Chili pepper; the best dinner not costing more than
threepence.

[Illustration: YOUNG GIRLS OF TULA.]

Every human type seems to have congregated here, from the Egyptian
sharp outline of features to the flat-nosed, flat-faced Kalmuk. Most
women are bare to the waist; but as this seems a matter of course, no
one notices it.

The area of ancient Tula has now been under cultivation for three
hundred years—hardly a desirable condition for the explorer. We know
that the city stood here; but its only vestiges are to be found on the
hill overlooking the town to the north. It was called _Palpan_ in the
time of the Toltecs; but now it is known as _Cerro del Tesoro_, because
a poor shepherd-boy, some twenty years since, whilst scratching the
moist ground, discovered a vase with five hundred gold ounces in it;
but not knowing the value of his newly-found treasure, he parted with
it for a few coppers. We are going to try our luck on the same hill;
and better advised than the poor shepherd, we shall not give up our
discoveries in favour of any one.

[Illustration: RUINS OF A TOLTEC HOUSE.]

CHAPTER VI.

PALPAN AND THE TOLTECS.

The plateau on the Palpan hill, of which we give a ground plan, was
occupied by a royal park, and maybe those of a few notables. Its
direction is south-west, north-west, about a mile in length and
half-a-mile in breadth, growing to a point towards the south-west,
and fenced on two sides by a natural wall of perpendicular rocks
overhanging the river. The plateau is covered with mounds, pyramids,
and esplanades, showing that here were the royal villas, temples,
and public edifices, but no trace of building, wall, or ruin, is
visible, for the whole area is shrouded with immense cactuses, nopals,
gorambullos, gum-trees, and mesquites, amongst which towers the
_biznaga_, a cactus which grows here to nearly 10 ft. high by 6 ft.
wide. I was shown a plant of this kind near Pachuca, in which an Indian
couple have established themselves.

The summits of pyramids, called _mogotes_ by the natives, were always
occupied by temples and palaces; the largest here, No. 4 and No. 5
in our cut, must have served as basements for the temples of the
Sun and Moon. Unfortunately they have been opened and ransacked by
treasure-seekers, and half-demolished by brick-layers, who found here
materials ready to hand for their constructions.

[Illustration: GROUND PLAN OF FIRST TOLTEC HOUSE UNEARTHED AT TULA
(FROM LEMAIRE).

A, Cisterns. B, Various Apartments. C, Kitchen. D, Seats. E, Entrance.]

I began my excavations by sounding the small mound No. 1 to the
north-east, where the side of a wall was visible; and I found
everywhere the ground connecting houses, palaces, and gardens, thickly
coated with cement: but in the inner rooms the flooring was of red
cement. The rubbish was cleared away, and in a few days a complete
house was unearthed, consisting of several apartments of various
size, nearly all on different levels; having frescoed walls, columns,
pilasters, benches, and cisterns, recalling a Roman _impluvium_,
whilst flights of steps and narrow passages connected the various
apartments. We had brought to light a Toltec house!

[Illustration: PLAN OF THE HILL AT TULA (ANCIENT PALPAN).

No. 1, Excavations of Toltec House. No. 2, Tomb Excavated. No.
3, Palace Excavations. Nos. 4 and 5, Pyramids of Sun and Moon.
No. 6, Esplanades and Mounds, Sites of Ancient Dwellings. No. 7,
Tlachtli, Tennis-Court. No. 8, Tula River.]

I picked out of the rubbish many curious things: huge baked bricks,
from one foot to nine inches by two and two and a half in thickness;
filters, straight and curved water-pipes, vases and fragments of vases,
enamelled terra-cotta cups, bringing to mind those at Tenenepanco;
seals, one of which (an eagle’s head) I had engraved for my personal
use; bits which were curiously like old Japanese china; moulds, one
having a head with a huge plait and hair smoothed on both sides of her
face, like an old maid; besides innumerable arrow-heads and knives of
obsidian strewing the ground. In fact, a whole civilisation.

