The Native Races [of the Pacific states], Volume 5, Primitive History

Nezahualpilli is said to have inherited all the good qualities of his father. Like Nezahualcoyotl he was a patron of the arts and sciences, but is reported to have given his chief attention to astrology, passing many nights in reading the stars from a lofty observatory erected for the purpose in the grounds of his palace. Sorcerers and magicians were always welcome at his court, whither they were often summoned both to advise the monarch on affairs of state and to impart to him a knowledge of their arts. Like his father he was famed for his inflexibility in the administration of justice and his kindness toward the poor and unfortunate. A small window in one part of his palace overlooked the market-place, and at this window the king was wont to sit frequently, watching the actions of the crowd below, noting cases of injustice for future punishment, and of distress and poverty that they might be relieved. How he condemned to death a judge for deciding unjustly against a poor man and in favor of a noble, and how he had his favorite son Huexotzincatzin executed for having publicly addressed his concubine, the lady of Tollan, has been related in a preceding volume.[721 - Vol. ii., pp. 446-50.] Many other anecdotes are told to illustrate the king's love of what he deemed justice. One of his sons began the construction of a palace somewhere in the Tezcucan domains without having either consulted his father or complied with the law requiring some brilliant deed in battle before a prince was entitled to a palace of his own. The guilty son was put to death. Members of the royal family seem to have had the greatest faith in the king's judgment and to have accepted his decisions without complaint. There was great rivalry between his two brothers Acapipioltzin and Xochiquetzal respecting the credit of a certain victory in the province of Cuextlan. Each had a band of partisans who were accustomed on public occasions to celebrate the deeds of their favorite by songs and dances. So far did the rivalry proceed that a resort to arms was imminent, when Nezahualpilli appeared on the scene on the occasion of some festivity and joining the dance on the side of his oldest brother Acapipioltzin, decided the dispute in his favor without complaint on the part of the younger brother. The condemnation of two men, a musician and a soldier, for adultery, was on one occasion brought to the king for his approval. He ordered the musician to be executed, but the soldier to be sent for life to do duty in the frontier garrisons, declaring that such thereafter should be a soldier's punishment for the fault in question. Nezahualpilli could also on occasion be most indulgent towards his children; for instance, his son Ixtlilxochitl early displayed an extraordinary fondness for having his own way. At the age of three years he expressed his emphatic disapproval of his nurse's views and conduct by pushing that lady into a deep well, and then amused himself by throwing stones upon her. When seven years old he raised a company of boy soldiers and skirmished about the city much to the terror of peaceful citizens. Hearing that two members of the royal council had advised his father to kill so unmanageable a child, he proceeded one night with a selected detachment of his juvenile veterans to the house of the counselors and assassinated them both. Nezahualpilli seems to have looked with much leniency upon these youthful irregularities of his son, who at fourteen distinguished himself in battle and at seventeen was a captain. We shall hear of him again in the last years of Aztec history. The king on another occasion demanded from a brother a very excellent teponaztli in his possession and his daughter for a royal concubine; on his refusal the teponaztli was taken by force, and his disobedient brother's house was razed as the property of a rebel. Two sons were strangled for having appropriated captives actually taken by their soldiers; a daughter for having spoken to the son of a lord; and two concubines for drinking pulque. A judge was hung for hearing a case in his own house instead of in the appointed hall of justice; and another for unduly prolonging a trial was condemned to have the front door of his residence walled up. This king is accredited with having abrogated the law which condemned the children of slaves to the condition of their parents, and with many other reforms calculated to ameliorate the condition of his people. The possession of supernatural powers was popularly attributed to him, and often in infancy he astonished his nurses by appearing before them in the form of a bird or beast.[722 - For these and other anecdotes of Nezahualpilli, see: —Ixtlilxochitl, pp. 267, 273-7; Duran, MS., tom. ii., cap. 1.; Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 180-90; Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., pp. 385-92; Granados y Galvez, Tardes Amer., pp. 48-9.]

In the years 1498 and 1499 it is recorded that Ahuitzotl attacked Atlixco without warning, and was defeated by the Huexotzincas who, under a famous general Tultecatl sent re-inforcements to aid the armies of Atlixco; and also that, by aiding Cholula in a quarrel with Tepeaca, the same king greatly increased his power on the eastern plateau. The following year Tultecatl, before whose valor the Aztecs had been forced to retreat, was driven from his own country in consequence of certain religious dissensions, and applied at one of the Mexican towns for protection. He was put to death, however, with all his companions, by Ahuitzotl's order, and the dead bodies were forwarded to Huexotzinco to show the rebellious inhabitants of that city with what relentless zeal the Aztec ruler pursued his foes.[723 - Clavigero, tom. i., pp. 259-60; Torquemada, tom. i., p. 191; Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., pp. 375-7; Veytia, tom. iii., pp. 296-9; Vetancvrt, Teatro, pt ii., p. 38.]

INUNDATION OF MEXICO

Ahuitzotl, finding the water supplied by the Chapultepec aqueduct insufficient for the use of the city, and moreover desirous of accomplishing during his reign some great work of practical utility, determined to conduct to his capital the waters of a spring called Acuecuexatl, near Huitzilopochco, in the province of Coyuhuacan. Tzotzomatzin, the lord of the province, was unwilling that the spring should be thus used, but his opposition was effectually overcome by strangling him. Many tales are told by different writers about his opposition to the scheme, and his death. Some say that he wished the water for the supply of his own cities; others, that he told Ahuitzotl the spring was liable at any time to overflow and flood the city, and was killed by the latter in a fit of passion at his persistence in that opinion; and still others represent him as a great magician, who frightened away the Mexican king's ambassadors who were sent to negotiate with him in the matter, by appearing before them in the form of a ferocious beast, or serpent. Tezozomoc says he put the cord round his own neck to save his people from the wrath of the Aztecs; and Duran, that he did not die, but simply left Coyuhuacan at this time. Difficulties being thus removed, the aqueduct was constructed of stone and mortar, in a very short time, owing to the number of workmen employed, and its completion was celebrated with the proper ceremonies and sacrifices. But soon – some say in the midst of the ceremonies – so great was the volume of water introduced, that the city was inundated by the rising of the lake, and immense damage resulted to public and private buildings. It is, of course, impossible that the waters of any spring in Anáhuac could have caused this effect; indeed, Torquemada says the catastrophe was preceded by heavy rains for a year, and Ortega also tells us that the rains came down in torrents at the completion of the aqueduct; it is, therefore, altogether probable that the flood was not caused by the waters of the canal, but was simply attributed to that cause from superstitious motives, perhaps resulting from the predictions of Tzotzomatzin, and his death. So rapid was the rise of the waters, that king Ahuitzotl, who was in the lower part of his palace, had great difficulty in escaping, and in his haste struck his head against a door-post, receiving a wound which, a few years later, proved fatal. The engineering skill of Nezahualpilli, with the laboring force of the whole empire, was at once called into requisition to stop the flood and repair damages. The old dike that had before saved the city was strengthened and raised; the city was repaired and paved with tetzontli, or porous amygdaloid, the use of which is said to date from this period; but to stop the waters of the unruly spring human efforts were unavailing, and the aid of the gods was invoked with magic rites. First the priests, whose bodies were painted blue in honor of the Tlalocs, stood round the fountain and uttered prayers, burned incense, and scattered perfumes; then the divers plunged into the waters, each with a young child whose heart was torn out, and whose blood stained the waters; and finally the priests entered the water, and, as some say, Nezahualpilli with them. Half an hour after their emergence the waters became so quiet that the laborers were able to wall up the spring and stop the overflow. Other cities about the lake had suffered as much, or even more, than Mexico, particularly Cuitlahuac, which is said to have been uninhabitable for two years. Much damage was also done to the crops in the valley, and the next year was one almost of famine. The flood occurred in 1500, and at least two years passed before Anáhuac had recovered from its effects.[724 - Respecting this flood, see: Ixtlilxochitl, pp. 272-3; Tezozomoc, in Kingsborough, vol. ix., pp. 137-41; Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 192-3, 293; Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., pp. 377-82; Duran, MS., tom. i., cap. xlviii. – ix.; Veytia, tom. iii., pp. 299-302; Clavigero, tom. i., pp. 260-2; Sahagun, tom. ii., lib. viii., p. 269; Vetancvrt, Teatro, pt ii., pp. 38-9; Acosta, Hist. de las Ynd., pp. 500-1; Bustamante, Mañanas, tom. ii., pp. 208-9; vol. ii., p. 566 of this work.]

ACCESSION OF MONTEZUMA II

Campaigns against Cuextlan, Tlacuilollan, and Xaltepec, are vaguely reported during the last two years of Ahuitzotl's life, and may be distinct from any of the wars that have been mentioned, but no details are given, save that from Tlacuilollan twelve hundred captives were brought back to Mexico.[725 - Torquemada, tom. i., p. 193; Clavigero, tom. i., p. 262. In the Codex Mendoza, in Kingsborough, vol. v., p. 48, is given a list of forty-five towns conquered by Ahuitzotl.] The king died in 1503,[726 - Clavigero and Vetancvrt make the date 1502. Ixtlilxochitl in one place, p. 457, says 1505.] as is generally supposed from the effects of the blow mentioned above; although Tezozomoc attributes his death to chagrin and remorse at the misfortune of the flood, and Duran hints that he was poisoned. His likeness is said to have been sculptured with those of his predecessors on the cliff at Chapultepec. Ahuitzotl's leading passion was his love of war, so strong as to amount almost to a hatred of peace. He was also passionately fond of music, of display, and of women. He was cruel, vindictive, and superstitious; and the quality of generosity attributed to him was probably closely connected with his reputed love of display and flattery. Immediately after his death Montezuma II., son of Axayacatl, was called to the throne; although, according to Ixtlilxochitl, his elder brother Macuilmalinatzin was the first choice of the electors, but was rejected by the advice of Nezahualpilli, who doubted his possession of the requisite qualities for the ruler of a great nation. Montezuma had already distinguished himself on many occasions in battle, and was at the time of his election high-priest of Huitzilopochtli. When the news of his election reached him he is said to have been employed in sweeping the temple, from a spirit of real or feigned humility. The usual campaign for captives was successfully directed against Atlixco, and foreign nobles from hostile as well as friendly provinces came in crowds by invitation to witness the coronation ceremonies.[727 - Duran, MS., tom. ii., cap. li-v., states that the first wars were directed against Nopallan, Icpatepec, and Toltepec; and that during the campaign Montezuma ordered the death of the tutors of his children and the attendants of his wives. Tezozomoc, in Kingsborough, vol. ix., pp. 141-53, adds Huitzpac and Tepeaca to the towns mentioned by Duran. See also on death of Ahuitzotl and accession of Montezuma II.: Clavigero, tom. i., pp. 262-7; Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 193-5; Veytia, tom. iii., pp. 303-9; Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., pp. 382-97; Ixtlilxochitl, pp. 265, 277, 457; Acosta, Hist. de las Ynd., pp. 501-6; Herrera, dec. iii., lib. ii., cap. xiv.; Vetancvrt, Teatro, pt ii., p. 29; Codex Mendoza, in Kingsborough, vol. v., pp. 51-2; Gomara, Conq. Mex., fol. 303; Sigüenza, in Doc. Hist. Mex., série iii., tom. i., pp. 74-6.]

POLICY OF MONTEZUMA

Ahuitzotl left the Aztec empire in the height of its power and glory, yet even before his death the seeds of future disaster may be said to have been sown or even to have taken root, since the hitherto unparalleled sacrifice of human victims on the altars of the capital had filled the whole country with terror and added much to the hatred of which the Aztecs had been the objects from the date of their first appearance in the valley; the rapid increase of the Mexican power and their well-known greed of conquest had added to the hatred of the conquered the jealous fears of such nations as still retained their independence; and finally the reverses suffered in Tehuantepec, in Michoacan, and in several battles against the eastern nations, had taught the peoples of North America that the allied armies of the central plateaux were not altogether invincible. The dangers that thus began to threaten the empire, however, were all external, and might perhaps have been averted or long deferred by a series of successful wars under brave but wise kings. Under the preceding kings, the common interests of all classes in the success of the government, had been a prominent element of national glory. Commercial enterprise had done as much as valor in war to promote the conquests of kings and to build up the capitals; the common soldier might by bravery and brilliant achievements in battle hope to reach the highest military rank; the menial service of the royal palace with many posts of honor had been entrusted largely to plebeian hands; and in fact Aztec policy had been strikingly analogous to that which distinguished the French nation under the first Napoleon. The granting of titles and honors to the merchants had naturally excited much opposition among those who derived their titles of nobility from a long line of Chichimec or Toltec ancestors; and what made the matter even more galling to their pride, was the fact that these parvenu nobles by reason of their wealth were able to completely outshine their confrères of purer blood but slender purses, in all public displays as well as in their palaces and style of living. Montezuma II. from the first days of his reign openly espoused the cause of the ancient nobility against the merchants and plebeians. What is known of his character renders it probable that he was prompted to this course chiefly by his own extremely aristocratic tastes; but it is not impossible that he gained his election by committing himself to such a policy. He began by dismissing all plebeians employed about the royal palaces and appointing youths of noble blood in their places. He was warned that such a course would separate the interests of the common people from those of royalty and prove dangerous in the future; but he replied that he wished nothing in common with plebeians, who must be taught to keep their place and give up their absurd aspirations. His policy toward the merchants and the army was more cautious but equally decided. Advantage was taken of every opportunity to humble and oppress the hated class, by constantly clogging with new restrictions the wheels of trade, and by the promotion whenever practicable of noble officers. Montezuma was, however, a valiant and skillful warrior, and sacrificed oftener his inclinations to his interests in the treatment of his armies than in other cases. His policy of course gradually alienated the classes on which the prosperity of the empire chiefly rested, and ensured the fall of the Aztec power whenever disaffection should have an opportunity to ally itself with foreign foes. The bursting of the storm was averted for some fifteen years by the strength of the Acolhua and Tepanec alliance, and by the strength of the Mexican army. Montezuma's reign was a succession of campaigns against revolting provinces, interspersed with the erection of magnificent temples, frequent and extensive immolations of human victims, and omens of disaster sent by the gods to trouble the mind of the superstitious monarch. When at last the day drew near when Mexico must struggle single-handed for the retention of her supremacy against a combination of all the Nahua powers, the last chance for success in such an unequal contest disappeared with the re-inforcement of the enemy by Spanish valor, Spanish armor, and Spanish horses; and Montezuma personally had not even the melancholy satisfaction of seeing his foes fall before the same wave of foreign invasion which had destroyed forever his own power.[728 - See on the policy and government of Montezuma II., vol. ii. of this work, passim; also, Duran, MS. tom., ii., cap. liii.; Tezozomoc, in Kingsborough, vol. ix., pp. 145-6; Ixtlilxochitl, p. 278; Clavigero, tom. i., pp. 267-75; Veytia, tom. iii., pp. 309-19; Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., pp. 398-402; Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 196, 205-6; Acosta, Hist. de las Ynd., pp. 505-7; Codex Mendoza, in Kingsborough, vol. vi., p. 14; Vetancvrt, Teatro, pt ii., p. 39; Herrera, dec. iii., lib. ii., cap. xiv.; Villa-Señor y Sanchez, Theatro, tom. i., pp. 4-5.]

WAR AGAINST TLASCALA

Tlascala had thus far never been the object of an invasion by the united forces of the allies, although, as we have seen, frequent battles had been fought on the frontier, and the Tlascaltec armies as allies of other nations had been several times defeated. During the reigns of Montezuma I. and Axayacatl, however, the Tlascaltec territory had become completely surrounded by Aztec possessions, through the conquest of Cuetlachtlan, Cuextlan, and Totonacapan. Their communication with the coast having thus been cut off, the Tlascaltec commerce had been almost entirely destroyed, and for a period extending down to the Conquest, this brave people were obliged to do without many luxuries, and even necessities of life. Their lack of salt is particularly recorded; a small supply was occasionally smuggled into the state by the nobles, but the common people are said to have abstained entirely from its use, and to have completely lost their relish for this article. The other cities of the eastern plateau had in the meantime become either the subjects or allies of the Mexicans. Immediately after his accession to the throne, Montezuma II. determined to direct his armies against this last unsubdued territory in the east. The excuse was an embassy sent by the Tlascaltecs, probably to Axayacatl, complaining of the oppression to which their merchants were subjected on the coast, the claims of the embassy having been received with insulting indifference, and threats having been freely uttered on both sides. Huexotzinco and Cholula seem both to have allied themselves with Mexico in this affair; but, on the other hand, Tlascala had received constant additions to her population and armies in the refugees from all parts of Anáhuac, who were continually applying for protection to the only nation beyond the power of the Aztecs. The war was begun by the Huexotzincas and Cholultecs, who invaded Tlascala, killed in battle one of their chief leaders, Tizatlacatzin, and penetrated to within one league of the capital; but they were driven back, and the Huexotzinca towns were in turn ravaged by the Tlascaltecs, sending couriers to Montezuma to hasten the march of his forces. The Tlascaltecs, hearing of the approach of the Aztecs, fell upon them before they could effect a junction with their allies, and defeated them, inflicting heavy losses, and killing among others Tlacahuepantzin, the son of the Mexican king.[729 - Camargo says the combined armies were beaten at this battle. Torquemada places the event in the third year of Montezuma's reign. Ixtlilxochitl, Duran, and Tezozomoc represent Tlacahuepantzin as the brother of Montezuma, and Ixtlilxochitl implies that he was sent to this war, placed in 1508, in the hope of his death. This brother is perhaps the same person spoken of by Ixtlilxochitl on p. 443. Duran and Tezozomoc seem to regard this as a war against Cholula and Huexotzinco.] After the funeral ceremonies in honor of his son, Montezuma made another attempt to subdue the Tlascaltecs, sending against them the whole available force of the empire; but after a hard-fought battle the invaders were again driven back, and although skirmishes, and even battles, took place afterwards between the two nations, yet the Aztec allies never repeated their attempt to crush Tlascala, and the brave little republic retained her independence until by the aid of Cortés she was able to take her revenge on the tyrannical Mexicans and treacherous Cholultecs.[730 - On the war with Tlascala, see: Clavigero, tom. i., pp. 275-80; Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 197-203; Veytia, tom. iii., pp. 320-7; Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., pp. 402-9; Vetancvrt, Teatro, pt ii., pp. 40-1; Camargo, in Nouvelles Annales, tom. xcviii., pp. 178-86; Duran, MS., tom. ii., cap. lvii-lxi.; Ixtlilxochitl, pp. 271, 278; Tezozomoc, in Kingsborough, vol. ix., pp. 160-78; Oviedo, tom. iii., p. 497.]