This house, the first it was our fortune to discover, was built on a
somewhat modified natural elevation; the various apartments follow the
direction of the ground and are ranged on different levels, numbering
from zero elevation for the lowest to 8 ft. for the highest. The walls
are perpendicular, the roofs flat; and a thick coating of cement,
the same everywhere, was used, whether for roofs, ceilings, floors,
pavements, or roads.

[Illustration: GROUND PLAN OF TOLTEC PALACE UNEARTHED AT TULA (LEMAIRE).

No. 1, Principal Court. No. 2, Façade. No. 3, Entrance. No. 4,
Reception Apartment. No. 5, Ruined Wall. No. 6, Enclosures for
Animals. No. 7, Right Wing of the Palace. No. 8, Left Wing.]

On examining the monuments at Tula, we are filled with admiration for
the marvellous building capacity of the people who erected them; for,
unlike most primitive nations, they used every material at once. They
coated their inner walls with mud and mortar, faced their outer walls
with baked bricks and cut stone, had wooden roofs, and brick and stone
staircases. They were acquainted with pilasters (we found them in
their houses), with caryatides, with square and round columns; indeed,
they seem to have been familiar with every architectural device. That
they were painters and decorators we have ample indications in the
house we unearthed, where the walls are covered with rosettes, palms,
red, white, and gray geometrical figures on a black ground.

My next soundings were towards the centre of the hill, at a mound
marked No. 2, which I took at first for a tomb; but finding nothing,
I directed my men south-east, at the extremity of the hill, No. 3.
Here we attacked a pyramid of considerable size, thickly covered with
vegetation, having a hole and a thick plaster coating, which, to my
extreme delight, revealed an old palace, extending over an area of
nearly 62 ft. on one side, with an inner courtyard, a garden, and
numerous apartments on different levels, ranged from the ground-floor
to 8 ft. high, exactly like the first house; the whole covering a
surface of 2,500 square yards. We will give a description of it,
together with the probable use of the various apartments. No. 1 (see
plan) is the inner courtyard, which we take as our level; No. 3 to the
right, paved with large pebbles, is the main entrance. Facing this to
the left, No. 7 is a small room about 4 ft. high, which was entered
by a flight of seven low steps; it is a Belvedere, from which a view
of the whole valley could be obtained. Next comes No. 4, perhaps a
reception-room, 32 ft. long, having two openings towards the court. On
the other side, to the north, is a smaller, narrower Belvedere, from
which an ante-room, on a slightly lower level, furnished with benches,
was reached. The main body of the palace consists of ten apartments of
different size, with stuccoed walls and floors. The façade, No. 2, 8
ft. high, opens on the courtyard; whilst two winding stone staircases
to the right, and an equal number to the left, led to the apartments on
the first storey. Brick steps, covered with a deep layer of cement,
connected the various chambers. The cells on both sides of the main
apartments may have been the servants’ quarters. No. 6, are a kind of
yards, without any trace of roof, and if we are to judge from Aztec
dwellings, they were probably enclosures for domestic and wild animals.
The Americans, says Clavigero,[51] had no flocks; nevertheless their
table was well supplied by innumerable animals to be found about
their dwellings, and unknown to Europe; whilst the poor people had an
edible dog, _techichi_, the breed of which was lost by the abuse the
Spaniards made of it in the early times of the Conquest. Royal palaces
had extensive spaces reserved for turkeys, ducks, and every species of
volatile, a menagerie for wild animals, chambers for reptiles and birds
of prey, and tanks for fish; so that the purpose we ascribe to these
enclosures becomes highly probable. Here and there closed-up passages,
walls rebuilt with materials other than those employed in the older
construction, seem to indicate that the palace was occupied at two
different periods; this would agree with Veytia[52] when he says, “that
on the Chichemecs invading the country under the command of _Xolotl_,
they found Tula (_cir._ 1117) deserted, and grass growing in the
streets; but that the King was so pleased with the site that he ordered
the monuments to be repaired and the town inhabited. He followed the
same policy at Teotihuacan and other places, ordering his people to
preserve old names, and only authorising them to give new appellations
to those they should build themselves.”[53]

[Illustration: VIEW OF RUINED TOLTEC PALACE.]