In 1505 the crops were destroyed by the excessive heat, and although the public granaries were generously opened to the public by Nezahualpilli and Montezuma – for the latter, notwithstanding his aristocratic tendencies, was generous towards his people so long as they claimed nothing more than a right to exist – many perished of starvation or sold themselves and children as slaves. Totonacapan was again apparently the only province unaffected by the famine. Another plague in the form of rats which over-ran the country in immense numbers is recorded at about the same time; but the volcano of Popocatepetl ceased for twenty days to emit smoke, a good omen, as the wise men said and as it proved, for the next year was one of great plenty.[731 - This famine occurred in the third year of Montezuma's reign, according to Clavigero; in fourth year, as Torquemada says; and Ixtlilxochitl puts it in 1505 and 1506. See Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 203-4, 235. Ixtlilxochitl, p. 278; Clavigero, tom. i., pp. 282-3; Vetancvrt, Teatro, pt ii., p. 41; Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., pp. 409-10; Veytia, tom. iii., pp. 331-2; Sahagun, tom. ii., lib. viii., p. 270; Codex Tell. Rem., in Kingsborough, vol. v., p. 153.] During the year of the famine a campaign against Guatemala, or as some authors say Quauhnelhuatlan, which may have been a Guatemalan province, is recorded as having yielded many captives for the inauguration of the temple of Centeotl, built in recognition of her services in staying the drought and sending a year of plenty. The festivities on the completion of certain repairs to the causeway and aqueduct of Chapultepec at about the same time were marred by the burning of a temple in Mexico. It is related that the Tlatelulcas seeing the flames, thought the city was invaded by an enemy and rushed in to help protect it, but that Montezuma chose to regard this as an act of rebellion and temporarily removed all Tlatelulcas from their positions at court.[732 - Clavigero, tom. i., p. 283; Veytia, tom. iii., pp. 332-4; Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 204, 207; Vetancvrt, Teatro, pt ii., p. 41; Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., pp. 410-11; Duran, MS., tom. i., cap. lv., lix.; Tezozomoc, in Kingsborough, vol. ix., pp. 170-1.]

REVOLT OF THE MIZTECS

Before the end of 1506, two campaigns were made against the Miztecs by the last of which the whole province was permanently subdued. The pretext of the first was the refusal of Malinalli, lord of Tlachquiauhco, to give Montezuma for his royal gardens a very rare plant in his possession. An army was dispatched to bring the plant and punish the people; Tilantongo, Achiuhtla, and Tlachquiauhco fell before the Mexican soldiers; and the rare tlapalizquixochitl, or 'red flower,' was transplanted to Mexico, although the Oajacan records insist, according to Burgoa, that it died on the way. The Miztecs next determined upon a final effort to shake off the Mexican yoke, which well nigh succeeded. Cetecpatl, king of Cohuaixtlahuacan, invited the garrison of the impregnable Huaxyacac and other Aztec fortresses to a grand banquet, and on their return they were set upon by the ambushed troops of Nahuixochitl, lord of Tzotzolan, and all put to death, save one that escaped to tell the news. The Miztecs, now thoroughly aroused, adopted the tactics that had proved so effective in Tehuantepec, fortified their positions in the mountains near Tzotzolan, and awaited the attack. The first army sent by Montezuma was defeated and driven back with great loss. A second army representing the whole strength of the Aztec allies now marched southward under Cuitlahuatzin, Montezuma's brother; but the Miztec forces could not be dislodged from their strong position until Cozcaquauhtli, lord of Huauhtlan and a brother of Cetecpatl, betraying his people, or faithful to his ruler Montezuma as the Mexican writers put it, opened his city to the enemy, revealed all Cetecpatl's plans, and led Cuitlahuatzin by secret paths to a commanding position whence the attack was made and the Miztecs routed. Nahuixochitl soon came up with a fresh army from Tututepec, but was in his turn defeated. The whole province, including Tututepec and other cities on the shores of the Pacific, was then over-run and permanently subjected to Mexican authority. The captives included the leaders, and were brought back to Mexico in time to grace with their blood the festival of tlacaxipehualiztli, or 'flaying of men,' although according to some authorities the leaders, Cetecpatl and Nahuixochitl, were reserved for a later occasion.[733 - Ixtlilxochitl says the war was afterwards carried into Guatemala and Nicaragua. Brasseur tells us that the treacherous Cozcaquauhtli was made king of Cohuaixtlahuacan; others say ruler of Tzotzolan. According to Torquemada, the war was in the fifth year of the reign, and preceded by an eclipse of the sun. Tezozomoc refers to a campaign against Xaltepec and Cuatzonteccan in Tehuantepec. Vetancvrt gives as the date the seventh year of the reign. Clavigero makes Cozcaquauhtli the brother of Nahuixochitl. See Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 196-7, 207-9, 215; Clavigero, tom. i., pp. 275, 283-4; Burgoa, Geog. Descrip. Oajaca, tom. ii., pt i., fol. 166-7; Vetancvrt, Teatro, pt ii., pp. 41-2; Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., pp. 411-17; Tezozomoc, in Kingsborough, vol. ix., pp. 153-6, 162-4, 180; Ixtlilxochitl, pp. 279-80; Veytia, tom. iii., pp. 334-7, 359; Duran, MS., tom. ii., cap. lxv.]

TYING-UP OF THE LAST CYCLE

Also in 1506 the Huexotzincas and Cholultecs had a quarrel, in which the former had the advantage and by a raid burned a few houses in the city of the latter. Knowing that Montezuma had great veneration for the city of Quetzalcoatl, the Huexotzincas thought it best to send ambassadors to explain the matter. The envoys for some reason not made clear greatly exaggerated the matter, representing Cholula as having been utterly destroyed and the inhabitants driven to the mountains. Greatly enraged the allied kings sent an army to chastise the perpetrators of such an outrage on the holy city; but the Huexotzincas escaped their punishment by stating the truth of the matter and delivering up for sacrifice the envoys with their ears and noses cut off. An expedition at the same time against Itztitlan and Itzcuintepec, and another according to Ortega and Torquemada against Atlixco, together with a war in Tecuhtepec, furnished a large number of captives, some of whom were sacrificed at the dedication of the Tzompantli[734 - Ixtlilxochitl, p. 278, speaks of a conquest of Zocolan in 1506, and of Totecpec in 1507. Duran, MS., tom. i., cap. lv., speaks of the conquest, at about this time, of Quatzoutlan and Toltepec, where Montezuma ordered that all persons over fifty years of age should be put to death. Clavigero, tom. i., pp. 284-6; Veytia, tom. iii., pp. 337-40; Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., pp. 417-20; Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 209-10.] or 'place of skulls,' while the rest were reserved for the tying-up of the cycle and lighting of the new fire which took place the following year, accompanied by ceremonies that have been described in a preceding volume. This was the last ceremony of the kind the Mexicans ever had the opportunity to perform; before another cycle had elapsed, the native gods had lost their power, their rites had been abolished, and replaced by others that did not include human sacrifices. The rites of the Inquisition were as cruel as those they replaced, but the number of victims in America was comparatively small.[735 - The lighting of the new fire took place at midnight, March 21-2, 1507, at the beginning of the year 2 Acatl, between the days 7 Tochtli and 8 Acatl. Codex Chimalp., in Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., p. 423. The Codex Tell. Rem., in Kingsborough, vol. v., pp. 153-4, says that the tie of the years had usually taken place in 1 Tochtli (1506), but was changed by Montezuma to 2 Acatl (1507). Most other authors name 1506 as the year of the fête; but perhaps they mean simply that 1 Tochtli the last of the seventh cycle corresponds for the most part, although not exactly of course, to 1506. See Boturini, in Doc. Hist. Mex., série iii., tom. iv., p. 240; Veytia, tom. iii., p. 340; Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 210-11; Clavigero, tom. i., pp. 285-6; Vetancvrt, Teatro, pt ii., p. 41; see also vol. ii., p. 341, and vol. iii., pp. 393-6.]

The year 1507 was marked by the occurrence of an eclipse and an earthquake, by the drowning of eighteen hundred soldiers in the Miztec country, and according to Ixtlilxochitl, by the execution of Tezozomoc, lord of Azcapuzalco and father-in-law of Montezuma, for adultery. In his trial it is related that the Mexican judges voted for his banishment, the Tepanec added that the end of his nose should be cut off, but Nezahualpilli, who had the final decision, ordered him to be strangled, much to the displeasure of Montezuma. During the same year the allies sent an expedition to the region of Mitla, which plundered a few towns and captured a small number of prisoners. The provocation of this war is not recorded. Immediately after its return an army was sent under Cuitlahuatzin against Quauhquelchula in the Huexotzinca region. The result was a victory with a goodly array of captives, but obtained only after a serious loss, including five Mexican leaders. The captives served for the inauguration of the temple previously burned, as has been noted, but now rebuilt, and also for the festival of the 'flaying of men.' According to Tezozomoc and Duran the provocation of this war was the burning of the temple of the goddess Toci in Mexico, or as Tezozomoc understands it, the tociquahuitl, a wooden signal tower on the hill of Tocitlan. Duran also informs us that a representation of Mexican nobles attended by invitation the festivals in honor of Camaxtli, at which were sacrificed the Aztec captives taken during the war. A renewal of hostilities with Huexotzinco is mentioned in the eighth year of Montezuma's reign.[736 - Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., pp. 427-8, names Macuilmalinatzin, the brother of Montezuma, among the killed, and applies, probably with some reason, to this war the suspicions of Ixtlilxochitl, respecting foul play on the part of the Mexican king already referred to – (see note 32 (#cn_735)). See also: Veytia, tom. iii., pp. 343-4; Torquemada, tom. i., p. 211; Clavigero, tom. i., p. 286; Ixtlilxochitl, pp. 278-9; Tezozomoc, in Kingsborough, vol. ix., pp. 171, 177; Vetancvrt, Teatro, pt ii., pp. 41-2; Codex Tell. Rem., in Kingsborough, vol. v., p. 154; Duran, MS., tom. ii., cap. lxii.]

OMENS OF DISASTER

With the new cycle began a period, during which, down to the appearance of the Spaniards at Vera Cruz, almost every event was invested with a mysterious significance, every unusual phenomenon of nature, every accident, every illness, every defeat in battle, failure of crops, excessive heat or cold, rain or snow, thunder and lightning, shooting star or comet, earthquake or eclipse, – each and all portended evil to the Aztec empire, evil which some seem even at the time to have connected with the olden predictions of Quetzalcoatl respecting the coming of a foreign race to take possession of the country. The superstitious monarchs, priests, and nobles were in a constant state of terror. There are but two ways of accounting for this state of affairs; first by supposing that the supernatural element in the various events referred to, the terror which they caused in the minds of the natives, and many of the events themselves, were pure inventions of the native historians formed after the coming of the Spaniards to support the claims of their sages to a foreknowledge of events, or simply for the sake of telling a marvelous tale; and second by supposing that the terror of Montezuma and his companions, and their disposition to carefully note and construe into omens of evil each unusual occurrence, was caused by a knowledge more or less vague that the Spaniards were already on the American coasts. While there is every reason to believe that there are both inventions and exaggerations in the records written after the coming of foreigners, I am disposed to attribute the effects referred to above chiefly to the actual presence of Europeans. For about fifteen years the Antilles had been more or less completely in the possession of the Spaniards; five years before the opening of the new cycle Columbus had coasted Central America and even established a colony in Veragua. It is altogether improbable that no knowledge of the white men and their wonderful winged vessels had reached Mexico, however vague and exaggerated that knowledge may have been. The Aztec traders were not now such indefatigable and trustworthy spies as in former times, but they would hardly have failed to bring to Mexico exaggerated rumors of approaching disaster. It is also quite possible that various articles of European manufacture, or even human remains of white men, had been washed on the Totonac or Xicalanca shores. That Montezuma and his companions attached considerable weight to the traditional predictions of Quetzalcoatl and Hueman there is no reason to doubt. The predictions referred to may have been the threats of some exiled chieftain of ancient times, or the vain imaginings of a fanatic priest uttered to maintain his reputation among his followers; possibly the result of some native cosmographer's theorizing respecting other lands across the ocean; not quite impossibly the remnant of an ancient knowledge of trans-oceanic peoples; and of course not the result of any prophetic foreknowledge; but like all other pretended prophecies they became at once most valid and authentic on the occurrence of circumstances which might be interpreted as their fulfillment.

MONTEZUMA AND NEZAHUALPILLI

The signs and omens that followed those already mentioned I shall briefly relate without paying much attention to their chronologic order; very little else than these omens and the means adopted to avert their consequences is recorded from 1508 to 1512. An army sent to the province of Amatlan perished with cold and by falling trees and rocks; and a comet with three heads, perhaps the one already mentioned, hung over Anáhuac.[737 - Ixtlilxochitl dates the Amatlan war in 1514; Brasseur puts the war in 1510; Torquemada denies that the comet had three heads.] Then a wonderful pyramidal light appeared in the east, reaching from the earth to the sky, visible for forty days, or, as some say, for a whole year, in all parts of the country, from midnight till morning, very similar, according to the description, to the Aurora Borealis. Nezahualpilli was so affected by these signs that he gave orders to discontinue all hostilities. An interview was held between him and Montezuma, although for some time they had not been on speaking terms. Nezahualpilli saw clearly in the strange omens the approaching end of the empire and his own death, but was resigned to the decrees of fate; Montezuma, on the contrary, instead of resignation felt only anger, and is even said by Tezozomoc and Duran to have strangled many of his sorcerers for their unfavorable interpretation of the signs, and their failure to avert evil omens. At last a game of tlachtli was agreed upon between the two monarchs to decide whose interpretation should be accepted; and to show how little importance he attached to his wealth and power, Nezahualpilli is said to have wagered on the result his kingdom of Acolhuacan against three turkey cocks. He won the game, but still Montezuma was not disposed to yield to the fates, and still persecuted his magicians in the hope to elicit a more favorable prognostication, but in vain; the magicians all agreed with the Tezcucan monarch. About the same time the towers of Huitzilopochtli's temple took fire in a clear night without apparent cause, and were reduced to ashes in spite of all efforts to extinguish the flames; and another temple was set on fire by lightning. This was the temple of the god of fire, and was now burned for the second time.[738 - This was very likely the occasion already noted when the Tlatelulcas rushed into the city, supposing it to be invaded.] In this period, in the reign of the second Montezuma, Brasseur puts the story of a mysterious aerial journey of the two kings to the ancient home of the Aztecs, referring perhaps to that already taken from Duran and applied to the time of Montezuma I.[739 - See pp. 422-4 (#Page_422), of this volume; Torquemada, tom. i., p. 213.] Torquemada, Clavigero, and Vetancvrt, tell us of the resurrection of Papantzin, a sister of Montezuma, who brought back from the land of the dead to her royal brother an account of the new people who were to occupy the land, and of the new religion they would bring. This lady is said to have been the first Mexican to receive the rites of Christian baptism, and the priests took pains to send a duly authenticated account of her miraculous resurrection to Spain. The intimate connection of this tale with the religious prejudices of the invaders, renders it unnecessary to seek even a foundation in truth for the report. Sahagun also speaks of a resurrected woman who predicted the fall of the empire, living twenty-one years thereafter and bearing a son. Boturini attributes this return from the dead to a sister of the king of Michoacan at a much later date, while the Spaniards were besieging Mexico.[740 - Clavigero throws discredit on Boturini's version; I find it difficult to feel implicit faith in that of Clavigero.] In 1509, as several authors say,[741 - Torquemada says in 1499.] the waters of the lake became violently agitated, without wind, earthquake, or other natural cause, and in consequence the city was inundated. The fishermen of the lake caught a large bird like a crane, wearing a round transparent crown, through which Montezuma saw the stars, though it was in the daytime, and also many people that approached in squadrons, attired like warriors, and seeming half men, half deer. The bird disappeared before the sorcerers could satisfactorily interpret this strange thing. Double-bodied and double-headed men also were seen, and on being brought before the king suddenly disappeared; and the same happened with men who had no fingers and toes. In 1511 armed men were seen fighting in the air; and a bird appeared whose head seemed human; and a large stone pillar fell near the temple of Huitzilopochtli, no one knowing whence it came. An earthquake and a deluge at Tusapan, are reported; at Tecualoia a most ferocious and horrible beast was captured; a female voice was several times heard bewailing the fate of her children. At Tlascala a bright light and a cloud of dust arising from the summit of Mount Matlalcueje to the very heavens, caused the people to fear the end of the world was coming. The sorcerers of Cuetlachtlan also saw many wonderful visions; but among the peoples outside of Anáhuac the fearful phenomena and the predicted coming of a foreign people were less terrible than to the Aztecs, for with their terror was mingled hope of relief from the Aztec yoke. A wild hare invaded Nezahualpilli's garden, but the king would not allow the animal to be killed, for in the same manner, he said, would a strange people presently invade his country. Tezozomoc and Duran give a long and detailed account of Montezuma's sufferings. It seems that he was not content with his own dreams and omens, but instructed his subjects to report to him all their visions; at last he was so distracted that he determined to hide himself from impending calamities in a cave, but was prevented from such a course by a series of supernatural events more absurd, if possible, than those that have been narrated. Herrera tells us that Montezuma had in his possession a box washed on the eastern shore containing wearing-apparel and a sword of a style unknown to the natives.[742 - On these evil omens, see Ixtlilxochitl, pp. 278-80; Veytia, tom. iii., pp. 344-59; Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 211-14, 233-9; Clavigero, tom. i., pp. 286-92; Vetancvrt, Teatro, pt ii., pp. 42-3, 126; Tezozomoc, in Kingsborough, vol. ix., pp. 177-8, 183-9; Codex Tell. Rem., in Id., vol. v., p. 154; Herrera, dec. iii., lib. ii., cap. viii., ix.; Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., pp. 428-41; Acosta, Hist. de las Ynd., pp. 510-14; Camargo, in Nouvelles Annales, tom. xcix., pp. 139-40; Duran, MS., tom. ii., cap. lxiii., lxvi-ix.; Sahagun, tom. ii., lib. viii., pp. 270-1; Boturini, Catálogo, pp. 27-8.]