The building we unearthed is entire, its outer wall intact; presenting
a valuable specimen of the houses dating long before the Conquest.
Here we found the same kind of objects as in our first excavations:
plates, dishes, three-footed cups having striated bottoms and used
for grinding Chili pepper; fragments of pottery, enamels, terra-cotta
whorls of different size covered with sunk designs having a hole in the
centre. These whorls are called “_malacates_” by the natives, and used
by Indian women to this day. A round piece of wood or spindle-stick is
introduced in the hole of the whorl, projecting about five inches from
the lower plane, and about nine inches from the upper. The spinner,
who is sitting, rests the point of her spindle on a varnished plate,
and impels it round with her thumb and forefinger, twisting the cotton
or wool attached thereto.[54] In Mexico, rich ladies used a golden
plate.[55]

The edifice No. 7 is undoubtedly a tennis-court, for it answers
exactly the description given by historians of such structures;
moreover, I found one of the rings still in place. Veytia is wrong,
therefore, in crediting the Mexicans with the invention of the game;
were it so we should not have found a tennis-court at Chichen-Itza.
Mendieta[56] relates how Tezacatlipoca came down from his celestial
abode on a spider’s ladder, and how in his long peregrinations on earth
he visited Tula, brought thither by his jealousy of Quetzalcoatl, whom
he challenged to play tennis; but the latter turning into a tiger
discomfited him utterly. The spectators were so terrified that they
fled, and in the tumult which ensued many were drowned _in the river
flowing close by_.

This tradition shows plainly that tennis existed in the remote
period of Quetzalcoatl’s rule at Tula; that the game was of Toltec
origin, that the court was on the hill, since the spectators in their
precipitancy to run away were drowned, that Quetzalcoatl was a good
tennis-player, and that the expression, “he was turned into a tiger,”
is merely honorific, applied to him on the spot for having sent his
ball through the ring. This passage also explains the tiger frieze over
the tennis-court at Chichen-Itza.

The Toltecs had public granaries which were opened to the people in
time of famine. A passage in Cuauhtitlan seems to indicate that the
resistance they opposed to a grasping and bloodthirsty priesthood, was
one of the chief causes of their downfall.[57] “Under the mild rule of
Quetzalcoatl, demons tried in vain to persuade him to allow _men born
at Tula to be sacrificed_. As for himself, his offerings were birds,
serpents, and butterflies he had captured in the valley.”

The Toltecs were peaceful, their organisation was feudal and
aristocratic, indicative of conquest, yet their government was
paternal. Besides the great feudatory lords, they had military orders
and titles, which were bestowed on distinguished soldiers for services
in the field or the council, and finally the celebrated order of the
_Tecuhtlis_, which was divided in sub-orders of the “tiger,” the
“lion,” the “eagle,” and other animals, each having its peculiar
privileges. The initiatory ceremonies resembled somewhat those
attending our knights of the Middle Ages, and may interest the reader.

At the nomination of a candidate, all the tecuhtlis assembled in the
house of the new knight, whence they set out in a body for the temple,
where the high priest, at the request of the neophyte, perforated
his nose and ears with a pointed tiger’s bone, or an eagle’s claw,
inserting in the holes thus made twigs, which were changed every day
for larger ones, until the healing of the wound; pronouncing the
while invocations to the gods that they would give the novice the
courage of the lion, the swiftness of the deer, etc.; followed by a
speech in which he was reminded that he who aspires to the dignity of
a tecuhtli, must be ready to perform the duties of his new office.
He was henceforth to be distinguished by greater meekness, patience,
forbearance, and moderation in all things, together with submission
to the laws. After this speech, he was deprived of his rich garments,
and dressed in a coarse tunic; the only articles of furniture allowed
him were a common mat and a low stool. He was besmeared with a black
preparation, and only broke his fast once in twenty-four hours with
a tortilla and a small quantity of water. Meanwhile the priests and
tecuhtlis came in turns to feast before the novice, and make his fast
more intolerable, heaping insults and injurious epithets upon the
man who stood meekly before them; jostling and pointing their fingers
jeeringly at him. At night he was only allowed to sleep a few minutes
at a time; and if overcome by sleep, his guardians pricked him with the
thorn of the maguey.