VISIONS AND OMENS

In the meantime military operations had not been suspended, for the anger of the gods could only be averted by sacrifice, and victims could only be obtained by war; but the details of these campaigns and their order are nowhere definitely recorded. It is stated, however, that in 1511, the Cuetlachtecas, encouraged by the visions of their magicians, and by the troubles that had fallen upon Anáhuac, refused openly to pay their tributes, and yet remained unpunished.[743 - Torquemada, tom. i., p. 214; Veytia, tom. iii., p. 361; Vetancvrt, Teatro, pt ii., p. 42.] In the same or following year, the Cakchiquel records note the arrival of a numerous embassy of the Yaqui, or Mexicans, at their court. Nothing whatever is said of the object of this mission, or its results; but the Abbé Brasseur has no doubt that the object sought was information respecting the actions of the Spaniards on the coast of Central America.[744 - Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. iii., pp. 442-7, reference to Mem. de Tecpan-Atitlan.] Although Nezahualpilli seems to have lost most of his interest in political affairs, and to have contented himself with simply awaiting future developments, no superstitious terror in Montezuma's breast could overcome his ruling passion, ambition; and according to the authorities he was inclined to take advantage of his colleague's listlessness for his own aggrandizement. Ixtlilxochitl relates an act of treachery against the Tezcucan monarch, which, in view of the author's well-known prejudice against Montezuma, may be received with much doubt; according to this author, the Mexican king represented to Nezahualpilli that the anger of the gods was caused to some extent by the failure to offer captives from Tlascala, and the substitution of victims from distant provinces obtained not in holy battle but in a mere attempt to extend the imperial domain. He proposed a joint campaign against Tlascala; Nezahualpilli consented, saying that his inaction had not been the result of cowardice, but he had ceased to fight simply because the year of 1 Acatl was near at hand when the empire must fall. He sent an army under his two sons, but Montezuma had secretly notified the Tlascaltecs that the Acolhua's motive was not the capture of victims, but the conquest of the republic, promising to take no part himself in the battle. The Tlascaltecs were very angry and the Aztec army stood calmly by and saw the Acolhua forces led into ambush and massacred. The whole march of Nezahualpilli's army had been marked by the occurrence of many omens of evil. Immediately on his return Montezuma openly proclaimed his opposition to his colleague and ordered a suspension of all Tezcucan tributes from the cities about the lake. While there are reasons to doubt this act of treachery and the openness of his opposition to Nezahualpilli, it is evident that the two kings regarded each other from this time as enemies.[745 - Ixtlilxochitl, pp. 280-1.]

MONTEZUMA, AZTEC EMPEROR

In 1512, with great festivities and the sacrifice of twelve thousand captives – taken it is said in a war against the revolting Miztec province of Tlachquiauhco – was dedicated a new sacrificial stone. It was only after a long search that a suitable stone was found near Coyuhuacan, and after it was formed and sculptured with the fitting devices, notwithstanding the honors paid it on the way to the capital, it broke through one of the causeways and carried with itself to the bottom of the lake the high-priest and many of his attendants. It was afterwards recovered and placed in its appointed place. Tezozomoc and others tell many marvelous tales of this stone, how it spoke frequently on the way, and how after sinking it found its way back to its original location. Tezozomoc also states that in connection with the ceremonies at this time Montezuma publicly proclaimed himself Zemanahuaca Tlatoani, equivalent to 'emperor of the world.'[746 - Tezozomoc, in Kingsborough, vol. ix., pp. 168, 181-3; Clavigero, tom. i., p. 293; Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 214-15; Duran, MS., tom. ii., cap. lxvi.; Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., pp. 448-50; Herrera, dec. iii., lib. ii., cap. viii.; Acosta, Hist. de las Ynd., p. 511; Vetancvrt, Teatro, pt ii., pp. 42-3.]

LIMITS OF THE AZTEC EMPIRE

During the next few years Montezuma seems to have determined by brilliant exploits in battle to defy the predictions of his magicians and to shake off his own superstitious fears. In 1512, according to Torquemada, the Xuchitepecs and Icpactepecs were subjugated; in 1513, the Yopitzincas, who had attempted the destruction of the Mexican garrison at Tlacotepec, were defeated; in 1514, the city of Quetzalapan in Cuextlan was taken with many captives, although at the cost of several Aztec leaders of high rank; and in 1515 took place the conquest of Cihuapohualoyan and Cuexcomaixtlahuacan, including the siege of the strongholds of Quetzaltepec, Totoltepec and Iztactlalocan, narrated at considerable length by Duran, who represents this war as having been caused by the refusal of the inhabitants to furnish a peculiar kind of sand needed by the Mexican lapidaries in polishing precious stones.[747 - It is impossible here to distinguish between references to Tututepec in Oajaca, and Tototepec, or Totoltepec, north-east of Mexico. The Codex Tell. Rem., in Kingsborough, vol. v., p. 154, mentions in 1512 the conquest of Quimichintepec and Nopala, towards Tototepec, and also that the stones in that year threw out smoke which reached the skies. The same authority records the conquest of Tututepec on the Pacific, and an earthquake in 1513; the conquest of Hayocingo in 1514, and that of Itzlaquetlaloca in 1515. See Ixtlilxochitl, pp. 278-80, 283-4. This writer also mentions the wars of Mictlanzinco and Xaltaianquizco as among the last waged by the Aztec monarchs. Duran, MS., tom. ii., cap. lvi. Clavigero, tom. i., pp. 293-4; Veytia, tom. iii., pp. 359-60; Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 214-5; Vetancvrt, Teatro, pt ii., p. 42.] Torquemada and Ortega relate that an expedition was at about this time sent southward to Honduras, Vera Paz, and Nicaragua, all of which were subjected to the Mexican power, the two former without much opposition, the latter only after a hard battle, a defeat, and subsequent treachery on the part of the Aztecs.[748 - Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 218-19; Veytia, tom. iii., pp. 361-3.] There is every reason to believe that this report is unfounded, and that the countries south of the isthmus, save perhaps Soconusco, were never conquered by the Mexicans. I need not enter into any discussion here respecting the limits of the Aztec empire; since the annals recorded in the preceding pages, with a résumé of the subject in a preceding volume,[749 - Vol. ii., pp. 93-5.] are sufficient. In general terms the empire extended from the valley of Mexico westward only to the adjoining province of Matlaltzinco, Michoacan having always retained her independence; north-westward only a few leagues beyond the limits of the valley; in the north-east, east, and south-east it embraced the whole country to the gulf coast from the Rio Pánuco in the north to the Rio Alvarado in the south, excepting the small territory of Tlascala; in the south-west and south it reached the Pacific coast, along which it extended from Zacatollan to Tututepec; and it also included some towns and garrisons in Soconusco, and on the frontiers of Chiapas. Or, according to modern political geography, the empire embraced the states of Mexico, Puebla, Vera Cruz, Guerrero, and western Oajaca, with small portions of Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, Querétaro, and Chiapas. The whole of Oajaca, including Tehuantepec, was at one time subjected, but the Zapotecs regained their independence, as we have seen, before Montezuma's reign. Beyond these limits doubtless many raids were made, and towns, with small sections of territory, were reduced momentarily to Mexican provinces; hence the varying statements of different authors on this subject.[750 - Ixtlilxochitl, p. 280, gives the southern boundaries as Huimolan, Acalan, Vera Paz, and Nicaragua; the northern as the Gulf of California and Pánuco; makes the empire cover all the ancient Toltec territory, and incorrectly includes besides the north-western states, those of Tabasco and Guatemala. Herrera, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. xiii; lib. ix., cap. i.; agrees with the limits I have given, and shows that Goazacoalco and Tabasco never belonged to the empire. Aztecs never subdued the region about Zacatecas. Arlegui, Chrón. Zacatecas, p. 9. Clavigero, tom. iv., pp. 267-9, tells us that the empire stretched on the Pacific from Soconusco to Colima; that Chiapas was only held by a few garrisons on the frontier; that the province of Tollan was the north-western limit; Tusapan the north-eastern, Pánuco and the Huastecs never having been subdued; Goazacoalco was the south-eastern bound.]

The appearance of the Spaniards on the distant American coasts, the predictions of disaster which all the soothsayers agreed in deriving from constantly recurring omens, the approaching subjugation of his people to a race of foreigners in which Nezahualpilli firmly believed, and above all the haughty and treacherous manner and deeds of Montezuma, who now made no secret of his intention to make himself supreme monarch of the empire, had a most depressing effect on the Tezcucan king. He retired with his favorite wife and a few attendants to the palace of Tezcocingo, announcing his intention of spending his remaining days in retirement, but six months later he returned to Tezcuco, retired to his most private apartments, and refused to see visitors. Some time afterwards, when his family insisted on being admitted to his presence, his death was announced to them, having been concealed for some time by the attendants acting under his orders. The peculiar circumstances of his decease caused the invention of the popular tale, according to which he had not died but had gone to the ancient Amaquemecan, the home of his Chichimec ancestors. His death occurred in 1515.[751 - On Nezahualpilli's death see: —Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 216-17; Ixtlilxochitl, pp. 282, 388, 410; Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., pp. 452-5; Duran, MS., tom. ii., cap. lxiv.; Veytia, tom. iii., pp. 363-4; Clavigero, tom. i., pp. 294-5; Tezozomoc, in Kingsborough, vol. ix., pp. 178-9. Several authors make the date 1516; Duran says ten years before the coming of the Spaniards, or in 1509.]

REVOLT OF IXTLILXOCHITL

For some unknown reason Nezahualpilli had not named his successor on the throne, and the choice thus devolved upon the royal council in conjunction with the kings of Mexico and Tlacopan. So far as can be determined from conflicting accounts the sons of the deceased monarch and heirs to the throne were as follows in the order of their age: – Tetlahuehuetquizitzin, Cacama, Cohuanacoch, and Ixtlilxochitl. The eldest son was deemed incompetent to rule the kingdom, Cacama was chosen by the council, and the choice warmly approved by Montezuma, who was Cacama's uncle. When the decision was announced to the other brothers, Cohuanacoch approved it, but Ixtlilxochitl protested against the choice of Cacama, insisting that his oldest brother should be proclaimed king. Something has already been said about this prince's fiery temper in early years,[752 - See p. 451 (#Page_451) of this volume.] and age seems to have had no effect in calming his violent character. But on this occasion he seems to have been actuated not only by his own ambition to reign or to control the reigning monarch, but by patriotic motives and a desire for his country's freedom. He denounced, probably not without reason, the council as acting wholly in the interests of the treacherous Montezuma, who had insulted his father, and aspired to the imperial power; and he regarded Cacama as a mere man of wax to be molded at will by the crafty monarch of the Mexicans. The details of the quarrel are given at considerable length by the authorities, but are hardly worth reproducing here; the trouble seems to have lasted, if the chronology of the records may be credited, two years, much of which time was passed by Cacama at Mexico with his uncle. At last, however, finding his efforts unavailing, Ixtlilxochitl left Tezcuco with his partisans and went to the province of Meztitlan with the intention of exciting a revolt in his own behalf, while Cacama in 1517 proceeded to his capital to receive the crown of his father.[753 - Ixtlilxochitl, pp. 282-3, 410, and Torquemada, tom. i., p. 221, are the chief authorities on the succession of Cacama. The former records a report, which he doubts, that Nezahualpilli before his death indicated as his successor a younger son, Yoiontzin. He implies that Cacama was an illegitimate son and had no claim to the throne, but was forced on the Acolhua nobles against their will by Montezuma. Torquemada, on the other hand, makes Cacama the oldest son and legitimate heir, not mentioning the existence of Tetlahuehuetquizitzin, and does not imply that Montezuma had any undue influence in the choice of a new king. Duran, MS., tom. ii., cap. lxiv., and Tezozomoc, in Kingsborough, vol. ix., p. 179, give an entirely different version of the matter. They say that the Acolhua lords were summoned to Mexico and invited by Montezuma to select their new king. When they told him there were five competent sons – only two of whose names, Cohuanacoch and Ixtlilxochitl, are identical with those named by other authorities – he advised the election of Quetzalacxoyatl, who was therefore elected and proved a faithful subject of the Mexican king. He only lived a few days, however, and was succeeded by his brother Tlahuitoltzin, and he, after a few years, by Cohuanacoch, during whose reign the Spaniards arrived. See also, Brasseur, Hist., tom. iv., pp. 14-21; Veytia, tom. iii., pp. 367-9; Clavigero, tom. i., pp. 297-9; Vetancvrt, Teatro, pt ii., pp. 43-4; Herrera, dec. iii., lib. i., cap. i.]

Ixtlilxochitl was in a high degree successful in the northern provinces, whose inhabitants were almost unanimous in their approval of his opposition to Montezuma, and gladly ranged themselves under his banners. Marching southward from Meztitlan at the head of a hundred thousand men, he was received as king in Tepepulco and other towns until he reached Otompan, where he met considerable resistance, but at last entered the city and made it thereafter his capital. He also took possession of all the northern towns, such as Acolman, Chiuhnauhtlan, Zumpango, and Huehuetoca. The news of his proceedings in the north reached Tezcuco just after the coronation ceremonies of Cacama, or, as some say, during their continuance. Montezuma seems to have made one effort to quell this northern revolt and to have sent one of his bravest generals against Ixtlilxochitl, but this general, Xochitl, was defeated, captured, and burned alive by the fiery Chichimec prince; no farther attack was made by the Mexican king. During the course of this year, 1517, the Totonacs secretly gave in their allegiance to Ixtlilxochitl, and of course Tlascala, the inveterate foe of Mexico, supported his cause. Montezuma's failure to renew his efforts against the rebel, and the increasing spirit of revolt among the Aztec provinces are in great measure accounted for, when it is remembered that at this time the Spaniards, under Hernandez de Córdova, again appeared on the coast of Yucatan and Tabasco,[754 - On the voyage of Córdova, see: Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 349-51; Cogolludo, Hist. Yuc., pp. 3-8; Peter Martyr, dec. iv., lib. i-ii.; Herrera, dec. ii., lib. ii., cap. xvii.; Bernal Diaz, Hist. Conq., fol. 1-5; Stephens' Yucatan, vol. i., pp. 49-52; Prescott's Mex., vol. i., pp. 222-4; Gomara, Hist. Ind., fol. 60-1.] and the exaggerated reports of their appearance and deeds served to cause a renewal of the old terror in Mexico, and a corresponding hope, not altogether unmingled with fear, in the oppressed provinces. Cacama, either influenced by the same fears, or more probably encouraged to yield to his own kindly feelings towards his brother by Montezuma's failure to proceed against Ixtlilxochitl, sent an embassy to his brother, who, from his new headquarters at Otompan, had shown no intention of marching against Tezcuco, proposing an amicable settlement of their difficulties. Ixtlilxochitl replied that he had none but the kindest feelings towards his brother and the kingdom of Acolhuacan, but renewed his denunciations of Montezuma, and his warnings against that monarch's ambitious designs. A division of the kingdom was finally decided upon, Ixtlilxochitl retaining the sovereign power in the northern provinces, Cacama retaining his throne at Tezcuco and his place in the Aztec alliance, and Cohuanacoch receiving a large amount of revenue for his constant support of the king. Ixtlilxochitl faithfully observed the terms of the treaty, but retained all his enmity against the Mexicans; he had an opportunity to strike a decisive blow against the hated power a little later as an ally of the Spaniards.[755 - On Ixtlilxochitl's revolt and the treaty with Cacama, see: Veytia, tom. iii., pp. 369-75; Clavigero, tom. i., pp. 299-302; Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 223-7; Brasseur, Hist., tom. iv., pp. 21-3, 36-7; Vetancvrt, Teatro, pt ii., p. 44; Ixtlilxochitl, pp. 283-4.]

FINAL WARS OF MONTEZUMA

Yet wars were still waged by the allied kings as before, for the only hope of averting impending disaster was by drenching with human blood the altars of the gods. Several campaigns are recorded as having yielded captives in considerable numbers, but no details are given. Battles against the Tlascaltecs were continued down to the very last; the Mexicans fighting generally as allies of the Huexotzincas. In one of these battles the Huexotzinca chief Tlachpanquizqui by a valiant feat of arms obtained pardon for serious crimes which he had committed, and great rewards besides. He captured the famous Tlascaltec warrior Tlalhuicol and brought him to Mexico. But the honor of his capture was all that Montezuma desired; for he immediately offered Tlalhuicol his freedom, which was refused. The Tlascaltec was then put in command of a Mexican army and sent against the Tarascos, whom he defeated, taking their stronghold of Tangimaroa, or Tlaximaloyan, and subduing many towns on his way. He returned laden with spoils to Mexico, was entreated to accept the permanent position of Commander-in-chief of the Aztec armies, or at least to accept his release and return to his country; but the brave Tlalhuicol deemed it a dishonor to return or even to live after his capture, and earnestly entreated the privilege of dying like other prisoners of rank on the gladiatorial stone. His request was sorrowfully granted, eight of Anáhuac's best warriors fell before him in the conflict, but by the ninth he was subdued, and his heart was offered as a pleasing sacrifice to the god of war.[756 - Camargo, in Nouvelles Annales, tom. xcviii., pp. 189-91; Tezozomoc, in Kingsborough, vol. ix., pp. 172-5; Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 197, 201, 228; Brasseur, Hist., tom. iv., pp. 23-7; Clavigero, tom. i., pp. 280-2; Veytia, tom. iii., pp. 325, 328-31, 375-6; Vetancvrt, Teatro, pt ii., pp. 45-6.]