“At the expiration of sixty days the new knight, accompanied by friends
and relatives, repaired to some temple of his own district, where he
was received by the whole order of tecuhtlis, ranged in two rows on
each side of the temple, from the main altar down to the entrance.
He advanced alone, bowing right and left to each tecuhtli, until he
reached the idol, where the mean garments he had worn so long were
taken off by the oldest tecuhtli, his hair bound up in a knot on the
top of his head with a red string; whilst a wreath, having a medallion
with his motto graven on it, circled his brow. He was next clad in rich
and fine apparel, ornamented and delicately embroidered; in his hands
he received arrows and a bow; balls of gold were inserted in his ears
and nostrils, and a precious stone, the distinctive badge of his order,
hung from his lower lip. The ceremony ended with another discourse to
the effect that the neophyte should aim at being liberal, just, free
from arrogance, and willing to devote his life to the service of his
country and his gods.”[58]

The Toltecs paid great attention to the instruction of youth. Texcuco
possessed schools of art, in which the broad principles laid down by
their forefathers were doubtless remembered, differing from those of
the Aztecs, whose exaggerated religiosity caused them to leave the
education of children entirely in the hands of the priests. That the
latter were less influential with the Toltecs seems indicated in the
following passage: “Among the various sumptuous edifices at Utatlan
was the college, having a staff of seventy teachers, and five or six
thousand pupils, who were educated at the public expense.”[59] The
truth of this account is borne out by the fact that the city was only
destroyed in 1524 by Alvarado, so that the early missionaries had ample
opportunity given them to collect materials for a trustworthy history.

[Illustration: FEMALE DANCERS AND TECUHTLIS, FROM RAMIREZ MS. AND
FATHER DURAN.

No. 1, Knight of the Kite. No. 2, Knight of the Tiger. No. 3,
Teponaztli. No. 4, Huehuetl. No. 5, Knight of the Eagle.]

Marriage among the Toltecs was celebrated with ceremonies it may
interest the reader to know something about. On this occasion friends
and relations were invited, the walls of the best apartment were
adorned with pretty devices, made with flowers and evergreens, whilst
every table and bracket was covered with them. The bridegroom occupied
a seat to the right, the bride sat on the floor to the left of the
hearth, which stood in the middle of the room, where a bright fire
was burning. Then the “marriage-maker,” as he was called, stood up
and addressed the young people, reminding them of their mutual duties
in the life they were about to enter, and, at the termination of his
speech, they were given new cloaks, and received the good wishes and
congratulations of their friends, who as they came up threw each in
turn some perfume on the hearth. Now the bride and bridegroom were
crowned with chaplets of flowers, and the day was wound up with dance,
music, and refreshments. There was also a religious ceremony similar
to this in all respects, in which a priest officiated; when instead
of cloaks they put on costly dresses with a skeleton head embroidered
on them, and thus attired, the new married couple were accompanied to
their home and left to themselves.[60]

In order to have a complete idea of this extraordinary people, a few
words upon their philosophy and ethics may find an appropriate place
here. A Toltec maiden, about to enter into life, was admonished with
great tenderness by her father to preserve simplicity in her manners
and conversation, to have great neatness in attire and attention
to personal cleanliness. He inculcated modesty, faithfulness, and
obedience to her husband, reminding her that this world is a place of
sorrow and disappointment, but that God had given as a compensation
domestic joys and material enjoyments; softening his advice by such
endearing words as: “daughter mine, my beloved daughter, my precious,”
etc. Nor was the advice of a mother less touching—breathing throughout
a parent’s love: “My beloved daughter, my little dove, you have heard
the words which your father has told you. They are precious words,
such as are rarely spoken, and which have proceeded from his heart.
Speak calmly and deliberately; do not raise your voice very high, nor
speak very low, but in a moderate tone. Neither mince, when you speak,
nor when you salute, nor speak through your nose; but let your words
be proper, and your voice gentle. In walking, see that you behave
becomingly, neither going with haste, nor too slowly; yet, when it is
necessary to go with haste, do so. When you are obliged to jump over a
pool of water, do it with decency. Walk through the streets quietly;
do not look hither and thither, nor turn your head to look at this and
that; walk neither looking at the skies no

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