In the same year, 1517, it is related that Montezuma in his zeal to appease the irate deities, ordered the grand temple of Huitzilopochtli to be covered from top to bottom with gold, precious stones, and rare feathers. His Minister of Finance, ordered to supply the cost of this extravagant act of piety by imposing a new tax on the people, objected and warned the tyrant that his subjects would endure no increase of taxation. His objections were removed by putting him to death, but we hear nothing farther of the golden covering.[757 - Codex Chimalp., in Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., pp. 34-6.] The following year, or 1518, took place at Mexico the last of the long series of sacrificial immolations on a large scale, at the dedication of the temple of Coatlan, on which occasion were sacrificed the captives that the last campaigns had yielded.[758 - Torquemada, tom. i., p. 228; Veytia, tom. iii., pp. 376-7; Vetancvrt, Teatro, pt ii., p. 46.] But almost before the groans of the dying victims had died away there came to the ears of the Aztec sovereign the startling tidings that the eastern strangers had again made their appearance, this time on the Totonac coasts of his own empire. Juan de Grijalva and his companions had followed the gulf coast northward, and reached the spot where now stands the city of Vera Cruz.[759 - On Grijalva's voyage, see: —Diaz, Itinerario, in Icazbalceta, Col. de Doc., tom. i., pp. 281-307; Bernal Diaz, Hist. Conq., fol. 6-11; Peter Martyr, dec. iv., lib. iii-iv.; Navarrete, Col. de Viages, tom. iii., pp. 55-64; Gomara, Conq. Mex., fol. 811, 568; Herrera, dec. ii., lib. iii., cap. i-ii.; Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 351-8; Prescott's Mex., vol. i., pp. 224-8.]

ARRIVAL OF JUAN DE GRIJALVA

All Aztec officials in the coast provinces had strict orders to keep a constant look-out for the eastern strangers, and in case of their arrival to treat them kindly, but by pretence of traffic and by every possible means to ascertain who they were, whence they came, and the nature of their designs. In accordance with these orders Pinotl the Aztec governor of Cuetlachtlan and his Mexican subordinates were foremost among the visitors to the wonderful ships of Grijalva; paintings were quickly but carefully prepared of the strangers, their ships, their weapons, and of every strange thing observed, and with the startling news and the pictured records the royal officials hastened to Mexico and communicated their information to Montezuma. The king, concealing as well as possible his anxiety and forbidding the messengers to make the news public, immediately assembled his royal colleagues and his council of state, laid the matter before them and asked their advice. The opinion was unanimous that the strangers were the children of Quetzalcoatl, returning in fulfillment of the ancient prophecies, and that they should be kindly received, as the only means of conciliating the good will of the numerous followers of the ancient prophet. An embassy was sent with rich presents to the coast, but they were too late; the Spaniards had departed, with a promise, however, of returning at an early date.

The events that followed down to the fulfillment of that promise by the arrival of Hernan Cortés in 1519 are not very definitely recorded, but these months formed a period of the greatest anxiety on the part of the Aztec rulers and of mingled dread and hope for their numerous enemies. Interest in the one absorbing topic caused all else to be forgotten; there was no thought of conquest, of revolt, of tributes; even the bloody rites of Huitzilopochtli were much neglected and the star of the peaceful Quetzalcoatl and his sect was in the ascendant. Prophets and old men throughout the country were closely questioned respecting their knowledge of the old traditions; old paintings and records were taken from every archive and carefully compared with those relating to the new-comers; the loss of the precious documents burned by Itzcoatl was now seriously felt; the glass beads and other trinkets obtained from the Spaniards, and even carefully treasured fragments of ship biscuit, were formally deposited with all the old Toltec ceremonies in the temple of Quetzalcoatl. Many fictitious paintings were palmed off on the credulous Montezuma as ancient records in which the children of Quetzalcoatl were pictured in an amusing variety of absurd forms, but some of the documents agreed very closely with the late paintings of Montezuma's agents, showing that others had bethought them to represent on paper Grijalva's company or some preceding band of Spaniards.[760 - Torquemada, tom., i., pp. 378-80; Acosta, Hist. de las Ynd., pp. 515-16; Veytia, tom. iii., pp. 377-8; Duran, MS., tom. ii., cap. lxix-lxx.; Tezozomoc, in Kingsborough, vol. ix., pp. 189-94; Herrera, dec. ii., lib. iii., cap. ix.]

At last the presence of Cortés on the southern coasts, and his progress towards the Aztec possessions, was announced, and an embassy was dispatched to await his arrival, and to receive him with every attention and with the richest gifts the empire could afford. Subsequent events belong to the history of the Conquest, and must be narrated in another work; the remaining chapters of this volume being required for such fragments as have been preserved respecting the aboriginal history of other nations and tribes outside the central plateaux of Mexico.

ANÁHUAC IN 1519

I close the chapter and the annals of the Aztec period, with a brief glance at the general condition of affairs in and about Anáhuac in 1519, and the most extraordinary combination of circumstances that made it possible for Hernan Cortés to overthrow with a handful of Spanish soldiers a mighty aboriginal empire. The power known as Aztec, since the formation of the tri-partite alliance not quite a century before under the Acolhua, Mexican, and Tepanec kings, had gradually extended its iron grasp from its centre about the lakes to the shores of either ocean; and this it had accomplished wholly by the force of arms, receiving no voluntary allegiance. Overburdened by taxation; oppressed and insulted by royal governors, Aztec tribute-gatherers, and the traveling armies of Tlatelulca merchants; constantly attacked on frivolous pretexts by blood-thirsty hordes who ravaged their fields and carried away the flower of their population to perish on the Mexican altars; the inhabitants of each province subjected to this degrading bondage entertained towards the central government of the tyrants on the lakes feelings of the bitterest hatred and hostility, only awaiting an opportunity to free themselves, or at least to annihilate their oppressors. Such was the condition of affairs and the state of feeling abroad; at home the situation was most critical. The alliance which had been the strongest element of the Aztec power was now practically broken up; the ambitious schemes of Montezuma had alienated his firmest ally, and the stronger part of the Acolhua force was now openly arrayed against him under Ixtlilxochitl at Otompan, leagued with the Tlascaltec leaders for the overthrow of the Mexican power. It is probable that the coming of the Spaniards retarded rather than precipitated the united attack of the Acolhuas and the outside provinces on Montezuma. But again, to meet the gathering storm, the Mexican king could no longer count on the undivided support of his own people; he had alienated the merchants, who no longer, as in the early days, did faithful duty as spies, nor toiled to enrich a government from which they could expect no rewards; the lower classes no longer deemed their own interests identical with those of their sovereign. Last but far from least among the elements of approaching ruin was the religious sentiment of the country. The reader has followed the bitter contentions of earlier times in Tollan and Culhuacan, between the rival sects of Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca. With the growth of the Mexican influence the bloody rites of the latter sect had prevailed under the auspices of the god Huitzilopochtli, and the worship of the gentler Quetzalcoatl, though still observed in many provinces and many temples, had with its priests been forced to occupy a secondary position. But the people were filled with terror at the horrible extent to which the latter kings had carried the immolation of human victims; they were sick of blood, and of the divinities that thirsted for it; a re-action was experienced in favor of the rival deities and priesthood. And now, just as the oppressed subjects of ecclesiastical tyranny were learning to remember with regret the peaceful teachings of the Plumed Serpent, and to look to that god for relief from their woes, their prayers were answered, Quetzalcoatl's predictions were apparently fulfilled, and his promised children made their appearance on the eastern ocean. The arrival of Cortés at this particular juncture was in one sense most marvelous; but in his subsequent success there is little to be wondered at; nor is it strange that the oppressed Nahuas received almost with outstretched arms the ministers of the new faith thus offered them by the Spaniards.

CHAPTER X.

HISTORY OF THE EASTERN PLATEAU, MICHOACAN, AND OAJACA

Early History of the Eastern Plateau – The Chichimec-Toltecs – Arrival of the Teo-Chichimecs in Anáhuac – They Conquer and Settle the Eastern Plateau – Civil Wars – Miscellaneous Events – Wars between Tlascala and the Nations of Anáhuac – Early History of Michoacan – Wars between Wanacaces and Tarascos – Founding of Tzintzuntzan – Metamorphosis of the Tarasco Princes – Encroachments of the Wanacaces – The King of the Isles – Murder of Pawacume and Wapeani – Reigns of Curatame, Tariacuri, Tangaxoan I., Ziziz Pandacuare, Zwanga, and Tangaxoan II. – Origin of the Miztecs and Zapotecs – Wixipecocha – Rulers of Oajaca – The Huaves and Mijes – Later Kings and History of Oajaca – Wars with Mexico.

Although all that is known of the history of the eastern plateau prior to the fall of the Toltec empire has been already told, it will be well to briefly review the events of that period before referring to the Chichimec occupation of the region under consideration.

The earliest inhabitants of the plateau of whom we have any definite knowledge were the Olmecs, one of the oldest of the Nahua nations, who appear to have settled the country about Puebla and Cholula with the permission of the Quinames, or giants, the original possessors, and to have been so badly treated by them that at length, by a stratagem, they slew their oppressors and became sole masters of the country. Next we hear of the erection of the great pyramid of Cholula by Xelhua, an Olmec chief; then of the advent and subsequent disappearance of Quetzalcoatl, the culture hero and reformer, who is not to be confounded with Ceacatl Quetzalcoatl, king of Tollan and afterwards of Cholula, who appeared on the scene at a much later period and was also a great reformer. After this, history is silent concerning the Olmecs until the founding of the Toltec empire, when we find them still flourishing on the eastern plateau with Cholula for their capital city. Then the king of Culhuacan, Mixcohua, better known as Camaxtli, under which name he was subsequently apotheosized and worshiped on the plateau, directs a military expedition towards Chalchiuhapan, afterwards Tlascala, which seems to have been founded about this time. But the most notable event of this pre-Chichimec history of the plateau, and the one which most advanced its importance and prosperity, was the coming of Ceacatl Quetzalcoatl, son of Camaxtli, to Cholula, in 895, after he was forced from his throne at Tollan by the ambitious Tezcatlipoca, or Huemac. As has been already stated, this event was the beginning of a new and golden era in the eastern region, which lasted, if we except the conquest and temporary subjection of Cholula by Huemac, up to the time of the Toltec troubles, in which Cholula and her sister cities on the plateau doubtless shared, though to what extent is not certain; at all events they were not deserted as the Toltec cities in the valley are traditionally reported to have been at the time of the Chichimec invasion.

CHICHIMECS AT CHOLULA

Brasseur has an account, drawn from one of his manuscripts,[761 - Historia Tulteca, Peintures et Annales, en langue nahutl, coll. Aubin.] of the taking of Cholula shortly after the fall of the Toltec empire by a tribe which he calls the Chichimec-Toltecs, and the subsequent settlement of the greater part of the plateau by this and other fierce bands, the original inhabitants being driven out of the country. This relation is, however, of doubtful authenticity, and is, moreover, irreconcilable with other statements made by the same writer;[762 - See Brasseur, Hist., tom. ii., pp. 361-3.] it seems, in short, to stand by itself, as an episode recorded in one obscure manuscript only, and having no connection whatever with the events that precede or follow it. The account relates that among the fierce hordes that contributed to the downfall of Tollan, was one which, from the fact of its settling in the ruined capital, and possibly founding a temporary power there, received the name of Chichimec-Toltec. After the death of Huemac III. this band left Tollan, under the leadership of Icxicohuatl, Quetzaltehueyac, Totolohuitzil, and other chiefs,[763 - Camargo, in Nouvelles Annales, tom. xcviii., p. 150, vaguely mentions an expedition said to have been made to Cholula under chiefs bearing similar names to the above, but he gives no details or dates.] and after ravaging the country about lake Tenochtitlan, entered the mountains to the east of the valley of Anáhuac, and there wandered about for a number of years without making any permanent settlement. When next heard of they were encamped near Cholula, their numbers greatly reduced by famine or pestilence, and in a very wretched condition. Weary of their wandering life and not strong enough to take forcible possession of one of the rich provinces of the plateau, or even to forage for their subsistence, they resolved to humble themselves before the princes of Cholula, and implore their protection and assistance. Their small number and apparently broken spirit, caused their prayer to be granted with more readiness than they had expected, and the fierce warriors, who in former times had made the kings of Anáhuac tremble upon their thrones, were now scornfully admitted into Cholula as men too weak to be feared and upon the footing of slaves and servants. But a few years of rest and abundance roused the old spirit in the Chichimec-Toltecs, and made them burn to throw off their self-imposed yoke, and avenge the insults to which they were constantly subjected by their masters. To obtain this end, they resorted to a very ingenious stratagem, suggested it is said, by their national god, Tezcatlipoca. A deputation waited upon the Tlachiach and Aquiach, the two chief princes of Cholula, and begged permission to give a public entertainment, the chief feature of which should be their national ballad and dance. For the proper performance of this they must, however, be supplied with their old weapons, which, since their arrival in Cholula, had been shut up in the city arsenal. Their petition was readily granted, great preparations were made, and on the appointed day all the people assembled to witness the novel spectacle. The Tlachiach and Aquiach were present, surrounded by their suites and a vast number of the nobility. The entertainment opened with certain comic representations, which made the spectators roar with laughter, and excited them to drink freely and be merry. Then the Chichimec warriors dressed in full war costume and bearing their weapons in their hands, formed themselves into a great circle, with the teponaztli player in the centre, and the solemn mitote commenced. At first the music was low and sad, and the dancers moved with slow and measured steps, but gradually the pace grew faster, and the deep voices of the warriors as they chanted their battle song mingled with the sound of the teponaztli. Higher and still higher the shouts arose, accompanied now by terrible gestures and brandishing of weapons; more madly yet the circle whirled, until it was impossible to distinguish one form from another; then, on a sudden, the note of the teponaztli changed and became low and sad once more. This was the signal for the massacre; in a moment the mock fury became a terrible reality, as the Chichimecs turned and fell upon the unarmed and half-drunk spectators. A dreadful slaughter ensued, and the streets of the city ran red with human blood. The Tlachiach and Aquiach managed to escape, and took refuge with a few of their relatives and friends within the walls of Yancuitlalpan, which became for the time their residence. By night the Chichimec-Toltecs were masters of Cholula. The news of this victory soon attracted other savage tribes; the original inhabitants were driven from place to place, and at the end of a few years, the entire country "from the shores of the gulf of Mexico to the mountains which encircled the port of Acapulco," had changed masters.[764 - Brasseur, Hist., tom. ii., pp. 363-70.]

TEO-CHICHIMEC ANNALS

With the arrival of the Teo-Chichimecs in Anáhuac, the history proper of the eastern plateau begins. This people, as has been said, was one of the invading bands that appear about the same time as the Nahuatlaca tribes, with whom they are classed by some writers. According to Camargo, the Tlascaltec historian, they were at Chicomoztoc in 5 Tochtli; thence they journeyed by way of Amaquetepec and Tepenec to Tomallan, which they conquered; then with great difficulty they fought their way through Culhuacan, passed into Teotla Cochoalco, and so on to Teohuiznahuac, where their march was opposed by Queen Coatlicue, who, however, after a severe struggle was forced to come to terms. They next advanced to Hueypuchtlan, and then to Tepozotlan, where the principal chiefs received certain military honors and adopted new names. After passing with many halts through other provinces they finally arrived in the vicinity of Tezcuco, in the year 2 Tecpatl, where they were well received by the king, and assigned the plain of Poyauhtlan as a place of encampment.[765 - Camargo, in Nouvelles Annales, tom. xcviii., pp. 138-9, 145-6.] Veytia states that a great number of the Teo-Chichimecs, who did not like to settle in a locality surrounded by so many people, passed on into the country east of the Valley of Mexico, where they spread over Tlascala, Huexotzinco, and Cholula,[766 - Veytia, tom. ii., pp. 108-9.] which were probably occupied at that time by the remnants of the Olmecs and Xicalancas, who had formerly been subject to the Toltec empire.

TEO-CHICHIMEC MIGRATION

Notwithstanding the settlers at Poyauhtlan met with no opposition on their arrival, and even appear to have been well received, their presence soon became a source of great uneasiness to all the surrounding nations. At first they behaved themselves well enough, and as they gave no cause for complaint, were left undisturbed in their new country for a number of years; but as time progressed, and their numbers increased, they began to encroach upon and ravage the adjoining territories. This led to reprisals and bloody encounters, until at length the evil grew to be unbearable, and was finally put an end to by the famous battle of Poyauhtlan, and the departure of the Teo-Chichimecs to join their countrymen upon the eastern plateau, in the year 1272. Their real reason for leaving the country was doubtless their weakened condition, for though they had nominally won the battle of Poyauhtlan, yet it had been but a Cadmean victory for them, and they knew that another such engagement must infallibly result in their annihilation. But be this as it may, their god Camaxtli spoke opportunely through the mouth of his priests, saying, "arise, depart from hence, for the dawn of your greatness shall not break in this place, neither shall the sun of your splendor rise here." But the strongest proof that the Teo-Chichimecs emigrated because their enemies were too strong for them, lies in the fact that they found it necessary to ask the king of Tezcuco for permission to leave the country, though Camargo gives as an excuse for their submission that they wished to be able to call upon him for assistance, should they meet with reverses in their intended journey beyond the mountains. The king of Tezcuco, doubtless delighted to get rid of such troublesome neighbors, not only gave the desired permission, but granted them safe conduct through his dominions and furnished them with trusty guides who were to conduct them by the safest passes to the summit of the range, and thence to point them out their road toward the east. No time was lost in setting out, and soon the whole Teo-Chichimec nation was marching eastward. Their guides led them to the peak of Tlalocan, from which elevation they overlooked an immense extent of country. Behind them the Lake of Mexico sparkled in the midst of the valley of Anáhuac, before them lay the fertile provinces of Tlascala, Huexotzinco, and Cholula. Descending to the plain they gave vent to their joy in feasts and rejoicings, and offered thanks to their god Camaxtli, who had delivered them from their enemies and brought them into such a fair land. It is related, however, that the entire nation did not ascend the peak. A large party under the leadership of Chimalcuixintecuhtli refused to climb the great eastern range, and proceeded northwards to Tulancingo, Quauhchinanco, and other neighboring provinces which they found to be already colonized by Macuilacatltecuhtli, a kinsman of Chimalcuixintecuhtli, who welcomed the wanderers with every mark of friendship, and as an especial token of his favor conferred wives upon their chiefs.[767 - Camargo, in Nouvelles Annales, tom. xcviii., pp. 142-7; Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 260-1; Clavigero, tom. i., p. 154; Brasseur, Hist., tom. ii., pp. 357-60.]